diff --git a/docs/src/reference/docbook/ip.xml b/docs/src/reference/docbook/ip.xml
index 6891402580..848ff17fd0 100644
--- a/docs/src/reference/docbook/ip.xml
+++ b/docs/src/reference/docbook/ip.xml
@@ -725,12 +725,7 @@
                 factory.
             </para>
             <para>
-                It is not currently possible to set this to an infinite value
-                (0); the maximum value can be set using a SpEL expression as
-                follows.
-                <programlisting>
-                    so-timeout="#{T(java.lang.Integer).MAX_VALUE}"
-                </programlisting>
+                Setting the attribute to 0 will enable an infinite timeout.
             </para>
         </note>
     </para>
@@ -867,7 +862,9 @@
               <entry>Y</entry>
               <entry></entry>
               <entry>Defaults to 0 (infinity), except when the connection
-                     factory is used by collaborating adapters, where it
+                     factory is used by collaborating adapters, and for
+                     server connection factories with single-use="true". 
+                     In those cases, it
                      defaults to the default reply timeout (10 seconds).
                      See the section about collaborating adapters above
                      and <classname>java.net.Socket. setSoTimeout()</classname>.
diff --git a/spring-integration-ip/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/ip/tcp/connection/AbstractClientConnectionFactory.java b/spring-integration-ip/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/ip/tcp/connection/AbstractClientConnectionFactory.java
index c1d3d14ac1..7b4252fe8b 100644
--- a/spring-integration-ip/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/ip/tcp/connection/AbstractClientConnectionFactory.java
+++ b/spring-integration-ip/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/ip/tcp/connection/AbstractClientConnectionFactory.java
@@ -74,8 +74,13 @@ public abstract class AbstractClientConnectionFactory extends AbstractConnection
 			connection.registerListener(listener);
 		}
 		if (listener != null || this.isSingleUse()) {
-			if (this.getSoTimeout() <= 0) {
+			if (this.getSoTimeout() < 0) {
 				try {
+					/* Default so-timeout, when we have a collaborating inbound adapter,
+					 * may go to infinity in a future release; currently it's 10 seconds.
+					 * While it makes sense in a request/reply scenario, it doesn't
+					 * really for completely asynchronous communication between peers.
+					 */
 					socket.setSoTimeout(DEFAULT_REPLY_TIMEOUT);
 				} catch (SocketException e) {
 					logger.error("Error setting default reply timeout", e);
diff --git a/spring-integration-ip/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/ip/tcp/connection/AbstractConnectionFactory.java b/spring-integration-ip/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/ip/tcp/connection/AbstractConnectionFactory.java
index 181e6477ac..27e1280e98 100644
--- a/spring-integration-ip/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/ip/tcp/connection/AbstractConnectionFactory.java
+++ b/spring-integration-ip/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/ip/tcp/connection/AbstractConnectionFactory.java
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractConnectionFactory extends IntegrationObjectSupport
 
 	private volatile TcpSender sender;
 
-	private volatile int soTimeout;
+	private volatile int soTimeout = -1;
 
 	private volatile int soSendBufferSize;
 
diff --git a/spring-integration-ip/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/ip/tcp/connection/AbstractServerConnectionFactory.java b/spring-integration-ip/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/ip/tcp/connection/AbstractServerConnectionFactory.java
index 8bb5e3726d..d981334c33 100644
--- a/spring-integration-ip/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/ip/tcp/connection/AbstractServerConnectionFactory.java
+++ b/spring-integration-ip/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/ip/tcp/connection/AbstractServerConnectionFactory.java
@@ -84,11 +84,12 @@ public abstract class AbstractServerConnectionFactory extends AbstractConnection
 		connection.setSerializer(this.getSerializer());
 		connection.setSingleUse(this.isSingleUse());
 		/*
-		 * If we have a collaborating outbound channel adapter and we are configured
+		 * If we are configured
 		 * for single use; need to enforce a timeout on the socket so we will close
-		 * it some period after the response was sent (timeout on the next read).
+		 * if the client connects, but sends nothing. (Protect against DoS).
+		 * Behavior can be overridden by explicitly setting the timeout to zero.
 		 */
-		if (this.isSingleUse() && this.getSoTimeout() <= 0 && listener != null) {
+		if (this.isSingleUse() && this.getSoTimeout() < 0) {
 			try {
 				socket.setSoTimeout(DEFAULT_REPLY_TIMEOUT);
 			} catch (SocketException e) {
diff --git a/spring-integration-ip/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/ip/tcp/connection/TcpNioClientConnectionFactory.java b/spring-integration-ip/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/ip/tcp/connection/TcpNioClientConnectionFactory.java
index 4bb7e0fa6a..1763387e7b 100644
--- a/spring-integration-ip/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/ip/tcp/connection/TcpNioClientConnectionFactory.java
+++ b/spring-integration-ip/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/ip/tcp/connection/TcpNioClientConnectionFactory.java
@@ -122,7 +122,8 @@ public class TcpNioClientConnectionFactory extends
 			this.selector = Selector.open();
 			while (this.isActive()) {
 				SocketChannel newChannel;
-				int selectionCount = selector.select(this.getSoTimeout());
+				int soTimeout = this.getSoTimeout();
+				int selectionCount = selector.select(soTimeout < 0 ? 0 : soTimeout);
 				while ((newChannel = newChannels.poll()) != null) {
 					newChannel.register(this.selector, SelectionKey.OP_READ, connections.get(newChannel));
 				}
diff --git a/spring-integration-ip/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/ip/tcp/connection/TcpNioServerConnectionFactory.java b/spring-integration-ip/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/ip/tcp/connection/TcpNioServerConnectionFactory.java
index 24c549bc60..806a07df5c 100644
--- a/spring-integration-ip/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/ip/tcp/connection/TcpNioServerConnectionFactory.java
+++ b/spring-integration-ip/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/ip/tcp/connection/TcpNioServerConnectionFactory.java
@@ -113,7 +113,8 @@ public class TcpNioServerConnectionFactory extends AbstractServerConnectionFacto
 	private void doSelect(ServerSocketChannel server, final Selector selector)
 			throws IOException, ClosedChannelException, SocketException {
 		while (this.isActive()) {
-			int selectionCount = selector.select(this.getSoTimeout());
+			int soTimeout = this.getSoTimeout();
+			int selectionCount = selector.select(soTimeout < 0 ? 0 : soTimeout);
 			this.processNioSelections(selectionCount, selector, server, this.connections);			
 		}
 	}