diff --git a/ldap/src/integration-test/java/org/springframework/security/ldap/DefaultSpringSecurityContextSourceTests.java b/ldap/src/integration-test/java/org/springframework/security/ldap/DefaultSpringSecurityContextSourceTests.java
index 14618224d3..4246d22190 100644
--- a/ldap/src/integration-test/java/org/springframework/security/ldap/DefaultSpringSecurityContextSourceTests.java
+++ b/ldap/src/integration-test/java/org/springframework/security/ldap/DefaultSpringSecurityContextSourceTests.java
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@ package org.springframework.security.ldap;
 
 import static org.junit.Assert.*;
 
+import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Hashtable;
+import java.util.List;
 
 import javax.naming.directory.DirContext;
 
@@ -74,6 +76,35 @@ public class DefaultSpringSecurityContextSourceTests extends AbstractLdapIntegra
         contextSource.getContext("uid=space cadet,ou=space cadets,dc=springframework,dc=org", "spacecadetspassword");
     }
 
+    @Test(expected=IllegalArgumentException.class)
+    public void instantiationFailsWithEmptyServerList() throws Exception {
+        List<String> serverUrls = new ArrayList<String>();
+        DefaultSpringSecurityContextSource ctxSrc = new DefaultSpringSecurityContextSource(serverUrls, "dc=springframework,dc=org");
+        ctxSrc.afterPropertiesSet();
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void instantiationSuceedsWithProperServerList() throws Exception {
+        List<String> serverUrls = new ArrayList<String>();
+        serverUrls.add("ldap://foo:789");
+        serverUrls.add("ldap://bar:389");
+        serverUrls.add("ldaps://blah:636");
+        DefaultSpringSecurityContextSource ctxSrc = new DefaultSpringSecurityContextSource(serverUrls, "dc=springframework,dc=org");
+
+        assertFalse(ctxSrc.isAnonymousReadOnly());
+        assertTrue(ctxSrc.isPooled());
+    }
+
+    @Test(expected=IllegalArgumentException.class)
+    public void instantiationFailsWithIncorrectServerUrl() throws Exception {
+        List<String> serverUrls = new ArrayList<String>();
+        // a simple trailing slash should be ok
+        serverUrls.add("ldaps://blah:636/");
+        // this url should be rejected because the root DN goes into a separate parameter
+        serverUrls.add("ldap://bar:389/dc=foobar,dc=org");
+        DefaultSpringSecurityContextSource ctxSrc = new DefaultSpringSecurityContextSource(serverUrls, "dc=springframework,dc=org");
+    }
+
     static class EnvExposingDefaultSpringSecurityContextSource extends DefaultSpringSecurityContextSource {
         public EnvExposingDefaultSpringSecurityContextSource(String providerUrl) {
             super(providerUrl);
diff --git a/ldap/src/main/java/org/springframework/security/ldap/DefaultSpringSecurityContextSource.java b/ldap/src/main/java/org/springframework/security/ldap/DefaultSpringSecurityContextSource.java
index 77e1af307b..d7492c91c1 100644
--- a/ldap/src/main/java/org/springframework/security/ldap/DefaultSpringSecurityContextSource.java
+++ b/ldap/src/main/java/org/springframework/security/ldap/DefaultSpringSecurityContextSource.java
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package org.springframework.security.ldap;
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Hashtable;
+import java.util.List;
 import java.util.StringTokenizer;
 
 import org.apache.commons.logging.Log;
@@ -33,7 +34,9 @@ public class DefaultSpringSecurityContextSource extends LdapContextSource {
     private String rootDn;
 
     /**
-     * Create and initialize an instance which will connect to the supplied LDAP URL.
+     * Create and initialize an instance which will connect to the supplied LDAP URL. If you
+     * want to use more than one server for fail-over, rather use
+     * the {@link #DefaultSpringSecurityContextSource(List, String)} constructor.
      *
      * @param providerUrl an LDAP URL of the form <code>ldap://localhost:389/base_dn<code>
      */
@@ -76,4 +79,64 @@ public class DefaultSpringSecurityContextSource extends LdapContextSource {
             }
         });
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Create and initialize an instance which will connect of the LDAP Spring Security
+     * Context Source. It will connect to any of the provided LDAP server URLs.
+     * 
+     * @param urls
+     *          A list of string values which are LDAP server URLs. An example would be
+     *          <code>ldap://ldap.company.com:389</code>. LDAPS URLs (SSL-secured) may be used as well,
+     *          given that Spring Security is able to connect to the server.
+     *          Note that these <b>URLs must not include the base DN</b>!
+     * @param baseDn
+     *          The common Base DN for all provided servers, e.g.
+     *          <pre>dc=company,dc=com</pre>.
+     */
+    public DefaultSpringSecurityContextSource(List<String> urls, String baseDn) {
+        this(buildProviderUrl(urls, baseDn));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Builds a Spring LDAP-compliant Provider URL string, i.e. a space-separated list of LDAP servers
+     * with their base DNs. As the base DN must be identical for all servers, it needs to be supplied
+     * only once.
+     * 
+     * @param urls
+     *          A list of string values which are LDAP server URLs. An example would be
+     *          <pre>ldap://ldap.company.com:389</pre>. LDAPS URLs may be used as well,
+     *          given that Spring Security is able to connect to the server.
+     * @param baseDn
+     *          The common Base DN for all provided servers, e.g.
+     *          <pre>dc=company,dc=com</pre>.
+     * @return A Spring Security/Spring LDAP-compliant Provider URL string.
+     */
+    private static String buildProviderUrl(List<String> urls, String baseDn) {
+        Assert.notNull(baseDn, "The Base DN for the LDAP server must not be null.");
+        Assert.notEmpty(urls, "At least one LDAP server URL must be provided.");
+
+        String trimmedBaseDn = baseDn.trim();
+        StringBuilder providerUrl = new StringBuilder();
+
+        for (String serverUrl : urls) {
+            String trimmedUrl = serverUrl.trim();
+            if ("".equals(trimmedUrl)) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            if (trimmedUrl.contains(trimmedBaseDn)) {
+                throw new IllegalArgumentException("LDAP URL string must not include the base DN! '" + trimmedUrl + "'");
+            }
+
+            providerUrl.append(trimmedUrl);
+            if (! trimmedUrl.endsWith("/")) {
+                providerUrl.append("/");
+            }
+            providerUrl.append(trimmedBaseDn);
+            providerUrl.append(" ");
+        }
+
+        return providerUrl.toString();
+
+    }
+
 }