diff --git a/src/net/mormot.net.client.pas b/src/net/mormot.net.client.pas
index 20fd2899d..958973f40 100644
--- a/src/net/mormot.net.client.pas
+++ b/src/net/mormot.net.client.pas
@@ -47,6 +47,33 @@ interface
 
 { ************** THttpClientSocket Implementing HTTP client over plain sockets }
 
+var
+  /// THttpRequest timeout default value for DNS resolution
+  // - only used by TWinHttp class - other clients will ignore it
+  // - leaving to 0 will let system default value be used
+  HTTP_DEFAULT_RESOLVETIMEOUT: integer = 0;
+  /// THttpRequest timeout default value for remote connection
+  // - default is 30 seconds
+  // - used e.g. by THttpRequest, TRestHttpClientRequest and TRestHttpClientGeneric
+  HTTP_DEFAULT_CONNECTTIMEOUT: integer = 30000;
+  /// THttpRequest timeout default value for data sending
+  // - default is 30 seconds
+  // - used e.g. by THttpRequest, TRestHttpClientRequest and TRestHttpClientGeneric
+  // - you can override this value by setting the corresponding parameter in
+  // THttpRequest.Create() constructor
+  HTTP_DEFAULT_SENDTIMEOUT: integer = 30000;
+  /// THttpRequest timeout default value for data receiving
+  // - default is 30 seconds
+  // - used e.g. by THttpRequest, TRestHttpClientRequest and TRestHttpClientGeneric
+  // - you can override this value by setting the corresponding parameter in
+  // THttpRequest.Create() constructor
+  HTTP_DEFAULT_RECEIVETIMEOUT: integer = 30000;
+
+const
+  /// standard text used to identify the WebSockets protocol
+  HTTP_WEBSOCKET_PROTOCOL: RawUtf8 = 'SEC-WEBSOCKET-PROTOCOL';
+
+
 type
   /// Socket API based REST and HTTP/1.1 compatible client class
   // - this component is HTTP/1.1 compatible, according to RFC 2068 document
diff --git a/src/net/mormot.net.http.pas b/src/net/mormot.net.http.pas
index 1163c3893..657b0da08 100644
--- a/src/net/mormot.net.http.pas
+++ b/src/net/mormot.net.http.pas
@@ -31,56 +31,7 @@ interface
 
 { ******************** Shared HTTP Constants and Functions }
 
-var
-  /// THttpRequest timeout default value for DNS resolution
-  // - leaving to 0 will let system default value be used
-  HTTP_DEFAULT_RESOLVETIMEOUT: integer = 0;
-  /// THttpRequest timeout default value for remote connection
-  // - default is 60 seconds
-  // - used e.g. by THttpRequest, TRestHttpClientRequest and TRestHttpClientGeneric
-  HTTP_DEFAULT_CONNECTTIMEOUT: integer = 60000;
-  /// THttpRequest timeout default value for data sending
-  // - default is 30 seconds
-  // - used e.g. by THttpRequest, TRestHttpClientRequest and TRestHttpClientGeneric
-  // - you can override this value by setting the corresponding parameter in
-  // THttpRequest.Create() constructor
-  HTTP_DEFAULT_SENDTIMEOUT: integer = 30000;
-  /// THttpRequest timeout default value for data receiving
-  // - default is 30 seconds
-  // - used e.g. by THttpRequest, TRestHttpClientRequest and TRestHttpClientGeneric
-  // - you can override this value by setting the corresponding parameter in
-  // THttpRequest.Create() constructor
-  HTTP_DEFAULT_RECEIVETIMEOUT: integer = 30000;
-
-const
-  /// standard text used to identify the WebSockets protocol
-  HTTP_WEBSOCKET_PROTOCOL: RawUtf8 = 'SEC-WEBSOCKET-PROTOCOL';
-
-
-/// compute the 'Authorization: Bearer ####' HTTP header of a given token value
-function AuthorizationBearer(const AuthToken: RawUtf8): RawUtf8;
-
-/// will remove most usual HTTP headers which are to be recomputed on sending
-function PurgeHeaders(P: PUtf8Char): RawUtf8;
-
-
-{$ifndef NOXPOWEREDNAME}
-const
-  /// pseudo-header containing the current Synopse mORMot framework version
-  XPOWEREDNAME = 'X-Powered-By';
-  /// the full text of the current Synopse mORMot framework version
-  // - we don't supply full version number with build revision
-  // (as SYNOPSE_FRAMEWORK_VERSION), to reduce potential attack surface
-  XPOWEREDVALUE = SYNOPSE_FRAMEWORK_NAME + ' 2 synopse.info';
-{$endif NOXPOWEREDNAME}
-
-
-{ ******************** THttpSocket Implementing HTTP over plain sockets }
-
 type
-  /// exception class raised during HTTP process
-  EHttpSocket = class(ENetSock);
-
   /// event used to compress or uncompress some data during HTTP protocol
   // - should always return the protocol name for ACCEPT-ENCODING: header
   // e.g. 'gzip' or 'deflate' for standard HTTP format, but you can add
@@ -109,6 +60,48 @@   THttpSocketCompressRec = record
   // - filled from ACCEPT-ENCODING: header value
   THttpSocketCompressSet = set of 0..31;
 
+
+/// adjust HTTP body compression according to the supplied 'CONTENT-TYPE'
+// - will detect most used compressible content (like 'text/*' or
+// 'application/json') from OutContentType
+function CompressDataAndGetHeaders(Accepted: THttpSocketCompressSet;
+  const Handled: THttpSocketCompressRecDynArray; const OutContentType: RawUtf8;
+  var OutContent: RawByteString): RawUtf8;
+
+/// enable a give compression function for a HTTP link
+function RegisterCompressFunc(var Compress: THttpSocketCompressRecDynArray;
+  aFunction: THttpSocketCompress; var aAcceptEncoding: RawUtf8;
+  aCompressMinSize: integer): RawUtf8;
+
+/// decode 'CONTENT-ENCODING: ' parameter from registered compression list
+function ComputeContentEncoding(const Compress: THttpSocketCompressRecDynArray;
+  P: PUtf8Char): THttpSocketCompressSet;
+
+
+/// compute the 'Authorization: Bearer ####' HTTP header of a given token value
+function AuthorizationBearer(const AuthToken: RawUtf8): RawUtf8;
+
+/// will remove most usual HTTP headers which are to be recomputed on sending
+function PurgeHeaders(P: PUtf8Char): RawUtf8;
+
+
+{$ifndef NOXPOWEREDNAME}
+const
+  /// pseudo-header containing the current Synopse mORMot framework version
+  XPOWEREDNAME = 'X-Powered-By';
+  /// the full text of the current Synopse mORMot framework version
+  // - we don't supply full version number with build revision
+  // (as SYNOPSE_FRAMEWORK_VERSION), to reduce potential attacker knowledge
+  XPOWEREDVALUE = SYNOPSE_FRAMEWORK_NAME + ' 2 synopse.info';
+{$endif NOXPOWEREDNAME}
+
+
+{ ******************** THttpSocket Implementing HTTP over plain sockets }
+
+type
+  /// exception class raised during HTTP process
+  EHttpSocket = class(ENetSock);
+
   /// map the presence of some HTTP headers for THttpSocket.HeaderFlags
   THttpSocketHeaderFlags = set of (
     hfTransferChuked,
@@ -209,20 +202,6 @@   THttpSocket = class(TCrtSocket)
   end;
 
 
-/// adjust HTTP body compression according to the supplied 'CONTENT-TYPE'
-function CompressDataAndGetHeaders(Accepted: THttpSocketCompressSet;
-  const Handled: THttpSocketCompressRecDynArray; const OutContentType: RawUtf8;
-  var OutContent: RawByteString): RawUtf8;
-
-/// enable a give compression function for a HTTP link
-function RegisterCompressFunc(var Compress: THttpSocketCompressRecDynArray;
-  aFunction: THttpSocketCompress; var aAcceptEncoding: RawUtf8;
-  aCompressMinSize: integer): RawUtf8;
-
-/// decode 'CONTENT-ENCODING: ' parameter from registered compression list
-function ComputeContentEncoding(const Compress: THttpSocketCompressRecDynArray;
-  P: PUtf8Char): THttpSocketCompressSet;
-
 
 { ******************** Abstract Server-Side Types used e.g. for Client-Server Protocol }
 
@@ -804,7 +783,7 @@ procedure THttpSocket.GetBody;
     SetLength(Content, ContentLength); // not chuncked: direct read
     SockInRead(pointer(Content), ContentLength); // works with SockIn=nil or not
   end
-  else if (ContentLength < 0) and
+  else if (ContentLength < 0) and // -1 means no Content-Length header
           IdemPChar(pointer(Command), 'HTTP/1.0 200') then
   begin
     // body = either Content-Length or Transfer-Encoding (HTTP/1.1 RFC2616 4.3)
@@ -824,7 +803,8 @@ procedure THttpSocket.GetBody;
   if cardinal(fContentCompress) < cardinal(length(fCompress)) then
     if fCompress[fContentCompress].Func(Content, false) = '' then
       // invalid content
-      raise EHttpSocket.CreateFmt('%s uncompress', [fCompress[fContentCompress].Name]);
+      raise EHttpSocket.CreateFmt(
+        '%s uncompress', [fCompress[fContentCompress].Name]);
   ContentLength := length(Content); // update Content-Length
   {$ifdef SYNCRTDEBUGLOW}
   TSynLog.Add.Log(sllCustom2, 'GetBody sock=% pending=% sockin=% len=% %',
diff --git a/src/net/mormot.net.server.pas b/src/net/mormot.net.server.pas
index 1ec45b94c..fd4b6def8 100644
--- a/src/net/mormot.net.server.pas
+++ b/src/net/mormot.net.server.pas
@@ -524,8 +524,8 @@   THttpServer = class(THttpServerGeneric)
     // - this constructor will raise a EHttpServer exception if binding failed
     // - expects the port to be specified as string, e.g. '1234'; you can
     // optionally specify a server address to bind to, e.g. '1.2.3.4:1234'
-    // - can listed on UDS in case port is specified with 'unix:' prefix, e.g.
-    // 'unix:/run/myapp.sock'
+    // - can listed to local Unix Domain Sockets file in case port is prefixed
+    // with 'unix:', e.g. 'unix:/run/myapp.sock' - faster and safer than TCP
     // - on Linux in case aPort is empty string will check if external fd
     // is passed by systemd and use it (so called systemd socked activation)
     // - you can specify a number of threads to be initialized to handle
@@ -1449,9 +1449,14 @@ destructor THttpServer.Destroy;
   if (fExecuteState = esRunning) and
      (Sock <> nil) then
   begin
-    Sock.Close; // shutdown the socket to unlock Accept() in Execute
-    if NewSocket('127.0.0.1', Sock.Port, nlTCP, false, 1, 1, 1, 0, callback) = nrOK then
+    if Sock.SocketLayer <> nlUNIX then
+      Sock.Close; // shutdown TCP/UDP socket to unlock Accept() in Execute
+    if NewSocket(Sock.Server, Sock.Port, Sock.SocketLayer,
+       {dobind=}false, 10, 10, 10, 0, callback) = nrOK then
+      // Windows TCP/UDP socket may not release Accept() until connected
       callback.ShutdownAndClose({rdwr=}false);
+    if Sock.SockIsDefined then
+      Sock.Close; // nlUNIX expects shutdown after accept() returned
   end;
   endtix := mormot.core.os.GetTickCount64 + 20000;
   EnterCriticalSection(fProcessCS);
@@ -1469,7 +1474,7 @@ destructor THttpServer.Destroy;
            (fExecuteState <> esRunning) then
           break;
         LeaveCriticalSection(fProcessCS);
-        SleepHiRes(100);
+        SleepHiRes(10);
         EnterCriticalSection(fProcessCS);
       until mormot.core.os.GetTickCount64 > endtix;
       FreeAndNil(fInternalHttpServerRespList);
@@ -1610,9 +1615,9 @@ procedure THttpServer.Execute;
   try
     fSock := TCrtSocket.Bind(fSockPort); // BIND + LISTEN
     {$ifdef OSLINUX}
-    // in case we started by systemd, listening socket is created by another process
-    // and do not interrupt while process got a signal. So we need to set a timeout to
-    // unblock accept() periodically and check we need terminations
+    // in case was started by systemd, listening socket is created by another
+    // process and do not interrupt while process got a signal. So we need to
+    // set a timeout to unlock accept() periodically and check for termination
     if fSockPort = '' then // external socket
       fSock.ReceiveTimeout := 1000; // unblock accept every second
     {$endif OSLINUX}
@@ -2331,9 +2336,9 @@ procedure TSynThreadPoolTHttpServer.Task(aCaller: TSynThread; aContext: Pointer)
       grOwned:
         // e.g. for asynchrounous WebSockets
         srvsock := nil; // to ignore FreeAndNil(srvsock) below
-      else if Assigned(fServer.Sock.OnLog) then
-        fServer.Sock.OnLog(sllTrace, 'Task: close after GetRequest=% from %',
-            [ToText(res)^, srvsock.RemoteIP], self);
+    else if Assigned(fServer.Sock.OnLog) then
+      fServer.Sock.OnLog(sllTrace, 'Task: close after GetRequest=% from %',
+          [ToText(res)^, srvsock.RemoteIP], self);
     end;
   finally
     srvsock.Free;
diff --git a/src/net/mormot.net.sock.pas b/src/net/mormot.net.sock.pas
index 344f1c81d..79f2f0b55 100644
--- a/src/net/mormot.net.sock.pas
+++ b/src/net/mormot.net.sock.pas
@@ -529,9 +529,11 @@   TCrtSocket = class
       aTimeOut: cardinal = 10000; aTLS: boolean = false; aTLSContext: PNetTLSContext = nil);
     /// bind to an address
     // - aAddr='1234' - bind to a port on all interfaces, the same as '0.0.0.0:1234'
-    // - aAddr='IP:port' - bind to specified interface only, e.g. '1.2.3.4:1234'
-    // - aAddr='unix:/path/to/file' - bind to unix domain socket, e.g. 'unix:/run/mormot.sock'
-    // - aAddr='' - bind to systemd descriptor on linux. See
+    // - aAddr='IP:port' - bind to specified interface only, e.g.
+    // '1.2.3.4:1234'
+    // - aAddr='unix:/path/to/file' - bind to unix domain socket, e.g.
+    // 'unix:/run/mormot.sock'
+    // - aAddr='' - bind to systemd descriptor on linux - see
     // http://0pointer.de/blog/projects/socket-activation.html
     constructor Bind(const aAddress: RawUtf8; aLayer: TNetLayer = nlTCP;
       aTimeOut: integer = 10000);
@@ -1078,7 +1080,11 @@ function NewSocket(const address, port: RawUtf8; layer: TNetLayer;
      (not dobind) and
      Assigned(NewSocketAddressCache) and
      ToCardinal(port, p, 1) then
-    if NewSocketAddressCache.Search(address, addr) then
+    if (address = '') or
+       (address = cLocalhost) or
+       (address = cAnyHost) then // for client: '0.0.0.0'->'127.0.0.1'
+      result := addr.SetFrom(cLocalhost, port, layer)
+    else if NewSocketAddressCache.Search(address, addr) then
     begin
       fromcache := true;
       result := addr.SetPort(p);
@@ -1215,7 +1221,11 @@ function TNetSocketWrap.Accept(out clientsocket: TNetSocket;
     len := SizeOf(addr);
     sock := mormot.net.sock.accept(TSocket(@self), @addr, len);
     if sock = -1 then
-      result := NetLastError
+    begin
+      result := NetLastError;
+      if result = nrOk then
+        result := nrNotImplemented;
+    end
     else
     begin
       clientsocket := TNetSocket(sock);
@@ -1582,6 +1592,32 @@ procedure TPollSockets.Terminate;
 const
   UNIX_LOW = ord('u') + ord('n') shl 8 + ord('i') shl 16 + ord('x') shl 24;
 
+function StartWith(p, up: PUtf8Char): boolean;
+// to avoid linking mormot.core.text for IdemPChar()
+var
+  c, u: AnsiChar;
+begin
+  result := false;
+  if (p = nil) or
+     (up = nil) then
+    exit;
+  repeat
+    u := up^;
+    if u = #0 then
+      break;
+    inc(up);
+    c := p^;
+    inc(p);
+    if (c >= 'a') and
+       (c <= 'z') then
+      dec(c, 32);
+    if c <> u then
+      exit;
+  until false;
+  result := true;
+end;
+
+
 { TCrtSocket }
 
 function TCrtSocket.GetRawSocket: PtrInt;
@@ -1625,8 +1661,17 @@ constructor TCrtSocket.Open(const aServer, aPort: RawUtf8;
   Create(aTimeOut); // default read timeout is 10 seconds
   if aTLSContext <> nil then
     TLS := aTLSContext^; // copy the input parameters before OpenBind()
-  // raise exception on error
-  OpenBind(aServer, aPort, {dobind=}false, aTLS, aLayer);
+  // OpenBind() raise an exception on error
+  {$ifdef OSPOSIX}
+  if StartWith(pointer(aServer), 'UNIX:') then
+  begin
+    // aServer='unix:/path/to/myapp.socket'
+    OpenBind(copy(aServer, 6, 200), '', {dobind=}false, aTLS, nlUNIX);
+    fServer := aServer; // keep the full server name if reused
+  end
+  else
+  {$endif OSPOSIX}
+    OpenBind(aServer, aPort, {dobind=}false, aTLS, aLayer);
 end;
 
 function SplitFromRight(const Text: RawUtf8; Sep: AnsiChar;
@@ -1683,9 +1728,10 @@ constructor TCrtSocket.Bind(const aAddress: RawUtf8; aLayer: TNetLayer;
     {$ifdef OSPOSIX}
     if s = 'unix' then
     begin
-      aLayer := nlUNIX;
-      s := p;
-      p := '';
+      // aAddress='unix:/path/to/myapp.socket'
+      FpUnlink(pointer(p)); // previous bind may have left the .socket file
+      OpenBind(p, '', {dobind=}true, {tls=}false, nlUnix, {%H-}TNetSocket(aSock));
+      exit;
     end;
     {$endif OSPOSIX}
   end;
@@ -1982,6 +2028,10 @@ procedure TCrtSocket.Close;
   fSock := TNetSocket(-1);
   // don't reset fServer/fPort/fTls/fWasBind: caller may use them to reconnect
   // (see e.g. THttpClientSocket.Request)
+  {$ifdef OSPOSIX}
+  if fSocketLayer = nlUnix then
+    FpUnlink(pointer(fServer)); // 'unix:/path/to/myapp.socket' -> delete file
+  {$endif OSPOSIX}
 end;
 
 destructor TCrtSocket.Destroy;
@@ -2507,31 +2557,6 @@ function TCrtSocket.PeerPort: integer;
 
 { TUri }
 
-function StartWith(p, up: PUtf8Char): boolean;
-// to avoid linking mormot.core.text for IdemPChar()
-var
-  c, u: AnsiChar;
-begin
-  result := false;
-  if (p = nil) or
-     (up = nil) then
-    exit;
-  repeat
-    u := up^;
-    if u = #0 then
-      break;
-    inc(up);
-    c := p^;
-    inc(p);
-    if (c >= 'a') and
-       (c <= 'z') then
-      dec(c, 32);
-    if c <> u then
-      exit;
-  until false;
-  result := true;
-end;
-
 procedure TUri.Clear;
 begin
   Https := false;
diff --git a/src/net/mormot.net.sock.posix.inc b/src/net/mormot.net.sock.posix.inc
index 026c2e16a..a59feb8fd 100644
--- a/src/net/mormot.net.sock.posix.inc
+++ b/src/net/mormot.net.sock.posix.inc
@@ -144,42 +144,42 @@ type
 
 function gethostbyname(name: PAnsiChar): PHostEnt; cdecl;
   external clib name 'gethostbyname';
-function socket(af, struct, protocol: integer): TSocket; cdecl;
+function socket(af, struct, protocol: integer): integer; cdecl;
   external clib name 'socket';
-function setsockopt(s: TSocket; level, optname: integer;
+function setsockopt(s: integer; level, optname: integer;
    optval: pointer; optlen: integer): integer; cdecl;
   external clib name 'setsockopt';
-function ioctlsocket(s: TSocket; cmd: cardinal; arg: PCardinal): integer; cdecl;
+function ioctlsocket(s: integer; cmd: cardinal; arg: PCardinal): integer; cdecl;
   external clib name 'ioctl';
-function shutdown(s: TSocket; how: integer): integer; cdecl;
+function shutdown(s: integer; how: integer): integer; cdecl;
   external clib name 'shutdown';
-function closesocket(s: TSocket): integer; cdecl;
+function closesocket(s: integer): integer; cdecl;
   external clib name 'close';
 function getnameinfo(addr: PSockAddr; namelen: integer; host: PAnsiChar;
    hostlen: DWORD; serv: PAnsiChar; servlen: DWORD; flags: integer): integer; cdecl;
   external clib name 'getnameinfo';
-function bind(s: TSocket; addr: PSockAddr; namelen: integer): integer; cdecl;
+function bind(s: integer; addr: PSockAddr; namelen: integer): integer; cdecl;
   external clib name 'bind';
-function listen(s: TSocket; backlog: integer): integer; cdecl;
+function listen(s: integer; backlog: integer): integer; cdecl;
   external clib name 'listen';
-function accept(s: TSocket; addr: PSockAddr; var addrlen: integer): TSocket; cdecl;
+function accept(s: integer; addr: PSockAddr; var addrlen: integer): integer; cdecl;
   external clib name 'accept';
-function connect(s: TSocket; name: PSockAddr; namelen: integer): integer; cdecl;
+function connect(s: integer; name: PSockAddr; namelen: integer): integer; cdecl;
   external clib name 'connect';
 function select(nfds: integer; readfds, writefds, exceptfds: PFDSet;
    timeout: PTimeVal): integer; cdecl;
   external clib name 'select';
-function recv(s: TSocket; Buf: Pointer; len, flags: integer): integer; cdecl;
+function recv(s: integer; Buf: Pointer; len, flags: integer): integer; cdecl;
   external clib name 'recv';
-function recvfrom(s: TSocket; Buf: Pointer; len, flags: integer;
+function recvfrom(s: integer; Buf: Pointer; len, flags: integer;
    from: PSockAddr; fromlen: Pinteger): integer; cdecl;
   external clib name 'recvfrom';
-function send(s: TSocket; Buf: Pointer; len, flags: integer): integer; cdecl;
+function send(s: integer; Buf: Pointer; len, flags: integer): integer; cdecl;
   external clib name 'send';
-function sendto(s: TSocket; Buf: Pointer; len, flags: integer;
+function sendto(s: integer; Buf: Pointer; len, flags: integer;
    addrto: PSockAddr; tolen: integer): integer; cdecl;
   external clib name 'sendto';
-function getpeername(s: TSocket; name: PSockAddr; var namelen: integer): integer; cdecl;
+function getpeername(s: integer; name: PSockAddr; var namelen: integer): integer; cdecl;
   external clib name 'getpeername';
 
 {$ifdef OSDARWIN}
diff --git a/src/rest/mormot.rest.http.client.pas b/src/rest/mormot.rest.http.client.pas
index 6f5b1e03b..8af375d33 100644
--- a/src/rest/mormot.rest.http.client.pas
+++ b/src/rest/mormot.rest.http.client.pas
@@ -126,6 +126,7 @@   TRestHttpClientGeneric = class(TRestClientUri)
     // you left the 0 default parameters, it would use global
     // HTTP_DEFAULT_CONNECTTIMEOUT, HTTP_DEFAULT_SENDTIMEOUT and
     // HTTP_DEFAULT_RECEIVETIMEOUT variable values
+    // - TRestHttpClientSocket handles aServer='unix:/run/mormotapp.sock' on POSIX
     constructor Create(const aServer, aPort: RawUtf8; aModel: TOrmModel;
       aHttps: boolean = false; const aProxyName: RawUtf8 = '';
       const aProxyByPass: RawUtf8 = ''; aSendTimeout: cardinal = 0;
@@ -246,9 +247,8 @@   TRestHttpClientRequestClass = class of TRestHttpClientRequest;
 { ************ TRestHttpClientSocket REST Client Class over Sockets }
 
   /// HTTP/1.1 RESTful JSON mORMot Client class using mormot.net.client socket
-  // - will give the best performance on a local computer, but has been found
-  // out to be slower over a network
-  // - is not able to use secure HTTPS protocol
+  // - can use regular HTTP/HTTPS connection, or Unix Domain Sockets supplying
+  // aServer='unix:/run/mormotapp.sock' to is Create() constructor
   // - note that, in its current implementation, this class is not thread-safe:
   // you need either to lock its access via a critical section, or initialize
   // one client instance per thread
@@ -701,7 +701,8 @@ function TRestHttpClientSocket.InternalCheckOpen: boolean;
           on E: Exception do
           begin
             FreeAndNil(fSocket);
-            if started = 0 then
+            if (started = 0) or
+               (isDestroying in fInternalState) then
               exit;
             elapsed := GetTickCount64 - started;
             if elapsed >= fConnectRetrySeconds shl 10 then
@@ -710,7 +711,7 @@ function TRestHttpClientSocket.InternalCheckOpen: boolean;
             if elapsed < 500 then
               wait := 100
             else
-              wait := 1000; // checking every second is enough
+              wait := 1000; // every second retry is enough
             fLogClass.Add.Log(sllTrace, 'InternalCheckOpen: % on %:% after %' +
               ' -> wait % and retry #% up to % seconds',
               [E.ClassType, fServer, fPort, MicroSecToString(elapsed * 1000),
@@ -725,9 +726,11 @@ function TRestHttpClientSocket.InternalCheckOpen: boolean;
         fSocket.UserAgent := fExtendedOptions.UserAgent;
       if fModel <> nil then
         fSocket.ProcessName := FormatUtf8('%/%', [fPort, fModel.Root]);
-      if fSendTimeout > 0 then
+      if (fSendTimeout > 0) and
+         (fConnectTimeout <> fSendTimeout) then
         fSocket.SendTimeout := fSendTimeout;
-      if fReceiveTimeout > 0 then
+      if (fReceiveTimeout > 0) and
+         (fConnectTimeout <> fReceiveTimeout) then
         fSocket.ReceiveTimeout := fReceiveTimeout;
       // note that first registered algo will be the prefered one
       {$ifndef PUREMORMOT2}
diff --git a/src/rest/mormot.rest.http.server.pas b/src/rest/mormot.rest.http.server.pas
index e546b8c55..37625172e 100644
--- a/src/rest/mormot.rest.http.server.pas
+++ b/src/rest/mormot.rest.http.server.pas
@@ -115,10 +115,12 @@   ERestHttpServer = class(ERestException);
   HTTP_DEFAULT_MODE = useHttpApiRegisteringURI;
 
   /// the kind of HTTP server which involves http.sys
-  HTTP_API_MODES = [useHttpApi .. useHttpApiRegisteringURIOnly];
+  HTTP_API_MODES =
+    [useHttpApi .. useHttpApiRegisteringURIOnly];
 
   /// the http.sys modes which won't have any fallback to the sockets server
-  HTTP_API_REGISTERING_MODES = [useHttpApiRegisteringURI, useHttpApiRegisteringURIOnly];
+  HTTP_API_REGISTERING_MODES =
+    [useHttpApiRegisteringURI, useHttpApiRegisteringURIOnly];
 
   {$else}
   HTTP_DEFAULT_MODE = useHttpSocket;
@@ -615,11 +617,17 @@ constructor TRestHttpServer.Create(const aPort: RawUtf8;
   SetAccessControlAllowOrigin(''); // deny CORS by default
   fHosts.Init(false);
   fDomainName := aDomainName;
+  // aPort='publicip:port' or 'unix:/path/to/myapp.socket' or 'port'
   fPort := aPort;
   Split(RawUtf8(fPort), ':', fPublicAddress, fPublicPort);
-  if fPublicPort = '' then
+  if fPublicAddress = 'unix' then
   begin
-    // you should better set aPort='publicip:port'
+    // 'unix:/path/to/myapp.socket'
+    fPublicPort := fPort; // to be recognized by TCrtSocket.Bind()
+    fPublicAddress := '0.0.0.0';
+  end else if fPublicPort = '' then
+  begin
+    // no publicip supplied -> bind to HostName
     fPublicPort := fPublicAddress;
     fPublicAddress := Executable.Host;
   end;