diff --git a/les/fetcher.go b/les/fetcher.go
index cc539c42bf..67685145c0 100644
--- a/les/fetcher.go
+++ b/les/fetcher.go
@@ -242,7 +242,7 @@ func (f *lightFetcher) unregisterPeer(p *peer) {
 
 // announce processes a new announcement message received from a peer, adding new
 // nodes to the peer's block tree and removing old nodes if necessary
-func (f *lightFetcher) announce(p *peer, head *announceData) {
+func (f *lightFetcher) announce(p *peer, head *announceData, acceptNonMonotonic bool) {
 	f.lock.Lock()
 	defer f.lock.Unlock()
 	p.Log().Debug("Received new announcement", "number", head.Number, "hash", head.Hash, "reorg", head.ReorgDepth)
@@ -254,6 +254,9 @@ func (f *lightFetcher) announce(p *peer, head *announceData) {
 	}
 
 	if fp.lastAnnounced != nil && head.Td.Cmp(fp.lastAnnounced.td) <= 0 {
+		if acceptNonMonotonic {
+			return
+		}
 		// announced tds should be strictly monotonic
 		p.Log().Debug("Received non-monotonic td", "current", head.Td, "previous", fp.lastAnnounced.td)
 		go f.pm.removePeer(p.id)
diff --git a/les/freeclient.go b/les/freeclient.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8f3c7bb61a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/les/freeclient.go
@@ -0,0 +1,279 @@
+// Copyright 2016 The go-ethereum Authors
+// This file is part of the go-ethereum library.
+//
+// The go-ethereum library is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+// it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by
+// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+// (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// The go-ethereum library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
+// GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
+// along with the go-ethereum library. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+// Package les implements the Light Ethereum Subprotocol.
+package les
+
+import (
+	"io"
+	"math"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/common/mclock"
+	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/common/prque"
+	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/ethdb"
+	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/log"
+	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/rlp"
+)
+
+// freeClientPool implements a client database that limits the connection time
+// of each client and manages accepting/rejecting incoming connections and even
+// kicking out some connected clients. The pool calculates recent usage time
+// for each known client (a value that increases linearly when the client is
+// connected and decreases exponentially when not connected). Clients with lower
+// recent usage are preferred, unknown nodes have the highest priority. Already
+// connected nodes receive a small bias in their favor in order to avoid accepting
+// and instantly kicking out clients.
+//
+// Note: the pool can use any string for client identification. Using signature
+// keys for that purpose would not make sense when being known has a negative
+// value for the client. Currently the LES protocol manager uses IP addresses
+// (without port address) to identify clients.
+type freeClientPool struct {
+	db     ethdb.Database
+	lock   sync.Mutex
+	clock  mclock.Clock
+	closed bool
+
+	connectedLimit, totalLimit int
+
+	addressMap            map[string]*freeClientPoolEntry
+	connPool, disconnPool *prque.Prque
+	startupTime           mclock.AbsTime
+	logOffsetAtStartup    int64
+}
+
+const (
+	recentUsageExpTC     = time.Hour   // time constant of the exponential weighting window for "recent" server usage
+	fixedPointMultiplier = 0x1000000   // constant to convert logarithms to fixed point format
+	connectedBias        = time.Minute // this bias is applied in favor of already connected clients in order to avoid kicking them out very soon
+)
+
+// newFreeClientPool creates a new free client pool
+func newFreeClientPool(db ethdb.Database, connectedLimit, totalLimit int, quit chan struct{}, wg *sync.WaitGroup, clock mclock.Clock) *freeClientPool {
+	pool := &freeClientPool{
+		db:             db,
+		clock:          clock,
+		addressMap:     make(map[string]*freeClientPoolEntry),
+		connPool:       prque.New(poolSetIndex),
+		disconnPool:    prque.New(poolSetIndex),
+		connectedLimit: connectedLimit,
+		totalLimit:     totalLimit,
+	}
+	pool.loadFromDb()
+	wg.Add(1)
+	go func() {
+		<-quit
+		pool.lock.Lock()
+		pool.closed = true
+		pool.saveToDb()
+		pool.lock.Unlock()
+		wg.Done()
+	}()
+
+	return pool
+}
+
+// connect should be called after a successful handshake. If the connection was
+// rejected, there is no need to call disconnect.
+func (f *freeClientPool) connect(address string, disconnectFn func()) bool {
+	f.lock.Lock()
+	defer f.lock.Unlock()
+
+	if f.closed {
+		return false
+	}
+	e := f.addressMap[address]
+	now := f.clock.Now()
+	var recentUsage int64
+	if e == nil {
+		e = &freeClientPoolEntry{address: address, index: -1}
+		f.addressMap[address] = e
+	} else {
+		if e.connected {
+			log.Debug("Client already connected", "address", address)
+			return false
+		}
+		recentUsage = int64(math.Exp(float64(e.logUsage-f.logOffset(now)) / fixedPointMultiplier))
+	}
+	e.linUsage = recentUsage - int64(now)
+	// check whether (linUsage+connectedBias) is smaller than the highest entry in the connected pool
+	if f.connPool.Size() == f.connectedLimit {
+		i := f.connPool.PopItem().(*freeClientPoolEntry)
+		if e.linUsage+int64(connectedBias)-i.linUsage < 0 {
+			// kick it out and accept the new client
+			f.connPool.Remove(i.index)
+			f.calcLogUsage(i, now)
+			i.connected = false
+			f.disconnPool.Push(i, -i.logUsage)
+			log.Debug("Client kicked out", "address", i.address)
+			go i.disconnectFn()
+		} else {
+			// keep the old client and reject the new one
+			f.connPool.Push(i, i.linUsage)
+			log.Debug("Client rejected", "address", address)
+			return false
+		}
+	}
+	f.disconnPool.Remove(e.index)
+	e.connected = true
+	e.disconnectFn = disconnectFn
+	f.connPool.Push(e, e.linUsage)
+	if f.connPool.Size()+f.disconnPool.Size() > f.totalLimit {
+		f.disconnPool.Pop()
+	}
+	log.Debug("Client accepted", "address", address)
+	return true
+}
+
+// disconnect should be called when a connection is terminated. If the disconnection
+// was initiated by the pool itself using disconnectFn then calling disconnect is
+// not necessary but permitted.
+func (f *freeClientPool) disconnect(address string) {
+	f.lock.Lock()
+	defer f.lock.Unlock()
+
+	if f.closed {
+		return
+	}
+	e := f.addressMap[address]
+	now := f.clock.Now()
+	if !e.connected {
+		log.Debug("Client already disconnected", "address", address)
+		return
+	}
+
+	f.connPool.Remove(e.index)
+	f.calcLogUsage(e, now)
+	e.connected = false
+	f.disconnPool.Push(e, -e.logUsage)
+	log.Debug("Client disconnected", "address", address)
+}
+
+// logOffset calculates the time-dependent offset for the logarithmic
+// representation of recent usage
+func (f *freeClientPool) logOffset(now mclock.AbsTime) int64 {
+	// Note: fixedPointMultiplier acts as a multiplier here; the reason for dividing the divisor
+	// is to avoid int64 overflow. We assume that int64(recentUsageExpTC) >> fixedPointMultiplier.
+	logDecay := int64((time.Duration(now - f.startupTime)) / (recentUsageExpTC / fixedPointMultiplier))
+	return f.logOffsetAtStartup + logDecay
+}
+
+// calcLogUsage converts recent usage from linear to logarithmic representation
+// when disconnecting a peer or closing the client pool
+func (f *freeClientPool) calcLogUsage(e *freeClientPoolEntry, now mclock.AbsTime) {
+	dt := e.linUsage + int64(now)
+	if dt < 1 {
+		dt = 1
+	}
+	e.logUsage = int64(math.Log(float64(dt))*fixedPointMultiplier) + f.logOffset(now)
+}
+
+// freeClientPoolStorage is the RLP representation of the pool's database storage
+type freeClientPoolStorage struct {
+	LogOffset uint64
+	List      []*freeClientPoolEntry
+}
+
+// loadFromDb restores pool status from the database storage
+// (automatically called at initialization)
+func (f *freeClientPool) loadFromDb() {
+	enc, err := f.db.Get([]byte("freeClientPool"))
+	if err != nil {
+		return
+	}
+	var storage freeClientPoolStorage
+	err = rlp.DecodeBytes(enc, &storage)
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Error("Failed to decode client list", "err", err)
+		return
+	}
+	f.logOffsetAtStartup = int64(storage.LogOffset)
+	f.startupTime = f.clock.Now()
+	for _, e := range storage.List {
+		log.Debug("Loaded free client record", "address", e.address, "logUsage", e.logUsage)
+		f.addressMap[e.address] = e
+		f.disconnPool.Push(e, -e.logUsage)
+	}
+}
+
+// saveToDb saves pool status to the database storage
+// (automatically called during shutdown)
+func (f *freeClientPool) saveToDb() {
+	now := f.clock.Now()
+	storage := freeClientPoolStorage{
+		LogOffset: uint64(f.logOffset(now)),
+		List:      make([]*freeClientPoolEntry, len(f.addressMap)),
+	}
+	i := 0
+	for _, e := range f.addressMap {
+		if e.connected {
+			f.calcLogUsage(e, now)
+		}
+		storage.List[i] = e
+		i++
+	}
+	enc, err := rlp.EncodeToBytes(storage)
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Error("Failed to encode client list", "err", err)
+	} else {
+		f.db.Put([]byte("freeClientPool"), enc)
+	}
+}
+
+// freeClientPoolEntry represents a client address known by the pool.
+// When connected, recent usage is calculated as linUsage + int64(clock.Now())
+// When disconnected, it is calculated as exp(logUsage - logOffset) where logOffset
+// also grows linearly with time while the server is running.
+// Conversion between linear and logarithmic representation happens when connecting
+// or disconnecting the node.
+//
+// Note: linUsage and logUsage are values used with constantly growing offsets so
+// even though they are close to each other at any time they may wrap around int64
+// limits over time. Comparison should be performed accordingly.
+type freeClientPoolEntry struct {
+	address            string
+	connected          bool
+	disconnectFn       func()
+	linUsage, logUsage int64
+	index              int
+}
+
+func (e *freeClientPoolEntry) EncodeRLP(w io.Writer) error {
+	return rlp.Encode(w, []interface{}{e.address, uint64(e.logUsage)})
+}
+
+func (e *freeClientPoolEntry) DecodeRLP(s *rlp.Stream) error {
+	var entry struct {
+		Address  string
+		LogUsage uint64
+	}
+	if err := s.Decode(&entry); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	e.address = entry.Address
+	e.logUsage = int64(entry.LogUsage)
+	e.connected = false
+	e.index = -1
+	return nil
+}
+
+// poolSetIndex callback is used by both priority queues to set/update the index of
+// the element in the queue. Index is needed to remove elements other than the top one.
+func poolSetIndex(a interface{}, i int) {
+	a.(*freeClientPoolEntry).index = i
+}
diff --git a/les/freeclient_test.go b/les/freeclient_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f863cc0f90
--- /dev/null
+++ b/les/freeclient_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,150 @@
+// Copyright 2017 The go-ethereum Authors
+// This file is part of the go-ethereum library.
+//
+// The go-ethereum library is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+// it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by
+// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+// (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// The go-ethereum library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
+// GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
+// along with the go-ethereum library. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+// Package light implements on-demand retrieval capable state and chain objects
+// for the Ethereum Light Client.
+package les
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"math/rand"
+	"sync"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/common/mclock"
+	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/ethdb"
+)
+
+func TestFreeClientPoolL10C100(t *testing.T) {
+	testFreeClientPool(t, 10, 100)
+}
+
+func TestFreeClientPoolL40C200(t *testing.T) {
+	testFreeClientPool(t, 40, 200)
+}
+
+func TestFreeClientPoolL100C300(t *testing.T) {
+	testFreeClientPool(t, 100, 300)
+}
+
+const testFreeClientPoolTicks = 500000
+
+func testFreeClientPool(t *testing.T, connLimit, clientCount int) {
+	quit := make(chan struct{})
+	clock := mclock.NewSimulatedClock(time.Second, 10)
+	defer clock.Stop()
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
+	db := ethdb.NewMemDatabase()
+
+	pool := newFreeClientPool(db, connLimit, 10000, quit, &wg, clock)
+
+	connected := make([]bool, clientCount)
+	connTicks := make([]int, clientCount)
+	disconnCh := make(chan int)
+	tickCh := clock.After(time.Second)
+	tickCounter := 0
+
+	peerId := func(i int) string {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("test peer #%d", i)
+	}
+
+	disconnFn := func(i int) func() {
+		return func() {
+			disconnCh <- i
+		}
+	}
+
+	// pool should accept new peers up to its connected limit
+	for i := 0; i < connLimit; i++ {
+		if pool.connect(peerId(i), disconnFn(i)) {
+			connected[i] = true
+		} else {
+			t.Errorf("Test peer #%d rejected", i)
+		}
+	}
+	// since all accepted peers are new and should not be kicked out, the next one should be rejected
+	if pool.connect(peerId(connLimit), disconnFn(connLimit)) {
+		connected[connLimit] = true
+		t.Errorf("Peer accepted over connected limit")
+	}
+
+	// randomly connect and disconnect peers, expect to have a similar total connection time at the end
+loop:
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-tickCh:
+			i := rand.Intn(clientCount)
+			if connected[i] {
+				pool.disconnect(peerId(i))
+				connected[i] = false
+				connTicks[i] += tickCounter
+			} else {
+				if pool.connect(peerId(i), disconnFn(i)) {
+					connected[i] = true
+					connTicks[i] -= tickCounter
+				}
+			}
+			tickCounter++
+			if tickCounter >= testFreeClientPoolTicks {
+				break loop
+			}
+			tickCh = clock.After(time.Second)
+		case i := <-disconnCh:
+			pool.disconnect(peerId(i))
+			if connected[i] {
+				connTicks[i] += tickCounter
+				connected[i] = false
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	expTicks := testFreeClientPoolTicks * connLimit / clientCount
+	expMin := expTicks - expTicks/10
+	expMax := expTicks + expTicks/10
+
+	// check if the total connected time of peers are all in the expected range
+	for i, c := range connected {
+		if c {
+			connTicks[i] += tickCounter
+		}
+		if connTicks[i] < expMin || connTicks[i] > expMax {
+			t.Errorf("Total connected time of test node #%d (%d) outside expected range (%d to %d)", i, connTicks[i], expMin, expMax)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// a previously unknown peer should be accepted now
+	if !pool.connect("newPeer", func() {}) {
+		t.Errorf("Previously unknown peer rejected")
+	}
+
+	// close and restart pool
+	close(quit)
+	wg.Wait()
+	quit2 := make(chan struct{})
+	var wg2 sync.WaitGroup
+	pool = newFreeClientPool(db, connLimit, 10000, quit2, &wg2, clock)
+
+	// try connecting all known peers (connLimit should be filled up)
+	for i := 0; i < clientCount; i++ {
+		pool.connect(peerId(i), func() {})
+	}
+	// expect pool to remember known nodes and kick out one of them to accept a new one
+	if !pool.connect("newPeer2", func() {}) {
+		t.Errorf("Previously unknown peer rejected after restarting pool")
+	}
+	close(quit2)
+}
diff --git a/les/handler.go b/les/handler.go
index a1c16cb875..716a3651cd 100644
--- a/les/handler.go
+++ b/les/handler.go
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/common"
+	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/common/mclock"
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/consensus"
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/core"
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/core/rawdb"
@@ -104,6 +105,7 @@ type ProtocolManager struct {
 	odr         *LesOdr
 	server      *LesServer
 	serverPool  *serverPool
+	clientPool  *freeClientPool
 	lesTopic    discv5.Topic
 	reqDist     *requestDistributor
 	retriever   *retrieveManager
@@ -226,6 +228,7 @@ func (pm *ProtocolManager) Start(maxPeers int) {
 	if pm.lightSync {
 		go pm.syncer()
 	} else {
+		pm.clientPool = newFreeClientPool(pm.chainDb, maxPeers, 10000, pm.quitSync, pm.wg, mclock.MonotonicClock{})
 		go func() {
 			for range pm.newPeerCh {
 			}
@@ -264,7 +267,8 @@ func (pm *ProtocolManager) newPeer(pv int, nv uint64, p *p2p.Peer, rw p2p.MsgRea
 // this function terminates, the peer is disconnected.
 func (pm *ProtocolManager) handle(p *peer) error {
 	// Ignore maxPeers if this is a trusted peer
-	if pm.peers.Len() >= pm.maxPeers && !p.Peer.Info().Network.Trusted {
+	// In server mode we try to check into the client pool after handshake
+	if pm.lightSync && pm.peers.Len() >= pm.maxPeers && !p.Peer.Info().Network.Trusted {
 		return p2p.DiscTooManyPeers
 	}
 
@@ -282,6 +286,19 @@ func (pm *ProtocolManager) handle(p *peer) error {
 		p.Log().Debug("Light Ethereum handshake failed", "err", err)
 		return err
 	}
+
+	if !pm.lightSync && !p.Peer.Info().Network.Trusted {
+		addr, ok := p.RemoteAddr().(*net.TCPAddr)
+		// test peer address is not a tcp address, don't use client pool if can not typecast
+		if ok {
+			id := addr.IP.String()
+			if !pm.clientPool.connect(id, func() { pm.removePeer(p.id) }) {
+				return p2p.DiscTooManyPeers
+			}
+			defer pm.clientPool.disconnect(id)
+		}
+	}
+
 	if rw, ok := p.rw.(*meteredMsgReadWriter); ok {
 		rw.Init(p.version)
 	}
@@ -302,7 +319,10 @@ func (pm *ProtocolManager) handle(p *peer) error {
 		head := p.headInfo
 		p.lock.Unlock()
 		if pm.fetcher != nil {
-			pm.fetcher.announce(p, head)
+			go func() {
+				time.Sleep(time.Second * 2)
+				pm.fetcher.announce(p, head, true)
+			}()
 		}
 
 		if p.poolEntry != nil {
@@ -399,7 +419,7 @@ func (pm *ProtocolManager) handleMsg(p *peer) error {
 
 		p.Log().Trace("Announce message content", "number", req.Number, "hash", req.Hash, "td", req.Td, "reorg", req.ReorgDepth)
 		if pm.fetcher != nil {
-			pm.fetcher.announce(p, &req)
+			pm.fetcher.announce(p, &req, false)
 		}
 
 	case GetBlockHeadersMsg: