diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 540712b7e..ca998ee72 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -112,6 +112,11 @@ esac
 # Checks for libraries.
 AX_PTHREAD(,[AC_MSG_ERROR([POSIX threads support is required])])
 AX_SAVE_FLAGS
+AC_SEARCH_LIBS([clock_gettime],[rt])
+AC_CHECK_FUNCS([clock_gettime])
+AC_SUBST([rt_LIBS],[$LIBS])
+AX_RESTORE_FLAGS
+AX_SAVE_FLAGS
 AC_SEARCH_LIBS([dlopen],[dl],,[AC_MSG_ERROR([cannot find dlopen() function])])
 AC_SUBST([dlopen_LIBS],[$LIBS])
 AX_RESTORE_FLAGS
@@ -143,7 +148,7 @@ AC_HEADER_SYS_WAIT
 
 AC_CHECK_HEADERS([arpa/inet.h link.h fcntl.h inttypes.h limits.h netinet/in.h \
 		  stdint.h stddef.h stdlib.h string.h strings.h \
-		  dlfcn.h time.h sys/time.h sys/types.h sys/stat.h \
+		  dlfcn.h time.h sys/types.h sys/stat.h \
 		  sys/param.h sys/socket.h sys/time.h sys/poll.h sys/epoll.h \
 		  sys/uio.h sys/event.h sys/sockio.h sys/un.h sys/resource.h \
 		  syslog.h errno.h unistd.h sys/mman.h \
@@ -186,26 +191,12 @@ AC_COMPILE_IFELSE([AC_LANG_PROGRAM(
                     ]
                  )
 
-AC_MSG_CHECKING(for a working clock_getres(CLOCK_MONOTONIC, &ts))
-AC_COMPILE_IFELSE([AC_LANG_PROGRAM(
-[[#include <time.h>]],
-[[struct timespec ts; if(clock_getres(CLOCK_MONOTONIC, &ts)) return -1;]])],
-                    [
-                      AC_MSG_RESULT([yes])
-                      AC_DEFINE_UNQUOTED([HAVE_CLOCK_GETRES_MONOTONIC], 1, [Define to 1 if clock_getres(CLOCK_MONOTONIC, &ts) works])
-                    ],
-                    [
-                      AC_MSG_RESULT([no])
-                    ]
-                 )
-
-
 # Checks for library functions
 AC_FUNC_CHOWN
 AC_FUNC_FORK
 AC_FUNC_MMAP
 AC_FUNC_STRERROR_R
-AC_CHECK_FUNCS([alarm clock_gettime \
+AC_CHECK_FUNCS([alarm \
 		fsync fdatasync ftruncate \
 		gettimeofday localtime localtime_r \
 		memset munmap socket \
diff --git a/include/os_base.h b/include/os_base.h
index 82e982b02..e7234175c 100644
--- a/include/os_base.h
+++ b/include/os_base.h
@@ -99,10 +99,6 @@
 #endif /* HAVE_SYSLOG_H */
 #endif /* S_SPLINT_S */
 
-#if defined HAVE_CLOCK_GETTIME && defined _POSIX_MONOTONIC_CLOCK && _POSIX_MONOTONIC_CLOCK >= 0
-#define HAVE_MONOTONIC_CLOCK 1
-#endif /* have monotonic clock */
-
 #ifdef HAVE_EPOLL_CREATE1
 #define HAVE_EPOLL 1
 #endif /* HAVE_EPOLL_CREATE */
diff --git a/lib/Makefile.am b/lib/Makefile.am
index 6ca6b1518..df21004c2 100644
--- a/lib/Makefile.am
+++ b/lib/Makefile.am
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ EXTRA_DIST		= qblog_script.ld.in qblog_script.la.in qblog_script_noop.ld
 
 libqb_la_SOURCES	= $(source_to_lint) unix.c
 libqb_la_CFLAGS		= $(PTHREAD_CFLAGS)
-libqb_la_LIBADD		= $(LTLIBOBJS) $(dlopen_LIBS) $(PTHREAD_LIBS) $(socket_LIBS)
+libqb_la_LIBADD		= $(LTLIBOBJS) $(dlopen_LIBS) $(PTHREAD_LIBS) $(socket_LIBS) $(rt_LIBS)
 if NEED_GCC_ATTRIBUTE_SECTION_WORKAROUND
 libqb_la_LIBADD 	+= qblog_script.la
 endif
@@ -146,6 +146,7 @@ DEB_INCLUDES = -I/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu -I/usr/include/i386-linux-gnu
 
 ALL_LINT_FLAGS = $(DEFS) $(DEFAULT_INCLUDES) $(INCLUDES) $(DEB_INCLUDES) \
 		 $(libqb_la_CPPFLAGS) $(CPPFLAGS) $(AM_CPPFLAGS) \
+		 -Dclockid_t=int \
 		 $(LINT_FLAGS)
 # expected for the time being (but SHOULD be fixed eventually):
 # ipc_setup.c: (in function qb_ipcc_us_setup_connect)
diff --git a/lib/ipc_int.h b/lib/ipc_int.h
index 67fc444cb..904b8ecae 100644
--- a/lib/ipc_int.h
+++ b/lib/ipc_int.h
@@ -206,5 +206,6 @@ int32_t qb_ipcs_process_request(struct qb_ipcs_service *s,
 int32_t qb_ipc_us_sock_error_is_disconnected(int err);
 
 int use_filesystem_sockets(void);
+const char *qb_socketdir(void);
 
 #endif /* QB_IPC_INT_H_DEFINED */
diff --git a/lib/ipc_setup.c b/lib/ipc_setup.c
index 57d755b4f..434c89fd4 100644
--- a/lib/ipc_setup.c
+++ b/lib/ipc_setup.c
@@ -288,7 +288,7 @@ qb_ipcc_stream_sock_connect(const char *socket_name, int32_t * sock_pt)
 	if (!use_filesystem_sockets()) {
 		snprintf(address.sun_path + 1, UNIX_PATH_MAX - 1, "%s", socket_name);
 	} else {
-		snprintf(address.sun_path, sizeof(address.sun_path), "%s/%s", SOCKETDIR,
+		snprintf(address.sun_path, sizeof(address.sun_path), "%s/%s", qb_socketdir(),
 			 socket_name);
 	}
 
@@ -541,15 +541,17 @@ qb_ipcs_us_publish(struct qb_ipcs_service * s)
 	}
 	else {
 		struct stat stat_out;
-		res = stat(SOCKETDIR, &stat_out);
+		const char *socketdir = qb_socketdir();
+
+		res = stat(socketdir, &stat_out);
 		if (res == -1 || (res == 0 && !S_ISDIR(stat_out.st_mode))) {
 			res = -errno;
 			qb_util_log(LOG_CRIT,
 				    "Required directory not present %s",
-				    SOCKETDIR);
+				    socketdir);
 			goto error_close;
 		}
-		snprintf(un_addr.sun_path, sizeof(un_addr.sun_path), "%s/%s", SOCKETDIR,
+		snprintf(un_addr.sun_path, sizeof(un_addr.sun_path), "%s/%s", socketdir,
 			 s->name);
 		unlink(un_addr.sun_path);
 	}
diff --git a/lib/ipc_socket.c b/lib/ipc_socket.c
index fe2040e2a..aa1c7df8c 100644
--- a/lib/ipc_socket.c
+++ b/lib/ipc_socket.c
@@ -62,6 +62,12 @@ int use_filesystem_sockets(void)
 	return filesystem_sockets;
 }
 
+const char *qb_socketdir(void)
+{
+	const char *socketdir = getenv("QB_SOCKET_DIR");
+	return socketdir ? socketdir : SOCKETDIR;
+}
+
 static void
 set_sock_addr(struct sockaddr_un *address, const char *socket_name)
 {
@@ -74,7 +80,7 @@ set_sock_addr(struct sockaddr_un *address, const char *socket_name)
 	if (!use_filesystem_sockets()) {
 		snprintf(address->sun_path + 1, UNIX_PATH_MAX - 1, "%s", socket_name);
 	} else {
-		snprintf(address->sun_path, sizeof(address->sun_path), "%s/%s", SOCKETDIR,
+		snprintf(address->sun_path, sizeof(address->sun_path), "%s/%s", qb_socketdir(),
 			 socket_name);
 	}
 }
diff --git a/lib/unix.c b/lib/unix.c
index 3c8f327c8..c0542c897 100644
--- a/lib/unix.c
+++ b/lib/unix.c
@@ -76,14 +76,15 @@ qb_sys_mmap_file_open(char *path, const char *file, size_t bytes,
 	ssize_t written;
 	char *buffer = NULL;
 	char *is_absolute = strchr(file, '/');
+	const char *socketdir = qb_socketdir();
 
 	if (is_absolute) {
 		(void)strlcpy(path, file, PATH_MAX);
 	} else {
-#if defined(QB_LINUX) || defined(QB_CYGWIN)
+#if defined(QB_LINUX) || defined(QB_CYGWIN) || defined(QB_GNU)
 		snprintf(path, PATH_MAX, "/dev/shm/%s", file);
 #else
-		snprintf(path, PATH_MAX, "%s/%s", SOCKETDIR, file);
+		snprintf(path, PATH_MAX, "%s/%s", socketdir, file);
 		is_absolute = path;
 #endif
 	}
@@ -91,7 +92,7 @@ qb_sys_mmap_file_open(char *path, const char *file, size_t bytes,
 	if (fd < 0 && !is_absolute) {
 		qb_util_perror(LOG_ERR, "couldn't open file %s", path);
 
-		snprintf(path, PATH_MAX, "%s/%s", SOCKETDIR, file);
+		snprintf(path, PATH_MAX, "%s/%s", socketdir, file);
 		fd = open_mmap_file(path, file_flags);
 		if (fd < 0) {
 			res = -errno;
diff --git a/lib/util.c b/lib/util.c
index a510bd1c9..5e3d25149 100644
--- a/lib/util.c
+++ b/lib/util.c
@@ -136,29 +136,40 @@ qb_timespec_add_ms(struct timespec *ts, int32_t ms)
 #endif /* S_SPLINT_S */
 }
 
-#ifdef HAVE_MONOTONIC_CLOCK
+#ifdef HAVE_CLOCK_GETTIME
+
+static void
+qb_util_clock_gettime_fallback (clockid_t clock, struct timespec *tsp)
+{
+	memset(tsp, 0, sizeof *tsp);
+	if (clock_gettime(clock, tsp) != 0 &&
+	    clock_gettime(CLOCK_REALTIME, tsp) != 0) {
+		qb_util_perror(LOG_ERR, "clock_gettime(CLOCK_REALTIME)");
+	}
+}
+
 uint64_t
 qb_util_nano_current_get(void)
 {
 	uint64_t nano_monotonic;
 	struct timespec ts;
 
-	clock_gettime(CLOCK_MONOTONIC, &ts);
+	qb_util_clock_gettime_fallback(CLOCK_MONOTONIC, &ts);
 	nano_monotonic =
 	    (ts.tv_sec * QB_TIME_NS_IN_SEC) + (uint64_t) ts.tv_nsec;
 	return (nano_monotonic);
 }
 
+#ifndef CLOCK_REALTIME_COARSE
+#define CLOCK_REALTIME_COARSE CLOCK_REALTIME
+#endif
+
 uint64_t
 qb_util_nano_from_epoch_get(void)
 {
 	uint64_t nano_monotonic;
 	struct timespec ts;
-#ifdef CLOCK_REALTIME_COARSE
-	clock_gettime(CLOCK_REALTIME_COARSE, &ts);
-#else
-	clock_gettime(CLOCK_REALTIME, &ts);
-#endif
+	qb_util_clock_gettime_fallback(CLOCK_REALTIME_COARSE, &ts);
 	nano_monotonic =
 	    (ts.tv_sec * QB_TIME_NS_IN_SEC) + (uint64_t) ts.tv_nsec;
 	return (nano_monotonic);
@@ -170,12 +181,11 @@ qb_util_nano_monotonic_hz(void)
 	uint64_t nano_monotonic_hz;
 	struct timespec ts;
 
-#if HAVE_CLOCK_GETRES_MONOTONIC
-	clock_getres(CLOCK_MONOTONIC, &ts);
-#else
-	if (clock_getres(CLOCK_REALTIME, &ts) != 0)
-	    qb_util_perror(LOG_ERR,"CLOCK_REALTIME");
-#endif
+	memset(&ts, 0, sizeof ts);
+	if (clock_getres(CLOCK_MONOTONIC, &ts) != 0 &&
+	    clock_getres(CLOCK_REALTIME, &ts) != 0) {
+	    qb_util_perror(LOG_ERR, "clock_getres(CLOCK_REALTIME)");
+	}
 
 	nano_monotonic_hz =
 	    QB_TIME_NS_IN_SEC / ((ts.tv_sec * QB_TIME_NS_IN_SEC) + ts.tv_nsec);
@@ -186,11 +196,7 @@ qb_util_nano_monotonic_hz(void)
 void
 qb_util_timespec_from_epoch_get(struct timespec *ts)
 {
-#ifdef CLOCK_REALTIME_COARSE
-	clock_gettime(CLOCK_REALTIME_COARSE, ts);
-#else
-	clock_gettime(CLOCK_REALTIME, ts);
-#endif
+	qb_util_clock_gettime_fallback(CLOCK_REALTIME_COARSE, ts);
 }
 
 #else
@@ -230,7 +236,7 @@ qb_util_nano_from_epoch_get(void)
 
 	return (nano_from_epoch);
 }
-#endif /* HAVE_MONOTONIC_CLOCK */
+#endif /* HAVE_CLOCK_GETTIME */
 
 struct qb_util_stopwatch {
 	uint64_t started;
diff --git a/tests/_syslog_override.h b/tests/_syslog_override.h
index 7b254aea0..923caeaa7 100644
--- a/tests/_syslog_override.h
+++ b/tests/_syslog_override.h
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 #ifndef QB_SYSLOG_OVERRIDE_H_DEFINED
 #define QB_SYSLOG_OVERRIDE_H_DEFINED
 
-#include <limits.h>
+#include "os_base.h"
 
 extern int _syslog_opened;
 extern int _syslog_option;