diff --git a/acertmgr.py b/acertmgr.py
index 0b671cb..d55e843 100755
--- a/acertmgr.py
+++ b/acertmgr.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 
 
 import acme_tiny
+import acertmgr_web
 import datetime
 import dateutil.parser
 import dateutil.relativedelta
@@ -16,18 +17,8 @@ import re
 import shutil
 import subprocess
 import tempfile
-import threading
 import yaml
 
-try:
-	from SimpleHTTPServer import SimpleHTTPRequestHandler
-except ImportError:
-	from http.server import SimpleHTTPRequestHandler
-
-try:
-	from SocketServer import TCPServer as HTTPServer
-except ImportError:
-	from http.server import HTTPServer
 
 ACME_DIR="/etc/acme/"
 ACME_CONF=ACME_DIR + "acme.conf"
@@ -41,37 +32,6 @@ class FileNotFoundError(OSError):
 class InvalidCertificateError(Exception):
 	pass
 
-# @brief custom request handler for ACME challenges
-# @note current working directory is temporarily changed by the script before
-#       the webserver starts, which allows using SimpleHTTPRequestHandler
-class ACMERequestHandler(SimpleHTTPRequestHandler):
-	# @brief remove directories from GET URL
-	# @details the current working directory contains the challenge files,
-	#          there is no need for creating subdirectories for the path
-	#          that ACME expects.
-	#          Additionally, this allows redirecting the ACME path to this
-	#          webserver without having to know which subdirectory is
-	#          redirected, which simplifies integration with existing
-	#          webservers.
-	def translate_path(self, path):
-		spath = path.split('/')
-		assert(spath[0] == '')
-		spath = spath[1:]
-		if spath[0] == '.well-known':
-			spath = spath[1:]
-		if spath[0] == 'acme-challenge':
-			spath = spath[1:]
-		assert(len(spath) == 1)
-		spath.insert(0, '')
-		path = '/'.join(spath)
-		return SimpleHTTPRequestHandler.translate_path(self, path)
-
-# @brief start the standalone webserver
-# @param server the HTTPServer object
-# @note this function is used to be passed to threading.Thread
-def start_standalone(server):
-	server.serve_forever()
-
 # @brief check whether existing target file is still valid or source crt has been updated
 # @param target string containing the path to the target file
 # @param crt_file string containing the path to the certificate file
@@ -141,11 +101,8 @@ def cert_get(domain, settings):
 
 		current_dir = os.getcwd()
 		os.chdir(challenge_dir)
-		HTTPServer.allow_reuse_address = True
-		server = HTTPServer(("", port), ACMERequestHandler)
-		server_thread = threading.Thread(target=start_standalone, args=(server, ))
-		server_thread.start()
-
+		server = acertmgr_web.ACMEHTTPServer(port)
+		server.start()
 	try:
 		allnames = domain.split(' ')
 		if len(allnames) == 1:
@@ -172,8 +129,7 @@ def cert_get(domain, settings):
 	finally:
 		if settings['mode'] == 'standalone':
 			os.chdir(current_dir)
-			server.shutdown()
-			server_thread.join()
+			server.stop()
 		os.remove(csr_file)
 		os.remove(crt_file)
 
diff --git a/acertmgr_web.py b/acertmgr_web.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2565b79
--- /dev/null
+++ b/acertmgr_web.py
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+
+# acertmgr - ACME challenge webserver
+# Copyright (c) Markus Hauschild & David Klaftenegger, 2016.
+# available under the ISC license, see LICENSE
+
+try:
+	from SimpleHTTPServer import SimpleHTTPRequestHandler
+except ImportError:
+	from http.server import SimpleHTTPRequestHandler
+
+try:
+	from SocketServer import TCPServer as HTTPServer
+except ImportError:
+	from http.server import HTTPServer
+
+import threading
+
+# @brief custom request handler for ACME challenges
+# @note current working directory is temporarily changed by the script before
+#       the webserver starts, which allows using SimpleHTTPRequestHandler
+class ACMERequestHandler(SimpleHTTPRequestHandler):
+	# @brief remove directories from GET URL
+	# @details the current working directory contains the challenge files,
+	#          there is no need for creating subdirectories for the path
+	#          that ACME expects.
+	#          Additionally, this allows redirecting the ACME path to this
+	#          webserver without having to know which subdirectory is
+	#          redirected, which simplifies integration with existing
+	#          webservers.
+	def translate_path(self, path):
+		spath = path.split('/')
+		assert(spath[0] == '')
+		spath = spath[1:]
+		if spath[0] == '.well-known':
+			spath = spath[1:]
+		if spath[0] == 'acme-challenge':
+			spath = spath[1:]
+		assert(len(spath) == 1)
+		spath.insert(0, '')
+		path = '/'.join(spath)
+		return SimpleHTTPRequestHandler.translate_path(self, path)
+
+# @brief start the standalone webserver
+# @param server the HTTPServer object
+# @note this function is used to be passed to threading.Thread
+def start_standalone(server):
+	server.serve_forever()
+
+# @brief a simple webserver for challanges
+class ACMEHTTPServer:
+	# @brief create webserver instance
+	# @param port the port to listen on
+	def __init__(self, port=80):
+		HTTPServer.allow_reuse_address = True
+		self.server = HTTPServer(("", port), ACMERequestHandler)
+
+	# @brief start the webserver
+	def start(self):
+		self.server_thread = threading.Thread(target=start_standalone, args=(self.server, ))
+		self.server_thread.start()
+	
+	# @brief stop the webserver
+	def stop(self):
+		self.server.shutdown()
+		self.server_thread.join()