diff --git a/src/agent/Cargo.lock b/src/agent/Cargo.lock
index a7de84906..f747dc827 100644
--- a/src/agent/Cargo.lock
+++ b/src/agent/Cargo.lock
@@ -387,6 +387,15 @@ dependencies = [
  "unicode-segmentation",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "hermit-abi"
+version = "0.1.18"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "322f4de77956e22ed0e5032c359a0f1273f1f7f0d79bfa3b8ffbc730d7fbcc5c"
+dependencies = [
+ "libc",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "hex"
 version = "0.4.2"
@@ -753,6 +762,16 @@ dependencies = [
  "autocfg",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "num_cpus"
+version = "1.13.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "05499f3756671c15885fee9034446956fff3f243d6077b91e5767df161f766b3"
+dependencies = [
+ "hermit-abi",
+ "libc",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "object"
 version = "0.22.0"
@@ -1483,6 +1502,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "libc",
  "memchr",
  "mio",
+ "num_cpus",
  "once_cell",
  "pin-project-lite 0.2.4",
  "signal-hook-registry",
diff --git a/src/agent/Cargo.toml b/src/agent/Cargo.toml
index 8f86d2aba..e632a30c3 100644
--- a/src/agent/Cargo.toml
+++ b/src/agent/Cargo.toml
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ scopeguard = "1.0.0"
 regex = "1"
 
 async-trait = "0.1.42"
-tokio = { version = "1.2.0", features = ["rt", "sync", "macros", "io-util", "time", "signal", "io-std", "process"] }
+tokio = { version = "1.2.0", features = ["rt", "rt-multi-thread", "sync", "macros", "io-util", "time", "signal", "io-std", "process", "fs"] }
 futures = "0.3.12"
 netlink-sys = { version = "0.6.0", features = ["tokio_socket",]}
 tokio-vsock = "0.3.0"
diff --git a/src/agent/src/main.rs b/src/agent/src/main.rs
index ad8cc6565..595f4968a 100644
--- a/src/agent/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/agent/src/main.rs
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ mod sandbox;
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod test_utils;
 mod uevent;
+mod util;
 mod version;
 
 use mount::{cgroups_mount, general_mount};
@@ -70,7 +71,11 @@ use rustjail::pipestream::PipeStream;
 use tokio::{
     io::AsyncWrite,
     signal::unix::{signal, SignalKind},
-    sync::{oneshot::Sender, Mutex, RwLock},
+    sync::{
+        oneshot::Sender,
+        watch::{channel, Receiver},
+        Mutex, RwLock,
+    },
     task::JoinHandle,
 };
 use tokio_vsock::{Incoming, VsockListener, VsockStream};
@@ -126,7 +131,7 @@ async fn get_vsock_stream(fd: RawFd) -> Result<VsockStream> {
 
 // Create a thread to handle reading from the logger pipe. The thread will
 // output to the vsock port specified, or stdout.
-async fn create_logger_task(rfd: RawFd, vsock_port: u32) -> Result<()> {
+async fn create_logger_task(rfd: RawFd, vsock_port: u32, shutdown: Receiver<bool>) -> Result<()> {
     let mut reader = PipeStream::from_fd(rfd);
     let mut writer: Box<dyn AsyncWrite + Unpin + Send>;
 
@@ -147,7 +152,7 @@ async fn create_logger_task(rfd: RawFd, vsock_port: u32) -> Result<()> {
         writer = Box::new(tokio::io::stdout());
     }
 
-    let _ = tokio::io::copy(&mut reader, &mut writer).await;
+    let _ = util::interruptable_io_copier(&mut reader, &mut writer, shutdown).await;
 
     Ok(())
 }
@@ -165,6 +170,8 @@ async fn real_main() -> std::result::Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
     // support vsock log
     let (rfd, wfd) = unistd::pipe2(OFlag::O_CLOEXEC)?;
 
+    let (shutdown_tx, shutdown_rx) = channel(true);
+
     let agent_config = AGENT_CONFIG.clone();
 
     let init_mode = unistd::getpid() == Pid::from_raw(1);
@@ -203,7 +210,7 @@ async fn real_main() -> std::result::Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
 
     let log_vport = config.log_vport as u32;
 
-    let log_handle = tokio::spawn(create_logger_task(rfd, log_vport));
+    let log_handle = tokio::spawn(create_logger_task(rfd, log_vport, shutdown_rx.clone()));
 
     tasks.push(log_handle);
 
@@ -226,8 +233,15 @@ async fn real_main() -> std::result::Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
         _log_guard = Ok(slog_stdlog::init().map_err(|e| e)?);
     }
 
+    // Start the sandbox and wait for its ttRPC server to end
     start_sandbox(&logger, &config, init_mode).await?;
 
+    // Trigger a controlled shutdown
+    shutdown_tx
+        .send(true)
+        .map_err(|e| anyhow!(e).context("failed to request shutdown"))?;
+
+    // Wait for all threads to finish
     let results = join_all(tasks).await;
 
     for result in results {
@@ -236,6 +250,8 @@ async fn real_main() -> std::result::Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
         }
     }
 
+    eprintln!("{} shutdown complete", NAME);
+
     Ok(())
 }
 
@@ -259,7 +275,7 @@ fn main() -> std::result::Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
         exit(0);
     }
 
-    let rt = tokio::runtime::Builder::new_current_thread()
+    let rt = tokio::runtime::Builder::new_multi_thread()
         .enable_all()
         .build()?;
 
diff --git a/src/agent/src/util.rs b/src/agent/src/util.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..314d05a25
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/agent/src/util.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,342 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2021 Intel Corporation
+//
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+//
+
+use std::io;
+use std::io::ErrorKind;
+use tokio::io::{AsyncReadExt, AsyncWriteExt};
+use tokio::sync::watch::Receiver;
+
+// Size of I/O read buffer
+const BUF_SIZE: usize = 8192;
+
+// Interruptable I/O copy using readers and writers
+// (an interruptable version of "io::copy()").
+pub async fn interruptable_io_copier<R: Sized, W: Sized>(
+    mut reader: R,
+    mut writer: W,
+    mut shutdown: Receiver<bool>,
+) -> io::Result<u64>
+where
+    R: tokio::io::AsyncRead + Unpin,
+    W: tokio::io::AsyncWrite + Unpin,
+{
+    let mut total_bytes: u64 = 0;
+
+    let mut buf: [u8; BUF_SIZE] = [0; BUF_SIZE];
+
+    loop {
+        tokio::select! {
+            _ = shutdown.changed() => {
+                eprintln!("INFO: interruptable_io_copier: got shutdown request");
+                break;
+            },
+
+            result = reader.read(&mut buf) => {
+                let bytes = match result {
+                    Ok(0) => return Ok(total_bytes),
+                    Ok(len) => len,
+                    Err(ref e) if e.kind() == ErrorKind::Interrupted => continue,
+                    Err(e) => return Err(e),
+                };
+
+                total_bytes += bytes as u64;
+
+                // Actually copy the data ;)
+                writer.write_all(&buf[..bytes]).await?;
+            },
+        };
+    }
+
+    Ok(total_bytes)
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use std::io;
+    use std::io::Cursor;
+    use std::io::Write;
+    use std::pin::Pin;
+    use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
+    use std::task::{Context, Poll, Poll::Ready};
+    use tokio::pin;
+    use tokio::select;
+    use tokio::sync::watch::channel;
+    use tokio::task::JoinError;
+    use tokio::time::Duration;
+
+    #[derive(Debug, Default, Clone)]
+    struct BufWriter {
+        data: Arc<Mutex<Vec<u8>>>,
+        slow_write: bool,
+        write_delay: Duration,
+    }
+
+    impl BufWriter {
+        fn new() -> Self {
+            BufWriter {
+                data: Arc::new(Mutex::new(Vec::<u8>::new())),
+                slow_write: false,
+                write_delay: Duration::new(0, 0),
+            }
+        }
+
+        fn write_vec(&mut self, buf: &[u8]) -> io::Result<usize> {
+            let vec_ref = self.data.clone();
+
+            let mut vec_locked = vec_ref.lock();
+
+            let mut v = vec_locked.as_deref_mut().unwrap();
+
+            if self.write_delay.as_nanos() > 0 {
+                std::thread::sleep(self.write_delay);
+            }
+
+            std::io::Write::write(&mut v, buf)
+        }
+    }
+
+    impl Write for BufWriter {
+        fn write(&mut self, buf: &[u8]) -> io::Result<usize> {
+            self.write_vec(buf)
+        }
+
+        fn flush(&mut self) -> io::Result<()> {
+            let vec_ref = self.data.clone();
+
+            let mut vec_locked = vec_ref.lock();
+
+            let v = vec_locked.as_deref_mut().unwrap();
+
+            std::io::Write::flush(v)
+        }
+    }
+
+    impl tokio::io::AsyncWrite for BufWriter {
+        fn poll_write(
+            mut self: Pin<&mut Self>,
+            _cx: &mut Context<'_>,
+            buf: &[u8],
+        ) -> Poll<Result<usize, io::Error>> {
+            let result = self.write_vec(buf);
+
+            Ready(result)
+        }
+
+        fn poll_flush(
+            self: Pin<&mut Self>,
+            _cx: &mut Context<'_>,
+        ) -> Poll<Result<(), std::io::Error>> {
+            // NOP
+            Ready(Ok(()))
+        }
+
+        fn poll_shutdown(
+            self: Pin<&mut Self>,
+            _cx: &mut Context<'_>,
+        ) -> Poll<Result<(), std::io::Error>> {
+            // NOP
+            Ready(Ok(()))
+        }
+    }
+
+    impl ToString for BufWriter {
+        fn to_string(&self) -> String {
+            let data_ref = self.data.clone();
+            let output = data_ref.lock().unwrap();
+            let s = (*output).clone();
+
+            String::from_utf8(s).unwrap()
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test(flavor = "multi_thread", worker_threads = 2)]
+    async fn test_interruptable_io_copier_reader() {
+        #[derive(Debug)]
+        struct TestData {
+            reader_value: String,
+            result: io::Result<u64>,
+        }
+
+        let tests = &[
+            TestData {
+                reader_value: "".into(),
+                result: Ok(0),
+            },
+            TestData {
+                reader_value: "a".into(),
+                result: Ok(1),
+            },
+            TestData {
+                reader_value: "foo".into(),
+                result: Ok(3),
+            },
+            TestData {
+                reader_value: "b".repeat(BUF_SIZE - 1),
+                result: Ok((BUF_SIZE - 1) as u64),
+            },
+            TestData {
+                reader_value: "c".repeat(BUF_SIZE),
+                result: Ok((BUF_SIZE) as u64),
+            },
+            TestData {
+                reader_value: "d".repeat(BUF_SIZE + 1),
+                result: Ok((BUF_SIZE + 1) as u64),
+            },
+            TestData {
+                reader_value: "e".repeat((2 * BUF_SIZE) - 1),
+                result: Ok(((2 * BUF_SIZE) - 1) as u64),
+            },
+            TestData {
+                reader_value: "f".repeat(2 * BUF_SIZE),
+                result: Ok((2 * BUF_SIZE) as u64),
+            },
+            TestData {
+                reader_value: "g".repeat((2 * BUF_SIZE) + 1),
+                result: Ok(((2 * BUF_SIZE) + 1) as u64),
+            },
+        ];
+
+        for (i, d) in tests.iter().enumerate() {
+            // Create a string containing details of the test
+            let msg = format!("test[{}]: {:?}", i, d);
+
+            let (tx, rx) = channel(true);
+            let reader = Cursor::new(d.reader_value.clone());
+            let writer = BufWriter::new();
+
+            // XXX: Pass a copy of the writer to the copier to allow the
+            // result of the write operation to be checked below.
+            let handle = tokio::spawn(interruptable_io_copier(reader, writer.clone(), rx));
+
+            // Allow time for the thread to be spawned.
+            tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(1)).await;
+
+            let timeout = tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(1));
+            pin!(timeout);
+
+            // Since the readers only specify a small number of bytes, the
+            // copier will quickly read zero and kill the task, closing the
+            // Receiver.
+            assert!(tx.is_closed(), "{}", msg);
+
+            let spawn_result: std::result::Result<
+                std::result::Result<u64, std::io::Error>,
+                JoinError,
+            >;
+
+            let result: std::result::Result<u64, std::io::Error>;
+
+            select! {
+                res = handle => spawn_result = res,
+                _ = &mut timeout => panic!("timed out"),
+            }
+
+            assert!(spawn_result.is_ok());
+
+            result = spawn_result.unwrap();
+
+            assert!(result.is_ok());
+
+            let byte_count = result.unwrap() as usize;
+            assert_eq!(byte_count, d.reader_value.len(), "{}", msg);
+
+            let value = writer.to_string();
+            assert_eq!(value, d.reader_value, "{}", msg);
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test(flavor = "multi_thread", worker_threads = 2)]
+    async fn test_interruptable_io_copier_eof() {
+        // Create an async reader that always returns EOF
+        let reader = tokio::io::empty();
+
+        let (tx, rx) = channel(true);
+        let writer = BufWriter::new();
+
+        let handle = tokio::spawn(interruptable_io_copier(reader, writer.clone(), rx));
+
+        // Allow time for the thread to be spawned.
+        tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(1)).await;
+
+        let timeout = tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(1));
+        pin!(timeout);
+
+        assert!(tx.is_closed());
+
+        let spawn_result: std::result::Result<std::result::Result<u64, std::io::Error>, JoinError>;
+
+        let result: std::result::Result<u64, std::io::Error>;
+
+        select! {
+            res = handle => spawn_result = res,
+            _ = &mut timeout => panic!("timed out"),
+        }
+
+        assert!(spawn_result.is_ok());
+
+        result = spawn_result.unwrap();
+
+        assert!(result.is_ok());
+
+        let byte_count = result.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(byte_count, 0);
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test(flavor = "multi_thread", worker_threads = 2)]
+    async fn test_interruptable_io_copier_shutdown() {
+        // Create an async reader that creates an infinite stream of bytes
+        // (which allows us to interrupt it, since we know it is always busy ;)
+        const REPEAT_CHAR: u8 = b'r';
+
+        let reader = tokio::io::repeat(REPEAT_CHAR);
+
+        let (tx, rx) = channel(true);
+        let writer = BufWriter::new();
+
+        let handle = tokio::spawn(interruptable_io_copier(reader, writer.clone(), rx));
+
+        // Allow time for the thread to be spawned.
+        tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(1)).await;
+
+        let timeout = tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(1));
+        pin!(timeout);
+
+        assert!(!tx.is_closed());
+
+        tx.send(true).expect("failed to request shutdown");
+
+        let spawn_result: std::result::Result<std::result::Result<u64, std::io::Error>, JoinError>;
+
+        let result: std::result::Result<u64, std::io::Error>;
+
+        select! {
+            res = handle => spawn_result = res,
+            _ = &mut timeout => panic!("timed out"),
+        }
+
+        assert!(spawn_result.is_ok());
+
+        result = spawn_result.unwrap();
+
+        assert!(result.is_ok());
+
+        let byte_count = result.unwrap();
+
+        let value = writer.to_string();
+
+        let writer_byte_count = value.len() as u64;
+
+        assert_eq!(byte_count, writer_byte_count);
+
+        // Remove the char used as a payload. If anything else remins,
+        // something went wrong.
+        let mut remainder = value;
+
+        remainder.retain(|c| c != REPEAT_CHAR as char);
+
+        assert_eq!(remainder.len(), 0);
+    }
+}