diff --git a/src/Makefile b/src/Makefile
index 815a685c7..f4d28b00c 100644
--- a/src/Makefile
+++ b/src/Makefile
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ clean::
 ############################################################################
 
 NODE_LIB_INTFS := \
-  node/net/netbits.mli \
+  \
   node/net/p2p.mli \
   node/net/RPC.mli \
   \
@@ -237,9 +237,9 @@ NODE_LIB_INTFS := \
   node/shell/node_rpc.mli \
 
 NODE_LIB_IMPLS := \
+  \
   compiler/node_compiler_main.ml \
   \
-  node/net/netbits.ml \
   node/net/p2p.ml \
   node/net/RPC.ml \
   \
diff --git a/src/node/net/netbits.ml b/src/node/net/netbits.ml
deleted file mode 100644
index f8a262aec..000000000
--- a/src/node/net/netbits.ml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,208 +0,0 @@
-(**************************************************************************)
-(*                                                                        *)
-(*    Copyright (c) 2014 - 2016.                                          *)
-(*    Dynamic Ledger Solutions, Inc. <contact@tezos.com>                  *)
-(*                                                                        *)
-(*    All rights reserved. No warranty, explicit or implicit, provided.   *)
-(*                                                                        *)
-(**************************************************************************)
-
-(** The type of a single datum in a network frame. The encoding of a
-    datum is as follows: [[TYPE][CONTENTS]], where [[type]] is a
-    single byte whose value is [1] for [S], [2] for [I], [3] for [L],
-    [4] for B, [5] for [D], [6] for [F] and [7] for [C].
-    For [S]. [I], [L] and [D]¸ the raw values are stored using big
-    endianness. For [B], [F] and [C], the size is prefixed as a 16-bit,
-    big endian, unsigned integer
-    ([[SIZE][BYTES]]). *)
-type chunk =
-  | S of int (** A 16-bit integer *)
-  | I of int32 (** A 32-bit integer *)
-  | L of int64 (** A 64-bit integer *)
-  | B of MBytes.t (** A series of bytes *)
-  | D of float (** A 64-bits IEEE-754 floating point number *)
-  | F of frame (** An encapsulated subframe *)
-  | C of string (** A string *)
-
-(** A network frame is a list of simple data. Its encoding on the
-    network is as follows: [[SIZE][DATA]] where [[SIZE]] is the raw
-    length of [[DATA]] in bytes as a big endian, 32-bit, unsigned
-    integer. *)
-and frame =
-  chunk list
-
-(** Pretty printing of frames for debugging *)
-let rec print fmtr frame =
-  Format.fprintf fmtr "[@[<hv 2>" ;
-  let rec loop frame =
-    let sep = match frame with [ _ ] -> "" | _ -> " ;" in
-    match frame with
-    | [] -> ()
-    | e :: tl ->
-        begin match e with
-          | S i -> Format.fprintf fmtr "@ S %i%s@," i sep
-          | I i -> Format.fprintf fmtr "@ I %li%s@," i sep
-          | L i -> Format.fprintf fmtr "@ L %Li%s@," i sep
-          | D i -> Format.fprintf fmtr "@ D %g%s@," i sep
-          | B i -> Format.fprintf fmtr "@ B %S%s@," (MBytes.to_string i) sep
-          | F f -> Format.fprintf fmtr "@ F %a%s@," print f sep
-          | C s -> Format.fprintf fmtr "@ C %s%s@," s sep
-        end ;
-        loop tl
-  in loop frame ;
-  Format.fprintf fmtr "@ @]]%!"
-
-(** Pretty prints of frames *)
-let to_string frame =
-  let buf = Buffer.create 100 in
-  let fmtr = Format.formatter_of_buffer buf in
-  print fmtr frame ;
-  Buffer.contents buf
-
-module BE = EndianBigstring.BigEndian
-
-(** Encode a frame as raw bytes to send over the network *)
-let to_raw frame =
-  let rec raw_size frame =
-    List.fold_left
-      (fun sz item -> sz + 1 + match item with
-         | S _ -> 2
-         | I _ -> 4
-         | L _ -> 8
-         | D _ -> 8
-         | F f -> raw_size f + 2
-         | B str -> MBytes.length str + 2
-         | C str -> String.length str + 2)
-      0 frame
-  in
-  let sz = raw_size frame in
-  let buf = MBytes.create (sz + 4) in
-  let rec store items offset = match items with
-    | S n :: tl ->
-      BE.set_int8 buf offset 0x01 ;
-      BE.set_int16 buf (offset + 1) n ;
-      store tl (offset + 1 + 2)
-    | I n :: tl ->
-      BE.set_int8 buf offset 0x02 ;
-      BE.set_int32 buf (offset + 1) n ;
-      store tl (offset + 1 + 4)
-    | L n :: tl ->
-      BE.set_int8 buf offset 0x03 ;
-      BE.set_int64 buf (offset + 1) n ;
-      store tl (offset + 1 + 8)
-    | B n :: tl ->
-      BE.set_int8 buf offset 0x04 ;
-      let len = MBytes.length n in
-      BE.set_int16 buf (offset + 1) len ;
-      MBytes.blit n 0 buf (offset + 1 + 2) len ;
-      store tl (offset + 1 + 2 + len)
-    | D n :: tl ->
-      BE.set_int8 buf offset 0x05 ;
-      BE.set_int64 buf (offset + 1) (Int64.bits_of_float n) ;
-      store tl (offset + 1 + 8)
-    | F f :: tl ->
-      BE.set_int8 buf offset 0x06 ;
-      let len = raw_size f in
-      BE.set_int16 buf (offset + 1) len ;
-      let offset = store f (offset + 1 + 2) in
-      store tl offset
-    | C n :: tl ->
-      BE.set_int8 buf offset 0x07 ;
-      let len = String.length n in
-      BE.set_int16 buf (offset + 1) len ;
-      MBytes.blit_from_string n 0 buf (offset + 1 + 2) len ;
-      store tl (offset + 1 + 2 + len)
-    | [] -> offset
-  in
-  BE.set_int32 buf 0 (Int32.of_int sz) ;
-  ignore (store frame 4) ;
-  buf
-
-(** Decode a complete raw frame as read from the network *)
-let of_raw buf =
-  let rec decode items offset stop =
-    let if_remains ofs sz cb = if ofs + sz <= stop then cb () else None in
-    if offset = stop then Some (List.rev items)
-    else if offset > stop then None
-    else
-      let tag = BE.get_int8 buf offset in
-      let offset = offset + 1 in
-      match tag with
-      | 0x01 ->
-          if_remains offset 2 @@ fun () ->
-          let items = S (BE.get_int16 buf offset) :: items in
-          decode items (offset + 2) stop
-      | 0x02 ->
-          if_remains offset 4 @@ fun () ->
-          let items = I (BE.get_int32 buf offset) :: items in
-          decode items (offset + 4) stop
-      | 0x03 ->
-          if_remains offset 8 @@ fun () ->
-          let items = L (BE.get_int64 buf offset) :: items in
-          decode items (offset + 8) stop
-      | 0x04 ->
-          if_remains offset 2 @@ fun () ->
-          let len = BE.get_uint16 buf offset in
-          let offset = offset + 2 in
-          if_remains offset len @@ fun () ->
-          let items = B (MBytes.sub buf offset len) :: items in
-          decode items (offset + len) stop
-      | 0x05 ->
-          if_remains offset 8 @@ fun () ->
-          let items = D (Int64.float_of_bits (BE.get_int64 buf offset)) :: items in
-          decode items (offset + 8) stop
-      | 0x06 ->
-          if_remains offset 2 @@ fun () ->
-          let len = BE.get_uint16 buf offset in
-          let offset = offset + 2 in
-          if_remains offset len @@ fun () ->
-          begin match decode [] offset (offset + len) with
-            | None -> None
-            | Some fitems -> decode ((F fitems) :: items) (offset + len) stop
-          end
-      | 0x07 ->
-          if_remains offset 2 @@ fun () ->
-          let len = BE.get_uint16 buf offset in
-          let offset = offset + 2 in
-          if_remains offset len @@ fun () ->
-          let items = C (MBytes.substring buf offset len) :: items in
-          decode items (offset + len) stop
-      | _ -> None
-  in
-  decode [] 4 (MBytes.length buf)
-
-open Lwt
-
-(** Write a frame from to file descriptor. *)
-let write descr frame =
-  let buf = to_raw frame in
-  catch
-    (fun () ->
-       Lwt_bytes.write descr buf 0 (MBytes.length buf) >>= fun _ ->
-       return true)
-    (function
-      | Unix.Unix_error _ -> return false
-      | e -> fail e)
-
-(** Read a frame from a file descriptor. *)
-let read descr limit =
-  catch
-    (fun () ->
-       let szbuf = MBytes.create 4 in
-       Lwt_bytes.recv descr szbuf 0 4 [ Lwt_unix.MSG_PEEK ] >>= fun wsz ->
-       if wsz <> 4 then
-         return None
-       else
-         let len = Int32.to_int (BE.get_int32 szbuf 0) + 4 in
-         if len < 0 || len > limit then
-           return None
-         else
-           let buf = MBytes.create len in
-           Lwt_bytes.read descr buf 0 len >>= fun wsz ->
-           if wsz <> len then
-             return None
-           else
-             return (of_raw buf))
-    (function
-      | Unix.Unix_error (_err, _, _) -> return None
-      | e -> fail e)
diff --git a/src/node/net/netbits.mli b/src/node/net/netbits.mli
deleted file mode 100644
index b879b755a..000000000
--- a/src/node/net/netbits.mli
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,61 +0,0 @@
-(**************************************************************************)
-(*                                                                        *)
-(*    Copyright (c) 2014 - 2016.                                          *)
-(*    Dynamic Ledger Solutions, Inc. <contact@tezos.com>                  *)
-(*                                                                        *)
-(*    All rights reserved. No warranty, explicit or implicit, provided.   *)
-(*                                                                        *)
-(**************************************************************************)
-
-(** A simple, portable implementation of network frames. *)
-
-(** The type of a single datum in a network frame. The encoding of a
-    datum is as follows: [[TYPE][CONTENTS]], where [[type]] is a
-    single byte whose value is [1] for [S], [2] for [I], [3] for [L],
-    [4] for B, [5] for [D], [6] for [F] and [7] for [C].
-    For [S]. [I], [L] and [D]¸ the raw values are stored using big
-    endianness. For [B], [F] and [C], the size is prefixed as a 16-bit,
-    big endian, unsigned integer
-    ([[SIZE][BYTES]]). *)
-type chunk =
-  | S of int (** A 16-bit integer *)
-  | I of int32 (** A 32-bit integer *)
-  | L of int64 (** A 64-bit integer *)
-  | B of MBytes.t (** A series of bytes *)
-  | D of float (** A 64-bits IEEE-754 floating point number *)
-  | F of frame (** An encapsulated subframe *)
-  | C of string (** A string *)
-
-(** A network frame is a list of simple data. Its encoding on the
-    network is as follows: [[SIZE][DATA]] where [[SIZE]] is the raw
-    length of [[DATA]] in bytes as a big endian, 32-bit, unsigned
-    integer. *)
-and frame =
-  chunk list
-
-(** Writes a frame from to file descriptor Returns [true] if
-    successful, [false] if an error happened, which means that the
-    descriptor cannot accept any more data and should be closed. *)
-val write : Lwt_unix.file_descr -> frame -> bool Lwt.t
-
-(** Reads a frame from a file descriptor. Returns [Some frame] if
-    successful, [None] if an error happened, which means either that
-    that the descriptor cannot provide any more data or that corrupted
-    bytes have been received, and in any case says that the descriptor
-    should not be used anymore. The second parameter is the limit in
-    bytes of the underlying representation, including the size. [None]
-    is returned in case of overhead, and the bytes are not consumed
-    from the descriptor. *)
-val read : Lwt_unix.file_descr -> int -> frame option Lwt.t
-
-(** Pretty printing of frames for debugging *)
-val print : Format.formatter -> frame -> unit
-
-(** Pretty prints of frames *)
-val to_string : frame -> string
-
-(** Encode a frame as raw bytes to send over the network *)
-val to_raw : frame -> MBytes.t
-
-(** Decode a complete raw frame as read from the network *)
-val of_raw : MBytes.t -> frame option
diff --git a/src/node/net/p2p.ml b/src/node/net/p2p.ml
index 30f36c406..a8c92c017 100644
--- a/src/node/net/p2p.ml
+++ b/src/node/net/p2p.ml
@@ -42,6 +42,11 @@ type config = {
   closed_network : bool ;
 }
 
+(* The global net identificator. *)
+type gid = string
+
+let gid_length = 16
+
 type 'msg msg_encoding = Encoding : {
     tag: int ;
     encoding: 'a Data_encoding.t ;
@@ -91,9 +96,6 @@ module type S = sig
   (** A connection to a peer *)
   type peer
 
-  (** A global identifier for a peer, a.k.a. an identity *)
-  type gid
-
   (** Access the domain of active peers *)
   val peers : net -> peer list
 
@@ -141,7 +143,6 @@ module Make (P: NET_PARAMS) = struct
   module LC = Lwt_condition
   open Lwt
   open Lwt_utils
-  open Netbits
   open Logging.Net
 
   let pp_gid ppf gid =
@@ -160,9 +161,6 @@ module Make (P: NET_PARAMS) = struct
           else find (la, tb)
     in find (la, lb)
 
-  (* The global net identificator. *)
-  type gid = string
-
   (* A net point (address x port). *)
   type point = addr * port
 
@@ -668,16 +666,20 @@ module Make (P: NET_PARAMS) = struct
 
 
   (* The (fixed size) broadcast frame. *)
+  let discovery_message_encoding =
+    let open Data_encoding in
+    tup3 (Fixed.string 8) (Fixed.string gid_length) int16
+
   let discovery_message gid port =
-    Netbits.([ B (MBytes.of_string "DISCO") ; B (MBytes.of_string gid) ; S port ])
+    Data_encoding.Binary.to_bytes
+      discovery_message_encoding
+      ("DISCOVER", gid, port)
 
   (* Broadcast frame verifier. *)
-  let answerable_discovery_message message my_gid when_ok when_not =
-    match message with
-    | Some [ B magic ; B gid ; S port ] ->
-        if MBytes.to_string magic = "DISCO" && MBytes.to_string gid <> my_gid then
-          when_ok gid port
-        else when_not ()
+  let answerable_discovery_message msg my_gid when_ok when_not =
+    match msg with
+    | Some ("DISCOVER", gid, port) when gid <> my_gid ->
+        when_ok gid port
     | _ -> when_not ()
 
   let string_of_unix_exn = function
@@ -703,7 +705,7 @@ module Make (P: NET_PARAMS) = struct
     | Some main_socket ->
         (* the answering function *)
         let rec step () =
-          let buffer = Netbits.to_raw (discovery_message my_gid 0) in
+          let buffer = discovery_message my_gid 0 in
           let len = MBytes.length buffer in
           pick [ (cancelation () >>= fun () -> return None) ;
                  (Lwt_bytes.recvfrom main_socket buffer 0 len [] >>= fun r ->
@@ -712,7 +714,10 @@ module Make (P: NET_PARAMS) = struct
               if len' <> len then
                 step () (* drop bytes, better luck next time ! *)
               else
-                answerable_discovery_message (Netbits.of_raw buffer) my_gid
+                answerable_discovery_message
+                  (Data_encoding.Binary.of_bytes
+                     discovery_message_encoding buffer)
+                  my_gid
                   (fun _ port ->
                      catch
                        (fun () ->
@@ -732,14 +737,14 @@ module Make (P: NET_PARAMS) = struct
   (* Sends dicover messages into space in an exponentially delayed loop,
      restartable using a condition *)
   let discovery_sender my_gid disco_port inco_port cancelation restart =
-    let message = discovery_message my_gid inco_port in
+    let msg = discovery_message my_gid inco_port in
     let rec loop delay n =
       catch
         (fun () ->
            let socket = LU.(socket PF_INET SOCK_DGRAM 0) in
            LU.setsockopt socket LU.SO_BROADCAST true ;
            LU.connect socket LU.(ADDR_INET (Unix.inet_addr_of_string "255.255.255.255", disco_port)) >>= fun () ->
-           Netbits.(write socket message) >>= fun _ ->
+           Lwt_utils.write_mbytes socket msg >>= fun _ ->
            LU.close socket)
         (fun _ ->
            debug "(%a) error broadcasting a discovery request" pp_gid my_gid ;
diff --git a/src/node/net/p2p.mli b/src/node/net/p2p.mli
index 5d517a084..550f4aeb2 100644
--- a/src/node/net/p2p.mli
+++ b/src/node/net/p2p.mli
@@ -53,6 +53,9 @@ type limits = {
   blacklist_time : float ;
 }
 
+(** A global identifier for a peer, a.k.a. an identity *)
+type gid
+
 type 'msg msg_encoding = Encoding : {
     tag: int ;
     encoding: 'a Data_encoding.t ;
@@ -100,9 +103,6 @@ module Make (P : NET_PARAMS) : sig
   (** A connection to a peer *)
   type peer
 
-  (** A global identifier for a peer, a.k.a. an identity *)
-  type gid
-
   (** Access the domain of active peers *)
   val peers : net -> peer list