diff --git a/src/runtime/src/comms.rs b/src/runtime/src/comms.rs
index 803c39b..33cefc7 100644
--- a/src/runtime/src/comms.rs
+++ b/src/runtime/src/comms.rs
@@ -804,12 +804,14 @@ pub fn main(timer: GlobalTimer, cfg: Config) {
         }
     }
     let cfg = Rc::new(cfg);
-    mgmt::start(cfg.clone());
+    let restart_idle = Rc::new(Semaphore::new(0, 1));
+    mgmt::start(cfg.clone(), restart_idle.clone());
 
     task::spawn(async move {
         let terminate = Rc::new(Semaphore::new(0, 1));
         let running = Rc::new(Mutex::new(false));
         let repeat_lock = Rc::new(Mutex::new(false));
+        let restart_idle = restart_idle.clone();
         let cfg = cfg.clone();
         let control = control.clone();
         let up_destinations = up_destinations.clone();
@@ -867,6 +869,7 @@ pub fn main(timer: GlobalTimer, cfg: Config) {
                         let terminate = terminate.clone();
                         let running = running.clone();
                         let repeat_lock = repeat_lock.clone();
+                        let restart_idle = restart_idle.clone();
                         
                         let _rep_lock = repeat_lock.async_lock().await;
                         drop(_rep_lock);
@@ -881,6 +884,7 @@ pub fn main(timer: GlobalTimer, cfg: Config) {
                                     }
                                 }).fuse() => (),
                                 _ = terminate.async_wait().fuse() => (),
+                                _ = restart_idle.async_wait().fuse() => ()
                         }
                         info!("supposed to drop idle kernel");
                         drop(_lock);
@@ -932,8 +936,9 @@ pub fn soft_panic_main(timer: GlobalTimer, cfg: Config) -> ! {
     };
 
     Sockets::init(32);
-
-    mgmt::start(Rc::new(cfg));
+    
+    let dummy_restart = Rc::new(Semaphore::new(0, 1));
+    mgmt::start(Rc::new(cfg), dummy_restart);
 
     // getting eth settings disables the LED as it resets GPIO
     // need to re-enable it here
diff --git a/src/runtime/src/mgmt.rs b/src/runtime/src/mgmt.rs
index 77113ed..ea79327 100644
--- a/src/runtime/src/mgmt.rs
+++ b/src/runtime/src/mgmt.rs
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ use libasync::{smoltcp::TcpStream, task};
 use libboard_artiq::logger::{BufferLogger, LogBufferRef};
 use libboard_zynq::{slcr, smoltcp};
 use libconfig::Config;
+use libcortex_a9::semaphore::Semaphore;
 use log::{self, debug, error, info, warn, LevelFilter};
 use num_derive::FromPrimitive;
 use num_traits::FromPrimitive;
@@ -111,7 +112,7 @@ async fn read_key(stream: &mut TcpStream) -> Result<String> {
     Ok(String::from_utf8(buffer).unwrap())
 }
 
-async fn handle_connection(stream: &mut TcpStream, pull_id: Rc<RefCell<u32>>, cfg: Rc<Config>) -> Result<()> {
+async fn handle_connection(stream: &mut TcpStream, pull_id: Rc<RefCell<u32>>, cfg: Rc<Config>, restart_idle: Rc<Semaphore>) -> Result<()> {
     if !expect(&stream, b"ARTIQ management\n").await? {
         return Err(Error::UnexpectedPattern);
     }
@@ -201,6 +202,9 @@ async fn handle_connection(stream: &mut TcpStream, pull_id: Rc<RefCell<u32>>, cf
                 if value.is_ok() {
                     debug!("write success");
                     write_i8(stream, Reply::Success as i8).await?;
+                    if key == "idle_kernel" {
+                        restart_idle.signal();
+                    }
                 } else {
                     // this is an error because we do not expect write to fail
                     error!("failed to write: {:?}", value);
@@ -229,16 +233,17 @@ async fn handle_connection(stream: &mut TcpStream, pull_id: Rc<RefCell<u32>>, cf
     }
 }
 
-pub fn start(cfg: Rc<Config>) {
+pub fn start(cfg: Rc<Config>, restart_idle: Rc<Semaphore>) {
     task::spawn(async move {
         let pull_id = Rc::new(RefCell::new(0u32));
         loop {
             let mut stream = TcpStream::accept(1380, 2048, 2048).await.unwrap();
             let pull_id = pull_id.clone();
+            let restart_idle = restart_idle.clone();
             let cfg = cfg.clone();
             task::spawn(async move {
                 info!("received connection");
-                let _ = handle_connection(&mut stream, pull_id, cfg)
+                let _ = handle_connection(&mut stream, pull_id, cfg, restart_idle)
                     .await
                     .map_err(|e| warn!("connection terminated: {:?}", e));
                 let _ = stream.flush().await;