diff --git a/lib/libalpm/dload.c b/lib/libalpm/dload.c
index a413792a..d117a26d 100644
--- a/lib/libalpm/dload.c
+++ b/lib/libalpm/dload.c
@@ -270,6 +270,7 @@ static void curl_set_handle_opts(struct dload_payload *payload,
 	curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_TCP_KEEPIDLE, 60L);
 	curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_TCP_KEEPINTVL, 60L);
 	curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_HTTPAUTH, CURLAUTH_ANY);
+	curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_PRIVATE, (void *)payload);
 
 	_alpm_log(handle, ALPM_LOG_DEBUG, "url: %s\n", payload->fileurl);
 
@@ -599,15 +600,366 @@ cleanup:
 	return ret;
 }
 
+/* Return 0 if retry was successful, -1 otherwise */
+static int curl_multi_retry_next_server(CURLM *curlm, CURL *curl, struct dload_payload *payload)
+{
+	const char *server;
+	size_t len;
+	alpm_handle_t *handle = payload->handle;
+
+	payload->servers = payload->servers->next;
+	if(!payload->servers) {
+		return -1;
+	}
+	server = payload->servers->data;
+
+	/* regenerate a new fileurl */
+	free(payload->fileurl);
+	len = strlen(server) + strlen(payload->filepath) + 2;
+	MALLOC(payload->fileurl, len, RET_ERR(handle, ALPM_ERR_MEMORY, -1));
+	snprintf(payload->fileurl, len, "%s/%s", server, payload->filepath);
+
+	if(payload->unlink_on_fail) {
+		/* we keep the file for a new retry but remove its data if any */
+		fflush(payload->localf);
+		ftruncate(fileno(payload->localf), 0);
+		fseek(payload->localf, 0, SEEK_SET);
+	}
+
+	/* Set curl with the new URL */
+	curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_URL, payload->fileurl);
+
+	curl_multi_remove_handle(curlm, curl);
+	curl_multi_add_handle(curlm, curl);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+/* Returns 2 if download retry happened
+ * Returns 1 if the file is up-to-date
+ * Returns 0 if current payload is completed successfully
+ * Returns -1 if an error happened
+ */
+static int curl_multi_check_finished_download(CURLM *curlm, CURLMsg *msg,
+		const char *localpath)
+{
+	alpm_handle_t *handle = NULL;
+	struct dload_payload *payload = NULL;
+	CURL *curl = msg->easy_handle;
+	CURLcode curlerr;
+	char *effective_url;
+	long timecond;
+	double remote_size, bytes_dl = 0;
+	long remote_time = -1;
+	struct stat st;
+	char hostname[HOSTNAME_SIZE];
+	int ret = -1;
+
+	curlerr = curl_easy_getinfo(curl, CURLINFO_PRIVATE, &payload);
+	ASSERT(curlerr == CURLE_OK, RET_ERR(handle, ALPM_ERR_LIBCURL, -1));
+	handle = payload->handle;
+
+	curl_gethost(payload->fileurl, hostname, sizeof(hostname));
+	curlerr = msg->data.result;
+	_alpm_log(handle, ALPM_LOG_DEBUG, "curl returned result %d from transfer\n",
+			curlerr);
+
+	/* was it a success? */
+	switch(curlerr) {
+		case CURLE_OK:
+			/* get http/ftp response code */
+			_alpm_log(handle, ALPM_LOG_DEBUG, "response code: %ld\n", payload->respcode);
+			if(payload->respcode >= 400) {
+				payload->unlink_on_fail = 1;
+				if(!payload->errors_ok) {
+					handle->pm_errno = ALPM_ERR_RETRIEVE;
+					/* non-translated message is same as libcurl */
+					snprintf(payload->error_buffer, sizeof(payload->error_buffer),
+							"The requested URL returned error: %ld", payload->respcode);
+					_alpm_log(handle, ALPM_LOG_ERROR,
+							_("failed retrieving file '%s' from %s : %s\n"),
+							payload->remote_name, hostname, payload->error_buffer);
+				}
+				if(curl_multi_retry_next_server(curlm, curl, payload) == 0) {
+					return 2;
+				} else {
+					goto cleanup;
+				}
+			}
+			break;
+		case CURLE_ABORTED_BY_CALLBACK:
+			/* handle the interrupt accordingly */
+			if(dload_interrupted == ABORT_OVER_MAXFILESIZE) {
+				curlerr = CURLE_FILESIZE_EXCEEDED;
+				payload->unlink_on_fail = 1;
+				handle->pm_errno = ALPM_ERR_LIBCURL;
+				_alpm_log(handle, ALPM_LOG_ERROR,
+						_("failed retrieving file '%s' from %s : expected download size exceeded\n"),
+						payload->remote_name, hostname);
+			}
+			goto cleanup;
+		case CURLE_COULDNT_RESOLVE_HOST:
+			payload->unlink_on_fail = 1;
+			handle->pm_errno = ALPM_ERR_SERVER_BAD_URL;
+			_alpm_log(handle, ALPM_LOG_ERROR,
+					_("failed retrieving file '%s' from %s : %s\n"),
+					payload->remote_name, hostname, payload->error_buffer);
+			if(curl_multi_retry_next_server(curlm, curl, payload) == 0) {
+				return 2;
+			} else {
+				goto cleanup;
+			}
+		default:
+			/* delete zero length downloads */
+			if(fstat(fileno(payload->localf), &st) == 0 && st.st_size == 0) {
+				payload->unlink_on_fail = 1;
+			}
+			if(!payload->errors_ok) {
+				handle->pm_errno = ALPM_ERR_LIBCURL;
+				_alpm_log(handle, ALPM_LOG_ERROR,
+						_("failed retrieving file '%s' from %s : %s\n"),
+						payload->remote_name, hostname, payload->error_buffer);
+			} else {
+				_alpm_log(handle, ALPM_LOG_DEBUG,
+						"failed retrieving file '%s' from %s : %s\n",
+						payload->remote_name, hostname, payload->error_buffer);
+			}
+			if(curl_multi_retry_next_server(curlm, curl, payload) == 0) {
+				return 2;
+			} else {
+				goto cleanup;
+			}
+	}
+
+	/* retrieve info about the state of the transfer */
+	curl_easy_getinfo(curl, CURLINFO_FILETIME, &remote_time);
+	curl_easy_getinfo(curl, CURLINFO_CONTENT_LENGTH_DOWNLOAD, &remote_size);
+	curl_easy_getinfo(curl, CURLINFO_SIZE_DOWNLOAD, &bytes_dl);
+	curl_easy_getinfo(curl, CURLINFO_CONDITION_UNMET, &timecond);
+	curl_easy_getinfo(curl, CURLINFO_EFFECTIVE_URL, &effective_url);
+
+	/* time condition was met and we didn't download anything. we need to
+	 * clean up the 0 byte .part file that's left behind. */
+	if(timecond == 1 && DOUBLE_EQ(bytes_dl, 0)) {
+		_alpm_log(handle, ALPM_LOG_DEBUG, "file met time condition\n");
+		ret = 1;
+		unlink(payload->tempfile_name);
+		goto cleanup;
+	}
+
+	/* remote_size isn't necessarily the full size of the file, just what the
+	 * server reported as remaining to download. compare it to what curl reported
+	 * as actually being transferred during curl_easy_perform() */
+	if(!DOUBLE_EQ(remote_size, -1) && !DOUBLE_EQ(bytes_dl, -1) &&
+			!DOUBLE_EQ(bytes_dl, remote_size)) {
+		_alpm_log(handle, ALPM_LOG_ERROR, _("%s appears to be truncated: %jd/%jd bytes\n"),
+				payload->remote_name, (intmax_t)bytes_dl, (intmax_t)remote_size);
+		GOTO_ERR(handle, ALPM_ERR_RETRIEVE, cleanup);
+	}
+
+	if(payload->trust_remote_name) {
+		if(payload->content_disp_name) {
+			/* content-disposition header has a better name for our file */
+			free(payload->destfile_name);
+			payload->destfile_name = get_fullpath(localpath,
+				get_filename(payload->content_disp_name), "");
+		} else {
+			const char *effective_filename = strrchr(effective_url, '/');
+			if(effective_filename && strlen(effective_filename) > 2) {
+				effective_filename++;
+
+				/* if destfile was never set, we wrote to a tempfile. even if destfile is
+				 * set, we may have followed some redirects and the effective url may
+				 * have a better suggestion as to what to name our file. in either case,
+				 * refactor destfile to this newly derived name. */
+				if(!payload->destfile_name || strcmp(effective_filename,
+							strrchr(payload->destfile_name, '/') + 1) != 0) {
+					free(payload->destfile_name);
+					payload->destfile_name = get_fullpath(localpath, effective_filename, "");
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	ret = 0;
+
+cleanup:
+	/* disconnect relationships from the curl handle for things that might go out
+	 * of scope, but could still be touched on connection teardown. This really
+	 * only applies to FTP transfers. */
+	curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_NOPROGRESS, 1L);
+	curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_ERRORBUFFER, (char *)NULL);
+
+	if(payload->localf != NULL) {
+		fclose(payload->localf);
+		utimes_long(payload->tempfile_name, remote_time);
+	}
+
+	if(ret == 0) {
+		if(payload->destfile_name) {
+			if(rename(payload->tempfile_name, payload->destfile_name)) {
+				_alpm_log(handle, ALPM_LOG_ERROR, _("could not rename %s to %s (%s)\n"),
+						payload->tempfile_name, payload->destfile_name, strerror(errno));
+				ret = -1;
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	if((ret == -1 || dload_interrupted) && payload->unlink_on_fail &&
+			payload->tempfile_name) {
+		unlink(payload->tempfile_name);
+	}
+
+	// TODO: report that the download has been completed
+
+	curl_multi_remove_handle(curlm, curl);
+	curl_easy_cleanup(curl);
+	payload->curl = NULL;
+
+	FREE(payload->fileurl);
+	return ret;
+}
+
+/* Returns 0 in case if a new download transaction has been successfully started
+ * Returns -1 if am error happened while starting a new download
+ */
+static int curl_multi_add_payload(alpm_handle_t *handle, CURLM *curlm,
+		struct dload_payload *payload, const char *localpath)
+{
+	size_t len;
+	const char *server;
+	CURL *curl = NULL;
+	char hostname[HOSTNAME_SIZE];
+
+	ASSERT(payload->servers, RET_ERR(handle, ALPM_ERR_SERVER_NONE, -1));
+	server = payload->servers->data;
+
+	curl = curl_easy_init();
+	payload->curl = curl;
+
+	len = strlen(server) + strlen(payload->filepath) + 2;
+	MALLOC(payload->fileurl, len, GOTO_ERR(handle, ALPM_ERR_MEMORY, cleanup));
+	snprintf(payload->fileurl, len, "%s/%s", server, payload->filepath);
+
+	payload->tempfile_openmode = "wb";
+	if(!payload->remote_name) {
+		STRDUP(payload->remote_name, get_filename(payload->fileurl),
+			GOTO_ERR(handle, ALPM_ERR_MEMORY, cleanup));
+	}
+	if(curl_gethost(payload->fileurl, hostname, sizeof(hostname)) != 0) {
+		_alpm_log(handle, ALPM_LOG_ERROR, _("url '%s' is invalid\n"), payload->fileurl);
+		GOTO_ERR(handle, ALPM_ERR_SERVER_BAD_URL, cleanup);
+	}
+
+	if(payload->remote_name && strlen(payload->remote_name) > 0) {
+		payload->destfile_name = get_fullpath(localpath, payload->remote_name, "");
+		payload->tempfile_name = get_fullpath(localpath, payload->remote_name, ".part");
+		if(!payload->destfile_name || !payload->tempfile_name) {
+			goto cleanup;
+		}
+	} else {
+		/* URL doesn't contain a filename, so make a tempfile. We can't support
+		 * resuming this kind of download; partial transfers will be destroyed */
+		payload->unlink_on_fail = 1;
+
+		payload->localf = create_tempfile(payload, localpath);
+		if(payload->localf == NULL) {
+			goto cleanup;
+		}
+	}
+
+	curl_set_handle_opts(payload, curl, payload->error_buffer);
+
+	if(payload->max_size == payload->initial_size) {
+		/* .part file is complete */
+		goto cleanup;
+	}
+
+	if(payload->localf == NULL) {
+		payload->localf = fopen(payload->tempfile_name, payload->tempfile_openmode);
+		if(payload->localf == NULL) {
+			_alpm_log(handle, ALPM_LOG_ERROR,
+					_("could not open file %s: %s\n"),
+					payload->tempfile_name, strerror(errno));
+			GOTO_ERR(handle, ALPM_ERR_RETRIEVE, cleanup);
+		}
+	}
+
+	_alpm_log(handle, ALPM_LOG_DEBUG,
+			"opened tempfile for download: %s (%s)\n", payload->tempfile_name,
+			payload->tempfile_openmode);
+
+	curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_WRITEDATA, payload->localf);
+	curl_multi_add_handle(curlm, curl);
+	return 0;
+
+cleanup:
+	FREE(payload->fileurl);
+	FREE(payload->tempfile_name);
+	FREE(payload->destfile_name);
+	FREE(payload->content_disp_name);
+	curl_easy_cleanup(curl);
+	return -1;
+}
+
 static int curl_multi_download_internal(alpm_handle_t *handle,
 		alpm_list_t *payloads /* struct dload_payload */,
 		const char *localpath)
 {
-	(void)handle;
-	(void)payloads;
-	(void)localpath;
-	return 0;
+	int still_running = 0;
+	int err = 0;
+	int parallel_downloads = handle->parallel_downloads;
+
+	CURLM *curlm = handle->curlm;
+	CURLMsg *msg;
+
+	while(still_running || payloads) {
+		int msgs_left = -1;
+
+		for(; still_running < parallel_downloads && payloads; still_running++) {
+			struct dload_payload *payload = payloads->data;
+
+			if(curl_multi_add_payload(handle, curlm, payloads->data, localpath) == 0) {
+				// TODO: report that download has started
+				payloads = payloads->next;
+			} else {
+				// the payload failed to start, do not start any new downloads just wait until
+				// active one complete.
+				_alpm_log(handle, ALPM_LOG_ERROR, "failed to setup a download payload for %s\n", payload->remote_name);
+				payloads = NULL;
+				err = -1;
+			}
+		}
+
+		CURLMcode mc = curl_multi_perform(curlm, &still_running);
+
+		if(mc != CURLM_OK) {
+			_alpm_log(handle, ALPM_LOG_ERROR, "curl returned error %d from transfer\n", mc);
+			payloads = NULL;
+			err = -1;
+		}
+
+		while((msg = curl_multi_info_read(curlm, &msgs_left))) {
+			if(msg->msg == CURLMSG_DONE) {
+				int done_code = curl_multi_check_finished_download(curlm, msg, localpath);
+				if(done_code == 2) {
+					/* in case of a retry increase the counter of active requests
+					 * to avoid exiting the loop early
+					 */
+					still_running++;
+				}
+			} else {
+				_alpm_log(handle, ALPM_LOG_ERROR, "curl curl_multi_info_read error %d\n", msg->msg);
+			}
+		}
+		if(still_running) {
+			curl_multi_wait(curlm, NULL, 0, 1000, NULL);
+		}
+	}
+
+	return err;
 }
+
 #endif
 
 /** Download a file given by a URL to a local directory.
diff --git a/lib/libalpm/dload.h b/lib/libalpm/dload.h
index e87b6a93..a40b51b7 100644
--- a/lib/libalpm/dload.h
+++ b/lib/libalpm/dload.h
@@ -45,6 +45,8 @@ struct dload_payload {
 	int cb_initialized;
 #ifdef HAVE_LIBCURL
 	CURL *curl;
+	char error_buffer[CURL_ERROR_SIZE];
+	FILE *localf; /* temp download file */
 #endif
 };