diff --git a/call_test.go b/call_test.go
index 2bcea807f..48134c4c2 100644
--- a/call_test.go
+++ b/call_test.go
@@ -66,17 +66,16 @@ type testStreamHandler struct {
 }
 
 func (h *testStreamHandler) handleStream(t *testing.T, s *transport.Stream) {
-	p := &parser{r: s}
 	for {
-		pf, req, err := p.recvMsg(math.MaxInt32)
+		isCompressed, req, err := recvMsg(s, math.MaxInt32)
 		if err == io.EOF {
 			break
 		}
 		if err != nil {
 			return
 		}
-		if pf != compressionNone {
-			t.Errorf("Received the mistaken message format %d, want %d", pf, compressionNone)
+		if isCompressed {
+			t.Errorf("Received compressed message want non-compressed message")
 			return
 		}
 		var v string
@@ -105,12 +104,12 @@ func (h *testStreamHandler) handleStream(t *testing.T, s *transport.Stream) {
 		}
 	}
 	// send a response back to end the stream.
-	hdr, data, err := encode(testCodec{}, &expectedResponse, nil, nil, nil)
+	data, err := encode(testCodec{}, &expectedResponse, nil, nil, nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Errorf("Failed to encode the response: %v", err)
 		return
 	}
-	h.t.Write(s, hdr, data, &transport.Options{})
+	h.t.Write(s, data, &transport.Options{})
 	h.t.WriteStatus(s, status.New(codes.OK, ""))
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/msgdecoder/msgdecoder.go b/internal/msgdecoder/msgdecoder.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bbcc4797d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/msgdecoder/msgdecoder.go
@@ -0,0 +1,203 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2018 gRPC authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ *
+ */
+
+// Package msgdecoder contains the logic to deconstruct a gRPC-message.
+package msgdecoder
+
+import (
+	"encoding/binary"
+)
+
+// RecvMsg is a message constructed from the incoming
+// bytes on the transport for a stream.
+// An instance of RecvMsg will contain only one of the
+// following: message header related fields, data slice
+// or error.
+type RecvMsg struct {
+	// Following three are message header related
+	// fields.
+	// true if the message was compressed by the other
+	// side.
+	IsCompressed bool
+	// Length of the message.
+	Length int
+	// Overhead is the length of message header(5 bytes)
+	// plus padding.
+	Overhead int
+
+	// Data payload of the message.
+	Data []byte
+
+	// Err occurred while reading.
+	// nil: received some data
+	// io.EOF: stream is completed. data is nil.
+	// other non-nil error: transport failure. data is nil.
+	Err error
+
+	Next *RecvMsg
+}
+
+// RecvMsgList is a linked-list of RecvMsg.
+type RecvMsgList struct {
+	head *RecvMsg
+	tail *RecvMsg
+}
+
+// IsEmpty returns true when l is empty.
+func (l *RecvMsgList) IsEmpty() bool {
+	if l.tail == nil {
+		return true
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+// Enqueue adds r to l at the back.
+func (l *RecvMsgList) Enqueue(r *RecvMsg) {
+	if l.IsEmpty() {
+		l.head, l.tail = r, r
+		return
+	}
+	t := l.tail
+	l.tail = r
+	t.Next = r
+}
+
+// Dequeue removes a RcvMsg from the end of l.
+func (l *RecvMsgList) Dequeue() *RecvMsg {
+	if l.head == nil {
+		// Note to developer: Instead of calling isEmpty() which
+		// checks the same condition on l.tail, we check it directly
+		// on l.head so that in non-nil cases, there aren't cache misses.
+		return nil
+	}
+	r := l.head
+	l.head = l.head.Next
+	if l.head == nil {
+		l.tail = nil
+	}
+	return r
+}
+
+// MessageDecoder decodes bytes from HTTP2 data frames
+// and constructs a gRPC message which is then put in a
+// buffer that application(RPCs) read from.
+// gRPC Messages:
+// First 5 bytes is the message header:
+//   First byte: Payload format.
+//   Next 4 bytes: Length of the message.
+// Rest of the bytes is the message payload.
+//
+// TODO(mmukhi): Write unit tests.
+type MessageDecoder struct {
+	// current message being read by the transport.
+	current  *RecvMsg
+	dataOfst int
+	padding  int
+	// hdr stores the message header as it is beind received by the transport.
+	hdr     []byte
+	hdrOfst int
+	// Callback used to send decoded messages.
+	dispatch func(*RecvMsg)
+}
+
+// NewMessageDecoder creates an instance of MessageDecoder. It takes a callback
+// which is called to dispatch finished headers and messages to the application.
+func NewMessageDecoder(dispatch func(*RecvMsg)) *MessageDecoder {
+	return &MessageDecoder{
+		hdr:      make([]byte, 5),
+		dispatch: dispatch,
+	}
+}
+
+// Decode consumes bytes from a HTTP2 data frame to create gRPC messages.
+func (m *MessageDecoder) Decode(b []byte, padding int) {
+	m.padding += padding
+	for len(b) > 0 {
+		// Case 1: A complete message hdr was received earlier.
+		if m.current != nil {
+			n := copy(m.current.Data[m.dataOfst:], b)
+			m.dataOfst += n
+			b = b[n:]
+			if m.dataOfst == len(m.current.Data) { // Message is complete.
+				m.dispatch(m.current)
+				m.current = nil
+				m.dataOfst = 0
+			}
+			continue
+		}
+		// Case 2a: No message header has been received yet.
+		if m.hdrOfst == 0 {
+			// case 2a.1: b has the whole header
+			if len(b) >= 5 {
+				m.parseHeader(b[:5])
+				b = b[5:]
+				continue
+			}
+			// case 2a.2: b has partial header
+			n := copy(m.hdr, b)
+			m.hdrOfst = n
+			b = b[n:]
+			continue
+		}
+		// Case 2b: Partial message header was received earlier.
+		n := copy(m.hdr[m.hdrOfst:], b)
+		m.hdrOfst += n
+		b = b[n:]
+		if m.hdrOfst == 5 { // hdr is complete.
+			m.hdrOfst = 0
+			m.parseHeader(m.hdr)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func (m *MessageDecoder) parseHeader(b []byte) {
+	length := int(binary.BigEndian.Uint32(b[1:5]))
+	hdr := &RecvMsg{
+		IsCompressed: int(b[0]) == 1,
+		Length:       length,
+		Overhead:     m.padding + 5,
+	}
+	m.padding = 0
+	// Dispatch the information retreived from message header so
+	// that the RPC goroutine can send a proactive window update as we
+	// wait for the rest of it.
+	m.dispatch(hdr)
+	if length == 0 {
+		m.dispatch(&RecvMsg{})
+		return
+	}
+	m.current = &RecvMsg{
+		Data: getMem(length),
+	}
+}
+
+func getMem(l int) []byte {
+	// TODO(mmukhi): Reuse this memory.
+	return make([]byte, l)
+}
+
+// CreateMessageHeader creates a gRPC-specific message header.
+func CreateMessageHeader(l int, isCompressed bool) []byte {
+	// TODO(mmukhi): Investigate if this memory is worth
+	// reusing.
+	hdr := make([]byte, 5)
+	if isCompressed {
+		hdr[0] = byte(1)
+	}
+	binary.BigEndian.PutUint32(hdr[1:], uint32(l))
+	return hdr
+}
diff --git a/internal/msgdecoder/msgdecoder_test.go b/internal/msgdecoder/msgdecoder_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..caa498ea1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/msgdecoder/msgdecoder_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2018 gRPC authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ *
+ */
+
+package msgdecoder
+
+import (
+	"encoding/binary"
+	"reflect"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestMessageDecoder(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, test := range []struct {
+		numFrames int
+		data      []string
+	}{
+		{1, []string{"abc"}},                // One message per frame.
+		{1, []string{"abc", "def", "ghi"}},  // Multiple messages per frame.
+		{3, []string{"a", "bcdef", "ghif"}}, // Multiple messages over multiple frames.
+	} {
+		var want []*RecvMsg
+		for _, d := range test.data {
+			want = append(want, &RecvMsg{Length: len(d), Overhead: 5})
+			want = append(want, &RecvMsg{Data: []byte(d)})
+		}
+		var got []*RecvMsg
+		dcdr := NewMessageDecoder(func(r *RecvMsg) { got = append(got, r) })
+		for _, fr := range createFrames(test.numFrames, test.data) {
+			dcdr.Decode(fr, 0)
+		}
+		if !match(got, want) {
+			t.Fatalf("got: %v, want: %v", got, want)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func match(got, want []*RecvMsg) bool {
+	for i, v := range got {
+		if !reflect.DeepEqual(v, want[i]) {
+			return false
+		}
+	}
+	return true
+}
+
+func createFrames(n int, msgs []string) [][]byte {
+	var b []byte
+	for _, m := range msgs {
+		payload := []byte(m)
+		hdr := make([]byte, 5)
+		binary.BigEndian.PutUint32(hdr[1:], uint32(len(payload)))
+		b = append(b, hdr...)
+		b = append(b, payload...)
+	}
+	// break b into n parts.
+	var result [][]byte
+	batch := len(b) / n
+	for len(b) != 0 {
+		sz := batch
+		if len(b) < sz {
+			sz = len(b)
+		}
+		result = append(result, b[:sz])
+		b = b[sz:]
+	}
+	return result
+}
diff --git a/rpc_util.go b/rpc_util.go
index f08e646f8..90d1b849c 100644
--- a/rpc_util.go
+++ b/rpc_util.go
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ package grpc
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"compress/gzip"
-	"encoding/binary"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"io/ioutil"
@@ -415,85 +414,39 @@ func (o CustomCodecCallOption) before(c *callInfo) error {
 }
 func (o CustomCodecCallOption) after(c *callInfo) {}
 
-// The format of the payload: compressed or not?
-type payloadFormat uint8
-
-const (
-	compressionNone payloadFormat = iota // no compression
-	compressionMade
-)
-
-// parser reads complete gRPC messages from the underlying reader.
-type parser struct {
-	// r is the underlying reader.
-	// See the comment on recvMsg for the permissible
-	// error types.
-	r io.Reader
-
-	// The header of a gRPC message. Find more detail at
-	// https://github.com/grpc/grpc/blob/master/doc/PROTOCOL-HTTP2.md
-	header [5]byte
-}
-
 // recvMsg reads a complete gRPC message from the stream.
 //
-// It returns the message and its payload (compression/encoding)
-// format. The caller owns the returned msg memory.
+// It returns a flag set to true if message was compressed,
+// the message as a byte slice or error if so.
+// The caller owns the returned msg memory.
 //
 // If there is an error, possible values are:
 //   * io.EOF, when no messages remain
 //   * io.ErrUnexpectedEOF
 //   * of type transport.ConnectionError
 //   * of type transport.StreamError
-// No other error values or types must be returned, which also means
-// that the underlying io.Reader must not return an incompatible
-// error.
-func (p *parser) recvMsg(maxReceiveMessageSize int) (pf payloadFormat, msg []byte, err error) {
-	if _, err := p.r.Read(p.header[:]); err != nil {
-		return 0, nil, err
+// No other error values or types must be returned.
+func recvMsg(s *transport.Stream, maxRecvMsgSize int) (bool, []byte, error) {
+	isCompressed, msg, err := s.Read(maxRecvMsgSize)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, nil, err
 	}
-
-	pf = payloadFormat(p.header[0])
-	length := binary.BigEndian.Uint32(p.header[1:])
-
-	if length == 0 {
-		return pf, nil, nil
-	}
-	if int64(length) > int64(maxInt) {
-		return 0, nil, status.Errorf(codes.ResourceExhausted, "grpc: received message larger than max length allowed on current machine (%d vs. %d)", length, maxInt)
-	}
-	if int(length) > maxReceiveMessageSize {
-		return 0, nil, status.Errorf(codes.ResourceExhausted, "grpc: received message larger than max (%d vs. %d)", length, maxReceiveMessageSize)
-	}
-	// TODO(bradfitz,zhaoq): garbage. reuse buffer after proto decoding instead
-	// of making it for each message:
-	msg = make([]byte, int(length))
-	if _, err := p.r.Read(msg); err != nil {
-		if err == io.EOF {
-			err = io.ErrUnexpectedEOF
-		}
-		return 0, nil, err
-	}
-	return pf, msg, nil
+	return isCompressed, msg, nil
 }
 
-// encode serializes msg and returns a buffer of message header and a buffer of msg.
-// If msg is nil, it generates the message header and an empty msg buffer.
+// encode serializes msg and returns a buffer of msg.
+// If msg is nil, it generates an empty buffer.
 // TODO(ddyihai): eliminate extra Compressor parameter.
-func encode(c baseCodec, msg interface{}, cp Compressor, outPayload *stats.OutPayload, compressor encoding.Compressor) ([]byte, []byte, error) {
+func encode(c baseCodec, msg interface{}, cp Compressor, outPayload *stats.OutPayload, compressor encoding.Compressor) ([]byte, error) {
 	var (
 		b    []byte
 		cbuf *bytes.Buffer
 	)
-	const (
-		payloadLen = 1
-		sizeLen    = 4
-	)
 	if msg != nil {
 		var err error
 		b, err = c.Marshal(msg)
 		if err != nil {
-			return nil, nil, status.Errorf(codes.Internal, "grpc: error while marshaling: %v", err.Error())
+			return nil, status.Errorf(codes.Internal, "grpc: error while marshaling: %v", err.Error())
 		}
 		if outPayload != nil {
 			outPayload.Payload = msg
@@ -507,49 +460,36 @@ func encode(c baseCodec, msg interface{}, cp Compressor, outPayload *stats.OutPa
 			if compressor != nil {
 				z, _ := compressor.Compress(cbuf)
 				if _, err := z.Write(b); err != nil {
-					return nil, nil, status.Errorf(codes.Internal, "grpc: error while compressing: %v", err.Error())
+					return nil, status.Errorf(codes.Internal, "grpc: error while compressing: %v", err.Error())
 				}
 				z.Close()
 			} else {
 				// If Compressor is not set by UseCompressor, use default Compressor
 				if err := cp.Do(cbuf, b); err != nil {
-					return nil, nil, status.Errorf(codes.Internal, "grpc: error while compressing: %v", err.Error())
+					return nil, status.Errorf(codes.Internal, "grpc: error while compressing: %v", err.Error())
 				}
 			}
 			b = cbuf.Bytes()
 		}
 	}
 	if uint(len(b)) > math.MaxUint32 {
-		return nil, nil, status.Errorf(codes.ResourceExhausted, "grpc: message too large (%d bytes)", len(b))
+		return nil, status.Errorf(codes.ResourceExhausted, "grpc: message too large (%d bytes)", len(b))
 	}
 
-	bufHeader := make([]byte, payloadLen+sizeLen)
-	if compressor != nil || cp != nil {
-		bufHeader[0] = byte(compressionMade)
-	} else {
-		bufHeader[0] = byte(compressionNone)
-	}
-
-	// Write length of b into buf
-	binary.BigEndian.PutUint32(bufHeader[payloadLen:], uint32(len(b)))
 	if outPayload != nil {
-		outPayload.WireLength = payloadLen + sizeLen + len(b)
+		// A 5 byte gRPC-specific message header will added to this message
+		// before it's put on wire.
+		outPayload.WireLength = 5 + len(b)
 	}
-	return bufHeader, b, nil
+	return b, nil
 }
 
-func checkRecvPayload(pf payloadFormat, recvCompress string, haveCompressor bool) *status.Status {
-	switch pf {
-	case compressionNone:
-	case compressionMade:
-		if recvCompress == "" || recvCompress == encoding.Identity {
-			return status.New(codes.Internal, "grpc: compressed flag set with identity or empty encoding")
-		}
-		if !haveCompressor {
-			return status.Newf(codes.Unimplemented, "grpc: Decompressor is not installed for grpc-encoding %q", recvCompress)
-		}
-	default:
-		return status.Newf(codes.Internal, "grpc: received unexpected payload format %d", pf)
+func checkRecvPayload(recvCompress string, haveCompressor bool) *status.Status {
+	if recvCompress == "" || recvCompress == encoding.Identity {
+		return status.New(codes.Internal, "grpc: compressed flag set with identity or empty encoding")
+	}
+	if !haveCompressor {
+		return status.Newf(codes.Unimplemented, "grpc: Decompressor is not installed for grpc-encoding %q", recvCompress)
 	}
 	return nil
 }
@@ -557,8 +497,8 @@ func checkRecvPayload(pf payloadFormat, recvCompress string, haveCompressor bool
 // For the two compressor parameters, both should not be set, but if they are,
 // dc takes precedence over compressor.
 // TODO(dfawley): wrap the old compressor/decompressor using the new API?
-func recv(p *parser, c baseCodec, s *transport.Stream, dc Decompressor, m interface{}, maxReceiveMessageSize int, inPayload *stats.InPayload, compressor encoding.Compressor) error {
-	pf, d, err := p.recvMsg(maxReceiveMessageSize)
+func recv(c baseCodec, s *transport.Stream, dc Decompressor, m interface{}, maxReceiveMessageSize int, inPayload *stats.InPayload, compressor encoding.Compressor) error {
+	isCompressed, d, err := recvMsg(s, maxReceiveMessageSize)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -566,11 +506,10 @@ func recv(p *parser, c baseCodec, s *transport.Stream, dc Decompressor, m interf
 		inPayload.WireLength = len(d)
 	}
 
-	if st := checkRecvPayload(pf, s.RecvCompress(), compressor != nil || dc != nil); st != nil {
-		return st.Err()
-	}
-
-	if pf == compressionMade {
+	if isCompressed {
+		if st := checkRecvPayload(s.RecvCompress(), compressor != nil || dc != nil); st != nil {
+			return st.Err()
+		}
 		// To match legacy behavior, if the decompressor is set by WithDecompressor or RPCDecompressor,
 		// use this decompressor as the default.
 		if dc != nil {
@@ -588,11 +527,11 @@ func recv(p *parser, c baseCodec, s *transport.Stream, dc Decompressor, m interf
 				return status.Errorf(codes.Internal, "grpc: failed to decompress the received message %v", err)
 			}
 		}
-	}
-	if len(d) > maxReceiveMessageSize {
-		// TODO: Revisit the error code. Currently keep it consistent with java
-		// implementation.
-		return status.Errorf(codes.ResourceExhausted, "grpc: received message larger than max (%d vs. %d)", len(d), maxReceiveMessageSize)
+		if len(d) > maxReceiveMessageSize {
+			// TODO: Revisit the error code. Currently keep it consistent with java
+			// implementation.
+			return status.Errorf(codes.ResourceExhausted, "grpc: received message larger than max (%d vs. %d)", len(d), maxReceiveMessageSize)
+		}
 	}
 	if err := c.Unmarshal(d, m); err != nil {
 		return status.Errorf(codes.Internal, "grpc: failed to unmarshal the received message %v", err)
diff --git a/rpc_util_test.go b/rpc_util_test.go
index 770e850c6..2cf2b43a5 100644
--- a/rpc_util_test.go
+++ b/rpc_util_test.go
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ import (
 	"bytes"
 	"compress/gzip"
 	"io"
-	"math"
 	"reflect"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -45,77 +44,20 @@ func (f fullReader) Read(p []byte) (int, error) {
 
 var _ CallOption = EmptyCallOption{} // ensure EmptyCallOption implements the interface
 
-func TestSimpleParsing(t *testing.T) {
-	bigMsg := bytes.Repeat([]byte{'x'}, 1<<24)
-	for _, test := range []struct {
-		// input
-		p []byte
-		// outputs
-		err error
-		b   []byte
-		pt  payloadFormat
-	}{
-		{nil, io.EOF, nil, compressionNone},
-		{[]byte{0, 0, 0, 0, 0}, nil, nil, compressionNone},
-		{[]byte{0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 'a'}, nil, []byte{'a'}, compressionNone},
-		{[]byte{1, 0}, io.ErrUnexpectedEOF, nil, compressionNone},
-		{[]byte{0, 0, 0, 0, 10, 'a'}, io.ErrUnexpectedEOF, nil, compressionNone},
-		// Check that messages with length >= 2^24 are parsed.
-		{append([]byte{0, 1, 0, 0, 0}, bigMsg...), nil, bigMsg, compressionNone},
-	} {
-		buf := fullReader{bytes.NewReader(test.p)}
-		parser := &parser{r: buf}
-		pt, b, err := parser.recvMsg(math.MaxInt32)
-		if err != test.err || !bytes.Equal(b, test.b) || pt != test.pt {
-			t.Fatalf("parser{%v}.recvMsg(_) = %v, %v, %v\nwant %v, %v, %v", test.p, pt, b, err, test.pt, test.b, test.err)
-		}
-	}
-}
-
-func TestMultipleParsing(t *testing.T) {
-	// Set a byte stream consists of 3 messages with their headers.
-	p := []byte{0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 'a', 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 'b', 'c', 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 'd'}
-	b := fullReader{bytes.NewReader(p)}
-	parser := &parser{r: b}
-
-	wantRecvs := []struct {
-		pt   payloadFormat
-		data []byte
-	}{
-		{compressionNone, []byte("a")},
-		{compressionNone, []byte("bc")},
-		{compressionNone, []byte("d")},
-	}
-	for i, want := range wantRecvs {
-		pt, data, err := parser.recvMsg(math.MaxInt32)
-		if err != nil || pt != want.pt || !reflect.DeepEqual(data, want.data) {
-			t.Fatalf("after %d calls, parser{%v}.recvMsg(_) = %v, %v, %v\nwant %v, %v, <nil>",
-				i, p, pt, data, err, want.pt, want.data)
-		}
-	}
-
-	pt, data, err := parser.recvMsg(math.MaxInt32)
-	if err != io.EOF {
-		t.Fatalf("after %d recvMsgs calls, parser{%v}.recvMsg(_) = %v, %v, %v\nwant _, _, %v",
-			len(wantRecvs), p, pt, data, err, io.EOF)
-	}
-}
-
 func TestEncode(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, test := range []struct {
 		// input
 		msg proto.Message
 		cp  Compressor
 		// outputs
-		hdr  []byte
 		data []byte
 		err  error
 	}{
-		{nil, nil, []byte{0, 0, 0, 0, 0}, []byte{}, nil},
+		{nil, nil, []byte{}, nil},
 	} {
-		hdr, data, err := encode(encoding.GetCodec(protoenc.Name), test.msg, nil, nil, nil)
-		if err != test.err || !bytes.Equal(hdr, test.hdr) || !bytes.Equal(data, test.data) {
-			t.Fatalf("encode(_, _, %v, _) = %v, %v, %v\nwant %v, %v, %v", test.cp, hdr, data, err, test.hdr, test.data, test.err)
+		data, err := encode(encoding.GetCodec(protoenc.Name), test.msg, nil, nil, nil)
+		if err != test.err || !bytes.Equal(data, test.data) {
+			t.Fatalf("encode(_, _, %v, _) = %v, %v\nwant %v, %v", test.cp, data, err, test.data, test.err)
 		}
 	}
 }
@@ -214,8 +156,11 @@ func TestParseDialTarget(t *testing.T) {
 func bmEncode(b *testing.B, mSize int) {
 	cdc := encoding.GetCodec(protoenc.Name)
 	msg := &perfpb.Buffer{Body: make([]byte, mSize)}
-	encodeHdr, encodeData, _ := encode(cdc, msg, nil, nil, nil)
-	encodedSz := int64(len(encodeHdr) + len(encodeData))
+	encodeData, _ := encode(cdc, msg, nil, nil, nil)
+	// 5 bytes of gRPC-specific message header
+	// is added to the message before it is written
+	// to the wire.
+	encodedSz := int64(5 + len(encodeData))
 	b.ReportAllocs()
 	b.ResetTimer()
 	for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
diff --git a/server.go b/server.go
index a7ef6cc25..6a59b7cff 100644
--- a/server.go
+++ b/server.go
@@ -831,7 +831,7 @@ func (s *Server) sendResponse(t transport.ServerTransport, stream *transport.Str
 	if s.opts.statsHandler != nil {
 		outPayload = &stats.OutPayload{}
 	}
-	hdr, data, err := encode(s.getCodec(stream.ContentSubtype()), msg, cp, outPayload, comp)
+	data, err := encode(s.getCodec(stream.ContentSubtype()), msg, cp, outPayload, comp)
 	if err != nil {
 		grpclog.Errorln("grpc: server failed to encode response: ", err)
 		return err
@@ -839,7 +839,8 @@ func (s *Server) sendResponse(t transport.ServerTransport, stream *transport.Str
 	if len(data) > s.opts.maxSendMessageSize {
 		return status.Errorf(codes.ResourceExhausted, "grpc: trying to send message larger than max (%d vs. %d)", len(data), s.opts.maxSendMessageSize)
 	}
-	err = t.Write(stream, hdr, data, opts)
+	opts.IsCompressed = cp != nil || comp != nil
+	err = t.Write(stream, data, opts)
 	if err == nil && outPayload != nil {
 		outPayload.SentTime = time.Now()
 		s.opts.statsHandler.HandleRPC(stream.Context(), outPayload)
@@ -924,8 +925,7 @@ func (s *Server) processUnaryRPC(t transport.ServerTransport, stream *transport.
 		}
 	}
 
-	p := &parser{r: stream}
-	pf, req, err := p.recvMsg(s.opts.maxReceiveMessageSize)
+	isCompressed, req, err := recvMsg(stream, s.opts.maxReceiveMessageSize)
 	if err == io.EOF {
 		// The entire stream is done (for unary RPC only).
 		return err
@@ -955,12 +955,6 @@ func (s *Server) processUnaryRPC(t transport.ServerTransport, stream *transport.
 	if channelz.IsOn() {
 		t.IncrMsgRecv()
 	}
-	if st := checkRecvPayload(pf, stream.RecvCompress(), dc != nil || decomp != nil); st != nil {
-		if e := t.WriteStatus(stream, st); e != nil {
-			grpclog.Warningf("grpc: Server.processUnaryRPC failed to write status %v", e)
-		}
-		return st.Err()
-	}
 	var inPayload *stats.InPayload
 	if sh != nil {
 		inPayload = &stats.InPayload{
@@ -971,7 +965,10 @@ func (s *Server) processUnaryRPC(t transport.ServerTransport, stream *transport.
 		if inPayload != nil {
 			inPayload.WireLength = len(req)
 		}
-		if pf == compressionMade {
+		if isCompressed {
+			if st := checkRecvPayload(stream.RecvCompress(), dc != nil || decomp != nil); st != nil {
+				return st.Err()
+			}
 			var err error
 			if dc != nil {
 				req, err = dc.Do(bytes.NewReader(req))
@@ -985,11 +982,11 @@ func (s *Server) processUnaryRPC(t transport.ServerTransport, stream *transport.
 					return status.Errorf(codes.Internal, "grpc: failed to decompress the received message %v", err)
 				}
 			}
-		}
-		if len(req) > s.opts.maxReceiveMessageSize {
-			// TODO: Revisit the error code. Currently keep it consistent with
-			// java implementation.
-			return status.Errorf(codes.ResourceExhausted, "grpc: received message larger than max (%d vs. %d)", len(req), s.opts.maxReceiveMessageSize)
+			if len(req) > s.opts.maxReceiveMessageSize {
+				// TODO: Revisit the error code. Currently keep it consistent with
+				// java implementation.
+				return status.Errorf(codes.ResourceExhausted, "grpc: received message larger than max (%d vs. %d)", len(req), s.opts.maxReceiveMessageSize)
+			}
 		}
 		if err := s.getCodec(stream.ContentSubtype()).Unmarshal(req, v); err != nil {
 			return status.Errorf(codes.Internal, "grpc: error unmarshalling request: %v", err)
@@ -1100,7 +1097,6 @@ func (s *Server) processStreamingRPC(t transport.ServerTransport, stream *transp
 		ctx:   ctx,
 		t:     t,
 		s:     stream,
-		p:     &parser{r: stream},
 		codec: s.getCodec(stream.ContentSubtype()),
 		maxReceiveMessageSize: s.opts.maxReceiveMessageSize,
 		maxSendMessageSize:    s.opts.maxSendMessageSize,
diff --git a/stream.go b/stream.go
index 82921a15a..1b5dd4956 100644
--- a/stream.go
+++ b/stream.go
@@ -290,7 +290,6 @@ func newClientStream(ctx context.Context, desc *StreamDesc, cc *ClientConn, meth
 		attempt: &csAttempt{
 			t:            t,
 			s:            s,
-			p:            &parser{r: s},
 			done:         done,
 			dc:           cc.dopts.dc,
 			ctx:          ctx,
@@ -347,7 +346,6 @@ type csAttempt struct {
 	cs   *clientStream
 	t    transport.ClientTransport
 	s    *transport.Stream
-	p    *parser
 	done func(balancer.DoneInfo)
 
 	dc        Decompressor
@@ -472,7 +470,7 @@ func (a *csAttempt) sendMsg(m interface{}) (err error) {
 			Client: true,
 		}
 	}
-	hdr, data, err := encode(cs.codec, m, cs.cp, outPayload, cs.comp)
+	data, err := encode(cs.codec, m, cs.cp, outPayload, cs.comp)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -482,7 +480,11 @@ func (a *csAttempt) sendMsg(m interface{}) (err error) {
 	if !cs.desc.ClientStreams {
 		cs.sentLast = true
 	}
-	err = a.t.Write(a.s, hdr, data, &transport.Options{Last: !cs.desc.ClientStreams})
+	opts := &transport.Options{
+		Last:         !cs.desc.ClientStreams,
+		IsCompressed: cs.cp != nil || cs.comp != nil,
+	}
+	err = a.t.Write(a.s, data, opts)
 	if err == nil {
 		if outPayload != nil {
 			outPayload.SentTime = time.Now()
@@ -526,7 +528,7 @@ func (a *csAttempt) recvMsg(m interface{}) (err error) {
 		// Only initialize this state once per stream.
 		a.decompSet = true
 	}
-	err = recv(a.p, cs.codec, a.s, a.dc, m, *cs.c.maxReceiveMessageSize, inPayload, a.decomp)
+	err = recv(cs.codec, a.s, a.dc, m, *cs.c.maxReceiveMessageSize, inPayload, a.decomp)
 	if err != nil {
 		if err == io.EOF {
 			if statusErr := a.s.Status().Err(); statusErr != nil {
@@ -556,7 +558,7 @@ func (a *csAttempt) recvMsg(m interface{}) (err error) {
 
 	// Special handling for non-server-stream rpcs.
 	// This recv expects EOF or errors, so we don't collect inPayload.
-	err = recv(a.p, cs.codec, a.s, a.dc, m, *cs.c.maxReceiveMessageSize, nil, a.decomp)
+	err = recv(cs.codec, a.s, a.dc, m, *cs.c.maxReceiveMessageSize, nil, a.decomp)
 	if err == nil {
 		return toRPCErr(errors.New("grpc: client streaming protocol violation: get <nil>, want <EOF>"))
 	}
@@ -572,7 +574,7 @@ func (a *csAttempt) closeSend() {
 		return
 	}
 	cs.sentLast = true
-	cs.attempt.t.Write(cs.attempt.s, nil, nil, &transport.Options{Last: true})
+	cs.attempt.t.Write(cs.attempt.s, nil, &transport.Options{Last: true})
 	// We ignore errors from Write.  Any error it would return would also be
 	// returned by a subsequent RecvMsg call, and the user is supposed to always
 	// finish the stream by calling RecvMsg until it returns err != nil.
@@ -635,7 +637,6 @@ type serverStream struct {
 	ctx   context.Context
 	t     transport.ServerTransport
 	s     *transport.Stream
-	p     *parser
 	codec baseCodec
 
 	cp     Compressor
@@ -700,14 +701,18 @@ func (ss *serverStream) SendMsg(m interface{}) (err error) {
 	if ss.statsHandler != nil {
 		outPayload = &stats.OutPayload{}
 	}
-	hdr, data, err := encode(ss.codec, m, ss.cp, outPayload, ss.comp)
+	data, err := encode(ss.codec, m, ss.cp, outPayload, ss.comp)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 	if len(data) > ss.maxSendMessageSize {
 		return status.Errorf(codes.ResourceExhausted, "trying to send message larger than max (%d vs. %d)", len(data), ss.maxSendMessageSize)
 	}
-	if err := ss.t.Write(ss.s, hdr, data, &transport.Options{Last: false}); err != nil {
+	opts := &transport.Options{
+		Last:         false,
+		IsCompressed: ss.cp != nil || ss.comp != nil,
+	}
+	if err := ss.t.Write(ss.s, data, opts); err != nil {
 		return toRPCErr(err)
 	}
 	if outPayload != nil {
@@ -743,7 +748,7 @@ func (ss *serverStream) RecvMsg(m interface{}) (err error) {
 	if ss.statsHandler != nil {
 		inPayload = &stats.InPayload{}
 	}
-	if err := recv(ss.p, ss.codec, ss.s, ss.dc, m, ss.maxReceiveMessageSize, inPayload, ss.decomp); err != nil {
+	if err := recv(ss.codec, ss.s, ss.dc, m, ss.maxReceiveMessageSize, inPayload, ss.decomp); err != nil {
 		if err == io.EOF {
 			return err
 		}
diff --git a/transport/flowcontrol.go b/transport/flowcontrol.go
index 378f5c450..babdfabdd 100644
--- a/transport/flowcontrol.go
+++ b/transport/flowcontrol.go
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ package transport
 import (
 	"fmt"
 	"math"
-	"sync"
 	"sync/atomic"
 	"time"
 )
@@ -96,35 +95,39 @@ func (w *writeQuota) replenish(n int) {
 }
 
 type trInFlow struct {
-	limit               uint32
-	unacked             uint32
-	effectiveWindowSize uint32
+	limit               uint32 // accessed by reader goroutine.
+	unacked             uint32 // accessed by reader goroutine.
+	effectiveWindowSize uint32 // accessed by reader and channelz request goroutine.
+	// Callback used to schedule window update.
+	scheduleWU func(uint32)
 }
 
-func (f *trInFlow) newLimit(n uint32) uint32 {
-	d := n - f.limit
+// Sets the new limit.
+func (f *trInFlow) newLimit(n uint32) {
+	if n > f.limit {
+		f.scheduleWU(n - f.limit)
+	}
 	f.limit = n
 	f.updateEffectiveWindowSize()
-	return d
 }
 
-func (f *trInFlow) onData(n uint32) uint32 {
+func (f *trInFlow) onData(n uint32) {
 	f.unacked += n
 	if f.unacked >= f.limit/4 {
 		w := f.unacked
 		f.unacked = 0
-		f.updateEffectiveWindowSize()
-		return w
+		f.scheduleWU(w)
 	}
 	f.updateEffectiveWindowSize()
-	return 0
 }
 
-func (f *trInFlow) reset() uint32 {
-	w := f.unacked
+func (f *trInFlow) reset() {
+	if f.unacked == 0 {
+		return
+	}
+	f.scheduleWU(f.unacked)
 	f.unacked = 0
 	f.updateEffectiveWindowSize()
-	return w
 }
 
 func (f *trInFlow) updateEffectiveWindowSize() {
@@ -135,102 +138,57 @@ func (f *trInFlow) getSize() uint32 {
 	return atomic.LoadUint32(&f.effectiveWindowSize)
 }
 
-// TODO(mmukhi): Simplify this code.
-// inFlow deals with inbound flow control
-type inFlow struct {
-	mu sync.Mutex
+// stInFlow deals with inbound flow control for stream.
+// It can be simultaneously read by transport's reader
+// goroutine and an RPC's goroutine.
+// It is protected by the lock in stream that owns it.
+type stInFlow struct {
+	// rcvd is the bytes of data that this end-point has
+	// received from the perspective of other side.
+	// This can go negative. It must be Accessed atomically.
+	// Needs to be aligned because of golang bug with atomics:
+	// https://golang.org/pkg/sync/atomic/#pkg-note-BUG
+	rcvd int64
 	// The inbound flow control limit for pending data.
 	limit uint32
-	// pendingData is the overall data which have been received but not been
-	// consumed by applications.
-	pendingData uint32
-	// The amount of data the application has consumed but grpc has not sent
-	// window update for them. Used to reduce window update frequency.
-	pendingUpdate uint32
-	// delta is the extra window update given by receiver when an application
-	// is reading data bigger in size than the inFlow limit.
-	delta uint32
+	// number of bytes received so far, this should be accessed
+	// number of bytes that have been read by the RPC.
+	read uint32
+	// a window update should be sent when the RPC has
+	// read these many bytes.
+	// TODO(mmukhi, dfawley): Does this have to be limit/4?
+	// Keeping it a constant makes implementation easy.
+	wuThreshold uint32
+	// Callback used to schedule window update.
+	scheduleWU func(uint32)
 }
 
-// newLimit updates the inflow window to a new value n.
-// It assumes that n is always greater than the old limit.
-func (f *inFlow) newLimit(n uint32) uint32 {
-	f.mu.Lock()
-	d := n - f.limit
-	f.limit = n
-	f.mu.Unlock()
-	return d
+// called by transport's reader goroutine to set a new limit on
+// incoming flow control based on BDP estimation.
+func (s *stInFlow) newLimit(n uint32) {
+	s.limit = n
 }
 
-func (f *inFlow) maybeAdjust(n uint32) uint32 {
-	if n > uint32(math.MaxInt32) {
-		n = uint32(math.MaxInt32)
+// called by transport's reader goroutine when data is received by it.
+func (s *stInFlow) onData(n uint32) error {
+	rcvd := atomic.AddInt64(&s.rcvd, int64(n))
+	if rcvd > int64(s.limit) { // Flow control violation.
+		return fmt.Errorf("received %d-bytes data exceeding the limit %d bytes", rcvd, s.limit)
 	}
-	f.mu.Lock()
-	// estSenderQuota is the receiver's view of the maximum number of bytes the sender
-	// can send without a window update.
-	estSenderQuota := int32(f.limit - (f.pendingData + f.pendingUpdate))
-	// estUntransmittedData is the maximum number of bytes the sends might not have put
-	// on the wire yet. A value of 0 or less means that we have already received all or
-	// more bytes than the application is requesting to read.
-	estUntransmittedData := int32(n - f.pendingData) // Casting into int32 since it could be negative.
-	// This implies that unless we send a window update, the sender won't be able to send all the bytes
-	// for this message. Therefore we must send an update over the limit since there's an active read
-	// request from the application.
-	if estUntransmittedData > estSenderQuota {
-		// Sender's window shouldn't go more than 2^31 - 1 as specified in the HTTP spec.
-		if f.limit+n > maxWindowSize {
-			f.delta = maxWindowSize - f.limit
-		} else {
-			// Send a window update for the whole message and not just the difference between
-			// estUntransmittedData and estSenderQuota. This will be helpful in case the message
-			// is padded; We will fallback on the current available window(at least a 1/4th of the limit).
-			f.delta = n
-		}
-		f.mu.Unlock()
-		return f.delta
-	}
-	f.mu.Unlock()
-	return 0
-}
-
-// onData is invoked when some data frame is received. It updates pendingData.
-func (f *inFlow) onData(n uint32) error {
-	f.mu.Lock()
-	f.pendingData += n
-	if f.pendingData+f.pendingUpdate > f.limit+f.delta {
-		limit := f.limit
-		rcvd := f.pendingData + f.pendingUpdate
-		f.mu.Unlock()
-		return fmt.Errorf("received %d-bytes data exceeding the limit %d bytes", rcvd, limit)
-	}
-	f.mu.Unlock()
 	return nil
 }
 
-// onRead is invoked when the application reads the data. It returns the window size
-// to be sent to the peer.
-func (f *inFlow) onRead(n uint32) uint32 {
-	f.mu.Lock()
-	if f.pendingData == 0 {
-		f.mu.Unlock()
-		return 0
+// called by RPC's goroutine when data is read by it.
+func (s *stInFlow) onRead(n uint32) {
+	s.read += n
+	if s.read >= s.wuThreshold {
+		val := atomic.AddInt64(&s.rcvd, ^int64(s.read-1))
+		// Check if threshold needs to go up since limit might have gone up.
+		val += int64(s.read)
+		if val > int64(4*s.wuThreshold) {
+			s.wuThreshold = uint32(val / 4)
+		}
+		s.scheduleWU(s.read)
+		s.read = 0
 	}
-	f.pendingData -= n
-	if n > f.delta {
-		n -= f.delta
-		f.delta = 0
-	} else {
-		f.delta -= n
-		n = 0
-	}
-	f.pendingUpdate += n
-	if f.pendingUpdate >= f.limit/4 {
-		wu := f.pendingUpdate
-		f.pendingUpdate = 0
-		f.mu.Unlock()
-		return wu
-	}
-	f.mu.Unlock()
-	return 0
 }
diff --git a/transport/handler_server.go b/transport/handler_server.go
index a75338009..012d11448 100644
--- a/transport/handler_server.go
+++ b/transport/handler_server.go
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ import (
 	"golang.org/x/net/http2"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/codes"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/credentials"
+	"google.golang.org/grpc/internal/msgdecoder"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/metadata"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/peer"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/stats"
@@ -269,10 +270,10 @@ func (ht *serverHandlerTransport) writeCommonHeaders(s *Stream) {
 	}
 }
 
-func (ht *serverHandlerTransport) Write(s *Stream, hdr []byte, data []byte, opts *Options) error {
+func (ht *serverHandlerTransport) Write(s *Stream, data []byte, opts *Options) error {
 	return ht.do(func() {
 		ht.writeCommonHeaders(s)
-		ht.rw.Write(hdr)
+		ht.rw.Write(msgdecoder.CreateMessageHeader(len(data), opts.IsCompressed))
 		ht.rw.Write(data)
 		if !opts.Delay {
 			ht.rw.(http.Flusher).Flush()
@@ -337,16 +338,13 @@ func (ht *serverHandlerTransport) HandleStreams(startStream func(*Stream), trace
 
 	req := ht.req
 
-	s := &Stream{
-		id:             0, // irrelevant
-		requestRead:    func(int) {},
-		cancel:         cancel,
-		buf:            newRecvBuffer(),
-		st:             ht,
-		method:         req.URL.Path,
-		recvCompress:   req.Header.Get("grpc-encoding"),
-		contentSubtype: ht.contentSubtype,
-	}
+	s := newStream(ctx)
+	s.cancel = cancel
+	s.st = ht
+	s.method = req.URL.Path
+	s.recvCompress = req.Header.Get("grpc-encoding")
+	s.contentSubtype = ht.contentSubtype
+
 	pr := &peer.Peer{
 		Addr: ht.RemoteAddr(),
 	}
@@ -364,10 +362,6 @@ func (ht *serverHandlerTransport) HandleStreams(startStream func(*Stream), trace
 		}
 		ht.stats.HandleRPC(s.ctx, inHeader)
 	}
-	s.trReader = &transportReader{
-		reader:        &recvBufferReader{ctx: s.ctx, ctxDone: s.ctx.Done(), recv: s.buf},
-		windowHandler: func(int) {},
-	}
 
 	// readerDone is closed when the Body.Read-ing goroutine exits.
 	readerDone := make(chan struct{})
@@ -379,11 +373,11 @@ func (ht *serverHandlerTransport) HandleStreams(startStream func(*Stream), trace
 		for buf := make([]byte, readSize); ; {
 			n, err := req.Body.Read(buf)
 			if n > 0 {
-				s.buf.put(recvMsg{data: buf[:n:n]})
+				s.consume(buf[:n:n], 0)
 				buf = buf[n:]
 			}
 			if err != nil {
-				s.buf.put(recvMsg{err: mapRecvMsgError(err)})
+				s.notifyErr(mapRecvMsgError(err))
 				return
 			}
 			if len(buf) == 0 {
diff --git a/transport/handler_server_test.go b/transport/handler_server_test.go
index 3261b8e3d..c6d4c8917 100644
--- a/transport/handler_server_test.go
+++ b/transport/handler_server_test.go
@@ -423,7 +423,7 @@ func TestHandlerTransport_HandleStreams_WriteStatusWrite(t *testing.T) {
 		st.bodyw.Close() // no body
 
 		st.ht.WriteStatus(s, status.New(codes.OK, ""))
-		st.ht.Write(s, []byte("hdr"), []byte("data"), &Options{})
+		st.ht.Write(s, []byte("data"), &Options{})
 	})
 }
 
diff --git a/transport/http2_client.go b/transport/http2_client.go
index ab97cb571..8fa61bbbb 100644
--- a/transport/http2_client.go
+++ b/transport/http2_client.go
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ import (
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/channelz"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/codes"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/credentials"
+	"google.golang.org/grpc/internal/msgdecoder"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/keepalive"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/metadata"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/peer"
@@ -95,8 +96,9 @@ type http2Client struct {
 	waitingStreams        uint32
 	nextID                uint32
 
-	mu            sync.Mutex // guard the following variables
-	state         transportState
+	mu    sync.Mutex // guard the following variables
+	state transportState
+	// TODO(mmukhi): Make this a sharded map.
 	activeStreams map[uint32]*Stream
 	// prevGoAway ID records the Last-Stream-ID in the previous GOAway frame.
 	prevGoAwayID uint32
@@ -218,7 +220,6 @@ func newHTTP2Client(connectCtx, ctx context.Context, addr TargetInfo, opts Conne
 		goAway:                make(chan struct{}),
 		awakenKeepalive:       make(chan struct{}, 1),
 		framer:                newFramer(conn, writeBufSize, readBufSize),
-		fc:                    &trInFlow{limit: uint32(icwz)},
 		scheme:                scheme,
 		activeStreams:         make(map[uint32]*Stream),
 		isSecure:              isSecure,
@@ -233,6 +234,15 @@ func newHTTP2Client(connectCtx, ctx context.Context, addr TargetInfo, opts Conne
 		streamsQuotaAvailable: make(chan struct{}, 1),
 	}
 	t.controlBuf = newControlBuffer(t.ctxDone)
+	t.fc = &trInFlow{
+		limit: uint32(icwz),
+		scheduleWU: func(w uint32) {
+			t.controlBuf.put(&outgoingWindowUpdate{
+				streamID:  0,
+				increment: w,
+			})
+		},
+	}
 	if opts.InitialWindowSize >= defaultWindowSize {
 		t.initialWindowSize = opts.InitialWindowSize
 		dynamicWindow = false
@@ -306,33 +316,17 @@ func newHTTP2Client(connectCtx, ctx context.Context, addr TargetInfo, opts Conne
 }
 
 func (t *http2Client) newStream(ctx context.Context, callHdr *CallHdr) *Stream {
-	// TODO(zhaoq): Handle uint32 overflow of Stream.id.
-	s := &Stream{
-		done:           make(chan struct{}),
-		method:         callHdr.Method,
-		sendCompress:   callHdr.SendCompress,
-		buf:            newRecvBuffer(),
-		headerChan:     make(chan struct{}),
-		contentSubtype: callHdr.ContentSubtype,
-	}
-	s.wq = newWriteQuota(defaultWriteQuota, s.done)
-	s.requestRead = func(n int) {
-		t.adjustWindow(s, uint32(n))
-	}
 	// The client side stream context should have exactly the same life cycle with the user provided context.
 	// That means, s.ctx should be read-only. And s.ctx is done iff ctx is done.
 	// So we use the original context here instead of creating a copy.
-	s.ctx = ctx
-	s.trReader = &transportReader{
-		reader: &recvBufferReader{
-			ctx:     s.ctx,
-			ctxDone: s.ctx.Done(),
-			recv:    s.buf,
-		},
-		windowHandler: func(n int) {
-			t.updateWindow(s, uint32(n))
-		},
-	}
+	s := newStream(ctx)
+	// Initialize stream with client-side specific fields.
+	s.done = make(chan struct{})
+	s.method = callHdr.Method
+	s.sendCompress = callHdr.SendCompress
+	s.headerChan = make(chan struct{})
+	s.contentSubtype = callHdr.ContentSubtype
+	s.wq = newWriteQuota(defaultWriteQuota, s.done)
 	return s
 }
 
@@ -504,7 +498,7 @@ func (t *http2Client) NewStream(ctx context.Context, callHdr *CallHdr) (_ *Strea
 		}
 		// The stream was unprocessed by the server.
 		atomic.StoreUint32(&s.unprocessed, 1)
-		s.write(recvMsg{err: err})
+		s.notifyErr(err)
 		close(s.done)
 		// If headerChan isn't closed, then close it.
 		if atomic.SwapUint32(&s.headerDone, 1) == 0 {
@@ -572,7 +566,13 @@ func (t *http2Client) NewStream(ctx context.Context, callHdr *CallHdr) (_ *Strea
 		h.streamID = t.nextID
 		t.nextID += 2
 		s.id = h.streamID
-		s.fc = &inFlow{limit: uint32(t.initialWindowSize)}
+		s.fc = &stInFlow{
+			limit: uint32(t.initialWindowSize),
+			scheduleWU: func(w uint32) {
+				t.controlBuf.put(&outgoingWindowUpdate{streamID: s.id, increment: w})
+			},
+			wuThreshold: uint32(t.initialWindowSize / 4),
+		}
 		if t.streamQuota > 0 && t.waitingStreams > 0 {
 			select {
 			case t.streamsQuotaAvailable <- struct{}{}:
@@ -642,7 +642,7 @@ func (t *http2Client) closeStream(s *Stream, err error, rst bool, rstCode http2.
 	}
 	if err != nil {
 		// This will unblock reads eventually.
-		s.write(recvMsg{err: err})
+		s.notifyErr(err)
 	}
 	// This will unblock write.
 	close(s.done)
@@ -740,7 +740,7 @@ func (t *http2Client) GracefulClose() error {
 
 // Write formats the data into HTTP2 data frame(s) and sends it out. The caller
 // should proceed only if Write returns nil.
-func (t *http2Client) Write(s *Stream, hdr []byte, data []byte, opts *Options) error {
+func (t *http2Client) Write(s *Stream, data []byte, opts *Options) error {
 	if opts.Last {
 		// If it's the last message, update stream state.
 		if !s.compareAndSwapState(streamActive, streamWriteDone) {
@@ -753,7 +753,9 @@ func (t *http2Client) Write(s *Stream, hdr []byte, data []byte, opts *Options) e
 		streamID:  s.id,
 		endStream: opts.Last,
 	}
-	if hdr != nil || data != nil { // If it's not an empty data frame.
+	if data != nil { // If it's not an empty data frame.
+		// Get a gRPC-specific header for this message.
+		hdr := msgdecoder.CreateMessageHeader(len(data), opts.IsCompressed)
 		// Add some data to grpc message header so that we can equally
 		// distribute bytes across frames.
 		emptyLen := http2MaxFrameLen - len(hdr)
@@ -778,39 +780,19 @@ func (t *http2Client) getStream(f http2.Frame) (*Stream, bool) {
 	return s, ok
 }
 
-// adjustWindow sends out extra window update over the initial window size
-// of stream if the application is requesting data larger in size than
-// the window.
-func (t *http2Client) adjustWindow(s *Stream, n uint32) {
-	if w := s.fc.maybeAdjust(n); w > 0 {
-		t.controlBuf.put(&outgoingWindowUpdate{streamID: s.id, increment: w})
-	}
-}
-
-// updateWindow adjusts the inbound quota for the stream.
-// Window updates will be sent out when the cumulative quota
-// exceeds the corresponding threshold.
-func (t *http2Client) updateWindow(s *Stream, n uint32) {
-	if w := s.fc.onRead(n); w > 0 {
-		t.controlBuf.put(&outgoingWindowUpdate{streamID: s.id, increment: w})
-	}
-}
-
 // updateFlowControl updates the incoming flow control windows
 // for the transport and the stream based on the current bdp
 // estimation.
 func (t *http2Client) updateFlowControl(n uint32) {
-	t.mu.Lock()
-	for _, s := range t.activeStreams {
-		s.fc.newLimit(n)
-	}
-	t.mu.Unlock()
-	updateIWS := func(interface{}) bool {
+	t.fc.newLimit(n)                      // Update transport's window.
+	updateIWS := func(interface{}) bool { // Update streams' windows.
+		// All future streams should see the
+		// updated value.
 		t.initialWindowSize = int32(n)
 		return true
 	}
-	t.controlBuf.executeAndPut(updateIWS, &outgoingWindowUpdate{streamID: 0, increment: t.fc.newLimit(n)})
-	t.controlBuf.put(&outgoingSettings{
+	// Notify the other side of updated window.
+	t.controlBuf.executeAndPut(updateIWS, &outgoingSettings{
 		ss: []http2.Setting{
 			{
 				ID:  http2.SettingInitialWindowSize,
@@ -818,13 +800,25 @@ func (t *http2Client) updateFlowControl(n uint32) {
 			},
 		},
 	})
+	t.mu.Lock()
+	// Update all the currently active streams.
+	for _, s := range t.activeStreams {
+		s.fc.newLimit(n)
+	}
+	t.mu.Unlock()
 }
 
 func (t *http2Client) handleData(f *http2.DataFrame) {
 	size := f.Header().Length
-	var sendBDPPing bool
-	if t.bdpEst != nil {
-		sendBDPPing = t.bdpEst.add(size)
+	if size == 0 {
+		if f.StreamEnded() {
+			// The server has closed the stream without sending trailers.  Record that
+			// the read direction is closed, and set the status appropriately.
+			if s, ok := t.getStream(f); ok {
+				t.closeStream(s, io.EOF, false, http2.ErrCodeNo, status.New(codes.Internal, "server closed the stream without sending trailers"), nil, true)
+			}
+		}
+		return
 	}
 	// Decouple connection's flow control from application's read.
 	// An update on connection's flow control should not depend on
@@ -835,53 +829,30 @@ func (t *http2Client) handleData(f *http2.DataFrame) {
 	// active(fast) streams from starving in presence of slow or
 	// inactive streams.
 	//
-	if w := t.fc.onData(size); w > 0 {
-		t.controlBuf.put(&outgoingWindowUpdate{
-			streamID:  0,
-			increment: w,
-		})
-	}
-	if sendBDPPing {
+	t.fc.onData(size)
+	if t.bdpEst != nil && t.bdpEst.add(size) {
 		// Avoid excessive ping detection (e.g. in an L7 proxy)
 		// by sending a window update prior to the BDP ping.
-
-		if w := t.fc.reset(); w > 0 {
-			t.controlBuf.put(&outgoingWindowUpdate{
-				streamID:  0,
-				increment: w,
-			})
-		}
-
+		t.fc.reset()
 		t.controlBuf.put(bdpPing)
 	}
+
 	// Select the right stream to dispatch.
-	s, ok := t.getStream(f)
-	if !ok {
-		return
-	}
-	if size > 0 {
-		if err := s.fc.onData(size); err != nil {
+	if s, ok := t.getStream(f); ok {
+		d := f.Data()
+		padding := 0
+		if f.Header().Flags.Has(http2.FlagDataPadded) {
+			padding = int(size) - len(d)
+		}
+		if err := s.consume(d, padding); err != nil {
 			t.closeStream(s, io.EOF, true, http2.ErrCodeFlowControl, status.New(codes.Internal, err.Error()), nil, false)
 			return
 		}
-		if f.Header().Flags.Has(http2.FlagDataPadded) {
-			if w := s.fc.onRead(size - uint32(len(f.Data()))); w > 0 {
-				t.controlBuf.put(&outgoingWindowUpdate{s.id, w})
-			}
+		if f.StreamEnded() {
+			// The server has closed the stream without sending trailers.  Record that
+			// the read direction is closed, and set the status appropriately.
+			t.closeStream(s, io.EOF, false, http2.ErrCodeNo, status.New(codes.Internal, "server closed the stream without sending trailers"), nil, true)
 		}
-		// TODO(bradfitz, zhaoq): A copy is required here because there is no
-		// guarantee f.Data() is consumed before the arrival of next frame.
-		// Can this copy be eliminated?
-		if len(f.Data()) > 0 {
-			data := make([]byte, len(f.Data()))
-			copy(data, f.Data())
-			s.write(recvMsg{data: data})
-		}
-	}
-	// The server has closed the stream without sending trailers.  Record that
-	// the read direction is closed, and set the status appropriately.
-	if f.FrameHeader.Flags.Has(http2.FlagDataEndStream) {
-		t.closeStream(s, io.EOF, false, http2.ErrCodeNo, status.New(codes.Internal, "server closed the stream without sending trailers"), nil, true)
 	}
 }
 
@@ -890,6 +861,7 @@ func (t *http2Client) handleRSTStream(f *http2.RSTStreamFrame) {
 	if !ok {
 		return
 	}
+	errorf("transport: client got RST_STREAM with error %v, for stream: %d", f.ErrCode, s.id)
 	if f.ErrCode == http2.ErrCodeRefusedStream {
 		// The stream was unprocessed by the server.
 		atomic.StoreUint32(&s.unprocessed, 1)
diff --git a/transport/http2_server.go b/transport/http2_server.go
index 8b93e222e..7a4b2892d 100644
--- a/transport/http2_server.go
+++ b/transport/http2_server.go
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ import (
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/channelz"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/codes"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/credentials"
+	"google.golang.org/grpc/internal/msgdecoder"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/keepalive"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/metadata"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/peer"
@@ -212,7 +213,6 @@ func newHTTP2Server(conn net.Conn, config *ServerConfig) (_ ServerTransport, err
 		writerDone:        make(chan struct{}),
 		maxStreams:        maxStreams,
 		inTapHandle:       config.InTapHandle,
-		fc:                &trInFlow{limit: uint32(icwz)},
 		state:             reachable,
 		activeStreams:     make(map[uint32]*Stream),
 		stats:             config.StatsHandler,
@@ -222,6 +222,15 @@ func newHTTP2Server(conn net.Conn, config *ServerConfig) (_ ServerTransport, err
 		initialWindowSize: iwz,
 	}
 	t.controlBuf = newControlBuffer(t.ctxDone)
+	t.fc = &trInFlow{
+		limit: uint32(icwz),
+		scheduleWU: func(w uint32) {
+			t.controlBuf.put(&outgoingWindowUpdate{
+				streamID:  0,
+				increment: w,
+			})
+		},
+	}
 	if dynamicWindow {
 		t.bdpEst = &bdpEstimator{
 			bdp:               initialWindowSize,
@@ -298,25 +307,14 @@ func (t *http2Server) operateHeaders(frame *http2.MetaHeadersFrame, handle func(
 			return
 		}
 	}
-
-	buf := newRecvBuffer()
-	s := &Stream{
-		id:             streamID,
-		st:             t,
-		buf:            buf,
-		fc:             &inFlow{limit: uint32(t.initialWindowSize)},
-		recvCompress:   state.encoding,
-		method:         state.method,
-		contentSubtype: state.contentSubtype,
-	}
-	if frame.StreamEnded() {
-		// s is just created by the caller. No lock needed.
-		s.state = streamReadDone
-	}
+	var (
+		ctx    context.Context
+		cancel func()
+	)
 	if state.timeoutSet {
-		s.ctx, s.cancel = context.WithTimeout(t.ctx, state.timeout)
+		ctx, cancel = context.WithTimeout(t.ctx, state.timeout)
 	} else {
-		s.ctx, s.cancel = context.WithCancel(t.ctx)
+		ctx, cancel = context.WithCancel(t.ctx)
 	}
 	pr := &peer.Peer{
 		Addr: t.remoteAddr,
@@ -325,34 +323,55 @@ func (t *http2Server) operateHeaders(frame *http2.MetaHeadersFrame, handle func(
 	if t.authInfo != nil {
 		pr.AuthInfo = t.authInfo
 	}
-	s.ctx = peer.NewContext(s.ctx, pr)
+	ctx = peer.NewContext(ctx, pr)
 	// Attach the received metadata to the context.
 	if len(state.mdata) > 0 {
-		s.ctx = metadata.NewIncomingContext(s.ctx, state.mdata)
+		ctx = metadata.NewIncomingContext(ctx, state.mdata)
 	}
 	if state.statsTags != nil {
-		s.ctx = stats.SetIncomingTags(s.ctx, state.statsTags)
+		ctx = stats.SetIncomingTags(ctx, state.statsTags)
 	}
 	if state.statsTrace != nil {
-		s.ctx = stats.SetIncomingTrace(s.ctx, state.statsTrace)
+		ctx = stats.SetIncomingTrace(ctx, state.statsTrace)
 	}
 	if t.inTapHandle != nil {
 		var err error
 		info := &tap.Info{
 			FullMethodName: state.method,
 		}
-		s.ctx, err = t.inTapHandle(s.ctx, info)
+		ctx, err = t.inTapHandle(ctx, info)
 		if err != nil {
 			warningf("transport: http2Server.operateHeaders got an error from InTapHandle: %v", err)
 			t.controlBuf.put(&cleanupStream{
-				streamID: s.id,
+				streamID: streamID,
 				rst:      true,
 				rstCode:  http2.ErrCodeRefusedStream,
 				onWrite:  func() {},
 			})
+			cancel()
 			return
 		}
 	}
+	ctx = traceCtx(ctx, state.method)
+	s := newStream(ctx)
+	// Initialize s with server-side specific fields.
+	s.cancel = cancel
+	s.id = streamID
+	s.st = t
+	s.fc = &stInFlow{
+		limit: uint32(t.initialWindowSize),
+		scheduleWU: func(w uint32) {
+			t.controlBuf.put(&outgoingWindowUpdate{streamID: streamID, increment: w})
+		},
+		wuThreshold: uint32(t.initialWindowSize / 4),
+	}
+	s.recvCompress = state.encoding
+	s.method = state.method
+	s.contentSubtype = state.contentSubtype
+	if frame.StreamEnded() {
+		s.state = streamReadDone
+	}
+	s.wq = newWriteQuota(defaultWriteQuota, s.ctxDone)
 	t.mu.Lock()
 	if t.state != reachable {
 		t.mu.Unlock()
@@ -386,10 +405,6 @@ func (t *http2Server) operateHeaders(frame *http2.MetaHeadersFrame, handle func(
 		t.lastStreamCreated = time.Now()
 		t.czmu.Unlock()
 	}
-	s.requestRead = func(n int) {
-		t.adjustWindow(s, uint32(n))
-	}
-	s.ctx = traceCtx(s.ctx, s.method)
 	if t.stats != nil {
 		s.ctx = t.stats.TagRPC(s.ctx, &stats.RPCTagInfo{FullMethodName: s.method})
 		inHeader := &stats.InHeader{
@@ -401,18 +416,6 @@ func (t *http2Server) operateHeaders(frame *http2.MetaHeadersFrame, handle func(
 		}
 		t.stats.HandleRPC(s.ctx, inHeader)
 	}
-	s.ctxDone = s.ctx.Done()
-	s.wq = newWriteQuota(defaultWriteQuota, s.ctxDone)
-	s.trReader = &transportReader{
-		reader: &recvBufferReader{
-			ctx:     s.ctx,
-			ctxDone: s.ctxDone,
-			recv:    s.buf,
-		},
-		windowHandler: func(n int) {
-			t.updateWindow(s, uint32(n))
-		},
-	}
 	handle(s)
 	return
 }
@@ -490,41 +493,20 @@ func (t *http2Server) getStream(f http2.Frame) (*Stream, bool) {
 	return s, true
 }
 
-// adjustWindow sends out extra window update over the initial window size
-// of stream if the application is requesting data larger in size than
-// the window.
-func (t *http2Server) adjustWindow(s *Stream, n uint32) {
-	if w := s.fc.maybeAdjust(n); w > 0 {
-		t.controlBuf.put(&outgoingWindowUpdate{streamID: s.id, increment: w})
-	}
-
-}
-
-// updateWindow adjusts the inbound quota for the stream and the transport.
-// Window updates will deliver to the controller for sending when
-// the cumulative quota exceeds the corresponding threshold.
-func (t *http2Server) updateWindow(s *Stream, n uint32) {
-	if w := s.fc.onRead(n); w > 0 {
-		t.controlBuf.put(&outgoingWindowUpdate{streamID: s.id,
-			increment: w,
-		})
-	}
-}
-
 // updateFlowControl updates the incoming flow control windows
 // for the transport and the stream based on the current bdp
 // estimation.
 func (t *http2Server) updateFlowControl(n uint32) {
 	t.mu.Lock()
+	// Update all the current streams' window.
 	for _, s := range t.activeStreams {
 		s.fc.newLimit(n)
 	}
+	// Update all the future streams' window.
 	t.initialWindowSize = int32(n)
 	t.mu.Unlock()
-	t.controlBuf.put(&outgoingWindowUpdate{
-		streamID:  0,
-		increment: t.fc.newLimit(n),
-	})
+	t.fc.newLimit(n) // Update transport's window.
+	// Notify the other side of the updated value.
 	t.controlBuf.put(&outgoingSettings{
 		ss: []http2.Setting{
 			{
@@ -538,9 +520,15 @@ func (t *http2Server) updateFlowControl(n uint32) {
 
 func (t *http2Server) handleData(f *http2.DataFrame) {
 	size := f.Header().Length
-	var sendBDPPing bool
-	if t.bdpEst != nil {
-		sendBDPPing = t.bdpEst.add(size)
+	if size == 0 {
+		if f.StreamEnded() {
+			if s, ok := t.getStream(f); ok {
+				// Received the end of stream from the client.
+				s.compareAndSwapState(streamActive, streamReadDone)
+				s.notifyErr(io.EOF)
+			}
+		}
+		return
 	}
 	// Decouple connection's flow control from application's read.
 	// An update on connection's flow control should not depend on
@@ -550,51 +538,30 @@ func (t *http2Server) handleData(f *http2.DataFrame) {
 	// Decoupling the connection flow control will prevent other
 	// active(fast) streams from starving in presence of slow or
 	// inactive streams.
-	if w := t.fc.onData(size); w > 0 {
-		t.controlBuf.put(&outgoingWindowUpdate{
-			streamID:  0,
-			increment: w,
-		})
-	}
-	if sendBDPPing {
+	t.fc.onData(size)
+	if t.bdpEst != nil && t.bdpEst.add(size) {
 		// Avoid excessive ping detection (e.g. in an L7 proxy)
 		// by sending a window update prior to the BDP ping.
-		if w := t.fc.reset(); w > 0 {
-			t.controlBuf.put(&outgoingWindowUpdate{
-				streamID:  0,
-				increment: w,
-			})
-		}
+		t.fc.reset()
 		t.controlBuf.put(bdpPing)
 	}
 	// Select the right stream to dispatch.
-	s, ok := t.getStream(f)
-	if !ok {
-		return
-	}
-	if size > 0 {
-		if err := s.fc.onData(size); err != nil {
+	if s, ok := t.getStream(f); ok {
+		d := f.Data()
+		padding := 0
+		if f.Header().Flags.Has(http2.FlagDataPadded) {
+			padding = int(size) - len(d)
+		}
+		if err := s.consume(d, padding); err != nil {
+			errorf("transport: flow control error on server: %v", err)
 			t.closeStream(s, true, http2.ErrCodeFlowControl, nil, false)
 			return
 		}
-		if f.Header().Flags.Has(http2.FlagDataPadded) {
-			if w := s.fc.onRead(size - uint32(len(f.Data()))); w > 0 {
-				t.controlBuf.put(&outgoingWindowUpdate{s.id, w})
-			}
+		if f.StreamEnded() {
+			// Received the end of stream from the client.
+			s.compareAndSwapState(streamActive, streamReadDone)
+			s.notifyErr(io.EOF)
 		}
-		// TODO(bradfitz, zhaoq): A copy is required here because there is no
-		// guarantee f.Data() is consumed before the arrival of next frame.
-		// Can this copy be eliminated?
-		if len(f.Data()) > 0 {
-			data := make([]byte, len(f.Data()))
-			copy(data, f.Data())
-			s.write(recvMsg{data: data})
-		}
-	}
-	if f.Header().Flags.Has(http2.FlagDataEndStream) {
-		// Received the end of stream from the client.
-		s.compareAndSwapState(streamActive, streamReadDone)
-		s.write(recvMsg{err: io.EOF})
 	}
 }
 
@@ -792,7 +759,7 @@ func (t *http2Server) WriteStatus(s *Stream, st *status.Status) error {
 
 // Write converts the data into HTTP2 data frame and sends it out. Non-nil error
 // is returns if it fails (e.g., framing error, transport error).
-func (t *http2Server) Write(s *Stream, hdr []byte, data []byte, opts *Options) error {
+func (t *http2Server) Write(s *Stream, data []byte, opts *Options) error {
 	if !s.headerOk { // Headers haven't been written yet.
 		if err := t.WriteHeader(s, nil); err != nil {
 			// TODO(mmukhi, dfawley): Make sure this is the right code to return.
@@ -811,6 +778,8 @@ func (t *http2Server) Write(s *Stream, hdr []byte, data []byte, opts *Options) e
 			return ContextErr(s.ctx.Err())
 		}
 	}
+	// Get a gRPC-specific header for this message.
+	hdr := msgdecoder.CreateMessageHeader(len(data), opts.IsCompressed)
 	// Add some data to header frame so that we can equally distribute bytes across frames.
 	emptyLen := http2MaxFrameLen - len(hdr)
 	if emptyLen > len(data) {
diff --git a/transport/stream.go b/transport/stream.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bfc4edc43
--- /dev/null
+++ b/transport/stream.go
@@ -0,0 +1,407 @@
+/*
+ *
+ * Copyright 2014 gRPC authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ *
+ */
+
+package transport
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"sync"
+	"sync/atomic"
+
+	"golang.org/x/net/context"
+	"google.golang.org/grpc/codes"
+	"google.golang.org/grpc/internal/msgdecoder"
+	"google.golang.org/grpc/metadata"
+	"google.golang.org/grpc/status"
+)
+
+const maxInt = int(^uint(0) >> 1)
+
+type streamState uint32
+
+const (
+	streamActive    streamState = iota
+	streamWriteDone             // EndStream sent
+	streamReadDone              // EndStream received
+	streamDone                  // the entire stream is finished.
+)
+
+// transport's reader goroutine adds msgdecoder.RecvMsg to it which are later
+// read by RPC's reading goroutine.
+//
+// It is protected by a lock in the Stream that owns it.
+type recvBuffer struct {
+	ctx     context.Context
+	ctxDone <-chan struct{}
+	c       chan *msgdecoder.RecvMsg
+	mu      sync.Mutex
+	waiting bool
+	list    *msgdecoder.RecvMsgList
+}
+
+func newRecvBuffer(ctx context.Context, ctxDone <-chan struct{}) *recvBuffer {
+	return &recvBuffer{
+		ctx:     ctx,
+		ctxDone: ctxDone,
+		c:       make(chan *msgdecoder.RecvMsg, 1),
+		list:    &msgdecoder.RecvMsgList{},
+	}
+}
+
+// put adds r to the underlying list if there's no consumer
+// waiting, otherwise, it writes on the chan directly.
+func (b *recvBuffer) put(r *msgdecoder.RecvMsg) {
+	b.mu.Lock()
+	if b.waiting {
+		b.waiting = false
+		b.mu.Unlock()
+		b.c <- r
+		return
+	}
+	b.list.Enqueue(r)
+	b.mu.Unlock()
+}
+
+// getNoBlock returns a msgdecoder.RecvMsg and true status, if there's
+// any available.
+// If the status is false, the caller must then call
+// getWithBlock() before calling getNoBlock() again.
+func (b *recvBuffer) getNoBlock() (*msgdecoder.RecvMsg, bool) {
+	b.mu.Lock()
+	r := b.list.Dequeue()
+	if r != nil {
+		b.mu.Unlock()
+		return r, true
+	}
+	b.waiting = true
+	b.mu.Unlock()
+	return nil, false
+
+}
+
+// getWithBlock() blocks until a complete message has been
+// received, or an error has occurred or the underlying
+// context has expired.
+// It must only be called after having called GetNoBlock()
+// once.
+func (b *recvBuffer) getWithBlock() (*msgdecoder.RecvMsg, error) {
+	select {
+	case <-b.ctxDone:
+		return nil, ContextErr(b.ctx.Err())
+	case r := <-b.c:
+		return r, nil
+	}
+}
+
+func (b *recvBuffer) get() (*msgdecoder.RecvMsg, error) {
+	m, ok := b.getNoBlock()
+	if ok {
+		return m, nil
+	}
+	m, err := b.getWithBlock()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return m, nil
+}
+
+// Stream represents an RPC in the transport layer.
+type Stream struct {
+	id           uint32
+	st           ServerTransport    // nil for client side Stream
+	ctx          context.Context    // the associated context of the stream
+	cancel       context.CancelFunc // always nil for client side Stream
+	done         chan struct{}      // closed at the end of stream to unblock writers. On the client side.
+	ctxDone      <-chan struct{}    // same as done chan but for server side. Cache of ctx.Done() (for performance)
+	method       string             // the associated RPC method of the stream
+	recvCompress string
+	sendCompress string
+	buf          *recvBuffer
+	wq           *writeQuota
+
+	headerChan chan struct{} // closed to indicate the end of header metadata.
+	headerDone uint32        // set when headerChan is closed. Used to avoid closing headerChan multiple times.
+	header     metadata.MD   // the received header metadata.
+	trailer    metadata.MD   // the key-value map of trailer metadata.
+
+	headerOk bool // becomes true from the first header is about to send
+	state    streamState
+
+	status *status.Status // the status error received from the server
+
+	bytesReceived uint32 // indicates whether any bytes have been received on this stream
+	unprocessed   uint32 // set if the server sends a refused stream or GOAWAY including this stream
+
+	// contentSubtype is the content-subtype for requests.
+	// this must be lowercase or the behavior is undefined.
+	contentSubtype string
+
+	rbuf       *recvBuffer
+	fc         *stInFlow
+	msgDecoder *msgdecoder.MessageDecoder
+	readErr    error
+}
+
+func newStream(ctx context.Context) *Stream {
+	// Cache the done chan since a Done() call is expensive.
+	ctxDone := ctx.Done()
+	s := &Stream{
+		ctx:     ctx,
+		ctxDone: ctxDone,
+		rbuf:    newRecvBuffer(ctx, ctxDone),
+	}
+	dispatch := func(r *msgdecoder.RecvMsg) {
+		s.rbuf.put(r)
+	}
+	s.msgDecoder = msgdecoder.NewMessageDecoder(dispatch)
+	return s
+}
+
+// notifyErr notifies RPC of an error seen by the transport.
+//
+// Note to developers: This call can unblock Read calls on RPC
+// and lead to reading of unprotected fields on stream on the
+// client-side. It should only be called from inside
+// transport.closeStream() if the stream was initialized or from
+// inside the cleanup callback if the stream was not initialized.
+func (s *Stream) notifyErr(err error) {
+	s.rbuf.put(&msgdecoder.RecvMsg{Err: err})
+}
+
+// consume is called by transport's reader goroutine for parsing
+// and decoding data received for this stream.
+func (s *Stream) consume(b []byte, padding int) error {
+	// Flow control check.
+	if s.fc != nil { // HandlerServer doesn't use our flow control.
+		if err := s.fc.onData(uint32(len(b) + padding)); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+	s.msgDecoder.Decode(b, padding)
+	return nil
+}
+
+// Read reads one whole message from the transport.
+// It is called by RPC's goroutine.
+// It is not safe to be called concurrently by multiple goroutines.
+//
+// Returns:
+// 1. received message's compression status(true if was compressed)
+// 2. Message as a byte slice
+// 3. Error, if any.
+func (s *Stream) Read(maxRecvMsgSize int) (bool, []byte, error) {
+	if s.readErr != nil {
+		return false, nil, s.readErr
+	}
+	var (
+		m   *msgdecoder.RecvMsg
+		err error
+	)
+	// First read the underlying message header
+	if m, err = s.rbuf.get(); err != nil {
+		s.readErr = err
+		return false, nil, err
+	}
+	if m.Err != nil {
+		s.readErr = m.Err
+		return false, nil, s.readErr
+	}
+	// Make sure the message being received isn't too large.
+	if int64(m.Length) > int64(maxInt) {
+		s.readErr = status.Errorf(codes.ResourceExhausted, "grpc: received message larger than max length allowed on current machine (%d vs. %d)", m.Length, maxInt)
+		return false, nil, s.readErr
+	}
+	if m.Length > maxRecvMsgSize {
+		s.readErr = status.Errorf(codes.ResourceExhausted, "grpc: received message larger than max (%d vs. %d)", m.Length, maxRecvMsgSize)
+		return false, nil, s.readErr
+	}
+	// Send a window update for the message this RPC is reading.
+	if s.fc != nil { // HanderServer doesn't use our flow control.
+		s.fc.onRead(uint32(m.Length + m.Overhead))
+	}
+	isCompressed := m.IsCompressed
+	// Read the message.
+	if m, err = s.rbuf.get(); err != nil {
+		s.readErr = err
+		return false, nil, err
+	}
+	if m.Err != nil {
+		if m.Err == io.EOF {
+			m.Err = io.ErrUnexpectedEOF
+		}
+		s.readErr = m.Err
+		return false, nil, s.readErr
+	}
+	return isCompressed, m.Data, nil
+}
+
+func (s *Stream) swapState(st streamState) streamState {
+	return streamState(atomic.SwapUint32((*uint32)(&s.state), uint32(st)))
+}
+
+func (s *Stream) compareAndSwapState(oldState, newState streamState) bool {
+	return atomic.CompareAndSwapUint32((*uint32)(&s.state), uint32(oldState), uint32(newState))
+}
+
+func (s *Stream) getState() streamState {
+	return streamState(atomic.LoadUint32((*uint32)(&s.state)))
+}
+
+func (s *Stream) waitOnHeader() error {
+	if s.headerChan == nil {
+		// On the server headerChan is always nil since a stream originates
+		// only after having received headers.
+		return nil
+	}
+	select {
+	case <-s.ctx.Done():
+		return ContextErr(s.ctx.Err())
+	case <-s.headerChan:
+		return nil
+	}
+}
+
+// RecvCompress returns the compression algorithm applied to the inbound
+// message. It is empty string if there is no compression applied.
+func (s *Stream) RecvCompress() string {
+	if err := s.waitOnHeader(); err != nil {
+		return ""
+	}
+	return s.recvCompress
+}
+
+// SetSendCompress sets the compression algorithm to the stream.
+func (s *Stream) SetSendCompress(str string) {
+	s.sendCompress = str
+}
+
+// Done returns a chanel which is closed when it receives the final status
+// from the server.
+func (s *Stream) Done() <-chan struct{} {
+	return s.done
+}
+
+// Header acquires the key-value pairs of header metadata once it
+// is available. It blocks until i) the metadata is ready or ii) there is no
+// header metadata or iii) the stream is canceled/expired.
+func (s *Stream) Header() (metadata.MD, error) {
+	err := s.waitOnHeader()
+	// Even if the stream is closed, header is returned if available.
+	select {
+	case <-s.headerChan:
+		if s.header == nil {
+			return nil, nil
+		}
+		return s.header.Copy(), nil
+	default:
+	}
+	return nil, err
+}
+
+// Trailer returns the cached trailer metedata. Note that if it is not called
+// after the entire stream is done, it could return an empty MD. Client
+// side only.
+// It can be safely read only after stream has ended that is either read
+// or write have returned io.EOF.
+func (s *Stream) Trailer() metadata.MD {
+	c := s.trailer.Copy()
+	return c
+}
+
+// ServerTransport returns the underlying ServerTransport for the stream.
+// The client side stream always returns nil.
+func (s *Stream) ServerTransport() ServerTransport {
+	return s.st
+}
+
+// ContentSubtype returns the content-subtype for a request. For example, a
+// content-subtype of "proto" will result in a content-type of
+// "application/grpc+proto". This will always be lowercase.  See
+// https://github.com/grpc/grpc/blob/master/doc/PROTOCOL-HTTP2.md#requests for
+// more details.
+func (s *Stream) ContentSubtype() string {
+	return s.contentSubtype
+}
+
+// Context returns the context of the stream.
+func (s *Stream) Context() context.Context {
+	return s.ctx
+}
+
+// Method returns the method for the stream.
+func (s *Stream) Method() string {
+	return s.method
+}
+
+// Status returns the status received from the server.
+// Status can be read safely only after the stream has ended,
+// that is, read or write has returned io.EOF.
+func (s *Stream) Status() *status.Status {
+	return s.status
+}
+
+// SetHeader sets the header metadata. This can be called multiple times.
+// Server side only.
+// This should not be called in parallel to other data writes.
+func (s *Stream) SetHeader(md metadata.MD) error {
+	if md.Len() == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	if s.headerOk || atomic.LoadUint32((*uint32)(&s.state)) == uint32(streamDone) {
+		return ErrIllegalHeaderWrite
+	}
+	s.header = metadata.Join(s.header, md)
+	return nil
+}
+
+// SendHeader sends the given header metadata. The given metadata is
+// combined with any metadata set by previous calls to SetHeader and
+// then written to the transport stream.
+func (s *Stream) SendHeader(md metadata.MD) error {
+	t := s.ServerTransport()
+	return t.WriteHeader(s, md)
+}
+
+// SetTrailer sets the trailer metadata which will be sent with the RPC status
+// by the server. This can be called multiple times. Server side only.
+// This should not be called parallel to other data writes.
+func (s *Stream) SetTrailer(md metadata.MD) error {
+	if md.Len() == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	s.trailer = metadata.Join(s.trailer, md)
+	return nil
+}
+
+// BytesReceived indicates whether any bytes have been received on this stream.
+func (s *Stream) BytesReceived() bool {
+	return atomic.LoadUint32(&s.bytesReceived) == 1
+}
+
+// Unprocessed indicates whether the server did not process this stream --
+// i.e. it sent a refused stream or GOAWAY including this stream ID.
+func (s *Stream) Unprocessed() bool {
+	return atomic.LoadUint32(&s.unprocessed) == 1
+}
+
+// GoString is implemented by Stream so context.String() won't
+// race when printing %#v.
+func (s *Stream) GoString() string {
+	return fmt.Sprintf("<stream: %p, %v>", s, s.method)
+}
diff --git a/transport/transport.go b/transport/transport.go
index 2f643a3d0..6f2152e0b 100644
--- a/transport/transport.go
+++ b/transport/transport.go
@@ -24,10 +24,7 @@ package transport // externally used as import "google.golang.org/grpc/transport
 import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
-	"io"
 	"net"
-	"sync"
-	"sync/atomic"
 
 	"golang.org/x/net/context"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/codes"
@@ -39,359 +36,6 @@ import (
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/tap"
 )
 
-// recvMsg represents the received msg from the transport. All transport
-// protocol specific info has been removed.
-type recvMsg struct {
-	data []byte
-	// nil: received some data
-	// io.EOF: stream is completed. data is nil.
-	// other non-nil error: transport failure. data is nil.
-	err error
-}
-
-// recvBuffer is an unbounded channel of recvMsg structs.
-// Note recvBuffer differs from controlBuffer only in that recvBuffer
-// holds a channel of only recvMsg structs instead of objects implementing "item" interface.
-// recvBuffer is written to much more often than
-// controlBuffer and using strict recvMsg structs helps avoid allocation in "recvBuffer.put"
-type recvBuffer struct {
-	c       chan recvMsg
-	mu      sync.Mutex
-	backlog []recvMsg
-	err     error
-}
-
-func newRecvBuffer() *recvBuffer {
-	b := &recvBuffer{
-		c: make(chan recvMsg, 1),
-	}
-	return b
-}
-
-func (b *recvBuffer) put(r recvMsg) {
-	b.mu.Lock()
-	if b.err != nil {
-		b.mu.Unlock()
-		// An error had occurred earlier, don't accept more
-		// data or errors.
-		return
-	}
-	b.err = r.err
-	if len(b.backlog) == 0 {
-		select {
-		case b.c <- r:
-			b.mu.Unlock()
-			return
-		default:
-		}
-	}
-	b.backlog = append(b.backlog, r)
-	b.mu.Unlock()
-}
-
-func (b *recvBuffer) load() {
-	b.mu.Lock()
-	if len(b.backlog) > 0 {
-		select {
-		case b.c <- b.backlog[0]:
-			b.backlog[0] = recvMsg{}
-			b.backlog = b.backlog[1:]
-		default:
-		}
-	}
-	b.mu.Unlock()
-}
-
-// get returns the channel that receives a recvMsg in the buffer.
-//
-// Upon receipt of a recvMsg, the caller should call load to send another
-// recvMsg onto the channel if there is any.
-func (b *recvBuffer) get() <-chan recvMsg {
-	return b.c
-}
-
-//
-// recvBufferReader implements io.Reader interface to read the data from
-// recvBuffer.
-type recvBufferReader struct {
-	ctx     context.Context
-	ctxDone <-chan struct{} // cache of ctx.Done() (for performance).
-	recv    *recvBuffer
-	last    []byte // Stores the remaining data in the previous calls.
-	err     error
-}
-
-// Read reads the next len(p) bytes from last. If last is drained, it tries to
-// read additional data from recv. It blocks if there no additional data available
-// in recv. If Read returns any non-nil error, it will continue to return that error.
-func (r *recvBufferReader) Read(p []byte) (n int, err error) {
-	if r.err != nil {
-		return 0, r.err
-	}
-	n, r.err = r.read(p)
-	return n, r.err
-}
-
-func (r *recvBufferReader) read(p []byte) (n int, err error) {
-	if r.last != nil && len(r.last) > 0 {
-		// Read remaining data left in last call.
-		copied := copy(p, r.last)
-		r.last = r.last[copied:]
-		return copied, nil
-	}
-	select {
-	case <-r.ctxDone:
-		return 0, ContextErr(r.ctx.Err())
-	case m := <-r.recv.get():
-		r.recv.load()
-		if m.err != nil {
-			return 0, m.err
-		}
-		copied := copy(p, m.data)
-		r.last = m.data[copied:]
-		return copied, nil
-	}
-}
-
-type streamState uint32
-
-const (
-	streamActive    streamState = iota
-	streamWriteDone             // EndStream sent
-	streamReadDone              // EndStream received
-	streamDone                  // the entire stream is finished.
-)
-
-// Stream represents an RPC in the transport layer.
-type Stream struct {
-	id           uint32
-	st           ServerTransport    // nil for client side Stream
-	ctx          context.Context    // the associated context of the stream
-	cancel       context.CancelFunc // always nil for client side Stream
-	done         chan struct{}      // closed at the end of stream to unblock writers. On the client side.
-	ctxDone      <-chan struct{}    // same as done chan but for server side. Cache of ctx.Done() (for performance)
-	method       string             // the associated RPC method of the stream
-	recvCompress string
-	sendCompress string
-	buf          *recvBuffer
-	trReader     io.Reader
-	fc           *inFlow
-	recvQuota    uint32
-	wq           *writeQuota
-
-	// Callback to state application's intentions to read data. This
-	// is used to adjust flow control, if needed.
-	requestRead func(int)
-
-	headerChan chan struct{} // closed to indicate the end of header metadata.
-	headerDone uint32        // set when headerChan is closed. Used to avoid closing headerChan multiple times.
-	header     metadata.MD   // the received header metadata.
-	trailer    metadata.MD   // the key-value map of trailer metadata.
-
-	headerOk bool // becomes true from the first header is about to send
-	state    streamState
-
-	status *status.Status // the status error received from the server
-
-	bytesReceived uint32 // indicates whether any bytes have been received on this stream
-	unprocessed   uint32 // set if the server sends a refused stream or GOAWAY including this stream
-
-	// contentSubtype is the content-subtype for requests.
-	// this must be lowercase or the behavior is undefined.
-	contentSubtype string
-}
-
-func (s *Stream) swapState(st streamState) streamState {
-	return streamState(atomic.SwapUint32((*uint32)(&s.state), uint32(st)))
-}
-
-func (s *Stream) compareAndSwapState(oldState, newState streamState) bool {
-	return atomic.CompareAndSwapUint32((*uint32)(&s.state), uint32(oldState), uint32(newState))
-}
-
-func (s *Stream) getState() streamState {
-	return streamState(atomic.LoadUint32((*uint32)(&s.state)))
-}
-
-func (s *Stream) waitOnHeader() error {
-	if s.headerChan == nil {
-		// On the server headerChan is always nil since a stream originates
-		// only after having received headers.
-		return nil
-	}
-	select {
-	case <-s.ctx.Done():
-		return ContextErr(s.ctx.Err())
-	case <-s.headerChan:
-		return nil
-	}
-}
-
-// RecvCompress returns the compression algorithm applied to the inbound
-// message. It is empty string if there is no compression applied.
-func (s *Stream) RecvCompress() string {
-	if err := s.waitOnHeader(); err != nil {
-		return ""
-	}
-	return s.recvCompress
-}
-
-// SetSendCompress sets the compression algorithm to the stream.
-func (s *Stream) SetSendCompress(str string) {
-	s.sendCompress = str
-}
-
-// Done returns a chanel which is closed when it receives the final status
-// from the server.
-func (s *Stream) Done() <-chan struct{} {
-	return s.done
-}
-
-// Header acquires the key-value pairs of header metadata once it
-// is available. It blocks until i) the metadata is ready or ii) there is no
-// header metadata or iii) the stream is canceled/expired.
-func (s *Stream) Header() (metadata.MD, error) {
-	err := s.waitOnHeader()
-	// Even if the stream is closed, header is returned if available.
-	select {
-	case <-s.headerChan:
-		if s.header == nil {
-			return nil, nil
-		}
-		return s.header.Copy(), nil
-	default:
-	}
-	return nil, err
-}
-
-// Trailer returns the cached trailer metedata. Note that if it is not called
-// after the entire stream is done, it could return an empty MD. Client
-// side only.
-// It can be safely read only after stream has ended that is either read
-// or write have returned io.EOF.
-func (s *Stream) Trailer() metadata.MD {
-	c := s.trailer.Copy()
-	return c
-}
-
-// ServerTransport returns the underlying ServerTransport for the stream.
-// The client side stream always returns nil.
-func (s *Stream) ServerTransport() ServerTransport {
-	return s.st
-}
-
-// ContentSubtype returns the content-subtype for a request. For example, a
-// content-subtype of "proto" will result in a content-type of
-// "application/grpc+proto". This will always be lowercase.  See
-// https://github.com/grpc/grpc/blob/master/doc/PROTOCOL-HTTP2.md#requests for
-// more details.
-func (s *Stream) ContentSubtype() string {
-	return s.contentSubtype
-}
-
-// Context returns the context of the stream.
-func (s *Stream) Context() context.Context {
-	return s.ctx
-}
-
-// Method returns the method for the stream.
-func (s *Stream) Method() string {
-	return s.method
-}
-
-// Status returns the status received from the server.
-// Status can be read safely only after the stream has ended,
-// that is, read or write has returned io.EOF.
-func (s *Stream) Status() *status.Status {
-	return s.status
-}
-
-// SetHeader sets the header metadata. This can be called multiple times.
-// Server side only.
-// This should not be called in parallel to other data writes.
-func (s *Stream) SetHeader(md metadata.MD) error {
-	if md.Len() == 0 {
-		return nil
-	}
-	if s.headerOk || atomic.LoadUint32((*uint32)(&s.state)) == uint32(streamDone) {
-		return ErrIllegalHeaderWrite
-	}
-	s.header = metadata.Join(s.header, md)
-	return nil
-}
-
-// SendHeader sends the given header metadata. The given metadata is
-// combined with any metadata set by previous calls to SetHeader and
-// then written to the transport stream.
-func (s *Stream) SendHeader(md metadata.MD) error {
-	t := s.ServerTransport()
-	return t.WriteHeader(s, md)
-}
-
-// SetTrailer sets the trailer metadata which will be sent with the RPC status
-// by the server. This can be called multiple times. Server side only.
-// This should not be called parallel to other data writes.
-func (s *Stream) SetTrailer(md metadata.MD) error {
-	if md.Len() == 0 {
-		return nil
-	}
-	s.trailer = metadata.Join(s.trailer, md)
-	return nil
-}
-
-func (s *Stream) write(m recvMsg) {
-	s.buf.put(m)
-}
-
-// Read reads all p bytes from the wire for this stream.
-func (s *Stream) Read(p []byte) (n int, err error) {
-	// Don't request a read if there was an error earlier
-	if er := s.trReader.(*transportReader).er; er != nil {
-		return 0, er
-	}
-	s.requestRead(len(p))
-	return io.ReadFull(s.trReader, p)
-}
-
-// tranportReader reads all the data available for this Stream from the transport and
-// passes them into the decoder, which converts them into a gRPC message stream.
-// The error is io.EOF when the stream is done or another non-nil error if
-// the stream broke.
-type transportReader struct {
-	reader io.Reader
-	// The handler to control the window update procedure for both this
-	// particular stream and the associated transport.
-	windowHandler func(int)
-	er            error
-}
-
-func (t *transportReader) Read(p []byte) (n int, err error) {
-	n, err = t.reader.Read(p)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.er = err
-		return
-	}
-	t.windowHandler(n)
-	return
-}
-
-// BytesReceived indicates whether any bytes have been received on this stream.
-func (s *Stream) BytesReceived() bool {
-	return atomic.LoadUint32(&s.bytesReceived) == 1
-}
-
-// Unprocessed indicates whether the server did not process this stream --
-// i.e. it sent a refused stream or GOAWAY including this stream ID.
-func (s *Stream) Unprocessed() bool {
-	return atomic.LoadUint32(&s.unprocessed) == 1
-}
-
-// GoString is implemented by Stream so context.String() won't
-// race when printing %#v.
-func (s *Stream) GoString() string {
-	return fmt.Sprintf("<stream: %p, %v>", s, s.method)
-}
-
 // state of transport
 type transportState int
 
@@ -476,7 +120,13 @@ type Options struct {
 	// Delay is a hint to the transport implementation for whether
 	// the data could be buffered for a batching write. The
 	// transport implementation may ignore the hint.
+	// TODO(mmukhi, dfawley): Should this be deleted?
 	Delay bool
+
+	// IsCompressed indicates weather the message being written
+	// was compressed or not. Transport relays this information
+	// to the API that generates gRPC-specific message header.
+	IsCompressed bool
 }
 
 // CallHdr carries the information of a particular RPC.
@@ -525,7 +175,7 @@ type ClientTransport interface {
 
 	// Write sends the data for the given stream. A nil stream indicates
 	// the write is to be performed on the transport as a whole.
-	Write(s *Stream, hdr []byte, data []byte, opts *Options) error
+	Write(s *Stream, data []byte, opts *Options) error
 
 	// NewStream creates a Stream for an RPC.
 	NewStream(ctx context.Context, callHdr *CallHdr) (*Stream, error)
@@ -573,7 +223,7 @@ type ServerTransport interface {
 
 	// Write sends the data for the given stream.
 	// Write may not be called on all streams.
-	Write(s *Stream, hdr []byte, data []byte, opts *Options) error
+	Write(s *Stream, data []byte, opts *Options) error
 
 	// WriteStatus sends the status of a stream to the client.  WriteStatus is
 	// the final call made on a stream and always occurs.
diff --git a/transport/transport_test.go b/transport/transport_test.go
index e0201efa8..07a81fde2 100644
--- a/transport/transport_test.go
+++ b/transport/transport_test.go
@@ -100,8 +100,7 @@ func (h *testStreamHandler) handleStream(t *testing.T, s *Stream) {
 		req = expectedRequestLarge
 		resp = expectedResponseLarge
 	}
-	p := make([]byte, len(req))
-	_, err := s.Read(p)
+	_, p, err := s.Read(math.MaxInt32)
 	if err != nil {
 		return
 	}
@@ -109,31 +108,26 @@ func (h *testStreamHandler) handleStream(t *testing.T, s *Stream) {
 		t.Fatalf("handleStream got %v, want %v", p, req)
 	}
 	// send a response back to the client.
-	h.t.Write(s, nil, resp, &Options{})
+	h.t.Write(s, resp, &Options{})
 	// send the trailer to end the stream.
 	h.t.WriteStatus(s, status.New(codes.OK, ""))
 }
 
 func (h *testStreamHandler) handleStreamPingPong(t *testing.T, s *Stream) {
-	header := make([]byte, 5)
 	for {
-		if _, err := s.Read(header); err != nil {
+		_, msg, err := s.Read(math.MaxInt32)
+		if err != nil {
 			if err == io.EOF {
 				h.t.WriteStatus(s, status.New(codes.OK, ""))
 				return
 			}
-			t.Fatalf("Error on server while reading data header: %v", err)
+			t.Errorf("Error on server while reading data header: %v", err)
+			return
 		}
-		sz := binary.BigEndian.Uint32(header[1:])
-		msg := make([]byte, int(sz))
-		if _, err := s.Read(msg); err != nil {
-			t.Fatalf("Error on server while reading message: %v", err)
+		if err := h.t.Write(s, msg, &Options{}); err != nil {
+			t.Errorf("Error on server while writing: %v", err)
+			return
 		}
-		buf := make([]byte, sz+5)
-		buf[0] = byte(0)
-		binary.BigEndian.PutUint32(buf[1:], uint32(sz))
-		copy(buf[5:], msg)
-		h.t.Write(s, nil, buf, &Options{})
 	}
 }
 
@@ -189,12 +183,10 @@ func (h *testStreamHandler) handleStreamDelayRead(t *testing.T, s *Stream) {
 		req = expectedRequestLarge
 		resp = expectedResponseLarge
 	}
-	p := make([]byte, len(req))
-
 	// Wait before reading. Give time to client to start sending
 	// before server starts reading.
 	time.Sleep(2 * time.Second)
-	_, err := s.Read(p)
+	_, p, err := s.Read(math.MaxInt32)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Errorf("s.Read(_) = _, %v, want _, <nil>", err)
 		return
@@ -205,7 +197,7 @@ func (h *testStreamHandler) handleStreamDelayRead(t *testing.T, s *Stream) {
 		return
 	}
 	// send a response back to the client.
-	if err := h.t.Write(s, nil, resp, &Options{}); err != nil {
+	if err := h.t.Write(s, resp, &Options{}); err != nil {
 		t.Errorf("server Write got %v, want <nil>", err)
 		return
 	}
@@ -223,8 +215,7 @@ func (h *testStreamHandler) handleStreamDelayWrite(t *testing.T, s *Stream) {
 		req = expectedRequestLarge
 		resp = expectedResponseLarge
 	}
-	p := make([]byte, len(req))
-	_, err := s.Read(p)
+	_, p, err := s.Read(math.MaxInt32)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Errorf("s.Read(_) = _, %v, want _, <nil>", err)
 		return
@@ -237,7 +228,7 @@ func (h *testStreamHandler) handleStreamDelayWrite(t *testing.T, s *Stream) {
 	// Wait before sending. Give time to client to start reading
 	// before server starts sending.
 	time.Sleep(2 * time.Second)
-	if err := h.t.Write(s, nil, resp, &Options{}); err != nil {
+	if err := h.t.Write(s, resp, &Options{}); err != nil {
 		t.Errorf("server Write got %v, want <nil>", err)
 		return
 	}
@@ -442,7 +433,7 @@ func TestInflightStreamClosing(t *testing.T) {
 	serr := StreamError{Desc: "client connection is closing"}
 	go func() {
 		defer close(donec)
-		if _, err := stream.Read(make([]byte, defaultWindowSize)); err != serr {
+		if _, _, err := stream.Read(math.MaxInt32); err != serr {
 			t.Errorf("unexpected Stream error %v, expected %v", err, serr)
 		}
 	}()
@@ -858,15 +849,14 @@ func TestClientSendAndReceive(t *testing.T) {
 		Last:  true,
 		Delay: false,
 	}
-	if err := ct.Write(s1, nil, expectedRequest, &opts); err != nil && err != io.EOF {
+	if err := ct.Write(s1, expectedRequest, &opts); err != nil && err != io.EOF {
 		t.Fatalf("failed to send data: %v", err)
 	}
-	p := make([]byte, len(expectedResponse))
-	_, recvErr := s1.Read(p)
+	_, p, recvErr := s1.Read(math.MaxInt32)
 	if recvErr != nil || !bytes.Equal(p, expectedResponse) {
 		t.Fatalf("Error: %v, want <nil>; Result: %v, want %v", recvErr, p, expectedResponse)
 	}
-	_, recvErr = s1.Read(p)
+	_, _, recvErr = s1.Read(math.MaxInt32)
 	if recvErr != io.EOF {
 		t.Fatalf("Error: %v; want <EOF>", recvErr)
 	}
@@ -895,16 +885,15 @@ func performOneRPC(ct ClientTransport) {
 		Last:  true,
 		Delay: false,
 	}
-	if err := ct.Write(s, []byte{}, expectedRequest, &opts); err == nil || err == io.EOF {
+	if err := ct.Write(s, expectedRequest, &opts); err == nil || err == io.EOF {
 		time.Sleep(5 * time.Millisecond)
 		// The following s.Recv()'s could error out because the
 		// underlying transport is gone.
 		//
 		// Read response
-		p := make([]byte, len(expectedResponse))
-		s.Read(p)
+		s.Read(math.MaxInt32)
 		// Read io.EOF
-		s.Read(p)
+		s.Read(math.MaxInt32)
 	}
 }
 
@@ -939,14 +928,13 @@ func TestLargeMessage(t *testing.T) {
 			if err != nil {
 				t.Errorf("%v.NewStream(_, _) = _, %v, want _, <nil>", ct, err)
 			}
-			if err := ct.Write(s, []byte{}, expectedRequestLarge, &Options{Last: true, Delay: false}); err != nil && err != io.EOF {
+			if err := ct.Write(s, expectedRequestLarge, &Options{Last: true, Delay: false}); err != nil && err != io.EOF {
 				t.Errorf("%v.Write(_, _, _) = %v, want  <nil>", ct, err)
 			}
-			p := make([]byte, len(expectedResponseLarge))
-			if _, err := s.Read(p); err != nil || !bytes.Equal(p, expectedResponseLarge) {
-				t.Errorf("s.Read(%v) = _, %v, want %v, <nil>", err, p, expectedResponse)
+			if _, p, err := s.Read(math.MaxInt32); err != nil || !bytes.Equal(p, expectedResponseLarge) {
+				t.Errorf("s.Read(math.MaxInt32) = %v, %v, want %v, <nil>", p, err, expectedResponse)
 			}
-			if _, err = s.Read(p); err != io.EOF {
+			if _, _, err = s.Read(math.MaxInt32); err != io.EOF {
 				t.Errorf("Failed to complete the stream %v; want <EOF>", err)
 			}
 		}()
@@ -974,19 +962,18 @@ func TestLargeMessageWithDelayRead(t *testing.T) {
 				t.Errorf("%v.NewStream(_, _) = _, %v, want _, <nil>", ct, err)
 				return
 			}
-			if err := ct.Write(s, []byte{}, expectedRequestLarge, &Options{Last: true, Delay: false}); err != nil {
+			if err := ct.Write(s, expectedRequestLarge, &Options{Last: true, Delay: false}); err != nil {
 				t.Errorf("%v.Write(_, _, _) = %v, want  <nil>", ct, err)
 				return
 			}
-			p := make([]byte, len(expectedResponseLarge))
 
 			// Give time to server to begin sending before client starts reading.
 			time.Sleep(2 * time.Second)
-			if _, err := s.Read(p); err != nil || !bytes.Equal(p, expectedResponseLarge) {
+			if _, p, err := s.Read(math.MaxInt32); err != nil || !bytes.Equal(p, expectedResponseLarge) {
 				t.Errorf("s.Read(_) = _, %v, want _, <nil>", err)
 				return
 			}
-			if _, err = s.Read(p); err != io.EOF {
+			if _, _, err = s.Read(math.MaxInt32); err != io.EOF {
 				t.Errorf("Failed to complete the stream %v; want <EOF>", err)
 			}
 		}()
@@ -1017,16 +1004,15 @@ func TestLargeMessageDelayWrite(t *testing.T) {
 
 			// Give time to server to start reading before client starts sending.
 			time.Sleep(2 * time.Second)
-			if err := ct.Write(s, []byte{}, expectedRequestLarge, &Options{Last: true, Delay: false}); err != nil {
+			if err := ct.Write(s, expectedRequestLarge, &Options{Last: true, Delay: false}); err != nil {
 				t.Errorf("%v.Write(_, _, _) = %v, want  <nil>", ct, err)
 				return
 			}
-			p := make([]byte, len(expectedResponseLarge))
-			if _, err := s.Read(p); err != nil || !bytes.Equal(p, expectedResponseLarge) {
+			if _, p, err := s.Read(math.MaxInt32); err != nil || !bytes.Equal(p, expectedResponseLarge) {
 				t.Errorf("io.ReadFull(%v) = _, %v, want %v, <nil>", err, p, expectedResponse)
 				return
 			}
-			if _, err = s.Read(p); err != io.EOF {
+			if _, _, err = s.Read(math.MaxInt32); err != io.EOF {
 				t.Errorf("Failed to complete the stream %v; want <EOF>", err)
 			}
 		}()
@@ -1047,19 +1033,10 @@ func TestGracefulClose(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("NewStream(_, _) = _, %v, want _, <nil>", err)
 	}
 	msg := make([]byte, 1024)
-	outgoingHeader := make([]byte, 5)
-	outgoingHeader[0] = byte(0)
-	binary.BigEndian.PutUint32(outgoingHeader[1:], uint32(len(msg)))
-	incomingHeader := make([]byte, 5)
-	if err := ct.Write(s, outgoingHeader, msg, &Options{}); err != nil {
+	if err := ct.Write(s, msg, &Options{}); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Error while writing: %v", err)
 	}
-	if _, err := s.Read(incomingHeader); err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("Error while reading: %v", err)
-	}
-	sz := binary.BigEndian.Uint32(incomingHeader[1:])
-	recvMsg := make([]byte, int(sz))
-	if _, err := s.Read(recvMsg); err != nil {
+	if _, _, err := s.Read(math.MaxInt32); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Error while reading: %v", err)
 	}
 	if err = ct.GracefulClose(); err != nil {
@@ -1075,14 +1052,14 @@ func TestGracefulClose(t *testing.T) {
 			if err == errStreamDrain {
 				return
 			}
-			ct.Write(str, nil, nil, &Options{Last: true})
-			if _, err := str.Read(make([]byte, 8)); err != errStreamDrain {
+			ct.Write(str, nil, &Options{Last: true})
+			if _, _, err := str.Read(math.MaxInt32); err != errStreamDrain {
 				t.Errorf("_.NewStream(_, _) = _, %v, want _, %v", err, errStreamDrain)
 			}
 		}()
 	}
-	ct.Write(s, nil, nil, &Options{Last: true})
-	if _, err := s.Read(incomingHeader); err != io.EOF {
+	ct.Write(s, nil, &Options{Last: true})
+	if _, _, err := s.Read(math.MaxInt32); err != io.EOF {
 		t.Fatalf("Client expected EOF from the server. Got: %v", err)
 	}
 	// The stream which was created before graceful close can still proceed.
@@ -1110,13 +1087,13 @@ func TestLargeMessageSuspension(t *testing.T) {
 	}()
 	// Write should not be done successfully due to flow control.
 	msg := make([]byte, initialWindowSize*8)
-	ct.Write(s, nil, msg, &Options{})
-	err = ct.Write(s, nil, msg, &Options{Last: true})
+	ct.Write(s, msg, &Options{})
+	err = ct.Write(s, msg, &Options{Last: true})
 	if err != errStreamDone {
 		t.Fatalf("Write got %v, want io.EOF", err)
 	}
 	expectedErr := streamErrorf(codes.DeadlineExceeded, "%v", context.DeadlineExceeded)
-	if _, err := s.Read(make([]byte, 8)); err != expectedErr {
+	if _, _, err := s.Read(math.MaxInt32); err != expectedErr {
 		t.Fatalf("Read got %v of type %T, want %v", err, err, expectedErr)
 	}
 	ct.Close()
@@ -1305,7 +1282,7 @@ func TestClientConnDecoupledFromApplicationRead(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("Didn't find stream corresponding to client cstream.id: %v on the server", cstream1.id)
 	}
 	// Exhaust client's connection window.
-	if err := st.Write(sstream1, []byte{}, make([]byte, defaultWindowSize), &Options{}); err != nil {
+	if err := st.Write(sstream1, make([]byte, defaultWindowSize), &Options{}); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Server failed to write data. Err: %v", err)
 	}
 	notifyChan = make(chan struct{})
@@ -1330,17 +1307,17 @@ func TestClientConnDecoupledFromApplicationRead(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("Didn't find stream corresponding to client cstream.id: %v on the server", cstream2.id)
 	}
 	// Server should be able to send data on the new stream, even though the client hasn't read anything on the first stream.
-	if err := st.Write(sstream2, []byte{}, make([]byte, defaultWindowSize), &Options{}); err != nil {
+	if err := st.Write(sstream2, make([]byte, defaultWindowSize), &Options{}); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Server failed to write data. Err: %v", err)
 	}
 
 	// Client should be able to read data on second stream.
-	if _, err := cstream2.Read(make([]byte, defaultWindowSize)); err != nil {
+	if _, _, err := cstream2.Read(math.MaxInt32); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("_.Read(_) = _, %v, want _, <nil>", err)
 	}
 
 	// Client should be able to read data on first stream.
-	if _, err := cstream1.Read(make([]byte, defaultWindowSize)); err != nil {
+	if _, _, err := cstream1.Read(math.MaxInt32); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("_.Read(_) = _, %v, want _, <nil>", err)
 	}
 }
@@ -1373,7 +1350,7 @@ func TestServerConnDecoupledFromApplicationRead(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to create 1st stream. Err: %v", err)
 	}
 	// Exhaust server's connection window.
-	if err := client.Write(cstream1, nil, make([]byte, defaultWindowSize), &Options{Last: true}); err != nil {
+	if err := client.Write(cstream1, make([]byte, defaultWindowSize), &Options{Last: true}); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Client failed to write data. Err: %v", err)
 	}
 	//Client should be able to create another stream and send data on it.
@@ -1381,7 +1358,7 @@ func TestServerConnDecoupledFromApplicationRead(t *testing.T) {
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to create 2nd stream. Err: %v", err)
 	}
-	if err := client.Write(cstream2, nil, make([]byte, defaultWindowSize), &Options{}); err != nil {
+	if err := client.Write(cstream2, make([]byte, defaultWindowSize), &Options{}); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Client failed to write data. Err: %v", err)
 	}
 	// Get the streams on server.
@@ -1403,11 +1380,11 @@ func TestServerConnDecoupledFromApplicationRead(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	st.mu.Unlock()
 	// Reading from the stream on server should succeed.
-	if _, err := sstream1.Read(make([]byte, defaultWindowSize)); err != nil {
+	if _, _, err := sstream1.Read(math.MaxInt32); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("_.Read(_) = %v, want <nil>", err)
 	}
 
-	if _, err := sstream1.Read(make([]byte, 1)); err != io.EOF {
+	if _, _, err := sstream1.Read(math.MaxInt32); err != io.EOF {
 		t.Fatalf("_.Read(_) = %v, want io.EOF", err)
 	}
 
@@ -1616,11 +1593,10 @@ func TestEncodingRequiredStatus(t *testing.T) {
 		Last:  true,
 		Delay: false,
 	}
-	if err := ct.Write(s, nil, expectedRequest, &opts); err != nil && err != errStreamDone {
+	if err := ct.Write(s, expectedRequest, &opts); err != nil && err != errStreamDone {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to write the request: %v", err)
 	}
-	p := make([]byte, http2MaxFrameLen)
-	if _, err := s.trReader.(*transportReader).Read(p); err != io.EOF {
+	if _, _, err := s.Read(math.MaxInt32); err != io.EOF {
 		t.Fatalf("Read got error %v, want %v", err, io.EOF)
 	}
 	if !reflect.DeepEqual(s.Status(), encodingTestStatus) {
@@ -1640,8 +1616,7 @@ func TestInvalidHeaderField(t *testing.T) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return
 	}
-	p := make([]byte, http2MaxFrameLen)
-	_, err = s.trReader.(*transportReader).Read(p)
+	_, _, err = s.Read(math.MaxInt32)
 	if se, ok := err.(StreamError); !ok || se.Code != codes.Internal || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), expectedInvalidHeaderField) {
 		t.Fatalf("Read got error %v, want error with code %s and contains %q", err, codes.Internal, expectedInvalidHeaderField)
 	}
@@ -1764,26 +1739,17 @@ func testFlowControlAccountCheck(t *testing.T, msgSize int, wc windowSizeConfig)
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to create stream. Err: %v", err)
 	}
 	msg := make([]byte, msgSize)
-	buf := make([]byte, msgSize+5)
-	buf[0] = byte(0)
-	binary.BigEndian.PutUint32(buf[1:], uint32(msgSize))
-	copy(buf[5:], msg)
 	opts := Options{}
-	header := make([]byte, 5)
 	for i := 1; i <= 10; i++ {
-		if err := ct.Write(cstream, nil, buf, &opts); err != nil {
+		if err := ct.Write(cstream, msg, &opts); err != nil {
 			t.Fatalf("Error on client while writing message: %v", err)
 		}
-		if _, err := cstream.Read(header); err != nil {
-			t.Fatalf("Error on client while reading data frame header: %v", err)
-		}
-		sz := binary.BigEndian.Uint32(header[1:])
-		recvMsg := make([]byte, int(sz))
-		if _, err := cstream.Read(recvMsg); err != nil {
+		_, recvMsg, err := cstream.Read(math.MaxInt32)
+		if err != nil {
 			t.Fatalf("Error on client while reading data: %v", err)
 		}
-		if len(recvMsg) != len(msg) {
-			t.Fatalf("Length of message received by client: %v, want: %v", len(recvMsg), len(msg))
+		if !bytes.Equal(recvMsg, msg) {
+			t.Fatalf("Message received by client(len: %d) not equal to what was expected(len: %d)", len(recvMsg), len(msg))
 		}
 	}
 	var sstream *Stream
@@ -1794,8 +1760,8 @@ func testFlowControlAccountCheck(t *testing.T, msgSize int, wc windowSizeConfig)
 	st.mu.Unlock()
 	loopyServerStream := st.loopy.estdStreams[sstream.id]
 	loopyClientStream := ct.loopy.estdStreams[cstream.id]
-	ct.Write(cstream, nil, nil, &Options{Last: true}) // Close the stream.
-	if _, err := cstream.Read(header); err != io.EOF {
+	ct.Write(cstream, nil, &Options{Last: true}) // Close the stream.
+	if _, _, err := cstream.Read(math.MaxInt32); err != io.EOF {
 		t.Fatalf("Client expected an EOF from the server. Got: %v", err)
 	}
 	// Sleep for a little to make sure both sides flush out their buffers.
@@ -1816,11 +1782,11 @@ func testFlowControlAccountCheck(t *testing.T, msgSize int, wc windowSizeConfig)
 		t.Fatalf("Account mismatch: server transport inflow(%d) != server unacked(%d) + client sendQuota(%d)", st.fc.limit, st.fc.unacked, ct.loopy.sendQuota)
 	}
 	// Check stream flow control.
-	if int(cstream.fc.limit+cstream.fc.delta-cstream.fc.pendingData-cstream.fc.pendingUpdate) != int(st.loopy.oiws)-loopyServerStream.bytesOutStanding {
-		t.Fatalf("Account mismatch: client stream inflow limit(%d) + delta(%d) - pendingData(%d) - pendingUpdate(%d) != server outgoing InitialWindowSize(%d) - outgoingStream.bytesOutStanding(%d)", cstream.fc.limit, cstream.fc.delta, cstream.fc.pendingData, cstream.fc.pendingUpdate, st.loopy.oiws, loopyServerStream.bytesOutStanding)
+	if int(cstream.fc.limit)-int(cstream.fc.rcvd) != int(st.loopy.oiws)-loopyServerStream.bytesOutStanding {
+		t.Fatalf("Account mismatch: client stream inflow limit(%d) - rcvd(%d) != server outgoing InitialWindowSize(%d) - outgoingStream.bytesOutStanding(%d)", cstream.fc.limit, cstream.fc.rcvd, st.loopy.oiws, loopyServerStream.bytesOutStanding)
 	}
-	if int(sstream.fc.limit+sstream.fc.delta-sstream.fc.pendingData-sstream.fc.pendingUpdate) != int(ct.loopy.oiws)-loopyClientStream.bytesOutStanding {
-		t.Fatalf("Account mismatch: server stream inflow limit(%d) + delta(%d) - pendingData(%d) - pendingUpdate(%d) != client outgoing InitialWindowSize(%d) - outgoingStream.bytesOutStanding(%d)", sstream.fc.limit, sstream.fc.delta, sstream.fc.pendingData, sstream.fc.pendingUpdate, ct.loopy.oiws, loopyClientStream.bytesOutStanding)
+	if int(sstream.fc.limit)-int(sstream.fc.rcvd) != int(ct.loopy.oiws)-loopyClientStream.bytesOutStanding {
+		t.Fatalf("Account mismatch: server stream inflow limit(%d) - rcvd(%d) != client outgoing InitialWindowSize(%d) - outgoingStream.bytesOutStanding(%d)", sstream.fc.limit, sstream.fc.rcvd, ct.loopy.oiws, loopyClientStream.bytesOutStanding)
 	}
 }
 
@@ -2000,8 +1966,7 @@ func testHTTPToGRPCStatusMapping(t *testing.T, httpStatus int, wh writeHeaders)
 	stream, cleanUp := setUpHTTPStatusTest(t, httpStatus, wh)
 	defer cleanUp()
 	want := httpStatusConvTab[httpStatus]
-	buf := make([]byte, 8)
-	_, err := stream.Read(buf)
+	_, _, err := stream.Read(math.MaxInt32)
 	if err == nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Stream.Read(_) unexpectedly returned no error. Expected stream error with code %v", want)
 	}
@@ -2017,8 +1982,7 @@ func testHTTPToGRPCStatusMapping(t *testing.T, httpStatus int, wh writeHeaders)
 func TestHTTPStatusOKAndMissingGRPCStatus(t *testing.T) {
 	stream, cleanUp := setUpHTTPStatusTest(t, http.StatusOK, writeOneHeader)
 	defer cleanUp()
-	buf := make([]byte, 8)
-	_, err := stream.Read(buf)
+	_, _, err := stream.Read(math.MaxInt32)
 	if err != io.EOF {
 		t.Fatalf("stream.Read(_) = _, %v, want _, io.EOF", err)
 	}
@@ -2035,45 +1999,25 @@ func TestHTTPStatusNottOKAndMissingGRPCStatusInSecondHeader(t *testing.T) {
 // If any error occurs on a call to Stream.Read, future calls
 // should continue to return that same error.
 func TestReadGivesSameErrorAfterAnyErrorOccurs(t *testing.T) {
-	testRecvBuffer := newRecvBuffer()
-	s := &Stream{
-		ctx:         context.Background(),
-		buf:         testRecvBuffer,
-		requestRead: func(int) {},
-	}
-	s.trReader = &transportReader{
-		reader: &recvBufferReader{
-			ctx:     s.ctx,
-			ctxDone: s.ctx.Done(),
-			recv:    s.buf,
-		},
-		windowHandler: func(int) {},
-	}
-	testData := make([]byte, 1)
-	testData[0] = 5
+	s := newStream(context.Background())
 	testErr := errors.New("test error")
-	s.write(recvMsg{data: testData, err: testErr})
+	s.notifyErr(testErr)
 
-	inBuf := make([]byte, 1)
-	actualCount, actualErr := s.Read(inBuf)
-	if actualCount != 0 {
-		t.Errorf("actualCount, _ := s.Read(_) differs; want 0; got %v", actualCount)
-	}
-	if actualErr.Error() != testErr.Error() {
-		t.Errorf("_ , actualErr := s.Read(_) differs; want actualErr.Error() to be %v; got %v", testErr.Error(), actualErr.Error())
+	pf, inBuf, actualErr := s.Read(math.MaxInt32)
+	if pf != false || inBuf != nil || actualErr.Error() != testErr.Error() {
+		t.Errorf("%v, %v, %v := s.Read(_) differs; want false, <nil>, %v", pf, inBuf, actualErr, testErr)
 	}
 
-	s.write(recvMsg{data: testData, err: nil})
-	s.write(recvMsg{data: testData, err: errors.New("different error from first")})
+	testData := make([]byte, 6)
+	testData[0] = byte(1)
+	binary.BigEndian.PutUint32(testData[1:], uint32(1))
+	s.consume(testData, 0)
+	s.notifyErr(errors.New("different error from first"))
 
 	for i := 0; i < 2; i++ {
-		inBuf := make([]byte, 1)
-		actualCount, actualErr := s.Read(inBuf)
-		if actualCount != 0 {
-			t.Errorf("actualCount, _ := s.Read(_) differs; want %v; got %v", 0, actualCount)
-		}
-		if actualErr.Error() != testErr.Error() {
-			t.Errorf("_ , actualErr := s.Read(_) differs; want actualErr.Error() to be %v; got %v", testErr.Error(), actualErr.Error())
+		pf, inBuf, actualErr := s.Read(math.MaxInt32)
+		if pf != false || inBuf != nil || actualErr.Error() != testErr.Error() {
+			t.Errorf("%v, %v, %v := s.Read(_) differs; want false, <nil>, %v", pf, inBuf, actualErr, testErr)
 		}
 	}
 }
@@ -2113,11 +2057,7 @@ func runPingPongTest(t *testing.T, msgSize int) {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to create stream. Err: %v", err)
 	}
 	msg := make([]byte, msgSize)
-	outgoingHeader := make([]byte, 5)
-	outgoingHeader[0] = byte(0)
-	binary.BigEndian.PutUint32(outgoingHeader[1:], uint32(msgSize))
 	opts := &Options{}
-	incomingHeader := make([]byte, 5)
 	done := make(chan struct{})
 	go func() {
 		timer := time.NewTimer(time.Second * 5)
@@ -2127,23 +2067,22 @@ func runPingPongTest(t *testing.T, msgSize int) {
 	for {
 		select {
 		case <-done:
-			ct.Write(stream, nil, nil, &Options{Last: true})
-			if _, err := stream.Read(incomingHeader); err != io.EOF {
+			ct.Write(stream, nil, &Options{Last: true})
+			if _, _, err := stream.Read(math.MaxInt32); err != io.EOF {
 				t.Fatalf("Client expected EOF from the server. Got: %v", err)
 			}
 			return
 		default:
-			if err := ct.Write(stream, outgoingHeader, msg, opts); err != nil {
+			if err := ct.Write(stream, msg, opts); err != nil {
 				t.Fatalf("Error on client while writing message. Err: %v", err)
 			}
-			if _, err := stream.Read(incomingHeader); err != nil {
-				t.Fatalf("Error on client while reading data header. Err: %v", err)
-			}
-			sz := binary.BigEndian.Uint32(incomingHeader[1:])
-			recvMsg := make([]byte, int(sz))
-			if _, err := stream.Read(recvMsg); err != nil {
+			_, recvMsg, err := stream.Read(math.MaxInt32)
+			if err != nil {
 				t.Fatalf("Error on client while reading data. Err: %v", err)
 			}
+			if !bytes.Equal(recvMsg, msg) {
+				t.Fatalf("%v != %v", recvMsg, msg)
+			}
 		}
 	}
 }