diff --git a/etc/ovn-bgp-agent/rootwrap.conf b/etc/ovn-bgp-agent/rootwrap.conf
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..675fa64c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/etc/ovn-bgp-agent/rootwrap.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+# Configuration for ovn-bgp-agent-rootwrap
+# This file should be owned by (and only-writeable by) the root user
+
+[DEFAULT]
+# List of directories to load filter definitions from (separated by ',').
+# These directories MUST all be only writeable by root !
+filters_path=/etc/ovn-bgp-agent/rootwrap.d,/usr/share/ovn-bgp-agent/rootwrap
+
+# List of directories to search executables in, in case filters do not
+# explicitely specify a full path (separated by ',')
+# If not specified, defaults to system PATH environment variable.
+# These directories MUST all be only writeable by root !
+exec_dirs=/sbin,/usr/sbin,/bin,/usr/bin,/usr/local/bin,/usr/local/sbin
+
+# Enable logging to syslog
+# Default value is False
+use_syslog=False
+
+# Which syslog facility to use.
+# Valid values include auth, authpriv, syslog, local0, local1...
+# Default value is 'syslog'
+syslog_log_facility=syslog
+
+# Which messages to log.
+# INFO means log all usage
+# ERROR means only log unsuccessful attempts
+syslog_log_level=ERROR
diff --git a/etc/ovn-bgp-agent/rootwrap.d/rootwrap.filters b/etc/ovn-bgp-agent/rootwrap.d/rootwrap.filters
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..da3cc0cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/etc/ovn-bgp-agent/rootwrap.d/rootwrap.filters
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+# ovn-bgp-agent-rootwrap command filters for scripts
+# This file should be owned by (and only-writable by) the root user
+
+[Filters]
+# privileged/__init__.py: priv_context.PrivContext(default)
+# This line ties the superuser privs with the config files, context name,
+# and (implicitly) the actual python code invoked.
+privsep-rootwrap: RegExpFilter, privsep-helper, root, privsep-helper, --config-file, /etc/(?!\.\.).*, --privsep_context, ovn_bgp_agent.privileged.default, --privsep_sock_path, /tmp/.*
+
+ovs-vsctl: CommandFilter, ovs-vsctl, root
+sysctl: CommandFilter, sysctl, root
+ip: IpFilter, ip, root
+vtysh: CommandFilter, vtysh, root
diff --git a/ovn_bgp_agent/agent.py b/ovn_bgp_agent/agent.py
index 4a72281a..c62e717d 100644
--- a/ovn_bgp_agent/agent.py
+++ b/ovn_bgp_agent/agent.py
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ class BGPAgent(service.Service, periodic_task.PeriodicTasks,
 def start():
     config.init(sys.argv[1:])
     config.setup_logging()
+    config.setup_privsep()
 
     bgp_agent_launcher = service.launch(config.CONF, BGPAgent())
     bgp_agent_launcher.wait()
diff --git a/ovn_bgp_agent/config.py b/ovn_bgp_agent/config.py
index 122317c9..5c157245 100644
--- a/ovn_bgp_agent/config.py
+++ b/ovn_bgp_agent/config.py
@@ -12,8 +12,11 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
+import shlex
+
 from oslo_config import cfg
 from oslo_log import log as logging
+from oslo_privsep import priv_context
 
 LOG = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -65,8 +68,40 @@ agent_opts = [
                      'default 4789 is being used.'),
 ]
 
+root_helper_opts = [
+    cfg.StrOpt('root_helper', default='sudo',
+               help=("Root helper application. "
+                     "Use 'sudo ovn-bgp-agent-rootwrap  "
+                     "/etc/ovn-bgp-agent/rootwrap.conf' to use the real "
+                     "root filter facility. Change to 'sudo' to skip the "
+                     "filtering and just run the command directly.")),
+    cfg.BoolOpt('use_helper_for_ns_read',
+                default=True,
+                help=("Use the root helper when listing the namespaces on a "
+                      "system. This may not be required depending on the "
+                      "security configuration. If the root helper is "
+                      "not required, set this to False for a performance "
+                      "improvement.")),
+    # We can't just use root_helper=sudo ovn-bgp-agent-rootwrap-daemon $cfg
+    # because it isn't appropriate for long-lived processes spawned with
+    # create_process. Having a bool use_rootwrap_daemon option precludes
+    # specifying the rootwrap daemon command, which may be necessary for Xen?
+    cfg.StrOpt('root_helper_daemon',
+               help=("""
+Root helper daemon application to use when possible.
+
+Use 'sudo ovn-bgp-agent-rootwrap-daemon /etc/ovn-bgp-agent/rootwrap.conf'
+to run rootwrap in "daemon mode" which has been reported to improve
+performance at scale. For more information on running rootwrap in
+"daemon mode", see:
+
+https://docs.openstack.org/oslo.rootwrap/latest/user/usage.html#daemon-mode
+""")),
+]
+
 CONF = cfg.CONF
 CONF.register_opts(agent_opts)
+CONF.register_opts(root_helper_opts, "AGENT")
 
 logging.register_options(CONF)
 
@@ -79,3 +114,11 @@ def setup_logging():
     logging.setup(CONF, 'bgp-agent')
     logging.set_defaults(default_log_levels=logging.get_default_log_levels())
     LOG.info("Logging enabled!")
+
+
+def get_root_helper(conf):
+    return conf.AGENT.root_helper
+
+
+def setup_privsep():
+    priv_context.init(root_helper=shlex.split(get_root_helper(cfg.CONF)))
diff --git a/setup.cfg b/setup.cfg
index 40230053..0870ce37 100644
--- a/setup.cfg
+++ b/setup.cfg
@@ -23,10 +23,16 @@ classifier =
 [files]
 packages =
     ovn_bgp_agent
+data_files =
+    etc/ovn-bgp-agent =
+        etc/ovn-bgp-agent/rootwrap.conf
+    etc/ovn-bgp-agent/rootwrap.d = etc/ovn-bgp-agent/rootwrap.d/*
 
 [entry_points]
 console_scripts =
     ovn-bgp-agent = ovn_bgp_agent.cmd.agent:start
+    ovn-bgp-agent-rootwrap = oslo_rootwrap.cmd:main
+    ovn-bgp-agent-rootwrap-daemon = oslo_rootwrap.cmd:daemon
 
 ovn_bgp_agent.drivers =
     ovn_bgp_driver = ovn_bgp_agent.drivers.openstack.ovn_bgp_driver:OVNBGPDriver