diff --git a/builder/xenserver/find_port.go b/builder/xenserver/find_port.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a6a8492
--- /dev/null
+++ b/builder/xenserver/find_port.go
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+package xenserver
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"log"
+	"net"
+)
+
+// FindPort finds and starts listening on a port in the range [portMin, portMax]
+// returns the listener and the port number on success, or nil, 0 on failure
+func FindPort(portMin uint, portMax uint) (net.Listener, uint) {
+	log.Printf("Looking for an available port between %d and %d", portMin, portMax)
+
+	for port := portMin; port <= portMax; port++ {
+		log.Printf("Trying port: %d", port)
+		l, err := net.Listen("tcp", fmt.Sprintf(":%d", port))
+		if err == nil {
+			return l, port
+		} else {
+			log.Printf("Port %d unavailable: %s", port, err.Error())
+		}
+	}
+
+	return nil, 0
+}
diff --git a/builder/xenserver/step_forward_port_over_ssh.go b/builder/xenserver/step_forward_port_over_ssh.go
index a41c670..4c407c8 100644
--- a/builder/xenserver/step_forward_port_over_ssh.go
+++ b/builder/xenserver/step_forward_port_over_ssh.go
@@ -4,8 +4,6 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/packer"
-	"log"
-	"net"
 )
 
 type stepForwardPortOverSSH struct {
@@ -25,32 +23,15 @@ func (self *stepForwardPortOverSSH) Run(state multistep.StateBag) multistep.Step
 
 	// Find a free local port:
 
-	log.Printf("Looking for an available port between %d and %d",
-		self.HostPortMin,
-		self.HostPortMax)
+	l, sshHostPort := FindPort(self.HostPortMin, self.HostPortMax)
 
-	var sshHostPort uint
-	var foundPort bool
-
-	foundPort = false
-
-	for i := self.HostPortMin; i < self.HostPortMax; i++ {
-		sshHostPort = i
-		log.Printf("Trying port: %d", sshHostPort)
-		l, err := net.Listen("tcp", fmt.Sprintf("127.0.0.1:%d", sshHostPort))
-		if err == nil {
-			l.Close()
-			foundPort = true
-			break
-		}
-
-	}
-
-	if !foundPort {
-		ui.Error("Error: unable to find free host port. Try providing a larger range")
+	if l == nil || sshHostPort == 0 {
+		ui.Error("Error: unable to find free host port. Try providing a larger range [host_port_min, host_port_max]")
 		return multistep.ActionHalt
 	}
 
+	l.Close()
+
 	ui.Say(fmt.Sprintf("Creating a local port forward over SSH on local port %d", sshHostPort))
 
 	remotePort, _ := self.RemotePort(state)
diff --git a/builder/xenserver/step_http_server.go b/builder/xenserver/step_http_server.go
index 538a729..f233f6e 100644
--- a/builder/xenserver/step_http_server.go
+++ b/builder/xenserver/step_http_server.go
@@ -6,8 +6,6 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/packer"
-	"log"
-	"math/rand"
 	"net"
 	"net/http"
 )
@@ -36,32 +34,18 @@ func (s *stepHTTPServer) Run(state multistep.StateBag) multistep.StepAction {
 		return multistep.ActionContinue
 	}
 
-	// Find an available TCP port for our HTTP server
-	var httpAddr string
-	portRange := int(config.HTTPPortMax - config.HTTPPortMin)
-	for {
-		var err error
-		var offset uint = 0
+	s.l, httpPort = FindPort(config.HTTPPortMin, config.HTTPPortMax)
 
-		if portRange > 0 {
-			// Intn will panic if portRange == 0, so we do a check.
-			offset = uint(rand.Intn(portRange))
-		}
-
-		httpPort = offset + config.HTTPPortMin
-		httpAddr = fmt.Sprintf(":%d", httpPort)
-		log.Printf("Trying port: %d", httpPort)
-		s.l, err = net.Listen("tcp", httpAddr)
-		if err == nil {
-			break
-		}
+	if s.l == nil || httpPort == 0 {
+		ui.Error("Error: unable to find free HTTP server port. Try providing a larger range [http_port_min, http_port_max]")
+		return multistep.ActionHalt
 	}
 
 	ui.Say(fmt.Sprintf("Starting HTTP server on port %d", httpPort))
 
 	// Start the HTTP server and run it in the background
 	fileServer := http.FileServer(http.Dir(config.HTTPDir))
-	server := &http.Server{Addr: httpAddr, Handler: fileServer}
+	server := &http.Server{Addr: fmt.Sprintf(":%d", httpPort), Handler: fileServer}
 	go server.Serve(s.l)
 
 	// Save the address into the state so it can be accessed in the future