+# piped commands should return the code of the first non-zero return
+set -o pipefail
+
+## make sure that the right tools are installed to run the test. the
+## test has *more* requirements than plain ol' monkeysphere:
+which socat || { echo "You must have socat installed to run this test." ; exit 1; }
+
+## FIXME: other checks?