diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index e7d241dc1..803e0e6d8 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -96,6 +96,3 @@ plugin/updater_gpu/test/cpp/data
 # files from R-package source install
 **/config.status
 R-package/src/Makevars
-
-# Python install
-python-package/xgboost/tracker.py
diff --git a/python-package/setup.py b/python-package/setup.py
index 739324b08..a2146f6be 100644
--- a/python-package/setup.py
+++ b/python-package/setup.py
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 from __future__ import absolute_import
 import io
 import sys
-import shutil
 import os
 from setuptools import setup, find_packages
 
@@ -30,9 +29,6 @@ for libfile in libpath['find_lib_path']():
 
 print("Install libxgboost from: %s" % LIB_PATH)
 
-# Get dmlc tracker script
-shutil.copy('../dmlc-core/tracker/dmlc_tracker/tracker.py', 'xgboost/')
-
 # Please use setup_pip.py for generating and deploying pip installation
 # detailed instruction in setup_pip.py
 setup(name='xgboost',
diff --git a/python-package/xgboost/__init__.py b/python-package/xgboost/__init__.py
index f31d9fbba..43fa6baef 100644
--- a/python-package/xgboost/__init__.py
+++ b/python-package/xgboost/__init__.py
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ from .core import DMatrix, Booster
 from .training import train, cv
 from . import rabit                   # noqa
 from . import dask  # noqa
+from . import tracker  # noqa
+from .tracker import RabitTracker  # noqa
 try:
     from .sklearn import XGBModel, XGBClassifier, XGBRegressor, XGBRanker
     from .sklearn import XGBRFClassifier, XGBRFRegressor
@@ -25,6 +27,7 @@ with open(VERSION_FILE) as f:
 
 __all__ = ['DMatrix', 'Booster',
            'train', 'cv',
+           'RabitTracker',
            'XGBModel', 'XGBClassifier', 'XGBRegressor', 'XGBRanker',
            'XGBRFClassifier', 'XGBRFRegressor',
            'plot_importance', 'plot_tree', 'to_graphviz']
diff --git a/python-package/xgboost/dask.py b/python-package/xgboost/dask.py
index e63c5c124..6ebfcf961 100644
--- a/python-package/xgboost/dask.py
+++ b/python-package/xgboost/dask.py
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 # pylint: disable=wrong-import-position,wrong-import-order,import-error
 """Dask extensions for distributed training. See xgboost/demo/dask for examples."""
 import os
-import sys
 import math
 import platform
 import logging
@@ -11,15 +10,7 @@ from .core import DMatrix
 from .compat import (DaskDataFrame, DaskSeries, DaskArray,
                      distributed_get_worker)
 
-# Try to find the dmlc tracker script
-# For developers it will be the following
-TRACKER_PATH = os.path.dirname(__file__) + "/../../dmlc-core/tracker/dmlc_tracker"
-sys.path.append(TRACKER_PATH)
-try:
-    from tracker import RabitTracker  # noqa
-except ImportError:
-    # If packaged it will be local
-    from .tracker import RabitTracker  # noqa
+from .tracker import RabitTracker
 
 
 def _start_tracker(n_workers):
diff --git a/python-package/xgboost/tracker.py b/python-package/xgboost/tracker.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ad21c5408
--- /dev/null
+++ b/python-package/xgboost/tracker.py
@@ -0,0 +1,340 @@
+"""
+This script is a variant of dmlc-core/dmlc_tracker/tracker.py,
+which is a specialized version for xgboost tasks.
+"""
+
+# pylint: disable=invalid-name, missing-docstring, too-many-arguments, too-many-locals
+# pylint: disable=too-many-branches, too-many-statements, too-many-instance-attributes
+from __future__ import absolute_import
+
+import socket
+import struct
+import time
+import logging
+from threading import Thread
+
+
+class ExSocket(object):
+    """
+    Extension of socket to handle recv and send of special data
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, sock):
+        self.sock = sock
+
+    def recvall(self, nbytes):
+        res = []
+        nread = 0
+        while nread < nbytes:
+            chunk = self.sock.recv(min(nbytes - nread, 1024))
+            nread += len(chunk)
+            res.append(chunk)
+        return b''.join(res)
+
+    def recvint(self):
+        return struct.unpack('@i', self.recvall(4))[0]
+
+    def sendint(self, n):
+        self.sock.sendall(struct.pack('@i', n))
+
+    def sendstr(self, s):
+        self.sendint(len(s))
+        self.sock.sendall(s.encode())
+
+    def recvstr(self):
+        slen = self.recvint()
+        return self.recvall(slen).decode()
+
+
+# magic number used to verify existence of data
+kMagic = 0xff99
+
+
+def get_some_ip(host):
+    return socket.getaddrinfo(host, None)[0][4][0]
+
+
+def get_family(addr):
+    return socket.getaddrinfo(addr, None)[0][0]
+
+
+class SlaveEntry(object):
+    def __init__(self, sock, s_addr):
+        slave = ExSocket(sock)
+        self.sock = slave
+        self.host = get_some_ip(s_addr[0])
+        magic = slave.recvint()
+        assert magic == kMagic, 'invalid magic number=%d from %s' % (magic, self.host)
+        slave.sendint(kMagic)
+        self.rank = slave.recvint()
+        self.world_size = slave.recvint()
+        self.jobid = slave.recvstr()
+        self.cmd = slave.recvstr()
+        self.wait_accept = 0
+        self.port = None
+
+    def decide_rank(self, job_map):
+        if self.rank >= 0:
+            return self.rank
+        if self.jobid != 'NULL' and self.jobid in job_map:
+            return job_map[self.jobid]
+        return -1
+
+    def assign_rank(self, rank, wait_conn, tree_map, parent_map, ring_map):
+        self.rank = rank
+        nnset = set(tree_map[rank])
+        rprev, rnext = ring_map[rank]
+        self.sock.sendint(rank)
+        # send parent rank
+        self.sock.sendint(parent_map[rank])
+        # send world size
+        self.sock.sendint(len(tree_map))
+        self.sock.sendint(len(nnset))
+        # send the rprev and next link
+        for r in nnset:
+            self.sock.sendint(r)
+        # send prev link
+        if rprev not in (-1, rank):
+            nnset.add(rprev)
+            self.sock.sendint(rprev)
+        else:
+            self.sock.sendint(-1)
+        # send next link
+        if rnext not in (-1, rank):
+            nnset.add(rnext)
+            self.sock.sendint(rnext)
+        else:
+            self.sock.sendint(-1)
+        while True:
+            ngood = self.sock.recvint()
+            goodset = set([])
+            for _ in range(ngood):
+                goodset.add(self.sock.recvint())
+            assert goodset.issubset(nnset)
+            badset = nnset - goodset
+            conset = []
+            for r in badset:
+                if r in wait_conn:
+                    conset.append(r)
+            self.sock.sendint(len(conset))
+            self.sock.sendint(len(badset) - len(conset))
+            for r in conset:
+                self.sock.sendstr(wait_conn[r].host)
+                self.sock.sendint(wait_conn[r].port)
+                self.sock.sendint(r)
+            nerr = self.sock.recvint()
+            if nerr != 0:
+                continue
+            self.port = self.sock.recvint()
+            rmset = []
+            # all connection was successuly setup
+            for r in conset:
+                wait_conn[r].wait_accept -= 1
+                if wait_conn[r].wait_accept == 0:
+                    rmset.append(r)
+            for r in rmset:
+                wait_conn.pop(r, None)
+            self.wait_accept = len(badset) - len(conset)
+            return rmset
+
+
+class RabitTracker(object):
+    """
+    tracker for rabit
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, hostIP, nslave, port=9091, port_end=9999):
+        sock = socket.socket(get_family(hostIP), socket.SOCK_STREAM)
+        for _port in range(port, port_end):
+            try:
+                sock.bind((hostIP, _port))
+                self.port = _port
+                break
+            except socket.error as e:
+                if e.errno in [98, 48]:
+                    continue
+                else:
+                    raise
+        sock.listen(256)
+        self.sock = sock
+        self.hostIP = hostIP
+        self.thread = None
+        self.start_time = None
+        self.end_time = None
+        self.nslave = nslave
+        logging.info('start listen on %s:%d', hostIP, self.port)
+
+    def __del__(self):
+        self.sock.close()
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def get_neighbor(rank, nslave):
+        rank = rank + 1
+        ret = []
+        if rank > 1:
+            ret.append(rank // 2 - 1)
+        if rank * 2 - 1 < nslave:
+            ret.append(rank * 2 - 1)
+        if rank * 2 < nslave:
+            ret.append(rank * 2)
+        return ret
+
+    def slave_envs(self):
+        """
+        get enviroment variables for slaves
+        can be passed in as args or envs
+        """
+        return {'DMLC_TRACKER_URI': self.hostIP,
+                'DMLC_TRACKER_PORT': self.port}
+
+    def get_tree(self, nslave):
+        tree_map = {}
+        parent_map = {}
+        for r in range(nslave):
+            tree_map[r] = self.get_neighbor(r, nslave)
+            parent_map[r] = (r + 1) // 2 - 1
+        return tree_map, parent_map
+
+    def find_share_ring(self, tree_map, parent_map, r):
+        """
+        get a ring structure that tends to share nodes with the tree
+        return a list starting from r
+        """
+        nset = set(tree_map[r])
+        cset = nset - set([parent_map[r]])
+        if not cset:
+            return [r]
+        rlst = [r]
+        cnt = 0
+        for v in cset:
+            vlst = self.find_share_ring(tree_map, parent_map, v)
+            cnt += 1
+            if cnt == len(cset):
+                vlst.reverse()
+            rlst += vlst
+        return rlst
+
+    def get_ring(self, tree_map, parent_map):
+        """
+        get a ring connection used to recover local data
+        """
+        assert parent_map[0] == -1
+        rlst = self.find_share_ring(tree_map, parent_map, 0)
+        assert len(rlst) == len(tree_map)
+        ring_map = {}
+        nslave = len(tree_map)
+        for r in range(nslave):
+            rprev = (r + nslave - 1) % nslave
+            rnext = (r + 1) % nslave
+            ring_map[rlst[r]] = (rlst[rprev], rlst[rnext])
+        return ring_map
+
+    def get_link_map(self, nslave):
+        """
+        get the link map, this is a bit hacky, call for better algorithm
+        to place similar nodes together
+        """
+        tree_map, parent_map = self.get_tree(nslave)
+        ring_map = self.get_ring(tree_map, parent_map)
+        rmap = {0: 0}
+        k = 0
+        for i in range(nslave - 1):
+            k = ring_map[k][1]
+            rmap[k] = i + 1
+
+        ring_map_ = {}
+        tree_map_ = {}
+        parent_map_ = {}
+        for k, v in ring_map.items():
+            ring_map_[rmap[k]] = (rmap[v[0]], rmap[v[1]])
+        for k, v in tree_map.items():
+            tree_map_[rmap[k]] = [rmap[x] for x in v]
+        for k, v in parent_map.items():
+            if k != 0:
+                parent_map_[rmap[k]] = rmap[v]
+            else:
+                parent_map_[rmap[k]] = -1
+        return tree_map_, parent_map_, ring_map_
+
+    def accept_slaves(self, nslave):
+        # set of nodes that finishs the job
+        shutdown = {}
+        # set of nodes that is waiting for connections
+        wait_conn = {}
+        # maps job id to rank
+        job_map = {}
+        # list of workers that is pending to be assigned rank
+        pending = []
+        # lazy initialize tree_map
+        tree_map = None
+
+        while len(shutdown) != nslave:
+            fd, s_addr = self.sock.accept()
+            s = SlaveEntry(fd, s_addr)
+            if s.cmd == 'print':
+                msg = s.sock.recvstr()
+                logging.info(msg.strip())
+                continue
+            if s.cmd == 'shutdown':
+                assert s.rank >= 0 and s.rank not in shutdown
+                assert s.rank not in wait_conn
+                shutdown[s.rank] = s
+                logging.debug('Recieve %s signal from %d', s.cmd, s.rank)
+                continue
+            assert s.cmd == 'start' or s.cmd == 'recover'
+            # lazily initialize the slaves
+            if tree_map is None:
+                assert s.cmd == 'start'
+                if s.world_size > 0:
+                    nslave = s.world_size
+                tree_map, parent_map, ring_map = self.get_link_map(nslave)
+                # set of nodes that is pending for getting up
+                todo_nodes = list(range(nslave))
+            else:
+                assert s.world_size == -1 or s.world_size == nslave
+            if s.cmd == 'recover':
+                assert s.rank >= 0
+
+            rank = s.decide_rank(job_map)
+            # batch assignment of ranks
+            if rank == -1:
+                assert todo_nodes
+                pending.append(s)
+                if len(pending) == len(todo_nodes):
+                    pending.sort(key=lambda x: x.host)
+                    for s in pending:
+                        rank = todo_nodes.pop(0)
+                        if s.jobid != 'NULL':
+                            job_map[s.jobid] = rank
+                        s.assign_rank(rank, wait_conn, tree_map, parent_map, ring_map)
+                        if s.wait_accept > 0:
+                            wait_conn[rank] = s
+                        logging.debug('Recieve %s signal from %s; assign rank %d',
+                                      s.cmd, s.host, s.rank)
+                if not todo_nodes:
+                    logging.info('@tracker All of %d nodes getting started', nslave)
+                    self.start_time = time.time()
+            else:
+                s.assign_rank(rank, wait_conn, tree_map, parent_map, ring_map)
+                logging.debug('Recieve %s signal from %d', s.cmd, s.rank)
+                if s.wait_accept > 0:
+                    wait_conn[rank] = s
+        logging.info('@tracker All nodes finishes job')
+        self.end_time = time.time()
+        logging.info('@tracker %s secs between node start and job finish',
+                     str(self.end_time - self.start_time))
+
+    def start(self, nslave):
+        def run():
+            self.accept_slaves(nslave)
+
+        self.thread = Thread(target=run, args=())
+        self.thread.setDaemon(True)
+        self.thread.start()
+
+    def join(self):
+        while self.thread.isAlive():
+            self.thread.join(100)
+
+    def alive(self):
+        return self.thread.isAlive()
diff --git a/tests/python/test_tracker.py b/tests/python/test_tracker.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9cff57525
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/python/test_tracker.py
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+import time
+
+from xgboost import RabitTracker
+import xgboost as xgb
+
+
+def test_rabit_tracker():
+    tracker = RabitTracker(hostIP='127.0.0.1', nslave=1)
+    tracker.start(1)
+    rabit_env = [
+        str.encode('DMLC_TRACKER_URI=127.0.0.1'),
+        str.encode('DMLC_TRACKER_PORT=9091'),
+        str.encode('DMLC_TASK_ID=0')]
+    xgb.rabit.init(rabit_env)
+    ret = xgb.rabit.broadcast('test1234', 0)
+    assert str(ret) == 'test1234'
+    xgb.rabit.finalize()