diff --git a/tests/compat.sh b/tests/compat.sh
index 724311c..06243bd 100755
--- a/tests/compat.sh
+++ b/tests/compat.sh
@@ -645,14 +645,14 @@
             exit 1;
     esac
 
-    P_SERVER_ARGS="server_addr=0.0.0.0 force_version=$MODE"
-    O_SERVER_ARGS="-www -cipher NULL,ALL -$MODE"
-    G_SERVER_ARGS="-p 4433 --http"
+    P_SERVER_ARGS="server_port=$PORT server_addr=0.0.0.0 force_version=$MODE"
+    O_SERVER_ARGS="-accept $PORT -www -cipher NULL,ALL -$MODE"
+    G_SERVER_ARGS="-p $PORT --http"
     G_SERVER_PRIO="EXPORT:+NULL:+MD5:+PSK:+DHE-PSK:+ECDHE-PSK:+RSA-PSK:-VERS-TLS-ALL:$G_PRIO_MODE"
 
-    P_CLIENT_ARGS="force_version=$MODE"
-    O_CLIENT_ARGS="-$MODE"
-    G_CLIENT_ARGS="-p 4433 --debug 3"
+    P_CLIENT_ARGS="server_port=$PORT force_version=$MODE"
+    O_CLIENT_ARGS="-connect localhost:$PORT -$MODE"
+    G_CLIENT_ARGS="-p $PORT --debug 3"
     G_CLIENT_PRIO="NONE:$G_PRIO_MODE:+COMP-NULL:+CURVE-ALL:+SIGN-ALL"
 
     if [ "X$VERIFY" = "XYES" ];
@@ -757,8 +757,8 @@
     SERVER_NAME=$1
 
     log "$SERVER_CMD"
-    echo "$SERVER_CMD" > srv_out
-    $SERVER_CMD >> srv_out 2>&1 &
+    echo "$SERVER_CMD" > $SRV_OUT
+    $SERVER_CMD >> $SRV_OUT 2>&1 &
     PROCESS_ID=$!
 
     sleep 1
@@ -768,6 +768,10 @@
 stop_server() {
     case $SERVER_NAME in
         [Pp]olar*)
+            # start watchdog in case SERVERQUIT fails
+            ( sleep 20; echo "SERVERQUIT TIMEOUT"; kill $MAIN_PID ) &
+            WATCHDOG_PID=$!
+
             # we must force a PSK suite when in PSK mode (otherwise client
             # auth will fail), so try every entry in $P_CIPHERS in turn (in
             # case the first one is not implemented in this configuration)
@@ -779,27 +783,31 @@
                     break
                 fi
             done
+
+            wait $PROCESS_ID 2>/dev/null
+            kill $WATCHDOG_PID 2>/dev/null
+            wait $WATCHDOG_PID 2>/dev/null
             ;;
         *)
             kill $PROCESS_ID 2>/dev/null
+            wait $PROCESS_ID 2>/dev/null
     esac
 
-    wait $PROCESS_ID 2>/dev/null
 
     if [ "$MEMCHECK" -gt 0 ]; then
-        if is_polar "$SERVER_CMD" && has_mem_err srv_out; then
+        if is_polar "$SERVER_CMD" && has_mem_err $SRV_OUT; then
             echo "  ! Server had memory errors"
             let "srvmem++"
             return
         fi
     fi
 
-    rm -f srv_out
+    rm -f $SRV_OUT
 }
 
 # kill the running server (used when killed by signal)
 cleanup() {
-    rm -f srv_out cli_out
+    rm -f $SRV_OUT $CLI_OUT
     kill $PROCESS_ID
     exit 1
 }
@@ -820,14 +828,14 @@
         [Oo]pen*)
             CLIENT_CMD="$OPENSSL_CMD s_client $O_CLIENT_ARGS -cipher $2"
             log "$CLIENT_CMD"
-            echo "$CLIENT_CMD" > cli_out
-            ( echo -e 'GET HTTP/1.0'; echo; ) | $CLIENT_CMD >> cli_out 2>&1
+            echo "$CLIENT_CMD" > $CLI_OUT
+            ( echo -e 'GET HTTP/1.0'; echo; ) | $CLIENT_CMD >> $CLI_OUT 2>&1
             EXIT=$?
 
             if [ "$EXIT" == "0" ]; then
                 RESULT=0
             else
-                if grep 'Cipher is (NONE)' cli_out >/dev/null; then
+                if grep 'Cipher is (NONE)' $CLI_OUT >/dev/null; then
                     RESULT=1
                 else
                     RESULT=2
@@ -838,8 +846,8 @@
         [Gg]nu*)
             CLIENT_CMD="$GNUTLS_CLI $G_CLIENT_ARGS --priority $G_PRIO_MODE:$2 localhost"
             log "$CLIENT_CMD"
-            echo "$CLIENT_CMD" > cli_out
-            ( echo -e 'GET HTTP/1.0'; echo; ) | $CLIENT_CMD >> cli_out 2>&1
+            echo "$CLIENT_CMD" > $CLI_OUT
+            ( echo -e 'GET HTTP/1.0'; echo; ) | $CLIENT_CMD >> $CLI_OUT 2>&1
             EXIT=$?
 
             if [ "$EXIT" == "0" ]; then
@@ -848,8 +856,8 @@
                 RESULT=2
                 # interpret early failure, with a handshake_failure alert
                 # before the server hello, as "no ciphersuite in common"
-                if grep -F 'Received alert [40]: Handshake failed' cli_out; then
-                    if grep -i 'SERVER HELLO .* was received' cli_out; then :
+                if grep -F 'Received alert [40]: Handshake failed' $CLI_OUT; then
+                    if grep -i 'SERVER HELLO .* was received' $CLI_OUT; then :
                     else
                         RESULT=1
                     fi
@@ -863,8 +871,8 @@
                 CLIENT_CMD="valgrind --leak-check=full $CLIENT_CMD"
             fi
             log "$CLIENT_CMD"
-            echo "$CLIENT_CMD" > cli_out
-            $CLIENT_CMD >> cli_out 2>&1
+            echo "$CLIENT_CMD" > $CLI_OUT
+            $CLIENT_CMD >> $CLI_OUT 2>&1
             EXIT=$?
 
             case $EXIT in
@@ -874,7 +882,7 @@
             esac
 
             if [ "$MEMCHECK" -gt 0 ]; then
-                if is_polar "$CLIENT_CMD" && has_mem_err cli_out; then
+                if is_polar "$CLIENT_CMD" && has_mem_err $CLI_OUT; then
                     RESULT=2
                 fi
             fi
@@ -887,7 +895,7 @@
             ;;
     esac
 
-    echo "EXIT: $EXIT" >> cli_out
+    echo "EXIT: $EXIT" >> $CLI_OUT
 
     # report and count result
     case $RESULT in
@@ -900,14 +908,14 @@
             ;;
         "2")
             echo FAIL
-            cp srv_out c-srv-${tests}.log
-            cp cli_out c-cli-${tests}.log
+            cp $SRV_OUT c-srv-${tests}.log
+            cp $CLI_OUT c-cli-${tests}.log
             echo "  ! outputs saved to c-srv-${tests}.log, c-cli-${tests}.log"
             let "failed++"
             ;;
     esac
 
-    rm -f cli_out
+    rm -f $CLI_OUT
 }
 
 #
@@ -952,7 +960,17 @@
     esac
 done
 
-killall -q gnutls-serv openssl ssl_server ssl_server2
+# used by watchdog
+MAIN_PID="$$"
+
+# Pick a "unique" port in the range 10000-19999.
+PORT="0000$$"
+PORT="1$(echo $PORT | tail -c 4)"
+
+# Also pick a unique name for intermediate files
+SRV_OUT="srv_out.$$"
+CLI_OUT="cli_out.$$"
+
 trap cleanup INT TERM HUP
 
 for VERIFY in $VERIFIES; do
diff --git a/tests/scripts/all.sh b/tests/scripts/all.sh
index 1e11d78..d01dc25 100755
--- a/tests/scripts/all.sh
+++ b/tests/scripts/all.sh
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@
 # CMake configuration. After this script is run, the CMake cache is lost and
 # CMake is not initialised any more!
 #
-# Assumes gcc, clang (recent enough for using ASan) are available, as weel as
-# cmake. Also assumes valgrind is available if --memcheck is used.
+# Assumes gcc and clang (recent enough for using ASan) are available,
+# as well as cmake and valgrind.
 
 # Abort on errors (and uninitiliased variables)
 set -eu
@@ -54,54 +54,72 @@
     echo "******************************************************************"
 }
 
-# Step 1: various build types
+# The test ordering tries to optimize for the following criteria:
+# 1. Catch possible problems early, by running first test that run quickly
+#    and/or are more likely to fail than others.
+# 2. Minimize total running time, by avoiding useless rebuilds
+#
+# Indicative running times are given for reference.
 
-msg "Unix make, default compiler and flags"
-cleanup
-make
-
-msg "cmake, gcc with lots of warnings"
+msg "build: cmake, gcc with lots of warnings" # ~ 1 min
 cleanup
 CC=gcc cmake -D CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE:String=Check .
 make
 
-msg "cmake, clang with lots of warnings"
+msg "test: main suites with valgrind" # ~ 2 min 10s
+make memcheck
+
+msg "build: with ASan" # ~ 1 min
+cleanup
+cmake -D CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE:String=ASan .
+make
+
+msg "test: ssl-opt.sh (ASan build)" # ~ 1 min 10s
+cd tests
+./ssl-opt.sh
+cd ..
+
+msg "test: main suites and selftest (ASan build)" # ~ 10s + 30s
+make test
+programs/test/selftest
+
+msg "test: ref-configs (ASan build)" # ~ 4 min 45 s
+tests/scripts/test-ref-configs.pl
+
+# Most issues are likely to be caught at this point
+
+msg "build: with ASan (rebuild after ref-configs)" # ~ 1 min
+make
+
+msg "test: compat.sh (ASan build)" # ~ 7 min 30s
+cd tests
+./compat.sh
+cd ..
+
+msg "build: cmake, clang with lots of warnings" # ~ 40s
 cleanup
 CC=clang cmake -D CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE:String=Check .
 make
 
-# Step 2: Full tests, with ASan
-
-msg "ASan build and full tests"
+msg "build: Unix make, -O2" # ~ 30s
 cleanup
-cmake -D CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE:String=ASan .
 make
-make test
-programs/test/selftest
-cd tests
-./compat.sh
-./ssl-opt.sh
-cd ..
-tests/scripts/test-ref-configs.pl
 
-# Step 3: using valgrind's memcheck
-
-msg "Release build, test suites with valgrind's memcheck"
-cleanup
-# optimized build to compensate a bit for valgrind slowdown
-cmake -D CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE:String=Release .
-make
-make memcheck
+# Optional parts that take a long time to run
 
 if [ "$MEMORY" -gt 0 ]; then
+    msg "test: ssl-opt --memcheck (-02 build)" # ~ 8 min
     cd tests
     ./ssl-opt.sh --memcheck
-    [ "$MEMORY" -gt 1 ] && ./compat.sh --memcheck
     cd ..
-    # no test-ref-configs: doesn't have a memcheck option (yet?)
-fi
 
-# Done
+    if [ "$MEMORY" -gt 1 ]; then
+        msg "test: compat --memcheck (-02 build)" # ~ 42 min
+        cd tests
+        ./compat.sh --memcheck
+        cd ..
+    fi
+fi
 
 echo "Done."
 cleanup
diff --git a/tests/ssl-opt.sh b/tests/ssl-opt.sh
index f4fbc01..238995f 100755
--- a/tests/ssl-opt.sh
+++ b/tests/ssl-opt.sh
@@ -89,8 +89,8 @@
     echo "FAIL"
     echo "  ! $1"
 
-    cp srv_out o-srv-${TESTS}.log
-    cp cli_out o-cli-${TESTS}.log
+    cp $SRV_OUT o-srv-${TESTS}.log
+    cp $CLI_OUT o-cli-${TESTS}.log
     echo "  ! outputs saved to o-srv-${TESTS}.log and o-cli-${TESTS}.log"
 
     FAILS=`echo $FAILS + 1 | bc`
@@ -112,6 +112,28 @@
     fi
 }
 
+# wait for server to be ready
+wait_srv_ready() {
+    if is_polar "$SRV_CMD"; then
+        READY_MSG="Waiting for a remote connection"
+    else
+        READY_MSG="ACCEPT"
+    fi
+
+    # If the server isn't ready after 10 secs, something probably went wrong
+    ( sleep 10; echo "SERVERSTART TIMEOUT"; kill $MAIN_PID ) &
+    WATCHDOG_PID=$!
+
+    while ! grep "$READY_MSG" $SRV_OUT >/dev/null; do
+        # don't use sleep, since the whole goal is to avoid wasting time,
+        # and 1 second is usually way more than the server needs to start
+        true
+    done
+
+    kill $WATCHDOG_PID
+    wait $WATCHDOG_PID
+}
+
 # Usage: run_test name srv_cmd cli_cmd cli_exit [option [...]]
 # Options:  -s pattern  pattern that must be present in server output
 #           -c pattern  pattern that must be present in client output
@@ -142,38 +164,46 @@
     fi
 
     # run the commands
-    echo "$SRV_CMD" > srv_out
-    $SRV_CMD >> srv_out 2>&1 &
+    echo "$SRV_CMD" > $SRV_OUT
+    $SRV_CMD >> $SRV_OUT 2>&1 &
     SRV_PID=$!
-    sleep 1
-    echo "$CLI_CMD" > cli_out
-    eval "$CLI_CMD" >> cli_out 2>&1
+    wait_srv_ready
+    echo "$CLI_CMD" > $CLI_OUT
+    eval "$CLI_CMD" >> $CLI_OUT 2>&1
     CLI_EXIT=$?
-    echo "EXIT: $CLI_EXIT" >> cli_out
+    echo "EXIT: $CLI_EXIT" >> $CLI_OUT
 
-    # psk is useful when server only has bad certs
     if is_polar "$SRV_CMD"; then
-        "$P_CLI" request_page=SERVERQUIT tickets=0 auth_mode=none psk=abc123 \
+        # start watchdog in case SERVERQUIT fails
+        ( sleep 10; echo "SERVERQUIT TIMEOUT"; kill $MAIN_PID ) &
+        WATCHDOG_PID=$!
+
+        # psk is useful when server only has bad certs
+        $P_CLI request_page=SERVERQUIT tickets=0 auth_mode=none psk=abc123 \
             crt_file=data_files/cli2.crt key_file=data_files/cli2.key \
             >/dev/null
+
+        wait $SRV_PID
+        kill $WATCHDOG_PID
+        wait $WATCHDOG_PID
     else
         kill $SRV_PID
+        wait $SRV_PID
     fi
-    wait $SRV_PID
 
     # check if the client and server went at least to the handshake stage
     # (useful to avoid tests with only negative assertions and non-zero
     # expected client exit to incorrectly succeed in case of catastrophic
     # failure)
     if is_polar "$SRV_CMD"; then
-        if grep "Performing the SSL/TLS handshake" srv_out >/dev/null; then :;
+        if grep "Performing the SSL/TLS handshake" $SRV_OUT >/dev/null; then :;
         else
             fail "server failed to start"
             return
         fi
     fi
     if is_polar "$CLI_CMD"; then
-        if grep "Performing the SSL/TLS handshake" cli_out >/dev/null; then :;
+        if grep "Performing the SSL/TLS handshake" $CLI_OUT >/dev/null; then :;
         else
             fail "client failed to start"
             return
@@ -199,28 +229,28 @@
     do
         case $1 in
             "-s")
-                if grep "$2" srv_out >/dev/null; then :; else
+                if grep "$2" $SRV_OUT >/dev/null; then :; else
                     fail "-s $2"
                     return
                 fi
                 ;;
 
             "-c")
-                if grep "$2" cli_out >/dev/null; then :; else
+                if grep "$2" $CLI_OUT >/dev/null; then :; else
                     fail "-c $2"
                     return
                 fi
                 ;;
 
             "-S")
-                if grep "$2" srv_out >/dev/null; then
+                if grep "$2" $SRV_OUT >/dev/null; then
                     fail "-S $2"
                     return
                 fi
                 ;;
 
             "-C")
-                if grep "$2" cli_out >/dev/null; then
+                if grep "$2" $CLI_OUT >/dev/null; then
                     fail "-C $2"
                     return
                 fi
@@ -235,11 +265,11 @@
 
     # check valgrind's results
     if [ "$MEMCHECK" -gt 0 ]; then
-        if is_polar "$SRV_CMD" && has_mem_err srv_out; then
+        if is_polar "$SRV_CMD" && has_mem_err $SRV_OUT; then
             fail "Server has memory errors"
             return
         fi
-        if is_polar "$CLI_CMD" && has_mem_err cli_out; then
+        if is_polar "$CLI_CMD" && has_mem_err $CLI_OUT; then
             fail "Client has memory errors"
             return
         fi
@@ -247,11 +277,11 @@
 
     # if we're here, everything is ok
     echo "PASS"
-    rm -f srv_out cli_out
+    rm -f $SRV_OUT $CLI_OUT
 }
 
 cleanup() {
-    rm -f cli_out srv_out sess
+    rm -f $CLI_OUT $SRV_OUT $SESSION
     kill $SRV_PID
     exit 1
 }
@@ -276,7 +306,24 @@
     exit 1
 fi
 
-killall -q openssl ssl_server ssl_server2
+# used by watchdog
+MAIN_PID="$$"
+
+# Pick a "unique" port in the range 10000-19999.
+PORT="0000$$"
+PORT="1$(echo $PORT | tail -c 4)"
+
+# fix commands to use this port
+P_SRV="$P_SRV server_port=$PORT"
+P_CLI="$P_CLI server_port=$PORT"
+O_SRV="$O_SRV -accept $PORT"
+O_CLI="$O_CLI -connect localhost:$PORT"
+
+# Also pick a unique name for intermediate files
+SRV_OUT="srv_out.$$"
+CLI_OUT="cli_out.$$"
+SESSION="session.$$"
+
 trap cleanup INT TERM HUP
 
 # Test for SSLv2 ClientHello
@@ -365,7 +412,9 @@
 
 run_test    "Session resume using tickets #5 (openssl client)" \
             "$P_SRV debug_level=4 tickets=1" \
-            "($O_CLI -sess_out sess; $O_CLI -sess_in sess; rm -f sess)" \
+            "( $O_CLI -sess_out $SESSION; \
+               $O_CLI -sess_in $SESSION; \
+               rm -f $SESSION )" \
             0 \
             -s "found session ticket extension" \
             -s "server hello, adding session ticket extension" \
@@ -450,7 +499,9 @@
 
 run_test    "Session resume using cache #8 (openssl client)" \
             "$P_SRV debug_level=4 tickets=0" \
-            "($O_CLI -sess_out sess; $O_CLI -sess_in sess; rm -f sess)" \
+            "( $O_CLI -sess_out $SESSION; \
+               $O_CLI -sess_in $SESSION; \
+               rm -f $SESSION )" \
             0 \
             -s "found session ticket extension" \
             -S "server hello, adding session ticket extension" \