code: public void start() throws ConfigurationException {
  		if (connectionFactory == null) {
  			throw new ConfigurationException("can not start without client socket factory");
  		}
  		try {
  			server = new ServerSocket(port);
  		} catch (IOException e) {
  			System.out.println(new LogEntry(e.getMessage(), e));
  			throw new ConfigurationException("Cannot start server at port " + port, e);
  		}
  		System.out.println(new LogEntry("starting socket server at port " + port));
  		serverThread = new Thread(this);
  		serverThread.start();
  	}
docs: Starts the service. Instantiates a server socket and starts a thread that
  handles incoming client connections.