diff --git a/bin/resque b/bin/resque
index b8089ac..4cb50da 100755
--- a/bin/resque
+++ b/bin/resque
@@ -30,7 +30,15 @@ if(empty($QUEUE)) {
     die("Set QUEUE env var containing the list of queues to work.\n");
 }
 
+/**
+ * REDIS_BACKEND can have simple 'host:port' format or use a DSN-style format like this:
+ * - redis://user:pass@host:port
+ *
+ * Note: the 'user' part of the DSN URI is required but is not used.
+ */
 $REDIS_BACKEND = getenv('REDIS_BACKEND');
+
+// A redis database number
 $REDIS_BACKEND_DB = getenv('REDIS_BACKEND_DB');
 if(!empty($REDIS_BACKEND)) {
     if (empty($REDIS_BACKEND_DB))
diff --git a/demo/check_status.php b/demo/check_status.php
index 645bf6d..871daba 100644
--- a/demo/check_status.php
+++ b/demo/check_status.php
@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@ require __DIR__ . '/init.php';
 
 date_default_timezone_set('GMT');
 Resque::setBackend('127.0.0.1:6379');
+// You can also use a DSN-style format:
+//Resque::setBackend('redis://user:pass@127.0.0.1:6379');
+//Resque::setBackend('redis://user:pass@a.host.name:3432/2');
 
 $status = new Resque_Job_Status($argv[1]);
 if(!$status->isTracking()) {
diff --git a/demo/queue.php b/demo/queue.php
index 52f2f0b..1eca124 100644
--- a/demo/queue.php
+++ b/demo/queue.php
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ require __DIR__ . '/init.php';
 date_default_timezone_set('GMT');
 Resque::setBackend('127.0.0.1:6379');
 
+// You can also use a DSN-style format:
+//Resque::setBackend('redis://user:pass@127.0.0.1:6379');
+//Resque::setBackend('redis://user:pass@a.host.name:3432/2');
+
 $args = array(
 	'time' => time(),
 	'array' => array(
diff --git a/lib/Resque.php b/lib/Resque.php
index 2b47084..0f4b94e 100644
--- a/lib/Resque.php
+++ b/lib/Resque.php
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ class Resque
 	 * Given a host/port combination separated by a colon, set it as
 	 * the redis server that Resque will talk to.
 	 *
-	 * @param mixed $server Host/port combination separated by a colon, or
+	 * @param mixed $server Host/port combination separated by a colon, DSN-formatted URI, or
 	 *                      a nested array of servers with host/port pairs.
 	 * @param int $database
 	 */
@@ -54,12 +54,7 @@ class Resque
 			return self::$redis;
 		}
 
-		$server = self::$redisServer;
-		if (empty($server)) {
-			$server = 'localhost:6379';
-		}
-
-		self::$redis = new Resque_Redis($server, self::$redisDatabase);
+		self::$redis = new Resque_Redis(self::$redisServer, self::$redisDatabase);
 		return self::$redis;
 	}
 	
diff --git a/lib/Resque/Redis.php b/lib/Resque/Redis.php
index 6cef3d2..a946b14 100644
--- a/lib/Resque/Redis.php
+++ b/lib/Resque/Redis.php
@@ -8,14 +8,26 @@
  */
 class Resque_Redis
 {
-    /**
-     * Redis namespace
-     * @var string
-     */
-    private static $defaultNamespace = 'resque:';
+	/**
+	 * Redis namespace
+	 * @var string
+	 */
+	private static $defaultNamespace = 'resque:';
 
-    private $server;
-    private $database;
+	/**
+	 * A default host to connect to
+	 */
+	const DEFAULT_HOST = 'localhost';
+
+	/**
+	 * The default Redis port
+	 */
+	const DEFAULT_PORT = 6379;
+
+	/**
+	 * The default Redis Database number
+	 */
+	const DEFAULT_DATABASE = 0;
 
 	/**
 	 * @var array List of all commands in Redis that supply a key as their
@@ -92,47 +104,106 @@ class Resque_Redis
 	    self::$defaultNamespace = $namespace;
 	}
 
-	public function __construct($server, $database = null)
+	/**
+	 * @param string|array $server A DSN or array
+	 * @param int $database A database number to select. However, if we find a valid database number in the DSN the
+	 *                      DSN-supplied value will be used instead and this parameter is ignored.
+	 */
+    public function __construct($server, $database = null)
 	{
-		$this->server = $server;
-		$this->database = $database;
-
-		if (is_array($this->server)) {
+		if (is_array($server)) {
 			$this->driver = new Credis_Cluster($server);
 		}
 		else {
-			$port = null;
-			$password = null;
-			$host = $server;
 
-			// If not a UNIX socket path or tcp:// formatted connections string
-			// assume host:port combination.
-			if (strpos($server, '/') === false) {
-				$parts = explode(':', $server);
-				if (isset($parts[1])) {
-					$port = $parts[1];
-				}
-				$host = $parts[0];
-			}else if (strpos($server, 'redis://') !== false){
-				// Redis format is:
-				// redis://[user]:[password]@[host]:[port]
-				list($userpwd,$hostport) = explode('@', $server);
-				$userpwd = substr($userpwd, strpos($userpwd, 'redis://')+8);
-				list($host, $port) = explode(':', $hostport);
-				list($user, $password) = explode(':', $userpwd);
-			}
-			
-			$this->driver = new Credis_Client($host, $port);
-			if (isset($password)){
+			list($host, $port, $dsnDatabase, $user, $password, $options) = self::parseDsn($server);
+			// $user is not used, only $password
+
+			// Look for known Credis_Client options
+			$timeout = isset($options['timeout']) ? intval($options['timeout']) : null;
+			$persistent = isset($options['persistent']) ? $options['persistent'] : '';
+
+			$this->driver = new Credis_Client($host, $port, $timeout, $persistent);
+			if ($password){
 				$this->driver->auth($password);
 			}
+
+			// If we have found a database in our DSN, use it instead of the `$database`
+			// value passed into the constructor.
+			if ($dsnDatabase !== false) {
+				$database = $dsnDatabase;
+			}
 		}
 
-		if ($this->database !== null) {
+		if ($database !== null) {
 			$this->driver->select($database);
 		}
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Parse a DSN string, which can have one of the following formats:
+	 *
+	 * - host:port
+	 * - redis://user:pass@host:port/db?option1=val1&option2=val2
+	 * - tcp://user:pass@host:port/db?option1=val1&option2=val2
+	 *
+	 * Note: the 'user' part of the DSN is not used.
+	 *
+	 * @param string $dsn A DSN string
+	 * @return array An array of DSN compotnents, with 'false' values for any unknown components. e.g.
+	 *               [host, port, db, user, pass, options]
+	 */
+	public static function parseDsn($dsn)
+	{
+		if ($dsn == '') {
+			// Use a sensible default for an empty DNS string
+			$dsn = 'redis://' . self::DEFAULT_HOST;
+		}
+		$parts = parse_url($dsn);
+
+		// Check the URI scheme
+		$validSchemes = array('redis', 'tcp');
+		if (isset($parts['scheme']) && ! in_array($parts['scheme'], $validSchemes)) {
+			throw new \InvalidArgumentException("Invalid DSN. Supported schemes are " . implode(', ', $validSchemes));
+		}
+
+		// Allow simple 'hostname' format, which `parse_url` treats as a path, not host.
+		if ( ! isset($parts['host']) && isset($parts['path'])) {
+			$parts['host'] = $parts['path'];
+			unset($parts['path']);
+		}
+
+		// Extract the port number as an integer
+		$port = isset($parts['port']) ? intval($parts['port']) : self::DEFAULT_PORT;
+
+		// Get the database from the 'path' part of the URI
+		$database = false;
+		if (isset($parts['path'])) {
+			// Strip non-digit chars from path
+			$database = intval(preg_replace('/[^0-9]/', '', $parts['path']));
+		}
+
+		// Extract any 'user' and 'pass' values
+		$user = isset($parts['user']) ? $parts['user'] : false;
+		$pass = isset($parts['pass']) ? $parts['pass'] : false;
+
+		// Convert the query string into an associative array
+		$options = array();
+		if (isset($parts['query'])) {
+			// Parse the query string into an array
+			parse_str($parts['query'], $options);
+		}
+
+		return array(
+			$parts['host'],
+			$port,
+			$database,
+			$user,
+			$pass,
+			$options,
+		);
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * Magic method to handle all function requests and prefix key based
 	 * operations with the {self::$defaultNamespace} key prefix.
@@ -141,37 +212,38 @@ class Resque_Redis
 	 * @param array $args Array of supplied arguments to the method.
 	 * @return mixed Return value from Resident::call() based on the command.
 	 */
-	public function __call($name, $args) {
-		if(in_array($name, $this->keyCommands)) {
-            if(is_array($args[0])) {
-                foreach($args[0] AS $i => $v) {
-                    $args[0][$i] = self::$defaultNamespace . $v;
-                }
-            } else {
-                $args[0] = self::$defaultNamespace . $args[0];
-            }
+	public function __call($name, $args)
+	{
+		if (in_array($name, $this->keyCommands)) {
+			if (is_array($args[0])) {
+				foreach ($args[0] AS $i => $v) {
+					$args[0][$i] = self::$defaultNamespace . $v;
+				}
+			}
+			else {
+				$args[0] = self::$defaultNamespace . $args[0];
+			}
 		}
 		try {
 			return $this->driver->__call($name, $args);
 		}
-		catch(CredisException $e) {
+		catch (CredisException $e) {
 			return false;
 		}
 	}
 
-    public static function getPrefix()
-    {
-        return self::$defaultNamespace;
-    }
+	public static function getPrefix()
+	{
+	    return self::$defaultNamespace;
+	}
 
-    public static function removePrefix($string)
-    {
-        $prefix=self::getPrefix();
+	public static function removePrefix($string)
+	{
+	    $prefix=self::getPrefix();
 
-        if (substr($string, 0, strlen($prefix)) == $prefix) {
-            $string = substr($string, strlen($prefix), strlen($string) );
-        }
-        return $string;
-    }
+	    if (substr($string, 0, strlen($prefix)) == $prefix) {
+	        $string = substr($string, strlen($prefix), strlen($string) );
+	    }
+	    return $string;
+	}
 }
-?>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/Resque/Tests/DsnTest.php b/test/Resque/Tests/DsnTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..086db1e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Resque/Tests/DsnTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,182 @@
+<?php
+/**
+ * Resque_Redis DSN tests.
+ *
+ * @package		Resque/Tests
+ * @author		Iskandar Najmuddin <github@iskandar.co.uk>
+ * @license		http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php
+ */
+class Resque_Tests_DsnTest extends Resque_Tests_TestCase
+{
+
+	/**
+	 * These DNS strings are considered valid.
+	 *
+	 * @return array
+	 */
+	public function validDsnStringProvider()
+	{
+		return array(
+			// Input , Expected output
+			array('', array(
+				'localhost',
+				Resque_Redis::DEFAULT_PORT,
+				false,
+				false, false,
+				array(),
+			)),
+			array('localhost', array(
+				'localhost',
+				Resque_Redis::DEFAULT_PORT,
+				false,
+				false, false,
+				array(),
+			)),
+			array('localhost:1234', array(
+				'localhost',
+				1234,
+				false,
+				false, false,
+				array(),
+			)),
+			array('localhost:1234/2', array(
+				'localhost',
+				1234,
+				2,
+				false, false,
+				array(),
+			)),
+			array('redis://foobar', array(
+				'foobar',
+				Resque_Redis::DEFAULT_PORT,
+				false,
+				false, false,
+				array(),
+			)),
+			array('redis://foobar/', array(
+				'foobar',
+				Resque_Redis::DEFAULT_PORT,
+				false,
+				false, false,
+				array(),
+			)),
+			array('redis://foobar:1234', array(
+				'foobar',
+				1234,
+				false,
+				false, false,
+				array(),
+			)),
+			array('redis://foobar:1234/15', array(
+				'foobar',
+				1234,
+				15,
+				false, false,
+				array(),
+			)),
+			array('redis://foobar:1234/0', array(
+				'foobar',
+				1234,
+				0,
+				false, false,
+				array(),
+			)),
+			array('redis://user@foobar:1234', array(
+				'foobar',
+				1234,
+				false,
+				'user', false,
+				array(),
+			)),
+			array('redis://user@foobar:1234/15', array(
+				'foobar',
+				1234,
+				15,
+				'user', false,
+				array(),
+			)),
+			array('redis://user:pass@foobar:1234', array(
+				'foobar',
+				1234,
+				false,
+				'user', 'pass',
+				array(),
+			)),
+			array('redis://user:pass@foobar:1234?x=y&a=b', array(
+				'foobar',
+				1234,
+				false,
+				'user', 'pass',
+				array('x' => 'y', 'a' => 'b'),
+			)),
+			array('redis://:pass@foobar:1234?x=y&a=b', array(
+				'foobar',
+				1234,
+				false,
+				false, 'pass',
+				array('x' => 'y', 'a' => 'b'),
+			)),
+			array('redis://user@foobar:1234?x=y&a=b', array(
+				'foobar',
+				1234,
+				false,
+				'user', false,
+				array('x' => 'y', 'a' => 'b'),
+			)),
+			array('redis://foobar:1234?x=y&a=b', array(
+				'foobar',
+				1234,
+				false,
+				false, false,
+				array('x' => 'y', 'a' => 'b'),
+			)),
+			array('redis://user@foobar:1234/12?x=y&a=b', array(
+				'foobar',
+				1234,
+				12,
+				'user', false,
+				array('x' => 'y', 'a' => 'b'),
+			)),
+			array('tcp://user@foobar:1234/12?x=y&a=b', array(
+				'foobar',
+				1234,
+				12,
+				'user', false,
+				array('x' => 'y', 'a' => 'b'),
+			)),
+		);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * These DSN values should throw exceptions
+	 * @return array
+	 */
+	public function bogusDsnStringProvider()
+	{
+		return array(
+			array('http://foo.bar/'),
+			array('user:@foobar:1234?x=y&a=b'),
+			array('foobar:1234?x=y&a=b'),
+		);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @dataProvider validDsnStringProvider
+	 */
+	public function testParsingValidDsnString($dsn, $expected)
+	{
+		$result = Resque_Redis::parseDsn($dsn);
+		$this->assertEquals($expected, $result);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @dataProvider bogusDsnStringProvider
+	 * @expectedException InvalidArgumentException
+	 */
+	public function testParsingBogusDsnStringThrowsException($dsn)
+	{
+		// The next line should throw an InvalidArgumentException
+		$result = Resque_Redis::parseDsn($dsn);
+	}
+
+}