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-rw-r--r--synapse/__init__.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/api/constants.py9
-rw-r--r--synapse/api/filtering.py3
-rw-r--r--synapse/app/_base.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/app/federation_sender.py7
-rw-r--r--synapse/app/homeserver.py41
-rw-r--r--synapse/app/pusher.py7
-rw-r--r--synapse/app/synchrotron.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/app/user_dir.py7
-rw-r--r--synapse/appservice/api.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/config/appservice.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/config/emailconfig.py19
-rw-r--r--synapse/config/registration.py7
-rw-r--r--synapse/config/room_directory.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/config/server.py217
-rw-r--r--synapse/events/validator.py100
-rw-r--r--synapse/federation/federation_client.py89
-rw-r--r--synapse/federation/federation_server.py26
-rw-r--r--synapse/federation/persistence.py4
-rw-r--r--synapse/federation/sender/__init__.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/federation/sender/transaction_manager.py4
-rw-r--r--synapse/federation/transport/client.py24
-rw-r--r--synapse/federation/transport/server.py6
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/admin.py21
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/directory.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/e2e_keys.py57
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/e2e_room_keys.py130
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/events.py30
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/federation.py238
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/message.py133
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/pagination.py106
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/register.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/room.py50
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/room_member.py13
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/room_member_worker.py5
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/sync.py251
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/typing.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/http/servlet.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/logging/_structured.py14
-rw-r--r--synapse/logging/_terse_json.py107
-rw-r--r--synapse/module_api/__init__.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/notifier.py29
-rw-r--r--synapse/push/bulk_push_rule_evaluator.py10
-rw-r--r--synapse/push/httppusher.py5
-rw-r--r--synapse/push/mailer.py4
-rw-r--r--synapse/replication/http/__init__.py10
-rw-r--r--synapse/replication/http/devices.py73
-rw-r--r--synapse/replication/http/membership.py7
-rw-r--r--synapse/replication/slave/storage/_base.py10
-rw-r--r--synapse/replication/slave/storage/account_data.py5
-rw-r--r--synapse/replication/slave/storage/client_ips.py5
-rw-r--r--synapse/replication/slave/storage/deviceinbox.py5
-rw-r--r--synapse/replication/slave/storage/devices.py5
-rw-r--r--synapse/replication/slave/storage/events.py5
-rw-r--r--synapse/replication/slave/storage/filtering.py5
-rw-r--r--synapse/replication/slave/storage/groups.py5
-rw-r--r--synapse/replication/slave/storage/presence.py5
-rw-r--r--synapse/replication/slave/storage/push_rule.py5
-rw-r--r--synapse/replication/slave/storage/pushers.py5
-rw-r--r--synapse/replication/slave/storage/receipts.py5
-rw-r--r--synapse/replication/slave/storage/room.py5
-rw-r--r--synapse/replication/tcp/streams/_base.py7
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/admin/__init__.py4
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/admin/users.py83
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v1/directory.py53
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v1/events.py18
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v1/initial_sync.py8
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v1/login.py60
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v1/logout.py20
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v1/presence.py18
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v1/profile.py59
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v1/push_rule.py24
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v1/pusher.py27
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v1/room.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v1/voip.py7
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/_base.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/account.py122
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/account_data.py30
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/account_validity.py17
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/auth.py9
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/capabilities.py9
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/devices.py41
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/filter.py16
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/groups.py226
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/keys.py46
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/notifications.py15
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/openid.py9
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/register.py72
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/relations.py56
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/report_event.py9
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/room_keys.py55
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/room_upgrade_rest_servlet.py9
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/sendtodevice.py9
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/sync.py54
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/tags.py23
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/thirdparty.py30
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/tokenrefresh.py5
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/user_directory.py9
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/versions.py3
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/media/v1/preview_url_resource.py4
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/media/v1/thumbnailer.py5
-rw-r--r--synapse/server.py3
-rw-r--r--synapse/server_notices/consent_server_notices.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/__init__.py20
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/_base.py1633
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/background_updates.py31
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/__init__.py16
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/__init__.py120
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/account_data.py47
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/appservice.py29
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/cache.py133
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/client_ips.py71
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/deviceinbox.py40
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/devices.py108
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/directory.py20
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/e2e_room_keys.py244
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/end_to_end_keys.py73
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/event_federation.py51
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/event_push_actions.py57
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/events.py245
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/events_bg_updates.py86
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/events_worker.py66
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/filtering.py6
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/group_server.py164
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/keys.py12
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/media_repository.py67
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/monthly_active_users.py19
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/openid.py6
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/presence.py12
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/profile.py28
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/push_rule.py43
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/pusher.py38
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/receipts.py47
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/registration.py278
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/rejections.py4
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/relations.py12
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/room.py322
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/roommember.py99
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/event_expiry.sql21
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/redaction_censor.sql1
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/redaction_censor2.sql4
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/redaction_censor4.sql16
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/room_key_etag.sql17
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/room_retention.sql33
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/signing_keys.sql3
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/signing_keys_nonunique_signatures.sql22
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/search.py70
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/signatures.py4
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/state.py86
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/state_deltas.py8
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/stats.py75
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/stream.py40
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/tags.py22
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/transactions.py27
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/user_directory.py122
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/data_stores/main/user_erasure_store.py6
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/database.py1490
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/prepare_database.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/streams/config.py9
-rw-r--r--synapse/util/metrics.py83
-rw-r--r--synapse/visibility.py32
161 files changed, 5497 insertions, 4180 deletions
diff --git a/synapse/__init__.py b/synapse/__init__.py
index f99de2f3f3..d3cf7b3d7b 100644
--- a/synapse/__init__.py
+++ b/synapse/__init__.py
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ try:
 except ImportError:
     pass
 
-__version__ = "1.6.1"
+__version__ = "1.7.0"
 
 if bool(os.environ.get("SYNAPSE_TEST_PATCH_LOG_CONTEXTS", False)):
     # We import here so that we don't have to install a bunch of deps when
diff --git a/synapse/api/constants.py b/synapse/api/constants.py
index 49c4b85054..0ade47e624 100644
--- a/synapse/api/constants.py
+++ b/synapse/api/constants.py
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 # Copyright 2014-2016 OpenMarket Ltd
 # Copyright 2017 Vector Creations Ltd
-# Copyright 2018 New Vector Ltd
+# Copyright 2018-2019 New Vector Ltd
+# Copyright 2019 The Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C.
 #
 # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -94,6 +95,8 @@ class EventTypes(object):
     ServerACL = "m.room.server_acl"
     Pinned = "m.room.pinned_events"
 
+    Retention = "m.room.retention"
+
 
 class RejectedReason(object):
     AUTH_ERROR = "auth_error"
@@ -145,3 +148,7 @@ class EventContentFields(object):
 
     # Labels for the event, cf https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/2326
     LABELS = "org.matrix.labels"
+
+    # Timestamp to delete the event after
+    # cf https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/2228
+    SELF_DESTRUCT_AFTER = "org.matrix.self_destruct_after"
diff --git a/synapse/api/filtering.py b/synapse/api/filtering.py
index bec13f08d8..6eab1f13f0 100644
--- a/synapse/api/filtering.py
+++ b/synapse/api/filtering.py
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 # Copyright 2015, 2016 OpenMarket Ltd
+# Copyright 2017 Vector Creations Ltd
+# Copyright 2018-2019 New Vector Ltd
+# Copyright 2019 The Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C.
 #
 # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
diff --git a/synapse/app/_base.py b/synapse/app/_base.py
index 2ac7d5c064..9c96816096 100644
--- a/synapse/app/_base.py
+++ b/synapse/app/_base.py
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ def start(hs, listeners=None):
 
         # It is now safe to start your Synapse.
         hs.start_listening(listeners)
-        hs.get_datastore().start_profiling()
+        hs.get_datastore().db.start_profiling()
 
         setup_sentry(hs)
         setup_sdnotify(hs)
diff --git a/synapse/app/federation_sender.py b/synapse/app/federation_sender.py
index 139221ad34..f24920a7d6 100644
--- a/synapse/app/federation_sender.py
+++ b/synapse/app/federation_sender.py
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ from synapse.replication.slave.storage.transactions import SlavedTransactionStor
 from synapse.replication.tcp.client import ReplicationClientHandler
 from synapse.replication.tcp.streams._base import ReceiptsStream
 from synapse.server import HomeServer
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.storage.engines import create_engine
 from synapse.types import ReadReceipt
 from synapse.util.async_helpers import Linearizer
@@ -59,8 +60,8 @@ class FederationSenderSlaveStore(
     SlavedDeviceStore,
     SlavedPresenceStore,
 ):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(FederationSenderSlaveStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(FederationSenderSlaveStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
         # We pull out the current federation stream position now so that we
         # always have a known value for the federation position in memory so
@@ -69,7 +70,7 @@ class FederationSenderSlaveStore(
         self.federation_out_pos_startup = self._get_federation_out_pos(db_conn)
 
     def _get_federation_out_pos(self, db_conn):
-        sql = "SELECT stream_id FROM federation_stream_position" " WHERE type = ?"
+        sql = "SELECT stream_id FROM federation_stream_position WHERE type = ?"
         sql = self.database_engine.convert_param_style(sql)
 
         txn = db_conn.cursor()
diff --git a/synapse/app/homeserver.py b/synapse/app/homeserver.py
index 883b3fb70b..df65d0a989 100644
--- a/synapse/app/homeserver.py
+++ b/synapse/app/homeserver.py
@@ -68,9 +68,9 @@ from synapse.rest.key.v2 import KeyApiV2Resource
 from synapse.rest.media.v0.content_repository import ContentRepoResource
 from synapse.rest.well_known import WellKnownResource
 from synapse.server import HomeServer
-from synapse.storage import DataStore, are_all_users_on_domain
+from synapse.storage import DataStore
 from synapse.storage.engines import IncorrectDatabaseSetup, create_engine
-from synapse.storage.prepare_database import UpgradeDatabaseException, prepare_database
+from synapse.storage.prepare_database import UpgradeDatabaseException
 from synapse.util.caches import CACHE_SIZE_FACTOR
 from synapse.util.httpresourcetree import create_resource_tree
 from synapse.util.manhole import manhole
@@ -294,22 +294,6 @@ class SynapseHomeServer(HomeServer):
             else:
                 logger.warning("Unrecognized listener type: %s", listener["type"])
 
-    def run_startup_checks(self, db_conn, database_engine):
-        all_users_native = are_all_users_on_domain(
-            db_conn.cursor(), database_engine, self.hostname
-        )
-        if not all_users_native:
-            quit_with_error(
-                "Found users in database not native to %s!\n"
-                "You cannot changed a synapse server_name after it's been configured"
-                % (self.hostname,)
-            )
-
-        try:
-            database_engine.check_database(db_conn.cursor())
-        except IncorrectDatabaseSetup as e:
-            quit_with_error(str(e))
-
 
 # Gauges to expose monthly active user control metrics
 current_mau_gauge = Gauge("synapse_admin_mau:current", "Current MAU")
@@ -357,16 +341,12 @@ def setup(config_options):
 
     synapse.config.logger.setup_logging(hs, config, use_worker_options=False)
 
-    logger.info("Preparing database: %s...", config.database_config["name"])
+    logger.info("Setting up server")
 
     try:
-        with hs.get_db_conn(run_new_connection=False) as db_conn:
-            prepare_database(db_conn, database_engine, config=config)
-            database_engine.on_new_connection(db_conn)
-
-            hs.run_startup_checks(db_conn, database_engine)
-
-            db_conn.commit()
+        hs.setup()
+    except IncorrectDatabaseSetup as e:
+        quit_with_error(str(e))
     except UpgradeDatabaseException:
         sys.stderr.write(
             "\nFailed to upgrade database.\n"
@@ -375,9 +355,6 @@ def setup(config_options):
         )
         sys.exit(1)
 
-    logger.info("Database prepared in %s.", config.database_config["name"])
-
-    hs.setup()
     hs.setup_master()
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
@@ -436,7 +413,7 @@ def setup(config_options):
             _base.start(hs, config.listeners)
 
             hs.get_pusherpool().start()
-            hs.get_datastore().start_doing_background_updates()
+            hs.get_datastore().db.updates.start_doing_background_updates()
         except Exception:
             # Print the exception and bail out.
             print("Error during startup:", file=sys.stderr)
@@ -542,8 +519,8 @@ def phone_stats_home(hs, stats, stats_process=_stats_process):
     # Database version
     #
 
-    stats["database_engine"] = hs.get_datastore().database_engine_name
-    stats["database_server_version"] = hs.get_datastore().get_server_version()
+    stats["database_engine"] = hs.database_engine.module.__name__
+    stats["database_server_version"] = hs.database_engine.server_version
     logger.info("Reporting stats to %s: %s" % (hs.config.report_stats_endpoint, stats))
     try:
         yield hs.get_proxied_http_client().put_json(
diff --git a/synapse/app/pusher.py b/synapse/app/pusher.py
index 01a5ffc363..dd52a9fc2d 100644
--- a/synapse/app/pusher.py
+++ b/synapse/app/pusher.py
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ from synapse.replication.slave.storage.account_data import SlavedAccountDataStor
 from synapse.replication.slave.storage.events import SlavedEventStore
 from synapse.replication.slave.storage.pushers import SlavedPusherStore
 from synapse.replication.slave.storage.receipts import SlavedReceiptsStore
+from synapse.replication.slave.storage.room import RoomStore
 from synapse.replication.tcp.client import ReplicationClientHandler
 from synapse.server import HomeServer
 from synapse.storage import DataStore
@@ -45,7 +46,11 @@ logger = logging.getLogger("synapse.app.pusher")
 
 
 class PusherSlaveStore(
-    SlavedEventStore, SlavedPusherStore, SlavedReceiptsStore, SlavedAccountDataStore
+    SlavedEventStore,
+    SlavedPusherStore,
+    SlavedReceiptsStore,
+    SlavedAccountDataStore,
+    RoomStore,
 ):
     update_pusher_last_stream_ordering_and_success = __func__(
         DataStore.update_pusher_last_stream_ordering_and_success
diff --git a/synapse/app/synchrotron.py b/synapse/app/synchrotron.py
index b14da09f47..288ee64b42 100644
--- a/synapse/app/synchrotron.py
+++ b/synapse/app/synchrotron.py
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ class SynchrotronPresence(object):
 
     def set_state(self, user, state, ignore_status_msg=False):
         # TODO Hows this supposed to work?
-        pass
+        return defer.succeed(None)
 
     get_states = __func__(PresenceHandler.get_states)
     get_state = __func__(PresenceHandler.get_state)
diff --git a/synapse/app/user_dir.py b/synapse/app/user_dir.py
index 6cb100319f..c01fb34a9b 100644
--- a/synapse/app/user_dir.py
+++ b/synapse/app/user_dir.py
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ from synapse.replication.tcp.streams.events import (
 from synapse.rest.client.v2_alpha import user_directory
 from synapse.server import HomeServer
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.user_directory import UserDirectoryStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.storage.engines import create_engine
 from synapse.util.caches.stream_change_cache import StreamChangeCache
 from synapse.util.httpresourcetree import create_resource_tree
@@ -60,11 +61,11 @@ class UserDirectorySlaveStore(
     UserDirectoryStore,
     BaseSlavedStore,
 ):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(UserDirectorySlaveStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(UserDirectorySlaveStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
         events_max = self._stream_id_gen.get_current_token()
-        curr_state_delta_prefill, min_curr_state_delta_id = self._get_cache_dict(
+        curr_state_delta_prefill, min_curr_state_delta_id = self.db.get_cache_dict(
             db_conn,
             "current_state_delta_stream",
             entity_column="room_id",
diff --git a/synapse/appservice/api.py b/synapse/appservice/api.py
index 3e25bf5747..57174da021 100644
--- a/synapse/appservice/api.py
+++ b/synapse/appservice/api.py
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ class ApplicationServiceApi(SimpleHttpClient):
 
                 if not _is_valid_3pe_metadata(info):
                     logger.warning(
-                        "query_3pe_protocol to %s did not return a" " valid result", uri
+                        "query_3pe_protocol to %s did not return a valid result", uri
                     )
                     return None
 
diff --git a/synapse/config/appservice.py b/synapse/config/appservice.py
index e77d3387ff..ca43e96bd1 100644
--- a/synapse/config/appservice.py
+++ b/synapse/config/appservice.py
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ def _load_appservice(hostname, as_info, config_filename):
             for regex_obj in as_info["namespaces"][ns]:
                 if not isinstance(regex_obj, dict):
                     raise ValueError(
-                        "Expected namespace entry in %s to be an object," " but got %s",
+                        "Expected namespace entry in %s to be an object, but got %s",
                         ns,
                         regex_obj,
                     )
diff --git a/synapse/config/emailconfig.py b/synapse/config/emailconfig.py
index 43fad0bf8b..18f42a87f9 100644
--- a/synapse/config/emailconfig.py
+++ b/synapse/config/emailconfig.py
@@ -146,6 +146,8 @@ class EmailConfig(Config):
                 if k not in email_config:
                     missing.append("email." + k)
 
+            # public_baseurl is required to build password reset and validation links that
+            # will be emailed to users
             if config.get("public_baseurl") is None:
                 missing.append("public_baseurl")
 
@@ -305,8 +307,23 @@ class EmailConfig(Config):
         #   smtp_user: "exampleusername"
         #   smtp_pass: "examplepassword"
         #   require_transport_security: false
+        #
+        #   # notif_from defines the "From" address to use when sending emails.
+        #   # It must be set if email sending is enabled.
+        #   #
+        #   # The placeholder '%(app)s' will be replaced by the application name,
+        #   # which is normally 'app_name' (below), but may be overridden by the
+        #   # Matrix client application.
+        #   #
+        #   # Note that the placeholder must be written '%(app)s', including the
+        #   # trailing 's'.
+        #   #
         #   notif_from: "Your Friendly %(app)s homeserver <noreply@example.com>"
-        #   app_name: Matrix
+        #
+        #   # app_name defines the default value for '%(app)s' in notif_from. It
+        #   # defaults to 'Matrix'.
+        #   #
+        #   #app_name: my_branded_matrix_server
         #
         #   # Enable email notifications by default
         #   #
diff --git a/synapse/config/registration.py b/synapse/config/registration.py
index 1f6dac69da..ee9614c5f7 100644
--- a/synapse/config/registration.py
+++ b/synapse/config/registration.py
@@ -106,6 +106,13 @@ class RegistrationConfig(Config):
         account_threepid_delegates = config.get("account_threepid_delegates") or {}
         self.account_threepid_delegate_email = account_threepid_delegates.get("email")
         self.account_threepid_delegate_msisdn = account_threepid_delegates.get("msisdn")
+        if self.account_threepid_delegate_msisdn and not self.public_baseurl:
+            raise ConfigError(
+                "The configuration option `public_baseurl` is required if "
+                "`account_threepid_delegate.msisdn` is set, such that "
+                "clients know where to submit validation tokens to. Please "
+                "configure `public_baseurl`."
+            )
 
         self.default_identity_server = config.get("default_identity_server")
         self.allow_guest_access = config.get("allow_guest_access", False)
diff --git a/synapse/config/room_directory.py b/synapse/config/room_directory.py
index 7c9f05bde4..7ac7699676 100644
--- a/synapse/config/room_directory.py
+++ b/synapse/config/room_directory.py
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ class _RoomDirectoryRule(object):
             self.action = action
         else:
             raise ConfigError(
-                "%s rules can only have action of 'allow'" " or 'deny'" % (option_name,)
+                "%s rules can only have action of 'allow' or 'deny'" % (option_name,)
             )
 
         self._alias_matches_all = alias == "*"
diff --git a/synapse/config/server.py b/synapse/config/server.py
index 00d01c43af..a4bef00936 100644
--- a/synapse/config/server.py
+++ b/synapse/config/server.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ import logging
 import os.path
 import re
 from textwrap import indent
-from typing import List
+from typing import Dict, List, Optional
 
 import attr
 import yaml
@@ -118,15 +118,16 @@ class ServerConfig(Config):
             self.allow_public_rooms_without_auth = False
             self.allow_public_rooms_over_federation = False
         else:
-            # If set to 'False', requires authentication to access the server's public
-            # rooms directory through the client API. Defaults to 'True'.
+            # If set to 'true', removes the need for authentication to access the server's
+            # public rooms directory through the client API, meaning that anyone can
+            # query the room directory. Defaults to 'false'.
             self.allow_public_rooms_without_auth = config.get(
-                "allow_public_rooms_without_auth", True
+                "allow_public_rooms_without_auth", False
             )
-            # If set to 'False', forbids any other homeserver to fetch the server's public
-            # rooms directory via federation. Defaults to 'True'.
+            # If set to 'true', allows any other homeserver to fetch the server's public
+            # rooms directory via federation. Defaults to 'false'.
             self.allow_public_rooms_over_federation = config.get(
-                "allow_public_rooms_over_federation", True
+                "allow_public_rooms_over_federation", False
             )
 
         default_room_version = config.get("default_room_version", DEFAULT_ROOM_VERSION)
@@ -223,7 +224,7 @@ class ServerConfig(Config):
             self.federation_ip_range_blacklist.update(["0.0.0.0", "::"])
         except Exception as e:
             raise ConfigError(
-                "Invalid range(s) provided in " "federation_ip_range_blacklist: %s" % e
+                "Invalid range(s) provided in federation_ip_range_blacklist: %s" % e
             )
 
         if self.public_baseurl is not None:
@@ -246,6 +247,124 @@ class ServerConfig(Config):
         # events with profile information that differ from the target's global profile.
         self.allow_per_room_profiles = config.get("allow_per_room_profiles", True)
 
+        retention_config = config.get("retention")
+        if retention_config is None:
+            retention_config = {}
+
+        self.retention_enabled = retention_config.get("enabled", False)
+
+        retention_default_policy = retention_config.get("default_policy")
+
+        if retention_default_policy is not None:
+            self.retention_default_min_lifetime = retention_default_policy.get(
+                "min_lifetime"
+            )
+            if self.retention_default_min_lifetime is not None:
+                self.retention_default_min_lifetime = self.parse_duration(
+                    self.retention_default_min_lifetime
+                )
+
+            self.retention_default_max_lifetime = retention_default_policy.get(
+                "max_lifetime"
+            )
+            if self.retention_default_max_lifetime is not None:
+                self.retention_default_max_lifetime = self.parse_duration(
+                    self.retention_default_max_lifetime
+                )
+
+            if (
+                self.retention_default_min_lifetime is not None
+                and self.retention_default_max_lifetime is not None
+                and (
+                    self.retention_default_min_lifetime
+                    > self.retention_default_max_lifetime
+                )
+            ):
+                raise ConfigError(
+                    "The default retention policy's 'min_lifetime' can not be greater"
+                    " than its 'max_lifetime'"
+                )
+        else:
+            self.retention_default_min_lifetime = None
+            self.retention_default_max_lifetime = None
+
+        self.retention_allowed_lifetime_min = retention_config.get(
+            "allowed_lifetime_min"
+        )
+        if self.retention_allowed_lifetime_min is not None:
+            self.retention_allowed_lifetime_min = self.parse_duration(
+                self.retention_allowed_lifetime_min
+            )
+
+        self.retention_allowed_lifetime_max = retention_config.get(
+            "allowed_lifetime_max"
+        )
+        if self.retention_allowed_lifetime_max is not None:
+            self.retention_allowed_lifetime_max = self.parse_duration(
+                self.retention_allowed_lifetime_max
+            )
+
+        if (
+            self.retention_allowed_lifetime_min is not None
+            and self.retention_allowed_lifetime_max is not None
+            and self.retention_allowed_lifetime_min
+            > self.retention_allowed_lifetime_max
+        ):
+            raise ConfigError(
+                "Invalid retention policy limits: 'allowed_lifetime_min' can not be"
+                " greater than 'allowed_lifetime_max'"
+            )
+
+        self.retention_purge_jobs = []  # type: List[Dict[str, Optional[int]]]
+        for purge_job_config in retention_config.get("purge_jobs", []):
+            interval_config = purge_job_config.get("interval")
+
+            if interval_config is None:
+                raise ConfigError(
+                    "A retention policy's purge jobs configuration must have the"
+                    " 'interval' key set."
+                )
+
+            interval = self.parse_duration(interval_config)
+
+            shortest_max_lifetime = purge_job_config.get("shortest_max_lifetime")
+
+            if shortest_max_lifetime is not None:
+                shortest_max_lifetime = self.parse_duration(shortest_max_lifetime)
+
+            longest_max_lifetime = purge_job_config.get("longest_max_lifetime")
+
+            if longest_max_lifetime is not None:
+                longest_max_lifetime = self.parse_duration(longest_max_lifetime)
+
+            if (
+                shortest_max_lifetime is not None
+                and longest_max_lifetime is not None
+                and shortest_max_lifetime > longest_max_lifetime
+            ):
+                raise ConfigError(
+                    "A retention policy's purge jobs configuration's"
+                    " 'shortest_max_lifetime' value can not be greater than its"
+                    " 'longest_max_lifetime' value."
+                )
+
+            self.retention_purge_jobs.append(
+                {
+                    "interval": interval,
+                    "shortest_max_lifetime": shortest_max_lifetime,
+                    "longest_max_lifetime": longest_max_lifetime,
+                }
+            )
+
+        if not self.retention_purge_jobs:
+            self.retention_purge_jobs = [
+                {
+                    "interval": self.parse_duration("1d"),
+                    "shortest_max_lifetime": None,
+                    "longest_max_lifetime": None,
+                }
+            ]
+
         self.listeners = []  # type: List[dict]
         for listener in config.get("listeners", []):
             if not isinstance(listener.get("port", None), int):
@@ -372,6 +491,8 @@ class ServerConfig(Config):
             "cleanup_extremities_with_dummy_events", True
         )
 
+        self.enable_ephemeral_messages = config.get("enable_ephemeral_messages", False)
+
     def has_tls_listener(self) -> bool:
         return any(l["tls"] for l in self.listeners)
 
@@ -500,15 +621,16 @@ class ServerConfig(Config):
         #
         #require_auth_for_profile_requests: true
 
-        # If set to 'false', requires authentication to access the server's public rooms
-        # directory through the client API. Defaults to 'true'.
+        # If set to 'true', removes the need for authentication to access the server's
+        # public rooms directory through the client API, meaning that anyone can
+        # query the room directory. Defaults to 'false'.
         #
-        #allow_public_rooms_without_auth: false
+        #allow_public_rooms_without_auth: true
 
-        # If set to 'false', forbids any other homeserver to fetch the server's public
-        # rooms directory via federation. Defaults to 'true'.
+        # If set to 'true', allows any other homeserver to fetch the server's public
+        # rooms directory via federation. Defaults to 'false'.
         #
-        #allow_public_rooms_over_federation: false
+        #allow_public_rooms_over_federation: true
 
         # The default room version for newly created rooms.
         #
@@ -761,6 +883,69 @@ class ServerConfig(Config):
         # Defaults to `28d`. Set to `null` to disable clearing out of old rows.
         #
         #user_ips_max_age: 14d
+
+        # Message retention policy at the server level.
+        #
+        # Room admins and mods can define a retention period for their rooms using the
+        # 'm.room.retention' state event, and server admins can cap this period by setting
+        # the 'allowed_lifetime_min' and 'allowed_lifetime_max' config options.
+        #
+        # If this feature is enabled, Synapse will regularly look for and purge events
+        # which are older than the room's maximum retention period. Synapse will also
+        # filter events received over federation so that events that should have been
+        # purged are ignored and not stored again.
+        #
+        retention:
+          # The message retention policies feature is disabled by default. Uncomment the
+          # following line to enable it.
+          #
+          #enabled: true
+
+          # Default retention policy. If set, Synapse will apply it to rooms that lack the
+          # 'm.room.retention' state event. Currently, the value of 'min_lifetime' doesn't
+          # matter much because Synapse doesn't take it into account yet.
+          #
+          #default_policy:
+          #  min_lifetime: 1d
+          #  max_lifetime: 1y
+
+          # Retention policy limits. If set, a user won't be able to send a
+          # 'm.room.retention' event which features a 'min_lifetime' or a 'max_lifetime'
+          # that's not within this range. This is especially useful in closed federations,
+          # in which server admins can make sure every federating server applies the same
+          # rules.
+          #
+          #allowed_lifetime_min: 1d
+          #allowed_lifetime_max: 1y
+
+          # Server admins can define the settings of the background jobs purging the
+          # events which lifetime has expired under the 'purge_jobs' section.
+          #
+          # If no configuration is provided, a single job will be set up to delete expired
+          # events in every room daily.
+          #
+          # Each job's configuration defines which range of message lifetimes the job
+          # takes care of. For example, if 'shortest_max_lifetime' is '2d' and
+          # 'longest_max_lifetime' is '3d', the job will handle purging expired events in
+          # rooms whose state defines a 'max_lifetime' that's both higher than 2 days, and
+          # lower than or equal to 3 days. Both the minimum and the maximum value of a
+          # range are optional, e.g. a job with no 'shortest_max_lifetime' and a
+          # 'longest_max_lifetime' of '3d' will handle every room with a retention policy
+          # which 'max_lifetime' is lower than or equal to three days.
+          #
+          # The rationale for this per-job configuration is that some rooms might have a
+          # retention policy with a low 'max_lifetime', where history needs to be purged
+          # of outdated messages on a very frequent basis (e.g. every 5min), but not want
+          # that purge to be performed by a job that's iterating over every room it knows,
+          # which would be quite heavy on the server.
+          #
+          #purge_jobs:
+          #  - shortest_max_lifetime: 1d
+          #    longest_max_lifetime: 3d
+          #    interval: 5m:
+          #  - shortest_max_lifetime: 3d
+          #    longest_max_lifetime: 1y
+          #    interval: 24h
         """
             % locals()
         )
@@ -787,14 +972,14 @@ class ServerConfig(Config):
             "--print-pidfile",
             action="store_true",
             default=None,
-            help="Print the path to the pidfile just" " before daemonizing",
+            help="Print the path to the pidfile just before daemonizing",
         )
         server_group.add_argument(
             "--manhole",
             metavar="PORT",
             dest="manhole",
             type=int,
-            help="Turn on the twisted telnet manhole" " service on the given port.",
+            help="Turn on the twisted telnet manhole service on the given port.",
         )
 
 
diff --git a/synapse/events/validator.py b/synapse/events/validator.py
index 272426e105..9b90c9ce04 100644
--- a/synapse/events/validator.py
+++ b/synapse/events/validator.py
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
-from six import string_types
+from six import integer_types, string_types
 
 from synapse.api.constants import MAX_ALIAS_LENGTH, EventTypes, Membership
 from synapse.api.errors import Codes, SynapseError
@@ -22,11 +22,12 @@ from synapse.types import EventID, RoomID, UserID
 
 
 class EventValidator(object):
-    def validate_new(self, event):
+    def validate_new(self, event, config):
         """Validates the event has roughly the right format
 
         Args:
-            event (FrozenEvent)
+            event (FrozenEvent): The event to validate.
+            config (Config): The homeserver's configuration.
         """
         self.validate_builder(event)
 
@@ -67,6 +68,99 @@ class EventValidator(object):
                             Codes.INVALID_PARAM,
                         )
 
+        if event.type == EventTypes.Retention:
+            self._validate_retention(event, config)
+
+    def _validate_retention(self, event, config):
+        """Checks that an event that defines the retention policy for a room respects the
+        boundaries imposed by the server's administrator.
+
+        Args:
+            event (FrozenEvent): The event to validate.
+            config (Config): The homeserver's configuration.
+        """
+        min_lifetime = event.content.get("min_lifetime")
+        max_lifetime = event.content.get("max_lifetime")
+
+        if min_lifetime is not None:
+            if not isinstance(min_lifetime, integer_types):
+                raise SynapseError(
+                    code=400,
+                    msg="'min_lifetime' must be an integer",
+                    errcode=Codes.BAD_JSON,
+                )
+
+            if (
+                config.retention_allowed_lifetime_min is not None
+                and min_lifetime < config.retention_allowed_lifetime_min
+            ):
+                raise SynapseError(
+                    code=400,
+                    msg=(
+                        "'min_lifetime' can't be lower than the minimum allowed"
+                        " value enforced by the server's administrator"
+                    ),
+                    errcode=Codes.BAD_JSON,
+                )
+
+            if (
+                config.retention_allowed_lifetime_max is not None
+                and min_lifetime > config.retention_allowed_lifetime_max
+            ):
+                raise SynapseError(
+                    code=400,
+                    msg=(
+                        "'min_lifetime' can't be greater than the maximum allowed"
+                        " value enforced by the server's administrator"
+                    ),
+                    errcode=Codes.BAD_JSON,
+                )
+
+        if max_lifetime is not None:
+            if not isinstance(max_lifetime, integer_types):
+                raise SynapseError(
+                    code=400,
+                    msg="'max_lifetime' must be an integer",
+                    errcode=Codes.BAD_JSON,
+                )
+
+            if (
+                config.retention_allowed_lifetime_min is not None
+                and max_lifetime < config.retention_allowed_lifetime_min
+            ):
+                raise SynapseError(
+                    code=400,
+                    msg=(
+                        "'max_lifetime' can't be lower than the minimum allowed value"
+                        " enforced by the server's administrator"
+                    ),
+                    errcode=Codes.BAD_JSON,
+                )
+
+            if (
+                config.retention_allowed_lifetime_max is not None
+                and max_lifetime > config.retention_allowed_lifetime_max
+            ):
+                raise SynapseError(
+                    code=400,
+                    msg=(
+                        "'max_lifetime' can't be greater than the maximum allowed"
+                        " value enforced by the server's administrator"
+                    ),
+                    errcode=Codes.BAD_JSON,
+                )
+
+        if (
+            min_lifetime is not None
+            and max_lifetime is not None
+            and min_lifetime > max_lifetime
+        ):
+            raise SynapseError(
+                code=400,
+                msg="'min_lifetime' can't be greater than 'max_lifetime",
+                errcode=Codes.BAD_JSON,
+            )
+
     def validate_builder(self, event):
         """Validates that the builder/event has roughly the right format. Only
         checks values that we expect a proto event to have, rather than all the
diff --git a/synapse/federation/federation_client.py b/synapse/federation/federation_client.py
index 27f6aff004..709449c9e3 100644
--- a/synapse/federation/federation_client.py
+++ b/synapse/federation/federation_client.py
@@ -324,87 +324,32 @@ class FederationClient(FederationBase):
                 A list of events in the state, and a list of events in the auth chain
                 for the given event.
         """
-        try:
-            # First we try and ask for just the IDs, as thats far quicker if
-            # we have most of the state and auth_chain already.
-            # However, this may 404 if the other side has an old synapse.
-            result = yield self.transport_layer.get_room_state_ids(
-                destination, room_id, event_id=event_id
-            )
-
-            state_event_ids = result["pdu_ids"]
-            auth_event_ids = result.get("auth_chain_ids", [])
-
-            fetched_events, failed_to_fetch = yield self.get_events_from_store_or_dest(
-                destination, room_id, set(state_event_ids + auth_event_ids)
-            )
-
-            if failed_to_fetch:
-                logger.warning(
-                    "Failed to fetch missing state/auth events for %s: %s",
-                    room_id,
-                    failed_to_fetch,
-                )
-
-            event_map = {ev.event_id: ev for ev in fetched_events}
-
-            pdus = [event_map[e_id] for e_id in state_event_ids if e_id in event_map]
-            auth_chain = [
-                event_map[e_id] for e_id in auth_event_ids if e_id in event_map
-            ]
-
-            auth_chain.sort(key=lambda e: e.depth)
-
-            return pdus, auth_chain
-        except HttpResponseException as e:
-            if e.code == 400 or e.code == 404:
-                logger.info("Failed to use get_room_state_ids API, falling back")
-            else:
-                raise e
-
-        result = yield self.transport_layer.get_room_state(
+        result = yield self.transport_layer.get_room_state_ids(
             destination, room_id, event_id=event_id
         )
 
-        room_version = yield self.store.get_room_version(room_id)
-        format_ver = room_version_to_event_format(room_version)
-
-        pdus = [
-            event_from_pdu_json(p, format_ver, outlier=True) for p in result["pdus"]
-        ]
+        state_event_ids = result["pdu_ids"]
+        auth_event_ids = result.get("auth_chain_ids", [])
 
-        auth_chain = [
-            event_from_pdu_json(p, format_ver, outlier=True)
-            for p in result.get("auth_chain", [])
-        ]
-
-        seen_events = yield self.store.get_events(
-            [ev.event_id for ev in itertools.chain(pdus, auth_chain)]
+        fetched_events, failed_to_fetch = yield self.get_events_from_store_or_dest(
+            destination, room_id, set(state_event_ids + auth_event_ids)
         )
 
-        signed_pdus = yield self._check_sigs_and_hash_and_fetch(
-            destination,
-            [p for p in pdus if p.event_id not in seen_events],
-            outlier=True,
-            room_version=room_version,
-        )
-        signed_pdus.extend(
-            seen_events[p.event_id] for p in pdus if p.event_id in seen_events
-        )
+        if failed_to_fetch:
+            logger.warning(
+                "Failed to fetch missing state/auth events for %s: %s",
+                room_id,
+                failed_to_fetch,
+            )
 
-        signed_auth = yield self._check_sigs_and_hash_and_fetch(
-            destination,
-            [p for p in auth_chain if p.event_id not in seen_events],
-            outlier=True,
-            room_version=room_version,
-        )
-        signed_auth.extend(
-            seen_events[p.event_id] for p in auth_chain if p.event_id in seen_events
-        )
+        event_map = {ev.event_id: ev for ev in fetched_events}
 
-        signed_auth.sort(key=lambda e: e.depth)
+        pdus = [event_map[e_id] for e_id in state_event_ids if e_id in event_map]
+        auth_chain = [event_map[e_id] for e_id in auth_event_ids if e_id in event_map]
+
+        auth_chain.sort(key=lambda e: e.depth)
 
-        return signed_pdus, signed_auth
+        return pdus, auth_chain
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def get_events_from_store_or_dest(self, destination, room_id, event_ids):
diff --git a/synapse/federation/federation_server.py b/synapse/federation/federation_server.py
index d942d77a72..84d4eca041 100644
--- a/synapse/federation/federation_server.py
+++ b/synapse/federation/federation_server.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 # Copyright 2015, 2016 OpenMarket Ltd
 # Copyright 2018 New Vector Ltd
+# Copyright 2019 Matrix.org Federation C.I.C
 #
 # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -73,6 +74,7 @@ class FederationServer(FederationBase):
 
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.handler = hs.get_handlers().federation_handler
+        self.state = hs.get_state_handler()
 
         self._server_linearizer = Linearizer("fed_server")
         self._transaction_linearizer = Linearizer("fed_txn_handler")
@@ -264,9 +266,6 @@ class FederationServer(FederationBase):
         await self.registry.on_edu(edu_type, origin, content)
 
     async def on_context_state_request(self, origin, room_id, event_id):
-        if not event_id:
-            raise NotImplementedError("Specify an event")
-
         origin_host, _ = parse_server_name(origin)
         await self.check_server_matches_acl(origin_host, room_id)
 
@@ -280,13 +279,18 @@ class FederationServer(FederationBase):
         # - but that's non-trivial to get right, and anyway somewhat defeats
         # the point of the linearizer.
         with (await self._server_linearizer.queue((origin, room_id))):
-            resp = await self._state_resp_cache.wrap(
-                (room_id, event_id),
-                self._on_context_state_request_compute,
-                room_id,
-                event_id,
+            resp = dict(
+                await self._state_resp_cache.wrap(
+                    (room_id, event_id),
+                    self._on_context_state_request_compute,
+                    room_id,
+                    event_id,
+                )
             )
 
+        room_version = await self.store.get_room_version(room_id)
+        resp["room_version"] = room_version
+
         return 200, resp
 
     async def on_state_ids_request(self, origin, room_id, event_id):
@@ -306,7 +310,11 @@ class FederationServer(FederationBase):
         return 200, {"pdu_ids": state_ids, "auth_chain_ids": auth_chain_ids}
 
     async def _on_context_state_request_compute(self, room_id, event_id):
-        pdus = await self.handler.get_state_for_pdu(room_id, event_id)
+        if event_id:
+            pdus = await self.handler.get_state_for_pdu(room_id, event_id)
+        else:
+            pdus = (await self.state.get_current_state(room_id)).values()
+
         auth_chain = await self.store.get_auth_chain([pdu.event_id for pdu in pdus])
 
         return {
diff --git a/synapse/federation/persistence.py b/synapse/federation/persistence.py
index 44edcabed4..d68b4bd670 100644
--- a/synapse/federation/persistence.py
+++ b/synapse/federation/persistence.py
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ class TransactionActions(object):
             response code and response body.
         """
         if not transaction.transaction_id:
-            raise RuntimeError("Cannot persist a transaction with no " "transaction_id")
+            raise RuntimeError("Cannot persist a transaction with no transaction_id")
 
         return self.store.get_received_txn_response(transaction.transaction_id, origin)
 
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ class TransactionActions(object):
             Deferred
         """
         if not transaction.transaction_id:
-            raise RuntimeError("Cannot persist a transaction with no " "transaction_id")
+            raise RuntimeError("Cannot persist a transaction with no transaction_id")
 
         return self.store.set_received_txn_response(
             transaction.transaction_id, origin, code, response
diff --git a/synapse/federation/sender/__init__.py b/synapse/federation/sender/__init__.py
index 2b2ee8612a..4ebb0e8bc0 100644
--- a/synapse/federation/sender/__init__.py
+++ b/synapse/federation/sender/__init__.py
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ sent_pdus_destination_dist_count = Counter(
 
 sent_pdus_destination_dist_total = Counter(
     "synapse_federation_client_sent_pdu_destinations:total",
-    "" "Total number of PDUs queued for sending across all destinations",
+    "Total number of PDUs queued for sending across all destinations",
 )
 
 
diff --git a/synapse/federation/sender/transaction_manager.py b/synapse/federation/sender/transaction_manager.py
index 67b3e1ab6e..5fed626d5b 100644
--- a/synapse/federation/sender/transaction_manager.py
+++ b/synapse/federation/sender/transaction_manager.py
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ class TransactionManager(object):
             txn_id = str(self._next_txn_id)
 
             logger.debug(
-                "TX [%s] {%s} Attempting new transaction" " (pdus: %d, edus: %d)",
+                "TX [%s] {%s} Attempting new transaction (pdus: %d, edus: %d)",
                 destination,
                 txn_id,
                 len(pdus),
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ class TransactionManager(object):
             self._next_txn_id += 1
 
             logger.info(
-                "TX [%s] {%s} Sending transaction [%s]," " (PDUs: %d, EDUs: %d)",
+                "TX [%s] {%s} Sending transaction [%s], (PDUs: %d, EDUs: %d)",
                 destination,
                 txn_id,
                 transaction.transaction_id,
diff --git a/synapse/federation/transport/client.py b/synapse/federation/transport/client.py
index dc95ab2113..46dba84cac 100644
--- a/synapse/federation/transport/client.py
+++ b/synapse/federation/transport/client.py
@@ -39,30 +39,6 @@ class TransportLayerClient(object):
         self.client = hs.get_http_client()
 
     @log_function
-    def get_room_state(self, destination, room_id, event_id):
-        """ Requests all state for a given room from the given server at the
-        given event.
-
-        Args:
-            destination (str): The host name of the remote homeserver we want
-                to get the state from.
-            context (str): The name of the context we want the state of
-            event_id (str): The event we want the context at.
-
-        Returns:
-            Deferred: Results in a dict received from the remote homeserver.
-        """
-        logger.debug("get_room_state dest=%s, room=%s", destination, room_id)
-
-        path = _create_v1_path("/state/%s", room_id)
-        return self.client.get_json(
-            destination,
-            path=path,
-            args={"event_id": event_id},
-            try_trailing_slash_on_400=True,
-        )
-
-    @log_function
     def get_room_state_ids(self, destination, room_id, event_id):
         """ Requests all state for a given room from the given server at the
         given event. Returns the state's event_id's
diff --git a/synapse/federation/transport/server.py b/synapse/federation/transport/server.py
index 09baa9c57d..fefc789c85 100644
--- a/synapse/federation/transport/server.py
+++ b/synapse/federation/transport/server.py
@@ -421,7 +421,7 @@ class FederationEventServlet(BaseFederationServlet):
         return await self.handler.on_pdu_request(origin, event_id)
 
 
-class FederationStateServlet(BaseFederationServlet):
+class FederationStateV1Servlet(BaseFederationServlet):
     PATH = "/state/(?P<context>[^/]*)/?"
 
     # This is when someone asks for all data for a given context.
@@ -429,7 +429,7 @@ class FederationStateServlet(BaseFederationServlet):
         return await self.handler.on_context_state_request(
             origin,
             context,
-            parse_string_from_args(query, "event_id", None, required=True),
+            parse_string_from_args(query, "event_id", None, required=False),
         )
 
 
@@ -1360,7 +1360,7 @@ class RoomComplexityServlet(BaseFederationServlet):
 FEDERATION_SERVLET_CLASSES = (
     FederationSendServlet,
     FederationEventServlet,
-    FederationStateServlet,
+    FederationStateV1Servlet,
     FederationStateIdsServlet,
     FederationBackfillServlet,
     FederationQueryServlet,
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/admin.py b/synapse/handlers/admin.py
index 6407d56f8e..14449b9a1e 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/admin.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/admin.py
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ class AdminHandler(BaseHandler):
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def get_users(self):
-        """Function to reterive a list of users in users table.
+        """Function to retrieve a list of users in users table.
 
         Args:
         Returns:
@@ -67,19 +67,22 @@ class AdminHandler(BaseHandler):
         return ret
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def get_users_paginate(self, order, start, limit):
-        """Function to reterive a paginated list of users from
-        users list. This will return a json object, which contains
-        list of users and the total number of users in users table.
+    def get_users_paginate(self, start, limit, name, guests, deactivated):
+        """Function to retrieve a paginated list of users from
+        users list. This will return a json list of users.
 
         Args:
-            order (str): column name to order the select by this column
             start (int): start number to begin the query from
-            limit (int): number of rows to reterive
+            limit (int): number of rows to retrieve
+            name (string): filter for user names
+            guests (bool): whether to in include guest users
+            deactivated (bool): whether to include deactivated users
         Returns:
-            defer.Deferred: resolves to json object {list[dict[str, Any]], count}
+            defer.Deferred: resolves to json list[dict[str, Any]]
         """
-        ret = yield self.store.get_users_paginate(order, start, limit)
+        ret = yield self.store.get_users_paginate(
+            start, limit, name, guests, deactivated
+        )
 
         return ret
 
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/directory.py b/synapse/handlers/directory.py
index 69051101a6..a07d2f1a17 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/directory.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/directory.py
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ class DirectoryHandler(BaseHandler):
             if not service.is_interested_in_alias(room_alias.to_string()):
                 raise SynapseError(
                     400,
-                    "This application service has not reserved" " this kind of alias.",
+                    "This application service has not reserved this kind of alias.",
                     errcode=Codes.EXCLUSIVE,
                 )
         else:
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/e2e_keys.py b/synapse/handlers/e2e_keys.py
index f09a0b73c8..57a10daefd 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/e2e_keys.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/e2e_keys.py
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ from twisted.internet import defer
 from synapse.api.errors import CodeMessageException, Codes, NotFoundError, SynapseError
 from synapse.logging.context import make_deferred_yieldable, run_in_background
 from synapse.logging.opentracing import log_kv, set_tag, tag_args, trace
+from synapse.replication.http.devices import ReplicationUserDevicesResyncRestServlet
 from synapse.types import (
     UserID,
     get_domain_from_id,
@@ -53,6 +54,12 @@ class E2eKeysHandler(object):
 
         self._edu_updater = SigningKeyEduUpdater(hs, self)
 
+        self._is_master = hs.config.worker_app is None
+        if not self._is_master:
+            self._user_device_resync_client = ReplicationUserDevicesResyncRestServlet.make_client(
+                hs
+            )
+
         federation_registry = hs.get_federation_registry()
 
         # FIXME: switch to m.signing_key_update when MSC1756 is merged into the spec
@@ -191,9 +198,15 @@ class E2eKeysHandler(object):
                 # probably be tracking their device lists. However, we haven't
                 # done an initial sync on the device list so we do it now.
                 try:
-                    user_devices = yield self.device_handler.device_list_updater.user_device_resync(
-                        user_id
-                    )
+                    if self._is_master:
+                        user_devices = yield self.device_handler.device_list_updater.user_device_resync(
+                            user_id
+                        )
+                    else:
+                        user_devices = yield self._user_device_resync_client(
+                            user_id=user_id
+                        )
+
                     user_devices = user_devices["devices"]
                     for device in user_devices:
                         results[user_id] = {device["device_id"]: device["keys"]}
@@ -251,7 +264,6 @@ class E2eKeysHandler(object):
 
         return ret
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def get_cross_signing_keys_from_cache(self, query, from_user_id):
         """Get cross-signing keys for users from the database
 
@@ -271,35 +283,14 @@ class E2eKeysHandler(object):
         self_signing_keys = {}
         user_signing_keys = {}
 
-        for user_id in query:
-            # XXX: consider changing the store functions to allow querying
-            # multiple users simultaneously.
-            key = yield self.store.get_e2e_cross_signing_key(
-                user_id, "master", from_user_id
-            )
-            if key:
-                master_keys[user_id] = key
-
-            key = yield self.store.get_e2e_cross_signing_key(
-                user_id, "self_signing", from_user_id
-            )
-            if key:
-                self_signing_keys[user_id] = key
-
-            # users can see other users' master and self-signing keys, but can
-            # only see their own user-signing keys
-            if from_user_id == user_id:
-                key = yield self.store.get_e2e_cross_signing_key(
-                    user_id, "user_signing", from_user_id
-                )
-                if key:
-                    user_signing_keys[user_id] = key
-
-        return {
-            "master_keys": master_keys,
-            "self_signing_keys": self_signing_keys,
-            "user_signing_keys": user_signing_keys,
-        }
+        # Currently a stub, implementation coming in https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/pull/6486
+        return defer.succeed(
+            {
+                "master_keys": master_keys,
+                "self_signing_keys": self_signing_keys,
+                "user_signing_keys": user_signing_keys,
+            }
+        )
 
     @trace
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/e2e_room_keys.py b/synapse/handlers/e2e_room_keys.py
index 0cea445f0d..f1b4424a02 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/e2e_room_keys.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/e2e_room_keys.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 # Copyright 2017, 2018 New Vector Ltd
+# Copyright 2019 Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C.
 #
 # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -103,14 +104,35 @@ class E2eRoomKeysHandler(object):
                 rooms
             session_id(string): session ID to delete keys for, for None to delete keys
                 for all sessions
+        Raises:
+            NotFoundError: if the backup version does not exist
         Returns:
-            A deferred of the deletion transaction
+            A dict containing the count and etag for the backup version
         """
 
         # lock for consistency with uploading
         with (yield self._upload_linearizer.queue(user_id)):
+            # make sure the backup version exists
+            try:
+                version_info = yield self.store.get_e2e_room_keys_version_info(
+                    user_id, version
+                )
+            except StoreError as e:
+                if e.code == 404:
+                    raise NotFoundError("Unknown backup version")
+                else:
+                    raise
+
             yield self.store.delete_e2e_room_keys(user_id, version, room_id, session_id)
 
+            version_etag = version_info["etag"] + 1
+            yield self.store.update_e2e_room_keys_version(
+                user_id, version, None, version_etag
+            )
+
+            count = yield self.store.count_e2e_room_keys(user_id, version)
+            return {"etag": str(version_etag), "count": count}
+
     @trace
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def upload_room_keys(self, user_id, version, room_keys):
@@ -138,6 +160,9 @@ class E2eRoomKeysHandler(object):
             }
         }
 
+        Returns:
+            A dict containing the count and etag for the backup version
+
         Raises:
             NotFoundError: if there are no versions defined
             RoomKeysVersionError: if the uploaded version is not the current version
@@ -171,59 +196,62 @@ class E2eRoomKeysHandler(object):
                     else:
                         raise
 
-            # go through the room_keys.
-            # XXX: this should/could be done concurrently, given we're in a lock.
+            # Fetch any existing room keys for the sessions that have been
+            # submitted.  Then compare them with the submitted keys.  If the
+            # key is new, insert it; if the key should be updated, then update
+            # it; otherwise, drop it.
+            existing_keys = yield self.store.get_e2e_room_keys_multi(
+                user_id, version, room_keys["rooms"]
+            )
+            to_insert = []  # batch the inserts together
+            changed = False  # if anything has changed, we need to update the etag
             for room_id, room in iteritems(room_keys["rooms"]):
-                for session_id, session in iteritems(room["sessions"]):
-                    yield self._upload_room_key(
-                        user_id, version, room_id, session_id, session
+                for session_id, room_key in iteritems(room["sessions"]):
+                    log_kv(
+                        {
+                            "message": "Trying to upload room key",
+                            "room_id": room_id,
+                            "session_id": session_id,
+                            "user_id": user_id,
+                        }
                     )
-
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _upload_room_key(self, user_id, version, room_id, session_id, room_key):
-        """Upload a given room_key for a given room and session into a given
-        version of the backup.  Merges the key with any which might already exist.
-
-        Args:
-            user_id(str): the user whose backup we're setting
-            version(str): the version ID of the backup we're updating
-            room_id(str): the ID of the room whose keys we're setting
-            session_id(str): the session whose room_key we're setting
-            room_key(dict): the room_key being set
-        """
-        log_kv(
-            {
-                "message": "Trying to upload room key",
-                "room_id": room_id,
-                "session_id": session_id,
-                "user_id": user_id,
-            }
-        )
-        # get the room_key for this particular row
-        current_room_key = None
-        try:
-            current_room_key = yield self.store.get_e2e_room_key(
-                user_id, version, room_id, session_id
-            )
-        except StoreError as e:
-            if e.code == 404:
-                log_kv(
-                    {
-                        "message": "Room key not found.",
-                        "room_id": room_id,
-                        "user_id": user_id,
-                    }
+                    current_room_key = existing_keys.get(room_id, {}).get(session_id)
+                    if current_room_key:
+                        if self._should_replace_room_key(current_room_key, room_key):
+                            log_kv({"message": "Replacing room key."})
+                            # updates are done one at a time in the DB, so send
+                            # updates right away rather than batching them up,
+                            # like we do with the inserts
+                            yield self.store.update_e2e_room_key(
+                                user_id, version, room_id, session_id, room_key
+                            )
+                            changed = True
+                        else:
+                            log_kv({"message": "Not replacing room_key."})
+                    else:
+                        log_kv(
+                            {
+                                "message": "Room key not found.",
+                                "room_id": room_id,
+                                "user_id": user_id,
+                            }
+                        )
+                        log_kv({"message": "Replacing room key."})
+                        to_insert.append((room_id, session_id, room_key))
+                        changed = True
+
+            if len(to_insert):
+                yield self.store.add_e2e_room_keys(user_id, version, to_insert)
+
+            version_etag = version_info["etag"]
+            if changed:
+                version_etag = version_etag + 1
+                yield self.store.update_e2e_room_keys_version(
+                    user_id, version, None, version_etag
                 )
-            else:
-                raise
 
-        if self._should_replace_room_key(current_room_key, room_key):
-            log_kv({"message": "Replacing room key."})
-            yield self.store.set_e2e_room_key(
-                user_id, version, room_id, session_id, room_key
-            )
-        else:
-            log_kv({"message": "Not replacing room_key."})
+            count = yield self.store.count_e2e_room_keys(user_id, version)
+            return {"etag": str(version_etag), "count": count}
 
     @staticmethod
     def _should_replace_room_key(current_room_key, room_key):
@@ -314,6 +342,8 @@ class E2eRoomKeysHandler(object):
                     raise NotFoundError("Unknown backup version")
                 else:
                     raise
+
+            res["count"] = yield self.store.count_e2e_room_keys(user_id, res["version"])
             return res
 
     @trace
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/events.py b/synapse/handlers/events.py
index 45fe13c62f..ec18a42a68 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/events.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/events.py
@@ -16,8 +16,6 @@
 import logging
 import random
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.constants import EventTypes, Membership
 from synapse.api.errors import AuthError, SynapseError
 from synapse.events import EventBase
@@ -50,9 +48,8 @@ class EventStreamHandler(BaseHandler):
         self._server_notices_sender = hs.get_server_notices_sender()
         self._event_serializer = hs.get_event_client_serializer()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
     @log_function
-    def get_stream(
+    async def get_stream(
         self,
         auth_user_id,
         pagin_config,
@@ -69,17 +66,17 @@ class EventStreamHandler(BaseHandler):
         """
 
         if room_id:
-            blocked = yield self.store.is_room_blocked(room_id)
+            blocked = await self.store.is_room_blocked(room_id)
             if blocked:
                 raise SynapseError(403, "This room has been blocked on this server")
 
         # send any outstanding server notices to the user.
-        yield self._server_notices_sender.on_user_syncing(auth_user_id)
+        await self._server_notices_sender.on_user_syncing(auth_user_id)
 
         auth_user = UserID.from_string(auth_user_id)
         presence_handler = self.hs.get_presence_handler()
 
-        context = yield presence_handler.user_syncing(
+        context = await presence_handler.user_syncing(
             auth_user_id, affect_presence=affect_presence
         )
         with context:
@@ -91,7 +88,7 @@ class EventStreamHandler(BaseHandler):
                 # thundering herds on restart.
                 timeout = random.randint(int(timeout * 0.9), int(timeout * 1.1))
 
-            events, tokens = yield self.notifier.get_events_for(
+            events, tokens = await self.notifier.get_events_for(
                 auth_user,
                 pagin_config,
                 timeout,
@@ -112,14 +109,14 @@ class EventStreamHandler(BaseHandler):
                     # Send down presence.
                     if event.state_key == auth_user_id:
                         # Send down presence for everyone in the room.
-                        users = yield self.state.get_current_users_in_room(
+                        users = await self.state.get_current_users_in_room(
                             event.room_id
                         )
-                        states = yield presence_handler.get_states(users, as_event=True)
+                        states = await presence_handler.get_states(users, as_event=True)
                         to_add.extend(states)
                     else:
 
-                        ev = yield presence_handler.get_state(
+                        ev = await presence_handler.get_state(
                             UserID.from_string(event.state_key), as_event=True
                         )
                         to_add.append(ev)
@@ -128,7 +125,7 @@ class EventStreamHandler(BaseHandler):
 
             time_now = self.clock.time_msec()
 
-            chunks = yield self._event_serializer.serialize_events(
+            chunks = await self._event_serializer.serialize_events(
                 events,
                 time_now,
                 as_client_event=as_client_event,
@@ -151,8 +148,7 @@ class EventHandler(BaseHandler):
         super(EventHandler, self).__init__(hs)
         self.storage = hs.get_storage()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def get_event(self, user, room_id, event_id):
+    async def get_event(self, user, room_id, event_id):
         """Retrieve a single specified event.
 
         Args:
@@ -167,15 +163,15 @@ class EventHandler(BaseHandler):
             AuthError if the user does not have the rights to inspect this
             event.
         """
-        event = yield self.store.get_event(event_id, check_room_id=room_id)
+        event = await self.store.get_event(event_id, check_room_id=room_id)
 
         if not event:
             return None
 
-        users = yield self.store.get_users_in_room(event.room_id)
+        users = await self.store.get_users_in_room(event.room_id)
         is_peeking = user.to_string() not in users
 
-        filtered = yield filter_events_for_client(
+        filtered = await filter_events_for_client(
             self.storage, user.to_string(), [event], is_peeking=is_peeking
         )
 
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/federation.py b/synapse/handlers/federation.py
index 0e904f2da0..bc26921768 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/federation.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/federation.py
@@ -19,11 +19,13 @@
 
 import itertools
 import logging
+from typing import Dict, Iterable, Optional, Sequence, Tuple
 
 import six
 from six import iteritems, itervalues
 from six.moves import http_client, zip
 
+import attr
 from signedjson.key import decode_verify_key_bytes
 from signedjson.sign import verify_signed_json
 from unpaddedbase64 import decode_base64
@@ -45,6 +47,7 @@ from synapse.api.errors import (
 from synapse.api.room_versions import KNOWN_ROOM_VERSIONS, RoomVersions
 from synapse.crypto.event_signing import compute_event_signature
 from synapse.event_auth import auth_types_for_event
+from synapse.events import EventBase
 from synapse.events.snapshot import EventContext
 from synapse.events.validator import EventValidator
 from synapse.logging.context import (
@@ -72,6 +75,23 @@ from ._base import BaseHandler
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
+@attr.s
+class _NewEventInfo:
+    """Holds information about a received event, ready for passing to _handle_new_events
+
+    Attributes:
+        event: the received event
+
+        state: the state at that event
+
+        auth_events: the auth_event map for that event
+    """
+
+    event = attr.ib(type=EventBase)
+    state = attr.ib(type=Optional[Sequence[EventBase]], default=None)
+    auth_events = attr.ib(type=Optional[Dict[Tuple[str, str], EventBase]], default=None)
+
+
 def shortstr(iterable, maxitems=5):
     """If iterable has maxitems or fewer, return the stringification of a list
     containing those items.
@@ -121,6 +141,7 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
         self.pusher_pool = hs.get_pusherpool()
         self.spam_checker = hs.get_spam_checker()
         self.event_creation_handler = hs.get_event_creation_handler()
+        self._message_handler = hs.get_message_handler()
         self._server_notices_mxid = hs.config.server_notices_mxid
         self.config = hs.config
         self.http_client = hs.get_simple_http_client()
@@ -141,6 +162,8 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
 
         self.third_party_event_rules = hs.get_third_party_event_rules()
 
+        self._ephemeral_messages_enabled = hs.config.enable_ephemeral_messages
+
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def on_receive_pdu(self, origin, pdu, sent_to_us_directly=False):
         """ Process a PDU received via a federation /send/ transaction, or
@@ -594,14 +617,14 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
                     for e in auth_chain
                     if e.event_id in auth_ids or e.type == EventTypes.Create
                 }
-                event_infos.append({"event": e, "auth_events": auth})
+                event_infos.append(_NewEventInfo(event=e, auth_events=auth))
                 seen_ids.add(e.event_id)
 
             logger.info(
                 "[%s %s] persisting newly-received auth/state events %s",
                 room_id,
                 event_id,
-                [e["event"].event_id for e in event_infos],
+                [e.event.event_id for e in event_infos],
             )
             yield self._handle_new_events(origin, event_infos)
 
@@ -792,9 +815,9 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
 
             a.internal_metadata.outlier = True
             ev_infos.append(
-                {
-                    "event": a,
-                    "auth_events": {
+                _NewEventInfo(
+                    event=a,
+                    auth_events={
                         (
                             auth_events[a_id].type,
                             auth_events[a_id].state_key,
@@ -802,7 +825,7 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
                         for a_id in a.auth_event_ids()
                         if a_id in auth_events
                     },
-                }
+                )
             )
 
         # Step 1b: persist the events in the chunk we fetched state for (i.e.
@@ -814,10 +837,10 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
             assert not ev.internal_metadata.is_outlier()
 
             ev_infos.append(
-                {
-                    "event": ev,
-                    "state": events_to_state[e_id],
-                    "auth_events": {
+                _NewEventInfo(
+                    event=ev,
+                    state=events_to_state[e_id],
+                    auth_events={
                         (
                             auth_events[a_id].type,
                             auth_events[a_id].state_key,
@@ -825,7 +848,7 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
                         for a_id in ev.auth_event_ids()
                         if a_id in auth_events
                     },
-                }
+                )
             )
 
         yield self._handle_new_events(dest, ev_infos, backfilled=True)
@@ -1428,9 +1451,9 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
         return event
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def do_remotely_reject_invite(self, target_hosts, room_id, user_id):
+    def do_remotely_reject_invite(self, target_hosts, room_id, user_id, content):
         origin, event, event_format_version = yield self._make_and_verify_event(
-            target_hosts, room_id, user_id, "leave"
+            target_hosts, room_id, user_id, "leave", content=content,
         )
         # Mark as outlier as we don't have any state for this event; we're not
         # even in the room.
@@ -1710,7 +1733,12 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
         return context
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _handle_new_events(self, origin, event_infos, backfilled=False):
+    def _handle_new_events(
+        self,
+        origin: str,
+        event_infos: Iterable[_NewEventInfo],
+        backfilled: bool = False,
+    ):
         """Creates the appropriate contexts and persists events. The events
         should not depend on one another, e.g. this should be used to persist
         a bunch of outliers, but not a chunk of individual events that depend
@@ -1720,14 +1748,14 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
         """
 
         @defer.inlineCallbacks
-        def prep(ev_info):
-            event = ev_info["event"]
+        def prep(ev_info: _NewEventInfo):
+            event = ev_info.event
             with nested_logging_context(suffix=event.event_id):
                 res = yield self._prep_event(
                     origin,
                     event,
-                    state=ev_info.get("state"),
-                    auth_events=ev_info.get("auth_events"),
+                    state=ev_info.state,
+                    auth_events=ev_info.auth_events,
                     backfilled=backfilled,
                 )
             return res
@@ -1741,7 +1769,7 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
 
         yield self.persist_events_and_notify(
             [
-                (ev_info["event"], context)
+                (ev_info.event, context)
                 for ev_info, context in zip(event_infos, contexts)
             ],
             backfilled=backfilled,
@@ -1843,7 +1871,14 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
         yield self.persist_events_and_notify([(event, new_event_context)])
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _prep_event(self, origin, event, state, auth_events, backfilled):
+    def _prep_event(
+        self,
+        origin: str,
+        event: EventBase,
+        state: Optional[Iterable[EventBase]],
+        auth_events: Optional[Dict[Tuple[str, str], EventBase]],
+        backfilled: bool,
+    ):
         """
 
         Args:
@@ -1851,7 +1886,7 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
             event:
             state:
             auth_events:
-            backfilled (bool)
+            backfilled:
 
         Returns:
             Deferred, which resolves to synapse.events.snapshot.EventContext
@@ -1887,15 +1922,16 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
         return context
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _check_for_soft_fail(self, event, state, backfilled):
+    def _check_for_soft_fail(
+        self, event: EventBase, state: Optional[Iterable[EventBase]], backfilled: bool
+    ):
         """Checks if we should soft fail the event, if so marks the event as
         such.
 
         Args:
-            event (FrozenEvent)
-            state (dict|None): The state at the event if we don't have all the
-                event's prev events
-            backfilled (bool): Whether the event is from backfill
+            event
+            state: The state at the event if we don't have all the event's prev events
+            backfilled: Whether the event is from backfill
 
         Returns:
             Deferred
@@ -2040,8 +2076,10 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
             auth_events (dict[(str, str)->synapse.events.EventBase]):
                 Map from (event_type, state_key) to event
 
-                What we expect the event's auth_events to be, based on the event's
-                position in the dag. I think? maybe??
+                Normally, our calculated auth_events based on the state of the room
+                at the event's position in the DAG, though occasionally (eg if the
+                event is an outlier), may be the auth events claimed by the remote
+                server.
 
                 Also NB that this function adds entries to it.
         Returns:
@@ -2091,35 +2129,35 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
             origin (str):
             event (synapse.events.EventBase):
             context (synapse.events.snapshot.EventContext):
+
             auth_events (dict[(str, str)->synapse.events.EventBase]):
+                Map from (event_type, state_key) to event
+
+                Normally, our calculated auth_events based on the state of the room
+                at the event's position in the DAG, though occasionally (eg if the
+                event is an outlier), may be the auth events claimed by the remote
+                server.
+
+                Also NB that this function adds entries to it.
 
         Returns:
             defer.Deferred[EventContext]: updated context
         """
         event_auth_events = set(event.auth_event_ids())
 
-        if event.is_state():
-            event_key = (event.type, event.state_key)
-        else:
-            event_key = None
-
-        # if the event's auth_events refers to events which are not in our
-        # calculated auth_events, we need to fetch those events from somewhere.
-        #
-        # we start by fetching them from the store, and then try calling /event_auth/.
+        # missing_auth is the set of the event's auth_events which we don't yet have
+        # in auth_events.
         missing_auth = event_auth_events.difference(
             e.event_id for e in auth_events.values()
         )
 
+        # if we have missing events, we need to fetch those events from somewhere.
+        #
+        # we start by checking if they are in the store, and then try calling /event_auth/.
         if missing_auth:
-            # TODO: can we use store.have_seen_events here instead?
-            have_events = yield self.store.get_seen_events_with_rejections(missing_auth)
-            logger.debug("Got events %s from store", have_events)
-            missing_auth.difference_update(have_events.keys())
-        else:
-            have_events = {}
-
-        have_events.update({e.event_id: "" for e in auth_events.values()})
+            have_events = yield self.store.have_seen_events(missing_auth)
+            logger.debug("Events %s are in the store", have_events)
+            missing_auth.difference_update(have_events)
 
         if missing_auth:
             # If we don't have all the auth events, we need to get them.
@@ -2165,19 +2203,18 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
                     except AuthError:
                         pass
 
-                have_events = yield self.store.get_seen_events_with_rejections(
-                    event.auth_event_ids()
-                )
             except Exception:
-                # FIXME:
                 logger.exception("Failed to get auth chain")
 
         if event.internal_metadata.is_outlier():
+            # XXX: given that, for an outlier, we'll be working with the
+            # event's *claimed* auth events rather than those we calculated:
+            # (a) is there any point in this test, since different_auth below will
+            # obviously be empty
+            # (b) alternatively, why don't we do it earlier?
             logger.info("Skipping auth_event fetch for outlier")
             return context
 
-        # FIXME: Assumes we have and stored all the state for all the
-        # prev_events
         different_auth = event_auth_events.difference(
             e.event_id for e in auth_events.values()
         )
@@ -2191,53 +2228,58 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
             different_auth,
         )
 
-        room_version = yield self.store.get_room_version(event.room_id)
+        # XXX: currently this checks for redactions but I'm not convinced that is
+        # necessary?
+        different_events = yield self.store.get_events_as_list(different_auth)
 
-        different_events = yield make_deferred_yieldable(
-            defer.gatherResults(
-                [
-                    run_in_background(
-                        self.store.get_event, d, allow_none=True, allow_rejected=False
-                    )
-                    for d in different_auth
-                    if d in have_events and not have_events[d]
-                ],
-                consumeErrors=True,
-            )
-        ).addErrback(unwrapFirstError)
+        for d in different_events:
+            if d.room_id != event.room_id:
+                logger.warning(
+                    "Event %s refers to auth_event %s which is in a different room",
+                    event.event_id,
+                    d.event_id,
+                )
 
-        if different_events:
-            local_view = dict(auth_events)
-            remote_view = dict(auth_events)
-            remote_view.update(
-                {(d.type, d.state_key): d for d in different_events if d}
-            )
+                # don't attempt to resolve the claimed auth events against our own
+                # in this case: just use our own auth events.
+                #
+                # XXX: should we reject the event in this case? It feels like we should,
+                # but then shouldn't we also do so if we've failed to fetch any of the
+                # auth events?
+                return context
 
-            new_state = yield self.state_handler.resolve_events(
-                room_version,
-                [list(local_view.values()), list(remote_view.values())],
-                event,
-            )
+        # now we state-resolve between our own idea of the auth events, and the remote's
+        # idea of them.
 
-            logger.info(
-                "After state res: updating auth_events with new state %s",
-                {
-                    (d.type, d.state_key): d.event_id
-                    for d in new_state.values()
-                    if auth_events.get((d.type, d.state_key)) != d
-                },
-            )
+        local_state = auth_events.values()
+        remote_auth_events = dict(auth_events)
+        remote_auth_events.update({(d.type, d.state_key): d for d in different_events})
+        remote_state = remote_auth_events.values()
+
+        room_version = yield self.store.get_room_version(event.room_id)
+        new_state = yield self.state_handler.resolve_events(
+            room_version, (local_state, remote_state), event
+        )
+
+        logger.info(
+            "After state res: updating auth_events with new state %s",
+            {
+                (d.type, d.state_key): d.event_id
+                for d in new_state.values()
+                if auth_events.get((d.type, d.state_key)) != d
+            },
+        )
 
-            auth_events.update(new_state)
+        auth_events.update(new_state)
 
-            context = yield self._update_context_for_auth_events(
-                event, context, auth_events, event_key
-            )
+        context = yield self._update_context_for_auth_events(
+            event, context, auth_events
+        )
 
         return context
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _update_context_for_auth_events(self, event, context, auth_events, event_key):
+    def _update_context_for_auth_events(self, event, context, auth_events):
         """Update the state_ids in an event context after auth event resolution,
         storing the changes as a new state group.
 
@@ -2246,18 +2288,21 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
 
             context (synapse.events.snapshot.EventContext): initial event context
 
-            auth_events (dict[(str, str)->str]): Events to update in the event
+            auth_events (dict[(str, str)->EventBase]): Events to update in the event
                 context.
 
-            event_key ((str, str)): (type, state_key) for the current event.
-                this will not be included in the current_state in the context.
-
         Returns:
             Deferred[EventContext]: new event context
         """
+        # exclude the state key of the new event from the current_state in the context.
+        if event.is_state():
+            event_key = (event.type, event.state_key)
+        else:
+            event_key = None
         state_updates = {
             k: a.event_id for k, a in iteritems(auth_events) if k != event_key
         }
+
         current_state_ids = yield context.get_current_state_ids(self.store)
         current_state_ids = dict(current_state_ids)
 
@@ -2459,7 +2504,7 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
                 room_version, event_dict, event, context
             )
 
-            EventValidator().validate_new(event)
+            EventValidator().validate_new(event, self.config)
 
             # We need to tell the transaction queue to send this out, even
             # though the sender isn't a local user.
@@ -2574,7 +2619,7 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
         event, context = yield self.event_creation_handler.create_new_client_event(
             builder=builder
         )
-        EventValidator().validate_new(event)
+        EventValidator().validate_new(event, self.config)
         return (event, context)
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
@@ -2708,6 +2753,11 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
                 event_and_contexts, backfilled=backfilled
             )
 
+            if self._ephemeral_messages_enabled:
+                for (event, context) in event_and_contexts:
+                    # If there's an expiry timestamp on the event, schedule its expiry.
+                    self._message_handler.maybe_schedule_expiry(event)
+
             if not backfilled:  # Never notify for backfilled events
                 for event, _ in event_and_contexts:
                     yield self._notify_persisted_event(event, max_stream_id)
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/message.py b/synapse/handlers/message.py
index d682dc2b7a..54fa216d83 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/message.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/message.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 import logging
+from typing import Optional
 
 from six import iteritems, itervalues, string_types
 
@@ -22,9 +23,16 @@ from canonicaljson import encode_canonical_json, json
 
 from twisted.internet import defer
 from twisted.internet.defer import succeed
+from twisted.internet.interfaces import IDelayedCall
 
 from synapse import event_auth
-from synapse.api.constants import EventTypes, Membership, RelationTypes, UserTypes
+from synapse.api.constants import (
+    EventContentFields,
+    EventTypes,
+    Membership,
+    RelationTypes,
+    UserTypes,
+)
 from synapse.api.errors import (
     AuthError,
     Codes,
@@ -62,6 +70,17 @@ class MessageHandler(object):
         self.storage = hs.get_storage()
         self.state_store = self.storage.state
         self._event_serializer = hs.get_event_client_serializer()
+        self._ephemeral_events_enabled = hs.config.enable_ephemeral_messages
+        self._is_worker_app = bool(hs.config.worker_app)
+
+        # The scheduled call to self._expire_event. None if no call is currently
+        # scheduled.
+        self._scheduled_expiry = None  # type: Optional[IDelayedCall]
+
+        if not hs.config.worker_app:
+            run_as_background_process(
+                "_schedule_next_expiry", self._schedule_next_expiry
+            )
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def get_room_data(
@@ -138,7 +157,7 @@ class MessageHandler(object):
                 raise NotFoundError("Can't find event for token %s" % (at_token,))
 
             visible_events = yield filter_events_for_client(
-                self.storage, user_id, last_events
+                self.storage, user_id, last_events, apply_retention_policies=False
             )
 
             event = last_events[0]
@@ -225,6 +244,100 @@ class MessageHandler(object):
             for user_id, profile in iteritems(users_with_profile)
         }
 
+    def maybe_schedule_expiry(self, event):
+        """Schedule the expiry of an event if there's not already one scheduled,
+        or if the one running is for an event that will expire after the provided
+        timestamp.
+
+        This function needs to invalidate the event cache, which is only possible on
+        the master process, and therefore needs to be run on there.
+
+        Args:
+            event (EventBase): The event to schedule the expiry of.
+        """
+        assert not self._is_worker_app
+
+        expiry_ts = event.content.get(EventContentFields.SELF_DESTRUCT_AFTER)
+        if not isinstance(expiry_ts, int) or event.is_state():
+            return
+
+        # _schedule_expiry_for_event won't actually schedule anything if there's already
+        # a task scheduled for a timestamp that's sooner than the provided one.
+        self._schedule_expiry_for_event(event.event_id, expiry_ts)
+
+    @defer.inlineCallbacks
+    def _schedule_next_expiry(self):
+        """Retrieve the ID and the expiry timestamp of the next event to be expired,
+        and schedule an expiry task for it.
+
+        If there's no event left to expire, set _expiry_scheduled to None so that a
+        future call to save_expiry_ts can schedule a new expiry task.
+        """
+        # Try to get the expiry timestamp of the next event to expire.
+        res = yield self.store.get_next_event_to_expire()
+        if res:
+            event_id, expiry_ts = res
+            self._schedule_expiry_for_event(event_id, expiry_ts)
+
+    def _schedule_expiry_for_event(self, event_id, expiry_ts):
+        """Schedule an expiry task for the provided event if there's not already one
+        scheduled at a timestamp that's sooner than the provided one.
+
+        Args:
+            event_id (str): The ID of the event to expire.
+            expiry_ts (int): The timestamp at which to expire the event.
+        """
+        if self._scheduled_expiry:
+            # If the provided timestamp refers to a time before the scheduled time of the
+            # next expiry task, cancel that task and reschedule it for this timestamp.
+            next_scheduled_expiry_ts = self._scheduled_expiry.getTime() * 1000
+            if expiry_ts < next_scheduled_expiry_ts:
+                self._scheduled_expiry.cancel()
+            else:
+                return
+
+        # Figure out how many seconds we need to wait before expiring the event.
+        now_ms = self.clock.time_msec()
+        delay = (expiry_ts - now_ms) / 1000
+
+        # callLater doesn't support negative delays, so trim the delay to 0 if we're
+        # in that case.
+        if delay < 0:
+            delay = 0
+
+        logger.info("Scheduling expiry for event %s in %.3fs", event_id, delay)
+
+        self._scheduled_expiry = self.clock.call_later(
+            delay,
+            run_as_background_process,
+            "_expire_event",
+            self._expire_event,
+            event_id,
+        )
+
+    @defer.inlineCallbacks
+    def _expire_event(self, event_id):
+        """Retrieve and expire an event that needs to be expired from the database.
+
+        If the event doesn't exist in the database, log it and delete the expiry date
+        from the database (so that we don't try to expire it again).
+        """
+        assert self._ephemeral_events_enabled
+
+        self._scheduled_expiry = None
+
+        logger.info("Expiring event %s", event_id)
+
+        try:
+            # Expire the event if we know about it. This function also deletes the expiry
+            # date from the database in the same database transaction.
+            yield self.store.expire_event(event_id)
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.error("Could not expire event %s: %r", event_id, e)
+
+        # Schedule the expiry of the next event to expire.
+        yield self._schedule_next_expiry()
+
 
 # The duration (in ms) after which rooms should be removed
 # `_rooms_to_exclude_from_dummy_event_insertion` (with the effect that we will try
@@ -250,6 +363,8 @@ class EventCreationHandler(object):
         self.config = hs.config
         self.require_membership_for_aliases = hs.config.require_membership_for_aliases
 
+        self.room_invite_state_types = self.hs.config.room_invite_state_types
+
         self.send_event_to_master = ReplicationSendEventRestServlet.make_client(hs)
 
         # This is only used to get at ratelimit function, and maybe_kick_guest_users
@@ -295,6 +410,10 @@ class EventCreationHandler(object):
                 5 * 60 * 1000,
             )
 
+        self._message_handler = hs.get_message_handler()
+
+        self._ephemeral_events_enabled = hs.config.enable_ephemeral_messages
+
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def create_event(
         self,
@@ -417,7 +536,7 @@ class EventCreationHandler(object):
                     403, "You must be in the room to create an alias for it"
                 )
 
-        self.validator.validate_new(event)
+        self.validator.validate_new(event, self.config)
 
         return (event, context)
 
@@ -634,7 +753,7 @@ class EventCreationHandler(object):
         if requester:
             context.app_service = requester.app_service
 
-        self.validator.validate_new(event)
+        self.validator.validate_new(event, self.config)
 
         # If this event is an annotation then we check that that the sender
         # can't annotate the same way twice (e.g. stops users from liking an
@@ -799,7 +918,7 @@ class EventCreationHandler(object):
                 state_to_include_ids = [
                     e_id
                     for k, e_id in iteritems(current_state_ids)
-                    if k[0] in self.hs.config.room_invite_state_types
+                    if k[0] in self.room_invite_state_types
                     or k == (EventTypes.Member, event.sender)
                 ]
 
@@ -877,6 +996,10 @@ class EventCreationHandler(object):
             event, context=context
         )
 
+        if self._ephemeral_events_enabled:
+            # If there's an expiry timestamp on the event, schedule its expiry.
+            self._message_handler.maybe_schedule_expiry(event)
+
         yield self.pusher_pool.on_new_notifications(event_stream_id, max_stream_id)
 
         def _notify():
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/pagination.py b/synapse/handlers/pagination.py
index 260a4351ca..8514ddc600 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/pagination.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/pagination.py
@@ -15,12 +15,15 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 import logging
 
+from six import iteritems
+
 from twisted.internet import defer
 from twisted.python.failure import Failure
 
 from synapse.api.constants import EventTypes, Membership
 from synapse.api.errors import SynapseError
 from synapse.logging.context import run_in_background
+from synapse.metrics.background_process_metrics import run_as_background_process
 from synapse.storage.state import StateFilter
 from synapse.types import RoomStreamToken
 from synapse.util.async_helpers import ReadWriteLock
@@ -80,6 +83,109 @@ class PaginationHandler(object):
         self._purges_by_id = {}
         self._event_serializer = hs.get_event_client_serializer()
 
+        self._retention_default_max_lifetime = hs.config.retention_default_max_lifetime
+
+        if hs.config.retention_enabled:
+            # Run the purge jobs described in the configuration file.
+            for job in hs.config.retention_purge_jobs:
+                self.clock.looping_call(
+                    run_as_background_process,
+                    job["interval"],
+                    "purge_history_for_rooms_in_range",
+                    self.purge_history_for_rooms_in_range,
+                    job["shortest_max_lifetime"],
+                    job["longest_max_lifetime"],
+                )
+
+    @defer.inlineCallbacks
+    def purge_history_for_rooms_in_range(self, min_ms, max_ms):
+        """Purge outdated events from rooms within the given retention range.
+
+        If a default retention policy is defined in the server's configuration and its
+        'max_lifetime' is within this range, also targets rooms which don't have a
+        retention policy.
+
+        Args:
+            min_ms (int|None): Duration in milliseconds that define the lower limit of
+                the range to handle (exclusive). If None, it means that the range has no
+                lower limit.
+            max_ms (int|None): Duration in milliseconds that define the upper limit of
+                the range to handle (inclusive). If None, it means that the range has no
+                upper limit.
+        """
+        # We want the storage layer to to include rooms with no retention policy in its
+        # return value only if a default retention policy is defined in the server's
+        # configuration and that policy's 'max_lifetime' is either lower (or equal) than
+        # max_ms or higher than min_ms (or both).
+        if self._retention_default_max_lifetime is not None:
+            include_null = True
+
+            if min_ms is not None and min_ms >= self._retention_default_max_lifetime:
+                # The default max_lifetime is lower than (or equal to) min_ms.
+                include_null = False
+
+            if max_ms is not None and max_ms < self._retention_default_max_lifetime:
+                # The default max_lifetime is higher than max_ms.
+                include_null = False
+        else:
+            include_null = False
+
+        rooms = yield self.store.get_rooms_for_retention_period_in_range(
+            min_ms, max_ms, include_null
+        )
+
+        for room_id, retention_policy in iteritems(rooms):
+            if room_id in self._purges_in_progress_by_room:
+                logger.warning(
+                    "[purge] not purging room %s as there's an ongoing purge running"
+                    " for this room",
+                    room_id,
+                )
+                continue
+
+            max_lifetime = retention_policy["max_lifetime"]
+
+            if max_lifetime is None:
+                # If max_lifetime is None, it means that include_null equals True,
+                # therefore we can safely assume that there is a default policy defined
+                # in the server's configuration.
+                max_lifetime = self._retention_default_max_lifetime
+
+            # Figure out what token we should start purging at.
+            ts = self.clock.time_msec() - max_lifetime
+
+            stream_ordering = yield self.store.find_first_stream_ordering_after_ts(ts)
+
+            r = yield self.store.get_room_event_after_stream_ordering(
+                room_id, stream_ordering,
+            )
+            if not r:
+                logger.warning(
+                    "[purge] purging events not possible: No event found "
+                    "(ts %i => stream_ordering %i)",
+                    ts,
+                    stream_ordering,
+                )
+                continue
+
+            (stream, topo, _event_id) = r
+            token = "t%d-%d" % (topo, stream)
+
+            purge_id = random_string(16)
+
+            self._purges_by_id[purge_id] = PurgeStatus()
+
+            logger.info(
+                "Starting purging events in room %s (purge_id %s)" % (room_id, purge_id)
+            )
+
+            # We want to purge everything, including local events, and to run the purge in
+            # the background so that it's not blocking any other operation apart from
+            # other purges in the same room.
+            run_as_background_process(
+                "_purge_history", self._purge_history, purge_id, room_id, token, True,
+            )
+
     def start_purge_history(self, room_id, token, delete_local_events=False):
         """Start off a history purge on a room.
 
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/register.py b/synapse/handlers/register.py
index 95806af41e..8a7d965feb 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/register.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/register.py
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ class RegistrationHandler(BaseHandler):
             }
 
             # Bind email to new account
-            yield self._register_email_threepid(user_id, threepid_dict, None, False)
+            yield self._register_email_threepid(user_id, threepid_dict, None)
 
         return user_id
 
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/room.py b/synapse/handlers/room.py
index e92b2eafd5..22768e97ff 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/room.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/room.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 # Copyright 2014 - 2016 OpenMarket Ltd
-# Copyright 2018 New Vector Ltd
+# Copyright 2018-2019 New Vector Ltd
+# Copyright 2019 The Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C.
 #
 # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -198,21 +199,21 @@ class RoomCreationHandler(BaseHandler):
         # finally, shut down the PLs in the old room, and update them in the new
         # room.
         yield self._update_upgraded_room_pls(
-            requester, old_room_id, new_room_id, old_room_state
+            requester, old_room_id, new_room_id, old_room_state,
         )
 
         return new_room_id
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def _update_upgraded_room_pls(
-        self, requester, old_room_id, new_room_id, old_room_state
+        self, requester, old_room_id, new_room_id, old_room_state,
     ):
         """Send updated power levels in both rooms after an upgrade
 
         Args:
             requester (synapse.types.Requester): the user requesting the upgrade
-            old_room_id (unicode): the id of the room to be replaced
-            new_room_id (unicode): the id of the replacement room
+            old_room_id (str): the id of the room to be replaced
+            new_room_id (str): the id of the replacement room
             old_room_state (dict[tuple[str, str], str]): the state map for the old room
 
         Returns:
@@ -298,7 +299,7 @@ class RoomCreationHandler(BaseHandler):
             tombstone_event_id (unicode|str): the ID of the tombstone event in the old
                 room.
         Returns:
-            Deferred[None]
+            Deferred
         """
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
@@ -333,6 +334,7 @@ class RoomCreationHandler(BaseHandler):
             (EventTypes.Encryption, ""),
             (EventTypes.ServerACL, ""),
             (EventTypes.RelatedGroups, ""),
+            (EventTypes.PowerLevels, ""),
         )
 
         old_room_state_ids = yield self.store.get_filtered_current_state_ids(
@@ -346,6 +348,31 @@ class RoomCreationHandler(BaseHandler):
             if old_event:
                 initial_state[k] = old_event.content
 
+        # Resolve the minimum power level required to send any state event
+        # We will give the upgrading user this power level temporarily (if necessary) such that
+        # they are able to copy all of the state events over, then revert them back to their
+        # original power level afterwards in _update_upgraded_room_pls
+
+        # Copy over user power levels now as this will not be possible with >100PL users once
+        # the room has been created
+
+        power_levels = initial_state[(EventTypes.PowerLevels, "")]
+
+        # Calculate the minimum power level needed to clone the room
+        event_power_levels = power_levels.get("events", {})
+        state_default = power_levels.get("state_default", 0)
+        ban = power_levels.get("ban")
+        needed_power_level = max(state_default, ban, max(event_power_levels.values()))
+
+        # Raise the requester's power level in the new room if necessary
+        current_power_level = power_levels["users"][requester.user.to_string()]
+        if current_power_level < needed_power_level:
+            # Assign this power level to the requester
+            power_levels["users"][requester.user.to_string()] = needed_power_level
+
+        # Set the power levels to the modified state
+        initial_state[(EventTypes.PowerLevels, "")] = power_levels
+
         yield self._send_events_for_new_room(
             requester,
             new_room_id,
@@ -874,6 +901,10 @@ class RoomContextHandler(object):
             room_id, event_id, before_limit, after_limit, event_filter
         )
 
+        if event_filter:
+            results["events_before"] = event_filter.filter(results["events_before"])
+            results["events_after"] = event_filter.filter(results["events_after"])
+
         results["events_before"] = yield filter_evts(results["events_before"])
         results["events_after"] = yield filter_evts(results["events_after"])
         results["event"] = event
@@ -902,7 +933,12 @@ class RoomContextHandler(object):
         state = yield self.state_store.get_state_for_events(
             [last_event_id], state_filter=state_filter
         )
-        results["state"] = list(state[last_event_id].values())
+
+        state_events = list(state[last_event_id].values())
+        if event_filter:
+            state_events = event_filter.filter(state_events)
+
+        results["state"] = state_events
 
         # We use a dummy token here as we only care about the room portion of
         # the token, which we replace.
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/room_member.py b/synapse/handlers/room_member.py
index 6cfee4b361..7b7270fc61 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/room_member.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/room_member.py
@@ -94,7 +94,9 @@ class RoomMemberHandler(object):
         raise NotImplementedError()
 
     @abc.abstractmethod
-    def _remote_reject_invite(self, requester, remote_room_hosts, room_id, target):
+    def _remote_reject_invite(
+        self, requester, remote_room_hosts, room_id, target, content
+    ):
         """Attempt to reject an invite for a room this server is not in. If we
         fail to do so we locally mark the invite as rejected.
 
@@ -104,6 +106,7 @@ class RoomMemberHandler(object):
                 reject invite
             room_id (str)
             target (UserID): The user rejecting the invite
+            content (dict): The content for the rejection event
 
         Returns:
             Deferred[dict]: A dictionary to be returned to the client, may
@@ -471,7 +474,7 @@ class RoomMemberHandler(object):
                     # send the rejection to the inviter's HS.
                     remote_room_hosts = remote_room_hosts + [inviter.domain]
                     res = yield self._remote_reject_invite(
-                        requester, remote_room_hosts, room_id, target
+                        requester, remote_room_hosts, room_id, target, content,
                     )
                     return res
 
@@ -971,13 +974,15 @@ class RoomMemberMasterHandler(RoomMemberHandler):
             )
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _remote_reject_invite(self, requester, remote_room_hosts, room_id, target):
+    def _remote_reject_invite(
+        self, requester, remote_room_hosts, room_id, target, content
+    ):
         """Implements RoomMemberHandler._remote_reject_invite
         """
         fed_handler = self.federation_handler
         try:
             ret = yield fed_handler.do_remotely_reject_invite(
-                remote_room_hosts, room_id, target.to_string()
+                remote_room_hosts, room_id, target.to_string(), content=content,
             )
             return ret
         except Exception as e:
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/room_member_worker.py b/synapse/handlers/room_member_worker.py
index 75e96ae1a2..69be86893b 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/room_member_worker.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/room_member_worker.py
@@ -55,7 +55,9 @@ class RoomMemberWorkerHandler(RoomMemberHandler):
 
         return ret
 
-    def _remote_reject_invite(self, requester, remote_room_hosts, room_id, target):
+    def _remote_reject_invite(
+        self, requester, remote_room_hosts, room_id, target, content
+    ):
         """Implements RoomMemberHandler._remote_reject_invite
         """
         return self._remote_reject_client(
@@ -63,6 +65,7 @@ class RoomMemberWorkerHandler(RoomMemberHandler):
             remote_room_hosts=remote_room_hosts,
             room_id=room_id,
             user_id=target.to_string(),
+            content=content,
         )
 
     def _user_joined_room(self, target, room_id):
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/sync.py b/synapse/handlers/sync.py
index b536d410e5..2d3b8ba73c 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/sync.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/sync.py
@@ -22,8 +22,6 @@ from six import iteritems, itervalues
 
 from prometheus_client import Counter
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.constants import EventTypes, Membership
 from synapse.logging.context import LoggingContext
 from synapse.push.clientformat import format_push_rules_for_user
@@ -241,8 +239,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             expiry_ms=LAZY_LOADED_MEMBERS_CACHE_MAX_AGE,
         )
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def wait_for_sync_for_user(
+    async def wait_for_sync_for_user(
         self, sync_config, since_token=None, timeout=0, full_state=False
     ):
         """Get the sync for a client if we have new data for it now. Otherwise
@@ -255,9 +252,9 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         # not been exceeded (if not part of the group by this point, almost certain
         # auth_blocking will occur)
         user_id = sync_config.user.to_string()
-        yield self.auth.check_auth_blocking(user_id)
+        await self.auth.check_auth_blocking(user_id)
 
-        res = yield self.response_cache.wrap(
+        res = await self.response_cache.wrap(
             sync_config.request_key,
             self._wait_for_sync_for_user,
             sync_config,
@@ -267,8 +264,9 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         )
         return res
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _wait_for_sync_for_user(self, sync_config, since_token, timeout, full_state):
+    async def _wait_for_sync_for_user(
+        self, sync_config, since_token, timeout, full_state
+    ):
         if since_token is None:
             sync_type = "initial_sync"
         elif full_state:
@@ -283,7 +281,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         if timeout == 0 or since_token is None or full_state:
             # we are going to return immediately, so don't bother calling
             # notifier.wait_for_events.
-            result = yield self.current_sync_for_user(
+            result = await self.current_sync_for_user(
                 sync_config, since_token, full_state=full_state
             )
         else:
@@ -291,7 +289,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             def current_sync_callback(before_token, after_token):
                 return self.current_sync_for_user(sync_config, since_token)
 
-            result = yield self.notifier.wait_for_events(
+            result = await self.notifier.wait_for_events(
                 sync_config.user.to_string(),
                 timeout,
                 current_sync_callback,
@@ -314,15 +312,13 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         """
         return self.generate_sync_result(sync_config, since_token, full_state)
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def push_rules_for_user(self, user):
+    async def push_rules_for_user(self, user):
         user_id = user.to_string()
-        rules = yield self.store.get_push_rules_for_user(user_id)
+        rules = await self.store.get_push_rules_for_user(user_id)
         rules = format_push_rules_for_user(user, rules)
         return rules
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def ephemeral_by_room(self, sync_result_builder, now_token, since_token=None):
+    async def ephemeral_by_room(self, sync_result_builder, now_token, since_token=None):
         """Get the ephemeral events for each room the user is in
         Args:
             sync_result_builder(SyncResultBuilder)
@@ -343,7 +339,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             room_ids = sync_result_builder.joined_room_ids
 
             typing_source = self.event_sources.sources["typing"]
-            typing, typing_key = yield typing_source.get_new_events(
+            typing, typing_key = await typing_source.get_new_events(
                 user=sync_config.user,
                 from_key=typing_key,
                 limit=sync_config.filter_collection.ephemeral_limit(),
@@ -365,7 +361,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             receipt_key = since_token.receipt_key if since_token else "0"
 
             receipt_source = self.event_sources.sources["receipt"]
-            receipts, receipt_key = yield receipt_source.get_new_events(
+            receipts, receipt_key = await receipt_source.get_new_events(
                 user=sync_config.user,
                 from_key=receipt_key,
                 limit=sync_config.filter_collection.ephemeral_limit(),
@@ -382,8 +378,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
 
         return now_token, ephemeral_by_room
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _load_filtered_recents(
+    async def _load_filtered_recents(
         self,
         room_id,
         sync_config,
@@ -415,10 +410,10 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
                 # ensure that we always include current state in the timeline
                 current_state_ids = frozenset()
                 if any(e.is_state() for e in recents):
-                    current_state_ids = yield self.state.get_current_state_ids(room_id)
+                    current_state_ids = await self.state.get_current_state_ids(room_id)
                     current_state_ids = frozenset(itervalues(current_state_ids))
 
-                recents = yield filter_events_for_client(
+                recents = await filter_events_for_client(
                     self.storage,
                     sync_config.user.to_string(),
                     recents,
@@ -449,14 +444,14 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
                 # Otherwise, we want to return the last N events in the room
                 # in toplogical ordering.
                 if since_key:
-                    events, end_key = yield self.store.get_room_events_stream_for_room(
+                    events, end_key = await self.store.get_room_events_stream_for_room(
                         room_id,
                         limit=load_limit + 1,
                         from_key=since_key,
                         to_key=end_key,
                     )
                 else:
-                    events, end_key = yield self.store.get_recent_events_for_room(
+                    events, end_key = await self.store.get_recent_events_for_room(
                         room_id, limit=load_limit + 1, end_token=end_key
                     )
                 loaded_recents = sync_config.filter_collection.filter_room_timeline(
@@ -468,10 +463,10 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
                 # ensure that we always include current state in the timeline
                 current_state_ids = frozenset()
                 if any(e.is_state() for e in loaded_recents):
-                    current_state_ids = yield self.state.get_current_state_ids(room_id)
+                    current_state_ids = await self.state.get_current_state_ids(room_id)
                     current_state_ids = frozenset(itervalues(current_state_ids))
 
-                loaded_recents = yield filter_events_for_client(
+                loaded_recents = await filter_events_for_client(
                     self.storage,
                     sync_config.user.to_string(),
                     loaded_recents,
@@ -498,8 +493,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             limited=limited or newly_joined_room,
         )
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def get_state_after_event(self, event, state_filter=StateFilter.all()):
+    async def get_state_after_event(self, event, state_filter=StateFilter.all()):
         """
         Get the room state after the given event
 
@@ -511,7 +505,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         Returns:
             A Deferred map from ((type, state_key)->Event)
         """
-        state_ids = yield self.state_store.get_state_ids_for_event(
+        state_ids = await self.state_store.get_state_ids_for_event(
             event.event_id, state_filter=state_filter
         )
         if event.is_state():
@@ -519,8 +513,9 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             state_ids[(event.type, event.state_key)] = event.event_id
         return state_ids
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def get_state_at(self, room_id, stream_position, state_filter=StateFilter.all()):
+    async def get_state_at(
+        self, room_id, stream_position, state_filter=StateFilter.all()
+    ):
         """ Get the room state at a particular stream position
 
         Args:
@@ -536,13 +531,13 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         # get_recent_events_for_room operates by topo ordering. This therefore
         # does not reliably give you the state at the given stream position.
         # (https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/3305)
-        last_events, _ = yield self.store.get_recent_events_for_room(
+        last_events, _ = await self.store.get_recent_events_for_room(
             room_id, end_token=stream_position.room_key, limit=1
         )
 
         if last_events:
             last_event = last_events[-1]
-            state = yield self.get_state_after_event(
+            state = await self.get_state_after_event(
                 last_event, state_filter=state_filter
             )
 
@@ -551,8 +546,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             state = {}
         return state
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def compute_summary(self, room_id, sync_config, batch, state, now_token):
+    async def compute_summary(self, room_id, sync_config, batch, state, now_token):
         """ Works out a room summary block for this room, summarising the number
         of joined members in the room, and providing the 'hero' members if the
         room has no name so clients can consistently name rooms.  Also adds
@@ -574,7 +568,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         # FIXME: we could/should get this from room_stats when matthew/stats lands
 
         # FIXME: this promulgates https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/3305
-        last_events, _ = yield self.store.get_recent_event_ids_for_room(
+        last_events, _ = await self.store.get_recent_event_ids_for_room(
             room_id, end_token=now_token.room_key, limit=1
         )
 
@@ -582,7 +576,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             return None
 
         last_event = last_events[-1]
-        state_ids = yield self.state_store.get_state_ids_for_event(
+        state_ids = await self.state_store.get_state_ids_for_event(
             last_event.event_id,
             state_filter=StateFilter.from_types(
                 [(EventTypes.Name, ""), (EventTypes.CanonicalAlias, "")]
@@ -590,7 +584,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         )
 
         # this is heavily cached, thus: fast.
-        details = yield self.store.get_room_summary(room_id)
+        details = await self.store.get_room_summary(room_id)
 
         name_id = state_ids.get((EventTypes.Name, ""))
         canonical_alias_id = state_ids.get((EventTypes.CanonicalAlias, ""))
@@ -608,12 +602,12 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         # calculating heroes. Empty strings are falsey, so we check
         # for the "name" value and default to an empty string.
         if name_id:
-            name = yield self.store.get_event(name_id, allow_none=True)
+            name = await self.store.get_event(name_id, allow_none=True)
             if name and name.content.get("name"):
                 return summary
 
         if canonical_alias_id:
-            canonical_alias = yield self.store.get_event(
+            canonical_alias = await self.store.get_event(
                 canonical_alias_id, allow_none=True
             )
             if canonical_alias and canonical_alias.content.get("alias"):
@@ -678,7 +672,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             )
         ]
 
-        missing_hero_state = yield self.store.get_events(missing_hero_event_ids)
+        missing_hero_state = await self.store.get_events(missing_hero_event_ids)
         missing_hero_state = missing_hero_state.values()
 
         for s in missing_hero_state:
@@ -697,8 +691,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             logger.debug("found LruCache for %r", cache_key)
         return cache
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def compute_state_delta(
+    async def compute_state_delta(
         self, room_id, batch, sync_config, since_token, now_token, full_state
     ):
         """ Works out the difference in state between the start of the timeline
@@ -759,16 +752,16 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
 
             if full_state:
                 if batch:
-                    current_state_ids = yield self.state_store.get_state_ids_for_event(
+                    current_state_ids = await self.state_store.get_state_ids_for_event(
                         batch.events[-1].event_id, state_filter=state_filter
                     )
 
-                    state_ids = yield self.state_store.get_state_ids_for_event(
+                    state_ids = await self.state_store.get_state_ids_for_event(
                         batch.events[0].event_id, state_filter=state_filter
                     )
 
                 else:
-                    current_state_ids = yield self.get_state_at(
+                    current_state_ids = await self.get_state_at(
                         room_id, stream_position=now_token, state_filter=state_filter
                     )
 
@@ -783,13 +776,13 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
                 )
             elif batch.limited:
                 if batch:
-                    state_at_timeline_start = yield self.state_store.get_state_ids_for_event(
+                    state_at_timeline_start = await self.state_store.get_state_ids_for_event(
                         batch.events[0].event_id, state_filter=state_filter
                     )
                 else:
                     # We can get here if the user has ignored the senders of all
                     # the recent events.
-                    state_at_timeline_start = yield self.get_state_at(
+                    state_at_timeline_start = await self.get_state_at(
                         room_id, stream_position=now_token, state_filter=state_filter
                     )
 
@@ -807,19 +800,19 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
                 # about them).
                 state_filter = StateFilter.all()
 
-                state_at_previous_sync = yield self.get_state_at(
+                state_at_previous_sync = await self.get_state_at(
                     room_id, stream_position=since_token, state_filter=state_filter
                 )
 
                 if batch:
-                    current_state_ids = yield self.state_store.get_state_ids_for_event(
+                    current_state_ids = await self.state_store.get_state_ids_for_event(
                         batch.events[-1].event_id, state_filter=state_filter
                     )
                 else:
                     # Its not clear how we get here, but empirically we do
                     # (#5407). Logging has been added elsewhere to try and
                     # figure out where this state comes from.
-                    current_state_ids = yield self.get_state_at(
+                    current_state_ids = await self.get_state_at(
                         room_id, stream_position=now_token, state_filter=state_filter
                     )
 
@@ -843,7 +836,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
                         # So we fish out all the member events corresponding to the
                         # timeline here, and then dedupe any redundant ones below.
 
-                        state_ids = yield self.state_store.get_state_ids_for_event(
+                        state_ids = await self.state_store.get_state_ids_for_event(
                             batch.events[0].event_id,
                             # we only want members!
                             state_filter=StateFilter.from_types(
@@ -883,7 +876,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
 
         state = {}
         if state_ids:
-            state = yield self.store.get_events(list(state_ids.values()))
+            state = await self.store.get_events(list(state_ids.values()))
 
         return {
             (e.type, e.state_key): e
@@ -892,10 +885,9 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             )
         }
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def unread_notifs_for_room_id(self, room_id, sync_config):
+    async def unread_notifs_for_room_id(self, room_id, sync_config):
         with Measure(self.clock, "unread_notifs_for_room_id"):
-            last_unread_event_id = yield self.store.get_last_receipt_event_id_for_user(
+            last_unread_event_id = await self.store.get_last_receipt_event_id_for_user(
                 user_id=sync_config.user.to_string(),
                 room_id=room_id,
                 receipt_type="m.read",
@@ -903,7 +895,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
 
             notifs = []
             if last_unread_event_id:
-                notifs = yield self.store.get_unread_event_push_actions_by_room_for_user(
+                notifs = await self.store.get_unread_event_push_actions_by_room_for_user(
                     room_id, sync_config.user.to_string(), last_unread_event_id
                 )
                 return notifs
@@ -912,8 +904,9 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         # count is whatever it was last time.
         return None
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def generate_sync_result(self, sync_config, since_token=None, full_state=False):
+    async def generate_sync_result(
+        self, sync_config, since_token=None, full_state=False
+    ):
         """Generates a sync result.
 
         Args:
@@ -928,7 +921,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         # this is due to some of the underlying streams not supporting the ability
         # to query up to a given point.
         # Always use the `now_token` in `SyncResultBuilder`
-        now_token = yield self.event_sources.get_current_token()
+        now_token = await self.event_sources.get_current_token()
 
         logger.info(
             "Calculating sync response for %r between %s and %s",
@@ -944,10 +937,9 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             # See https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/issues/1144
             raise NotImplementedError()
         else:
-            joined_room_ids = yield self.get_rooms_for_user_at(
+            joined_room_ids = await self.get_rooms_for_user_at(
                 user_id, now_token.room_stream_id
             )
-
         sync_result_builder = SyncResultBuilder(
             sync_config,
             full_state,
@@ -956,11 +948,11 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             joined_room_ids=joined_room_ids,
         )
 
-        account_data_by_room = yield self._generate_sync_entry_for_account_data(
+        account_data_by_room = await self._generate_sync_entry_for_account_data(
             sync_result_builder
         )
 
-        res = yield self._generate_sync_entry_for_rooms(
+        res = await self._generate_sync_entry_for_rooms(
             sync_result_builder, account_data_by_room
         )
         newly_joined_rooms, newly_joined_or_invited_users, _, _ = res
@@ -970,13 +962,13 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             since_token is None and sync_config.filter_collection.blocks_all_presence()
         )
         if self.hs_config.use_presence and not block_all_presence_data:
-            yield self._generate_sync_entry_for_presence(
+            await self._generate_sync_entry_for_presence(
                 sync_result_builder, newly_joined_rooms, newly_joined_or_invited_users
             )
 
-        yield self._generate_sync_entry_for_to_device(sync_result_builder)
+        await self._generate_sync_entry_for_to_device(sync_result_builder)
 
-        device_lists = yield self._generate_sync_entry_for_device_list(
+        device_lists = await self._generate_sync_entry_for_device_list(
             sync_result_builder,
             newly_joined_rooms=newly_joined_rooms,
             newly_joined_or_invited_users=newly_joined_or_invited_users,
@@ -987,11 +979,11 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         device_id = sync_config.device_id
         one_time_key_counts = {}
         if device_id:
-            one_time_key_counts = yield self.store.count_e2e_one_time_keys(
+            one_time_key_counts = await self.store.count_e2e_one_time_keys(
                 user_id, device_id
             )
 
-        yield self._generate_sync_entry_for_groups(sync_result_builder)
+        await self._generate_sync_entry_for_groups(sync_result_builder)
 
         # debug for https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/4422
         for joined_room in sync_result_builder.joined:
@@ -1015,18 +1007,17 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         )
 
     @measure_func("_generate_sync_entry_for_groups")
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _generate_sync_entry_for_groups(self, sync_result_builder):
+    async def _generate_sync_entry_for_groups(self, sync_result_builder):
         user_id = sync_result_builder.sync_config.user.to_string()
         since_token = sync_result_builder.since_token
         now_token = sync_result_builder.now_token
 
         if since_token and since_token.groups_key:
-            results = yield self.store.get_groups_changes_for_user(
+            results = await self.store.get_groups_changes_for_user(
                 user_id, since_token.groups_key, now_token.groups_key
             )
         else:
-            results = yield self.store.get_all_groups_for_user(
+            results = await self.store.get_all_groups_for_user(
                 user_id, now_token.groups_key
             )
 
@@ -1059,8 +1050,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         )
 
     @measure_func("_generate_sync_entry_for_device_list")
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _generate_sync_entry_for_device_list(
+    async def _generate_sync_entry_for_device_list(
         self,
         sync_result_builder,
         newly_joined_rooms,
@@ -1108,32 +1098,32 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             # room with by looking at all users that have left a room plus users
             # that were in a room we've left.
 
-            users_who_share_room = yield self.store.get_users_who_share_room_with_user(
+            users_who_share_room = await self.store.get_users_who_share_room_with_user(
                 user_id
             )
 
             # Step 1a, check for changes in devices of users we share a room with
-            users_that_have_changed = yield self.store.get_users_whose_devices_changed(
+            users_that_have_changed = await self.store.get_users_whose_devices_changed(
                 since_token.device_list_key, users_who_share_room
             )
 
             # Step 1b, check for newly joined rooms
             for room_id in newly_joined_rooms:
-                joined_users = yield self.state.get_current_users_in_room(room_id)
+                joined_users = await self.state.get_current_users_in_room(room_id)
                 newly_joined_or_invited_users.update(joined_users)
 
             # TODO: Check that these users are actually new, i.e. either they
             # weren't in the previous sync *or* they left and rejoined.
             users_that_have_changed.update(newly_joined_or_invited_users)
 
-            user_signatures_changed = yield self.store.get_users_whose_signatures_changed(
+            user_signatures_changed = await self.store.get_users_whose_signatures_changed(
                 user_id, since_token.device_list_key
             )
             users_that_have_changed.update(user_signatures_changed)
 
             # Now find users that we no longer track
             for room_id in newly_left_rooms:
-                left_users = yield self.state.get_current_users_in_room(room_id)
+                left_users = await self.state.get_current_users_in_room(room_id)
                 newly_left_users.update(left_users)
 
             # Remove any users that we still share a room with.
@@ -1143,8 +1133,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         else:
             return DeviceLists(changed=[], left=[])
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _generate_sync_entry_for_to_device(self, sync_result_builder):
+    async def _generate_sync_entry_for_to_device(self, sync_result_builder):
         """Generates the portion of the sync response. Populates
         `sync_result_builder` with the result.
 
@@ -1165,14 +1154,14 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             # We only delete messages when a new message comes in, but that's
             # fine so long as we delete them at some point.
 
-            deleted = yield self.store.delete_messages_for_device(
+            deleted = await self.store.delete_messages_for_device(
                 user_id, device_id, since_stream_id
             )
             logger.debug(
                 "Deleted %d to-device messages up to %d", deleted, since_stream_id
             )
 
-            messages, stream_id = yield self.store.get_new_messages_for_device(
+            messages, stream_id = await self.store.get_new_messages_for_device(
                 user_id, device_id, since_stream_id, now_token.to_device_key
             )
 
@@ -1190,8 +1179,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         else:
             sync_result_builder.to_device = []
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _generate_sync_entry_for_account_data(self, sync_result_builder):
+    async def _generate_sync_entry_for_account_data(self, sync_result_builder):
         """Generates the account data portion of the sync response. Populates
         `sync_result_builder` with the result.
 
@@ -1209,25 +1197,25 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             (
                 account_data,
                 account_data_by_room,
-            ) = yield self.store.get_updated_account_data_for_user(
+            ) = await self.store.get_updated_account_data_for_user(
                 user_id, since_token.account_data_key
             )
 
-            push_rules_changed = yield self.store.have_push_rules_changed_for_user(
+            push_rules_changed = await self.store.have_push_rules_changed_for_user(
                 user_id, int(since_token.push_rules_key)
             )
 
             if push_rules_changed:
-                account_data["m.push_rules"] = yield self.push_rules_for_user(
+                account_data["m.push_rules"] = await self.push_rules_for_user(
                     sync_config.user
                 )
         else:
             (
                 account_data,
                 account_data_by_room,
-            ) = yield self.store.get_account_data_for_user(sync_config.user.to_string())
+            ) = await self.store.get_account_data_for_user(sync_config.user.to_string())
 
-            account_data["m.push_rules"] = yield self.push_rules_for_user(
+            account_data["m.push_rules"] = await self.push_rules_for_user(
                 sync_config.user
             )
 
@@ -1242,8 +1230,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
 
         return account_data_by_room
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _generate_sync_entry_for_presence(
+    async def _generate_sync_entry_for_presence(
         self, sync_result_builder, newly_joined_rooms, newly_joined_or_invited_users
     ):
         """Generates the presence portion of the sync response. Populates the
@@ -1271,7 +1258,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             presence_key = None
             include_offline = False
 
-        presence, presence_key = yield presence_source.get_new_events(
+        presence, presence_key = await presence_source.get_new_events(
             user=user,
             from_key=presence_key,
             is_guest=sync_config.is_guest,
@@ -1283,12 +1270,12 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
 
         extra_users_ids = set(newly_joined_or_invited_users)
         for room_id in newly_joined_rooms:
-            users = yield self.state.get_current_users_in_room(room_id)
+            users = await self.state.get_current_users_in_room(room_id)
             extra_users_ids.update(users)
         extra_users_ids.discard(user.to_string())
 
         if extra_users_ids:
-            states = yield self.presence_handler.get_states(extra_users_ids)
+            states = await self.presence_handler.get_states(extra_users_ids)
             presence.extend(states)
 
             # Deduplicate the presence entries so that there's at most one per user
@@ -1298,8 +1285,9 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
 
         sync_result_builder.presence = presence
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _generate_sync_entry_for_rooms(self, sync_result_builder, account_data_by_room):
+    async def _generate_sync_entry_for_rooms(
+        self, sync_result_builder, account_data_by_room
+    ):
         """Generates the rooms portion of the sync response. Populates the
         `sync_result_builder` with the result.
 
@@ -1321,7 +1309,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         if block_all_room_ephemeral:
             ephemeral_by_room = {}
         else:
-            now_token, ephemeral_by_room = yield self.ephemeral_by_room(
+            now_token, ephemeral_by_room = await self.ephemeral_by_room(
                 sync_result_builder,
                 now_token=sync_result_builder.now_token,
                 since_token=sync_result_builder.since_token,
@@ -1333,16 +1321,16 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         since_token = sync_result_builder.since_token
         if not sync_result_builder.full_state:
             if since_token and not ephemeral_by_room and not account_data_by_room:
-                have_changed = yield self._have_rooms_changed(sync_result_builder)
+                have_changed = await self._have_rooms_changed(sync_result_builder)
                 if not have_changed:
-                    tags_by_room = yield self.store.get_updated_tags(
+                    tags_by_room = await self.store.get_updated_tags(
                         user_id, since_token.account_data_key
                     )
                     if not tags_by_room:
                         logger.debug("no-oping sync")
                         return [], [], [], []
 
-        ignored_account_data = yield self.store.get_global_account_data_by_type_for_user(
+        ignored_account_data = await self.store.get_global_account_data_by_type_for_user(
             "m.ignored_user_list", user_id=user_id
         )
 
@@ -1352,18 +1340,18 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             ignored_users = frozenset()
 
         if since_token:
-            res = yield self._get_rooms_changed(sync_result_builder, ignored_users)
+            res = await self._get_rooms_changed(sync_result_builder, ignored_users)
             room_entries, invited, newly_joined_rooms, newly_left_rooms = res
 
-            tags_by_room = yield self.store.get_updated_tags(
+            tags_by_room = await self.store.get_updated_tags(
                 user_id, since_token.account_data_key
             )
         else:
-            res = yield self._get_all_rooms(sync_result_builder, ignored_users)
+            res = await self._get_all_rooms(sync_result_builder, ignored_users)
             room_entries, invited, newly_joined_rooms = res
             newly_left_rooms = []
 
-            tags_by_room = yield self.store.get_tags_for_user(user_id)
+            tags_by_room = await self.store.get_tags_for_user(user_id)
 
         def handle_room_entries(room_entry):
             return self._generate_room_entry(
@@ -1376,7 +1364,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
                 always_include=sync_result_builder.full_state,
             )
 
-        yield concurrently_execute(handle_room_entries, room_entries, 10)
+        await concurrently_execute(handle_room_entries, room_entries, 10)
 
         sync_result_builder.invited.extend(invited)
 
@@ -1410,8 +1398,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             newly_left_users,
         )
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _have_rooms_changed(self, sync_result_builder):
+    async def _have_rooms_changed(self, sync_result_builder):
         """Returns whether there may be any new events that should be sent down
         the sync. Returns True if there are.
         """
@@ -1422,7 +1409,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         assert since_token
 
         # Get a list of membership change events that have happened.
-        rooms_changed = yield self.store.get_membership_changes_for_user(
+        rooms_changed = await self.store.get_membership_changes_for_user(
             user_id, since_token.room_key, now_token.room_key
         )
 
@@ -1435,8 +1422,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
                 return True
         return False
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _get_rooms_changed(self, sync_result_builder, ignored_users):
+    async def _get_rooms_changed(self, sync_result_builder, ignored_users):
         """Gets the the changes that have happened since the last sync.
 
         Args:
@@ -1461,7 +1447,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         assert since_token
 
         # Get a list of membership change events that have happened.
-        rooms_changed = yield self.store.get_membership_changes_for_user(
+        rooms_changed = await self.store.get_membership_changes_for_user(
             user_id, since_token.room_key, now_token.room_key
         )
 
@@ -1499,11 +1485,11 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
                 continue
 
             if room_id in sync_result_builder.joined_room_ids or has_join:
-                old_state_ids = yield self.get_state_at(room_id, since_token)
+                old_state_ids = await self.get_state_at(room_id, since_token)
                 old_mem_ev_id = old_state_ids.get((EventTypes.Member, user_id), None)
                 old_mem_ev = None
                 if old_mem_ev_id:
-                    old_mem_ev = yield self.store.get_event(
+                    old_mem_ev = await self.store.get_event(
                         old_mem_ev_id, allow_none=True
                     )
 
@@ -1536,13 +1522,13 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
                     newly_left_rooms.append(room_id)
                 else:
                     if not old_state_ids:
-                        old_state_ids = yield self.get_state_at(room_id, since_token)
+                        old_state_ids = await self.get_state_at(room_id, since_token)
                         old_mem_ev_id = old_state_ids.get(
                             (EventTypes.Member, user_id), None
                         )
                         old_mem_ev = None
                         if old_mem_ev_id:
-                            old_mem_ev = yield self.store.get_event(
+                            old_mem_ev = await self.store.get_event(
                                 old_mem_ev_id, allow_none=True
                             )
                     if old_mem_ev and old_mem_ev.membership == Membership.JOIN:
@@ -1566,7 +1552,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
 
             if leave_events:
                 leave_event = leave_events[-1]
-                leave_stream_token = yield self.store.get_stream_token_for_event(
+                leave_stream_token = await self.store.get_stream_token_for_event(
                     leave_event.event_id
                 )
                 leave_token = since_token.copy_and_replace(
@@ -1603,7 +1589,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         timeline_limit = sync_config.filter_collection.timeline_limit()
 
         # Get all events for rooms we're currently joined to.
-        room_to_events = yield self.store.get_room_events_stream_for_rooms(
+        room_to_events = await self.store.get_room_events_stream_for_rooms(
             room_ids=sync_result_builder.joined_room_ids,
             from_key=since_token.room_key,
             to_key=now_token.room_key,
@@ -1652,8 +1638,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
 
         return room_entries, invited, newly_joined_rooms, newly_left_rooms
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _get_all_rooms(self, sync_result_builder, ignored_users):
+    async def _get_all_rooms(self, sync_result_builder, ignored_users):
         """Returns entries for all rooms for the user.
 
         Args:
@@ -1677,7 +1662,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             Membership.BAN,
         )
 
-        room_list = yield self.store.get_rooms_for_user_where_membership_is(
+        room_list = await self.store.get_rooms_for_user_where_membership_is(
             user_id=user_id, membership_list=membership_list
         )
 
@@ -1700,7 +1685,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             elif event.membership == Membership.INVITE:
                 if event.sender in ignored_users:
                     continue
-                invite = yield self.store.get_event(event.event_id)
+                invite = await self.store.get_event(event.event_id)
                 invited.append(InvitedSyncResult(room_id=event.room_id, invite=invite))
             elif event.membership in (Membership.LEAVE, Membership.BAN):
                 # Always send down rooms we were banned or kicked from.
@@ -1726,8 +1711,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
 
         return room_entries, invited, []
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _generate_room_entry(
+    async def _generate_room_entry(
         self,
         sync_result_builder,
         ignored_users,
@@ -1769,7 +1753,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         since_token = room_builder.since_token
         upto_token = room_builder.upto_token
 
-        batch = yield self._load_filtered_recents(
+        batch = await self._load_filtered_recents(
             room_id,
             sync_config,
             now_token=upto_token,
@@ -1796,7 +1780,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         # tag was added by synapse e.g. for server notice rooms.
         if full_state:
             user_id = sync_result_builder.sync_config.user.to_string()
-            tags = yield self.store.get_tags_for_room(user_id, room_id)
+            tags = await self.store.get_tags_for_room(user_id, room_id)
 
             # If there aren't any tags, don't send the empty tags list down
             # sync
@@ -1821,7 +1805,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         ):
             return
 
-        state = yield self.compute_state_delta(
+        state = await self.compute_state_delta(
             room_id, batch, sync_config, since_token, now_token, full_state=full_state
         )
 
@@ -1844,7 +1828,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             )
             or since_token is None
         ):
-            summary = yield self.compute_summary(
+            summary = await self.compute_summary(
                 room_id, sync_config, batch, state, now_token
             )
 
@@ -1861,7 +1845,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             )
 
             if room_sync or always_include:
-                notifs = yield self.unread_notifs_for_room_id(room_id, sync_config)
+                notifs = await self.unread_notifs_for_room_id(room_id, sync_config)
 
                 if notifs is not None:
                     unread_notifications["notification_count"] = notifs["notify_count"]
@@ -1887,8 +1871,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         else:
             raise Exception("Unrecognized rtype: %r", room_builder.rtype)
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def get_rooms_for_user_at(self, user_id, stream_ordering):
+    async def get_rooms_for_user_at(self, user_id, stream_ordering):
         """Get set of joined rooms for a user at the given stream ordering.
 
         The stream ordering *must* be recent, otherwise this may throw an
@@ -1903,7 +1886,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             Deferred[frozenset[str]]: Set of room_ids the user is in at given
             stream_ordering.
         """
-        joined_rooms = yield self.store.get_rooms_for_user_with_stream_ordering(user_id)
+        joined_rooms = await self.store.get_rooms_for_user_with_stream_ordering(user_id)
 
         joined_room_ids = set()
 
@@ -1921,10 +1904,10 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
 
             logger.info("User joined room after current token: %s", room_id)
 
-            extrems = yield self.store.get_forward_extremeties_for_room(
+            extrems = await self.store.get_forward_extremeties_for_room(
                 room_id, stream_ordering
             )
-            users_in_room = yield self.state.get_current_users_in_room(room_id, extrems)
+            users_in_room = await self.state.get_current_users_in_room(room_id, extrems)
             if user_id in users_in_room:
                 joined_room_ids.add(room_id)
 
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/typing.py b/synapse/handlers/typing.py
index 856337b7e2..6f78454322 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/typing.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/typing.py
@@ -313,7 +313,7 @@ class TypingNotificationEventSource(object):
 
                 events.append(self._make_event_for(room_id))
 
-            return events, handler._latest_room_serial
+            return defer.succeed((events, handler._latest_room_serial))
 
     def get_current_key(self):
         return self.get_typing_handler()._latest_room_serial
diff --git a/synapse/http/servlet.py b/synapse/http/servlet.py
index e9a5e46ced..13fcb408a6 100644
--- a/synapse/http/servlet.py
+++ b/synapse/http/servlet.py
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ def parse_boolean_from_args(args, name, default=None, required=False):
             return {b"true": True, b"false": False}[args[name][0]]
         except Exception:
             message = (
-                "Boolean query parameter %r must be one of" " ['true', 'false']"
+                "Boolean query parameter %r must be one of ['true', 'false']"
             ) % (name,)
             raise SynapseError(400, message)
     else:
diff --git a/synapse/logging/_structured.py b/synapse/logging/_structured.py
index 334ddaf39a..ffa7b20ca8 100644
--- a/synapse/logging/_structured.py
+++ b/synapse/logging/_structured.py
@@ -261,6 +261,18 @@ def parse_drain_configs(
             )
 
 
+class StoppableLogPublisher(LogPublisher):
+    """
+    A log publisher that can tell its observers to shut down any external
+    communications.
+    """
+
+    def stop(self):
+        for obs in self._observers:
+            if hasattr(obs, "stop"):
+                obs.stop()
+
+
 def setup_structured_logging(
     hs,
     config,
@@ -336,7 +348,7 @@ def setup_structured_logging(
             # We should never get here, but, just in case, throw an error.
             raise ConfigError("%s drain type cannot be configured" % (observer.type,))
 
-    publisher = LogPublisher(*observers)
+    publisher = StoppableLogPublisher(*observers)
     log_filter = LogLevelFilterPredicate()
 
     for namespace, namespace_config in log_config.get(
diff --git a/synapse/logging/_terse_json.py b/synapse/logging/_terse_json.py
index 76ce7d8808..03934956f4 100644
--- a/synapse/logging/_terse_json.py
+++ b/synapse/logging/_terse_json.py
@@ -17,25 +17,29 @@
 Log formatters that output terse JSON.
 """
 
+import json
 import sys
+import traceback
 from collections import deque
 from ipaddress import IPv4Address, IPv6Address, ip_address
 from math import floor
-from typing import IO
+from typing import IO, Optional
 
 import attr
-from simplejson import dumps
 from zope.interface import implementer
 
 from twisted.application.internet import ClientService
+from twisted.internet.defer import Deferred
 from twisted.internet.endpoints import (
     HostnameEndpoint,
     TCP4ClientEndpoint,
     TCP6ClientEndpoint,
 )
+from twisted.internet.interfaces import IPushProducer, ITransport
 from twisted.internet.protocol import Factory, Protocol
 from twisted.logger import FileLogObserver, ILogObserver, Logger
-from twisted.python.failure import Failure
+
+_encoder = json.JSONEncoder(ensure_ascii=False, separators=(",", ":"))
 
 
 def flatten_event(event: dict, metadata: dict, include_time: bool = False):
@@ -141,12 +145,50 @@ def TerseJSONToConsoleLogObserver(outFile: IO[str], metadata: dict) -> FileLogOb
 
     def formatEvent(_event: dict) -> str:
         flattened = flatten_event(_event, metadata)
-        return dumps(flattened, ensure_ascii=False, separators=(",", ":")) + "\n"
+        return _encoder.encode(flattened) + "\n"
 
     return FileLogObserver(outFile, formatEvent)
 
 
 @attr.s
+@implementer(IPushProducer)
+class LogProducer(object):
+    """
+    An IPushProducer that writes logs from its buffer to its transport when it
+    is resumed.
+
+    Args:
+        buffer: Log buffer to read logs from.
+        transport: Transport to write to.
+    """
+
+    transport = attr.ib(type=ITransport)
+    _buffer = attr.ib(type=deque)
+    _paused = attr.ib(default=False, type=bool, init=False)
+
+    def pauseProducing(self):
+        self._paused = True
+
+    def stopProducing(self):
+        self._paused = True
+        self._buffer = None
+
+    def resumeProducing(self):
+        self._paused = False
+
+        while self._paused is False and (self._buffer and self.transport.connected):
+            try:
+                event = self._buffer.popleft()
+                self.transport.write(_encoder.encode(event).encode("utf8"))
+                self.transport.write(b"\n")
+            except Exception:
+                # Something has gone wrong writing to the transport -- log it
+                # and break out of the while.
+                traceback.print_exc(file=sys.__stderr__)
+                break
+
+
+@attr.s
 @implementer(ILogObserver)
 class TerseJSONToTCPLogObserver(object):
     """
@@ -165,8 +207,9 @@ class TerseJSONToTCPLogObserver(object):
     metadata = attr.ib(type=dict)
     maximum_buffer = attr.ib(type=int)
     _buffer = attr.ib(default=attr.Factory(deque), type=deque)
-    _writer = attr.ib(default=None)
+    _connection_waiter = attr.ib(default=None, type=Optional[Deferred])
     _logger = attr.ib(default=attr.Factory(Logger))
+    _producer = attr.ib(default=None, type=Optional[LogProducer])
 
     def start(self) -> None:
 
@@ -187,38 +230,44 @@ class TerseJSONToTCPLogObserver(object):
         factory = Factory.forProtocol(Protocol)
         self._service = ClientService(endpoint, factory, clock=self.hs.get_reactor())
         self._service.startService()
+        self._connect()
 
-    def _write_loop(self) -> None:
+    def stop(self):
+        self._service.stopService()
+
+    def _connect(self) -> None:
         """
-        Implement the write loop.
+        Triggers an attempt to connect then write to the remote if not already writing.
         """
-        if self._writer:
+        if self._connection_waiter:
             return
 
-        self._writer = self._service.whenConnected()
+        self._connection_waiter = self._service.whenConnected(failAfterFailures=1)
+
+        @self._connection_waiter.addErrback
+        def fail(r):
+            r.printTraceback(file=sys.__stderr__)
+            self._connection_waiter = None
+            self._connect()
 
-        @self._writer.addBoth
+        @self._connection_waiter.addCallback
         def writer(r):
-            if isinstance(r, Failure):
-                r.printTraceback(file=sys.__stderr__)
-                self._writer = None
-                self.hs.get_reactor().callLater(1, self._write_loop)
+            # We have a connection. If we already have a producer, and its
+            # transport is the same, just trigger a resumeProducing.
+            if self._producer and r.transport is self._producer.transport:
+                self._producer.resumeProducing()
+                self._connection_waiter = None
                 return
 
-            try:
-                for event in self._buffer:
-                    r.transport.write(
-                        dumps(event, ensure_ascii=False, separators=(",", ":")).encode(
-                            "utf8"
-                        )
-                    )
-                    r.transport.write(b"\n")
-                self._buffer.clear()
-            except Exception as e:
-                sys.__stderr__.write("Failed writing out logs with %s\n" % (str(e),))
-
-            self._writer = False
-            self.hs.get_reactor().callLater(1, self._write_loop)
+            # If the producer is still producing, stop it.
+            if self._producer:
+                self._producer.stopProducing()
+
+            # Make a new producer and start it.
+            self._producer = LogProducer(buffer=self._buffer, transport=r.transport)
+            r.transport.registerProducer(self._producer, True)
+            self._producer.resumeProducing()
+            self._connection_waiter = None
 
     def _handle_pressure(self) -> None:
         """
@@ -277,4 +326,4 @@ class TerseJSONToTCPLogObserver(object):
             self._logger.failure("Failed clearing backpressure")
 
         # Try and write immediately.
-        self._write_loop()
+        self._connect()
diff --git a/synapse/module_api/__init__.py b/synapse/module_api/__init__.py
index 735b882363..305b9b0178 100644
--- a/synapse/module_api/__init__.py
+++ b/synapse/module_api/__init__.py
@@ -175,4 +175,4 @@ class ModuleApi(object):
         Returns:
             Deferred[object]: result of func
         """
-        return self._store.runInteraction(desc, func, *args, **kwargs)
+        return self._store.db.runInteraction(desc, func, *args, **kwargs)
diff --git a/synapse/notifier.py b/synapse/notifier.py
index af161a81d7..5f5f765bea 100644
--- a/synapse/notifier.py
+++ b/synapse/notifier.py
@@ -304,8 +304,7 @@ class Notifier(object):
         without waking up any of the normal user event streams"""
         self.notify_replication()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def wait_for_events(
+    async def wait_for_events(
         self, user_id, timeout, callback, room_ids=None, from_token=StreamToken.START
     ):
         """Wait until the callback returns a non empty response or the
@@ -313,9 +312,9 @@ class Notifier(object):
         """
         user_stream = self.user_to_user_stream.get(user_id)
         if user_stream is None:
-            current_token = yield self.event_sources.get_current_token()
+            current_token = await self.event_sources.get_current_token()
             if room_ids is None:
-                room_ids = yield self.store.get_rooms_for_user(user_id)
+                room_ids = await self.store.get_rooms_for_user(user_id)
             user_stream = _NotifierUserStream(
                 user_id=user_id,
                 rooms=room_ids,
@@ -344,11 +343,11 @@ class Notifier(object):
                         self.hs.get_reactor(),
                     )
                     with PreserveLoggingContext():
-                        yield listener.deferred
+                        await listener.deferred
 
                     current_token = user_stream.current_token
 
-                    result = yield callback(prev_token, current_token)
+                    result = await callback(prev_token, current_token)
                     if result:
                         break
 
@@ -364,12 +363,11 @@ class Notifier(object):
             # This happened if there was no timeout or if the timeout had
             # already expired.
             current_token = user_stream.current_token
-            result = yield callback(prev_token, current_token)
+            result = await callback(prev_token, current_token)
 
         return result
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def get_events_for(
+    async def get_events_for(
         self,
         user,
         pagination_config,
@@ -391,15 +389,14 @@ class Notifier(object):
         """
         from_token = pagination_config.from_token
         if not from_token:
-            from_token = yield self.event_sources.get_current_token()
+            from_token = await self.event_sources.get_current_token()
 
         limit = pagination_config.limit
 
-        room_ids, is_joined = yield self._get_room_ids(user, explicit_room_id)
+        room_ids, is_joined = await self._get_room_ids(user, explicit_room_id)
         is_peeking = not is_joined
 
-        @defer.inlineCallbacks
-        def check_for_updates(before_token, after_token):
+        async def check_for_updates(before_token, after_token):
             if not after_token.is_after(before_token):
                 return EventStreamResult([], (from_token, from_token))
 
@@ -415,7 +412,7 @@ class Notifier(object):
                 if only_keys and name not in only_keys:
                     continue
 
-                new_events, new_key = yield source.get_new_events(
+                new_events, new_key = await source.get_new_events(
                     user=user,
                     from_key=getattr(from_token, keyname),
                     limit=limit,
@@ -425,7 +422,7 @@ class Notifier(object):
                 )
 
                 if name == "room":
-                    new_events = yield filter_events_for_client(
+                    new_events = await filter_events_for_client(
                         self.storage,
                         user.to_string(),
                         new_events,
@@ -461,7 +458,7 @@ class Notifier(object):
                 user_id_for_stream,
             )
 
-        result = yield self.wait_for_events(
+        result = await self.wait_for_events(
             user_id_for_stream,
             timeout,
             check_for_updates,
diff --git a/synapse/push/bulk_push_rule_evaluator.py b/synapse/push/bulk_push_rule_evaluator.py
index 1ba7bcd4d8..7881780760 100644
--- a/synapse/push/bulk_push_rule_evaluator.py
+++ b/synapse/push/bulk_push_rule_evaluator.py
@@ -386,15 +386,7 @@ class RulesForRoom(object):
         """
         sequence = self.sequence
 
-        rows = yield self.store._simple_select_many_batch(
-            table="room_memberships",
-            column="event_id",
-            iterable=member_event_ids.values(),
-            retcols=("user_id", "membership", "event_id"),
-            keyvalues={},
-            batch_size=500,
-            desc="_get_rules_for_member_event_ids",
-        )
+        rows = yield self.store.get_membership_from_event_ids(member_event_ids.values())
 
         members = {row["event_id"]: (row["user_id"], row["membership"]) for row in rows}
 
diff --git a/synapse/push/httppusher.py b/synapse/push/httppusher.py
index e994037be6..d0879b0490 100644
--- a/synapse/push/httppusher.py
+++ b/synapse/push/httppusher.py
@@ -246,7 +246,7 @@ class HttpPusher(object):
                     # fixed, we don't suddenly deliver a load
                     # of old notifications.
                     logger.warning(
-                        "Giving up on a notification to user %s, " "pushkey %s",
+                        "Giving up on a notification to user %s, pushkey %s",
                         self.user_id,
                         self.pushkey,
                     )
@@ -299,8 +299,7 @@ class HttpPusher(object):
                     # for sanity, we only remove the pushkey if it
                     # was the one we actually sent...
                     logger.warning(
-                        ("Ignoring rejected pushkey %s because we" " didn't send it"),
-                        pk,
+                        ("Ignoring rejected pushkey %s because we didn't send it"), pk,
                     )
                 else:
                     logger.info("Pushkey %s was rejected: removing", pk)
diff --git a/synapse/push/mailer.py b/synapse/push/mailer.py
index 1d15a06a58..b13b646bfd 100644
--- a/synapse/push/mailer.py
+++ b/synapse/push/mailer.py
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
 MESSAGE_FROM_PERSON_IN_ROOM = (
-    "You have a message on %(app)s from %(person)s " "in the %(room)s room..."
+    "You have a message on %(app)s from %(person)s in the %(room)s room..."
 )
 MESSAGE_FROM_PERSON = "You have a message on %(app)s from %(person)s..."
 MESSAGES_FROM_PERSON = "You have messages on %(app)s from %(person)s..."
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ MESSAGES_FROM_PERSON_AND_OTHERS = (
     "You have messages on %(app)s from %(person)s and others..."
 )
 INVITE_FROM_PERSON_TO_ROOM = (
-    "%(person)s has invited you to join the " "%(room)s room on %(app)s..."
+    "%(person)s has invited you to join the %(room)s room on %(app)s..."
 )
 INVITE_FROM_PERSON = "%(person)s has invited you to chat on %(app)s..."
 
diff --git a/synapse/replication/http/__init__.py b/synapse/replication/http/__init__.py
index 81b85352b1..28dbc6fcba 100644
--- a/synapse/replication/http/__init__.py
+++ b/synapse/replication/http/__init__.py
@@ -14,7 +14,14 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 
 from synapse.http.server import JsonResource
-from synapse.replication.http import federation, login, membership, register, send_event
+from synapse.replication.http import (
+    devices,
+    federation,
+    login,
+    membership,
+    register,
+    send_event,
+)
 
 REPLICATION_PREFIX = "/_synapse/replication"
 
@@ -30,3 +37,4 @@ class ReplicationRestResource(JsonResource):
         federation.register_servlets(hs, self)
         login.register_servlets(hs, self)
         register.register_servlets(hs, self)
+        devices.register_servlets(hs, self)
diff --git a/synapse/replication/http/devices.py b/synapse/replication/http/devices.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e32aac0a25
--- /dev/null
+++ b/synapse/replication/http/devices.py
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+# Copyright 2018 New Vector Ltd
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+import logging
+
+from synapse.replication.http._base import ReplicationEndpoint
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+class ReplicationUserDevicesResyncRestServlet(ReplicationEndpoint):
+    """Ask master to resync the device list for a user by contacting their
+    server.
+
+    This must happen on master so that the results can be correctly cached in
+    the database and streamed to workers.
+
+    Request format:
+
+        POST /_synapse/replication/user_device_resync/:user_id
+
+        {}
+
+    Response is equivalent to ` /_matrix/federation/v1/user/devices/:user_id`
+    response, e.g.:
+
+        {
+            "user_id": "@alice:example.org",
+            "devices": [
+                {
+                    "device_id": "JLAFKJWSCS",
+                    "keys": { ... },
+                    "device_display_name": "Alice's Mobile Phone"
+                }
+            ]
+        }
+    """
+
+    NAME = "user_device_resync"
+    PATH_ARGS = ("user_id",)
+    CACHE = False
+
+    def __init__(self, hs):
+        super(ReplicationUserDevicesResyncRestServlet, self).__init__(hs)
+
+        self.device_list_updater = hs.get_device_handler().device_list_updater
+        self.store = hs.get_datastore()
+        self.clock = hs.get_clock()
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _serialize_payload(user_id):
+        return {}
+
+    async def _handle_request(self, request, user_id):
+        user_devices = await self.device_list_updater.user_device_resync(user_id)
+
+        return 200, user_devices
+
+
+def register_servlets(hs, http_server):
+    ReplicationUserDevicesResyncRestServlet(hs).register(http_server)
diff --git a/synapse/replication/http/membership.py b/synapse/replication/http/membership.py
index cc1f249740..3577611fd7 100644
--- a/synapse/replication/http/membership.py
+++ b/synapse/replication/http/membership.py
@@ -93,6 +93,7 @@ class ReplicationRemoteRejectInviteRestServlet(ReplicationEndpoint):
         {
             "requester": ...,
             "remote_room_hosts": [...],
+            "content": { ... }
         }
     """
 
@@ -107,7 +108,7 @@ class ReplicationRemoteRejectInviteRestServlet(ReplicationEndpoint):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
 
     @staticmethod
-    def _serialize_payload(requester, room_id, user_id, remote_room_hosts):
+    def _serialize_payload(requester, room_id, user_id, remote_room_hosts, content):
         """
         Args:
             requester(Requester)
@@ -118,12 +119,14 @@ class ReplicationRemoteRejectInviteRestServlet(ReplicationEndpoint):
         return {
             "requester": requester.serialize(),
             "remote_room_hosts": remote_room_hosts,
+            "content": content,
         }
 
     async def _handle_request(self, request, room_id, user_id):
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
 
         remote_room_hosts = content["remote_room_hosts"]
+        event_content = content["content"]
 
         requester = Requester.deserialize(self.store, content["requester"])
 
@@ -134,7 +137,7 @@ class ReplicationRemoteRejectInviteRestServlet(ReplicationEndpoint):
 
         try:
             event = await self.federation_handler.do_remotely_reject_invite(
-                remote_room_hosts, room_id, user_id
+                remote_room_hosts, room_id, user_id, event_content,
             )
             ret = event.get_pdu_json()
         except Exception as e:
diff --git a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/_base.py b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/_base.py
index 456bc005a0..b91a528245 100644
--- a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/_base.py
+++ b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/_base.py
@@ -18,7 +18,9 @@ from typing import Dict
 
 import six
 
-from synapse.storage._base import _CURRENT_STATE_CACHE_NAME, SQLBaseStore
+from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore
+from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.cache import CURRENT_STATE_CACHE_NAME
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.storage.engines import PostgresEngine
 
 from ._slaved_id_tracker import SlavedIdTracker
@@ -34,8 +36,8 @@ def __func__(inp):
 
 
 class BaseSlavedStore(SQLBaseStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(BaseSlavedStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(BaseSlavedStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
         if isinstance(self.database_engine, PostgresEngine):
             self._cache_id_gen = SlavedIdTracker(
                 db_conn, "cache_invalidation_stream", "stream_id"
@@ -62,7 +64,7 @@ class BaseSlavedStore(SQLBaseStore):
         if stream_name == "caches":
             self._cache_id_gen.advance(token)
             for row in rows:
-                if row.cache_func == _CURRENT_STATE_CACHE_NAME:
+                if row.cache_func == CURRENT_STATE_CACHE_NAME:
                     room_id = row.keys[0]
                     members_changed = set(row.keys[1:])
                     self._invalidate_state_caches(room_id, members_changed)
diff --git a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/account_data.py b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/account_data.py
index bc2f6a12ae..ebe94909cb 100644
--- a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/account_data.py
+++ b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/account_data.py
@@ -18,15 +18,16 @@ from synapse.replication.slave.storage._base import BaseSlavedStore
 from synapse.replication.slave.storage._slaved_id_tracker import SlavedIdTracker
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.account_data import AccountDataWorkerStore
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.tags import TagsWorkerStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 
 
 class SlavedAccountDataStore(TagsWorkerStore, AccountDataWorkerStore, BaseSlavedStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
         self._account_data_id_gen = SlavedIdTracker(
             db_conn, "account_data_max_stream_id", "stream_id"
         )
 
-        super(SlavedAccountDataStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+        super(SlavedAccountDataStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
     def get_max_account_data_stream_id(self):
         return self._account_data_id_gen.get_current_token()
diff --git a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/client_ips.py b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/client_ips.py
index b4f58cea19..fbf996e33a 100644
--- a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/client_ips.py
+++ b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/client_ips.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.client_ips import LAST_SEEN_GRANULARITY
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.util.caches import CACHE_SIZE_FACTOR
 from synapse.util.caches.descriptors import Cache
 
@@ -21,8 +22,8 @@ from ._base import BaseSlavedStore
 
 
 class SlavedClientIpStore(BaseSlavedStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(SlavedClientIpStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(SlavedClientIpStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
         self.client_ip_last_seen = Cache(
             name="client_ip_last_seen", keylen=4, max_entries=50000 * CACHE_SIZE_FACTOR
diff --git a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/deviceinbox.py b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/deviceinbox.py
index 9fb6c5c6ff..0c237c6e0f 100644
--- a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/deviceinbox.py
+++ b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/deviceinbox.py
@@ -16,13 +16,14 @@
 from synapse.replication.slave.storage._base import BaseSlavedStore
 from synapse.replication.slave.storage._slaved_id_tracker import SlavedIdTracker
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.deviceinbox import DeviceInboxWorkerStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.util.caches.expiringcache import ExpiringCache
 from synapse.util.caches.stream_change_cache import StreamChangeCache
 
 
 class SlavedDeviceInboxStore(DeviceInboxWorkerStore, BaseSlavedStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(SlavedDeviceInboxStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(SlavedDeviceInboxStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
         self._device_inbox_id_gen = SlavedIdTracker(
             db_conn, "device_max_stream_id", "stream_id"
         )
diff --git a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/devices.py b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/devices.py
index de50748c30..dc625e0d7a 100644
--- a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/devices.py
+++ b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/devices.py
@@ -18,12 +18,13 @@ from synapse.replication.slave.storage._slaved_id_tracker import SlavedIdTracker
 from synapse.replication.tcp.streams._base import DeviceListsStream, UserSignatureStream
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.devices import DeviceWorkerStore
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.end_to_end_keys import EndToEndKeyWorkerStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.util.caches.stream_change_cache import StreamChangeCache
 
 
 class SlavedDeviceStore(EndToEndKeyWorkerStore, DeviceWorkerStore, BaseSlavedStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(SlavedDeviceStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(SlavedDeviceStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
         self.hs = hs
 
diff --git a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/events.py b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/events.py
index d0a0eaf75b..29f35b9915 100644
--- a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/events.py
+++ b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/events.py
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.signatures import SignatureWorkerStore
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.state import StateGroupWorkerStore
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.stream import StreamWorkerStore
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.user_erasure_store import UserErasureWorkerStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 
 from ._base import BaseSlavedStore
 from ._slaved_id_tracker import SlavedIdTracker
@@ -59,13 +60,13 @@ class SlavedEventStore(
     RelationsWorkerStore,
     BaseSlavedStore,
 ):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
         self._stream_id_gen = SlavedIdTracker(db_conn, "events", "stream_ordering")
         self._backfill_id_gen = SlavedIdTracker(
             db_conn, "events", "stream_ordering", step=-1
         )
 
-        super(SlavedEventStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+        super(SlavedEventStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
     # Cached functions can't be accessed through a class instance so we need
     # to reach inside the __dict__ to extract them.
diff --git a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/filtering.py b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/filtering.py
index 5c84ebd125..bcb0688954 100644
--- a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/filtering.py
+++ b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/filtering.py
@@ -14,13 +14,14 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.filtering import FilteringStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 
 from ._base import BaseSlavedStore
 
 
 class SlavedFilteringStore(BaseSlavedStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(SlavedFilteringStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(SlavedFilteringStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
     # Filters are immutable so this cache doesn't need to be expired
     get_user_filter = FilteringStore.__dict__["get_user_filter"]
diff --git a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/groups.py b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/groups.py
index 28a46edd28..69a4ae42f9 100644
--- a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/groups.py
+++ b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/groups.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 
 from synapse.storage import DataStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.util.caches.stream_change_cache import StreamChangeCache
 
 from ._base import BaseSlavedStore, __func__
@@ -21,8 +22,8 @@ from ._slaved_id_tracker import SlavedIdTracker
 
 
 class SlavedGroupServerStore(BaseSlavedStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(SlavedGroupServerStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(SlavedGroupServerStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
         self.hs = hs
 
diff --git a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/presence.py b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/presence.py
index 747ced0c84..f552e7c972 100644
--- a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/presence.py
+++ b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/presence.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 
 from synapse.storage import DataStore
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.presence import PresenceStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.util.caches.stream_change_cache import StreamChangeCache
 
 from ._base import BaseSlavedStore, __func__
@@ -22,8 +23,8 @@ from ._slaved_id_tracker import SlavedIdTracker
 
 
 class SlavedPresenceStore(BaseSlavedStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(SlavedPresenceStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(SlavedPresenceStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
         self._presence_id_gen = SlavedIdTracker(db_conn, "presence_stream", "stream_id")
 
         self._presence_on_startup = self._get_active_presence(db_conn)
diff --git a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/push_rule.py b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/push_rule.py
index 3655f05e54..eebd5a1fb6 100644
--- a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/push_rule.py
+++ b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/push_rule.py
@@ -15,17 +15,18 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.push_rule import PushRulesWorkerStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 
 from ._slaved_id_tracker import SlavedIdTracker
 from .events import SlavedEventStore
 
 
 class SlavedPushRuleStore(SlavedEventStore, PushRulesWorkerStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
         self._push_rules_stream_id_gen = SlavedIdTracker(
             db_conn, "push_rules_stream", "stream_id"
         )
-        super(SlavedPushRuleStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+        super(SlavedPushRuleStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
     def get_push_rules_stream_token(self):
         return (
diff --git a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/pushers.py b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/pushers.py
index b4331d0799..f22c2d44a3 100644
--- a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/pushers.py
+++ b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/pushers.py
@@ -15,14 +15,15 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.pusher import PusherWorkerStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 
 from ._base import BaseSlavedStore
 from ._slaved_id_tracker import SlavedIdTracker
 
 
 class SlavedPusherStore(PusherWorkerStore, BaseSlavedStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(SlavedPusherStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(SlavedPusherStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
         self._pushers_id_gen = SlavedIdTracker(
             db_conn, "pushers", "id", extra_tables=[("deleted_pushers", "stream_id")]
         )
diff --git a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/receipts.py b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/receipts.py
index 43d823c601..d40dc6e1f5 100644
--- a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/receipts.py
+++ b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/receipts.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.receipts import ReceiptsWorkerStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 
 from ._base import BaseSlavedStore
 from ._slaved_id_tracker import SlavedIdTracker
@@ -29,14 +30,14 @@ from ._slaved_id_tracker import SlavedIdTracker
 
 
 class SlavedReceiptsStore(ReceiptsWorkerStore, BaseSlavedStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
         # We instantiate this first as the ReceiptsWorkerStore constructor
         # needs to be able to call get_max_receipt_stream_id
         self._receipts_id_gen = SlavedIdTracker(
             db_conn, "receipts_linearized", "stream_id"
         )
 
-        super(SlavedReceiptsStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+        super(SlavedReceiptsStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
     def get_max_receipt_stream_id(self):
         return self._receipts_id_gen.get_current_token()
diff --git a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/room.py b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/room.py
index d9ad386b28..3a20f45316 100644
--- a/synapse/replication/slave/storage/room.py
+++ b/synapse/replication/slave/storage/room.py
@@ -14,14 +14,15 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.room import RoomWorkerStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 
 from ._base import BaseSlavedStore
 from ._slaved_id_tracker import SlavedIdTracker
 
 
 class RoomStore(RoomWorkerStore, BaseSlavedStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(RoomStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(RoomStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
         self._public_room_id_gen = SlavedIdTracker(
             db_conn, "public_room_list_stream", "stream_id"
         )
diff --git a/synapse/replication/tcp/streams/_base.py b/synapse/replication/tcp/streams/_base.py
index 9e45429d49..8512923eae 100644
--- a/synapse/replication/tcp/streams/_base.py
+++ b/synapse/replication/tcp/streams/_base.py
@@ -88,8 +88,7 @@ TagAccountDataStreamRow = namedtuple(
     "TagAccountDataStreamRow", ("user_id", "room_id", "data")  # str  # str  # dict
 )
 AccountDataStreamRow = namedtuple(
-    "AccountDataStream",
-    ("user_id", "room_id", "data_type", "data"),  # str  # str  # str  # dict
+    "AccountDataStream", ("user_id", "room_id", "data_type")  # str  # str  # str
 )
 GroupsStreamRow = namedtuple(
     "GroupsStreamRow",
@@ -421,8 +420,8 @@ class AccountDataStream(Stream):
 
         results = list(room_results)
         results.extend(
-            (stream_id, user_id, None, account_data_type, content)
-            for stream_id, user_id, account_data_type, content in global_results
+            (stream_id, user_id, None, account_data_type)
+            for stream_id, user_id, account_data_type in global_results
         )
 
         return results
diff --git a/synapse/rest/admin/__init__.py b/synapse/rest/admin/__init__.py
index 68a59a3424..c122c449f4 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/admin/__init__.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/admin/__init__.py
@@ -34,12 +34,12 @@ from synapse.rest.admin.server_notice_servlet import SendServerNoticeServlet
 from synapse.rest.admin.users import (
     AccountValidityRenewServlet,
     DeactivateAccountRestServlet,
-    GetUsersPaginatedRestServlet,
     ResetPasswordRestServlet,
     SearchUsersRestServlet,
     UserAdminServlet,
     UserRegisterServlet,
     UsersRestServlet,
+    UsersRestServletV2,
     WhoisRestServlet,
 )
 from synapse.util.versionstring import get_version_string
@@ -191,6 +191,7 @@ def register_servlets(hs, http_server):
     SendServerNoticeServlet(hs).register(http_server)
     VersionServlet(hs).register(http_server)
     UserAdminServlet(hs).register(http_server)
+    UsersRestServletV2(hs).register(http_server)
 
 
 def register_servlets_for_client_rest_resource(hs, http_server):
@@ -201,7 +202,6 @@ def register_servlets_for_client_rest_resource(hs, http_server):
     PurgeHistoryRestServlet(hs).register(http_server)
     UsersRestServlet(hs).register(http_server)
     ResetPasswordRestServlet(hs).register(http_server)
-    GetUsersPaginatedRestServlet(hs).register(http_server)
     SearchUsersRestServlet(hs).register(http_server)
     ShutdownRoomRestServlet(hs).register(http_server)
     UserRegisterServlet(hs).register(http_server)
diff --git a/synapse/rest/admin/users.py b/synapse/rest/admin/users.py
index 58a83f93af..1937879dbe 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/admin/users.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/admin/users.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ from synapse.api.errors import Codes, SynapseError
 from synapse.http.servlet import (
     RestServlet,
     assert_params_in_dict,
+    parse_boolean,
     parse_integer,
     parse_json_object_from_request,
     parse_string,
@@ -59,71 +60,45 @@ class UsersRestServlet(RestServlet):
         return 200, ret
 
 
-class GetUsersPaginatedRestServlet(RestServlet):
-    """Get request to get specific number of users from Synapse.
+class UsersRestServletV2(RestServlet):
+    PATTERNS = (re.compile("^/_synapse/admin/v2/users$"),)
+
+    """Get request to list all local users.
     This needs user to have administrator access in Synapse.
-        Example:
-            http://localhost:8008/_synapse/admin/v1/users_paginate/
-            @admin:user?access_token=admin_access_token&start=0&limit=10
-        Returns:
-            200 OK with json object {list[dict[str, Any]], count} or empty object.
-        """
 
-    PATTERNS = historical_admin_path_patterns(
-        "/users_paginate/(?P<target_user_id>[^/]*)"
-    )
+    GET /_synapse/admin/v2/users?from=0&limit=10&guests=false
+
+    returns:
+        200 OK with list of users if success otherwise an error.
+
+    The parameters `from` and `limit` are required only for pagination.
+    By default, a `limit` of 100 is used.
+    The parameter `user_id` can be used to filter by user id.
+    The parameter `guests` can be used to exclude guest users.
+    The parameter `deactivated` can be used to include deactivated users.
+    """
 
     def __init__(self, hs):
-        self.store = hs.get_datastore()
         self.hs = hs
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
-        self.handlers = hs.get_handlers()
+        self.admin_handler = hs.get_handlers().admin_handler
 
-    async def on_GET(self, request, target_user_id):
-        """Get request to get specific number of users from Synapse.
-        This needs user to have administrator access in Synapse.
-        """
+    async def on_GET(self, request):
         await assert_requester_is_admin(self.auth, request)
 
-        target_user = UserID.from_string(target_user_id)
-
-        if not self.hs.is_mine(target_user):
-            raise SynapseError(400, "Can only users a local user")
-
-        order = "name"  # order by name in user table
-        start = parse_integer(request, "start", required=True)
-        limit = parse_integer(request, "limit", required=True)
-
-        logger.info("limit: %s, start: %s", limit, start)
-
-        ret = await self.handlers.admin_handler.get_users_paginate(order, start, limit)
-        return 200, ret
+        start = parse_integer(request, "from", default=0)
+        limit = parse_integer(request, "limit", default=100)
+        user_id = parse_string(request, "user_id", default=None)
+        guests = parse_boolean(request, "guests", default=True)
+        deactivated = parse_boolean(request, "deactivated", default=False)
 
-    async def on_POST(self, request, target_user_id):
-        """Post request to get specific number of users from Synapse..
-        This needs user to have administrator access in Synapse.
-        Example:
-            http://localhost:8008/_synapse/admin/v1/users_paginate/
-            @admin:user?access_token=admin_access_token
-        JsonBodyToSend:
-            {
-                "start": "0",
-                "limit": "10
-            }
-        Returns:
-            200 OK with json object {list[dict[str, Any]], count} or empty object.
-        """
-        await assert_requester_is_admin(self.auth, request)
-        UserID.from_string(target_user_id)
-
-        order = "name"  # order by name in user table
-        params = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
-        assert_params_in_dict(params, ["limit", "start"])
-        limit = params["limit"]
-        start = params["start"]
-        logger.info("limit: %s, start: %s", limit, start)
+        users = await self.admin_handler.get_users_paginate(
+            start, limit, user_id, guests, deactivated
+        )
+        ret = {"users": users}
+        if len(users) >= limit:
+            ret["next_token"] = str(start + len(users))
 
-        ret = await self.handlers.admin_handler.get_users_paginate(order, start, limit)
         return 200, ret
 
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v1/directory.py b/synapse/rest/client/v1/directory.py
index 4ea3666874..5934b1fe8b 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v1/directory.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v1/directory.py
@@ -16,8 +16,6 @@
 
 import logging
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.errors import (
     AuthError,
     Codes,
@@ -47,17 +45,15 @@ class ClientDirectoryServer(RestServlet):
         self.handlers = hs.get_handlers()
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, room_alias):
+    async def on_GET(self, request, room_alias):
         room_alias = RoomAlias.from_string(room_alias)
 
         dir_handler = self.handlers.directory_handler
-        res = yield dir_handler.get_association(room_alias)
+        res = await dir_handler.get_association(room_alias)
 
         return 200, res
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, room_alias):
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, room_alias):
         room_alias = RoomAlias.from_string(room_alias)
 
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
@@ -77,26 +73,25 @@ class ClientDirectoryServer(RestServlet):
 
         # TODO(erikj): Check types.
 
-        room = yield self.store.get_room(room_id)
+        room = await self.store.get_room(room_id)
         if room is None:
             raise SynapseError(400, "Room does not exist")
 
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
 
-        yield self.handlers.directory_handler.create_association(
+        await self.handlers.directory_handler.create_association(
             requester, room_alias, room_id, servers
         )
 
         return 200, {}
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_DELETE(self, request, room_alias):
+    async def on_DELETE(self, request, room_alias):
         dir_handler = self.handlers.directory_handler
 
         try:
-            service = yield self.auth.get_appservice_by_req(request)
+            service = await self.auth.get_appservice_by_req(request)
             room_alias = RoomAlias.from_string(room_alias)
-            yield dir_handler.delete_appservice_association(service, room_alias)
+            await dir_handler.delete_appservice_association(service, room_alias)
             logger.info(
                 "Application service at %s deleted alias %s",
                 service.url,
@@ -107,12 +102,12 @@ class ClientDirectoryServer(RestServlet):
             # fallback to default user behaviour if they aren't an AS
             pass
 
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         user = requester.user
 
         room_alias = RoomAlias.from_string(room_alias)
 
-        yield dir_handler.delete_association(requester, room_alias)
+        await dir_handler.delete_association(requester, room_alias)
 
         logger.info(
             "User %s deleted alias %s", user.to_string(), room_alias.to_string()
@@ -130,32 +125,29 @@ class ClientDirectoryListServer(RestServlet):
         self.handlers = hs.get_handlers()
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, room_id):
-        room = yield self.store.get_room(room_id)
+    async def on_GET(self, request, room_id):
+        room = await self.store.get_room(room_id)
         if room is None:
             raise NotFoundError("Unknown room")
 
         return 200, {"visibility": "public" if room["is_public"] else "private"}
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, room_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, room_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
 
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
         visibility = content.get("visibility", "public")
 
-        yield self.handlers.directory_handler.edit_published_room_list(
+        await self.handlers.directory_handler.edit_published_room_list(
             requester, room_id, visibility
         )
 
         return 200, {}
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_DELETE(self, request, room_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_DELETE(self, request, room_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
 
-        yield self.handlers.directory_handler.edit_published_room_list(
+        await self.handlers.directory_handler.edit_published_room_list(
             requester, room_id, "private"
         )
 
@@ -181,15 +173,14 @@ class ClientAppserviceDirectoryListServer(RestServlet):
     def on_DELETE(self, request, network_id, room_id):
         return self._edit(request, network_id, room_id, "private")
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _edit(self, request, network_id, room_id, visibility):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def _edit(self, request, network_id, room_id, visibility):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         if not requester.app_service:
             raise AuthError(
                 403, "Only appservices can edit the appservice published room list"
             )
 
-        yield self.handlers.directory_handler.edit_published_appservice_room_list(
+        await self.handlers.directory_handler.edit_published_appservice_room_list(
             requester.app_service.id, network_id, room_id, visibility
         )
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v1/events.py b/synapse/rest/client/v1/events.py
index 6651b4cf07..4beb617733 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v1/events.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v1/events.py
@@ -16,8 +16,6 @@
 """This module contains REST servlets to do with event streaming, /events."""
 import logging
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.errors import SynapseError
 from synapse.http.servlet import RestServlet
 from synapse.rest.client.v2_alpha._base import client_patterns
@@ -36,9 +34,8 @@ class EventStreamRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.event_stream_handler = hs.get_event_stream_handler()
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_GET(self, request):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
         is_guest = requester.is_guest
         room_id = None
         if is_guest:
@@ -57,7 +54,7 @@ class EventStreamRestServlet(RestServlet):
 
         as_client_event = b"raw" not in request.args
 
-        chunk = yield self.event_stream_handler.get_stream(
+        chunk = await self.event_stream_handler.get_stream(
             requester.user.to_string(),
             pagin_config,
             timeout=timeout,
@@ -83,14 +80,13 @@ class EventRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.event_handler = hs.get_event_handler()
         self._event_serializer = hs.get_event_client_serializer()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, event_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
-        event = yield self.event_handler.get_event(requester.user, None, event_id)
+    async def on_GET(self, request, event_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+        event = await self.event_handler.get_event(requester.user, None, event_id)
 
         time_now = self.clock.time_msec()
         if event:
-            event = yield self._event_serializer.serialize_event(event, time_now)
+            event = await self._event_serializer.serialize_event(event, time_now)
             return 200, event
         else:
             return 404, "Event not found."
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v1/initial_sync.py b/synapse/rest/client/v1/initial_sync.py
index 2da3cd7511..910b3b4eeb 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v1/initial_sync.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v1/initial_sync.py
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
 
 from synapse.http.servlet import RestServlet, parse_boolean
 from synapse.rest.client.v2_alpha._base import client_patterns
@@ -29,13 +28,12 @@ class InitialSyncRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.initial_sync_handler = hs.get_initial_sync_handler()
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_GET(self, request):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         as_client_event = b"raw" not in request.args
         pagination_config = PaginationConfig.from_request(request)
         include_archived = parse_boolean(request, "archived", default=False)
-        content = yield self.initial_sync_handler.snapshot_all_rooms(
+        content = await self.initial_sync_handler.snapshot_all_rooms(
             user_id=requester.user.to_string(),
             pagin_config=pagination_config,
             as_client_event=as_client_event,
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v1/login.py b/synapse/rest/client/v1/login.py
index 19eb15003d..ff9c978fe7 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v1/login.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v1/login.py
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
 
 from six.moves import urllib
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
 from twisted.web.client import PartialDownloadError
 
 from synapse.api.errors import Codes, LoginError, SynapseError
@@ -130,8 +129,7 @@ class LoginRestServlet(RestServlet):
     def on_OPTIONS(self, request):
         return 200, {}
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
         self._address_ratelimiter.ratelimit(
             request.getClientIP(),
             time_now_s=self.hs.clock.time(),
@@ -145,11 +143,11 @@ class LoginRestServlet(RestServlet):
             if self.jwt_enabled and (
                 login_submission["type"] == LoginRestServlet.JWT_TYPE
             ):
-                result = yield self.do_jwt_login(login_submission)
+                result = await self.do_jwt_login(login_submission)
             elif login_submission["type"] == LoginRestServlet.TOKEN_TYPE:
-                result = yield self.do_token_login(login_submission)
+                result = await self.do_token_login(login_submission)
             else:
-                result = yield self._do_other_login(login_submission)
+                result = await self._do_other_login(login_submission)
         except KeyError:
             raise SynapseError(400, "Missing JSON keys.")
 
@@ -158,8 +156,7 @@ class LoginRestServlet(RestServlet):
             result["well_known"] = well_known_data
         return 200, result
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _do_other_login(self, login_submission):
+    async def _do_other_login(self, login_submission):
         """Handle non-token/saml/jwt logins
 
         Args:
@@ -219,20 +216,20 @@ class LoginRestServlet(RestServlet):
             (
                 canonical_user_id,
                 callback_3pid,
-            ) = yield self.auth_handler.check_password_provider_3pid(
+            ) = await self.auth_handler.check_password_provider_3pid(
                 medium, address, login_submission["password"]
             )
             if canonical_user_id:
                 # Authentication through password provider and 3pid succeeded
 
-                result = yield self._complete_login(
+                result = await self._complete_login(
                     canonical_user_id, login_submission, callback_3pid
                 )
                 return result
 
             # No password providers were able to handle this 3pid
             # Check local store
-            user_id = yield self.hs.get_datastore().get_user_id_by_threepid(
+            user_id = await self.hs.get_datastore().get_user_id_by_threepid(
                 medium, address
             )
             if not user_id:
@@ -280,7 +277,7 @@ class LoginRestServlet(RestServlet):
         )
 
         try:
-            canonical_user_id, callback = yield self.auth_handler.validate_login(
+            canonical_user_id, callback = await self.auth_handler.validate_login(
                 identifier["user"], login_submission
             )
         except LoginError:
@@ -297,13 +294,12 @@ class LoginRestServlet(RestServlet):
             )
             raise
 
-        result = yield self._complete_login(
+        result = await self._complete_login(
             canonical_user_id, login_submission, callback
         )
         return result
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _complete_login(
+    async def _complete_login(
         self, user_id, login_submission, callback=None, create_non_existant_users=False
     ):
         """Called when we've successfully authed the user and now need to
@@ -337,15 +333,15 @@ class LoginRestServlet(RestServlet):
         )
 
         if create_non_existant_users:
-            user_id = yield self.auth_handler.check_user_exists(user_id)
+            user_id = await self.auth_handler.check_user_exists(user_id)
             if not user_id:
-                user_id = yield self.registration_handler.register_user(
+                user_id = await self.registration_handler.register_user(
                     localpart=UserID.from_string(user_id).localpart
                 )
 
         device_id = login_submission.get("device_id")
         initial_display_name = login_submission.get("initial_device_display_name")
-        device_id, access_token = yield self.registration_handler.register_device(
+        device_id, access_token = await self.registration_handler.register_device(
             user_id, device_id, initial_display_name
         )
 
@@ -357,23 +353,21 @@ class LoginRestServlet(RestServlet):
         }
 
         if callback is not None:
-            yield callback(result)
+            await callback(result)
 
         return result
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def do_token_login(self, login_submission):
+    async def do_token_login(self, login_submission):
         token = login_submission["token"]
         auth_handler = self.auth_handler
-        user_id = yield auth_handler.validate_short_term_login_token_and_get_user_id(
+        user_id = await auth_handler.validate_short_term_login_token_and_get_user_id(
             token
         )
 
-        result = yield self._complete_login(user_id, login_submission)
+        result = await self._complete_login(user_id, login_submission)
         return result
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def do_jwt_login(self, login_submission):
+    async def do_jwt_login(self, login_submission):
         token = login_submission.get("token", None)
         if token is None:
             raise LoginError(
@@ -397,7 +391,7 @@ class LoginRestServlet(RestServlet):
             raise LoginError(401, "Invalid JWT", errcode=Codes.UNAUTHORIZED)
 
         user_id = UserID(user, self.hs.hostname).to_string()
-        result = yield self._complete_login(
+        result = await self._complete_login(
             user_id, login_submission, create_non_existant_users=True
         )
         return result
@@ -460,8 +454,7 @@ class CasTicketServlet(RestServlet):
         self._sso_auth_handler = SSOAuthHandler(hs)
         self._http_client = hs.get_proxied_http_client()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request):
+    async def on_GET(self, request):
         client_redirect_url = parse_string(request, "redirectUrl", required=True)
         uri = self.cas_server_url + "/proxyValidate"
         args = {
@@ -469,12 +462,12 @@ class CasTicketServlet(RestServlet):
             "service": self.cas_service_url,
         }
         try:
-            body = yield self._http_client.get_raw(uri, args)
+            body = await self._http_client.get_raw(uri, args)
         except PartialDownloadError as pde:
             # Twisted raises this error if the connection is closed,
             # even if that's being used old-http style to signal end-of-data
             body = pde.response
-        result = yield self.handle_cas_response(request, body, client_redirect_url)
+        result = await self.handle_cas_response(request, body, client_redirect_url)
         return result
 
     def handle_cas_response(self, request, cas_response_body, client_redirect_url):
@@ -555,8 +548,7 @@ class SSOAuthHandler(object):
         self._registration_handler = hs.get_registration_handler()
         self._macaroon_gen = hs.get_macaroon_generator()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_successful_auth(
+    async def on_successful_auth(
         self, username, request, client_redirect_url, user_display_name=None
     ):
         """Called once the user has successfully authenticated with the SSO.
@@ -582,9 +574,9 @@ class SSOAuthHandler(object):
         """
         localpart = map_username_to_mxid_localpart(username)
         user_id = UserID(localpart, self._hostname).to_string()
-        registered_user_id = yield self._auth_handler.check_user_exists(user_id)
+        registered_user_id = await self._auth_handler.check_user_exists(user_id)
         if not registered_user_id:
-            registered_user_id = yield self._registration_handler.register_user(
+            registered_user_id = await self._registration_handler.register_user(
                 localpart=localpart, default_display_name=user_display_name
             )
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v1/logout.py b/synapse/rest/client/v1/logout.py
index 4785a34d75..1cf3caf832 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v1/logout.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v1/logout.py
@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@
 
 import logging
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.http.servlet import RestServlet
 from synapse.rest.client.v2_alpha._base import client_patterns
 
@@ -35,17 +33,16 @@ class LogoutRestServlet(RestServlet):
     def on_OPTIONS(self, request):
         return 200, {}
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
 
         if requester.device_id is None:
             # the acccess token wasn't associated with a device.
             # Just delete the access token
             access_token = self.auth.get_access_token_from_request(request)
-            yield self._auth_handler.delete_access_token(access_token)
+            await self._auth_handler.delete_access_token(access_token)
         else:
-            yield self._device_handler.delete_device(
+            await self._device_handler.delete_device(
                 requester.user.to_string(), requester.device_id
             )
 
@@ -64,17 +61,16 @@ class LogoutAllRestServlet(RestServlet):
     def on_OPTIONS(self, request):
         return 200, {}
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         # first delete all of the user's devices
-        yield self._device_handler.delete_all_devices_for_user(user_id)
+        await self._device_handler.delete_all_devices_for_user(user_id)
 
         # .. and then delete any access tokens which weren't associated with
         # devices.
-        yield self._auth_handler.delete_access_tokens_for_user(user_id)
+        await self._auth_handler.delete_access_tokens_for_user(user_id)
         return 200, {}
 
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v1/presence.py b/synapse/rest/client/v1/presence.py
index 0153525cef..eec16f8ad8 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v1/presence.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v1/presence.py
@@ -19,8 +19,6 @@ import logging
 
 from six import string_types
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.errors import AuthError, SynapseError
 from synapse.handlers.presence import format_user_presence_state
 from synapse.http.servlet import RestServlet, parse_json_object_from_request
@@ -40,27 +38,25 @@ class PresenceStatusRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, user_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_GET(self, request, user_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         user = UserID.from_string(user_id)
 
         if requester.user != user:
-            allowed = yield self.presence_handler.is_visible(
+            allowed = await self.presence_handler.is_visible(
                 observed_user=user, observer_user=requester.user
             )
 
             if not allowed:
                 raise AuthError(403, "You are not allowed to see their presence.")
 
-        state = yield self.presence_handler.get_state(target_user=user)
+        state = await self.presence_handler.get_state(target_user=user)
         state = format_user_presence_state(state, self.clock.time_msec())
 
         return 200, state
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, user_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, user_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         user = UserID.from_string(user_id)
 
         if requester.user != user:
@@ -86,7 +82,7 @@ class PresenceStatusRestServlet(RestServlet):
             raise SynapseError(400, "Unable to parse state")
 
         if self.hs.config.use_presence:
-            yield self.presence_handler.set_state(user, state)
+            await self.presence_handler.set_state(user, state)
 
         return 200, {}
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v1/profile.py b/synapse/rest/client/v1/profile.py
index bbce2e2b71..e7fe50ed72 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v1/profile.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v1/profile.py
@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 
 """ This module contains REST servlets to do with profile: /profile/<paths> """
-from twisted.internet import defer
 
+from synapse.api.errors import Codes, SynapseError
 from synapse.http.servlet import RestServlet, parse_json_object_from_request
 from synapse.rest.client.v2_alpha._base import client_patterns
 from synapse.types import UserID
@@ -30,19 +30,18 @@ class ProfileDisplaynameRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.profile_handler = hs.get_profile_handler()
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, user_id):
+    async def on_GET(self, request, user_id):
         requester_user = None
 
         if self.hs.config.require_auth_for_profile_requests:
-            requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+            requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
             requester_user = requester.user
 
         user = UserID.from_string(user_id)
 
-        yield self.profile_handler.check_profile_query_allowed(user, requester_user)
+        await self.profile_handler.check_profile_query_allowed(user, requester_user)
 
-        displayname = yield self.profile_handler.get_displayname(user)
+        displayname = await self.profile_handler.get_displayname(user)
 
         ret = {}
         if displayname is not None:
@@ -50,11 +49,10 @@ class ProfileDisplaynameRestServlet(RestServlet):
 
         return 200, ret
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, user_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, user_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
         user = UserID.from_string(user_id)
-        is_admin = yield self.auth.is_server_admin(requester.user)
+        is_admin = await self.auth.is_server_admin(requester.user)
 
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
 
@@ -63,7 +61,7 @@ class ProfileDisplaynameRestServlet(RestServlet):
         except Exception:
             return 400, "Unable to parse name"
 
-        yield self.profile_handler.set_displayname(user, requester, new_name, is_admin)
+        await self.profile_handler.set_displayname(user, requester, new_name, is_admin)
 
         return 200, {}
 
@@ -80,19 +78,18 @@ class ProfileAvatarURLRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.profile_handler = hs.get_profile_handler()
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, user_id):
+    async def on_GET(self, request, user_id):
         requester_user = None
 
         if self.hs.config.require_auth_for_profile_requests:
-            requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+            requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
             requester_user = requester.user
 
         user = UserID.from_string(user_id)
 
-        yield self.profile_handler.check_profile_query_allowed(user, requester_user)
+        await self.profile_handler.check_profile_query_allowed(user, requester_user)
 
-        avatar_url = yield self.profile_handler.get_avatar_url(user)
+        avatar_url = await self.profile_handler.get_avatar_url(user)
 
         ret = {}
         if avatar_url is not None:
@@ -100,19 +97,22 @@ class ProfileAvatarURLRestServlet(RestServlet):
 
         return 200, ret
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, user_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, user_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         user = UserID.from_string(user_id)
-        is_admin = yield self.auth.is_server_admin(requester.user)
+        is_admin = await self.auth.is_server_admin(requester.user)
 
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
         try:
-            new_name = content["avatar_url"]
-        except Exception:
-            return 400, "Unable to parse name"
+            new_avatar_url = content["avatar_url"]
+        except KeyError:
+            raise SynapseError(
+                400, "Missing key 'avatar_url'", errcode=Codes.MISSING_PARAM
+            )
 
-        yield self.profile_handler.set_avatar_url(user, requester, new_name, is_admin)
+        await self.profile_handler.set_avatar_url(
+            user, requester, new_avatar_url, is_admin
+        )
 
         return 200, {}
 
@@ -129,20 +129,19 @@ class ProfileRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.profile_handler = hs.get_profile_handler()
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, user_id):
+    async def on_GET(self, request, user_id):
         requester_user = None
 
         if self.hs.config.require_auth_for_profile_requests:
-            requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+            requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
             requester_user = requester.user
 
         user = UserID.from_string(user_id)
 
-        yield self.profile_handler.check_profile_query_allowed(user, requester_user)
+        await self.profile_handler.check_profile_query_allowed(user, requester_user)
 
-        displayname = yield self.profile_handler.get_displayname(user)
-        avatar_url = yield self.profile_handler.get_avatar_url(user)
+        displayname = await self.profile_handler.get_displayname(user)
+        avatar_url = await self.profile_handler.get_avatar_url(user)
 
         ret = {}
         if displayname is not None:
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v1/push_rule.py b/synapse/rest/client/v1/push_rule.py
index 9f8c3d09e3..4f74600239 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v1/push_rule.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v1/push_rule.py
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
 
 from synapse.api.errors import (
     NotFoundError,
@@ -46,8 +45,7 @@ class PushRuleRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.notifier = hs.get_notifier()
         self._is_worker = hs.config.worker_app is not None
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, path):
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, path):
         if self._is_worker:
             raise Exception("Cannot handle PUT /push_rules on worker")
 
@@ -57,7 +55,7 @@ class PushRuleRestServlet(RestServlet):
         except InvalidRuleException as e:
             raise SynapseError(400, str(e))
 
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
 
         if "/" in spec["rule_id"] or "\\" in spec["rule_id"]:
             raise SynapseError(400, "rule_id may not contain slashes")
@@ -67,7 +65,7 @@ class PushRuleRestServlet(RestServlet):
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         if "attr" in spec:
-            yield self.set_rule_attr(user_id, spec, content)
+            await self.set_rule_attr(user_id, spec, content)
             self.notify_user(user_id)
             return 200, {}
 
@@ -91,7 +89,7 @@ class PushRuleRestServlet(RestServlet):
             after = _namespaced_rule_id(spec, after)
 
         try:
-            yield self.store.add_push_rule(
+            await self.store.add_push_rule(
                 user_id=user_id,
                 rule_id=_namespaced_rule_id_from_spec(spec),
                 priority_class=priority_class,
@@ -108,20 +106,19 @@ class PushRuleRestServlet(RestServlet):
 
         return 200, {}
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_DELETE(self, request, path):
+    async def on_DELETE(self, request, path):
         if self._is_worker:
             raise Exception("Cannot handle DELETE /push_rules on worker")
 
         spec = _rule_spec_from_path([x for x in path.split("/")])
 
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         namespaced_rule_id = _namespaced_rule_id_from_spec(spec)
 
         try:
-            yield self.store.delete_push_rule(user_id, namespaced_rule_id)
+            await self.store.delete_push_rule(user_id, namespaced_rule_id)
             self.notify_user(user_id)
             return 200, {}
         except StoreError as e:
@@ -130,15 +127,14 @@ class PushRuleRestServlet(RestServlet):
             else:
                 raise
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, path):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_GET(self, request, path):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         # we build up the full structure and then decide which bits of it
         # to send which means doing unnecessary work sometimes but is
         # is probably not going to make a whole lot of difference
-        rules = yield self.store.get_push_rules_for_user(user_id)
+        rules = await self.store.get_push_rules_for_user(user_id)
 
         rules = format_push_rules_for_user(requester.user, rules)
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v1/pusher.py b/synapse/rest/client/v1/pusher.py
index 41660682d9..0791866f55 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v1/pusher.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v1/pusher.py
@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@
 
 import logging
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.errors import Codes, StoreError, SynapseError
 from synapse.http.server import finish_request
 from synapse.http.servlet import (
@@ -39,12 +37,11 @@ class PushersRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.hs = hs
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_GET(self, request):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         user = requester.user
 
-        pushers = yield self.hs.get_datastore().get_pushers_by_user_id(user.to_string())
+        pushers = await self.hs.get_datastore().get_pushers_by_user_id(user.to_string())
 
         allowed_keys = [
             "app_display_name",
@@ -78,9 +75,8 @@ class PushersSetRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.notifier = hs.get_notifier()
         self.pusher_pool = self.hs.get_pusherpool()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         user = requester.user
 
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
@@ -91,7 +87,7 @@ class PushersSetRestServlet(RestServlet):
             and "kind" in content
             and content["kind"] is None
         ):
-            yield self.pusher_pool.remove_pusher(
+            await self.pusher_pool.remove_pusher(
                 content["app_id"], content["pushkey"], user_id=user.to_string()
             )
             return 200, {}
@@ -117,14 +113,14 @@ class PushersSetRestServlet(RestServlet):
             append = content["append"]
 
         if not append:
-            yield self.pusher_pool.remove_pushers_by_app_id_and_pushkey_not_user(
+            await self.pusher_pool.remove_pushers_by_app_id_and_pushkey_not_user(
                 app_id=content["app_id"],
                 pushkey=content["pushkey"],
                 not_user_id=user.to_string(),
             )
 
         try:
-            yield self.pusher_pool.add_pusher(
+            await self.pusher_pool.add_pusher(
                 user_id=user.to_string(),
                 access_token=requester.access_token_id,
                 kind=content["kind"],
@@ -164,16 +160,15 @@ class PushersRemoveRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.pusher_pool = self.hs.get_pusherpool()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, rights="delete_pusher")
+    async def on_GET(self, request):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, rights="delete_pusher")
         user = requester.user
 
         app_id = parse_string(request, "app_id", required=True)
         pushkey = parse_string(request, "pushkey", required=True)
 
         try:
-            yield self.pusher_pool.remove_pusher(
+            await self.pusher_pool.remove_pusher(
                 app_id=app_id, pushkey=pushkey, user_id=user.to_string()
             )
         except StoreError as se:
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v1/room.py b/synapse/rest/client/v1/room.py
index 86bbcc0eea..711d4ad304 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v1/room.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v1/room.py
@@ -714,7 +714,7 @@ class RoomMembershipRestServlet(TransactionRestServlet):
             target = UserID.from_string(content["user_id"])
 
         event_content = None
-        if "reason" in content and membership_action in ["kick", "ban"]:
+        if "reason" in content:
             event_content = {"reason": content["reason"]}
 
         await self.room_member_handler.update_membership(
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v1/voip.py b/synapse/rest/client/v1/voip.py
index 2afdbb89e5..747d46eac2 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v1/voip.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v1/voip.py
@@ -17,8 +17,6 @@ import base64
 import hashlib
 import hmac
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.http.servlet import RestServlet
 from synapse.rest.client.v2_alpha._base import client_patterns
 
@@ -31,9 +29,8 @@ class VoipRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.hs = hs
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(
+    async def on_GET(self, request):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(
             request, self.hs.config.turn_allow_guests
         )
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/_base.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/_base.py
index 8250ae0ae1..2a3f4dd58f 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/_base.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/_base.py
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ def interactive_auth_handler(orig):
             """
 
     def wrapped(*args, **kwargs):
-        res = defer.maybeDeferred(orig, *args, **kwargs)
+        res = defer.ensureDeferred(orig(*args, **kwargs))
         res.addErrback(_catch_incomplete_interactive_auth)
         return res
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/account.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/account.py
index f26eae794c..fc240f5cf8 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/account.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/account.py
@@ -18,8 +18,6 @@ import logging
 
 from six.moves import http_client
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.constants import LoginType
 from synapse.api.errors import Codes, SynapseError, ThreepidValidationError
 from synapse.config.emailconfig import ThreepidBehaviour
@@ -67,8 +65,7 @@ class EmailPasswordRequestTokenRestServlet(RestServlet):
                 template_text=template_text,
             )
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
         if self.config.threepid_behaviour_email == ThreepidBehaviour.OFF:
             if self.config.local_threepid_handling_disabled_due_to_email_config:
                 logger.warning(
@@ -95,7 +92,7 @@ class EmailPasswordRequestTokenRestServlet(RestServlet):
                 Codes.THREEPID_DENIED,
             )
 
-        existing_user_id = yield self.hs.get_datastore().get_user_id_by_threepid(
+        existing_user_id = await self.hs.get_datastore().get_user_id_by_threepid(
             "email", email
         )
 
@@ -106,7 +103,7 @@ class EmailPasswordRequestTokenRestServlet(RestServlet):
             assert self.hs.config.account_threepid_delegate_email
 
             # Have the configured identity server handle the request
-            ret = yield self.identity_handler.requestEmailToken(
+            ret = await self.identity_handler.requestEmailToken(
                 self.hs.config.account_threepid_delegate_email,
                 email,
                 client_secret,
@@ -115,7 +112,7 @@ class EmailPasswordRequestTokenRestServlet(RestServlet):
             )
         else:
             # Send password reset emails from Synapse
-            sid = yield self.identity_handler.send_threepid_validation(
+            sid = await self.identity_handler.send_threepid_validation(
                 email,
                 client_secret,
                 send_attempt,
@@ -153,8 +150,7 @@ class PasswordResetSubmitTokenServlet(RestServlet):
                 [self.config.email_password_reset_template_failure_html],
             )
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, medium):
+    async def on_GET(self, request, medium):
         # We currently only handle threepid token submissions for email
         if medium != "email":
             raise SynapseError(
@@ -176,7 +172,7 @@ class PasswordResetSubmitTokenServlet(RestServlet):
         # Attempt to validate a 3PID session
         try:
             # Mark the session as valid
-            next_link = yield self.store.validate_threepid_session(
+            next_link = await self.store.validate_threepid_session(
                 sid, client_secret, token, self.clock.time_msec()
             )
 
@@ -218,8 +214,7 @@ class PasswordRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self._set_password_handler = hs.get_set_password_handler()
 
     @interactive_auth_handler
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
         body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
 
         # there are two possibilities here. Either the user does not have an
@@ -233,14 +228,14 @@ class PasswordRestServlet(RestServlet):
         # In the second case, we require a password to confirm their identity.
 
         if self.auth.has_access_token(request):
-            requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
-            params = yield self.auth_handler.validate_user_via_ui_auth(
+            requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+            params = await self.auth_handler.validate_user_via_ui_auth(
                 requester, body, self.hs.get_ip_from_request(request)
             )
             user_id = requester.user.to_string()
         else:
             requester = None
-            result, params, _ = yield self.auth_handler.check_auth(
+            result, params, _ = await self.auth_handler.check_auth(
                 [[LoginType.EMAIL_IDENTITY]], body, self.hs.get_ip_from_request(request)
             )
 
@@ -254,7 +249,7 @@ class PasswordRestServlet(RestServlet):
                     # (See add_threepid in synapse/handlers/auth.py)
                     threepid["address"] = threepid["address"].lower()
                 # if using email, we must know about the email they're authing with!
-                threepid_user_id = yield self.datastore.get_user_id_by_threepid(
+                threepid_user_id = await self.datastore.get_user_id_by_threepid(
                     threepid["medium"], threepid["address"]
                 )
                 if not threepid_user_id:
@@ -267,7 +262,7 @@ class PasswordRestServlet(RestServlet):
         assert_params_in_dict(params, ["new_password"])
         new_password = params["new_password"]
 
-        yield self._set_password_handler.set_password(user_id, new_password, requester)
+        await self._set_password_handler.set_password(user_id, new_password, requester)
 
         return 200, {}
 
@@ -286,8 +281,7 @@ class DeactivateAccountRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self._deactivate_account_handler = hs.get_deactivate_account_handler()
 
     @interactive_auth_handler
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
         body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
         erase = body.get("erase", False)
         if not isinstance(erase, bool):
@@ -297,19 +291,19 @@ class DeactivateAccountRestServlet(RestServlet):
                 Codes.BAD_JSON,
             )
 
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
 
         # allow ASes to dectivate their own users
         if requester.app_service:
-            yield self._deactivate_account_handler.deactivate_account(
+            await self._deactivate_account_handler.deactivate_account(
                 requester.user.to_string(), erase
             )
             return 200, {}
 
-        yield self.auth_handler.validate_user_via_ui_auth(
+        await self.auth_handler.validate_user_via_ui_auth(
             requester, body, self.hs.get_ip_from_request(request)
         )
-        result = yield self._deactivate_account_handler.deactivate_account(
+        result = await self._deactivate_account_handler.deactivate_account(
             requester.user.to_string(), erase, id_server=body.get("id_server")
         )
         if result:
@@ -346,8 +340,7 @@ class EmailThreepidRequestTokenRestServlet(RestServlet):
                 template_text=template_text,
             )
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
         if self.config.threepid_behaviour_email == ThreepidBehaviour.OFF:
             if self.config.local_threepid_handling_disabled_due_to_email_config:
                 logger.warning(
@@ -371,7 +364,7 @@ class EmailThreepidRequestTokenRestServlet(RestServlet):
                 Codes.THREEPID_DENIED,
             )
 
-        existing_user_id = yield self.store.get_user_id_by_threepid(
+        existing_user_id = await self.store.get_user_id_by_threepid(
             "email", body["email"]
         )
 
@@ -382,7 +375,7 @@ class EmailThreepidRequestTokenRestServlet(RestServlet):
             assert self.hs.config.account_threepid_delegate_email
 
             # Have the configured identity server handle the request
-            ret = yield self.identity_handler.requestEmailToken(
+            ret = await self.identity_handler.requestEmailToken(
                 self.hs.config.account_threepid_delegate_email,
                 email,
                 client_secret,
@@ -391,7 +384,7 @@ class EmailThreepidRequestTokenRestServlet(RestServlet):
             )
         else:
             # Send threepid validation emails from Synapse
-            sid = yield self.identity_handler.send_threepid_validation(
+            sid = await self.identity_handler.send_threepid_validation(
                 email,
                 client_secret,
                 send_attempt,
@@ -414,8 +407,7 @@ class MsisdnThreepidRequestTokenRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.store = self.hs.get_datastore()
         self.identity_handler = hs.get_handlers().identity_handler
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
         body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
         assert_params_in_dict(
             body, ["client_secret", "country", "phone_number", "send_attempt"]
@@ -435,7 +427,7 @@ class MsisdnThreepidRequestTokenRestServlet(RestServlet):
                 Codes.THREEPID_DENIED,
             )
 
-        existing_user_id = yield self.store.get_user_id_by_threepid("msisdn", msisdn)
+        existing_user_id = await self.store.get_user_id_by_threepid("msisdn", msisdn)
 
         if existing_user_id is not None:
             raise SynapseError(400, "MSISDN is already in use", Codes.THREEPID_IN_USE)
@@ -450,7 +442,7 @@ class MsisdnThreepidRequestTokenRestServlet(RestServlet):
                 "Adding phone numbers to user account is not supported by this homeserver",
             )
 
-        ret = yield self.identity_handler.requestMsisdnToken(
+        ret = await self.identity_handler.requestMsisdnToken(
             self.hs.config.account_threepid_delegate_msisdn,
             country,
             phone_number,
@@ -484,8 +476,7 @@ class AddThreepidEmailSubmitTokenServlet(RestServlet):
                 [self.config.email_add_threepid_template_failure_html],
             )
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request):
+    async def on_GET(self, request):
         if self.config.threepid_behaviour_email == ThreepidBehaviour.OFF:
             if self.config.local_threepid_handling_disabled_due_to_email_config:
                 logger.warning(
@@ -508,7 +499,7 @@ class AddThreepidEmailSubmitTokenServlet(RestServlet):
         # Attempt to validate a 3PID session
         try:
             # Mark the session as valid
-            next_link = yield self.store.validate_threepid_session(
+            next_link = await self.store.validate_threepid_session(
                 sid, client_secret, token, self.clock.time_msec()
             )
 
@@ -558,8 +549,7 @@ class AddThreepidMsisdnSubmitTokenServlet(RestServlet):
         self.store = hs.get_datastore()
         self.identity_handler = hs.get_handlers().identity_handler
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
         if not self.config.account_threepid_delegate_msisdn:
             raise SynapseError(
                 400,
@@ -571,7 +561,7 @@ class AddThreepidMsisdnSubmitTokenServlet(RestServlet):
         assert_params_in_dict(body, ["client_secret", "sid", "token"])
 
         # Proxy submit_token request to msisdn threepid delegate
-        response = yield self.identity_handler.proxy_msisdn_submit_token(
+        response = await self.identity_handler.proxy_msisdn_submit_token(
             self.config.account_threepid_delegate_msisdn,
             body["client_secret"],
             body["sid"],
@@ -591,17 +581,15 @@ class ThreepidRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth_handler = hs.get_auth_handler()
         self.datastore = self.hs.get_datastore()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_GET(self, request):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
 
-        threepids = yield self.datastore.user_get_threepids(requester.user.to_string())
+        threepids = await self.datastore.user_get_threepids(requester.user.to_string())
 
         return 200, {"threepids": threepids}
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
         body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
 
@@ -615,11 +603,11 @@ class ThreepidRestServlet(RestServlet):
         client_secret = threepid_creds["client_secret"]
         sid = threepid_creds["sid"]
 
-        validation_session = yield self.identity_handler.validate_threepid_session(
+        validation_session = await self.identity_handler.validate_threepid_session(
             client_secret, sid
         )
         if validation_session:
-            yield self.auth_handler.add_threepid(
+            await self.auth_handler.add_threepid(
                 user_id,
                 validation_session["medium"],
                 validation_session["address"],
@@ -642,9 +630,9 @@ class ThreepidAddRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.auth_handler = hs.get_auth_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    @interactive_auth_handler
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
         body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
 
@@ -652,11 +640,15 @@ class ThreepidAddRestServlet(RestServlet):
         client_secret = body["client_secret"]
         sid = body["sid"]
 
-        validation_session = yield self.identity_handler.validate_threepid_session(
+        await self.auth_handler.validate_user_via_ui_auth(
+            requester, body, self.hs.get_ip_from_request(request)
+        )
+
+        validation_session = await self.identity_handler.validate_threepid_session(
             client_secret, sid
         )
         if validation_session:
-            yield self.auth_handler.add_threepid(
+            await self.auth_handler.add_threepid(
                 user_id,
                 validation_session["medium"],
                 validation_session["address"],
@@ -678,8 +670,7 @@ class ThreepidBindRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.identity_handler = hs.get_handlers().identity_handler
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
         body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
 
         assert_params_in_dict(body, ["id_server", "sid", "client_secret"])
@@ -688,10 +679,10 @@ class ThreepidBindRestServlet(RestServlet):
         client_secret = body["client_secret"]
         id_access_token = body.get("id_access_token")  # optional
 
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
-        yield self.identity_handler.bind_threepid(
+        await self.identity_handler.bind_threepid(
             client_secret, sid, user_id, id_server, id_access_token
         )
 
@@ -708,12 +699,11 @@ class ThreepidUnbindRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.datastore = self.hs.get_datastore()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
         """Unbind the given 3pid from a specific identity server, or identity servers that are
         known to have this 3pid bound
         """
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
         assert_params_in_dict(body, ["medium", "address"])
 
@@ -723,7 +713,7 @@ class ThreepidUnbindRestServlet(RestServlet):
 
         # Attempt to unbind the threepid from an identity server. If id_server is None, try to
         # unbind from all identity servers this threepid has been added to in the past
-        result = yield self.identity_handler.try_unbind_threepid(
+        result = await self.identity_handler.try_unbind_threepid(
             requester.user.to_string(),
             {"address": address, "medium": medium, "id_server": id_server},
         )
@@ -738,16 +728,15 @@ class ThreepidDeleteRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.auth_handler = hs.get_auth_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
         body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
         assert_params_in_dict(body, ["medium", "address"])
 
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         try:
-            ret = yield self.auth_handler.delete_threepid(
+            ret = await self.auth_handler.delete_threepid(
                 user_id, body["medium"], body["address"], body.get("id_server")
             )
         except Exception:
@@ -772,9 +761,8 @@ class WhoamiRestServlet(RestServlet):
         super(WhoamiRestServlet, self).__init__()
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_GET(self, request):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
 
         return 200, {"user_id": requester.user.to_string()}
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/account_data.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/account_data.py
index f0db204ffa..64eb7fec3b 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/account_data.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/account_data.py
@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@
 
 import logging
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.errors import AuthError, NotFoundError, SynapseError
 from synapse.http.servlet import RestServlet, parse_json_object_from_request
 
@@ -41,15 +39,14 @@ class AccountDataServlet(RestServlet):
         self.store = hs.get_datastore()
         self.notifier = hs.get_notifier()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, user_id, account_data_type):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, user_id, account_data_type):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         if user_id != requester.user.to_string():
             raise AuthError(403, "Cannot add account data for other users.")
 
         body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
 
-        max_id = yield self.store.add_account_data_for_user(
+        max_id = await self.store.add_account_data_for_user(
             user_id, account_data_type, body
         )
 
@@ -57,13 +54,12 @@ class AccountDataServlet(RestServlet):
 
         return 200, {}
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, user_id, account_data_type):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_GET(self, request, user_id, account_data_type):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         if user_id != requester.user.to_string():
             raise AuthError(403, "Cannot get account data for other users.")
 
-        event = yield self.store.get_global_account_data_by_type_for_user(
+        event = await self.store.get_global_account_data_by_type_for_user(
             account_data_type, user_id
         )
 
@@ -91,9 +87,8 @@ class RoomAccountDataServlet(RestServlet):
         self.store = hs.get_datastore()
         self.notifier = hs.get_notifier()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, user_id, room_id, account_data_type):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, user_id, room_id, account_data_type):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         if user_id != requester.user.to_string():
             raise AuthError(403, "Cannot add account data for other users.")
 
@@ -106,7 +101,7 @@ class RoomAccountDataServlet(RestServlet):
                 " Use /rooms/!roomId:server.name/read_markers",
             )
 
-        max_id = yield self.store.add_account_data_to_room(
+        max_id = await self.store.add_account_data_to_room(
             user_id, room_id, account_data_type, body
         )
 
@@ -114,13 +109,12 @@ class RoomAccountDataServlet(RestServlet):
 
         return 200, {}
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, user_id, room_id, account_data_type):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_GET(self, request, user_id, room_id, account_data_type):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         if user_id != requester.user.to_string():
             raise AuthError(403, "Cannot get account data for other users.")
 
-        event = yield self.store.get_account_data_for_room_and_type(
+        event = await self.store.get_account_data_for_room_and_type(
             user_id, room_id, account_data_type
         )
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/account_validity.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/account_validity.py
index 33f6a23028..2f10fa64e2 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/account_validity.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/account_validity.py
@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@
 
 import logging
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.errors import AuthError, SynapseError
 from synapse.http.server import finish_request
 from synapse.http.servlet import RestServlet
@@ -45,13 +43,12 @@ class AccountValidityRenewServlet(RestServlet):
         self.success_html = hs.config.account_validity.account_renewed_html_content
         self.failure_html = hs.config.account_validity.invalid_token_html_content
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request):
+    async def on_GET(self, request):
         if b"token" not in request.args:
             raise SynapseError(400, "Missing renewal token")
         renewal_token = request.args[b"token"][0]
 
-        token_valid = yield self.account_activity_handler.renew_account(
+        token_valid = await self.account_activity_handler.renew_account(
             renewal_token.decode("utf8")
         )
 
@@ -67,7 +64,6 @@ class AccountValidityRenewServlet(RestServlet):
         request.setHeader(b"Content-Length", b"%d" % (len(response),))
         request.write(response.encode("utf8"))
         finish_request(request)
-        defer.returnValue(None)
 
 
 class AccountValiditySendMailServlet(RestServlet):
@@ -85,18 +81,17 @@ class AccountValiditySendMailServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.account_validity = self.hs.config.account_validity
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
         if not self.account_validity.renew_by_email_enabled:
             raise AuthError(
                 403, "Account renewal via email is disabled on this server."
             )
 
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_expired=True)
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_expired=True)
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
-        yield self.account_activity_handler.send_renewal_email_to_user(user_id)
+        await self.account_activity_handler.send_renewal_email_to_user(user_id)
 
-        defer.returnValue((200, {}))
+        return 200, {}
 
 
 def register_servlets(hs, http_server):
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/auth.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/auth.py
index f21aff39e5..7a256b6ecb 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/auth.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/auth.py
@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@
 
 import logging
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.constants import LoginType
 from synapse.api.errors import SynapseError
 from synapse.api.urls import CLIENT_API_PREFIX
@@ -171,8 +169,7 @@ class AuthRestServlet(RestServlet):
         else:
             raise SynapseError(404, "Unknown auth stage type")
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request, stagetype):
+    async def on_POST(self, request, stagetype):
 
         session = parse_string(request, "session")
         if not session:
@@ -186,7 +183,7 @@ class AuthRestServlet(RestServlet):
 
             authdict = {"response": response, "session": session}
 
-            success = yield self.auth_handler.add_oob_auth(
+            success = await self.auth_handler.add_oob_auth(
                 LoginType.RECAPTCHA, authdict, self.hs.get_ip_from_request(request)
             )
 
@@ -215,7 +212,7 @@ class AuthRestServlet(RestServlet):
             session = request.args["session"][0]
             authdict = {"session": session}
 
-            success = yield self.auth_handler.add_oob_auth(
+            success = await self.auth_handler.add_oob_auth(
                 LoginType.TERMS, authdict, self.hs.get_ip_from_request(request)
             )
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/capabilities.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/capabilities.py
index acd58af193..fe9d019c44 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/capabilities.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/capabilities.py
@@ -14,8 +14,6 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 import logging
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.room_versions import KNOWN_ROOM_VERSIONS
 from synapse.http.servlet import RestServlet
 
@@ -40,10 +38,9 @@ class CapabilitiesRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.store = hs.get_datastore()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
-        user = yield self.store.get_user_by_id(requester.user.to_string())
+    async def on_GET(self, request):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+        user = await self.store.get_user_by_id(requester.user.to_string())
         change_password = bool(user["password_hash"])
 
         response = {
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/devices.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/devices.py
index 26d0235208..94ff73f384 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/devices.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/devices.py
@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@
 
 import logging
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api import errors
 from synapse.http.servlet import (
     RestServlet,
@@ -42,10 +40,9 @@ class DevicesRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.device_handler = hs.get_device_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
-        devices = yield self.device_handler.get_devices_by_user(
+    async def on_GET(self, request):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+        devices = await self.device_handler.get_devices_by_user(
             requester.user.to_string()
         )
         return 200, {"devices": devices}
@@ -67,9 +64,8 @@ class DeleteDevicesRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth_handler = hs.get_auth_handler()
 
     @interactive_auth_handler
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
 
         try:
             body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
@@ -84,11 +80,11 @@ class DeleteDevicesRestServlet(RestServlet):
 
         assert_params_in_dict(body, ["devices"])
 
-        yield self.auth_handler.validate_user_via_ui_auth(
+        await self.auth_handler.validate_user_via_ui_auth(
             requester, body, self.hs.get_ip_from_request(request)
         )
 
-        yield self.device_handler.delete_devices(
+        await self.device_handler.delete_devices(
             requester.user.to_string(), body["devices"]
         )
         return 200, {}
@@ -108,18 +104,16 @@ class DeviceRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.device_handler = hs.get_device_handler()
         self.auth_handler = hs.get_auth_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, device_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
-        device = yield self.device_handler.get_device(
+    async def on_GET(self, request, device_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+        device = await self.device_handler.get_device(
             requester.user.to_string(), device_id
         )
         return 200, device
 
     @interactive_auth_handler
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_DELETE(self, request, device_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_DELETE(self, request, device_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
 
         try:
             body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
@@ -132,19 +126,18 @@ class DeviceRestServlet(RestServlet):
             else:
                 raise
 
-        yield self.auth_handler.validate_user_via_ui_auth(
+        await self.auth_handler.validate_user_via_ui_auth(
             requester, body, self.hs.get_ip_from_request(request)
         )
 
-        yield self.device_handler.delete_device(requester.user.to_string(), device_id)
+        await self.device_handler.delete_device(requester.user.to_string(), device_id)
         return 200, {}
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, device_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, device_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
 
         body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
-        yield self.device_handler.update_device(
+        await self.device_handler.update_device(
             requester.user.to_string(), device_id, body
         )
         return 200, {}
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/filter.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/filter.py
index 17a8bc7366..b28da017cd 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/filter.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/filter.py
@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@
 
 import logging
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.errors import AuthError, NotFoundError, StoreError, SynapseError
 from synapse.http.servlet import RestServlet, parse_json_object_from_request
 from synapse.types import UserID
@@ -35,10 +33,9 @@ class GetFilterRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.filtering = hs.get_filtering()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, user_id, filter_id):
+    async def on_GET(self, request, user_id, filter_id):
         target_user = UserID.from_string(user_id)
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
 
         if target_user != requester.user:
             raise AuthError(403, "Cannot get filters for other users")
@@ -52,7 +49,7 @@ class GetFilterRestServlet(RestServlet):
             raise SynapseError(400, "Invalid filter_id")
 
         try:
-            filter_collection = yield self.filtering.get_user_filter(
+            filter_collection = await self.filtering.get_user_filter(
                 user_localpart=target_user.localpart, filter_id=filter_id
             )
         except StoreError as e:
@@ -72,11 +69,10 @@ class CreateFilterRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.filtering = hs.get_filtering()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request, user_id):
+    async def on_POST(self, request, user_id):
 
         target_user = UserID.from_string(user_id)
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
 
         if target_user != requester.user:
             raise AuthError(403, "Cannot create filters for other users")
@@ -87,7 +83,7 @@ class CreateFilterRestServlet(RestServlet):
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
         set_timeline_upper_limit(content, self.hs.config.filter_timeline_limit)
 
-        filter_id = yield self.filtering.add_user_filter(
+        filter_id = await self.filtering.add_user_filter(
             user_localpart=target_user.localpart, user_filter=content
         )
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/groups.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/groups.py
index 999a0fa80c..d84a6d7e11 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/groups.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/groups.py
@@ -16,8 +16,6 @@
 
 import logging
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.http.servlet import RestServlet, parse_json_object_from_request
 from synapse.types import GroupID
 
@@ -38,24 +36,22 @@ class GroupServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.groups_handler = hs.get_groups_local_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, group_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_GET(self, request, group_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
-        group_description = yield self.groups_handler.get_group_profile(
+        group_description = await self.groups_handler.get_group_profile(
             group_id, requester_user_id
         )
 
         return 200, group_description
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request, group_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_POST(self, request, group_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
-        yield self.groups_handler.update_group_profile(
+        await self.groups_handler.update_group_profile(
             group_id, requester_user_id, content
         )
 
@@ -74,12 +70,11 @@ class GroupSummaryServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.groups_handler = hs.get_groups_local_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, group_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_GET(self, request, group_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
-        get_group_summary = yield self.groups_handler.get_group_summary(
+        get_group_summary = await self.groups_handler.get_group_summary(
             group_id, requester_user_id
         )
 
@@ -106,13 +101,12 @@ class GroupSummaryRoomsCatServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.groups_handler = hs.get_groups_local_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, group_id, category_id, room_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, group_id, category_id, room_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
-        resp = yield self.groups_handler.update_group_summary_room(
+        resp = await self.groups_handler.update_group_summary_room(
             group_id,
             requester_user_id,
             room_id=room_id,
@@ -122,12 +116,11 @@ class GroupSummaryRoomsCatServlet(RestServlet):
 
         return 200, resp
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_DELETE(self, request, group_id, category_id, room_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_DELETE(self, request, group_id, category_id, room_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
-        resp = yield self.groups_handler.delete_group_summary_room(
+        resp = await self.groups_handler.delete_group_summary_room(
             group_id, requester_user_id, room_id=room_id, category_id=category_id
         )
 
@@ -148,35 +141,32 @@ class GroupCategoryServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.groups_handler = hs.get_groups_local_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, group_id, category_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_GET(self, request, group_id, category_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
-        category = yield self.groups_handler.get_group_category(
+        category = await self.groups_handler.get_group_category(
             group_id, requester_user_id, category_id=category_id
         )
 
         return 200, category
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, group_id, category_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, group_id, category_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
-        resp = yield self.groups_handler.update_group_category(
+        resp = await self.groups_handler.update_group_category(
             group_id, requester_user_id, category_id=category_id, content=content
         )
 
         return 200, resp
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_DELETE(self, request, group_id, category_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_DELETE(self, request, group_id, category_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
-        resp = yield self.groups_handler.delete_group_category(
+        resp = await self.groups_handler.delete_group_category(
             group_id, requester_user_id, category_id=category_id
         )
 
@@ -195,12 +185,11 @@ class GroupCategoriesServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.groups_handler = hs.get_groups_local_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, group_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_GET(self, request, group_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
-        category = yield self.groups_handler.get_group_categories(
+        category = await self.groups_handler.get_group_categories(
             group_id, requester_user_id
         )
 
@@ -219,35 +208,32 @@ class GroupRoleServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.groups_handler = hs.get_groups_local_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, group_id, role_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_GET(self, request, group_id, role_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
-        category = yield self.groups_handler.get_group_role(
+        category = await self.groups_handler.get_group_role(
             group_id, requester_user_id, role_id=role_id
         )
 
         return 200, category
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, group_id, role_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, group_id, role_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
-        resp = yield self.groups_handler.update_group_role(
+        resp = await self.groups_handler.update_group_role(
             group_id, requester_user_id, role_id=role_id, content=content
         )
 
         return 200, resp
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_DELETE(self, request, group_id, role_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_DELETE(self, request, group_id, role_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
-        resp = yield self.groups_handler.delete_group_role(
+        resp = await self.groups_handler.delete_group_role(
             group_id, requester_user_id, role_id=role_id
         )
 
@@ -266,12 +252,11 @@ class GroupRolesServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.groups_handler = hs.get_groups_local_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, group_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_GET(self, request, group_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
-        category = yield self.groups_handler.get_group_roles(
+        category = await self.groups_handler.get_group_roles(
             group_id, requester_user_id
         )
 
@@ -298,13 +283,12 @@ class GroupSummaryUsersRoleServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.groups_handler = hs.get_groups_local_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, group_id, role_id, user_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, group_id, role_id, user_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
-        resp = yield self.groups_handler.update_group_summary_user(
+        resp = await self.groups_handler.update_group_summary_user(
             group_id,
             requester_user_id,
             user_id=user_id,
@@ -314,12 +298,11 @@ class GroupSummaryUsersRoleServlet(RestServlet):
 
         return 200, resp
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_DELETE(self, request, group_id, role_id, user_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_DELETE(self, request, group_id, role_id, user_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
-        resp = yield self.groups_handler.delete_group_summary_user(
+        resp = await self.groups_handler.delete_group_summary_user(
             group_id, requester_user_id, user_id=user_id, role_id=role_id
         )
 
@@ -338,12 +321,11 @@ class GroupRoomServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.groups_handler = hs.get_groups_local_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, group_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_GET(self, request, group_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
-        result = yield self.groups_handler.get_rooms_in_group(
+        result = await self.groups_handler.get_rooms_in_group(
             group_id, requester_user_id
         )
 
@@ -362,12 +344,11 @@ class GroupUsersServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.groups_handler = hs.get_groups_local_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, group_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_GET(self, request, group_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
-        result = yield self.groups_handler.get_users_in_group(
+        result = await self.groups_handler.get_users_in_group(
             group_id, requester_user_id
         )
 
@@ -386,12 +367,11 @@ class GroupInvitedUsersServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.groups_handler = hs.get_groups_local_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, group_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_GET(self, request, group_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
-        result = yield self.groups_handler.get_invited_users_in_group(
+        result = await self.groups_handler.get_invited_users_in_group(
             group_id, requester_user_id
         )
 
@@ -409,14 +389,13 @@ class GroupSettingJoinPolicyServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.groups_handler = hs.get_groups_local_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, group_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, group_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
 
-        result = yield self.groups_handler.set_group_join_policy(
+        result = await self.groups_handler.set_group_join_policy(
             group_id, requester_user_id, content
         )
 
@@ -436,9 +415,8 @@ class GroupCreateServlet(RestServlet):
         self.groups_handler = hs.get_groups_local_handler()
         self.server_name = hs.hostname
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         # TODO: Create group on remote server
@@ -446,7 +424,7 @@ class GroupCreateServlet(RestServlet):
         localpart = content.pop("localpart")
         group_id = GroupID(localpart, self.server_name).to_string()
 
-        result = yield self.groups_handler.create_group(
+        result = await self.groups_handler.create_group(
             group_id, requester_user_id, content
         )
 
@@ -467,24 +445,22 @@ class GroupAdminRoomsServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.groups_handler = hs.get_groups_local_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, group_id, room_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, group_id, room_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
-        result = yield self.groups_handler.add_room_to_group(
+        result = await self.groups_handler.add_room_to_group(
             group_id, requester_user_id, room_id, content
         )
 
         return 200, result
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_DELETE(self, request, group_id, room_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_DELETE(self, request, group_id, room_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
-        result = yield self.groups_handler.remove_room_from_group(
+        result = await self.groups_handler.remove_room_from_group(
             group_id, requester_user_id, room_id
         )
 
@@ -506,13 +482,12 @@ class GroupAdminRoomsConfigServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.groups_handler = hs.get_groups_local_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, group_id, room_id, config_key):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, group_id, room_id, config_key):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
-        result = yield self.groups_handler.update_room_in_group(
+        result = await self.groups_handler.update_room_in_group(
             group_id, requester_user_id, room_id, config_key, content
         )
 
@@ -535,14 +510,13 @@ class GroupAdminUsersInviteServlet(RestServlet):
         self.store = hs.get_datastore()
         self.is_mine_id = hs.is_mine_id
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, group_id, user_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, group_id, user_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
         config = content.get("config", {})
-        result = yield self.groups_handler.invite(
+        result = await self.groups_handler.invite(
             group_id, user_id, requester_user_id, config
         )
 
@@ -563,13 +537,12 @@ class GroupAdminUsersKickServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.groups_handler = hs.get_groups_local_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, group_id, user_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, group_id, user_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
-        result = yield self.groups_handler.remove_user_from_group(
+        result = await self.groups_handler.remove_user_from_group(
             group_id, user_id, requester_user_id, content
         )
 
@@ -588,13 +561,12 @@ class GroupSelfLeaveServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.groups_handler = hs.get_groups_local_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, group_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, group_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
-        result = yield self.groups_handler.remove_user_from_group(
+        result = await self.groups_handler.remove_user_from_group(
             group_id, requester_user_id, requester_user_id, content
         )
 
@@ -613,13 +585,12 @@ class GroupSelfJoinServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.groups_handler = hs.get_groups_local_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, group_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, group_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
-        result = yield self.groups_handler.join_group(
+        result = await self.groups_handler.join_group(
             group_id, requester_user_id, content
         )
 
@@ -638,13 +609,12 @@ class GroupSelfAcceptInviteServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.groups_handler = hs.get_groups_local_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, group_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, group_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
-        result = yield self.groups_handler.accept_invite(
+        result = await self.groups_handler.accept_invite(
             group_id, requester_user_id, content
         )
 
@@ -663,14 +633,13 @@ class GroupSelfUpdatePublicityServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.store = hs.get_datastore()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, group_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, group_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
         publicise = content["publicise"]
-        yield self.store.update_group_publicity(group_id, requester_user_id, publicise)
+        await self.store.update_group_publicity(group_id, requester_user_id, publicise)
 
         return 200, {}
 
@@ -688,11 +657,10 @@ class PublicisedGroupsForUserServlet(RestServlet):
         self.store = hs.get_datastore()
         self.groups_handler = hs.get_groups_local_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, user_id):
-        yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_GET(self, request, user_id):
+        await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
 
-        result = yield self.groups_handler.get_publicised_groups_for_user(user_id)
+        result = await self.groups_handler.get_publicised_groups_for_user(user_id)
 
         return 200, result
 
@@ -710,14 +678,13 @@ class PublicisedGroupsForUsersServlet(RestServlet):
         self.store = hs.get_datastore()
         self.groups_handler = hs.get_groups_local_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
-        yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
+        await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
 
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
         user_ids = content["user_ids"]
 
-        result = yield self.groups_handler.bulk_get_publicised_groups(user_ids)
+        result = await self.groups_handler.bulk_get_publicised_groups(user_ids)
 
         return 200, result
 
@@ -734,12 +701,11 @@ class GroupsForUserServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.groups_handler = hs.get_groups_local_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_GET(self, request):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
         requester_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
-        result = yield self.groups_handler.get_joined_groups(requester_user_id)
+        result = await self.groups_handler.get_joined_groups(requester_user_id)
 
         return 200, result
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/keys.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/keys.py
index 341567ae21..f7ed4daf90 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/keys.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/keys.py
@@ -16,8 +16,6 @@
 
 import logging
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.errors import SynapseError
 from synapse.http.servlet import (
     RestServlet,
@@ -71,9 +69,8 @@ class KeyUploadServlet(RestServlet):
         self.e2e_keys_handler = hs.get_e2e_keys_handler()
 
     @trace(opname="upload_keys")
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request, device_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_POST(self, request, device_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
         body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
 
@@ -103,7 +100,7 @@ class KeyUploadServlet(RestServlet):
                 400, "To upload keys, you must pass device_id when authenticating"
             )
 
-        result = yield self.e2e_keys_handler.upload_keys_for_user(
+        result = await self.e2e_keys_handler.upload_keys_for_user(
             user_id, device_id, body
         )
         return 200, result
@@ -154,13 +151,12 @@ class KeyQueryServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.e2e_keys_handler = hs.get_e2e_keys_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
         timeout = parse_integer(request, "timeout", 10 * 1000)
         body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
-        result = yield self.e2e_keys_handler.query_devices(body, timeout, user_id)
+        result = await self.e2e_keys_handler.query_devices(body, timeout, user_id)
         return 200, result
 
 
@@ -185,9 +181,8 @@ class KeyChangesServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.device_handler = hs.get_device_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_GET(self, request):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
 
         from_token_string = parse_string(request, "from")
         set_tag("from", from_token_string)
@@ -200,7 +195,7 @@ class KeyChangesServlet(RestServlet):
 
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
-        results = yield self.device_handler.get_user_ids_changed(user_id, from_token)
+        results = await self.device_handler.get_user_ids_changed(user_id, from_token)
 
         return 200, results
 
@@ -231,12 +226,11 @@ class OneTimeKeyServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.e2e_keys_handler = hs.get_e2e_keys_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
-        yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
+        await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
         timeout = parse_integer(request, "timeout", 10 * 1000)
         body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
-        result = yield self.e2e_keys_handler.claim_one_time_keys(body, timeout)
+        result = await self.e2e_keys_handler.claim_one_time_keys(body, timeout)
         return 200, result
 
 
@@ -263,17 +257,16 @@ class SigningKeyUploadServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth_handler = hs.get_auth_handler()
 
     @interactive_auth_handler
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
         body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
 
-        yield self.auth_handler.validate_user_via_ui_auth(
+        await self.auth_handler.validate_user_via_ui_auth(
             requester, body, self.hs.get_ip_from_request(request)
         )
 
-        result = yield self.e2e_keys_handler.upload_signing_keys_for_user(user_id, body)
+        result = await self.e2e_keys_handler.upload_signing_keys_for_user(user_id, body)
         return 200, result
 
 
@@ -315,13 +308,12 @@ class SignaturesUploadServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.e2e_keys_handler = hs.get_e2e_keys_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
         body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
 
-        result = yield self.e2e_keys_handler.upload_signatures_for_device_keys(
+        result = await self.e2e_keys_handler.upload_signatures_for_device_keys(
             user_id, body
         )
         return 200, result
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/notifications.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/notifications.py
index 10c1ad5b07..aa911d75ee 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/notifications.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/notifications.py
@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@
 
 import logging
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.events.utils import format_event_for_client_v2_without_room_id
 from synapse.http.servlet import RestServlet, parse_integer, parse_string
 
@@ -35,9 +33,8 @@ class NotificationsServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self._event_serializer = hs.get_event_client_serializer()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_GET(self, request):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         from_token = parse_string(request, "from", required=False)
@@ -46,16 +43,16 @@ class NotificationsServlet(RestServlet):
 
         limit = min(limit, 500)
 
-        push_actions = yield self.store.get_push_actions_for_user(
+        push_actions = await self.store.get_push_actions_for_user(
             user_id, from_token, limit, only_highlight=(only == "highlight")
         )
 
-        receipts_by_room = yield self.store.get_receipts_for_user_with_orderings(
+        receipts_by_room = await self.store.get_receipts_for_user_with_orderings(
             user_id, "m.read"
         )
 
         notif_event_ids = [pa["event_id"] for pa in push_actions]
-        notif_events = yield self.store.get_events(notif_event_ids)
+        notif_events = await self.store.get_events(notif_event_ids)
 
         returned_push_actions = []
 
@@ -68,7 +65,7 @@ class NotificationsServlet(RestServlet):
                 "actions": pa["actions"],
                 "ts": pa["received_ts"],
                 "event": (
-                    yield self._event_serializer.serialize_event(
+                    await self._event_serializer.serialize_event(
                         notif_events[pa["event_id"]],
                         self.clock.time_msec(),
                         event_format=format_event_for_client_v2_without_room_id,
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/openid.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/openid.py
index b4925c0f59..6ae9a5a8e9 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/openid.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/openid.py
@@ -16,8 +16,6 @@
 
 import logging
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.errors import AuthError
 from synapse.http.servlet import RestServlet, parse_json_object_from_request
 from synapse.util.stringutils import random_string
@@ -68,9 +66,8 @@ class IdTokenServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.server_name = hs.config.server_name
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request, user_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_POST(self, request, user_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         if user_id != requester.user.to_string():
             raise AuthError(403, "Cannot request tokens for other users.")
 
@@ -81,7 +78,7 @@ class IdTokenServlet(RestServlet):
         token = random_string(24)
         ts_valid_until_ms = self.clock.time_msec() + self.EXPIRES_MS
 
-        yield self.store.insert_open_id_token(token, ts_valid_until_ms, user_id)
+        await self.store.insert_open_id_token(token, ts_valid_until_ms, user_id)
 
         return (
             200,
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/register.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/register.py
index 91db923814..66de16a1fa 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/register.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/register.py
@@ -20,8 +20,6 @@ from typing import List, Union
 
 from six import string_types
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 import synapse
 import synapse.types
 from synapse.api.constants import LoginType
@@ -102,8 +100,7 @@ class EmailRegisterRequestTokenRestServlet(RestServlet):
                 template_text=template_text,
             )
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
         if self.hs.config.threepid_behaviour_email == ThreepidBehaviour.OFF:
             if self.hs.config.local_threepid_handling_disabled_due_to_email_config:
                 logger.warning(
@@ -129,7 +126,7 @@ class EmailRegisterRequestTokenRestServlet(RestServlet):
                 Codes.THREEPID_DENIED,
             )
 
-        existing_user_id = yield self.hs.get_datastore().get_user_id_by_threepid(
+        existing_user_id = await self.hs.get_datastore().get_user_id_by_threepid(
             "email", body["email"]
         )
 
@@ -140,7 +137,7 @@ class EmailRegisterRequestTokenRestServlet(RestServlet):
             assert self.hs.config.account_threepid_delegate_email
 
             # Have the configured identity server handle the request
-            ret = yield self.identity_handler.requestEmailToken(
+            ret = await self.identity_handler.requestEmailToken(
                 self.hs.config.account_threepid_delegate_email,
                 email,
                 client_secret,
@@ -149,7 +146,7 @@ class EmailRegisterRequestTokenRestServlet(RestServlet):
             )
         else:
             # Send registration emails from Synapse
-            sid = yield self.identity_handler.send_threepid_validation(
+            sid = await self.identity_handler.send_threepid_validation(
                 email,
                 client_secret,
                 send_attempt,
@@ -175,8 +172,7 @@ class MsisdnRegisterRequestTokenRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.hs = hs
         self.identity_handler = hs.get_handlers().identity_handler
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
         body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
 
         assert_params_in_dict(
@@ -197,7 +193,7 @@ class MsisdnRegisterRequestTokenRestServlet(RestServlet):
                 Codes.THREEPID_DENIED,
             )
 
-        existing_user_id = yield self.hs.get_datastore().get_user_id_by_threepid(
+        existing_user_id = await self.hs.get_datastore().get_user_id_by_threepid(
             "msisdn", msisdn
         )
 
@@ -215,7 +211,7 @@ class MsisdnRegisterRequestTokenRestServlet(RestServlet):
                 400, "Registration by phone number is not supported on this homeserver"
             )
 
-        ret = yield self.identity_handler.requestMsisdnToken(
+        ret = await self.identity_handler.requestMsisdnToken(
             self.hs.config.account_threepid_delegate_msisdn,
             country,
             phone_number,
@@ -258,8 +254,7 @@ class RegistrationSubmitTokenServlet(RestServlet):
                 [self.config.email_registration_template_failure_html],
             )
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, medium):
+    async def on_GET(self, request, medium):
         if medium != "email":
             raise SynapseError(
                 400, "This medium is currently not supported for registration"
@@ -280,7 +275,7 @@ class RegistrationSubmitTokenServlet(RestServlet):
         # Attempt to validate a 3PID session
         try:
             # Mark the session as valid
-            next_link = yield self.store.validate_threepid_session(
+            next_link = await self.store.validate_threepid_session(
                 sid, client_secret, token, self.clock.time_msec()
             )
 
@@ -338,8 +333,7 @@ class UsernameAvailabilityRestServlet(RestServlet):
             ),
         )
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request):
+    async def on_GET(self, request):
         if not self.hs.config.enable_registration:
             raise SynapseError(
                 403, "Registration has been disabled", errcode=Codes.FORBIDDEN
@@ -347,11 +341,11 @@ class UsernameAvailabilityRestServlet(RestServlet):
 
         ip = self.hs.get_ip_from_request(request)
         with self.ratelimiter.ratelimit(ip) as wait_deferred:
-            yield wait_deferred
+            await wait_deferred
 
             username = parse_string(request, "username", required=True)
 
-            yield self.registration_handler.check_username(username)
+            await self.registration_handler.check_username(username)
 
             return 200, {"available": True}
 
@@ -382,8 +376,7 @@ class RegisterRestServlet(RestServlet):
         )
 
     @interactive_auth_handler
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
         body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
 
         client_addr = request.getClientIP()
@@ -408,7 +401,7 @@ class RegisterRestServlet(RestServlet):
             kind = request.args[b"kind"][0]
 
         if kind == b"guest":
-            ret = yield self._do_guest_registration(body, address=client_addr)
+            ret = await self._do_guest_registration(body, address=client_addr)
             return ret
         elif kind != b"user":
             raise UnrecognizedRequestError(
@@ -435,7 +428,7 @@ class RegisterRestServlet(RestServlet):
 
         appservice = None
         if self.auth.has_access_token(request):
-            appservice = yield self.auth.get_appservice_by_req(request)
+            appservice = await self.auth.get_appservice_by_req(request)
 
         # fork off as soon as possible for ASes which have completely
         # different registration flows to normal users
@@ -455,7 +448,7 @@ class RegisterRestServlet(RestServlet):
             access_token = self.auth.get_access_token_from_request(request)
 
             if isinstance(desired_username, string_types):
-                result = yield self._do_appservice_registration(
+                result = await self._do_appservice_registration(
                     desired_username, access_token, body
                 )
             return 200, result  # we throw for non 200 responses
@@ -495,13 +488,13 @@ class RegisterRestServlet(RestServlet):
             )
 
         if desired_username is not None:
-            yield self.registration_handler.check_username(
+            await self.registration_handler.check_username(
                 desired_username,
                 guest_access_token=guest_access_token,
                 assigned_user_id=registered_user_id,
             )
 
-        auth_result, params, session_id = yield self.auth_handler.check_auth(
+        auth_result, params, session_id = await self.auth_handler.check_auth(
             self._registration_flows, body, self.hs.get_ip_from_request(request)
         )
 
@@ -557,7 +550,7 @@ class RegisterRestServlet(RestServlet):
                         medium = auth_result[login_type]["medium"]
                         address = auth_result[login_type]["address"]
 
-                        existing_user_id = yield self.store.get_user_id_by_threepid(
+                        existing_user_id = await self.store.get_user_id_by_threepid(
                             medium, address
                         )
 
@@ -568,7 +561,7 @@ class RegisterRestServlet(RestServlet):
                                 Codes.THREEPID_IN_USE,
                             )
 
-            registered_user_id = yield self.registration_handler.register_user(
+            registered_user_id = await self.registration_handler.register_user(
                 localpart=desired_username,
                 password=new_password,
                 guest_access_token=guest_access_token,
@@ -581,7 +574,7 @@ class RegisterRestServlet(RestServlet):
                 if is_threepid_reserved(
                     self.hs.config.mau_limits_reserved_threepids, threepid
                 ):
-                    yield self.store.upsert_monthly_active_user(registered_user_id)
+                    await self.store.upsert_monthly_active_user(registered_user_id)
 
             # remember that we've now registered that user account, and with
             #  what user ID (since the user may not have specified)
@@ -591,12 +584,12 @@ class RegisterRestServlet(RestServlet):
 
             registered = True
 
-        return_dict = yield self._create_registration_details(
+        return_dict = await self._create_registration_details(
             registered_user_id, params
         )
 
         if registered:
-            yield self.registration_handler.post_registration_actions(
+            await self.registration_handler.post_registration_actions(
                 user_id=registered_user_id,
                 auth_result=auth_result,
                 access_token=return_dict.get("access_token"),
@@ -607,15 +600,13 @@ class RegisterRestServlet(RestServlet):
     def on_OPTIONS(self, _):
         return 200, {}
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _do_appservice_registration(self, username, as_token, body):
-        user_id = yield self.registration_handler.appservice_register(
+    async def _do_appservice_registration(self, username, as_token, body):
+        user_id = await self.registration_handler.appservice_register(
             username, as_token
         )
-        return (yield self._create_registration_details(user_id, body))
+        return await self._create_registration_details(user_id, body)
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _create_registration_details(self, user_id, params):
+    async def _create_registration_details(self, user_id, params):
         """Complete registration of newly-registered user
 
         Allocates device_id if one was not given; also creates access_token.
@@ -631,18 +622,17 @@ class RegisterRestServlet(RestServlet):
         if not params.get("inhibit_login", False):
             device_id = params.get("device_id")
             initial_display_name = params.get("initial_device_display_name")
-            device_id, access_token = yield self.registration_handler.register_device(
+            device_id, access_token = await self.registration_handler.register_device(
                 user_id, device_id, initial_display_name, is_guest=False
             )
 
             result.update({"access_token": access_token, "device_id": device_id})
         return result
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _do_guest_registration(self, params, address=None):
+    async def _do_guest_registration(self, params, address=None):
         if not self.hs.config.allow_guest_access:
             raise SynapseError(403, "Guest access is disabled")
-        user_id = yield self.registration_handler.register_user(
+        user_id = await self.registration_handler.register_user(
             make_guest=True, address=address
         )
 
@@ -650,7 +640,7 @@ class RegisterRestServlet(RestServlet):
         # we have nowhere to store it.
         device_id = synapse.api.auth.GUEST_DEVICE_ID
         initial_display_name = params.get("initial_device_display_name")
-        device_id, access_token = yield self.registration_handler.register_device(
+        device_id, access_token = await self.registration_handler.register_device(
             user_id, device_id, initial_display_name, is_guest=True
         )
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/relations.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/relations.py
index 040b37c504..9be9a34b91 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/relations.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/relations.py
@@ -21,8 +21,6 @@ any time to reflect changes in the MSC.
 
 import logging
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.constants import EventTypes, RelationTypes
 from synapse.api.errors import SynapseError
 from synapse.http.servlet import (
@@ -86,11 +84,10 @@ class RelationSendServlet(RestServlet):
             request, self.on_PUT_or_POST, request, *args, **kwargs
         )
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT_or_POST(
+    async def on_PUT_or_POST(
         self, request, room_id, parent_id, relation_type, event_type, txn_id=None
     ):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
 
         if event_type == EventTypes.Member:
             # Add relations to a membership is meaningless, so we just deny it
@@ -114,7 +111,7 @@ class RelationSendServlet(RestServlet):
             "sender": requester.user.to_string(),
         }
 
-        event = yield self.event_creation_handler.create_and_send_nonmember_event(
+        event = await self.event_creation_handler.create_and_send_nonmember_event(
             requester, event_dict=event_dict, txn_id=txn_id
         )
 
@@ -140,17 +137,18 @@ class RelationPaginationServlet(RestServlet):
         self._event_serializer = hs.get_event_client_serializer()
         self.event_handler = hs.get_event_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, room_id, parent_id, relation_type=None, event_type=None):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_GET(
+        self, request, room_id, parent_id, relation_type=None, event_type=None
+    ):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
 
-        yield self.auth.check_in_room_or_world_readable(
+        await self.auth.check_in_room_or_world_readable(
             room_id, requester.user.to_string()
         )
 
         # This gets the original event and checks that a) the event exists and
         # b) the user is allowed to view it.
-        event = yield self.event_handler.get_event(requester.user, room_id, parent_id)
+        event = await self.event_handler.get_event(requester.user, room_id, parent_id)
 
         limit = parse_integer(request, "limit", default=5)
         from_token = parse_string(request, "from")
@@ -167,7 +165,7 @@ class RelationPaginationServlet(RestServlet):
             if to_token:
                 to_token = RelationPaginationToken.from_string(to_token)
 
-            pagination_chunk = yield self.store.get_relations_for_event(
+            pagination_chunk = await self.store.get_relations_for_event(
                 event_id=parent_id,
                 relation_type=relation_type,
                 event_type=event_type,
@@ -176,7 +174,7 @@ class RelationPaginationServlet(RestServlet):
                 to_token=to_token,
             )
 
-        events = yield self.store.get_events_as_list(
+        events = await self.store.get_events_as_list(
             [c["event_id"] for c in pagination_chunk.chunk]
         )
 
@@ -184,13 +182,13 @@ class RelationPaginationServlet(RestServlet):
         # We set bundle_aggregations to False when retrieving the original
         # event because we want the content before relations were applied to
         # it.
-        original_event = yield self._event_serializer.serialize_event(
+        original_event = await self._event_serializer.serialize_event(
             event, now, bundle_aggregations=False
         )
         # Similarly, we don't allow relations to be applied to relations, so we
         # return the original relations without any aggregations on top of them
         # here.
-        events = yield self._event_serializer.serialize_events(
+        events = await self._event_serializer.serialize_events(
             events, now, bundle_aggregations=False
         )
 
@@ -232,17 +230,18 @@ class RelationAggregationPaginationServlet(RestServlet):
         self.store = hs.get_datastore()
         self.event_handler = hs.get_event_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, room_id, parent_id, relation_type=None, event_type=None):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_GET(
+        self, request, room_id, parent_id, relation_type=None, event_type=None
+    ):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
 
-        yield self.auth.check_in_room_or_world_readable(
+        await self.auth.check_in_room_or_world_readable(
             room_id, requester.user.to_string()
         )
 
         # This checks that a) the event exists and b) the user is allowed to
         # view it.
-        event = yield self.event_handler.get_event(requester.user, room_id, parent_id)
+        event = await self.event_handler.get_event(requester.user, room_id, parent_id)
 
         if relation_type not in (RelationTypes.ANNOTATION, None):
             raise SynapseError(400, "Relation type must be 'annotation'")
@@ -262,7 +261,7 @@ class RelationAggregationPaginationServlet(RestServlet):
             if to_token:
                 to_token = AggregationPaginationToken.from_string(to_token)
 
-            pagination_chunk = yield self.store.get_aggregation_groups_for_event(
+            pagination_chunk = await self.store.get_aggregation_groups_for_event(
                 event_id=parent_id,
                 event_type=event_type,
                 limit=limit,
@@ -311,17 +310,16 @@ class RelationAggregationGroupPaginationServlet(RestServlet):
         self._event_serializer = hs.get_event_client_serializer()
         self.event_handler = hs.get_event_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, room_id, parent_id, relation_type, event_type, key):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_GET(self, request, room_id, parent_id, relation_type, event_type, key):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
 
-        yield self.auth.check_in_room_or_world_readable(
+        await self.auth.check_in_room_or_world_readable(
             room_id, requester.user.to_string()
         )
 
         # This checks that a) the event exists and b) the user is allowed to
         # view it.
-        yield self.event_handler.get_event(requester.user, room_id, parent_id)
+        await self.event_handler.get_event(requester.user, room_id, parent_id)
 
         if relation_type != RelationTypes.ANNOTATION:
             raise SynapseError(400, "Relation type must be 'annotation'")
@@ -336,7 +334,7 @@ class RelationAggregationGroupPaginationServlet(RestServlet):
         if to_token:
             to_token = RelationPaginationToken.from_string(to_token)
 
-        result = yield self.store.get_relations_for_event(
+        result = await self.store.get_relations_for_event(
             event_id=parent_id,
             relation_type=relation_type,
             event_type=event_type,
@@ -346,12 +344,12 @@ class RelationAggregationGroupPaginationServlet(RestServlet):
             to_token=to_token,
         )
 
-        events = yield self.store.get_events_as_list(
+        events = await self.store.get_events_as_list(
             [c["event_id"] for c in result.chunk]
         )
 
         now = self.clock.time_msec()
-        events = yield self._event_serializer.serialize_events(events, now)
+        events = await self._event_serializer.serialize_events(events, now)
 
         return_value = result.to_dict()
         return_value["chunk"] = events
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/report_event.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/report_event.py
index e7449864cd..f067b5edac 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/report_event.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/report_event.py
@@ -18,8 +18,6 @@ import logging
 from six import string_types
 from six.moves import http_client
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.errors import Codes, SynapseError
 from synapse.http.servlet import (
     RestServlet,
@@ -42,9 +40,8 @@ class ReportEventRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.store = hs.get_datastore()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request, room_id, event_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_POST(self, request, room_id, event_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
@@ -63,7 +60,7 @@ class ReportEventRestServlet(RestServlet):
                 Codes.BAD_JSON,
             )
 
-        yield self.store.add_event_report(
+        await self.store.add_event_report(
             room_id=room_id,
             event_id=event_id,
             user_id=user_id,
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/room_keys.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/room_keys.py
index d596786430..38952a1d27 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/room_keys.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/room_keys.py
@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@
 
 import logging
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.errors import Codes, NotFoundError, SynapseError
 from synapse.http.servlet import (
     RestServlet,
@@ -43,8 +41,7 @@ class RoomKeysServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.e2e_room_keys_handler = hs.get_e2e_room_keys_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, room_id, session_id):
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, room_id, session_id):
         """
         Uploads one or more encrypted E2E room keys for backup purposes.
         room_id: the ID of the room the keys are for (optional)
@@ -123,7 +120,7 @@ class RoomKeysServlet(RestServlet):
             }
         }
         """
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=False)
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=False)
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
         body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
         version = parse_string(request, "version")
@@ -134,11 +131,10 @@ class RoomKeysServlet(RestServlet):
         if room_id:
             body = {"rooms": {room_id: body}}
 
-        yield self.e2e_room_keys_handler.upload_room_keys(user_id, version, body)
-        return 200, {}
+        ret = await self.e2e_room_keys_handler.upload_room_keys(user_id, version, body)
+        return 200, ret
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, room_id, session_id):
+    async def on_GET(self, request, room_id, session_id):
         """
         Retrieves one or more encrypted E2E room keys for backup purposes.
         Symmetric with the PUT version of the API.
@@ -190,11 +186,11 @@ class RoomKeysServlet(RestServlet):
             }
         }
         """
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=False)
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=False)
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
         version = parse_string(request, "version")
 
-        room_keys = yield self.e2e_room_keys_handler.get_room_keys(
+        room_keys = await self.e2e_room_keys_handler.get_room_keys(
             user_id, version, room_id, session_id
         )
 
@@ -220,8 +216,7 @@ class RoomKeysServlet(RestServlet):
 
         return 200, room_keys
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_DELETE(self, request, room_id, session_id):
+    async def on_DELETE(self, request, room_id, session_id):
         """
         Deletes one or more encrypted E2E room keys for a user for backup purposes.
 
@@ -235,14 +230,14 @@ class RoomKeysServlet(RestServlet):
         the version must already have been created via the /change_secret API.
         """
 
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=False)
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=False)
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
         version = parse_string(request, "version")
 
-        yield self.e2e_room_keys_handler.delete_room_keys(
+        ret = await self.e2e_room_keys_handler.delete_room_keys(
             user_id, version, room_id, session_id
         )
-        return 200, {}
+        return 200, ret
 
 
 class RoomKeysNewVersionServlet(RestServlet):
@@ -257,8 +252,7 @@ class RoomKeysNewVersionServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.e2e_room_keys_handler = hs.get_e2e_room_keys_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
         """
         Create a new backup version for this user's room_keys with the given
         info.  The version is allocated by the server and returned to the user
@@ -288,11 +282,11 @@ class RoomKeysNewVersionServlet(RestServlet):
             "version": 12345
         }
         """
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=False)
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=False)
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
         info = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
 
-        new_version = yield self.e2e_room_keys_handler.create_version(user_id, info)
+        new_version = await self.e2e_room_keys_handler.create_version(user_id, info)
         return 200, {"version": new_version}
 
     # we deliberately don't have a PUT /version, as these things really should
@@ -311,8 +305,7 @@ class RoomKeysVersionServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.e2e_room_keys_handler = hs.get_e2e_room_keys_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, version):
+    async def on_GET(self, request, version):
         """
         Retrieve the version information about a given version of the user's
         room_keys backup.  If the version part is missing, returns info about the
@@ -330,18 +323,17 @@ class RoomKeysVersionServlet(RestServlet):
             "auth_data": "dGhpcyBzaG91bGQgYWN0dWFsbHkgYmUgZW5jcnlwdGVkIGpzb24K"
         }
         """
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=False)
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=False)
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         try:
-            info = yield self.e2e_room_keys_handler.get_version_info(user_id, version)
+            info = await self.e2e_room_keys_handler.get_version_info(user_id, version)
         except SynapseError as e:
             if e.code == 404:
                 raise SynapseError(404, "No backup found", Codes.NOT_FOUND)
         return 200, info
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_DELETE(self, request, version):
+    async def on_DELETE(self, request, version):
         """
         Delete the information about a given version of the user's
         room_keys backup.  If the version part is missing, deletes the most
@@ -354,14 +346,13 @@ class RoomKeysVersionServlet(RestServlet):
         if version is None:
             raise SynapseError(400, "No version specified to delete", Codes.NOT_FOUND)
 
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=False)
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=False)
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
-        yield self.e2e_room_keys_handler.delete_version(user_id, version)
+        await self.e2e_room_keys_handler.delete_version(user_id, version)
         return 200, {}
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, version):
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, version):
         """
         Update the information about a given version of the user's room_keys backup.
 
@@ -382,7 +373,7 @@ class RoomKeysVersionServlet(RestServlet):
         Content-Type: application/json
         {}
         """
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=False)
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=False)
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
         info = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
 
@@ -391,7 +382,7 @@ class RoomKeysVersionServlet(RestServlet):
                 400, "No version specified to update", Codes.MISSING_PARAM
             )
 
-        yield self.e2e_room_keys_handler.update_version(user_id, version, info)
+        await self.e2e_room_keys_handler.update_version(user_id, version, info)
         return 200, {}
 
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/room_upgrade_rest_servlet.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/room_upgrade_rest_servlet.py
index d2c3316eb7..ca97330797 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/room_upgrade_rest_servlet.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/room_upgrade_rest_servlet.py
@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@
 
 import logging
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.errors import Codes, SynapseError
 from synapse.api.room_versions import KNOWN_ROOM_VERSIONS
 from synapse.http.servlet import (
@@ -59,9 +57,8 @@ class RoomUpgradeRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self._room_creation_handler = hs.get_room_creation_handler()
         self._auth = hs.get_auth()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request, room_id):
-        requester = yield self._auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_POST(self, request, room_id):
+        requester = await self._auth.get_user_by_req(request)
 
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
         assert_params_in_dict(content, ("new_version",))
@@ -74,7 +71,7 @@ class RoomUpgradeRestServlet(RestServlet):
                 Codes.UNSUPPORTED_ROOM_VERSION,
             )
 
-        new_room_id = yield self._room_creation_handler.upgrade_room(
+        new_room_id = await self._room_creation_handler.upgrade_room(
             requester, room_id, new_version
         )
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/sendtodevice.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/sendtodevice.py
index d90e52ed1a..501b52fb6c 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/sendtodevice.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/sendtodevice.py
@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@
 
 import logging
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.http import servlet
 from synapse.http.servlet import parse_json_object_from_request
 from synapse.logging.opentracing import set_tag, trace
@@ -51,15 +49,14 @@ class SendToDeviceRestServlet(servlet.RestServlet):
             request, self._put, request, message_type, txn_id
         )
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _put(self, request, message_type, txn_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def _put(self, request, message_type, txn_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
 
         content = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
 
         sender_user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
-        yield self.device_message_handler.send_device_message(
+        await self.device_message_handler.send_device_message(
             sender_user_id, message_type, content["messages"]
         )
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/sync.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/sync.py
index ccd8b17b23..d8292ce29f 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/sync.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/sync.py
@@ -18,8 +18,6 @@ import logging
 
 from canonicaljson import json
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.constants import PresenceState
 from synapse.api.errors import Codes, StoreError, SynapseError
 from synapse.api.filtering import DEFAULT_FILTER_COLLECTION, FilterCollection
@@ -87,8 +85,7 @@ class SyncRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self._server_notices_sender = hs.get_server_notices_sender()
         self._event_serializer = hs.get_event_client_serializer()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request):
+    async def on_GET(self, request):
         if b"from" in request.args:
             # /events used to use 'from', but /sync uses 'since'.
             # Lets be helpful and whine if we see a 'from'.
@@ -96,7 +93,7 @@ class SyncRestServlet(RestServlet):
                 400, "'from' is not a valid query parameter. Did you mean 'since'?"
             )
 
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
         user = requester.user
         device_id = requester.device_id
 
@@ -138,7 +135,7 @@ class SyncRestServlet(RestServlet):
             filter_collection = FilterCollection(filter_object)
         else:
             try:
-                filter_collection = yield self.filtering.get_user_filter(
+                filter_collection = await self.filtering.get_user_filter(
                     user.localpart, filter_id
                 )
             except StoreError as err:
@@ -161,20 +158,20 @@ class SyncRestServlet(RestServlet):
             since_token = None
 
         # send any outstanding server notices to the user.
-        yield self._server_notices_sender.on_user_syncing(user.to_string())
+        await self._server_notices_sender.on_user_syncing(user.to_string())
 
         affect_presence = set_presence != PresenceState.OFFLINE
 
         if affect_presence:
-            yield self.presence_handler.set_state(
+            await self.presence_handler.set_state(
                 user, {"presence": set_presence}, True
             )
 
-        context = yield self.presence_handler.user_syncing(
+        context = await self.presence_handler.user_syncing(
             user.to_string(), affect_presence=affect_presence
         )
         with context:
-            sync_result = yield self.sync_handler.wait_for_sync_for_user(
+            sync_result = await self.sync_handler.wait_for_sync_for_user(
                 sync_config,
                 since_token=since_token,
                 timeout=timeout,
@@ -182,14 +179,13 @@ class SyncRestServlet(RestServlet):
             )
 
         time_now = self.clock.time_msec()
-        response_content = yield self.encode_response(
+        response_content = await self.encode_response(
             time_now, sync_result, requester.access_token_id, filter_collection
         )
 
         return 200, response_content
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def encode_response(self, time_now, sync_result, access_token_id, filter):
+    async def encode_response(self, time_now, sync_result, access_token_id, filter):
         if filter.event_format == "client":
             event_formatter = format_event_for_client_v2_without_room_id
         elif filter.event_format == "federation":
@@ -197,7 +193,7 @@ class SyncRestServlet(RestServlet):
         else:
             raise Exception("Unknown event format %s" % (filter.event_format,))
 
-        joined = yield self.encode_joined(
+        joined = await self.encode_joined(
             sync_result.joined,
             time_now,
             access_token_id,
@@ -205,11 +201,11 @@ class SyncRestServlet(RestServlet):
             event_formatter,
         )
 
-        invited = yield self.encode_invited(
+        invited = await self.encode_invited(
             sync_result.invited, time_now, access_token_id, event_formatter
         )
 
-        archived = yield self.encode_archived(
+        archived = await self.encode_archived(
             sync_result.archived,
             time_now,
             access_token_id,
@@ -250,8 +246,9 @@ class SyncRestServlet(RestServlet):
             ]
         }
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def encode_joined(self, rooms, time_now, token_id, event_fields, event_formatter):
+    async def encode_joined(
+        self, rooms, time_now, token_id, event_fields, event_formatter
+    ):
         """
         Encode the joined rooms in a sync result
 
@@ -272,7 +269,7 @@ class SyncRestServlet(RestServlet):
         """
         joined = {}
         for room in rooms:
-            joined[room.room_id] = yield self.encode_room(
+            joined[room.room_id] = await self.encode_room(
                 room,
                 time_now,
                 token_id,
@@ -283,8 +280,7 @@ class SyncRestServlet(RestServlet):
 
         return joined
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def encode_invited(self, rooms, time_now, token_id, event_formatter):
+    async def encode_invited(self, rooms, time_now, token_id, event_formatter):
         """
         Encode the invited rooms in a sync result
 
@@ -304,7 +300,7 @@ class SyncRestServlet(RestServlet):
         """
         invited = {}
         for room in rooms:
-            invite = yield self._event_serializer.serialize_event(
+            invite = await self._event_serializer.serialize_event(
                 room.invite,
                 time_now,
                 token_id=token_id,
@@ -319,8 +315,9 @@ class SyncRestServlet(RestServlet):
 
         return invited
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def encode_archived(self, rooms, time_now, token_id, event_fields, event_formatter):
+    async def encode_archived(
+        self, rooms, time_now, token_id, event_fields, event_formatter
+    ):
         """
         Encode the archived rooms in a sync result
 
@@ -341,7 +338,7 @@ class SyncRestServlet(RestServlet):
         """
         joined = {}
         for room in rooms:
-            joined[room.room_id] = yield self.encode_room(
+            joined[room.room_id] = await self.encode_room(
                 room,
                 time_now,
                 token_id,
@@ -352,8 +349,7 @@ class SyncRestServlet(RestServlet):
 
         return joined
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def encode_room(
+    async def encode_room(
         self, room, time_now, token_id, joined, only_fields, event_formatter
     ):
         """
@@ -401,8 +397,8 @@ class SyncRestServlet(RestServlet):
                     event.room_id,
                 )
 
-        serialized_state = yield serialize(state_events)
-        serialized_timeline = yield serialize(timeline_events)
+        serialized_state = await serialize(state_events)
+        serialized_timeline = await serialize(timeline_events)
 
         account_data = room.account_data
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/tags.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/tags.py
index 3b555669a0..a3f12e8a77 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/tags.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/tags.py
@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@
 
 import logging
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.errors import AuthError
 from synapse.http.servlet import RestServlet, parse_json_object_from_request
 
@@ -37,13 +35,12 @@ class TagListServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.store = hs.get_datastore()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, user_id, room_id):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_GET(self, request, user_id, room_id):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         if user_id != requester.user.to_string():
             raise AuthError(403, "Cannot get tags for other users.")
 
-        tags = yield self.store.get_tags_for_room(user_id, room_id)
+        tags = await self.store.get_tags_for_room(user_id, room_id)
 
         return 200, {"tags": tags}
 
@@ -64,27 +61,25 @@ class TagServlet(RestServlet):
         self.store = hs.get_datastore()
         self.notifier = hs.get_notifier()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_PUT(self, request, user_id, room_id, tag):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_PUT(self, request, user_id, room_id, tag):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         if user_id != requester.user.to_string():
             raise AuthError(403, "Cannot add tags for other users.")
 
         body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
 
-        max_id = yield self.store.add_tag_to_room(user_id, room_id, tag, body)
+        max_id = await self.store.add_tag_to_room(user_id, room_id, tag, body)
 
         self.notifier.on_new_event("account_data_key", max_id, users=[user_id])
 
         return 200, {}
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_DELETE(self, request, user_id, room_id, tag):
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
+    async def on_DELETE(self, request, user_id, room_id, tag):
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
         if user_id != requester.user.to_string():
             raise AuthError(403, "Cannot add tags for other users.")
 
-        max_id = yield self.store.remove_tag_from_room(user_id, room_id, tag)
+        max_id = await self.store.remove_tag_from_room(user_id, room_id, tag)
 
         self.notifier.on_new_event("account_data_key", max_id, users=[user_id])
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/thirdparty.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/thirdparty.py
index 2e8d672471..23709960ad 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/thirdparty.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/thirdparty.py
@@ -16,8 +16,6 @@
 
 import logging
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.constants import ThirdPartyEntityKind
 from synapse.http.servlet import RestServlet
 
@@ -35,11 +33,10 @@ class ThirdPartyProtocolsServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.appservice_handler = hs.get_application_service_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request):
-        yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_GET(self, request):
+        await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
 
-        protocols = yield self.appservice_handler.get_3pe_protocols()
+        protocols = await self.appservice_handler.get_3pe_protocols()
         return 200, protocols
 
 
@@ -52,11 +49,10 @@ class ThirdPartyProtocolServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.appservice_handler = hs.get_application_service_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, protocol):
-        yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_GET(self, request, protocol):
+        await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
 
-        protocols = yield self.appservice_handler.get_3pe_protocols(
+        protocols = await self.appservice_handler.get_3pe_protocols(
             only_protocol=protocol
         )
         if protocol in protocols:
@@ -74,14 +70,13 @@ class ThirdPartyUserServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.appservice_handler = hs.get_application_service_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, protocol):
-        yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_GET(self, request, protocol):
+        await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
 
         fields = request.args
         fields.pop(b"access_token", None)
 
-        results = yield self.appservice_handler.query_3pe(
+        results = await self.appservice_handler.query_3pe(
             ThirdPartyEntityKind.USER, protocol, fields
         )
 
@@ -97,14 +92,13 @@ class ThirdPartyLocationServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.appservice_handler = hs.get_application_service_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_GET(self, request, protocol):
-        yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
+    async def on_GET(self, request, protocol):
+        await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=True)
 
         fields = request.args
         fields.pop(b"access_token", None)
 
-        results = yield self.appservice_handler.query_3pe(
+        results = await self.appservice_handler.query_3pe(
             ThirdPartyEntityKind.LOCATION, protocol, fields
         )
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/tokenrefresh.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/tokenrefresh.py
index 2da0f55811..83f3b6b70a 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/tokenrefresh.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/tokenrefresh.py
@@ -13,8 +13,6 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.errors import AuthError
 from synapse.http.servlet import RestServlet
 
@@ -32,8 +30,7 @@ class TokenRefreshRestServlet(RestServlet):
     def __init__(self, hs):
         super(TokenRefreshRestServlet, self).__init__()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
         raise AuthError(403, "tokenrefresh is no longer supported.")
 
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/user_directory.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/user_directory.py
index 2863affbab..bef91a2d3e 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/user_directory.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/user_directory.py
@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@
 
 import logging
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.errors import SynapseError
 from synapse.http.servlet import RestServlet, parse_json_object_from_request
 
@@ -38,8 +36,7 @@ class UserDirectorySearchRestServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.user_directory_handler = hs.get_user_directory_handler()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def on_POST(self, request):
+    async def on_POST(self, request):
         """Searches for users in directory
 
         Returns:
@@ -56,7 +53,7 @@ class UserDirectorySearchRestServlet(RestServlet):
                     ]
                 }
         """
-        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=False)
+        requester = await self.auth.get_user_by_req(request, allow_guest=False)
         user_id = requester.user.to_string()
 
         if not self.hs.config.user_directory_search_enabled:
@@ -72,7 +69,7 @@ class UserDirectorySearchRestServlet(RestServlet):
         except Exception:
             raise SynapseError(400, "`search_term` is required field")
 
-        results = yield self.user_directory_handler.search_users(
+        results = await self.user_directory_handler.search_users(
             user_id, search_term, limit
         )
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/versions.py b/synapse/rest/client/versions.py
index bb30ce3f34..2a477ad22e 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/versions.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/versions.py
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 # Copyright 2016 OpenMarket Ltd
+# Copyright 2017 Vector Creations Ltd
+# Copyright 2018-2019 New Vector Ltd
+# Copyright 2019 The Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C.
 #
 # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
diff --git a/synapse/rest/media/v1/preview_url_resource.py b/synapse/rest/media/v1/preview_url_resource.py
index 87343d9db9..6b978be876 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/media/v1/preview_url_resource.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/media/v1/preview_url_resource.py
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ class PreviewUrlResource(DirectServeResource):
                 pattern = entry[attrib]
                 value = getattr(url_tuple, attrib)
                 logger.debug(
-                    "Matching attrib '%s' with value '%s' against" " pattern '%s'",
+                    "Matching attrib '%s' with value '%s' against pattern '%s'",
                     attrib,
                     value,
                     pattern,
@@ -402,7 +402,7 @@ class PreviewUrlResource(DirectServeResource):
 
         logger.info("Running url preview cache expiry")
 
-        if not (yield self.store.has_completed_background_updates()):
+        if not (yield self.store.db.updates.has_completed_background_updates()):
             logger.info("Still running DB updates; skipping expiry")
             return
 
diff --git a/synapse/rest/media/v1/thumbnailer.py b/synapse/rest/media/v1/thumbnailer.py
index 8cf415e29d..c234ea7421 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/media/v1/thumbnailer.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/media/v1/thumbnailer.py
@@ -129,5 +129,8 @@ class Thumbnailer(object):
 
     def _encode_image(self, output_image, output_type):
         output_bytes_io = BytesIO()
-        output_image.save(output_bytes_io, self.FORMATS[output_type], quality=80)
+        fmt = self.FORMATS[output_type]
+        if fmt == "JPEG":
+            output_image = output_image.convert("RGB")
+        output_image.save(output_bytes_io, fmt, quality=80)
         return output_bytes_io
diff --git a/synapse/server.py b/synapse/server.py
index be9af7f986..2db3dab221 100644
--- a/synapse/server.py
+++ b/synapse/server.py
@@ -238,8 +238,7 @@ class HomeServer(object):
     def setup(self):
         logger.info("Setting up.")
         with self.get_db_conn() as conn:
-            datastore = self.DATASTORE_CLASS(conn, self)
-            self.datastores = DataStores(datastore, conn, self)
+            self.datastores = DataStores(self.DATASTORE_CLASS, conn, self)
             conn.commit()
         self.start_time = int(self.get_clock().time())
         logger.info("Finished setting up.")
diff --git a/synapse/server_notices/consent_server_notices.py b/synapse/server_notices/consent_server_notices.py
index 415e9c17d8..5736c56032 100644
--- a/synapse/server_notices/consent_server_notices.py
+++ b/synapse/server_notices/consent_server_notices.py
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ class ConsentServerNotices(object):
                 )
             if "body" not in self._server_notice_content:
                 raise ConfigError(
-                    "user_consent server_notice_consent must contain a 'body' " "key."
+                    "user_consent server_notice_consent must contain a 'body' key."
                 )
 
             self._consent_uri_builder = ConsentURIBuilder(hs.config)
diff --git a/synapse/storage/__init__.py b/synapse/storage/__init__.py
index 0460fe8cc9..ec89f645d4 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/__init__.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/__init__.py
@@ -17,10 +17,10 @@
 """
 The storage layer is split up into multiple parts to allow Synapse to run
 against different configurations of databases (e.g. single or multiple
-databases). The `data_stores` are classes that talk directly to a single
-database and have associated schemas, background updates, etc. On top of those
-there are (or will be) classes that provide high level interfaces that combine
-calls to multiple `data_stores`.
+databases). The `Database` class represents a single physical database. The
+`data_stores` are classes that talk directly to a `Database` instance and have
+associated schemas, background updates, etc. On top of those there are classes
+that provide high level interfaces that combine calls to multiple `data_stores`.
 
 There are also schemas that get applied to every database, regardless of the
 data stores associated with them (e.g. the schema version tables), which are
@@ -49,15 +49,3 @@ class Storage(object):
         self.persistence = EventsPersistenceStorage(hs, stores)
         self.purge_events = PurgeEventsStorage(hs, stores)
         self.state = StateGroupStorage(hs, stores)
-
-
-def are_all_users_on_domain(txn, database_engine, domain):
-    sql = database_engine.convert_param_style(
-        "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM users WHERE name NOT LIKE ?"
-    )
-    pat = "%:" + domain
-    txn.execute(sql, (pat,))
-    num_not_matching = txn.fetchall()[0][0]
-    if num_not_matching == 0:
-        return True
-    return False
diff --git a/synapse/storage/_base.py b/synapse/storage/_base.py
index ab596fa68d..b7637b5dc0 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/_base.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/_base.py
@@ -14,1400 +14,36 @@
 # WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
-import itertools
 import logging
 import random
-import sys
-import threading
-import time
-from typing import Iterable, Tuple
 
-from six import PY2, iteritems, iterkeys, itervalues
-from six.moves import builtins, intern, range
+from six import PY2
+from six.moves import builtins
 
 from canonicaljson import json
-from prometheus_client import Histogram
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
-from synapse.api.errors import StoreError
-from synapse.logging.context import LoggingContext, make_deferred_yieldable
-from synapse.metrics.background_process_metrics import run_as_background_process
-from synapse.storage.engines import PostgresEngine, Sqlite3Engine
+from synapse.storage.database import LoggingTransaction  # noqa: F401
+from synapse.storage.database import make_in_list_sql_clause  # noqa: F401
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.types import get_domain_from_id
-from synapse.util import batch_iter
-from synapse.util.caches.descriptors import Cache
-from synapse.util.stringutils import exception_to_unicode
-
-# import a function which will return a monotonic time, in seconds
-try:
-    # on python 3, use time.monotonic, since time.clock can go backwards
-    from time import monotonic as monotonic_time
-except ImportError:
-    # ... but python 2 doesn't have it
-    from time import clock as monotonic_time
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
-try:
-    MAX_TXN_ID = sys.maxint - 1
-except AttributeError:
-    # python 3 does not have a maximum int value
-    MAX_TXN_ID = 2 ** 63 - 1
-
-sql_logger = logging.getLogger("synapse.storage.SQL")
-transaction_logger = logging.getLogger("synapse.storage.txn")
-perf_logger = logging.getLogger("synapse.storage.TIME")
-
-sql_scheduling_timer = Histogram("synapse_storage_schedule_time", "sec")
-
-sql_query_timer = Histogram("synapse_storage_query_time", "sec", ["verb"])
-sql_txn_timer = Histogram("synapse_storage_transaction_time", "sec", ["desc"])
-
-
-# Unique indexes which have been added in background updates. Maps from table name
-# to the name of the background update which added the unique index to that table.
-#
-# This is used by the upsert logic to figure out which tables are safe to do a proper
-# UPSERT on: until the relevant background update has completed, we
-# have to emulate an upsert by locking the table.
-#
-UNIQUE_INDEX_BACKGROUND_UPDATES = {
-    "user_ips": "user_ips_device_unique_index",
-    "device_lists_remote_extremeties": "device_lists_remote_extremeties_unique_idx",
-    "device_lists_remote_cache": "device_lists_remote_cache_unique_idx",
-    "event_search": "event_search_event_id_idx",
-}
-
-# This is a special cache name we use to batch multiple invalidations of caches
-# based on the current state when notifying workers over replication.
-_CURRENT_STATE_CACHE_NAME = "cs_cache_fake"
-
 
-class LoggingTransaction(object):
-    """An object that almost-transparently proxies for the 'txn' object
-    passed to the constructor. Adds logging and metrics to the .execute()
-    method.
+class SQLBaseStore(object):
+    """Base class for data stores that holds helper functions.
 
-    Args:
-        txn: The database transcation object to wrap.
-        name (str): The name of this transactions for logging.
-        database_engine (Sqlite3Engine|PostgresEngine)
-        after_callbacks(list|None): A list that callbacks will be appended to
-            that have been added by `call_after` which should be run on
-            successful completion of the transaction. None indicates that no
-            callbacks should be allowed to be scheduled to run.
-        exception_callbacks(list|None): A list that callbacks will be appended
-            to that have been added by `call_on_exception` which should be run
-            if transaction ends with an error. None indicates that no callbacks
-            should be allowed to be scheduled to run.
+    Note that multiple instances of this class will exist as there will be one
+    per data store (and not one per physical database).
     """
 
-    __slots__ = [
-        "txn",
-        "name",
-        "database_engine",
-        "after_callbacks",
-        "exception_callbacks",
-    ]
-
-    def __init__(
-        self, txn, name, database_engine, after_callbacks=None, exception_callbacks=None
-    ):
-        object.__setattr__(self, "txn", txn)
-        object.__setattr__(self, "name", name)
-        object.__setattr__(self, "database_engine", database_engine)
-        object.__setattr__(self, "after_callbacks", after_callbacks)
-        object.__setattr__(self, "exception_callbacks", exception_callbacks)
-
-    def call_after(self, callback, *args, **kwargs):
-        """Call the given callback on the main twisted thread after the
-        transaction has finished. Used to invalidate the caches on the
-        correct thread.
-        """
-        self.after_callbacks.append((callback, args, kwargs))
-
-    def call_on_exception(self, callback, *args, **kwargs):
-        self.exception_callbacks.append((callback, args, kwargs))
-
-    def __getattr__(self, name):
-        return getattr(self.txn, name)
-
-    def __setattr__(self, name, value):
-        setattr(self.txn, name, value)
-
-    def __iter__(self):
-        return self.txn.__iter__()
-
-    def execute_batch(self, sql, args):
-        if isinstance(self.database_engine, PostgresEngine):
-            from psycopg2.extras import execute_batch
-
-            self._do_execute(lambda *x: execute_batch(self.txn, *x), sql, args)
-        else:
-            for val in args:
-                self.execute(sql, val)
-
-    def execute(self, sql, *args):
-        self._do_execute(self.txn.execute, sql, *args)
-
-    def executemany(self, sql, *args):
-        self._do_execute(self.txn.executemany, sql, *args)
-
-    def _make_sql_one_line(self, sql):
-        "Strip newlines out of SQL so that the loggers in the DB are on one line"
-        return " ".join(l.strip() for l in sql.splitlines() if l.strip())
-
-    def _do_execute(self, func, sql, *args):
-        sql = self._make_sql_one_line(sql)
-
-        # TODO(paul): Maybe use 'info' and 'debug' for values?
-        sql_logger.debug("[SQL] {%s} %s", self.name, sql)
-
-        sql = self.database_engine.convert_param_style(sql)
-        if args:
-            try:
-                sql_logger.debug("[SQL values] {%s} %r", self.name, args[0])
-            except Exception:
-                # Don't let logging failures stop SQL from working
-                pass
-
-        start = time.time()
-
-        try:
-            return func(sql, *args)
-        except Exception as e:
-            logger.debug("[SQL FAIL] {%s} %s", self.name, e)
-            raise
-        finally:
-            secs = time.time() - start
-            sql_logger.debug("[SQL time] {%s} %f sec", self.name, secs)
-            sql_query_timer.labels(sql.split()[0]).observe(secs)
-
-
-class PerformanceCounters(object):
-    def __init__(self):
-        self.current_counters = {}
-        self.previous_counters = {}
-
-    def update(self, key, duration_secs):
-        count, cum_time = self.current_counters.get(key, (0, 0))
-        count += 1
-        cum_time += duration_secs
-        self.current_counters[key] = (count, cum_time)
-
-    def interval(self, interval_duration_secs, limit=3):
-        counters = []
-        for name, (count, cum_time) in iteritems(self.current_counters):
-            prev_count, prev_time = self.previous_counters.get(name, (0, 0))
-            counters.append(
-                (
-                    (cum_time - prev_time) / interval_duration_secs,
-                    count - prev_count,
-                    name,
-                )
-            )
-
-        self.previous_counters = dict(self.current_counters)
-
-        counters.sort(reverse=True)
-
-        top_n_counters = ", ".join(
-            "%s(%d): %.3f%%" % (name, count, 100 * ratio)
-            for ratio, count, name in counters[:limit]
-        )
-
-        return top_n_counters
-
-
-class SQLBaseStore(object):
-    _TXN_ID = 0
-
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
         self.hs = hs
         self._clock = hs.get_clock()
-        self._db_pool = hs.get_db_pool()
-
-        self._previous_txn_total_time = 0
-        self._current_txn_total_time = 0
-        self._previous_loop_ts = 0
-
-        # TODO(paul): These can eventually be removed once the metrics code
-        #   is running in mainline, and we have some nice monitoring frontends
-        #   to watch it
-        self._txn_perf_counters = PerformanceCounters()
-
-        self._get_event_cache = Cache(
-            "*getEvent*", keylen=3, max_entries=hs.config.event_cache_size
-        )
-
-        self._event_fetch_lock = threading.Condition()
-        self._event_fetch_list = []
-        self._event_fetch_ongoing = 0
-
-        self._pending_ds = []
-
         self.database_engine = hs.database_engine
-
-        # A set of tables that are not safe to use native upserts in.
-        self._unsafe_to_upsert_tables = set(UNIQUE_INDEX_BACKGROUND_UPDATES.keys())
-
-        self._account_validity = self.hs.config.account_validity
-
-        # We add the user_directory_search table to the blacklist on SQLite
-        # because the existing search table does not have an index, making it
-        # unsafe to use native upserts.
-        if isinstance(self.database_engine, Sqlite3Engine):
-            self._unsafe_to_upsert_tables.add("user_directory_search")
-
-        if self.database_engine.can_native_upsert:
-            # Check ASAP (and then later, every 1s) to see if we have finished
-            # background updates of tables that aren't safe to update.
-            self._clock.call_later(
-                0.0,
-                run_as_background_process,
-                "upsert_safety_check",
-                self._check_safe_to_upsert,
-            )
-
+        self.db = database
         self.rand = random.SystemRandom()
 
-        if self._account_validity.enabled:
-            self._clock.call_later(
-                0.0,
-                run_as_background_process,
-                "account_validity_set_expiration_dates",
-                self._set_expiration_date_when_missing,
-            )
-
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _check_safe_to_upsert(self):
-        """
-        Is it safe to use native UPSERT?
-
-        If there are background updates, we will need to wait, as they may be
-        the addition of indexes that set the UNIQUE constraint that we require.
-
-        If the background updates have not completed, wait 15 sec and check again.
-        """
-        updates = yield self._simple_select_list(
-            "background_updates",
-            keyvalues=None,
-            retcols=["update_name"],
-            desc="check_background_updates",
-        )
-        updates = [x["update_name"] for x in updates]
-
-        for table, update_name in UNIQUE_INDEX_BACKGROUND_UPDATES.items():
-            if update_name not in updates:
-                logger.debug("Now safe to upsert in %s", table)
-                self._unsafe_to_upsert_tables.discard(table)
-
-        # If there's any updates still running, reschedule to run.
-        if updates:
-            self._clock.call_later(
-                15.0,
-                run_as_background_process,
-                "upsert_safety_check",
-                self._check_safe_to_upsert,
-            )
-
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _set_expiration_date_when_missing(self):
-        """
-        Retrieves the list of registered users that don't have an expiration date, and
-        adds an expiration date for each of them.
-        """
-
-        def select_users_with_no_expiration_date_txn(txn):
-            """Retrieves the list of registered users with no expiration date from the
-            database, filtering out deactivated users.
-            """
-            sql = (
-                "SELECT users.name FROM users"
-                " LEFT JOIN account_validity ON (users.name = account_validity.user_id)"
-                " WHERE account_validity.user_id is NULL AND users.deactivated = 0;"
-            )
-            txn.execute(sql, [])
-
-            res = self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
-            if res:
-                for user in res:
-                    self.set_expiration_date_for_user_txn(
-                        txn, user["name"], use_delta=True
-                    )
-
-        yield self.runInteraction(
-            "get_users_with_no_expiration_date",
-            select_users_with_no_expiration_date_txn,
-        )
-
-    def set_expiration_date_for_user_txn(self, txn, user_id, use_delta=False):
-        """Sets an expiration date to the account with the given user ID.
-
-        Args:
-             user_id (str): User ID to set an expiration date for.
-             use_delta (bool): If set to False, the expiration date for the user will be
-                now + validity period. If set to True, this expiration date will be a
-                random value in the [now + period - d ; now + period] range, d being a
-                delta equal to 10% of the validity period.
-        """
-        now_ms = self._clock.time_msec()
-        expiration_ts = now_ms + self._account_validity.period
-
-        if use_delta:
-            expiration_ts = self.rand.randrange(
-                expiration_ts - self._account_validity.startup_job_max_delta,
-                expiration_ts,
-            )
-
-        self._simple_upsert_txn(
-            txn,
-            "account_validity",
-            keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
-            values={"expiration_ts_ms": expiration_ts, "email_sent": False},
-        )
-
-    def start_profiling(self):
-        self._previous_loop_ts = monotonic_time()
-
-        def loop():
-            curr = self._current_txn_total_time
-            prev = self._previous_txn_total_time
-            self._previous_txn_total_time = curr
-
-            time_now = monotonic_time()
-            time_then = self._previous_loop_ts
-            self._previous_loop_ts = time_now
-
-            duration = time_now - time_then
-            ratio = (curr - prev) / duration
-
-            top_three_counters = self._txn_perf_counters.interval(duration, limit=3)
-
-            perf_logger.info(
-                "Total database time: %.3f%% {%s}", ratio * 100, top_three_counters
-            )
-
-        self._clock.looping_call(loop, 10000)
-
-    def _new_transaction(
-        self, conn, desc, after_callbacks, exception_callbacks, func, *args, **kwargs
-    ):
-        start = monotonic_time()
-        txn_id = self._TXN_ID
-
-        # We don't really need these to be unique, so lets stop it from
-        # growing really large.
-        self._TXN_ID = (self._TXN_ID + 1) % (MAX_TXN_ID)
-
-        name = "%s-%x" % (desc, txn_id)
-
-        transaction_logger.debug("[TXN START] {%s}", name)
-
-        try:
-            i = 0
-            N = 5
-            while True:
-                try:
-                    txn = conn.cursor()
-                    txn = LoggingTransaction(
-                        txn,
-                        name,
-                        self.database_engine,
-                        after_callbacks,
-                        exception_callbacks,
-                    )
-                    r = func(txn, *args, **kwargs)
-                    conn.commit()
-                    return r
-                except self.database_engine.module.OperationalError as e:
-                    # This can happen if the database disappears mid
-                    # transaction.
-                    logger.warning(
-                        "[TXN OPERROR] {%s} %s %d/%d",
-                        name,
-                        exception_to_unicode(e),
-                        i,
-                        N,
-                    )
-                    if i < N:
-                        i += 1
-                        try:
-                            conn.rollback()
-                        except self.database_engine.module.Error as e1:
-                            logger.warning(
-                                "[TXN EROLL] {%s} %s", name, exception_to_unicode(e1)
-                            )
-                        continue
-                    raise
-                except self.database_engine.module.DatabaseError as e:
-                    if self.database_engine.is_deadlock(e):
-                        logger.warning("[TXN DEADLOCK] {%s} %d/%d", name, i, N)
-                        if i < N:
-                            i += 1
-                            try:
-                                conn.rollback()
-                            except self.database_engine.module.Error as e1:
-                                logger.warning(
-                                    "[TXN EROLL] {%s} %s",
-                                    name,
-                                    exception_to_unicode(e1),
-                                )
-                            continue
-                    raise
-        except Exception as e:
-            logger.debug("[TXN FAIL] {%s} %s", name, e)
-            raise
-        finally:
-            end = monotonic_time()
-            duration = end - start
-
-            LoggingContext.current_context().add_database_transaction(duration)
-
-            transaction_logger.debug("[TXN END] {%s} %f sec", name, duration)
-
-            self._current_txn_total_time += duration
-            self._txn_perf_counters.update(desc, duration)
-            sql_txn_timer.labels(desc).observe(duration)
-
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def runInteraction(self, desc, func, *args, **kwargs):
-        """Starts a transaction on the database and runs a given function
-
-        Arguments:
-            desc (str): description of the transaction, for logging and metrics
-            func (func): callback function, which will be called with a
-                database transaction (twisted.enterprise.adbapi.Transaction) as
-                its first argument, followed by `args` and `kwargs`.
-
-            args (list): positional args to pass to `func`
-            kwargs (dict): named args to pass to `func`
-
-        Returns:
-            Deferred: The result of func
-        """
-        after_callbacks = []
-        exception_callbacks = []
-
-        if LoggingContext.current_context() == LoggingContext.sentinel:
-            logger.warning("Starting db txn '%s' from sentinel context", desc)
-
-        try:
-            result = yield self.runWithConnection(
-                self._new_transaction,
-                desc,
-                after_callbacks,
-                exception_callbacks,
-                func,
-                *args,
-                **kwargs
-            )
-
-            for after_callback, after_args, after_kwargs in after_callbacks:
-                after_callback(*after_args, **after_kwargs)
-        except:  # noqa: E722, as we reraise the exception this is fine.
-            for after_callback, after_args, after_kwargs in exception_callbacks:
-                after_callback(*after_args, **after_kwargs)
-            raise
-
-        return result
-
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def runWithConnection(self, func, *args, **kwargs):
-        """Wraps the .runWithConnection() method on the underlying db_pool.
-
-        Arguments:
-            func (func): callback function, which will be called with a
-                database connection (twisted.enterprise.adbapi.Connection) as
-                its first argument, followed by `args` and `kwargs`.
-            args (list): positional args to pass to `func`
-            kwargs (dict): named args to pass to `func`
-
-        Returns:
-            Deferred: The result of func
-        """
-        parent_context = LoggingContext.current_context()
-        if parent_context == LoggingContext.sentinel:
-            logger.warning(
-                "Starting db connection from sentinel context: metrics will be lost"
-            )
-            parent_context = None
-
-        start_time = monotonic_time()
-
-        def inner_func(conn, *args, **kwargs):
-            with LoggingContext("runWithConnection", parent_context) as context:
-                sched_duration_sec = monotonic_time() - start_time
-                sql_scheduling_timer.observe(sched_duration_sec)
-                context.add_database_scheduled(sched_duration_sec)
-
-                if self.database_engine.is_connection_closed(conn):
-                    logger.debug("Reconnecting closed database connection")
-                    conn.reconnect()
-
-                return func(conn, *args, **kwargs)
-
-        result = yield make_deferred_yieldable(
-            self._db_pool.runWithConnection(inner_func, *args, **kwargs)
-        )
-
-        return result
-
-    @staticmethod
-    def cursor_to_dict(cursor):
-        """Converts a SQL cursor into an list of dicts.
-
-        Args:
-            cursor : The DBAPI cursor which has executed a query.
-        Returns:
-            A list of dicts where the key is the column header.
-        """
-        col_headers = list(intern(str(column[0])) for column in cursor.description)
-        results = list(dict(zip(col_headers, row)) for row in cursor)
-        return results
-
-    def _execute(self, desc, decoder, query, *args):
-        """Runs a single query for a result set.
-
-        Args:
-            decoder - The function which can resolve the cursor results to
-                something meaningful.
-            query - The query string to execute
-            *args - Query args.
-        Returns:
-            The result of decoder(results)
-        """
-
-        def interaction(txn):
-            txn.execute(query, args)
-            if decoder:
-                return decoder(txn)
-            else:
-                return txn.fetchall()
-
-        return self.runInteraction(desc, interaction)
-
-    # "Simple" SQL API methods that operate on a single table with no JOINs,
-    # no complex WHERE clauses, just a dict of values for columns.
-
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _simple_insert(self, table, values, or_ignore=False, desc="_simple_insert"):
-        """Executes an INSERT query on the named table.
-
-        Args:
-            table : string giving the table name
-            values : dict of new column names and values for them
-            or_ignore : bool stating whether an exception should be raised
-                when a conflicting row already exists. If True, False will be
-                returned by the function instead
-            desc : string giving a description of the transaction
-
-        Returns:
-            bool: Whether the row was inserted or not. Only useful when
-            `or_ignore` is True
-        """
-        try:
-            yield self.runInteraction(desc, self._simple_insert_txn, table, values)
-        except self.database_engine.module.IntegrityError:
-            # We have to do or_ignore flag at this layer, since we can't reuse
-            # a cursor after we receive an error from the db.
-            if not or_ignore:
-                raise
-            return False
-        return True
-
-    @staticmethod
-    def _simple_insert_txn(txn, table, values):
-        keys, vals = zip(*values.items())
-
-        sql = "INSERT INTO %s (%s) VALUES(%s)" % (
-            table,
-            ", ".join(k for k in keys),
-            ", ".join("?" for _ in keys),
-        )
-
-        txn.execute(sql, vals)
-
-    def _simple_insert_many(self, table, values, desc):
-        return self.runInteraction(desc, self._simple_insert_many_txn, table, values)
-
-    @staticmethod
-    def _simple_insert_many_txn(txn, table, values):
-        if not values:
-            return
-
-        # This is a *slight* abomination to get a list of tuples of key names
-        # and a list of tuples of value names.
-        #
-        # i.e. [{"a": 1, "b": 2}, {"c": 3, "d": 4}]
-        #         => [("a", "b",), ("c", "d",)] and [(1, 2,), (3, 4,)]
-        #
-        # The sort is to ensure that we don't rely on dictionary iteration
-        # order.
-        keys, vals = zip(
-            *[zip(*(sorted(i.items(), key=lambda kv: kv[0]))) for i in values if i]
-        )
-
-        for k in keys:
-            if k != keys[0]:
-                raise RuntimeError("All items must have the same keys")
-
-        sql = "INSERT INTO %s (%s) VALUES(%s)" % (
-            table,
-            ", ".join(k for k in keys[0]),
-            ", ".join("?" for _ in keys[0]),
-        )
-
-        txn.executemany(sql, vals)
-
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _simple_upsert(
-        self,
-        table,
-        keyvalues,
-        values,
-        insertion_values={},
-        desc="_simple_upsert",
-        lock=True,
-    ):
-        """
-
-        `lock` should generally be set to True (the default), but can be set
-        to False if either of the following are true:
-
-        * there is a UNIQUE INDEX on the key columns. In this case a conflict
-          will cause an IntegrityError in which case this function will retry
-          the update.
-
-        * we somehow know that we are the only thread which will be updating
-          this table.
-
-        Args:
-            table (str): The table to upsert into
-            keyvalues (dict): The unique key columns and their new values
-            values (dict): The nonunique columns and their new values
-            insertion_values (dict): additional key/values to use only when
-                inserting
-            lock (bool): True to lock the table when doing the upsert.
-        Returns:
-            Deferred(None or bool): Native upserts always return None. Emulated
-            upserts return True if a new entry was created, False if an existing
-            one was updated.
-        """
-        attempts = 0
-        while True:
-            try:
-                result = yield self.runInteraction(
-                    desc,
-                    self._simple_upsert_txn,
-                    table,
-                    keyvalues,
-                    values,
-                    insertion_values,
-                    lock=lock,
-                )
-                return result
-            except self.database_engine.module.IntegrityError as e:
-                attempts += 1
-                if attempts >= 5:
-                    # don't retry forever, because things other than races
-                    # can cause IntegrityErrors
-                    raise
-
-                # presumably we raced with another transaction: let's retry.
-                logger.warning(
-                    "IntegrityError when upserting into %s; retrying: %s", table, e
-                )
-
-    def _simple_upsert_txn(
-        self, txn, table, keyvalues, values, insertion_values={}, lock=True
-    ):
-        """
-        Pick the UPSERT method which works best on the platform. Either the
-        native one (Pg9.5+, recent SQLites), or fall back to an emulated method.
-
-        Args:
-            txn: The transaction to use.
-            table (str): The table to upsert into
-            keyvalues (dict): The unique key tables and their new values
-            values (dict): The nonunique columns and their new values
-            insertion_values (dict): additional key/values to use only when
-                inserting
-            lock (bool): True to lock the table when doing the upsert.
-        Returns:
-            None or bool: Native upserts always return None. Emulated
-            upserts return True if a new entry was created, False if an existing
-            one was updated.
-        """
-        if (
-            self.database_engine.can_native_upsert
-            and table not in self._unsafe_to_upsert_tables
-        ):
-            return self._simple_upsert_txn_native_upsert(
-                txn, table, keyvalues, values, insertion_values=insertion_values
-            )
-        else:
-            return self._simple_upsert_txn_emulated(
-                txn,
-                table,
-                keyvalues,
-                values,
-                insertion_values=insertion_values,
-                lock=lock,
-            )
-
-    def _simple_upsert_txn_emulated(
-        self, txn, table, keyvalues, values, insertion_values={}, lock=True
-    ):
-        """
-        Args:
-            table (str): The table to upsert into
-            keyvalues (dict): The unique key tables and their new values
-            values (dict): The nonunique columns and their new values
-            insertion_values (dict): additional key/values to use only when
-                inserting
-            lock (bool): True to lock the table when doing the upsert.
-        Returns:
-            bool: Return True if a new entry was created, False if an existing
-            one was updated.
-        """
-        # We need to lock the table :(, unless we're *really* careful
-        if lock:
-            self.database_engine.lock_table(txn, table)
-
-        def _getwhere(key):
-            # If the value we're passing in is None (aka NULL), we need to use
-            # IS, not =, as NULL = NULL equals NULL (False).
-            if keyvalues[key] is None:
-                return "%s IS ?" % (key,)
-            else:
-                return "%s = ?" % (key,)
-
-        if not values:
-            # If `values` is empty, then all of the values we care about are in
-            # the unique key, so there is nothing to UPDATE. We can just do a
-            # SELECT instead to see if it exists.
-            sql = "SELECT 1 FROM %s WHERE %s" % (
-                table,
-                " AND ".join(_getwhere(k) for k in keyvalues),
-            )
-            sqlargs = list(keyvalues.values())
-            txn.execute(sql, sqlargs)
-            if txn.fetchall():
-                # We have an existing record.
-                return False
-        else:
-            # First try to update.
-            sql = "UPDATE %s SET %s WHERE %s" % (
-                table,
-                ", ".join("%s = ?" % (k,) for k in values),
-                " AND ".join(_getwhere(k) for k in keyvalues),
-            )
-            sqlargs = list(values.values()) + list(keyvalues.values())
-
-            txn.execute(sql, sqlargs)
-            if txn.rowcount > 0:
-                # successfully updated at least one row.
-                return False
-
-        # We didn't find any existing rows, so insert a new one
-        allvalues = {}
-        allvalues.update(keyvalues)
-        allvalues.update(values)
-        allvalues.update(insertion_values)
-
-        sql = "INSERT INTO %s (%s) VALUES (%s)" % (
-            table,
-            ", ".join(k for k in allvalues),
-            ", ".join("?" for _ in allvalues),
-        )
-        txn.execute(sql, list(allvalues.values()))
-        # successfully inserted
-        return True
-
-    def _simple_upsert_txn_native_upsert(
-        self, txn, table, keyvalues, values, insertion_values={}
-    ):
-        """
-        Use the native UPSERT functionality in recent PostgreSQL versions.
-
-        Args:
-            table (str): The table to upsert into
-            keyvalues (dict): The unique key tables and their new values
-            values (dict): The nonunique columns and their new values
-            insertion_values (dict): additional key/values to use only when
-                inserting
-        Returns:
-            None
-        """
-        allvalues = {}
-        allvalues.update(keyvalues)
-        allvalues.update(insertion_values)
-
-        if not values:
-            latter = "NOTHING"
-        else:
-            allvalues.update(values)
-            latter = "UPDATE SET " + ", ".join(k + "=EXCLUDED." + k for k in values)
-
-        sql = ("INSERT INTO %s (%s) VALUES (%s) " "ON CONFLICT (%s) DO %s") % (
-            table,
-            ", ".join(k for k in allvalues),
-            ", ".join("?" for _ in allvalues),
-            ", ".join(k for k in keyvalues),
-            latter,
-        )
-        txn.execute(sql, list(allvalues.values()))
-
-    def _simple_upsert_many_txn(
-        self, txn, table, key_names, key_values, value_names, value_values
-    ):
-        """
-        Upsert, many times.
-
-        Args:
-            table (str): The table to upsert into
-            key_names (list[str]): The key column names.
-            key_values (list[list]): A list of each row's key column values.
-            value_names (list[str]): The value column names. If empty, no
-                values will be used, even if value_values is provided.
-            value_values (list[list]): A list of each row's value column values.
-        Returns:
-            None
-        """
-        if (
-            self.database_engine.can_native_upsert
-            and table not in self._unsafe_to_upsert_tables
-        ):
-            return self._simple_upsert_many_txn_native_upsert(
-                txn, table, key_names, key_values, value_names, value_values
-            )
-        else:
-            return self._simple_upsert_many_txn_emulated(
-                txn, table, key_names, key_values, value_names, value_values
-            )
-
-    def _simple_upsert_many_txn_emulated(
-        self, txn, table, key_names, key_values, value_names, value_values
-    ):
-        """
-        Upsert, many times, but without native UPSERT support or batching.
-
-        Args:
-            table (str): The table to upsert into
-            key_names (list[str]): The key column names.
-            key_values (list[list]): A list of each row's key column values.
-            value_names (list[str]): The value column names. If empty, no
-                values will be used, even if value_values is provided.
-            value_values (list[list]): A list of each row's value column values.
-        Returns:
-            None
-        """
-        # No value columns, therefore make a blank list so that the following
-        # zip() works correctly.
-        if not value_names:
-            value_values = [() for x in range(len(key_values))]
-
-        for keyv, valv in zip(key_values, value_values):
-            _keys = {x: y for x, y in zip(key_names, keyv)}
-            _vals = {x: y for x, y in zip(value_names, valv)}
-
-            self._simple_upsert_txn_emulated(txn, table, _keys, _vals)
-
-    def _simple_upsert_many_txn_native_upsert(
-        self, txn, table, key_names, key_values, value_names, value_values
-    ):
-        """
-        Upsert, many times, using batching where possible.
-
-        Args:
-            table (str): The table to upsert into
-            key_names (list[str]): The key column names.
-            key_values (list[list]): A list of each row's key column values.
-            value_names (list[str]): The value column names. If empty, no
-                values will be used, even if value_values is provided.
-            value_values (list[list]): A list of each row's value column values.
-        Returns:
-            None
-        """
-        allnames = []
-        allnames.extend(key_names)
-        allnames.extend(value_names)
-
-        if not value_names:
-            # No value columns, therefore make a blank list so that the
-            # following zip() works correctly.
-            latter = "NOTHING"
-            value_values = [() for x in range(len(key_values))]
-        else:
-            latter = "UPDATE SET " + ", ".join(
-                k + "=EXCLUDED." + k for k in value_names
-            )
-
-        sql = "INSERT INTO %s (%s) VALUES (%s) ON CONFLICT (%s) DO %s" % (
-            table,
-            ", ".join(k for k in allnames),
-            ", ".join("?" for _ in allnames),
-            ", ".join(key_names),
-            latter,
-        )
-
-        args = []
-
-        for x, y in zip(key_values, value_values):
-            args.append(tuple(x) + tuple(y))
-
-        return txn.execute_batch(sql, args)
-
-    def _simple_select_one(
-        self, table, keyvalues, retcols, allow_none=False, desc="_simple_select_one"
-    ):
-        """Executes a SELECT query on the named table, which is expected to
-        return a single row, returning multiple columns from it.
-
-        Args:
-            table : string giving the table name
-            keyvalues : dict of column names and values to select the row with
-            retcols : list of strings giving the names of the columns to return
-
-            allow_none : If true, return None instead of failing if the SELECT
-              statement returns no rows
-        """
-        return self.runInteraction(
-            desc, self._simple_select_one_txn, table, keyvalues, retcols, allow_none
-        )
-
-    def _simple_select_one_onecol(
-        self,
-        table,
-        keyvalues,
-        retcol,
-        allow_none=False,
-        desc="_simple_select_one_onecol",
-    ):
-        """Executes a SELECT query on the named table, which is expected to
-        return a single row, returning a single column from it.
-
-        Args:
-            table : string giving the table name
-            keyvalues : dict of column names and values to select the row with
-            retcol : string giving the name of the column to return
-        """
-        return self.runInteraction(
-            desc,
-            self._simple_select_one_onecol_txn,
-            table,
-            keyvalues,
-            retcol,
-            allow_none=allow_none,
-        )
-
-    @classmethod
-    def _simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
-        cls, txn, table, keyvalues, retcol, allow_none=False
-    ):
-        ret = cls._simple_select_onecol_txn(
-            txn, table=table, keyvalues=keyvalues, retcol=retcol
-        )
-
-        if ret:
-            return ret[0]
-        else:
-            if allow_none:
-                return None
-            else:
-                raise StoreError(404, "No row found")
-
-    @staticmethod
-    def _simple_select_onecol_txn(txn, table, keyvalues, retcol):
-        sql = ("SELECT %(retcol)s FROM %(table)s") % {"retcol": retcol, "table": table}
-
-        if keyvalues:
-            sql += " WHERE %s" % " AND ".join("%s = ?" % k for k in iterkeys(keyvalues))
-            txn.execute(sql, list(keyvalues.values()))
-        else:
-            txn.execute(sql)
-
-        return [r[0] for r in txn]
-
-    def _simple_select_onecol(
-        self, table, keyvalues, retcol, desc="_simple_select_onecol"
-    ):
-        """Executes a SELECT query on the named table, which returns a list
-        comprising of the values of the named column from the selected rows.
-
-        Args:
-            table (str): table name
-            keyvalues (dict|None): column names and values to select the rows with
-            retcol (str): column whos value we wish to retrieve.
-
-        Returns:
-            Deferred: Results in a list
-        """
-        return self.runInteraction(
-            desc, self._simple_select_onecol_txn, table, keyvalues, retcol
-        )
-
-    def _simple_select_list(
-        self, table, keyvalues, retcols, desc="_simple_select_list"
-    ):
-        """Executes a SELECT query on the named table, which may return zero or
-        more rows, returning the result as a list of dicts.
-
-        Args:
-            table (str): the table name
-            keyvalues (dict[str, Any] | None):
-                column names and values to select the rows with, or None to not
-                apply a WHERE clause.
-            retcols (iterable[str]): the names of the columns to return
-        Returns:
-            defer.Deferred: resolves to list[dict[str, Any]]
-        """
-        return self.runInteraction(
-            desc, self._simple_select_list_txn, table, keyvalues, retcols
-        )
-
-    @classmethod
-    def _simple_select_list_txn(cls, txn, table, keyvalues, retcols):
-        """Executes a SELECT query on the named table, which may return zero or
-        more rows, returning the result as a list of dicts.
-
-        Args:
-            txn : Transaction object
-            table (str): the table name
-            keyvalues (dict[str, T] | None):
-                column names and values to select the rows with, or None to not
-                apply a WHERE clause.
-            retcols (iterable[str]): the names of the columns to return
-        """
-        if keyvalues:
-            sql = "SELECT %s FROM %s WHERE %s" % (
-                ", ".join(retcols),
-                table,
-                " AND ".join("%s = ?" % (k,) for k in keyvalues),
-            )
-            txn.execute(sql, list(keyvalues.values()))
-        else:
-            sql = "SELECT %s FROM %s" % (", ".join(retcols), table)
-            txn.execute(sql)
-
-        return cls.cursor_to_dict(txn)
-
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _simple_select_many_batch(
-        self,
-        table,
-        column,
-        iterable,
-        retcols,
-        keyvalues={},
-        desc="_simple_select_many_batch",
-        batch_size=100,
-    ):
-        """Executes a SELECT query on the named table, which may return zero or
-        more rows, returning the result as a list of dicts.
-
-        Filters rows by if value of `column` is in `iterable`.
-
-        Args:
-            table : string giving the table name
-            column : column name to test for inclusion against `iterable`
-            iterable : list
-            keyvalues : dict of column names and values to select the rows with
-            retcols : list of strings giving the names of the columns to return
-        """
-        results = []
-
-        if not iterable:
-            return results
-
-        # iterables can not be sliced, so convert it to a list first
-        it_list = list(iterable)
-
-        chunks = [
-            it_list[i : i + batch_size] for i in range(0, len(it_list), batch_size)
-        ]
-        for chunk in chunks:
-            rows = yield self.runInteraction(
-                desc,
-                self._simple_select_many_txn,
-                table,
-                column,
-                chunk,
-                keyvalues,
-                retcols,
-            )
-
-            results.extend(rows)
-
-        return results
-
-    @classmethod
-    def _simple_select_many_txn(cls, txn, table, column, iterable, keyvalues, retcols):
-        """Executes a SELECT query on the named table, which may return zero or
-        more rows, returning the result as a list of dicts.
-
-        Filters rows by if value of `column` is in `iterable`.
-
-        Args:
-            txn : Transaction object
-            table : string giving the table name
-            column : column name to test for inclusion against `iterable`
-            iterable : list
-            keyvalues : dict of column names and values to select the rows with
-            retcols : list of strings giving the names of the columns to return
-        """
-        if not iterable:
-            return []
-
-        clause, values = make_in_list_sql_clause(txn.database_engine, column, iterable)
-        clauses = [clause]
-
-        for key, value in iteritems(keyvalues):
-            clauses.append("%s = ?" % (key,))
-            values.append(value)
-
-        sql = "SELECT %s FROM %s WHERE %s" % (
-            ", ".join(retcols),
-            table,
-            " AND ".join(clauses),
-        )
-
-        txn.execute(sql, values)
-        return cls.cursor_to_dict(txn)
-
-    def _simple_update(self, table, keyvalues, updatevalues, desc):
-        return self.runInteraction(
-            desc, self._simple_update_txn, table, keyvalues, updatevalues
-        )
-
-    @staticmethod
-    def _simple_update_txn(txn, table, keyvalues, updatevalues):
-        if keyvalues:
-            where = "WHERE %s" % " AND ".join("%s = ?" % k for k in iterkeys(keyvalues))
-        else:
-            where = ""
-
-        update_sql = "UPDATE %s SET %s %s" % (
-            table,
-            ", ".join("%s = ?" % (k,) for k in updatevalues),
-            where,
-        )
-
-        txn.execute(update_sql, list(updatevalues.values()) + list(keyvalues.values()))
-
-        return txn.rowcount
-
-    def _simple_update_one(
-        self, table, keyvalues, updatevalues, desc="_simple_update_one"
-    ):
-        """Executes an UPDATE query on the named table, setting new values for
-        columns in a row matching the key values.
-
-        Args:
-            table : string giving the table name
-            keyvalues : dict of column names and values to select the row with
-            updatevalues : dict giving column names and values to update
-            retcols : optional list of column names to return
-
-        If present, retcols gives a list of column names on which to perform
-        a SELECT statement *before* performing the UPDATE statement. The values
-        of these will be returned in a dict.
-
-        These are performed within the same transaction, allowing an atomic
-        get-and-set.  This can be used to implement compare-and-set by putting
-        the update column in the 'keyvalues' dict as well.
-        """
-        return self.runInteraction(
-            desc, self._simple_update_one_txn, table, keyvalues, updatevalues
-        )
-
-    @classmethod
-    def _simple_update_one_txn(cls, txn, table, keyvalues, updatevalues):
-        rowcount = cls._simple_update_txn(txn, table, keyvalues, updatevalues)
-
-        if rowcount == 0:
-            raise StoreError(404, "No row found (%s)" % (table,))
-        if rowcount > 1:
-            raise StoreError(500, "More than one row matched (%s)" % (table,))
-
-    @staticmethod
-    def _simple_select_one_txn(txn, table, keyvalues, retcols, allow_none=False):
-        select_sql = "SELECT %s FROM %s WHERE %s" % (
-            ", ".join(retcols),
-            table,
-            " AND ".join("%s = ?" % (k,) for k in keyvalues),
-        )
-
-        txn.execute(select_sql, list(keyvalues.values()))
-        row = txn.fetchone()
-
-        if not row:
-            if allow_none:
-                return None
-            raise StoreError(404, "No row found (%s)" % (table,))
-        if txn.rowcount > 1:
-            raise StoreError(500, "More than one row matched (%s)" % (table,))
-
-        return dict(zip(retcols, row))
-
-    def _simple_delete_one(self, table, keyvalues, desc="_simple_delete_one"):
-        """Executes a DELETE query on the named table, expecting to delete a
-        single row.
-
-        Args:
-            table : string giving the table name
-            keyvalues : dict of column names and values to select the row with
-        """
-        return self.runInteraction(desc, self._simple_delete_one_txn, table, keyvalues)
-
-    @staticmethod
-    def _simple_delete_one_txn(txn, table, keyvalues):
-        """Executes a DELETE query on the named table, expecting to delete a
-        single row.
-
-        Args:
-            table : string giving the table name
-            keyvalues : dict of column names and values to select the row with
-        """
-        sql = "DELETE FROM %s WHERE %s" % (
-            table,
-            " AND ".join("%s = ?" % (k,) for k in keyvalues),
-        )
-
-        txn.execute(sql, list(keyvalues.values()))
-        if txn.rowcount == 0:
-            raise StoreError(404, "No row found (%s)" % (table,))
-        if txn.rowcount > 1:
-            raise StoreError(500, "More than one row matched (%s)" % (table,))
-
-    def _simple_delete(self, table, keyvalues, desc):
-        return self.runInteraction(desc, self._simple_delete_txn, table, keyvalues)
-
-    @staticmethod
-    def _simple_delete_txn(txn, table, keyvalues):
-        sql = "DELETE FROM %s WHERE %s" % (
-            table,
-            " AND ".join("%s = ?" % (k,) for k in keyvalues),
-        )
-
-        txn.execute(sql, list(keyvalues.values()))
-        return txn.rowcount
-
-    def _simple_delete_many(self, table, column, iterable, keyvalues, desc):
-        return self.runInteraction(
-            desc, self._simple_delete_many_txn, table, column, iterable, keyvalues
-        )
-
-    @staticmethod
-    def _simple_delete_many_txn(txn, table, column, iterable, keyvalues):
-        """Executes a DELETE query on the named table.
-
-        Filters rows by if value of `column` is in `iterable`.
-
-        Args:
-            txn : Transaction object
-            table : string giving the table name
-            column : column name to test for inclusion against `iterable`
-            iterable : list
-            keyvalues : dict of column names and values to select the rows with
-
-        Returns:
-            int: Number rows deleted
-        """
-        if not iterable:
-            return 0
-
-        sql = "DELETE FROM %s" % table
-
-        clause, values = make_in_list_sql_clause(txn.database_engine, column, iterable)
-        clauses = [clause]
-
-        for key, value in iteritems(keyvalues):
-            clauses.append("%s = ?" % (key,))
-            values.append(value)
-
-        if clauses:
-            sql = "%s WHERE %s" % (sql, " AND ".join(clauses))
-        txn.execute(sql, values)
-
-        return txn.rowcount
-
-    def _get_cache_dict(
-        self, db_conn, table, entity_column, stream_column, max_value, limit=100000
-    ):
-        # Fetch a mapping of room_id -> max stream position for "recent" rooms.
-        # It doesn't really matter how many we get, the StreamChangeCache will
-        # do the right thing to ensure it respects the max size of cache.
-        sql = (
-            "SELECT %(entity)s, MAX(%(stream)s) FROM %(table)s"
-            " WHERE %(stream)s > ? - %(limit)s"
-            " GROUP BY %(entity)s"
-        ) % {
-            "table": table,
-            "entity": entity_column,
-            "stream": stream_column,
-            "limit": limit,
-        }
-
-        sql = self.database_engine.convert_param_style(sql)
-
-        txn = db_conn.cursor()
-        txn.execute(sql, (int(max_value),))
-
-        cache = {row[0]: int(row[1]) for row in txn}
-
-        txn.close()
-
-        if cache:
-            min_val = min(itervalues(cache))
-        else:
-            min_val = max_value
-
-        return cache, min_val
-
-    def _invalidate_cache_and_stream(self, txn, cache_func, keys):
-        """Invalidates the cache and adds it to the cache stream so slaves
-        will know to invalidate their caches.
-
-        This should only be used to invalidate caches where slaves won't
-        otherwise know from other replication streams that the cache should
-        be invalidated.
-        """
-        txn.call_after(cache_func.invalidate, keys)
-        self._send_invalidation_to_replication(txn, cache_func.__name__, keys)
-
-    def _invalidate_state_caches_and_stream(self, txn, room_id, members_changed):
-        """Special case invalidation of caches based on current state.
-
-        We special case this so that we can batch the cache invalidations into a
-        single replication poke.
-
-        Args:
-            txn
-            room_id (str): Room where state changed
-            members_changed (iterable[str]): The user_ids of members that have changed
-        """
-        txn.call_after(self._invalidate_state_caches, room_id, members_changed)
-
-        if members_changed:
-            # We need to be careful that the size of the `members_changed` list
-            # isn't so large that it causes problems sending over replication, so we
-            # send them in chunks.
-            # Max line length is 16K, and max user ID length is 255, so 50 should
-            # be safe.
-            for chunk in batch_iter(members_changed, 50):
-                keys = itertools.chain([room_id], chunk)
-                self._send_invalidation_to_replication(
-                    txn, _CURRENT_STATE_CACHE_NAME, keys
-                )
-        else:
-            # if no members changed, we still need to invalidate the other caches.
-            self._send_invalidation_to_replication(
-                txn, _CURRENT_STATE_CACHE_NAME, [room_id]
-            )
-
     def _invalidate_state_caches(self, room_id, members_changed):
         """Invalidates caches that are based on the current state, but does
         not stream invalidations down replication.
@@ -1441,226 +77,6 @@ class SQLBaseStore(object):
             # which is fine.
             pass
 
-    def _send_invalidation_to_replication(self, txn, cache_name, keys):
-        """Notifies replication that given cache has been invalidated.
-
-        Note that this does *not* invalidate the cache locally.
-
-        Args:
-            txn
-            cache_name (str)
-            keys (iterable[str])
-        """
-
-        if isinstance(self.database_engine, PostgresEngine):
-            # get_next() returns a context manager which is designed to wrap
-            # the transaction. However, we want to only get an ID when we want
-            # to use it, here, so we need to call __enter__ manually, and have
-            # __exit__ called after the transaction finishes.
-            ctx = self._cache_id_gen.get_next()
-            stream_id = ctx.__enter__()
-            txn.call_on_exception(ctx.__exit__, None, None, None)
-            txn.call_after(ctx.__exit__, None, None, None)
-            txn.call_after(self.hs.get_notifier().on_new_replication_data)
-
-            self._simple_insert_txn(
-                txn,
-                table="cache_invalidation_stream",
-                values={
-                    "stream_id": stream_id,
-                    "cache_func": cache_name,
-                    "keys": list(keys),
-                    "invalidation_ts": self.clock.time_msec(),
-                },
-            )
-
-    def get_all_updated_caches(self, last_id, current_id, limit):
-        if last_id == current_id:
-            return defer.succeed([])
-
-        def get_all_updated_caches_txn(txn):
-            # We purposefully don't bound by the current token, as we want to
-            # send across cache invalidations as quickly as possible. Cache
-            # invalidations are idempotent, so duplicates are fine.
-            sql = (
-                "SELECT stream_id, cache_func, keys, invalidation_ts"
-                " FROM cache_invalidation_stream"
-                " WHERE stream_id > ? ORDER BY stream_id ASC LIMIT ?"
-            )
-            txn.execute(sql, (last_id, limit))
-            return txn.fetchall()
-
-        return self.runInteraction("get_all_updated_caches", get_all_updated_caches_txn)
-
-    def get_cache_stream_token(self):
-        if self._cache_id_gen:
-            return self._cache_id_gen.get_current_token()
-        else:
-            return 0
-
-    def _simple_select_list_paginate(
-        self,
-        table,
-        keyvalues,
-        orderby,
-        start,
-        limit,
-        retcols,
-        order_direction="ASC",
-        desc="_simple_select_list_paginate",
-    ):
-        """
-        Executes a SELECT query on the named table with start and limit,
-        of row numbers, which may return zero or number of rows from start to limit,
-        returning the result as a list of dicts.
-
-        Args:
-            table (str): the table name
-            keyvalues (dict[str, T] | None):
-                column names and values to select the rows with, or None to not
-                apply a WHERE clause.
-            orderby (str): Column to order the results by.
-            start (int): Index to begin the query at.
-            limit (int): Number of results to return.
-            retcols (iterable[str]): the names of the columns to return
-            order_direction (str): Whether the results should be ordered "ASC" or "DESC".
-        Returns:
-            defer.Deferred: resolves to list[dict[str, Any]]
-        """
-        return self.runInteraction(
-            desc,
-            self._simple_select_list_paginate_txn,
-            table,
-            keyvalues,
-            orderby,
-            start,
-            limit,
-            retcols,
-            order_direction=order_direction,
-        )
-
-    @classmethod
-    def _simple_select_list_paginate_txn(
-        cls,
-        txn,
-        table,
-        keyvalues,
-        orderby,
-        start,
-        limit,
-        retcols,
-        order_direction="ASC",
-    ):
-        """
-        Executes a SELECT query on the named table with start and limit,
-        of row numbers, which may return zero or number of rows from start to limit,
-        returning the result as a list of dicts.
-
-        Args:
-            txn : Transaction object
-            table (str): the table name
-            keyvalues (dict[str, T] | None):
-                column names and values to select the rows with, or None to not
-                apply a WHERE clause.
-            orderby (str): Column to order the results by.
-            start (int): Index to begin the query at.
-            limit (int): Number of results to return.
-            retcols (iterable[str]): the names of the columns to return
-            order_direction (str): Whether the results should be ordered "ASC" or "DESC".
-        Returns:
-            defer.Deferred: resolves to list[dict[str, Any]]
-        """
-        if order_direction not in ["ASC", "DESC"]:
-            raise ValueError("order_direction must be one of 'ASC' or 'DESC'.")
-
-        if keyvalues:
-            where_clause = "WHERE " + " AND ".join("%s = ?" % (k,) for k in keyvalues)
-        else:
-            where_clause = ""
-
-        sql = "SELECT %s FROM %s %s ORDER BY %s %s LIMIT ? OFFSET ?" % (
-            ", ".join(retcols),
-            table,
-            where_clause,
-            orderby,
-            order_direction,
-        )
-        txn.execute(sql, list(keyvalues.values()) + [limit, start])
-
-        return cls.cursor_to_dict(txn)
-
-    def get_user_count_txn(self, txn):
-        """Get a total number of registered users in the users list.
-
-        Args:
-            txn : Transaction object
-        Returns:
-            int : number of users
-        """
-        sql_count = "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM users WHERE is_guest = 0;"
-        txn.execute(sql_count)
-        return txn.fetchone()[0]
-
-    def _simple_search_list(
-        self, table, term, col, retcols, desc="_simple_search_list"
-    ):
-        """Executes a SELECT query on the named table, which may return zero or
-        more rows, returning the result as a list of dicts.
-
-        Args:
-            table (str): the table name
-            term (str | None):
-                term for searching the table matched to a column.
-            col (str): column to query term should be matched to
-            retcols (iterable[str]): the names of the columns to return
-        Returns:
-            defer.Deferred: resolves to list[dict[str, Any]] or None
-        """
-
-        return self.runInteraction(
-            desc, self._simple_search_list_txn, table, term, col, retcols
-        )
-
-    @classmethod
-    def _simple_search_list_txn(cls, txn, table, term, col, retcols):
-        """Executes a SELECT query on the named table, which may return zero or
-        more rows, returning the result as a list of dicts.
-
-        Args:
-            txn : Transaction object
-            table (str): the table name
-            term (str | None):
-                term for searching the table matched to a column.
-            col (str): column to query term should be matched to
-            retcols (iterable[str]): the names of the columns to return
-        Returns:
-            defer.Deferred: resolves to list[dict[str, Any]] or None
-        """
-        if term:
-            sql = "SELECT %s FROM %s WHERE %s LIKE ?" % (", ".join(retcols), table, col)
-            termvalues = ["%%" + term + "%%"]
-            txn.execute(sql, termvalues)
-        else:
-            return 0
-
-        return cls.cursor_to_dict(txn)
-
-    @property
-    def database_engine_name(self):
-        return self.database_engine.module.__name__
-
-    def get_server_version(self):
-        """Returns a string describing the server version number"""
-        return self.database_engine.server_version
-
-
-class _RollbackButIsFineException(Exception):
-    """ This exception is used to rollback a transaction without implying
-    something went wrong.
-    """
-
-    pass
-
 
 def db_to_json(db_content):
     """
@@ -1689,30 +105,3 @@ def db_to_json(db_content):
     except Exception:
         logging.warning("Tried to decode '%r' as JSON and failed", db_content)
         raise
-
-
-def make_in_list_sql_clause(
-    database_engine, column: str, iterable: Iterable
-) -> Tuple[str, Iterable]:
-    """Returns an SQL clause that checks the given column is in the iterable.
-
-    On SQLite this expands to `column IN (?, ?, ...)`, whereas on Postgres
-    it expands to `column = ANY(?)`. While both DBs support the `IN` form,
-    using the `ANY` form on postgres means that it views queries with
-    different length iterables as the same, helping the query stats.
-
-    Args:
-        database_engine
-        column: Name of the column
-        iterable: The values to check the column against.
-
-    Returns:
-        A tuple of SQL query and the args
-    """
-
-    if database_engine.supports_using_any_list:
-        # This should hopefully be faster, but also makes postgres query
-        # stats easier to understand.
-        return "%s = ANY(?)" % (column,), [list(iterable)]
-    else:
-        return "%s IN (%s)" % (column, ",".join("?" for _ in iterable)), list(iterable)
diff --git a/synapse/storage/background_updates.py b/synapse/storage/background_updates.py
index 37d469ffd7..4f97fd5ab6 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/background_updates.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/background_updates.py
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ from twisted.internet import defer
 from synapse.metrics.background_process_metrics import run_as_background_process
 
 from . import engines
-from ._base import SQLBaseStore
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -74,7 +73,7 @@ class BackgroundUpdatePerformance(object):
             return float(self.total_item_count) / float(self.total_duration_ms)
 
 
-class BackgroundUpdateStore(SQLBaseStore):
+class BackgroundUpdater(object):
     """ Background updates are updates to the database that run in the
     background. Each update processes a batch of data at once. We attempt to
     limit the impact of each update by monitoring how long each batch takes to
@@ -86,8 +85,10 @@ class BackgroundUpdateStore(SQLBaseStore):
     BACKGROUND_UPDATE_INTERVAL_MS = 1000
     BACKGROUND_UPDATE_DURATION_MS = 100
 
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(BackgroundUpdateStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, hs, database):
+        self._clock = hs.get_clock()
+        self.db = database
+
         self._background_update_performance = {}
         self._background_update_queue = []
         self._background_update_handlers = {}
@@ -101,9 +102,7 @@ class BackgroundUpdateStore(SQLBaseStore):
         logger.info("Starting background schema updates")
         while True:
             if sleep:
-                yield self.hs.get_clock().sleep(
-                    self.BACKGROUND_UPDATE_INTERVAL_MS / 1000.0
-                )
+                yield self._clock.sleep(self.BACKGROUND_UPDATE_INTERVAL_MS / 1000.0)
 
             try:
                 result = yield self.do_next_background_update(
@@ -139,7 +138,7 @@ class BackgroundUpdateStore(SQLBaseStore):
         # otherwise, check if there are updates to be run. This is important,
         # as we may be running on a worker which doesn't perform the bg updates
         # itself, but still wants to wait for them to happen.
-        updates = yield self._simple_select_onecol(
+        updates = yield self.db.simple_select_onecol(
             "background_updates",
             keyvalues=None,
             retcol="1",
@@ -161,7 +160,7 @@ class BackgroundUpdateStore(SQLBaseStore):
         if update_name in self._background_update_queue:
             return False
 
-        update_exists = await self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        update_exists = await self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             "background_updates",
             keyvalues={"update_name": update_name},
             retcol="1",
@@ -184,7 +183,7 @@ class BackgroundUpdateStore(SQLBaseStore):
             no more work to do.
         """
         if not self._background_update_queue:
-            updates = yield self._simple_select_list(
+            updates = yield self.db.simple_select_list(
                 "background_updates",
                 keyvalues=None,
                 retcols=("update_name", "depends_on"),
@@ -226,7 +225,7 @@ class BackgroundUpdateStore(SQLBaseStore):
         else:
             batch_size = self.DEFAULT_BACKGROUND_BATCH_SIZE
 
-        progress_json = yield self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        progress_json = yield self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             "background_updates",
             keyvalues={"update_name": update_name},
             retcol="progress_json",
@@ -380,7 +379,7 @@ class BackgroundUpdateStore(SQLBaseStore):
             logger.debug("[SQL] %s", sql)
             c.execute(sql)
 
-        if isinstance(self.database_engine, engines.PostgresEngine):
+        if isinstance(self.db.engine, engines.PostgresEngine):
             runner = create_index_psql
         elif psql_only:
             runner = None
@@ -391,7 +390,7 @@ class BackgroundUpdateStore(SQLBaseStore):
         def updater(progress, batch_size):
             if runner is not None:
                 logger.info("Adding index %s to %s", index_name, table)
-                yield self.runWithConnection(runner)
+                yield self.db.runWithConnection(runner)
             yield self._end_background_update(update_name)
             return 1
 
@@ -413,7 +412,7 @@ class BackgroundUpdateStore(SQLBaseStore):
         self._background_update_queue = []
         progress_json = json.dumps(progress)
 
-        return self._simple_insert(
+        return self.db.simple_insert(
             "background_updates",
             {"update_name": update_name, "progress_json": progress_json},
         )
@@ -429,7 +428,7 @@ class BackgroundUpdateStore(SQLBaseStore):
         self._background_update_queue = [
             name for name in self._background_update_queue if name != update_name
         ]
-        return self._simple_delete_one(
+        return self.db.simple_delete_one(
             "background_updates", keyvalues={"update_name": update_name}
         )
 
@@ -444,7 +443,7 @@ class BackgroundUpdateStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
         progress_json = json.dumps(progress)
 
-        self._simple_update_one_txn(
+        self.db.simple_update_one_txn(
             txn,
             "background_updates",
             keyvalues={"update_name": update_name},
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/__init__.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/__init__.py
index cb184a98cc..cafedd5c0d 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/__init__.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/__init__.py
@@ -13,6 +13,9 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
+from synapse.storage.prepare_database import prepare_database
+
 
 class DataStores(object):
     """The various data stores.
@@ -20,7 +23,14 @@ class DataStores(object):
     These are low level interfaces to physical databases.
     """
 
-    def __init__(self, main_store, db_conn, hs):
-        # Note we pass in the main store here as workers use a different main
+    def __init__(self, main_store_class, db_conn, hs):
+        # Note we pass in the main store class here as workers use a different main
         # store.
-        self.main = main_store
+        database = Database(hs)
+
+        # Check that db is correctly configured.
+        database.engine.check_database(db_conn.cursor())
+
+        prepare_database(db_conn, database.engine, config=hs.config)
+
+        self.main = main_store_class(database, db_conn, hs)
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/__init__.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/__init__.py
index 10c940df1e..c577c0df5f 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/__init__.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/__init__.py
@@ -19,9 +19,8 @@ import calendar
 import logging
 import time
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
-
 from synapse.api.constants import PresenceState
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.storage.engines import PostgresEngine
 from synapse.storage.util.id_generators import (
     ChainedIdGenerator,
@@ -32,6 +31,7 @@ from synapse.util.caches.stream_change_cache import StreamChangeCache
 
 from .account_data import AccountDataStore
 from .appservice import ApplicationServiceStore, ApplicationServiceTransactionStore
+from .cache import CacheInvalidationStore
 from .client_ips import ClientIpStore
 from .deviceinbox import DeviceInboxStore
 from .devices import DeviceStore
@@ -110,11 +110,22 @@ class DataStore(
     MonthlyActiveUsersStore,
     StatsStore,
     RelationsStore,
+    CacheInvalidationStore,
 ):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
         self.hs = hs
         self._clock = hs.get_clock()
-        self.database_engine = hs.database_engine
+        self.database_engine = database.engine
+
+        all_users_native = are_all_users_on_domain(
+            db_conn.cursor(), database.engine, hs.hostname
+        )
+        if not all_users_native:
+            raise Exception(
+                "Found users in database not native to %s!\n"
+                "You cannot changed a synapse server_name after it's been configured"
+                % (hs.hostname,)
+            )
 
         self._stream_id_gen = StreamIdGenerator(
             db_conn,
@@ -169,9 +180,11 @@ class DataStore(
         else:
             self._cache_id_gen = None
 
+        super(DataStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
+
         self._presence_on_startup = self._get_active_presence(db_conn)
 
-        presence_cache_prefill, min_presence_val = self._get_cache_dict(
+        presence_cache_prefill, min_presence_val = self.db.get_cache_dict(
             db_conn,
             "presence_stream",
             entity_column="user_id",
@@ -185,7 +198,7 @@ class DataStore(
         )
 
         max_device_inbox_id = self._device_inbox_id_gen.get_current_token()
-        device_inbox_prefill, min_device_inbox_id = self._get_cache_dict(
+        device_inbox_prefill, min_device_inbox_id = self.db.get_cache_dict(
             db_conn,
             "device_inbox",
             entity_column="user_id",
@@ -200,7 +213,7 @@ class DataStore(
         )
         # The federation outbox and the local device inbox uses the same
         # stream_id generator.
-        device_outbox_prefill, min_device_outbox_id = self._get_cache_dict(
+        device_outbox_prefill, min_device_outbox_id = self.db.get_cache_dict(
             db_conn,
             "device_federation_outbox",
             entity_column="destination",
@@ -226,7 +239,7 @@ class DataStore(
         )
 
         events_max = self._stream_id_gen.get_current_token()
-        curr_state_delta_prefill, min_curr_state_delta_id = self._get_cache_dict(
+        curr_state_delta_prefill, min_curr_state_delta_id = self.db.get_cache_dict(
             db_conn,
             "current_state_delta_stream",
             entity_column="room_id",
@@ -240,7 +253,7 @@ class DataStore(
             prefilled_cache=curr_state_delta_prefill,
         )
 
-        _group_updates_prefill, min_group_updates_id = self._get_cache_dict(
+        _group_updates_prefill, min_group_updates_id = self.db.get_cache_dict(
             db_conn,
             "local_group_updates",
             entity_column="user_id",
@@ -260,8 +273,6 @@ class DataStore(
         # Used in _generate_user_daily_visits to keep track of progress
         self._last_user_visit_update = self._get_start_of_day()
 
-        super(DataStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
-
     def take_presence_startup_info(self):
         active_on_startup = self._presence_on_startup
         self._presence_on_startup = None
@@ -281,7 +292,7 @@ class DataStore(
 
         txn = db_conn.cursor()
         txn.execute(sql, (PresenceState.OFFLINE,))
-        rows = self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+        rows = self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
         txn.close()
 
         for row in rows:
@@ -294,7 +305,7 @@ class DataStore(
         Counts the number of users who used this homeserver in the last 24 hours.
         """
         yesterday = int(self._clock.time_msec()) - (1000 * 60 * 60 * 24)
-        return self.runInteraction("count_daily_users", self._count_users, yesterday)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("count_daily_users", self._count_users, yesterday)
 
     def count_monthly_users(self):
         """
@@ -304,7 +315,7 @@ class DataStore(
         amongst other things, includes a 3 day grace period before a user counts.
         """
         thirty_days_ago = int(self._clock.time_msec()) - (1000 * 60 * 60 * 24 * 30)
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "count_monthly_users", self._count_users, thirty_days_ago
         )
 
@@ -404,7 +415,7 @@ class DataStore(
 
             return results
 
-        return self.runInteraction("count_r30_users", _count_r30_users)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("count_r30_users", _count_r30_users)
 
     def _get_start_of_day(self):
         """
@@ -469,50 +480,73 @@ class DataStore(
             # frequently
             self._last_user_visit_update = now
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "generate_user_daily_visits", _generate_user_daily_visits
         )
 
     def get_users(self):
-        """Function to reterive a list of users in users table.
+        """Function to retrieve a list of users in users table.
 
         Args:
         Returns:
             defer.Deferred: resolves to list[dict[str, Any]]
         """
-        return self._simple_select_list(
+        return self.db.simple_select_list(
             table="users",
             keyvalues={},
-            retcols=["name", "password_hash", "is_guest", "admin", "user_type"],
+            retcols=[
+                "name",
+                "password_hash",
+                "is_guest",
+                "admin",
+                "user_type",
+                "deactivated",
+            ],
             desc="get_users",
         )
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def get_users_paginate(self, order, start, limit):
-        """Function to reterive a paginated list of users from
-        users list. This will return a json object, which contains
-        list of users and the total number of users in users table.
+    def get_users_paginate(
+        self, start, limit, name=None, guests=True, deactivated=False
+    ):
+        """Function to retrieve a paginated list of users from
+        users list. This will return a json list of users.
 
         Args:
-            order (str): column name to order the select by this column
             start (int): start number to begin the query from
-            limit (int): number of rows to reterive
+            limit (int): number of rows to retrieve
+            name (string): filter for user names
+            guests (bool): whether to in include guest users
+            deactivated (bool): whether to include deactivated users
         Returns:
-            defer.Deferred: resolves to json object {list[dict[str, Any]], count}
+            defer.Deferred: resolves to list[dict[str, Any]]
         """
-        users = yield self.runInteraction(
-            "get_users_paginate",
-            self._simple_select_list_paginate_txn,
+        name_filter = {}
+        if name:
+            name_filter["name"] = "%" + name + "%"
+
+        attr_filter = {}
+        if not guests:
+            attr_filter["is_guest"] = False
+        if not deactivated:
+            attr_filter["deactivated"] = False
+
+        return self.db.simple_select_list_paginate(
+            desc="get_users_paginate",
             table="users",
-            keyvalues={"is_guest": False},
-            orderby=order,
+            orderby="name",
             start=start,
             limit=limit,
-            retcols=["name", "password_hash", "is_guest", "admin", "user_type"],
+            filters=name_filter,
+            keyvalues=attr_filter,
+            retcols=[
+                "name",
+                "password_hash",
+                "is_guest",
+                "admin",
+                "user_type",
+                "deactivated",
+            ],
         )
-        count = yield self.runInteraction("get_users_paginate", self.get_user_count_txn)
-        retval = {"users": users, "total": count}
-        return retval
 
     def search_users(self, term):
         """Function to search users list for one or more users with
@@ -524,10 +558,22 @@ class DataStore(
         Returns:
             defer.Deferred: resolves to list[dict[str, Any]]
         """
-        return self._simple_search_list(
+        return self.db.simple_search_list(
             table="users",
             term=term,
             col="name",
             retcols=["name", "password_hash", "is_guest", "admin", "user_type"],
             desc="search_users",
         )
+
+
+def are_all_users_on_domain(txn, database_engine, domain):
+    sql = database_engine.convert_param_style(
+        "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM users WHERE name NOT LIKE ?"
+    )
+    pat = "%:" + domain
+    txn.execute(sql, (pat,))
+    num_not_matching = txn.fetchall()[0][0]
+    if num_not_matching == 0:
+        return True
+    return False
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/account_data.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/account_data.py
index 6afbfc0d74..46b494b334 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/account_data.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/account_data.py
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ from canonicaljson import json
 from twisted.internet import defer
 
 from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.storage.util.id_generators import StreamIdGenerator
 from synapse.util.caches.descriptors import cached, cachedInlineCallbacks
 from synapse.util.caches.stream_change_cache import StreamChangeCache
@@ -38,13 +39,13 @@ class AccountDataWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
     # the abstract methods being implemented.
     __metaclass__ = abc.ABCMeta
 
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
         account_max = self.get_max_account_data_stream_id()
         self._account_data_stream_cache = StreamChangeCache(
             "AccountDataAndTagsChangeCache", account_max
         )
 
-        super(AccountDataWorkerStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+        super(AccountDataWorkerStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
     @abc.abstractmethod
     def get_max_account_data_stream_id(self):
@@ -67,7 +68,7 @@ class AccountDataWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         """
 
         def get_account_data_for_user_txn(txn):
-            rows = self._simple_select_list_txn(
+            rows = self.db.simple_select_list_txn(
                 txn,
                 "account_data",
                 {"user_id": user_id},
@@ -78,7 +79,7 @@ class AccountDataWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 row["account_data_type"]: json.loads(row["content"]) for row in rows
             }
 
-            rows = self._simple_select_list_txn(
+            rows = self.db.simple_select_list_txn(
                 txn,
                 "room_account_data",
                 {"user_id": user_id},
@@ -92,7 +93,7 @@ class AccountDataWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
             return global_account_data, by_room
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_account_data_for_user", get_account_data_for_user_txn
         )
 
@@ -102,7 +103,7 @@ class AccountDataWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         Returns:
             Deferred: A dict
         """
-        result = yield self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        result = yield self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="account_data",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "account_data_type": data_type},
             retcol="content",
@@ -127,7 +128,7 @@ class AccountDataWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         """
 
         def get_account_data_for_room_txn(txn):
-            rows = self._simple_select_list_txn(
+            rows = self.db.simple_select_list_txn(
                 txn,
                 "room_account_data",
                 {"user_id": user_id, "room_id": room_id},
@@ -138,7 +139,7 @@ class AccountDataWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 row["account_data_type"]: json.loads(row["content"]) for row in rows
             }
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_account_data_for_room", get_account_data_for_room_txn
         )
 
@@ -156,7 +157,7 @@ class AccountDataWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         """
 
         def get_account_data_for_room_and_type_txn(txn):
-            content_json = self._simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
+            content_json = self.db.simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="room_account_data",
                 keyvalues={
@@ -170,7 +171,7 @@ class AccountDataWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
             return json.loads(content_json) if content_json else None
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_account_data_for_room_and_type", get_account_data_for_room_and_type_txn
         )
 
@@ -184,14 +185,14 @@ class AccountDataWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             current_id(int): The position to fetch up to.
         Returns:
             A deferred pair of lists of tuples of stream_id int, user_id string,
-            room_id string, type string, and content string.
+            room_id string, and type string.
         """
         if last_room_id == current_id and last_global_id == current_id:
             return defer.succeed(([], []))
 
         def get_updated_account_data_txn(txn):
             sql = (
-                "SELECT stream_id, user_id, account_data_type, content"
+                "SELECT stream_id, user_id, account_data_type"
                 " FROM account_data WHERE ? < stream_id AND stream_id <= ?"
                 " ORDER BY stream_id ASC LIMIT ?"
             )
@@ -199,7 +200,7 @@ class AccountDataWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             global_results = txn.fetchall()
 
             sql = (
-                "SELECT stream_id, user_id, room_id, account_data_type, content"
+                "SELECT stream_id, user_id, room_id, account_data_type"
                 " FROM room_account_data WHERE ? < stream_id AND stream_id <= ?"
                 " ORDER BY stream_id ASC LIMIT ?"
             )
@@ -207,7 +208,7 @@ class AccountDataWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             room_results = txn.fetchall()
             return global_results, room_results
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_all_updated_account_data_txn", get_updated_account_data_txn
         )
 
@@ -250,9 +251,9 @@ class AccountDataWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             user_id, int(stream_id)
         )
         if not changed:
-            return {}, {}
+            return defer.succeed(({}, {}))
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_updated_account_data_for_user", get_updated_account_data_for_user_txn
         )
 
@@ -270,12 +271,12 @@ class AccountDataWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
 
 class AccountDataStore(AccountDataWorkerStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
         self._account_data_id_gen = StreamIdGenerator(
             db_conn, "account_data_max_stream_id", "stream_id"
         )
 
-        super(AccountDataStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+        super(AccountDataStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
     def get_max_account_data_stream_id(self):
         """Get the current max stream id for the private user data stream
@@ -300,9 +301,9 @@ class AccountDataStore(AccountDataWorkerStore):
 
         with self._account_data_id_gen.get_next() as next_id:
             # no need to lock here as room_account_data has a unique constraint
-            # on (user_id, room_id, account_data_type) so _simple_upsert will
+            # on (user_id, room_id, account_data_type) so simple_upsert will
             # retry if there is a conflict.
-            yield self._simple_upsert(
+            yield self.db.simple_upsert(
                 desc="add_room_account_data",
                 table="room_account_data",
                 keyvalues={
@@ -346,9 +347,9 @@ class AccountDataStore(AccountDataWorkerStore):
 
         with self._account_data_id_gen.get_next() as next_id:
             # no need to lock here as account_data has a unique constraint on
-            # (user_id, account_data_type) so _simple_upsert will retry if
+            # (user_id, account_data_type) so simple_upsert will retry if
             # there is a conflict.
-            yield self._simple_upsert(
+            yield self.db.simple_upsert(
                 desc="add_user_account_data",
                 table="account_data",
                 keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "account_data_type": account_data_type},
@@ -388,4 +389,4 @@ class AccountDataStore(AccountDataWorkerStore):
             )
             txn.execute(update_max_id_sql, (next_id, next_id))
 
-        return self.runInteraction("update_account_data_max_stream_id", _update)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("update_account_data_max_stream_id", _update)
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/appservice.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/appservice.py
index 81babf2029..b2f39649fd 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/appservice.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/appservice.py
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ from synapse.appservice import AppServiceTransaction
 from synapse.config.appservice import load_appservices
 from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.events_worker import EventsWorkerStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -48,13 +49,13 @@ def _make_exclusive_regex(services_cache):
 
 
 class ApplicationServiceWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
         self.services_cache = load_appservices(
             hs.hostname, hs.config.app_service_config_files
         )
         self.exclusive_user_regex = _make_exclusive_regex(self.services_cache)
 
-        super(ApplicationServiceWorkerStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+        super(ApplicationServiceWorkerStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
     def get_app_services(self):
         return self.services_cache
@@ -133,7 +134,7 @@ class ApplicationServiceTransactionWorkerStore(
             A Deferred which resolves to a list of ApplicationServices, which
             may be empty.
         """
-        results = yield self._simple_select_list(
+        results = yield self.db.simple_select_list(
             "application_services_state", dict(state=state), ["as_id"]
         )
         # NB: This assumes this class is linked with ApplicationServiceStore
@@ -155,7 +156,7 @@ class ApplicationServiceTransactionWorkerStore(
         Returns:
             A Deferred which resolves to ApplicationServiceState.
         """
-        result = yield self._simple_select_one(
+        result = yield self.db.simple_select_one(
             "application_services_state",
             dict(as_id=service.id),
             ["state"],
@@ -175,7 +176,7 @@ class ApplicationServiceTransactionWorkerStore(
         Returns:
             A Deferred which resolves when the state was set successfully.
         """
-        return self._simple_upsert(
+        return self.db.simple_upsert(
             "application_services_state", dict(as_id=service.id), dict(state=state)
         )
 
@@ -216,7 +217,7 @@ class ApplicationServiceTransactionWorkerStore(
             )
             return AppServiceTransaction(service=service, id=new_txn_id, events=events)
 
-        return self.runInteraction("create_appservice_txn", _create_appservice_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("create_appservice_txn", _create_appservice_txn)
 
     def complete_appservice_txn(self, txn_id, service):
         """Completes an application service transaction.
@@ -249,7 +250,7 @@ class ApplicationServiceTransactionWorkerStore(
                 )
 
             # Set current txn_id for AS to 'txn_id'
-            self._simple_upsert_txn(
+            self.db.simple_upsert_txn(
                 txn,
                 "application_services_state",
                 dict(as_id=service.id),
@@ -257,11 +258,13 @@ class ApplicationServiceTransactionWorkerStore(
             )
 
             # Delete txn
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn, "application_services_txns", dict(txn_id=txn_id, as_id=service.id)
             )
 
-        return self.runInteraction("complete_appservice_txn", _complete_appservice_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
+            "complete_appservice_txn", _complete_appservice_txn
+        )
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def get_oldest_unsent_txn(self, service):
@@ -283,7 +286,7 @@ class ApplicationServiceTransactionWorkerStore(
                 " ORDER BY txn_id ASC LIMIT 1",
                 (service.id,),
             )
-            rows = self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+            rows = self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
             if not rows:
                 return None
 
@@ -291,7 +294,7 @@ class ApplicationServiceTransactionWorkerStore(
 
             return entry
 
-        entry = yield self.runInteraction(
+        entry = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_oldest_unsent_appservice_txn", _get_oldest_unsent_txn
         )
 
@@ -321,7 +324,7 @@ class ApplicationServiceTransactionWorkerStore(
                 "UPDATE appservice_stream_position SET stream_ordering = ?", (pos,)
             )
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "set_appservice_last_pos", set_appservice_last_pos_txn
         )
 
@@ -350,7 +353,7 @@ class ApplicationServiceTransactionWorkerStore(
 
             return upper_bound, [row[1] for row in rows]
 
-        upper_bound, event_ids = yield self.runInteraction(
+        upper_bound, event_ids = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_new_events_for_appservice", get_new_events_for_appservice_txn
         )
 
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/cache.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/cache.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..54ed8574c4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/cache.py
@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+# Copyright 2019 The Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+
+import itertools
+import logging
+
+from twisted.internet import defer
+
+from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore
+from synapse.storage.engines import PostgresEngine
+from synapse.util import batch_iter
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+# This is a special cache name we use to batch multiple invalidations of caches
+# based on the current state when notifying workers over replication.
+CURRENT_STATE_CACHE_NAME = "cs_cache_fake"
+
+
+class CacheInvalidationStore(SQLBaseStore):
+    def _invalidate_cache_and_stream(self, txn, cache_func, keys):
+        """Invalidates the cache and adds it to the cache stream so slaves
+        will know to invalidate their caches.
+
+        This should only be used to invalidate caches where slaves won't
+        otherwise know from other replication streams that the cache should
+        be invalidated.
+        """
+        txn.call_after(cache_func.invalidate, keys)
+        self._send_invalidation_to_replication(txn, cache_func.__name__, keys)
+
+    def _invalidate_state_caches_and_stream(self, txn, room_id, members_changed):
+        """Special case invalidation of caches based on current state.
+
+        We special case this so that we can batch the cache invalidations into a
+        single replication poke.
+
+        Args:
+            txn
+            room_id (str): Room where state changed
+            members_changed (iterable[str]): The user_ids of members that have changed
+        """
+        txn.call_after(self._invalidate_state_caches, room_id, members_changed)
+
+        if members_changed:
+            # We need to be careful that the size of the `members_changed` list
+            # isn't so large that it causes problems sending over replication, so we
+            # send them in chunks.
+            # Max line length is 16K, and max user ID length is 255, so 50 should
+            # be safe.
+            for chunk in batch_iter(members_changed, 50):
+                keys = itertools.chain([room_id], chunk)
+                self._send_invalidation_to_replication(
+                    txn, CURRENT_STATE_CACHE_NAME, keys
+                )
+        else:
+            # if no members changed, we still need to invalidate the other caches.
+            self._send_invalidation_to_replication(
+                txn, CURRENT_STATE_CACHE_NAME, [room_id]
+            )
+
+    def _send_invalidation_to_replication(self, txn, cache_name, keys):
+        """Notifies replication that given cache has been invalidated.
+
+        Note that this does *not* invalidate the cache locally.
+
+        Args:
+            txn
+            cache_name (str)
+            keys (iterable[str])
+        """
+
+        if isinstance(self.database_engine, PostgresEngine):
+            # get_next() returns a context manager which is designed to wrap
+            # the transaction. However, we want to only get an ID when we want
+            # to use it, here, so we need to call __enter__ manually, and have
+            # __exit__ called after the transaction finishes.
+            ctx = self._cache_id_gen.get_next()
+            stream_id = ctx.__enter__()
+            txn.call_on_exception(ctx.__exit__, None, None, None)
+            txn.call_after(ctx.__exit__, None, None, None)
+            txn.call_after(self.hs.get_notifier().on_new_replication_data)
+
+            self.db.simple_insert_txn(
+                txn,
+                table="cache_invalidation_stream",
+                values={
+                    "stream_id": stream_id,
+                    "cache_func": cache_name,
+                    "keys": list(keys),
+                    "invalidation_ts": self.clock.time_msec(),
+                },
+            )
+
+    def get_all_updated_caches(self, last_id, current_id, limit):
+        if last_id == current_id:
+            return defer.succeed([])
+
+        def get_all_updated_caches_txn(txn):
+            # We purposefully don't bound by the current token, as we want to
+            # send across cache invalidations as quickly as possible. Cache
+            # invalidations are idempotent, so duplicates are fine.
+            sql = (
+                "SELECT stream_id, cache_func, keys, invalidation_ts"
+                " FROM cache_invalidation_stream"
+                " WHERE stream_id > ? ORDER BY stream_id ASC LIMIT ?"
+            )
+            txn.execute(sql, (last_id, limit))
+            return txn.fetchall()
+
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
+            "get_all_updated_caches", get_all_updated_caches_txn
+        )
+
+    def get_cache_stream_token(self):
+        if self._cache_id_gen:
+            return self._cache_id_gen.get_current_token()
+        else:
+            return 0
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/client_ips.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/client_ips.py
index 706c6a1f3f..320c5b0f07 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/client_ips.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/client_ips.py
@@ -20,9 +20,10 @@ from six import iteritems
 from twisted.internet import defer
 
 from synapse.metrics.background_process_metrics import wrap_as_background_process
-from synapse.storage import background_updates
-from synapse.storage._base import Cache
+from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.util.caches import CACHE_SIZE_FACTOR
+from synapse.util.caches.descriptors import Cache
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -32,41 +33,41 @@ logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 LAST_SEEN_GRANULARITY = 120 * 1000
 
 
-class ClientIpBackgroundUpdateStore(background_updates.BackgroundUpdateStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(ClientIpBackgroundUpdateStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+class ClientIpBackgroundUpdateStore(SQLBaseStore):
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(ClientIpBackgroundUpdateStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
-        self.register_background_index_update(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_index_update(
             "user_ips_device_index",
             index_name="user_ips_device_id",
             table="user_ips",
             columns=["user_id", "device_id", "last_seen"],
         )
 
-        self.register_background_index_update(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_index_update(
             "user_ips_last_seen_index",
             index_name="user_ips_last_seen",
             table="user_ips",
             columns=["user_id", "last_seen"],
         )
 
-        self.register_background_index_update(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_index_update(
             "user_ips_last_seen_only_index",
             index_name="user_ips_last_seen_only",
             table="user_ips",
             columns=["last_seen"],
         )
 
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             "user_ips_analyze", self._analyze_user_ip
         )
 
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             "user_ips_remove_dupes", self._remove_user_ip_dupes
         )
 
         # Register a unique index
-        self.register_background_index_update(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_index_update(
             "user_ips_device_unique_index",
             index_name="user_ips_user_token_ip_unique_index",
             table="user_ips",
@@ -75,12 +76,12 @@ class ClientIpBackgroundUpdateStore(background_updates.BackgroundUpdateStore):
         )
 
         # Drop the old non-unique index
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             "user_ips_drop_nonunique_index", self._remove_user_ip_nonunique
         )
 
         # Update the last seen info in devices.
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             "devices_last_seen", self._devices_last_seen_update
         )
 
@@ -91,8 +92,8 @@ class ClientIpBackgroundUpdateStore(background_updates.BackgroundUpdateStore):
             txn.execute("DROP INDEX IF EXISTS user_ips_user_ip")
             txn.close()
 
-        yield self.runWithConnection(f)
-        yield self._end_background_update("user_ips_drop_nonunique_index")
+        yield self.db.runWithConnection(f)
+        yield self.db.updates._end_background_update("user_ips_drop_nonunique_index")
         return 1
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
@@ -106,9 +107,9 @@ class ClientIpBackgroundUpdateStore(background_updates.BackgroundUpdateStore):
         def user_ips_analyze(txn):
             txn.execute("ANALYZE user_ips")
 
-        yield self.runInteraction("user_ips_analyze", user_ips_analyze)
+        yield self.db.runInteraction("user_ips_analyze", user_ips_analyze)
 
-        yield self._end_background_update("user_ips_analyze")
+        yield self.db.updates._end_background_update("user_ips_analyze")
 
         return 1
 
@@ -140,7 +141,7 @@ class ClientIpBackgroundUpdateStore(background_updates.BackgroundUpdateStore):
                 return None
 
         # Get a last seen that has roughly `batch_size` since `begin_last_seen`
-        end_last_seen = yield self.runInteraction(
+        end_last_seen = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "user_ips_dups_get_last_seen", get_last_seen
         )
 
@@ -271,14 +272,14 @@ class ClientIpBackgroundUpdateStore(background_updates.BackgroundUpdateStore):
                     (user_id, access_token, ip, device_id, user_agent, last_seen),
                 )
 
-            self._background_update_progress_txn(
+            self.db.updates._background_update_progress_txn(
                 txn, "user_ips_remove_dupes", {"last_seen": end_last_seen}
             )
 
-        yield self.runInteraction("user_ips_dups_remove", remove)
+        yield self.db.runInteraction("user_ips_dups_remove", remove)
 
         if last:
-            yield self._end_background_update("user_ips_remove_dupes")
+            yield self.db.updates._end_background_update("user_ips_remove_dupes")
 
         return batch_size
 
@@ -344,7 +345,7 @@ class ClientIpBackgroundUpdateStore(background_updates.BackgroundUpdateStore):
             txn.execute_batch(sql, rows)
 
             _, _, _, user_id, device_id = rows[-1]
-            self._background_update_progress_txn(
+            self.db.updates._background_update_progress_txn(
                 txn,
                 "devices_last_seen",
                 {"last_user_id": user_id, "last_device_id": device_id},
@@ -352,24 +353,24 @@ class ClientIpBackgroundUpdateStore(background_updates.BackgroundUpdateStore):
 
             return len(rows)
 
-        updated = yield self.runInteraction(
+        updated = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "_devices_last_seen_update", _devices_last_seen_update_txn
         )
 
         if not updated:
-            yield self._end_background_update("devices_last_seen")
+            yield self.db.updates._end_background_update("devices_last_seen")
 
         return updated
 
 
 class ClientIpStore(ClientIpBackgroundUpdateStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
 
         self.client_ip_last_seen = Cache(
             name="client_ip_last_seen", keylen=4, max_entries=50000 * CACHE_SIZE_FACTOR
         )
 
-        super(ClientIpStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+        super(ClientIpStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
         self.user_ips_max_age = hs.config.user_ips_max_age
 
@@ -417,12 +418,12 @@ class ClientIpStore(ClientIpBackgroundUpdateStore):
         to_update = self._batch_row_update
         self._batch_row_update = {}
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "_update_client_ips_batch", self._update_client_ips_batch_txn, to_update
         )
 
     def _update_client_ips_batch_txn(self, txn, to_update):
-        if "user_ips" in self._unsafe_to_upsert_tables or (
+        if "user_ips" in self.db._unsafe_to_upsert_tables or (
             not self.database_engine.can_native_upsert
         ):
             self.database_engine.lock_table(txn, "user_ips")
@@ -431,7 +432,7 @@ class ClientIpStore(ClientIpBackgroundUpdateStore):
             (user_id, access_token, ip), (user_agent, device_id, last_seen) = entry
 
             try:
-                self._simple_upsert_txn(
+                self.db.simple_upsert_txn(
                     txn,
                     table="user_ips",
                     keyvalues={
@@ -450,7 +451,7 @@ class ClientIpStore(ClientIpBackgroundUpdateStore):
                 # Technically an access token might not be associated with
                 # a device so we need to check.
                 if device_id:
-                    self._simple_upsert_txn(
+                    self.db.simple_upsert_txn(
                         txn,
                         table="devices",
                         keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "device_id": device_id},
@@ -483,7 +484,7 @@ class ClientIpStore(ClientIpBackgroundUpdateStore):
         if device_id is not None:
             keyvalues["device_id"] = device_id
 
-        res = yield self._simple_select_list(
+        res = yield self.db.simple_select_list(
             table="devices",
             keyvalues=keyvalues,
             retcols=("user_id", "ip", "user_agent", "device_id", "last_seen"),
@@ -516,7 +517,7 @@ class ClientIpStore(ClientIpBackgroundUpdateStore):
                 user_agent, _, last_seen = self._batch_row_update[key]
                 results[(access_token, ip)] = (user_agent, last_seen)
 
-        rows = yield self._simple_select_list(
+        rows = yield self.db.simple_select_list(
             table="user_ips",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             retcols=["access_token", "ip", "user_agent", "last_seen"],
@@ -546,7 +547,9 @@ class ClientIpStore(ClientIpBackgroundUpdateStore):
             # Nothing to do
             return
 
-        if not await self.has_completed_background_update("devices_last_seen"):
+        if not await self.db.updates.has_completed_background_update(
+            "devices_last_seen"
+        ):
             # Only start pruning if we have finished populating the devices
             # last seen info.
             return
@@ -577,4 +580,4 @@ class ClientIpStore(ClientIpBackgroundUpdateStore):
         def _prune_old_user_ips_txn(txn):
             txn.execute(sql, (timestamp,))
 
-        await self.runInteraction("_prune_old_user_ips", _prune_old_user_ips_txn)
+        await self.db.runInteraction("_prune_old_user_ips", _prune_old_user_ips_txn)
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/deviceinbox.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/deviceinbox.py
index 96cd0fb77a..85cfa16850 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/deviceinbox.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/deviceinbox.py
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ from twisted.internet import defer
 
 from synapse.logging.opentracing import log_kv, set_tag, trace
 from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore, make_in_list_sql_clause
-from synapse.storage.background_updates import BackgroundUpdateStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.util.caches.expiringcache import ExpiringCache
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ class DeviceInboxWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 stream_pos = current_stream_id
             return messages, stream_pos
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_new_messages_for_device", get_new_messages_for_device_txn
         )
 
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ class DeviceInboxWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             txn.execute(sql, (user_id, device_id, up_to_stream_id))
             return txn.rowcount
 
-        count = yield self.runInteraction(
+        count = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "delete_messages_for_device", delete_messages_for_device_txn
         )
 
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ class DeviceInboxWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 stream_pos = current_stream_id
             return messages, stream_pos
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_new_device_msgs_for_remote",
             get_new_messages_for_remote_destination_txn,
         )
@@ -203,25 +203,25 @@ class DeviceInboxWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             )
             txn.execute(sql, (destination, up_to_stream_id))
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "delete_device_msgs_for_remote", delete_messages_for_remote_destination_txn
         )
 
 
-class DeviceInboxBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
+class DeviceInboxBackgroundUpdateStore(SQLBaseStore):
     DEVICE_INBOX_STREAM_ID = "device_inbox_stream_drop"
 
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(DeviceInboxBackgroundUpdateStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(DeviceInboxBackgroundUpdateStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
-        self.register_background_index_update(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_index_update(
             "device_inbox_stream_index",
             index_name="device_inbox_stream_id_user_id",
             table="device_inbox",
             columns=["stream_id", "user_id"],
         )
 
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             self.DEVICE_INBOX_STREAM_ID, self._background_drop_index_device_inbox
         )
 
@@ -232,9 +232,9 @@ class DeviceInboxBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
             txn.execute("DROP INDEX IF EXISTS device_inbox_stream_id")
             txn.close()
 
-        yield self.runWithConnection(reindex_txn)
+        yield self.db.runWithConnection(reindex_txn)
 
-        yield self._end_background_update(self.DEVICE_INBOX_STREAM_ID)
+        yield self.db.updates._end_background_update(self.DEVICE_INBOX_STREAM_ID)
 
         return 1
 
@@ -242,8 +242,8 @@ class DeviceInboxBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
 class DeviceInboxStore(DeviceInboxWorkerStore, DeviceInboxBackgroundUpdateStore):
     DEVICE_INBOX_STREAM_ID = "device_inbox_stream_drop"
 
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(DeviceInboxStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(DeviceInboxStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
         # Map of (user_id, device_id) to the last stream_id that has been
         # deleted up to. This is so that we can no op deletions.
@@ -294,7 +294,7 @@ class DeviceInboxStore(DeviceInboxWorkerStore, DeviceInboxBackgroundUpdateStore)
 
         with self._device_inbox_id_gen.get_next() as stream_id:
             now_ms = self.clock.time_msec()
-            yield self.runInteraction(
+            yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "add_messages_to_device_inbox", add_messages_txn, now_ms, stream_id
             )
             for user_id in local_messages_by_user_then_device.keys():
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ class DeviceInboxStore(DeviceInboxWorkerStore, DeviceInboxBackgroundUpdateStore)
             # Check if we've already inserted a matching message_id for that
             # origin. This can happen if the origin doesn't receive our
             # acknowledgement from the first time we received the message.
-            already_inserted = self._simple_select_one_txn(
+            already_inserted = self.db.simple_select_one_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="device_federation_inbox",
                 keyvalues={"origin": origin, "message_id": message_id},
@@ -326,7 +326,7 @@ class DeviceInboxStore(DeviceInboxWorkerStore, DeviceInboxBackgroundUpdateStore)
 
             # Add an entry for this message_id so that we know we've processed
             # it.
-            self._simple_insert_txn(
+            self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="device_federation_inbox",
                 values={
@@ -344,7 +344,7 @@ class DeviceInboxStore(DeviceInboxWorkerStore, DeviceInboxBackgroundUpdateStore)
 
         with self._device_inbox_id_gen.get_next() as stream_id:
             now_ms = self.clock.time_msec()
-            yield self.runInteraction(
+            yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "add_messages_from_remote_to_device_inbox",
                 add_messages_txn,
                 now_ms,
@@ -380,7 +380,7 @@ class DeviceInboxStore(DeviceInboxWorkerStore, DeviceInboxBackgroundUpdateStore)
             devices = list(messages_by_device.keys())
             if len(devices) == 1 and devices[0] == "*":
                 # Handle wildcard device_ids.
-                sql = "SELECT device_id FROM devices" " WHERE user_id = ?"
+                sql = "SELECT device_id FROM devices WHERE user_id = ?"
                 txn.execute(sql, (user_id,))
                 message_json = json.dumps(messages_by_device["*"])
                 for row in txn:
@@ -465,6 +465,6 @@ class DeviceInboxStore(DeviceInboxWorkerStore, DeviceInboxBackgroundUpdateStore)
 
             return rows
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_all_new_device_messages", get_all_new_device_messages_txn
         )
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/devices.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/devices.py
index 71f62036c0..9a828231c4 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/devices.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/devices.py
@@ -30,16 +30,16 @@ from synapse.logging.opentracing import (
     whitelisted_homeserver,
 )
 from synapse.metrics.background_process_metrics import run_as_background_process
-from synapse.storage._base import (
-    Cache,
-    SQLBaseStore,
-    db_to_json,
-    make_in_list_sql_clause,
-)
-from synapse.storage.background_updates import BackgroundUpdateStore
+from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore, db_to_json, make_in_list_sql_clause
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.types import get_verify_key_from_cross_signing_key
 from synapse.util import batch_iter
-from synapse.util.caches.descriptors import cached, cachedInlineCallbacks, cachedList
+from synapse.util.caches.descriptors import (
+    Cache,
+    cached,
+    cachedInlineCallbacks,
+    cachedList,
+)
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ class DeviceWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         Raises:
             StoreError: if the device is not found
         """
-        return self._simple_select_one(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one(
             table="devices",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "device_id": device_id, "hidden": False},
             retcols=("user_id", "device_id", "display_name"),
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ class DeviceWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             containing "device_id", "user_id" and "display_name" for each
             device.
         """
-        devices = yield self._simple_select_list(
+        devices = yield self.db.simple_select_list(
             table="devices",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "hidden": False},
             retcols=("user_id", "device_id", "display_name"),
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ class DeviceWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         # consider the device update to be too large, and simply skip the
         # stream_id; the rationale being that such a large device list update
         # is likely an error.
-        updates = yield self.runInteraction(
+        updates = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_device_updates_by_remote",
             self._get_device_updates_by_remote_txn,
             destination,
@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@ class DeviceWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
         """
         devices = (
-            yield self.runInteraction(
+            yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "_get_e2e_device_keys_txn",
                 self._get_e2e_device_keys_txn,
                 query_map.keys(),
@@ -340,12 +340,12 @@ class DeviceWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             rows = txn.fetchall()
             return rows[0][0]
 
-        return self.runInteraction("get_last_device_update_for_remote_user", f)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("get_last_device_update_for_remote_user", f)
 
     def mark_as_sent_devices_by_remote(self, destination, stream_id):
         """Mark that updates have successfully been sent to the destination.
         """
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "mark_as_sent_devices_by_remote",
             self._mark_as_sent_devices_by_remote_txn,
             destination,
@@ -399,7 +399,7 @@ class DeviceWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         """
 
         with self._device_list_id_gen.get_next() as stream_id:
-            yield self.runInteraction(
+            yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "add_user_sig_change_to_streams",
                 self._add_user_signature_change_txn,
                 from_user_id,
@@ -414,7 +414,7 @@ class DeviceWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             from_user_id,
             stream_id,
         )
-        self._simple_insert_txn(
+        self.db.simple_insert_txn(
             txn,
             "user_signature_stream",
             values={
@@ -466,7 +466,7 @@ class DeviceWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
     @cachedInlineCallbacks(num_args=2, tree=True)
     def _get_cached_user_device(self, user_id, device_id):
-        content = yield self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        content = yield self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="device_lists_remote_cache",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "device_id": device_id},
             retcol="content",
@@ -476,7 +476,7 @@ class DeviceWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
     @cachedInlineCallbacks()
     def _get_cached_devices_for_user(self, user_id):
-        devices = yield self._simple_select_list(
+        devices = yield self.db.simple_select_list(
             table="device_lists_remote_cache",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             retcols=("device_id", "content"),
@@ -492,7 +492,7 @@ class DeviceWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         Returns:
             (stream_id, devices)
         """
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_devices_with_keys_by_user",
             self._get_devices_with_keys_by_user_txn,
             user_id,
@@ -565,7 +565,7 @@ class DeviceWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
             return changes
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_users_whose_devices_changed", _get_users_whose_devices_changed_txn
         )
 
@@ -584,7 +584,7 @@ class DeviceWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 SELECT DISTINCT user_ids FROM user_signature_stream
                 WHERE from_user_id = ? AND stream_id > ?
             """
-            rows = yield self._execute(
+            rows = yield self.db.execute(
                 "get_users_whose_signatures_changed", None, sql, user_id, from_key
             )
             return set(user for row in rows for user in json.loads(row[0]))
@@ -605,7 +605,7 @@ class DeviceWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             WHERE ? < stream_id AND stream_id <= ?
             GROUP BY user_id, destination
         """
-        return self._execute(
+        return self.db.execute(
             "get_all_device_list_changes_for_remotes", None, sql, from_key, to_key
         )
 
@@ -614,7 +614,7 @@ class DeviceWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         """Get the last stream_id we got for a user. May be None if we haven't
         got any information for them.
         """
-        return self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="device_lists_remote_extremeties",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             retcol="stream_id",
@@ -628,7 +628,7 @@ class DeviceWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         inlineCallbacks=True,
     )
     def get_device_list_last_stream_id_for_remotes(self, user_ids):
-        rows = yield self._simple_select_many_batch(
+        rows = yield self.db.simple_select_many_batch(
             table="device_lists_remote_extremeties",
             column="user_id",
             iterable=user_ids,
@@ -642,11 +642,11 @@ class DeviceWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         return results
 
 
-class DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+class DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore(SQLBaseStore):
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
-        self.register_background_index_update(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_index_update(
             "device_lists_stream_idx",
             index_name="device_lists_stream_user_id",
             table="device_lists_stream",
@@ -654,7 +654,7 @@ class DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
         )
 
         # create a unique index on device_lists_remote_cache
-        self.register_background_index_update(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_index_update(
             "device_lists_remote_cache_unique_idx",
             index_name="device_lists_remote_cache_unique_id",
             table="device_lists_remote_cache",
@@ -663,7 +663,7 @@ class DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
         )
 
         # And one on device_lists_remote_extremeties
-        self.register_background_index_update(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_index_update(
             "device_lists_remote_extremeties_unique_idx",
             index_name="device_lists_remote_extremeties_unique_idx",
             table="device_lists_remote_extremeties",
@@ -672,7 +672,7 @@ class DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
         )
 
         # once they complete, we can remove the old non-unique indexes.
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             DROP_DEVICE_LIST_STREAMS_NON_UNIQUE_INDEXES,
             self._drop_device_list_streams_non_unique_indexes,
         )
@@ -685,14 +685,16 @@ class DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
             txn.execute("DROP INDEX IF EXISTS device_lists_remote_extremeties_id")
             txn.close()
 
-        yield self.runWithConnection(f)
-        yield self._end_background_update(DROP_DEVICE_LIST_STREAMS_NON_UNIQUE_INDEXES)
+        yield self.db.runWithConnection(f)
+        yield self.db.updates._end_background_update(
+            DROP_DEVICE_LIST_STREAMS_NON_UNIQUE_INDEXES
+        )
         return 1
 
 
 class DeviceStore(DeviceWorkerStore, DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(DeviceStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(DeviceStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
         # Map of (user_id, device_id) -> bool. If there is an entry that implies
         # the device exists.
@@ -722,7 +724,7 @@ class DeviceStore(DeviceWorkerStore, DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore):
             return False
 
         try:
-            inserted = yield self._simple_insert(
+            inserted = yield self.db.simple_insert(
                 "devices",
                 values={
                     "user_id": user_id,
@@ -736,7 +738,7 @@ class DeviceStore(DeviceWorkerStore, DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore):
             if not inserted:
                 # if the device already exists, check if it's a real device, or
                 # if the device ID is reserved by something else
-                hidden = yield self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+                hidden = yield self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
                     "devices",
                     keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "device_id": device_id},
                     retcol="hidden",
@@ -771,7 +773,7 @@ class DeviceStore(DeviceWorkerStore, DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore):
         Returns:
             defer.Deferred
         """
-        yield self._simple_delete_one(
+        yield self.db.simple_delete_one(
             table="devices",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "device_id": device_id, "hidden": False},
             desc="delete_device",
@@ -789,7 +791,7 @@ class DeviceStore(DeviceWorkerStore, DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore):
         Returns:
             defer.Deferred
         """
-        yield self._simple_delete_many(
+        yield self.db.simple_delete_many(
             table="devices",
             column="device_id",
             iterable=device_ids,
@@ -818,7 +820,7 @@ class DeviceStore(DeviceWorkerStore, DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore):
             updates["display_name"] = new_display_name
         if not updates:
             return defer.succeed(None)
-        return self._simple_update_one(
+        return self.db.simple_update_one(
             table="devices",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "device_id": device_id, "hidden": False},
             updatevalues=updates,
@@ -829,7 +831,7 @@ class DeviceStore(DeviceWorkerStore, DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore):
     def mark_remote_user_device_list_as_unsubscribed(self, user_id):
         """Mark that we no longer track device lists for remote user.
         """
-        yield self._simple_delete(
+        yield self.db.simple_delete(
             table="device_lists_remote_extremeties",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             desc="mark_remote_user_device_list_as_unsubscribed",
@@ -853,7 +855,7 @@ class DeviceStore(DeviceWorkerStore, DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore):
         Returns:
             Deferred[None]
         """
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "update_remote_device_list_cache_entry",
             self._update_remote_device_list_cache_entry_txn,
             user_id,
@@ -866,7 +868,7 @@ class DeviceStore(DeviceWorkerStore, DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore):
         self, txn, user_id, device_id, content, stream_id
     ):
         if content.get("deleted"):
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="device_lists_remote_cache",
                 keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "device_id": device_id},
@@ -874,7 +876,7 @@ class DeviceStore(DeviceWorkerStore, DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore):
 
             txn.call_after(self.device_id_exists_cache.invalidate, (user_id, device_id))
         else:
-            self._simple_upsert_txn(
+            self.db.simple_upsert_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="device_lists_remote_cache",
                 keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "device_id": device_id},
@@ -890,7 +892,7 @@ class DeviceStore(DeviceWorkerStore, DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore):
             self.get_device_list_last_stream_id_for_remote.invalidate, (user_id,)
         )
 
-        self._simple_upsert_txn(
+        self.db.simple_upsert_txn(
             txn,
             table="device_lists_remote_extremeties",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
@@ -914,7 +916,7 @@ class DeviceStore(DeviceWorkerStore, DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore):
         Returns:
             Deferred[None]
         """
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "update_remote_device_list_cache",
             self._update_remote_device_list_cache_txn,
             user_id,
@@ -923,11 +925,11 @@ class DeviceStore(DeviceWorkerStore, DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore):
         )
 
     def _update_remote_device_list_cache_txn(self, txn, user_id, devices, stream_id):
-        self._simple_delete_txn(
+        self.db.simple_delete_txn(
             txn, table="device_lists_remote_cache", keyvalues={"user_id": user_id}
         )
 
-        self._simple_insert_many_txn(
+        self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(
             txn,
             table="device_lists_remote_cache",
             values=[
@@ -946,7 +948,7 @@ class DeviceStore(DeviceWorkerStore, DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore):
             self.get_device_list_last_stream_id_for_remote.invalidate, (user_id,)
         )
 
-        self._simple_upsert_txn(
+        self.db.simple_upsert_txn(
             txn,
             table="device_lists_remote_extremeties",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
@@ -962,7 +964,7 @@ class DeviceStore(DeviceWorkerStore, DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore):
         (if any) should be poked.
         """
         with self._device_list_id_gen.get_next() as stream_id:
-            yield self.runInteraction(
+            yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "add_device_change_to_streams",
                 self._add_device_change_txn,
                 user_id,
@@ -995,7 +997,7 @@ class DeviceStore(DeviceWorkerStore, DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore):
             [(user_id, device_id, stream_id) for device_id in device_ids],
         )
 
-        self._simple_insert_many_txn(
+        self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(
             txn,
             table="device_lists_stream",
             values=[
@@ -1006,7 +1008,7 @@ class DeviceStore(DeviceWorkerStore, DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore):
 
         context = get_active_span_text_map()
 
-        self._simple_insert_many_txn(
+        self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(
             txn,
             table="device_lists_outbound_pokes",
             values=[
@@ -1069,7 +1071,7 @@ class DeviceStore(DeviceWorkerStore, DeviceBackgroundUpdateStore):
 
         return run_as_background_process(
             "prune_old_outbound_device_pokes",
-            self.runInteraction,
+            self.db.runInteraction,
             "_prune_old_outbound_device_pokes",
             _prune_txn,
         )
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/directory.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/directory.py
index 297966d9f4..c9e7de7d12 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/directory.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/directory.py
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ class DirectoryWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             Deferred: results in namedtuple with keys "room_id" and
             "servers" or None if no association can be found
         """
-        room_id = yield self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        room_id = yield self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             "room_aliases",
             {"room_alias": room_alias.to_string()},
             "room_id",
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ class DirectoryWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         if not room_id:
             return None
 
-        servers = yield self._simple_select_onecol(
+        servers = yield self.db.simple_select_onecol(
             "room_alias_servers",
             {"room_alias": room_alias.to_string()},
             "server",
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ class DirectoryWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         return RoomAliasMapping(room_id, room_alias.to_string(), servers)
 
     def get_room_alias_creator(self, room_alias):
-        return self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="room_aliases",
             keyvalues={"room_alias": room_alias},
             retcol="creator",
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ class DirectoryWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
     @cached(max_entries=5000)
     def get_aliases_for_room(self, room_id):
-        return self._simple_select_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_onecol(
             "room_aliases",
             {"room_id": room_id},
             "room_alias",
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ class DirectoryStore(DirectoryWorkerStore):
         """
 
         def alias_txn(txn):
-            self._simple_insert_txn(
+            self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                 txn,
                 "room_aliases",
                 {
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ class DirectoryStore(DirectoryWorkerStore):
                 },
             )
 
-            self._simple_insert_many_txn(
+            self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="room_alias_servers",
                 values=[
@@ -117,7 +117,9 @@ class DirectoryStore(DirectoryWorkerStore):
             )
 
         try:
-            ret = yield self.runInteraction("create_room_alias_association", alias_txn)
+            ret = yield self.db.runInteraction(
+                "create_room_alias_association", alias_txn
+            )
         except self.database_engine.module.IntegrityError:
             raise SynapseError(
                 409, "Room alias %s already exists" % room_alias.to_string()
@@ -126,7 +128,7 @@ class DirectoryStore(DirectoryWorkerStore):
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def delete_room_alias(self, room_alias):
-        room_id = yield self.runInteraction(
+        room_id = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "delete_room_alias", self._delete_room_alias_txn, room_alias
         )
 
@@ -168,6 +170,6 @@ class DirectoryStore(DirectoryWorkerStore):
                 txn, self.get_aliases_for_room, (new_room_id,)
             )
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "_update_aliases_for_room_txn", _update_aliases_for_room_txn
         )
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/e2e_room_keys.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/e2e_room_keys.py
index 1cbbae5b63..84594cf0a9 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/e2e_room_keys.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/e2e_room_keys.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 # Copyright 2017 New Vector Ltd
+# Copyright 2019 Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C.
 #
 # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -24,49 +25,8 @@ from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore
 
 class EndToEndRoomKeyStore(SQLBaseStore):
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def get_e2e_room_key(self, user_id, version, room_id, session_id):
-        """Get the encrypted E2E room key for a given session from a given
-        backup version of room_keys.  We only store the 'best' room key for a given
-        session at a given time, as determined by the handler.
-
-        Args:
-            user_id(str): the user whose backup we're querying
-            version(str): the version ID of the backup for the set of keys we're querying
-            room_id(str): the ID of the room whose keys we're querying.
-                This is a bit redundant as it's implied by the session_id, but
-                we include for consistency with the rest of the API.
-            session_id(str): the session whose room_key we're querying.
-
-        Returns:
-            A deferred dict giving the session_data and message metadata for
-            this room key.
-        """
-
-        row = yield self._simple_select_one(
-            table="e2e_room_keys",
-            keyvalues={
-                "user_id": user_id,
-                "version": version,
-                "room_id": room_id,
-                "session_id": session_id,
-            },
-            retcols=(
-                "first_message_index",
-                "forwarded_count",
-                "is_verified",
-                "session_data",
-            ),
-            desc="get_e2e_room_key",
-        )
-
-        row["session_data"] = json.loads(row["session_data"])
-
-        return row
-
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def set_e2e_room_key(self, user_id, version, room_id, session_id, room_key):
-        """Replaces or inserts the encrypted E2E room key for a given session in
-        a given backup
+    def update_e2e_room_key(self, user_id, version, room_id, session_id, room_key):
+        """Replaces the encrypted E2E room key for a given session in a given backup
 
         Args:
             user_id(str): the user whose backup we're setting
@@ -78,7 +38,7 @@ class EndToEndRoomKeyStore(SQLBaseStore):
             StoreError
         """
 
-        yield self._simple_upsert(
+        yield self.db.simple_update_one(
             table="e2e_room_keys",
             keyvalues={
                 "user_id": user_id,
@@ -86,21 +46,51 @@ class EndToEndRoomKeyStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 "room_id": room_id,
                 "session_id": session_id,
             },
-            values={
+            updatevalues={
                 "first_message_index": room_key["first_message_index"],
                 "forwarded_count": room_key["forwarded_count"],
                 "is_verified": room_key["is_verified"],
                 "session_data": json.dumps(room_key["session_data"]),
             },
-            lock=False,
+            desc="update_e2e_room_key",
         )
-        log_kv(
-            {
-                "message": "Set room key",
-                "room_id": room_id,
-                "session_id": session_id,
-                "room_key": room_key,
-            }
+
+    @defer.inlineCallbacks
+    def add_e2e_room_keys(self, user_id, version, room_keys):
+        """Bulk add room keys to a given backup.
+
+        Args:
+            user_id (str): the user whose backup we're adding to
+            version (str): the version ID of the backup for the set of keys we're adding to
+            room_keys (iterable[(str, str, dict)]): the keys to add, in the form
+                (roomID, sessionID, keyData)
+        """
+
+        values = []
+        for (room_id, session_id, room_key) in room_keys:
+            values.append(
+                {
+                    "user_id": user_id,
+                    "version": version,
+                    "room_id": room_id,
+                    "session_id": session_id,
+                    "first_message_index": room_key["first_message_index"],
+                    "forwarded_count": room_key["forwarded_count"],
+                    "is_verified": room_key["is_verified"],
+                    "session_data": json.dumps(room_key["session_data"]),
+                }
+            )
+            log_kv(
+                {
+                    "message": "Set room key",
+                    "room_id": room_id,
+                    "session_id": session_id,
+                    "room_key": room_key,
+                }
+            )
+
+        yield self.db.simple_insert_many(
+            table="e2e_room_keys", values=values, desc="add_e2e_room_keys"
         )
 
     @trace
@@ -110,11 +100,11 @@ class EndToEndRoomKeyStore(SQLBaseStore):
         room, or a given session.
 
         Args:
-            user_id(str): the user whose backup we're querying
-            version(str): the version ID of the backup for the set of keys we're querying
-            room_id(str): Optional. the ID of the room whose keys we're querying, if any.
+            user_id (str): the user whose backup we're querying
+            version (str): the version ID of the backup for the set of keys we're querying
+            room_id (str): Optional. the ID of the room whose keys we're querying, if any.
                 If not specified, we return the keys for all the rooms in the backup.
-            session_id(str): Optional. the session whose room_key we're querying, if any.
+            session_id (str): Optional. the session whose room_key we're querying, if any.
                 If specified, we also require the room_id to be specified.
                 If not specified, we return all the keys in this version of
                 the backup (or for the specified room)
@@ -135,7 +125,7 @@ class EndToEndRoomKeyStore(SQLBaseStore):
             if session_id:
                 keyvalues["session_id"] = session_id
 
-        rows = yield self._simple_select_list(
+        rows = yield self.db.simple_select_list(
             table="e2e_room_keys",
             keyvalues=keyvalues,
             retcols=(
@@ -162,6 +152,95 @@ class EndToEndRoomKeyStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
         return sessions
 
+    def get_e2e_room_keys_multi(self, user_id, version, room_keys):
+        """Get multiple room keys at a time.  The difference between this function and
+        get_e2e_room_keys is that this function can be used to retrieve
+        multiple specific keys at a time, whereas get_e2e_room_keys is used for
+        getting all the keys in a backup version, all the keys for a room, or a
+        specific key.
+
+        Args:
+            user_id (str): the user whose backup we're querying
+            version (str): the version ID of the backup we're querying about
+            room_keys (dict[str, dict[str, iterable[str]]]): a map from
+                room ID -> {"session": [session ids]} indicating the session IDs
+                that we want to query
+
+        Returns:
+           Deferred[dict[str, dict[str, dict]]]: a map of room IDs to session IDs to room key
+        """
+
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
+            "get_e2e_room_keys_multi",
+            self._get_e2e_room_keys_multi_txn,
+            user_id,
+            version,
+            room_keys,
+        )
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _get_e2e_room_keys_multi_txn(txn, user_id, version, room_keys):
+        if not room_keys:
+            return {}
+
+        where_clauses = []
+        params = [user_id, version]
+        for room_id, room in room_keys.items():
+            sessions = list(room["sessions"])
+            if not sessions:
+                continue
+            params.append(room_id)
+            params.extend(sessions)
+            where_clauses.append(
+                "(room_id = ? AND session_id IN (%s))"
+                % (",".join(["?" for _ in sessions]),)
+            )
+
+        # check if we're actually querying something
+        if not where_clauses:
+            return {}
+
+        sql = """
+        SELECT room_id, session_id, first_message_index, forwarded_count,
+               is_verified, session_data
+        FROM e2e_room_keys
+        WHERE user_id = ? AND version = ? AND (%s)
+        """ % (
+            " OR ".join(where_clauses)
+        )
+
+        txn.execute(sql, params)
+
+        ret = {}
+
+        for row in txn:
+            room_id = row[0]
+            session_id = row[1]
+            ret.setdefault(room_id, {})
+            ret[room_id][session_id] = {
+                "first_message_index": row[2],
+                "forwarded_count": row[3],
+                "is_verified": row[4],
+                "session_data": json.loads(row[5]),
+            }
+
+        return ret
+
+    def count_e2e_room_keys(self, user_id, version):
+        """Get the number of keys in a backup version.
+
+        Args:
+            user_id (str): the user whose backup we're querying
+            version (str): the version ID of the backup we're querying about
+        """
+
+        return self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
+            table="e2e_room_keys",
+            keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "version": version},
+            retcol="COUNT(*)",
+            desc="count_e2e_room_keys",
+        )
+
     @trace
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def delete_e2e_room_keys(self, user_id, version, room_id=None, session_id=None):
@@ -188,7 +267,7 @@ class EndToEndRoomKeyStore(SQLBaseStore):
             if session_id:
                 keyvalues["session_id"] = session_id
 
-        yield self._simple_delete(
+        yield self.db.simple_delete(
             table="e2e_room_keys", keyvalues=keyvalues, desc="delete_e2e_room_keys"
         )
 
@@ -219,6 +298,7 @@ class EndToEndRoomKeyStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 version(str)
                 algorithm(str)
                 auth_data(object): opaque dict supplied by the client
+                etag(int): tag of the keys in the backup
         """
 
         def _get_e2e_room_keys_version_info_txn(txn):
@@ -232,17 +312,19 @@ class EndToEndRoomKeyStore(SQLBaseStore):
                     # it isn't there.
                     raise StoreError(404, "No row found")
 
-            result = self._simple_select_one_txn(
+            result = self.db.simple_select_one_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="e2e_room_keys_versions",
                 keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "version": this_version, "deleted": 0},
-                retcols=("version", "algorithm", "auth_data"),
+                retcols=("version", "algorithm", "auth_data", "etag"),
             )
             result["auth_data"] = json.loads(result["auth_data"])
             result["version"] = str(result["version"])
+            if result["etag"] is None:
+                result["etag"] = 0
             return result
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_e2e_room_keys_version_info", _get_e2e_room_keys_version_info_txn
         )
 
@@ -270,7 +352,7 @@ class EndToEndRoomKeyStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
             new_version = str(int(current_version) + 1)
 
-            self._simple_insert_txn(
+            self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="e2e_room_keys_versions",
                 values={
@@ -283,26 +365,38 @@ class EndToEndRoomKeyStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
             return new_version
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "create_e2e_room_keys_version_txn", _create_e2e_room_keys_version_txn
         )
 
     @trace
-    def update_e2e_room_keys_version(self, user_id, version, info):
+    def update_e2e_room_keys_version(
+        self, user_id, version, info=None, version_etag=None
+    ):
         """Update a given backup version
 
         Args:
             user_id(str): the user whose backup version we're updating
             version(str): the version ID of the backup version we're updating
-            info(dict): the new backup version info to store
+            info (dict): the new backup version info to store.  If None, then
+                the backup version info is not updated
+            version_etag (Optional[int]): etag of the keys in the backup.  If
+                None, then the etag is not updated
         """
+        updatevalues = {}
 
-        return self._simple_update(
-            table="e2e_room_keys_versions",
-            keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "version": version},
-            updatevalues={"auth_data": json.dumps(info["auth_data"])},
-            desc="update_e2e_room_keys_version",
-        )
+        if info is not None and "auth_data" in info:
+            updatevalues["auth_data"] = json.dumps(info["auth_data"])
+        if version_etag is not None:
+            updatevalues["etag"] = version_etag
+
+        if updatevalues:
+            return self.db.simple_update(
+                table="e2e_room_keys_versions",
+                keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "version": version},
+                updatevalues=updatevalues,
+                desc="update_e2e_room_keys_version",
+            )
 
     @trace
     def delete_e2e_room_keys_version(self, user_id, version=None):
@@ -326,19 +420,19 @@ class EndToEndRoomKeyStore(SQLBaseStore):
             else:
                 this_version = version
 
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="e2e_room_keys",
                 keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "version": this_version},
             )
 
-            return self._simple_update_one_txn(
+            return self.db.simple_update_one_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="e2e_room_keys_versions",
                 keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "version": this_version},
                 updatevalues={"deleted": 1},
             )
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "delete_e2e_room_keys_version", _delete_e2e_room_keys_version_txn
         )
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/end_to_end_keys.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/end_to_end_keys.py
index 073412a78d..38cd0ca9b8 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/end_to_end_keys.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/end_to_end_keys.py
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ class EndToEndKeyWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         if not query_list:
             return {}
 
-        results = yield self.runInteraction(
+        results = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_e2e_device_keys",
             self._get_e2e_device_keys_txn,
             query_list,
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ class EndToEndKeyWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         )
 
         txn.execute(sql, query_params)
-        rows = self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+        rows = self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
 
         result = {}
         for row in rows:
@@ -138,20 +138,35 @@ class EndToEndKeyWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 result.setdefault(user_id, {})[device_id] = None
 
         # get signatures on the device
-        signature_sql = (
-            "SELECT * " "  FROM e2e_cross_signing_signatures " " WHERE %s"
-        ) % (" OR ".join("(" + q + ")" for q in signature_query_clauses))
+        signature_sql = ("SELECT *  FROM e2e_cross_signing_signatures WHERE %s") % (
+            " OR ".join("(" + q + ")" for q in signature_query_clauses)
+        )
 
         txn.execute(signature_sql, signature_query_params)
-        rows = self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+        rows = self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
 
+        # add each cross-signing signature to the correct device in the result dict.
         for row in rows:
+            signing_user_id = row["user_id"]
+            signing_key_id = row["key_id"]
             target_user_id = row["target_user_id"]
             target_device_id = row["target_device_id"]
-            if target_user_id in result and target_device_id in result[target_user_id]:
-                result[target_user_id][target_device_id].setdefault(
-                    "signatures", {}
-                ).setdefault(row["user_id"], {})[row["key_id"]] = row["signature"]
+            signature = row["signature"]
+
+            target_user_result = result.get(target_user_id)
+            if not target_user_result:
+                continue
+
+            target_device_result = target_user_result.get(target_device_id)
+            if not target_device_result:
+                # note that target_device_result will be None for deleted devices.
+                continue
+
+            target_device_signatures = target_device_result.setdefault("signatures", {})
+            signing_user_signatures = target_device_signatures.setdefault(
+                signing_user_id, {}
+            )
+            signing_user_signatures[signing_key_id] = signature
 
         log_kv(result)
         return result
@@ -171,7 +186,7 @@ class EndToEndKeyWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             key_id) to json string for key
         """
 
-        rows = yield self._simple_select_many_batch(
+        rows = yield self.db.simple_select_many_batch(
             table="e2e_one_time_keys_json",
             column="key_id",
             iterable=key_ids,
@@ -204,7 +219,7 @@ class EndToEndKeyWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             # a unique constraint. If there is a race of two calls to
             # `add_e2e_one_time_keys` then they'll conflict and we will only
             # insert one set.
-            self._simple_insert_many_txn(
+            self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="e2e_one_time_keys_json",
                 values=[
@@ -223,7 +238,7 @@ class EndToEndKeyWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 txn, self.count_e2e_one_time_keys, (user_id, device_id)
             )
 
-        yield self.runInteraction(
+        yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "add_e2e_one_time_keys_insert", _add_e2e_one_time_keys
         )
 
@@ -246,7 +261,9 @@ class EndToEndKeyWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 result[algorithm] = key_count
             return result
 
-        return self.runInteraction("count_e2e_one_time_keys", _count_e2e_one_time_keys)
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
+            "count_e2e_one_time_keys", _count_e2e_one_time_keys
+        )
 
     def _get_e2e_cross_signing_key_txn(self, txn, user_id, key_type, from_user_id=None):
         """Returns a user's cross-signing key.
@@ -307,7 +324,7 @@ class EndToEndKeyWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         Returns:
             dict of the key data or None if not found
         """
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_e2e_cross_signing_key",
             self._get_e2e_cross_signing_key_txn,
             user_id,
@@ -335,7 +352,7 @@ class EndToEndKeyWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             WHERE ? < stream_id AND stream_id <= ?
             GROUP BY user_id
         """
-        return self._execute(
+        return self.db.execute(
             "get_all_user_signature_changes_for_remotes", None, sql, from_key, to_key
         )
 
@@ -352,7 +369,7 @@ class EndToEndKeyStore(EndToEndKeyWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
             set_tag("time_now", time_now)
             set_tag("device_keys", device_keys)
 
-            old_key_json = self._simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
+            old_key_json = self.db.simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="e2e_device_keys_json",
                 keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "device_id": device_id},
@@ -368,7 +385,7 @@ class EndToEndKeyStore(EndToEndKeyWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
                 log_kv({"Message": "Device key already stored."})
                 return False
 
-            self._simple_upsert_txn(
+            self.db.simple_upsert_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="e2e_device_keys_json",
                 keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "device_id": device_id},
@@ -377,7 +394,7 @@ class EndToEndKeyStore(EndToEndKeyWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
             log_kv({"message": "Device keys stored."})
             return True
 
-        return self.runInteraction("set_e2e_device_keys", _set_e2e_device_keys_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("set_e2e_device_keys", _set_e2e_device_keys_txn)
 
     def claim_e2e_one_time_keys(self, query_list):
         """Take a list of one time keys out of the database"""
@@ -416,7 +433,9 @@ class EndToEndKeyStore(EndToEndKeyWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
                 )
             return result
 
-        return self.runInteraction("claim_e2e_one_time_keys", _claim_e2e_one_time_keys)
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
+            "claim_e2e_one_time_keys", _claim_e2e_one_time_keys
+        )
 
     def delete_e2e_keys_by_device(self, user_id, device_id):
         def delete_e2e_keys_by_device_txn(txn):
@@ -427,12 +446,12 @@ class EndToEndKeyStore(EndToEndKeyWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
                     "user_id": user_id,
                 }
             )
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="e2e_device_keys_json",
                 keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "device_id": device_id},
             )
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="e2e_one_time_keys_json",
                 keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "device_id": device_id},
@@ -441,7 +460,7 @@ class EndToEndKeyStore(EndToEndKeyWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
                 txn, self.count_e2e_one_time_keys, (user_id, device_id)
             )
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "delete_e2e_keys_by_device", delete_e2e_keys_by_device_txn
         )
 
@@ -477,7 +496,7 @@ class EndToEndKeyStore(EndToEndKeyWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
         # The "keys" property must only have one entry, which will be the public
         # key, so we just grab the first value in there
         pubkey = next(iter(key["keys"].values()))
-        self._simple_insert_txn(
+        self.db.simple_insert_txn(
             txn,
             "devices",
             values={
@@ -490,7 +509,7 @@ class EndToEndKeyStore(EndToEndKeyWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
 
         # and finally, store the key itself
         with self._cross_signing_id_gen.get_next() as stream_id:
-            self._simple_insert_txn(
+            self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                 txn,
                 "e2e_cross_signing_keys",
                 values={
@@ -509,7 +528,7 @@ class EndToEndKeyStore(EndToEndKeyWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
             key_type (str): the type of cross-signing key to set
             key (dict): the key data
         """
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "add_e2e_cross_signing_key",
             self._set_e2e_cross_signing_key_txn,
             user_id,
@@ -524,7 +543,7 @@ class EndToEndKeyStore(EndToEndKeyWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
             user_id (str): the user who made the signatures
             signatures (iterable[SignatureListItem]): signatures to add
         """
-        return self._simple_insert_many(
+        return self.db.simple_insert_many(
             "e2e_cross_signing_signatures",
             [
                 {
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/event_federation.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/event_federation.py
index 90bef0cd2c..1f517e8fad 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/event_federation.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/event_federation.py
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ from synapse.metrics.background_process_metrics import run_as_background_process
 from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore, make_in_list_sql_clause
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.events_worker import EventsWorkerStore
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.signatures import SignatureWorkerStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.util.caches.descriptors import cached
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -58,7 +59,7 @@ class EventFederationWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SignatureWorkerStore, SQLBas
         Returns:
             list of event_ids
         """
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_auth_chain_ids", self._get_auth_chain_ids_txn, event_ids, include_given
         )
 
@@ -90,12 +91,12 @@ class EventFederationWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SignatureWorkerStore, SQLBas
         return list(results)
 
     def get_oldest_events_in_room(self, room_id):
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_oldest_events_in_room", self._get_oldest_events_in_room_txn, room_id
         )
 
     def get_oldest_events_with_depth_in_room(self, room_id):
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_oldest_events_with_depth_in_room",
             self.get_oldest_events_with_depth_in_room_txn,
             room_id,
@@ -126,7 +127,7 @@ class EventFederationWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SignatureWorkerStore, SQLBas
         Returns
             Deferred[int]
         """
-        rows = yield self._simple_select_many_batch(
+        rows = yield self.db.simple_select_many_batch(
             table="events",
             column="event_id",
             iterable=event_ids,
@@ -140,7 +141,7 @@ class EventFederationWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SignatureWorkerStore, SQLBas
             return max(row["depth"] for row in rows)
 
     def _get_oldest_events_in_room_txn(self, txn, room_id):
-        return self._simple_select_onecol_txn(
+        return self.db.simple_select_onecol_txn(
             txn,
             table="event_backward_extremities",
             keyvalues={"room_id": room_id},
@@ -188,7 +189,7 @@ class EventFederationWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SignatureWorkerStore, SQLBas
                 where *hashes* is a map from algorithm to hash.
         """
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_latest_event_ids_and_hashes_in_room",
             self._get_latest_event_ids_and_hashes_in_room,
             room_id,
@@ -229,13 +230,13 @@ class EventFederationWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SignatureWorkerStore, SQLBas
             txn.execute(sql, query_args)
             return [room_id for room_id, in txn]
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_rooms_with_many_extremities", _get_rooms_with_many_extremities_txn
         )
 
     @cached(max_entries=5000, iterable=True)
     def get_latest_event_ids_in_room(self, room_id):
-        return self._simple_select_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_onecol(
             table="event_forward_extremities",
             keyvalues={"room_id": room_id},
             retcol="event_id",
@@ -266,12 +267,12 @@ class EventFederationWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SignatureWorkerStore, SQLBas
     def get_min_depth(self, room_id):
         """ For hte given room, get the minimum depth we have seen for it.
         """
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_min_depth", self._get_min_depth_interaction, room_id
         )
 
     def _get_min_depth_interaction(self, txn, room_id):
-        min_depth = self._simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
+        min_depth = self.db.simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
             txn,
             table="room_depth",
             keyvalues={"room_id": room_id},
@@ -337,7 +338,7 @@ class EventFederationWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SignatureWorkerStore, SQLBas
             txn.execute(sql, (stream_ordering, room_id))
             return [event_id for event_id, in txn]
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_forward_extremeties_for_room", get_forward_extremeties_for_room_txn
         )
 
@@ -352,7 +353,7 @@ class EventFederationWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SignatureWorkerStore, SQLBas
             limit (int)
         """
         return (
-            self.runInteraction(
+            self.db.runInteraction(
                 "get_backfill_events",
                 self._get_backfill_events,
                 room_id,
@@ -383,7 +384,7 @@ class EventFederationWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SignatureWorkerStore, SQLBas
         queue = PriorityQueue()
 
         for event_id in event_list:
-            depth = self._simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
+            depth = self.db.simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="events",
                 keyvalues={"event_id": event_id, "room_id": room_id},
@@ -415,7 +416,7 @@ class EventFederationWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SignatureWorkerStore, SQLBas
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def get_missing_events(self, room_id, earliest_events, latest_events, limit):
-        ids = yield self.runInteraction(
+        ids = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_missing_events",
             self._get_missing_events,
             room_id,
@@ -468,7 +469,7 @@ class EventFederationWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SignatureWorkerStore, SQLBas
         Returns:
             Deferred[list[str]]
         """
-        rows = yield self._simple_select_many_batch(
+        rows = yield self.db.simple_select_many_batch(
             table="event_edges",
             column="prev_event_id",
             iterable=event_ids,
@@ -491,10 +492,10 @@ class EventFederationStore(EventFederationWorkerStore):
 
     EVENT_AUTH_STATE_ONLY = "event_auth_state_only"
 
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(EventFederationStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(EventFederationStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             self.EVENT_AUTH_STATE_ONLY, self._background_delete_non_state_event_auth
         )
 
@@ -508,7 +509,7 @@ class EventFederationStore(EventFederationWorkerStore):
         if min_depth and depth >= min_depth:
             return
 
-        self._simple_upsert_txn(
+        self.db.simple_upsert_txn(
             txn,
             table="room_depth",
             keyvalues={"room_id": room_id},
@@ -520,7 +521,7 @@ class EventFederationStore(EventFederationWorkerStore):
         For the given event, update the event edges table and forward and
         backward extremities tables.
         """
-        self._simple_insert_many_txn(
+        self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(
             txn,
             table="event_edges",
             values=[
@@ -604,13 +605,13 @@ class EventFederationStore(EventFederationWorkerStore):
 
         return run_as_background_process(
             "delete_old_forward_extrem_cache",
-            self.runInteraction,
+            self.db.runInteraction,
             "_delete_old_forward_extrem_cache",
             _delete_old_forward_extrem_cache_txn,
         )
 
     def clean_room_for_join(self, room_id):
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "clean_room_for_join", self._clean_room_for_join_txn, room_id
         )
 
@@ -654,17 +655,17 @@ class EventFederationStore(EventFederationWorkerStore):
                 "max_stream_id_exclusive": min_stream_id,
             }
 
-            self._background_update_progress_txn(
+            self.db.updates._background_update_progress_txn(
                 txn, self.EVENT_AUTH_STATE_ONLY, new_progress
             )
 
             return min_stream_id >= target_min_stream_id
 
-        result = yield self.runInteraction(
+        result = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             self.EVENT_AUTH_STATE_ONLY, delete_event_auth
         )
 
         if not result:
-            yield self._end_background_update(self.EVENT_AUTH_STATE_ONLY)
+            yield self.db.updates._end_background_update(self.EVENT_AUTH_STATE_ONLY)
 
         return batch_size
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/event_push_actions.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/event_push_actions.py
index 04ce21ac66..9988a6d3fc 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/event_push_actions.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/event_push_actions.py
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ from twisted.internet import defer
 
 from synapse.metrics.background_process_metrics import run_as_background_process
 from synapse.storage._base import LoggingTransaction, SQLBaseStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.util.caches.descriptors import cachedInlineCallbacks
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -68,8 +69,8 @@ def _deserialize_action(actions, is_highlight):
 
 
 class EventPushActionsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(EventPushActionsWorkerStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(EventPushActionsWorkerStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
         # These get correctly set by _find_stream_orderings_for_times_txn
         self.stream_ordering_month_ago = None
@@ -93,7 +94,7 @@ class EventPushActionsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
     def get_unread_event_push_actions_by_room_for_user(
         self, room_id, user_id, last_read_event_id
     ):
-        ret = yield self.runInteraction(
+        ret = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_unread_event_push_actions_by_room",
             self._get_unread_counts_by_receipt_txn,
             room_id,
@@ -177,7 +178,7 @@ class EventPushActionsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             txn.execute(sql, (min_stream_ordering, max_stream_ordering))
             return [r[0] for r in txn]
 
-        ret = yield self.runInteraction("get_push_action_users_in_range", f)
+        ret = yield self.db.runInteraction("get_push_action_users_in_range", f)
         return ret
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
@@ -229,7 +230,7 @@ class EventPushActionsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             txn.execute(sql, args)
             return txn.fetchall()
 
-        after_read_receipt = yield self.runInteraction(
+        after_read_receipt = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_unread_push_actions_for_user_in_range_http_arr", get_after_receipt
         )
 
@@ -257,7 +258,7 @@ class EventPushActionsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             txn.execute(sql, args)
             return txn.fetchall()
 
-        no_read_receipt = yield self.runInteraction(
+        no_read_receipt = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_unread_push_actions_for_user_in_range_http_nrr", get_no_receipt
         )
 
@@ -329,7 +330,7 @@ class EventPushActionsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             txn.execute(sql, args)
             return txn.fetchall()
 
-        after_read_receipt = yield self.runInteraction(
+        after_read_receipt = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_unread_push_actions_for_user_in_range_email_arr", get_after_receipt
         )
 
@@ -357,7 +358,7 @@ class EventPushActionsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             txn.execute(sql, args)
             return txn.fetchall()
 
-        no_read_receipt = yield self.runInteraction(
+        no_read_receipt = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_unread_push_actions_for_user_in_range_email_nrr", get_no_receipt
         )
 
@@ -407,7 +408,7 @@ class EventPushActionsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             txn.execute(sql, (user_id, min_stream_ordering))
             return bool(txn.fetchone())
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_if_maybe_push_in_range_for_user",
             _get_if_maybe_push_in_range_for_user_txn,
         )
@@ -441,7 +442,7 @@ class EventPushActionsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             )
 
         def _add_push_actions_to_staging_txn(txn):
-            # We don't use _simple_insert_many here to avoid the overhead
+            # We don't use simple_insert_many here to avoid the overhead
             # of generating lists of dicts.
 
             sql = """
@@ -458,7 +459,7 @@ class EventPushActionsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 ),
             )
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "add_push_actions_to_staging", _add_push_actions_to_staging_txn
         )
 
@@ -472,7 +473,7 @@ class EventPushActionsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         """
 
         try:
-            res = yield self._simple_delete(
+            res = yield self.db.simple_delete(
                 table="event_push_actions_staging",
                 keyvalues={"event_id": event_id},
                 desc="remove_push_actions_from_staging",
@@ -489,7 +490,7 @@ class EventPushActionsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
     def _find_stream_orderings_for_times(self):
         return run_as_background_process(
             "event_push_action_stream_orderings",
-            self.runInteraction,
+            self.db.runInteraction,
             "_find_stream_orderings_for_times",
             self._find_stream_orderings_for_times_txn,
         )
@@ -525,7 +526,7 @@ class EventPushActionsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             Deferred[int]: stream ordering of the first event received on/after
                 the timestamp
         """
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "_find_first_stream_ordering_after_ts_txn",
             self._find_first_stream_ordering_after_ts_txn,
             ts,
@@ -611,17 +612,17 @@ class EventPushActionsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 class EventPushActionsStore(EventPushActionsWorkerStore):
     EPA_HIGHLIGHT_INDEX = "epa_highlight_index"
 
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(EventPushActionsStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(EventPushActionsStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
-        self.register_background_index_update(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_index_update(
             self.EPA_HIGHLIGHT_INDEX,
             index_name="event_push_actions_u_highlight",
             table="event_push_actions",
             columns=["user_id", "stream_ordering"],
         )
 
-        self.register_background_index_update(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_index_update(
             "event_push_actions_highlights_index",
             index_name="event_push_actions_highlights_index",
             table="event_push_actions",
@@ -677,7 +678,7 @@ class EventPushActionsStore(EventPushActionsWorkerStore):
             )
 
         for event, _ in events_and_contexts:
-            user_ids = self._simple_select_onecol_txn(
+            user_ids = self.db.simple_select_onecol_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="event_push_actions_staging",
                 keyvalues={"event_id": event.event_id},
@@ -727,9 +728,9 @@ class EventPushActionsStore(EventPushActionsWorkerStore):
                 " LIMIT ?" % (before_clause,)
             )
             txn.execute(sql, args)
-            return self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+            return self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
 
-        push_actions = yield self.runInteraction("get_push_actions_for_user", f)
+        push_actions = yield self.db.runInteraction("get_push_actions_for_user", f)
         for pa in push_actions:
             pa["actions"] = _deserialize_action(pa["actions"], pa["highlight"])
         return push_actions
@@ -748,7 +749,7 @@ class EventPushActionsStore(EventPushActionsWorkerStore):
             txn.execute(sql, (stream_ordering,))
             return txn.fetchone()
 
-        result = yield self.runInteraction("get_time_of_last_push_action_before", f)
+        result = yield self.db.runInteraction("get_time_of_last_push_action_before", f)
         return result[0] if result else None
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
@@ -757,7 +758,9 @@ class EventPushActionsStore(EventPushActionsWorkerStore):
             txn.execute("SELECT MAX(stream_ordering) FROM event_push_actions")
             return txn.fetchone()
 
-        result = yield self.runInteraction("get_latest_push_action_stream_ordering", f)
+        result = yield self.db.runInteraction(
+            "get_latest_push_action_stream_ordering", f
+        )
         return result[0] or 0
 
     def _remove_push_actions_for_event_id_txn(self, txn, room_id, event_id):
@@ -830,7 +833,7 @@ class EventPushActionsStore(EventPushActionsWorkerStore):
             while True:
                 logger.info("Rotating notifications")
 
-                caught_up = yield self.runInteraction(
+                caught_up = yield self.db.runInteraction(
                     "_rotate_notifs", self._rotate_notifs_txn
                 )
                 if caught_up:
@@ -844,7 +847,7 @@ class EventPushActionsStore(EventPushActionsWorkerStore):
         the archiving process has caught up or not.
         """
 
-        old_rotate_stream_ordering = self._simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
+        old_rotate_stream_ordering = self.db.simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
             txn,
             table="event_push_summary_stream_ordering",
             keyvalues={},
@@ -880,7 +883,7 @@ class EventPushActionsStore(EventPushActionsWorkerStore):
         return caught_up
 
     def _rotate_notifs_before_txn(self, txn, rotate_to_stream_ordering):
-        old_rotate_stream_ordering = self._simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
+        old_rotate_stream_ordering = self.db.simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
             txn,
             table="event_push_summary_stream_ordering",
             keyvalues={},
@@ -912,7 +915,7 @@ class EventPushActionsStore(EventPushActionsWorkerStore):
         # If the `old.user_id` above is NULL then we know there isn't already an
         # entry in the table, so we simply insert it. Otherwise we update the
         # existing table.
-        self._simple_insert_many_txn(
+        self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(
             txn,
             table="event_push_summary",
             values=[
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/events.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/events.py
index 878f7568a6..998bba1aad 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/events.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/events.py
@@ -38,10 +38,10 @@ from synapse.logging.utils import log_function
 from synapse.metrics import BucketCollector
 from synapse.metrics.background_process_metrics import run_as_background_process
 from synapse.storage._base import make_in_list_sql_clause
-from synapse.storage.background_updates import BackgroundUpdateStore
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.event_federation import EventFederationStore
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.events_worker import EventsWorkerStore
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.state import StateGroupWorkerStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.types import RoomStreamToken, get_domain_from_id
 from synapse.util import batch_iter
 from synapse.util.caches.descriptors import cached, cachedInlineCallbacks
@@ -94,13 +94,10 @@ def _retry_on_integrity_error(func):
 # inherits from EventFederationStore so that we can call _update_backward_extremities
 # and _handle_mult_prev_events (though arguably those could both be moved in here)
 class EventsStore(
-    StateGroupWorkerStore,
-    EventFederationStore,
-    EventsWorkerStore,
-    BackgroundUpdateStore,
+    StateGroupWorkerStore, EventFederationStore, EventsWorkerStore,
 ):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(EventsStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(EventsStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
         # Collect metrics on the number of forward extremities that exist.
         # Counter of number of extremities to count
@@ -130,6 +127,8 @@ class EventsStore(
         if self.hs.config.redaction_retention_period is not None:
             hs.get_clock().looping_call(_censor_redactions, 5 * 60 * 1000)
 
+        self._ephemeral_messages_enabled = hs.config.enable_ephemeral_messages
+
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def _read_forward_extremities(self):
         def fetch(txn):
@@ -141,7 +140,7 @@ class EventsStore(
             )
             return txn.fetchall()
 
-        res = yield self.runInteraction("read_forward_extremities", fetch)
+        res = yield self.db.runInteraction("read_forward_extremities", fetch)
         self._current_forward_extremities_amount = c_counter(list(x[0] for x in res))
 
     @_retry_on_integrity_error
@@ -206,7 +205,7 @@ class EventsStore(
             for (event, context), stream in zip(events_and_contexts, stream_orderings):
                 event.internal_metadata.stream_ordering = stream
 
-            yield self.runInteraction(
+            yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "persist_events",
                 self._persist_events_txn,
                 events_and_contexts=events_and_contexts,
@@ -279,7 +278,7 @@ class EventsStore(
             results.extend(r[0] for r in txn if not json.loads(r[1]).get("soft_failed"))
 
         for chunk in batch_iter(event_ids, 100):
-            yield self.runInteraction(
+            yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "_get_events_which_are_prevs", _get_events_which_are_prevs_txn, chunk
             )
 
@@ -343,7 +342,7 @@ class EventsStore(
                         existing_prevs.add(prev_event_id)
 
         for chunk in batch_iter(event_ids, 100):
-            yield self.runInteraction(
+            yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "_get_prevs_before_rejected", _get_prevs_before_rejected_txn, chunk
             )
 
@@ -430,7 +429,7 @@ class EventsStore(
         # event's auth chain, but its easier for now just to store them (and
         # it doesn't take much storage compared to storing the entire event
         # anyway).
-        self._simple_insert_many_txn(
+        self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(
             txn,
             table="event_auth",
             values=[
@@ -578,12 +577,12 @@ class EventsStore(
         self, txn, new_forward_extremities, max_stream_order
     ):
         for room_id, new_extrem in iteritems(new_forward_extremities):
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn, table="event_forward_extremities", keyvalues={"room_id": room_id}
             )
             txn.call_after(self.get_latest_event_ids_in_room.invalidate, (room_id,))
 
-        self._simple_insert_many_txn(
+        self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(
             txn,
             table="event_forward_extremities",
             values=[
@@ -596,7 +595,7 @@ class EventsStore(
         # new stream_ordering to new forward extremeties in the room.
         # This allows us to later efficiently look up the forward extremeties
         # for a room before a given stream_ordering
-        self._simple_insert_many_txn(
+        self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(
             txn,
             table="stream_ordering_to_exterm",
             values=[
@@ -713,16 +712,14 @@ class EventsStore(
 
                 metadata_json = encode_json(event.internal_metadata.get_dict())
 
-                sql = (
-                    "UPDATE event_json SET internal_metadata = ?" " WHERE event_id = ?"
-                )
+                sql = "UPDATE event_json SET internal_metadata = ? WHERE event_id = ?"
                 txn.execute(sql, (metadata_json, event.event_id))
 
                 # Add an entry to the ex_outlier_stream table to replicate the
                 # change in outlier status to our workers.
                 stream_order = event.internal_metadata.stream_ordering
                 state_group_id = context.state_group
-                self._simple_insert_txn(
+                self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                     txn,
                     table="ex_outlier_stream",
                     values={
@@ -732,7 +729,7 @@ class EventsStore(
                     },
                 )
 
-                sql = "UPDATE events SET outlier = ?" " WHERE event_id = ?"
+                sql = "UPDATE events SET outlier = ? WHERE event_id = ?"
                 txn.execute(sql, (False, event.event_id))
 
                 # Update the event_backward_extremities table now that this
@@ -794,7 +791,7 @@ class EventsStore(
             d.pop("redacted_because", None)
             return d
 
-        self._simple_insert_many_txn(
+        self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(
             txn,
             table="event_json",
             values=[
@@ -811,7 +808,7 @@ class EventsStore(
             ],
         )
 
-        self._simple_insert_many_txn(
+        self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(
             txn,
             table="events",
             values=[
@@ -841,7 +838,7 @@ class EventsStore(
                 # If we're persisting an unredacted event we go and ensure
                 # that we mark any redactions that reference this event as
                 # requiring censoring.
-                self._simple_update_txn(
+                self.db.simple_update_txn(
                     txn,
                     table="redactions",
                     keyvalues={"redacts": event.event_id},
@@ -929,6 +926,9 @@ class EventsStore(
             elif event.type == EventTypes.Redaction:
                 # Insert into the redactions table.
                 self._store_redaction(txn, event)
+            elif event.type == EventTypes.Retention:
+                # Update the room_retention table.
+                self._store_retention_policy_for_room_txn(txn, event)
 
             self._handle_event_relations(txn, event)
 
@@ -939,6 +939,12 @@ class EventsStore(
                     txn, event.event_id, labels, event.room_id, event.depth
                 )
 
+            if self._ephemeral_messages_enabled:
+                # If there's an expiry timestamp on the event, store it.
+                expiry_ts = event.content.get(EventContentFields.SELF_DESTRUCT_AFTER)
+                if isinstance(expiry_ts, int) and not event.is_state():
+                    self._insert_event_expiry_txn(txn, event.event_id, expiry_ts)
+
         # Insert into the room_memberships table.
         self._store_room_members_txn(
             txn,
@@ -974,7 +980,7 @@ class EventsStore(
 
             state_values.append(vals)
 
-        self._simple_insert_many_txn(txn, table="state_events", values=state_values)
+        self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(txn, table="state_events", values=state_values)
 
         # Prefill the event cache
         self._add_to_cache(txn, events_and_contexts)
@@ -1005,7 +1011,7 @@ class EventsStore(
             )
 
             txn.execute(sql + clause, args)
-            rows = self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+            rows = self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
             for row in rows:
                 event = ev_map[row["event_id"]]
                 if not row["rejects"] and not row["redacts"]:
@@ -1023,7 +1029,7 @@ class EventsStore(
         # invalidate the cache for the redacted event
         txn.call_after(self._invalidate_get_event_cache, event.redacts)
 
-        self._simple_insert_txn(
+        self.db.simple_insert_txn(
             txn,
             table="redactions",
             values={
@@ -1033,20 +1039,25 @@ class EventsStore(
             },
         )
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _censor_redactions(self):
+    async def _censor_redactions(self):
         """Censors all redactions older than the configured period that haven't
         been censored yet.
 
         By censor we mean update the event_json table with the redacted event.
-
-        Returns:
-            Deferred
         """
 
         if self.hs.config.redaction_retention_period is None:
             return
 
+        if not (
+            await self.db.updates.has_completed_background_update(
+                "redactions_have_censored_ts_idx"
+            )
+        ):
+            # We don't want to run this until the appropriate index has been
+            # created.
+            return
+
         before_ts = self._clock.time_msec() - self.hs.config.redaction_retention_period
 
         # We fetch all redactions that:
@@ -1068,15 +1079,15 @@ class EventsStore(
             LIMIT ?
         """
 
-        rows = yield self._execute(
+        rows = await self.db.execute(
             "_censor_redactions_fetch", None, sql, before_ts, 100
         )
 
         updates = []
 
         for redaction_id, event_id in rows:
-            redaction_event = yield self.get_event(redaction_id, allow_none=True)
-            original_event = yield self.get_event(
+            redaction_event = await self.get_event(redaction_id, allow_none=True)
+            original_event = await self.get_event(
                 event_id, allow_rejected=True, allow_none=True
             )
 
@@ -1100,21 +1111,32 @@ class EventsStore(
         def _update_censor_txn(txn):
             for redaction_id, event_id, pruned_json in updates:
                 if pruned_json:
-                    self._simple_update_one_txn(
-                        txn,
-                        table="event_json",
-                        keyvalues={"event_id": event_id},
-                        updatevalues={"json": pruned_json},
-                    )
+                    self._censor_event_txn(txn, event_id, pruned_json)
 
-                self._simple_update_one_txn(
+                self.db.simple_update_one_txn(
                     txn,
                     table="redactions",
                     keyvalues={"event_id": redaction_id},
                     updatevalues={"have_censored": True},
                 )
 
-        yield self.runInteraction("_update_censor_txn", _update_censor_txn)
+        await self.db.runInteraction("_update_censor_txn", _update_censor_txn)
+
+    def _censor_event_txn(self, txn, event_id, pruned_json):
+        """Censor an event by replacing its JSON in the event_json table with the
+        provided pruned JSON.
+
+        Args:
+            txn (LoggingTransaction): The database transaction.
+            event_id (str): The ID of the event to censor.
+            pruned_json (str): The pruned JSON
+        """
+        self.db.simple_update_one_txn(
+            txn,
+            table="event_json",
+            keyvalues={"event_id": event_id},
+            updatevalues={"json": pruned_json},
+        )
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def count_daily_messages(self):
@@ -1135,7 +1157,7 @@ class EventsStore(
             (count,) = txn.fetchone()
             return count
 
-        ret = yield self.runInteraction("count_messages", _count_messages)
+        ret = yield self.db.runInteraction("count_messages", _count_messages)
         return ret
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
@@ -1156,7 +1178,7 @@ class EventsStore(
             (count,) = txn.fetchone()
             return count
 
-        ret = yield self.runInteraction("count_daily_sent_messages", _count_messages)
+        ret = yield self.db.runInteraction("count_daily_sent_messages", _count_messages)
         return ret
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
@@ -1171,7 +1193,7 @@ class EventsStore(
             (count,) = txn.fetchone()
             return count
 
-        ret = yield self.runInteraction("count_daily_active_rooms", _count)
+        ret = yield self.db.runInteraction("count_daily_active_rooms", _count)
         return ret
 
     def get_current_backfill_token(self):
@@ -1223,7 +1245,7 @@ class EventsStore(
 
             return new_event_updates
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_all_new_forward_event_rows", get_all_new_forward_event_rows
         )
 
@@ -1268,7 +1290,7 @@ class EventsStore(
 
             return new_event_updates
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_all_new_backfill_event_rows", get_all_new_backfill_event_rows
         )
 
@@ -1361,7 +1383,7 @@ class EventsStore(
                 backward_ex_outliers,
             )
 
-        return self.runInteraction("get_all_new_events", get_all_new_events_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("get_all_new_events", get_all_new_events_txn)
 
     def purge_history(self, room_id, token, delete_local_events):
         """Deletes room history before a certain point
@@ -1381,7 +1403,7 @@ class EventsStore(
             deleted events.
         """
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "purge_history",
             self._purge_history_txn,
             room_id,
@@ -1479,7 +1501,7 @@ class EventsStore(
 
         # We do joins against events_to_purge for e.g. calculating state
         # groups to purge, etc., so lets make an index.
-        txn.execute("CREATE INDEX events_to_purge_id" " ON events_to_purge(event_id)")
+        txn.execute("CREATE INDEX events_to_purge_id ON events_to_purge(event_id)")
 
         txn.execute("SELECT event_id, should_delete FROM events_to_purge")
         event_rows = txn.fetchall()
@@ -1629,7 +1651,7 @@ class EventsStore(
             Deferred[List[int]]: The list of state groups to delete.
         """
 
-        return self.runInteraction("purge_room", self._purge_room_txn, room_id)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("purge_room", self._purge_room_txn, room_id)
 
     def _purge_room_txn(self, txn, room_id):
         # First we fetch all the state groups that should be deleted, before
@@ -1748,7 +1770,7 @@ class EventsStore(
                 to delete.
         """
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "purge_unreferenced_state_groups",
             self._purge_unreferenced_state_groups,
             room_id,
@@ -1760,7 +1782,7 @@ class EventsStore(
             "[purge] found %i state groups to delete", len(state_groups_to_delete)
         )
 
-        rows = self._simple_select_many_txn(
+        rows = self.db.simple_select_many_txn(
             txn,
             table="state_group_edges",
             column="prev_state_group",
@@ -1787,15 +1809,15 @@ class EventsStore(
             curr_state = self._get_state_groups_from_groups_txn(txn, [sg])
             curr_state = curr_state[sg]
 
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn, table="state_groups_state", keyvalues={"state_group": sg}
             )
 
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn, table="state_group_edges", keyvalues={"state_group": sg}
             )
 
-            self._simple_insert_many_txn(
+            self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="state_groups_state",
                 values=[
@@ -1832,7 +1854,7 @@ class EventsStore(
             state group.
         """
 
-        rows = yield self._simple_select_many_batch(
+        rows = yield self.db.simple_select_many_batch(
             table="state_group_edges",
             column="prev_state_group",
             iterable=state_groups,
@@ -1851,7 +1873,7 @@ class EventsStore(
             state_groups_to_delete (list[int]): State groups to delete
         """
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "purge_room_state",
             self._purge_room_state_txn,
             room_id,
@@ -1862,7 +1884,7 @@ class EventsStore(
         # first we have to delete the state groups states
         logger.info("[purge] removing %s from state_groups_state", room_id)
 
-        self._simple_delete_many_txn(
+        self.db.simple_delete_many_txn(
             txn,
             table="state_groups_state",
             column="state_group",
@@ -1873,7 +1895,7 @@ class EventsStore(
         # ... and the state group edges
         logger.info("[purge] removing %s from state_group_edges", room_id)
 
-        self._simple_delete_many_txn(
+        self.db.simple_delete_many_txn(
             txn,
             table="state_group_edges",
             column="state_group",
@@ -1884,7 +1906,7 @@ class EventsStore(
         # ... and the state groups
         logger.info("[purge] removing %s from state_groups", room_id)
 
-        self._simple_delete_many_txn(
+        self.db.simple_delete_many_txn(
             txn,
             table="state_groups",
             column="id",
@@ -1901,7 +1923,7 @@ class EventsStore(
 
     @cachedInlineCallbacks(max_entries=5000)
     def _get_event_ordering(self, event_id):
-        res = yield self._simple_select_one(
+        res = yield self.db.simple_select_one(
             table="events",
             retcols=["topological_ordering", "stream_ordering"],
             keyvalues={"event_id": event_id},
@@ -1924,7 +1946,7 @@ class EventsStore(
             txn.execute(sql, (from_token, to_token, limit))
             return txn.fetchall()
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_all_updated_current_state_deltas",
             get_all_updated_current_state_deltas_txn,
         )
@@ -1942,7 +1964,7 @@ class EventsStore(
             room_id (str): The ID of the room the event was sent to.
             topological_ordering (int): The position of the event in the room's topology.
         """
-        return self._simple_insert_many_txn(
+        return self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(
             txn=txn,
             table="event_labels",
             values=[
@@ -1956,6 +1978,101 @@ class EventsStore(
             ],
         )
 
+    def _insert_event_expiry_txn(self, txn, event_id, expiry_ts):
+        """Save the expiry timestamp associated with a given event ID.
+
+        Args:
+            txn (LoggingTransaction): The database transaction to use.
+            event_id (str): The event ID the expiry timestamp is associated with.
+            expiry_ts (int): The timestamp at which to expire (delete) the event.
+        """
+        return self.db.simple_insert_txn(
+            txn=txn,
+            table="event_expiry",
+            values={"event_id": event_id, "expiry_ts": expiry_ts},
+        )
+
+    @defer.inlineCallbacks
+    def expire_event(self, event_id):
+        """Retrieve and expire an event that has expired, and delete its associated
+        expiry timestamp. If the event can't be retrieved, delete its associated
+        timestamp so we don't try to expire it again in the future.
+
+        Args:
+             event_id (str): The ID of the event to delete.
+        """
+        # Try to retrieve the event's content from the database or the event cache.
+        event = yield self.get_event(event_id)
+
+        def delete_expired_event_txn(txn):
+            # Delete the expiry timestamp associated with this event from the database.
+            self._delete_event_expiry_txn(txn, event_id)
+
+            if not event:
+                # If we can't find the event, log a warning and delete the expiry date
+                # from the database so that we don't try to expire it again in the
+                # future.
+                logger.warning(
+                    "Can't expire event %s because we don't have it.", event_id
+                )
+                return
+
+            # Prune the event's dict then convert it to JSON.
+            pruned_json = encode_json(prune_event_dict(event.get_dict()))
+
+            # Update the event_json table to replace the event's JSON with the pruned
+            # JSON.
+            self._censor_event_txn(txn, event.event_id, pruned_json)
+
+            # We need to invalidate the event cache entry for this event because we
+            # changed its content in the database. We can't call
+            # self._invalidate_cache_and_stream because self.get_event_cache isn't of the
+            # right type.
+            txn.call_after(self._get_event_cache.invalidate, (event.event_id,))
+            # Send that invalidation to replication so that other workers also invalidate
+            # the event cache.
+            self._send_invalidation_to_replication(
+                txn, "_get_event_cache", (event.event_id,)
+            )
+
+        yield self.db.runInteraction("delete_expired_event", delete_expired_event_txn)
+
+    def _delete_event_expiry_txn(self, txn, event_id):
+        """Delete the expiry timestamp associated with an event ID without deleting the
+        actual event.
+
+        Args:
+            txn (LoggingTransaction): The transaction to use to perform the deletion.
+            event_id (str): The event ID to delete the associated expiry timestamp of.
+        """
+        return self.db.simple_delete_txn(
+            txn=txn, table="event_expiry", keyvalues={"event_id": event_id}
+        )
+
+    def get_next_event_to_expire(self):
+        """Retrieve the entry with the lowest expiry timestamp in the event_expiry
+        table, or None if there's no more event to expire.
+
+        Returns: Deferred[Optional[Tuple[str, int]]]
+            A tuple containing the event ID as its first element and an expiry timestamp
+            as its second one, if there's at least one row in the event_expiry table.
+            None otherwise.
+        """
+
+        def get_next_event_to_expire_txn(txn):
+            txn.execute(
+                """
+                SELECT event_id, expiry_ts FROM event_expiry
+                ORDER BY expiry_ts ASC LIMIT 1
+                """
+            )
+
+            return txn.fetchone()
+
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
+            desc="get_next_event_to_expire", func=get_next_event_to_expire_txn
+        )
+
 
 AllNewEventsResult = namedtuple(
     "AllNewEventsResult",
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/events_bg_updates.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/events_bg_updates.py
index aa87f9abc5..5177b71016 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/events_bg_updates.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/events_bg_updates.py
@@ -22,30 +22,30 @@ from canonicaljson import json
 from twisted.internet import defer
 
 from synapse.api.constants import EventContentFields
-from synapse.storage._base import make_in_list_sql_clause
-from synapse.storage.background_updates import BackgroundUpdateStore
+from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore, make_in_list_sql_clause
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
-class EventsBackgroundUpdatesStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
+class EventsBackgroundUpdatesStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
     EVENT_ORIGIN_SERVER_TS_NAME = "event_origin_server_ts"
     EVENT_FIELDS_SENDER_URL_UPDATE_NAME = "event_fields_sender_url"
     DELETE_SOFT_FAILED_EXTREMITIES = "delete_soft_failed_extremities"
 
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(EventsBackgroundUpdatesStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(EventsBackgroundUpdatesStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             self.EVENT_ORIGIN_SERVER_TS_NAME, self._background_reindex_origin_server_ts
         )
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             self.EVENT_FIELDS_SENDER_URL_UPDATE_NAME,
             self._background_reindex_fields_sender,
         )
 
-        self.register_background_index_update(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_index_update(
             "event_contains_url_index",
             index_name="event_contains_url_index",
             table="events",
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ class EventsBackgroundUpdatesStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
         # an event_id index on event_search is useful for the purge_history
         # api. Plus it means we get to enforce some integrity with a UNIQUE
         # clause
-        self.register_background_index_update(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_index_update(
             "event_search_event_id_idx",
             index_name="event_search_event_id_idx",
             table="event_search",
@@ -65,16 +65,16 @@ class EventsBackgroundUpdatesStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
             psql_only=True,
         )
 
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             self.DELETE_SOFT_FAILED_EXTREMITIES, self._cleanup_extremities_bg_update
         )
 
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             "redactions_received_ts", self._redactions_received_ts
         )
 
         # This index gets deleted in `event_fix_redactions_bytes` update
-        self.register_background_index_update(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_index_update(
             "event_fix_redactions_bytes_create_index",
             index_name="redactions_censored_redacts",
             table="redactions",
@@ -82,14 +82,22 @@ class EventsBackgroundUpdatesStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
             where_clause="have_censored",
         )
 
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             "event_fix_redactions_bytes", self._event_fix_redactions_bytes
         )
 
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             "event_store_labels", self._event_store_labels
         )
 
+        self.db.updates.register_background_index_update(
+            "redactions_have_censored_ts_idx",
+            index_name="redactions_have_censored_ts",
+            table="redactions",
+            columns=["received_ts"],
+            where_clause="NOT have_censored",
+        )
+
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def _background_reindex_fields_sender(self, progress, batch_size):
         target_min_stream_id = progress["target_min_stream_id_inclusive"]
@@ -145,18 +153,20 @@ class EventsBackgroundUpdatesStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
                 "rows_inserted": rows_inserted + len(rows),
             }
 
-            self._background_update_progress_txn(
+            self.db.updates._background_update_progress_txn(
                 txn, self.EVENT_FIELDS_SENDER_URL_UPDATE_NAME, progress
             )
 
             return len(rows)
 
-        result = yield self.runInteraction(
+        result = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             self.EVENT_FIELDS_SENDER_URL_UPDATE_NAME, reindex_txn
         )
 
         if not result:
-            yield self._end_background_update(self.EVENT_FIELDS_SENDER_URL_UPDATE_NAME)
+            yield self.db.updates._end_background_update(
+                self.EVENT_FIELDS_SENDER_URL_UPDATE_NAME
+            )
 
         return result
 
@@ -189,7 +199,7 @@ class EventsBackgroundUpdatesStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
 
             chunks = [event_ids[i : i + 100] for i in range(0, len(event_ids), 100)]
             for chunk in chunks:
-                ev_rows = self._simple_select_many_txn(
+                ev_rows = self.db.simple_select_many_txn(
                     txn,
                     table="event_json",
                     column="event_id",
@@ -222,18 +232,20 @@ class EventsBackgroundUpdatesStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
                 "rows_inserted": rows_inserted + len(rows_to_update),
             }
 
-            self._background_update_progress_txn(
+            self.db.updates._background_update_progress_txn(
                 txn, self.EVENT_ORIGIN_SERVER_TS_NAME, progress
             )
 
             return len(rows_to_update)
 
-        result = yield self.runInteraction(
+        result = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             self.EVENT_ORIGIN_SERVER_TS_NAME, reindex_search_txn
         )
 
         if not result:
-            yield self._end_background_update(self.EVENT_ORIGIN_SERVER_TS_NAME)
+            yield self.db.updates._end_background_update(
+                self.EVENT_ORIGIN_SERVER_TS_NAME
+            )
 
         return result
 
@@ -366,7 +378,7 @@ class EventsBackgroundUpdatesStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
 
             to_delete.intersection_update(original_set)
 
-            deleted = self._simple_delete_many_txn(
+            deleted = self.db.simple_delete_many_txn(
                 txn=txn,
                 table="event_forward_extremities",
                 column="event_id",
@@ -382,7 +394,7 @@ class EventsBackgroundUpdatesStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
 
             if deleted:
                 # We now need to invalidate the caches of these rooms
-                rows = self._simple_select_many_txn(
+                rows = self.db.simple_select_many_txn(
                     txn,
                     table="events",
                     column="event_id",
@@ -396,7 +408,7 @@ class EventsBackgroundUpdatesStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
                         self.get_latest_event_ids_in_room.invalidate, (room_id,)
                     )
 
-            self._simple_delete_many_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_many_txn(
                 txn=txn,
                 table="_extremities_to_check",
                 column="event_id",
@@ -406,17 +418,19 @@ class EventsBackgroundUpdatesStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
 
             return len(original_set)
 
-        num_handled = yield self.runInteraction(
+        num_handled = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "_cleanup_extremities_bg_update", _cleanup_extremities_bg_update_txn
         )
 
         if not num_handled:
-            yield self._end_background_update(self.DELETE_SOFT_FAILED_EXTREMITIES)
+            yield self.db.updates._end_background_update(
+                self.DELETE_SOFT_FAILED_EXTREMITIES
+            )
 
             def _drop_table_txn(txn):
                 txn.execute("DROP TABLE _extremities_to_check")
 
-            yield self.runInteraction(
+            yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "_cleanup_extremities_bg_update_drop_table", _drop_table_txn
             )
 
@@ -464,18 +478,18 @@ class EventsBackgroundUpdatesStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
 
             txn.execute(sql, (self._clock.time_msec(), last_event_id, upper_event_id))
 
-            self._background_update_progress_txn(
+            self.db.updates._background_update_progress_txn(
                 txn, "redactions_received_ts", {"last_event_id": upper_event_id}
             )
 
             return len(rows)
 
-        count = yield self.runInteraction(
+        count = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "_redactions_received_ts", _redactions_received_ts_txn
         )
 
         if not count:
-            yield self._end_background_update("redactions_received_ts")
+            yield self.db.updates._end_background_update("redactions_received_ts")
 
         return count
 
@@ -501,11 +515,11 @@ class EventsBackgroundUpdatesStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
 
             txn.execute("DROP INDEX redactions_censored_redacts")
 
-        yield self.runInteraction(
+        yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "_event_fix_redactions_bytes", _event_fix_redactions_bytes_txn
         )
 
-        yield self._end_background_update("event_fix_redactions_bytes")
+        yield self.db.updates._end_background_update("event_fix_redactions_bytes")
 
         return 1
 
@@ -533,7 +547,7 @@ class EventsBackgroundUpdatesStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
                 try:
                     event_json = json.loads(event_json_raw)
 
-                    self._simple_insert_many_txn(
+                    self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(
                         txn=txn,
                         table="event_labels",
                         values=[
@@ -559,17 +573,17 @@ class EventsBackgroundUpdatesStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
                 nbrows += 1
                 last_row_event_id = event_id
 
-            self._background_update_progress_txn(
+            self.db.updates._background_update_progress_txn(
                 txn, "event_store_labels", {"last_event_id": last_row_event_id}
             )
 
             return nbrows
 
-        num_rows = yield self.runInteraction(
+        num_rows = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             desc="event_store_labels", func=_event_store_labels_txn
         )
 
         if not num_rows:
-            yield self._end_background_update("event_store_labels")
+            yield self.db.updates._end_background_update("event_store_labels")
 
         return num_rows
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/events_worker.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/events_worker.py
index 4c4b76bd93..9ee117ce0f 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/events_worker.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/events_worker.py
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ from __future__ import division
 
 import itertools
 import logging
+import threading
 from collections import namedtuple
 
 from canonicaljson import json
@@ -32,8 +33,10 @@ from synapse.events.utils import prune_event
 from synapse.logging.context import LoggingContext, PreserveLoggingContext
 from synapse.metrics.background_process_metrics import run_as_background_process
 from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore, make_in_list_sql_clause
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.types import get_domain_from_id
 from synapse.util import batch_iter
+from synapse.util.caches.descriptors import Cache
 from synapse.util.metrics import Measure
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -53,6 +56,17 @@ _EventCacheEntry = namedtuple("_EventCacheEntry", ("event", "redacted_event"))
 
 
 class EventsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(EventsWorkerStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
+
+        self._get_event_cache = Cache(
+            "*getEvent*", keylen=3, max_entries=hs.config.event_cache_size
+        )
+
+        self._event_fetch_lock = threading.Condition()
+        self._event_fetch_list = []
+        self._event_fetch_ongoing = 0
+
     def get_received_ts(self, event_id):
         """Get received_ts (when it was persisted) for the event.
 
@@ -65,7 +79,7 @@ class EventsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             Deferred[int|None]: Timestamp in milliseconds, or None for events
             that were persisted before received_ts was implemented.
         """
-        return self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="events",
             keyvalues={"event_id": event_id},
             retcol="received_ts",
@@ -104,7 +118,7 @@ class EventsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
             return ts
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_approximate_received_ts", _get_approximate_received_ts_txn
         )
 
@@ -439,7 +453,7 @@ class EventsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                     event_id for events, _ in event_list for event_id in events
                 )
 
-                row_dict = self._new_transaction(
+                row_dict = self.db.new_transaction(
                     conn, "do_fetch", [], [], self._fetch_event_rows, events_to_fetch
                 )
 
@@ -571,7 +585,7 @@ class EventsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
         if should_start:
             run_as_background_process(
-                "fetch_events", self.runWithConnection, self._do_fetch
+                "fetch_events", self.db.runWithConnection, self._do_fetch
             )
 
         logger.debug("Loading %d events: %s", len(events), events)
@@ -732,7 +746,7 @@ class EventsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         """Given a list of event ids, check if we have already processed and
         stored them as non outliers.
         """
-        rows = yield self._simple_select_many_batch(
+        rows = yield self.db.simple_select_many_batch(
             table="events",
             retcols=("event_id",),
             column="event_id",
@@ -767,42 +781,10 @@ class EventsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         # break the input up into chunks of 100
         input_iterator = iter(event_ids)
         for chunk in iter(lambda: list(itertools.islice(input_iterator, 100)), []):
-            yield self.runInteraction("have_seen_events", have_seen_events_txn, chunk)
-        return results
-
-    def get_seen_events_with_rejections(self, event_ids):
-        """Given a list of event ids, check if we rejected them.
-
-        Args:
-            event_ids (list[str])
-
-        Returns:
-            Deferred[dict[str, str|None):
-                Has an entry for each event id we already have seen. Maps to
-                the rejected reason string if we rejected the event, else maps
-                to None.
-        """
-        if not event_ids:
-            return defer.succeed({})
-
-        def f(txn):
-            sql = (
-                "SELECT e.event_id, reason FROM events as e "
-                "LEFT JOIN rejections as r ON e.event_id = r.event_id "
-                "WHERE e.event_id = ?"
+            yield self.db.runInteraction(
+                "have_seen_events", have_seen_events_txn, chunk
             )
-
-            res = {}
-            for event_id in event_ids:
-                txn.execute(sql, (event_id,))
-                row = txn.fetchone()
-                if row:
-                    _, rejected = row
-                    res[event_id] = rejected
-
-            return res
-
-        return self.runInteraction("get_seen_events_with_rejections", f)
+        return results
 
     def _get_total_state_event_counts_txn(self, txn, room_id):
         """
@@ -828,7 +810,7 @@ class EventsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         Returns:
             Deferred[int]
         """
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_total_state_event_counts",
             self._get_total_state_event_counts_txn,
             room_id,
@@ -853,7 +835,7 @@ class EventsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         Returns:
             Deferred[int]
         """
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_current_state_event_counts",
             self._get_current_state_event_counts_txn,
             room_id,
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/filtering.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/filtering.py
index a2a2a67927..342d6622a4 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/filtering.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/filtering.py
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ class FilteringStore(SQLBaseStore):
         except ValueError:
             raise SynapseError(400, "Invalid filter ID", Codes.INVALID_PARAM)
 
-        def_json = yield self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        def_json = yield self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="user_filters",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_localpart, "filter_id": filter_id},
             retcol="filter_json",
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ class FilteringStore(SQLBaseStore):
             if filter_id_response is not None:
                 return filter_id_response[0]
 
-            sql = "SELECT MAX(filter_id) FROM user_filters " "WHERE user_id = ?"
+            sql = "SELECT MAX(filter_id) FROM user_filters WHERE user_id = ?"
             txn.execute(sql, (user_localpart,))
             max_id = txn.fetchone()[0]
             if max_id is None:
@@ -71,4 +71,4 @@ class FilteringStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
             return filter_id
 
-        return self.runInteraction("add_user_filter", _do_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("add_user_filter", _do_txn)
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/group_server.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/group_server.py
index 5ded539af8..6acd45e9f3 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/group_server.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/group_server.py
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
          * "invite"
          * "open"
         """
-        return self._simple_update_one(
+        return self.db.simple_update_one(
             table="groups",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id},
             updatevalues={"join_policy": join_policy},
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         )
 
     def get_group(self, group_id):
-        return self._simple_select_one(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one(
             table="groups",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id},
             retcols=(
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         if not include_private:
             keyvalues["is_public"] = True
 
-        return self._simple_select_list(
+        return self.db.simple_select_list(
             table="group_users",
             keyvalues=keyvalues,
             retcols=("user_id", "is_public", "is_admin"),
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
     def get_invited_users_in_group(self, group_id):
         # TODO: Pagination
 
-        return self._simple_select_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_onecol(
             table="group_invites",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id},
             retcol="user_id",
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         if not include_private:
             keyvalues["is_public"] = True
 
-        return self._simple_select_list(
+        return self.db.simple_select_list(
             table="group_rooms",
             keyvalues=keyvalues,
             retcols=("room_id", "is_public"),
@@ -153,10 +153,12 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
             return rooms, categories
 
-        return self.runInteraction("get_rooms_for_summary", _get_rooms_for_summary_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
+            "get_rooms_for_summary", _get_rooms_for_summary_txn
+        )
 
     def add_room_to_summary(self, group_id, room_id, category_id, order, is_public):
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "add_room_to_summary",
             self._add_room_to_summary_txn,
             group_id,
@@ -180,7 +182,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 an order of 1 will put the room first. Otherwise, the room gets
                 added to the end.
         """
-        room_in_group = self._simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
+        room_in_group = self.db.simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
             txn,
             table="group_rooms",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "room_id": room_id},
@@ -193,7 +195,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         if category_id is None:
             category_id = _DEFAULT_CATEGORY_ID
         else:
-            cat_exists = self._simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
+            cat_exists = self.db.simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="group_room_categories",
                 keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "category_id": category_id},
@@ -204,7 +206,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 raise SynapseError(400, "Category doesn't exist")
 
             # TODO: Check category is part of summary already
-            cat_exists = self._simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
+            cat_exists = self.db.simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="group_summary_room_categories",
                 keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "category_id": category_id},
@@ -224,7 +226,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                     (group_id, category_id, group_id, category_id),
                 )
 
-        existing = self._simple_select_one_txn(
+        existing = self.db.simple_select_one_txn(
             txn,
             table="group_summary_rooms",
             keyvalues={
@@ -257,7 +259,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 to_update["room_order"] = order
             if is_public is not None:
                 to_update["is_public"] = is_public
-            self._simple_update_txn(
+            self.db.simple_update_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="group_summary_rooms",
                 keyvalues={
@@ -271,7 +273,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             if is_public is None:
                 is_public = True
 
-            self._simple_insert_txn(
+            self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="group_summary_rooms",
                 values={
@@ -287,7 +289,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         if category_id is None:
             category_id = _DEFAULT_CATEGORY_ID
 
-        return self._simple_delete(
+        return self.db.simple_delete(
             table="group_summary_rooms",
             keyvalues={
                 "group_id": group_id,
@@ -299,7 +301,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def get_group_categories(self, group_id):
-        rows = yield self._simple_select_list(
+        rows = yield self.db.simple_select_list(
             table="group_room_categories",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id},
             retcols=("category_id", "is_public", "profile"),
@@ -316,7 +318,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def get_group_category(self, group_id, category_id):
-        category = yield self._simple_select_one(
+        category = yield self.db.simple_select_one(
             table="group_room_categories",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "category_id": category_id},
             retcols=("is_public", "profile"),
@@ -343,7 +345,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         else:
             update_values["is_public"] = is_public
 
-        return self._simple_upsert(
+        return self.db.simple_upsert(
             table="group_room_categories",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "category_id": category_id},
             values=update_values,
@@ -352,7 +354,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         )
 
     def remove_group_category(self, group_id, category_id):
-        return self._simple_delete(
+        return self.db.simple_delete(
             table="group_room_categories",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "category_id": category_id},
             desc="remove_group_category",
@@ -360,7 +362,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def get_group_roles(self, group_id):
-        rows = yield self._simple_select_list(
+        rows = yield self.db.simple_select_list(
             table="group_roles",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id},
             retcols=("role_id", "is_public", "profile"),
@@ -377,7 +379,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def get_group_role(self, group_id, role_id):
-        role = yield self._simple_select_one(
+        role = yield self.db.simple_select_one(
             table="group_roles",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "role_id": role_id},
             retcols=("is_public", "profile"),
@@ -404,7 +406,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         else:
             update_values["is_public"] = is_public
 
-        return self._simple_upsert(
+        return self.db.simple_upsert(
             table="group_roles",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "role_id": role_id},
             values=update_values,
@@ -413,14 +415,14 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         )
 
     def remove_group_role(self, group_id, role_id):
-        return self._simple_delete(
+        return self.db.simple_delete(
             table="group_roles",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "role_id": role_id},
             desc="remove_group_role",
         )
 
     def add_user_to_summary(self, group_id, user_id, role_id, order, is_public):
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "add_user_to_summary",
             self._add_user_to_summary_txn,
             group_id,
@@ -444,7 +446,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 an order of 1 will put the user first. Otherwise, the user gets
                 added to the end.
         """
-        user_in_group = self._simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
+        user_in_group = self.db.simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
             txn,
             table="group_users",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "user_id": user_id},
@@ -457,7 +459,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         if role_id is None:
             role_id = _DEFAULT_ROLE_ID
         else:
-            role_exists = self._simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
+            role_exists = self.db.simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="group_roles",
                 keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "role_id": role_id},
@@ -468,7 +470,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 raise SynapseError(400, "Role doesn't exist")
 
             # TODO: Check role is part of the summary already
-            role_exists = self._simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
+            role_exists = self.db.simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="group_summary_roles",
                 keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "role_id": role_id},
@@ -488,7 +490,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                     (group_id, role_id, group_id, role_id),
                 )
 
-        existing = self._simple_select_one_txn(
+        existing = self.db.simple_select_one_txn(
             txn,
             table="group_summary_users",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "user_id": user_id, "role_id": role_id},
@@ -517,7 +519,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 to_update["user_order"] = order
             if is_public is not None:
                 to_update["is_public"] = is_public
-            self._simple_update_txn(
+            self.db.simple_update_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="group_summary_users",
                 keyvalues={
@@ -531,7 +533,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             if is_public is None:
                 is_public = True
 
-            self._simple_insert_txn(
+            self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="group_summary_users",
                 values={
@@ -547,7 +549,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         if role_id is None:
             role_id = _DEFAULT_ROLE_ID
 
-        return self._simple_delete(
+        return self.db.simple_delete(
             table="group_summary_users",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "role_id": role_id, "user_id": user_id},
             desc="remove_user_from_summary",
@@ -561,7 +563,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             Deferred[list[str]]: A twisted.Deferred containing a list of group ids
                 containing this room
         """
-        return self._simple_select_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_onecol(
             table="group_rooms",
             keyvalues={"room_id": room_id},
             retcol="group_id",
@@ -625,12 +627,12 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
             return users, roles
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_users_for_summary_by_role", _get_users_for_summary_txn
         )
 
     def is_user_in_group(self, user_id, group_id):
-        return self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="group_users",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "user_id": user_id},
             retcol="user_id",
@@ -639,7 +641,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         ).addCallback(lambda r: bool(r))
 
     def is_user_admin_in_group(self, group_id, user_id):
-        return self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="group_users",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "user_id": user_id},
             retcol="is_admin",
@@ -650,7 +652,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
     def add_group_invite(self, group_id, user_id):
         """Record that the group server has invited a user
         """
-        return self._simple_insert(
+        return self.db.simple_insert(
             table="group_invites",
             values={"group_id": group_id, "user_id": user_id},
             desc="add_group_invite",
@@ -659,7 +661,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
     def is_user_invited_to_local_group(self, group_id, user_id):
         """Has the group server invited a user?
         """
-        return self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="group_invites",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "user_id": user_id},
             retcol="user_id",
@@ -682,7 +684,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         """
 
         def _get_users_membership_in_group_txn(txn):
-            row = self._simple_select_one_txn(
+            row = self.db.simple_select_one_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="group_users",
                 keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "user_id": user_id},
@@ -697,7 +699,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                     "is_privileged": row["is_admin"],
                 }
 
-            row = self._simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
+            row = self.db.simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="group_invites",
                 keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "user_id": user_id},
@@ -710,7 +712,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
             return {}
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_users_membership_info_in_group", _get_users_membership_in_group_txn
         )
 
@@ -738,7 +740,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         """
 
         def _add_user_to_group_txn(txn):
-            self._simple_insert_txn(
+            self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="group_users",
                 values={
@@ -749,14 +751,14 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 },
             )
 
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="group_invites",
                 keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "user_id": user_id},
             )
 
             if local_attestation:
-                self._simple_insert_txn(
+                self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                     txn,
                     table="group_attestations_renewals",
                     values={
@@ -766,7 +768,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                     },
                 )
             if remote_attestation:
-                self._simple_insert_txn(
+                self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                     txn,
                     table="group_attestations_remote",
                     values={
@@ -777,49 +779,49 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                     },
                 )
 
-        return self.runInteraction("add_user_to_group", _add_user_to_group_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("add_user_to_group", _add_user_to_group_txn)
 
     def remove_user_from_group(self, group_id, user_id):
         def _remove_user_from_group_txn(txn):
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="group_users",
                 keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "user_id": user_id},
             )
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="group_invites",
                 keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "user_id": user_id},
             )
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="group_attestations_renewals",
                 keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "user_id": user_id},
             )
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="group_attestations_remote",
                 keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "user_id": user_id},
             )
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="group_summary_users",
                 keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "user_id": user_id},
             )
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "remove_user_from_group", _remove_user_from_group_txn
         )
 
     def add_room_to_group(self, group_id, room_id, is_public):
-        return self._simple_insert(
+        return self.db.simple_insert(
             table="group_rooms",
             values={"group_id": group_id, "room_id": room_id, "is_public": is_public},
             desc="add_room_to_group",
         )
 
     def update_room_in_group_visibility(self, group_id, room_id, is_public):
-        return self._simple_update(
+        return self.db.simple_update(
             table="group_rooms",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "room_id": room_id},
             updatevalues={"is_public": is_public},
@@ -828,26 +830,26 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
     def remove_room_from_group(self, group_id, room_id):
         def _remove_room_from_group_txn(txn):
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="group_rooms",
                 keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "room_id": room_id},
             )
 
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="group_summary_rooms",
                 keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "room_id": room_id},
             )
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "remove_room_from_group", _remove_room_from_group_txn
         )
 
     def get_publicised_groups_for_user(self, user_id):
         """Get all groups a user is publicising
         """
-        return self._simple_select_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_onecol(
             table="local_group_membership",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "membership": "join", "is_publicised": True},
             retcol="group_id",
@@ -857,7 +859,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
     def update_group_publicity(self, group_id, user_id, publicise):
         """Update whether the user is publicising their membership of the group
         """
-        return self._simple_update_one(
+        return self.db.simple_update_one(
             table="local_group_membership",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "user_id": user_id},
             updatevalues={"is_publicised": publicise},
@@ -893,12 +895,12 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
         def _register_user_group_membership_txn(txn, next_id):
             # TODO: Upsert?
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="local_group_membership",
                 keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "user_id": user_id},
             )
-            self._simple_insert_txn(
+            self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="local_group_membership",
                 values={
@@ -911,7 +913,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 },
             )
 
-            self._simple_insert_txn(
+            self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="local_group_updates",
                 values={
@@ -930,7 +932,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
             if membership == "join":
                 if local_attestation:
-                    self._simple_insert_txn(
+                    self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                         txn,
                         table="group_attestations_renewals",
                         values={
@@ -940,7 +942,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                         },
                     )
                 if remote_attestation:
-                    self._simple_insert_txn(
+                    self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                         txn,
                         table="group_attestations_remote",
                         values={
@@ -951,12 +953,12 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                         },
                     )
             else:
-                self._simple_delete_txn(
+                self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                     txn,
                     table="group_attestations_renewals",
                     keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "user_id": user_id},
                 )
-                self._simple_delete_txn(
+                self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                     txn,
                     table="group_attestations_remote",
                     keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "user_id": user_id},
@@ -965,7 +967,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             return next_id
 
         with self._group_updates_id_gen.get_next() as next_id:
-            res = yield self.runInteraction(
+            res = yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "register_user_group_membership",
                 _register_user_group_membership_txn,
                 next_id,
@@ -976,7 +978,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
     def create_group(
         self, group_id, user_id, name, avatar_url, short_description, long_description
     ):
-        yield self._simple_insert(
+        yield self.db.simple_insert(
             table="groups",
             values={
                 "group_id": group_id,
@@ -991,7 +993,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def update_group_profile(self, group_id, profile):
-        yield self._simple_update_one(
+        yield self.db.simple_update_one(
             table="groups",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id},
             updatevalues=profile,
@@ -1008,16 +1010,16 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 WHERE valid_until_ms <= ?
             """
             txn.execute(sql, (valid_until_ms,))
-            return self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+            return self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_attestations_need_renewals", _get_attestations_need_renewals_txn
         )
 
     def update_attestation_renewal(self, group_id, user_id, attestation):
         """Update an attestation that we have renewed
         """
-        return self._simple_update_one(
+        return self.db.simple_update_one(
             table="group_attestations_renewals",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "user_id": user_id},
             updatevalues={"valid_until_ms": attestation["valid_until_ms"]},
@@ -1027,7 +1029,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
     def update_remote_attestion(self, group_id, user_id, attestation):
         """Update an attestation that a remote has renewed
         """
-        return self._simple_update_one(
+        return self.db.simple_update_one(
             table="group_attestations_remote",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "user_id": user_id},
             updatevalues={
@@ -1046,7 +1048,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             group_id (str)
             user_id (str)
         """
-        return self._simple_delete(
+        return self.db.simple_delete(
             table="group_attestations_renewals",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "user_id": user_id},
             desc="remove_attestation_renewal",
@@ -1057,7 +1059,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         """Get the attestation that proves the remote agrees that the user is
         in the group.
         """
-        row = yield self._simple_select_one(
+        row = yield self.db.simple_select_one(
             table="group_attestations_remote",
             keyvalues={"group_id": group_id, "user_id": user_id},
             retcols=("valid_until_ms", "attestation_json"),
@@ -1072,7 +1074,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         return None
 
     def get_joined_groups(self, user_id):
-        return self._simple_select_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_onecol(
             table="local_group_membership",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "membership": "join"},
             retcol="group_id",
@@ -1099,7 +1101,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 for row in txn
             ]
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_all_groups_for_user", _get_all_groups_for_user_txn
         )
 
@@ -1109,7 +1111,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             user_id, from_token
         )
         if not has_changed:
-            return []
+            return defer.succeed([])
 
         def _get_groups_changes_for_user_txn(txn):
             sql = """
@@ -1129,7 +1131,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 for group_id, membership, gtype, content_json in txn
             ]
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_groups_changes_for_user", _get_groups_changes_for_user_txn
         )
 
@@ -1139,7 +1141,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             from_token
         )
         if not has_changed:
-            return []
+            return defer.succeed([])
 
         def _get_all_groups_changes_txn(txn):
             sql = """
@@ -1154,7 +1156,7 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 for stream_id, group_id, user_id, gtype, content_json in txn
             ]
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_all_groups_changes", _get_all_groups_changes_txn
         )
 
@@ -1188,8 +1190,8 @@ class GroupServerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             ]
 
             for table in tables:
-                self._simple_delete_txn(
+                self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                     txn, table=table, keyvalues={"group_id": group_id}
                 )
 
-        return self.runInteraction("delete_group", _delete_group_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("delete_group", _delete_group_txn)
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/keys.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/keys.py
index ebc7db3ed6..6b12f5a75f 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/keys.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/keys.py
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ class KeyStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 _get_keys(txn, batch)
             return keys
 
-        return self.runInteraction("get_server_verify_keys", _txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("get_server_verify_keys", _txn)
 
     def store_server_verify_keys(self, from_server, ts_added_ms, verify_keys):
         """Stores NACL verification keys for remote servers.
@@ -127,9 +127,9 @@ class KeyStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 f((i,))
             return res
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "store_server_verify_keys",
-            self._simple_upsert_many_txn,
+            self.db.simple_upsert_many_txn,
             table="server_signature_keys",
             key_names=("server_name", "key_id"),
             key_values=key_values,
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ class KeyStore(SQLBaseStore):
             ts_valid_until_ms (int): The time when this json stops being valid.
             key_json (bytes): The encoded JSON.
         """
-        return self._simple_upsert(
+        return self.db.simple_upsert(
             table="server_keys_json",
             keyvalues={
                 "server_name": server_name,
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@ class KeyStore(SQLBaseStore):
                     keyvalues["key_id"] = key_id
                 if from_server is not None:
                     keyvalues["from_server"] = from_server
-                rows = self._simple_select_list_txn(
+                rows = self.db.simple_select_list_txn(
                     txn,
                     "server_keys_json",
                     keyvalues=keyvalues,
@@ -211,4 +211,4 @@ class KeyStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 results[(server_name, key_id, from_server)] = rows
             return results
 
-        return self.runInteraction("get_server_keys_json", _get_server_keys_json_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("get_server_keys_json", _get_server_keys_json_txn)
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/media_repository.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/media_repository.py
index 84b5f3ad5e..80ca36dedf 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/media_repository.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/media_repository.py
@@ -12,14 +12,17 @@
 # WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
-from synapse.storage.background_updates import BackgroundUpdateStore
+from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 
 
-class MediaRepositoryBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(MediaRepositoryBackgroundUpdateStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+class MediaRepositoryBackgroundUpdateStore(SQLBaseStore):
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(MediaRepositoryBackgroundUpdateStore, self).__init__(
+            database, db_conn, hs
+        )
 
-        self.register_background_index_update(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_index_update(
             update_name="local_media_repository_url_idx",
             index_name="local_media_repository_url_idx",
             table="local_media_repository",
@@ -31,15 +34,15 @@ class MediaRepositoryBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
 class MediaRepositoryStore(MediaRepositoryBackgroundUpdateStore):
     """Persistence for attachments and avatars"""
 
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(MediaRepositoryStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(MediaRepositoryStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
     def get_local_media(self, media_id):
         """Get the metadata for a local piece of media
         Returns:
             None if the media_id doesn't exist.
         """
-        return self._simple_select_one(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one(
             "local_media_repository",
             {"media_id": media_id},
             (
@@ -64,7 +67,7 @@ class MediaRepositoryStore(MediaRepositoryBackgroundUpdateStore):
         user_id,
         url_cache=None,
     ):
-        return self._simple_insert(
+        return self.db.simple_insert(
             "local_media_repository",
             {
                 "media_id": media_id,
@@ -124,12 +127,12 @@ class MediaRepositoryStore(MediaRepositoryBackgroundUpdateStore):
                 )
             )
 
-        return self.runInteraction("get_url_cache", get_url_cache_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("get_url_cache", get_url_cache_txn)
 
     def store_url_cache(
         self, url, response_code, etag, expires_ts, og, media_id, download_ts
     ):
-        return self._simple_insert(
+        return self.db.simple_insert(
             "local_media_repository_url_cache",
             {
                 "url": url,
@@ -144,7 +147,7 @@ class MediaRepositoryStore(MediaRepositoryBackgroundUpdateStore):
         )
 
     def get_local_media_thumbnails(self, media_id):
-        return self._simple_select_list(
+        return self.db.simple_select_list(
             "local_media_repository_thumbnails",
             {"media_id": media_id},
             (
@@ -166,7 +169,7 @@ class MediaRepositoryStore(MediaRepositoryBackgroundUpdateStore):
         thumbnail_method,
         thumbnail_length,
     ):
-        return self._simple_insert(
+        return self.db.simple_insert(
             "local_media_repository_thumbnails",
             {
                 "media_id": media_id,
@@ -180,7 +183,7 @@ class MediaRepositoryStore(MediaRepositoryBackgroundUpdateStore):
         )
 
     def get_cached_remote_media(self, origin, media_id):
-        return self._simple_select_one(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one(
             "remote_media_cache",
             {"media_origin": origin, "media_id": media_id},
             (
@@ -205,7 +208,7 @@ class MediaRepositoryStore(MediaRepositoryBackgroundUpdateStore):
         upload_name,
         filesystem_id,
     ):
-        return self._simple_insert(
+        return self.db.simple_insert(
             "remote_media_cache",
             {
                 "media_origin": origin,
@@ -250,10 +253,12 @@ class MediaRepositoryStore(MediaRepositoryBackgroundUpdateStore):
 
             txn.executemany(sql, ((time_ms, media_id) for media_id in local_media))
 
-        return self.runInteraction("update_cached_last_access_time", update_cache_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
+            "update_cached_last_access_time", update_cache_txn
+        )
 
     def get_remote_media_thumbnails(self, origin, media_id):
-        return self._simple_select_list(
+        return self.db.simple_select_list(
             "remote_media_cache_thumbnails",
             {"media_origin": origin, "media_id": media_id},
             (
@@ -278,7 +283,7 @@ class MediaRepositoryStore(MediaRepositoryBackgroundUpdateStore):
         thumbnail_method,
         thumbnail_length,
     ):
-        return self._simple_insert(
+        return self.db.simple_insert(
             "remote_media_cache_thumbnails",
             {
                 "media_origin": origin,
@@ -300,24 +305,24 @@ class MediaRepositoryStore(MediaRepositoryBackgroundUpdateStore):
             " WHERE last_access_ts < ?"
         )
 
-        return self._execute(
-            "get_remote_media_before", self.cursor_to_dict, sql, before_ts
+        return self.db.execute(
+            "get_remote_media_before", self.db.cursor_to_dict, sql, before_ts
         )
 
     def delete_remote_media(self, media_origin, media_id):
         def delete_remote_media_txn(txn):
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn,
                 "remote_media_cache",
                 keyvalues={"media_origin": media_origin, "media_id": media_id},
             )
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn,
                 "remote_media_cache_thumbnails",
                 keyvalues={"media_origin": media_origin, "media_id": media_id},
             )
 
-        return self.runInteraction("delete_remote_media", delete_remote_media_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("delete_remote_media", delete_remote_media_txn)
 
     def get_expired_url_cache(self, now_ts):
         sql = (
@@ -331,18 +336,20 @@ class MediaRepositoryStore(MediaRepositoryBackgroundUpdateStore):
             txn.execute(sql, (now_ts,))
             return [row[0] for row in txn]
 
-        return self.runInteraction("get_expired_url_cache", _get_expired_url_cache_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
+            "get_expired_url_cache", _get_expired_url_cache_txn
+        )
 
     def delete_url_cache(self, media_ids):
         if len(media_ids) == 0:
             return
 
-        sql = "DELETE FROM local_media_repository_url_cache" " WHERE media_id = ?"
+        sql = "DELETE FROM local_media_repository_url_cache WHERE media_id = ?"
 
         def _delete_url_cache_txn(txn):
             txn.executemany(sql, [(media_id,) for media_id in media_ids])
 
-        return self.runInteraction("delete_url_cache", _delete_url_cache_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("delete_url_cache", _delete_url_cache_txn)
 
     def get_url_cache_media_before(self, before_ts):
         sql = (
@@ -356,7 +363,7 @@ class MediaRepositoryStore(MediaRepositoryBackgroundUpdateStore):
             txn.execute(sql, (before_ts,))
             return [row[0] for row in txn]
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_url_cache_media_before", _get_url_cache_media_before_txn
         )
 
@@ -365,14 +372,14 @@ class MediaRepositoryStore(MediaRepositoryBackgroundUpdateStore):
             return
 
         def _delete_url_cache_media_txn(txn):
-            sql = "DELETE FROM local_media_repository" " WHERE media_id = ?"
+            sql = "DELETE FROM local_media_repository WHERE media_id = ?"
 
             txn.executemany(sql, [(media_id,) for media_id in media_ids])
 
-            sql = "DELETE FROM local_media_repository_thumbnails" " WHERE media_id = ?"
+            sql = "DELETE FROM local_media_repository_thumbnails WHERE media_id = ?"
 
             txn.executemany(sql, [(media_id,) for media_id in media_ids])
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "delete_url_cache_media", _delete_url_cache_media_txn
         )
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/monthly_active_users.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/monthly_active_users.py
index b41c3d317a..27158534cb 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/monthly_active_users.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/monthly_active_users.py
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import logging
 from twisted.internet import defer
 
 from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.util.caches.descriptors import cached
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -27,13 +28,13 @@ LAST_SEEN_GRANULARITY = 60 * 60 * 1000
 
 
 class MonthlyActiveUsersStore(SQLBaseStore):
-    def __init__(self, dbconn, hs):
-        super(MonthlyActiveUsersStore, self).__init__(None, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(MonthlyActiveUsersStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
         self._clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.hs = hs
         # Do not add more reserved users than the total allowable number
-        self._new_transaction(
-            dbconn,
+        self.db.new_transaction(
+            db_conn,
             "initialise_mau_threepids",
             [],
             [],
@@ -146,7 +147,7 @@ class MonthlyActiveUsersStore(SQLBaseStore):
                     txn.execute(sql, query_args)
 
         reserved_users = yield self.get_registered_reserved_users()
-        yield self.runInteraction(
+        yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "reap_monthly_active_users", _reap_users, reserved_users
         )
         # It seems poor to invalidate the whole cache, Postgres supports
@@ -174,7 +175,7 @@ class MonthlyActiveUsersStore(SQLBaseStore):
             (count,) = txn.fetchone()
             return count
 
-        return self.runInteraction("count_users", _count_users)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("count_users", _count_users)
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def get_registered_reserved_users(self):
@@ -217,7 +218,7 @@ class MonthlyActiveUsersStore(SQLBaseStore):
         if is_support:
             return
 
-        yield self.runInteraction(
+        yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "upsert_monthly_active_user", self.upsert_monthly_active_user_txn, user_id
         )
 
@@ -261,7 +262,7 @@ class MonthlyActiveUsersStore(SQLBaseStore):
         # never be a big table and alternative approaches (batching multiple
         # upserts into a single txn) introduced a lot of extra complexity.
         # See https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/3854 for more
-        is_insert = self._simple_upsert_txn(
+        is_insert = self.db.simple_upsert_txn(
             txn,
             table="monthly_active_users",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
@@ -281,7 +282,7 @@ class MonthlyActiveUsersStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
         """
 
-        return self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="monthly_active_users",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             retcol="timestamp",
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/openid.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/openid.py
index 79b40044d9..cc21437e92 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/openid.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/openid.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore
 
 class OpenIdStore(SQLBaseStore):
     def insert_open_id_token(self, token, ts_valid_until_ms, user_id):
-        return self._simple_insert(
+        return self.db.simple_insert(
             table="open_id_tokens",
             values={
                 "token": token,
@@ -28,4 +28,6 @@ class OpenIdStore(SQLBaseStore):
             else:
                 return rows[0][0]
 
-        return self.runInteraction("get_user_id_for_token", get_user_id_for_token_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
+            "get_user_id_for_token", get_user_id_for_token_txn
+        )
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/presence.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/presence.py
index 523ed6575e..a2c83e0867 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/presence.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/presence.py
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class PresenceStore(SQLBaseStore):
         )
 
         with stream_ordering_manager as stream_orderings:
-            yield self.runInteraction(
+            yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "update_presence",
                 self._update_presence_txn,
                 stream_orderings,
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ class PresenceStore(SQLBaseStore):
             txn.call_after(self._get_presence_for_user.invalidate, (state.user_id,))
 
         # Actually insert new rows
-        self._simple_insert_many_txn(
+        self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(
             txn,
             table="presence_stream",
             values=[
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ class PresenceStore(SQLBaseStore):
             txn.execute(sql, (last_id, current_id))
             return txn.fetchall()
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_all_presence_updates", get_all_presence_updates_txn
         )
 
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ class PresenceStore(SQLBaseStore):
         inlineCallbacks=True,
     )
     def get_presence_for_users(self, user_ids):
-        rows = yield self._simple_select_many_batch(
+        rows = yield self.db.simple_select_many_batch(
             table="presence_stream",
             column="user_id",
             iterable=user_ids,
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ class PresenceStore(SQLBaseStore):
         return self._presence_id_gen.get_current_token()
 
     def allow_presence_visible(self, observed_localpart, observer_userid):
-        return self._simple_insert(
+        return self.db.simple_insert(
             table="presence_allow_inbound",
             values={
                 "observed_user_id": observed_localpart,
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ class PresenceStore(SQLBaseStore):
         )
 
     def disallow_presence_visible(self, observed_localpart, observer_userid):
-        return self._simple_delete_one(
+        return self.db.simple_delete_one(
             table="presence_allow_inbound",
             keyvalues={
                 "observed_user_id": observed_localpart,
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/profile.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/profile.py
index e4e8a1c1d6..2b52cf9c1a 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/profile.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/profile.py
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ class ProfileWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def get_profileinfo(self, user_localpart):
         try:
-            profile = yield self._simple_select_one(
+            profile = yield self.db.simple_select_one(
                 table="profiles",
                 keyvalues={"user_id": user_localpart},
                 retcols=("displayname", "avatar_url"),
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ class ProfileWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         )
 
     def get_profile_displayname(self, user_localpart):
-        return self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="profiles",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_localpart},
             retcol="displayname",
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ class ProfileWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         )
 
     def get_profile_avatar_url(self, user_localpart):
-        return self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="profiles",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_localpart},
             retcol="avatar_url",
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ class ProfileWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         )
 
     def get_from_remote_profile_cache(self, user_id):
-        return self._simple_select_one(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one(
             table="remote_profile_cache",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             retcols=("displayname", "avatar_url"),
@@ -67,12 +67,12 @@ class ProfileWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         )
 
     def create_profile(self, user_localpart):
-        return self._simple_insert(
+        return self.db.simple_insert(
             table="profiles", values={"user_id": user_localpart}, desc="create_profile"
         )
 
     def set_profile_displayname(self, user_localpart, new_displayname):
-        return self._simple_update_one(
+        return self.db.simple_update_one(
             table="profiles",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_localpart},
             updatevalues={"displayname": new_displayname},
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ class ProfileWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         )
 
     def set_profile_avatar_url(self, user_localpart, new_avatar_url):
-        return self._simple_update_one(
+        return self.db.simple_update_one(
             table="profiles",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_localpart},
             updatevalues={"avatar_url": new_avatar_url},
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ class ProfileStore(ProfileWorkerStore):
         This should only be called when `is_subscribed_remote_profile_for_user`
         would return true for the user.
         """
-        return self._simple_upsert(
+        return self.db.simple_upsert(
             table="remote_profile_cache",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             values={
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ class ProfileStore(ProfileWorkerStore):
         )
 
     def update_remote_profile_cache(self, user_id, displayname, avatar_url):
-        return self._simple_update(
+        return self.db.simple_update(
             table="remote_profile_cache",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             values={
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ class ProfileStore(ProfileWorkerStore):
         """
         subscribed = yield self.is_subscribed_remote_profile_for_user(user_id)
         if not subscribed:
-            yield self._simple_delete(
+            yield self.db.simple_delete(
                 table="remote_profile_cache",
                 keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
                 desc="delete_remote_profile_cache",
@@ -144,9 +144,9 @@ class ProfileStore(ProfileWorkerStore):
 
             txn.execute(sql, (last_checked,))
 
-            return self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+            return self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_remote_profile_cache_entries_that_expire",
             _get_remote_profile_cache_entries_that_expire_txn,
         )
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ class ProfileStore(ProfileWorkerStore):
     def is_subscribed_remote_profile_for_user(self, user_id):
         """Check whether we are interested in a remote user's profile.
         """
-        res = yield self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        res = yield self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="group_users",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             retcol="user_id",
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ class ProfileStore(ProfileWorkerStore):
         if res:
             return True
 
-        res = yield self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        res = yield self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="group_invites",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             retcol="user_id",
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/push_rule.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/push_rule.py
index b520062d84..5ba13aa973 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/push_rule.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/push_rule.py
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.appservice import ApplicationServiceWorker
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.pusher import PusherWorkerStore
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.receipts import ReceiptsWorkerStore
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.roommember import RoomMemberWorkerStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.storage.push_rule import InconsistentRuleException, RuleNotFoundException
 from synapse.util.caches.descriptors import cachedInlineCallbacks, cachedList
 from synapse.util.caches.stream_change_cache import StreamChangeCache
@@ -72,10 +73,10 @@ class PushRulesWorkerStore(
     # the abstract methods being implemented.
     __metaclass__ = abc.ABCMeta
 
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(PushRulesWorkerStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(PushRulesWorkerStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
-        push_rules_prefill, push_rules_id = self._get_cache_dict(
+        push_rules_prefill, push_rules_id = self.db.get_cache_dict(
             db_conn,
             "push_rules_stream",
             entity_column="user_id",
@@ -100,7 +101,7 @@ class PushRulesWorkerStore(
 
     @cachedInlineCallbacks(max_entries=5000)
     def get_push_rules_for_user(self, user_id):
-        rows = yield self._simple_select_list(
+        rows = yield self.db.simple_select_list(
             table="push_rules",
             keyvalues={"user_name": user_id},
             retcols=(
@@ -124,7 +125,7 @@ class PushRulesWorkerStore(
 
     @cachedInlineCallbacks(max_entries=5000)
     def get_push_rules_enabled_for_user(self, user_id):
-        results = yield self._simple_select_list(
+        results = yield self.db.simple_select_list(
             table="push_rules_enable",
             keyvalues={"user_name": user_id},
             retcols=("user_name", "rule_id", "enabled"),
@@ -146,7 +147,7 @@ class PushRulesWorkerStore(
                 (count,) = txn.fetchone()
                 return bool(count)
 
-            return self.runInteraction(
+            return self.db.runInteraction(
                 "have_push_rules_changed", have_push_rules_changed_txn
             )
 
@@ -162,7 +163,7 @@ class PushRulesWorkerStore(
 
         results = {user_id: [] for user_id in user_ids}
 
-        rows = yield self._simple_select_many_batch(
+        rows = yield self.db.simple_select_many_batch(
             table="push_rules",
             column="user_name",
             iterable=user_ids,
@@ -320,7 +321,7 @@ class PushRulesWorkerStore(
 
         results = {user_id: {} for user_id in user_ids}
 
-        rows = yield self._simple_select_many_batch(
+        rows = yield self.db.simple_select_many_batch(
             table="push_rules_enable",
             column="user_name",
             iterable=user_ids,
@@ -350,7 +351,7 @@ class PushRuleStore(PushRulesWorkerStore):
         with self._push_rules_stream_id_gen.get_next() as ids:
             stream_id, event_stream_ordering = ids
             if before or after:
-                yield self.runInteraction(
+                yield self.db.runInteraction(
                     "_add_push_rule_relative_txn",
                     self._add_push_rule_relative_txn,
                     stream_id,
@@ -364,7 +365,7 @@ class PushRuleStore(PushRulesWorkerStore):
                     after,
                 )
             else:
-                yield self.runInteraction(
+                yield self.db.runInteraction(
                     "_add_push_rule_highest_priority_txn",
                     self._add_push_rule_highest_priority_txn,
                     stream_id,
@@ -395,7 +396,7 @@ class PushRuleStore(PushRulesWorkerStore):
 
         relative_to_rule = before or after
 
-        res = self._simple_select_one_txn(
+        res = self.db.simple_select_one_txn(
             txn,
             table="push_rules",
             keyvalues={"user_name": user_id, "rule_id": relative_to_rule},
@@ -499,7 +500,7 @@ class PushRuleStore(PushRulesWorkerStore):
         actions_json,
         update_stream=True,
     ):
-        """Specialised version of _simple_upsert_txn that picks a push_rule_id
+        """Specialised version of simple_upsert_txn that picks a push_rule_id
         using the _push_rule_id_gen if it needs to insert the rule. It assumes
         that the "push_rules" table is locked"""
 
@@ -518,7 +519,7 @@ class PushRuleStore(PushRulesWorkerStore):
             # We didn't update a row with the given rule_id so insert one
             push_rule_id = self._push_rule_id_gen.get_next()
 
-            self._simple_insert_txn(
+            self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="push_rules",
                 values={
@@ -561,7 +562,7 @@ class PushRuleStore(PushRulesWorkerStore):
         """
 
         def delete_push_rule_txn(txn, stream_id, event_stream_ordering):
-            self._simple_delete_one_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_one_txn(
                 txn, "push_rules", {"user_name": user_id, "rule_id": rule_id}
             )
 
@@ -571,7 +572,7 @@ class PushRuleStore(PushRulesWorkerStore):
 
         with self._push_rules_stream_id_gen.get_next() as ids:
             stream_id, event_stream_ordering = ids
-            yield self.runInteraction(
+            yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "delete_push_rule",
                 delete_push_rule_txn,
                 stream_id,
@@ -582,7 +583,7 @@ class PushRuleStore(PushRulesWorkerStore):
     def set_push_rule_enabled(self, user_id, rule_id, enabled):
         with self._push_rules_stream_id_gen.get_next() as ids:
             stream_id, event_stream_ordering = ids
-            yield self.runInteraction(
+            yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "_set_push_rule_enabled_txn",
                 self._set_push_rule_enabled_txn,
                 stream_id,
@@ -596,7 +597,7 @@ class PushRuleStore(PushRulesWorkerStore):
         self, txn, stream_id, event_stream_ordering, user_id, rule_id, enabled
     ):
         new_id = self._push_rules_enable_id_gen.get_next()
-        self._simple_upsert_txn(
+        self.db.simple_upsert_txn(
             txn,
             "push_rules_enable",
             {"user_name": user_id, "rule_id": rule_id},
@@ -636,7 +637,7 @@ class PushRuleStore(PushRulesWorkerStore):
                     update_stream=False,
                 )
             else:
-                self._simple_update_one_txn(
+                self.db.simple_update_one_txn(
                     txn,
                     "push_rules",
                     {"user_name": user_id, "rule_id": rule_id},
@@ -655,7 +656,7 @@ class PushRuleStore(PushRulesWorkerStore):
 
         with self._push_rules_stream_id_gen.get_next() as ids:
             stream_id, event_stream_ordering = ids
-            yield self.runInteraction(
+            yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "set_push_rule_actions",
                 set_push_rule_actions_txn,
                 stream_id,
@@ -675,7 +676,7 @@ class PushRuleStore(PushRulesWorkerStore):
         if data is not None:
             values.update(data)
 
-        self._simple_insert_txn(txn, "push_rules_stream", values=values)
+        self.db.simple_insert_txn(txn, "push_rules_stream", values=values)
 
         txn.call_after(self.get_push_rules_for_user.invalidate, (user_id,))
         txn.call_after(self.get_push_rules_enabled_for_user.invalidate, (user_id,))
@@ -699,7 +700,7 @@ class PushRuleStore(PushRulesWorkerStore):
             txn.execute(sql, (last_id, current_id, limit))
             return txn.fetchall()
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_all_push_rule_updates", get_all_push_rule_updates_txn
         )
 
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/pusher.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/pusher.py
index d76861cdc0..f07309ef09 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/pusher.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/pusher.py
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ class PusherWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def user_has_pusher(self, user_id):
-        ret = yield self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        ret = yield self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             "pushers", {"user_name": user_id}, "id", allow_none=True
         )
         return ret is not None
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ class PusherWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def get_pushers_by(self, keyvalues):
-        ret = yield self._simple_select_list(
+        ret = yield self.db.simple_select_list(
             "pushers",
             keyvalues,
             [
@@ -100,11 +100,11 @@ class PusherWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
     def get_all_pushers(self):
         def get_pushers(txn):
             txn.execute("SELECT * FROM pushers")
-            rows = self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+            rows = self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
 
             return self._decode_pushers_rows(rows)
 
-        rows = yield self.runInteraction("get_all_pushers", get_pushers)
+        rows = yield self.db.runInteraction("get_all_pushers", get_pushers)
         return rows
 
     def get_all_updated_pushers(self, last_id, current_id, limit):
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ class PusherWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
             return updated, deleted
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_all_updated_pushers", get_all_updated_pushers_txn
         )
 
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ class PusherWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
             return results
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_all_updated_pushers_rows", get_all_updated_pushers_rows_txn
         )
 
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ class PusherWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         inlineCallbacks=True,
     )
     def get_if_users_have_pushers(self, user_ids):
-        rows = yield self._simple_select_many_batch(
+        rows = yield self.db.simple_select_many_batch(
             table="pushers",
             column="user_name",
             iterable=user_ids,
@@ -229,8 +229,8 @@ class PusherStore(PusherWorkerStore):
     ):
         with self._pushers_id_gen.get_next() as stream_id:
             # no need to lock because `pushers` has a unique key on
-            # (app_id, pushkey, user_name) so _simple_upsert will retry
-            yield self._simple_upsert(
+            # (app_id, pushkey, user_name) so simple_upsert will retry
+            yield self.db.simple_upsert(
                 table="pushers",
                 keyvalues={"app_id": app_id, "pushkey": pushkey, "user_name": user_id},
                 values={
@@ -255,7 +255,7 @@ class PusherStore(PusherWorkerStore):
 
             if user_has_pusher is not True:
                 # invalidate, since we the user might not have had a pusher before
-                yield self.runInteraction(
+                yield self.db.runInteraction(
                     "add_pusher",
                     self._invalidate_cache_and_stream,
                     self.get_if_user_has_pusher,
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ class PusherStore(PusherWorkerStore):
                 txn, self.get_if_user_has_pusher, (user_id,)
             )
 
-            self._simple_delete_one_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_one_txn(
                 txn,
                 "pushers",
                 {"app_id": app_id, "pushkey": pushkey, "user_name": user_id},
@@ -278,7 +278,7 @@ class PusherStore(PusherWorkerStore):
             # it's possible for us to end up with duplicate rows for
             # (app_id, pushkey, user_id) at different stream_ids, but that
             # doesn't really matter.
-            self._simple_insert_txn(
+            self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="deleted_pushers",
                 values={
@@ -290,13 +290,13 @@ class PusherStore(PusherWorkerStore):
             )
 
         with self._pushers_id_gen.get_next() as stream_id:
-            yield self.runInteraction("delete_pusher", delete_pusher_txn, stream_id)
+            yield self.db.runInteraction("delete_pusher", delete_pusher_txn, stream_id)
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def update_pusher_last_stream_ordering(
         self, app_id, pushkey, user_id, last_stream_ordering
     ):
-        yield self._simple_update_one(
+        yield self.db.simple_update_one(
             "pushers",
             {"app_id": app_id, "pushkey": pushkey, "user_name": user_id},
             {"last_stream_ordering": last_stream_ordering},
@@ -319,7 +319,7 @@ class PusherStore(PusherWorkerStore):
         Returns:
             Deferred[bool]: True if the pusher still exists; False if it has been deleted.
         """
-        updated = yield self._simple_update(
+        updated = yield self.db.simple_update(
             table="pushers",
             keyvalues={"app_id": app_id, "pushkey": pushkey, "user_name": user_id},
             updatevalues={
@@ -333,7 +333,7 @@ class PusherStore(PusherWorkerStore):
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def update_pusher_failing_since(self, app_id, pushkey, user_id, failing_since):
-        yield self._simple_update(
+        yield self.db.simple_update(
             table="pushers",
             keyvalues={"app_id": app_id, "pushkey": pushkey, "user_name": user_id},
             updatevalues={"failing_since": failing_since},
@@ -342,7 +342,7 @@ class PusherStore(PusherWorkerStore):
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def get_throttle_params_by_room(self, pusher_id):
-        res = yield self._simple_select_list(
+        res = yield self.db.simple_select_list(
             "pusher_throttle",
             {"pusher": pusher_id},
             ["room_id", "last_sent_ts", "throttle_ms"],
@@ -361,8 +361,8 @@ class PusherStore(PusherWorkerStore):
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def set_throttle_params(self, pusher_id, room_id, params):
         # no need to lock because `pusher_throttle` has a primary key on
-        # (pusher, room_id) so _simple_upsert will retry
-        yield self._simple_upsert(
+        # (pusher, room_id) so simple_upsert will retry
+        yield self.db.simple_upsert(
             "pusher_throttle",
             {"pusher": pusher_id, "room_id": room_id},
             params,
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/receipts.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/receipts.py
index 0c24430f28..96e54d145e 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/receipts.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/receipts.py
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ from canonicaljson import json
 from twisted.internet import defer
 
 from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore, make_in_list_sql_clause
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.storage.util.id_generators import StreamIdGenerator
 from synapse.util.caches.descriptors import cached, cachedInlineCallbacks, cachedList
 from synapse.util.caches.stream_change_cache import StreamChangeCache
@@ -38,8 +39,8 @@ class ReceiptsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
     # the abstract methods being implemented.
     __metaclass__ = abc.ABCMeta
 
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(ReceiptsWorkerStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(ReceiptsWorkerStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
         self._receipts_stream_cache = StreamChangeCache(
             "ReceiptsRoomChangeCache", self.get_max_receipt_stream_id()
@@ -61,7 +62,7 @@ class ReceiptsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
     @cached(num_args=2)
     def get_receipts_for_room(self, room_id, receipt_type):
-        return self._simple_select_list(
+        return self.db.simple_select_list(
             table="receipts_linearized",
             keyvalues={"room_id": room_id, "receipt_type": receipt_type},
             retcols=("user_id", "event_id"),
@@ -70,7 +71,7 @@ class ReceiptsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
     @cached(num_args=3)
     def get_last_receipt_event_id_for_user(self, user_id, room_id, receipt_type):
-        return self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="receipts_linearized",
             keyvalues={
                 "room_id": room_id,
@@ -84,7 +85,7 @@ class ReceiptsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
     @cachedInlineCallbacks(num_args=2)
     def get_receipts_for_user(self, user_id, receipt_type):
-        rows = yield self._simple_select_list(
+        rows = yield self.db.simple_select_list(
             table="receipts_linearized",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "receipt_type": receipt_type},
             retcols=("room_id", "event_id"),
@@ -108,7 +109,7 @@ class ReceiptsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             txn.execute(sql, (user_id,))
             return txn.fetchall()
 
-        rows = yield self.runInteraction("get_receipts_for_user_with_orderings", f)
+        rows = yield self.db.runInteraction("get_receipts_for_user_with_orderings", f)
         return {
             row[0]: {
                 "event_id": row[1],
@@ -187,11 +188,11 @@ class ReceiptsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
                 txn.execute(sql, (room_id, to_key))
 
-            rows = self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+            rows = self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
 
             return rows
 
-        rows = yield self.runInteraction("get_linearized_receipts_for_room", f)
+        rows = yield self.db.runInteraction("get_linearized_receipts_for_room", f)
 
         if not rows:
             return []
@@ -237,9 +238,11 @@ class ReceiptsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
                 txn.execute(sql + clause, [to_key] + list(args))
 
-            return self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+            return self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
 
-        txn_results = yield self.runInteraction("_get_linearized_receipts_for_rooms", f)
+        txn_results = yield self.db.runInteraction(
+            "_get_linearized_receipts_for_rooms", f
+        )
 
         results = {}
         for row in txn_results:
@@ -280,9 +283,9 @@ class ReceiptsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 args.append(limit)
             txn.execute(sql, args)
 
-            return (r[0:5] + (json.loads(r[5]),) for r in txn)
+            return list(r[0:5] + (json.loads(r[5]),) for r in txn)
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_all_updated_receipts", get_all_updated_receipts_txn
         )
 
@@ -313,14 +316,14 @@ class ReceiptsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
 
 class ReceiptsStore(ReceiptsWorkerStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
         # We instantiate this first as the ReceiptsWorkerStore constructor
         # needs to be able to call get_max_receipt_stream_id
         self._receipts_id_gen = StreamIdGenerator(
             db_conn, "receipts_linearized", "stream_id"
         )
 
-        super(ReceiptsStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+        super(ReceiptsStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
     def get_max_receipt_stream_id(self):
         return self._receipts_id_gen.get_current_token()
@@ -335,7 +338,7 @@ class ReceiptsStore(ReceiptsWorkerStore):
             otherwise, the rx timestamp of the event that the RR corresponds to
                 (or 0 if the event is unknown)
         """
-        res = self._simple_select_one_txn(
+        res = self.db.simple_select_one_txn(
             txn,
             table="events",
             retcols=["stream_ordering", "received_ts"],
@@ -388,7 +391,7 @@ class ReceiptsStore(ReceiptsWorkerStore):
             (user_id, room_id, receipt_type),
         )
 
-        self._simple_delete_txn(
+        self.db.simple_delete_txn(
             txn,
             table="receipts_linearized",
             keyvalues={
@@ -398,7 +401,7 @@ class ReceiptsStore(ReceiptsWorkerStore):
             },
         )
 
-        self._simple_insert_txn(
+        self.db.simple_insert_txn(
             txn,
             table="receipts_linearized",
             values={
@@ -453,13 +456,13 @@ class ReceiptsStore(ReceiptsWorkerStore):
                 else:
                     raise RuntimeError("Unrecognized event_ids: %r" % (event_ids,))
 
-            linearized_event_id = yield self.runInteraction(
+            linearized_event_id = yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "insert_receipt_conv", graph_to_linear
             )
 
         stream_id_manager = self._receipts_id_gen.get_next()
         with stream_id_manager as stream_id:
-            event_ts = yield self.runInteraction(
+            event_ts = yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "insert_linearized_receipt",
                 self.insert_linearized_receipt_txn,
                 room_id,
@@ -488,7 +491,7 @@ class ReceiptsStore(ReceiptsWorkerStore):
         return stream_id, max_persisted_id
 
     def insert_graph_receipt(self, room_id, receipt_type, user_id, event_ids, data):
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "insert_graph_receipt",
             self.insert_graph_receipt_txn,
             room_id,
@@ -514,7 +517,7 @@ class ReceiptsStore(ReceiptsWorkerStore):
             self._get_linearized_receipts_for_room.invalidate_many, (room_id,)
         )
 
-        self._simple_delete_txn(
+        self.db.simple_delete_txn(
             txn,
             table="receipts_graph",
             keyvalues={
@@ -523,7 +526,7 @@ class ReceiptsStore(ReceiptsWorkerStore):
                 "user_id": user_id,
             },
         )
-        self._simple_insert_txn(
+        self.db.simple_insert_txn(
             txn,
             table="receipts_graph",
             values={
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/registration.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/registration.py
index 89147ad511..5e8ecac0ea 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/registration.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/registration.py
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@ import logging
 import re
 
 from six import iterkeys
-from six.moves import range
 
 from twisted.internet import defer
 from twisted.internet.defer import Deferred
@@ -27,8 +26,8 @@ from twisted.internet.defer import Deferred
 from synapse.api.constants import UserTypes
 from synapse.api.errors import Codes, StoreError, SynapseError, ThreepidValidationError
 from synapse.metrics.background_process_metrics import run_as_background_process
-from synapse.storage import background_updates
 from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.types import UserID
 from synapse.util.caches.descriptors import cached, cachedInlineCallbacks
 
@@ -38,15 +37,15 @@ logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
 class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(RegistrationWorkerStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(RegistrationWorkerStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
         self.config = hs.config
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
 
     @cached()
     def get_user_by_id(self, user_id):
-        return self._simple_select_one(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one(
             table="users",
             keyvalues={"name": user_id},
             retcols=[
@@ -95,7 +94,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 including the keys `name`, `is_guest`, `device_id`, `token_id`,
                 `valid_until_ms`.
         """
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_user_by_access_token", self._query_for_auth, token
         )
 
@@ -110,7 +109,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 otherwise int representation of the timestamp (as a number of
                 milliseconds since epoch).
         """
-        res = yield self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        res = yield self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="account_validity",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             retcol="expiration_ts_ms",
@@ -138,7 +137,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         """
 
         def set_account_validity_for_user_txn(txn):
-            self._simple_update_txn(
+            self.db.simple_update_txn(
                 txn=txn,
                 table="account_validity",
                 keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
@@ -152,7 +151,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 txn, self.get_expiration_ts_for_user, (user_id,)
             )
 
-        yield self.runInteraction(
+        yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "set_account_validity_for_user", set_account_validity_for_user_txn
         )
 
@@ -168,7 +167,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         Raises:
             StoreError: The provided token is already set for another user.
         """
-        yield self._simple_update_one(
+        yield self.db.simple_update_one(
             table="account_validity",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             updatevalues={"renewal_token": renewal_token},
@@ -185,7 +184,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         Returns:
             defer.Deferred[str]: The ID of the user to which the token belongs.
         """
-        res = yield self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        res = yield self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="account_validity",
             keyvalues={"renewal_token": renewal_token},
             retcol="user_id",
@@ -204,7 +203,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         Returns:
             defer.Deferred[str]: The renewal token associated with this user ID.
         """
-        res = yield self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        res = yield self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="account_validity",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             retcol="renewal_token",
@@ -230,9 +229,9 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             )
             values = [False, now_ms, renew_at]
             txn.execute(sql, values)
-            return self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+            return self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
 
-        res = yield self.runInteraction(
+        res = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_users_expiring_soon",
             select_users_txn,
             self.clock.time_msec(),
@@ -251,7 +250,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             email_sent (bool): Flag which indicates whether a renewal email has been sent
                 to this user.
         """
-        yield self._simple_update_one(
+        yield self.db.simple_update_one(
             table="account_validity",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             updatevalues={"email_sent": email_sent},
@@ -266,7 +265,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         Args:
             user_id (str): ID of the user to remove from the account validity table.
         """
-        yield self._simple_delete_one(
+        yield self.db.simple_delete_one(
             table="account_validity",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             desc="delete_account_validity_for_user",
@@ -282,7 +281,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         Returns (bool):
             true iff the user is a server admin, false otherwise.
         """
-        res = yield self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        res = yield self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="users",
             keyvalues={"name": user.to_string()},
             retcol="admin",
@@ -300,7 +299,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             admin (bool): true iff the user is to be a server admin,
                 false otherwise.
         """
-        return self._simple_update_one(
+        return self.db.simple_update_one(
             table="users",
             keyvalues={"name": user.to_string()},
             updatevalues={"admin": 1 if admin else 0},
@@ -317,7 +316,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         )
 
         txn.execute(sql, (token,))
-        rows = self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+        rows = self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
         if rows:
             return rows[0]
 
@@ -333,7 +332,9 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         Returns:
             Deferred[bool]: True if user 'user_type' is null or empty string
         """
-        res = yield self.runInteraction("is_real_user", self.is_real_user_txn, user_id)
+        res = yield self.db.runInteraction(
+            "is_real_user", self.is_real_user_txn, user_id
+        )
         return res
 
     @cachedInlineCallbacks()
@@ -346,13 +347,13 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         Returns:
             Deferred[bool]: True if user is of type UserTypes.SUPPORT
         """
-        res = yield self.runInteraction(
+        res = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "is_support_user", self.is_support_user_txn, user_id
         )
         return res
 
     def is_real_user_txn(self, txn, user_id):
-        res = self._simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
+        res = self.db.simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
             txn=txn,
             table="users",
             keyvalues={"name": user_id},
@@ -362,7 +363,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         return res is None
 
     def is_support_user_txn(self, txn, user_id):
-        res = self._simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
+        res = self.db.simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
             txn=txn,
             table="users",
             keyvalues={"name": user_id},
@@ -377,13 +378,11 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         """
 
         def f(txn):
-            sql = (
-                "SELECT name, password_hash FROM users" " WHERE lower(name) = lower(?)"
-            )
+            sql = "SELECT name, password_hash FROM users WHERE lower(name) = lower(?)"
             txn.execute(sql, (user_id,))
             return dict(txn)
 
-        return self.runInteraction("get_users_by_id_case_insensitive", f)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("get_users_by_id_case_insensitive", f)
 
     async def get_user_by_external_id(
         self, auth_provider: str, external_id: str
@@ -397,7 +396,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         Returns:
             str|None: the mxid of the user, or None if they are not known
         """
-        return await self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        return await self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="user_external_ids",
             keyvalues={"auth_provider": auth_provider, "external_id": external_id},
             retcol="user_id",
@@ -411,12 +410,12 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
         def _count_users(txn):
             txn.execute("SELECT COUNT(*) AS users FROM users")
-            rows = self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+            rows = self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
             if rows:
                 return rows[0]["users"]
             return 0
 
-        ret = yield self.runInteraction("count_users", _count_users)
+        ret = yield self.db.runInteraction("count_users", _count_users)
         return ret
 
     def count_daily_user_type(self):
@@ -448,7 +447,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 results[row[0]] = row[1]
             return results
 
-        return self.runInteraction("count_daily_user_type", _count_daily_user_type)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("count_daily_user_type", _count_daily_user_type)
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def count_nonbridged_users(self):
@@ -462,7 +461,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             (count,) = txn.fetchone()
             return count
 
-        ret = yield self.runInteraction("count_users", _count_users)
+        ret = yield self.db.runInteraction("count_users", _count_users)
         return ret
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
@@ -471,12 +470,12 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
         def _count_users(txn):
             txn.execute("SELECT COUNT(*) AS users FROM users where user_type is null")
-            rows = self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+            rows = self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
             if rows:
                 return rows[0]["users"]
             return 0
 
-        ret = yield self.runInteraction("count_real_users", _count_users)
+        ret = yield self.db.runInteraction("count_real_users", _count_users)
         return ret
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
@@ -484,12 +483,8 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         """
         Gets the localpart of the next generated user ID.
 
-        Generated user IDs are integers, and we aim for them to be as small as
-        we can. Unfortunately, it's possible some of them are already taken by
-        existing users, and there may be gaps in the already taken range. This
-        function returns the start of the first allocatable gap. This is to
-        avoid the case of ID 1000 being pre-allocated and starting at 1001 while
-        0-999 are available.
+        Generated user IDs are integers, so we find the largest integer user ID
+        already taken and return that plus one.
         """
 
         def _find_next_generated_user_id(txn):
@@ -499,19 +494,18 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
             regex = re.compile(r"^@(\d+):")
 
-            found = set()
+            max_found = 0
 
             for (user_id,) in txn:
                 match = regex.search(user_id)
                 if match:
-                    found.add(int(match.group(1)))
-            for i in range(len(found) + 1):
-                if i not in found:
-                    return i
+                    max_found = max(int(match.group(1)), max_found)
+
+            return max_found + 1
 
         return (
             (
-                yield self.runInteraction(
+                yield self.db.runInteraction(
                     "find_next_generated_user_id", _find_next_generated_user_id
                 )
             )
@@ -528,7 +522,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         Returns:
             Deferred[str|None]: user id or None if no user id/threepid mapping exists
         """
-        user_id = yield self.runInteraction(
+        user_id = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_user_id_by_threepid", self.get_user_id_by_threepid_txn, medium, address
         )
         return user_id
@@ -544,7 +538,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         Returns:
             str|None: user id or None if no user id/threepid mapping exists
         """
-        ret = self._simple_select_one_txn(
+        ret = self.db.simple_select_one_txn(
             txn,
             "user_threepids",
             {"medium": medium, "address": address},
@@ -557,7 +551,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def user_add_threepid(self, user_id, medium, address, validated_at, added_at):
-        yield self._simple_upsert(
+        yield self.db.simple_upsert(
             "user_threepids",
             {"medium": medium, "address": address},
             {"user_id": user_id, "validated_at": validated_at, "added_at": added_at},
@@ -565,7 +559,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def user_get_threepids(self, user_id):
-        ret = yield self._simple_select_list(
+        ret = yield self.db.simple_select_list(
             "user_threepids",
             {"user_id": user_id},
             ["medium", "address", "validated_at", "added_at"],
@@ -574,7 +568,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         return ret
 
     def user_delete_threepid(self, user_id, medium, address):
-        return self._simple_delete(
+        return self.db.simple_delete(
             "user_threepids",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "medium": medium, "address": address},
             desc="user_delete_threepid",
@@ -587,7 +581,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
              user_id: The user id to delete all threepids of
 
         """
-        return self._simple_delete(
+        return self.db.simple_delete(
             "user_threepids",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             desc="user_delete_threepids",
@@ -609,7 +603,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         """
         # We need to use an upsert, in case they user had already bound the
         # threepid
-        return self._simple_upsert(
+        return self.db.simple_upsert(
             table="user_threepid_id_server",
             keyvalues={
                 "user_id": user_id,
@@ -635,7 +629,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 medium (str): The medium of the threepid (e.g "email")
                 address (str): The address of the threepid (e.g "bob@example.com")
         """
-        return self._simple_select_list(
+        return self.db.simple_select_list(
             table="user_threepid_id_server",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             retcols=["medium", "address"],
@@ -656,7 +650,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         Returns:
             Deferred
         """
-        return self._simple_delete(
+        return self.db.simple_delete(
             table="user_threepid_id_server",
             keyvalues={
                 "user_id": user_id,
@@ -679,7 +673,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         Returns:
             Deferred[list[str]]: Resolves to a list of identity servers
         """
-        return self._simple_select_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_onecol(
             table="user_threepid_id_server",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "medium": medium, "address": address},
             retcol="id_server",
@@ -697,7 +691,7 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             defer.Deferred(bool): The requested value.
         """
 
-        res = yield self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        res = yield self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="users",
             keyvalues={"name": user_id},
             retcol="deactivated",
@@ -764,13 +758,13 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             sql += " LIMIT 1"
 
             txn.execute(sql, list(keyvalues.values()))
-            rows = self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+            rows = self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
             if not rows:
                 return None
 
             return rows[0]
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_threepid_validation_session", get_threepid_validation_session_txn
         )
 
@@ -784,39 +778,37 @@ class RegistrationWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         """
 
         def delete_threepid_session_txn(txn):
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="threepid_validation_token",
                 keyvalues={"session_id": session_id},
             )
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="threepid_validation_session",
                 keyvalues={"session_id": session_id},
             )
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "delete_threepid_session", delete_threepid_session_txn
         )
 
 
-class RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore(
-    RegistrationWorkerStore, background_updates.BackgroundUpdateStore
-):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+class RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore(RegistrationWorkerStore):
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
         self.clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.config = hs.config
 
-        self.register_background_index_update(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_index_update(
             "access_tokens_device_index",
             index_name="access_tokens_device_id",
             table="access_tokens",
             columns=["user_id", "device_id"],
         )
 
-        self.register_background_index_update(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_index_update(
             "users_creation_ts",
             index_name="users_creation_ts",
             table="users",
@@ -826,13 +818,13 @@ class RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore(
         # we no longer use refresh tokens, but it's possible that some people
         # might have a background update queued to build this index. Just
         # clear the background update.
-        self.register_noop_background_update("refresh_tokens_device_index")
+        self.db.updates.register_noop_background_update("refresh_tokens_device_index")
 
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             "user_threepids_grandfather", self._bg_user_threepids_grandfather
         )
 
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             "users_set_deactivated_flag", self._background_update_set_deactivated_flag
         )
 
@@ -865,7 +857,7 @@ class RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore(
                 (last_user, batch_size),
             )
 
-            rows = self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+            rows = self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
 
             if not rows:
                 return True, 0
@@ -879,7 +871,7 @@ class RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore(
 
             logger.info("Marked %d rows as deactivated", rows_processed_nb)
 
-            self._background_update_progress_txn(
+            self.db.updates._background_update_progress_txn(
                 txn, "users_set_deactivated_flag", {"user_id": rows[-1]["name"]}
             )
 
@@ -888,12 +880,12 @@ class RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore(
             else:
                 return False, len(rows)
 
-        end, nb_processed = yield self.runInteraction(
+        end, nb_processed = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "users_set_deactivated_flag", _background_update_set_deactivated_flag_txn
         )
 
         if end:
-            yield self._end_background_update("users_set_deactivated_flag")
+            yield self.db.updates._end_background_update("users_set_deactivated_flag")
 
         return nb_processed
 
@@ -919,21 +911,29 @@ class RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore(
             txn.executemany(sql, [(id_server,) for id_server in id_servers])
 
         if id_servers:
-            yield self.runInteraction(
+            yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "_bg_user_threepids_grandfather", _bg_user_threepids_grandfather_txn
             )
 
-        yield self._end_background_update("user_threepids_grandfather")
+        yield self.db.updates._end_background_update("user_threepids_grandfather")
 
         return 1
 
 
 class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(RegistrationStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(RegistrationStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
         self._account_validity = hs.config.account_validity
 
+        if self._account_validity.enabled:
+            self._clock.call_later(
+                0.0,
+                run_as_background_process,
+                "account_validity_set_expiration_dates",
+                self._set_expiration_date_when_missing,
+            )
+
         # Create a background job for culling expired 3PID validity tokens
         def start_cull():
             # run as a background process to make sure that the database transactions
@@ -961,7 +961,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
         """
         next_id = self._access_tokens_id_gen.get_next()
 
-        yield self._simple_insert(
+        yield self.db.simple_insert(
             "access_tokens",
             {
                 "id": next_id,
@@ -1003,7 +1003,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
         Raises:
             StoreError if the user_id could not be registered.
         """
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "register_user",
             self._register_user,
             user_id,
@@ -1037,7 +1037,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
                 # Ensure that the guest user actually exists
                 # ``allow_none=False`` makes this raise an exception
                 # if the row isn't in the database.
-                self._simple_select_one_txn(
+                self.db.simple_select_one_txn(
                     txn,
                     "users",
                     keyvalues={"name": user_id, "is_guest": 1},
@@ -1045,7 +1045,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
                     allow_none=False,
                 )
 
-                self._simple_update_one_txn(
+                self.db.simple_update_one_txn(
                     txn,
                     "users",
                     keyvalues={"name": user_id, "is_guest": 1},
@@ -1059,7 +1059,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
                     },
                 )
             else:
-                self._simple_insert_txn(
+                self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                     txn,
                     "users",
                     values={
@@ -1114,7 +1114,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
             external_id: id on that system
             user_id: complete mxid that it is mapped to
         """
-        return self._simple_insert(
+        return self.db.simple_insert(
             table="user_external_ids",
             values={
                 "auth_provider": auth_provider,
@@ -1132,12 +1132,14 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
         """
 
         def user_set_password_hash_txn(txn):
-            self._simple_update_one_txn(
+            self.db.simple_update_one_txn(
                 txn, "users", {"name": user_id}, {"password_hash": password_hash}
             )
             self._invalidate_cache_and_stream(txn, self.get_user_by_id, (user_id,))
 
-        return self.runInteraction("user_set_password_hash", user_set_password_hash_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
+            "user_set_password_hash", user_set_password_hash_txn
+        )
 
     def user_set_consent_version(self, user_id, consent_version):
         """Updates the user table to record privacy policy consent
@@ -1152,7 +1154,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
         """
 
         def f(txn):
-            self._simple_update_one_txn(
+            self.db.simple_update_one_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="users",
                 keyvalues={"name": user_id},
@@ -1160,7 +1162,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
             )
             self._invalidate_cache_and_stream(txn, self.get_user_by_id, (user_id,))
 
-        return self.runInteraction("user_set_consent_version", f)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("user_set_consent_version", f)
 
     def user_set_consent_server_notice_sent(self, user_id, consent_version):
         """Updates the user table to record that we have sent the user a server
@@ -1176,7 +1178,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
         """
 
         def f(txn):
-            self._simple_update_one_txn(
+            self.db.simple_update_one_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="users",
                 keyvalues={"name": user_id},
@@ -1184,7 +1186,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
             )
             self._invalidate_cache_and_stream(txn, self.get_user_by_id, (user_id,))
 
-        return self.runInteraction("user_set_consent_server_notice_sent", f)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("user_set_consent_server_notice_sent", f)
 
     def user_delete_access_tokens(self, user_id, except_token_id=None, device_id=None):
         """
@@ -1230,11 +1232,11 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
 
             return tokens_and_devices
 
-        return self.runInteraction("user_delete_access_tokens", f)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("user_delete_access_tokens", f)
 
     def delete_access_token(self, access_token):
         def f(txn):
-            self._simple_delete_one_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_one_txn(
                 txn, table="access_tokens", keyvalues={"token": access_token}
             )
 
@@ -1242,11 +1244,11 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
                 txn, self.get_user_by_access_token, (access_token,)
             )
 
-        return self.runInteraction("delete_access_token", f)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("delete_access_token", f)
 
     @cachedInlineCallbacks()
     def is_guest(self, user_id):
-        res = yield self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        res = yield self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="users",
             keyvalues={"name": user_id},
             retcol="is_guest",
@@ -1261,7 +1263,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
         Adds a user to the table of users who need to be parted from all the rooms they're
         in
         """
-        return self._simple_insert(
+        return self.db.simple_insert(
             "users_pending_deactivation",
             values={"user_id": user_id},
             desc="add_user_pending_deactivation",
@@ -1274,7 +1276,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
         """
         # XXX: This should be simple_delete_one but we failed to put a unique index on
         # the table, so somehow duplicate entries have ended up in it.
-        return self._simple_delete(
+        return self.db.simple_delete(
             "users_pending_deactivation",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             desc="del_user_pending_deactivation",
@@ -1285,7 +1287,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
         Gets one user from the table of users waiting to be parted from all the rooms
         they're in.
         """
-        return self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             "users_pending_deactivation",
             keyvalues={},
             retcol="user_id",
@@ -1315,7 +1317,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
 
         # Insert everything into a transaction in order to run atomically
         def validate_threepid_session_txn(txn):
-            row = self._simple_select_one_txn(
+            row = self.db.simple_select_one_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="threepid_validation_session",
                 keyvalues={"session_id": session_id},
@@ -1333,7 +1335,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
                     400, "This client_secret does not match the provided session_id"
                 )
 
-            row = self._simple_select_one_txn(
+            row = self.db.simple_select_one_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="threepid_validation_token",
                 keyvalues={"session_id": session_id, "token": token},
@@ -1358,7 +1360,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
                 )
 
             # Looks good. Validate the session
-            self._simple_update_txn(
+            self.db.simple_update_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="threepid_validation_session",
                 keyvalues={"session_id": session_id},
@@ -1368,7 +1370,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
             return next_link
 
         # Return next_link if it exists
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "validate_threepid_session_txn", validate_threepid_session_txn
         )
 
@@ -1401,7 +1403,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
         if validated_at:
             insertion_values["validated_at"] = validated_at
 
-        return self._simple_upsert(
+        return self.db.simple_upsert(
             table="threepid_validation_session",
             keyvalues={"session_id": session_id},
             values={"last_send_attempt": send_attempt},
@@ -1439,7 +1441,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
 
         def start_or_continue_validation_session_txn(txn):
             # Create or update a validation session
-            self._simple_upsert_txn(
+            self.db.simple_upsert_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="threepid_validation_session",
                 keyvalues={"session_id": session_id},
@@ -1452,7 +1454,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
             )
 
             # Create a new validation token with this session ID
-            self._simple_insert_txn(
+            self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="threepid_validation_token",
                 values={
@@ -1463,7 +1465,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
                 },
             )
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "start_or_continue_validation_session",
             start_or_continue_validation_session_txn,
         )
@@ -1478,7 +1480,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
             """
             return txn.execute(sql, (ts,))
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "cull_expired_threepid_validation_tokens",
             cull_expired_threepid_validation_tokens_txn,
             self.clock.time_msec(),
@@ -1493,7 +1495,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
             deactivated (bool): The value to set for `deactivated`.
         """
 
-        yield self.runInteraction(
+        yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "set_user_deactivated_status",
             self.set_user_deactivated_status_txn,
             user_id,
@@ -1501,7 +1503,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
         )
 
     def set_user_deactivated_status_txn(self, txn, user_id, deactivated):
-        self._simple_update_one_txn(
+        self.db.simple_update_one_txn(
             txn=txn,
             table="users",
             keyvalues={"name": user_id},
@@ -1510,3 +1512,59 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationBackgroundUpdateStore):
         self._invalidate_cache_and_stream(
             txn, self.get_user_deactivated_status, (user_id,)
         )
+
+    @defer.inlineCallbacks
+    def _set_expiration_date_when_missing(self):
+        """
+        Retrieves the list of registered users that don't have an expiration date, and
+        adds an expiration date for each of them.
+        """
+
+        def select_users_with_no_expiration_date_txn(txn):
+            """Retrieves the list of registered users with no expiration date from the
+            database, filtering out deactivated users.
+            """
+            sql = (
+                "SELECT users.name FROM users"
+                " LEFT JOIN account_validity ON (users.name = account_validity.user_id)"
+                " WHERE account_validity.user_id is NULL AND users.deactivated = 0;"
+            )
+            txn.execute(sql, [])
+
+            res = self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+            if res:
+                for user in res:
+                    self.set_expiration_date_for_user_txn(
+                        txn, user["name"], use_delta=True
+                    )
+
+        yield self.db.runInteraction(
+            "get_users_with_no_expiration_date",
+            select_users_with_no_expiration_date_txn,
+        )
+
+    def set_expiration_date_for_user_txn(self, txn, user_id, use_delta=False):
+        """Sets an expiration date to the account with the given user ID.
+
+        Args:
+             user_id (str): User ID to set an expiration date for.
+             use_delta (bool): If set to False, the expiration date for the user will be
+                now + validity period. If set to True, this expiration date will be a
+                random value in the [now + period - d ; now + period] range, d being a
+                delta equal to 10% of the validity period.
+        """
+        now_ms = self._clock.time_msec()
+        expiration_ts = now_ms + self._account_validity.period
+
+        if use_delta:
+            expiration_ts = self.rand.randrange(
+                expiration_ts - self._account_validity.startup_job_max_delta,
+                expiration_ts,
+            )
+
+        self.db.simple_upsert_txn(
+            txn,
+            "account_validity",
+            keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
+            values={"expiration_ts_ms": expiration_ts, "email_sent": False},
+        )
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/rejections.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/rejections.py
index 7d5de0ea2e..1c07c7a425 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/rejections.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/rejections.py
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 class RejectionsStore(SQLBaseStore):
     def _store_rejections_txn(self, txn, event_id, reason):
-        self._simple_insert_txn(
+        self.db.simple_insert_txn(
             txn,
             table="rejections",
             values={
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ class RejectionsStore(SQLBaseStore):
         )
 
     def get_rejection_reason(self, event_id):
-        return self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="rejections",
             retcol="reason",
             keyvalues={"event_id": event_id},
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/relations.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/relations.py
index 858f65582b..046c2b4845 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/relations.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/relations.py
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ class RelationsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 chunk=list(events[:limit]), next_batch=next_batch, prev_batch=from_token
             )
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_recent_references_for_event", _get_recent_references_for_event_txn
         )
 
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ class RelationsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 chunk=list(events[:limit]), next_batch=next_batch, prev_batch=from_token
             )
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_aggregation_groups_for_event", _get_aggregation_groups_for_event_txn
         )
 
@@ -268,7 +268,7 @@ class RelationsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             if row:
                 return row[0]
 
-        edit_id = yield self.runInteraction(
+        edit_id = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_applicable_edit", _get_applicable_edit_txn
         )
 
@@ -318,7 +318,7 @@ class RelationsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
             return bool(txn.fetchone())
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_if_user_has_annotated_event", _get_if_user_has_annotated_event
         )
 
@@ -352,7 +352,7 @@ class RelationsStore(RelationsWorkerStore):
 
         aggregation_key = relation.get("key")
 
-        self._simple_insert_txn(
+        self.db.simple_insert_txn(
             txn,
             table="event_relations",
             values={
@@ -380,6 +380,6 @@ class RelationsStore(RelationsWorkerStore):
             redacted_event_id (str): The event that was redacted.
         """
 
-        self._simple_delete_txn(
+        self.db.simple_delete_txn(
             txn, table="event_relations", keyvalues={"event_id": redacted_event_id}
         )
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/room.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/room.py
index 67bb1b6f60..aa476d0fbf 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/room.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/room.py
@@ -19,13 +19,17 @@ import logging
 import re
 from typing import Optional, Tuple
 
+from six import integer_types
+
 from canonicaljson import json
 
 from twisted.internet import defer
 
+from synapse.api.constants import EventTypes
 from synapse.api.errors import StoreError
 from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.search import SearchStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.types import ThirdPartyInstanceID
 from synapse.util.caches.descriptors import cached, cachedInlineCallbacks
 
@@ -42,6 +46,11 @@ RatelimitOverride = collections.namedtuple(
 
 
 class RoomWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(RoomWorkerStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
+
+        self.config = hs.config
+
     def get_room(self, room_id):
         """Retrieve a room.
 
@@ -50,7 +59,7 @@ class RoomWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         Returns:
             A dict containing the room information, or None if the room is unknown.
         """
-        return self._simple_select_one(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one(
             table="rooms",
             keyvalues={"room_id": room_id},
             retcols=("room_id", "is_public", "creator"),
@@ -59,7 +68,7 @@ class RoomWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         )
 
     def get_public_room_ids(self):
-        return self._simple_select_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_onecol(
             table="rooms",
             keyvalues={"is_public": True},
             retcol="room_id",
@@ -116,7 +125,7 @@ class RoomWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             txn.execute(sql, query_args)
             return txn.fetchone()[0]
 
-        return self.runInteraction("count_public_rooms", _count_public_rooms_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("count_public_rooms", _count_public_rooms_txn)
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def get_largest_public_rooms(
@@ -249,21 +258,21 @@ class RoomWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         def _get_largest_public_rooms_txn(txn):
             txn.execute(sql, query_args)
 
-            results = self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+            results = self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
 
             if not forwards:
                 results.reverse()
 
             return results
 
-        ret_val = yield self.runInteraction(
+        ret_val = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_largest_public_rooms", _get_largest_public_rooms_txn
         )
         defer.returnValue(ret_val)
 
     @cached(max_entries=10000)
     def is_room_blocked(self, room_id):
-        return self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="blocked_rooms",
             keyvalues={"room_id": room_id},
             retcol="1",
@@ -284,7 +293,7 @@ class RoomWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             of RatelimitOverride are None or 0 then ratelimitng has been
             disabled for that user entirely.
         """
-        row = yield self._simple_select_one(
+        row = yield self.db.simple_select_one(
             table="ratelimit_override",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             retcols=("messages_per_second", "burst_count"),
@@ -300,8 +309,148 @@ class RoomWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         else:
             return None
 
+    @cachedInlineCallbacks()
+    def get_retention_policy_for_room(self, room_id):
+        """Get the retention policy for a given room.
+
+        If no retention policy has been found for this room, returns a policy defined
+        by the configured default policy (which has None as both the 'min_lifetime' and
+        the 'max_lifetime' if no default policy has been defined in the server's
+        configuration).
+
+        Args:
+            room_id (str): The ID of the room to get the retention policy of.
+
+        Returns:
+            dict[int, int]: "min_lifetime" and "max_lifetime" for this room.
+        """
+
+        def get_retention_policy_for_room_txn(txn):
+            txn.execute(
+                """
+                SELECT min_lifetime, max_lifetime FROM room_retention
+                INNER JOIN current_state_events USING (event_id, room_id)
+                WHERE room_id = ?;
+                """,
+                (room_id,),
+            )
+
+            return self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+
+        ret = yield self.db.runInteraction(
+            "get_retention_policy_for_room", get_retention_policy_for_room_txn,
+        )
+
+        # If we don't know this room ID, ret will be None, in this case return the default
+        # policy.
+        if not ret:
+            defer.returnValue(
+                {
+                    "min_lifetime": self.config.retention_default_min_lifetime,
+                    "max_lifetime": self.config.retention_default_max_lifetime,
+                }
+            )
+
+        row = ret[0]
+
+        # If one of the room's policy's attributes isn't defined, use the matching
+        # attribute from the default policy.
+        # The default values will be None if no default policy has been defined, or if one
+        # of the attributes is missing from the default policy.
+        if row["min_lifetime"] is None:
+            row["min_lifetime"] = self.config.retention_default_min_lifetime
+
+        if row["max_lifetime"] is None:
+            row["max_lifetime"] = self.config.retention_default_max_lifetime
+
+        defer.returnValue(row)
+
+
+class RoomBackgroundUpdateStore(SQLBaseStore):
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(RoomBackgroundUpdateStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
+
+        self.config = hs.config
+
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
+            "insert_room_retention", self._background_insert_retention,
+        )
+
+    @defer.inlineCallbacks
+    def _background_insert_retention(self, progress, batch_size):
+        """Retrieves a list of all rooms within a range and inserts an entry for each of
+        them into the room_retention table.
+        NULLs the property's columns if missing from the retention event in the room's
+        state (or NULLs all of them if there's no retention event in the room's state),
+        so that we fall back to the server's retention policy.
+        """
+
+        last_room = progress.get("room_id", "")
+
+        def _background_insert_retention_txn(txn):
+            txn.execute(
+                """
+                SELECT state.room_id, state.event_id, events.json
+                FROM current_state_events as state
+                LEFT JOIN event_json AS events ON (state.event_id = events.event_id)
+                WHERE state.room_id > ? AND state.type = '%s'
+                ORDER BY state.room_id ASC
+                LIMIT ?;
+                """
+                % EventTypes.Retention,
+                (last_room, batch_size),
+            )
+
+            rows = self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+
+            if not rows:
+                return True
+
+            for row in rows:
+                if not row["json"]:
+                    retention_policy = {}
+                else:
+                    ev = json.loads(row["json"])
+                    retention_policy = json.dumps(ev["content"])
+
+                self.db.simple_insert_txn(
+                    txn=txn,
+                    table="room_retention",
+                    values={
+                        "room_id": row["room_id"],
+                        "event_id": row["event_id"],
+                        "min_lifetime": retention_policy.get("min_lifetime"),
+                        "max_lifetime": retention_policy.get("max_lifetime"),
+                    },
+                )
+
+            logger.info("Inserted %d rows into room_retention", len(rows))
+
+            self.db.updates._background_update_progress_txn(
+                txn, "insert_room_retention", {"room_id": rows[-1]["room_id"]}
+            )
+
+            if batch_size > len(rows):
+                return True
+            else:
+                return False
+
+        end = yield self.db.runInteraction(
+            "insert_room_retention", _background_insert_retention_txn,
+        )
+
+        if end:
+            yield self.db.updates._end_background_update("insert_room_retention")
+
+        defer.returnValue(batch_size)
+
+
+class RoomStore(RoomBackgroundUpdateStore, RoomWorkerStore, SearchStore):
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(RoomStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
+
+        self.config = hs.config
 
-class RoomStore(RoomWorkerStore, SearchStore):
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def store_room(self, room_id, room_creator_user_id, is_public):
         """Stores a room.
@@ -317,7 +466,7 @@ class RoomStore(RoomWorkerStore, SearchStore):
         try:
 
             def store_room_txn(txn, next_id):
-                self._simple_insert_txn(
+                self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                     txn,
                     "rooms",
                     {
@@ -327,7 +476,7 @@ class RoomStore(RoomWorkerStore, SearchStore):
                     },
                 )
                 if is_public:
-                    self._simple_insert_txn(
+                    self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                         txn,
                         table="public_room_list_stream",
                         values={
@@ -338,7 +487,7 @@ class RoomStore(RoomWorkerStore, SearchStore):
                     )
 
             with self._public_room_id_gen.get_next() as next_id:
-                yield self.runInteraction("store_room_txn", store_room_txn, next_id)
+                yield self.db.runInteraction("store_room_txn", store_room_txn, next_id)
         except Exception as e:
             logger.error("store_room with room_id=%s failed: %s", room_id, e)
             raise StoreError(500, "Problem creating room.")
@@ -346,14 +495,14 @@ class RoomStore(RoomWorkerStore, SearchStore):
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def set_room_is_public(self, room_id, is_public):
         def set_room_is_public_txn(txn, next_id):
-            self._simple_update_one_txn(
+            self.db.simple_update_one_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="rooms",
                 keyvalues={"room_id": room_id},
                 updatevalues={"is_public": is_public},
             )
 
-            entries = self._simple_select_list_txn(
+            entries = self.db.simple_select_list_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="public_room_list_stream",
                 keyvalues={
@@ -371,7 +520,7 @@ class RoomStore(RoomWorkerStore, SearchStore):
                 add_to_stream = bool(entries[-1]["visibility"]) != is_public
 
             if add_to_stream:
-                self._simple_insert_txn(
+                self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                     txn,
                     table="public_room_list_stream",
                     values={
@@ -384,7 +533,7 @@ class RoomStore(RoomWorkerStore, SearchStore):
                 )
 
         with self._public_room_id_gen.get_next() as next_id:
-            yield self.runInteraction(
+            yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "set_room_is_public", set_room_is_public_txn, next_id
             )
         self.hs.get_notifier().on_new_replication_data()
@@ -411,7 +560,7 @@ class RoomStore(RoomWorkerStore, SearchStore):
         def set_room_is_public_appservice_txn(txn, next_id):
             if is_public:
                 try:
-                    self._simple_insert_txn(
+                    self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                         txn,
                         table="appservice_room_list",
                         values={
@@ -424,7 +573,7 @@ class RoomStore(RoomWorkerStore, SearchStore):
                     # We've already inserted, nothing to do.
                     return
             else:
-                self._simple_delete_txn(
+                self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                     txn,
                     table="appservice_room_list",
                     keyvalues={
@@ -434,7 +583,7 @@ class RoomStore(RoomWorkerStore, SearchStore):
                     },
                 )
 
-            entries = self._simple_select_list_txn(
+            entries = self.db.simple_select_list_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="public_room_list_stream",
                 keyvalues={
@@ -452,7 +601,7 @@ class RoomStore(RoomWorkerStore, SearchStore):
                 add_to_stream = bool(entries[-1]["visibility"]) != is_public
 
             if add_to_stream:
-                self._simple_insert_txn(
+                self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                     txn,
                     table="public_room_list_stream",
                     values={
@@ -465,7 +614,7 @@ class RoomStore(RoomWorkerStore, SearchStore):
                 )
 
         with self._public_room_id_gen.get_next() as next_id:
-            yield self.runInteraction(
+            yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "set_room_is_public_appservice",
                 set_room_is_public_appservice_txn,
                 next_id,
@@ -482,7 +631,7 @@ class RoomStore(RoomWorkerStore, SearchStore):
             row = txn.fetchone()
             return row[0] or 0
 
-        return self.runInteraction("get_rooms", f)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("get_rooms", f)
 
     def _store_room_topic_txn(self, txn, event):
         if hasattr(event, "content") and "topic" in event.content:
@@ -502,11 +651,40 @@ class RoomStore(RoomWorkerStore, SearchStore):
                 txn, event, "content.body", event.content["body"]
             )
 
+    def _store_retention_policy_for_room_txn(self, txn, event):
+        if hasattr(event, "content") and (
+            "min_lifetime" in event.content or "max_lifetime" in event.content
+        ):
+            if (
+                "min_lifetime" in event.content
+                and not isinstance(event.content.get("min_lifetime"), integer_types)
+            ) or (
+                "max_lifetime" in event.content
+                and not isinstance(event.content.get("max_lifetime"), integer_types)
+            ):
+                # Ignore the event if one of the value isn't an integer.
+                return
+
+            self.db.simple_insert_txn(
+                txn=txn,
+                table="room_retention",
+                values={
+                    "room_id": event.room_id,
+                    "event_id": event.event_id,
+                    "min_lifetime": event.content.get("min_lifetime"),
+                    "max_lifetime": event.content.get("max_lifetime"),
+                },
+            )
+
+            self._invalidate_cache_and_stream(
+                txn, self.get_retention_policy_for_room, (event.room_id,)
+            )
+
     def add_event_report(
         self, room_id, event_id, user_id, reason, content, received_ts
     ):
         next_id = self._event_reports_id_gen.get_next()
-        return self._simple_insert(
+        return self.db.simple_insert(
             table="event_reports",
             values={
                 "id": next_id,
@@ -539,7 +717,9 @@ class RoomStore(RoomWorkerStore, SearchStore):
         if prev_id == current_id:
             return defer.succeed([])
 
-        return self.runInteraction("get_all_new_public_rooms", get_all_new_public_rooms)
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
+            "get_all_new_public_rooms", get_all_new_public_rooms
+        )
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def block_room(self, room_id, user_id):
@@ -552,14 +732,14 @@ class RoomStore(RoomWorkerStore, SearchStore):
         Returns:
             Deferred
         """
-        yield self._simple_upsert(
+        yield self.db.simple_upsert(
             table="blocked_rooms",
             keyvalues={"room_id": room_id},
             values={},
             insertion_values={"user_id": user_id},
             desc="block_room",
         )
-        yield self.runInteraction(
+        yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "block_room_invalidation",
             self._invalidate_cache_and_stream,
             self.is_room_blocked,
@@ -590,7 +770,9 @@ class RoomStore(RoomWorkerStore, SearchStore):
 
             return local_media_mxcs, remote_media_mxcs
 
-        return self.runInteraction("get_media_ids_in_room", _get_media_mxcs_in_room_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
+            "get_media_ids_in_room", _get_media_mxcs_in_room_txn
+        )
 
     def quarantine_media_ids_in_room(self, room_id, quarantined_by):
         """For a room loops through all events with media and quarantines
@@ -629,7 +811,7 @@ class RoomStore(RoomWorkerStore, SearchStore):
 
             return total_media_quarantined
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "quarantine_media_in_room", _quarantine_media_in_room_txn
         )
 
@@ -683,3 +865,89 @@ class RoomStore(RoomWorkerStore, SearchStore):
                             remote_media_mxcs.append((hostname, media_id))
 
         return local_media_mxcs, remote_media_mxcs
+
+    @defer.inlineCallbacks
+    def get_rooms_for_retention_period_in_range(
+        self, min_ms, max_ms, include_null=False
+    ):
+        """Retrieves all of the rooms within the given retention range.
+
+        Optionally includes the rooms which don't have a retention policy.
+
+        Args:
+            min_ms (int|None): Duration in milliseconds that define the lower limit of
+                the range to handle (exclusive). If None, doesn't set a lower limit.
+            max_ms (int|None): Duration in milliseconds that define the upper limit of
+                the range to handle (inclusive). If None, doesn't set an upper limit.
+            include_null (bool): Whether to include rooms which retention policy is NULL
+                in the returned set.
+
+        Returns:
+            dict[str, dict]: The rooms within this range, along with their retention
+                policy. The key is "room_id", and maps to a dict describing the retention
+                policy associated with this room ID. The keys for this nested dict are
+                "min_lifetime" (int|None), and "max_lifetime" (int|None).
+        """
+
+        def get_rooms_for_retention_period_in_range_txn(txn):
+            range_conditions = []
+            args = []
+
+            if min_ms is not None:
+                range_conditions.append("max_lifetime > ?")
+                args.append(min_ms)
+
+            if max_ms is not None:
+                range_conditions.append("max_lifetime <= ?")
+                args.append(max_ms)
+
+            # Do a first query which will retrieve the rooms that have a retention policy
+            # in their current state.
+            sql = """
+                SELECT room_id, min_lifetime, max_lifetime FROM room_retention
+                INNER JOIN current_state_events USING (event_id, room_id)
+                """
+
+            if len(range_conditions):
+                sql += " WHERE (" + " AND ".join(range_conditions) + ")"
+
+                if include_null:
+                    sql += " OR max_lifetime IS NULL"
+
+            txn.execute(sql, args)
+
+            rows = self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+            rooms_dict = {}
+
+            for row in rows:
+                rooms_dict[row["room_id"]] = {
+                    "min_lifetime": row["min_lifetime"],
+                    "max_lifetime": row["max_lifetime"],
+                }
+
+            if include_null:
+                # If required, do a second query that retrieves all of the rooms we know
+                # of so we can handle rooms with no retention policy.
+                sql = "SELECT DISTINCT room_id FROM current_state_events"
+
+                txn.execute(sql)
+
+                rows = self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+
+                # If a room isn't already in the dict (i.e. it doesn't have a retention
+                # policy in its state), add it with a null policy.
+                for row in rows:
+                    if row["room_id"] not in rooms_dict:
+                        rooms_dict[row["room_id"]] = {
+                            "min_lifetime": None,
+                            "max_lifetime": None,
+                        }
+
+            return rooms_dict
+
+        rooms = yield self.db.runInteraction(
+            "get_rooms_for_retention_period_in_range",
+            get_rooms_for_retention_period_in_range_txn,
+        )
+
+        defer.returnValue(rooms)
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/roommember.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/roommember.py
index 2af24a20b7..92e3b9c512 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/roommember.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/roommember.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 
 import logging
+from typing import Iterable, List
 
 from six import iteritems, itervalues
 
@@ -25,9 +26,13 @@ from twisted.internet import defer
 from synapse.api.constants import EventTypes, Membership
 from synapse.metrics import LaterGauge
 from synapse.metrics.background_process_metrics import run_as_background_process
-from synapse.storage._base import LoggingTransaction, make_in_list_sql_clause
-from synapse.storage.background_updates import BackgroundUpdateStore
+from synapse.storage._base import (
+    LoggingTransaction,
+    SQLBaseStore,
+    make_in_list_sql_clause,
+)
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.events_worker import EventsWorkerStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.storage.engines import Sqlite3Engine
 from synapse.storage.roommember import (
     GetRoomsForUserWithStreamOrdering,
@@ -50,8 +55,8 @@ _CURRENT_STATE_MEMBERSHIP_UPDATE_NAME = "current_state_events_membership"
 
 
 class RoomMemberWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(RoomMemberWorkerStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(RoomMemberWorkerStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
         # Is the current_state_events.membership up to date? Or is the
         # background update still running?
@@ -115,7 +120,7 @@ class RoomMemberWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore):
             txn.execute(query)
             return list(txn)[0][0]
 
-        count = yield self.runInteraction("get_known_servers", _transact)
+        count = yield self.db.runInteraction("get_known_servers", _transact)
 
         # We always know about ourselves, even if we have nothing in
         # room_memberships (for example, the server is new).
@@ -127,7 +132,7 @@ class RoomMemberWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore):
         membership column is up to date
         """
 
-        pending_update = self._simple_select_one_txn(
+        pending_update = self.db.simple_select_one_txn(
             txn,
             table="background_updates",
             keyvalues={"update_name": _CURRENT_STATE_MEMBERSHIP_UPDATE_NAME},
@@ -143,7 +148,7 @@ class RoomMemberWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore):
                 15.0,
                 run_as_background_process,
                 "_check_safe_current_state_events_membership_updated",
-                self.runInteraction,
+                self.db.runInteraction,
                 "_check_safe_current_state_events_membership_updated",
                 self._check_safe_current_state_events_membership_updated_txn,
             )
@@ -160,7 +165,7 @@ class RoomMemberWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore):
 
     @cached(max_entries=100000, iterable=True)
     def get_users_in_room(self, room_id):
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_users_in_room", self.get_users_in_room_txn, room_id
         )
 
@@ -268,7 +273,7 @@ class RoomMemberWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore):
 
             return res
 
-        return self.runInteraction("get_room_summary", _get_room_summary_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("get_room_summary", _get_room_summary_txn)
 
     def _get_user_counts_in_room_txn(self, txn, room_id):
         """
@@ -338,7 +343,7 @@ class RoomMemberWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore):
         if not membership_list:
             return defer.succeed(None)
 
-        rooms = yield self.runInteraction(
+        rooms = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_rooms_for_user_where_membership_is",
             self._get_rooms_for_user_where_membership_is_txn,
             user_id,
@@ -391,7 +396,7 @@ class RoomMemberWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore):
                 )
 
             txn.execute(sql, (user_id, *args))
-            results = [RoomsForUser(**r) for r in self.cursor_to_dict(txn)]
+            results = [RoomsForUser(**r) for r in self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)]
 
         if do_invite:
             sql = (
@@ -411,7 +416,7 @@ class RoomMemberWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore):
                     stream_ordering=r["stream_ordering"],
                     membership=Membership.INVITE,
                 )
-                for r in self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+                for r in self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
             )
 
         return results
@@ -602,7 +607,7 @@ class RoomMemberWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore):
             to `user_id` and ProfileInfo (or None if not join event).
         """
 
-        rows = yield self._simple_select_many_batch(
+        rows = yield self.db.simple_select_many_batch(
             table="room_memberships",
             column="event_id",
             iterable=event_ids,
@@ -642,7 +647,7 @@ class RoomMemberWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore):
         # the returned user actually has the correct domain.
         like_clause = "%:" + host
 
-        rows = yield self._execute("is_host_joined", None, sql, room_id, like_clause)
+        rows = yield self.db.execute("is_host_joined", None, sql, room_id, like_clause)
 
         if not rows:
             return False
@@ -682,7 +687,7 @@ class RoomMemberWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore):
         # the returned user actually has the correct domain.
         like_clause = "%:" + host
 
-        rows = yield self._execute("was_host_joined", None, sql, room_id, like_clause)
+        rows = yield self.db.execute("was_host_joined", None, sql, room_id, like_clause)
 
         if not rows:
             return False
@@ -752,7 +757,7 @@ class RoomMemberWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore):
             rows = txn.fetchall()
             return rows[0][0]
 
-        count = yield self.runInteraction("did_forget_membership", f)
+        count = yield self.db.runInteraction("did_forget_membership", f)
         return count == 0
 
     @cached()
@@ -789,7 +794,7 @@ class RoomMemberWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore):
             txn.execute(sql, (user_id,))
             return set(row[0] for row in txn if row[1] == 0)
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_forgotten_rooms_for_user", _get_forgotten_rooms_for_user_txn
         )
 
@@ -804,7 +809,7 @@ class RoomMemberWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore):
             Deferred[set[str]]: Set of room IDs.
         """
 
-        room_ids = yield self._simple_select_onecol(
+        room_ids = yield self.db.simple_select_onecol(
             table="room_memberships",
             keyvalues={"membership": Membership.JOIN, "user_id": user_id},
             retcol="room_id",
@@ -813,18 +818,34 @@ class RoomMemberWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore):
 
         return set(room_ids)
 
+    def get_membership_from_event_ids(
+        self, member_event_ids: Iterable[str]
+    ) -> List[dict]:
+        """Get user_id and membership of a set of event IDs.
+        """
+
+        return self.db.simple_select_many_batch(
+            table="room_memberships",
+            column="event_id",
+            iterable=member_event_ids,
+            retcols=("user_id", "membership", "event_id"),
+            keyvalues={},
+            batch_size=500,
+            desc="get_membership_from_event_ids",
+        )
+
 
-class RoomMemberBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(RoomMemberBackgroundUpdateStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+class RoomMemberBackgroundUpdateStore(SQLBaseStore):
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(RoomMemberBackgroundUpdateStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             _MEMBERSHIP_PROFILE_UPDATE_NAME, self._background_add_membership_profile
         )
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             _CURRENT_STATE_MEMBERSHIP_UPDATE_NAME,
             self._background_current_state_membership,
         )
-        self.register_background_index_update(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_index_update(
             "room_membership_forgotten_idx",
             index_name="room_memberships_user_room_forgotten",
             table="room_memberships",
@@ -857,7 +878,7 @@ class RoomMemberBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
 
             txn.execute(sql, (target_min_stream_id, max_stream_id, batch_size))
 
-            rows = self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+            rows = self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
             if not rows:
                 return 0
 
@@ -892,18 +913,20 @@ class RoomMemberBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
                 "max_stream_id_exclusive": min_stream_id,
             }
 
-            self._background_update_progress_txn(
+            self.db.updates._background_update_progress_txn(
                 txn, _MEMBERSHIP_PROFILE_UPDATE_NAME, progress
             )
 
             return len(rows)
 
-        result = yield self.runInteraction(
+        result = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             _MEMBERSHIP_PROFILE_UPDATE_NAME, add_membership_profile_txn
         )
 
         if not result:
-            yield self._end_background_update(_MEMBERSHIP_PROFILE_UPDATE_NAME)
+            yield self.db.updates._end_background_update(
+                _MEMBERSHIP_PROFILE_UPDATE_NAME
+            )
 
         return result
 
@@ -942,7 +965,7 @@ class RoomMemberBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
 
                 last_processed_room = next_room
 
-            self._background_update_progress_txn(
+            self.db.updates._background_update_progress_txn(
                 txn,
                 _CURRENT_STATE_MEMBERSHIP_UPDATE_NAME,
                 {"last_processed_room": last_processed_room},
@@ -954,26 +977,28 @@ class RoomMemberBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
         # string, which will compare before all room IDs correctly.
         last_processed_room = progress.get("last_processed_room", "")
 
-        row_count, finished = yield self.runInteraction(
+        row_count, finished = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "_background_current_state_membership_update",
             _background_current_state_membership_txn,
             last_processed_room,
         )
 
         if finished:
-            yield self._end_background_update(_CURRENT_STATE_MEMBERSHIP_UPDATE_NAME)
+            yield self.db.updates._end_background_update(
+                _CURRENT_STATE_MEMBERSHIP_UPDATE_NAME
+            )
 
         return row_count
 
 
 class RoomMemberStore(RoomMemberWorkerStore, RoomMemberBackgroundUpdateStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(RoomMemberStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(RoomMemberStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
     def _store_room_members_txn(self, txn, events, backfilled):
         """Store a room member in the database.
         """
-        self._simple_insert_many_txn(
+        self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(
             txn,
             table="room_memberships",
             values=[
@@ -1011,7 +1036,7 @@ class RoomMemberStore(RoomMemberWorkerStore, RoomMemberBackgroundUpdateStore):
             is_mine = self.hs.is_mine_id(event.state_key)
             if is_new_state and is_mine:
                 if event.membership == Membership.INVITE:
-                    self._simple_insert_txn(
+                    self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                         txn,
                         table="local_invites",
                         values={
@@ -1051,7 +1076,7 @@ class RoomMemberStore(RoomMemberWorkerStore, RoomMemberBackgroundUpdateStore):
             txn.execute(sql, (stream_ordering, True, room_id, user_id))
 
         with self._stream_id_gen.get_next() as stream_ordering:
-            yield self.runInteraction("locally_reject_invite", f, stream_ordering)
+            yield self.db.runInteraction("locally_reject_invite", f, stream_ordering)
 
     def forget(self, user_id, room_id):
         """Indicate that user_id wishes to discard history for room_id."""
@@ -1074,7 +1099,7 @@ class RoomMemberStore(RoomMemberWorkerStore, RoomMemberBackgroundUpdateStore):
                 txn, self.get_forgotten_rooms_for_user, (user_id,)
             )
 
-        return self.runInteraction("forget_membership", f)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("forget_membership", f)
 
 
 class _JoinedHostsCache(object):
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/event_expiry.sql b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/event_expiry.sql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..81a36a8b1d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/event_expiry.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+/* Copyright 2019 The Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS event_expiry (
+    event_id TEXT PRIMARY KEY,
+    expiry_ts BIGINT NOT NULL
+);
+
+CREATE INDEX event_expiry_expiry_ts_idx ON event_expiry(expiry_ts);
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/redaction_censor.sql b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/redaction_censor.sql
index fe51b02309..ea95db0ed7 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/redaction_censor.sql
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/redaction_censor.sql
@@ -14,4 +14,3 @@
  */
 
 ALTER TABLE redactions ADD COLUMN have_censored BOOL NOT NULL DEFAULT false;
-CREATE INDEX redactions_have_censored ON redactions(event_id) WHERE not have_censored;
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/redaction_censor2.sql b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/redaction_censor2.sql
index 77a5eca499..49ce35d794 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/redaction_censor2.sql
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/redaction_censor2.sql
@@ -14,7 +14,9 @@
  */
 
 ALTER TABLE redactions ADD COLUMN received_ts BIGINT;
-CREATE INDEX redactions_have_censored_ts ON redactions(received_ts) WHERE not have_censored;
 
 INSERT INTO background_updates (update_name, progress_json) VALUES
   ('redactions_received_ts', '{}');
+
+INSERT INTO background_updates (update_name, progress_json) VALUES
+  ('redactions_have_censored_ts_idx', '{}');
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/redaction_censor4.sql b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/redaction_censor4.sql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b7550f6f4e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/redaction_censor4.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+/* Copyright 2019 The Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+DROP INDEX IF EXISTS redactions_have_censored;
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/room_key_etag.sql b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/room_key_etag.sql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7d70dd071e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/room_key_etag.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+/* Copyright 2019 Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+-- store the current etag of backup version
+ALTER TABLE e2e_room_keys_versions ADD COLUMN etag BIGINT;
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/room_retention.sql b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/room_retention.sql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ee6cdf7a14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/room_retention.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+/* Copyright 2019 New Vector Ltd
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+-- Tracks the retention policy of a room.
+-- A NULL max_lifetime or min_lifetime means that the matching property is not defined in
+-- the room's retention policy state event.
+-- If a room doesn't have a retention policy state event in its state, both max_lifetime
+-- and min_lifetime are NULL.
+CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS room_retention(
+    room_id TEXT,
+    event_id TEXT,
+    min_lifetime BIGINT,
+    max_lifetime BIGINT,
+
+    PRIMARY KEY(room_id, event_id)
+);
+
+CREATE INDEX room_retention_max_lifetime_idx on room_retention(max_lifetime);
+
+INSERT INTO background_updates (update_name, progress_json) VALUES
+  ('insert_room_retention', '{}');
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/signing_keys.sql b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/signing_keys.sql
index 27a96123e3..5c5fffcafb 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/signing_keys.sql
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/signing_keys.sql
@@ -40,7 +40,8 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS e2e_cross_signing_signatures (
     signature TEXT NOT NULL
 );
 
-CREATE UNIQUE INDEX e2e_cross_signing_signatures_idx ON e2e_cross_signing_signatures(user_id, target_user_id, target_device_id);
+-- replaced by the index created in signing_keys_nonunique_signatures.sql
+-- CREATE UNIQUE INDEX e2e_cross_signing_signatures_idx ON e2e_cross_signing_signatures(user_id, target_user_id, target_device_id);
 
 -- stream of user signature updates
 CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS user_signature_stream (
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/signing_keys_nonunique_signatures.sql b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/signing_keys_nonunique_signatures.sql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0aa90ebf0c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/schema/delta/56/signing_keys_nonunique_signatures.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+/* Copyright 2019 The Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+/* The cross-signing signatures index should not be a unique index, because a
+ * user may upload multiple signatures for the same target user. The previous
+ * index was unique, so delete it if it's there and create a new non-unique
+ * index. */
+
+DROP INDEX IF EXISTS e2e_cross_signing_signatures_idx; CREATE INDEX IF NOT
+EXISTS e2e_cross_signing_signatures2_idx ON e2e_cross_signing_signatures(user_id, target_user_id, target_device_id);
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/search.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/search.py
index d1d7c6863d..4eec2fae5e 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/search.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/search.py
@@ -24,8 +24,8 @@ from canonicaljson import json
 from twisted.internet import defer
 
 from synapse.api.errors import SynapseError
-from synapse.storage._base import make_in_list_sql_clause
-from synapse.storage.background_updates import BackgroundUpdateStore
+from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore, make_in_list_sql_clause
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.storage.engines import PostgresEngine, Sqlite3Engine
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -36,23 +36,23 @@ SearchEntry = namedtuple(
 )
 
 
-class SearchBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
+class SearchBackgroundUpdateStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
     EVENT_SEARCH_UPDATE_NAME = "event_search"
     EVENT_SEARCH_ORDER_UPDATE_NAME = "event_search_order"
     EVENT_SEARCH_USE_GIST_POSTGRES_NAME = "event_search_postgres_gist"
     EVENT_SEARCH_USE_GIN_POSTGRES_NAME = "event_search_postgres_gin"
 
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(SearchBackgroundUpdateStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(SearchBackgroundUpdateStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
         if not hs.config.enable_search:
             return
 
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             self.EVENT_SEARCH_UPDATE_NAME, self._background_reindex_search
         )
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             self.EVENT_SEARCH_ORDER_UPDATE_NAME, self._background_reindex_search_order
         )
 
@@ -61,9 +61,11 @@ class SearchBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
         # a GIN index. However, it's possible that some people might still have
         # the background update queued, so we register a handler to clear the
         # background update.
-        self.register_noop_background_update(self.EVENT_SEARCH_USE_GIST_POSTGRES_NAME)
+        self.db.updates.register_noop_background_update(
+            self.EVENT_SEARCH_USE_GIST_POSTGRES_NAME
+        )
 
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             self.EVENT_SEARCH_USE_GIN_POSTGRES_NAME, self._background_reindex_gin_search
         )
 
@@ -93,7 +95,7 @@ class SearchBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
             # store_search_entries_txn with a generator function, but that
             # would mean having two cursors open on the database at once.
             # Instead we just build a list of results.
-            rows = self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+            rows = self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
             if not rows:
                 return 0
 
@@ -153,18 +155,18 @@ class SearchBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
                 "rows_inserted": rows_inserted + len(event_search_rows),
             }
 
-            self._background_update_progress_txn(
+            self.db.updates._background_update_progress_txn(
                 txn, self.EVENT_SEARCH_UPDATE_NAME, progress
             )
 
             return len(event_search_rows)
 
-        result = yield self.runInteraction(
+        result = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             self.EVENT_SEARCH_UPDATE_NAME, reindex_search_txn
         )
 
         if not result:
-            yield self._end_background_update(self.EVENT_SEARCH_UPDATE_NAME)
+            yield self.db.updates._end_background_update(self.EVENT_SEARCH_UPDATE_NAME)
 
         return result
 
@@ -206,9 +208,11 @@ class SearchBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
                 conn.set_session(autocommit=False)
 
         if isinstance(self.database_engine, PostgresEngine):
-            yield self.runWithConnection(create_index)
+            yield self.db.runWithConnection(create_index)
 
-        yield self._end_background_update(self.EVENT_SEARCH_USE_GIN_POSTGRES_NAME)
+        yield self.db.updates._end_background_update(
+            self.EVENT_SEARCH_USE_GIN_POSTGRES_NAME
+        )
         return 1
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
@@ -237,14 +241,14 @@ class SearchBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
                 )
                 conn.set_session(autocommit=False)
 
-            yield self.runWithConnection(create_index)
+            yield self.db.runWithConnection(create_index)
 
             pg = dict(progress)
             pg["have_added_indexes"] = True
 
-            yield self.runInteraction(
+            yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 self.EVENT_SEARCH_ORDER_UPDATE_NAME,
-                self._background_update_progress_txn,
+                self.db.updates._background_update_progress_txn,
                 self.EVENT_SEARCH_ORDER_UPDATE_NAME,
                 pg,
             )
@@ -274,18 +278,20 @@ class SearchBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
                 "have_added_indexes": True,
             }
 
-            self._background_update_progress_txn(
+            self.db.updates._background_update_progress_txn(
                 txn, self.EVENT_SEARCH_ORDER_UPDATE_NAME, progress
             )
 
             return len(rows), True
 
-        num_rows, finished = yield self.runInteraction(
+        num_rows, finished = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             self.EVENT_SEARCH_ORDER_UPDATE_NAME, reindex_search_txn
         )
 
         if not finished:
-            yield self._end_background_update(self.EVENT_SEARCH_ORDER_UPDATE_NAME)
+            yield self.db.updates._end_background_update(
+                self.EVENT_SEARCH_ORDER_UPDATE_NAME
+            )
 
         return num_rows
 
@@ -337,8 +343,8 @@ class SearchBackgroundUpdateStore(BackgroundUpdateStore):
 
 
 class SearchStore(SearchBackgroundUpdateStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(SearchStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(SearchStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
     def store_event_search_txn(self, txn, event, key, value):
         """Add event to the search table
@@ -441,7 +447,9 @@ class SearchStore(SearchBackgroundUpdateStore):
         # entire table from the database.
         sql += " ORDER BY rank DESC LIMIT 500"
 
-        results = yield self._execute("search_msgs", self.cursor_to_dict, sql, *args)
+        results = yield self.db.execute(
+            "search_msgs", self.db.cursor_to_dict, sql, *args
+        )
 
         results = list(filter(lambda row: row["room_id"] in room_ids, results))
 
@@ -455,8 +463,8 @@ class SearchStore(SearchBackgroundUpdateStore):
 
         count_sql += " GROUP BY room_id"
 
-        count_results = yield self._execute(
-            "search_rooms_count", self.cursor_to_dict, count_sql, *count_args
+        count_results = yield self.db.execute(
+            "search_rooms_count", self.db.cursor_to_dict, count_sql, *count_args
         )
 
         count = sum(row["count"] for row in count_results if row["room_id"] in room_ids)
@@ -586,7 +594,9 @@ class SearchStore(SearchBackgroundUpdateStore):
 
         args.append(limit)
 
-        results = yield self._execute("search_rooms", self.cursor_to_dict, sql, *args)
+        results = yield self.db.execute(
+            "search_rooms", self.db.cursor_to_dict, sql, *args
+        )
 
         results = list(filter(lambda row: row["room_id"] in room_ids, results))
 
@@ -600,8 +610,8 @@ class SearchStore(SearchBackgroundUpdateStore):
 
         count_sql += " GROUP BY room_id"
 
-        count_results = yield self._execute(
-            "search_rooms_count", self.cursor_to_dict, count_sql, *count_args
+        count_results = yield self.db.execute(
+            "search_rooms_count", self.db.cursor_to_dict, count_sql, *count_args
         )
 
         count = sum(row["count"] for row in count_results if row["room_id"] in room_ids)
@@ -686,7 +696,7 @@ class SearchStore(SearchBackgroundUpdateStore):
 
             return highlight_words
 
-        return self.runInteraction("_find_highlights", f)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("_find_highlights", f)
 
 
 def _to_postgres_options(options_dict):
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/signatures.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/signatures.py
index 556191b76f..563216b63c 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/signatures.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/signatures.py
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ class SignatureWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 for event_id in event_ids
             }
 
-        return self.runInteraction("get_event_reference_hashes", f)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("get_event_reference_hashes", f)
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def add_event_hashes(self, event_ids):
@@ -98,4 +98,4 @@ class SignatureStore(SignatureWorkerStore):
                 }
             )
 
-        self._simple_insert_many_txn(txn, table="event_reference_hashes", values=vals)
+        self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(txn, table="event_reference_hashes", values=vals)
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/state.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/state.py
index 6a90daea31..9ef7b48c74 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/state.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/state.py
@@ -27,8 +27,8 @@ from synapse.api.errors import NotFoundError
 from synapse.events import EventBase
 from synapse.events.snapshot import EventContext
 from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore
-from synapse.storage.background_updates import BackgroundUpdateStore
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.events_worker import EventsWorkerStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.storage.engines import PostgresEngine
 from synapse.storage.state import StateFilter
 from synapse.util.caches import get_cache_factor_for, intern_string
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ class StateGroupBackgroundUpdateStore(SQLBaseStore):
             count = 0
 
             while next_group:
-                next_group = self._simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
+                next_group = self.db.simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
                     txn,
                     table="state_group_edges",
                     keyvalues={"state_group": next_group},
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ class StateGroupBackgroundUpdateStore(SQLBaseStore):
                     ):
                         break
 
-                    next_group = self._simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
+                    next_group = self.db.simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
                         txn,
                         table="state_group_edges",
                         keyvalues={"state_group": next_group},
@@ -214,8 +214,8 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(
     STATE_GROUP_INDEX_UPDATE_NAME = "state_group_state_type_index"
     CURRENT_STATE_INDEX_UPDATE_NAME = "current_state_members_idx"
 
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(StateGroupWorkerStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(StateGroupWorkerStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
         # Originally the state store used a single DictionaryCache to cache the
         # event IDs for the state types in a given state group to avoid hammering
@@ -348,7 +348,9 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(
                 (intern_string(r[0]), intern_string(r[1])): to_ascii(r[2]) for r in txn
             }
 
-        return self.runInteraction("get_current_state_ids", _get_current_state_ids_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
+            "get_current_state_ids", _get_current_state_ids_txn
+        )
 
     # FIXME: how should this be cached?
     def get_filtered_current_state_ids(self, room_id, state_filter=StateFilter.all()):
@@ -392,7 +394,7 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(
 
             return results
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_filtered_current_state_ids", _get_filtered_current_state_ids_txn
         )
 
@@ -431,7 +433,7 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(
         """
 
         def _get_state_group_delta_txn(txn):
-            prev_group = self._simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
+            prev_group = self.db.simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="state_group_edges",
                 keyvalues={"state_group": state_group},
@@ -442,7 +444,7 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(
             if not prev_group:
                 return _GetStateGroupDelta(None, None)
 
-            delta_ids = self._simple_select_list_txn(
+            delta_ids = self.db.simple_select_list_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="state_groups_state",
                 keyvalues={"state_group": state_group},
@@ -454,7 +456,9 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(
                 {(row["type"], row["state_key"]): row["event_id"] for row in delta_ids},
             )
 
-        return self.runInteraction("get_state_group_delta", _get_state_group_delta_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
+            "get_state_group_delta", _get_state_group_delta_txn
+        )
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def get_state_groups_ids(self, _room_id, event_ids):
@@ -540,7 +544,7 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(
 
         chunks = [groups[i : i + 100] for i in range(0, len(groups), 100)]
         for chunk in chunks:
-            res = yield self.runInteraction(
+            res = yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "_get_state_groups_from_groups",
                 self._get_state_groups_from_groups_txn,
                 chunk,
@@ -644,7 +648,7 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(
 
     @cached(max_entries=50000)
     def _get_state_group_for_event(self, event_id):
-        return self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="event_to_state_groups",
             keyvalues={"event_id": event_id},
             retcol="state_group",
@@ -661,7 +665,7 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(
     def _get_state_group_for_events(self, event_ids):
         """Returns mapping event_id -> state_group
         """
-        rows = yield self._simple_select_many_batch(
+        rows = yield self.db.simple_select_many_batch(
             table="event_to_state_groups",
             column="event_id",
             iterable=event_ids,
@@ -902,7 +906,7 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(
 
             state_group = self.database_engine.get_next_state_group_id(txn)
 
-            self._simple_insert_txn(
+            self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="state_groups",
                 values={"id": state_group, "room_id": room_id, "event_id": event_id},
@@ -911,7 +915,7 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(
             # We persist as a delta if we can, while also ensuring the chain
             # of deltas isn't tooo long, as otherwise read performance degrades.
             if prev_group:
-                is_in_db = self._simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
+                is_in_db = self.db.simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
                     txn,
                     table="state_groups",
                     keyvalues={"id": prev_group},
@@ -926,13 +930,13 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(
 
                 potential_hops = self._count_state_group_hops_txn(txn, prev_group)
             if prev_group and potential_hops < MAX_STATE_DELTA_HOPS:
-                self._simple_insert_txn(
+                self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                     txn,
                     table="state_group_edges",
                     values={"state_group": state_group, "prev_state_group": prev_group},
                 )
 
-                self._simple_insert_many_txn(
+                self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(
                     txn,
                     table="state_groups_state",
                     values=[
@@ -947,7 +951,7 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(
                     ],
                 )
             else:
-                self._simple_insert_many_txn(
+                self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(
                     txn,
                     table="state_groups_state",
                     values=[
@@ -993,7 +997,7 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(
 
             return state_group
 
-        return self.runInteraction("store_state_group", _store_state_group_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("store_state_group", _store_state_group_txn)
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def get_referenced_state_groups(self, state_groups):
@@ -1007,7 +1011,7 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(
             referenced.
         """
 
-        rows = yield self._simple_select_many_batch(
+        rows = yield self.db.simple_select_many_batch(
             table="event_to_state_groups",
             column="state_group",
             iterable=state_groups,
@@ -1019,32 +1023,30 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(
         return set(row["state_group"] for row in rows)
 
 
-class StateBackgroundUpdateStore(
-    StateGroupBackgroundUpdateStore, BackgroundUpdateStore
-):
+class StateBackgroundUpdateStore(StateGroupBackgroundUpdateStore):
 
     STATE_GROUP_DEDUPLICATION_UPDATE_NAME = "state_group_state_deduplication"
     STATE_GROUP_INDEX_UPDATE_NAME = "state_group_state_type_index"
     CURRENT_STATE_INDEX_UPDATE_NAME = "current_state_members_idx"
     EVENT_STATE_GROUP_INDEX_UPDATE_NAME = "event_to_state_groups_sg_index"
 
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(StateBackgroundUpdateStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(StateBackgroundUpdateStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             self.STATE_GROUP_DEDUPLICATION_UPDATE_NAME,
             self._background_deduplicate_state,
         )
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             self.STATE_GROUP_INDEX_UPDATE_NAME, self._background_index_state
         )
-        self.register_background_index_update(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_index_update(
             self.CURRENT_STATE_INDEX_UPDATE_NAME,
             index_name="current_state_events_member_index",
             table="current_state_events",
             columns=["state_key"],
             where_clause="type='m.room.member'",
         )
-        self.register_background_index_update(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_index_update(
             self.EVENT_STATE_GROUP_INDEX_UPDATE_NAME,
             index_name="event_to_state_groups_sg_index",
             table="event_to_state_groups",
@@ -1065,7 +1067,7 @@ class StateBackgroundUpdateStore(
         batch_size = max(1, int(batch_size / BATCH_SIZE_SCALE_FACTOR))
 
         if max_group is None:
-            rows = yield self._execute(
+            rows = yield self.db.execute(
                 "_background_deduplicate_state",
                 None,
                 "SELECT coalesce(max(id), 0) FROM state_groups",
@@ -1135,13 +1137,13 @@ class StateBackgroundUpdateStore(
                             if prev_state.get(key, None) != value
                         }
 
-                        self._simple_delete_txn(
+                        self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                             txn,
                             table="state_group_edges",
                             keyvalues={"state_group": state_group},
                         )
 
-                        self._simple_insert_txn(
+                        self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                             txn,
                             table="state_group_edges",
                             values={
@@ -1150,13 +1152,13 @@ class StateBackgroundUpdateStore(
                             },
                         )
 
-                        self._simple_delete_txn(
+                        self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                             txn,
                             table="state_groups_state",
                             keyvalues={"state_group": state_group},
                         )
 
-                        self._simple_insert_many_txn(
+                        self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(
                             txn,
                             table="state_groups_state",
                             values=[
@@ -1177,18 +1179,18 @@ class StateBackgroundUpdateStore(
                 "max_group": max_group,
             }
 
-            self._background_update_progress_txn(
+            self.db.updates._background_update_progress_txn(
                 txn, self.STATE_GROUP_DEDUPLICATION_UPDATE_NAME, progress
             )
 
             return False, batch_size
 
-        finished, result = yield self.runInteraction(
+        finished, result = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             self.STATE_GROUP_DEDUPLICATION_UPDATE_NAME, reindex_txn
         )
 
         if finished:
-            yield self._end_background_update(
+            yield self.db.updates._end_background_update(
                 self.STATE_GROUP_DEDUPLICATION_UPDATE_NAME
             )
 
@@ -1218,9 +1220,9 @@ class StateBackgroundUpdateStore(
                 )
                 txn.execute("DROP INDEX IF EXISTS state_groups_state_id")
 
-        yield self.runWithConnection(reindex_txn)
+        yield self.db.runWithConnection(reindex_txn)
 
-        yield self._end_background_update(self.STATE_GROUP_INDEX_UPDATE_NAME)
+        yield self.db.updates._end_background_update(self.STATE_GROUP_INDEX_UPDATE_NAME)
 
         return 1
 
@@ -1244,8 +1246,8 @@ class StateStore(StateGroupWorkerStore, StateBackgroundUpdateStore):
       * `state_groups_state`: Maps state group to state events.
     """
 
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(StateStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(StateStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
     def _store_event_state_mappings_txn(
         self, txn, events_and_contexts: Iterable[Tuple[EventBase, EventContext]]
@@ -1263,7 +1265,7 @@ class StateStore(StateGroupWorkerStore, StateBackgroundUpdateStore):
 
             state_groups[event.event_id] = context.state_group
 
-        self._simple_insert_many_txn(
+        self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(
             txn,
             table="event_to_state_groups",
             values=[
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/state_deltas.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/state_deltas.py
index 28f33ec18f..12c982cb26 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/state_deltas.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/state_deltas.py
@@ -98,14 +98,14 @@ class StateDeltasStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 ORDER BY stream_id ASC
             """
             txn.execute(sql, (prev_stream_id, clipped_stream_id))
-            return clipped_stream_id, self.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+            return clipped_stream_id, self.db.cursor_to_dict(txn)
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_current_state_deltas", get_current_state_deltas_txn
         )
 
     def _get_max_stream_id_in_current_state_deltas_txn(self, txn):
-        return self._simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
             txn,
             table="current_state_delta_stream",
             keyvalues={},
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ class StateDeltasStore(SQLBaseStore):
         )
 
     def get_max_stream_id_in_current_state_deltas(self):
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_max_stream_id_in_current_state_deltas",
             self._get_max_stream_id_in_current_state_deltas_txn,
         )
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/stats.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/stats.py
index 45b3de7d56..7bc186e9a1 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/stats.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/stats.py
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ from twisted.internet.defer import DeferredLock
 
 from synapse.api.constants import EventTypes, Membership
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.state_deltas import StateDeltasStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.storage.engines import PostgresEngine
 from synapse.util.caches.descriptors import cached
 
@@ -58,8 +59,8 @@ TYPE_TO_ORIGIN_TABLE = {"room": ("rooms", "room_id"), "user": ("users", "name")}
 
 
 class StatsStore(StateDeltasStore):
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(StatsStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(StatsStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
         self.server_name = hs.hostname
         self.clock = self.hs.get_clock()
@@ -68,17 +69,17 @@ class StatsStore(StateDeltasStore):
 
         self.stats_delta_processing_lock = DeferredLock()
 
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             "populate_stats_process_rooms", self._populate_stats_process_rooms
         )
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             "populate_stats_process_users", self._populate_stats_process_users
         )
         # we no longer need to perform clean-up, but we will give ourselves
         # the potential to reintroduce it in the future – so documentation
         # will still encourage the use of this no-op handler.
-        self.register_noop_background_update("populate_stats_cleanup")
-        self.register_noop_background_update("populate_stats_prepare")
+        self.db.updates.register_noop_background_update("populate_stats_cleanup")
+        self.db.updates.register_noop_background_update("populate_stats_prepare")
 
     def quantise_stats_time(self, ts):
         """
@@ -102,7 +103,7 @@ class StatsStore(StateDeltasStore):
         This is a background update which regenerates statistics for users.
         """
         if not self.stats_enabled:
-            yield self._end_background_update("populate_stats_process_users")
+            yield self.db.updates._end_background_update("populate_stats_process_users")
             return 1
 
         last_user_id = progress.get("last_user_id", "")
@@ -117,22 +118,22 @@ class StatsStore(StateDeltasStore):
             txn.execute(sql, (last_user_id, batch_size))
             return [r for r, in txn]
 
-        users_to_work_on = yield self.runInteraction(
+        users_to_work_on = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "_populate_stats_process_users", _get_next_batch
         )
 
         # No more rooms -- complete the transaction.
         if not users_to_work_on:
-            yield self._end_background_update("populate_stats_process_users")
+            yield self.db.updates._end_background_update("populate_stats_process_users")
             return 1
 
         for user_id in users_to_work_on:
             yield self._calculate_and_set_initial_state_for_user(user_id)
             progress["last_user_id"] = user_id
 
-        yield self.runInteraction(
+        yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "populate_stats_process_users",
-            self._background_update_progress_txn,
+            self.db.updates._background_update_progress_txn,
             "populate_stats_process_users",
             progress,
         )
@@ -145,7 +146,7 @@ class StatsStore(StateDeltasStore):
         This is a background update which regenerates statistics for rooms.
         """
         if not self.stats_enabled:
-            yield self._end_background_update("populate_stats_process_rooms")
+            yield self.db.updates._end_background_update("populate_stats_process_rooms")
             return 1
 
         last_room_id = progress.get("last_room_id", "")
@@ -160,22 +161,22 @@ class StatsStore(StateDeltasStore):
             txn.execute(sql, (last_room_id, batch_size))
             return [r for r, in txn]
 
-        rooms_to_work_on = yield self.runInteraction(
+        rooms_to_work_on = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "populate_stats_rooms_get_batch", _get_next_batch
         )
 
         # No more rooms -- complete the transaction.
         if not rooms_to_work_on:
-            yield self._end_background_update("populate_stats_process_rooms")
+            yield self.db.updates._end_background_update("populate_stats_process_rooms")
             return 1
 
         for room_id in rooms_to_work_on:
             yield self._calculate_and_set_initial_state_for_room(room_id)
             progress["last_room_id"] = room_id
 
-        yield self.runInteraction(
+        yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "_populate_stats_process_rooms",
-            self._background_update_progress_txn,
+            self.db.updates._background_update_progress_txn,
             "populate_stats_process_rooms",
             progress,
         )
@@ -186,7 +187,7 @@ class StatsStore(StateDeltasStore):
         """
         Returns the stats processor positions.
         """
-        return self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="stats_incremental_position",
             keyvalues={},
             retcol="stream_id",
@@ -215,7 +216,7 @@ class StatsStore(StateDeltasStore):
             if field and "\0" in field:
                 fields[col] = None
 
-        return self._simple_upsert(
+        return self.db.simple_upsert(
             table="room_stats_state",
             keyvalues={"room_id": room_id},
             values=fields,
@@ -236,7 +237,7 @@ class StatsStore(StateDeltasStore):
             Deferred[list[dict]], where the dict has the keys of
             ABSOLUTE_STATS_FIELDS[stats_type],  and "bucket_size" and "end_ts".
         """
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_statistics_for_subject",
             self._get_statistics_for_subject_txn,
             stats_type,
@@ -257,14 +258,14 @@ class StatsStore(StateDeltasStore):
             ABSOLUTE_STATS_FIELDS[stats_type] + PER_SLICE_FIELDS[stats_type]
         )
 
-        slice_list = self._simple_select_list_paginate_txn(
+        slice_list = self.db.simple_select_list_paginate_txn(
             txn,
             table + "_historical",
-            {id_col: stats_id},
             "end_ts",
             start,
             size,
             retcols=selected_columns + ["bucket_size", "end_ts"],
+            keyvalues={id_col: stats_id},
             order_direction="DESC",
         )
 
@@ -282,7 +283,7 @@ class StatsStore(StateDeltasStore):
                 "name", "topic", "canonical_alias", "avatar", "join_rules",
                 "history_visibility"
         """
-        return self._simple_select_one(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one(
             "room_stats_state",
             {"room_id": room_id},
             retcols=(
@@ -308,7 +309,7 @@ class StatsStore(StateDeltasStore):
         """
         table, id_col = TYPE_TO_TABLE[stats_type]
 
-        return self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             "%s_current" % (table,),
             keyvalues={id_col: id},
             retcol="completed_delta_stream_id",
@@ -344,14 +345,14 @@ class StatsStore(StateDeltasStore):
                         complete_with_stream_id=stream_id,
                     )
 
-            self._simple_update_one_txn(
+            self.db.simple_update_one_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="stats_incremental_position",
                 keyvalues={},
                 updatevalues={"stream_id": stream_id},
             )
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "bulk_update_stats_delta", _bulk_update_stats_delta_txn
         )
 
@@ -382,7 +383,7 @@ class StatsStore(StateDeltasStore):
                 Does not work with per-slice fields.
         """
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "update_stats_delta",
             self._update_stats_delta_txn,
             ts,
@@ -517,17 +518,17 @@ class StatsStore(StateDeltasStore):
         else:
             self.database_engine.lock_table(txn, table)
             retcols = list(chain(absolutes.keys(), additive_relatives.keys()))
-            current_row = self._simple_select_one_txn(
+            current_row = self.db.simple_select_one_txn(
                 txn, table, keyvalues, retcols, allow_none=True
             )
             if current_row is None:
                 merged_dict = {**keyvalues, **absolutes, **additive_relatives}
-                self._simple_insert_txn(txn, table, merged_dict)
+                self.db.simple_insert_txn(txn, table, merged_dict)
             else:
                 for (key, val) in additive_relatives.items():
                     current_row[key] += val
                 current_row.update(absolutes)
-                self._simple_update_one_txn(txn, table, keyvalues, current_row)
+                self.db.simple_update_one_txn(txn, table, keyvalues, current_row)
 
     def _upsert_copy_from_table_with_additive_relatives_txn(
         self,
@@ -614,11 +615,11 @@ class StatsStore(StateDeltasStore):
             txn.execute(sql, qargs)
         else:
             self.database_engine.lock_table(txn, into_table)
-            src_row = self._simple_select_one_txn(
+            src_row = self.db.simple_select_one_txn(
                 txn, src_table, keyvalues, copy_columns
             )
             all_dest_keyvalues = {**keyvalues, **extra_dst_keyvalues}
-            dest_current_row = self._simple_select_one_txn(
+            dest_current_row = self.db.simple_select_one_txn(
                 txn,
                 into_table,
                 keyvalues=all_dest_keyvalues,
@@ -634,11 +635,11 @@ class StatsStore(StateDeltasStore):
                     **src_row,
                     **additive_relatives,
                 }
-                self._simple_insert_txn(txn, into_table, merged_dict)
+                self.db.simple_insert_txn(txn, into_table, merged_dict)
             else:
                 for (key, val) in additive_relatives.items():
                     src_row[key] = dest_current_row[key] + val
-                self._simple_update_txn(txn, into_table, all_dest_keyvalues, src_row)
+                self.db.simple_update_txn(txn, into_table, all_dest_keyvalues, src_row)
 
     def get_changes_room_total_events_and_bytes(self, min_pos, max_pos):
         """Fetches the counts of events in the given range of stream IDs.
@@ -652,7 +653,7 @@ class StatsStore(StateDeltasStore):
             changes.
         """
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "stats_incremental_total_events_and_bytes",
             self.get_changes_room_total_events_and_bytes_txn,
             min_pos,
@@ -735,7 +736,7 @@ class StatsStore(StateDeltasStore):
         def _fetch_current_state_stats(txn):
             pos = self.get_room_max_stream_ordering()
 
-            rows = self._simple_select_many_txn(
+            rows = self.db.simple_select_many_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="current_state_events",
                 column="type",
@@ -791,7 +792,7 @@ class StatsStore(StateDeltasStore):
             current_state_events_count,
             users_in_room,
             pos,
-        ) = yield self.runInteraction(
+        ) = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_initial_state_for_room", _fetch_current_state_stats
         )
 
@@ -866,7 +867,7 @@ class StatsStore(StateDeltasStore):
             (count,) = txn.fetchone()
             return count, pos
 
-        joined_rooms, pos = yield self.runInteraction(
+        joined_rooms, pos = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "calculate_and_set_initial_state_for_user",
             _calculate_and_set_initial_state_for_user_txn,
         )
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/stream.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/stream.py
index 8780fdd989..140da8dad6 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/stream.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/stream.py
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 # Copyright 2014-2016 OpenMarket Ltd
+# Copyright 2017 Vector Creations Ltd
+# Copyright 2018-2019 New Vector Ltd
+# Copyright 2019 The Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C.
 #
 # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -44,6 +47,7 @@ from twisted.internet import defer
 from synapse.logging.context import make_deferred_yieldable, run_in_background
 from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.events_worker import EventsWorkerStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.storage.engines import PostgresEngine
 from synapse.types import RoomStreamToken
 from synapse.util.caches.stream_change_cache import StreamChangeCache
@@ -248,11 +252,11 @@ class StreamWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
 
     __metaclass__ = abc.ABCMeta
 
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(StreamWorkerStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(StreamWorkerStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
         events_max = self.get_room_max_stream_ordering()
-        event_cache_prefill, min_event_val = self._get_cache_dict(
+        event_cache_prefill, min_event_val = self.db.get_cache_dict(
             db_conn,
             "events",
             entity_column="room_id",
@@ -397,7 +401,7 @@ class StreamWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
             rows = [_EventDictReturn(row[0], None, row[1]) for row in txn]
             return rows
 
-        rows = yield self.runInteraction("get_room_events_stream_for_room", f)
+        rows = yield self.db.runInteraction("get_room_events_stream_for_room", f)
 
         ret = yield self.get_events_as_list(
             [r.event_id for r in rows], get_prev_content=True
@@ -447,7 +451,7 @@ class StreamWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
 
             return rows
 
-        rows = yield self.runInteraction("get_membership_changes_for_user", f)
+        rows = yield self.db.runInteraction("get_membership_changes_for_user", f)
 
         ret = yield self.get_events_as_list(
             [r.event_id for r in rows], get_prev_content=True
@@ -508,7 +512,7 @@ class StreamWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
 
         end_token = RoomStreamToken.parse(end_token)
 
-        rows, token = yield self.runInteraction(
+        rows, token = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_recent_event_ids_for_room",
             self._paginate_room_events_txn,
             room_id,
@@ -545,7 +549,7 @@ class StreamWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
             txn.execute(sql, (room_id, stream_ordering))
             return txn.fetchone()
 
-        return self.runInteraction("get_room_event_after_stream_ordering", _f)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("get_room_event_after_stream_ordering", _f)
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def get_room_events_max_id(self, room_id=None):
@@ -559,7 +563,7 @@ class StreamWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
         if room_id is None:
             return "s%d" % (token,)
         else:
-            topo = yield self.runInteraction(
+            topo = yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "_get_max_topological_txn", self._get_max_topological_txn, room_id
             )
             return "t%d-%d" % (topo, token)
@@ -573,7 +577,7 @@ class StreamWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
         Returns:
             A deferred "s%d" stream token.
         """
-        return self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="events", keyvalues={"event_id": event_id}, retcol="stream_ordering"
         ).addCallback(lambda row: "s%d" % (row,))
 
@@ -586,7 +590,7 @@ class StreamWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
         Returns:
             A deferred "t%d-%d" topological token.
         """
-        return self._simple_select_one(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one(
             table="events",
             keyvalues={"event_id": event_id},
             retcols=("stream_ordering", "topological_ordering"),
@@ -610,13 +614,13 @@ class StreamWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
             "SELECT coalesce(max(topological_ordering), 0) FROM events"
             " WHERE room_id = ? AND stream_ordering < ?"
         )
-        return self._execute(
+        return self.db.execute(
             "get_max_topological_token", None, sql, room_id, stream_key
         ).addCallback(lambda r: r[0][0] if r else 0)
 
     def _get_max_topological_txn(self, txn, room_id):
         txn.execute(
-            "SELECT MAX(topological_ordering) FROM events" " WHERE room_id = ?",
+            "SELECT MAX(topological_ordering) FROM events WHERE room_id = ?",
             (room_id,),
         )
 
@@ -664,7 +668,7 @@ class StreamWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
             dict
         """
 
-        results = yield self.runInteraction(
+        results = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_events_around",
             self._get_events_around_txn,
             room_id,
@@ -706,7 +710,7 @@ class StreamWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
             dict
         """
 
-        results = self._simple_select_one_txn(
+        results = self.db.simple_select_one_txn(
             txn,
             "events",
             keyvalues={"event_id": event_id, "room_id": room_id},
@@ -785,7 +789,7 @@ class StreamWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
 
             return upper_bound, [row[1] for row in rows]
 
-        upper_bound, event_ids = yield self.runInteraction(
+        upper_bound, event_ids = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_all_new_events_stream", get_all_new_events_stream_txn
         )
 
@@ -794,7 +798,7 @@ class StreamWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
         return upper_bound, events
 
     def get_federation_out_pos(self, typ):
-        return self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="federation_stream_position",
             retcol="stream_id",
             keyvalues={"type": typ},
@@ -802,7 +806,7 @@ class StreamWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
         )
 
     def update_federation_out_pos(self, typ, stream_id):
-        return self._simple_update_one(
+        return self.db.simple_update_one(
             table="federation_stream_position",
             keyvalues={"type": typ},
             updatevalues={"stream_id": stream_id},
@@ -953,7 +957,7 @@ class StreamWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
         if to_key:
             to_key = RoomStreamToken.parse(to_key)
 
-        rows, token = yield self.runInteraction(
+        rows, token = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "paginate_room_events",
             self._paginate_room_events_txn,
             room_id,
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/tags.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/tags.py
index 10d1887f75..2aa1bafd48 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/tags.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/tags.py
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ class TagsWorkerStore(AccountDataWorkerStore):
             tag strings to tag content.
         """
 
-        deferred = self._simple_select_list(
+        deferred = self.db.simple_select_list(
             "room_tags", {"user_id": user_id}, ["room_id", "tag", "content"]
         )
 
@@ -78,14 +78,12 @@ class TagsWorkerStore(AccountDataWorkerStore):
             txn.execute(sql, (last_id, current_id, limit))
             return txn.fetchall()
 
-        tag_ids = yield self.runInteraction(
+        tag_ids = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_all_updated_tags", get_all_updated_tags_txn
         )
 
         def get_tag_content(txn, tag_ids):
-            sql = (
-                "SELECT tag, content" " FROM room_tags" " WHERE user_id=? AND room_id=?"
-            )
+            sql = "SELECT tag, content FROM room_tags WHERE user_id=? AND room_id=?"
             results = []
             for stream_id, user_id, room_id in tag_ids:
                 txn.execute(sql, (user_id, room_id))
@@ -100,7 +98,7 @@ class TagsWorkerStore(AccountDataWorkerStore):
         batch_size = 50
         results = []
         for i in range(0, len(tag_ids), batch_size):
-            tags = yield self.runInteraction(
+            tags = yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "get_all_updated_tag_content",
                 get_tag_content,
                 tag_ids[i : i + batch_size],
@@ -137,7 +135,9 @@ class TagsWorkerStore(AccountDataWorkerStore):
         if not changed:
             return {}
 
-        room_ids = yield self.runInteraction("get_updated_tags", get_updated_tags_txn)
+        room_ids = yield self.db.runInteraction(
+            "get_updated_tags", get_updated_tags_txn
+        )
 
         results = {}
         if room_ids:
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ class TagsWorkerStore(AccountDataWorkerStore):
         Returns:
             A deferred list of string tags.
         """
-        return self._simple_select_list(
+        return self.db.simple_select_list(
             table="room_tags",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "room_id": room_id},
             retcols=("tag", "content"),
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ class TagsStore(TagsWorkerStore):
         content_json = json.dumps(content)
 
         def add_tag_txn(txn, next_id):
-            self._simple_upsert_txn(
+            self.db.simple_upsert_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="room_tags",
                 keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "room_id": room_id, "tag": tag},
@@ -189,7 +189,7 @@ class TagsStore(TagsWorkerStore):
             self._update_revision_txn(txn, user_id, room_id, next_id)
 
         with self._account_data_id_gen.get_next() as next_id:
-            yield self.runInteraction("add_tag", add_tag_txn, next_id)
+            yield self.db.runInteraction("add_tag", add_tag_txn, next_id)
 
         self.get_tags_for_user.invalidate((user_id,))
 
@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@ class TagsStore(TagsWorkerStore):
             self._update_revision_txn(txn, user_id, room_id, next_id)
 
         with self._account_data_id_gen.get_next() as next_id:
-            yield self.runInteraction("remove_tag", remove_tag_txn, next_id)
+            yield self.db.runInteraction("remove_tag", remove_tag_txn, next_id)
 
         self.get_tags_for_user.invalidate((user_id,))
 
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/transactions.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/transactions.py
index 01b1be5e14..5b07c2fbc0 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/transactions.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/transactions.py
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ from twisted.internet import defer
 
 from synapse.metrics.background_process_metrics import run_as_background_process
 from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore, db_to_json
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.util.caches.expiringcache import ExpiringCache
 
 # py2 sqlite has buffer hardcoded as only binary type, so we must use it,
@@ -52,8 +53,8 @@ class TransactionStore(SQLBaseStore):
     """A collection of queries for handling PDUs.
     """
 
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(TransactionStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(TransactionStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
         self._clock.looping_call(self._start_cleanup_transactions, 30 * 60 * 1000)
 
@@ -77,7 +78,7 @@ class TransactionStore(SQLBaseStore):
             this transaction or a 2-tuple of (int, dict)
         """
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_received_txn_response",
             self._get_received_txn_response,
             transaction_id,
@@ -85,7 +86,7 @@ class TransactionStore(SQLBaseStore):
         )
 
     def _get_received_txn_response(self, txn, transaction_id, origin):
-        result = self._simple_select_one_txn(
+        result = self.db.simple_select_one_txn(
             txn,
             table="received_transactions",
             keyvalues={"transaction_id": transaction_id, "origin": origin},
@@ -119,7 +120,7 @@ class TransactionStore(SQLBaseStore):
             response_json (str)
         """
 
-        return self._simple_insert(
+        return self.db.simple_insert(
             table="received_transactions",
             values={
                 "transaction_id": transaction_id,
@@ -148,7 +149,7 @@ class TransactionStore(SQLBaseStore):
         if result is not SENTINEL:
             return result
 
-        result = yield self.runInteraction(
+        result = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "get_destination_retry_timings",
             self._get_destination_retry_timings,
             destination,
@@ -160,7 +161,7 @@ class TransactionStore(SQLBaseStore):
         return result
 
     def _get_destination_retry_timings(self, txn, destination):
-        result = self._simple_select_one_txn(
+        result = self.db.simple_select_one_txn(
             txn,
             table="destinations",
             keyvalues={"destination": destination},
@@ -187,7 +188,7 @@ class TransactionStore(SQLBaseStore):
         """
 
         self._destination_retry_cache.pop(destination, None)
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "set_destination_retry_timings",
             self._set_destination_retry_timings,
             destination,
@@ -227,7 +228,7 @@ class TransactionStore(SQLBaseStore):
         # We need to be careful here as the data may have changed from under us
         # due to a worker setting the timings.
 
-        prev_row = self._simple_select_one_txn(
+        prev_row = self.db.simple_select_one_txn(
             txn,
             table="destinations",
             keyvalues={"destination": destination},
@@ -236,7 +237,7 @@ class TransactionStore(SQLBaseStore):
         )
 
         if not prev_row:
-            self._simple_insert_txn(
+            self.db.simple_insert_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="destinations",
                 values={
@@ -247,7 +248,7 @@ class TransactionStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 },
             )
         elif retry_interval == 0 or prev_row["retry_interval"] < retry_interval:
-            self._simple_update_one_txn(
+            self.db.simple_update_one_txn(
                 txn,
                 "destinations",
                 keyvalues={"destination": destination},
@@ -270,4 +271,6 @@ class TransactionStore(SQLBaseStore):
         def _cleanup_transactions_txn(txn):
             txn.execute("DELETE FROM received_transactions WHERE ts < ?", (month_ago,))
 
-        return self.runInteraction("_cleanup_transactions", _cleanup_transactions_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
+            "_cleanup_transactions", _cleanup_transactions_txn
+        )
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/user_directory.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/user_directory.py
index 652abe0e6a..90c180ec6d 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/user_directory.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/user_directory.py
@@ -19,9 +19,9 @@ import re
 from twisted.internet import defer
 
 from synapse.api.constants import EventTypes, JoinRules
-from synapse.storage.background_updates import BackgroundUpdateStore
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.state import StateFilter
 from synapse.storage.data_stores.main.state_deltas import StateDeltasStore
+from synapse.storage.database import Database
 from synapse.storage.engines import PostgresEngine, Sqlite3Engine
 from synapse.types import get_domain_from_id, get_localpart_from_id
 from synapse.util.caches.descriptors import cached
@@ -32,30 +32,30 @@ logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 TEMP_TABLE = "_temp_populate_user_directory"
 
 
-class UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore(StateDeltasStore, BackgroundUpdateStore):
+class UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore(StateDeltasStore):
 
     # How many records do we calculate before sending it to
     # add_users_who_share_private_rooms?
     SHARE_PRIVATE_WORKING_SET = 500
 
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
         self.server_name = hs.hostname
 
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             "populate_user_directory_createtables",
             self._populate_user_directory_createtables,
         )
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             "populate_user_directory_process_rooms",
             self._populate_user_directory_process_rooms,
         )
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             "populate_user_directory_process_users",
             self._populate_user_directory_process_users,
         )
-        self.register_background_update_handler(
+        self.db.updates.register_background_update_handler(
             "populate_user_directory_cleanup", self._populate_user_directory_cleanup
         )
 
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ class UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore(StateDeltasStore, BackgroundUpdateStore
             """
             txn.execute(sql)
             rooms = [{"room_id": x[0], "events": x[1]} for x in txn.fetchall()]
-            self._simple_insert_many_txn(txn, TEMP_TABLE + "_rooms", rooms)
+            self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(txn, TEMP_TABLE + "_rooms", rooms)
             del rooms
 
             # If search all users is on, get all the users we want to add.
@@ -100,15 +100,17 @@ class UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore(StateDeltasStore, BackgroundUpdateStore
                 txn.execute("SELECT name FROM users")
                 users = [{"user_id": x[0]} for x in txn.fetchall()]
 
-                self._simple_insert_many_txn(txn, TEMP_TABLE + "_users", users)
+                self.db.simple_insert_many_txn(txn, TEMP_TABLE + "_users", users)
 
         new_pos = yield self.get_max_stream_id_in_current_state_deltas()
-        yield self.runInteraction(
+        yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "populate_user_directory_temp_build", _make_staging_area
         )
-        yield self._simple_insert(TEMP_TABLE + "_position", {"position": new_pos})
+        yield self.db.simple_insert(TEMP_TABLE + "_position", {"position": new_pos})
 
-        yield self._end_background_update("populate_user_directory_createtables")
+        yield self.db.updates._end_background_update(
+            "populate_user_directory_createtables"
+        )
         return 1
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
@@ -116,7 +118,7 @@ class UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore(StateDeltasStore, BackgroundUpdateStore
         """
         Update the user directory stream position, then clean up the old tables.
         """
-        position = yield self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        position = yield self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             TEMP_TABLE + "_position", None, "position"
         )
         yield self.update_user_directory_stream_pos(position)
@@ -126,11 +128,11 @@ class UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore(StateDeltasStore, BackgroundUpdateStore
             txn.execute("DROP TABLE IF EXISTS " + TEMP_TABLE + "_users")
             txn.execute("DROP TABLE IF EXISTS " + TEMP_TABLE + "_position")
 
-        yield self.runInteraction(
+        yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "populate_user_directory_cleanup", _delete_staging_area
         )
 
-        yield self._end_background_update("populate_user_directory_cleanup")
+        yield self.db.updates._end_background_update("populate_user_directory_cleanup")
         return 1
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
@@ -170,13 +172,15 @@ class UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore(StateDeltasStore, BackgroundUpdateStore
 
             return rooms_to_work_on
 
-        rooms_to_work_on = yield self.runInteraction(
+        rooms_to_work_on = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "populate_user_directory_temp_read", _get_next_batch
         )
 
         # No more rooms -- complete the transaction.
         if not rooms_to_work_on:
-            yield self._end_background_update("populate_user_directory_process_rooms")
+            yield self.db.updates._end_background_update(
+                "populate_user_directory_process_rooms"
+            )
             return 1
 
         logger.info(
@@ -243,12 +247,12 @@ class UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore(StateDeltasStore, BackgroundUpdateStore
                         to_insert.clear()
 
             # We've finished a room. Delete it from the table.
-            yield self._simple_delete_one(TEMP_TABLE + "_rooms", {"room_id": room_id})
+            yield self.db.simple_delete_one(TEMP_TABLE + "_rooms", {"room_id": room_id})
             # Update the remaining counter.
             progress["remaining"] -= 1
-            yield self.runInteraction(
+            yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "populate_user_directory",
-                self._background_update_progress_txn,
+                self.db.updates._background_update_progress_txn,
                 "populate_user_directory_process_rooms",
                 progress,
             )
@@ -267,7 +271,9 @@ class UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore(StateDeltasStore, BackgroundUpdateStore
         If search_all_users is enabled, add all of the users to the user directory.
         """
         if not self.hs.config.user_directory_search_all_users:
-            yield self._end_background_update("populate_user_directory_process_users")
+            yield self.db.updates._end_background_update(
+                "populate_user_directory_process_users"
+            )
             return 1
 
         def _get_next_batch(txn):
@@ -291,13 +297,15 @@ class UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore(StateDeltasStore, BackgroundUpdateStore
 
             return users_to_work_on
 
-        users_to_work_on = yield self.runInteraction(
+        users_to_work_on = yield self.db.runInteraction(
             "populate_user_directory_temp_read", _get_next_batch
         )
 
         # No more users -- complete the transaction.
         if not users_to_work_on:
-            yield self._end_background_update("populate_user_directory_process_users")
+            yield self.db.updates._end_background_update(
+                "populate_user_directory_process_users"
+            )
             return 1
 
         logger.info(
@@ -312,12 +320,12 @@ class UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore(StateDeltasStore, BackgroundUpdateStore
             )
 
             # We've finished processing a user. Delete it from the table.
-            yield self._simple_delete_one(TEMP_TABLE + "_users", {"user_id": user_id})
+            yield self.db.simple_delete_one(TEMP_TABLE + "_users", {"user_id": user_id})
             # Update the remaining counter.
             progress["remaining"] -= 1
-            yield self.runInteraction(
+            yield self.db.runInteraction(
                 "populate_user_directory",
-                self._background_update_progress_txn,
+                self.db.updates._background_update_progress_txn,
                 "populate_user_directory_process_users",
                 progress,
             )
@@ -361,7 +369,7 @@ class UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore(StateDeltasStore, BackgroundUpdateStore
         """
 
         def _update_profile_in_user_dir_txn(txn):
-            new_entry = self._simple_upsert_txn(
+            new_entry = self.db.simple_upsert_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="user_directory",
                 keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
@@ -435,7 +443,7 @@ class UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore(StateDeltasStore, BackgroundUpdateStore
                         )
             elif isinstance(self.database_engine, Sqlite3Engine):
                 value = "%s %s" % (user_id, display_name) if display_name else user_id
-                self._simple_upsert_txn(
+                self.db.simple_upsert_txn(
                     txn,
                     table="user_directory_search",
                     keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
@@ -448,7 +456,7 @@ class UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore(StateDeltasStore, BackgroundUpdateStore
 
             txn.call_after(self.get_user_in_directory.invalidate, (user_id,))
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "update_profile_in_user_dir", _update_profile_in_user_dir_txn
         )
 
@@ -462,7 +470,7 @@ class UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore(StateDeltasStore, BackgroundUpdateStore
         """
 
         def _add_users_who_share_room_txn(txn):
-            self._simple_upsert_many_txn(
+            self.db.simple_upsert_many_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="users_who_share_private_rooms",
                 key_names=["user_id", "other_user_id", "room_id"],
@@ -474,7 +482,7 @@ class UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore(StateDeltasStore, BackgroundUpdateStore
                 value_values=None,
             )
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "add_users_who_share_room", _add_users_who_share_room_txn
         )
 
@@ -489,7 +497,7 @@ class UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore(StateDeltasStore, BackgroundUpdateStore
 
         def _add_users_in_public_rooms_txn(txn):
 
-            self._simple_upsert_many_txn(
+            self.db.simple_upsert_many_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="users_in_public_rooms",
                 key_names=["user_id", "room_id"],
@@ -498,7 +506,7 @@ class UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore(StateDeltasStore, BackgroundUpdateStore
                 value_values=None,
             )
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "add_users_in_public_rooms", _add_users_in_public_rooms_txn
         )
 
@@ -513,13 +521,13 @@ class UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore(StateDeltasStore, BackgroundUpdateStore
             txn.execute("DELETE FROM users_who_share_private_rooms")
             txn.call_after(self.get_user_in_directory.invalidate_all)
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "delete_all_from_user_dir", _delete_all_from_user_dir_txn
         )
 
     @cached()
     def get_user_in_directory(self, user_id):
-        return self._simple_select_one(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one(
             table="user_directory",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             retcols=("display_name", "avatar_url"),
@@ -528,7 +536,7 @@ class UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore(StateDeltasStore, BackgroundUpdateStore
         )
 
     def update_user_directory_stream_pos(self, stream_id):
-        return self._simple_update_one(
+        return self.db.simple_update_one(
             table="user_directory_stream_pos",
             keyvalues={},
             updatevalues={"stream_id": stream_id},
@@ -542,47 +550,47 @@ class UserDirectoryStore(UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore):
     # add_users_who_share_private_rooms?
     SHARE_PRIVATE_WORKING_SET = 500
 
-    def __init__(self, db_conn, hs):
-        super(UserDirectoryStore, self).__init__(db_conn, hs)
+    def __init__(self, database: Database, db_conn, hs):
+        super(UserDirectoryStore, self).__init__(database, db_conn, hs)
 
     def remove_from_user_dir(self, user_id):
         def _remove_from_user_dir_txn(txn):
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn, table="user_directory", keyvalues={"user_id": user_id}
             )
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn, table="user_directory_search", keyvalues={"user_id": user_id}
             )
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn, table="users_in_public_rooms", keyvalues={"user_id": user_id}
             )
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="users_who_share_private_rooms",
                 keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             )
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="users_who_share_private_rooms",
                 keyvalues={"other_user_id": user_id},
             )
             txn.call_after(self.get_user_in_directory.invalidate, (user_id,))
 
-        return self.runInteraction("remove_from_user_dir", _remove_from_user_dir_txn)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("remove_from_user_dir", _remove_from_user_dir_txn)
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def get_users_in_dir_due_to_room(self, room_id):
         """Get all user_ids that are in the room directory because they're
         in the given room_id
         """
-        user_ids_share_pub = yield self._simple_select_onecol(
+        user_ids_share_pub = yield self.db.simple_select_onecol(
             table="users_in_public_rooms",
             keyvalues={"room_id": room_id},
             retcol="user_id",
             desc="get_users_in_dir_due_to_room",
         )
 
-        user_ids_share_priv = yield self._simple_select_onecol(
+        user_ids_share_priv = yield self.db.simple_select_onecol(
             table="users_who_share_private_rooms",
             keyvalues={"room_id": room_id},
             retcol="other_user_id",
@@ -605,23 +613,23 @@ class UserDirectoryStore(UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore):
         """
 
         def _remove_user_who_share_room_txn(txn):
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="users_who_share_private_rooms",
                 keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "room_id": room_id},
             )
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="users_who_share_private_rooms",
                 keyvalues={"other_user_id": user_id, "room_id": room_id},
             )
-            self._simple_delete_txn(
+            self.db.simple_delete_txn(
                 txn,
                 table="users_in_public_rooms",
                 keyvalues={"user_id": user_id, "room_id": room_id},
             )
 
-        return self.runInteraction(
+        return self.db.runInteraction(
             "remove_user_who_share_room", _remove_user_who_share_room_txn
         )
 
@@ -636,14 +644,14 @@ class UserDirectoryStore(UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore):
         Returns:
             list: user_id
         """
-        rows = yield self._simple_select_onecol(
+        rows = yield self.db.simple_select_onecol(
             table="users_who_share_private_rooms",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             retcol="room_id",
             desc="get_rooms_user_is_in",
         )
 
-        pub_rows = yield self._simple_select_onecol(
+        pub_rows = yield self.db.simple_select_onecol(
             table="users_in_public_rooms",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             retcol="room_id",
@@ -674,14 +682,14 @@ class UserDirectoryStore(UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore):
             ) f2 USING (room_id)
         """
 
-        rows = yield self._execute(
+        rows = yield self.db.execute(
             "get_rooms_in_common_for_users", None, sql, user_id, other_user_id
         )
 
         return [room_id for room_id, in rows]
 
     def get_user_directory_stream_pos(self):
-        return self._simple_select_one_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_one_onecol(
             table="user_directory_stream_pos",
             keyvalues={},
             retcol="stream_id",
@@ -786,8 +794,8 @@ class UserDirectoryStore(UserDirectoryBackgroundUpdateStore):
             # This should be unreachable.
             raise Exception("Unrecognized database engine")
 
-        results = yield self._execute(
-            "search_user_dir", self.cursor_to_dict, sql, *args
+        results = yield self.db.execute(
+            "search_user_dir", self.db.cursor_to_dict, sql, *args
         )
 
         limited = len(results) > limit
diff --git a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/user_erasure_store.py b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/user_erasure_store.py
index aa4f0da5f0..af8025bc17 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/user_erasure_store.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/data_stores/main/user_erasure_store.py
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ class UserErasureWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         Returns:
             Deferred[bool]: True if the user has requested erasure
         """
-        return self._simple_select_onecol(
+        return self.db.simple_select_onecol(
             table="erased_users",
             keyvalues={"user_id": user_id},
             retcol="1",
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ class UserErasureWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         # iterate it multiple times, and (b) avoiding duplicates.
         user_ids = tuple(set(user_ids))
 
-        rows = yield self._simple_select_many_batch(
+        rows = yield self.db.simple_select_many_batch(
             table="erased_users",
             column="user_id",
             iterable=user_ids,
@@ -88,4 +88,4 @@ class UserErasureStore(UserErasureWorkerStore):
 
             self._invalidate_cache_and_stream(txn, self.is_user_erased, (user_id,))
 
-        return self.runInteraction("mark_user_erased", f)
+        return self.db.runInteraction("mark_user_erased", f)
diff --git a/synapse/storage/database.py b/synapse/storage/database.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ec19ae1d9d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/synapse/storage/database.py
@@ -0,0 +1,1490 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+# Copyright 2014-2016 OpenMarket Ltd
+# Copyright 2017-2018 New Vector Ltd
+# Copyright 2019 The Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+import logging
+import sys
+import time
+from typing import Iterable, Tuple
+
+from six import iteritems, iterkeys, itervalues
+from six.moves import intern, range
+
+from prometheus_client import Histogram
+
+from twisted.internet import defer
+
+from synapse.api.errors import StoreError
+from synapse.logging.context import LoggingContext, make_deferred_yieldable
+from synapse.metrics.background_process_metrics import run_as_background_process
+from synapse.storage.background_updates import BackgroundUpdater
+from synapse.storage.engines import PostgresEngine, Sqlite3Engine
+from synapse.util.stringutils import exception_to_unicode
+
+# import a function which will return a monotonic time, in seconds
+try:
+    # on python 3, use time.monotonic, since time.clock can go backwards
+    from time import monotonic as monotonic_time
+except ImportError:
+    # ... but python 2 doesn't have it
+    from time import clock as monotonic_time
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+try:
+    MAX_TXN_ID = sys.maxint - 1
+except AttributeError:
+    # python 3 does not have a maximum int value
+    MAX_TXN_ID = 2 ** 63 - 1
+
+sql_logger = logging.getLogger("synapse.storage.SQL")
+transaction_logger = logging.getLogger("synapse.storage.txn")
+perf_logger = logging.getLogger("synapse.storage.TIME")
+
+sql_scheduling_timer = Histogram("synapse_storage_schedule_time", "sec")
+
+sql_query_timer = Histogram("synapse_storage_query_time", "sec", ["verb"])
+sql_txn_timer = Histogram("synapse_storage_transaction_time", "sec", ["desc"])
+
+
+# Unique indexes which have been added in background updates. Maps from table name
+# to the name of the background update which added the unique index to that table.
+#
+# This is used by the upsert logic to figure out which tables are safe to do a proper
+# UPSERT on: until the relevant background update has completed, we
+# have to emulate an upsert by locking the table.
+#
+UNIQUE_INDEX_BACKGROUND_UPDATES = {
+    "user_ips": "user_ips_device_unique_index",
+    "device_lists_remote_extremeties": "device_lists_remote_extremeties_unique_idx",
+    "device_lists_remote_cache": "device_lists_remote_cache_unique_idx",
+    "event_search": "event_search_event_id_idx",
+}
+
+
+class LoggingTransaction(object):
+    """An object that almost-transparently proxies for the 'txn' object
+    passed to the constructor. Adds logging and metrics to the .execute()
+    method.
+
+    Args:
+        txn: The database transcation object to wrap.
+        name (str): The name of this transactions for logging.
+        database_engine (Sqlite3Engine|PostgresEngine)
+        after_callbacks(list|None): A list that callbacks will be appended to
+            that have been added by `call_after` which should be run on
+            successful completion of the transaction. None indicates that no
+            callbacks should be allowed to be scheduled to run.
+        exception_callbacks(list|None): A list that callbacks will be appended
+            to that have been added by `call_on_exception` which should be run
+            if transaction ends with an error. None indicates that no callbacks
+            should be allowed to be scheduled to run.
+    """
+
+    __slots__ = [
+        "txn",
+        "name",
+        "database_engine",
+        "after_callbacks",
+        "exception_callbacks",
+    ]
+
+    def __init__(
+        self, txn, name, database_engine, after_callbacks=None, exception_callbacks=None
+    ):
+        object.__setattr__(self, "txn", txn)
+        object.__setattr__(self, "name", name)
+        object.__setattr__(self, "database_engine", database_engine)
+        object.__setattr__(self, "after_callbacks", after_callbacks)
+        object.__setattr__(self, "exception_callbacks", exception_callbacks)
+
+    def call_after(self, callback, *args, **kwargs):
+        """Call the given callback on the main twisted thread after the
+        transaction has finished. Used to invalidate the caches on the
+        correct thread.
+        """
+        self.after_callbacks.append((callback, args, kwargs))
+
+    def call_on_exception(self, callback, *args, **kwargs):
+        self.exception_callbacks.append((callback, args, kwargs))
+
+    def __getattr__(self, name):
+        return getattr(self.txn, name)
+
+    def __setattr__(self, name, value):
+        setattr(self.txn, name, value)
+
+    def __iter__(self):
+        return self.txn.__iter__()
+
+    def execute_batch(self, sql, args):
+        if isinstance(self.database_engine, PostgresEngine):
+            from psycopg2.extras import execute_batch
+
+            self._do_execute(lambda *x: execute_batch(self.txn, *x), sql, args)
+        else:
+            for val in args:
+                self.execute(sql, val)
+
+    def execute(self, sql, *args):
+        self._do_execute(self.txn.execute, sql, *args)
+
+    def executemany(self, sql, *args):
+        self._do_execute(self.txn.executemany, sql, *args)
+
+    def _make_sql_one_line(self, sql):
+        "Strip newlines out of SQL so that the loggers in the DB are on one line"
+        return " ".join(l.strip() for l in sql.splitlines() if l.strip())
+
+    def _do_execute(self, func, sql, *args):
+        sql = self._make_sql_one_line(sql)
+
+        # TODO(paul): Maybe use 'info' and 'debug' for values?
+        sql_logger.debug("[SQL] {%s} %s", self.name, sql)
+
+        sql = self.database_engine.convert_param_style(sql)
+        if args:
+            try:
+                sql_logger.debug("[SQL values] {%s} %r", self.name, args[0])
+            except Exception:
+                # Don't let logging failures stop SQL from working
+                pass
+
+        start = time.time()
+
+        try:
+            return func(sql, *args)
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.debug("[SQL FAIL] {%s} %s", self.name, e)
+            raise
+        finally:
+            secs = time.time() - start
+            sql_logger.debug("[SQL time] {%s} %f sec", self.name, secs)
+            sql_query_timer.labels(sql.split()[0]).observe(secs)
+
+
+class PerformanceCounters(object):
+    def __init__(self):
+        self.current_counters = {}
+        self.previous_counters = {}
+
+    def update(self, key, duration_secs):
+        count, cum_time = self.current_counters.get(key, (0, 0))
+        count += 1
+        cum_time += duration_secs
+        self.current_counters[key] = (count, cum_time)
+
+    def interval(self, interval_duration_secs, limit=3):
+        counters = []
+        for name, (count, cum_time) in iteritems(self.current_counters):
+            prev_count, prev_time = self.previous_counters.get(name, (0, 0))
+            counters.append(
+                (
+                    (cum_time - prev_time) / interval_duration_secs,
+                    count - prev_count,
+                    name,
+                )
+            )
+
+        self.previous_counters = dict(self.current_counters)
+
+        counters.sort(reverse=True)
+
+        top_n_counters = ", ".join(
+            "%s(%d): %.3f%%" % (name, count, 100 * ratio)
+            for ratio, count, name in counters[:limit]
+        )
+
+        return top_n_counters
+
+
+class Database(object):
+    """Wraps a single physical database and connection pool.
+
+    A single database may be used by multiple data stores.
+    """
+
+    _TXN_ID = 0
+
+    def __init__(self, hs):
+        self.hs = hs
+        self._clock = hs.get_clock()
+        self._db_pool = hs.get_db_pool()
+
+        self.updates = BackgroundUpdater(hs, self)
+
+        self._previous_txn_total_time = 0
+        self._current_txn_total_time = 0
+        self._previous_loop_ts = 0
+
+        # TODO(paul): These can eventually be removed once the metrics code
+        #   is running in mainline, and we have some nice monitoring frontends
+        #   to watch it
+        self._txn_perf_counters = PerformanceCounters()
+
+        self.engine = hs.database_engine
+
+        # A set of tables that are not safe to use native upserts in.
+        self._unsafe_to_upsert_tables = set(UNIQUE_INDEX_BACKGROUND_UPDATES.keys())
+
+        # We add the user_directory_search table to the blacklist on SQLite
+        # because the existing search table does not have an index, making it
+        # unsafe to use native upserts.
+        if isinstance(self.engine, Sqlite3Engine):
+            self._unsafe_to_upsert_tables.add("user_directory_search")
+
+        if self.engine.can_native_upsert:
+            # Check ASAP (and then later, every 1s) to see if we have finished
+            # background updates of tables that aren't safe to update.
+            self._clock.call_later(
+                0.0,
+                run_as_background_process,
+                "upsert_safety_check",
+                self._check_safe_to_upsert,
+            )
+
+    @defer.inlineCallbacks
+    def _check_safe_to_upsert(self):
+        """
+        Is it safe to use native UPSERT?
+
+        If there are background updates, we will need to wait, as they may be
+        the addition of indexes that set the UNIQUE constraint that we require.
+
+        If the background updates have not completed, wait 15 sec and check again.
+        """
+        updates = yield self.simple_select_list(
+            "background_updates",
+            keyvalues=None,
+            retcols=["update_name"],
+            desc="check_background_updates",
+        )
+        updates = [x["update_name"] for x in updates]
+
+        for table, update_name in UNIQUE_INDEX_BACKGROUND_UPDATES.items():
+            if update_name not in updates:
+                logger.debug("Now safe to upsert in %s", table)
+                self._unsafe_to_upsert_tables.discard(table)
+
+        # If there's any updates still running, reschedule to run.
+        if updates:
+            self._clock.call_later(
+                15.0,
+                run_as_background_process,
+                "upsert_safety_check",
+                self._check_safe_to_upsert,
+            )
+
+    def start_profiling(self):
+        self._previous_loop_ts = monotonic_time()
+
+        def loop():
+            curr = self._current_txn_total_time
+            prev = self._previous_txn_total_time
+            self._previous_txn_total_time = curr
+
+            time_now = monotonic_time()
+            time_then = self._previous_loop_ts
+            self._previous_loop_ts = time_now
+
+            duration = time_now - time_then
+            ratio = (curr - prev) / duration
+
+            top_three_counters = self._txn_perf_counters.interval(duration, limit=3)
+
+            perf_logger.info(
+                "Total database time: %.3f%% {%s}", ratio * 100, top_three_counters
+            )
+
+        self._clock.looping_call(loop, 10000)
+
+    def new_transaction(
+        self, conn, desc, after_callbacks, exception_callbacks, func, *args, **kwargs
+    ):
+        start = monotonic_time()
+        txn_id = self._TXN_ID
+
+        # We don't really need these to be unique, so lets stop it from
+        # growing really large.
+        self._TXN_ID = (self._TXN_ID + 1) % (MAX_TXN_ID)
+
+        name = "%s-%x" % (desc, txn_id)
+
+        transaction_logger.debug("[TXN START] {%s}", name)
+
+        try:
+            i = 0
+            N = 5
+            while True:
+                cursor = LoggingTransaction(
+                    conn.cursor(),
+                    name,
+                    self.engine,
+                    after_callbacks,
+                    exception_callbacks,
+                )
+                try:
+                    r = func(cursor, *args, **kwargs)
+                    conn.commit()
+                    return r
+                except self.engine.module.OperationalError as e:
+                    # This can happen if the database disappears mid
+                    # transaction.
+                    logger.warning(
+                        "[TXN OPERROR] {%s} %s %d/%d",
+                        name,
+                        exception_to_unicode(e),
+                        i,
+                        N,
+                    )
+                    if i < N:
+                        i += 1
+                        try:
+                            conn.rollback()
+                        except self.engine.module.Error as e1:
+                            logger.warning(
+                                "[TXN EROLL] {%s} %s", name, exception_to_unicode(e1)
+                            )
+                        continue
+                    raise
+                except self.engine.module.DatabaseError as e:
+                    if self.engine.is_deadlock(e):
+                        logger.warning("[TXN DEADLOCK] {%s} %d/%d", name, i, N)
+                        if i < N:
+                            i += 1
+                            try:
+                                conn.rollback()
+                            except self.engine.module.Error as e1:
+                                logger.warning(
+                                    "[TXN EROLL] {%s} %s",
+                                    name,
+                                    exception_to_unicode(e1),
+                                )
+                            continue
+                    raise
+                finally:
+                    # we're either about to retry with a new cursor, or we're about to
+                    # release the connection. Once we release the connection, it could
+                    # get used for another query, which might do a conn.rollback().
+                    #
+                    # In the latter case, even though that probably wouldn't affect the
+                    # results of this transaction, python's sqlite will reset all
+                    # statements on the connection [1], which will make our cursor
+                    # invalid [2].
+                    #
+                    # In any case, continuing to read rows after commit()ing seems
+                    # dubious from the PoV of ACID transactional semantics
+                    # (sqlite explicitly says that once you commit, you may see rows
+                    # from subsequent updates.)
+                    #
+                    # In psycopg2, cursors are essentially a client-side fabrication -
+                    # all the data is transferred to the client side when the statement
+                    # finishes executing - so in theory we could go on streaming results
+                    # from the cursor, but attempting to do so would make us
+                    # incompatible with sqlite, so let's make sure we're not doing that
+                    # by closing the cursor.
+                    #
+                    # (*named* cursors in psycopg2 are different and are proper server-
+                    # side things, but (a) we don't use them and (b) they are implicitly
+                    # closed by ending the transaction anyway.)
+                    #
+                    # In short, if we haven't finished with the cursor yet, that's a
+                    # problem waiting to bite us.
+                    #
+                    # TL;DR: we're done with the cursor, so we can close it.
+                    #
+                    # [1]: https://github.com/python/cpython/blob/v3.8.0/Modules/_sqlite/connection.c#L465
+                    # [2]: https://github.com/python/cpython/blob/v3.8.0/Modules/_sqlite/cursor.c#L236
+                    cursor.close()
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.debug("[TXN FAIL] {%s} %s", name, e)
+            raise
+        finally:
+            end = monotonic_time()
+            duration = end - start
+
+            LoggingContext.current_context().add_database_transaction(duration)
+
+            transaction_logger.debug("[TXN END] {%s} %f sec", name, duration)
+
+            self._current_txn_total_time += duration
+            self._txn_perf_counters.update(desc, duration)
+            sql_txn_timer.labels(desc).observe(duration)
+
+    @defer.inlineCallbacks
+    def runInteraction(self, desc, func, *args, **kwargs):
+        """Starts a transaction on the database and runs a given function
+
+        Arguments:
+            desc (str): description of the transaction, for logging and metrics
+            func (func): callback function, which will be called with a
+                database transaction (twisted.enterprise.adbapi.Transaction) as
+                its first argument, followed by `args` and `kwargs`.
+
+            args (list): positional args to pass to `func`
+            kwargs (dict): named args to pass to `func`
+
+        Returns:
+            Deferred: The result of func
+        """
+        after_callbacks = []
+        exception_callbacks = []
+
+        if LoggingContext.current_context() == LoggingContext.sentinel:
+            logger.warning("Starting db txn '%s' from sentinel context", desc)
+
+        try:
+            result = yield self.runWithConnection(
+                self.new_transaction,
+                desc,
+                after_callbacks,
+                exception_callbacks,
+                func,
+                *args,
+                **kwargs
+            )
+
+            for after_callback, after_args, after_kwargs in after_callbacks:
+                after_callback(*after_args, **after_kwargs)
+        except:  # noqa: E722, as we reraise the exception this is fine.
+            for after_callback, after_args, after_kwargs in exception_callbacks:
+                after_callback(*after_args, **after_kwargs)
+            raise
+
+        return result
+
+    @defer.inlineCallbacks
+    def runWithConnection(self, func, *args, **kwargs):
+        """Wraps the .runWithConnection() method on the underlying db_pool.
+
+        Arguments:
+            func (func): callback function, which will be called with a
+                database connection (twisted.enterprise.adbapi.Connection) as
+                its first argument, followed by `args` and `kwargs`.
+            args (list): positional args to pass to `func`
+            kwargs (dict): named args to pass to `func`
+
+        Returns:
+            Deferred: The result of func
+        """
+        parent_context = LoggingContext.current_context()
+        if parent_context == LoggingContext.sentinel:
+            logger.warning(
+                "Starting db connection from sentinel context: metrics will be lost"
+            )
+            parent_context = None
+
+        start_time = monotonic_time()
+
+        def inner_func(conn, *args, **kwargs):
+            with LoggingContext("runWithConnection", parent_context) as context:
+                sched_duration_sec = monotonic_time() - start_time
+                sql_scheduling_timer.observe(sched_duration_sec)
+                context.add_database_scheduled(sched_duration_sec)
+
+                if self.engine.is_connection_closed(conn):
+                    logger.debug("Reconnecting closed database connection")
+                    conn.reconnect()
+
+                return func(conn, *args, **kwargs)
+
+        result = yield make_deferred_yieldable(
+            self._db_pool.runWithConnection(inner_func, *args, **kwargs)
+        )
+
+        return result
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def cursor_to_dict(cursor):
+        """Converts a SQL cursor into an list of dicts.
+
+        Args:
+            cursor : The DBAPI cursor which has executed a query.
+        Returns:
+            A list of dicts where the key is the column header.
+        """
+        col_headers = list(intern(str(column[0])) for column in cursor.description)
+        results = list(dict(zip(col_headers, row)) for row in cursor)
+        return results
+
+    def execute(self, desc, decoder, query, *args):
+        """Runs a single query for a result set.
+
+        Args:
+            decoder - The function which can resolve the cursor results to
+                something meaningful.
+            query - The query string to execute
+            *args - Query args.
+        Returns:
+            The result of decoder(results)
+        """
+
+        def interaction(txn):
+            txn.execute(query, args)
+            if decoder:
+                return decoder(txn)
+            else:
+                return txn.fetchall()
+
+        return self.runInteraction(desc, interaction)
+
+    # "Simple" SQL API methods that operate on a single table with no JOINs,
+    # no complex WHERE clauses, just a dict of values for columns.
+
+    @defer.inlineCallbacks
+    def simple_insert(self, table, values, or_ignore=False, desc="simple_insert"):
+        """Executes an INSERT query on the named table.
+
+        Args:
+            table : string giving the table name
+            values : dict of new column names and values for them
+            or_ignore : bool stating whether an exception should be raised
+                when a conflicting row already exists. If True, False will be
+                returned by the function instead
+            desc : string giving a description of the transaction
+
+        Returns:
+            bool: Whether the row was inserted or not. Only useful when
+            `or_ignore` is True
+        """
+        try:
+            yield self.runInteraction(desc, self.simple_insert_txn, table, values)
+        except self.engine.module.IntegrityError:
+            # We have to do or_ignore flag at this layer, since we can't reuse
+            # a cursor after we receive an error from the db.
+            if not or_ignore:
+                raise
+            return False
+        return True
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def simple_insert_txn(txn, table, values):
+        keys, vals = zip(*values.items())
+
+        sql = "INSERT INTO %s (%s) VALUES(%s)" % (
+            table,
+            ", ".join(k for k in keys),
+            ", ".join("?" for _ in keys),
+        )
+
+        txn.execute(sql, vals)
+
+    def simple_insert_many(self, table, values, desc):
+        return self.runInteraction(desc, self.simple_insert_many_txn, table, values)
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def simple_insert_many_txn(txn, table, values):
+        if not values:
+            return
+
+        # This is a *slight* abomination to get a list of tuples of key names
+        # and a list of tuples of value names.
+        #
+        # i.e. [{"a": 1, "b": 2}, {"c": 3, "d": 4}]
+        #         => [("a", "b",), ("c", "d",)] and [(1, 2,), (3, 4,)]
+        #
+        # The sort is to ensure that we don't rely on dictionary iteration
+        # order.
+        keys, vals = zip(
+            *[zip(*(sorted(i.items(), key=lambda kv: kv[0]))) for i in values if i]
+        )
+
+        for k in keys:
+            if k != keys[0]:
+                raise RuntimeError("All items must have the same keys")
+
+        sql = "INSERT INTO %s (%s) VALUES(%s)" % (
+            table,
+            ", ".join(k for k in keys[0]),
+            ", ".join("?" for _ in keys[0]),
+        )
+
+        txn.executemany(sql, vals)
+
+    @defer.inlineCallbacks
+    def simple_upsert(
+        self,
+        table,
+        keyvalues,
+        values,
+        insertion_values={},
+        desc="simple_upsert",
+        lock=True,
+    ):
+        """
+
+        `lock` should generally be set to True (the default), but can be set
+        to False if either of the following are true:
+
+        * there is a UNIQUE INDEX on the key columns. In this case a conflict
+          will cause an IntegrityError in which case this function will retry
+          the update.
+
+        * we somehow know that we are the only thread which will be updating
+          this table.
+
+        Args:
+            table (str): The table to upsert into
+            keyvalues (dict): The unique key columns and their new values
+            values (dict): The nonunique columns and their new values
+            insertion_values (dict): additional key/values to use only when
+                inserting
+            lock (bool): True to lock the table when doing the upsert.
+        Returns:
+            Deferred(None or bool): Native upserts always return None. Emulated
+            upserts return True if a new entry was created, False if an existing
+            one was updated.
+        """
+        attempts = 0
+        while True:
+            try:
+                result = yield self.runInteraction(
+                    desc,
+                    self.simple_upsert_txn,
+                    table,
+                    keyvalues,
+                    values,
+                    insertion_values,
+                    lock=lock,
+                )
+                return result
+            except self.engine.module.IntegrityError as e:
+                attempts += 1
+                if attempts >= 5:
+                    # don't retry forever, because things other than races
+                    # can cause IntegrityErrors
+                    raise
+
+                # presumably we raced with another transaction: let's retry.
+                logger.warning(
+                    "IntegrityError when upserting into %s; retrying: %s", table, e
+                )
+
+    def simple_upsert_txn(
+        self, txn, table, keyvalues, values, insertion_values={}, lock=True
+    ):
+        """
+        Pick the UPSERT method which works best on the platform. Either the
+        native one (Pg9.5+, recent SQLites), or fall back to an emulated method.
+
+        Args:
+            txn: The transaction to use.
+            table (str): The table to upsert into
+            keyvalues (dict): The unique key tables and their new values
+            values (dict): The nonunique columns and their new values
+            insertion_values (dict): additional key/values to use only when
+                inserting
+            lock (bool): True to lock the table when doing the upsert.
+        Returns:
+            None or bool: Native upserts always return None. Emulated
+            upserts return True if a new entry was created, False if an existing
+            one was updated.
+        """
+        if self.engine.can_native_upsert and table not in self._unsafe_to_upsert_tables:
+            return self.simple_upsert_txn_native_upsert(
+                txn, table, keyvalues, values, insertion_values=insertion_values
+            )
+        else:
+            return self.simple_upsert_txn_emulated(
+                txn,
+                table,
+                keyvalues,
+                values,
+                insertion_values=insertion_values,
+                lock=lock,
+            )
+
+    def simple_upsert_txn_emulated(
+        self, txn, table, keyvalues, values, insertion_values={}, lock=True
+    ):
+        """
+        Args:
+            table (str): The table to upsert into
+            keyvalues (dict): The unique key tables and their new values
+            values (dict): The nonunique columns and their new values
+            insertion_values (dict): additional key/values to use only when
+                inserting
+            lock (bool): True to lock the table when doing the upsert.
+        Returns:
+            bool: Return True if a new entry was created, False if an existing
+            one was updated.
+        """
+        # We need to lock the table :(, unless we're *really* careful
+        if lock:
+            self.engine.lock_table(txn, table)
+
+        def _getwhere(key):
+            # If the value we're passing in is None (aka NULL), we need to use
+            # IS, not =, as NULL = NULL equals NULL (False).
+            if keyvalues[key] is None:
+                return "%s IS ?" % (key,)
+            else:
+                return "%s = ?" % (key,)
+
+        if not values:
+            # If `values` is empty, then all of the values we care about are in
+            # the unique key, so there is nothing to UPDATE. We can just do a
+            # SELECT instead to see if it exists.
+            sql = "SELECT 1 FROM %s WHERE %s" % (
+                table,
+                " AND ".join(_getwhere(k) for k in keyvalues),
+            )
+            sqlargs = list(keyvalues.values())
+            txn.execute(sql, sqlargs)
+            if txn.fetchall():
+                # We have an existing record.
+                return False
+        else:
+            # First try to update.
+            sql = "UPDATE %s SET %s WHERE %s" % (
+                table,
+                ", ".join("%s = ?" % (k,) for k in values),
+                " AND ".join(_getwhere(k) for k in keyvalues),
+            )
+            sqlargs = list(values.values()) + list(keyvalues.values())
+
+            txn.execute(sql, sqlargs)
+            if txn.rowcount > 0:
+                # successfully updated at least one row.
+                return False
+
+        # We didn't find any existing rows, so insert a new one
+        allvalues = {}
+        allvalues.update(keyvalues)
+        allvalues.update(values)
+        allvalues.update(insertion_values)
+
+        sql = "INSERT INTO %s (%s) VALUES (%s)" % (
+            table,
+            ", ".join(k for k in allvalues),
+            ", ".join("?" for _ in allvalues),
+        )
+        txn.execute(sql, list(allvalues.values()))
+        # successfully inserted
+        return True
+
+    def simple_upsert_txn_native_upsert(
+        self, txn, table, keyvalues, values, insertion_values={}
+    ):
+        """
+        Use the native UPSERT functionality in recent PostgreSQL versions.
+
+        Args:
+            table (str): The table to upsert into
+            keyvalues (dict): The unique key tables and their new values
+            values (dict): The nonunique columns and their new values
+            insertion_values (dict): additional key/values to use only when
+                inserting
+        Returns:
+            None
+        """
+        allvalues = {}
+        allvalues.update(keyvalues)
+        allvalues.update(insertion_values)
+
+        if not values:
+            latter = "NOTHING"
+        else:
+            allvalues.update(values)
+            latter = "UPDATE SET " + ", ".join(k + "=EXCLUDED." + k for k in values)
+
+        sql = ("INSERT INTO %s (%s) VALUES (%s) ON CONFLICT (%s) DO %s") % (
+            table,
+            ", ".join(k for k in allvalues),
+            ", ".join("?" for _ in allvalues),
+            ", ".join(k for k in keyvalues),
+            latter,
+        )
+        txn.execute(sql, list(allvalues.values()))
+
+    def simple_upsert_many_txn(
+        self, txn, table, key_names, key_values, value_names, value_values
+    ):
+        """
+        Upsert, many times.
+
+        Args:
+            table (str): The table to upsert into
+            key_names (list[str]): The key column names.
+            key_values (list[list]): A list of each row's key column values.
+            value_names (list[str]): The value column names. If empty, no
+                values will be used, even if value_values is provided.
+            value_values (list[list]): A list of each row's value column values.
+        Returns:
+            None
+        """
+        if self.engine.can_native_upsert and table not in self._unsafe_to_upsert_tables:
+            return self.simple_upsert_many_txn_native_upsert(
+                txn, table, key_names, key_values, value_names, value_values
+            )
+        else:
+            return self.simple_upsert_many_txn_emulated(
+                txn, table, key_names, key_values, value_names, value_values
+            )
+
+    def simple_upsert_many_txn_emulated(
+        self, txn, table, key_names, key_values, value_names, value_values
+    ):
+        """
+        Upsert, many times, but without native UPSERT support or batching.
+
+        Args:
+            table (str): The table to upsert into
+            key_names (list[str]): The key column names.
+            key_values (list[list]): A list of each row's key column values.
+            value_names (list[str]): The value column names. If empty, no
+                values will be used, even if value_values is provided.
+            value_values (list[list]): A list of each row's value column values.
+        Returns:
+            None
+        """
+        # No value columns, therefore make a blank list so that the following
+        # zip() works correctly.
+        if not value_names:
+            value_values = [() for x in range(len(key_values))]
+
+        for keyv, valv in zip(key_values, value_values):
+            _keys = {x: y for x, y in zip(key_names, keyv)}
+            _vals = {x: y for x, y in zip(value_names, valv)}
+
+            self.simple_upsert_txn_emulated(txn, table, _keys, _vals)
+
+    def simple_upsert_many_txn_native_upsert(
+        self, txn, table, key_names, key_values, value_names, value_values
+    ):
+        """
+        Upsert, many times, using batching where possible.
+
+        Args:
+            table (str): The table to upsert into
+            key_names (list[str]): The key column names.
+            key_values (list[list]): A list of each row's key column values.
+            value_names (list[str]): The value column names. If empty, no
+                values will be used, even if value_values is provided.
+            value_values (list[list]): A list of each row's value column values.
+        Returns:
+            None
+        """
+        allnames = []
+        allnames.extend(key_names)
+        allnames.extend(value_names)
+
+        if not value_names:
+            # No value columns, therefore make a blank list so that the
+            # following zip() works correctly.
+            latter = "NOTHING"
+            value_values = [() for x in range(len(key_values))]
+        else:
+            latter = "UPDATE SET " + ", ".join(
+                k + "=EXCLUDED." + k for k in value_names
+            )
+
+        sql = "INSERT INTO %s (%s) VALUES (%s) ON CONFLICT (%s) DO %s" % (
+            table,
+            ", ".join(k for k in allnames),
+            ", ".join("?" for _ in allnames),
+            ", ".join(key_names),
+            latter,
+        )
+
+        args = []
+
+        for x, y in zip(key_values, value_values):
+            args.append(tuple(x) + tuple(y))
+
+        return txn.execute_batch(sql, args)
+
+    def simple_select_one(
+        self, table, keyvalues, retcols, allow_none=False, desc="simple_select_one"
+    ):
+        """Executes a SELECT query on the named table, which is expected to
+        return a single row, returning multiple columns from it.
+
+        Args:
+            table : string giving the table name
+            keyvalues : dict of column names and values to select the row with
+            retcols : list of strings giving the names of the columns to return
+
+            allow_none : If true, return None instead of failing if the SELECT
+              statement returns no rows
+        """
+        return self.runInteraction(
+            desc, self.simple_select_one_txn, table, keyvalues, retcols, allow_none
+        )
+
+    def simple_select_one_onecol(
+        self,
+        table,
+        keyvalues,
+        retcol,
+        allow_none=False,
+        desc="simple_select_one_onecol",
+    ):
+        """Executes a SELECT query on the named table, which is expected to
+        return a single row, returning a single column from it.
+
+        Args:
+            table : string giving the table name
+            keyvalues : dict of column names and values to select the row with
+            retcol : string giving the name of the column to return
+        """
+        return self.runInteraction(
+            desc,
+            self.simple_select_one_onecol_txn,
+            table,
+            keyvalues,
+            retcol,
+            allow_none=allow_none,
+        )
+
+    @classmethod
+    def simple_select_one_onecol_txn(
+        cls, txn, table, keyvalues, retcol, allow_none=False
+    ):
+        ret = cls.simple_select_onecol_txn(
+            txn, table=table, keyvalues=keyvalues, retcol=retcol
+        )
+
+        if ret:
+            return ret[0]
+        else:
+            if allow_none:
+                return None
+            else:
+                raise StoreError(404, "No row found")
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def simple_select_onecol_txn(txn, table, keyvalues, retcol):
+        sql = ("SELECT %(retcol)s FROM %(table)s") % {"retcol": retcol, "table": table}
+
+        if keyvalues:
+            sql += " WHERE %s" % " AND ".join("%s = ?" % k for k in iterkeys(keyvalues))
+            txn.execute(sql, list(keyvalues.values()))
+        else:
+            txn.execute(sql)
+
+        return [r[0] for r in txn]
+
+    def simple_select_onecol(
+        self, table, keyvalues, retcol, desc="simple_select_onecol"
+    ):
+        """Executes a SELECT query on the named table, which returns a list
+        comprising of the values of the named column from the selected rows.
+
+        Args:
+            table (str): table name
+            keyvalues (dict|None): column names and values to select the rows with
+            retcol (str): column whos value we wish to retrieve.
+
+        Returns:
+            Deferred: Results in a list
+        """
+        return self.runInteraction(
+            desc, self.simple_select_onecol_txn, table, keyvalues, retcol
+        )
+
+    def simple_select_list(self, table, keyvalues, retcols, desc="simple_select_list"):
+        """Executes a SELECT query on the named table, which may return zero or
+        more rows, returning the result as a list of dicts.
+
+        Args:
+            table (str): the table name
+            keyvalues (dict[str, Any] | None):
+                column names and values to select the rows with, or None to not
+                apply a WHERE clause.
+            retcols (iterable[str]): the names of the columns to return
+        Returns:
+            defer.Deferred: resolves to list[dict[str, Any]]
+        """
+        return self.runInteraction(
+            desc, self.simple_select_list_txn, table, keyvalues, retcols
+        )
+
+    @classmethod
+    def simple_select_list_txn(cls, txn, table, keyvalues, retcols):
+        """Executes a SELECT query on the named table, which may return zero or
+        more rows, returning the result as a list of dicts.
+
+        Args:
+            txn : Transaction object
+            table (str): the table name
+            keyvalues (dict[str, T] | None):
+                column names and values to select the rows with, or None to not
+                apply a WHERE clause.
+            retcols (iterable[str]): the names of the columns to return
+        """
+        if keyvalues:
+            sql = "SELECT %s FROM %s WHERE %s" % (
+                ", ".join(retcols),
+                table,
+                " AND ".join("%s = ?" % (k,) for k in keyvalues),
+            )
+            txn.execute(sql, list(keyvalues.values()))
+        else:
+            sql = "SELECT %s FROM %s" % (", ".join(retcols), table)
+            txn.execute(sql)
+
+        return cls.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+
+    @defer.inlineCallbacks
+    def simple_select_many_batch(
+        self,
+        table,
+        column,
+        iterable,
+        retcols,
+        keyvalues={},
+        desc="simple_select_many_batch",
+        batch_size=100,
+    ):
+        """Executes a SELECT query on the named table, which may return zero or
+        more rows, returning the result as a list of dicts.
+
+        Filters rows by if value of `column` is in `iterable`.
+
+        Args:
+            table : string giving the table name
+            column : column name to test for inclusion against `iterable`
+            iterable : list
+            keyvalues : dict of column names and values to select the rows with
+            retcols : list of strings giving the names of the columns to return
+        """
+        results = []
+
+        if not iterable:
+            return results
+
+        # iterables can not be sliced, so convert it to a list first
+        it_list = list(iterable)
+
+        chunks = [
+            it_list[i : i + batch_size] for i in range(0, len(it_list), batch_size)
+        ]
+        for chunk in chunks:
+            rows = yield self.runInteraction(
+                desc,
+                self.simple_select_many_txn,
+                table,
+                column,
+                chunk,
+                keyvalues,
+                retcols,
+            )
+
+            results.extend(rows)
+
+        return results
+
+    @classmethod
+    def simple_select_many_txn(cls, txn, table, column, iterable, keyvalues, retcols):
+        """Executes a SELECT query on the named table, which may return zero or
+        more rows, returning the result as a list of dicts.
+
+        Filters rows by if value of `column` is in `iterable`.
+
+        Args:
+            txn : Transaction object
+            table : string giving the table name
+            column : column name to test for inclusion against `iterable`
+            iterable : list
+            keyvalues : dict of column names and values to select the rows with
+            retcols : list of strings giving the names of the columns to return
+        """
+        if not iterable:
+            return []
+
+        clause, values = make_in_list_sql_clause(txn.database_engine, column, iterable)
+        clauses = [clause]
+
+        for key, value in iteritems(keyvalues):
+            clauses.append("%s = ?" % (key,))
+            values.append(value)
+
+        sql = "SELECT %s FROM %s WHERE %s" % (
+            ", ".join(retcols),
+            table,
+            " AND ".join(clauses),
+        )
+
+        txn.execute(sql, values)
+        return cls.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+
+    def simple_update(self, table, keyvalues, updatevalues, desc):
+        return self.runInteraction(
+            desc, self.simple_update_txn, table, keyvalues, updatevalues
+        )
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def simple_update_txn(txn, table, keyvalues, updatevalues):
+        if keyvalues:
+            where = "WHERE %s" % " AND ".join("%s = ?" % k for k in iterkeys(keyvalues))
+        else:
+            where = ""
+
+        update_sql = "UPDATE %s SET %s %s" % (
+            table,
+            ", ".join("%s = ?" % (k,) for k in updatevalues),
+            where,
+        )
+
+        txn.execute(update_sql, list(updatevalues.values()) + list(keyvalues.values()))
+
+        return txn.rowcount
+
+    def simple_update_one(
+        self, table, keyvalues, updatevalues, desc="simple_update_one"
+    ):
+        """Executes an UPDATE query on the named table, setting new values for
+        columns in a row matching the key values.
+
+        Args:
+            table : string giving the table name
+            keyvalues : dict of column names and values to select the row with
+            updatevalues : dict giving column names and values to update
+            retcols : optional list of column names to return
+
+        If present, retcols gives a list of column names on which to perform
+        a SELECT statement *before* performing the UPDATE statement. The values
+        of these will be returned in a dict.
+
+        These are performed within the same transaction, allowing an atomic
+        get-and-set.  This can be used to implement compare-and-set by putting
+        the update column in the 'keyvalues' dict as well.
+        """
+        return self.runInteraction(
+            desc, self.simple_update_one_txn, table, keyvalues, updatevalues
+        )
+
+    @classmethod
+    def simple_update_one_txn(cls, txn, table, keyvalues, updatevalues):
+        rowcount = cls.simple_update_txn(txn, table, keyvalues, updatevalues)
+
+        if rowcount == 0:
+            raise StoreError(404, "No row found (%s)" % (table,))
+        if rowcount > 1:
+            raise StoreError(500, "More than one row matched (%s)" % (table,))
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def simple_select_one_txn(txn, table, keyvalues, retcols, allow_none=False):
+        select_sql = "SELECT %s FROM %s WHERE %s" % (
+            ", ".join(retcols),
+            table,
+            " AND ".join("%s = ?" % (k,) for k in keyvalues),
+        )
+
+        txn.execute(select_sql, list(keyvalues.values()))
+        row = txn.fetchone()
+
+        if not row:
+            if allow_none:
+                return None
+            raise StoreError(404, "No row found (%s)" % (table,))
+        if txn.rowcount > 1:
+            raise StoreError(500, "More than one row matched (%s)" % (table,))
+
+        return dict(zip(retcols, row))
+
+    def simple_delete_one(self, table, keyvalues, desc="simple_delete_one"):
+        """Executes a DELETE query on the named table, expecting to delete a
+        single row.
+
+        Args:
+            table : string giving the table name
+            keyvalues : dict of column names and values to select the row with
+        """
+        return self.runInteraction(desc, self.simple_delete_one_txn, table, keyvalues)
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def simple_delete_one_txn(txn, table, keyvalues):
+        """Executes a DELETE query on the named table, expecting to delete a
+        single row.
+
+        Args:
+            table : string giving the table name
+            keyvalues : dict of column names and values to select the row with
+        """
+        sql = "DELETE FROM %s WHERE %s" % (
+            table,
+            " AND ".join("%s = ?" % (k,) for k in keyvalues),
+        )
+
+        txn.execute(sql, list(keyvalues.values()))
+        if txn.rowcount == 0:
+            raise StoreError(404, "No row found (%s)" % (table,))
+        if txn.rowcount > 1:
+            raise StoreError(500, "More than one row matched (%s)" % (table,))
+
+    def simple_delete(self, table, keyvalues, desc):
+        return self.runInteraction(desc, self.simple_delete_txn, table, keyvalues)
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def simple_delete_txn(txn, table, keyvalues):
+        sql = "DELETE FROM %s WHERE %s" % (
+            table,
+            " AND ".join("%s = ?" % (k,) for k in keyvalues),
+        )
+
+        txn.execute(sql, list(keyvalues.values()))
+        return txn.rowcount
+
+    def simple_delete_many(self, table, column, iterable, keyvalues, desc):
+        return self.runInteraction(
+            desc, self.simple_delete_many_txn, table, column, iterable, keyvalues
+        )
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def simple_delete_many_txn(txn, table, column, iterable, keyvalues):
+        """Executes a DELETE query on the named table.
+
+        Filters rows by if value of `column` is in `iterable`.
+
+        Args:
+            txn : Transaction object
+            table : string giving the table name
+            column : column name to test for inclusion against `iterable`
+            iterable : list
+            keyvalues : dict of column names and values to select the rows with
+
+        Returns:
+            int: Number rows deleted
+        """
+        if not iterable:
+            return 0
+
+        sql = "DELETE FROM %s" % table
+
+        clause, values = make_in_list_sql_clause(txn.database_engine, column, iterable)
+        clauses = [clause]
+
+        for key, value in iteritems(keyvalues):
+            clauses.append("%s = ?" % (key,))
+            values.append(value)
+
+        if clauses:
+            sql = "%s WHERE %s" % (sql, " AND ".join(clauses))
+        txn.execute(sql, values)
+
+        return txn.rowcount
+
+    def get_cache_dict(
+        self, db_conn, table, entity_column, stream_column, max_value, limit=100000
+    ):
+        # Fetch a mapping of room_id -> max stream position for "recent" rooms.
+        # It doesn't really matter how many we get, the StreamChangeCache will
+        # do the right thing to ensure it respects the max size of cache.
+        sql = (
+            "SELECT %(entity)s, MAX(%(stream)s) FROM %(table)s"
+            " WHERE %(stream)s > ? - %(limit)s"
+            " GROUP BY %(entity)s"
+        ) % {
+            "table": table,
+            "entity": entity_column,
+            "stream": stream_column,
+            "limit": limit,
+        }
+
+        sql = self.engine.convert_param_style(sql)
+
+        txn = db_conn.cursor()
+        txn.execute(sql, (int(max_value),))
+
+        cache = {row[0]: int(row[1]) for row in txn}
+
+        txn.close()
+
+        if cache:
+            min_val = min(itervalues(cache))
+        else:
+            min_val = max_value
+
+        return cache, min_val
+
+    def simple_select_list_paginate(
+        self,
+        table,
+        orderby,
+        start,
+        limit,
+        retcols,
+        filters=None,
+        keyvalues=None,
+        order_direction="ASC",
+        desc="simple_select_list_paginate",
+    ):
+        """
+        Executes a SELECT query on the named table with start and limit,
+        of row numbers, which may return zero or number of rows from start to limit,
+        returning the result as a list of dicts.
+
+        Args:
+            table (str): the table name
+            filters (dict[str, T] | None):
+                column names and values to filter the rows with, or None to not
+                apply a WHERE ? LIKE ? clause.
+            keyvalues (dict[str, T] | None):
+                column names and values to select the rows with, or None to not
+                apply a WHERE clause.
+            orderby (str): Column to order the results by.
+            start (int): Index to begin the query at.
+            limit (int): Number of results to return.
+            retcols (iterable[str]): the names of the columns to return
+            order_direction (str): Whether the results should be ordered "ASC" or "DESC".
+        Returns:
+            defer.Deferred: resolves to list[dict[str, Any]]
+        """
+        return self.runInteraction(
+            desc,
+            self.simple_select_list_paginate_txn,
+            table,
+            orderby,
+            start,
+            limit,
+            retcols,
+            filters=filters,
+            keyvalues=keyvalues,
+            order_direction=order_direction,
+        )
+
+    @classmethod
+    def simple_select_list_paginate_txn(
+        cls,
+        txn,
+        table,
+        orderby,
+        start,
+        limit,
+        retcols,
+        filters=None,
+        keyvalues=None,
+        order_direction="ASC",
+    ):
+        """
+        Executes a SELECT query on the named table with start and limit,
+        of row numbers, which may return zero or number of rows from start to limit,
+        returning the result as a list of dicts.
+
+        Use `filters` to search attributes using SQL wildcards and/or `keyvalues` to
+        select attributes with exact matches. All constraints are joined together
+        using 'AND'.
+
+        Args:
+            txn : Transaction object
+            table (str): the table name
+            orderby (str): Column to order the results by.
+            start (int): Index to begin the query at.
+            limit (int): Number of results to return.
+            retcols (iterable[str]): the names of the columns to return
+            filters (dict[str, T] | None):
+                column names and values to filter the rows with, or None to not
+                apply a WHERE ? LIKE ? clause.
+            keyvalues (dict[str, T] | None):
+                column names and values to select the rows with, or None to not
+                apply a WHERE clause.
+            order_direction (str): Whether the results should be ordered "ASC" or "DESC".
+        Returns:
+            defer.Deferred: resolves to list[dict[str, Any]]
+        """
+        if order_direction not in ["ASC", "DESC"]:
+            raise ValueError("order_direction must be one of 'ASC' or 'DESC'.")
+
+        where_clause = "WHERE " if filters or keyvalues else ""
+        arg_list = []
+        if filters:
+            where_clause += " AND ".join("%s LIKE ?" % (k,) for k in filters)
+            arg_list += list(filters.values())
+        where_clause += " AND " if filters and keyvalues else ""
+        if keyvalues:
+            where_clause += " AND ".join("%s = ?" % (k,) for k in keyvalues)
+            arg_list += list(keyvalues.values())
+
+        sql = "SELECT %s FROM %s %s ORDER BY %s %s LIMIT ? OFFSET ?" % (
+            ", ".join(retcols),
+            table,
+            where_clause,
+            orderby,
+            order_direction,
+        )
+        txn.execute(sql, arg_list + [limit, start])
+
+        return cls.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+
+    def simple_search_list(self, table, term, col, retcols, desc="simple_search_list"):
+        """Executes a SELECT query on the named table, which may return zero or
+        more rows, returning the result as a list of dicts.
+
+        Args:
+            table (str): the table name
+            term (str | None):
+                term for searching the table matched to a column.
+            col (str): column to query term should be matched to
+            retcols (iterable[str]): the names of the columns to return
+        Returns:
+            defer.Deferred: resolves to list[dict[str, Any]] or None
+        """
+
+        return self.runInteraction(
+            desc, self.simple_search_list_txn, table, term, col, retcols
+        )
+
+    @classmethod
+    def simple_search_list_txn(cls, txn, table, term, col, retcols):
+        """Executes a SELECT query on the named table, which may return zero or
+        more rows, returning the result as a list of dicts.
+
+        Args:
+            txn : Transaction object
+            table (str): the table name
+            term (str | None):
+                term for searching the table matched to a column.
+            col (str): column to query term should be matched to
+            retcols (iterable[str]): the names of the columns to return
+        Returns:
+            defer.Deferred: resolves to list[dict[str, Any]] or None
+        """
+        if term:
+            sql = "SELECT %s FROM %s WHERE %s LIKE ?" % (", ".join(retcols), table, col)
+            termvalues = ["%%" + term + "%%"]
+            txn.execute(sql, termvalues)
+        else:
+            return 0
+
+        return cls.cursor_to_dict(txn)
+
+
+def make_in_list_sql_clause(
+    database_engine, column: str, iterable: Iterable
+) -> Tuple[str, Iterable]:
+    """Returns an SQL clause that checks the given column is in the iterable.
+
+    On SQLite this expands to `column IN (?, ?, ...)`, whereas on Postgres
+    it expands to `column = ANY(?)`. While both DBs support the `IN` form,
+    using the `ANY` form on postgres means that it views queries with
+    different length iterables as the same, helping the query stats.
+
+    Args:
+        database_engine
+        column: Name of the column
+        iterable: The values to check the column against.
+
+    Returns:
+        A tuple of SQL query and the args
+    """
+
+    if database_engine.supports_using_any_list:
+        # This should hopefully be faster, but also makes postgres query
+        # stats easier to understand.
+        return "%s = ANY(?)" % (column,), [list(iterable)]
+    else:
+        return "%s IN (%s)" % (column, ",".join("?" for _ in iterable)), list(iterable)
diff --git a/synapse/storage/prepare_database.py b/synapse/storage/prepare_database.py
index 2e7753820e..731e1c9d9c 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/prepare_database.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/prepare_database.py
@@ -447,7 +447,7 @@ def _apply_module_schema_files(cur, database_engine, modname, names_and_streams)
         # Mark as done.
         cur.execute(
             database_engine.convert_param_style(
-                "INSERT INTO applied_module_schemas (module_name, file)" " VALUES (?,?)"
+                "INSERT INTO applied_module_schemas (module_name, file) VALUES (?,?)"
             ),
             (modname, name),
         )
diff --git a/synapse/streams/config.py b/synapse/streams/config.py
index 02994ab2a5..cd56cd91ed 100644
--- a/synapse/streams/config.py
+++ b/synapse/streams/config.py
@@ -88,9 +88,12 @@ class PaginationConfig(object):
             raise SynapseError(400, "Invalid request.")
 
     def __repr__(self):
-        return (
-            "PaginationConfig(from_tok=%r, to_tok=%r," " direction=%r, limit=%r)"
-        ) % (self.from_token, self.to_token, self.direction, self.limit)
+        return ("PaginationConfig(from_tok=%r, to_tok=%r, direction=%r, limit=%r)") % (
+            self.from_token,
+            self.to_token,
+            self.direction,
+            self.limit,
+        )
 
     def get_source_config(self, source_name):
         keyname = "%s_key" % source_name
diff --git a/synapse/util/metrics.py b/synapse/util/metrics.py
index 3286804322..7b18455469 100644
--- a/synapse/util/metrics.py
+++ b/synapse/util/metrics.py
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
+import inspect
 import logging
 from functools import wraps
 
@@ -64,12 +65,22 @@ def measure_func(name=None):
     def wrapper(func):
         block_name = func.__name__ if name is None else name
 
-        @wraps(func)
-        @defer.inlineCallbacks
-        def measured_func(self, *args, **kwargs):
-            with Measure(self.clock, block_name):
-                r = yield func(self, *args, **kwargs)
-            return r
+        if inspect.iscoroutinefunction(func):
+
+            @wraps(func)
+            async def measured_func(self, *args, **kwargs):
+                with Measure(self.clock, block_name):
+                    r = await func(self, *args, **kwargs)
+                return r
+
+        else:
+
+            @wraps(func)
+            @defer.inlineCallbacks
+            def measured_func(self, *args, **kwargs):
+                with Measure(self.clock, block_name):
+                    r = yield func(self, *args, **kwargs)
+                return r
 
         return measured_func
 
@@ -80,72 +91,48 @@ class Measure(object):
     __slots__ = [
         "clock",
         "name",
-        "start_context",
+        "_logging_context",
         "start",
-        "created_context",
-        "start_usage",
     ]
 
     def __init__(self, clock, name):
         self.clock = clock
         self.name = name
-        self.start_context = None
+        self._logging_context = None
         self.start = None
-        self.created_context = False
 
     def __enter__(self):
-        self.start = self.clock.time()
-        self.start_context = LoggingContext.current_context()
-        if not self.start_context:
-            self.start_context = LoggingContext("Measure")
-            self.start_context.__enter__()
-            self.created_context = True
-
-        self.start_usage = self.start_context.get_resource_usage()
+        if self._logging_context:
+            raise RuntimeError("Measure() objects cannot be re-used")
 
+        self.start = self.clock.time()
+        parent_context = LoggingContext.current_context()
+        self._logging_context = LoggingContext(
+            "Measure[%s]" % (self.name,), parent_context
+        )
+        self._logging_context.__enter__()
         in_flight.register((self.name,), self._update_in_flight)
 
     def __exit__(self, exc_type, exc_val, exc_tb):
-        if isinstance(exc_type, Exception) or not self.start_context:
-            return
-
-        in_flight.unregister((self.name,), self._update_in_flight)
+        if not self._logging_context:
+            raise RuntimeError("Measure() block exited without being entered")
 
         duration = self.clock.time() - self.start
+        usage = self._logging_context.get_resource_usage()
 
-        block_counter.labels(self.name).inc()
-        block_timer.labels(self.name).inc(duration)
-
-        context = LoggingContext.current_context()
-
-        if context != self.start_context:
-            logger.warning(
-                "Context has unexpectedly changed from '%s' to '%s'. (%r)",
-                self.start_context,
-                context,
-                self.name,
-            )
-            return
-
-        if not context:
-            logger.warning("Expected context. (%r)", self.name)
-            return
+        in_flight.unregister((self.name,), self._update_in_flight)
+        self._logging_context.__exit__(exc_type, exc_val, exc_tb)
 
-        current = context.get_resource_usage()
-        usage = current - self.start_usage
         try:
+            block_counter.labels(self.name).inc()
+            block_timer.labels(self.name).inc(duration)
             block_ru_utime.labels(self.name).inc(usage.ru_utime)
             block_ru_stime.labels(self.name).inc(usage.ru_stime)
             block_db_txn_count.labels(self.name).inc(usage.db_txn_count)
             block_db_txn_duration.labels(self.name).inc(usage.db_txn_duration_sec)
             block_db_sched_duration.labels(self.name).inc(usage.db_sched_duration_sec)
         except ValueError:
-            logger.warning(
-                "Failed to save metrics! OLD: %r, NEW: %r", self.start_usage, current
-            )
-
-        if self.created_context:
-            self.start_context.__exit__(exc_type, exc_val, exc_tb)
+            logger.warning("Failed to save metrics! Usage: %s", usage)
 
     def _update_in_flight(self, metrics):
         """Gets called when processing in flight metrics
diff --git a/synapse/visibility.py b/synapse/visibility.py
index 8c843febd8..dffe943b28 100644
--- a/synapse/visibility.py
+++ b/synapse/visibility.py
@@ -44,7 +44,12 @@ MEMBERSHIP_PRIORITY = (
 
 @defer.inlineCallbacks
 def filter_events_for_client(
-    storage: Storage, user_id, events, is_peeking=False, always_include_ids=frozenset()
+    storage: Storage,
+    user_id,
+    events,
+    is_peeking=False,
+    always_include_ids=frozenset(),
+    apply_retention_policies=True,
 ):
     """
     Check which events a user is allowed to see
@@ -59,6 +64,10 @@ def filter_events_for_client(
             events
         always_include_ids (set(event_id)): set of event ids to specifically
             include (unless sender is ignored)
+        apply_retention_policies (bool): Whether to filter out events that's older than
+            allowed by the room's retention policy. Useful when this function is called
+            to e.g. check whether a user should be allowed to see the state at a given
+            event rather than to know if it should send an event to a user's client(s).
 
     Returns:
         Deferred[list[synapse.events.EventBase]]
@@ -86,6 +95,15 @@ def filter_events_for_client(
 
     erased_senders = yield storage.main.are_users_erased((e.sender for e in events))
 
+    if apply_retention_policies:
+        room_ids = set(e.room_id for e in events)
+        retention_policies = {}
+
+        for room_id in room_ids:
+            retention_policies[
+                room_id
+            ] = yield storage.main.get_retention_policy_for_room(room_id)
+
     def allowed(event):
         """
         Args:
@@ -103,6 +121,18 @@ def filter_events_for_client(
         if not event.is_state() and event.sender in ignore_list:
             return None
 
+        # Don't try to apply the room's retention policy if the event is a state event, as
+        # MSC1763 states that retention is only considered for non-state events.
+        if apply_retention_policies and not event.is_state():
+            retention_policy = retention_policies[event.room_id]
+            max_lifetime = retention_policy.get("max_lifetime")
+
+            if max_lifetime is not None:
+                oldest_allowed_ts = storage.main.clock.time_msec() - max_lifetime
+
+                if event.origin_server_ts < oldest_allowed_ts:
+                    return None
+
         if event.event_id in always_include_ids:
             return event