diff --git a/stream-multiplexer/egress.go b/stream-multiplexer/egress.go
index 4df115b93..7f9aa0c13 100644
--- a/stream-multiplexer/egress.go
+++ b/stream-multiplexer/egress.go
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ import (
 
 // EgressServer takes data from a go channel and recreates the multiplexed TCP streams
 type EgressServer struct {
-	activeConnections map[string]*MultiplexedConnection
+	activeConnections map[uint32]*MultiplexedConnection
 	maxMessageSize    int
 	maxPayloadSize    int
 	upstreamChan      chan []byte
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ func StartEgressHandler(serverAddress string, maxMessageSize int, upstreamChan c
 	eg.upstreamChan = upstreamChan
 	eg.downstreamChan = downstreamChan
 	eg.stopChan = stopChan
-	eg.activeConnections = make(map[string]*MultiplexedConnection)
+	eg.activeConnections = make(map[uint32]*MultiplexedConnection)
 	eg.verbose = verbose
 
 	if verbose {
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ func StartEgressHandler(serverAddress string, maxMessageSize int, upstreamChan c
 			continue
 		}
 
-		ID := string(dataRead[0:4])
+		ID := binary.BigEndian.Uint32(dataRead[0:4])
 		size := int(binary.BigEndian.Uint32(dataRead[4:8]))
 		data := dataRead[8:]
 
@@ -72,11 +72,11 @@ func StartEgressHandler(serverAddress string, maxMessageSize int, upstreamChan c
 					serverAddress, "? You need one!", err)
 				continue
 			} else {
-
 				mc := new(MultiplexedConnection)
 				mc.conn = c
 				mc.ID = ID
-				mc.ID_bytes = []byte(ID)
+				mc.ID_bytes = make([]byte, 4)
+				binary.BigEndian.PutUint32(mc.ID_bytes, ID)
 				mc.stopChan = make(chan bool, 1)
 				mc.maxMessageLength = eg.maxMessageSize
 
diff --git a/stream-multiplexer/ingress.go b/stream-multiplexer/ingress.go
index 488723151..0bc07bed7 100644
--- a/stream-multiplexer/ingress.go
+++ b/stream-multiplexer/ingress.go
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ import (
 
 	"strconv"
 
-	"bytes"
 	"crypto/rand"
 	"encoding/binary"
 	"encoding/hex"
@@ -22,7 +21,7 @@ const MULTIPLEXER_HEADER_SIZE = 8
 // MultiplexedConnection represents a TCP connections to which we assigned
 // a stream ID
 type MultiplexedConnection struct {
-	ID               string
+	ID               uint32
 	ID_bytes         []byte
 	conn             net.Conn
 	stopChan         chan bool
@@ -33,7 +32,7 @@ type MultiplexedConnection struct {
 // over go channels
 type IngressServer struct {
 	activeConnectionsLock sync.Locker
-	activeConnections     []*MultiplexedConnection
+	activeConnections     map[uint32]*MultiplexedConnection
 	socketListener        *net.TCPListener
 	maxMessageSize        int
 	maxPayloadSize        int
@@ -53,7 +52,7 @@ func StartIngressServer(port int, maxMessageSize int, upstreamChan chan []byte,
 	ig.stopChan = stopChan
 	ig.maxPayloadSize = maxMessageSize - MULTIPLEXER_HEADER_SIZE //we use 8 bytes for the multiplexing
 	ig.activeConnectionsLock = new(sync.Mutex)
-	ig.activeConnections = make([]*MultiplexedConnection, 0)
+	ig.activeConnections = make(map[uint32]*MultiplexedConnection)
 	ig.verbose = verbose
 	if verbose {
 		log.Lvl1("Ingress Server in verbose mode")
@@ -111,14 +110,14 @@ func StartIngressServer(port int, maxMessageSize int, upstreamChan chan []byte,
 		mc := new(MultiplexedConnection)
 		mc.conn = conn
 		mc.ID = id
-		ID_bytes := []byte(id)
-		mc.ID_bytes = ID_bytes[0:4]
+		mc.ID_bytes = make([]byte, 4)
+		binary.BigEndian.PutUint32(mc.ID_bytes, id)
 		mc.stopChan = make(chan bool, 1)
 		mc.maxMessageLength = ig.maxMessageSize
 
 		// lock the list before editing it
 		ig.activeConnectionsLock.Lock()
-		ig.activeConnections = append(ig.activeConnections, mc)
+		ig.activeConnections[id] = mc // TODO: IDs are generated by sampling 32 random bit, but they still may collide.
 		ig.activeConnectionsLock.Unlock()
 
 		// starts a handler that pours "mc.connection" into upstreamChan
@@ -150,15 +149,13 @@ func (ig *IngressServer) multiplexedChannelReader() {
 			data = data[0:length]
 		}
 
+		IDKey := binary.BigEndian.Uint32(ID)
+
 		ig.activeConnectionsLock.Lock()
-		for _, v := range ig.activeConnections {
-			if bytes.Equal(v.ID_bytes, ID) {
-				v.conn.Write(data)
-				break
-			}
+		if val, ok := ig.activeConnections[IDKey]; ok && (val != nil) && (val.conn != nil) {
+			val.conn.Write(data)
 		}
 		ig.activeConnectionsLock.Unlock()
-
 	}
 }
 
@@ -188,7 +185,7 @@ func (ig *IngressServer) ingressConnectionReader(mc *MultiplexedConnection) {
 				return
 			}
 
-			log.Error("Ingress server: connectionReader error,", err)
+			log.Error("Ingress server: connectionReader error,", mc.ID, err)
 			return
 		}
 
@@ -207,9 +204,9 @@ func (ig *IngressServer) ingressConnectionReader(mc *MultiplexedConnection) {
 }
 
 //generateID generates an ID from a private key
-func generateRandomID() string {
+func generateRandomID() uint32 {
 	var n uint32
-	binary.Read(rand.Reader, binary.LittleEndian, &n)
+	binary.Read(rand.Reader, binary.BigEndian, &n)
 
-	return strconv.Itoa(int(n))
+	return n
 }