diff --git a/conf/checker.conf b/conf/checker.conf
index 2d1c620..6e30963 100644
--- a/conf/checker.conf
+++ b/conf/checker.conf
@@ -2,3 +2,5 @@ include = /etc/py-i2phosts/common.conf
 
 log_level = info # debug, info, warning, error, critical
 log_file = /var/log/py-i2phosts/checker.log
+
+sam_addr = 127.0.0.1:7656
diff --git a/py-i2phosts-checker b/py-i2phosts-checker
index 434c72c..dc98c5d 100755
--- a/py-i2phosts-checker
+++ b/py-i2phosts-checker
@@ -50,7 +50,14 @@ log = get_logger(log_level=log_level)
 
 all_hosts = i2phost.objects.all()
 
-S = samclasses.BaseSession('127.0.0.1:7656')
+# determine SAM interface address
+if sam_addr in config:
+	sam_addr = config['sam_addr']
+else:
+	log.warning('SAM address isn\'t specified in config, falling back to localhost')
+	sam_addr = '127.0.0.1:7656'
+S = samclasses.BaseSession(sam_addr)
+
 log.info('starting check')
 for host in all_hosts:
 	log.debug('testing %s', host.name)