diff --git a/swift/common/middleware/symlink.py b/swift/common/middleware/symlink.py
index fbf035a4af..9b6172aeea 100644
--- a/swift/common/middleware/symlink.py
+++ b/swift/common/middleware/symlink.py
@@ -199,12 +199,7 @@ def _check_symlink_header(req):
     # validation first, here.
     error_body = 'X-Symlink-Target header must be of the form ' \
                  '<container name>/<object name>'
-    try:
-        if wsgi_unquote(req.headers[TGT_OBJ_SYMLINK_HDR]).startswith('/'):
-            raise HTTPPreconditionFailed(
-                body=error_body,
-                request=req, content_type='text/plain')
-    except TypeError:
+    if wsgi_unquote(req.headers[TGT_OBJ_SYMLINK_HDR]).startswith('/'):
         raise HTTPPreconditionFailed(
             body=error_body,
             request=req, content_type='text/plain')
@@ -216,14 +211,9 @@ def _check_symlink_header(req):
     req.headers[TGT_OBJ_SYMLINK_HDR] = wsgi_quote('%s/%s' % (container, obj))
 
     # Check account format if it exists
-    try:
-        account = check_account_format(
-            req, wsgi_unquote(req.headers[TGT_ACCT_SYMLINK_HDR])) \
-            if TGT_ACCT_SYMLINK_HDR in req.headers else None
-    except TypeError:
-        raise HTTPPreconditionFailed(
-            body='Account name cannot contain slashes',
-            request=req, content_type='text/plain')
+    account = check_account_format(
+        req, wsgi_unquote(req.headers[TGT_ACCT_SYMLINK_HDR])) \
+        if TGT_ACCT_SYMLINK_HDR in req.headers else None
 
     # Extract request path
     _junk, req_acc, req_cont, req_obj = req.split_path(4, 4, True)
diff --git a/test/functional/test_dlo.py b/test/functional/test_dlo.py
index 5018d246ec..daeda94b53 100644
--- a/test/functional/test_dlo.py
+++ b/test/functional/test_dlo.py
@@ -40,42 +40,40 @@ class TestDloEnv(BaseEnv):
             if not cont.create():
                 raise ResponseError(cls.conn.response)
 
-        # avoid getting a prefix that stops halfway through an encoded
-        # character
-        prefix = Utils.create_name().decode("utf-8")[:10].encode("utf-8")
+        prefix = Utils.create_name(10)
         cls.segment_prefix = prefix
 
         for letter in ('a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e'):
             file_item = cls.container.file("%s/seg_lower%s" % (prefix, letter))
-            file_item.write(letter * 10)
+            file_item.write(letter.encode('ascii') * 10)
 
             file_item = cls.container.file(
                 "%s/seg_upper_%%ff%s" % (prefix, letter))
-            file_item.write(letter.upper() * 10)
+            file_item.write(letter.upper().encode('ascii') * 10)
 
         for letter in ('f', 'g', 'h', 'i', 'j'):
             file_item = cls.container2.file("%s/seg_lower%s" %
                                             (prefix, letter))
-            file_item.write(letter * 10)
+            file_item.write(letter.encode('ascii') * 10)
 
         man1 = cls.container.file("man1")
-        man1.write('man1-contents',
+        man1.write(b'man1-contents',
                    hdrs={"X-Object-Manifest": "%s/%s/seg_lower" %
                          (cls.container.name, prefix)})
 
         man2 = cls.container.file("man2")
-        man2.write('man2-contents',
+        man2.write(b'man2-contents',
                    hdrs={"X-Object-Manifest": "%s/%s/seg_upper_%%25ff" %
                          (cls.container.name, prefix)})
 
         manall = cls.container.file("manall")
-        manall.write('manall-contents',
+        manall.write(b'manall-contents',
                      hdrs={"X-Object-Manifest": "%s/%s/seg" %
                            (cls.container.name, prefix)})
 
         mancont2 = cls.container.file("mancont2")
         mancont2.write(
-            'mancont2-contents',
+            b'mancont2-contents',
             hdrs={"X-Object-Manifest": "%s/%s/seg_lower" %
                                        (cls.container2.name, prefix)})
 
diff --git a/test/functional/test_slo.py b/test/functional/test_slo.py
index 4ab2bda0a0..72dec5b185 100644
--- a/test/functional/test_slo.py
+++ b/test/functional/test_slo.py
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ class TestSloEnv(BaseEnv):
                              ('e', 1)):
             seg_name = "seg_%s" % letter
             file_item = container.file(seg_name)
-            file_item.write(letter * size)
+            file_item.write(letter.encode('ascii') * size)
             seg_info[seg_name] = {
                 'size_bytes': size,
                 'etag': file_item.md5,
@@ -93,24 +93,26 @@ class TestSloEnv(BaseEnv):
         file_item.write(
             json.dumps([seg_info['seg_a'], seg_info['seg_b'],
                         seg_info['seg_c'], seg_info['seg_d'],
-                        seg_info['seg_e']]),
+                        seg_info['seg_e']]).encode('ascii'),
             parms={'multipart-manifest': 'put'})
 
-        cls.container.file('seg_with_%ff_funky_name').write('z' * 10)
+        cls.container.file('seg_with_%ff_funky_name').write(b'z' * 10)
 
         # Put the same manifest in the container2
         file_item = cls.container2.file("manifest-abcde")
         file_item.write(
             json.dumps([seg_info['seg_a'], seg_info['seg_b'],
                         seg_info['seg_c'], seg_info['seg_d'],
-                        seg_info['seg_e']]),
+                        seg_info['seg_e']]).encode('ascii'),
             parms={'multipart-manifest': 'put'})
 
         file_item = cls.container.file('manifest-cd')
-        cd_json = json.dumps([seg_info['seg_c'], seg_info['seg_d']])
+        cd_json = json.dumps([
+            seg_info['seg_c'], seg_info['seg_d']]).encode('ascii')
         file_item.write(cd_json, parms={'multipart-manifest': 'put'})
-        cd_etag = hashlib.md5(seg_info['seg_c']['etag'] +
-                              seg_info['seg_d']['etag']).hexdigest()
+        cd_etag = hashlib.md5((
+            seg_info['seg_c']['etag'] + seg_info['seg_d']['etag']
+        ).encode('ascii')).hexdigest()
 
         file_item = cls.container.file("manifest-bcd-submanifest")
         file_item.write(
@@ -119,10 +121,10 @@ class TestSloEnv(BaseEnv):
                          'size_bytes': (seg_info['seg_c']['size_bytes'] +
                                         seg_info['seg_d']['size_bytes']),
                          'path': '/%s/%s' % (cls.container.name,
-                                             'manifest-cd')}]),
+                                             'manifest-cd')}]).encode('ascii'),
             parms={'multipart-manifest': 'put'})
-        bcd_submanifest_etag = hashlib.md5(
-            seg_info['seg_b']['etag'] + cd_etag).hexdigest()
+        bcd_submanifest_etag = hashlib.md5((
+            seg_info['seg_b']['etag'] + cd_etag).encode('ascii')).hexdigest()
 
         file_item = cls.container.file("manifest-abcde-submanifest")
         file_item.write(
@@ -134,11 +136,11 @@ class TestSloEnv(BaseEnv):
                                 seg_info['seg_d']['size_bytes']),
                  'path': '/%s/%s' % (cls.container.name,
                                      'manifest-bcd-submanifest')},
-                seg_info['seg_e']]),
+                seg_info['seg_e']]).encode('ascii'),
             parms={'multipart-manifest': 'put'})
-        abcde_submanifest_etag = hashlib.md5(
+        abcde_submanifest_etag = hashlib.md5((
             seg_info['seg_a']['etag'] + bcd_submanifest_etag +
-            seg_info['seg_e']['etag']).hexdigest()
+            seg_info['seg_e']['etag']).encode('ascii')).hexdigest()
         abcde_submanifest_size = (seg_info['seg_a']['size_bytes'] +
                                   seg_info['seg_b']['size_bytes'] +
                                   seg_info['seg_c']['size_bytes'] +
@@ -162,12 +164,13 @@ class TestSloEnv(BaseEnv):
                  'size_bytes': abcde_submanifest_size,
                  'path': '/%s/%s' % (cls.container.name,
                                      'manifest-abcde-submanifest'),
-                 'range': '3145727-3145728'}]),  # 'cd'
+                 'range': '3145727-3145728'}]).encode('ascii'),  # 'cd'
             parms={'multipart-manifest': 'put'})
-        ranged_manifest_etag = hashlib.md5(
+        ranged_manifest_etag = hashlib.md5((
             abcde_submanifest_etag + ':3145727-4194304;' +
             abcde_submanifest_etag + ':524288-1572863;' +
-            abcde_submanifest_etag + ':3145727-3145728;').hexdigest()
+            abcde_submanifest_etag + ':3145727-3145728;'
+        ).encode('ascii')).hexdigest()
         ranged_manifest_size = 2 * 1024 * 1024 + 4
 
         file_item = cls.container.file("ranged-submanifest")
@@ -187,7 +190,7 @@ class TestSloEnv(BaseEnv):
                  'size_bytes': ranged_manifest_size,
                  'path': '/%s/%s' % (cls.container.name,
                                      'ranged-manifest'),
-                 'range': '-3'}]),
+                 'range': '-3'}]).encode('ascii'),
             parms={'multipart-manifest': 'put'})
 
         file_item = cls.container.file("manifest-db")
@@ -197,7 +200,7 @@ class TestSloEnv(BaseEnv):
                  'size_bytes': None},
                 {'path': seg_info['seg_b']['path'], 'etag': None,
                  'size_bytes': None},
-            ]), parms={'multipart-manifest': 'put'})
+            ]).encode('ascii'), parms={'multipart-manifest': 'put'})
 
         file_item = cls.container.file("ranged-manifest-repeated-segment")
         file_item.write(
@@ -208,20 +211,20 @@ class TestSloEnv(BaseEnv):
                  'size_bytes': None},
                 {'path': seg_info['seg_b']['path'], 'etag': None,
                  'size_bytes': None, 'range': '-1048578'},
-            ]), parms={'multipart-manifest': 'put'})
+            ]).encode('ascii'), parms={'multipart-manifest': 'put'})
 
         file_item = cls.container.file("mixed-object-data-manifest")
         file_item.write(
             json.dumps([
-                {'data': base64.b64encode('APRE' * 8)},
+                {'data': base64.b64encode(b'APRE' * 8).decode('ascii')},
                 {'path': seg_info['seg_a']['path']},
-                {'data': base64.b64encode('APOS' * 16)},
+                {'data': base64.b64encode(b'APOS' * 16).decode('ascii')},
                 {'path': seg_info['seg_b']['path']},
-                {'data': base64.b64encode('BPOS' * 32)},
-                {'data': base64.b64encode('CPRE' * 64)},
+                {'data': base64.b64encode(b'BPOS' * 32).decode('ascii')},
+                {'data': base64.b64encode(b'CPRE' * 64).decode('ascii')},
                 {'path': seg_info['seg_c']['path']},
-                {'data': base64.b64encode('CPOS' * 8)},
-            ]), parms={'multipart-manifest': 'put'}
+                {'data': base64.b64encode(b'CPOS' * 8).decode('ascii')},
+            ]).encode('ascii'), parms={'multipart-manifest': 'put'}
         )
 
         file_item = cls.container.file("nested-data-manifest")
@@ -229,7 +232,7 @@ class TestSloEnv(BaseEnv):
             json.dumps([
                 {'path': '%s/%s' % (cls.container.name,
                                     "mixed-object-data-manifest")}
-            ]), parms={'multipart-manifest': 'put'}
+            ]).encode('ascii'), parms={'multipart-manifest': 'put'}
         )
 
 
diff --git a/test/functional/test_symlink.py b/test/functional/test_symlink.py
index 721b449741..2f3454bcaf 100755
--- a/test/functional/test_symlink.py
+++ b/test/functional/test_symlink.py
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import hmac
 import unittest2
 import itertools
 import hashlib
+import six
 import time
 
 from six.moves import urllib
@@ -35,8 +36,9 @@ from test.functional.test_tempurl import TestContainerTempurlEnv, \
     TestTempurlEnv
 from test.functional.swift_test_client import ResponseError
 import test.functional as tf
+from test.unit import group_by_byte
 
-TARGET_BODY = 'target body'
+TARGET_BODY = b'target body'
 
 
 def setUpModule():
@@ -76,7 +78,7 @@ class TestSymlinkEnv(BaseEnv):
 
     @classmethod
     def _make_request(cls, url, token, parsed, conn, method,
-                      container, obj='', headers=None, body='',
+                      container, obj='', headers=None, body=b'',
                       query_args=None):
         headers = headers or {}
         headers.update({'X-Auth-Token': token})
@@ -179,7 +181,7 @@ class TestSymlink(Base):
         self.env.tearDown()
 
     def _make_request(self, url, token, parsed, conn, method,
-                      container, obj='', headers=None, body='',
+                      container, obj='', headers=None, body=b'',
                       query_args=None, allow_redirects=True):
         headers = headers or {}
         headers.update({'X-Auth-Token': token})
@@ -195,7 +197,7 @@ class TestSymlink(Base):
         return resp
 
     def _make_request_with_symlink_get(self, url, token, parsed, conn, method,
-                                       container, obj, headers=None, body=''):
+                                       container, obj, headers=None, body=b''):
         resp = self._make_request(
             url, token, parsed, conn, method, container, obj, headers, body,
             query_args='symlink=get')
@@ -245,7 +247,7 @@ class TestSymlink(Base):
             self._make_request_with_symlink_get, method='GET',
             container=link_cont, obj=link_obj, use_account=use_account)
         self.assertEqual(resp.status, 200)
-        self.assertEqual(resp.content, '')
+        self.assertEqual(resp.content, b'')
         self.assertEqual(resp.getheader('content-length'), str(0))
         self.assertTrue(resp.getheader('x-symlink-target'))
 
@@ -333,7 +335,7 @@ class TestSymlink(Base):
                      container=self.env.link_cont, obj=link_obj,
                      headers=headers)
         self.assertEqual(resp.status, 206)
-        self.assertEqual(resp.content, 'body')
+        self.assertEqual(resp.content, b'body')
 
     def test_create_symlink_before_target(self):
         link_obj = uuid4().hex
@@ -431,7 +433,7 @@ class TestSymlink(Base):
                      container=container,
                      obj=too_many_chain_link)
         self.assertEqual(resp.status, 409)
-        self.assertEqual(resp.content, '')
+        self.assertEqual(resp.content, b'')
 
         # try to GET to target object via too_many_chain_link
         resp = retry(self._make_request, method='GET',
@@ -440,7 +442,7 @@ class TestSymlink(Base):
         self.assertEqual(resp.status, 409)
         self.assertEqual(
             resp.content,
-            'Too many levels of symbolic links, maximum allowed is %d' %
+            b'Too many levels of symbolic links, maximum allowed is %d' %
             symloop_max)
 
         # However, HEAD/GET to the (just) link is still ok
@@ -522,7 +524,7 @@ class TestSymlink(Base):
 
         resp = retry(self._make_request, method='PUT',
                      container=container, obj=too_many_recursion_manifest,
-                     body=manifest,
+                     body=manifest.encode('ascii'),
                      query_args='multipart-manifest=put')
         self.assertEqual(resp.status, 201)  # sanity
 
@@ -533,8 +535,8 @@ class TestSymlink(Base):
         # N.B. This error message is from slo middleware that uses default.
         self.assertEqual(
             resp.content,
-            '<html><h1>Conflict</h1><p>There was a conflict when trying to'
-            ' complete your request.</p></html>')
+            b'<html><h1>Conflict</h1><p>There was a conflict when trying to'
+            b' complete your request.</p></html>')
 
     def test_symlink_put_missing_target_container(self):
         link_obj = uuid4().hex
@@ -546,8 +548,8 @@ class TestSymlink(Base):
                      headers=headers)
         self.assertEqual(resp.status, 412)
         self.assertEqual(resp.content,
-                         'X-Symlink-Target header must be of the form'
-                         ' <container name>/<object name>')
+                         b'X-Symlink-Target header must be of the form'
+                         b' <container name>/<object name>')
 
     def test_symlink_put_non_zero_length(self):
         link_obj = uuid4().hex
@@ -559,7 +561,7 @@ class TestSymlink(Base):
 
         self.assertEqual(resp.status, 400)
         self.assertEqual(resp.content,
-                         'Symlink requests require a zero byte body')
+                         b'Symlink requests require a zero byte body')
 
     def test_symlink_target_itself(self):
         link_obj = uuid4().hex
@@ -569,7 +571,7 @@ class TestSymlink(Base):
                      container=self.env.link_cont, obj=link_obj,
                      headers=headers)
         self.assertEqual(resp.status, 400)
-        self.assertEqual(resp.content, 'Symlink cannot target itself')
+        self.assertEqual(resp.content, b'Symlink cannot target itself')
 
     def test_symlink_target_each_other(self):
         symloop_max = cluster_info['symlink']['symloop_max']
@@ -599,7 +601,7 @@ class TestSymlink(Base):
             self.assertEqual(resp.status, 409)
             self.assertEqual(
                 resp.content,
-                'Too many levels of symbolic links, maximum allowed is %d' %
+                b'Too many levels of symbolic links, maximum allowed is %d' %
                 symloop_max)
 
     def test_symlink_put_copy_from(self):
@@ -828,7 +830,7 @@ class TestSymlink(Base):
             obj=self.env.tgt_obj, headers=headers, allow_redirects=False)
         self.assertEqual(resp.status, 400)
         self.assertEqual(resp.content,
-                         'A PUT request is required to set a symlink target')
+                         b'A PUT request is required to set a symlink target')
 
     def test_overwrite_symlink(self):
         link_obj = uuid4().hex
@@ -1010,41 +1012,39 @@ class TestSymlinkSlo(Base):
         self.file_symlink.write(hdrs={'X-Symlink-Target':
                                 '%s/%s' % (self.env.container.name,
                                            'manifest-abcde')})
-        file_contents = self.file_symlink.read()
-        self.assertEqual(4 * 1024 * 1024 + 1, len(file_contents))
-        self.assertEqual('a', file_contents[0])
-        self.assertEqual('a', file_contents[1024 * 1024 - 1])
-        self.assertEqual('b', file_contents[1024 * 1024])
-        self.assertEqual('d', file_contents[-2])
-        self.assertEqual('e', file_contents[-1])
+        self.assertEqual([
+            (b'a', 1024 * 1024),
+            (b'b', 1024 * 1024),
+            (b'c', 1024 * 1024),
+            (b'd', 1024 * 1024),
+            (b'e', 1),
+        ], group_by_byte(self.file_symlink.read()))
 
     def test_symlink_target_slo_nested_manifest(self):
         self.file_symlink.write(hdrs={'X-Symlink-Target':
                                 '%s/%s' % (self.env.container.name,
                                            'manifest-abcde-submanifest')})
-        file_contents = self.file_symlink.read()
-        self.assertEqual(4 * 1024 * 1024 + 1, len(file_contents))
-        self.assertEqual('a', file_contents[0])
-        self.assertEqual('a', file_contents[1024 * 1024 - 1])
-        self.assertEqual('b', file_contents[1024 * 1024])
-        self.assertEqual('d', file_contents[-2])
-        self.assertEqual('e', file_contents[-1])
+        self.assertEqual([
+            (b'a', 1024 * 1024),
+            (b'b', 1024 * 1024),
+            (b'c', 1024 * 1024),
+            (b'd', 1024 * 1024),
+            (b'e', 1),
+        ], group_by_byte(self.file_symlink.read()))
 
     def test_slo_get_ranged_manifest(self):
         self.file_symlink.write(hdrs={'X-Symlink-Target':
                                 '%s/%s' % (self.env.container.name,
                                            'ranged-manifest')})
-        grouped_file_contents = [
-            (char, sum(1 for _char in grp))
-            for char, grp in itertools.groupby(self.file_symlink.read())]
         self.assertEqual([
-            ('c', 1),
-            ('d', 1024 * 1024),
-            ('e', 1),
-            ('a', 512 * 1024),
-            ('b', 512 * 1024),
-            ('c', 1),
-            ('d', 1)], grouped_file_contents)
+            (b'c', 1),
+            (b'd', 1024 * 1024),
+            (b'e', 1),
+            (b'a', 512 * 1024),
+            (b'b', 512 * 1024),
+            (b'c', 1),
+            (b'd', 1),
+        ], group_by_byte(self.file_symlink.read()))
 
     def test_slo_ranged_get(self):
         self.file_symlink.write(hdrs={'X-Symlink-Target':
@@ -1052,10 +1052,11 @@ class TestSymlinkSlo(Base):
                                            'manifest-abcde')})
         file_contents = self.file_symlink.read(size=1024 * 1024 + 2,
                                                offset=1024 * 1024 - 1)
-        self.assertEqual('a', file_contents[0])
-        self.assertEqual('b', file_contents[1])
-        self.assertEqual('b', file_contents[-2])
-        self.assertEqual('c', file_contents[-1])
+        self.assertEqual([
+            (b'a', 1),
+            (b'b', 1024 * 1024),
+            (b'c', 1),
+        ], group_by_byte(file_contents))
 
 
 class TestSymlinkSloEnv(TestSloEnv):
@@ -1081,7 +1082,7 @@ class TestSymlinkSloEnv(TestSloEnv):
         file_item = cls.container.file("manifest-linkto-ab")
         file_item.write(
             json.dumps([cls.link_seg_info['linkto_seg_a'],
-                        cls.link_seg_info['linkto_seg_b']]),
+                        cls.link_seg_info['linkto_seg_b']]).encode('ascii'),
             parms={'multipart-manifest': 'put'})
 
 
@@ -1106,18 +1107,18 @@ class TestSymlinkToSloSegments(Base):
 
     def test_slo_get_simple_manifest_with_links(self):
         file_item = self.env.container.file("manifest-linkto-ab")
-        file_contents = file_item.read()
-        self.assertEqual(2 * 1024 * 1024, len(file_contents))
-        self.assertEqual('a', file_contents[0])
-        self.assertEqual('a', file_contents[1024 * 1024 - 1])
-        self.assertEqual('b', file_contents[1024 * 1024])
+        self.assertEqual([
+            (b'a', 1024 * 1024),
+            (b'b', 1024 * 1024),
+        ], group_by_byte(file_item.read()))
 
     def test_slo_container_listing(self):
         # the listing object size should equal the sum of the size of the
         # segments, not the size of the manifest body
         file_item = self.env.container.file(Utils.create_name())
         file_item.write(
-            json.dumps([self.env.link_seg_info['linkto_seg_a']]),
+            json.dumps([
+                self.env.link_seg_info['linkto_seg_a']]).encode('ascii'),
             parms={'multipart-manifest': 'put'})
 
         # The container listing has the etag of the actual manifest object
@@ -1182,8 +1183,10 @@ class TestSymlinkToSloSegments(Base):
 
     def test_slo_etag_is_hash_of_etags(self):
         expected_hash = hashlib.md5()
-        expected_hash.update(hashlib.md5('a' * 1024 * 1024).hexdigest())
-        expected_hash.update(hashlib.md5('b' * 1024 * 1024).hexdigest())
+        expected_hash.update(hashlib.md5(
+            b'a' * 1024 * 1024).hexdigest().encode('ascii'))
+        expected_hash.update(hashlib.md5(
+            b'b' * 1024 * 1024).hexdigest().encode('ascii'))
         expected_etag = expected_hash.hexdigest()
 
         file_item = self.env.container.file('manifest-linkto-ab')
@@ -1194,8 +1197,10 @@ class TestSymlinkToSloSegments(Base):
         file_item.copy(self.env.container.name, "copied-abcde")
 
         copied = self.env.container.file("copied-abcde")
-        copied_contents = copied.read(parms={'multipart-manifest': 'get'})
-        self.assertEqual(2 * 1024 * 1024, len(copied_contents))
+        self.assertEqual([
+            (b'a', 1024 * 1024),
+            (b'b', 1024 * 1024),
+        ], group_by_byte(copied.read(parms={'multipart-manifest': 'get'})))
 
     def test_slo_copy_the_manifest(self):
         # first just perform some tests of the contents of the manifest itself
@@ -1270,31 +1275,44 @@ class TestSymlinkDlo(Base):
                            '%s/%s' % (self.env.container.name,
                                       'man1')})
 
-        file_contents = file_symlink.read()
-        self.assertEqual(
-            file_contents,
-            "aaaaaaaaaabbbbbbbbbbccccccccccddddddddddeeeeeeeeee")
+        self.assertEqual([
+            (b'a', 10),
+            (b'b', 10),
+            (b'c', 10),
+            (b'd', 10),
+            (b'e', 10),
+        ], group_by_byte(file_symlink.read()))
 
         link_obj = uuid4().hex
         file_symlink = self.env.container.file(link_obj)
         file_symlink.write(hdrs={'X-Symlink-Target':
                            '%s/%s' % (self.env.container.name,
                                       'man2')})
-        file_contents = file_symlink.read()
-        self.assertEqual(
-            file_contents,
-            "AAAAAAAAAABBBBBBBBBBCCCCCCCCCCDDDDDDDDDDEEEEEEEEEE")
+        self.assertEqual([
+            (b'A', 10),
+            (b'B', 10),
+            (b'C', 10),
+            (b'D', 10),
+            (b'E', 10),
+        ], group_by_byte(file_symlink.read()))
 
         link_obj = uuid4().hex
         file_symlink = self.env.container.file(link_obj)
         file_symlink.write(hdrs={'X-Symlink-Target':
                            '%s/%s' % (self.env.container.name,
                                       'manall')})
-        file_contents = file_symlink.read()
-        self.assertEqual(
-            file_contents,
-            ("aaaaaaaaaabbbbbbbbbbccccccccccddddddddddeeeeeeeeee" +
-             "AAAAAAAAAABBBBBBBBBBCCCCCCCCCCDDDDDDDDDDEEEEEEEEEE"))
+        self.assertEqual([
+            (b'a', 10),
+            (b'b', 10),
+            (b'c', 10),
+            (b'd', 10),
+            (b'e', 10),
+            (b'A', 10),
+            (b'B', 10),
+            (b'C', 10),
+            (b'D', 10),
+            (b'E', 10),
+        ], group_by_byte(file_symlink.read()))
 
     def test_get_manifest_document_itself(self):
         link_obj = uuid4().hex
@@ -1303,7 +1321,7 @@ class TestSymlinkDlo(Base):
                            '%s/%s' % (self.env.container.name,
                                       'man1')})
         file_contents = file_symlink.read(parms={'multipart-manifest': 'get'})
-        self.assertEqual(file_contents, "man1-contents")
+        self.assertEqual(file_contents, b"man1-contents")
         self.assertEqual(file_symlink.info()['x_object_manifest'],
                          "%s/%s/seg_lower" %
                          (self.env.container.name, self.env.segment_prefix))
@@ -1314,11 +1332,15 @@ class TestSymlinkDlo(Base):
         file_symlink.write(hdrs={'X-Symlink-Target':
                            '%s/%s' % (self.env.container.name,
                                       'man1')})
-        file_contents = file_symlink.read(size=25, offset=8)
-        self.assertEqual(file_contents, "aabbbbbbbbbbccccccccccddd")
+        self.assertEqual([
+            (b'a', 2),
+            (b'b', 10),
+            (b'c', 10),
+            (b'd', 3),
+        ], group_by_byte(file_symlink.read(size=25, offset=8)))
 
         file_contents = file_symlink.read(size=1, offset=47)
-        self.assertEqual(file_contents, "e")
+        self.assertEqual(file_contents, b"e")
 
     def test_get_range_out_of_range(self):
         link_obj = uuid4().hex
@@ -1373,7 +1395,7 @@ class TestSymlinkTargetObjectComparison(Base):
             if self.env.expect_body:
                 self.assertTrue(body)
             else:
-                self.assertEqual('', body)
+                self.assertEqual(b'', body)
             self.assert_status(200)
             self.assert_header('etag', md5)
 
@@ -1395,7 +1417,7 @@ class TestSymlinkTargetObjectComparison(Base):
             if self.env.expect_body:
                 self.assertTrue(body)
             else:
-                self.assertEqual('', body)
+                self.assertEqual(b'', body)
             self.assert_status(200)
             self.assert_header('etag', md5)
 
@@ -1417,7 +1439,7 @@ class TestSymlinkTargetObjectComparison(Base):
             if self.env.expect_body:
                 self.assertTrue(body)
             else:
-                self.assertEqual('', body)
+                self.assertEqual(b'', body)
             self.assert_status(200)
             self.assert_header('etag', md5)
 
@@ -1440,7 +1462,7 @@ class TestSymlinkTargetObjectComparison(Base):
             if self.env.expect_body:
                 self.assertTrue(body)
             else:
-                self.assertEqual('', body)
+                self.assertEqual(b'', body)
             self.assert_status(200)
             self.assert_header('etag', md5)
 
@@ -1464,7 +1486,7 @@ class TestSymlinkTargetObjectComparison(Base):
             if self.env.expect_body:
                 self.assertTrue(body)
             else:
-                self.assertEqual('', body)
+                self.assertEqual(b'', body)
             self.assert_status(200)
             self.assert_header('etag', md5)
             self.assertTrue(file_symlink.info(hdrs=hdrs, parms=self.env.parms))
@@ -1493,7 +1515,7 @@ class TestSymlinkTargetObjectComparison(Base):
             if self.env.expect_body:
                 self.assertTrue(body)
             else:
-                self.assertEqual('', body)
+                self.assertEqual(b'', body)
             self.assert_status(200)
             self.assert_header('etag', md5)
             self.assertTrue(file_symlink.info(hdrs=hdrs, parms=self.env.parms))
@@ -1521,7 +1543,7 @@ class TestSymlinkTargetObjectComparison(Base):
             if self.env.expect_body:
                 self.assertTrue(body)
             else:
-                self.assertEqual('', body)
+                self.assertEqual(b'', body)
             self.assert_status(200)
             self.assert_header('etag', md5)
 
@@ -1600,7 +1622,7 @@ class TestSymlinkComparison(TestSymlinkTargetObjectComparison):
 
         hdrs = {'If-Modified-Since': put_target_last_modified}
         body = file_symlink.read(hdrs=hdrs, parms=self.env.parms)
-        self.assertEqual('', body)
+        self.assertEqual(b'', body)
         self.assert_status(200)
         self.assert_header('etag', md5)
 
@@ -1613,7 +1635,7 @@ class TestSymlinkComparison(TestSymlinkTargetObjectComparison):
 
         hdrs = {'If-Unmodified-Since': last_modified}
         body = file_symlink.read(hdrs=hdrs, parms=self.env.parms)
-        self.assertEqual('', body)
+        self.assertEqual(b'', body)
         self.assert_status(200)
         self.assert_header('etag', md5)
 
@@ -1644,9 +1666,14 @@ class TestSymlinkAccountTempurl(Base):
             self.env.tempurl_key)
 
     def tempurl_parms(self, method, expires, path, key):
+        path = urllib.parse.unquote(path)
+        if not six.PY2:
+            method = method.encode('utf8')
+            path = path.encode('utf8')
+            key = key.encode('utf8')
         sig = hmac.new(
             key,
-            '%s\n%s\n%s' % (method, expires, urllib.parse.unquote(path)),
+            b'%s\n%d\n%s' % (method, expires, path),
             self.digest).hexdigest()
         return {'temp_url_sig': sig, 'temp_url_expires': str(expires)}
 
@@ -1662,7 +1689,7 @@ class TestSymlinkAccountTempurl(Base):
         # try to create symlink object
         try:
             new_sym.write(
-                '', {'x-symlink-target': 'cont/foo'}, parms=put_parms,
+                b'', {'x-symlink-target': 'cont/foo'}, parms=put_parms,
                 cfg={'no_auth_token': True})
         except ResponseError as e:
             self.assertEqual(e.status, 400)
@@ -1672,9 +1699,9 @@ class TestSymlinkAccountTempurl(Base):
     def test_GET_symlink_inside_container(self):
         tgt_obj = self.env.container.file(Utils.create_name())
         sym = self.env.container.file(Utils.create_name())
-        tgt_obj.write("target object body")
+        tgt_obj.write(b"target object body")
         sym.write(
-            '',
+            b'',
             {'x-symlink-target': '%s/%s' % (self.env.container.name, tgt_obj)})
 
         expires = int(time.time()) + 86400
@@ -1684,18 +1711,18 @@ class TestSymlinkAccountTempurl(Base):
 
         contents = sym.read(parms=get_parms, cfg={'no_auth_token': True})
         self.assert_status([200])
-        self.assertEqual(contents, "target object body")
+        self.assertEqual(contents, b"target object body")
 
     def test_GET_symlink_outside_container(self):
         tgt_obj = self.env.container.file(Utils.create_name())
-        tgt_obj.write("target object body")
+        tgt_obj.write(b"target object body")
 
         container2 = self.env.account.container(Utils.create_name())
         container2.create()
 
         sym = container2.file(Utils.create_name())
         sym.write(
-            '',
+            b'',
             {'x-symlink-target': '%s/%s' % (self.env.container.name, tgt_obj)})
 
         expires = int(time.time()) + 86400
@@ -1706,7 +1733,7 @@ class TestSymlinkAccountTempurl(Base):
         # cross container tempurl works fine for account tempurl key
         contents = sym.read(parms=get_parms, cfg={'no_auth_token': True})
         self.assert_status([200])
-        self.assertEqual(contents, "target object body")
+        self.assertEqual(contents, b"target object body")
 
 
 class TestSymlinkContainerTempurl(Base):
@@ -1737,9 +1764,14 @@ class TestSymlinkContainerTempurl(Base):
                                   'temp_url_expires': str(expires)}
 
     def tempurl_sig(self, method, expires, path, key):
+        path = urllib.parse.unquote(path)
+        if not six.PY2:
+            method = method.encode('utf8')
+            path = path.encode('utf8')
+            key = key.encode('utf8')
         return hmac.new(
             key,
-            '%s\n%s\n%s' % (method, expires, urllib.parse.unquote(path)),
+            b'%s\n%d\n%s' % (method, expires, path),
             self.digest).hexdigest()
 
     def test_PUT_symlink(self):
@@ -1756,7 +1788,7 @@ class TestSymlinkContainerTempurl(Base):
         # try to create symlink object, should fail
         try:
             new_sym.write(
-                '', {'x-symlink-target': 'cont/foo'}, parms=put_parms,
+                b'', {'x-symlink-target': 'cont/foo'}, parms=put_parms,
                 cfg={'no_auth_token': True})
         except ResponseError as e:
             self.assertEqual(e.status, 400)
@@ -1766,9 +1798,9 @@ class TestSymlinkContainerTempurl(Base):
     def test_GET_symlink_inside_container(self):
         tgt_obj = self.env.container.file(Utils.create_name())
         sym = self.env.container.file(Utils.create_name())
-        tgt_obj.write("target object body")
+        tgt_obj.write(b"target object body")
         sym.write(
-            '',
+            b'',
             {'x-symlink-target': '%s/%s' % (self.env.container.name, tgt_obj)})
 
         expires = int(time.time()) + 86400
@@ -1780,18 +1812,18 @@ class TestSymlinkContainerTempurl(Base):
 
         contents = sym.read(parms=parms, cfg={'no_auth_token': True})
         self.assert_status([200])
-        self.assertEqual(contents, "target object body")
+        self.assertEqual(contents, b"target object body")
 
     def test_GET_symlink_outside_container(self):
         tgt_obj = self.env.container.file(Utils.create_name())
-        tgt_obj.write("target object body")
+        tgt_obj.write(b"target object body")
 
         container2 = self.env.account.container(Utils.create_name())
         container2.create()
 
         sym = container2.file(Utils.create_name())
         sym.write(
-            '',
+            b'',
             {'x-symlink-target': '%s/%s' % (self.env.container.name, tgt_obj)})
 
         expires = int(time.time()) + 86400
diff --git a/test/functional/test_tempurl.py b/test/functional/test_tempurl.py
index 5f490a3bea..aad65cd2c7 100644
--- a/test/functional/test_tempurl.py
+++ b/test/functional/test_tempurl.py
@@ -82,9 +82,9 @@ class TestTempurlEnv(TestTempurlBaseEnv):
             raise ResponseError(cls.conn.response)
 
         cls.obj = cls.container.file(Utils.create_name())
-        cls.obj.write("obj contents")
+        cls.obj.write(b"obj contents")
         cls.other_obj = cls.container.file(Utils.create_name())
-        cls.other_obj.write("other obj contents")
+        cls.other_obj.write(b"other obj contents")
 
 
 class TestTempurl(Base):
@@ -437,9 +437,9 @@ class TestContainerTempurlEnv(BaseEnv):
                 raise ResponseError(cls.conn.response)
 
         cls.obj = cls.container.file(Utils.create_name())
-        cls.obj.write("obj contents")
+        cls.obj.write(b"obj contents")
         cls.other_obj = cls.container.file(Utils.create_name())
-        cls.other_obj.write("other obj contents")
+        cls.other_obj.write(b"other obj contents")
 
 
 class TestContainerTempurl(Base):
diff --git a/test/unit/__init__.py b/test/unit/__init__.py
index 3ba497bec3..97c8016204 100644
--- a/test/unit/__init__.py
+++ b/test/unit/__init__.py
@@ -1424,3 +1424,13 @@ def attach_fake_replication_rpc(rpc, replicate_hook=None, errors=None):
             return resp
 
     return FakeReplConnection
+
+
+def group_by_byte(contents):
+    # This looks a little funny, but iterating through a byte string on py3
+    # yields a sequence of ints, not a sequence of single-byte byte strings
+    # as it did on py2.
+    byte_iter = (contents[i:i + 1] for i in range(len(contents)))
+    return [
+        (char, sum(1 for _ in grp))
+        for char, grp in itertools.groupby(byte_iter)]
diff --git a/test/unit/common/middleware/test_symlink.py b/test/unit/common/middleware/test_symlink.py
index 005020e72d..faa2114ffd 100644
--- a/test/unit/common/middleware/test_symlink.py
+++ b/test/unit/common/middleware/test_symlink.py
@@ -415,6 +415,9 @@ class TestSymlinkMiddleware(TestSymlinkMiddlewareBase):
         do_test(
             {'X-Symlink-Target': 'cont/obj',
              'X-Symlink-Target-Account': target})
+        do_test(
+            {'X-Symlink-Target': 'cont/obj',
+             'X-Symlink-Target-Account': swob.wsgi_quote(target)})
 
     def test_check_symlink_header_invalid_format(self):
         def do_test(headers, status, err_msg):
@@ -456,26 +459,25 @@ class TestSymlinkMiddleware(TestSymlinkMiddlewareBase):
                 '412 Precondition Failed',
                 b'Account name cannot contain slashes')
         # with multi-bytes
+        target = u'/\u30b0\u30e9\u30d6\u30eb/\u30a2\u30ba\u30ec\u30f3'
+        target = swob.bytes_to_wsgi(target.encode('utf8'))
         do_test(
-            {'X-Symlink-Target':
-             u'/\u30b0\u30e9\u30d6\u30eb/\u30a2\u30ba\u30ec\u30f3'},
+            {'X-Symlink-Target': target},
             '412 Precondition Failed',
             b'X-Symlink-Target header must be of the '
             b'form <container name>/<object name>')
-        target = u'/\u30b0\u30e9\u30d6\u30eb/\u30a2\u30ba\u30ec\u30f3'
-        target = swob.bytes_to_wsgi(target.encode('utf8'))
         do_test(
             {'X-Symlink-Target': swob.wsgi_quote(target)},
             '412 Precondition Failed',
             b'X-Symlink-Target header must be of the '
             b'form <container name>/<object name>')
         account = u'\u30b0\u30e9\u30d6\u30eb/\u30a2\u30ba\u30ec\u30f3'
+        account = swob.bytes_to_wsgi(account.encode('utf8'))
         do_test(
             {'X-Symlink-Target': 'c/o',
              'X-Symlink-Target-Account': account},
             '412 Precondition Failed',
             b'Account name cannot contain slashes')
-        account = swob.bytes_to_wsgi(account.encode('utf8'))
         do_test(
             {'X-Symlink-Target': 'c/o',
              'X-Symlink-Target-Account': swob.wsgi_quote(account)},
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index cd10920533..9bba192162 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -129,6 +129,7 @@ basepython = python3
 commands =
   pip install -U eventlet@git+https://github.com/eventlet/eventlet.git
   nosetests {posargs: \
+    test/functional/test_symlink.py \
     test/functional/tests.py}
 
 [testenv:func-encryption]