diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/storage/BlockManager.scala b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/storage/BlockManager.scala
index e0276a4dc4224..e2ddf0c7a6914 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/storage/BlockManager.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/storage/BlockManager.scala
@@ -129,6 +129,8 @@ private[spark] class BlockManager(
 
   private[spark] val externalShuffleServiceEnabled =
     conf.getBoolean("spark.shuffle.service.enabled", false)
+  private val chunkSize =
+    conf.getSizeAsBytes("spark.storage.memoryMapLimitForTests", Int.MaxValue.toString).toInt
 
   val diskBlockManager = {
     // Only perform cleanup if an external service is not serving our shuffle files.
@@ -659,6 +661,11 @@ private[spark] class BlockManager(
    * Get block from remote block managers as serialized bytes.
    */
   def getRemoteBytes(blockId: BlockId): Option[ChunkedByteBuffer] = {
+    // TODO if we change this method to return the ManagedBuffer, then getRemoteValues
+    // could just use the inputStream on the temp file, rather than memory-mapping the file.
+    // Until then, replication can cause the process to use too much memory and get killed
+    // by the OS / cluster manager (not a java OOM, since its a memory-mapped file) even though
+    // we've read the data to disk.
     logDebug(s"Getting remote block $blockId")
     require(blockId != null, "BlockId is null")
     var runningFailureCount = 0
@@ -689,7 +696,7 @@ private[spark] class BlockManager(
       logDebug(s"Getting remote block $blockId from $loc")
       val data = try {
         blockTransferService.fetchBlockSync(
-          loc.host, loc.port, loc.executorId, blockId.toString, tempFileManager).nioByteBuffer()
+          loc.host, loc.port, loc.executorId, blockId.toString, tempFileManager)
       } catch {
         case NonFatal(e) =>
           runningFailureCount += 1
@@ -723,7 +730,7 @@ private[spark] class BlockManager(
       }
 
       if (data != null) {
-        return Some(new ChunkedByteBuffer(data))
+        return Some(ChunkedByteBuffer.fromManagedBuffer(data, chunkSize))
       }
       logDebug(s"The value of block $blockId is null")
     }
diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/util/io/ChunkedByteBuffer.scala b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/util/io/ChunkedByteBuffer.scala
index 700ce56466c35..efed90cb7678e 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/util/io/ChunkedByteBuffer.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/util/io/ChunkedByteBuffer.scala
@@ -17,17 +17,21 @@
 
 package org.apache.spark.util.io
 
-import java.io.InputStream
+import java.io.{File, FileInputStream, InputStream}
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer
-import java.nio.channels.WritableByteChannel
+import java.nio.channels.{FileChannel, WritableByteChannel}
+import java.nio.file.StandardOpenOption
+
+import scala.collection.mutable.ListBuffer
 
 import com.google.common.primitives.UnsignedBytes
-import io.netty.buffer.{ByteBuf, Unpooled}
 
 import org.apache.spark.SparkEnv
 import org.apache.spark.internal.config
+import org.apache.spark.network.buffer.{FileSegmentManagedBuffer, ManagedBuffer}
 import org.apache.spark.network.util.ByteArrayWritableChannel
 import org.apache.spark.storage.StorageUtils
+import org.apache.spark.util.Utils
 
 /**
  * Read-only byte buffer which is physically stored as multiple chunks rather than a single
@@ -81,10 +85,10 @@ private[spark] class ChunkedByteBuffer(var chunks: Array[ByteBuffer]) {
   }
 
   /**
-   * Wrap this buffer to view it as a Netty ByteBuf.
+   * Wrap this in a custom "FileRegion" which allows us to transfer over 2 GB.
    */
-  def toNetty: ByteBuf = {
-    Unpooled.wrappedBuffer(chunks.length, getChunks(): _*)
+  def toNetty: ChunkedByteBufferFileRegion = {
+    new ChunkedByteBufferFileRegion(this, bufferWriteChunkSize)
   }
 
   /**
@@ -166,6 +170,34 @@ private[spark] class ChunkedByteBuffer(var chunks: Array[ByteBuffer]) {
 
 }
 
+object ChunkedByteBuffer {
+  // TODO eliminate this method if we switch BlockManager to getting InputStreams
+  def fromManagedBuffer(data: ManagedBuffer, maxChunkSize: Int): ChunkedByteBuffer = {
+    data match {
+      case f: FileSegmentManagedBuffer =>
+        map(f.getFile, maxChunkSize, f.getOffset, f.getLength)
+      case other =>
+        new ChunkedByteBuffer(other.nioByteBuffer())
+    }
+  }
+
+  def map(file: File, maxChunkSize: Int, offset: Long, length: Long): ChunkedByteBuffer = {
+    Utils.tryWithResource(FileChannel.open(file.toPath, StandardOpenOption.READ)) { channel =>
+      var remaining = length
+      var pos = offset
+      val chunks = new ListBuffer[ByteBuffer]()
+      while (remaining > 0) {
+        val chunkSize = math.min(remaining, maxChunkSize)
+        val chunk = channel.map(FileChannel.MapMode.READ_ONLY, pos, chunkSize)
+        pos += chunkSize
+        remaining -= chunkSize
+        chunks += chunk
+      }
+      new ChunkedByteBuffer(chunks.toArray)
+    }
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * Reads data from a ChunkedByteBuffer.
  *
diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/util/io/ChunkedByteBufferFileRegion.scala b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/util/io/ChunkedByteBufferFileRegion.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..9622d0ac05368
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/util/io/ChunkedByteBufferFileRegion.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ * The ASF licenses this file to You 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.
+ */
+package org.apache.spark.util.io
+
+import java.nio.channels.WritableByteChannel
+
+import io.netty.channel.FileRegion
+import io.netty.util.AbstractReferenceCounted
+
+import org.apache.spark.internal.Logging
+import org.apache.spark.network.util.AbstractFileRegion
+
+
+/**
+ * This exposes a ChunkedByteBuffer as a netty FileRegion, just to allow sending > 2gb in one netty
+ * message.  This is because netty cannot send a ByteBuf > 2g, but it can send a large FileRegion,
+ * even though the data is not backed by a file.
+ */
+private[io] class ChunkedByteBufferFileRegion(
+    private val chunkedByteBuffer: ChunkedByteBuffer,
+    private val ioChunkSize: Int) extends AbstractFileRegion {
+
+  private var _transferred: Long = 0
+  // this duplicates the original chunks, so we're free to modify the position, limit, etc.
+  private val chunks = chunkedByteBuffer.getChunks()
+  private val size = chunks.foldLeft(0L) { _ + _.remaining() }
+
+  protected def deallocate: Unit = {}
+
+  override def count(): Long = size
+
+  // this is the "start position" of the overall Data in the backing file, not our current position
+  override def position(): Long = 0
+
+  override def transferred(): Long = _transferred
+
+  private var currentChunkIdx = 0
+
+  def transferTo(target: WritableByteChannel, position: Long): Long = {
+    assert(position == _transferred)
+    if (position == size) return 0L
+    var keepGoing = true
+    var written = 0L
+    var currentChunk = chunks(currentChunkIdx)
+    while (keepGoing) {
+      while (currentChunk.hasRemaining && keepGoing) {
+        val ioSize = Math.min(currentChunk.remaining(), ioChunkSize)
+        val originalLimit = currentChunk.limit()
+        currentChunk.limit(currentChunk.position() + ioSize)
+        val thisWriteSize = target.write(currentChunk)
+        currentChunk.limit(originalLimit)
+        written += thisWriteSize
+        if (thisWriteSize < ioSize) {
+          // the channel did not accept our entire write.  We do *not* keep trying -- netty wants
+          // us to just stop, and report how much we've written.
+          keepGoing = false
+        }
+      }
+      if (keepGoing) {
+        // advance to the next chunk (if there are any more)
+        currentChunkIdx += 1
+        if (currentChunkIdx == chunks.size) {
+          keepGoing = false
+        } else {
+          currentChunk = chunks(currentChunkIdx)
+        }
+      }
+    }
+    _transferred += written
+    written
+  }
+}
diff --git a/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/io/ChunkedByteBufferFileRegionSuite.scala b/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/io/ChunkedByteBufferFileRegionSuite.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..a6b0654204f34
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/io/ChunkedByteBufferFileRegionSuite.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ * The ASF licenses this file to You 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.
+ */
+package org.apache.spark.io
+
+import java.nio.ByteBuffer
+import java.nio.channels.WritableByteChannel
+
+import scala.util.Random
+
+import org.mockito.Mockito.when
+import org.scalatest.BeforeAndAfterEach
+import org.scalatest.mockito.MockitoSugar
+
+import org.apache.spark.{SparkConf, SparkEnv, SparkFunSuite}
+import org.apache.spark.internal.config
+import org.apache.spark.util.io.ChunkedByteBuffer
+
+class ChunkedByteBufferFileRegionSuite extends SparkFunSuite with MockitoSugar
+    with BeforeAndAfterEach {
+
+  override protected def beforeEach(): Unit = {
+    super.beforeEach()
+    val conf = new SparkConf()
+    val env = mock[SparkEnv]
+    SparkEnv.set(env)
+    when(env.conf).thenReturn(conf)
+  }
+
+  override protected def afterEach(): Unit = {
+    SparkEnv.set(null)
+  }
+
+  private def generateChunkedByteBuffer(nChunks: Int, perChunk: Int): ChunkedByteBuffer = {
+    val bytes = (0 until nChunks).map { chunkIdx =>
+      val bb = ByteBuffer.allocate(perChunk)
+      (0 until perChunk).foreach { idx =>
+        bb.put((chunkIdx * perChunk + idx).toByte)
+      }
+      bb.position(0)
+      bb
+    }.toArray
+    new ChunkedByteBuffer(bytes)
+  }
+
+  test("transferTo can stop and resume correctly") {
+    SparkEnv.get.conf.set(config.BUFFER_WRITE_CHUNK_SIZE, 9L)
+    val cbb = generateChunkedByteBuffer(4, 10)
+    val fileRegion = cbb.toNetty
+
+    val targetChannel = new LimitedWritableByteChannel(40)
+
+    var pos = 0L
+    // write the fileregion to the channel, but with the transfer limited at various spots along
+    // the way.
+
+    // limit to within the first chunk
+    targetChannel.acceptNBytes = 5
+    pos = fileRegion.transferTo(targetChannel, pos)
+    assert(targetChannel.pos === 5)
+
+    // a little bit further within the first chunk
+    targetChannel.acceptNBytes = 2
+    pos += fileRegion.transferTo(targetChannel, pos)
+    assert(targetChannel.pos === 7)
+
+    // past the first chunk, into the 2nd
+    targetChannel.acceptNBytes = 6
+    pos += fileRegion.transferTo(targetChannel, pos)
+    assert(targetChannel.pos === 13)
+
+    // right to the end of the 2nd chunk
+    targetChannel.acceptNBytes = 7
+    pos += fileRegion.transferTo(targetChannel, pos)
+    assert(targetChannel.pos === 20)
+
+    // rest of 2nd chunk, all of 3rd, some of 4th
+    targetChannel.acceptNBytes = 15
+    pos += fileRegion.transferTo(targetChannel, pos)
+    assert(targetChannel.pos === 35)
+
+    // now till the end
+    targetChannel.acceptNBytes = 5
+    pos += fileRegion.transferTo(targetChannel, pos)
+    assert(targetChannel.pos === 40)
+
+    // calling again at the end should be OK
+    targetChannel.acceptNBytes = 20
+    fileRegion.transferTo(targetChannel, pos)
+    assert(targetChannel.pos === 40)
+  }
+
+  test(s"transfer to with random limits") {
+    val rng = new Random()
+    val seed = System.currentTimeMillis()
+    logInfo(s"seed = $seed")
+    rng.setSeed(seed)
+    val chunkSize = 1e4.toInt
+    SparkEnv.get.conf.set(config.BUFFER_WRITE_CHUNK_SIZE, rng.nextInt(chunkSize).toLong)
+
+    val cbb = generateChunkedByteBuffer(50, chunkSize)
+    val fileRegion = cbb.toNetty
+    val transferLimit = 1e5.toInt
+    val targetChannel = new LimitedWritableByteChannel(transferLimit)
+    while (targetChannel.pos < cbb.size) {
+      val nextTransferSize = rng.nextInt(transferLimit)
+      targetChannel.acceptNBytes = nextTransferSize
+      fileRegion.transferTo(targetChannel, targetChannel.pos)
+    }
+    assert(0 === fileRegion.transferTo(targetChannel, targetChannel.pos))
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * This mocks a channel which only accepts a limited number of bytes at a time.  It also verifies
+   * the written data matches our expectations as the data is received.
+   */
+  private class LimitedWritableByteChannel(maxWriteSize: Int) extends WritableByteChannel {
+    val bytes = new Array[Byte](maxWriteSize)
+    var acceptNBytes = 0
+    var pos = 0
+
+    override def write(src: ByteBuffer): Int = {
+      val length = math.min(acceptNBytes, src.remaining())
+      src.get(bytes, 0, length)
+      acceptNBytes -= length
+      // verify we got the right data
+      (0 until length).foreach { idx =>
+        assert(bytes(idx) === (pos + idx).toByte, s"; wrong data at ${pos + idx}")
+      }
+      pos += length
+      length
+    }
+
+    override def isOpen: Boolean = true
+
+    override def close(): Unit = {}
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/io/ChunkedByteBufferSuite.scala b/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/io/ChunkedByteBufferSuite.scala
index 2107559572d78..ff117b1c21cb1 100644
--- a/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/io/ChunkedByteBufferSuite.scala
+++ b/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/io/ChunkedByteBufferSuite.scala
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ class ChunkedByteBufferSuite extends SparkFunSuite with SharedSparkContext {
     assert(emptyChunkedByteBuffer.getChunks().isEmpty)
     assert(emptyChunkedByteBuffer.toArray === Array.empty)
     assert(emptyChunkedByteBuffer.toByteBuffer.capacity() === 0)
-    assert(emptyChunkedByteBuffer.toNetty.capacity() === 0)
+    assert(emptyChunkedByteBuffer.toNetty.count() === 0)
     emptyChunkedByteBuffer.toInputStream(dispose = false).close()
     emptyChunkedByteBuffer.toInputStream(dispose = true).close()
   }