diff --git a/core/reactor.cc b/core/reactor.cc
index 1e00931d40..0b0d096fe1 100644
--- a/core/reactor.cc
+++ b/core/reactor.cc
@@ -442,11 +442,9 @@ void schedule(std::unique_ptr<task> t) {
     engine.add_task(std::move(t));
 }
 
-namespace std {
 bool operator==(const ::sockaddr_in a, const ::sockaddr_in b) {
     return (a.sin_addr.s_addr == b.sin_addr.s_addr) && (a.sin_port == b.sin_port);
 }
-};
 
 void network_stack_registry::register_stack(sstring name,
         boost::program_options::options_description opts,
diff --git a/core/reactor.hh b/core/reactor.hh
index 64d4fe7176..3f89e38d4b 100644
--- a/core/reactor.hh
+++ b/core/reactor.hh
@@ -203,9 +203,11 @@ struct hash<::sockaddr_in> {
         return a.sin_port ^ a.sin_addr.s_addr;
     }
 };
-bool operator==(const ::sockaddr_in a, const ::sockaddr_in b);
+
 }
 
+bool operator==(const ::sockaddr_in a, const ::sockaddr_in b);
+
 class server_socket {
     std::unique_ptr<server_socket_impl> _ssi;
 public: