diff --git a/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/AzureStorageDurabilityProviderFactory.cs b/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/AzureStorageDurabilityProviderFactory.cs
index f0041f403..702e53fed 100644
--- a/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/AzureStorageDurabilityProviderFactory.cs
+++ b/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/AzureStorageDurabilityProviderFactory.cs
@@ -77,6 +77,7 @@ public AzureStorageDurabilityProviderFactory(
             WorkerRuntimeType runtimeType = platformInfo.GetWorkerRuntimeType();
             if (runtimeType == WorkerRuntimeType.DotNetIsolated ||
                 runtimeType == WorkerRuntimeType.Java ||
+                (runtimeType == WorkerRuntimeType.Python && platformInfo.GrpcManuallyRequested) ||
                 runtimeType == WorkerRuntimeType.Custom)
             {
                 this.useSeparateQueueForEntityWorkItems = true;
diff --git a/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/DefaultPlatformInformation.cs b/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/DefaultPlatformInformation.cs
index 807d5c885..f3521d913 100644
--- a/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/DefaultPlatformInformation.cs
+++ b/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/DefaultPlatformInformation.cs
@@ -22,6 +22,25 @@ internal class DefaultPlatformInformation : IPlatformInformation
 
         private WorkerRuntimeType? workerRuntimeType;
 
+        public bool GrpcManuallyRequested
+        {
+            get
+            {
+                string? grpcSetting = this.ReadEnviromentVariable("DURABLE_FUNCTIONS_GRPC_OPT_IN");
+                if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(grpcSetting))
+                {
+                    return false;
+                }
+
+                if (bool.TryParse(grpcSetting, out bool grpcManuallyRequested))
+                {
+                    return grpcManuallyRequested;
+                }
+
+                return false;
+            }
+        }
+
         public DefaultPlatformInformation(INameResolver nameResolver, ILoggerFactory loggerFactory)
         {
             this.nameResolver = nameResolver;
diff --git a/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/DurableTaskExtension.cs b/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/DurableTaskExtension.cs
index 2955f2440..28b582a7d 100644
--- a/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/DurableTaskExtension.cs
+++ b/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/DurableTaskExtension.cs
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.Diagnostics;
 using System.Linq;
-using System.Net;
 using System.Net.Http;
 using System.Reflection;
 using System.Text;
@@ -22,11 +21,8 @@
 using Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask.Correlation;
 using Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask.Grpc;
 using Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask.Listener;
-using Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask.Storage;
-using Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs.Host;
 using Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs.Host.Config;
 using Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs.Host.Executors;
-using Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs.Host.Scale;
 using Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs.Logging;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Options;
@@ -171,9 +167,11 @@ public DurableTaskExtension(
             // Starting with .NET isolated and Java, we have a more efficient out-of-process
             // function invocation protocol. Other languages will use the existing protocol.
             WorkerRuntimeType runtimeType = this.PlatformInformationService.GetWorkerRuntimeType();
-            if (runtimeType == WorkerRuntimeType.DotNetIsolated ||
+            bool manuallyRequestedGrpc = this.PlatformInformationService.GrpcManuallyRequested;
+            if (manuallyRequestedGrpc ||
+                (runtimeType == WorkerRuntimeType.DotNetIsolated ||
                 runtimeType == WorkerRuntimeType.Java ||
-                runtimeType == WorkerRuntimeType.Custom)
+                runtimeType == WorkerRuntimeType.Custom))
             {
                 this.OutOfProcProtocol = OutOfProcOrchestrationProtocol.MiddlewarePassthrough;
                 this.localGrpcListener = LocalGrpcListener.Create(this, this.Options.GrpcListenerMode);
@@ -464,8 +462,11 @@ private void StartLocalHttpServer()
                     WorkerRuntimeType.DotNetIsolated => false,
                     WorkerRuntimeType.Java => false,
 
+                    // Python only uses the HTTP server if gRPC was not manually requested
+                    // If it was, we assume the user is using the durabletask-based SDK and doesn't need HTTP
+                    WorkerRuntimeType.Python => !this.PlatformInformationService.GrpcManuallyRequested,
+
                     // everything else - assume the HTTP server
-                    WorkerRuntimeType.Python => true,
                     WorkerRuntimeType.Node => true,
                     WorkerRuntimeType.PowerShell => true,
                     WorkerRuntimeType.Unknown => true,
diff --git a/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/EntityScheduler/EntityId.cs b/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/EntityScheduler/EntityId.cs
index afc854181..68aa97ff9 100644
--- a/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/EntityScheduler/EntityId.cs
+++ b/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/EntityScheduler/EntityId.cs
@@ -77,6 +77,27 @@ public override string ToString()
             return this.schedulerId;
         }
 
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Returns the entity ID for a given instance ID.
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <param name="instanceId">The instance ID.</param>
+        /// <returns>the corresponding entity ID.</returns>
+        public static EntityId FromString(string instanceId)
+        {
+            if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(instanceId))
+            {
+                throw new ArgumentException(nameof(instanceId));
+            }
+            var pos = instanceId.IndexOf('@', 1);
+            if (pos <= 0 || instanceId[0] != '@')
+            {
+                throw new ArgumentException($"Instance ID '{instanceId}' is not a valid entity ID.", nameof(instanceId));
+            }
+            var entityName = instanceId.Substring(1, pos - 1);
+            var entityKey = instanceId.Substring(pos + 1);
+            return new EntityId(entityName, entityKey);
+        }
+
         /// <inheritdoc/>
         public override bool Equals(object obj)
         {
diff --git a/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/IPlatformInformation.cs b/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/IPlatformInformation.cs
index 2c73d5cd6..289b22325 100644
--- a/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/IPlatformInformation.cs
+++ b/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/IPlatformInformation.cs
@@ -77,6 +77,14 @@ public enum WorkerRuntimeType
     [Obsolete]
     public interface IPlatformInformation
     {
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Determines whether the user has manually requested the gRPC protocol for worker communications.
+        /// </summary>
+        /// Used in Python when using the new durabletask-based Functions SDK.
+        /// <returns>True if the user has requested gRPC, False otherwise.</returns>
+        bool GrpcManuallyRequested { get; }
+
         /// <summary>
         /// Determine the underlying plan is Consumption or not.
         /// </summary>
diff --git a/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/ProtobufUtils.cs b/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/ProtobufUtils.cs
index 0975c5e98..e1bfe6ea9 100644
--- a/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/ProtobufUtils.cs
+++ b/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/ProtobufUtils.cs
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@
 using System.Collections;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.Diagnostics.CodeAnalysis;
-using System.Globalization;
 using System.IO;
 using System.Linq;
 using System.Reflection;
@@ -314,11 +313,83 @@ public static OrchestratorAction ToOrchestratorAction(P.OrchestratorAction a)
                     }
 
                     return action;
+                case P.OrchestratorAction.OrchestratorActionTypeOneofCase.SendEntityMessage:
+                    RequestMessage? entityMessage = null;
+                    string? eventName = null;
+                    string? targetInstance = null;
+                    switch (a.SendEntityMessage.EntityMessageTypeCase)
+                    {
+                        case P.SendEntityMessageAction.EntityMessageTypeOneofCase.EntityLockRequested:
+                            entityMessage = new RequestMessage()
+                            {
+                                Operation = null,
+                                Id = Guid.Parse(a.SendEntityMessage.EntityLockRequested.CriticalSectionId),
+                                LockSet = a.SendEntityMessage.EntityLockRequested.LockSet.Skip(1).Select(s => EntityId.FromString(s)).ToArray(),
+                                Position = a.SendEntityMessage.EntityLockRequested.Position,
+                                ParentInstanceId = a.SendEntityMessage.EntityLockRequested.ParentInstanceId,
+                            };
+                            targetInstance = a.SendEntityMessage.EntityLockRequested.LockSet.ElementAt(0);
+                            eventName = EncodeEventName(null);
+                            break;
+                        case P.SendEntityMessageAction.EntityMessageTypeOneofCase.EntityUnlockSent:
+                            entityMessage = new RequestMessage()
+                            {
+                                Id = Guid.Parse(a.SendEntityMessage.EntityUnlockSent.CriticalSectionId),
+                                ParentInstanceId = a.SendEntityMessage.EntityUnlockSent.ParentInstanceId,
+                            };
+                            targetInstance = a.SendEntityMessage.EntityUnlockSent.TargetInstanceId;
+                            eventName = "release";
+                            break;
+                        case P.SendEntityMessageAction.EntityMessageTypeOneofCase.EntityOperationCalled:
+                            entityMessage = new RequestMessage()
+                            {
+                                Operation = a.SendEntityMessage.EntityOperationCalled.Operation,
+                                IsSignal = false,
+                                Input = a.SendEntityMessage.EntityOperationCalled.Input,
+                                Id = Guid.Parse(a.SendEntityMessage.EntityOperationCalled.RequestId),
+                                ScheduledTime = a.SendEntityMessage.EntityOperationCalled.ScheduledTime?.ToDateTime(),
+                                ParentInstanceId = a.SendEntityMessage.EntityOperationCalled.ParentInstanceId,
+                                ParentExecutionId = a.SendEntityMessage.EntityOperationCalled.ParentExecutionId,
+                            };
+                            targetInstance = a.SendEntityMessage.EntityOperationCalled.TargetInstanceId;
+                            eventName = EncodeEventName(a.SendEntityMessage.EntityOperationCalled.ScheduledTime?.ToDateTime());
+                            break;
+                        case P.SendEntityMessageAction.EntityMessageTypeOneofCase.EntityOperationSignaled:
+                            entityMessage = new RequestMessage()
+                            {
+                                Operation = a.SendEntityMessage.EntityOperationSignaled.Operation,
+                                IsSignal = true,
+                                Input = a.SendEntityMessage.EntityOperationSignaled.Input,
+                                Id = Guid.Parse(a.SendEntityMessage.EntityOperationSignaled.RequestId),
+                                ScheduledTime = a.SendEntityMessage.EntityOperationSignaled.ScheduledTime?.ToDateTime(),
+                            };
+                            targetInstance = a.SendEntityMessage.EntityOperationSignaled.TargetInstanceId;
+                            eventName = EncodeEventName(a.SendEntityMessage.EntityOperationSignaled.ScheduledTime?.ToDateTime());
+                            break;
+                        default:
+                            throw new NotSupportedException($"Deserialization of SendEntityMessage action type '{a.SendEntityMessage.EntityMessageTypeCase}' is not supported.");
+                    }
+
+                    return new SendEventOrchestratorAction
+                    {
+                        Id = a.Id,
+                        Instance = new OrchestrationInstance
+                        {
+                            InstanceId = targetInstance,
+                        },
+                        EventName = eventName, // TODO: Determine event name for entity messages
+                        EventData = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(entityMessage, new JsonSerializerSettings() { TypeNameHandling = TypeNameHandling.None }),
+                    };
+
+                    throw new NotSupportedException("Deserialization of SendEntityMessage action is not supported.");
                 default:
                     throw new NotSupportedException($"Received unsupported action type '{a.OrchestratorActionTypeCase}'.");
             }
         }
 
+        private static string EncodeEventName(DateTime? scheduledTime)
+            => scheduledTime.HasValue ? $"op@{scheduledTime.Value:o}" : "op";
+
         [return: NotNullIfNotNull("parameters")]
         public static P.OrchestratorEntityParameters? ToProtobuf(this TaskOrchestrationEntityParameters? parameters)
         {
diff --git a/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask.csproj b/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask.csproj
index a954508ba..ca05db7f8 100644
--- a/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask.csproj
+++ b/src/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask/WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask.csproj
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@
     <AssemblyName>Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask</AssemblyName>
     <RootNamespace>Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask</RootNamespace>
     <MajorVersion>3</MajorVersion>
-    <MinorVersion>8</MinorVersion>
-    <PatchVersion>0</PatchVersion>
+    <MinorVersion>9</MinorVersion>
+    <PatchVersion>0-preview0</PatchVersion>
     <VersionPrefix>$(MajorVersion).$(MinorVersion).$(PatchVersion)</VersionPrefix>
     <FileVersion>$(MajorVersion).$(MinorVersion).$(PatchVersion)</FileVersion>
     <AssemblyVersion>$(MajorVersion).0.0.0</AssemblyVersion>