diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/AlterCommand.java b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/AlterCommand.java
index cbea918..7cb15d9 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/AlterCommand.java
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/AlterCommand.java
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@
     @Option(name = "-h", required = false, usage = "Help")
     public boolean help = false;
 
-    @Option(name = "-n", required = false, usage = "Name of Asterix Instance")
+    @Option(name = "-n", required = true, usage = "Name of Asterix Instance")
     public String name;
 
     @Option(name = "-conf", required = false, usage = "Path to instance configuration")
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/CommandHandler.java b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/CommandHandler.java
index 3f07e71..8a9347a 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/CommandHandler.java
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/CommandHandler.java
@@ -49,8 +49,11 @@
             case VALIDATE:
                 cmd = new ValidateCommand();
                 break;
-            case INIT:
-                cmd = new InitializeCommand();
+            case CONFIGURE:
+                cmd = new ConfigureCommand();
+                break;
+            case SHUTDOWN:
+                cmd = new ShutdownCommand();
                 break;
         }
         cmd.execute(args);
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/InitializeCommand.java b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/ConfigureCommand.java
similarity index 90%
rename from asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/InitializeCommand.java
rename to asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/ConfigureCommand.java
index c175410..597824f 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/InitializeCommand.java
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/ConfigureCommand.java
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.driver.InstallerDriver;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.schema.conf.Configuration;
 
-public class InitializeCommand extends AbstractCommand {
+public class ConfigureCommand extends AbstractCommand {
 
     @Override
     protected void execCommand() throws Exception {
@@ -56,15 +56,12 @@
 
     @Override
     protected CommandConfig getCommandConfig() {
-        return new InitializeConfig();
+        return new ConfigureConfig();
     }
 
-    public static void main(String args[]) throws Exception {
-        new InitializeCommand().execCommand();
-    }
 }
 
-class InitializeConfig implements CommandConfig {
+class ConfigureConfig implements CommandConfig {
 
     @Option(name = "-h", required = false, usage = "Help")
     public boolean help = false;
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/ICommand.java b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/ICommand.java
index 0c13db6..5d6d9ac 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/ICommand.java
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/ICommand.java
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 public interface ICommand {
 
 	public enum CommandType {
-		CREATE, DELETE, START, STOP, BACKUP, RESTORE, DESCRIBE, ALTER, VALIDATE, INIT
+		CREATE, DELETE, START, STOP, BACKUP, RESTORE, DESCRIBE, ALTER, VALIDATE, CONFIGURE, SHUTDOWN
 	}
 
 	public void execute(String args[]) throws Exception;
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/ShutdownCommand.java b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/ShutdownCommand.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a897516
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/ShutdownCommand.java
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2012 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed 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 from
+ * 
+ *     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 edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.command;
+
+import org.kohsuke.args4j.Option;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.driver.InstallerDriver;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.service.ILookupService;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.service.ServiceProvider;
+
+public class ShutdownCommand extends AbstractCommand {
+
+    @Override
+    protected void execCommand() throws Exception {
+        ILookupService lookupService = ServiceProvider.INSTANCE.getLookupService();
+        lookupService.stopService(InstallerDriver.getConfiguration());
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected CommandConfig getCommandConfig() {
+        return new ShutdownConfig();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected String getUsageDescription() {
+        // TODO Auto-generated method stub
+        return null;
+    }
+
+}
+
+class ShutdownConfig implements CommandConfig {
+
+    @Option(name = "-h", required = false, usage = "Help")
+    public boolean help = false;
+
+}
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/ValidateCommand.java b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/ValidateCommand.java
index 574bfc7..426e1b2 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/ValidateCommand.java
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/ValidateCommand.java
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@
 
             MasterNode masterNode = cluster.getMasterNode();
             Node master = new Node(masterNode.getId(), masterNode.getIp(), masterNode.getRam(),
-                    masterNode.getJavaHome(), masterNode.getLogdir(), null);
+                    masterNode.getJavaHome(), masterNode.getLogdir(), null, masterNode.getDebug());
 
             valid = valid & validateNodeConfiguration(master, cluster);
 
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/driver/InstallerDriver.java b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/driver/InstallerDriver.java
index 1c2f8fd..d22e9b2 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/driver/InstallerDriver.java
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/driver/InstallerDriver.java
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@
             if (args.length != 0) {
                 managixHome = System.getenv(ENV_MANAGIX_HOME);
                 CommandType cmdType = CommandType.valueOf(args[0].toUpperCase());
-                if (!cmdType.equals(CommandType.VALIDATE)) {
+                if (!cmdType.equals(CommandType.VALIDATE) && !cmdType.equals(CommandType.CONFIGURE)) {
                     initConfig();
                 }
                 CommandHandler cmdHandler = new CommandHandler();
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@
     }
 
     private static void printUsage() {
-        StringBuffer buffer = new StringBuffer("managix <command> <args>" + "\n");
+        StringBuffer buffer = new StringBuffer("managix <command> <options>" + "\n");
         buffer.append("Commands" + "\n");
         buffer.append("create   " + ":" + " Creates a new asterix instance" + "\n");
         buffer.append("delete   " + ":" + " Deletes an asterix instance" + "\n");
@@ -130,8 +130,9 @@
         buffer.append("alter    " + ":" + " Alters the configuration for an existing asterix instance" + "\n");
         buffer.append("describe " + ":" + " Describes an existing asterix instance" + "\n");
         buffer.append("validate " + ":" + " Validates the installer/cluster configuration" + "\n");
-        buffer.append("init     " + ":"
-                + " Initialize the installer/cluster configuration for local psedu-distributed cluster." + "\n");
+        buffer.append("configure" + ":" + " Auto generate configuration for a local psedu-distributed Asterix instance"
+                + "\n");
+        buffer.append("shutdown " + ":" + " Shutdown the installer service" + "\n");
         LOGGER.info(buffer.toString());
     }
 }
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/error/VerificationUtil.java b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/error/VerificationUtil.java
index 48988e8..7c7a792 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/error/VerificationUtil.java
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/error/VerificationUtil.java
@@ -101,4 +101,21 @@
         instance.setAsterixRuntimeStates(state);
     }
 
+    public static void verifyBackupRestoreConfiguration(String hdfsUrl, String hadoopVersion, String hdfsBackupDir)
+            throws Exception {
+        StringBuffer errorCheck = new StringBuffer();
+        if (hdfsUrl == null || hdfsUrl.length() == 0) {
+            errorCheck.append("\n HDFS Url not configured");
+        }
+        if (hadoopVersion == null || hadoopVersion.length() == 0) {
+            errorCheck.append("\n HDFS version not configured");
+        }
+        if (hdfsBackupDir == null || hdfsBackupDir.length() == 0) {
+            errorCheck.append("\n HDFS backup directory not configured");
+        }
+        if (errorCheck.length() > 0) {
+            throw new Exception("Incomplete hdfs configuration in " + InstallerDriver.getManagixHome() + File.separator
+                    + InstallerDriver.MANAGIX_CONF_XML + errorCheck);
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/events/PatternCreator.java b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/events/PatternCreator.java
index 9db74b0..695a8d6 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/events/PatternCreator.java
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/events/PatternCreator.java
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.schema.pattern.Value;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.command.StopCommand;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.driver.InstallerDriver;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.error.VerificationUtil;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.model.AsterixInstance;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.service.ILookupService;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.service.ServiceProvider;
@@ -103,6 +104,7 @@
         String hdfsUrl = InstallerDriver.getConfiguration().getBackup().getHdfs().getUrl();
         String hadoopVersion = InstallerDriver.getConfiguration().getBackup().getHdfs().getVersion();
         String hdfsBackupDir = InstallerDriver.getConfiguration().getBackup().getHdfs().getBackupDir();
+        VerificationUtil.verifyBackupRestoreConfiguration(hdfsUrl, hadoopVersion, hdfsBackupDir);
         String workingDir = cluster.getWorkingDir().getDir();
         String backupId = "" + instance.getBackupInfo().size();
         String nodeStore;
@@ -125,6 +127,7 @@
         String hdfsUrl = InstallerDriver.getConfiguration().getBackup().getHdfs().getUrl();
         String hadoopVersion = InstallerDriver.getConfiguration().getBackup().getHdfs().getVersion();
         String hdfsBackupDir = InstallerDriver.getConfiguration().getBackup().getHdfs().getBackupDir();
+        VerificationUtil.verifyBackupRestoreConfiguration(hdfsUrl, hadoopVersion, hdfsBackupDir);
         String workingDir = cluster.getWorkingDir().getDir();
         String nodeStore;
         String pargs;
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/service/ILookupService.java b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/service/ILookupService.java
index f258e66..aad963f 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/service/ILookupService.java
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/service/ILookupService.java
@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@
 
     public void startService(Configuration conf) throws Exception;
 
+    public void stopService(Configuration conf) throws Exception;
+
     public boolean exists(String name) throws Exception;
 
     public void removeAsterixInstance(String name) throws Exception;
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/service/ZooKeeperService.java b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/service/ZooKeeperService.java
index cbd9a7f..1bd8772 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/service/ZooKeeperService.java
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/service/ZooKeeperService.java
@@ -114,6 +114,24 @@
         createRootIfNotExist();
     }
 
+    public void stopService(Configuration conf) throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isDebugEnabled()) {
+            LOGGER.debug("Stopping ZooKeeper running at " + zkConnectionString);
+        }
+        String stopScript = ZOOKEEPER_HOME + File.separator + "bin" + File.separator + "stop_zk";
+        StringBuffer cmdBuffer = new StringBuffer();
+        cmdBuffer.append(stopScript + " ");
+        cmdBuffer.append(conf.getZookeeper().getHomeDir() + " ");
+        List<String> zkServers = conf.getZookeeper().getServers().getServer();
+        for (String zkServer : zkServers) {
+            cmdBuffer.append(zkServer + " ");
+        }
+        Runtime.getRuntime().exec(cmdBuffer.toString());
+        if (LOGGER.isDebugEnabled()) {
+            LOGGER.debug("Stopped ZooKeeper service at " + zkConnectionString);
+        }
+    }
+
     public void writeAsterixInstance(AsterixInstance asterixInstance) throws Exception {
         String instanceBasePath = ASTERIX_INSTANCE_BASE_PATH + File.separator + asterixInstance.getName();
         ByteArrayOutputStream b = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/resources/zookeeper/stop_zk b/asterix-installer/src/main/resources/zookeeper/stop_zk
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..d8615d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/resources/zookeeper/stop_zk
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+ZK_HOME=$1
+shift 1
+for zk_host in  $@
+do
+  ssh $zk_host "kill -9 `jps | grep QuorumPeerMain | cut -d " "  -f1`" &
+done