diff --git a/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/translator/AqlExpressionToPlanTranslator.java b/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/translator/AqlExpressionToPlanTranslator.java
index caa16d4..0f01466 100644
--- a/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/translator/AqlExpressionToPlanTranslator.java
+++ b/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/translator/AqlExpressionToPlanTranslator.java
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.aql.expression.WriteStatement;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.aql.expression.visitor.IAqlExpressionVisitor;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.aql.util.FunctionUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixProperties;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.DatasetConfig.DatasetType;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.exceptions.AsterixException;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.functions.FunctionConstants;
@@ -79,7 +80,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.formats.base.IDataFormat;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.MetadataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.MetadataManager;
-import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.bootstrap.AsterixProperties;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.declared.AqlDataSource;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.declared.AqlMetadataProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.declared.AqlSourceId;
@@ -185,7 +185,6 @@
                 new EmptyTupleSourceOperator()));
 
         ArrayList<Mutable<ILogicalOperator>> globalPlanRoots = new ArrayList<Mutable<ILogicalOperator>>();
-        boolean isTransactionalWrite = false;
         ILogicalOperator topOp = p.first;
         ProjectOperator project = (ProjectOperator) topOp;
         LogicalVariable resVar = project.getVariables().get(0);
@@ -244,7 +243,6 @@
                     insertOp.getInputs().add(new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(assign));
                     leafOperator = new SinkOperator();
                     leafOperator.getInputs().add(new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(insertOp));
-                    isTransactionalWrite = true;
                     break;
                 }
                 case DELETE: {
@@ -253,7 +251,6 @@
                     deleteOp.getInputs().add(new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(assign));
                     leafOperator = new SinkOperator();
                     leafOperator.getInputs().add(new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(deleteOp));
-                    isTransactionalWrite = true;
                     break;
                 }
                 case BEGIN_FEED: {
@@ -262,7 +259,6 @@
                     insertOp.getInputs().add(new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(assign));
                     leafOperator = new SinkOperator();
                     leafOperator.getInputs().add(new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(insertOp));
-                    isTransactionalWrite = false;
                     break;
                 }
             }
@@ -291,12 +287,9 @@
     }
 
     private FileSplit getDefaultOutputFileLocation() throws MetadataException {
-        if (AsterixProperties.INSTANCE.getOutputDir() == null) {
-            throw new MetadataException(
-                    "Output location for query result not specified at the time of deployment, must specify explicitly using 'write output to ..' statement");
-        }
-        String filePath = AsterixProperties.INSTANCE.getOutputDir() + System.getProperty("file.separator")
-                + OUTPUT_FILE_PREFIX + outputFileID.incrementAndGet();
+        String outputDir = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpDir");
+        String filePath = outputDir + System.getProperty("file.separator") + OUTPUT_FILE_PREFIX
+                + outputFileID.incrementAndGet();
         return new FileSplit(AsterixProperties.INSTANCE.getMetadataNodeName(), new FileReference(new File(filePath)));
     }
 
diff --git a/asterix-app/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/aql/translator/AqlTranslator.java b/asterix-app/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/aql/translator/AqlTranslator.java
index b9f81d6..68c6271 100644
--- a/asterix-app/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/aql/translator/AqlTranslator.java
+++ b/asterix-app/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/aql/translator/AqlTranslator.java
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
 import org.json.JSONArray;
 import org.json.JSONException;
@@ -59,6 +60,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.aql.expression.TypeDropStatement;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.aql.expression.WriteFromQueryResultStatement;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.aql.expression.WriteStatement;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixProperties;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.DatasetConfig.DatasetType;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.GlobalConfig;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.exceptions.AsterixException;
@@ -130,6 +132,8 @@
     private Dataverse activeDefaultDataverse;
     private List<FunctionDecl> declaredFunctions;
 
+    private static Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(AqlTranslator.class.getName());
+    
     public AqlTranslator(List<Statement> aqlStatements, PrintWriter out, SessionConfig pc, DisplayFormat pdf)
             throws MetadataException, AsterixException {
         this.aqlStatements = aqlStatements;
@@ -171,6 +175,10 @@
         Map<String, String> config = new HashMap<String, String>();
         List<JobSpecification> jobsToExecute = new ArrayList<JobSpecification>();
 
+        String numLogPages = AsterixProperties.INSTANCE.getProperty("log_buffer_num_pages", "4");
+        LOGGER.info("Number of log pages (info)" + numLogPages);
+        LOGGER.severe("Number of log pages (severe)" + numLogPages);
+        
         for (Statement stmt : aqlStatements) {
             validateOperation(activeDefaultDataverse, stmt);
             AqlMetadataProvider metadataProvider = new AqlMetadataProvider(activeDefaultDataverse);
diff --git a/asterix-app/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/hyracks/bootstrap/CCApplicationEntryPoint.java b/asterix-app/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/hyracks/bootstrap/CCApplicationEntryPoint.java
index 5ab94f3..25ef5da 100644
--- a/asterix-app/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/hyracks/bootstrap/CCApplicationEntryPoint.java
+++ b/asterix-app/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/hyracks/bootstrap/CCApplicationEntryPoint.java
@@ -14,10 +14,10 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.api.http.servlet.QueryStatusAPIServlet;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.api.http.servlet.UpdateAPIServlet;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.api.AsterixAppContextInfoImpl;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixProperties;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.GlobalConfig;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.MetadataManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.api.IAsterixStateProxy;
-import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.bootstrap.AsterixProperties;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.bootstrap.AsterixStateProxy;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.application.ICCApplicationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.application.ICCApplicationEntryPoint;
@@ -79,11 +79,8 @@
     }
 
     private void setupWebServer() throws Exception {
-        String portStr = System.getProperty(GlobalConfig.WEB_SERVER_PORT_PROPERTY);
-        int port = DEFAULT_WEB_SERVER_PORT;
-        if (portStr != null) {
-            port = Integer.parseInt(portStr);
-        }
+        int port = Integer.parseInt((String) AsterixProperties.INSTANCE.getProperty(
+                AsterixProperties.AsterixConfigurationKeys.WEB_INTERFACE_PORT, "" + DEFAULT_WEB_SERVER_PORT));
         webServer = new Server(port);
 
         ServletContextHandler context = new ServletContextHandler(ServletContextHandler.SESSIONS);
diff --git a/asterix-app/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/hyracks/bootstrap/NCApplicationEntryPoint.java b/asterix-app/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/hyracks/bootstrap/NCApplicationEntryPoint.java
index f332155..61a7fdc 100644
--- a/asterix-app/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/hyracks/bootstrap/NCApplicationEntryPoint.java
+++ b/asterix-app/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/hyracks/bootstrap/NCApplicationEntryPoint.java
@@ -18,153 +18,134 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.application.INCApplicationEntryPoint;
 
 public class NCApplicationEntryPoint implements INCApplicationEntryPoint {
-	private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger
-			.getLogger(NCApplicationEntryPoint.class.getName());
+    private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(NCApplicationEntryPoint.class.getName());
 
-	private INCApplicationContext ncApplicationContext = null;
-	private AsterixAppRuntimeContext runtimeContext;
-	private String nodeId;
-	private boolean isMetadataNode = false;
-	private boolean stopInitiated = false;
-	private SystemState systemState = SystemState.NEW_UNIVERSE;
+    private INCApplicationContext ncApplicationContext = null;
+    private AsterixAppRuntimeContext runtimeContext;
+    private String nodeId;
+    private boolean isMetadataNode = false;
+    private boolean stopInitiated = false;
+    private SystemState systemState = SystemState.NEW_UNIVERSE;
 
-	@Override
-	public void start(INCApplicationContext ncAppCtx, String[] args)
-			throws Exception {
-		ncApplicationContext = ncAppCtx;
-		nodeId = ncApplicationContext.getNodeId();
-		if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-			LOGGER.info("Starting Asterix node controller: " + nodeId);
-		}
+    @Override
+    public void start(INCApplicationContext ncAppCtx, String[] args) throws Exception {
+        ncApplicationContext = ncAppCtx;
+        nodeId = ncApplicationContext.getNodeId();
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Starting Asterix node controller: " + nodeId);
+        }
 
-		runtimeContext = new AsterixAppRuntimeContext(ncApplicationContext);
-		runtimeContext.initialize();
-		ncApplicationContext.setApplicationObject(runtimeContext);
-		JVMShutdownHook sHook = new JVMShutdownHook(this);
-		Runtime.getRuntime().addShutdownHook(sHook);
+        runtimeContext = new AsterixAppRuntimeContext(ncApplicationContext);
+        runtimeContext.initialize();
+        ncApplicationContext.setApplicationObject(runtimeContext);
+        JVMShutdownHook sHook = new JVMShutdownHook(this);
+        Runtime.getRuntime().addShutdownHook(sHook);
 
-		// #. recover if the system is corrupted by checking system state.
-		IRecoveryManager recoveryMgr = runtimeContext.getTransactionSubsystem()
-				.getRecoveryManager();
-		systemState = recoveryMgr.getSystemState();
-		if (systemState != SystemState.NEW_UNIVERSE) {
-			PersistentLocalResourceRepository localResourceRepository = (PersistentLocalResourceRepository) runtimeContext
-					.getLocalResourceRepository();
-			localResourceRepository.initialize(nodeId, null, false,
-					runtimeContext.getResourceIdFactory());
-		}
-		if (systemState == SystemState.CORRUPTED) {
-			recoveryMgr.startRecovery(true);
-		} else if (systemState == SystemState.NEW_UNIVERSE) {
-			recoveryMgr.checkpoint(true);
-		}
-	}
+        // #. recover if the system is corrupted by checking system state.
+        IRecoveryManager recoveryMgr = runtimeContext.getTransactionSubsystem().getRecoveryManager();
+        systemState = recoveryMgr.getSystemState();
+        if (systemState != SystemState.NEW_UNIVERSE) {
+            PersistentLocalResourceRepository localResourceRepository = (PersistentLocalResourceRepository) runtimeContext
+                    .getLocalResourceRepository();
+            localResourceRepository.initialize(nodeId, null, false, runtimeContext.getResourceIdFactory());
+        }
+        if (systemState == SystemState.CORRUPTED) {
+            recoveryMgr.startRecovery(true);
+        } else if (systemState == SystemState.NEW_UNIVERSE) {
+            recoveryMgr.checkpoint(true);
+        }
+    }
 
-	@Override
-	public void stop() throws Exception {
-		if (!stopInitiated) {
-		    runtimeContext.setShuttingdown(true);
-			stopInitiated = true;
-			if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-				LOGGER.info("Stopping Asterix node controller: " + nodeId);
-			}
+    @Override
+    public void stop() throws Exception {
+        if (!stopInitiated) {
+            runtimeContext.setShuttingdown(true);
+            stopInitiated = true;
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                LOGGER.info("Stopping Asterix node controller: " + nodeId);
+            }
 
-			IRecoveryManager recoveryMgr = runtimeContext
-					.getTransactionSubsystem().getRecoveryManager();
-			recoveryMgr.checkpoint(true);
+            IRecoveryManager recoveryMgr = runtimeContext.getTransactionSubsystem().getRecoveryManager();
+            recoveryMgr.checkpoint(true);
 
-			if (isMetadataNode) {
-				MetadataBootstrap.stopUniverse();
-			}
-			runtimeContext.deinitialize();
-		} else {
-			if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-				LOGGER.info("Duplicate attempt to stop ignored: " + nodeId);
-			}
-		}
-	}
+            if (isMetadataNode) {
+                MetadataBootstrap.stopUniverse();
+            }
+            runtimeContext.deinitialize();
+        } else {
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                LOGGER.info("Duplicate attempt to stop ignored: " + nodeId);
+            }
+        }
+    }
 
-	@Override
-	public void notifyStartupComplete() throws Exception {
-		IAsterixStateProxy proxy = (IAsterixStateProxy) ncApplicationContext
-				.getDistributedState();
+    @Override
+    public void notifyStartupComplete() throws Exception {
+        IAsterixStateProxy proxy = (IAsterixStateProxy) ncApplicationContext.getDistributedState();
 
-		if (systemState == SystemState.NEW_UNIVERSE) {
-			PersistentLocalResourceRepository localResourceRepository = (PersistentLocalResourceRepository) runtimeContext
-					.getLocalResourceRepository();
-			System.out.println("nodeid" + nodeId);
-			System.out.println("proxy" + proxy);
-			System.out.println("stores"
-					+ proxy.getAsterixProperties().getStores());
-			System.out.println("store"
-					+ proxy.getAsterixProperties().getStores().get(nodeId)[0]);
+        if (systemState == SystemState.NEW_UNIVERSE) {
+            PersistentLocalResourceRepository localResourceRepository = (PersistentLocalResourceRepository) runtimeContext
+                    .getLocalResourceRepository();
 
-			localResourceRepository.initialize(nodeId, proxy
-					.getAsterixProperties().getStores().get(nodeId)[0], true,
-					null);
-		}
+            localResourceRepository.initialize(nodeId, proxy.getAsterixProperties().getStores().get(nodeId)[0], true,
+                    null);
+        }
 
-		isMetadataNode = nodeId.equals(proxy.getAsterixProperties()
-				.getMetadataNodeName());
-		if (isMetadataNode) {
-			registerRemoteMetadataNode(proxy);
+        isMetadataNode = nodeId.equals(proxy.getAsterixProperties().getMetadataNodeName());
+        if (isMetadataNode) {
+            registerRemoteMetadataNode(proxy);
 
-			if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-				LOGGER.info("Bootstrapping metadata");
-			}
-			MetadataManager.INSTANCE = new MetadataManager(proxy);
-			MetadataManager.INSTANCE.init();
-			MetadataBootstrap.startUniverse(proxy.getAsterixProperties(),
-					ncApplicationContext,
-					systemState == SystemState.NEW_UNIVERSE);
-			MetadataBootstrap.startDDLRecovery();
-		}
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                LOGGER.info("Bootstrapping metadata");
+            }
+            MetadataManager.INSTANCE = new MetadataManager(proxy);
+            MetadataManager.INSTANCE.init();
+            MetadataBootstrap.startUniverse(proxy.getAsterixProperties(), ncApplicationContext,
+                    systemState == SystemState.NEW_UNIVERSE);
+            MetadataBootstrap.startDDLRecovery();
+        }
 
-		IRecoveryManager recoveryMgr = runtimeContext.getTransactionSubsystem()
-				.getRecoveryManager();
-		recoveryMgr.checkpoint(true);
+        IRecoveryManager recoveryMgr = runtimeContext.getTransactionSubsystem().getRecoveryManager();
+        recoveryMgr.checkpoint(true);
 
-		// TODO
-		// reclaim storage for orphaned index artifacts in NCs.
-	}
+        // TODO
+        // reclaim storage for orphaned index artifacts in NCs.
+    }
 
-	public void registerRemoteMetadataNode(IAsterixStateProxy proxy)
-			throws RemoteException {
-		IMetadataNode stub = null;
-		MetadataNode.INSTANCE.initialize(runtimeContext);
-		stub = (IMetadataNode) UnicastRemoteObject.exportObject(
-				MetadataNode.INSTANCE, 0);
-		proxy.setMetadataNode(stub);
+    public void registerRemoteMetadataNode(IAsterixStateProxy proxy) throws RemoteException {
+        IMetadataNode stub = null;
+        MetadataNode.INSTANCE.initialize(runtimeContext);
+        stub = (IMetadataNode) UnicastRemoteObject.exportObject(MetadataNode.INSTANCE, 0);
+        proxy.setMetadataNode(stub);
 
-		if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-			LOGGER.info("Metadata node bound");
-		}
-	}
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Metadata node bound");
+        }
+    }
 
-	/**
-	 * Shutdown hook that invokes {@link NCApplicationEntryPoint#stop() stop}
-	 * method.
-	 */
-	private static class JVMShutdownHook extends Thread {
+    /**
+     * Shutdown hook that invokes {@link NCApplicationEntryPoint#stop() stop} method.
+     */
+    private static class JVMShutdownHook extends Thread {
 
-		private final NCApplicationEntryPoint ncAppEntryPoint;
+        private final NCApplicationEntryPoint ncAppEntryPoint;
 
-		public JVMShutdownHook(NCApplicationEntryPoint ncAppEntryPoint) {
-			this.ncAppEntryPoint = ncAppEntryPoint;
-		}
+        public JVMShutdownHook(NCApplicationEntryPoint ncAppEntryPoint) {
+            this.ncAppEntryPoint = ncAppEntryPoint;
+        }
 
-		public void run() {
-			if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-				LOGGER.info("Shutdown hook in progress");
-			}
-			try {
-				ncAppEntryPoint.stop();
-			} catch (Exception e) {
-				if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.WARNING)) {
-					LOGGER.warning("Exception in executing shutdown hook" + e);
-				}
-			}
-		}
-	}
+        public void run() {
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                LOGGER.info("Shutdown hook in progress");
+            }
+            try {
+                ncAppEntryPoint.stop();
+            } catch (Exception e) {
+                if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.WARNING)) {
+                    LOGGER.warning("Exception in executing shutdown hook" + e);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
 
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterix-app/src/main/resources/asterix-configuration.xml b/asterix-app/src/main/resources/asterix-configuration.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..877ab6e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterix-app/src/main/resources/asterix-configuration.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+<configuration xmlns="configuration">
+  <metadataNode>nc1</metadataNode>
+  <store>
+     <ncId>nc1</ncId>
+     <storeDirs>nc1data</storeDirs> 
+  </store>
+  <store>
+     <ncId>nc2</ncId>
+     <storeDirs>nc2data</storeDirs> 
+  </store>
+</configuration>
diff --git a/asterix-common/pom.xml b/asterix-common/pom.xml
index bb2b97f..79f7dff 100644
--- a/asterix-common/pom.xml
+++ b/asterix-common/pom.xml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
+	xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
 	<modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
 	<parent>
 		<artifactId>asterix</artifactId>
@@ -18,6 +19,46 @@
 					<fork>true</fork>
 				</configuration>
 			</plugin>
+			<plugin>
+				<groupId>org.jvnet.jaxb2.maven2</groupId>
+				<artifactId>maven-jaxb2-plugin</artifactId>
+				<executions>
+					<execution>
+						<id>configuration</id>
+						<goals>
+							<goal>generate</goal>
+						</goals>
+						<configuration>
+							<args>
+								<arg>-Xsetters</arg>
+								<arg>-Xvalue-constructor</arg>
+							</args>
+							<plugins>
+								<plugin>
+									<groupId>org.jvnet.jaxb2_commons</groupId>
+									<artifactId>jaxb2-basics</artifactId>
+									<version>0.6.2</version>
+								</plugin>
+								<plugin>
+									<groupId>org.jvnet.jaxb2_commons</groupId>
+									<artifactId>jaxb2-value-constructor</artifactId>
+									<version>3.0</version>
+								</plugin>
+							</plugins>
+							<schemaDirectory>src/main/resources/schema</schemaDirectory>
+							<schemaIncludes>
+								<include>asterix-conf.xsd</include>
+							</schemaIncludes>
+							<generatePackage>edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.configuration</generatePackage>
+							<bindingDirectory>src/main/resources/schema</bindingDirectory>
+							<bindingIncludes>
+								<bindingInclude>jaxb-bindings.xjb</bindingInclude>
+							</bindingIncludes>
+							<generateDirectory>${project.build.directory}/generated-sources/configuration</generateDirectory>
+						</configuration>
+					</execution>
+				</executions>
+			</plugin>
 		</plugins>
 	</build>
 
diff --git a/asterix-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/common/config/AsterixProperties.java b/asterix-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/common/config/AsterixProperties.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d361224
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterix-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/common/config/AsterixProperties.java
@@ -0,0 +1,178 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 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.common.config;
+
+import java.io.FileInputStream;
+import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
+import java.io.InputStream;
+import java.io.Serializable;
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.HashSet;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
+
+import javax.xml.bind.JAXBContext;
+import javax.xml.bind.Unmarshaller;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.configuration.AsterixConfiguration;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.configuration.Property;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.configuration.Store;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+
+/**
+ * Holder for Asterix properties values typically set as Java Properties.
+ * Intended to live in the AsterixStateProxy so it can be accessed remotely.
+ */
+public class AsterixProperties implements Serializable {
+
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+    private static String metadataNodeName;
+    private static HashSet<String> nodeNames;
+    private static Map<String, String[]> stores;
+    private static Map<String, String> asterixConfigurationParams;
+
+    public static AsterixProperties INSTANCE = new AsterixProperties();
+
+    public static class AsterixConfigurationKeys {
+
+        //JVM parameters for each Node Contoller (NC)
+        public static final String NC_JAVA_OPTS = "nc_java_opts"; // default "-Xmx1024m"
+
+        //JVM parameters for the Cluster Contoller (CC)
+        public static final String CC_JAVA_OPTS = "cc_java_opts"; // default "-Xmx1024m"
+
+        public static final String SIZE_MEMORY_COMPONENT = "size_memory_component"; // default "512m"
+
+        public static final String TOTAL_SIZE_MEMORY_COMPONENT = "total_size_memory_component"; // default "512m"
+
+        public static final String LOG_BUFFER_NUM_PAGES = "log_buffer_num_pages"; // default "8"
+
+        public static final String LOG_BUFFER_PAGE_SIZE = "log_buffer_page_size"; // default "131072 (128K)"
+
+        public static final String LOG_PARTITION_SIZE = "log_partition_size"; // default "2147483648 (2GB)"
+
+        public static final String GROUP_COMMIT_INTERVAL = "group_commit_interval"; // default "200ms (128K)"
+
+        public static final String SORT_OP_MEMORY = "sort_op_memory"; // default "512m"
+
+        public static final String JOIN_OP_MEMORY = "join_op_memory"; // default "512m"
+
+        public static final String WEB_INTERFACE_PORT = "web_interface_port"; // default "19001"
+
+        public static final String NC_PORT = "nc_port"; // default "14601"
+
+        public static final String NUM_PAGES_BUFFER_CACHE = "num_pages_buffer_cache"; // default "1000"
+
+        public static final String LOG_LEVEL = "log_level"; // default "INFO"
+
+        public static final String LSN_THRESHOLD = "lsn_threshold"; // default "64m"
+
+        public static final String CHECKPOINT_TERMS_IN_SECS = "checkpoint_terms_in_secs"; // default "120"
+
+        public static final String ESCALATE_THRSHOLD_ENTITY_TO_DATASET = "escalate_threshold_entity_to_dataset"; // default "8"
+
+        public static final String SHRINK_TIMER_THRESHOLD = "shrink_timer_threshold"; // default "120000"
+
+    }
+
+    private AsterixProperties() {
+        try {
+            String fileName = System.getProperty(GlobalConfig.CONFIG_FILE_PROPERTY);
+            if (fileName == null) {
+                fileName = GlobalConfig.DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE_NAME;
+            }
+            InputStream is = this.getClass().getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream(fileName);
+            if (is == null) {
+                try {
+                    fileName = GlobalConfig.DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE_NAME;
+                    is = new FileInputStream(fileName);
+                } catch (FileNotFoundException fnf) {
+                    throw new AlgebricksException("Could not find the configuration file " + fileName);
+                }
+            }
+            JAXBContext ctx = JAXBContext.newInstance(AsterixConfiguration.class);
+            Unmarshaller unmarshaller = ctx.createUnmarshaller();
+            AsterixConfiguration asterixConfiguration = (AsterixConfiguration) unmarshaller.unmarshal(is);
+            metadataNodeName = asterixConfiguration.getMetadataNode();
+            stores = new HashMap<String, String[]>();
+            List<Store> configuredStores = asterixConfiguration.getStore();
+            nodeNames = new HashSet<String>();
+            for (Store store : configuredStores) {
+                String trimmedStoreDirs = store.getStoreDirs().trim();
+                stores.put(store.getNcId(), trimmedStoreDirs.split(","));
+                nodeNames.add(store.getNcId());
+            }
+            asterixConfigurationParams = new HashMap<String, String>();
+            for (Property p : asterixConfiguration.getProperty()) {
+                asterixConfigurationParams.put(p.getName(), p.getValue());
+            }
+
+            initializeLogLevel(asterixConfigurationParams.get("log_level"));
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+            throw new IllegalStateException(e);
+        }
+    }
+
+    public String getMetadataNodeName() {
+        return metadataNodeName;
+    }
+
+    public String getMetadataStore() {
+        return stores.get(metadataNodeName)[0];
+    }
+
+    public Map<String, String[]> getStores() {
+        return stores;
+    }
+
+    public HashSet<String> getNodeNames() {
+        return nodeNames;
+    }
+
+    public String getProperty(String property, String defaultValue) {
+        String propValue = asterixConfigurationParams.get(property);
+        return (propValue != null && propValue.length() > 0) ? propValue : defaultValue;
+    }
+
+    private void initializeLogLevel(String configuredLogLevel) {
+        Level level = null;
+        switch (configuredLogLevel.toLowerCase()) {
+            case "info":
+                level = Level.INFO;
+                break;
+            case "fine":
+                level = Level.FINE;
+                break;
+            case "finer":
+                level = Level.FINER;
+                break;
+            case "finest":
+                level = Level.FINEST;
+                break;
+            case "severe":
+                level = Level.SEVERE;
+                break;
+            case "fatal":
+                level = Level.SEVERE;
+                break;
+            default:
+                level = Level.ALL;
+        }
+        Logger.getLogger("edu.uci.ics").setLevel(level);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/asterix-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/common/config/GlobalConfig.java b/asterix-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/common/config/GlobalConfig.java
index 1183b65..b69d529 100644
--- a/asterix-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/common/config/GlobalConfig.java
+++ b/asterix-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/common/config/GlobalConfig.java
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 
     public static final String ASTERIX_LOGFILE_PATTERN = "%t/asterix.log";
 
-    public static final String DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE_NAME = "test.properties";
+    public static final String DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE_NAME = "asterix-configuration.xml";
 
     public static final String TEST_CONFIG_FILE_NAME = "src/main/resources/test.properties";
 
diff --git a/asterix-installer/pom.xml b/asterix-installer/pom.xml
index e0986d9..535843f 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/pom.xml
+++ b/asterix-installer/pom.xml
@@ -164,6 +164,13 @@
     </dependency>
     <dependency>
         <groupId>edu.uci.ics.asterix</groupId>
+        <artifactId>asterix-common</artifactId>
+        <version>0.0.5-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <type>jar</type>
+        <scope>compile</scope>
+    </dependency>
+    <dependency>
+        <groupId>edu.uci.ics.asterix</groupId>
         <artifactId>asterix-server</artifactId>
         <version>0.0.5-SNAPSHOT</version>
         <type>zip</type>
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/assembly/binary-assembly.xml b/asterix-installer/src/main/assembly/binary-assembly.xml
index 6a0c130..72631ba 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/src/main/assembly/binary-assembly.xml
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/assembly/binary-assembly.xml
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@
       <includes>
          <include>log4j:log4j</include>
          <include>edu.uci.ics.asterix:asterix-events</include>
+         <include>edu.uci.ics.asterix:asterix-common</include>
          <include>org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper</include>
          <include>args4j:args4j</include>
          <include>log4j:log4j</include>
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 3a1d641..15c28cd 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
@@ -18,11 +18,11 @@
 
 import org.kohsuke.args4j.Option;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.configuration.AsterixConfiguration;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.driver.InstallerDriver;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.driver.InstallerUtil;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.model.AsterixInstance;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.model.AsterixInstance.State;
-import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.schema.asterixconf.AsterixConfiguration;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.service.ILookupService;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.service.ServiceProvider;
 
@@ -41,7 +41,8 @@
         instance.setAsterixConfiguration(asterixConfiguration);
         instance.setModifiedTimestamp(new Date());
         lookupService.updateAsterixInstance(instance);
-        LOGGER.info("Configuration for Asterix instance: " + instanceName + " has been altered");
+        LOGGER.info("Altered configuration settings for Asterix instance: " + instanceName);
+
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -53,6 +54,7 @@
     protected String getUsageDescription() {
         return "\nAlter the instance's configuration settings."
                 + "\nPrior to running this command, the instance is required to be INACTIVE state."
+                + "\nChanged configuration settings will be reflected when the instance is started."
                 + "\n\nAvailable arguments/options" + "\n-n name of the ASTERIX instance"
                 + "\n-conf path to the ASTERIX configuration file.";
     }
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/CreateCommand.java b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/CreateCommand.java
index 05d6777..3317483 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/CreateCommand.java
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/CreateCommand.java
@@ -15,16 +15,13 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.command;
 
 import java.io.File;
-import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.List;
 
 import org.kohsuke.args4j.Option;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.configuration.AsterixConfiguration;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.management.EventUtil;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.management.EventrixClient;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.schema.cluster.Cluster;
-import edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.schema.cluster.Env;
-import edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.schema.cluster.Property;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.schema.pattern.Patterns;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.driver.InstallerDriver;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.driver.InstallerUtil;
@@ -32,7 +29,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.events.PatternCreator;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.model.AsterixInstance;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.model.AsterixRuntimeState;
-import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.schema.asterixconf.AsterixConfiguration;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.service.ServiceProvider;
 
 public class CreateCommand extends AbstractCommand {
@@ -57,7 +53,7 @@
         AsterixInstance asterixInstance = InstallerUtil.createAsterixInstance(asterixInstanceName, cluster,
                 asterixConfiguration);
         InstallerUtil.evaluateConflictWithOtherInstances(asterixInstance);
-        InstallerUtil.createAsterixZip(asterixInstance, true);
+        InstallerUtil.createAsterixZip(asterixInstance);
         InstallerUtil.createClusterProperties(cluster, asterixConfiguration);
         EventrixClient eventrixClient = InstallerUtil.getEventrixClient(cluster);
         PatternCreator pc = new PatternCreator();
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/HelpCommand.java b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/HelpCommand.java
index a9864a3..3bc700d 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/HelpCommand.java
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/HelpCommand.java
@@ -55,6 +55,9 @@
             case VALIDATE:
                 helpMessage = new ValidateCommand().getUsageDescription();
                 break;
+            case ALTER:
+                helpMessage = new AlterCommand().getUsageDescription();
+                break;
             default:
                 helpMessage = "Unknown command " + command;
         }
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/StartCommand.java b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/StartCommand.java
index f5119a5..1180a4e 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/StartCommand.java
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/StartCommand.java
@@ -36,11 +36,11 @@
         InstallerDriver.initConfig();
         String asterixInstanceName = ((StartConfig) config).name;
         AsterixInstance instance = InstallerUtil.validateAsterixInstanceExists(asterixInstanceName, State.INACTIVE);
-        InstallerUtil.createAsterixZip(instance, false);
+        InstallerUtil.createAsterixZip(instance);
         PatternCreator pc = new PatternCreator();
         EventrixClient client = InstallerUtil.getEventrixClient(instance.getCluster());
-        Patterns asterixBinaryTransferPattern = pc.getAsterixBinaryTransferPattern(asterixInstanceName, instance
-                .getCluster());
+        Patterns asterixBinaryTransferPattern = pc.getAsterixBinaryTransferPattern(asterixInstanceName,
+                instance.getCluster());
         client.submit(asterixBinaryTransferPattern);
         InstallerUtil.createClusterProperties(instance.getCluster(), instance.getAsterixConfiguration());
         Patterns patterns = pc.getStartAsterixPattern(asterixInstanceName, instance.getCluster());
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 80e522b..df49b0e 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
@@ -34,8 +34,8 @@
     public static final String MANAGIX_EVENT_DIR = MANAGIX_INTERNAL_DIR + File.separator + "eventrix";
     public static final String MANAGIX_EVENT_SCRIPTS_DIR = MANAGIX_INTERNAL_DIR + File.separator + "eventrix"
             + File.separator + "scripts";
-    public static final String DEFAULT_ASTERIX_CONFIGURATION_PATH = "clusters" + File.separator + "local"
-            + File.separator + "conf" + File.separator + "asterix-conf.xml";
+    public static final String DEFAULT_ASTERIX_CONFIGURATION_PATH = "conf" + File.separator + File.separator
+            + "asterix-configuration.xml";
     public static final String ASTERIX_DIR = "asterix";
     public static final String EVENTS_DIR = "events";
 
@@ -127,13 +127,13 @@
         buffer.append("stop     " + ":" + " Stops an asterix instance that is in ACTIVE state" + "\n");
         buffer.append("backup   " + ":" + " Creates a back up for an existing asterix instance" + "\n");
         buffer.append("restore  " + ":" + " Restores an asterix instance" + "\n");
+        buffer.append("alter    " + ":" + " Alter the instance's configuration settings" + "\n");
         buffer.append("describe " + ":" + " Describes an existing asterix instance" + "\n");
         buffer.append("validate " + ":" + " Validates the installer/cluster configuration" + "\n");
-        buffer.append("configure" + ":" + " Auto-generate configuration for local psedu-distributed Asterix instance"
-                + "\n");
+        buffer.append("configure" + ":" + " Configure the Asterix installer" + "\n");
         buffer.append("shutdown " + ":" + " Shutdown the installer service" + "\n");
         buffer.append("help     " + ":" + " Provides usage description of a command" + "\n");
-
+        buffer.append("\nTo get more information about a command, use managix help -cmd <command>");
         LOGGER.info(buffer.toString());
     }
 }
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/driver/InstallerUtil.java b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/driver/InstallerUtil.java
index 484d206..af68614 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/driver/InstallerUtil.java
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/driver/InstallerUtil.java
@@ -42,10 +42,13 @@
 
 import javax.xml.bind.JAXBContext;
 import javax.xml.bind.JAXBException;
+import javax.xml.bind.Marshaller;
 import javax.xml.bind.Unmarshaller;
 
 import org.apache.commons.io.IOUtils;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.configuration.AsterixConfiguration;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.configuration.Store;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.driver.EventDriver;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.management.EventrixClient;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.schema.cluster.Cluster;
@@ -56,31 +59,31 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.error.OutputHandler;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.model.AsterixInstance;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.model.AsterixInstance.State;
-import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.schema.asterixconf.AsterixConfiguration;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.service.ServiceProvider;
 
 public class InstallerUtil {
 
     public static final String TXN_LOG_DIR = "txnLogs";
     public static final String TXN_LOG_DIR_KEY_SUFFIX = "txnLogDir";
+    public static final String ASTERIX_CONFIGURATION_FILE = "asterix-configuration.xml";
+    public static final String TXN_LOG_CONFIGURATION_FILE = "log.properties";
 
     public static AsterixInstance createAsterixInstance(String asterixInstanceName, Cluster cluster,
             AsterixConfiguration asterixConfiguration) throws FileNotFoundException, IOException {
         Node metadataNode = getMetadataNode(cluster);
         String asterixZipName = InstallerDriver.getAsterixZip().substring(
                 InstallerDriver.getAsterixZip().lastIndexOf(File.separator) + 1);
-        String asterixVersion = asterixZipName.substring("asterix-server-".length(), asterixZipName
-                .indexOf("-binary-assembly"));
-        AsterixInstance instance = new AsterixInstance(asterixInstanceName, cluster, asterixConfiguration, metadataNode
-                .getId(), asterixVersion);
+        String asterixVersion = asterixZipName.substring("asterix-server-".length(),
+                asterixZipName.indexOf("-binary-assembly"));
+        AsterixInstance instance = new AsterixInstance(asterixInstanceName, cluster, asterixConfiguration,
+                metadataNode.getId(), asterixVersion);
         return instance;
     }
 
-    public static void createAsterixZip(AsterixInstance asterixInstance, boolean newDeployment) throws IOException,
-            InterruptedException {
+    public static void createAsterixZip(AsterixInstance asterixInstance) throws IOException, InterruptedException,
+            JAXBException {
 
-        String modifiedZipPath = injectAsterixPropertyFile(InstallerDriver.getAsterixZip(), asterixInstance,
-                newDeployment);
+        String modifiedZipPath = injectAsterixPropertyFile(InstallerDriver.getAsterixZip(), asterixInstance);
         injectAsterixLogPropertyFile(modifiedZipPath, asterixInstance);
     }
 
@@ -92,7 +95,7 @@
         } else {
             clusterProperties = new ArrayList<Property>();
         }
-        for (edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.schema.asterixconf.Property property : asterixConfiguration.getProperty()) {
+        for (edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.configuration.Property property : asterixConfiguration.getProperty()) {
             if (property.getName().equalsIgnoreCase(AsterixInstance.CC_JAVA_OPTS)) {
                 clusterProperties.add(new Property("CC_JAVA_OPTS", property.getValue()));
             } else if (property.getName().equalsIgnoreCase(AsterixInstance.NC_JAVA_OPTS)) {
@@ -109,17 +112,16 @@
         cluster.setEnv(new Env(clusterProperties));
     }
 
-    private static String injectAsterixPropertyFile(String origZipFile, AsterixInstance asterixInstance,
-            boolean newDeployment) throws IOException {
-        writeAsterixConfigurationFile(asterixInstance, newDeployment);
+    private static String injectAsterixPropertyFile(String origZipFile, AsterixInstance asterixInstance)
+            throws IOException, JAXBException {
+        writeAsterixConfigurationFile(asterixInstance);
         String asterixInstanceDir = InstallerDriver.getAsterixDir() + File.separator + asterixInstance.getName();
         unzip(origZipFile, asterixInstanceDir);
         File sourceJar = new File(asterixInstanceDir + File.separator + "lib" + File.separator + "asterix-app-"
                 + asterixInstance.getAsterixVersion() + ".jar");
-        String asterixPropertyFile = "test.properties";
-        File replacementFile = new File(asterixInstanceDir + File.separator + "test.properties");
-        replaceInJar(sourceJar, asterixPropertyFile, replacementFile);
-        new File(asterixInstanceDir + File.separator + "test.properties").delete();
+        File replacementFile = new File(asterixInstanceDir + File.separator + ASTERIX_CONFIGURATION_FILE);
+        replaceInJar(sourceJar, ASTERIX_CONFIGURATION_FILE, replacementFile);
+        new File(asterixInstanceDir + File.separator + ASTERIX_CONFIGURATION_FILE).delete();
         String asterixZipName = InstallerDriver.getAsterixZip().substring(
                 InstallerDriver.getAsterixZip().lastIndexOf(File.separator) + 1);
         zipDir(new File(asterixInstanceDir), new File(asterixInstanceDir + File.separator + asterixZipName));
@@ -132,10 +134,9 @@
         unzip(origZipFile, asterixInstanceDir);
         File sourceJar1 = new File(asterixInstanceDir + File.separator + "lib" + File.separator + "asterix-app-"
                 + asterixInstance.getAsterixVersion() + ".jar");
-        String txnLogPropertyFile = "log.properties";
         Properties txnLogProperties = new Properties();
         URLClassLoader urlClassLoader = new URLClassLoader(new URL[] { sourceJar1.toURI().toURL() });
-        InputStream in = urlClassLoader.getResourceAsStream(txnLogPropertyFile);
+        InputStream in = urlClassLoader.getResourceAsStream(TXN_LOG_CONFIGURATION_FILE);
         if (in != null) {
             txnLogProperties.load(in);
         }
@@ -145,7 +146,7 @@
         File sourceJar2 = new File(asterixInstanceDir + File.separator + "lib" + File.separator + "asterix-app-"
                 + asterixInstance.getAsterixVersion() + ".jar");
         File replacementFile = new File(asterixInstanceDir + File.separator + "log.properties");
-        replaceInJar(sourceJar2, txnLogPropertyFile, replacementFile);
+        replaceInJar(sourceJar2, TXN_LOG_CONFIGURATION_FILE, replacementFile);
 
         new File(asterixInstanceDir + File.separator + "log.properties").delete();
         String asterixZipName = InstallerDriver.getAsterixZip().substring(
@@ -204,33 +205,31 @@
         return nodeDataStore.toString();
     }
 
-    private static void writeAsterixConfigurationFile(AsterixInstance asterixInstance, boolean newData)
-            throws IOException {
+    private static void writeAsterixConfigurationFile(AsterixInstance asterixInstance) throws IOException,
+            JAXBException {
         String asterixInstanceName = asterixInstance.getName();
         Cluster cluster = asterixInstance.getCluster();
         String metadataNodeId = asterixInstance.getMetadataNodeId();
 
-        StringBuffer conf = new StringBuffer();
-        conf.append("MetadataNode=" + asterixInstanceName + "_" + metadataNodeId + "\n");
-        conf.append("NewUniverse=" + newData + "\n");
+        AsterixConfiguration configuration = asterixInstance.getAsterixConfiguration();
+        configuration.setMetadataNode(asterixInstanceName + "_" + metadataNodeId);
 
         String storeDir = null;
+        List<Store> stores = new ArrayList<Store>();
         for (Node node : cluster.getNode()) {
             storeDir = node.getStore() == null ? cluster.getStore() : node.getStore();
-            conf.append(asterixInstanceName + "_" + node.getId() + ".stores" + "=" + storeDir + "\n");
+            stores.add(new Store(asterixInstanceName + "_" + node.getId(), storeDir));
         }
-
-        AsterixConfiguration asterixConf = asterixInstance.getAsterixConfiguration();
-        /*for (Property  property : asterixConf.getProperty()){
-        	
-        }*/
-
-        conf.append("OutputDir=" + "dummy");
+        configuration.setStore(stores);
 
         File asterixConfDir = new File(InstallerDriver.getAsterixDir() + File.separator + asterixInstanceName);
         asterixConfDir.mkdirs();
-        dumpToFile(InstallerDriver.getAsterixDir() + File.separator + asterixInstanceName + File.separator
-                + "test.properties", conf.toString());
+
+        JAXBContext ctx = JAXBContext.newInstance(AsterixConfiguration.class);
+        Marshaller marshaller = ctx.createMarshaller();
+        marshaller.setProperty(Marshaller.JAXB_FORMATTED_OUTPUT, true);
+        marshaller.marshal(configuration, new FileOutputStream(asterixConfDir + File.separator
+                + ASTERIX_CONFIGURATION_FILE));
     }
 
     private static void writeAsterixLogConfigurationFile(String asterixInstanceName, Cluster cluster,
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/model/AsterixInstance.java b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/model/AsterixInstance.java
index d4b2a0b..1eba89f 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/model/AsterixInstance.java
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/model/AsterixInstance.java
@@ -19,10 +19,10 @@
 import java.util.Date;
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.configuration.AsterixConfiguration;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.configuration.Property;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.schema.cluster.Cluster;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.schema.cluster.Node;
-import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.schema.asterixconf.AsterixConfiguration;
-import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.schema.asterixconf.Property;
 
 public class AsterixInstance implements Serializable {
 
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/resources/clusters/local/conf/asterix-conf.xml b/asterix-installer/src/main/resources/conf/asterix-configuration.xml
similarity index 95%
rename from asterix-installer/src/main/resources/clusters/local/conf/asterix-conf.xml
rename to asterix-installer/src/main/resources/conf/asterix-configuration.xml
index b94e491..89e9466 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/src/main/resources/clusters/local/conf/asterix-conf.xml
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/resources/conf/asterix-configuration.xml
@@ -67,12 +67,6 @@
 	</property>
 
 	<property>
-		<name>nc_port</name>
-		<value>14601</value>
-                <description></description>
-	</property>
-
-	<property>
 		<name>num_pages_buffer_cache</name>
 		<value>8</value>
                 <description></description>
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/resources/schema/asterix-conf.xsd b/asterix-installer/src/main/resources/schema/asterix-conf.xsd
deleted file mode 100644
index 9ebc5ed..0000000
--- a/asterix-installer/src/main/resources/schema/asterix-conf.xsd
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,32 +0,0 @@
-<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" ?>
-<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
-	xmlns:mg="asterixconf" targetNamespace="asterixconf"
-	elementFormDefault="qualified">
-
-	<!-- definition of simple types -->
-
-	<xs:element name="name" type="xs:string" />
-	<xs:element name="value" type="xs:string" />
-	<xs:element name="description" type="xs:string" />
-	
-	<!-- definition of complex elements -->
-	<xs:element name="property">
-		<xs:complexType>
-			<xs:sequence>
-				<xs:element ref="mg:name" />
-				<xs:element ref="mg:value" />
-				<xs:element ref="mg:description" />
-			</xs:sequence>
-		</xs:complexType>
-	</xs:element>
-
-
-	<xs:element name="asterixConfiguration">
-		<xs:complexType>
-			<xs:sequence>
-				<xs:element ref="mg:property" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded" />
-			</xs:sequence>
-		</xs:complexType>
-	</xs:element>
-
-</xs:schema>     
diff --git a/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/api/IAsterixStateProxy.java b/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/api/IAsterixStateProxy.java
index 5f772c7..d67cd27 100644
--- a/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/api/IAsterixStateProxy.java
+++ b/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/api/IAsterixStateProxy.java
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 import java.rmi.Remote;
 import java.rmi.RemoteException;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.bootstrap.AsterixProperties;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixProperties;
 
 /**
  * Interface for setting/getting distributed state of Asterix.
diff --git a/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/bootstrap/AsterixProperties.java b/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/bootstrap/AsterixProperties.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 71a7de3..0000000
--- a/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/bootstrap/AsterixProperties.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,147 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 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.metadata.bootstrap;
-
-import java.io.File;
-import java.io.FileInputStream;
-import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
-import java.io.IOException;
-import java.io.InputStream;
-import java.io.Serializable;
-import java.util.Enumeration;
-import java.util.HashMap;
-import java.util.HashSet;
-import java.util.Map;
-import java.util.Properties;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.GlobalConfig;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-
-/**
- * Holder for Asterix properties values typically set as Java Properties.
- * Intended to live in the AsterixStateProxy so it can be accessed remotely.
- */
-public class AsterixProperties implements Serializable {
-
-    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-    private static String metadataNodeName;
-    private static Boolean isNewUniverse;
-    private static HashSet<String> nodeNames;
-    private static Map<String, String[]> stores;
-    private static String outputDir;
-
-    public static AsterixProperties INSTANCE = new AsterixProperties();
-
-    private AsterixProperties() {
-        try {
-            initializeProperties();
-        } catch (Exception e) {
-            throw new IllegalStateException(e);
-        }
-    }
-
-    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
-    private void initializeProperties() throws AlgebricksException {
-        Properties p = new Properties();
-        String fileName = System.getProperty(GlobalConfig.CONFIG_FILE_PROPERTY);
-        if (fileName == null) {
-            fileName = GlobalConfig.DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE_NAME;
-        }
-
-        InputStream is = this.getClass().getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream(fileName);
-        if (is == null) {
-            try {
-                fileName = GlobalConfig.DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE_NAME;
-                is = new FileInputStream(fileName);
-            } catch (FileNotFoundException fnf) {
-                throw new AlgebricksException("Could not find the configuration file " + fileName);
-            }
-        }
-        try {
-            p.load(is);
-            is.close();
-        } catch (IOException e) {
-            throw new AlgebricksException(e);
-        }
-        Enumeration<String> pNames = (Enumeration<String>) p.propertyNames();
-        stores = new HashMap<String, String[]>();
-        boolean newUniverseChosen = false;
-        String pn;
-        String val;
-        while (pNames.hasMoreElements()) {
-            pn = pNames.nextElement();
-            if (pn.equals("MetadataNode")) {
-                val = p.getProperty(pn);
-                metadataNodeName = val;
-            } else if (pn.equals("NewUniverse")) {
-                val = p.getProperty(pn);
-                newUniverseChosen = true;
-                isNewUniverse = Boolean.parseBoolean(val);
-            } else if (pn.equals("OutputDir")) {
-                val = p.getProperty(pn);
-                outputDir = val;
-            } else {
-                String ncName = pn.substring(0, pn.indexOf('.'));
-                val = p.getProperty(pn);
-                String[] folderNames = val.split("\\s*,\\s*");
-                int i = 0;
-                for (String store : folderNames) {
-                    boolean needsStartSep = !store.startsWith(File.separator);
-                    boolean needsEndSep = !store.endsWith(File.separator);
-                    if (needsStartSep && needsEndSep) {
-                        folderNames[i] = File.separator + store + File.separator;
-                    } else if (needsStartSep) {
-                        folderNames[i] = File.separator + store;
-                    } else if (needsEndSep) {
-                        folderNames[i] = store + File.separator;
-                    }
-                    i++;
-                }
-                stores.put(ncName, folderNames);
-                nodeNames = new HashSet<String>();
-                nodeNames.addAll(stores.keySet());
-            }
-        }
-        if (metadataNodeName == null)
-            throw new AlgebricksException("You need to specify the metadata node!");
-        if (!newUniverseChosen)
-            throw new AlgebricksException("You need to specify whether or not you want to start a new universe!");
-    }
-
-    public Boolean isNewUniverse() {
-        return isNewUniverse;
-    }
-
-    public String getMetadataNodeName() {
-        return metadataNodeName;
-    }
-
-    public String getMetadataStore() {
-        return stores.get(metadataNodeName)[0];
-    }
-
-    public Map<String, String[]> getStores() {
-        return stores;
-    }
-
-    public HashSet<String> getNodeNames() {
-        return nodeNames;
-    }
-
-    public String getOutputDir() {
-        return outputDir;
-    }
-}
diff --git a/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/bootstrap/AsterixStateProxy.java b/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/bootstrap/AsterixStateProxy.java
index 3946fa6..55aaf33 100644
--- a/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/bootstrap/AsterixStateProxy.java
+++ b/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/bootstrap/AsterixStateProxy.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 import java.rmi.server.UnicastRemoteObject;
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixProperties;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.api.IAsterixStateProxy;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.api.IMetadataNode;
 
diff --git a/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/bootstrap/MetadataBootstrap.java b/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/bootstrap/MetadataBootstrap.java
index 805a550..9d43c5c 100644
--- a/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/bootstrap/MetadataBootstrap.java
+++ b/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/bootstrap/MetadataBootstrap.java
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixProperties;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.DatasetConfig.DatasetType;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.DatasetConfig.IndexType;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.GlobalConfig;
@@ -125,8 +126,8 @@
                 MetadataSecondaryIndexes.DATATYPENAME_ON_DATATYPE_INDEX };
     }
 
-    public static void startUniverse(AsterixProperties asterixProperties, INCApplicationContext ncApplicationContext, boolean isNewUniverse)
-            throws Exception {
+    public static void startUniverse(AsterixProperties asterixProperties, INCApplicationContext ncApplicationContext,
+            boolean isNewUniverse) throws Exception {
         runtimeContext = (AsterixAppRuntimeContext) ncApplicationContext.getApplicationObject();
 
         // Initialize static metadata objects, such as record types and metadata
@@ -152,11 +153,6 @@
         nodeNames = asterixProperties.getNodeNames();
         // nodeStores = asterixProperity.getStores();
 
-        outputDir = asterixProperties.getOutputDir();
-        if (outputDir != null) {
-            (new File(outputDir)).mkdirs();
-        }
-
         indexLifecycleManager = runtimeContext.getIndexLifecycleManager();
         localResourceRepository = runtimeContext.getLocalResourceRepository();
         bufferCache = runtimeContext.getBufferCache();
@@ -233,7 +229,8 @@
                     primaryIndexes[i].getNodeGroupName());
             MetadataManager.INSTANCE.addDataset(mdTxnCtx, new Dataset(primaryIndexes[i].getDataverseName(),
                     primaryIndexes[i].getIndexedDatasetName(), primaryIndexes[i].getPayloadRecordType().getTypeName(),
-                    id, new HashMap<String,String>(), DatasetType.INTERNAL, primaryIndexes[i].getDatasetId().getId(), IMetadataEntity.PENDING_NO_OP));
+                    id, new HashMap<String, String>(), DatasetType.INTERNAL, primaryIndexes[i].getDatasetId().getId(),
+                    IMetadataEntity.PENDING_NO_OP));
         }
     }
 
@@ -318,7 +315,7 @@
     }
 
     public static void enlistMetadataDataset(IMetadataIndex index, boolean create) throws Exception {
-        String filePath = metadataStore + index.getFileNameRelativePath();
+        String filePath = metadataStore + File.separator + index.getFileNameRelativePath();
         FileReference file = new FileReference(new File(filePath));
         IInMemoryBufferCache memBufferCache = new InMemoryBufferCache(new HeapBufferAllocator(), DEFAULT_MEM_PAGE_SIZE,
                 DEFAULT_MEM_NUM_PAGES, new TransientFileMapManager());
@@ -331,8 +328,8 @@
         LSMBTree lsmBtree = null;
         long resourceID = -1;
         if (create) {
-            lsmBtree = LSMBTreeUtils.createLSMTree(memBufferCache, memFreePageManager, ioManager, file,
-                    bufferCache, fileMapProvider, typeTraits, comparatorFactories, bloomFilterKeyFields,
+            lsmBtree = LSMBTreeUtils.createLSMTree(memBufferCache, memFreePageManager, ioManager, file, bufferCache,
+                    fileMapProvider, typeTraits, comparatorFactories, bloomFilterKeyFields,
                     runtimeContext.getLSMMergePolicy(), runtimeContext.getLSMBTreeOperationTrackerFactory(),
                     runtimeContext.getLSMIOScheduler(), AsterixRuntimeComponentsProvider.LSMBTREE_PROVIDER);
             lsmBtree.create();
@@ -358,13 +355,11 @@
                 indexLifecycleManager.register(resourceID, lsmBtree);
             }
         }
-        
+
         index.setResourceID(resourceID);
         index.setFile(file);
         indexLifecycleManager.open(resourceID);
     }
-    
-    
 
     public static String getOutputDir() {
         return outputDir;
@@ -381,9 +376,9 @@
         String datasetName = null;
         String indexName = null;
         MetadataTransactionContext mdTxnCtx = null;
-        
+
         MetadataManager.INSTANCE.acquireWriteLatch();
-        
+
         try {
             mdTxnCtx = MetadataManager.INSTANCE.beginTransaction();
 
diff --git a/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/declared/AqlCompiledMetadataDeclarations.java b/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/declared/AqlCompiledMetadataDeclarations.java
index 35a9b83..70383f9 100644
--- a/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/declared/AqlCompiledMetadataDeclarations.java
+++ b/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/declared/AqlCompiledMetadataDeclarations.java
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.annotations.TypeDataGen;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixProperties;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.DatasetConfig.DatasetType;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.exceptions.AsterixException;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.formats.base.IDataFormat;
@@ -29,7 +30,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.MetadataManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.MetadataTransactionContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.api.IMetadataManager;
-import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.bootstrap.AsterixProperties;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.entities.Dataset;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.entities.Datatype;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.entities.Dataverse;
diff --git a/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/declared/AqlMetadataProvider.java b/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/declared/AqlMetadataProvider.java
index e1f707c..5e759b1 100644
--- a/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/declared/AqlMetadataProvider.java
+++ b/asterix-metadata/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/metadata/declared/AqlMetadataProvider.java
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixProperties;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.DatasetConfig.DatasetType;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.DatasetConfig.IndexType;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.GlobalConfig;
@@ -47,7 +48,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.MetadataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.MetadataManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.MetadataTransactionContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.bootstrap.AsterixProperties;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.bootstrap.MetadataConstants;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.dataset.hints.DatasetHints.DatasetCardinalityHint;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.metadata.entities.Dataset;