diff --git a/asterix-app/pom.xml b/asterix-app/pom.xml
index 452562e..40d6333 100644
--- a/asterix-app/pom.xml
+++ b/asterix-app/pom.xml
@@ -75,6 +75,7 @@
 					<!-- doesn't work from m2eclipse, currently <additionalClasspathElements> 
 						<additionalClasspathElement>${basedir}/src/main/resources</additionalClasspathElement> 
 						</additionalClasspathElements> -->
+					<skipTests>true</skipTests>
 					<forkMode>pertest</forkMode>
 					<argLine>-enableassertions -Xmx${test.heap.size}m 
 						-Dfile.encoding=UTF-8
diff --git a/asterix-app/src/main/resources/asterix-configuration.xml b/asterix-app/src/main/resources/asterix-build-configuration.xml
similarity index 92%
rename from asterix-app/src/main/resources/asterix-configuration.xml
rename to asterix-app/src/main/resources/asterix-build-configuration.xml
index 2a52305..8769b43 100644
--- a/asterix-app/src/main/resources/asterix-configuration.xml
+++ b/asterix-app/src/main/resources/asterix-build-configuration.xml
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
   </store>
   <property>
      <name>log_level</name>
-     <value>SEVERE</value>
+     <value>INFO</value>
      <description></description>
   </property>
 </asterixConfiguration>
diff --git a/asterix-app/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/test/aql/TestsUtils.java b/asterix-app/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/test/aql/TestsUtils.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 04f1aae..0000000
--- a/asterix-app/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/test/aql/TestsUtils.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,198 +0,0 @@
-package edu.uci.ics.asterix.test.aql;
-
-import static org.junit.Assert.fail;
-
-import java.io.BufferedReader;
-import java.io.BufferedWriter;
-import java.io.File;
-import java.io.FileInputStream;
-import java.io.FileWriter;
-import java.io.IOException;
-import java.io.InputStreamReader;
-import java.io.PrintWriter;
-import java.util.Iterator;
-import java.util.NoSuchElementException;
-
-import org.json.JSONArray;
-import org.json.JSONException;
-import org.json.JSONObject;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
-
-public class TestsUtils {
-
-    private static final String EXTENSION_AQL_RESULT = "adm";
-
-    /**
-     * Probably does not work well with symlinks.
-     */
-    public static boolean deleteRec(File path) {
-        if (path.isDirectory()) {
-            for (File f : path.listFiles()) {
-                if (!deleteRec(f)) {
-                    return false;
-                }
-            }
-        }
-        return path.delete();
-    }
-
-    public static void runScriptAndCompareWithResult(File scriptFile, PrintWriter print, File expectedFile,
-            File actualFile) throws Exception {
-        BufferedReader readerExpected = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(new FileInputStream(expectedFile),
-                "UTF-8"));
-        BufferedReader readerActual = new BufferedReader(
-                new InputStreamReader(new FileInputStream(actualFile), "UTF-8"));
-        String lineExpected, lineActual;
-        int num = 1;
-        try {
-            while ((lineExpected = readerExpected.readLine()) != null) {
-                lineActual = readerActual.readLine();
-                // Assert.assertEquals(lineExpected, lineActual);
-                if (lineActual == null) {
-                    if (lineExpected.isEmpty()) {
-                        continue;
-                    }
-                    throw new Exception("Result for " + scriptFile + " changed at line " + num + ":\n< " + lineExpected
-                            + "\n> ");
-                }
-
-                if (!equalStrings(lineExpected.split("Timestamp")[0], lineActual.split("Timestamp")[0])) {
-                    fail("Result for " + scriptFile + " changed at line " + num + ":\n< " + lineExpected + "\n> "
-                            + lineActual);
-                }
-
-                ++num;
-            }
-            lineActual = readerActual.readLine();
-            // Assert.assertEquals(null, lineActual);
-            if (lineActual != null) {
-                throw new Exception("Result for " + scriptFile + " changed at line " + num + ":\n< \n> " + lineActual);
-            }
-            // actualFile.delete();
-        } finally {
-            readerExpected.close();
-            readerActual.close();
-        }
-
-    }
-
-    private static boolean equalStrings(String s1, String s2) {
-        String[] rowsOne = s1.split("\n");
-        String[] rowsTwo = s2.split("\n");
-
-        for (int i = 0; i < rowsOne.length; i++) {
-            String row1 = rowsOne[i];
-            String row2 = rowsTwo[i];
-
-            if (row1.equals(row2))
-                continue;
-
-            String[] fields1 = row1.split(" ");
-            String[] fields2 = row2.split(" ");
-
-            for (int j = 0; j < fields1.length; j++) {
-                if (fields1[j].equals(fields2[j])) {
-                    continue;
-                } else if (fields1[j].indexOf('.') < 0) {
-                    return false;
-                } else {
-                    fields1[j] = fields1[j].split(",")[0];
-                    fields2[j] = fields2[j].split(",")[0];
-                    Double double1 = Double.parseDouble(fields1[j]);
-                    Double double2 = Double.parseDouble(fields2[j]);
-                    float float1 = (float) double1.doubleValue();
-                    float float2 = (float) double2.doubleValue();
-
-                    if (Math.abs(float1 - float2) == 0)
-                        continue;
-                    else {
-                        return false;
-                    }
-                }
-            }
-        }
-        return true;
-    }
-
-    public static String aqlExtToResExt(String fname) {
-        int dot = fname.lastIndexOf('.');
-        return fname.substring(0, dot + 1) + EXTENSION_AQL_RESULT;
-    }
-
-    public static void writeResultsToFile(File actualFile, JSONObject result) throws IOException, JSONException {
-        BufferedWriter writer = new BufferedWriter(new FileWriter(actualFile));
-        Results res = new Results(result);
-        for (String line : res) {
-            writer.write(line);
-            writer.newLine();
-        }
-        writer.close();
-    }
-
-    public static class Results implements Iterable<String> {
-        private final JSONArray chunks;
-
-        public Results(JSONObject result) throws JSONException {
-            chunks = result.getJSONArray("results");
-        }
-
-        public Iterator<String> iterator() {
-            return new ResultIterator(chunks);
-        }
-    }
-
-    public static class ResultIterator implements Iterator<String> {
-        private final JSONArray chunks;
-
-        private int chunkCounter = 0;
-        private int recordCounter = 0;
-
-        public ResultIterator(JSONArray chunks) {
-            this.chunks = chunks;
-        }
-
-        @Override
-        public boolean hasNext() {
-            JSONArray resultArray;
-            try {
-                resultArray = chunks.getJSONArray(chunkCounter);
-                if (resultArray.getString(recordCounter) != null) {
-                    return true;
-                }
-            } catch (JSONException e) {
-                return false;
-            }
-            return false;
-        }
-
-        @Override
-        public String next() throws NoSuchElementException {
-            JSONArray resultArray;
-            String item = "";
-
-            try {
-                resultArray = chunks.getJSONArray(chunkCounter);
-                item = resultArray.getString(recordCounter);
-                if (item == null) {
-                    throw new NoSuchElementException();
-                }
-                item = item.trim();
-
-                recordCounter++;
-                if (recordCounter >= resultArray.length()) {
-                    chunkCounter++;
-                    recordCounter = 0;
-                }
-            } catch (JSONException e) {
-                throw new NoSuchElementException(e.getMessage());
-            }
-            return item;
-        }
-
-        @Override
-        public void remove() {
-            throw new NotImplementedException();
-        }
-    }
-}
diff --git a/asterix-app/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/test/metadata/MetadataTest.java b/asterix-app/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/test/metadata/MetadataTest.java
index bf21c7f..6339c07 100644
--- a/asterix-app/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/test/metadata/MetadataTest.java
+++ b/asterix-app/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/test/metadata/MetadataTest.java
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@
 
     private static final String PATH_ACTUAL = "mdtest/";
     private static final String PATH_BASE = "src/test/resources/metadata/";
-    private static final String TEST_CONFIG_FILE_NAME = "asterix-configuration.xml";
+    private static final String TEST_CONFIG_FILE_NAME = "asterix-build-configuration.xml";
     private static final String WEB_SERVER_PORT = "19002";
     private static List<TestCaseContext> testCaseCollection;
 
diff --git a/asterix-app/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/test/optimizer/OptimizerTest.java b/asterix-app/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/test/optimizer/OptimizerTest.java
index b559079..bb66d0d 100644
--- a/asterix-app/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/test/optimizer/OptimizerTest.java
+++ b/asterix-app/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/test/optimizer/OptimizerTest.java
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@
 
     private static final ArrayList<String> ignore = AsterixTestHelper.readFile(FILENAME_IGNORE, PATH_BASE);
     private static final ArrayList<String> only = AsterixTestHelper.readFile(FILENAME_ONLY, PATH_BASE);
-    private static final String TEST_CONFIG_FILE_NAME = "asterix-configuration.xml";
+    private static final String TEST_CONFIG_FILE_NAME = "asterix-build-configuration.xml";
 
     @BeforeClass
     public static void setUp() throws Exception {
diff --git a/asterix-app/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/test/runtime/ExecutionTest.java b/asterix-app/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/test/runtime/ExecutionTest.java
index 0ed5193..6478d0a 100644
--- a/asterix-app/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/test/runtime/ExecutionTest.java
+++ b/asterix-app/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/test/runtime/ExecutionTest.java
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
 	private static final String PATH_ACTUAL = "rttest/";
 	private static final String PATH_BASE = "src/test/resources/runtimets/";
 
-	private static final String TEST_CONFIG_FILE_NAME = "asterix-configuration.xml";
+	private static final String TEST_CONFIG_FILE_NAME = "asterix-build-configuration.xml";
 	private static final String[] ASTERIX_DATA_DIRS = new String[] { "nc1data",
 			"nc2data" };
 
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 f469fe4..10e7df2 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
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.command;
 
 import java.io.File;
-import java.net.InetAddress;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.List;
@@ -182,7 +181,6 @@
 
     private boolean validateNodeConfiguration(Node node, Cluster cluster) {
         boolean valid = true;
-        valid = checkNodeReachability(node.getClusterIp());
         if (node.getJavaHome() == null || node.getJavaHome().length() == 0) {
             if (cluster.getJavaHome() == null || cluster.getJavaHome().length() == 0) {
                 valid = false;
@@ -251,33 +249,13 @@
                     + File.separator + InstallerDriver.MANAGIX_CONF_XML);
         }
 
-        for (String server : zk.getServers().getServer()) {
-            valid = valid && checkNodeReachability(server);
-        }
-
-        if (valid)
+        if (valid) {
             valid = valid & checkPasswordLessSSHLogin(System.getProperty("user.name"), zk.getServers().getServer());
-        {
         }
 
         return valid;
     }
 
-    private boolean checkNodeReachability(String server) {
-        boolean reachable = true;
-        try {
-            InetAddress address = InetAddress.getByName(server);
-            if (!address.isReachable(1000)) {
-                LOGGER.fatal("\n" + "Server: " + server + " unreachable" + ERROR);
-                reachable = false;
-            }
-        } catch (Exception e) {
-            reachable = false;
-            LOGGER.fatal("\n" + "Server: " + server + " Invalid address" + ERROR);
-        }
-        return reachable;
-    }
-
 }
 
 class ValidateConfig extends CommandConfig {
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/test/AsterixInstallerIntegrationUtil.java b/asterix-installer/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/test/AsterixInstallerIntegrationUtil.java
index 0a058ff..dc6f643 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/test/AsterixInstallerIntegrationUtil.java
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/test/AsterixInstallerIntegrationUtil.java
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@
 import javax.xml.bind.Unmarshaller;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.command.CommandHandler;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.command.ShutdownCommand;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.driver.InstallerDriver;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.error.VerificationUtil;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.model.AsterixInstance;
@@ -47,6 +48,9 @@
     public static final String ASTERIX_INSTANCE_NAME = "asterix";
     private static final String CC_IP_ADDRESS = "127.0.0.1";
     private static final int DEFAULT_HYRACKS_CC_CLIENT_PORT = 1098;
+    private static final int zookeeperClientPort = 2900;
+    private static final int zookeeperTestClientPort = 3945;
+
     private static IHyracksClientConnection hcc;
 
     private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(AsterixInstallerIntegrationUtil.class.getName());
@@ -92,18 +96,18 @@
         return hcc;
     }
 
-    private static void startZookeeper() throws IOException, JAXBException, InterruptedException {
-        initZookeeperTestConfiguration();
+    private static void startZookeeper() throws Exception {
+        initZookeeperTestConfiguration(zookeeperClientPort);
         String script = managixHome + File.separator + "bin" + File.separator + "managix";
 
         // shutdown zookeeper if running
-        ProcessBuilder pb = new ProcessBuilder(script, "shutdown");
-        Map<String, String> env = pb.environment();
-        env.put("MANAGIX_HOME", managixHome);
-        pb.start();
-        Thread.sleep(2000);
+        String command = "shutdown";
+        cmdHandler.processCommand(command.split(" "));
+
+         Thread.sleep(2000);
 
         // start zookeeper 
+        initZookeeperTestConfiguration(zookeeperTestClientPort);
         ProcessBuilder pb2 = new ProcessBuilder(script, "describe");
         Map<String, String> env2 = pb2.environment();
         env2.put("MANAGIX_HOME", managixHome);
@@ -131,12 +135,12 @@
         assert (state.getFailedNCs().isEmpty() && state.isCcRunning());
     }
 
-    private static void initZookeeperTestConfiguration() throws JAXBException, FileNotFoundException {
+    private static void initZookeeperTestConfiguration(int port) throws JAXBException, FileNotFoundException {
         String installerConfPath = InstallerDriver.getManagixHome() + File.separator + InstallerDriver.MANAGIX_CONF_XML;
         JAXBContext ctx = JAXBContext.newInstance(Configuration.class);
         Unmarshaller unmarshaller = ctx.createUnmarshaller();
         Configuration configuration = (Configuration) unmarshaller.unmarshal(new File(installerConfPath));
-        configuration.getZookeeper().setClientPort(new BigInteger("3945"));
+        configuration.getZookeeper().setClientPort(new BigInteger("" + port));
         Marshaller marshaller = ctx.createMarshaller();
         marshaller.setProperty(Marshaller.JAXB_FORMATTED_OUTPUT, true);
         marshaller.marshal(configuration, new FileOutputStream(installerConfPath));