diff --git a/asterix-app/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/api/common/AsterixAppRuntimeContext.java b/asterix-app/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/api/common/AsterixAppRuntimeContext.java
index d4d7ac6..4b3087d 100644
--- a/asterix-app/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/api/common/AsterixAppRuntimeContext.java
+++ b/asterix-app/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/api/common/AsterixAppRuntimeContext.java
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@
 
         IAsterixAppRuntimeContextProvider asterixAppRuntimeContextProvider = new AsterixAppRuntimeContextProviderForRecovery(
                 this);
-        txnSubsystem = new TransactionSubsystem(ncApplicationContext.getNodeId(), asterixAppRuntimeContextProvider);
+        txnSubsystem = new TransactionSubsystem(ncApplicationContext.getNodeId(), asterixAppRuntimeContextProvider, txnProperties);
         isShuttingdown = false;
 
         // The order of registration is important. The buffer cache must registered before recovery and transaction managers.
diff --git a/asterix-app/src/main/resources/asterix-build-configuration.xml b/asterix-app/src/main/resources/asterix-build-configuration.xml
index 3e1b4b2..dc77a96 100644
--- a/asterix-app/src/main/resources/asterix-build-configuration.xml
+++ b/asterix-app/src/main/resources/asterix-build-configuration.xml
@@ -13,4 +13,9 @@
      <value>WARNING</value>
      <description>Log level for running tests/build</description>
   </property>
+  <property>
+     <name>txn.log.groupcommitinterval</name>
+     <value>1</value>
+     <description>The group commit wait time in milliseconds.</description>
+  </property>
 </asterixConfiguration>
diff --git a/asterix-app/src/main/resources/log.properties b/asterix-app/src/main/resources/log.properties
deleted file mode 100644
index ee8040a..0000000
--- a/asterix-app/src/main/resources/log.properties
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-group_commit_wait_period=1
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterix-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/common/transactions/LogManagerProperties.java b/asterix-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/common/transactions/LogManagerProperties.java
index 89816aa..f92b977 100644
--- a/asterix-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/common/transactions/LogManagerProperties.java
+++ b/asterix-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/common/transactions/LogManagerProperties.java
@@ -15,25 +15,15 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.transactions;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
-import java.util.Properties;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixTransactionProperties;
 
 public class LogManagerProperties implements Serializable {
 
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 2084227360840799662L;
 
     public static final int LOG_MAGIC_NUMBER = 123456789;
-    public static final String LOG_DIR_SUFFIX_KEY = ".txnLogDir";
-    public static final String LOG_PAGE_SIZE_KEY = "log_page_size";
-    public static final String LOG_PARTITION_SIZE_KEY = "log_partition_size";
-    public static final String NUM_LOG_PAGES_KEY = "num_log_pages";
-    public static final String LOG_FILE_PREFIX_KEY = "log_file_prefix";
-    public static final String GROUP_COMMIT_WAIT_PERIOD_KEY = "group_commit_wait_period";
-    public static final String DISK_SECTOR_SIZE_KEY = "disk_sector_size";
-
-    private static final int DEFAULT_LOG_PAGE_SIZE = 128 * 1024; //128KB
-    private static final int DEFAULT_NUM_LOG_PAGES = 8;
-    private static final long DEFAULT_LOG_PARTITION_SIZE = (long) 1024 * 1024 * 1024 * 2; //2GB 
-    private static final long DEFAULT_GROUP_COMMIT_WAIT_PERIOD = 200; // time in millisec.
+    public static final String LOG_DIR_SUFFIX = ".txnLogDir";
     private static final String DEFAULT_LOG_FILE_PREFIX = "asterix_transaction_log";
     private static final String DEFAULT_LOG_DIRECTORY = "asterix_logs/";
     private static final int DEFAULT_DISK_SECTOR_SIZE = 4096;
@@ -56,22 +46,19 @@
     // default disk sector size
     private final int diskSectorSize;
 
-    public LogManagerProperties(Properties properties, String nodeId) {
-        this.logDirKey = new String(nodeId + LOG_DIR_SUFFIX_KEY);
-        this.logPageSize = Integer.parseInt(properties.getProperty(LOG_PAGE_SIZE_KEY, "" + DEFAULT_LOG_PAGE_SIZE));
-        this.numLogPages = Integer.parseInt(properties.getProperty(NUM_LOG_PAGES_KEY, "" + DEFAULT_NUM_LOG_PAGES));
-        long logPartitionSize = Long.parseLong(properties.getProperty(LOG_PARTITION_SIZE_KEY, ""
-                + DEFAULT_LOG_PARTITION_SIZE));
-        this.logDir = properties.getProperty(logDirKey, DEFAULT_LOG_DIRECTORY + nodeId);
-        this.logFilePrefix = properties.getProperty(LOG_FILE_PREFIX_KEY, DEFAULT_LOG_FILE_PREFIX);
-        this.groupCommitWaitPeriod = Long.parseLong(properties.getProperty(GROUP_COMMIT_WAIT_PERIOD_KEY, ""
-                + DEFAULT_GROUP_COMMIT_WAIT_PERIOD));
+    public LogManagerProperties(AsterixTransactionProperties txnProperties, String nodeId) {
+        this.logDirKey = new String(nodeId + LOG_DIR_SUFFIX);
+        this.logPageSize = txnProperties.getLogBufferPageSize();
+        this.numLogPages = txnProperties.getLogBufferNumPages();
+        long logPartitionSize = txnProperties.getLogPartitionSize();
+        this.logDir = DEFAULT_LOG_DIRECTORY + nodeId;
+        this.logFilePrefix = DEFAULT_LOG_FILE_PREFIX;
+        this.groupCommitWaitPeriod = txnProperties.getGroupCommitInterval();
 
         this.logBufferSize = logPageSize * numLogPages;
         //make sure that the log partition size is the multiple of log buffer size.
         this.logPartitionSize = (logPartitionSize / logBufferSize) * logBufferSize;
-        this.diskSectorSize = Integer.parseInt(properties.getProperty(DISK_SECTOR_SIZE_KEY, ""
-                + DEFAULT_DISK_SECTOR_SIZE));
+        this.diskSectorSize = DEFAULT_DISK_SECTOR_SIZE;
     }
 
     public long getLogPartitionSize() {
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/resources/conf/asterix-configuration.xml b/asterix-installer/src/main/resources/conf/asterix-configuration.xml
index bfec2db..bb7b9fb 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/src/main/resources/conf/asterix-configuration.xml
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/resources/conf/asterix-configuration.xml
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@
 
 	<property>
 		<name>txn.log.groupcommitinterval</name>
-		<value>200</value>
+		<value>1</value>
 		<description>The group commit wait time in milliseconds. (Default =
 			"200" // 2ms)
 		</description>
diff --git a/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/locking/EntityInfoManager.java b/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/locking/EntityInfoManager.java
index 206a3bf..57e4583 100644
--- a/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/locking/EntityInfoManager.java
+++ b/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/locking/EntityInfoManager.java
@@ -30,13 +30,12 @@
  */
 public class EntityInfoManager {
 
-    public static final int SHRINK_TIMER_THRESHOLD = 120000; //2min
-
     private ArrayList<ChildEntityInfoArrayManager> pArray;
     private int allocChild; //used to allocate the next free EntityInfo slot.
     private long shrinkTimer;
     private boolean isShrinkTimerOn;
     private int occupiedSlots;
+    private int shrinkTimerThreshold;
 
     //    ////////////////////////////////////////////////
     //    // begin of unit test
@@ -129,12 +128,13 @@
     //    // end of unit test
     //    ////////////////////////////////////////////////
 
-    public EntityInfoManager() {
+    public EntityInfoManager(int shrinkTimerThreshold) {
         pArray = new ArrayList<ChildEntityInfoArrayManager>();
         pArray.add(new ChildEntityInfoArrayManager());
         allocChild = 0;
         occupiedSlots = 0;
         isShrinkTimerOn = false;
+        this.shrinkTimerThreshold = shrinkTimerThreshold;
     }
 
     public int allocate(int jobId, int datasetId, int entityHashVal, byte lockMode) {
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@
 
         if (size > 1 && size * ChildEntityInfoArrayManager.NUM_OF_SLOTS / usedSlots >= 3) {
             if (isShrinkTimerOn) {
-                if (System.currentTimeMillis() - shrinkTimer >= SHRINK_TIMER_THRESHOLD) {
+                if (System.currentTimeMillis() - shrinkTimer >= shrinkTimerThreshold) {
                     isShrinkTimerOn = false;
                     return true;
                 }
diff --git a/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/locking/JobInfo.java b/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/locking/JobInfo.java
index 8bf5304..86eb02b 100644
--- a/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/locking/JobInfo.java
+++ b/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/locking/JobInfo.java
@@ -192,9 +192,9 @@
         }
     }
 
-    public void decreaseDatasetISLockCount(int datasetId) {
+    public void decreaseDatasetISLockCount(int datasetId, int entityToDatasetLockEscalationThreshold) {
         int count = datasetISLockHT.get(datasetId);
-        if (count >= LockManager.ESCALATE_TRHESHOLD_ENTITY_TO_DATASET) {
+        if (count >= entityToDatasetLockEscalationThreshold) {
             //do not decrease the count since it is already escalated.
         } else if (count > 1) {
             datasetISLockHT.upsert(datasetId, count - 1);
diff --git a/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/locking/LockManager.java b/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/locking/LockManager.java
index cf41199..272140b 100644
--- a/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/locking/LockManager.java
+++ b/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/locking/LockManager.java
@@ -56,8 +56,6 @@
     public static final boolean ALLOW_DATASET_GRANULE_X_LOCK_WITH_OTHER_CONCURRENT_LOCK_REQUESTS = false;
 
     public static final boolean ALLOW_ESCALATE_FROM_ENTITY_TO_DATASET = true;
-    //Threshold must be greater than 1 and should be reasonably large enough not to escalate too soon.
-    public static final int ESCALATE_TRHESHOLD_ENTITY_TO_DATASET = 1000;
     private static final int DO_ESCALATE = 0;
     private static final int ESCALATED = 1;
     private static final int DONOT_ESCALATE = 2;
@@ -95,7 +93,7 @@
         this.waiterLatch = new ReentrantReadWriteLock(true);
         this.jobHT = new HashMap<JobId, JobInfo>();
         this.datasetResourceHT = new HashMap<DatasetId, DatasetLockInfo>();
-        this.entityInfoManager = new EntityInfoManager();
+        this.entityInfoManager = new EntityInfoManager(txnSubsystem.getTransactionProperties().getLockManagerShrinkTimer());
         this.lockWaiterManager = new LockWaiterManager();
         this.entityLockInfoManager = new EntityLockInfoManager(entityInfoManager, lockWaiterManager);
         this.deadlockDetector = new DeadlockDetector(jobHT, datasetResourceHT, entityLockInfoManager,
@@ -197,7 +195,7 @@
                         if (doEscalate) {
                             throw new IllegalStateException(
                                     "ESCALATE_TRHESHOLD_ENTITY_TO_DATASET should not be set to "
-                                            + ESCALATE_TRHESHOLD_ENTITY_TO_DATASET);
+                                            + txnSubsystem.getTransactionProperties().getEntityToDatasetLockEscalationThreshold());
                         }
                     }
                 }
@@ -291,9 +289,9 @@
         }
 
         int count = jobInfo.getDatasetISLockCount(datasetId);
-        if (count == ESCALATE_TRHESHOLD_ENTITY_TO_DATASET) {
+        if (count == txnSubsystem.getTransactionProperties().getEntityToDatasetLockEscalationThreshold()) {
             return DO_ESCALATE;
-        } else if (count > ESCALATE_TRHESHOLD_ENTITY_TO_DATASET) {
+        } else if (count > txnSubsystem.getTransactionProperties().getEntityToDatasetLockEscalationThreshold()) {
             return ESCALATED;
         } else {
             return DONOT_ESCALATE;
@@ -776,7 +774,7 @@
 
             if (ALLOW_ESCALATE_FROM_ENTITY_TO_DATASET) {
                 if (!isInstant && datasetLockMode == LockMode.IS) {
-                    jobInfo.decreaseDatasetISLockCount(datasetId.getId());
+                    jobInfo.decreaseDatasetISLockCount(datasetId.getId(), txnSubsystem.getTransactionProperties().getEntityToDatasetLockEscalationThreshold());
                 }
             }
 
@@ -1290,7 +1288,7 @@
                             //We don't want to allow the lock escalation when there is a first lock request on a dataset. 
                             throw new IllegalStateException(
                                     "ESCALATE_TRHESHOLD_ENTITY_TO_DATASET should not be set to "
-                                            + ESCALATE_TRHESHOLD_ENTITY_TO_DATASET);
+                                            + txnSubsystem.getTransactionProperties().getEntityToDatasetLockEscalationThreshold());
                         }
                     }
                 }
diff --git a/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/locking/LockManagerDeterministicUnitTest.java b/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/locking/LockManagerDeterministicUnitTest.java
index 0781276..02fda06 100644
--- a/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/locking/LockManagerDeterministicUnitTest.java
+++ b/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/locking/LockManagerDeterministicUnitTest.java
@@ -7,7 +7,14 @@
 import java.util.NoSuchElementException;
 import java.util.Scanner;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixCompilerProperties;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixExternalProperties;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixMetadataProperties;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixPropertiesAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixStorageProperties;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixTransactionProperties;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.exceptions.ACIDException;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.exceptions.AsterixException;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.transactions.DatasetId;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.transactions.ILockManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.transactions.ITransactionManager.TransactionState;
@@ -18,7 +25,7 @@
 
 public class LockManagerDeterministicUnitTest {
 
-    public static void main(String args[]) throws ACIDException, IOException {
+    public static void main(String args[]) throws ACIDException, IOException, AsterixException {
         //initialize controller thread
         String requestFileName = new String(
                 "src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/locking/LockRequestFile");
@@ -39,8 +46,9 @@
     String requestFileName;
     long defaultWaitTime;
 
-    public LockRequestController(String requestFileName) throws ACIDException {
-        this.txnProvider = new TransactionSubsystem("LockManagerPredefinedUnitTest", null);;
+    public LockRequestController(String requestFileName) throws ACIDException, AsterixException {
+        this.txnProvider = new TransactionSubsystem("LockManagerPredefinedUnitTest", null,
+                new AsterixTransactionProperties(new AsterixPropertiesAccessor()));
         this.workerReadyQueue = new WorkerReadyQueue();
         this.requestList = new ArrayList<LockRequest>();
         this.expectedResultList = new ArrayList<ArrayList<Integer>>();
diff --git a/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/locking/LockManagerRandomUnitTest.java b/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/locking/LockManagerRandomUnitTest.java
index b2cc6ab..a942325 100644
--- a/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/locking/LockManagerRandomUnitTest.java
+++ b/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/locking/LockManagerRandomUnitTest.java
@@ -3,7 +3,10 @@
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Random;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixPropertiesAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixTransactionProperties;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.exceptions.ACIDException;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.exceptions.AsterixException;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.transactions.DatasetId;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.transactions.ILockManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.transactions.ITransactionContext;
@@ -28,9 +31,10 @@
     private static int jobId = 0;
     private static Random rand;
 
-    public static void main(String args[]) throws ACIDException {
+    public static void main(String args[]) throws ACIDException, AsterixException {
         int i;
-        TransactionSubsystem txnProvider = new TransactionSubsystem("LockManagerRandomUnitTest", null);
+        TransactionSubsystem txnProvider = new TransactionSubsystem("LockManagerRandomUnitTest", null,
+                new AsterixTransactionProperties(new AsterixPropertiesAccessor()));
         rand = new Random(System.currentTimeMillis());
         for (i = 0; i < MAX_NUM_OF_ENTITY_LOCK_JOB; i++) {
             System.out.println("Creating " + i + "th EntityLockJob..");
diff --git a/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/logging/LogManager.java b/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/logging/LogManager.java
index 205c5f2..31c6e78 100644
--- a/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/logging/LogManager.java
+++ b/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/logging/LogManager.java
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@
 
     public LogManager(TransactionSubsystem provider) throws ACIDException {
         this.provider = provider;
-        initLogManagerProperties(this.provider.getId());
+        logManagerProperties = new LogManagerProperties(this.provider.getTransactionProperties(), this.provider.getId());
         logPageSize = logManagerProperties.getLogPageSize();
         initLogManager();
         statLogSize = 0;
@@ -122,43 +122,13 @@
 
     public LogManager(TransactionSubsystem provider, String nodeId) throws ACIDException {
         this.provider = provider;
-        initLogManagerProperties(nodeId);
+        logManagerProperties = new LogManagerProperties(provider.getTransactionProperties(), nodeId);
         logPageSize = logManagerProperties.getLogPageSize();
         initLogManager();
         statLogSize = 0;
         statLogCount = 0;
     }
 
-    /*
-     * initialize the log manager properties either from the configuration file
-     * on disk or with default values
-     */
-    private void initLogManagerProperties(String nodeId) throws ACIDException {
-        LogManagerProperties logProperties = null;
-        InputStream is = null;
-        try {
-            is = this.getClass().getClassLoader()
-                    .getResourceAsStream(TransactionManagementConstants.LogManagerConstants.LOG_CONF_FILE);
-
-            Properties p = new Properties();
-
-            if (is != null) {
-                p.load(is);
-            }
-            logProperties = new LogManagerProperties(p, nodeId);
-
-        } catch (IOException ioe) {
-            if (is != null) {
-                try {
-                    is.close();
-                } catch (IOException e) {
-                    throw new ACIDException("unable to close input stream ", e);
-                }
-            }
-        }
-        logManagerProperties = logProperties;
-    }
-
     private void initLogManager() throws ACIDException {
         logRecordHelper = new LogRecordHelper(this);
         numLogPages = logManagerProperties.getNumLogPages();
diff --git a/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/recovery/CheckpointThread.java b/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/recovery/CheckpointThread.java
index a934d6c..635518d 100644
--- a/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/recovery/CheckpointThread.java
+++ b/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/recovery/CheckpointThread.java
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@
 
 public class CheckpointThread extends Thread {
 
-    private static final long LSN_THRESHOLD = 64 * 1024 * 1024;
-    private long checkpointTermInSecs = 120; //seconds.
+    private long lsnThreshold;
+    private long checkpointTermInSecs;
 
     private long lastMinMCTFirstLSN = 0;
 
@@ -20,12 +20,11 @@
     private final IIndexLifecycleManager indexLifecycleManager;
 
     public CheckpointThread(IRecoveryManager recoveryMgr, IIndexLifecycleManager indexLifecycleManager,
-            long checkpointTermInSecs) {
+            long lsnThreshold, long checkpointTermInSecs) {
         this.recoveryMgr = recoveryMgr;
         this.indexLifecycleManager = indexLifecycleManager;
-        if (this.checkpointTermInSecs < checkpointTermInSecs) {
-            this.checkpointTermInSecs = checkpointTermInSecs;
-        }
+        this.lsnThreshold = lsnThreshold;
+        this.checkpointTermInSecs = checkpointTermInSecs;
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -39,7 +38,7 @@
             }
 
             currentMinMCTFirstLSN = getMinMCTFirstLSN();
-            if (currentMinMCTFirstLSN - lastMinMCTFirstLSN > LSN_THRESHOLD) {
+            if (currentMinMCTFirstLSN - lastMinMCTFirstLSN > lsnThreshold) {
                 try {
                     recoveryMgr.checkpoint(false);
                     lastMinMCTFirstLSN = currentMinMCTFirstLSN;
diff --git a/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/transaction/TransactionManagementConstants.java b/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/transaction/TransactionManagementConstants.java
index 7d04f61..5bc7647 100644
--- a/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/transaction/TransactionManagementConstants.java
+++ b/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/transaction/TransactionManagementConstants.java
@@ -26,9 +26,6 @@
     }
 
     public static class LogManagerConstants {
-        public static final String LOG_CONF_DIR = "log_conf";
-        public static final String LOG_CONF_FILE = "log.properties";
-        public static final String ASTERIX_CONF_DIR = "src/main/resources";
         public static final String DEFAULT_LOG_DIR = "asterix_logs";
         public static final int TERMINAL_LSN = -1;
     }
diff --git a/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/transaction/TransactionSubsystem.java b/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/transaction/TransactionSubsystem.java
index eb6e9a2..bde44de 100644
--- a/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/transaction/TransactionSubsystem.java
+++ b/asterix-transactions/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/service/transaction/TransactionSubsystem.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.asterix.transaction.management.service.transaction;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixTransactionProperties;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.exceptions.ACIDException;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.transactions.IAsterixAppRuntimeContextProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.transactions.ILockManager;
@@ -42,10 +43,12 @@
     private final IndexLoggerRepository loggerRepository;
     private final IAsterixAppRuntimeContextProvider asterixAppRuntimeContextProvider;
     private final CheckpointThread checkpointThread;
+    private final AsterixTransactionProperties txnProperties;
 
-    public TransactionSubsystem(String id, IAsterixAppRuntimeContextProvider asterixAppRuntimeContextProvider)
-            throws ACIDException {
+    public TransactionSubsystem(String id, IAsterixAppRuntimeContextProvider asterixAppRuntimeContextProvider,
+            AsterixTransactionProperties txnProperties) throws ACIDException {
         this.id = id;
+        this.txnProperties = txnProperties;
         this.transactionManager = new TransactionManager(this);
         this.logManager = new LogManager(this);
         this.lockManager = new LockManager(this);
@@ -55,7 +58,8 @@
         this.asterixAppRuntimeContextProvider = asterixAppRuntimeContextProvider;
         if (asterixAppRuntimeContextProvider != null) {
             this.checkpointThread = new CheckpointThread(recoveryManager,
-                    asterixAppRuntimeContextProvider.getIndexLifecycleManager(), 0);
+                    asterixAppRuntimeContextProvider.getIndexLifecycleManager(),
+                    this.txnProperties.getCheckpointLSNThreshold(), this.txnProperties.getCheckpointPollFrequency());
         } else {
             this.checkpointThread = null;
         }
@@ -89,6 +93,10 @@
         return asterixAppRuntimeContextProvider;
     }
 
+    public AsterixTransactionProperties getTransactionProperties() {
+        return txnProperties;
+    }
+
     public String getId() {
         return id;
     }
diff --git a/asterix-transactions/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/logging/test/RecoverySimulator.java b/asterix-transactions/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/logging/test/RecoverySimulator.java
index 07f7474..862c996 100644
--- a/asterix-transactions/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/logging/test/RecoverySimulator.java
+++ b/asterix-transactions/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/logging/test/RecoverySimulator.java
@@ -16,7 +16,10 @@
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixPropertiesAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixTransactionProperties;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.exceptions.ACIDException;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.exceptions.AsterixException;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.transactions.IRecoveryManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.transaction.management.service.transaction.TransactionSubsystem;
 
@@ -28,10 +31,11 @@
         recoveryManager.startRecovery(true);
     }
 
-    public static void main(String args[]) throws IOException, ACIDException {
+    public static void main(String args[]) throws IOException, ACIDException, AsterixException {
         String id = "nc1";
         try {
-            TransactionSubsystem factory = new TransactionSubsystem(id, null);
+            TransactionSubsystem factory = new TransactionSubsystem(id, null, new AsterixTransactionProperties(
+                    new AsterixPropertiesAccessor()));
             IRecoveryManager recoveryManager = factory.getRecoveryManager();
             recoveryManager.startRecovery(true);
         } catch (ACIDException acide) {
diff --git a/asterix-transactions/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/logging/test/TransactionWorkloadSimulator.java b/asterix-transactions/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/logging/test/TransactionWorkloadSimulator.java
index 8f56e3b..b9605ef 100644
--- a/asterix-transactions/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/logging/test/TransactionWorkloadSimulator.java
+++ b/asterix-transactions/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/logging/test/TransactionWorkloadSimulator.java
@@ -18,7 +18,10 @@
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixPropertiesAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixTransactionProperties;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.exceptions.ACIDException;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.exceptions.AsterixException;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.transactions.DatasetId;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.transactions.ILockManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.transactions.ILogManager;
@@ -48,8 +51,9 @@
         transactions = new Transaction[workload.numActiveThreads];
     }
 
-    public void beginWorkload() throws ACIDException {
-        provider = new TransactionSubsystem("nc1", null);
+    public void beginWorkload() throws ACIDException, AsterixException {
+        provider = new TransactionSubsystem("nc1", null, new AsterixTransactionProperties(
+                new AsterixPropertiesAccessor()));
         logManager = provider.getLogManager();
         lockManager = provider.getLockManager();
         provider.getTransactionalResourceRepository().registerTransactionalResourceManager(DummyResourceMgr.id,
@@ -83,7 +87,7 @@
         System.out.println(" Avg Content Creation time :" + BasicLogger.getAverageContentCreationTime());
     }
 
-    public static void main(String args[]) {
+    public static void main(String args[]) throws AsterixException {
         WorkloadProperties workload = new WorkloadProperties();
         TransactionWorkloadSimulator simulator = new TransactionWorkloadSimulator(workload);
         try {
@@ -177,12 +181,12 @@
                 byte logActionType = LogActionType.REDO_UNDO;
                 long pageId = 0;
                 if (!retry) {
-                    lockMode = (byte)(random.nextInt(2));
+                    lockMode = (byte) (random.nextInt(2));
                 }
                 tempDatasetId.setId(resourceID);
                 TransactionWorkloadSimulator.lockManager.lock(tempDatasetId, -1, lockMode, context);
-                TransactionWorkloadSimulator.logManager.log(logType, context, resourceID,
-                        -1, resourceID, ResourceType.LSM_BTREE, logSize, null, logger, memLSN);
+                TransactionWorkloadSimulator.logManager.log(logType, context, resourceID, -1, resourceID,
+                        ResourceType.LSM_BTREE, logSize, null, logger, memLSN);
                 retry = false;
                 Thread.currentThread().sleep(TransactionWorkloadSimulator.workload.thinkTime);
                 logCount.incrementAndGet();
diff --git a/asterix-transactions/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/test/TransactionSimulator.java b/asterix-transactions/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/test/TransactionSimulator.java
index 66e9bdf..c322b31 100644
--- a/asterix-transactions/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/test/TransactionSimulator.java
+++ b/asterix-transactions/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/transaction/management/test/TransactionSimulator.java
@@ -17,7 +17,10 @@
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.Random;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixPropertiesAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.config.AsterixTransactionProperties;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.exceptions.ACIDException;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.exceptions.AsterixException;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.transactions.DatasetId;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.transactions.ILockManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.common.transactions.ILogManager;
@@ -47,9 +50,10 @@
     private LogicalLogLocator memLSN;
     private TransactionSubsystem transactionProvider;
 
-    public TransactionSimulator(IResource resource, IResourceManager resourceMgr) throws ACIDException {
+    public TransactionSimulator(IResource resource, IResourceManager resourceMgr) throws ACIDException, AsterixException {
         String id = "nc1";
-        transactionProvider = new TransactionSubsystem(id, null);
+        transactionProvider = new TransactionSubsystem(id, null, new AsterixTransactionProperties(
+                new AsterixPropertiesAccessor()));
         transactionManager = transactionProvider.getTransactionManager();
         logManager = transactionProvider.getLogManager();
         lockManager = transactionProvider.getLockManager();
@@ -102,7 +106,7 @@
     /**
      * @param args
      */
-    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException, ACIDException {
+    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException, ACIDException, AsterixException {
         String fileDir = "testdata";
         String fileName = "counterFile";
         IResource resource = new FileResource(fileDir, fileName);