diff --git a/asterix-events/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/event/driver/EventDriver.java b/asterix-events/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/event/driver/EventDriver.java
index 66c0102..1721666 100644
--- a/asterix-events/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/event/driver/EventDriver.java
+++ b/asterix-events/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/event/driver/EventDriver.java
@@ -69,10 +69,7 @@
     }
 
     public static Cluster initializeCluster(String path) throws JAXBException, IOException {
-        File file = new File(path);
-        JAXBContext ctx = JAXBContext.newInstance(Cluster.class);
-        Unmarshaller unmarshaller = ctx.createUnmarshaller();
-        Cluster cluster = (Cluster) unmarshaller.unmarshal(file);
+        Cluster cluster = EventUtil.getCluster(path);
         for (Property p : cluster.getEnv().getProperty()) {
             env.put(p.getKey(), p.getValue());
         }
diff --git a/asterix-events/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/event/management/EventUtil.java b/asterix-events/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/event/management/EventUtil.java
index e6c58eb..0761c7f 100644
--- a/asterix-events/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/event/management/EventUtil.java
+++ b/asterix-events/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/event/management/EventUtil.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.management;
 
+import java.io.File;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.math.BigInteger;
 import java.text.DateFormat;
@@ -21,6 +22,10 @@
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 
+import javax.xml.bind.JAXBContext;
+import javax.xml.bind.JAXBException;
+import javax.xml.bind.Unmarshaller;
+
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.driver.EventDriver;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.management.ValueType.Type;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.schema.cluster.Cluster;
@@ -42,6 +47,25 @@
 	private static final String SCRIPT = "SCRIPT";
 	private static final String ARGS = "ARGS";
 	private static final String EXECUTE_SCRIPT = "events/execute.sh";
+	private static final String LOCALHOST = "localhost";
+	private static final String LOCALHOST_IP = "127.0.0.1";
+
+    public static Cluster getCluster(String clusterConfigurationPath)
+			throws JAXBException {
+		File file = new File(clusterConfigurationPath);
+		JAXBContext ctx = JAXBContext.newInstance(Cluster.class);
+		Unmarshaller unmarshaller = ctx.createUnmarshaller();
+		Cluster cluster = (Cluster) unmarshaller.unmarshal(file);
+		if (cluster.getMasterNode().getClusterIp().equals(LOCALHOST)) {
+			cluster.getMasterNode().setClusterIp(LOCALHOST_IP);
+		}
+		for (Node node : cluster.getNode()) {
+			if (node.getClusterIp().equals(LOCALHOST)) {
+				node.setClusterIp(LOCALHOST_IP);
+			}
+		}
+		return cluster;
+	}
 
 	public static long parseTimeInterval(ValueType v, String unit)
 			throws IllegalArgumentException {
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/BackupCommand.java b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/BackupCommand.java
index 297a168..261de22 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/BackupCommand.java
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/BackupCommand.java
@@ -57,12 +57,11 @@
 
     @Override
     protected String getUsageDescription() {
-        return "\nIn an undesirable event of data loss either due to a disk/system"
-                + "\nfailure or accidental execution of a DDL statement (drop dataverse/dataset),"
-                + "\nyou may need to recover the lost data. The backup command allows you to take a"
+        return "\nThe backup command allows you to take a"
                 + "\nbackup of the data stored with an ASTERIX instance. "
-                + "\nThe backed up snapshot is stored in HDFS." + "\n\nAvailable arguments/options:"
-                + "\n-n name of the Asterix instance";
+                + "\nThe backed up snapshot is stored either in HDFS or on the local file system of each node in the ASTERIX cluster."
+                + "\nThe target location of backup can be configured in $MANAGIX_HOME/conf/managix-conf.xml"
+                + "\n\nAvailable arguments/options:" + "\n-n name of the Asterix instance";
 
     }
 
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/ConfigureCommand.java b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/ConfigureCommand.java
index d22e6ce..e742c4e 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/ConfigureCommand.java
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/command/ConfigureCommand.java
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 import javax.xml.bind.Marshaller;
 import javax.xml.bind.Unmarshaller;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.management.EventUtil;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.schema.cluster.Cluster;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.schema.cluster.WorkingDir;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.driver.InstallerDriver;
@@ -19,10 +20,7 @@
         String localClusterPath = InstallerDriver.getManagixHome() + File.separator + "clusters" + File.separator
                 + "local" + File.separator + "local.xml";
 
-        JAXBContext ctx = JAXBContext.newInstance(Cluster.class);
-        Unmarshaller unmarshaller = ctx.createUnmarshaller();
-        Cluster cluster = (Cluster) unmarshaller.unmarshal(new File(localClusterPath));
-
+        Cluster cluster = EventUtil.getCluster(localClusterPath);
         String workingDir = InstallerDriver.getManagixHome() + File.separator + "clusters" + File.separator + "local"
                 + File.separator + "working_dir";
         cluster.setWorkingDir(new WorkingDir(workingDir, true));
@@ -32,13 +30,14 @@
         cluster.setJavaHome(System.getenv("JAVA_HOME"));
         cluster.setJavaOpts("-Xmx1024m");
 
+        JAXBContext ctx = JAXBContext.newInstance(Cluster.class);
         Marshaller marshaller = ctx.createMarshaller();
         marshaller.setProperty(Marshaller.JAXB_FORMATTED_OUTPUT, true);
         marshaller.marshal(cluster, new FileOutputStream(localClusterPath));
 
         String installerConfPath = InstallerDriver.getManagixHome() + File.separator + InstallerDriver.MANAGIX_CONF_XML;
         ctx = JAXBContext.newInstance(Configuration.class);
-        unmarshaller = ctx.createUnmarshaller();
+        Unmarshaller unmarshaller = ctx.createUnmarshaller();
         Configuration configuration = (Configuration) unmarshaller.unmarshal(new File(installerConfPath));
 
         configuration.getBackup().setBackupDir(workingDir + File.separator + "backup");
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 567f4d9..2de8e53 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
@@ -18,11 +18,9 @@
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 
-import javax.xml.bind.JAXBContext;
-import javax.xml.bind.Unmarshaller;
-
 import org.kohsuke.args4j.Option;
 
+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;
@@ -52,9 +50,7 @@
         asterixInstanceName = ((CreateConfig) config).name;
         InstallerUtil.validateAsterixInstanceNotExists(asterixInstanceName);
         CreateConfig createConfig = (CreateConfig) config;
-        JAXBContext ctx = JAXBContext.newInstance(Cluster.class);
-        Unmarshaller unmarshaller = ctx.createUnmarshaller();
-        cluster = (Cluster) unmarshaller.unmarshal(new File(createConfig.clusterPath));
+        cluster = EventUtil.getCluster(createConfig.clusterPath);
         AsterixInstance asterixInstance = InstallerUtil.createAsterixInstance(asterixInstanceName, cluster);
         InstallerUtil.evaluateConflictWithOtherInstances(asterixInstance);
         InstallerUtil.createAsterixZip(asterixInstance, true);
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 3d292a9..4e6460b 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
@@ -26,242 +26,264 @@
 
 import org.kohsuke.args4j.Option;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.management.EventUtil;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.schema.cluster.Cluster;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.schema.cluster.MasterNode;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.event.schema.cluster.Node;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.driver.InstallerDriver;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.driver.InstallerUtil;
+import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.model.ProcessInfo;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.schema.conf.Configuration;
 import edu.uci.ics.asterix.installer.schema.conf.Zookeeper;
 
 public class ValidateCommand extends AbstractCommand {
 
-	private static final String OK = " [" + "OK" + "]";
-	private static final String ERROR = " [" + "ERROR" + "]";
-	private static final String WARNING = " [" + "WARNING" + "]";
+    private static final String OK = " [" + "OK" + "]";
+    private static final String ERROR = " [" + "ERROR" + "]";
+    private static final String WARNING = " [" + "WARNING" + "]";
 
-	@Override
-	protected void execCommand() throws Exception {
-		ValidateConfig vConfig = (ValidateConfig) config;
-		logValidationResult("Environment", validateEnvironment());
-		if (((ValidateConfig) config).cluster != null) {
-			logValidationResult("Cluster configuration",
-					validateCluster(vConfig.cluster));
-		} else {
-			logValidationResult("Installer Configuration",
-					validateConfiguration());
-		}
-	}
+    @Override
+    protected void execCommand() throws Exception {
+        ValidateConfig vConfig = (ValidateConfig) config;
+        logValidationResult("Environment", validateEnvironment());
+        if (((ValidateConfig) config).cluster != null) {
+            logValidationResult("Cluster configuration", validateCluster(vConfig.cluster));
+        } else {
+            logValidationResult("Managix Configuration", validateConfiguration());
+        }
+    }
 
-	private void logValidationResult(String prefix, boolean isValid) {
-		if (!isValid) {
-			LOGGER.fatal(prefix + ERROR);
-		} else {
-			LOGGER.info(prefix + OK);
-		}
-	}
+    private void logValidationResult(String prefix, boolean isValid) {
+        if (!isValid) {
+            LOGGER.fatal(prefix + ERROR);
+        } else {
+            LOGGER.info(prefix + OK);
+        }
+    }
 
-	@Override
-	protected CommandConfig getCommandConfig() {
-		return new ValidateConfig();
-	}
+    @Override
+    protected CommandConfig getCommandConfig() {
+        return new ValidateConfig();
+    }
 
-	@Override
-	protected String getUsageDescription() {
-		return "\nValidate the installer's configuration or a cluster configuration"
-				+ "\nUsage"
-				+ "\nFor validating the installer configuration"
-				+ "\nuse managix validate"
-				+ "\n\nFor validating a cluster configuration"
-				+ "\nuse managix validate -c <path to the cluster configuration file>";
-	}
+    @Override
+    protected String getUsageDescription() {
+        return "\nValidate the installer's configuration or a cluster configuration" + "\nUsage"
+                + "\nFor validating the installer configuration" + "\nuse managix validate"
+                + "\n\nFor validating a cluster configuration"
+                + "\nuse managix validate -c <path to the cluster configuration file>";
+    }
 
-	public boolean validateEnvironment() throws Exception {
-		boolean valid = true;
-		String managixHome = System.getenv(InstallerDriver.ENV_MANAGIX_HOME);
-		if (managixHome == null) {
-			valid = false;
-			LOGGER.fatal(InstallerDriver.ENV_MANAGIX_HOME + " not set " + ERROR);
-		} else {
-			File home = new File(managixHome);
-			if (!home.exists()) {
-				valid = false;
-				LOGGER.fatal(InstallerDriver.ENV_MANAGIX_HOME + ": "
-						+ home.getAbsolutePath() + " does not exist!" + ERROR);
-			}
-		}
-		return valid;
+    public boolean validateEnvironment() throws Exception {
+        boolean valid = true;
+        String managixHome = System.getenv(InstallerDriver.ENV_MANAGIX_HOME);
+        if (managixHome == null) {
+            valid = false;
+            LOGGER.fatal(InstallerDriver.ENV_MANAGIX_HOME + " not set " + ERROR);
+        } else {
+            File home = new File(managixHome);
+            if (!home.exists()) {
+                valid = false;
+                LOGGER.fatal(InstallerDriver.ENV_MANAGIX_HOME + ": " + home.getAbsolutePath() + " does not exist!"
+                        + ERROR);
+            }
+        }
+        return valid;
 
-	}
+    }
 
-	public boolean validateCluster(String clusterPath) throws Exception {
-		boolean valid = true;
-		Cluster cluster = null;
-		File f = new File(clusterPath);
-		if (!f.exists() || !f.isFile()) {
-			LOGGER.error(" Invalid path " + f.getAbsolutePath() + ERROR);
-			valid = false;
-		} else {
-			JAXBContext ctx = JAXBContext.newInstance(Cluster.class);
-			Unmarshaller unmarshaller = ctx.createUnmarshaller();
-			cluster = (Cluster) unmarshaller.unmarshal(new File(clusterPath));
-			validateClusterProperties(cluster);
+    public boolean validateCluster(String clusterPath) throws Exception {
+        boolean valid = true;
+        Cluster cluster = null;
+        File f = new File(clusterPath);
+        List<String> ipAddresses = new ArrayList<String>();
+        if (!f.exists() || !f.isFile()) {
+            LOGGER.error(" Invalid path " + f.getAbsolutePath() + ERROR);
+            valid = false;
+        } else {
+            cluster = EventUtil.getCluster(clusterPath);
+            validateClusterProperties(cluster);
 
-			Set<String> servers = new HashSet<String>();
-			Set<String> serverIds = new HashSet<String>();
-			servers.add(cluster.getMasterNode().getClusterIp());
-			serverIds.add(cluster.getMasterNode().getId());
+            Set<String> servers = new HashSet<String>();
+            Set<String> serverIds = new HashSet<String>();
+            servers.add(cluster.getMasterNode().getClusterIp());
+            serverIds.add(cluster.getMasterNode().getId());
 
-			MasterNode masterNode = cluster.getMasterNode();
-			Node master = new Node(masterNode.getId(),
-					masterNode.getClusterIp(), masterNode.getJavaOpts(),
-					masterNode.getJavaHome(), masterNode.getLogdir(), null,
-					null, null);
+            MasterNode masterNode = cluster.getMasterNode();
+            Node master = new Node(masterNode.getId(), masterNode.getClusterIp(), masterNode.getJavaOpts(),
+                    masterNode.getJavaHome(), masterNode.getLogdir(), null, null, null);
+            ipAddresses.add(masterNode.getClusterIp());
 
-			valid = valid & validateNodeConfiguration(master, cluster);
+            valid = valid & validateNodeConfiguration(master, cluster);
 
-			for (Node node : cluster.getNode()) {
-				servers.add(node.getClusterIp());
-				if (serverIds.contains(node.getId())) {
-					valid = false;
-					LOGGER.error("Duplicate node id :" + node.getId() + ERROR);
-				} else {
-					valid = valid & validateNodeConfiguration(node, cluster);
-				}
-			}
-		}
+            for (Node node : cluster.getNode()) {
+                servers.add(node.getClusterIp());
+                if (serverIds.contains(node.getId())) {
+                    valid = false;
+                    LOGGER.error("Duplicate node id :" + node.getId() + ERROR);
+                } else {
+                    valid = valid & validateNodeConfiguration(node, cluster);
+                    if (!ipAddresses.contains(node.getClusterIp())) {
+                        ipAddresses.add(node.getClusterIp());
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
 
-		return valid;
-	}
+        if (valid) {
+            String username = cluster.getUsername();
+            if (username == null) {
+                username = System.getProperty("user.name");
+            }
+            valid = checkPasswordLessSSHLogin(username, ipAddresses);
+        }
+        return valid;
+    }
 
-	private void validateClusterProperties(Cluster cluster) {
-		List<String> tempDirs = new ArrayList<String>();
-		if (cluster.getLogdir() != null
-				&& checkTemporaryPath(cluster.getLogdir())) {
-			tempDirs.add("Log directory: " + cluster.getLogdir());
-		}
-		if (cluster.getIodevices() != null
-				&& checkTemporaryPath(cluster.getIodevices())) {
-			tempDirs.add("IO Device: " + cluster.getIodevices());
-		}
+    private boolean checkPasswordLessSSHLogin(String username, List<String> ipAddresses) throws Exception {
+        String script = InstallerDriver.getManagixHome() + File.separator + InstallerDriver.MANAGIX_INTERNAL_DIR
+                + File.separator + "scripts" + File.separator + "validate_ssh.sh";
+        List<String> args = ipAddresses;
+        args.add(0, username);
+        String output = InstallerUtil.executeLocalScript(script, args);
+        ipAddresses.remove(0);
+        for (String line : output.split("\n")) {
+            ipAddresses.remove(line);
+        }
+        if (ipAddresses.size() > 0) {
+            LOGGER.error(" Password-less SSH (from user account: " + username + " )"
+                    + " not configured for the following hosts");
+            for (String failedIp : ipAddresses) {
+                System.out.println(failedIp);
+            }
+            return false;
+        }
+        return true;
+    }
 
-		if (tempDirs.size() > 0) {
-			StringBuffer msg = new StringBuffer();
-			msg.append("The following paths are subject to be cleaned up by OS");
-			for (String tempDir : tempDirs) {
-				msg.append("\n" + tempDir + WARNING);
-			}
-			LOGGER.warn(msg);
-		}
+    private void validateClusterProperties(Cluster cluster) {
+        List<String> tempDirs = new ArrayList<String>();
+        if (cluster.getLogdir() != null && checkTemporaryPath(cluster.getLogdir())) {
+            tempDirs.add("Log directory: " + cluster.getLogdir());
+        }
+        if (cluster.getIodevices() != null && checkTemporaryPath(cluster.getIodevices())) {
+            tempDirs.add("IO Device: " + cluster.getIodevices());
+        }
 
-	}
+        if (tempDirs.size() > 0) {
+            StringBuffer msg = new StringBuffer();
+            msg.append("The following paths are subject to be cleaned up by OS");
+            for (String tempDir : tempDirs) {
+                msg.append("\n" + tempDir + WARNING);
+            }
+            LOGGER.warn(msg);
+        }
 
-	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;
-				LOGGER.fatal("java_home not defined at cluster/node level for node: "
-						+ node.getId() + ERROR);
-			}
-		}
+    }
 
-		if (node.getLogdir() == null || node.getLogdir().length() == 0) {
-			if (cluster.getLogdir() == null
-					|| cluster.getLogdir().length() == 0) {
-				valid = false;
-				LOGGER.fatal("log_dir not defined at cluster/node level for node: "
-						+ node.getId() + ERROR);
-			}
-		}
+    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;
+                LOGGER.fatal("java_home not defined at cluster/node level for node: " + node.getId() + ERROR);
+            }
+        }
 
-		if (node.getStore() == null || node.getStore().length() == 0) {
-			if (!cluster.getMasterNode().getId().equals(node.getId())
-					&& (cluster.getStore() == null || cluster.getStore()
-							.length() == 0)) {
-				valid = false;
-				LOGGER.fatal("store not defined at cluster/node level for node: "
-						+ node.getId() + ERROR);
-			}
-		}
+        if (node.getLogdir() == null || node.getLogdir().length() == 0) {
+            if (cluster.getLogdir() == null || cluster.getLogdir().length() == 0) {
+                valid = false;
+                LOGGER.fatal("log_dir not defined at cluster/node level for node: " + node.getId() + ERROR);
+            }
+        }
 
-		if (node.getIodevices() == null || node.getIodevices().length() == 0) {
-			if (!cluster.getMasterNode().getId().equals(node.getId())
-					&& (cluster.getIodevices() == null || cluster
-							.getIodevices().length() == 0)) {
-				valid = false;
-				LOGGER.fatal("iodevice(s) not defined at cluster/node level for node: "
-						+ node.getId() + ERROR);
-			}
-		}
+        if (node.getStore() == null || node.getStore().length() == 0) {
+            if (!cluster.getMasterNode().getId().equals(node.getId())
+                    && (cluster.getStore() == null || cluster.getStore().length() == 0)) {
+                valid = false;
+                LOGGER.fatal("store not defined at cluster/node level for node: " + node.getId() + ERROR);
+            }
+        }
 
-		return valid;
-	}
+        if (node.getIodevices() == null || node.getIodevices().length() == 0) {
+            if (!cluster.getMasterNode().getId().equals(node.getId())
+                    && (cluster.getIodevices() == null || cluster.getIodevices().length() == 0)) {
+                valid = false;
+                LOGGER.fatal("iodevice(s) not defined at cluster/node level for node: " + node.getId() + ERROR);
+            }
+        }
 
-	private boolean checkTemporaryPath(String logdir) {
-		return logdir.startsWith("/tmp/");
+        return valid;
+    }
 
-	}
+    private boolean checkTemporaryPath(String logdir) {
+        return logdir.startsWith(System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir"));
+    }
 
-	public boolean validateConfiguration() throws Exception {
-		String managixHome = System.getenv(InstallerDriver.ENV_MANAGIX_HOME);
-		File configFile = new File(managixHome + File.separator
-				+ InstallerDriver.MANAGIX_CONF_XML);
-		JAXBContext configCtx = JAXBContext.newInstance(Configuration.class);
-		Unmarshaller unmarshaller = configCtx.createUnmarshaller();
-		Configuration conf = (Configuration) unmarshaller.unmarshal(configFile);
-		return validateZookeeperConfiguration(conf);
-	}
+    public boolean validateConfiguration() throws Exception {
+        String managixHome = System.getenv(InstallerDriver.ENV_MANAGIX_HOME);
+        File configFile = new File(managixHome + File.separator + InstallerDriver.MANAGIX_CONF_XML);
+        JAXBContext configCtx = JAXBContext.newInstance(Configuration.class);
+        Unmarshaller unmarshaller = configCtx.createUnmarshaller();
+        Configuration conf = (Configuration) unmarshaller.unmarshal(configFile);
+        return validateZookeeperConfiguration(conf);
+    }
 
-	private boolean validateZookeeperConfiguration(Configuration conf)
-			throws Exception {
-		boolean valid = true;
-		Zookeeper zk = conf.getZookeeper();
+    private boolean validateZookeeperConfiguration(Configuration conf) throws Exception {
+        boolean valid = true;
+        Zookeeper zk = conf.getZookeeper();
 
-		if (zk.getHomeDir() == null || zk.getHomeDir().length() == 0) {
-			valid = false;
-			LOGGER.fatal("Zookeeper home dir not configured" + ERROR);
-		} else if (checkTemporaryPath(zk.getHomeDir())) {
-			LOGGER.warn("Zookeeper home dir is subject to be cleaned up by OS"
-					+ WARNING);
-		}
+        if (zk.getHomeDir() == null || zk.getHomeDir().length() == 0) {
+            valid = false;
+            LOGGER.fatal("Zookeeper home dir not configured" + ERROR);
+        } else if (checkTemporaryPath(zk.getHomeDir())) {
+            LOGGER.warn("Zookeeper home dir is subject to be cleaned up by OS" + WARNING);
+        }
 
-		if (zk.getServers().getServer().isEmpty()) {
-			valid = false;
-			LOGGER.fatal("Zookeeper servers not configured" + ERROR);
-		}
+        if (zk.getServers().getServer() == null || zk.getServers().getServer().isEmpty()) {
+            valid = false;
+            LOGGER.fatal("Zookeeper servers not configured" + ERROR);
+        }
 
-		boolean validEnsemble = true;
-		for (String server : zk.getServers().getServer()) {
-			validEnsemble = validEnsemble && checkNodeReachability(server);
-		}
+        if (zk.getServers().getJavaHome() == null || zk.getServers().getJavaHome().length() == 0) {
+            valid = false;
+            LOGGER.fatal("Java home not set for Zookeeper server in " + InstallerDriver.getManagixHome()
+                    + File.separator + InstallerDriver.MANAGIX_CONF_XML);
+        }
 
-		return valid;
-	}
+        for (String server : zk.getServers().getServer()) {
+            valid = valid && checkNodeReachability(server);
+        }
 
-	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;
-	}
+        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 {
 
-	@Option(name = "-c", required = false, usage = "Path to the cluster configuration xml")
-	public String cluster;
+    @Option(name = "-c", required = false, usage = "Path to the cluster configuration xml")
+    public String cluster;
 
 }
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/service/ZooKeeperService.java b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/service/ZooKeeperService.java
index b87d721..99f74ab 100644
--- a/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/service/ZooKeeperService.java
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/asterix/installer/service/ZooKeeperService.java
@@ -107,9 +107,13 @@
         zk = new ZooKeeper(zkConnectionString, ZOOKEEPER_SESSION_TIME_OUT, watcher);
         String head = msgQ.poll(10, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
         if (head == null) {
-            String msg = "Unable to start Zookeeper Service. Please verify the configuration at "
-                    + InstallerDriver.getManagixHome() + File.separator + InstallerDriver.MANAGIX_CONF_XML;
-            throw new Exception(msg);
+            StringBuilder msg = new StringBuilder(
+                    "Unable to start Zookeeper Service. This could be because of the following reasons.\n");
+            msg.append("1) Managix is incorrectly configured. Please run " + InstallerDriver.getManagixHome()
+                    + "/bin/managix validate" + " to run a validation test and correct the errors reported.");
+            msg.append("2) If validation in (1) is successful, ensure that java_home parameter is set correctly in Managix configuration ("
+                    + InstallerDriver.getManagixHome() + File.separator + InstallerDriver.MANAGIX_CONF_XML + ")");
+            throw new Exception(msg.toString());
         }
         msgQ.take();
         createRootIfNotExist();
diff --git a/asterix-installer/src/main/resources/scripts/validate_ssh.sh b/asterix-installer/src/main/resources/scripts/validate_ssh.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..f6dfed9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterix-installer/src/main/resources/scripts/validate_ssh.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+USERNAME=$1
+shift 1
+numargs=$#
+for ((i=1 ; i <= numargs ; i=i+2))
+do
+ host=$1
+ ssh -l $USERNAME -oNumberOfPasswordPrompts=0 $host "echo $host"
+ shift 1
+done