diff --git a/akka-persistence/akka-persistence-hbase/src/main/scala/HbaseStorageBackend.scala b/akka-persistence/akka-persistence-hbase/src/main/scala/HbaseStorageBackend.scala
index cc93e56016..67bd2b70ff 100644
--- a/akka-persistence/akka-persistence-hbase/src/main/scala/HbaseStorageBackend.scala
+++ b/akka-persistence/akka-persistence-hbase/src/main/scala/HbaseStorageBackend.scala
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ private[akka] object HbaseStorageBackend extends MapStorageBackend[Array[Byte],
   val EMPTY_BYTE_ARRAY = new Array[Byte](0)
   val HBASE_ZOOKEEPER_QUORUM = config.getString("akka.storage.hbase.zookeeper.quorum", "localhost")
   val CONFIGURATION = new HBaseConfiguration
-  val ADMIN = new HBaseAdmin(CONFIGURATION)
   val REF_TABLE_NAME = "__REF_TABLE"
   val VECTOR_TABLE_NAME = "__VECTOR_TABLE"
   val VECTOR_ELEMENT_COLUMN_FAMILY_NAME = "__VECTOR_ELEMENT"
@@ -43,6 +42,8 @@ private[akka] object HbaseStorageBackend extends MapStorageBackend[Array[Byte],
   init
   
   def init {
+    val ADMIN = new HBaseAdmin(CONFIGURATION)
+
     if (!ADMIN.tableExists(REF_TABLE_NAME)) {
       ADMIN.createTable(new HTableDescriptor(REF_TABLE_NAME))
       ADMIN.disableTable(REF_TABLE_NAME)
@@ -69,6 +70,8 @@ private[akka] object HbaseStorageBackend extends MapStorageBackend[Array[Byte],
   }
   
   def drop {
+    val ADMIN = new HBaseAdmin(CONFIGURATION)
+
     if (ADMIN.tableExists(REF_TABLE_NAME)) {
       ADMIN.disableTable(REF_TABLE_NAME)
       ADMIN.deleteTable(REF_TABLE_NAME)
diff --git a/akka-persistence/akka-persistence-hbase/src/test/scala/HbasePersistentActorSpec.scala b/akka-persistence/akka-persistence-hbase/src/test/scala/HbasePersistentActorSpec.scala
index 468cd800ce..d31b6b469e 100644
--- a/akka-persistence/akka-persistence-hbase/src/test/scala/HbasePersistentActorSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-persistence/akka-persistence-hbase/src/test/scala/HbasePersistentActorSpec.scala
@@ -78,24 +78,24 @@ class PersistentFailerActor extends Transactor {
 
 class HbasePersistentActorSpec extends JUnitSuite with BeforeAndAfterAll {
 
-  val testUtil = new HBaseTestingUtility
+  //val testUtil = new HBaseTestingUtility
 
   override def beforeAll {
-    testUtil.startMiniCluster
+    //testUtil.startMiniCluster
   }
   
   override def afterAll {
-    testUtil.shutdownMiniCluster
+    //testUtil.shutdownMiniCluster
   }
 
   @Before
   def beforeEach {
-    HbaseStorageBackend.drop
+    //HbaseStorageBackend.drop
   }
   
   @After
   def afterEach {
-    HbaseStorageBackend.drop
+    //HbaseStorageBackend.drop
   }
 
   @Test
diff --git a/config/akka-reference.conf b/config/akka-reference.conf
index 09e1f39ed3..bfca30e727 100644
--- a/config/akka-reference.conf
+++ b/config/akka-reference.conf
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ akka {
     }
 
     hbase {
-      zookeeper.quorum = "localhost"
+      zookeeper.quorum = "master"
     }
   }
 }