diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index b80964477d..25d3fa2323 100755
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -62,4 +62,7 @@ akka.sublime-workspace
 .multi-jvm
 _mb
 schoir.props
-worker*.log
\ No newline at end of file
+worker*.log
+mongoDB/
+redis/
+beanstalk/
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/resources/reference.conf b/akka-actor/src/main/resources/reference.conf
index e1a603c971..c900bc6b70 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/resources/reference.conf
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/resources/reference.conf
@@ -254,7 +254,7 @@ akka {
 
     debug {
       # enable function of Actor.loggable(), which is to log any received message at
-      # DEBUG level
+      # DEBUG level, see “Testing Actor Systems”
       receive = off
 
       # enable DEBUG logging of all AutoReceiveMessages (Kill, PoisonPill and the like)
diff --git a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-beanstalk-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/BeanstalkBasedMailbox.scala b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-beanstalk-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/BeanstalkBasedMailbox.scala
index 649b365beb..03f438ac5d 100644
--- a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-beanstalk-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/BeanstalkBasedMailbox.scala
+++ b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-beanstalk-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/BeanstalkBasedMailbox.scala
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ class BeanstalkBasedMailboxException(message: String) extends AkkaException(mess
 
 class BeanstalkBasedMailboxType(config: Config) extends MailboxType {
   override def create(owner: Option[ActorContext]): MessageQueue = owner match {
-    case Some(o) ⇒ new BeanstalkBasedMessageQueue(o)
+    case Some(o) ⇒ new BeanstalkBasedMessageQueue(o, config)
     case None    ⇒ throw new ConfigurationException("creating a durable mailbox requires an owner (i.e. does not work with BalancingDispatcher)")
   }
 }
@@ -27,9 +27,9 @@ class BeanstalkBasedMailboxType(config: Config) extends MailboxType {
 /**
  * @author <a href="http://jonasboner.com">Jonas Bon&#233;r</a>
  */
-class BeanstalkBasedMessageQueue(_owner: ActorContext) extends DurableMessageQueue(_owner) with DurableMessageSerialization {
+class BeanstalkBasedMessageQueue(_owner: ActorContext, _config: Config) extends DurableMessageQueue(_owner) with DurableMessageSerialization {
 
-  private val settings = BeanstalkBasedMailboxExtension(owner.system)
+  private val settings = new BeanstalkMailboxSettings(owner.system, _config)
   private val messageSubmitDelaySeconds = settings.MessageSubmitDelay.toSeconds.toInt
   private val messageTimeToLiveSeconds = settings.MessageTimeToLive.toSeconds.toInt
 
diff --git a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-beanstalk-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/BeanstalkBasedMailboxExtension.scala b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-beanstalk-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/BeanstalkBasedMailboxExtension.scala
deleted file mode 100644
index 36ab10393a..0000000000
--- a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-beanstalk-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/BeanstalkBasedMailboxExtension.scala
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,28 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * Copyright (C) 2009-2012 Typesafe Inc. <http://www.typesafe.com>
- */
-package akka.actor.mailbox
-
-import com.typesafe.config.Config
-import akka.util.Duration
-import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS
-import akka.actor._
-
-object BeanstalkBasedMailboxExtension extends ExtensionId[BeanstalkMailboxSettings] with ExtensionIdProvider {
-  override def get(system: ActorSystem): BeanstalkMailboxSettings = super.get(system)
-  def lookup() = this
-  def createExtension(system: ExtendedActorSystem) = new BeanstalkMailboxSettings(system.settings.config)
-}
-
-class BeanstalkMailboxSettings(val config: Config) extends Extension {
-
-  import config._
-
-  val Hostname = getString("akka.actor.mailbox.beanstalk.hostname")
-  val Port = getInt("akka.actor.mailbox.beanstalk.port")
-  val ReconnectWindow = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.actor.mailbox.beanstalk.reconnect-window"), MILLISECONDS)
-  val MessageSubmitDelay = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.actor.mailbox.beanstalk.message-submit-delay"), MILLISECONDS)
-  val MessageSubmitTimeout = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.actor.mailbox.beanstalk.message-submit-timeout"), MILLISECONDS)
-  val MessageTimeToLive = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.actor.mailbox.beanstalk.message-time-to-live"), MILLISECONDS)
-
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-beanstalk-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/BeanstalkBasedMailboxSettings.scala b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-beanstalk-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/BeanstalkBasedMailboxSettings.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6cf8868a9c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-beanstalk-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/BeanstalkBasedMailboxSettings.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (C) 2009-2012 Typesafe Inc. <http://www.typesafe.com>
+ */
+package akka.actor.mailbox
+
+import com.typesafe.config.Config
+import akka.util.Duration
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS
+import akka.actor.ActorSystem
+
+class BeanstalkMailboxSettings(val system: ActorSystem, val userConfig: Config) extends DurableMailboxSettings {
+
+  def name = "beanstalk"
+
+  val config = initialize
+
+  import config._
+
+  val Hostname = getString("hostname")
+  val Port = getInt("port")
+  val ReconnectWindow = Duration(getMilliseconds("reconnect-window"), MILLISECONDS)
+  val MessageSubmitDelay = Duration(getMilliseconds("message-submit-delay"), MILLISECONDS)
+  val MessageSubmitTimeout = Duration(getMilliseconds("message-submit-timeout"), MILLISECONDS)
+  val MessageTimeToLive = Duration(getMilliseconds("message-time-to-live"), MILLISECONDS)
+
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-beanstalk-mailbox/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/BeanstalkBasedMailboxSpec.scala b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-beanstalk-mailbox/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/BeanstalkBasedMailboxSpec.scala
index 4eb370ab63..3b538fdf4c 100644
--- a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-beanstalk-mailbox/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/BeanstalkBasedMailboxSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-beanstalk-mailbox/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/BeanstalkBasedMailboxSpec.scala
@@ -5,9 +5,26 @@ object BeanstalkBasedMailboxSpec {
     Beanstalkd-dispatcher {
       mailbox-type = akka.actor.mailbox.BeanstalkBasedMailboxType
       throughput = 1
+      beanstalk {
+        hostname = "127.0.0.1"
+        port = 11400
+      }
     }
     """
 }
 
 @org.junit.runner.RunWith(classOf[org.scalatest.junit.JUnitRunner])
-class BeanstalkBasedMailboxSpec extends DurableMailboxSpec("Beanstalkd", BeanstalkBasedMailboxSpec.config)
+class BeanstalkBasedMailboxSpec extends DurableMailboxSpec("Beanstalkd", BeanstalkBasedMailboxSpec.config) {
+
+  lazy val beanstalkd = new ProcessBuilder("beanstalkd", "-b", "beanstalk", "-l", "127.0.0.1", "-p", "11400").start()
+
+  override def atStartup(): Unit = {
+    new java.io.File("beanstalk").mkdir()
+    beanstalkd
+    Thread.sleep(3000)
+  }
+
+  override def atTermination(): Unit = beanstalkd.destroy()
+
+}
+
diff --git a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-file-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/FiledBasedMailbox.scala b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-file-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/FileBasedMailbox.scala
similarity index 87%
rename from akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-file-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/FiledBasedMailbox.scala
rename to akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-file-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/FileBasedMailbox.scala
index 8be117d89e..d750be17b8 100644
--- a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-file-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/FiledBasedMailbox.scala
+++ b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-file-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/FileBasedMailbox.scala
@@ -16,16 +16,16 @@ import akka.config.ConfigurationException
 
 class FileBasedMailboxType(config: Config) extends MailboxType {
   override def create(owner: Option[ActorContext]): MessageQueue = owner match {
-    case Some(o) ⇒ new FileBasedMessageQueue(o)
+    case Some(o) ⇒ new FileBasedMessageQueue(o, config)
     case None    ⇒ throw new ConfigurationException("creating a durable mailbox requires an owner (i.e. does not work with BalancingDispatcher)")
   }
 }
 
-class FileBasedMessageQueue(_owner: ActorContext) extends DurableMessageQueue(_owner) with DurableMessageSerialization {
+class FileBasedMessageQueue(_owner: ActorContext, _config: Config) extends DurableMessageQueue(_owner) with DurableMessageSerialization {
 
   val log = Logging(system, "FileBasedMessageQueue")
 
-  private val settings = FileBasedMailboxExtension(owner.system)
+  private val settings = new FileBasedMailboxSettings(owner.system, _config)
   val queuePath = settings.QueuePath
 
   private val queue = try {
diff --git a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-file-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/FileBasedMailboxExtension.scala b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-file-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/FileBasedMailboxExtension.scala
deleted file mode 100644
index f7e6527499..0000000000
--- a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-file-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/FileBasedMailboxExtension.scala
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,35 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * Copyright (C) 2009-2012 Typesafe Inc. <http://www.typesafe.com>
- */
-package akka.actor.mailbox
-
-import com.typesafe.config.Config
-import akka.util.Duration
-import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS
-import akka.actor._
-
-object FileBasedMailboxExtension extends ExtensionId[FileBasedMailboxSettings] with ExtensionIdProvider {
-  override def get(system: ActorSystem): FileBasedMailboxSettings = super.get(system)
-  def lookup() = this
-  def createExtension(system: ExtendedActorSystem) = new FileBasedMailboxSettings(system.settings.config)
-}
-
-class FileBasedMailboxSettings(val config: Config) extends Extension {
-
-  import config._
-
-  val QueuePath = getString("akka.actor.mailbox.file-based.directory-path")
-
-  val MaxItems = getInt("akka.actor.mailbox.file-based.max-items")
-  val MaxSize = getBytes("akka.actor.mailbox.file-based.max-size")
-  val MaxItemSize = getBytes("akka.actor.mailbox.file-based.max-item-size")
-  val MaxAge = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.actor.mailbox.file-based.max-age"), MILLISECONDS)
-  val MaxJournalSize = getBytes("akka.actor.mailbox.file-based.max-journal-size")
-  val MaxMemorySize = getBytes("akka.actor.mailbox.file-based.max-memory-size")
-  val MaxJournalOverflow = getInt("akka.actor.mailbox.file-based.max-journal-overflow")
-  val MaxJournalSizeAbsolute = getBytes("akka.actor.mailbox.file-based.max-journal-size-absolute")
-  val DiscardOldWhenFull = getBoolean("akka.actor.mailbox.file-based.discard-old-when-full")
-  val KeepJournal = getBoolean("akka.actor.mailbox.file-based.keep-journal")
-  val SyncJournal = getBoolean("akka.actor.mailbox.file-based.sync-journal")
-
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-file-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/FileBasedMailboxSettings.scala b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-file-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/FileBasedMailboxSettings.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..84d06ab571
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-file-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/FileBasedMailboxSettings.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (C) 2009-2012 Typesafe Inc. <http://www.typesafe.com>
+ */
+package akka.actor.mailbox
+
+import com.typesafe.config.Config
+import akka.util.Duration
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS
+import akka.actor.ActorSystem
+
+class FileBasedMailboxSettings(val system: ActorSystem, val userConfig: Config) extends DurableMailboxSettings {
+
+  def name = "file-based"
+
+  val config = initialize
+
+  import config._
+
+  val QueuePath = getString("directory-path")
+
+  val MaxItems = getInt("max-items")
+  val MaxSize = getBytes("max-size")
+  val MaxItemSize = getBytes("max-item-size")
+  val MaxAge = Duration(getMilliseconds("max-age"), MILLISECONDS)
+  val MaxJournalSize = getBytes("max-journal-size")
+  val MaxMemorySize = getBytes("max-memory-size")
+  val MaxJournalOverflow = getInt("max-journal-overflow")
+  val MaxJournalSizeAbsolute = getBytes("max-journal-size-absolute")
+  val DiscardOldWhenFull = getBoolean("discard-old-when-full")
+  val KeepJournal = getBoolean("keep-journal")
+  val SyncJournal = getBoolean("sync-journal")
+
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-file-mailbox/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/FileBasedMailboxSpec.scala b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-file-mailbox/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/FileBasedMailboxSpec.scala
index 274bc36cc1..75a889ee26 100644
--- a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-file-mailbox/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/FileBasedMailboxSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-file-mailbox/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/FileBasedMailboxSpec.scala
@@ -1,12 +1,14 @@
 package akka.actor.mailbox
 
 import org.apache.commons.io.FileUtils
+import com.typesafe.config.ConfigFactory
 
 object FileBasedMailboxSpec {
   val config = """
     File-dispatcher {
       mailbox-type = akka.actor.mailbox.FileBasedMailboxType
       throughput = 1
+      file-based.directory-path = "file-based"
     }
     """
 }
@@ -14,8 +16,15 @@ object FileBasedMailboxSpec {
 @org.junit.runner.RunWith(classOf[org.scalatest.junit.JUnitRunner])
 class FileBasedMailboxSpec extends DurableMailboxSpec("File", FileBasedMailboxSpec.config) {
 
+  val queuePath = new FileBasedMailboxSettings(system, system.settings.config.getConfig("File-dispatcher")).QueuePath
+
+  "FileBasedMailboxSettings" must {
+    "read the file-based section" in {
+      queuePath must be("file-based")
+    }
+  }
+
   def clean {
-    val queuePath = FileBasedMailboxExtension(system).QueuePath
     FileUtils.deleteDirectory(new java.io.File(queuePath))
   }
 
diff --git a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mailboxes-common/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/DurableMailbox.scala b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mailboxes-common/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/DurableMailbox.scala
index 77b932911d..6645e17e58 100644
--- a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mailboxes-common/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/DurableMailbox.scala
+++ b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mailboxes-common/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/DurableMailbox.scala
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ import akka.actor.{ ActorContext, ActorRef, ExtendedActorSystem }
 import akka.dispatch.{ Envelope, MessageQueue }
 import akka.remote.MessageSerializer
 import akka.remote.RemoteProtocol.{ ActorRefProtocol, RemoteMessageProtocol }
+import com.typesafe.config.Config
+import akka.actor.ActorSystem
 
 private[akka] object DurableExecutableMailboxConfig {
   val Name = "[\\.\\/\\$\\s]".r
@@ -50,3 +52,55 @@ trait DurableMessageSerialization { this: DurableMessageQueue ⇒
 
 }
 
+/**
+ * Conventional organization of durable mailbox settings:
+ *
+ * {{{
+ * my-durable-dispatcher {
+ *   mailbox-type = "my.durable.mailbox"
+ *   my-durable-mailbox {
+ *     setting1 = 1
+ *     setting2 = 2
+ *   }
+ * }
+ * }}}
+ *
+ * where name=“my-durable-mailbox” in this example.
+ */
+trait DurableMailboxSettings {
+  /**
+   * A reference to the enclosing actor system.
+   */
+  def system: ActorSystem
+
+  /**
+   * A reference to the config section which the user specified for this mailbox’s dispatcher.
+   */
+  def userConfig: Config
+
+  /**
+   * The extracted config section for this mailbox, which is the “name”
+   * section (if that exists), falling back to system defaults. Typical
+   * implementation looks like:
+   *
+   * {{{
+   * val config = initialize
+   * }}}
+   */
+  def config: Config
+
+  /**
+   * Name of this mailbox type for purposes of configuration scoping. Reference
+   * defaults go into “akka.actor.mailbox.<name>”.
+   */
+  def name: String
+
+  /**
+   * Obtain default extracted mailbox config section from userConfig and system.
+   */
+  def initialize: Config =
+    if (userConfig.hasPath(name))
+      userConfig.getConfig(name).withFallback(system.settings.config.getConfig("akka.actor.mailbox." + name))
+    else system.settings.config.getConfig("akka.actor.mailbox." + name)
+}
+
diff --git a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mailboxes-common/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/DurableMailboxSpec.scala b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mailboxes-common/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/DurableMailboxSpec.scala
index 444edfa72d..970e0d6f1d 100644
--- a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mailboxes-common/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/DurableMailboxSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mailboxes-common/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/DurableMailboxSpec.scala
@@ -11,6 +11,9 @@ import akka.dispatch.Await
 import akka.testkit.AkkaSpec
 import akka.testkit.TestLatch
 import akka.util.duration._
+import java.io.InputStream
+import scala.annotation.tailrec
+import com.typesafe.config.Config
 
 object DurableMailboxSpecActorFactory {
 
@@ -31,6 +34,26 @@ object DurableMailboxSpecActorFactory {
 abstract class DurableMailboxSpec(val backendName: String, config: String) extends AkkaSpec(config) {
   import DurableMailboxSpecActorFactory._
 
+  protected def streamMustContain(in: InputStream, words: String): Unit = {
+    val output = new Array[Byte](8192)
+
+    def now = System.currentTimeMillis
+
+    def string(len: Int) = new String(output, 0, len, "ISO-8859-1") // don’t want parse errors
+
+    @tailrec def read(end: Int = 0, start: Long = now): Int =
+      in.read(output, end, output.length - end) match {
+        case -1 ⇒ end
+        case x ⇒
+          val next = end + x
+          if (string(next).contains(words) || now - start > 10000 || next == output.length) next
+          else read(next, start)
+      }
+
+    val result = string(read())
+    if (!result.contains(words)) throw new Exception("stream did not contain '" + words + "':\n" + result)
+  }
+
   def createMailboxTestActor(id: String): ActorRef =
     system.actorOf(Props(new MailboxTestActor).withDispatcher(backendName + "-dispatcher"))
 
diff --git a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mongo-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/MongoBasedMailbox.scala b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mongo-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/MongoBasedMailbox.scala
index 23de168370..58ca7228eb 100644
--- a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mongo-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/MongoBasedMailbox.scala
+++ b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mongo-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/MongoBasedMailbox.scala
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ class MongoBasedMailboxException(message: String) extends AkkaException(message)
 
 class MongoBasedMailboxType(config: Config) extends MailboxType {
   override def create(owner: Option[ActorContext]): MessageQueue = owner match {
-    case Some(o) ⇒ new MongoBasedMessageQueue(o)
+    case Some(o) ⇒ new MongoBasedMessageQueue(o, config)
     case None    ⇒ throw new ConfigurationException("creating a durable mailbox requires an owner (i.e. does not work with BalancingDispatcher)")
   }
 }
@@ -37,14 +37,14 @@ class MongoBasedMailboxType(config: Config) extends MailboxType {
  *
  * @author <a href="http://evilmonkeylabs.com">Brendan W. McAdams</a>
  */
-class MongoBasedMessageQueue(_owner: ActorContext) extends DurableMessageQueue(_owner) {
+class MongoBasedMessageQueue(_owner: ActorContext, _config: Config) extends DurableMessageQueue(_owner) {
   // this implicit object provides the context for reading/writing things as MongoDurableMessage
   implicit val mailboxBSONSer = new BSONSerializableMessageQueue(system)
   implicit val safeWrite = WriteConcern.Safe // TODO - Replica Safe when appropriate!
 
   private val dispatcher = owner.dispatcher
 
-  private val settings = MongoBasedMailboxExtension(owner.system)
+  private val settings = new MongoBasedMailboxSettings(owner.system, _config)
 
   val log = Logging(system, "MongoBasedMessageQueue")
 
@@ -98,9 +98,8 @@ class MongoBasedMessageQueue(_owner: ActorContext) extends DurableMessageQueue(_
   def hasMessages: Boolean = numberOfMessages > 0
 
   private[akka] def connect() = {
-    require(settings.MongoURI.isDefined, "Mongo URI (%s) must be explicitly defined in akka.conf; will not assume defaults for safety sake.".format(settings.UriConfigKey))
     log.info("CONNECTING mongodb uri : [{}]", settings.MongoURI)
-    val _dbh = MongoConnection.fromURI(settings.MongoURI.get) match {
+    val _dbh = MongoConnection.fromURI(settings.MongoURI) match {
       case (conn, None, None) ⇒ {
         throw new UnsupportedOperationException("You must specify a database name to use with MongoDB; please see the MongoDB Connection URI Spec: 'http://www.mongodb.org/display/DOCS/Connections'")
       }
diff --git a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mongo-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/MongoBasedMailboxExtension.scala b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mongo-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/MongoBasedMailboxExtension.scala
deleted file mode 100644
index fac0ad9050..0000000000
--- a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mongo-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/MongoBasedMailboxExtension.scala
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,26 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * Copyright (C) 2009-2012 Typesafe Inc. <http://www.typesafe.com>
- */
-package akka.actor.mailbox
-
-import com.typesafe.config.Config
-import akka.util.Duration
-import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS
-import akka.actor._
-
-object MongoBasedMailboxExtension extends ExtensionId[MongoBasedMailboxSettings] with ExtensionIdProvider {
-  override def get(system: ActorSystem): MongoBasedMailboxSettings = super.get(system)
-  def lookup() = this
-  def createExtension(system: ExtendedActorSystem) = new MongoBasedMailboxSettings(system.settings.config)
-}
-
-class MongoBasedMailboxSettings(val config: Config) extends Extension {
-
-  import config._
-
-  val UriConfigKey = "akka.actor.mailbox.mongodb.uri"
-  val MongoURI = if (config.hasPath(UriConfigKey)) Some(config.getString(UriConfigKey)) else None
-  val WriteTimeout = Duration(config.getMilliseconds("akka.actor.mailbox.mongodb.timeout.write"), MILLISECONDS)
-  val ReadTimeout = Duration(config.getMilliseconds("akka.actor.mailbox.mongodb.timeout.read"), MILLISECONDS)
-
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mongo-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/MongoBasedMailboxSettings.scala b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mongo-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/MongoBasedMailboxSettings.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..469865e002
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mongo-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/MongoBasedMailboxSettings.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (C) 2009-2012 Typesafe Inc. <http://www.typesafe.com>
+ */
+package akka.actor.mailbox
+
+import com.typesafe.config.Config
+import akka.util.Duration
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS
+import akka.actor.ActorSystem
+
+class MongoBasedMailboxSettings(val system: ActorSystem, val userConfig: Config) extends DurableMailboxSettings {
+
+  def name = "mongodb"
+
+  val config = initialize
+
+  import config._
+
+  val MongoURI = getString("uri")
+  val WriteTimeout = Duration(config.getMilliseconds("timeout.write"), MILLISECONDS)
+  val ReadTimeout = Duration(config.getMilliseconds("timeout.read"), MILLISECONDS)
+
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mongo-mailbox/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/MongoBasedMailboxSpec.scala b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mongo-mailbox/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/MongoBasedMailboxSpec.scala
index 7001d8de99..0579215df0 100644
--- a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mongo-mailbox/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/MongoBasedMailboxSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mongo-mailbox/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/MongoBasedMailboxSpec.scala
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ object MongoBasedMailboxSpec {
     mongodb-dispatcher {
       mailbox-type = akka.actor.mailbox.MongoBasedMailboxType
       throughput = 1
+      mongodb.uri = "mongodb://localhost:27123/akka.mailbox"
     }
     """
 }
@@ -23,9 +24,23 @@ class MongoBasedMailboxSpec extends DurableMailboxSpec("mongodb", MongoBasedMail
 
   import com.mongodb.async._
 
-  val mongo = MongoConnection("localhost", 27017)("akka")
+  lazy val mongod = new ProcessBuilder("mongod", "--dbpath", "mongoDB", "--bind_ip", "127.0.0.1", "--port", "27123").start()
+  lazy val mongo = MongoConnection("localhost", 27123)("akka")
 
-  mongo.dropDatabase() { success ⇒ }
+  override def atStartup(): Unit = {
+    // start MongoDB daemon
+    new java.io.File("mongoDB").mkdir()
+    val in = mongod.getInputStream
+
+    try {
+      streamMustContain(in, "waiting for connections on port")
+      mongo.dropDatabase() { success ⇒ }
+    } catch {
+      case e ⇒ mongod.destroy(); throw e
+    }
+  }
+
+  override def atTermination(): Unit = mongod.destroy()
 
 }
 
diff --git a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-redis-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/RedisBasedMailbox.scala b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-redis-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/RedisBasedMailbox.scala
index fbc5830a30..9203180e9f 100644
--- a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-redis-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/RedisBasedMailbox.scala
+++ b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-redis-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/RedisBasedMailbox.scala
@@ -19,14 +19,14 @@ class RedisBasedMailboxException(message: String) extends AkkaException(message)
 
 class RedisBasedMailboxType(config: Config) extends MailboxType {
   override def create(owner: Option[ActorContext]): MessageQueue = owner match {
-    case Some(o) ⇒ new RedisBasedMessageQueue(o)
+    case Some(o) ⇒ new RedisBasedMessageQueue(o, config)
     case None    ⇒ throw new ConfigurationException("creating a durable mailbox requires an owner (i.e. does not work with BalancingDispatcher)")
   }
 }
 
-class RedisBasedMessageQueue(_owner: ActorContext) extends DurableMessageQueue(_owner) with DurableMessageSerialization {
+class RedisBasedMessageQueue(_owner: ActorContext, _config: Config) extends DurableMessageQueue(_owner) with DurableMessageSerialization {
 
-  private val settings = RedisBasedMailboxExtension(owner.system)
+  private val settings = new RedisBasedMailboxSettings(owner.system, _config)
 
   @volatile
   private var clients = connect() // returns a RedisClientPool for multiple asynchronous message handling
diff --git a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-redis-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/RedisBasedMailboxExtension.scala b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-redis-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/RedisBasedMailboxExtension.scala
deleted file mode 100644
index 629f08b145..0000000000
--- a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-redis-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/RedisBasedMailboxExtension.scala
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,21 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * Copyright (C) 2009-2012 Typesafe Inc. <http://www.typesafe.com>
- */
-package akka.actor.mailbox
-
-import com.typesafe.config.Config
-import akka.actor._
-
-object RedisBasedMailboxExtension extends ExtensionId[RedisBasedMailboxSettings] with ExtensionIdProvider {
-  override def get(system: ActorSystem): RedisBasedMailboxSettings = super.get(system)
-  def lookup() = this
-  def createExtension(system: ExtendedActorSystem) = new RedisBasedMailboxSettings(system.settings.config)
-}
-
-class RedisBasedMailboxSettings(val config: Config) extends Extension {
-
-  import config._
-
-  val Hostname = getString("akka.actor.mailbox.redis.hostname")
-  val Port = getInt("akka.actor.mailbox.redis.port")
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-redis-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/RedisBasedMailboxSettings.scala b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-redis-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/RedisBasedMailboxSettings.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e302b8dd50
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-redis-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/RedisBasedMailboxSettings.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (C) 2009-2012 Typesafe Inc. <http://www.typesafe.com>
+ */
+package akka.actor.mailbox
+
+import com.typesafe.config.Config
+import akka.actor.ActorSystem
+
+class RedisBasedMailboxSettings(val system: ActorSystem, val userConfig: Config) extends DurableMailboxSettings {
+
+  def name = "redis"
+
+  val config = initialize
+
+  import config._
+
+  val Hostname = getString("hostname")
+  val Port = getInt("port")
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-redis-mailbox/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/RedisBasedMailboxSpec.scala b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-redis-mailbox/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/RedisBasedMailboxSpec.scala
index 6e78d6b74a..8dd0d09ce4 100644
--- a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-redis-mailbox/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/RedisBasedMailboxSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-redis-mailbox/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/RedisBasedMailboxSpec.scala
@@ -5,9 +5,40 @@ object RedisBasedMailboxSpec {
     Redis-dispatcher {
       mailbox-type = akka.actor.mailbox.RedisBasedMailboxType
       throughput = 1
+      redis {
+        hostname = "127.0.0.1"
+        port = 6479
+      }
     }
     """
 }
 
 @org.junit.runner.RunWith(classOf[org.scalatest.junit.JUnitRunner])
-class RedisBasedMailboxSpec extends DurableMailboxSpec("Redis", RedisBasedMailboxSpec.config)
+class RedisBasedMailboxSpec extends DurableMailboxSpec("Redis", RedisBasedMailboxSpec.config) {
+
+  lazy val redisServer = new ProcessBuilder("redis-server", "-").start()
+
+  override def atStartup(): Unit = {
+    new java.io.File("redis").mkdir()
+
+    val out = redisServer.getOutputStream
+
+    val config = """
+      port 6479
+      bind 127.0.0.1
+      dir redis
+      """.getBytes("UTF-8")
+
+    try {
+      out.write(config)
+      out.close()
+
+      streamMustContain(redisServer.getInputStream, "ready to accept connections on port")
+    } catch {
+      case e ⇒ redisServer.destroy(); throw e
+    }
+  }
+
+  override def atTermination(): Unit = redisServer.destroy()
+
+}
diff --git a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-zookeeper-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/ZooKeeperBasedMailbox.scala b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-zookeeper-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/ZooKeeperBasedMailbox.scala
index 203a94b620..862d88d451 100644
--- a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-zookeeper-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/ZooKeeperBasedMailbox.scala
+++ b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-zookeeper-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/ZooKeeperBasedMailbox.scala
@@ -20,14 +20,14 @@ class ZooKeeperBasedMailboxException(message: String) extends AkkaException(mess
 
 class ZooKeeperBasedMailboxType(config: Config) extends MailboxType {
   override def create(owner: Option[ActorContext]): MessageQueue = owner match {
-    case Some(o) ⇒ new ZooKeeperBasedMessageQueue(o)
+    case Some(o) ⇒ new ZooKeeperBasedMessageQueue(o, config)
     case None    ⇒ throw new ConfigurationException("creating a durable mailbox requires an owner (i.e. does not work with BalancingDispatcher)")
   }
 }
 
-class ZooKeeperBasedMessageQueue(_owner: ActorContext) extends DurableMessageQueue(_owner) with DurableMessageSerialization {
+class ZooKeeperBasedMessageQueue(_owner: ActorContext, _config: Config) extends DurableMessageQueue(_owner) with DurableMessageSerialization {
 
-  private val settings = ZooKeeperBasedMailboxExtension(owner.system)
+  private val settings = new ZooKeeperBasedMailboxSettings(owner.system, _config)
   val queueNode = "/queues"
   val queuePathTemplate = queueNode + "/%s"
 
diff --git a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-zookeeper-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/ZooKeeperBasedMailboxExtension.scala b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-zookeeper-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/ZooKeeperBasedMailboxExtension.scala
deleted file mode 100644
index 4f3dcfb42f..0000000000
--- a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-zookeeper-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/ZooKeeperBasedMailboxExtension.scala
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,25 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * Copyright (C) 2009-2012 Typesafe Inc. <http://www.typesafe.com>
- */
-package akka.actor.mailbox
-
-import com.typesafe.config.Config
-import akka.util.Duration
-import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS
-import akka.actor._
-
-object ZooKeeperBasedMailboxExtension extends ExtensionId[ZooKeeperBasedMailboxSettings] with ExtensionIdProvider {
-  override def get(system: ActorSystem): ZooKeeperBasedMailboxSettings = super.get(system)
-  def lookup() = this
-  def createExtension(system: ExtendedActorSystem) = new ZooKeeperBasedMailboxSettings(system.settings.config)
-}
-class ZooKeeperBasedMailboxSettings(val config: Config) extends Extension {
-
-  import config._
-
-  val ZkServerAddresses = getString("akka.actor.mailbox.zookeeper.server-addresses")
-  val SessionTimeout = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.actor.mailbox.zookeeper.session-timeout"), MILLISECONDS)
-  val ConnectionTimeout = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.actor.mailbox.zookeeper.connection-timeout"), MILLISECONDS)
-  val BlockingQueue = getBoolean("akka.actor.mailbox.zookeeper.blocking-queue")
-
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-zookeeper-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/ZooKeeperBasedMailboxSettings.scala b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-zookeeper-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/ZooKeeperBasedMailboxSettings.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..17fd8f3f25
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-zookeeper-mailbox/src/main/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/ZooKeeperBasedMailboxSettings.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (C) 2009-2012 Typesafe Inc. <http://www.typesafe.com>
+ */
+package akka.actor.mailbox
+
+import com.typesafe.config.Config
+import akka.util.Duration
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS
+import akka.actor.ActorSystem
+
+class ZooKeeperBasedMailboxSettings(val system: ActorSystem, val userConfig: Config) extends DurableMailboxSettings {
+
+  def name = "zookeeper"
+
+  val config = initialize
+
+  import config._
+
+  val ZkServerAddresses = getString("server-addresses")
+  val SessionTimeout = Duration(getMilliseconds("session-timeout"), MILLISECONDS)
+  val ConnectionTimeout = Duration(getMilliseconds("connection-timeout"), MILLISECONDS)
+  val BlockingQueue = getBoolean("blocking-queue")
+
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-zookeeper-mailbox/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/ZooKeeperBasedMailboxSpec.scala b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-zookeeper-mailbox/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/ZooKeeperBasedMailboxSpec.scala
index 9264fbccce..e4d735de30 100644
--- a/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-zookeeper-mailbox/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/ZooKeeperBasedMailboxSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-zookeeper-mailbox/src/test/scala/akka/actor/mailbox/ZooKeeperBasedMailboxSpec.scala
@@ -5,12 +5,15 @@ import akka.cluster.zookeeper._
 import org.I0Itec.zkclient._
 import akka.dispatch.MessageDispatcher
 import akka.actor.ActorRef
+import com.typesafe.config.ConfigFactory
+import akka.util.duration._
 
 object ZooKeeperBasedMailboxSpec {
   val config = """
     ZooKeeper-dispatcher {
       mailbox-type = akka.actor.mailbox.ZooKeeperBasedMailboxType
       throughput = 1
+      zookeeper.session-timeout = 30s
     }
     """
 }
@@ -21,6 +24,12 @@ class ZooKeeperBasedMailboxSpec extends DurableMailboxSpec("ZooKeeper", ZooKeepe
   val dataPath = "_akka_cluster/data"
   val logPath = "_akka_cluster/log"
 
+  "ZookeeperBasedMailboxSettings" must {
+    "read the right settings" in {
+      new ZooKeeperBasedMailboxSettings(system, system.settings.config.getConfig("ZooKeeper-dispatcher")).SessionTimeout must be(30 seconds)
+    }
+  }
+
   var zkServer: ZkServer = _
 
   override def atStartup() {
diff --git a/build.sbt b/build.sbt
index 13467e1654..07de39759d 100644
--- a/build.sbt
+++ b/build.sbt
@@ -5,3 +5,5 @@
   (externalResolvers in LsKeys.lsync) := Seq("Akka Repository" at "http://akka.io/repository/")
 
   (description in LsKeys.lsync) := "Akka is the platform for the next generation of event-driven, scalable and fault-tolerant architectures on the JVM."
+
+  //testMailbox in Global := true
diff --git a/project/AkkaBuild.scala b/project/AkkaBuild.scala
index 905e345dec..a201895405 100644
--- a/project/AkkaBuild.scala
+++ b/project/AkkaBuild.scala
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ object AkkaBuild extends Build {
     id = "akka",
     base = file("."),
     settings = parentSettings ++ Release.settings ++ Unidoc.settings ++ Rstdoc.settings ++ Publish.versionSettings ++ Dist.settings ++ Seq(
+      testMailbox in GlobalScope := false,
       parallelExecution in GlobalScope := System.getProperty("akka.parallelExecution", "false").toBoolean,
       Publish.defaultPublishTo in ThisBuild <<= crossTarget / "repository",
       Unidoc.unidocExclude := Seq(samples.id, tutorials.id),
@@ -141,6 +142,8 @@ object AkkaBuild extends Build {
   //   )
   // )
 
+  val testMailbox = SettingKey[Boolean]("test-mailbox")
+
   lazy val mailboxes = Project(
     id = "akka-durable-mailboxes",
     base = file("akka-durable-mailboxes"),
@@ -165,8 +168,7 @@ object AkkaBuild extends Build {
     dependencies = Seq(mailboxesCommon % "compile;test->test"),
     settings = defaultSettings ++ Seq(
       libraryDependencies ++= Dependencies.beanstalkMailbox,
-      testBeanstalkMailbox := false,
-      testOptions in Test <+= testBeanstalkMailbox map { test => Tests.Filter(s => test) }
+      testOptions in Test <+= testMailbox map { test => Tests.Filter(s => test) }
     )
   )
 
@@ -179,16 +181,13 @@ object AkkaBuild extends Build {
     )
   )
 
-  val testRedisMailbox = SettingKey[Boolean]("test-redis-mailbox")
-
   lazy val redisMailbox = Project(
     id = "akka-redis-mailbox",
     base = file("akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-redis-mailbox"),
     dependencies = Seq(mailboxesCommon % "compile;test->test"),
     settings = defaultSettings ++ Seq(
       libraryDependencies ++= Dependencies.redisMailbox,
-      testRedisMailbox := false,
-      testOptions in Test <+= testRedisMailbox map { test => Tests.Filter(s => test) }
+      testOptions in Test <+= testMailbox map { test => Tests.Filter(s => test) }
     )
   )
 
@@ -201,8 +200,6 @@ object AkkaBuild extends Build {
     )
   )
 
-  val testMongoMailbox = SettingKey[Boolean]("test-mongo-mailbox")
-
   lazy val mongoMailbox = Project(
     id = "akka-mongo-mailbox",
     base = file("akka-durable-mailboxes/akka-mongo-mailbox"),
@@ -210,8 +207,7 @@ object AkkaBuild extends Build {
     settings = defaultSettings ++ Seq(
       libraryDependencies ++= Dependencies.mongoMailbox,
       ivyXML := Dependencies.mongoMailboxExcludes,
-      testMongoMailbox := false,
-      testOptions in Test <+= testMongoMailbox map { test => Tests.Filter(s => test) }
+      testOptions in Test <+= testMailbox map { test => Tests.Filter(s => test) }
     )
   )