diff --git a/devstack/README.md b/devstack/README.md
index f91d4b9..2f6a66a 100644
--- a/devstack/README.md
+++ b/devstack/README.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Monasca-transform DevStack Plugin
 
-The Monasca-transform DevStack plugin is tested only on Ubuntu 14.04 (Trusty).
+The Monasca-transform DevStack plugin is tested only on Ubuntu 16.04 (Xenial).
 
 A short cut to running monasca-transform in devstack is implemented with vagrant.
 
@@ -28,6 +28,13 @@ and deploys using that.  Changes made by the user need to be committed in order
 to be used in the devstack instance.  It is important therefore that changes
 should not be pushed from the vm as the unevaluated commit would be pushed.
 
+N.B. If you are running with virtualbox you may find that the `./stack.sh` fails with the filesystem becoming read only.  There is a work around:
+ 
+ 1. vagrant up --no-provision && vagrant halt 
+ 2. open virtualbox gui 
+ 3. open target vm settings and change storage controller from SCSI to SATA 
+ 4. vagrant up
+
 ### Using the upstream committed state of monasca-transform
 
 This should operate the same as for any other devstack plugin.  However, to use
@@ -42,7 +49,7 @@ above it is sufficient to do:
 
 and change the line
 
-    enable_plugin monasca-transform /home/vagrant/monasca-transform
+    enable_plugin monasca-transform /home/ubuntu/monasca-transform
 
 to
 
@@ -63,7 +70,7 @@ The devstack vm vagrant up process generates a private key which can be used for
 passwordless ssh to the host as follows:
 
     cd tools/vagrant
-    ssh -i .vagrant/machines/default/virtualbox/private_key vagrant@192.168.15.6
+    ssh -i .vagrant/machines/default/virtualbox/private_key ubuntu@192.168.15.6
 
 ### Running tox on devstack
 
diff --git a/devstack/files/spark/spark-master.conf b/devstack/files/spark/spark-master.conf
deleted file mode 100644
index 410e44f..0000000
--- a/devstack/files/spark/spark-master.conf
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,12 +0,0 @@
-description "Spark Master"
-
-start on runlevel [2345]
-stop on runlevel [!2345]
-
-respawn
-
-limit nofile 32768 32768
-
-expect daemon
-
-exec /etc/spark/init/start-spark-master.sh
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/devstack/files/spark/spark-master.service b/devstack/files/spark/spark-master.service
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c299c85
--- /dev/null
+++ b/devstack/files/spark/spark-master.service
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=Spark Master
+After=zookeeper.service
+
+[Service]
+User=spark
+Group=spark
+ExecStart=/etc/spark/init/start-spark-master.sh
+Restart=on-failure
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/devstack/files/spark/spark-worker.conf b/devstack/files/spark/spark-worker.conf
deleted file mode 100644
index 6996167..0000000
--- a/devstack/files/spark/spark-worker.conf
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,12 +0,0 @@
-description "Spark Worker"
-
-start on runlevel [2345]
-stop on runlevel [!2345]
-
-respawn
-
-limit nofile 32768 32768
-
-expect daemon
-
-exec /etc/spark/init/start-spark-worker.sh
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/devstack/files/spark/spark-worker.service b/devstack/files/spark/spark-worker.service
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cc238c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/devstack/files/spark/spark-worker.service
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=Spark Worker
+After=zookeeper.service
+
+[Service]
+User=spark
+Group=spark
+ExecStart=/etc/spark/init/start-spark-worker.sh
+Restart=on-failure
diff --git a/devstack/plugin.sh b/devstack/plugin.sh
index cdbbb17..8f48fc4 100755
--- a/devstack/plugin.sh
+++ b/devstack/plugin.sh
@@ -232,21 +232,21 @@ function delete_spark_start_scripts {
 
 function copy_spark_upstart_definitions {
 
-    SPARK_UPSTART_DEFINITIONS=("spark-master.conf" "spark-worker.conf")
-    for SPARK_UPSTART_DEFINITION in "${SPARK_UPSTART_DEFINITIONS[@]}"
+    SPARK_SERVICE_DEFINITIONS=("spark-master.service" "spark-worker.service")
+    for SPARK_SERVICE_DEFINITION in "${SPARK_SERVICE_DEFINITIONS[@]}"
     do
-        sudo cp -f "${MONASCA_TRANSFORM_BASE}"/monasca-transform/devstack/files/spark/"${SPARK_UPSTART_DEFINITION}" /etc/init/.
-        sudo chmod 644 /etc/init/"${SPARK_UPSTART_DEFINITION}"
+        sudo cp -f "${MONASCA_TRANSFORM_BASE}"/monasca-transform/devstack/files/spark/"${SPARK_SERVICE_DEFINITION}" /etc/systemd/system/.
+        sudo chmod 644 /etc/systemd/system/"${SPARK_SERVICE_DEFINITION}"
     done
 
 }
 
 function delete_spark_upstart_definitions {
 
-    SPARK_UPSTART_DEFINITIONS=("spark-master.conf" "spark-worker.conf")
-    for SPARK_UPSTART_DEFINITION in "${SPARK_UPSTART_DEFINITIONS[@]}"
+    SPARK_SERVICE_DEFINITIONS=("spark-master.service" "spark-worker.service")
+    for SPARK_SERVICE_DEFINITION in "${SPARK_SERVICE_DEFINITIONS[@]}"
     do
-        sudo rm /etc/init/${SPARK_UPSTART_DEFINITION} || true
+        sudo rm /etc/systemd/system/${SPARK_SERVICE_DEFINITION} || true
     done
 
 }
@@ -265,7 +265,7 @@ function install_monasca_transform {
     copy_monasca_transform_files
     create_monasca_transform_venv
 
-    sudo cp -f "${MONASCA_TRANSFORM_BASE}"/monasca-transform/devstack/files/monasca-transform/monasca_transform_init.conf /etc/init/monasca-transform.conf
+    sudo cp -f "${MONASCA_TRANSFORM_BASE}"/monasca-transform/devstack/files/monasca-transform/monasca-transform.service /etc/systemd/system/.
     sudo cp -f "${MONASCA_TRANSFORM_BASE}"/monasca-transform/devstack/files/monasca-transform/start-monasca-transform.sh /etc/monasca/transform/init/.
     sudo chmod +x /etc/monasca/transform/init/start-monasca-transform.sh
     sudo cp -f "${MONASCA_TRANSFORM_BASE}"/monasca-transform/devstack/files/monasca-transform/service_runner.py /etc/monasca/transform/init/.
diff --git a/tools/vagrant/Vagrantfile b/tools/vagrant/Vagrantfile
index 4d7e705..db4d3d3 100644
--- a/tools/vagrant/Vagrantfile
+++ b/tools/vagrant/Vagrantfile
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ Vagrant.configure(2) do |config|
 
   # Every Vagrant development environment requires a box. You can search for
   # boxes at https://atlas.hashicorp.com/search.
-  config.vm.box = "ubuntu/trusty64"
+  config.vm.box = "ubuntu/xenial64"
   config.vm.hostname = "pg-tips"
 
   # Disable automatic box update checking. If you disable this, then
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ Vagrant.configure(2) do |config|
 
   # pg-tips will now have devstack cloned so push our local.conf file into place
   config.vm.provision "file", source: "local.conf", \
-    destination: "/home/vagrant/devstack/local.conf"
+    destination: "/home/ubuntu/devstack/local.conf"
 
   if !ENV['LOCAL_REPO'] || ENV['LOCAL_REPO'].empty?
     puts "Using default repo"
diff --git a/tools/vagrant/local.conf b/tools/vagrant/local.conf
index 67919a6..0d7a15b 100644
--- a/tools/vagrant/local.conf
+++ b/tools/vagrant/local.conf
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ ADMIN_PASSWORD=secretadmin
 SERVICE_PASSWORD=secretservice
 SERVICE_TOKEN=111222333444
 
+HOST_IP=10.0.2.15
+
 LOGFILE=$DEST/logs/stack.sh.log
 LOGDIR=$DEST/logs
 LOG_COLOR=False
@@ -29,15 +31,15 @@ MONASCA_METRICS_DB=${MONASCA_METRICS_DB:-influxdb}
 # MONASCA_METRICS_DB=${MONASCA_METRICS_DB:-vertica}
 
 # This line will enable all of Monasca.
-enable_plugin monasca-api /home/vagrant/monasca-api
+enable_plugin monasca-api /home/ubuntu/monasca-api
 # the following may be disabled to leave monasca transform still functional
 #disable_service monasca-persister
-#disable_service monasca-thresh
+disable_service monasca-thresh
 #disable_service monasca-notification
-#disable_service horizon
+disable_service horizon
 #disable_service tempest
 #disable_service cinder
-enable_plugin monasca-transform /home/vagrant/monasca-transform
+enable_plugin monasca-transform /home/ubuntu/monasca-transform
 # the following must be disabled as the test does not work at this point
 # see Bug #1636508
 disable_service monasca-smoke-test
diff --git a/tools/vagrant/refresh_monasca_transform.sh b/tools/vagrant/refresh_monasca_transform.sh
index beff33a..795a875 100755
--- a/tools/vagrant/refresh_monasca_transform.sh
+++ b/tools/vagrant/refresh_monasca_transform.sh
@@ -6,9 +6,9 @@ else
     echo Yikes, no - this is not pg-tips!
     exit 1
 fi
-if [ -d "/home/vagrant/devstack" ] ; then
+if [ -d "/home/ubuntu/devstack" ] ; then
 
-. /home/vagrant/devstack/.stackenv
+. /home/ubuntu/devstack/.stackenv
 
 fi
 
@@ -22,21 +22,21 @@ else
     echo "monasca-transform service not running"
 fi
 
-sudo rm -rf /home/vagrant/monasca-transform-source /home/vagrant/monasca-transform
+sudo rm -rf /home/ubuntu/monasca-transform-source /home/ubuntu/monasca-transform
 
 sudo ./setup_local_repos.sh
 
 # update the database with configuration
-sudo cp /home/vagrant/monasca-transform/scripts/ddl/pre_transform_specs.sql /opt/monasca/transform/lib/pre_transform_specs.sql
-sudo cp /home/vagrant/monasca-transform/scripts/ddl/transform_specs.sql /opt/monasca/transform/lib/transform_specs.sql
+sudo cp /home/ubuntu/monasca-transform/scripts/ddl/pre_transform_specs.sql /opt/monasca/transform/lib/pre_transform_specs.sql
+sudo cp /home/ubuntu/monasca-transform/scripts/ddl/transform_specs.sql /opt/monasca/transform/lib/transform_specs.sql
 sudo mysql -h "127.0.0.1" -um-transform -ppassword < /opt/monasca/transform/lib/pre_transform_specs.sql
 sudo mysql -h "127.0.0.1" -um-transform -ppassword <  /opt/monasca/transform/lib/transform_specs.sql
 
 # update the zip file used for spark submit
-sudo cp /home/vagrant/monasca-transform/scripts/monasca-transform.zip /opt/monasca/transform/lib/.
+sudo cp /home/ubuntu/monasca-transform/scripts/monasca-transform.zip /opt/monasca/transform/lib/.
 
 # update the configuration file
-sudo cp /home/vagrant/monasca-transform/devstack/files/monasca-transform/monasca-transform.conf /etc/.
+sudo cp /home/ubuntu/monasca-transform/devstack/files/monasca-transform/monasca-transform.conf /etc/.
 if [ -n "$SERVICE_HOST" ]; then
     sudo sudo sed -i "s/brokers=192\.168\.15\.6:9092/brokers=${SERVICE_HOST}:9092/g" /etc/monasca-transform.conf
 fi
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ sudo rm -rf /opt/monasca/transform/venv
 # refresh the monasca-transform code to /opt/stack
 sudo rm -rf /opt/stack/monasca-transform
 pushd /opt/stack
-sudo git clone /home/vagrant/monasca-transform
+sudo git clone /home/ubuntu/monasca-transform
 sudo chown -R monasca-transform:monasca-transform /opt/stack/monasca-transform
 sudo su - monasca-transform -c "
         virtualenv /opt/monasca/transform/venv ;
diff --git a/tools/vagrant/setup_local_repos.sh b/tools/vagrant/setup_local_repos.sh
index 1e64b3c..a7ec0ca 100755
--- a/tools/vagrant/setup_local_repos.sh
+++ b/tools/vagrant/setup_local_repos.sh
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 
-rsync -a --exclude='tools/vagrant/.vagrant' /monasca-transform-source /home/vagrant/
-mv /home/vagrant/monasca-transform-source /home/vagrant/monasca-transform
-pushd /home/vagrant/monasca-transform
+rsync -a --exclude='tools/vagrant/.vagrant' /monasca-transform-source /home/ubuntu/
+mv /home/ubuntu/monasca-transform-source /home/ubuntu/monasca-transform
+pushd /home/ubuntu/monasca-transform
 # prepare the codebase
 #
 # generate the sql scripts to populate the database
@@ -20,11 +20,11 @@ if [ ${CURRENT_BRANCH} != 'master' ]
 then
     echo Maintaining current branch ${CURRENT_BRANCH}
     # set the branch to what we're using in local.conf
-    sed -i "s/enable_plugin monasca-transform \/home\/vagrant\/monasca-transform//g" /home/vagrant/devstack/local.conf
-    sed -i "s/# END DEVSTACK LOCAL.CONF CONTENTS//g" /home/vagrant/devstack/local.conf
+    sed -i "s/enable_plugin monasca-transform \/home\/ubuntu\/monasca-transform//g" /home/ubuntu/devstack/local.conf
+    sed -i "s/# END DEVSTACK LOCAL.CONF CONTENTS//g" /home/ubuntu/devstack/local.conf
 
-    printf "enable_plugin monasca-transform /home/vagrant/monasca-transform ${CURRENT_BRANCH}\n" >> /home/vagrant/devstack/local.conf
-    printf "# END DEVSTACK LOCAL.CONF CONTENTS" >> /home/vagrant/devstack/local.conf
+    printf "enable_plugin monasca-transform /home/ubuntu/monasca-transform ${CURRENT_BRANCH}\n" >> /home/ubuntu/devstack/local.conf
+    printf "# END DEVSTACK LOCAL.CONF CONTENTS" >> /home/ubuntu/devstack/local.conf
 fi
 
 
diff --git a/tools/vagrant/setup_maven_proxy.sh b/tools/vagrant/setup_maven_proxy.sh
index a095251..2bb009c 100644
--- a/tools/vagrant/setup_maven_proxy.sh
+++ b/tools/vagrant/setup_maven_proxy.sh
@@ -12,5 +12,5 @@ else
 fi
 
 echo Now we need to move the settings.xml into place...
-cp /home/vagrant/settings.xml /root/.m2/.
+cp /home/ubuntu/settings.xml /root/.m2/.
 chown root:root /root/.m2/settings.xml
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index cab436a..9b0a9e0 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ setenv =
     PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
     VIRTUAL_ENV={envdir}
     DISCOVER_DIRECTORY=tests
-    PYSPARK_HOME=/home/vagrant/pyspark_venv/bin/python
+    PYSPARK_HOME=/home/ubuntu/pyspark_venv/bin/python
     SPARK_HOME=/opt/spark/current
 deps = -r{toxinidir}/requirements.txt
        -r{toxinidir}/test-requirements.txt