diff --git a/src/docbkx/configuration.xml b/src/docbkx/configuration.xml
index cb793335024..480634bebaf 100644
--- a/src/docbkx/configuration.xml
+++ b/src/docbkx/configuration.xml
@@ -62,12 +62,13 @@ to ensure well-formedness of your document after an edit session.
     <title>Basic Prerequisites</title>
     <para>This section lists required services and some required system configuration.
     </para>
+
     <section xml:id="java">
         <title>Java</title>
-
-        <para>Just like Hadoop, HBase requires java 6 from <link
-        xlink:href="http://www.java.com/download/">Oracle</link>.</para>
+        <para>Just like Hadoop, HBase requires at least java 6 from
+        <link xlink:href="http://www.java.com/download/">Oracle</link>.</para>
     </section>
+
     <section xml:id="os">
         <title>Operating System</title>
       <section xml:id="ssh">
@@ -107,15 +108,7 @@ to ensure well-formedness of your document after an edit session.
       </section>
       <section xml:id="loopback.ip">
         <title>Loopback IP</title>
-        <para>HBase expects the loopback IP address to be 127.0.0.1.  Ubuntu and some other distributions,
-        for example, will default to 127.0.1.1 and this will cause problems for you.
-        </para>
-        <para><filename>/etc/hosts</filename> should look something like this:
-<programlisting>
-            127.0.0.1 localhost
-            127.0.0.1 ubuntu.ubuntu-domain ubuntu
-</programlisting>
-        </para>
+        <para>HBase expects the loopback IP address to be 127.0.0.1.  See <xref linkend="loopback.ip"/></para>
        </section>
 
       <section xml:id="ntp">
diff --git a/src/docbkx/getting_started.xml b/src/docbkx/getting_started.xml
index d8afc11a336..6e36e34e2c4 100644
--- a/src/docbkx/getting_started.xml
+++ b/src/docbkx/getting_started.xml
@@ -44,13 +44,20 @@
     rows via the HBase <command>shell</command>, and then cleaning
     up and shutting down your standalone HBase instance. The below exercise
     should take no more than ten minutes (not including download time).</para>
-    <para>Before you start, check you are good on the below prerequisites.
-    <orderedlist>
-        <listitem><para><xref linkend="java"/></para></listitem>
-        <listitem><para><xref linkend="ssh"/></para></listitem>
-        <listitem><para><xref linkend="loopback.ip"/></para></listitem>
-    </orderedlist>
-    </para>
+    <para>Before we proceed, make sure you are good on the below loopback prerequisite.</para>
+    <note xml:id="loopback.ip.getting.started">
+        <title>Loopback IP</title>
+        <para>HBase expects the loopback IP address to be 127.0.0.1.  Ubuntu and some other distributions,
+        for example, will default to 127.0.1.1 and this will cause problems for you.
+        </para>
+        <para><filename>/etc/hosts</filename> should look something like this:
+<programlisting>
+            127.0.0.1 localhost
+            127.0.0.1 ubuntu.ubuntu-domain ubuntu
+</programlisting>
+        </para>
+       </note>
+
 
     <section>
       <title>Download and unpack the latest stable release.</title>
@@ -112,7 +119,7 @@ starting Master, logging to logs/hbase-user-master-example.org.out</programlisti
 
         <para>All of the above presumes a 1.6 version of Oracle
         <application>java</application> is installed on your machine and
-        available on your path; i.e. when you type
+        available on your path (See <xref linkend="java" />); i.e. when you type
         <application>java</application>, you see output that describes the
         options the java program takes (HBase requires java 6). If this is not
         the case, HBase will not start. Install java, edit