diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/Constants.java b/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/Constants.java
index 3ec3293779..753d96a11a 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/Constants.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/Constants.java
@@ -41,6 +41,13 @@ public interface Constants {
     */
    public static final String PROPERTY_IO_WORKER_THREADS = "jclouds.io-worker-threads";
 
+   /**
+    * Integer property. default (10)
+    * <p/>
+    * Amount of threads servicing scheduled tasks.
+    */
+   public static final String PROPERTY_SCHEDULER_THREADS = "jclouds.scheduler-threads";
+
    /**
     * Integer property. default (20)
     * <p/>
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/apis/internal/BaseApiMetadata.java b/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/apis/internal/BaseApiMetadata.java
index ac87f3641b..861948c39e 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/apis/internal/BaseApiMetadata.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/apis/internal/BaseApiMetadata.java
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ import static org.jclouds.Constants.PROPERTY_PRETTY_PRINT_PAYLOADS;
 import static org.jclouds.Constants.PROPERTY_SESSION_INTERVAL;
 import static org.jclouds.Constants.PROPERTY_SO_TIMEOUT;
 import static org.jclouds.Constants.PROPERTY_USER_THREADS;
+import static org.jclouds.Constants.PROPERTY_SCHEDULER_THREADS;
 
 import java.io.Closeable;
 import java.net.URI;
@@ -71,6 +72,7 @@ public abstract class BaseApiMetadata implements ApiMetadata {
       props.setProperty(PROPERTY_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT, 60000 + "");
       props.setProperty(PROPERTY_IO_WORKER_THREADS, 20 + "");
       props.setProperty(PROPERTY_USER_THREADS, 0 + "");
+      props.setProperty(PROPERTY_SCHEDULER_THREADS, 10 + "");
       props.setProperty(PROPERTY_MAX_CONNECTION_REUSE, 75 + "");
       props.setProperty(PROPERTY_MAX_SESSION_FAILURES, 2 + "");
       props.setProperty(PROPERTY_SESSION_INTERVAL, 60 + "");
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/concurrent/config/ExecutorServiceModule.java b/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/concurrent/config/ExecutorServiceModule.java
index e61c7fc824..f9400a121b 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/concurrent/config/ExecutorServiceModule.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/concurrent/config/ExecutorServiceModule.java
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ public class ExecutorServiceModule extends AbstractModule {
 
    static class DescribingExecutorService implements ExecutorService {
 
-      private final ExecutorService delegate;
+      protected final ExecutorService delegate;
 
       public DescribingExecutorService(ExecutorService delegate) {
          this.delegate = checkNotNull(delegate, "delegate");
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ public class ExecutorServiceModule extends AbstractModule {
    }
 
    static class DescribedFuture<T> implements Future<T> {
-      private final Future<T> delegate;
+      protected final Future<T> delegate;
       private final String description;
       private StackTraceElement[] submissionTrace;
 
@@ -340,7 +340,7 @@ public class ExecutorServiceModule extends AbstractModule {
    }
 
    @VisibleForTesting
-   static ExecutorService shutdownOnClose(final ExecutorService service, Closer closer) {
+   static <T extends ExecutorService> T shutdownOnClose(final T service, Closer closer) {
       closer.addToClose(new ShutdownExecutorOnClose(service));
       return service;
    }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/concurrent/config/ScheduledExecutorServiceModule.java b/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/concurrent/config/ScheduledExecutorServiceModule.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c3d53ce56d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/concurrent/config/ScheduledExecutorServiceModule.java
@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+package org.jclouds.concurrent.config;
+
+import static org.jclouds.concurrent.config.ExecutorServiceModule.shutdownOnClose;
+import static org.jclouds.concurrent.config.ExecutorServiceModule.getStackTraceHere;
+
+import java.util.concurrent.Callable;
+import java.util.concurrent.Delayed;
+import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
+import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
+import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledFuture;
+import java.util.concurrent.ThreadFactory;
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+
+import javax.inject.Named;
+import javax.inject.Singleton;
+
+import org.jclouds.Constants;
+import org.jclouds.concurrent.config.ExecutorServiceModule.DescribedFuture;
+import org.jclouds.concurrent.config.ExecutorServiceModule.DescribingExecutorService;
+import org.jclouds.lifecycle.Closer;
+
+import com.google.common.annotations.VisibleForTesting;
+import com.google.common.util.concurrent.ThreadFactoryBuilder;
+import com.google.inject.AbstractModule;
+import com.google.inject.Provides;
+
+/**
+ * Provides an {@link ScheduledExecutorService} to run periodical tasks such as virtual machine monitoring, etc.
+ * <p>
+ * This module is not registered by default in the context because some providers do not allow to spawn threads.
+ * 
+ * @author Ignasi Barrera
+ * 
+ * @see ExecutorServiceModule
+ *
+ */
+public class ScheduledExecutorServiceModule extends AbstractModule {
+
+    static class DescribingScheduledExecutorService extends DescribingExecutorService implements ScheduledExecutorService {
+
+        public DescribingScheduledExecutorService(ScheduledExecutorService delegate) {
+            super(delegate);
+        }
+
+        @SuppressWarnings({"unchecked", "rawtypes"})
+        @Override
+        public ScheduledFuture<?> schedule(Runnable command, long delay, TimeUnit unit) {
+            return new DescribedScheduledFuture(((ScheduledExecutorService) delegate)
+                .schedule(command, delay, unit), command.toString(), getStackTraceHere());
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public <V> ScheduledFuture<V> schedule(Callable<V> callable, long delay, TimeUnit unit) {
+            return new DescribedScheduledFuture<V>(((ScheduledExecutorService) delegate)
+                .schedule(callable, delay, unit), callable.toString(), getStackTraceHere());
+        }
+
+        @SuppressWarnings({"unchecked", "rawtypes"})
+        @Override
+        public ScheduledFuture<?> scheduleAtFixedRate(Runnable command, long initialDelay,
+            long period, TimeUnit unit) {
+            return new DescribedScheduledFuture(((ScheduledExecutorService) delegate)
+                .scheduleAtFixedRate(command, initialDelay, period, unit), command.toString(), getStackTraceHere());
+        }
+
+        @SuppressWarnings({"unchecked", "rawtypes"})
+        @Override
+        public ScheduledFuture<?> scheduleWithFixedDelay(Runnable command, long initialDelay,
+            long delay, TimeUnit unit) {
+            return new DescribedScheduledFuture(((ScheduledExecutorService) delegate)
+                .scheduleWithFixedDelay(command, initialDelay, delay, unit), command.toString(), getStackTraceHere());
+        }
+    }
+
+    static class DescribedScheduledFuture<T> extends DescribedFuture<T> implements ScheduledFuture<T> {
+
+        public DescribedScheduledFuture(ScheduledFuture<T> delegate, String description,
+            StackTraceElement[] submissionTrace) {
+            super(delegate, description, submissionTrace);
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public long getDelay(TimeUnit unit) {
+            return ((ScheduledFuture<T>) delegate).getDelay(unit);
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public int compareTo(Delayed o) {
+            return ((ScheduledFuture<T>) delegate).compareTo(o);
+        }
+    }
+
+    static ScheduledExecutorService addToStringOnSchedule(ScheduledExecutorService executor) {
+        if (executor != null) {
+           return new DescribingScheduledExecutorService(executor);
+        }
+        return executor;
+    }
+
+    @Provides
+    @Singleton
+    @Named(Constants.PROPERTY_SCHEDULER_THREADS)
+    ScheduledExecutorService provideScheduledExecutor(@Named(Constants.PROPERTY_SCHEDULER_THREADS) final int count,
+        final Closer closer) {
+        return shutdownOnClose(addToStringOnSchedule(newScheduledThreadPoolNamed("scheduler thread %d", count)), closer);
+    }
+
+    @VisibleForTesting
+    static ScheduledExecutorService newScheduledThreadPoolNamed(String name, int maxCount) {
+        ThreadFactory factory = new ThreadFactoryBuilder().setNameFormat(name)
+            .setThreadFactory(Executors.defaultThreadFactory()).build();
+       return maxCount == 0 ? Executors.newSingleThreadScheduledExecutor(factory)
+                            : Executors.newScheduledThreadPool(maxCount, factory);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected void configure() {
+
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/lifecycle/config/LifeCycleModule.java b/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/lifecycle/config/LifeCycleModule.java
index 6f5e85c7f4..5ecc35fd13 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/lifecycle/config/LifeCycleModule.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/lifecycle/config/LifeCycleModule.java
@@ -28,10 +28,10 @@ import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService;
+import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
 
 import javax.annotation.PostConstruct;
 import javax.annotation.PreDestroy;
-import javax.inject.Inject;
 import javax.inject.Named;
 
 import org.jclouds.Constants;
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ import org.jclouds.lifecycle.Closer;
 import com.google.common.base.Throwables;
 import com.google.common.util.concurrent.ExecutionList;
 import com.google.inject.AbstractModule;
+import com.google.inject.Inject;
 import com.google.inject.Stage;
 import com.google.inject.TypeLiteral;
 import com.google.inject.spi.InjectionListener;
@@ -74,12 +75,19 @@ public class LifeCycleModule extends AbstractModule {
          @Inject
          @Named(Constants.PROPERTY_IO_WORKER_THREADS)
          ExecutorService ioExecutor;
+         // ScheduledExecutor is defined in an optional module
+         @Inject(optional = true)
+         @Named(Constants.PROPERTY_SCHEDULER_THREADS)
+         ScheduledExecutorService scheduledExecutor;
 
          public void close() throws IOException {
             assert userExecutor != null;
             userExecutor.shutdownNow();
             assert ioExecutor != null;
             ioExecutor.shutdownNow();
+            // ScheduledExecutor is defined in an optional module
+            if (scheduledExecutor != null)
+                scheduledExecutor.shutdownNow();
          }
       };
 
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/jclouds/concurrent/config/ExecutorServiceModuleTest.java b/core/src/test/java/org/jclouds/concurrent/config/ExecutorServiceModuleTest.java
index 77784d6740..1e7a70b79f 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/jclouds/concurrent/config/ExecutorServiceModuleTest.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/jclouds/concurrent/config/ExecutorServiceModuleTest.java
@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ Caused by: java.lang.IllegalStateException: foo
       return io.submit((Runnable)t1, (Object)"shouldn't happen");
    }
    
-   static void checkFutureGetFailsWith(Future<Object> task, String ...requiredPhrases) throws Exception {
+   static void checkFutureGetFailsWith(Future<?> task, String ...requiredPhrases) throws Exception {
       try {
          task.get();
          assert false : "task should have failed";
@@ -242,9 +242,9 @@ Caused by: java.lang.IllegalStateException: foo
       }
    }
 
-   private static class ConfigurableRunner implements Runnable, Callable<Object> {
-      private Object result;
-      private String failMessage;
+   static class ConfigurableRunner implements Runnable, Callable<Object> {
+      Object result;
+      String failMessage;
       
       @Override
       public void run() {
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/jclouds/concurrent/config/ScheduledExecutorServiceModuleTest.java b/core/src/test/java/org/jclouds/concurrent/config/ScheduledExecutorServiceModuleTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..990798dbcb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/jclouds/concurrent/config/ScheduledExecutorServiceModuleTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,172 @@
+/**
+ * Licensed to jclouds, Inc. (jclouds) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  jclouds licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+package org.jclouds.concurrent.config;
+
+import static org.easymock.EasyMock.expect;
+import static org.easymock.EasyMock.replay;
+import static org.easymock.EasyMock.verify;
+import static org.jclouds.concurrent.config.ExecutorServiceModuleTest.checkFutureGetFailsWith;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.concurrent.Callable;
+import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
+import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledFuture;
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+
+import org.easymock.EasyMock;
+import org.jclouds.Constants;
+import org.jclouds.concurrent.config.ExecutorServiceModuleTest.ConfigurableRunner;
+import org.jclouds.lifecycle.Closer;
+import org.testng.annotations.Test;
+
+import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
+import com.google.inject.Guice;
+import com.google.inject.Injector;
+import com.google.inject.Key;
+import com.google.inject.name.Names;
+
+/**
+ * Unit tests for the {@link ScheduledExecutorServiceModule} class.
+ * 
+ * @author Ignasi Barrera
+ * 
+ * @see ExecutorServiceModuleTest
+ */
+@Test(groups = "unit")
+public class ScheduledExecutorServiceModuleTest {
+
+   @Test(groups = "unit")
+   public void testShutdownOnClose() throws IOException {
+      Injector i = Guice.createInjector();
+
+      Closer closer = i.getInstance(Closer.class);
+      ScheduledExecutorService executor = EasyMock.createMock(ScheduledExecutorService.class);
+      ExecutorServiceModule.shutdownOnClose(executor, closer);
+
+      expect(executor.shutdownNow()).andReturn(ImmutableList.<Runnable> of()).atLeastOnce();
+
+      replay(executor);
+      closer.close();
+
+      verify(executor);
+   }
+
+   @Test(groups = "unit")
+   public void testShutdownOnCloseThroughModule() throws IOException {
+
+      ScheduledExecutorServiceModule module = new ScheduledExecutorServiceModule() {
+         @Override
+         protected void configure() {
+            bindConstant().annotatedWith(Names.named(Constants.PROPERTY_SCHEDULER_THREADS)).to(1);
+            super.configure();
+         }
+      };
+
+      Injector i = Guice.createInjector(module);
+      Closer closer = i.getInstance(Closer.class);
+
+      ScheduledExecutorService sched = i.getInstance(Key.get(ScheduledExecutorService.class, Names
+              .named(Constants.PROPERTY_SCHEDULER_THREADS)));
+
+      assert !sched.isShutdown();
+
+      closer.close();
+
+      assert sched.isShutdown();
+   }
+
+   @Test(groups = "unit")
+   public void testDescribedFutureToString() throws Exception {
+
+       ScheduledExecutorServiceModule module = new ScheduledExecutorServiceModule() {
+         @Override
+         protected void configure() {
+            bindConstant().annotatedWith(Names.named(Constants.PROPERTY_SCHEDULER_THREADS)).to(1);
+            super.configure();
+         }
+      };
+
+      Injector i = Guice.createInjector(module);
+      Closer closer = i.getInstance(Closer.class);
+
+      ScheduledExecutorService sched = i.getInstance(Key.get(ScheduledExecutorService.class, Names
+              .named(Constants.PROPERTY_SCHEDULER_THREADS)));
+
+      ConfigurableRunner t1 = new ConfigurableRunner();
+      t1.result = "okay";
+
+      ScheduledFuture<Object> esc = performScheduleInSeparateMethod1(sched, t1);
+      assert esc.toString().indexOf("ConfigurableRunner") >= 0;
+      assert esc.get().equals("okay");
+
+      closer.close();
+   }
+
+   @Test(groups = "unit")
+   public void testDescribedFutureExceptionIncludesSubmissionTrace() throws Exception {
+
+       ScheduledExecutorServiceModule module = new ScheduledExecutorServiceModule() {
+         @Override
+         protected void configure() {
+            bindConstant().annotatedWith(Names.named(Constants.PROPERTY_SCHEDULER_THREADS)).to(1);
+            super.configure();
+         }
+      };
+
+      Injector i = Guice.createInjector(module);
+      Closer closer = i.getInstance(Closer.class);
+
+      ScheduledExecutorService sched = i.getInstance(Key.get(ScheduledExecutorService.class, Names
+              .named(Constants.PROPERTY_SCHEDULER_THREADS)));
+
+      ConfigurableRunner t1 = new ConfigurableRunner();
+      t1.failMessage = "foo";
+      t1.result = "shouldn't happen";
+
+      ScheduledFuture<Object> esc = performScheduleInSeparateMethod1(sched, t1);
+      checkFutureGetFailsWith(esc, "foo", "testDescribedFutureExceptionIncludesSubmissionTrace", "performScheduleInSeparateMethod1");
+
+      ScheduledFuture<?> esr = performScheduleInSeparateMethod2(sched, t1);
+      checkFutureGetFailsWith(esr, "foo", "testDescribedFutureExceptionIncludesSubmissionTrace", "performScheduleInSeparateMethod2");
+
+      ScheduledFuture<?> esfr = performScheduleInSeparateMethod3(sched, t1);
+      checkFutureGetFailsWith(esfr, "foo", "testDescribedFutureExceptionIncludesSubmissionTrace", "performScheduleInSeparateMethod3");
+
+      ScheduledFuture<?> esfd = performScheduleInSeparateMethod4(sched, t1);
+      checkFutureGetFailsWith(esfd, "foo", "testDescribedFutureExceptionIncludesSubmissionTrace", "performScheduleInSeparateMethod4");
+
+      closer.close();
+   }
+
+   static ScheduledFuture<Object> performScheduleInSeparateMethod1(ScheduledExecutorService sched, ConfigurableRunner t1) {
+       return sched.schedule((Callable<Object>)t1, 0, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+   }
+
+   static ScheduledFuture<?> performScheduleInSeparateMethod2(ScheduledExecutorService sched, ConfigurableRunner t1) {
+       return sched.schedule((Runnable)t1, 0, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+   }
+
+   static ScheduledFuture<?> performScheduleInSeparateMethod3(ScheduledExecutorService sched, ConfigurableRunner t1) {
+       return sched.scheduleAtFixedRate((Runnable)t1, 0, 1, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+   }
+
+   static ScheduledFuture<?> performScheduleInSeparateMethod4(ScheduledExecutorService sched, ConfigurableRunner t1) {
+       return sched.scheduleWithFixedDelay((Runnable)t1, 0, 1, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+   }
+}