diff --git a/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/update/SolrCmdDistributor.java b/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/update/SolrCmdDistributor.java
index 26ea68a52ec..5e8a57acd86 100644
--- a/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/update/SolrCmdDistributor.java
+++ b/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/update/SolrCmdDistributor.java
@@ -18,11 +18,15 @@ package org.apache.solr.update;
  */
 
 import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.InputStream;
 import java.net.ConnectException;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
+
+import org.apache.http.HttpResponse;
 import org.apache.solr.client.solrj.SolrServer;
 import org.apache.solr.client.solrj.SolrServerException;
+import org.apache.solr.client.solrj.impl.BinaryResponseParser;
 import org.apache.solr.client.solrj.impl.HttpSolrServer;
 import org.apache.solr.client.solrj.request.AbstractUpdateRequest;
 import org.apache.solr.client.solrj.request.UpdateRequest;
@@ -33,6 +37,7 @@ import org.apache.solr.common.cloud.ZkStateReader;
 import org.apache.solr.common.params.ModifiableSolrParams;
 import org.apache.solr.common.util.NamedList;
 import org.apache.solr.core.Diagnostics;
+import org.apache.solr.update.processor.DistributedUpdateProcessor.RequestReplicationTracker;
 import org.slf4j.Logger;
 import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 
@@ -63,7 +68,7 @@ public class SolrCmdDistributor {
     this.retryPause = retryPause;
   }
   
-  public void finish() {
+  public void finish() {    
     try {
       servers.blockUntilFinished();
       doRetriesIfNeeded();
@@ -168,16 +173,20 @@ public class SolrCmdDistributor {
   }
   
   public void distribAdd(AddUpdateCommand cmd, List<Node> nodes, ModifiableSolrParams params) throws IOException {
-    distribAdd(cmd, nodes, params, false);
+    distribAdd(cmd, nodes, params, false, null);
+  }
+
+  public void distribAdd(AddUpdateCommand cmd, List<Node> nodes, ModifiableSolrParams params, boolean synchronous) throws IOException {
+    distribAdd(cmd, nodes, params, synchronous, null);
   }
   
-  public void distribAdd(AddUpdateCommand cmd, List<Node> nodes, ModifiableSolrParams params, boolean synchronous) throws IOException {
+  public void distribAdd(AddUpdateCommand cmd, List<Node> nodes, ModifiableSolrParams params, boolean synchronous, RequestReplicationTracker rrt) throws IOException {  
 
     for (Node node : nodes) {
       UpdateRequest uReq = new UpdateRequest();
       uReq.setParams(params);
-      uReq.add(cmd.solrDoc, cmd.commitWithin, cmd.overwrite);      
-      submit(new Req(cmd.toString(), node, uReq, synchronous));
+      uReq.add(cmd.solrDoc, cmd.commitWithin, cmd.overwrite);
+      submit(new Req(cmd.toString(), node, uReq, synchronous, rrt));
     }
     
   }
@@ -233,7 +242,7 @@ public class SolrCmdDistributor {
     
     try {
       SolrServer solrServer = servers.getSolrServer(req);
-      NamedList<Object> rsp = solrServer.request(req.uReq);
+      solrServer.request(req.uReq);
     } catch (Exception e) {
       SolrException.log(log, e);
       Error error = new Error();
@@ -252,12 +261,18 @@ public class SolrCmdDistributor {
     public int retries;
     public boolean synchronous;
     public String cmdString;
-    
+    public RequestReplicationTracker rfTracker;
+
     public Req(String cmdString, Node node, UpdateRequest uReq, boolean synchronous) {
+      this(cmdString, node, uReq, synchronous, null);
+    }
+    
+    public Req(String cmdString, Node node, UpdateRequest uReq, boolean synchronous, RequestReplicationTracker rfTracker) {
       this.node = node;
       this.uReq = uReq;
       this.synchronous = synchronous;
       this.cmdString = cmdString;
+      this.rfTracker = rfTracker;
     }
     
     public String toString() {
@@ -266,6 +281,37 @@ public class SolrCmdDistributor {
       sb.append("; node=").append(String.valueOf(node));
       return sb.toString();
     }
+    public void trackRequestResult(HttpResponse resp, boolean success) {      
+      if (rfTracker != null) {
+        Integer rf = null;
+        if (resp != null) {
+          // need to parse out the rf from requests that were forwards to another leader
+          InputStream inputStream = null;
+          try {
+            inputStream = resp.getEntity().getContent();
+            BinaryResponseParser brp = new BinaryResponseParser();
+            NamedList<Object> nl= brp.processResponse(inputStream, null);
+            Object hdr = nl.get("responseHeader");
+            if (hdr != null && hdr instanceof NamedList) {
+              NamedList<Object> hdrList = (NamedList<Object>)hdr;
+              Object rfObj = hdrList.get(UpdateRequest.REPFACT);
+              if (rfObj != null && rfObj instanceof Integer) {
+                rf = (Integer)rfObj;
+              }
+            }
+          } catch (Exception e) {
+            log.warn("Failed to parse response from "+node+" during replication factor accounting due to: "+e);
+          } finally {
+            if (inputStream != null) {
+              try {
+                inputStream.close();
+              } catch (Exception ignore){}
+            }
+          }
+        }
+        rfTracker.trackRequestResult(node, success, rf);
+      }
+    }
   }
     
 
@@ -296,6 +342,8 @@ public class SolrCmdDistributor {
     public abstract String getCoreName();
     public abstract String getBaseUrl();
     public abstract ZkCoreNodeProps getNodeProps();
+    public abstract String getCollection();
+    public abstract String getShardId();
   }
 
   public static class StdNode extends Node {
diff --git a/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/update/StreamingSolrServers.java b/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/update/StreamingSolrServers.java
index 261dd427162..de4999013b7 100644
--- a/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/update/StreamingSolrServers.java
+++ b/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/update/StreamingSolrServers.java
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService;
 
+import org.apache.http.HttpResponse;
 import org.apache.http.client.HttpClient;
 import org.apache.solr.client.solrj.SolrServer;
 import org.apache.solr.client.solrj.impl.BinaryRequestWriter;
@@ -69,6 +70,7 @@ public class StreamingSolrServers {
       server = new ConcurrentUpdateSolrServer(url, httpClient, 100, 1, updateExecutor, true) {
         @Override
         public void handleError(Throwable ex) {
+          req.trackRequestResult(null, false);
           log.error("error", ex);
           Error error = new Error();
           error.e = (Exception) ex;
@@ -78,6 +80,10 @@ public class StreamingSolrServers {
           error.req = req;
           errors.add(error);
         }
+        @Override
+        public void onSuccess(HttpResponse resp) {
+          req.trackRequestResult(resp, true);
+        }
       };
       server.setParser(new BinaryResponseParser());
       server.setRequestWriter(new BinaryRequestWriter());
diff --git a/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/update/processor/DistributedUpdateProcessor.java b/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/update/processor/DistributedUpdateProcessor.java
index 79bf83d34a2..3259cedffda 100644
--- a/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/update/processor/DistributedUpdateProcessor.java
+++ b/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/update/processor/DistributedUpdateProcessor.java
@@ -20,12 +20,11 @@ package org.apache.solr.update.processor;
 import static org.apache.solr.update.processor.DistributingUpdateProcessorFactory.DISTRIB_UPDATE_PARAM;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
-import java.net.ConnectException;
-import java.net.SocketException;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
@@ -33,14 +32,12 @@ import java.util.Map.Entry;
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;
 import java.util.concurrent.locks.ReentrantLock;
 
-import org.apache.http.NoHttpResponseException;
-import org.apache.http.conn.ConnectTimeoutException;
 import org.apache.lucene.util.BytesRef;
 import org.apache.lucene.util.CharsRef;
-import org.apache.solr.client.solrj.impl.HttpSolrServer;
-import org.apache.solr.client.solrj.request.CoreAdminRequest.RequestRecovery;
+import org.apache.solr.client.solrj.request.UpdateRequest;
 import org.apache.solr.cloud.CloudDescriptor;
 import org.apache.solr.cloud.DistributedQueue;
 import org.apache.solr.cloud.LeaderInitiatedRecoveryThread;
@@ -62,7 +59,6 @@ import org.apache.solr.common.cloud.ZkCoreNodeProps;
 import org.apache.solr.common.cloud.ZkNodeProps;
 import org.apache.solr.common.cloud.ZkStateReader;
 import org.apache.solr.common.cloud.ZooKeeperException;
-import org.apache.solr.common.params.CoreAdminParams.CoreAdminAction;
 import org.apache.solr.common.params.ModifiableSolrParams;
 import org.apache.solr.common.params.ShardParams;
 import org.apache.solr.common.params.SolrParams;
@@ -71,7 +67,6 @@ import org.apache.solr.common.util.Hash;
 import org.apache.solr.common.util.NamedList;
 import org.apache.solr.core.CoreContainer;
 import org.apache.solr.core.CoreDescriptor;
-import org.apache.solr.core.SolrCore;
 import org.apache.solr.handler.component.RealTimeGetComponent;
 import org.apache.solr.request.SolrQueryRequest;
 import org.apache.solr.request.SolrRequestInfo;
@@ -128,7 +123,103 @@ public class DistributedUpdateProcessor extends UpdateRequestProcessor {
       }
     }
   }
+      
+  /**
+   * Keeps track of the replication factor achieved for a distributed update request
+   * originated in this distributed update processor.
+   */
+  public static class RequestReplicationTracker {
+    int minRf;    
+    // if a leader is driving the update request, then this will be non-null
+    // however a replica may also be driving the update request (forwards to leaders)
+    // in which case we leave this as null so we only count the rf back from the leaders
+    String onLeaderShardId;
+    // track number of nodes we sent requests to and how many resulted in errors
+    // there may be multiple requests per node when processing a batch
+    Map<String,AtomicInteger> nodeErrorTracker;
+    // if not using DirectUpdates, a leader may end up forwarding to other
+    // leaders, so we need to keep the achieved rf for each of those too
+    Map<String,Integer> otherLeaderRf;
+    
+    private RequestReplicationTracker(String shardId, int minRf) {
+      this.minRf = minRf;
+      this.onLeaderShardId = shardId;
+      this.nodeErrorTracker = new HashMap<>(5);
+      this.otherLeaderRf = new HashMap<>();
+    }
+            
+    // gives the replication factor that was achieved for this request
+    public int getAchievedRf() {
+      // look across all shards to find the minimum achieved replication
+      // factor ... unless the client is using direct updates from CloudSolrServer
+      // there may be multiple shards at play here
+      int achievedRf = 1;
+      if (onLeaderShardId != null) {
+        synchronized (nodeErrorTracker) {
+          for (AtomicInteger nodeErrors : nodeErrorTracker.values()) {
+            if (nodeErrors.get() == 0) 
+              ++achievedRf;
+          }
+        }
+      } else {
+        // the node driving this updateRequest is not a leader and so
+        // it only forwards to other leaders, so its local result doesn't count
+        achievedRf = Integer.MAX_VALUE;
+      }
+      
+      // min achieved may come from a request to another leader
+      synchronized (otherLeaderRf) {
+        for (Integer otherRf : otherLeaderRf.values()) {
+          if (otherRf < achievedRf)
+            achievedRf = otherRf;
+        }
+      }
+      
+      return (achievedRf == Integer.MAX_VALUE) ? 1 : achievedRf;
+    }    
+    
+    public void trackRequestResult(Node node, boolean success, Integer rf) {
+      String shardId = node.getShardId();      
 
+      if (log.isDebugEnabled())
+        log.debug("trackRequestResult("+node+"): success? "+success+" rf="+rf+
+            ", shardId="+shardId+" onLeaderShardId="+onLeaderShardId);
+      
+      if (onLeaderShardId == null || !onLeaderShardId.equals(shardId)) {
+        // result from another leader that we forwarded to
+        synchronized (otherLeaderRf) {
+          otherLeaderRf.put(shardId, rf != null ? rf : new Integer(1));
+        }
+        return;
+      }
+      
+      if (onLeaderShardId != null) {
+        // track result for this leader
+        String nodeUrl = node.getUrl();
+        AtomicInteger nodeErrors = null;
+        // potentially many results flooding into this method from multiple nodes concurrently
+        synchronized (nodeErrorTracker) {        
+          nodeErrors = nodeErrorTracker.get(nodeUrl);
+          if (nodeErrors == null) {
+            nodeErrors = new AtomicInteger(0);
+            nodeErrorTracker.put(nodeUrl, nodeErrors);      
+          }
+        }  
+        
+        if (!success)
+          nodeErrors.incrementAndGet();
+      }
+    }
+    
+    public String toString() {
+      StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder("RequestReplicationTracker");
+      sb.append(": onLeaderShardId=").append(String.valueOf(onLeaderShardId));
+      sb.append(", minRf=").append(minRf);
+      sb.append(", achievedRf=").append(getAchievedRf());
+      return sb.toString();
+    }
+  }
+  
   public static final String COMMIT_END_POINT = "commit_end_point";
   public static final String LOG_REPLAY = "log_replay";
   
@@ -168,6 +259,9 @@ public class DistributedUpdateProcessor extends UpdateRequestProcessor {
 
   private UpdateCommand updateCommand;  // the current command this processor is working on.
     
+  //used for keeping track of replicas that have processed an add/update from the leader
+  private RequestReplicationTracker replicationTracker = null;
+  
   public DistributedUpdateProcessor(SolrQueryRequest req,
       SolrQueryResponse rsp, UpdateRequestProcessor next) {
     super(next);
@@ -559,7 +653,41 @@ public class DistributedUpdateProcessor extends UpdateRequestProcessor {
     } else {
       isLeader = getNonZkLeaderAssumption(req);
     }
-
+    
+    // check if client has requested minimum replication factor information
+    int minRf = -1; // disabled by default
+    if (replicationTracker != null) {
+      minRf = replicationTracker.minRf; // for subsequent requests in the same batch
+    } else {
+      SolrParams rp = cmd.getReq().getParams();      
+      String distribUpdate = rp.get(DISTRIB_UPDATE_PARAM);
+      // somewhat tricky logic here: we only activate the replication tracker if we're on 
+      // a leader or this is the top-level request processor
+      if (distribUpdate == null || distribUpdate.equals(DistribPhase.TOLEADER.toString())) {
+        String minRepFact = rp.get(UpdateRequest.MIN_REPFACT);
+        if (minRepFact != null) {
+          try {
+            minRf = Integer.parseInt(minRepFact);
+          } catch (NumberFormatException nfe) {
+            minRf = -1;
+          }
+          
+          if (minRf <= 0)
+            throw new SolrException(ErrorCode.BAD_REQUEST, "Invalid value "+minRepFact+" for "+UpdateRequest.MIN_REPFACT+
+                "; must be >0 and less than or equal to the collection replication factor.");
+        }
+        
+        if (minRf > 1) {
+          String myShardId = forwardToLeader ? null : cloudDesc.getShardId();
+          replicationTracker = new RequestReplicationTracker(myShardId, minRf);
+        }                
+      }
+    }
+    
+    // TODO: if minRf > 1 and we know the leader is the only active replica, we could fail
+    // the request right here but for now I think it is better to just return the status
+    // to the client that the minRf wasn't reached and let them handle it    
+    
     boolean dropCmd = false;
     if (!forwardToLeader) {      
       dropCmd = versionAdd(cmd);
@@ -593,15 +721,15 @@ public class DistributedUpdateProcessor extends UpdateRequestProcessor {
         
         params.set(DISTRIB_FROM_COLLECTION, req.getCore().getCoreDescriptor().getCloudDescriptor().getCollectionName());
         params.set(DISTRIB_FROM_SHARD, req.getCore().getCoreDescriptor().getCloudDescriptor().getShardId());
+        
         for (Node nodesByRoutingRule : nodesByRoutingRules) {
           cmdDistrib.distribAdd(cmd, Collections.singletonList(nodesByRoutingRule), params, true);
         }
       }
     }
-
+    
     ModifiableSolrParams params = null;
     if (nodes != null) {
-
       params = new ModifiableSolrParams(filterParams(req.getParams()));
       params.set(DISTRIB_UPDATE_PARAM,
                  (isLeader || isSubShardLeader ?
@@ -609,7 +737,11 @@ public class DistributedUpdateProcessor extends UpdateRequestProcessor {
                   DistribPhase.TOLEADER.toString()));
       params.set(DISTRIB_FROM, ZkCoreNodeProps.getCoreUrl(
           zkController.getBaseUrl(), req.getCore().getName()));
-      cmdDistrib.distribAdd(cmd, nodes, params);
+      
+      if (replicationTracker != null && minRf > 1)
+        params.set(UpdateRequest.MIN_REPFACT, String.valueOf(minRf));
+      
+      cmdDistrib.distribAdd(cmd, nodes, params, false, replicationTracker);
     }
     
     // TODO: what to do when no idField?
@@ -632,9 +764,9 @@ public class DistributedUpdateProcessor extends UpdateRequestProcessor {
   // TODO: optionally fail if n replicas are not reached...
   private void doFinish() {
     // TODO: if not a forward and replication req is not specified, we could
-    // send in a background thread
-
-    cmdDistrib.finish();
+    // send in a background thread    
+    
+    cmdDistrib.finish();    
     List<Error> errors = cmdDistrib.getErrors();
     // TODO - we may need to tell about more than one error...
     
@@ -724,6 +856,12 @@ public class DistributedUpdateProcessor extends UpdateRequestProcessor {
       ExecutorService executor = coreContainer.getUpdateShardHandler().getUpdateExecutor();
       executor.execute(lirThread);      
     }
+    
+    if (replicationTracker != null) {
+      rsp.getResponseHeader().add(UpdateRequest.REPFACT, replicationTracker.getAchievedRf());
+      rsp.getResponseHeader().add(UpdateRequest.MIN_REPFACT, replicationTracker.minRf);
+      replicationTracker = null;
+    }    
   }
 
  
diff --git a/solr/core/src/test/org/apache/solr/cloud/HttpPartitionTest.java b/solr/core/src/test/org/apache/solr/cloud/HttpPartitionTest.java
index cef27319e53..efb9cbbf810 100644
--- a/solr/core/src/test/org/apache/solr/cloud/HttpPartitionTest.java
+++ b/solr/core/src/test/org/apache/solr/cloud/HttpPartitionTest.java
@@ -62,7 +62,6 @@ public class HttpPartitionTest extends AbstractFullDistribZkTestBase {
   private static final long sleepMsBeforeHealPartition = 1000L;
   
   private Map<URI,SocketProxy> proxies = new HashMap<URI,SocketProxy>();
-  private AtomicInteger portCounter = new AtomicInteger(0);
   
   public HttpPartitionTest() {
     super();
diff --git a/solr/core/src/test/org/apache/solr/cloud/ReplicationFactorTest.java b/solr/core/src/test/org/apache/solr/cloud/ReplicationFactorTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..359568fcafa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/solr/core/src/test/org/apache/solr/cloud/ReplicationFactorTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,379 @@
+package org.apache.solr.cloud;
+
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ * The ASF 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.
+ */
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.net.ServerSocket;
+import java.net.URI;
+import java.net.URL;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Collection;
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+
+import org.apache.lucene.util.LuceneTestCase.Slow;
+import org.apache.solr.SolrTestCaseJ4.SuppressSSL;
+import org.apache.solr.client.solrj.embedded.JettySolrRunner;
+import org.apache.solr.client.solrj.impl.HttpSolrServer;
+import org.apache.solr.client.solrj.request.UpdateRequest;
+import org.apache.solr.common.SolrInputDocument;
+import org.apache.solr.common.cloud.ClusterState;
+import org.apache.solr.common.cloud.Replica;
+import org.apache.solr.common.cloud.Slice;
+import org.apache.solr.common.cloud.ZkCoreNodeProps;
+import org.apache.solr.common.cloud.ZkStateReader;
+import org.apache.solr.common.util.NamedList;
+import org.junit.After;
+import org.junit.Before;
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
+
+/**
+ * Tests a client application's ability to get replication factor
+ * information back from the cluster after an add or update.
+ */
+@Slow
+@SuppressSSL(bugUrl = "https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/SOLR-5776")
+public class ReplicationFactorTest extends AbstractFullDistribZkTestBase {
+  
+  private static final transient Logger log = 
+      LoggerFactory.getLogger(ReplicationFactorTest.class);
+  
+  private Map<URI,SocketProxy> proxies = new HashMap<URI,SocketProxy>();
+  
+  public ReplicationFactorTest() {
+    super();
+    sliceCount = 3;
+    shardCount = 3;
+  }
+  
+  @Before
+  @Override
+  public void setUp() throws Exception {
+    super.setUp();
+    System.setProperty("numShards", Integer.toString(sliceCount));
+  }
+  
+  @Override
+  @After
+  public void tearDown() throws Exception {
+    if (!proxies.isEmpty()) {
+      for (SocketProxy proxy : proxies.values()) {
+        proxy.close();
+      }
+    }
+    
+    System.clearProperty("numShards");
+    
+    try {
+      super.tearDown();
+    } catch (Exception exc) {}
+    
+    resetExceptionIgnores();
+  }
+  
+  /**
+   * Overrides the parent implementation so that we can configure a socket proxy
+   * to sit infront of each Jetty server, which gives us the ability to simulate
+   * network partitions without having to fuss with IPTables (which is not very
+   * cross platform friendly).
+   */
+  @Override
+  public JettySolrRunner createJetty(File solrHome, String dataDir,
+      String shardList, String solrConfigOverride, String schemaOverride)
+      throws Exception {
+    
+    JettySolrRunner jetty = new JettySolrRunner(solrHome.getPath(), context,
+        0, solrConfigOverride, schemaOverride, false,
+        getExtraServlets(), sslConfig, getExtraRequestFilters());
+    jetty.setShards(shardList);
+    jetty.setDataDir(getDataDir(dataDir));
+    
+    // setup to proxy Http requests to this server unless it is the control
+    // server
+    int proxyPort = getNextAvailablePort();
+    jetty.setProxyPort(proxyPort);
+    
+    jetty.start();
+    
+    // create a socket proxy for the jetty server ...
+    SocketProxy proxy = new SocketProxy(proxyPort, jetty.getBaseUrl().toURI());
+    proxies.put(proxy.getUrl(), proxy);
+    
+    return jetty;
+  }
+  
+  protected int getNextAvailablePort() throws Exception {    
+    int port = -1;
+    try (ServerSocket s = new ServerSocket(0)) {
+      port = s.getLocalPort();
+    }
+    return port;
+  }  
+   
+  @Override
+  public void doTest() throws Exception {
+    waitForThingsToLevelOut(30000);
+    
+    // test a 1x3 collection
+    testRf3();
+
+    // test handling when not using direct updates
+    testRf2NotUsingDirectUpdates();
+  }
+  
+  protected void testRf2NotUsingDirectUpdates() throws Exception {
+    int numShards = 2;
+    int replicationFactor = 2;
+    int maxShardsPerNode = 1;
+    String testCollectionName = "c8n_2x2";
+    String shardId = "shard1";
+    int minRf = 2;
+    
+    createCollection(testCollectionName, numShards, replicationFactor, maxShardsPerNode);
+    cloudClient.setDefaultCollection(testCollectionName);
+    
+    List<Replica> replicas = 
+        ensureAllReplicasAreActive(testCollectionName, shardId, numShards, replicationFactor, 10);
+    assertTrue("Expected active 1 replicas for "+testCollectionName, replicas.size() == 1);
+                
+    List<SolrInputDocument> batch = new ArrayList<SolrInputDocument>(10);
+    for (int i=0; i < 15; i++) {
+      SolrInputDocument doc = new SolrInputDocument();
+      doc.addField(id, String.valueOf(i));
+      doc.addField("a_t", "hello" + i);
+      batch.add(doc);
+    }
+    
+    // send directly to the leader using HttpSolrServer instead of CloudSolrServer (to test support for non-direct updates)
+    UpdateRequest up = new UpdateRequest();
+    up.setParam(UpdateRequest.MIN_REPFACT, String.valueOf(minRf));
+    up.add(batch);
+
+    Replica leader = cloudClient.getZkStateReader().getLeaderRetry(testCollectionName, shardId);
+    sendNonDirectUpdateRequestReplica(leader, up, 2, testCollectionName);    
+    sendNonDirectUpdateRequestReplica(replicas.get(0), up, 2, testCollectionName);    
+    
+    // so now kill the replica of shard2 and verify the achieved rf is only 1
+    List<Replica> shard2Replicas = 
+        ensureAllReplicasAreActive(testCollectionName, "shard2", numShards, replicationFactor, 10);
+    assertTrue("Expected active 1 replicas for "+testCollectionName, replicas.size() == 1);
+    
+    getProxyForReplica(shard2Replicas.get(0)).close();
+
+    Thread.sleep(2000);
+    
+    // shard1 will have rf=2 but shard2 will only have rf=1
+    sendNonDirectUpdateRequestReplica(leader, up, 1, testCollectionName);    
+    sendNonDirectUpdateRequestReplica(replicas.get(0), up, 1, testCollectionName);    
+  }
+  
+  @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+  protected void sendNonDirectUpdateRequestReplica(Replica replica, UpdateRequest up, int expectedRf, String collection) throws Exception {
+    HttpSolrServer solrServer = null;
+    try {
+      ZkCoreNodeProps zkProps = new ZkCoreNodeProps(replica);
+      String url = zkProps.getBaseUrl() + "/" + collection;
+      solrServer = new HttpSolrServer(url);    
+            
+      NamedList resp = solrServer.request(up);
+      NamedList hdr = (NamedList) resp.get("responseHeader");
+      Integer batchRf = (Integer)hdr.get(UpdateRequest.REPFACT);
+      assertTrue("Expected rf="+expectedRf+" for batch but got "+batchRf, batchRf == expectedRf);      
+    } finally {
+      if (solrServer != null)
+        solrServer.shutdown();
+    }
+  }
+    
+  protected void testRf3() throws Exception {
+    int numShards = 1;
+    int replicationFactor = 3;
+    int maxShardsPerNode = 1;
+    String testCollectionName = "c8n_1x3";
+    String shardId = "shard1";
+    int minRf = 2;
+    
+    createCollection(testCollectionName, numShards, replicationFactor, maxShardsPerNode);
+    cloudClient.setDefaultCollection(testCollectionName);
+    
+    List<Replica> replicas = 
+        ensureAllReplicasAreActive(testCollectionName, shardId, numShards, replicationFactor, 10);
+    assertTrue("Expected active 2 replicas for "+testCollectionName, replicas.size() == 2);
+                
+    int rf = sendDoc(1, minRf);
+    assertTrue("Expected rf=3 as all replicas are up, but got "+rf, rf == 3);
+        
+    getProxyForReplica(replicas.get(0)).close();
+    
+    rf = sendDoc(2, minRf);
+    assertTrue("Expected rf=2 as one replica should be down, but got "+rf, rf == 2);
+
+    getProxyForReplica(replicas.get(1)).close();    
+
+    rf = sendDoc(3, minRf);
+    assertTrue("Expected rf=1 as both replicas should be down, but got "+rf, rf == 1);
+    
+    // heal the partitions
+    getProxyForReplica(replicas.get(0)).reopen();    
+    getProxyForReplica(replicas.get(1)).reopen();
+    
+    rf = sendDoc(4, minRf);
+    assertTrue("Expected rf=3 as partitions to replicas have been healed, but got "+rf, rf == 3);
+    
+    // now send a batch
+    List<SolrInputDocument> batch = new ArrayList<SolrInputDocument>(10);
+    for (int i=5; i < 15; i++) {
+      SolrInputDocument doc = new SolrInputDocument();
+      doc.addField(id, String.valueOf(i));
+      doc.addField("a_t", "hello" + i);
+      batch.add(doc);
+    }
+    
+    UpdateRequest up = new UpdateRequest();
+    up.setParam(UpdateRequest.MIN_REPFACT, String.valueOf(minRf));
+    up.add(batch);
+    int batchRf = 
+        cloudClient.getMinAchievedReplicationFactor(cloudClient.getDefaultCollection(), cloudClient.request(up)); 
+    assertTrue("Expected rf=3 for batch but got "+batchRf, batchRf == 3);
+    
+    // add some chaos to the batch
+    getProxyForReplica(replicas.get(0)).close();
+
+    // now send a batch
+    batch = new ArrayList<SolrInputDocument>(10);
+    for (int i=15; i < 30; i++) {
+      SolrInputDocument doc = new SolrInputDocument();
+      doc.addField(id, String.valueOf(i));
+      doc.addField("a_t", "hello" + i);
+      batch.add(doc);
+    }
+    
+    up = new UpdateRequest();
+    up.setParam(UpdateRequest.MIN_REPFACT, String.valueOf(minRf));
+    up.add(batch);
+    batchRf = 
+        cloudClient.getMinAchievedReplicationFactor(cloudClient.getDefaultCollection(), cloudClient.request(up)); 
+    assertTrue("Expected rf=2 for batch (one replica is down) but got "+batchRf, batchRf == 2);
+
+    // close the 2nd replica, and send a 3rd batch with expected achieved rf=1
+    getProxyForReplica(replicas.get(1)).close();
+    
+    batch = new ArrayList<SolrInputDocument>(10);
+    for (int i=30; i < 45; i++) {
+      SolrInputDocument doc = new SolrInputDocument();
+      doc.addField(id, String.valueOf(i));
+      doc.addField("a_t", "hello" + i);
+      batch.add(doc);
+    }
+    
+    up = new UpdateRequest();
+    up.setParam(UpdateRequest.MIN_REPFACT, String.valueOf(minRf));
+    up.add(batch);
+    batchRf = 
+        cloudClient.getMinAchievedReplicationFactor(cloudClient.getDefaultCollection(), cloudClient.request(up)); 
+    assertTrue("Expected rf=1 for batch (two replicas are down) but got "+batchRf, batchRf == 1);
+    
+    getProxyForReplica(replicas.get(0)).reopen();        
+    getProxyForReplica(replicas.get(1)).reopen();
+    Thread.sleep(1000);
+  } 
+    
+  protected SocketProxy getProxyForReplica(Replica replica) throws Exception {
+    String replicaBaseUrl = replica.getStr(ZkStateReader.BASE_URL_PROP);
+    assertNotNull(replicaBaseUrl);
+    URL baseUrl = new URL(replicaBaseUrl);
+    
+    SocketProxy proxy = proxies.get(baseUrl.toURI());
+    if (proxy == null && !baseUrl.toExternalForm().endsWith("/")) {
+      baseUrl = new URL(baseUrl.toExternalForm() + "/");
+      proxy = proxies.get(baseUrl.toURI());
+    }
+    assertNotNull("No proxy found for " + baseUrl + "!", proxy);
+    return proxy;
+  }
+      
+  protected int sendDoc(int docId, int minRf) throws Exception {
+    UpdateRequest up = new UpdateRequest();
+    up.setParam(UpdateRequest.MIN_REPFACT, String.valueOf(minRf));
+    SolrInputDocument doc = new SolrInputDocument();
+    doc.addField(id, String.valueOf(docId));
+    doc.addField("a_t", "hello" + docId);
+    up.add(doc);
+    return cloudClient.getMinAchievedReplicationFactor(cloudClient.getDefaultCollection(), cloudClient.request(up));
+  }
+    
+  protected List<Replica> ensureAllReplicasAreActive(String testCollectionName, String shardId, int shards, int rf, int maxWaitSecs) throws Exception {
+    long startMs = System.currentTimeMillis();
+    
+    Map<String,Replica> notLeaders = new HashMap<String,Replica>();
+    
+    ZkStateReader zkr = cloudClient.getZkStateReader();
+    ClusterState cs = zkr.getClusterState();
+    Collection<Slice> slices = cs.getActiveSlices(testCollectionName);
+    assertTrue(slices.size() == shards);
+    boolean allReplicasUp = false;
+    long waitMs = 0L;
+    long maxWaitMs = maxWaitSecs * 1000L;
+    Replica leader = null;
+    while (waitMs < maxWaitMs && !allReplicasUp) {
+      cs = zkr.getClusterState();
+      assertNotNull(cs);
+      Slice shard = cs.getSlice(testCollectionName, shardId);
+      assertNotNull("No Slice for "+shardId, shard);
+      allReplicasUp = true; // assume true
+      Collection<Replica> replicas = shard.getReplicas();
+      assertTrue(replicas.size() == rf);
+      leader = shard.getLeader();
+      assertNotNull(leader);
+      
+      // ensure all replicas are "active" and identify the non-leader replica
+      for (Replica replica : replicas) {
+        String replicaState = replica.getStr(ZkStateReader.STATE_PROP);
+        if (!ZkStateReader.ACTIVE.equals(replicaState)) {
+          log.info("Replica " + replica.getName() + " is currently " + replicaState);
+          allReplicasUp = false;
+        }
+        
+        if (!leader.equals(replica)) 
+          notLeaders.put(replica.getName(), replica);
+      }
+      
+      if (!allReplicasUp) {
+        try {
+          Thread.sleep(500L);
+        } catch (Exception ignoreMe) {}
+        waitMs += 500L;
+      }
+    } // end while
+    
+    if (!allReplicasUp) 
+      fail("Didn't see all replicas come up within " + maxWaitMs + " ms! ClusterState: " + cs);
+    
+    if (notLeaders.isEmpty()) 
+      fail("Didn't isolate any replicas that are not the leader! ClusterState: " + cs);
+    
+    long diffMs = (System.currentTimeMillis() - startMs);
+    log.info("Took " + diffMs + " ms to see all replicas become active.");
+    
+    List<Replica> replicas = new ArrayList<Replica>();
+    replicas.addAll(notLeaders.values());
+    return replicas;
+  }  
+}
diff --git a/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/impl/CloudSolrServer.java b/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/impl/CloudSolrServer.java
index bfc85c587c6..ff3c5111bc7 100644
--- a/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/impl/CloudSolrServer.java
+++ b/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/impl/CloudSolrServer.java
@@ -436,19 +436,33 @@ public class CloudSolrServer extends SolrServer {
   public RouteResponse condenseResponse(NamedList response, long timeMillis) {
     RouteResponse condensed = new RouteResponse();
     int status = 0;
+    Integer rf = null;
+    Integer minRf = null;
     for(int i=0; i<response.size(); i++) {
       NamedList shardResponse = (NamedList)response.getVal(i);
-      NamedList header = (NamedList)shardResponse.get("responseHeader");
+      NamedList header = (NamedList)shardResponse.get("responseHeader");      
       Integer shardStatus = (Integer)header.get("status");
       int s = shardStatus.intValue();
       if(s > 0) {
           status = s;
       }
+      Object rfObj = header.get(UpdateRequest.REPFACT);
+      if (rfObj != null && rfObj instanceof Integer) {
+        Integer routeRf = (Integer)rfObj;
+        if (rf == null || routeRf < rf)
+          rf = routeRf;
+      }
+      minRf = (Integer)header.get(UpdateRequest.MIN_REPFACT);
     }
 
     NamedList cheader = new NamedList();
     cheader.add("status", status);
     cheader.add("QTime", timeMillis);
+    if (rf != null)
+      cheader.add(UpdateRequest.REPFACT, rf);
+    if (minRf != null)
+      cheader.add(UpdateRequest.MIN_REPFACT, minRf);
+    
     condensed.add("responseHeader", cheader);
     return condensed;
   }
@@ -692,4 +706,73 @@ public class CloudSolrServer extends SolrServer {
     return updatesToLeaders;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Useful for determining the minimum achieved replication factor across
+   * all shards involved in processing an update request, typically useful
+   * for gauging the replication factor of a batch. 
+   */
+  @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+  public int getMinAchievedReplicationFactor(String collection, NamedList resp) {
+    // it's probably already on the top-level header set by condense
+    NamedList header = (NamedList)resp.get("responseHeader");
+    Integer achRf = (Integer)header.get(UpdateRequest.REPFACT);
+    if (achRf != null)
+      return achRf.intValue();
+
+    // not on the top-level header, walk the shard route tree
+    Map<String,Integer> shardRf = getShardReplicationFactor(collection, resp);
+    for (Integer rf : shardRf.values()) {
+      if (achRf == null || rf < achRf) {
+        achRf = rf;
+      }
+    }    
+    return (achRf != null) ? achRf.intValue() : -1;
+  }
+  
+  /**
+   * Walks the NamedList response after performing an update request looking for
+   * the replication factor that was achieved in each shard involved in the request.
+   * For single doc updates, there will be only one shard in the return value. 
+   */
+  @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+  public Map<String,Integer> getShardReplicationFactor(String collection, NamedList resp) {
+    connect();
+    
+    Map<String,Integer> results = new HashMap<String,Integer>();
+    if (resp instanceof CloudSolrServer.RouteResponse) {
+      NamedList routes = ((CloudSolrServer.RouteResponse)resp).getRouteResponses();      
+      ClusterState clusterState = zkStateReader.getClusterState();     
+      Map<String,String> leaders = new HashMap<String,String>();
+      for (Slice slice : clusterState.getActiveSlices(collection)) {
+        Replica leader = slice.getLeader();
+        if (leader != null) {
+          ZkCoreNodeProps zkProps = new ZkCoreNodeProps(leader);
+          String leaderUrl = zkProps.getBaseUrl() + "/" + zkProps.getCoreName();
+          leaders.put(leaderUrl, slice.getName());
+          String altLeaderUrl = zkProps.getBaseUrl() + "/" + collection;
+          leaders.put(altLeaderUrl, slice.getName());
+        }
+      }
+      
+      Iterator<Map.Entry<String,Object>> routeIter = routes.iterator();
+      while (routeIter.hasNext()) {
+        Map.Entry<String,Object> next = routeIter.next();
+        String host = next.getKey();
+        NamedList hostResp = (NamedList)next.getValue();
+        Integer rf = (Integer)((NamedList)hostResp.get("responseHeader")).get(UpdateRequest.REPFACT);
+        if (rf != null) {
+          String shard = leaders.get(host);
+          if (shard == null) {
+            if (host.endsWith("/"))
+              shard = leaders.get(host.substring(0,host.length()-1));
+            if (shard == null) {
+              shard = host;
+            }
+          }
+          results.put(shard, rf);
+        }
+      }
+    }    
+    return results;
+  }
 }
diff --git a/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/impl/ConcurrentUpdateSolrServer.java b/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/impl/ConcurrentUpdateSolrServer.java
index 5a9af1e89d8..ae76bc3c448 100644
--- a/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/impl/ConcurrentUpdateSolrServer.java
+++ b/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/impl/ConcurrentUpdateSolrServer.java
@@ -239,6 +239,8 @@ public class ConcurrentUpdateSolrServer extends SolrServer {
               msg.append("\n\n");
               msg.append("request: ").append(method.getURI());
               handleError(new SolrException(ErrorCode.getErrorCode(statusCode), msg.toString()));
+            } else {
+              onSuccess(response);
             }
           } finally {
             try {
@@ -405,6 +407,13 @@ public class ConcurrentUpdateSolrServer extends SolrServer {
   public void handleError(Throwable ex) {
     log.error("error", ex);
   }
+  
+  /**
+   * Intended to be used as an extension point for doing post processing after a request completes.
+   */
+  public void onSuccess(HttpResponse resp) {
+    // no-op by design, override to add functionality
+  }
 
   @Override
   public void shutdown() {
diff --git a/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/request/UpdateRequest.java b/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/request/UpdateRequest.java
index 962d24771e4..ed1329549b5 100644
--- a/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/request/UpdateRequest.java
+++ b/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/request/UpdateRequest.java
@@ -46,7 +46,8 @@ import org.apache.solr.common.util.XML;
  * @since solr 1.3
  */
 public class UpdateRequest extends AbstractUpdateRequest {
-  
+  public static final String REPFACT = "rf";
+  public static final String MIN_REPFACT = "min_rf";
   public static final String VER = "ver";
   public static final String OVERWRITE = "ow";
   public static final String COMMIT_WITHIN = "cw";