diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/cluster/node/tasks/list/ListTasksResponse.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/cluster/node/tasks/list/ListTasksResponse.java
index 6ab0bafb2fb..390e4c6dda7 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/cluster/node/tasks/list/ListTasksResponse.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/cluster/node/tasks/list/ListTasksResponse.java
@@ -128,6 +128,7 @@ public class ListTasksResponse extends BaseTasksResponse implements ToXContent {
      * {@code group_by=nodes}.
      */
     public void setDiscoveryNodes(DiscoveryNodes discoveryNodes) {
+        //WTF is this? Why isn't this set by default;
         this.discoveryNodes = discoveryNodes;
     }
 
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/node/DiscoveryNode.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/node/DiscoveryNode.java
index fb6f98ea3b1..5f2cb10212d 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/node/DiscoveryNode.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/node/DiscoveryNode.java
@@ -48,23 +48,6 @@ import static org.elasticsearch.common.transport.TransportAddressSerializers.add
  */
 public class DiscoveryNode implements Writeable, ToXContent {
 
-    public static boolean isLocalNode(Settings settings) {
-        if (Node.NODE_LOCAL_SETTING.exists(settings)) {
-            return Node.NODE_LOCAL_SETTING.get(settings);
-        }
-        if (Node.NODE_MODE_SETTING.exists(settings)) {
-            String nodeMode = Node.NODE_MODE_SETTING.get(settings);
-            if ("local".equals(nodeMode)) {
-                return true;
-            } else if ("network".equals(nodeMode)) {
-                return false;
-            } else {
-                throw new IllegalArgumentException("unsupported node.mode [" + nodeMode + "]. Should be one of [local, network].");
-            }
-        }
-        return false;
-    }
-
     public static boolean nodeRequiresLocalStorage(Settings settings) {
         boolean localStorageEnable = Node.NODE_LOCAL_STORAGE_SETTING.get(settings);
         if (localStorageEnable == false &&
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/network/NetworkModule.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/network/NetworkModule.java
index 0ef71502207..a91f36ad307 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/network/NetworkModule.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/network/NetworkModule.java
@@ -54,8 +54,9 @@ public class NetworkModule extends AbstractModule {
     public static final String TRANSPORT_SERVICE_TYPE_KEY = "transport.service.type";
     public static final String HTTP_TYPE_KEY = "http.type";
     public static final String LOCAL_TRANSPORT = "local";
-    public static final String NETTY_TRANSPORT = "netty";
 
+    public static final Setting<String> TRANSPORT_DEFAULT_TYPE_SETTING = Setting.simpleString("transport.type.default", Property.NodeScope);
+    public static final Setting<String> HTTP_DEFAULT_TYPE_SETTING = Setting.simpleString("http.type.default", Property.NodeScope);
     public static final Setting<String> HTTP_TYPE_SETTING = Setting.simpleString(HTTP_TYPE_KEY, Property.NodeScope);
     public static final Setting<Boolean> HTTP_ENABLED = Setting.boolSetting("http.enabled", true, Property.NodeScope);
     public static final Setting<String> TRANSPORT_SERVICE_TYPE_SETTING =
@@ -85,7 +86,7 @@ public class NetworkModule extends AbstractModule {
         this.settings = settings;
         this.transportClient = transportClient;
         this.namedWriteableRegistry = namedWriteableRegistry;
-        registerTransportService(NETTY_TRANSPORT, TransportService.class);
+        registerTransportService("default", TransportService.class);
         registerTransport(LOCAL_TRANSPORT, LocalTransport.class);
         registerTaskStatus(ReplicationTask.Status.NAME, ReplicationTask.Status::new);
         registerTaskStatus(RawTaskStatus.NAME, RawTaskStatus::new);
@@ -146,16 +147,13 @@ public class NetworkModule extends AbstractModule {
     protected void configure() {
         bind(NetworkService.class).toInstance(networkService);
         bind(NamedWriteableRegistry.class).toInstance(namedWriteableRegistry);
-
-        boolean nettyRegistered = transportTypes.getExtension(NETTY_TRANSPORT) != null;
-        transportServiceTypes.bindType(binder(), settings, TRANSPORT_SERVICE_TYPE_KEY, NETTY_TRANSPORT);
-        String defaultTransport = DiscoveryNode.isLocalNode(settings) || nettyRegistered == false ? LOCAL_TRANSPORT : NETTY_TRANSPORT;
-        transportTypes.bindType(binder(), settings, TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, defaultTransport);
+        transportServiceTypes.bindType(binder(), settings, TRANSPORT_SERVICE_TYPE_KEY, "default");
+        transportTypes.bindType(binder(), settings, TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, TRANSPORT_DEFAULT_TYPE_SETTING.get(settings));
 
         if (transportClient == false) {
             if (HTTP_ENABLED.get(settings)) {
                 bind(HttpServer.class).asEagerSingleton();
-                httpTransportTypes.bindType(binder(), settings, HTTP_TYPE_SETTING.getKey(), NETTY_TRANSPORT);
+                httpTransportTypes.bindType(binder(), settings, HTTP_TYPE_SETTING.getKey(), HTTP_DEFAULT_TYPE_SETTING.get(settings));
             } else {
                 bind(HttpServer.class).toProvider(Providers.of(null));
             }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/settings/ClusterSettings.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/settings/ClusterSettings.java
index 736371a08b3..1c9136d52fd 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/settings/ClusterSettings.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/settings/ClusterSettings.java
@@ -214,6 +214,8 @@ public final class ClusterSettings extends AbstractScopedSettings {
                     GatewayService.RECOVER_AFTER_NODES_SETTING,
                     GatewayService.RECOVER_AFTER_TIME_SETTING,
                     NetworkModule.HTTP_ENABLED,
+                    NetworkModule.HTTP_DEFAULT_TYPE_SETTING,
+                    NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_DEFAULT_TYPE_SETTING,
                     NetworkModule.HTTP_TYPE_SETTING,
                     NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_SERVICE_TYPE_SETTING,
                     NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_SETTING,
@@ -339,8 +341,6 @@ public final class ClusterSettings extends AbstractScopedSettings {
                     Node.NODE_NAME_SETTING,
                     Node.NODE_DATA_SETTING,
                     Node.NODE_MASTER_SETTING,
-                    Node.NODE_LOCAL_SETTING,
-                    Node.NODE_MODE_SETTING,
                     Node.NODE_INGEST_SETTING,
                     Node.NODE_ATTRIBUTES,
                     Node.NODE_LOCAL_STORAGE_SETTING,
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/util/ExtensionPoint.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/util/ExtensionPoint.java
index 4b68512502d..fcdfaafb1d5 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/util/ExtensionPoint.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/util/ExtensionPoint.java
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ public abstract class ExtensionPoint {
      */
     public static class ClassMap<T> extends ExtensionPoint {
         protected final Class<T> extensionClass;
-        private final Map<String, Class<? extends T>> extensions = new HashMap<>();
+        protected final Map<String, Class<? extends T>> extensions = new HashMap<>();
         private final Set<String> reservedKeys;
 
         /**
@@ -147,7 +147,8 @@ public abstract class ExtensionPoint {
             }
             final Class<? extends T> instance = getExtension(type);
             if (instance == null) {
-                throw new IllegalArgumentException("Unknown [" + this.name + "] type [" + type + "]");
+                throw new IllegalArgumentException("Unknown [" + this.name + "] type [" + type + "] possible values: "
+                    + extensions.keySet());
             }
             if (extensionClass == instance) {
                 binder.bind(extensionClass).asEagerSingleton();
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/discovery/DiscoveryModule.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/discovery/DiscoveryModule.java
index f70eb46e666..040066adeb6 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/discovery/DiscoveryModule.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/discovery/DiscoveryModule.java
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ import java.util.function.Function;
 public class DiscoveryModule extends AbstractModule {
 
     public static final Setting<String> DISCOVERY_TYPE_SETTING =
-        new Setting<>("discovery.type", settings -> DiscoveryNode.isLocalNode(settings) ? "local" : "zen", Function.identity(),
+        new Setting<>("discovery.type", "zen", Function.identity(),
             Property.NodeScope);
     public static final Setting<String> ZEN_MASTER_SERVICE_TYPE_SETTING =
         new Setting<>("discovery.zen.masterservice.type", "zen", Function.identity(), Property.NodeScope);
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/node/Node.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/node/Node.java
index 22c6092471e..7966c8d8f49 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/node/Node.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/node/Node.java
@@ -147,10 +147,6 @@ public class Node implements Closeable {
     public static final Setting<Boolean> NODE_DATA_SETTING = Setting.boolSetting("node.data", true, Property.NodeScope);
     public static final Setting<Boolean> NODE_MASTER_SETTING =
         Setting.boolSetting("node.master", true, Property.NodeScope);
-    public static final Setting<Boolean> NODE_LOCAL_SETTING =
-        Setting.boolSetting("node.local", false, Property.NodeScope);
-    public static final Setting<String> NODE_MODE_SETTING =
-        new Setting<>("node.mode", "network", Function.identity(), Property.NodeScope);
     public static final Setting<Boolean> NODE_INGEST_SETTING =
         Setting.boolSetting("node.ingest", true, Property.NodeScope);
 
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchModule.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchModule.java
index 9740592c2bb..673aa1cb134 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchModule.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/SearchModule.java
@@ -382,10 +382,8 @@ public class SearchModule extends AbstractModule {
      * Register an aggregation.
      */
     public void registerAggregation(AggregationSpec spec) {
-        if (false == transportClient) {
-            namedWriteableRegistry.register(AggregationBuilder.class, spec.aggregationName.getPreferredName(), spec.builderReader);
-            aggregationParserRegistry.register(spec.aggregationParser, spec.aggregationName);
-        }
+        namedWriteableRegistry.register(AggregationBuilder.class, spec.aggregationName.getPreferredName(), spec.builderReader);
+        aggregationParserRegistry.register(spec.aggregationParser, spec.aggregationName);
         for (Map.Entry<String, Writeable.Reader<? extends InternalAggregation>> t : spec.resultReaders.entrySet()) {
             String writeableName = t.getKey();
             Writeable.Reader<? extends InternalAggregation> internalReader = t.getValue();
@@ -414,7 +412,7 @@ public class SearchModule extends AbstractModule {
         }
 
         /**
-         * Add a reader for the shard level results of the aggregation with {@linkplain aggregationName}'s
+         * Add a reader for the shard level results of the aggregation with {@linkplain #aggregationName}'s
          * {@link ParseField#getPreferredName()} as the {@link NamedWriteable#getWriteableName()}.
          */
         public AggregationSpec addResultReader(Writeable.Reader<? extends InternalAggregation> resultReader) {
@@ -444,9 +442,9 @@ public class SearchModule extends AbstractModule {
             Writeable.Reader<? extends PipelineAggregator> internalReader, Writeable.Reader<? extends InternalAggregation> bucketReader,
             PipelineAggregator.Parser aggregationParser, ParseField aggregationName) {
         if (false == transportClient) {
-            namedWriteableRegistry.register(PipelineAggregationBuilder.class, aggregationName.getPreferredName(), reader);
             pipelineAggregationParserRegistry.register(aggregationParser, aggregationName);
         }
+        namedWriteableRegistry.register(PipelineAggregationBuilder.class, aggregationName.getPreferredName(), reader);
         namedWriteableRegistry.register(PipelineAggregator.class, aggregationName.getPreferredName(), internalReader);
         namedWriteableRegistry.register(InternalAggregation.class, aggregationName.getPreferredName(), bucketReader);
     }
@@ -469,9 +467,9 @@ public class SearchModule extends AbstractModule {
             bind(IndicesQueriesRegistry.class).toInstance(queryParserRegistry);
             bind(Suggesters.class).toInstance(getSuggesters());
             configureSearch();
-            configureShapes();
             bind(AggregatorParsers.class).toInstance(aggregatorParsers);
         }
+        configureShapes();
     }
 
     private void registerBuiltinAggregations() {
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/bucket/range/InternalRange.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/bucket/range/InternalRange.java
index 072165e1b80..e7e75330889 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/bucket/range/InternalRange.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/bucket/range/InternalRange.java
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ public class InternalRange<B extends InternalRange.Bucket, R extends InternalRan
         @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
         public R create(String name, List<B> ranges, DocValueFormat formatter, boolean keyed, List<PipelineAggregator> pipelineAggregators,
                 Map<String, Object> metaData) {
-            return (R) new InternalRange<>(name, ranges, formatter, keyed, pipelineAggregators, metaData);
+            return (R) new InternalRange<B, R>(name, ranges, formatter, keyed, pipelineAggregators, metaData);
         }
 
         @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ public class InternalRange<B extends InternalRange.Bucket, R extends InternalRan
 
         @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
         public R create(List<B> ranges, R prototype) {
-            return (R) new InternalRange<>(prototype.name, ranges, prototype.format, prototype.keyed, prototype.pipelineAggregators(),
+            return (R) new InternalRange<B, R>(prototype.name, ranges, prototype.format, prototype.keyed, prototype.pipelineAggregators(),
                     prototype.metaData);
         }
 
@@ -295,7 +295,7 @@ public class InternalRange<B extends InternalRange.Bucket, R extends InternalRan
     public InternalAggregation doReduce(List<InternalAggregation> aggregations, ReduceContext reduceContext) {
         List<Bucket>[] rangeList = new List[ranges.size()];
         for (int i = 0; i < rangeList.length; ++i) {
-            rangeList[i] = new ArrayList<Bucket>();
+            rangeList[i] = new ArrayList<>();
         }
         for (InternalAggregation aggregation : aggregations) {
             InternalRange<B, R> ranges = (InternalRange<B, R>) aggregation;
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/cluster/node/tasks/TasksIT.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/cluster/node/tasks/TasksIT.java
index f9045b58413..d479af2b1be 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/cluster/node/tasks/TasksIT.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/cluster/node/tasks/TasksIT.java
@@ -98,6 +98,11 @@ public class TasksIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
 
     private Map<Tuple<String, String>, RecordingTaskManagerListener> listeners = new HashMap<>();
 
+    @Override
+    protected boolean addMockTransportService() {
+        return false;
+    }
+
     @Override
     protected Collection<Class<? extends Plugin>> nodePlugins() {
         return pluginList(MockTransportService.TestPlugin.class, TestTaskPlugin.class);
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/bulk/BulkProcessorIT.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/bulk/BulkProcessorIT.java
index e5cabd417b8..a4a9178f2e0 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/bulk/BulkProcessorIT.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/bulk/BulkProcessorIT.java
@@ -158,6 +158,7 @@ public class BulkProcessorIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
         //we create a transport client with no nodes to make sure it throws NoNodeAvailableException
         Settings settings = Settings.builder()
                 .put(Environment.PATH_HOME_SETTING.getKey(), createTempDir().toString())
+                .put("transport.type", "local")
                 .build();
         Client transportClient = TransportClient.builder().settings(settings).build();
 
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/SearchRequestBuilderTests.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/SearchRequestBuilderTests.java
index 9cef4d46e8b..e8a616a6377 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/SearchRequestBuilderTests.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/SearchRequestBuilderTests.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ package org.elasticsearch.action.search;
 
 import org.elasticsearch.client.Client;
 import org.elasticsearch.client.transport.TransportClient;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.network.NetworkModule;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Settings;
 import org.elasticsearch.env.Environment;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.query.QueryBuilders;
@@ -40,6 +41,7 @@ public class SearchRequestBuilderTests extends ESTestCase {
         //that is why we create it but we don't add any transport address to it
         Settings settings = Settings.builder()
                 .put(Environment.PATH_HOME_SETTING.getKey(), createTempDir().toString())
+                .put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, "local")
                 .build();
         client = TransportClient.builder().settings(settings).build();
     }
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/transport/TransportClientHeadersTests.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/transport/TransportClientHeadersTests.java
index eee74b66148..81aad7648d6 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/transport/TransportClientHeadersTests.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/transport/TransportClientHeadersTests.java
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ public class TransportClientHeadersTests extends AbstractClientHeadersTestCase {
             .settings(Settings.builder()
                 .put("client.transport.sniff", false)
                 .put("cluster.name", "cluster1")
+                .put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, "local")
                 .put("node.name", "transport_client_" + this.getTestName())
                 .put(headersSettings)
                 .build())
@@ -82,6 +83,7 @@ public class TransportClientHeadersTests extends AbstractClientHeadersTestCase {
                 .settings(Settings.builder()
                         .put("client.transport.sniff", true)
                         .put("cluster.name", "cluster1")
+                        .put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, "local")
                         .put("node.name", "transport_client_" + this.getTestName() + "_1")
                         .put("client.transport.nodes_sampler_interval", "1s")
                         .put(HEADER_SETTINGS)
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/transport/TransportClientIT.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/transport/TransportClientIT.java
index b96201f831c..af706963516 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/transport/TransportClientIT.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/transport/TransportClientIT.java
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ public class TransportClientIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
                 .put(internalCluster().getDefaultSettings())
                 .put(Environment.PATH_HOME_SETTING.getKey(), createTempDir())
                 .put("node.name", "testNodeVersionIsUpdated")
+                .put("transport.type", "local")
                 .put(NetworkModule.HTTP_ENABLED.getKey(), false)
                 .put(Node.NODE_DATA_SETTING.getKey(), false)
                 .put("cluster.name", "foobar")
@@ -90,7 +91,8 @@ public class TransportClientIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
     public void testThatTransportClientSettingCannotBeChanged() {
         Settings baseSettings = Settings.builder()
             .put(Environment.PATH_HOME_SETTING.getKey(), createTempDir())
-             .build();
+            .put("transport.type", "local")
+            .build();
         try (TransportClient client = TransportClient.builder().settings(baseSettings).build()) {
             Settings settings = client.injector.getInstance(Settings.class);
             assertThat(Client.CLIENT_TYPE_SETTING_S.get(settings), is("transport"));
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/transport/TransportClientRetryIT.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/transport/TransportClientRetryIT.java
index ed9136851b4..d8d4115dc7d 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/transport/TransportClientRetryIT.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/transport/TransportClientRetryIT.java
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.action.support.PlainListenableActionFuture;
 import org.elasticsearch.client.Requests;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.ClusterName;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.ClusterState;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.network.NetworkModule;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Settings;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.transport.TransportAddress;
 import org.elasticsearch.env.Environment;
@@ -52,13 +53,13 @@ public class TransportClientRetryIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
 
         Settings.Builder builder = Settings.builder().put("client.transport.nodes_sampler_interval", "1s")
                 .put("node.name", "transport_client_retry_test")
-                .put(Node.NODE_MODE_SETTING.getKey(), internalCluster().getNodeMode())
+                .put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, "local")
                 .put(ClusterName.CLUSTER_NAME_SETTING.getKey(), internalCluster().getClusterName())
                 .put(Environment.PATH_HOME_SETTING.getKey(), createTempDir());
 
         try (TransportClient client = TransportClient.builder().settings(builder.build()).build()) {
             client.addTransportAddresses(addresses);
-            assertThat(client.connectedNodes().size(), equalTo(internalCluster().size()));
+            assertEquals(client.connectedNodes().size(), internalCluster().size());
 
             int size = cluster().size();
             //kill all nodes one by one, leaving a single master/data node at the end of the loop
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/transport/TransportClientTests.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/transport/TransportClientTests.java
index ec2065b67e2..98529518803 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/transport/TransportClientTests.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/transport/TransportClientTests.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 package org.elasticsearch.client.transport;
 
 import org.elasticsearch.action.admin.cluster.health.ClusterHealthRequest;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.network.NetworkModule;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Settings;
 import org.elasticsearch.test.ESTestCase;
 
@@ -31,7 +32,8 @@ import static org.hamcrest.object.HasToString.hasToString;
 public class TransportClientTests extends ESTestCase {
 
     public void testThatUsingAClosedClientThrowsAnException() throws ExecutionException, InterruptedException {
-        final TransportClient client = TransportClient.builder().settings(Settings.EMPTY).build();
+        final TransportClient client = TransportClient.builder().settings(Settings.builder().put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, "local"))
+            .build();
         client.close();
         final IllegalStateException e =
             expectThrows(IllegalStateException.class, () -> client.admin().cluster().health(new ClusterHealthRequest()).get());
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/network/NetworkModuleTests.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/network/NetworkModuleTests.java
index cfd123272cd..f5a5928c980 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/network/NetworkModuleTests.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/network/NetworkModuleTests.java
@@ -110,6 +110,7 @@ public class NetworkModuleTests extends ModuleTestCase {
     public void testRegisterTransportService() {
         Settings settings = Settings.builder().put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_SERVICE_TYPE_KEY, "custom")
             .put(NetworkModule.HTTP_ENABLED.getKey(), false)
+            .put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, "local")
             .build();
         NetworkModule module = new NetworkModule(new NetworkService(settings), settings, false, new NamedWriteableRegistry());
         module.registerTransportService("custom", FakeTransportService.class);
@@ -140,7 +141,9 @@ public class NetworkModuleTests extends ModuleTestCase {
     }
 
     public void testRegisterHttpTransport() {
-        Settings settings = Settings.builder().put(NetworkModule.HTTP_TYPE_SETTING.getKey(), "custom").build();
+        Settings settings = Settings.builder()
+            .put(NetworkModule.HTTP_TYPE_SETTING.getKey(), "custom")
+            .put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, "local").build();
         NetworkModule module = new NetworkModule(new NetworkService(settings), settings, false, new NamedWriteableRegistry());
         module.registerHttpTransport("custom", FakeHttpTransport.class);
         assertBinding(module, HttpServerTransport.class, FakeHttpTransport.class);
@@ -158,7 +161,8 @@ public class NetworkModuleTests extends ModuleTestCase {
         }
 
         // not added if http is disabled
-        settings = Settings.builder().put(NetworkModule.HTTP_ENABLED.getKey(), false).build();
+        settings = Settings.builder().put(NetworkModule.HTTP_ENABLED.getKey(), false)
+            .put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, "local").build();
         module = new NetworkModule(new NetworkService(settings), settings, false, new NamedWriteableRegistry());
         assertNotBound(module, HttpServerTransport.class);
         assertFalse(module.isTransportClient());
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/discovery/DiscoveryModuleTests.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/discovery/DiscoveryModuleTests.java
index 86c3cd91bff..057b54c7a07 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/discovery/DiscoveryModuleTests.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/discovery/DiscoveryModuleTests.java
@@ -38,10 +38,8 @@ public class DiscoveryModuleTests extends ModuleTestCase {
         }
     }
 
-
     public void testRegisterMasterElectionService() {
-        Settings settings = Settings.builder().put(Node.NODE_LOCAL_SETTING.getKey(), false).
-                put(DiscoveryModule.ZEN_MASTER_SERVICE_TYPE_SETTING.getKey(), "custom").build();
+        Settings settings = Settings.builder().put(DiscoveryModule.ZEN_MASTER_SERVICE_TYPE_SETTING.getKey(), "custom").build();
         DiscoveryModule module = new DiscoveryModule(settings);
         module.addElectMasterService("custom", DummyMasterElectionService.class);
         assertBinding(module, ElectMasterService.class, DummyMasterElectionService.class);
@@ -49,24 +47,20 @@ public class DiscoveryModuleTests extends ModuleTestCase {
     }
 
     public void testLoadUnregisteredMasterElectionService() {
-        Settings settings = Settings.builder().put(Node.NODE_LOCAL_SETTING.getKey(), false).
-                put(DiscoveryModule.ZEN_MASTER_SERVICE_TYPE_SETTING.getKey(), "foobar").build();
+        Settings settings = Settings.builder().put(DiscoveryModule.ZEN_MASTER_SERVICE_TYPE_SETTING.getKey(), "foobar").build();
         DiscoveryModule module = new DiscoveryModule(settings);
         module.addElectMasterService("custom", DummyMasterElectionService.class);
         assertBindingFailure(module, "Unknown master service type [foobar]");
     }
 
     public void testRegisterDefaults() {
-        boolean local = randomBoolean();
-        Settings settings = Settings.builder().put(Node.NODE_LOCAL_SETTING.getKey(), local).build();
+        Settings settings = Settings.EMPTY;
         DiscoveryModule module = new DiscoveryModule(settings);
-        assertBinding(module, Discovery.class, local ? LocalDiscovery.class : ZenDiscovery.class);
+        assertBinding(module, Discovery.class, ZenDiscovery.class);
     }
 
     public void testRegisterDiscovery() {
-        boolean local = randomBoolean();
-        Settings settings = Settings.builder().put(Node.NODE_LOCAL_SETTING.getKey(), local).
-                put(DiscoveryModule.DISCOVERY_TYPE_SETTING.getKey(), "custom").build();
+        Settings settings = Settings.builder().put(DiscoveryModule.DISCOVERY_TYPE_SETTING.getKey(), "custom").build();
         DiscoveryModule module = new DiscoveryModule(settings);
         module.addDiscoveryType("custom", NoopDiscovery.class);
         assertBinding(module, Discovery.class, NoopDiscovery.class);
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/plugin/CustomQueryParserIT.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/plugin/CustomQueryParserIT.java
index ba87b293701..c5935f7b32a 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/plugin/CustomQueryParserIT.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/plugin/CustomQueryParserIT.java
@@ -43,6 +43,11 @@ public class CustomQueryParserIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
         return pluginList(DummyQueryParserPlugin.class);
     }
 
+    @Override
+    protected Collection<Class<? extends Plugin>> transportClientPlugins() {
+        return pluginList(DummyQueryParserPlugin.class);
+    }
+
     @Override
     @Before
     public void setUp() throws Exception {
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/functionscore/FunctionScorePluginIT.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/functionscore/FunctionScorePluginIT.java
index 2c00fe2c740..c79f803fefe 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/functionscore/FunctionScorePluginIT.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/functionscore/FunctionScorePluginIT.java
@@ -61,6 +61,11 @@ public class FunctionScorePluginIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
         return pluginList(CustomDistanceScorePlugin.class);
     }
 
+    @Override
+    protected Collection<Class<? extends Plugin>> transportClientPlugins() {
+        return pluginList(CustomDistanceScorePlugin.class);
+    }
+
     public void testPlugin() throws Exception {
         client().admin()
                 .indices()
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/suggest/CustomSuggesterSearchIT.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/suggest/CustomSuggesterSearchIT.java
index c792bc02c92..9aab222dd9a 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/suggest/CustomSuggesterSearchIT.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/suggest/CustomSuggesterSearchIT.java
@@ -60,6 +60,11 @@ public class CustomSuggesterSearchIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
         return pluginList(CustomSuggesterPlugin.class);
     }
 
+    @Override
+    protected Collection<Class<? extends Plugin>> transportClientPlugins() {
+        return pluginList(CustomSuggesterPlugin.class);
+    }
+
     public void testThatCustomSuggestersCanBeRegisteredAndWork() throws Exception {
         createIndex("test");
         client().prepareIndex("test", "test", "1").setSource(jsonBuilder()
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/tribe/TribeIT.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/tribe/TribeIT.java
index b7521bdf74f..e1df7201fbe 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/tribe/TribeIT.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/tribe/TribeIT.java
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.common.collect.Tuple;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.network.NetworkModule;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Settings;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.transport.TransportAddress;
+import org.elasticsearch.discovery.DiscoveryModule;
 import org.elasticsearch.discovery.MasterNotDiscoveredException;
 import org.elasticsearch.discovery.zen.ping.unicast.UnicastZenPing;
 import org.elasticsearch.node.Node;
@@ -76,11 +77,9 @@ public class TribeIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
     @Before
     public  void setupSecondCluster() throws Exception {
         if (cluster2 == null) {
-            final Tuple<String, NodeConfigurationSource> configSource = getNodeConfigSource();
-            final String nodeMode = configSource.v1();
-            final NodeConfigurationSource nodeConfigurationSource = configSource.v2();
-            cluster2 = new InternalTestCluster(nodeMode, randomLong(), createTempDir(), true, 2, 2,
-                UUIDs.randomBase64UUID(random()), nodeConfigurationSource, 0, false, SECOND_CLUSTER_NODE_PREFIX, getMockPlugins(),
+            final  NodeConfigurationSource configSource = getNodeConfigSource();
+            cluster2 = new InternalTestCluster(randomLong(), createTempDir(), true, 2, 2,
+                UUIDs.randomBase64UUID(random()), configSource, 0, false, SECOND_CLUSTER_NODE_PREFIX, getMockPlugins(),
                 Function.identity());
             cluster2.beforeTest(random(), 0.1);
             cluster2.ensureAtLeastNumDataNodes(2);
@@ -131,9 +130,16 @@ public class TribeIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
         Settings merged = Settings.builder()
                 .put("tribe.t1.cluster.name", internalCluster().getClusterName())
                 .put("tribe.t2.cluster.name", cluster2.getClusterName())
+                .put("tribe.t1.transport.type", "local")
+                .put("tribe.t2.transport.type", "local")
+                .put("tribe.t1.discovery.type", "local")
+                .put("tribe.t2.discovery.type", "local")
+                .put("transport.type", "local")
+                .put(DiscoveryModule.DISCOVERY_TYPE_SETTING.getKey(), "local")
                 .put("tribe.blocks.write", false)
                 .put(NetworkModule.HTTP_ENABLED.getKey(), false)
                 .put(settings)
+
                 .put(tribe1Defaults.build())
                 .put(tribe2Defaults.build())
                 .put(internalCluster().getDefaultSettings())
diff --git a/docs/reference/migration/migrate_5_0/settings.asciidoc b/docs/reference/migration/migrate_5_0/settings.asciidoc
index b17881c6204..da0a5776ad0 100644
--- a/docs/reference/migration/migrate_5_0/settings.asciidoc
+++ b/docs/reference/migration/migrate_5_0/settings.asciidoc
@@ -28,6 +28,9 @@ The `name` setting has been removed and is replaced by `node.name`. Usage of
 
 The `node.add_id_to_custom_path` was renamed to `add_lock_id_to_custom_path`.
 
+The settings `node.mode` and `node.local` are removed. Local mode should be configured via
+`discovery.type: local` and `transport.type:local`. In order to disable _http_ please use `http.enabled: false`
+
 ==== Node attribute settings
 
 Node level attributes used for allocation filtering, forced awareness or other node identification / grouping
diff --git a/modules/transport-netty/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/NettyPlugin.java b/modules/transport-netty/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/NettyPlugin.java
index 5a9a8af009e..f03200de94e 100644
--- a/modules/transport-netty/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/NettyPlugin.java
+++ b/modules/transport-netty/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/NettyPlugin.java
@@ -33,8 +33,6 @@ import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.List;
 
 public class NettyPlugin extends Plugin {
-
-
     public static final String NETTY_TRANSPORT_NAME = "netty";
     public static final String NETTY_HTTP_TRANSPORT_NAME = "netty";
 
@@ -85,6 +83,16 @@ public class NettyPlugin extends Plugin {
         );
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public Settings additionalSettings() {
+        return Settings.builder()
+            // here we set the netty transport and http transport as the default. This is a set once setting
+            // ie. if another plugin does that as well the server will fail - only one default network can exist!
+            .put(NetworkModule.HTTP_DEFAULT_TYPE_SETTING.getKey(), NETTY_HTTP_TRANSPORT_NAME)
+            .put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_DEFAULT_TYPE_SETTING.getKey(), NETTY_TRANSPORT_NAME)
+            .build();
+    }
+
     public void onModule(NetworkModule networkModule) {
         if (networkModule.canRegisterHttpExtensions()) {
             networkModule.registerHttpTransport(NETTY_HTTP_TRANSPORT_NAME, NettyHttpServerTransport.class);
diff --git a/plugins/discovery-azure-classic/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/cloud/azure/classic/AbstractAzureComputeServiceTestCase.java b/plugins/discovery-azure-classic/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/cloud/azure/classic/AbstractAzureComputeServiceTestCase.java
index e9d16408537..bc5ff91f812 100644
--- a/plugins/discovery-azure-classic/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/cloud/azure/classic/AbstractAzureComputeServiceTestCase.java
+++ b/plugins/discovery-azure-classic/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/cloud/azure/classic/AbstractAzureComputeServiceTestCase.java
@@ -43,9 +43,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractAzureComputeServiceTestCase extends ESIntegTestCas
     protected Settings nodeSettings(int nodeOrdinal) {
         Settings.Builder builder = Settings.builder()
             .put(super.nodeSettings(nodeOrdinal))
-            .put("discovery.type", "azure")
-                // We need the network to make the mock working
-            .put(Node.NODE_MODE_SETTING.getKey(), "network");
+            .put("discovery.type", "azure");
 
         // We add a fake subscription_id to start mock compute service
         builder.put(Management.SUBSCRIPTION_ID_SETTING.getKey(), "fake")
diff --git a/plugins/discovery-azure-classic/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/discovery/azure/classic/AzureSimpleTests.java b/plugins/discovery-azure-classic/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/discovery/azure/classic/AzureSimpleTests.java
index d2234632122..d6d68e75843 100644
--- a/plugins/discovery-azure-classic/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/discovery/azure/classic/AzureSimpleTests.java
+++ b/plugins/discovery-azure-classic/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/discovery/azure/classic/AzureSimpleTests.java
@@ -29,10 +29,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.test.ESIntegTestCase;
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.containsString;
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.notNullValue;
 
-@ESIntegTestCase.ClusterScope(scope = ESIntegTestCase.Scope.TEST,
-        numDataNodes = 0,
-        transportClientRatio = 0.0,
-        numClientNodes = 0)
+@ESIntegTestCase.ClusterScope(scope = ESIntegTestCase.Scope.TEST, numDataNodes = 0, transportClientRatio = 0.0, numClientNodes = 0)
 public class AzureSimpleTests extends AbstractAzureComputeServiceTestCase {
     public AzureSimpleTests() {
         super(AzureComputeServiceSimpleMock.TestPlugin.class);
diff --git a/qa/evil-tests/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/tribe/TribeUnitTests.java b/qa/evil-tests/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/tribe/TribeUnitTests.java
index f6266f05562..95550f6f654 100644
--- a/qa/evil-tests/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/tribe/TribeUnitTests.java
+++ b/qa/evil-tests/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/tribe/TribeUnitTests.java
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.cluster.node.DiscoveryNode;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.SuppressForbidden;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.network.NetworkModule;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Settings;
+import org.elasticsearch.discovery.DiscoveryModule;
 import org.elasticsearch.env.Environment;
 import org.elasticsearch.env.NodeEnvironment;
 import org.elasticsearch.node.Node;
@@ -52,13 +53,13 @@ public class TribeUnitTests extends ESTestCase {
     private static Node tribe1;
     private static Node tribe2;
 
-    private static final String NODE_MODE = InternalTestCluster.configuredNodeMode();
 
     @BeforeClass
     public static void createTribes() {
         Settings baseSettings = Settings.builder()
             .put(NetworkModule.HTTP_ENABLED.getKey(), false)
-            .put(Node.NODE_MODE_SETTING.getKey(), NODE_MODE)
+            .put("transport.type", "local")
+            .put(DiscoveryModule.DISCOVERY_TYPE_SETTING.getKey(), "local")
             .put(Environment.PATH_HOME_SETTING.getKey(), createTempDir()).build();
 
         tribe1 = new TribeClientNode(
@@ -94,26 +95,23 @@ public class TribeUnitTests extends ESTestCase {
     }
 
     private static void assertTribeNodeSuccessfullyCreated(Settings extraSettings) throws Exception {
-        //tribe node doesn't need the node.mode setting, as it's forced local internally anyways. The tribe clients do need it to make sure
-        //they can find their corresponding tribes using the proper transport
+        //The tribe clients do need it to make sure they can find their corresponding tribes using the proper transport
         Settings settings = Settings.builder().put(NetworkModule.HTTP_ENABLED.getKey(), false).put("node.name", "tribe_node")
-                .put("tribe.t1.node.mode", NODE_MODE).put("tribe.t2.node.mode", NODE_MODE)
+                .put("transport.type", "local").put("discovery.type", "local")
+                .put("tribe.t1.transport.type", "local").put("tribe.t2.transport.type", "local")
+                .put("tribe.t1.discovery.type", "local").put("tribe.t2.discovery.type", "local")
                 .put(Environment.PATH_HOME_SETTING.getKey(), createTempDir())
-                .put(Node.NODE_MODE_SETTING.getKey(), NODE_MODE)
                 .put(extraSettings).build();
 
         try (Node node = new Node(settings).start()) {
             try (Client client = node.client()) {
-                assertBusy(new Runnable() {
-                    @Override
-                    public void run() {
-                        ClusterState state = client.admin().cluster().prepareState().clear().setNodes(true).get().getState();
-                        assertThat(state.getClusterName().value(), equalTo("tribe_node_cluster"));
-                        assertThat(state.getNodes().getSize(), equalTo(5));
-                        for (DiscoveryNode discoveryNode : state.getNodes()) {
-                            assertThat(discoveryNode.getName(), either(equalTo("tribe1_node")).or(equalTo("tribe2_node"))
-                                    .or(equalTo("tribe_node")).or(equalTo("tribe_node/t1")).or(equalTo("tribe_node/t2")));
-                        }
+                assertBusy(() -> {
+                    ClusterState state = client.admin().cluster().prepareState().clear().setNodes(true).get().getState();
+                    assertThat(state.getClusterName().value(), equalTo("tribe_node_cluster"));
+                    assertThat(state.getNodes().getSize(), equalTo(5));
+                    for (DiscoveryNode discoveryNode : state.getNodes()) {
+                        assertThat(discoveryNode.getName(), either(equalTo("tribe1_node")).or(equalTo("tribe2_node"))
+                                .or(equalTo("tribe_node")).or(equalTo("tribe_node/t1")).or(equalTo("tribe_node/t2")));
                     }
                 });
             }
diff --git a/qa/smoke-test-client/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/smoketest/ESSmokeClientTestCase.java b/qa/smoke-test-client/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/smoketest/ESSmokeClientTestCase.java
index f037ad7142e..6b44bed33bb 100644
--- a/qa/smoke-test-client/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/smoketest/ESSmokeClientTestCase.java
+++ b/qa/smoke-test-client/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/smoketest/ESSmokeClientTestCase.java
@@ -96,8 +96,7 @@ public abstract class ESSmokeClientTestCase extends LuceneTestCase {
         Settings.Builder builder = Settings.builder()
             .put("node.name", "qa_smoke_client_" + counter.getAndIncrement())
             .put("client.transport.ignore_cluster_name", true)
-            .put(Environment.PATH_HOME_SETTING.getKey(), tempDir)
-            .put(Node.NODE_MODE_SETTING.getKey(), "network");// we require network here!
+            .put(Environment.PATH_HOME_SETTING.getKey(), tempDir);
         if (random().nextBoolean()) {
             builder.put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, NettyPlugin.NETTY_TRANSPORT_NAME);
             transportClientBuilder.addPlugin(NettyPlugin.class);
diff --git a/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/ESBackcompatTestCase.java b/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/ESBackcompatTestCase.java
index 69bacfd3ffa..2a6cebfc2da 100644
--- a/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/ESBackcompatTestCase.java
+++ b/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/ESBackcompatTestCase.java
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.common.io.PathUtils;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.network.NetworkModule;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.regex.Regex;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Settings;
+import org.elasticsearch.discovery.DiscoveryModule;
 import org.elasticsearch.node.Node;
 import org.elasticsearch.plugins.Plugin;
 import org.elasticsearch.test.junit.annotations.TestLogging;
@@ -242,7 +243,7 @@ public abstract class ESBackcompatTestCase extends ESIntegTestCase {
     protected Settings commonNodeSettings(int nodeOrdinal) {
         Settings.Builder builder = Settings.builder().put(requiredSettings());
         builder.put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, "netty"); // run same transport  / disco as external
-        builder.put(Node.NODE_MODE_SETTING.getKey(), "network");
+        builder.put(DiscoveryModule.DISCOVERY_TYPE_SETTING.getKey(), "zen");
         return builder.build();
     }
 
diff --git a/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/ESIntegTestCase.java b/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/ESIntegTestCase.java
index 445f70026dc..73edf000b96 100644
--- a/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/ESIntegTestCase.java
+++ b/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/ESIntegTestCase.java
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import org.apache.lucene.util.LuceneTestCase;
 import org.apache.lucene.util.TestUtil;
 import org.elasticsearch.ElasticsearchException;
 import org.elasticsearch.ExceptionsHelper;
+import org.elasticsearch.discovery.DiscoveryModule;
 import org.elasticsearch.transport.MockTcpTransportPlugin;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.ActionListener;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.ShardOperationFailedException;
@@ -1724,37 +1725,53 @@ public abstract class ESIntegTestCase extends ESTestCase {
             maxNumDataNodes = getMaxNumDataNodes();
         }
         Collection<Class<? extends Plugin>> mockPlugins = getMockPlugins();
-        Tuple<String, NodeConfigurationSource> configSource = getNodeConfigSource();
-        final String nodeMode = configSource.v1();
-        final NodeConfigurationSource nodeConfigurationSource = configSource.v2();
-        return new InternalTestCluster(nodeMode, seed, createTempDir(), supportsDedicatedMasters, minNumDataNodes, maxNumDataNodes,
+        final NodeConfigurationSource nodeConfigurationSource = getNodeConfigSource();
+        if (addMockTransportService()) {
+            ArrayList<Class<? extends Plugin>> mocks = new ArrayList<>(mockPlugins);
+            // add both mock plugins - local and tcp if they are not there
+            // we do this in case somebody overrides getMockPlugins and misses to call super
+            if (mockPlugins.contains(AssertingLocalTransport.TestPlugin.class) == false) {
+                mocks.add(AssertingLocalTransport.TestPlugin.class);
+            }
+            if (mockPlugins.contains(MockTcpTransportPlugin.class) == false) {
+                mocks.add(MockTcpTransportPlugin.class);
+            }
+            mockPlugins = mocks;
+        }
+        return new InternalTestCluster(seed, createTempDir(), supportsDedicatedMasters, minNumDataNodes, maxNumDataNodes,
                 InternalTestCluster.clusterName(scope.name(), seed) + "-cluster", nodeConfigurationSource, getNumClientNodes(),
                 InternalTestCluster.DEFAULT_ENABLE_HTTP_PIPELINING, nodePrefix, mockPlugins, getClientWrapper());
     }
 
-    protected Tuple<String, NodeConfigurationSource> getNodeConfigSource() {
+    protected NodeConfigurationSource getNodeConfigSource() {
         SuppressLocalMode noLocal = getAnnotation(this.getClass(), SuppressLocalMode.class);
         SuppressNetworkMode noNetwork = getAnnotation(this.getClass(), SuppressNetworkMode.class);
-        String nodeMode = InternalTestCluster.configuredNodeMode();
         Settings.Builder networkSettings = Settings.builder();
+        final boolean isNetwork;
         if (noLocal != null && noNetwork != null) {
             throw new IllegalStateException("Can't suppress both network and local mode");
         } else if (noLocal != null) {
-            nodeMode = "network";
             if (addMockTransportService()) {
                 networkSettings.put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, MockTcpTransportPlugin.MOCK_TCP_TRANSPORT_NAME);
             }
-        } else if (noNetwork != null) {
-            nodeMode = "local";
+            isNetwork = true;
+        } else {
             if (addMockTransportService()) {
                 networkSettings.put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, AssertingLocalTransport.ASSERTING_TRANSPORT_NAME);
+            } else {
+                networkSettings.put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, "local");
             }
+            isNetwork = false;
         }
-        final boolean isNetwork = "network".equals(nodeMode);
+
         NodeConfigurationSource nodeConfigurationSource = new NodeConfigurationSource() {
             @Override
             public Settings nodeSettings(int nodeOrdinal) {
-                return Settings.builder().put(NetworkModule.HTTP_ENABLED.getKey(), false).put(networkSettings.build()).
+                return Settings.builder()
+                    .put(NetworkModule.HTTP_ENABLED.getKey(), false)
+                    .put(DiscoveryModule.DISCOVERY_TYPE_SETTING.getKey(),
+                        isNetwork ? DiscoveryModule.DISCOVERY_TYPE_SETTING.getDefault(Settings.EMPTY) : "local")
+                    .put(networkSettings.build()).
                     put(ESIntegTestCase.this.nodeSettings(nodeOrdinal)).build();
             }
 
@@ -1775,11 +1792,14 @@ public abstract class ESIntegTestCase extends ESTestCase {
                 if (isNetwork && plugins.contains(MockTcpTransportPlugin.class) == false) {
                     plugins = new ArrayList<>(plugins);
                     plugins.add(MockTcpTransportPlugin.class);
+                } else if (isNetwork == false && plugins.contains(AssertingLocalTransport.class) == false) {
+                    plugins = new ArrayList<>(plugins);
+                    plugins.add(AssertingLocalTransport.TestPlugin.class);
                 }
                 return Collections.unmodifiableCollection(plugins);
             }
         };
-        return new Tuple<>(nodeMode, nodeConfigurationSource);
+        return nodeConfigurationSource;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1819,12 +1839,12 @@ public abstract class ESIntegTestCase extends ESTestCase {
                 mocks.add(MockSearchService.TestPlugin.class);
             }
         }
-        mocks.add(TestSeedPlugin.class);
+
         if (addMockTransportService()) {
-            // add both mock plugins - local and tcp
             mocks.add(AssertingLocalTransport.TestPlugin.class);
             mocks.add(MockTcpTransportPlugin.class);
         }
+        mocks.add(TestSeedPlugin.class);
         return Collections.unmodifiableList(mocks);
     }
 
diff --git a/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/ESSingleNodeTestCase.java b/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/ESSingleNodeTestCase.java
index addac8da08b..0ae94057ecb 100644
--- a/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/ESSingleNodeTestCase.java
+++ b/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/ESSingleNodeTestCase.java
@@ -179,13 +179,13 @@ public abstract class ESSingleNodeTestCase extends ESTestCase {
             .put("script.stored", "true")
             .put(EsExecutors.PROCESSORS_SETTING.getKey(), 1) // limit the number of threads created
             .put(NetworkModule.HTTP_ENABLED.getKey(), false)
-            .put(Node.NODE_LOCAL_SETTING.getKey(), true)
+            .put("discovery.type", "local")
+            .put("transport.type", "local")
             .put(Node.NODE_DATA_SETTING.getKey(), true)
             .put(nodeSettings()) // allow test cases to provide their own settings or override these
             .build();
         Node build = new MockNode(settings, getPlugins());
         build.start();
-        assertThat(DiscoveryNode.isLocalNode(build.settings()), is(true));
         return build;
     }
 
diff --git a/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/ExternalNode.java b/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/ExternalNode.java
index 8216f67cfed..221cb8ec254 100644
--- a/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/ExternalNode.java
+++ b/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/ExternalNode.java
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ final class ExternalNode implements Closeable {
 
     public static final Settings REQUIRED_SETTINGS = Settings.builder()
             .put(DiscoveryModule.DISCOVERY_TYPE_SETTING.getKey(), "zen")
-            .put(Node.NODE_MODE_SETTING.getKey(), "network").build(); // we need network mode for this
+            .put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, "netty").build(); // we need network mode for this
 
     private final Path path;
     private final Random random;
@@ -106,8 +106,6 @@ final class ExternalNode implements Closeable {
                 case "cluster.name":
                 case "node.name":
                 case "path.home":
-                case "node.mode":
-                case "node.local":
                 case NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY:
                 case "discovery.type":
                 case NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_SERVICE_TYPE_KEY:
diff --git a/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/ExternalTestCluster.java b/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/ExternalTestCluster.java
index 6cee28b50bb..75bf3fa308c 100644
--- a/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/ExternalTestCluster.java
+++ b/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/ExternalTestCluster.java
@@ -77,8 +77,7 @@ public final class ExternalTestCluster extends TestCluster {
             .put(additionalSettings)
             .put("node.name", InternalTestCluster.TRANSPORT_CLIENT_PREFIX + EXTERNAL_CLUSTER_PREFIX + counter.getAndIncrement())
             .put("client.transport.ignore_cluster_name", true)
-            .put(Environment.PATH_HOME_SETTING.getKey(), tempDir)
-            .put(Node.NODE_MODE_SETTING.getKey(), "network");// we require network here!
+            .put(Environment.PATH_HOME_SETTING.getKey(), tempDir);
         TransportClient.Builder transportClientBuilder = TransportClient.builder();
         boolean addMockTcpTransport = additionalSettings.get(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY) == null;
         if (addMockTcpTransport) {
diff --git a/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/InternalTestCluster.java b/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/InternalTestCluster.java
index 9ef47cd78cf..f242ba00f28 100644
--- a/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/InternalTestCluster.java
+++ b/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/InternalTestCluster.java
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.common.io.FileSystemUtils;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.lease.Releasables;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.logging.ESLogger;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.logging.Loggers;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.network.NetworkModule;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Settings;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Settings.Builder;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.transport.InetSocketTransportAddress;
@@ -224,19 +225,14 @@ public final class InternalTestCluster extends TestCluster {
     private final Path baseDir;
 
     private ServiceDisruptionScheme activeDisruptionScheme;
-    private String nodeMode;
     private Function<Client, Client> clientWrapper;
 
-    public InternalTestCluster(String nodeMode, long clusterSeed, Path baseDir,
+    public InternalTestCluster(long clusterSeed, Path baseDir,
                                boolean randomlyAddDedicatedMasters,
                                int minNumDataNodes, int maxNumDataNodes, String clusterName, NodeConfigurationSource nodeConfigurationSource, int numClientNodes,
                                boolean enableHttpPipelining, String nodePrefix, Collection<Class<? extends Plugin>> mockPlugins, Function<Client, Client> clientWrapper) {
         super(clusterSeed);
-        if ("network".equals(nodeMode) == false && "local".equals(nodeMode) == false) {
-            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Unknown nodeMode: " + nodeMode);
-        }
         this.clientWrapper = clientWrapper;
-        this.nodeMode = nodeMode;
         this.baseDir = baseDir;
         this.clusterName = clusterName;
         if (minNumDataNodes < 0 || maxNumDataNodes < 0) {
@@ -308,7 +304,6 @@ public final class InternalTestCluster extends TestCluster {
         builder.put(Environment.PATH_REPO_SETTING.getKey(), baseDir.resolve("repos"));
         builder.put(TransportSettings.PORT.getKey(), TRANSPORT_BASE_PORT + "-" + (TRANSPORT_BASE_PORT + PORTS_PER_CLUSTER));
         builder.put("http.port", HTTP_BASE_PORT + "-" + (HTTP_BASE_PORT + PORTS_PER_CLUSTER));
-        builder.put(Node.NODE_MODE_SETTING.getKey(), nodeMode);
         builder.put("http.pipelining", enableHttpPipelining);
         if (Strings.hasLength(System.getProperty("tests.es.logger.level"))) {
             builder.put("logger.level", System.getProperty("tests.es.logger.level"));
@@ -333,24 +328,6 @@ public final class InternalTestCluster extends TestCluster {
         executor = EsExecutors.newScaling("test runner", 0, Integer.MAX_VALUE, 0, TimeUnit.SECONDS, EsExecutors.daemonThreadFactory("test_" + clusterName), new ThreadContext(Settings.EMPTY));
     }
 
-    public static String configuredNodeMode() {
-        Builder builder = Settings.builder();
-        if (Strings.isEmpty(System.getProperty("tests.es.node.mode")) && Strings.isEmpty(System.getProperty("tests.node.local"))) {
-            return "local"; // default if nothing is specified
-        }
-        if (Strings.hasLength(System.getProperty("tests.es.node.mode"))) {
-            builder.put(Node.NODE_MODE_SETTING.getKey(), System.getProperty("tests.es.node.mode"));
-        }
-        if (Strings.hasLength(System.getProperty("tests.es.node.local"))) {
-            builder.put(Node.NODE_LOCAL_SETTING.getKey(), System.getProperty("tests.es.node.local"));
-        }
-        if (DiscoveryNode.isLocalNode(builder.build())) {
-            return "local";
-        } else {
-            return "network";
-        }
-    }
-
     @Override
     public String getClusterName() {
         return clusterName;
@@ -360,10 +337,6 @@ public final class InternalTestCluster extends TestCluster {
         return nodes.keySet().toArray(Strings.EMPTY_ARRAY);
     }
 
-    private boolean isLocalTransportConfigured() {
-        return "local".equals(nodeMode);
-    }
-
     private Settings getSettings(int nodeOrdinal, long nodeSeed, Settings others) {
         Builder builder = Settings.builder().put(defaultSettings)
             .put(getRandomNodeSettings(nodeSeed));
@@ -390,9 +363,7 @@ public final class InternalTestCluster extends TestCluster {
     private Settings getRandomNodeSettings(long seed) {
         Random random = new Random(seed);
         Builder builder = Settings.builder();
-        if (isLocalTransportConfigured() == false) {
-            builder.put(Transport.TRANSPORT_TCP_COMPRESS.getKey(), rarely(random));
-        }
+        builder.put(Transport.TRANSPORT_TCP_COMPRESS.getKey(), rarely(random));
         if (random.nextBoolean()) {
             builder.put("cache.recycler.page.type", RandomPicks.randomFrom(random, PageCacheRecycler.Type.values()));
         }
@@ -768,10 +739,6 @@ public final class InternalTestCluster extends TestCluster {
         }
     }
 
-    public String getNodeMode() {
-        return nodeMode;
-    }
-
     private final class NodeAndClient implements Closeable {
         private MockNode node;
         private Client nodeClient;
@@ -839,7 +806,7 @@ public final class InternalTestCluster extends TestCluster {
                 /* no sniff client for now - doesn't work will all tests since it might throw NoNodeAvailableException if nodes are shut down.
                  * we first need support of transportClientRatio as annotations or so
                  */
-                transportClient = new TransportClientFactory(false, nodeConfigurationSource.transportClientSettings(), baseDir, nodeMode, nodeConfigurationSource.transportClientPlugins()).client(node, clusterName);
+                transportClient = new TransportClientFactory(false, nodeConfigurationSource.transportClientSettings(), baseDir, nodeConfigurationSource.transportClientPlugins()).client(node, clusterName);
             }
             return clientWrapper.apply(transportClient);
         }
@@ -914,14 +881,12 @@ public final class InternalTestCluster extends TestCluster {
         private final boolean sniff;
         private final Settings settings;
         private final Path baseDir;
-        private final String nodeMode;
         private final Collection<Class<? extends Plugin>> plugins;
 
-        TransportClientFactory(boolean sniff, Settings settings, Path baseDir, String nodeMode, Collection<Class<? extends Plugin>> plugins) {
+        TransportClientFactory(boolean sniff, Settings settings, Path baseDir, Collection<Class<? extends Plugin>> plugins) {
             this.sniff = sniff;
             this.settings = settings != null ? settings : Settings.EMPTY;
             this.baseDir = baseDir;
-            this.nodeMode = nodeMode;
             this.plugins = plugins;
         }
 
@@ -933,15 +898,12 @@ public final class InternalTestCluster extends TestCluster {
                 .put(Environment.PATH_HOME_SETTING.getKey(), baseDir)
                 .put("node.name", TRANSPORT_CLIENT_PREFIX + node.settings().get("node.name"))
                 .put(ClusterName.CLUSTER_NAME_SETTING.getKey(), clusterName).put("client.transport.sniff", sniff)
-                .put(Node.NODE_MODE_SETTING.getKey(), Node.NODE_MODE_SETTING.exists(nodeSettings) ? Node.NODE_MODE_SETTING.get(nodeSettings) : nodeMode)
                 .put("logger.prefix", nodeSettings.get("logger.prefix", ""))
                 .put("logger.level", nodeSettings.get("logger.level", "INFO"))
                 .put(settings);
-
-            if (Node.NODE_LOCAL_SETTING.exists(nodeSettings)) {
-                builder.put(Node.NODE_LOCAL_SETTING.getKey(), Node.NODE_LOCAL_SETTING.get(nodeSettings));
+            if ( NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_SETTING.exists(settings)) {
+                builder.put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_SETTING.get(settings));
             }
-
             TransportClient.Builder clientBuilder = TransportClient.builder().settings(builder.build());
             for (Class<? extends Plugin> plugin : plugins) {
                 clientBuilder.addPlugin(plugin);
diff --git a/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/junit/listeners/ReproduceInfoPrinter.java b/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/junit/listeners/ReproduceInfoPrinter.java
index 2bdec79f3a0..7103cda945b 100644
--- a/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/junit/listeners/ReproduceInfoPrinter.java
+++ b/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/test/junit/listeners/ReproduceInfoPrinter.java
@@ -140,8 +140,7 @@ public class ReproduceInfoPrinter extends RunListener {
             appendProperties("tests.es.logger.level");
             if (inVerifyPhase()) {
                 // these properties only make sense for integration tests
-                appendProperties("tests.es.node.mode", "tests.es.node.local", TESTS_CLUSTER,
-                    ESIntegTestCase.TESTS_ENABLE_MOCK_MODULES);
+                appendProperties(TESTS_CLUSTER, ESIntegTestCase.TESTS_ENABLE_MOCK_MODULES);
             }
             appendProperties("tests.assertion.disabled", "tests.security.manager", "tests.nightly", "tests.jvms",
                              "tests.client.ratio", "tests.heap.size", "tests.bwc", "tests.bwc.version");
diff --git a/test/framework/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/test/InternalTestClusterTests.java b/test/framework/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/test/InternalTestClusterTests.java
index 43f276197c6..b5fd7b662cc 100644
--- a/test/framework/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/test/InternalTestClusterTests.java
+++ b/test/framework/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/test/InternalTestClusterTests.java
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.cluster.node.DiscoveryNode;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.service.ClusterService;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.network.NetworkModule;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Settings;
+import org.elasticsearch.discovery.DiscoveryModule;
 import org.elasticsearch.discovery.DiscoverySettings;
 import org.elasticsearch.env.NodeEnvironment;
 import org.elasticsearch.test.ESTestCase;
@@ -76,10 +77,10 @@ public class InternalTestClusterTests extends ESTestCase {
         String nodePrefix = randomRealisticUnicodeOfCodepointLengthBetween(1, 10);
 
         Path baseDir = createTempDir();
-        InternalTestCluster cluster0 = new InternalTestCluster("local", clusterSeed, baseDir, masterNodes,
+        InternalTestCluster cluster0 = new InternalTestCluster(clusterSeed, baseDir, masterNodes,
             minNumDataNodes, maxNumDataNodes, clusterName, nodeConfigurationSource, numClientNodes,
             enableHttpPipelining, nodePrefix, Collections.emptyList(), Function.identity());
-        InternalTestCluster cluster1 = new InternalTestCluster("local", clusterSeed, baseDir, masterNodes,
+        InternalTestCluster cluster1 = new InternalTestCluster(clusterSeed, baseDir, masterNodes,
             minNumDataNodes, maxNumDataNodes, clusterName, nodeConfigurationSource, numClientNodes,
             enableHttpPipelining, nodePrefix, Collections.emptyList(), Function.identity());
         // TODO: this is not ideal - we should have a way to make sure ports are initialized in the same way
@@ -131,7 +132,16 @@ public class InternalTestClusterTests extends ESTestCase {
         NodeConfigurationSource nodeConfigurationSource = new NodeConfigurationSource() {
             @Override
             public Settings nodeSettings(int nodeOrdinal) {
-                return Settings.builder().put(NetworkModule.HTTP_ENABLED.getKey(), false).build();
+                return Settings.builder()
+                    .put(NetworkModule.HTTP_ENABLED.getKey(), false)
+                    .put(DiscoveryModule.DISCOVERY_TYPE_SETTING.getKey(), "local")
+                    .put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, "local").build();
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public Settings transportClientSettings() {
+                return Settings.builder()
+                    .put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, "local").build();
             }
         };
         int numClientNodes = randomIntBetween(0, 2);
@@ -139,10 +149,10 @@ public class InternalTestClusterTests extends ESTestCase {
         String nodePrefix = "foobar";
 
         Path baseDir = createTempDir();
-        InternalTestCluster cluster0 = new InternalTestCluster("local", clusterSeed, baseDir, masterNodes,
+        InternalTestCluster cluster0 = new InternalTestCluster(clusterSeed, baseDir, masterNodes,
             minNumDataNodes, maxNumDataNodes, clusterName1, nodeConfigurationSource, numClientNodes,
             enableHttpPipelining, nodePrefix, Collections.emptyList(), Function.identity());
-        InternalTestCluster cluster1 = new InternalTestCluster("local", clusterSeed, baseDir, masterNodes,
+        InternalTestCluster cluster1 = new InternalTestCluster(clusterSeed, baseDir, masterNodes,
             minNumDataNodes, maxNumDataNodes, clusterName2, nodeConfigurationSource, numClientNodes,
             enableHttpPipelining, nodePrefix, Collections.emptyList(), Function.identity());
 
@@ -182,13 +192,21 @@ public class InternalTestClusterTests extends ESTestCase {
         NodeConfigurationSource nodeConfigurationSource = new NodeConfigurationSource() {
             @Override
             public Settings nodeSettings(int nodeOrdinal) {
-                return Settings.builder().put(NetworkModule.HTTP_ENABLED.getKey(), false).build();
+                return Settings.builder().put(NetworkModule.HTTP_ENABLED.getKey(), false)
+                    .put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, "local")
+                    .put(DiscoveryModule.DISCOVERY_TYPE_SETTING.getKey(), "local")
+                    .build();
+            }
+            @Override
+            public Settings transportClientSettings() {
+                return Settings.builder()
+                    .put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, "local").build();
             }
         };        int numClientNodes = randomIntBetween(0, 2);
         boolean enableHttpPipelining = randomBoolean();
         String nodePrefix = "test";
         Path baseDir = createTempDir();
-        InternalTestCluster cluster = new InternalTestCluster("local", clusterSeed, baseDir, masterNodes,
+        InternalTestCluster cluster = new InternalTestCluster(clusterSeed, baseDir, masterNodes,
             minNumDataNodes, maxNumDataNodes, clusterName1, nodeConfigurationSource, numClientNodes,
             enableHttpPipelining, nodePrefix, Collections.emptyList(), Function.identity());
         try {
@@ -250,18 +268,21 @@ public class InternalTestClusterTests extends ESTestCase {
 
     public void testDifferentRolesMaintainPathOnRestart() throws Exception {
         final Path baseDir = createTempDir();
-        InternalTestCluster cluster = new InternalTestCluster("local", randomLong(), baseDir, true, 0, 0, "test",
+        InternalTestCluster cluster = new InternalTestCluster(randomLong(), baseDir, true, 0, 0, "test",
             new NodeConfigurationSource() {
                 @Override
                 public Settings nodeSettings(int nodeOrdinal) {
                     return Settings.builder()
                         .put(NetworkModule.HTTP_ENABLED.getKey(), false)
+                        .put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, "local")
+                        .put(DiscoveryModule.DISCOVERY_TYPE_SETTING.getKey(), "local")
                         .put(DiscoverySettings.INITIAL_STATE_TIMEOUT_SETTING.getKey(), 0).build();
                 }
 
                 @Override
                 public Settings transportClientSettings() {
-                    return Settings.EMPTY;
+                    return Settings.builder()
+                        .put(NetworkModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, "local").build();
                 }
             }, 0, randomBoolean(), "", Collections.emptyList(), Function.identity());
         cluster.beforeTest(random(), 0.0);