diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/store/Store.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/store/Store.java
index 3af35610582..1e5b402518d 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/store/Store.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/store/Store.java
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@ public class Store extends AbstractIndexShardComponent {
     /**
      * The idea of the store directory is to cache file level meta data, as well as md5 of it
      */
-    protected class StoreDirectory extends Directory implements ForceSyncDirectory {
+    class StoreDirectory extends Directory implements ForceSyncDirectory {
 
         private final Directory[] delegates;
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/translog/fs/BufferingFsTranslogFile.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/translog/fs/BufferingFsTranslogFile.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7809c78bf12
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/translog/fs/BufferingFsTranslogFile.java
@@ -0,0 +1,169 @@
+package org.elasticsearch.index.translog.fs;
+
+import org.elasticsearch.index.shard.ShardId;
+import org.elasticsearch.index.translog.Translog;
+import org.elasticsearch.index.translog.TranslogException;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+import java.util.concurrent.locks.ReadWriteLock;
+import java.util.concurrent.locks.ReentrantReadWriteLock;
+
+/**
+ */
+public class BufferingFsTranslogFile implements FsTranslogFile {
+
+    private final long id;
+    private final ShardId shardId;
+    private final RafReference raf;
+
+    private final ReadWriteLock rwl = new ReentrantReadWriteLock();
+
+    private volatile int operationCounter;
+
+    private long lastPosition;
+    private volatile long lastWrittenPosition;
+
+    private volatile long lastSyncPosition = 0;
+
+    private byte[] buffer;
+    private int bufferCount;
+
+    public BufferingFsTranslogFile(ShardId shardId, long id, RafReference raf, int bufferSize) throws IOException {
+        this.shardId = shardId;
+        this.id = id;
+        this.raf = raf;
+        this.buffer = new byte[bufferSize];
+        raf.raf().setLength(0);
+    }
+
+    public long id() {
+        return this.id;
+    }
+
+    public int estimatedNumberOfOperations() {
+        return operationCounter;
+    }
+
+    public long translogSizeInBytes() {
+        return lastWrittenPosition;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Translog.Location add(byte[] data, int from, int size) throws IOException {
+        rwl.writeLock().lock();
+        try {
+            operationCounter++;
+            long position = lastPosition;
+            if (size >= buffer.length) {
+                flushBuffer();
+                raf.raf().write(data, from, size);
+                lastWrittenPosition += size;
+                lastPosition += size;
+                return new Translog.Location(id, position, size);
+            }
+            if (size > buffer.length - bufferCount) {
+                flushBuffer();
+            }
+            System.arraycopy(data, from, buffer, bufferCount, size);
+            bufferCount += size;
+            lastPosition += size;
+            return new Translog.Location(id, position, size);
+        } finally {
+            rwl.writeLock().unlock();
+        }
+    }
+
+    private void flushBuffer() throws IOException {
+        if (bufferCount > 0) {
+            raf.raf().write(buffer, 0, bufferCount);
+            lastWrittenPosition += bufferCount;
+            bufferCount = 0;
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public byte[] read(Translog.Location location) throws IOException {
+        rwl.readLock().lock();
+        try {
+            if (location.translogLocation >= lastWrittenPosition) {
+                byte[] data = new byte[location.size];
+                System.arraycopy(buffer, (int) (location.translogLocation - lastWrittenPosition), data, 0, location.size);
+                return data;
+            }
+        } finally {
+            rwl.readLock().unlock();
+        }
+        ByteBuffer buffer = ByteBuffer.allocate(location.size);
+        raf.channel().read(buffer, location.translogLocation);
+        return buffer.array();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public FsChannelSnapshot snapshot() throws TranslogException {
+        rwl.writeLock().lock();
+        try {
+            flushBuffer();
+            if (!raf.increaseRefCount()) {
+                return null;
+            }
+            return new FsChannelSnapshot(this.id, raf, lastWrittenPosition, operationCounter);
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            throw new TranslogException(shardId, "failed to flush", e);
+        } finally {
+            rwl.writeLock().unlock();
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void sync() {
+        try {
+            // check if we really need to sync here...
+            long last = lastWrittenPosition;
+            if (last == lastSyncPosition) {
+                return;
+            }
+            lastSyncPosition = last;
+            rwl.writeLock().lock();
+            try {
+                flushBuffer();
+            } finally {
+                rwl.writeLock().unlock();
+            }
+            raf.channel().force(false);
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+            // ignore
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void close(boolean delete) {
+        if (!delete) {
+            rwl.writeLock().lock();
+            try {
+                flushBuffer();
+            } catch (IOException e) {
+                throw new TranslogException(shardId, "failed to close", e);
+            } finally {
+                rwl.writeLock().unlock();
+            }
+        }
+        raf.decreaseRefCount(delete);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void reuse(FsTranslogFile other) {
+        if (!(other instanceof BufferingFsTranslogFile)) {
+            return;
+        }
+        rwl.writeLock().lock();
+        try {
+            flushBuffer();
+            this.buffer = ((BufferingFsTranslogFile) other).buffer;
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            throw new TranslogException(shardId, "failed to flush", e);
+        } finally {
+            rwl.writeLock().unlock();
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/translog/fs/FsTranslog.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/translog/fs/FsTranslog.java
index d31f21e9efb..23a4f6d6abd 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/translog/fs/FsTranslog.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/translog/fs/FsTranslog.java
@@ -20,13 +20,16 @@
 package org.elasticsearch.index.translog.fs;
 
 import jsr166y.ThreadLocalRandom;
+import org.elasticsearch.cluster.metadata.IndexMetaData;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.inject.Inject;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.FileSystemUtils;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.BytesStreamOutput;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.CachedStreamOutput;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Settings;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.unit.ByteSizeValue;
 import org.elasticsearch.env.NodeEnvironment;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.settings.IndexSettings;
+import org.elasticsearch.index.settings.IndexSettingsService;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.shard.AbstractIndexShardComponent;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.shard.ShardId;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.translog.Translog;
@@ -44,29 +47,99 @@ import java.util.concurrent.locks.ReentrantReadWriteLock;
  */
 public class FsTranslog extends AbstractIndexShardComponent implements Translog {
 
+    static {
+        IndexMetaData.addDynamicSettings(
+                "index.translog.fs.type",
+                "index.translog.fs.buffer_size",
+                "index.translog.fs.transient_buffer_size"
+        );
+    }
+
+    class ApplySettings implements IndexSettingsService.Listener {
+        @Override
+        public void onRefreshSettings(Settings settings) {
+            int bufferSize = (int) settings.getAsBytesSize("index.translog.fs.buffer_size", new ByteSizeValue(FsTranslog.this.bufferSize)).bytes();
+            if (bufferSize != FsTranslog.this.bufferSize) {
+                logger.info("updating buffer_size from [{}] to [{}]", new ByteSizeValue(FsTranslog.this.bufferSize), new ByteSizeValue(bufferSize));
+                FsTranslog.this.bufferSize = bufferSize;
+            }
+
+            int transientBufferSize = (int) settings.getAsBytesSize("index.translog.fs.transient_buffer_size", new ByteSizeValue(FsTranslog.this.transientBufferSize)).bytes();
+            if (transientBufferSize != FsTranslog.this.transientBufferSize) {
+                logger.info("updating transient_buffer_size from [{}] to [{}]", new ByteSizeValue(FsTranslog.this.transientBufferSize), new ByteSizeValue(transientBufferSize));
+                FsTranslog.this.transientBufferSize = transientBufferSize;
+            }
+
+            FsTranslogFile.Type type = FsTranslogFile.Type.fromString(settings.get("index.translog.fs.type", FsTranslog.this.type.name()));
+            if (type != FsTranslog.this.type) {
+                logger.info("updating type from [{}] to [{}]", FsTranslog.this.type, type);
+                FsTranslog.this.type = type;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    private final IndexSettingsService indexSettingsService;
+
     private final ReadWriteLock rwl = new ReentrantReadWriteLock();
     private final File[] locations;
 
     private volatile FsTranslogFile current;
     private volatile FsTranslogFile trans;
 
+    private FsTranslogFile.Type type;
+
     private boolean syncOnEachOperation = false;
 
+    private int bufferSize;
+    private int transientBufferSize;
+
+    private final ApplySettings applySettings = new ApplySettings();
+
     @Inject
-    public FsTranslog(ShardId shardId, @IndexSettings Settings indexSettings, NodeEnvironment nodeEnv) {
+    public FsTranslog(ShardId shardId, @IndexSettings Settings indexSettings, IndexSettingsService indexSettingsService, NodeEnvironment nodeEnv) {
         super(shardId, indexSettings);
+        this.indexSettingsService = indexSettingsService;
         File[] shardLocations = nodeEnv.shardLocations(shardId);
         this.locations = new File[shardLocations.length];
         for (int i = 0; i < shardLocations.length; i++) {
             locations[i] = new File(shardLocations[i], "translog");
             FileSystemUtils.mkdirs(locations[i]);
         }
+
+        this.type = FsTranslogFile.Type.fromString(componentSettings.get("type", FsTranslogFile.Type.BUFFERED.name()));
+        this.bufferSize = (int) componentSettings.getAsBytesSize("buffer_size", ByteSizeValue.parseBytesSizeValue("64k")).bytes();
+        this.transientBufferSize = (int) componentSettings.getAsBytesSize("transient_buffer_size", ByteSizeValue.parseBytesSizeValue("8k")).bytes();
+
+        indexSettingsService.addListener(applySettings);
     }
 
     public FsTranslog(ShardId shardId, @IndexSettings Settings indexSettings, File location) {
         super(shardId, indexSettings);
+        this.indexSettingsService = null;
         this.locations = new File[]{location};
         FileSystemUtils.mkdirs(location);
+
+        this.type = FsTranslogFile.Type.fromString(componentSettings.get("type", FsTranslogFile.Type.BUFFERED.name()));
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void close(boolean delete) {
+        if (indexSettingsService != null) {
+            indexSettingsService.removeListener(applySettings);
+        }
+        rwl.writeLock().lock();
+        try {
+            FsTranslogFile current1 = this.current;
+            if (current1 != null) {
+                current1.close(delete);
+            }
+            current1 = this.trans;
+            if (current1 != null) {
+                current1.close(delete);
+            }
+        } finally {
+            rwl.writeLock().unlock();
+        }
     }
 
     public File[] locations() {
@@ -149,7 +222,7 @@ public class FsTranslog extends AbstractIndexShardComponent implements Translog
                 }
             }
             try {
-                newFile = new SimpleFsTranslogFile(shardId, id, new RafReference(new File(location, "translog-" + id)));
+                newFile = type.create(shardId, id, new RafReference(new File(location, "translog-" + id)), bufferSize);
             } catch (IOException e) {
                 throw new TranslogException(shardId, "failed to create new translog file", e);
             }
@@ -184,7 +257,7 @@ public class FsTranslog extends AbstractIndexShardComponent implements Translog
                     location = file;
                 }
             }
-            this.trans = new SimpleFsTranslogFile(shardId, id, new RafReference(new File(location, "translog-" + id)));
+            this.trans = type.create(shardId, id, new RafReference(new File(location, "translog-" + id)), transientBufferSize);
         } catch (IOException e) {
             throw new TranslogException(shardId, "failed to create new translog file", e);
         } finally {
@@ -205,6 +278,7 @@ public class FsTranslog extends AbstractIndexShardComponent implements Translog
             rwl.writeLock().unlock();
         }
         old.close(true);
+        current.reuse(old);
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -311,22 +385,10 @@ public class FsTranslog extends AbstractIndexShardComponent implements Translog
     @Override
     public void syncOnEachOperation(boolean syncOnEachOperation) {
         this.syncOnEachOperation = syncOnEachOperation;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public void close(boolean delete) {
-        rwl.writeLock().lock();
-        try {
-            FsTranslogFile current1 = this.current;
-            if (current1 != null) {
-                current1.close(delete);
-            }
-            current1 = this.trans;
-            if (current1 != null) {
-                current1.close(delete);
-            }
-        } finally {
-            rwl.writeLock().unlock();
+        if (syncOnEachOperation) {
+            type = FsTranslogFile.Type.SIMPLE;
+        } else {
+            type = FsTranslogFile.Type.BUFFERED;
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/translog/fs/FsTranslogFile.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/translog/fs/FsTranslogFile.java
index b774eba83ae..68a70130310 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/translog/fs/FsTranslogFile.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/translog/fs/FsTranslogFile.java
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@
 
 package org.elasticsearch.index.translog.fs;
 
+import org.elasticsearch.ElasticSearchIllegalArgumentException;
+import org.elasticsearch.index.shard.ShardId;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.translog.Translog;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.translog.TranslogException;
 
@@ -26,6 +28,33 @@ import java.io.IOException;
 
 public interface FsTranslogFile {
 
+    public static enum Type {
+
+        SIMPLE() {
+            @Override
+            public FsTranslogFile create(ShardId shardId, long id, RafReference raf, int bufferSize) throws IOException {
+                return new SimpleFsTranslogFile(shardId, id, raf);
+            }
+        },
+        BUFFERED() {
+            @Override
+            public FsTranslogFile create(ShardId shardId, long id, RafReference raf, int bufferSize) throws IOException {
+                return new BufferingFsTranslogFile(shardId, id, raf, bufferSize);
+            }
+        };
+
+        public abstract FsTranslogFile create(ShardId shardId, long id, RafReference raf, int bufferSize) throws IOException;
+
+        public static Type fromString(String type) throws ElasticSearchIllegalArgumentException {
+            if (SIMPLE.name().equalsIgnoreCase(type)) {
+                return SIMPLE;
+            } else if (BUFFERED.name().equalsIgnoreCase(type)) {
+                return BUFFERED;
+            }
+            throw new ElasticSearchIllegalArgumentException("No translog fs type [" + type + "]");
+        }
+    }
+
     long id();
 
     int estimatedNumberOfOperations();
@@ -36,9 +65,11 @@ public interface FsTranslogFile {
 
     byte[] read(Translog.Location location) throws IOException;
 
-    void close(boolean delete);
+    void close(boolean delete) throws TranslogException;
 
     FsChannelSnapshot snapshot() throws TranslogException;
 
+    void reuse(FsTranslogFile other) throws TranslogException;
+
     void sync();
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/translog/fs/SimpleFsTranslogFile.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/translog/fs/SimpleFsTranslogFile.java
index f9a3619f987..3a64f219d88 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/translog/fs/SimpleFsTranslogFile.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/translog/fs/SimpleFsTranslogFile.java
@@ -105,4 +105,9 @@ public class SimpleFsTranslogFile implements FsTranslogFile {
             // ignore
         }
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public void reuse(FsTranslogFile other) {
+        // nothing to do there
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/IndicesModule.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/IndicesModule.java
index dd8ba0086fa..1aa5c91264f 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/IndicesModule.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/IndicesModule.java
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Settings;
 import org.elasticsearch.indices.analysis.IndicesAnalysisModule;
 import org.elasticsearch.indices.cache.filter.IndicesNodeFilterCache;
 import org.elasticsearch.indices.cluster.IndicesClusterStateService;
-import org.elasticsearch.indices.memory.IndexingMemoryBufferController;
+import org.elasticsearch.indices.memory.IndexingMemoryController;
 import org.elasticsearch.indices.query.IndicesQueriesModule;
 import org.elasticsearch.indices.recovery.RecoverySettings;
 import org.elasticsearch.indices.recovery.RecoverySource;
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ public class IndicesModule extends AbstractModule implements SpawnModules {
         bind(RecoverySource.class).asEagerSingleton();
 
         bind(IndicesClusterStateService.class).asEagerSingleton();
-        bind(IndexingMemoryBufferController.class).asEagerSingleton();
+        bind(IndexingMemoryController.class).asEagerSingleton();
         bind(IndicesNodeFilterCache.class).asEagerSingleton();
         bind(TransportNodesListShardStoreMetaData.class).asEagerSingleton();
         bind(IndicesTTLService.class).asEagerSingleton();
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/memory/IndexingMemoryBufferController.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/memory/IndexingMemoryController.java
similarity index 88%
rename from src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/memory/IndexingMemoryBufferController.java
rename to src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/memory/IndexingMemoryController.java
index 71aec5faa82..5b3b9889a3a 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/memory/IndexingMemoryBufferController.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/memory/IndexingMemoryController.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 
 package org.elasticsearch.indices.memory;
 
+import com.google.common.collect.Lists;
 import com.google.common.collect.Maps;
 import org.elasticsearch.ElasticSearchException;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.component.AbstractLifecycleComponent;
@@ -40,13 +41,14 @@ import org.elasticsearch.indices.IndicesService;
 import org.elasticsearch.monitor.jvm.JvmInfo;
 import org.elasticsearch.threadpool.ThreadPool;
 
+import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledFuture;
 
 /**
  *
  */
-public class IndexingMemoryBufferController extends AbstractLifecycleComponent<IndexingMemoryBufferController> {
+public class IndexingMemoryController extends AbstractLifecycleComponent<IndexingMemoryController> {
 
     private final ThreadPool threadPool;
 
@@ -70,7 +72,7 @@ public class IndexingMemoryBufferController extends AbstractLifecycleComponent<I
     private final Object mutex = new Object();
 
     @Inject
-    public IndexingMemoryBufferController(Settings settings, ThreadPool threadPool, IndicesService indicesService) {
+    public IndexingMemoryController(Settings settings, ThreadPool threadPool, IndicesService indicesService) {
         super(settings);
         this.threadPool = threadPool;
         this.indicesService = indicesService;
@@ -131,6 +133,8 @@ public class IndexingMemoryBufferController extends AbstractLifecycleComponent<I
         public void run() {
             synchronized (mutex) {
                 boolean activeInactiveStatusChanges = false;
+                List<IndexShard> activeToInactiveIndexingShards = Lists.newArrayList();
+                List<IndexShard> inactiveToActiveIndexingShards = Lists.newArrayList();
                 for (IndexService indexService : indicesService) {
                     for (IndexShard indexShard : indexService) {
                         long time = threadPool.estimatedTimeInMillis();
@@ -145,27 +149,20 @@ public class IndexingMemoryBufferController extends AbstractLifecycleComponent<I
                                 status.time = time;
                             }
                             // inactive?
-                            if (!status.inactive) {
+                            if (!status.inactiveIndexing) {
                                 // mark it as inactive only if enough time has passed and there are no ongoing merges going on...
                                 if ((time - status.time) > inactiveTime.millis() && indexShard.mergeStats().current() == 0) {
-                                    try {
-                                        ((InternalIndexShard) indexShard).engine().updateIndexingBufferSize(Engine.INACTIVE_SHARD_INDEXING_BUFFER);
-                                    } catch (EngineClosedException e) {
-                                        // ignore
-                                        continue;
-                                    } catch (FlushNotAllowedEngineException e) {
-                                        // ignore
-                                        continue;
-                                    }
                                     // inactive for this amount of time, mark it
-                                    status.inactive = true;
+                                    activeToInactiveIndexingShards.add(indexShard);
+                                    status.inactiveIndexing = true;
                                     activeInactiveStatusChanges = true;
                                     logger.debug("marking shard [{}][{}] as inactive (inactive_time[{}]) indexing wise, setting size to [{}]", indexShard.shardId().index().name(), indexShard.shardId().id(), inactiveTime, Engine.INACTIVE_SHARD_INDEXING_BUFFER);
                                 }
                             }
                         } else {
-                            if (status.inactive) {
-                                status.inactive = false;
+                            if (status.inactiveIndexing) {
+                                inactiveToActiveIndexingShards.add(indexShard);
+                                status.inactiveIndexing = false;
                                 activeInactiveStatusChanges = true;
                                 logger.debug("marking shard [{}][{}] as active indexing wise", indexShard.shardId().index().name(), indexShard.shardId().id());
                             }
@@ -175,6 +172,16 @@ public class IndexingMemoryBufferController extends AbstractLifecycleComponent<I
                         status.translogNumberOfOperations = translog.estimatedNumberOfOperations();
                     }
                 }
+                for (IndexShard indexShard : activeToInactiveIndexingShards) {
+                    // update inactive indexing buffer size
+                    try {
+                        ((InternalIndexShard) indexShard).engine().updateIndexingBufferSize(Engine.INACTIVE_SHARD_INDEXING_BUFFER);
+                    } catch (EngineClosedException e) {
+                        // ignore
+                    } catch (FlushNotAllowedEngineException e) {
+                        // ignore
+                    }
+                }
                 if (activeInactiveStatusChanges) {
                     calcAndSetShardIndexingBuffer("shards became active/inactive (indexing wise)");
                 }
@@ -221,7 +228,7 @@ public class IndexingMemoryBufferController extends AbstractLifecycleComponent<I
         for (IndexService indexService : indicesService) {
             for (IndexShard indexShard : indexService) {
                 ShardIndexingStatus status = shardsIndicesStatus.get(indexShard.shardId());
-                if (status == null || !status.inactive) {
+                if (status == null || !status.inactiveIndexing) {
                     try {
                         ((InternalIndexShard) indexShard).engine().updateIndexingBufferSize(shardIndexingBufferSize);
                     } catch (EngineClosedException e) {
@@ -247,7 +254,7 @@ public class IndexingMemoryBufferController extends AbstractLifecycleComponent<I
         for (IndexService indexService : indicesService) {
             for (IndexShard indexShard : indexService) {
                 ShardIndexingStatus status = shardsIndicesStatus.get(indexShard.shardId());
-                if (status == null || !status.inactive) {
+                if (status == null || !status.inactiveIndexing) {
                     shardsCount++;
                 }
             }
@@ -258,7 +265,7 @@ public class IndexingMemoryBufferController extends AbstractLifecycleComponent<I
     static class ShardIndexingStatus {
         long translogId = -1;
         int translogNumberOfOperations = -1;
-        boolean inactive = false;
+        boolean inactiveIndexing = false;
         long time = -1; // contains the first time we saw this shard with no operations done on it
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/node/internal/InternalNode.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/node/internal/InternalNode.java
index 0dd25a4e27f..6a9bc70aae5 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/node/internal/InternalNode.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/node/internal/InternalNode.java
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.indices.IndicesModule;
 import org.elasticsearch.indices.IndicesService;
 import org.elasticsearch.indices.cache.filter.IndicesNodeFilterCache;
 import org.elasticsearch.indices.cluster.IndicesClusterStateService;
-import org.elasticsearch.indices.memory.IndexingMemoryBufferController;
+import org.elasticsearch.indices.memory.IndexingMemoryController;
 import org.elasticsearch.indices.ttl.IndicesTTLService;
 import org.elasticsearch.jmx.JmxModule;
 import org.elasticsearch.jmx.JmxService;
@@ -176,7 +176,7 @@ public final class InternalNode implements Node {
         }
 
         injector.getInstance(IndicesService.class).start();
-        injector.getInstance(IndexingMemoryBufferController.class).start();
+        injector.getInstance(IndexingMemoryController.class).start();
         injector.getInstance(IndicesClusterStateService.class).start();
         injector.getInstance(IndicesTTLService.class).start();
         injector.getInstance(RiversManager.class).start();
@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@ public final class InternalNode implements Node {
         // stop any changes happening as a result of cluster state changes
         injector.getInstance(IndicesClusterStateService.class).stop();
         // we close indices first, so operations won't be allowed on it
-        injector.getInstance(IndexingMemoryBufferController.class).stop();
+        injector.getInstance(IndexingMemoryController.class).stop();
         injector.getInstance(IndicesTTLService.class).stop();
         injector.getInstance(IndicesService.class).stop();
         // sleep a bit to let operations finish with indices service
@@ -272,7 +272,7 @@ public final class InternalNode implements Node {
         injector.getInstance(IndicesClusterStateService.class).close();
         stopWatch.stop().start("indices");
         injector.getInstance(IndicesNodeFilterCache.class).close();
-        injector.getInstance(IndexingMemoryBufferController.class).close();
+        injector.getInstance(IndexingMemoryController.class).close();
         injector.getInstance(IndicesTTLService.class).close();
         injector.getInstance(IndicesService.class).close();
         stopWatch.stop().start("routing");
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/benchmark/stress/SingleThreadIndexingStress.java b/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/benchmark/stress/SingleThreadIndexingStress.java
index 9bca4ab76cf..90876fd75f8 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/benchmark/stress/SingleThreadIndexingStress.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/benchmark/stress/SingleThreadIndexingStress.java
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.XContentBuilder;
 import org.elasticsearch.node.Node;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
-import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 
 import static org.elasticsearch.client.Requests.createIndexRequest;
 import static org.elasticsearch.cluster.metadata.IndexMetaData.SETTING_NUMBER_OF_REPLICAS;
@@ -43,8 +42,9 @@ public class SingleThreadIndexingStress {
 
     public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
         Settings settings = settingsBuilder()
-                .put("cluster.routing.schedule", 200, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS)
-                .put("index.engine.robin.refreshInterval", "-1")
+                .put("index.refresh_interval", "1s")
+                .put("index.merge.async", true)
+                .put("index.translog.flush_threshold_ops", 5000)
                 .put("gateway.type", "none")
                 .put(SETTING_NUMBER_OF_SHARDS, 2)
                 .put(SETTING_NUMBER_OF_REPLICAS, 1)
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/unit/index/translog/AbstractSimpleTranslogTests.java b/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/unit/index/translog/AbstractSimpleTranslogTests.java
index e36ac7aec50..e233193ca82 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/unit/index/translog/AbstractSimpleTranslogTests.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/unit/index/translog/AbstractSimpleTranslogTests.java
@@ -20,15 +20,19 @@
 package org.elasticsearch.test.unit.index.translog;
 
 import org.apache.lucene.index.Term;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.BytesHolder;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.Index;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.shard.ShardId;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.translog.Translog;
+import org.elasticsearch.index.translog.TranslogStreams;
 import org.hamcrest.MatcherAssert;
 import org.hamcrest.Matchers;
 import org.testng.annotations.AfterMethod;
 import org.testng.annotations.BeforeMethod;
 import org.testng.annotations.Test;
 
+import java.io.IOException;
+
 import static org.hamcrest.MatcherAssert.assertThat;
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.equalTo;
 
@@ -54,6 +58,21 @@ public abstract class AbstractSimpleTranslogTests {
 
     protected abstract Translog create();
 
+    @Test
+    public void testRead() throws IOException {
+        Translog.Location loc1 = translog.add(new Translog.Create("test", "1", new byte[]{1}));
+        Translog.Location loc2 = translog.add(new Translog.Create("test", "2", new byte[]{2}));
+        assertThat(TranslogStreams.readSource(translog.read(loc1)).source, equalTo(new BytesHolder(new byte[]{1})));
+        assertThat(TranslogStreams.readSource(translog.read(loc2)).source, equalTo(new BytesHolder(new byte[]{2})));
+        translog.sync();
+        assertThat(TranslogStreams.readSource(translog.read(loc1)).source, equalTo(new BytesHolder(new byte[]{1})));
+        assertThat(TranslogStreams.readSource(translog.read(loc2)).source, equalTo(new BytesHolder(new byte[]{2})));
+        Translog.Location loc3 = translog.add(new Translog.Create("test", "2", new byte[]{3}));
+        assertThat(TranslogStreams.readSource(translog.read(loc3)).source, equalTo(new BytesHolder(new byte[]{3})));
+        translog.sync();
+        assertThat(TranslogStreams.readSource(translog.read(loc3)).source, equalTo(new BytesHolder(new byte[]{3})));
+    }
+
     @Test
     public void testTransientTranslog() {
         Translog.Snapshot snapshot = translog.snapshot();
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/unit/index/translog/fs/FsBufferedTranslogTests.java b/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/unit/index/translog/fs/FsBufferedTranslogTests.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a96770d39a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/unit/index/translog/fs/FsBufferedTranslogTests.java
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to ElasticSearch and Shay Banon under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership. ElasticSearch licenses this
+ * file to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.elasticsearch.test.unit.index.translog.fs;
+
+import org.elasticsearch.common.io.FileSystemUtils;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.ImmutableSettings;
+import org.elasticsearch.index.translog.Translog;
+import org.elasticsearch.index.translog.fs.FsTranslog;
+import org.elasticsearch.index.translog.fs.FsTranslogFile;
+import org.elasticsearch.test.unit.index.translog.AbstractSimpleTranslogTests;
+import org.testng.annotations.AfterClass;
+
+import java.io.File;
+
+/**
+ *
+ */
+public class FsBufferedTranslogTests extends AbstractSimpleTranslogTests {
+
+    @Override
+    protected Translog create() {
+        return new FsTranslog(shardId,
+                ImmutableSettings.settingsBuilder().put("index.translog.fs.type", FsTranslogFile.Type.BUFFERED.name()).build(),
+                new File("data/fs-translog"));
+    }
+
+    @AfterClass
+    public void cleanup() {
+        FileSystemUtils.deleteRecursively(new File("data/fs-translog"), true);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/unit/index/translog/fs/FsSimpleTranslogTests.java b/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/unit/index/translog/fs/FsSimpleTranslogTests.java
index cc4e3776cdc..51ce38b8546 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/unit/index/translog/fs/FsSimpleTranslogTests.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/unit/index/translog/fs/FsSimpleTranslogTests.java
@@ -20,15 +20,15 @@
 package org.elasticsearch.test.unit.index.translog.fs;
 
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.FileSystemUtils;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.ImmutableSettings;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.translog.Translog;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.translog.fs.FsTranslog;
+import org.elasticsearch.index.translog.fs.FsTranslogFile;
 import org.elasticsearch.test.unit.index.translog.AbstractSimpleTranslogTests;
 import org.testng.annotations.AfterClass;
 
 import java.io.File;
 
-import static org.elasticsearch.common.settings.ImmutableSettings.Builder.EMPTY_SETTINGS;
-
 /**
  *
  */
@@ -36,7 +36,9 @@ public class FsSimpleTranslogTests extends AbstractSimpleTranslogTests {
 
     @Override
     protected Translog create() {
-        return new FsTranslog(shardId, EMPTY_SETTINGS, new File("data/fs-translog"));
+        return new FsTranslog(shardId,
+                ImmutableSettings.settingsBuilder().put("index.translog.fs.type", FsTranslogFile.Type.SIMPLE.name()).build(),
+                new File("data/fs-translog"));
     }
 
     @AfterClass