diff --git a/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/cluster/ping/replication/TransportShardReplicationPingAction.java b/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/cluster/ping/replication/TransportShardReplicationPingAction.java
index 8f7612be087..0925c7ff996 100644
--- a/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/cluster/ping/replication/TransportShardReplicationPingAction.java
+++ b/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/cluster/ping/replication/TransportShardReplicationPingAction.java
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ public class TransportShardReplicationPingAction extends TransportShardReplicati
         return new ShardReplicationPingResponse();
     }
 
-    @Override protected void shardOperationOnBackup(ShardOperationRequest shardRequest) {
+    @Override protected void shardOperationOnReplica(ShardOperationRequest shardRequest) {
     }
 
     @Override protected ShardsIterator shards(ClusterState clusterState, ShardReplicationPingRequest request) {
diff --git a/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/gateway/snapshot/TransportShardGatewaySnapshotAction.java b/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/gateway/snapshot/TransportShardGatewaySnapshotAction.java
index 22d83fc6e99..7353ef2b824 100644
--- a/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/gateway/snapshot/TransportShardGatewaySnapshotAction.java
+++ b/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/gateway/snapshot/TransportShardGatewaySnapshotAction.java
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ public class TransportShardGatewaySnapshotAction extends TransportShardReplicati
         return new ShardGatewaySnapshotResponse();
     }
 
-    @Override protected void shardOperationOnBackup(ShardOperationRequest shardRequest) {
+    @Override protected void shardOperationOnReplica(ShardOperationRequest shardRequest) {
         // silently ignore, we disable it with #ignoreBackups anyhow
     }
 
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ public class TransportShardGatewaySnapshotAction extends TransportShardReplicati
     /**
      * Snapshot should only happen on primary shards.
      */
-    @Override protected boolean ignoreBackups() {
+    @Override protected boolean ignoreReplicas() {
         return true;
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/delete/TransportDeleteAction.java b/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/delete/TransportDeleteAction.java
index ae47339987d..8f33104d5f3 100644
--- a/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/delete/TransportDeleteAction.java
+++ b/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/delete/TransportDeleteAction.java
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ public class TransportDeleteAction extends TransportShardReplicationOperationAct
         return new DeleteResponse(request.index(), request.type(), request.id());
     }
 
-    @Override protected void shardOperationOnBackup(ShardOperationRequest shardRequest) {
+    @Override protected void shardOperationOnReplica(ShardOperationRequest shardRequest) {
         DeleteRequest request = shardRequest.request;
         indexShard(shardRequest).delete(request.type(), request.id());
     }
diff --git a/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/deletebyquery/TransportShardDeleteByQueryAction.java b/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/deletebyquery/TransportShardDeleteByQueryAction.java
index 54527719dbd..332737ffb8a 100644
--- a/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/deletebyquery/TransportShardDeleteByQueryAction.java
+++ b/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/deletebyquery/TransportShardDeleteByQueryAction.java
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ public class TransportShardDeleteByQueryAction extends TransportShardReplication
         return new ShardDeleteByQueryResponse();
     }
 
-    @Override protected void shardOperationOnBackup(ShardOperationRequest shardRequest) {
+    @Override protected void shardOperationOnReplica(ShardOperationRequest shardRequest) {
         ShardDeleteByQueryRequest request = shardRequest.request;
         indexShard(shardRequest).deleteByQuery(request.querySource(), request.queryParserName(), request.types());
     }
diff --git a/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/index/TransportIndexAction.java b/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/index/TransportIndexAction.java
index 3335903b05f..04090744007 100644
--- a/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/index/TransportIndexAction.java
+++ b/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/index/TransportIndexAction.java
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ public class TransportIndexAction extends TransportShardReplicationOperationActi
         return new IndexResponse(request.index(), request.type(), request.id());
     }
 
-    @Override protected void shardOperationOnBackup(ShardOperationRequest shardRequest) {
+    @Override protected void shardOperationOnReplica(ShardOperationRequest shardRequest) {
         IndexRequest request = shardRequest.request;
         if (request.opType() == IndexRequest.OpType.INDEX) {
             indexShard(shardRequest).index(request.type(), request.id(), request.source());
diff --git a/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/replication/TransportShardReplicationOperationAction.java b/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/replication/TransportShardReplicationOperationAction.java
index b5a4e66525f..43b1dc75b40 100644
--- a/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/replication/TransportShardReplicationOperationAction.java
+++ b/modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/replication/TransportShardReplicationOperationAction.java
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ public abstract class TransportShardReplicationOperationAction<Request extends S
         this.shardStateAction = shardStateAction;
 
         transportService.registerHandler(transportAction(), new OperationTransportHandler());
-        transportService.registerHandler(transportBackupAction(), new BackupOperationTransportHandler());
+        transportService.registerHandler(transportReplicaAction(), new ReplicaOperationTransportHandler());
 
         this.defaultReplicationType = ReplicationType.fromString(settings.get("action.replication_type", "sync"));
     }
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ public abstract class TransportShardReplicationOperationAction<Request extends S
 
     protected abstract Response shardOperationOnPrimary(ShardOperationRequest shardRequest);
 
-    protected abstract void shardOperationOnBackup(ShardOperationRequest shardRequest);
+    protected abstract void shardOperationOnReplica(ShardOperationRequest shardRequest);
 
     protected abstract ShardsIterator shards(ClusterState clusterState, Request request) throws ElasticSearchException;
 
@@ -109,15 +109,15 @@ public abstract class TransportShardReplicationOperationAction<Request extends S
     }
 
     /**
-     * Should the operations be performed on the backups as well. Defaults to <tt>false</tt> meaning operations
-     * will be executed on the backup.
+     * Should the operations be performed on the replicas as well. Defaults to <tt>false</tt> meaning operations
+     * will be executed on the replica.
      */
-    protected boolean ignoreBackups() {
+    protected boolean ignoreReplicas() {
         return false;
     }
 
-    private String transportBackupAction() {
-        return transportAction() + "/backup";
+    private String transportReplicaAction() {
+        return transportAction() + "/replica";
     }
 
     protected IndexShard indexShard(ShardOperationRequest shardRequest) {
@@ -159,19 +159,19 @@ public abstract class TransportShardReplicationOperationAction<Request extends S
         }
     }
 
-    private class BackupOperationTransportHandler extends BaseTransportRequestHandler<ShardOperationRequest> {
+    private class ReplicaOperationTransportHandler extends BaseTransportRequestHandler<ShardOperationRequest> {
 
         @Override public ShardOperationRequest newInstance() {
             return new ShardOperationRequest();
         }
 
         @Override public void messageReceived(ShardOperationRequest request, TransportChannel channel) throws Exception {
-            shardOperationOnBackup(request);
+            shardOperationOnReplica(request);
             channel.sendResponse(VoidStreamable.INSTANCE);
         }
 
         /**
-         * We spawn, since we want to perform the operation on the backup on a different thread.
+         * We spawn, since we want to perform the operation on the replica on a different thread.
          */
         @Override public boolean spawn() {
             return true;
@@ -356,7 +356,7 @@ public abstract class TransportShardReplicationOperationAction<Request extends S
         private void performOnPrimary(int primaryShardId, boolean fromDiscoveryListener, boolean alreadyThreaded, final ShardRouting shard) {
             try {
                 Response response = shardOperationOnPrimary(new ShardOperationRequest(primaryShardId, request));
-                performBackups(response, alreadyThreaded);
+                performReplicas(response, alreadyThreaded);
             } catch (IndexShardNotStartedException e) {
                 // still in recovery, retry (we know that its not UNASSIGNED OR INITIALIZING since we are checking it in the calling method)
                 retryPrimary(fromDiscoveryListener, shard.shardId());
@@ -368,8 +368,8 @@ public abstract class TransportShardReplicationOperationAction<Request extends S
             }
         }
 
-        private void performBackups(final Response response, boolean alreadyThreaded) {
-            if (ignoreBackups() || shards.size() == 1 /* no backups */) {
+        private void performReplicas(final Response response, boolean alreadyThreaded) {
+            if (ignoreReplicas() || shards.size() == 1 /* no replicas */) {
                 if (alreadyThreaded || !request.listenerThreaded()) {
                     listener.onResponse(response);
                 } else {
@@ -383,7 +383,7 @@ public abstract class TransportShardReplicationOperationAction<Request extends S
             }
 
             // initialize the counter
-            int backupCounter = 0;
+            int replicaCounter = 0;
 
             if (replicationType == ReplicationType.ASYNC) {
                 // async replication, notify the listener
@@ -397,28 +397,37 @@ public abstract class TransportShardReplicationOperationAction<Request extends S
                     });
                 }
                 // now, trick the counter so it won't decrease to 0
-                backupCounter = -100;
+                replicaCounter = -100;
             }
 
             for (final ShardRouting shard : shards.reset()) {
+                // if the shard is primary and relocating, add one to the counter since we perform it on the replica as well
                 if (shard.primary()) {
-                    continue;
-                }
-                backupCounter++;
-                // if we are relocating the backup, we want to perform the index operation on both the relocating
-                // shard and the target shard. This means that we won't loose index operations between end of recovery
-                // and reassignment of the shard by the master node
-                if (shard.relocating()) {
-                    backupCounter++;
+                    if (shard.relocating()) {
+                        replicaCounter++;
+                    }
+                } else {
+                    replicaCounter++;
+                    // if we are relocating the replica, we want to perform the index operation on both the relocating
+                    // shard and the target shard. This means that we won't loose index operations between end of recovery
+                    // and reassignment of the shard by the master node
+                    if (shard.relocating()) {
+                        replicaCounter++;
+                    }
                 }
             }
 
-            AtomicInteger counter = new AtomicInteger(backupCounter);
+            AtomicInteger counter = new AtomicInteger(replicaCounter);
             for (final ShardRouting shard : shards.reset()) {
+                boolean doOnlyOnRelocating = false;
                 if (shard.primary()) {
-                    continue;
+                    if (shard.relocating()) {
+                        doOnlyOnRelocating = true;
+                    } else {
+                        continue;
+                    }
                 }
-                // we index on a backup that is initializing as well since we might not have got the event
+                // we index on a replica that is initializing as well since we might not have got the event
                 // yet that it was started. We will get an exception IllegalShardState exception if its not started
                 // and that's fine, we will ignore it
 
@@ -439,26 +448,28 @@ public abstract class TransportShardReplicationOperationAction<Request extends S
                     }
                     continue;
                 }
-                performOnBackup(response, counter, shard, shard.currentNodeId());
+                if (!doOnlyOnRelocating) {
+                    performOnReplica(response, counter, shard, shard.currentNodeId());
+                }
                 if (shard.relocating()) {
-                    performOnBackup(response, counter, shard, shard.relocatingNodeId());
+                    performOnReplica(response, counter, shard, shard.relocatingNodeId());
                 }
             }
         }
 
-        private void performOnBackup(final Response response, final AtomicInteger counter, final ShardRouting shard, String nodeId) {
+        private void performOnReplica(final Response response, final AtomicInteger counter, final ShardRouting shard, String nodeId) {
             final ShardOperationRequest shardRequest = new ShardOperationRequest(shards.shardId().id(), request);
             if (!nodeId.equals(nodes.localNodeId())) {
                 DiscoveryNode node = nodes.get(nodeId);
-                transportService.sendRequest(node, transportBackupAction(), shardRequest, new VoidTransportResponseHandler() {
+                transportService.sendRequest(node, transportReplicaAction(), shardRequest, new VoidTransportResponseHandler() {
                     @Override public void handleResponse(VoidStreamable vResponse) {
                         finishIfPossible();
                     }
 
                     @Override public void handleException(RemoteTransportException exp) {
-                        if (!ignoreBackupException(exp.unwrapCause())) {
-                            logger.warn("Failed to perform " + transportAction() + " on backup " + shards.shardId(), exp);
-                            shardStateAction.shardFailed(shard, "Failed to perform [" + transportAction() + "] on backup, message [" + detailedMessage(exp) + "]");
+                        if (!ignoreReplicaException(exp.unwrapCause())) {
+                            logger.warn("Failed to perform " + transportAction() + " on replica " + shards.shardId(), exp);
+                            shardStateAction.shardFailed(shard, "Failed to perform [" + transportAction() + "] on replica, message [" + detailedMessage(exp) + "]");
                         }
                         finishIfPossible();
                     }
@@ -488,11 +499,11 @@ public abstract class TransportShardReplicationOperationAction<Request extends S
                     threadPool.execute(new Runnable() {
                         @Override public void run() {
                             try {
-                                shardOperationOnBackup(shardRequest);
+                                shardOperationOnReplica(shardRequest);
                             } catch (Exception e) {
-                                if (!ignoreBackupException(e)) {
-                                    logger.warn("Failed to perform " + transportAction() + " on backup " + shards.shardId(), e);
-                                    shardStateAction.shardFailed(shard, "Failed to perform [" + transportAction() + "] on backup, message [" + detailedMessage(e) + "]");
+                                if (!ignoreReplicaException(e)) {
+                                    logger.warn("Failed to perform " + transportAction() + " on replica " + shards.shardId(), e);
+                                    shardStateAction.shardFailed(shard, "Failed to perform [" + transportAction() + "] on replica, message [" + detailedMessage(e) + "]");
                                 }
                             }
                             if (counter.decrementAndGet() == 0) {
@@ -502,11 +513,11 @@ public abstract class TransportShardReplicationOperationAction<Request extends S
                     });
                 } else {
                     try {
-                        shardOperationOnBackup(shardRequest);
+                        shardOperationOnReplica(shardRequest);
                     } catch (Exception e) {
-                        if (!ignoreBackupException(e)) {
-                            logger.warn("Failed to perform " + transportAction() + " on backup " + shards.shardId(), e);
-                            shardStateAction.shardFailed(shard, "Failed to perform [" + transportAction() + "] on backup, message [" + detailedMessage(e) + "]");
+                        if (!ignoreReplicaException(e)) {
+                            logger.warn("Failed to perform " + transportAction() + " on replica" + shards.shardId(), e);
+                            shardStateAction.shardFailed(shard, "Failed to perform [" + transportAction() + "] on replica, message [" + detailedMessage(e) + "]");
                         }
                     }
                     if (counter.decrementAndGet() == 0) {
@@ -525,7 +536,7 @@ public abstract class TransportShardReplicationOperationAction<Request extends S
         }
 
         /**
-         * Should an exception be ignored when the operation is performed on the backup. The exception
+         * Should an exception be ignored when the operation is performed on the replica. The exception
          * is ignored if it is:
          *
          * <ul>
@@ -533,7 +544,7 @@ public abstract class TransportShardReplicationOperationAction<Request extends S
          * <li><tt>IndexMissingException</tt>/<tt>IndexShardMissingException</tt>: The shard has not yet started to initialize on the target node.
          * </ul>
          */
-        private boolean ignoreBackupException(Throwable e) {
+        private boolean ignoreReplicaException(Throwable e) {
             if (e instanceof IllegalIndexShardStateException) {
                 return true;
             }