diff --git a/infrastructure-playbooks/purge-cluster.yml b/infrastructure-playbooks/purge-cluster.yml
index 70a3893dd..6831a7eda 100644
--- a/infrastructure-playbooks/purge-cluster.yml
+++ b/infrastructure-playbooks/purge-cluster.yml
@@ -31,8 +31,7 @@
          invoking the playbook"
     when: ireallymeanit != 'yes'
 
-
-- name: gather facts and check if using systemd
+- name: gather facts and check init system
 
   vars:
     mon_group_name:       mons
@@ -53,10 +52,9 @@
   become: true
 
   tasks:
-  - name: are we using systemd
-    shell: "if [ -d /usr/lib/systemd ] ; then find /usr/lib/systemd/system -name 'ceph*' | wc -l ; else echo 0 ; fi"
-    register: systemd_unit_files
-
+  - name: detect init system
+    command: ceph-detect-init
+    register: init_system
 
 - name: purge ceph mds cluster
 
@@ -78,33 +76,21 @@
   - include_vars: group_vars/{{ mds_group_name }}.yml
     ignore_errors: true
 
-  - name: stop ceph.target with systemd
-    service:
-      name: ceph.target
-      state: stopped
-      enabled: no
-    when:
-      - ansible_os_family == 'RedHat'
-      - systemd_unit_files.stdout != "0"
-
   - name: stop ceph mdss with systemd
     service:
       name: ceph-mds@{{ ansible_hostname }}
       state: stopped
       enabled: no
-    when:
-      - ansible_os_family == 'RedHat'
-      - systemd_unit_files.stdout != "0"
+    when: init_system.stdout == 'systemd'
 
   - name: stop ceph mdss
     shell: "service ceph status mds ; if [ $? == 0 ] ; then service ceph stop mds ; else echo ; fi"
-    when: ansible_os_family == 'RedHat'
+    when: init_system.stdout == 'sysvinit'
 
-# Ubuntu 14.04
   - name: stop ceph mdss on ubuntu
     command: initctl stop ceph-mds cluster={{ cluster }} id={{ ansible_hostname }}
     failed_when: false
-    when: ansible_distribution == 'Ubuntu'
+    when: init_system.stdout == 'upstart'
 
 
 - name: purge ceph rgw cluster
@@ -127,33 +113,21 @@
   - include_vars: group_vars/{{ rgw_group_name }}.yml
     ignore_errors: true
 
-  - name: stop ceph.target with systemd
-    service:
-      name: ceph.target
-      state: stopped
-      enabled: no
-    when:
-      - ansible_os_family == 'RedHat'
-      - systemd_unit_files.stdout != "0"
-
   - name: stop ceph rgws with systemd
     service:
       name: ceph-radosgw@rgw.{{ ansible_hostname }}
       state: stopped
       enabled: no
-    when:
-      - ansible_os_family == 'RedHat'
-      - systemd_unit_files.stdout != "0"
+    when: init_system.stdout == 'systemd'
 
   - name: stop ceph rgws
     shell: "service ceph-radosgw status ; if [ $? == 0 ] ; then service ceph-radosgw stop ; else echo ; fi"
-    when: ansible_os_family == 'RedHat'
+    when: init_system.stdout == 'sysvinit'
 
-# Ubuntu 14.04
   - name: stop ceph rgws on ubuntu
     command: initctl stop radosgw cluster={{ cluster }} id={{ ansible_hostname }}
     failed_when: false
-    when: ansible_distribution == 'Ubuntu'
+    when: init_system.stdout == 'upstart'
 
 
 - name: purge ceph rbd-mirror cluster
@@ -176,28 +150,16 @@
   - include_vars: group_vars/{{ rbdmirror_group_name }}.yml
     ignore_errors: true
 
-  - name: stop ceph.target with systemd
-    service:
-      name: ceph.target
-      state: stopped
-      enabled: no
-    when:
-      - ansible_os_family == 'RedHat'
-      - systemd_unit_files.stdout != "0"
-
   - name: stop ceph rbd mirror with systemd
     service:
       name: ceph-rbd-mirror@admin.service
       state: stopped
-    when:
-      - ansible_os_family == 'RedHat'
-      - systemd_unit_files.stdout != "0"
+    when: init_system.stdout == 'systemd'
 
-# Ubuntu 14.04
   - name: stop ceph rbd mirror on ubuntu
     command: initctl stop ceph-rbd-mirror cluster={{ cluster }} id=admin
     failed_when: false
-    when: ansible_distribution == 'Ubuntu'
+    when: init_system.stdout == 'upstart'
 
 
 - name: purge ceph nfs cluster
@@ -220,32 +182,20 @@
   - include_vars: group_vars/{{ nfs_group_name }}.yml
     ignore_errors: true
 
-  - name: stop ceph.target with systemd
-    service:
-      name: ceph.target
-      state: stopped
-      enabled: no
-    when:
-      - ansible_os_family == 'RedHat'
-      - systemd_unit_files.stdout != "0"
-
   - name: stop ceph nfss with systemd
     service:
       name: nfs-ganesha
       state: stopped
-    when:
-      - ansible_os_family == 'RedHat'
-      - systemd_unit_files.stdout != "0"
+    when: init_system.stdout == 'systemd'
 
   - name: stop ceph nfss
     shell: "service nfs-ganesha status ; if [ $? == 0 ] ; then service nfs-ganesha stop ; else echo ; fi"
-    when: ansible_os_family == 'RedHat'
+    when: init_system.stdout == 'sysvinit'
 
-# Ubuntu 14.04
   - name: stop ceph nfss on ubuntu
     command: initctl stop nfs-ganesha
     failed_when: false
-    when: ansible_distribution == 'Ubuntu'
+    when: init_system.stdout == 'upstart'
 
 
 - name: purge ceph osd cluster
@@ -294,41 +244,29 @@
     register: osd_ids
     changed_when: false
 
-  - name: stop ceph.target with systemd
-    service:
-      name: ceph.target
-      state: stopped
-      enabled: no
-    when:
-      - ansible_os_family == 'RedHat'
-      - systemd_unit_files.stdout != "0"
-
   - name: stop ceph-osd with systemd
     service:
       name: ceph-osd@{{item}}
       state: stopped
       enabled: no
     with_items: "{{ osd_ids.stdout_lines }}"
-    when:
-      - ansible_os_family == 'RedHat'
-      - systemd_unit_files.stdout != "0"
+    when: init_system.stdout == 'systemd'
 
-# before infernalis release, using sysvinit scripts
-# we use this test so we do not have to know which RPM contains the boot script
-# or where it is placed.
+  # before infernalis release, using sysvinit scripts
+  # we use this test so we do not have to know which RPM contains the boot script
+  # or where it is placed.
 
   - name: stop ceph osds
     shell: "service ceph status osd ; if [ $? == 0 ] ; then service ceph stop osd ; else echo ; fi"
-    when: ansible_os_family == 'RedHat'
+    when: init_system.stdout == 'sysvinit'
 
-# Ubuntu 14.04
   - name: stop ceph osds on ubuntu
     shell: |
       for id in $(ls /var/lib/ceph/osd/ |grep -oh '[0-9]*'); do
         initctl stop ceph-osd cluster={{ cluster }} id=$id
       done
     failed_when: false
-    when: ansible_distribution == 'Ubuntu'
+    when: init_system.stdout == 'upstart'
     with_items: "{{ osd_ids.stdout_lines }}"
 
   - name: see if ceph-disk-created data partitions are present
@@ -436,7 +374,7 @@
       raw_device=$(echo "{{ item }}" | egrep -o '/dev/([hsv]d[a-z]{1,2}|cciss/c[0-9]d[0-9]p|nvme[0-9]n[0-9]p){1,2}')
       partition_nb=$(echo "{{ item }}" | egrep -o '[0-9]{1,2}$')
       sgdisk --delete $partition_nb $raw_device
-    with_items: "{{ ceph_journal_partition_to_erase_path.stdout_lines }}"
+    with_items: "{{ ceph_journal_partition_to_erase_path.stdout_lines | default([]) }}"
     when:
       - ceph_journal_partlabels.rc == 0
       - raw_multi_journal is defined
@@ -467,32 +405,21 @@
   - include_vars: group_vars/{{ restapi_group_name }}.yml
     ignore_errors: true
 
-  - name: stop ceph.target with systemd
-    service:
-      name: ceph.target
-      state: stopped
-      enabled: no
-    when:
-      - ansible_os_family == 'RedHat'
-      - systemd_unit_files.stdout != "0"
-
   - name: stop ceph mons with systemd
     service:
       name: ceph-mon@{{ ansible_hostname }}
       state: stopped
       enabled: no
-    when:
-      - ansible_os_family == 'RedHat'
-      - systemd_unit_files.stdout != "0"
+    when: init_system.stdout == 'systemd'
 
   - name: stop ceph mons
     shell: "service ceph status mon ; if [ $? == 0 ] ; then service ceph stop mon ; else echo ; fi"
-    when: ansible_os_family == 'RedHat'
+    when: init_system.stdout == 'sysvinit'
 
   - name: stop ceph mons on ubuntu
     command: initctl stop ceph-mon cluster={{ cluster }} id={{ ansible_hostname }}
     failed_when: false
-    when: ansible_distribution == 'Ubuntu'
+    when: init_system.stdout == 'upstart'
 
   - name: remove monitor store and bootstrap keys
     file:
@@ -509,8 +436,8 @@
     rbdmirror_group_name: rbd-mirrors
     nfs_group_name:       nfss
 
-# When set to true both groups of packages are purged.
-# This can cause problem with qemu-kvm
+    # When set to true both groups of packages are purged.
+    # This can cause problem with qemu-kvm
     purge_all_packages: true
 
     ceph_packages:
@@ -551,6 +478,14 @@
      state: absent
 
   tasks:
+
+  - name: stop ceph.target with systemd
+    service:
+      name: ceph.target
+      state: stopped
+      enabled: no
+    when: ansible_service_mgr == 'systemd'
+
   - name: check for anything running ceph
     shell: "ps awux | grep -- /usr/bin/[c]eph-"
     register: check_for_running_ceph
@@ -614,16 +549,17 @@
      path: /var/log/ceph
      state: absent
 
-  - name: remove from SysV
+  - name: remove from sysv
     shell: "update-rc.d -f ceph remove"
-    when: ansible_distribution == 'Ubuntu'
+    when: init_system.stdout == 'sysvinit'
 
-  - name: remove Upstart and SysV files
+  - name: remove upstart and sysv files
     shell: "find /etc -name '*ceph*' -delete"
-    when: ansible_distribution == 'Ubuntu'
+    when: init_system.stdout == 'upstart'
 
-  - name: remove Upstart and apt logs and cache
+  - name: remove upstart and apt logs and cache
     shell: "find /var -name '*ceph*' -delete"
+    failed_when: false
     when: ansible_distribution == 'Ubuntu'
 
   - name: request data removal
@@ -636,7 +572,7 @@
     command: dnf clean all
     when: ansible_pkg_mgr == 'dnf'
 
-  - name: purge RPM cache in /tmp
+  - name: purge rpm cache in /tmp
     file:
       path: /tmp/rh-storage-repo
       state: absent
diff --git a/roles/ceph-common/tasks/create_ceph_initial_dirs.yml b/roles/ceph-common/tasks/create_ceph_initial_dirs.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..49db42d43
--- /dev/null
+++ b/roles/ceph-common/tasks/create_ceph_initial_dirs.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+---
+- name: create ceph initial directories
+  file:
+    path: "{{ item }}"
+    state: directory
+    owner: ceph
+    group: ceph
+    mode: 0755
+  with_items:
+    - /etc/ceph
+    - /var/lib/ceph/
+    - /var/lib/ceph/mon
+    - /var/lib/ceph/osd
+    - /var/lib/ceph/mds
+    - /var/lib/ceph/tmp
+    - /var/lib/ceph/radosgw
+    - /var/lib/ceph/bootstrap-rgw
+    - /var/lib/ceph/bootstrap-mds
+    - /var/lib/ceph/bootstrap-osd
diff --git a/roles/ceph-common/tasks/installs/install_on_debian.yml b/roles/ceph-common/tasks/installs/install_on_debian.yml
index a1e5f7c48..0f8648216 100644
--- a/roles/ceph-common/tasks/installs/install_on_debian.yml
+++ b/roles/ceph-common/tasks/installs/install_on_debian.yml
@@ -11,10 +11,14 @@
   include: debian_ceph_repository.yml
   when: ceph_origin == 'upstream'
 
+- name: update apt cache
+  apt:
+    update_cache: yes
+
 - name: install ceph
   apt:
     name: "{{ item }}"
-    update_cache: yes
+    update_cache: no
     state: "{{ (upgrade_ceph_packages|bool) | ternary('latest','present') }}"
     default_release: "{{ ceph_stable_release_uca | default(ansible_distribution_release) }}{{ '-backports' if ceph_origin == 'distro' and ceph_use_distro_backports else ''}}"
   with_items: "{{ debian_ceph_packages }}"
diff --git a/roles/ceph-common/tasks/main.yml b/roles/ceph-common/tasks/main.yml
index e0e388f59..217d48757 100644
--- a/roles/ceph-common/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/ceph-common/tasks/main.yml
@@ -88,6 +88,7 @@
 
 - include: facts.yml
 - include: ./checks/check_socket.yml
+- include: create_ceph_initial_dirs.yml
 - include: generate_cluster_fsid.yml
 - include: generate_ceph_conf.yml
 - include: create_rbd_client_dir.yml
diff --git a/roles/ceph-osd/tasks/pre_requisite.yml b/roles/ceph-osd/tasks/pre_requisite.yml
index be960b293..d57c00f15 100644
--- a/roles/ceph-osd/tasks/pre_requisite.yml
+++ b/roles/ceph-osd/tasks/pre_requisite.yml
@@ -12,15 +12,17 @@
     name: parted
     state: present
 
-- name: create bootstrap-osd directory
+- name: create bootstrap-osd and osd directories
   file:
-    path: /var/lib/ceph/bootstrap-osd/
+    path: "{{ item }}"
     state: directory
     owner: "{{ dir_owner }}"
     group: "{{ dir_group }}"
     mode: "{{ dir_mode }}"
-  when:
-    cephx
+  when: cephx
+  with_items:
+    - /var/lib/ceph/bootstrap-osd/
+    - /var/lib/ceph/osd/
 
 - name: copy ceph admin key when using dmcrypt
   set_fact:
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index 30fb7a4a1..c4a2cbec1 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ skipsdist = True
 commands=
   cp {toxinidir}/infrastructure-playbooks/purge-cluster.yml {toxinidir}/purge-cluster.yml
   ansible-playbook -vv -i {changedir}/hosts {toxinidir}/purge-cluster.yml --extra-vars="ireallymeanit=yes fetch_directory={changedir}/fetch"
+  ansible all -i {changedir}/hosts -m shell -a "lsb_release -a; cat /etc/apt/sources.list || true"
   # set up the cluster again
   ansible-playbook -vv -i {changedir}/hosts {toxinidir}/site.yml.sample --extra-vars="fetch_directory={changedir}/fetch"
   # test that the cluster can be redeployed in a healthy state