diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 9a4bed585..bcd0ff760 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ before_script:
   - ./etcd-v2.3.1-linux-amd64/etcd &
   # If docker is available, pull the kubernetes hyperkube image down and launch kubernetes.
   - if which docker &>/dev/null ; then docker pull gcr.io/google_containers/hyperkube-amd64:v1.2.4 ; docker ps -a ; fi
-  - if which docker &>/dev/null ; then ./middleware/kubernetes/test/00_run_k8s.sh && ./middleware/kubernetes/test/10_setup_kubectl.sh && ./middleware/kubernetes/test/20_setup_k8s_services.sh ; docker ps -a ; fi
+  - if which docker &>/dev/null ; then ./contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/start_k8s_with_services.sh ; docker ps -a ; fi
   # Get golang dependencies, and build coredns binary
   - go get -v -d
   - go get github.com/coreos/go-etcd/etcd
@@ -45,4 +45,4 @@ before_script:
 script:
   - go test -tags etcd -race -bench=. ./...
   # Run kubernetes integration tests only if kubectl is available. i.e. If kubernetes was launched
-  - ./middleware/kubernetes/test/kubectl version && go test -tags k8s -race -bench=. -run 'TestK8sIntegration' ./test
+  - ./contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/kubectl version && go test -tags k8s -race -bench=. -run 'TestK8sIntegration' ./test
diff --git a/middleware/kubernetes/test/00_run_k8s.sh b/contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/00_run_k8s.sh
similarity index 96%
rename from middleware/kubernetes/test/00_run_k8s.sh
rename to contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/00_run_k8s.sh
index 1d1eb338c..ef98a8eed 100755
--- a/middleware/kubernetes/test/00_run_k8s.sh
+++ b/contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/00_run_k8s.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
+set -e
+
 # Based on instructions at: http://kubernetes.io/docs/getting-started-guides/docker/
 
 #K8S_VERSION=$(curl -sS https://storage.googleapis.com/kubernetes-release/release/latest.txt)
@@ -19,6 +21,8 @@ else
 	DNS_ARGUMENTS=""
 fi
 
+echo "Starting kubernetes..."
+
 docker run -d \
     --volume=/:/rootfs:ro \
     --volume=/sys:/sys:ro \
diff --git a/middleware/kubernetes/test/10_setup_kubectl.sh b/contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/10_setup_kubectl.sh
similarity index 92%
rename from middleware/kubernetes/test/10_setup_kubectl.sh
rename to contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/10_setup_kubectl.sh
index c3658e2bb..17786715f 100755
--- a/middleware/kubernetes/test/10_setup_kubectl.sh
+++ b/contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/10_setup_kubectl.sh
@@ -1,9 +1,14 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
+set -e
+
 PWD=`pwd`
 BASEDIR=`readlink -e $(dirname ${0})`
 
 cd ${BASEDIR}
+
+echo "Setting up kubectl..."
+
 if [ ! -e kubectl ]; then
 	curl -O http://storage.googleapis.com/kubernetes-release/release/v1.2.4/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl
 	chmod u+x kubectl
diff --git a/middleware/kubernetes/test/15_run_skydns.sh b/contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/15_run_skydns.sh
similarity index 100%
rename from middleware/kubernetes/test/15_run_skydns.sh
rename to contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/15_run_skydns.sh
diff --git a/middleware/kubernetes/test/20_setup_k8s_services.sh b/contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/20_setup_k8s_services.sh
similarity index 70%
rename from middleware/kubernetes/test/20_setup_k8s_services.sh
rename to contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/20_setup_k8s_services.sh
index 1eb993543..b2f45008d 100755
--- a/middleware/kubernetes/test/20_setup_k8s_services.sh
+++ b/contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/20_setup_k8s_services.sh
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@ create_namespaces() {
 
 # run_and_expose_service <servicename> <namespace> <image> <port>
 run_and_expose_service() {
-
     if [ "${#}" != "4" ]; then
         return -1
     fi
@@ -49,7 +48,7 @@ run_and_expose_service() {
     image="${3}"
     port="${4}"
 
-    echo "   starting service '${service}' in namespace '${namespace}"
+    echo "   starting service '${service}' in namespace '${namespace}'"
 
     ${KUBECTL} get deployment --namespace=${namespace} --no-headers 2>/dev/null | grep -q ${service}
     if [ "${?}" != "0" ]; then
@@ -67,6 +66,29 @@ run_and_expose_service() {
 }
 
 
+#run_and_expose_rc nginx-controller nginx-rc.yml poddemo 80
+run_and_expose_rc() {
+    if [ "${#}" != "4" ]; then
+        return -1
+    fi
+
+	rc_name="${1}"
+    rc_file="${2}"
+    namespace="${3}"
+    port="${4}"
+
+    echo "   starting replication controller '${rc_name}' from '${rc_file}' in namespace '${namespace}'"
+
+    ${KUBECTL} get rc --namespace=${namespace} --no-headers 2>/dev/null | grep -q ${rc_name}
+    if [ "${?}" != "0" ]; then
+        ${KUBECTL} expose -f ${rc_file} --namespace=${namespace} --port=${port}
+    else
+        echo "warn: rc '${rc_name}' already running in namespace '${namespace}'"
+    fi
+}
+
+echo "Starting sample kubernetes services..."
+
 wait_until_k8s_ready
 
 NAMESPACES="demo poddemo test"
@@ -84,4 +106,14 @@ echo ""
 echo "Services exposed:"
 ${KUBECTL} get services --all-namespaces
 
+echo ""
+echo "Starting replicationcontrollers:"
+
+run_and_expose_rc nginx-controller nginx-rc.yml poddemo 80
+
+echo ""
+echo "ReplicationControllers exposed:"
+${KUBECTL} get rc --all-namespaces
+
+
 cd ${PWD}
diff --git a/middleware/kubernetes/test/README.md b/contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/README.md
similarity index 68%
rename from middleware/kubernetes/test/README.md
rename to contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/README.md
index eea1bf7d3..9642b42a8 100644
--- a/middleware/kubernetes/test/README.md
+++ b/contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/README.md
@@ -6,9 +6,17 @@ Requirements:
 
 The scripts in this directory startup kubernetes with docker as the container runtime.
 After starting kubernetes, a couple of kubernetes services are started to allow automatic
-testing of CoreDNS with kubernetes.
+testing of CoreDNS with kubernetes. The kubernetes integration tests in `test/kubernetes_test.go` depend on having some sample services running. The scripts in this folder
+automate the launch of kubernetes and the creation of the expected sample services.
 
-To use, run the scripts as:
+To start up kubernetes and launch some sample services,
+run the script `start_k8s_with_services.sh`.
+
+~~~
+$ ./start_k8s_with_services.sh
+~~~
+
+Alternatively, the individual scripts may be run independently as needed:
 
 ~~~
 $ ./00_run_k8s.sh && ./10_setup_kubectl.sh && ./20_setup_k8s_services.sh
diff --git a/middleware/kubernetes/test/kill_all_containers.sh b/contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/kill_all_containers.sh
similarity index 100%
rename from middleware/kubernetes/test/kill_all_containers.sh
rename to contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/kill_all_containers.sh
diff --git a/contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/nginx-rc.yml b/contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/nginx-rc.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4597de409
--- /dev/null
+++ b/contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/nginx-rc.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: ReplicationController
+metadata:
+  name: nginx-controller
+  namespace: poddemo
+spec:
+  replicas: 2
+  selector:
+    role: load-balancer
+  template:
+    metadata:
+      labels:
+        role: load-balancer
+    spec:
+      containers:
+        - name: nginx
+          image: coreos/nginx
+          ports:
+            - containerPort: 80
diff --git a/contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/start_k8s_with_services.sh b/contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/start_k8s_with_services.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..40db49715
--- /dev/null
+++ b/contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/start_k8s_with_services.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+PWD=`pwd`
+BASEDIR=`readlink -e $(dirname ${0})`
+
+cd ${BASEDIR}
+
+./00_run_k8s.sh && \
+./10_setup_kubectl.sh && \
+./20_setup_k8s_services.sh
+
+cd ${PWD}
diff --git a/middleware/kubernetes/README.md b/middleware/kubernetes/README.md
index 024e448db..7301506bf 100644
--- a/middleware/kubernetes/README.md
+++ b/middleware/kubernetes/README.md
@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@
 `kubernetes` enables reading zone data from a kubernetes cluster. Record names
 are constructed as "myservice.mynamespace.coredns.local" where:
 
-* "myservice" is the name of the k8s service (this may include multiple DNS labels, such as "c1.myservice"),
+* "myservice" is the name of the k8s service (this may include multiple DNS labels, 
+  such as "c1.myservice"),
 * "mynamespace" is the k8s namespace for the service, and
 * "coredns.local" is the zone configured for `kubernetes`.
 
@@ -50,7 +51,7 @@ This is the default kubernetes setup, with everything specified in full:
         # API documentation: http://kubernetes.io/docs/user-guide/labels/
         # Example selector below only exposes objects tagged as
         # "application=nginx" in the staging or qa environments.
-        #labels environment in (staging, qa),application=nginx
+        labels environment in (staging, qa),application=nginx
     }
     # Perform DNS response caching for the coredns.local zone
     # Cache timeout is provided by the integer in seconds
@@ -66,46 +67,20 @@ Defaults:
   is required. The label selector syntax is described in the kubernetes API documentation at: 
   http://kubernetes.io/docs/user-guide/labels/
 
+### Template syntax
+Record name templates can be constructed using the symbolic elements:
+| template symbol | description                                                         |
+| `{service}`     | Kubernetes object/service name.                                     |
+| `{namespace}`   | The kubernetes namespace.                                           |
+| `{type}`        | The type of the kubernetes object. Supports values 'svc' and 'pod'. |
+| `{zone}`        | The zone configured for the kubernetes middleware.                  |
+
 ### Basic Setup
 
 #### Launch Kubernetes
 
-Kubernetes is launched using the commands in the following `run_k8s.sh` script:
+Kubernetes is launched using the commands in the `contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/00_run_k8s.sh` script.
 
-~~~
-#!/bin/bash
-
-# Based on instructions at: http://kubernetes.io/docs/getting-started-guides/docker/
-
-#K8S_VERSION=$(curl -sS https://storage.googleapis.com/kubernetes-release/release/latest.txt)
-K8S_VERSION="v1.2.4"
-
-ARCH="amd64"
-
-export K8S_VERSION
-export ARCH
-
-#DNS_ARGUMENTS="--cluster-dns=10.0.0.10 --cluster-domain=cluster.local"
-DNS_ARGUMENTS=""
-
-docker run -d \
-    --volume=/:/rootfs:ro \
-    --volume=/sys:/sys:ro \
-    --volume=/var/lib/docker/:/var/lib/docker:rw \
-    --volume=/var/lib/kubelet/:/var/lib/kubelet:rw \
-    --volume=/var/run:/var/run:rw \
-    --net=host \
-    --pid=host \
-    --privileged \
-    gcr.io/google_containers/hyperkube-${ARCH}:${K8S_VERSION} \
-    /hyperkube kubelet \
-    --containerized \
-    --hostname-override=127.0.0.1 \
-    --api-servers=http://localhost:8080 \
-    --config=/etc/kubernetes/manifests \
-    ${DNS_ARGUMENTS} \
-    --allow-privileged --v=2
-~~~
 
 #### Configure kubectl and test
 
@@ -115,31 +90,8 @@ The kubernetes control client can be downloaded from the generic URL:
 For example, the kubectl client for Linux can be downloaded using the command:
 `curl -sSL "http://storage.googleapis.com/kubernetes-release/release/v1.2.4/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl"`
 
-The following `setup_kubectl.sh` script can be stored in the same directory as 
-kubectl to setup
-kubectl to communicate with kubernetes running on the localhost:
-
-~~~
-#!/bin/bash
-
-BASEDIR=`readlink -e $(dirname ${0})`
-
-${BASEDIR}/kubectl config set-cluster test-doc --server=http://localhost:8080
-${BASEDIR}/kubectl config set-context test-doc --cluster=test-doc
-${BASEDIR}/kubectl config use-context test-doc
-
-alias kubctl="${BASEDIR}/kubectl"
-~~~
-
-
-Verify that kubectl is working by querying for the kubernetes namespaces:
-
-~~~
-$ ./kubectl get namespaces
-NAME      STATUS    AGE
-default   Active    8d
-test      Active    7d
-~~~
+The `contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/10_setup_kubectl.sh` script can be stored in the same directory as 
+kubectl to setup kubectl to communicate with kubernetes running on the localhost.
 
 
 #### Launch a kubernetes service and expose the service
@@ -158,6 +110,10 @@ $ ./kubectl expose deployment mynginx --namespace=demo --port=80
 $ ./kubectl get service --namespace=demo
 ~~~
 
+The script `contrib/kubernetes/testscripts/20_setup_k8s_services.sh` creates a couple of sample namespaces
+with services running in those namespaces. The automated kubernetes integration tests in 
+`test/kubernetes_test.go` depend on these services and namespaces to exist in kubernetes.
+
 
 #### Launch CoreDNS
 
diff --git a/middleware/kubernetes/kubernetes.go b/middleware/kubernetes/kubernetes.go
index 4fa1e494b..5e2a1bf53 100644
--- a/middleware/kubernetes/kubernetes.go
+++ b/middleware/kubernetes/kubernetes.go
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ func (g *Kubernetes) StartKubeCache() error {
 		return err
 	}
 	if g.LabelSelector == nil {
-		log.Printf("[INFO] Kubernetes middleware configured without a label selector. No label-based filtering will be operformed.")
+		log.Printf("[INFO] Kubernetes middleware configured without a label selector. No label-based filtering will be performed.")
 	} else {
         var selector labels.Selector
 		selector, err = unversionedapi.LabelSelectorAsSelector(g.LabelSelector)