diff --git a/config/alfresco/bootstrap-context.xml b/config/alfresco/bootstrap-context.xml
index 994d4335c4..dee06f97c3 100644
--- a/config/alfresco/bootstrap-context.xml
+++ b/config/alfresco/bootstrap-context.xml
@@ -182,6 +182,11 @@
     <bean id="messengerFactory"
         class="org.alfresco.repo.cluster.JGroupsMessengerFactory"
         depends-on="jgroupsChannelFactory"/>
+    
+    <!-- Set up this class for static access, don't use this for DI - use messengerFactory instead -->
+    <bean id="staticMessengerFactoryProvider" class="org.alfresco.repo.cluster.MessengerFactoryProvider">    
+        <property name="instance" ref="messengerFactory"/>
+    </bean>
 
     <bean id="encryptionChecker" class="org.alfresco.encryption.EncryptionChecker">
        <property name="transactionService" ref="transactionService"/>
diff --git a/config/alfresco/cache-context.xml b/config/alfresco/cache-context.xml
index 227ed1a573..36331fc2da 100644
--- a/config/alfresco/cache-context.xml
+++ b/config/alfresco/cache-context.xml
@@ -13,7 +13,8 @@
    <!-- EH Cache Manager to produce shared EH Caches -->
    <!-- ============================================ -->
    
-   <bean name="internalEHCacheManager" class="org.alfresco.repo.cache.InternalEhCacheManagerFactoryBean" depends-on="clusterPropertySetter" />
+   <bean name="internalEHCacheManager" class="org.alfresco.repo.cache.InternalEhCacheManagerFactoryBean"
+        depends-on="staticMessengerFactoryProvider,clusterPropertySetter" />
    
    
    <!-- ===================================== -->
diff --git a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/ClusterTestSuite.java b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/ClusterTestSuite.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..22f92113d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/ClusterTestSuite.java
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2005-2012 Alfresco Software Limited.
+ *
+ * This file is part of Alfresco
+ *
+ * Alfresco is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+ * (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * Alfresco is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
+ * along with Alfresco. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+package org.alfresco.repo.cluster;
+
+import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
+import org.junit.runners.Suite;
+import org.junit.runners.Suite.SuiteClasses;
+
+/**
+ * Test suite for the org.alfresco.repo.cluster package.
+ * 
+ * @author Matt Ward
+ */
+@RunWith(Suite.class)
+@SuiteClasses({
+    org.alfresco.repo.cluster.HazelcastMessengerFactoryTest.class,
+    org.alfresco.repo.cluster.HazelcastMessengerTest.class,
+    org.alfresco.repo.cluster.HazelcastTest.class,
+    org.alfresco.repo.cluster.JGroupsMessengerTest.class,
+    org.alfresco.repo.cluster.JGroupsTest.class
+})
+public class ClusterTestSuite
+{
+}
diff --git a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/HazelcastMessenger.java b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/HazelcastMessenger.java
index 718bc71222..bfedc4b576 100644
--- a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/HazelcastMessenger.java
+++ b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/HazelcastMessenger.java
@@ -36,14 +36,15 @@ public class HazelcastMessenger<T extends Serializable> implements Messenger<T>,
 {
     private ITopic<T> topic;
     private MessageReceiver<T> receiverDelegate;
-    
+    private String address;
     
     /**
      * @param topic
      */
-    public HazelcastMessenger(ITopic<T> topic)
+    public HazelcastMessenger(ITopic<T> topic, String address)
     {
         this.topic = topic;
+        this.address = address;
     }
 
 
@@ -79,4 +80,11 @@ public class HazelcastMessenger<T extends Serializable> implements Messenger<T>,
     {
         return topic;
     }
+
+
+    @Override
+    public String getAddress()
+    {
+        return address;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/HazelcastMessengerFactory.java b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/HazelcastMessengerFactory.java
index cf86143e55..91be5a9290 100644
--- a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/HazelcastMessengerFactory.java
+++ b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/HazelcastMessengerFactory.java
@@ -21,6 +21,10 @@ package org.alfresco.repo.cluster;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
+import org.springframework.util.StringUtils;
+
+import com.hazelcast.config.Config;
+import com.hazelcast.config.GroupConfig;
 import com.hazelcast.core.HazelcastInstance;
 import com.hazelcast.core.ITopic;
 
@@ -39,7 +43,8 @@ public class HazelcastMessengerFactory implements MessengerFactory
     public <T extends Serializable> Messenger<T> createMessenger(String appRegion)
     {
         ITopic<T> topic = hazelcast.getTopic(appRegion);
-        return new HazelcastMessenger<T>(topic);
+        String address = hazelcast.getCluster().getLocalMember().getInetSocketAddress().toString();
+        return new HazelcastMessenger<T>(topic, address);
     }
     
     /**
@@ -49,4 +54,16 @@ public class HazelcastMessengerFactory implements MessengerFactory
     {
         this.hazelcast = hazelcast;
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean isClusterActive()
+    {
+        Config config = hazelcast.getConfig();
+        if (config == null || config.getGroupConfig() == null)
+        {
+            return false;
+        }
+        GroupConfig groupConfig = config.getGroupConfig();
+        return StringUtils.hasText(groupConfig.getName());
+    }
 }
diff --git a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/HazelcastMessengerFactoryTest.java b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/HazelcastMessengerFactoryTest.java
index 8a9c18309d..037a7b9461 100644
--- a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/HazelcastMessengerFactoryTest.java
+++ b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/HazelcastMessengerFactoryTest.java
@@ -19,17 +19,24 @@
 
 package org.alfresco.repo.cluster;
 
+import static org.junit.Assert.*;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertSame;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
 
+import java.net.InetSocketAddress;
+
 import org.junit.Before;
 import org.junit.Test;
 import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
 import org.mockito.Mock;
 import org.mockito.runners.MockitoJUnitRunner;
 
+import com.hazelcast.config.Config;
+import com.hazelcast.config.GroupConfig;
+import com.hazelcast.core.Cluster;
 import com.hazelcast.core.HazelcastInstance;
 import com.hazelcast.core.ITopic;
+import com.hazelcast.core.Member;
 
 
 /**
@@ -41,23 +48,45 @@ import com.hazelcast.core.ITopic;
 public class HazelcastMessengerFactoryTest
 {
     private HazelcastMessengerFactory factory;
+    private GroupConfig groupConfig;
     private @Mock HazelcastInstance hazelcast;
+    private @Mock Member member;
+    private @Mock Cluster cluster;
     private @Mock ITopic<String> topic;
+    private @Mock Config config;
     
     @Before
     public void setUp()
     {
         factory = new HazelcastMessengerFactory();
         factory.setHazelcast(hazelcast);
+        groupConfig = new GroupConfig();
     }
     
     @Test
     public void topicWrappedInMessenger()
     {
         when(hazelcast.<String>getTopic("app-region")).thenReturn(topic);
+        when(hazelcast.getCluster()).thenReturn(cluster);
+        when(cluster.getLocalMember()).thenReturn(member);
+        when(member.getInetSocketAddress()).thenReturn(InetSocketAddress.createUnresolved("a-host-name", 1234));
         
         Messenger<String> messenger = factory.createMessenger("app-region");
         
         assertSame(topic, ((HazelcastMessenger<String>) messenger).getTopic());
+        assertEquals("a-host-name:1234", messenger.getAddress());
+    }
+    
+    @Test
+    public void canCheckClusterIsActive()
+    {
+        when(hazelcast.getConfig()).thenReturn(config);
+        when(config.getGroupConfig()).thenReturn(groupConfig);
+        
+        groupConfig.setName("my-cluster-name");
+        assertEquals(true, factory.isClusterActive());
+        
+        groupConfig.setName("");
+        assertEquals(false, factory.isClusterActive());        
     }
 }
diff --git a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/HazelcastMessengerTest.java b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/HazelcastMessengerTest.java
index 625009211e..5ef3fd1ca3 100644
--- a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/HazelcastMessengerTest.java
+++ b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/HazelcastMessengerTest.java
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ public class HazelcastMessengerTest
     @Before
     public void setUp()
     {
-        messenger = new HazelcastMessenger<String>(topic);
+        messenger = new HazelcastMessenger<String>(topic, "address");
         receivedMsg = null;
     }
     
diff --git a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/HazelcastTest.java b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/HazelcastTest.java
index 4815c7d0be..f8ed604887 100644
--- a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/HazelcastTest.java
+++ b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/HazelcastTest.java
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ public class HazelcastTest implements MessageListener<String>
     public static void tearDownClass()
     {
         ApplicationContextHelper.closeApplicationContext();
+        Hazelcast.shutdownAll();
     }
     
     @Before
diff --git a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/JGroupsMessenger.java b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/JGroupsMessenger.java
index f96604ee39..1178902565 100644
--- a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/JGroupsMessenger.java
+++ b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/JGroupsMessenger.java
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ import java.io.ObjectOutput;
 import java.io.ObjectOutputStream;
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
+import org.apache.commons.logging.Log;
+import org.apache.commons.logging.LogFactory;
 import org.jgroups.Channel;
 import org.jgroups.Message;
 import org.jgroups.ReceiverAdapter;
@@ -41,7 +43,7 @@ public class JGroupsMessenger<T extends Serializable> extends ReceiverAdapter im
 {
     private final Channel channel;
     private MessageReceiver<T> receiverDelegate;
-    
+    private final static Log logger = LogFactory.getLog(JGroupsMessenger.class);
     
     /**
      * Construct a messenger that wraps a JGroups Channel.
@@ -66,6 +68,10 @@ public class JGroupsMessenger<T extends Serializable> extends ReceiverAdapter im
             out.writeObject(message);
             out.close();
             bytes.close();
+            if (logger.isTraceEnabled())
+            {
+                logger.trace("Sending " + message);
+            }
             channel.send(null, null, bytes.toByteArray());
         }
         catch (Throwable e)
@@ -105,6 +111,10 @@ public class JGroupsMessenger<T extends Serializable> extends ReceiverAdapter im
             T payload = (T) in.readObject();
             in.close();
             bytes.close();
+            if (logger.isTraceEnabled())
+            {
+                logger.trace("Received (will be delegated to receiver): " + payload);
+            }
             // Pass the deserialized payload on to the receiver delegate
             receiverDelegate.onReceive(payload);
         }
@@ -124,4 +134,11 @@ public class JGroupsMessenger<T extends Serializable> extends ReceiverAdapter im
     {
         return channel.isConnected();
     }
+
+
+    @Override
+    public String getAddress()
+    {
+        return channel.getAddress().toString();
+    }
 }
diff --git a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/JGroupsMessengerFactory.java b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/JGroupsMessengerFactory.java
index 083c33810b..3e8d49e86d 100644
--- a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/JGroupsMessengerFactory.java
+++ b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/JGroupsMessengerFactory.java
@@ -38,5 +38,11 @@ public class JGroupsMessengerFactory implements MessengerFactory
         ParameterCheck.mandatory("appRegion", appRegion);
         Channel channel = AlfrescoJGroupsChannelFactory.getChannel(appRegion);
         return new JGroupsMessenger<T>(channel);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean isClusterActive()
+    {
+        return AlfrescoJGroupsChannelFactory.isClusterActive();
     }    
 }
diff --git a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/JGroupsMessengerTest.java b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/JGroupsMessengerTest.java
index 5d0c4e324c..413c01e76a 100644
--- a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/JGroupsMessengerTest.java
+++ b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/JGroupsMessengerTest.java
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.ObjectOutput;
 import java.io.ObjectOutputStream;
 
+import org.jgroups.Address;
 import org.jgroups.Channel;
 import org.jgroups.ChannelClosedException;
 import org.jgroups.ChannelNotConnectedException;
@@ -102,6 +103,15 @@ public class JGroupsMessengerTest
         assertEquals(false, messenger.isConnected());
     }
 
+    @Test
+    public void canDelegateGetAddress()
+    {
+        Address address = Mockito.mock(Address.class);
+        Mockito.when(address.toString()).thenReturn("an-address");
+        Mockito.when(channel.getAddress()).thenReturn(address);
+        assertEquals("an-address", messenger.getAddress());
+    }
+    
     private byte[] serialize(String text) throws IOException
     {
         ByteArrayOutputStream bytes = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
diff --git a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/JGroupsTest.java b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/JGroupsTest.java
index 9111a2f656..40c84f6229 100644
--- a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/JGroupsTest.java
+++ b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/JGroupsTest.java
@@ -120,6 +120,18 @@ public class JGroupsTest extends ReceiverAdapter
         helper.checkMessageReceivedWas("This message was sent with jgroups");
     }
     
+    @Test
+    public void canCheckIsClusterActive()
+    {
+        JGroupsMessengerFactory messengerFactory = new JGroupsMessengerFactory();
+        
+        AlfrescoJGroupsChannelFactory.changeClusterNamePrefix(null);
+        assertEquals(false, messengerFactory.isClusterActive());
+        
+        AlfrescoJGroupsChannelFactory.changeClusterNamePrefix("my-cluster-name");
+        assertEquals(true, messengerFactory.isClusterActive());        
+    }
+    
     @Ignore("Not currently allowing multiple receivers per underlying Channel")
     @Test
     public void canReceiveFromMultipleMessageReceivers() throws InterruptedException, ChannelException
diff --git a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/Messenger.java b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/Messenger.java
index 0ef889c33f..27db9716f6 100644
--- a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/Messenger.java
+++ b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/Messenger.java
@@ -38,4 +38,6 @@ public interface Messenger<T extends Serializable>
     void setReceiver(MessageReceiver<T> receiver);
     
     boolean isConnected();
+    
+    String getAddress();
 }
diff --git a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/MessengerFactory.java b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/MessengerFactory.java
index 26f827063e..0c6c75a530 100644
--- a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/MessengerFactory.java
+++ b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/MessengerFactory.java
@@ -27,6 +27,14 @@ import java.io.Serializable;
  * @author Matt Ward
  */
 public interface MessengerFactory
-{   
+{
+    /** A catch-all for unknown application regions. */
+    public static final String APP_REGION_DEFAULT = "DEFAULT";
+    
+    /** The application region used by the EHCache heartbeat implementation over JGroups. */
+    public static final String APP_REGION_EHCACHE_HEARTBEAT = "EHCACHE_HEARTBEAT";
+    
     <T extends Serializable> Messenger<T> createMessenger(String appRegion);
+    
+    boolean isClusterActive();
 }
diff --git a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/MessengerFactoryProvider.java b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/MessengerFactoryProvider.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3bc3630757
--- /dev/null
+++ b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cluster/MessengerFactoryProvider.java
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2005-2012 Alfresco Software Limited.
+ *
+ * This file is part of Alfresco
+ *
+ * Alfresco is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+ * (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * Alfresco is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
+ * along with Alfresco. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+package org.alfresco.repo.cluster;
+
+/**
+ * Static container for MessengerFactory. This allows code to obtain the correct
+ * {@link MessengerFactory} implementation where dependency injection is not available.
+ * 
+ * @author Matt Ward
+ */
+public class MessengerFactoryProvider
+{
+    private static MessengerFactory instance;
+    
+    public void setInstance(MessengerFactory messengerFactory)
+    {
+        instance = messengerFactory;
+    }
+    
+    public static MessengerFactory getInstance()
+    {
+        if (instance == null)
+        {
+            throw new IllegalStateException("MessengerFactory instance not configured yet.");
+        }
+        return instance;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/jgroups/AlfrescoJGroupsChannelFactory.java b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/jgroups/AlfrescoJGroupsChannelFactory.java
index ebd3a85ebc..3ecc40b033 100644
--- a/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/jgroups/AlfrescoJGroupsChannelFactory.java
+++ b/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/jgroups/AlfrescoJGroupsChannelFactory.java
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ import java.util.concurrent.locks.ReentrantReadWriteLock.ReadLock;
 import java.util.concurrent.locks.ReentrantReadWriteLock.WriteLock;
 
 import org.alfresco.error.AlfrescoRuntimeException;
+import org.alfresco.repo.cluster.MessengerFactory;
 import org.alfresco.util.PropertyCheck;
 import org.apache.commons.logging.Log;
 import org.apache.commons.logging.LogFactory;
@@ -68,10 +69,6 @@ import org.springframework.util.ResourceUtils;
  */
 public class AlfrescoJGroupsChannelFactory extends AbstractLifecycleBean
 {
-    /** A catch-all for unknown application regions. */
-    public static final String APP_REGION_DEFAULT = "DEFAULT";
-    /** The application region used by the EHCache heartbeat implementation over JGroups. */
-    public static final String APP_REGION_EHCACHE_HEARTBEAT = "EHCACHE_HEARTBEAT";
     /** The UDP protocol config (default) */
     public static final String DEFAULT_CONFIG_UDP = "classpath:alfresco/jgroups/alfresco-jgroups-UDP.xml";
     /** The TCP protocol config */
@@ -102,7 +99,7 @@ public class AlfrescoJGroupsChannelFactory extends AbstractLifecycleBean
         clusterNamePrefix = null;
         configUrlsByAppRegion = new HashMap<String, String>(5);
         configUrlsByAppRegion.put(
-                AlfrescoJGroupsChannelFactory.APP_REGION_DEFAULT,
+                MessengerFactory.APP_REGION_DEFAULT,
                 AlfrescoJGroupsChannelFactory.DEFAULT_CONFIG_UDP);
     }
     
@@ -167,7 +164,7 @@ public class AlfrescoJGroupsChannelFactory extends AbstractLifecycleBean
            String configUrlStr = configUrlsByAppRegion.get(appRegion);
            if (!PropertyCheck.isValidPropertyString(configUrlStr))
            {
-               configUrlStr = configUrlsByAppRegion.get(AlfrescoJGroupsChannelFactory.APP_REGION_DEFAULT);
+               configUrlStr = configUrlsByAppRegion.get(MessengerFactory.APP_REGION_DEFAULT);
            }
            if (configUrlStr == null)
            {
@@ -432,7 +429,7 @@ public class AlfrescoJGroupsChannelFactory extends AbstractLifecycleBean
         try
         {
             // Check that there is a mapping for default
-            if (!configUrlsByAppRegion.containsKey(AlfrescoJGroupsChannelFactory.APP_REGION_DEFAULT))
+            if (!configUrlsByAppRegion.containsKey(MessengerFactory.APP_REGION_DEFAULT))
             {
                 throw new AlfrescoRuntimeException("A configuration URL must be defined for 'DEFAULT'");
             }