diff --git a/federation/apis/federation/types.go b/federation/apis/federation/types.go
index baef99d07d1..04b1e10d984 100644
--- a/federation/apis/federation/types.go
+++ b/federation/apis/federation/types.go
@@ -122,36 +122,40 @@ type ClusterList struct {
 	Items []Cluster
 }
 
-// Temporary/alpha structures to support custom replica assignments within FederatedReplicaSet.
+// Temporary/alpha structures to support custom replica assignments within Federated workloads.
 
-// A set of preferences that can be added to federated version of ReplicaSet as a json-serialized annotation.
-// The preferences allow the user to express in which clusters he wants to put his replicas within the
-// mentioned FederatedReplicaSet.
-type FederatedReplicaSetPreferences struct {
-	// If set to true then already scheduled and running replicas may be moved to other clusters to
-	// in order to bring cluster replicasets towards a desired state. Otherwise, if set to false,
+// A set of preferences that can be added to federated version of workloads (deployments, replicasets, ..)
+// as a json-serialized annotation. The preferences allow the users to express in which clusters they
+// want to put their replicas within the mentioned workload objects.
+type ReplicaAllocationPreferences struct {
+	// If set to true then already scheduled and running replicas may be moved to other clusters
+	// in order to match current state to the specified preferences. Otherwise, if set to false,
 	// up and running replicas will not be moved.
 	// +optional
 	Rebalance bool
 
-	// A mapping between cluster names and preferences regarding local ReplicaSet in these clusters.
-	// "*" (if provided) applies to all clusters if an explicit mapping is not provided. If there is no
-	// "*" that clusters without explicit preferences should not have any replicas scheduled.
+	// A mapping between cluster names and preferences regarding a local workload object (dep, rs, .. ) in
+	// these clusters.
+	// "*" (if provided) applies to all clusters if an explicit mapping is not provided.
+	// If omitted, clusters without explicit preferences should not have any replicas scheduled.
 	// +optional
-	Clusters map[string]ClusterReplicaSetPreferences
+	Clusters map[string]ClusterPreferences
 }
 
-// Preferences regarding number of replicas assigned to a cluster replicaset within a federated replicaset.
-type ClusterReplicaSetPreferences struct {
-	// Minimum number of replicas that should be assigned to this Local ReplicaSet. 0 by default.
+// Preferences regarding number of replicas assigned to a cluster workload object (dep, rs, ..) within
+// a federated workload object.
+type ClusterPreferences struct {
+	// Minimum number of replicas that should be assigned to this cluster workload object. 0 by default.
 	// +optional
 	MinReplicas int64
 
-	// Maximum number of replicas that should be assigned to this Local ReplicaSet. Unbounded if no value provided (default).
+	// Maximum number of replicas that should be assigned to this cluster workload object.
+	// Unbounded if no value provided (default).
 	// +optional
 	MaxReplicas *int64
 
-	// A number expressing the preference to put an additional replica to this LocalReplicaSet. 0 by default.
+	// A number expressing the preference to put an additional replica to this cluster workload object.
+	// 0 by default.
 	Weight int64
 }
 
diff --git a/federation/apis/federation/zz_generated.deepcopy.go b/federation/apis/federation/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
index 6f691c45366..060255ecb56 100644
--- a/federation/apis/federation/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
+++ b/federation/apis/federation/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
@@ -40,12 +40,12 @@ func RegisterDeepCopies(scheme *runtime.Scheme) error {
 		conversion.GeneratedDeepCopyFunc{Fn: DeepCopy_federation_Cluster, InType: reflect.TypeOf(&Cluster{})},
 		conversion.GeneratedDeepCopyFunc{Fn: DeepCopy_federation_ClusterCondition, InType: reflect.TypeOf(&ClusterCondition{})},
 		conversion.GeneratedDeepCopyFunc{Fn: DeepCopy_federation_ClusterList, InType: reflect.TypeOf(&ClusterList{})},
-		conversion.GeneratedDeepCopyFunc{Fn: DeepCopy_federation_ClusterReplicaSetPreferences, InType: reflect.TypeOf(&ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{})},
+		conversion.GeneratedDeepCopyFunc{Fn: DeepCopy_federation_ClusterPreferences, InType: reflect.TypeOf(&ClusterPreferences{})},
 		conversion.GeneratedDeepCopyFunc{Fn: DeepCopy_federation_ClusterServiceIngress, InType: reflect.TypeOf(&ClusterServiceIngress{})},
 		conversion.GeneratedDeepCopyFunc{Fn: DeepCopy_federation_ClusterSpec, InType: reflect.TypeOf(&ClusterSpec{})},
 		conversion.GeneratedDeepCopyFunc{Fn: DeepCopy_federation_ClusterStatus, InType: reflect.TypeOf(&ClusterStatus{})},
-		conversion.GeneratedDeepCopyFunc{Fn: DeepCopy_federation_FederatedReplicaSetPreferences, InType: reflect.TypeOf(&FederatedReplicaSetPreferences{})},
 		conversion.GeneratedDeepCopyFunc{Fn: DeepCopy_federation_FederatedServiceIngress, InType: reflect.TypeOf(&FederatedServiceIngress{})},
+		conversion.GeneratedDeepCopyFunc{Fn: DeepCopy_federation_ReplicaAllocationPreferences, InType: reflect.TypeOf(&ReplicaAllocationPreferences{})},
 		conversion.GeneratedDeepCopyFunc{Fn: DeepCopy_federation_ServerAddressByClientCIDR, InType: reflect.TypeOf(&ServerAddressByClientCIDR{})},
 	)
 }
@@ -99,10 +99,10 @@ func DeepCopy_federation_ClusterList(in interface{}, out interface{}, c *convers
 	}
 }
 
-func DeepCopy_federation_ClusterReplicaSetPreferences(in interface{}, out interface{}, c *conversion.Cloner) error {
+func DeepCopy_federation_ClusterPreferences(in interface{}, out interface{}, c *conversion.Cloner) error {
 	{
-		in := in.(*ClusterReplicaSetPreferences)
-		out := out.(*ClusterReplicaSetPreferences)
+		in := in.(*ClusterPreferences)
+		out := out.(*ClusterPreferences)
 		*out = *in
 		if in.MaxReplicas != nil {
 			in, out := &in.MaxReplicas, &out.MaxReplicas
@@ -169,26 +169,6 @@ func DeepCopy_federation_ClusterStatus(in interface{}, out interface{}, c *conve
 	}
 }
 
-func DeepCopy_federation_FederatedReplicaSetPreferences(in interface{}, out interface{}, c *conversion.Cloner) error {
-	{
-		in := in.(*FederatedReplicaSetPreferences)
-		out := out.(*FederatedReplicaSetPreferences)
-		*out = *in
-		if in.Clusters != nil {
-			in, out := &in.Clusters, &out.Clusters
-			*out = make(map[string]ClusterReplicaSetPreferences)
-			for key, val := range *in {
-				newVal := new(ClusterReplicaSetPreferences)
-				if err := DeepCopy_federation_ClusterReplicaSetPreferences(&val, newVal, c); err != nil {
-					return err
-				}
-				(*out)[key] = *newVal
-			}
-		}
-		return nil
-	}
-}
-
 func DeepCopy_federation_FederatedServiceIngress(in interface{}, out interface{}, c *conversion.Cloner) error {
 	{
 		in := in.(*FederatedServiceIngress)
@@ -207,6 +187,26 @@ func DeepCopy_federation_FederatedServiceIngress(in interface{}, out interface{}
 	}
 }
 
+func DeepCopy_federation_ReplicaAllocationPreferences(in interface{}, out interface{}, c *conversion.Cloner) error {
+	{
+		in := in.(*ReplicaAllocationPreferences)
+		out := out.(*ReplicaAllocationPreferences)
+		*out = *in
+		if in.Clusters != nil {
+			in, out := &in.Clusters, &out.Clusters
+			*out = make(map[string]ClusterPreferences)
+			for key, val := range *in {
+				newVal := new(ClusterPreferences)
+				if err := DeepCopy_federation_ClusterPreferences(&val, newVal, c); err != nil {
+					return err
+				}
+				(*out)[key] = *newVal
+			}
+		}
+		return nil
+	}
+}
+
 func DeepCopy_federation_ServerAddressByClientCIDR(in interface{}, out interface{}, c *conversion.Cloner) error {
 	{
 		in := in.(*ServerAddressByClientCIDR)
diff --git a/federation/pkg/federation-controller/deployment/BUILD b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/deployment/BUILD
index bbd1647aa3f..02b99d6b2ab 100644
--- a/federation/pkg/federation-controller/deployment/BUILD
+++ b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/deployment/BUILD
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ go_library(
         "//federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/eventsink:go_default_library",
         "//federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/planner:go_default_library",
         "//federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/podanalyzer:go_default_library",
+        "//federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/replicapreferences:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/api:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/api/v1:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/apis/extensions/v1beta1:go_default_library",
@@ -55,7 +56,6 @@ go_test(
         "//pkg/client/clientset_generated/clientset:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/client/clientset_generated/clientset/fake:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/github.com/stretchr/testify/assert:go_default_library",
-        "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/types:go_default_library",
diff --git a/federation/pkg/federation-controller/deployment/deploymentcontroller.go b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/deployment/deploymentcontroller.go
index 64e50831347..4ba9b2a4b1a 100644
--- a/federation/pkg/federation-controller/deployment/deploymentcontroller.go
+++ b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/deployment/deploymentcontroller.go
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ package deployment
 
 import (
 	"bytes"
-	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"sort"
 	"time"
@@ -44,6 +43,7 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/eventsink"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/planner"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/podanalyzer"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/replicapreferences"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api"
 	apiv1 "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api/v1"
 	extensionsv1 "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/apis/extensions/v1beta1"
@@ -67,21 +67,6 @@ var (
 	updateTimeout            = 30 * time.Second
 )
 
-func parseFederationDeploymentPreference(fd *extensionsv1.Deployment) (*fed.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences, error) {
-	if fd.Annotations == nil {
-		return nil, nil
-	}
-	fdPrefString, found := fd.Annotations[FedDeploymentPreferencesAnnotation]
-	if !found {
-		return nil, nil
-	}
-	var fdPref fed.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences
-	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(fdPrefString), &fdPref); err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-	return &fdPref, nil
-}
-
 type DeploymentController struct {
 	fedClient fedclientset.Interface
 
@@ -116,8 +101,8 @@ func NewDeploymentController(federationClient fedclientset.Interface) *Deploymen
 		clusterDeliverer:    fedutil.NewDelayingDeliverer(),
 		deploymentWorkQueue: workqueue.New(),
 		deploymentBackoff:   flowcontrol.NewBackOff(5*time.Second, time.Minute),
-		defaultPlanner: planner.NewPlanner(&fed.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences{
-			Clusters: map[string]fed.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+		defaultPlanner: planner.NewPlanner(&fed.ReplicaAllocationPreferences{
+			Clusters: map[string]fed.ClusterPreferences{
 				"*": {Weight: 1},
 			},
 		}),
@@ -372,7 +357,7 @@ func (fdc *DeploymentController) schedule(fd *extensionsv1.Deployment, clusters
 	// TODO: integrate real scheduler
 
 	plannerToBeUsed := fdc.defaultPlanner
-	fdPref, err := parseFederationDeploymentPreference(fd)
+	fdPref, err := replicapreferences.GetAllocationPreferences(fd, FedDeploymentPreferencesAnnotation)
 	if err != nil {
 		glog.Info("Invalid Deployment specific preference, use default. deployment: %v, err: %v", fd.Name, err)
 	}
diff --git a/federation/pkg/federation-controller/deployment/deploymentcontroller_test.go b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/deployment/deploymentcontroller_test.go
index 1d72fc8e5db..2aa21fb6503 100644
--- a/federation/pkg/federation-controller/deployment/deploymentcontroller_test.go
+++ b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/deployment/deploymentcontroller_test.go
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/types"
@@ -43,39 +42,6 @@ const (
 	pods        = "pods"
 )
 
-func TestParseFederationDeploymentPreference(t *testing.T) {
-	successPrefs := []string{
-		`{"rebalance": true,
-		  "clusters": {
-		    "k8s-1": {"minReplicas": 10, "maxReplicas": 20, "weight": 2},
-		    "*": {"weight": 1}
-		}}`,
-	}
-	failedPrefes := []string{
-		`{`, // bad json
-	}
-
-	rs := newDeploymentWithReplicas("d-1", 100)
-	accessor, _ := meta.Accessor(rs)
-	anno := accessor.GetAnnotations()
-	if anno == nil {
-		anno = make(map[string]string)
-		accessor.SetAnnotations(anno)
-	}
-	for _, prefString := range successPrefs {
-		anno[FedDeploymentPreferencesAnnotation] = prefString
-		pref, err := parseFederationDeploymentPreference(rs)
-		assert.NotNil(t, pref)
-		assert.Nil(t, err)
-	}
-	for _, prefString := range failedPrefes {
-		anno[FedDeploymentPreferencesAnnotation] = prefString
-		pref, err := parseFederationDeploymentPreference(rs)
-		assert.Nil(t, pref)
-		assert.NotNil(t, err)
-	}
-}
-
 func TestDeploymentController(t *testing.T) {
 	flag.Set("logtostderr", "true")
 	flag.Set("v", "5")
diff --git a/federation/pkg/federation-controller/replicaset/BUILD b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/replicaset/BUILD
index 57e6dbe1c1d..d113245f172 100644
--- a/federation/pkg/federation-controller/replicaset/BUILD
+++ b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/replicaset/BUILD
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ go_library(
         "//federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/eventsink:go_default_library",
         "//federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/planner:go_default_library",
         "//federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/podanalyzer:go_default_library",
+        "//federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/replicapreferences:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/api:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/api/v1:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/apis/extensions/v1beta1:go_default_library",
@@ -55,7 +56,6 @@ go_test(
         "//pkg/client/clientset_generated/clientset:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/client/clientset_generated/clientset/fake:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/github.com/stretchr/testify/assert:go_default_library",
-        "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/watch:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/client-go/testing:go_default_library",
diff --git a/federation/pkg/federation-controller/replicaset/replicasetcontroller.go b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/replicaset/replicasetcontroller.go
index 65e1cf0c6e6..b11417dc2aa 100644
--- a/federation/pkg/federation-controller/replicaset/replicasetcontroller.go
+++ b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/replicaset/replicasetcontroller.go
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ package replicaset
 
 import (
 	"bytes"
-	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"sort"
 	"time"
@@ -44,6 +43,7 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/eventsink"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/planner"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/podanalyzer"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/replicapreferences"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api"
 	apiv1 "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api/v1"
 	extensionsv1 "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/apis/extensions/v1beta1"
@@ -67,21 +67,6 @@ var (
 	updateTimeout            = 30 * time.Second
 )
 
-func parseFederationReplicaSetReference(frs *extensionsv1.ReplicaSet) (*fed.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences, error) {
-	if frs.Annotations == nil {
-		return nil, nil
-	}
-	frsPrefString, found := frs.Annotations[FedReplicaSetPreferencesAnnotation]
-	if !found {
-		return nil, nil
-	}
-	var frsPref fed.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences
-	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(frsPrefString), &frsPref); err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-	return &frsPref, nil
-}
-
 type ReplicaSetController struct {
 	fedClient fedclientset.Interface
 
@@ -118,8 +103,8 @@ func NewReplicaSetController(federationClient fedclientset.Interface) *ReplicaSe
 		clusterDeliverer:    fedutil.NewDelayingDeliverer(),
 		replicasetWorkQueue: workqueue.New(),
 		replicaSetBackoff:   flowcontrol.NewBackOff(5*time.Second, time.Minute),
-		defaultPlanner: planner.NewPlanner(&fed.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences{
-			Clusters: map[string]fed.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+		defaultPlanner: planner.NewPlanner(&fed.ReplicaAllocationPreferences{
+			Clusters: map[string]fed.ClusterPreferences{
 				"*": {Weight: 1},
 			},
 		}),
@@ -352,7 +337,7 @@ func (frsc *ReplicaSetController) schedule(frs *extensionsv1.ReplicaSet, cluster
 	// TODO: integrate real scheduler
 
 	plnr := frsc.defaultPlanner
-	frsPref, err := parseFederationReplicaSetReference(frs)
+	frsPref, err := replicapreferences.GetAllocationPreferences(frs, FedReplicaSetPreferencesAnnotation)
 	if err != nil {
 		glog.Info("Invalid ReplicaSet specific preference, use default. rs: %v, err: %v", frs, err)
 	}
diff --git a/federation/pkg/federation-controller/replicaset/replicasetcontroller_test.go b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/replicaset/replicasetcontroller_test.go
index 732b4a8007c..c9377af2415 100644
--- a/federation/pkg/federation-controller/replicaset/replicasetcontroller_test.go
+++ b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/replicaset/replicasetcontroller_test.go
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/watch"
 	core "k8s.io/client-go/testing"
@@ -44,39 +43,6 @@ const (
 	k8s2        = "k8s-2"
 )
 
-func TestParseFederationReplicaSetReference(t *testing.T) {
-	successPrefs := []string{
-		`{"rebalance": true,
-		  "clusters": {
-		    "k8s-1": {"minReplicas": 10, "maxReplicas": 20, "weight": 2},
-		    "*": {"weight": 1}
-		}}`,
-	}
-	failedPrefes := []string{
-		`{`, // bad json
-	}
-
-	rs := newReplicaSetWithReplicas("rs-1", 100)
-	accessor, _ := meta.Accessor(rs)
-	anno := accessor.GetAnnotations()
-	if anno == nil {
-		anno = make(map[string]string)
-		accessor.SetAnnotations(anno)
-	}
-	for _, prefString := range successPrefs {
-		anno[FedReplicaSetPreferencesAnnotation] = prefString
-		pref, err := parseFederationReplicaSetReference(rs)
-		assert.NotNil(t, pref)
-		assert.Nil(t, err)
-	}
-	for _, prefString := range failedPrefes {
-		anno[FedReplicaSetPreferencesAnnotation] = prefString
-		pref, err := parseFederationReplicaSetReference(rs)
-		assert.Nil(t, pref)
-		assert.NotNil(t, err)
-	}
-}
-
 func TestReplicaSetController(t *testing.T) {
 	flag.Set("logtostderr", "true")
 	flag.Set("v", "5")
diff --git a/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/BUILD b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/BUILD
index fca4e867b0b..4abcec5d6a0 100644
--- a/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/BUILD
+++ b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/BUILD
@@ -93,6 +93,7 @@ filegroup(
         "//federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/finalizers:all-srcs",
         "//federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/planner:all-srcs",
         "//federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/podanalyzer:all-srcs",
+        "//federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/replicapreferences:all-srcs",
         "//federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/test:all-srcs",
     ],
     tags = ["automanaged"],
diff --git a/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/planner/planner.go b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/planner/planner.go
index b1d1a55dc5a..f25fbbc0ce9 100644
--- a/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/planner/planner.go
+++ b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/planner/planner.go
@@ -26,16 +26,16 @@ import (
 // Planner decides how many out of the given replicas should be placed in each of the
 // federated clusters.
 type Planner struct {
-	preferences *fedapi.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences
+	preferences *fedapi.ReplicaAllocationPreferences
 }
 
-type namedClusterReplicaSetPreferences struct {
+type namedClusterPreferences struct {
 	clusterName string
 	hash        uint32
-	fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences
+	fedapi.ClusterPreferences
 }
 
-type byWeight []*namedClusterReplicaSetPreferences
+type byWeight []*namedClusterPreferences
 
 func (a byWeight) Len() int      { return len(a) }
 func (a byWeight) Swap(i, j int) { a[i], a[j] = a[j], a[i] }
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ func (a byWeight) Less(i, j int) bool {
 	return (a[i].Weight > a[j].Weight) || (a[i].Weight == a[j].Weight && a[i].hash < a[j].hash)
 }
 
-func NewPlanner(preferences *fedapi.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences) *Planner {
+func NewPlanner(preferences *fedapi.ReplicaAllocationPreferences) *Planner {
 	return &Planner{
 		preferences: preferences,
 	}
@@ -67,20 +67,20 @@ func NewPlanner(preferences *fedapi.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences) *Planner {
 func (p *Planner) Plan(replicasToDistribute int64, availableClusters []string, currentReplicaCount map[string]int64,
 	estimatedCapacity map[string]int64, replicaSetKey string) (map[string]int64, map[string]int64) {
 
-	preferences := make([]*namedClusterReplicaSetPreferences, 0, len(availableClusters))
+	preferences := make([]*namedClusterPreferences, 0, len(availableClusters))
 	plan := make(map[string]int64, len(preferences))
 	overflow := make(map[string]int64, len(preferences))
 
-	named := func(name string, pref fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences) *namedClusterReplicaSetPreferences {
+	named := func(name string, pref fedapi.ClusterPreferences) *namedClusterPreferences {
 		// Seems to work better than addler for our case.
 		hasher := fnv.New32()
 		hasher.Write([]byte(name))
 		hasher.Write([]byte(replicaSetKey))
 
-		return &namedClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
-			clusterName: name,
-			hash:        hasher.Sum32(),
-			ClusterReplicaSetPreferences: pref,
+		return &namedClusterPreferences{
+			clusterName:        name,
+			hash:               hasher.Sum32(),
+			ClusterPreferences: pref,
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ func (p *Planner) Plan(replicasToDistribute int64, availableClusters []string, c
 		for _, preference := range preferences {
 			weightSum += preference.Weight
 		}
-		newPreferences := make([]*namedClusterReplicaSetPreferences, 0, len(preferences))
+		newPreferences := make([]*namedClusterPreferences, 0, len(preferences))
 
 		distributeInThisLoop := remainingReplicas
 
diff --git a/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/planner/planner_test.go b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/planner/planner_test.go
index e097a10cf10..597ee607083 100644
--- a/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/planner/planner_test.go
+++ b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/planner/planner_test.go
@@ -24,8 +24,8 @@ import (
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 )
 
-func doCheck(t *testing.T, pref map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences, replicas int64, clusters []string, expected map[string]int64) {
-	planer := NewPlanner(&fedapi.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences{
+func doCheck(t *testing.T, pref map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences, replicas int64, clusters []string, expected map[string]int64) {
+	planer := NewPlanner(&fedapi.ReplicaAllocationPreferences{
 		Clusters: pref,
 	})
 	plan, overflow := planer.Plan(replicas, clusters, map[string]int64{}, map[string]int64{}, "")
@@ -33,9 +33,9 @@ func doCheck(t *testing.T, pref map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences,
 	assert.Equal(t, 0, len(overflow))
 }
 
-func doCheckWithExisting(t *testing.T, pref map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences, replicas int64, clusters []string,
+func doCheckWithExisting(t *testing.T, pref map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences, replicas int64, clusters []string,
 	existing map[string]int64, expected map[string]int64) {
-	planer := NewPlanner(&fedapi.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences{
+	planer := NewPlanner(&fedapi.ReplicaAllocationPreferences{
 		Clusters: pref,
 	})
 	plan, overflow := planer.Plan(replicas, clusters, existing, map[string]int64{}, "")
@@ -43,12 +43,12 @@ func doCheckWithExisting(t *testing.T, pref map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetP
 	assert.EqualValues(t, expected, plan)
 }
 
-func doCheckWithExistingAndCapacity(t *testing.T, rebalance bool, pref map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences, replicas int64, clusters []string,
+func doCheckWithExistingAndCapacity(t *testing.T, rebalance bool, pref map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences, replicas int64, clusters []string,
 	existing map[string]int64,
 	capacity map[string]int64,
 	expected map[string]int64,
 	expectedOverflow map[string]int64) {
-	planer := NewPlanner(&fedapi.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences{
+	planer := NewPlanner(&fedapi.ReplicaAllocationPreferences{
 		Rebalance: rebalance,
 		Clusters:  pref,
 	})
@@ -62,102 +62,102 @@ func pint(val int64) *int64 {
 }
 
 func TestEqual(t *testing.T) {
-	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {Weight: 1}},
 		50, []string{"A", "B", "C"},
 		// hash dependent
 		map[string]int64{"A": 16, "B": 17, "C": 17})
 
-	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {Weight: 1}},
 		50, []string{"A", "B"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 25, "B": 25})
 
-	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {Weight: 1}},
 		1, []string{"A", "B"},
 		// hash dependent
 		map[string]int64{"A": 0, "B": 1})
 
-	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {Weight: 1}},
 		1, []string{"A", "B", "C", "D"},
 		// hash dependent
 		map[string]int64{"A": 0, "B": 0, "C": 0, "D": 1})
 
-	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {Weight: 1}},
 		1, []string{"A"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 1})
 
-	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {Weight: 1}},
 		1, []string{},
 		map[string]int64{})
 }
 
 func TestEqualWithExisting(t *testing.T) {
-	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {Weight: 1}},
 		50, []string{"A", "B", "C"},
 		map[string]int64{"C": 30},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 10, "B": 10, "C": 30})
 
-	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {Weight: 1}},
 		50, []string{"A", "B"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 30},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 30, "B": 20})
 
-	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {Weight: 1}},
 		15, []string{"A", "B"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 0, "B": 8},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 7, "B": 8})
 
-	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {Weight: 1}},
 		15, []string{"A", "B"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 1, "B": 8},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 7, "B": 8})
 
-	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {Weight: 1}},
 		15, []string{"A", "B"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 4, "B": 8},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 7, "B": 8})
 
-	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {Weight: 1}},
 		15, []string{"A", "B"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 5, "B": 8},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 7, "B": 8})
 
-	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {Weight: 1}},
 		15, []string{"A", "B"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 6, "B": 8},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 7, "B": 8})
 
-	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {Weight: 1}},
 		15, []string{"A", "B"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 7, "B": 8},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 7, "B": 8})
 
-	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {Weight: 1}},
 		500000, []string{"A", "B"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 300000},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 300000, "B": 200000})
 
-	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {Weight: 1}},
 		50, []string{"A", "B"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 10},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 25, "B": 25})
 
-	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {Weight: 1}},
 		50, []string{"A", "B"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 10, "B": 70},
@@ -165,13 +165,13 @@ func TestEqualWithExisting(t *testing.T) {
 		// TODO: Should be 10:40, update algorithm. Issue: #31816
 		map[string]int64{"A": 0, "B": 50})
 
-	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {Weight: 1}},
 		1, []string{"A", "B"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 30},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 1, "B": 0})
 
-	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheckWithExisting(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {Weight: 1}},
 		50, []string{"A", "B"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 10, "B": 20},
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ func TestEqualWithExisting(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestWithExistingAndCapacity(t *testing.T) {
 	// desired without capacity: map[string]int64{"A": 17, "B": 17, "C": 16})
-	doCheckWithExistingAndCapacity(t, true, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheckWithExistingAndCapacity(t, true, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {Weight: 1}},
 		50, []string{"A", "B", "C"},
 		map[string]int64{},
@@ -189,7 +189,7 @@ func TestWithExistingAndCapacity(t *testing.T) {
 		map[string]int64{"C": 7})
 
 	// desired B:50 C:0
-	doCheckWithExistingAndCapacity(t, true, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheckWithExistingAndCapacity(t, true, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"A": {Weight: 10000},
 		"B": {Weight: 1}},
 		50, []string{"B", "C"},
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ func TestWithExistingAndCapacity(t *testing.T) {
 	)
 
 	// desired A:20 B:40
-	doCheckWithExistingAndCapacity(t, true, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheckWithExistingAndCapacity(t, true, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"A": {Weight: 1},
 		"B": {Weight: 2}},
 		60, []string{"A", "B", "C"},
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ func TestWithExistingAndCapacity(t *testing.T) {
 		map[string]int64{"B": 30})
 
 	// map[string]int64{"A": 10, "B": 30, "C": 21, "D": 10})
-	doCheckWithExistingAndCapacity(t, true, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheckWithExistingAndCapacity(t, true, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"A": {Weight: 10000, MaxReplicas: pint(10)},
 		"B": {Weight: 1},
 		"C": {Weight: 1, MaxReplicas: pint(21)},
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ func TestWithExistingAndCapacity(t *testing.T) {
 	)
 
 	// desired A:20 B:20
-	doCheckWithExistingAndCapacity(t, false, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheckWithExistingAndCapacity(t, false, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"A": {Weight: 1},
 		"B": {Weight: 1}},
 		60, []string{"A", "B", "C"},
@@ -233,7 +233,7 @@ func TestWithExistingAndCapacity(t *testing.T) {
 		map[string]int64{"A": 20, "B": 20})
 
 	// desired A:10 B:50 although A:50 B:10 is fuly acceptable because rebalance = false
-	doCheckWithExistingAndCapacity(t, false, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheckWithExistingAndCapacity(t, false, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"A": {Weight: 1},
 		"B": {Weight: 5}},
 		60, []string{"A", "B", "C"},
@@ -242,7 +242,7 @@ func TestWithExistingAndCapacity(t *testing.T) {
 		map[string]int64{"A": 50, "B": 10, "C": 0},
 		map[string]int64{})
 
-	doCheckWithExistingAndCapacity(t, false, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheckWithExistingAndCapacity(t, false, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {MinReplicas: 20, Weight: 0}},
 		50, []string{"A", "B", "C"},
 		map[string]int64{},
@@ -251,7 +251,7 @@ func TestWithExistingAndCapacity(t *testing.T) {
 		map[string]int64{})
 
 	// Actually we would like to have extra 20 in B but 15 is also good.
-	doCheckWithExistingAndCapacity(t, true, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheckWithExistingAndCapacity(t, true, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {MinReplicas: 20, Weight: 1}},
 		60, []string{"A", "B"},
 		map[string]int64{},
@@ -261,75 +261,75 @@ func TestWithExistingAndCapacity(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestMin(t *testing.T) {
-	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {MinReplicas: 2, Weight: 0}},
 		50, []string{"A", "B", "C"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 2, "B": 2, "C": 2})
 
-	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {MinReplicas: 20, Weight: 0}},
 		50, []string{"A", "B", "C"},
 		// hash dependant.
 		map[string]int64{"A": 10, "B": 20, "C": 20})
 
-	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {MinReplicas: 20, Weight: 0},
 		"A": {MinReplicas: 100, Weight: 1}},
 		50, []string{"A", "B", "C"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 50, "B": 0, "C": 0})
 
-	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {MinReplicas: 10, Weight: 1, MaxReplicas: pint(12)}},
 		50, []string{"A", "B", "C"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 12, "B": 12, "C": 12})
 }
 
 func TestMax(t *testing.T) {
-	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {Weight: 1, MaxReplicas: pint(2)}},
 		50, []string{"A", "B", "C"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 2, "B": 2, "C": 2})
 
-	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"*": {Weight: 0, MaxReplicas: pint(2)}},
 		50, []string{"A", "B", "C"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 0, "B": 0, "C": 0})
 }
 
 func TestWeight(t *testing.T) {
-	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"A": {Weight: 1},
 		"B": {Weight: 2}},
 		60, []string{"A", "B", "C"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 20, "B": 40, "C": 0})
 
-	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"A": {Weight: 10000},
 		"B": {Weight: 1}},
 		50, []string{"A", "B", "C"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 50, "B": 0, "C": 0})
 
-	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"A": {Weight: 10000},
 		"B": {Weight: 1}},
 		50, []string{"B", "C"},
 		map[string]int64{"B": 50, "C": 0})
 
-	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"A": {Weight: 10000, MaxReplicas: pint(10)},
 		"B": {Weight: 1},
 		"C": {Weight: 1}},
 		50, []string{"A", "B", "C"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 10, "B": 20, "C": 20})
 
-	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"A": {Weight: 10000, MaxReplicas: pint(10)},
 		"B": {Weight: 1},
 		"C": {Weight: 1, MaxReplicas: pint(10)}},
 		50, []string{"A", "B", "C"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 10, "B": 30, "C": 10})
 
-	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"A": {Weight: 10000, MaxReplicas: pint(10)},
 		"B": {Weight: 1},
 		"C": {Weight: 1, MaxReplicas: pint(21)},
@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@ func TestWeight(t *testing.T) {
 		71, []string{"A", "B", "C", "D"},
 		map[string]int64{"A": 10, "B": 30, "C": 21, "D": 10})
 
-	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	doCheck(t, map[string]fedapi.ClusterPreferences{
 		"A": {Weight: 10000, MaxReplicas: pint(10)},
 		"B": {Weight: 1},
 		"C": {Weight: 1, MaxReplicas: pint(21)},
diff --git a/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/replicapreferences/BUILD b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/replicapreferences/BUILD
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a9bac407109
--- /dev/null
+++ b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/replicapreferences/BUILD
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+package(default_visibility = ["//visibility:public"])
+
+licenses(["notice"])
+
+load(
+    "@io_bazel_rules_go//go:def.bzl",
+    "go_library",
+    "go_test",
+)
+
+go_library(
+    name = "go_default_library",
+    srcs = ["preferences.go"],
+    tags = ["automanaged"],
+    deps = [
+        "//federation/apis/federation:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime:go_default_library",
+    ],
+)
+
+filegroup(
+    name = "package-srcs",
+    srcs = glob(["**"]),
+    tags = ["automanaged"],
+    visibility = ["//visibility:private"],
+)
+
+filegroup(
+    name = "all-srcs",
+    srcs = [":package-srcs"],
+    tags = ["automanaged"],
+)
+
+go_test(
+    name = "go_default_test",
+    srcs = ["preferences_test.go"],
+    library = ":go_default_library",
+    tags = ["automanaged"],
+    deps = [
+        "//pkg/apis/extensions/v1beta1:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/github.com/stretchr/testify/assert:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime:go_default_library",
+    ],
+)
diff --git a/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/replicapreferences/preferences.go b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/replicapreferences/preferences.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..030b3c01aa6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/replicapreferences/preferences.go
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2017 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+Licensed 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 replicapreferences
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
+	fed "k8s.io/kubernetes/federation/apis/federation"
+)
+
+// GetAllocationPreferences reads the preferences from the annotations on the given object.
+// It takes in an object and determines the supported types.
+// Callers need to pass the string key used to store the annotations.
+// Returns nil if the annotations with the given key are not found.
+func GetAllocationPreferences(obj runtime.Object, key string) (*fed.ReplicaAllocationPreferences, error) {
+	if obj == nil {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+
+	accessor, err := meta.Accessor(obj)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	annotations := accessor.GetAnnotations()
+	if annotations == nil {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+
+	prefString, found := annotations[key]
+	if !found {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+
+	var pref fed.ReplicaAllocationPreferences
+	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(prefString), &pref); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return &pref, nil
+}
diff --git a/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/replicapreferences/preferences_test.go b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/replicapreferences/preferences_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..04f84a70ba3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/replicapreferences/preferences_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2017 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+Licensed 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 replicapreferences
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta"
+	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
+	extensionsv1 "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/apis/extensions/v1beta1"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
+)
+
+const (
+	TestPreferencesAnnotationKey = "federation.kubernetes.io/test-preferences"
+)
+
+func TestGetAllocationPreferences(t *testing.T) {
+	testCases := []struct {
+		testname      string
+		prefs         string
+		obj           runtime.Object
+		errorExpected bool
+	}{
+		{
+			testname: "good preferences",
+			prefs: `{"rebalance": true,
+				  "clusters": {
+				    "k8s-1": {"minReplicas": 10, "maxReplicas": 20, "weight": 2},
+				    "*": {"weight": 1}
+				}}`,
+			obj: &extensionsv1.Deployment{
+				ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+					Name:      "test-obj",
+					Namespace: metav1.NamespaceDefault,
+					SelfLink:  "/api/v1/namespaces/default/obj/test-obj",
+				},
+			},
+			errorExpected: false,
+		},
+		{
+			testname: "failed preferences",
+			prefs:    `{`, // bad json
+			obj: &extensionsv1.Deployment{
+				ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+					Name:      "test-obj",
+					Namespace: metav1.NamespaceDefault,
+					SelfLink:  "/api/v1/namespaces/default/obj/test-obj",
+				},
+			},
+			errorExpected: true,
+		},
+	}
+
+	// prepare the objects
+	for _, tc := range testCases {
+		accessor, _ := meta.Accessor(tc.obj)
+		anno := accessor.GetAnnotations()
+		if anno == nil {
+			anno = make(map[string]string)
+			accessor.SetAnnotations(anno)
+		}
+		anno[TestPreferencesAnnotationKey] = tc.prefs
+	}
+
+	// test get preferences
+	for _, tc := range testCases {
+		pref, err := GetAllocationPreferences(tc.obj, TestPreferencesAnnotationKey)
+		if tc.errorExpected {
+			assert.NotNil(t, err)
+		} else {
+			assert.NotNil(t, pref)
+			assert.Nil(t, err)
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/hack/.linted_packages b/hack/.linted_packages
index 3a2eb3c308c..8d15aad25b7 100644
--- a/hack/.linted_packages
+++ b/hack/.linted_packages
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ federation/cmd/federation-apiserver
 federation/cmd/federation-controller-manager
 federation/cmd/genfeddocs
 federation/cmd/kubefed
+federation/pkg/federation-controller/util/replicapreferences
 hack
 hack/boilerplate/test
 hack/cmd/teststale
diff --git a/test/e2e_federation/replicaset.go b/test/e2e_federation/replicaset.go
index f542449d9c2..e7f09a6019f 100644
--- a/test/e2e_federation/replicaset.go
+++ b/test/e2e_federation/replicaset.go
@@ -220,7 +220,7 @@ func createAndWaitForReplicasetOrFail(clientset *fedclientset.Clientset, nsName
 	return rs
 }
 
-func createAndUpdateFedRSWithPref(clientset *fedclientset.Clientset, nsName string, clusters fedframework.ClusterSlice, pref *federation.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences, replicas int32, expect map[string]int32) *v1beta1.ReplicaSet {
+func createAndUpdateFedRSWithPref(clientset *fedclientset.Clientset, nsName string, clusters fedframework.ClusterSlice, pref *federation.ReplicaAllocationPreferences, replicas int32, expect map[string]int32) *v1beta1.ReplicaSet {
 	framework.Logf("Replicas: %d, Preference: %#v", replicas, pref)
 	rs := newReplicaSet(nsName, FederationReplicaSetPrefix, replicas, pref)
 	rs = createReplicaSetOrFail(clientset, rs)
@@ -274,18 +274,18 @@ func verifyCascadingDeletionForReplicaSet(clientset *fedclientset.Clientset, clu
 	}
 }
 
-func generateFedRSPrefsWithWeight(clusters fedframework.ClusterSlice) (pref *federation.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences, replicas int32, expect map[string]int32) {
+func generateFedRSPrefsWithWeight(clusters fedframework.ClusterSlice) (pref *federation.ReplicaAllocationPreferences, replicas int32, expect map[string]int32) {
 	By("Generating replicaset preferences with weights")
 	clusterNames := extractClusterNames(clusters)
-	pref = &federation.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences{
-		Clusters: map[string]federation.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{},
+	pref = &federation.ReplicaAllocationPreferences{
+		Clusters: map[string]federation.ClusterPreferences{},
 	}
 	replicas = 0
 	expect = map[string]int32{}
 
 	for i, clusterName := range clusterNames {
 		if i != 0 { // do not set weight for cluster[0] thus it should have no replicas scheduled
-			pref.Clusters[clusterName] = federation.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+			pref.Clusters[clusterName] = federation.ClusterPreferences{
 				Weight: int64(i),
 			}
 			replicas += int32(i)
@@ -295,11 +295,11 @@ func generateFedRSPrefsWithWeight(clusters fedframework.ClusterSlice) (pref *fed
 	return
 }
 
-func generateFedRSPrefsWithMin(clusters fedframework.ClusterSlice) (pref *federation.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences, replicas int32, expect map[string]int32) {
+func generateFedRSPrefsWithMin(clusters fedframework.ClusterSlice) (pref *federation.ReplicaAllocationPreferences, replicas int32, expect map[string]int32) {
 	By("Generating replicaset preferences with min replicas")
 	clusterNames := extractClusterNames(clusters)
-	pref = &federation.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences{
-		Clusters: map[string]federation.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	pref = &federation.ReplicaAllocationPreferences{
+		Clusters: map[string]federation.ClusterPreferences{
 			clusterNames[0]: {Weight: 100},
 		},
 	}
@@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ func generateFedRSPrefsWithMin(clusters fedframework.ClusterSlice) (pref *federa
 
 	for i, clusterName := range clusterNames {
 		if i != 0 { // do not set weight and minReplicas for cluster[0] thus it should have no replicas scheduled
-			pref.Clusters[clusterName] = federation.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+			pref.Clusters[clusterName] = federation.ClusterPreferences{
 				Weight:      int64(1),
 				MinReplicas: int64(i + 2),
 			}
@@ -322,11 +322,11 @@ func generateFedRSPrefsWithMin(clusters fedframework.ClusterSlice) (pref *federa
 	return
 }
 
-func generateFedRSPrefsWithMax(clusters fedframework.ClusterSlice) (pref *federation.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences, replicas int32, expect map[string]int32) {
+func generateFedRSPrefsWithMax(clusters fedframework.ClusterSlice) (pref *federation.ReplicaAllocationPreferences, replicas int32, expect map[string]int32) {
 	By("Generating replicaset preferences with max replicas")
 	clusterNames := extractClusterNames(clusters)
-	pref = &federation.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences{
-		Clusters: map[string]federation.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	pref = &federation.ReplicaAllocationPreferences{
+		Clusters: map[string]federation.ClusterPreferences{
 			clusterNames[0]: {Weight: 1},
 		},
 	}
@@ -336,7 +336,7 @@ func generateFedRSPrefsWithMax(clusters fedframework.ClusterSlice) (pref *federa
 	for i, clusterName := range clusterNames {
 		if i != 0 { // do not set maxReplicas for cluster[0] thus replicas exceeds the total maxReplicas turned to cluster[0]
 			maxReplicas := int64(i)
-			pref.Clusters[clusterName] = federation.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+			pref.Clusters[clusterName] = federation.ClusterPreferences{
 				Weight:      int64(100),
 				MaxReplicas: &maxReplicas,
 			}
@@ -350,18 +350,18 @@ func generateFedRSPrefsWithMax(clusters fedframework.ClusterSlice) (pref *federa
 	return
 }
 
-func updateFedRSPrefsRebalance(pref *federation.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences, rebalance bool) *federation.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences {
+func updateFedRSPrefsRebalance(pref *federation.ReplicaAllocationPreferences, rebalance bool) *federation.ReplicaAllocationPreferences {
 	pref.Rebalance = rebalance
 	return pref
 }
 
-func generateFedRSPrefsForRebalancing(clusters fedframework.ClusterSlice) (pref1, pref2 *federation.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences, replicas int32, expect1, expect2 map[string]int32) {
+func generateFedRSPrefsForRebalancing(clusters fedframework.ClusterSlice) (pref1, pref2 *federation.ReplicaAllocationPreferences, replicas int32, expect1, expect2 map[string]int32) {
 	By("Generating replicaset for rebalancing")
 	clusterNames := extractClusterNames(clusters)
 	replicas = 3
 
-	pref1 = &federation.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences{
-		Clusters: map[string]federation.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	pref1 = &federation.ReplicaAllocationPreferences{
+		Clusters: map[string]federation.ClusterPreferences{
 			clusterNames[0]: {Weight: 1},
 			clusterNames[1]: {Weight: 2},
 		},
@@ -370,8 +370,8 @@ func generateFedRSPrefsForRebalancing(clusters fedframework.ClusterSlice) (pref1
 		clusterNames[0]: 1,
 		clusterNames[1]: 2,
 	}
-	pref2 = &federation.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences{
-		Clusters: map[string]federation.ClusterReplicaSetPreferences{
+	pref2 = &federation.ReplicaAllocationPreferences{
+		Clusters: map[string]federation.ClusterPreferences{
 			clusterNames[0]: {Weight: 2},
 			clusterNames[1]: {Weight: 1},
 		},
@@ -478,7 +478,7 @@ func updateReplicaSetOrFail(clientset *fedclientset.Clientset, replicaset *v1bet
 	return newRS
 }
 
-func newReplicaSetObj(namespace string, replicas int32, pref *federation.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences) *v1beta1.ReplicaSet {
+func newReplicaSetObj(namespace string, replicas int32, pref *federation.ReplicaAllocationPreferences) *v1beta1.ReplicaSet {
 	// When the tests are run in parallel, replicasets from different tests can
 	// collide with each other. Prevent that by creating a unique label and
 	// label selector for each created replica set.
@@ -519,13 +519,13 @@ func newReplicaSetObj(namespace string, replicas int32, pref *federation.Federat
 
 }
 
-func newReplicaSet(namespace string, prefix string, replicas int32, pref *federation.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences) *v1beta1.ReplicaSet {
+func newReplicaSet(namespace string, prefix string, replicas int32, pref *federation.ReplicaAllocationPreferences) *v1beta1.ReplicaSet {
 	rs := newReplicaSetObj(namespace, replicas, pref)
 	rs.GenerateName = prefix
 	return rs
 }
 
-func newReplicaSetWithName(namespace string, name string, replicas int32, pref *federation.FederatedReplicaSetPreferences) *v1beta1.ReplicaSet {
+func newReplicaSetWithName(namespace string, name string, replicas int32, pref *federation.ReplicaAllocationPreferences) *v1beta1.ReplicaSet {
 	rs := newReplicaSetObj(namespace, replicas, pref)
 	rs.Name = name
 	return rs