diff --git a/cmd/kubelet/app/server.go b/cmd/kubelet/app/server.go
index 241b835e0e6..995a567b11b 100644
--- a/cmd/kubelet/app/server.go
+++ b/cmd/kubelet/app/server.go
@@ -565,8 +565,10 @@ func SimpleKubelet(client *client.Client,
 // Eventually, #2 will be replaced with instances of #3
 func RunKubelet(kcfg *KubeletConfig, builder KubeletBuilder) error {
 	kcfg.Hostname = nodeutil.GetHostname(kcfg.HostnameOverride)
+	kcfg.NodeName = kcfg.Hostname
+
 	eventBroadcaster := record.NewBroadcaster()
-	kcfg.Recorder = eventBroadcaster.NewRecorder(api.EventSource{Component: "kubelet", Host: kcfg.Hostname})
+	kcfg.Recorder = eventBroadcaster.NewRecorder(api.EventSource{Component: "kubelet", Host: kcfg.NodeName})
 	eventBroadcaster.StartLogging(glog.Infof)
 	if kcfg.KubeClient != nil {
 		glog.V(4).Infof("Sending events to api server.")
@@ -625,17 +627,17 @@ func makePodSourceConfig(kc *KubeletConfig) *config.PodConfig {
 	// define file config source
 	if kc.ConfigFile != "" {
 		glog.Infof("Adding manifest file: %v", kc.ConfigFile)
-		config.NewSourceFile(kc.ConfigFile, kc.Hostname, kc.FileCheckFrequency, cfg.Channel(kubelet.FileSource))
+		config.NewSourceFile(kc.ConfigFile, kc.NodeName, kc.FileCheckFrequency, cfg.Channel(kubelet.FileSource))
 	}
 
 	// define url config source
 	if kc.ManifestURL != "" {
 		glog.Infof("Adding manifest url: %v", kc.ManifestURL)
-		config.NewSourceURL(kc.ManifestURL, kc.Hostname, kc.HTTPCheckFrequency, cfg.Channel(kubelet.HTTPSource))
+		config.NewSourceURL(kc.ManifestURL, kc.NodeName, kc.HTTPCheckFrequency, cfg.Channel(kubelet.HTTPSource))
 	}
 	if kc.KubeClient != nil {
 		glog.Infof("Watching apiserver")
-		config.NewSourceApiserver(kc.KubeClient, kc.Hostname, cfg.Channel(kubelet.ApiserverSource))
+		config.NewSourceApiserver(kc.KubeClient, kc.NodeName, cfg.Channel(kubelet.ApiserverSource))
 	}
 	return cfg
 }
@@ -656,6 +658,7 @@ type KubeletConfig struct {
 	FileCheckFrequency             time.Duration
 	HTTPCheckFrequency             time.Duration
 	Hostname                       string
+	NodeName                       string
 	PodInfraContainerImage         string
 	SyncFrequency                  time.Duration
 	RegistryPullQPS                float64
@@ -715,6 +718,7 @@ func createAndInitKubelet(kc *KubeletConfig) (k KubeletBootstrap, pc *config.Pod
 	pc = makePodSourceConfig(kc)
 	k, err = kubelet.NewMainKubelet(
 		kc.Hostname,
+		kc.NodeName,
 		kc.DockerClient,
 		kubeClient,
 		kc.RootDirectory,
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/config/apiserver.go b/pkg/kubelet/config/apiserver.go
index 56794ca3e74..88bb84b48a0 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/config/apiserver.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/config/apiserver.go
@@ -26,8 +26,8 @@ import (
 )
 
 // NewSourceApiserver creates a config source that watches and pulls from the apiserver.
-func NewSourceApiserver(c *client.Client, hostname string, updates chan<- interface{}) {
-	lw := cache.NewListWatchFromClient(c, "pods", api.NamespaceAll, fields.OneTermEqualSelector(client.PodHost, hostname))
+func NewSourceApiserver(c *client.Client, nodeName string, updates chan<- interface{}) {
+	lw := cache.NewListWatchFromClient(c, "pods", api.NamespaceAll, fields.OneTermEqualSelector(client.PodHost, nodeName))
 	newSourceApiserverFromLW(lw, updates)
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/config/common.go b/pkg/kubelet/config/common.go
index b757bba3aa7..d5a4bd42799 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/config/common.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/config/common.go
@@ -33,16 +33,16 @@ import (
 	"github.com/golang/glog"
 )
 
-// Generate a pod name that is unique among nodes by appending the hostname.
-func generatePodName(name, hostname string) string {
-	return fmt.Sprintf("%s-%s", name, hostname)
+// Generate a pod name that is unique among nodes by appending the nodeName.
+func generatePodName(name, nodeName string) string {
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%s-%s", name, nodeName)
 }
 
-func applyDefaults(pod *api.Pod, source string, isFile bool, hostname string) error {
+func applyDefaults(pod *api.Pod, source string, isFile bool, nodeName string) error {
 	if len(pod.UID) == 0 {
 		hasher := md5.New()
 		if isFile {
-			fmt.Fprintf(hasher, "host:%s", hostname)
+			fmt.Fprintf(hasher, "host:%s", nodeName)
 			fmt.Fprintf(hasher, "file:%s", source)
 		} else {
 			fmt.Fprintf(hasher, "url:%s", source)
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ func applyDefaults(pod *api.Pod, source string, isFile bool, hostname string) er
 	if len(pod.Name) == 0 {
 		pod.Name = string(pod.UID)
 	}
-	pod.Name = generatePodName(pod.Name, hostname)
+	pod.Name = generatePodName(pod.Name, nodeName)
 	glog.V(5).Infof("Generated Name %q for UID %q from URL %s", pod.Name, pod.UID, source)
 
 	if pod.Namespace == "" {
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ func applyDefaults(pod *api.Pod, source string, isFile bool, hostname string) er
 	glog.V(5).Infof("Using namespace %q for pod %q from %s", pod.Namespace, pod.Name, source)
 
 	// Set the Host field to indicate this pod is scheduled on the current node.
-	pod.Spec.NodeName = hostname
+	pod.Spec.NodeName = nodeName
 
 	pod.ObjectMeta.SelfLink = getSelfLink(pod.Name, pod.Namespace)
 	return nil
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/config/file.go b/pkg/kubelet/config/file.go
index 3ef6a17f877..3d73010dd2e 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/config/file.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/config/file.go
@@ -34,14 +34,14 @@ import (
 
 type sourceFile struct {
 	path     string
-	hostname string
+	nodeName string
 	updates  chan<- interface{}
 }
 
-func NewSourceFile(path string, hostname string, period time.Duration, updates chan<- interface{}) {
+func NewSourceFile(path string, nodeName string, period time.Duration, updates chan<- interface{}) {
 	config := &sourceFile{
 		path:     path,
-		hostname: hostname,
+		nodeName: nodeName,
 		updates:  updates,
 	}
 	glog.V(1).Infof("Watching path %q", path)
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ func (s *sourceFile) run() {
 }
 
 func (s *sourceFile) applyDefaults(pod *api.Pod, source string) error {
-	return applyDefaults(pod, source, true, s.hostname)
+	return applyDefaults(pod, source, true, s.nodeName)
 }
 
 func (s *sourceFile) extractFromPath() error {
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/config/http.go b/pkg/kubelet/config/http.go
index e8d69f85290..de536ae3b74 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/config/http.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/config/http.go
@@ -33,15 +33,15 @@ import (
 
 type sourceURL struct {
 	url      string
-	hostname string
+	nodeName string
 	updates  chan<- interface{}
 	data     []byte
 }
 
-func NewSourceURL(url, hostname string, period time.Duration, updates chan<- interface{}) {
+func NewSourceURL(url, nodeName string, period time.Duration, updates chan<- interface{}) {
 	config := &sourceURL{
 		url:      url,
-		hostname: hostname,
+		nodeName: nodeName,
 		updates:  updates,
 		data:     nil,
 	}
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ func (s *sourceURL) run() {
 }
 
 func (s *sourceURL) applyDefaults(pod *api.Pod) error {
-	return applyDefaults(pod, s.url, false, s.hostname)
+	return applyDefaults(pod, s.url, false, s.nodeName)
 }
 
 func (s *sourceURL) extractFromURL() error {
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go b/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go
index 6d88c53001a..d1070cc390b 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go
@@ -114,6 +114,7 @@ func waitUntilRuntimeIsUp(cr kubecontainer.Runtime, timeout time.Duration) error
 // New creates a new Kubelet for use in main
 func NewMainKubelet(
 	hostname string,
+	nodeName string,
 	dockerClient dockertools.DockerInterface,
 	kubeClient client.Interface,
 	rootDirectory string,
@@ -179,7 +180,7 @@ func NewMainKubelet(
 	if kubeClient != nil {
 		// TODO: cache.NewListWatchFromClient is limited as it takes a client implementation rather
 		// than an interface. There is no way to construct a list+watcher using resource name.
-		fieldSelector := fields.Set{client.ObjectNameField: hostname}.AsSelector()
+		fieldSelector := fields.Set{client.ObjectNameField: nodeName}.AsSelector()
 		listWatch := &cache.ListWatch{
 			ListFunc: func() (runtime.Object, error) {
 				return kubeClient.Nodes().List(labels.Everything(), fieldSelector)
@@ -197,8 +198,8 @@ func NewMainKubelet(
 	// TODO: what is namespace for node?
 	nodeRef := &api.ObjectReference{
 		Kind:      "Node",
-		Name:      hostname,
-		UID:       types.UID(hostname),
+		Name:      nodeName,
+		UID:       types.UID(nodeName),
 		Namespace: "",
 	}
 
@@ -224,6 +225,7 @@ func NewMainKubelet(
 
 	klet := &Kubelet{
 		hostname:                       hostname,
+		nodeName:                       nodeName,
 		dockerClient:                   dockerClient,
 		kubeClient:                     kubeClient,
 		rootDirectory:                  rootDirectory,
@@ -362,6 +364,7 @@ type nodeLister interface {
 // Kubelet is the main kubelet implementation.
 type Kubelet struct {
 	hostname       string
+	nodeName       string
 	dockerClient   dockertools.DockerInterface
 	runtimeCache   kubecontainer.RuntimeCache
 	kubeClient     client.Interface
@@ -637,13 +640,13 @@ func (kl *Kubelet) GetNode() (*api.Node, error) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, errors.New("cannot list nodes")
 	}
-	host := kl.GetHostname()
+	nodeName := kl.nodeName
 	for _, n := range l.Items {
-		if n.Name == host {
+		if n.Name == nodeName {
 			return &n, nil
 		}
 	}
-	return nil, fmt.Errorf("node %v not found", host)
+	return nil, fmt.Errorf("node %v not found", nodeName)
 }
 
 // Starts garbage collection theads.
@@ -709,7 +712,7 @@ func (kl *Kubelet) Run(updates <-chan PodUpdate) {
 func (kl *Kubelet) initialNodeStatus() (*api.Node, error) {
 	node := &api.Node{
 		ObjectMeta: api.ObjectMeta{
-			Name:   kl.hostname,
+			Name:   kl.nodeName,
 			Labels: map[string]string{"kubernetes.io/hostname": kl.hostname},
 		},
 	}
@@ -718,18 +721,20 @@ func (kl *Kubelet) initialNodeStatus() (*api.Node, error) {
 		if !ok {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to get instances from cloud provider")
 		}
+
 		// TODO(roberthbailey): Can we do this without having credentials to talk
 		// to the cloud provider?
 		// TODO: ExternalID is deprecated, we'll have to drop this code
-		externalID, err := instances.ExternalID(kl.hostname)
+		externalID, err := instances.ExternalID(kl.nodeName)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to get external ID from cloud provider: %v", err)
 		}
 		node.Spec.ExternalID = externalID
+
 		// TODO: We can't assume that the node has credentials to talk to the
 		// cloudprovider from arbitrary nodes. At most, we should talk to a
 		// local metadata server here.
-		node.Spec.ProviderID, err = cloudprovider.GetInstanceProviderID(kl.cloud, kl.hostname)
+		node.Spec.ProviderID, err = cloudprovider.GetInstanceProviderID(kl.cloud, kl.nodeName)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
@@ -760,13 +765,13 @@ func (kl *Kubelet) registerWithApiserver() {
 		glog.V(2).Infof("Attempting to register node %s", node.Name)
 		if _, err := kl.kubeClient.Nodes().Create(node); err != nil {
 			if apierrors.IsAlreadyExists(err) {
-				currentNode, err := kl.kubeClient.Nodes().Get(kl.hostname)
+				currentNode, err := kl.kubeClient.Nodes().Get(kl.nodeName)
 				if err != nil {
-					glog.Errorf("error getting node %q: %v", kl.hostname, err)
+					glog.Errorf("error getting node %q: %v", kl.nodeName, err)
 					continue
 				}
 				if currentNode == nil {
-					glog.Errorf("no node instance returned for %q", kl.hostname)
+					glog.Errorf("no node instance returned for %q", kl.nodeName)
 					continue
 				}
 				if currentNode.Spec.ExternalID == node.Spec.ExternalID {
@@ -1824,10 +1829,10 @@ func (kl *Kubelet) updateNodeStatus() error {
 }
 
 func (kl *Kubelet) recordNodeStatusEvent(event string) {
-	glog.V(2).Infof("Recording %s event message for node %s", event, kl.hostname)
+	glog.V(2).Infof("Recording %s event message for node %s", event, kl.nodeName)
 	// TODO: This requires a transaction, either both node status is updated
 	// and event is recorded or neither should happen, see issue #6055.
-	kl.recorder.Eventf(kl.nodeRef, event, "Node %s status is now: %s", kl.hostname, event)
+	kl.recorder.Eventf(kl.nodeRef, event, "Node %s status is now: %s", kl.nodeName, event)
 }
 
 // Maintains Node.Spec.Unschedulable value from previous run of tryUpdateNodeStatus()
@@ -1844,7 +1849,7 @@ func (kl *Kubelet) setNodeStatus(node *api.Node) error {
 		}
 		// TODO(roberthbailey): Can we do this without having credentials to talk
 		// to the cloud provider?
-		nodeAddresses, err := instances.NodeAddresses(kl.hostname)
+		nodeAddresses, err := instances.NodeAddresses(kl.nodeName)
 		if err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("failed to get node address from cloud provider: %v", err)
 		}
@@ -1898,7 +1903,7 @@ func (kl *Kubelet) setNodeStatus(node *api.Node) error {
 			// TODO: This requires a transaction, either both node status is updated
 			// and event is recorded or neither should happen, see issue #6055.
 			kl.recorder.Eventf(kl.nodeRef, "rebooted",
-				"Node %s has been rebooted, boot id: %s", kl.hostname, info.BootID)
+				"Node %s has been rebooted, boot id: %s", kl.nodeName, info.BootID)
 		}
 		node.Status.NodeInfo.BootID = info.BootID
 	}
@@ -1987,12 +1992,12 @@ func (kl *Kubelet) setNodeStatus(node *api.Node) error {
 // tryUpdateNodeStatus tries to update node status to master. If ReconcileCBR0
 // is set, this function will also confirm that cbr0 is configured correctly.
 func (kl *Kubelet) tryUpdateNodeStatus() error {
-	node, err := kl.kubeClient.Nodes().Get(kl.hostname)
+	node, err := kl.kubeClient.Nodes().Get(kl.nodeName)
 	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("error getting node %q: %v", kl.hostname, err)
+		return fmt.Errorf("error getting node %q: %v", kl.nodeName, err)
 	}
 	if node == nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("no node instance returned for %q", kl.hostname)
+		return fmt.Errorf("no node instance returned for %q", kl.nodeName)
 	}
 	if err := kl.setNodeStatus(node); err != nil {
 		return err