diff --git a/heat/api/cfn/v1/stacks.py b/heat/api/cfn/v1/stacks.py
index 99f1a7222d..65476e1db5 100644
--- a/heat/api/cfn/v1/stacks.py
+++ b/heat/api/cfn/v1/stacks.py
@@ -25,9 +25,9 @@ import errno
 from heat.api.aws import exception
 from heat.api.aws import utils as api_utils
 from heat.common import wsgi
-from heat.engine import rpcapi as engine_rpcapi
+from heat.rpc import client as rpc_client
 from heat.common import template_format
-import heat.engine.api as engine_api
+from heat.rpc import api as engine_api
 from heat.common import identifier
 
 import heat.openstack.common.rpc.common as rpc_common
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ class StackController(object):
 
     def __init__(self, options):
         self.options = options
-        self.engine_rpcapi = engine_rpcapi.EngineAPI()
+        self.engine_rpcapi = rpc_client.EngineClient()
 
     @staticmethod
     def _id_format(resp):
diff --git a/heat/api/cfn/v1/waitcondition.py b/heat/api/cfn/v1/waitcondition.py
index f8bd2c479f..9f93e1cde4 100644
--- a/heat/api/cfn/v1/waitcondition.py
+++ b/heat/api/cfn/v1/waitcondition.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ from webob.exc import Response
 
 from heat.common import wsgi
 from heat.common import context
-from heat.engine import rpcapi as engine_rpcapi
+from heat.rpc import client as rpc_client
 from heat.openstack.common import rpc
 
 
@@ -40,11 +40,11 @@ def json_error(http_status, message):
 class WaitConditionController:
     def __init__(self, options):
         self.options = options
-        self.engine_rpcapi = engine_rpcapi.EngineAPI()
+        self.engine = rpc_client.EngineClient()
 
     def update_waitcondition(self, req, body, stack_id, resource_name):
         con = req.context
-        [error, metadata] = self.engine_rpcapi.metadata_update(con,
+        [error, metadata] = self.engine.metadata_update(con,
                                  stack_id=stack_id,
                                  resource_name=resource_name,
                                  metadata=body)
diff --git a/heat/api/cloudwatch/watch.py b/heat/api/cloudwatch/watch.py
index 58a2fcd334..0020ec1942 100644
--- a/heat/api/cloudwatch/watch.py
+++ b/heat/api/cloudwatch/watch.py
@@ -19,8 +19,8 @@ endpoint for heat AWS-compatible CloudWatch API
 from heat.api.aws import exception
 from heat.api.aws import utils as api_utils
 from heat.common import wsgi
-from heat.engine import rpcapi as engine_rpcapi
-import heat.engine.api as engine_api
+from heat.rpc import client as rpc_client
+from heat.rpc import api as engine_api
 
 import heat.openstack.common.rpc.common as rpc_common
 from heat.openstack.common import log as logging
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ class WatchController(object):
 
     def __init__(self, options):
         self.options = options
-        self.engine_rpcapi = engine_rpcapi.EngineAPI()
+        self.engine_rpcapi = rpc_client.EngineClient()
 
     @staticmethod
     def _reformat_dimensions(dims):
diff --git a/heat/api/openstack/v1/events.py b/heat/api/openstack/v1/events.py
index b2b0e38579..20c7658123 100644
--- a/heat/api/openstack/v1/events.py
+++ b/heat/api/openstack/v1/events.py
@@ -18,9 +18,9 @@ from webob import exc
 
 from heat.api.openstack.v1 import util
 from heat.common import wsgi
-from heat.engine import api as engine_api
+from heat.rpc import api as engine_api
 from heat.common import identifier
-from heat.engine import rpcapi as engine_rpcapi
+from heat.rpc import client as rpc_client
 import heat.openstack.common.rpc.common as rpc_common
 from heat.openstack.common.gettextutils import _
 
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ class EventController(object):
 
     def __init__(self, options):
         self.options = options
-        self.engine = engine_rpcapi.EngineAPI()
+        self.engine = rpc_client.EngineClient()
 
     def _event_list(self, req, identity,
                     filter_func=lambda e: True, detail=False):
diff --git a/heat/api/openstack/v1/resources.py b/heat/api/openstack/v1/resources.py
index a63e35f809..ca31516fb7 100644
--- a/heat/api/openstack/v1/resources.py
+++ b/heat/api/openstack/v1/resources.py
@@ -17,9 +17,9 @@ import itertools
 
 from heat.api.openstack.v1 import util
 from heat.common import wsgi
-from heat.engine import api as engine_api
+from heat.rpc import api as engine_api
 from heat.common import identifier
-from heat.engine import rpcapi as engine_rpcapi
+from heat.rpc import client as rpc_client
 import heat.openstack.common.rpc.common as rpc_common
 
 
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ class ResourceController(object):
 
     def __init__(self, options):
         self.options = options
-        self.engine = engine_rpcapi.EngineAPI()
+        self.engine = rpc_client.EngineClient()
 
     @util.identified_stack
     def index(self, req, identity):
diff --git a/heat/api/openstack/v1/stacks.py b/heat/api/openstack/v1/stacks.py
index e76f02e882..2c058e15e0 100644
--- a/heat/api/openstack/v1/stacks.py
+++ b/heat/api/openstack/v1/stacks.py
@@ -27,8 +27,8 @@ from webob import exc
 from heat.api.openstack.v1 import util
 from heat.common import wsgi
 from heat.common import template_format
-from heat.engine import api as engine_api
-from heat.engine import rpcapi as engine_rpcapi
+from heat.rpc import api as engine_api
+from heat.rpc import client as rpc_client
 
 import heat.openstack.common.rpc.common as rpc_common
 from heat.openstack.common import log as logging
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ class StackController(object):
 
     def __init__(self, options):
         self.options = options
-        self.engine_rpcapi = engine_rpcapi.EngineAPI()
+        self.engine = rpc_client.EngineClient()
 
     def default(self, req, **args):
         raise exc.HTTPNotFound()
@@ -176,7 +176,7 @@ class StackController(object):
         """
 
         try:
-            stack_list = self.engine_rpcapi.list_stacks(req.context)
+            stack_list = self.engine.list_stacks(req.context)
         except rpc_common.RemoteError as ex:
             return util.remote_error(ex, True)
 
@@ -202,11 +202,11 @@ class StackController(object):
         data = InstantiationData(body)
 
         try:
-            result = self.engine_rpcapi.create_stack(req.context,
-                                                     data.stack_name(),
-                                                     data.template(),
-                                                     data.user_params(),
-                                                     data.args())
+            result = self.engine.create_stack(req.context,
+                                              data.stack_name(),
+                                              data.template(),
+                                              data.user_params(),
+                                              data.args())
         except rpc_common.RemoteError as ex:
             return util.remote_error(ex, True)
 
@@ -222,8 +222,8 @@ class StackController(object):
         """
 
         try:
-            identity = self.engine_rpcapi.identify_stack(req.context,
-                                                         stack_name)
+            identity = self.engine.identify_stack(req.context,
+                                                  stack_name)
         except rpc_common.RemoteError as ex:
             return util.remote_error(ex)
 
@@ -240,8 +240,8 @@ class StackController(object):
         """
 
         try:
-            stack_list = self.engine_rpcapi.show_stack(req.context,
-                                                       identity)
+            stack_list = self.engine.show_stack(req.context,
+                                                identity)
         except rpc_common.RemoteError as ex:
             return util.remote_error(ex)
 
@@ -259,8 +259,8 @@ class StackController(object):
         """
 
         try:
-            templ = self.engine_rpcapi.get_template(req.context,
-                                                    identity)
+            templ = self.engine.get_template(req.context,
+                                             identity)
         except rpc_common.RemoteError as ex:
             return util.remote_error(ex)
 
@@ -278,11 +278,11 @@ class StackController(object):
         data = InstantiationData(body)
 
         try:
-            res = self.engine_rpcapi.update_stack(req.context,
-                                                  identity,
-                                                  data.template(),
-                                                  data.user_params(),
-                                                  data.args())
+            res = self.engine.update_stack(req.context,
+                                           identity,
+                                           data.template(),
+                                           data.user_params(),
+                                           data.args())
         except rpc_common.RemoteError as ex:
             return util.remote_error(ex)
 
@@ -298,9 +298,9 @@ class StackController(object):
         """
 
         try:
-            res = self.engine_rpcapi.delete_stack(req.context,
-                                                  identity,
-                                                  cast=False)
+            res = self.engine.delete_stack(req.context,
+                                           identity,
+                                           cast=False)
 
         except rpc_common.RemoteError as ex:
             return util.remote_error(ex)
@@ -320,8 +320,8 @@ class StackController(object):
         data = InstantiationData(body)
 
         try:
-            result = self.engine_rpcapi.validate_template(req.context,
-                                                          data.template())
+            result = self.engine.validate_template(req.context,
+                                                   data.template())
         except rpc_common.RemoteError as ex:
             return util.remote_error(ex, True)
 
diff --git a/heat/engine/api.py b/heat/engine/api.py
index 62711f799f..9403f4c7b4 100644
--- a/heat/engine/api.py
+++ b/heat/engine/api.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 #    License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations
 #    under the License.
 
+from heat.rpc.api import *
 from heat.openstack.common import timeutils
 from heat.engine import parser
 from heat.engine import template
@@ -21,8 +22,6 @@ from heat.openstack.common import log as logging
 
 logger = logging.getLogger('heat.engine.manager')
 
-PARAM_KEYS = (PARAM_TIMEOUT, ) = ('timeout_mins', )
-
 
 def extract_args(params):
     '''
@@ -41,33 +40,6 @@ def extract_args(params):
     return kwargs
 
 
-STACK_KEYS = (
-    STACK_NAME, STACK_ID,
-    STACK_CREATION_TIME, STACK_UPDATED_TIME, STACK_DELETION_TIME,
-    STACK_NOTIFICATION_TOPICS,
-    STACK_DESCRIPTION, STACK_TMPL_DESCRIPTION,
-    STACK_PARAMETERS, STACK_OUTPUTS,
-    STACK_STATUS, STACK_STATUS_DATA, STACK_CAPABILITIES,
-    STACK_DISABLE_ROLLBACK, STACK_TIMEOUT,
-) = (
-    'stack_name', 'stack_identity',
-    'creation_time', 'updated_time', 'deletion_time',
-    'notification_topics',
-    'description', 'template_description',
-    'parameters', 'outputs',
-    'stack_status', 'stack_status_reason', 'capabilities',
-    'disable_rollback', 'timeout_mins'
-)
-
-STACK_OUTPUT_KEYS = (
-    OUTPUT_DESCRIPTION,
-    OUTPUT_KEY, OUTPUT_VALUE,
-) = (
-    'description',
-    'output_key', 'output_value',
-)
-
-
 def format_stack_outputs(stack, outputs):
     '''
     Return a representation of the given output template for the given stack
@@ -110,19 +82,6 @@ def format_stack(stack):
     return info
 
 
-RES_KEYS = (
-    RES_DESCRIPTION, RES_UPDATED_TIME,
-    RES_NAME, RES_PHYSICAL_ID, RES_METADATA,
-    RES_STATUS, RES_STATUS_DATA, RES_TYPE,
-    RES_ID, RES_STACK_ID, RES_STACK_NAME,
-) = (
-    'description', 'updated_time',
-    'logical_resource_id', 'physical_resource_id', 'metadata',
-    'resource_status', 'resource_status_reason', 'resource_type',
-    'resource_identity', STACK_ID, STACK_NAME,
-)
-
-
 def format_stack_resource(resource, detail=True):
     '''
     Return a representation of the given resource that matches the API output
@@ -149,23 +108,6 @@ def format_stack_resource(resource, detail=True):
     return res
 
 
-EVENT_KEYS = (
-    EVENT_ID,
-    EVENT_STACK_ID, EVENT_STACK_NAME,
-    EVENT_TIMESTAMP,
-    EVENT_RES_NAME, EVENT_RES_PHYSICAL_ID,
-    EVENT_RES_STATUS, EVENT_RES_STATUS_DATA, EVENT_RES_TYPE,
-    EVENT_RES_PROPERTIES,
-) = (
-    'event_identity',
-    STACK_ID, STACK_NAME,
-    "event_time",
-    RES_NAME, RES_PHYSICAL_ID,
-    RES_STATUS, RES_STATUS_DATA, RES_TYPE,
-    'resource_properties',
-)
-
-
 def format_event(event):
     stack_identifier = event.stack.identifier()
 
@@ -185,56 +127,6 @@ def format_event(event):
     return result
 
 
-# This is the representation of a watch we expose to the API via RPC
-WATCH_KEYS = (
-    WATCH_ACTIONS_ENABLED, WATCH_ALARM_ACTIONS, WATCH_TOPIC,
-    WATCH_UPDATED_TIME, WATCH_DESCRIPTION, WATCH_NAME,
-    WATCH_COMPARISON, WATCH_DIMENSIONS, WATCH_PERIODS,
-    WATCH_INSUFFICIENT_ACTIONS, WATCH_METRIC_NAME, WATCH_NAMESPACE,
-    WATCH_OK_ACTIONS, WATCH_PERIOD, WATCH_STATE_REASON,
-    WATCH_STATE_REASON_DATA, WATCH_STATE_UPDATED_TIME, WATCH_STATE_VALUE,
-    WATCH_STATISTIC, WATCH_THRESHOLD, WATCH_UNIT, WATCH_STACK_ID
-    ) = (
-    'actions_enabled', 'actions', 'topic',
-    'updated_time', 'description', 'name',
-    'comparison', 'dimensions', 'periods',
-    'insufficient_actions', 'metric_name', 'namespace',
-    'ok_actions', 'period', 'state_reason',
-    'state_reason_data', 'state_updated_time', 'state_value',
-    'statistic', 'threshold', 'unit', 'stack_id')
-
-
-# Alternate representation of a watch rule to align with DB format
-# FIXME : These align with AWS naming for compatibility with the
-# current cfn-push-stats & metadata server, fix when we've ported
-# cfn-push-stats to use the Cloudwatch server and/or moved metric
-# collection into ceilometer, these should just be WATCH_KEYS
-# or each field should be stored separately in the DB watch_data
-# table if we stick to storing watch data in the heat DB
-WATCH_RULE_KEYS = (
-    RULE_ACTIONS_ENABLED, RULE_ALARM_ACTIONS, RULE_TOPIC,
-    RULE_UPDATED_TIME, RULE_DESCRIPTION, RULE_NAME,
-    RULE_COMPARISON, RULE_DIMENSIONS, RULE_PERIODS,
-    RULE_INSUFFICIENT_ACTIONS, RULE_METRIC_NAME, RULE_NAMESPACE,
-    RULE_OK_ACTIONS, RULE_PERIOD, RULE_STATE_REASON,
-    RULE_STATE_REASON_DATA, RULE_STATE_UPDATED_TIME, RULE_STATE_VALUE,
-    RULE_STATISTIC, RULE_THRESHOLD, RULE_UNIT, RULE_STACK_NAME
-    ) = (
-    'ActionsEnabled', 'AlarmActions', 'AlarmArn',
-    'AlarmConfigurationUpdatedTimestamp', 'AlarmDescription', 'AlarmName',
-    'ComparisonOperator', 'Dimensions', 'EvaluationPeriods',
-    'InsufficientDataActions', 'MetricName', 'Namespace',
-    'OKActions', 'Period', 'StateReason',
-    'StateReasonData', 'StateUpdatedTimestamp', 'StateValue',
-    'Statistic', 'Threshold', 'Unit', 'StackName')
-
-
-WATCH_STATES = (WATCH_STATE_OK, WATCH_STATE_ALARM, WATCH_STATE_NODATA
-    ) = (watchrule.WatchRule.NORMAL,
-         watchrule.WatchRule.ALARM,
-         watchrule.WatchRule.NODATA)
-
-
 def format_watch(watch):
 
     result = {
@@ -266,14 +158,6 @@ def format_watch(watch):
     return result
 
 
-WATCH_DATA_KEYS = (
-    WATCH_DATA_ALARM, WATCH_DATA_METRIC, WATCH_DATA_TIME,
-    WATCH_DATA_NAMESPACE, WATCH_DATA
-    ) = (
-    'watch_name', 'metric_name', 'timestamp',
-    'namespace', 'data')
-
-
 def format_watch_data(wd):
 
     # Demangle DB format data into something more easily used in the API
diff --git a/heat/engine/watchrule.py b/heat/engine/watchrule.py
index 09a278e96f..58ff391a10 100644
--- a/heat/engine/watchrule.py
+++ b/heat/engine/watchrule.py
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ from heat.openstack.common import timeutils
 from heat.engine import timestamp
 from heat.db import api as db_api
 from heat.engine import parser
+from heat.rpc import api as rpc_api
 from heat.common import context as ctxtlib
 import eventlet
 
@@ -28,9 +29,15 @@ greenpool = eventlet.GreenPool()
 
 
 class WatchRule(object):
-    WATCH_STATES = (ALARM, NORMAL, NODATA
-    ) = ('ALARM', 'NORMAL', 'NODATA')
-
+    WATCH_STATES = (
+        ALARM,
+        NORMAL,
+        NODATA
+    ) = (
+        rpc_api.WATCH_STATE_ALARM,
+        rpc_api.WATCH_STATE_OK,
+        rpc_api.WATCH_STATE_NODATA
+    )
     ACTION_MAP = {ALARM: 'AlarmActions',
                   NORMAL: 'OKActions',
                   NODATA: 'InsufficientDataActions'}
diff --git a/heat/rpc/__init__.py b/heat/rpc/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2
diff --git a/heat/rpc/api.py b/heat/rpc/api.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ec673057eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/heat/rpc/api.py
@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+# vim: tabstop=4 shiftwidth=4 softtabstop=4
+#
+#    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.
+
+PARAM_KEYS = (PARAM_TIMEOUT, ) = ('timeout_mins', )
+
+STACK_KEYS = (
+    STACK_NAME, STACK_ID,
+    STACK_CREATION_TIME, STACK_UPDATED_TIME, STACK_DELETION_TIME,
+    STACK_NOTIFICATION_TOPICS,
+    STACK_DESCRIPTION, STACK_TMPL_DESCRIPTION,
+    STACK_PARAMETERS, STACK_OUTPUTS,
+    STACK_STATUS, STACK_STATUS_DATA, STACK_CAPABILITIES,
+    STACK_DISABLE_ROLLBACK, STACK_TIMEOUT,
+) = (
+    'stack_name', 'stack_identity',
+    'creation_time', 'updated_time', 'deletion_time',
+    'notification_topics',
+    'description', 'template_description',
+    'parameters', 'outputs',
+    'stack_status', 'stack_status_reason', 'capabilities',
+    'disable_rollback', 'timeout_mins'
+)
+
+STACK_OUTPUT_KEYS = (
+    OUTPUT_DESCRIPTION,
+    OUTPUT_KEY, OUTPUT_VALUE,
+) = (
+    'description',
+    'output_key', 'output_value',
+)
+
+RES_KEYS = (
+    RES_DESCRIPTION, RES_UPDATED_TIME,
+    RES_NAME, RES_PHYSICAL_ID, RES_METADATA,
+    RES_STATUS, RES_STATUS_DATA, RES_TYPE,
+    RES_ID, RES_STACK_ID, RES_STACK_NAME,
+) = (
+    'description', 'updated_time',
+    'logical_resource_id', 'physical_resource_id', 'metadata',
+    'resource_status', 'resource_status_reason', 'resource_type',
+    'resource_identity', STACK_ID, STACK_NAME,
+)
+
+EVENT_KEYS = (
+    EVENT_ID,
+    EVENT_STACK_ID, EVENT_STACK_NAME,
+    EVENT_TIMESTAMP,
+    EVENT_RES_NAME, EVENT_RES_PHYSICAL_ID,
+    EVENT_RES_STATUS, EVENT_RES_STATUS_DATA, EVENT_RES_TYPE,
+    EVENT_RES_PROPERTIES,
+) = (
+    'event_identity',
+    STACK_ID, STACK_NAME,
+    "event_time",
+    RES_NAME, RES_PHYSICAL_ID,
+    RES_STATUS, RES_STATUS_DATA, RES_TYPE,
+    'resource_properties',
+)
+
+# This is the representation of a watch we expose to the API via RPC
+WATCH_KEYS = (
+    WATCH_ACTIONS_ENABLED, WATCH_ALARM_ACTIONS, WATCH_TOPIC,
+    WATCH_UPDATED_TIME, WATCH_DESCRIPTION, WATCH_NAME,
+    WATCH_COMPARISON, WATCH_DIMENSIONS, WATCH_PERIODS,
+    WATCH_INSUFFICIENT_ACTIONS, WATCH_METRIC_NAME, WATCH_NAMESPACE,
+    WATCH_OK_ACTIONS, WATCH_PERIOD, WATCH_STATE_REASON,
+    WATCH_STATE_REASON_DATA, WATCH_STATE_UPDATED_TIME, WATCH_STATE_VALUE,
+    WATCH_STATISTIC, WATCH_THRESHOLD, WATCH_UNIT, WATCH_STACK_ID
+) = (
+    'actions_enabled', 'actions', 'topic',
+    'updated_time', 'description', 'name',
+    'comparison', 'dimensions', 'periods',
+    'insufficient_actions', 'metric_name', 'namespace',
+    'ok_actions', 'period', 'state_reason',
+    'state_reason_data', 'state_updated_time', 'state_value',
+    'statistic', 'threshold', 'unit', 'stack_id')
+
+# Alternate representation of a watch rule to align with DB format
+# FIXME : These align with AWS naming for compatibility with the
+# current cfn-push-stats & metadata server, fix when we've ported
+# cfn-push-stats to use the Cloudwatch server and/or moved metric
+# collection into ceilometer, these should just be WATCH_KEYS
+# or each field should be stored separately in the DB watch_data
+# table if we stick to storing watch data in the heat DB
+WATCH_RULE_KEYS = (
+    RULE_ACTIONS_ENABLED, RULE_ALARM_ACTIONS, RULE_TOPIC,
+    RULE_UPDATED_TIME, RULE_DESCRIPTION, RULE_NAME,
+    RULE_COMPARISON, RULE_DIMENSIONS, RULE_PERIODS,
+    RULE_INSUFFICIENT_ACTIONS, RULE_METRIC_NAME, RULE_NAMESPACE,
+    RULE_OK_ACTIONS, RULE_PERIOD, RULE_STATE_REASON,
+    RULE_STATE_REASON_DATA, RULE_STATE_UPDATED_TIME, RULE_STATE_VALUE,
+    RULE_STATISTIC, RULE_THRESHOLD, RULE_UNIT, RULE_STACK_NAME
+) = (
+    'ActionsEnabled', 'AlarmActions', 'AlarmArn',
+    'AlarmConfigurationUpdatedTimestamp', 'AlarmDescription', 'AlarmName',
+    'ComparisonOperator', 'Dimensions', 'EvaluationPeriods',
+    'InsufficientDataActions', 'MetricName', 'Namespace',
+    'OKActions', 'Period', 'StateReason',
+    'StateReasonData', 'StateUpdatedTimestamp', 'StateValue',
+    'Statistic', 'Threshold', 'Unit', 'StackName')
+
+WATCH_STATES = (
+    WATCH_STATE_OK, WATCH_STATE_ALARM, WATCH_STATE_NODATA
+) = (
+    'NORMAL', 'ALARM', 'NODATA',
+)
+
+WATCH_DATA_KEYS = (
+    WATCH_DATA_ALARM, WATCH_DATA_METRIC, WATCH_DATA_TIME,
+    WATCH_DATA_NAMESPACE, WATCH_DATA
+) = (
+    'watch_name', 'metric_name', 'timestamp',
+    'namespace', 'data'
+)
diff --git a/heat/engine/rpcapi.py b/heat/rpc/client.py
similarity index 98%
rename from heat/engine/rpcapi.py
rename to heat/rpc/client.py
index 534c629258..9036ed4efe 100644
--- a/heat/engine/rpcapi.py
+++ b/heat/rpc/client.py
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ def _engine_topic(topic, ctxt, host):
     return rpc.queue_get_for(ctxt, topic, host)
 
 
-class EngineAPI(heat.openstack.common.rpc.proxy.RpcProxy):
+class EngineClient(heat.openstack.common.rpc.proxy.RpcProxy):
     '''Client side of the heat engine rpc API.
 
     API version history:
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ class EngineAPI(heat.openstack.common.rpc.proxy.RpcProxy):
     BASE_RPC_API_VERSION = '1.0'
 
     def __init__(self):
-        super(EngineAPI, self).__init__(
+        super(EngineClient, self).__init__(
                 topic=FLAGS.engine_topic,
                 default_version=self.BASE_RPC_API_VERSION)
 
diff --git a/heat/tests/test_api_cloudwatch.py b/heat/tests/test_api_cloudwatch.py
index a2fe652eff..3f5398e6ef 100644
--- a/heat/tests/test_api_cloudwatch.py
+++ b/heat/tests/test_api_cloudwatch.py
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ import heat.openstack.common.rpc.common as rpc_common
 from heat.common.wsgi import Request
 from heat.api.aws import exception
 import heat.api.cloudwatch.watch as watches
-import heat.engine.api as engine_api
+from heat.rpc import api as engine_api
 
 
 @attr(tag=['unit', 'api-cloudwatch', 'WatchController'])
diff --git a/heat/tests/test_rpcapi.py b/heat/tests/test_rpc_client.py
similarity index 97%
rename from heat/tests/test_rpcapi.py
rename to heat/tests/test_rpc_client.py
index 5112c5c9d7..11c0ae2ddf 100644
--- a/heat/tests/test_rpcapi.py
+++ b/heat/tests/test_rpc_client.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 #    under the License.
 
 """
-Unit Tests for heat.engine.rpcapi
+Unit Tests for heat.rpc.client
 """
 
 
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ import unittest
 
 from heat.common import config
 from heat.common import context
-from heat.engine import rpcapi as engine_rpcapi
+from heat.rpc import client as rpc_client
 from heat.openstack.common import cfg
 from heat.openstack.common import rpc
 
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ class EngineRpcAPITestCase(unittest.TestCase):
             rpcapi_class = kwargs['rpcapi_class']
             del kwargs['rpcapi_class']
         else:
-            rpcapi_class = engine_rpcapi.EngineAPI
+            rpcapi_class = rpc_client.EngineClient
         rpcapi = rpcapi_class()
         expected_retval = 'foo' if method == 'call' else None