diff --git a/etc/tempest.conf.sample b/etc/tempest.conf.sample
index a2db4f4048..7ece127c2c 100644
--- a/etc/tempest.conf.sample
+++ b/etc/tempest.conf.sample
@@ -905,10 +905,6 @@
 # the test workload (string value)
 #instance_type = m1.micro
 
-# Name of heat-cfntools enabled image to use when launching test
-# instances. (string value)
-#image_ref = <None>
-
 # Name of existing keypair to launch servers with. (string value)
 #keypair_name = <None>
 
diff --git a/tempest/api/orchestration/stacks/templates/neutron_basic.yaml b/tempest/api/orchestration/stacks/templates/neutron_basic.yaml
index 878ff681ca..be33c94b6b 100644
--- a/tempest/api/orchestration/stacks/templates/neutron_basic.yaml
+++ b/tempest/api/orchestration/stacks/templates/neutron_basic.yaml
@@ -51,12 +51,14 @@ resources:
       key_name: {get_param: KeyName}
       networks:
       - network: {get_resource: Network}
+      user_data_format: RAW
       user_data:
         str_replace:
           template: |
-            #!/bin/bash -v
+            #!/bin/sh -v
 
-            while ! /opt/aws/bin/cfn-signal -e 0 -r "SmokeServerNeutron created" \
+            SIGNAL_DATA='{"Status": "SUCCESS", "Reason": "SmokeServerNeutron created", "Data": "Application has completed configuration.", "UniqueId": "00000"}'
+            while ! curl --fail -X PUT -H 'Content-Type:' --data-binary "$SIGNAL_DATA" \
             'wait_handle' ; do sleep 3; done
           params:
             wait_handle: {get_resource: WaitHandleNeutron}
diff --git a/tempest/api/orchestration/stacks/test_neutron_resources.py b/tempest/api/orchestration/stacks/test_neutron_resources.py
index 998e3d0dee..bcf091a719 100644
--- a/tempest/api/orchestration/stacks/test_neutron_resources.py
+++ b/tempest/api/orchestration/stacks/test_neutron_resources.py
@@ -32,8 +32,6 @@ class NeutronResourcesTestJSON(base.BaseOrchestrationTest):
     @classmethod
     def skip_checks(cls):
         super(NeutronResourcesTestJSON, cls).skip_checks()
-        if not CONF.orchestration.image_ref:
-            raise cls.skipException("No image available to test")
         if not CONF.service_available.neutron:
             raise cls.skipException("Neutron support is required")
 
@@ -68,7 +66,7 @@ class NeutronResourcesTestJSON(base.BaseOrchestrationTest):
             parameters={
                 'KeyName': cls.keypair_name,
                 'InstanceType': CONF.orchestration.instance_type,
-                'ImageId': CONF.orchestration.image_ref,
+                'ImageId': CONF.compute.image_ref,
                 'ExternalNetworkId': cls.external_network_id,
                 'timeout': CONF.orchestration.build_timeout,
                 'DNSServers': CONF.network.dns_servers,
diff --git a/tempest/api/orchestration/stacks/test_non_empty_stack.py b/tempest/api/orchestration/stacks/test_non_empty_stack.py
index 01b1ef17ae..9c5a6d52f7 100644
--- a/tempest/api/orchestration/stacks/test_non_empty_stack.py
+++ b/tempest/api/orchestration/stacks/test_non_empty_stack.py
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ class StacksTestJSON(base.BaseOrchestrationTest):
         super(StacksTestJSON, cls).resource_setup()
         cls.stack_name = data_utils.rand_name('heat')
         template = cls.read_template('non_empty_stack')
-        image_id = (CONF.orchestration.image_ref or
+        image_id = (CONF.compute.image_ref or
                     cls._create_image()['id'])
         flavor = CONF.orchestration.instance_type
         # create the stack
diff --git a/tempest/config.py b/tempest/config.py
index a66aa9b3f9..0ff7ba72c1 100644
--- a/tempest/config.py
+++ b/tempest/config.py
@@ -701,9 +701,6 @@ OrchestrationGroup = [
                default='m1.micro',
                help="Instance type for tests. Needs to be big enough for a "
                     "full OS plus the test workload"),
-    cfg.StrOpt('image_ref',
-               help="Name of heat-cfntools enabled image to use when "
-                    "launching test instances."),
     cfg.StrOpt('keypair_name',
                help="Name of existing keypair to launch servers with."),
     cfg.IntOpt('max_template_size',