diff --git a/COMPILING.txt b/COMPILING.txt
index faca6ec8..abb430c0 100644
--- a/COMPILING.txt
+++ b/COMPILING.txt
@@ -72,16 +72,43 @@ Install MySQL server and client 5.0. Download MySQL Connector/J 5.0.8 for
 JDBC. Instructions for configuring the MySQL database are in MySQLAuthTest
 and DirectMySQLTest.
 
+Use the system property sqoop.test.mysql.connectstring.host_url to specify the
+URL for the MySQL host used for testing. Specify this property on the command
+line or via the build.properties file. For example:
+
+sqoop.test.mysql.connectstring.host_url=jdbc:mysql://host.example.com/
+
+If not specified, the default value used for this property is:
+jdbc:mysql://localhost/
+
 === Oracle
 
 Install Oracle XE (Express edition) 10.2.0. Instructions for configuring the
 database are in OracleManagerTest. Download the ojdbc6_g jar.
 
+Use the system property sqoop.test.oracle.connectstring to specify the
+connection string for Oracle host used for testing. Specify this property on the
+command line or via the build.properties file. For example:
+
+sqoop.test.oracle.connectstring=jdbc:oracle:thin:@//host.example.com/xe
+
+If not specified, the default value used for this property is:
+jdbc:oracle:thin:@//localhost/xe
+
 === PostgreSQL
 
 Install PostgreSQL 8.3.9. Download the postgresql 8.4 jdbc driver. Instructions
 for configuring the database are in PostgresqlTest.
 
+Use the system property sqoop.test.postgresql.connectstring.host_url to specify
+the URL for the PostgreSQL host used for testing. Specify this property on the
+command line or via the build.properties file. For example:
+
+sqoop.test.postgresql.connectstring.host_url=jdbc:postgresql://sqoop-dbs.sf.cloudera.com/
+
+If not specified, the default value used for this property is:
+jdbc:postgresql://localhost/
+
 === Running the Third-party Tests
 
 After the third-party databases are installed and configured, run:
diff --git a/build.xml b/build.xml
index ca8ef2b5..4bcce79b 100644
--- a/build.xml
+++ b/build.xml
@@ -162,12 +162,18 @@
 
   <!--this is the naming policy for artifacts we want pulled down-->
   <property name="ivy.artifact.retrieve.pattern"
-	    value="${name}/[conf]/[artifact]-[revision](-[classifier]).[ext]"/>
+      value="${name}/[conf]/[artifact]-[revision](-[classifier]).[ext]"/>
 
   <!--test related properties -->
   <property name="sqoop.test.oracle.connectstring"
             value="jdbc:oracle:thin:@//localhost/xe"/>
 
+  <property name="sqoop.test.mysql.connectstring.host_url"
+            value="jdbc:mysql://localhost/"/>
+
+  <property name="sqoop.test.postgresql.connectstring.host_url"
+            value="jdbc:postgresql://localhost/"/>
+
   <!-- load ant-contrib tasks to get the "if" task. -->
   <taskdef resource="net/sf/antcontrib/antcontrib.properties">
     <classpath>
@@ -558,6 +564,12 @@
       <sysproperty key="sqoop.test.oracle.connectstring"
                    value="${sqoop.test.oracle.connectstring}"/>
 
+      <sysproperty key="sqoop.test.mysql.connectstring.host_url"
+                   value="${sqoop.test.mysql.connectstring.host_url}"/>
+
+      <sysproperty key="sqoop.test.postgresql.connectstring.host_url"
+                   value="${sqoop.test.postgresql.connectstring.host_url}"/>
+
       <classpath>
         <!-- instrumented classes go ahead of normal classes -->
         <pathelement location="${cobertura.class.dir}" />
diff --git a/src/test/com/cloudera/sqoop/manager/DirectMySQLTest.java b/src/test/com/cloudera/sqoop/manager/DirectMySQLTest.java
index 76d513a0..1a081f32 100644
--- a/src/test/com/cloudera/sqoop/manager/DirectMySQLTest.java
+++ b/src/test/com/cloudera/sqoop/manager/DirectMySQLTest.java
@@ -84,6 +84,10 @@ public void setUp() {
     SqoopOptions options = new SqoopOptions(MySQLTestUtils.CONNECT_STRING,
         getTableName());
     options.setUsername(MySQLTestUtils.getCurrentUser());
+
+    LOG.debug("Setting up another DirectMySQLTest: "
+        + MySQLTestUtils.CONNECT_STRING);
+
     manager = new DirectMySQLManager(options);
 
     Connection connection = null;
@@ -94,7 +98,7 @@ public void setUp() {
       connection.setAutoCommit(false);
       st = connection.createStatement();
 
-      // create the database table and populate it with data. 
+      // create the database table and populate it with data.
       st.executeUpdate("DROP TABLE IF EXISTS " + getTableName());
       st.executeUpdate("CREATE TABLE " + getTableName() + " ("
           + "id INT NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT, "
diff --git a/src/test/com/cloudera/sqoop/manager/MySQLAuthTest.java b/src/test/com/cloudera/sqoop/manager/MySQLAuthTest.java
index ddc01bfb..bd004068 100644
--- a/src/test/com/cloudera/sqoop/manager/MySQLAuthTest.java
+++ b/src/test/com/cloudera/sqoop/manager/MySQLAuthTest.java
@@ -65,7 +65,9 @@ public class MySQLAuthTest extends ImportJobTestCase {
   public static final Log LOG = LogFactory.getLog(
       MySQLAuthTest.class.getName());
 
-  static final String HOST_URL = "jdbc:mysql://localhost/";
+  static final String HOST_URL = System.getProperty(
+          "sqoop.test.mysql.connectstring.host_url",
+          "jdbc:mysql://localhost/");
 
   static final String AUTH_TEST_DATABASE = "sqooppasstest";
   static final String AUTH_TEST_USER = "sqooptest";
@@ -89,6 +91,8 @@ public void setUp() {
     options.setUsername(AUTH_TEST_USER);
     options.setPassword(AUTH_TEST_PASS);
 
+    LOG.debug("Setting up another MySQLAuthTest: " + AUTH_CONNECT_STRING);
+
     manager = new DirectMySQLManager(options);
 
     Connection connection = null;
@@ -99,7 +103,7 @@ public void setUp() {
       connection.setAutoCommit(false);
       st = connection.createStatement();
 
-      // create the database table and populate it with data. 
+      // create the database table and populate it with data.
       st.executeUpdate("DROP TABLE IF EXISTS " + AUTH_TABLE_NAME);
       st.executeUpdate("CREATE TABLE " + AUTH_TABLE_NAME + " ("
           + "id INT NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT, "
@@ -286,7 +290,7 @@ public void doZeroTimestampTest(int testNum, boolean expectSuccess,
       connection.setAutoCommit(false);
       st = connection.createStatement();
 
-      // create the database table and populate it with data. 
+      // create the database table and populate it with data.
       st.executeUpdate("DROP TABLE IF EXISTS " + TABLE_NAME);
       st.executeUpdate("CREATE TABLE " + TABLE_NAME + " ("
           + "id INT NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT, "
diff --git a/src/test/com/cloudera/sqoop/manager/MySQLTestUtils.java b/src/test/com/cloudera/sqoop/manager/MySQLTestUtils.java
index 13478350..5e59e53f 100644
--- a/src/test/com/cloudera/sqoop/manager/MySQLTestUtils.java
+++ b/src/test/com/cloudera/sqoop/manager/MySQLTestUtils.java
@@ -34,7 +34,9 @@ public final class MySQLTestUtils {
   public static final Log LOG = LogFactory.getLog(
       MySQLTestUtils.class.getName());
 
-  public static final String HOST_URL = "jdbc:mysql://localhost/";
+  public static final String HOST_URL = System.getProperty(
+      "sqoop.test.mysql.connectstring.host_url",
+      "jdbc:mysql://localhost/");
 
   public static final String MYSQL_DATABASE_NAME = "sqooptestdb";
   public static final String TABLE_NAME = "EMPLOYEES_MYSQL";
@@ -81,7 +83,7 @@ public static String getCurrentUser() {
           if (0 != ret) {
             LOG.error("whoami exited with error status " + ret);
             // suppress original return value from this method.
-            return null; 
+            return null;
           }
         } catch (InterruptedException ie) {
           continue; // loop around.
diff --git a/src/test/com/cloudera/sqoop/manager/PostgresqlTest.java b/src/test/com/cloudera/sqoop/manager/PostgresqlTest.java
index 5caac7a2..0e27e70d 100644
--- a/src/test/com/cloudera/sqoop/manager/PostgresqlTest.java
+++ b/src/test/com/cloudera/sqoop/manager/PostgresqlTest.java
@@ -82,7 +82,9 @@ public class PostgresqlTest extends ImportJobTestCase {
   public static final Log LOG = LogFactory.getLog(
       PostgresqlTest.class.getName());
 
-  static final String HOST_URL = "jdbc:postgresql://localhost/";
+  static final String HOST_URL = System.getProperty(
+      "sqoop.test.postgresql.connectstring.host_url",
+      "jdbc:postgresql://localhost/");
 
   static final String DATABASE_USER = "sqooptest";
   static final String DATABASE_NAME = "sqooptest";
@@ -98,7 +100,7 @@ protected boolean useHsqldbTestServer() {
   public void setUp() {
     super.setUp();
 
-    LOG.debug("Setting up another postgresql test...");
+    LOG.debug("Setting up another postgresql test: " + CONNECT_STRING);
 
     SqoopOptions options = new SqoopOptions(CONNECT_STRING, TABLE_NAME);
     options.setUsername(DATABASE_USER);