diff --git a/plugins/guests/debian/cap/change_host_name.rb b/plugins/guests/debian/cap/change_host_name.rb
index d75d45d50..8b563cc21 100644
--- a/plugins/guests/debian/cap/change_host_name.rb
+++ b/plugins/guests/debian/cap/change_host_name.rb
@@ -3,33 +3,79 @@ module VagrantPlugins
     module Cap
       class ChangeHostName
         def self.change_host_name(machine, name)
-          machine.communicate.tap do |comm|
+          new(machine, name).change!
+        end
 
-            # Get the current hostname
-            # if existing fqdn setup improperly, this returns just hostname
-            old = ''
-            comm.sudo "hostname -f" do |type, data|
-             if type == :stdout
-               old = data.chomp
-             end
-            end
+        attr_reader :machine, :new_hostname
 
-            # this works even if they're not both fqdn
-            if old.split('.')[0] != name.split('.')[0]
+        def initialize(machine, new_hostname)
+          @machine = machine
+          @new_hostname = new_hostname
+        end
 
-              comm.sudo("sed -i 's/.*$/#{name.split('.')[0]}/' /etc/hostname")
+        def change!
+          return unless should_change?
 
-              # hosts should resemble:
-              # 127.0.0.1   localhost host.fqdn.com host
-              # 127.0.1.1   host.fqdn.com host
-              comm.sudo("sed -ri 's@^(([0-9]{1,3}\.){3}[0-9]{1,3})\\s+(localhost)\\b.*$@\\1\\t\\3 #{name} #{name.split('.')[0]}@g' /etc/hosts")
-              comm.sudo("sed -ri 's@^(([0-9]{1,3}\.){3}[0-9]{1,3})\\s+(#{old.split('.')[0]})\\b.*$@\\1\\t#{name} #{name.split('.')[0]}@g' /etc/hosts")
+          update_etc_hostname
+          update_etc_hosts
+          refresh_hostname_service
+          update_mailname
+          renew_dhcp
+        end
 
-              comm.sudo("hostname -F /etc/hostname")
-              comm.sudo("hostname --fqdn > /etc/mailname")
-              comm.sudo("ifdown -a; ifup -a; ifup eth0")
-            end
+        def should_change?
+          new_hostname != current_hostname
+        end
+
+        def current_hostname
+          @current_hostname ||= get_current_hostname
+        end
+
+        def get_current_hostname
+          sudo "hostname -f" do |type, data|
+            return data.chomp if type == :stdout
           end
+          ''
+        end
+
+        def update_etc_hostname
+          sudo("echo '#{short_hostname}' > /etc/hostname")
+        end
+
+        # /etc/hosts should resemble:
+        # 127.0.0.1   localhost
+        # 127.0.1.1   host.fqdn.com host.fqdn host
+        def update_etc_hosts
+          ip_address = '([0-9]{1,3}\.){3}[0-9]{1,3}'
+          search     = "^(#{ip_address})\\s+#{current_hostname}\\b.*$"
+          replace    = "\\1\\t#{fqdn} #{short_hostname}"
+          expression = ['s', search, replace, 'g'].join('@')
+
+          sudo("sed -ri '#{expression}' /etc/hosts")
+        end
+
+        def refresh_hostname_service
+          sudo("hostname -F /etc/hostname")
+        end
+
+        def update_mailname
+          sudo("hostname --fqdn > /etc/mailname")
+        end
+
+        def renew_dhcp
+          sudo("ifdown -a; ifup -a; ifup eth0")
+        end
+
+        def fqdn
+          new_hostname
+        end
+
+        def short_hostname
+          new_hostname.split('.').first
+        end
+
+        def sudo(cmd, &block)
+          machine.communicate.sudo(cmd, &block)
         end
       end
     end
diff --git a/plugins/guests/ubuntu/cap/change_host_name.rb b/plugins/guests/ubuntu/cap/change_host_name.rb
index 9eef21756..beb84d739 100644
--- a/plugins/guests/ubuntu/cap/change_host_name.rb
+++ b/plugins/guests/ubuntu/cap/change_host_name.rb
@@ -1,46 +1,27 @@
 module VagrantPlugins
   module GuestUbuntu
     module Cap
-      class ChangeHostName
+      class ChangeHostName < VagrantPlugins::GuestDebian::Cap::ChangeHostName
         def self.change_host_name(machine, name)
-          machine.communicate.tap do |comm|
+          super
+        end
 
-            # Get the current hostname
-            # if existing fqdn setup improperly, this returns just hostname
-            old = ''
-            comm.sudo "hostname -f" do |type, data|
-             if type == :stdout
-               old = data.chomp
-             end
-            end
-
-            # this works even if they're not both fqdn
-            if old.split('.')[0] != name.split('.')[0]
-
-              comm.sudo("sed -i 's/.*$/#{name.split('.')[0]}/' /etc/hostname")
-
-              # hosts should resemble:
-              # 127.0.0.1   localhost
-              # 127.0.1.1   host.fqdn.com host
-              if name.split('.').length > 1
-                # if there's an FQDN, put it in the right format
-                comm.sudo("sed -ri 's@^(([0-9]{1,3}\.){3}[0-9]{1,3})\\s+(#{old.split('.')[0]})\\b.*$@\\1\\t#{name} #{name.split('.')[0]}@g' /etc/hosts")
-              else
-                # if there's not an FQDN, don't print the hostname twice
-                comm.sudo("sed -ri 's@^(([0-9]{1,3}\.){3}[0-9]{1,3})\\s+(#{old.split('.')[0]})\\b.*$@\\1\\t#{name}@g' /etc/hosts")
-              end
-
-              if comm.test("[ `lsb_release -c -s` = hardy ]")
-                # hostname.sh returns 1, so I grep for the right name in /etc/hostname just to have a 0 exitcode
-                comm.sudo("/etc/init.d/hostname.sh start; grep '#{name}' /etc/hostname")
-              else
-                comm.sudo("service hostname start")
-              end
-              comm.sudo("hostname --fqdn > /etc/mailname")
-              comm.sudo("ifdown -a; ifup -a; ifup -a --allow=hotplug")
-            end
+        def refresh_hostname_service
+          if hardy?
+            # hostname.sh returns 1, so use `true` to get a 0 exitcode
+            sudo("/etc/init.d/hostname.sh start; true")
+          else
+            sudo("service hostname start")
           end
         end
+
+        def hardy?
+          machine.communicate.test("[ `lsb_release -c -s` = hardy ]")
+        end
+
+        def renew_dhcp
+          sudo("ifdown -a; ifup -a; ifup -a --allow=hotplug")
+        end
       end
     end
   end
diff --git a/plugins/guests/ubuntu/plugin.rb b/plugins/guests/ubuntu/plugin.rb
index b4057a21b..7e2acd04d 100644
--- a/plugins/guests/ubuntu/plugin.rb
+++ b/plugins/guests/ubuntu/plugin.rb
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ module VagrantPlugins
       end
 
       guest_capability("ubuntu", "change_host_name") do
+        # ubuntu is just just a specialization of the debian code for this capability
+        require_relative "../debian/cap/change_host_name"
         require_relative "cap/change_host_name"
         Cap::ChangeHostName
       end
diff --git a/test/unit/base.rb b/test/unit/base.rb
index f471228a1..dbbd92984 100644
--- a/test/unit/base.rb
+++ b/test/unit/base.rb
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ $:.unshift File.expand_path("../../", __FILE__)
 
 # Load in helpers
 require "support/tempdir"
+require "unit/support/dummy_communicator"
 require "unit/support/dummy_provider"
 require "unit/support/shared/base_context"
 
diff --git a/test/unit/plugins/guests/debian/cap/change_host_name_test.rb b/test/unit/plugins/guests/debian/cap/change_host_name_test.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..37678b39e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/unit/plugins/guests/debian/cap/change_host_name_test.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+require File.expand_path("../../../../../base", __FILE__)
+require File.expand_path("../../../support/shared/debian_like_host_name_examples", __FILE__)
+
+describe "VagrantPlugins::GuestDebian::Cap::ChangeHostName" do
+  let(:described_class) do
+    VagrantPlugins::GuestDebian::Plugin.components.guest_capabilities[:debian].get(:change_host_name)
+  end
+  let(:machine) { double("machine") }
+  let(:communicator) { VagrantTests::DummyCommunicator::Communicator.new(machine) }
+
+  before do
+    machine.stub(:communicate).and_return(communicator)
+    communicator.stub_command('hostname -f', stdout: 'oldhostname.olddomain.tld')
+  end
+
+  after do
+    communicator.verify_expectations!
+  end
+
+  describe ".change_host_name" do
+    it_behaves_like "a debian-like host name change"
+
+    it "refreshes the hostname service with the hostname command" do
+      communicator.expect_command(%q(hostname -F /etc/hostname))
+      described_class.change_host_name(machine, 'newhostname.newdomain.tld')
+    end
+
+    it "renews dhcp on the system with the new hostname" do
+      communicator.expect_command(%q(ifdown -a; ifup -a; ifup eth0))
+      described_class.change_host_name(machine, 'newhostname.newdomain.tld')
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/test/unit/plugins/guests/support/shared/debian_like_host_name_examples.rb b/test/unit/plugins/guests/support/shared/debian_like_host_name_examples.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a4a945ff4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/unit/plugins/guests/support/shared/debian_like_host_name_examples.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+shared_examples "a debian-like host name change" do
+  it "updates /etc/hostname on the machine" do
+    communicator.expect_command(%q(echo 'newhostname' > /etc/hostname))
+    described_class.change_host_name(machine, 'newhostname.newdomain.tld')
+  end
+
+  it "flips out the old hostname in /etc/hosts" do
+    sed_find = '^(([0-9]{1,3}\.){3}[0-9]{1,3})\s+oldhostname.olddomain.tld\b.*$'
+    sed_replace = '\1\tnewhostname.newdomain.tld newhostname'
+    communicator.expect_command(
+      %Q(sed -ri 's@#{sed_find}@#{sed_replace}@g' /etc/hosts)
+    )
+    described_class.change_host_name(machine, 'newhostname.newdomain.tld')
+  end
+
+  it "updates mailname to prevent problems with the default mailer" do
+    communicator.expect_command(%q(hostname --fqdn > /etc/mailname))
+    described_class.change_host_name(machine, 'newhostname.newdomain.tld')
+  end
+
+  it "does nothing when the provided hostname is not different" do
+    described_class.change_host_name(machine, 'oldhostname.olddomain.tld')
+    communicator.received_commands.should == ['hostname -f']
+  end
+end
diff --git a/test/unit/plugins/guests/ubuntu/cap/change_host_name_test.rb b/test/unit/plugins/guests/ubuntu/cap/change_host_name_test.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1e59bf3c4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/unit/plugins/guests/ubuntu/cap/change_host_name_test.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+require File.expand_path("../../../../../base", __FILE__)
+require File.expand_path("../../../support/shared/debian_like_host_name_examples", __FILE__)
+
+describe "VagrantPlugins::GuestUbuntu::Cap::ChangeHostName" do
+  let(:described_class) do
+    VagrantPlugins::GuestUbuntu::Plugin.components.guest_capabilities[:ubuntu].get(:change_host_name)
+  end
+  let(:machine) { double("machine") }
+  let(:communicator) { VagrantTests::DummyCommunicator::Communicator.new(machine) }
+
+  before do
+    machine.stub(:communicate).and_return(communicator)
+    communicator.stub_command('hostname -f', stdout: 'oldhostname.olddomain.tld')
+  end
+
+  after do
+    communicator.verify_expectations!
+  end
+
+  describe ".change_host_name" do
+    it_behaves_like "a debian-like host name change"
+
+    it "refreshes the hostname service with upstart" do
+      communicator.expect_command(%q(service hostname start))
+      described_class.change_host_name(machine, 'newhostname.newdomain.tld')
+    end
+
+    it "renews dhcp on the system with the new hostname (with hotplug allowed)" do
+      communicator.expect_command(%q(ifdown -a; ifup -a; ifup -a --allow=hotplug))
+      described_class.change_host_name(machine, 'newhostname.newdomain.tld')
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/test/unit/support/dummy_communicator.rb b/test/unit/support/dummy_communicator.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..fa401d47b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/unit/support/dummy_communicator.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+module VagrantTests
+  module DummyCommunicator
+    class Communicator < Vagrant.plugin("2", :communicator)
+      def ready?
+        true
+      end
+
+      attr_reader :known_commands
+
+      def initialize(machine)
+        @known_commands = Hash.new do |hash, key|
+          hash[key] = { expected: 0, received: 0, response: nil }
+        end
+      end
+
+      def expected_commands
+        known_commands.select do |command, info|
+          info[:expected] > 0
+        end
+      end
+
+      def received_commands
+        known_commands.select do |command, info|
+          info[:received] > 0
+        end.keys
+      end
+
+      def stub_command(command, response)
+        known_commands[command][:response] = response
+      end
+
+      def expect_command(command)
+        known_commands[command][:expected] += 1
+      end
+
+      def received_summary
+        received_commands.map { |cmd| " - #{cmd}" }.unshift('received:').join("\n")
+      end
+
+      def verify_expectations!
+        expected_commands.each do |command, info|
+          if info[:expected] != info[:received]
+            fail([
+              "expected to receive '#{command}' #{info[:expected]} times",
+              "got #{info[:received]} times instead",
+              received_summary
+            ].join("\n"))
+          end
+        end
+      end
+
+      def execute(command, opts=nil)
+        known = known_commands[command]
+        known[:received] += 1
+        response = known[:response]
+        return unless response
+
+        if block_given?
+          [:stdout, :stderr].each do |type|
+            Array(response[type]).each do |line|
+              yield type, line
+            end
+          end
+        end
+
+        if response[:raise]
+          raise response[:raise]
+        end
+
+        response[:exit_code]
+      end
+
+      def sudo(command, opts=nil, &block)
+        execute(command, opts, &block)
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
+
diff --git a/test/unit/support/shared/debian_examples.rb b/test/unit/support/shared/debian_examples.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e69de29bb