diff --git a/lib/vagrant.rb b/lib/vagrant.rb
index 138b4a47b..00eb9eeee 100644
--- a/lib/vagrant.rb
+++ b/lib/vagrant.rb
@@ -154,6 +154,19 @@ end
 # # Default I18n to load the en locale
 I18n.load_path << File.expand_path("templates/locales/en.yml", Vagrant.source_root)
 
+# Load the core plugins that ship with Vagrant
+Vagrant.source_root.join("plugins").each_child do |directory|
+  # We only care about directories
+  next if !directory.directory?
+
+  # We only care if there is a plugin file within the directory
+  plugin_file = directory.join("plugin.rb")
+  next if !plugin_file.file?
+
+  # Load the plugin!
+  load(plugin_file)
+end
+
 # Register the built-in commands
 Vagrant.commands.register(:box)          { Vagrant::Command::Box }
 Vagrant.commands.register(:destroy)      { Vagrant::Command::Destroy }
diff --git a/lib/vagrant/config/v1.rb b/lib/vagrant/config/v1.rb
index 526a7517d..7c2638dbd 100644
--- a/lib/vagrant/config/v1.rb
+++ b/lib/vagrant/config/v1.rb
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+require "vagrant/config/v1/base"
 require "vagrant/config/v1/root"
 
 module Vagrant
diff --git a/lib/vagrant/config/v1/base.rb b/lib/vagrant/config/v1/base.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..876e04c33
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/vagrant/config/v1/base.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+module Vagrant
+  module Config
+    class V1
+      # Base class for configuration keys. It is not required to inherit
+      # from this class but this class provides useful helpers that config
+      # classes may wish to use.
+      class Base
+        # This is a useful default to use for attributes, and the built-in
+        # merge for this class will use this as a marker that a value is
+        # unset (versus just being explicitly set to `nil`)
+        UNSET_VALUE = Object.new
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/plugins/kernel/config/nfs.rb b/plugins/kernel/config/nfs.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b347e55ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/kernel/config/nfs.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+require "vagrant"
+
+module VagrantPlugins
+  module Kernel
+    class NFSConfig < Vagrant::Config::V1::Base
+      attr_accessor :map_uid
+      attr_accessor :map_gid
+
+      def initialize
+        @map_uid = UNSET_VALUE
+        @map_gid = UNSET_VALUE
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/plugins/kernel/config/package.rb b/plugins/kernel/config/package.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a9b47f7d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/kernel/config/package.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+require "vagrant"
+
+module VagrantPlugins
+  module Kernel
+    class PackageConfig < Vagrant::Config::V1::Base
+      attr_accessor :name
+
+      def initialize
+        @name = UNSET_VALUE
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/plugins/kernel/config/ssh.rb b/plugins/kernel/config/ssh.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2c4b6d7da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/kernel/config/ssh.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+require "vagrant"
+
+module VagrantPlugins
+  module Kernel
+    class SSHConfig < Vagrant::Config::V1::Base
+      attr_accessor :username
+      attr_accessor :password
+      attr_accessor :host
+      attr_accessor :port
+      attr_accessor :guest_port
+      attr_accessor :max_tries
+      attr_accessor :timeout
+      attr_accessor :private_key_path
+      attr_accessor :forward_agent
+      attr_accessor :forward_x11
+      attr_accessor :shell
+
+      def initialize
+        @username         = UNSET_VALUE
+        @password         = UNSET_VALUE
+        @host             = UNSET_VALUE
+        @port             = UNSET_VALUE
+        @guest_port       = UNSET_VALUE
+        @max_tries        = UNSET_VALUE
+        @timeout          = UNSET_VALUE
+        @private_key_path = UNSET_VALUE
+        @forward_agent    = UNSET_VALUE
+        @forward_x11      = UNSET_VALUE
+        @shell            = UNSET_VALUE
+      end
+
+      def validate(env, errors)
+        [:username, :host, :max_tries, :timeout].each do |field|
+          errors.add(I18n.t("vagrant.config.common.error_empty", :field => field)) if !instance_variable_get("@#{field}".to_sym)
+        end
+
+        if private_key_path && !File.file?(File.expand_path(private_key_path, env.root_path))
+          errors.add(I18n.t("vagrant.config.ssh.private_key_missing", :path => private_key_path))
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/plugins/kernel/config/vagrant.rb b/plugins/kernel/config/vagrant.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..57a96120d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/kernel/config/vagrant.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+require "vagrant"
+
+module VagrantPlugins
+  module Kernel
+    class VagrantConfig < Vagrant::Config::V1::Base
+      attr_accessor :dotfile_name
+      attr_accessor :host
+
+      def initialize
+        @dotfile_name = UNSET_VALUE
+        @host         = UNSET_VALUE
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/plugins/kernel/config/vm.rb b/plugins/kernel/config/vm.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..21d6ca4d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/kernel/config/vm.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,170 @@
+require "pathname"
+
+require "vagrant"
+
+require File.expand_path("../vm_provisioner", __FILE__)
+require File.expand_path("../vm_subvm", __FILE__)
+
+module VagrantPlugins
+  module Kernel
+    class VMConfig < Vagrant::Config::V1::Base
+      attr_accessor :name
+      attr_accessor :auto_port_range
+      attr_accessor :box
+      attr_accessor :box_url
+      attr_accessor :base_mac
+      attr_accessor :boot_mode
+      attr_accessor :host_name
+      attr_reader :forwarded_ports
+      attr_reader :shared_folders
+      attr_reader :networks
+      attr_reader :provisioners
+      attr_reader :customizations
+      attr_accessor :guest
+
+      def initialize
+        @forwarded_ports = []
+        @shared_folders = {}
+        @networks = []
+        @provisioners = []
+        @customizations = []
+      end
+
+      # Custom merge method since some keys here are merged differently.
+      def merge(other)
+        result = super
+        result.instance_variable_set(:@forwarded_ports, @forwarded_ports + other.forwarded_ports)
+        result.instance_variable_set(:@shared_folders, @shared_folders.merge(other.shared_folders))
+        result.instance_variable_set(:@networks, @networks + other.networks)
+        result.instance_variable_set(:@provisioners, @provisioners + other.provisioners)
+        result.instance_variable_set(:@customizations, @customizations + other.customizations)
+        result
+      end
+
+      def forward_port(guestport, hostport, options=nil)
+        @forwarded_ports << {
+          :name       => "#{guestport.to_s(32)}-#{hostport.to_s(32)}",
+          :guestport  => guestport,
+          :hostport   => hostport,
+          :protocol   => :tcp,
+          :adapter    => 1,
+          :auto       => false
+        }.merge(options || {})
+      end
+
+      def share_folder(name, guestpath, hostpath, opts=nil)
+        @shared_folders[name] = {
+          :guestpath => guestpath.to_s,
+          :hostpath => hostpath.to_s,
+          :create => false,
+          :owner => nil,
+          :group => nil,
+          :nfs   => false,
+          :transient => false,
+          :extra => nil
+        }.merge(opts || {})
+      end
+
+      def network(type, *args)
+        @networks << [type, args]
+      end
+
+      def provision(name, options=nil, &block)
+        @provisioners << VagrantConfigProvisioner.new(name, options, &block)
+      end
+
+      # TODO: This argument should not be `nil` in the future.
+      # It is only defaulted to nil so that the deprecation error
+      # can be properly shown.
+      def customize(command=nil)
+        @customizations << command if command
+      end
+
+      def defined_vms
+        @defined_vms ||= {}
+      end
+
+      # This returns the keys of the sub-vms in the order they were
+      # defined.
+      def defined_vm_keys
+        @defined_vm_keys ||= []
+      end
+
+      def define(name, options=nil, &block)
+        name = name.to_sym
+        options ||= {}
+
+        # Add the name to the array of VM keys. This array is used to
+        # preserve the order in which VMs are defined.
+        defined_vm_keys << name
+
+        # Add the SubVM to the hash of defined VMs
+        defined_vms[name] ||= VagrantConfigSubVM.new
+        defined_vms[name].options.merge!(options)
+        defined_vms[name].push_proc(&block) if block
+      end
+
+      def validate(env, errors)
+        errors.add(I18n.t("vagrant.config.vm.box_missing")) if !box
+        errors.add(I18n.t("vagrant.config.vm.box_not_found", :name => box)) if box && !box_url && !env.boxes.find(box)
+        errors.add(I18n.t("vagrant.config.vm.boot_mode_invalid")) if ![:headless, :gui].include?(boot_mode.to_sym)
+        errors.add(I18n.t("vagrant.config.vm.base_mac_invalid")) if env.boxes.find(box) && !base_mac
+
+        shared_folders.each do |name, options|
+          hostpath = Pathname.new(options[:hostpath]).expand_path(env.root_path)
+
+          if !hostpath.directory? && !options[:create]
+            errors.add(I18n.t("vagrant.config.vm.shared_folder_hostpath_missing",
+                       :name => name,
+                       :path => options[:hostpath]))
+          end
+
+          if options[:nfs] && (options[:owner] || options[:group])
+            # Owner/group don't work with NFS
+            errors.add(I18n.t("vagrant.config.vm.shared_folder_nfs_owner_group",
+                              :name => name))
+          end
+        end
+
+        # Validate some basic networking
+        #
+        # TODO: One day we need to abstract this out, since in the future
+        # providers other than VirtualBox will not be able to satisfy
+        # all types of networks.
+        networks.each do |type, args|
+          if type == :hostonly && args[0] == :dhcp
+            # Valid. There is no real way this can be invalid at the moment.
+          elsif type == :hostonly
+            # Validate the host-only network
+            ip      = args[0]
+            options = args[1] || {}
+
+            if !ip
+              errors.add(I18n.t("vagrant.config.vm.network_ip_required"))
+            else
+              ip_parts = ip.split(".")
+
+              if ip_parts.length != 4
+                errors.add(I18n.t("vagrant.config.vm.network_ip_invalid",
+                                  :ip => ip))
+              elsif ip_parts.last == "1"
+                errors.add(I18n.t("vagrant.config.vm.network_ip_ends_one",
+                                  :ip => ip))
+              end
+            end
+          elsif type == :bridged
+          else
+            # Invalid network type
+            errors.add(I18n.t("vagrant.config.vm.network_invalid",
+                              :type => type.to_s))
+          end
+        end
+
+        # Each provisioner can validate itself
+        provisioners.each do |prov|
+          prov.validate(env, errors)
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/plugins/kernel/config/vm_provisioner.rb b/plugins/kernel/config/vm_provisioner.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8553f2599
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/kernel/config/vm_provisioner.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+require 'log4r'
+
+module VagrantPlugins
+  module Kernel
+    # Represents a single configured provisioner for a VM.
+    class VagrantConfigProvisioner
+      attr_reader :shortcut
+      attr_reader :provisioner
+      attr_reader :config
+
+      def initialize(shortcut, options=nil, &block)
+        @logger = Log4r::Logger.new("vagrant::config::vm::provisioner")
+        @logger.debug("Provisioner config: #{shortcut}")
+        @shortcut = shortcut
+        @provisioner = shortcut
+        @provisioner = Vagrant.provisioners.get(shortcut) if shortcut.is_a?(Symbol)
+        @config = nil
+
+        @logger.info("Provisioner class: #{provisioner}")
+        configure(options, &block) if @provisioner
+      end
+
+      # Configures the provisioner if it can (if it is valid).
+      def configure(options=nil, &block)
+        config_class = @provisioner.config_class
+        return if !config_class
+
+        @logger.debug("Configuring provisioner with: #{config_class}")
+        @config = config_class.new
+        @config.set_options(options) if options
+        block.call(@config) if block
+      end
+
+      def validate(env, errors)
+        if !provisioner
+          # If we don't have a provisioner then the whole thing is invalid.
+          errors.add(I18n.t("vagrant.config.vm.provisioner_not_found", :shortcut => shortcut))
+          return
+        end
+
+        if !(provisioner <= Vagrant::Provisioners::Base)
+          errors.add(I18n.t("vagrant.config.vm.provisioner_invalid_class", :shortcut => shortcut))
+        end
+
+        # Pass on validation to the provisioner config
+        config.validate(env, errors) if config
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/plugins/kernel/config/vm_subvm.rb b/plugins/kernel/config/vm_subvm.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7bc8c74a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/kernel/config/vm_subvm.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+require "vagrant/util/stacked_proc_runner"
+
+module VagrantPlugins
+  module Kernel
+    # Represents a single sub-VM in a multi-VM environment.
+    class VagrantConfigSubVM
+      include Vagrant::Util::StackedProcRunner
+
+      attr_reader :options
+
+      def initialize
+        @options = {}
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/plugins/kernel/plugin.rb b/plugins/kernel/plugin.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..322f900fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/kernel/plugin.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+require "vagrant"
+
+module VagrantPlugins
+  module Kernel
+    autoload :SSHConfig,     File.expand_path("../config/ssh", __FILE__)
+    autoload :NFSConfig,     File.expand_path("../config/nfs", __FILE__)
+    autoload :PackageConfig, File.expand_path("../config/package", __FILE__)
+    autoload :VagrantConfig, File.expand_path("../config/vagrant", __FILE__)
+    autoload :VMConfig,      File.expand_path("../config/vm", __FILE__)
+
+    # This is the "kernel" of Vagrant and contains the configuration classes
+    # that make up the core of Vagrant.
+    class Plugin < Vagrant.plugin("1")
+      name "kernel"
+      description <<-DESC
+      The kernel of Vagrant. This plugin contains required items for even
+      basic functionality of Vagrant version 1.
+      DESC
+
+      # Core configuration keys provided by the kernel.
+      config("ssh")     { SSHConfig }
+      config("nfs")     { NFSConfig }
+      config("package") { PackageConfig }
+      config("vagrant") { VagrantConfig }
+      config("vm")      { VMConfig }
+    end
+  end
+end