diff --git a/build.gradle b/build.gradle
index f5ee79650..550fb9a5e 100644
--- a/build.gradle
+++ b/build.gradle
@@ -121,15 +121,49 @@ subprojects {
     }
 }
 
-// fetch version from Logstash's master versions.yml file
 version = versionMap['logstash-core']
-def versionQualifier = System.getenv('VERSION_QUALIFIER')
-if (versionQualifier) {
-    version = "$version-$versionQualifier"
+String artifactVersionsApi = "https://artifacts-api.elastic.co/v1/versions"
+
+tasks.register("configureArchitecture") {
+    String arch = "x86_64"
+    String osName = System.properties['os.name']
+
+    if (osName ==~ /Mac OS X/) {
+        osName = "darwin"
+    } else {
+        osName = "linux"
+    }
+    String architecture = "${osName}-${arch}"
+    project.ext.set("architecture", architecture)
 }
-// a release build will try to download the exact version artifact and not append -SNAPSHOT to it see
-// the downloadEs task below
-def isReleaseBuild = System.getenv('RELEASE') == "1" || versionQualifier
+
+tasks.register("configureArtifactInfo") {
+    dependsOn configureArchitecture
+    def versionQualifier = System.getenv('VERSION_QUALIFIER')
+    if (versionQualifier) {
+        version = "$version-$versionQualifier"
+    }
+
+    def isReleaseBuild = System.getenv('RELEASE') == "1" || versionQualifier
+    String apiResponse = artifactVersionsApi.toURL().text
+
+    def dlVersions = new JsonSlurper().parseText(apiResponse)
+    String qualifiedVersion = dlVersions['versions'].grep(isReleaseBuild ? ~/^${version}$/ : ~/^${version}-SNAPSHOT/)[0]
+    if (qualifiedVersion == null) {
+        throw new GradleException("could not find the current artifact from the artifact-api ${artifactVersionsApi} for ${version}")
+    }
+    // find latest reference to last build
+    String buildsListApi = "${artifactVersionsApi}/${qualifiedVersion}/builds/"
+    apiResponse = buildsListApi.toURL().text
+    def dlBuilds = new JsonSlurper().parseText(apiResponse)
+    def stackBuildVersion = dlBuilds["builds"][0]
+
+    project.ext.set("artifactApiVersionedBuildUrl", "${artifactVersionsApi}/${qualifiedVersion}/builds/${stackBuildVersion}")
+    project.ext.set("stackArtifactSuffix", "${qualifiedVersion}-${project.ext.get('architecture')}")
+    project.ext.set("stackArtifactSuffixNoArch", qualifiedVersion)
+}
+
+
 
 // Tasks
 
@@ -300,20 +334,68 @@ tasks.register("installIntegrationTestGems") {
   }
 }
 
+
+
+tasks.register("downloadFilebeat", Download) {
+    dependsOn  configureArtifactInfo
+    description "Download Filebeat Snapshot for current branch version: ${version}"
+
+    project.ext.set("versionFound", true)
+
+    String downloadedFilebeatName = "filebeat-${project.ext.get("stackArtifactSuffix")}"
+    project.ext.set("unpackedFilebeatName", downloadedFilebeatName)
+
+    // find url of build artifact
+    String artifactApiUrl = "${project.ext.get("artifactApiVersionedBuildUrl")}/projects/beats/packages/${downloadedFilebeatName}.tar.gz"
+    String apiResponse = artifactApiUrl.toURL().text
+    def buildUrls = new JsonSlurper().parseText(apiResponse)
+
+    project.ext.set("filebeatSnapshotUrl", System.getenv("FILEBEAT_SNAPSHOT_URL") ?: buildUrls["package"]["url"])
+    project.ext.set("filebeatDownloadLocation", "${projectDir}/build/${downloadedFilebeatName}.tar.gz")
+
+
+    src project.ext.filebeatSnapshotUrl
+    onlyIfNewer true
+    inputs.file("${projectDir}/versions.yml")
+    outputs.file(project.ext.filebeatDownloadLocation)
+    dest new File(project.ext.filebeatDownloadLocation)
+    retries 3
+    doLast {
+        System.out.println "Downloaded to ${project.ext.filebeatDownloadLocation}"
+    }
+}
+
+tasks.register("deleteLocalFilebeat", Delete) {
+    delete ('./build/filebeat')
+}
+
+tasks.register("copyFilebeat", Copy){
+    dependsOn = [downloadFilebeat, deleteLocalFilebeat]
+    from tarTree(resources.gzip(project.ext.filebeatDownloadLocation))
+    into "./build/"
+    doLast {
+        file("./build/${project.ext.unpackedFilebeatName}").renameTo('./build/filebeat')
+        System.out.println "Unzipped ${project.ext.filebeatDownloadLocation} to ./build/filebeat"
+        System.out.println "Deleting ${project.ext.filebeatDownloadLocation}"
+        delete(project.ext.filebeatDownloadLocation)
+    }
+}
+
 def rubyIntegrationSpecs = project.hasProperty("rubyIntegrationSpecs") ? ((String) project.property("rubyIntegrationSpecs")).split(/\s+/).join(",") : "specs/**/*_spec.rb"
 def integrationTestPwd = "${projectDir}/qa/integration"
 
 project(":logstash-integration-tests") {
     tasks.getByPath(":logstash-integration-tests:integrationTests").configure {
-      systemProperty 'org.logstash.integration.specs', rubyIntegrationSpecs
-      environment "FEATURE_FLAG", System.getenv('FEATURE_FLAG')
-      workingDir integrationTestPwd
-      dependsOn installIntegrationTestGems
-  }
+        systemProperty 'org.logstash.integration.specs', rubyIntegrationSpecs
+        environment "FEATURE_FLAG", System.getenv('FEATURE_FLAG')
+        workingDir integrationTestPwd
+        dependsOn installIntegrationTestGems
+    }
 }
 
 tasks.register("runIntegrationTests"){
     dependsOn tasks.getByPath(":logstash-integration-tests:integrationTests")
+    dependsOn copyFilebeat
 }
 
 tasks.register("generateLicenseReport", JavaExec) {
@@ -368,69 +450,25 @@ bootstrap.dependsOn assemblyDeps
 runIntegrationTests.shouldRunAfter tasks.getByPath(":logstash-core:test")
 check.dependsOn runIntegrationTests
 
-String artifactsVersionApi = "https://artifacts-api.elastic.co/v1/versions/"
 
 tasks.register("downloadEs", Download) {
+    dependsOn  configureArtifactInfo
     description "Download ES Snapshot for current branch version: ${version}"
-
-    doFirst {
-        if (!project.ext.versionFound) {
-            throw new GradleException("could not find the current artifact from the artifact-api ${artifactsVersionApi} for " + (isReleaseBuild ? "release" : "snapshot") + " version: ${version}")
-        }
-    }
-
-    String apiResponse = artifactsVersionApi.toURL().text
-    def dlVersions = new JsonSlurper().parseText(apiResponse)
-    // the version string can be either '7.0.0' or '7.0.0-alpha1', i.e. with the qualifier.
-    // in the normal PR type builds it is plain '7.0.0'
-    // in the build invoked by the release manager it is '7.0.0-alpha1' etc.
-    // the artifacts-api will return JSON like this: `{"versions":["5.6.13-SNAPSHOT","6.4.3-SNAPSHOT","6.5.0-SNAPSHOT","6.6.0-SNAPSHOT","7.0.0-alpha1-SNAPSHOT"]}`
     
-    String qualifiedVersion = dlVersions['versions'].grep(isReleaseBuild ? ~/^${version}$/ : ~/^${version}-SNAPSHOT/)[0]
+    String downloadedElasticsearchName = "elasticsearch-${project.ext.get("stackArtifactSuffix")}"
+    project.ext.set("unpackedElasticsearchName", "elasticsearch-${project.ext.get("stackArtifactSuffixNoArch")}")
 
-    if (qualifiedVersion == null) {
-        // the version is not found in the versions API, for now just set dummy values so the
-        // task parameters like src and dest below sees these dummy values but also set
-        // versionFound to false so that we can fail the task in the doFirst closure.
-        // this is somewhat convoluted and there is certainly a better way to do this but
-        // it seems to be an acceptable solution for now.
-        project.ext.set("versionFound", false)
-        project.ext.set("elasticsearchSnapshotURL", "http://elastic.co/invalid")
-        project.ext.set("elasticsearchDownloadLocation", "${projectDir}/build/invalid")
-    } else {
-        project.ext.set("versionFound", true)
+    // find url of build artifact
+    String artifactApiUrl = "${project.ext.get("artifactApiVersionedBuildUrl")}/projects/elasticsearch/packages/${downloadedElasticsearchName}.tar.gz"
+    String apiResponse = artifactApiUrl.toURL().text
+    def buildUrls = new JsonSlurper().parseText(apiResponse)
 
-        String arch = "x86_64"
-        String osName = System.properties['os.name']
-
-        if (osName ==~ /Mac OS X/) {
-            osName = "darwin"
-        } else {
-            osName = "linux"
-        }
-
-        String architecture = "${osName}-${arch}"
-
-        String downloadedElasticsearchName = "elasticsearch-${qualifiedVersion}-${architecture}"
-        project.ext.set("unpackedElasticsearchName", "elasticsearch-${qualifiedVersion}")
-
-        // find latest reference to last build
-        String buildsListApi = "https://artifacts-api.elastic.co/v1/versions/${qualifiedVersion}/builds/"
-        apiResponse = buildsListApi.toURL().text
-        def dlBuilds = new JsonSlurper().parseText(apiResponse)
-        String build = dlBuilds["builds"][0]
-
-        // find url of build artifact
-        String artifactApiUrl = "https://artifacts-api.elastic.co/v1/versions/${qualifiedVersion}/builds/${build}/projects/elasticsearch/packages/${downloadedElasticsearchName}.tar.gz"
-        apiResponse = artifactApiUrl.toURL().text
-        def buildUrls = new JsonSlurper().parseText(apiResponse)
-
-        project.ext.set("elasticsearchSnapshotURL", System.getenv("ELASTICSEARCH_SNAPSHOT_URL") ?: buildUrls["package"]["url"])
-        project.ext.set("elasticsearchDownloadLocation", "${projectDir}/build/${downloadedElasticsearchName}.tar.gz")
-    }
+    project.ext.set("elasticsearchSnapshotURL", System.getenv("ELASTICSEARCH_SNAPSHOT_URL") ?: buildUrls["package"]["url"])
+    project.ext.set("elasticsearchDownloadLocation", "${projectDir}/build/${downloadedElasticsearchName}.tar.gz")
 
     src project.ext.elasticsearchSnapshotURL
     onlyIfNewer true
+    retries 3
     inputs.file("${projectDir}/versions.yml")
     outputs.file(project.ext.elasticsearchDownloadLocation)
     dest new File(project.ext.elasticsearchDownloadLocation)
@@ -440,6 +478,7 @@ tasks.register("downloadEs", Download) {
     }
 }
 
+
 tasks.register("deleteLocalEs", Delete) {
     delete ('./build/elasticsearch')
 }
@@ -451,6 +490,8 @@ tasks.register("copyEs", Copy){
     doLast {
         file("./build/${project.ext.unpackedElasticsearchName}").renameTo('./build/elasticsearch')
         System.out.println "Unzipped ${project.ext.elasticsearchDownloadLocation} to ./build/elasticsearch"
+        System.out.println "Deleting ${project.ext.elasticsearchDownloadLocation}"
+        delete(project.ext.elasticsearchDownloadLocation)
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/qa/integration/services/filebeat_service.rb b/qa/integration/services/filebeat_service.rb
index d735e8a1e..04decf8c3 100644
--- a/qa/integration/services/filebeat_service.rb
+++ b/qa/integration/services/filebeat_service.rb
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 # under the License.
 
 class FilebeatService < Service
-  FILEBEAT_CMD = [File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), "installed", "filebeat", "filebeat"), "--strict.perms=false", "-c"]
+  FILEBEAT_CMD = [File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), "../../../build", "filebeat", "filebeat"), "--strict.perms=false", "-c"]
 
   class BackgroundProcess
     def initialize(cmd)
diff --git a/qa/integration/services/filebeat_setup.sh b/qa/integration/services/filebeat_setup.sh
index 3bd73b3a7..bbe995e76 100755
--- a/qa/integration/services/filebeat_setup.sh
+++ b/qa/integration/services/filebeat_setup.sh
@@ -4,35 +4,10 @@ current_dir="$(dirname "$0")"
 
 source "$current_dir/helpers.sh"
 
-if [ -n "${FILEBEAT_VERSION}" ]; then
-  echo "Filebeat version is $FILEBEAT_VERSION"
-  version=$FILEBEAT_VERSION
-else
-  version=6.5.4
-fi
-
-FB_HOME=$INSTALL_DIR/filebeat
-
-setup_fb() {
-    local version=$1
-    platform=`uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]'`
-    architecture=`uname -m | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]'`
-    download_url=https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-$version-$platform-$architecture.tar.gz
-    curl -sL $download_url > $INSTALL_DIR/filebeat.tar.gz
-    mkdir $FB_HOME
-    tar -xzf $INSTALL_DIR/filebeat.tar.gz --strip-components=1 -C $FB_HOME/.
-    rm $INSTALL_DIR/filebeat.tar.gz
-}
-
 generate_certificate() {
     target_directory=$current_dir/../fixtures/certificates
     mkdir -p $target_directory
     openssl req -subj '/CN=localhost/' -x509 -days $((100 * 365)) -batch -nodes -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout $target_directory/certificate.key -out $target_directory/certificate.crt
 }
 
-setup_install_dir
-
-if [ ! -d $FB_HOME ]; then
-    generate_certificate
-    setup_fb $version
-fi
+generate_certificate
diff --git a/qa/integration/specs/beats_input_spec.rb b/qa/integration/specs/beats_input_spec.rb
index b35956d61..d87e2c248 100644
--- a/qa/integration/specs/beats_input_spec.rb
+++ b/qa/integration/specs/beats_input_spec.rb
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ describe "Beat Input" do
       {
         "filebeat" => {
           "inputs" => [{ "paths" => [log_path], "input_type" => "log" }],
-          "registry_file" => registry_file,
+          "registry.path" => registry_file,
           "scan_frequency" => "1s"
         },
         "output" => {
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ describe "Beat Input" do
         {
           "filebeat" => {
             "inputs" => [{ "paths" => [log_path], "input_type" => "log" }],
-            "registry_file" => registry_file,
+            "registry.path" => registry_file,
             "scan_frequency" => "1s"
           },
           "output" => {
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ describe "Beat Input" do
         {
           "filebeat" => {
             "inputs" => [{ "paths" => [log_path], "input_type" => "log" }],
-            "registry_file" => registry_file,
+            "registry.path" => registry_file,
             "scan_frequency" => "1s"
           },
           "output" => {