diff --git a/MediaBrowser.Common/Configuration/ApplicationPaths.cs b/MediaBrowser.Common/Configuration/ApplicationPaths.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1e1ecd85a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/MediaBrowser.Common/Configuration/ApplicationPaths.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Linq;
+using System.Text;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;
+using System.IO;
+using System.ComponentModel.Composition;
+using System.ComponentModel.Composition.Hosting;
+using System.Configuration;
+using System.Reflection;
+
+namespace MediaBrowser.Common.Configuration
+{
+    public static class ApplicationPaths
+    {
+        private static string _programDataPath;
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets the path to the program data folder
+        /// </summary>
+        public static string ProgramDataPath
+        {
+            get
+            {
+                if (_programDataPath == null)
+                {
+                    _programDataPath = GetProgramDataPath();
+                    InitDirectories();  //move this here so we don't have to check for existence on every directory reference
+                }
+                return _programDataPath;
+            }
+        }
+
+        private static void InitDirectories()
+        {
+            if (!Directory.Exists(LogDirectoryPath))
+            {
+                Directory.CreateDirectory(LogDirectoryPath);
+            }
+            if (!Directory.Exists(PluginsPath))
+            {
+                Directory.CreateDirectory(PluginsPath);
+            }
+            if (!Directory.Exists(RootFolderPath))
+            {
+                Directory.CreateDirectory(RootFolderPath);
+            }
+            if (!Directory.Exists(ConfigurationPath))
+            {
+                Directory.CreateDirectory(ConfigurationPath);
+                Directory.CreateDirectory(SystemConfigurationPath);
+                Directory.CreateDirectory(DeviceConfigurationPath);
+                Directory.CreateDirectory(UserConfigurationPath);
+            }
+
+
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets the path to the plugin directory
+        /// </summary>
+        public static string PluginsPath
+        {
+            get
+            {
+                return Path.Combine(ProgramDataPath, "plugins");
+            }
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets the path to the application configuration root directory
+        /// </summary>
+        public static string ConfigurationPath
+        {
+            get
+            {
+                return Path.Combine(ProgramDataPath, "config");
+            }
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets the path to the system configuration directory
+        /// </summary>
+        public static string SystemConfigurationPath
+        {
+            get
+            {
+                return Path.Combine(ConfigurationPath, "system");
+            }
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets the path to the user configuration directory
+        /// </summary>
+        public static string UserConfigurationPath
+        {
+            get
+            {
+                return Path.Combine(ConfigurationPath, "user");
+            }
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets the path to the device configuration directory
+        /// </summary>
+        public static string DeviceConfigurationPath
+        {
+            get
+            {
+                return Path.Combine(ConfigurationPath, "device");
+            }
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets the path to the log directory
+        /// </summary>
+        public static string LogDirectoryPath
+        {
+            get
+            {
+                return Path.Combine(ProgramDataPath, "logs");
+            }
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets the path to the root media directory
+        /// </summary>
+        public static string RootFolderPath
+        {
+            get
+            {
+                return Path.Combine(ProgramDataPath, "root");
+            }
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets the path to the application's ProgramDataFolder
+        /// </summary>
+        private static string GetProgramDataPath()
+        {
+            string programDataPath = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["ProgramDataPath"];
+
+            // If it's a relative path, e.g. "..\"
+            if (!Path.IsPathRooted(programDataPath))
+            {
+                string path = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location;
+                path = Path.GetDirectoryName(path);
+
+                programDataPath = Path.Combine(path, programDataPath);
+
+                programDataPath = Path.GetFullPath(programDataPath);
+            }
+
+            if (!Directory.Exists(programDataPath))
+            {
+                Directory.CreateDirectory(programDataPath);
+            }
+
+            return programDataPath;
+        }
+
+    }
+}
diff --git a/MediaBrowser.Common/Kernel/BaseKernel.cs b/MediaBrowser.Common/Kernel/BaseKernel.cs
index cc3cb76f08..514c05097c 100644
--- a/MediaBrowser.Common/Kernel/BaseKernel.cs
+++ b/MediaBrowser.Common/Kernel/BaseKernel.cs
@@ -21,49 +21,6 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.Common.Kernel
     public abstract class BaseKernel<TConfigurationType> : IDisposable
         where TConfigurationType : BaseApplicationConfiguration, new()
     {
-        /// <summary>
-        /// Gets the path to the program data folder
-        /// </summary>
-        public string ProgramDataPath { get; private set; }
-
-        /// <summary>
-        /// Gets the path to the plugin directory
-        /// </summary>
-        protected string PluginsPath
-        {
-            get
-            {
-                return Path.Combine(ProgramDataPath, "plugins");
-            }
-        }
-
-        /// <summary>
-        /// Gets the path to the application configuration file
-        /// </summary>
-        protected string ConfigurationPath
-        {
-            get
-            {
-                return Path.Combine(ProgramDataPath, "config.js");
-            }
-        }
-
-        /// <summary>
-        /// Gets the path to the log directory
-        /// </summary>
-        private string LogDirectoryPath
-        {
-            get
-            {
-                return Path.Combine(ProgramDataPath, "logs");
-            }
-        }
-
-        /// <summary>
-        /// Gets or sets the path to the current log file
-        /// </summary>
-        private string LogFilePath { get; set; }
-
         /// <summary>
         /// Gets the current configuration
         /// </summary>
@@ -88,7 +45,7 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.Common.Kernel
 
         public BaseKernel()
         {
-            ProgramDataPath = GetProgramDataPath();
+            
         }
 
         public virtual void Init(IProgress<TaskProgress> progress)
@@ -102,18 +59,18 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.Common.Kernel
             ReloadComposableParts();
         }
 
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets or sets the path to the current log file
+        /// </summary>
+        public static string LogFilePath { get; set; }
+
         private void ReloadLogger()
         {
             DisposeLogger();
 
-            if (!Directory.Exists(LogDirectoryPath))
-            {
-                Directory.CreateDirectory(LogDirectoryPath);
-            }
-
             DateTime now = DateTime.Now;
 
-            LogFilePath = Path.Combine(LogDirectoryPath, now.ToString("dMyyyy") + "-" + now.Ticks + ".log");
+            LogFilePath = Path.Combine(ApplicationPaths.LogDirectoryPath, Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetType().Name + "-" + now.ToString("dMyyyy") + "-" + now.Ticks + ".log");
 
             FileStream fs = new FileStream(LogFilePath, FileMode.Append, FileAccess.Write, FileShare.Read);
 
@@ -126,14 +83,9 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.Common.Kernel
         /// </summary>
         protected void ReloadComposableParts()
         {
-            if (!Directory.Exists(PluginsPath))
-            {
-                Directory.CreateDirectory(PluginsPath);
-            }
-
             // Gets all plugin assemblies by first reading all bytes of the .dll and calling Assembly.Load against that
             // This will prevent the .dll file from getting locked, and allow us to replace it when needed
-            IEnumerable<Assembly> pluginAssemblies = Directory.GetFiles(PluginsPath, "*.dll", SearchOption.AllDirectories).Select(f => Assembly.Load(File.ReadAllBytes((f))));
+            IEnumerable<Assembly> pluginAssemblies = Directory.GetFiles(ApplicationPaths.PluginsPath, "*.dll", SearchOption.AllDirectories).Select(f => Assembly.Load(File.ReadAllBytes((f))));
 
             var catalog = new AggregateCatalog(pluginAssemblies.Select(a => new AssemblyCatalog(a)));
             //catalog.Catalogs.Add(new AssemblyCatalog(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly()));
@@ -172,7 +124,7 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.Common.Kernel
                 AssemblyName assemblyName = assembly.GetName();
 
                 plugin.Version = assemblyName.Version;
-                plugin.Path = Path.Combine(PluginsPath, assemblyName.Name);
+                plugin.Path = Path.Combine(ApplicationPaths.PluginsPath, assemblyName.Name);
 
                 plugin.Context = KernelContext;
 
@@ -185,57 +137,34 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.Common.Kernel
             }
         }
 
-        /// <summary>
-        /// Gets the path to the application's ProgramDataFolder
-        /// </summary>
-        private string GetProgramDataPath()
-        {
-            string programDataPath = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["ProgramDataPath"];
-
-            // If it's a relative path, e.g. "..\"
-            if (!Path.IsPathRooted(programDataPath))
-            {
-                string path = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location;
-                path = Path.GetDirectoryName(path);
-
-                programDataPath = Path.Combine(path, programDataPath);
-
-                programDataPath = Path.GetFullPath(programDataPath);
-            }
-
-            if (!Directory.Exists(programDataPath))
-            {
-                Directory.CreateDirectory(programDataPath);
-            }
-
-            return programDataPath;
-        }
 
         /// <summary>
         /// Reloads application configuration from the config file
         /// </summary>
         private void ReloadConfiguration()
         {
-            // Deserialize config
-            if (!File.Exists(ConfigurationPath))
-            {
-                Configuration = new TConfigurationType();
-            }
-            else
-            {
-                Configuration = JsonSerializer.DeserializeFromFile<TConfigurationType>(ConfigurationPath);
-            }
+            //Configuration information for anything other than server-specific configuration will have to come via the API... -ebr
 
-            Logger.LoggerInstance.LogSeverity = Configuration.LogSeverity;
+            //// Deserialize config
+            //if (!File.Exists(ConfigurationPath))
+            //{
+            //    Configuration = new TConfigurationType();
+            //}
+            //else
+            //{
+            //    Configuration = JsonSerializer.DeserializeFromFile<TConfigurationType>(ConfigurationPath);
+            //}
+
+            //Logger.LoggerInstance.LogSeverity = Configuration.LogSeverity;
         }
 
         /// <summary>
         /// Saves the current application configuration to the config file
         /// </summary>
-        public void SaveConfiguration()
-        {
-            JsonSerializer.SerializeToFile(Configuration, ConfigurationPath);
-        }
+        //public void SaveConfiguration()
+        //{
+        //    JsonSerializer.SerializeToFile(Configuration, ConfigurationPath);
+        //}
 
         /// <summary>
         /// Restarts the Http Server, or starts it if not currently running
@@ -255,7 +184,7 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.Common.Kernel
             AssemblyName assemblyName = new AssemblyName(args.Name);
 
             // Look for the .dll recursively within the plugins directory
-            string dll = Directory.GetFiles(PluginsPath, "*.dll", SearchOption.AllDirectories)
+            string dll = Directory.GetFiles(ApplicationPaths.PluginsPath, "*.dll", SearchOption.AllDirectories)
                 .FirstOrDefault(f => Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(f) == assemblyName.Name);
 
             // If we found a matching assembly, load it now
diff --git a/MediaBrowser.Common/MediaBrowser.Common.csproj b/MediaBrowser.Common/MediaBrowser.Common.csproj
index 7f0605f09a..21430001ca 100644
--- a/MediaBrowser.Common/MediaBrowser.Common.csproj
+++ b/MediaBrowser.Common/MediaBrowser.Common.csproj
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@
     <Reference Include="System.Xml" />
   </ItemGroup>
   <ItemGroup>
+    <Compile Include="Configuration\ApplicationPaths.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Configuration\BaseApplicationConfiguration.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Events\GenericItemEventArgs.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Serialization\JsonSerializer.cs" />
diff --git a/MediaBrowser.Controller/Kernel.cs b/MediaBrowser.Controller/Kernel.cs
index ca7fd382ac..6d936f785d 100644
--- a/MediaBrowser.Controller/Kernel.cs
+++ b/MediaBrowser.Controller/Kernel.cs
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ using System.Linq;
 using System.Security.Cryptography;
 using System.Text;
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
+using MediaBrowser.Common.Configuration;
 using MediaBrowser.Common.Kernel;
 using MediaBrowser.Common.Serialization;
 using MediaBrowser.Controller.Configuration;
@@ -34,17 +35,18 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.Controller
         {
             get
             {
-                return Path.Combine(ProgramDataPath, "Root");
+                return ApplicationPaths.RootFolderPath;
             }
         }
 
-        private string UsersPath
-        {
-            get
-            {
-                return Path.Combine(ProgramDataPath, "Users");
-            }
-        }
+        //gonna want to load this from the standard repository... -ebr
+        //private string UsersPath
+        //{
+        //    get
+        //    {
+        //        return Path.Combine(ProgramDataPath, "Users");
+        //    }
+        //}
         
         /// <summary>
         /// Gets the list of currently registered entity resolvers
@@ -434,22 +436,24 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.Controller
         /// </summary>
         private IEnumerable<User> GetAllUsers()
         {
-            if (!Directory.Exists(UsersPath))
-            {
-                Directory.CreateDirectory(UsersPath);
-            }
+            //we'll get this from the standard repo... -ebr
+
+            //if (!Directory.Exists(UsersPath))
+            //{
+            //    Directory.CreateDirectory(UsersPath);
+            //}
 
             List<User> list = new List<User>();
 
-            foreach (string folder in Directory.GetDirectories(UsersPath, "*", SearchOption.TopDirectoryOnly))
-            {
-                User item = GetFromDirectory(folder);
+            //foreach (string folder in Directory.GetDirectories(UsersPath, "*", SearchOption.TopDirectoryOnly))
+            //{
+            //    User item = GetFromDirectory(folder);
 
-                if (item != null)
-                {
-                    list.Add(item);
-                }
-            }
+            //    if (item != null)
+            //    {
+            //        list.Add(item);
+            //    }
+            //}
 
             return list;
         }
@@ -457,36 +461,36 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.Controller
         /// <summary>
         /// Gets a User from it's directory
         /// </summary>
-        private User GetFromDirectory(string path)
-        {
-            string file = Path.Combine(path, "user.js");
+        //private User GetFromDirectory(string path)
+        //{
+        //    string file = Path.Combine(path, "user.js");
 
-            return JsonSerializer.DeserializeFromFile<User>(file);
-        }
+        //    return JsonSerializer.DeserializeFromFile<User>(file);
+        //}
 
         /// <summary>
         /// Creates a User with a given name
         /// </summary>
-        public User CreateUser(string name)
-        {
-            var now = DateTime.Now;
+        //public User CreateUser(string name)
+        //{
+        //    var now = DateTime.Now;
 
-            User user = new User()
-            {
-                Name = name,
-                Id = Guid.NewGuid(),
-                DateCreated = now,
-                DateModified = now
-            };
+        //    User user = new User()
+        //    {
+        //        Name = name,
+        //        Id = Guid.NewGuid(),
+        //        DateCreated = now,
+        //        DateModified = now
+        //    };
 
-            user.Path = Path.Combine(UsersPath, user.Id.ToString());
+        //    user.Path = Path.Combine(UsersPath, user.Id.ToString());
 
-            Directory.CreateDirectory(user.Path);
+        //    Directory.CreateDirectory(user.Path);
 
-            JsonSerializer.SerializeToFile(user, Path.Combine(user.Path, "user.js"));
+        //    JsonSerializer.SerializeToFile(user, Path.Combine(user.Path, "user.js"));
 
-            return user;
-        }
+        //    return user;
+        //}
 
     }
 }
diff --git a/MediaBrowser.sln b/MediaBrowser.sln
index 078c998c04..61a20c2dcf 100644
--- a/MediaBrowser.sln
+++ b/MediaBrowser.sln
@@ -77,7 +77,4 @@ Global
 	GlobalSection(SolutionProperties) = preSolution
 		HideSolutionNode = FALSE
 	EndGlobalSection
-	GlobalSection(Performance) = preSolution
-		HasPerformanceSessions = true
-	EndGlobalSection
 EndGlobal