diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index da170c0..4eebcfd 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -26,6 +26,13 @@
     	<type>jar</type>
     	<scope>compile</scope>
     </dependency>
+    <dependency>
+    	<groupId>commons-lang</groupId>
+    	<artifactId>commons-lang</artifactId>
+    	<version>2.6</version>
+    	<type>jar</type>
+    	<scope>compile</scope>
+    </dependency>
   </dependencies>
 
   <developers>
diff --git a/src/main/java/jenkins/plugins/ec2slave/EC2ImageLaunchWrapper.java b/src/main/java/jenkins/plugins/ec2slave/EC2ImageLaunchWrapper.java
index e6a3e4a..afa9cf7 100644
--- a/src/main/java/jenkins/plugins/ec2slave/EC2ImageLaunchWrapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/jenkins/plugins/ec2slave/EC2ImageLaunchWrapper.java
@@ -37,19 +37,28 @@
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.PrintStream;
 import java.text.MessageFormat;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
+import org.apache.commons.lang.StringUtils;
+
 import com.amazonaws.AmazonClientException;
 import com.amazonaws.AmazonServiceException;
 import com.amazonaws.auth.AWSCredentials;
 import com.amazonaws.auth.BasicAWSCredentials;
 import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.AmazonEC2Client;
+import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.model.AvailabilityZone;
+import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.model.DescribeAvailabilityZonesResult;
 import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.model.DescribeInstancesRequest;
+import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.model.DescribeSecurityGroupsResult;
 import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.model.Instance;
 import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.model.InstanceStateName;
+import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.model.Placement;
 import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.model.Reservation;
 import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.model.RunInstancesRequest;
 import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.model.RunInstancesResult;
+import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.model.SecurityGroup;
 import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.model.TerminateInstancesRequest;
 
 /**
@@ -73,7 +82,11 @@ public class EC2ImageLaunchWrapper extends ComputerLauncher {
   private String ami;
 
   private String instanceType;
-
+  
+  private String securityGroup;
+  
+  private String availabilityZone;
+  
   private String keypairName;
 
   private int retryIntervalSeconds = 10;
@@ -93,12 +106,14 @@ public class EC2ImageLaunchWrapper extends ComputerLauncher {
   private transient boolean preLaunchOk = false;
 
   public EC2ImageLaunchWrapper(ComputerConnector computerConnector, String secretKey, String accessKey, String ami,
-      String instanceType, String keypairName) {
+      String instanceType, String keypairName, String securityGroup, String availabilityZone) {
     this.ami = ami;
     this.computerConnector = computerConnector;
     // TODO: make a combobox for instance type in the slave config
     this.instanceType = instanceType;
     this.keypairName = keypairName;
+    this.securityGroup = securityGroup;
+    this.availabilityZone = availabilityZone;
 
     AWSCredentials credentials = new BasicAWSCredentials(accessKey, secretKey);
     ec2 = new AmazonEC2Client(credentials);
@@ -109,7 +124,18 @@ public EC2ImageLaunchWrapper(ComputerConnector computerConnector, String secretK
   //
   protected String launchInstanceFromImage() {
     RunInstancesRequest req = new RunInstancesRequest().withImageId(ami).withInstanceType(instanceType)
-        .withKeyName(keypairName).withSecurityGroups("default").withMinCount(1).withMaxCount(1);
+        .withKeyName(keypairName).withMinCount(1).withMaxCount(1);
+    
+    if(!StringUtils.isEmpty(securityGroup)) {
+      req.withSecurityGroups(securityGroup);
+    } else {
+      req.withSecurityGroups("default");
+    }
+    
+    if(!StringUtils.isEmpty(availabilityZone)) {
+      req.setPlacement(new Placement(availabilityZone));
+    }
+
     RunInstancesResult res = ec2.runInstances(req);
     Reservation rvn = res.getReservation();
 
@@ -136,6 +162,24 @@ public void terminateInstance(PrintStream logger) {
 
     ec2.terminateInstances(new TerminateInstancesRequest().withInstanceIds(curInstanceId));
   }
+  
+  public List<String> getAvailabilityZones() {
+    DescribeAvailabilityZonesResult res = ec2.describeAvailabilityZones();
+    ArrayList<String> ret = new ArrayList<String>();
+    for(AvailabilityZone z : res.getAvailabilityZones()) {
+      ret.add(z.getZoneName());
+    }
+    return ret;
+  }
+  
+  public List<String> getSecurityGroups() {
+    DescribeSecurityGroupsResult res = ec2.describeSecurityGroups();
+    ArrayList<String> ret = new ArrayList<String>();
+    for(SecurityGroup s : res.getSecurityGroups()) {
+      ret.add(s.getGroupName());
+    }
+    return ret;
+  }
 
   //
   ////
diff --git a/src/main/java/jenkins/plugins/ec2slave/EC2ImageSlave.java b/src/main/java/jenkins/plugins/ec2slave/EC2ImageSlave.java
index 0b842e4..50e9a6a 100644
--- a/src/main/java/jenkins/plugins/ec2slave/EC2ImageSlave.java
+++ b/src/main/java/jenkins/plugins/ec2slave/EC2ImageSlave.java
@@ -34,11 +34,22 @@
 import hudson.slaves.ComputerLauncher;
 import hudson.slaves.DumbSlave;
 import hudson.slaves.RetentionStrategy;
+import hudson.util.FormValidation;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
 import org.kohsuke.stapler.DataBoundConstructor;
+import org.kohsuke.stapler.QueryParameter;
+
+import com.amazonaws.AmazonServiceException;
+import com.amazonaws.auth.AWSCredentials;
+import com.amazonaws.auth.BasicAWSCredentials;
+import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.AmazonEC2Client;
+import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.model.DescribeImagesRequest;
+import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.model.DescribeImagesResult;
+import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.model.Image;
 
 /**
  * The {@link EC2ImageSlave} is a slave in the same way {@link DumbSlave} is, i.e.
@@ -56,7 +67,9 @@
 public final class EC2ImageSlave extends Slave {
   private static final long serialVersionUID = -3392496004371742586L;
 
-  private String instanceType, accessKey, imageId, secretKey, keypairName;
+  private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(EC2ImageSlave.class.getName());
+
+  private String instanceType, accessKey, imageId, secretKey, keypairName, securityGroup, availabilityZone;
 
   private transient EC2ImageLaunchWrapper ec2ImageLaunchWrapper;
 
@@ -68,9 +81,10 @@ public final class EC2ImageSlave extends Slave {
 
   @DataBoundConstructor
   public EC2ImageSlave(String secretKey, String accessKey, String imageId, String instanceType, String keypairName,
-      String name, String nodeDescription, String remoteFS, String numExecutors, Mode mode, String labelString,
-      ComputerConnector computerConnector, RetentionStrategy retentionStrategy,
-      List<? extends NodeProperty<?>> nodeProperties) throws FormException, IOException {
+      String securityGroup, String availabilityZone, String name, String nodeDescription, String remoteFS,
+      String numExecutors, Mode mode, String labelString, ComputerConnector computerConnector,
+      RetentionStrategy retentionStrategy, List<? extends NodeProperty<?>> nodeProperties) throws FormException,
+      IOException {
     super(name, nodeDescription, remoteFS, numExecutors, mode, labelString,
         null /* null launcher because we create it dynamically in getLauncher */, retentionStrategy, nodeProperties);
 
@@ -95,6 +109,8 @@ public EC2ImageSlave(String secretKey, String accessKey, String imageId, String
     this.imageId = imageId;
     this.instanceType = instanceType;
     this.keypairName = keypairName;
+    this.securityGroup = securityGroup;
+    this.availabilityZone = availabilityZone;
   }
 
   @Override
@@ -104,7 +120,7 @@ public ComputerLauncher getLauncher() {
     //hostname already set.  This implies that the EC2ImageSlave config will be displaying
     //Computer *Connector* descriptor stuff rather than *Launcher*
     ec2ImageLaunchWrapper = new EC2ImageLaunchWrapper(computerConnector, secretKey, accessKey, imageId, instanceType,
-        keypairName);
+        keypairName, securityGroup, availabilityZone);
 
     setLauncher(ec2ImageLaunchWrapper);
 
@@ -117,15 +133,37 @@ public String getDisplayName() {
       return "EC2 Image Slave";
     }
 
-    //		public FormValidation doCheckImageId(@QueryParameter String value, 
-    //				@QueryParameter("secretKey") String secretKey,
-    //				@QueryParameter("accessKey") String accessKey,
-    //				@QueryParameter("instanceType") String instanceType,
-    //				@QueryParameter("keypairName") String keypairName) {
-    //			if(ec2ImageLaunchWrapper
-    //			  if(looksOk(value))  return FormValidation.ok();
-    //			  else                return FormValidation.error("There's a problem here");
-    //			}
+    public FormValidation doTestConnection(@QueryParameter String accessKey, @QueryParameter String secretKey) {
+      try {
+        AWSCredentials credentials = new BasicAWSCredentials(accessKey, secretKey);
+        AmazonEC2Client ec2 = new AmazonEC2Client(credentials);
+        ec2.describeAvailabilityZones();
+        return FormValidation.ok("Success");
+      } catch (AmazonServiceException e) {
+        LOGGER.warning("Failed to check EC2 credential: " + e.getMessage());
+        return FormValidation.error(e.getMessage());
+      }
+    }
+
+    public FormValidation doValidateAmi(@QueryParameter String accessKey, @QueryParameter String secretKey,
+        final @QueryParameter String imageId) {
+      
+      FormValidation val = doTestConnection(accessKey, secretKey);
+      if(val.kind == FormValidation.Kind.ERROR) {
+        return val;
+      }
+      
+      AWSCredentials credentials = new BasicAWSCredentials(accessKey, secretKey);
+      AmazonEC2Client ec2 = new AmazonEC2Client(credentials);
+      DescribeImagesResult res = ec2.describeImages(new DescribeImagesRequest().withImageIds(imageId));
+      
+      if (res.getImages().size() > 0 && res.getImages().get(0).getImageId().equals(imageId)) {
+        Image image = res.getImages().get(0);
+        return FormValidation.ok("manifest: "+image.getImageLocation() +"\ndescription: " + image.getDescription());
+      } else {
+          return FormValidation.error("No such AMI: " + imageId);
+      }
+    }
 
     public static List<Descriptor<ComputerConnector>> getComputerConnectorDescriptors() {
       return Hudson.getInstance().<ComputerConnector, Descriptor<ComputerConnector>> getDescriptorList(
@@ -153,6 +191,14 @@ public String getKeypairName() {
     return keypairName;
   }
 
+  public String getAvailabilityZone() {
+    return availabilityZone;
+  }
+
+  public String getSecurityGroup() {
+    return securityGroup;
+  }
+
   public ComputerConnector getComputerConnector() {
     return computerConnector;
   }
diff --git a/src/main/resources/jenkins/plugins/ec2slave/EC2ImageSlave/configure-entries.jelly b/src/main/resources/jenkins/plugins/ec2slave/EC2ImageSlave/configure-entries.jelly
index 0d2976b..ee9abb6 100644
--- a/src/main/resources/jenkins/plugins/ec2slave/EC2ImageSlave/configure-entries.jelly
+++ b/src/main/resources/jenkins/plugins/ec2slave/EC2ImageSlave/configure-entries.jelly
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ THE SOFTWARE.
          
   <f:section title="${%EC2 Configuration}">
 
-      <f:entry title="${%Access Key}" field="accessKey">
+      <f:entry title="${%Access Key ID}" field="accessKey">
         <f:textbox />
       </f:entry>
 		
@@ -37,10 +37,14 @@ THE SOFTWARE.
           <f:password />
       </f:entry>
       
+      <!-- f:validateButton title="${%Test Connection}" progress="${%Testing...}" method="testConnection" with="secretKey,accessKey" /-->
+      
       <f:entry title="${%AMI}" field="imageId">
         <f:textbox />
       </f:entry>
       
+      <f:validateButton title="${%Check AMI}" progress="${%Checking...}" method="validateAmi" with="secretKey,accessKey,imageId" />
+      
       <f:entry title="${%Instance Type}" field="instanceType">
         <f:textbox />
       </f:entry>
@@ -48,11 +52,25 @@ THE SOFTWARE.
       <f:entry title="${%Keypair Name}" field="keypairName">
         <f:textbox />
       </f:entry>
+      
+      <f:advanced>
+      
+        <f:entry title="${%Security Group}" field="securityGroup">
+          <f:textbox />
+        </f:entry>
+      
+        <f:entry title="${%Availability Zone}" field="availabilityZone">
+          <f:textbox />
+        </f:entry>
+      
+      </f:advanced>
+      
+      <!-- f:validateButton title="${%Check AMI}" progress="${%Checking...}" method="validateAmi" with="secretKey,accessId,region,ami" /-->
   </f:section>
   
   <!-- In order to display ComputerConnector choices, we might not be able to simply import dumbSlave's description -->
   
-  <f:section title="${%Slave Process Configuration}">
+  <f:section title="${%Jenkins Slave Configuration}">
   
   <!--  below we include config that looks just like dumbslave's config-entries.jelly 
         file but with computerConnector in place of computerLauncher 
diff --git a/src/main/resources/jenkins/plugins/ec2slave/EC2ImageSlave/help-accessKey.html b/src/main/resources/jenkins/plugins/ec2slave/EC2ImageSlave/help-accessKey.html
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6dc6b16
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/resources/jenkins/plugins/ec2slave/EC2ImageSlave/help-accessKey.html
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+<div>
+    Jenkins uses this access key ID and secret access key to interface with Amazon EC2.
+    If you have already signed up on EC2, you can obtain this from
+    <a href="http://aws-portal.amazon.com/gp/aws/developer/account/index.html?action=access-key">here</a>.
+    Otherwise, you need to sign up to Amazon Web Services to get one.
+</div>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/main/resources/jenkins/plugins/ec2slave/EC2ImageSlave/help-instanceType.html b/src/main/resources/jenkins/plugins/ec2slave/EC2ImageSlave/help-instanceType.html
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c2e243a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/resources/jenkins/plugins/ec2slave/EC2ImageSlave/help-instanceType.html
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+<div>
+    The type of EC2 image to launch. Possible values are t1.micro, m1.small, m1.large, m1.xlarge, 
+    m2.xlarge, m2.2xlarge, m2.4xlarge, c1.medium, c1.xlarge, cc1.4xlarge, or cg1.4xlarge.
+    Note: not all values apply to a given AMI.  For a description of image types see
+    <a href="http://aws.amazon.com/ec2/instance-types/">here</a>.
+</div>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/test/java/jenkins/plugins/ec2slave/EC2ImageLaunchWrapperTest.java b/src/test/java/jenkins/plugins/ec2slave/EC2ImageLaunchWrapperTest.java
index d69eab3..ac775b2 100644
--- a/src/test/java/jenkins/plugins/ec2slave/EC2ImageLaunchWrapperTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/jenkins/plugins/ec2slave/EC2ImageLaunchWrapperTest.java
@@ -26,15 +26,42 @@
 import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
 import java.io.FileReader;
 import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Properties;
 
+import org.junit.Before;
 import org.junit.Ignore;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
+import com.amazonaws.auth.AWSCredentials;
+import com.amazonaws.auth.BasicAWSCredentials;
+import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.AmazonEC2Client;
+import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.model.AvailabilityZone;
+import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.model.DescribeImagesRequest;
+import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.model.DescribeImagesResult;
+import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.model.Image;
+import com.amazonaws.services.ec2.model.SecurityGroup;
+
 public class EC2ImageLaunchWrapperTest {
   
-  private String credsFile = "../../aws-test/src/AwsCredentials.properties";
+  private String credsFile = "../aws-test/src/AwsCredentials.properties";
+  EC2ImageLaunchWrapper launcher;
+  Properties props = new Properties();
+
+  @Before
+  public void setup() throws FileNotFoundException, IOException {
+    
+    props.load(new FileReader(credsFile));
+
+    String ami = "ami-xxxx";
+    String instanceType = "t1.micro";
+    String keypairName = "mykeypair";
 
+    launcher = new EC2ImageLaunchWrapper(null,
+        props.getProperty("secretKey"), props.getProperty("accessKey"),
+        ami, instanceType, keypairName, null, null);
+  }
+  
   /**
    * For obvious reasons this test doesn't work out of the box.  It is really only practical for 
    * developer (not CI) testing.  To run it, point to your AwsCredentials.properties and set ami, 
@@ -43,19 +70,30 @@ public class EC2ImageLaunchWrapperTest {
   @Ignore
 	@Test
 	public void testImageLauncher() throws FileNotFoundException, IOException, InterruptedException {
-		Properties props = new Properties();
-		props.load(new FileReader(credsFile));
-
-		String ami = "ami-xxxx";
-		String instanceType = "t1.micro";
-		String keypairName = "mykeypair";
-
-		EC2ImageLaunchWrapper launcher = new EC2ImageLaunchWrapper(null,
-				props.getProperty("secretKey"), props.getProperty("accessKey"),
-				ami, instanceType, keypairName);
-
 		launcher.preLaunch(System.out);
 		launcher.terminateInstance(System.out);
 	}
+  
+  @Test
+  public void testGetAvailabilityZones() {
+    List<String> azs = launcher.getAvailabilityZones();
+    System.out.println(azs);
+  }
+  
+  @Test
+  public void testGetSecurityGroups() {
+    List<String> sec = launcher.getSecurityGroups();
+    System.out.println(sec);
+  }
+  
+  @Test
+  public void testCheckAMI() {
+    AWSCredentials credentials = new BasicAWSCredentials(props.getProperty("accessKey"), props.getProperty("secretKey"));
+    AmazonEC2Client ec2 = new AmazonEC2Client(credentials);
+    DescribeImagesResult res = ec2.describeImages(new DescribeImagesRequest().withImageIds("ami-xxxxxx"));
+    System.out.println(res.getImages());
+    Image image = res.getImages().get(0);
+    System.out.println(image.getImageLocation());
+  }
 
 }
\ No newline at end of file