diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 0ae87d9d0854..0b883e082c20 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -21,3 +21,4 @@ linklint/
 .checkstyle
 **/.checkstyle
 .java-version
+tmp
diff --git a/conf/hbase-site.xml b/conf/hbase-site.xml
index c516ac729114..20c62f7984a1 100644
--- a/conf/hbase-site.xml
+++ b/conf/hbase-site.xml
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 <?xml version="1.0"?>
 <?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="configuration.xsl"?>
 <!--
-/**
- *
+/*
  * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
  * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
  * distributed with this work for additional information
@@ -21,4 +20,35 @@
  */
 -->
 <configuration>
+  <!--
+    The following properties are set for running HBase as a single process on a
+    developer workstation. With this configuration, HBase is running in
+    "stand-alone" mode and without a distributed file system. In this mode, and
+    without further configuration, HBase and ZooKeeper data are stored on the
+    local filesystem, in a path under the value configured for `hbase.tmp.dir`.
+    This value is overridden from its default value of `/tmp` because many
+    systems clean `/tmp` on a regular basis. Instead, it points to a path within
+    this HBase installation directory.
+
+    Running against the `LocalFileSystem`, as opposed to a distributed
+    filesystem, runs the risk of data integrity issues and data loss. Normally
+    HBase will refuse to run in such an environment. Setting
+    `hbase.unsafe.stream.capability.enforce` to `false` overrides this behavior,
+    permitting operation. This configuration is for the developer workstation
+    only and __should not be used in production!__
+
+    See also https://hbase.apache.org/book.html#standalone_dist
+  -->
+  <property>
+    <name>hbase.cluster.distributed</name>
+    <value>false</value>
+  </property>
+  <property>
+    <name>hbase.tmp.dir</name>
+    <value>./tmp</value>
+  </property>
+  <property>
+    <name>hbase.unsafe.stream.capability.enforce</name>
+    <value>false</value>
+  </property>
 </configuration>
diff --git a/hbase-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/util/CommonFSUtils.java b/hbase-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/util/CommonFSUtils.java
index 2e21605c0847..d46352dd2ee0 100644
--- a/hbase-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/util/CommonFSUtils.java
+++ b/hbase-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/util/CommonFSUtils.java
@@ -28,12 +28,12 @@
 import java.util.Locale;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
+import org.apache.hadoop.HadoopIllegalArgumentException;
 import org.apache.hadoop.conf.Configuration;
 import org.apache.hadoop.fs.FSDataOutputStream;
 import org.apache.hadoop.fs.FSDataOutputStreamBuilder;
 import org.apache.hadoop.fs.FileStatus;
 import org.apache.hadoop.fs.FileSystem;
-import org.apache.hadoop.fs.LocalFileSystem;
 import org.apache.hadoop.fs.LocatedFileStatus;
 import org.apache.hadoop.fs.Path;
 import org.apache.hadoop.fs.PathFilter;
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@
 import org.apache.hadoop.fs.permission.FsPermission;
 import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.HConstants;
 import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.TableName;
+import org.apache.hadoop.ipc.RemoteException;
 import org.apache.yetus.audience.InterfaceAudience;
 import org.slf4j.Logger;
 import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
@@ -354,14 +355,6 @@ public static FileSystem getWALFileSystem(final Configuration c) throws IOExcept
     if (enforceStreamCapability != null) {
       fs.getConf().set(UNSAFE_STREAM_CAPABILITY_ENFORCE, enforceStreamCapability);
     }
-    if (fs instanceof LocalFileSystem) {
-      // running on LocalFileSystem, which does not support the required capabilities `HSYNC`
-      // and `HFLUSH`. disable enforcement.
-      final boolean value = false;
-      LOG.warn("Cannot enforce durability guarantees while running on {}. Setting {}={} for"
-        + " this FileSystem.", fs.getUri(), UNSAFE_STREAM_CAPABILITY_ENFORCE, value);
-      fs.getConf().setBoolean(UNSAFE_STREAM_CAPABILITY_ENFORCE, value);
-    }
     return fs;
   }
 
diff --git a/src/main/asciidoc/_chapters/getting_started.adoc b/src/main/asciidoc/_chapters/getting_started.adoc
index 84ebcaa67b57..e50ea6bd4a73 100644
--- a/src/main/asciidoc/_chapters/getting_started.adoc
+++ b/src/main/asciidoc/_chapters/getting_started.adoc
@@ -80,76 +80,12 @@ $ cd hbase-{Version}/
 JAVA_HOME=/usr
 ----
 +
-
-. Edit _conf/hbase-site.xml_, which is the main HBase configuration file.
-  At this time, you need to specify the directory on the local filesystem where HBase and ZooKeeper write data and acknowledge some risks.
-  By default, a new directory is created under /tmp.
-  Many servers are configured to delete the contents of _/tmp_ upon reboot, so you should store the data elsewhere.
-  The following configuration will store HBase's data in the _hbase_ directory, in the home directory of the user called `testuser`.
-  Paste the `<property>` tags beneath the `<configuration>` tags, which should be empty in a new HBase install.
-+
-.Example _hbase-site.xml_ for Standalone HBase
-====
-[source,xml]
-----
-
-<configuration>
-  <property>
-    <name>hbase.rootdir</name>
-    <value>file:///home/testuser/hbase</value>
-  </property>
-  <property>
-    <name>hbase.zookeeper.property.dataDir</name>
-    <value>/home/testuser/zookeeper</value>
-  </property>
-  <property>
-    <name>hbase.unsafe.stream.capability.enforce</name>
-    <value>false</value>
-    <description>
-      Controls whether HBase will check for stream capabilities (hflush/hsync).
-
-      Disable this if you intend to run on LocalFileSystem, denoted by a rootdir
-      with the 'file://' scheme, but be mindful of the NOTE below.
-
-      WARNING: Setting this to false blinds you to potential data loss and
-      inconsistent system state in the event of process and/or node failures. If
-      HBase is complaining of an inability to use hsync or hflush it's most
-      likely not a false positive.
-    </description>
-  </property>
-</configuration>
-----
-====
-+
-You do not need to create the HBase data directory.
-HBase will do this for you.  If you create the directory,
-HBase will attempt to do a migration, which is not what you want.
-+
-NOTE: The _hbase.rootdir_ in the above example points to a directory
-in the _local filesystem_. The 'file://' prefix is how we denote local
-filesystem. You should take the WARNING present in the configuration example
-to heart. In standalone mode HBase makes use of the local filesystem abstraction
-from the Apache Hadoop project. That abstraction doesn't provide the durability
-promises that HBase needs to operate safely. This is fine for local development
-and testing use cases where the cost of cluster failure is well contained. It is
-not appropriate for production deployments; eventually you will lose data.
-
-To home HBase on an existing instance of HDFS, set the _hbase.rootdir_ to point at a
-directory up on your instance: e.g. _hdfs://namenode.example.org:8020/hbase_.
-For more on this variant, see the section below on Standalone HBase over HDFS.
-
 . The _bin/start-hbase.sh_ script is provided as a convenient way to start HBase.
   Issue the command, and if all goes well, a message is logged to standard output showing that HBase started successfully.
   You can use the `jps` command to verify that you have one running process called `HMaster`.
   In standalone mode HBase runs all daemons within this single JVM, i.e.
   the HMaster, a single HRegionServer, and the ZooKeeper daemon.
   Go to _http://localhost:16010_ to view the HBase Web UI.
-+
-NOTE: Java needs to be installed and available.
-If you get an error indicating that Java is not installed,
-but it is on your system, perhaps in a non-standard location,
-edit the _conf/hbase-env.sh_ file and modify the `JAVA_HOME`
-setting to point to the directory that contains _bin/java_ on your system.
 
 
 [[shell_exercises]]
@@ -309,7 +245,7 @@ The above has shown you how to start and stop a standalone instance of HBase.
 In the next sections we give a quick overview of other modes of hbase deploy.
 
 [[quickstart_pseudo]]
-=== Pseudo-Distributed Local Install
+=== Pseudo-Distributed for Local Testing
 
 After working your way through <<quickstart,quickstart>> standalone mode,
 you can re-configure HBase to run in pseudo-distributed mode.
@@ -351,8 +287,8 @@ First, add the following property which directs HBase to run in distributed mode
 </property>
 ----
 +
-Next, change the `hbase.rootdir` from the local filesystem to the address of your HDFS instance, using the `hdfs:////` URI syntax.
-In this example, HDFS is running on the localhost at port 8020. Be sure to either remove the entry for `hbase.unsafe.stream.capability.enforce` or set it to true.
+Next, add a configuration for `hbase.rootdir`, pointing to the address of your HDFS instance, using the `hdfs:////` URI syntax.
+In this example, HDFS is running on the localhost at port 8020.
 +
 [source,xml]
 ----
@@ -364,8 +300,9 @@ In this example, HDFS is running on the localhost at port 8020. Be sure to eithe
 ----
 +
 You do not need to create the directory in HDFS.
-HBase will do this for you.
-If you create the directory, HBase will attempt to do a migration, which is not what you want.
+HBase will do this for you. If you create the directory, HBase will attempt to do a migration, which is not what you want.
++
+Finally, remove existing configuration for `hbase.tmp.dir` and `hbase.unsafe.stream.capability.enforce`,
 
 . Start HBase.
 +
@@ -452,7 +389,7 @@ You can stop HBase the same way as in the <<quickstart,quickstart>> procedure, u
 
 
 [[quickstart_fully_distributed]]
-=== Advanced - Fully Distributed
+=== Fully Distributed for Production
 
 In reality, you need a fully-distributed configuration to fully test HBase and to use it in real-world scenarios.
 In a distributed configuration, the cluster contains multiple nodes, each of which runs one or more HBase daemon.