diff --git a/doc/source/configuration/format.rst b/doc/source/configuration/format.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c438cb86
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/source/configuration/format.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,191 @@
+=========================
+Configuration file format
+=========================
+
+OpenStack uses the INI file format for configuration files.
+An INI file is a simple text file that specifies options as
+``key=value`` pairs, grouped into sections.
+The ``DEFAULT`` section contains most of the configuration options.
+Lines starting with a hash sign (``#``) are comment lines.
+For example:
+
+.. code-block:: ini
+
+   [DEFAULT]
+   # Print debugging output (set logging level to DEBUG instead
+   # of default WARNING level). (boolean value)
+   debug = true
+
+   [database]
+   # The SQLAlchemy connection string used to connect to the
+   # database (string value)
+   connection = mysql+pymysql://keystone:KEYSTONE_DBPASS@controller/keystone
+
+Options can have different types for values.
+The comments in the sample config files always mention these and the
+tables mention the ``Opt`` value as first item like ``(BoolOpt) Toggle...``.
+The following types are used by OpenStack:
+
+boolean value (``BoolOpt``)
+ Enables or disables an option. The allowed values are ``true`` and ``false``.
+
+ .. code-block:: ini
+
+    # Enable the experimental use of database reconnect on
+    # connection lost (boolean value)
+    use_db_reconnect = false
+
+floating point value (``FloatOpt``)
+ A floating point number like ``0.25`` or ``1000``.
+
+ .. code-block:: ini
+
+    # Sleep time in seconds for polling an ongoing async task
+    # (floating point value)
+    task_poll_interval = 0.5
+
+integer value (``IntOpt``)
+ An integer number is a number without fractional components,
+ like ``0`` or ``42``.
+
+ .. code-block:: ini
+
+    # The port which the OpenStack Compute service listens on.
+    # (integer value)
+    compute_port = 8774
+
+IP address (``IPOpt``)
+ An IPv4 or IPv6 address.
+
+ .. code-block:: ini
+
+    # Address to bind the server. Useful when selecting a particular network
+    # interface. (ip address value)
+    bind_host = 0.0.0.0
+
+key-value pairs (``DictOpt``)
+ A key-value pairs, also known as a dictionary. The key value pairs are
+ separated by commas and a colon is used to separate key and value.
+ Example: ``key1:value1,key2:value2``.
+
+ .. code-block:: ini
+
+    # Parameter for l2_l3 workflow setup. (dict value)
+    l2_l3_setup_params = data_ip_address:192.168.200.99, \
+       data_ip_mask:255.255.255.0,data_port:1,gateway:192.168.200.1,ha_port:2
+
+list value (``ListOpt``)
+ Represents values of other types, separated by commas.
+ As an example, the following sets ``allowed_rpc_exception_modules``
+ to a list containing the four elements ``oslo.messaging.exceptions``,
+ ``nova.exception``, ``cinder.exception``, and ``exceptions``:
+
+ .. code-block:: ini
+
+    # Modules of exceptions that are permitted to be recreated
+    # upon receiving exception data from an rpc call. (list value)
+    allowed_rpc_exception_modules = oslo.messaging.exceptions,nova.exception
+
+multi valued (``MultiStrOpt``)
+ A multi-valued option is a string value and can be given
+ more than once, all values will be used.
+
+ .. code-block:: ini
+
+    # Driver or drivers to handle sending notifications. (multi valued)
+    notification_driver = nova.openstack.common.notifier.rpc_notifier
+    notification_driver = ceilometer.compute.nova_notifier
+
+port value (``PortOpt``)
+ A TCP/IP port number.  Ports can range from 1 to 65535.
+
+ .. code-block:: ini
+
+   # Port to which the UDP socket is bound. (port value)
+   # Minimum value: 1
+   # Maximum value: 65535
+   udp_port = 4952
+
+string value (``StrOpt``)
+ Strings can be optionally enclosed with single or double quotes.
+
+ .. code-block:: ini
+
+    # Enables or disables publication of error events. (boolean value)
+    publish_errors = false
+
+    # The format for an instance that is passed with the log message.
+    # (string value)
+    instance_format = "[instance: %(uuid)s] "
+
+Sections
+~~~~~~~~
+
+Configuration options are grouped by section.
+Most configuration files support at least the following sections:
+
+[DEFAULT]
+ Contains most configuration options.
+ If the documentation for a configuration option does not
+ specify its section, assume that it appears in this section.
+
+[database]
+ Configuration options for the database that stores
+ the state of the OpenStack service.
+
+Substitution
+~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+The configuration file supports variable substitution.
+After you set a configuration option, it can be referenced
+in later configuration values when you precede it with
+a ``$``, like ``$OPTION``.
+
+The following example uses the values of ``rabbit_host`` and
+``rabbit_port`` to define the value of the ``rabbit_hosts``
+option, in this case as ``controller:5672``.
+
+.. code-block:: ini
+
+   # The RabbitMQ broker address where a single node is used.
+   # (string value)
+   rabbit_host = controller
+
+   # The RabbitMQ broker port where a single node is used.
+   # (integer value)
+   rabbit_port = 5672
+
+   # RabbitMQ HA cluster host:port pairs. (list value)
+   rabbit_hosts = $rabbit_host:$rabbit_port
+
+To avoid substitution, use ``$$``, it is replaced by a single ``$``.
+For example, if your LDAP DNS password is ``$xkj432``, specify it, as follows:
+
+.. code-block:: ini
+
+   ldap_dns_password = $$xkj432
+
+The code uses the Python ``string.Template.safe_substitute()``
+method to implement variable substitution.
+For more details on how variable substitution is resolved, see
+https://docs.python.org/2/library/string.html#template-strings
+and `PEP 292 <https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0292/>`_.
+
+Whitespace
+~~~~~~~~~~
+
+To include whitespace in a configuration value, use a quoted string.
+For example:
+
+.. code-block:: ini
+
+   ldap_dns_password='a password with spaces'
+
+Define an alternate location for a config file
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Most services and the ``*-manage`` command-line clients load
+the configuration file.
+To define an alternate location for the configuration file,
+pass the ``--config-file CONFIG_FILE`` parameter
+when you start a service or call a ``*-manage`` command.
diff --git a/doc/source/configuration/index.rst b/doc/source/configuration/index.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..eda28ec2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/source/configuration/index.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+=====================
+ Configuration Guide
+=====================
+
+.. toctree::
+   :maxdepth: 2
+
+   format
+   mutable
+
+
diff --git a/doc/source/configuration/mutable.rst b/doc/source/configuration/mutable.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f735c836
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/source/configuration/mutable.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+==========================
+Changing config at runtime
+==========================
+
+OpenStack Newton introduces the ability to reload (or 'mutate') certain
+configuration options at runtime without a service restart. The following
+projects support this:
+
+* Compute (nova)
+
+Check individual options to discover if they are mutable.
+
+
+In practice
+~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+A common use case is to enable debug logging after a failure. Use the mutable
+config option called 'debug' to do this (providing ``log_config_append``
+has not been set). An admin user may perform the following steps:
+
+#. Log onto the compute node.
+#. Edit the config file (EG ``nova.conf``) and change 'debug' to ``True``.
+#. Send a SIGHUP signal to the nova process (For example, ``pkill -HUP nova``).
+
+A log message will be written out confirming that the option has been changed.
+If you use a CMS like Ansible, Chef, or Puppet, we recommend scripting these
+steps through your CMS.
diff --git a/doc/source/index.rst b/doc/source/index.rst
index 4fa2eb50..38aba214 100644
--- a/doc/source/index.rst
+++ b/doc/source/index.rst
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ Contents
 
    reference/index
    cli/index
+   configuration/index
    contributor/index
 
 Indices and tables