diff --git a/config.h b/config.h
index 3f9b62cca..6555fac32 100644
--- a/config.h
+++ b/config.h
@@ -61,11 +61,3 @@
 /** AXI Bus frequency for all components
  * except RTDS AXI Stream bridge which runs at RTDS_HZ (100 Mhz) */
 #define FPGA_AXI_HZ		125000000 // 125 MHz
-
-/** Global configuration */
-struct settings {
-	int priority;		/**< Process priority (lower is better) */
-	int affinity;		/**< Process affinity of the server and all created threads */
-	int debug;		/**< Debug log level */
-	double stats;		/**< Interval for path statistics. Set to 0 to disable themo disable them. */
-};
diff --git a/include/villas/cfg.h b/include/villas/cfg.h
index 2065d6d95..ae6f51a2d 100644
--- a/include/villas/cfg.h
+++ b/include/villas/cfg.h
@@ -15,37 +15,53 @@
 
 #include <libconfig.h>
 
-/* Forward declarations */
-struct list;
-struct settings;
+#include "list.h"
+#include "api.h"
+#include "web.h"
+#include "log.h"
+
+/** Global configuration */
+struct cfg {
+	int priority;		/**< Process priority (lower is better) */
+	int affinity;		/**< Process affinity of the server and all created threads */
+	double stats;		/**< Interval for path statistics. Set to 0 to disable them. */
+
+	struct list nodes;
+	struct list paths;
+	struct list plugins;
+
+	struct log log;
+	struct api api;
+	struct web web;
+
+	config_t *cfg;		/**< Pointer to configuration file */
+	json_t *json;		/**< JSON representation of the same config. */
+};
 
 /* Compatibility with libconfig < 1.5 */
 #if (LIBCONFIG_VER_MAJOR <= 1) && (LIBCONFIG_VER_MINOR < 5)
   #define config_setting_lookup config_lookup_from
 #endif
 
-/** Simple wrapper around libconfig's config_init()
-  *
-  * This allows us to avoid an additional library dependency to libconfig
-  * for the excuctables. They only have to depend on libvillas.
-  */
-void cfg_init(config_t *cfg);
+/** Inititalize configuration object before parsing the configuration. */
+int cfg_init_pre(struct cfg *cfg);
 
-/** Simple wrapper around libconfig's config_init() */
-void cfg_destroy(config_t *cfg);
+/** Initialize after parsing the configuration file. */
+int cfg_init_post(struct cfg *cfg);
 
-/** Parse config file and store settings in supplied struct settings.
+int cfg_deinit(struct cfg *cfg);
+
+/** Desctroy configuration object. */
+int cfg_destroy(struct cfg *cfg);
+
+/** Parse config file and store settings in supplied struct cfg.
  *
+ * @param cfg A configuration object.
  * @param filename The path to the configration file (relative or absolute)
- * @param cfg A initialized libconfig object
- * @param set The global configuration structure
- * @param nodes A linked list of nodes which should be parsed
- * @param paths A linked list of paths which should be parsed
  * @retval 0 Success. Everything went well.
  * @retval <0 Error. Something went wrong.
  */
-int cfg_parse(const char *filename, config_t *cfg, struct settings *set,
-	struct list *nodes, struct list *paths);
+int cfg_parse(struct cfg *cfg, const char *uri);
 
 /** Parse the global section of a configuration file.
  *
@@ -54,7 +70,7 @@ int cfg_parse(const char *filename, config_t *cfg, struct settings *set,
  * @retval 0 Success. Everything went well.
  * @retval <0 Error. Something went wrong.
  */
-int cfg_parse_global(config_setting_t *cfg, struct settings *set);
+int cfg_parse_global(config_setting_t *cfg, struct cfg *set);
 
 /** Parse a single path and add it to the global configuration.
  *
@@ -66,7 +82,7 @@ int cfg_parse_global(config_setting_t *cfg, struct settings *set);
  * @retval <0 Error. Something went wrong.
  */
 int cfg_parse_path(config_setting_t *cfg,
-	struct list *paths, struct list *nodes, struct settings *set);
+	struct list *paths, struct list *nodes, struct cfg *set);
 
 /** Parse an array or single node and checks if they exist in the "nodes" section.
  *
diff --git a/lib/cfg.c b/lib/cfg.c
index 4584bc1a9..f2abd1c11 100644
--- a/lib/cfg.c
+++ b/lib/cfg.c
@@ -17,134 +17,208 @@
 #include "node.h"
 #include "path.h"
 #include "hooks.h"
+#include "advio.h"
+#include "web.h"
+#include "log.h"
+#include "api.h"
+#include "plugin.h"
 
-void cfg_init(config_t *cfg)
+#include "kernel/rt.h"
+
+int cfg_init_pre(struct cfg *cfg)
 {
-	config_init(cfg);
-}
-
-void cfg_destroy(config_t *cfg)
-{
-	config_destroy(cfg);
-}
-
-int cfg_parse(const char *filename, config_t *cfg, struct settings *set,
-	struct list *nodes, struct list *paths)
-{
-	int ret = CONFIG_FALSE;
-	char *filename_cpy, *include_dir;
-
-	config_init(cfg);
-
-	filename_cpy = strdup(filename);
-	include_dir = dirname(filename_cpy);
-
-	/* Setup libconfig */
-	config_set_auto_convert(cfg, 1);
-	config_set_include_dir(cfg, include_dir);
-
-	free(filename_cpy);
+	config_init(cfg->cfg);
 	
-	if (strcmp("-", filename) == 0)
-		ret = config_read(cfg, stdin);
-	else if (access(filename, F_OK) != -1)
-		ret = config_read_file(cfg, filename);
-	else
-		error("Invalid configuration file name: %s", filename);
+	info("Inititliaze logging sub-system");
+	log_init(&cfg->log);
 
-	if (ret != CONFIG_TRUE) {
-		error("Failed to parse configuration: %s in %s:%d",
-			config_error_text(cfg),
-			config_error_file(cfg) ? config_error_file(cfg) : filename,
-			config_error_line(cfg)
-		);
+	list_init(&cfg->nodes);
+	list_init(&cfg->paths);
+	list_init(&cfg->plugins);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+int cfg_init_post(struct cfg *cfg)
+{
+	info("Initialize real-time sub-system");
+	rt_init(cfg);
+
+	info("Initialize hook sub-system");
+	hook_init(cfg);
+	
+	info("Initialize API sub-system");
+	api_init(&cfg->api, cfg);
+	
+	info("Initialize web sub-system");
+	web_init(&cfg->web, &cfg->api);
+	
+	return 0;
+}
+
+int cfg_deinit(struct cfg *cfg)
+{
+	info("De-initializing node types");
+	list_foreach(struct node_type *vt, &node_types) { INDENT
+		node_deinit(vt);
 	}
+	
+	info("De-initializing web interface");
+	web_deinit(&cfg->web);
+	
+	info("De-initialize API");
+	api_deinit(&cfg->api);
+	
+	return 0;
+}
 
-	config_setting_t *cfg_root = config_root_setting(cfg);
+int cfg_destroy(struct cfg *cfg)
+{
+	config_destroy(cfg->cfg);
+
+	web_destroy(&cfg->web);
+	log_destroy(&cfg->log);
+	api_destroy(&cfg->api);
+
+	list_destroy(&cfg->plugins, (dtor_cb_t) plugin_destroy, false);
+	list_destroy(&cfg->paths,   (dtor_cb_t) path_destroy, true);
+	list_destroy(&cfg->nodes,   (dtor_cb_t) node_destroy, true);
+	
+	return 0;
+}
+
+int cfg_parse(struct cfg *cfg, const char *uri)
+{
+	config_setting_t *cfg_root, *cfg_nodes, *cfg_paths, *cfg_plugins, *cfg_logging;
+
+	int ret = CONFIG_FALSE;
+
+	if (uri) {
+		/* Setup libconfig */
+		config_set_auto_convert(cfg->cfg, 1);
+
+		FILE *f;
+		AFILE *af;
+	
+		/* Via stdin */
+		if (strcmp("-", uri) == 0) {
+			af = NULL;
+			f = stdin;
+		}
+		/* Local file? */
+		else if (access(uri, F_OK) != -1) {
+			/* Setup libconfig include path.
+			 * This is only supported for local files */
+			char *uri_cpy = strdup(uri);
+			char *include_dir = dirname(uri_cpy);
+
+			config_set_include_dir(cfg->cfg, include_dir);
+				
+			free(uri_cpy);
+
+			af = NULL;
+			f = fopen(uri, "r");
+		}
+		/* Use advio (libcurl) to fetch the config from a remote */
+		else {
+			af = afopen(uri, "r", ADVIO_MEM);
+			f = af ? af->file : NULL;
+		}
+
+		/* Check if file could be loaded / opened */
+		if (!f)
+			error("Failed to open configuration from: %s", uri);
+		
+		/* Parse config */
+		ret = config_read(cfg->cfg, f);
+		if (ret != CONFIG_TRUE)
+			error("Failed to parse configuration: %s in %s:%d", config_error_text(cfg->cfg), uri, config_error_line(cfg->cfg));
+
+		/* Close configuration file */
+		if (af)
+			afclose(af);
+		else
+			fclose(f);
+	}
+	else
+		warn("No configuration file specified. Starting unconfigured. Use the API to configure this instance.");
 
 	/* Parse global settings */
-	if (set) {
-		if (!cfg_root || !config_setting_is_group(cfg_root))
-			error("Missing global section in config file: %s", filename);
+	cfg_root = config_root_setting(cfg->cfg);
+	if (cfg_root) {
+		if (!config_setting_is_group(cfg_root))
+			warn("Missing global section in config file.");
 
-		cfg_parse_global(cfg_root, set);
+		cfg_parse_global(cfg_root, cfg);
+	}
+
+	/* Parse logging settings */
+	cfg_logging = config_setting_get_member(cfg_root, "logging");
+	if (cfg_logging) {
+		if (!config_setting_is_group(cfg_logging))
+			cerror(cfg_logging, "Setting 'logging' must be a group.");
+		
+		log_parse(&cfg->log, cfg_logging);
+	}
+
+	/* Parse plugins */
+	cfg_plugins = config_setting_get_member(cfg_root, "plugins");
+	if (cfg_plugins) {
+		if (!config_setting_is_array(cfg_plugins))
+			cerror(cfg_plugins, "Setting 'plugins' must be a list of strings");
+
+		for (int i = 0; i < config_setting_length(cfg_plugins); i++) {
+			struct config_setting_t *cfg_plugin = config_setting_get_elem(cfg_plugins, i);
+			
+			struct plugin plugin;
+			
+			plugin_parse(&plugin, cfg_plugin);
+		}
 	}
 
 	/* Parse nodes */
-	if (nodes) {
-		config_setting_t *cfg_nodes = config_setting_get_member(cfg_root, "nodes");
-		if (!cfg_nodes || !config_setting_is_group(cfg_nodes))
-			error("Missing node section in config file: %s", filename);
+	cfg_nodes = config_setting_get_member(cfg_root, "nodes");
+	if (cfg_nodes) {
+		if (!config_setting_is_group(cfg_nodes))
+			warn("Setting 'nodes' must be a group with node name => group mappings.");
 
 		for (int i = 0; i < config_setting_length(cfg_nodes); i++) {
 			config_setting_t *cfg_node = config_setting_get_elem(cfg_nodes, i);
-			cfg_parse_node(cfg_node, nodes, set);
+			cfg_parse_node(cfg_node, &cfg->nodes, cfg);
 		}
 	}
 
 	/* Parse paths */
-	if (paths) {
-		config_setting_t *cfg_paths = config_setting_get_member(cfg_root, "paths");
-		if (!cfg_paths || !config_setting_is_list(cfg_paths))
-			error("Missing path section in config file: %s", filename);
+	cfg_paths = config_setting_get_member(cfg_root, "paths");
+	if (cfg_paths) {
+		if (!config_setting_is_list(cfg_paths))
+			warn("Setting 'paths' must be a list.");
 
 		for (int i = 0; i < config_setting_length(cfg_paths); i++) {
 			config_setting_t *cfg_path = config_setting_get_elem(cfg_paths, i);
-			cfg_parse_path(cfg_path, paths, nodes, set);
+			cfg_parse_path(cfg_path, &cfg->paths, &cfg->nodes, cfg);
 		}
 	}
 
 	return 0;
 }
 
-int cfg_parse_plugins(config_setting_t *cfg)
+int cfg_parse_global(config_setting_t *cfg, struct cfg *set)
 {
-	if (!config_setting_is_array(cfg))
-		cerror(cfg, "Setting 'plugins' must be a list of strings");
-
-	for (int i = 0; i < config_setting_length(cfg); i++) {
-		void *handle;
-		const char *path;
-
-		path = config_setting_get_string_elem(cfg, i);
-		if (!path)
-			cerror(cfg, "Setting 'plugins' must be a list of strings");
-		
-		handle = dlopen(path, RTLD_NOW);
-		if (!handle)
-			error("Failed to load plugin %s", dlerror());
-	}
-
-	return 0;
-}
-
-int cfg_parse_global(config_setting_t *cfg, struct settings *set)
-{
-	config_setting_t *cfg_plugins;
-
 	if (!config_setting_lookup_int(cfg, "affinity", &set->affinity))
 		set->affinity = 0;
 
 	if (!config_setting_lookup_int(cfg, "priority", &set->priority))
 		set->priority = 0;
 
-	if (!config_setting_lookup_int(cfg, "debug", &set->debug))
-		set->debug = V;
-
 	if (!config_setting_lookup_float(cfg, "stats", &set->stats))
 		set->stats = 0;
-	
-	cfg_plugins = config_setting_get_member(cfg, "plugins");
-	if (cfg_plugins)
-		cfg_parse_plugins(cfg_plugins);
-
-	log_setlevel(set->debug, -1);
 
 	return 0;
 }
 
 int cfg_parse_path(config_setting_t *cfg,
-	struct list *paths, struct list *nodes, struct settings *set)
+	struct list *paths, struct list *nodes, struct cfg *set)
 {
 	config_setting_t *cfg_out, *cfg_hook;
 	const char *in;
@@ -203,11 +277,6 @@ int cfg_parse_path(config_setting_t *cfg,
 	if (!config_setting_lookup_float(cfg, "rate", &p->rate))
 		p->rate = 0; /* disabled */
 
-	if (!IS_POW2(p->queuelen)) {
-		p->queuelen = LOG2_CEIL(p->queuelen);
-		warn("Queue length should always be a power of 2. Adjusting to %d", p->queuelen);
-	}
-
 	p->cfg = cfg;
 
 	list_push(paths, p);
@@ -276,9 +345,9 @@ int cfg_parse_nodelist(config_setting_t *cfg, struct list *list, struct list *al
 	return list_length(list);
 }
 
-int cfg_parse_node(config_setting_t *cfg, struct list *nodes, struct settings *set)
+int cfg_parse_node(config_setting_t *cfg, struct list *nodes, struct cfg *set)
 {
-	const char *type, *name;
+	const char *type;
 	int ret;
 
 	struct node *n;
@@ -287,16 +356,14 @@ int cfg_parse_node(config_setting_t *cfg, struct list *nodes, struct settings *s
 	/* Required settings */
 	if (!config_setting_lookup_string(cfg, "type", &type))
 		cerror(cfg, "Missing node type");
-	
-	name = config_setting_name(cfg);
 
 	vt = list_lookup(&node_types, type);
 	if (!vt)
 		cerror(cfg, "Invalid type for node '%s'", config_setting_name(cfg));
 	
 	n = node_create(vt);
-	
-	n->name = name;
+
+	n->name = config_setting_name(cfg);
 	n->cfg = cfg;
 
 	ret = node_parse(n, cfg);
diff --git a/src/fpga.c b/src/fpga.c
index 5492b5d6a..221e41b81 100644
--- a/src/fpga.c
+++ b/src/fpga.c
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 int fpga_benchmarks(int argc, char *argv[], struct fpga *f);
 int fpga_tests(int argc, char *argv[], struct fpga *f);
 
-struct settings settings;
+struct cfg settings;
 
 void usage(char *name)
 {
diff --git a/src/node.c b/src/node.c
index 6dbac04e8..29528e072 100644
--- a/src/node.c
+++ b/src/node.c
@@ -23,32 +23,21 @@
   #include "opal.h"
 #endif
 
-struct list paths;		/**< List of paths */
-struct list nodes;		/**< List of nodes */
-
-static config_t config;		/**< libconfig handle */
-struct settings settings;	/**< The global configuration */
+struct cfg config;
 
 static void quit()
 {
 	info("Stopping paths");
-	list_foreach(struct path *p, &paths) { INDENT
+	list_foreach(struct path *p, &config.paths) { INDENT
 		path_stop(p);
 	}
 
 	info("Stopping nodes");
-	list_foreach(struct node *n, &nodes) { INDENT
+	list_foreach(struct node *n, &config.nodes) { INDENT
 		node_stop(n);
 	}
 
-	info("De-initializing node types");
-	list_foreach(struct node_type *vt, &node_types) { INDENT
-		node_deinit(vt);
-	}
-
-	/* Freeing dynamically allocated memory */
-	list_destroy(&paths, (dtor_cb_t) path_destroy, false);
-	list_destroy(&nodes, (dtor_cb_t) node_destroy, false);
+	cfg_deinit(&config);
 	cfg_destroy(&config);
 
 	info(GRN("Goodbye!"));
@@ -103,9 +92,6 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 #endif
 		usage(argv[0]);
 
-	char *configfile = (argc == 2) ? argv[1] : "opal-shmem.conf";
-
-	log_init();
 	info("This is VILLASnode %s (built on %s, %s)", BLD(YEL(VERSION)),
 		BLD(MAG(__DATE__)), BLD(MAG(__TIME__)));
 
@@ -113,32 +99,26 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	if (kernel_has_version(KERNEL_VERSION_MAJ, KERNEL_VERSION_MIN))
 		error("Your kernel version is to old: required >= %u.%u", KERNEL_VERSION_MAJ, KERNEL_VERSION_MIN);
 
-	/* Initialize lists */
-	list_init(&paths);
-	list_init(&nodes);
-
-	info("Parsing configuration");
-	cfg_parse(configfile, &config, &settings, &nodes, &paths);
-
-	info("Initialize real-time system");
-	rt_init(settings.affinity, settings.priority);
-
 	info("Initialize signals");
 	signals_init();
 
-	info("Initialize hook sub-system");
-	hook_init(&nodes, &paths, &settings);
+	info("Parsing configuration");
+	cfg_init_pre(&config);
+	
+	cfg_parse(&config, uri);
+
+	cfg_init_post(&config);
 
 	info("Initialize node types");
 	list_foreach(struct node_type *vt, &node_types) { INDENT
 		int refs = list_length(&vt->instances);
 		if (refs > 0)
-			node_init(vt, argc, argv, config_root_setting(&config));
+			node_init(vt, argc, argv, config_root_setting(config.cfg));
 	}
 
 	info("Starting nodes");
-	list_foreach(struct node *n, &nodes) { INDENT
-		int refs = list_count(&paths, (cmp_cb_t) path_uses_node, n);
+	list_foreach(struct node *n, &config.nodes) { INDENT
+		int refs = list_count(&config.paths, (cmp_cb_t) path_uses_node, n);
 		if (refs > 0)
 			node_start(n);
 		else
@@ -146,7 +126,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	}
 
 	info("Starting paths");
-	list_foreach(struct path *p, &paths) { INDENT
+	list_foreach(struct path *p, &config.paths) { INDENT
 		if (p->enabled) {
 			path_prepare(p);
 			path_start(p);
@@ -154,9 +134,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		else
 			warn("Path %s is disabled. Skipping...", path_name(p));
 	}
-
-	/* Run! */
-	if (settings.stats > 0) {
+	
+	if (config.stats > 0)
 		hook_stats_header();
 
 		for (;;) {
diff --git a/src/pipe.c b/src/pipe.c
index 465a915e3..511deb87f 100644
--- a/src/pipe.c
+++ b/src/pipe.c
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
 #include "config.h"
 
 static struct list nodes;		/**< List of all nodes */
-static struct settings settings;	/**< The global configuration */
+static struct cfg settings;	/**< The global configuration */
 static config_t config;
 
 struct dir {
diff --git a/src/test.c b/src/test.c
index ef95b2c65..318a13450 100644
--- a/src/test.c
+++ b/src/test.c
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 #include "timing.h"
 #include "pool.h"
 
-struct settings settings; /** <The global configuration */
+struct cfg settings; /** <The global configuration */
 struct list nodes;		
 
 static struct node *node;