diff --git a/nixos/lib/make-disk-image.nix b/nixos/lib/make-disk-image.nix
index 8a3d8ed1770..b7a38760dd3 100644
--- a/nixos/lib/make-disk-image.nix
+++ b/nixos/lib/make-disk-image.nix
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ let format' = format; in let
 
   nixpkgs = cleanSource pkgs.path;
 
-  channelSources = pkgs.runCommand "nixos-${config.system.nixosVersion}" {} ''
+  channelSources = pkgs.runCommand "nixos-${config.system.nixos.version}" {} ''
     mkdir -p $out
     cp -prd ${nixpkgs} $out/nixos
     chmod -R u+w $out/nixos
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ let format' = format; in let
       ln -s . $out/nixos/nixpkgs
     fi
     rm -rf $out/nixos/.git
-    echo -n ${config.system.nixosVersionSuffix} > $out/nixos/.version-suffix
+    echo -n ${config.system.nixos.versionSuffix} > $out/nixos/.version-suffix
   '';
 
   metaClosure = pkgs.writeText "meta" ''
diff --git a/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/channel.nix b/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/channel.nix
index ddb00f174d1..4a198316795 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/channel.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/channel.nix
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ let
   # CD.  These are installed into the "nixos" channel of the root
   # user, as expected by nixos-rebuild/nixos-install. FIXME: merge
   # with make-channel.nix.
-  channelSources = pkgs.runCommand "nixos-${config.system.nixosVersion}"
+  channelSources = pkgs.runCommand "nixos-${config.system.nixos.version}"
     { }
     ''
       mkdir -p $out
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ let
       if [ ! -e $out/nixos/nixpkgs ]; then
         ln -s . $out/nixos/nixpkgs
       fi
-      echo -n ${config.system.nixosVersionSuffix} > $out/nixos/.version-suffix
+      echo -n ${config.system.nixos.versionSuffix} > $out/nixos/.version-suffix
     '';
 
 in
diff --git a/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/installation-cd-base.nix b/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/installation-cd-base.nix
index 2569860a098..756c8751d00 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/installation-cd-base.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/installation-cd-base.nix
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ with lib;
     ];
 
   # ISO naming.
-  isoImage.isoName = "${config.isoImage.isoBaseName}-${config.system.nixosLabel}-${pkgs.stdenv.system}.iso";
+  isoImage.isoName = "${config.isoImage.isoBaseName}-${config.system.nixos.label}-${pkgs.stdenv.system}.iso";
 
   isoImage.volumeID = substring 0 11 "NIXOS_ISO";
 
diff --git a/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/iso-image.nix b/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/iso-image.nix
index a039f7fdcb6..811449e9fe7 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/iso-image.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/iso-image.nix
@@ -39,31 +39,31 @@ let
     DEFAULT boot
 
     LABEL boot
-    MENU LABEL NixOS ${config.system.nixosLabel}${config.isoImage.appendToMenuLabel}
-    LINUX /boot/bzImage
+    MENU LABEL NixOS ${config.system.nixos.label}${config.isoImage.appendToMenuLabel}
+    LINUX /boot/${config.system.boot.loader.kernelFile}
     APPEND init=${config.system.build.toplevel}/init ${toString config.boot.kernelParams}
-    INITRD /boot/initrd
+    INITRD /boot/${config.system.boot.loader.initrdFile}
 
     # A variant to boot with 'nomodeset'
     LABEL boot-nomodeset
-    MENU LABEL NixOS ${config.system.nixosVersion}${config.isoImage.appendToMenuLabel} (nomodeset)
-    LINUX /boot/bzImage
+    MENU LABEL NixOS ${config.system.nixos.label}${config.isoImage.appendToMenuLabel} (nomodeset)
+    LINUX /boot/${config.system.boot.loader.kernelFile}
     APPEND init=${config.system.build.toplevel}/init ${toString config.boot.kernelParams} nomodeset
-    INITRD /boot/initrd
+    INITRD /boot/${config.system.boot.loader.initrdFile}
 
     # A variant to boot with 'copytoram'
     LABEL boot-copytoram
-    MENU LABEL NixOS ${config.system.nixosVersion}${config.isoImage.appendToMenuLabel} (copytoram)
-    LINUX /boot/bzImage
+    MENU LABEL NixOS ${config.system.nixos.label}${config.isoImage.appendToMenuLabel} (copytoram)
+    LINUX /boot/${config.system.boot.loader.kernelFile}
     APPEND init=${config.system.build.toplevel}/init ${toString config.boot.kernelParams} copytoram
-    INITRD /boot/initrd
+    INITRD /boot/${config.system.boot.loader.initrdFile}
 
     # A variant to boot with verbose logging to the console
     LABEL boot-nomodeset
-    MENU LABEL NixOS ${config.system.nixosVersion}${config.isoImage.appendToMenuLabel} (debug)
-    LINUX /boot/bzImage
+    MENU LABEL NixOS ${config.system.nixos.label}${config.isoImage.appendToMenuLabel} (debug)
+    LINUX /boot/${config.system.boot.loader.kernelFile}
     APPEND init=${config.system.build.toplevel}/init ${toString config.boot.kernelParams} loglevel=7
-    INITRD /boot/initrd
+    INITRD /boot/${config.system.boot.loader.initrdFile}
   '';
 
   isolinuxMemtest86Entry = ''
@@ -82,35 +82,35 @@ let
     mkdir -p $out/loader/entries
 
     cat << EOF > $out/loader/entries/nixos-iso.conf
-    title NixOS ${config.system.nixosVersion}${config.isoImage.appendToMenuLabel}
-    linux /boot/bzImage
-    initrd /boot/initrd
+    title NixOS ${config.system.nixos.label}${config.isoImage.appendToMenuLabel}
+    linux /boot/${config.system.boot.loader.kernelFile}
+    initrd /boot/${config.system.boot.loader.initrdFile}
     options init=${config.system.build.toplevel}/init ${toString config.boot.kernelParams}
     EOF
 
     # A variant to boot with 'nomodeset'
     cat << EOF > $out/loader/entries/nixos-iso-nomodeset.conf
-    title NixOS ${config.system.nixosVersion}${config.isoImage.appendToMenuLabel}
+    title NixOS ${config.system.nixos.label}${config.isoImage.appendToMenuLabel}
     version nomodeset
-    linux /boot/bzImage
-    initrd /boot/initrd
+    linux /boot/${config.system.boot.loader.kernelFile}
+    initrd /boot/${config.system.boot.loader.initrdFile}
     options init=${config.system.build.toplevel}/init ${toString config.boot.kernelParams} nomodeset
     EOF
 
     # A variant to boot with 'copytoram'
     cat << EOF > $out/loader/entries/nixos-iso-copytoram.conf
-    title NixOS ${config.system.nixosVersion}${config.isoImage.appendToMenuLabel}
+    title NixOS ${config.system.nixos.label}${config.isoImage.appendToMenuLabel}
     version copytoram
-    linux /boot/bzImage
-    initrd /boot/initrd
+    linux /boot/${config.system.boot.loader.kernelFile}
+    initrd /boot/${config.system.boot.loader.initrdFile}
     options init=${config.system.build.toplevel}/init ${toString config.boot.kernelParams} copytoram
     EOF
 
     # A variant to boot with verbose logging to the console
     cat << EOF > $out/loader/entries/nixos-iso-debug.conf
-    title NixOS ${config.system.nixosVersion}${config.isoImage.appendToMenuLabel} (debug)
-    linux /boot/bzImage
-    initrd /boot/initrd
+    title NixOS ${config.system.nixos.label}${config.isoImage.appendToMenuLabel} (debug)
+    linux /boot/${config.system.boot.loader.kernelFile}
+    initrd /boot/${config.system.boot.loader.initrdFile}
     options init=${config.system.build.toplevel}/init ${toString config.boot.kernelParams} loglevel=7
     EOF
 
@@ -127,8 +127,8 @@ let
       mkdir ./contents && cd ./contents
       cp -rp "${efiDir}"/* .
       mkdir ./boot
-      cp -p "${config.boot.kernelPackages.kernel}/bzImage" \
-        "${config.system.build.initialRamdisk}/initrd" ./boot/
+      cp -p "${config.boot.kernelPackages.kernel}/${config.system.boot.loader.kernelFile}" \
+        "${config.system.build.initialRamdisk}/${config.system.boot.loader.initrdFile}" ./boot/
       touch --date=@0 ./*
 
       usage_size=$(du -sb --apparent-size . | tr -cd '[:digit:]')
@@ -346,11 +346,11 @@ in
           };
           target = "/isolinux/isolinux.cfg";
         }
-        { source = config.boot.kernelPackages.kernel + "/bzImage";
-          target = "/boot/bzImage";
+        { source = config.boot.kernelPackages.kernel + "/" + config.system.boot.loader.kernelFile;
+          target = "/boot/" + config.system.boot.loader.kernelFile;
         }
-        { source = config.system.build.initialRamdisk + "/initrd";
-          target = "/boot/initrd";
+        { source = config.system.build.initialRamdisk + "/" + config.system.boot.loader.initrdFile;
+          target = "/boot/" + config.system.boot.loader.initrdFile;
         }
         { source = config.system.build.squashfsStore;
           target = "/nix-store.squashfs";
@@ -361,7 +361,7 @@ in
         { source = config.isoImage.splashImage;
           target = "/isolinux/background.png";
         }
-        { source = pkgs.writeText "version" config.system.nixosVersion;
+        { source = pkgs.writeText "version" config.system.nixos.label;
           target = "/version.txt";
         }
       ] ++ optionals config.isoImage.makeEfiBootable [
diff --git a/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/system-tarball.nix b/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/system-tarball.nix
index 1962a1959ea..e72d4a5b491 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/system-tarball.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/system-tarball.nix
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ with lib;
 
 let
 
-  versionFile = pkgs.writeText "nixos-version" config.system.nixosVersion;
+  versionFile = pkgs.writeText "nixos-label" config.system.nixos.label;
 
 in
 
@@ -58,8 +58,8 @@ in
     # Individual files to be included on the CD, outside of the Nix
     # store on the CD.
     tarball.contents =
-      [ { source = config.system.build.initialRamdisk + "/initrd";
-          target = "/boot/initrd";
+      [ { source = config.system.build.initialRamdisk + "/" + config.system.boot.loader.initrdFile;
+          target = "/boot/" + config.system.boot.loader.initrdFile;
         }
         { source = versionFile;
           target = "/nixos-version.txt";
diff --git a/nixos/modules/installer/tools/nixos-generate-config.pl b/nixos/modules/installer/tools/nixos-generate-config.pl
index 7c737e84de0..a82ee63fd0c 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/installer/tools/nixos-generate-config.pl
+++ b/nixos/modules/installer/tools/nixos-generate-config.pl
@@ -625,7 +625,7 @@ $bootLoaderConfig
   # compatible, in order to avoid breaking some software such as database
   # servers. You should change this only after NixOS release notes say you
   # should.
-  system.stateVersion = "${\(qw(@nixosRelease@))}"; # Did you read the comment?
+  system.stateVersion = "${\(qw(@release@))}"; # Did you read the comment?
 
 }
 EOF
diff --git a/nixos/modules/installer/tools/nixos-version.sh b/nixos/modules/installer/tools/nixos-version.sh
index 77a1b458a34..190c49a33ec 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/installer/tools/nixos-version.sh
+++ b/nixos/modules/installer/tools/nixos-version.sh
@@ -6,9 +6,9 @@ case "$1" in
     exit 1
     ;;
   --hash|--revision)
-    echo "@nixosRevision@"
+    echo "@revision@"
     ;;
   *)
-    echo "@nixosVersion@ (@nixosCodeName@)"
+    echo "@version@ (@codeName@)"
     ;;
 esac
diff --git a/nixos/modules/installer/tools/tools.nix b/nixos/modules/installer/tools/tools.nix
index a3bae78c0ff..eab5f114766 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/installer/tools/tools.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/installer/tools/tools.nix
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ let
     src = ./nixos-generate-config.pl;
     path = [ pkgs.btrfs-progs ];
     perl = "${pkgs.perl}/bin/perl -I${pkgs.perlPackages.FileSlurp}/lib/perl5/site_perl";
-    inherit (config.system) nixosRelease;
+    inherit (config.system.nixos) release;
   };
 
   nixos-option = makeProg {
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ let
   nixos-version = makeProg {
     name = "nixos-version";
     src = ./nixos-version.sh;
-    inherit (config.system) nixosVersion nixosCodeName nixosRevision;
+    inherit (config.system.nixos) version codeName revision;
   };
 
 in
diff --git a/nixos/modules/misc/label.nix b/nixos/modules/misc/label.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..250914e8f82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nixos/modules/misc/label.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+{ config, lib, pkgs, ... }:
+
+with lib;
+
+let
+  cfg = config.system.nixos;
+in
+
+{
+
+  options.system = {
+
+    nixos.label = mkOption {
+      type = types.str;
+      description = ''
+        NixOS version name to be used in the names of generated
+        outputs and boot labels.
+
+        If you ever wanted to influence the labels in your GRUB menu,
+        this is the option for you.
+
+        The default is <option>system.nixos.tags</option> separated by
+        "-" + "-" + <envar>NIXOS_LABEL_VERSION</envar> environment
+        variable (defaults to the value of
+        <option>system.nixos.version</option>).
+
+        Can be overriden by setting <envar>NIXOS_LABEL</envar>.
+
+        Useful for not loosing track of configurations built from different
+        nixos branches/revisions, e.g.:
+
+        <screen>
+        #!/bin/sh
+        today=`date +%Y%m%d`
+        branch=`(cd nixpkgs ; git branch 2>/dev/null | sed -n '/^\* / { s|^\* ||; p; }')`
+        revision=`(cd nixpkgs ; git rev-parse HEAD)`
+        export NIXOS_LABEL_VERSION="$today.$branch-''${revision:0:7}"
+        nixos-rebuild switch</screen>
+      '';
+    };
+
+    nixos.tags = mkOption {
+      type = types.listOf types.str;
+      default = [];
+      example = [ "with-xen" ];
+      description = ''
+        Strings to prefix to the default
+        <option>system.nixos.label</option>.
+
+        Useful for not loosing track of configurations built with
+        different options, e.g.:
+
+        <screen>
+        {
+          system.nixos.tags = [ "with-xen" ];
+          virtualisation.xen.enable = true;
+        }
+        </screen>
+      '';
+    };
+
+  };
+
+  config = {
+    # This is set here rather than up there so that changing it would
+    # not rebuild the manual
+    system.nixos.label = mkDefault (maybeEnv "NIXOS_LABEL"
+                                             (concatStringsSep "-" (sort (x: y: x < y) cfg.tags)
+                                             + "-" + maybeEnv "NIXOS_LABEL_VERSION" cfg.version));
+  };
+
+}
diff --git a/nixos/modules/misc/version.nix b/nixos/modules/misc/version.nix
index 48cde2ebbc8..6af584250a7 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/misc/version.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/misc/version.nix
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 with lib;
 
 let
-  cfg = config.system;
+  cfg = config.system.nixos;
 
   releaseFile  = "${toString pkgs.path}/.version";
   suffixFile   = "${toString pkgs.path}/.version-suffix";
@@ -16,9 +16,44 @@ in
 
   options.system = {
 
+    nixos.version = mkOption {
+      internal = true;
+      type = types.str;
+      description = "The full NixOS version (e.g. <literal>16.03.1160.f2d4ee1</literal>).";
+    };
+
+    nixos.release = mkOption {
+      readOnly = true;
+      type = types.str;
+      default = fileContents releaseFile;
+      description = "The NixOS release (e.g. <literal>16.03</literal>).";
+    };
+
+    nixos.versionSuffix = mkOption {
+      internal = true;
+      type = types.str;
+      default = if pathExists suffixFile then fileContents suffixFile else "pre-git";
+      description = "The NixOS version suffix (e.g. <literal>1160.f2d4ee1</literal>).";
+    };
+
+    nixos.revision = mkOption {
+      internal = true;
+      type = types.str;
+      default = if pathIsDirectory gitRepo then commitIdFromGitRepo gitRepo
+                else if pathExists revisionFile then fileContents revisionFile
+                else "master";
+      description = "The Git revision from which this NixOS configuration was built.";
+    };
+
+    nixos.codeName = mkOption {
+      readOnly = true;
+      type = types.str;
+      description = "The NixOS release code name (e.g. <literal>Emu</literal>).";
+    };
+
     stateVersion = mkOption {
       type = types.str;
-      default = cfg.nixosRelease;
+      default = cfg.release;
       description = ''
         Every once in a while, a new NixOS release may change
         configuration defaults in a way incompatible with stateful
@@ -32,49 +67,6 @@ in
       '';
     };
 
-    nixosLabel = mkOption {
-      type = types.str;
-      description = ''
-        Label to be used in the names of generated outputs and boot
-        labels.
-      '';
-    };
-
-    nixosVersion = mkOption {
-      internal = true;
-      type = types.str;
-      description = "The full NixOS version (e.g. <literal>16.03.1160.f2d4ee1</literal>).";
-    };
-
-    nixosRelease = mkOption {
-      readOnly = true;
-      type = types.str;
-      default = fileContents releaseFile;
-      description = "The NixOS release (e.g. <literal>16.03</literal>).";
-    };
-
-    nixosVersionSuffix = mkOption {
-      internal = true;
-      type = types.str;
-      default = if pathExists suffixFile then fileContents suffixFile else "pre-git";
-      description = "The NixOS version suffix (e.g. <literal>1160.f2d4ee1</literal>).";
-    };
-
-    nixosRevision = mkOption {
-      internal = true;
-      type = types.str;
-      default = if pathIsDirectory gitRepo then commitIdFromGitRepo gitRepo
-                else if pathExists revisionFile then fileContents revisionFile
-                else "master";
-      description = "The Git revision from which this NixOS configuration was built.";
-    };
-
-    nixosCodeName = mkOption {
-      readOnly = true;
-      type = types.str;
-      description = "The NixOS release code name (e.g. <literal>Emu</literal>).";
-    };
-
     defaultChannel = mkOption {
       internal = true;
       type = types.str;
@@ -86,16 +78,15 @@ in
 
   config = {
 
-    system = {
+    system.nixos = {
       # These defaults are set here rather than up there so that
       # changing them would not rebuild the manual
-      nixosLabel   = mkDefault cfg.nixosVersion;
-      nixosVersion = mkDefault (cfg.nixosRelease + cfg.nixosVersionSuffix);
-      nixosRevision      = mkIf (pathIsDirectory gitRepo) (mkDefault            gitCommitId);
-      nixosVersionSuffix = mkIf (pathIsDirectory gitRepo) (mkDefault (".git." + gitCommitId));
+      version = mkDefault (cfg.release + cfg.versionSuffix);
+      revision      = mkIf (pathIsDirectory gitRepo) (mkDefault            gitCommitId);
+      versionSuffix = mkIf (pathIsDirectory gitRepo) (mkDefault (".git." + gitCommitId));
 
       # Note: code names must only increase in alphabetical order.
-      nixosCodeName = "Impala";
+      codeName = "Impala";
     };
 
     # Generate /etc/os-release.  See
@@ -105,10 +96,10 @@ in
       ''
         NAME=NixOS
         ID=nixos
-        VERSION="${config.system.nixosVersion} (${config.system.nixosCodeName})"
-        VERSION_CODENAME=${toLower config.system.nixosCodeName}
-        VERSION_ID="${config.system.nixosVersion}"
-        PRETTY_NAME="NixOS ${config.system.nixosVersion} (${config.system.nixosCodeName})"
+        VERSION="${cfg.version} (${cfg.codeName})"
+        VERSION_CODENAME=${toLower cfg.codeName}
+        VERSION_ID="${cfg.version}"
+        PRETTY_NAME="NixOS ${cfg.version} (${cfg.codeName})"
         HOME_URL="https://nixos.org/"
         SUPPORT_URL="https://nixos.org/nixos/support.html"
         BUG_REPORT_URL="https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues"
diff --git a/nixos/modules/module-list.nix b/nixos/modules/module-list.nix
index 01bd2960517..a3f820a35a1 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/module-list.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/module-list.nix
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@
   ./misc/extra-arguments.nix
   ./misc/ids.nix
   ./misc/lib.nix
+  ./misc/label.nix
   ./misc/locate.nix
   ./misc/meta.nix
   ./misc/nixpkgs.nix
diff --git a/nixos/modules/rename.nix b/nixos/modules/rename.nix
index 710387ebc1d..da83baed371 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/rename.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/rename.nix
@@ -189,6 +189,14 @@ with lib;
     # Profile splitting
     (mkRenamedOptionModule [ "virtualization" "growPartition" ] [ "boot" "growPartition" ])
 
+    # misc/version.nix
+    (mkRenamedOptionModule [ "config" "system" "nixosVersion" ] [ "config" "system" "nixos" "version" ])
+    (mkRenamedOptionModule [ "config" "system" "nixosRelease" ] [ "config" "system" "nixos" "release" ])
+    (mkRenamedOptionModule [ "config" "system" "nixosVersionSuffix" ] [ "config" "system" "nixos" "versionSuffix" ])
+    (mkRenamedOptionModule [ "config" "system" "nixosRevision" ] [ "config" "system" "nixos" "revision" ])
+    (mkRenamedOptionModule [ "config" "system" "nixosCodeName" ] [ "config" "system" "nixos" "codeName" ])
+    (mkRenamedOptionModule [ "config" "system" "nixosLabel" ] [ "config" "system" "nixos" "label" ])
+
     # Options that are obsolete and have no replacement.
     (mkRemovedOptionModule [ "boot" "initrd" "luks" "enable" ] "")
     (mkRemovedOptionModule [ "programs" "bash" "enable" ] "")
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/misc/nixos-manual.nix b/nixos/modules/services/misc/nixos-manual.nix
index 41cadb4a6de..5d0f2abd13a 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/misc/nixos-manual.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/misc/nixos-manual.nix
@@ -16,10 +16,10 @@ let
     It isn't perfect, but it seems to cover a vast majority of use cases.
     Caveat: even if the package is reached by a different means,
     the path above will be shown and not e.g. `${config.services.foo.package}`. */
-  manual = import ../../../doc/manual {
+  manual = import ../../../doc/manual rec {
     inherit pkgs config;
-    version = config.system.nixosRelease;
-    revision = "release-${config.system.nixosRelease}";
+    version = config.system.nixos.release;
+    revision = "release-${version}";
     options =
       let
         scrubbedEval = evalModules {
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/misc/ssm-agent.nix b/nixos/modules/services/misc/ssm-agent.nix
index c1e1f090353..a57fbca86fb 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/misc/ssm-agent.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/misc/ssm-agent.nix
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ let
 
     case "$1" in
       -i) echo "nixos";;
-      -r) echo "${config.system.nixosVersion}";;
+      -r) echo "${config.system.nixos.version}";;
     esac
   '';
 in {
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/ttys/agetty.nix b/nixos/modules/services/ttys/agetty.nix
index 3429397d2cc..b50de496e97 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/ttys/agetty.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/ttys/agetty.nix
@@ -64,8 +64,8 @@ in
 
   config = {
     # Note: this is set here rather than up there so that changing
-    # nixosLabel would not rebuild manual pages
-    services.mingetty.greetingLine = mkDefault ''<<< Welcome to NixOS ${config.system.nixosLabel} (\m) - \l >>>'';
+    # nixos.label would not rebuild manual pages
+    services.mingetty.greetingLine = mkDefault ''<<< Welcome to NixOS ${config.system.nixos.label} (\m) - \l >>>'';
 
     systemd.services."getty@" =
       { serviceConfig.ExecStart = [
diff --git a/nixos/modules/system/activation/top-level.nix b/nixos/modules/system/activation/top-level.nix
index 0c50241f2ed..091a2e412ee 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/system/activation/top-level.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/system/activation/top-level.nix
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ let
     let
       kernelPath = "${config.boot.kernelPackages.kernel}/" +
         "${config.system.boot.loader.kernelFile}";
+      initrdPath = "${config.system.build.initialRamdisk}/" +
+        "${config.system.boot.loader.initrdFile}";
     in ''
       mkdir $out
 
@@ -50,7 +52,7 @@ let
 
         echo -n "$kernelParams" > $out/kernel-params
 
-        ln -s ${config.system.build.initialRamdisk}/initrd $out/initrd
+        ln -s ${initrdPath} $out/initrd
 
         ln -s ${config.system.build.initialRamdiskSecretAppender}/bin/append-initrd-secrets $out
 
@@ -106,7 +108,7 @@ let
     if [] == failed then pkgs.stdenvNoCC.mkDerivation {
       name = let hn = config.networking.hostName;
                  nn = if (hn != "") then hn else "unnamed";
-          in "nixos-system-${nn}-${config.system.nixosLabel}";
+          in "nixos-system-${nn}-${config.system.nixos.label}";
       preferLocalBuild = true;
       allowSubstitutes = false;
       buildCommand = systemBuilder;
@@ -120,7 +122,7 @@ let
         config.system.build.installBootLoader
         or "echo 'Warning: do not know how to make this configuration bootable; please enable a boot loader.' 1>&2; true";
       activationScript = config.system.activationScripts.script;
-      nixosLabel = config.system.nixosLabel;
+      nixosLabel = config.system.nixos.label;
 
       configurationName = config.boot.loader.grub.configurationName;
 
@@ -179,6 +181,15 @@ in
       '';
     };
 
+    system.boot.loader.initrdFile = mkOption {
+      internal = true;
+      default = "initrd";
+      type = types.str;
+      description = ''
+        Name of the initrd file to be passed to the bootloader.
+      '';
+    };
+
     system.copySystemConfiguration = mkOption {
       type = types.bool;
       default = false;
diff --git a/nixos/modules/virtualisation/brightbox-image.nix b/nixos/modules/virtualisation/brightbox-image.nix
index 08bbcfd9d7c..39a655b4c10 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/virtualisation/brightbox-image.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/virtualisation/brightbox-image.nix
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ in
               rm $diskImageBase
               popd
             '';
-          diskImageBase = "nixos-image-${config.system.nixosLabel}-${pkgs.stdenv.system}.raw";
+          diskImageBase = "nixos-image-${config.system.nixos.label}-${pkgs.stdenv.system}.raw";
           buildInputs = [ pkgs.utillinux pkgs.perl ];
           exportReferencesGraph =
             [ "closure" config.system.build.toplevel ];
diff --git a/nixos/modules/virtualisation/google-compute-image.nix b/nixos/modules/virtualisation/google-compute-image.nix
index 2fb38059b26..155a33b3bb3 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/virtualisation/google-compute-image.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/virtualisation/google-compute-image.nix
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ in
       PATH=$PATH:${pkgs.stdenv.lib.makeBinPath [ pkgs.gnutar pkgs.gzip ]}
       pushd $out
       mv $diskImage disk.raw
-      tar -Szcf nixos-image-${config.system.nixosLabel}-${pkgs.stdenv.system}.raw.tar.gz disk.raw
+      tar -Szcf nixos-image-${config.system.nixos.label}-${pkgs.stdenv.system}.raw.tar.gz disk.raw
       rm $out/disk.raw
       popd
     '';
diff --git a/nixos/modules/virtualisation/virtualbox-image.nix b/nixos/modules/virtualisation/virtualbox-image.nix
index a544403e6be..64f145f77ca 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/virtualisation/virtualbox-image.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/virtualisation/virtualbox-image.nix
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ in {
 
   config = {
     system.build.virtualBoxOVA = import ../../lib/make-disk-image.nix {
-      name = "nixos-ova-${config.system.nixosLabel}-${pkgs.stdenv.system}";
+      name = "nixos-ova-${config.system.nixos.label}-${pkgs.stdenv.system}";
 
       inherit pkgs lib config;
       partitionTableType = "legacy";
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ in {
           VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename disk.vmdk -rawdisk $diskImage
 
           echo "creating VirtualBox VM..."
-          vmName="NixOS ${config.system.nixosLabel} (${pkgs.stdenv.system})"
+          vmName="NixOS ${config.system.nixos.label} (${pkgs.stdenv.system})"
           VBoxManage createvm --name "$vmName" --register \
             --ostype ${if pkgs.stdenv.system == "x86_64-linux" then "Linux26_64" else "Linux26"}
           VBoxManage modifyvm "$vmName" \
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ in {
 
           echo "exporting VirtualBox VM..."
           mkdir -p $out
-          fn="$out/nixos-${config.system.nixosLabel}-${pkgs.stdenv.system}.ova"
+          fn="$out/nixos-${config.system.nixos.label}-${pkgs.stdenv.system}.ova"
           VBoxManage export "$vmName" --output "$fn"
 
           rm -v $diskImage
diff --git a/nixos/release.nix b/nixos/release.nix
index 6bf2e4d8c7f..8095dfeab84 100644
--- a/nixos/release.nix
+++ b/nixos/release.nix
@@ -35,8 +35,8 @@ let
 
 
   versionModule =
-    { system.nixosVersionSuffix = versionSuffix;
-      system.nixosRevision = nixpkgs.rev or nixpkgs.shortRev;
+    { system.nixos.versionSuffix = versionSuffix;
+      system.nixos.revision = nixpkgs.rev or nixpkgs.shortRev;
     };