diff --git a/AUTHORS b/AUTHORS
index 89fc2d959b3f8e9cbaa3fabe98d2b2233423c31c..c700eab277642cb5751a88dd6e6b9e610760aaa5 100644
--- a/AUTHORS
+++ b/AUTHORS
@@ -82,3 +82,5 @@ Adam Palay <adam@edx.org>
 Ian Hoover <ihoover@edx.org>
 Mukul Goyal <miki@edx.org>
 Robert Marks <rmarks@edx.org>
+Yarko Tymciurak <yarkot1@gmail.com>
+
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2208fe1cada1c439f5ccd8b4fbd440043d57d1e4..efa2c78640692472f32a526fe01384c47c750443 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -12,30 +12,35 @@ installation process.
 
 1. Make sure you have plenty of available disk space, >5GB
 2. Install Git: http://git-scm.com/downloads
-3. Install VirtualBox: https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Download_Old_Builds_4_2
-   (you need version 4.2.12, as later/earlier versions might not work well with 
-   Vagrant)
+3. Install VirtualBox: https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
+   See http://docs.vagrantup.com/v2/providers/index.html for a list of supported
+   Providers.  You should use VirtualBox >= 4.2.12.
+   (Windows: later/earlier VirtualBox versions than 4.2.12 have been reported to not work well with 
+   Vagrant.  If this is still a problem, you can
+   install 4.2.12 from https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Download_Old_Builds_4_2).
 4. Install Vagrant: http://www.vagrantup.com/ (Vagrant 1.2.2 or later)
 5. Open a terminal
 6. Download the project: `git clone git://github.com/edx/edx-platform.git`
 7. Enter the project directory: `cd edx-platform/`
 8. (Windows only) Run the commands to 
    [deal with line endings and symlinks under Windows](https://github.com/edx/edx-platform/wiki/Simplified-install-with-vagrant#dealing-with-line-endings-and-symlinks-under-windows)
-9. Start: `vagrant up`
+9. Create the development environment and start it: `vagrant up`
 
-The last step might require your host machine's administrator password to setup NFS.
+The initial `vagrant up` will download a Linux image, then boot and ask for your
+host machine's administrator password to setup file sharing between your computer and the VM.
+Once file sharing is established, `edx-platform/scripts/create-dev-env.sh` will
+install dependencies and configure the VM.
+This will take a while; go grab a coffee.
 
-Afterwards, it will download an image, install all the dependencies and configure
-the VM. It will take a while, go grab a coffee.
+When complete, you should see a _"Success!"_ message.
+If not, refer to the 
+[troubleshooting section](https://github.com/edx/edx-platform/wiki/Simplified-install-with-vagrant#troubleshooting).
 
-Once completed, hopefully you should see a "Success!" message indicating that the
-installation went fine. (If not, refer to the 
-[troubleshooting section](https://github.com/edx/edx-platform/wiki/Simplified-install-with-vagrant#troubleshooting).)
+Your development environment is initialized only on the first bring-up.
+Subsequently `vagrant up` commands will boot your virtual machine normally.
 
-Note: by default, the VM will get the IP `192.168.20.40`. If you need to use a 
-different IP, you can edit the file `Vagrantfile`. If you have already started the 
-VM with `vagrant up`, see "Stopping and restarting the VM" below to take the change 
-into account.
+Note: by default, the VM will get the IP `192.168.20.40`.
+You can change this in your `Vagrantfile` (the startup message will reflect your VM's actual IP).
 
 Accessing the VM
 ----------------
@@ -46,15 +51,24 @@ Once the installation is finished, to log into the virtual machine:
 $ vagrant ssh
 ```
 
-Note: This won't work from Windows, install install PuTTY from
-http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/%7Esgtatham/putty/download.html instead. Then
-connect to 127.0.0.1, port 2222, using vagrant/vagrant as a user/password.
+Note: This won't work from Windows. Instead, install PuTTY from
+http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/%7Esgtatham/putty/download.html. Then
+connect to 192.168.20.40, port 2222, using vagrant/vagrant as a user/password.
+
 
 Using edX
 ---------
 
-Once inside the VM, you can start Studio and LMS with the following commands
-(from the `/opt/edx/edx-platform` folder):
+When you login to your VM, you are in
+`/opt/edx/edx-platform` by default, which is shared from your host workspace.
+Your host computer contains the edx-project development code and repository.
+Your VM runs edx-platform code mounted from your host, so 
+you can develop by editing on your host.
+
+After logging into your VM with `vagrant ssh`,
+start the _Studio_ and
+_Learning management system (LMS)_
+servers (run these from `/opt/edx/edx-platform`):
 
 Learning management system (LMS):
 
@@ -62,46 +76,85 @@ Learning management system (LMS):
 $ rake lms[cms.dev,0.0.0.0:8000]
 ```
 
-Studio:
+Studio (CMS):
 
 ```
 $ rake cms[dev,0.0.0.0:8001]
 ```
 
-Once started, open the following URLs in your browser:
+The servers will come up to these URLs:
 
-* Learning management system (LMS): http://192.168.20.40:8000/
-* Studio (CMS): http://192.168.20.40:8001/
+- LMS: http://192.168.20.40:8000/
+- CMS: http://192.168.20.40:8001/
 
-You can develop by editing the files directly in the `edx-platform/` directory you
-downloaded before, you don't need to connect to the VM to edit them (the VM uses
-those files to run edX, mirroring the folder in `/opt/edx/edx-platform`).
+Your VM's port 8000 is forwarded to host port 9000
+so you can also access the LMS with [http://localhost:9000/]().
+Similarly, VM port 8001 is forwarded to host port 9001.
+These are set in your `Vagrantfile`.
 
-You may also want to create a super-user with:
-
-```
-$ rake django-admin["createsuperuser"]
-```
-
-Also note that if you register a new user through the web interface,
-the activiation email will be posted to your VM's terminal window (search for
-lines similar to):
+Note that when you register a new user through the web interface,
+by default the activiation email will be appear on your VM's terminal.
+Search for lines similar to:
 
 ```
 Subject: Your account for edX Studio
 From: registration@edx.org
 ```
 
-and find the activation URL for the account you've created.
+and find the activation URL.
 
 See the [Frequently Asked Questions](https://github.com/edx/edx-platform/wiki/Frequently-Asked-Questions)
 for more usage tips.
 
+Django admin & debug toolbar
+-----------------------------
+
+You can enable admin logins and the debug_toolbar by editing
+`lms/envs/common.py`:
+
+- enable ADMIN login page by setting:
+  - ```
+     'ENABLE_DJANGO_ADMIN_SITE': True
+```
+
+
+- enable debug toolbar by uncommenting:
+  - ```
+    # 'debug_toolbar.middleware.DebugToolbarMiddleware',
+```
+
+These are also defined in `lms/envs/dev.py`,
+and usually active on localhost.
+
+To get at your VM's 127.0.0.1, explicitly forward one of VM's available localhost ports to your computer.
+Instead of `vagrant ssh`, login with:
+
+```
+$ ssh -L 6080:127.0.0.1:8080 vagrant@192.168.20.40
+```
+
+The password is _vagrant_.
+
+From your VM, start the LMS as a localhost instance:
+
+```
+$ rake lms[cms.dev,127.0.0.1:8080]
+```
+
+You should see the debug toolbar now on [http:/localhost:6080/]().
+You should now also see a login on [http://localhost:6080/admin/]()
+You will need a privileged user for the admin login.
+You can create a CMS/LMS super-user with:
+```
+$ rake django-admin["createsuperuser"]
+```
+
+
 Stopping & starting
 -------------------
 
-To stop the VM (from your `edx-platform/` directory):
 
+To stop the VM (from your `edx-platform/` directory):
 ```
 $ vagrant halt
 ```
@@ -112,12 +165,23 @@ To restart:
 $ vagrant up
 ```
 
-or, to start without attempting to update the dependencies:
+To suspend and resume tasks in progress on your VM:
+```
+$ vagrant suspend
+$ # and later...
+$ vagrant resume
+```
 
+Your development environment is normally created once, on first `vagrant up`.
+You can continue to fetch changes in edx-platform
+as you work with your VM.
+To re-create your VM and create a fresh development environment:
 ```
-$ vagrant up --no-provision
+$ vagrant destroy
+$ vagrant up  # will make a new VM
 ```
 
+
 Troubleshooting
 ---------------
 
diff --git a/scripts/vagrant-provisioning.sh b/scripts/vagrant-provisioning.sh
index d4f627b2c432b789682bc56d192b5224a67ed610..0243cd36aec091319a25f3cfbbcfe975710ad7b7 100755
--- a/scripts/vagrant-provisioning.sh
+++ b/scripts/vagrant-provisioning.sh
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 #
 # Authors: Xavier Antoviaque <xavier@antoviaque.org>
 #          David Baumgold <david@davidbaumgold.com>
+#          Yarko Tymciurak <yarkot1@gmail.com>
 #
 # This software's license gives you freedom; you can copy, convey,
 # propagate, redistribute and/or modify this program under the terms of
@@ -30,102 +31,112 @@
 #
 # This script is ran by `$ vagrant up`, see the README for more explanations
 
+on_create()
+{
+    # APT - Packages ##############################################################
 
-# APT - Packages ##############################################################
+    apt-get update
+    apt-get install -y python-software-properties vim
 
-apt-get update
-apt-get install -y python-software-properties vim
 
+    # Curl - No progress bar ######################################################
 
-# Curl - No progress bar ######################################################
+    [[ -f ~vagrant/.curlrc ]] || echo "silent show-error" > ~vagrant/.curlrc
+    chown vagrant.vagrant ~vagrant/.curlrc
 
-[[ -f ~vagrant/.curlrc ]] || echo "silent show-error" > ~vagrant/.curlrc
-chown vagrant.vagrant ~vagrant/.curlrc
 
+    # SSH - Known hosts ###########################################################
 
-# SSH - Known hosts ###########################################################
+    # Github
+    ([[ -f ~vagrant/.ssh/known_hosts ]] && grep "zBX7bKA= ssh" ~vagrant/.ssh/known_hosts) || {
+	echo "|1|4DtBcMsTM4zgl/jTS7h3ZkmS/Vc=|XkRnn2xEhr8ixOxeskJAzBX7bKA= ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABIwAAAQEAq2A7hRGmdnm9tUDbO9IDSwBK6TbQa+PXYPCPy6rbTrTtw7PHkccKrpp0yVhp5HdEIcKr6pLlVDBfOLX9QUsyCOV0wzfjIJNlGEYsdlLJizHhbn2mUjvSAHQqZETYP81eFzLQNnPHt4EVVUh7VfDESU84KezmD5QlWpXLmvU31/yMf+Se8xhHTvKSCZIFImWwoG6mbUoWf9nzpIoaSjB+weqqUUmpaaasXVal72J+UX2B+2RPW3RcT0eOzQgqlJL3RKrTJvdsjE3JEAvGq3lGHSZXy28G3skua2SmVi/w4yCE6gbODqnTWlg7+wC604ydGXA8VJiS5ap43JXiUFFAaQ==" >> ~vagrant/.ssh/known_hosts
+    }
+    ([[ -f ~vagrant/.ssh/known_hosts ]] && grep "jO3J5bvw= ssh" ~vagrant/.ssh/known_hosts) || {
+	echo "|1|9rANf/qOAPgKH/TXpGuZCAgGxMs=|x9VYWEDI8kiotbhhNXqjO3J5bvw= ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABIwAAAQEAq2A7hRGmdnm9tUDbO9IDSwBK6TbQa+PXYPCPy6rbTrTtw7PHkccKrpp0yVhp5HdEIcKr6pLlVDBfOLX9QUsyCOV0wzfjIJNlGEYsdlLJizHhbn2mUjvSAHQqZETYP81eFzLQNnPHt4EVVUh7VfDESU84KezmD5QlWpXLmvU31/yMf+Se8xhHTvKSCZIFImWwoG6mbUoWf9nzpIoaSjB+weqqUUmpaaasXVal72J+UX2B+2RPW3RcT0eOzQgqlJL3RKrTJvdsjE3JEAvGq3lGHSZXy28G3skua2SmVi/w4yCE6gbODqnTWlg7+wC604ydGXA8VJiS5ap43JXiUFFAaQ==" >> ~vagrant/.ssh/known_hosts
+    }
+    chown vagrant.vagrant ~vagrant/.ssh/known_hosts
 
-# Github
-([[ -f ~vagrant/.ssh/known_hosts ]] && grep "zBX7bKA= ssh" ~vagrant/.ssh/known_hosts) || {
-    echo "|1|4DtBcMsTM4zgl/jTS7h3ZkmS/Vc=|XkRnn2xEhr8ixOxeskJAzBX7bKA= ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABIwAAAQEAq2A7hRGmdnm9tUDbO9IDSwBK6TbQa+PXYPCPy6rbTrTtw7PHkccKrpp0yVhp5HdEIcKr6pLlVDBfOLX9QUsyCOV0wzfjIJNlGEYsdlLJizHhbn2mUjvSAHQqZETYP81eFzLQNnPHt4EVVUh7VfDESU84KezmD5QlWpXLmvU31/yMf+Se8xhHTvKSCZIFImWwoG6mbUoWf9nzpIoaSjB+weqqUUmpaaasXVal72J+UX2B+2RPW3RcT0eOzQgqlJL3RKrTJvdsjE3JEAvGq3lGHSZXy28G3skua2SmVi/w4yCE6gbODqnTWlg7+wC604ydGXA8VJiS5ap43JXiUFFAaQ==" >> ~vagrant/.ssh/known_hosts
-}
-([[ -f ~vagrant/.ssh/known_hosts ]] && grep "jO3J5bvw= ssh" ~vagrant/.ssh/known_hosts) || {
-    echo "|1|9rANf/qOAPgKH/TXpGuZCAgGxMs=|x9VYWEDI8kiotbhhNXqjO3J5bvw= ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABIwAAAQEAq2A7hRGmdnm9tUDbO9IDSwBK6TbQa+PXYPCPy6rbTrTtw7PHkccKrpp0yVhp5HdEIcKr6pLlVDBfOLX9QUsyCOV0wzfjIJNlGEYsdlLJizHhbn2mUjvSAHQqZETYP81eFzLQNnPHt4EVVUh7VfDESU84KezmD5QlWpXLmvU31/yMf+Se8xhHTvKSCZIFImWwoG6mbUoWf9nzpIoaSjB+weqqUUmpaaasXVal72J+UX2B+2RPW3RcT0eOzQgqlJL3RKrTJvdsjE3JEAvGq3lGHSZXy28G3skua2SmVi/w4yCE6gbODqnTWlg7+wC604ydGXA8VJiS5ap43JXiUFFAaQ==" >> ~vagrant/.ssh/known_hosts
-}
-chown vagrant.vagrant ~vagrant/.ssh/known_hosts
 
+    # edX - Development environment ###############################################
 
-# edX - Development environment ###############################################
+    # Node modules require a filesystem with symlinks (Windows support)
+    mkdir -p /opt/edx/node_modules /opt/edx/edx-platform/node_modules
+    ([[ -f /etc/fstab ]] && grep '/opt/edx/node_modules' /etc/fstab) || {
+        echo '/opt/edx/node_modules /opt/edx/edx-platform/node_modules none bind,noauto 0 0' >> /etc/fstab
+        mount /opt/edx/node_modules
+    }
+    # Must be mounted *after* the NFS mount, made manually by Vagrant
+    ([[ -f /etc/cron.d/nodemodules ]] && grep '/opt/edx/node_modules' /etc/cron.d/nodemodules) || {
+        echo '@reboot root until [ -n "`mount |grep "/opt/edx/edx-platform type"`" ]; do sleep 1; done; mount /opt/edx/node_modules' > /etc/cron.d/nodemodules
+    }
 
-# Node modules require a filesystem with symlinks (Windows support)
-mkdir -p /opt/edx/node_modules /opt/edx/edx-platform/node_modules
-([[ -f /etc/fstab ]] && grep '/opt/edx/node_modules' /etc/fstab) || {
-    echo '/opt/edx/node_modules /opt/edx/edx-platform/node_modules none bind,noauto 0 0' >> /etc/fstab
-    mount /opt/edx/node_modules
-}
-# Must be mounted *after* the NFS mount, made manually by Vagrant
-([[ -f /etc/cron.d/nodemodules ]] && grep '/opt/edx/node_modules' /etc/cron.d/nodemodules) || {
-    echo '@reboot root until [ -n "`mount |grep "/opt/edx/edx-platform type"`" ]; do sleep 1; done; mount /opt/edx/node_modules' > /etc/cron.d/nodemodules
-}
+    # Force rechecking all prerequisites (could have been fetched outside of the VM)
+    rm -rf /opt/edx/edx-platform/.prereqs_cache
 
-# Force rechecking all prerequisites (could have been fetched outside of the VM)
-rm -rf /opt/edx/edx-platform/.prereqs_cache
+    # Permissions
+    chown vagrant.vagrant /opt/edx /opt/edx/node_modules /opt/edx/edx-platform/node_modules
 
-# Permissions
-chown vagrant.vagrant /opt/edx /opt/edx/node_modules /opt/edx/edx-platform/node_modules
+    # For convenience with `vagrant ssh`, the `edx-platform` virtualenv is always
+    # loaded after the first run, so we need to deactivate that behavior to run
+    # `create-dev-env.sh`.
+    [[ -f ~vagrant/.bash_profile ]] && {
+	mv ~vagrant/.bash_profile ~vagrant/.bash_profile.bak
+    }
+    sudo -u vagrant -i bash -c "cd /opt/edx/edx-platform && PROJECT_HOME=/opt/edx ./scripts/create-dev-env.sh -ynq"
 
-# For convenience with `vagrant ssh`, the `edx-platform` virtualenv is always
-# loaded after the first run, so we need to deactivate that behavior to run
-# `create-dev-env.sh`.
-[[ -f ~vagrant/.bash_profile ]] && {
-    mv ~vagrant/.bash_profile ~vagrant/.bash_profile.bak
-}
-sudo -u vagrant -i bash -c "cd /opt/edx/edx-platform && PROJECT_HOME=/opt/edx ./scripts/create-dev-env.sh -ynq"
+    # Load .bashrc ################################################################
+    ([[ -f ~vagrant/.bash_profile ]] && grep ".bashrc" ~vagrant/.bash_profile) || {
+	echo ". /home/vagrant/.bashrc" >> ~vagrant/.bash_profile
+    }
 
-# Load .bashrc ################################################################
-([[ -f ~vagrant/.bash_profile ]] && grep ".bashrc" ~vagrant/.bash_profile) || {
-    echo -e "\n. /home/vagrant/.bashrc\n" >> ~vagrant/.bash_profile
-}
 
+    # Virtualenv - Always load ####################################################
 
-# Virtualenv - Always load ####################################################
+    ([[ -f ~vagrant/.bash_profile ]] && grep "edx-platform/bin/activate" ~vagrant/.bash_profile) || {
+	echo ". /home/vagrant/.virtualenvs/edx-platform/bin/activate" >> ~vagrant/.bash_profile
+    }
 
-([[ -f ~vagrant/.bash_profile ]] && grep "edx-platform/bin/activate" ~vagrant/.bash_profile) || {
-    echo -e "\n. /home/vagrant/.virtualenvs/edx-platform/bin/activate\n" >> ~vagrant/.bash_profile
-}
 
+    # Directory ###################################################################
 
-# Directory ###################################################################
+    grep "cd /opt/edx/edx-platform" ~vagrant/.bash_profile || {
+	echo "cd /opt/edx/edx-platform" >> ~vagrant/.bash_profile
+    }
 
-grep "cd /opt/edx/edx-platform" ~vagrant/.bash_profile || {
-    echo -e "\ncd /opt/edx/edx-platform\n" >> ~vagrant/.bash_profile
-}
+    # Permissions
+    chown vagrant.vagrant ~vagrant/.bash_profile
 
-
-# End #########################################################################
-
-cat << EOF
+    cat << EOF
 ==============================================================================
-Success!
+Success - Created your development environment!
 ==============================================================================
 
-Now, from the virtual machine (connect with "vagrant ssh" if vagrant didn't
-log you in already), you can start Studio & LMS with the following commands:
-
-- Learning management system (LMS):
-    $ rake lms[cms.dev,0.0.0.0:8000]
+EOF
+}    # End on_create() ########################################################
 
-    =>  http://192.168.20.40:8000/
+## only initialize / setup the development environment once:
+#   we create node_modules, so that's a good test:
+[[ -d /opt/edx/node_modules ]] || on_create
 
-- Studio:
-    $ rake cms[dev,0.0.0.0:8001]
+# grab what the Vagrantfile spec'd our IP to be:
+#  expecting:
+#  - relevant ip on eth1;
+#  - line of interest to look like:
+#    inet 192.168.20.40/24 brd 192.168.20.255 scope global eth1
+MY_IP=$(ip addr show dev eth1 | sed -n '/inet /{s/.*[ ]\(.*\)\/.*/\1/;p}')
 
-    => http://192.168.20.40:8001/
+cat << EOF
+Connect to your virtual machine with "vagrant ssh".
+Some examples you can use from your virtual machine:
 
+- Start Learning management system (LMS):
+    $ rake lms[cms.dev,0.0.0.0:8000]
+    =>  http://${MY_IP}:8000/
 
-See the README for details.
+- Start Studio:
+    $ rake cms[dev,0.0.0.0:8001]
+    => http://${MY_IP}:8001/
 
+See the README for more.
 
 EOF
-
-