diff --git a/nova/openstack/common/context.py b/nova/openstack/common/context.py
index ba47700f8f..afe2e2415a 100644
--- a/nova/openstack/common/context.py
+++ b/nova/openstack/common/context.py
@@ -33,7 +33,8 @@ def generate_request_id():
 
 class RequestContext(object):
 
-    """
+    """Helper class to represent useful information about a request context.
+
     Stores information about the security context under which the user
     accesses the system, as well as additional request information.
     """
@@ -60,7 +61,7 @@ class RequestContext(object):
                 'request_id': self.request_id}
 
 
-def get_admin_context(show_deleted="no"):
+def get_admin_context(show_deleted=False):
     context = RequestContext(None,
                              tenant=None,
                              is_admin=True,
diff --git a/nova/openstack/common/importutils.py b/nova/openstack/common/importutils.py
index 3bd277f47e..7a303f93f2 100644
--- a/nova/openstack/common/importutils.py
+++ b/nova/openstack/common/importutils.py
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ import traceback
 
 
 def import_class(import_str):
-    """Returns a class from a string including module and class"""
+    """Returns a class from a string including module and class."""
     mod_str, _sep, class_str = import_str.rpartition('.')
     try:
         __import__(mod_str)
@@ -41,8 +41,9 @@ def import_object(import_str, *args, **kwargs):
 
 
 def import_object_ns(name_space, import_str, *args, **kwargs):
-    """
-    Import a class and return an instance of it, first by trying
+    """Tries to import object from default namespace.
+
+    Imports a class and return an instance of it, first by trying
     to find the class in a default namespace, then failing back to
     a full path if not found in the default namespace.
     """
diff --git a/nova/openstack/common/lockutils.py b/nova/openstack/common/lockutils.py
index e8b5af78bc..18cf32fb5d 100644
--- a/nova/openstack/common/lockutils.py
+++ b/nova/openstack/common/lockutils.py
@@ -158,17 +158,18 @@ def synchronized(name, lock_file_prefix, external=False, lock_path=None):
 
     This way only one of either foo or bar can be executing at a time.
 
-    The lock_file_prefix argument is used to provide lock files on disk with a
-    meaningful prefix. The prefix should end with a hyphen ('-') if specified.
+    :param lock_file_prefix: The lock_file_prefix argument is used to provide
+    lock files on disk with a meaningful prefix. The prefix should end with a
+    hyphen ('-') if specified.
 
-    The external keyword argument denotes whether this lock should work across
-    multiple processes. This means that if two different workers both run a
-    a method decorated with @synchronized('mylock', external=True), only one
-    of them will execute at a time.
+    :param external: The external keyword argument denotes whether this lock
+    should work across multiple processes. This means that if two different
+    workers both run a a method decorated with @synchronized('mylock',
+    external=True), only one of them will execute at a time.
 
-    The lock_path keyword argument is used to specify a special location for
-    external lock files to live. If nothing is set, then CONF.lock_path is
-    used as a default.
+    :param lock_path: The lock_path keyword argument is used to specify a
+    special location for external lock files to live. If nothing is set, then
+    CONF.lock_path is used as a default.
     """
 
     def wrap(f):
diff --git a/nova/openstack/common/log.py b/nova/openstack/common/log.py
index cdaba43abc..97c2fff535 100644
--- a/nova/openstack/common/log.py
+++ b/nova/openstack/common/log.py
@@ -74,7 +74,8 @@ logging_cli_opts = [
     cfg.StrOpt('log-format',
                default=None,
                metavar='FORMAT',
-               help='A logging.Formatter log message format string which may '
+               help='DEPRECATED. '
+                    'A logging.Formatter log message format string which may '
                     'use any of the available logging.LogRecord attributes. '
                     'This option is deprecated.  Please use '
                     'logging_context_format_string and '
@@ -459,10 +460,11 @@ def getLogger(name='unknown', version='unknown'):
 
 
 def getLazyLogger(name='unknown', version='unknown'):
-    """
-    create a pass-through logger that does not create the real logger
+    """Returns lazy logger.
+
+    Creates a pass-through logger that does not create the real logger
     until it is really needed and delegates all calls to the real logger
-    once it is created
+    once it is created.
     """
     return LazyAdapter(name, version)
 
diff --git a/nova/openstack/common/memorycache.py b/nova/openstack/common/memorycache.py
index 9f876b80c8..41de4e9881 100644
--- a/nova/openstack/common/memorycache.py
+++ b/nova/openstack/common/memorycache.py
@@ -57,7 +57,8 @@ class Client(object):
     def get(self, key):
         """Retrieves the value for a key or None.
 
-        this expunges expired keys during each get"""
+        This expunges expired keys during each get.
+        """
 
         now = timeutils.utcnow_ts()
         for k in self.cache.keys():
diff --git a/nova/openstack/common/network_utils.py b/nova/openstack/common/network_utils.py
index 86c8c9646d..dbed1ceb44 100644
--- a/nova/openstack/common/network_utils.py
+++ b/nova/openstack/common/network_utils.py
@@ -19,15 +19,12 @@
 Network-related utilities and helper functions.
 """
 
-from nova.openstack.common import log as logging
-
-
-LOG = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+import urlparse
 
 
 def parse_host_port(address, default_port=None):
-    """
-    Interpret a string as a host:port pair.
+    """Interpret a string as a host:port pair.
+
     An IPv6 address MUST be escaped if accompanied by a port,
     because otherwise ambiguity ensues: 2001:db8:85a3::8a2e:370:7334
     means both [2001:db8:85a3::8a2e:370:7334] and
@@ -67,3 +64,18 @@ def parse_host_port(address, default_port=None):
             port = default_port
 
     return (host, None if port is None else int(port))
+
+
+def urlsplit(url, scheme='', allow_fragments=True):
+    """Parse a URL using urlparse.urlsplit(), splitting query and fragments.
+    This function papers over Python issue9374 when needed.
+
+    The parameters are the same as urlparse.urlsplit.
+    """
+    scheme, netloc, path, query, fragment = urlparse.urlsplit(
+        url, scheme, allow_fragments)
+    if allow_fragments and '#' in path:
+        path, fragment = path.split('#', 1)
+    if '?' in path:
+        path, query = path.split('?', 1)
+    return urlparse.SplitResult(scheme, netloc, path, query, fragment)
diff --git a/nova/openstack/common/notifier/log_notifier.py b/nova/openstack/common/notifier/log_notifier.py
index b5c08fcfa7..06c8d787bc 100644
--- a/nova/openstack/common/notifier/log_notifier.py
+++ b/nova/openstack/common/notifier/log_notifier.py
@@ -24,7 +24,9 @@ CONF = cfg.CONF
 
 def notify(_context, message):
     """Notifies the recipient of the desired event given the model.
-    Log notifications using openstack's default logging system"""
+
+    Log notifications using openstack's default logging system.
+    """
 
     priority = message.get('priority',
                            CONF.default_notification_level)
diff --git a/nova/openstack/common/notifier/no_op_notifier.py b/nova/openstack/common/notifier/no_op_notifier.py
index bc7a56ca7a..13d946e362 100644
--- a/nova/openstack/common/notifier/no_op_notifier.py
+++ b/nova/openstack/common/notifier/no_op_notifier.py
@@ -15,5 +15,5 @@
 
 
 def notify(_context, message):
-    """Notifies the recipient of the desired event given the model"""
+    """Notifies the recipient of the desired event given the model."""
     pass
diff --git a/nova/openstack/common/notifier/rpc_notifier.py b/nova/openstack/common/notifier/rpc_notifier.py
index c258e49f86..12aa0bdf66 100644
--- a/nova/openstack/common/notifier/rpc_notifier.py
+++ b/nova/openstack/common/notifier/rpc_notifier.py
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ CONF.register_opt(notification_topic_opt)
 
 
 def notify(context, message):
-    """Sends a notification via RPC"""
+    """Sends a notification via RPC."""
     if not context:
         context = req_context.get_admin_context()
     priority = message.get('priority',
diff --git a/nova/openstack/common/notifier/rpc_notifier2.py b/nova/openstack/common/notifier/rpc_notifier2.py
index 5e02f8fbbe..9d4dc4d3e0 100644
--- a/nova/openstack/common/notifier/rpc_notifier2.py
+++ b/nova/openstack/common/notifier/rpc_notifier2.py
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ CONF.register_opt(notification_topic_opt, opt_group)
 
 
 def notify(context, message):
-    """Sends a notification via RPC"""
+    """Sends a notification via RPC."""
     if not context:
         context = req_context.get_admin_context()
     priority = message.get('priority',
diff --git a/nova/openstack/common/periodic_task.py b/nova/openstack/common/periodic_task.py
index dbcad97049..33c6f7b948 100644
--- a/nova/openstack/common/periodic_task.py
+++ b/nova/openstack/common/periodic_task.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 
 import datetime
 import time
+
 from oslo.config import cfg
 
 from nova.openstack.common.gettextutils import _
diff --git a/nova/openstack/common/processutils.py b/nova/openstack/common/processutils.py
index 87d89b490a..1c5f05d564 100644
--- a/nova/openstack/common/processutils.py
+++ b/nova/openstack/common/processutils.py
@@ -74,9 +74,9 @@ def _subprocess_setup():
 
 
 def execute(*cmd, **kwargs):
-    """
-    Helper method to shell out and execute a command through subprocess with
-    optional retry.
+    """Helper method to shell out and execute a command through subprocess.
+
+    Allows optional retry.
 
     :param cmd:             Passed to subprocess.Popen.
     :type cmd:              string
@@ -187,8 +187,7 @@ def execute(*cmd, **kwargs):
 
 
 def trycmd(*args, **kwargs):
-    """
-    A wrapper around execute() to more easily handle warnings and errors.
+    """A wrapper around execute() to more easily handle warnings and errors.
 
     Returns an (out, err) tuple of strings containing the output of
     the command's stdout and stderr.  If 'err' is not empty then the
diff --git a/nova/openstack/common/threadgroup.py b/nova/openstack/common/threadgroup.py
index 26a391f580..2b2dfc1783 100644
--- a/nova/openstack/common/threadgroup.py
+++ b/nova/openstack/common/threadgroup.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ LOG = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
 def _thread_done(gt, *args, **kwargs):
-    """ Callback function to be passed to GreenThread.link() when we spawn()
+    """Callback function to be passed to GreenThread.link() when we spawn()
     Calls the :class:`ThreadGroup` to notify if.
 
     """
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ def _thread_done(gt, *args, **kwargs):
 
 
 class Thread(object):
-    """ Wrapper around a greenthread, that holds a reference to the
+    """Wrapper around a greenthread, that holds a reference to the
     :class:`ThreadGroup`. The Thread will notify the :class:`ThreadGroup` when
     it has done so it can be removed from the threads list.
     """
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ class Thread(object):
 
 
 class ThreadGroup(object):
-    """ The point of the ThreadGroup classis to:
+    """The point of the ThreadGroup classis to:
 
     * keep track of timers and greenthreads (making it easier to stop them
       when need be).
diff --git a/nova/openstack/common/timeutils.py b/nova/openstack/common/timeutils.py
index 6094365907..bd60489e56 100644
--- a/nova/openstack/common/timeutils.py
+++ b/nova/openstack/common/timeutils.py
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import calendar
 import datetime
 
 import iso8601
+import six
 
 
 # ISO 8601 extended time format with microseconds
@@ -32,7 +33,7 @@ PERFECT_TIME_FORMAT = _ISO8601_TIME_FORMAT_SUBSECOND
 
 
 def isotime(at=None, subsecond=False):
-    """Stringify time in ISO 8601 format"""
+    """Stringify time in ISO 8601 format."""
     if not at:
         at = utcnow()
     st = at.strftime(_ISO8601_TIME_FORMAT
@@ -44,7 +45,7 @@ def isotime(at=None, subsecond=False):
 
 
 def parse_isotime(timestr):
-    """Parse time from ISO 8601 format"""
+    """Parse time from ISO 8601 format."""
     try:
         return iso8601.parse_date(timestr)
     except iso8601.ParseError as e:
@@ -66,7 +67,7 @@ def parse_strtime(timestr, fmt=PERFECT_TIME_FORMAT):
 
 
 def normalize_time(timestamp):
-    """Normalize time in arbitrary timezone to UTC naive object"""
+    """Normalize time in arbitrary timezone to UTC naive object."""
     offset = timestamp.utcoffset()
     if offset is None:
         return timestamp
@@ -75,14 +76,14 @@ def normalize_time(timestamp):
 
 def is_older_than(before, seconds):
     """Return True if before is older than seconds."""
-    if isinstance(before, basestring):
+    if isinstance(before, six.string_types):
         before = parse_strtime(before).replace(tzinfo=None)
     return utcnow() - before > datetime.timedelta(seconds=seconds)
 
 
 def is_newer_than(after, seconds):
     """Return True if after is newer than seconds."""
-    if isinstance(after, basestring):
+    if isinstance(after, six.string_types):
         after = parse_strtime(after).replace(tzinfo=None)
     return after - utcnow() > datetime.timedelta(seconds=seconds)
 
@@ -103,7 +104,7 @@ def utcnow():
 
 
 def iso8601_from_timestamp(timestamp):
-    """Returns a iso8601 formated date from timestamp"""
+    """Returns a iso8601 formated date from timestamp."""
     return isotime(datetime.datetime.utcfromtimestamp(timestamp))
 
 
@@ -111,9 +112,9 @@ utcnow.override_time = None
 
 
 def set_time_override(override_time=datetime.datetime.utcnow()):
-    """
-    Override utils.utcnow to return a constant time or a list thereof,
-    one at a time.
+    """Overrides utils.utcnow.
+
+    Make it return a constant time or a list thereof, one at a time.
     """
     utcnow.override_time = override_time
 
@@ -141,7 +142,8 @@ def clear_time_override():
 def marshall_now(now=None):
     """Make an rpc-safe datetime with microseconds.
 
-    Note: tzinfo is stripped, but not required for relative times."""
+    Note: tzinfo is stripped, but not required for relative times.
+    """
     if not now:
         now = utcnow()
     return dict(day=now.day, month=now.month, year=now.year, hour=now.hour,
@@ -161,7 +163,8 @@ def unmarshall_time(tyme):
 
 
 def delta_seconds(before, after):
-    """
+    """Return the difference between two timing objects.
+
     Compute the difference in seconds between two date, time, or
     datetime objects (as a float, to microsecond resolution).
     """
@@ -174,8 +177,7 @@ def delta_seconds(before, after):
 
 
 def is_soon(dt, window):
-    """
-    Determines if time is going to happen in the next window seconds.
+    """Determines if time is going to happen in the next window seconds.
 
     :params dt: the time
     :params window: minimum seconds to remain to consider the time not soon
diff --git a/tools/patch_tox_venv.py b/tools/patch_tox_venv.py
index ebbf766bb0..e179575af8 100644
--- a/tools/patch_tox_venv.py
+++ b/tools/patch_tox_venv.py
@@ -17,7 +17,13 @@
 import os
 import sys
 
-import install_venv_common as install_venv
+import install_venv_common as install_venv  # noqa
+
+
+def first_file(file_list):
+    for candidate in file_list:
+        if os.path.exists(candidate):
+            return candidate
 
 
 def main(argv):
@@ -25,8 +31,14 @@ def main(argv):
 
     venv = os.environ['VIRTUAL_ENV']
 
-    pip_requires = os.path.join(root, 'requirements.txt')
-    test_requires = os.path.join(root, 'test-requirements.txt')
+    pip_requires = first_file([
+        os.path.join(root, 'requirements.txt'),
+        os.path.join(root, 'tools', 'pip-requires'),
+    ])
+    test_requires = first_file([
+        os.path.join(root, 'test-requirements.txt'),
+        os.path.join(root, 'tools', 'test-requires'),
+    ])
     py_version = "python%s.%s" % (sys.version_info[0], sys.version_info[1])
     project = 'nova'
     install = install_venv.InstallVenv(root, venv, pip_requires, test_requires,