diff --git a/perl-xCAT/xCAT/Utils.pm b/perl-xCAT/xCAT/Utils.pm
index 184b14191..c68885b7c 100644
--- a/perl-xCAT/xCAT/Utils.pm
+++ b/perl-xCAT/xCAT/Utils.pm
@@ -4925,17 +4925,35 @@ sub osver
         $ver =~ tr/\.//;
         $ver =~ s/[^0-9]*([0-9]+).*/$1/;
     }
-    elsif (-f "/etc/lsb-release")#ubuntu
+    elsif (-f "/etc/lsb-release")   # Possibly Ubuntu
     {
 
-        $os = "ubuntu";
-        open($relfile,"<","/etc/lsb-release");
-        my @text = <$relfile>;
-        close($relfile);
-        foreach (@text){
-        	if ( $_ =~ /DISTRIB_RELEASE=(\S+)/ ) {
-        		$ver = $1;
-        	}
+        if (open($relfile,"<","/etc/lsb-release")) {
+            my @text = <$relfile>;
+            close($relfile);
+            chomp(@text);
+            my $distrib_id = '';
+            my $distrib_rel = '';
+
+            foreach (@text) {
+                if ( $_ =~ /^\s*DISTRIB_ID=(.*)$/ ) {
+                    $distrib_id = $1;                   # last DISTRIB_ID value in file used
+                } elsif ( $_ =~ /^\s*DISTRIB_RELEASE=(.*)$/ ) {
+                    $distrib_rel = $1;                  # last DISTRIB_RELEASE value in file used
+                }
+            }
+
+            if ( $distrib_id =~ /^(Ubuntu|"Ubuntu")\s*$/ ) {
+                $os = "ubuntu";
+
+                if ( $distrib_rel =~ /^(.*?)\s*$/ ) {       # eliminate trailing blanks, if any
+                    $distrib_rel = $1;
+                }
+                if ( $distrib_rel =~ /^"(.*?)"$/ ) {        # eliminate enclosing quotes, if any
+                    $distrib_rel = $1;
+                }
+                $ver = $distrib_rel;
+            }
         }
     }
     $os = "$os" . "$ver";
diff --git a/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/AAsn.pm b/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/AAsn.pm
index 2bdd0a2bb..6436383b3 100644
--- a/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/AAsn.pm
+++ b/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/AAsn.pm
@@ -654,12 +654,12 @@ sub setup_DHCP
     ${"xCAT_plugin::" . $modname . "::"}{process_request}
       ->($cmdref, \&xCAT::Client::handle_response);
 
+    my $distro = xCAT::Utils->osver();
+    my $serv = "dhcpd";
+    if ( $distro =~ /ubuntu.*/ ){
+        $serv = "dhcp3-server";	
+    }
 
-	my $distro = xCAT::Utils->osver();
-	my $serv = "dhcpd";
-	if ( $distro =~ /ubuntu*/ ){
-		$serv = "dhcp3-server";	
-	}
     my $rc = xCAT::Utils->startService($serv);
     if ($rc != 0)
     {
@@ -781,13 +781,13 @@ sub setup_DNS
     system("$XCATROOT/sbin/makenamed.conf");
 
     # turn DNS on
-	
-	my $distro = xCAT::Utils->osver();
-	my $serv = "named";
-	if ( $distro =~ /ubuntu*/ ){
-		$serv = "bind9";	
-	}
-	
+
+    my $distro = xCAT::Utils->osver();
+    my $serv = "named";
+    if ( $distro =~ /ubuntu.*/ ){
+        $serv = "bind9";
+    }
+
     my $rc = xCAT::Utils->startService($serv);
     if ($rc != 0)
     {
diff --git a/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/ddns.pm b/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/ddns.pm
index 198c9cd8e..10c9af56e 100644
--- a/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/ddns.pm
+++ b/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/ddns.pm
@@ -19,8 +19,8 @@ my $distro = xCAT::Utils->osver();
 
 my $service="named";
 # is this ubuntu ?
-if ( $distro =~ /ubuntu*/ ){
-	$service = "bind9";	
+if ( $distro =~ /ubuntu.*/ ){
+    $service = "bind9";	
 }
 
 sub handled_commands
@@ -547,11 +547,11 @@ sub get_zonesdir {
 
 sub get_conf {
     my $conf="/etc/named.conf";
-	# is this ubuntu ?
-	if ( $distro =~ /ubuntu*/ ){
-		$conf="/etc/bind/named.conf";
-	}
-	
+    # is this ubuntu ?
+    if ( $distro =~ /ubuntu.*/ ){
+        $conf="/etc/bind/named.conf";
+    }
+
     my $sitetab = xCAT::Table->new('site');
 
     unless ($sitetab)
diff --git a/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/dhcp.pm b/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/dhcp.pm
index 806f32ba9..e9b27f350 100644
--- a/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/dhcp.pm
+++ b/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/dhcp.pm
@@ -62,8 +62,8 @@ if ( $^O ne 'aix' and -d "/etc/dhcp" ) {
 my $usingipv6;
 
 # is this ubuntu ?
-if ( $distro =~ /ubuntu*/ ){
-	$dhcpconffile = '/etc/dhcp3/dhcpd.conf';	
+if ( $distro =~ /ubuntu.*/ ){
+    $dhcpconffile = '/etc/dhcp3/dhcpd.conf';	
 }
 
 sub check_uefi_support {
@@ -1402,9 +1402,9 @@ sub process_request
         {
             restart_dhcpd_aix();
         }
-        elsif ( $distro =~ /ubuntu*/)
+        elsif ( $distro =~ /ubuntu.*/)
         {
-        	#ubuntu config
+            #ubuntu config
             system("chmod a+r /etc/dhcp3/dhcpd.conf");
             system("/etc/init.d/dhcp3-server restart");
         }
diff --git a/xCAT-server/sbin/makenamed.conf b/xCAT-server/sbin/makenamed.conf
index bbfb7b38a..6264facb2 100755
--- a/xCAT-server/sbin/makenamed.conf
+++ b/xCAT-server/sbin/makenamed.conf
@@ -1,5 +1,32 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 
+# is_lsb_ubuntu exit status indicates whether system appears to be Ubuntu.
+# Using required /etc/lsb-release file, instead of optional lsb_release command.
+
+is_lsb_ubuntu ()
+{
+    awk '
+        (match($0, "^[ \t]*DISTRIB_ID=") == 1) {    # A DISTRIB_ID line
+            id = substr($0, RLENGTH + 1)            # Save its value
+        }
+
+        END {
+            # Examine last DISTRIB_ID value to see if Ubuntu indicated
+
+            if (match(id, "^(Ubuntu|\"Ubuntu\")[ \t]*$") == 1) {
+                exit 0    # Ubuntu
+            }
+            exit 1        # Not Ubuntu
+        }
+
+    ' /etc/lsb-release >/dev/null 2>&1
+
+    # Routine exit status is exit status of the last command -- the awk script.
+    #
+    #   Note: if /etc/lsb-release does not exist, the exit status indicates
+    #         failure (not Ubuntu), which is the correct outcome.
+}
+
 
 DIRECTORY=/var/named 
 
@@ -8,7 +35,7 @@ if [ -f /etc/SuSE-release ]; then
 fi
 FILE=/etc/named.conf
 
-if [ -f /etc/lsb-release ]; then
+if ( is_lsb_ubuntu ); then
   FILE=/etc/bind/named.conf
 fi
 
diff --git a/xCAT-server/sbin/xcatconfig b/xCAT-server/sbin/xcatconfig
index eedfff03f..55f8e0136 100755
--- a/xCAT-server/sbin/xcatconfig
+++ b/xCAT-server/sbin/xcatconfig
@@ -831,6 +831,31 @@ sub genSSHNodeHostKey
     }
 }
 
+# is_lsb_ubuntu return value indicates whether system appears to be Ubuntu.
+# Using required /etc/lsb-release file, instead of optional lsb_release command.
+
+sub is_lsb_ubuntu
+{
+    if (open(my $relfile, "<", "/etc/lsb-release")) {
+        my @text = <$relfile>;
+        close($relfile);
+        chomp(@text);
+        my $distrib_id = '';
+
+        foreach (@text) {
+            if ( $_ =~ /^\s*DISTRIB_ID=(.*)$/ ) {
+                $distrib_id = $1;                   # last DISTRIB_ID value in file used
+            }
+        }
+
+        if ( $distrib_id =~ /^(Ubuntu|"Ubuntu")\s*$/ ) {
+            return 1;                               # return "true"
+        }
+    }
+
+    return 0;                   # return "false"
+}
+
 # on Ubuntu need to painstakingly compare /etc/localtime with files under
 # /usr/share/zoneinfo since /etc/localtime # isn't always a symbolic link
 sub discover_timezone_ubuntu
@@ -942,7 +967,7 @@ sub initDB
             $tz =
               `grep ^ZONE /etc/sysconfig/clock|cut -d= -f 2|sed -e 's/"//g'`;
         }
-        elsif (-f "/etc/lsb-release")
+        elsif ( is_lsb_ubuntu() )
         {
             $tz = discover_timezone_ubuntu;
         }
diff --git a/xCAT/postscripts/remoteshell b/xCAT/postscripts/remoteshell
index 0166103a1..903fde515 100755
--- a/xCAT/postscripts/remoteshell
+++ b/xCAT/postscripts/remoteshell
@@ -146,8 +146,7 @@ fi
 # start up the sshd for syncfiles postscript to do the sync work
 logger -t xCAT "start up sshd"
 
-DISTRO=`lsb_release -si`
-if [ $DISTRO = "Ubuntu" ]
+if [[ $OSVER == ubuntu* ]]
 then
     if [ ! -d /var/run/sshd ]
     then
diff --git a/xCAT/postscripts/setupntp b/xCAT/postscripts/setupntp
index 28cad51b4..b2ef081a6 100755
--- a/xCAT/postscripts/setupntp
+++ b/xCAT/postscripts/setupntp
@@ -23,6 +23,33 @@ pmatch ()
   return 1          # non-zero return code means string not matched by pattern
 }
 
+# is_lsb_ubuntu exit status indicates whether system appears to be Ubuntu.
+# Using required /etc/lsb-release file, instead of optional lsb_release command.
+
+is_lsb_ubuntu ()
+{
+    awk '
+        (match($0, "^[ \t]*DISTRIB_ID=") == 1) {    # A DISTRIB_ID line
+            id = substr($0, RLENGTH + 1)            # Save its value
+        }
+
+        END {
+            # Examine last DISTRIB_ID value to see if Ubuntu indicated
+
+            if (match(id, "^(Ubuntu|\"Ubuntu\")[ \t]*$") == 1) {
+                exit 0    # Ubuntu
+            }
+            exit 1        # Not Ubuntu
+        }
+
+    ' /etc/lsb-release >/dev/null 2>&1
+
+    # Routine exit status is exit status of the last command -- the awk script.
+    #
+    #   Note: if /etc/lsb-release does not exist, the exit status indicates
+    #         failure (not Ubuntu), which is the correct outcome.
+}
+
 logger -t xcat "Install: Setup NTP"
 # if master is the sitemaster, then use the ntpservers defined in the site
 # table, if they exist. If they don't exist, do not setup ntp
@@ -73,7 +100,7 @@ restrict 127.0.0.1" >>$conf_file
 # default service for redhat/fedora
 SERVICE=ntpd
 echo $SERVICE
-if ( pmatch $OSVER "sles*" ) || ( pmatch $OSVER "suse*" ) || [ -f /etc/SuSE-release ] || ( pmatch $OSVER "ubuntu*" ); then
+if ( pmatch $OSVER "sles*" ) || ( pmatch $OSVER "suse*" ) || [ -f /etc/SuSE-release ] || ( pmatch $OSVER "ubuntu*" ) || ( is_lsb_ubuntu ); then
   SERVICE=ntp
 fi
 
diff --git a/xCAT/postscripts/syslog b/xCAT/postscripts/syslog
index dc903ff9f..5d1ed1fc9 100755
--- a/xCAT/postscripts/syslog
+++ b/xCAT/postscripts/syslog
@@ -35,6 +35,33 @@ pmatch ()
   return 1          # non-zero return code means string not matched by pattern
 }
 
+# is_lsb_ubuntu exit status indicates whether system appears to be Ubuntu.
+# Using required /etc/lsb-release file, instead of optional lsb_release command.
+
+is_lsb_ubuntu ()
+{
+    awk '
+        (match($0, "^[ \t]*DISTRIB_ID=") == 1) {    # A DISTRIB_ID line
+            id = substr($0, RLENGTH + 1)            # Save its value
+        }
+
+        END {
+            # Examine last DISTRIB_ID value to see if Ubuntu indicated
+
+            if (match(id, "^(Ubuntu|\"Ubuntu\")[ \t]*$") == 1) {
+                exit 0    # Ubuntu
+            }
+            exit 1        # Not Ubuntu
+        }
+
+    ' /etc/lsb-release >/dev/null 2>&1
+
+    # Routine exit status is exit status of the last command -- the awk script.
+    #
+    #   Note: if /etc/lsb-release does not exist, the exit status indicates
+    #         failure (not Ubuntu), which is the correct outcome.
+}
+
 config_Rsyslog_C3()
 {
   isReceiving=0
@@ -85,7 +112,7 @@ if [ $NTYPE = service ]; then
 fi
 
 if [ "$(uname -s)" = "Linux" ]; then
-  if ( pmatch $OSVER "fedora*" ) || ( pmatch $OSVER "rhels5*" ) || ( pmatch $OSVER "rhel6*" ) || ( pmatch $OSVER "rhels6*" ) || [ -f /etc/fedora-release ] || [ -f /etc/redhat-release ] || ( pmatch $OSVER "ubuntu*" ); then
+  if ( pmatch $OSVER "fedora*" ) || ( pmatch $OSVER "rhels5*" ) || ( pmatch $OSVER "rhel6*" ) || ( pmatch $OSVER "rhels6*" ) || [ -f /etc/fedora-release ] || [ -f /etc/redhat-release ] || ( pmatch $OSVER "ubuntu*" ) || ( is_lsb_ubuntu ); then
     if [ -e /etc/rsyslog.conf ]; then
       conf_file="/etc/rsyslog.conf"
       sysconfig="/etc/sysconfig/rsyslog"
@@ -207,7 +234,7 @@ else
     
     #Ubuntu doesn't have sysconfig 
     # so configuring the MN to receive UDP connections here.
-    if ( pmatch $OSVER "ubuntu*" ); then
+    if ( pmatch $OSVER "ubuntu*" ) || ( is_lsb_ubuntu ); then
       egrep \('^\$UDPServerRun 514'\|'^\$ModLoad imudp'\) $conf_file > /dev/null 2>&1;
       if [ $? -eq 1 ]; then
         echo "\$ModLoad imudp" >> $conf_file;
@@ -238,7 +265,7 @@ else
       if [ $isLinux -eq 0 ]; then
         echo "*.debug @$master" >> $conf_file
       else
-        if ( pmatch $OSVER "ubuntu*" ); then
+        if ( pmatch $OSVER "ubuntu*" ) || ( is_lsb_ubuntu ); then
           echo "\$ModLoad imuxsock" >> $conf_file
           echo "*.* @$master" >> $conf_file
         else