diff --git a/builder/xenserver/common/common_config.go b/builder/xenserver/common/common_config.go
index df0d805..4807a84 100644
--- a/builder/xenserver/common/common_config.go
+++ b/builder/xenserver/common/common_config.go
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ type CommonConfig struct {
 	OutputDir string `mapstructure:"output_directory"`
 	Format    string `mapstructure:"format"`
 	KeepVM    string `mapstructure:"keep_vm"`
+    IPGetter  string `mapstructure:"ip_getter"`
 }
 
 func (c *CommonConfig) Prepare(t *packer.ConfigTemplate, pc *common.PackerConfig) []error {
@@ -123,6 +124,10 @@ func (c *CommonConfig) Prepare(t *packer.ConfigTemplate, pc *common.PackerConfig
 		c.KeepVM = "never"
 	}
 
+    if c.IPGetter == "" {
+        c.IPGetter = "auto"
+    }
+
 	// Template substitution
 
 	templates := map[string]*string{
@@ -142,6 +147,7 @@ func (c *CommonConfig) Prepare(t *packer.ConfigTemplate, pc *common.PackerConfig
 		"output_directory": &c.OutputDir,
 		"format":           &c.Format,
 		"keep_vm":          &c.KeepVM,
+        "ip_getter":        &c.IPGetter,
 	}
 	for i := range c.FloppyFiles {
 		templates[fmt.Sprintf("floppy_files[%d]", i)] = &c.FloppyFiles[i]
@@ -225,6 +231,12 @@ func (c *CommonConfig) Prepare(t *packer.ConfigTemplate, pc *common.PackerConfig
 		errs = append(errs, errors.New("keep_vm must be one of 'always', 'never', 'on_success'"))
 	}
 
+    switch c.IPGetter {
+    case "auto", "tools", "http":
+    default:
+        errs = append(errs, errors.New("ip_getter must be one of 'auto', 'tools', 'http'"))
+    }
+
 	return errs
 }
 
diff --git a/builder/xenserver/common/step_wait_for_ip.go b/builder/xenserver/common/step_wait_for_ip.go
index eeb6d1a..84099cd 100644
--- a/builder/xenserver/common/step_wait_for_ip.go
+++ b/builder/xenserver/common/step_wait_for_ip.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ type StepWaitForIP struct {
 func (self *StepWaitForIP) Run(state multistep.StateBag) multistep.StepAction {
 	ui := state.Get("ui").(packer.Ui)
 	client := state.Get("client").(xsclient.XenAPIClient)
+    config := state.Get("commonconfig").(CommonConfig)
 
 	ui.Say("Step: Wait for VM's IP to become known to us.")
 
@@ -33,28 +34,37 @@ func (self *StepWaitForIP) Run(state multistep.StateBag) multistep.StepAction {
 		Timeout:           self.Timeout,
 		PredicateInterval: 5 * time.Second,
 		Predicate: func() (result bool, err error) {
-			// first check if we got any HTTP requests
-			select {
-			case ip = <-self.Chan:
-				ui.Message(fmt.Sprintf("Got IP '%s' from HTTP request", ip))
-				return true, nil
-			default:
-			}
 
-			// failing that, look for PV IP
-			metrics, err := instance.GetGuestMetrics()
-			if err != nil {
-				return false, err
-			}
-			if metrics != nil {
-				networks := metrics["networks"].(xmlrpc.Struct)
-				if ipRaw, ok := networks["0/ip"]; ok {
-					if ip = ipRaw.(string); ip != "" {
-						ui.Message(fmt.Sprintf("Got IP '%s' from XenServer tools", ip))
-						return true, nil
-					}
-				}
-			}
+            if (config.IPGetter == "auto" || config.IPGetter == "http") {
+
+                // Snoop IP from HTTP fetch
+                select {
+                case ip = <-self.Chan:
+                    ui.Message(fmt.Sprintf("Got IP '%s' from HTTP request", ip))
+                    return true, nil
+                default:
+                }
+
+            }
+
+            if (config.IPGetter == "auto" || config.IPGetter == "tools") {
+
+                // Look for PV IP
+                metrics, err := instance.GetGuestMetrics()
+                if err != nil {
+                    return false, err
+                }
+                if metrics != nil {
+                    networks := metrics["networks"].(xmlrpc.Struct)
+                    if ipRaw, ok := networks["0/ip"]; ok {
+                        if ip = ipRaw.(string); ip != "" {
+                            ui.Message(fmt.Sprintf("Got IP '%s' from XenServer tools", ip))
+                            return true, nil
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+
+            }
 
 			return false, nil
 		},