diff --git a/build.gradle b/build.gradle
index ab5da713d8cac..c80df706f11ad 100644
--- a/build.gradle
+++ b/build.gradle
@@ -144,8 +144,8 @@ task verifyVersions {
  * the enabled state of every bwc task. It should be set back to true
  * after the backport of the backcompat code is complete.
  */
-final boolean bwc_tests_enabled = true
-final String bwc_tests_disabled_issue = "" /* place a PR link here when commiting bwc changes */
+final boolean bwc_tests_enabled = false
+final String bwc_tests_disabled_issue = "https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/pull/28673" /* place a PR link here when commiting bwc changes */
 if (bwc_tests_enabled == false) {
   if (bwc_tests_disabled_issue.isEmpty()) {
     throw new GradleException("bwc_tests_disabled_issue must be set when bwc_tests_enabled == false")
@@ -203,11 +203,11 @@ subprojects {
     "org.elasticsearch.client:test:${version}": ':client:test',
     "org.elasticsearch.client:transport:${version}": ':client:transport',
     "org.elasticsearch.test:framework:${version}": ':test:framework',
-    "org.elasticsearch.distribution.integ-test-zip:elasticsearch:${version}": ':distribution:integ-test-zip',
-    "org.elasticsearch.distribution.zip:elasticsearch:${version}": ':distribution:zip',
-    "org.elasticsearch.distribution.tar:elasticsearch:${version}": ':distribution:tar',
-    "org.elasticsearch.distribution.rpm:elasticsearch:${version}": ':distribution:rpm',
-    "org.elasticsearch.distribution.deb:elasticsearch:${version}": ':distribution:deb',
+    "org.elasticsearch.distribution.integ-test-zip:elasticsearch:${version}": ':distribution:archives:integ-test-zip',
+    "org.elasticsearch.distribution.zip:elasticsearch:${version}": ':distribution:archives:zip',
+    "org.elasticsearch.distribution.tar:elasticsearch:${version}": ':distribution:archives:tar',
+    "org.elasticsearch.distribution.rpm:elasticsearch:${version}": ':distribution:packages:rpm',
+    "org.elasticsearch.distribution.deb:elasticsearch:${version}": ':distribution:packages:deb',
     "org.elasticsearch.test:logger-usage:${version}": ':test:logger-usage',
     // for transport client
     "org.elasticsearch.plugin:transport-netty4-client:${version}": ':modules:transport-netty4',
diff --git a/buildSrc/src/main/groovy/org/elasticsearch/gradle/vagrant/VagrantTestPlugin.groovy b/buildSrc/src/main/groovy/org/elasticsearch/gradle/vagrant/VagrantTestPlugin.groovy
index 669291884f40b..2d5f985a2c118 100644
--- a/buildSrc/src/main/groovy/org/elasticsearch/gradle/vagrant/VagrantTestPlugin.groovy
+++ b/buildSrc/src/main/groovy/org/elasticsearch/gradle/vagrant/VagrantTestPlugin.groovy
@@ -114,6 +114,11 @@ class VagrantTestPlugin implements Plugin<Project> {
 
         DISTRIBUTION_ARCHIVES.each {
             // Adds a dependency for the current version
+            if (it == 'tar') {
+                it = 'archives:tar'
+            } else {
+                it = "packages:${it}"
+            }
             project.dependencies.add(BATS, project.dependencies.project(path: ":distribution:${it}", configuration: 'archives'))
         }
 
diff --git a/distribution/archives/build.gradle b/distribution/archives/build.gradle
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..8bf31afce1b6f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/distribution/archives/build.gradle
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to Elasticsearch under one or more contributor
+ * license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright
+ * ownership. Elasticsearch licenses this file to you under
+ * the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+ * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+import org.apache.tools.ant.filters.FixCrLfFilter
+import org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.condition.Os
+import org.elasticsearch.gradle.BuildPlugin
+import org.elasticsearch.gradle.EmptyDirTask
+import org.elasticsearch.gradle.ConcatFilesTask
+import org.elasticsearch.gradle.MavenFilteringHack
+import org.elasticsearch.gradle.NoticeTask
+import org.elasticsearch.gradle.precommit.DependencyLicensesTask
+import org.elasticsearch.gradle.precommit.UpdateShasTask
+import org.elasticsearch.gradle.test.RunTask
+
+subprojects {
+  // CopySpec does not make it easy to create an empty director so we create the directory that we want, and then point CopySpec to its
+  // parent to copy to the root of the distribution
+  File logs = new File(buildDir, 'logs-hack/logs')
+  task createLogDir(type: EmptyDirTask) {
+    dir "${logs}"
+    dirMode 0755
+  }
+  File plugins = new File(buildDir, 'plugins-hack/plugins')
+  task createPluginsDir(type: EmptyDirTask) {
+    dir "${plugins}"
+    dirMode 0755
+  }
+  project.ext.archivesFiles = copySpec {
+    into("elasticsearch-${version}") {
+      with libFiles
+      into('config') {
+        dirMode 0750
+        fileMode 0660
+        with configFiles
+      }
+      into('bin') {
+        with copySpec {
+          with binFiles
+          from('../../src/main/resources/bin') {
+            include '*.bat'
+            filter(FixCrLfFilter, eol: FixCrLfFilter.CrLf.newInstance('crlf'))
+          }
+          MavenFilteringHack.filter(it, expansions)
+        }
+      }
+      into('') {
+        from {
+          dirMode 0755
+          logs.getParent()
+        }
+      }
+      into('') {
+        from {
+          dirMode 0755
+          plugins.getParent()
+        }
+      }
+      with commonFiles
+      with noticeFile
+      from('../../src/main/resources') {
+        include 'bin/*.exe'
+      }
+      if (project.name != 'integ-test-zip') {
+        with modulesFiles
+      } else {
+        with transportModulesFiles
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/distribution/integ-test-zip/build.gradle b/distribution/archives/integ-test-zip/build.gradle
similarity index 100%
rename from distribution/integ-test-zip/build.gradle
rename to distribution/archives/integ-test-zip/build.gradle
diff --git a/distribution/integ-test-zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/CreatedLocationHeaderIT.java b/distribution/archives/integ-test-zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/CreatedLocationHeaderIT.java
similarity index 100%
rename from distribution/integ-test-zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/CreatedLocationHeaderIT.java
rename to distribution/archives/integ-test-zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/CreatedLocationHeaderIT.java
diff --git a/distribution/integ-test-zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/IntegTestZipClientYamlTestSuiteIT.java b/distribution/archives/integ-test-zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/IntegTestZipClientYamlTestSuiteIT.java
similarity index 100%
rename from distribution/integ-test-zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/IntegTestZipClientYamlTestSuiteIT.java
rename to distribution/archives/integ-test-zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/IntegTestZipClientYamlTestSuiteIT.java
diff --git a/distribution/integ-test-zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/NodeRestUsageIT.java b/distribution/archives/integ-test-zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/NodeRestUsageIT.java
similarity index 100%
rename from distribution/integ-test-zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/NodeRestUsageIT.java
rename to distribution/archives/integ-test-zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/NodeRestUsageIT.java
diff --git a/distribution/integ-test-zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/RequestsWithoutContentIT.java b/distribution/archives/integ-test-zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/RequestsWithoutContentIT.java
similarity index 100%
rename from distribution/integ-test-zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/RequestsWithoutContentIT.java
rename to distribution/archives/integ-test-zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/RequestsWithoutContentIT.java
diff --git a/distribution/integ-test-zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/WaitForRefreshAndCloseTests.java b/distribution/archives/integ-test-zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/WaitForRefreshAndCloseTests.java
similarity index 100%
rename from distribution/integ-test-zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/WaitForRefreshAndCloseTests.java
rename to distribution/archives/integ-test-zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/WaitForRefreshAndCloseTests.java
diff --git a/distribution/tar/build.gradle b/distribution/archives/tar/build.gradle
similarity index 100%
rename from distribution/tar/build.gradle
rename to distribution/archives/tar/build.gradle
diff --git a/distribution/tar/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/TarClientYamlTestSuiteIT.java b/distribution/archives/tar/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/TarClientYamlTestSuiteIT.java
similarity index 100%
rename from distribution/tar/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/TarClientYamlTestSuiteIT.java
rename to distribution/archives/tar/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/TarClientYamlTestSuiteIT.java
diff --git a/distribution/tar/src/test/resources/rest-api-spec/test/smoke_test_plugins/10_modules.yml b/distribution/archives/tar/src/test/resources/rest-api-spec/test/smoke_test_plugins/10_modules.yml
similarity index 100%
rename from distribution/tar/src/test/resources/rest-api-spec/test/smoke_test_plugins/10_modules.yml
rename to distribution/archives/tar/src/test/resources/rest-api-spec/test/smoke_test_plugins/10_modules.yml
diff --git a/distribution/zip/build.gradle b/distribution/archives/zip/build.gradle
similarity index 100%
rename from distribution/zip/build.gradle
rename to distribution/archives/zip/build.gradle
diff --git a/distribution/zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/ZipClientYamlTestSuiteIT.java b/distribution/archives/zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/ZipClientYamlTestSuiteIT.java
similarity index 100%
rename from distribution/zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/ZipClientYamlTestSuiteIT.java
rename to distribution/archives/zip/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/rest/ZipClientYamlTestSuiteIT.java
diff --git a/distribution/zip/src/test/resources/rest-api-spec/test/smoke_test_plugins/10_modules.yml b/distribution/archives/zip/src/test/resources/rest-api-spec/test/smoke_test_plugins/10_modules.yml
similarity index 100%
rename from distribution/zip/src/test/resources/rest-api-spec/test/smoke_test_plugins/10_modules.yml
rename to distribution/archives/zip/src/test/resources/rest-api-spec/test/smoke_test_plugins/10_modules.yml
diff --git a/distribution/build.gradle b/distribution/build.gradle
index d322aa9c1ff12..c47da920ecf4d 100644
--- a/distribution/build.gradle
+++ b/distribution/build.gradle
@@ -29,20 +29,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.gradle.precommit.DependencyLicensesTask
 import org.elasticsearch.gradle.precommit.UpdateShasTask
 import org.elasticsearch.gradle.test.RunTask
 
-// for deb/rpm
-buildscript {
-  repositories {
-    maven {
-      url "https://plugins.gradle.org/m2/"
-    }
-  }
-  dependencies {
-    classpath 'com.netflix.nebula:gradle-ospackage-plugin:3.4.0'
-  }
-}
-
-Collection distributions = project.subprojects.findAll {
-   it.path.contains(':tools') == false && it.path.contains(':bwc') == false }
+Collection distributions = project('archives').subprojects + project('packages').subprojects
 
 /*****************************************************************************
  *                  Third party dependencies report                          *
@@ -106,7 +93,7 @@ project.rootProject.subprojects.findAll { it.parent.path == ':modules' }.each {
   }
   // also want to make sure the module's integration tests run after the integ-test-zip (ie rest tests)
   module.afterEvaluate({
-    module.integTest.mustRunAfter(':distribution:integ-test-zip:integTest')
+    module.integTest.mustRunAfter(':distribution:archives:integ-test-zip:integTest')
   })
   restTestExpansions['expected.modules.count'] += 1
 }
@@ -141,7 +128,7 @@ configure(distributions) {
   project.integTest {
     includePackaged project.name == 'integ-test-zip'
     if (project.name != 'integ-test-zip') {
-      mustRunAfter ':distribution:integ-test-zip:integTest'
+      mustRunAfter ':distribution:archives:integ-test-zip:integTest'
     }
   }
   project.integTestCluster {
@@ -192,13 +179,13 @@ configure(distributions) {
     }
 
     configFiles = copySpec {
-      from '../src/main/resources/config'
+      from '../../src/main/resources/config'
       MavenFilteringHack.filter(it, expansions)
     }
 
     binFiles = copySpec {
       // everything except windows files
-      from '../src/main/resources/bin'
+      from '../../src/main/resources/bin'
       exclude '*.bat'
       exclude '*.exe'
       eachFile { it.setMode(0755) }
@@ -231,261 +218,6 @@ configure(distributions) {
   }
 }
 
-/*****************************************************************************
- *                         Zip and tgz configuration                         *
- *****************************************************************************/
-configure(distributions.findAll { ['zip', 'tar', 'integ-test-zip'].contains(it.name) }) {
-  // CopySpec does not make it easy to create an empty director so we create the directory that we want, and then point CopySpec to its
-  // parent to copy to the root of the distribution
-  File logs = new File(buildDir, 'logs-hack/logs')
-  task createLogDir(type: EmptyDirTask) {
-    dir "${logs}"
-    dirMode 0755
-  }
-  File plugins = new File(buildDir, 'plugins-hack/plugins')
-  task createPluginsDir(type: EmptyDirTask) {
-    dir "${plugins}"
-    dirMode 0755
-  }
-  project.ext.archivesFiles = copySpec {
-    into("elasticsearch-${version}") {
-      with libFiles
-      into('config') {
-        dirMode 0750
-        fileMode 0660
-        with configFiles
-      }
-      into('bin') {
-        with copySpec {
-          with binFiles
-          from('../src/main/resources/bin') {
-            include '*.bat'
-            filter(FixCrLfFilter, eol: FixCrLfFilter.CrLf.newInstance('crlf'))
-          }
-          MavenFilteringHack.filter(it, expansions)
-        }
-      }
-      into('') {
-        from {
-          dirMode 0755
-          logs.getParent()
-        }
-      }
-      into('') {
-        from {
-          dirMode 0755
-          plugins.getParent()
-        }
-      }
-      with commonFiles
-      with noticeFile
-      from('../src/main/resources') {
-        include 'bin/*.exe'
-      }
-      if (project.name != 'integ-test-zip') {
-        with modulesFiles
-      } else {
-        with transportModulesFiles
-      }
-    }
-  }
-}
-
-/*****************************************************************************
- *                         Deb and rpm configuration                         *
- *****************************************************************************
- *
- * The general strategy here is to build a directory on disk, packagingFiles
- * that contains stuff that needs to be copied into the distributions. This is
- * important for two reasons:
- * 1. ospackage wants to copy the directory permissions that it sees off of the
- *    filesystem. If you ask it to create a directory that doesn't already
- *    exist on disk it petulantly creates it with 0755 permissions, no matter
- *    how hard you try to convince it otherwise.
- * 2. Convincing ospackage to pick up an empty directory as part of a set of
- *    directories on disk is reasonably easy. Convincing it to just create an
- *    empty directory requires more wits than I have.
- * 3. ospackage really wants to suck up some of the debian control scripts
- *    directly from the filesystem. It doesn't want to process them through
- *    MavenFilteringHack or any other copy-style action.
- *
- * The following commands are useful when it comes to check the user/group
- * and files permissions set within the RPM and DEB packages:
- *
- *    rpm -qlp --dump path/to/elasticsearch.rpm
- *    dpkg -c path/to/elasticsearch.deb
- */
-configure(distributions.findAll { ['deb', 'rpm'].contains(it.name) }) {
-  integTest.enabled = Os.isFamily(Os.FAMILY_WINDOWS) == false
-  File packagingFiles = new File(buildDir, 'packaging')
-  project.ext.packagingFiles = packagingFiles
-  task processPackagingFiles(type: Copy) {
-    from '../src/main/packaging'
-    from 'src/main/packaging'
-
-    MavenFilteringHack.filter(it, expansions)
-    into packagingFiles
-    /* Explicitly declare the outputs so that gradle won't skip this task if
-      one of the other tasks like createEtc run first and create the packaging
-      directory as a side effect. */
-    outputs.dir("${packagingFiles}/env")
-    outputs.dir("${packagingFiles}/systemd")
-  }
-
-  task createEtc(type: EmptyDirTask) {
-    dir "${packagingFiles}/etc/elasticsearch"
-    dirMode 0750
-    outputs.dir dir
-  }
-
-  task fillEtc(type: Copy) {
-    dependsOn createEtc
-    with configFiles
-    into "${packagingFiles}/etc/elasticsearch"
-    /* Explicitly declare the output files so this task doesn't consider itself
-      up to date when the directory is created, which it would by default. And
-      that'll happen when createEtc runs. */
-    outputs.file "${packagingFiles}/etc/elasticsearch/elasticsearch.yml"
-    outputs.file "${packagingFiles}/etc/elasticsearch/jvm.options"
-    outputs.file "${packagingFiles}/etc/elasticsearch/log4j2.properties"
-  }
-
-  task createPidDir(type: EmptyDirTask) {
-    dir "${packagingFiles}/var/run/elasticsearch"
-  }
-  task createLogDir(type: EmptyDirTask) {
-    dir "${packagingFiles}/var/log/elasticsearch"
-  }
-  task createDataDir(type: EmptyDirTask) {
-    dir "${packagingFiles}/var/lib/elasticsearch"
-  }
-  task createPluginsDir(type: EmptyDirTask) {
-    dir "${packagingFiles}/usr/share/elasticsearch/plugins"
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * Setup the build/packaging directory to be like the target filesystem
-   * because ospackage will use arbitrary permissions if you try to create a
-   * directory that doesn't exist on the filesystem.
-   */
-  task preparePackagingFiles {
-    dependsOn processPackagingFiles, fillEtc, createPidDir, createLogDir,
-        createDataDir, createPluginsDir
-  }
-
-  apply plugin: 'nebula.ospackage-base'
-  ospackage {
-    packageName 'elasticsearch'
-    maintainer 'Elasticsearch Team <info@elastic.co>'
-    summary '''
-      Elasticsearch is a distributed RESTful search engine built for the cloud.
-      Reference documentation can be found at
-      https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/index.html
-      and the 'Elasticsearch: The Definitive Guide' book can be found at
-      https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/guide/current/index.html
-      '''.stripIndent().replace('\n', ' ').trim()
-    url 'https://www.elastic.co/'
-
-    // signing setup
-    if (project.hasProperty('signing.password') && System.getProperty('build.snapshot', 'true') == 'false') {
-      signingKeyId = project.hasProperty('signing.keyId') ? project.property('signing.keyId') : 'D88E42B4'
-      signingKeyPassphrase = project.property('signing.password')
-      signingKeyRingFile = project.hasProperty('signing.secretKeyRingFile') ?
-                           project.file(project.property('signing.secretKeyRingFile')) :
-                           new File(new File(System.getProperty('user.home'), '.gnupg'), 'secring.gpg')
-    }
-
-    String scripts = "${packagingFiles}/scripts"
-    preInstall file("${scripts}/preinst")
-    postInstall file("${scripts}/postinst")
-    preUninstall file("${scripts}/prerm")
-    postUninstall file("${scripts}/postrm")
-
-    if (project.name == 'rpm') {
-      requires('/bin/bash')
-    } else if (project.name == 'deb') {
-      requires('bash')
-    }
-    requires('coreutils')
-
-    into '/usr/share/elasticsearch'
-    fileMode 0644
-    dirMode 0755
-    user 'root'
-    permissionGroup 'root'
-    with libFiles
-    with modulesFiles
-    into('bin') {
-      with binFiles
-    }
-    with copySpec {
-      with commonFiles
-      if (project.name == 'deb') {
-        // Deb gets a copyright file instead.
-        exclude 'LICENSE.txt'
-      }
-    }
-    with noticeFile
-
-    configurationFile '/etc/elasticsearch/elasticsearch.yml'
-    configurationFile '/etc/elasticsearch/jvm.options'
-    configurationFile '/etc/elasticsearch/log4j2.properties'
-    into('/etc/elasticsearch') {
-      dirMode 0750
-      fileMode 0660
-      permissionGroup 'elasticsearch'
-      includeEmptyDirs true
-      createDirectoryEntry true
-      fileType CONFIG | NOREPLACE
-      from "${packagingFiles}/etc/elasticsearch"
-    }
-
-    into('/usr/lib/tmpfiles.d') {
-      from "${packagingFiles}/systemd/elasticsearch.conf"
-    }
-    configurationFile '/usr/lib/systemd/system/elasticsearch.service'
-    into('/usr/lib/systemd/system') {
-      fileType CONFIG | NOREPLACE
-      from "${packagingFiles}/systemd/elasticsearch.service"
-    }
-    into('/usr/lib/sysctl.d') {
-      fileType CONFIG | NOREPLACE
-      from "${packagingFiles}/systemd/sysctl/elasticsearch.conf"
-    }
-    configurationFile '/etc/init.d/elasticsearch'
-    into('/etc/init.d') {
-      fileMode 0750
-      fileType CONFIG | NOREPLACE
-      from "${packagingFiles}/init.d/elasticsearch"
-    }
-    configurationFile project.expansions['path.env']
-    into(new File(project.expansions['path.env']).getParent()) {
-      fileType CONFIG | NOREPLACE
-      fileMode 0660
-      from "${project.packagingFiles}/env/elasticsearch"
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * Suck up all the empty directories that we need to install into the path.
-     */
-    Closure suckUpEmptyDirectories = { path, u, g, mode ->
-      into(path) {
-        from "${packagingFiles}/${path}"
-        includeEmptyDirs true
-        createDirectoryEntry true
-        user u
-        permissionGroup g
-        dirMode mode
-        fileMode mode
-      }
-    }
-    suckUpEmptyDirectories('/var/run', 'elasticsearch', 'elasticsearch', 0755)
-    suckUpEmptyDirectories('/var/log', 'elasticsearch', 'elasticsearch', 0750)
-    suckUpEmptyDirectories('/var/lib', 'elasticsearch', 'elasticsearch', 0750)
-    suckUpEmptyDirectories('/usr/share/elasticsearch', 'root', 'root', 0755)
-  }
-}
-
 task run(type: RunTask) {
   distribution = 'zip'
 }
diff --git a/distribution/bwc/build.gradle b/distribution/bwc/build.gradle
index 21a9dbab2eb8c..840c69742a0c7 100644
--- a/distribution/bwc/build.gradle
+++ b/distribution/bwc/build.gradle
@@ -120,9 +120,17 @@ subprojects {
     }
   }
 
-  File bwcDeb = file("${checkoutDir}/distribution/deb/build/distributions/elasticsearch-${bwcVersion}.deb")
-  File bwcRpm = file("${checkoutDir}/distribution/rpm/build/distributions/elasticsearch-${bwcVersion}.rpm")
-  File bwcZip = file("${checkoutDir}/distribution/zip/build/distributions/elasticsearch-${bwcVersion}.zip")
+  String debDir = 'distribution/packages/deb'
+  String rpmDir = 'distribution/packages/rpm'  
+  String zipDir = 'distribution/archives/zip'
+  if (bwcVersion.before('6.3.0')) {
+    debDir = 'distribution/deb'
+    rpmDir = 'distribution/rpm'
+    zipDir = 'distribution/zip'
+  }
+  File bwcDeb = file("${checkoutDir}/${debDir}/build/distributions/elasticsearch-${bwcVersion}.deb")
+  File bwcRpm = file("${checkoutDir}/${rpmDir}/build/distributions/elasticsearch-${bwcVersion}.rpm")
+  File bwcZip = file("${checkoutDir}/${zipDir}/build/distributions/elasticsearch-${bwcVersion}.zip")
   task buildBwcVersion(type: Exec) {
     dependsOn checkoutBwcBranch, writeBuildMetadata
     workingDir = checkoutDir
@@ -139,7 +147,7 @@ subprojects {
     } else {
       executable new File(checkoutDir, 'gradlew').toString()
     }
-    args ":distribution:deb:assemble", ":distribution:rpm:assemble", ":distribution:zip:assemble", "-Dbuild.snapshot=true"
+    args ":${debDir.replace('/', ':')}:assemble", ":${rpmDir.replace('/', ':')}:assemble", ":${zipDir.replace('/', ':')}:assemble", "-Dbuild.snapshot=true"
     final LogLevel logLevel = gradle.startParameter.logLevel
     if ([LogLevel.QUIET, LogLevel.WARN, LogLevel.INFO, LogLevel.DEBUG].contains(logLevel)) {
       args "--${logLevel.name().toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH)}"
diff --git a/distribution/packages/build.gradle b/distribution/packages/build.gradle
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..6eb9716dcd260
--- /dev/null
+++ b/distribution/packages/build.gradle
@@ -0,0 +1,239 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to Elasticsearch under one or more contributor
+ * license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright
+ * ownership. Elasticsearch licenses this file to you under
+ * the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+ * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+import org.apache.tools.ant.filters.FixCrLfFilter
+import org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.condition.Os
+import org.elasticsearch.gradle.BuildPlugin
+import org.elasticsearch.gradle.EmptyDirTask
+import org.elasticsearch.gradle.ConcatFilesTask
+import org.elasticsearch.gradle.MavenFilteringHack
+import org.elasticsearch.gradle.NoticeTask
+import org.elasticsearch.gradle.precommit.DependencyLicensesTask
+import org.elasticsearch.gradle.precommit.UpdateShasTask
+import org.elasticsearch.gradle.test.RunTask
+
+/*****************************************************************************
+ *                         Deb and rpm configuration                         *
+ *****************************************************************************
+ *
+ * The general strategy here is to build a directory on disk, packagingFiles
+ * that contains stuff that needs to be copied into the distributions. This is
+ * important for two reasons:
+ * 1. ospackage wants to copy the directory permissions that it sees off of the
+ *    filesystem. If you ask it to create a directory that doesn't already
+ *    exist on disk it petulantly creates it with 0755 permissions, no matter
+ *    how hard you try to convince it otherwise.
+ * 2. Convincing ospackage to pick up an empty directory as part of a set of
+ *    directories on disk is reasonably easy. Convincing it to just create an
+ *    empty directory requires more wits than I have.
+ * 3. ospackage really wants to suck up some of the debian control scripts
+ *    directly from the filesystem. It doesn't want to process them through
+ *    MavenFilteringHack or any other copy-style action.
+ *
+ * The following commands are useful when it comes to check the user/group
+ * and files permissions set within the RPM and DEB packages:
+ *
+ *    rpm -qlp --dump path/to/elasticsearch.rpm
+ *    dpkg -c path/to/elasticsearch.deb
+ */
+
+// for deb/rpm
+buildscript {
+  repositories {
+    maven {
+      url "https://plugins.gradle.org/m2/"
+    }
+  }
+  dependencies {
+    classpath 'com.netflix.nebula:gradle-ospackage-plugin:3.4.0'
+  }
+}
+
+subprojects {
+  // TODO: remove integ test for packages
+  integTest.enabled = Os.isFamily(Os.FAMILY_WINDOWS) == false
+  File packagingFiles = new File(buildDir, 'packaging')
+  project.ext.packagingFiles = packagingFiles
+  task processPackagingFiles(type: Copy) {
+    from '../../src/main/packaging'
+    from 'src/main/packaging'
+
+    MavenFilteringHack.filter(it, expansions)
+    into packagingFiles
+    /* Explicitly declare the outputs so that gradle won't skip this task if
+      one of the other tasks like createEtc run first and create the packaging
+      directory as a side effect. */
+    outputs.dir("${packagingFiles}/env")
+    outputs.dir("${packagingFiles}/systemd")
+  }
+
+  task createEtc(type: EmptyDirTask) {
+    dir "${packagingFiles}/etc/elasticsearch"
+    dirMode 0750
+    outputs.dir dir
+  }
+
+  task fillEtc(type: Copy) {
+    dependsOn createEtc
+    with configFiles
+    into "${packagingFiles}/etc/elasticsearch"
+    /* Explicitly declare the output files so this task doesn't consider itself
+      up to date when the directory is created, which it would by default. And
+      that'll happen when createEtc runs. */
+    outputs.file "${packagingFiles}/etc/elasticsearch/elasticsearch.yml"
+    outputs.file "${packagingFiles}/etc/elasticsearch/jvm.options"
+    outputs.file "${packagingFiles}/etc/elasticsearch/log4j2.properties"
+  }
+
+  task createPidDir(type: EmptyDirTask) {
+    dir "${packagingFiles}/var/run/elasticsearch"
+  }
+  task createLogDir(type: EmptyDirTask) {
+    dir "${packagingFiles}/var/log/elasticsearch"
+  }
+  task createDataDir(type: EmptyDirTask) {
+    dir "${packagingFiles}/var/lib/elasticsearch"
+  }
+  task createPluginsDir(type: EmptyDirTask) {
+    dir "${packagingFiles}/usr/share/elasticsearch/plugins"
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Setup the build/packaging directory to be like the target filesystem
+   * because ospackage will use arbitrary permissions if you try to create a
+   * directory that doesn't exist on the filesystem.
+   */
+  task preparePackagingFiles {
+    dependsOn processPackagingFiles, fillEtc, createPidDir, createLogDir,
+        createDataDir, createPluginsDir
+  }
+
+  apply plugin: 'nebula.ospackage-base'
+  ospackage {
+    packageName 'elasticsearch'
+    maintainer 'Elasticsearch Team <info@elastic.co>'
+    summary '''
+      Elasticsearch is a distributed RESTful search engine built for the cloud.
+      Reference documentation can be found at
+      https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/index.html
+      and the 'Elasticsearch: The Definitive Guide' book can be found at
+      https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/guide/current/index.html
+      '''.stripIndent().replace('\n', ' ').trim()
+    url 'https://www.elastic.co/'
+
+    // signing setup
+    if (project.hasProperty('signing.password') && System.getProperty('build.snapshot', 'true') == 'false') {
+      signingKeyId = project.hasProperty('signing.keyId') ? project.property('signing.keyId') : 'D88E42B4'
+      signingKeyPassphrase = project.property('signing.password')
+      signingKeyRingFile = project.hasProperty('signing.secretKeyRingFile') ?
+                           project.file(project.property('signing.secretKeyRingFile')) :
+                           new File(new File(System.getProperty('user.home'), '.gnupg'), 'secring.gpg')
+    }
+
+    String scripts = "${packagingFiles}/scripts"
+    preInstall file("${scripts}/preinst")
+    postInstall file("${scripts}/postinst")
+    preUninstall file("${scripts}/prerm")
+    postUninstall file("${scripts}/postrm")
+
+    if (project.name == 'rpm') {
+      requires('/bin/bash')
+    } else if (project.name == 'deb') {
+      requires('bash')
+    }
+    requires('coreutils')
+
+    into '/usr/share/elasticsearch'
+    fileMode 0644
+    dirMode 0755
+    user 'root'
+    permissionGroup 'root'
+    with libFiles
+    with modulesFiles
+    into('bin') {
+      with binFiles
+    }
+    with copySpec {
+      with commonFiles
+      if (project.name == 'deb') {
+        // Deb gets a copyright file instead.
+        exclude 'LICENSE.txt'
+      }
+    }
+    with noticeFile
+
+    configurationFile '/etc/elasticsearch/elasticsearch.yml'
+    configurationFile '/etc/elasticsearch/jvm.options'
+    configurationFile '/etc/elasticsearch/log4j2.properties'
+    into('/etc/elasticsearch') {
+      dirMode 0750
+      fileMode 0660
+      permissionGroup 'elasticsearch'
+      includeEmptyDirs true
+      createDirectoryEntry true
+      fileType CONFIG | NOREPLACE
+      from "${packagingFiles}/etc/elasticsearch"
+    }
+
+    into('/usr/lib/tmpfiles.d') {
+      from "${packagingFiles}/systemd/elasticsearch.conf"
+    }
+    configurationFile '/usr/lib/systemd/system/elasticsearch.service'
+    into('/usr/lib/systemd/system') {
+      fileType CONFIG | NOREPLACE
+      from "${packagingFiles}/systemd/elasticsearch.service"
+    }
+    into('/usr/lib/sysctl.d') {
+      fileType CONFIG | NOREPLACE
+      from "${packagingFiles}/systemd/sysctl/elasticsearch.conf"
+    }
+    configurationFile '/etc/init.d/elasticsearch'
+    into('/etc/init.d') {
+      fileMode 0750
+      fileType CONFIG | NOREPLACE
+      from "${packagingFiles}/init.d/elasticsearch"
+    }
+    configurationFile project.expansions['path.env']
+    into(new File(project.expansions['path.env']).getParent()) {
+      fileType CONFIG | NOREPLACE
+      fileMode 0660
+      from "${project.packagingFiles}/env/elasticsearch"
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Suck up all the empty directories that we need to install into the path.
+     */
+    Closure suckUpEmptyDirectories = { path, u, g, mode ->
+      into(path) {
+        from "${packagingFiles}/${path}"
+        includeEmptyDirs true
+        createDirectoryEntry true
+        user u
+        permissionGroup g
+        dirMode mode
+        fileMode mode
+      }
+    }
+    suckUpEmptyDirectories('/var/run', 'elasticsearch', 'elasticsearch', 0755)
+    suckUpEmptyDirectories('/var/log', 'elasticsearch', 'elasticsearch', 0750)
+    suckUpEmptyDirectories('/var/lib', 'elasticsearch', 'elasticsearch', 0750)
+    suckUpEmptyDirectories('/usr/share/elasticsearch', 'root', 'root', 0755)
+  }
+}
+
diff --git a/distribution/deb/build.gradle b/distribution/packages/deb/build.gradle
similarity index 100%
rename from distribution/deb/build.gradle
rename to distribution/packages/deb/build.gradle
diff --git a/distribution/deb/src/main/packaging/copyright b/distribution/packages/deb/src/main/packaging/copyright
similarity index 100%
rename from distribution/deb/src/main/packaging/copyright
rename to distribution/packages/deb/src/main/packaging/copyright
diff --git a/distribution/deb/src/main/packaging/init.d/elasticsearch b/distribution/packages/deb/src/main/packaging/init.d/elasticsearch
similarity index 100%
rename from distribution/deb/src/main/packaging/init.d/elasticsearch
rename to distribution/packages/deb/src/main/packaging/init.d/elasticsearch
diff --git a/distribution/deb/src/main/packaging/lintian/elasticsearch b/distribution/packages/deb/src/main/packaging/lintian/elasticsearch
similarity index 100%
rename from distribution/deb/src/main/packaging/lintian/elasticsearch
rename to distribution/packages/deb/src/main/packaging/lintian/elasticsearch
diff --git a/distribution/rpm/build.gradle b/distribution/packages/rpm/build.gradle
similarity index 100%
rename from distribution/rpm/build.gradle
rename to distribution/packages/rpm/build.gradle
diff --git a/distribution/rpm/src/main/packaging/init.d/elasticsearch b/distribution/packages/rpm/src/main/packaging/init.d/elasticsearch
similarity index 100%
rename from distribution/rpm/src/main/packaging/init.d/elasticsearch
rename to distribution/packages/rpm/src/main/packaging/init.d/elasticsearch
diff --git a/distribution/rpm/src/main/resources/logo/elastic.gif b/distribution/packages/rpm/src/main/resources/logo/elastic.gif
similarity index 100%
rename from distribution/rpm/src/main/resources/logo/elastic.gif
rename to distribution/packages/rpm/src/main/resources/logo/elastic.gif
diff --git a/settings.gradle b/settings.gradle
index 8a63d37c1057b..f083612de10be 100644
--- a/settings.gradle
+++ b/settings.gradle
@@ -15,11 +15,11 @@ List projects = [
   'client:client-benchmark-noop-api-plugin',
   'client:benchmark',
   'benchmarks',
-  'distribution:integ-test-zip',
-  'distribution:zip',
-  'distribution:tar',
-  'distribution:deb',
-  'distribution:rpm',
+  'distribution:archives:integ-test-zip',
+  'distribution:archives:zip',
+  'distribution:archives:tar',
+  'distribution:packages:deb',
+  'distribution:packages:rpm',
   'distribution:bwc:next-minor-snapshot',
   'distribution:bwc:staged-minor-snapshot',
   'distribution:bwc:next-bugfix-snapshot',
@@ -112,4 +112,4 @@ if (extraProjects.exists()) {
   for (File extraProjectDir : extraProjects.listFiles()) {
     addSubProjects('', extraProjectDir)
   }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}