diff --git a/conf/cassandra.yaml b/conf/cassandra.yaml
index 3f78644452..75f6d94691 100644
--- a/conf/cassandra.yaml
+++ b/conf/cassandra.yaml
@@ -309,9 +309,8 @@ index_interval: 128
 #   With NetworkTopologyStrategy,
 #   for each datacenter, you can specify how many replicas you want
 #   on a per-keyspace basis.  Replicas are placed on different racks
-#   within each DC, if possible. With SimpleSnitch, this will be 
-#   equivalent to SimpleStrategy.  Later, the snitch can be upgraded to
-#   one such as RackInferringSnitch or PropertyFileSnitch.
+#   within each DC, if possible. This strategy also requires rack aware
+#   snitch, such as RackInferringSnitch or PropertyFileSnitch.
 #   An example:
 #    - name: Keyspace1
 #      replica_placement_strategy: org.apache.cassandra.locator.NetworkTopologyStrategy
@@ -406,7 +405,7 @@ index_interval: 128
 # /NOTE
 keyspaces:
     - name: Keyspace1
-      replica_placement_strategy: org.apache.cassandra.locator.NetworkTopologyStrategy
+      replica_placement_strategy: org.apache.cassandra.locator.SimpleStrategy
       replication_factor: 1
       column_families:
         - name: Standard1
diff --git a/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/cli/CliClient.java b/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/cli/CliClient.java
index de31e11326..0d5d0148ca 100644
--- a/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/cli/CliClient.java
+++ b/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/cli/CliClient.java
@@ -18,8 +18,6 @@
 package org.apache.cassandra.cli;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
-import java.net.InetAddress;
-import java.net.UnknownHostException;
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 import java.util.*;
 
@@ -31,7 +29,6 @@ import org.apache.cassandra.config.ConfigurationException;
 import org.apache.cassandra.db.ColumnFamilyStoreMBean;
 import org.apache.cassandra.db.CompactionManagerMBean;
 import org.apache.cassandra.db.marshal.*;
-import org.apache.cassandra.locator.SimpleSnitch;
 import org.apache.cassandra.thrift.*;
 import org.apache.cassandra.tools.NodeProbe;
 import org.apache.cassandra.utils.ByteBufferUtil;
@@ -95,8 +92,7 @@ public class CliClient extends CliUserHelp
         PLACEMENT_STRATEGY,
         STRATEGY_OPTIONS
     }
-
-    private static final String DEFAULT_PLACEMENT_STRATEGY = "org.apache.cassandra.locator.NetworkTopologyStrategy";
+    private static final String DEFAULT_PLACEMENT_STRATEGY = "org.apache.cassandra.locator.SimpleStrategy";
 
     private Cassandra.Client thriftClient = null;
     private CliSessionState sessionState  = null;
@@ -807,30 +803,6 @@ public class CliClient extends CliUserHelp
             }
         }
 
-        // using default snitch options if strategy is NetworkTopologyStrategy and no options were set.
-        if (ksDef.getStrategy_class().contains(".NetworkTopologyStrategy"))
-        {
-            Map<String, String> currentStrategyOptions = ksDef.getStrategy_options();
-
-            // adding default data center from SimpleSnitch
-            if (currentStrategyOptions == null || currentStrategyOptions.isEmpty())
-            {
-                SimpleSnitch snitch = new SimpleSnitch();
-                Map<String, String> options = new HashMap<String, String>();
-
-                try
-                {
-                    options.put(snitch.getDatacenter(InetAddress.getLocalHost()), "1");
-                }
-                catch (UnknownHostException e)
-                {
-                    throw new RuntimeException(e.getMessage());
-                }
-
-                ksDef.setStrategy_options(options);
-            }
-        }
-
         return ksDef;
     }
     
diff --git a/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/config/KSMetaData.java b/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/config/KSMetaData.java
index 753a9741cb..ca6e732e3d 100644
--- a/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/config/KSMetaData.java
+++ b/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/config/KSMetaData.java
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ import org.apache.commons.lang.ObjectUtils;
 import org.apache.avro.util.Utf8;
 import org.apache.cassandra.io.SerDeUtils;
 import org.apache.cassandra.locator.AbstractReplicationStrategy;
-import org.apache.cassandra.locator.NetworkTopologyStrategy;
+import org.apache.cassandra.locator.SimpleStrategy;
 
 public final class KSMetaData
 {
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ public final class KSMetaData
     public KSMetaData(String name, Class<? extends AbstractReplicationStrategy> strategyClass, Map<String, String> strategyOptions, int replicationFactor, CFMetaData... cfDefs)
     {
         this.name = name;
-        this.strategyClass = strategyClass == null ? NetworkTopologyStrategy.class : strategyClass;
+        this.strategyClass = strategyClass == null ? SimpleStrategy.class : strategyClass;
         this.strategyOptions = strategyOptions;
         this.replicationFactor = replicationFactor;
         Map<String, CFMetaData> cfmap = new HashMap<String, CFMetaData>();