diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/network-filesystems/rsyncd.nix b/nixos/modules/services/network-filesystems/rsyncd.nix
index fa29e18a939..9f1263ddff5 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/network-filesystems/rsyncd.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/network-filesystems/rsyncd.nix
@@ -3,120 +3,76 @@
 with lib;
 
 let
-
   cfg = config.services.rsyncd;
-
-  motdFile = builtins.toFile "rsyncd-motd" cfg.motd;
-
-  foreach = attrs: f:
-    concatStringsSep "\n" (mapAttrsToList f attrs);
-
-  cfgFile = ''
-    ${optionalString (cfg.motd != "") "motd file = ${motdFile}"}
-    ${optionalString (cfg.address != "") "address = ${cfg.address}"}
-    ${optionalString (cfg.port != 873) "port = ${toString cfg.port}"}
-    ${cfg.extraConfig}
-    ${foreach cfg.modules (name: module: ''
-      [${name}]
-      ${foreach module (k: v:
-        "${k} = ${v}"
-      )}
-    '')}
-  '';
-in
-
-{
+  settingsFormat = pkgs.formats.ini { };
+  configFile = settingsFormat.generate "rsyncd.conf" cfg.settings;
+in {
   options = {
     services.rsyncd = {
 
       enable = mkEnableOption "the rsync daemon";
 
-      motd = mkOption {
-        type = types.str;
-        default = "";
-        description = ''
-          Message of the day to display to clients on each connect.
-          This usually contains site information and any legal notices.
-        '';
-      };
-
       port = mkOption {
         default = 873;
-        type = types.int;
+        type = types.port;
         description = "TCP port the daemon will listen on.";
       };
 
-      address = mkOption {
-        default = "";
-        example = "192.168.1.2";
+      settings = mkOption {
+        inherit (settingsFormat) type;
+        default = { };
+        example = {
+          global = {
+            uid = "nobody";
+            gid = "nobody";
+            "use chroot" = true;
+            "max connections" = 4;
+          };
+          ftp = {
+            path = "/var/ftp/./pub";
+            comment = "whole ftp area";
+          };
+          cvs = {
+            path = "/data/cvs";
+            comment = "CVS repository (requires authentication)";
+            "auth users" = [ "tridge" "susan" ];
+            "secrets file" = "/etc/rsyncd.secrets";
+          };
+        };
         description = ''
-          IP address the daemon will listen on; rsyncd will listen on
-          all addresses if this is not specified.
-        '';
-      };
-
-      extraConfig = mkOption {
-        type = types.lines;
-        default = "";
-        description = ''
-            Lines of configuration to add to rsyncd globally.
-            See <command>man rsyncd.conf</command> for options.
-          '';
-      };
-
-      modules = mkOption {
-        default = {};
-        description = ''
-            A set describing exported directories.
-            See <command>man rsyncd.conf</command> for options.
-          '';
-        type = types.attrsOf (types.attrsOf types.str);
-        example = literalExample ''
-          { srv =
-             { path = "/srv";
-               "read only" = "yes";
-               comment = "Public rsync share.";
-             };
-          }
-        '';
-      };
-
-      user = mkOption {
-        type = types.str;
-        default = "root";
-        description = ''
-          The user to run the daemon as.
-          By default the daemon runs as root.
-        '';
-      };
-
-      group = mkOption {
-        type = types.str;
-        default = "root";
-        description = ''
-          The group to run the daemon as.
-          By default the daemon runs as root.
+          Configuration for rsyncd. See
+          <citerefentry><refentrytitle>rsyncd.conf</refentrytitle>
+          <manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>.
         '';
       };
 
     };
   };
 
-  ###### implementation
+  imports = (map (option:
+    mkRemovedOptionModule [ "services" "rsyncd" option ]
+    "This option was removed in favor of `services.rsyncd.settings`.") [
+      "address"
+      "extraConfig"
+      "motd"
+      "user"
+      "group"
+    ]);
 
   config = mkIf cfg.enable {
 
-    environment.etc."rsyncd.conf".text = cfgFile;
+    services.rsyncd.settings.global.port = toString cfg.port;
 
     systemd.services.rsyncd = {
       description = "Rsync daemon";
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
-      restartTriggers = [ config.environment.etc."rsyncd.conf".source ];
-      serviceConfig = {
-        ExecStart = "${pkgs.rsync}/bin/rsync --daemon --no-detach";
-        User = cfg.user;
-        Group = cfg.group;
-      };
+      serviceConfig.ExecStart =
+        "${pkgs.rsync}/bin/rsync --daemon --no-detach --config=${configFile}";
     };
   };
+
+  meta.maintainers = with lib.maintainers; [ ehmry ];
+
+  # TODO: socket activated rsyncd
+
 }
diff --git a/nixos/tests/rsyncd.nix b/nixos/tests/rsyncd.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3639320f645
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nixos/tests/rsyncd.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+import ./make-test-python.nix ({ pkgs, ... }: {
+  name = "rsyncd";
+  meta.maintainers = with pkgs.lib.maintainers; [ ehmry ];
+
+  nodes.machine.services.rsyncd = {
+    enable = true;
+    settings = {
+      global = {
+        "reverse lookup" = false;
+        "forward lookup" = false;
+      };
+      tmp = {
+        path = "/nix/store";
+        comment = "test module";
+      };
+
+    };
+  };
+
+  testScript = ''
+    start_all()
+    machine.wait_for_unit("rsyncd")
+    machine.succeed("rsync localhost::")
+  '';
+})
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/sync/rsync/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/sync/rsync/default.nix
index 4045c1f0fc5..41a2d1e0db3 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/sync/rsync/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/sync/rsync/default.nix
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 { stdenv, fetchurl, perl, libiconv, zlib, popt
-, enableACLs ? !(stdenv.isDarwin || stdenv.isSunOS || stdenv.isFreeBSD), acl ? null
-, enableCopyDevicesPatch ? false
-}:
+, enableACLs ? !(stdenv.isDarwin || stdenv.isSunOS || stdenv.isFreeBSD)
+, acl ? null, enableCopyDevicesPatch ? false, nixosTests }:
 
 assert enableACLs -> acl != null;
 
@@ -23,6 +22,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   configureFlags = ["--with-nobody-group=nogroup"];
 
+  passthru.tests = { inherit (nixosTests) rsyncd; };
+
   meta = base.meta // {
     description = "A fast incremental file transfer utility";
     maintainers = with stdenv.lib.maintainers; [ peti ehmry kampfschlaefer ];