diff --git a/hacking/aliZsync b/hacking/aliZsync
index 67dc2e534..678397b4a 100755
--- a/hacking/aliZsync
+++ b/hacking/aliZsync
@@ -42,6 +42,8 @@ ProgName=$(basename $0)
 
 POOLNAME="${ALIZSYNC_POOL_NAME:-aliZsync}"
 POOLSIZE="${ALIZSYNC_POOL_SIZE:-100G}"
+IMG_FILE_PATH="${ALIZSYNC_IMG_FILE_PATH:-$HOME/$POOLNAME.img}"
+
 INVENTORY_FILE="${ALIZSYNC_INVENTORY:-/etc/o2.d/aliZsync_inventory}"
 TARGET_ROOT="${ALIZSYNC_TARGET_ROOT:-/opt/alizsw}"
 TIMESTAMP=$(date +"%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S")
@@ -70,12 +72,16 @@ sub_help(){
 
 sync_host(){
     HOST="$1"
-    $SYNC_CMD "$DATASET_BINARIES" "ssh://root@$HOST:alizsw/sw/slc7_x86-64"
+    $SYNC_CMD --sshIdentity "/root/.ssh/id_rsa_aliZsync" "$DATASET_BINARIES" "ssh://root@$HOST:alizsw/sw/slc7_x86-64"
     echo -e "\t\t$HOST\tbinaries synchronized"
-    $SYNC_CMD "$DATASET_MODULES" "ssh://root@$HOST:alizsw/sw/MODULES"
+    $SYNC_CMD --sshIdentity "/root/.ssh/id_rsa_aliZsync" "$DATASET_MODULES" "ssh://root@$HOST:alizsw/sw/MODULES"
     echo -e "\t\t$HOST\tmodules synchronized"
 }
 
+sub_build() {
+    aliBuild build --defaults o2-dataflow "$1" --remote-store="https://s3.cern.ch/swift/v1/alibuild-repo"
+}
+
 sub_sync(){
     echo "synchronizing tags"
     source "$SCRIPT_DIR/aliZsync-job_pool.sh"
@@ -103,10 +109,32 @@ sub_init(){
         exit 1
     fi
 
-    echo "creating sparse file at $HOME/$POOLNAME.img with size $POOLSIZE"
-    truncate -s "$POOLSIZE" "$HOME/$POOLNAME.img"
+    SSH_KEYFILE="$HOME/.ssh/id_rsa_aliZsync"
+    if [ ! -f "$SSH_KEYFILE" ]; then
+        echo "creating ssh key file"
+        mkdir -p "$HOME/.ssh"
+        ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "aliZsync@`uname -n`" -f "$HOME/.ssh/id_rsa_aliZsync" -q -N ""
+
+        echo -n "Enter password for user root on inventory machines:"
+        read -s password
+        echo
+
+        echo "setting up passwordless authentication"
+        while read LINE; do
+            [[ $LINE =~ ^#.* ]] && continue
+            [[ $LINE =~ ^\[.* ]] && continue
+
+            # We only get the first word from the inventory line
+            HOST=$(echo "$LINE" | awk '{ print $1}')
+            echo -e "\t$HOST"
+            sshpass -p "$password" ssh-copy-id -i /root/.ssh/id_rsa_aliZsync "root@$HOST"
+        done < "$INVENTORY_FILE"
+    fi
+
+    echo "creating sparse file at $IMG_FILE_PATH with size $POOLSIZE"
+    truncate -s "$POOLSIZE" "$IMG_FILE_PATH"
     echo "creating ZFS pool"
-    sudo zpool create -m "$PWD" "$POOLNAME" "$HOME/$POOLNAME.img"
+    sudo zpool create -m "$PWD" "$POOLNAME" "$IMG_FILE_PATH"
     cd .
 
     # no need to import after create:    sudo zpool import -d $HOME -a
@@ -122,7 +150,8 @@ sub_init(){
 }
 
 sub_mount(){
-    sudo zpool import -d $HOME -a
+    IMG_DIR="$(basename "$(dirname "$IMG_FILE_PATH")")"
+    sudo zpool import -d "$IMG_DIR" -a
 }
 
 sub_tag(){
diff --git a/hacking/aliZsync-sync-zfs-snapshots.py b/hacking/aliZsync-sync-zfs-snapshots.py
index cdfa7d54a..95782ec33 100755
--- a/hacking/aliZsync-sync-zfs-snapshots.py
+++ b/hacking/aliZsync-sync-zfs-snapshots.py
@@ -38,6 +38,10 @@ def getZFSCmdLine (self, args):
             if self.sshIdentity:
                 cmdLine.extend (['-i', self.sshIdentity])
 
+            # Disable StrictHostKeyChecking, as we run in a closed environment
+            # TODO: make it an option
+            cmdLine.extend (['-o', 'StrictHostKeyChecking=no'])
+
             cmdLine.append (self.user + '@' + self.server)
 
         cmdLine.extend (args)
diff --git a/hacking/alizsw b/hacking/alizsw
index 94275173d..2f4d433bc 100755
--- a/hacking/alizsw
+++ b/hacking/alizsw
@@ -38,6 +38,9 @@
 ProgName=$(basename $0)
 
 POOLNAME="${ALIZSW_POOL_NAME:-alizsw}"
+POOLSIZE="${ALIZSW_POOL_SIZE:-100G}"
+IMG_FILE_PATH="${ALIZSW_IMG_FILE_PATH:-$HOME/$POOLNAME.img}"
+
 TARGET_DIR="${ALIZSW_TARGET_ROOT:-/opt/alizsw}"
 TAG_NAME="${2:-latest}"
 
@@ -71,10 +74,11 @@ sub_init(){
         exit 1
     fi
 
-    echo "creating sparse file at $HOME/$POOLNAME.img"
-    truncate -s 100G $HOME/$POOLNAME.img
+    echo "creating sparse file at $IMG_FILE_PATH"
+    truncate -s "$POOLSIZE" "$IMG_FILE_PATH"
     echo "creating ZFS pool"
-    sudo zpool create -m $TARGET_DIR $POOLNAME $HOME/$POOLNAME.img
+    sudo mkdir -p "$TARGET_DIR"
+    sudo zpool create -m "$TARGET_DIR" "$POOLNAME" "$IMG_FILE_PATH"
 
     cd .
 
@@ -92,7 +96,8 @@ sub_list(){
 }
 
 sub_mount(){
-    sudo zpool import -d $HOME -a
+    IMG_DIR="$(basename "$(dirname "$IMG_FILE_PATH")")"
+    sudo zpool import -d "$IMG_DIR" -a
 }
 
 subcommand=$1