diff --git a/lib/vagrant/action/vm/boot.rb b/lib/vagrant/action/vm/boot.rb
index 4dab62a1d..349934a8d 100644
--- a/lib/vagrant/action/vm/boot.rb
+++ b/lib/vagrant/action/vm/boot.rb
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ module Vagrant
           @env[:ui].info I18n.t("vagrant.actions.vm.boot.waiting")
 
           @env[:vm].config.ssh.max_tries.to_i.times do |i|
-            if @env[:vm].ssh.up?
+            if @env[:vm].channel.ready?
               @env[:ui].info I18n.t("vagrant.actions.vm.boot.ready")
               return true
             end
diff --git a/lib/vagrant/action/vm/share_folders.rb b/lib/vagrant/action/vm/share_folders.rb
index 6bfa9fbb1..98363da6d 100644
--- a/lib/vagrant/action/vm/share_folders.rb
+++ b/lib/vagrant/action/vm/share_folders.rb
@@ -49,36 +49,34 @@ module Vagrant
         def mount_shared_folders
           @env[:ui].info I18n.t("vagrant.actions.vm.share_folders.mounting")
 
-          @env["vm"].ssh.execute do |ssh|
-            # short guestpaths first, so we don't step on ourselves
-            folders = shared_folders.sort_by do |name, data|
-              if data[:guestpath]
-                data[:guestpath].length
-              else
-                # A long enough path to just do this at the end.
-                10000
-              end
+          # short guestpaths first, so we don't step on ourselves
+          folders = shared_folders.sort_by do |name, data|
+            if data[:guestpath]
+              data[:guestpath].length
+            else
+              # A long enough path to just do this at the end.
+              10000
             end
+          end
 
-            # Go through each folder and mount
-            folders.each do |name, data|
-              if data[:guestpath]
-                # Guest path specified, so mount the folder to specified point
-                @env[:ui].info(I18n.t("vagrant.actions.vm.share_folders.mounting_entry",
-                                      :name => name,
-                                      :guest_path => data[:guestpath]))
+          # Go through each folder and mount
+          folders.each do |name, data|
+            if data[:guestpath]
+              # Guest path specified, so mount the folder to specified point
+              @env[:ui].info(I18n.t("vagrant.actions.vm.share_folders.mounting_entry",
+                                    :name => name,
+                                    :guest_path => data[:guestpath]))
 
-                # Calculate the owner and group
-                owner = data[:owner] || @env[:vm].config.ssh.username
-                group = data[:group] || @env[:vm].config.ssh.username
+              # Calculate the owner and group
+              owner = data[:owner] || @env[:vm].config.ssh.username
+              group = data[:group] || @env[:vm].config.ssh.username
 
-                # Mount the actual folder
-                @env[:vm].guest.mount_shared_folder(ssh, name, data[:guestpath], owner, group)
-              else
-                # If no guest path is specified, then automounting is disabled
-                @env[:ui].info(I18n.t("vagrant.actions.vm.share_folders.nomount_entry",
-                                      :name => name))
-              end
+              # Mount the actual folder
+              @env[:vm].guest.mount_shared_folder(name, data[:guestpath], owner, group)
+            else
+              # If no guest path is specified, then automounting is disabled
+              @env[:ui].info(I18n.t("vagrant.actions.vm.share_folders.nomount_entry",
+                                    :name => name))
             end
           end
         end
diff --git a/lib/vagrant/communication/ssh.rb b/lib/vagrant/communication/ssh.rb
index 4c1997d98..03f812295 100644
--- a/lib/vagrant/communication/ssh.rb
+++ b/lib/vagrant/communication/ssh.rb
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ module Vagrant
 
       # Opens an SSH connection and yields it to a block.
       def connect
-        ssh_info = @vm.ssh_info
+        ssh_info = @vm.ssh.info
 
         # Build the options we'll use to initiate the connection via Net::SSH
         opts = {
diff --git a/lib/vagrant/guest/base.rb b/lib/vagrant/guest/base.rb
index 10ed53c17..4cde0658c 100644
--- a/lib/vagrant/guest/base.rb
+++ b/lib/vagrant/guest/base.rb
@@ -51,18 +51,17 @@ module Vagrant
         raise BaseError, :_key => :unsupported_halt
       end
 
-      # Mounts a shared folder. This method is called by the shared
-      # folder action with an open SSH session (passed in as `ssh`).
+      # Mounts a shared folder.
+      #
       # This method should create, mount, and properly set permissions
       # on the shared folder. This method should also properly
       # adhere to any configuration values such as `shared_folder_uid`
       # on `config.vm`.
       #
-      # @param [Object] ssh The Net::SSH session.
       # @param [String] name The name of the shared folder.
       # @param [String] guestpath The path on the machine which the user
       #   wants the folder mounted.
-      def mount_shared_folder(ssh, name, guestpath, owner, group)
+      def mount_shared_folder(name, guestpath, owner, group)
         raise BaseError, :_key => :unsupported_shared_folder
       end
 
diff --git a/lib/vagrant/guest/linux.rb b/lib/vagrant/guest/linux.rb
index 8f81795bd..4a4c593b3 100644
--- a/lib/vagrant/guest/linux.rb
+++ b/lib/vagrant/guest/linux.rb
@@ -5,18 +5,16 @@ module Vagrant
   module Guest
     class Linux < Base
       def distro_dispatch
-        vm.ssh.execute do |ssh|
-          if ssh.test?("cat /etc/debian_version")
-            return :debian if ssh.test?("cat /proc/version | grep 'Debian'")
-            return :ubuntu if ssh.test?("cat /proc/version | grep 'Ubuntu'")
-          end
-
-          return :gentoo if ssh.test?("cat /etc/gentoo-release")
-          return :redhat if ssh.test?("cat /etc/redhat-release")
-          return :suse if ssh.test?("cat /etc/SuSE-release")
-          return :arch if ssh.test?("cat /etc/arch-release")
+        if @vm.channel.execute("cat /etc/debian_version") == 0
+          return :debian if @vm.channel.execute("cat /proc/version | grep 'Debian'") == 0
+          return :ubuntu if @vm.channel.execute("cat /proc/version | grep 'Ubuntu'") == 0
         end
 
+        return :gentoo if @vm.channel.execute("cat /etc/gentoo-release") == 0
+        return :redhat if @vm.channel.execute("cat /etc/redhat-release") == 0
+        return :suse if @vm.channel.execute("cat /etc/SuSE-release") == 0
+        return :arch if @vm.channel.execute("cat /etc/arch-release") == 0
+
         # Can't detect the distro, assume vanilla linux
         nil
       end
@@ -39,10 +37,10 @@ module Vagrant
         end
       end
 
-      def mount_shared_folder(ssh, name, guestpath, owner, group)
-        ssh.exec!("sudo mkdir -p #{guestpath}")
-        mount_folder(ssh, name, guestpath, owner, group)
-        ssh.exec!("sudo chown `id -u #{owner}`:`id -g #{group}` #{guestpath}")
+      def mount_shared_folder(name, guestpath, owner, group)
+        @vm.channel.sudo("mkdir -p #{guestpath}")
+        mount_folder(name, guestpath, owner, group)
+        @vm.channel.sudo("chown `id -u #{owner}`:`id -g #{group}` #{guestpath}")
       end
 
       def mount_nfs(ip, folders)
@@ -59,18 +57,18 @@ module Vagrant
       #-------------------------------------------------------------------
       # "Private" methods which assist above methods
       #-------------------------------------------------------------------
-      def mount_folder(ssh, name, guestpath, owner, group, sleeptime=5)
+      def mount_folder(name, guestpath, owner, group, sleeptime=5)
         # Determine the permission string to attach to the mount command
         options = "-o uid=`id -u #{owner}`,gid=`id -g #{group}`"
 
         attempts = 0
         while true
-          result = ssh.exec!("sudo mount -t vboxsf #{options} #{name} #{guestpath}") do |ch, type, data|
-            # net/ssh returns the value in ch[:result] (based on looking at source)
-            ch[:result] = !!(type == :stderr && data =~ /No such device/i)
+          success = true
+          @vm.channel.sudo("mount -t vboxsf #{options} #{name} #{guestpath}") do |type, data|
+            success = false if type == :stderr && data =~ /No such device/i
           end
 
-          break unless result
+          break if success
 
           attempts += 1
           raise LinuxError, :mount_fail if attempts >= 10
diff --git a/lib/vagrant/vm.rb b/lib/vagrant/vm.rb
index e6ce82d50..d9f88a63f 100644
--- a/lib/vagrant/vm.rb
+++ b/lib/vagrant/vm.rb
@@ -54,6 +54,12 @@ module Vagrant
       end
     end
 
+    # Returns a channel object to communicate with the virtual
+    # machine.
+    def channel
+      @channel ||= Communication::SSH.new(self)
+    end
+
     # Returns the guest for this VM, loading the distro of the system if
     # we can.
     def guest
@@ -67,9 +73,8 @@ module Vagrant
       @guest
     end
 
-    # Access the {Vagrant::SSH} object associated with this VM.
-    # On the initial call, this will initialize the object. On
-    # subsequent calls it will reuse the existing object.
+    # Access the {Vagrant::SSH} object associated with this VM, which
+    # is used to get SSH credentials with the virtual machine.
     def ssh
       @ssh ||= SSH.new(self)
     end