diff --git a/builtin/providers/cloudstack/provider_test.go b/builtin/providers/cloudstack/provider_test.go
index 878ab1882..d48bec984 100644
--- a/builtin/providers/cloudstack/provider_test.go
+++ b/builtin/providers/cloudstack/provider_test.go
@@ -28,6 +28,28 @@ func TestProvider_impl(t *testing.T) {
 	var _ terraform.ResourceProvider = Provider()
 }
 
+func testSetValueOnResourceData(t *testing.T) {
+	d := schema.ResourceData{}
+	d.Set("id", "name")
+
+	setValueOrUUID(&d, "id", "name", "54711781-274e-41b2-83c0-17194d0108f7")
+
+	if d.Get("id").(string) != "name" {
+		t.Fatal("err: 'id' does not match 'name'")
+	}
+}
+
+func testSetUuidOnResourceData(t *testing.T) {
+	d := schema.ResourceData{}
+	d.Set("id", "54711781-274e-41b2-83c0-17194d0108f7")
+
+	setValueOrUUID(&d, "id", "name", "54711781-274e-41b2-83c0-17194d0108f7")
+
+	if d.Get("id").(string) != "54711781-274e-41b2-83c0-17194d0108f7" {
+		t.Fatal("err: 'id' doest not match '54711781-274e-41b2-83c0-17194d0108f7'")
+	}
+}
+
 func testAccPreCheck(t *testing.T) {
 	if v := os.Getenv("CLOUDSTACK_API_URL"); v == "" {
 		t.Fatal("CLOUDSTACK_API_URL must be set for acceptance tests")
diff --git a/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_disk.go b/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_disk.go
index 382cd2876..c4d84f520 100644
--- a/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_disk.go
+++ b/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_disk.go
@@ -139,10 +139,11 @@ func resourceCloudStackDiskRead(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interface{}) error
 	}
 
 	d.Set("name", v.Name)
-	d.Set("attach", v.Attached != "") // If attached this will contain a timestamp when attached
-	d.Set("disk_offering", v.Diskofferingname)
+	d.Set("attach", v.Attached != "")           // If attached this will contain a timestamp when attached
 	d.Set("size", int(v.Size/(1024*1024*1024))) // Needed to get GB's again
-	d.Set("zone", v.Zonename)
+
+	setValueOrUUID(d, "disk_offering", v.Diskofferingname, v.Diskofferingid)
+	setValueOrUUID(d, "zone", v.Zonename, v.Zoneid)
 
 	if v.Attached != "" {
 		// Get the virtual machine details
diff --git a/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_instance.go b/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_instance.go
index b88e4a255..c07678f3e 100644
--- a/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_instance.go
+++ b/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_instance.go
@@ -184,12 +184,13 @@ func resourceCloudStackInstanceRead(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interface{}) er
 	// Update the config
 	d.Set("name", vm.Name)
 	d.Set("display_name", vm.Displayname)
-	d.Set("service_offering", vm.Serviceofferingname)
-	d.Set("network", vm.Nic[0].Networkname)
 	d.Set("ipaddress", vm.Nic[0].Ipaddress)
-	d.Set("template", vm.Templatename)
 	d.Set("zone", vm.Zonename)
 
+	setValueOrUUID(d, "network", vm.Nic[0].Networkname, vm.Nic[0].Networkid)
+	setValueOrUUID(d, "service_offering", vm.Serviceofferingname, vm.Serviceofferingid)
+	setValueOrUUID(d, "template", vm.Templatename, vm.Templateid)
+
 	return nil
 }
 
diff --git a/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_network.go b/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_network.go
index 4eb03f666..a23547896 100644
--- a/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_network.go
+++ b/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_network.go
@@ -149,8 +149,9 @@ func resourceCloudStackNetworkRead(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interface{}) err
 	d.Set("name", n.Name)
 	d.Set("display_text", n.Displaytext)
 	d.Set("cidr", n.Cidr)
-	d.Set("network_offering", n.Networkofferingname)
-	d.Set("zone", n.Zonename)
+
+	setValueOrUUID(d, "network_offering", n.Networkofferingname, n.Networkofferingid)
+	setValueOrUUID(d, "zone", n.Zonename, n.Zoneid)
 
 	return nil
 }
diff --git a/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_network_acl.go b/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_network_acl.go
index 3aea0d17e..7f073bbf8 100644
--- a/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_network_acl.go
+++ b/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_network_acl.go
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ func resourceCloudStackNetworkACLRead(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interface{})
 		return err
 	}
 
-	d.Set("vpc", v.Name)
+	setValueOrUUID(d, "vpc", v.Name, v.Id)
 
 	return nil
 }
diff --git a/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_nic.go b/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_nic.go
index 99f2d3000..2eb89c80b 100644
--- a/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_nic.go
+++ b/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_nic.go
@@ -102,9 +102,9 @@ func resourceCloudStackNICRead(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interface{}) error {
 	found := false
 	for _, n := range vm.Nic {
 		if n.Id == d.Id() {
-			d.Set("network", n.Networkname)
 			d.Set("ipaddress", n.Ipaddress)
-			d.Set("virtual_machine", vm.Name)
+			setValueOrUUID(d, "network", n.Networkname, n.Networkid)
+			setValueOrUUID(d, "virtual_machine", vm.Name, vm.Id)
 			found = true
 			break
 		}
diff --git a/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_template.go b/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_template.go
index 4469f2d3f..608a129a8 100644
--- a/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_template.go
+++ b/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_template.go
@@ -205,8 +205,6 @@ func resourceCloudStackTemplateRead(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interface{}) er
 	d.Set("display_text", t.Displaytext)
 	d.Set("format", t.Format)
 	d.Set("hypervisor", t.Hypervisor)
-	d.Set("os_type", t.Ostypename)
-	d.Set("zone", t.Zonename)
 	d.Set("is_dynamically_scalable", t.Isdynamicallyscalable)
 	d.Set("is_extractable", t.Isextractable)
 	d.Set("is_featured", t.Isfeatured)
@@ -214,6 +212,9 @@ func resourceCloudStackTemplateRead(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interface{}) er
 	d.Set("password_enabled", t.Passwordenabled)
 	d.Set("is_ready", t.Isready)
 
+	setValueOrUUID(d, "os_type", t.Ostypename, t.Ostypeid)
+	setValueOrUUID(d, "zone", t.Zonename, t.Zoneid)
+
 	return nil
 }
 
diff --git a/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_vpc.go b/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_vpc.go
index 5b884d031..cb829495b 100644
--- a/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_vpc.go
+++ b/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_vpc.go
@@ -105,7 +105,8 @@ func resourceCloudStackVPCRead(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interface{}) error {
 	d.Set("name", v.Name)
 	d.Set("display_text", v.Displaytext)
 	d.Set("cidr", v.Cidr)
-	d.Set("zone", v.Zonename)
+
+	setValueOrUUID(d, "zone", v.Zonename, v.Zoneid)
 
 	// Get the VPC offering details
 	o, _, err := cs.VPC.GetVPCOfferingByID(v.Vpcofferingid)
@@ -113,7 +114,7 @@ func resourceCloudStackVPCRead(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interface{}) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	d.Set("vpc_offering", o.Name)
+	setValueOrUUID(d, "vpc_offering", o.Name, v.Vpcofferingid)
 
 	return nil
 }
diff --git a/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_vpn_gateway.go b/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_vpn_gateway.go
index 063c31777..704511ca8 100644
--- a/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_vpn_gateway.go
+++ b/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_vpn_gateway.go
@@ -69,6 +69,8 @@ func resourceCloudStackVPNGatewayRead(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interface{})
 		return err
 	}
 
+	setValueOrUUID(d, "vpc", d.Get("vpc").(string), v.Vpcid)
+
 	d.Set("public_ip", v.Publicip)
 
 	return nil
diff --git a/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resources.go b/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resources.go
index 37f5cb965..85fa0bd5a 100644
--- a/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resources.go
+++ b/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resources.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"log"
 	"regexp"
 
+	"github.com/hashicorp/terraform/helper/schema"
 	"github.com/xanzy/go-cloudstack/cloudstack"
 )
 
@@ -18,6 +19,14 @@ func (e *retrieveError) Error() error {
 	return fmt.Errorf("Error retrieving UUID of %s %s: %s", e.name, e.value, e.err)
 }
 
+func setValueOrUUID(d *schema.ResourceData, key string, value string, uuid string) {
+	if isUUID(d.Get(key).(string)) {
+		d.Set(key, uuid)
+	} else {
+		d.Set(key, value)
+	}
+}
+
 func retrieveUUID(cs *cloudstack.CloudStackClient, name, value string) (uuid string, e *retrieveError) {
 	// If the supplied value isn't a UUID, try to retrieve the UUID ourselves
 	if isUUID(value) {
diff --git a/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/disk.html.markdown b/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/disk.html.markdown
index af87ba220..53ae73656 100644
--- a/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/disk.html.markdown
+++ b/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/disk.html.markdown
@@ -36,8 +36,8 @@ The following arguments are supported:
 
 * `device` - (Optional) The device to map the disk volume to within the guest OS.
 
-* `disk_offering` - (Required) The name of the disk offering to use for this
-    disk volume.
+* `disk_offering` - (Required) The name or ID of the disk offering to use for
+    this disk volume.
 
 * `size` - (Optional) The size of the disk volume in gigabytes.
 
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ The following arguments are supported:
 * `virtual_machine` - (Optional) The name of the virtual machine to which you
     want to attach the disk volume.
 
-* `zone` - (Required) The name of the zone where this disk volume will be available.
+* `zone` - (Required) The name or ID of the zone where this disk volume will be available.
     Changing this forces a new resource to be created.
 
 ## Attributes Reference
diff --git a/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/instance.html.markdown b/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/instance.html.markdown
index af9efd423..e09cd6c6e 100644
--- a/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/instance.html.markdown
+++ b/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/instance.html.markdown
@@ -32,15 +32,15 @@ The following arguments are supported:
 
 * `display_name` - (Optional) The display name of the instance.
 
-* `service_offering` - (Required) The service offering used for this instance.
+* `service_offering` - (Required) The name or ID of the service offering used for this instance.
 
-* `network` - (Optional) The name of the network to connect this instance to.
+* `network` - (Optional) The name or ID of the network to connect this instance to.
     Changing this forces a new resource to be created.
 
 * `ipaddress` - (Optional) The IP address to assign to this instance. Changing
     this forces a new resource to be created.
 
-* `template` - (Required) The name of the template used for this instance.
+* `template` - (Required) The name or ID of the template used for this instance.
     Changing this forces a new resource to be created.
 
 * `zone` - (Required) The name of the zone where this instance will be created.
diff --git a/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/network.html.markdown b/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/network.html.markdown
index 98e07f178..9819a8ce3 100644
--- a/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/network.html.markdown
+++ b/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/network.html.markdown
@@ -34,8 +34,8 @@ The following arguments are supported:
 * `cidr` - (Required) The CIDR block for the network. Changing this forces a new
     resource to be created.
 
-* `network_offering` - (Required) The name of the network offering to use for
-    this network.
+* `network_offering` - (Required) The name or ID of the network offering to use
+    for this network.
 
 * `vpc` - (Optional) The name of the VPC to create this network for. Changing
     this forces a new resource to be created.
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ The following arguments are supported:
 * `aclid` - (Optional) The ID of a network ACL that should be attached to the
     network. Changing this forces a new resource to be created.
 
-* `zone` - (Required) The name of the zone where this disk volume will be
+* `zone` - (Required) The name or ID of the zone where this disk volume will be
     available. Changing this forces a new resource to be created.
 
 ## Attributes Reference
diff --git a/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/network_acl.html.markdown b/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/network_acl.html.markdown
index 487d0fe90..0001cbffb 100644
--- a/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/network_acl.html.markdown
+++ b/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/network_acl.html.markdown
@@ -27,8 +27,8 @@ The following arguments are supported:
     to be created.
 * `description` - (Optional) The description of the ACL. Changing this forces a
     new resource to be created.
-* `vpc` - (Required) The name of the VPC to create this ACL for. Changing this
-    forces a new resource to be created.
+* `vpc` - (Required) The name or ID of the VPC to create this ACL for. Changing
+    this forces a new resource to be created.
 
 ## Attributes Reference
 
diff --git a/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/nic.html.markdown b/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/nic.html.markdown
index 8633034f9..09bfb0bd4 100644
--- a/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/nic.html.markdown
+++ b/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/nic.html.markdown
@@ -26,14 +26,14 @@ resource "cloudstack_nic" "test" {
 
 The following arguments are supported:
 
-* `network` - (Required) The name of the network to plug the NIC into. Changing
+* `network` - (Required) The name or ID of the network to plug the NIC into. Changing
     this forces a new resource to be created.
 
 * `ipaddress` - (Optional) The IP address to assign to the NIC. Changing this
     forces a new resource to be created.
 
-* `virtual_machine` - (Required) The name of the virtual machine to which to
-    attach the NIC. Changing this forces a new resource to be created.
+* `virtual_machine` - (Required) The name or ID of the virtual machine to which
+    to attach the NIC. Changing this forces a new resource to be created.
 
 ## Attributes Reference
 
diff --git a/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/template.html.markdown b/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/template.html.markdown
index 1757193af..b31c24db0 100644
--- a/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/template.html.markdown
+++ b/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/template.html.markdown
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ The following arguments are supported:
 * `url` - (Required) The URL of where the template is hosted. Changing this
     forces a new resource to be created.
 
-* `zone` - (Required) The name of the zone where this template will be created.
+* `zone` - (Required) The name or ID of the zone where this template will be created.
     Changing this forces a new resource to be created.
 
 * `is_dynamically_scalable` - (Optional) Set to indicate if the template contains
diff --git a/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/vpc.html.markdown b/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/vpc.html.markdown
index 141bc9203..1e40c6466 100644
--- a/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/vpc.html.markdown
+++ b/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/vpc.html.markdown
@@ -34,10 +34,10 @@ The following arguments are supported:
 * `cidr` - (Required) The CIDR block for the VPC. Changing this forces a new
     resource to be created.
 
-* `vpc_offering` - (Required) The name of the VPC offering to use for this VPC.
+* `vpc_offering` - (Required) The name or ID of the VPC offering to use for this VPC.
     Changing this forces a new resource to be created.
 
-* `zone` - (Required) The name of the zone where this disk volume will be
+* `zone` - (Required) The name or ID of the zone where this disk volume will be
     available. Changing this forces a new resource to be created.
 
 ## Attributes Reference
diff --git a/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/vpn_gateway.html.markdown b/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/vpn_gateway.html.markdown
index 10aabd796..5bf9cf389 100644
--- a/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/vpn_gateway.html.markdown
+++ b/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/vpn_gateway.html.markdown
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ resource "cloudstack_vpn_gateway" "default" {
 
 The following arguments are supported:
 
-* `vpc` - (Required) The name of the VPC for which to create the VPN Gateway.
+* `vpc` - (Required) The name or ID of the VPC for which to create the VPN Gateway.
     Changing this forces a new resource to be created.
 
 ## Attributes Reference