diff --git a/src/etcd_state_client.cpp b/src/etcd_state_client.cpp
index cdae49e0..95a8e05c 100644
--- a/src/etcd_state_client.cpp
+++ b/src/etcd_state_client.cpp
@@ -56,6 +56,23 @@ void etcd_state_client_t::etcd_call(std::string api, json11::Json payload, int t
     http_request_json(tfd, etcd_address, req, timeout, callback);
 }
 
+void etcd_state_client_t::add_etcd_url(std::string addr)
+{
+    if (addr.length() > 0)
+    {
+        if (strtolower(addr.substr(0, 7)) == "http://")
+            addr = addr.substr(7);
+        else if (strtolower(addr.substr(0, 8)) == "https://")
+        {
+            printf("HTTPS is unsupported for etcd. Either use plain HTTP or setup a local proxy for etcd interaction\n");
+            exit(1);
+        }
+        if (addr.find('/') < 0)
+            addr += "/v3";
+        this->etcd_addresses.push_back(addr);
+    }
+}
+
 void etcd_state_client_t::parse_config(json11::Json & config)
 {
     this->etcd_addresses.clear();
@@ -65,13 +82,7 @@ void etcd_state_client_t::parse_config(json11::Json & config)
         while (1)
         {
             int pos = ea.find(',');
-            std::string addr = pos >= 0 ? ea.substr(0, pos) : ea;
-            if (addr.length() > 0)
-            {
-                if (addr.find('/') < 0)
-                    addr += "/v3";
-                this->etcd_addresses.push_back(addr);
-            }
+            add_etcd_url(pos >= 0 ? ea.substr(0, pos) : ea);
             if (pos >= 0)
                 ea = ea.substr(pos+1);
             else
@@ -82,13 +93,7 @@ void etcd_state_client_t::parse_config(json11::Json & config)
     {
         for (auto & ea: config["etcd_address"].array_items())
         {
-            std::string addr = ea.string_value();
-            if (addr != "")
-            {
-                if (addr.find('/') < 0)
-                    addr += "/v3";
-                this->etcd_addresses.push_back(addr);
-            }
+            add_etcd_url(ea.string_value());
         }
     }
     this->etcd_prefix = config["etcd_prefix"].string_value();
diff --git a/src/etcd_state_client.h b/src/etcd_state_client.h
index 89fd5200..8059793a 100644
--- a/src/etcd_state_client.h
+++ b/src/etcd_state_client.h
@@ -54,6 +54,9 @@ struct pool_config_t
 
 struct etcd_state_client_t
 {
+protected:
+    void add_etcd_url(std::string);
+public:
     std::vector<std::string> etcd_addresses;
     std::string etcd_prefix;
     int log_level = 0;
diff --git a/src/fio_cluster.cpp b/src/fio_cluster.cpp
index 97c6efdd..6a916f87 100644
--- a/src/fio_cluster.cpp
+++ b/src/fio_cluster.cpp
@@ -117,8 +117,15 @@ static struct fio_option options[] = {
 
 static int sec_setup(struct thread_data *td)
 {
+    sec_options *o = (sec_options*)td->eo;
     sec_data *bsd;
 
+    if (!o->etcd_host)
+    {
+        td_verror(td, EINVAL, "etcd address is missing");
+        return 1;
+    }
+
     bsd = new sec_data;
     if (!bsd)
     {
diff --git a/src/http_client.cpp b/src/http_client.cpp
index 63b8bd5d..be7229bd 100644
--- a/src/http_client.cpp
+++ b/src/http_client.cpp
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@
 #define READ_BUFFER_SIZE 9000
 
 static int extract_port(std::string & host);
-static std::string strtolower(const std::string & in);
 static std::string trim(const std::string & in);
 static std::string ws_format_frame(int type, uint64_t size);
 static bool ws_parse_frame(std::string & buf, int & type, std::string & res);
@@ -673,7 +672,7 @@ static int extract_port(std::string & host)
     return port;
 }
 
-static std::string strtolower(const std::string & in)
+std::string strtolower(const std::string & in)
 {
     std::string s = in;
     for (int i = 0; i < s.length(); i++)
diff --git a/src/http_client.h b/src/http_client.h
index 04d78347..4a5d68df 100644
--- a/src/http_client.h
+++ b/src/http_client.h
@@ -49,6 +49,8 @@ std::vector<std::string> getifaddr_list(bool include_v6 = false);
 
 uint64_t stoull_full(const std::string & str, int base = 10);
 
+std::string strtolower(const std::string & in);
+
 void http_request(timerfd_manager_t *tfd, const std::string & host, const std::string & request,
     const http_options_t & options, std::function<void(const http_response_t *response)> callback);