diff --git a/org.springframework.integration.samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/filecopy/fileCopyDemo-file.xml b/org.springframework.integration.samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/filecopy/fileCopyDemo-file.xml
index ba67a266cd..0f757c844c 100644
--- a/org.springframework.integration.samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/filecopy/fileCopyDemo-file.xml
+++ b/org.springframework.integration.samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/filecopy/fileCopyDemo-file.xml
@@ -16,7 +16,9 @@
 
 	<file:inbound-channel-adapter id="filesIn"
 	                              directory="file:${java.io.tmpdir}/spring-integration-samples/input">
-		<integration:poller interval="5000"/>
+		<integration:poller>
+			<integration:interval-trigger interval="5000"/>
+		</integration:poller>
 	</file:inbound-channel-adapter>
 
 	<integration:service-activator input-channel="filesIn"
diff --git a/org.springframework.integration.samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/oddeven/cronOddEvenDemo.xml b/org.springframework.integration.samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/oddeven/cronOddEvenDemo.xml
index d00459a8a4..bb6cdf7cc0 100644
--- a/org.springframework.integration.samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/oddeven/cronOddEvenDemo.xml
+++ b/org.springframework.integration.samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/oddeven/cronOddEvenDemo.xml
@@ -13,7 +13,9 @@
 	<channel id="odd"/>
 
 	<inbound-channel-adapter id="numbers" ref="counter" method="next">
-		<poller cron="1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55 * * * * ?" max-messages-per-poll="1"/>
+		<poller max-messages-per-poll="1">
+			<cron-trigger expression="1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55 * * * * ?"/>
+		</poller>
 	</inbound-channel-adapter>
 
 	<router ref="parityResolver" method="getParity" input-channel="numbers"/>
diff --git a/org.springframework.integration.samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/oddeven/intervalOddEvenDemo.xml b/org.springframework.integration.samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/oddeven/intervalOddEvenDemo.xml
index e741271e49..4e8c9adf01 100644
--- a/org.springframework.integration.samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/oddeven/intervalOddEvenDemo.xml
+++ b/org.springframework.integration.samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/oddeven/intervalOddEvenDemo.xml
@@ -13,7 +13,9 @@
 	<channel id="odd"/>
 
 	<inbound-channel-adapter id="numbers" ref="counter" method="next">
-		<poller interval="3000" max-messages-per-poll="1"/>
+		<poller max-messages-per-poll="1">
+			<interval-trigger interval="3000"/>
+		</poller>
 	</inbound-channel-adapter>
 
 	<router ref="parityResolver" method="getParity" input-channel="numbers"/>
diff --git a/org.springframework.integration.ws/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/ws/config/simpleWebServiceOutboundGatewayParserTests.xml b/org.springframework.integration.ws/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/ws/config/simpleWebServiceOutboundGatewayParserTests.xml
index 1ae576e692..1dc523fd29 100644
--- a/org.springframework.integration.ws/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/ws/config/simpleWebServiceOutboundGatewayParserTests.xml
+++ b/org.springframework.integration.ws/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/ws/config/simpleWebServiceOutboundGatewayParserTests.xml
@@ -63,7 +63,9 @@
 	<ws:outbound-gateway id="gatewayWithPoller"
 		                 request-channel="pollableInputChannel"
 	                     uri="http://example.org">
-			<si:poller interval="5000"/>
+		<si:poller>
+			<si:interval-trigger interval="5000"/>
+		</si:poller>
 	</ws:outbound-gateway>
 
 	<bean id="sourceExtractor" class="org.springframework.integration.ws.config.StubSourceExtractor"/>
diff --git a/org.springframework.integration/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/xml/IntegrationNamespaceUtils.java b/org.springframework.integration/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/xml/IntegrationNamespaceUtils.java
index f5af5fcf39..f28335ad8c 100644
--- a/org.springframework.integration/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/xml/IntegrationNamespaceUtils.java
+++ b/org.springframework.integration/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/xml/IntegrationNamespaceUtils.java
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ import org.springframework.integration.scheduling.Trigger;
 import org.springframework.transaction.support.DefaultTransactionDefinition;
 import org.springframework.util.Assert;
 import org.springframework.util.StringUtils;
+import org.springframework.util.xml.DomUtils;
 
 /**
  * Shared utility methods for integration namespace parsers.
@@ -141,26 +142,38 @@ public abstract class IntegrationNamespaceUtils {
 	 */
 	public static void configureTrigger(Element pollerElement, BeanDefinitionBuilder targetBuilder) {
 		Trigger trigger = null;
-		String interval = pollerElement.getAttribute("interval");
-		String cron = pollerElement.getAttribute("cron");
-		Assert.isTrue(StringUtils.hasText(interval) ^ StringUtils.hasText(cron),
-				"A <poller> element must include either an 'interval' or a 'cron' expression (but not both).");
-		if (StringUtils.hasText(interval)) {
-			Long period = Long.valueOf(interval);
-			IntervalTrigger intervalTrigger = new IntervalTrigger(period);
-			String initialDelay = pollerElement.getAttribute("initial-delay");
-			if (StringUtils.hasText(initialDelay)) {
-				intervalTrigger.setInitialDelay(Long.valueOf(initialDelay));
-			}
-			intervalTrigger.setFixedRate("true".equals(pollerElement.getAttribute("fixed-rate").toLowerCase()));
-			trigger = intervalTrigger;
+		Element intervalElement = DomUtils.getChildElementByTagName(pollerElement, "interval-trigger");
+		if (intervalElement != null) {
+			trigger = createIntervalTrigger(intervalElement);
 		}
-		if (StringUtils.hasText(pollerElement.getAttribute("cron"))) {
-		   trigger = new CronTrigger(pollerElement.getAttribute("cron"));
+		else {
+			Element cronElement = DomUtils.getChildElementByTagName(pollerElement, "cron-trigger");
+			Assert.notNull(cronElement,
+					"A <poller> element must include either an <interval-trigger/> or <cron-trigger/> child element.");
+			trigger = createCronTrigger(cronElement);
 		}
 		targetBuilder.addPropertyValue("trigger", trigger);
 	}
 
+	private static Trigger createIntervalTrigger(Element element) {
+		String interval = element.getAttribute("interval");
+		Assert.hasText(interval, "the 'interval' attribute is required for an <interval-trigger/>");
+		Long period = Long.valueOf(interval);
+		IntervalTrigger trigger = new IntervalTrigger(period);
+		String initialDelay = element.getAttribute("initial-delay");
+		if (StringUtils.hasText(initialDelay)) {
+			trigger.setInitialDelay(Long.valueOf(initialDelay));
+		}
+		trigger.setFixedRate("true".equals(element.getAttribute("fixed-rate").toLowerCase()));
+		return trigger;
+	}
+
+	private static Trigger createCronTrigger(Element element) {
+		String cronExpression = element.getAttribute("expression");
+		Assert.hasText(cronExpression, "the 'expression' attribute is required for a <cron-trigger/>");
+		return new CronTrigger(cronExpression);
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * Parse a "transactional" element and configure the "transactionManager" and "transactionDefinition"
 	 * properties for the target builder.
diff --git a/org.springframework.integration/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/xml/spring-integration-1.0.xsd b/org.springframework.integration/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/xml/spring-integration-1.0.xsd
index 640c342606..2688900c51 100644
--- a/org.springframework.integration/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/xml/spring-integration-1.0.xsd
+++ b/org.springframework.integration/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/xml/spring-integration-1.0.xsd
@@ -231,12 +231,12 @@
 				</xsd:documentation>
 			</xsd:annotation>
 			<xsd:sequence>
+				<xsd:choice minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1">
+					<xsd:element ref="interval-trigger"/>
+					<xsd:element ref="cron-trigger"/>
+				</xsd:choice>
 				<xsd:element name="transactional" type="transactionalType" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1"/>
 			</xsd:sequence>
-			<xsd:attribute name="interval" type="xsd:long"/>
-			<xsd:attribute name="cron" type="xsd:string"/>
-			<xsd:attribute name="initial-delay" type="xsd:long"/>
-			<xsd:attribute name="fixed-rate" type="xsd:boolean"/>
 			<xsd:attribute name="receive-timeout" type="xsd:long"/>
 			<xsd:attribute name="send-timeout" type="xsd:long"/>
 			<xsd:attribute name="max-messages-per-poll" type="xsd:long"/>
@@ -244,6 +244,31 @@
 		</xsd:complexType>
 	</xsd:element>
 
+	<xsd:element name="interval-trigger">
+		<xsd:complexType>
+			<xsd:annotation>
+				<xsd:documentation>
+	Defines an interval-based trigger.
+				</xsd:documentation>
+			</xsd:annotation>
+			<xsd:attribute name="interval" type="xsd:string"/>
+			<xsd:attribute name="initial-delay" type="xsd:string"/>
+			<xsd:attribute name="fixed-rate" type="xsd:boolean"/>
+			<!-- TODO: add time-unit -->
+		</xsd:complexType>
+	</xsd:element>
+
+	<xsd:element name="cron-trigger">
+		<xsd:complexType>
+			<xsd:annotation>
+				<xsd:documentation>
+	Defines an cron-based trigger.
+				</xsd:documentation>
+			</xsd:annotation>
+			<xsd:attribute name="expression" type="xsd:string"/>
+		</xsd:complexType>
+	</xsd:element>
+
 	<xsd:element name="selector-chain">
 		<xsd:complexType>
 			<xsd:annotation>
diff --git a/org.springframework.integration/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/scheduling/CronSequenceGenerator.java b/org.springframework.integration/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/scheduling/CronSequenceGenerator.java
index 6e6c07b9a7..b6e556beef 100644
--- a/org.springframework.integration/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/scheduling/CronSequenceGenerator.java
+++ b/org.springframework.integration/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/scheduling/CronSequenceGenerator.java
@@ -177,7 +177,8 @@ public class CronSequenceGenerator {
 	private void parse(String expression) throws IllegalArgumentException {
 		String[] fields = StringUtils.tokenizeToStringArray(expression, " ");
 		if (fields.length != 6) {
-			throw new IllegalArgumentException(String.format("Expression must consist of 6 fields (found %d in %s)",
+			throw new IllegalArgumentException(String.format("" +
+					"cron expression must consist of 6 fields (found %d in %s)",
 					fields.length, expression));
 		}
 		setNumberHits(seconds, fields[0], 60);
diff --git a/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/aggregator/integration/ConcurrentAggregatorIntegrationTests-context.xml b/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/aggregator/integration/ConcurrentAggregatorIntegrationTests-context.xml
index 3e8693cc46..e2865645d3 100644
--- a/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/aggregator/integration/ConcurrentAggregatorIntegrationTests-context.xml
+++ b/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/aggregator/integration/ConcurrentAggregatorIntegrationTests-context.xml
@@ -5,22 +5,29 @@
 			http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans-2.5.xsd
 			http://www.springframework.org/schema/integration
 			http://www.springframework.org/schema/integration/spring-integration-1.0.xsd">
+
 	<message-bus enable-annotations="true"/>
 	
 	<channel id="input">
 		<queue capacity="5"/>
 	</channel>
-	<aggregator ref="summer" method="sum" input-channel="input"
-		output-channel="output">
-	<poller task-executor="executor" interval="20" max-messages-per-poll="5"/>
+
+	<aggregator ref="summer" method="sum" input-channel="input" output-channel="output">
+		<poller task-executor="executor" max-messages-per-poll="5">
+			<interval-trigger interval="20"/>
+		</poller>
 	</aggregator>
+
 	<beans:bean id="executor"
 		class="org.springframework.scheduling.concurrent.ThreadPoolTaskExecutor">
 		<beans:property name="corePoolSize" value="5" />
 	</beans:bean>
+
 	<channel id="output">
 		<queue capacity="5" />
 	</channel>
+
 	<beans:bean id="summer"
 		class="org.springframework.integration.aggregator.integration.ConcurrentAggregatorIntegrationTests$SummingAggregator" />
+
 </beans:beans>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/ChannelAdapterParserTests-context.xml b/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/ChannelAdapterParserTests-context.xml
index 8c5adaa028..bc016f29ef 100644
--- a/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/ChannelAdapterParserTests-context.xml
+++ b/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/ChannelAdapterParserTests-context.xml
@@ -18,7 +18,9 @@
 	<outbound-channel-adapter id="methodInvokingConsumer" ref="testBean" method="store"/>
 
 	<inbound-channel-adapter id="methodInvokingSource" ref="testBean" method="getMessage" channel="queueChannel">
-		<poller interval="10000" max-messages-per-poll="1"/>
+		<poller max-messages-per-poll="1">
+			<interval-trigger interval="10000"/>
+		</poller>
 	</inbound-channel-adapter>
 
 	<beans:bean id="consumer" class="org.springframework.integration.config.TestConsumer"/>
diff --git a/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/simpleEndpointTests.xml b/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/simpleEndpointTests.xml
index 7871883fb7..31f2d328c2 100644
--- a/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/simpleEndpointTests.xml
+++ b/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/simpleEndpointTests.xml
@@ -14,7 +14,9 @@
 	</channel>
 
 	<service-activator input-channel="testChannel" ref="testHandler">
-		<poller interval="100"/>
+		<poller>
+			<interval-trigger interval="100"/>
+		</poller>
 	</service-activator>
 
 	<beans:bean id="testHandler" class="org.springframework.integration.config.TestHandler">
diff --git a/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/propagationMandatoryTests.xml b/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/propagationMandatoryTests.xml
index 5414d20b77..359055188c 100644
--- a/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/propagationMandatoryTests.xml
+++ b/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/propagationMandatoryTests.xml
@@ -26,7 +26,8 @@
 	                   ref="testBean"
 	                   method="good"
                        output-channel="output">
-        <poller interval="10000" max-messages-per-poll="1">
+        <poller max-messages-per-poll="1">
+        	<interval-trigger interval="10000"/>
         	<transactional transaction-manager="txManager" propagation="MANDATORY"/>
         </poller>
     </service-activator>
diff --git a/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/propagationNotSupportedTests.xml b/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/propagationNotSupportedTests.xml
index 7f04d0d8bb..eb82ce1204 100644
--- a/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/propagationNotSupportedTests.xml
+++ b/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/propagationNotSupportedTests.xml
@@ -22,7 +22,8 @@
 	                   ref="testBean"
 	                   method="good"
                        output-channel="output">
-        <poller interval="10000" max-messages-per-poll="1">
+        <poller max-messages-per-poll="1">
+        	<interval-trigger interval="10000"/>
         	<transactional transaction-manager="txManager" propagation="NOT_SUPPORTED"/>
         </poller>
     </service-activator>
diff --git a/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/propagationRequiredTests.xml b/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/propagationRequiredTests.xml
index 7fb86e121f..8b4b9bd0b4 100644
--- a/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/propagationRequiredTests.xml
+++ b/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/propagationRequiredTests.xml
@@ -22,7 +22,8 @@
 	                   ref="testBean"
 	                   method="good"
                        output-channel="output">
-        <poller interval="10000" max-messages-per-poll="1">
+        <poller max-messages-per-poll="1">
+        	<interval-trigger interval="10000"/>
         	<transactional transaction-manager="txManager" propagation="REQUIRED"/>
         </poller>
     </service-activator>
diff --git a/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/propagationRequiresNewTests.xml b/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/propagationRequiresNewTests.xml
index 31167f7df4..b43e0859ce 100644
--- a/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/propagationRequiresNewTests.xml
+++ b/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/propagationRequiresNewTests.xml
@@ -22,7 +22,8 @@
 	                   ref="testBean"
 	                   method="good"
                        output-channel="output">
-        <poller interval="10000" max-messages-per-poll="1">
+        <poller max-messages-per-poll="1">
+        	<interval-trigger interval="10000"/>
         	<transactional transaction-manager="txManager" propagation="REQUIRES_NEW"/>
         </poller>
     </service-activator>
diff --git a/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/propagationSupportsTests.xml b/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/propagationSupportsTests.xml
index 2177a88970..eb82ca3629 100644
--- a/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/propagationSupportsTests.xml
+++ b/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/propagationSupportsTests.xml
@@ -22,7 +22,8 @@
 	                   ref="testBean"
 	                   method="good"
                        output-channel="output">
-        <poller interval="10000" max-messages-per-poll="1">
+        <poller max-messages-per-poll="1">
+        	<interval-trigger interval="10000"/>
         	<transactional transaction-manager="txManager" propagation="SUPPORTS"/>
         </poller>
     </service-activator>
diff --git a/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/transactionTests.xml b/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/transactionTests.xml
index c4564c69c8..ee8a4303ec 100644
--- a/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/transactionTests.xml
+++ b/org.springframework.integration/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/dispatcher/transactionTests.xml
@@ -25,7 +25,8 @@
 	                   ref="testBean"
 	                   method="bad"
                        output-channel="output">
-        <poller interval="10000" max-messages-per-poll="1">
+        <poller max-messages-per-poll="1">
+        	<interval-trigger interval="10000"/>
         	<transactional transaction-manager="txManager"/>
         </poller>
     </service-activator>
@@ -34,7 +35,8 @@
 	                   ref="testBean"
 	                   method="good"
                        output-channel="output">
-        <poller interval="10000" max-messages-per-poll="1">
+        <poller max-messages-per-poll="1">
+        	<interval-trigger interval="10000"/>
         	<transactional transaction-manager="txManager"/>
         </poller>
 	</service-activator>