diff --git a/jupyterhub/apihandlers/base.py b/jupyterhub/apihandlers/base.py
index a07e71bc..72c21702 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/apihandlers/base.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/apihandlers/base.py
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ class APIHandler(BaseHandler):
             self.log.warning("Blocking API request with no referer")
             return False
         
-        host_path = url_path_join(host, self.hub.server.base_url)
+        host_path = url_path_join(host, self.hub.base_url)
         referer_path = referer.split('://', 1)[-1]
         if not (referer_path + '/').startswith(host_path):
             self.log.warning("Blocking Cross Origin API request.  Referer: %s, Host: %s",
diff --git a/jupyterhub/app.py b/jupyterhub/app.py
index b6b89293..05e82904 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/app.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/app.py
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ from .utils import (
 # classes for config
 from .auth import Authenticator, PAMAuthenticator
 from .spawner import Spawner, LocalProcessSpawner
+from .objects import Server, Hub
 
 # For faking stats
 from .emptyclass import EmptyClass
@@ -805,36 +806,6 @@ class JupyterHub(Application):
             self._local.db = scoped_session(self.session_factory)()
         return self._local.db
 
-    @property
-    def hub(self):
-        if not getattr(self._local, 'hub', None):
-            q = self.db.query(orm.Hub)
-            assert q.count() <= 1
-            self._local.hub = q.first()
-            if self.subdomain_host and self._local.hub:
-                self._local.hub.host = self.subdomain_host
-        return self._local.hub
-
-    @hub.setter
-    def hub(self, hub):
-        self._local.hub = hub
-        if hub and self.subdomain_host:
-            hub.host = self.subdomain_host
-
-    @property
-    def proxy(self):
-        if not getattr(self._local, 'proxy', None):
-            q = self.db.query(orm.Proxy)
-            assert q.count() <= 1
-            p = self._local.proxy = q.first()
-            if p:
-                p.auth_token = self.proxy_auth_token
-        return self._local.proxy
-
-    @proxy.setter
-    def proxy(self, proxy):
-        self._local.proxy = proxy
-
     def init_db(self):
         """Create the database connection"""
         self.log.debug("Connecting to db: %s", self.db_url)
@@ -861,28 +832,13 @@ class JupyterHub(Application):
 
     def init_hub(self):
         """Load the Hub config into the database"""
-        self.hub = self.db.query(orm.Hub).first()
-        if self.hub is None:
-            self.hub = orm.Hub(
-                server=orm.Server(
-                    ip=self.hub_ip,
-                    port=self.hub_port,
-                    base_url=self.hub_prefix,
-                    cookie_name='jupyter-hub-token',
-                )
-            )
-            self.db.add(self.hub)
-        else:
-            server = self.hub.server
-            server.ip = self.hub_ip
-            server.port = self.hub_port
-            server.base_url = self.hub_prefix
-        if self.subdomain_host:
-            if not self.subdomain_host:
-                raise ValueError("Must specify subdomain_host when using subdomains."
-                " This should be the public domain[:port] of the Hub.")
-
-        self.db.commit()
+        self.hub = Hub(
+            ip=self.hub_ip,
+            port=self.hub_port,
+            base_url=self.hub_prefix,
+            cookie_name='jupyter-hub-token',
+            public_host=self.subdomain_host,
+        )
 
     @gen.coroutine
     def init_users(self):
@@ -1231,8 +1187,8 @@ class JupyterHub(Application):
             '--port', str(self.proxy.public_server.port),
             '--api-ip', self.proxy.api_server.ip,
             '--api-port', str(self.proxy.api_server.port),
-            '--default-target', self.hub.server.host,
-            '--error-target', url_path_join(self.hub.server.url, 'error'),
+            '--default-target', self.hub.host,
+            '--error-target', url_path_join(self.hub.url, 'error'),
         ]
         if self.subdomain_host:
             cmd.append('--host-routing')
@@ -1299,7 +1255,7 @@ class JupyterHub(Application):
 
     def init_tornado_settings(self):
         """Set up the tornado settings dict."""
-        base_url = self.hub.server.base_url
+        base_url = self.hub.base_url
         jinja_options = dict(
             autoescape=True,
         )
@@ -1337,7 +1293,7 @@ class JupyterHub(Application):
             login_url=login_url,
             logout_url=logout_url,
             static_path=os.path.join(self.data_files_path, 'static'),
-            static_url_prefix=url_path_join(self.hub.server.base_url, 'static/'),
+            static_url_prefix=url_path_join(self.hub.base_url, 'static/'),
             static_handler_class=CacheControlStaticFilesHandler,
             template_path=self.template_paths,
             jinja2_env=jinja_env,
@@ -1530,10 +1486,10 @@ class JupyterHub(Application):
         try:
             self.http_server.listen(self.hub_port, address=self.hub_ip)
         except Exception:
-            self.log.error("Failed to bind hub to %s", self.hub.server.bind_url)
+            self.log.error("Failed to bind hub to %s", self.hub.bind_url)
             raise
         else:
-            self.log.info("Hub API listening on %s", self.hub.server.bind_url)
+            self.log.info("Hub API listening on %s", self.hub.bind_url)
 
         # start the proxy
         try:
diff --git a/jupyterhub/handlers/base.py b/jupyterhub/handlers/base.py
index 97c3255a..6c89fcfd 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/handlers/base.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/handlers/base.py
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ class BaseHandler(RequestHandler):
     @property
     def csp_report_uri(self):
         return self.settings.get('csp_report_uri',
-            url_path_join(self.hub.server.base_url, 'security/csp-report')
+            url_path_join(self.hub.base_url, 'security/csp-report')
         )
 
     @property
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ class BaseHandler(RequestHandler):
             max_age_days=self.cookie_max_age_days,
         )
         def clear():
-            self.clear_cookie(cookie_name, path=self.hub.server.base_url)
+            self.clear_cookie(cookie_name, path=self.hub.base_url)
 
         if cookie_id is None:
             if self.get_cookie(cookie_name):
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ class BaseHandler(RequestHandler):
 
     def get_current_user_cookie(self):
         """get_current_user from a cookie token"""
-        return self._user_for_cookie(self.hub.server.cookie_name)
+        return self._user_for_cookie(self.hub.cookie_name)
 
     def get_current_user(self):
         """get current username"""
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@ class BaseHandler(RequestHandler):
             kwargs['domain'] = self.domain
         if user and user.server:
             self.clear_cookie(user.server.cookie_name, path=user.server.base_url, **kwargs)
-        self.clear_cookie(self.hub.server.cookie_name, path=self.hub.server.base_url, **kwargs)
+        self.clear_cookie(self.hub.cookie_name, path=self.hub.base_url, **kwargs)
         self.clear_cookie('jupyterhub-services', path=url_path_join(self.base_url, 'services'))
 
     def _set_user_cookie(self, user, server):
@@ -436,7 +436,7 @@ class BaseHandler(RequestHandler):
     def template_namespace(self):
         user = self.get_current_user()
         return dict(
-            base_url=self.hub.server.base_url,
+            base_url=self.hub.base_url,
             prefix=self.base_url,
             user=user,
             login_url=self.settings['login_url'],
@@ -502,7 +502,7 @@ class PrefixRedirectHandler(BaseHandler):
         else:
             path = self.request.path
         self.redirect(url_path_join(
-            self.hub.server.base_url, path,
+            self.hub.base_url, path,
         ), permanent=False)
 
 
@@ -528,7 +528,7 @@ class UserSpawnHandler(BaseHandler):
             port = host_info.port
             if not port:
                 port = 443 if host_info.scheme == 'https' else 80
-            if port != self.proxy.public_server.port and port == self.hub.server.port:
+            if port != self.proxy.public_server.port and port == self.hub.port:
                 self.log.warning("""
                     Detected possible direct connection to Hub's private ip: %s, bypassing proxy.
                     This will result in a redirect loop.
@@ -548,14 +548,14 @@ class UserSpawnHandler(BaseHandler):
                 status = yield current_user.spawner.poll()
                 if status is not None:
                     if current_user.spawner.options_form:
-                        self.redirect(url_concat(url_path_join(self.hub.server.base_url, 'spawn'),
+                        self.redirect(url_concat(url_path_join(self.hub.base_url, 'spawn'),
                                                  {'next': self.request.uri}))
                         return
                     else:
                         yield self.spawn_single_user(current_user)
             # set login cookie anew
             self.set_login_cookie(current_user)
-            without_prefix = self.request.uri[len(self.hub.server.base_url):]
+            without_prefix = self.request.uri[len(self.hub.base_url):]
             target = url_path_join(self.base_url, without_prefix)
             if self.subdomain_host:
                 target = current_user.host + target
diff --git a/jupyterhub/handlers/login.py b/jupyterhub/handlers/login.py
index b8e7b558..1bcdf256 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/handlers/login.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/handlers/login.py
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ class LoginHandler(BaseHandler):
                 if user.running:
                     next_url = user.url
                 else:
-                    next_url = self.hub.server.base_url
+                    next_url = self.hub.base_url
             # set new login cookie
             # because single-user cookie may have been cleared or incorrect
             self.set_login_cookie(self.get_current_user())
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ class LoginHandler(BaseHandler):
             next_url = self.get_argument('next', default='')
             if not next_url.startswith('/'):
                 next_url = ''
-            next_url = next_url or self.hub.server.base_url
+            next_url = next_url or self.hub.base_url
             self.redirect(next_url)
             self.log.info("User logged in: %s", username)
         else:
diff --git a/jupyterhub/handlers/pages.py b/jupyterhub/handlers/pages.py
index 3e857943..dbd3a434 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/handlers/pages.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/handlers/pages.py
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ class RootHandler(BaseHandler):
             # The next request will be handled by UserSpawnHandler,
             # ultimately redirecting to the logged-in user's server.
             without_prefix = next_url[len(self.base_url):]
-            next_url = url_path_join(self.hub.server.base_url, without_prefix)
+            next_url = url_path_join(self.hub.base_url, without_prefix)
             self.log.warning("Redirecting %s to %s. For sharing public links, use /user-redirect/",
                 self.request.uri, next_url,
             )
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ class RootHandler(BaseHandler):
                 self.log.debug("User is running: %s", url)
                 self.set_login_cookie(user) # set cookie
             else:
-                url = url_path_join(self.hub.server.base_url, 'home')
+                url = url_path_join(self.hub.base_url, 'home')
                 self.log.debug("User is not running: %s", url)
         else:
             url = self.settings['login_url']
@@ -215,7 +215,7 @@ class ProxyErrorHandler(BaseHandler):
         status_message = responses.get(status_code, 'Unknown HTTP Error')
         # build template namespace
         
-        hub_home = url_path_join(self.hub.server.base_url, 'home')
+        hub_home = url_path_join(self.hub.base_url, 'home')
         message_html = ''
         if status_code == 503:
             message_html = ' '.join([
diff --git a/jupyterhub/objects.py b/jupyterhub/objects.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cf2201ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/jupyterhub/objects.py
@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+"""Some general objects for use in JupyterHub"""
+
+# Copyright (c) Jupyter Development Team.
+# Distributed under the terms of the Modified BSD License.
+
+from urllib.parse import urlparse
+
+from traitlets import HasTraits
+from . import orm
+
+
+class Server(HasTraits):
+    """An object representing an HTTP endpoint.
+
+    *Some* of these reside in the database (user servers),
+    but others (Hub, proxy) are in-memory only.
+    """
+    orm_server = Instance(orm.Server, allow_none=True)
+
+    ip = Unicode()
+    proto = Unicode('http')
+    port = Integer()
+    base_url = Unicode('/')
+    cookie_name = Unicode('')
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_url(cls, url):
+        """Create a Server from a given URL"""
+        urlinfo = urlparse(url)
+        proto = urlinfo.scheme
+        ip = urlinfo.hostname
+        port = urlinfo.port
+        if not port:
+            if proto == 'https':
+                port = 443
+            else:
+                port = 80
+        return cls(proto=proto, ip=ip, port=port)
+
+    @default('port')
+    def _default_port(self):
+        return random_port()
+
+    @observe('orm_server')
+    def _orm_server_changed(self, change):
+        """When we get an orm_server, get attributes from there."""
+        obj = change.new
+        self.proto = obj.proto
+        self.ip = obj.ip
+        self.port = obj.port
+        self.base_url = obj.base_url
+        self.cookie_name = obj.cookie_name
+
+    # setter to pass through to the database
+    @observe('ip', 'proto', 'port', 'base_url', 'cookie_name')
+    def _change(self, change):
+        if self.orm_server:
+            setattr(self.orm_server, change.name, change.new)
+
+    @property
+    def host(self):
+        ip = self.ip
+        if ip in {'', '0.0.0.0'}:
+            # when listening on all interfaces, connect to localhost
+            ip = '127.0.0.1'
+        return "{proto}://{ip}:{port}".format(
+            proto=self.proto,
+            ip=ip,
+            port=self.port,
+        )
+
+    @property
+    def url(self):
+        return "{host}{uri}".format(
+            host=self.host,
+            uri=self.base_url,
+        )
+
+    @property
+    def bind_url(self):
+        """representation of URL used for binding
+
+        Never used in APIs, only logging,
+        since it can be non-connectable value, such as '', meaning all interfaces.
+        """
+        if self.ip in {'', '0.0.0.0'}:
+            return self.url.replace('127.0.0.1', self.ip or '*', 1)
+        return self.url
+
+    @gen.coroutine
+    def wait_up(self, timeout=10, http=False):
+        """Wait for this server to come up"""
+        if http:
+            yield wait_for_http_server(self.url, timeout=timeout)
+        else:
+            yield wait_for_server(self.ip or '127.0.0.1', self.port, timeout=timeout)
+
+    def is_up(self):
+        """Is the server accepting connections?"""
+        return can_connect(self.ip or '127.0.0.1', self.port)
+
+
+class Hub(Server):
+    """Bring it all together at the hub.
+
+    The Hub is a server, plus its API path suffix
+
+    the api_url is the full URL plus the api_path suffix on the end
+    of the server base_url.
+    """
+
+    @property
+    def server(self):
+        """backward-compat"""
+        return self
+    host = Unicode()
+
+    @property
+    def api_url(self):
+        """return the full API url (with proto://host...)"""
+        return url_path_join(self.server.url, 'api')
+
+    def __repr__(self):
+        return "<%s %s:%s>" % (
+            self.__class__.__name__, self.server.ip, self.server.port,
+        )
diff --git a/jupyterhub/orm.py b/jupyterhub/orm.py
index 1207d260..f92d157b 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/orm.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/orm.py
@@ -79,240 +79,6 @@ class Server(Base):
     def __repr__(self):
         return "<Server(%s:%s)>" % (self.ip, self.port)
 
-    @property
-    def host(self):
-        ip = self.ip
-        if ip in {'', '0.0.0.0'}:
-            # when listening on all interfaces, connect to localhost
-            ip = '127.0.0.1'
-        return "{proto}://{ip}:{port}".format(
-            proto=self.proto,
-            ip=ip,
-            port=self.port,
-        )
-
-    @property
-    def url(self):
-        return "{host}{uri}".format(
-            host=self.host,
-            uri=self.base_url,
-        )
-
-    @property
-    def bind_url(self):
-        """representation of URL used for binding
-
-        Never used in APIs, only logging,
-        since it can be non-connectable value, such as '', meaning all interfaces.
-        """
-        if self.ip in {'', '0.0.0.0'}:
-            return self.url.replace('127.0.0.1', self.ip or '*', 1)
-        return self.url
-
-    @gen.coroutine
-    def wait_up(self, timeout=10, http=False):
-        """Wait for this server to come up"""
-        if http:
-            yield wait_for_http_server(self.url, timeout=timeout)
-        else:
-            yield wait_for_server(self.ip or '127.0.0.1', self.port, timeout=timeout)
-
-    def is_up(self):
-        """Is the server accepting connections?"""
-        return can_connect(self.ip or '127.0.0.1', self.port)
-
-
-class Proxy(Base):
-    """A configurable-http-proxy instance.
-
-    A proxy consists of the API server info and the public-facing server info,
-    plus an auth token for configuring the proxy table.
-    """
-    __tablename__ = 'proxies'
-    id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True)
-    auth_token = None
-    _public_server_id = Column(Integer, ForeignKey('servers.id'))
-    public_server = relationship(Server, primaryjoin=_public_server_id == Server.id)
-    _api_server_id = Column(Integer, ForeignKey('servers.id'))
-    api_server = relationship(Server, primaryjoin=_api_server_id == Server.id)
-
-    def __repr__(self):
-        if self.public_server:
-            return "<%s %s:%s>" % (
-                self.__class__.__name__, self.public_server.ip, self.public_server.port,
-            )
-        else:
-            return "<%s [unconfigured]>" % self.__class__.__name__
-
-    def api_request(self, path, method='GET', body=None, client=None):
-        """Make an authenticated API request of the proxy"""
-        client = client or AsyncHTTPClient()
-        url = url_path_join(self.api_server.url, path)
-
-        if isinstance(body, dict):
-            body = json.dumps(body)
-        self.log.debug("Fetching %s %s", method, url)
-        req = HTTPRequest(url,
-            method=method,
-            headers={'Authorization': 'token {}'.format(self.auth_token)},
-            body=body,
-        )
-
-        return client.fetch(req)
-
-    @gen.coroutine
-    def add_service(self, service, client=None):
-        """Add a service's server to the proxy table."""
-        if not service.server:
-            raise RuntimeError(
-                "Service %s does not have an http endpoint to add to the proxy.", service.name)
-
-        self.log.info("Adding service %s to proxy %s => %s",
-            service.name, service.proxy_path, service.server.host,
-        )
-
-        yield self.proxy.add_route(
-            service.proxy_path,
-            service.server.host,
-            {'service': service.name}
-        )
-
-    @gen.coroutine
-    def delete_service(self, service, client=None):
-        """Remove a service's server from the proxy table."""
-        self.log.info("Removing service %s from proxy", service.name)
-        yield self.proxy.delete_route(service.proxy_path)
-
-    # FIX-ME
-    # we need to add a reference to a specific server
-    @gen.coroutine
-    def add_user(self, user, client=None):
-        """Add a user's server to the proxy table."""
-        self.log.info("Adding user %s to proxy %s => %s",
-            user.name, user.proxy_path, user.server.host,
-        )
-
-        if user.spawn_pending:
-            raise RuntimeError(
-                "User %s's spawn is pending, shouldn't be added to the proxy yet!", user.name)
-
-        yield self.proxy.add_route(
-            user.proxy_path,
-            user.server.host,
-            {'user': user.name}
-        )
-
-    @gen.coroutine
-    def delete_user(self, user, client=None):
-        """Remove a user's server from the proxy table."""
-        self.log.info("Removing user %s from proxy", user.name)
-        yield self.proxy.delete_route(
-            user.proxy_path
-        )
-
-    @gen.coroutine
-    def add_all_services(self, service_dict):
-        """Update the proxy table from the database.
-
-        Used when loading up a new proxy.
-        """
-        db = inspect(self).session
-        futures = []
-        for orm_service in db.query(Service):
-            service = service_dict[orm_service.name]
-            if service.server:
-                futures.append(self.add_service(service))
-        # wait after submitting them all
-        for f in futures:
-            yield f
-
-    @gen.coroutine
-    def add_all_users(self, user_dict):
-        """Update the proxy table from the database.
-
-        Used when loading up a new proxy.
-        """
-        db = inspect(self).session
-        futures = []
-        for orm_user in db.query(User):
-            user = user_dict[orm_user]
-            if user.running:
-                futures.append(self.add_user(user))
-        # wait after submitting them all
-        for f in futures:
-            yield f
-
-    @gen.coroutine
-    def get_routes(self, client=None):
-        """Fetch the proxy's routes"""
-        return (yield self.proxy.get_all_routes())
-
-    # FIX-ME
-    # we need to add a reference to a specific server
-    @gen.coroutine
-    def check_routes(self, user_dict, service_dict, routes=None):
-        """Check that all users are properly routed on the proxy"""
-        if not routes:
-            routes = yield self.get_routes()
-
-        user_routes = { r['user'] for r in routes.values() if 'user' in r }
-        futures = []
-        db = inspect(self).session
-        for orm_user in db.query(User):
-            user = user_dict[orm_user]
-            if user.running:
-                if user.name not in user_routes:
-                    self.log.warning("Adding missing route for %s (%s)", user.name, user.server)
-                    futures.append(self.add_user(user))
-            else:
-                # User not running, make sure it's not in the table
-                if user.name in user_routes:
-                    self.log.warning("Removing route for not running %s", user.name)
-                    futures.append(self.delete_user(user))
-
-        # check service routes
-        service_routes = { r['service'] for r in routes.values() if 'service' in r }
-        for orm_service in db.query(Service).filter(Service.server != None):
-            service = service_dict[orm_service.name]
-            if service.server is None:
-                # This should never be True, but seems to be on rare occasion.
-                # catch filter bug, either in sqlalchemy or my understanding of its behavior
-                self.log.error("Service %s has no server, but wasn't filtered out.", service)
-                continue
-            if service.name not in service_routes:
-                self.log.warning("Adding missing route for %s (%s)", service.name, service.server)
-                futures.append(self.add_service(service))
-        for f in futures:
-            yield f
-
-
-class Hub(Base):
-    """Bring it all together at the hub.
-
-    The Hub is a server, plus its API path suffix
-
-    the api_url is the full URL plus the api_path suffix on the end
-    of the server base_url.
-    """
-    __tablename__ = 'hubs'
-    id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True)
-    _server_id = Column(Integer, ForeignKey('servers.id'))
-    server = relationship(Server, primaryjoin=_server_id == Server.id)
-    host = ''
-
-    @property
-    def api_url(self):
-        """return the full API url (with proto://host...)"""
-        return url_path_join(self.server.url, 'api')
-
-    def __repr__(self):
-        if self.server:
-            return "<%s %s:%s>" % (
-                self.__class__.__name__, self.server.ip, self.server.port,
-            )
-        else:
-            return "<%s [unconfigured]>" % self.__class__.__name__
-
 
 # user:group many:many mapping table
 user_group_map = Table('user_group_map', Base.metadata,
diff --git a/jupyterhub/spawner.py b/jupyterhub/spawner.py
index ce184de6..3349edbf 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/spawner.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/spawner.py
@@ -496,8 +496,8 @@ class Spawner(LoggingConfigurable):
         args = [
             '--user="%s"' % self.user.name,
             '--base-url="%s"' % self.user.server.base_url,
-            '--hub-host="%s"' % self.hub.host,
-            '--hub-prefix="%s"' % self.hub.server.base_url,
+            '--hub-host="%s"' % self.hub.public_host,
+            '--hub-prefix="%s"' % self.hub.base_url,
             '--hub-api-url="%s"' % self.hub.api_url,
         ]
         if self.ip:
diff --git a/jupyterhub/tests/mocking.py b/jupyterhub/tests/mocking.py
index 9045357a..0bc4712e 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/tests/mocking.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/tests/mocking.py
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ class MockHub(JupyterHub):
             self.db.add(user)
             self.db.commit()
             yield super(MockHub, self).start()
-            yield self.hub.server.wait_up(http=True)
+            yield self.hub.wait_up(http=True)
             self.io_loop.add_callback(evt.set)
         
         def _start():
diff --git a/jupyterhub/tests/test_api.py b/jupyterhub/tests/test_api.py
index 512f81d6..0f0d1a64 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/tests/test_api.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/tests/test_api.py
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ def auth_header(db, name):
 @check_db_locks
 def api_request(app, *api_path, **kwargs):
     """Make an API request"""
-    base_url = app.hub.server.url
+    base_url = app.hub.url
     headers = kwargs.setdefault('headers', {})
 
     if 'Authorization' not in headers:
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ def api_request(app, *api_path, **kwargs):
     f = getattr(requests, method)
     resp = f(url, **kwargs)
     assert "frame-ancestors 'self'" in resp.headers['Content-Security-Policy']
-    assert ujoin(app.hub.server.base_url, "security/csp-report") in resp.headers['Content-Security-Policy']
+    assert ujoin(app.hub.base_url, "security/csp-report") in resp.headers['Content-Security-Policy']
     assert 'http' not in resp.headers['Content-Security-Policy']
     return resp
 
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ def test_auth_api(app):
 
 
 def test_referer_check(app, io_loop):
-    url = ujoin(public_host(app), app.hub.server.base_url)
+    url = ujoin(public_host(app), app.hub.base_url)
     host = urlparse(url).netloc
     user = find_user(app.db, 'admin')
     if user is None:
@@ -779,7 +779,7 @@ def test_get_service(app, mockservice_url):
 
 
 def test_root_api(app):
-    base_url = app.hub.server.url
+    base_url = app.hub.url
     url = ujoin(base_url, 'api')
     r = requests.get(url)
     r.raise_for_status()
diff --git a/jupyterhub/tests/test_orm.py b/jupyterhub/tests/test_orm.py
index 531e3523..7d7eb839 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/tests/test_orm.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/tests/test_orm.py
@@ -58,8 +58,8 @@ def test_hub(db):
     )
     db.add(hub)
     db.commit()
-    assert hub.server.ip == '1.2.3.4'
-    assert hub.server.port == 1234
+    assert hub.ip == '1.2.3.4'
+    assert hub.port == 1234
     assert hub.api_url == 'http://1.2.3.4:1234/hubtest/api'
 
 
diff --git a/jupyterhub/tests/test_pages.py b/jupyterhub/tests/test_pages.py
index 0f0d3b3c..abcf0e05 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/tests/test_pages.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/tests/test_pages.py
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ from .test_api import api_request
 
 def get_page(path, app, hub=True, **kw):
     if hub:
-        prefix = app.hub.server.base_url
+        prefix = app.hub.base_url
     else:
         prefix = app.base_url
     base_url = ujoin(public_host(app), prefix)
@@ -24,11 +24,11 @@ def get_page(path, app, hub=True, **kw):
     return requests.get(ujoin(base_url, path), **kw)
 
 def test_root_no_auth(app, io_loop):
-    print(app.hub.server.is_up())
+    print(app.hub.is_up())
     routes = io_loop.run_sync(app.proxy.get_routes)
     print(routes)
     print(app.hub.server)
-    url = ujoin(public_host(app), app.hub.server.base_url)
+    url = ujoin(public_host(app), app.hub.base_url)
     print(url)
     r = requests.get(url)
     r.raise_for_status()
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ def test_spawn_page(app):
 
 def test_spawn_form(app, io_loop):
     with mock.patch.dict(app.users.settings, {'spawner_class': FormSpawner}):
-        base_url = ujoin(public_host(app), app.hub.server.base_url)
+        base_url = ujoin(public_host(app), app.hub.base_url)
         cookies = app.login_user('jones')
         orm_u = orm.User.find(app.db, 'jones')
         u = app.users[orm_u]
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ def test_spawn_form(app, io_loop):
 
 def test_spawn_form_with_file(app, io_loop):
     with mock.patch.dict(app.users.settings, {'spawner_class': FormSpawner}):
-        base_url = ujoin(public_host(app), app.hub.server.base_url)
+        base_url = ujoin(public_host(app), app.hub.base_url)
         cookies = app.login_user('jones')
         orm_u = orm.User.find(app.db, 'jones')
         u = app.users[orm_u]
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ def test_user_redirect(app):
     assert path == ujoin(app.base_url, '/hub/login')
     query = urlparse(r.url).query
     assert query == urlencode({
-        'next': ujoin(app.hub.server.base_url, '/user-redirect/tree/top/')
+        'next': ujoin(app.hub.base_url, '/user-redirect/tree/top/')
     })
 
     r = get_page('/user-redirect/notebooks/test.ipynb', app, cookies=cookies)
@@ -320,7 +320,7 @@ def test_login_no_whitelist_adds_user(app):
 
 
 def test_static_files(app):
-    base_url = ujoin(public_host(app), app.hub.server.base_url)
+    base_url = ujoin(public_host(app), app.hub.base_url)
     r = requests.get(ujoin(base_url, 'logo'))
     r.raise_for_status()
     assert r.headers['content-type'] == 'image/png'
diff --git a/jupyterhub/tests/test_services.py b/jupyterhub/tests/test_services.py
index 337f2cc3..6b8602d5 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/tests/test_services.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/tests/test_services.py
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ def external_service(app, name='mockservice'):
     env = {
         'JUPYTERHUB_API_TOKEN': hexlify(os.urandom(5)),
         'JUPYTERHUB_SERVICE_NAME': name,
-        'JUPYTERHUB_API_URL': url_path_join(app.hub.server.url, 'api/'),
+        'JUPYTERHUB_API_URL': url_path_join(app.hub.url, 'api/'),
         'JUPYTERHUB_SERVICE_URL': 'http://127.0.0.1:%i' % random_port(),
     }
     proc = Popen(mockservice_cmd, env=env)
diff --git a/jupyterhub/user.py b/jupyterhub/user.py
index c0727d31..5a9a78d6 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/user.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/user.py
@@ -117,10 +117,9 @@ class User(HasTraits):
         super().__init__(**kwargs)
 
         hub = self.db.query(orm.Hub).first()
-        
-        self.allow_named_servers = self.settings.get('allow_named_servers', False)
 
-        self.cookie_name = '%s-%s' % (hub.server.cookie_name, quote(self.name, safe=''))
+        self.allow_named_servers = self.settings.get('allow_named_servers', False)
+        self.cookie_name = '%s-%s' % (hub.cookie_name, quote(self.name, safe=''))
         self.base_url = url_path_join(
             self.settings.get('base_url', '/'), 'user', self.escaped_name)
 
diff --git a/jupyterhub/utils.py b/jupyterhub/utils.py
index 82b58151..1c68bdfb 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/utils.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/utils.py
@@ -37,6 +37,8 @@ def can_connect(ip, port):
 
     Return True if we can connect, False otherwise.
     """
+    if ip in {'', '0.0.0.0'}:
+        ip = '127.0.0.1'
     try:
         socket.create_connection((ip, port))
     except socket.error as e:
@@ -50,6 +52,8 @@ def can_connect(ip, port):
 @gen.coroutine
 def wait_for_server(ip, port, timeout=10):
     """Wait for any server to show up at ip:port."""
+    if ip in {'', '0.0.0.0'}:
+        ip = '127.0.0.1'
     loop = ioloop.IOLoop.current()
     tic = loop.time()
     while loop.time() - tic < timeout: