diff --git a/tests/cputest.c b/tests/cputest.c
index 3cdc769274..c789d703e4 100644
--- a/tests/cputest.c
+++ b/tests/cputest.c
@@ -274,9 +274,10 @@ cpuTestGuestData(const void *arg)
         cmpResult == VIR_CPU_COMPARE_INCOMPATIBLE)
         goto cleanup;
 
-    if (VIR_ALLOC(guest) < 0 || !(guest->arch = strdup(host->arch)))
+    if (VIR_ALLOC(guest) < 0)
         goto cleanup;
 
+    guest->arch = host->arch;
     guest->type = VIR_CPU_TYPE_GUEST;
     guest->match = VIR_CPU_MATCH_EXACT;
     guest->fallback = cpu->fallback;
diff --git a/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c b/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c
index 1816362bbf..1555b6efc1 100644
--- a/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c
+++ b/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c
@@ -141,8 +141,8 @@ static int testCompareXMLToArgvFiles(const char *xml,
     VIR_FREE(log);
     virResetLastError();
 
-    if (STREQLEN(vmdef->os.arch, "x86_64", 6) ||
-        STREQLEN(vmdef->os.arch, "i686", 4)) {
+    if (vmdef->os.arch == VIR_ARCH_X86_64 ||
+        vmdef->os.arch == VIR_ARCH_I686) {
         qemuCapsSet(extraFlags, QEMU_CAPS_PCI_MULTIBUS);
     }
 
diff --git a/tests/qemuxmlnstest.c b/tests/qemuxmlnstest.c
index 720d85822a..93f1f1b2d4 100644
--- a/tests/qemuxmlnstest.c
+++ b/tests/qemuxmlnstest.c
@@ -99,8 +99,8 @@ static int testCompareXMLToArgvFiles(const char *xml,
     VIR_FREE(log);
     virResetLastError();
 
-    if (STREQLEN(vmdef->os.arch, "x86_64", 6) ||
-        STREQLEN(vmdef->os.arch, "i686", 4)) {
+    if (vmdef->os.arch == VIR_ARCH_X86_64 ||
+        vmdef->os.arch == VIR_ARCH_I686) {
         qemuCapsSet(extraFlags, QEMU_CAPS_PCI_MULTIBUS);
     }
 
diff --git a/tests/testutilslxc.c b/tests/testutilslxc.c
index 822e51880a..ea2a558896 100644
--- a/tests/testutilslxc.c
+++ b/tests/testutilslxc.c
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 
 
 static int testLXCDefaultConsoleType(const char *ostype ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED,
-                                     const char *arch ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED)
+                                     virArch arch ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED)
 {
     return VIR_DOMAIN_CHR_CONSOLE_TARGET_TYPE_LXC;
 }
@@ -19,13 +19,13 @@ virCapsPtr testLXCCapsInit(void) {
     virCapsPtr caps;
     virCapsGuestPtr guest;
 
-    if ((caps = virCapabilitiesNew("x86_64",
+    if ((caps = virCapabilitiesNew(VIR_ARCH_X86_64,
                                    0, 0)) == NULL)
         return NULL;
 
     caps->defaultConsoleTargetType = testLXCDefaultConsoleType;
 
-    if ((guest = virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "exe", "i686", 32,
+    if ((guest = virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "exe", VIR_ARCH_I686,
                                          "/usr/libexec/libvirt_lxc", NULL,
                                          0, NULL)) == NULL)
         goto error;
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ virCapsPtr testLXCCapsInit(void) {
         goto error;
 
 
-    if ((guest = virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "exe", "x86_64", 64,
+    if ((guest = virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "exe", VIR_ARCH_X86_64,
                                          "/usr/libexec/libvirt_lxc", NULL,
                                          0, NULL)) == NULL)
         goto error;
diff --git a/tests/testutilsqemu.c b/tests/testutilsqemu.c
index 4ff4a08bc5..2ad9b2eee1 100644
--- a/tests/testutilsqemu.c
+++ b/tests/testutilsqemu.c
@@ -56,9 +56,10 @@ static virCapsGuestMachinePtr *testQemuAllocNewerMachines(int *nmachines)
 }
 
 static int testQemuDefaultConsoleType(const char *ostype ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED,
-                                      const char *arch)
+                                      virArch arch)
 {
-    if (STRPREFIX(arch, "s390"))
+    if (arch == VIR_ARCH_S390 ||
+        arch == VIR_ARCH_S390X)
         return VIR_DOMAIN_CHR_CONSOLE_TARGET_TYPE_VIRTIO;
     else
         return VIR_DOMAIN_CHR_CONSOLE_TARGET_TYPE_SERIAL;
@@ -74,7 +75,7 @@ static int testQemuAddPPC64Guest(virCapsPtr caps)
     if (!machines)
         goto error;
 
-    guest = virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "hvm", "ppc64", 64,
+    guest = virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "hvm", VIR_ARCH_PPC64,
                                     "/usr/bin/qemu-system-ppc64", NULL,
                                      1, machines);
     if (!guest)
@@ -102,7 +103,7 @@ static int testQemuAddS390Guest(virCapsPtr caps)
     if (!machines)
         goto error;
 
-    guest = virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "hvm", "s390x", 64,
+    guest = virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "hvm", VIR_ARCH_S390X,
                                     "/usr/bin/qemu-system-s390x", NULL,
                                     ARRAY_CARDINALITY(s390_machines),
                                     machines);
@@ -146,7 +147,7 @@ virCapsPtr testQemuCapsInit(void) {
         VIR_CPU_TYPE_HOST,      /* type */
         0,                      /* mode */
         0,                      /* match */
-        (char *) "x86_64",      /* arch */
+        VIR_ARCH_X86_64,        /* arch */
         (char *) "core2duo",    /* model */
         NULL,                   /* vendor_id */
         0,                      /* fallback */
@@ -175,7 +176,7 @@ virCapsPtr testQemuCapsInit(void) {
 
     qemuDomainSetNamespaceHooks(caps);
 
-    if ((guest = virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "hvm", "i686", 32,
+    if ((guest = virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "hvm", VIR_ARCH_I686,
                                          "/usr/bin/qemu", NULL,
                                          nmachines, machines)) == NULL ||
         !virCapabilitiesAddGuestFeature(guest, "cpuselection", 1, 0))
@@ -193,7 +194,7 @@ virCapsPtr testQemuCapsInit(void) {
     if ((machines = testQemuAllocNewerMachines(&nmachines)) == NULL)
         goto cleanup;
 
-    if ((guest = virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "hvm", "x86_64", 64,
+    if ((guest = virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "hvm", VIR_ARCH_X86_64,
                                          "/usr/bin/qemu-system-x86_64", NULL,
                                          nmachines, machines)) == NULL ||
         !virCapabilitiesAddGuestFeature(guest, "cpuselection", 1, 0))
@@ -224,7 +225,7 @@ virCapsPtr testQemuCapsInit(void) {
     if ((machines = virCapabilitiesAllocMachines(xen_machines, nmachines)) == NULL)
         goto cleanup;
 
-    if ((guest = virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "xen", "x86_64", 64,
+    if ((guest = virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "xen", VIR_ARCH_X86_64,
                                          "/usr/bin/xenner", NULL,
                                          nmachines, machines)) == NULL)
         goto cleanup;
diff --git a/tests/testutilsxen.c b/tests/testutilsxen.c
index 517aeab37e..094c75eac4 100644
--- a/tests/testutilsxen.c
+++ b/tests/testutilsxen.c
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 #include "domain_conf.h"
 
 static int testXenDefaultConsoleType(const char *ostype,
-                                     const char *arch ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED)
+                                     virArch arch ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED)
 {
     if (STREQ(ostype, "hvm"))
         return VIR_DOMAIN_CHR_CONSOLE_TARGET_TYPE_SERIAL;
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ virCapsPtr testXenCapsInit(void) {
     };
 
     uname(&utsname);
-    if ((caps = virCapabilitiesNew(utsname.machine,
+    if ((caps = virCapabilitiesNew(VIR_ARCH_I686,
                                    0, 0)) == NULL)
         return NULL;
 
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ virCapsPtr testXenCapsInit(void) {
     if ((machines = virCapabilitiesAllocMachines(x86_machines, nmachines)) == NULL)
         goto cleanup;
 
-    if ((guest = virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "hvm", "i686", 32,
+    if ((guest = virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "hvm", VIR_ARCH_I686,
                                          "/usr/lib/xen/bin/qemu-dm", NULL,
                                          nmachines, machines)) == NULL)
         goto cleanup;
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ virCapsPtr testXenCapsInit(void) {
     if ((machines = virCapabilitiesAllocMachines(xen_machines, nmachines)) == NULL)
         goto cleanup;
 
-    if ((guest = virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "xen", "i686", 32,
+    if ((guest = virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "xen", VIR_ARCH_I686,
                                          "/usr/lib/xen/bin/qemu-dm", NULL,
                                          nmachines, machines)) == NULL)
         goto cleanup;
diff --git a/tests/vmx2xmltest.c b/tests/vmx2xmltest.c
index e523d1cc63..c44e61fc07 100644
--- a/tests/vmx2xmltest.c
+++ b/tests/vmx2xmltest.c
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ static virCapsPtr caps;
 static virVMXContext ctx;
 
 static int testDefaultConsoleType(const char *ostype ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED,
-                                  const char *arch ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED)
+                                  virArch arch ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED)
 {
     return VIR_DOMAIN_CHR_CONSOLE_TARGET_TYPE_SERIAL;
 }
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ testCapsInit(void)
 {
     virCapsGuestPtr guest = NULL;
 
-    caps = virCapabilitiesNew("i686", 1, 1);
+    caps = virCapabilitiesNew(VIR_ARCH_I686, 1, 1);
 
     if (caps == NULL) {
         return;
@@ -40,7 +40,9 @@ testCapsInit(void)
 
     /* i686 guest */
     guest =
-      virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "hvm", "i686", 32, NULL, NULL, 0, NULL);
+      virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "hvm",
+                              VIR_ARCH_I686,
+                              NULL, NULL, 0, NULL);
 
     if (guest == NULL) {
         goto failure;
@@ -53,7 +55,9 @@ testCapsInit(void)
 
     /* x86_64 guest */
     guest =
-      virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "hvm", "x86_64", 64, NULL, NULL, 0, NULL);
+      virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "hvm",
+                              VIR_ARCH_X86_64,
+                              NULL, NULL, 0, NULL);
 
     if (guest == NULL) {
         goto failure;
diff --git a/tests/xencapstest.c b/tests/xencapstest.c
index 387e278c2b..c94d5c5c74 100644
--- a/tests/xencapstest.c
+++ b/tests/xencapstest.c
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 #include "virfile.h"
 
 static int
-testCompareFiles(const char *hostmachine, const char *xml_rel,
+testCompareFiles(virArch hostmachine, const char *xml_rel,
                  const char *cpuinfo_rel, const char *capabilities_rel)
 {
   char *expectxml = NULL;
@@ -67,31 +67,31 @@ testCompareFiles(const char *hostmachine, const char *xml_rel,
 }
 
 static int testXeni686(const void *data ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED) {
-  return testCompareFiles("i686",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-i686.xml",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-i686.cpuinfo",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-i686.caps");
+    return testCompareFiles(VIR_ARCH_I686,
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-i686.xml",
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-i686.cpuinfo",
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-i686.caps");
 }
 
 static int testXeni686PAE(const void *data ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED) {
-  return testCompareFiles("i686",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-i686-pae.xml",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-i686-pae.cpuinfo",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-i686-pae.caps");
+    return testCompareFiles(VIR_ARCH_I686,
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-i686-pae.xml",
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-i686-pae.cpuinfo",
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-i686-pae.caps");
 }
 
 static int testXeni686PAEHVM(const void *data ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED) {
-  return testCompareFiles("i686",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-i686-pae-hvm.xml",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-i686-pae-hvm.cpuinfo",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-i686-pae-hvm.caps");
+    return testCompareFiles(VIR_ARCH_I686,
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-i686-pae-hvm.xml",
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-i686-pae-hvm.cpuinfo",
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-i686-pae-hvm.caps");
 }
 
 /* No PAE + HVM is non-sensical - all VMX capable
    CPUs have PAE */
 /*
 static int testXeni686HVM(const void *data ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED) {
-  return testCompareFiles("i686",
+  return testCompareFiles(VIR_ARCH_I686,
                           "xencapsdata/xen-i686-hvm.xml",
                           "xencapsdata/xen-i686.cpuinfo",
                           "xencapsdata/xen-i686-hvm.caps");
@@ -99,49 +99,49 @@ static int testXeni686HVM(const void *data ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED) {
 */
 
 static int testXenx86_64(const void *data ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED) {
-  return testCompareFiles("x86_64",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-x86_64.xml",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-x86_64.cpuinfo",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-x86_64.caps");
+    return testCompareFiles(VIR_ARCH_X86_64,
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-x86_64.xml",
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-x86_64.cpuinfo",
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-x86_64.caps");
 }
 static int testXenx86_64HVM(const void *data ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED) {
-  return testCompareFiles("x86_64",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-x86_64-hvm.xml",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-x86_64-hvm.cpuinfo",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-x86_64-hvm.caps");
+    return testCompareFiles(VIR_ARCH_X86_64,
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-x86_64-hvm.xml",
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-x86_64-hvm.cpuinfo",
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-x86_64-hvm.caps");
 }
 
 static int testXenia64(const void *data ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED) {
-  return testCompareFiles("ia64",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-ia64.xml",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-ia64.cpuinfo",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-ia64.caps");
+    return testCompareFiles(VIR_ARCH_ITANIUM,
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-ia64.xml",
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-ia64.cpuinfo",
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-ia64.caps");
 }
 static int testXenia64BE(const void *data ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED) {
-  return testCompareFiles("ia64",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-ia64-be.xml",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-ia64-be.cpuinfo",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-ia64-be.caps");
+    return testCompareFiles(VIR_ARCH_ITANIUM,
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-ia64-be.xml",
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-ia64-be.cpuinfo",
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-ia64-be.caps");
 }
 
 static int testXenia64HVM(const void *data ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED) {
-  return testCompareFiles("ia64",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-ia64-hvm.xml",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-ia64-hvm.cpuinfo",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-ia64-hvm.caps");
+    return testCompareFiles(VIR_ARCH_ITANIUM,
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-ia64-hvm.xml",
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-ia64-hvm.cpuinfo",
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-ia64-hvm.caps");
 }
 static int testXenia64BEHVM(const void *data ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED) {
-  return testCompareFiles("ia64",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-ia64-be-hvm.xml",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-ia64-be-hvm.cpuinfo",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-ia64-be-hvm.caps");
+    return testCompareFiles(VIR_ARCH_ITANIUM,
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-ia64-be-hvm.xml",
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-ia64-be-hvm.cpuinfo",
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-ia64-be-hvm.caps");
 }
 
 static int testXenppc64(const void *data ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED) {
-  return testCompareFiles("ppc64",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-ppc64.xml",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-ppc64.cpuinfo",
-                          "xencapsdata/xen-ppc64.caps");
+    return testCompareFiles(VIR_ARCH_PPC64,
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-ppc64.xml",
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-ppc64.cpuinfo",
+                            "xencapsdata/xen-ppc64.caps");
 }
 
 
diff --git a/tests/xml2vmxtest.c b/tests/xml2vmxtest.c
index 94dfcf2252..334f321037 100644
--- a/tests/xml2vmxtest.c
+++ b/tests/xml2vmxtest.c
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ static virCapsPtr caps;
 static virVMXContext ctx;
 
 static int testDefaultConsoleType(const char *ostype ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED,
-                                  const char *arch ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED)
+                                  virArch arch ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED)
 {
     return VIR_DOMAIN_CHR_CONSOLE_TARGET_TYPE_SERIAL;
 }
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ testCapsInit(void)
 {
     virCapsGuestPtr guest = NULL;
 
-    caps = virCapabilitiesNew("i686", 1, 1);
+    caps = virCapabilitiesNew(VIR_ARCH_I686, 1, 1);
 
     if (caps == NULL) {
         return;
@@ -40,7 +40,9 @@ testCapsInit(void)
 
     /* i686 guest */
     guest =
-      virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "hvm", "i686", 32, NULL, NULL, 0, NULL);
+      virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "hvm",
+                              VIR_ARCH_I686,
+                              NULL, NULL, 0, NULL);
 
     if (guest == NULL) {
         goto failure;
@@ -53,7 +55,9 @@ testCapsInit(void)
 
     /* x86_64 guest */
     guest =
-      virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "hvm", "x86_64", 64, NULL, NULL, 0, NULL);
+      virCapabilitiesAddGuest(caps, "hvm",
+                              VIR_ARCH_X86_64,
+                              NULL, NULL, 0, NULL);
 
     if (guest == NULL) {
         goto failure;