diff --git a/doc/source/index.rst b/doc/source/index.rst
index 80c351044..45819a957 100644
--- a/doc/source/index.rst
+++ b/doc/source/index.rst
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ Example Program
    serialization.rst
    fault-tolerance.rst
    plasma-object-store.rst
+   resources.rst
 
 .. toctree::
    :maxdepth: 1
diff --git a/doc/source/resources.rst b/doc/source/resources.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..784d32ed7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/source/resources.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,123 @@
+Resource (CPUs, GPUs)
+=====================
+
+This document describes how resources are managed in Ray. Each node in a Ray
+cluster knows its own resource capacities, and each task specifies its resource
+requirements.
+
+CPUs and GPUs
+-------------
+
+The Ray backend includes built-in support for CPUs and GPUs.
+
+Specifying a node's resource requirements
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+To specify a node's resource requirements from the command line, pass the
+``--num-cpus`` and ``--num-cpus`` flags into ``ray start``.
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+  # To start a head node.
+  ray start --head --num-cpus=8 --num-gpus=1
+
+  # To start a non-head node.
+  ray start --redis-address=<redis-address> --num-cpus=4 --num-gpus=2
+
+To specify a node's resource requirements when the Ray processes are all started
+through ``ray.init``, do the following.
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+  ray.init(num_cpus=8, num_gpus=1)
+
+If the number of CPUs is unspecified, Ray will automatically determine the
+number by running ``psutil.cpu_count()``. If the number of GPUs is unspecified,
+Ray will default to 0 GPUs.
+
+Specifying a task's CPU and GPU requirements
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+To specify a task's CPU and GPU requirements, pass the ``num_cpus`` and
+``num_gpus`` arguments into the remote decorator.
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+  @ray.remote(num_cpus=4, num_gpus=2)
+  def f():
+      return 1
+
+When ``f`` tasks will be scheduled on machines that have at least 4 CPUs and 2
+GPUs, and when one of the ``f`` tasks executes, 4 CPUs and 2 GPUs will be
+reserved for that task. The IDs of the GPUs that are reserved for the task can
+be accessed with ``ray.get_gpu_ids()``. Ray will automatically set the
+environment variable ``CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES`` for that process. These resources
+will be released when the task finishes executing.
+
+However, if the task gets blocked in a call to ``ray.get``. For example,
+consider the following remote function.
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+  @ray.remote(num_cpus=1, num_gpus=1)
+  def g():
+      return ray.get(f.remote())
+
+When a ``g`` task is executing, it will release its CPU resources when it gets
+blocked in the call to ``ray.get``. It will reacquire the CPU resources when
+``ray.get`` returns. It will retain its GPU resources throughout the lifetime of
+the task because the task will most likely continue to use GPU memory.
+
+To specify that an **actor** requires GPUs, do the following.
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+  @ray.remote(num_gpus=1)
+  class Actor(object):
+      pass
+
+When an ``Actor`` instance is created, it will be placed on a node that has at
+least 1 GPU, and the GPU will be reserved for the actor for the duration of the
+actor's lifetime (even if the actor is not executing tasks). The GPU resources
+will be released when the actor terminates. Note that currently **only GPU
+resources are used for actor placement**.
+
+Custom Resources
+----------------
+
+While Ray has built-in support for CPUs and GPUs, nodes can be started with
+arbitrary custom resources. **All custom resources behave like GPUs.**
+
+A node can be started with some custom resources as follows.
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+  ray start --head --resources='{"Resource1": 4, "Resource2": 16}'
+
+It can be done through ``ray.init`` as follows.
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+  ray.init(resources={'Resource1': 4, 'Resource2': 16})
+
+To require custom resources in a task, specify the requirements in the remote
+decorator.
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+  @ray.remote(resources={'Resource2': 1})
+  def f():
+      return 1
+
+Current Limitations
+-------------------
+
+We are working to remove the following limitations.
+
+- **Actor Resource Requirements:** Currently only GPUs are used to determine
+  actor placement.
+- **Recovering from Bad Scheduling:** Currently Ray does not recover from poor
+  scheduling decisions. For example, suppose there are two GPUs (on separate
+  machines) in the cluster and we wish to run two GPU tasks. There are scenarios
+  in which both tasks can be accidentally scheduled on the same machine, which
+  will result in poor load balancing.
diff --git a/python/ray/actor.py b/python/ray/actor.py
index 1501b5b11..17d8b3590 100644
--- a/python/ray/actor.py
+++ b/python/ray/actor.py
@@ -305,9 +305,7 @@ def register_actor_signatures(worker, driver_id, class_name,
         # For now, all actor methods have 1 return value.
         worker.function_properties[driver_id][function_id] = (
             FunctionProperties(num_return_vals=2,
-                               num_cpus=1,
-                               num_gpus=0,
-                               num_custom_resource=0,
+                               resources={"CPU": 1},
                                max_calls=0))
 
 
@@ -358,8 +356,8 @@ def export_actor_class(class_id, Class, actor_method_names,
     # https://github.com/ray-project/ray/issues/1146.
 
 
-def export_actor(actor_id, class_id, class_name, actor_method_names, num_cpus,
-                 num_gpus, worker):
+def export_actor(actor_id, class_id, class_name, actor_method_names, resources,
+                 worker):
     """Export an actor to redis.
 
     Args:
@@ -367,8 +365,8 @@ def export_actor(actor_id, class_id, class_name, actor_method_names, num_cpus,
         class_id (str): A random ID for the actor class.
         class_name (str): The actor class name.
         actor_method_names (list): A list of the names of this actor's methods.
-        num_cpus (int): The number of CPUs that this actor requires.
-        num_gpus (int): The number of GPUs that this actor requires.
+        resources: A dictionary mapping resource name to the quantity of that
+            resource required by the actor.
     """
     ray.worker.check_main_thread()
     if worker.mode is None:
@@ -383,7 +381,7 @@ def export_actor(actor_id, class_id, class_name, actor_method_names, num_cpus,
     key = b"Actor:" + actor_id.id()
     local_scheduler_id = select_local_scheduler(
         worker.task_driver_id.id(), ray.global_state.local_schedulers(),
-        num_gpus, worker.redis_client)
+        resources.get("GPU", 0), worker.redis_client)
     assert local_scheduler_id is not None
 
     # We must put the actor information in Redis before publishing the actor
@@ -393,7 +391,7 @@ def export_actor(actor_id, class_id, class_name, actor_method_names, num_cpus,
     worker.redis_client.hmset(key, {"class_id": class_id,
                                     "driver_id": driver_id,
                                     "local_scheduler_id": local_scheduler_id,
-                                    "num_gpus": num_gpus,
+                                    "num_gpus": resources.get("GPU", 0),
                                     "removed": False})
 
     # TODO(rkn): There is actually no guarantee that the local scheduler that
@@ -662,8 +660,7 @@ def make_actor_handle_class(class_name):
     return ActorHandle
 
 
-def actor_handle_from_class(Class, class_id, num_cpus, num_gpus,
-                            checkpoint_interval):
+def actor_handle_from_class(Class, class_id, resources, checkpoint_interval):
     class_name = Class.__name__.encode("ascii")
     actor_handle_class = make_actor_handle_class(class_name)
     exported = []
@@ -719,7 +716,7 @@ def actor_handle_from_class(Class, class_id, num_cpus, num_gpus,
                                        ray.worker.global_worker)
                     exported.append(0)
                 export_actor(actor_id, class_id, class_name,
-                             actor_method_names, num_cpus, num_gpus,
+                             actor_method_names, resources,
                              ray.worker.global_worker)
 
             # Instantiate the actor handle.
@@ -740,7 +737,12 @@ def actor_handle_from_class(Class, class_id, num_cpus, num_gpus,
     return ActorHandle
 
 
-def make_actor(cls, num_cpus, num_gpus, checkpoint_interval):
+def make_actor(cls, resources, checkpoint_interval):
+    # Print warning if this actor requires custom resources.
+    for resource_name in resources:
+        if resource_name not in ["CPU", "GPU"]:
+            raise Exception("Currently only GPU resources can be used for "
+                            "actor placement.")
     if checkpoint_interval == 0:
         raise Exception("checkpoint_interval must be greater than 0.")
     # Add one to the checkpoint interval since we will insert a mock task for
@@ -887,7 +889,7 @@ def make_actor(cls, num_cpus, num_gpus, checkpoint_interval):
 
     class_id = random_actor_class_id()
 
-    return actor_handle_from_class(Class, class_id, num_cpus, num_gpus,
+    return actor_handle_from_class(Class, class_id, resources,
                                    checkpoint_interval)
 
 
diff --git a/python/ray/experimental/state.py b/python/ray/experimental/state.py
index d1c6d5234..8370c021c 100644
--- a/python/ray/experimental/state.py
+++ b/python/ray/experimental/state.py
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ from __future__ import print_function
 import copy
 import heapq
 import json
-import pickle
 import redis
 import sys
 import time
@@ -15,7 +14,6 @@ from ray.utils import (decode, binary_to_object_id, binary_to_hex,
                        hex_to_binary)
 
 # Import flatbuffer bindings.
-from ray.core.generated.TaskInfo import TaskInfo
 from ray.core.generated.TaskReply import TaskReply
 from ray.core.generated.ResultTableReply import ResultTableReply
 
@@ -256,36 +254,19 @@ class GlobalState(object):
         task_table_message = TaskReply.GetRootAsTaskReply(task_table_response,
                                                           0)
         task_spec = task_table_message.TaskSpec()
-        task_spec_message = TaskInfo.GetRootAsTaskInfo(task_spec, 0)
-        args = []
-        for i in range(task_spec_message.ArgsLength()):
-            arg = task_spec_message.Args(i)
-            if arg.ObjectIdsLength() != 0:
-                for j in range(arg.ObjectIdsLength()):
-                    args.append(binary_to_object_id(arg.ObjectIds(j)))
-            else:
-                args.append(pickle.loads(arg.Data()))
-        # TODO(atumanov): Instead of hard coding these indices, we should use
-        # the flatbuffer constants.
-        assert task_spec_message.RequiredResourcesLength() == 3
-        required_resources = {
-            "CPUs": task_spec_message.RequiredResources(0),
-            "GPUs": task_spec_message.RequiredResources(1),
-            "CustomResource": task_spec_message.RequiredResources(2)}
+        task_spec = ray.local_scheduler.task_from_string(task_spec)
+
         task_spec_info = {
-            "DriverID": binary_to_hex(task_spec_message.DriverId()),
-            "TaskID": binary_to_hex(task_spec_message.TaskId()),
-            "ParentTaskID": binary_to_hex(task_spec_message.ParentTaskId()),
-            "ParentCounter": task_spec_message.ParentCounter(),
-            "ActorID": binary_to_hex(task_spec_message.ActorId()),
-            "ActorCounter": task_spec_message.ActorCounter(),
-            "FunctionID": binary_to_hex(task_spec_message.FunctionId()),
-            "Args": args,
-            "ReturnObjectIDs": [binary_to_object_id(
-                                    task_spec_message.Returns(i))
-                                for i in range(
-                                    task_spec_message.ReturnsLength())],
-            "RequiredResources": required_resources}
+            "DriverID": binary_to_hex(task_spec.driver_id().id()),
+            "TaskID": binary_to_hex(task_spec.task_id().id()),
+            "ParentTaskID": binary_to_hex(task_spec.parent_task_id().id()),
+            "ParentCounter": task_spec.parent_counter(),
+            "ActorID": binary_to_hex(task_spec.actor_id().id()),
+            "ActorCounter": task_spec.actor_counter(),
+            "FunctionID": binary_to_hex(task_spec.function_id().id()),
+            "Args": task_spec.arguments(),
+            "ReturnObjectIDs": task_spec.returns(),
+            "RequiredResources": task_spec.required_resources()}
 
         return {"State": task_table_message.State(),
                 "LocalSchedulerID": binary_to_hex(
@@ -349,26 +330,31 @@ class GlobalState(object):
             node_ip_address = decode(client_info[b"node_ip_address"])
             if node_ip_address not in node_info:
                 node_info[node_ip_address] = []
-            client_info_parsed = {
-                "ClientType": decode(client_info[b"client_type"]),
-                "Deleted": bool(int(decode(client_info[b"deleted"]))),
-                "DBClientID": binary_to_hex(client_info[b"ray_client_id"])
-            }
-            if b"manager_address" in client_info:
-                client_info_parsed["AuxAddress"] = decode(
-                    client_info[b"manager_address"])
-            if b"num_cpus" in client_info:
-                client_info_parsed["NumCPUs"] = float(
-                    decode(client_info[b"num_cpus"]))
-            if b"num_gpus" in client_info:
-                client_info_parsed["NumGPUs"] = float(
-                    decode(client_info[b"num_gpus"]))
-            if b"num_custom_resource" in client_info:
-                client_info_parsed["NumCustomResource"] = float(
-                    decode(client_info[b"num_custom_resource"]))
-            if b"local_scheduler_socket_name" in client_info:
-                client_info_parsed["LocalSchedulerSocketName"] = decode(
-                    client_info[b"local_scheduler_socket_name"])
+            client_info_parsed = {}
+            assert b"client_type" in client_info
+            assert b"deleted" in client_info
+            assert b"ray_client_id" in client_info
+            for field, value in client_info.items():
+                if field == b"node_ip_address":
+                    pass
+                elif field == b"client_type":
+                    client_info_parsed["ClientType"] = decode(value)
+                elif field == b"deleted":
+                    client_info_parsed["Deleted"] = bool(int(decode(value)))
+                elif field == b"ray_client_id":
+                    client_info_parsed["DBClientID"] = binary_to_hex(value)
+                elif field == b"manager_address":
+                    client_info_parsed["AuxAddress"] = decode(value)
+                elif field == b"local_scheduler_socket_name":
+                    client_info_parsed["LocalSchedulerSocketName"] = (
+                        decode(value))
+                elif client_info[b"client_type"] == b"local_scheduler":
+                    # The remaining fields are resource types.
+                    client_info_parsed[field.decode("ascii")] = float(
+                        decode(value))
+                else:
+                    client_info_parsed[field.decode("ascii")] = decode(value)
+
             node_info[node_ip_address].append(client_info_parsed)
 
         return node_info
diff --git a/python/ray/experimental/ui.py b/python/ray/experimental/ui.py
index 860f0ba4d..d8f1c867c 100644
--- a/python/ray/experimental/ui.py
+++ b/python/ray/experimental/ui.py
@@ -585,8 +585,8 @@ def cpu_usage():
     client_table = ray.global_state.client_table()
     for node_ip, client_list in client_table.items():
         for client in client_list:
-            if "NumCPUs" in client:
-                num_cpus += client["NumCPUs"]
+            if "CPU" in client:
+                num_cpus += client["CPU"]
 
     # Update the plot based on the sliders
     def plot_utilization():
diff --git a/python/ray/global_scheduler/test/test.py b/python/ray/global_scheduler/test/test.py
index 9daf5736b..1a6737bcf 100644
--- a/python/ray/global_scheduler/test/test.py
+++ b/python/ray/global_scheduler/test/test.py
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ class TestGlobalScheduler(unittest.TestCase):
                 plasma_manager_name=plasma_manager_name,
                 plasma_address=plasma_address,
                 redis_address=redis_address,
-                static_resource_list=[10, 0])
+                static_resources={"CPU": 10})
             # Connect to the scheduler.
             local_scheduler_client = local_scheduler.LocalSchedulerClient(
                 local_scheduler_name, NIL_WORKER_ID, NIL_ACTOR_ID, False, 0)
@@ -166,13 +166,13 @@ class TestGlobalScheduler(unittest.TestCase):
         task1 = local_scheduler.Task(random_driver_id(), random_function_id(),
                                      [random_object_id()], 0, random_task_id(),
                                      0)
-        self.assertEqual(task1.required_resources(), [1.0, 0.0, 0.0])
+        self.assertEqual(task1.required_resources(), {"CPU": 1})
         task2 = local_scheduler.Task(random_driver_id(), random_function_id(),
                                      [random_object_id()], 0, random_task_id(),
                                      0, local_scheduler.ObjectID(NIL_ACTOR_ID),
                                      local_scheduler.ObjectID(NIL_ACTOR_ID),
-                                     0, 0, [1.0, 2.0, 0.0])
-        self.assertEqual(task2.required_resources(), [1.0, 2.0, 0.0])
+                                     0, 0, {"CPU": 1, "GPU": 2})
+        self.assertEqual(task2.required_resources(), {"CPU": 1, "GPU": 2})
 
     def test_redis_only_single_task(self):
         # Tests global scheduler functionality by interacting with Redis and
diff --git a/python/ray/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_services.py b/python/ray/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_services.py
index b20e560eb..e76aa648c 100644
--- a/python/ray/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_services.py
+++ b/python/ray/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_services.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ from __future__ import division
 from __future__ import print_function
 
 import os
+import psutil
 import random
 import subprocess
 import sys
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@ def start_local_scheduler(plasma_store_name,
                           use_profiler=False,
                           stdout_file=None,
                           stderr_file=None,
-                          static_resource_list=None,
+                          static_resources=None,
                           num_workers=0):
     """Start a local scheduler process.
 
@@ -51,9 +52,9 @@ def start_local_scheduler(plasma_store_name,
             no redirection should happen, then this should be None.
         stderr_file: A file handle opened for writing to redirect stderr to. If
             no redirection should happen, then this should be None.
-        static_resource_list (list): A list of integers specifying the local
-            scheduler's resource capacities. The resources should appear in an
-            order matching the order defined in task.h.
+        static_resources: A dictionary specifying the local scheduler's
+            resource capacities. This maps resource names (strings) to
+            integers or floats.
         num_workers (int): The number of workers that the local scheduler
             should start.
 
@@ -100,17 +101,24 @@ def start_local_scheduler(plasma_store_name,
         command += ["-r", redis_address]
     if plasma_address is not None:
         command += ["-a", plasma_address]
-    if static_resource_list is not None:
-        assert all([isinstance(resource, int) or isinstance(resource, float)
-                    for resource in static_resource_list])
-        command += ["-c", ",".join([str(resource) for resource
-                    in static_resource_list])]
+    if static_resources is not None:
+        resource_argument = ""
+        for resource_name, resource_quantity in static_resources.items():
+            assert (isinstance(resource_quantity, int) or
+                    isinstance(resource_quantity, float))
+        resource_argument = ",".join(
+            [resource_name + "," + str(resource_quantity)
+             for resource_name, resource_quantity in static_resources.items()])
+    else:
+        resource_argument = "CPU,{}".format(psutil.cpu_count())
+    command += ["-c", resource_argument]
 
     if use_valgrind:
         pid = subprocess.Popen(["valgrind",
                                 "--track-origins=yes",
                                 "--leak-check=full",
                                 "--show-leak-kinds=all",
+                                "--leak-check-heuristics=stdstring",
                                 "--error-exitcode=1"] + command,
                                stdout=stdout_file, stderr=stderr_file)
         time.sleep(1.0)
diff --git a/python/ray/monitor.py b/python/ray/monitor.py
index 92df667e7..42143ab89 100644
--- a/python/ray/monitor.py
+++ b/python/ray/monitor.py
@@ -429,20 +429,15 @@ class Monitor(object):
         log.info(
             "Driver {} has been removed.".format(binary_to_hex(driver_id)))
 
-        # Get a list of the local schedulers.
-        client_table = ray.global_state.client_table()
-        local_schedulers = []
-        for ip_address, clients in client_table.items():
-            for client in clients:
-                if client["ClientType"] == "local_scheduler":
-                    local_schedulers.append(client)
+        # Get a list of the local schedulers that have not been deleted.
+        local_schedulers = ray.global_state.local_schedulers()
 
         self._clean_up_entries_for_driver(driver_id)
 
         # Release any GPU resources that have been reserved for this driver in
         # Redis.
         for local_scheduler in local_schedulers:
-            if int(local_scheduler["NumGPUs"]) > 0:
+            if local_scheduler.get("GPU", 0) > 0:
                 local_scheduler_id = local_scheduler["DBClientID"]
 
                 num_gpus_returned = 0
diff --git a/python/ray/scripts/scripts.py b/python/ray/scripts/scripts.py
index 5dd484174..7a95ec2c1 100644
--- a/python/ray/scripts/scripts.py
+++ b/python/ray/scripts/scripts.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ from __future__ import division
 from __future__ import print_function
 
 import click
+import json
 import subprocess
 
 import ray.services as services
@@ -56,13 +57,15 @@ def cli():
               help=("The initial number of workers to start on this node, "
                     "note that the local scheduler may start additional "
                     "workers. If you wish to control the total number of "
-                    "concurent tasks, then use --num-cpus instead."))
+                    "concurent tasks, then use --resources instead and "
+                    "specify the CPU field."))
 @click.option("--num-cpus", required=False, type=int,
               help="the number of CPUs on this node")
 @click.option("--num-gpus", required=False, type=int,
               help="the number of GPUs on this node")
-@click.option("--num-custom-resource", required=False, type=int,
-              help="the amount of a user-defined custom resource on this node")
+@click.option("--resources", required=False, default="{}", type=str,
+              help="a JSON serialized dictionary mapping resource name to "
+                   "resource quantity")
 @click.option("--head", is_flag=True, default=False,
               help="provide this argument for the head node")
 @click.option("--no-ui", is_flag=True, default=False,
@@ -75,7 +78,7 @@ def cli():
               help="enable support for huge pages in the object store")
 def start(node_ip_address, redis_address, redis_port, num_redis_shards,
           redis_max_clients, object_manager_port, num_workers, num_cpus,
-          num_gpus, num_custom_resource, head, no_ui, block, plasma_directory,
+          num_gpus, resources, head, no_ui, block, plasma_directory,
           huge_pages):
     # Note that we redirect stdout and stderr to /dev/null because otherwise
     # attempts to print may cause exceptions if a process is started inside of
@@ -89,6 +92,21 @@ def start(node_ip_address, redis_address, redis_port, num_redis_shards,
     if redis_address is not None:
         redis_address = services.address_to_ip(redis_address)
 
+    try:
+        resources = json.loads(resources)
+    except Exception as e:
+        raise Exception("Unable to parse the --resources argument using "
+                        "json.loads. Try using a format like\n\n"
+                        "    --resources='{\"CustomResource1\": 3, "
+                        "\"CustomReseource2\": 2}'")
+
+    assert "CPU" not in resources, "Use the --num-cpus argument."
+    assert "GPU" not in resources, "Use the --num-gpus argument."
+    if num_cpus is not None:
+        resources["CPU"] = num_cpus
+    if num_gpus is not None:
+        resources["GPU"] = num_gpus
+
     if head:
         # Start Ray on the head node.
         if redis_address is not None:
@@ -115,9 +133,7 @@ def start(node_ip_address, redis_address, redis_port, num_redis_shards,
             num_workers=num_workers,
             cleanup=False,
             redirect_output=True,
-            num_cpus=num_cpus,
-            num_gpus=num_gpus,
-            num_custom_resource=num_custom_resource,
+            resources=resources,
             num_redis_shards=num_redis_shards,
             redis_max_clients=redis_max_clients,
             include_webui=(not no_ui),
@@ -181,9 +197,7 @@ def start(node_ip_address, redis_address, redis_port, num_redis_shards,
             num_workers=num_workers,
             cleanup=False,
             redirect_output=True,
-            num_cpus=num_cpus,
-            num_gpus=num_gpus,
-            num_custom_resource=num_custom_resource,
+            resources=resources,
             plasma_directory=plasma_directory,
             huge_pages=huge_pages)
         print(address_info)
diff --git a/python/ray/services.py b/python/ray/services.py
index 8871ab549..8da55dbaa 100644
--- a/python/ray/services.py
+++ b/python/ray/services.py
@@ -639,9 +639,7 @@ def start_local_scheduler(redis_address,
                           stdout_file=None,
                           stderr_file=None,
                           cleanup=True,
-                          num_cpus=None,
-                          num_gpus=None,
-                          num_custom_resource=None,
+                          resources=None,
                           num_workers=0):
     """Start a local scheduler process.
 
@@ -662,30 +660,22 @@ def start_local_scheduler(redis_address,
         cleanup (bool): True if using Ray in local mode. If cleanup is true,
             then this process will be killed by serices.cleanup() when the
             Python process that imported services exits.
-        num_cpus: The number of CPUs the local scheduler should be configured
-            with.
-        num_gpus: The number of GPUs the local scheduler should be configured
-            with.
-        num_custom_resource: The quantity of a user-defined custom resource
-            that the local scheduler should be configured with.
+        resources: A dictionary mapping the name of a resource to the available
+            quantity of that resource.
         num_workers (int): The number of workers that the local scheduler
             should start.
 
     Return:
         The name of the local scheduler socket.
     """
-    if num_cpus is None:
+    if resources is None:
+        resources = {}
+    if "CPU" not in resources:
         # By default, use the number of hardware execution threads for the
         # number of cores.
-        num_cpus = psutil.cpu_count()
-    if num_gpus is None:
-        # By default, assume this node has no GPUs.
-        num_gpus = 0
-    if num_custom_resource is None:
-        # By default, assume this node has none of the custom resource.
-        num_custom_resource = 0
-    print("Starting local scheduler with {} CPUs, {} GPUs"
-          .format(num_cpus, num_gpus, num_custom_resource))
+        resources["CPU"] = psutil.cpu_count()
+    print("Starting local scheduler with the following resources: {}."
+          .format(resources))
     local_scheduler_name, p = ray.local_scheduler.start_local_scheduler(
         plasma_store_name,
         plasma_manager_name,
@@ -696,7 +686,7 @@ def start_local_scheduler(redis_address,
         use_profiler=RUN_LOCAL_SCHEDULER_PROFILER,
         stdout_file=stdout_file,
         stderr_file=stderr_file,
-        static_resource_list=[num_cpus, num_gpus, num_custom_resource],
+        static_resources=resources,
         num_workers=num_workers)
     if cleanup:
         all_processes[PROCESS_TYPE_LOCAL_SCHEDULER].append(p)
@@ -894,9 +884,7 @@ def start_ray_processes(address_info=None,
                         include_log_monitor=False,
                         include_webui=False,
                         start_workers_from_local_scheduler=True,
-                        num_cpus=None,
-                        num_gpus=None,
-                        num_custom_resource=None,
+                        resources=None,
                         plasma_directory=None,
                         huge_pages=False):
     """Helper method to start Ray processes.
@@ -940,13 +928,8 @@ def start_ray_processes(address_info=None,
         start_workers_from_local_scheduler (bool): If this flag is True, then
             start the initial workers from the local scheduler. Else, start
             them from Python.
-        num_cpus: A list of length num_local_schedulers containing the number
-            of CPUs each local scheduler should be configured with.
-        num_gpus: A list of length num_local_schedulers containing the number
-            of GPUs each local scheduler should be configured with.
-        num_custom_resource: A list of length num_local_schedulers containing
-            the quantity of a user-defined custom resource that each local
-            scheduler should be configured with.
+        resources: A dictionary mapping resource name to the quantity of that
+            resource.
         plasma_directory: A directory where the Plasma memory mapped files will
             be created.
         huge_pages: Boolean flag indicating whether to start the Object
@@ -956,21 +939,17 @@ def start_ray_processes(address_info=None,
         A dictionary of the address information for the processes that were
             started.
     """
-    if not isinstance(num_cpus, list):
-        num_cpus = num_local_schedulers * [num_cpus]
-    if not isinstance(num_gpus, list):
-        num_gpus = num_local_schedulers * [num_gpus]
-    if not isinstance(num_custom_resource, list):
-        num_custom_resource = num_local_schedulers * [num_custom_resource]
-    assert len(num_cpus) == num_local_schedulers
-    assert len(num_gpus) == num_local_schedulers
-    assert len(num_custom_resource) == num_local_schedulers
+    if resources is None:
+        resources = {}
+    if not isinstance(resources, list):
+        resources = num_local_schedulers * [resources]
 
     if num_workers is not None:
         workers_per_local_scheduler = num_local_schedulers * [num_workers]
     else:
         workers_per_local_scheduler = []
-        for cpus in num_cpus:
+        for resource_dict in resources:
+            cpus = resource_dict.get("CPU")
             workers_per_local_scheduler.append(cpus if cpus is not None
                                                else psutil.cpu_count())
 
@@ -1100,9 +1079,7 @@ def start_ray_processes(address_info=None,
             stdout_file=local_scheduler_stdout_file,
             stderr_file=local_scheduler_stderr_file,
             cleanup=cleanup,
-            num_cpus=num_cpus[i],
-            num_gpus=num_gpus[i],
-            num_custom_resource=num_custom_resource[i],
+            resources=resources[i],
             num_workers=num_local_scheduler_workers)
         local_scheduler_socket_names.append(local_scheduler_name)
         time.sleep(0.1)
@@ -1156,9 +1133,7 @@ def start_ray_node(node_ip_address,
                    worker_path=None,
                    cleanup=True,
                    redirect_output=False,
-                   num_cpus=None,
-                   num_gpus=None,
-                   num_custom_resource=None,
+                   resources=None,
                    plasma_directory=None,
                    huge_pages=False):
     """Start the Ray processes for a single node.
@@ -1183,6 +1158,8 @@ def start_ray_node(node_ip_address,
             called this method exits.
         redirect_output (bool): True if stdout and stderr should be redirected
             to a file.
+        resources: A dictionary mapping resource name to the available quantity
+            of that resource.
         plasma_directory: A directory where the Plasma memory mapped files will
             be created.
         huge_pages: Boolean flag indicating whether to start the Object
@@ -1202,9 +1179,7 @@ def start_ray_node(node_ip_address,
                                include_log_monitor=True,
                                cleanup=cleanup,
                                redirect_output=redirect_output,
-                               num_cpus=num_cpus,
-                               num_gpus=num_gpus,
-                               num_custom_resource=num_custom_resource,
+                               resources=resources,
                                plasma_directory=plasma_directory,
                                huge_pages=huge_pages)
 
@@ -1219,9 +1194,7 @@ def start_ray_head(address_info=None,
                    cleanup=True,
                    redirect_output=False,
                    start_workers_from_local_scheduler=True,
-                   num_cpus=None,
-                   num_gpus=None,
-                   num_custom_resource=None,
+                   resources=None,
                    num_redis_shards=None,
                    redis_max_clients=None,
                    include_webui=True,
@@ -1257,8 +1230,8 @@ def start_ray_head(address_info=None,
         start_workers_from_local_scheduler (bool): If this flag is True, then
             start the initial workers from the local scheduler. Else, start
             them from Python.
-        num_cpus (int): number of cpus to configure the local scheduler with.
-        num_gpus (int): number of gpus to configure the local scheduler with.
+        resources: A dictionary mapping resource name to the available quantity
+            of that resource.
         num_redis_shards: The number of Redis shards to start in addition to
             the primary Redis shard.
         redis_max_clients: If provided, attempt to configure Redis with this
@@ -1288,9 +1261,7 @@ def start_ray_head(address_info=None,
         include_log_monitor=True,
         include_webui=include_webui,
         start_workers_from_local_scheduler=start_workers_from_local_scheduler,
-        num_cpus=num_cpus,
-        num_gpus=num_gpus,
-        num_custom_resource=num_custom_resource,
+        resources=resources,
         num_redis_shards=num_redis_shards,
         redis_max_clients=redis_max_clients,
         plasma_directory=plasma_directory,
diff --git a/python/ray/tune/trial_runner.py b/python/ray/tune/trial_runner.py
index ef6330deb..7242b2598 100644
--- a/python/ray/tune/trial_runner.py
+++ b/python/ray/tune/trial_runner.py
@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ class TrialRunner(object):
             if (entry['ClientType'] == 'local_scheduler' and not
                 entry['Deleted'])
         ]
-        num_cpus = sum(ls['NumCPUs'] for ls in local_schedulers)
-        num_gpus = sum(ls['NumGPUs'] for ls in local_schedulers)
+        num_cpus = sum(ls['CPU'] for ls in local_schedulers)
+        num_gpus = sum(ls.get('GPU', 0) for ls in local_schedulers)
         self._avail_resources = Resources(int(num_cpus), int(num_gpus))
         self._resources_initialized = True
diff --git a/python/ray/utils.py b/python/ray/utils.py
index 7e91b8c88..d0f85a242 100644
--- a/python/ray/utils.py
+++ b/python/ray/utils.py
@@ -109,9 +109,7 @@ def hex_to_binary(hex_identifier):
 
 FunctionProperties = collections.namedtuple("FunctionProperties",
                                             ["num_return_vals",
-                                             "num_cpus",
-                                             "num_gpus",
-                                             "num_custom_resource",
+                                             "resources",
                                              "max_calls"])
 """FunctionProperties: A named tuple storing remote functions information."""
 
@@ -131,7 +129,7 @@ def attempt_to_reserve_gpus(num_gpus, driver_id, local_scheduler,
     """
     assert num_gpus != 0
     local_scheduler_id = local_scheduler["DBClientID"]
-    local_scheduler_total_gpus = int(local_scheduler["NumGPUs"])
+    local_scheduler_total_gpus = int(local_scheduler["GPU"])
 
     success = False
 
@@ -253,9 +251,9 @@ def select_local_scheduler(driver_id, local_schedulers, num_gpus,
     # Loop through all of the local schedulers in a random order.
     local_schedulers = np.random.permutation(local_schedulers)
     for local_scheduler in local_schedulers:
-        if local_scheduler["NumCPUs"] < 1:
+        if local_scheduler["CPU"] < 1:
             continue
-        if local_scheduler["NumGPUs"] < num_gpus:
+        if local_scheduler.get("GPU", 0) < num_gpus:
             continue
         if num_gpus == 0:
             local_scheduler_id = hex_to_binary(local_scheduler["DBClientID"])
diff --git a/python/ray/worker.py b/python/ray/worker.py
index a1255bd3e..b6bb4dcb6 100644
--- a/python/ray/worker.py
+++ b/python/ray/worker.py
@@ -543,8 +543,7 @@ class Worker(object):
                 actor_handle_id,
                 actor_counter,
                 is_actor_checkpoint_method,
-                [function_properties.num_cpus, function_properties.num_gpus,
-                 function_properties.num_custom_resource])
+                function_properties.resources)
             # Increment the worker's task index to track how many tasks have
             # been submitted by the current task so far.
             self.task_index += 1
@@ -1133,6 +1132,44 @@ def get_address_info_from_redis(redis_address, node_ip_address, num_retries=5):
         counter += 1
 
 
+def _normalize_resource_arguments(num_cpus, num_gpus, resources,
+                                  num_local_schedulers):
+    """Stick the CPU and GPU arguments into the resources dictionary.
+
+    This also checks that the arguments are well-formed.
+
+    Args:
+        num_cpus: Either a number of CPUs or a list of numbers of CPUs.
+        num_gpus: Either a number of CPUs or a list of numbers of CPUs.
+        resources: Either a dictionary of resource mappings or a list of
+            dictionaries of resource mappings.
+        num_local_schedulers: The number of local schedulers.
+
+    Returns:
+        A list of dictionaries of resources of length num_local_schedulers.
+    """
+    if resources is None:
+        resources = {}
+    if not isinstance(num_cpus, list):
+        num_cpus = num_local_schedulers * [num_cpus]
+    if not isinstance(num_gpus, list):
+        num_gpus = num_local_schedulers * [num_gpus]
+    if not isinstance(resources, list):
+        resources = num_local_schedulers * [resources]
+
+    new_resources = [r.copy() for r in resources]
+
+    for i in range(num_local_schedulers):
+        assert "CPU" not in new_resources[i], "Use the 'num_cpus' argument."
+        assert "GPU" not in new_resources[i], "Use the 'num_gpus' argument."
+        if num_cpus[i] is not None:
+            new_resources[i]["CPU"] = num_cpus[i]
+        if num_gpus[i] is not None:
+            new_resources[i]["GPU"] = num_gpus[i]
+
+    return new_resources
+
+
 def _init(address_info=None,
           start_ray_local=False,
           object_id_seed=None,
@@ -1144,7 +1181,7 @@ def _init(address_info=None,
           start_workers_from_local_scheduler=True,
           num_cpus=None,
           num_gpus=None,
-          num_custom_resource=None,
+          resources=None,
           num_redis_shards=None,
           redis_max_clients=None,
           plasma_directory=None,
@@ -1183,13 +1220,12 @@ def _init(address_info=None,
         start_workers_from_local_scheduler (bool): If this flag is True, then
             start the initial workers from the local scheduler. Else, start
             them from Python. The latter case is for debugging purposes only.
-        num_cpus: A list containing the number of CPUs the local schedulers
-            should be configured with.
-        num_gpus: A list containing the number of GPUs the local schedulers
-            should be configured with.
-        num_custom_resource: A list containing the quantity of a user-defined
-            custom resource that the local schedulers should be configured
-            with.
+        num_cpus (int): Number of cpus the user wishes all local schedulers to
+            be configured with.
+        num_gpus (int): Number of gpus the user wishes all local schedulers to
+            be configured with.
+        resources: A dictionary mapping resource names to the quantity of that
+            resource available.
         num_redis_shards: The number of Redis shards to start in addition to
             the primary Redis shard.
         redis_max_clients: If provided, attempt to configure Redis with this
@@ -1241,6 +1277,12 @@ def _init(address_info=None,
                 num_local_schedulers = 1
         # Use 1 additional redis shard if num_redis_shards is not provided.
         num_redis_shards = 1 if num_redis_shards is None else num_redis_shards
+
+        # Stick the CPU and GPU resources into the resource dictionary.
+        resources = _normalize_resource_arguments(num_cpus, num_gpus,
+                                                  resources,
+                                                  num_local_schedulers)
+
         # Start the scheduler, object store, and some workers. These will be
         # killed by the call to cleanup(), which happens when the Python script
         # exits.
@@ -1253,9 +1295,7 @@ def _init(address_info=None,
             redirect_output=redirect_output,
             start_workers_from_local_scheduler=(
                 start_workers_from_local_scheduler),
-            num_cpus=num_cpus,
-            num_gpus=num_gpus,
-            num_custom_resource=num_custom_resource,
+            resources=resources,
             num_redis_shards=num_redis_shards,
             redis_max_clients=redis_max_clients,
             plasma_directory=plasma_directory,
@@ -1270,11 +1310,12 @@ def _init(address_info=None,
         if num_local_schedulers is not None:
             raise Exception("When connecting to an existing cluster, "
                             "num_local_schedulers must not be provided.")
-        if (num_cpus is not None or num_gpus is not None or
-                num_custom_resource is not None):
-            raise Exception("When connecting to an existing cluster, resource "
-                            "labels (e.g., num_gpus, num_cpus, "
-                            "num_custom_resource) must not be provided.")
+        if num_cpus is not None or num_gpus is not None:
+            raise Exception("When connecting to an existing cluster, num_cpus "
+                            "and num_gpus must not be provided.")
+        if resources is not None:
+            raise Exception("When connecting to an existing cluster, "
+                            "resources must not be provided.")
         if num_redis_shards is not None:
             raise Exception("When connecting to an existing cluster, "
                             "num_redis_shards must not be provided.")
@@ -1321,9 +1362,9 @@ def _init(address_info=None,
 
 def init(redis_address=None, node_ip_address=None, object_id_seed=None,
          num_workers=None, driver_mode=SCRIPT_MODE, redirect_output=False,
-         num_cpus=None, num_gpus=None, num_custom_resource=None,
-         num_redis_shards=None, redis_max_clients=None,
-         plasma_directory=None, huge_pages=False):
+         num_cpus=None, num_gpus=None, resources=None,
+         num_custom_resource=None, num_redis_shards=None,
+         redis_max_clients=None, plasma_directory=None, huge_pages=False):
     """Connect to an existing Ray cluster or start one and connect to it.
 
     This method handles two cases. Either a Ray cluster already exists and we
@@ -1351,9 +1392,8 @@ def init(redis_address=None, node_ip_address=None, object_id_seed=None,
             be configured with.
         num_gpus (int): Number of gpus the user wishes all local schedulers to
             be configured with.
-        num_custom_resource (int): The quantity of a user-defined custom
-            resource that the local scheduler should be configured with. This
-            flag is experimental and is subject to changes in the future.
+        resources: A dictionary mapping the name of a resource to the quantity
+            of that resource available.
         num_redis_shards: The number of Redis shards to start in addition to
             the primary Redis shard.
         redis_max_clients: If provided, attempt to configure Redis with this
@@ -1381,7 +1421,7 @@ def init(redis_address=None, node_ip_address=None, object_id_seed=None,
     return _init(address_info=info, start_ray_local=(redis_address is None),
                  num_workers=num_workers, driver_mode=driver_mode,
                  redirect_output=redirect_output, num_cpus=num_cpus,
-                 num_gpus=num_gpus, num_custom_resource=num_custom_resource,
+                 num_gpus=num_gpus, resources=resources,
                  num_redis_shards=num_redis_shards,
                  redis_max_clients=redis_max_clients,
                  plasma_directory=plasma_directory,
@@ -1498,25 +1538,21 @@ def print_error_messages(worker):
 def fetch_and_register_remote_function(key, worker=global_worker):
     """Import a remote function."""
     (driver_id, function_id_str, function_name,
-     serialized_function, num_return_vals, module, num_cpus,
-     num_gpus, num_custom_resource, max_calls) = worker.redis_client.hmget(
+     serialized_function, num_return_vals, module, resources,
+     max_calls) = worker.redis_client.hmget(
         key, ["driver_id",
               "function_id",
               "name",
               "function",
               "num_return_vals",
               "module",
-              "num_cpus",
-              "num_gpus",
-              "num_custom_resource",
+              "resources",
               "max_calls"])
     function_id = ray.local_scheduler.ObjectID(function_id_str)
     function_name = function_name.decode("ascii")
     function_properties = FunctionProperties(
         num_return_vals=int(num_return_vals),
-        num_cpus=int(num_cpus),
-        num_gpus=int(num_gpus),
-        num_custom_resource=int(num_custom_resource),
+        resources=json.loads(resources.decode("ascii")),
         max_calls=int(max_calls))
     module = module.decode("ascii")
 
@@ -1835,7 +1871,7 @@ def connect(info, object_id_seed=None, mode=WORKER_MODE, worker=global_worker,
             ray.local_scheduler.ObjectID(NIL_ACTOR_ID),
             nil_actor_counter,
             False,
-            [0, 0, 0])
+            {"CPU": 0})
         global_state._execute_command(
             driver_task.task_id(),
             "RAY.TASK_TABLE_ADD",
@@ -2345,9 +2381,7 @@ def export_remote_function(function_id, func_name, func, func_invoker,
         "module": func.__module__,
         "function": pickled_func,
         "num_return_vals": function_properties.num_return_vals,
-        "num_cpus": function_properties.num_cpus,
-        "num_gpus": function_properties.num_gpus,
-        "num_custom_resource": function_properties.num_custom_resource,
+        "resources": json.dumps(function_properties.resources),
         "max_calls": function_properties.max_calls})
     worker.redis_client.rpush("Exports", key)
 
@@ -2399,9 +2433,8 @@ def remote(*args, **kwargs):
             function should return.
         num_cpus (int): The number of CPUs needed to execute this function.
         num_gpus (int): The number of GPUs needed to execute this function.
-        num_custom_resource (int): The quantity of a user-defined custom
-            resource that is needed to execute this function. This flag is
-            experimental and is subject to changes in the future.
+        resources: A dictionary mapping resource name to the required quantity
+            of that resource.
         max_calls (int): The maximum number of tasks of this kind that can be
             run on a worker before the worker needs to be restarted.
         checkpoint_interval (int): The number of tasks to run between
@@ -2409,21 +2442,18 @@ def remote(*args, **kwargs):
     """
     worker = global_worker
 
-    def make_remote_decorator(num_return_vals, num_cpus, num_gpus,
-                              num_custom_resource, max_calls,
+    def make_remote_decorator(num_return_vals, resources, max_calls,
                               checkpoint_interval, func_id=None):
         def remote_decorator(func_or_class):
             if inspect.isfunction(func_or_class) or is_cython(func_or_class):
                 function_properties = FunctionProperties(
                     num_return_vals=num_return_vals,
-                    num_cpus=num_cpus,
-                    num_gpus=num_gpus,
-                    num_custom_resource=num_custom_resource,
+                    resources=resources,
                     max_calls=max_calls)
                 return remote_function_decorator(func_or_class,
                                                  function_properties)
             if inspect.isclass(func_or_class):
-                return worker.make_actor(func_or_class, num_cpus, num_gpus,
+                return worker.make_actor(func_or_class, resources,
                                          checkpoint_interval)
             raise Exception("The @ray.remote decorator must be applied to "
                             "either a function or to a class.")
@@ -2489,12 +2519,21 @@ def remote(*args, **kwargs):
 
         return remote_decorator
 
-    num_return_vals = (kwargs["num_return_vals"] if "num_return_vals"
-                       in kwargs else 1)
+    # Handle resource arguments
     num_cpus = kwargs["num_cpus"] if "num_cpus" in kwargs else 1
     num_gpus = kwargs["num_gpus"] if "num_gpus" in kwargs else 0
-    num_custom_resource = (kwargs["num_custom_resource"]
-                           if "num_custom_resource" in kwargs else 0)
+    resources = kwargs.get("resources", {})
+    if not isinstance(resources, dict):
+        raise Exception("The 'resources' keyword argument must be a "
+                        "dictionary, but received type {}."
+                        .format(type(resources)))
+    assert "CPU" not in resources, "Use the 'num_cpus' argument."
+    assert "GPU" not in resources, "Use the 'num_gpus' argument."
+    resources["CPU"] = num_cpus
+    resources["GPU"] = num_gpus
+    # Handle other arguments.
+    num_return_vals = (kwargs["num_return_vals"] if "num_return_vals"
+                       in kwargs else 1)
     max_calls = kwargs["max_calls"] if "max_calls" in kwargs else 0
     checkpoint_interval = (kwargs["checkpoint_interval"]
                            if "checkpoint_interval" in kwargs else -1)
@@ -2502,15 +2541,13 @@ def remote(*args, **kwargs):
     if _mode() == WORKER_MODE:
         if "function_id" in kwargs:
             function_id = kwargs["function_id"]
-            return make_remote_decorator(num_return_vals, num_cpus, num_gpus,
-                                         num_custom_resource, max_calls,
+            return make_remote_decorator(num_return_vals, resources, max_calls,
                                          checkpoint_interval, function_id)
 
     if len(args) == 1 and len(kwargs) == 0 and callable(args[0]):
         # This is the case where the decorator is just @ray.remote.
         return make_remote_decorator(
-            num_return_vals, num_cpus,
-            num_gpus, num_custom_resource,
+            num_return_vals, resources,
             max_calls, checkpoint_interval)(args[0])
     else:
         # This is the case where the decorator is something like
@@ -2518,21 +2555,15 @@ def remote(*args, **kwargs):
         error_string = ("The @ray.remote decorator must be applied either "
                         "with no arguments and no parentheses, for example "
                         "'@ray.remote', or it must be applied using some of "
-                        "the arguments 'num_return_vals', 'num_cpus', "
-                        "'num_gpus', num_custom_resource, or 'max_calls', "
-                        "like '@ray.remote(num_return_vals=2)'.")
-        assert (len(args) == 0 and
-                ("num_return_vals" in kwargs or
-                 "num_cpus" in kwargs or
-                 "num_gpus" in kwargs or
-                 "num_custom_resource" in kwargs or
-                 "max_calls" in kwargs or
-                 "checkpoint_interval" in kwargs)), error_string
+                        "the arguments 'num_return_vals', 'resources', "
+                        "or 'max_calls', like "
+                        "'@ray.remote(num_return_vals=2, "
+                        "resources={\"GPU\": 1})'.")
+        assert len(args) == 0 and len(kwargs) > 0, error_string
         for key in kwargs:
-            assert key in ["num_return_vals", "num_cpus",
-                           "num_gpus", "num_custom_resource", "max_calls",
+            assert key in ["num_return_vals", "num_cpus", "num_gpus",
+                           "resources", "max_calls",
                            "checkpoint_interval"], error_string
         assert "function_id" not in kwargs
-        return make_remote_decorator(num_return_vals, num_cpus, num_gpus,
-                                     num_custom_resource, max_calls,
+        return make_remote_decorator(num_return_vals, resources, max_calls,
                                      checkpoint_interval)
diff --git a/src/common/common_protocol.cc b/src/common/common_protocol.cc
index e746673fa..038047ec0 100644
--- a/src/common/common_protocol.cc
+++ b/src/common/common_protocol.cc
@@ -6,10 +6,10 @@ flatbuffers::Offset<flatbuffers::String> to_flatbuf(
   return fbb.CreateString((char *) &object_id.id[0], sizeof(object_id.id));
 }
 
-ObjectID from_flatbuf(const flatbuffers::String *string) {
+ObjectID from_flatbuf(const flatbuffers::String &string) {
   ObjectID object_id;
-  CHECK(string->size() == sizeof(object_id.id));
-  memcpy(&object_id.id[0], string->data(), sizeof(object_id.id));
+  CHECK(string.size() == sizeof(object_id.id));
+  memcpy(&object_id.id[0], string.data(), sizeof(object_id.id));
   return object_id;
 }
 
@@ -24,3 +24,30 @@ to_flatbuf(flatbuffers::FlatBufferBuilder &fbb,
   }
   return fbb.CreateVector(results);
 }
+
+std::string string_from_flatbuf(const flatbuffers::String &string) {
+  return std::string(string.data(), string.size());
+}
+
+const std::unordered_map<std::string, double> map_from_flatbuf(
+    const flatbuffers::Vector<flatbuffers::Offset<ResourcePair>>
+        &resource_vector) {
+  std::unordered_map<std::string, double> required_resources;
+  for (int64_t i = 0; i < resource_vector.size(); i++) {
+    const ResourcePair *resource_pair = resource_vector.Get(i);
+    required_resources[string_from_flatbuf(*resource_pair->key())] =
+        resource_pair->value();
+  }
+  return required_resources;
+}
+
+flatbuffers::Offset<flatbuffers::Vector<flatbuffers::Offset<ResourcePair>>>
+map_to_flatbuf(flatbuffers::FlatBufferBuilder &fbb,
+               const std::unordered_map<std::string, double> &resource_map) {
+  std::vector<flatbuffers::Offset<ResourcePair>> resource_vector;
+  for (auto const &resource_pair : resource_map) {
+    resource_vector.push_back(CreateResourcePair(
+        fbb, fbb.CreateString(resource_pair.first), resource_pair.second));
+  }
+  return fbb.CreateVector(resource_vector);
+}
diff --git a/src/common/common_protocol.h b/src/common/common_protocol.h
index 57a7466eb..ad46b9066 100644
--- a/src/common/common_protocol.h
+++ b/src/common/common_protocol.h
@@ -3,41 +3,63 @@
 
 #include "format/common_generated.h"
 
+#include <unordered_map>
+
 #include "common.h"
 
 #define DB_CLIENT_PREFIX "CL:"
 
-/**
- * Convert an object ID to a flatbuffer string.
- *
- * @param fbb Reference to the flatbuffer builder.
- * @param object_id The object ID to be converted.
- * @return The flatbuffer string contining the object ID.
- */
+/// Convert an object ID to a flatbuffer string.
+///
+/// @param fbb Reference to the flatbuffer builder.
+/// @param object_id The object ID to be converted.
+/// @return The flatbuffer string contining the object ID.
 flatbuffers::Offset<flatbuffers::String> to_flatbuf(
     flatbuffers::FlatBufferBuilder &fbb,
     ObjectID object_id);
 
-/**
- * Convert a flatbuffer string to an object ID.
- *
- * @param string The flatbuffer string.
- * @return The object ID.
- */
-ObjectID from_flatbuf(const flatbuffers::String *string);
+/// Convert a flatbuffer string to an object ID.
+///
+/// @param string The flatbuffer string.
+/// @return The object ID.
+ObjectID from_flatbuf(const flatbuffers::String &string);
 
-/**
- * Convert an array of object IDs to a flatbuffer vector of strings.
- *
- * @param fbb Reference to the flatbuffer builder.
- * @param object_ids Array of object IDs.
- * @param num_objects Number of elements in the array.
- * @return Flatbuffer vector of strings.
- */
+/// Convert an array of object IDs to a flatbuffer vector of strings.
+///
+/// @param fbb Reference to the flatbuffer builder.
+/// @param object_ids Array of object IDs.
+/// @param num_objects Number of elements in the array.
+/// @return Flatbuffer vector of strings.
 flatbuffers::Offset<
     flatbuffers::Vector<flatbuffers::Offset<flatbuffers::String>>>
 to_flatbuf(flatbuffers::FlatBufferBuilder &fbb,
            ObjectID object_ids[],
            int64_t num_objects);
 
+/// Convert a flatbuffer string to a std::string.
+///
+/// @param fbb Reference to the flatbuffer builder.
+/// @param string A flatbuffers string.
+/// @return The std::string version of the flatbuffer string.
+std::string string_from_flatbuf(const flatbuffers::String &string);
+
+/// Convert a std::unordered_map to a flatbuffer vector of pairs.
+///
+/// @param fbb Reference to the flatbuffer builder.
+/// @param resource_map A mapping from resource name to resource quantity.
+/// @return A flatbuffer vector of ResourcePair objects.
+flatbuffers::Offset<flatbuffers::Vector<flatbuffers::Offset<ResourcePair>>>
+map_to_flatbuf(flatbuffers::FlatBufferBuilder &fbb,
+               const std::unordered_map<std::string, double> &resource_map);
+
+/// Convert a flatbuffer vector of ResourcePair objects to a std::unordered map
+/// from resource name to resource quantity.
+///
+/// @param fbb Reference to the flatbuffer builder.
+/// @param resource_vector The flatbuffer object.
+/// @return A map from resource name to resource quantity.
+const std::unordered_map<std::string, double> map_from_flatbuf(
+    const flatbuffers::Vector<flatbuffers::Offset<ResourcePair>>
+        &resource_vector);
+
 #endif
diff --git a/src/common/format/common.fbs b/src/common/format/common.fbs
index 389d83e63..85969d386 100644
--- a/src/common/format/common.fbs
+++ b/src/common/format/common.fbs
@@ -3,19 +3,6 @@
 // A resource vector maps a resource index to the number
 // of units of that resource required.
 
-// The total length of the resource vector is ResourceIndex_MAX.
-enum ResourceIndex:int {
-  // A central processing unit.
-  CPU = 0,
-  // A graphics processing unit.
-  GPU = 1,
-  // A user-defined custom resource.
-  CustomResource = 2,
-  // A dummy entry to make ResourceIndex_MAX equal to the length of
-  // a resource vector.
-  DUMMY = 3
-}
-
 table Arg {
   // Object ID for pass-by-reference arguments. Normally there is only one
   // object ID in this list which represents the object that is being passed.
@@ -26,6 +13,13 @@ table Arg {
   data: string;
 }
 
+table ResourcePair {
+  // The name of the resource.
+  key: string;
+  // The quantity of the resource.
+  value: double;
+}
+
 table TaskInfo {
   // ID of the driver that created this task.
   driver_id: string;
@@ -52,11 +46,8 @@ table TaskInfo {
   // Object IDs of return values.
   returns: [string];
   // The required_resources vector indicates the quantities of the different
-  // resources required by this task. The index in this vector corresponds to
-  // the resource type defined in the ResourceIndex enum. For example,
-  // required_resources[0] is the number of CPUs required, and
-  // required_resources[1] is the number of GPUs required.
-  required_resources: [double];
+  // resources required by this task.
+  required_resources: [ResourcePair];
 }
 
 // Object information data structure.
@@ -131,12 +122,10 @@ table LocalSchedulerInfoMessage {
   task_queue_length: long;
   // The number of workers that are available and waiting for tasks.
   available_workers: long;
-  // The resource vector of resources generally available to this local
-  // scheduler.
-  static_resources: [double];
-  // The resource vector of resources currently available to this local
-  // scheduler.
-  dynamic_resources: [double];
+  // The resources generally available to this local scheduler.
+  static_resources: [ResourcePair];
+  // The resources currently available to this local scheduler.
+  dynamic_resources: [ResourcePair];
   // Whether the local scheduler is dead. If true, then all other fields
   // besides `db_client_id` will not be set.
   is_dead: bool;
diff --git a/src/common/lib/python/common_extension.cc b/src/common/lib/python/common_extension.cc
index e9e939a0a..c9077f1e5 100644
--- a/src/common/lib/python/common_extension.cc
+++ b/src/common/lib/python/common_extension.cc
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@
 
 #include <string>
 
+#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
+#define PyInt_Check PyLong_Check
+#endif
+
 PyObject *CommonError;
 
 /* Initialize pickle module. */
@@ -284,15 +288,14 @@ static int PyTask_init(PyTask *self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwds) {
   TaskID parent_task_id;
   /* The number of tasks that the parent task has called prior to this one. */
   int parent_counter;
-  /* Resource vector of the required resources to execute this task. */
-  PyObject *resource_vector = NULL;
-  if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "O&O&OiO&i|O&O&iOO", &PyObjectToUniqueID,
-                        &driver_id, &PyObjectToUniqueID, &function_id,
-                        &arguments, &num_returns, &PyObjectToUniqueID,
-                        &parent_task_id, &parent_counter, &PyObjectToUniqueID,
-                        &actor_id, &PyObjectToUniqueID, &actor_handle_id,
-                        &actor_counter, &is_actor_checkpoint_method_object,
-                        &resource_vector)) {
+  /* Dictionary of resource requirements for this task. */
+  PyObject *resource_map = NULL;
+  if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(
+          args, "O&O&OiO&i|O&O&iOO", &PyObjectToUniqueID, &driver_id,
+          &PyObjectToUniqueID, &function_id, &arguments, &num_returns,
+          &PyObjectToUniqueID, &parent_task_id, &parent_counter,
+          &PyObjectToUniqueID, &actor_id, &PyObjectToUniqueID, &actor_handle_id,
+          &actor_counter, &is_actor_checkpoint_method_object, &resource_map)) {
     return -1;
   }
 
@@ -318,25 +321,54 @@ static int PyTask_init(PyTask *self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwds) {
       /* We do this check because we cast a signed int to an unsigned int. */
       PyObject *data = PyObject_CallMethodObjArgs(pickle_module, pickle_dumps,
                                                   arg, pickle_protocol, NULL);
-      TaskSpec_args_add_val(g_task_builder, (uint8_t *) PyBytes_AS_STRING(data),
-                            PyBytes_GET_SIZE(data));
+      TaskSpec_args_add_val(g_task_builder, (uint8_t *) PyBytes_AsString(data),
+                            PyBytes_Size(data));
       Py_DECREF(data);
     }
   }
-  /* Set the resource vector of the task. */
-  if (resource_vector != NULL) {
-    CHECK(PyList_Size(resource_vector) == ResourceIndex_MAX);
-    for (int i = 0; i < ResourceIndex_MAX; ++i) {
-      PyObject *resource_entry = PyList_GetItem(resource_vector, i);
-      TaskSpec_set_required_resource(g_task_builder, i,
-                                     PyFloat_AsDouble(resource_entry));
+  /* Set the resource requirements for the task. */
+  bool found_CPU_requirements = false;
+  PyObject *key, *value;
+  Py_ssize_t position = 0;
+  if (resource_map != NULL) {
+    if (!PyDict_Check(resource_map)) {
+      PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError, "resource_map must be a dictionary");
+      return -1;
     }
-  } else {
-    for (int i = 0; i < ResourceIndex_MAX; ++i) {
-      TaskSpec_set_required_resource(g_task_builder, i,
-                                     i == ResourceIndex_CPU ? 1.0 : 0.0);
+    while (PyDict_Next(resource_map, &position, &key, &value)) {
+      if (!(PyBytes_Check(key) || PyUnicode_Check(key))) {
+        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError,
+                        "the keys in resource_map must be strings");
+        return -1;
+      }
+      if (!(PyFloat_Check(value) || PyInt_Check(value) ||
+            PyLong_Check(value))) {
+        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError,
+                        "the values in resource_map must be floats");
+        return -1;
+      }
+      // Handle the case where the key is a bytes object and the case where it
+      // is a unicode object.
+      std::string resource_name;
+      if (PyUnicode_Check(key)) {
+        PyObject *ascii_key = PyUnicode_AsASCIIString(key);
+        resource_name =
+            std::string(PyBytes_AsString(ascii_key), PyBytes_Size(ascii_key));
+        Py_DECREF(ascii_key);
+      } else {
+        resource_name = std::string(PyBytes_AsString(key), PyBytes_Size(key));
+      }
+      if (resource_name == std::string("CPU")) {
+        found_CPU_requirements = true;
+      }
+      TaskSpec_set_required_resource(g_task_builder, resource_name,
+                                     PyFloat_AsDouble(value));
     }
   }
+  if (!found_CPU_requirements) {
+    TaskSpec_set_required_resource(g_task_builder, "CPU", 1.0);
+  }
+
   /* Compute the task ID and the return object IDs. */
   self->spec = TaskSpec_finish_construct(g_task_builder, &self->size);
   return 0;
@@ -410,10 +442,20 @@ static PyObject *PyTask_arguments(PyObject *self) {
 
 static PyObject *PyTask_required_resources(PyObject *self) {
   TaskSpec *task = ((PyTask *) self)->spec;
-  PyObject *required_resources = PyList_New((Py_ssize_t) ResourceIndex_MAX);
-  for (int i = 0; i < ResourceIndex_MAX; ++i) {
-    double r = TaskSpec_get_required_resource(task, i);
-    PyList_SetItem(required_resources, i, PyFloat_FromDouble(r));
+  PyObject *required_resources = PyDict_New();
+  for (auto const &resource_pair : TaskSpec_get_required_resources(task)) {
+    std::string resource_name = resource_pair.first;
+#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
+    PyObject *key =
+        PyUnicode_FromStringAndSize(resource_name.data(), resource_name.size());
+#else
+    PyObject *key =
+        PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(resource_name.data(), resource_name.size());
+#endif
+    PyObject *value = PyFloat_FromDouble(resource_pair.second);
+    PyDict_SetItem(required_resources, key, value);
+    Py_DECREF(key);
+    Py_DECREF(value);
   }
   return required_resources;
 }
@@ -506,10 +548,6 @@ PyObject *PyTask_make(TaskSpec *task_spec, int64_t task_size) {
 
 /* Define the methods for the module. */
 
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
-#define PyInt_Check PyLong_Check
-#endif
-
 /**
  * This method checks if a Python object is sufficiently simple that it can be
  * serialized and passed by value as an argument to a task (without being put in
diff --git a/src/common/lib/python/config_extension.cc b/src/common/lib/python/config_extension.cc
index 05508ef28..8002138dc 100644
--- a/src/common/lib/python/config_extension.cc
+++ b/src/common/lib/python/config_extension.cc
@@ -75,19 +75,6 @@ PyObject *PyRayConfig_kill_worker_timeout_milliseconds(PyObject *self) {
       RayConfig::instance().kill_worker_timeout_milliseconds());
 }
 
-PyObject *PyRayConfig_default_num_CPUs(PyObject *self) {
-  return PyFloat_FromDouble(RayConfig::instance().default_num_CPUs());
-}
-
-PyObject *PyRayConfig_default_num_GPUs(PyObject *self) {
-  return PyFloat_FromDouble(RayConfig::instance().default_num_GPUs());
-}
-
-PyObject *PyRayConfig_default_num_custom_resource(PyObject *self) {
-  return PyFloat_FromDouble(
-      RayConfig::instance().default_num_custom_resource());
-}
-
 PyObject *PyRayConfig_manager_timeout_milliseconds(PyObject *self) {
   return PyLong_FromLongLong(
       RayConfig::instance().manager_timeout_milliseconds());
@@ -172,13 +159,6 @@ static PyMethodDef PyRayConfig_methods[] = {
     {"kill_worker_timeout_milliseconds",
      (PyCFunction) PyRayConfig_kill_worker_timeout_milliseconds, METH_NOARGS,
      "Return kill_worker_timeout_milliseconds"},
-    {"default_num_CPUs", (PyCFunction) PyRayConfig_default_num_CPUs,
-     METH_NOARGS, "Return default_num_CPUs"},
-    {"default_num_GPUs", (PyCFunction) PyRayConfig_default_num_GPUs,
-     METH_NOARGS, "Return default_num_GPUs"},
-    {"default_num_custom_resource",
-     (PyCFunction) PyRayConfig_default_num_custom_resource, METH_NOARGS,
-     "Return default_num_custom_resource"},
     {"manager_timeout_milliseconds",
      (PyCFunction) PyRayConfig_manager_timeout_milliseconds, METH_NOARGS,
      "Return manager_timeout_milliseconds"},
diff --git a/src/common/lib/python/config_extension.h b/src/common/lib/python/config_extension.h
index 746be54d1..e0c850cd7 100644
--- a/src/common/lib/python/config_extension.h
+++ b/src/common/lib/python/config_extension.h
@@ -32,9 +32,6 @@ PyObject *PyRayConfig_local_scheduler_reconstruction_timeout_milliseconds(
 PyObject *PyRayConfig_max_num_to_reconstruct(PyObject *self);
 PyObject *PyRayConfig_local_scheduler_fetch_request_size(PyObject *self);
 PyObject *PyRayConfig_kill_worker_timeout_milliseconds(PyObject *self);
-PyObject *PyRayConfig_default_num_CPUs(PyObject *self);
-PyObject *PyRayConfig_default_num_GPUs(PyObject *self);
-PyObject *PyRayConfig_default_num_custom_resource(PyObject *self);
 PyObject *PyRayConfig_manager_timeout_milliseconds(PyObject *self);
 PyObject *PyRayConfig_buf_size(PyObject *self);
 PyObject *PyRayConfig_max_time_for_handler_milliseconds(PyObject *self);
diff --git a/src/common/state/db.h b/src/common/state/db.h
index 8525dca91..ac9960b89 100644
--- a/src/common/state/db.h
+++ b/src/common/state/db.h
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 #ifndef DB_H
 #define DB_H
 
+#include <vector>
+
 #include "common.h"
 #include "event_loop.h"
 
@@ -16,11 +18,10 @@ typedef struct DBHandle DBHandle;
  *        as db_shards_addresses.
  * @param client_type The type of this client.
  * @param node_ip_address The hostname of the client that is connecting.
- * @param num_args The number of extra arguments that should be supplied. This
- *        should be an even number.
- * @param args An array of extra arguments strings. They should alternate
+ * @param args A vector of extra arguments strings. They should alternate
  *        between the name of the argument and the value of the argument. For
- *        examples: "port", "1234", "socket_name", "/tmp/s1".
+ *        examples: "port", "1234", "socket_name", "/tmp/s1". This vector should
+ *        have an even length.
  * @return This returns a handle to the database, which must be freed with
  *         db_disconnect after use.
  */
@@ -28,8 +29,7 @@ DBHandle *db_connect(const std::string &db_primary_address,
                      int db_primary_port,
                      const char *client_type,
                      const char *node_ip_address,
-                     int num_args,
-                     const char **args);
+                     const std::vector<std::string> &args);
 
 /**
  * Attach global system store connection to an event loop. Callbacks from
diff --git a/src/common/state/local_scheduler_table.cc b/src/common/state/local_scheduler_table.cc
index dde830dd6..dfcc545a2 100644
--- a/src/common/state/local_scheduler_table.cc
+++ b/src/common/state/local_scheduler_table.cc
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+#include "common_protocol.h"
 #include "local_scheduler_table.h"
 #include "redis.h"
 
@@ -19,10 +20,21 @@ void local_scheduler_table_subscribe(
 void local_scheduler_table_send_info(DBHandle *db_handle,
                                      LocalSchedulerInfo *info,
                                      RetryInfo *retry) {
+  /* Create a flatbuffer object to serialize and publish. */
+  flatbuffers::FlatBufferBuilder fbb;
+  /* Create the flatbuffers message. */
+  auto message = CreateLocalSchedulerInfoMessage(
+      fbb, to_flatbuf(fbb, db_handle->client), info->total_num_workers,
+      info->task_queue_length, info->available_workers,
+      map_to_flatbuf(fbb, info->static_resources),
+      map_to_flatbuf(fbb, info->dynamic_resources), false);
+  fbb.Finish(message);
+
   LocalSchedulerTableSendInfoData *data =
       (LocalSchedulerTableSendInfoData *) malloc(
-          sizeof(LocalSchedulerTableSendInfoData));
-  data->info = *info;
+          sizeof(LocalSchedulerTableSendInfoData) + fbb.GetSize());
+  data->size = fbb.GetSize();
+  memcpy(&data->flatbuffer_data[0], fbb.GetBufferPointer(), fbb.GetSize());
 
   init_table_callback(db_handle, NIL_ID, __func__, data, retry, NULL,
                       redis_local_scheduler_table_send_info, NULL);
diff --git a/src/common/state/local_scheduler_table.h b/src/common/state/local_scheduler_table.h
index 9eb58cac7..239b84d0f 100644
--- a/src/common/state/local_scheduler_table.h
+++ b/src/common/state/local_scheduler_table.h
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 #ifndef LOCAL_SCHEDULER_TABLE_H
 #define LOCAL_SCHEDULER_TABLE_H
 
+#include <unordered_map>
+
 #include "db.h"
 #include "table.h"
 #include "task.h"
@@ -17,10 +19,10 @@ typedef struct {
   int available_workers;
   /** The resource vector of resources generally available to this local
    *  scheduler. */
-  double static_resources[ResourceIndex_MAX];
+  std::unordered_map<std::string, double> static_resources;
   /** The resource vector of resources currently available to this local
    *  scheduler. */
-  double dynamic_resources[ResourceIndex_MAX];
+  std::unordered_map<std::string, double> dynamic_resources;
   /** Whether the local scheduler is dead. If true, then all other fields
    *  should be ignored. */
   bool is_dead;
@@ -77,8 +79,10 @@ void local_scheduler_table_send_info(DBHandle *db_handle,
 /* Data that is needed to publish local scheduler heartbeats to the local
  * scheduler table. */
 typedef struct {
+  /* The size of the flatbuffer object. */
+  int64_t size;
   /* The information to be sent. */
-  LocalSchedulerInfo info;
+  uint8_t flatbuffer_data[0];
 } LocalSchedulerTableSendInfoData;
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/common/state/ray_config.h b/src/common/state/ray_config.h
index 58e710149..2bd953c48 100644
--- a/src/common/state/ray_config.h
+++ b/src/common/state/ray_config.h
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 #ifndef RAY_CONFIG_H
 #define RAY_CONFIG_H
 
-#include <math.h>
 #include <stdint.h>
 
 class RayConfig {
@@ -53,14 +52,6 @@ class RayConfig {
     return kill_worker_timeout_milliseconds_;
   }
 
-  double default_num_CPUs() const { return default_num_CPUs_; }
-
-  double default_num_GPUs() const { return default_num_GPUs_; }
-
-  double default_num_custom_resource() const {
-    return default_num_custom_resource_;
-  }
-
   int64_t manager_timeout_milliseconds() const {
     return manager_timeout_milliseconds_;
   }
@@ -105,9 +96,6 @@ class RayConfig {
         max_num_to_reconstruct_(10000),
         local_scheduler_fetch_request_size_(10000),
         kill_worker_timeout_milliseconds_(100),
-        default_num_CPUs_(INT16_MAX),
-        default_num_GPUs_(0),
-        default_num_custom_resource_(INFINITY),
         manager_timeout_milliseconds_(1000),
         buf_size_(4096),
         max_time_for_handler_milliseconds_(1000),
@@ -167,12 +155,6 @@ class RayConfig {
   /// the worker SIGKILL.
   int64_t kill_worker_timeout_milliseconds_;
 
-  /// These are used to determine the local scheduler's behavior with respect to
-  /// different types of resources.
-  double default_num_CPUs_;
-  double default_num_GPUs_;
-  double default_num_custom_resource_;
-
   /// These are used by the plasma manager.
   int64_t manager_timeout_milliseconds_;
   int64_t buf_size_;
diff --git a/src/common/state/redis.cc b/src/common/state/redis.cc
index abee2ac5a..2bb909e08 100644
--- a/src/common/state/redis.cc
+++ b/src/common/state/redis.cc
@@ -160,8 +160,7 @@ void db_connect_shard(const std::string &db_address,
                       DBClientID client,
                       const char *client_type,
                       const char *node_ip_address,
-                      int num_args,
-                      const char **args,
+                      const std::vector<std::string> &args,
                       DBHandle *db,
                       redisAsyncContext **context_out,
                       redisAsyncContext **subscribe_context_out,
@@ -201,7 +200,7 @@ void db_connect_shard(const std::string &db_address,
   freeReplyObject(reply);
 
   /* Construct the argument arrays for RAY.CONNECT. */
-  int argc = num_args + 4;
+  int argc = args.size() + 4;
   const char **argv = (const char **) malloc(sizeof(char *) * argc);
   size_t *argvlen = (size_t *) malloc(sizeof(size_t) * argc);
   /* Set the command name argument. */
@@ -217,13 +216,9 @@ void db_connect_shard(const std::string &db_address,
   argv[3] = client_type;
   argvlen[3] = strlen(client_type);
   /* Set the remaining arguments. */
-  for (int i = 0; i < num_args; ++i) {
-    if (args[i] == NULL) {
-      LOG_FATAL("Element %d of the args array passed to db_connect was NULL.",
-                i);
-    }
-    argv[4 + i] = args[i];
-    argvlen[4 + i] = strlen(args[i]);
+  for (size_t i = 0; i < args.size(); ++i) {
+    argv[4 + i] = args[i].c_str();
+    argvlen[4 + i] = strlen(args[i].c_str());
   }
 
   /* Register this client with Redis. RAY.CONNECT is a custom Redis command that
@@ -262,11 +257,10 @@ DBHandle *db_connect(const std::string &db_primary_address,
                      int db_primary_port,
                      const char *client_type,
                      const char *node_ip_address,
-                     int num_args,
-                     const char **args) {
+                     const std::vector<std::string> &args) {
   /* Check that the number of args is even. These args will be passed to the
    * RAY.CONNECT Redis command, which takes arguments in pairs. */
-  if (num_args % 2 != 0) {
+  if (args.size() % 2 != 0) {
     LOG_FATAL("The number of extra args must be divisible by two.");
   }
 
@@ -284,8 +278,8 @@ DBHandle *db_connect(const std::string &db_primary_address,
 
   /* Connect to the primary redis instance. */
   db_connect_shard(db_primary_address, db_primary_port, client, client_type,
-                   node_ip_address, num_args, args, db, &context,
-                   &subscribe_context, &sync_context);
+                   node_ip_address, args, db, &context, &subscribe_context,
+                   &sync_context);
   db->context = context;
   db->subscribe_context = subscribe_context;
   db->sync_context = sync_context;
@@ -298,7 +292,7 @@ DBHandle *db_connect(const std::string &db_primary_address,
   /* Connect to the shards. */
   for (size_t i = 0; i < db_shards_addresses.size(); ++i) {
     db_connect_shard(db_shards_addresses[i], db_shards_ports[i], client,
-                     client_type, node_ip_address, num_args, args, db, &context,
+                     client_type, node_ip_address, args, db, &context,
                      &subscribe_context, &sync_context);
     db->contexts.push_back(context);
     db->subscribe_contexts.push_back(subscribe_context);
@@ -538,7 +532,7 @@ Task *parse_and_construct_task_from_redis_reply(redisReply *reply) {
     TaskSpec *spec = (TaskSpec *) message->task_spec()->data();
     int64_t task_spec_size = message->task_spec()->size();
     task = Task_alloc(spec, task_spec_size, message->state(),
-                      from_flatbuf(message->local_scheduler_id()));
+                      from_flatbuf(*message->local_scheduler_id()));
   } else {
     LOG_FATAL("Unexpected reply type %d", reply->type);
   }
@@ -559,7 +553,7 @@ void redis_result_table_lookup_callback(redisAsyncContext *c,
   bool is_put = false;
   if (reply->type == REDIS_REPLY_STRING) {
     auto message = flatbuffers::GetRoot<ResultTableReply>(reply->str);
-    result_id = from_flatbuf(message->task_id());
+    result_id = from_flatbuf(*message->task_id());
     is_put = message->is_put();
   }
 
@@ -718,7 +712,7 @@ void object_table_redis_subscribe_to_notifications_callback(
     auto message = flatbuffers::GetRoot<SubscribeToNotificationsReply>(
         reply->element[2]->str);
     /* Extract the object ID. */
-    ObjectID obj_id = from_flatbuf(message->object_id());
+    ObjectID obj_id = from_flatbuf(*message->object_id());
     /* Extract the data size. */
     int64_t data_size = message->object_size();
     int manager_count = message->manager_ids()->size();
@@ -726,7 +720,7 @@ void object_table_redis_subscribe_to_notifications_callback(
     /* Extract the manager IDs from the response into a vector. */
     std::vector<DBClientID> manager_ids;
     for (int i = 0; i < manager_count; ++i) {
-      DBClientID manager_id = from_flatbuf(message->manager_ids()->Get(i));
+      DBClientID manager_id = from_flatbuf(*message->manager_ids()->Get(i));
       manager_ids.push_back(manager_id);
     }
 
@@ -1082,7 +1076,8 @@ void redis_task_table_subscribe_callback(redisAsyncContext *c,
     /* Extract the scheduling state. */
     int64_t state = message->state();
     /* Extract the local scheduler ID. */
-    DBClientID local_scheduler_id = from_flatbuf(message->local_scheduler_id());
+    DBClientID local_scheduler_id =
+        from_flatbuf(*message->local_scheduler_id());
     /* Extract the task spec. */
     TaskSpec *spec = (TaskSpec *) message->task_spec()->data();
     int64_t task_spec_size = message->task_spec()->size();
@@ -1247,7 +1242,7 @@ void redis_db_client_table_subscribe_callback(redisAsyncContext *c,
   /* Parse the client type and auxiliary address from the response. If there is
    * only client type, then the update was a delete. */
   DBClient db_client;
-  db_client.id = from_flatbuf(message->db_client_id());
+  db_client.id = from_flatbuf(*message->db_client_id());
   db_client.client_type = std::string(message->client_type()->data());
   db_client.manager_address = std::string(message->manager_address()->data());
   db_client.is_alive = message->is_insertion();
@@ -1290,25 +1285,22 @@ void redis_local_scheduler_table_subscribe_callback(redisAsyncContext *c,
         flatbuffers::GetRoot<LocalSchedulerInfoMessage>(reply->element[2]->str);
 
     /* Extract the client ID. */
-    DBClientID client_id = from_flatbuf(message->db_client_id());
+    DBClientID client_id = from_flatbuf(*message->db_client_id());
     /* Extract the fields of the local scheduler info struct. */
     LocalSchedulerInfo info;
-    memset(&info, 0, sizeof(info));
     if (message->is_dead()) {
       /* If the local scheduler is dead, then ignore all other fields in the
        * message. */
       info.is_dead = true;
     } else {
       /* If the local scheduler is alive, collect load information. */
+      info.is_dead = false;
       info.total_num_workers = message->total_num_workers();
       info.task_queue_length = message->task_queue_length();
       info.available_workers = message->available_workers();
-      for (int i = 0; i < ResourceIndex_MAX; ++i) {
-        info.static_resources[i] = message->static_resources()->Get(i);
-      }
-      for (int i = 0; i < ResourceIndex_MAX; ++i) {
-        info.dynamic_resources[i] = message->dynamic_resources()->Get(i);
-      }
+
+      info.static_resources = map_from_flatbuf(*message->static_resources());
+      info.dynamic_resources = map_from_flatbuf(*message->dynamic_resources());
     }
 
     /* Call the subscribe callback. */
@@ -1359,21 +1351,13 @@ void redis_local_scheduler_table_send_info(TableCallbackData *callback_data) {
   LocalSchedulerTableSendInfoData *data =
       (LocalSchedulerTableSendInfoData *) callback_data->data;
 
-  /* Create a flatbuffer object to serialize and publish. */
-  flatbuffers::FlatBufferBuilder fbb;
-  /* Create the flatbuffers message. */
-  LocalSchedulerInfo info = data->info;
-  auto message = CreateLocalSchedulerInfoMessage(
-      fbb, to_flatbuf(fbb, db->client), info.total_num_workers,
-      info.task_queue_length, info.available_workers,
-      fbb.CreateVector(info.static_resources, ResourceIndex_MAX),
-      fbb.CreateVector(info.dynamic_resources, ResourceIndex_MAX), false);
-  fbb.Finish(message);
+  int64_t size = data->size;
+  uint8_t *flatbuffer_data = data->flatbuffer_data;
 
   int status = redisAsyncCommand(
       db->context, redis_local_scheduler_table_send_info_callback,
       (void *) callback_data->timer_id, "PUBLISH local_schedulers %b",
-      fbb.GetBufferPointer(), fbb.GetSize());
+      flatbuffer_data, size);
   if ((status == REDIS_ERR) || db->context->err) {
     LOG_REDIS_DEBUG(db->context,
                     "error in redis_local_scheduler_table_send_info");
@@ -1383,12 +1367,13 @@ void redis_local_scheduler_table_send_info(TableCallbackData *callback_data) {
 void redis_local_scheduler_table_disconnect(DBHandle *db) {
   flatbuffers::FlatBufferBuilder fbb;
   /* Create the flatbuffers message. */
-  double empty_array[] = {};
+  std::unordered_map<std::string, double> empty_resource_map;
   /* Most of the flatbuffer message fields don't matter here. Only the
    * db_client_id and the is_dead field matter. */
   auto message = CreateLocalSchedulerInfoMessage(
       fbb, to_flatbuf(fbb, db->client), 0, 0, 0,
-      fbb.CreateVector(empty_array, 0), fbb.CreateVector(empty_array, 0), true);
+      map_to_flatbuf(fbb, empty_resource_map),
+      map_to_flatbuf(fbb, empty_resource_map), true);
   fbb.Finish(message);
 
   redisReply *reply = (redisReply *) redisCommand(
@@ -1417,7 +1402,7 @@ void redis_driver_table_subscribe_callback(redisAsyncContext *c,
     auto message =
         flatbuffers::GetRoot<DriverTableMessage>(reply->element[2]->str);
     /* Extract the client ID. */
-    WorkerID driver_id = from_flatbuf(message->driver_id());
+    WorkerID driver_id = from_flatbuf(*message->driver_id());
 
     /* Call the subscribe callback. */
     DriverTableSubscribeData *data =
diff --git a/src/common/task.cc b/src/common/task.cc
index baa4c139f..d00f3722c 100644
--- a/src/common/task.cc
+++ b/src/common/task.cc
@@ -79,14 +79,9 @@ class TaskBuilder {
     sha256_update(&ctx, (BYTE *) value, length);
   }
 
-  void SetRequiredResource(int64_t resource_index, double value) {
-    if (static_cast<size_t>(resource_index) >= resource_vector_.size()) {
-      /* Make sure the resource vector is constructed entry by entry,
-       * in order. */
-      CHECK(static_cast<size_t>(resource_index) == resource_vector_.size());
-      resource_vector_.resize(resource_index + 1);
-    }
-    resource_vector_[resource_index] = value;
+  void SetRequiredResource(const std::string &resource_name, double value) {
+    CHECK(resource_map_.count(resource_name) == 0);
+    resource_map_[resource_name] = value;
   }
 
   uint8_t *Finish(int64_t *size) {
@@ -105,16 +100,13 @@ class TaskBuilder {
       returns.push_back(to_flatbuf(fbb, return_id));
     }
     /* Create TaskInfo. */
-    for (int64_t i = resource_vector_.size(); i < ResourceIndex_MAX; ++i) {
-      resource_vector_.push_back(0.0);
-    }
     auto message = CreateTaskInfo(
         fbb, to_flatbuf(fbb, driver_id_), to_flatbuf(fbb, task_id),
         to_flatbuf(fbb, parent_task_id_), parent_counter_,
         to_flatbuf(fbb, actor_id_), to_flatbuf(fbb, actor_handle_id_),
         actor_counter_, is_actor_checkpoint_method_,
         to_flatbuf(fbb, function_id_), arguments, fbb.CreateVector(returns),
-        fbb.CreateVector(resource_vector_));
+        map_to_flatbuf(fbb, resource_map_));
     /* Finish the TaskInfo. */
     fbb.Finish(message);
     *size = fbb.GetSize();
@@ -122,6 +114,7 @@ class TaskBuilder {
     memcpy(result, fbb.GetBufferPointer(), *size);
     fbb.Clear();
     args.clear();
+    resource_map_.clear();
     return result;
   }
 
@@ -140,7 +133,7 @@ class TaskBuilder {
   bool is_actor_checkpoint_method_;
   FunctionID function_id_;
   int64_t num_returns_;
-  std::vector<double> resource_vector_;
+  std::unordered_map<std::string, double> resource_map_;
 };
 
 TaskBuilder *make_task_builder(void) {
@@ -205,9 +198,9 @@ void TaskSpec_args_add_val(TaskBuilder *builder,
 }
 
 void TaskSpec_set_required_resource(TaskBuilder *builder,
-                                    int64_t resource_index,
+                                    const std::string &resource_name,
                                     double value) {
-  builder->SetRequiredResource(resource_index, value);
+  builder->SetRequiredResource(resource_name, value);
 }
 
 /* Functions for reading tasks. */
@@ -215,25 +208,25 @@ void TaskSpec_set_required_resource(TaskBuilder *builder,
 TaskID TaskSpec_task_id(TaskSpec *spec) {
   CHECK(spec);
   auto message = flatbuffers::GetRoot<TaskInfo>(spec);
-  return from_flatbuf(message->task_id());
+  return from_flatbuf(*message->task_id());
 }
 
 FunctionID TaskSpec_function(TaskSpec *spec) {
   CHECK(spec);
   auto message = flatbuffers::GetRoot<TaskInfo>(spec);
-  return from_flatbuf(message->function_id());
+  return from_flatbuf(*message->function_id());
 }
 
 ActorID TaskSpec_actor_id(TaskSpec *spec) {
   CHECK(spec);
   auto message = flatbuffers::GetRoot<TaskInfo>(spec);
-  return from_flatbuf(message->actor_id());
+  return from_flatbuf(*message->actor_id());
 }
 
 ActorID TaskSpec_actor_handle_id(TaskSpec *spec) {
   CHECK(spec);
   auto message = flatbuffers::GetRoot<TaskInfo>(spec);
-  return from_flatbuf(message->actor_handle_id());
+  return from_flatbuf(*message->actor_handle_id());
 }
 
 bool TaskSpec_is_actor_task(TaskSpec *spec) {
@@ -268,13 +261,13 @@ bool TaskSpec_arg_is_actor_dummy_object(TaskSpec *spec, int64_t arg_index) {
 UniqueID TaskSpec_driver_id(TaskSpec *spec) {
   CHECK(spec);
   auto message = flatbuffers::GetRoot<TaskInfo>(spec);
-  return from_flatbuf(message->driver_id());
+  return from_flatbuf(*message->driver_id());
 }
 
 TaskID TaskSpec_parent_task_id(TaskSpec *spec) {
   CHECK(spec);
   auto message = flatbuffers::GetRoot<TaskInfo>(spec);
-  return from_flatbuf(message->parent_task_id());
+  return from_flatbuf(*message->parent_task_id());
 }
 
 int64_t TaskSpec_parent_counter(TaskSpec *spec) {
@@ -300,7 +293,7 @@ ObjectID TaskSpec_arg_id(TaskSpec *spec, int64_t arg_index, int64_t id_index) {
   CHECK(spec);
   auto message = flatbuffers::GetRoot<TaskInfo>(spec);
   return from_flatbuf(
-      message->args()->Get(arg_index)->object_ids()->Get(id_index));
+      *message->args()->Get(arg_index)->object_ids()->Get(id_index));
 }
 
 const uint8_t *TaskSpec_arg_val(TaskSpec *spec, int64_t arg_index) {
@@ -330,14 +323,29 @@ bool TaskSpec_arg_by_ref(TaskSpec *spec, int64_t arg_index) {
 ObjectID TaskSpec_return(TaskSpec *spec, int64_t return_index) {
   CHECK(spec);
   auto message = flatbuffers::GetRoot<TaskInfo>(spec);
-  return from_flatbuf(message->returns()->Get(return_index));
+  return from_flatbuf(*message->returns()->Get(return_index));
 }
 
 double TaskSpec_get_required_resource(const TaskSpec *spec,
-                                      int64_t resource_index) {
+                                      const std::string &resource_name) {
+  // This is a bit ugly. However it shouldn't be much of a performance issue
+  // because there shouldn't be many distinct resources in a single task spec.
   CHECK(spec);
   auto message = flatbuffers::GetRoot<TaskInfo>(spec);
-  return message->required_resources()->Get(resource_index);
+  for (size_t i = 0; i < message->required_resources()->size(); i++) {
+    const ResourcePair *resource_pair = message->required_resources()->Get(i);
+    if (string_from_flatbuf(*resource_pair->key()) == resource_name) {
+      return resource_pair->value();
+    }
+  }
+  return 0;
+}
+
+const std::unordered_map<std::string, double> TaskSpec_get_required_resources(
+    const TaskSpec *spec) {
+  CHECK(spec);
+  auto message = flatbuffers::GetRoot<TaskInfo>(spec);
+  return map_from_flatbuf(*message->required_resources());
 }
 
 bool TaskSpec_is_dependent_on(TaskSpec *spec, ObjectID object_id) {
diff --git a/src/common/task.h b/src/common/task.h
index 08bfd66da..7dd9d6370 100644
--- a/src/common/task.h
+++ b/src/common/task.h
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 #ifndef TASK_H
 #define TASK_H
 
+#include <unordered_map>
+
 #include <stddef.h>
 #include <stdint.h>
 #include "common.h"
@@ -310,13 +312,13 @@ void TaskSpec_args_add_val(TaskBuilder *builder,
  * Set the value associated to a resource index.
  *
  * @param spec Task specification.
- * @param resource_index Index of the resource in the resource vector.
+ * @param resource_name Name of the resource in the resource vector.
  * @param value Value for the resource. This can be a quantity of this resource
  *        this task needs or a value for an attribute this task requires.
  * @return Void.
  */
 void TaskSpec_set_required_resource(TaskBuilder *builder,
-                                    int64_t resource_index,
+                                    const std::string &resource_name,
                                     double value);
 
 /**
@@ -329,14 +331,20 @@ void TaskSpec_set_required_resource(TaskBuilder *builder,
 ObjectID TaskSpec_return(TaskSpec *data, int64_t return_index);
 
 /**
- * Get the value associated to a resource index.
+ * Get the value associated to a resource name.
  *
  * @param spec Task specification.
- * @param resource_index Index of the resource.
+ * @param resource_name Name of the resource.
  * @return How many of this resource the task needs to execute.
  */
 double TaskSpec_get_required_resource(const TaskSpec *spec,
-                                      int64_t resource_index);
+                                      const std::string &resource_name);
+
+/**
+ *
+ */
+const std::unordered_map<std::string, double> TaskSpec_get_required_resources(
+    const TaskSpec *spec);
 
 /**
  * Compute whether the task is dependent on an object ID.
diff --git a/src/common/test/db_tests.cc b/src/common/test/db_tests.cc
index 6c9a63453..5a4437af9 100644
--- a/src/common/test/db_tests.cc
+++ b/src/common/test/db_tests.cc
@@ -68,13 +68,17 @@ int64_t timeout_handler(event_loop *loop, int64_t id, void *context) {
 TEST object_table_lookup_test(void) {
   event_loop *loop = event_loop_create();
   /* This uses manager_port1. */
-  const char *db_connect_args1[] = {"manager_address", "127.0.0.1:12345"};
+  std::vector<std::string> db_connect_args1;
+  db_connect_args1.push_back("manager_address");
+  db_connect_args1.push_back("127.0.0.1:12345");
   DBHandle *db1 = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                             manager_addr, 2, db_connect_args1);
+                             manager_addr, db_connect_args1);
   /* This uses manager_port2. */
-  const char *db_connect_args2[] = {"manager_address", "127.0.0.1:12346"};
+  std::vector<std::string> db_connect_args2;
+  db_connect_args2.push_back("manager_address");
+  db_connect_args2.push_back("127.0.0.1:12346");
   DBHandle *db2 = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                             manager_addr, 2, db_connect_args2);
+                             manager_addr, db_connect_args2);
   db_attach(db1, loop, false);
   db_attach(db2, loop, false);
   UniqueID id = globally_unique_id();
@@ -144,7 +148,7 @@ TEST task_table_test(void) {
   task_table_test_callback_called = 0;
   event_loop *loop = event_loop_create();
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "local_scheduler",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                            "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(db, loop, false);
   DBClientID local_scheduler_id = globally_unique_id();
   int64_t task_spec_size;
@@ -180,7 +184,7 @@ void task_table_all_test_callback(Task *task, void *user_data) {
 TEST task_table_all_test(void) {
   event_loop *loop = event_loop_create();
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "local_scheduler",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                            "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(db, loop, false);
   int64_t task_spec_size;
   TaskSpec *spec = example_task_spec(1, 1, &task_spec_size);
@@ -218,7 +222,7 @@ TEST unique_client_id_test(void) {
   DBHandle *db;
   for (int i = 0; i < num_conns; ++i) {
     db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                    "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                    "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
     ids[i] = get_db_client_id(db);
     db_disconnect(db);
   }
diff --git a/src/common/test/object_table_tests.cc b/src/common/test/object_table_tests.cc
index 8aeb0b843..d9c768197 100644
--- a/src/common/test/object_table_tests.cc
+++ b/src/common/test/object_table_tests.cc
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ TEST new_object_test(void) {
   new_object_task_id = TaskSpec_task_id(new_object_task_spec);
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                            "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(db, g_loop, false);
   RetryInfo retry = {
       .num_retries = 5,
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ TEST new_object_no_task_test(void) {
   new_object_task_id = globally_unique_id();
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                            "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(db, g_loop, false);
   RetryInfo retry = {
       .num_retries = 5,
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ void lookup_fail_callback(UniqueID id, void *user_context, void *user_data) {
 TEST lookup_timeout_test(void) {
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                            "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(db, g_loop, false);
   RetryInfo retry = {
       .num_retries = 5, .timeout = 100, .fail_callback = lookup_fail_callback,
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ void add_fail_callback(UniqueID id, void *user_context, void *user_data) {
 TEST add_timeout_test(void) {
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                            "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(db, g_loop, false);
   RetryInfo retry = {
       .num_retries = 5, .timeout = 100, .fail_callback = add_fail_callback,
@@ -241,7 +241,7 @@ void subscribe_fail_callback(UniqueID id, void *user_context, void *user_data) {
 TEST subscribe_timeout_test(void) {
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                            "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(db, g_loop, false);
   RetryInfo retry = {
       .num_retries = 5,
@@ -335,9 +335,11 @@ TEST add_lookup_test(void) {
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
   lookup_retry_succeeded = 0;
   /* Construct the arguments to db_connect. */
-  const char *db_connect_args[] = {"manager_address", "127.0.0.1:11235"};
+  std::vector<std::string> db_connect_args;
+  db_connect_args.push_back("manager_address");
+  db_connect_args.push_back("127.0.0.1:11235");
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 2, db_connect_args);
+                            "127.0.0.1", db_connect_args);
   db_attach(db, g_loop, true);
   RetryInfo retry = {
       .num_retries = 5,
@@ -399,7 +401,7 @@ TEST add_remove_lookup_test(void) {
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
   lookup_retry_succeeded = 0;
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                            "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(db, g_loop, true);
   RetryInfo retry = {
       .num_retries = 5,
@@ -445,7 +447,7 @@ void lookup_late_done_callback(ObjectID object_id,
 TEST lookup_late_test(void) {
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                            "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(db, g_loop, false);
   RetryInfo retry = {
       .num_retries = 0,
@@ -489,7 +491,7 @@ void add_late_done_callback(ObjectID object_id,
 TEST add_late_test(void) {
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                            "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(db, g_loop, false);
   RetryInfo retry = {
       .num_retries = 0, .timeout = 0, .fail_callback = add_late_fail_callback,
@@ -534,7 +536,7 @@ void subscribe_late_done_callback(ObjectID object_id,
 TEST subscribe_late_test(void) {
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                            "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(db, g_loop, false);
   RetryInfo retry = {
       .num_retries = 0,
@@ -601,9 +603,11 @@ TEST subscribe_success_test(void) {
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
 
   /* Construct the arguments to db_connect. */
-  const char *db_connect_args[] = {"manager_address", "127.0.0.1:11236"};
+  std::vector<std::string> db_connect_args;
+  db_connect_args.push_back("manager_address");
+  db_connect_args.push_back("127.0.0.1:11236");
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 2, db_connect_args);
+                            "127.0.0.1", db_connect_args);
   db_attach(db, g_loop, false);
   subscribe_id = globally_unique_id();
 
@@ -669,9 +673,11 @@ TEST subscribe_object_present_test(void) {
 
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
   /* Construct the arguments to db_connect. */
-  const char *db_connect_args[] = {"manager_address", "127.0.0.1:11236"};
+  std::vector<std::string> db_connect_args;
+  db_connect_args.push_back("manager_address");
+  db_connect_args.push_back("127.0.0.1:11236");
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 2, db_connect_args);
+                            "127.0.0.1", db_connect_args);
   db_attach(db, g_loop, false);
   UniqueID id = globally_unique_id();
   RetryInfo retry = {
@@ -722,7 +728,7 @@ void subscribe_object_not_present_object_available_callback(
 TEST subscribe_object_not_present_test(void) {
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                            "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(db, g_loop, false);
   UniqueID id = globally_unique_id();
   RetryInfo retry = {
@@ -783,9 +789,11 @@ TEST subscribe_object_available_later_test(void) {
 
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
   /* Construct the arguments to db_connect. */
-  const char *db_connect_args[] = {"manager_address", "127.0.0.1:11236"};
+  std::vector<std::string> db_connect_args;
+  db_connect_args.push_back("manager_address");
+  db_connect_args.push_back("127.0.0.1:11236");
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 2, db_connect_args);
+                            "127.0.0.1", db_connect_args);
   db_attach(db, g_loop, false);
   UniqueID id = globally_unique_id();
   RetryInfo retry = {
@@ -836,9 +844,11 @@ TEST subscribe_object_available_subscribe_all(void) {
       subscribe_object_available_later_context, data_size};
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
   /* Construct the arguments to db_connect. */
-  const char *db_connect_args[] = {"manager_address", "127.0.0.1:11236"};
+  std::vector<std::string> db_connect_args;
+  db_connect_args.push_back("manager_address");
+  db_connect_args.push_back("127.0.0.1:11236");
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 2, db_connect_args);
+                            "127.0.0.1", db_connect_args);
   db_attach(db, g_loop, false);
   UniqueID id = globally_unique_id();
   RetryInfo retry = {
diff --git a/src/common/test/redis_tests.cc b/src/common/test/redis_tests.cc
index d7ddcc86b..46fead5bb 100644
--- a/src/common/test/redis_tests.cc
+++ b/src/common/test/redis_tests.cc
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ TEST async_redis_socket_test(void) {
 
   /* Start connection to Redis. */
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "test_process",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                            "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(db, loop, false);
 
   /* Send a command to the Redis process. */
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ TEST logging_test(void) {
 
   /* Start connection to Redis. */
   DBHandle *conn = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "test_process",
-                              "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                              "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(conn, loop, false);
 
   /* Send a command to the Redis process. */
diff --git a/src/common/test/task_table_tests.cc b/src/common/test/task_table_tests.cc
index 2cae0e078..c51120526 100644
--- a/src/common/test/task_table_tests.cc
+++ b/src/common/test/task_table_tests.cc
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ TEST lookup_nil_test(void) {
   lookup_nil_id = globally_unique_id();
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                            "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(db, g_loop, false);
   RetryInfo retry = {
       .num_retries = 5,
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ TEST add_lookup_test(void) {
   add_lookup_task = example_task(1, 1, TASK_STATUS_WAITING);
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                            "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(db, g_loop, false);
   RetryInfo retry = {
       .num_retries = 5,
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ void subscribe_fail_callback(UniqueID id, void *user_context, void *user_data) {
 TEST subscribe_timeout_test(void) {
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                            "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(db, g_loop, false);
   RetryInfo retry = {
       .num_retries = 5,
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ void publish_fail_callback(UniqueID id, void *user_context, void *user_data) {
 TEST publish_timeout_test(void) {
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                            "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(db, g_loop, false);
   Task *task = example_task(1, 1, TASK_STATUS_WAITING);
   RetryInfo retry = {
@@ -263,7 +263,7 @@ void subscribe_retry_fail_callback(UniqueID id,
 TEST subscribe_retry_test(void) {
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                            "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(db, g_loop, false);
   RetryInfo retry = {
       .num_retries = 5,
@@ -313,7 +313,7 @@ void publish_retry_fail_callback(UniqueID id,
 TEST publish_retry_test(void) {
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                            "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(db, g_loop, false);
   Task *task = example_task(1, 1, TASK_STATUS_WAITING);
   RetryInfo retry = {
@@ -367,7 +367,7 @@ void subscribe_late_done_callback(TaskID task_id, void *user_context) {
 TEST subscribe_late_test(void) {
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                            "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(db, g_loop, false);
   RetryInfo retry = {
       .num_retries = 0,
@@ -412,7 +412,7 @@ void publish_late_done_callback(TaskID task_id, void *user_context) {
 TEST publish_late_test(void) {
   g_loop = event_loop_create();
   DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                            "127.0.0.1", 0, NULL);
+                            "127.0.0.1", std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(db, g_loop, false);
   Task *task = example_task(1, 1, TASK_STATUS_WAITING);
   RetryInfo retry = {
diff --git a/src/global_scheduler/global_scheduler.cc b/src/global_scheduler/global_scheduler.cc
index 070aa8c0b..e3256bbd9 100644
--- a/src/global_scheduler/global_scheduler.cc
+++ b/src/global_scheduler/global_scheduler.cc
@@ -106,13 +106,19 @@ void assign_task_to_local_scheduler(GlobalSchedulerState *state,
   LocalScheduler &local_scheduler = it->second;
   local_scheduler.num_tasks_sent += 1;
   local_scheduler.num_recent_tasks_sent += 1;
-  /* Resource accounting update for this local scheduler. */
-  for (int i = 0; i < ResourceIndex_MAX; i++) {
-    /* Subtract task's resource from the cached dynamic resource capacity for
-     *  this local scheduler. This will be overwritten on the next heartbeat. */
-    local_scheduler.info.dynamic_resources[i] =
-        MAX(0, local_scheduler.info.dynamic_resources[i] -
-                   TaskSpec_get_required_resource(spec, i));
+  // Resource accounting update for this local scheduler.
+  for (auto const &resource_pair : TaskSpec_get_required_resources(spec)) {
+    std::string resource_name = resource_pair.first;
+    double resource_quantity = resource_pair.second;
+    // The local scheduler must have this resource because otherwise we wouldn't
+    // be assigning the task to this local scheduler.
+    CHECK(local_scheduler.info.dynamic_resources.count(resource_name) == 1 ||
+          resource_quantity == 0);
+    // Subtract task's resource from the cached dynamic resource capacity for
+    // this local scheduler. This will be overwritten on the next heartbeat.
+    local_scheduler.info.dynamic_resources[resource_name] =
+        MAX(0, local_scheduler.info.dynamic_resources[resource_name] -
+                   resource_quantity);
   }
 }
 
@@ -123,7 +129,8 @@ GlobalSchedulerState *GlobalSchedulerState_init(event_loop *loop,
   GlobalSchedulerState *state = new GlobalSchedulerState();
   state->loop = loop;
   state->db = db_connect(std::string(redis_primary_addr), redis_primary_port,
-                         "global_scheduler", node_ip_address, 0, NULL);
+                         "global_scheduler", node_ip_address,
+                         std::vector<std::string>());
   db_attach(state->db, loop, false);
   state->policy_state = GlobalSchedulerPolicyState_init();
   return state;
@@ -204,18 +211,13 @@ void add_local_scheduler(GlobalSchedulerState *state,
       std::string(manager_address);
 
   /* Add new local scheduler to the state. */
-  LocalScheduler local_scheduler;
+  LocalScheduler &local_scheduler = state->local_schedulers[db_client_id];
   local_scheduler.id = db_client_id;
   local_scheduler.num_heartbeats_missed = 0;
   local_scheduler.num_tasks_sent = 0;
   local_scheduler.num_recent_tasks_sent = 0;
   local_scheduler.info.task_queue_length = 0;
   local_scheduler.info.available_workers = 0;
-  memset(local_scheduler.info.dynamic_resources, 0,
-         sizeof(local_scheduler.info.dynamic_resources));
-  memset(local_scheduler.info.static_resources, 0,
-         sizeof(local_scheduler.info.static_resources));
-  state->local_schedulers[db_client_id] = local_scheduler;
 
   /* Allow the scheduling algorithm to process this event. */
   handle_new_local_scheduler(state, state->policy_state, db_client_id);
diff --git a/src/global_scheduler/global_scheduler_algorithm.cc b/src/global_scheduler/global_scheduler_algorithm.cc
index cb6d3caa3..83c588c77 100644
--- a/src/global_scheduler/global_scheduler_algorithm.cc
+++ b/src/global_scheduler/global_scheduler_algorithm.cc
@@ -8,16 +8,6 @@
 GlobalSchedulerPolicyState *GlobalSchedulerPolicyState_init(void) {
   GlobalSchedulerPolicyState *policy_state = new GlobalSchedulerPolicyState();
   policy_state->round_robin_index = 0;
-
-  int num_weight_elem =
-      sizeof(policy_state->resource_attribute_weight) / sizeof(double);
-  for (int i = 0; i < num_weight_elem; i++) {
-    /* Weight distribution is subject to scheduling policy. Giving all weight
-     * to the last element of the vector (cached data) is equivalent to
-     * the transfer-aware policy. */
-    policy_state->resource_attribute_weight[i] = 1.0 / num_weight_elem;
-  }
-
   return policy_state;
 }
 
@@ -35,49 +25,29 @@ void GlobalSchedulerPolicyState_free(GlobalSchedulerPolicyState *policy_state) {
  */
 bool constraints_satisfied_hard(const LocalScheduler *scheduler,
                                 const TaskSpec *spec) {
-  for (int i = 0; i < ResourceIndex_MAX; i++) {
-    if (scheduler->info.static_resources[i] <
-        TaskSpec_get_required_resource(spec, i)) {
+  for (auto const &resource_pair : TaskSpec_get_required_resources(spec)) {
+    std::string resource_name = resource_pair.first;
+    double resource_quantity = resource_pair.second;
+
+    // Continue on if the task doesn't actually require this resource.
+    if (resource_quantity == 0) {
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    // Check if the local scheduler has this resource.
+    if (scheduler->info.static_resources.count(resource_name) == 0) {
+      return false;
+    }
+
+    // Check if the local scheduler has enough of the resource.
+    if (scheduler->info.static_resources.at(resource_name) <
+        resource_quantity) {
       return false;
     }
   }
   return true;
 }
 
-double inner_product(double a[], double b[], int size) {
-  double result = 0;
-  for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {
-    result += a[i] * b[i];
-  }
-  return result;
-}
-
-double calculate_score_dynvec_normalized(GlobalSchedulerState *state,
-                                         LocalScheduler *scheduler,
-                                         const TaskSpec *task_spec,
-                                         double object_size_fraction) {
-  /* The object size fraction is now calculated for this (task,node) pair. */
-  /* Construct the normalized dynamic resource attribute vector */
-  double normalized_dynvec[ResourceIndex_MAX + 1];
-  memset(&normalized_dynvec, 0, sizeof(normalized_dynvec));
-  for (int i = 0; i < ResourceIndex_MAX; i++) {
-    double resreqval = TaskSpec_get_required_resource(task_spec, i);
-    if (resreqval <= 0) {
-      /* Skip and leave normalized dynvec value == 0. */
-      continue;
-    }
-    normalized_dynvec[i] =
-        MIN(1, scheduler->info.dynamic_resources[i] / resreqval);
-  }
-  normalized_dynvec[ResourceIndex_MAX] = object_size_fraction;
-
-  /* Finally, calculate the score. */
-  double score = inner_product(normalized_dynvec,
-                               state->policy_state->resource_attribute_weight,
-                               ResourceIndex_MAX + 1);
-  return score;
-}
-
 int64_t locally_available_data_size(const GlobalSchedulerState *state,
                                     DBClientID local_scheduler_id,
                                     TaskSpec *task_spec) {
diff --git a/src/global_scheduler/global_scheduler_algorithm.h b/src/global_scheduler/global_scheduler_algorithm.h
index 9d7e9335f..48338694a 100644
--- a/src/global_scheduler/global_scheduler_algorithm.h
+++ b/src/global_scheduler/global_scheduler_algorithm.h
@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@ typedef enum {
 struct GlobalSchedulerPolicyState {
   /** The index of the next local scheduler to assign a task to. */
   int64_t round_robin_index;
-  double resource_attribute_weight[ResourceIndex_MAX + 1];
 };
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler.cc b/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler.cc
index a71c36e64..8c8c5b9ff 100644
--- a/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler.cc
+++ b/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler.cc
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+#include <sstream>
+
 #include <signal.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
@@ -36,21 +38,24 @@
 void print_resource_info(const LocalSchedulerState *state,
                          const TaskSpec *spec) {
 #if RAY_COMMON_LOG_LEVEL <= RAY_COMMON_DEBUG
-  /* Print information about available and requested resources. */
-  char buftotal[256], bufavail[256], bufresreq[256];
-  snprintf(bufavail, sizeof(bufavail), "%8.4f %8.4f",
-           state->dynamic_resources[ResourceIndex_CPU],
-           state->dynamic_resources[ResourceIndex_GPU]);
-  snprintf(buftotal, sizeof(buftotal), "%8.4f %8.4f",
-           state->static_resources[ResourceIndex_CPU],
-           state->static_resources[ResourceIndex_GPU]);
-  if (spec) {
-    snprintf(bufresreq, sizeof(bufresreq), "%8.4f %8.4f",
-             task_spec_get_required_resource(spec, ResourceIndex_CPU),
-             task_spec_get_required_resource(spec, ResourceIndex_GPU));
+  // Print information about available and requested resources.
+  std::cout << "Static Resources: " << std::endl;
+  for (auto const &resource_pair : state->static_resources) {
+    std::cout << "    " << resource_pair.first << ": " << resource_pair.second
+              << std::endl;
+  }
+  std::cout << "Dynamic Resources: " << std::endl;
+  for (auto const &resource_pair : state->dynamic_resources) {
+    std::cout << "    " << resource_pair.first << ": " << resource_pair.second
+              << std::endl;
+  }
+  if (spec) {
+    std::cout << "Task Required Resources: " << std::endl;
+    for (auto const &resource_pair : TaskSpec_get_required_resources(spec)) {
+      std::cout << "    " << resource_pair.first << ": " << resource_pair.second
+                << std::endl;
+    }
   }
-  LOG_DEBUG("Resources: [total=%s][available=%s][requested=%s]", buftotal,
-            bufavail, spec ? bufresreq : "n/a");
 #endif
 }
 
@@ -123,9 +128,7 @@ void kill_worker(LocalSchedulerState *state,
   }
 
   /* Release any resources held by the worker. */
-  release_resources(state, worker, worker->resources_in_use[ResourceIndex_CPU],
-                    worker->gpus_in_use.size(),
-                    worker->resources_in_use[ResourceIndex_CustomResource]);
+  release_resources(state, worker, worker->resources_in_use);
 
   /* Clean up the task in progress. */
   if (worker->task_in_progress) {
@@ -323,7 +326,7 @@ LocalSchedulerState *LocalSchedulerState_init(
     const char *plasma_manager_socket_name,
     const char *plasma_manager_address,
     bool global_scheduler_exists,
-    const double static_resource_conf[],
+    const std::unordered_map<std::string, double> &static_resource_conf,
     const char *start_worker_command,
     int num_workers) {
   LocalSchedulerState *state = new LocalSchedulerState();
@@ -344,18 +347,16 @@ LocalSchedulerState *LocalSchedulerState_init(
 
   /* Connect to Redis if a Redis address is provided. */
   if (redis_primary_addr != NULL) {
-    /* Use std::string to convert the resource value into a string. */
-    std::string num_cpus = std::to_string(static_resource_conf[0]);
-    std::string num_gpus = std::to_string(static_resource_conf[1]);
-
     /* Construct db_connect_args */
-    std::vector<const char *> db_connect_args;
+    std::vector<std::string> db_connect_args;
     db_connect_args.push_back("local_scheduler_socket_name");
     db_connect_args.push_back(local_scheduler_socket_name);
-    db_connect_args.push_back("num_cpus");
-    db_connect_args.push_back(num_cpus.c_str());
-    db_connect_args.push_back("num_gpus");
-    db_connect_args.push_back(num_gpus.c_str());
+    for (auto const &resource_pair : static_resource_conf) {
+      // TODO(rkn): This could cause issues if a resource name collides with
+      // another field name "manager_address".
+      db_connect_args.push_back(resource_pair.first);
+      db_connect_args.push_back(std::to_string(resource_pair.second));
+    }
 
     if (plasma_manager_address != NULL) {
       db_connect_args.push_back("manager_address");
@@ -363,8 +364,7 @@ LocalSchedulerState *LocalSchedulerState_init(
     }
 
     state->db = db_connect(std::string(redis_primary_addr), redis_primary_port,
-                           "local_scheduler", node_ip_address,
-                           db_connect_args.size(), &db_connect_args[0]);
+                           "local_scheduler", node_ip_address, db_connect_args);
     db_attach(state->db, loop, false);
   } else {
     state->db = NULL;
@@ -389,13 +389,13 @@ LocalSchedulerState *LocalSchedulerState_init(
   state->algorithm_state = SchedulingAlgorithmState_init();
 
   /* Initialize resource vectors. */
-  for (int i = 0; i < ResourceIndex_MAX; i++) {
-    state->static_resources[i] = state->dynamic_resources[i] =
-        static_resource_conf[i];
-  }
+  state->static_resources = static_resource_conf;
+  state->dynamic_resources = static_resource_conf;
   /* Initialize available GPUs. */
-  for (int i = 0; i < state->static_resources[ResourceIndex_GPU]; ++i) {
-    state->available_gpus.push_back(i);
+  if (state->static_resources.count("GPU") == 1) {
+    for (int i = 0; i < state->static_resources["GPU"]; ++i) {
+      state->available_gpus.push_back(i);
+    }
   }
   /* Print some debug information about resource configuration. */
   print_resource_info(state, NULL);
@@ -412,94 +412,106 @@ LocalSchedulerState *LocalSchedulerState_init(
 }
 
 /* TODO(atumanov): vectorize resource counts on input. */
-bool check_dynamic_resources(LocalSchedulerState *state,
-                             double num_cpus,
-                             double num_gpus,
-                             double num_custom_resource) {
-  if (num_cpus > 0 && state->dynamic_resources[ResourceIndex_CPU] < num_cpus) {
-    /* We only use this check when num_cpus is positive so that we can still
-     * create actors even when the CPUs are oversubscribed. */
-    return false;
-  }
-  if (num_custom_resource > 0 &&
-      state->dynamic_resources[ResourceIndex_CustomResource] <
-          num_custom_resource) {
-    return false;
-  }
-  if (state->dynamic_resources[ResourceIndex_GPU] < num_gpus) {
-    return false;
+bool check_dynamic_resources(
+    LocalSchedulerState *state,
+    const std::unordered_map<std::string, double> &resources) {
+  for (auto const &resource_pair : resources) {
+    std::string resource_name = resource_pair.first;
+    double resource_quantity = resource_pair.second;
+    if (state->dynamic_resources[resource_name] < resource_quantity) {
+      return false;
+    }
   }
   return true;
 }
 
-/* TODO(atumanov): just pass the required resource vector of doubles. */
-void acquire_resources(LocalSchedulerState *state,
-                       LocalSchedulerClient *worker,
-                       double num_cpus,
-                       double num_gpus,
-                       double num_custom_resource) {
-  /* Acquire the CPU resources. */
-  bool oversubscribed = (state->dynamic_resources[ResourceIndex_CPU] < 0);
-  state->dynamic_resources[ResourceIndex_CPU] -= num_cpus;
-  CHECK(worker->resources_in_use[ResourceIndex_CPU] == 0);
-  worker->resources_in_use[ResourceIndex_CPU] += num_cpus;
-  /* Log a warning if we are using more resources than we have been allocated,
-   * and we weren't already oversubscribed. */
-  if (!oversubscribed && state->dynamic_resources[ResourceIndex_CPU] < 0) {
-    LOG_DEBUG(
-        "local_scheduler dynamic resources dropped to %8.4f\t%8.4f\t%8.4f\n",
-        state->dynamic_resources[ResourceIndex_CPU],
-        state->dynamic_resources[ResourceIndex_GPU],
-        state->dynamic_resources[ResourceIndex_CustomResource]);
-  }
+void resource_sanity_checks(LocalSchedulerState *state,
+                            LocalSchedulerClient *worker) {
+  // Check the resources in use by the worker.
+  for (auto const &resource_pair : worker->resources_in_use) {
+    const std::string resource_name = resource_pair.first;
+    double resource_quantity = resource_pair.second;
 
-  /* Acquire the GPU resources. */
-  if (num_gpus != 0) {
-    /* Make sure that the worker isn't using any GPUs already. */
-    CHECK(worker->gpus_in_use.size() == 0);
-    CHECK(state->available_gpus.size() >= num_gpus);
-    /* Reserve GPUs for the worker. */
-    for (int i = 0; i < num_gpus; i++) {
-      worker->gpus_in_use.push_back(state->available_gpus.back());
-      state->available_gpus.pop_back();
+    CHECK(state->dynamic_resources[resource_name] <=
+          state->static_resources[resource_name]);
+    if (resource_name != std::string("CPU")) {
+      CHECK(state->dynamic_resources[resource_name] >= 0);
     }
-    /* Update the total quantity of GPU resources available. */
-    CHECK(state->dynamic_resources[ResourceIndex_GPU] >= num_gpus);
-    state->dynamic_resources[ResourceIndex_GPU] -= num_gpus;
-  }
 
-  /* Acquire the custom resources. */
-  state->dynamic_resources[ResourceIndex_CustomResource] -= num_custom_resource;
-  CHECK(worker->resources_in_use[ResourceIndex_CustomResource] == 0);
-  worker->resources_in_use[ResourceIndex_CustomResource] += num_custom_resource;
+    CHECK(resource_quantity >= 0);
+    CHECK(resource_quantity <= state->static_resources[resource_name]);
+  }
 }
 
-void release_resources(LocalSchedulerState *state,
-                       LocalSchedulerClient *worker,
-                       double num_cpus,
-                       double num_gpus,
-                       double num_custom_resource) {
-  /* Release the CPU resources. */
-  CHECK(num_cpus == worker->resources_in_use[ResourceIndex_CPU]);
-  state->dynamic_resources[ResourceIndex_CPU] += num_cpus;
-  worker->resources_in_use[ResourceIndex_CPU] = 0;
+/* TODO(atumanov): just pass the required resource vector of doubles. */
+void acquire_resources(
+    LocalSchedulerState *state,
+    LocalSchedulerClient *worker,
+    const std::unordered_map<std::string, double> &resources) {
+  // Loop over each required resource type and acquire the appropriate quantity.
+  for (auto const &resource_pair : resources) {
+    const std::string resource_name = resource_pair.first;
+    double resource_quantity = resource_pair.second;
 
-  /* Release the GPU resources. */
-  if (num_gpus != 0) {
-    CHECK(num_gpus == worker->gpus_in_use.size());
-    /* Move the GPU IDs the worker was using back to the local scheduler. */
-    for (auto const &gpu_id : worker->gpus_in_use) {
-      state->available_gpus.push_back(gpu_id);
+    // Do some special handling for GPU resources.
+    if (resource_name == std::string("GPU")) {
+      if (resource_quantity != 0) {
+        // Make sure that the worker isn't using any GPUs already.
+        CHECK(worker->gpus_in_use.size() == 0);
+        CHECK(state->available_gpus.size() >= resource_quantity);
+        // Reserve GPUs for the worker.
+        for (int i = 0; i < resource_quantity; i++) {
+          worker->gpus_in_use.push_back(state->available_gpus.back());
+          state->available_gpus.pop_back();
+        }
+      }
     }
-    worker->gpus_in_use.clear();
-    state->dynamic_resources[ResourceIndex_GPU] += num_gpus;
+
+    // Do bookkeeping for general resource types.
+    if (resource_name != std::string("CPU")) {
+      CHECK(state->dynamic_resources[resource_name] >= resource_quantity);
+    }
+    state->dynamic_resources[resource_name] -= resource_quantity;
+    if (resource_name == std::string("CPU")) {
+      CHECK(worker->resources_in_use[resource_name] == 0);
+    }
+    worker->resources_in_use[resource_name] += resource_quantity;
   }
 
-  /* Release the user-defined custom resource. */
-  CHECK(num_custom_resource ==
-        worker->resources_in_use[ResourceIndex_CustomResource]);
-  state->dynamic_resources[ResourceIndex_CustomResource] += num_custom_resource;
-  worker->resources_in_use[ResourceIndex_CustomResource] = 0;
+  // Do some sanity checks.
+  resource_sanity_checks(state, worker);
+}
+
+void release_resources(
+    LocalSchedulerState *state,
+    LocalSchedulerClient *worker,
+    const std::unordered_map<std::string, double> &resources) {
+  for (auto const &resource_pair : resources) {
+    const std::string resource_name = resource_pair.first;
+    double resource_quantity = resource_pair.second;
+
+    // Do some special handling for GPU resources.
+    if (resource_name == std::string("GPU")) {
+      if (resource_quantity != 0) {
+        CHECK(resource_quantity == worker->gpus_in_use.size());
+        // Move the GPU IDs the worker was using back to the local scheduler.
+        for (auto const &gpu_id : worker->gpus_in_use) {
+          state->available_gpus.push_back(gpu_id);
+        }
+        worker->gpus_in_use.clear();
+      }
+    }
+
+    // Do bookkeeping for general resources types.
+    if (resource_name == std::string("CPU")) {
+      CHECK(resource_quantity == worker->resources_in_use[resource_name]);
+    }
+    state->dynamic_resources[resource_name] += resource_quantity;
+    worker->resources_in_use[resource_name] -= resource_quantity;
+  }
+
+  // Do some sanity checks.
+  resource_sanity_checks(state, worker);
 }
 
 bool is_driver_alive(LocalSchedulerState *state, WorkerID driver_id) {
@@ -510,15 +522,16 @@ void assign_task_to_worker(LocalSchedulerState *state,
                            TaskSpec *spec,
                            int64_t task_spec_size,
                            LocalSchedulerClient *worker) {
-  /* Acquire the necessary resources for running this task. */
-  acquire_resources(
-      state, worker, TaskSpec_get_required_resource(spec, ResourceIndex_CPU),
-      TaskSpec_get_required_resource(spec, ResourceIndex_GPU),
-      TaskSpec_get_required_resource(spec, ResourceIndex_CustomResource));
-  /* Check that actor tasks don't have GPU requirements. Any necessary GPUs
-   * should already have been acquired by the actor worker. */
+  // Acquire the necessary resources for running this task.
+  const std::unordered_map<std::string, double> required_resources =
+      TaskSpec_get_required_resources(spec);
+  acquire_resources(state, worker, required_resources);
+  // Check that actor tasks don't have non-CPU requirements. Any necessary
+  // non-CPU resources (in particular, GPUs) should already have been acquired
+  // by the actor worker.
   if (!ActorID_equal(worker->actor_id, NIL_ACTOR_ID)) {
-    CHECK(TaskSpec_get_required_resource(spec, ResourceIndex_GPU) == 0);
+    CHECK(required_resources.size() == 1);
+    CHECK(required_resources.count("CPU") == 1);
   }
 
   CHECK(ActorID_equal(worker->actor_id, TaskSpec_actor_id(spec)));
@@ -567,20 +580,20 @@ void finish_task(LocalSchedulerState *state,
   if (worker->task_in_progress != NULL) {
     TaskSpec *spec = Task_task_spec(worker->task_in_progress);
     /* Return dynamic resources back for the task in progress. */
-    CHECK(worker->resources_in_use[ResourceIndex_CPU] ==
-          TaskSpec_get_required_resource(spec, ResourceIndex_CPU));
+    CHECK(worker->resources_in_use["CPU"] ==
+          TaskSpec_get_required_resource(spec, "CPU"));
     if (ActorID_equal(worker->actor_id, NIL_ACTOR_ID)) {
       CHECK(worker->gpus_in_use.size() ==
-            TaskSpec_get_required_resource(spec, ResourceIndex_GPU));
-      release_resources(state, worker,
-                        worker->resources_in_use[ResourceIndex_CPU],
-                        worker->gpus_in_use.size(),
-                        worker->resources_in_use[ResourceIndex_CustomResource]);
+            TaskSpec_get_required_resource(spec, "GPU"));
+      release_resources(state, worker, worker->resources_in_use);
     } else {
-      CHECK(0 == TaskSpec_get_required_resource(spec, ResourceIndex_GPU));
-      release_resources(state, worker,
-                        worker->resources_in_use[ResourceIndex_CPU], 0,
-                        worker->resources_in_use[ResourceIndex_CustomResource]);
+      // Actor tasks should only specify CPU requirements.
+      CHECK(0 == TaskSpec_get_required_resource(spec, "GPU"));
+      std::unordered_map<std::string, double> cpu_resources;
+      cpu_resources["CPU"] = worker->resources_in_use["CPU"];
+      std::unordered_map<std::string, double> resources_to_release =
+          worker->resources_in_use;
+      release_resources(state, worker, cpu_resources);
     }
     /* If we're connected to Redis, update tables. */
     if (state->db != NULL) {
@@ -613,7 +626,7 @@ void process_plasma_notification(event_loop *loop,
         "Lost connection to the plasma store, local scheduler is exiting!");
   }
   auto object_info = flatbuffers::GetRoot<ObjectInfo>(notification);
-  ObjectID object_id = from_flatbuf(object_info->object_id());
+  ObjectID object_id = from_flatbuf(*object_info->object_id());
   if (object_info->is_deletion()) {
     handle_object_removed(state, object_id);
   } else {
@@ -844,14 +857,14 @@ void handle_client_register(LocalSchedulerState *state,
   worker->registered = true;
   worker->is_worker = message->is_worker();
   CHECK(WorkerID_equal(worker->client_id, NIL_WORKER_ID));
-  worker->client_id = from_flatbuf(message->client_id());
+  worker->client_id = from_flatbuf(*message->client_id());
 
   /* Register the worker or driver. */
   if (worker->is_worker) {
     /* Update the actor mapping with the actor ID of the worker (if an actor is
      * running on the worker). */
     worker->pid = message->worker_pid();
-    ActorID actor_id = from_flatbuf(message->actor_id());
+    ActorID actor_id = from_flatbuf(*message->actor_id());
     if (!ActorID_equal(actor_id, NIL_ACTOR_ID)) {
       /* Make sure that the local scheduler is aware that it is responsible for
        * this actor. */
@@ -869,8 +882,11 @@ void handle_client_register(LocalSchedulerState *state,
       /* If there are enough GPUs available, allocate them and reply to the
        * actor. */
       double num_gpus_required = (double) message->num_gpus();
-      if (check_dynamic_resources(state, 0, num_gpus_required, 0)) {
-        acquire_resources(state, worker, 0, num_gpus_required, 0);
+
+      std::unordered_map<std::string, double> gpu_resources;
+      gpu_resources["GPU"] = num_gpus_required;
+      if (check_dynamic_resources(state, gpu_resources)) {
+        acquire_resources(state, worker, gpu_resources);
       } else {
         /* TODO(rkn): This means that an actor wants to register but that there
          * aren't enough GPUs for it. We should queue this request, and reply to
@@ -1049,10 +1065,10 @@ void process_message(event_loop *loop,
        * state to blocked. */
       worker->is_blocked = true;
       /* Return the CPU resources that the blocked worker was using, but not
-       * GPU resources. */
-      release_resources(state, worker,
-                        worker->resources_in_use[ResourceIndex_CPU], 0,
-                        worker->resources_in_use[ResourceIndex_CustomResource]);
+       * other resources. */
+      std::unordered_map<std::string, double> cpu_resources;
+      cpu_resources["CPU"] = worker->resources_in_use["CPU"];
+      release_resources(state, worker, cpu_resources);
       /* Let the scheduling algorithm process the fact that the worker is
        * blocked. */
       if (ActorID_equal(worker->actor_id, NIL_ACTOR_ID)) {
@@ -1062,7 +1078,7 @@ void process_message(event_loop *loop,
       }
       print_worker_info("Reconstructing", state->algorithm_state);
     }
-    reconstruct_object(state, from_flatbuf(message->object_id()));
+    reconstruct_object(state, from_flatbuf(*message->object_id()));
   } break;
   case DISCONNECT_CLIENT: {
     LOG_DEBUG("Disconnecting client on fd %d", client_sock);
@@ -1082,10 +1098,9 @@ void process_message(event_loop *loop,
        * workers explicitly yield and wait to be given back resources before
        * continuing execution. */
       TaskSpec *spec = Task_task_spec(worker->task_in_progress);
-      acquire_resources(
-          state, worker,
-          TaskSpec_get_required_resource(spec, ResourceIndex_CPU), 0,
-          TaskSpec_get_required_resource(spec, ResourceIndex_CustomResource));
+      std::unordered_map<std::string, double> cpu_resources;
+      cpu_resources["CPU"] = TaskSpec_get_required_resource(spec, "CPU");
+      acquire_resources(state, worker, cpu_resources);
       /* Let the scheduling algorithm process the fact that the worker is
        * unblocked. */
       if (ActorID_equal(worker->actor_id, NIL_ACTOR_ID)) {
@@ -1098,8 +1113,8 @@ void process_message(event_loop *loop,
   } break;
   case MessageType_PutObject: {
     auto message = flatbuffers::GetRoot<PutObject>(input);
-    result_table_add(state->db, from_flatbuf(message->object_id()),
-                     from_flatbuf(message->task_id()), true, NULL, NULL, NULL);
+    result_table_add(state->db, from_flatbuf(*message->object_id()),
+                     from_flatbuf(*message->task_id()), true, NULL, NULL, NULL);
   } break;
   default:
     /* This code should be unreachable. */
@@ -1133,7 +1148,6 @@ void new_client_connection(event_loop *loop,
   worker->is_worker = true;
   worker->client_id = NIL_WORKER_ID;
   worker->task_in_progress = NULL;
-  memset(&worker->resources_in_use[0], 0, sizeof(double) * ResourceIndex_MAX);
   worker->is_blocked = false;
   worker->pid = 0;
   worker->is_child = false;
@@ -1282,17 +1296,18 @@ int heartbeat_handler(event_loop *loop, timer_id id, void *context) {
   return RayConfig::instance().heartbeat_timeout_milliseconds();
 }
 
-void start_server(const char *node_ip_address,
-                  const char *socket_name,
-                  const char *redis_primary_addr,
-                  int redis_primary_port,
-                  const char *plasma_store_socket_name,
-                  const char *plasma_manager_socket_name,
-                  const char *plasma_manager_address,
-                  bool global_scheduler_exists,
-                  const double static_resource_conf[],
-                  const char *start_worker_command,
-                  int num_workers) {
+void start_server(
+    const char *node_ip_address,
+    const char *socket_name,
+    const char *redis_primary_addr,
+    int redis_primary_port,
+    const char *plasma_store_socket_name,
+    const char *plasma_manager_socket_name,
+    const char *plasma_manager_address,
+    bool global_scheduler_exists,
+    const std::unordered_map<std::string, double> &static_resource_conf,
+    const char *start_worker_command,
+    int num_workers) {
   /* Ignore SIGPIPE signals. If we don't do this, then when we attempt to write
    * to a client that has already died, the local scheduler could die. */
   signal(SIGPIPE, SIG_IGN);
@@ -1374,7 +1389,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
   char *node_ip_address = NULL;
   /* Comma-separated list of configured resource capabilities for this node. */
   char *static_resource_list = NULL;
-  double static_resource_conf[ResourceIndex_MAX];
+  std::unordered_map<std::string, double> static_resource_conf;
   /* The command to run when starting new workers. */
   char *start_worker_command = NULL;
   /* The number of workers to start. */
@@ -1418,35 +1433,20 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
     }
   }
   if (!static_resource_list) {
-    /* Use defaults for this node's static resource configuration. */
-    memset(&static_resource_conf[0], 0, sizeof(static_resource_conf));
-    /* TODO(atumanov): Define a default vector and replace individual
-     * constants. */
-    static_resource_conf[ResourceIndex_CPU] =
-        RayConfig::instance().default_num_CPUs();
-    static_resource_conf[ResourceIndex_GPU] =
-        RayConfig::instance().default_num_GPUs();
-    static_resource_conf[ResourceIndex_CustomResource] =
-        RayConfig::instance().default_num_custom_resource();
-  } else {
-    /* TODO(atumanov): Switch this tokenizer to reading from ifstream. */
-    /* Tokenize the string. */
-    const char delim[2] = ",";
-    char *token;
-    int idx = 0; /* Index into the resource vector. */
-    token = strtok(static_resource_list, delim);
-    while (token != NULL && idx < ResourceIndex_MAX) {
-      static_resource_conf[idx++] = atoi(token);
-      /* Attempt to get the next token. */
-      token = strtok(NULL, delim);
-    }
-    if (static_resource_conf[ResourceIndex_CustomResource] < 0) {
-      /* Interpret negative values for the custom resource as deferring to the
-       * default system configuration. */
-      static_resource_conf[ResourceIndex_CustomResource] =
-          RayConfig::instance().default_num_custom_resource();
-    }
+    LOG_FATAL("please specify a static resource list with the -c switch");
   }
+  // Parse the resource list.
+  std::istringstream resource_string(static_resource_list);
+  std::string resource_name;
+  std::string resource_quantity;
+
+  while (std::getline(resource_string, resource_name, ',')) {
+    CHECK(std::getline(resource_string, resource_quantity, ','));
+    // TODO(rkn): The line below could throw an exception. What should we do
+    // about this?
+    static_resource_conf[resource_name] = std::stod(resource_quantity);
+  }
+
   if (!scheduler_socket_name) {
     LOG_FATAL("please specify socket for incoming connections with -s switch");
   }
diff --git a/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler.h b/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler.h
index 225bb18d2..0bb634630 100644
--- a/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler.h
+++ b/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler.h
@@ -124,29 +124,25 @@ void start_worker(LocalSchedulerState *state,
  * is 0, we ignore the dynamic number of available CPUs (which may be negative).
  *
  * @param state The state of the local scheduler.
- * @param num_cpus Check if this many CPUs are available.
- * @param num_gpus Check if this many GPUs are available.
+ * @param resources The resources to check.
  * @return True if there are enough CPUs and GPUs and false otherwise.
  */
-bool check_dynamic_resources(LocalSchedulerState *state,
-                             double num_cpus,
-                             double num_gpus,
-                             double num_custom_resource);
+bool check_dynamic_resources(
+    LocalSchedulerState *state,
+    const std::unordered_map<std::string, double> &resources);
 
 /**
  * Acquire additional resources (CPUs and GPUs) for a worker.
  *
  * @param state The local scheduler state.
  * @param worker The worker who is acquiring resources.
- * @param num_cpus The number of CPU resources to acquire.
- * @param num_gpus The number of GPU resources to acquire.
+ * @param resources The resources to acquire.
  * @return Void.
  */
-void acquire_resources(LocalSchedulerState *state,
-                       LocalSchedulerClient *worker,
-                       double num_cpus,
-                       double num_gpus,
-                       double num_custom_resource);
+void acquire_resources(
+    LocalSchedulerState *state,
+    LocalSchedulerClient *worker,
+    const std::unordered_map<std::string, double> &resources);
 
 /**
  * Return resources (CPUs and GPUs) being used by a worker to the local
@@ -154,15 +150,13 @@ void acquire_resources(LocalSchedulerState *state,
  *
  * @param state The local scheduler state.
  * @param worker The worker who is returning resources.
- * @param num_cpus The number of CPU resources to return.
- * @param num_gpus The number of GPU resources to return.
+ * @param resources The resources to release.
  * @return Void.
  */
-void release_resources(LocalSchedulerState *state,
-                       LocalSchedulerClient *worker,
-                       double num_cpus,
-                       double num_gpus,
-                       double num_custom_resource);
+void release_resources(
+    LocalSchedulerState *state,
+    LocalSchedulerClient *worker,
+    const std::unordered_map<std::string, double> &resources);
 
 /** The following methods are for testing purposes only. */
 #ifdef LOCAL_SCHEDULER_TEST
@@ -176,7 +170,7 @@ LocalSchedulerState *LocalSchedulerState_init(
     const char *plasma_store_socket_name,
     const char *plasma_manager_address,
     bool global_scheduler_exists,
-    const double static_resource_vector[],
+    const std::unordered_map<std::string, double> &static_resource_vector,
     const char *worker_path,
     int num_workers);
 
diff --git a/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_algorithm.cc b/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_algorithm.cc
index 814627f25..0e90d3af4 100644
--- a/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_algorithm.cc
+++ b/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_algorithm.cc
@@ -228,10 +228,8 @@ void provide_scheduler_info(LocalSchedulerState *state,
       waiting_task_queue_length + dispatch_task_queue_length;
   info->available_workers = algorithm_state->available_workers.size();
   /* Copy static and dynamic resource information. */
-  for (int i = 0; i < ResourceIndex_MAX; i++) {
-    info->dynamic_resources[i] = state->dynamic_resources[i];
-    info->static_resources[i] = state->static_resources[i];
-  }
+  info->dynamic_resources = state->dynamic_resources;
+  info->static_resources = state->static_resources;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -357,11 +355,9 @@ bool dispatch_actor_task(LocalSchedulerState *state,
   }
 
   /* If there are not enough resources available, we cannot assign the task. */
-  CHECK(0 == TaskSpec_get_required_resource(task->spec, ResourceIndex_GPU));
-  if (!check_dynamic_resources(
-          state, TaskSpec_get_required_resource(task->spec, ResourceIndex_CPU),
-          0, TaskSpec_get_required_resource(task->spec,
-                                            ResourceIndex_CustomResource))) {
+  CHECK(0 == TaskSpec_get_required_resource(task->spec, "GPU"));
+  if (!check_dynamic_resources(state,
+                               TaskSpec_get_required_resources(task->spec))) {
     return false;
   }
 
@@ -780,9 +776,8 @@ int reconstruct_object_timeout_handler(event_loop *loop,
  */
 bool resources_available(LocalSchedulerState *state) {
   bool resources_available = false;
-  for (int i = 0; i < ResourceIndex_MAX; i++) {
-    if (state->dynamic_resources[i] > 0) {
-      /* There are still resources left. */
+  for (auto const &resource_pair : state->dynamic_resources) {
+    if (resource_pair.second > 0) {
       resources_available = true;
     }
   }
@@ -820,11 +815,8 @@ void dispatch_tasks(LocalSchedulerState *state,
     }
 
     /* Skip to the next task if this task cannot currently be satisfied. */
-    if (!check_dynamic_resources(
-            state, TaskSpec_get_required_resource(task.spec, ResourceIndex_CPU),
-            TaskSpec_get_required_resource(task.spec, ResourceIndex_GPU),
-            TaskSpec_get_required_resource(task.spec,
-                                           ResourceIndex_CustomResource))) {
+    if (!check_dynamic_resources(state,
+                                 TaskSpec_get_required_resources(task.spec))) {
       /* This task could not be satisfied -- proceed to the next task. */
       ++it;
       continue;
@@ -1098,10 +1090,10 @@ bool resource_constraints_satisfied(LocalSchedulerState *state,
                                     TaskSpec *spec) {
   /* At the local scheduler, if required resource vector exceeds either static
    * or dynamic resource vector, the resource constraint is not satisfied. */
-  for (int i = 0; i < ResourceIndex_MAX; i++) {
-    double required_resource = TaskSpec_get_required_resource(spec, i);
-    if (required_resource > state->static_resources[i] ||
-        required_resource > state->dynamic_resources[i]) {
+  for (auto const &resource_pair : TaskSpec_get_required_resources(spec)) {
+    double required_resource = resource_pair.second;
+    if (required_resource > state->static_resources[resource_pair.first] ||
+        required_resource > state->dynamic_resources[resource_pair.first]) {
       return false;
     }
   }
diff --git a/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_shared.h b/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_shared.h
index 2232e1267..f4675f1b0 100644
--- a/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_shared.h
+++ b/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_shared.h
@@ -68,10 +68,10 @@ struct LocalSchedulerState {
   std::vector<uint8_t> input_buffer;
   /** Vector of static attributes associated with the node owned by this local
    *  scheduler. */
-  double static_resources[ResourceIndex_MAX];
+  std::unordered_map<std::string, double> static_resources;
   /** Vector of dynamic attributes associated with the node owned by this local
    *  scheduler. */
-  double dynamic_resources[ResourceIndex_MAX];
+  std::unordered_map<std::string, double> dynamic_resources;
   /** The IDs of the available GPUs. There is redundancy here in that
    *  available_gpus.size() == dynamic_resources[ResourceIndex_GPU] should
    *  always be true. */
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ struct LocalSchedulerClient {
    *  update the task table. */
   Task *task_in_progress;
   /** An array of resource counts currently in use by the worker.  */
-  double resources_in_use[ResourceIndex_MAX];
+  std::unordered_map<std::string, double> resources_in_use;
   /** A vector of the IDs of the GPUs that the worker is currently using. If the
    *  worker is an actor, this will be constant throughout the lifetime of the
    *  actor (and will be equal to the number of GPUs requested by the actor). If
diff --git a/src/local_scheduler/test/local_scheduler_tests.cc b/src/local_scheduler/test/local_scheduler_tests.cc
index 1919deefb..29b3f4fe4 100644
--- a/src/local_scheduler/test/local_scheduler_tests.cc
+++ b/src/local_scheduler/test/local_scheduler_tests.cc
@@ -77,9 +77,9 @@ LocalSchedulerMock *LocalSchedulerMock_init(int num_workers,
   const char *node_ip_address = "127.0.0.1";
   const char *redis_addr = node_ip_address;
   int redis_port = 6379;
-  const double static_resource_conf[ResourceIndex_MAX] = {
-      RayConfig::instance().default_num_CPUs(),
-      RayConfig::instance().default_num_GPUs()};
+  std::unordered_map<std::string, double> static_resource_conf;
+  static_resource_conf["CPU"] = INT16_MAX;
+  static_resource_conf["GPU"] = 0;
   LocalSchedulerMock *mock =
       (LocalSchedulerMock *) malloc(sizeof(LocalSchedulerMock));
   memset(mock, 0, sizeof(LocalSchedulerMock));
@@ -424,9 +424,11 @@ TEST object_reconstruction_suppression_test(void) {
     exit(0);
   } else {
     /* Connect a plasma manager client so we can call object_table_add. */
-    const char *db_connect_args[] = {"manager_address", "127.0.0.1:12346"};
+    std::vector<std::string> db_connect_args;
+    db_connect_args.push_back("manager_address");
+    db_connect_args.push_back("127.0.0.1:12346");
     DBHandle *db = db_connect(std::string("127.0.0.1"), 6379, "plasma_manager",
-                              "127.0.0.1", 2, db_connect_args);
+                              "127.0.0.1", db_connect_args);
     db_attach(db, local_scheduler->loop, false);
     /* Add the object to the object table. */
     object_table_add(db, return_id, 1, (unsigned char *) NIL_DIGEST, NULL,
diff --git a/src/plasma/plasma_manager.cc b/src/plasma/plasma_manager.cc
index a210d1f39..c9ef80e52 100644
--- a/src/plasma/plasma_manager.cc
+++ b/src/plasma/plasma_manager.cc
@@ -463,19 +463,15 @@ PlasmaManagerState *PlasmaManagerState_init(const char *store_socket_name,
     std::string manager_address_str =
         std::string(manager_addr) + ":" + std::to_string(manager_port);
 
-    int num_args = 6;
-    const char **db_connect_args =
-        (const char **) malloc(sizeof(char *) * num_args);
-    db_connect_args[0] = "store_socket_name";
-    db_connect_args[1] = store_socket_name;
-    db_connect_args[2] = "manager_socket_name";
-    db_connect_args[3] = manager_socket_name;
-    db_connect_args[4] = "manager_address";
-    db_connect_args[5] = manager_address_str.c_str();
-    state->db =
-        db_connect(std::string(redis_primary_addr), redis_primary_port,
-                   "plasma_manager", manager_addr, num_args, db_connect_args);
-    free(db_connect_args);
+    std::vector<std::string> db_connect_args;
+    db_connect_args.push_back("store_socket_name");
+    db_connect_args.push_back(store_socket_name);
+    db_connect_args.push_back("manager_socket_name");
+    db_connect_args.push_back(manager_socket_name);
+    db_connect_args.push_back("manager_address");
+    db_connect_args.push_back(manager_address_str);
+    state->db = db_connect(std::string(redis_primary_addr), redis_primary_port,
+                           "plasma_manager", manager_addr, db_connect_args);
     db_attach(state->db, state->loop, false);
   } else {
     state->db = NULL;
@@ -1330,7 +1326,7 @@ void process_object_notification(event_loop *loop,
   }
   auto object_info = flatbuffers::GetRoot<ObjectInfo>(notification);
   /* Add object to locally available object. */
-  ObjectID object_id = from_flatbuf(object_info->object_id());
+  ObjectID object_id = from_flatbuf(*object_info->object_id());
   if (object_info->is_deletion()) {
     process_delete_object_notification(state, object_id);
   } else {
diff --git a/test/actor_test.py b/test/actor_test.py
index 71b446ba0..930370ae8 100644
--- a/test/actor_test.py
+++ b/test/actor_test.py
@@ -1592,5 +1592,39 @@ class DistributedActorHandles(unittest.TestCase):
         #     ray.get(g.remote())
 
 
+@unittest.skip("Actor placement currently does not use custom resources.")
+class ActorPlacement(unittest.TestCase):
+
+    def tearDown(self):
+        ray.worker.cleanup()
+
+    def testCustomLabelPlacement(self):
+        ray.worker._init(start_ray_local=True, num_local_schedulers=2,
+                         num_workers=0, resources=[{"CustomResource1": 10},
+                                                   {"CustomResource2": 10}])
+
+        @ray.remote(resources={"CustomResource1": 1})
+        class ResourceActor1(object):
+            def get_location(self):
+                return ray.worker.global_worker.plasma_client.store_socket_name
+
+        @ray.remote(resources={"CustomResource2": 1})
+        class ResourceActor2(object):
+            def get_location(self):
+                return ray.worker.global_worker.plasma_client.store_socket_name
+
+        local_plasma = ray.worker.global_worker.plasma_client.store_socket_name
+
+        # Create some actors.
+        actors1 = [ResourceActor1.remote() for _ in range(10)]
+        actors2 = [ResourceActor2.remote() for _ in range(10)]
+        locations1 = ray.get([a.get_location.remote() for a in actors1])
+        locations2 = ray.get([a.get_location.remote() for a in actors2])
+        for location in locations1:
+            self.assertEqual(location, local_plasma)
+        for location in locations2:
+            self.assertNotEqual(location, local_plasma)
+
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     unittest.main(verbosity=2)
diff --git a/test/multi_node_test.py b/test/multi_node_test.py
index 3f7871634..a4567ac4f 100644
--- a/test/multi_node_test.py
+++ b/test/multi_node_test.py
@@ -205,7 +205,8 @@ class StartRayScriptTest(unittest.TestCase):
                                  "--object-manager-port", "12345",
                                  "--num-cpus", "100",
                                  "--num-gpus", "0",
-                                 "--redis-max-clients", "100"])
+                                 "--redis-max-clients", "100",
+                                 "--resources", "{\"Custom\": 1}"])
         subprocess.Popen(["ray", "stop"]).wait()
 
         # Test starting Ray with invalid arguments.
diff --git a/test/runtest.py b/test/runtest.py
index b1b3c4e63..9b67341f5 100644
--- a/test/runtest.py
+++ b/test/runtest.py
@@ -335,7 +335,7 @@ class WorkerTest(unittest.TestCase):
 
 
 class APITest(unittest.TestCase):
-    def init_ray(self, kwargs=None):
+    def init_ray(self, **kwargs):
         if kwargs is None:
             kwargs = {}
         ray.init(**kwargs)
@@ -344,7 +344,7 @@ class APITest(unittest.TestCase):
         ray.worker.cleanup()
 
     def testCustomSerializers(self):
-        self.init_ray({"num_workers": 1})
+        self.init_ray(num_workers=1)
 
         class Foo(object):
             def __init__(self):
@@ -377,7 +377,7 @@ class APITest(unittest.TestCase):
                          ((3, "string1", Bar.__name__), "string2"))
 
     def testRegisterClass(self):
-        self.init_ray({"num_workers": 2})
+        self.init_ray(num_workers=2)
 
         # Check that putting an object of a class that has not been registered
         # throws an exception.
@@ -616,7 +616,7 @@ class APITest(unittest.TestCase):
         ray.get(test_functions.no_op.remote())
 
     def testDefiningRemoteFunctions(self):
-        self.init_ray({"num_cpus": 3})
+        self.init_ray(num_cpus=3)
 
         # Test that we can define a remote function in the shell.
         @ray.remote
@@ -694,7 +694,7 @@ class APITest(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(results, indices)
 
     def testWait(self):
-        self.init_ray({"num_cpus": 1})
+        self.init_ray(num_cpus=1)
 
         @ray.remote
         def f(delay):
@@ -861,7 +861,7 @@ class APITest(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertTrue("fake_directory" not in ray.get(get_path2.remote()))
 
     def testLoggingAPI(self):
-        self.init_ray({"driver_mode": ray.SILENT_MODE})
+        self.init_ray(driver_mode=ray.SILENT_MODE)
 
         def events():
             # This is a hack for getting the event log. It is not part of the
@@ -993,7 +993,7 @@ class APITest(unittest.TestCase):
 
 
 class APITestSharded(APITest):
-    def init_ray(self, kwargs=None):
+    def init_ray(self, **kwargs):
         if kwargs is None:
             kwargs = {}
         kwargs["start_ray_local"] = True
@@ -1272,6 +1272,20 @@ class ResourcesTest(unittest.TestCase):
                 assert gpu_id in range(num_gpus)
             return gpu_ids
 
+        # Wait for all workers to start up.
+        @ray.remote
+        def f():
+            time.sleep(0.1)
+            return os.getpid()
+
+        start_time = time.time()
+        while True:
+            if len(set(ray.get([f.remote() for _ in range(10)]))) == 10:
+                break
+            if time.time() > start_time + 10:
+                raise Exception("Timed out while waiting for workers to start "
+                                "up.")
+
         list_of_ids = ray.get([f0.remote() for _ in range(10)])
         self.assertEqual(list_of_ids, 10 * [[]])
 
@@ -1461,20 +1475,20 @@ class ResourcesTest(unittest.TestCase):
         ray.worker._init(
             start_ray_local=True,
             num_local_schedulers=2,
-            num_cpus=3,
-            num_custom_resource=[0, 1])
+            num_cpus=[3, 3],
+            resources=[{"CustomResource": 0}, {"CustomResource": 1}])
 
         @ray.remote
         def f():
             time.sleep(0.001)
             return ray.worker.global_worker.plasma_client.store_socket_name
 
-        @ray.remote(num_custom_resource=1)
+        @ray.remote(resources={"CustomResource": 1})
         def g():
             time.sleep(0.001)
             return ray.worker.global_worker.plasma_client.store_socket_name
 
-        @ray.remote(num_custom_resource=1)
+        @ray.remote(resources={"CustomResource": 1})
         def h():
             ray.get([f.remote() for _ in range(5)])
             return ray.worker.global_worker.plasma_client.store_socket_name
@@ -1495,19 +1509,87 @@ class ResourcesTest(unittest.TestCase):
 
         ray.worker.cleanup()
 
-    def testInfiniteCustomResource(self):
-        # Make sure that -1 corresponds to an infinite resource capacity.
-        ray.init(num_custom_resource=-1)
+    def testTwoCustomResources(self):
+        ray.worker._init(
+            start_ray_local=True,
+            num_local_schedulers=2,
+            num_cpus=[3, 3],
+            resources=[{"CustomResource1": 1, "CustomResource2": 2},
+                       {"CustomResource1": 3, "CustomResource2": 4}])
+
+        @ray.remote(resources={"CustomResource1": 1})
+        def f():
+            time.sleep(0.001)
+            return ray.worker.global_worker.plasma_client.store_socket_name
+
+        @ray.remote(resources={"CustomResource2": 1})
+        def g():
+            time.sleep(0.001)
+            return ray.worker.global_worker.plasma_client.store_socket_name
+
+        @ray.remote(resources={"CustomResource1": 1, "CustomResource2": 3})
+        def h():
+            time.sleep(0.001)
+            return ray.worker.global_worker.plasma_client.store_socket_name
+
+        @ray.remote(resources={"CustomResource1": 4})
+        def j():
+            time.sleep(0.001)
+            return ray.worker.global_worker.plasma_client.store_socket_name
+
+        @ray.remote(resources={"CustomResource3": 1})
+        def k():
+            time.sleep(0.001)
+            return ray.worker.global_worker.plasma_client.store_socket_name
+
+        # The f and g tasks should be scheduled on both local schedulers.
+        self.assertEqual(len(set(ray.get([f.remote() for _ in range(50)]))), 2)
+        self.assertEqual(len(set(ray.get([g.remote() for _ in range(50)]))), 2)
+
+        local_plasma = ray.worker.global_worker.plasma_client.store_socket_name
+
+        # The h tasks should be scheduled only on the second local scheduler.
+        local_scheduler_ids = set(ray.get([h.remote() for _ in range(50)]))
+        self.assertEqual(len(local_scheduler_ids), 1)
+        self.assertNotEqual(list(local_scheduler_ids)[0], local_plasma)
+
+        # Make sure that tasks with unsatisfied custom resource requirements do
+        # not get scheduled.
+        ready_ids, remaining_ids = ray.wait([j.remote(), k.remote()],
+                                            timeout=500)
+        self.assertEqual(ready_ids, [])
+
+        ray.worker.cleanup()
+
+    def testManyCustomResources(self):
+        num_custom_resources = 10000
+        total_resources = {str(i): np.random.randint(1, 7)
+                           for i in range(num_custom_resources)}
+        ray.init(num_cpus=5, resources=total_resources)
 
         def f():
             return 1
 
-        ray.get(ray.remote(num_custom_resource=0)(f).remote())
-        ray.get(ray.remote(num_custom_resource=1)(f).remote())
-        ray.get(ray.remote(num_custom_resource=2)(f).remote())
-        ray.get(ray.remote(num_custom_resource=4)(f).remote())
-        ray.get(ray.remote(num_custom_resource=8)(f).remote())
-        ray.get(ray.remote(num_custom_resource=(10**10))(f).remote())
+        remote_functions = []
+        for _ in range(20):
+            num_resources = np.random.randint(0, num_custom_resources + 1)
+            permuted_resources = np.random.permutation(
+                                     num_custom_resources)[:num_resources]
+            random_resources = {str(i): total_resources[str(i)]
+                                for i in permuted_resources}
+            remote_function = ray.remote(resources=random_resources)(f)
+            remote_functions.append(remote_function)
+
+        remote_functions.append(ray.remote(f))
+        remote_functions.append(ray.remote(resources=total_resources)(f))
+
+        results = []
+        for remote_function in remote_functions:
+            results.append(remote_function.remote())
+            results.append(remote_function.remote())
+            results.append(remote_function.remote())
+
+        ray.get(results)
 
         ray.worker.cleanup()