diff --git a/controllers/nginx/Makefile b/controllers/nginx/Makefile
index 8bee35692..8805e2d2a 100644
--- a/controllers/nginx/Makefile
+++ b/controllers/nginx/Makefile
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ BUILDTAGS=
 RELEASE?=0.9.0-beta.2
 PREFIX?=gcr.io/google_containers/nginx-ingress-controller
 GOOS?=linux
+DOCKER?=gcloud docker --
 
 REPO_INFO=$(shell git config --get remote.origin.url)
 
@@ -21,10 +22,10 @@ build: clean
 		-o rootfs/nginx-ingress-controller ${PKG}/pkg/cmd/controller
 
 container: build
-	docker build --pull -t $(PREFIX):$(RELEASE) rootfs
+	$(DOCKER) build --pull -t $(PREFIX):$(RELEASE) rootfs
 
 push: container
-	gcloud docker -- push $(PREFIX):$(RELEASE)
+	$(DOCKER) push $(PREFIX):$(RELEASE)
 
 fmt:
 	@echo "+ $@"
diff --git a/controllers/nginx/rootfs/etc/nginx/template/nginx.tmpl b/controllers/nginx/rootfs/etc/nginx/template/nginx.tmpl
index 9d29e9a5d..6faa2faa9 100644
--- a/controllers/nginx/rootfs/etc/nginx/template/nginx.tmpl
+++ b/controllers/nginx/rootfs/etc/nginx/template/nginx.tmpl
@@ -243,6 +243,8 @@ http {
             {{ end }}
             {{ if not (empty $location.ExternalAuth.Method) }}           
             proxy_method {{ $location.ExternalAuth.Method }};
+            proxy_set_header X-Original-URI $request_uri;
+            proxy_set_header X-Scheme       $pass_access_scheme;
             {{ end }}
             proxy_set_header            Host $host;            
             proxy_pass_request_headers  on;
@@ -267,6 +269,10 @@ http {
             # this location requires authentication
             auth_request {{ $authPath }};
             {{ end }}
+
+            {{ if not (empty $location.ExternalAuth.SigninURL) }}
+            error_page 401 = {{ $location.ExternalAuth.SigninURL }};
+            {{ end }}
             
             {{ if (and (not (empty $server.SSLCertificate)) $location.Redirect.SSLRedirect) }}
             # enforce ssl on server side
@@ -314,6 +320,8 @@ http {
             proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host       $host;
             proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Port       $pass_port;
             proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto      $pass_access_scheme;
+            proxy_set_header X-Original-URI         $request_uri;
+            proxy_set_header X-Scheme               $pass_access_scheme;
 
             # mitigate HTTPoxy Vulnerability
             # https://www.nginx.com/blog/mitigating-the-httpoxy-vulnerability-with-nginx/
diff --git a/core/pkg/ingress/annotations/authreq/main.go b/core/pkg/ingress/annotations/authreq/main.go
index 31c208507..c5659447a 100644
--- a/core/pkg/ingress/annotations/authreq/main.go
+++ b/core/pkg/ingress/annotations/authreq/main.go
@@ -17,9 +17,6 @@ limitations under the License.
 package authreq
 
 import (
-	"net/url"
-	"strings"
-
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/apis/extensions"
 
 	"k8s.io/ingress/core/pkg/ingress/annotations/parser"
@@ -28,16 +25,18 @@ import (
 
 const (
 	// external URL that provides the authentication
-	authURL    = "ingress.kubernetes.io/auth-url"
-	authMethod = "ingress.kubernetes.io/auth-method"
-	authBody   = "ingress.kubernetes.io/auth-send-body"
+	authURL       = "ingress.kubernetes.io/auth-url"
+	authSigninURL = "ingress.kubernetes.io/auth-signin"
+	authMethod    = "ingress.kubernetes.io/auth-method"
+	authBody      = "ingress.kubernetes.io/auth-send-body"
 )
 
 // External returns external authentication configuration for an Ingress rule
 type External struct {
-	URL      string `json:"url"`
-	Method   string `json:"method"`
-	SendBody bool   `json:"sendBody"`
+	URL       string `json:"url"`
+	SigninURL string `json:"signinUrl"`
+	Method    string `json:"method"`
+	SendBody  bool   `json:"sendBody"`
 }
 
 var (
@@ -68,29 +67,15 @@ func NewParser() parser.IngressAnnotation {
 // ParseAnnotations parses the annotations contained in the ingress
 // rule used to use an external URL as source for authentication
 func (a authReq) Parse(ing *extensions.Ingress) (interface{}, error) {
-	str, err := parser.GetStringAnnotation(authURL, ing)
+	auth, err := parser.GetURLAnnotation(authURL, ing)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	if str == "" {
-		return nil, ing_errors.NewLocationDenied("an empty string is not a valid URL")
-	}
-
-	ur, err := url.Parse(str)
+	signin, err := parser.GetURLAnnotation(authSigninURL, ing)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	if ur.Scheme == "" {
-		return nil, ing_errors.NewLocationDenied("url scheme is empty")
-	}
-	if ur.Host == "" {
-		return nil, ing_errors.NewLocationDenied("url host is empty")
-	}
-
-	if strings.Contains(ur.Host, "..") {
-		return nil, ing_errors.NewLocationDenied("invalid url host")
-	}
 
 	m, err := parser.GetStringAnnotation(authMethod, ing)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -104,8 +89,9 @@ func (a authReq) Parse(ing *extensions.Ingress) (interface{}, error) {
 	sb, _ := parser.GetBoolAnnotation(authBody, ing)
 
 	return &External{
-		URL:      str,
-		Method:   m,
-		SendBody: sb,
+		URL:       auth.String(),
+		SigninURL: signin.String(),
+		Method:    m,
+		SendBody:  sb,
 	}, nil
 }
diff --git a/core/pkg/ingress/annotations/authreq/main_test.go b/core/pkg/ingress/annotations/authreq/main_test.go
index 696d8bdc0..75cd6d2b7 100644
--- a/core/pkg/ingress/annotations/authreq/main_test.go
+++ b/core/pkg/ingress/annotations/authreq/main_test.go
@@ -67,23 +67,25 @@ func TestAnnotations(t *testing.T) {
 	ing.SetAnnotations(data)
 
 	tests := []struct {
-		title    string
-		url      string
-		method   string
-		sendBody bool
-		expErr   bool
+		title     string
+		url       string
+		signinURL string
+		method    string
+		sendBody  bool
+		expErr    bool
 	}{
-		{"empty", "", "", false, true},
-		{"no scheme", "bar", "", false, true},
-		{"invalid host", "http://", "", false, true},
-		{"invalid host (multiple dots)", "http://foo..bar.com", "", false, true},
-		{"valid URL", "http://bar.foo.com/external-auth", "", false, false},
-		{"valid URL - send body", "http://foo.com/external-auth", "POST", true, false},
-		{"valid URL - send body", "http://foo.com/external-auth", "GET", true, false},
+		{"empty", "", "", "", false, true},
+		{"no scheme", "bar", "bar", "", false, true},
+		{"invalid host", "http://", "http://", "", false, true},
+		{"invalid host (multiple dots)", "http://foo..bar.com", "http://foo..bar.com", "", false, true},
+		{"valid URL", "http://bar.foo.com/external-auth", "http://bar.foo.com/external-auth", "", false, false},
+		{"valid URL - send body", "http://foo.com/external-auth", "http://foo.com/external-auth", "POST", true, false},
+		{"valid URL - send body", "http://foo.com/external-auth", "http://foo.com/external-auth", "GET", true, false},
 	}
 
 	for _, test := range tests {
 		data[authURL] = test.url
+		data[authSigninURL] = test.signinURL
 		data[authBody] = fmt.Sprintf("%v", test.sendBody)
 		data[authMethod] = fmt.Sprintf("%v", test.method)
 
@@ -101,6 +103,9 @@ func TestAnnotations(t *testing.T) {
 		if u.URL != test.url {
 			t.Errorf("%v: expected \"%v\" but \"%v\" was returned", test.title, test.url, u.URL)
 		}
+		if u.SigninURL != test.signinURL {
+			t.Errorf("%v: expected \"%v\" but \"%v\" was returned", test.title, test.signinURL, u.SigninURL)
+		}
 		if u.Method != test.method {
 			t.Errorf("%v: expected \"%v\" but \"%v\" was returned", test.title, test.method, u.Method)
 		}
diff --git a/core/pkg/ingress/annotations/parser/main.go b/core/pkg/ingress/annotations/parser/main.go
index bff6f2210..398083891 100644
--- a/core/pkg/ingress/annotations/parser/main.go
+++ b/core/pkg/ingress/annotations/parser/main.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ limitations under the License.
 package parser
 
 import (
+	"net/url"
 	"strconv"
 
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/apis/extensions"
@@ -51,6 +52,14 @@ func (a ingAnnotations) parseString(name string) (string, error) {
 	return "", errors.ErrMissingAnnotations
 }
 
+func (a ingAnnotations) parseURL(name string) (*url.URL, error) {
+	val, ok := a[name]
+	if ok {
+		return url.Parse(val)
+	}
+	return nil, errors.ErrMissingAnnotations
+}
+
 func (a ingAnnotations) parseInt(name string) (int, error) {
 	val, ok := a[name]
 	if ok {
@@ -100,3 +109,12 @@ func GetIntAnnotation(name string, ing *extensions.Ingress) (int, error) {
 	}
 	return ingAnnotations(ing.GetAnnotations()).parseInt(name)
 }
+
+// GetUrlAnnotation extracts a URL from an Ingress annotation
+func GetURLAnnotation(name string, ing *extensions.Ingress) (*url.URL, error) {
+	err := checkAnnotation(name, ing)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return ingAnnotations(ing.GetAnnotations()).parseURL(name)
+}
diff --git a/examples/README.md b/examples/README.md
index 330e82a0a..3e6a8d19f 100644
--- a/examples/README.md
+++ b/examples/README.md
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ SNI + TCP | TLS routing based on SNI hostname | nginx | Advanced
 Name | Description | Platform   | Complexity Level
 -----| ----------- | ---------- | ----------------
 Basic auth | password protect your website | nginx | Intermediate
-External auth plugin | defer to an external auth service | nginx | Intermediate
+[External auth plugin](external-auth/README.md) | defer to an external auth service | nginx | Intermediate
 
 ## Protocols
 
diff --git a/examples/external-auth/.gitignore b/examples/external-auth/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..dd05b5ed8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/external-auth/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+oauth2proxy.config
+authenticated_emails
diff --git a/examples/external-auth/README.md b/examples/external-auth/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f5a0192f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/external-auth/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+## External Authentication
+
+### Overview
+
+The `auth-url` and `auth-signin` annotations allow you to use an external
+authentication provider to protect your Ingress resources.
+
+(Note, this annotation requires `nginx-ingress-controller v0.9.0` or greater.)
+
+### Key Detail
+
+This functionality is enabled by deploying multiple Ingress objects for a single host.
+One Ingress object has no special annotations and handles authentication.
+
+Other Ingress objects can then be annotated in such a way that require the user to
+authenticate against the first Ingress's endpoint, and can redirect `401`s to the
+same endpoint.
+
+Sample:
+
+```
+...
+metadata:
+  name: application
+  annotations:
+    "ingress.kubernetes.io/auth-url": "https://$host/oauth2/auth"
+    "ingress.kubernetes.io/signin-url": "https://$host/oauth2/sign_in"
+...
+```
+
+### Example: OAuth2 Proxy + Kubernetes-Dashboard
+
+This example will show you how to deploy [`oauth2_proxy`](https://github.com/bitly/oauth2_proxy)
+into a Kubernetes cluster and use it to protect the Kubernetes Dashboard.
+
+#### Prepare:
+
+1. `export DOMAIN="somedomain.io"`
+2. Install `nginx-ingress`. If you haven't already, consider using `helm`: `$ helm install stable/nginx-ingress`
+3. Make sure you have a TLS cert added as a Secret named `ingress-tls` that corresponds to your `$DOMAIN`.
+
+### Deploy: `oauth2_proxy`
+
+This is the Deployment object that runs `oauth2_proxy`.
+
+1. Configure `oauth2proxy.deployment.yaml` to use the desired provider.
+
+2. Create a secret with the appropriate name and values, matching what is specified in
+   `oauth2proxy.deployment.yaml`.
+
+   For example, as-is with Azure AD, you can use this command:
+   ```
+   kubectl create-secret generic oauth2proxy \
+     --from-literal=COOKIE_SECRET="$(uuidgen)" \
+     --from-literal=TENANT_ID="${TENANT_ID}" \
+     --from-literal=CLIENT_ID="${CLIENT_ID}" \
+     --from-literal=CLIENT_SECRET="${CLIENT_SECRET}"
+   ```
+
+3. Deploy it all: `./deploy.sh`
+
+See the script for further details.
diff --git a/examples/external-auth/authenticated_emails.example b/examples/external-auth/authenticated_emails.example
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..13e94176d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/external-auth/authenticated_emails.example
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+sam@example.com
diff --git a/examples/external-auth/dashboard.ingress.yaml b/examples/external-auth/dashboard.ingress.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..201d908a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/external-auth/dashboard.ingress.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+---
+apiVersion: extensions/v1beta1
+kind: Ingress
+metadata:
+  name: dashboard
+  namespace: kube-system
+  annotations:
+    "ingress.kubernetes.io/auth-url": "https://$host/oauth2/auth"
+    "ingress.kubernetes.io/auth-signin": "https://$host/oauth2/sign_in"
+spec:
+  tls:
+  - secretName: 'ingress-tls'
+    hosts:
+    - '__DOMAIN__'
+  rules:
+  - host: '__DOMAIN__'
+    http:
+      paths:
+      - path: /
+        backend:
+          serviceName: kubernetes-dashboard
+          servicePort: 80
diff --git a/examples/external-auth/deploy.sh b/examples/external-auth/deploy.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..6cf17db45
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/external-auth/deploy.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+set -x
+set -u
+set -e
+
+echo "deploying oauth2proxy for ${DOMAIN}"
+
+if [[ -z "${DOMAIN:-}" ]]; then
+	echo "You must set \$DOMAIN."
+	exit -1
+fi
+
+if [[ ! -f "authenticated_emails" ]]; then
+	echo "You must create './authenticated_emails'."
+	exit -1
+fi
+
+if [[ ! -f "oauth2proxy.config" ]]; then
+	echo "You must create './oauth2proxy.config'."
+	exit -1
+fi
+
+force_cleanup="n"
+answer="y"
+if kubectl describe secret oauth2proxy &>/dev/null ; then
+	echo "secret 'oauth2proxy' already exists."
+	echo "do you want to replace it and cycle the 'oauth2proxy' container?"
+	read answer
+	if [[ "${answer}" == "y" ]]; then
+		kubectl delete secret oauth2proxy || true
+		kubectl delete deployment oauth2proxy || true
+	fi
+	force_cleanup="y"
+fi
+if [[ "${answer}" == "y" ]]; then
+	kubectl create secret generic oauth2proxy \
+		--from-file=oauth2proxy.config=./oauth2proxy.config \
+		--from-file=authenticated_emails=./authenticated_emails
+fi
+
+sed "s|__DOMAIN__|${DOMAIN}|g" ./oauth2proxy.deployment.yaml | kubectl apply -f -
+sed "s|__DOMAIN__|${DOMAIN}|g" ./oauth2proxy.ingress.yaml | kubectl apply -f -
+sed "s|__DOMAIN__|${DOMAIN}|g" ./oauth2proxy.service.yaml | kubectl apply -f -
+sed "s|__DOMAIN__|${DOMAIN}|g" ./dashboard.ingress.yaml | kubectl apply -f -
diff --git a/examples/external-auth/oauth2proxy.config.example b/examples/external-auth/oauth2proxy.config.example
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2bb62651f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/external-auth/oauth2proxy.config.example
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+http_address = "0.0.0.0:4180"
+upstreams = [ "http://default-http-backend" ]
+provider = "azure"
+client_id = ""
+client_secret = ""
+cookie_secret = ""
+authenticated_emails_file = "/var/run/secrets/oauth2proxy/authenticated_emails"
diff --git a/examples/external-auth/oauth2proxy.deployment.yaml b/examples/external-auth/oauth2proxy.deployment.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2c1eb5546
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/external-auth/oauth2proxy.deployment.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+---
+apiVersion: extensions/v1beta1
+kind: Deployment
+metadata:
+  name: oauth2-proxy
+  labels:
+    k8s-app: oauth2proxy
+spec:
+  replicas: 1
+  template:
+    metadata:
+      labels:
+        k8s-app: oauth2proxy
+    spec:
+      volumes:
+      - name: oauth2proxy-secret
+        secret:
+          secretName: oauth2proxy
+      containers:
+      - name: oauth2proxy
+        image: docker.io/colemickens/oauth2_proxy:latest
+        imagePullPolicy: Always
+        ports:
+        - containerPort: 4180
+        volumeMounts:
+        - name: oauth2proxy-secret
+          readOnly: true
+          mountPath: /var/run/secrets/oauth2proxy
+        command:
+        - oauth2_proxy
+        - --config=/var/run/secrets/oauth2proxy/oauth2proxy.config
diff --git a/examples/external-auth/oauth2proxy.ingress.yaml b/examples/external-auth/oauth2proxy.ingress.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..872059ddb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/external-auth/oauth2proxy.ingress.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+---
+apiVersion: extensions/v1beta1
+kind: Ingress
+metadata:
+  name: oauth2proxy
+spec:
+  tls:
+  - secretName: 'ingress-tls'
+    hosts:
+    - '__DOMAIN__'
+  rules:
+  - host: '__DOMAIN__'
+    http: 
+      paths:
+      - path: /oauth2
+        backend:
+          serviceName: oauth2proxy
+          servicePort: 4180
diff --git a/examples/external-auth/oauth2proxy.service.yaml b/examples/external-auth/oauth2proxy.service.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ee534629d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/external-auth/oauth2proxy.service.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+---
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: Service
+metadata:
+  labels:
+    k8s-app: oauth2proxy
+  name: oauth2proxy
+spec:
+  ports:
+  - name: http
+    port: 4180
+    protocol: TCP
+    targetPort: 4180
+  selector:
+    k8s-app: oauth2proxy