diff --git a/agent/ae/ae.go b/agent/ae/ae.go
index e20d91839..36950df6b 100644
--- a/agent/ae/ae.go
+++ b/agent/ae/ae.go
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ type StateSyncer struct {
 	// State contains the data that needs to be synchronized.
 	State State
 
-	// Interval is the time between two regular sync runs.
+	// Interval is the time between two full sync runs.
 	Interval time.Duration
 
 	// ShutdownCh is closed when the application is shutting down.
@@ -78,17 +78,16 @@ type StateSyncer struct {
 	// paused stores whether sync runs are temporarily disabled.
 	pauseLock sync.Mutex
 	paused    int
-}
 
-func NewStateSyner(state State, intv time.Duration, shutdownCh chan struct{}, logger *log.Logger) *StateSyncer {
-	return &StateSyncer{
-		State:       state,
-		Interval:    intv,
-		ShutdownCh:  shutdownCh,
-		Logger:      logger,
-		SyncFull:    NewTrigger(),
-		SyncChanges: NewTrigger(),
-	}
+	// stagger randomly picks a duration between 0s and the given duration.
+	stagger func(time.Duration) time.Duration
+
+	// serverUpInterval is the max time after which a full sync is
+	// performed when a server has been added to the cluster.
+	serverUpInterval time.Duration
+
+	// retryFailInterval is the time after which a failed full sync is retried.
+	retryFailInterval time.Duration
 }
 
 const (
@@ -100,6 +99,24 @@ const (
 	retryFailIntv = 15 * time.Second
 )
 
+func NewStateSyner(state State, intv time.Duration, shutdownCh chan struct{}, logger *log.Logger) *StateSyncer {
+	s := &StateSyncer{
+		State:             state,
+		Interval:          intv,
+		ShutdownCh:        shutdownCh,
+		Logger:            logger,
+		SyncFull:          NewTrigger(),
+		SyncChanges:       NewTrigger(),
+		serverUpInterval:  serverUpIntv,
+		retryFailInterval: retryFailIntv,
+	}
+	s.stagger = func(d time.Duration) time.Duration {
+		f := scaleFactor(s.ClusterSize())
+		return lib.RandomStagger(time.Duration(f) * d)
+	}
+	return s
+}
+
 var errPaused = errors.New("paused")
 
 // Run is the long running method to perform state synchronization
@@ -109,11 +126,6 @@ func (s *StateSyncer) Run() {
 		panic("ClusterSize not set")
 	}
 
-	stagger := func(d time.Duration) time.Duration {
-		f := scaleFactor(s.ClusterSize())
-		return lib.RandomStagger(time.Duration(f) * d)
-	}
-
 FullSync:
 	for {
 		// attempt a full sync
@@ -129,14 +141,14 @@ FullSync:
 			// stagger the delay to avoid a thundering herd.
 			case <-s.SyncFull.Notif():
 				select {
-				case <-time.After(stagger(serverUpIntv)):
+				case <-time.After(s.stagger(s.serverUpInterval)):
 				case <-s.ShutdownCh:
 					return
 				}
 
 			// retry full sync after some time
 			// todo(fs): why don't we use s.Interval here?
-			case <-time.After(retryFailIntv + stagger(retryFailIntv)):
+			case <-time.After(s.retryFailInterval + s.stagger(s.retryFailInterval)):
 
 			case <-s.ShutdownCh:
 				return
@@ -153,14 +165,14 @@ FullSync:
 			// stagger the delay to avoid a thundering herd.
 			case <-s.SyncFull.Notif():
 				select {
-				case <-time.After(stagger(serverUpIntv)):
+				case <-time.After(s.stagger(s.serverUpInterval)):
 					continue FullSync
 				case <-s.ShutdownCh:
 					return
 				}
 
 			// time for a full sync again
-			case <-time.After(s.Interval + stagger(s.Interval)):
+			case <-time.After(s.Interval + s.stagger(s.Interval)):
 				continue FullSync
 
 			// do partial syncs on demand