diff --git a/xos/configurations/cord-pod/README.md b/xos/configurations/cord-pod/README.md
index 242b858..b47a915 100644
--- a/xos/configurations/cord-pod/README.md
+++ b/xos/configurations/cord-pod/README.md
@@ -28,9 +28,13 @@
 
 ### Install OpenStack
 
-Follow the instructions in the [README.md](https://github.com/open-cloud/openstack-cluster-setup/blob/master/README.md)
+To set up OpenStack, follow the instructions in the
+[README.md](https://github.com/open-cloud/openstack-cluster-setup/blob/master/README.md)
 file of the [open-cloud/openstack-cluster-setup](https://github.com/open-cloud/openstack-cluster-setup/)
-repository.
+repository.  If you're just getting started with CORD, it's probably best to begin with the 
+single-node CORD test environment to familiarize yourself with the overall setup.
+
+**NOTE: In order to use the cord-pod configuration, you must set up OpenStack using the above recipe.**
 
 ### Set up ONOS VTN