diff --git a/spec/models/article_spec.rb b/spec/models/article_spec.rb
index e3bab788..f791f232 100644
--- a/spec/models/article_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/article_spec.rb
@@ -52,4 +52,58 @@ describe Article do
     order = create :order, supplier: supplier, article_ids: [article.id]
     expect(article.in_open_order).to eq(order)
   end
+
+
+  it 'has no shared article by default' do
+    expect(article.shared_article).to be_nil
+  end
+
+  describe 'connected to a shared database', :type => :feature do
+    let(:shared_supplier) { create(:supplier) }
+    let(:shared_article) { create :article, supplier: shared_supplier, order_number: Faker::Lorem.characters(rand(1..12)) }
+    let(:supplier) { create :supplier, shared_supplier_id: shared_supplier.id }
+    let(:article) { create :article, supplier: supplier, order_number: shared_article.order_number }
+
+    it 'can be found in the shared database' do
+      expect(article.shared_article).to_not be_nil
+    end
+
+    it 'can find updates' do
+      changed = article.shared_article_changed?
+      expect(changed).to_not be_false
+      expect(changed.length).to be > 1
+    end
+
+    it 'can be synchronised' do
+      # TODO move article sync from supplier to article
+      article # need to reference for it to exist when syncing
+      updated_article = supplier.sync_all[0].select{|s| s[0].id==article.id}.first[0]
+      article.update_attributes updated_article.attributes.reject{|k,v| k=='id' or k=='type'}
+      expect(article.name).to eq(shared_article.name)
+      # now synchronising shouldn't change anything anymore
+      expect(article.shared_article_changed?).to be_false
+    end
+
+    it 'does not need to synchronise an imported article' do
+      article = SharedArticle.find(shared_article.id).build_new_article(supplier)
+      expect(article.shared_article_changed?).to be_false
+    end
+
+    it 'adapts to foodcoop units when synchronising' do
+      shared_article.unit = '1kg'
+      shared_article.unit_quantity = 1
+      shared_article.save!
+      article = SharedArticle.find(shared_article.id).build_new_article(supplier)
+      article.article_category = create :article_category
+      article.unit = '200g'
+      article.shared_updated_on -= 1 # to make update do something
+      article.save!
+      # TODO get sync functionality in article
+      updated_article = supplier.sync_all[0].select{|s| s[0].id==article.id}.first[0]
+      article.update_attributes! updated_article.attributes.reject{|k,v| k=='id' or k=='type'}
+      expect(article.unit).to eq '200g'
+      expect(article.unit_quantity).to eq 5
+      expect(article.price).to be_close(shared_article.price/5, 1e-3)
+    end
+  end
 end
diff --git a/spec/support/shared_database.rb b/spec/support/shared_database.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..55f8f2b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/support/shared_database.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+# http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8774227
+# http://blog.plataformatec.com.br/2011/12/three-tips-to-improve-the-performance-of-your-test-suite
+class ActiveRecord::Base
+    mattr_accessor :shared_connection
+    @@shared_connection = nil
+       
+    def self.connection
+      @@shared_connection || retrieve_connection
+    end
+end
+# Forces all threads to share the same connection. This works on
+# Capybara because it starts the web server in a thread.
+ActiveRecord::Base.shared_connection = ActiveRecord::Base.connection
+
+ActiveSupport.on_load(:after_initialize) do
+  # We simulate the shared database by pointing to our own database.
+  #   This allows running tests without additional database setup.
+  #   But take care when designing tests using the shared database.
+  SharedSupplier.establish_connection Rails.env
+  SharedArticle.establish_connection Rails.env
+  # hack for different structure of shared database
+  SharedArticle.class_eval do
+    alias_attribute :number, :order_number
+    alias_attribute :updated_on, :updated_at
+    def self.find_by_number(n)
+      find_by_order_number(n)
+    end
+  end
+end