diff --git a/defaults/main.yml b/defaults/main.yml
index 2035ca1d..62edd3c5 100644
--- a/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/defaults/main.yml
@@ -103,3 +103,19 @@ galera_debian_cnf_overrides: {}
 # the cluster will be used which is something to note if deploying galera on different
 # hardware.
 # galera_max_connections: 500
+
+# Settings for percona and qpress
+# The [percona|qpress]_arch_[url|sha256] hashes can be found in the distro vars files.
+galera_package_arch: "{{ hostvars[inventory_hostname]['ansible_architecture'] }}"
+
+# Validate SSL certificates when downloading the galera deb above
+# May be set to "no" when proxy server is intercepting the certificates.
+percona_package_download_validate_certs: yes
+percona_package_url: "{{ percona_arch_url.get( galera_package_arch | lower ) }}"
+percona_package_sha256: "{{ percona_arch_sha256.get( galera_package_arch | lower ) }}"
+percona_package_path: "/opt/{{ percona_package_url | basename }}"
+
+qpress_package_download_validate_certs: yes
+qpress_package_url: "{{ qpress_arch_url.get( galera_package_arch | lower ) }}"
+qpress_package_sha256: "{{ qpress_arch_sha256.get( galera_package_arch | lower ) }}"
+qpress_package_path: "/opt/{{ qpress_package_url | basename }}"
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/galera_package_arch-913fb39b07a139fd.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/galera_package_arch-913fb39b07a139fd.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..13c3aa48
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/galera_package_arch-913fb39b07a139fd.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+---
+features:
+  - You can specify the ``galera_package_arch`` variable
+    to force a specific architecture when installing
+    percona and qpress packages. This will be automatically
+    calculated based on the architecture of the
+    ``galera_server`` host. Acceptable values are ``x86_64``
+    for ``Ubuntu-16.04`` and ``RHEL 7``, and ``ppc64le`` for
+    ``Ubuntu-16.04``.
diff --git a/vars/redhat-7.yml b/vars/redhat-7.yml
index 03a18c8f..5eb3e8a0 100644
--- a/vars/redhat-7.yml
+++ b/vars/redhat-7.yml
@@ -54,23 +54,11 @@ galera_server_percona_distro_packages:
   - qpress
   - percona-xtrabackup
 
-# Validate SSL certificates when downloading the galera packages above
-# May be set to "no" when proxy server is intercepting the certificates.
-percona_package_download_validate_certs: "yes"
-percona_package_url: "{{ percona_arch_url.get( hostvars[physical_host | default(inventory_hostname)]['ansible_architecture'] | lower ) }}"
-percona_package_sha256: "{{ percona_arch_sha256.get( hostvars[physical_host | default(inventory_hostname)]['ansible_architecture'] | lower ) }}"
-percona_package_path: "/opt/{{ percona_package_url | basename }}"
-
 percona_arch_url:
   x86_64: "https://www.percona.com/downloads/XtraBackup/Percona-XtraBackup-2.2.13/binary/redhat/7/x86_64/percona-xtrabackup-22-2.2.13-1.el7.x86_64.rpm"
 percona_arch_sha256:
   x86_64: "030585abb52b24a781641374fe7c4530518b176a10ed4eb75547803b6b1f60e4"
 
-qpress_package_download_validate_certs: yes
-qpress_package_url: "{{ qpress_arch_url.get( hostvars[physical_host | default(inventory_hostname)]['ansible_architecture'] | lower ) }}"
-qpress_package_sha256: "{{ qpress_arch_sha256.get( hostvars[physical_host | default(inventory_hostname)]['ansible_architecture'] | lower ) }}"
-qpress_package_path: "/opt/{{ qpress_package_url | basename }}"
-
 qpress_arch_url:
   x86_64: "https://repo.percona.com/centos/7/RPMS/x86_64/qpress-11-1.el7.x86_64.rpm"
 qpress_arch_sha256:
diff --git a/vars/ubuntu-16.04.yml b/vars/ubuntu-16.04.yml
index 3a71ad5d..18e22154 100644
--- a/vars/ubuntu-16.04.yml
+++ b/vars/ubuntu-16.04.yml
@@ -72,13 +72,6 @@ galera_server_percona_distro_packages:
   - qpress
   - percona-xtrabackup
 
-# Validate SSL certificates when downloading the galera deb above
-# May be set to "no" when proxy server is intercepting the certificates.
-percona_package_download_validate_certs: yes
-percona_package_url: "{{ percona_arch_url.get( hostvars[physical_host | default(inventory_hostname)]['ansible_architecture'] | lower ) }}"
-percona_package_sha256: "{{ percona_arch_sha256.get( hostvars[physical_host | default(inventory_hostname)]['ansible_architecture'] | lower ) }}"
-percona_package_path: "/opt/{{ percona_package_url | basename }}"
-
 percona_arch_url:
   x86_64: "https://www.percona.com/downloads/XtraBackup/Percona-XtraBackup-2.2.13/binary/debian/vivid/x86_64/percona-xtrabackup-22_2.2.13-1.vivid_amd64.deb"
   ppc64le: "http://public.dhe.ibm.com/systems/virtualization/Novalink/misc/percona-xtrabackup/percona-xtrabackup-22_2.2.13-1_ppc64el.deb"
@@ -86,11 +79,6 @@ percona_arch_sha256:
   x86_64: "3e3b15b2b261da004f7c4419ae427af9ec5707b40be1effe22a0142311c51856"
   ppc64le: "902969b427a36743f5af1e399ff19b3904c3803d760700f959c8cc9102ab802c"
 
-qpress_package_download_validate_certs: yes
-qpress_package_url: "{{ qpress_arch_url.get( hostvars[physical_host | default(inventory_hostname)]['ansible_architecture'] | lower ) }}"
-qpress_package_sha256: "{{ qpress_arch_sha256.get( hostvars[physical_host | default(inventory_hostname)]['ansible_architecture'] | lower ) }}"
-qpress_package_path: "/opt/{{ qpress_package_url | basename }}"
-
 qpress_arch_url:
   x86_64: "https://repo.percona.com/apt/pool/main/q/qpress/qpress_11-1.xenial_amd64.deb"
   ppc64le: "http://public.dhe.ibm.com/systems/virtualization/Novalink/misc/qpress/qpress_11-1_ppc64el.deb"