diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 27e2f7832..18d44ceb8 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@
 *.so
 *.dylib
 
+# Avoid checking in keys
+*.pem
+
 # Test binary, built with `go test -c`
 *.test
 
diff --git a/test/e2e/framework/kubernetes/get-logs.go b/test/e2e/framework/kubernetes/get-logs.go
index 7cd728af8..80f9c83d8 100644
--- a/test/e2e/framework/kubernetes/get-logs.go
+++ b/test/e2e/framework/kubernetes/get-logs.go
@@ -12,9 +12,16 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/client-go/tools/clientcmd"
 )
 
-func PrintPodLogs(kubeconfigpath, namespace, labelSelector string) {
+type GetPodLogs struct {
+	KubeConfigFilePath string
+	Namespace          string
+	LabelSelector      string
+}
+
+func (p *GetPodLogs) Run() error {
+	fmt.Printf("printing pod logs for namespace: %s, labelselector: %s\n", p.Namespace, p.LabelSelector)
 	// Load the kubeconfig file to get the configuration to access the cluster
-	config, err := clientcmd.BuildConfigFromFlags("", kubeconfigpath)
+	config, err := clientcmd.BuildConfigFromFlags("", p.KubeConfigFilePath)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Printf("error building kubeconfig: %s\n", err)
 	}
@@ -25,8 +32,14 @@ func PrintPodLogs(kubeconfigpath, namespace, labelSelector string) {
 		log.Printf("error creating clientset: %s\n", err)
 	}
 
+	PrintPodLogs(context.Background(), clientset, p.Namespace, p.LabelSelector)
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+func PrintPodLogs(ctx context.Context, clientset *kubernetes.Clientset, namespace, labelSelector string) {
 	// List all the pods in the namespace
-	pods, err := clientset.CoreV1().Pods(namespace).List(context.Background(), metav1.ListOptions{
+	pods, err := clientset.CoreV1().Pods(namespace).List(ctx, metav1.ListOptions{
 		LabelSelector: labelSelector,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/test/e2e/framework/kubernetes/install-retina-helm.go b/test/e2e/framework/kubernetes/install-retina-helm.go
index 82f10745d..e5507b7ef 100644
--- a/test/e2e/framework/kubernetes/install-retina-helm.go
+++ b/test/e2e/framework/kubernetes/install-retina-helm.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package kubernetes
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"log"
 	"os"
@@ -11,10 +12,12 @@ import (
 	"helm.sh/helm/v3/pkg/action"
 	"helm.sh/helm/v3/pkg/chart/loader"
 	"helm.sh/helm/v3/pkg/cli"
+	"k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes"
+	"k8s.io/client-go/tools/clientcmd"
 )
 
 const (
-	createTimeout = 240 * time.Second // windpws is slow
+	createTimeout = 20 * time.Minute // windows is slow
 	deleteTimeout = 60 * time.Second
 )
 
@@ -32,6 +35,8 @@ type InstallHelmChart struct {
 }
 
 func (i *InstallHelmChart) Run() error {
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), createTimeout)
+	defer cancel()
 	settings := cli.New()
 	settings.KubeConfig = i.KubeConfigFilePath
 	actionConfig := new(action.Configuration)
@@ -97,7 +102,7 @@ func (i *InstallHelmChart) Run() error {
 	client.WaitForJobs = true
 
 	// install the chart here
-	rel, err := client.Run(chart, chart.Values)
+	rel, err := client.RunWithContext(ctx, chart, chart.Values)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to install chart: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -106,6 +111,23 @@ func (i *InstallHelmChart) Run() error {
 	// this will confirm the values set during installation
 	log.Printf("chart values: %v\n", rel.Config)
 
+	// ensure all pods are running, since helm doesn't care about windows
+	config, err := clientcmd.BuildConfigFromFlags("", i.KubeConfigFilePath)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("error building kubeconfig: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	clientset, err := kubernetes.NewForConfig(config)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("error creating Kubernetes client: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	labelSelector := "k8s-app=retina"
+	err = WaitForPodReady(ctx, clientset, "kube-system", labelSelector)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("error waiting for retina pods to be ready: %w", err)
+	}
+
 	return nil
 }
 
diff --git a/test/e2e/framework/kubernetes/no-crashes.go b/test/e2e/framework/kubernetes/no-crashes.go
index b598dd64c..a5d5ec03b 100644
--- a/test/e2e/framework/kubernetes/no-crashes.go
+++ b/test/e2e/framework/kubernetes/no-crashes.go
@@ -4,19 +4,19 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
 
-	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/fields"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/tools/clientcmd"
 )
 
-type NoCrashes struct {
+var ErrPodCrashed = fmt.Errorf("pod has crashes")
+
+type EnsureStableCluster struct {
 	LabelSelector      string
 	PodNamespace       string
 	KubeConfigFilePath string
 }
 
-func (n *NoCrashes) Run() error {
+func (n *EnsureStableCluster) Run() error {
 	config, err := clientcmd.BuildConfigFromFlags("", n.KubeConfigFilePath)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("error building kubeconfig: %w", err)
@@ -27,32 +27,17 @@ func (n *NoCrashes) Run() error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("error creating Kubernetes client: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	fieldSelector := fields.Everything()
-
-	pods, err := clientset.CoreV1().Pods("").List(context.TODO(), metav1.ListOptions{
-		LabelSelector: n.LabelSelector,
-		FieldSelector: fieldSelector.String(),
-	})
+	err = WaitForPodReady(context.TODO(), clientset, n.PodNamespace, n.LabelSelector)
 	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("error listing pods: %w", err)
+		return fmt.Errorf("error waiting for retina pods to be ready: %w", err)
 	}
-
-	for _, pod := range pods.Items {
-		for _, status := range pod.Status.ContainerStatuses {
-			if status.RestartCount > 0 {
-				PrintPodLogs(n.KubeConfigFilePath, pod.Namespace, pod.Name)
-				return fmt.Errorf("Pod %s has %d restarts", pod.Name, status)
-			}
-		}
-	}
-
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (n *NoCrashes) Prevalidate() error {
+func (n *EnsureStableCluster) Prevalidate() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (n *NoCrashes) Stop() error {
+func (n *EnsureStableCluster) Stop() error {
 	return nil
 }
diff --git a/test/e2e/framework/kubernetes/wait-pod-ready.go b/test/e2e/framework/kubernetes/wait-pod-ready.go
index 208fe140d..c53a7def0 100644
--- a/test/e2e/framework/kubernetes/wait-pod-ready.go
+++ b/test/e2e/framework/kubernetes/wait-pod-ready.go
@@ -20,7 +20,11 @@ const (
 func WaitForPodReady(ctx context.Context, clientset *kubernetes.Clientset, namespace, labelSelector string) error {
 	podReadyMap := make(map[string]bool)
 
+	printIterator := 0
 	conditionFunc := wait.ConditionWithContextFunc(func(context.Context) (bool, error) {
+		defer func() {
+			printIterator++
+		}()
 		var podList *corev1.PodList
 		podList, err := clientset.CoreV1().Pods(namespace).List(ctx, metav1.ListOptions{LabelSelector: labelSelector})
 		if err != nil {
@@ -40,11 +44,21 @@ func WaitForPodReady(ctx context.Context, clientset *kubernetes.Clientset, names
 				return false, fmt.Errorf("error getting Pod: %w", err)
 			}
 
+			for istatus := range pod.Status.ContainerStatuses {
+				status := &pod.Status.ContainerStatuses[istatus]
+				if status.RestartCount > 0 {
+					return false, fmt.Errorf("pod %s has %d restarts: status: %+v: %w", pod.Name, status.RestartCount, status, ErrPodCrashed)
+				}
+			}
+
 			// Check the Pod phase
 			if pod.Status.Phase != corev1.PodRunning {
-				log.Printf("pod \"%s\" is not in Running state yet. Waiting...\n", pod.Name)
+				if printIterator%5 == 0 {
+					log.Printf("pod \"%s\" is not in Running state yet. Waiting...\n", pod.Name)
+				}
 				return false, nil
 			}
+
 			if !podReadyMap[pod.Name] {
 				log.Printf("pod \"%s\" is in Running state\n", pod.Name)
 				podReadyMap[pod.Name] = true
@@ -56,6 +70,7 @@ func WaitForPodReady(ctx context.Context, clientset *kubernetes.Clientset, names
 
 	err := wait.PollUntilContextCancel(ctx, RetryIntervalPodsReady, true, conditionFunc)
 	if err != nil {
+		PrintPodLogs(ctx, clientset, namespace, labelSelector)
 		return fmt.Errorf("error waiting for pods in namespace \"%s\" with label \"%s\" to be in Running state: %w", namespace, labelSelector, err)
 	}
 	return nil
diff --git a/test/e2e/jobs/jobs.go b/test/e2e/jobs/jobs.go
index 49ed20c43..83579256b 100644
--- a/test/e2e/jobs/jobs.go
+++ b/test/e2e/jobs/jobs.go
@@ -11,35 +11,46 @@ import (
 	tcp "github.com/microsoft/retina/test/e2e/scenarios/tcp"
 )
 
-func CreateTestInfra(subID, clusterName, location, kubeConfigFilePath string) *types.Job {
+func CreateTestInfra(subID, clusterName, location, kubeConfigFilePath string, createInfra bool) *types.Job {
 	job := types.NewJob("Create e2e test infrastructure")
 
-	job.AddStep(&azure.CreateResourceGroup{
-		SubscriptionID:    subID,
-		ResourceGroupName: clusterName,
-		Location:          location,
-	}, nil)
-
-	job.AddStep(&azure.CreateVNet{
-		VnetName:         "testvnet",
-		VnetAddressSpace: "10.0.0.0/9",
-	}, nil)
-
-	job.AddStep(&azure.CreateSubnet{
-		SubnetName:         "testsubnet",
-		SubnetAddressSpace: "10.0.0.0/12",
-	}, nil)
-
-	job.AddStep(&azure.CreateNPMCluster{
-		ClusterName:  clusterName,
-		PodCidr:      "10.128.0.0/9",
-		DNSServiceIP: "192.168.0.10",
-		ServiceCidr:  "192.168.0.0/28",
-	}, nil)
-
-	job.AddStep(&azure.GetAKSKubeConfig{
-		KubeConfigFilePath: kubeConfigFilePath,
-	}, nil)
+	if createInfra {
+		job.AddStep(&azure.CreateResourceGroup{
+			SubscriptionID:    subID,
+			ResourceGroupName: clusterName,
+			Location:          location,
+		}, nil)
+
+		job.AddStep(&azure.CreateVNet{
+			VnetName:         "testvnet",
+			VnetAddressSpace: "10.0.0.0/9",
+		}, nil)
+
+		job.AddStep(&azure.CreateSubnet{
+			SubnetName:         "testsubnet",
+			SubnetAddressSpace: "10.0.0.0/12",
+		}, nil)
+
+		job.AddStep(&azure.CreateNPMCluster{
+			ClusterName:  clusterName,
+			PodCidr:      "10.128.0.0/9",
+			DNSServiceIP: "192.168.0.10",
+			ServiceCidr:  "192.168.0.0/28",
+		}, nil)
+
+		job.AddStep(&azure.GetAKSKubeConfig{
+			KubeConfigFilePath: kubeConfigFilePath,
+		}, nil)
+
+	} else {
+		job.AddStep(&azure.GetAKSKubeConfig{
+			KubeConfigFilePath: "./test.pem",
+			ClusterName:        clusterName,
+			SubscriptionID:     subID,
+			ResourceGroupName:  clusterName,
+			Location:           location,
+		}, nil)
+	}
 
 	job.AddStep(&generic.LoadFlags{
 		TagEnv:            generic.DefaultTagEnv,
@@ -122,7 +133,7 @@ func InstallAndTestRetinaBasicMetrics(kubeConfigFilePath, chartPath string) *typ
 		job.AddScenario(dns.ValidateBasicDNSMetrics(scenario.name, scenario.req, scenario.resp))
 	}
 
-	job.AddStep(&kubernetes.NoCrashes{
+	job.AddStep(&kubernetes.EnsureStableCluster{
 		PodNamespace:  "kube-system",
 		LabelSelector: "k8s-app=retina",
 	}, nil)
@@ -189,7 +200,7 @@ func UpgradeAndTestRetinaAdvancedMetrics(kubeConfigFilePath, chartPath, valuesFi
 
 	job.AddScenario(latency.ValidateLatencyMetric())
 
-	job.AddStep(&kubernetes.NoCrashes{
+	job.AddStep(&kubernetes.EnsureStableCluster{
 		PodNamespace:  "kube-system",
 		LabelSelector: "k8s-app=retina",
 	}, nil)
diff --git a/test/e2e/retina_e2e_test.go b/test/e2e/retina_e2e_test.go
index f804eef49..e69dab3e6 100644
--- a/test/e2e/retina_e2e_test.go
+++ b/test/e2e/retina_e2e_test.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package retina
 
 import (
 	"crypto/rand"
+	"flag"
 	"math/big"
 	"os"
 	"os/user"
@@ -16,14 +17,23 @@ import (
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
-var locations = []string{"eastus2", "centralus", "southcentralus", "uksouth", "centralindia", "westus2"}
+var (
+	locations   = []string{"eastus2", "centralus", "southcentralus", "uksouth", "centralindia", "westus2"}
+	createInfra = flag.Bool("create-infra", true, "create a Resource group, vNET and AKS cluster for testing")
+	deleteInfra = flag.Bool("delete-infra", true, "delete a Resource group, vNET and AKS cluster for testing")
+)
 
 // TestE2ERetina tests all e2e scenarios for retina
 func TestE2ERetina(t *testing.T) {
 	curuser, err := user.Current()
 	require.NoError(t, err)
+	flag.Parse()
 
-	clusterName := curuser.Username + common.NetObsRGtag + strconv.FormatInt(time.Now().Unix(), 10)
+	clusterName := os.Getenv("CLUSTER_NAME")
+	if clusterName == "" {
+		clusterName = curuser.Username + common.NetObsRGtag + strconv.FormatInt(time.Now().Unix(), 10)
+		t.Logf("CLUSTER_NAME is not set, generating a random cluster name: %s", clusterName)
+	}
 
 	subID := os.Getenv("AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID")
 	require.NotEmpty(t, subID)
@@ -49,7 +59,7 @@ func TestE2ERetina(t *testing.T) {
 	kubeConfigFilePath := filepath.Join(rootDir, "test", "e2e", "test.pem")
 
 	// CreateTestInfra
-	createTestInfra := types.NewRunner(t, jobs.CreateTestInfra(subID, clusterName, location, kubeConfigFilePath))
+	createTestInfra := types.NewRunner(t, jobs.CreateTestInfra(subID, clusterName, location, kubeConfigFilePath, *createInfra))
 	createTestInfra.Run()
 
 	// Hacky way to ensure that the test infra is deleted even if the test panics
@@ -57,7 +67,9 @@ func TestE2ERetina(t *testing.T) {
 		if r := recover(); r != nil {
 			t.Logf("Recovered in TestE2ERetina, %v", r)
 		}
-		_ = jobs.DeleteTestInfra(subID, clusterName, location).Run()
+		if *deleteInfra {
+			_ = jobs.DeleteTestInfra(subID, clusterName, location).Run()
+		}
 	}()
 
 	// Install and test Retina basic metrics