diff --git a/dts/conf.yaml b/dts/conf.yaml
index a9bd8a3e..8caef719 100644
--- a/dts/conf.yaml
+++ b/dts/conf.yaml
@@ -10,13 +10,18 @@ executions:
         compiler_wrapper: ccache
     perf: false
     func: true
+    nic: #physical devices to be used for testing
+      address: "0000:00:10.1"
+      driver: "vfio-pci"
     test_suites:
+      - smoke_tests
       - hello_world
     system_under_test: "SUT 1"
 nodes:
   - name: "SUT 1"
-    hostname: sut1.change.me.localhost
+    hostname: host.example.name
     user: root
+    password: ""
     arch: x86_64
     os: linux
     lcores: ""
diff --git a/dts/framework/config/__init__.py b/dts/framework/config/__init__.py
index ebb0823f..78d23422 100644
--- a/dts/framework/config/__init__.py
+++ b/dts/framework/config/__init__.py
@@ -106,6 +106,18 @@ def from_dict(d: dict) -> "NodeConfiguration":
             hugepages=hugepage_config,
         )
 
+@dataclass(slots=True, frozen=True)
+class NICConfiguration:
+    address: str
+    driver: str
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def from_dict(d:dict) -> "NICConfiguration":
+        return NICConfiguration(
+            address=d.get("address"),
+            driver=d.get("driver")
+        )
+
 
 @dataclass(slots=True, frozen=True)
 class BuildTargetConfiguration:
@@ -157,6 +169,7 @@ class ExecutionConfiguration:
     func: bool
     test_suites: list[TestSuiteConfig]
     system_under_test: NodeConfiguration
+    nic: NICConfiguration
 
     @staticmethod
     def from_dict(d: dict, node_map: dict) -> "ExecutionConfiguration":
@@ -166,6 +179,7 @@ def from_dict(d: dict, node_map: dict) -> "ExecutionConfiguration":
         test_suites: list[TestSuiteConfig] = list(
             map(TestSuiteConfig.from_dict, d["test_suites"])
         )
+        nic_conf: NICConfiguration = NICConfiguration.from_dict(d['nic'])
         sut_name = d["system_under_test"]
         assert sut_name in node_map, f"Unknown SUT {sut_name} in execution {d}"
 
@@ -174,6 +188,7 @@ def from_dict(d: dict, node_map: dict) -> "ExecutionConfiguration":
             perf=d["perf"],
             func=d["func"],
             test_suites=test_suites,
+            nic=nic_conf,
             system_under_test=node_map[sut_name],
         )
 
diff --git a/dts/framework/config/conf_yaml_schema.json b/dts/framework/config/conf_yaml_schema.json
index ca2d4a1e..c98a9370 100644
--- a/dts/framework/config/conf_yaml_schema.json
+++ b/dts/framework/config/conf_yaml_schema.json
@@ -97,7 +97,8 @@
     "test_suite": {
       "type": "string",
       "enum": [
-        "hello_world"
+        "hello_world",
+        "smoke_tests"
       ]
     },
     "test_target": {
@@ -211,6 +212,19 @@
               ]
             }
           },
+          "nic": {
+            "type": "object",
+            "properties": {
+              "address": {
+                "type":"string",
+                "description": "PCI address of a physical device to test"
+              },
+              "driver": {
+                "type": "string",
+                "description": "The name of the driver that the physical device should be bound to"
+              }
+            }
+          },
           "system_under_test": {
             "$ref": "#/definitions/node_name"
           }
diff --git a/dts/framework/dts.py b/dts/framework/dts.py
index 05022845..0d03e158 100644
--- a/dts/framework/dts.py
+++ b/dts/framework/dts.py
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
 
 import sys
 
+from .exception import BlockingTestSuiteError
+
 from .config import CONFIGURATION, BuildTargetConfiguration, ExecutionConfiguration
 from .logger import DTSLOG, getLogger
 from .test_result import BuildTargetResult, DTSResult, ExecutionResult, Result
@@ -49,6 +51,7 @@ def run_all() -> None:
                     nodes[sut_node.name] = sut_node
 
             if sut_node:
+                #SMOKE TEST EXECUTION GOES HERE!
                 _run_execution(sut_node, execution, result)
 
     except Exception as e:
@@ -118,7 +121,7 @@ def _run_build_target(
 
     try:
         sut_node.set_up_build_target(build_target)
-        result.dpdk_version = sut_node.dpdk_version
+        # result.dpdk_version = sut_node.dpdk_version
         build_target_result.update_setup(Result.PASS)
     except Exception as e:
         dts_logger.exception("Build target setup failed.")
@@ -146,6 +149,7 @@ def _run_suites(
     with possibly only a subset of test cases.
     If no subset is specified, run all test cases.
     """
+    end_execution = False
     for test_suite_config in execution.test_suites:
         try:
             full_suite_path = f"tests.TestSuite_{test_suite_config.test_suite}"
@@ -160,13 +164,24 @@ def _run_suites(
 
         else:
             for test_suite_class in test_suite_classes:
+                #HERE NEEDS CHANGING
                 test_suite = test_suite_class(
                     sut_node,
                     test_suite_config.test_cases,
                     execution.func,
                     build_target_result,
+                    sut_node._build_target_config,
+                    result
                 )
-                test_suite.run()
+                try:
+                    test_suite.run()
+                except BlockingTestSuiteError as e:
+                    dts_logger.exception("An error occurred within a blocking TestSuite, execution will now end.")
+                    result.add_error(e)
+                    end_execution = True
+        #if a blocking test failed and we need to bail out of suite executions
+        if end_execution:
+            break
 
 
 def _exit_dts() -> None:
diff --git a/dts/framework/exception.py b/dts/framework/exception.py
index ca353d98..4e3f63d1 100644
--- a/dts/framework/exception.py
+++ b/dts/framework/exception.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ class ErrorSeverity(IntEnum):
     SSH_ERR = 4
     DPDK_BUILD_ERR = 10
     TESTCASE_VERIFY_ERR = 20
+    BLOCKING_TESTSUITE_ERR = 25
 
 
 class DTSError(Exception):
@@ -144,3 +145,13 @@ def __init__(self, value: str):
 
     def __str__(self) -> str:
         return repr(self.value)
+
+class BlockingTestSuiteError(DTSError):
+    suite_name: str
+    severity: ClassVar[ErrorSeverity]  = ErrorSeverity.BLOCKING_TESTSUITE_ERR
+
+    def __init__(self, suite_name:str) -> None:
+        self.suite_name = suite_name
+
+    def __str__(self) -> str:
+        return f"Blocking suite {self.suite_name} failed."
diff --git a/dts/framework/test_result.py b/dts/framework/test_result.py
index 74391982..77202ae2 100644
--- a/dts/framework/test_result.py
+++ b/dts/framework/test_result.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 import os.path
 from collections.abc import MutableSequence
 from enum import Enum, auto
+from typing import Dict
 
 from .config import (
     OS,
@@ -67,12 +68,13 @@ class Statistics(dict):
     Using a dict provides a convenient way to format the data.
     """
 
-    def __init__(self, dpdk_version):
+    def __init__(self, output_info: Dict[str, str] | None):
         super(Statistics, self).__init__()
         for result in Result:
             self[result.name] = 0
         self["PASS RATE"] = 0.0
-        self["DPDK VERSION"] = dpdk_version
+        if output_info:
+            for info_key, info_val in output_info.items(): self[info_key] = info_val
 
     def __iadd__(self, other: Result) -> "Statistics":
         """
@@ -258,6 +260,7 @@ class DTSResult(BaseResult):
     """
 
     dpdk_version: str | None
+    output: dict | None
     _logger: DTSLOG
     _errors: list[Exception]
     _return_code: ErrorSeverity
@@ -267,6 +270,7 @@ class DTSResult(BaseResult):
     def __init__(self, logger: DTSLOG):
         super(DTSResult, self).__init__()
         self.dpdk_version = None
+        self.output = None
         self._logger = logger
         self._errors = []
         self._return_code = ErrorSeverity.NO_ERR
@@ -296,7 +300,10 @@ def process(self) -> None:
             for error in self._errors:
                 self._logger.debug(repr(error))
 
-        self._stats_result = Statistics(self.dpdk_version)
+        self._stats_result = Statistics(self.output)
+        #add information gathered from the smoke tests to the statistics
+        # for info_key, info_val in smoke_test_info.items(): self._stats_result[info_key] = info_val
+        # print(self._stats_result)
         self.add_stats(self._stats_result)
         with open(self._stats_filename, "w+") as stats_file:
             stats_file.write(str(self._stats_result))
diff --git a/dts/framework/test_suite.py b/dts/framework/test_suite.py
index 0705f38f..1518fb8a 100644
--- a/dts/framework/test_suite.py
+++ b/dts/framework/test_suite.py
@@ -10,11 +10,14 @@
 import inspect
 import re
 from types import MethodType
+from typing import Dict
 
-from .exception import ConfigurationError, SSHTimeoutError, TestCaseVerifyError
+from .config import BuildTargetConfiguration
+
+from .exception import BlockingTestSuiteError, ConfigurationError, SSHTimeoutError, TestCaseVerifyError
 from .logger import DTSLOG, getLogger
 from .settings import SETTINGS
-from .test_result import BuildTargetResult, Result, TestCaseResult, TestSuiteResult
+from .test_result import BuildTargetResult, DTSResult, Result, TestCaseResult, TestSuiteResult
 from .testbed_model import SutNode
 
 
@@ -37,10 +40,12 @@ class TestSuite(object):
     """
 
     sut_node: SutNode
+    is_blocking = False
     _logger: DTSLOG
     _test_cases_to_run: list[str]
     _func: bool
     _result: TestSuiteResult
+    _dts_result: DTSResult
 
     def __init__(
         self,
@@ -48,6 +53,8 @@ def __init__(
         test_cases: list[str],
         func: bool,
         build_target_result: BuildTargetResult,
+        build_target_conf: BuildTargetConfiguration,
+        dts_result: DTSResult
     ):
         self.sut_node = sut_node
         self._logger = getLogger(self.__class__.__name__)
@@ -55,6 +62,8 @@ def __init__(
         self._test_cases_to_run.extend(SETTINGS.test_cases)
         self._func = func
         self._result = build_target_result.add_test_suite(self.__class__.__name__)
+        self.build_target_info = build_target_conf
+        self._dts_result = dts_result
 
     def set_up_suite(self) -> None:
         """
@@ -118,6 +127,9 @@ def run(self) -> None:
                     f"the next test suite may be affected."
                 )
                 self._result.update_setup(Result.ERROR, e)
+            if len(self._result.get_errors()) > 0 and self.is_blocking:
+                raise BlockingTestSuiteError(test_suite_name)
+            
 
     def _execute_test_suite(self) -> None:
         """
@@ -137,6 +149,7 @@ def _execute_test_suite(self) -> None:
                         f"Attempt number {attempt_nr} out of {all_attempts}."
                     )
                     self._run_test_case(test_case_method, test_case_result)
+                
 
     def _get_functional_test_cases(self) -> list[MethodType]:
         """
@@ -232,6 +245,11 @@ def _execute_test_case(
             test_case_result.update(Result.SKIP)
             raise KeyboardInterrupt("Stop DTS")
 
+    def write_to_statistics_file(self, output: Dict[str, str]):
+        if self._dts_result.output != None:
+            self._dts_result.output.update(output)
+        else:
+            self._dts_result.output = output
 
 def get_test_suites(testsuite_module_path: str) -> list[type[TestSuite]]:
     def is_test_suite(object) -> bool:
@@ -252,3 +270,5 @@ def is_test_suite(object) -> bool:
         test_suite_class
         for _, test_suite_class in inspect.getmembers(testcase_module, is_test_suite)
     ]
+
+
diff --git a/dts/tests/TestSuite_smoke_tests.py b/dts/tests/TestSuite_smoke_tests.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b661f850
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dts/tests/TestSuite_smoke_tests.py
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+from framework.test_suite import TestSuite
+from framework.testbed_model.sut_node import SutNode
+
+
+def get_compiler_version(compiler_name: str, sut_node: SutNode) -> str:
+    match compiler_name:
+            case "gcc":
+                return sut_node.main_session.send_command(f"{compiler_name} --version", 60).stdout.split("\n")[0]
+            case "clang":
+                return sut_node.main_session.send_command(f"{compiler_name} --version", 60).stdout.split("\n")[0]
+            case "msvc":
+                return sut_node.main_session.send_command(f"cl", 60).stdout
+            case "icc":
+                return sut_node.main_session.send_command(f"{compiler_name} -V", 60).stdout
+
+class SmokeTests(TestSuite):
+    is_blocking = True
+
+    
+    def set_up_suite(self) -> None:
+        """
+        Setup:
+            build all DPDK
+        """
+        self.dpdk_build_dir_path = self.sut_node.remote_dpdk_build_dir
+    
+
+    def test_unit_tests(self) -> None:
+        """
+        Test:
+            run the fast-test unit-test suite through meson
+        """
+        self.sut_node.main_session.send_command(f"meson test -C {self.dpdk_build_dir_path} --suite fast-tests", 300, True)
+
+    def test_driver_tests(self) -> None:
+        """
+        Test:
+            run the driver-test unit-test suite through meson
+        """
+        self.sut_node.main_session.send_command(f"meson test -C {self.dpdk_build_dir_path} --suite driver-tests", 300)
+
+    def test_gather_info(self) -> None:
+        out = {}
+        
+        out['OS'] = self.sut_node.main_session.send_command("awk -F= '$1==\"NAME\" {print $2}' /etc/os-release", 60).stdout
+        out["OS VERSION"] = self.sut_node.main_session.send_command("awk -F= '$1==\"VERSION\" {print $2}' /etc/os-release", 60, True).stdout
+        out["COMPILER VERSION"] = get_compiler_version(self.build_target_info.compiler.name, self.sut_node)
+        out["DPDK VERSION"] = self.sut_node.dpdk_version
+        if self.build_target_info.os.name == "linux":
+            out['KERNEL VERSION'] = self.sut_node.main_session.send_command("uname -r", 60).stdout
+        elif self.build_target_info.os.name == "windows":
+            out['KERNEL VERSION'] = self.sut_node.main_session.send_command("uname -a", 60).stdout
+        self.write_to_statistics_file(out)
+
+    def test_start_testpmd(self) -> None:
+        """
+        Still heavily in development
+        """
+        self.sut_node.main_session.send_command(f"{self.dpdk_build_dir_path}/app/dpdk-testpmd -- -i", 60)
+        out = self.sut_node.main_session.send_command("show port summary all")
+        self.sut_node.main_session.send_command("quit")
+        print(out.stdout)
+        
\ No newline at end of file
