diff --git a/.github/workflows/nfr.yml b/.github/workflows/nfr.yml
index 9826b212cf..8ce37fc73f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/nfr.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/nfr.yml
@@ -144,9 +144,9 @@ jobs:
       working-directory: ./tests
       run: |
         if ${{ inputs.test_label != 'all' }}; then
-          sed -i '/^GINKGO_LABEL=/s/=.*/="${{ inputs.test_label }}"/' "scripts/vars.env" && make run-tests-on-vm;
+          sed -i '/^GINKGO_LABEL=/s/=.*/="${{ inputs.test_label }}"/' "scripts/vars.env" && make nfr-test;
         else
-          make run-tests-on-vm;
+          make nfr-test;
         fi
 
     - name: Cleanup
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 81ad399f73..a87ca2ab36 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -51,3 +51,6 @@ internal/mode/static/nginx/modules/coverage
 
 # Credential files
 **/gha-creds-*.json
+
+# SSH config files
+*.ssh
diff --git a/.yamllint.yaml b/.yamllint.yaml
index 20470b80df..478262b7dd 100644
--- a/.yamllint.yaml
+++ b/.yamllint.yaml
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ rules:
       .github/
       deploy/manifests/nginx-gateway.yaml
       deploy/manifests/crds
-      tests/longevity/manifests/cronjob.yaml
+      tests/suite/manifests/longevity/cronjob.yaml
       .goreleaser.yml
   new-line-at-end-of-file: enable
   new-lines: enable
diff --git a/tests/Makefile b/tests/Makefile
index 6b32e47d07..463fb6f01f 100644
--- a/tests/Makefile
+++ b/tests/Makefile
@@ -32,6 +32,10 @@ help: Makefile ## Display this help
 create-kind-cluster: ## Create a kind cluster
 	cd .. && make create-kind-cluster
 
+.PHONY: delete-kind-cluster
+delete-kind-cluster: ## Delete kind cluster
+	kind delete cluster
+
 .PHONY: build-images
 build-images: ## Build NGF and NGINX images
 	cd .. && make PREFIX=$(PREFIX) TAG=$(TAG) build-images
@@ -48,46 +52,70 @@ load-images: ## Load NGF and NGINX images on configured kind cluster
 load-images-with-plus: ## Load NGF and NGINX Plus images on configured kind cluster
 	cd .. && make PREFIX=$(PREFIX) TAG=$(TAG) load-images-with-plus
 
-test: ## Run the system tests against your default k8s cluster
-	go test -v ./suite $(GINKGO_FLAGS) -args --gateway-api-version=$(GW_API_VERSION) \
-		--gateway-api-prev-version=$(GW_API_PREV_VERSION) --image-tag=$(TAG) --version-under-test=$(NGF_VERSION) \
-		--plus-enabled=$(PLUS_ENABLED) --ngf-image-repo=$(PREFIX) --nginx-image-repo=$(NGINX_PREFIX) \
-		--pull-policy=$(PULL_POLICY) --k8s-version=$(K8S_VERSION) --service-type=$(GW_SERVICE_TYPE) \
-		--is-gke-internal-lb=$(GW_SVC_GKE_INTERNAL)
+.PHONY: setup-gcp-and-run-tests
+setup-gcp-and-run-tests: create-gke-router create-and-setup-vm run-tests-on-vm ## Create and setup a GKE router and GCP VM for tests and run the functional tests
 
-.PHONY: delete-kind-cluster
-delete-kind-cluster: ## Delete kind cluster
-	kind delete cluster
+.PHONY: setup-gcp-and-run-nfr-tests
+setup-gcp-and-run-nfr-tests: create-gke-router create-and-setup-vm nfr-test ## Create and setup a GKE router and GCP VM for tests and run the NFR tests
 
-.PHONY: run-tests-on-vm
-run-tests-on-vm: ## Run the tests on a GCP VM
-	bash scripts/run-tests-gcp-vm.sh
+.PHONY: create-gke-cluster
+create-gke-cluster: ## Create a GKE cluster
+	bash scripts/create-gke-cluster.sh $(CI)
 
 .PHONY: create-and-setup-vm
 create-and-setup-vm: ## Create and setup a GCP VM for tests
 	bash scripts/create-and-setup-gcp-vm.sh
 
-.PHONY: cleanup-vm
-cleanup-vm: ## Delete the test GCP VM and delete the firewall rule
-	bash scripts/cleanup-vm.sh
-
 .PHONY: create-gke-router
 create-gke-router: ## Create a GKE router to allow egress traffic from private nodes (allows for external image pulls)
 	bash scripts/create-gke-router.sh
 
-.PHONY: cleanup-router
-cleanup-router: ## Delete the GKE router
-	bash scripts/cleanup-router.sh
+.PHONY: sync-files-to-vm
+sync-files-to-vm: ## Syncs your local NGF files with the NGF repo on the VM
+	bash scripts/sync-files-to-vm.sh
 
-.PHONY: setup-gcp-and-run-tests
-setup-gcp-and-run-tests: create-gke-router create-and-setup-vm run-tests-on-vm ## Create and setup a GKE router and GCP VM for tests and run the tests
+.PHONY: run-tests-on-vm
+run-tests-on-vm: ## Run the functional tests on a GCP VM
+	bash scripts/run-tests-gcp-vm.sh
+
+.PHONY: nfr-test
+nfr-test: ## Run the NFR tests on a GCP VM
+	NFR=true bash scripts/run-tests-gcp-vm.sh
+
+.PHONY: start-longevity-test
+start-longevity-test: ## Start the longevity test to run for 4 days in GKE
+	START_LONGEVITY=true $(MAKE) nfr-test
+
+.PHONY: stop-longevity-test
+stop-longevity-test: ## Stops the longevity test and collects results
+	STOP_LONGEVITY=true $(MAKE) nfr-test
+
+.PHONY: .vm-nfr-test
+.vm-nfr-test: ## Runs the NFR tests on the GCP VM (called by `nfr-test`)
+	go test -v ./suite -ginkgo.label-filter "nfr" $(GINKGO_FLAGS) -ginkgo.v -args --gateway-api-version=$(GW_API_VERSION) \
+		--gateway-api-prev-version=$(GW_API_PREV_VERSION) --image-tag=$(TAG) --version-under-test=$(NGF_VERSION) \
+		--plus-enabled=$(PLUS_ENABLED) --ngf-image-repo=$(PREFIX) --nginx-image-repo=$(NGINX_PREFIX) \
+		--pull-policy=$(PULL_POLICY) --k8s-version=$(K8S_VERSION) --service-type=$(GW_SERVICE_TYPE) \
+		--is-gke-internal-lb=$(GW_SVC_GKE_INTERNAL)
+
+.PHONY: test
+test: ## Runs the functional tests on your default k8s cluster
+	go test -v ./suite -ginkgo.label-filter "functional" $(GINKGO_FLAGS) -args --gateway-api-version=$(GW_API_VERSION) \
+		--gateway-api-prev-version=$(GW_API_PREV_VERSION) --image-tag=$(TAG) --version-under-test=$(NGF_VERSION) \
+		--plus-enabled=$(PLUS_ENABLED) --ngf-image-repo=$(PREFIX) --nginx-image-repo=$(NGINX_PREFIX) \
+		--pull-policy=$(PULL_POLICY) --k8s-version=$(K8S_VERSION) --service-type=$(GW_SERVICE_TYPE) \
+		--is-gke-internal-lb=$(GW_SVC_GKE_INTERNAL)
 
 .PHONY: cleanup-gcp
 cleanup-gcp: cleanup-router cleanup-vm delete-gke-cluster ## Cleanup all GCP resources
 
-.PHONY: create-gke-cluster
-create-gke-cluster: ## Create a GKE cluster
-	bash scripts/create-gke-cluster.sh $(CI)
+.PHONY: cleanup-router
+cleanup-router: ## Delete the GKE router
+	bash scripts/cleanup-router.sh
+
+.PHONY: cleanup-vm
+cleanup-vm: ## Delete the test GCP VM and delete the firewall rule
+	bash scripts/cleanup-vm.sh
 
 .PHONY: delete-gke-cluster
 delete-gke-cluster: ## Delete the GKE cluster
@@ -95,4 +123,4 @@ delete-gke-cluster: ## Delete the GKE cluster
 
 .PHONY: add-local-ip-to-cluster
 add-local-ip-to-cluster: ## Add local IP to the GKE cluster master-authorized-networks
-	bash scripts/add-local-ip-to-cluster.sh
+	bash scripts/add-local-ip-auth-networks.sh
diff --git a/tests/README.md b/tests/README.md
index 07a8ea141e..50d0f59458 100644
--- a/tests/README.md
+++ b/tests/README.md
@@ -4,19 +4,22 @@ The tests in this directory are meant to be run on a live Kubernetes environment
 are similar to the existing [conformance tests](../conformance/README.md), but will verify things such as:
 
 - NGF-specific functionality
-- Non-Functional requirements testing (such as performance, scale, etc.)
+- Non-Functional requirements (NFR) testing (such as performance, scale, etc.)
 
 When running locally, the tests create a port-forward from your NGF Pod to localhost using a port chosen by the
 test framework. Traffic is sent over this port. If running on a GCP VM targeting a GKE cluster, the tests will create an
 internal LoadBalancer service which will receive the test traffic.
 
+**Important**: NFR tests can only be run on a GKE cluster.
+
 Directory structure is as follows:
 
 - `framework`: contains utility functions for running the tests
-- `suite`: contains the test files
 - `results`: contains the results files
+- `scripts`: contain scripts used to set up the environment and run the tests
+- `suite`: contains the test files
 
-**Note**: Existing NFR tests will be migrated into this testing `suite` and results stored in the `results` directory.
+> Note: Existing NFR tests will be migrated into this testing `suite` and results stored in the `results` directory.
 
 ## Prerequisites
 
@@ -24,13 +27,13 @@ Directory structure is as follows:
 - Docker.
 - Golang.
 
-If running the tests on a VM (`make create-vm-and-run-tests` or `make run-tests-on-vm`):
+If running NFR tests, or running functional tests in GKE:
 
 - The [gcloud CLI](https://cloud.google.com/sdk/docs/install)
 - A GKE cluster (if `master-authorized-networks` is enabled, please set `ADD_VM_IP_AUTH_NETWORKS=true` in your vars.env file)
 - Access to GCP Service Account with Kubernetes admin permissions
 
-**Note**: all commands in steps below are executed from the `tests` directory
+> Note: all commands in steps below are executed from the `tests` directory
 
 ```shell
 make
@@ -52,9 +55,14 @@ delete-kind-cluster            Delete kind cluster
 help                           Display this help
 load-images-with-plus          Load NGF and NGINX Plus images on configured kind cluster
 load-images                    Load NGF and NGINX images on configured kind cluster
-run-tests-on-vm                Run the tests on a GCP VM
-setup-gcp-and-run-tests        Create and setup a GKE router and GCP VM for tests and run the tests
-test                           Run the system tests against your default k8s cluster
+nfr-test                       Run the NFR tests on a GCP VM
+run-tests-on-vm                Run the functional tests on a GCP VM
+setup-gcp-and-run-nfr-tests    Create and setup a GKE router and GCP VM for tests and run the NFR tests
+setup-gcp-and-run-tests        Create and setup a GKE router and GCP VM for tests and run the functional tests
+start-longevity-test           Start the longevity test to run for 4 days in GKE
+stop-longevity-test            Stops the longevity test and collects results
+sync-files-to-vm               Syncs your local NGF files with the NGF repo on the VM
+test                           Runs the functional tests on your default k8s cluster
 ```
 
 **Note:** The following variables are configurable when running the below `make` commands:
@@ -78,6 +86,8 @@ test                           Run the system tests against your default k8s clu
 
 This can be done in a cloud provider of choice, or locally using `kind`.
 
+**Important**: NFR tests can only be run on a GKE cluster.
+
 To create a local `kind` cluster:
 
 ```makefile
@@ -128,7 +138,7 @@ make build-images-with-plus load-images-with-plus TAG=$(whoami)
 
 ## Step 3 - Run the tests
 
-### 3a - Run the tests locally
+### 3a - Run the functional tests locally
 
 ```makefile
 make test TAG=$(whoami)
@@ -142,9 +152,9 @@ make test TAG=$(whoami) PLUS_ENABLED=true
 
 ### 3b - Run the tests on a GKE cluster from a GCP VM
 
-This step only applies if you would like to run the tests on a GKE cluster from a GCP based VM.
+This step only applies if you are running the NFR tests, or would like to run the functional tests on a GKE cluster from a GCP based VM.
 
-Before running the below `make` command, copy the `scripts/vars.env-example` file to `scripts/vars.env` and populate the
+Before running the below `make` commands, copy the `scripts/vars.env-example` file to `scripts/vars.env` and populate the
 required env vars. `GKE_SVC_ACCOUNT` needs to be the name of a service account that has Kubernetes admin permissions.
 
 In order to run the tests in GCP, you need a few things:
@@ -153,30 +163,85 @@ In order to run the tests in GCP, you need a few things:
   - this assumes that your GKE cluster is using private nodes. If using public nodes, you don't need this.
 - GCP VM and firewall rule to send ingress traffic to GKE
 
+To just set up the VM with no router (this will not run the tests):
+
+```makefile
+make create-and-setup-vm
+```
+
+Otherwise, you can set up the VM, router, and run the tests with a single command. See the options in the sections below.
+
+By default, the tests run using the version of NGF that was `git cloned` during the setup. If you want to make
+incremental changes and copy your local changes to the VM to test, you can run
+
+```makefile
+make sync-files-to-vm
+```
+
+#### Functional Tests
+
 To set up the GCP environment with the router and VM and then run the tests, run the following command:
 
 ```makefile
 make setup-gcp-and-run-tests
 ```
 
-If you just need a VM and no router (this will not run the tests):
+To use an existing VM to run the tests, run the following
 
 ```makefile
-make create-and-setup-vm
+make run-tests-on-vm
+```
+
+#### NFR tests
+
+To set up the GCP environment with the router and VM and then run the tests, run the following command:
+
+
+```makefile
+make setup-gcp-and-run-nfr-tests
 ```
 
 To use an existing VM to run the tests, run the following
 
 ```makefile
-make run-tests-on-vm
+make nfr-test
+```
+
+##### Longevity testing
+
+This test is run on its own (and also not in a pipeline) due to its long-running nature. It will run for 4 days before
+the tester must collect the results and complete the test.
+
+To start the longevity test, set up your VM (`create-and-setup-vm`) and run
+
+```makefile
+make start-longevity-test
 ```
 
+<!--  -->
+> Note: If you want to change the time period for which the test runs, update the `wrk` commands in `suite/scripts/longevity-wrk.sh` to the time period you want, and run `make sync-files-to-vm`.
+
+<!--  -->
+> Note: If you want to re-run the longevity test, you need to clear out the `cafe.example.com` entry from the `/etc/hosts` file on your VM.
+
+You can verify the test is working by checking nginx logs to see traffic flow, and check that the cronjob is running and redeploying apps.
+
+After 4 days (96h), you can complete the longevity tests and collect results. To ensure that the traffic has stopped flowing, you can ssh to the VM using `gcloud compute ssh` and run `ps aux | grep wrk` to verify the `wrk` commands are no longer running. Then, visit the [GCP Monitoring Dashboards](https://console.cloud.google.com/monitoring/dashboards) page and select the `NGF Longevity Test` dashboard. Take PNG screenshots of each chart for the time period in which your test ran, and save those to be added to the results file.
+
+Finally, run
+
+```makefile
+make stop-longevity-test
+```
+
+This will tear down the test and collect results into a file, where you can add the PNGs of the dashboard.
+
 ### Common test amendments
 
-To run all tests with the label "performance", use the GINKGO_LABEL variable:
+To run all tests with the label "my-label", use the GINKGO_LABEL variable:
 
 ```makefile
-make test TAG=$(whoami) GINKGO_LABEL=performance
+make test TAG=$(whoami) GINKGO_LABEL=my-label
 ```
 
 or to pass a specific flag, e.g. run a specific test, use the GINKGO_FLAGS variable:
@@ -185,6 +250,8 @@ or to pass a specific flag, e.g. run a specific test, use the GINKGO_FLAGS varia
 make test TAG=$(whoami) GINKGO_FLAGS='-ginkgo.focus "writes the system info to a results file"'
 ```
 
+> Note: if filtering on NFR tests (or functional tests on GKE), set the filter in the appropriate field in your `vars.env` file.
+
 If you are running the tests in GCP, add your required label/ flags to `scripts/var.env`.
 
 You can also modify the tests code for a similar outcome. To run a specific test, you can "focus" it by adding the `F`
diff --git a/tests/framework/results.go b/tests/framework/results.go
index 5ea944563b..429dd40e6e 100644
--- a/tests/framework/results.go
+++ b/tests/framework/results.go
@@ -77,6 +77,15 @@ func WriteResults(resultsFile *os.File, metrics *Metrics) error {
 	return reporter.Report(resultsFile)
 }
 
+// WriteContent writes basic content to the results file.
+func WriteContent(resultsFile *os.File, content string) error {
+	if _, err := fmt.Fprintln(resultsFile, content); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 // NewCSVEncoder returns a vegeta CSV encoder.
 func NewCSVEncoder(w io.Writer) vegeta.Encoder {
 	return vegeta.NewCSVEncoder(w)
diff --git a/tests/longevity/longevity.md b/tests/longevity/longevity.md
deleted file mode 100644
index 1271678cca..0000000000
--- a/tests/longevity/longevity.md
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,151 +0,0 @@
-# Longevity Test
-
-This document describes how we test NGF for longevity.
-
-<!-- TOC -->
-
-- [Longevity Test](#longevity-test)
-  - [Goals](#goals)
-  - [Test Environment](#test-environment)
-  - [Steps](#steps)
-    - [Start](#start)
-    - [Check the Test is Running Correctly](#check-the-test-is-running-correctly)
-    - [End](#end)
-  - [Analyze](#analyze)
-  - [Results](#results)
-
-<!-- TOC -->
-
-## Goals
-
-- Ensure that NGF successfully processes both control plane and data plane transactions over a period of time much
-  greater than in our other tests.
-- Catch bugs that could only appear over a period of time (like resource leaks).
-
-## Test Environment
-
-- A Kubernetes cluster with 3 nodes on GKE
-  - Node: e2-medium (2 vCPU, 4GB memory)
-  - Enabled GKE logging.
-  - Enabled GKE Cloud monitoring with managed Prometheus service, with enabled:
-    - system.
-    - kube state - pods, deployments.
-- Tester VMs on Google Cloud:
-  - Configuration:
-    - Debian
-    - Install packages: tmux, wrk
-  - Location - same zone as the Kubernetes cluster.
-  - First VM - for HTTP traffic
-  - Second VM - for sending HTTPs traffic
-- NGF
-  - Deployment with 1 replica
-  - Exposed via a Service with type LoadBalancer, private IP
-  - Gateway, two listeners - HTTP and HTTPs
-  - Two apps:
-    - Coffee - 3 replicas
-    - Tea - 3 replicas
-  - Two HTTPRoutes
-    - Coffee (HTTP)
-    - Tea (HTTPS)
-
-## Steps
-
-### Start
-
-Test duration - 4 days.
-
-1. Create a Kubernetes cluster on GKE.
-2. Deploy NGF.
-3. Expose NGF via a LoadBalancer Service with `"networking.gke.io/load-balancer-type":"Internal"` annotation to
-   allocate an internal load balancer.
-4. Apply the manifests which will:
-    1. Deploy the coffee and tea backends.
-    2. Configure HTTP and HTTPS listeners on the Gateway.
-    3. Expose coffee via HTTP listener and tea via HTTPS listener.
-    4. Create two CronJobs to re-rollout backends:
-        1. Coffee - every minute for an hour every 6 hours
-        2. Tea - every minute for an hour every 6 hours, 3 hours apart from coffee.
-    5. Configure Prometheus on GKE to pick up NGF metrics (NB: Ensure that the `app.kubernetes.io/name` label matches
-       your NGF deployment).
-
-    ```shell
-    kubectl apply -f files
-    ```
-
-5. In Tester VMs, update `/etc/hosts` to have an entry with the External IP of the NGF Service (`10.128.0.10` in this
-   case):
-
-   ```text
-   10.128.0.10 cafe.example.com
-   ```
-
-6. In Tester VMs, start a tmux session (this is needed so that even if you disconnect from the VM, any launched command
-   will keep running):
-
-   ```shell
-   tmux
-   ```
-
-7. In First VM, start wrk for 4 days for coffee via HTTP:
-
-   ```shell
-   wrk -t2 -c100 -d96h http://cafe.example.com/coffee
-   ```
-
-8. In Second VM, start wrk for 4 days for tea via HTTPS:
-
-   ```shell
-   wrk -t2 -c100 -d96h https://cafe.example.com/tea
-   ```
-
-Notes:
-
-- The updated coffee and tea backends in cafe.yaml include extra configuration for zero time upgrades, so that
-  wrk in Tester VMs doesn't get 502 from NGF. Based on https://learnk8s.io/graceful-shutdown
-
-### Check the Test is Running Correctly
-
-Check that you don't see any errors:
-
-1. Check that GKE exports NGF pod logs to Google Cloud Operations Logging and Prometheus metrics to Google Cloud
-   Monitoring.
-2. Check that traffic is flowing - look at the access logs of NGINX in Google Cloud Operations Logging.
-3. Check that CronJob can run.
-
-   ```shell
-   kubectl create job --from=cronjob/coffee-rollout-mgr coffee-test
-   kubectl create job --from=cronjob/tea-rollout-mgr tea-test
-   ```
-
-In case of errors, double check if you prepared the environment and launched the test correctly.
-
-### End
-
-- Remove CronJobs.
-
-## Analyze
-
-- Traffic
-  - Tester VMs (clients)
-    - As wrk stop, they will print output upon termination. To connect to the tmux session with wrk,
-          run `tmux attach -t 0`
-    - Check for errors, latency, RPS
-- Logs
-  - Check the logs for errors in Google Cloud Operations Logging.
-    - NGF
-    - NGINX
-- Check metrics in Google Cloud Monitoring.
-  - NGF
-    - CPU usage
-      - NGINX
-      - NGF
-    - Memory usage
-      - NGINX
-      - NGF
-    - NGINX metrics
-    - Reloads
-
-## Results
-
-- [1.0.0](results/1.0.0/1.0.0.md)
-- [1.1.0](results/1.1.0/1.1.0.md)
diff --git a/tests/longevity/results/1.0.0/1.0.0.md b/tests/results/longevity/1.0.0/1.0.0.md
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/longevity/results/1.0.0/1.0.0.md
rename to tests/results/longevity/1.0.0/1.0.0.md
diff --git a/tests/longevity/results/1.0.0/cpu.png b/tests/results/longevity/1.0.0/cpu.png
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/longevity/results/1.0.0/cpu.png
rename to tests/results/longevity/1.0.0/cpu.png
diff --git a/tests/longevity/results/1.0.0/memory.png b/tests/results/longevity/1.0.0/memory.png
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/longevity/results/1.0.0/memory.png
rename to tests/results/longevity/1.0.0/memory.png
diff --git a/tests/longevity/results/1.0.0/reload-time.png b/tests/results/longevity/1.0.0/reload-time.png
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/longevity/results/1.0.0/reload-time.png
rename to tests/results/longevity/1.0.0/reload-time.png
diff --git a/tests/longevity/results/1.0.0/reloads.png b/tests/results/longevity/1.0.0/reloads.png
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/longevity/results/1.0.0/reloads.png
rename to tests/results/longevity/1.0.0/reloads.png
diff --git a/tests/longevity/results/1.0.0/stub-status.png b/tests/results/longevity/1.0.0/stub-status.png
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/longevity/results/1.0.0/stub-status.png
rename to tests/results/longevity/1.0.0/stub-status.png
diff --git a/tests/longevity/results/1.1.0/1.1.0.md b/tests/results/longevity/1.1.0/1.1.0.md
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/longevity/results/1.1.0/1.1.0.md
rename to tests/results/longevity/1.1.0/1.1.0.md
diff --git a/tests/longevity/results/1.1.0/cpu.png b/tests/results/longevity/1.1.0/cpu.png
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/longevity/results/1.1.0/cpu.png
rename to tests/results/longevity/1.1.0/cpu.png
diff --git a/tests/longevity/results/1.1.0/memory.png b/tests/results/longevity/1.1.0/memory.png
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/longevity/results/1.1.0/memory.png
rename to tests/results/longevity/1.1.0/memory.png
diff --git a/tests/longevity/results/1.1.0/reload-time.png b/tests/results/longevity/1.1.0/reload-time.png
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/longevity/results/1.1.0/reload-time.png
rename to tests/results/longevity/1.1.0/reload-time.png
diff --git a/tests/longevity/results/1.1.0/reloads.png b/tests/results/longevity/1.1.0/reloads.png
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/longevity/results/1.1.0/reloads.png
rename to tests/results/longevity/1.1.0/reloads.png
diff --git a/tests/longevity/results/1.1.0/stub-status.png b/tests/results/longevity/1.1.0/stub-status.png
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/longevity/results/1.1.0/stub-status.png
rename to tests/results/longevity/1.1.0/stub-status.png
diff --git a/tests/scripts/create-gke-cluster.sh b/tests/scripts/create-gke-cluster.sh
index 20e7c08bcf..9d034e1c62 100644
--- a/tests/scripts/create-gke-cluster.sh
+++ b/tests/scripts/create-gke-cluster.sh
@@ -14,7 +14,9 @@ gcloud container clusters create ${GKE_CLUSTER_NAME} \
     --service-account ${GKE_NODES_SERVICE_ACCOUNT} \
     --enable-private-nodes \
     --master-ipv4-cidr 172.16.${ip_random_digit}.32/28 \
-    --metadata=block-project-ssh-keys=TRUE
+    --metadata=block-project-ssh-keys=TRUE \
+    --monitoring=SYSTEM,POD,DEPLOYMENT \
+    --logging=SYSTEM,WORKLOAD
 
 # Add current IP to GKE master control node access, if this script is not invoked during a CI run.
 if [ "${IS_CI}" = "false" ]; then
diff --git a/tests/scripts/remote-scripts/install-deps.sh b/tests/scripts/remote-scripts/install-deps.sh
index 371f75ff62..1196a1f21c 100644
--- a/tests/scripts/remote-scripts/install-deps.sh
+++ b/tests/scripts/remote-scripts/install-deps.sh
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ set -e
 
 source ~/vars.env
 
-sudo apt-get -y update && sudo apt-get -y install git make kubectl google-cloud-sdk-gke-gcloud-auth-plugin jq gnuplot && \
+sudo apt-get -y update && sudo apt-get -y install git make kubectl google-cloud-sdk-gke-gcloud-auth-plugin jq gnuplot rsync wrk && \
 curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/helm/helm/main/scripts/get-helm-3 | bash && \
 export GO_VERSION=$(curl -sSL "https://golang.org/dl/?mode=json" | jq -r '.[0].version') && \
 wget https://go.dev/dl/${GO_VERSION}.linux-amd64.tar.gz && \
diff --git a/tests/scripts/remote-scripts/run-nfr-tests.sh b/tests/scripts/remote-scripts/run-nfr-tests.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..10b4c1ea06
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/scripts/remote-scripts/run-nfr-tests.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -e
+
+source ~/vars.env
+
+echo "export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin" >> $HOME/.profile && . $HOME/.profile
+
+if [ "$START_LONGEVITY" == "true" ]; then
+    GINKGO_LABEL="longevity-setup"
+elif [ "$STOP_LONGEVITY" == "true" ]; then
+    GINKGO_LABEL="longevity-teardown"
+fi
+
+cd nginx-gateway-fabric/tests && make .vm-nfr-test TAG=${TAG} PREFIX=${PREFIX} NGINX_PREFIX=${NGINX_PREFIX} NGINX_PLUS_PREFIX=${NGINX_PLUS_PREFIX} PLUS_ENABLED=${PLUS_ENABLED} GINKGO_LABEL=${GINKGO_LABEL} GINKGO_FLAGS=${GINKGO_FLAGS} PULL_POLICY=Always GW_SERVICE_TYPE=LoadBalancer GW_SVC_GKE_INTERNAL=true NGF_VERSION=${NGF_VERSION}
+
+if [ "$START_LONGEVITY" == "true" ]; then
+    suite/scripts/longevity-wrk.sh
+fi
diff --git a/tests/scripts/run-tests-gcp-vm.sh b/tests/scripts/run-tests-gcp-vm.sh
index 2a407bfa19..4c9a8478e3 100644
--- a/tests/scripts/run-tests-gcp-vm.sh
+++ b/tests/scripts/run-tests-gcp-vm.sh
@@ -4,8 +4,42 @@ SCRIPT_DIR=$( cd -- "$( dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" &> /dev/null && pwd )
 
 source scripts/vars.env
 
+SCRIPT=run-tests.sh
+if [ "${NFR}" = "true" ]; then
+    SCRIPT=run-nfr-tests.sh
+fi
+
 gcloud compute scp --zone ${GKE_CLUSTER_ZONE} --project=${GKE_PROJECT} ${SCRIPT_DIR}/vars.env username@${RESOURCE_NAME}:~
 
-gcloud compute ssh --zone ${GKE_CLUSTER_ZONE} --project=${GKE_PROJECT} username@${RESOURCE_NAME} --command="bash -s" < ${SCRIPT_DIR}/remote-scripts/run-tests.sh
+gcloud compute ssh --zone ${GKE_CLUSTER_ZONE} --project=${GKE_PROJECT} username@${RESOURCE_NAME} \
+    --command="export START_LONGEVITY=${START_LONGEVITY} &&\
+        export STOP_LONGEVITY=${STOP_LONGEVITY} &&\
+        bash -s" < ${SCRIPT_DIR}/remote-scripts/${SCRIPT}
+
+if [ "${NFR}" = "true" ]; then
+    gcloud compute scp --zone ${GKE_CLUSTER_ZONE} --project=${GKE_PROJECT} --recurse username@${RESOURCE_NAME}:~/nginx-gateway-fabric/tests/results .
+fi
+
+## If tearing down the longevity test, we need to collect logs from gcloud and add to the results
+if [ "${STOP_LONGEVITY}" = "true" ]; then
+    version=${NGF_VERSION}
+    if [ "$version" = "" ]; then
+        version=${TAG}
+    fi
+
+    results="${SCRIPT_DIR}/../results/longevity/$version/$version.md"
+    printf "\n## Error Logs\n\n" >> $results
+
+    ## ngf error logs
+    ngfErrText=$(gcloud logging read --project=${GKE_PROJECT} 'resource.labels.cluster_name='"${RESOURCE_NAME}"' AND resource.type=k8s_container AND resource.labels.container_name=nginx-gateway AND labels."k8s-pod/app_kubernetes_io/instance"=ngf-longevity AND severity=ERROR AND SEARCH("error")' --format "value(textPayload)")
+    ngfErrJSON=$(gcloud logging read --project=${GKE_PROJECT} 'resource.labels.cluster_name='"${RESOURCE_NAME}"' AND resource.type=k8s_container AND resource.labels.container_name=nginx-gateway AND labels."k8s-pod/app_kubernetes_io/instance"=ngf-longevity AND severity=ERROR AND SEARCH("error")' --format "value(jsonPayload)")
+    printf "### nginx-gateway\n$ngfErrText\n$ngfErrJSON\n\n" >> $results
+
+    ## nginx error logs
+    ngxErr=$(gcloud logging read --project=${GKE_PROJECT} 'resource.labels.cluster_name='"${RESOURCE_NAME}"' AND resource.type=k8s_container AND resource.labels.container_name=nginx AND labels."k8s-pod/app_kubernetes_io/instance"=ngf-longevity AND severity=ERROR AND SEARCH("`[warn]`") OR SEARCH("`[error]`") OR SEARCH("`[emerg]`")' --format "value(textPayload)")
+    printf "### nginx\n$ngxErr\n\n" >> $results
 
-gcloud compute scp --zone ${GKE_CLUSTER_ZONE} --project=${GKE_PROJECT} --recurse username@${RESOURCE_NAME}:~/nginx-gateway-fabric/tests/results .
+    ## nginx non-200 responses (also filter out 499 since wrk cancels connections)
+    ngxNon200=$(gcloud logging read --project=${GKE_PROJECT} 'resource.labels.cluster_name='"${RESOURCE_NAME}"' AND resource.type=k8s_container AND resource.labels.container_name=nginx AND labels."k8s-pod/app_kubernetes_io/instance"=ngf-longevity AND "GET" "HTTP/1.1" -"200" -"499" -"client prematurely closed connection"' --format "value(textPayload)")
+    printf "$ngxNon200\n\n" >> $results
+fi
diff --git a/tests/scripts/sync-files-to-vm.sh b/tests/scripts/sync-files-to-vm.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..c7862c2054
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/scripts/sync-files-to-vm.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+source scripts/vars.env
+
+NGF_DIR=$(dirname "$PWD")
+
+gcloud compute config-ssh --ssh-config-file ngf-gcp.ssh > /dev/null
+
+rsync -ave 'ssh -F ngf-gcp.ssh' ${NGF_DIR} username@${RESOURCE_NAME}.${GKE_CLUSTER_ZONE}.${GKE_PROJECT}:~
diff --git a/tests/suite/dataplane_perf_test.go b/tests/suite/dataplane_perf_test.go
index 09f7a67482..9af85a1b27 100644
--- a/tests/suite/dataplane_perf_test.go
+++ b/tests/suite/dataplane_perf_test.go
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/nginxinc/nginx-gateway-fabric/tests/framework"
 )
 
-var _ = Describe("Dataplane performance", Ordered, Label("performance"), func() {
+var _ = Describe("Dataplane performance", Ordered, Label("nfr", "performance"), func() {
 	files := []string{
 		"dp-perf/coffee.yaml",
 		"dp-perf/gateway.yaml",
diff --git a/tests/suite/longevity_test.go b/tests/suite/longevity_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0f13826204
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/suite/longevity_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+package suite
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+
+	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2"
+	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
+	core "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
+	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
+	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
+
+	"github.com/nginxinc/nginx-gateway-fabric/tests/framework"
+)
+
+// Longevity test is an NFR test, but does not include the "nfr" label. It needs to run on its own,
+// outside of the scope of the other NFR tests. This is because it's a long-term test whose environment
+// shouldn't be torn down.
+var _ = Describe("Longevity", Label("longevity-setup", "longevity-teardown"), func() {
+	var (
+		files = []string{
+			"longevity/cafe.yaml",
+			"longevity/cafe-secret.yaml",
+			"longevity/gateway.yaml",
+			"longevity/cafe-routes.yaml",
+			"longevity/cronjob.yaml",
+		}
+		promFile = []string{
+			"longevity/prom.yaml",
+		}
+
+		ns = &core.Namespace{
+			ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+				Name: "longevity",
+			},
+		}
+
+		labelFilter = GinkgoLabelFilter()
+	)
+
+	BeforeEach(func() {
+		if !strings.Contains(labelFilter, "longevity") {
+			Skip("skipping longevity test unless 'longevity' label is explicitly defined when running")
+		}
+	})
+
+	It("sets up the longevity test", Label("longevity-setup"), func() {
+		if !strings.Contains(labelFilter, "longevity-setup") {
+			Skip("'longevity-setup' label not specified; skipping...")
+		}
+
+		Expect(resourceManager.Apply([]client.Object{ns})).To(Succeed())
+		Expect(resourceManager.ApplyFromFiles(files, ns.Name)).To(Succeed())
+		Expect(resourceManager.ApplyFromFiles(promFile, ngfNamespace)).To(Succeed())
+		Expect(resourceManager.WaitForAppsToBeReady(ns.Name)).To(Succeed())
+	})
+
+	It("collects results", Label("longevity-teardown"), func() {
+		if !strings.Contains(labelFilter, "longevity-teardown") {
+			Skip("'longevity-teardown' label not specified; skipping...")
+		}
+
+		resultsDir, err := framework.CreateResultsDir("longevity", version)
+		Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+
+		filename := filepath.Join(resultsDir, fmt.Sprintf("%s.md", version))
+		resultsFile, err := framework.CreateResultsFile(filename)
+		Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+		defer resultsFile.Close()
+
+		Expect(framework.WriteSystemInfoToFile(resultsFile, clusterInfo, *plusEnabled)).To(Succeed())
+
+		// gather wrk output
+		homeDir, err := os.UserHomeDir()
+		Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+
+		Expect(framework.WriteContent(resultsFile, "\n## Traffic\n"))
+		Expect(writeTrafficResults(resultsFile, homeDir, "coffee.txt", "HTTP")).To(Succeed())
+		Expect(writeTrafficResults(resultsFile, homeDir, "tea.txt", "HTTPS")).To(Succeed())
+
+		Expect(resourceManager.DeleteFromFiles(files, ns.Name)).To(Succeed())
+		Expect(resourceManager.Delete([]client.Object{ns})).To(Succeed())
+	})
+})
+
+func writeTrafficResults(resultsFile *os.File, homeDir, filename, testname string) error {
+	file := fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s", homeDir, filename)
+	content, err := os.ReadFile(file)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	formattedContent := fmt.Sprintf("%s:\n\n```text\n%s```\n", testname, string(content))
+	return framework.WriteContent(resultsFile, formattedContent)
+}
diff --git a/tests/longevity/manifests/cafe-routes.yaml b/tests/suite/manifests/longevity/cafe-routes.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/longevity/manifests/cafe-routes.yaml
rename to tests/suite/manifests/longevity/cafe-routes.yaml
diff --git a/tests/longevity/manifests/cafe-secret.yaml b/tests/suite/manifests/longevity/cafe-secret.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/longevity/manifests/cafe-secret.yaml
rename to tests/suite/manifests/longevity/cafe-secret.yaml
diff --git a/tests/longevity/manifests/cafe.yaml b/tests/suite/manifests/longevity/cafe.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/longevity/manifests/cafe.yaml
rename to tests/suite/manifests/longevity/cafe.yaml
diff --git a/tests/longevity/manifests/cronjob.yaml b/tests/suite/manifests/longevity/cronjob.yaml
similarity index 86%
rename from tests/longevity/manifests/cronjob.yaml
rename to tests/suite/manifests/longevity/cronjob.yaml
index 234ff903d8..1f7511cf35 100644
--- a/tests/longevity/manifests/cronjob.yaml
+++ b/tests/suite/manifests/longevity/cronjob.yaml
@@ -2,13 +2,11 @@ apiVersion: v1
 kind: ServiceAccount
 metadata:
   name: rollout-mgr
-  namespace: default
 ---
 apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
 kind: Role
 metadata:
   name: rollout-mgr
-  namespace: default
 rules:
 - apiGroups:
   - "apps"
@@ -21,7 +19,6 @@ apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
 kind: RoleBinding
 metadata:
   name: rollout-mgr
-  namespace: default
 roleRef:
   apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
   kind: Role
@@ -29,13 +26,11 @@ roleRef:
 subjects:
 - kind: ServiceAccount
   name: rollout-mgr
-  namespace: default
 ---
 apiVersion: batch/v1
 kind: CronJob
 metadata:
   name: coffee-rollout-mgr
-  namespace: default
 spec:
   schedule: "* */6 * * *" # every minute every 6 hours
   jobTemplate:
@@ -58,14 +53,13 @@ spec:
                 -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
                 -H "Content-type: application/merge-patch+json" \
                 --data-raw "{\"spec\": {\"template\": {\"metadata\": {\"annotations\": {\"kubectl.kubernetes.io/restartedAt\": \"$RESTARTED_AT\"}}}}}" \
-                "https://kubernetes/apis/apps/v1/namespaces/default/deployments/coffee?fieldManager=kubectl-rollout" 2>&1
+                "https://kubernetes.default/apis/apps/v1/namespaces/default/deployments/coffee?fieldManager=kubectl-rollout" 2>&1
           restartPolicy: OnFailure
 ---
 apiVersion: batch/v1
 kind: CronJob
 metadata:
   name: tea-rollout-mgr
-  namespace: default
 spec:
   schedule: "* 3,9,15,21 * * *" # every minute every 6 hours, 3 hours apart from coffee
   jobTemplate:
@@ -88,5 +82,5 @@ spec:
                 -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
                 -H "Content-type: application/merge-patch+json" \
                 --data-raw "{\"spec\": {\"template\": {\"metadata\": {\"annotations\": {\"kubectl.kubernetes.io/restartedAt\": \"$RESTARTED_AT\"}}}}}" \
-                "https://kubernetes/apis/apps/v1/namespaces/default/deployments/tea?fieldManager=kubectl-rollout" 2>&1
+                "https://kubernetes.default/apis/apps/v1/namespaces/default/deployments/tea?fieldManager=kubectl-rollout" 2>&1
           restartPolicy: OnFailure
diff --git a/tests/longevity/manifests/gateway.yaml b/tests/suite/manifests/longevity/gateway.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/longevity/manifests/gateway.yaml
rename to tests/suite/manifests/longevity/gateway.yaml
diff --git a/tests/longevity/manifests/prom.yaml b/tests/suite/manifests/longevity/prom.yaml
similarity index 79%
rename from tests/longevity/manifests/prom.yaml
rename to tests/suite/manifests/longevity/prom.yaml
index e5d35fae72..24de26577e 100644
--- a/tests/longevity/manifests/prom.yaml
+++ b/tests/suite/manifests/longevity/prom.yaml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ metadata:
 spec:
   selector:
     matchLabels:
-      app.kubernetes.io/name: nginx-gateway
+      app.kubernetes.io/name: nginx-gateway-fabric
   endpoints:
   - port: metrics
     interval: 30s
diff --git a/tests/suite/sample_test.go b/tests/suite/sample_test.go
index 0e6ce59f16..3996c67646 100644
--- a/tests/suite/sample_test.go
+++ b/tests/suite/sample_test.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/nginxinc/nginx-gateway-fabric/tests/framework"
 )
 
-var _ = Describe("Basic test example", func() {
+var _ = Describe("Basic test example", Label("functional"), func() {
 	files := []string{
 		"hello/hello.yaml",
 		"hello/gateway.yaml",
diff --git a/tests/suite/scripts/longevity-wrk.sh b/tests/suite/scripts/longevity-wrk.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..58312a1e1c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/suite/scripts/longevity-wrk.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+SVC_IP=$(kubectl -n nginx-gateway get svc ngf-longevity-nginx-gateway-fabric -o jsonpath='{.status.loadBalancer.ingress[0].ip}')
+
+echo "${SVC_IP} cafe.example.com" | sudo tee -a /etc/hosts
+
+nohup wrk -t2 -c100 -d96h http://cafe.example.com/coffee &> ~/coffee.txt &
+
+nohup wrk -t2 -c100 -d96h https://cafe.example.com/tea &> ~/tea.txt &
diff --git a/tests/suite/system_suite_test.go b/tests/suite/system_suite_test.go
index 8d2af38b57..f758bd98b1 100644
--- a/tests/suite/system_suite_test.go
+++ b/tests/suite/system_suite_test.go
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ var (
 	address           string
 	version           string
 	clusterInfo       framework.ClusterInfo
+	skipNFRTests      bool
 )
 
 const (
@@ -76,9 +77,11 @@ const (
 )
 
 type setupConfig struct {
+	releaseName  string
 	chartPath    string
 	gwAPIVersion string
 	deploy       bool
+	nfr          bool
 }
 
 func setup(cfg setupConfig, extraInstallArgs ...string) {
@@ -110,12 +113,30 @@ func setup(cfg setupConfig, extraInstallArgs ...string) {
 	clusterInfo, err = resourceManager.GetClusterInfo()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 
+	if cfg.nfr && !clusterInfo.IsGKE {
+		skipNFRTests = true
+		Skip("NFR tests can only run in GKE")
+	}
+
+	if cfg.nfr && *serviceType != "LoadBalancer" {
+		skipNFRTests = true
+		Skip("GW_SERVICE_TYPE must be 'LoadBalancer' for NFR tests")
+	}
+
+	if *versionUnderTest != "" {
+		version = *versionUnderTest
+	} else if *imageTag != "" {
+		version = *imageTag
+	} else {
+		version = "edge"
+	}
+
 	if !cfg.deploy {
 		return
 	}
 
 	installCfg := framework.InstallationConfig{
-		ReleaseName:     releaseName,
+		ReleaseName:     cfg.releaseName,
 		Namespace:       ngfNamespace,
 		ChartPath:       cfg.chartPath,
 		ServiceType:     *serviceType,
@@ -131,14 +152,6 @@ func setup(cfg setupConfig, extraInstallArgs ...string) {
 		installCfg.ImagePullPolicy = *imagePullPolicy
 	}
 
-	if *versionUnderTest != "" {
-		version = *versionUnderTest
-	} else if *imageTag != "" {
-		version = *imageTag
-	} else {
-		version = "edge"
-	}
-
 	output, err := framework.InstallGatewayAPI(k8sClient, cfg.gwAPIVersion, *k8sVersion)
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred(), string(output))
 
@@ -163,13 +176,13 @@ func setup(cfg setupConfig, extraInstallArgs ...string) {
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 }
 
-func teardown() {
+func teardown(relName string) {
 	if portFwdPort != 0 {
 		portForwardStopCh <- struct{}{}
 	}
 
 	cfg := framework.InstallationConfig{
-		ReleaseName: releaseName,
+		ReleaseName: relName,
 		Namespace:   ngfNamespace,
 	}
 
@@ -204,21 +217,50 @@ var _ = BeforeSuite(func() {
 	localChartPath = filepath.Join(basepath, "deploy/helm-chart")
 
 	cfg := setupConfig{
+		releaseName:  releaseName,
 		chartPath:    localChartPath,
 		gwAPIVersion: *gatewayAPIVersion,
 		deploy:       true,
 	}
 
-	// If we are running the upgrade test only, then skip the initial deployment.
-	// The upgrade test will deploy its own version of NGF.
-	suiteConfig, _ := GinkgoConfiguration()
-	if suiteConfig.LabelFilter == "upgrade" {
+	labelFilter := GinkgoLabelFilter()
+	cfg.nfr = isNFR(labelFilter)
+
+	// Skip deployment if:
+	// - running upgrade test (this test will deploy its own version)
+	// - running longevity teardown (deployment will already exist)
+	if strings.Contains(labelFilter, "upgrade") || strings.Contains(labelFilter, "longevity-teardown") {
 		cfg.deploy = false
 	}
 
+	// use a different release name for longevity to allow us to filter on a specific label when collecting
+	// logs from GKE
+	if strings.Contains(labelFilter, "longevity") {
+		cfg.releaseName = "ngf-longevity"
+	}
+
 	setup(cfg)
 })
 
 var _ = AfterSuite(func() {
-	teardown()
+	if skipNFRTests {
+		Skip("")
+	}
+
+	labelFilter := GinkgoLabelFilter()
+	if !strings.Contains(labelFilter, "longevity-setup") {
+		relName := releaseName
+		if strings.Contains(labelFilter, "longevity-teardown") {
+			relName = "ngf-longevity"
+		}
+
+		teardown(relName)
+	}
 })
+
+func isNFR(labelFilter string) bool {
+	return strings.Contains(labelFilter, "nfr") ||
+		strings.Contains(labelFilter, "longevity") ||
+		strings.Contains(labelFilter, "performance") ||
+		strings.Contains(labelFilter, "upgrade")
+}
diff --git a/tests/suite/upgrade_test.go b/tests/suite/upgrade_test.go
index 3fa71bcc6d..0e5983401f 100644
--- a/tests/suite/upgrade_test.go
+++ b/tests/suite/upgrade_test.go
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ import (
 // This test installs the latest released version of NGF, then upgrades to the edge version (or dev version).
 // During the upgrade, traffic is continuously sent to ensure no downtime.
 // We also check that the leader election lease has been updated, and that Gateway updates are processed.
-var _ = Describe("Upgrade testing", Label("upgrade"), func() {
+var _ = Describe("Upgrade testing", Label("nfr", "upgrade"), func() {
 	var (
 		files = []string{
 			"ngf-upgrade/cafe.yaml",
@@ -44,23 +44,12 @@ var _ = Describe("Upgrade testing", Label("upgrade"), func() {
 		valuesFile  = "manifests/ngf-upgrade/values.yaml"
 		resultsFile *os.File
 		resultsDir  string
-		skipped     bool
 	)
 
 	BeforeEach(func() {
-		if !clusterInfo.IsGKE {
-			skipped = true
-			Skip("Upgrade tests can only run in GKE")
-		}
-
-		if *serviceType != "LoadBalancer" {
-			skipped = true
-			Skip("GW_SERVICE_TYPE must be 'LoadBalancer' for upgrade tests")
-		}
-
 		// this test is unique in that it needs to install the previous version of NGF,
 		// so we need to uninstall the version installed at the suite level, then install the custom version
-		teardown()
+		teardown(releaseName)
 
 		cfg := setupConfig{
 			chartPath:    "oci://ghcr.io/nginxinc/charts/nginx-gateway-fabric",
@@ -84,10 +73,6 @@ var _ = Describe("Upgrade testing", Label("upgrade"), func() {
 	})
 
 	AfterEach(func() {
-		if skipped {
-			Skip("")
-		}
-
 		Expect(resourceManager.DeleteFromFiles(files, ns.Name)).To(Succeed())
 		Expect(resourceManager.Delete([]client.Object{ns})).To(Succeed())
 		resultsFile.Close()