diff --git a/tools/dev/mininet/bmv2.py b/tools/dev/mininet/bmv2.py
index b1824a3..cdc26e1 100644
--- a/tools/dev/mininet/bmv2.py
+++ b/tools/dev/mininet/bmv2.py
@@ -2,9 +2,11 @@
 import socket
 import re
 import json
+import threading
 import urllib2
 
 import time
+from contextlib import closing
 
 from mininet.log import info, warn, error
 from mininet.node import Switch, Host
@@ -13,12 +15,13 @@
     error("ERROR: environment var $ONOS_ROOT not set")
     exit()
 
-BMV2_TARGET = 'simple_switch_grpc'
+SIMPLE_SWITCH_GRPC = 'simple_switch_grpc'
 ONOS_ROOT = os.environ["ONOS_ROOT"]
-CPU_PORT = 255
 PKT_BYTES_TO_DUMP = 80
 VALGRIND_PREFIX = 'valgrind --leak-check=yes'
-SWITCH_START_TIMEOUT = 5 #seconds
+SWITCH_START_TIMEOUT = 5  # seconds
+BMV2_LOG_LINES = 5
+
 
 def parseBoolean(value):
     if value in ['1', 1, 'true', 'True']:
@@ -27,6 +30,34 @@
         return False
 
 
+def pickUnusedPort():
+    s = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
+    s.bind(('localhost', 0))
+    addr, port = s.getsockname()
+    s.close()
+    return port
+
+
+def writeToFile(path, value):
+    with open(path, "w") as f:
+        f.write(str(value))
+
+
+def watchDog(sw):
+    while True:
+        if sw.stopped:
+            return
+        with closing(socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)) as s:
+            if s.connect_ex(('127.0.0.1', sw.grpcPort)) == 0:
+                time.sleep(1)
+            else:
+                warn("\n*** WARN: BMv2 instance %s (%s) died!\n"
+                     % (sw.deviceId, sw.name))
+                sw.printBmv2Log()
+                print ("-" * 80) + "\n"
+                return
+
+
 class ONOSHost(Host):
     def __init__(self, name, inNamespace=True, **params):
         Host.__init__(self, name, inNamespace=inNamespace, **params)
@@ -34,7 +65,7 @@
     def config(self, **params):
         r = super(Host, self).config(**params)
         for off in ["rx", "tx", "sg"]:
-            cmd = "/sbin/ethtool --offload %s %s off"\
+            cmd = "/sbin/ethtool --offload %s %s off" \
                   % (self.defaultIntf(), off)
             self.cmd(cmd)
         # disable IPv6
@@ -48,63 +79,51 @@
     """BMv2 software switch with gRPC server"""
 
     deviceId = 0
-    instanceCount = 0
 
-    def __init__(self, name, json=None, debugger=False, loglevel="warn", elogger=False,
-                 persistent=False, grpcPort=None, thriftPort=None, netcfg=True, dryrun=False,
-                 pipeconfId="", pktdump=False, valgrind=False, netcfgDelay=0,
-                 **kwargs):
+    def __init__(self, name, json=None, debugger=False, loglevel="warn",
+                 elogger=False, grpcPort=None, cpuPort=255,
+                 thriftPort=None, netcfg=True, dryrun=False, pipeconfId="",
+                 pktdump=False, valgrind=False, **kwargs):
         Switch.__init__(self, name, **kwargs)
-        self.grpcPort = ONOSBmv2Switch.pickUnusedPort() if not grpcPort else grpcPort
-        self.thriftPort = ONOSBmv2Switch.pickUnusedPort() if not thriftPort else thriftPort
+        self.grpcPort = pickUnusedPort() if not grpcPort else grpcPort
+        self.thriftPort = pickUnusedPort() if not thriftPort else thriftPort
         if self.dpid:
             self.deviceId = int(self.dpid, 0 if 'x' in self.dpid else 16)
         else:
             self.deviceId = ONOSBmv2Switch.deviceId
             ONOSBmv2Switch.deviceId += 1
+        self.cpuPort = cpuPort
         self.json = json
         self.debugger = parseBoolean(debugger)
         self.loglevel = loglevel
-        self.logfile = '/tmp/bmv2-%d.log' % self.deviceId
+        # Important: Mininet removes all /tmp/*.log files in case of exceptions.
+        # We want to be able to see the bmv2 log if anything goes wrong, hence
+        # avoid the .log extension.
+        self.logfile = '/tmp/bmv2-%d-log' % self.deviceId
         self.elogger = parseBoolean(elogger)
         self.pktdump = parseBoolean(pktdump)
-        self.persistent = parseBoolean(persistent)
         self.netcfg = parseBoolean(netcfg)
         self.dryrun = parseBoolean(dryrun)
         self.valgrind = parseBoolean(valgrind)
-        self.netcfgDelay = netcfgDelay
         self.netcfgfile = '/tmp/bmv2-%d-netcfg.json' % self.deviceId
         self.pipeconfId = pipeconfId
-        if persistent:
-            self.exectoken = "/tmp/bmv2-%d-exec-token" % self.deviceId
-            self.cmd("touch %s" % self.exectoken)
-        # Store thrift port for future uses.
-        self.cmd("echo %d > /tmp/bmv2-%d-grpc-port" % (self.grpcPort, self.deviceId))
-
-        if 'longitude' in kwargs:
-            self.longitude = kwargs['longitude']
-        else:
-            self.longitude = None
-
-        if 'latitude' in kwargs:
-            self.latitude = kwargs['latitude']
-        else:
-            self.latitude = None
-
+        self.longitude = kwargs['longitude'] if 'longitude' in kwargs else None
+        self.latitude = kwargs['latitude'] if 'latitude' in kwargs else None
         self.onosDeviceId = "device:bmv2:%d" % self.deviceId
+        self.logfd = None
+        self.bmv2popen = None
+        self.stopped = False
 
-    @classmethod
-    def pickUnusedPort(cls):
-        s = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
-        s.bind(('localhost', 0))
-        addr, port = s.getsockname()
-        s.close()
-        return port
+        # Remove files from previous executions
+        self.cleanupTmpFiles()
+
+        writeToFile("/tmp/bmv2-%d-grpc-port" % self.deviceId, self.grpcPort)
+        writeToFile("/tmp/bmv2-%d-thrift-port" % self.deviceId, self.thriftPort)
 
     def getSourceIp(self, dstIP):
         """
-        Queries the Linux routing table to get the source IP that can talk with dstIP, and vice
-        versa.
+        Queries the Linux routing table to get the source IP that can talk with
+        dstIP, and vice versa.
         """
         ipRouteOut = self.cmd('ip route get %s' % dstIP)
         r = re.search(r"src (\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3})", ipRouteOut)
@@ -158,7 +177,7 @@
         """
         srcIP = self.getSourceIp(controllerIP)
         if not srcIP:
-            warn("WARN: unable to get device IP address, won't do onos-netcfg")
+            warn("*** WARN: unable to get switch IP address, won't do netcfg\n")
             return
 
         cfgData = {
@@ -177,19 +196,52 @@
         url = 'http://%s:8181/onos/v1/network/configuration/' % controllerIP
         # Instantiate password manager for HTTP auth
         pm = urllib2.HTTPPasswordMgrWithDefaultRealm()
-        pm.add_password(None, url, os.environ['ONOS_WEB_USER'], os.environ['ONOS_WEB_PASS'])
-        urllib2.install_opener(urllib2.build_opener(urllib2.HTTPBasicAuthHandler(pm)))
+        pm.add_password(None, url,
+                        os.environ['ONOS_WEB_USER'],
+                        os.environ['ONOS_WEB_PASS'])
+        urllib2.install_opener(urllib2.build_opener(
+            urllib2.HTTPBasicAuthHandler(pm)))
         # Push config data to controller
-        req = urllib2.Request(url, json.dumps(cfgData), {'Content-Type': 'application/json'})
+        req = urllib2.Request(url, json.dumps(cfgData),
+                              {'Content-Type': 'application/json'})
         try:
             f = urllib2.urlopen(req)
             print f.read()
             f.close()
         except urllib2.URLError as e:
-            warn("WARN: unable to push config to ONOS (%s)" % e.reason)
+            warn("*** WARN: unable to push config to ONOS (%s)\n" % e.reason)
 
     def start(self, controllers):
-        args = [BMV2_TARGET, '--device-id %s' % str(self.deviceId)]
+        bmv2Args = [SIMPLE_SWITCH_GRPC] + self.grpcTargetArgs()
+        if self.valgrind:
+            bmv2Args = VALGRIND_PREFIX.split() + bmv2Args
+
+        cmdString = " ".join(bmv2Args)
+
+        if self.dryrun:
+            info("\n*** DRY RUN (not executing bmv2)")
+
+        info("\nStarting BMv2 target: %s\n" % cmdString)
+
+        try:
+            if not self.dryrun:
+                # Start the switch
+                self.logfd = open(self.logfile, "w")
+                self.bmv2popen = self.popen(cmdString,
+                                            stdout=self.logfd,
+                                            stderr=self.logfd)
+                self.waitBmv2Start()
+                # We want to be notified if BMv2 dies...
+                threading.Thread(target=watchDog, args=[self]).start()
+
+            self.doOnosNetcfg(self.controllerIp(controllers))
+        except Exception as ex:
+            self.killBmv2()
+            self.printBmv2Log()
+            raise ex
+
+    def grpcTargetArgs(self):
+        args = ['--device-id %s' % str(self.deviceId)]
         for port, intf in self.intfs.items():
             if not intf.IP():
                 args.append('-i %d@%s' % (port, intf.name))
@@ -200,74 +252,73 @@
             args.append('--debugger')
         args.append('--log-console')
         if self.pktdump:
-            args.append('--pcap --dump-packet-data %d' % PKT_BYTES_TO_DUMP)
+            args.append('--pcap --dump-packet-data %s' % PKT_BYTES_TO_DUMP)
         args.append('-L%s' % self.loglevel)
-        args.append('--thrift-port %d' % self.thriftPort)
+        args.append('--thrift-port %s' % self.thriftPort)
         if not self.json:
             args.append('--no-p4')
         else:
             args.append(self.json)
-
-        # gRPC target-specific options.
+        # gRPC target-specific options
         args.append('--')
-        args.append('--cpu-port %d' % CPU_PORT)
-        args.append('--grpc-server-addr 0.0.0.0:%d' % self.grpcPort)
+        args.append('--cpu-port %s' % self.cpuPort)
+        args.append('--grpc-server-addr 0.0.0.0:%s' % self.grpcPort)
+        return args
 
-        bmv2cmd = " ".join(args)
-        if self.valgrind:
-            bmv2cmd = "%s %s" % (VALGRIND_PREFIX, bmv2cmd)
-        if self.dryrun:
-            info("\n*** DRY RUN (not executing bmv2)")
-        info("\nStarting BMv2 target: %s\n" % bmv2cmd)
+    def waitBmv2Start(self):
+        # Wait for switch to open gRPC port, before sending ONOS the netcfg.
+        # Include time-out just in case something hangs.
+        sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
+        endtime = time.time() + SWITCH_START_TIMEOUT
+        while True:
+            result = sock.connect_ex(('127.0.0.1', self.grpcPort))
+            if result == 0:
+                # The port is open. Let's go! (Close socket first)
+                sock.close()
+                break
+            # Port is not open yet. If there is time, we wait a bit.
+            if endtime > time.time():
+                time.sleep(0.2)
+            else:
+                # Time's up.
+                raise Exception("Switch did not start before timeout")
 
-        if self.persistent:
-            # Bash loop to re-exec the switch if it crashes.
-            bmv2cmd = "(while [ -e {} ]; do {} ; sleep 1; done;)".format(self.exectoken, bmv2cmd)
+    def printBmv2Log(self):
+        if os.path.isfile(self.logfile):
+            print "-" * 80
+            print "BMv2 %d log (from %s):" % (self.deviceId, self.logfile)
+            with open(self.logfile, 'r') as f:
+                lines = f.readlines()
+                if len(lines) > BMV2_LOG_LINES:
+                    print "..."
+                for line in lines[-BMV2_LOG_LINES:]:
+                    print line.rstrip()
 
-        cmdStr = "{} > {} 2>&1 &".format(bmv2cmd, self.logfile)
-
-        # Starts the switch.
-        if not self.dryrun:
-            out = self.cmd(cmdStr)
-            if out:
-                print out
-            if self.netcfg:
-                time.sleep(self.netcfgDelay)
-
-        try:  # onos.py
+    @staticmethod
+    def controllerIp(controllers):
+        try:
+            # onos.py
             clist = controllers[0].nodes()
         except AttributeError:
             clist = controllers
         assert len(clist) > 0
-        cip = clist[0].IP()
+        return clist[0].IP()
 
-        # Wait for switch to open gRPC port, before sending ONOS the netcfg.json.
-        # Include time-out just in case something hangs.
-        if not self.dryrun:
-            sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
-            endtime = time.time() + SWITCH_START_TIMEOUT
-            while True:
-                result = sock.connect_ex(('127.0.0.1', self.grpcPort))
-                if result == 0:
-                    # The port is open. Let's go! (Close socket first)
-                    sock.close()
-                    break
-                # Port is not open yet. If there is time, we wait a bit.
-                if endtime > time.time():
-                    time.sleep(0.2)
-                else:
-                    # Time's up.
-                    raise Exception("Switch did not start before {} second timeout. Exiting.\n"
-                          .format(SWITCH_START_TIMEOUT))
-                    exit()
+    def killBmv2(self, log=False):
+        if self.bmv2popen is not None:
+            self.bmv2popen.kill()
+        if self.logfd is not None:
+            if log:
+                self.logfd.write("*** PROCESS TERMINATED BY MININET ***\n")
+            self.logfd.close()
 
-        self.doOnosNetcfg(cip)
+    def cleanupTmpFiles(self):
+        self.cmd("rm -f /tmp/bmv2-%d-*" % self.deviceId)
 
     def stop(self, deleteIntfs=True):
         """Terminate switch."""
-        self.cmd("rm -f /tmp/bmv2-%d-*" % self.deviceId)
-        self.cmd("rm -f /tmp/bmv2-%d.log*" % self.deviceId)
-        self.cmd('kill %' + BMV2_TARGET)
+        self.stopped = True
+        self.killBmv2(log=True)
         Switch.stop(self, deleteIntfs)
 
 
diff --git a/tools/dev/p4vm/bm-commands.sh b/tools/dev/p4vm/bm-commands.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ee96f22
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/dev/p4vm/bm-commands.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+BUILD_DIR=~/p4tools
+
+export BMV2_PATH=${BUILD_DIR}/bmv2
+export P4RUNTIME_PATH=${BUILD_DIR}/p4runtime
+
+bm-cli () {
+    if [ -z "$1" ]; then
+        echo "No argument supplied. Usage: bm-cli <BMV2 DEVICE ID>"
+        return
+    fi
+    tport=$(head -n 1 /tmp/bmv2-$1-thrift-port)
+    echo "Starting CLI for BMv2 instance $1 (Thrift port $tport)..."
+    sudo ${BMV2_PATH}/tools/runtime_CLI.py --thrift-port ${tport} ${@:2}
+}
+
+bm-dbg () {
+    if [ -z "$1" ]; then
+        echo "No argument supplied. Usage: bm-dbg <BMV2 DEVICE ID>"
+        return
+    fi
+    tport=$(head -n 1 /tmp/bmv2-$1-thrift-port)
+    echo "Starting debugger for BMv2 instance $1 (Thrift port $tport)..."
+    sudo ${BMV2_PATH}/tools/p4dbg.py --thrift-port ${tport} ${@:2}
+}
+
+bm-nmsg () {
+    if [ -z "$1" ]; then
+        echo "No argument supplied. Usage: bm-nmsg <BMV2 DEVICE ID>"
+        return
+    fi
+    tport=$(head -n 1 /tmp/bmv2-$1-thrift-port)
+    echo "Starting nanomsg event listener for BMv2 instance $1 (Thrift port $tport)..."
+    sudo ${BMV2_PATH}/tools/nanomsg_client.py --thrift-port ${tport} ${@:2}
+}
+
+bm-log () {
+    if [ -z "$1" ]; then
+        echo "No argument supplied. Usage: bm-log <BMV2 DEVICE ID>"
+        return
+    fi
+    echo "Showing log for BMv2 instance $1..."
+    echo "---"
+    tail -f /tmp/bmv2-$1-log
+}
+
+bm-sysrepo-reset () {
+    echo "Resetting sysrepo data store..."
+    sudo rm -rf /etc/sysrepo/data/*
+    sudo ${P4RUNTIME_PATH}/proto/sysrepo/install_yangs.sh
+}
diff --git a/tools/dev/p4vm/root-bootstrap.sh b/tools/dev/p4vm/root-bootstrap.sh
index 3f1b8e6..ff23fc5 100755
--- a/tools/dev/p4vm/root-bootstrap.sh
+++ b/tools/dev/p4vm/root-bootstrap.sh
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 echo "sdn ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL" > /etc/sudoers.d/99_sdn
 chmod 440 /etc/sudoers.d/99_sdn
 usermod -aG vboxsf sdn
+update-locale LC_ALL="en_US.UTF-8"
 
 # Java 8
 apt-get install software-properties-common -y
@@ -17,7 +18,11 @@
 apt-get -y install \
     oracle-java8-installer oracle-java8-set-default \
     zip unzip \
-    bridge-utils
+    bridge-utils \
+    avahi-daemon \
+    htop \
+    valgrind \
+    git-review
 
 tee -a /etc/ssh/sshd_config <<EOF
 
diff --git a/tools/dev/p4vm/user-bootstrap.sh b/tools/dev/p4vm/user-bootstrap.sh
index 9b19f26..b7a7739 100755
--- a/tools/dev/p4vm/user-bootstrap.sh
+++ b/tools/dev/p4vm/user-bootstrap.sh
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 # ONOS
 export ONOS_ROOT=~/onos
 source ~/onos/tools/dev/bash_profile
+source ~/onos/tools/dev/p4vm/bm-commands.sh
 EOF
 source ~/.profile