diff --git a/TESTING.rst b/TESTING.rst
index 0d6814e8e..64a217f83 100644
--- a/TESTING.rst
+++ b/TESTING.rst
@@ -4,16 +4,16 @@ Testing Neutron
 Overview
 --------
 
-The unit tests are meant to cover as much code as possible and should
-be executed without the service running. They are designed to test
-the various pieces of the neutron tree to make sure any new changes
-don't break existing functionality.
+The unit tests (neutron/test/unit/) are meant to cover as much code as
+possible and should be executed without the service running. They are
+designed to test the various pieces of the neutron tree to make sure
+any new changes don't break existing functionality.
 
-The functional tests are intended to validate actual system
-interaction.  Mocks should be used sparingly, if at all.  Care
-should be taken to ensure that existing system resources are not
-modified and that resources created in tests are properly cleaned
-up.
+The functional tests (neutron/tests/functional/) are intended to
+validate actual system interaction.  Mocks should be used sparingly,
+if at all.  Care should be taken to ensure that existing system
+resources are not modified and that resources created in tests are
+properly cleaned up.
 
 Development process
 -------------------
@@ -100,6 +100,16 @@ Neutron source code::
 
     tox
 
+To run functional tests that do not require sudo privileges or
+specific-system dependencies::
+
+    tox -e functional
+
+To run all the functional tests in an environment that has been configured
+by devstack to support sudo and system-specific dependencies::
+
+    tox -e dsvm-functional
+
 For more information on the standard Tox-based test infrastructure used by
 OpenStack and how to do some common test/debugging procedures with Testr,
 see this wiki page:
diff --git a/neutron/tests/functional/agent/linux/base.py b/neutron/tests/functional/agent/linux/base.py
index 5891c872e..29198004a 100644
--- a/neutron/tests/functional/agent/linux/base.py
+++ b/neutron/tests/functional/agent/linux/base.py
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class BaseLinuxTestCase(functional_base.BaseSudoTestCase):
         try:
             utils.execute(cmd, root_helper=root_helper)
         except RuntimeError as e:
-            if error_text in str(e):
+            if error_text in str(e) and not self.fail_on_missing_deps:
                 self.skipTest(skip_msg)
             raise
 
diff --git a/neutron/tests/functional/agent/linux/test_ovsdb_monitor.py b/neutron/tests/functional/agent/linux/test_ovsdb_monitor.py
index 9d8570ded..3f37ce0ed 100644
--- a/neutron/tests/functional/agent/linux/test_ovsdb_monitor.py
+++ b/neutron/tests/functional/agent/linux/test_ovsdb_monitor.py
@@ -47,8 +47,6 @@ class BaseMonitorTest(linux_base.BaseOVSLinuxTestCase):
 
     def _check_test_requirements(self):
         self.check_sudo_enabled()
-        self.check_command(['which', 'ovsdb-client'],
-                           'Exit code: 1', 'ovsdb-client is not installed')
         self.check_command(['ovsdb-client', 'list-dbs'],
                            'Exit code: 1',
                            'password-less sudo not granted for ovsdb-client',
diff --git a/neutron/tests/functional/base.py b/neutron/tests/functional/base.py
index 471acaea6..fe25535fa 100644
--- a/neutron/tests/functional/base.py
+++ b/neutron/tests/functional/base.py
@@ -46,8 +46,12 @@ class BaseSudoTestCase(base.BaseTestCase):
 
     def setUp(self):
         super(BaseSudoTestCase, self).setUp()
-        self.root_helper = os.environ.get('OS_ROOTWRAP_CMD', SUDO_CMD)
+        env = os.environ
+        self.sudo_enabled = env.get('OS_SUDO_TESTING') in base.TRUE_STRING
+        self.root_helper = env.get('OS_ROOTWRAP_CMD', SUDO_CMD)
+        self.fail_on_missing_deps = (
+            env.get('OS_FAIL_ON_MISSING_DEPS') in base.TRUE_STRING)
 
     def check_sudo_enabled(self):
-        if os.environ.get('OS_SUDO_TESTING') not in base.TRUE_STRING:
+        if not self.sudo_enabled:
             self.skipTest('testing with sudo is not enabled')
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index d459887c3..5891515f4 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -18,6 +18,14 @@ setenv = OS_TEST_PATH=./neutron/tests/functional
 commands =
   python setup.py testr --slowest --testr-args='{posargs}'
 
+[testenv:dsvm-functional]
+setenv = OS_TEST_PATH=./neutron/tests/functional
+         OS_SUDO_TESTING=1
+         OS_ROOTWRAP_CMD=sudo /usr/local/bin/neutron-rootwrap /etc/neutron/rootwrap.conf
+         OS_FAIL_ON_MISSING_DEPS=1
+commands =
+  python setup.py testr --slowest --testr-args='{posargs}'
+
 [tox:jenkins]
 sitepackages = True
 downloadcache = ~/cache/pip