diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index c26d822..9dacfdf 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -10,3 +10,6 @@
 /temp/
 /test_interest_loop/keys/
 logs/
+/repos.conf
+/packages/
+/prepare/
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5ecec83..4ce0c0f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -12,36 +12,11 @@
 
 ## Setup Instructions: ##
 
-To install NDN applications used for the tests
-
-    USAGE:
-      ./install_apps.py [OPTIONS]
-
-      Install NDN applications
-      Latest source codes will be downloaded from their GitHub named-data repositories
-
-    OPTIONS:
-      install_ndncppdev  - install ndn-cpp-dev (https://github.com/named-data/ndn-cpp-dev)
-      setup_security     - create an identity (/tmp/nfd_integration) using ndnsec
-      install_NFD        - install NFD (https://github.com/named-data/NFD)
-      install_ndntraffic - install ndn-traffic-generator (https://github.com/named-data/ndn-traffic-generator)
-      install_ndntools   - install ndn-tools (https://github.com/named-data/ndn-tools)
-      install_infoedit   - install infoedit
-      install_all        - do all of the above
-      help               - print this message and exit
+To install all NDN applications used for the tests, run `./install_apps.py install_all`. To install
+one or more particular apps only, find the proper command line argument(s) to use in place of
+`install_all` by running `./install_apps.py help`.
 
 ## Test Run Instructions: #
 
-To run tests
-
-    USAGE:
-      ./run_tests.py [OPTIONS]
-
-      Run a subset of NFD integration test cases
-      The test case(s) to be executed should be provided as command line option(s)
-
-    OPTIONS:
-      test_ndnping
-      test_all           - run all the above tests
-      help               - print this message and exit
-
+To run all tests, run `./run_tests.py test_all`. To run one or more particular tests, run
+`./run_tests.py help` to find the proper command line argument(s) to use in place of `test_all`.
diff --git a/install_apps.py b/install_apps.py
index b267357..51abd9e 100755
--- a/install_apps.py
+++ b/install_apps.py
@@ -8,17 +8,19 @@
     print "\nUSAGE:"
     print "  ./install_apps.py [OPTIONS]\n"
     print "  Install NDN applications"
-    print "  Latest source codes will be downloaded from their GitHub"
-    print "  named-data repositories (https://github.com/named-data)"
+    print "  By default, the latest version of each package will be downloaded from the NDN GitHub"
+    print "  repositories (https://github.com/named-data). To obtain the packages locally or from"
+    print "  a specific branch or Gerrit change, use the repos.conf file (see repos.conf.sample for"
+    print "  more information)."
     print "\nOPTIONS:"
     print "  install_ndncxx     - install ndn-cxx (named-data/ndn-cxx)"
-    print "  setup_security     - create an identity using ndnsec (/tmp/nfd_integration)"
+    print "  setup_security     - create an identity using ndnsec (/tmp/nfd_integration_tests)"
     print "  install_NFD        - install NFD (named-data/NFD)"
     print "  install_ndntraffic - install ndn-traffic-generator (named-data/ndn-traffic-generator)"
     print "  install_ndntools   - install ndn-tools (named-data/ndn-tools)"
-    print "  install_repo       - install repo-ng (named-data/repo-ng)"
+    print "  install_repong     - install repo-ng (named-data/repo-ng)"
     print "  install_infoedit   - install infoedit"
-    print "  install_tools      - install tests tools"
+    print "  install_tools      - install test tools"
     print "  install_all        - do all of the above"
     print "  help               - print this message and exit\n"
 
@@ -34,7 +36,7 @@
                      "install_NFD",
                      "install_ndntraffic",
                      "install_ndntools",
-                     "install_repo",
+                     "install_repong",
                      "install_infoedit",
                      "install_tools",
                      "install_all",
@@ -55,34 +57,25 @@
                 actionList.add("install_NFD")
                 actionList.add("install_ndntraffic")
                 actionList.add("install_ndntools")
-                actionList.add("install_repo")
+                actionList.add("install_repong")
                 actionList.add("install_infoedit")
                 actionList.add("install_tools")
-            module = __import__("setup_preparation_folder")
-            module.run()
-            module = __import__("install_dependencies")
-            module.run()
+            os.system("./install_helpers/setup_preparation_folder.sh")
+            os.system("./install_helpers/install_dependencies.sh")
             if "install_ndncxx" in actionList:
-                module = __import__("install_ndncxx")
-                module.run()
+                os.system("./install_helpers/install_ndncxx.sh")
             if "setup_security" in actionList:
-                module = __import__("setup_security")
-                module.run()
+                os.system("./install_helpers/setup_security.sh")
             if "install_NFD" in actionList:
-                module = __import__("install_NFD")
-                module.run()
+                os.system("./install_helpers/install_NFD.sh")
             if "install_ndntraffic" in actionList:
-                module = __import__("install_ndntraffic")
-                module.run()
+                os.system("./install_helpers/install_ndntraffic.sh")
             if "install_ndntools" in actionList:
-                module = __import__("install_ndntools")
-                module.run()
-            if "install_repo" in actionList:
-                module = __import__("install_repo")
-                module.run()
+                os.system("./install_helpers/install_ndntools.sh")
+            if "install_repong" in actionList:
+                os.system("./install_helpers/install_repong.sh")
             if "install_infoedit" in actionList:
-                module = __import__("install_infoedit")
-                module.run()
+                os.system("./install_helpers/install_infoedit.sh")
             if "install_tools" in actionList:
                 module = __import__("install_tools")
                 module.run()
diff --git a/install_helpers/common.sh b/install_helpers/common.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5a78668
--- /dev/null
+++ b/install_helpers/common.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+if [[ -f repos.conf ]]; then
+  source repos.conf
+fi
+
+# Check out the repository of the specified package from Gerrit or a local repository.
+#
+# Parameters:
+#   name of package used in repository names (e.g., ndn-cxx or NFD)
+#   name of package used in variable names (e.g., NDNCXX or NFD)
+#
+# This function changes the working directory to the directory containing the package source.
+prepare_repo() {
+  local PACKAGE_NAME=$1
+  local PACKAGE_VAR=PACKAGE_$2
+  local PACKAGE_SOURCE=${!PACKAGE_VAR}
+  if [[ -z $PACKAGE_SOURCE ]]; then
+    PACKAGE_SOURCE=branch:master
+  fi
+
+  local SOURCE=${PACKAGE_SOURCE%%:*}
+  local LOCATION=${PACKAGE_SOURCE#*:}
+  if [[ $SOURCE == branch || $SOURCE == gerrit ]]; then
+    if [[ $SOURCE == branch ]]; then
+      local GERRIT_BRANCH=$LOCATION
+    else
+      local GERRIT_CHANGE=${LOCATION%%,*}
+      local GERRIT_PATCHSET=${LOCATION#*,}
+      local GERRIT_BRANCH="refs/changes/$(printf '%02d' $(($GERRIT_CHANGE % 100)))/$GERRIT_CHANGE/$GERRIT_PATCHSET"
+    fi
+
+    echo "Checking out from Gerrit: $GERRIT_BRANCH"
+    cd prepare
+    git init $PACKAGE_NAME
+    cd $PACKAGE_NAME
+    git pull --depth 1 https://gerrit.named-data.net/$PACKAGE_NAME $GERRIT_BRANCH
+  elif [[ $SOURCE == local ]]; then
+    echo "Using local copy of $PACKAGE_NAME"
+    if [[ ! -d packages/$PACKAGE_NAME ]]; then
+      echo "ERROR: No local copy of package $PACKAGE_NAME could be found in prepare"
+      exit 1
+    fi
+    cp -r packages/$PACKAGE_NAME prepare
+    cd prepare/$PACKAGE_NAME
+  else
+    echo "SYNTAX ERROR: Package $PACKAGE_NAME has incorrectly formatted source: $PACKAGE_SOURCE"
+    exit 2
+  fi
+}
diff --git a/install_helpers/install_NFD.py b/install_helpers/install_NFD.py
deleted file mode 100644
index ff4db7b..0000000
--- a/install_helpers/install_NFD.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,18 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/python2
-import os
-
-# Install NFD
-def run():
-    print "\nINSTALLING NFD"
-    print "**************"
-    os.system("git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/named-data/NFD")
-    os.chdir("NFD")
-    os.system("git submodule init && git submodule update")
-    os.system("./waf configure --with-other-tests")
-    os.system("./waf")
-    os.system("sudo ./waf install")
-    os.system("sudo cp /usr/local/etc/ndn/nfd.conf.sample /usr/local/etc/ndn/nfd.conf")
-    os.system("sudo mkdir /usr/local/etc/ndn/keys/")
-    os.system("ndnsec-cert-dump -i `ndnsec-get-default` > ~/default.ndncert")
-    os.system("sudo mv ~/default.ndncert /usr/local/etc/ndn/keys")
-    os.chdir("..")
diff --git a/install_helpers/install_NFD.sh b/install_helpers/install_NFD.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..d6bfc62
--- /dev/null
+++ b/install_helpers/install_NFD.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+source install_helpers/common.sh
+
+echo
+echo "INSTALLING NFD"
+echo "**************"
+
+prepare_repo NFD NFD
+git submodule update --init --depth 1
+./waf configure --with-other-tests
+./waf
+sudo ./waf install
+sudo cp /usr/local/etc/ndn/nfd.conf.sample /usr/local/etc/ndn/nfd.conf
+sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/etc/ndn/keys
+ndnsec-cert-dump -i "$(ndnsec-get-default)" | sudo tee /usr/local/etc/ndn/keys/default.ndncert > /dev/null
diff --git a/install_helpers/install_dependencies.py b/install_helpers/install_dependencies.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 6c5d1f3..0000000
--- a/install_helpers/install_dependencies.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/python2
-import os
-
-# Install Dependencies & Necessary Tools
-def run():
-    print "\nINSTALLING DEPENDENCIES"
-    print "***********************"
-    os.system("sudo apt-get -qq update")
-    os.system("sudo apt-get -qq install build-essential git libboost-all-dev libcrypto++-dev libpcap-dev pkg-config libsqlite3-dev socat bind9 libssl-dev")
diff --git a/install_helpers/install_dependencies.sh b/install_helpers/install_dependencies.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..e9b6e7d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/install_helpers/install_dependencies.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Install dependencies and necessary tools
+
+echo
+echo "INSTALLING DEPENDENCIES"
+echo "***********************"
+
+sudo apt-get -qq update
+sudo apt-get -qq install build-essential git libboost-all-dev libpcap-dev pkg-config libsqlite3-dev socat bind9 libssl-dev
diff --git a/install_helpers/install_infoedit.py b/install_helpers/install_infoedit.py
deleted file mode 100644
index ba8624b..0000000
--- a/install_helpers/install_infoedit.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,12 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/python2
-import os
-
-# Install infoedit
-def run():
-    print "\nINSTALLING infoedit"
-    print "**************"
-    os.system("git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/NDN-Routing/infoedit.git")
-    os.chdir("infoedit")
-    os.system("make")
-    os.system("sudo make install")
-    os.chdir("..")
diff --git a/install_helpers/install_infoedit.sh b/install_helpers/install_infoedit.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..bad7360
--- /dev/null
+++ b/install_helpers/install_infoedit.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+echo
+echo "INSTALLING infoedit"
+echo "*******************"
+
+cd prepare
+git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/NDN-Routing/infoedit.git
+cd infoedit
+make
+sudo make install
diff --git a/install_helpers/install_ndncxx.py b/install_helpers/install_ndncxx.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 74495f5..0000000
--- a/install_helpers/install_ndncxx.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/python2
-import os
-
-# Install ndn-cxx
-def run():
-    print "\nINSTALLING ndn-cxx"
-    print "**********************"
-    os.system("git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/named-data/ndn-cxx")
-    os.chdir("ndn-cxx")
-    os.system("./waf configure")
-    os.system("./waf")
-    os.system("sudo ./waf install")
-    os.system("mkdir -p ~/.ndn")
-    os.system("sudo ldconfig")
-    os.chdir("..")
diff --git a/install_helpers/install_ndncxx.sh b/install_helpers/install_ndncxx.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..0cfd091
--- /dev/null
+++ b/install_helpers/install_ndncxx.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+source install_helpers/common.sh
+
+echo
+echo "INSTALLING ndn-cxx"
+echo "******************"
+
+prepare_repo ndn-cxx NDNCXX
+./waf configure
+./waf
+sudo ./waf install
+sudo ldconfig
+mkdir -p ~/.ndn
diff --git a/install_helpers/install_ndntools.py b/install_helpers/install_ndntools.py
deleted file mode 100644
index d4d0b92..0000000
--- a/install_helpers/install_ndntools.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/python2
-import os
-
-# Install ndn-tools
-def run():
-    print "\nINSTALLING ndn-tools"
-    print "***********************"
-    os.system("git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/named-data/ndn-tools")
-    os.chdir("ndn-tools")
-    os.system("./waf configure")
-    os.system("./waf")
-    os.system("sudo ./waf install")
-    os.chdir("..")
diff --git a/install_helpers/install_ndntools.sh b/install_helpers/install_ndntools.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..62022d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/install_helpers/install_ndntools.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+source install_helpers/common.sh
+
+echo
+echo "INSTALLING ndn-tools"
+echo "********************"
+
+prepare_repo ndn-tools NDNTOOLS
+./waf configure
+./waf
+sudo ./waf install
diff --git a/install_helpers/install_ndntraffic.py b/install_helpers/install_ndntraffic.py
deleted file mode 100644
index f8e85ab..0000000
--- a/install_helpers/install_ndntraffic.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/python2
-import os
-
-# Install ndn-traffic-generator
-def run():
-    print "\nINSTALLING ndn-traffic-generator"
-    print "********************************"
-    os.system("git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/named-data/ndn-traffic-generator")
-    os.chdir("ndn-traffic-generator")
-    os.system("./waf configure")
-    os.system("./waf")
-    os.system("sudo ./waf install")
-    os.chdir("..")
diff --git a/install_helpers/install_ndntraffic.sh b/install_helpers/install_ndntraffic.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..75ab556
--- /dev/null
+++ b/install_helpers/install_ndntraffic.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+source install_helpers/common.sh
+
+echo
+echo "INSTALLING ndn-traffic-generator"
+echo "********************************"
+
+prepare_repo ndn-traffic-generator NDNTRAFFIC
+./waf configure
+./waf
+sudo ./waf install
diff --git a/install_helpers/install_repo.py b/install_helpers/install_repo.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 8748274..0000000
--- a/install_helpers/install_repo.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/python2
-import os
-
-# Install repo-ng
-def run():
-    print "\nINSTALLING repo-ng"
-    print "***********************"
-    os.system("git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/named-data/repo-ng")
-    os.chdir("repo-ng")
-    os.system("./waf configure")
-    os.system("./waf")
-    os.system("sudo ./waf install")
-    os.chdir("..")
diff --git a/install_helpers/install_repong.sh b/install_helpers/install_repong.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..fa3ae99
--- /dev/null
+++ b/install_helpers/install_repong.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+source install_helpers/common.sh
+
+echo
+echo "INSTALLING repo-ng"
+echo "******************"
+
+prepare_repo repo-ng REPONG
+./waf configure
+./waf
+sudo ./waf install
diff --git a/install_helpers/setup_preparation_folder.py b/install_helpers/setup_preparation_folder.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 777fb73..0000000
--- a/install_helpers/setup_preparation_folder.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,14 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/python2
-import os
-from os.path import expanduser
-
-# Setup Preparation Folder
-def run():
-    print "\nSETTING UP PREPARATION FOLDER"
-    print "******************************"
-    home = expanduser("~")
-    os.chdir(home)
-    os.system("rm -rf nfd_prepare")
-    os.mkdir("nfd_prepare")
-    os.chdir("nfd_prepare")
-
diff --git a/install_helpers/setup_preparation_folder.sh b/install_helpers/setup_preparation_folder.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..194622d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/install_helpers/setup_preparation_folder.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+echo
+echo "SETTING UP PREPARATION FOLDER"
+echo "*****************************"
+
+rm -rf prepare
+mkdir prepare
diff --git a/install_helpers/setup_security.py b/install_helpers/setup_security.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 4d550cd..0000000
--- a/install_helpers/setup_security.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,8 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/python2
-import os
-
-# Configure Security Environment Using ndnsec
-def run():
-    print "\nCONFIGURING SECURITY ENVIRONMENT WITH ndnsec"
-    print "********************************************"
-    os.system("ndnsec-keygen -n '/tmp/nfd_integration_tests/' | ndnsec-install-cert -")
diff --git a/install_helpers/setup_security.sh b/install_helpers/setup_security.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..c3bfcf8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/install_helpers/setup_security.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Configure security environment using ndnsec
+
+echo
+echo "CONFIGURING SECURITY ENVIRONMENT WITH ndnsec"
+echo "********************************************"
+
+ndnsec-keygen -n /tmp/nfd_integration_tests/ | ndnsec-install-cert -
diff --git a/repos.conf.sample b/repos.conf.sample
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f9c25a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/repos.conf.sample
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+# This file indicates where each package should be obtained from when running the integration test
+# suite. This file must be renamed to repos.conf to be used by the framework.
+#
+# Specific branches can be fetched by setting a PACKAGE_* variable to "branch:[name]", where
+# "[name]" is the name of the branch. For example, the master branch can be fetched by setting the
+# variable to "branch:master".
+#
+# A specific Gerrit patchset can be obtained by setting PACKAGE_* to "gerrit:[change],[patchset]",
+# where "[change]" is the change number and "[patchset]" is the patchset number. For example, change
+# 8888, patchset 1 can be obtained by setting the variable to "gerrit:8888,1".
+#
+# Specifying "local" uses a local version of the package, located in a subdirectory of the
+# integration tests directory named "packages". Within "packages", each local package must be in a
+# directory with the same name as the upstream repository (e.g., ndn-cxx would be in a directory
+# named "packages/ndn-cxx" and NFD would be in a directory named "packages/NFD").
+#
+# If undefined, the source of a package will default to "branch:master".
+
+#PACKAGE_NDNCXX=branch:master
+#PACKAGE_NFD=branch:master
+#PACKAGE_NDNTOOLS=branch:master
+#PACKAGE_NDNTRAFFIC=branch:master
+#PACKAGE_REPONG=branch:master
diff --git a/run-vagrant-tests.sh b/run-vagrant-tests.sh
index 934360a..9681797 100755
--- a/run-vagrant-tests.sh
+++ b/run-vagrant-tests.sh
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
-#!/bin/sh
+#!/bin/bash
 #
 # Automated integration testing for the Named Data Networking Forwarding Daemon.
 # Part of the Named Data Networking project <http://named-data.net>
 #
 # --
 #
-# Copyright (c) 2014-2015,  Regents of the University of California,
+# Copyright (c) 2014-2017,  Regents of the University of California,
 #                           Arizona Board of Regents,
 #                           Colorado State University,
 #                           University Pierre & Marie Curie, Sorbonne University,
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
 # You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with
 # NFD, e.g., in COPYING.md file.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 #
-# Author: Eric Newberry <enewberry@email.arizona.edu>
+# Author: Eric Newberry <enewberry@cs.arizona.edu>
 
 mkdir -p logs/A logs/B logs/C logs/D
 mkdir -p temp
@@ -55,5 +55,5 @@
 vagrant destroy -f
 
 vagrant box remove nfd-integ
-rm -Rf temp
+rm -rf temp prepare
 rm -f nfd-integ.box