diff --git a/test/e2e/addon_update.go b/test/e2e/addon_update.go
index d509aa1859a..f4c491707dd 100644
--- a/test/e2e/addon_update.go
+++ b/test/e2e/addon_update.go
@@ -232,10 +232,7 @@ var _ = Describe("Addon update", func() {
 
 		// This test requires SSH, so the provider check should be identical to
 		// those tests.
-		if !providerIs("gce") {
-			Logf(fmt.Sprintf("Skipping test, which is not implemented for %s", testContext.Provider))
-			return
-		}
+		SkipUnlessProviderIs("gce")
 
 		temporaryRemotePathPrefix := "addon-test-dir"
 		temporaryRemotePath := temporaryRemotePathPrefix + "/" + dir                  // in home directory on kubernetes-master
diff --git a/test/e2e/certs.go b/test/e2e/certs.go
index 2ffec0fb1c9..959ff5261b2 100644
--- a/test/e2e/certs.go
+++ b/test/e2e/certs.go
@@ -29,14 +29,11 @@ var _ = Describe("MasterCerts", func() {
 		var err error
 		_, err = loadClient()
 		Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+
+		SkipUnlessProviderIs("gce", "gke")
 	})
 
 	It("should have all expected certs on the master", func() {
-		if !providerIs("gce", "gke") {
-			By(fmt.Sprintf("Skipping MasterCerts test for cloud provider %s (only supported for gce and gke)", testContext.Provider))
-			return
-		}
-
 		for _, certFile := range []string{"kubecfg.key", "kubecfg.crt", "ca.crt"} {
 			cmd := exec.Command("gcloud", "compute", "ssh", "--project", testContext.CloudConfig.ProjectID,
 				"--zone", testContext.CloudConfig.Zone, testContext.CloudConfig.MasterName,
diff --git a/test/e2e/cluster_upgrade.go b/test/e2e/cluster_upgrade.go
index ef8ed5c09bd..4b462ddb810 100644
--- a/test/e2e/cluster_upgrade.go
+++ b/test/e2e/cluster_upgrade.go
@@ -240,11 +240,11 @@ var _ = Describe("Skipped", func() {
 		})
 
 		Describe("kube-push", func() {
+			BeforeEach(func() {
+				SkipUnlessProviderIs("gce")
+			})
+
 			It("of master should maintain responsive services", func() {
-				if !providerIs("gce") {
-					By(fmt.Sprintf("Skipping kube-push test, which is not implemented for %s", testContext.Provider))
-					return
-				}
 				By("Validating cluster before master upgrade")
 				expectNoError(validate(f, svcName, rcName, ingress, replicas))
 				By("Performing a master upgrade")
@@ -255,11 +255,11 @@ var _ = Describe("Skipped", func() {
 		})
 
 		Describe("upgrade-master", func() {
+			BeforeEach(func() {
+				SkipUnlessProviderIs("gce", "gke")
+			})
+
 			It("should maintain responsive services", func() {
-				if !providerIs("gce", "gke") {
-					By(fmt.Sprintf("Skipping upgrade test, which is not implemented for %s", testContext.Provider))
-					return
-				}
 				By("Validating cluster before master upgrade")
 				expectNoError(validate(f, svcName, rcName, ingress, replicas))
 				By("Performing a master upgrade")
@@ -315,10 +315,8 @@ var _ = Describe("Skipped", func() {
 			})
 
 			It("should maintain a functioning cluster", func() {
-				if !providerIs("gce", "gke") {
-					By(fmt.Sprintf("Skipping upgrade test, which is not implemented for %s", testContext.Provider))
-					return
-				}
+				SkipUnlessProviderIs("gce", "gke")
+
 				By("Validating cluster before master upgrade")
 				expectNoError(validate(f, svcName, rcName, ingress, replicas))
 				By("Performing a master upgrade")
diff --git a/test/e2e/core.go b/test/e2e/core.go
index a6510304814..dce47101cd8 100644
--- a/test/e2e/core.go
+++ b/test/e2e/core.go
@@ -36,6 +36,8 @@ func coreDump(dir string) {
 		return
 	}
 	provider := testContext.Provider
+
+	// requires ssh
 	if !providerIs("gce", "gke") {
 		fmt.Printf("Skipping SSH core dump, which is not implemented for %s", provider)
 		return
diff --git a/test/e2e/dns.go b/test/e2e/dns.go
index 3c941995770..babc7c855a6 100644
--- a/test/e2e/dns.go
+++ b/test/e2e/dns.go
@@ -144,10 +144,8 @@ var _ = Describe("DNS", func() {
 	f := NewFramework("dns")
 
 	It("should provide DNS for the cluster", func() {
-		if providerIs("vagrant") {
-			By("Skipping test which is broken for vagrant (See https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/kubernetes/issues/3580)")
-			return
-		}
+		// TODO: support DNS on vagrant #3580
+		SkipIfProviderIs("vagrant")
 
 		podClient := f.Client.Pods(api.NamespaceDefault)
 
@@ -208,11 +206,10 @@ var _ = Describe("DNS", func() {
 
 		Logf("DNS probes using %s succeeded\n", pod.Name)
 	})
+
 	It("should provide DNS for services", func() {
-		if providerIs("vagrant") {
-			By("Skipping test which is broken for vagrant (See https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/kubernetes/issues/3580)")
-			return
-		}
+		// TODO: support DNS on vagrant #3580
+		SkipIfProviderIs("vagrant")
 
 		podClient := f.Client.Pods(api.NamespaceDefault)
 
diff --git a/test/e2e/es_cluster_logging.go b/test/e2e/es_cluster_logging.go
index 3851ca8edbe..5a8f1c24a1e 100644
--- a/test/e2e/es_cluster_logging.go
+++ b/test/e2e/es_cluster_logging.go
@@ -34,6 +34,13 @@ import (
 var _ = Describe("Cluster level logging using Elasticsearch", func() {
 	f := NewFramework("es-logging")
 
+	BeforeEach(func() {
+		// TODO: For now assume we are only testing cluster logging with Elasticsearch
+		// on GCE. Once we are sure that Elasticsearch cluster level logging
+		// works for other providers we should widen this scope of this test.
+		SkipUnlessProviderIs("gce")
+	})
+
 	It("should check that logs from pods on all nodes are ingested into Elasticsearch", func() {
 		ClusterLevelLoggingWithElasticsearch(f)
 	})
@@ -55,14 +62,6 @@ func bodyToJSON(body []byte) (map[string]interface{}, error) {
 
 // ClusterLevelLoggingWithElasticsearch is an end to end test for cluster level logging.
 func ClusterLevelLoggingWithElasticsearch(f *Framework) {
-	// TODO: For now assume we are only testing cluster logging with Elasticsearch
-	// on GCE. Once we are sure that Elasticsearch cluster level logging
-	// works for other providers we should widen this scope of this test.
-	if !providerIs("gce") {
-		Logf("Skipping cluster level logging test for provider %s", testContext.Provider)
-		return
-	}
-
 	// graceTime is how long to keep retrying requests for status information.
 	const graceTime = 2 * time.Minute
 	// ingestionTimeout is how long to keep retrying to wait for all the
diff --git a/test/e2e/etcd_failure.go b/test/e2e/etcd_failure.go
index 538f3e2ba1b..9fb4d1d0eb8 100644
--- a/test/e2e/etcd_failure.go
+++ b/test/e2e/etcd_failure.go
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ limitations under the License.
 package e2e
 
 import (
-	"fmt"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/kubernetes/pkg/api"
@@ -31,9 +30,15 @@ import (
 
 var _ = Describe("Etcd failure", func() {
 
+	var skipped bool
 	framework := Framework{BaseName: "etcd-failure"}
 
 	BeforeEach(func() {
+		// These tests requires SSH, so the provider check should be identical to those tests.
+		skipped = true
+		SkipUnlessProviderIs("gce")
+		skipped = false
+
 		framework.beforeEach()
 
 		Expect(RunRC(RCConfig{
@@ -45,7 +50,13 @@ var _ = Describe("Etcd failure", func() {
 		})).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
 	})
 
-	AfterEach(framework.afterEach)
+	AfterEach(func() {
+		if skipped {
+			return
+		}
+
+		framework.afterEach()
+	})
 
 	It("should recover from network partition with master", func() {
 		etcdFailTest(
@@ -65,13 +76,6 @@ var _ = Describe("Etcd failure", func() {
 })
 
 func etcdFailTest(framework Framework, failCommand, fixCommand string) {
-	// This test requires SSH, so the provider check should be identical to
-	// those tests.
-	if !providerIs("gce") {
-		By(fmt.Sprintf("Skippingt test, which is not implemented for %s", testContext.Provider))
-		return
-	}
-
 	doEtcdFailure(failCommand, fixCommand)
 
 	checkExistingRCRecovers(framework)
diff --git a/test/e2e/kubectl.go b/test/e2e/kubectl.go
index 538eeac4b9f..d9a869f1514 100644
--- a/test/e2e/kubectl.go
+++ b/test/e2e/kubectl.go
@@ -109,16 +109,15 @@ var _ = Describe("Kubectl client", func() {
 
 	Describe("Guestbook application", func() {
 		var guestbookPath string
+
 		BeforeEach(func() {
 			guestbookPath = filepath.Join(testContext.RepoRoot, "examples/guestbook")
+
+			// requires ExternalLoadBalancer support
+			SkipUnlessProviderIs("gce", "gke", "aws")
 		})
 
 		It("should create and stop a working application", func() {
-			if !providerIs("gce", "gke", "aws") {
-				By(fmt.Sprintf("Skipping guestbook, uses createExternalLoadBalancer, a (gce|gke|aws) feature"))
-				return
-			}
-
 			defer cleanup(guestbookPath, ns, frontendSelector, redisMasterSelector, redisSlaveSelector)
 
 			By("creating all guestbook components")
diff --git a/test/e2e/monitoring.go b/test/e2e/monitoring.go
index d1807c777bc..d24acec522a 100644
--- a/test/e2e/monitoring.go
+++ b/test/e2e/monitoring.go
@@ -39,14 +39,11 @@ var _ = Describe("Monitoring", func() {
 		var err error
 		c, err = loadClient()
 		expectNoError(err)
+
+		SkipUnlessProviderIs("gce")
 	})
 
 	It("should verify monitoring pods and all cluster nodes are available on influxdb using heapster.", func() {
-		if !providerIs("gce") {
-			By(fmt.Sprintf("Skipping Monitoring test, which is only supported for provider gce (not %s)",
-				testContext.Provider))
-			return
-		}
 		testMonitoringUsingHeapsterInfluxdb(c)
 	})
 })
diff --git a/test/e2e/networking.go b/test/e2e/networking.go
index 32403b5d48e..4c76c2276c9 100644
--- a/test/e2e/networking.go
+++ b/test/e2e/networking.go
@@ -103,10 +103,8 @@ var _ = Describe("Networking", func() {
 
 	//Now we can proceed with the test.
 	It("should function for intra-pod communication", func() {
-		if testContext.Provider == "vagrant" {
-			By("Skipping test which is broken for vagrant (See https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/kubernetes/issues/3580)")
-			return
-		}
+		// TODO: support DNS on vagrant #3580
+		SkipIfProviderIs("vagrant")
 
 		By(fmt.Sprintf("Creating a service named %q in namespace %q", svcname, f.Namespace.Name))
 		svc, err := f.Client.Services(f.Namespace.Name).Create(&api.Service{
diff --git a/test/e2e/pd.go b/test/e2e/pd.go
index eff62754fb9..491047c5b95 100644
--- a/test/e2e/pd.go
+++ b/test/e2e/pd.go
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@ var _ = Describe("Pod Disks", func() {
 		podClient client.PodInterface
 		host0Name string
 		host1Name string
-		numHosts  int
 	)
 
 	BeforeEach(func() {
@@ -47,29 +46,21 @@ var _ = Describe("Pod Disks", func() {
 		c, err = loadClient()
 		expectNoError(err)
 
+		SkipUnlessNodeCountIsAtLeast(2)
+
 		podClient = c.Pods(api.NamespaceDefault)
 
 		nodes, err := c.Nodes().List(labels.Everything(), fields.Everything())
 		expectNoError(err, "Failed to list nodes for e2e cluster.")
 
-		numHosts = len(nodes.Items)
+		Expect(len(nodes.Items)).To(BeNumerically(">=", 2), "Requires at least 2 nodes")
 
-		if len(nodes.Items) >= 2 {
-			host1Name = nodes.Items[1].ObjectMeta.Name
-		}
-		if len(nodes.Items) >= 1 {
-			host0Name = nodes.Items[0].ObjectMeta.Name
-		}
+		host0Name = nodes.Items[0].ObjectMeta.Name
+		host1Name = nodes.Items[1].ObjectMeta.Name
 	})
 
 	It("should schedule a pod w/ a RW PD, remove it, then schedule it on another host", func() {
-		if !providerIs("gce", "aws") {
-			By(fmt.Sprintf("Skipping PD test, which is only supported for providers gce & aws (not %s)",
-				testContext.Provider))
-			return
-		}
-
-		Expect(numHosts >= 2).To(BeTrue(), "At least 2 nodes required")
+		SkipUnlessProviderIs("gce", "aws")
 
 		By("creating PD")
 		diskName, err := createPD()
@@ -122,13 +113,7 @@ var _ = Describe("Pod Disks", func() {
 	})
 
 	It("should schedule a pod w/ a readonly PD on two hosts, then remove both.", func() {
-		if testContext.Provider != "gce" {
-			By(fmt.Sprintf("Skipping PD test, which is only supported for provider gce (not %s)",
-				testContext.Provider))
-			return
-		}
-
-		Expect(numHosts >= 2).To(BeTrue(), "At least 2 nodes required")
+		SkipUnlessProviderIs("gce")
 
 		By("creating PD")
 		diskName, err := createPD()
diff --git a/test/e2e/rc.go b/test/e2e/rc.go
index 1a7fba5825d..51485b2981a 100644
--- a/test/e2e/rc.go
+++ b/test/e2e/rc.go
@@ -47,11 +47,9 @@ var _ = Describe("ReplicationController", func() {
 	})
 
 	It("should serve a basic image on each replica with a private image", func() {
-		if !providerIs("gce", "gke") {
-			By(fmt.Sprintf("Skipping private variant, which is only supported for providers gce and gke (not %s)",
-				testContext.Provider))
-			return
-		}
+		// requires private images
+		SkipUnlessProviderIs("gce", "gke")
+
 		ServeImageOrFail(c, "private", "gcr.io/_b_k8s_authenticated_test/serve_hostname:1.1")
 	})
 })
diff --git a/test/e2e/reboot.go b/test/e2e/reboot.go
index 02dc494247f..bc09c65a58f 100644
--- a/test/e2e/reboot.go
+++ b/test/e2e/reboot.go
@@ -50,6 +50,12 @@ var _ = Describe("Reboot", func() {
 		var err error
 		c, err = loadClient()
 		Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+
+		// These tests requires SSH, so the provider check should be identical to there
+		// (the limiting factor is the implementation of util.go's getSigner(...)).
+
+		// Cluster must support node reboot
+		SkipUnlessProviderIs("gce", "aws")
 	})
 
 	It("each node by ordering clean reboot and ensure they function upon restart", func() {
@@ -90,15 +96,6 @@ var _ = Describe("Reboot", func() {
 })
 
 func testReboot(c *client.Client, rebootCmd string) {
-	// This test requires SSH, so the provider check should be identical to
-	// there (the limiting factor is the implementation of util.go's
-	// getSigner(...)).
-	provider := testContext.Provider
-	if !providerIs("aws", "gce") {
-		By(fmt.Sprintf("Skipping reboot test, which is not implemented for %s", provider))
-		return
-	}
-
 	// Get all nodes, and kick off the test on each.
 	nodelist, err := listNodes(c, labels.Everything(), fields.Everything())
 	if err != nil {
@@ -106,7 +103,7 @@ func testReboot(c *client.Client, rebootCmd string) {
 	}
 	result := make(chan bool, len(nodelist.Items))
 	for _, n := range nodelist.Items {
-		go rebootNode(c, provider, n.ObjectMeta.Name, rebootCmd, result)
+		go rebootNode(c, testContext.Provider, n.ObjectMeta.Name, rebootCmd, result)
 	}
 
 	// Wait for all to finish and check the final result.
diff --git a/test/e2e/resize_nodes.go b/test/e2e/resize_nodes.go
index 360b10b8b38..39595925582 100644
--- a/test/e2e/resize_nodes.go
+++ b/test/e2e/resize_nodes.go
@@ -386,8 +386,6 @@ func performTemporaryNetworkFailure(c *client.Client, ns, rcName string, replica
 }
 
 var _ = Describe("Nodes", func() {
-	supportedProviders := []string{"aws", "gce", "gke"}
-	var testName string
 	var c *client.Client
 	var ns string
 
@@ -408,17 +406,20 @@ var _ = Describe("Nodes", func() {
 	})
 
 	Describe("Resize", func() {
+		var skipped bool
+
 		BeforeEach(func() {
-			if !providerIs(supportedProviders...) {
-				Failf("Nodes.Resize test is only supported for providers %v (not %s). You can avoid this failure by using ginkgo.skip=Nodes.Resize in your environment.",
-					supportedProviders, testContext.Provider)
-			}
+			skipped = true
+			SkipUnlessProviderIs("gce", "gke", "aws")
+			SkipUnlessNodeCountIsAtLeast(2)
+			skipped = false
 		})
 
 		AfterEach(func() {
-			if !providerIs(supportedProviders...) {
+			if skipped {
 				return
 			}
+
 			By("restoring the original node instance group size")
 			if err := resizeGroup(testContext.CloudConfig.NumNodes); err != nil {
 				Failf("Couldn't restore the original node instance group size: %v", err)
@@ -431,15 +432,7 @@ var _ = Describe("Nodes", func() {
 			}
 		})
 
-		testName = "should be able to delete nodes."
-		It(testName, func() {
-			Logf("starting test %s", testName)
-
-			if testContext.CloudConfig.NumNodes < 2 {
-				Failf("Failing test %s as it requires at least 2 nodes (not %d)", testName, testContext.CloudConfig.NumNodes)
-				return
-			}
-
+		It("should be able to delete nodes", func() {
 			// Create a replication controller for a service that serves its hostname.
 			// The source for the Docker containter kubernetes/serve_hostname is in contrib/for-demos/serve_hostname
 			name := "my-hostname-delete-node"
@@ -461,16 +454,8 @@ var _ = Describe("Nodes", func() {
 			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
 		})
 
-		testName = "should be able to add nodes."
-		It(testName, func() {
-			// TODO: Bug here - testName is not correct
-			Logf("starting test %s", testName)
-
-			if testContext.CloudConfig.NumNodes < 2 {
-				Failf("Failing test %s as it requires at least 2 nodes (not %d)", testName, testContext.CloudConfig.NumNodes)
-				return
-			}
-
+		// TODO: Bug here - testName is not correct
+		It("should be able to add nodes", func() {
 			// Create a replication controller for a service that serves its hostname.
 			// The source for the Docker containter kubernetes/serve_hostname is in contrib/for-demos/serve_hostname
 			name := "my-hostname-add-node"
@@ -497,68 +482,62 @@ var _ = Describe("Nodes", func() {
 	})
 
 	Describe("Network", func() {
-		BeforeEach(func() {
-			if !providerIs(supportedProviders...) {
-				Failf("Nodes.Network test is only supported for providers %v (not %s). You can avoid this failure by using ginkgo.skip=Nodes.Network in your environment.",
-					supportedProviders, testContext.Provider)
-			}
-		})
+		Context("when a minion node becomes unreachable", func() {
+			BeforeEach(func() {
+				SkipUnlessProviderIs("gce", "gke", "aws")
+				SkipUnlessNodeCountIsAtLeast(2)
+			})
 
-		// TODO marekbiskup 2015-06-19 #10085
-		// This test has nothing to do with resizing nodes so it should be moved elsewhere.
-		// Two things are tested here:
-		// 1. pods from a uncontactable nodes are rescheduled
-		// 2. when a node joins the cluster, it can host new pods.
-		// Factor out the cases into two separate tests.
+			// TODO marekbiskup 2015-06-19 #10085
+			// This test has nothing to do with resizing nodes so it should be moved elsewhere.
+			// Two things are tested here:
+			// 1. pods from a uncontactable nodes are rescheduled
+			// 2. when a node joins the cluster, it can host new pods.
+			// Factor out the cases into two separate tests.
+			It("[replication controller] recreates pods scheduled on the unreachable minion node "+
+				"AND allows scheduling of pods on a minion after it rejoins the cluster", func() {
 
-		testName = "Uncontactable nodes, have their pods recreated by a replication controller, and can host new pods after rejoining."
-		It(testName, func() {
-			if testContext.CloudConfig.NumNodes < 2 {
-				By(fmt.Sprintf("skipping %s test, which requires at least 2 nodes (not %d)",
-					testName, testContext.CloudConfig.NumNodes))
-				return
-			}
+				// Create a replication controller for a service that serves its hostname.
+				// The source for the Docker containter kubernetes/serve_hostname is in contrib/for-demos/serve_hostname
+				name := "my-hostname-net"
+				newSVCByName(c, ns, name)
+				replicas := testContext.CloudConfig.NumNodes
+				newRCByName(c, ns, name, replicas)
+				err := verifyPods(c, ns, name, true, replicas)
+				Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred(), "Each pod should start running and responding")
 
-			// Create a replication controller for a service that serves its hostname.
-			// The source for the Docker containter kubernetes/serve_hostname is in contrib/for-demos/serve_hostname
-			name := "my-hostname-net"
-			newSVCByName(c, ns, name)
-			replicas := testContext.CloudConfig.NumNodes
-			newRCByName(c, ns, name, replicas)
-			err := verifyPods(c, ns, name, true, replicas)
-			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred(), "Each pod should start running and responding")
-
-			By("choose a node with at least one pod - we will block some network traffic on this node")
-			label := labels.SelectorFromSet(labels.Set(map[string]string{"name": name}))
-			pods, err := c.Pods(ns).List(label, fields.Everything()) // list pods after all have been scheduled
-			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-			nodeName := pods.Items[0].Spec.NodeName
-
-			node, err := c.Nodes().Get(nodeName)
-			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-
-			By(fmt.Sprintf("block network traffic from node %s", node.Name))
-			performTemporaryNetworkFailure(c, ns, name, replicas, pods.Items[0].Name, node)
-			Logf("Waiting for node %s to be ready", node.Name)
-			waitForNodeToBe(c, node.Name, true, 2*time.Minute)
-
-			By("verify wheter new pods can be created on the re-attached node")
-			// increasing the RC size is not a valid way to test this
-			// since we have no guarantees the pod will be scheduled on our node.
-			additionalPod := "additionalpod"
-			err = newPodOnNode(c, ns, additionalPod, node.Name)
-			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-			err = verifyPods(c, ns, additionalPod, true, 1)
-			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-
-			// verify that it is really on the requested node
-			{
-				pod, err := c.Pods(ns).Get(additionalPod)
+				By("choose a node with at least one pod - we will block some network traffic on this node")
+				label := labels.SelectorFromSet(labels.Set(map[string]string{"name": name}))
+				pods, err := c.Pods(ns).List(label, fields.Everything()) // list pods after all have been scheduled
 				Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-				if pod.Spec.NodeName != node.Name {
-					Logf("Pod %s found on invalid node: %s instead of %s", pod.Spec.NodeName, node.Name)
+				nodeName := pods.Items[0].Spec.NodeName
+
+				node, err := c.Nodes().Get(nodeName)
+				Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+
+				By(fmt.Sprintf("block network traffic from node %s", node.Name))
+				performTemporaryNetworkFailure(c, ns, name, replicas, pods.Items[0].Name, node)
+				Logf("Waiting for node %s to be ready", node.Name)
+				waitForNodeToBe(c, node.Name, true, 2*time.Minute)
+
+				By("verify wheter new pods can be created on the re-attached node")
+				// increasing the RC size is not a valid way to test this
+				// since we have no guarantees the pod will be scheduled on our node.
+				additionalPod := "additionalpod"
+				err = newPodOnNode(c, ns, additionalPod, node.Name)
+				Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+				err = verifyPods(c, ns, additionalPod, true, 1)
+				Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+
+				// verify that it is really on the requested node
+				{
+					pod, err := c.Pods(ns).Get(additionalPod)
+					Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+					if pod.Spec.NodeName != node.Name {
+						Logf("Pod %s found on invalid node: %s instead of %s", pod.Spec.NodeName, node.Name)
+					}
 				}
-			}
+			})
 		})
 	})
 })
diff --git a/test/e2e/restart.go b/test/e2e/restart.go
index 2a770fe3e59..f567893b6ef 100644
--- a/test/e2e/restart.go
+++ b/test/e2e/restart.go
@@ -53,27 +53,32 @@ const (
 var _ = Describe("Restart", func() {
 	var c *client.Client
 	var ps *podStore
+	var skipped bool
 
 	BeforeEach(func() {
 		var err error
 		c, err = loadClient()
 		Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+
+		// This test requires the ability to restart all nodes, so the provider
+		// check must be identical to that call.
+		skipped = true
+		SkipUnlessProviderIs("gce")
+		skipped = false
+
 		ps = newPodStore(c, api.NamespaceDefault, labels.Everything(), fields.Everything())
 	})
 
 	AfterEach(func() {
+		if skipped {
+			return
+		}
+
 		ps.Stop()
 	})
 
 	It("should restart all nodes and ensure all nodes and pods recover", func() {
-		// This test requires the ability to restart all nodes, so the provider
-		// check must be identical to that call.
-		provider := testContext.Provider
 		nn := testContext.CloudConfig.NumNodes
-		if !providerIs("gce") {
-			By(fmt.Sprintf("Skipping reboot test, which is not implemented for %s", provider))
-			return
-		}
 
 		By("ensuring all nodes are ready")
 		nodeNamesBefore, err := checkNodesReady(c, nodeReadyInitialTimeout, nn)
@@ -92,7 +97,7 @@ var _ = Describe("Restart", func() {
 		}
 
 		By("restarting all of the nodes")
-		err = restartNodes(provider, restartPerNodeTimeout)
+		err = restartNodes(testContext.Provider, restartPerNodeTimeout)
 		Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
 
 		By("ensuring all nodes are ready after the restart")
diff --git a/test/e2e/service.go b/test/e2e/service.go
index 270cee9139c..b4d292e0f11 100644
--- a/test/e2e/service.go
+++ b/test/e2e/service.go
@@ -230,10 +230,8 @@ var _ = Describe("Services", func() {
 	})
 
 	It("should be able to create a functioning external load balancer", func() {
-		if !providerIs("gce", "gke", "aws") {
-			By(fmt.Sprintf("Skipping service external load balancer test; uses ServiceTypeLoadBalancer, a (gce|gke|aws) feature"))
-			return
-		}
+		// requires ExternalLoadBalancer
+		SkipUnlessProviderIs("gce", "gke", "aws")
 
 		serviceName := "external-lb-test"
 		ns := namespaces[0]
@@ -741,10 +739,8 @@ var _ = Describe("Services", func() {
 	})
 
 	It("should correctly serve identically named services in different namespaces on different external IP addresses", func() {
-		if !providerIs("gce", "gke", "aws") {
-			By(fmt.Sprintf("Skipping service namespace collision test; uses ServiceTypeLoadBalancer, a (gce|gke|aws) feature"))
-			return
-		}
+		// requires ExternalLoadBalancer
+		SkipUnlessProviderIs("gce", "gke", "aws")
 
 		serviceNames := []string{"s0"} // Could add more here, but then it takes longer.
 		labels := map[string]string{
diff --git a/test/e2e/shell.go b/test/e2e/shell.go
index 5598088d789..771acd725fb 100644
--- a/test/e2e/shell.go
+++ b/test/e2e/shell.go
@@ -26,15 +26,9 @@ import (
 )
 
 var _ = Describe("Shell", func() {
-	defer GinkgoRecover()
+	It("should pass tests for services.sh", func() {
+		SkipUnlessProviderIs("gce", "gke")
 
-	It(fmt.Sprintf("should pass tests for services.sh"), func() {
-		// The services script only works on gce/gke
-		if !providerIs("gce", "gke") {
-			By(fmt.Sprintf("Skipping Shell test services.sh, which is only supported for provider gce and gke (not %s)",
-				testContext.Provider))
-			return
-		}
 		runCmdTest(filepath.Join(testContext.RepoRoot, "hack/e2e-suite/services.sh"))
 	})
 })
@@ -48,7 +42,5 @@ func runCmdTest(path string) {
 
 	if err := cmd.Run(); err != nil {
 		Fail(fmt.Sprintf("Error running %v:\nCommand output:\n%v\n", cmd, cmd.Stdout))
-		return
 	}
-	return
 }
diff --git a/test/e2e/ssh.go b/test/e2e/ssh.go
index effd6c82e66..b28a8df734c 100644
--- a/test/e2e/ssh.go
+++ b/test/e2e/ssh.go
@@ -33,17 +33,12 @@ var _ = Describe("SSH", func() {
 		var err error
 		c, err = loadClient()
 		Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+
+		// When adding more providers here, also implement their functionality in util.go's getSigner(...).
+		SkipUnlessProviderIs("gce", "gke")
 	})
 
 	It("should SSH to all nodes and run commands", func() {
-		// When adding more providers here, also implement their functionality
-		// in util.go's getSigner(...).
-		provider := testContext.Provider
-		if !providerIs("gce", "gke") {
-			By(fmt.Sprintf("Skipping SSH test, which is not implemented for %s", provider))
-			return
-		}
-
 		// Get all nodes' external IPs.
 		By("Getting all nodes' SSH-able IP addresses")
 		hosts, err := NodeSSHHosts(c)
@@ -70,7 +65,7 @@ var _ = Describe("SSH", func() {
 		for _, testCase := range testCases {
 			By(fmt.Sprintf("SSH'ing to all nodes and running %s", testCase.cmd))
 			for _, host := range hosts {
-				stdout, stderr, code, err := SSH(testCase.cmd, host, provider)
+				stdout, stderr, code, err := SSH(testCase.cmd, host, testContext.Provider)
 				stdout, stderr = strings.TrimSpace(stdout), strings.TrimSpace(stderr)
 				if err != testCase.expectedError {
 					Failf("Ran %s on %s, got error %v, expected %v", testCase.cmd, host, err, testCase.expectedError)
@@ -96,7 +91,7 @@ var _ = Describe("SSH", func() {
 
 		// Quickly test that SSH itself errors correctly.
 		By("SSH'ing to a nonexistent host")
-		if _, _, _, err = SSH(`echo "hello"`, "i.do.not.exist", provider); err == nil {
+		if _, _, _, err = SSH(`echo "hello"`, "i.do.not.exist", testContext.Provider); err == nil {
 			Failf("Expected error trying to SSH to nonexistent host.")
 		}
 	})
diff --git a/test/e2e/util.go b/test/e2e/util.go
index bb36c209c78..fc3be550b4f 100644
--- a/test/e2e/util.go
+++ b/test/e2e/util.go
@@ -182,6 +182,28 @@ func Failf(format string, a ...interface{}) {
 	Fail(fmt.Sprintf(format, a...), 1)
 }
 
+func Skipf(format string, args ...interface{}) {
+	Skip(fmt.Sprintf(format, args...))
+}
+
+func SkipUnlessNodeCountIsAtLeast(minNodeCount int) {
+	if testContext.CloudConfig.NumNodes < minNodeCount {
+		Skipf("Requires at least %d nodes (not %d)", minNodeCount, testContext.CloudConfig.NumNodes)
+	}
+}
+
+func SkipIfProviderIs(unsupportedProviders ...string) {
+	if providerIs(unsupportedProviders...) {
+		Skipf("Not supported for providers %v (found %s)", unsupportedProviders, testContext.Provider)
+	}
+}
+
+func SkipUnlessProviderIs(supportedProviders ...string) {
+	if !providerIs(supportedProviders...) {
+		Skipf("Only supported for providers %v (not %s)", supportedProviders, testContext.Provider)
+	}
+}
+
 func providerIs(providers ...string) bool {
 	for _, provider := range providers {
 		if strings.ToLower(provider) == strings.ToLower(testContext.Provider) {