diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 0d79960b38..f684861110 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -16,16 +16,22 @@ matrix:
   include:
     - env: TASK=ci-unit NODE_INDEX=0 NODE_TOTAL=2
       python: 2.7
+      name: "Unit Tests (Python 2.7) - 1"
     - env: TASK=ci-unit NODE_INDEX=1 NODE_TOTAL=2
       python: 2.7
+      name: "Unit Tests (Python 2.7) - 2"
     - env: TASK=ci-integration
       python: 2.7
+      name: "Integration Tests (Python 2.7)"
     - env: TASK="ci-checks ci-packs-tests"
       python: 2.7
+      name: "Lint Checks, Packs Tests (Python 2.7)"
     - env: TASK="compilepy3 ci-py3-unit" CACHE_NAME=py3
       python: 3.6
+      name: "Unit Tests (Python 3.6)"
     - env: TASK="ci-py3-integration" CACHE_NAME=py3
       python: 3.6
+      name: "Integration Tests (Python 3.6)"
 addons:
   apt:
     sources:
@@ -82,11 +88,5 @@ before_cache:
   - if [ ${TRAVIS_PULL_REQUEST} = 'false' ]; then rm -rf virtualenv/; fi
 
 after_success:
-  - if [ ${TASK} = 'ci-unit' ] || [ ${TASK} = 'ci-integration' ]; then codecov; fi
-
-# https://docs.travis-ci.com/user/notifications/#Webhooks-Delivery-Format
-#notifications:
-#  webhooks:
-#    #- https://ci-webhooks.stackstorm.net/webhooks/build/events
-#    # See: webhook.site/#/06fde88c-1610-4c85-ba4e-d9bcacfefe4c
-#    - http://webhook.site/06fde88c-1610-4c85-ba4e-d9bcacfefe4c
+  # NOTE: We only generate and submit coverage report for master and version branches
+  - if [ ${TASK} = 'ci-unit' ] || [ ${TASK} = 'ci-integration' ] && [ ${TRAVIS_PULL_REQUEST} = 'false' ]; then codecov; fi
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index cc5308fe1f..f286cf40b5 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -49,8 +49,6 @@ PIP_OPTIONS := $(ST2_PIP_OPTIONS)
 
 NOSE_OPTS := --rednose --immediate --with-parallel
 NOSE_TIME := $(NOSE_TIME)
-NOSE_COVERAGE_FLAGS := --with-coverage --cover-branches --cover-erase
-NOSE_COVERAGE_PACKAGES := --cover-package=$(COMPONENTS_TEST_COMMA)
 
 ifdef NOSE_TIME
 	NOSE_OPTS := --rednose --immediate --with-parallel --with-timer
@@ -60,7 +58,22 @@ ifndef PIP_OPTIONS
 	PIP_OPTIONS :=
 endif
 
-ifneq ($(INCLUDE_TESTS_IN_COVERAGE),)
+# NOTE: We only run coverage on master and version branches and not on pull requests since
+# it has a big performance overhead and is very slow.
+ifeq ($(TRAVIS_PULL_REQUEST),false)
+	ENABLE_COVERAGE := yes
+endif
+
+ifdef ENABLE_COVERAGE
+	NOSE_COVERAGE_FLAGS := --with-coverage --cover-branches --cover-erase
+	NOSE_COVERAGE_PACKAGES := --cover-package=$(COMPONENTS_TEST_COMMA)
+else
+	INCLUDE_TESTS_IN_COVERAGE :=
+endif
+
+# If we aren't running test coverage, don't try to include tests in coverage
+# results
+ifdef INCLUDE_TESTS_IN_COVERAGE
 	NOSE_COVERAGE_FLAGS += --cover-tests
 	NOSE_COVERAGE_PACKAGES := $(NOSE_COVERAGE_PACKAGES),$(COMPONENTS_TEST_MODULES_COMMA)
 endif
@@ -99,10 +112,16 @@ play:
 	@echo
 	@echo COMPONENT_PYTHONPATH=$(COMPONENT_PYTHONPATH)
 	@echo
+	@echo TRAVIS_PULL_REQUEST=$(TRAVIS_PULL_REQUEST)
+	@echo
+	@echo ENABLE_COVERAGE=$(ENABLE_COVERAGE)
+	@echo
 	@echo NOSE_COVERAGE_FLAGS=$(NOSE_COVERAGE_FLAGS)
 	@echo
 	@echo NOSE_COVERAGE_PACKAGES=$(NOSE_COVERAGE_PACKAGES)
 	@echo
+	@echo INCLUDE_TESTS_IN_COVERAGE=$(INCLUDE_TESTS_IN_COVERAGE)
+	@echo
 
 .PHONY: check
 check: requirements flake8 checklogs
@@ -182,7 +201,7 @@ generate-api-spec: requirements .generate-api-spec
 	echo "# Edit st2common/st2common/openapi.yaml.j2 and then run" >> st2common/st2common/openapi.yaml
 	echo "# make .generate-api-spec" >> st2common/st2common/openapi.yaml
 	echo "# to generate the final spec file" >> st2common/st2common/openapi.yaml
-	. virtualenv/bin/activate; st2common/bin/st2-generate-api-spec --config-file conf/st2.dev.conf >> st2common/st2common/openapi.yaml
+	. $(VIRTUALENV_DIR)/bin/activate; st2common/bin/st2-generate-api-spec --config-file conf/st2.dev.conf >> st2common/st2common/openapi.yaml
 
 .PHONY: circle-lint-api-spec
 circle-lint-api-spec:
@@ -231,13 +250,13 @@ clean: .cleanpycs
 compile:
 	@echo "======================= compile ========================"
 	@echo "------- Compile all .py files (syntax check test - Python 2) ------"
-	@if python -c 'import compileall,re; compileall.compile_dir(".", rx=re.compile(r"/virtualenv|.tox"), quiet=True)' | grep .; then exit 1; else exit 0; fi
+	@if python -c 'import compileall,re; compileall.compile_dir(".", rx=re.compile(r"/virtualenv|virtualenv-osx|.tox"), quiet=True)' | grep .; then exit 1; else exit 0; fi
 
 .PHONY: compilepy3
 compilepy3:
 	@echo "======================= compile ========================"
 	@echo "------- Compile all .py files (syntax check test - Python 3) ------"
-	@if python3 -c 'import compileall,re; compileall.compile_dir(".", rx=re.compile(r"/virtualenv|.tox|./st2tests/st2tests/fixtures/packs/test"), quiet=True)' | grep .; then exit 1; else exit 0; fi
+	@if python3 -c 'import compileall,re; compileall.compile_dir(".", rx=re.compile(r"/virtualenv|virtualenv-osx|.tox|./st2tests/st2tests/fixtures/packs/test"), quiet=True)' | grep .; then exit 1; else exit 0; fi
 
 .PHONY: .cleanpycs
 .cleanpycs:
@@ -316,14 +335,14 @@ requirements: virtualenv .sdist-requirements
 	$(VIRTUALENV_DIR)/bin/pip install --upgrade "virtualenv==15.1.0" # Required for packs.install in dev envs.
 
 	# Generate all requirements to support current CI pipeline.
-	$(VIRTUALENV_DIR)/bin/python scripts/fixate-requirements.py --skip=virtualenv -s st2*/in-requirements.txt contrib/runners/*/in-requirements.txt -f fixed-requirements.txt -o requirements.txt
+	$(VIRTUALENV_DIR)/bin/python scripts/fixate-requirements.py --skip=virtualenv,virtualenv-osx -s st2*/in-requirements.txt contrib/runners/*/in-requirements.txt -f fixed-requirements.txt -o requirements.txt
 
 	# Generate finall requirements.txt file for each component
 	@for component in $(COMPONENTS_WITH_RUNNERS); do\
 		echo "==========================================================="; \
 		echo "Generating requirements.txt for" $$component; \
 		echo "==========================================================="; \
-		$(VIRTUALENV_DIR)/bin/python scripts/fixate-requirements.py --skip=virtualenv -s $$component/in-requirements.txt -f fixed-requirements.txt -o $$component/requirements.txt; \
+		$(VIRTUALENV_DIR)/bin/python scripts/fixate-requirements.py --skip=virtualenv,virtualenv-osx -s $$component/in-requirements.txt -f fixed-requirements.txt -o $$component/requirements.txt; \
 	done
 
 	# Fix for Travis CI race
@@ -424,7 +443,7 @@ unit-tests: requirements .unit-tests
 	done
 
 .PHONY: .run-unit-tests-coverage
-ifneq ($(INCLUDE_TESTS_IN_COVERAGE),)
+ifdef INCLUDE_TESTS_IN_COVERAGE
 .run-unit-tests-coverage: NOSE_COVERAGE_PACKAGES := $(NOSE_COVERAGE_PACKAGES),tests.unit
 endif
 .run-unit-tests-coverage:
@@ -449,29 +468,36 @@ endif
 
 .PHONY: .combine-unit-tests-coverage
 .combine-unit-tests-coverage: .run-unit-tests-coverage
-	. $(VIRTUALENV_DIR)/bin/activate; COVERAGE_FILE=.coverage.unit \
-	    coverage combine .coverage.unit.*
+	@if [ -n "$(NOSE_COVERAGE_FLAGS)" ]; then \
+	    . $(VIRTUALENV_DIR)/bin/activate; COVERAGE_FILE=.coverage.unit \
+	        coverage combine .coverage.unit.*; \
+	fi
 
 .coverage.unit:
-	@compgen -G '.coverage.unit.*' && \
+	@if compgen -G '.coverage.unit.*'; then \
 		for coverage_result in $$(compgen -G '.coverage.unit.*'); do \
 			echo "Combining data from $${coverage_result}"; \
 			. $(VIRTUALENV_DIR)/bin/activate; COVERAGE_FILE=.coverage.unit \
 			coverage combine $${coverage_result}; \
-		done \
-	|| \
+		done; \
+	else \
 		echo "Running unit tests"; \
-		make .combine-unit-tests-coverage
+		make .combine-unit-tests-coverage; \
+	fi
 
 .PHONY: .report-unit-tests-coverage
 .report-unit-tests-coverage: .coverage.unit
-	. $(VIRTUALENV_DIR)/bin/activate; COVERAGE_FILE=.coverage.unit \
-	    coverage report
+	@if [ -n "$(NOSE_COVERAGE_FLAGS)" ]; then \
+	    . $(VIRTUALENV_DIR)/bin/activate; COVERAGE_FILE=.coverage.unit \
+	        coverage report; \
+	fi
 
 .PHONY: .unit-tests-coverage-html
 .unit-tests-coverage-html: .coverage.unit
-	. $(VIRTUALENV_DIR)/bin/activate; COVERAGE_FILE=.coverage.unit \
-	    coverage html
+	@if [ -n "$(NOSE_COVERAGE_FLAGS)" ]; then \
+	    . $(VIRTUALENV_DIR)/bin/activate; COVERAGE_FILE=.coverage.unit \
+	        coverage html; \
+	fi
 
 .PHONY: itests
 itests: requirements .itests
@@ -496,7 +522,7 @@ itests: requirements .itests
 	done
 
 .PHONY: .run-integration-tests-coverage
-ifneq ($(INCLUDE_TESTS_IN_COVERAGE),)
+ifdef INCLUDE_TESTS_IN_COVERAGE
 .run-integration-tests-coverage: NOSE_COVERAGE_PACKAGES := $(NOSE_COVERAGE_PACKAGES),tests.integration
 endif
 .run-integration-tests-coverage:
@@ -521,29 +547,36 @@ endif
 
 .PHONY: .combine-integration-tests-coverage
 .combine-integration-tests-coverage: .run-integration-tests-coverage
-	. $(VIRTUALENV_DIR)/bin/activate; COVERAGE_FILE=.coverage.integration \
-	    coverage combine .coverage.integration.*
+	@if [ -n "$(NOSE_COVERAGE_FLAGS)" ]; then \
+	    . $(VIRTUALENV_DIR)/bin/activate; COVERAGE_FILE=.coverage.integration \
+	        coverage combine .coverage.integration.*; \
+	fi
 
 .coverage.integration:
-	@compgen -G '.coverage.integration.*' && \
+	@if compgen -G '.coverage.integration.*'; then \
 		for coverage_result in $$(compgen -G '.coverage.integration.*'); do \
 			echo "Combining data from $${coverage_result}"; \
 			. $(VIRTUALENV_DIR)/bin/activate; COVERAGE_FILE=.coverage.integration \
 			coverage combine $${coverage_result}; \
-		done \
-	|| \
+		done; \
+	else \
 		echo "Running integration tests"; \
-		make .combine-integration-tests-coverage
+		make .combine-integration-tests-coverage; \
+	fi
 
 .PHONY: .report-integration-tests-coverage
 .report-integration-tests-coverage: .coverage.integration
-	@. $(VIRTUALENV_DIR)/bin/activate; COVERAGE_FILE=.coverage.integration \
-	    coverage report
+	@if [ -n "$(NOSE_COVERAGE_FLAGS)" ]; then \
+	    . $(VIRTUALENV_DIR)/bin/activate; COVERAGE_FILE=.coverage.integration \
+	        coverage report; \
+	fi
 
 .PHONY: .integration-tests-coverage-html
 .integration-tests-coverage-html: .coverage.integration
-	@. $(VIRTUALENV_DIR)/bin/activate; COVERAGE_FILE=.coverage.integration \
-	    coverage html
+	@if [ -n "$(NOSE_COVERAGE_FLAGS)" ]; then \
+	    . $(VIRTUALENV_DIR)/bin/activate; COVERAGE_FILE=.coverage.integration \
+	        coverage html; \
+	fi
 
 .PHONY: .itests-coverage-html
 .itests-coverage-html: .integration-tests-coverage-html
@@ -560,7 +593,7 @@ mistral-itests: requirements .mistral-itests
 	. $(VIRTUALENV_DIR)/bin/activate; nosetests $(NOSE_OPTS) -s -v st2tests/integration/mistral || exit 1;
 
 .PHONY: .run-mistral-itests-coverage
-ifneq ($(INCLUDE_TESTS_IN_COVERAGE),)
+ifdef INCLUDE_TESTS_IN_COVERAGE
 .run-mistral-itests-coverage: NOSE_COVERAGE_PACKAGES := $(NOSE_COVERAGE_PACKAGES),st2tests.mistral.integration
 endif
 .run-mistral-itests-coverage:
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index d66b17f085..5590389b6a 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ cryptography==2.2.2
 eventlet==0.23.0
 flex==6.13.1
 git+https://github.com/Kami/logshipper.git@stackstorm_patched#egg=logshipper
-git+https://github.com/StackStorm/orchestra.git#egg=orchestra
+git+https://github.com/StackStorm/orchestra.git@master#egg=orchestra
 git+https://github.com/StackStorm/python-mistralclient.git#egg=python-mistralclient
 git+https://github.com/StackStorm/st2-auth-backend-flat-file.git@master#egg=st2-auth-backend-flat-file
 gitpython==2.1.10
diff --git a/st2common/in-requirements.txt b/st2common/in-requirements.txt
index 9863d4295b..e69ce3a558 100644
--- a/st2common/in-requirements.txt
+++ b/st2common/in-requirements.txt
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ jsonschema
 kombu
 mongoengine
 networkx
-git+https://github.com/StackStorm/orchestra.git#egg=orchestra
+git+https://github.com/StackStorm/orchestra.git@master#egg=orchestra
 oslo.config
 paramiko
 pyyaml
diff --git a/st2common/requirements.txt b/st2common/requirements.txt
index 5e1b6d5b58..a483376690 100644
--- a/st2common/requirements.txt
+++ b/st2common/requirements.txt
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ apscheduler==3.5.1
 cryptography==2.2.2
 eventlet==0.23.0
 flex==6.13.1
-git+https://github.com/StackStorm/orchestra.git#egg=orchestra
+git+https://github.com/StackStorm/orchestra.git@master#egg=orchestra
 greenlet==0.4.13
 ipaddr
 jinja2
diff --git a/st2common/tests/unit/test_db.py b/st2common/tests/unit/test_db.py
index 4cf1e372b1..90bf4ab409 100644
--- a/st2common/tests/unit/test_db.py
+++ b/st2common/tests/unit/test_db.py
@@ -170,6 +170,7 @@ def test_db_setup_connecting_info_logging(self, mock_log, mock_mongoengine):
 
 
 class DbCleanupTest(DbTestCase):
+    ensure_indexes = True
 
     def test_cleanup(self):
         """
diff --git a/st2tests/st2tests/base.py b/st2tests/st2tests/base.py
index b65d769136..2aa0c6ccca 100644
--- a/st2tests/st2tests/base.py
+++ b/st2tests/st2tests/base.py
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 
 from __future__ import absolute_import
+from __future__ import print_function
+
 try:
     import simplejson as json
 except ImportError:
@@ -176,6 +178,10 @@ def tearDownClass(cls):
 
 
 class BaseDbTestCase(BaseTestCase):
+    # True to synchronously ensure indexes after db_setup is called - NOTE: This is only needed
+    # with older MongoDB versions. With recent versions this is not needed for the tests anymore
+    # and offers significant test speeds ups.
+    ensure_indexes = False
 
     # Set to True to enable printing of all the log messages to the console
     DISPLAY_LOG_MESSAGES = False
@@ -196,30 +202,45 @@ def _establish_connection_and_re_create_db(cls):
         cls.db_connection = db_setup(
             cfg.CONF.database.db_name, cfg.CONF.database.host, cfg.CONF.database.port,
             username=username, password=password, ensure_indexes=False)
+
         cls._drop_collections()
         cls.db_connection.drop_database(cfg.CONF.database.db_name)
 
-        # Explicity ensure indexes after we re-create the DB otherwise ensure_indexes could failure
-        # inside db_setup if test inserted invalid data
-        db_ensure_indexes()
+        # Explicitly ensure indexes after we re-create the DB otherwise ensure_indexes could failure
+        # inside db_setup if test inserted invalid data.
+        # NOTE: This is only needed in distributed scenarios (production deployments) where
+        # multiple services can start up at the same time and race conditions are possible.
+        if cls.ensure_indexes:
+            msg = ('Ensuring indexes for all the models, this could significantly slow down the '
+                  'tests')
+            print('#' * len(msg), file=sys.stderr)
+            print(msg, file=sys.stderr)
+            print('#' * len(msg), file=sys.stderr)
+            db_ensure_indexes()
 
     @classmethod
     def _drop_db(cls):
         cls._drop_collections()
+
         if cls.db_connection is not None:
             cls.db_connection.drop_database(cfg.CONF.database.db_name)
+
         db_teardown()
         cls.db_connection = None
 
     @classmethod
     def _drop_collections(cls):
-        # XXX: Explicitly drop all the collection. Otherwise, artifacts are left over in
+        # XXX: Explicitly drop all the collections. Otherwise, artifacts are left over in
         # subsequent tests.
         # See: https://github.com/MongoEngine/mongoengine/issues/566
         # See: https://github.com/MongoEngine/mongoengine/issues/565
-        global ALL_MODELS
-        for model in ALL_MODELS:
-            model.drop_collection()
+
+        # NOTE: In older MongoDB versions you needed to drop all the collections prior to dropping
+        # the database - that's not needed anymore with the WiredTiger engine
+
+        # for model in ALL_MODELS:
+        #     model.drop_collection()
+        return
 
 
 class DbTestCase(BaseDbTestCase):