diff --git a/.github/workflows/test-e2e.yml b/.github/workflows/test-e2e.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b2eda8c3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/test-e2e.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+name: E2E Tests
+
+on:
+  push:
+  pull_request:
+
+jobs:
+  test-e2e:
+    name: Run on Ubuntu
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Clone the code
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Setup Go
+        uses: actions/setup-go@v5
+        with:
+          go-version-file: go.mod
+
+      - name: Install the latest version of kind
+        run: |
+          curl -Lo ./kind https://kind.sigs.k8s.io/dl/latest/kind-linux-amd64
+          chmod +x ./kind
+          sudo mv ./kind /usr/local/bin/kind
+
+      - name: Verify kind installation
+        run: kind version
+
+      - name: Create kind cluster
+        run: kind create cluster
+
+      - name: Running Test e2e
+        run: |
+          go mod tidy
+          make test-e2e
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 30d782f4..12a9340c 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 
 # Image URL to use all building/pushing image targets
 IMG ?= controller:latest
-# ENVTEST_K8S_VERSION refers to the version of kubebuilder assets to be downloaded by envtest binary.
-ENVTEST_K8S_VERSION = 1.31.0
 
 # Docker image name for the mkdocs based local development setup
 IMAGE=ironcore-dev/boot-operator-docs
@@ -72,16 +70,28 @@ check-license: addlicense ## Check that every file has a license header present.
 	find . -name '*.go' -exec $(ADDLICENSE) -check -c 'IronCore authors' {} +
 
 .PHONY: test
-test: manifests generate fmt vet envtest ## Run tests.
+test: manifests generate fmt vet setup-envtest ## Run tests.
 	KUBEBUILDER_ASSETS="$(shell $(ENVTEST) use $(ENVTEST_K8S_VERSION) --bin-dir $(LOCALBIN) -p path)" go test $$(go list ./... | grep -v /e2e) -coverprofile cover.out
 
-# Utilize Kind or modify the e2e tests to load the image locally, enabling compatibility with other vendors.
-.PHONY: test-e2e  # Run the e2e tests against a Kind k8s instance that is spun up.
-test-e2e:
+# TODO(user): To use a different vendor for e2e tests, modify the setup under 'tests/e2e'.
+# The default setup assumes Kind is pre-installed and builds/loads the Manager Docker image locally.
+# Prometheus and CertManager are installed by default; skip with:
+# - PROMETHEUS_INSTALL_SKIP=true
+# - CERT_MANAGER_INSTALL_SKIP=true
+.PHONY: test-e2e
+test-e2e: manifests generate fmt vet ## Run the e2e tests. Expected an isolated environment using Kind.
+	@command -v kind >/dev/null 2>&1 || { \
+		echo "Kind is not installed. Please install Kind manually."; \
+		exit 1; \
+	}
+	@kind get clusters | grep -q 'kind' || { \
+		echo "No Kind cluster is running. Please start a Kind cluster before running the e2e tests."; \
+		exit 1; \
+	}
 	go test ./test/e2e/ -v -ginkgo.v
 
 .PHONY: lint
-lint: golangci-lint ## Run golangci-lint linter & yamllint
+lint: golangci-lint ## Run golangci-lint linter
 	$(GOLANGCI_LINT) run
 
 .PHONY: lint-fix
@@ -120,21 +130,17 @@ PLATFORMS ?= linux/arm64,linux/amd64,linux/s390x,linux/ppc64le
 docker-buildx: ## Build and push docker image for the manager for cross-platform support
 	# copy existing Dockerfile and insert --platform=${BUILDPLATFORM} into Dockerfile.cross, and preserve the original Dockerfile
 	sed -e '1 s/\(^FROM\)/FROM --platform=\$$\{BUILDPLATFORM\}/; t' -e ' 1,// s//FROM --platform=\$$\{BUILDPLATFORM\}/' Dockerfile > Dockerfile.cross
-	- $(CONTAINER_TOOL) buildx create --name project-v3-builder
-	$(CONTAINER_TOOL) buildx use project-v3-builder
+	- $(CONTAINER_TOOL) buildx create --name boot-operator-builder
+	$(CONTAINER_TOOL) buildx use boot-operator-builder
 	- $(CONTAINER_TOOL) buildx build --push --platform=$(PLATFORMS) --tag ${IMG} -f Dockerfile.cross .
-	- $(CONTAINER_TOOL) buildx rm project-v3-builder
+	- $(CONTAINER_TOOL) buildx rm boot-operator-builder
 	rm Dockerfile.cross
 
 .PHONY: build-installer
 build-installer: manifests generate kustomize ## Generate a consolidated YAML with CRDs and deployment.
 	mkdir -p dist
-	@if [ -d "config/crd" ]; then \
-		$(KUSTOMIZE) build config/crd > dist/install.yaml; \
-	fi
-	echo "---" >> dist/install.yaml  # Add a document separator before appending
-	cd config/manager && $(KUSTOMIZE) edit set image controller=${IMG}
-	$(KUSTOMIZE) build config/default >> dist/install.yaml
+	cd config/manager && $(KUSTOMIZE) edit set image controller=${CONTROLLER_IMG}
+	$(KUSTOMIZE) build config/default > dist/install.yaml
 
 ##@ Deployment
 
@@ -155,6 +161,12 @@ deploy: manifests kustomize ## Deploy controller to the K8s cluster specified in
 	cd config/manager && $(KUSTOMIZE) edit set image controller=${IMG}
 	$(KUSTOMIZE) build config/default | $(KUBECTL) apply -f -
 
+## This e2e-deploy target is specifically used for metrics endpoint validation 
+.PHONY: e2e-deploy
+e2e-deploy: manifests kustomize ## Deploy controller to the K8s cluster specified in ~/.kube/config.
+	cd config/manager && $(KUSTOMIZE) edit set image controller=${IMG}
+	$(KUSTOMIZE) build config/e2e-metrics-validation | $(KUBECTL) apply -f -
+
 .PHONY: undeploy
 undeploy: kustomize ## Undeploy controller from the K8s cluster specified in ~/.kube/config. Call with ignore-not-found=true to ignore resource not found errors during deletion.
 	$(KUSTOMIZE) build config/default | $(KUBECTL) delete --ignore-not-found=$(ignore-not-found) -f -
@@ -168,18 +180,21 @@ $(LOCALBIN):
 
 ## Tool Binaries
 KUBECTL ?= kubectl
-KUSTOMIZE ?= $(LOCALBIN)/kustomize-$(KUSTOMIZE_VERSION)
-CONTROLLER_GEN ?= $(LOCALBIN)/controller-gen-$(CONTROLLER_TOOLS_VERSION)
-ENVTEST ?= $(LOCALBIN)/setup-envtest-$(ENVTEST_VERSION)
-GOLANGCI_LINT = $(LOCALBIN)/golangci-lint-$(GOLANGCI_LINT_VERSION)
+KUSTOMIZE ?= $(LOCALBIN)/kustomize
+CONTROLLER_GEN ?= $(LOCALBIN)/controller-gen
+ENVTEST ?= $(LOCALBIN)/setup-envtest
+GOLANGCI_LINT = $(LOCALBIN)/golangci-lint
 ADDLICENSE ?= $(LOCALBIN)/addlicense
-GOIMPORTS ?= $(LOCALBIN)/goimports-$(GOIMPORTS_VERSION)
-GEN_CRD_API_REFERENCE_DOCS ?= $(LOCALBIN)/gen-crd-api-reference-docs-$(GEN_CRD_API_REFERENCE_DOCS_VERSION)
+GOIMPORTS ?= $(LOCALBIN)/goimports
+GEN_CRD_API_REFERENCE_DOCS ?= $(LOCALBIN)/gen-crd-api-reference-docs
 
 ## Tool Versions
-KUSTOMIZE_VERSION ?= v5.3.0
-CONTROLLER_TOOLS_VERSION ?= v0.16.0
-ENVTEST_VERSION ?= latest
+KUSTOMIZE_VERSION ?= v5.5.0
+CONTROLLER_TOOLS_VERSION ?= v0.17.1
+#ENVTEST_VERSION is the version of controller-runtime release branch to fetch the envtest setup script (i.e. release-0.20)
+ENVTEST_VERSION ?= $(shell go list -m -f "{{ .Version }}" sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime | awk -F'[v.]' '{printf "release-%d.%d", $$2, $$3}')
+#ENVTEST_K8S_VERSION is the version of Kubernetes to use for setting up ENVTEST binaries (i.e. 1.31)
+ENVTEST_K8S_VERSION ?= $(shell go list -m -f "{{ .Version }}" k8s.io/api | awk -F'[v.]' '{printf "1.%d.%d",$$3, $$2}')
 GOLANGCI_LINT_VERSION ?= v2.1
 ADDLICENSE_VERSION ?= v1.1.1
 GOIMPORTS_VERSION ?= v0.31.0
@@ -195,6 +210,14 @@ controller-gen: $(CONTROLLER_GEN) ## Download controller-gen locally if necessar
 $(CONTROLLER_GEN): $(LOCALBIN)
 	$(call go-install-tool,$(CONTROLLER_GEN),sigs.k8s.io/controller-tools/cmd/controller-gen,$(CONTROLLER_TOOLS_VERSION))
 
+.PHONY: setup-envtest
+setup-envtest: envtest ## Download the binaries required for ENVTEST in the local bin directory.
+	@echo "Setting up envtest binaries for Kubernetes version $(ENVTEST_K8S_VERSION)..."
+	@$(ENVTEST) use $(ENVTEST_K8S_VERSION) --bin-dir $(LOCALBIN) -p path || { \
+		echo "Error: Failed to set up envtest binaries for version $(ENVTEST_K8S_VERSION)."; \
+		exit 1; \
+	}
+
 .PHONY: envtest
 envtest: $(ENVTEST) ## Download setup-envtest locally if necessary.
 $(ENVTEST): $(LOCALBIN)
@@ -235,15 +258,17 @@ $(GEN_CRD_API_REFERENCE_DOCS): $(LOCALBIN)
 	$(call go-install-tool,$(GEN_CRD_API_REFERENCE_DOCS),github.com/ahmetb/gen-crd-api-reference-docs,$(GEN_CRD_API_REFERENCE_DOCS_VERSION))
 
 # go-install-tool will 'go install' any package with custom target and name of binary, if it doesn't exist
-# $1 - target path with name of binary (ideally with version)
+# $1 - target path with name of binary
 # $2 - package url which can be installed
 # $3 - specific version of package
 define go-install-tool
-@[ -f $(1) ] || { \
+@[ -f "$(1)-$(3)" ] || { \
 set -e; \
 package=$(2)@$(3) ;\
 echo "Downloading $${package}" ;\
+rm -f $(1) || true ;\
 GOBIN=$(LOCALBIN) go install $${package} ;\
-mv "$$(echo "$(1)" | sed "s/-$(3)$$//")" $(1) ;\
-}
+mv $(1) $(1)-$(3) ;\
+} ;\
+ln -sf $(1)-$(3) $(1)
 endef
diff --git a/cmd/main.go b/cmd/main.go
index dc145d4f..79137681 100644
--- a/cmd/main.go
+++ b/cmd/main.go
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import (
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
 
 	"github.com/ironcore-dev/controller-utils/cmdutils/switches"
 	metalv1alpha1 "github.com/ironcore-dev/metal-operator/api/v1alpha1"
@@ -22,10 +23,12 @@ import (
 	utilruntime "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/runtime"
 	clientgoscheme "k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes/scheme"
 	ctrl "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime"
+	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/certwatcher"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
 	controllerconfig "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/config"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/healthz"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/log/zap"
+	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/metrics/filters"
 	metricsserver "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/metrics/server"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/webhook"
 
@@ -64,6 +67,7 @@ func main() {
 	skipControllerNameValidation := true
 
 	var metricsAddr string
+	var metricsCertPath, metricsCertName, metricsCertKey string
 	var enableLeaderElection bool
 	var probeAddr string
 	var secureMetrics bool
@@ -88,8 +92,10 @@ func main() {
 	flag.BoolVar(&enableLeaderElection, "leader-elect", false,
 		"Enable leader election for controller manager. "+
 			"Enabling this will ensure there is only one active controller manager.")
-	flag.BoolVar(&secureMetrics, "metrics-secure", false,
-		"If set the metrics endpoint is served securely")
+	flag.StringVar(&metricsCertPath, "metrics-cert-path", "", "The directory that contains the metrics server certificate.")
+	flag.StringVar(&metricsCertName, "metrics-cert-name", "tls.crt", "The name of the metrics server certificate file.")
+	flag.StringVar(&metricsCertKey, "metrics-cert-key", "tls.key", "The name of the metrics server key file.")
+	flag.BoolVar(&secureMetrics, "metrics-secure", true, "If set the metrics endpoint is served securely")
 	flag.BoolVar(&enableHTTP2, "enable-http2", false,
 		"If set, HTTP/2 will be enabled for the metrics and webhook servers")
 
@@ -143,17 +149,60 @@ func main() {
 		tlsOpts = append(tlsOpts, disableHTTP2)
 	}
 
+	// Create watchers for metrics and webhooks certificates
+	var metricsCertWatcher *certwatcher.CertWatcher
+
 	webhookServer := webhook.NewServer(webhook.Options{
 		TLSOpts: tlsOpts,
 	})
+	// Metrics endpoint is enabled in 'config/default/kustomization.yaml'. The Metrics options configure the server.
+	// More info:
+	// - https://pkg.go.dev/sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime@v0.20.0/pkg/metrics/server
+	// - https://book.kubebuilder.io/reference/metrics.html
+	metricsServerOptions := metricsserver.Options{
+		BindAddress:   metricsAddr,
+		SecureServing: secureMetrics,
+		TLSOpts:       tlsOpts,
+	}
+
+	if secureMetrics {
+		// FilterProvider is used to protect the metrics endpoint with authn/authz.
+		// These configurations ensure that only authorized users and service accounts
+		// can access the metrics endpoint. The RBAC are configured in 'config/rbac/kustomization.yaml'. More info:
+		// https://pkg.go.dev/sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime@v0.20.0/pkg/metrics/filters#WithAuthenticationAndAuthorization
+		metricsServerOptions.FilterProvider = filters.WithAuthenticationAndAuthorization
+	}
+
+	// If the certificate is not specified, controller-runtime will automatically
+	// generate self-signed certificates for the metrics server. While convenient for development and testing,
+	// this setup is not recommended for production.
+	//
+	// TODO(user): If you enable certManager, uncomment the following lines:
+	// - [METRICS-WITH-CERTS] at config/default/kustomization.yaml to generate and use certificates
+	// managed by cert-manager for the metrics server.
+	// - [PROMETHEUS-WITH-CERTS] at config/prometheus/kustomization.yaml for TLS certification.
+	if len(metricsCertPath) > 0 {
+		setupLog.Info("Initializing metrics certificate watcher using provided certificates",
+			"metrics-cert-path", metricsCertPath, "metrics-cert-name", metricsCertName, "metrics-cert-key", metricsCertKey)
+
+		var err error
+		metricsCertWatcher, err = certwatcher.New(
+			filepath.Join(metricsCertPath, metricsCertName),
+			filepath.Join(metricsCertPath, metricsCertKey),
+		)
+		if err != nil {
+			setupLog.Error(err, "to initialize metrics certificate watcher", "error", err)
+			os.Exit(1)
+		}
+
+		metricsServerOptions.TLSOpts = append(metricsServerOptions.TLSOpts, func(config *tls.Config) {
+			config.GetCertificate = metricsCertWatcher.GetCertificate
+		})
+	}
 
 	mgr, err := ctrl.NewManager(ctrl.GetConfigOrDie(), ctrl.Options{
-		Scheme: scheme,
-		Metrics: metricsserver.Options{
-			BindAddress:   metricsAddr,
-			SecureServing: secureMetrics,
-			TLSOpts:       tlsOpts,
-		},
+		Scheme:        scheme,
+		Metrics:       metricsServerOptions,
 		WebhookServer: webhookServer,
 		Controller: controllerconfig.Controller{
 			SkipNameValidation: &skipControllerNameValidation,
diff --git a/config/certmanager/certificate-metrics.yaml b/config/certmanager/certificate-metrics.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..151ebc6c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/certmanager/certificate-metrics.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# The following manifests contain a self-signed issuer CR and a metrics certificate CR.
+# More document can be found at https://docs.cert-manager.io
+apiVersion: cert-manager.io/v1
+kind: Certificate
+metadata:
+  labels:
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: boot-operator
+    app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: kustomize
+  name: metrics-certs  # this name should match the one appeared in kustomizeconfig.yaml
+  namespace: system
+spec:
+  dnsNames:
+  # SERVICE_NAME and SERVICE_NAMESPACE will be substituted by kustomize
+  # replacements in the config/default/kustomization.yaml file.
+  - SERVICE_NAME.SERVICE_NAMESPACE.svc
+  - SERVICE_NAME.SERVICE_NAMESPACE.svc.cluster.local
+  issuerRef:
+    kind: Issuer
+    name: selfsigned-issuer
+  secretName: metrics-server-cert
diff --git a/config/certmanager/issuer.yaml b/config/certmanager/issuer.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e5734f16
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/certmanager/issuer.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+# The following manifests contain a self-signed issuer CR and a certificate CR.
+# More document can be found at https://docs.cert-manager.io
+# WARNING: Targets CertManager v1.0. Check https://cert-manager.io/docs/installation/upgrading/ for breaking changes.
+apiVersion: cert-manager.io/v1
+kind: Issuer
+metadata:
+  labels:
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: boot-operator
+    app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: kustomize
+  name: selfsigned-issuer
+  namespace: system
+spec:
+  selfSigned: {}
diff --git a/config/certmanager/kustomization.yaml b/config/certmanager/kustomization.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..72308b80
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/certmanager/kustomization.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+resources:
+- issuer.yaml
+- certificate-metrics.yaml
+
+configurations:
+- kustomizeconfig.yaml
diff --git a/config/certmanager/kustomizeconfig.yaml b/config/certmanager/kustomizeconfig.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cf6f89e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/certmanager/kustomizeconfig.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+# This configuration is for teaching kustomize how to update name ref substitution
+nameReference:
+- kind: Issuer
+  group: cert-manager.io
+  fieldSpecs:
+  - kind: Certificate
+    group: cert-manager.io
+    path: spec/issuerRef/name
diff --git a/config/crd/bases/boot.ironcore.dev_httpbootconfigs.yaml b/config/crd/bases/boot.ironcore.dev_httpbootconfigs.yaml
index 449c0695..01ed2c7a 100644
--- a/config/crd/bases/boot.ironcore.dev_httpbootconfigs.yaml
+++ b/config/crd/bases/boot.ironcore.dev_httpbootconfigs.yaml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ apiVersion: apiextensions.k8s.io/v1
 kind: CustomResourceDefinition
 metadata:
   annotations:
-    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.16.0
+    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.17.1
   name: httpbootconfigs.boot.ironcore.dev
 spec:
   group: boot.ironcore.dev
diff --git a/config/crd/bases/boot.ironcore.dev_ipxebootconfigs.yaml b/config/crd/bases/boot.ironcore.dev_ipxebootconfigs.yaml
index e836a2e6..e703414e 100644
--- a/config/crd/bases/boot.ironcore.dev_ipxebootconfigs.yaml
+++ b/config/crd/bases/boot.ironcore.dev_ipxebootconfigs.yaml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ apiVersion: apiextensions.k8s.io/v1
 kind: CustomResourceDefinition
 metadata:
   annotations:
-    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.16.0
+    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.17.1
   name: ipxebootconfigs.boot.ironcore.dev
 spec:
   group: boot.ironcore.dev
diff --git a/config/default/cert_metrics_manager_patch.yaml b/config/default/cert_metrics_manager_patch.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d9750155
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/default/cert_metrics_manager_patch.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+# This patch adds the args, volumes, and ports to allow the manager to use the metrics-server certs.
+
+# Add the volumeMount for the metrics-server certs
+- op: add
+  path: /spec/template/spec/containers/0/volumeMounts/-
+  value:
+    mountPath: /tmp/k8s-metrics-server/metrics-certs
+    name: metrics-certs
+    readOnly: true
+
+# Add the --metrics-cert-path argument for the metrics server
+- op: add
+  path: /spec/template/spec/containers/0/args/-
+  value: --metrics-cert-path=/tmp/k8s-metrics-server/metrics-certs
+
+# Add the metrics-server certs volume configuration
+- op: add
+  path: /spec/template/spec/volumes/-
+  value:
+    name: metrics-certs
+    secret:
+      secretName: metrics-server-cert
+      optional: false
+      items:
+        - key: ca.crt
+          path: ca.crt
+        - key: tls.crt
+          path: tls.crt
+        - key: tls.key
+          path: tls.key
diff --git a/config/default/kustomization.yaml b/config/default/kustomization.yaml
index 01d38710..890f63d1 100644
--- a/config/default/kustomization.yaml
+++ b/config/default/kustomization.yaml
@@ -18,23 +18,28 @@ resources:
 - ../crd
 - ../rbac
 - ../manager
-# [WEBHOOK] To enable webhook, uncomment all the sections with [WEBHOOK] prefix including the one in
-# crd/kustomization.yaml
-#- ../webhook
+
 # [CERTMANAGER] To enable cert-manager, uncomment all sections with 'CERTMANAGER'. 'WEBHOOK' components are required.
-#- ../certmanager
+- ../certmanager
 # [PROMETHEUS] To enable prometheus monitor, uncomment all sections with 'PROMETHEUS'.
 #- ../prometheus
+# [METRICS] Expose the controller manager metrics service.
+- metrics_service.yaml
 
 patches:
 # Protect the /metrics endpoint by putting it behind auth.
 # If you want your controller-manager to expose the /metrics
 # endpoint w/o any authn/z, please comment the following line.
-- path: manager_auth_proxy_patch.yaml
+- path: manager_metrics_patch.yaml
+  target:
+    kind: Deployment
 
-# [WEBHOOK] To enable webhook, uncomment all the sections with [WEBHOOK] prefix including the one in
-# crd/kustomization.yaml
-#- path: manager_webhook_patch.yaml
+# Uncomment the patches line if you enable Metrics and CertManager
+# [METRICS-WITH-CERTS] To enable metrics protected with certManager, uncomment the following line.
+# This patch will protect the metrics with certManager self-signed certs.
+- path: cert_metrics_manager_patch.yaml
+  target:
+   kind: Deployment
 
 # [CERTMANAGER] To enable cert-manager, uncomment all sections with 'CERTMANAGER'.
 # Uncomment 'CERTMANAGER' sections in crd/kustomization.yaml to enable the CA injection in the admission webhooks.
diff --git a/config/default/manager_auth_proxy_patch.yaml b/config/default/manager_auth_proxy_patch.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index 70c3437f..00000000
--- a/config/default/manager_auth_proxy_patch.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,39 +0,0 @@
-# This patch inject a sidecar container which is a HTTP proxy for the
-# controller manager, it performs RBAC authorization against the Kubernetes API using SubjectAccessReviews.
-apiVersion: apps/v1
-kind: Deployment
-metadata:
-  name: controller-manager
-  namespace: system
-spec:
-  template:
-    spec:
-      containers:
-      - name: kube-rbac-proxy
-        securityContext:
-          allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
-          capabilities:
-            drop:
-            - "ALL"
-        image: gcr.io/kubebuilder/kube-rbac-proxy:v0.15.0
-        args:
-        - "--secure-listen-address=0.0.0.0:8443"
-        - "--upstream=http://127.0.0.1:8080/"
-        - "--logtostderr=true"
-        - "--v=0"
-        ports:
-        - containerPort: 8443
-          protocol: TCP
-          name: https
-        resources:
-          limits:
-            cpu: 500m
-            memory: 128Mi
-          requests:
-            cpu: 5m
-            memory: 64Mi
-      - name: manager
-        args:
-        - "--health-probe-bind-address=:8081"
-        - "--metrics-bind-address=127.0.0.1:8080"
-        - "--leader-elect"
diff --git a/config/default/manager_config_patch.yaml b/config/default/manager_config_patch.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index f6f58916..00000000
--- a/config/default/manager_config_patch.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,10 +0,0 @@
-apiVersion: apps/v1
-kind: Deployment
-metadata:
-  name: controller-manager
-  namespace: system
-spec:
-  template:
-    spec:
-      containers:
-      - name: manager
diff --git a/config/default/manager_metrics_patch.yaml b/config/default/manager_metrics_patch.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2aaef653
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/default/manager_metrics_patch.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# This patch adds the args to allow exposing the metrics endpoint using HTTPS
+- op: add
+  path: /spec/template/spec/containers/0/args/0
+  value: --metrics-bind-address=:8443
diff --git a/config/rbac/auth_proxy_service.yaml b/config/default/metrics_service.yaml
similarity index 53%
rename from config/rbac/auth_proxy_service.yaml
rename to config/default/metrics_service.yaml
index 8d14ae6f..170549a9 100644
--- a/config/rbac/auth_proxy_service.yaml
+++ b/config/default/metrics_service.yaml
@@ -3,11 +3,7 @@ kind: Service
 metadata:
   labels:
     control-plane: controller-manager
-    app.kubernetes.io/name: service
-    app.kubernetes.io/instance: controller-manager-metrics-service
-    app.kubernetes.io/component: kube-rbac-proxy
-    app.kubernetes.io/created-by: boot-operator
-    app.kubernetes.io/part-of: boot-operator
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: boot-operator
     app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: kustomize
   name: controller-manager-metrics-service
   namespace: system
@@ -16,6 +12,7 @@ spec:
   - name: https
     port: 8443
     protocol: TCP
-    targetPort: https
+    targetPort: 8443
   selector:
     control-plane: controller-manager
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: boot-operator
diff --git a/config/e2e-metrics-validation/kustomization.yaml b/config/e2e-metrics-validation/kustomization.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..70a455f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/e2e-metrics-validation/kustomization.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+resources:
+- ../default
+
+patches:
+#  --registry-url and --probe-os-image are mandatory flags.
+# The following patch will add value for above flags
+- path: manager_args_patch.yaml
+  target:
+    kind: Deployment
diff --git a/config/e2e-metrics-validation/manager_args_patch.yaml b/config/e2e-metrics-validation/manager_args_patch.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7774bb44
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/e2e-metrics-validation/manager_args_patch.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+- op: add
+  path: /spec/template/spec/containers/0/args/0
+  value: --ipxe-service-url=http://localhost:5000
diff --git a/config/manager/manager.yaml b/config/manager/manager.yaml
index 7bf19e97..47c93a46 100644
--- a/config/manager/manager.yaml
+++ b/config/manager/manager.yaml
@@ -3,11 +3,7 @@ kind: Namespace
 metadata:
   labels:
     control-plane: controller-manager
-    app.kubernetes.io/name: namespace
-    app.kubernetes.io/instance: system
-    app.kubernetes.io/component: manager
-    app.kubernetes.io/created-by: boot-operator
-    app.kubernetes.io/part-of: boot-operator
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: boot-operator
     app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: kustomize
   name: system
 ---
@@ -18,16 +14,13 @@ metadata:
   namespace: system
   labels:
     control-plane: controller-manager
-    app.kubernetes.io/name: deployment
-    app.kubernetes.io/instance: controller-manager
-    app.kubernetes.io/component: manager
-    app.kubernetes.io/created-by: boot-operator
-    app.kubernetes.io/part-of: boot-operator
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: boot-operator
     app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: kustomize
 spec:
   selector:
     matchLabels:
       control-plane: controller-manager
+      app.kubernetes.io/name: boot-operator
   replicas: 1
   template:
     metadata:
@@ -35,6 +28,7 @@ spec:
         kubectl.kubernetes.io/default-container: manager
       labels:
         control-plane: controller-manager
+        app.kubernetes.io/name: boot-operator
     spec:
       # TODO(user): Uncomment the following code to configure the nodeAffinity expression
       # according to the platforms which are supported by your solution.
@@ -63,8 +57,8 @@ spec:
         # More info: https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/security/pod-security-standards/#restricted
         # Please uncomment the following code if your project does NOT have to work on old Kubernetes
         # versions < 1.19 or on vendors versions which do NOT support this field by default (i.e. Openshift < 4.11 ).
-        # seccompProfile:
-        #   type: RuntimeDefault
+        seccompProfile:
+          type: RuntimeDefault
       containers:
       - command:
         - /manager
@@ -72,6 +66,7 @@ spec:
         - --leader-elect
         image: controller:latest
         name: manager
+        ports: []
         securityContext:
           allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
           capabilities:
@@ -98,5 +93,7 @@ spec:
           requests:
             cpu: 10m
             memory: 64Mi
+        volumeMounts: []
+      volumes: []
       serviceAccountName: controller-manager
       terminationGracePeriodSeconds: 10
diff --git a/config/prometheus/kustomization.yaml b/config/prometheus/kustomization.yaml
index ed137168..99a20200 100644
--- a/config/prometheus/kustomization.yaml
+++ b/config/prometheus/kustomization.yaml
@@ -1,2 +1,11 @@
 resources:
 - monitor.yaml
+# [PROMETHEUS-WITH-CERTS] The following patch configures the ServiceMonitor in ../prometheus
+# to securely reference certificates created and managed by cert-manager.
+# Additionally, ensure that you uncomment the [METRICS WITH CERTMANAGER] patch under config/default/kustomization.yaml
+# to mount the "metrics-server-cert" secret in the Manager Deployment.
+patches:
+ - path: monitor_tls_patch.yaml
+   target:
+     kind: ServiceMonitor
+
diff --git a/config/prometheus/monitor.yaml b/config/prometheus/monitor.yaml
index 93c97592..a4221213 100644
--- a/config/prometheus/monitor.yaml
+++ b/config/prometheus/monitor.yaml
@@ -4,11 +4,7 @@ kind: ServiceMonitor
 metadata:
   labels:
     control-plane: controller-manager
-    app.kubernetes.io/name: servicemonitor
-    app.kubernetes.io/instance: controller-manager-metrics-monitor
-    app.kubernetes.io/component: metrics
-    app.kubernetes.io/created-by: boot-operator
-    app.kubernetes.io/part-of: boot-operator
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: boot-operator
     app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: kustomize
   name: controller-manager-metrics-monitor
   namespace: system
@@ -19,7 +15,13 @@ spec:
       scheme: https
       bearerTokenFile: /var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount/token
       tlsConfig:
+        # TODO(user): The option insecureSkipVerify: true is not recommended for production since it disables
+        # certificate verification, exposing the system to potential man-in-the-middle attacks.
+        # For production environments, it is recommended to use cert-manager for automatic TLS certificate management.
+        # To apply this configuration, enable cert-manager and use the patch located at config/prometheus/servicemonitor_tls_patch.yaml,
+        # which securely references the certificate from the 'metrics-server-cert' secret.
         insecureSkipVerify: true
   selector:
     matchLabels:
       control-plane: controller-manager
+      app.kubernetes.io/name: boot-operator
diff --git a/config/prometheus/monitor_tls_patch.yaml b/config/prometheus/monitor_tls_patch.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e824dd0f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/prometheus/monitor_tls_patch.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+# Patch for Prometheus ServiceMonitor to enable secure TLS configuration
+# using certificates managed by cert-manager
+apiVersion: monitoring.coreos.com/v1
+kind: ServiceMonitor
+metadata:
+  name: controller-manager-metrics-monitor
+  namespace: system
+spec:
+  endpoints:
+    - tlsConfig:
+        insecureSkipVerify: false
+        ca:
+          secret:
+            name: metrics-server-cert
+            key: ca.crt
+        cert:
+          secret:
+            name: metrics-server-cert
+            key: tls.crt
+        keySecret:
+          name: metrics-server-cert
+          key: tls.key
diff --git a/config/rbac/auth_proxy_client_clusterrole.yaml b/config/rbac/auth_proxy_client_clusterrole.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index 79e723c0..00000000
--- a/config/rbac/auth_proxy_client_clusterrole.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,16 +0,0 @@
-apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
-kind: ClusterRole
-metadata:
-  labels:
-    app.kubernetes.io/name: clusterrole
-    app.kubernetes.io/instance: metrics-reader
-    app.kubernetes.io/component: kube-rbac-proxy
-    app.kubernetes.io/created-by: boot-operator
-    app.kubernetes.io/part-of: boot-operator
-    app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: kustomize
-  name: metrics-reader
-rules:
-- nonResourceURLs:
-  - "/metrics"
-  verbs:
-  - get
diff --git a/config/rbac/auth_proxy_role.yaml b/config/rbac/auth_proxy_role.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index 90a53169..00000000
--- a/config/rbac/auth_proxy_role.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,24 +0,0 @@
-apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
-kind: ClusterRole
-metadata:
-  labels:
-    app.kubernetes.io/name: clusterrole
-    app.kubernetes.io/instance: proxy-role
-    app.kubernetes.io/component: kube-rbac-proxy
-    app.kubernetes.io/created-by: boot-operator
-    app.kubernetes.io/part-of: boot-operator
-    app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: kustomize
-  name: proxy-role
-rules:
-- apiGroups:
-  - authentication.k8s.io
-  resources:
-  - tokenreviews
-  verbs:
-  - create
-- apiGroups:
-  - authorization.k8s.io
-  resources:
-  - subjectaccessreviews
-  verbs:
-  - create
diff --git a/config/rbac/auth_proxy_role_binding.yaml b/config/rbac/auth_proxy_role_binding.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index c23fc7e2..00000000
--- a/config/rbac/auth_proxy_role_binding.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
-apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
-kind: ClusterRoleBinding
-metadata:
-  labels:
-    app.kubernetes.io/name: clusterrolebinding
-    app.kubernetes.io/instance: proxy-rolebinding
-    app.kubernetes.io/component: kube-rbac-proxy
-    app.kubernetes.io/created-by: boot-operator
-    app.kubernetes.io/part-of: boot-operator
-    app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: kustomize
-  name: proxy-rolebinding
-roleRef:
-  apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
-  kind: ClusterRole
-  name: proxy-role
-subjects:
-- kind: ServiceAccount
-  name: controller-manager
-  namespace: system
diff --git a/config/rbac/kustomization.yaml b/config/rbac/kustomization.yaml
index 731832a6..5619aa00 100644
--- a/config/rbac/kustomization.yaml
+++ b/config/rbac/kustomization.yaml
@@ -9,10 +9,12 @@ resources:
 - role_binding.yaml
 - leader_election_role.yaml
 - leader_election_role_binding.yaml
-# Comment the following 4 lines if you want to disable
-# the auth proxy (https://github.com/brancz/kube-rbac-proxy)
-# which protects your /metrics endpoint.
-- auth_proxy_service.yaml
-- auth_proxy_role.yaml
-- auth_proxy_role_binding.yaml
-- auth_proxy_client_clusterrole.yaml
+# The following RBAC configurations are used to protect
+# the metrics endpoint with authn/authz. These configurations
+# ensure that only authorized users and service accounts
+# can access the metrics endpoint. Comment the following
+# permissions if you want to disable this protection.
+# More info: https://book.kubebuilder.io/reference/metrics.html
+- metrics_auth_role.yaml
+- metrics_auth_role_binding.yaml
+- metrics_reader_role.yaml
diff --git a/config/rbac/metrics_auth_role.yaml b/config/rbac/metrics_auth_role.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..32d2e4ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/rbac/metrics_auth_role.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
+kind: ClusterRole
+metadata:
+  name: metrics-auth-role
+rules:
+- apiGroups:
+  - authentication.k8s.io
+  resources:
+  - tokenreviews
+  verbs:
+  - create
+- apiGroups:
+  - authorization.k8s.io
+  resources:
+  - subjectaccessreviews
+  verbs:
+  - create
diff --git a/config/rbac/metrics_auth_role_binding.yaml b/config/rbac/metrics_auth_role_binding.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e775d67f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/rbac/metrics_auth_role_binding.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
+kind: ClusterRoleBinding
+metadata:
+  name: metrics-auth-rolebinding
+roleRef:
+  apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
+  kind: ClusterRole
+  name: metrics-auth-role
+subjects:
+- kind: ServiceAccount
+  name: controller-manager
+  namespace: system
diff --git a/config/rbac/metrics_reader_role.yaml b/config/rbac/metrics_reader_role.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..51a75db4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/rbac/metrics_reader_role.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
+kind: ClusterRole
+metadata:
+  name: metrics-reader
+rules:
+- nonResourceURLs:
+  - "/metrics"
+  verbs:
+  - get
diff --git a/docs/development/dev_docs.md b/docs/development/dev_docs.md
index b482c717..145d5fd9 100644
--- a/docs/development/dev_docs.md
+++ b/docs/development/dev_docs.md
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# metal-operator documentation
+# boot-operator documentation
 
 ## Local dev setup
 
@@ -12,4 +12,4 @@ You can remove the `mkdocs` container image by running:
 
 ```shell
 make cleandocs
-```
\ No newline at end of file
+```
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index a019df0a..2be3f99c 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -21,9 +21,14 @@ require (
 )
 
 require (
+	cel.dev/expr v0.18.0 // indirect
 	github.com/AdaLogics/go-fuzz-headers v0.0.0-20230811130428-ced1acdcaa24 // indirect
+	github.com/antlr4-go/antlr/v4 v4.13.0 // indirect
+	github.com/asaskevich/govalidator v0.0.0-20190424111038-f61b66f89f4a // indirect
 	github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go v1.55.5 // indirect
 	github.com/beorn7/perks v1.0.1 // indirect
+	github.com/blang/semver/v4 v4.0.0 // indirect
+	github.com/cenkalti/backoff/v4 v4.3.0 // indirect
 	github.com/cespare/xxhash/v2 v2.3.0 // indirect
 	github.com/clarketm/json v1.17.1 // indirect
 	github.com/containerd/errdefs v0.3.0 // indirect
@@ -48,10 +53,12 @@ require (
 	github.com/go-task/slim-sprig/v3 v3.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/gogo/protobuf v1.3.2 // indirect
 	github.com/google/btree v1.1.3 // indirect
+	github.com/google/cel-go v0.22.0 // indirect
 	github.com/google/gnostic-models v0.6.9 // indirect
 	github.com/google/go-cmp v0.7.0 // indirect
 	github.com/google/pprof v0.0.0-20250403155104-27863c87afa6 // indirect
 	github.com/google/uuid v1.6.0 // indirect
+	github.com/grpc-ecosystem/grpc-gateway/v2 v2.20.0 // indirect
 	github.com/inconshreveable/mousetrap v1.1.0 // indirect
 	github.com/josharian/intern v1.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/json-iterator/go v1.1.12 // indirect
@@ -70,16 +77,22 @@ require (
 	github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.15.1 // indirect
 	github.com/sirupsen/logrus v1.9.3 // indirect
 	github.com/spf13/pflag v1.0.6 // indirect
+	github.com/stoewer/go-strcase v1.3.0 // indirect
 	github.com/stretchr/testify v1.10.0 // indirect
 	github.com/vincent-petithory/dataurl v1.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/x448/float16 v0.8.4 // indirect
 	go.opentelemetry.io/contrib/instrumentation/net/http/otelhttp v0.53.0 // indirect
 	go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.28.0 // indirect
+	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/otlp/otlptrace v1.28.0 // indirect
+	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/otlp/otlptrace/otlptracegrpc v1.27.0 // indirect
 	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.28.0 // indirect
+	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk v1.28.0 // indirect
 	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.28.0 // indirect
+	go.opentelemetry.io/proto/otlp v1.3.1 // indirect
 	go.uber.org/automaxprocs v1.6.0 // indirect
 	go.uber.org/multierr v1.11.0 // indirect
 	go.uber.org/zap v1.27.0 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/exp v0.0.0-20240719175910-8a7402abbf56 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/net v0.38.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.27.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/sync v0.12.0 // indirect
@@ -89,6 +102,7 @@ require (
 	golang.org/x/time v0.9.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/tools v0.31.0 // indirect
 	gomodules.xyz/jsonpatch/v2 v2.4.0 // indirect
+	google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/api v0.0.0-20240826202546-f6391c0de4c7 // indirect
 	google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/rpc v0.0.0-20240826202546-f6391c0de4c7 // indirect
 	google.golang.org/grpc v1.65.0 // indirect
 	google.golang.org/protobuf v1.36.5 // indirect
@@ -96,8 +110,11 @@ require (
 	gopkg.in/inf.v0 v0.9.1 // indirect
 	gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1 // indirect
 	k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver v0.32.3 // indirect
+	k8s.io/apiserver v0.32.3 // indirect
+	k8s.io/component-base v0.32.3 // indirect
 	k8s.io/klog/v2 v2.130.1 // indirect
 	k8s.io/kube-openapi v0.0.0-20250318190949-c8a335a9a2ff // indirect
+	sigs.k8s.io/apiserver-network-proxy/konnectivity-client v0.31.0 // indirect
 	sigs.k8s.io/json v0.0.0-20241010143419-9aa6b5e7a4b3 // indirect
 	sigs.k8s.io/randfill v1.0.0 // indirect
 	sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v4 v4.6.0 // indirect
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 7ba9677b..e6d5aa7b 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -1,13 +1,23 @@
+cel.dev/expr v0.18.0 h1:CJ6drgk+Hf96lkLikr4rFf19WrU0BOWEihyZnI2TAzo=
+cel.dev/expr v0.18.0/go.mod h1:MrpN08Q+lEBs+bGYdLxxHkZoUSsCp0nSKTs0nTymJgw=
 github.com/AdaLogics/go-fuzz-headers v0.0.0-20230811130428-ced1acdcaa24 h1:bvDV9vkmnHYOMsOr4WLk+Vo07yKIzd94sVoIqshQ4bU=
 github.com/AdaLogics/go-fuzz-headers v0.0.0-20230811130428-ced1acdcaa24/go.mod h1:8o94RPi1/7XTJvwPpRSzSUedZrtlirdB3r9Z20bi2f8=
 github.com/Microsoft/go-winio v0.6.2 h1:F2VQgta7ecxGYO8k3ZZz3RS8fVIXVxONVUPlNERoyfY=
 github.com/Microsoft/go-winio v0.6.2/go.mod h1:yd8OoFMLzJbo9gZq8j5qaps8bJ9aShtEA8Ipt1oGCvU=
 github.com/Microsoft/hcsshim v0.11.7 h1:vl/nj3Bar/CvJSYo7gIQPyRWc9f3c6IeSNavBTSZNZQ=
 github.com/Microsoft/hcsshim v0.11.7/go.mod h1:MV8xMfmECjl5HdO7U/3/hFVnkmSBjAjmA09d4bExKcU=
+github.com/antlr4-go/antlr/v4 v4.13.0 h1:lxCg3LAv+EUK6t1i0y1V6/SLeUi0eKEKdhQAlS8TVTI=
+github.com/antlr4-go/antlr/v4 v4.13.0/go.mod h1:pfChB/xh/Unjila75QW7+VU4TSnWnnk9UTnmpPaOR2g=
+github.com/asaskevich/govalidator v0.0.0-20190424111038-f61b66f89f4a h1:idn718Q4B6AGu/h5Sxe66HYVdqdGu2l9Iebqhi/AEoA=
+github.com/asaskevich/govalidator v0.0.0-20190424111038-f61b66f89f4a/go.mod h1:lB+ZfQJz7igIIfQNfa7Ml4HSf2uFQQRzpGGRXenZAgY=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go v1.55.5 h1:KKUZBfBoyqy5d3swXyiC7Q76ic40rYcbqH7qjh59kzU=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go v1.55.5/go.mod h1:eRwEWoyTWFMVYVQzKMNHWP5/RV4xIUGMQfXQHfHkpNU=
 github.com/beorn7/perks v1.0.1 h1:VlbKKnNfV8bJzeqoa4cOKqO6bYr3WgKZxO8Z16+hsOM=
 github.com/beorn7/perks v1.0.1/go.mod h1:G2ZrVWU2WbWT9wwq4/hrbKbnv/1ERSJQ0ibhJ6rlkpw=
+github.com/blang/semver/v4 v4.0.0 h1:1PFHFE6yCCTv8C1TeyNNarDzntLi7wMI5i/pzqYIsAM=
+github.com/blang/semver/v4 v4.0.0/go.mod h1:IbckMUScFkM3pff0VJDNKRiT6TG/YpiHIM2yvyW5YoQ=
+github.com/cenkalti/backoff/v4 v4.3.0 h1:MyRJ/UdXutAwSAT+s3wNd7MfTIcy71VQueUuFK343L8=
+github.com/cenkalti/backoff/v4 v4.3.0/go.mod h1:Y3VNntkOUPxTVeUxJ/G5vcM//AlwfmyYozVcomhLiZE=
 github.com/cespare/xxhash/v2 v2.3.0 h1:UL815xU9SqsFlibzuggzjXhog7bL6oX9BbNZnL2UFvs=
 github.com/cespare/xxhash/v2 v2.3.0/go.mod h1:VGX0DQ3Q6kWi7AoAeZDth3/j3BFtOZR5XLFGgcrjCOs=
 github.com/clarketm/json v1.17.1 h1:U1IxjqJkJ7bRK4L6dyphmoO840P6bdhPdbbLySourqI=
@@ -75,6 +85,8 @@ github.com/golang/groupcache v0.0.0-20210331224755-41bb18bfe9da h1:oI5xCqsCo564l
 github.com/golang/groupcache v0.0.0-20210331224755-41bb18bfe9da/go.mod h1:cIg4eruTrX1D+g88fzRXU5OdNfaM+9IcxsU14FzY7Hc=
 github.com/google/btree v1.1.3 h1:CVpQJjYgC4VbzxeGVHfvZrv1ctoYCAI8vbl07Fcxlyg=
 github.com/google/btree v1.1.3/go.mod h1:qOPhT0dTNdNzV6Z/lhRX0YXUafgPLFUh+gZMl761Gm4=
+github.com/google/cel-go v0.22.0 h1:b3FJZxpiv1vTMo2/5RDUqAHPxkT8mmMfJIrq1llbf7g=
+github.com/google/cel-go v0.22.0/go.mod h1:BuznPXXfQDpXKWQ9sPW3TzlAJN5zzFe+i9tIs0yC4s8=
 github.com/google/gnostic-models v0.6.9 h1:MU/8wDLif2qCXZmzncUQ/BOfxWfthHi63KqpoNbWqVw=
 github.com/google/gnostic-models v0.6.9/go.mod h1:CiWsm0s6BSQd1hRn8/QmxqB6BesYcbSZxsz9b0KuDBw=
 github.com/google/go-cmp v0.5.9/go.mod h1:17dUlkBOakJ0+DkrSSNjCkIjxS6bF9zb3elmeNGIjoY=
@@ -87,6 +99,8 @@ github.com/google/pprof v0.0.0-20250403155104-27863c87afa6 h1:BHT72Gu3keYf3ZEu2J
 github.com/google/pprof v0.0.0-20250403155104-27863c87afa6/go.mod h1:boTsfXsheKC2y+lKOCMpSfarhxDeIzfZG1jqGcPl3cA=
 github.com/google/uuid v1.6.0 h1:NIvaJDMOsjHA8n1jAhLSgzrAzy1Hgr+hNrb57e+94F0=
 github.com/google/uuid v1.6.0/go.mod h1:TIyPZe4MgqvfeYDBFedMoGGpEw/LqOeaOT+nhxU+yHo=
+github.com/grpc-ecosystem/grpc-gateway/v2 v2.20.0 h1:bkypFPDjIYGfCYD5mRBvpqxfYX1YCS1PXdKYWi8FsN0=
+github.com/grpc-ecosystem/grpc-gateway/v2 v2.20.0/go.mod h1:P+Lt/0by1T8bfcF3z737NnSbmxQAppXMRziHUxPOC8k=
 github.com/inconshreveable/mousetrap v1.1.0 h1:wN+x4NVGpMsO7ErUn/mUI3vEoE6Jt13X2s0bqwp9tc8=
 github.com/inconshreveable/mousetrap v1.1.0/go.mod h1:vpF70FUmC8bwa3OWnCshd2FqLfsEA9PFc4w1p2J65bw=
 github.com/ironcore-dev/controller-utils v0.9.9 h1:SRVMjj+jh9yDZj//1hGG7U7S4fRuUVICAiXu7JBHJyo=
@@ -154,11 +168,18 @@ github.com/spf13/cobra v1.9.1 h1:CXSaggrXdbHK9CF+8ywj8Amf7PBRmPCOJugH954Nnlo=
 github.com/spf13/cobra v1.9.1/go.mod h1:nDyEzZ8ogv936Cinf6g1RU9MRY64Ir93oCnqb9wxYW0=
 github.com/spf13/pflag v1.0.6 h1:jFzHGLGAlb3ruxLB8MhbI6A8+AQX/2eW4qeyNZXNp2o=
 github.com/spf13/pflag v1.0.6/go.mod h1:McXfInJRrz4CZXVZOBLb0bTZqETkiAhM9Iw0y3An2Bg=
+github.com/stoewer/go-strcase v1.3.0 h1:g0eASXYtp+yvN9fK8sH94oCIk0fau9uV1/ZdJ0AVEzs=
+github.com/stoewer/go-strcase v1.3.0/go.mod h1:fAH5hQ5pehh+j3nZfvwdk2RgEgQjAoM8wodgtPmh1xo=
 github.com/stretchr/objx v0.1.0/go.mod h1:HFkY916IF+rwdDfMAkV7OtwuqBVzrE8GR6GFx+wExME=
+github.com/stretchr/objx v0.4.0/go.mod h1:YvHI0jy2hoMjB+UWwv71VJQ9isScKT/TqJzVSSt89Yw=
+github.com/stretchr/objx v0.5.0/go.mod h1:Yh+to48EsGEfYuaHDzXPcE3xhTkx73EhmCGUpEOglKo=
 github.com/stretchr/objx v0.5.2 h1:xuMeJ0Sdp5ZMRXx/aWO6RZxdr3beISkG5/G/aIRr3pY=
 github.com/stretchr/objx v0.5.2/go.mod h1:FRsXN1f5AsAjCGJKqEizvkpNtU+EGNCLh3NxZ/8L+MA=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.3.0/go.mod h1:M5WIy9Dh21IEIfnGCwXGc5bZfKNJtfHm1UVUgZn+9EI=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.7.0/go.mod h1:6Fq8oRcR53rry900zMqJjRRixrwX3KX962/h/Wwjteg=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.7.1/go.mod h1:6Fq8oRcR53rry900zMqJjRRixrwX3KX962/h/Wwjteg=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.0/go.mod h1:yNjHg4UonilssWZ8iaSj1OCr/vHnekPRkoO+kdMU+MU=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.1/go.mod h1:w2LPCIKwWwSfY2zedu0+kehJoqGctiVI29o6fzry7u4=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.10.0 h1:Xv5erBjTwe/5IxqUQTdXv5kgmIvbHo3QQyRwhJsOfJA=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.10.0/go.mod h1:r2ic/lqez/lEtzL7wO/rwa5dbSLXVDPFyf8C91i36aY=
 github.com/vincent-petithory/dataurl v1.0.0 h1:cXw+kPto8NLuJtlMsI152irrVw9fRDX8AbShPRpg2CI=
@@ -173,10 +194,18 @@ go.opentelemetry.io/contrib/instrumentation/net/http/otelhttp v0.53.0 h1:4K4tsIX
 go.opentelemetry.io/contrib/instrumentation/net/http/otelhttp v0.53.0/go.mod h1:jjdQuTGVsXV4vSs+CJ2qYDeDPf9yIJV23qlIzBm73Vg=
 go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.28.0 h1:/SqNcYk+idO0CxKEUOtKQClMK/MimZihKYMruSMViUo=
 go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.28.0/go.mod h1:q68ijF8Fc8CnMHKyzqL6akLO46ePnjkgfIMIjUIX9z4=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/otlp/otlptrace v1.28.0 h1:3Q/xZUyC1BBkualc9ROb4G8qkH90LXEIICcs5zv1OYY=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/otlp/otlptrace v1.28.0/go.mod h1:s75jGIWA9OfCMzF0xr+ZgfrB5FEbbV7UuYo32ahUiFI=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/otlp/otlptrace/otlptracegrpc v1.27.0 h1:qFffATk0X+HD+f1Z8lswGiOQYKHRlzfmdJm0wEaVrFA=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/otlp/otlptrace/otlptracegrpc v1.27.0/go.mod h1:MOiCmryaYtc+V0Ei+Tx9o5S1ZjA7kzLucuVuyzBZloQ=
 go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.28.0 h1:f0HGvSl1KRAU1DLgLGFjrwVyismPlnuU6JD6bOeuA5Q=
 go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.28.0/go.mod h1:Fb1eVBFZmLVTMb6PPohq3TO9IIhUisDsbJoL/+uQW4s=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk v1.28.0 h1:b9d7hIry8yZsgtbmM0DKyPWMMUMlK9NEKuIG4aBqWyE=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk v1.28.0/go.mod h1:oYj7ClPUA7Iw3m+r7GeEjz0qckQRJK2B8zjcZEfu7Pg=
 go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.28.0 h1:GhQ9cUuQGmNDd5BTCP2dAvv75RdMxEfTmYejp+lkx9g=
 go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.28.0/go.mod h1:jPyXzNPg6da9+38HEwElrQiHlVMTnVfM3/yv2OlIHaI=
+go.opentelemetry.io/proto/otlp v1.3.1 h1:TrMUixzpM0yuc/znrFTP9MMRh8trP93mkCiDVeXrui0=
+go.opentelemetry.io/proto/otlp v1.3.1/go.mod h1:0X1WI4de4ZsLrrJNLAQbFeLCm3T7yBkR0XqQ7niQU+8=
 go.uber.org/automaxprocs v1.6.0 h1:O3y2/QNTOdbF+e/dpXNNW7Rx2hZ4sTIPyybbxyNqTUs=
 go.uber.org/automaxprocs v1.6.0/go.mod h1:ifeIMSnPZuznNm6jmdzmU3/bfk01Fe2fotchwEFJ8r8=
 go.uber.org/goleak v1.3.0 h1:2K3zAYmnTNqV73imy9J1T3WC+gmCePx2hEGkimedGto=
@@ -188,6 +217,8 @@ go.uber.org/zap v1.27.0/go.mod h1:GB2qFLM7cTU87MWRP2mPIjqfIDnGu+VIO4V/SdhGo2E=
 golang.org/x/crypto v0.0.0-20190308221718-c2843e01d9a2/go.mod h1:djNgcEr1/C05ACkg1iLfiJU5Ep61QUkGW8qpdssI0+w=
 golang.org/x/crypto v0.0.0-20191011191535-87dc89f01550/go.mod h1:yigFU9vqHzYiE8UmvKecakEJjdnWj3jj499lnFckfCI=
 golang.org/x/crypto v0.0.0-20200622213623-75b288015ac9/go.mod h1:LzIPMQfyMNhhGPhUkYOs5KpL4U8rLKemX1yGLhDgUto=
+golang.org/x/exp v0.0.0-20240719175910-8a7402abbf56 h1:2dVuKD2vS7b0QIHQbpyTISPd0LeHDbnYEryqj5Q1ug8=
+golang.org/x/exp v0.0.0-20240719175910-8a7402abbf56/go.mod h1:M4RDyNAINzryxdtnbRXRL/OHtkFuWGRjvuhBJpk2IlY=
 golang.org/x/mod v0.2.0/go.mod h1:s0Qsj1ACt9ePp/hMypM3fl4fZqREWJwdYDEqhRiZZUA=
 golang.org/x/mod v0.3.0/go.mod h1:s0Qsj1ACt9ePp/hMypM3fl4fZqREWJwdYDEqhRiZZUA=
 golang.org/x/net v0.0.0-20190404232315-eb5bcb51f2a3/go.mod h1:t9HGtf8HONx5eT2rtn7q6eTqICYqUVnKs3thJo3Qplg=
@@ -229,6 +260,8 @@ golang.org/x/xerrors v0.0.0-20191204190536-9bdfabe68543/go.mod h1:I/5z698sn9Ka8T
 golang.org/x/xerrors v0.0.0-20200804184101-5ec99f83aff1/go.mod h1:I/5z698sn9Ka8TeJc9MKroUUfqBBauWjQqLJ2OPfmY0=
 gomodules.xyz/jsonpatch/v2 v2.4.0 h1:Ci3iUJyx9UeRx7CeFN8ARgGbkESwJK+KB9lLcWxY/Zw=
 gomodules.xyz/jsonpatch/v2 v2.4.0/go.mod h1:AH3dM2RI6uoBZxn3LVrfvJ3E0/9dG4cSrbuBJT4moAY=
+google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/api v0.0.0-20240826202546-f6391c0de4c7 h1:YcyjlL1PRr2Q17/I0dPk2JmYS5CDXfcdb2Z3YRioEbw=
+google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/api v0.0.0-20240826202546-f6391c0de4c7/go.mod h1:OCdP9MfskevB/rbYvHTsXTtKC+3bHWajPdoKgjcYkfo=
 google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/rpc v0.0.0-20240826202546-f6391c0de4c7 h1:2035KHhUv+EpyB+hWgJnaWKJOdX1E95w2S8Rr4uWKTs=
 google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/rpc v0.0.0-20240826202546-f6391c0de4c7/go.mod h1:UqMtugtsSgubUsoxbuAoiCXvqvErP7Gf0so0mK9tHxU=
 google.golang.org/grpc v1.65.0 h1:bs/cUb4lp1G5iImFFd3u5ixQzweKizoZJAwBNLR42lc=
@@ -251,14 +284,20 @@ k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver v0.32.3 h1:4D8vy+9GWerlErCwVIbcQjsWunF9SUGNu7O7hi
 k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver v0.32.3/go.mod h1:8YwcvVRMVzw0r1Stc7XfGAzB/SIVLunqApySV5V7Dss=
 k8s.io/apimachinery v0.33.0 h1:1a6kHrJxb2hs4t8EE5wuR/WxKDwGN1FKH3JvDtA0CIQ=
 k8s.io/apimachinery v0.33.0/go.mod h1:BHW0YOu7n22fFv/JkYOEfkUYNRN0fj0BlvMFWA7b+SM=
+k8s.io/apiserver v0.32.3 h1:kOw2KBuHOA+wetX1MkmrxgBr648ksz653j26ESuWNY8=
+k8s.io/apiserver v0.32.3/go.mod h1:q1x9B8E/WzShF49wh3ADOh6muSfpmFL0I2t+TG0Zdgc=
 k8s.io/client-go v0.33.0 h1:UASR0sAYVUzs2kYuKn/ZakZlcs2bEHaizrrHUZg0G98=
 k8s.io/client-go v0.33.0/go.mod h1:kGkd+l/gNGg8GYWAPr0xF1rRKvVWvzh9vmZAMXtaKOg=
+k8s.io/component-base v0.32.3 h1:98WJvvMs3QZ2LYHBzvltFSeJjEx7t5+8s71P7M74u8k=
+k8s.io/component-base v0.32.3/go.mod h1:LWi9cR+yPAv7cu2X9rZanTiFKB2kHA+JjmhkKjCZRpI=
 k8s.io/klog/v2 v2.130.1 h1:n9Xl7H1Xvksem4KFG4PYbdQCQxqc/tTUyrgXaOhHSzk=
 k8s.io/klog/v2 v2.130.1/go.mod h1:3Jpz1GvMt720eyJH1ckRHK1EDfpxISzJ7I9OYgaDtPE=
 k8s.io/kube-openapi v0.0.0-20250318190949-c8a335a9a2ff h1:/usPimJzUKKu+m+TE36gUyGcf03XZEP0ZIKgKj35LS4=
 k8s.io/kube-openapi v0.0.0-20250318190949-c8a335a9a2ff/go.mod h1:5jIi+8yX4RIb8wk3XwBo5Pq2ccx4FP10ohkbSKCZoK8=
 k8s.io/utils v0.0.0-20241104100929-3ea5e8cea738 h1:M3sRQVHv7vB20Xc2ybTt7ODCeFj6JSWYFzOFnYeS6Ro=
 k8s.io/utils v0.0.0-20241104100929-3ea5e8cea738/go.mod h1:OLgZIPagt7ERELqWJFomSt595RzquPNLL48iOWgYOg0=
+sigs.k8s.io/apiserver-network-proxy/konnectivity-client v0.31.0 h1:CPT0ExVicCzcpeN4baWEV2ko2Z/AsiZgEdwgcfwLgMo=
+sigs.k8s.io/apiserver-network-proxy/konnectivity-client v0.31.0/go.mod h1:Ve9uj1L+deCXFrPOk1LpFXqTg7LCFzFso6PA48q/XZw=
 sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime v0.20.4 h1:X3c+Odnxz+iPTRobG4tp092+CvBU9UK0t/bRf+n0DGU=
 sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime v0.20.4/go.mod h1:xg2XB0K5ShQzAgsoujxuKN4LNXR2LfwwHsPj7Iaw+XY=
 sigs.k8s.io/json v0.0.0-20241010143419-9aa6b5e7a4b3 h1:/Rv+M11QRah1itp8VhT6HoVx1Ray9eB4DBr+K+/sCJ8=
diff --git a/test/e2e/e2e_suite_test.go b/test/e2e/e2e_suite_test.go
index ffecee6a..dec6bea0 100644
--- a/test/e2e/e2e_suite_test.go
+++ b/test/e2e/e2e_suite_test.go
@@ -5,15 +5,89 @@ package e2e
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
 	"testing"
 
+	"github.com/ironcore-dev/boot-operator/test/utils"
 	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2"
 	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
 )
 
+var (
+	// Optional Environment Variables:
+	// - PROMETHEUS_INSTALL_SKIP=true: Skips Prometheus Operator installation during test setup.
+	// - CERT_MANAGER_INSTALL_SKIP=true: Skips CertManager installation during test setup.
+	// These variables are useful if Prometheus or CertManager is already installed, avoiding
+	// re-installation and conflicts.
+	skipPrometheusInstall  = os.Getenv("PROMETHEUS_INSTALL_SKIP") == "true"
+	skipCertManagerInstall = os.Getenv("CERT_MANAGER_INSTALL_SKIP") == "true"
+	// isPrometheusOperatorAlreadyInstalled will be set true when prometheus CRDs be found on the cluster
+	isPrometheusOperatorAlreadyInstalled = false
+	// isCertManagerAlreadyInstalled will be set true when CertManager CRDs be found on the cluster
+	isCertManagerAlreadyInstalled = false
+
+	// projectImage is the name of the image which will be build and loaded
+	// with the code source changes to be tested.
+	projectImage = "example.com/boot-operator:v0.0.1"
+)
+
 // Run e2e tests using the Ginkgo runner.
 func TestE2E(t *testing.T) {
 	RegisterFailHandler(Fail)
 	_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(GinkgoWriter, "Starting boot-operator suite\n")
 	RunSpecs(t, "e2e suite")
 }
+
+var _ = BeforeSuite(func() {
+	By("Ensure that Prometheus is enabled")
+	_ = utils.UncommentCode("config/default/kustomization.yaml", "#- ../prometheus", "#")
+
+	By("building the manager(Operator) image")
+	cmd := exec.Command("make", "docker-build", fmt.Sprintf("IMG=%s", projectImage))
+	_, err := utils.Run(cmd)
+	ExpectWithOffset(1, err).NotTo(HaveOccurred(), "Failed to build the manager(Operator) image")
+
+	// TODO(user): If you want to change the e2e test vendor from Kind, ensure the image is
+	// built and available before running the tests. Also, remove the following block.
+	By("loading the manager(Operator) image on Kind")
+	err = utils.LoadImageToKindClusterWithName(projectImage)
+	ExpectWithOffset(1, err).NotTo(HaveOccurred(), "Failed to load the manager(Operator) image into Kind")
+
+	// The tests-e2e are intended to run on a temporary cluster that is created and destroyed for testing.
+	// To prevent errors when tests run in environments with Prometheus or CertManager already installed,
+	// we check for their presence before execution.
+	// Setup Prometheus and CertManager before the suite if not skipped and if not already installed
+	if !skipPrometheusInstall {
+		By("checking if prometheus is installed already")
+		isPrometheusOperatorAlreadyInstalled = utils.IsPrometheusCRDsInstalled()
+		if !isPrometheusOperatorAlreadyInstalled {
+			_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(GinkgoWriter, "Installing Prometheus Operator...\n")
+			Expect(utils.InstallPrometheusOperator()).To(Succeed(), "Failed to install Prometheus Operator")
+		} else {
+			_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(GinkgoWriter, "WARNING: Prometheus Operator is already installed. Skipping installation...\n")
+		}
+	}
+	if !skipCertManagerInstall {
+		By("checking if cert manager is installed already")
+		isCertManagerAlreadyInstalled = utils.IsCertManagerCRDsInstalled()
+		if !isCertManagerAlreadyInstalled {
+			_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(GinkgoWriter, "Installing CertManager...\n")
+			Expect(utils.InstallCertManager()).To(Succeed(), "Failed to install CertManager")
+		} else {
+			_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(GinkgoWriter, "WARNING: CertManager is already installed. Skipping installation...\n")
+		}
+	}
+})
+
+var _ = AfterSuite(func() {
+	// Teardown Prometheus and CertManager after the suite if not skipped and if they were not already installed
+	if !skipPrometheusInstall && !isPrometheusOperatorAlreadyInstalled {
+		_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(GinkgoWriter, "Uninstalling Prometheus Operator...\n")
+		utils.UninstallPrometheusOperator()
+	}
+	if !skipCertManagerInstall && !isCertManagerAlreadyInstalled {
+		_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(GinkgoWriter, "Uninstalling CertManager...\n")
+		utils.UninstallCertManager()
+	}
+})
diff --git a/test/e2e/e2e_test.go b/test/e2e/e2e_test.go
index 3a6f050b..21c28dbb 100644
--- a/test/e2e/e2e_test.go
+++ b/test/e2e/e2e_test.go
@@ -4,8 +4,11 @@
 package e2e
 
 import (
+	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
+	"os"
 	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
 	"time"
 
 	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2"
@@ -16,62 +19,121 @@ import (
 
 const namespace = "boot-operator-system"
 
-var _ = Describe("controller", Ordered, func() {
-	BeforeAll(func() {
-		By("installing prometheus operator")
-		Expect(utils.InstallPrometheusOperator()).To(Succeed())
+// serviceAccountName created for the project
+const serviceAccountName = "boot-operator-controller-manager"
 
-		By("installing the cert-manager")
-		Expect(utils.InstallCertManager()).To(Succeed())
+// metricsServiceName is the name of the metrics service of the project
+const metricsServiceName = "boot-operator-controller-manager-metrics-service"
 
+// metricsRoleBindingName is the name of the RBAC that will be created to allow get the metrics data
+const metricsRoleBindingName = "boot-operator-metrics-binding"
+
+var _ = Describe("controller", Ordered, func() {
+	var controllerPodName string
+
+	// Before running the tests, set up the environment by creating the namespace,
+	// enforce the restricted security policy to the namespace, installing CRDs,
+	// and deploying the controller.
+	BeforeAll(func() {
 		By("creating manager namespace")
 		cmd := exec.Command("kubectl", "create", "ns", namespace)
-		_, _ = utils.Run(cmd)
+		_, err := utils.Run(cmd)
+		Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred(), "Failed to create namespace")
+
+		By("labeling the namespace to enforce the restricted security policy")
+		cmd = exec.Command("kubectl", "label", "--overwrite", "ns", namespace,
+			"pod-security.kubernetes.io/enforce=restricted")
+		_, err = utils.Run(cmd)
+		Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred(), "Failed to label namespace with restricted policy")
+
+		By("installing CRDs")
+		cmd = exec.Command("make", "install")
+		_, err = utils.Run(cmd)
+		Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred(), "Failed to install CRDs")
+
+		By("deploying the controller-manager")
+		cmd = exec.Command("make", "e2e-deploy", fmt.Sprintf("IMG=%s", projectImage))
+		_, err = utils.Run(cmd)
+		Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred(), "Failed to deploy the controller-manager")
+
 	})
 
+	// After all tests have been executed, clean up by undeploying the controller, uninstalling CRDs,
+	// and deleting the namespace.
 	AfterAll(func() {
-		By("uninstalling the Prometheus manager bundle")
-		utils.UninstallPrometheusOperator()
+		By("cleaning up the curl pod for metrics")
+		cmd := exec.Command("kubectl", "delete", "pod", "curl-metrics", "-n", namespace)
+		_, _ = utils.Run(cmd)
+
+		By("undeploying the controller-manager")
+		cmd = exec.Command("make", "undeploy")
+		_, _ = utils.Run(cmd)
 
-		By("uninstalling the cert-manager bundle")
-		utils.UninstallCertManager()
+		By("uninstalling CRDs")
+		cmd = exec.Command("make", "uninstall")
+		_, _ = utils.Run(cmd)
+
+		By("removing clusterrolebinding namespace")
+		cmd = exec.Command("kubectl", "delete", "clusterrolebinding", metricsRoleBindingName)
+		_, _ = utils.Run(cmd)
 
 		By("removing manager namespace")
-		cmd := exec.Command("kubectl", "delete", "ns", namespace)
+		cmd = exec.Command("kubectl", "delete", "ns", namespace)
 		_, _ = utils.Run(cmd)
 	})
 
-	Context("Operator", func() {
-		It("should run successfully", func() {
-			var controllerPodName string
-			var err error
-
-			// projectimage stores the name of the image used in the example
-			var projectimage = "example.com/boot-operator:v0.0.1"
+	// After each test, check for failures and collect logs, events,
+	// and pod descriptions for debugging.
+	AfterEach(func() {
+		specReport := CurrentSpecReport()
+		if specReport.Failed() {
+			By("Fetching controller manager pod logs")
+			cmd := exec.Command("kubectl", "logs", controllerPodName, "-n", namespace)
+			controllerLogs, err := utils.Run(cmd)
+			if err == nil {
+				_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(GinkgoWriter, "Controller logs:\n %s", controllerLogs)
+			} else {
+				_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(GinkgoWriter, "Failed to get Controller logs: %s", err)
+			}
 
-			By("building the manager(Operator) image")
-			cmd := exec.Command("make", "docker-build", fmt.Sprintf("IMG=%s", projectimage))
-			_, err = utils.Run(cmd)
-			ExpectWithOffset(1, err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+			By("Fetching Kubernetes events")
+			cmd = exec.Command("kubectl", "get", "events", "-n", namespace, "--sort-by=.lastTimestamp")
+			eventsOutput, err := utils.Run(cmd)
+			if err == nil {
+				_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(GinkgoWriter, "Kubernetes events:\n%s", eventsOutput)
+			} else {
+				_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(GinkgoWriter, "Failed to get Kubernetes events: %s", err)
+			}
 
-			By("loading the the manager(Operator) image on Kind")
-			err = utils.LoadImageToKindClusterWithName(projectimage)
-			ExpectWithOffset(1, err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+			By("Fetching curl-metrics logs")
+			cmd = exec.Command("kubectl", "logs", "curl-metrics", "-n", namespace)
+			metricsOutput, err := utils.Run(cmd)
+			if err == nil {
+				_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(GinkgoWriter, "Metrics logs:\n %s", metricsOutput)
+			} else {
+				_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(GinkgoWriter, "Failed to get curl-metrics logs: %s", err)
+			}
 
-			By("installing CRDs")
-			cmd = exec.Command("make", "install")
-			_, _ = utils.Run(cmd)
+			By("Fetching controller manager pod description")
+			cmd = exec.Command("kubectl", "describe", "pod", controllerPodName, "-n", namespace)
+			podDescription, err := utils.Run(cmd)
+			if err == nil {
+				fmt.Println("Pod description:\n", podDescription)
+			} else {
+				fmt.Println("Failed to describe controller pod")
+			}
+		}
+	})
 
-			By("deploying the controller-manager")
-			cmd = exec.Command("make", "deploy", fmt.Sprintf("IMG=%s", projectimage))
-			_, err = utils.Run(cmd)
-			ExpectWithOffset(1, err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+	SetDefaultEventuallyTimeout(2 * time.Minute)
+	SetDefaultEventuallyPollingInterval(time.Second)
 
+	Context("Manager", func() {
+		It("should run successfully", func() {
 			By("validating that the controller-manager pod is running as expected")
-			verifyControllerUp := func() error {
-				// Get pod name
-
-				cmd = exec.Command("kubectl", "get",
+			verifyControllerUp := func(g Gomega) {
+				// Get the name of the controller-manager pod
+				cmd := exec.Command("kubectl", "get",
 					"pods", "-l", "control-plane=controller-manager",
 					"-o", "go-template={{ range .items }}"+
 						"{{ if not .metadata.deletionTimestamp }}"+
@@ -81,28 +143,183 @@ var _ = Describe("controller", Ordered, func() {
 				)
 
 				podOutput, err := utils.Run(cmd)
-				ExpectWithOffset(2, err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-				podNames := utils.GetNonEmptyLines(string(podOutput))
-				if len(podNames) != 1 {
-					return fmt.Errorf("expect 1 controller pods running, but got %d", len(podNames))
-				}
+				g.Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred(), "Failed to retrieve controller-manager pod information")
+				podNames := utils.GetNonEmptyLines(podOutput)
+				g.Expect(podNames).To(HaveLen(1), "expected 1 controller pod running")
 				controllerPodName = podNames[0]
-				ExpectWithOffset(2, controllerPodName).Should(ContainSubstring("controller-manager"))
+				g.Expect(controllerPodName).To(ContainSubstring("controller-manager"))
 
-				// Validate pod status
+				// Validate the pod's status
 				cmd = exec.Command("kubectl", "get",
 					"pods", controllerPodName, "-o", "jsonpath={.status.phase}",
 					"-n", namespace,
 				)
-				status, err := utils.Run(cmd)
-				ExpectWithOffset(2, err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-				if string(status) != "Running" {
-					return fmt.Errorf("controller pod in %s status", status)
-				}
-				return nil
+				output, err := utils.Run(cmd)
+				g.Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+				g.Expect(output).To(Equal("Running"), "Incorrect controller-manager pod status")
+			}
+			Eventually(verifyControllerUp).Should(Succeed())
+		})
+
+		It("should ensure the metrics endpoint is serving metrics", func() {
+			By("creating a ClusterRoleBinding for the service account to allow access to metrics")
+			cmd := exec.Command("kubectl", "create", "clusterrolebinding", metricsRoleBindingName,
+				"--clusterrole=boot-operator-metrics-reader",
+				fmt.Sprintf("--serviceaccount=%s:%s", namespace, serviceAccountName),
+			)
+			_, err := utils.Run(cmd)
+			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred(), "Failed to create ClusterRoleBinding")
+
+			By("validating that the metrics service is available")
+			cmd = exec.Command("kubectl", "get", "service", metricsServiceName, "-n", namespace)
+			_, err = utils.Run(cmd)
+			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred(), "Metrics service should exist")
+
+			By("validating that the ServiceMonitor for Prometheus is applied in the namespace")
+			cmd = exec.Command("kubectl", "get", "ServiceMonitor", "-n", namespace)
+			_, err = utils.Run(cmd)
+			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred(), "ServiceMonitor should exist")
+
+			By("getting the service account token")
+			token, err := serviceAccountToken()
+			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+			Expect(token).NotTo(BeEmpty())
+
+			By("waiting for the metrics endpoint to be ready")
+			verifyMetricsEndpointReady := func(g Gomega) {
+				cmd := exec.Command("kubectl", "get", "endpoints", metricsServiceName, "-n", namespace)
+				output, err := utils.Run(cmd)
+				g.Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+				g.Expect(output).To(ContainSubstring("8443"), "Metrics endpoint is not ready")
 			}
-			EventuallyWithOffset(1, verifyControllerUp, time.Minute, time.Second).Should(Succeed())
+			Eventually(verifyMetricsEndpointReady).Should(Succeed())
+
+			By("verifying that the controller manager is serving the metrics server")
+			verifyMetricsServerStarted := func(g Gomega) {
+				cmd := exec.Command("kubectl", "logs", controllerPodName, "-n", namespace)
+				output, err := utils.Run(cmd)
+				g.Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+				g.Expect(output).To(ContainSubstring("controller-runtime.metrics\tServing metrics server"),
+					"Metrics server not yet started")
+			}
+			Eventually(verifyMetricsServerStarted).Should(Succeed())
+
+			By("creating the curl-metrics pod to access the metrics endpoint")
+			cmd = exec.Command("kubectl", "run", "curl-metrics", "--restart=Never",
+				"--namespace", namespace,
+				"--image=curlimages/curl:latest",
+				"--overrides",
+				fmt.Sprintf(`{
+					"spec": {
+						"containers": [{
+							"name": "curl",
+							"image": "curlimages/curl:latest",
+							"command": ["/bin/sh", "-c"],
+							"args": ["curl -v -k -H 'Authorization: Bearer %s' https://%s.%s.svc.cluster.local:8443/metrics"],
+							"securityContext": {
+								"allowPrivilegeEscalation": false,
+								"capabilities": {
+									"drop": ["ALL"]
+								},
+								"runAsNonRoot": true,
+								"runAsUser": 1000,
+								"seccompProfile": {
+									"type": "RuntimeDefault"
+								}
+							}
+						}],
+						"serviceAccount": "%s"
+					}
+				}`, token, metricsServiceName, namespace, serviceAccountName))
+			_, err = utils.Run(cmd)
+			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred(), "Failed to create curl-metrics pod")
 
+			By("waiting for the curl-metrics pod to complete.")
+			verifyCurlUp := func(g Gomega) {
+				cmd := exec.Command("kubectl", "get", "pods", "curl-metrics",
+					"-o", "jsonpath={.status.phase}",
+					"-n", namespace)
+				output, err := utils.Run(cmd)
+				g.Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+				g.Expect(output).To(Equal("Succeeded"), "curl pod in wrong status")
+			}
+			Eventually(verifyCurlUp, 5*time.Minute).Should(Succeed())
+
+			By("getting the curl-metrics logs")
+			cmd = exec.Command("kubectl", "logs", "curl-metrics", "-n", namespace)
+			metricsOutput, err := utils.Run(cmd)
+			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred(), "Failed to retrieve logs from curl pod")
+			Expect(metricsOutput).To(ContainSubstring("< HTTP/1.1 200 OK"))
 		})
+
+		// +kubebuilder:scaffold:e2e-webhooks-checks
+
+		// TODO: Customize the e2e test suite with scenarios specific to your project.
+		// Consider applying sample/CR(s) and check their status and/or verifying
+		// the reconciliation by using the metrics, i.e.:
+		// metricsOutput := getMetricsOutput()
+		// Expect(metricsOutput).To(ContainSubstring(
+		//    fmt.Sprintf(`controller_runtime_reconcile_total{controller="%s",result="success"} 1`,
+		//    strings.ToLower(<Kind>),
+		// ))
 	})
 })
+
+// serviceAccountToken returns a token for the specified service account in the given namespace.
+// It uses the Kubernetes TokenRequest API to generate a token by directly sending a request
+// and parsing the resulting token from the API response.
+func serviceAccountToken() (string, error) {
+	const tokenRequestRawString = `{
+		"apiVersion": "authentication.k8s.io/v1",
+		"kind": "TokenRequest"
+	}`
+
+	// Temporary file to store the token request
+	secretName := fmt.Sprintf("%s-token-request", serviceAccountName)
+	tokenRequestFile := filepath.Join("/tmp", secretName)
+	err := os.WriteFile(tokenRequestFile, []byte(tokenRequestRawString), os.FileMode(0o644))
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	var out string
+	verifyTokenCreation := func(g Gomega) {
+		// Execute kubectl command to create the token
+		cmd := exec.Command("kubectl", "create", "--raw", fmt.Sprintf(
+			"/api/v1/namespaces/%s/serviceaccounts/%s/token",
+			namespace,
+			serviceAccountName,
+		), "-f", tokenRequestFile)
+
+		output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+		g.Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+
+		// Parse the JSON output to extract the token
+		var token tokenRequest
+		err = json.Unmarshal(output, &token)
+		g.Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+
+		out = token.Status.Token
+	}
+	Eventually(verifyTokenCreation).Should(Succeed())
+
+	return out, err
+}
+
+// getMetricsOutput retrieves and returns the logs from the curl pod used to access the metrics endpoint.
+// func getMetricsOutput() string {
+// 	By("getting the curl-metrics logs")
+// 	cmd := exec.Command("kubectl", "logs", "curl-metrics", "-n", namespace)
+// 	metricsOutput, err := utils.Run(cmd)
+// 	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred(), "Failed to retrieve logs from curl pod")
+// 	Expect(metricsOutput).To(ContainSubstring("< HTTP/1.1 200 OK"))
+// 	return metricsOutput
+// }
+
+// tokenRequest is a simplified representation of the Kubernetes TokenRequest API response,
+// containing only the token field that we need to extract.
+type tokenRequest struct {
+	Status struct {
+		Token string `json:"token"`
+	} `json:"status"`
+}
diff --git a/test/utils/utils.go b/test/utils/utils.go
index 4cc20b2a..62d186d4 100644
--- a/test/utils/utils.go
+++ b/test/utils/utils.go
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
 package utils
 
 import (
+	"bufio"
+	"bytes"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
@@ -13,12 +15,12 @@ import (
 )
 
 const (
-	prometheusOperatorVersion = "v0.68.0"
+	prometheusOperatorVersion = "v0.80.1"
 	prometheusOperatorURL     = "https://github.com/prometheus-operator/prometheus-operator/" +
 		"releases/download/%s/bundle.yaml"
 
-	certmanagerVersion = "v1.5.3"
-	certmanagerURLTmpl = "https://github.com/jetstack/cert-manager/releases/download/%s/cert-manager.yaml"
+	certmanagerVersion = "v1.17.0"
+	certmanagerURLTmpl = "https://github.com/cert-manager/cert-manager/releases/download/%s/cert-manager.yaml"
 )
 
 func warnError(err error) {
@@ -34,23 +36,27 @@ func InstallPrometheusOperator() error {
 }
 
 // Run executes the provided command within this context
-func Run(cmd *exec.Cmd) ([]byte, error) {
+func Run(cmd *exec.Cmd) (string, error) {
 	dir, _ := GetProjectDir()
 	cmd.Dir = dir
 
 	if err := os.Chdir(cmd.Dir); err != nil {
-		_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(ginkgo.GinkgoWriter, "chdir dir: %s\n", err)
+		if _, err := fmt.Fprintf(ginkgo.GinkgoWriter, "chdir dir: %s\n", err); err != nil {
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("%w", err)
+		}
 	}
 
 	cmd.Env = append(os.Environ(), "GO111MODULE=on")
 	command := strings.Join(cmd.Args, " ")
-	_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(ginkgo.GinkgoWriter, "running: %s\n", command)
+	if _, err := fmt.Fprintf(ginkgo.GinkgoWriter, "running: %s\n", command); err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%w", err)
+	}
 	output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
 	if err != nil {
-		return output, fmt.Errorf("%s failed with error: (%v) %s", command, err, string(output))
+		return string(output), fmt.Errorf("%s failed with error: (%v) %s", command, err, string(output))
 	}
 
-	return output, nil
+	return string(output), nil
 }
 
 // UninstallPrometheusOperator uninstalls the prometheus
@@ -62,6 +68,33 @@ func UninstallPrometheusOperator() {
 	}
 }
 
+// IsPrometheusCRDsInstalled checks if any Prometheus CRDs are installed
+// by verifying the existence of key CRDs related to Prometheus.
+func IsPrometheusCRDsInstalled() bool {
+	// List of common Prometheus CRDs
+	prometheusCRDs := []string{
+		"prometheuses.monitoring.coreos.com",
+		"prometheusrules.monitoring.coreos.com",
+		"prometheusagents.monitoring.coreos.com",
+	}
+
+	cmd := exec.Command("kubectl", "get", "crds", "-o", "custom-columns=NAME:.metadata.name")
+	output, err := Run(cmd)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	crdList := GetNonEmptyLines(output)
+	for _, crd := range prometheusCRDs {
+		for _, line := range crdList {
+			if strings.Contains(line, crd) {
+				return true
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	return false
+}
+
 // UninstallCertManager uninstalls the cert manager
 func UninstallCertManager() {
 	url := fmt.Sprintf(certmanagerURLTmpl, certmanagerVersion)
@@ -90,7 +123,40 @@ func InstallCertManager() error {
 	return err
 }
 
-// LoadImageToKindCluster loads a local docker image to the kind cluster
+// IsCertManagerCRDsInstalled checks if any Cert Manager CRDs are installed
+// by verifying the existence of key CRDs related to Cert Manager.
+func IsCertManagerCRDsInstalled() bool {
+	// List of common Cert Manager CRDs
+	certManagerCRDs := []string{
+		"certificates.cert-manager.io",
+		"issuers.cert-manager.io",
+		"clusterissuers.cert-manager.io",
+		"certificaterequests.cert-manager.io",
+		"orders.acme.cert-manager.io",
+		"challenges.acme.cert-manager.io",
+	}
+
+	// Execute the kubectl command to get all CRDs
+	cmd := exec.Command("kubectl", "get", "crds")
+	output, err := Run(cmd)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	// Check if any of the Cert Manager CRDs are present
+	crdList := GetNonEmptyLines(output)
+	for _, crd := range certManagerCRDs {
+		for _, line := range crdList {
+			if strings.Contains(line, crd) {
+				return true
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	return false
+}
+
+// LoadImageToKindClusterWithName loads a local docker image to the kind cluster
 func LoadImageToKindClusterWithName(name string) error {
 	cluster := "kind"
 	if v, ok := os.LookupEnv("KIND_CLUSTER"); ok {
@@ -125,3 +191,52 @@ func GetProjectDir() (string, error) {
 	wd = strings.ReplaceAll(wd, "/test/e2e", "")
 	return wd, nil
 }
+
+// UncommentCode searches for target in the file and remove the comment prefix
+// of the target content. The target content may span multiple lines.
+func UncommentCode(filename, target, prefix string) error {
+	// false positive
+	// nolint:gosec
+	content, err := os.ReadFile(filename)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	strContent := string(content)
+
+	idx := strings.Index(strContent, target)
+	if idx < 0 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("unable to find the code %s to be uncomment", target)
+	}
+
+	out := new(bytes.Buffer)
+	_, err = out.Write(content[:idx])
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(bytes.NewBufferString(target))
+	if !scanner.Scan() {
+		return nil
+	}
+	for {
+		_, err := out.WriteString(strings.TrimPrefix(scanner.Text(), prefix))
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		// Avoid writing a newline in case the previous line was the last in target.
+		if !scanner.Scan() {
+			break
+		}
+		if _, err := out.WriteString("\n"); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+
+	_, err = out.Write(content[idx+len(target):])
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	// false positive
+	// nolint:gosec
+	return os.WriteFile(filename, out.Bytes(), 0644)
+}