diff --git a/tempest/cli/__init__.py b/tempest/cli/__init__.py
index 5bbedfd..8905824 100644
--- a/tempest/cli/__init__.py
+++ b/tempest/cli/__init__.py
@@ -77,6 +77,11 @@
         return self.cmd_with_auth(
             'glance', action, flags, params, admin, fail_ok)
 
+    def cinder(self, action, flags='', params='', admin=True, fail_ok=False):
+        """Executes cinder command for the given action."""
+        return self.cmd_with_auth(
+            'cinder', action, flags, params, admin, fail_ok)
+
     def cmd_with_auth(self, cmd, action, flags='', params='',
                       admin=True, fail_ok=False):
         """Executes given command with auth attributes appended."""
diff --git a/tempest/cli/simple_read_only/test_cinder.py b/tempest/cli/simple_read_only/test_cinder.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e9ce87b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tempest/cli/simple_read_only/test_cinder.py
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+# vim: tabstop=4 shiftwidth=4 softtabstop=4
+
+# Copyright 2013 OpenStack Foundation
+# All Rights Reserved.
+#
+#    Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+#    not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain
+#    a copy of the License at
+#
+#         http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+#    Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+#    distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+#    WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+#    License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations
+#    under the License.
+
+import logging
+import re
+import subprocess
+
+import tempest.cli
+
+LOG = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+class SimpleReadOnlyCinderClientTest(tempest.cli.ClientTestBase):
+    """Basic, read-only tests for Cinder CLI client.
+
+    Checks return values and output of read-only commands.
+    These tests do not presume any content, nor do they create
+    their own. They only verify the structure of output if present.
+    """
+
+    def test_cinder_fake_action(self):
+        self.assertRaises(subprocess.CalledProcessError,
+                          self.cinder,
+                          'this-does-not-exist')
+
+    def test_cinder_absolute_limit_list(self):
+        roles = self.parser.listing(self.cinder('absolute-limits'))
+        self.assertTableStruct(roles, ['Name', 'Value'])
+
+    def test_cinder_backup_list(self):
+        self.cinder('backup-list')
+
+    def test_cinder_extra_specs_list(self):
+        self.cinder('extra-specs-list')
+
+    def test_cinder_volumes_list(self):
+        self.cinder('list')
+
+    def test_cinder_quota_class_show(self):
+        """This CLI can accept and string as param."""
+        roles = self.parser.listing(self.cinder('quota-class-show',
+                                                params='abc'))
+        self.assertTableStruct(roles, ['Property', 'Value'])
+
+    def test_cinder_quota_defaults(self):
+        """This CLI can accept and string as param."""
+        roles = self.parser.listing(self.cinder('quota-defaults',
+                                                params=self.identity.
+                                                admin_tenant_name))
+        self.assertTableStruct(roles, ['Property', 'Value'])
+
+    def test_cinder_quota_show(self):
+        """This CLI can accept and string as param."""
+        roles = self.parser.listing(self.cinder('quota-show',
+                                                params=self.identity.
+                                                admin_tenant_name))
+        self.assertTableStruct(roles, ['Property', 'Value'])
+
+    def test_cinder_rate_limits(self):
+        self.cinder('rate-limits')
+
+    def test_cinder_snapshot_list(self):
+        self.cinder('snapshot-list')
+
+    def test_cinder_type_list(self):
+        self.cinder('type-list')
+
+    def test_cinder_list_extensions(self):
+        self.cinder('list-extensions')
+        roles = self.parser.listing(self.cinder('list-extensions'))
+        self.assertTableStruct(roles, ['Name', 'Summary', 'Alias', 'Updated'])
+
+    def test_admin_help(self):
+        help_text = self.cinder('help')
+        lines = help_text.split('\n')
+        self.assertTrue(lines[0].startswith('usage: cinder'))
+
+        commands = []
+        cmds_start = lines.index('Positional arguments:')
+        cmds_end = lines.index('Optional arguments:')
+        command_pattern = re.compile('^ {4}([a-z0-9\-\_]+)')
+        for line in lines[cmds_start:cmds_end]:
+            match = command_pattern.match(line)
+            if match:
+                commands.append(match.group(1))
+        commands = set(commands)
+        wanted_commands = set(('absolute-limits', 'list', 'help',
+                               'quota-show', 'type-list', 'snapshot-list'))
+        self.assertFalse(wanted_commands - commands)
+
+     # Optional arguments:
+
+    def test_cinder_version(self):
+        self.cinder('', flags='--version')
+
+    def test_cinder_debug_list(self):
+        self.cinder('list', flags='--debug')
+
+    def test_cinder_retries_list(self):
+        self.cinder('list', flags='--retries 3')
+
+    def test_cinder_region_list(self):
+        self.cinder('list', flags='--os-region-name ' + self.identity.region)