diff --git a/.github/workflows/build_nilrt.yml b/.github/workflows/build_nilrt.yml
index d8a085a2e..21d720906 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build_nilrt.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build_nilrt.yml
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ jobs:
             -S .
             -B build
             -D CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=$ENV{BUILD_TYPE}
-            -D CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=$ENV{GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/cmake/nilrt-x86_64.cmake
+            -D grpc_device_USE_NILRT_LEGACY_TOOLCHAIN=on
           RESULT_VARIABLE result
         )
         if (NOT result EQUAL 0)
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 40b74e51e..434b13d5d 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -5,62 +5,105 @@ project(ni_grpc_device_server
   VERSION 2.5.0)
 
 list(APPEND CMAKE_MODULE_PATH "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/cmake")
-include(CreateVirtualEnvironment)
+
 
 # Workaround for: https://bugs.chromium.org/p/boringssl/issues/detail?id=423
 if (CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR STREQUAL "AMD64")
   set(CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR "amd64")
 endif()
 
+
+#---
+# Conifguration options
+#---
+option(grpc_device_USE_NILRT_LEGACY_TOOLCHAIN "Enable to use tools and libraries from a NILRT compile toolchain." OFF)
+option(grpc_device_USE_PYTHON_VENV "Enable to use the automatically-generated python venv, local to this project source." ON)
+option(grpc_device_USE_SUBMODULE_DEPS "Enable to link against the submodule libraries, rather than their native-OS equivalents." ON)
+
 #----------------------------------------------------------------------
-# Use the grpc targets directly from this build, only when not cross-compiling.
+# Setup build dependencies, according to the toolchain options.
 #----------------------------------------------------------------------
-if(CMAKE_CROSSCOMPILING)
-  find_program(_PROTOBUF_PROTOC protoc)
-  find_program(_GRPC_CPP_PLUGIN_EXECUTABLE grpc_cpp_plugin)
 
-  if(NOT _GRPC_DEVICE_NILRT_LEGACY_TOOLCHAIN)
-    find_package(gRPC REQUIRED)
-    find_library(_REFLECTION grpc++_reflection)
-    find_library(_GRPC_GRPCPP grpc++)
-    find_library(_PROTOBUF_LIBPROTOBUF protobuf)
-  else()
+if(grpc_device_USE_SUBMODULE_DEPS)
+  # The archetypical WIN32 build case
+  # protobuf_INSTALL must be turned OFF whenever building it as a cmake subdir.
+  set(protobuf_INSTALL OFF)
+
+  add_subdirectory(third_party/grpc ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/grpc)
+  add_subdirectory(third_party/gtest ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/gtest)
+  add_subdirectory(third_party/json ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/json)
+  add_subdirectory(third_party/utfcpp ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/utfcpp)
+
+  set(_REFLECTION grpc++_reflection)
+  set(_GRPC grpc)
+  set(_GRPC_CPP_PLUGIN_EXECUTABLE $<TARGET_FILE:grpc_cpp_plugin>)
+  set(_GRPC_GRPCPP grpc++)
+  set(_PROTOBUF_LIBPROTOBUF libprotobuf)
+  set(_PROTOBUF_PROTOC $<TARGET_FILE:protobuf::protoc>)
+  set(_UTF8CPP utf8cpp)
+else()
+  find_program(_GRPC_CPP_PLUGIN_EXECUTABLE grpc_cpp_plugin REQUIRED)
+
+  find_library(_GRPC_GPR gpr REQUIRED)
+  find_library(_ABSEIL_SYNC absl_synchronization REQUIRED)
+
+  if(grpc_device_USE_NILRT_LEGACY_TOOLCHAIN)
+    include(nilrt-x86_64)
+    # The archetypical NILRT SDK toolchain build case
     add_subdirectory(third_party/grpc ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/grpc EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL)
     set(_REFLECTION grpc++_reflection)
     set(_GRPC_GRPCPP grpc++)
     set(_PROTOBUF_LIBPROTOBUF libprotobuf)
+    set(_PROTOBUF_PROTOC protoc)
+  else()
+    # The archetypical linux build case (including OpenEmbedded)
+    find_library(_GRPC_GRPCPP grpc++)
+    find_library(_PROTOBUF_LIBPROTOBUF protobuf)
+    find_library(_REFLECTION grpc++_reflection)
+
+    find_package(gRPC REQUIRED)
+    find_package(GTest REQUIRED)
+    find_package(nlohmann_json REQUIRED)
+    find_package(utf8cpp REQUIRED)
+
+    find_program(_PROTOBUF_PROTOC protoc REQUIRED)
+
+    set(_GRPC gRPC::grpc)
+    set(_UTF8CPP utf8cpp::utf8cpp)
   endif()
+endif()
 
+# Python3 Virtual Environment
+if(grpc_device_USE_PYTHON_VENV)
+  include(CreateVirtualEnvironment)
+  CreateVirtualEnvironment(virtual_environment
+    REQUIREMENTS_TXT
+      ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/python_build_requirements.txt
+    ENV_NAME
+      venv
+    OUT_PYTHON_EXE
+      PYTHON_EXE
+  )
 else()
-  add_subdirectory(third_party/grpc ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/grpc EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL)
-  set(_PROTOBUF_PROTOC $<TARGET_FILE:protobuf::protoc>)
-  set(_REFLECTION grpc++_reflection)
-  set(_GRPC_CPP_PLUGIN_EXECUTABLE $<TARGET_FILE:grpc_cpp_plugin>)
-  set(_GRPC_GRPCPP grpc++)
-  set(_PROTOBUF_LIBPROTOBUF libprotobuf)
+  find_package(Python3 REQUIRED)
+  set(PYTHON_EXE ${Python3_EXECUTABLE})
 endif()
 
-#----------------------------------------------------------------------
-CreateVirtualEnvironment(virtual_environment
-  REQUIREMENTS_TXT
-    ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/python_build_requirements.txt
-  ENV_NAME
-    venv
-  OUT_PYTHON_EXE
-    PYTHON_EXE
-)
 
-#----------------------------------------------------------------------
-# Use the utfcpp targets directly from this build, only when not cross-compiling.
-#----------------------------------------------------------------------
-if(CMAKE_CROSSCOMPILING AND NOT _GRPC_DEVICE_NILRT_LEGACY_TOOLCHAIN)
-  find_package(utf8cpp REQUIRED)
-else()
-  add_subdirectory(third_party/utfcpp ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/utfcpp EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL)
+# Dynamically link all libraries when using MSVC.
+if(CMAKE_LINKER MATCHES "MSVC")
+  add_compile_options(
+    $<$<CONFIG:>:/MTd>
+    $<$<CONFIG:Debug>:/MTd>
+    $<$<CONFIG:Release>:/MT>
+  )
+  set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELEASE "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELEASE} /MT")
+  set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_DEBUG "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_DEBUG} /MTd")
+  message("Set MSVC flags.")
 endif()
-include_directories(
-  "./third_party/utfcpp/source"
-)
+
+enable_testing()
+set(gtest_force_shared_crt ON CACHE BOOL "" FORCE)
 
 #----------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Use C++17 (needed for shared_mutex support on Linux)
@@ -141,6 +184,10 @@ endif()
 
 set(all_codegen_dependencies "")
 
+if(grpc_device_USE_PYTHON_VENV)
+  list(APPEND all_codegen_dependencies virtual_environment)
+endif()
+
 foreach(api ${nidrivers})
   set(codegen_dependencies
     "${metadata_dir}/${api}/attributes.py"
@@ -191,7 +238,10 @@ foreach(api ${nidrivers})
       ${nidriver_client_srcs}
       "${service_output_dir}/${api}/${api}_client.cpp")
   endif()
-  set(proto_dependencies ${codegen_dependencies} ${codegen_scripts} virtual_environment)
+  set(proto_dependencies ${codegen_dependencies} ${codegen_scripts})
+  if (grpc_device_USE_PYTHON_VENV)
+    list(APPEND proto_dependencies virtual_environment)
+  endif()
   add_custom_command(OUTPUT ${output_files}
     ${gen_command}
     COMMENT "Generating proto file and service for ${api}"
@@ -211,7 +261,6 @@ add_custom_command(
   DEPENDS
     ${all_codegen_dependencies}
     ${codegen_scripts}
-    virtual_environment
 )
 
 set(nidriver_service_srcs
@@ -240,6 +289,9 @@ function(GenerateGrpcSources)
   cmake_parse_arguments(GENERATE_ARGS "" "${oneValueArgs}" "${multiValueArgs}" ${ARGN})
   set(output_files "${GENERATE_ARGS_OUTPUT}")
   set(proto_file "${GENERATE_ARGS_PROTO}")
+  if(grpc_device_USE_SUBMODULE_DEPS)
+    set(protobuf_includes_arg -I ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/third_party/grpc/third_party/protobuf/src/)
+  endif()
   get_filename_component(proto_path "${proto_file}" PATH)
   # Asssumption: all outputs are in the same directory: use the zero-th.
   list(GET output_files 0 proto_srcs)
@@ -250,7 +302,7 @@ function(GenerateGrpcSources)
     ARGS --grpc_out "${proto_out_path}"
       --cpp_out "${proto_out_path}"
       -I "${proto_path}"
-      -I ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/third_party/grpc/third_party/protobuf/src/
+      ${protobuf_includes_arg}
       -I ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/imports/protobuf
       --plugin=protoc-gen-grpc="${_GRPC_CPP_PLUGIN_EXECUTABLE}"
       "${proto_file}"
@@ -472,14 +524,21 @@ if(CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME STREQUAL Windows)
     PRIVATE "source/server/windows/console_ctrl_handler.cpp")
 endif()
 
+set(server_lib_deps
+  ${_ABSEIL_SYNC}
+  ${_GRPC_GPR}
+  ${_GRPC_GRPCPP}
+  ${_GRPC}
+  ${_PROTOBUF_LIBPROTOBUF}
+  ${_REFLECTION}
+  ${_UTF8CPP}
+  ${CMAKE_DL_LIBS}
+  nlohmann_json::nlohmann_json
+)
+
 target_link_libraries(ni_grpc_device_server
-   ${_REFLECTION}
-   ${_GRPC_GRPCPP}
-   ${_PROTOBUF_LIBPROTOBUF}
-   ${CMAKE_DL_LIBS}
-   nlohmann_json::nlohmann_json
-   utf8cpp
-   )
+  ${server_lib_deps}
+)
 
 set_target_properties(ni_grpc_device_server PROPERTIES BUILD_WITH_INSTALL_RPATH TRUE)
 
@@ -500,20 +559,6 @@ add_custom_command(
    COMMAND  ${PYTHON_EXE} ${codegen_dir}/generate_server_capabilities.py ${metadata_dir}/
             -o $<TARGET_FILE_DIR:ni_grpc_device_server>/)
 
-
-#----------------------------------------------------------------------
-# Add JSON parser and configure google tests
-#----------------------------------------------------------------------
-if(CMAKE_CROSSCOMPILING AND NOT _GRPC_DEVICE_NILRT_LEGACY_TOOLCHAIN)
-  find_package(nlohmann_json REQUIRED)
-  find_package(GTest REQUIRED)
-else()
-  add_subdirectory(third_party/json ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/json EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL)
-  enable_testing()
-  set(gtest_force_shared_crt ON CACHE BOOL "" FORCE)
-  add_subdirectory(third_party/gtest ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/gtest EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL)
-endif()
-
 # Link test executable against gtest
 add_executable(IntegrationTestsRunner
     "imports/include/nierr_Status.cpp"
@@ -568,12 +613,12 @@ add_executable(IntegrationTestsRunner
     find_package(Threads REQUIRED)
 
 target_link_libraries(IntegrationTestsRunner
-    gtest
+    ${server_lib_deps}
     gmock
-    ${_GRPC_GRPCPP}
-    ${CMAKE_DL_LIBS}
+    grpc
+    gtest
     Threads::Threads
-    nlohmann_json::nlohmann_json)
+)
 
 # Ignore the use of deprecated functions in test code
 target_compile_definitions(IntegrationTestsRunner
@@ -673,12 +718,13 @@ target_include_directories(UnitTestsRunner
     PRIVATE "source/server")
 
 target_link_libraries(UnitTestsRunner
-    gtest
-    gmock
-    ${_GRPC_GRPCPP}
     ${CMAKE_DL_LIBS}
+    ${server_lib_deps}
+    gmock
+    grpc
+    gtest
     Threads::Threads
-    nlohmann_json::nlohmann_json)
+)
 
 #----------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Copy test asset certificates to binary output certs sub-directory
@@ -695,8 +741,10 @@ foreach(api ${nidrivers_to_build})
     "${service_output_dir}/${api}/${api}_compilation_test.cpp")
 endforeach()
 add_library(CompilationTests STATIC ${compilation_test_sources})
+
 target_link_libraries(CompilationTests
     ${_GRPC_GRPCPP}
+    ${_UTF8CPP}
 )
 add_custom_target(generated_nidriver_service_library_hdrs DEPENDS ${nidriver_service_library_hdrs})
 add_dependencies(CompilationTests generated_nidriver_service_library_hdrs)
@@ -801,11 +849,10 @@ endif()
 add_executable(SystemTestsRunner ${system_test_runner_sources})
 
 target_link_libraries(SystemTestsRunner
-    gtest
-    gmock
-    ${_GRPC_GRPCPP}
     ${CMAKE_DL_LIBS}
-    nlohmann_json::nlohmann_json
+    ${server_lib_deps}
+    gmock
+    gtest
 )
 
 # Ignore the use of deprecated functions in test code
@@ -818,7 +865,7 @@ add_custom_command(
             ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/source/tests/assets/data/
             $<TARGET_FILE_DIR:SystemTestsRunner>/)
 
-if(_GRPC_DEVICE_NILRT_LEGACY_TOOLCHAIN)
+if(grpc_device_USE_NILRT_LEGACY_TOOLCHAIN)
     target_link_libraries(SystemTestsRunner stdc++fs)
     target_compile_definitions(SystemTestsRunner PRIVATE FS_EXPERIMENTAL)
 endif()
diff --git a/cmake/nilrt-x86_64.cmake b/cmake/nilrt-x86_64.cmake
index c007f6966..7f00969f5 100644
--- a/cmake/nilrt-x86_64.cmake
+++ b/cmake/nilrt-x86_64.cmake
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 #----------------------------------------------------------------------
 set(CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME Linux)
 set(CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR x86_64)
-set(_GRPC_DEVICE_NILRT_LEGACY_TOOLCHAIN TRUE)
 
 #----------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Path variables for toolchains