diff --git a/internal/collect.go b/internal/collect.go
index ea7ca69..8c03050 100644
--- a/internal/collect.go
+++ b/internal/collect.go
@@ -2,8 +2,12 @@
 package magellan
 
 import (
+	"crypto/tls"
+	"crypto/x509"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
+	"net"
+	"net/http"
 	"os"
 	"path"
 	"sync"
@@ -58,12 +62,32 @@ func CollectInventory(assets *[]RemoteAsset, params *CollectParams) error {
 		done       = make(chan struct{}, params.Concurrency+1)
 		chanAssets = make(chan RemoteAsset, params.Concurrency+1)
 		outputPath = path.Clean(params.OutputPath)
-		smdClient  = client.NewClient(
-			client.WithSecureTLS[client.SmdClient](params.CaCertPath),
-		)
+		smdClient  = &client.SmdClient{Client: &http.Client{}}
 	)
-	// set the client's host from the CLI param
+	// set the client's params from CLI
+	// NOTE: temporary solution until client.NewClient() is fixed
 	smdClient.URI = params.URI
+	if params.CaCertPath != "" {
+		cacert, err := os.ReadFile(params.CaCertPath)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to read CA cert path: %w", err)
+		}
+		certPool := x509.NewCertPool()
+		certPool.AppendCertsFromPEM(cacert)
+		smdClient.Client.Transport = &http.Transport{
+			TLSClientConfig: &tls.Config{
+				RootCAs:            certPool,
+				InsecureSkipVerify: true,
+			},
+			DisableKeepAlives: true,
+			Dial: (&net.Dialer{
+				Timeout:   120 * time.Second,
+				KeepAlive: 120 * time.Second,
+			}).Dial,
+			TLSHandshakeTimeout:   120 * time.Second,
+			ResponseHeaderTimeout: 120 * time.Second,
+		}
+	}
 	wg.Add(params.Concurrency)
 	for i := 0; i < params.Concurrency; i++ {
 		go func() {
diff --git a/pkg/client/client.go b/pkg/client/client.go
index 0005254..eda049b 100644
--- a/pkg/client/client.go
+++ b/pkg/client/client.go
@@ -9,17 +9,20 @@ import (
 	"net/http"
 	"os"
 	"time"
+
+	"github.com/rs/zerolog/log"
 )
 
-type Option[T Client] func(client T)
+type Option[T Client] func(client *T)
 
 // The 'Client' struct is a wrapper around the default http.Client
 // that provides an extended API to work with functional options.
 // It also provides functions that work with `collect` data.
 type Client interface {
+	Init()
 	Name() string
-	GetClient() *http.Client
 	RootEndpoint(endpoint string) string
+	GetInternalClient() *http.Client
 
 	// functions needed to make request
 	Add(data HTTPBody, headers HTTPHeader) error
@@ -36,11 +39,17 @@ func NewClient[T Client](opts ...func(T)) T {
 }
 
 func WithCertPool[T Client](certPool *x509.CertPool) func(T) {
+	// make sure we have a valid cert pool
 	if certPool == nil {
 		return func(client T) {}
 	}
 	return func(client T) {
-		client.GetClient().Transport = &http.Transport{
+		// make sure that we can access the internal client
+		if client.GetInternalClient() == nil {
+			log.Warn().Any("client", client.GetInternalClient()).Msg("invalid internal HTTP client ()")
+			return
+		}
+		client.GetInternalClient().Transport = &http.Transport{
 			TLSClientConfig: &tls.Config{
 				RootCAs:            certPool,
 				InsecureSkipVerify: true,
diff --git a/pkg/client/smd.go b/pkg/client/smd.go
index a118460..499a72c 100644
--- a/pkg/client/smd.go
+++ b/pkg/client/smd.go
@@ -16,22 +16,26 @@ type SmdClient struct {
 	Xname string
 }
 
-func (c SmdClient) Name() string {
+func (c *SmdClient) Init() {
+	c.Client = &http.Client{}
+}
+
+func (c *SmdClient) Name() string {
 	return "smd"
 }
 
-func (c SmdClient) RootEndpoint(endpoint string) string {
+func (c *SmdClient) RootEndpoint(endpoint string) string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf("%s/hsm/v2%s", c.URI, endpoint)
 }
 
-func (c SmdClient) GetClient() *http.Client {
+func (c *SmdClient) GetInternalClient() *http.Client {
 	return c.Client
 }
 
 // Add() has a similar function definition to that of the default implementation,
 // but also allows further customization and data/header manipulation that would
 // be specific and/or unique to SMD's API.
-func (c SmdClient) Add(data HTTPBody, headers HTTPHeader) error {
+func (c *SmdClient) Add(data HTTPBody, headers HTTPHeader) error {
 	if data == nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to add redfish endpoint: no data found")
 	}
@@ -53,7 +57,7 @@ func (c SmdClient) Add(data HTTPBody, headers HTTPHeader) error {
 	return err
 }
 
-func (c SmdClient) Update(data HTTPBody, headers HTTPHeader) error {
+func (c *SmdClient) Update(data HTTPBody, headers HTTPHeader) error {
 	if data == nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to add redfish endpoint: no data found")
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/crawler/main.go b/pkg/crawler/main.go
index 78af9f9..e28cb1b 100644
--- a/pkg/crawler/main.go
+++ b/pkg/crawler/main.go
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ type InventoryDetail struct {
 	URI                  string              `json:"uri,omitempty"`                  // URI of the BMC
 	UUID                 string              `json:"uuid,omitempty"`                 // UUID of Node
 	Manufacturer         string              `json:"manufacturer,omitempty"`         // Manufacturer of the Node
-	SystemType           string              `json:"system_type,omitempty`           // System type of the Node
+	SystemType           string              `json:"system_type,omitempty"`          // System type of the Node
 	Name                 string              `json:"name,omitempty"`                 // Name of the Node
 	Model                string              `json:"model,omitempty"`                // Model of the Node
 	Serial               string              `json:"serial,omitempty"`               // Serial number of the Node