“qualify the DOCA host and DPU OS versions as one supported stack” addresses host and DPU software components are not compatible across the change, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is embedded firmware or DPU OS fault is hidden by host operational status. The option “inspect DPU boot diagnostics and invoke supported recovery sequence” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

“inspect live BlueField firmware and embedded OS versions against the release manifest” addresses dPU host visibility does not establish firmware qualification, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is embedded firmware or DPU OS fault is hidden by host operational status. The option “inspect DPU boot diagnostics and invoke supported recovery sequence” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

“install the correct supported board image under recovery procedure” addresses wrong BlueField-specific boot firmware or BFB variant was applied, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is embedded firmware or DPU OS fault is hidden by host operational status. The option “inspect DPU boot diagnostics and invoke supported recovery sequence” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

“DPU component versions match the approved production baseline” addresses dPU host visibility does not establish firmware qualification, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is embedded firmware or DPU OS fault is hidden by host operational status. The option “DPU boots to approved firmware and restores network offload functionality” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

“negative host permission tests and DPU offload checks pass in the intended mode” addresses post-upgrade trust and mode settings were not revalidated, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is embedded firmware or DPU OS fault is hidden by host operational status. The option “DPU boots to approved firmware and restores network offload functionality” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

“firmware inventory converges and collective traffic no longer exhibits version-correlated faults” addresses homogeneous fabric interoperability was not checked across DPU revisions, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is embedded firmware or DPU OS fault is hidden by host operational status. The option “DPU boots to approved firmware and restores network offload functionality” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

“qualify the DOCA host and DPU OS versions as one supported stack” addresses host and DPU software components are not compatible across the change, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is device version verification is not sufficient for datapath functionality. The option “run representative DOCA traffic forwarding and offload tests after upgrade” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

Useful for DPU management reachability was omitted from post-upgrade checks, but it does not remove the specific condition: device version verification is not sufficient for datapath functionality.

“reapply and verify intended BlueField mode and administrative restrictions” addresses post-upgrade trust and mode settings were not revalidated, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is device version verification is not sufficient for datapath functionality. The option “run representative DOCA traffic forwarding and offload tests after upgrade” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

“negative host permission tests and DPU offload checks pass in the intended mode” addresses post-upgrade trust and mode settings were not revalidated, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is device version verification is not sufficient for datapath functionality. The option “data-plane counters and throughput show supported operation at the target release” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

“board ID and embedded OS report a compatible target after reboot” addresses wrong BlueField-specific boot firmware or BFB variant was applied, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is device version verification is not sufficient for datapath functionality. The option “data-plane counters and throughput show supported operation at the target release” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

“DPU component versions match the approved production baseline” addresses dPU host visibility does not establish firmware qualification, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is device version verification is not sufficient for datapath functionality. The option “data-plane counters and throughput show supported operation at the target release” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

“qualify the DOCA host and DPU OS versions as one supported stack” addresses host and DPU software components are not compatible across the change, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is homogeneous fabric interoperability was not checked across DPU revisions. The option “compare and align DPU versions and supported network features across nodes” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

“inspect DPU boot diagnostics and invoke supported recovery sequence” addresses embedded firmware or DPU OS fault is hidden by host operational status, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is homogeneous fabric interoperability was not checked across DPU revisions. The option “compare and align DPU versions and supported network features across nodes” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

Useful for DPU management reachability was omitted from post-upgrade checks, but it does not remove the specific condition: homogeneous fabric interoperability was not checked across DPU revisions.

“query supported switch or management module diagnostics for optics firmware identifiers” addresses component-level transceiver inventory was not collected, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is transceiver firmware compatibility was excluded from media commissioning. The option “verify supported module firmware against switch and module compatibility guidance” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

“align both endpoints to qualified optics and module firmware revisions” addresses paired module firmware or feature negotiation is inconsistent, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is transceiver firmware compatibility was excluded from media commissioning. The option “verify supported module firmware against switch and module compatibility guidance” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

Useful for a successful firmware flash did not prove physical signal quality, but it does not remove the specific condition: transceiver firmware compatibility was excluded from media commissioning.

“optical firmware reports the intended supported revision without module faults” addresses switch software and transceiver firmware update mechanisms were conflated, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is transceiver firmware compatibility was excluded from media commissioning. The option “switch inventory reports a qualified module firmware with healthy optical link” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

“exported inventory contains firmware revision and module serial for each expected optical port” addresses component-level transceiver inventory was not collected, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is transceiver firmware compatibility was excluded from media commissioning. The option “switch inventory reports a qualified module firmware with healthy optical link” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

“module inventory and optical operating margins both pass acceptance” addresses a successful firmware flash did not prove physical signal quality, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is transceiver firmware compatibility was excluded from media commissioning. The option “switch inventory reports a qualified module firmware with healthy optical link” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

Useful for module revision differences can affect signal interoperability, but it does not remove the specific condition: paired module firmware or feature negotiation is inconsistent.

“verify supported module firmware against switch and module compatibility guidance” addresses transceiver firmware compatibility was excluded from media commissioning, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is paired module firmware or feature negotiation is inconsistent. The option “align both endpoints to qualified optics and module firmware revisions” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

“query supported switch or management module diagnostics for optics firmware identifiers” addresses component-level transceiver inventory was not collected, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is paired module firmware or feature negotiation is inconsistent. The option “align both endpoints to qualified optics and module firmware revisions” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

“link operates at approved rate without growing pre-FEC anomalies” addresses module revision differences can affect signal interoperability, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is paired module firmware or feature negotiation is inconsistent. The option “repeated full-rate traffic tests show stable link and acceptable error counters” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

“approved module is installed and passes version and signal verification” addresses unsupported module update has no defensible compatibility or recovery assurance, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is paired module firmware or feature negotiation is inconsistent. The option “repeated full-rate traffic tests show stable link and acceptable error counters” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

“switch inventory reports a qualified module firmware with healthy optical link” addresses transceiver firmware compatibility was excluded from media commissioning, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is paired module firmware or feature negotiation is inconsistent. The option “repeated full-rate traffic tests show stable link and acceptable error counters” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

“verify supported module firmware against switch and module compatibility guidance” addresses transceiver firmware compatibility was excluded from media commissioning, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is switch software and transceiver firmware update mechanisms were conflated. The option “use the vendor-supported transceiver-specific inventory and upgrade workflow” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

“correlate transceiver serial part firmware and physical port in the record” addresses change evidence cannot be linked to the actual installed optics, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is switch software and transceiver firmware update mechanisms were conflated. The option “use the vendor-supported transceiver-specific inventory and upgrade workflow” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

Useful for paired module firmware or feature negotiation is inconsistent, but it does not remove the specific condition: switch software and transceiver firmware update mechanisms were conflated.

“switch inventory reports a qualified module firmware with healthy optical link” addresses transceiver firmware compatibility was excluded from media commissioning, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is switch software and transceiver firmware update mechanisms were conflated. The option “optical firmware reports the intended supported revision without module faults” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

“exported inventory contains firmware revision and module serial for each expected optical port” addresses component-level transceiver inventory was not collected, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is switch software and transceiver firmware update mechanisms were conflated. The option “optical firmware reports the intended supported revision without module faults” is more directly tied to the required outcome.

“live module IDs match the signed maintenance manifest and expected location” addresses change evidence cannot be linked to the actual installed optics, but the current hardware or infrastructure issue is switch software and transceiver firmware update mechanisms were conflated. The option “optical firmware reports the intended supported revision without module faults” is more directly tied to the required outcome.