diff --git a/jjb/shell/github-release.sh b/jjb/shell/github-release.sh
index 47e6ce8..0b289ec 100644
--- a/jjb/shell/github-release.sh
+++ b/jjb/shell/github-release.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
-
-# Copyright 2018-2022 Open Networking Foundation (ONF) and the ONF Contributors
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Copyright 2018-2023 Open Networking Foundation (ONF) and the ONF Contributors
 #
 # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -13,11 +13,12 @@
 # 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.
-
+#
 # github-release.sh
 # builds (with make) and uploads release artifacts (binaries, etc.) to github
 # given a tag also create checksums files and release notes from the commit
 # message
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 ## -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 ## Intent:
@@ -32,6 +33,8 @@
 ## -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 function displayCommands()
 {
+    set +euo pipefail
+
     echo
     echo "Installed /usr/lib/go"
     echo "-----------------------------------------------------------------------"
@@ -48,6 +51,7 @@
     git --version
     go version
 
+    set -euo pipefail
     return
 }
 
@@ -105,7 +109,7 @@
 # - start release process within that directory
 
 DEST_GOPATH=${DEST_GOPATH:-}
-if [ ! -z "$DEST_GOPATH" ]; then
+if [ -n "$DEST_GOPATH" ]; then
   mkdir -p "$GOPATH/src/$DEST_GOPATH"
   release_path="$GOPATH/src/$DEST_GOPATH/$GERRIT_PROJECT"
   mv "$WORKSPACE/$GERRIT_PROJECT" "$release_path"
@@ -167,3 +171,10 @@
 
   popd
 fi
+
+# [SEE ALSO]
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# https://www.shellcheck.net/wiki/SC2236
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+# [EOF]
diff --git a/jjb/verify/bbsim.yaml b/jjb/verify/bbsim.yaml
index 2c6cfd1..f156b67 100644
--- a/jjb/verify/bbsim.yaml
+++ b/jjb/verify/bbsim.yaml
@@ -12,10 +12,6 @@
           name-extension: '-voltha-2.8'
           override-branch: 'voltha-2.8'
           branch-regexp: '^voltha-2.8$'
-      - 'verify-bbsim-jobs-voltha-2.9':
-          name-extension: '-voltha-2.9'
-          override-branch: 'voltha-2.9'
-          branch-regexp: '^voltha-2.9$'
       - 'verify-bbsim-jobs-voltha-2.10':
           name-extension: '-voltha-2.10'
           override-branch: 'voltha-2.10'
diff --git a/makefiles/consts.mk b/makefiles/consts.mk
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fed358b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/makefiles/consts.mk
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+# -*- makefile -*-
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Copyright 2022-2023 Open Networking Foundation (ONF) and the ONF Contributors
+#
+# 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.
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+null         :=#
+space        :=$(null) $(null)
+dot          :=.
+HIDE         ?=@
+
+# use bash for pusdh/popd and quick failures.
+export SHELL := bash -euo pipefail
+
+# [EOF]
diff --git a/makefiles/help/include.mk b/makefiles/help/include.mk
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3cca2cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/makefiles/help/include.mk
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+# -*- makefile -*-
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Copyright 2017-2023 Open Networking Foundation (ONF) and the ONF Contributors
+#
+# 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.
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+# Parent makefile should include this early so help
+# message will be prefixed by a usage statement.
+help ::
+	@echo "Usage: $(MAKE) [options] [target] ..."
+	@echo
+	@echo '[Virtual Env]'
+	@echo '  venv           Create a python virtual environment'
+	@echo "  $(VENV_NAME)"
+	@echo
+	@echo '[CLEAN]'
+	@echo '  clean          Remove generated targets'
+	@echo '  sterile        clean + remove virtual env interpreter install'
+	@echo
+	@echo '[VIEW]'
+	@echo '  reload         Setup to auto-reload sphinx doc changes in browser'
+	@echo '  view-html      View generated documentation'
+	@echo
+	@echo '[TEST]'
+	@echo '  test           make lint linkcheck'
+	@echo '  test-all       make all-generation-targets'
+	@echo
+	@echo '[HELP]'
+	@echo '  help           Display program help'
+	@echo '  help-verbose   Display additional targets and help'
+
+# [EOF]
diff --git a/makefiles/help/trailer.mk b/makefiles/help/trailer.mk
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bf548db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/makefiles/help/trailer.mk
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+# -*- makefile -*-
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Copyright 2017-2022 Open Networking Foundation
+#
+# 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.
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+# include this makefile late so text will be displayed at the end6
+
+help ::
+	@echo
+	@echo '[NOTE: python 3.10+]'
+	@echo '  The interpreter is not yet fully supported across foreign repositories.'
+	@echo '  While working locally, if make fails to build a target try:'
+	@echo '      $(MAKE) $${target} NO_OTHER_REPO_DOCS=1'
+
+# [EOF]
diff --git a/makefiles/help/variables.mk b/makefiles/help/variables.mk
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a50b233
--- /dev/null
+++ b/makefiles/help/variables.mk
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+# -*- makefile -*-
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Copyright 2017-2022 Open Networking Foundation
+#
+# 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.
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+# Include variables.mk after library makefiles have been included
+
+ifdef VERBOSE
+  help :: help-variables
+else
+  help ::
+	@echo
+	@echo '[VARIABLES] - Conditional makefile behavior'
+	@echo '  see also: help-variables'
+endif
+
+help-variables:
+	@echo
+	@echo '[VARIABLES] - Conditional makefile behavior'
+	@echo '  NO_PATCHES=           Do not apply patches to the python virtualenv'
+	@echo '  NO_OTHER_REPO_DOCS=   No foreign repos, only apply target to local sources.'
+	@echo '  VERBOSE=              Display extended help'
+
+# [EOF]
diff --git a/makefiles/lint/include.mk b/makefiles/lint/include.mk
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bed7149
--- /dev/null
+++ b/makefiles/lint/include.mk
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+# -*- makefile -*-
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Copyright 2017-2023 Open Networking Foundation (ONF) and the ONF Contributors
+#
+# 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.
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+help::
+	@echo
+	@echo "[LINT]"
+
+include $(MAKEDIR)/lint/json.mk
+# include $(MAKEDIR)/lint/python.mk
+# include $(MAKEDIR)/lint/robot.mk
+include $(MAKEDIR)/lint/shell.mk
+include $(MAKEDIR)/lint/yaml.mk
+
+# [EOF]
diff --git a/makefiles/lint/json.mk b/makefiles/lint/json.mk
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..81a87da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/makefiles/lint/json.mk
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+# -*- makefile -*-
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Copyright 2017-2023 Open Networking Foundation (ONF) and the ONF Contributors
+#
+# 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.
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+JSON_FILES ?= $(error JSON_FILES= is rqeuired)
+
+.PHONY: lint-json
+
+lint : lint-json
+
+## -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+## TODO: Simplify -- replace with jq -e to avoid venv dependency
+## -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+lint-json: vst_venv
+	source ./$</bin/activate \
+	    ; set -u \
+	    ; for jsonfile in $(JSON_FILES); do \
+		echo "Validating json file: $$jsonfile" ;\
+		python -m json.tool $$jsonfile > /dev/null ;\
+	done
+
+help::
+	@echo "  lint-json            Syntax check json sources"
+
+# [EOF]
diff --git a/makefiles/lint/python.mk b/makefiles/lint/python.mk
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5aecd58
--- /dev/null
+++ b/makefiles/lint/python.mk
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+# -*- makefile -*-
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Copyright 2017-2022 Open Networking Foundation
+#
+# 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.
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+PYTHON_FILES ?= $(error PYTHON_FILES= is required)
+
+.PHONY: lint-python
+
+lint : lint-python
+
+# check deps for format and python3 cleanliness
+lint-python: vst_venv
+	source ./$</bin/activate \
+	    ; set -u \
+	    ; pylint --py3k $(PYTHON_FILES) \
+	    ; flake8 --max-line-length=99 --count $(PYTHON_FILES)
+
+help::
+	@echo "  lint-python          Syntax check using pylint and flake8"
+
+# [EOF]
diff --git a/makefiles/lint/robot.mk b/makefiles/lint/robot.mk
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ec5579e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/makefiles/lint/robot.mk
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+# -*- makefile -*-
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Copyright 2017-2022 Open Networking Foundation
+#
+# 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.
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+ROBOT_FILES ?= $(error ROBOT_FILES= is required)
+
+LINT_ARGS ?= --verbose --configure LineTooLong:130 -e LineTooLong \
+             --configure TooManyTestSteps:65 -e TooManyTestSteps \
+             --configure TooManyTestCases:50 -e TooManyTestCases \
+             --configure TooFewTestSteps:1 \
+             --configure TooFewKeywordSteps:1 \
+             --configure FileTooLong:2000 -e FileTooLong \
+             -e TrailingWhitespace
+
+
+.PHONY: lint-robot
+
+lint : lint-robot
+
+lint-robot: vst_venv
+	source ./$</bin/activate \
+	    ; set -u \
+	    ; rflint $(LINT_ARGS) $(ROBOT_FILES)
+
+help::
+	@echo "  lint-robot           Syntax check robot sources using rflint"
+
+# [EOF]
diff --git a/makefiles/lint/shell.mk b/makefiles/lint/shell.mk
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c05476e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/makefiles/lint/shell.mk
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+# -*- makefile -*-
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Copyright 2017-2023 Open Networking Foundation (ONF) and the ONF Contributors
+#
+# 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.
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+JSON_FILES ?= $(error JSON_FILES= is required)
+
+.PHONY: lint-shell
+
+lint : lint-shell
+
+lint-shell:
+	shellcheck --version
+	find . \( -name 'staging' -o -name 'vst_venv' \) -prune \
+	    -o -name '*.sh' ! -name 'activate.sh' -print0 \
+	| xargs -0 -n1 shellcheck
+
+help::
+	@echo "  lint-shell           Syntax check bash,bourne,etc sources"
+
+# [EOF]
diff --git a/makefiles/lint/yaml.mk b/makefiles/lint/yaml.mk
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..00241b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/makefiles/lint/yaml.mk
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+# -*- makefile -*-
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Copyright 2017-2023 Open Networking Foundation (ONF) and the ONF Contributors
+#
+# 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.
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+YAML_FILES ?= $(error YAML_FILES= is required)
+
+.PHONY: lint-yaml
+
+lint : lint-yaml
+
+lint-yaml: vst_venv
+	source ./$</bin/activate \
+	    ; set -u \
+	    ; yamllint -s $(YAML_FILES)
+
+help::
+	@echo "  lint-yaml            Syntax check yaml source using yamllint"
+
+# [EOF]
diff --git a/makefiles/virtualenv.mk b/makefiles/virtualenv.mk
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..008a372
--- /dev/null
+++ b/makefiles/virtualenv.mk
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+# -*- makefile -*-
+## -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Copyright 2017-2022 Open Networking Foundation
+#
+# 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.
+## -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+## usage:   {target} : venv-req
+# venv : .venv/bin/activate requirements.txt
+venv-dep : .venv/bin/activate
+venv-req : .venv/bin/activate requirements.txt
+
+.venv/bin/activate:
+	virtualenv -p python3 $@
+	source ./$@/bin/activate \
+	   pip install --upgrade pip \
+	source ./$@/bin/activate \
+	   pip install --upgrade setuptools \
+	[[ -r requirements.txt ]]       \
+	    && source ./$@/bin/activate \
+	    && python -m pip install -r requirements.txt
+
+# [EOF]
diff --git a/packer/provision/basebuild.sh b/packer/provision/basebuild.sh
index 22b8953..8e9b3e5 100644
--- a/packer/provision/basebuild.sh
+++ b/packer/provision/basebuild.sh
@@ -323,7 +323,7 @@
     # dep for go package dependencies w/versioning, version 0.5.2, adapted from:
     #  https://golang.github.io/dep/docs/installation.html#install-from-source
     go get -d -u github.com/golang/dep
-    pushd $(go env GOPATH)/src/github.com/golang/dep
+    pushd "$(go env GOPATH)/src/github.com/golang/dep"
       git checkout "0.5.2"
       go install -ldflags="-X main.version=0.5.2" ./cmd/dep
     popd
@@ -335,7 +335,7 @@
     # protoc-gen-go - Golang protbuf compiler extension for protoc (installed
     # below)
     go get -d -u github.com/golang/protobuf/protoc-gen-go
-    pushd $(go env GOPATH)/src/github.com/golang/protobuf
+    pushd "$(go env GOPATH)/src/github.com/golang/protobuf"
       git checkout "v1.3.1"
       go install ./protoc-gen-go
     popd
@@ -458,3 +458,5 @@
 
 # execute steps for all systems
 all_systems
+
+# [EOF]