diff --git a/SUMMARY.md b/SUMMARY.md
index 10b9a12..610afda 100644
--- a/SUMMARY.md
+++ b/SUMMARY.md
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
     * [Bringing Up CORD](profiles/intro.md)
         * [R-CORD](profiles/rcord/install.md)
             * [OLT Setup](openolt/README.md)
+	        * [Emulated OLT/ONU](profiles/rcord/emulate.md)
         * [M-CORD](profiles/mcord/install.md)
             * [EnodeB Setup](profiles/mcord/enodeb-setup.md)
     * [Helm Reference](charts/helm.md)
diff --git a/charts/voltha.md b/charts/voltha.md
index 59f249f..16cd2f4 100644
--- a/charts/voltha.md
+++ b/charts/voltha.md
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 ## First Time Installation
 
-Add the kubernetes helm charts incubator repository
+Download the helm charts `incubator` repository
 
 ```shell
 helm repo add incubator https://kubernetes-charts-incubator.storage.googleapis.com/
@@ -25,33 +25,32 @@
 incubator/kafka
 ```
 
-There's an etcd-operator **known bug** we're trying to solve that
-prevents users to deploy Voltha straight since the first time. We
-found a workaround.
+There is an `etcd-operator` **known bug** that prevents deploying
+Voltha correctly the first time. We suggest the following workaround:
 
-Few steps:
-
-Install Voltha (without etcd custom resource definition)
+First, install Voltha without an `etcd` custom resource definition:
 
 ```shell
 helm install -n voltha --set etcd-operator.customResources.createEtcdClusterCRD=false voltha
 ```
 
-Upgrade Voltha (which defaults to using the etcd custom resource definition)
+Then upgrade Voltha, which defaults to using the `etcd` custom
+resource definition:
 
 ```shell
 helm upgrade voltha ./voltha
 ```
 
-After this point, you can use the standard uninstallation and installation processes for uninstalling and installing voltha helm chart
+After this first installation, you can use the standard
+install/uninstall procedure described below.
 
-## Standard Uninstallation Process
+## Standard Uninstall
 
 ```shell
 helm delete --purge voltha
 ```
 
-## Standard Installation Process
+## Standard Install
 
 ```shell
 helm install -n voltha voltha
@@ -66,7 +65,7 @@
     * Inner port: 8882
     * Nodeport: 30125
 
-## How to access the VOLTHA CLI
+## Accessing the VOLTHA CLI
 
 Assuming you have not changed the default ports in the chart,
 you can use this command to access the VOLTHA CLI:
diff --git a/profiles/rcord/emulate.md b/profiles/rcord/emulate.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..30efab0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/profiles/rcord/emulate.md
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+# Emulated OLT/ONU
+
+Support for emulating the OLT/ONU using `ponsim` is still a
+work-in-progress, so it is not currently possible to bring up R-CORD
+without the necessary access hardware. In the meantime, it is possible
+to set up a development environment that includes just the R-CORD
+control plane. Doing so involves installing the following helm charts:
+
+- [xos-core](../../charts/xos-core.md)
+- [cord-kafka](../../charts/kafka.md)
+- [hippie-oss](../../charts/hippie-oss.md)
+
+in addition to `rcord-lite`. This would typically be done
+on a [single node platform](../../prereqs/k8s-single-node.md) in
+support of a developer workflow that [emulates subscriber
+provisioning](../../developer/configuration_rcord.md).
+
diff --git a/profiles/rcord/install.md b/profiles/rcord/install.md
index 2d1a717..7f260bd 100644
--- a/profiles/rcord/install.md
+++ b/profiles/rcord/install.md
@@ -8,32 +8,51 @@
 
 ## Prerequisites
 
-- A Kubernetes cluster: Follow one of these guides to install a [single
-  node cluster](../../prereqs/k8s-single-node.md) or a [multi node
-  cluster](../../prereqs/k8s-multi-node.md).
+- Kubernetes: Follow one of these guides to install either a [single
+   node](../../prereqs/k8s-single-node.md) or a [multi
+   node](../../prereqs/k8s-multi-node.md) cluster.
 - Helm: Follow this [guide](../../prereqs/helm.md).
 
-## CORD Components
+## Install VOLTHA
 
-R-CORD has dependencies on the following charts,
-so they need to be installed first:
+When running on a physical POD with OLT/ONU hardware, the
+first step to bringing up R-CORD is to install the
+[VOLTHA helm chart](../../charts/voltha.md).
+
+## Install CORD Platform
+
+The R-CORD profile has dependencies on the following platform
+charts, so they need to be installed next:
 
 - [xos-core](../../charts/xos-core.md)
 - [onos-fabric](../../charts/onos.md#onos-fabric)
 - [onos-voltha](../../charts/onos.md#onos-voltha)
 
-## Installing the R-CORD Profile
+## Install R-CORD Profile
 
-```shell
+You are now ready to install the R-CORD profile:
+
+```shell 
 helm dep update xos-profiles/rcord-lite
 helm install -n rcord-lite xos-profiles/rcord-lite
 ```
 
-Now that your R-CORD deployment is complete, please read the
+Optionally, if you want to use the "bottom up" subscriber provisioning
+workflow described in the [Operations Guide](configuration.md), you
+will also need to install the following two charts:
+
+- [cord-kafka](../../charts/kafka.md)
+- [hippie-oss](../../charts/hippie-oss.md)
+
+> **Note:** If you install both VOLTHA and the optional Kafka, you
+> will end up with two instantiations of Kafka: `kafka-voltha` and
+> `kafka-cord`.
+
+Once your R-CORD deployment is complete, please read the
 following guide to understand how to configure it:
 [Configure R-CORD](configuration.md)
 
-## Customizing an R-CORD Install
+## Customize an R-CORD Install
 
 Define a `my-rcord-values.yaml` that looks like: