diff --git a/.github/workflows/test_and_build_image.yaml b/.github/workflows/test_and_build_image.yaml
index c5f446a14..0892b4292 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test_and_build_image.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test_and_build_image.yaml
@@ -28,16 +28,16 @@ jobs:
         with:
           go-version-file: 'go.mod'
           cache: true
-      - name: Create temporary directory for yq install
-        run: |
-          mkdir ${{ runner.temp }}/yq
-      - name: Install yq
-        working-directory: ${{ runner.temp }}/yq
-        run: |
-          sudo rm /bin/yq
-          wget https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/releases/download/v4.11.2/yq_linux_amd64.tar.gz
-          tar -xzf yq_linux_amd64.tar.gz
-          sudo mv ./yq_linux_amd64 /usr/bin/yq
+      - name: golangci-lint
+        uses: golangci/golangci-lint-action@v3
+        with:
+          version: latest
+          # GHA requires longer timeout
+          args: --timeout=10m
+          # Optional: show only new issues if it's a pull request. The default value is `false`.
+          only-new-issues: ${{ github.event_name == 'pull_request' }}
+          skip-pkg-cache: true
+          skip-build-cache: true
       - name: Run unit and integration tests
         run: |
           export PATH=$GOROOT/bin:$GOPATH/bin:$PATH
diff --git a/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.10.md b/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.10.md
index 256acf7aa..7a05a8fd8 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.10.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.10.md
@@ -16,4 +16,5 @@ When cutting a new release, update the `unreleased` heading to the tag being gen
 ## unreleased
 
 * [BUGFIX] [#1060](https://github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/issues/1060) Fix restore mapping shuffling nodes when restoring in place
-* [BUGFIX] [#1061](https://github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/issues/1061) Point to cass-config-builder 1.0.7 for arm64 compatibility
\ No newline at end of file
+* [BUGFIX] [#1061](https://github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/issues/1061) Point to cass-config-builder 1.0.7 for arm64 compatibility
+* [ENHANCEMENT] [#956](https://github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/issues/956) Enable linting in the project
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 2e801ca83..e248c66d1 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -124,20 +124,28 @@ help: ## Display this help.
 
 ##@ Development
 
+.PHONY: manifests
 manifests: controller-gen ## Generate WebhookConfiguration, ClusterRole and CustomResourceDefinition objects.
 	$(CONTROLLER_GEN) $(CRD_OPTIONS) rbac:roleName=k8ssandra-operator webhook paths="./..." output:crd:artifacts:config=config/crd/bases
 
+.PHONY: generate
 generate: controller-gen ## Generate code containing DeepCopy, DeepCopyInto, and DeepCopyObject method implementations.
 	$(CONTROLLER_GEN) object:headerFile="hack/boilerplate.go.txt" paths="./..."
 
+.PHONY: fmt
 fmt: ## Run go fmt against code.
 	go fmt ./...
 
+.PHONY: vet
 vet: ## Run go vet against code.
 	go vet ./...
 
+.PHONY: lint
+lint: golangci-lint ## Run golangci-lint against code.
+	$(GOLANGCI_LINT) run ./...
+
 ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR=$(shell pwd)/testbin
-test: manifests generate fmt vet envtest ## Run tests.
+test: manifests generate fmt vet lint envtest ## Run tests.
 ifdef TEST
 	@echo Running test $(TEST)
 	KUBEBUILDER_ASSETS="$(shell $(ENVTEST) use $(ENVTEST_K8S_VERSION) --bin-dir $(LOCALBIN) -p path)" go test $(GO_FLAGS) ./apis/... ./pkg/... ./test/yq/... ./controllers/... -run="$(TEST)" -covermode=atomic -coverprofile coverage.out
@@ -310,11 +318,13 @@ $(LOCALBIN):
 KUSTOMIZE ?= $(LOCALBIN)/kustomize
 CONTROLLER_GEN ?= $(LOCALBIN)/controller-gen
 ENVTEST ?= $(LOCALBIN)/setup-envtest
+GOLANGCI_LINT ?= $(LOCALBIN)/golangci-lint # TODO Add linting to the GHA also
 
 ## Tool Versions
-CERT_MANAGER_VERSION ?= v1.9.1
-KUSTOMIZE_VERSION ?= v4.5.7
-CONTROLLER_TOOLS_VERSION ?= v0.11.4
+CERT_MANAGER_VERSION ?= v1.12.2
+KUSTOMIZE_VERSION ?= v5.0.3
+CONTROLLER_TOOLS_VERSION ?= v0.12.0
+GOLINT_VERSION ?= 1.54.2
 
 cert-manager: ## Install cert-manager to the cluster
 	kubectl apply -f https://github.com/cert-manager/cert-manager/releases/download/$(CERT_MANAGER_VERSION)/cert-manager.yaml
@@ -370,17 +380,29 @@ create-clientconfig:
 		  --dest-context kind-k8ssandra-0; \
 	done
 
-
 KUSTOMIZE_INSTALL_SCRIPT ?= "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes-sigs/kustomize/master/hack/install_kustomize.sh"
 .PHONY: kustomize
-kustomize: $(KUSTOMIZE) ## Download kustomize locally if necessary.
+kustomize: $(KUSTOMIZE) ## Download kustomize locally if necessary. If wrong version is installed, it will be removed before downloading.
 $(KUSTOMIZE): $(LOCALBIN)
+	@if test -x $(LOCALBIN)/kustomize && ! $(LOCALBIN)/kustomize version | grep -q $(KUSTOMIZE_VERSION); then \
+		echo "$(LOCALBIN)/kustomize version is not expected $(KUSTOMIZE_VERSION). Removing it before installing."; \
+		rm -rf $(LOCALBIN)/kustomize; \
+	fi
 	test -s $(LOCALBIN)/kustomize || { curl -s $(KUSTOMIZE_INSTALL_SCRIPT) | bash -s -- $(subst v,,$(KUSTOMIZE_VERSION)) $(LOCALBIN); }
 
 .PHONY: controller-gen
-controller-gen: $(CONTROLLER_GEN) ## Download controller-gen locally if necessary.
+controller-gen: $(CONTROLLER_GEN) ## Download controller-gen locally if necessary. If wrong version is installed, it will be overwritten.
 $(CONTROLLER_GEN): $(LOCALBIN)
-	test -s $(LOCALBIN)/controller-gen || GOBIN=$(LOCALBIN) go install sigs.k8s.io/controller-tools/cmd/controller-gen@$(CONTROLLER_TOOLS_VERSION)
+	test -s $(LOCALBIN)/controller-gen && $(LOCALBIN)/controller-gen --version | grep -q $(CONTROLLER_TOOLS_VERSION) || \
+	GOBIN=$(LOCALBIN) go install sigs.k8s.io/controller-tools/cmd/controller-gen@$(CONTROLLER_TOOLS_VERSION)
+
+.PHONY: golangci-lint
+golangci-lint:
+	@if test -x $(LOCALBIN)/golangci-lint && ! $(LOCALBIN)/golangci-lint version | grep -q $(GOLINT_VERSION); then \
+		echo "$(LOCALBIN)/golangci-lint version is not expected $(GOLINT_VERSION). Removing it before installing."; \
+		rm -rf $(LOCALBIN)/golangci-lint; \
+	fi
+	test -s $(LOCALBIN)/golangci-lint || curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/golangci/golangci-lint/master/install.sh | sh -s v$(GOLINT_VERSION)
 
 .PHONY: envtest
 envtest: $(ENVTEST) ## Download envtest-setup locally if necessary.
diff --git a/config/crd/bases/config.k8ssandra.io_clientconfigs.yaml b/config/crd/bases/config.k8ssandra.io_clientconfigs.yaml
index e57ca23aa..ab9d1efa5 100644
--- a/config/crd/bases/config.k8ssandra.io_clientconfigs.yaml
+++ b/config/crd/bases/config.k8ssandra.io_clientconfigs.yaml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ apiVersion: apiextensions.k8s.io/v1
 kind: CustomResourceDefinition
 metadata:
   annotations:
-    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.11.4
+    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.12.0
   name: clientconfigs.config.k8ssandra.io
 spec:
   group: config.k8ssandra.io
diff --git a/config/crd/bases/control.k8ssandra.io_k8ssandratasks.yaml b/config/crd/bases/control.k8ssandra.io_k8ssandratasks.yaml
index c0ab9295e..f934b7866 100644
--- a/config/crd/bases/control.k8ssandra.io_k8ssandratasks.yaml
+++ b/config/crd/bases/control.k8ssandra.io_k8ssandratasks.yaml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ apiVersion: apiextensions.k8s.io/v1
 kind: CustomResourceDefinition
 metadata:
   annotations:
-    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.11.4
+    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.12.0
   name: k8ssandratasks.control.k8ssandra.io
 spec:
   group: control.k8ssandra.io
diff --git a/config/crd/bases/k8ssandra.io_k8ssandraclusters.yaml b/config/crd/bases/k8ssandra.io_k8ssandraclusters.yaml
index b6e7305b1..a75d4bcbe 100644
--- a/config/crd/bases/k8ssandra.io_k8ssandraclusters.yaml
+++ b/config/crd/bases/k8ssandra.io_k8ssandraclusters.yaml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ apiVersion: apiextensions.k8s.io/v1
 kind: CustomResourceDefinition
 metadata:
   annotations:
-    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.11.4
+    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.12.0
   name: k8ssandraclusters.k8ssandra.io
 spec:
   group: k8ssandra.io
diff --git a/config/crd/bases/medusa.k8ssandra.io_medusabackupjobs.yaml b/config/crd/bases/medusa.k8ssandra.io_medusabackupjobs.yaml
index 927ff6c7b..33eaa97f5 100644
--- a/config/crd/bases/medusa.k8ssandra.io_medusabackupjobs.yaml
+++ b/config/crd/bases/medusa.k8ssandra.io_medusabackupjobs.yaml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ apiVersion: apiextensions.k8s.io/v1
 kind: CustomResourceDefinition
 metadata:
   annotations:
-    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.11.4
+    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.12.0
   name: medusabackupjobs.medusa.k8ssandra.io
 spec:
   group: medusa.k8ssandra.io
diff --git a/config/crd/bases/medusa.k8ssandra.io_medusabackups.yaml b/config/crd/bases/medusa.k8ssandra.io_medusabackups.yaml
index 392dfe754..889024845 100644
--- a/config/crd/bases/medusa.k8ssandra.io_medusabackups.yaml
+++ b/config/crd/bases/medusa.k8ssandra.io_medusabackups.yaml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ apiVersion: apiextensions.k8s.io/v1
 kind: CustomResourceDefinition
 metadata:
   annotations:
-    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.11.4
+    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.12.0
   name: medusabackups.medusa.k8ssandra.io
 spec:
   group: medusa.k8ssandra.io
diff --git a/config/crd/bases/medusa.k8ssandra.io_medusabackupschedules.yaml b/config/crd/bases/medusa.k8ssandra.io_medusabackupschedules.yaml
index bc1646f3a..840c29823 100644
--- a/config/crd/bases/medusa.k8ssandra.io_medusabackupschedules.yaml
+++ b/config/crd/bases/medusa.k8ssandra.io_medusabackupschedules.yaml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ apiVersion: apiextensions.k8s.io/v1
 kind: CustomResourceDefinition
 metadata:
   annotations:
-    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.11.4
+    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.12.0
   name: medusabackupschedules.medusa.k8ssandra.io
 spec:
   group: medusa.k8ssandra.io
diff --git a/config/crd/bases/medusa.k8ssandra.io_medusarestorejobs.yaml b/config/crd/bases/medusa.k8ssandra.io_medusarestorejobs.yaml
index dfb48f722..cc4aec7f8 100644
--- a/config/crd/bases/medusa.k8ssandra.io_medusarestorejobs.yaml
+++ b/config/crd/bases/medusa.k8ssandra.io_medusarestorejobs.yaml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ apiVersion: apiextensions.k8s.io/v1
 kind: CustomResourceDefinition
 metadata:
   annotations:
-    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.11.4
+    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.12.0
   name: medusarestorejobs.medusa.k8ssandra.io
 spec:
   group: medusa.k8ssandra.io
diff --git a/config/crd/bases/medusa.k8ssandra.io_medusatasks.yaml b/config/crd/bases/medusa.k8ssandra.io_medusatasks.yaml
index 3a72dfd37..9a603a5bb 100644
--- a/config/crd/bases/medusa.k8ssandra.io_medusatasks.yaml
+++ b/config/crd/bases/medusa.k8ssandra.io_medusatasks.yaml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ apiVersion: apiextensions.k8s.io/v1
 kind: CustomResourceDefinition
 metadata:
   annotations:
-    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.11.4
+    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.12.0
   name: medusatasks.medusa.k8ssandra.io
 spec:
   group: medusa.k8ssandra.io
diff --git a/config/crd/bases/reaper.k8ssandra.io_reapers.yaml b/config/crd/bases/reaper.k8ssandra.io_reapers.yaml
index 910012e2d..9602344bd 100644
--- a/config/crd/bases/reaper.k8ssandra.io_reapers.yaml
+++ b/config/crd/bases/reaper.k8ssandra.io_reapers.yaml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ apiVersion: apiextensions.k8s.io/v1
 kind: CustomResourceDefinition
 metadata:
   annotations:
-    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.11.4
+    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.12.0
   name: reapers.reaper.k8ssandra.io
 spec:
   group: reaper.k8ssandra.io
diff --git a/config/crd/bases/replication.k8ssandra.io_replicatedsecrets.yaml b/config/crd/bases/replication.k8ssandra.io_replicatedsecrets.yaml
index c17acc202..7db1d9388 100644
--- a/config/crd/bases/replication.k8ssandra.io_replicatedsecrets.yaml
+++ b/config/crd/bases/replication.k8ssandra.io_replicatedsecrets.yaml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ apiVersion: apiextensions.k8s.io/v1
 kind: CustomResourceDefinition
 metadata:
   annotations:
-    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.11.4
+    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.12.0
   name: replicatedsecrets.replication.k8ssandra.io
 spec:
   group: replication.k8ssandra.io
diff --git a/config/crd/bases/stargate.k8ssandra.io_stargates.yaml b/config/crd/bases/stargate.k8ssandra.io_stargates.yaml
index 758767d10..118d7db5f 100644
--- a/config/crd/bases/stargate.k8ssandra.io_stargates.yaml
+++ b/config/crd/bases/stargate.k8ssandra.io_stargates.yaml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ apiVersion: apiextensions.k8s.io/v1
 kind: CustomResourceDefinition
 metadata:
   annotations:
-    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.11.4
+    controller-gen.kubebuilder.io/version: v0.12.0
   name: stargates.stargate.k8ssandra.io
 spec:
   group: stargate.k8ssandra.io
diff --git a/controllers/k8ssandra/add_dc_test.go b/controllers/k8ssandra/add_dc_test.go
index 37889de03..77cedad40 100644
--- a/controllers/k8ssandra/add_dc_test.go
+++ b/controllers/k8ssandra/add_dc_test.go
@@ -818,12 +818,6 @@ func verifyReplicationOfKeyspaceUpdated(t *testing.T, mockMgmtApi *testutils.Fak
 	}, timeout, interval, fmt.Sprintf("failed to verify replication for keyspace %s updated", keyspace))
 }
 
-func verifyKeyspaceReplicationAltered(t *testing.T, mockMgmtApi *testutils.FakeManagementApiFacade, keyspace string, replication map[string]int) {
-	require.Eventually(t, func() bool {
-		return mockMgmtApi.GetFirstCall(testutils.AlterKeyspace, keyspace, replication) > -1
-	}, timeout, interval, fmt.Sprintf("failed to verify replication for keyspace %s updated", keyspace))
-}
-
 func verifyRebuildTaskCreated(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, f *framework.Framework, targetDcKey, srcDcKey framework.ClusterKey) {
 	t.Log("check that rebuild task was created")
 	require := require.New(t)
diff --git a/controllers/k8ssandra/auth_test.go b/controllers/k8ssandra/auth_test.go
index 578827b08..e225a3431 100644
--- a/controllers/k8ssandra/auth_test.go
+++ b/controllers/k8ssandra/auth_test.go
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ func createSingleDcClusterNoAuth(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f *framework
 			Name:      "cluster1",
 		},
 		Spec: api.K8ssandraClusterSpec{
-			Auth: pointer.BoolPtr(false),
+			Auth: pointer.Bool(false),
 			Cassandra: &api.CassandraClusterTemplate{
 				Datacenters: []api.CassandraDatacenterTemplate{{
 					Meta:       api.EmbeddedObjectMeta{Name: "dc1"},
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ func createSingleDcClusterAuth(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f *framework.F
 			Name:      "cluster1",
 		},
 		Spec: api.K8ssandraClusterSpec{
-			Auth: pointer.BoolPtr(true),
+			Auth: pointer.Bool(true),
 			Cassandra: &api.CassandraClusterTemplate{
 				Datacenters: []api.CassandraDatacenterTemplate{{
 					Meta:       api.EmbeddedObjectMeta{Name: "dc1"},
@@ -255,7 +255,7 @@ func createSingleDcClusterAuthExternalSecrets(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context,
 			Name:      "cluster1",
 		},
 		Spec: api.K8ssandraClusterSpec{
-			Auth: pointer.BoolPtr(true),
+			Auth: pointer.Bool(true),
 			Cassandra: &api.CassandraClusterTemplate{
 				Datacenters: []api.CassandraDatacenterTemplate{{
 					Meta:       api.EmbeddedObjectMeta{Name: "dc1"},
@@ -383,7 +383,7 @@ func createSingleDcClusterExternalInternode(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f
 			Name:      "cluster1",
 		},
 		Spec: api.K8ssandraClusterSpec{
-			Auth: pointer.BoolPtr(true),
+			Auth: pointer.Bool(true),
 			Cassandra: &api.CassandraClusterTemplate{
 				Datacenters: []api.CassandraDatacenterTemplate{{
 					Meta:       api.EmbeddedObjectMeta{Name: "dc1"},
diff --git a/controllers/k8ssandra/cassandra_metrics_agent_test.go b/controllers/k8ssandra/cassandra_metrics_agent_test.go
index 16e9aec26..ddb1fbf48 100644
--- a/controllers/k8ssandra/cassandra_metrics_agent_test.go
+++ b/controllers/k8ssandra/cassandra_metrics_agent_test.go
@@ -80,7 +80,6 @@ func createSingleDcClusterWithMetricsAgent(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f
 	require.Eventually(f.DatacenterExists(ctx, dcKey), timeout, interval)
 	// Check that we have the right volumes and volume mounts.
 	dc := &cassdcapi.CassandraDatacenter{}
-	f.Get(ctx, dcKey, dc)
 	if err := f.Get(ctx, dcKey, dc); err != nil {
 		require.Fail("could not find dc")
 	}
diff --git a/controllers/k8ssandra/cleanup_test.go b/controllers/k8ssandra/cleanup_test.go
index ce20f9d4a..790e63de2 100644
--- a/controllers/k8ssandra/cleanup_test.go
+++ b/controllers/k8ssandra/cleanup_test.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	testlogr "github.com/go-logr/logr/testing"
 	k8ssandraapi "github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/apis/k8ssandra/v1alpha1"
 	k8ssandralabels "github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/pkg/labels"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 	appsv1 "k8s.io/api/apps/v1"
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
@@ -17,7 +18,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 func TestK8ssandraClusterReconciler_DeleteServices(t *testing.T) {
-	k8sMock := fake.NewFakeClient()
+	k8sMock := fake.NewClientBuilder().WithScheme(scheme.Scheme).Build()
 	ctx := context.Background()
 	logger := testlogr.NewTestLogger(t)
 
@@ -38,7 +39,7 @@ func TestK8ssandraClusterReconciler_DeleteServices(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 	}
 
-	k8sMock.Create(ctx, service)
+	require.NoError(t, k8sMock.Create(ctx, service))
 
 	res := K8ssandraClusterReconciler{
 		Client: k8sMock,
@@ -46,20 +47,15 @@ func TestK8ssandraClusterReconciler_DeleteServices(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	hasError := res.deleteServices(ctx, kc, k8ssandraapi.CassandraDatacenterTemplate{}, namespace, k8sMock, logger)
-
-	if hasError != false {
-		t.Errorf("Error while deleting services")
-	}
+	require.False(t, hasError, "Error while deleting services")
 
 	err := k8sMock.Get(ctx, client.ObjectKeyFromObject(service), service)
-	if err == nil || !errors.IsNotFound(err) {
-		t.Errorf("Service was not deleted: %v", err)
-	}
-
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	require.True(t, errors.IsNotFound(err))
 }
 
 func TestK8ssandraClusterReconciler_DeleteDeployments(t *testing.T) {
-	k8sMock := fake.NewFakeClient()
+	k8sMock := fake.NewClientBuilder().WithScheme(scheme.Scheme).Build()
 	ctx := context.Background()
 	logger := testlogr.NewTestLogger(t)
 
@@ -80,7 +76,7 @@ func TestK8ssandraClusterReconciler_DeleteDeployments(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 	}
 
-	k8sMock.Create(ctx, deployment)
+	require.NoError(t, k8sMock.Create(ctx, deployment))
 
 	res := K8ssandraClusterReconciler{
 		Client: k8sMock,
diff --git a/controllers/k8ssandra/k8ssandracluster_controller_test.go b/controllers/k8ssandra/k8ssandracluster_controller_test.go
index 73d44a76b..629fd43f1 100644
--- a/controllers/k8ssandra/k8ssandracluster_controller_test.go
+++ b/controllers/k8ssandra/k8ssandracluster_controller_test.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
+	"math/rand"
 	"reflect"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
@@ -13,6 +14,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/pkg/encryption"
 	"github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/pkg/images"
 	"github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/pkg/labels"
+	medusa "github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/pkg/medusa"
 	"github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/pkg/utils"
 
 	promapi "github.com/prometheus-operator/prometheus-operator/pkg/apis/monitoring/v1"
@@ -105,7 +107,6 @@ func TestK8ssandraCluster(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Run("CreateSingleDcClusterExternalInternode", testEnv.ControllerTest(ctx, createSingleDcClusterExternalInternode))
 
 	// If webhooks are installed, this testcase is handled by the webhook test
-	// t.Run("ChangeNumTokensValue", testEnv.ControllerTest(ctx, changeNumTokensValue))
 	t.Run("ApplyClusterWithEncryptionOptions", testEnv.ControllerTest(ctx, applyClusterWithEncryptionOptions))
 	t.Run("ApplyClusterWithEncryptionOptionsFail", testEnv.ControllerTest(ctx, applyClusterWithEncryptionOptionsFail))
 	t.Run("ApplyClusterWithEncryptionOptionsExternalSecrets", testEnv.ControllerTest(ctx, applyClusterWithEncryptionOptionsExternalSecrets))
@@ -1427,120 +1428,6 @@ func createMultiDcClusterWithStargate(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f *fram
 	f.AssertObjectDoesNotExist(ctx, t, sg2Key, &stargateapi.Stargate{}, timeout, interval)
 }
 
-// changeNumTokensValue creates a Datacenter and then changes the numTokens value
-// Such change is prohibited and should fail
-func changeNumTokensValue(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f *framework.Framework, namespace string) {
-	require := require.New(t)
-
-	kc := &api.K8ssandraCluster{
-		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
-			Namespace: namespace,
-			Name:      "test",
-		},
-		Spec: api.K8ssandraClusterSpec{
-			Cassandra: &api.CassandraClusterTemplate{
-				DatacenterOptions: api.DatacenterOptions{
-					CassandraConfig: &api.CassandraConfig{
-						CassandraYaml: unstructured.Unstructured{
-							"num_tokens": 16,
-						},
-					},
-				},
-				Datacenters: []api.CassandraDatacenterTemplate{
-					{
-						Meta: api.EmbeddedObjectMeta{
-							Name: "dc1",
-						},
-						K8sContext: f.DataPlaneContexts[0],
-						Size:       1,
-						DatacenterOptions: api.DatacenterOptions{
-							ServerVersion: "3.11.14",
-							StorageConfig: &cassdcapi.StorageConfig{
-								CassandraDataVolumeClaimSpec: &corev1.PersistentVolumeClaimSpec{
-									StorageClassName: &defaultStorageClass,
-								},
-							},
-						},
-					},
-				},
-			},
-		},
-	}
-
-	err := f.Client.Create(ctx, kc)
-	require.NoError(err, "failed to create K8ssandraCluster")
-
-	verifyFinalizerAdded(ctx, t, f, client.ObjectKey{Namespace: kc.Namespace, Name: kc.Name})
-
-	verifySuperuserSecretCreated(ctx, t, f, kc)
-
-	verifyReplicatedSecretReconciled(ctx, t, f, kc)
-
-	verifySystemReplicationAnnotationSet(ctx, t, f, kc)
-
-	t.Log("check that the datacenter was created")
-
-	dcKey := framework.ClusterKey{NamespacedName: types.NamespacedName{Namespace: namespace, Name: "dc1"}, K8sContext: f.DataPlaneContexts[0]}
-	require.Eventually(f.DatacenterExists(ctx, dcKey), timeout, interval)
-	verifySecretAnnotationAdded(t, f, ctx, dcKey, secret.DefaultSuperuserSecretName(kc.SanitizedName()))
-
-	lastTransitionTime := metav1.Now()
-
-	t.Log("update datacenter status to scaling up")
-	err = f.PatchDatacenterStatus(ctx, dcKey, func(dc *cassdcapi.CassandraDatacenter) {
-		dc.SetCondition(cassdcapi.DatacenterCondition{
-			Type:               cassdcapi.DatacenterScalingUp,
-			Status:             corev1.ConditionTrue,
-			LastTransitionTime: lastTransitionTime,
-		})
-	})
-	require.NoError(err, "failed to patch datacenter status")
-
-	t.Log("update datacenter status to ready")
-	err = f.PatchDatacenterStatus(ctx, dcKey, func(dc *cassdcapi.CassandraDatacenter) {
-		lastTransitionTime = metav1.Now()
-		dc.SetCondition(cassdcapi.DatacenterCondition{
-			Type:               cassdcapi.DatacenterReady,
-			Status:             corev1.ConditionTrue,
-			LastTransitionTime: lastTransitionTime,
-		})
-		dc.SetCondition(cassdcapi.DatacenterCondition{
-			Type:               cassdcapi.DatacenterScalingUp,
-			Status:             corev1.ConditionFalse,
-			LastTransitionTime: lastTransitionTime,
-		})
-	})
-	require.NoError(err, "failed to patch datacenter status")
-
-	// Update the datacenter with a different num_tokens value and check that it failed
-	initialNumTokens := kc.Spec.Cassandra.DatacenterOptions.CassandraConfig.CassandraYaml["num_tokens"]
-	kcKey := framework.ClusterKey{NamespacedName: utils.GetKey(kc), K8sContext: f.ControlPlaneContext}
-	kcPatch := client.MergeFrom(kc.DeepCopy())
-	kc.Spec.Cassandra.DatacenterOptions.CassandraConfig.CassandraYaml["num_tokens"] = 256
-	err = f.Patch(ctx, kc, kcPatch, kcKey)
-	require.NoError(err, "got error patching num_tokens")
-
-	err = f.Client.Get(ctx, kcKey.NamespacedName, kc)
-	require.NoError(err, "failed to get K8ssandraCluster")
-	dc := cassdcapi.CassandraDatacenter{}
-	err = f.Client.Get(ctx, dcKey.NamespacedName, &dc)
-	require.NoError(err, "failed to get CassandraDatacenter")
-	dcConfig, err := utils.UnmarshalToMap(dc.Spec.Config)
-	require.NoError(err, "failed to unmarshall CassandraDatacenter config")
-	dcConfigYaml, _ := dcConfig["cassandra-yaml"].(map[string]interface{})
-	t.Logf("Initial num_tokens value: %d", initialNumTokens)
-	t.Logf("Spec num_tokens value: %d", kc.Spec.Cassandra.DatacenterOptions.CassandraConfig.CassandraYaml["num_tokens"])
-	t.Logf("dcConfigYaml num tokens: %v", dcConfigYaml["num_tokens"].(float64))
-	require.NotEqual(fmt.Sprintf("%v", dcConfigYaml["num_tokens"]), fmt.Sprintf("%d", kc.Spec.Cassandra.DatacenterOptions.CassandraConfig.CassandraYaml["num_tokens"]), "num_tokens should not be updated")
-	require.Equal(fmt.Sprintf("%v", dcConfigYaml["num_tokens"]), fmt.Sprintf("%d", initialNumTokens), "num_tokens should not be updated")
-
-	// Test cluster deletion
-	t.Log("deleting K8ssandraCluster")
-	err = f.DeleteK8ssandraCluster(ctx, client.ObjectKey{Namespace: namespace, Name: kc.Name}, timeout, interval)
-	require.NoError(err, "failed to delete K8ssandraCluster")
-	f.AssertObjectDoesNotExist(ctx, t, dcKey, &cassdcapi.CassandraDatacenter{}, timeout, interval)
-}
-
 // Create a cluster with encryption options and Stargate.
 // Verify that volumes, mounts and config maps are correctly created.
 func applyClusterWithEncryptionOptions(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f *framework.Framework, namespace string) {
@@ -1614,7 +1501,7 @@ func applyClusterWithEncryptionOptions(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f *fra
 	for _, secret := range []*corev1.Secret{clientKeystore, clientTruststore, serverKeystore, serverTruststore, clientCertificates} {
 		secretKey := utils.GetKey(secret)
 		secretClusterKey0 := framework.ClusterKey{NamespacedName: secretKey, K8sContext: f.DataPlaneContexts[0]}
-		f.Create(ctx, secretClusterKey0, secret)
+		require.NoError(f.Create(ctx, secretClusterKey0, secret))
 	}
 
 	// Create the cluster template with encryption enabled
@@ -1706,7 +1593,8 @@ func applyClusterWithEncryptionOptions(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f *fra
 
 	verifySystemReplicationAnnotationSet(ctx, t, f, kc)
 
-	reconcileMedusaStandaloneDeployment(ctx, t, f, kc, "dc1", f.DataPlaneContexts[0])
+	medusaKey := framework.ClusterKey{NamespacedName: types.NamespacedName{Namespace: namespace, Name: medusa.MedusaStandaloneDeploymentName(kc.SanitizedName(), "dc1")}, K8sContext: f.DataPlaneContexts[0]}
+	require.NoError(f.SetMedusaDeplAvailable(ctx, medusaKey))
 	t.Log("check that dc1 was created")
 	dc1Key := framework.ClusterKey{NamespacedName: types.NamespacedName{Namespace: namespace, Name: "dc1"}, K8sContext: f.DataPlaneContexts[0]}
 	require.Eventually(f.DatacenterExists(ctx, dc1Key), timeout, interval)
@@ -1812,10 +1700,12 @@ func applyClusterWithEncryptionOptionsFail(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f
 	dc1Size := int32(3)
 	dc2Size := int32(3)
 
+	randNr := rand.Int31()
+
 	// Create the client keystore and truststore secrets
 	clientKeystore := &corev1.Secret{
 		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
-			Name:      "client-keystore-secret",
+			Name:      fmt.Sprintf("client-keystore-secret%d", randNr),
 			Namespace: namespace,
 		},
 		Data: map[string][]byte{
@@ -1825,7 +1715,7 @@ func applyClusterWithEncryptionOptionsFail(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f
 
 	clientTruststore := &corev1.Secret{
 		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
-			Name:      "client-truststore-secret",
+			Name:      fmt.Sprintf("client-truststore-secret%d", randNr),
 			Namespace: namespace,
 		},
 		Data: map[string][]byte{
@@ -1836,7 +1726,7 @@ func applyClusterWithEncryptionOptionsFail(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f
 	// Create the client keystore and truststore secrets
 	clientKeystoreSecret := &corev1.Secret{
 		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
-			Name:      "client-keystore-password-secret",
+			Name:      fmt.Sprintf("client-keystore-password-secret%d", randNr),
 			Namespace: namespace,
 		},
 		Data: map[string][]byte{
@@ -1846,7 +1736,7 @@ func applyClusterWithEncryptionOptionsFail(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f
 
 	clientTruststoreSecret := &corev1.Secret{
 		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
-			Name:      "client-truststore-password-secret",
+			Name:      fmt.Sprintf("client-truststore-password-secret%d", randNr),
 			Namespace: namespace,
 		},
 		Data: map[string][]byte{
@@ -1856,11 +1746,14 @@ func applyClusterWithEncryptionOptionsFail(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f
 
 	// Loop over the created configmaps and create them
 	for _, secret := range []*corev1.Secret{clientKeystore, clientTruststore, clientKeystoreSecret, clientTruststoreSecret} {
+		secret2 := *secret
+
 		secretKey := utils.GetKey(secret)
 		secretClusterKey0 := framework.ClusterKey{NamespacedName: secretKey, K8sContext: f.DataPlaneContexts[0]}
 		secretClusterKey1 := framework.ClusterKey{NamespacedName: secretKey, K8sContext: f.DataPlaneContexts[1]}
-		f.Create(ctx, secretClusterKey0, secret)
-		f.Create(ctx, secretClusterKey1, secret)
+
+		require.NoError(f.Create(ctx, secretClusterKey0, secret))
+		require.NoError(f.Create(ctx, secretClusterKey1, &secret2))
 	}
 
 	// Create the cluster template with encryption enabled for both server and client, but missing client encryption stores
@@ -1907,10 +1800,10 @@ func applyClusterWithEncryptionOptionsFail(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f
 				},
 				ServerEncryptionStores: &encryption.Stores{
 					KeystoreSecretRef: &encryption.SecretKeySelector{LocalObjectReference: corev1.LocalObjectReference{
-						Name: "server-keystore-secret",
+						Name: fmt.Sprintf("server-keystore-secret%d", randNr),
 					}},
 					TruststoreSecretRef: &encryption.SecretKeySelector{LocalObjectReference: corev1.LocalObjectReference{
-						Name: "server-truststore-secret",
+						Name: fmt.Sprintf("server-truststore-secret%d", randNr),
 					}},
 				},
 			},
@@ -2011,7 +1904,7 @@ func applyClusterWithEncryptionOptionsExternalSecrets(t *testing.T, ctx context.
 	for _, secret := range []*corev1.Secret{clientKeystore, clientTruststore, serverKeystore, serverTruststore, clientCertificates} {
 		secretKey := utils.GetKey(secret)
 		secretClusterKey0 := framework.ClusterKey{NamespacedName: secretKey, K8sContext: f.DataPlaneContexts[0]}
-		f.Create(ctx, secretClusterKey0, secret)
+		require.NoError(f.Create(ctx, secretClusterKey0, secret))
 	}
 
 	// Create the cluster template with encryption enabled
@@ -2075,7 +1968,8 @@ func applyClusterWithEncryptionOptionsExternalSecrets(t *testing.T, ctx context.
 	require.NoError(err, "failed to create K8ssandraCluster")
 
 	verifyFinalizerAdded(ctx, t, f, client.ObjectKey{Namespace: kc.Namespace, Name: kc.Name})
-	reconcileMedusaStandaloneDeployment(ctx, t, f, kc, "dc1", f.DataPlaneContexts[0])
+	medusaKey := framework.ClusterKey{NamespacedName: types.NamespacedName{Namespace: namespace, Name: medusa.MedusaStandaloneDeploymentName(kc.SanitizedName(), "dc1")}, K8sContext: f.DataPlaneContexts[0]}
+	require.NoError(f.SetMedusaDeplAvailable(ctx, medusaKey))
 	t.Log("check that dc1 was created")
 	dc1Key := framework.ClusterKey{NamespacedName: types.NamespacedName{Namespace: namespace, Name: "dc1"}, K8sContext: f.DataPlaneContexts[0]}
 	require.Eventually(f.DatacenterExists(ctx, dc1Key), timeout, interval)
diff --git a/controllers/k8ssandra/medusa_reconciler.go b/controllers/k8ssandra/medusa_reconciler.go
index e45faf56a..a4837c146 100644
--- a/controllers/k8ssandra/medusa_reconciler.go
+++ b/controllers/k8ssandra/medusa_reconciler.go
@@ -75,7 +75,9 @@ func (r *K8ssandraClusterReconciler) reconcileMedusa(
 			if dcConfig.Meta.Pods.Annotations == nil {
 				dcConfig.Meta.Pods.Annotations = map[string]string{}
 			}
-			secret.AddInjectionAnnotationMedusaContainers(&dcConfig.Meta.Pods, cassandraUserSecretName)
+			if err := secret.AddInjectionAnnotationMedusaContainers(&dcConfig.Meta.Pods, cassandraUserSecretName); err != nil {
+				return result.Error(err)
+			}
 		}
 
 		// Reconcile the Medusa standalone deployment
diff --git a/controllers/k8ssandra/medusa_reconciler_test.go b/controllers/k8ssandra/medusa_reconciler_test.go
index 2b998aade..ac25c1511 100644
--- a/controllers/k8ssandra/medusa_reconciler_test.go
+++ b/controllers/k8ssandra/medusa_reconciler_test.go
@@ -375,7 +375,7 @@ func reconcileMedusaStandaloneDeployment(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, f *f
 		},
 	}
 	medusaKey := framework.ClusterKey{NamespacedName: utils.GetKey(medusaDepl), K8sContext: k8sContext}
-	f.Create(ctx, medusaKey, medusaDepl)
+	require.NoError(t, f.Create(ctx, medusaKey, medusaDepl))
 
 	actualMedusaDepl := &appsv1.Deployment{}
 	assert.Eventually(t, func() bool {
diff --git a/controllers/medusa/medusabackupjob_controller.go b/controllers/medusa/medusabackupjob_controller.go
index 0d9da5452..cd6c32eab 100644
--- a/controllers/medusa/medusabackupjob_controller.go
+++ b/controllers/medusa/medusabackupjob_controller.go
@@ -297,7 +297,7 @@ func (r *MedusaBackupJobReconciler) createMedusaBackup(ctx context.Context, back
 func doMedusaBackup(ctx context.Context, name string, backupType shared.BackupType, pod *corev1.Pod, clientFactory medusa.ClientFactory, logger logr.Logger) (string, error) {
 	addr := net.JoinHostPort(pod.Status.PodIP, fmt.Sprint(shared.BackupSidecarPort))
 	logger.Info("connecting to backup sidecar", "Pod", pod.Name, "Address", addr)
-	if medusaClient, err := clientFactory.NewClient(addr); err != nil {
+	if medusaClient, err := clientFactory.NewClient(ctx, addr); err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	} else {
 		logger.Info("successfully connected to backup sidecar", "Pod", pod.Name, "Address", addr)
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ func doMedusaBackup(ctx context.Context, name string, backupType shared.BackupTy
 func backupStatus(ctx context.Context, name string, pod *corev1.Pod, clientFactory medusa.ClientFactory, logger logr.Logger) (medusa.StatusType, error) {
 	addr := net.JoinHostPort(pod.Status.PodIP, fmt.Sprint(shared.BackupSidecarPort))
 	logger.Info("connecting to backup sidecar", "Pod", pod.Name, "Address", addr)
-	if medusaClient, err := clientFactory.NewClient(addr); err != nil {
+	if medusaClient, err := clientFactory.NewClient(ctx, addr); err != nil {
 		return medusa.StatusType_UNKNOWN, err
 	} else {
 		resp, err := medusaClient.BackupStatus(ctx, name)
diff --git a/controllers/medusa/medusabackupjob_controller_test.go b/controllers/medusa/medusabackupjob_controller_test.go
index 5f2ba7e95..472b09903 100644
--- a/controllers/medusa/medusabackupjob_controller_test.go
+++ b/controllers/medusa/medusabackupjob_controller_test.go
@@ -299,7 +299,7 @@ func NewMedusaClientFactory() *fakeMedusaClientFactory {
 	return &fakeMedusaClientFactory{clients: make(map[string]*fakeMedusaClient, 0)}
 }
 
-func (f *fakeMedusaClientFactory) NewClient(address string) (medusa.Client, error) {
+func (f *fakeMedusaClientFactory) NewClient(ctx context.Context, address string) (medusa.Client, error) {
 	f.clientsMutex.Lock()
 	defer f.clientsMutex.Unlock()
 	_, ok := f.clients[address]
@@ -490,7 +490,7 @@ func reconcileMedusaStandaloneDeployment(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, f *f
 		},
 	}
 	medusaKey := framework.ClusterKey{NamespacedName: utils.GetKey(medusaDepl), K8sContext: k8sContext}
-	f.Create(ctx, medusaKey, medusaDepl)
+	require.NoError(t, f.Create(ctx, medusaKey, medusaDepl))
 
 	actualMedusaDepl := &appsv1.Deployment{}
 	assert.Eventually(t, func() bool {
diff --git a/controllers/medusa/medusabackupschedule_controller_test.go b/controllers/medusa/medusabackupschedule_controller_test.go
index b5d3c8697..36067bc01 100644
--- a/controllers/medusa/medusabackupschedule_controller_test.go
+++ b/controllers/medusa/medusabackupschedule_controller_test.go
@@ -41,7 +41,8 @@ func TestScheduler(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 		},
 	}
-	medusav1alpha1.AddToScheme(scheme.Scheme)
+	err := medusav1alpha1.AddToScheme(scheme.Scheme)
+	require.NoError(err)
 
 	fakeClient := fake.NewClientBuilder().
 		WithRuntimeObjects(backupSchedule).
@@ -163,7 +164,8 @@ func TestSchedulerParseError(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 		},
 	}
-	medusav1alpha1.AddToScheme(scheme.Scheme)
+	err := medusav1alpha1.AddToScheme(scheme.Scheme)
+	require.NoError(err)
 
 	fakeClient := fake.NewClientBuilder().
 		WithRuntimeObjects(backupSchedule).
@@ -183,6 +185,6 @@ func TestSchedulerParseError(t *testing.T) {
 		Namespace: backupSchedule.Namespace,
 	}
 
-	_, err := r.Reconcile(context.TODO(), reconcile.Request{NamespacedName: nsName})
+	_, err = r.Reconcile(context.TODO(), reconcile.Request{NamespacedName: nsName})
 	require.Error(err)
 }
diff --git a/controllers/medusa/medusarestorejob_controller.go b/controllers/medusa/medusarestorejob_controller.go
index c110a576e..3308acc96 100644
--- a/controllers/medusa/medusarestorejob_controller.go
+++ b/controllers/medusa/medusarestorejob_controller.go
@@ -254,7 +254,7 @@ func (r *MedusaRestoreJobReconciler) podTemplateSpecUpdateComplete(ctx context.C
 // prepareRestore prepares the MedusaRestoreMapping for the restore operation.
 // It uses the Medusa client to get the host map for the restore operation, using the Medusa standalone service to get the backup topology.
 func (r *MedusaRestoreJobReconciler) prepareRestore(ctx context.Context, request *medusa.RestoreRequest) (*medusav1alpha1.MedusaRestoreMapping, error) {
-	medusaClient, err := r.ClientFactory.NewClient(medusaServiceUrl(
+	medusaClient, err := r.ClientFactory.NewClient(ctx, medusaServiceUrl(
 		cassdcapi.CleanupForKubernetes(request.Datacenter.Spec.ClusterName),
 		request.Datacenter.SanitizedName(),
 		request.Datacenter.Namespace))
diff --git a/controllers/medusa/medusarestorejob_controller_test.go b/controllers/medusa/medusarestorejob_controller_test.go
index 33239addb..87ec12e37 100644
--- a/controllers/medusa/medusarestorejob_controller_test.go
+++ b/controllers/medusa/medusarestorejob_controller_test.go
@@ -27,7 +27,8 @@ const (
 
 func testMedusaRestoreDatacenter(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f *framework.Framework, namespace string) {
 	require := require.New(t)
-	f.Client.DeleteAllOf(ctx, &corev1.Pod{}, client.InNamespace(namespace))
+	err := f.Client.DeleteAllOf(ctx, &corev1.Pod{}, client.InNamespace(namespace))
+	require.NoError(err)
 	k8sCtx0 := f.DataPlaneContexts[0]
 
 	kc := &k8ss.K8ssandraCluster{
@@ -73,8 +74,7 @@ func testMedusaRestoreDatacenter(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f *framework
 	}
 
 	t.Log("Creating k8ssandracluster with Medusa")
-	err := f.Client.Create(ctx, kc)
-	require.NoError(err, "failed to create K8ssandraCluster")
+	require.NoError(f.Client.Create(ctx, kc), "failed to create K8ssandraCluster")
 
 	reconcileReplicatedSecret(ctx, t, f, kc)
 	reconcileMedusaStandaloneDeployment(ctx, t, f, kc, "real-dc1", f.DataPlaneContexts[0])
@@ -298,7 +298,7 @@ func testMedusaRestoreDatacenter(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f *framework
 
 func testValidationErrorStopsRestore(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f *framework.Framework, namespace string) {
 	require := require.New(t)
-	f.Client.DeleteAllOf(ctx, &corev1.Pod{}, client.InNamespace(namespace))
+	require.NoError(f.Client.DeleteAllOf(ctx, &corev1.Pod{}, client.InNamespace(namespace)))
 	k8sCtx0 := f.DataPlaneContexts[0]
 
 	kc := &k8ss.K8ssandraCluster{
@@ -572,7 +572,7 @@ func NewMedusaClientRestoreFactory() *fakeMedusaRestoreClientFactory {
 	return &fakeMedusaRestoreClientFactory{clients: make(map[string]*fakeMedusaRestoreClient, 0)}
 }
 
-func (f *fakeMedusaRestoreClientFactory) NewClient(address string) (medusa.Client, error) {
+func (f *fakeMedusaRestoreClientFactory) NewClient(ctx context.Context, address string) (medusa.Client, error) {
 	f.clientsMutex.Lock()
 	defer f.clientsMutex.Unlock()
 	_, ok := f.clients[address]
diff --git a/controllers/medusa/medusatask_controller.go b/controllers/medusa/medusatask_controller.go
index 24279da41..6f265a0f8 100644
--- a/controllers/medusa/medusatask_controller.go
+++ b/controllers/medusa/medusatask_controller.go
@@ -395,7 +395,7 @@ func (r *MedusaTaskReconciler) scheduleSyncForPurge(task *medusav1alpha1.MedusaT
 
 func doPurge(ctx context.Context, task *medusav1alpha1.MedusaTask, pod *corev1.Pod, clientFactory medusa.ClientFactory) (*medusa.PurgeBackupsResponse, error) {
 	addr := net.JoinHostPort(pod.Status.PodIP, fmt.Sprint(shared.BackupSidecarPort))
-	if medusaClient, err := clientFactory.NewClient(addr); err != nil {
+	if medusaClient, err := clientFactory.NewClient(ctx, addr); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	} else {
 		defer medusaClient.Close()
@@ -405,7 +405,7 @@ func doPurge(ctx context.Context, task *medusav1alpha1.MedusaTask, pod *corev1.P
 
 func prepareRestore(ctx context.Context, task *medusav1alpha1.MedusaTask, pod *corev1.Pod, clientFactory medusa.ClientFactory) (*medusa.PurgeBackupsResponse, error) {
 	addr := net.JoinHostPort(pod.Status.PodIP, fmt.Sprint(shared.BackupSidecarPort))
-	if medusaClient, err := clientFactory.NewClient(addr); err != nil {
+	if medusaClient, err := clientFactory.NewClient(ctx, addr); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	} else {
 		defer medusaClient.Close()
@@ -416,7 +416,7 @@ func prepareRestore(ctx context.Context, task *medusav1alpha1.MedusaTask, pod *c
 
 func GetBackups(ctx context.Context, pod *corev1.Pod, clientFactory medusa.ClientFactory) ([]*medusa.BackupSummary, error) {
 	addr := net.JoinHostPort(pod.Status.PodIP, fmt.Sprint(shared.BackupSidecarPort))
-	if medusaClient, err := clientFactory.NewClient(addr); err != nil {
+	if medusaClient, err := clientFactory.NewClient(ctx, addr); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	} else {
 		defer medusaClient.Close()
diff --git a/controllers/reaper/reaper_controller_test.go b/controllers/reaper/reaper_controller_test.go
index ad1c24d7d..49c85939b 100644
--- a/controllers/reaper/reaper_controller_test.go
+++ b/controllers/reaper/reaper_controller_test.go
@@ -473,7 +473,10 @@ func testCreateReaperWithAuthEnabledExternalSecret(t *testing.T, ctx context.Con
 	// these shouldn't be set when SecretsProvider=='external', but verifying
 	// the env vars aren't created even if they are set
 	rpr.Spec.CassandraUserSecretRef.Name = "top-secret-cass"
-	rpr.Spec.JmxUserSecretRef.Name = "top-secret-jmx"
+
+	//lint:ignore SA1019 Verify deprecated method is ineffective
+	rpr.Spec.JmxUserSecretRef.Name = "top-secret-jmx" //nolint:staticcheck
+
 	rpr.Spec.UiUserSecretRef.Name = "top-secret-ui"
 	err = k8sClient.Create(ctx, rpr)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
diff --git a/controllers/secrets-webhook/secretswebhook.go b/controllers/secrets-webhook/secretswebhook.go
index fd2b5ef42..dcbce076a 100644
--- a/controllers/secrets-webhook/secretswebhook.go
+++ b/controllers/secrets-webhook/secretswebhook.go
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ func injectVolume(pod *corev1.Pod, volume corev1.Volume) {
 func injectVolumeMount(pod *corev1.Pod, volumeMount corev1.VolumeMount, containers []string) {
 	var all bool
 	s := make(map[string]bool)
-	if containers == nil || len(containers) == 0 {
+	if len(containers) == 0 {
 		all = true
 	} else {
 		for _, c := range containers {
diff --git a/controllers/secrets-webhook/secretswebhook_test.go b/controllers/secrets-webhook/secretswebhook_test.go
index 67f9d159f..29ede1a65 100644
--- a/controllers/secrets-webhook/secretswebhook_test.go
+++ b/controllers/secrets-webhook/secretswebhook_test.go
@@ -3,14 +3,13 @@ package secrets_webhook
 import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
-	"fmt"
+	"sort"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	admissionv1 "k8s.io/api/admission/v1"
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
-	v1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes/scheme"
 	log "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/log"
@@ -20,9 +19,10 @@ import (
 
 func TestHandleInjectSecretSuccess(t *testing.T) {
 	p := setupSecretsInjector(t)
+	assert := assert.New(t)
 
 	pod := &corev1.Pod{
-		ObjectMeta: v1.ObjectMeta{
+		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
 			Name: "test",
 			Annotations: map[string]string{
 				"k8ssandra.io/inject-secret": `[{"name": "mySecret", "path": "/my/secret/path"}]`,
@@ -37,21 +37,24 @@ func TestHandleInjectSecretSuccess(t *testing.T) {
 	req := createRequest(t, pod)
 
 	resp := p.Handle(context.Background(), req)
-	fmt.Println(fmt.Sprintf("%v", resp))
-	assert.Equal(t, true, resp.AdmissionResponse.Allowed)
+	assert.True(resp.AdmissionResponse.Allowed)
 	// 2 patches for addition of volume and volumeMount, but the order of the patches may vary
-	assert.Equal(t, len(resp.Patches), 2)
-	testPasses := (resp.Patches[0].Path == "/spec/volumes" && resp.Patches[1].Path == "/spec/containers/0/volumeMounts") || (resp.Patches[1].Path == "/spec/volumes" && resp.Patches[0].Path == "/spec/containers/0/volumeMounts")
-	assert.True(t, testPasses)
-	assert.Equal(t, resp.Patches[0].Operation, "add")
-	assert.Equal(t, resp.Patches[1].Operation, "add")
+	assert.Equal(len(resp.Patches), 2)
+
+	sort.Slice(resp.Patches, func(i, j int) bool {
+		return resp.Patches[i].Path > resp.Patches[j].Path
+	})
+	assert.Equal(resp.Patches[0].Path, "/spec/volumes")
+	assert.Equal(resp.Patches[1].Path, "/spec/containers/0/volumeMounts")
+	assert.Equal(resp.Patches[0].Operation, "add")
+	assert.Equal(resp.Patches[1].Operation, "add")
 }
 
 func TestHandleInjectSecretNoPatch(t *testing.T) {
 	p := setupSecretsInjector(t)
 
 	pod := &corev1.Pod{
-		ObjectMeta: v1.ObjectMeta{
+		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
 			Name: "test",
 			Annotations: map[string]string{
 				"fake-annotation": `fake-val`,
@@ -73,7 +76,7 @@ func TestHandleInjectSecretNoPatch(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestMutatePodsSingleSecret(t *testing.T) {
 	want := &corev1.Pod{
-		ObjectMeta: v1.ObjectMeta{
+		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
 			Name: "test",
 			Annotations: map[string]string{
 				"k8ssandra.io/inject-secret": `[{"name": "mySecret", "path": "/my/secret/path"}]`,
@@ -99,7 +102,7 @@ func TestMutatePodsSingleSecret(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	pod := &corev1.Pod{
-		ObjectMeta: v1.ObjectMeta{
+		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
 			Name: "test",
 			Annotations: map[string]string{
 				"k8ssandra.io/inject-secret": `[{"name": "mySecret", "path": "/my/secret/path"}]`,
@@ -128,7 +131,7 @@ func TestMutatePodsMutliSecret(t *testing.T) {
 	 {"name": "myOtherSecret", "path": "/my/other/secret/path"}]`
 
 	want := &corev1.Pod{
-		ObjectMeta: v1.ObjectMeta{
+		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
 			Name: "test",
 			Annotations: map[string]string{
 				"k8ssandra.io/inject-secret": injectionAnnotation,
@@ -170,7 +173,7 @@ func TestMutatePodsMutliSecret(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	pod := &corev1.Pod{
-		ObjectMeta: v1.ObjectMeta{
+		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
 			Name: "test",
 			Annotations: map[string]string{
 				"k8ssandra.io/inject-secret": injectionAnnotation,
@@ -200,7 +203,9 @@ func setupSecretsInjector(t *testing.T) *podSecretsInjector {
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	p.InjectDecoder(d)
+	if err := p.InjectDecoder(d); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
 	return p
 }
 
@@ -225,7 +230,7 @@ func createRequest(t *testing.T, pod *corev1.Pod) webhook.AdmissionRequest {
 
 func TestMutatePodsExpandKey(t *testing.T) {
 	want := &corev1.Pod{
-		ObjectMeta: v1.ObjectMeta{
+		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
 			Name:      "cluster2-dc2-r1-sts-0",
 			Namespace: "test-ns",
 			Annotations: map[string]string{
@@ -252,7 +257,7 @@ func TestMutatePodsExpandKey(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	pod := &corev1.Pod{
-		ObjectMeta: v1.ObjectMeta{
+		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
 			Name:      "cluster2-dc2-r1-sts-0",
 			Namespace: "test-ns",
 			Annotations: map[string]string{
@@ -281,7 +286,7 @@ func TestMutatePodsSpecifyContainer(t *testing.T) {
 	injectionAnnotation := `[{"name": "mySecret", "path": "/my/secret/path", "containers": ["test"]}]`
 
 	want := &corev1.Pod{
-		ObjectMeta: v1.ObjectMeta{
+		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
 			Name: "test",
 			Annotations: map[string]string{
 				"k8ssandra.io/inject-secret": injectionAnnotation,
@@ -316,7 +321,7 @@ func TestMutatePodsSpecifyContainer(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	pod := &corev1.Pod{
-		ObjectMeta: v1.ObjectMeta{
+		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
 			Name: "test",
 			Annotations: map[string]string{
 				"k8ssandra.io/inject-secret": injectionAnnotation,
diff --git a/controllers/stargate/stargate_controller_test.go b/controllers/stargate/stargate_controller_test.go
index 752ff6932..b0db1f134 100644
--- a/controllers/stargate/stargate_controller_test.go
+++ b/controllers/stargate/stargate_controller_test.go
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/pkg/encryption"
 	"github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/pkg/stargate"
 	promapi "github.com/prometheus-operator/prometheus-operator/pkg/apis/monitoring/v1"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
 	k8serrors "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
 
 	cassdcapi "github.com/k8ssandra/cass-operator/apis/cassandra/v1beta1"
@@ -517,7 +518,7 @@ func testCreateStargateEncryption(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, testClient
 
 	// Loop over the secrets and create them
 	for _, secret := range []*corev1.Secret{clientKeystore, clientTruststore, serverKeystore, serverTruststore} {
-		testClient.Create(ctx, secret)
+		require.NoError(t, testClient.Create(ctx, secret))
 	}
 
 	serverEncryption := map[string]interface{}{
@@ -793,7 +794,11 @@ func testCreateStargateEncryptionExternalSecrets(t *testing.T, ctx context.Conte
 
 	// Loop over the secrets and create them
 	for _, secret := range []*corev1.Secret{clientKeystore, clientTruststore, serverKeystore, serverTruststore} {
-		testClient.Create(ctx, secret)
+		// This test and other encryption tests in this file are badly designed, they write the same secret names to the
+		// same namespace and conflict.
+		if err := testClient.Create(ctx, secret); err != nil && !errors.IsAlreadyExists(err) {
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+		}
 	}
 
 	serverEncryption := map[string]interface{}{
diff --git a/pkg/cassandra/datacenter.go b/pkg/cassandra/datacenter.go
index bb196a978..7f375d38c 100644
--- a/pkg/cassandra/datacenter.go
+++ b/pkg/cassandra/datacenter.go
@@ -346,7 +346,6 @@ func Coalesce(clusterName string, clusterTemplate *api.CassandraClusterTemplate,
 		dcConfig.ServerVersion = semver.MustParse(mergedOptions.ServerVersion)
 	}
 	dcConfig.ServerImage = mergedOptions.ServerImage
-	dcConfig.JmxInitContainerImage = mergedOptions.JmxInitContainerImage
 	dcConfig.Racks = mergedOptions.Racks
 	dcConfig.Resources = mergedOptions.Resources
 	dcConfig.StorageConfig = mergedOptions.StorageConfig
diff --git a/pkg/cassandra/datacenter_test.go b/pkg/cassandra/datacenter_test.go
index 4473759b5..99f4b7fdb 100644
--- a/pkg/cassandra/datacenter_test.go
+++ b/pkg/cassandra/datacenter_test.go
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/k8ssandra/cass-operator/pkg/reconciliation"
 
-	"github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/pkg/images"
 	"github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/pkg/meta"
 	"github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/pkg/unstructured"
 	"k8s.io/utils/pointer"
@@ -421,28 +420,6 @@ func TestCoalesce(t *testing.T) {
 				},
 			},
 		},
-		{
-			name: "Override JMX init container",
-			clusterTemplate: &api.CassandraClusterTemplate{
-				DatacenterOptions: api.DatacenterOptions{
-					JmxInitContainerImage: &images.Image{Name: "cluster-image"},
-				},
-			},
-			dcTemplate: &api.CassandraDatacenterTemplate{
-				DatacenterOptions: api.DatacenterOptions{
-					JmxInitContainerImage: &images.Image{Name: "dc-image"},
-				},
-			},
-			want: &DatacenterConfig{
-				JmxInitContainerImage: &images.Image{Name: "dc-image"},
-				McacEnabled:           true,
-				PodTemplateSpec: corev1.PodTemplateSpec{
-					Spec: corev1.PodSpec{
-						Containers: []corev1.Container{{Name: "cassandra"}},
-					},
-				},
-			},
-		},
 		{
 			name:            "Stopped flag",
 			clusterTemplate: &api.CassandraClusterTemplate{},
diff --git a/pkg/clientcache/cache.go b/pkg/clientcache/cache.go
index 3d5a3461e..a9242934b 100644
--- a/pkg/clientcache/cache.go
+++ b/pkg/clientcache/cache.go
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ func (c *ClientCache) CreateRemoteClientsFromSecret(secretKey types.NamespacedNa
 		return err
 	}
 
-	for ctx, _ := range apiConfig.Contexts {
+	for ctx := range apiConfig.Contexts {
 		clientCmdCfg := clientcmd.NewNonInteractiveClientConfig(*apiConfig, ctx, &clientcmd.ConfigOverrides{}, nil)
 		restConfig, err := clientCmdCfg.ClientConfig()
 		if err != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/medusa/grpc.go b/pkg/medusa/grpc.go
index 317b6d020..3e301a3b1 100644
--- a/pkg/medusa/grpc.go
+++ b/pkg/medusa/grpc.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"google.golang.org/grpc"
+	"google.golang.org/grpc/credentials/insecure"
 )
 
 type defaultClient struct {
@@ -14,16 +15,20 @@ type defaultClient struct {
 }
 
 type ClientFactory interface {
-	NewClient(address string) (Client, error)
+	NewClient(ctx context.Context, address string) (Client, error)
 }
 
 type DefaultFactory struct {
+	cancelFunc context.CancelFunc
 }
 
-func (f *DefaultFactory) NewClient(address string) (Client, error) {
-	conn, err := grpc.Dial(address, grpc.WithInsecure(), grpc.WithBlock(), grpc.WithDefaultCallOptions(grpc.WaitForReady(false)), grpc.WithTimeout(5*time.Second))
+func (f *DefaultFactory) NewClient(ctx context.Context, address string) (Client, error) {
+	callCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, 5*time.Second)
+	conn, err := grpc.DialContext(callCtx, address, grpc.WithTransportCredentials(insecure.NewCredentials()), grpc.WithBlock(), grpc.WithDefaultCallOptions(grpc.WaitForReady(false)))
+	f.cancelFunc = cancel
 
 	if err != nil {
+		defer cancel()
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to create gRPC connection to %s: %s", address, err)
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/medusa/hostmap.go b/pkg/medusa/hostmap.go
index 57278fa70..23b04af32 100644
--- a/pkg/medusa/hostmap.go
+++ b/pkg/medusa/hostmap.go
@@ -18,11 +18,6 @@ type HostMapping struct {
 }
 type HostMappingSlice []HostMapping
 
-type mappable interface {
-	ToSourceTargetMap() map[string]string
-	ToTargetSourceMap() map[string]string
-}
-
 // Transform HostMappingSlice into a map with source IPs as keys and Target IPs as values.
 func (m HostMappingSlice) ToSourceTargetMap() map[string]string {
 	out := make(map[string]string)
@@ -189,7 +184,7 @@ func GetHostMap(cassDC *cassdcapi.CassandraDatacenter, k8sbackup medusaapi.Medus
 	sortedSource := sortLocations(sourceRacks)
 	sortedDests := sortLocations(destRacks)
 	if len(sortedDests) != len(sortedSource) {
-		return nil, errors.New(fmt.Sprintf("number of racks in source != racks in destination. Source: %v, Dest: %v", sortedSource, sortedDests))
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("number of racks in source != racks in destination. Source: %v, Dest: %v", sortedSource, sortedDests)
 	}
 	out := HostMappingSlice{}
 	for i, sourceRack := range sortedSource {
diff --git a/pkg/medusa/hostmap_test.go b/pkg/medusa/hostmap_test.go
index f27320ff3..f1576335c 100644
--- a/pkg/medusa/hostmap_test.go
+++ b/pkg/medusa/hostmap_test.go
@@ -231,6 +231,6 @@ func Test_HostMappingSlice_IsInPlace(t *testing.T) {
 	s = HostMappingSlice{
 		{Source: "1", Target: ""},
 	}
-	res, err = s.IsInPlace()
+	_, err = s.IsInPlace()
 	assert.Error(t, err, err)
 }
diff --git a/pkg/medusa/reconcile.go b/pkg/medusa/reconcile.go
index df7a94706..65ff37920 100644
--- a/pkg/medusa/reconcile.go
+++ b/pkg/medusa/reconcile.go
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import (
 	"text/template"
 
 	"github.com/adutra/goalesce"
-	"github.com/k8ssandra/cass-operator/apis/cassandra/v1beta1"
 	k8ss "github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/apis/k8ssandra/v1alpha1"
 	api "github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/apis/medusa/v1alpha1"
 	"github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/pkg/images"
@@ -350,12 +349,6 @@ type medusaVolume struct {
 	Exists      bool
 }
 
-type medusaAdditionalVolume struct {
-	Volume      *v1beta1.AdditionalVolumes
-	VolumeIndex int
-	Exists      bool
-}
-
 // Create or update volumes for medusa
 func GenerateMedusaVolumes(dcConfig *cassandra.DatacenterConfig, medusaSpec *api.MedusaClusterTemplate, k8cName string) []medusaVolume {
 	var newVolumes []medusaVolume
diff --git a/pkg/stargate/affinity.go b/pkg/stargate/affinity.go
index 5cfa28f1e..bb454920e 100644
--- a/pkg/stargate/affinity.go
+++ b/pkg/stargate/affinity.go
@@ -9,10 +9,6 @@ import (
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 )
 
-// Deprecated label name used in cass-operator.
-// See pkg/reconciliation/construct_statefulset.go
-const zoneLabel = "failure-domain.beta.kubernetes.io/zone"
-
 // computeNodeAffinityLabels computes a set of labels to select worker nodes for the Stargate pods.
 // We use the same labels that were used to select worker nodes for the data pods. This means that Stargate pods will
 // be scheduled on the same category of nodes that can host data pods.
diff --git a/pkg/telemetry/cassandra_agent/cassandra_agent_config.go b/pkg/telemetry/cassandra_agent/cassandra_agent_config.go
index b582895a3..963b88190 100644
--- a/pkg/telemetry/cassandra_agent/cassandra_agent_config.go
+++ b/pkg/telemetry/cassandra_agent/cassandra_agent_config.go
@@ -162,7 +162,9 @@ func (c Configurator) ReconcileTelemetryAgentConfig(dc *cassdcapi.CassandraDatac
 		return recRes
 	}
 
-	c.AddVolumeSource(dc)
+	if err := c.AddVolumeSource(dc); err != nil {
+		return result.Error(err)
+	}
 
 	return result.Done()
 }
diff --git a/pkg/test/mgmtapi.go b/pkg/test/mgmtapi.go
index 3cbfdde71..01e03dbe6 100644
--- a/pkg/test/mgmtapi.go
+++ b/pkg/test/mgmtapi.go
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ package test
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
+	"testing"
+
 	"github.com/go-logr/logr"
 	cassdcapi "github.com/k8ssandra/cass-operator/apis/cassandra/v1beta1"
 	"github.com/k8ssandra/cass-operator/pkg/httphelper"
@@ -11,7 +13,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/pkg/stargate"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/mock"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
-	"testing"
 )
 
 type ManagementApiFactoryAdapter func(
@@ -145,13 +146,3 @@ func (f *FakeManagementApiFacade) GetFirstCall(method ManagementApiMethod, args
 
 	return -1
 }
-
-func (f *FakeManagementApiFacade) getCallsForMethod(method ManagementApiMethod) []mock.Call {
-	calls := make([]mock.Call, 0)
-	for _, call := range f.Calls {
-		if call.Method == string(method) {
-			calls = append(calls, call)
-		}
-	}
-	return calls
-}
diff --git a/pkg/test/testenv.go b/pkg/test/testenv.go
index ce0dbfb5e..8722b20d7 100644
--- a/pkg/test/testenv.go
+++ b/pkg/test/testenv.go
@@ -99,6 +99,9 @@ func (e *TestEnv) Start(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, initReconcilers func(
 	}
 
 	e.TestClient, err = client.New(cfg, client.Options{Scheme: scheme.Scheme})
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
 
 	clientCache := clientcache.New(e.TestClient, e.TestClient, scheme.Scheme)
 	err = (&api.K8ssandraCluster{}).SetupWebhookWithManager(k8sManager, clientCache)
@@ -294,9 +297,9 @@ func (e *MultiClusterTestEnv) GetDataPlaneEnvTests() []*envtest.Environment {
 type ControllerTest func(*testing.T, context.Context, *framework.Framework, string)
 
 func (e *MultiClusterTestEnv) ControllerTest(ctx context.Context, test ControllerTest) func(*testing.T) {
-	namespace := "ns-" + framework.CleanupForKubernetes(rand.String(9))
-
 	return func(t *testing.T) {
+		namespace := "ns-" + framework.CleanupForKubernetes(rand.String(9))
+
 		f := framework.NewFramework(e.Clients[e.controlPlane], e.controlPlane, e.dataPlanes, e.Clients)
 
 		if err := f.CreateNamespace(namespace); err != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/unstructured/unstructured_test.go b/pkg/unstructured/unstructured_test.go
index 39ae38df1..2a7367c6c 100644
--- a/pkg/unstructured/unstructured_test.go
+++ b/pkg/unstructured/unstructured_test.go
@@ -2,8 +2,9 @@ package unstructured
 
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
-	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 )
 
 func TestUnstructured_MarshalJSON(t *testing.T) {
@@ -200,9 +201,7 @@ func TestUnstructured_DeepCopyInto(t *testing.T) {
 			out := new(Unstructured) // out not allowed to be nil
 			tt.in.DeepCopyInto(out)
 			assert.Equal(t, tt.in, out)
-			if out != nil {
-				assert.NotSame(t, tt.in, out)
-			}
+			assert.NotSame(t, tt.in, out)
 		})
 	}
 }
diff --git a/pkg/utils/map.go b/pkg/utils/map.go
index 7200d2113..da2f99c58 100644
--- a/pkg/utils/map.go
+++ b/pkg/utils/map.go
@@ -7,10 +7,8 @@ import "fmt"
 func MergeMap(sources ...map[string]string) map[string]string {
 	destination := make(map[string]string, 0)
 	for _, source := range sources {
-		if source != nil {
-			for k, v := range source {
-				destination[k] = v
-			}
+		for k, v := range source {
+			destination[k] = v
 		}
 	}
 	return destination
@@ -24,26 +22,24 @@ func MergeMap(sources ...map[string]string) map[string]string {
 func MergeMapNested(allowOverwrite bool, sources ...map[string]interface{}) (map[string]interface{}, error) {
 	destination := make(map[string]interface{}, 0)
 	for _, source := range sources {
-		if source != nil {
-			for k, sourceVal := range source {
-				destVal, destValFound := destination[k]
-				if destValFound {
-					sourceMap, sourceValIsMap := sourceVal.(map[string]interface{})
-					destMap, destValIsMap := destVal.(map[string]interface{})
-					if sourceValIsMap && destValIsMap {
-						if merged, err := MergeMapNested(allowOverwrite, destMap, sourceMap); err != nil {
-							return nil, err
-						} else {
-							destination[k] = merged
-						}
-					} else if allowOverwrite || destVal == nil {
-						destination[k] = sourceVal
+		for k, sourceVal := range source {
+			destVal, destValFound := destination[k]
+			if destValFound {
+				sourceMap, sourceValIsMap := sourceVal.(map[string]interface{})
+				destMap, destValIsMap := destVal.(map[string]interface{})
+				if sourceValIsMap && destValIsMap {
+					if merged, err := MergeMapNested(allowOverwrite, destMap, sourceMap); err != nil {
+						return nil, err
 					} else {
-						return nil, fmt.Errorf("key %v already exists", k)
+						destination[k] = merged
 					}
-				} else {
+				} else if allowOverwrite || destVal == nil {
 					destination[k] = sourceVal
+				} else {
+					return nil, fmt.Errorf("key %v already exists", k)
 				}
+			} else {
+				destination[k] = sourceVal
 			}
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/test/e2e/dse_test.go b/test/e2e/dse_test.go
index e1d083722..beade52ac 100644
--- a/test/e2e/dse_test.go
+++ b/test/e2e/dse_test.go
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ func createSingleDseDatacenterCluster(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, namespa
 	require.NoError(t, err, "failed to execute CQL query against DSE")
 	assert.Contains(t, output, "modified", "expected server_id to be modified")
 
-	output, err = f.ExecuteCqlNoAuth(f.DataPlaneContexts[0], namespace, DcPrefix(t, f, dcKey)+"-default-sts-0",
+	_, err = f.ExecuteCqlNoAuth(f.DataPlaneContexts[0], namespace, DcPrefix(t, f, dcKey)+"-default-sts-0",
 		"SELECT server_id FROM system.local")
 	require.Error(t, err, "expected CQL query without auth to fail")
 }
diff --git a/test/e2e/gc_test.go b/test/e2e/gc_test.go
index 67cb37a30..85edf18c9 100644
--- a/test/e2e/gc_test.go
+++ b/test/e2e/gc_test.go
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ func gcTest(gcName string) e2eTestFunc {
 		checkDatacenterReady(t, ctx, dc1Key, f)
 
 		logs, err := f.GetContainerLogs(f.DataPlaneContexts[0], namespace, DcPrefix(t, f, dc1Key)+"-default-sts-0", "server-system-logger")
+		require.NoError(t, err)
 		require.Containsf(t, logs, gcName, "Could not find %s in logs", gcName)
 
 		switch gcName {
diff --git a/test/e2e/stop_dc_test.go b/test/e2e/stop_dc_test.go
index 484ff4167..dbbcdf9d8 100644
--- a/test/e2e/stop_dc_test.go
+++ b/test/e2e/stop_dc_test.go
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ func stopAndRestartDc(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, namespace string, f *fr
 	checkReaperReady(t, f, ctx, reaper2Key)
 
 	username, password, err := f.RetrieveDatabaseCredentials(ctx, f.DataPlaneContexts[0], kcKey.Namespace, "cluster1")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
 
 	t.Log("deploying Stargate and Reaper ingress routes in", f.DataPlaneContexts[1])
 	stargateRestHostAndPort := ingressConfigs[f.DataPlaneContexts[1]].StargateRest
diff --git a/test/e2e/suite_test.go b/test/e2e/suite_test.go
index 7101a548c..fd2f3a483 100644
--- a/test/e2e/suite_test.go
+++ b/test/e2e/suite_test.go
@@ -1009,32 +1009,6 @@ func createSingleDatacenterClusterWithEncryption(t *testing.T, ctx context.Conte
 	testStargateApis(t, f, ctx, f.DataPlaneContexts[0], namespace, dcPrefix, username, password, true, replication)
 }
 
-// createSingleDatacenterCluster creates a K8ssandraCluster with one CassandraDatacenter
-// and one Reaper instance that are deployed in the local cluster with encryption on.
-func createSingleDatacenterClusterReaperEncryption(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, namespace string, f *framework.E2eFramework) {
-	require := require.New(t)
-	require.NoError(f.CreateCassandraEncryptionStoresSecret(namespace), "Failed to create the encryption secrets")
-
-	t.Log("check that the K8ssandraCluster was created")
-	k8ssandra := &api.K8ssandraCluster{}
-	kcKey := types.NamespacedName{Namespace: namespace, Name: "test"}
-	err := f.Client.Get(ctx, kcKey, k8ssandra)
-	require.NoError(err, "failed to get K8ssandraCluster in namespace %s", namespace)
-
-	dcKey := framework.ClusterKey{K8sContext: f.DataPlaneContexts[0], NamespacedName: types.NamespacedName{Namespace: namespace, Name: "dc1"}}
-	checkDatacenterReady(t, ctx, dcKey, f)
-	assertCassandraDatacenterK8cStatusReady(ctx, t, f, kcKey, dcKey.Name)
-	dcPrefix := DcPrefix(t, f, dcKey)
-
-	reaperKey := framework.ClusterKey{K8sContext: f.DataPlaneContexts[0], NamespacedName: types.NamespacedName{Namespace: namespace, Name: dcPrefix + "-reaper"}}
-	checkReaperReady(t, f, ctx, reaperKey)
-
-	checkReaperK8cStatusReady(t, f, ctx, kcKey, dcKey)
-
-	t.Log("check Reaper keyspace created")
-	checkKeyspaceExists(t, f, ctx, f.DataPlaneContexts[0], namespace, k8ssandra.SanitizedName(), dcPrefix+"-default-sts-0", "reaper_db")
-}
-
 // createStargateAndDatacenter creates a CassandraDatacenter with 3 nodes, one per rack. It also creates 1 or 3 Stargate
 // nodes, one per rack, all deployed in the local cluster. Note that no K8ssandraCluster object is created.
 func createStargateAndDatacenter(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, namespace string, f *framework.E2eFramework) {
@@ -2174,22 +2148,6 @@ func checkInjectedVolumePresence(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f *framework
 	return nil
 }
 
-func checkVectorAgentPresence(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f *framework.E2eFramework, dcKey framework.ClusterKey) {
-	t.Logf("check that vector agent is present in %s cass pods in cluster %s", dcKey.Name, dcKey.K8sContext)
-	cassdc := &cassdcapi.CassandraDatacenter{}
-	err := f.Get(ctx, dcKey, cassdc)
-	require.NoError(t, err, "failed to get cassandra datacenter")
-
-	vectorContainerIdx, containerFound := cassandra.FindContainer(cassdc.Spec.PodTemplateSpec, "vector-agent")
-	require.True(t, containerFound, "cannot find vector agent container in pod template spec")
-	clusterNameEnvVar := utils.FindEnvVarInContainer(&cassdc.Spec.PodTemplateSpec.Spec.Containers[vectorContainerIdx], "CLUSTER_NAME")
-	require.NotNil(t, clusterNameEnvVar, "cannot find CLUSTER_NAME env var in vector agent container")
-	dcNameEnvVar := utils.FindEnvVarInContainer(&cassdc.Spec.PodTemplateSpec.Spec.Containers[vectorContainerIdx], "DATACENTER_NAME")
-	require.NotNil(t, dcNameEnvVar, "cannot find DATACENTER_NAME env var in vector agent container")
-	rackNameEnvVar := utils.FindEnvVarInContainer(&cassdc.Spec.PodTemplateSpec.Spec.Containers[vectorContainerIdx], "RACK_NAME")
-	require.NotNil(t, rackNameEnvVar, "cannot find RACK_NAME env var in vector agent container")
-}
-
 func findContainerInPod(t *testing.T, pod corev1.Pod, containerName string) (index int, found bool) {
 	for i, container := range pod.Spec.Containers {
 		t.Logf("checking container %s in pod %s", container.Name, pod.Name)
@@ -2231,13 +2189,6 @@ func checkVectorConfigMapDeleted(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f *framework
 
 }
 
-func getPodTemplateSpecForCassandra(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f *framework.E2eFramework, dcKey framework.ClusterKey) *corev1.PodTemplateSpec {
-	cassdc := &cassdcapi.CassandraDatacenter{}
-	require.NoError(t, f.Get(ctx, dcKey, cassdc), "failed to get Cassandra Datacenter")
-
-	return cassdc.Spec.PodTemplateSpec
-}
-
 func getPodTemplateSpecForDeployment(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f *framework.E2eFramework, deploymentKey framework.ClusterKey) *corev1.PodTemplateSpec {
 	sg := &appsv1.Deployment{}
 	require.NoError(t, f.Get(ctx, deploymentKey, sg), "failed to get Deployment")
@@ -2272,10 +2223,7 @@ func checkVectorAgentConfigMapPresence(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, f *fra
 	require.Eventually(t, func() bool {
 		cm := &corev1.ConfigMap{}
 		err := f.Get(ctx, configMapKey, cm)
-		if err != nil {
-			return false
-		}
-		return true
+		return err == nil
 	}, polling.k8ssandraClusterStatus.timeout, polling.k8ssandraClusterStatus.interval, "Vector configmap was not found")
 
 }
diff --git a/test/framework/cqlsh.go b/test/framework/cqlsh.go
index 81d2670c5..88f95d7db 100644
--- a/test/framework/cqlsh.go
+++ b/test/framework/cqlsh.go
@@ -10,8 +10,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 func (f *E2eFramework) RetrieveSuperuserSecret(ctx context.Context, k8sContext, namespace, clusterName string) (*corev1.Secret, error) {
-	var superUserSecret *corev1.Secret
-	superUserSecret = &corev1.Secret{}
+	superUserSecret := &corev1.Secret{}
 	superUserSecretKey := ClusterKey{
 		NamespacedName: types.NamespacedName{
 			Namespace: namespace,
diff --git a/test/framework/e2e_framework.go b/test/framework/e2e_framework.go
index cd0310d7c..f1a8bba3e 100644
--- a/test/framework/e2e_framework.go
+++ b/test/framework/e2e_framework.go
@@ -52,8 +52,8 @@ type E2eFramework struct {
 }
 
 var (
-	nodeToolStatusUN = regexp.MustCompile("UN\\s\\s")
-	nodeToolStatusDN = regexp.MustCompile("DN\\s\\s")
+	nodeToolStatusUN = regexp.MustCompile(`UN\s\s`)
+	nodeToolStatusDN = regexp.MustCompile(`DN\s\s`)
 )
 
 func NewE2eFramework(t *testing.T, kubeconfigFile string, useDse bool, controlPlane string, dataPlanes ...string) (*E2eFramework, error) {
@@ -589,7 +589,9 @@ func (f *E2eFramework) DumpClusterInfo(test string, namespaces ...string) error
 				f.logger.Info("dump failed", "output", output, "error", err)
 				errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("failed to dump %s for cluster %s: %w", "pods", ctx, err))
 			}
-			f.storeOutput(outputDir, namespace, "pods", "out", output)
+			if err := f.storeOutput(outputDir, namespace, "pods", "out", output); err != nil {
+				errs = append(errs, err)
+			}
 
 			// Dump all objects that we need to investigate failures as a flat list and as yaml manifests
 			for _, objectType := range []string{"K8ssandraCluster", "CassandraDatacenter", "Stargate", "Reaper", "StatefulSet", "Secrets",
@@ -604,7 +606,9 @@ func (f *E2eFramework) DumpClusterInfo(test string, namespaces ...string) error
 					f.logger.Info("dump failed", "output", output, "error", err)
 					errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("failed to dump %s for cluster %s: %w", objectType, ctx, err))
 				}
-				f.storeOutput(outputDir, fmt.Sprintf("%s/objects/%s", namespace, objectType), objectType, "out", output)
+				if err := f.storeOutput(outputDir, fmt.Sprintf("%s/objects/%s", namespace, objectType), objectType, "out", output); err != nil {
+					errs = append(errs, err)
+				}
 
 				// Get the yamls for each object
 				outputYaml, err := kubectl.Get(kubectl.Options{Context: ctx, Namespace: namespace}, objectType, "-o", "yaml")
@@ -612,7 +616,9 @@ func (f *E2eFramework) DumpClusterInfo(test string, namespaces ...string) error
 					f.logger.Info("dump failed", "output", output, "error", err)
 					errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("failed to dump %s for cluster %s: %w", objectType, ctx, err))
 				}
-				f.storeOutput(outputDir, fmt.Sprintf("%s/objects/%s", namespace, objectType), objectType, "yaml", outputYaml)
+				if err := f.storeOutput(outputDir, fmt.Sprintf("%s/objects/%s", namespace, objectType), objectType, "yaml", outputYaml); err != nil {
+					errs = append(errs, err)
+				}
 			}
 		}
 	}
@@ -631,8 +637,12 @@ func (f *E2eFramework) storeOutput(outputDir, subdirectory, objectType, ext, out
 		return err
 	}
 	defer outputFile.Close()
-	outputFile.WriteString(output)
-	outputFile.Sync()
+	if _, err := outputFile.WriteString(output); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if err := outputFile.Sync(); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
 	return nil
 }
 
diff --git a/test/framework/framework.go b/test/framework/framework.go
index 3f5ade99a..a795727d3 100644
--- a/test/framework/framework.go
+++ b/test/framework/framework.go
@@ -132,8 +132,7 @@ func NewClusterKey(context, namespace, name string) ClusterKey {
 }
 
 func NewFramework(client client.Client, controlPlaneContext string, dataPlaneContexts []string, remoteClients map[string]client.Client) *Framework {
-	var log logr.Logger
-	log = logrusr.New(logrus.New())
+	log := logrusr.New(logrus.New())
 	terratestlogger.Default = terratestlogger.New(&terratestLoggerBridge{logger: log})
 	return &Framework{
 		Client:              client,
@@ -462,7 +461,7 @@ func (f *Framework) PatchCassandraTaskStatus(ctx context.Context, key ClusterKey
 // remote clusters.
 func (f *Framework) WaitForDeploymentToBeReady(key ClusterKey, timeout, interval time.Duration) error {
 	if len(key.K8sContext) == 0 {
-		for k8sContext, _ := range f.remoteClients {
+		for k8sContext := range f.remoteClients {
 			opts := kubectl.Options{Namespace: key.Namespace, Context: k8sContext}
 			err := wait.PollWithContext(context.Background(), interval, timeout, func(ctx context.Context) (bool, error) {
 				if err := kubectl.RolloutStatus(ctx, opts, "Deployment", key.Name); err != nil {
diff --git a/test/yq/yq_test.go b/test/yq/yq_test.go
index 97ee95c90..9e6cbb0f6 100644
--- a/test/yq/yq_test.go
+++ b/test/yq/yq_test.go
@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
 package yq
 
 import (
-	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
-	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 	"os"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
 func TestEval(t *testing.T) {
@@ -51,7 +52,7 @@ func TestEval(t *testing.T) {
 					"../testdata/fixtures/single-dc/k8ssandra.yaml",
 				},
 			},
-			want: "3",
+			want: "3\n3",
 		},
 		{
 			name: "empty line",