diff --git a/src/tests/ftest/cart/dual_iface_server.c b/src/tests/ftest/cart/dual_iface_server.c
index 21993da7c4b..44f41a95c24 100644
--- a/src/tests/ftest/cart/dual_iface_server.c
+++ b/src/tests/ftest/cart/dual_iface_server.c
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 /*
  * (C) Copyright 2018-2022 Intel Corporation.
+ * (C) Copyright 2026 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
  *
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-2-Clause-Patent
  */
@@ -242,8 +243,7 @@ server_main(d_rank_t my_rank, const char *str_port, const char *str_interface,
 	struct stat		st;
 	crt_init_options_t	init_opts = {0};
 
-	d_setenv("FI_UNIVERSE_SIZE", "1024", 1);
-	d_setenv("D_LOG_MASK", "ERR", 1);
+	d_setenv("D_LOG_MASK", "ERR", 0);
 	d_setenv("D_PORT_AUTO_ADJUST", "1", 1);
 
 	/* rank, num_attach_retries, is_server, assert_on_error */
diff --git a/src/tests/ftest/cart/test_multisend_client.c b/src/tests/ftest/cart/test_multisend_client.c
index 42b5364fab8..eda15df973a 100644
--- a/src/tests/ftest/cart/test_multisend_client.c
+++ b/src/tests/ftest/cart/test_multisend_client.c
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /*
  * (C) Copyright 2018-2022 Intel Corporation.
- * (C) Copyright 2025 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
+ * (C) Copyright 2025-2026 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
  *
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-2-Clause-Patent
  */
@@ -14,15 +14,15 @@
 static void
 rpc_cb_common(const struct crt_cb_info *info)
 {
-	crt_bulk_t	*p_blk;
+	crt_bulk_t      blk;
 	int		rc;
 
-	p_blk = (crt_bulk_t *)info->cci_arg;
+	blk = (crt_bulk_t)info->cci_arg;
 
 	D_ASSERTF(info->cci_rc == 0, "rpc response failed. rc: %d\n", info->cci_rc);
 
-	if (p_blk && *p_blk) {
-		rc = crt_bulk_free(*p_blk);
+	if (blk != CRT_BULK_NULL) {
+		rc = crt_bulk_free(blk);
 		if (rc)
 			D_ERROR("bulk free failed with %d\n", rc);
 	}
@@ -151,6 +151,7 @@ test_run()
 			/* TODO: for now rdma is disabled when forcing all rpcs to the same rank */
 			if (test.tg_force_rank == -1) {
 				rc = d_sgl_init(&sgl, 1);
+
 				D_ASSERTF(rc == 0, "d_sgl_init() failed; rc: %d\n", rc);
 
 				sgl.sg_iovs[0].iov_buf = dma_buff + (chunk_size * chunk_index);
@@ -165,14 +166,16 @@ test_run()
 				input->chunk_size = chunk_size;
 				input->chunk_index = chunk_index;
 				input->do_put = test.tg_do_put;
+
 			} else {
+				D_WARN("Disabling rdma transfer for forced rank for now\n");
 				input->chunk_size = 0;
 				input->bulk_hdl = CRT_BULK_NULL;
 				input->chunk_index = 0;
 				input->do_put = false;
 			}
 
-			rc = crt_req_send(rpc_req, rpc_cb_common, &bulk_hdl[chunk_index]);
+			rc = crt_req_send(rpc_req, rpc_cb_common, input->bulk_hdl);
 			D_ASSERTF(rc == 0, "crt_req_send() failed. rc: %d\n", rc);
 
 			if (test.tg_test_mode == TEST_MODE_SYNC)
diff --git a/src/tests/ftest/cart/test_multisend_common.h b/src/tests/ftest/cart/test_multisend_common.h
index 8caf06445ce..58ac1c9545b 100644
--- a/src/tests/ftest/cart/test_multisend_common.h
+++ b/src/tests/ftest/cart/test_multisend_common.h
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 /*
  * (C) Copyright 2018-2022 Intel Corporation.
+ * (C) Copyright 2026 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
  *
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-2-Clause-Patent
  */
@@ -186,6 +187,12 @@ test_parse_args(int argc, char **argv)
 			break;
 		case 'm':
 			test.tg_test_mode = atoi(optarg);
+			if ((test.tg_test_mode != TEST_MODE_ASYNC) &&
+			    (test.tg_test_mode != TEST_MODE_SYNC)) {
+				printf("Unknown test_mode=%d specified, defaulting to sync",
+				       test.tg_test_mode);
+				test.tg_test_mode = TEST_MODE_SYNC;
+			}
 			break;
 		case 'n':
 			test.tg_num_iterations = atoi(optarg);
diff --git a/src/utils/self_test/self_test_lib.c b/src/utils/self_test/self_test_lib.c
index 85eb435c6f3..0c39f7af5e1 100644
--- a/src/utils/self_test/self_test_lib.c
+++ b/src/utils/self_test/self_test_lib.c
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /*
  * (C) Copyright 2016-2024 Intel Corporation.
- * (C) Copyright 2025 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
+ * (C) Copyright 2025-2026 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
  *
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-2-Clause-Patent
  */
@@ -176,10 +176,13 @@ self_test_init(char *dest_name, crt_context_t *crt_ctx, crt_group_t **srv_grp, p
 
 	d_rank_list_free(rank_list);
 
-	ret = crt_rank_self_set(max_rank + 1, 1 /* group_version_min */);
-	if (ret != 0) {
-		D_ERROR("crt_rank_self_set failed; ret = %d\n", ret);
-		return ret;
+	/* when running as a server set the rank to next highest one unused */
+	if (listen) {
+		ret = crt_rank_self_set(max_rank + 1, 1 /* group_version_min */);
+		if (ret != 0) {
+			D_ERROR("crt_rank_self_set failed; ret = %d\n", ret);
+			return ret;
+		}
 	}
 
 	return 0;