diff --git a/src/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Runtime/Drivers/DriverHostActor.cs b/src/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Runtime/Drivers/DriverHostActor.cs
index dc4774e2..23225b7c 100644
--- a/src/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Runtime/Drivers/DriverHostActor.cs
+++ b/src/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Runtime/Drivers/DriverHostActor.cs
@@ -620,10 +620,31 @@ public sealed class DriverHostActor : ReceiveActor, IWithTimers
         var plan = DiscoveredNodeMapper.Map(equipmentId, msg.Nodes, authoredRefs);
         if (plan.Variables.Count == 0) return; // nothing new to inject (all captured nodes were authored)
 
+        // Unchanged-plan short-circuit: Task 6's driver re-discovers every ~2s (up to ~15 passes) until the
+        // FixedTree set stabilises, re-sending DiscoveredNodesReady each pass. Re-applying an IDENTICAL plan
+        // would re-send SetDesiredSubscriptions, forcing the child to UnsubscribeAsync (dropping the WHOLE
+        // handle — authored tags included) then re-Subscribe — blipping authored-tag values up to ~15× across
+        // the discovery window. Skip when the routing is unchanged from the last applied pass; a GROWING set
+        // still differs (superset) and re-applies. This is _discoveredByDriver's first reader.
+        if (_discoveredByDriver.TryGetValue(msg.DriverInstanceId, out var cached)
+            && RoutingEquals(cached.RoutingByRef, plan.RoutingByRef))
+        {
+            _log.Debug("DriverHost {Node}: discovered set for driver {Driver} unchanged ({Count} node(s)) — re-apply skipped",
+                _localNode, msg.DriverInstanceId, plan.Variables.Count);
+            return;
+        }
+
         _discoveredByDriver[msg.DriverInstanceId] = plan;
         ApplyDiscoveredPlan(msg.DriverInstanceId, equipmentId, plan);
     }
 
+    /// <summary>Routing-map equality: same count + every key maps to the same NodeId. Lets
+    /// <see cref="HandleDiscoveredNodes"/> skip re-applying an unchanged discovered set across the driver's
+    /// repeated post-connect re-discovery passes (a grown/changed set differs and re-applies).</summary>
+    private static bool RoutingEquals(IReadOnlyDictionary<string, string> a, IReadOnlyDictionary<string, string> b)
+        => a.Count == b.Count
+           && a.All(kv => b.TryGetValue(kv.Key, out var v) && string.Equals(v, kv.Value, StringComparison.Ordinal));
+
     /// <summary>
     ///     Grafts a <see cref="DiscoveredInjectionPlan"/> onto the served state: extends the live-value
     ///     routing map (mirroring <see cref="PushDesiredSubscriptions"/>' fan-out so <see cref="ForwardToMux"/>
@@ -636,7 +657,10 @@ public sealed class DriverHostActor : ReceiveActor, IWithTimers
     /// </summary>
     private void ApplyDiscoveredPlan(string driverId, string equipmentId, DiscoveredInjectionPlan plan)
     {
-        // Extend the live-value routing map (fan-out), mirroring PushDesiredSubscriptions' pattern.
+        // Extend the live-value routing map (fan-out), mirroring PushDesiredSubscriptions' pattern. This is
+        // purely ADDITIVE across passes: a shrinking discovery set would leave the dropped refs' stale routes
+        // until the next full apply (PushDesiredSubscriptions) clears + rebuilds the maps — acceptable because
+        // a FOCAS FixedTree only grows-then-stabilises, never shrinks within a connect.
         foreach (var (driverRef, nodeId) in plan.RoutingByRef)
         {
             var key = (driverId, driverRef);
@@ -654,6 +678,9 @@ public sealed class DriverHostActor : ReceiveActor, IWithTimers
         // and ForwardToMux routes the values. Recompute the authored value + alarm refs the same way
         // PushDesiredSubscriptions does, then union the FixedTree refs onto the value set.
         if (!_children.TryGetValue(driverId, out var entry)) return;
+        // The _lastComposition null-guards below are defensive: HandleDiscoveredNodes already proved it
+        // non-null, but Task 8 will also call ApplyDiscoveredPlan from the PushDesiredSubscriptions tail —
+        // keep them so that re-apply path can't NRE.
         var authoredValueRefs = _lastComposition is null
             ? Enumerable.Empty<string>()
             : _lastComposition.EquipmentTags
@@ -899,6 +926,10 @@ public sealed class DriverHostActor : ReceiveActor, IWithTimers
         Receive<RouteNativeAlarmAck>(msg =>
             _log.Debug("DriverHost {Node}: dropping native-alarm ack for {Node2} while Stale (config DB unreachable)",
                 _localNode, msg.ConditionNodeId));
+        // A driver child's post-connect DiscoveredNodesReady can't be injected while Stale (no composition is
+        // applied yet, so the equipment can't be resolved). Drop it — Task 6's re-discovery loop re-sends it
+        // and the Task-8 post-recovery re-apply self-heal it once an apply runs (matches the no-op drops above).
+        Receive<DriverInstanceActor.DiscoveredNodesReady>(_ => { });
         Receive<SubscribeAck>(_ => { /* PubSub ack */ });
         Timers.StartPeriodicTimer("retry-db", RetryConfigDbConnection.Instance, ReconnectInterval);
     }
diff --git a/tests/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Runtime.Tests/Drivers/DriverHostActorDiscoveryTests.cs b/tests/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Runtime.Tests/Drivers/DriverHostActorDiscoveryTests.cs
index 873c3c27..5d5eb124 100644
--- a/tests/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Runtime.Tests/Drivers/DriverHostActorDiscoveryTests.cs
+++ b/tests/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Runtime.Tests/Drivers/DriverHostActorDiscoveryTests.cs
@@ -112,6 +112,126 @@ public sealed class DriverHostActorDiscoveryTests : RuntimeActorTestBase
         update.TimestampUtc.ShouldBe(Ts);
     }
 
+    /// <summary>Guard: a <see cref="DriverInstanceActor.DiscoveredNodesReady"/> arriving BEFORE any deployment
+    /// is applied (<c>_lastComposition</c> still null) is ignored — nothing is materialised on the publish
+    /// side (the equipment can't be resolved without a composition).</summary>
+    [Fact]
+    public void DiscoveredNodes_before_any_apply_are_ignored()
+    {
+        var db = NewInMemoryDbFactory();
+        var coordinator = CreateTestProbe();
+        var publish = CreateTestProbe();
+        var vtHost = CreateTestProbe();
+
+        // No deployment dispatched ⇒ Bootstrap enters Steady with no composition ⇒ _lastComposition is null.
+        var actor = Sys.ActorOf(DriverHostActor.Props(
+            db, TestNode, coordinator.Ref,
+            driverFactory: new SubscribingDriverFactory("Modbus"),
+            localRoles: new HashSet<string> { "driver" },
+            opcUaPublishActor: publish.Ref,
+            virtualTagHostOverride: vtHost.Ref));
+
+        actor.Tell(new DriverInstanceActor.DiscoveredNodesReady("d1", new[]
+        {
+            new DiscoveredNode(
+                FolderPathSegments: new[] { "FOCAS", "10.0.0.5:8193", "Identity" },
+                BrowseName: "Model", DisplayName: "Model", FullReference: "ft-ref-1",
+                DataType: DriverDataType.Float64, IsArray: false, ArrayDim: null,
+                Writable: false, IsHistorized: false),
+        }));
+
+        // No composition ⇒ no materialise (and no RebuildAddressSpace either, since nothing was applied).
+        publish.ExpectNoMsg(TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(500));
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>Dedup: a discovered node whose <c>FullReference</c> equals an authored equipment tag's
+    /// FullName is NOT injected (it would shadow the authored node) — only the genuinely-new FixedTree refs
+    /// are materialised.</summary>
+    [Fact]
+    public void Discovered_node_shadowing_an_authored_ref_is_not_injected()
+    {
+        var db = NewInMemoryDbFactory();
+        var factory = new SubscribingDriverFactory("Modbus");
+        var deploymentId = SeedDeploymentWithEquipmentTags(db, RevA,
+            (Equip: "EQ-1", Driver: "d1", FullName: "40001", Folder: (string?)null, Name: "speed"));
+
+        var (actor, publish) = SpawnHostAndApply(db, deploymentId, factory);
+
+        // Two captured nodes: one SHADOWS the authored ref "40001" (must be dropped), one is genuinely new.
+        actor.Tell(new DriverInstanceActor.DiscoveredNodesReady("d1", new[]
+        {
+            new DiscoveredNode(
+                FolderPathSegments: new[] { "FOCAS", "10.0.0.5:8193", "Registers" },
+                BrowseName: "speed", DisplayName: "Speed", FullReference: "40001",
+                DataType: DriverDataType.Float64, IsArray: false, ArrayDim: null,
+                Writable: false, IsHistorized: false),
+            new DiscoveredNode(
+                FolderPathSegments: new[] { "FOCAS", "10.0.0.5:8193", "Identity" },
+                BrowseName: "Model", DisplayName: "Model", FullReference: "ft-ref-1",
+                DataType: DriverDataType.Float64, IsArray: false, ArrayDim: null,
+                Writable: false, IsHistorized: false),
+        }));
+
+        // Exactly ONE variable materialised — the new "Model", not the authored-shadow "Speed".
+        var materialise = publish.ExpectMsg<OpcUaPublishActor.MaterialiseDiscoveredNodes>(Timeout);
+        materialise.Variables.Count.ShouldBe(1);
+        materialise.Variables[0].DisplayName.ShouldBe("Model");
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>Idempotency / the unchanged-plan short-circuit: re-sending the SAME discovered set (the driver
+    /// re-discovers each ~2s pass) is a no-op — it materialises ONCE and does not force the child to
+    /// re-subscribe. A GROWN set, however, DOES re-apply (materialise again + re-subscribe), so a stabilising
+    /// FixedTree still converges.</summary>
+    [Fact]
+    public void Repeated_identical_discovery_does_not_reapply_but_a_grown_set_does()
+    {
+        var db = NewInMemoryDbFactory();
+        var factory = new SubscribingDriverFactory("Modbus");
+        var deploymentId = SeedDeploymentWithEquipmentTags(db, RevA,
+            (Equip: "EQ-1", Driver: "d1", FullName: "40001", Folder: (string?)null, Name: "speed"));
+
+        var (actor, publish) = SpawnHostAndApply(db, deploymentId, factory);
+
+        var node1 = new DiscoveredNode(
+            FolderPathSegments: new[] { "FOCAS", "10.0.0.5:8193", "Identity" },
+            BrowseName: "Model", DisplayName: "Model", FullReference: "ft-ref-1",
+            DataType: DriverDataType.Float64, IsArray: false, ArrayDim: null,
+            Writable: false, IsHistorized: false);
+        var node2 = new DiscoveredNode(
+            FolderPathSegments: new[] { "FOCAS", "10.0.0.5:8193", "Status" },
+            BrowseName: "Run", DisplayName: "Run", FullReference: "ft-ref-2",
+            DataType: DriverDataType.Float64, IsArray: false, ArrayDim: null,
+            Writable: false, IsHistorized: false);
+
+        // Pass 1: a new set ⇒ one materialise + a union re-subscribe.
+        actor.Tell(new DriverInstanceActor.DiscoveredNodesReady("d1", new[] { node1 }));
+        publish.ExpectMsg<OpcUaPublishActor.MaterialiseDiscoveredNodes>(Timeout);
+        AwaitAssert(() =>
+        {
+            var refs = factory.LastSubscribedRefs;
+            refs.ShouldNotBeNull();
+            refs!.ShouldContain("ft-ref-1");
+        }, duration: Timeout);
+        var subscribeCountAfterFirst = factory.SubscribeCount;
+
+        // Pass 2: the IDENTICAL set ⇒ short-circuited (no materialise, no re-subscribe).
+        actor.Tell(new DriverInstanceActor.DiscoveredNodesReady("d1", new[] { node1 }));
+        publish.ExpectNoMsg(TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(500));
+        factory.SubscribeCount.ShouldBe(subscribeCountAfterFirst);
+
+        // Pass 3: a GROWN set (superset) ⇒ re-applies (materialise again + re-subscribe with both refs).
+        actor.Tell(new DriverInstanceActor.DiscoveredNodesReady("d1", new[] { node1, node2 }));
+        publish.ExpectMsg<OpcUaPublishActor.MaterialiseDiscoveredNodes>(Timeout).Variables.Count.ShouldBe(2);
+        AwaitAssert(() =>
+        {
+            factory.SubscribeCount.ShouldBeGreaterThan(subscribeCountAfterFirst);
+            var refs = factory.LastSubscribedRefs;
+            refs.ShouldNotBeNull();
+            refs!.ShouldContain("ft-ref-1");
+            refs.ShouldContain("ft-ref-2");
+        }, duration: Timeout);
+    }
+
     /// <summary>Spawns the host with the subscribing driver factory + a publish probe, dispatches the
     /// deployment, and waits for the Applied ACK so the apply (and thus <c>_lastComposition</c> + the live
     /// child + the initial SubscribeBulk pass) has completed before the test injects discovered nodes. A
@@ -209,6 +329,10 @@ public sealed class DriverHostActorDiscoveryTests : RuntimeActorTestBase
         /// <summary>The reference set passed to the driver's most recent <c>SubscribeAsync</c> call.</summary>
         public IReadOnlyList<string>? LastSubscribedRefs => _driver.LastSubscribedRefs;
 
+        /// <summary>Number of <c>SubscribeAsync</c> calls so far — lets a test prove a redundant re-apply did
+        /// NOT force a (drop-then-)re-subscribe of the whole handle.</summary>
+        public int SubscribeCount => _driver.SubscribeCount;
+
         /// <inheritdoc />
         public IDriver? TryCreate(string driverType, string driverInstanceId, string driverConfigJson) =>
             string.Equals(driverType, _supportedType, StringComparison.Ordinal) ? _driver : null;