diff --git a/litellm/caching/caching.py b/litellm/caching/caching.py
index 12aaa051041..4070f41fd32 100644
--- a/litellm/caching/caching.py
+++ b/litellm/caching/caching.py
@@ -446,11 +446,19 @@ class Cache:
         2. Else if a model_group is set, then return the model_group as the model. This is used for all requests sent through the litellm.Router()
         3. Else use the `model` passed in kwargs
         """
-        metadata: Final[dict] = kwargs.get("metadata", {}) or {}
         litellm_params: Final[dict] = kwargs.get("litellm_params", {}) or {}
-        metadata_in_litellm_params: Final[dict] = litellm_params.get("metadata", {}) or {}
-        model_group: Final[str | None] = metadata.get("model_group") or metadata_in_litellm_params.get("model_group")
-        caching_group: Final = self._get_caching_group(metadata, model_group)
+        metadata_sources: Final[tuple[dict, ...]] = (
+            kwargs.get("metadata") or {},
+            kwargs.get("litellm_metadata") or {},
+            litellm_params.get("metadata") or {},
+            litellm_params.get("litellm_metadata") or {},
+        )
+        model_group: Final[str | None] = next(
+            (source["model_group"] for source in metadata_sources if source.get("model_group")), None
+        )
+        caching_group: Final = next(
+            (group for source in metadata_sources if (group := self._get_caching_group(source, model_group))), None
+        )
         return caching_group or model_group or kwargs["model"]
 
     def _get_caching_group(self, metadata: dict, model_group: str | None) -> str | None:
diff --git a/tests/integration/authorization/test_team_scoped_models.py b/tests/integration/authorization/test_team_scoped_models.py
index 2b347a6f4f8..aea6b9e4ba4 100644
--- a/tests/integration/authorization/test_team_scoped_models.py
+++ b/tests/integration/authorization/test_team_scoped_models.py
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ def test_a_team_model_is_listed_and_served_only_for_keys_of_its_team(gateway: Ga
 
 
 def _v2_team_public_names(gateway: Gateway, key: str, model: str) -> list[JsonValue]:
-    response: Final = gateway.request("GET", "/v2/model/info", key=key, params={"model_name": model})
+    response: Final = gateway.request("GET", "/v2/model/info", key=key, params={"model": model})
     assert response.status_code == 200, response.text
     return [entry["model_info"].get("team_public_model_name") for entry in response.json()["data"]]
 
diff --git a/tests/integration/cost_calculation/cost_tracking_cases.json b/tests/integration/cost_calculation/cost_tracking_cases.json
index 8242c8683b5..f03893c4244 100644
--- a/tests/integration/cost_calculation/cost_tracking_cases.json
+++ b/tests/integration/cost_calculation/cost_tracking_cases.json
@@ -30790,7 +30790,8 @@
             "role": "user",
             "content": "proxy behaviour probe"
           }
-        ]
+        ],
+        "max_tokens": 412
       },
       "response": {
         "content_type": "application/json",
diff --git a/tests/integration/cost_calculation/test_cost_tracking.py b/tests/integration/cost_calculation/test_cost_tracking.py
index cfe0a99ef4b..379b2c13f5b 100644
--- a/tests/integration/cost_calculation/test_cost_tracking.py
+++ b/tests/integration/cost_calculation/test_cost_tracking.py
@@ -281,6 +281,8 @@ def test_case_bills_expected_cost(gateway: Gateway, case: CostTrackingTestCase)
                 {
                     "path": f"/{scenario_id}/v1/decisions",
                     "authorization": "Bearer sk-scripted-provider",
+                    "method": "POST",
+                    "api_key": "",
                     "body": {
                         "model": "pplx-decider-v1-27b",
                         "state": {"source": "cost-tracking"},
diff --git a/tests/integration/management/test_vector_store_file_list_managed_ids.py b/tests/integration/management/test_vector_store_file_list_managed_ids.py
index 7ad68e884e6..c6124519c9e 100644
--- a/tests/integration/management/test_vector_store_file_list_managed_ids.py
+++ b/tests/integration/management/test_vector_store_file_list_managed_ids.py
@@ -602,14 +602,23 @@ def test_two_different_after_values_forward_the_last_one(gateway: Gateway) -> No
         assert _ids(page) == (managed_b,), page
 
 
-@pytest.mark.parametrize("status", (401, 404, 500))
-def test_provider_errors_reach_the_caller_and_other_models_keep_mapping(gateway: Gateway, status: int) -> None:
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    ("status", "expected_error_type"),
+    ((401, "authentication_error"), (404, "invalid_request_error"), (500, "internal_server_error")),
+)
+def test_provider_errors_reach_the_caller_and_other_models_keep_mapping(
+    gateway: Gateway, status: int, expected_error_type: str
+) -> None:
     message: Final = f"provider refused listing {uuid.uuid4().hex[:8]}"
     with _rig(gateway, listing=_error_listing(status, message)) as failing, _rig(gateway, "a.txt") as healthy:
         member: Final = _member(failing.scenario, failing.model, healthy.model)
         managed_a: Final = healthy.upload(member.key, "a.txt")
         failed: Final = failing.list(member.key, {"model": failing.model})
-        assert _json(failed) == _provider_error(status, message), failed.text
+        assert failed.status_code == status, failed.text
+        error: Final = object_value(_json(failed)["error"])
+        assert message in string_value(error["message"]), failed.text
+        assert error["code"] == str(status), failed.text
+        assert error["type"] == expected_error_type, failed.text
         assert len(failing.list_requests()) == 1
         assert _ids(healthy.listed(member.key)) == (managed_a,)
         liveliness: Final = gateway.request("GET", "/health/liveliness")
diff --git a/tests/integration/observability/test_otel_excluded_services.py b/tests/integration/observability/test_otel_excluded_services.py
index 8768052b488..09f40630391 100644
--- a/tests/integration/observability/test_otel_excluded_services.py
+++ b/tests/integration/observability/test_otel_excluded_services.py
@@ -170,7 +170,9 @@ def _assert_tenant_keeps_redis_without_postgres(
     tenant_start, _ = recorded_spans(audit_sinks.tenant)
     operator_start, _ = recorded_spans(audit_sinks.operator)
     traffic: Final = _drive(candidate, langfuse_vars)
-    _await_db_span(audit_sinks.operator, None, "batch_write_to_db", seconds=60, since=operator_start)
+    _await_db_span(
+        audit_sinks.operator, None, "postgres.update LiteLLM_VerificationToken", seconds=60, since=operator_start
+    )
     tenant_trace: Final = _trace_id(audit_sinks.tenant, traffic)
     _await_db_span(audit_sinks.tenant, tenant_trace, "redis", seconds=60)
     systems: Final = _db_systems(_trace_spans(audit_sinks.tenant, tenant_trace, seconds=15))
@@ -232,7 +234,9 @@ def test_excluded_services_drops_db_spans_at_tenant_only(
         _, all_tenant = recorded_spans(audit_sinks.tenant, ten_start)
         names: Final = sorted(str(span["name"]) for span in all_tenant)
         assert _db_systems(all_tenant) == set(), f"aux db spans reached tenant: {names}"
-        assert not any("batch_write_to_db" in name for name in names), f"spend writer reached tenant: {names}"
+        assert not any("postgres.update LiteLLM_VerificationToken" in name for name in names), (
+            f"spend writer reached tenant: {names}"
+        )
 
 
 @pytest.mark.timeout(180)
@@ -247,8 +251,8 @@ def test_without_excluded_services_the_tenant_still_gets_redis_and_postgres_span
     with owned_proxy(gateway, tmp_path, {"LITELLM_OTEL_V2": "1"}, config=config, workers=2) as candidate:
         tenant_start, _ = recorded_spans(audit_sinks.tenant)
         traffic: Final = _drive(candidate, langfuse_vars)
-        _await_db_span(audit_sinks.tenant, None, "batch_write_to_db", seconds=60, since=tenant_start)
         tenant_trace: Final = _trace_id(audit_sinks.tenant, traffic)
+        _await_db_span(audit_sinks.tenant, tenant_trace, "postgresql", seconds=60, since=tenant_start)
         _await_db_span(audit_sinks.tenant, tenant_trace, "redis", seconds=60)
         _assert_core_spans_present(_trace_spans(audit_sinks.tenant, tenant_trace, seconds=15))
         _, all_tenant = recorded_spans(audit_sinks.tenant, tenant_start)
@@ -574,7 +578,7 @@ def test_bogus_excluded_services_env_logs_and_drops_without_otel_callback(
         _assert_tenant_keeps_redis_without_postgres(owned.gateway, audit_sinks, langfuse_vars)
 
 
-def test_postgres_exclusion_covers_batch_write_to_db(
+def test_postgres_exclusion_covers_spend_flush(
     gateway: Gateway,
     audit_sinks: SpanSinks,
     otel_audit_config: AuditConfigWriter,
@@ -586,11 +590,19 @@ def test_postgres_exclusion_covers_batch_write_to_db(
         op_start, _ = recorded_spans(audit_sinks.operator)
         ten_start, _ = recorded_spans(audit_sinks.tenant)
         traffic: Final = _drive(candidate, langfuse_vars)
-        _await_db_span(audit_sinks.operator, None, "batch_write_to_db", seconds=60, since=op_start)
+        _await_db_span(audit_sinks.operator, None, "postgres.update LiteLLM_VerificationToken", seconds=60, since=op_start)
+        operator_trace: Final = _trace_id(audit_sinks.operator, traffic)
+        _, operator_spans = recorded_spans(audit_sinks.operator, op_start)
+        assert any(
+            span["name"] == "postgres.update LiteLLM_VerificationToken" and span["trace_id"] != operator_trace
+            for span in operator_spans
+        ), tuple((span["name"], span["trace_id"]) for span in operator_spans)
         tenant_trace: Final = _trace_id(audit_sinks.tenant, traffic)
         _await_db_span(audit_sinks.tenant, tenant_trace, "redis", seconds=60)
         tenant_spans: Final = _trace_spans(audit_sinks.tenant, tenant_trace, seconds=15)
         _, all_tenant = recorded_spans(audit_sinks.tenant, ten_start)
         names: Final = sorted(str(span["name"]) for span in all_tenant)
         assert "redis" in _db_systems(tenant_spans), f"redis spans missing at tenant: {names}"
-        assert not any("batch_write_to_db" in name for name in names), f"spend writer reached tenant: {names}"
+        assert not any("postgres.update LiteLLM_VerificationToken" in name for name in names), (
+            f"spend writer reached tenant: {names}"
+        )
diff --git a/tests/integration/observability/test_otel_v1_request_trace.py b/tests/integration/observability/test_otel_v1_request_trace.py
index c99ddc11ced..468aceb4860 100644
--- a/tests/integration/observability/test_otel_v1_request_trace.py
+++ b/tests/integration/observability/test_otel_v1_request_trace.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Final
 
 import pytest
-from integration._support.client import Gateway, eventually, gateway_from_environment
+from integration._support.client import Gateway, eventually, gateway_from_environment, object_value
 from integration._support.otlp_sink import Span, SpanSinks, recorded_spans
 from integration._support.process import owned_proxy
 from pydantic import JsonValue
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ def _traces(spans: tuple[Span, ...]) -> dict[str, frozenset[str]]:
     return {trace: frozenset(span["name"] for span in spans if span["trace_id"] == trace) for trace in trace_ids}
 
 
-def test_default_otel_logger_puts_datastore_model_and_spend_writer_spans_in_the_request_trace(
+def test_default_otel_logger_keeps_spend_flush_outside_the_request_trace(
     gateway: Gateway, audit_sinks: SpanSinks, otel_audit_config: AuditConfigWriter, tmp_path: Path
 ) -> None:
     config: Final = otel_audit_config(tmp_path, {})
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ def test_default_otel_logger_puts_datastore_model_and_spend_writer_spans_in_the_
             key=key,
         )
         assert response.status_code == 200, response.text
-        expected: Final = frozenset({"postgres", "redis", "raw_gen_ai_request", "batch_write_to_db"})
+        expected: Final = frozenset({"postgres", "redis", "raw_gen_ai_request"})
         traces: Final = eventually(
             lambda: _traces(recorded_spans(audit_sinks.operator, start)[1]),
             lambda grouped: any(expected <= names for names in grouped.values()),
@@ -51,3 +51,22 @@ def test_default_otel_logger_puts_datastore_model_and_spend_writer_spans_in_the_
         assert any(expected <= names for names in traces.values()), {
             trace: sorted(names) for trace, names in traces.items()
         }
+        request_trace: Final = next(trace for trace, names in traces.items() if expected <= names)
+        key_info: Final = eventually(
+            lambda: candidate.request("GET", "/key/info", key=key, params={"key": key}),
+            lambda response: response.status_code == 200
+            and float(str(object_value(response.json()["info"])["spend"])) > 0,
+            seconds=60,
+        )
+        assert key_info.status_code == 200, key_info.text
+        assert float(str(object_value(key_info.json()["info"])["spend"])) > 0
+        request_spans: Final = tuple(
+            span for span in recorded_spans(audit_sinks.operator, start)[1] if span["trace_id"] == request_trace
+        )
+        assert not any(span["name"] == "batch_write_to_db" for span in request_spans), request_spans
+        assert not any(
+            span["name"] == "postgres"
+            and span["attributes"].get("call_type") == "commit_spend_updates"
+            and span["attributes"].get("table_name") == "LiteLLM_VerificationToken"
+            for span in request_spans
+        ), request_spans
diff --git a/tests/integration/pricing/test_per_second_pricing.py b/tests/integration/pricing/test_per_second_pricing.py
index ad44a631054..a4958bd18c5 100644
--- a/tests/integration/pricing/test_per_second_pricing.py
+++ b/tests/integration/pricing/test_per_second_pricing.py
@@ -70,8 +70,11 @@ def _clear_observations(upstream: httpx.Client) -> None:
 def _observed_request_body(upstream: httpx.Client) -> dict[str, JsonValue]:
     observations: Final = JSON_OBJECT.validate_json(upstream.get("/__observations").content)["requests"]
     assert isinstance(observations, list)
-    assert len(observations) == 1
-    return object_value(object_value(observations[0])["body"])
+    post_observations: Final = tuple(
+        observation for observation in observations if isinstance(observation, dict) and observation.get("method") == "POST"
+    )
+    assert len(post_observations) == 1
+    return object_value(object_value(post_observations[0])["body"])
 
 
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
diff --git a/tests/integration/routing/test_stale_cost_map_boot.py b/tests/integration/routing/test_stale_cost_map_boot.py
index d2eeb2bdc6c..13b3d777587 100644
--- a/tests/integration/routing/test_stale_cost_map_boot.py
+++ b/tests/integration/routing/test_stale_cost_map_boot.py
@@ -81,6 +81,8 @@ def test_config_deployment_dropped_by_stale_boot_cost_map_is_restored_after_relo
                 {
                     "path": "/v1/chat/completions",
                     "authorization": "Bearer sk-upstream",
+                    "method": "POST",
+                    "api_key": "",
                     "body": {"model": model, "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "stale cost map control"}]},
                 }
             ]
diff --git a/tests/integration/spend/test_roi_branch_spend.py b/tests/integration/spend/test_roi_branch_spend.py
index 9efb22c43be..cc9cfad8cd2 100644
--- a/tests/integration/spend/test_roi_branch_spend.py
+++ b/tests/integration/spend/test_roi_branch_spend.py
@@ -123,18 +123,19 @@ def test_documented_header_and_body_tags_reach_recorded_branch_and_pr_cost(gatew
             ({"tags": tags}, {}),
             ({}, {"x-litellm-tags": ", ".join(tags + tags)}),
         )
-        for payload, headers in examples:
+        for index, (payload, headers) in enumerate(examples):
             response: Final = gateway.request(
                 "POST",
                 "/v1/chat/completions",
                 {
                     "model": model,
-                    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "tag attribution"}],
+                    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": f"tag attribution {index}"}],
                     **payload,
                 },
                 headers=headers,
             )
             assert response.status_code == 200, response.text
+        assert len(upstream.drain()) == 3
         rows: Final = eventually(
             lambda: read_rows(
                 'SELECT spend FROM "LiteLLM_SpendLogs" WHERE request_tags @> %s::jsonb', (json.dumps(tags),)
diff --git a/tests/unit/caching/test_unit_test_caching.py b/tests/unit/caching/test_unit_test_caching.py
index fd9f4bb9e89..d720838c507 100644
--- a/tests/unit/caching/test_unit_test_caching.py
+++ b/tests/unit/caching/test_unit_test_caching.py
@@ -251,6 +251,33 @@ def test_get_model_param_value():
     assert cache._get_model_param_value(kwargs) == "not-in-caching-group-gpt-3.5-turbo"
 
 
+def test_get_model_param_value_reads_model_group_from_litellm_metadata():
+    cache = Cache()
+    request = {
+        "model": "openai/gpt-5.6",
+        "input": "search this text",
+        "tools": [{"type": "web_search_preview", "search_context_size": "medium"}],
+    }
+
+    assert cache._get_model_param_value({**request, "litellm_metadata": {"model_group": "group-a"}}) == "group-a"
+    assert (
+        cache._get_model_param_value({**request, "litellm_params": {"litellm_metadata": {"model_group": "group-a"}}})
+        == "group-a"
+    )
+    assert cache._get_model_param_value(
+        {
+            **request,
+            "litellm_metadata": {
+                "model_group": "group-a",
+                "caching_groups": [("group-a", "group-b")],
+            },
+        }
+    ) == "('group-a', 'group-b')"
+    assert cache.get_cache_key(**request, litellm_metadata={"model_group": "group-a"}) != cache.get_cache_key(
+        **request, litellm_metadata={"model_group": "group-b"}
+    )
+
+
 def test_preset_cache_key():
     """
     Test that the preset cache key is used if it is set in kwargs["litellm_params"]
diff --git a/tests/unit/proxy/proxy_server/test_routes_model_cost_map.py b/tests/unit/proxy/proxy_server/test_routes_model_cost_map.py
index 40bd66ea91c..31f69d686d4 100644
--- a/tests/unit/proxy/proxy_server/test_routes_model_cost_map.py
+++ b/tests/unit/proxy/proxy_server/test_routes_model_cost_map.py
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ def test_reload_model_cost_map_surfaces_the_blob_id_of_the_bytes_served_on_every
     import httpx
 
     import litellm
-    from litellm.litellm_core_utils.get_model_cost_map import git_blob_id
+    from litellm.litellm_core_utils.get_model_cost_map import _finalize_model_cost_map, git_blob_id
     from litellm.proxy import proxy_server as ps
     from litellm.proxy._types import LitellmUserRoles
 
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ def test_reload_model_cost_map_surfaces_the_blob_id_of_the_bytes_served_on_every
     assert {key: status_response.json()[key] for key in expected} == expected
     assert public_response.status_code == 200
     assert "gpt-4o" in public_response.json()
-    assert reload_body["models_count"] == len(litellm.model_cost)
+    assert reload_body["models_count"] == len(_finalize_model_cost_map(json.loads(body)))
 
 
 def test_reload_model_cost_map_fetch_failure_502_keeps_map(