diff --git a/.ruff.toml b/.ruff.toml
index cba34d54b136..5100a4d23d2c 100644
--- a/.ruff.toml
+++ b/.ruff.toml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 
-select = [
+lint.select = [
   "A",     # [https://pypi.org/project/flake8-builtins/]
   "ARG",   # [https://pypi.org/project/flake8-unused-arguments/]
   "ASYNC", # [https://pypi.org/project/flake8-async/]
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ select = [
   "W",     # [https://pypi.org/project/pycodestyle/] warnings
   "YTT",   # [https://pypi.org/project/flake8-2020/]
 ]
-ignore = [
+lint.ignore = [
   "E501",   # line too long, handled by black
   "S101",   # use of `assert` detected hanbled by pylance, does not support noseq
   "TID252", # [*] Relative imports from parent modules are banned
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ ignore = [
 target-version = "py311"
 
 
-[per-file-ignores]
+[lint.per-file-ignores]
 "**/{tests,pytest_simcore}/**" = [
   "T201",    # print found
   "ARG001",  # unused function argument
@@ -64,10 +64,10 @@ target-version = "py311"
   "FBT001",  # Boolean positional arg in function definition
 ]
 
-[flake8-pytest-style]
+[lint.flake8-pytest-style]
 fixture-parentheses = false
 parametrize-names-type = "csv"
 
 
-[pylint]
+[lint.pylint]
 max-args = 10
diff --git a/packages/postgres-database/tests/conftest.py b/packages/postgres-database/tests/conftest.py
index f9125cc2fcee..f89b9cbcc8bd 100644
--- a/packages/postgres-database/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/packages/postgres-database/tests/conftest.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 
 import uuid
 import warnings
-from collections.abc import AsyncIterator, Awaitable, Callable, Iterator
+from collections.abc import AsyncIterator, Awaitable, Callable, Iterable, Iterator
 from pathlib import Path
 
 import aiopg.sa
@@ -13,11 +13,13 @@
 import pytest
 import simcore_postgres_database.cli
 import sqlalchemy as sa
+import sqlalchemy.engine
 import yaml
 from aiopg.sa.connection import SAConnection
 from aiopg.sa.engine import Engine
 from aiopg.sa.result import ResultProxy, RowProxy
 from faker import Faker
+from pytest_simcore.helpers import postgres_tools
 from pytest_simcore.helpers.faker_factories import (
     random_group,
     random_project,
@@ -71,20 +73,15 @@ def postgres_service(docker_services, docker_ip, docker_compose_file) -> str:
     return dsn
 
 
-@pytest.fixture
-def make_engine(
-    postgres_service: str,
-) -> Callable[[bool], Awaitable[Engine] | sa.engine.base.Engine]:
-    dsn = postgres_service
-
-    def _make(is_async=True) -> Awaitable[Engine] | sa.engine.base.Engine:
-        return aiopg.sa.create_engine(dsn) if is_async else sa.create_engine(dsn)
-
-    return _make
+@pytest.fixture(scope="session")
+def sync_engine(postgres_service: str) -> Iterable[sqlalchemy.engine.Engine]:
+    _engine: sqlalchemy.engine.Engine = sa.create_engine(url=postgres_service)
+    yield _engine
+    _engine.dispose()
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
-def make_asyncpg_engine(postgres_service: str) -> Callable[[bool], AsyncEngine]:
+def _make_asyncpg_engine(postgres_service: str) -> Callable[[bool], AsyncEngine]:
     # NOTE: users is responsible of `await engine.dispose()`
     dsn = postgres_service.replace("postgresql://", "postgresql+asyncpg://")
     minsize = 1
@@ -127,10 +124,10 @@ def db_metadata() -> sa.MetaData:
 
 @pytest.fixture(params=["sqlModels", "alembicMigration"])
 def pg_sa_engine(
-    make_engine: Callable,
+    sync_engine: sqlalchemy.engine.Engine,
     db_metadata: sa.MetaData,
     request: pytest.FixtureRequest,
-) -> Iterator[sa.engine.Engine]:
+) -> Iterator[sqlalchemy.engine.Engine]:
     """
     Runs migration to create tables and return a sqlalchemy engine
 
@@ -144,7 +141,6 @@ def pg_sa_engine(
     # the tables, i.e. when no migration mechanism are in place
     # Best is therefore to start from scratch and delete all at
     # the end
-    sync_engine = make_engine(is_async=False)
 
     # NOTE: ALL is deleted before
     db_metadata.drop_all(sync_engine)
@@ -165,22 +161,20 @@ def pg_sa_engine(
 
     yield sync_engine
 
-    # NOTE: ALL is deleted after
-    with sync_engine.begin() as conn:
-        conn.execute(sa.DDL("DROP TABLE IF EXISTS alembic_version"))
-    db_metadata.drop_all(sync_engine)
-    sync_engine.dispose()
+    postgres_tools.force_drop_all_tables(sync_engine)
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
 async def aiopg_engine(
-    pg_sa_engine: sa.engine.Engine, make_engine: Callable
+    pg_sa_engine: sqlalchemy.engine.Engine,
+    postgres_service: str,
 ) -> AsyncIterator[Engine]:
     """
     Return an aiopg.sa engine connected to a responsive and migrated pg database
     """
-
-    aiopg_sa_engine = await make_engine(is_async=True)
+    # first start sync
+    assert pg_sa_engine.url.database
+    assert postgres_service.endswith(pg_sa_engine.url.database)
 
     warnings.warn(
         "The 'aiopg_engine' is deprecated since we are replacing `aiopg` library by `sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio`."
@@ -190,12 +184,8 @@ async def aiopg_engine(
         stacklevel=2,
     )
 
-    yield aiopg_sa_engine
-
-    # closes async-engine connections and terminates
-    aiopg_sa_engine.close()
-    await aiopg_sa_engine.wait_closed()
-    aiopg_sa_engine.terminate()
+    async with aiopg.sa.create_engine(dsn=postgres_service) as aiopg_sa_engine:
+        yield aiopg_sa_engine
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
@@ -208,15 +198,15 @@ async def connection(aiopg_engine: Engine) -> AsyncIterator[SAConnection]:
 @pytest.fixture
 async def asyncpg_engine(  # <-- WE SHOULD USE THIS ONE
     is_pdb_enabled: bool,
-    pg_sa_engine: sa.engine.Engine,
-    make_asyncpg_engine: Callable[[bool], AsyncEngine],
+    pg_sa_engine: sqlalchemy.engine.Engine,
+    _make_asyncpg_engine: Callable[[bool], AsyncEngine],
 ) -> AsyncIterator[AsyncEngine]:
 
     assert (
         pg_sa_engine
     ), "Ensures pg db up, responsive, init (w/ tables) and/or migrated"
 
-    _apg_engine = make_asyncpg_engine(is_pdb_enabled)
+    _apg_engine = _make_asyncpg_engine(is_pdb_enabled)
 
     yield _apg_engine
 
@@ -229,9 +219,7 @@ async def asyncpg_engine(  # <-- WE SHOULD USE THIS ONE
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
-def create_fake_group(
-    make_engine: Callable[..., Awaitable[Engine] | sa.engine.base.Engine]
-) -> Iterator[Callable]:
+def create_fake_group(sync_engine: sqlalchemy.engine.Engine) -> Iterator[Callable]:
     """factory to create standard group"""
     created_ids = []
 
@@ -250,16 +238,13 @@ async def _creator(conn: SAConnection, **overrides) -> RowProxy:
 
     yield _creator
 
-    sync_engine = make_engine(is_async=False)
-    assert isinstance(sync_engine, sa.engine.Engine)
+    assert isinstance(sync_engine, sqlalchemy.engine.Engine)
     with sync_engine.begin() as conn:
         conn.execute(sa.delete(groups).where(groups.c.gid.in_(created_ids)))
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
-def create_fake_user(
-    make_engine: Callable[..., Awaitable[Engine] | sa.engine.base.Engine]
-) -> Iterator[Callable]:
+def create_fake_user(sync_engine: sqlalchemy.engine.Engine) -> Iterator[Callable]:
     """factory to create a user w/ or w/o a standard group"""
 
     created_ids = []
@@ -290,8 +275,7 @@ async def _creator(conn, group: RowProxy | None = None, **overrides) -> RowProxy
 
     yield _creator
 
-    sync_engine = make_engine(is_async=False)
-    assert isinstance(sync_engine, sa.engine.Engine)
+    assert isinstance(sync_engine, sqlalchemy.engine.Engine)
     with sync_engine.begin() as conn:
         conn.execute(users.delete().where(users.c.id.in_(created_ids)))
 
diff --git a/packages/postgres-database/tests/test_models_groups.py b/packages/postgres-database/tests/test_models_groups.py
index 649e21118677..6ce8a77c4cc3 100644
--- a/packages/postgres-database/tests/test_models_groups.py
+++ b/packages/postgres-database/tests/test_models_groups.py
@@ -3,18 +3,14 @@
 # pylint: disable=unused-variable
 # pylint: disable=too-many-arguments
 
-
-from collections.abc import AsyncIterator, Awaitable, Callable
+from collections.abc import Callable
 
 import aiopg.sa.exc
 import pytest
-import sqlalchemy as sa
 from aiopg.sa.connection import SAConnection
-from aiopg.sa.engine import Engine
 from aiopg.sa.result import ResultProxy, RowProxy
 from psycopg2.errors import ForeignKeyViolation, RaiseException, UniqueViolation
 from pytest_simcore.helpers.faker_factories import random_user
-from simcore_postgres_database.models.base import metadata
 from simcore_postgres_database.webserver_models import (
     GroupType,
     groups,
@@ -24,21 +20,6 @@
 from sqlalchemy import func, literal_column, select
 
 
-@pytest.fixture
-async def connection(
-    make_engine: Callable[[bool], Awaitable[Engine] | sa.engine.base.Engine]
-) -> AsyncIterator[SAConnection]:
-    engine = await make_engine()
-    sync_engine = make_engine(is_async=False)
-    metadata.drop_all(sync_engine)
-    metadata.create_all(sync_engine)
-
-    async with engine.acquire() as conn:
-        yield conn
-
-    metadata.drop_all(sync_engine)
-
-
 async def test_user_group_uniqueness(
     connection: SAConnection,
     create_fake_group: Callable,
diff --git a/packages/postgres-database/tests/test_uniqueness_in_comp_tasks.py b/packages/postgres-database/tests/test_uniqueness_in_comp_tasks.py
index 80b9b28e5145..2935a0de45ad 100644
--- a/packages/postgres-database/tests/test_uniqueness_in_comp_tasks.py
+++ b/packages/postgres-database/tests/test_uniqueness_in_comp_tasks.py
@@ -1,13 +1,18 @@
-# pylint:disable=no-value-for-parameter
-# pylint:disable=unused-variable
-# pylint:disable=unused-argument
-# pylint:disable=redefined-outer-name
+# pylint: disable=redefined-outer-name
+# pylint: disable=unused-argument
+# pylint: disable=unused-variable
+# pylint: disable=too-many-arguments
 
 import json
+from collections.abc import AsyncIterator
 
+import aiopg.sa.engine
+import aiopg.sa.exc
 import pytest
 import sqlalchemy as sa
+import sqlalchemy.engine
 from psycopg2.errors import UniqueViolation  # pylint: disable=no-name-in-module
+from pytest_simcore.helpers import postgres_tools
 from pytest_simcore.helpers.faker_factories import fake_pipeline, fake_task_factory
 from simcore_postgres_database.models.base import metadata
 from simcore_postgres_database.webserver_models import comp_pipeline, comp_tasks
@@ -16,13 +21,15 @@
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
-async def engine(make_engine):
-    engine = await make_engine()
-    sync_engine = make_engine(is_async=False)
+async def engine(
+    sync_engine: sqlalchemy.engine.Engine,
+    aiopg_engine: aiopg.sa.engine.Engine,
+) -> AsyncIterator[aiopg.sa.engine.Engine]:
+
     metadata.drop_all(sync_engine)
     metadata.create_all(sync_engine)
 
-    async with engine.acquire() as conn:
+    async with aiopg_engine.acquire() as conn:
         await conn.execute(
             comp_pipeline.insert().values(**fake_pipeline(project_id="PA"))
         )
@@ -30,10 +37,9 @@ async def engine(make_engine):
             comp_pipeline.insert().values(**fake_pipeline(project_id="PB"))
         )
 
-    yield engine
+    yield aiopg_engine
 
-    engine.close()
-    await engine.wait_closed()
+    postgres_tools.force_drop_all_tables(sync_engine)
 
 
 async def test_unique_project_node_pairs(engine):
diff --git a/packages/postgres-database/tests/test_utils_migration.py b/packages/postgres-database/tests/test_utils_migration.py
index 2fc6fe443ca4..d75006badd64 100644
--- a/packages/postgres-database/tests/test_utils_migration.py
+++ b/packages/postgres-database/tests/test_utils_migration.py
@@ -3,10 +3,10 @@
 # pylint: disable=unused-argument
 # pylint: disable=unused-variable
 
-from collections.abc import Callable
 
 import pytest
 import simcore_postgres_database.cli
+import sqlalchemy.engine
 from alembic.script.revision import MultipleHeads
 from simcore_postgres_database.utils_migration import get_current_head
 from sqlalchemy import inspect
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@ def test_migration_has_no_branches():
         )
 
 
-def test_migration_upgrade_downgrade(make_engine: Callable):
-    sync_engine = make_engine(is_async=False)
+def test_migration_upgrade_downgrade(sync_engine: sqlalchemy.engine.Engine):
+
     assert sync_engine
     assert simcore_postgres_database.cli.discover.callback
     assert simcore_postgres_database.cli.upgrade.callback
diff --git a/packages/pytest-simcore/src/pytest_simcore/docker.py b/packages/pytest-simcore/src/pytest_simcore/docker.py
index 89e88484a4b2..9ca883ec6c87 100644
--- a/packages/pytest-simcore/src/pytest_simcore/docker.py
+++ b/packages/pytest-simcore/src/pytest_simcore/docker.py
@@ -20,12 +20,16 @@ async def async_docker_client() -> AsyncIterator[aiodocker.Docker]:
 
 
 @contextlib.asynccontextmanager
-async def _pause_container(
+async def _pause_docker_container(
     async_docker_client: aiodocker.Docker, container_name: str
 ) -> AsyncIterator[None]:
     containers = await async_docker_client.containers.list(
         filters={"name": [f"{container_name}."]}
     )
+    assert (
+        containers
+    ), f"Failed to pause container {container_name=}, because it was not found"
+
     await asyncio.gather(*(c.pause() for c in containers))
     # refresh
     container_attrs = await asyncio.gather(*(c.show() for c in containers))
@@ -46,7 +50,7 @@ async def _pause_container(
 async def paused_container() -> Callable[[str], AbstractAsyncContextManager[None]]:
     @contextlib.asynccontextmanager
     async def _(container_name: str) -> AsyncIterator[None]:
-        async with aiodocker.Docker() as docker_client, _pause_container(
+        async with aiodocker.Docker() as docker_client, _pause_docker_container(
             docker_client, container_name
         ):
             yield None
diff --git a/packages/pytest-simcore/src/pytest_simcore/docker_compose.py b/packages/pytest-simcore/src/pytest_simcore/docker_compose.py
index 3069f41b4f16..2085e62a3652 100644
--- a/packages/pytest-simcore/src/pytest_simcore/docker_compose.py
+++ b/packages/pytest-simcore/src/pytest_simcore/docker_compose.py
@@ -335,7 +335,9 @@ def _save_docker_logs_to_folder(failed_test_directory: Path):
 
 
 @pytest.hookimpl()
-def pytest_exception_interact(node, call, report):
+def pytest_exception_interact(
+    node, call: pytest.CallInfo[Any], report: pytest.CollectReport
+):
     # get the node root dir (guaranteed to exist)
     root_directory: Path = Path(node.config.rootdir)
     failed_test_directory = root_directory / "test_failures" / node.name
diff --git a/packages/pytest-simcore/src/pytest_simcore/helpers/postgres_tools.py b/packages/pytest-simcore/src/pytest_simcore/helpers/postgres_tools.py
index 5f1f6c6ffe44..1621713acb36 100644
--- a/packages/pytest-simcore/src/pytest_simcore/helpers/postgres_tools.py
+++ b/packages/pytest-simcore/src/pytest_simcore/helpers/postgres_tools.py
@@ -17,6 +17,22 @@ class PostgresTestConfig(TypedDict):
     port: str
 
 
+def force_drop_all_tables(sa_sync_engine: sa.engine.Engine):
+    with sa_sync_engine.begin() as conn:
+        conn.execute(sa.DDL("DROP TABLE IF EXISTS alembic_version"))
+        conn.execute(
+            # NOTE: terminates all open transactions before droping all tables
+            # This solves https://github.com/ITISFoundation/osparc-simcore/issues/7008
+            sa.DDL(
+                "SELECT pg_terminate_backend(pid) "
+                "FROM pg_stat_activity "
+                "WHERE state = 'idle in transaction';"
+            )
+        )
+        # SEE https://github.com/ITISFoundation/osparc-simcore/issues/1776
+        metadata.drop_all(bind=conn)
+
+
 @contextmanager
 def migrated_pg_tables_context(
     postgres_config: PostgresTestConfig,
@@ -46,22 +62,15 @@ def migrated_pg_tables_context(
     #
     assert simcore_postgres_database.cli.downgrade.callback
     assert simcore_postgres_database.cli.clean.callback
+
     simcore_postgres_database.cli.downgrade.callback("base")
     simcore_postgres_database.cli.clean.callback()  # just cleans discover cache
 
-    postgres_engine = sa.create_engine(dsn)
-    with postgres_engine.begin() as conn:
-        conn.execute(
-            # NOTE: terminates all open transactions before droping all tables
-            # This solves https://github.com/ITISFoundation/osparc-simcore/issues/7008
-            sa.DDL(
-                "SELECT pg_terminate_backend(pid) "
-                "FROM pg_stat_activity "
-                "WHERE state = 'idle in transaction';"
-            )
-        )
-        # SEE https://github.com/ITISFoundation/osparc-simcore/issues/1776
-        metadata.drop_all(bind=conn)
+    try:
+        sync_engine = sa.create_engine(dsn)
+        force_drop_all_tables(sync_engine)
+    finally:
+        sync_engine.dispose()
 
 
 def is_postgres_responsive(url) -> bool:
diff --git a/packages/service-library/Makefile b/packages/service-library/Makefile
index 16d494eafebc..edefcc08385c 100644
--- a/packages/service-library/Makefile
+++ b/packages/service-library/Makefile
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ test-dev[all]: ## runs unit tests  w/ all extras
 
 
 .PHONY: test-ci[all]
-test-ci[all]: ## runs unit tests  w/ all extras
+test-ci[all]:  ## runs unit tests  w/ all extras
 	@pytest \
 		--asyncio-mode=auto \
 		--color=yes \
@@ -115,12 +115,12 @@ test-ci[all]: ## runs unit tests  w/ all extras
 		--cov-config=$(CURDIR)/../../.coveragerc \
 		--cov-report=term-missing \
 		--cov-report=xml \
-		--junitxml=junit.xml -o junit_family=legacy \
 		--cov=$(APP_PACKAGE_NAME) \
 		--durations=10 \
+		--junitxml=junit.xml -o junit_family=legacy \
 		--keep-docker-up \
 		--log-date-format="%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S" \
-    --log-format="%(asctime)s %(levelname)s %(message)s" \
+		--log-format="%(asctime)s %(levelname)s %(message)s" \
 		--verbose \
 		-m "not heavy_load" \
 		$(CURDIR)/tests
diff --git a/packages/service-library/src/servicelib/redis/_client.py b/packages/service-library/src/servicelib/redis/_client.py
index 38a1a5f6f319..c2a081541104 100644
--- a/packages/service-library/src/servicelib/redis/_client.py
+++ b/packages/service-library/src/servicelib/redis/_client.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 import logging
 from asyncio import Task
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
+from typing import Final
 from uuid import uuid4
 
 import redis.asyncio as aioredis
@@ -13,7 +14,7 @@
 
 from ..async_utils import cancel_wait_task
 from ..background_task import periodic
-from ..logging_utils import log_catch
+from ..logging_utils import log_catch, log_context
 from ._constants import (
     DEFAULT_DECODE_RESPONSES,
     DEFAULT_HEALTH_CHECK_INTERVAL,
@@ -23,6 +24,9 @@
 
 _logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
+# SEE https://github.com/ITISFoundation/osparc-simcore/pull/7077
+_HEALTHCHECK_TASK_TIMEOUT_S: Final[float] = 3.0
+
 
 @dataclass
 class RedisClientSDK:
@@ -77,15 +81,22 @@ async def _periodic_check_health() -> None:
         )
 
     async def shutdown(self) -> None:
-        if self._health_check_task:
-            assert self._health_check_task_started_event  # nosec
-            await self._health_check_task_started_event.wait()  # NOTE: wait for the health check task to have started once before we can cancel it
-            await cancel_wait_task(self._health_check_task)
-
-        await self._client.aclose(close_connection_pool=True)
+        with log_context(
+            _logger, level=logging.DEBUG, msg=f"Shutdown RedisClientSDK {self}"
+        ):
+            if self._health_check_task:
+                assert self._health_check_task_started_event  # nosec
+                # NOTE: wait for the health check task to have started once before we can cancel it
+                await self._health_check_task_started_event.wait()
+                await cancel_wait_task(
+                    self._health_check_task, max_delay=_HEALTHCHECK_TASK_TIMEOUT_S
+                )
+
+            await self._client.aclose(close_connection_pool=True)
 
     async def ping(self) -> bool:
         with log_catch(_logger, reraise=False):
+            # NOTE: retry_* input parameters from aioredis.from_url do not apply for the ping call
             await self._client.ping()
             return True
         return False
diff --git a/packages/service-library/tests/deferred_tasks/test_deferred_tasks.py b/packages/service-library/tests/deferred_tasks/test_deferred_tasks.py
index daccac23c61a..7d11d2571539 100644
--- a/packages/service-library/tests/deferred_tasks/test_deferred_tasks.py
+++ b/packages/service-library/tests/deferred_tasks/test_deferred_tasks.py
@@ -349,7 +349,7 @@ def __init__(
         self.paused_container = paused_container
 
     @contextlib.asynccontextmanager
-    async def _pause_container(
+    async def _paused_container(
         self, container_name: str, client: ClientWithPingProtocol
     ) -> AsyncIterator[None]:
         async with self.paused_container(container_name):
@@ -374,7 +374,7 @@ async def _pause_container(
 
     @contextlib.asynccontextmanager
     async def pause_rabbit(self) -> AsyncIterator[None]:
-        async with self._pause_container("rabbit", self.rabbit_client):
+        async with self._paused_container("rabbit", self.rabbit_client):
             yield
 
     @contextlib.asynccontextmanager
@@ -382,7 +382,7 @@ async def pause_redis(self) -> AsyncIterator[None]:
         # save db for clean restore point
         await self.redis_client.redis.save()
 
-        async with self._pause_container("redis", self.redis_client):
+        async with self._paused_container("redis", self.redis_client):
             yield
 
 
diff --git a/scripts/common-service.Makefile b/scripts/common-service.Makefile
index 138b9ae27fc7..57fb6e3b5b46 100644
--- a/scripts/common-service.Makefile
+++ b/scripts/common-service.Makefile
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ install-dev install-prod install-ci: _check_venv_active ## install app in develo
 .PHONY: test-dev-unit test-ci-unit test-dev-integration test-ci-integration test-dev
 
 TEST_PATH := $(if $(test-path),/$(patsubst tests/integration/%,%, $(patsubst tests/unit/%,%, $(patsubst %/,%,$(test-path)))),)
+
 test-dev-unit test-ci-unit: _check_venv_active ## run app unit tests (specifying test-path can restrict to a folder)
 	# Targets tests/unit folder
 	@make --no-print-directory _run-$(subst -unit,,$@) target=$(CURDIR)/tests/unit$(TEST_PATH)
@@ -146,11 +147,11 @@ _run-test-dev: _check_venv_active
 		--cov-config=.coveragerc \
 		--cov-report=term-missing \
 		--cov-report=xml \
-		--junitxml=junit.xml -o junit_family=legacy \
 		--cov=$(APP_PACKAGE_NAME) \
 		--durations=10 \
 		--exitfirst \
 		--failed-first \
+		--junitxml=junit.xml -o junit_family=legacy \
 		--keep-docker-up \
 		--pdb \
 		-vv \
@@ -167,12 +168,12 @@ _run-test-ci: _check_venv_active
 		--cov-config=.coveragerc \
 		--cov-report=term-missing \
 		--cov-report=xml \
-		--junitxml=junit.xml -o junit_family=legacy \
 		--cov=$(APP_PACKAGE_NAME) \
 		--durations=10 \
+		--junitxml=junit.xml -o junit_family=legacy \
 		--keep-docker-up \
 		--log-date-format="%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S" \
-    --log-format="%(asctime)s %(levelname)s %(message)s" \
+		--log-format="%(asctime)s %(levelname)s %(message)s" \
 		--verbose \
 		-m "not heavy_load" \
 		$(PYTEST_ADDITIONAL_PARAMETERS) \
diff --git a/services/api-server/tests/unit/_with_db/conftest.py b/services/api-server/tests/unit/_with_db/conftest.py
index 98493ca0411f..dc160808f310 100644
--- a/services/api-server/tests/unit/_with_db/conftest.py
+++ b/services/api-server/tests/unit/_with_db/conftest.py
@@ -8,22 +8,22 @@
 import shutil
 import subprocess
 import sys
-from collections.abc import AsyncGenerator, AsyncIterator, Callable
+from collections.abc import AsyncGenerator, AsyncIterator, Callable, Iterable
 from pathlib import Path
+from typing import TypedDict
 
-import aiopg.sa
-import aiopg.sa.engine as aiopg_sa_engine
 import httpx
 import pytest
 import simcore_postgres_database.cli as pg_cli
 import sqlalchemy as sa
-import sqlalchemy.engine as sa_engine
+import sqlalchemy.engine
 import yaml
 from aiopg.sa.connection import SAConnection
 from fastapi import FastAPI
 from models_library.api_schemas_api_server.api_keys import ApiKeyInDB
 from pydantic import PositiveInt
 from pytest_mock import MockerFixture
+from pytest_simcore.helpers import postgres_tools
 from pytest_simcore.helpers.faker_factories import (
     random_api_key,
     random_product,
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@
 from pytest_simcore.helpers.monkeypatch_envs import setenvs_from_dict
 from pytest_simcore.helpers.typing_env import EnvVarsDict
 from simcore_postgres_database.models.api_keys import api_keys
-from simcore_postgres_database.models.base import metadata
 from simcore_postgres_database.models.products import products
 from simcore_postgres_database.models.users import users
 from simcore_service_api_server.core.application import init_app
@@ -41,7 +40,9 @@
 ## POSTGRES -----
 
 
-CURRENT_DIR = Path(sys.argv[0] if __name__ == "__main__" else __file__).resolve().parent
+_CURRENT_DIR = (
+    Path(sys.argv[0] if __name__ == "__main__" else __file__).resolve().parent
+)
 
 
 @pytest.fixture(scope="session")
@@ -54,7 +55,7 @@ def docker_compose_file(
     environ = dict(os.environ)
     environ.update(default_app_env_vars)
 
-    src_path = CURRENT_DIR / "data" / "docker-compose.yml"
+    src_path = _CURRENT_DIR / "data" / "docker-compose.yml"
     assert src_path.exists
 
     dst_path = Path(str(tmpdir_factory.mktemp("config").join("docker-compose.yml")))
@@ -73,8 +74,19 @@ def docker_compose_file(
     return dst_path
 
 
+class PostgreServiceInfoDict(TypedDict):
+    dsn: str
+    user: str
+    password: str
+    host: str
+    port: int
+    datbase: str
+
+
 @pytest.fixture(scope="session")
-def postgres_service(docker_services, docker_ip, docker_compose_file: Path) -> dict:
+def postgres_service(
+    docker_services, docker_ip, docker_compose_file: Path
+) -> PostgreServiceInfoDict:
     # check docker-compose's environ is resolved properly
     config = yaml.safe_load(docker_compose_file.read_text())
     environ = config["services"]["postgres"]["environment"]
@@ -110,23 +122,20 @@ def is_postgres_responsive() -> bool:
     )
 
     config["dsn"] = dsn
-    return config
+    return PostgreServiceInfoDict(**config)
 
 
 @pytest.fixture(scope="session")
-def make_engine(postgres_service: dict) -> Callable:
-    dsn = postgres_service["dsn"]  # session scope freezes dsn
-
-    def maker(*, is_async=True) -> aiopg_sa_engine.Engine | sa_engine.Engine:
-        if is_async:
-            return aiopg.sa.create_engine(dsn)
-        return sa.create_engine(dsn)
-
-    return maker
+def sync_engine(
+    postgres_service: PostgreServiceInfoDict,
+) -> Iterable[sqlalchemy.engine.Engine]:
+    _engine: sqlalchemy.engine.Engine = sa.create_engine(url=postgres_service["dsn"])
+    yield _engine
+    _engine.dispose()
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
-def migrated_db(postgres_service: dict, make_engine: Callable):
+def migrated_db(postgres_service: dict, sync_engine: sqlalchemy.engine.Engine):
     # NOTE: this is equivalent to packages/pytest-simcore/src/pytest_simcore/postgres_service.py::postgres_db
     # but we do override postgres_dsn -> postgres_engine -> postgres_db because we want the latter
     # fixture to have local scope
@@ -140,9 +149,8 @@ def migrated_db(postgres_service: dict, make_engine: Callable):
 
     pg_cli.downgrade.callback("base")
     pg_cli.clean.callback()
-    # FIXME: deletes all because downgrade is not reliable!
-    engine = make_engine(is_async=False)
-    metadata.drop_all(engine)
+
+    postgres_tools.force_drop_all_tables(sync_engine)
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
diff --git a/services/web/server/tests/unit/isolated/test_studies_dispatcher_projects_permalinks.py b/services/web/server/tests/unit/isolated/test_studies_dispatcher_projects_permalinks.py
index f42834051083..aa9f3c44e5bb 100644
--- a/services/web/server/tests/unit/isolated/test_studies_dispatcher_projects_permalinks.py
+++ b/services/web/server/tests/unit/isolated/test_studies_dispatcher_projects_permalinks.py
@@ -64,8 +64,6 @@ def app_environment(
             "STUDIES_ACCESS_ANONYMOUS_ALLOWED": "1",
         },
     )
-    # NOTE: To see logs, use pytest -s --log-cli-level=DEBUG
-    # setup_logging(level=logging.DEBUG)
     print(env_vars)
     return env_vars
 
diff --git a/services/web/server/tests/unit/with_dbs/conftest.py b/services/web/server/tests/unit/with_dbs/conftest.py
index 1aceea40a80c..d583e3c783e4 100644
--- a/services/web/server/tests/unit/with_dbs/conftest.py
+++ b/services/web/server/tests/unit/with_dbs/conftest.py
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@
 import redis
 import redis.asyncio as aioredis
 import simcore_postgres_database.cli as pg_cli
-import simcore_service_webserver.db.models as orm
 import simcore_service_webserver.email
 import simcore_service_webserver.email._core
 import simcore_service_webserver.utils
@@ -44,6 +43,7 @@
 from pydantic import ByteSize, TypeAdapter
 from pytest_docker.plugin import Services
 from pytest_mock import MockerFixture
+from pytest_simcore.helpers import postgres_tools
 from pytest_simcore.helpers.faker_factories import random_product
 from pytest_simcore.helpers.monkeypatch_envs import setenvs_from_dict
 from pytest_simcore.helpers.typing_env import EnvVarsDict
@@ -517,29 +517,17 @@ def postgres_db(
     assert pg_cli.upgrade.callback
     pg_cli.upgrade.callback("head")
     # Uses syncrounous engine for that
-    engine = sa.create_engine(url, isolation_level="AUTOCOMMIT")
+    sync_engine = sa.create_engine(url, isolation_level="AUTOCOMMIT")
 
-    yield engine
+    yield sync_engine
 
-    # NOTE: we directly drop the table, that is faster
-    # testing the upgrade/downgrade is already done in postgres-database.
-    # there is no need to it here.
-    with engine.begin() as conn:
-        conn.execute(sa.DDL("DROP TABLE IF EXISTS alembic_version"))
-
-        conn.execute(
-            # NOTE: terminates all open transactions before droping all tables
-            # This solves https://github.com/ITISFoundation/osparc-simcore/issues/7008
-            sa.DDL(
-                "SELECT pg_terminate_backend(pid) "
-                "FROM pg_stat_activity "
-                "WHERE state = 'idle in transaction';"
-            )
-        )
-        # SEE https://github.com/ITISFoundation/osparc-simcore/issues/1776
-        orm.metadata.drop_all(bind=conn)
-
-    engine.dispose()
+    try:
+        # NOTE: we directly drop the table, that is faster
+        # testing the upgrade/downgrade is already done in postgres-database.
+        # there is no need to it here.
+        postgres_tools.force_drop_all_tables(sync_engine)
+    finally:
+        sync_engine.dispose()
 
 
 @pytest.fixture