diff --git a/advanced_functionality/distributed-training-pipeline/dist_training_pipeline.ipynb b/advanced_functionality/distributed-training-pipeline/dist_training_pipeline.ipynb
index 675fed4213..3e4cff2f30 100644
--- a/advanced_functionality/distributed-training-pipeline/dist_training_pipeline.ipynb
+++ b/advanced_functionality/distributed-training-pipeline/dist_training_pipeline.ipynb
@@ -117,6 +117,9 @@
     "s3_bucket  =  None # must be same as CloudFormation parameter S3BucketName\n",
     "s3_prefix = 'sagemaker' # must be same as CloudFormation parameter FSxS3ImportPrefix\n",
     "\n",
+    "# If the s3_prefix folder doesn't exist in your S3 bucket, create it using AWS CLI:\n",
+    "# aws s3api put-object --bucket <your-bucket-name> --key sagemaker/\n",
+    "\n",
     "role = get_execution_role() # you may provide a pre-existing role ARN here\n",
     "print(f\"SageMaker Execution Role: {role}\")\n",
     "\n",
diff --git a/advanced_functionality/large-model-inference-testing/containers/openai-server-vllm/build_tools/build_and_push.sh b/advanced_functionality/large-model-inference-testing/containers/openai-server-vllm/build_tools/build_and_push.sh
index 18e89159ce..01c1aedc84 100644
--- a/advanced_functionality/large-model-inference-testing/containers/openai-server-vllm/build_tools/build_and_push.sh
+++ b/advanced_functionality/large-model-inference-testing/containers/openai-server-vllm/build_tools/build_and_push.sh
@@ -41,7 +41,10 @@ then
 fi
 
 
-docker build  -t ${image} $DIR/..
+# docker build  -t ${image} $DIR/..
+# the --provenance=false flag is essential because SageMaker's model-hosting infrastructure 
+# does not fully support the modern OCI (Open Container Initiative) manifest indices that Docker Buildx creates by default. 
+docker buildx build --provenance=false --output type=docker -t ${image} $DIR/..
 docker tag ${image} ${fullname}
 
 # Get the login command from ECR and execute it directly
diff --git a/advanced_functionality/large-model-inference-testing/containers/tritonserver-vllm/build_tools/build_and_push.sh b/advanced_functionality/large-model-inference-testing/containers/tritonserver-vllm/build_tools/build_and_push.sh
index b4c55b8928..09357cfd1b 100644
--- a/advanced_functionality/large-model-inference-testing/containers/tritonserver-vllm/build_tools/build_and_push.sh
+++ b/advanced_functionality/large-model-inference-testing/containers/tritonserver-vllm/build_tools/build_and_push.sh
@@ -40,7 +40,11 @@ then
     aws ecr create-repository --region ${region} --repository-name "${image}" > /dev/null
 fi
 
-docker build  -t ${image} $DIR/..
+# docker build  -t ${image} $DIR/..
+# the --provenance=false flag is essential because SageMaker's model-hosting infrastructure 
+# does not fully support the modern OCI (Open Container Initiative) manifest indices that Docker Buildx creates by default. 
+docker buildx build --provenance=false --output type=docker -t ${image} $DIR/..
+
 docker tag ${image} ${fullname}
 
 # Get the login command from ECR and execute it directly
diff --git a/advanced_functionality/large-model-inference-testing/large_model_inference.ipynb b/advanced_functionality/large-model-inference-testing/large_model_inference.ipynb
index 25240fff2b..9ddf8bccda 100644
--- a/advanced_functionality/large-model-inference-testing/large_model_inference.ipynb
+++ b/advanced_functionality/large-model-inference-testing/large_model_inference.ipynb
@@ -282,7 +282,7 @@
     "    assert (\n",
     "        ecr_image_uri is not None\n",
     "    ), \"'sagemaker.model.image' or 'sagemaker.model.container' is required\"\n",
-    "    pattern = \"\\.dkr\\.ecr\\.[a-z0-9-]+\\.\"\n",
+    "    pattern = r\"\\.dkr\\.ecr\\.[a-z0-9-]+\\.\"\n",
     "    replace = f\".dkr.ecr.{aws_region}.\"\n",
     "    sm_model_config[\"image\"] = re.sub(pattern, replace, ecr_image_uri)\n",
     "\n",
@@ -669,7 +669,8 @@
    "outputs": [],
    "source": [
     "!pip install locust\n",
-    "!which locust"
+    "!which locust\n",
+    "!pip install matplotlib"
    ]
   },
   {