diff --git a/cli/src/pcluster/api/util.py b/cli/src/pcluster/api/util.py
index 9921ac13e0..0f014cced1 100644
--- a/cli/src/pcluster/api/util.py
+++ b/cli/src/pcluster/api/util.py
@@ -178,6 +178,9 @@ def _assert_node_executable():
 
 
 def _assert_node_version():
+    node_version_string = None
+    
+    # Try to get version from node executable
     try:
         # A nosec comment is appended to the following line in order to disable the B607 and B603 checks.
         # It is a false positive since the PATH search is wanted and the input of the check_output is static.
@@ -187,10 +190,17 @@ def _assert_node_version():
         #   untrusted source
         node_version_string = subprocess.check_output(  # nosec B607 B603
             ["node", "--version"], stderr=subprocess.STDOUT, shell=False, encoding="utf-8"
-        )
+        ).strip()
         LOGGER.debug("Found Node.js version (%s)", node_version_string)
-    except Exception:
-        LOGGER.debug("Unable to determine current Node.js version from node")
+    except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
+        LOGGER.debug("Node executable failed with exit code %s: %s", e.returncode, e.output)
+    except FileNotFoundError:
+        LOGGER.debug("Node executable not found")
+    except Exception as e:
+        LOGGER.debug("Unable to determine current Node.js version from node: %s", e)
+    
+    # If node command failed, try nvm
+    if not node_version_string:
         try:
             # A nosec comment is appended to the following line in order to disable the B607 and B603 checks.
             # It is a false positive since the PATH search is wanted and the input of the check_output is static.
@@ -200,24 +210,29 @@ def _assert_node_version():
             #   untrusted source
             node_version_string = subprocess.check_output(  # nosec B607 B603
                 ["nvm", "current"], stderr=subprocess.STDOUT, shell=False, encoding="utf-8"
-            )
+            ).strip()
             LOGGER.debug("Found Node.js version '%s' in use", node_version_string)
-        except Exception:
-            message = "Unable to check Node.js version"
-            LOGGER.critical(message)
-            raise Exception(message)
-        # `nvm current` will return `none` if no versions of Node.js are currently installed.
-        if node_version_string == "none":
-            message = (
-                "Node.js does not appear to be installed. Please use the Node Version Manager (nvm) to install a"
-                " version of Node.js compatible with this platform."
-            )
-        else:
-            message = (
-                f"Unable to invoke Node.js for the installed version {node_version_string}. This version may not be"
-                " compatible with this platform. Please use the Node Version Manager (nvm) to install and use a"
-                " compatible version of Node.js compatible with this platform."
-            )
+        except FileNotFoundError:
+            LOGGER.debug("NVM not found")
+        except Exception as e:
+            LOGGER.debug("Unable to determine Node.js version from nvm: %s", e)
+    
+    # Handle case where we couldn't get version info
+    if not node_version_string:
+        message = (
+            "Unable to check Node.js version. Node.js is required by the AWS CDK library used by ParallelCluster. "
+            "Please ensure Node.js is properly installed and accessible. "
+            "See installation instructions: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/parallelcluster/latest/ug/install-v3.html"
+        )
+        LOGGER.critical(message)
+        raise Exception(message)
+    
+    # Handle nvm returning 'none'
+    if node_version_string == "none":
+        message = (
+            "Node.js does not appear to be installed. Please use the Node Version Manager (nvm) to install a"
+            " version of Node.js compatible with this platform."
+        )
         LOGGER.critical(message)
         raise Exception(message)
 
diff --git a/tests/integration-tests/conftest.py b/tests/integration-tests/conftest.py
index 101e7da1b2..26f0aece6d 100644
--- a/tests/integration-tests/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/integration-tests/conftest.py
@@ -399,8 +399,7 @@ def _setup_custom_logger(log_file):
 
 
 @pytest.fixture(scope="class")
-@pytest.mark.usefixtures("setup_credentials")
-def clusters_factory(request, region):
+def clusters_factory(request, region, setup_credentials):
     """
     Define a fixture to manage the creation and destruction of clusters.
 
@@ -512,8 +511,7 @@ def api_client(region, api_server_factory, api_uri):
 
 
 @pytest.fixture(scope="class")
-@pytest.mark.usefixtures("setup_credentials")
-def images_factory(request):
+def images_factory(request, setup_credentials):
     """
     Define a fixture to manage the creation and destruction of images.
 
@@ -924,8 +922,7 @@ def cfn_stacks_factory(request):
 
 
 @pytest.fixture()
-@pytest.mark.usefixtures("setup_credentials")
-def parameterized_cfn_stacks_factory(request):
+def parameterized_cfn_stacks_factory(request, setup_credentials):
     """Define a fixture that returns a parameterized stack factory and manages the stack creation and deletion."""
     factory = CfnStacksFactory(request.config.getoption("credential"))
 
@@ -1020,8 +1017,7 @@ def register_cli_credentials(initialize_cli_creds):
 
 
 @pytest.fixture(scope="class")
-@pytest.mark.usefixtures("clusters_factory", "images_factory")
-def create_roles_stack(request, region):
+def create_roles_stack(request, region, clusters_factory, images_factory):
     """Define a fixture that returns a stack factory for IAM roles."""
     logging.info("Creating IAM roles stack")
     factory = CfnStacksFactory(request.config.getoption("credential"))
diff --git a/tests/integration-tests/requirements.txt b/tests/integration-tests/requirements.txt
index a25cab35cc..111c3f81c4 100644
--- a/tests/integration-tests/requirements.txt
+++ b/tests/integration-tests/requirements.txt
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ cfn_flip
 click
 decorator
 #https://github.com/fabric/fabric/issues/2204
-fabric==2.6.0
+fabric>=3.2.2
 filelock
 jinja2
 jsonpickle
@@ -30,3 +30,4 @@ retrying
 troposphere
 untangle
 xmltodict
+invoke>=2.2.0
\ No newline at end of file