diff --git a/bible-local/10-decisions.md b/bible-local/10-decisions.md
index 0c79f67..9e4cc77 100644
--- a/bible-local/10-decisions.md
+++ b/bible-local/10-decisions.md
@@ -1726,12 +1726,44 @@ the work between the two vendor parsers and the shared exporter:
   taken from the bundle's `ipmitool-fru.txt` chassis "Product Part Number" to match
   the BMC value.
 **Consequences:** For the reference server every physical component now appears in
-both exports keyed identically (serial, or BDF for PCIe). Residual diffs are
-one-sided *enrichment* only — PCIe link speed/width, NVMe block sizes, drive
-`size_gb`, CPU clocks, PSU firmware/wattage, `board.uuid`, and the extra firmware
-components (CPLD/U-Boot/SDK/…) — where one collector's source simply has data the
-other's does not; none is a value that *conflicts*. Whether the audit treats a
-null→value transition on an unchanged component as a change is a config question
-on the audit side. Tests: `TestCanonicalMemorySlot`, `TestCanonicalGPUModel`,
+both exports keyed identically (serial, or BDF for PCIe). Tests:
+`TestCanonicalMemorySlot`, `TestCanonicalGPUModel`,
 `TestCanonicalStorageMediaAndInterface`, `TestIsOnboardControllerPCIeDevice`,
 `TestNormalizePSUSlots`, updated `TestParse_ServerFileExport_NetworkAdaptersAndFirmware`.
+
+**Verified against `reanimator/core` (the ingesting audit tool), 2026-08-31.**
+Reanimator persists only a narrow slice of what the export carries, so most
+residual field diffs cannot generate a change event:
+- Component identity = `vendor_serial` only (`parts` table). Fallback chain per
+  `flattenPCIe`: real serial → MAC → `{board}-PCIE-{slot}`. Memory/storage/PSU:
+  serial → synthetic-by-slot. `parts` stores only vendor, model, serial — **no
+  size, speed, link width, block size, clocks, wattage, location, numa/iommu**, so
+  a null→value transition on any of those is a no-op.
+- `vendor`/`model` are re-canonicalized on ingest via the alias resolver **using
+  `vendor_id`/`device_id`** ("prefer the authoritative pci.ids name"). Both bundles
+  carry the same PCI IDs, so GPU model and NIC vendor already converge server-side
+  regardless of the raw strings — the logpile-side `canonicalGPUModel` / OEM-vendor
+  blanking are belt-and-suspenders for non-reanimator consumers.
+- `slot_name` is written once at install and only re-patched when the install
+  itself changes (`res.Changed`); a component that stays continuously present
+  never gets a slot-change event, so differing slot labels are harmless once
+  presence is stable.
+- Asset firmware = `machine_firmware_states` keyed by `(machine_id, device_name)`;
+  an event fires only on a version change for the *same* name. A name absent from
+  an import is left untouched (no downgrade), so the 6 BMC-only firmware entries
+  are inert. `iBMC` (BMC dump) vs `BMC` (live CD) stay two independent, non-churning
+  rows — deliberately **not** normalized, because unifying the name would then
+  churn on the version (`3.08.05.85` vs `3.08`).
+- Reanimator has its own `IsDeviceIgnored(vendor, model)` alias-driven ignore list
+  for "onboard controllers, service USB flash drives" — the logpile-side
+  `isRemovableUSBStorageDevice`/`isOnboardControllerPCIeDevice` filters overlap it
+  but remove the dependency on the alias dict being configured.
+
+The one real cross-collector reinstall risk was the **OCP NIC**: with the card
+serial on it, reanimator collapses both ports to one serial-keyed component, while
+a live-CD bundle (no serial) stays two MAC-keyed components → remove + 2×install
+on every source switch. Fixed by emitting the xFusion NIC as per-port entries
+**with no serial**, so both sources key on the port MAC and produce the same two
+components. Net: after this work the only fields that still differ between the two
+bundles are ones reanimator does not track, so alternating collection methods for
+one server produces no spurious install/remove/firmware events.
diff --git a/internal/parser/vendors/xfusion/hardware.go b/internal/parser/vendors/xfusion/hardware.go
index 2ad0260..2858bd0 100644
--- a/internal/parser/vendors/xfusion/hardware.go
+++ b/internal/parser/vendors/xfusion/hardware.go
@@ -710,9 +710,17 @@ func mergeNetworkAdapters(cards []xfusionNICCard, snapshots []xfusionNetcardSnap
 		}
 
 		// Emit one adapter per PCI function (port), keyed by that port's own BDF,
-		// so the card matches an OS-level lspci view of the same NIC. Ports share
-		// the physical card's serial/part number. Fall back to a single
-		// card-level entry only when no per-port BDF is available.
+		// so the card matches an OS-level lspci view of the same NIC. Fall back to
+		// a single card-level entry only when no per-port BDF is available.
+		//
+		// The per-port entries deliberately carry NO serial number. The physical
+		// card has one serial across both ports; an in-band collector (lspci) sees
+		// none and identifies each port by its MAC. Reanimator keys a NIC on
+		// serial → MAC → synthetic(slot): if we emitted the card serial here, its
+		// two ports would collapse to one component keyed by that serial, while
+		// the same NIC from a live-CD bundle stays two components keyed by MAC —
+		// producing a spurious remove+reinstall every time the two sources
+		// alternate. Leaving serial empty makes both sources key on MAC and agree.
 		type portEntry struct {
 			bdf string
 			mac string
@@ -734,6 +742,15 @@ func mergeNetworkAdapters(cards []xfusionNICCard, snapshots []xfusionNetcardSnap
 			} else if len(ports) == 1 {
 				portMACs = macs
 			}
+			// No serial: an lspci-based collector has none, and reanimator keys a
+			// serial-bearing NIC on the serial (collapsing ports) but a
+			// serial-less one on the MAC. Keeping this empty makes a BMC dump and
+			// a live-CD run agree. The card serial still reaches the export via
+			// this card's FRU record.
+			serialPerPort := ""
+			if len(portMACs) == 0 {
+				serialPerPort = card.SerialNumber
+			}
 			adapters = append(adapters, models.NetworkAdapter{
 				Slot:         firstNonEmpty(p.bdf, slot),
 				Location:     "OCP",
@@ -744,7 +761,7 @@ func mergeNetworkAdapters(cards []xfusionNICCard, snapshots []xfusionNetcardSnap
 				Vendor:       manufacturer,
 				VendorID:     card.VendorID,
 				DeviceID:     card.DeviceID,
-				SerialNumber: card.SerialNumber,
+				SerialNumber: serialPerPort,
 				PartNumber:   card.PartNumber,
 				Firmware:     firmware,
 				PortCount:    1,
diff --git a/internal/parser/vendors/xfusion/parser_test.go b/internal/parser/vendors/xfusion/parser_test.go
index 480a639..8df2db9 100644
--- a/internal/parser/vendors/xfusion/parser_test.go
+++ b/internal/parser/vendors/xfusion/parser_test.go
@@ -218,8 +218,13 @@ Product           Name:           G5500 V7
 		if a.Firmware != "26.39.2048" {
 			t.Fatalf("adapter %s firmware = %q, want 26.39.2048", a.BDF, a.Firmware)
 		}
-		if a.SerialNumber != "02Y238X6RC000058" {
-			t.Fatalf("adapter %s serial = %q, want 02Y238X6RC000058", a.BDF, a.SerialNumber)
+		// Ports keyed by MAC, not by the shared card serial, so a BMC dump and an
+		// lspci-based bundle produce the same components.
+		if a.SerialNumber != "" {
+			t.Fatalf("adapter %s serial = %q, want empty (MAC-keyed)", a.BDF, a.SerialNumber)
+		}
+		if a.PartNumber != "0302Y238" {
+			t.Fatalf("adapter %s part number = %q, want 0302Y238", a.BDF, a.PartNumber)
 		}
 	}
 	if got := byBDF["0000:27:00.0"].MACAddresses; len(got) != 1 || got[0] != "44:1A:4C:16:E8:03" {