diff --git a/playbooks/roles/bifrost-prepare-for-test-dynamic/tasks/main.yml b/playbooks/roles/bifrost-prepare-for-test-dynamic/tasks/main.yml
index dbbe4676a..76ae43caa 100644
--- a/playbooks/roles/bifrost-prepare-for-test-dynamic/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/playbooks/roles/bifrost-prepare-for-test-dynamic/tasks/main.yml
@@ -29,7 +29,19 @@
   command: ssh-keygen -R "{{ ipv4_address }}"
   when: ipv4_address is defined
 - name: "Pause before asking for keyscan, to avoid races"
-  pause: minutes=2
+  pause: minutes=3
+  when: multinode_testing | bool == true
+- name: >
+    Re-check SSH connectivity prior to proceeding with multi-node testing
+  wait_for:
+    state: started
+    port: 22
+    host: "{{ ipv4_address }}"
+  when: ipv4_address is defined and multinode_testing | bool == true
+- name: >
+    Additional SSH startup pause when performing multi-node testing
+  pause:
+    seconds: "{{ node_ssh_pause }}"
   when: multinode_testing | bool == true
 - name: "Add testvm hosts from SSH known_hosts file."
   shell: ssh-keyscan "{{ ipv4_address }}" >> "{{ ansible_env.HOME }}/.ssh/known_hosts"