diff --git a/apps/emqx_durable_storage/test/emqx_ds_replication_SUITE.erl b/apps/emqx_durable_storage/test/emqx_ds_replication_SUITE.erl
index 9a89b0519..04c57aa80 100644
--- a/apps/emqx_durable_storage/test/emqx_ds_replication_SUITE.erl
+++ b/apps/emqx_durable_storage/test/emqx_ds_replication_SUITE.erl
@@ -29,10 +29,6 @@
     erpc:call(NODE, erlang, apply, [fun() -> BODY end, []])
 ).
 
--define(diff_opts, #{
-    context => 20, window => 1000, compare_fun => fun message_eq/2
-}).
-
 opts() ->
     opts(#{}).
 
@@ -78,7 +74,9 @@ t_replication_transfers_snapshots('end', Config) ->
 t_replication_transfers_snapshots(Config) ->
     NMsgs = 400,
     NClients = 5,
-    {Stream, TopicStreams} = interleaved_topic_messages(?FUNCTION_NAME, NClients, NMsgs),
+    {Stream, TopicStreams} = emqx_ds_test_helpers:interleaved_topic_messages(
+        ?FUNCTION_NAME, NClients, NMsgs
+    ),
 
     Nodes = [Node, NodeOffline | _] = ?config(nodes, Config),
     _Specs = [_, SpecOffline | _] = ?config(specs, Config),
@@ -100,7 +98,7 @@ t_replication_transfers_snapshots(Config) ->
             ok = emqx_cth_cluster:stop_node(NodeOffline),
 
             %% Fill the storage with messages and few additional generations.
-            apply_stream(?DB, Nodes -- [NodeOffline], Stream),
+            emqx_ds_test_helpers:apply_stream(?DB, Nodes -- [NodeOffline], Stream),
 
             %% Restart the node.
             [NodeOffline] = emqx_cth_cluster:restart(SpecOffline),
@@ -126,7 +124,7 @@ t_replication_transfers_snapshots(Config) ->
             ok = timer:sleep(3_000),
 
             %% Check that the DB has been restored:
-            verify_stream_effects(?FUNCTION_NAME, Nodes, TopicStreams)
+            emqx_ds_test_helpers:verify_stream_effects(?DB, ?FUNCTION_NAME, Nodes, TopicStreams)
         end,
         []
     ).
@@ -154,7 +152,9 @@ t_rebalance('end', Config) ->
 t_rebalance(Config) ->
     NMsgs = 50,
     NClients = 5,
-    {Stream0, TopicStreams} = interleaved_topic_messages(?FUNCTION_NAME, NClients, NMsgs),
+    {Stream0, TopicStreams} = emqx_ds_test_helpers:interleaved_topic_messages(
+        ?FUNCTION_NAME, NClients, NMsgs
+    ),
     Nodes = [N1, N2 | _] = ?config(nodes, Config),
     ?check_trace(
         #{timetrap => 30_000},
@@ -205,9 +205,9 @@ t_rebalance(Config) ->
             ],
 
             %% 2. Start filling the storage:
-            apply_stream(?DB, Nodes, Stream),
+            emqx_ds_test_helpers:apply_stream(?DB, Nodes, Stream),
             timer:sleep(5000),
-            verify_stream_effects(?FUNCTION_NAME, Nodes, TopicStreams),
+            emqx_ds_test_helpers:verify_stream_effects(?DB, ?FUNCTION_NAME, Nodes, TopicStreams),
             [
                 ?defer_assert(
                     ?assertEqual(
@@ -233,8 +233,10 @@ t_rebalance(Config) ->
 
             %% Scale down the cluster by removing the first node.
             ?assertEqual(ok, ds_repl_meta(N1, leave_db_site, [?DB, S1])),
-            ct:pal("Transitions (~p -> ~p): ~p~n", [Sites, tl(Sites), transitions(N1, ?DB)]),
-            ?retry(1000, 10, ?assertEqual([], transitions(N2, ?DB))),
+            ct:pal("Transitions (~p -> ~p): ~p~n", [
+                Sites, tl(Sites), emqx_ds_test_helpers:transitions(N1, ?DB)
+            ]),
+            ?retry(1000, 10, ?assertEqual([], emqx_ds_test_helpers:transitions(N2, ?DB))),
 
             %% Verify that at the end each node is now responsible for each shard.
             ?defer_assert(
@@ -245,7 +247,7 @@ t_rebalance(Config) ->
             ),
 
             %% Verify that the messages are once again preserved after the rebalance:
-            verify_stream_effects(?FUNCTION_NAME, Nodes, TopicStreams)
+            emqx_ds_test_helpers:verify_stream_effects(?DB, ?FUNCTION_NAME, Nodes, TopicStreams)
         end,
         []
     ).
@@ -294,7 +296,7 @@ t_join_leave_errors(Config) ->
 
     %% Should be no-op.
     ?assertEqual(ok, ds_repl_meta(N1, join_db_site, [?DB, S1])),
-    ?assertEqual([], transitions(N1, ?DB)),
+    ?assertEqual([], emqx_ds_test_helpers:transitions(N1, ?DB)),
 
     %% Impossible to leave the last site.
     ?assertEqual(
@@ -305,12 +307,12 @@ t_join_leave_errors(Config) ->
     %% "Move" the DB to the other node.
     ?assertEqual(ok, ds_repl_meta(N1, join_db_site, [?DB, S2])),
     ?assertEqual(ok, ds_repl_meta(N2, leave_db_site, [?DB, S1])),
-    ?assertMatch([_ | _], transitions(N1, ?DB)),
-    ?retry(1000, 10, ?assertEqual([], transitions(N1, ?DB))),
+    ?assertMatch([_ | _], emqx_ds_test_helpers:transitions(N1, ?DB)),
+    ?retry(1000, 10, ?assertEqual([], emqx_ds_test_helpers:transitions(N1, ?DB))),
 
     %% Should be no-op.
     ?assertEqual(ok, ds_repl_meta(N2, leave_db_site, [?DB, S1])),
-    ?assertEqual([], transitions(N1, ?DB)).
+    ?assertEqual([], emqx_ds_test_helpers:transitions(N1, ?DB)).
 
 t_rebalance_chaotic_converges(init, Config) ->
     Apps = [appspec(emqx_durable_storage)],
@@ -335,7 +337,9 @@ t_rebalance_chaotic_converges(Config) ->
     Nodes = [N1, N2, N3] = ?config(nodes, Config),
 
     NClients = 5,
-    {Stream0, TopicStreams} = interleaved_topic_messages(?FUNCTION_NAME, NClients, NMsgs),
+    {Stream0, TopicStreams} = emqx_ds_test_helpers:interleaved_topic_messages(
+        ?FUNCTION_NAME, NClients, NMsgs
+    ),
 
     ?check_trace(
         #{},
@@ -385,10 +389,10 @@ t_rebalance_chaotic_converges(Config) ->
                 "Initially, the DB is assigned to [S1, S2]"
             ),
 
-            apply_stream(?DB, Nodes, Stream),
+            emqx_ds_test_helpers:apply_stream(?DB, Nodes, Stream),
 
             %% Wait for the last transition to complete.
-            ?retry(500, 20, ?assertEqual([], transitions(N1, ?DB))),
+            ?retry(500, 20, ?assertEqual([], emqx_ds_test_helpers:transitions(N1, ?DB))),
 
             ?defer_assert(
                 ?assertEqual(
@@ -401,7 +405,7 @@ t_rebalance_chaotic_converges(Config) ->
             timer:sleep(5000),
 
             %% Check that all messages are still there.
-            verify_stream_effects(?FUNCTION_NAME, Nodes, TopicStreams)
+            emqx_ds_test_helpers:verify_stream_effects(?DB, ?FUNCTION_NAME, Nodes, TopicStreams)
         end,
         []
     ).
@@ -447,7 +451,7 @@ t_rebalance_offline_restarts(Config) ->
     %% Shut down N3 and then remove it from the DB.
     ok = emqx_cth_cluster:stop_node(N3),
     ?assertEqual(ok, ds_repl_meta(N1, leave_db_site, [?DB, S3])),
-    Transitions = transitions(N1, ?DB),
+    Transitions = emqx_ds_test_helpers:transitions(N1, ?DB),
     ct:pal("Transitions: ~p~n", [Transitions]),
 
     %% Wait until at least one transition completes.
@@ -462,7 +466,7 @@ t_rebalance_offline_restarts(Config) ->
     ),
 
     %% Target state should still be reached eventually.
-    ?retry(1000, 20, ?assertEqual([], transitions(N1, ?DB))),
+    ?retry(1000, 20, ?assertEqual([], emqx_ds_test_helpers:transitions(N1, ?DB))),
     ?assertEqual(lists:sort([S1, S2]), ds_repl_meta(N1, db_sites, [?DB])).
 
 %%
@@ -491,10 +495,6 @@ ds_repl_meta(Node, Fun, Args) ->
 ds_repl_shard(Node, Fun, Args) ->
     erpc:call(Node, emqx_ds_replication_layer_shard, Fun, Args).
 
-transitions(Node, DB) ->
-    Shards = shards(Node, DB),
-    [{S, T} || S <- Shards, T <- ds_repl_meta(Node, replica_set_transitions, [DB, S])].
-
 shards(Node, DB) ->
     erpc:call(Node, emqx_ds_replication_layer_meta, shards, [DB]).
 
@@ -557,196 +557,3 @@ init_per_testcase(TCName, Config0) ->
 end_per_testcase(TCName, Config) ->
     ok = snabbkaffe:stop(),
     emqx_common_test_helpers:end_per_testcase(?MODULE, TCName, Config).
-
-without_extra(L) ->
-    [I#message{extra = #{}} || I <- L].
-
-%% Consume data from the DS storage on a given node as a stream:
--type ds_stream() :: emqx_utils_stream:stream({emqx_ds:message_key(), emqx_types:message()}).
-
-%% Create a stream from the topic (wildcards are NOT supported for a
-%% good reason: order of messages is implementation-dependent!).
-%%
-%% Note: stream produces messages with keys
--spec ds_topic_stream(binary(), binary(), node()) -> ds_stream().
-ds_topic_stream(ClientId, TopicBin, Node) ->
-    Topic = emqx_topic:words(TopicBin),
-    Shard = shard_of_clientid(Node, ClientId),
-    {ShardId, DSStreams} =
-        ?ON(
-            Node,
-            begin
-                DBShard = {?DB, Shard},
-                {DBShard, emqx_ds_storage_layer:get_streams(DBShard, Topic, 0)}
-            end
-        ),
-    %% Sort streams by their rank Y, and chain them together:
-    emqx_utils_stream:chain([
-        ds_topic_generation_stream(Node, ShardId, Topic, S)
-     || {_RankY, S} <- lists:sort(DSStreams)
-    ]).
-
-ds_topic_generation_stream(Node, Shard, Topic, Stream) ->
-    {ok, Iterator} = ?ON(
-        Node,
-        emqx_ds_storage_layer:make_iterator(Shard, Stream, Topic, 0)
-    ),
-    do_ds_topic_generation_stream(Node, Shard, Iterator).
-
-do_ds_topic_generation_stream(Node, Shard, It0) ->
-    fun() ->
-        case
-            ?ON(
-                Node,
-                begin
-                    Now = emqx_ds_replication_layer:current_timestamp(?DB, Shard),
-                    emqx_ds_storage_layer:next(Shard, It0, 1, Now)
-                end
-            )
-        of
-            {ok, _It, []} ->
-                [];
-            {ok, end_of_stream} ->
-                [];
-            {ok, It, [KeyMsg]} ->
-                [KeyMsg | do_ds_topic_generation_stream(Node, Shard, It)]
-        end
-    end.
-
-%% Payload generation:
-
-apply_stream(DB, Nodes, Stream) ->
-    apply_stream(
-        DB,
-        emqx_utils_stream:repeat(emqx_utils_stream:list(Nodes)),
-        Stream,
-        0
-    ).
-
-apply_stream(DB, NodeStream0, Stream0, N) ->
-    case emqx_utils_stream:next(Stream0) of
-        [] ->
-            ?tp(all_done, #{});
-        [Msg = #message{} | Stream] ->
-            [Node | NodeStream] = emqx_utils_stream:next(NodeStream0),
-            ?tp(
-                test_push_message,
-                maps:merge(
-                    emqx_message:to_map(Msg),
-                    #{n => N}
-                )
-            ),
-            ?ON(Node, emqx_ds:store_batch(DB, [Msg], #{sync => true})),
-            apply_stream(DB, NodeStream, Stream, N + 1);
-        [add_generation | Stream] ->
-            %% FIXME:
-            [_Node | NodeStream] = emqx_utils_stream:next(NodeStream0),
-            %% add_generation(Node, DB),
-            apply_stream(DB, NodeStream, Stream, N);
-        [{Node, Operation, Arg} | Stream] when
-            Operation =:= join_db_site; Operation =:= leave_db_site; Operation =:= assign_db_sites
-        ->
-            ?tp(notice, test_apply_operation, #{node => Node, operation => Operation, arg => Arg}),
-            %% Apply the transition.
-            ?assertEqual(ok, ds_repl_meta(Node, Operation, [DB, Arg])),
-            %% Give some time for at least one transition to complete.
-            Transitions = transitions(Node, ?DB),
-            ct:pal("Transitions after ~p: ~p", [Operation, Transitions]),
-            ?retry(200, 10, ?assertNotEqual(Transitions, transitions(Node, DB))),
-            apply_stream(DB, NodeStream0, Stream, N);
-        [Fun | Stream] when is_function(Fun) ->
-            Fun(),
-            apply_stream(DB, NodeStream0, Stream, N)
-    end.
-
-%% @doc Create an infinite list of messages from a given client:
-interleaved_topic_messages(TestCase, NClients, NMsgs) ->
-    %% List of fake client IDs:
-    Clients = [integer_to_binary(I) || I <- lists:seq(1, NClients)],
-    TopicStreams = [
-        {ClientId, emqx_utils_stream:limit_length(NMsgs, topic_messages(TestCase, ClientId))}
-     || ClientId <- Clients
-    ],
-    %% Interleaved stream of messages:
-    Stream = emqx_utils_stream:interleave(
-        [{2, Stream} || {_ClientId, Stream} <- TopicStreams], true
-    ),
-    {Stream, TopicStreams}.
-
-topic_messages(TestCase, ClientId) ->
-    topic_messages(TestCase, ClientId, 0).
-
-topic_messages(TestCase, ClientId, N) ->
-    fun() ->
-        Msg = #message{
-            from = ClientId,
-            topic = client_topic(TestCase, ClientId),
-            timestamp = N * 100,
-            payload = integer_to_binary(N)
-        },
-        [Msg | topic_messages(TestCase, ClientId, N + 1)]
-    end.
-
-client_topic(TestCase, ClientId) when is_atom(TestCase) ->
-    client_topic(atom_to_binary(TestCase, utf8), ClientId);
-client_topic(TestCase, ClientId) when is_binary(TestCase) ->
-    <<TestCase/binary, "/", ClientId/binary>>.
-
-message_eq(Msg1, {_Key, Msg2}) ->
-    %% Timestamps can be modified by the replication layer, ignore them:
-    Msg1#message{timestamp = 0} =:= Msg2#message{timestamp = 0}.
-
-%% Stream comparison:
-
--spec verify_stream_effects(binary(), [node()], [{emqx_types:clientid(), ds_stream()}]) -> ok.
-verify_stream_effects(TestCase, Nodes0, L) ->
-    Checked = lists:flatmap(
-        fun({ClientId, Stream}) ->
-            Nodes = nodes_of_clientid(ClientId, Nodes0),
-            ct:pal("Nodes allocated for client ~p: ~p", [ClientId, Nodes]),
-            ?defer_assert(
-                ?assertMatch([_ | _], Nodes, ["No nodes have been allocated for ", ClientId])
-            ),
-            [verify_stream_effects(TestCase, Node, ClientId, Stream) || Node <- Nodes]
-        end,
-        L
-    ),
-    ?defer_assert(?assertMatch([_ | _], Checked, "Some messages have been verified")).
-
--spec verify_stream_effects(binary(), node(), emqx_types:clientid(), ds_stream()) -> ok.
-verify_stream_effects(TestCase, Node, ClientId, ExpectedStream) ->
-    ct:pal("Checking consistency of effects for ~p on ~p", [ClientId, Node]),
-    ?defer_assert(
-        begin
-            snabbkaffe_diff:assert_lists_eq(
-                ExpectedStream,
-                ds_topic_stream(ClientId, client_topic(TestCase, ClientId), Node),
-                ?diff_opts
-            ),
-            ct:pal("Data for client ~p on ~p is consistent.", [ClientId, Node])
-        end
-    ).
-
-%% Find which nodes from the list contain the shards for the given
-%% client ID:
-nodes_of_clientid(ClientId, Nodes = [N0 | _]) ->
-    Shard = shard_of_clientid(N0, ClientId),
-    SiteNodes = ?ON(
-        N0,
-        begin
-            Sites = emqx_ds_replication_layer_meta:replica_set(?DB, Shard),
-            lists:map(fun emqx_ds_replication_layer_meta:node/1, Sites)
-        end
-    ),
-    lists:filter(
-        fun(N) ->
-            lists:member(N, SiteNodes)
-        end,
-        Nodes
-    ).
-
-shard_of_clientid(Node, ClientId) ->
-    ?ON(
-        Node,
-        emqx_ds_replication_layer:shard_of_message(?DB, #message{from = ClientId}, clientid)
-    ).
diff --git a/apps/emqx_durable_storage/test/emqx_ds_storage_SUITE.erl b/apps/emqx_durable_storage/test/emqx_ds_storage_SUITE.erl
index eaddab0c6..39158c7ef 100644
--- a/apps/emqx_durable_storage/test/emqx_ds_storage_SUITE.erl
+++ b/apps/emqx_durable_storage/test/emqx_ds_storage_SUITE.erl
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
 -include_lib("stdlib/include/assert.hrl").
 
 opts() ->
-    #{storage => {emqx_ds_storage_bitfield_lts, #{}}}.
+    #{storage => {emqx_ds_storage_reference, #{}}}.
 
 %%
 
diff --git a/apps/emqx_durable_storage/test/emqx_ds_test_helpers.erl b/apps/emqx_durable_storage/test/emqx_ds_test_helpers.erl
index 26469c685..3a0145199 100644
--- a/apps/emqx_durable_storage/test/emqx_ds_test_helpers.erl
+++ b/apps/emqx_durable_storage/test/emqx_ds_test_helpers.erl
@@ -19,6 +19,12 @@
 -compile(nowarn_export_all).
 
 -include_lib("emqx_utils/include/emqx_message.hrl").
+-include_lib("snabbkaffe/include/snabbkaffe.hrl").
+-include_lib("stdlib/include/assert.hrl").
+
+-define(ON(NODE, BODY),
+    erpc:call(NODE, erlang, apply, [fun() -> BODY end, []])
+).
 
 %% RPC mocking
 
@@ -59,8 +65,220 @@ mock_rpc_result(gen_rpc, ExpectFun) ->
         end
     end).
 
+%% Consume data from the DS storage on a given node as a stream:
+-type ds_stream() :: emqx_utils_stream:stream({emqx_ds:message_key(), emqx_types:message()}).
+
+%% @doc Create an infinite list of messages from a given client:
+interleaved_topic_messages(TestCase, NClients, NMsgs) ->
+    %% List of fake client IDs:
+    Clients = [integer_to_binary(I) || I <- lists:seq(1, NClients)],
+    TopicStreams = [
+        {ClientId, emqx_utils_stream:limit_length(NMsgs, topic_messages(TestCase, ClientId))}
+     || ClientId <- Clients
+    ],
+    %% Interleaved stream of messages:
+    Stream = emqx_utils_stream:interleave(
+        [{2, Stream} || {_ClientId, Stream} <- TopicStreams], true
+    ),
+    {Stream, TopicStreams}.
+
+topic_messages(TestCase, ClientId) ->
+    topic_messages(TestCase, ClientId, 0).
+
+topic_messages(TestCase, ClientId, N) ->
+    fun() ->
+        Msg = #message{
+            from = ClientId,
+            topic = client_topic(TestCase, ClientId),
+            timestamp = N * 100,
+            payload = integer_to_binary(N)
+        },
+        [Msg | topic_messages(TestCase, ClientId, N + 1)]
+    end.
+
+client_topic(TestCase, ClientId) when is_atom(TestCase) ->
+    client_topic(atom_to_binary(TestCase, utf8), ClientId);
+client_topic(TestCase, ClientId) when is_binary(TestCase) ->
+    <<TestCase/binary, "/", ClientId/binary>>.
+
+ds_topic_generation_stream(DB, Node, Shard, Topic, Stream) ->
+    {ok, Iterator} = ?ON(
+        Node,
+        emqx_ds_storage_layer:make_iterator(Shard, Stream, Topic, 0)
+    ),
+    do_ds_topic_generation_stream(DB, Node, Shard, Iterator).
+
+do_ds_topic_generation_stream(DB, Node, Shard, It0) ->
+    fun() ->
+        case
+            ?ON(
+                Node,
+                begin
+                    Now = emqx_ds_replication_layer:current_timestamp(DB, Shard),
+                    emqx_ds_storage_layer:next(Shard, It0, 1, Now)
+                end
+            )
+        of
+            {ok, _It, []} ->
+                [];
+            {ok, end_of_stream} ->
+                [];
+            {ok, It, [KeyMsg]} ->
+                [KeyMsg | do_ds_topic_generation_stream(DB, Node, Shard, It)]
+        end
+    end.
+
+%% Payload generation:
+
+apply_stream(DB, Nodes, Stream) ->
+    apply_stream(
+        DB,
+        emqx_utils_stream:repeat(emqx_utils_stream:list(Nodes)),
+        Stream,
+        0
+    ).
+
+apply_stream(DB, NodeStream0, Stream0, N) ->
+    case emqx_utils_stream:next(Stream0) of
+        [] ->
+            ?tp(all_done, #{});
+        [Msg = #message{} | Stream] ->
+            [Node | NodeStream] = emqx_utils_stream:next(NodeStream0),
+            ?tp(
+                test_push_message,
+                maps:merge(
+                    emqx_message:to_map(Msg),
+                    #{n => N}
+                )
+            ),
+            ?ON(Node, emqx_ds:store_batch(DB, [Msg], #{sync => true})),
+            apply_stream(DB, NodeStream, Stream, N + 1);
+        [add_generation | Stream] ->
+            %% FIXME:
+            [_Node | NodeStream] = emqx_utils_stream:next(NodeStream0),
+            %% add_generation(Node, DB),
+            apply_stream(DB, NodeStream, Stream, N);
+        [{Node, Operation, Arg} | Stream] when
+            Operation =:= join_db_site; Operation =:= leave_db_site; Operation =:= assign_db_sites
+        ->
+            ?tp(notice, test_apply_operation, #{node => Node, operation => Operation, arg => Arg}),
+            %% Apply the transition.
+            ?assertEqual(
+                ok,
+                ?ON(
+                    Node,
+                    emqx_ds_replication_layer_meta:Operation(DB, Arg)
+                )
+            ),
+            %% Give some time for at least one transition to complete.
+            Transitions = transitions(Node, DB),
+            ct:pal("Transitions after ~p: ~p", [Operation, Transitions]),
+            ?retry(200, 10, ?assertNotEqual(Transitions, transitions(Node, DB))),
+            apply_stream(DB, NodeStream0, Stream, N);
+        [Fun | Stream] when is_function(Fun) ->
+            Fun(),
+            apply_stream(DB, NodeStream0, Stream, N)
+    end.
+
+transitions(Node, DB) ->
+    ?ON(
+        Node,
+        begin
+            Shards = emqx_ds_replication_layer_meta:shards(DB),
+            [
+                {S, T}
+             || S <- Shards, T <- emqx_ds_replication_layer_meta:replica_set_transitions(DB, S)
+            ]
+        end
+    ).
+
+%% Stream comparison
+
+message_eq(Msg1, {_Key, Msg2}) ->
+    %% Timestamps can be modified by the replication layer, ignore them:
+    Msg1#message{timestamp = 0} =:= Msg2#message{timestamp = 0}.
+
 %% Consuming streams and iterators
 
+-spec verify_stream_effects(atom(), binary(), [node()], [{emqx_types:clientid(), ds_stream()}]) ->
+    ok.
+verify_stream_effects(DB, TestCase, Nodes0, L) ->
+    Checked = lists:flatmap(
+        fun({ClientId, Stream}) ->
+            Nodes = nodes_of_clientid(DB, ClientId, Nodes0),
+            ct:pal("Nodes allocated for client ~p: ~p", [ClientId, Nodes]),
+            ?defer_assert(
+                ?assertMatch([_ | _], Nodes, ["No nodes have been allocated for ", ClientId])
+            ),
+            [verify_stream_effects(DB, TestCase, Node, ClientId, Stream) || Node <- Nodes]
+        end,
+        L
+    ),
+    ?defer_assert(?assertMatch([_ | _], Checked, "Some messages have been verified")).
+
+-spec verify_stream_effects(atom(), binary(), node(), emqx_types:clientid(), ds_stream()) -> ok.
+verify_stream_effects(DB, TestCase, Node, ClientId, ExpectedStream) ->
+    ct:pal("Checking consistency of effects for ~p on ~p", [ClientId, Node]),
+    DiffOpts = #{context => 20, window => 1000, compare_fun => fun message_eq/2},
+    ?defer_assert(
+        begin
+            snabbkaffe_diff:assert_lists_eq(
+                ExpectedStream,
+                ds_topic_stream(DB, ClientId, client_topic(TestCase, ClientId), Node),
+                DiffOpts
+            ),
+            ct:pal("Data for client ~p on ~p is consistent.", [ClientId, Node])
+        end
+    ).
+
+%% Create a stream from the topic (wildcards are NOT supported for a
+%% good reason: order of messages is implementation-dependent!).
+%%
+%% Note: stream produces messages with keys
+-spec ds_topic_stream(atom(), binary(), binary(), node()) -> ds_stream().
+ds_topic_stream(DB, ClientId, TopicBin, Node) ->
+    Topic = emqx_topic:words(TopicBin),
+    Shard = shard_of_clientid(DB, Node, ClientId),
+    {ShardId, DSStreams} =
+        ?ON(
+            Node,
+            begin
+                DBShard = {DB, Shard},
+                {DBShard, emqx_ds_storage_layer:get_streams(DBShard, Topic, 0)}
+            end
+        ),
+    %% Sort streams by their rank Y, and chain them together:
+    emqx_utils_stream:chain([
+        ds_topic_generation_stream(DB, Node, ShardId, Topic, S)
+     || {_RankY, S} <- lists:sort(DSStreams)
+    ]).
+
+%% Find which nodes from the list contain the shards for the given
+%% client ID:
+nodes_of_clientid(DB, ClientId, Nodes = [N0 | _]) ->
+    Shard = shard_of_clientid(DB, N0, ClientId),
+    SiteNodes = ?ON(
+        N0,
+        begin
+            Sites = emqx_ds_replication_layer_meta:replica_set(DB, Shard),
+            lists:map(fun emqx_ds_replication_layer_meta:node/1, Sites)
+        end
+    ),
+    lists:filter(
+        fun(N) ->
+            lists:member(N, SiteNodes)
+        end,
+        Nodes
+    ).
+
+shard_of_clientid(DB, Node, ClientId) ->
+    ?ON(
+        Node,
+        emqx_ds_replication_layer:shard_of_message(DB, #message{from = ClientId}, clientid)
+    ).
+
+%% Consume eagerly:
+
 consume(DB, TopicFilter) ->
     consume(DB, TopicFilter, 0).