diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci-pr-checks.yaml b/.github/workflows/ci-pr-checks.yaml
index 35ed2316..12f9d828 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci-pr-checks.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci-pr-checks.yaml
@@ -21,22 +21,22 @@ jobs:
           go-version-file: ./go.mod
           cache-dependency-path: ./go.sum
 
-      - name: Install libzmq dependencies (kvcache/kvevents)
+      - name: Install libzmq and Python dependencies (kvcache/kvevents)
         run: |
           sudo apt-get update
-          make download-zmq
-
-      - name: Set PKG_CONFIG_PATH
-        run: echo "PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/usr/lib/pkgconfig" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          sudo apt-get install -y pkg-config python3-dev python3-pip
+          make install-dependencies
+          pip3 install transformers --break-system-packages
 
       - name: Run lint checks
-        uses: golangci/golangci-lint-action@v8
-        with:
-          version: 'v2.4.0'
-          args: "--config=./.golangci.yml"
+        run: |
+          make lint
+
+      - name: Build Container image
+        run: |
+          make image-build SIM_TAG=pr-check
 
       - name: Run go test
-        shell: bash 
+        shell: bash
         run: |
-          echo "Running tests with Ginkgo..."
           make test
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 9d87f5bd..1e69dd3d 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -6,8 +6,9 @@ ARG TARGETARCH
 # Install build tools
 # The builder is based on UBI8, so we need epel-release-8.
 RUN dnf install -y 'https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm' && \
-    dnf install -y gcc-c++ libstdc++ libstdc++-devel clang zeromq-devel pkgconfig && \
+    dnf install -y gcc-c++ libstdc++ libstdc++-devel clang zeromq-devel pkgconfig python3.12-devel python3.12-pip git && \
     dnf clean all
+# python3.12-devel needed for CGO compilation (Python headers and python3.12-config for linker flags)
 
 WORKDIR /workspace
 # Copy the Go Modules manifests
@@ -28,6 +29,15 @@ ARG TOKENIZER_VERSION=v1.22.1
 RUN curl -L https://github.com/daulet/tokenizers/releases/download/${TOKENIZER_VERSION}/libtokenizers.${TARGETOS}-${TARGETARCH}.tar.gz | tar -xz -C lib
 RUN ranlib lib/*.a
 
+# Copy Python wrapper and requirements from kv-cache-manager dependency
+# Extract version dynamically and copy to a known location
+RUN KV_CACHE_MGR_VERSION=$(go list -m -f '{{.Version}}' github.com/llm-d/llm-d-kv-cache-manager) && \
+    mkdir -p /workspace/kv-cache-manager-wrapper && \
+    cp /go/pkg/mod/github.com/llm-d/llm-d-kv-cache-manager@${KV_CACHE_MGR_VERSION}/pkg/preprocessing/chat_completions/render_jinja_template_wrapper.py \
+       /workspace/kv-cache-manager-wrapper/ && \
+    cp /go/pkg/mod/github.com/llm-d/llm-d-kv-cache-manager@${KV_CACHE_MGR_VERSION}/pkg/preprocessing/chat_completions/requirements.txt \
+       /workspace/kv-cache-manager-wrapper/
+
 # Build
 # the GOARCH has not a default value to allow the binary be built according to the host where the command
 # was called. For example, if we call make image-build in a local env which has the Apple Silicon M1 SO
@@ -36,22 +46,49 @@ RUN ranlib lib/*.a
 ENV CGO_ENABLED=1
 ENV GOOS=${TARGETOS:-linux}
 ENV GOARCH=${TARGETARCH}
-RUN go build -a -o bin/llm-d-inference-sim -ldflags="-extldflags '-L$(pwd)/lib'" cmd/cmd.go
+ENV PYTHON=python3.12
+ENV PYTHONPATH=/usr/lib64/python3.12/site-packages:/usr/lib/python3.12/site-packages
+
+RUN export CGO_CFLAGS="$(python3.12-config --cflags) -I/workspace/lib" && \
+    export CGO_LDFLAGS="$(python3.12-config --ldflags --embed) -L/workspace/lib -ltokenizers -ldl -lm" && \
+    go build -a -o bin/llm-d-inference-sim -ldflags="-extldflags '-L$(pwd)/lib'" cmd/cmd.go
 
+# Runtime stage
 # Use ubi9 as a minimal base image to package the manager binary
 # Refer to https://catalog.redhat.com/software/containers/ubi9/ubi-minimal/615bd9b4075b022acc111bf5 for more details
 FROM registry.access.redhat.com/ubi9/ubi-minimal:latest
 
 WORKDIR /
 
-# Install zeromq runtime library needed by the manager.
+# Install zeromq runtime library and Python runtime needed by the manager.
 # The final image is UBI9, so we need epel-release-9.
+# Using microdnf for minimal image size
 USER root
-RUN microdnf install -y dnf && \
-    dnf install -y 'https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-9.noarch.rpm' && \
-    dnf install -y zeromq && \
-    dnf clean all && \
-    rm -rf /var/cache/dnf /var/lib/dnf
+RUN curl -L -o /tmp/epel-release.rpm https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-9.noarch.rpm && \
+    rpm -i /tmp/epel-release.rpm && \
+    rm /tmp/epel-release.rpm && \
+    microdnf install -y --setopt=install_weak_deps=0 zeromq python3.12 python3.12-libs python3.12-pip && \
+    microdnf clean all && \
+    rm -rf /var/cache/yum /var/lib/yum && \
+    ln -sf /usr/bin/python3.12 /usr/bin/python3 && \
+    ln -sf /usr/bin/python3.12 /usr/bin/python
+
+# Install wrapper as a module in site-packages
+RUN mkdir -p /usr/local/lib/python3.12/site-packages/
+COPY --from=builder /workspace/kv-cache-manager-wrapper/render_jinja_template_wrapper.py /usr/local/lib/python3.12/site-packages/
+
+# Python deps (no cache, single target) – filter out torch
+ENV PIP_NO_CACHE_DIR=1 PIP_DISABLE_PIP_VERSION_CHECK=1
+COPY --from=builder /workspace/kv-cache-manager-wrapper/requirements.txt /tmp/requirements.txt
+RUN sed '/^torch\b/d' /tmp/requirements.txt > /tmp/requirements.notorch.txt && \
+    python3.12 -m pip install --no-cache-dir --upgrade pip setuptools wheel && \
+    python3.12 -m pip install --no-cache-dir --target /usr/local/lib/python3.12/site-packages -r /tmp/requirements.notorch.txt && \
+    rm /tmp/requirements.txt /tmp/requirements.notorch.txt && \
+    rm -rf /root/.cache/pip
+
+# Python env
+ENV PYTHONPATH="/usr/local/lib/python3.12/site-packages:/usr/lib/python3.12/site-packages"
+ENV PYTHON=python3.12
 
 COPY --from=builder /workspace/bin/llm-d-inference-sim /app/llm-d-inference-sim
 
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index a71b78c6..57c1e6af 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -53,6 +53,23 @@ SRC = $(shell find . -type f -name '*.go')
 help: ## Print help
 	@awk 'BEGIN {FS = ":.*##"; printf "\nUsage:\n  make \033[36m<target>\033[0m\n"} /^[a-zA-Z_0-9-]+:.*?##/ { printf "  \033[36m%-15s\033[0m %s\n", $$1, $$2 } /^##@/ { printf "\n\033[1m%s\033[0m\n", substr($$0, 5) } ' $(MAKEFILE_LIST)
 
+PYTHON_INCLUDE := $(shell python3 -c "import sysconfig; print(sysconfig.get_path('include'))")
+CGO_CFLAGS     := $(shell python3-config --cflags --embed)
+CGO_LDFLAGS    := $(shell python3-config --ldflags --embed)
+
+export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/usr/lib/pkgconfig
+
+GOMODCACHE := $(shell go env GOMODCACHE)
+KV_CACHE_MGR_VERSION := $(shell go list -m -f '{{.Version}}' github.com/llm-d/llm-d-kv-cache-manager)
+KV_CACHE_MGR_PATH := $(GOMODCACHE)/github.com/llm-d/llm-d-kv-cache-manager@$(KV_CACHE_MGR_VERSION)/pkg/preprocessing/chat_completions
+export PYTHONPATH := $(KV_CACHE_MGR_PATH):$(PYTHONPATH)
+
+# Export them for all targets (optional)
+export CGO_ENABLED=1
+export CGO_CFLAGS
+export CGO_LDFLAGS
+export CPATH := $(PYTHON_INCLUDE):$(CPATH)
+
 GO_LDFLAGS := -extldflags '-L$(shell pwd)/lib $(LDFLAGS)'
 CGO_ENABLED=1
 TOKENIZER_LIB = lib/libtokenizers.a
@@ -82,7 +99,7 @@ format: ## Format Go source files
 	@gofmt -l -w $(SRC)
 
 .PHONY: test
-test: $(GINKGO) download-tokenizer download-zmq ## Run tests
+test: $(GINKGO) install-dependencies ## Run tests
 	@printf "\033[33;1m==== Running tests ====\033[0m\n"
 ifdef GINKGO_FOCUS
 	CGO_ENABLED=1 ginkgo -ldflags="$(GO_LDFLAGS)" -v -r -- -ginkgo.v -ginkgo.focus="$(GINKGO_FOCUS)"
@@ -103,7 +120,7 @@ lint: $(GOLANGCI_LINT) ## Run lint
 ##@ Build
 
 .PHONY: build
-build: check-go download-tokenizer download-zmq 
+build: check-go install-dependencies
 	@printf "\033[33;1m==== Building ====\033[0m\n"
 	go build -ldflags="$(GO_LDFLAGS)" -o $(LOCALBIN)/$(PROJECT_NAME) cmd/$(PROJECT_NAME)/main.go
 
@@ -217,32 +234,41 @@ install-hooks: ## Install git hooks
 
 ##@ ZMQ Setup
 
-.PHONY: download-zmq
-download-zmq: ## Install ZMQ dependencies based on OS/ARCH
-	@echo "⏳ Checking if ZMQ is already installed..."
-	@if pkg-config --exists libzmq; then \
-	  echo "✅ ZMQ is already installed."; \
-	else \
-	  echo "⏳ Installing ZMQ dependencies..."; \
-	  if [ "$(TARGETOS)" = "linux" ]; then \
-	    if command -v apt >/dev/null 2>&1; then \
-	      sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y libzmq3-dev; \
-	    elif command -v dnf >/dev/null 2>&1; then \
-	      sudo dnf install -y zeromq-devel; \
+.PHONY: install-dependencies
+install-dependencies: download-tokenizer ## Install development dependencies based on OS/ARCH
+	@echo "Checking and installing development dependencies..."
+	@if [ "$(TARGETOS)" = "linux" ]; then \
+	  if [ -x "$$(command -v apt)" ]; then \
+	    if ! dpkg -s libzmq3-dev >/dev/null 2>&1 || ! dpkg -s g++ >/dev/null 2>&1; then \
+	      echo "Installing dependencies with apt..."; \
+	      sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y libzmq3-dev g++; \
 	    else \
-	      echo -e "⚠️ Unsupported Linux package manager. Follow installation guides: https://github.com/zeromq/libzmq#installation-of-binary-packages-\n"; \
-	      exit 1; \
+	      echo "✅ ZMQ and g++ are already installed."; \
 	    fi; \
-	  elif [ "$(TARGETOS)" = "darwin" ]; then \
-	    if command -v brew >/dev/null 2>&1; then \
-	      brew install zeromq; \
+	  elif [ -x "$$(command -v dnf)" ]; then \
+	    if ! dnf -q list installed zeromq-devel >/dev/null 2>&1 || ! dnf -q list installed gcc-c++ >/dev/null 2>&1; then \
+	      echo "Installing dependencies with dnf..."; \
+	      sudo dnf install -y zeromq-devel gcc-c++; \
 	    else \
-	      echo "⚠️ Homebrew is not installed and is required to install zeromq. Install it from https://brew.sh/"; \
-	      exit 1; \
+	      echo "✅ ZMQ and gcc-c++ are already installed."; \
 	    fi; \
 	  else \
-	    echo "⚠️ Unsupported OS: $(TARGETOS). Install libzmq manually - see https://zeromq.org/download/"; \
+	    echo "Unsupported Linux package manager. Install libzmq and g++/gcc-c++ manually."; \
 	    exit 1; \
 	  fi; \
-	  echo "✅ ZMQ dependencies installed."; \
+	elif [ "$(TARGETOS)" = "darwin" ]; then \
+	  if [ -x "$$(command -v brew)" ]; then \
+	    if ! brew list zeromq pkg-config >/dev/null 2>&1; then \
+	      echo "Installing dependencies with brew..."; \
+	      brew install zeromq pkg-config; \
+	    else \
+	      echo "✅ ZeroMQ and pkgconf are already installed."; \
+	    fi; \
+	  else \
+	    echo "Homebrew is not installed and is required to install zeromq. Install it from https://brew.sh/"; \
+	    exit 1; \
+	  fi; \
+	else \
+	  echo "Unsupported OS: $(TARGETOS). Install development dependencies manually."; \
+	  exit 1; \
 	fi
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 51bc363f..45f48666 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/buaazp/fasthttprouter v0.1.1
 	github.com/go-logr/logr v1.4.2
 	github.com/google/uuid v1.6.0
-	github.com/llm-d/llm-d-kv-cache-manager v0.3.0-rc1
+	github.com/llm-d/llm-d-kv-cache-manager v0.4.0-rc2
 	github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2 v2.23.4
 	github.com/onsi/gomega v1.37.0
 	github.com/openai/openai-go/v3 v3.6.1
@@ -23,6 +23,12 @@ require (
 	k8s.io/klog/v2 v2.130.1
 )
 
+require (
+	github.com/dgraph-io/ristretto/v2 v2.3.0 // indirect
+	github.com/dustin/go-humanize v1.0.1 // indirect
+	go.uber.org/multierr v1.11.0 // indirect
+)
+
 require (
 	github.com/andybalholm/brotli v1.1.1 // indirect
 	github.com/beorn7/perks v1.0.1 // indirect
@@ -64,7 +70,7 @@ require (
 	go.uber.org/automaxprocs v1.6.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/net v0.38.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.27.0 // indirect
-	golang.org/x/sys v0.32.0 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/sys v0.35.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/term v0.30.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/text v0.23.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/time v0.9.0 // indirect
@@ -77,7 +83,7 @@ require (
 	k8s.io/client-go v0.33.0 // indirect
 	k8s.io/kube-openapi v0.0.0-20250318190949-c8a335a9a2ff // indirect
 	k8s.io/utils v0.0.0-20241104100929-3ea5e8cea738 // indirect
-	sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime v0.21.0 // indirect
+	sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime v0.21.0
 	sigs.k8s.io/json v0.0.0-20241010143419-9aa6b5e7a4b3 // indirect
 	sigs.k8s.io/randfill v1.0.0 // indirect
 	sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v4 v4.6.0 // indirect
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 0e726bbb..61de9f21 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -19,8 +19,14 @@ github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.0/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSs
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.2-0.20180830191138-d8f796af33cc h1:U9qPSI2PIWSS1VwoXQT9A3Wy9MM3WgvqSxFWenqJduM=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.2-0.20180830191138-d8f796af33cc/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
+github.com/dgraph-io/ristretto/v2 v2.3.0 h1:qTQ38m7oIyd4GAed/QkUZyPFNMnvVWyazGXRwvOt5zk=
+github.com/dgraph-io/ristretto/v2 v2.3.0/go.mod h1:gpoRV3VzrEY1a9dWAYV6T1U7YzfgttXdd/ZzL1s9OZM=
+github.com/dgryski/go-farm v0.0.0-20240924180020-3414d57e47da h1:aIftn67I1fkbMa512G+w+Pxci9hJPB8oMnkcP3iZF38=
+github.com/dgryski/go-farm v0.0.0-20240924180020-3414d57e47da/go.mod h1:SqUrOPUnsFjfmXRMNPybcSiG0BgUW2AuFH8PAnS2iTw=
 github.com/dgryski/go-rendezvous v0.0.0-20200823014737-9f7001d12a5f h1:lO4WD4F/rVNCu3HqELle0jiPLLBs70cWOduZpkS1E78=
 github.com/dgryski/go-rendezvous v0.0.0-20200823014737-9f7001d12a5f/go.mod h1:cuUVRXasLTGF7a8hSLbxyZXjz+1KgoB3wDUb6vlszIc=
+github.com/dustin/go-humanize v1.0.1 h1:GzkhY7T5VNhEkwH0PVJgjz+fX1rhBrR7pRT3mDkpeCY=
+github.com/dustin/go-humanize v1.0.1/go.mod h1:Mu1zIs6XwVuF/gI1OepvI0qD18qycQx+mFykh5fBlto=
 github.com/emicklei/go-restful/v3 v3.11.0 h1:rAQeMHw1c7zTmncogyy8VvRZwtkmkZ4FxERmMY4rD+g=
 github.com/emicklei/go-restful/v3 v3.11.0/go.mod h1:6n3XBCmQQb25CM2LCACGz8ukIrRry+4bhvbpWn3mrbc=
 github.com/fxamacker/cbor/v2 v2.7.0 h1:iM5WgngdRBanHcxugY4JySA0nk1wZorNOpTgCMedv5E=
@@ -68,8 +74,8 @@ github.com/kr/text v0.2.0 h1:5Nx0Ya0ZqY2ygV366QzturHI13Jq95ApcVaJBhpS+AY=
 github.com/kr/text v0.2.0/go.mod h1:eLer722TekiGuMkidMxC/pM04lWEeraHUUmBw8l2grE=
 github.com/kylelemons/godebug v1.1.0 h1:RPNrshWIDI6G2gRW9EHilWtl7Z6Sb1BR0xunSBf0SNc=
 github.com/kylelemons/godebug v1.1.0/go.mod h1:9/0rRGxNHcop5bhtWyNeEfOS8JIWk580+fNqagV/RAw=
-github.com/llm-d/llm-d-kv-cache-manager v0.3.0-rc1 h1:SDLiNrcreDcA9m9wfXAumFARDHHXpjOjHTzshTiTGxk=
-github.com/llm-d/llm-d-kv-cache-manager v0.3.0-rc1/go.mod h1:tN80/D0Faf6pE2ocwFgTNoCxKPsqdsa2XnjQUqOaZ8Q=
+github.com/llm-d/llm-d-kv-cache-manager v0.4.0-rc2 h1:l2Sm8W6SRg4TAme4RsndwZ++5+4aQvDI4vnf8TKrhww=
+github.com/llm-d/llm-d-kv-cache-manager v0.4.0-rc2/go.mod h1:ZlK7MCuz5D/weLeHyNKEmVF/eJZDyYn3XyRowTihq9o=
 github.com/mailru/easyjson v0.7.7 h1:UGYAvKxe3sBsEDzO8ZeWOSlIQfWFlxbzLZe7hwFURr0=
 github.com/mailru/easyjson v0.7.7/go.mod h1:xzfreul335JAWq5oZzymOObrkdz5UnU4kGfJJLY9Nlc=
 github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3 v1.14.32 h1:JD12Ag3oLy1zQA+BNn74xRgaBbdhbNIDYvQUEuuErjs=
@@ -153,6 +159,8 @@ go.uber.org/automaxprocs v1.6.0 h1:O3y2/QNTOdbF+e/dpXNNW7Rx2hZ4sTIPyybbxyNqTUs=
 go.uber.org/automaxprocs v1.6.0/go.mod h1:ifeIMSnPZuznNm6jmdzmU3/bfk01Fe2fotchwEFJ8r8=
 go.uber.org/goleak v1.3.0 h1:2K3zAYmnTNqV73imy9J1T3WC+gmCePx2hEGkimedGto=
 go.uber.org/goleak v1.3.0/go.mod h1:CoHD4mav9JJNrW/WLlf7HGZPjdw8EucARQHekz1X6bE=
+go.uber.org/multierr v1.11.0 h1:blXXJkSxSSfBVBlC76pxqeO+LN3aDfLQo+309xJstO0=
+go.uber.org/multierr v1.11.0/go.mod h1:20+QtiLqy0Nd6FdQB9TLXag12DsQkrbs3htMFfDN80Y=
 golang.org/x/crypto v0.0.0-20190308221718-c2843e01d9a2/go.mod h1:djNgcEr1/C05ACkg1iLfiJU5Ep61QUkGW8qpdssI0+w=
 golang.org/x/crypto v0.0.0-20191011191535-87dc89f01550/go.mod h1:yigFU9vqHzYiE8UmvKecakEJjdnWj3jj499lnFckfCI=
 golang.org/x/crypto v0.0.0-20200622213623-75b288015ac9/go.mod h1:LzIPMQfyMNhhGPhUkYOs5KpL4U8rLKemX1yGLhDgUto=
@@ -174,8 +182,8 @@ golang.org/x/sync v0.12.0/go.mod h1:1dzgHSNfp02xaA81J2MS99Qcpr2w7fw1gpm99rleRqA=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20190215142949-d0b11bdaac8a/go.mod h1:STP8DvDyc/dI5b8T5hshtkjS+E42TnysNCUPdjciGhY=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20190412213103-97732733099d/go.mod h1:h1NjWce9XRLGQEsW7wpKNCjG9DtNlClVuFLEZdDNbEs=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20200930185726-fdedc70b468f/go.mod h1:h1NjWce9XRLGQEsW7wpKNCjG9DtNlClVuFLEZdDNbEs=
-golang.org/x/sys v0.32.0 h1:s77OFDvIQeibCmezSnk/q6iAfkdiQaJi4VzroCFrN20=
-golang.org/x/sys v0.32.0/go.mod h1:BJP2sWEmIv4KK5OTEluFJCKSidICx8ciO85XgH3Ak8k=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.35.0 h1:vz1N37gP5bs89s7He8XuIYXpyY0+QlsKmzipCbUtyxI=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.35.0/go.mod h1:BJP2sWEmIv4KK5OTEluFJCKSidICx8ciO85XgH3Ak8k=
 golang.org/x/term v0.30.0 h1:PQ39fJZ+mfadBm0y5WlL4vlM7Sx1Hgf13sMIY2+QS9Y=
 golang.org/x/term v0.30.0/go.mod h1:NYYFdzHoI5wRh/h5tDMdMqCqPJZEuNqVR5xJLd/n67g=
 golang.org/x/text v0.3.0/go.mod h1:NqM8EUOU14njkJ3fqMW+pc6Ldnwhi/IjpwHt7yyuwOQ=
diff --git a/pkg/kv-cache/block_cache.go b/pkg/kv-cache/block_cache.go
index d9d3f5da..ba10e5fe 100644
--- a/pkg/kv-cache/block_cache.go
+++ b/pkg/kv-cache/block_cache.go
@@ -177,14 +177,14 @@ func (bc *blockCache) startRequest(requestID string, blocks []uint64) (int, erro
 
 			delete(bc.unusedBlocks, oldestUnusedHash)
 			common.WriteToChannel(bc.eventChan,
-				EventData{action: eventActionRemove, hashValues: []uint64{oldestUnusedHash}},
+				EventData{action: eventActionRemove, hashValues: []any{oldestUnusedHash}},
 				bc.logger, "block cache eventChan")
 		}
 
 		// Add the new block
 		bc.usedBlocks[block] = 1
 		common.WriteToChannel(bc.eventChan,
-			EventData{action: eventActionStore, hashValues: []uint64{block}},
+			EventData{action: eventActionStore, hashValues: []any{block}},
 			bc.logger, "block cache eventChan")
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/kv-cache/kv_cache_sender.go b/pkg/kv-cache/kv_cache_sender.go
index 51d0c384..67bbc6d4 100644
--- a/pkg/kv-cache/kv_cache_sender.go
+++ b/pkg/kv-cache/kv_cache_sender.go
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ const (
 
 type EventData struct {
 	action     EventAction
-	hashValues []uint64
+	hashValues []any
 }
 
 type KVEventSender struct {
diff --git a/pkg/kv-cache/kv_cache_test.go b/pkg/kv-cache/kv_cache_test.go
index 826eada6..6d92d88e 100644
--- a/pkg/kv-cache/kv_cache_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kv-cache/kv_cache_test.go
@@ -330,8 +330,8 @@ var _ = Describe("KV cache", Ordered, func() {
 				wg.Wait() // wait for goroutine to exit
 			}()
 
-			expectedRemovedBlocks := []uint64{2, 4}
-			expectedStoredBlocks := []uint64{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}
+			expectedRemovedBlocks := []any{uint64(2), uint64(4)}
+			expectedStoredBlocks := []any{uint64(1), uint64(2), uint64(3), uint64(4), uint64(5), uint64(6)}
 
 			go func() {
 				// Make sure that the subscriber listens before the events are published
@@ -371,8 +371,8 @@ var _ = Describe("KV cache", Ordered, func() {
 				Expect(alreadyInCache).To(Equal(0))
 			}()
 
-			removedBlocks := make([]uint64, 0)
-			storedBlocks := make([]uint64, 0)
+			removedBlocks := make([]any, 0)
+			storedBlocks := make([]any, 0)
 			count := uint64(1)
 			for {
 				parts, err := sub.RecvMessageBytes(0)
diff --git a/pkg/kv-cache/kv_test_helper.go b/pkg/kv-cache/kv_test_helper.go
index c124d0f7..2b50dc47 100644
--- a/pkg/kv-cache/kv_test_helper.go
+++ b/pkg/kv-cache/kv_test_helper.go
@@ -21,11 +21,11 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/llm-d/llm-d-kv-cache-manager/pkg/kvcache/kvevents"
 	"github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2"
-	gomega "github.com/onsi/gomega"
+	"github.com/onsi/gomega"
 	"github.com/vmihailenco/msgpack/v5"
 )
 
-func ParseKVEvent(parts [][]byte, expectedTopic string, expectedSeq uint64) ([]uint64, []uint64, bool) {
+func ParseKVEvent(parts [][]byte, expectedTopic string, expectedSeq uint64) ([]any, []any, bool) {
 	// The message should be [topic, seq, payload]
 	gomega.Expect(parts).To(gomega.HaveLen(3))
 
@@ -34,8 +34,8 @@ func ParseKVEvent(parts [][]byte, expectedTopic string, expectedSeq uint64) ([]u
 	seq := binary.BigEndian.Uint64(parts[1])
 	gomega.Expect(seq).To(gomega.Equal(expectedSeq))
 
-	removed := make([]uint64, 0)
-	stored := make([]uint64, 0)
+	removed := make([]any, 0)
+	stored := make([]any, 0)
 	allCleared := false
 
 	var eventBatch kvevents.EventBatch
diff --git a/pkg/llm-d-inference-sim/simulator.go b/pkg/llm-d-inference-sim/simulator.go
index c58f6e9f..fae80f4a 100644
--- a/pkg/llm-d-inference-sim/simulator.go
+++ b/pkg/llm-d-inference-sim/simulator.go
@@ -333,13 +333,21 @@ func (s *VllmSimulator) initializeSim(ctx context.Context) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	tokenizationConfig := tokenization.DefaultConfig()
+	tokenizationConfig, err := tokenization.DefaultConfig()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to create default tokenization configuration: %w", err)
+	}
+
 	if s.config.TokenizersCacheDir != "" {
-		tokenizationConfig.TokenizersCacheDir = s.config.TokenizersCacheDir
+		if tokenizationConfig.HFTokenizerConfig == nil {
+			tokenizationConfig.HFTokenizerConfig = &tokenization.HFTokenizerConfig{}
+		}
+		tokenizationConfig.HFTokenizerConfig.TokenizersCacheDir = s.config.TokenizersCacheDir
 	}
+
 	s.tokenizer, err = tokenization.NewCachedHFTokenizer(tokenizationConfig.HFTokenizerConfig)
 	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("failed to create tokenizer: %w", err)
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to create hf tokenizer: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	if s.config.EnableKVCache {