diff --git a/.github/workflows/merge.yml b/.github/workflows/merge.yml
index 1d59de2431..aebccee63f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/merge.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/merge.yml
@@ -408,7 +408,7 @@ jobs:
         if: matrix.os != 'windows-latest'
         run: |
           set -e
-          for i in {1..100}; do
+          for i in {1..50}; do
             dd if=/dev/urandom of=random_file_$i.bin bs=1M count=1 status=none
             ./target/release/ant --log-output-dest data-dir file upload random_file_$i.bin --public
             ./target/release/ant --log-output-dest data-dir file upload random_file_$i.bin
@@ -423,7 +423,7 @@ jobs:
         shell: pwsh
         run: |
           $ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
-          for ($i = 1; $i -le 100; $i++) {
+          for ($i = 1; $i -le 50; $i++) {
               $fileName = "random_file_$i.bin"
               $byteArray = [byte[]]@(0xFF) * (1MB)  # Create a 1 MB array filled with 0xFF
               [System.IO.File]::WriteAllBytes($fileName, $byteArray)
diff --git a/ant-cli/Cargo.toml b/ant-cli/Cargo.toml
index 0239975d03..7834564d07 100644
--- a/ant-cli/Cargo.toml
+++ b/ant-cli/Cargo.toml
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ path = "src/main.rs"
 
 [features]
 default = ["metrics"]
-local = ["ant-bootstrap/local", "autonomi/local"]
+local = ["ant-bootstrap/local", "autonomi/local", "ant-logging/process-metrics"]
 metrics = ["ant-logging/process-metrics"]
 nightly = []
 
diff --git a/ant-cli/src/main.rs b/ant-cli/src/main.rs
index 279a354e5d..971c38fd6a 100644
--- a/ant-cli/src/main.rs
+++ b/ant-cli/src/main.rs
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ pub use access::user_data;
 use clap::Parser;
 use color_eyre::Result;
 
-#[cfg(feature = "metrics")]
+#[cfg(feature = "local")]
 use ant_logging::metrics::init_metrics;
 use ant_logging::{LogBuilder, LogFormat, ReloadHandle, WorkerGuard};
 use ant_protocol::version;
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ async fn main() -> Result<()> {
     }
 
     let _log_guards = init_logging_and_metrics(&opt)?;
-    #[cfg(feature = "metrics")]
+    #[cfg(feature = "local")]
     tokio::spawn(init_metrics(std::process::id()));
 
     info!("\"{}\"", std::env::args().collect::<Vec<_>>().join(" "));
diff --git a/ant-networking/src/driver.rs b/ant-networking/src/driver.rs
index 4534b49110..bb1637a099 100644
--- a/ant-networking/src/driver.rs
+++ b/ant-networking/src/driver.rs
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ const PERIODIC_KAD_BOOTSTRAP_INTERVAL_MAX_S: u64 = 21600;
 
 // Init during compilation, instead of runtime error that should never happen
 // Option<T>::expect will be stabilised as const in the future (https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/issues/67441)
-const REPLICATION_FACTOR: NonZeroUsize = match NonZeroUsize::new(CLOSE_GROUP_SIZE) {
+const REPLICATION_FACTOR: NonZeroUsize = match NonZeroUsize::new(CLOSE_GROUP_SIZE + 2) {
     Some(v) => v,
     None => panic!("CLOSE_GROUP_SIZE should not be zero"),
 };
diff --git a/ant-networking/src/lib.rs b/ant-networking/src/lib.rs
index 434aa192ad..fca47f18d0 100644
--- a/ant-networking/src/lib.rs
+++ b/ant-networking/src/lib.rs
@@ -387,6 +387,10 @@ impl Network {
             .await?;
         // Filter out results from the ignored peers.
         close_nodes.retain(|peer_id| !ignore_peers.contains(peer_id));
+        info!(
+            "For record {record_address:?} quoting {} nodes. ignore_peers is {ignore_peers:?}",
+            close_nodes.len()
+        );
 
         if close_nodes.is_empty() {
             error!("Can't get store_cost of {record_address:?}, as all close_nodes are ignored");
diff --git a/ant-node/Cargo.toml b/ant-node/Cargo.toml
index 053390041e..a7b9b817b7 100644
--- a/ant-node/Cargo.toml
+++ b/ant-node/Cargo.toml
@@ -17,9 +17,9 @@ path = "src/bin/antnode/main.rs"
 default = ["metrics", "upnp", "open-metrics", "encrypt-records"]
 encrypt-records = ["ant-networking/encrypt-records"]
 extension-module = ["pyo3/extension-module"]
-local = ["ant-networking/local", "ant-evm/local", "ant-bootstrap/local"]
+local = ["ant-networking/local", "ant-evm/local", "ant-bootstrap/local", "ant-logging/process-metrics"]
 loud = ["ant-networking/loud"] # loud mode: print important messages to console
-metrics = ["ant-logging/process-metrics"]
+metrics = []
 nightly = []
 open-metrics = ["ant-networking/open-metrics", "prometheus-client"]
 otlp = ["ant-logging/otlp"]
diff --git a/ant-node/src/bin/antnode/main.rs b/ant-node/src/bin/antnode/main.rs
index db40d00101..3397d81461 100644
--- a/ant-node/src/bin/antnode/main.rs
+++ b/ant-node/src/bin/antnode/main.rs
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ mod subcommands;
 use crate::subcommands::EvmNetworkCommand;
 use ant_bootstrap::{BootstrapCacheConfig, BootstrapCacheStore, PeersArgs};
 use ant_evm::{get_evm_network_from_env, EvmNetwork, RewardsAddress};
-#[cfg(feature = "metrics")]
+#[cfg(feature = "local")]
 use ant_logging::metrics::init_metrics;
 use ant_logging::{Level, LogFormat, LogOutputDest, ReloadHandle};
 use ant_node::{Marker, NodeBuilder, NodeEvent, NodeEventsReceiver};
@@ -306,7 +306,7 @@ fn main() -> Result<()> {
     // Create a tokio runtime per `run_node` attempt, this ensures
     // any spawned tasks are closed before we would attempt to run
     // another process with these args.
-    #[cfg(feature = "metrics")]
+    #[cfg(feature = "local")]
     rt.spawn(init_metrics(std::process::id()));
     let initial_peres = rt.block_on(opt.peers.get_addrs(None, Some(100)))?;
     debug!("Node's owner set to: {:?}", opt.owner);
diff --git a/ant-node/src/node.rs b/ant-node/src/node.rs
index 4908c0bc23..2515af6344 100644
--- a/ant-node/src/node.rs
+++ b/ant-node/src/node.rs
@@ -16,7 +16,9 @@ use ant_bootstrap::BootstrapCacheStore;
 use ant_evm::RewardsAddress;
 #[cfg(feature = "open-metrics")]
 use ant_networking::MetricsRegistries;
-use ant_networking::{Instant, Network, NetworkBuilder, NetworkEvent, NodeIssue, SwarmDriver};
+use ant_networking::{
+    target_arch::sleep, Instant, Network, NetworkBuilder, NetworkEvent, NodeIssue, SwarmDriver,
+};
 use ant_protocol::{
     convert_distance_to_u256,
     error::Error as ProtocolError,
@@ -969,7 +971,7 @@ impl Node {
                 }
             }
             // Sleep a short while to avoid causing a spike on resource usage.
-            std::thread::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(10));
+            sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(10)).await;
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/autonomi/src/client/mod.rs b/autonomi/src/client/mod.rs
index f245833b91..d118a5f065 100644
--- a/autonomi/src/client/mod.rs
+++ b/autonomi/src/client/mod.rs
@@ -251,6 +251,12 @@ impl Client {
         receiver.await.expect("sender should not close")?;
         debug!("Client is connected to the network");
 
+        // With the switch to the new bootstrap cache scheme,
+        // Seems the too many `initial dial`s could result in failure,
+        // when startup quoting/upload tasks got started up immediatly.
+        // Hence, put in a forced wait to allow `initial network discovery` to be completed.
+        ant_networking::target_arch::sleep(Duration::from_secs(5)).await;
+
         Ok(Self {
             network,
             client_event_sender: Arc::new(None),
diff --git a/autonomi/src/client/quote.rs b/autonomi/src/client/quote.rs
index 9794f165d7..38dfd7f6fd 100644
--- a/autonomi/src/client/quote.rs
+++ b/autonomi/src/client/quote.rs
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ use crate::client::rate_limiter::RateLimiter;
 use ant_evm::payment_vault::get_market_price;
 use ant_evm::{Amount, EvmNetwork, PaymentQuote, QuotePayment, QuotingMetrics};
 use ant_networking::{Network, NetworkError};
-use ant_protocol::{storage::ChunkAddress, NetworkAddress};
+use ant_protocol::{storage::ChunkAddress, NetworkAddress, CLOSE_GROUP_SIZE};
 use libp2p::PeerId;
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 use xor_name::XorName;
@@ -159,6 +159,14 @@ async fn fetch_store_quote_with_retries(
     loop {
         match fetch_store_quote(network, content_addr).await {
             Ok(quote) => {
+                if quote.len() < CLOSE_GROUP_SIZE {
+                    retries += 1;
+                    error!("Error while fetching store quote: not enough quotes ({}/{CLOSE_GROUP_SIZE}), retry #{retries}, quotes {quote:?}",
+                        quote.len());
+                    if retries > 2 {
+                        break Err(CostError::CouldNotGetStoreQuote(content_addr));
+                    }
+                }
                 break Ok((content_addr, quote));
             }
             Err(err) if retries < 2 => {
@@ -172,6 +180,9 @@ async fn fetch_store_quote_with_retries(
                 break Err(CostError::CouldNotGetStoreQuote(content_addr));
             }
         }
+        // Shall have a sleep between retries to avoid choking the network.
+        // This shall be rare to happen though.
+        std::thread::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(5));
     }
 }