diff --git a/.drone.jsonnet b/.drone.jsonnet
index 0e10ea2282..9990702394 100644
--- a/.drone.jsonnet
+++ b/.drone.jsonnet
@@ -176,7 +176,7 @@ local Pipeline(branch, platform, event, arch="amd64", server="10.6-enterprise",
   publish(step_prefix="pkg", eventp=event + "/${DRONE_BUILD_NUMBER}"):: {
     name: "publish " + step_prefix,
     depends_on: [std.strReplace(step_prefix, " latest", ""), "createrepo"],
-    image: "amazon/aws-cli",
+    image: "amazon/aws-cli:2.23.5",
     when: {
       status: ["success", "failure"],
     },
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ local Pipeline(branch, platform, event, arch="amd64", server="10.6-enterprise",
   smoke:: {
     name: "smoke",
     depends_on: ["publish pkg"],
-    image: "docker",
+    image: "docker:28.2.2",
     volumes: [pipeline._volumes.mdb, pipeline._volumes.docker],
     commands: [
       prepareTestStage(getContainerName("smoke"), result, true),
@@ -281,7 +281,7 @@ local Pipeline(branch, platform, event, arch="amd64", server="10.6-enterprise",
   smokelog:: {
     name: "smokelog",
     depends_on: ["smoke"],
-    image: "docker",
+    image: "docker:28.2.2",
     volumes: [pipeline._volumes.docker, pipeline._volumes.mdb],
     commands: [
       reportTestStage(getContainerName("smoke"), result, "smoke"),
@@ -293,7 +293,7 @@ local Pipeline(branch, platform, event, arch="amd64", server="10.6-enterprise",
   upgrade(version):: {
     name: "upgrade-test from " + version,
     depends_on: ["regressionlog"],
-    image: "docker",
+    image: "docker:28.2.2",
     volumes: [pipeline._volumes.docker],
     environment: {
       UPGRADE_TOKEN: {
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ local Pipeline(branch, platform, event, arch="amd64", server="10.6-enterprise",
   upgradelog:: {
     name: "upgradelog",
     depends_on: std.map(function(p) "upgrade-test from " + p, mdb_server_versions),
-    image: "docker",
+    image: "docker:28.2.2",
     volumes: [pipeline._volumes.docker, pipeline._volumes.mdb],
     commands:
        ["echo"] +
@@ -377,7 +377,7 @@ local Pipeline(branch, platform, event, arch="amd64", server="10.6-enterprise",
   mtrlog:: {
     name: "mtrlog",
     depends_on: ["mtr"],
-    image: "docker",
+    image: "docker:28.2.2",
     volumes: [pipeline._volumes.docker, pipeline._volumes.mdb],
     commands: [
       reportTestStage(getContainerName("mtr"), result, "mtr"),
@@ -467,7 +467,7 @@ local Pipeline(branch, platform, event, arch="amd64", server="10.6-enterprise",
   regressionlog:: {
     name: "regressionlog",
     depends_on: [regression_tests[std.length(regression_tests) - 1]],
-    image: "docker",
+    image: "docker:28.2.2",
     volumes: [pipeline._volumes.docker, pipeline._volumes.mdb],
     commands: [
       reportTestStage(getContainerName("regression"), result, "regression"),
@@ -480,7 +480,7 @@ local Pipeline(branch, platform, event, arch="amd64", server="10.6-enterprise",
     name: "dockerfile",
     depends_on: ["publish pkg", "publish cmapi build"],
     //failure: 'ignore',
-    image: "alpine/git",
+    image: "alpine/git:2.49.0",
     environment: {
       DOCKER_BRANCH_REF: "${DRONE_SOURCE_BRANCH}",
       DOCKER_REF_AUX: branch_ref,
@@ -554,7 +554,7 @@ local Pipeline(branch, platform, event, arch="amd64", server="10.6-enterprise",
   cmapilog:: {
     name: "cmapilog",
     depends_on: ["cmapi test"],
-    image: "docker",
+    image: "docker:28.2.2",
     volumes: [pipeline._volumes.docker, pipeline._volumes.mdb],
     commands: [
       reportTestStage(getContainerName("cmapi"), result, "cmapi"),
@@ -567,7 +567,7 @@ local Pipeline(branch, platform, event, arch="amd64", server="10.6-enterprise",
     name: "mtr",
     depends_on: ["dockerhub"],
     //failure: 'ignore',
-    image: "docker",
+    image: "docker:28.2.2",
     volumes: [pipeline._volumes.docker],
     environment: {
       DOCKER_LOGIN: {
@@ -604,7 +604,7 @@ local Pipeline(branch, platform, event, arch="amd64", server="10.6-enterprise",
   steps: [
            {
              name: "submodules",
-             image: "alpine/git",
+             image: "alpine/git:2.49.0",
              commands: [
                "git submodule update --init --recursive",
                "git config cmake.update-submodules no",
@@ -613,7 +613,7 @@ local Pipeline(branch, platform, event, arch="amd64", server="10.6-enterprise",
            },
            {
              name: "clone-mdb",
-             image: "alpine/git",
+             image: "alpine/git:2.49.0",
              volumes: [pipeline._volumes.mdb],
              environment: {
                SERVER_REF: "${SERVER_REF:-" + server + "}",
@@ -662,7 +662,7 @@ local Pipeline(branch, platform, event, arch="amd64", server="10.6-enterprise",
                        + get_sccache
                        + customEnvCommands(customBuildEnvCommandsMapKey, builddir) +
                        [
-                        'bash -c "set -o pipefail && bash /mdb/' + builddir + "/storage/columnstore/columnstore/build/bootstrap_mcs.sh " +
+                         'bash -c "set -o pipefail && bash /mdb/' + builddir + "/storage/columnstore/columnstore/build/bootstrap_mcs.sh " +
                          "--build-type RelWithDebInfo " +
                          "--distro " + platform + " " +
                          "--build-packages --install-deps --sccache " +
@@ -714,7 +714,7 @@ local Pipeline(branch, platform, event, arch="amd64", server="10.6-enterprise",
            {
              name: "pkg",
              depends_on: ["unittests"],
-             image: "alpine/git",
+             image: "alpine/git:2.49.0",
              when: {
                status: ["success", "failure"],
              },
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 093fb1f930..ec22f91d0a 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ include(columnstore_version)
 include(configureEngine)
 include(compiler_flags)
 include(misc)
+include(cpack_manage)
 
 set(COMPONENTS
     dbcon/mysql
diff --git a/build/bootstrap_mcs.sh b/build/bootstrap_mcs.sh
index dff4aea4d9..8fe38dd367 100755
--- a/build/bootstrap_mcs.sh
+++ b/build/bootstrap_mcs.sh
@@ -742,8 +742,7 @@ if [[ $BUILD_PACKAGES = true ]]; then
     modify_packaging
     build_package
     message_splitted "PACKAGES BUILD FINISHED"
-
-    return 0
+    exit 0
 fi
 
 stop_service
diff --git a/cmake/cpack_manage.cmake b/cmake/cpack_manage.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e463db9cfb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmake/cpack_manage.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+macro(columnstore_append_for_cpack var_name)
+    # Get current value from parent scope or use empty string
+    if(DEFINED ${var_name})
+        set(current_val "${${var_name}}")
+    else()
+        set(current_val "")
+    endif()
+
+    # Process each argument to append
+    foreach(arg IN LISTS ARGN)
+        if(current_val)
+            # If not empty, add comma before new item
+            set(current_val "${current_val}, ${arg}")
+        else()
+            # If empty, just add the item
+            set(current_val "${arg}")
+        endif()
+    endforeach()
+
+    # Set back in parent scope
+    set(${var_name}
+        "${current_val}"
+        PARENT_SCOPE
+    )
+endmacro()
+
+macro(columnstore_add_rpm_deps)
+    columnstore_append_for_cpack(CPACK_RPM_columnstore-engine_PACKAGE_REQUIRES ${ARGN})
+endmacro()
+
+if(RPM)
+    columnstore_add_rpm_deps("snappy" "jemalloc" "procps-ng" "gawk")
+endif()
diff --git a/cmapi/cmapi_server/constants.py b/cmapi/cmapi_server/constants.py
index 464b61d99a..800317bb5a 100644
--- a/cmapi/cmapi_server/constants.py
+++ b/cmapi/cmapi_server/constants.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 """
 import os
 from typing import NamedTuple
+from enum import Enum
 
 
 # default MARIADB ColumnStore config path
@@ -53,6 +54,16 @@
     CMAPI_INSTALL_PATH, 'cmapi_server/SingleNode.xml'
 )
 
+class MCSProgs(Enum):
+    STORAGE_MANAGER = 'StorageManager'
+    WORKER_NODE = 'workernode'
+    CONTROLLER_NODE = 'controllernode'
+    PRIM_PROC = 'PrimProc'
+    # EXE_MGR = 'ExeMgr'
+    WRITE_ENGINE_SERVER = 'WriteEngineServer'
+    DML_PROC = 'DMLProc'
+    DDL_PROC = 'DDLProc'
+
 # constants for dispatchers
 class ProgInfo(NamedTuple):
     """NamedTuple for some additional info about handling mcs processes."""
@@ -66,17 +77,17 @@ class ProgInfo(NamedTuple):
 # on top level of process handling
 # mcs-storagemanager starts conditionally inside mcs-loadbrm, but should be
 # stopped using cmapi
-ALL_MCS_PROGS = {
+ALL_MCS_PROGS: dict[str, ProgInfo] = {
     # workernode starts on primary and non primary node with 1 or 2 added
     # to subcommand (DBRM_Worker1 - on primary, DBRM_Worker2 - non primary)
-    'StorageManager': ProgInfo(15, 'mcs-storagemanager', '', False, 1),
-    'workernode': ProgInfo(13, 'mcs-workernode', 'DBRM_Worker{}', False, 1),
-    'controllernode': ProgInfo(11, 'mcs-controllernode', 'fg', True),
-    'PrimProc': ProgInfo(5, 'mcs-primproc', '', False, 1),
-    'ExeMgr': ProgInfo(9, 'mcs-exemgr', '', False, 1),
-    'WriteEngineServer': ProgInfo(7, 'mcs-writeengineserver', '', False, 3),
-    'DMLProc': ProgInfo(3, 'mcs-dmlproc', '', False),
-    'DDLProc': ProgInfo(1, 'mcs-ddlproc', '', False),
+    MCSProgs.STORAGE_MANAGER.value: ProgInfo(15, 'mcs-storagemanager', '', False, 1),
+    MCSProgs.WORKER_NODE.value: ProgInfo(13, 'mcs-workernode', 'DBRM_Worker{}', False, 1),
+    MCSProgs.CONTROLLER_NODE.value: ProgInfo(11, 'mcs-controllernode', 'fg', True),
+    MCSProgs.PRIM_PROC.value: ProgInfo(5, 'mcs-primproc', '', False, 1),
+    # MCSProgs.EXE_MGR.value: ProgInfo(9, 'mcs-exemgr', '', False, 1),
+    MCSProgs.WRITE_ENGINE_SERVER.value: ProgInfo(7, 'mcs-writeengineserver', '', False, 3),
+    MCSProgs.DML_PROC.value: ProgInfo(3, 'mcs-dmlproc', '', False),
+    MCSProgs.DDL_PROC.value: ProgInfo(1, 'mcs-ddlproc', '', False),
 }
 
 # constants for docker container dispatcher
diff --git a/cmapi/cmapi_server/controllers/api_clients.py b/cmapi/cmapi_server/controllers/api_clients.py
index 7b7e696220..d7ea2cf80a 100644
--- a/cmapi/cmapi_server/controllers/api_clients.py
+++ b/cmapi/cmapi_server/controllers/api_clients.py
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ def add_node(
         :param node_info: Information about the node to add.
         :return: The response from the API.
         """
+        #TODO: fix interface as in remove_node used or think about universal
         return self._request('PUT', 'node', {**node_info, **extra})
 
     def remove_node(
diff --git a/cmapi/cmapi_server/controllers/endpoints.py b/cmapi/cmapi_server/controllers/endpoints.py
index 870e07b350..48443957f6 100644
--- a/cmapi/cmapi_server/controllers/endpoints.py
+++ b/cmapi/cmapi_server/controllers/endpoints.py
@@ -434,7 +434,8 @@ def put_config(self):
                 MCSProcessManager.stop_node(
                     is_primary=node_config.is_primary_node(),
                     use_sudo=use_sudo,
-                    timeout=request_timeout
+                    timeout=request_timeout,
+                    is_read_only=node_config.is_read_only(),
                 )
             except CMAPIBasicError as err:
                 raise_422_error(
@@ -463,6 +464,7 @@ def put_config(self):
                     MCSProcessManager.start_node(
                         is_primary=node_config.is_primary_node(),
                         use_sudo=use_sudo,
+                        is_read_only=node_config.is_read_only(),
                     )
                 except CMAPIBasicError as err:
                     raise_422_error(
@@ -666,7 +668,8 @@ def put_start(self):
         try:
             MCSProcessManager.start_node(
                 is_primary=node_config.is_primary_node(),
-                use_sudo=use_sudo
+                use_sudo=use_sudo,
+                is_read_only=node_config.is_read_only(),
             )
         except CMAPIBasicError as err:
             raise_422_error(
@@ -701,7 +704,8 @@ def put_shutdown(self):
             MCSProcessManager.stop_node(
                 is_primary=node_config.is_primary_node(),
                 use_sudo=use_sudo,
-                timeout=timeout
+                timeout=timeout,
+                is_read_only=node_config.is_read_only(),
             )
         except CMAPIBasicError as err:
             raise_422_error(
@@ -744,6 +748,9 @@ def get_brm_bytes(self, element:str):
                 ret = subprocess.run(args, stdout=subprocess.PIPE)
                 if ret.returncode != 0:
                     module_logger.warning(f"{func_name} got error code {ret.returncode} from smcat, retrying")
+                    stderr = ret.stderr
+                    module_logger.warning(f"{func_name} smcat stderr: {stderr}")
+                    module_logger.warning(f"{func_name} smcat: {args}")
                     time.sleep(1)
                     retry_count += 1
                     continue
@@ -763,6 +770,8 @@ def get_brm_bytes(self, element:str):
                 ret = subprocess.run(args, stdout=subprocess.PIPE)
                 if ret.returncode != 0:
                     module_logger.warning(f"{func_name} got error code {ret.returncode} from smcat, retrying")
+                    stderr = ret.stderr
+                    module_logger.warning(f"{func_name} smcat stderr: {stderr}")
                     time.sleep(1)
                     retry_count += 1
                     continue
@@ -910,6 +919,7 @@ def put_add_node(self):
         node = request_body.get('node', None)
         config = request_body.get('config', DEFAULT_MCS_CONF_PATH)
         in_transaction = request_body.get('in_transaction', False)
+        read_only = request_body.get('read_only', False)
 
         if node is None:
             raise_422_error(module_logger, func_name, 'missing node argument')
@@ -917,9 +927,9 @@ def put_add_node(self):
         try:
             if not in_transaction:
                 with TransactionManager(extra_nodes=[node]):
-                    response = ClusterHandler.add_node(node, config)
+                    response = ClusterHandler.add_node(node, config, read_only)
             else:
-                response = ClusterHandler.add_node(node, config)
+                response = ClusterHandler.add_node(node, config, read_only)
         except CMAPIBasicError as err:
             raise_422_error(module_logger, func_name, err.message)
 
diff --git a/cmapi/cmapi_server/failover_agent.py b/cmapi/cmapi_server/failover_agent.py
index 864715e090..1e4f5fdac7 100644
--- a/cmapi/cmapi_server/failover_agent.py
+++ b/cmapi/cmapi_server/failover_agent.py
@@ -95,7 +95,10 @@ def enterStandbyMode(self, test_mode = False):
         try:
             # TODO: remove test_mode condition and add mock for testing
             if not test_mode:
-                MCSProcessManager.stop_node(is_primary=nc.is_primary_node())
+                MCSProcessManager.stop_node(
+                    is_primary=nc.is_primary_node(),
+                    is_read_only=nc.is_read_only(),
+                )
             logger.info(
                 'FA.enterStandbyMode(): successfully stopped node.'
             )
diff --git a/cmapi/cmapi_server/handlers/cluster.py b/cmapi/cmapi_server/handlers/cluster.py
index 10a213fb70..1cc9a1d6ff 100644
--- a/cmapi/cmapi_server/handlers/cluster.py
+++ b/cmapi/cmapi_server/handlers/cluster.py
@@ -139,7 +139,10 @@ def shutdown(
         return {'timestamp': operation_start_time}
 
     @staticmethod
-    def add_node(node: str, config: str = DEFAULT_MCS_CONF_PATH) -> dict:
+    def add_node(
+        node: str, config: str = DEFAULT_MCS_CONF_PATH,
+        read_only: bool = False,
+    ) -> dict:
         """Method to add node to MCS CLuster.
 
         :param node: node IP or name or FQDN
@@ -147,6 +150,8 @@ def add_node(node: str, config: str = DEFAULT_MCS_CONF_PATH) -> dict:
         :param config: columnstore xml config file path,
                        defaults to DEFAULT_MCS_CONF_PATH
         :type config: str, optional
+        :param read_only: add node in read-only mode, defaults to False
+        :type read_only: bool, optional
         :raises CMAPIBasicError: on exception while starting transaction
         :raises CMAPIBasicError: if transaction start isn't successful
         :raises CMAPIBasicError: on exception while adding node
@@ -157,20 +162,30 @@ def add_node(node: str, config: str = DEFAULT_MCS_CONF_PATH) -> dict:
         :rtype: dict
         """
         logger: logging.Logger = logging.getLogger('cmapi_server')
-        logger.debug(f'Cluster add node command called. Adding node {node}.')
+        logger.debug(
+            f'Cluster add node command called. Adding node {node} in '
+            f'{"read-only" if read_only else "read-write"} mode.'
+        )
 
         response = {'timestamp': str(datetime.now())}
 
         try:
             add_node(
                 node, input_config_filename=config,
-                output_config_filename=config
+                output_config_filename=config,
+                read_only=read_only,
             )
             if not get_dbroots(node, config):
-                add_dbroot(
-                    host=node, input_config_filename=config,
-                    output_config_filename=config
-                )
+                if not read_only:  # Read-only nodes don't own dbroots
+                    add_dbroot(
+                        host=node, input_config_filename=config,
+                        output_config_filename=config
+                    )
+                else:
+                    logger.debug(
+                        f'Node {node} is read-only, skipping dbroot addition'
+                    )
+
         except Exception as err:
             raise CMAPIBasicError('Error while adding node.') from err
 
diff --git a/cmapi/cmapi_server/helpers.py b/cmapi/cmapi_server/helpers.py
index 53fb003e78..e022d35033 100644
--- a/cmapi/cmapi_server/helpers.py
+++ b/cmapi/cmapi_server/helpers.py
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@
 import socket
 import time
 from collections import namedtuple
-from functools import partial
 from random import random
 from shutil import copyfile
 from typing import Tuple, Optional
@@ -541,6 +540,11 @@ def get_desired_nodes(config=DEFAULT_MCS_CONF_PATH):
     return [ node.text for node in nodes ]
 
 
+def get_read_only_nodes(root) -> list[str]:
+    """Get names of read only nodes from config"""
+    return [node.text for node in root.findall('./ReadOnlyNodes/Node')]
+
+
 def in_maintenance_state(config=DEFAULT_MCS_CONF_PATH):
     nc = NodeConfig()
     root = nc.get_current_config_root(config, upgrade=False)
@@ -577,6 +581,7 @@ def get_dbroots(node, config=DEFAULT_MCS_CONF_PATH):
     dbroots = []
     smc_node = root.find('./SystemModuleConfig')
     mod_count = int(smc_node.find('./ModuleCount3').text)
+
     for i in range(1, mod_count+1):
         ip_addr = smc_node.find(f'./ModuleIPAddr{i}-1-3').text
         hostname = smc_node.find(f'./ModuleHostName{i}-1-3').text
@@ -596,6 +601,7 @@ def get_dbroots(node, config=DEFAULT_MCS_CONF_PATH):
                 dbroots.append(
                     smc_node.find(f"./ModuleDBRootID{i}-{j}-3").text
                 )
+
     return dbroots
 
 
diff --git a/cmapi/cmapi_server/managers/process.py b/cmapi/cmapi_server/managers/process.py
index 1adb62e8d6..9b0d2264d0 100644
--- a/cmapi/cmapi_server/managers/process.py
+++ b/cmapi/cmapi_server/managers/process.py
@@ -7,7 +7,8 @@
 import psutil
 
 from cmapi_server.exceptions import CMAPIBasicError
-from cmapi_server.constants import MCS_INSTALL_BIN, ALL_MCS_PROGS
+from cmapi_server.constants import MCS_INSTALL_BIN, ALL_MCS_PROGS, MCSProgs
+from cmapi_server.process_dispatchers.base import BaseDispatcher
 from cmapi_server.process_dispatchers.systemd import SystemdDispatcher
 from cmapi_server.process_dispatchers.container import (
     ContainerDispatcher
@@ -18,7 +19,7 @@
 from mcs_node_control.models.process import Process
 
 
-PROCESS_DISPATCHERS = {
+PROCESS_DISPATCHERS: dict[str, type[BaseDispatcher]] = {
     'systemd': SystemdDispatcher,
     # could be used in docker containers and OSes w/o systemd
     'container': ContainerDispatcher,
@@ -404,19 +405,26 @@ def is_node_processes_ok(
         return set(node_progs) == set(p['name'] for p in running_procs)
 
     @classmethod
-    def start_node(cls, is_primary: bool, use_sudo: bool = True):
+    def start_node(
+        cls,
+        is_primary: bool,
+        use_sudo: bool = True,
+        is_read_only: bool = False,
+    ) -> None:
         """Start mcs node processes.
 
         :param is_primary: is node primary or not, defaults to True
         :type is_primary: bool
         :param use_sudo: use sudo or not, defaults to True
         :type use_sudo: bool, optional
+        :param is_read_only: if true, doesn't start WriteEngine
+        :type is_read_only: bool, optional
         :raises CMAPIBasicError: immediately if one mcs process not started
         """
         for prog_name in cls._get_sorted_progs(is_primary):
             if (
                     cls.dispatcher_name == 'systemd'
-                    and prog_name == 'StorageManager'
+                    and prog_name == MCSProgs.STORAGE_MANAGER.value
             ):
                 # TODO: MCOL-5458
                 logging.info(
@@ -424,17 +432,27 @@ def start_node(cls, is_primary: bool, use_sudo: bool = True):
                 )
                 continue
             # TODO: additional error handling
-            if prog_name == 'controllernode':
+            if prog_name == MCSProgs.CONTROLLER_NODE.value:
                 cls._wait_for_workernodes()
-            if prog_name in ('DMLProc', 'DDLProc'):
+            if prog_name in (MCSProgs.DML_PROC.value, MCSProgs.DDL_PROC.value):
                 cls._wait_for_controllernode()
+            if (
+                is_read_only and
+                prog_name == MCSProgs.WRITE_ENGINE_SERVER.value
+            ):
+                logging.debug('Node is in read-only mode, not starting WriteEngine')
+                continue
             if not cls.start(prog_name, is_primary, use_sudo):
                 logging.error(f'Process "{prog_name}" not started properly.')
                 raise CMAPIBasicError(f'Error while starting "{prog_name}".')
 
     @classmethod
     def stop_node(
-        cls, is_primary: bool, use_sudo: bool = True, timeout: int = 10
+        cls,
+        is_primary: bool,
+        use_sudo: bool = True,
+        timeout: int = 10,
+        is_read_only: bool = False,
     ):
         """Stop mcs node processes.
 
@@ -444,6 +462,8 @@ def stop_node(
         :type use_sudo: bool, optional
         :param timeout: timeout for DMLProc gracefully stop using DBRM, seconds
         :type timeout: int
+        :param is_read_only: if true, doesn't stop WriteEngine
+        :type is_read_only: bool, optional
         :raises CMAPIBasicError: immediately if one mcs process not stopped
         """
         # Every time try to stop all processes no matter primary it or slave,
@@ -456,8 +476,8 @@ def stop_node(
                 raise CMAPIBasicError(f'Error while stopping "{prog_name}"')
 
     @classmethod
-    def restart_node(cls, is_primary: bool, use_sudo: bool):
+    def restart_node(cls, is_primary: bool, use_sudo: bool, is_read_only: bool = False):
         """TODO: For next releases."""
         if cls.get_running_mcs_procs():
-            cls.stop_node(is_primary, use_sudo)
-        cls.start_node(is_primary, use_sudo)
+            cls.stop_node(is_primary, use_sudo, is_read_only)
+        cls.start_node(is_primary, use_sudo, is_read_only)
diff --git a/cmapi/cmapi_server/managers/transaction.py b/cmapi/cmapi_server/managers/transaction.py
index 68bb7bc77c..98de505241 100644
--- a/cmapi/cmapi_server/managers/transaction.py
+++ b/cmapi/cmapi_server/managers/transaction.py
@@ -106,10 +106,10 @@ def rollback_transaction(self, nodes: Optional[list] = None) -> None:
         try:
             rollback_transaction(self.txn_id, nodes=nodes)
             self.active_transaction = False
-            logging.debug(f'Success rollback of transaction "{self.txn_id}".')
+            logging.debug(f'Successfull rollback of transaction "{self.txn_id}".')
         except Exception:
             logging.error(
-                f'Error while rollback transaction "{self.txn_id}"',
+                f'Error while rolling back transaction "{self.txn_id}"',
                 exc_info=True
             )
 
diff --git a/cmapi/cmapi_server/node_manipulation.py b/cmapi/cmapi_server/node_manipulation.py
index 7eee0ad18e..4c2e2ff1db 100644
--- a/cmapi/cmapi_server/node_manipulation.py
+++ b/cmapi/cmapi_server/node_manipulation.py
@@ -61,7 +61,8 @@ def switch_node_maintenance(
 def add_node(
     node: str, input_config_filename: str = DEFAULT_MCS_CONF_PATH,
     output_config_filename: Optional[str] = None,
-    use_rebalance_dbroots: bool = True
+    use_rebalance_dbroots: bool = True,
+    read_only: bool = False,
 ):
     """Add node to a cluster.
 
@@ -95,14 +96,23 @@ def add_node(
     try:
         if not _replace_localhost(c_root, node):
             pm_num = _add_node_to_PMS(c_root, node)
-            _add_WES(c_root, pm_num, node)
+
+            if not read_only:
+                _add_WES(c_root, pm_num, node)
+            else:
+                logging.info('Node is read-only, skipping WES addition.')
+                _add_read_only_node(c_root, node)
+
             _add_DBRM_Worker(c_root, node)
             _add_Module_entries(c_root, node)
             _add_active_node(c_root, node)
             _add_node_to_ExeMgrs(c_root, node)
             if use_rebalance_dbroots:
-                _rebalance_dbroots(c_root)
-                _move_primary_node(c_root)
+                if not read_only:
+                    _rebalance_dbroots(c_root)
+                    _move_primary_node(c_root)
+                else:
+                    add_dbroots_of_other_nodes(c_root, pm_num)
     except Exception:
         logging.error(
             'Caught exception while adding node, config file is unchanged',
@@ -156,7 +166,11 @@ def remove_node(
 
         if len(active_nodes) > 1:
             pm_num = _remove_node_from_PMS(c_root, node)
-            _remove_WES(c_root, pm_num)
+
+            is_read_only = node in helpers.get_read_only_nodes(c_root)
+            if not is_read_only:
+                _remove_WES(c_root, pm_num)
+
             _remove_DBRM_Worker(c_root, node)
             _remove_Module_entries(c_root, node)
             _remove_from_ExeMgrs(c_root, node)
@@ -167,9 +181,12 @@ def remove_node(
                 # TODO: unspecific name, need to think of a better one
                 _remove_node(c_root, node)
 
-            if use_rebalance_dbroots:
+            if use_rebalance_dbroots and not is_read_only:
                 _rebalance_dbroots(c_root)
                 _move_primary_node(c_root)
+
+            if is_read_only:
+                remove_dbroots_of_node(c_root, pm_num)
         else:
             # TODO:
             #   - IMO undefined behaviour here. Removing one single node
@@ -375,12 +392,16 @@ def __remove_helper(parent_node, node):
 
 def _remove_node(root, node):
     '''
-    remove node from DesiredNodes, InactiveNodes, and ActiveNodes
+    remove node from DesiredNodes, InactiveNodes, ActiveNodes and (if present) ReadOnlyNodes
     '''
 
     for n in (root.find("./DesiredNodes"), root.find("./InactiveNodes"), root.find("./ActiveNodes")):
         __remove_helper(n, node)
 
+    read_only_nodes = root.find('./ReadOnlyNodes')
+    if read_only_nodes is not None:
+        __remove_helper(read_only_nodes, node)
+
 
 # This moves a node from ActiveNodes to InactiveNodes
 def _deactivate_node(root, node):
@@ -528,6 +549,19 @@ def unassign_dbroot1(root):
         i += 1
 
 
+def _get_existing_db_roots(root: etree.Element) -> list[int]:
+    '''Get all the existing dbroot IDs from the config file'''
+    # There can be holes in the dbroot numbering, so can't just scan from [1-dbroot_count]
+    # Going to scan from 1-99 instead
+    sysconf_node = root.find("./SystemConfig")
+    existing_dbroots = []
+    for num in range(1, 100):
+        node = sysconf_node.find(f"./DBRoot{num}")
+        if node is not None:
+            existing_dbroots.append(num)
+    return existing_dbroots
+
+
 def _rebalance_dbroots(root, test_mode=False):
     # TODO: add code to detect whether we are using shared storage or not.  If not, exit
     # without doing anything.
@@ -571,14 +605,7 @@ def _rebalance_dbroots(root, test_mode=False):
 
     current_mapping = get_current_dbroot_mapping(root)
     sysconf_node = root.find("./SystemConfig")
-
-    # There can be holes in the dbroot numbering, so can't just scan from [1-dbroot_count]
-    # Going to scan from 1-99 instead.
-    existing_dbroots = []
-    for num in range(1, 100):
-        node = sysconf_node.find(f"./DBRoot{num}")
-        if node is not None:
-            existing_dbroots.append(num)
+    existing_dbroots = _get_existing_db_roots(root)
 
     # assign the unassigned dbroots
     unassigned_dbroots = set(existing_dbroots) - set(current_mapping[0])
@@ -630,7 +657,7 @@ def _rebalance_dbroots(root, test_mode=False):
                         # timed out
                         # possible node is not ready, leave retry as-is
                         pass
-                    except Exception as e:
+                    except Exception:
                         retry = False
 
                 if not found_master:
@@ -966,7 +993,7 @@ def _add_Module_entries(root, node):
                 logging.info(f"_add_Module_entries(): hostname doesn't match, updating address to {new_ip_addr}")
                 smc_node.find(f"ModuleHostName{i}-1-3").text = new_ip_addr
             else:
-                logging.info(f"_add_Module_entries(): no update is necessary")
+                logging.info("_add_Module_entries(): no update is necessary")
                 return
 
         # if we find a matching hostname, update the ip addr
@@ -988,6 +1015,22 @@ def _add_WES(root, pm_num, node):
     etree.SubElement(wes_node, "Port").text = "8630"
 
 
+def _add_read_only_node(root: etree.Element, node: str) -> None:
+    '''Add node name to ReadOnlyNodes if it is not already there'''
+    read_only_nodes = root.find('./ReadOnlyNodes')
+    if read_only_nodes is None:
+        read_only_nodes = etree.SubElement(root, 'ReadOnlyNodes')
+    else:
+        for n in read_only_nodes.findall("./Node"):
+            if n.text == node:
+                logging.warning(
+                    f"_add_read_only_node(): node {node} already exists in ReadOnlyNodes"
+                )
+                return
+
+    etree.SubElement(read_only_nodes, "Node").text = node
+
+
 def _add_DBRM_Worker(root, node):
     '''
     find the highest numbered DBRM_Worker entry, or one that isn't used atm
@@ -1090,7 +1133,7 @@ def _add_node_to_PMS(root, node):
 
     return new_pm_num
 
-def _replace_localhost(root, node):
+def _replace_localhost(root: etree.Element, node: str) -> bool:
     # if DBRM_Controller/IPAddr is 127.0.0.1 or localhost,
     # then replace all instances, else do nothing.
     controller_host = root.find('./DBRM_Controller/IPAddr')
@@ -1138,3 +1181,51 @@ def _replace_localhost(root, node):
 # New Exception types
 class NodeNotFoundException(Exception):
     pass
+
+
+def add_dbroots_of_other_nodes(root: etree.Element, module_num: int) -> None:
+    """Adds all the dbroots listed in the config to this (read-only) node"""
+    existing_dbroots = _get_existing_db_roots(root)
+    sysconf_node = root.find("./SystemModuleConfig")
+
+    # Write node's dbroot count
+    dbroot_count_node = sysconf_node.find(f"./ModuleDBRootCount{module_num}-3")
+    if dbroot_count_node is not None:
+        sysconf_node.remove(dbroot_count_node)
+    dbroot_count_node = etree.SubElement(
+        sysconf_node, f"ModuleDBRootCount{module_num}-3"
+    )
+    dbroot_count_node.text = str(len(existing_dbroots))
+
+    # Remove existing dbroot IDs of this module if present
+    for i in range(1, 100):
+        dbroot_id_node = sysconf_node.find(f"./ModuleDBRootID{module_num}-{i}-3")
+        if dbroot_id_node is not None:
+            sysconf_node.remove(dbroot_id_node)
+
+    # Write new dbroot IDs to the module mapping
+    for i, dbroot_id in enumerate(existing_dbroots, start=1):
+        dbroot_id_node = etree.SubElement(
+            sysconf_node, f"ModuleDBRootID{module_num}-{i}-3"
+        )
+        dbroot_id_node.text = str(dbroot_id)
+
+    logging.info("Added %d dbroots to read-only node %d: %s", len(existing_dbroots), module_num, sorted(existing_dbroots))
+
+
+def remove_dbroots_of_node(root: etree.Element, module_num: int) -> None:
+    """Removes all the dbroots listed in the config from this (read-only) node"""
+    sysconf_node = root.find("./SystemModuleConfig")
+    dbroot_count_node = sysconf_node.find(f"./ModuleDBRootCount{module_num}-3")
+    if dbroot_count_node is not None:
+        sysconf_node.remove(dbroot_count_node)
+    else:
+        logging.error(
+            f"ModuleDBRootCount{module_num}-3 not found in SystemModuleConfig"
+        )
+
+    # Remove existing dbroot IDs
+    for i in range(1, 100):
+        dbroot_id_node = sysconf_node.find(f"./ModuleDBRootID{module_num}-{i}-3")
+        if dbroot_id_node is not None:
+            sysconf_node.remove(dbroot_id_node)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/cmapi/cmapi_server/test/test_cluster.py b/cmapi/cmapi_server/test/test_cluster.py
index 5887a8fe1c..833def4851 100644
--- a/cmapi/cmapi_server/test/test_cluster.py
+++ b/cmapi/cmapi_server/test/test_cluster.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 
 import requests
 
+from cmapi_server.constants import MCSProgs
 from cmapi_server.controllers.dispatcher import _version
 from cmapi_server.managers.process import MCSProcessManager
 from cmapi_server.test.unittest_global import (
@@ -199,7 +200,7 @@ def test_endpoint(self):
 
         # Check Columntore started
         controllernode = subprocess.check_output(
-            ['pgrep', 'controllernode'])
+            ['pgrep', MCSProgs.CONTROLLER_NODE.value])
         self.assertIsNotNone(controllernode)
 
 
diff --git a/cmapi/cmapi_server/test/test_node_manip.py b/cmapi/cmapi_server/test/test_node_manip.py
index 22a35c64a7..195c286499 100644
--- a/cmapi/cmapi_server/test/test_node_manip.py
+++ b/cmapi/cmapi_server/test/test_node_manip.py
@@ -1,10 +1,13 @@
 import logging
 import socket
-
+import unittest
+from unittest.mock import patch, ANY
 from lxml import etree
 
 from cmapi_server import node_manipulation
 from cmapi_server.constants import MCS_DATA_PATH
+from cmapi_server.helpers import get_read_only_nodes
+from cmapi_server.node_manipulation import add_dbroots_of_other_nodes, remove_dbroots_of_node
 from cmapi_server.test.unittest_global import (
     tmp_mcs_config_filename, BaseNodeManipTestCase
 )
@@ -13,6 +16,8 @@
 
 logging.basicConfig(level='DEBUG')
 
+SINGLE_NODE_XML = "./cmapi_server/SingleNode.xml"
+
 
 class NodeManipTester(BaseNodeManipTestCase):
 
@@ -52,6 +57,63 @@ def test_add_remove_node(self):
         # node = root.find('./PMS2/IPAddr')
         # self.assertEqual(node, None)
 
+    def test_add_remove_read_only_node(self):
+        """add_node(read_only=True) should add a read-only node into the config, it does not add a WriteEngineServer (WES) and does not own dbroots"""
+        self.tmp_files = ('./config_output_rw.xml', './config_output_ro.xml', './config_output_ro_removed.xml')
+
+        # Add this host as a read-write node
+        local_host_addr = socket.gethostbyname(socket.gethostname())
+        node_manipulation.add_node(
+            local_host_addr, SINGLE_NODE_XML, self.tmp_files[0]
+        )
+
+        # Mock _rebalance_dbroots and _move_primary_node (only after the first node is added)
+        with patch('cmapi_server.node_manipulation._rebalance_dbroots') as mock_rebalance_dbroots, \
+             patch('cmapi_server.node_manipulation._move_primary_node') as mock_move_primary_node, \
+             patch('cmapi_server.node_manipulation.add_dbroots_of_other_nodes') as mock_add_dbroots_of_other_nodes, \
+             patch('cmapi_server.node_manipulation.remove_dbroots_of_node') as mock_remove_dbroots_of_node:
+
+            # Add a read-only node
+            node_manipulation.add_node(
+                self.NEW_NODE_NAME, self.tmp_files[0], self.tmp_files[1],
+                read_only=True,
+            )
+
+            nc = NodeConfig()
+            root = nc.get_current_config_root(self.tmp_files[1])
+
+            # Check if read-only nodes section exists and is filled
+            read_only_nodes = get_read_only_nodes(root)
+            self.assertEqual(len(read_only_nodes), 1)
+            self.assertEqual(read_only_nodes[0], self.NEW_NODE_NAME)
+
+            # Check if PMS was added
+            pms_node_ipaddr = root.find('./PMS2/IPAddr')
+            self.assertEqual(pms_node_ipaddr.text, self.NEW_NODE_NAME)
+
+            # Check that WriteEngineServer was not added
+            wes_node = root.find('./pm2_WriteEngineServer')
+            self.assertIsNone(wes_node)
+
+            mock_rebalance_dbroots.assert_not_called()
+            mock_move_primary_node.assert_not_called()
+            mock_add_dbroots_of_other_nodes.assert_called_once_with(ANY, 2)
+
+            # Test read-only node removal
+            node_manipulation.remove_node(
+                self.NEW_NODE_NAME, self.tmp_files[1], self.tmp_files[2],
+            )
+
+            nc = NodeConfig()
+            root = nc.get_current_config_root(self.tmp_files[2])
+            read_only_nodes = get_read_only_nodes(root)
+            self.assertEqual(len(read_only_nodes), 0)
+
+            mock_rebalance_dbroots.assert_not_called()
+            mock_move_primary_node.assert_not_called()
+            mock_remove_dbroots_of_node.assert_called_once_with(ANY, 2)
+
+
     def test_add_dbroots_nodes_rebalance(self):
         self.tmp_files = (
             './extra-dbroots-0.xml', './extra-dbroots-1.xml',
@@ -209,3 +271,59 @@ def test_unassign_dbroot1(self):
             caught_it = True
 
         self.assertTrue(caught_it)
+
+
+class TestReadOnlyNodeDBRootsManip(unittest.TestCase):
+    our_module_idx = 2
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        # Mock initial XML structure (add two dbroots)
+        self.root = etree.Element('Columnstore')
+        etree.SubElement(self.root, 'SystemModuleConfig')
+        system_config = etree.SubElement(self.root, 'SystemConfig')
+        dbroot_count = etree.SubElement(system_config, 'DBRootCount')
+        dbroot_count.text = '2'
+        dbroot1 = etree.SubElement(system_config, 'DBRoot1')
+        dbroot1.text = '/data/dbroot1'
+        dbroot2 = etree.SubElement(system_config, 'DBRoot2')
+        dbroot2.text = '/data/dbroot2'
+
+    def test_add_dbroots_of_other_nodes(self):
+        '''add_dbroots_of_other_nodes must add dbroots of other nodes into mapping of the node.'''
+        add_dbroots_of_other_nodes(self.root, self.our_module_idx)
+
+        # Check that ModuleDBRootCount of the module was updated
+        module_count = self.root.find(f'./SystemModuleConfig/ModuleDBRootCount{self.our_module_idx}-3')
+        self.assertIsNotNone(module_count)
+        self.assertEqual(module_count.text, '2')
+
+        # Check that dbroots were added to ModuleDBRootID{module_num}-{i}-3
+        dbroot1 = self.root.find(f'./SystemModuleConfig/ModuleDBRootID{self.our_module_idx}-1-3')
+        dbroot2 = self.root.find(f'./SystemModuleConfig/ModuleDBRootID{self.our_module_idx}-2-3')
+        self.assertIsNotNone(dbroot1)
+        self.assertIsNotNone(dbroot2)
+        self.assertEqual(dbroot1.text, '1')
+        self.assertEqual(dbroot2.text, '2')
+
+    def test_remove_dbroots_of_node(self):
+        '''Test that remove_dbroots_of_node correctly removes dbroots from the node's mapping'''
+        # Add dbroot association to the node
+        smc = self.root.find('./SystemModuleConfig')
+        dbroot1 = etree.SubElement(smc, f'ModuleDBRootID{self.our_module_idx}-1-3')
+        dbroot1.text = '1'
+        dbroot2 = etree.SubElement(smc, f'ModuleDBRootID{self.our_module_idx}-2-3')
+        dbroot2.text = '2'
+        # Add ModuleDBRootCount to the node
+        module_count = etree.SubElement(smc, f'ModuleDBRootCount{self.our_module_idx}-3')
+        module_count.text = '2'
+
+        remove_dbroots_of_node(self.root, self.our_module_idx)
+
+        # Check that ModuleDBRootCount was removed
+        module_count = self.root.find(f'./SystemModuleConfig/ModuleDBRootCount{self.our_module_idx}-3')
+        self.assertIsNone(module_count)
+        # Check that dbroot mappings of the module were removed
+        dbroot1 = self.root.find(f'./SystemModuleConfig/ModuleDBRootID{self.our_module_idx}-1-3')
+        dbroot2 = self.root.find(f'./SystemModuleConfig/ModuleDBRootID{self.our_module_idx}-2-3')
+        self.assertIsNone(dbroot1)
+        self.assertIsNone(dbroot2)
diff --git a/cmapi/mcs_cluster_tool/__main__.py b/cmapi/mcs_cluster_tool/__main__.py
index a2260d0c63..f339f7f6a6 100644
--- a/cmapi/mcs_cluster_tool/__main__.py
+++ b/cmapi/mcs_cluster_tool/__main__.py
@@ -76,7 +76,10 @@ def setup_logging(verbose: bool = False) -> None:
     add_logging_level('TRACE', 5)
     dict_config(MCS_CLI_LOG_CONF_PATH)
     if verbose:
-        enable_console_logging(logging.getLogger())
+        for logger_name in ('', 'mcs_cli'):
+            logger = logging.getLogger(logger_name)
+            logger.setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
+            enable_console_logging(logger)
 
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
diff --git a/cmapi/mcs_cluster_tool/cluster_app.py b/cmapi/mcs_cluster_tool/cluster_app.py
index d93c8cc2c9..9b0f37a6f1 100644
--- a/cmapi/mcs_cluster_tool/cluster_app.py
+++ b/cmapi/mcs_cluster_tool/cluster_app.py
@@ -198,6 +198,14 @@ def add(
             'node IP, name or FQDN. '
             'Can be used multiple times to add several nodes at a time.'
         )
+    ),
+    read_only: bool = typer.Option(
+        False,
+        '--read-only',
+        help=(
+            'Add node (or nodes, if more than one is passed) in read-only '
+            'mode.'
+        )
     )
 ):
     """Add nodes to the Columnstore cluster."""
@@ -207,7 +215,9 @@ def add(
         extra_nodes=nodes
     ):
         for node in nodes:
-            result.append(client.add_node({'node': node}))
+            result.append(
+                client.add_node({'node': node, 'read_only': read_only})
+            )
     return result
 
 
diff --git a/cmapi/mcs_node_control/models/node_config.py b/cmapi/mcs_node_control/models/node_config.py
index 7dac18bce4..c71e397032 100644
--- a/cmapi/mcs_node_control/models/node_config.py
+++ b/cmapi/mcs_node_control/models/node_config.py
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ class NodeConfig:
     """
     def get_current_config_root(
         self, config_filename: str = DEFAULT_MCS_CONF_PATH, upgrade=True
-    ):
+    ) -> etree.Element:
         """Retrieves current configuration.
 
         Read the config and returns Element.
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ def get_current_config_root(
         self.upgrade_config(tree=tree, upgrade=upgrade)
         return tree.getroot()
 
-    def get_root_from_string(self, config_string: str):
+    def get_root_from_string(self, config_string: str) -> etree.Element:
         root = etree.fromstring(config_string)
         self.upgrade_config(root=root)
         return root
@@ -566,4 +566,14 @@ def get_all_dbroots(self, root):
         for i in range(1, mod_count+1):
             for j in range(1, int(smc_node.find(f"./ModuleDBRootCount{i}-3").text) + 1):
                 dbroots.append(smc_node.find(f"./ModuleDBRootID{i}-{j}-3").text)
+
         return dbroots
+
+    def is_read_only(self, root=None) -> bool:
+        """Checks if this node is in read-only mode"""
+        from cmapi_server.helpers import get_read_only_nodes # Avoid circular import
+
+        root = root or self.get_current_config_root()
+        read_only_nodes = set(get_read_only_nodes(root))
+        my_names = set(self.get_network_addresses_and_names())
+        return bool(read_only_nodes.intersection(my_names))
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/cmapi/pyproject.toml b/cmapi/pyproject.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c81c64faae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmapi/pyproject.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+[tool.ruff]
+line-length = 80
+target-version = "py39"
+# Enable common rule sets
+select = [
+    "E",  # pycodestyle errors
+    "F",  # pyflakes: undefined names, unused imports, etc.
+    "I",  # isort: import sorting
+    "B",  # flake8-bugbear: common bugs and anti-patterns
+    "UP", # pyupgrade: use modern Python syntax
+    "N",  # pep8-naming: naming conventions
+]
+
+ignore = []
+
+# Exclude cache and temporary directories
+exclude = [
+    "__pycache__",
+]
+
+[tool.ruff.format]
+quote-style = "single"
diff --git a/dbcon/dmlpackageproc/dmlpackageprocessor.cpp b/dbcon/dmlpackageproc/dmlpackageprocessor.cpp
index 307ba1d399..676fab0ef5 100644
--- a/dbcon/dmlpackageproc/dmlpackageprocessor.cpp
+++ b/dbcon/dmlpackageproc/dmlpackageprocessor.cpp
@@ -350,7 +350,7 @@ int DMLPackageProcessor::rollBackTransaction(uint64_t uniqueId, BRM::TxnID txnID
 
     while (1)
     {
-      if (msgRecived == fWEClient->getPmCount())
+      if (msgRecived == fWEClient->getRWConnections())
         break;
 
       fWEClient->read(uniqueId, bsIn);
diff --git a/dbcon/joblist/distributedenginecomm.cpp b/dbcon/joblist/distributedenginecomm.cpp
index da3a9b2d36..0a619c7067 100644
--- a/dbcon/joblist/distributedenginecomm.cpp
+++ b/dbcon/joblist/distributedenginecomm.cpp
@@ -303,6 +303,7 @@ int32_t DistributedEngineComm::Setup()
 
     try
     {
+	    idblog("trying to connect to PMS" << connectionId << ", " << cl->otherEnd() << ", address " << cl->addr2String());
       if (cl->connect())
       {
         newClients.push_back(cl);
@@ -313,6 +314,7 @@ int32_t DistributedEngineComm::Setup()
       }
       else
       {
+	      idblog("cannot connecti to PMS" << connectionId);
         throw runtime_error("Connection refused from PMS" + std::to_string(connectionId));
       }
     }
@@ -1092,7 +1094,9 @@ int DistributedEngineComm::writeToClient(size_t aPMIndex, const SBS& bs, uint32_
     if (!client->isAvailable())
       return 0;
 
+    idblog("locking connection " << connectionId << " to send " << bs->length() << "bytes");
     std::lock_guard lk(*(fWlock[connectionId]));
+    idblog("locked connection " << connectionId);
     client->write(bs, NULL, senderStats);
   }
   catch (...)
@@ -1133,6 +1137,7 @@ int DistributedEngineComm::writeToClient(size_t aPMIndex, const SBS& bs, uint32_
       else
         throw runtime_error("DistributedEngineComm::write: Broken Pipe error");
     }
+    idblog("bs length after write " << bs->length());
 
     // Connection was established.
     return 1;
@@ -1168,6 +1173,7 @@ int DistributedEngineComm::writeToClient(size_t aPMIndex, const SBS& bs, uint32_
     alarmMgr.sendAlarmReport(alarmItem.c_str(), oam::CONN_FAILURE, SET);
     */
   }
+  idblog("bs length after write " << bs->length());
   return 0;
 }
 
@@ -1288,6 +1294,13 @@ void DistributedEngineComm::getLocalNetIfacesSins()
   }
   freeifaddrs(netIfacesList);
 }
+void DistributedEngineComm::healthCheck()
+{
+  for (uint32_t i = 0; i < fPmConnections.size(); i++)
+  {
+    std::lock_guard lk(*(fWlock[i]));
+  }
+}
 template bool DistributedEngineComm::clientAtTheSameHost<DistributedEngineComm::SharedPtrEMSock>(
     SharedPtrEMSock& client) const;
 }  // namespace joblist
diff --git a/dbcon/joblist/distributedenginecomm.h b/dbcon/joblist/distributedenginecomm.h
index 2c6c6ac865..950687856d 100644
--- a/dbcon/joblist/distributedenginecomm.h
+++ b/dbcon/joblist/distributedenginecomm.h
@@ -224,6 +224,9 @@ class DistributedEngineComm
 
   friend class ::TestDistributedEngineComm;
 
+  /* internal checks */
+  void healthCheck();
+
  private:
   typedef std::vector<boost::thread*> ReaderList;
   typedef std::vector<boost::shared_ptr<messageqcpp::MessageQueueClient>> ClientList;
diff --git a/dbcon/mysql/install_mcs_mysql.sh.in b/dbcon/mysql/install_mcs_mysql.sh.in
index ff80a18cf2..bc856d00ec 100755
--- a/dbcon/mysql/install_mcs_mysql.sh.in
+++ b/dbcon/mysql/install_mcs_mysql.sh.in
@@ -16,6 +16,11 @@ else
   MDB="/usr/bin/mysql"
 fi
 
+log_error() {
+  echo "Error: $1" >> ${tmpdir}/mysql_install.log
+  exit 1
+}
+
 # DELETE libcalmysql.so entries first as they are in ha_columnstore.so in 1.4.2 onwards
 $MDB 2> ${tmpdir}/mysql_install.log <<EOD
 DELETE FROM mysql.func WHERE dl='libcalmysql.so';
@@ -124,7 +129,26 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS infinidb_querystats.priority
 insert ignore into infinidb_querystats.priority values ('High', 100),('Medium', 66), ('Low', 33);
 EOD
 
+if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
+  log_error "Failed to execute main SQL commands."
+fi
+
 $MDB <@ENGINE_SUPPORTDIR@/calsetuserpriority.sql 2>/dev/null
+if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
+  log_error "Failed to execute calsetuserpriority.sql."
+fi
+
 $MDB <@ENGINE_SUPPORTDIR@/calremoveuserpriority.sql 2>/dev/null
+if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
+  log_error "Failed to execute calremoveuserpriority.sql."
+fi
+
 $MDB <@ENGINE_SUPPORTDIR@/calshowprocesslist.sql 2>/dev/null
+if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
+  log_error "Failed to execute calshowprocesslist.sql."
+fi
+
 $MDB <@ENGINE_SUPPORTDIR@/columnstore_info.sql 2>/dev/null
+if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
+  log_error "Failed to execute columnstore_info.sql."
+fi
diff --git a/debian/control b/debian/control
index cbb11cea4a..7bde08ee80 100644
--- a/debian/control
+++ b/debian/control
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ Depends: binutils,
          net-tools,
          python3,
          procps,
+         gawk,
          ${misc:Depends},
          ${shlibs:Depends}
 Breaks: mariadb-columnstore-libs,
diff --git a/dmlproc/batchinsertprocessor.cpp b/dmlproc/batchinsertprocessor.cpp
index 785a31225a..d53183a267 100644
--- a/dmlproc/batchinsertprocessor.cpp
+++ b/dmlproc/batchinsertprocessor.cpp
@@ -230,6 +230,15 @@ void BatchInsertProc::buildLastPkg(messageqcpp::ByteStream& bs)
   bs << rt;
 }
 
+uint32_t BatchInsertProc::selectNextPM()
+{
+  uint32_t pm;
+  do
+  {
+    pm = fBatchLoader->selectNextPM();
+  } while (pm != 0 && fWEClient->isConnectionReadonly(pm));
+  return pm;
+}
 void BatchInsertProc::sendFirstBatch()
 {
   uint32_t firstPmId = 0;
@@ -237,7 +246,7 @@ void BatchInsertProc::sendFirstBatch()
 
   try
   {
-    firstPmId = fBatchLoader->selectNextPM();
+    firstPmId = selectNextPM();
   }
   catch (std::exception& ex)
   {
@@ -268,7 +277,7 @@ void BatchInsertProc::sendNextBatch()
 
   try
   {
-    fCurrentPMid = fBatchLoader->selectNextPM();
+    fCurrentPMid = selectNextPM();
   }
   catch (std::exception& ex)
   {
diff --git a/dmlproc/batchinsertprocessor.h b/dmlproc/batchinsertprocessor.h
index a950b0986d..ddb2a229ed 100644
--- a/dmlproc/batchinsertprocessor.h
+++ b/dmlproc/batchinsertprocessor.h
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ class BatchInsertProc
   void setHwm();
   void receiveAllMsg();
   void receiveOutstandingMsg();
+  uint32_t selectNextPM();
 
  private:
   SP_PKG fInsertPkgQueue;
diff --git a/dmlproc/dmlproc.cpp b/dmlproc/dmlproc.cpp
index 0bc59e2e07..fcf3f1f64b 100644
--- a/dmlproc/dmlproc.cpp
+++ b/dmlproc/dmlproc.cpp
@@ -202,6 +202,7 @@ class CleanUpThread
 // This function rolls back any active transactions in case of an abnormal shutdown.
 void rollbackAll(DBRM* dbrm)
 {
+	idblog("rolling back all");
   Oam oam;
 
   // Log a message in info.log
@@ -592,6 +593,7 @@ int ServiceDMLProc::Child()
   //@Bug 1627
   try
   {
+	  idblog("rollback in Child() call");
     rollbackAll(&dbrm);  // Rollback any
   }
   catch (std::exception& e)
diff --git a/dmlproc/dmlprocessor.cpp b/dmlproc/dmlprocessor.cpp
index 765f5f19f2..46949dbfbb 100644
--- a/dmlproc/dmlprocessor.cpp
+++ b/dmlproc/dmlprocessor.cpp
@@ -132,6 +132,7 @@ struct CancellationThread
 
       if (bRollback)
       {
+	      idblog("starting rollback in cancellation thread");
         RollbackTransactionProcessor rollbackProcessor(fDbrm);
         SessionManager sessionManager;
         uint64_t uniqueId = fDbrm->getUnique64();
@@ -1402,7 +1403,10 @@ void DMLProcessor::operator()()
       messageqcpp::ByteStream::byte status = 255;
       messageqcpp::ByteStream::octbyte rowCount = 0;
 
-      if (fDbrm->getSystemState(stateFlags) >
+      int rr = fDbrm->getSystemState(stateFlags);
+      idblog("called from DMLProcessor::operator(), returned " << rr);
+
+      if (rr >
           0)  // > 0 implies succesful retrieval. It doesn't imply anything about the contents
       {
         messageqcpp::ByteStream results;
diff --git a/oam/install_scripts/columnstore-post-install.in b/oam/install_scripts/columnstore-post-install.in
index a25a2eccc2..4f86eeb864 100755
--- a/oam/install_scripts/columnstore-post-install.in
+++ b/oam/install_scripts/columnstore-post-install.in
@@ -5,11 +5,76 @@
 # Post-install steps for columnstore install
 
 running_systemd() {
-   if  [ "$(ps --no-headers -o comm 1)" = "systemd" ]; then
-       echo 0
-   else
-       echo 1
-   fi
+    # Check if init process (PID 1) is systemd by reading /proc/1/comm
+    if [ -r "/proc/1/comm" ]; then
+        if [ "$(cat /proc/1/comm)" = "systemd" ]; then
+            echo 0
+            return 0
+        fi
+    fi
+
+    # Alternative check using /proc/1/exe symlink
+    if [ -L "/proc/1/exe" ]; then
+        local exe_target
+        exe_target=$(readlink -f "/proc/1/exe")
+        if [[ "${exe_target##*/}" == "systemd" ]]; then
+            echo 0
+            return 0
+        fi
+    fi
+
+    # Fallback check for systemd presence in /run/systemd
+    if [ -d "/run/systemd/system" ]; then
+        echo 0
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    echo 1
+    return 1
+}
+
+get_parent_pid() {
+    local pid=$1
+    local ppid
+
+    # Read the stat file for the given PID
+    if [ -f "/proc/$pid/stat" ]; then
+        # Read the entire stat file into a variable
+        read -r stat <"/proc/$pid/stat"
+
+        # Split into array (parent PID is the 4th field)
+        IFS=' ' read -ra stat_array <<<"$stat"
+
+        # The PPID is the 4th element (0-based index 3)
+        ppid=${stat_array[3]}
+
+        echo "$ppid"
+        return 0
+    else
+        echo "Error: Process $pid does not exist" >&2
+        return 1
+    fi
+}
+
+get_env_var_value() {
+    local pid=$1
+    local var_name=$2
+    local env_file="/proc/$pid/environ"
+
+    if [ ! -r "$env_file" ]; then
+        echo "Error: Cannot read $env_file" >&2
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    # Read null-delimited environ file and process each line
+    while IFS= read -r -d '' line; do
+        if [[ "$line" == "${var_name}="* ]]; then
+            echo "${line#*=}"
+            return 0
+        fi
+    done <"$env_file"
+
+    return 1
 }
 
 # This function recursively(up to PID 1) searches for
@@ -18,67 +83,66 @@ find_env_var() {
     env_var_name=$1
     pid=$$
     ENV_VAR=''
-    while [ -z "$ENV_VAR" -a "$pid" != 1  ]; do
-        ppid=$(ps -oppid -p$pid|tail -1|awk '{print $1}')
+    while [ -z "$ENV_VAR" -a "$pid" != 1 ]; do
+        ppid=$(get_parent_pid $pid)
         # This condition is true in containers
         if [ "$ppid" == 0 ]; then
-            break;
+            break
         fi
-        env=$(strings /proc/$ppid/environ)
-        ENV_VAR=$(echo "$env"|awk -F= "\$1 == \"$env_var_name\" { print \$2; }")
+        ENV_VAR=$(get_env_var_value $ppid $env_var_name)
         pid=$ppid
     done
     echo $ENV_VAR
 }
 
 if [[ -f /etc/mysql/debian.cnf ]]; then
-  MDB="/usr/bin/mysql --defaults-file=/etc/mysql/debian.cnf"
+    MDB="/usr/bin/mysql --defaults-file=/etc/mysql/debian.cnf"
 else
-  MDB="/usr/bin/mysql"
+    MDB="/usr/bin/mysql"
 fi
 
 checkForError() {
-	# check for password error
-	grep "ERROR 1045" ${installLogDir}/mysql_install.log > ${installLogDir}/error.check
-	if [ `cat ${installLogDir}/error.check | wc -c` -ne 0 ]; then
-		  echo "There were authentication issues running install_mcs_mysql.sh \
+    # check for password error
+    grep "ERROR 1045" ${installLogDir}/mysql_install.log >${installLogDir}/error.check
+    if [ $(cat ${installLogDir}/error.check | wc -c) -ne 0 ]; then
+        echo "There were authentication issues running install_mcs_mysql.sh \
 script. The log is available in ${installLogDir}/mysql_install.log. Please re-run \
 columnstore-post-install manually after solving the authentication issues."
-		  rm -f ${installLogDir}/error.check
-		  return 2;
-	fi
+        rm -f ${installLogDir}/error.check
+        return 2
+    fi
 
-	rm -f ${installLogDir}/error.check
+    rm -f ${installLogDir}/error.check
 
-        #---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-        # See if engine columnstore exist
-        #---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-        echo "checking for engine columnstore..."
-        $MDB --execute="show engines" 2> ${installLogDir}/post-mysql-install.log | grep -i columnstore >> ${installLogDir}/post-mysql-install.log 2>&1
+    #---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # See if engine columnstore exist
+    #---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+    echo "checking for engine columnstore..."
+    $MDB --execute="show engines" 2>${installLogDir}/post-mysql-install.log | grep -i columnstore >>${installLogDir}/post-mysql-install.log 2>&1
 
-        #
-        # Add compressiontype column to SYSCOLUMN if applicable
-        #
-        if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
-                echo "columnstore doesn't exist"
-                return 1
-        fi
+    #
+    # Add compressiontype column to SYSCOLUMN if applicable
+    #
+    if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
+        echo "columnstore doesn't exist"
+        return 1
+    fi
 
-        echo "columnstore exists"
+    echo "columnstore exists"
 
-	return 0;
+    return 0
 }
 
 rpmmode=install
-user=`whoami 2>/dev/null`
+user=$(whoami 2>/dev/null)
 
 quiet=0
 
 stop_mysqld=0
-if [ -z "$(pgrep -x mariadbd)" ];then
+if [ -z "$(pgrep -x mariadbd)" ]; then
 
     # Startup mysqld
-    systemctl cat mariadb.service > /dev/null 2>&1
+    systemctl cat mariadb.service >/dev/null 2>&1
     if [ $? -eq 0 ] && [ $(running_systemd) -eq 0 ]; then
         systemctl start mariadb.service
     else
@@ -107,12 +171,11 @@ if [ -f @ENGINE_SYSCONFDIR@/columnstore/Columnstore.xml.rpmsave ]; then
 fi
 
 touch /dev/shm/columnstore-test && rm /dev/shm/columnstore-test
-if [ $? -ne 0 ] ; then
+if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
     echo "User $user will need R/W access to /dev/shm."
     exit 1
 fi
 
-
 profileFile="/etc/profile.d/columnstoreAlias.sh"
 /bin/cp -f @ENGINE_SUPPORTDIR@/columnstoreAlias /etc/profile.d/columnstoreAlias.sh
 chmod 644 /etc/profile.d/columnstoreAlias.sh >/dev/null 2>&1
@@ -124,7 +187,7 @@ test -d @ENGINE_LOGDIR@/trace || mkdir @ENGINE_LOGDIR@/trace >/dev/null 2>&1
 test -d @ENGINE_LOGDIR@/cpimport || mkdir @ENGINE_LOGDIR@/cpimport >/dev/null 2>&1
 test -d @ENGINE_LOGDIR@/install || mkdir @ENGINE_LOGDIR@/install >/dev/null 2>&1
 test -h @ENGINE_LOGDIR@/data && rm -f @ENGINE_LOGDIR@/data
-chmod 755 @ENGINE_LOGDIR@/corefiles > /dev/null 2>&1
+chmod 755 @ENGINE_LOGDIR@/corefiles >/dev/null 2>&1
 chmod 777 @ENGINE_LOGDIR@/cpimport
 chmod 777 @ENGINE_LOGDIR@/install
 installLogDir=@ENGINE_LOGDIR@/install
@@ -136,7 +199,7 @@ test -d @ENGINE_DATADIR@/data1/systemFiles/dataTransaction || rmdir @ENGINE_DATA
 test -d @ENGINE_DATADIR@/data1/systemFiles/dataTransaction/archive || rmdir @ENGINE_DATADIR@/data1/systemFiles/dataTransaction/archive >/dev/null 2>&1
 chmod 1755 @ENGINE_DATADIR@/data1 >/dev/null 2>&1
 chmod -R 1755 @ENGINE_DATADIR@/data1/systemFiles >/dev/null 2>&1
-chmod 1755 @ENGINE_SYSCONFDIR@/columnstore > /dev/null 2>&1
+chmod 1755 @ENGINE_SYSCONFDIR@/columnstore >/dev/null 2>&1
 
 #create the bulk-load dirs
 mkdir -p @ENGINE_LOGDIR@/data/bulk/data/import >/dev/null 2>&1
@@ -147,28 +210,28 @@ rm -f @ENGINE_LOGDIR@/data/bulk/tmpjob/* >/dev/null 2>&1
 chmod -R 777 @ENGINE_LOGDIR@/data
 
 #get columnstore temp file directory name
-tmpDir=`@ENGINE_BINDIR@/mcsGetConfig SystemConfig SystemTempFileDir`
-scratchDir=$tmpDir`@ENGINE_BINDIR@/mcsGetConfig SystemConfig hdfsRdwrScratch`
+tmpDir=$(@ENGINE_BINDIR@/mcsGetConfig SystemConfig SystemTempFileDir)
+scratchDir=$tmpDir$(@ENGINE_BINDIR@/mcsGetConfig SystemConfig hdfsRdwrScratch)
 mkdir $tmpDir >/dev/null 2>&1
 mkdir $scratchDir >/dev/null 2>&1
 chmod 777 $tmpDir
 chmod 777 $scratchDir
 
 #create mount directories
-mkdir /mnt/tmp > /dev/null 2>&1
+mkdir /mnt/tmp >/dev/null 2>&1
 
 if [ $user = "root" ]; then
-	#setup the columnstore service script
+    #setup the columnstore service script
     rm -f /etc/init.d/columnstore >/dev/null 2>&1
     rm -f /etc/default/columnstore
 
-    systemctl=`which systemctl 2>/dev/null`
+    systemctl=$(which systemctl 2>/dev/null)
     if [ -n "$systemctl" ]; then
         # Removing a separate ExeMgr unit.
-        if [[ -f  /usr/lib/systemd/system/mcs-exemgr.service ]]; then
+        if [[ -f /usr/lib/systemd/system/mcs-exemgr.service ]]; then
             rm -f /usr/lib/systemd/system/mcs-exemgr.service
         fi
-        if [[ -f  /lib/systemd/system/mcs-exemgr.service ]]; then
+        if [[ -f /lib/systemd/system/mcs-exemgr.service ]]; then
             rm -f /lib/systemd/system/mcs-exemgr.service
         fi
         cp @ENGINE_SUPPORTDIR@/mariadb-columnstore.service /usr/lib/systemd/system/. >/dev/null 2>&1
@@ -181,7 +244,7 @@ if [ $user = "root" ]; then
         cp @ENGINE_SUPPORTDIR@/mcs-dmlproc.service /lib/systemd/system/. >/dev/null 2>&1
         cp @ENGINE_SUPPORTDIR@/mcs-primproc.service /usr/lib/systemd/system/. >/dev/null 2>&1
         cp @ENGINE_SUPPORTDIR@/mcs-primproc.service /lib/systemd/system/. >/dev/null 2>&1
-        cp @ENGINE_SUPPORTDIR@/mcs-workernode.service /usr/lib/systemd/system/mcs-workernode@.service  >/dev/null 2>&1
+        cp @ENGINE_SUPPORTDIR@/mcs-workernode.service /usr/lib/systemd/system/mcs-workernode@.service >/dev/null 2>&1
         cp @ENGINE_SUPPORTDIR@/mcs-workernode.service /lib/systemd/system/mcs-workernode@.service >/dev/null 2>&1
         cp @ENGINE_SUPPORTDIR@/mcs-writeengineserver.service /usr/lib/systemd/system/. >/dev/null 2>&1
         cp @ENGINE_SUPPORTDIR@/mcs-writeengineserver.service /lib/systemd/system/. >/dev/null 2>&1
@@ -190,27 +253,27 @@ if [ $user = "root" ]; then
         cp @ENGINE_SUPPORTDIR@/mcs-storagemanager.service /usr/lib/systemd/system/. >/dev/null 2>&1
         cp @ENGINE_SUPPORTDIR@/mcs-storagemanager.service /lib/systemd/system/. >/dev/null 2>&1
         systemctl enable mariadb-columnstore >/dev/null 2>&1
-        systemctl enable mcs-controllernode > /dev/null 2>&1
-        systemctl enable mcs-ddlproc > /dev/null 2>&1
-        systemctl enable mcs-dmlproc > /dev/null 2>&1
-        systemctl enable mcs-primproc > /dev/null 2>&1
-        systemctl enable mcs-workernode@1 > /dev/null 2>&1
-        systemctl enable mcs-writeengineserver > /dev/null 2>&1
-        systemctl enable mcs-loadbrm > /dev/null 2>&1
-        systemctl enable mcs-storagemanager > /dev/null 2>&1
+        systemctl enable mcs-controllernode >/dev/null 2>&1
+        systemctl enable mcs-ddlproc >/dev/null 2>&1
+        systemctl enable mcs-dmlproc >/dev/null 2>&1
+        systemctl enable mcs-primproc >/dev/null 2>&1
+        systemctl enable mcs-workernode@1 >/dev/null 2>&1
+        systemctl enable mcs-writeengineserver >/dev/null 2>&1
+        systemctl enable mcs-loadbrm >/dev/null 2>&1
+        systemctl enable mcs-storagemanager >/dev/null 2>&1
     else
-        chkconfig=`which chkconfig 2>/dev/null`
+        chkconfig=$(which chkconfig 2>/dev/null)
         if [ -n "$chkconfig" ]; then
 
             cp @ENGINE_SBINDIR@/columnstore /etc/init.d/. >/dev/null 2>&1
-            chkconfig --add columnstore > /dev/null 2>&1
-            chkconfig columnstore on > /dev/null 2>&1
+            chkconfig --add columnstore >/dev/null 2>&1
+            chkconfig columnstore on >/dev/null 2>&1
         else
             cp @ENGINE_SBINDIR@/columnstore /etc/init.d/. >/dev/null 2>&1
-            updaterc=`which update-rc.d 2>/dev/null`
+            updaterc=$(which update-rc.d 2>/dev/null)
             if [ -n "$updaterc" ]; then
 
-                update-rc.d columnstore defaults 99 > /dev/null 2>&1
+                update-rc.d columnstore defaults 99 >/dev/null 2>&1
             else
                 echo ""
                 echo "Package 'systemctl', 'chkconfig' or 'update-rc.d' not installed, contact your sysadmin if you want to setup to autostart for columnstore"
@@ -221,12 +284,12 @@ fi
 
 # upgrade the columnstore.cnf file
 if [ -f @MARIADB_MYCNFDIR@/columnstore.cnf.rpmsave ]; then
-     cp -f @MARIADB_MYCNFDIR@/columnstore.cnf @MARIADB_MYCNFDIR@/columnstore.cnf.new
-     cp -f @MARIADB_MYCNFDIR@/columnstore.cnf.rpmsave @MARIADB_MYCNFDIR@/columnstore.cnf
+    cp -f @MARIADB_MYCNFDIR@/columnstore.cnf @MARIADB_MYCNFDIR@/columnstore.cnf.new
+    cp -f @MARIADB_MYCNFDIR@/columnstore.cnf.rpmsave @MARIADB_MYCNFDIR@/columnstore.cnf
 fi
 
 if [ $user = "root" ]; then
-    @ENGINE_BINDIR@/columnstoreSyslogSetup.sh install > $installLogDir/syslog_install.log 2>&1
+    @ENGINE_BINDIR@/columnstoreSyslogSetup.sh install >$installLogDir/syslog_install.log 2>&1
 
     #check if MariaDB Columnstore system logging was setup
     cat $installLogDir/syslog_install.log | grep 'No System Logging' >/dev/null 2>&1
@@ -236,7 +299,7 @@ if [ $user = "root" ]; then
 else
     chown $user:$user @ENGINE_SYSCONFDIR@/columnstore/Columnstore.xml
 
-cat <<EOD
+    cat <<EOD
 
 NOTE: For non-root install, you will need to run the following commands as root user to
       setup the MariaDB ColumnStore System Logging
@@ -262,12 +325,12 @@ rm -f $lockdir/columnstore
 @ENGINE_SBINDIR@/install_mcs_mysql.sh --tmpdir=$installLogDir
 
 # Restart MDB to enable plugin
-systemctl cat mariadb.service > /dev/null 2>&1
+systemctl cat mariadb.service >/dev/null 2>&1
 if [ $? -eq 0 ] && [ $(running_systemd) -eq 0 ]; then
-    systemctl restart mariadb.service > /dev/null 2>&1
+    systemctl restart mariadb.service >/dev/null 2>&1
 else
-    pkill mysqld > /dev/null 2>&1
-    while [ -n "$(pgrep -x mysqld)" ] ; do
+    pkill mysqld >/dev/null 2>&1
+    while [ -n "$(pgrep -x mysqld)" ]; do
         sleep 1
     done
     /usr/bin/mysqld_safe &
@@ -286,88 +349,88 @@ fi
 $MDB <@ENGINE_SUPPORTDIR@/syscatalog_mysql.sql 2>/dev/null
 
 if [ -z "$MCS_USE_S3_STORAGE" ]; then
-  MCS_USE_S3_STORAGE="$(find_env_var "MCS_USE_S3_STORAGE")"
-  MCS_S3_BUCKET="$(find_env_var "MCS_S3_BUCKET")"
-  MCS_S3_ENDPOINT="$(find_env_var "MCS_S3_ENDPOINT")"
-  MCS_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID="$(find_env_var "MCS_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID")"
-  MCS_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="$(find_env_var "MCS_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY")"
-  MCS_S3_REGION="$(find_env_var "MCS_S3_REGION")"
-  MCS_S3_ROLE_NAME="$(find_env_var "MCS_S3_ROLE_NAME")"
-  MCS_S3_STS_REGION="$(find_env_var "MCS_S3_STS_REGION")"
-  MCS_S3_STS_ENDPOINT="$(find_env_var "MCS_S3_STS_ENDPOINT")"
-  MCS_S3_USE_HTTP="$(find_env_var "MCS_S3_USE_HTTP")"
-  MCS_S3_NO_SSL_VERIFY="$(find_env_var "MCS_S3_NO_SSL_VERIFY")"
-  MCS_S3_LIBS3_DEBUG="$(find_env_var "MCS_S3_LIBS3_DEBUG")"
+    MCS_USE_S3_STORAGE="$(find_env_var "MCS_USE_S3_STORAGE")"
+    MCS_S3_BUCKET="$(find_env_var "MCS_S3_BUCKET")"
+    MCS_S3_ENDPOINT="$(find_env_var "MCS_S3_ENDPOINT")"
+    MCS_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID="$(find_env_var "MCS_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID")"
+    MCS_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="$(find_env_var "MCS_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY")"
+    MCS_S3_REGION="$(find_env_var "MCS_S3_REGION")"
+    MCS_S3_ROLE_NAME="$(find_env_var "MCS_S3_ROLE_NAME")"
+    MCS_S3_STS_REGION="$(find_env_var "MCS_S3_STS_REGION")"
+    MCS_S3_STS_ENDPOINT="$(find_env_var "MCS_S3_STS_ENDPOINT")"
+    MCS_S3_USE_HTTP="$(find_env_var "MCS_S3_USE_HTTP")"
+    MCS_S3_NO_SSL_VERIFY="$(find_env_var "MCS_S3_NO_SSL_VERIFY")"
+    MCS_S3_LIBS3_DEBUG="$(find_env_var "MCS_S3_LIBS3_DEBUG")"
 fi
 
 if [ ! -z "$MCS_USE_S3_STORAGE" ] && [ $MCS_USE_S3_STORAGE -eq 1 ]; then
-  if [ -z "$MCS_S3_BUCKET" ]; then
-    echo "Environment variable \$MCS_USE_S3_STORAGE is set but there is no \$MCS_S3_BUCKET."
-  fi
-  if [ -z "$MCS_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID" ] && [ -z "$MCS_S3_ROLE_NAME" ]; then
-    echo "Environment variable \$MCS_USE_S3_STORAGE is set but there is no \$MCS_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID."
-  fi
-  if [ -z "$MCS_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY" ] && [ -z "$MCS_S3_ROLE_NAME" ]; then
-    echo "Environment variable \$MCS_USE_S3_STORAGE is set but there is no \$MCS_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY."
-  fi
-  if [ -z "$MCS_S3_BUCKET" ] || [[ -z "$MCS_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID" && -z "$MCS_S3_ROLE_NAME" ]] || [[ -z "$MCS_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY" && -z "$MCS_S3_ROLE_NAME" ]]; then
-    echo "Using local storage."
-      @ENGINE_BINDIR@/mcsSetConfig -d Installation DBRootStorageType "storagemanager"
-      @ENGINE_BINDIR@/mcsSetConfig -d StorageManager Enabled "Y"
-      @ENGINE_BINDIR@/mcsSetConfig -d SystemConfig DataFilePlugin "libcloudio.so"
-  else
-      @ENGINE_BINDIR@/mcsSetConfig -d Installation DBRootStorageType "storagemanager"
-      @ENGINE_BINDIR@/mcsSetConfig -d StorageManager Enabled "Y"
-      @ENGINE_BINDIR@/mcsSetConfig -d SystemConfig DataFilePlugin "libcloudio.so"
-      sed -i "s|^service =.*|service = S3|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
-      if [ ! -z "$MCS_S3_REGION" ]; then
-          sed -i "s|^region =.*|region = $MCS_S3_REGION|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
-      fi
-      if [ ! -z "$MCS_S3_ROLE_NAME" ]; then
-          sed -i "s|^# iam_role_name =.*|iam_role_name = $MCS_S3_ROLE_NAME|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
-      fi
-      if [ ! -z "$MCS_S3_STS_REGION" ]; then
-          sed -i "s|^# sts_region =.*|sts_region = $MCS_S3_STS_REGION|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
-      fi
-      if [ ! -z "$MCS_S3_STS_ENDPOINT" ]; then
-          sed -i "s|^# sts_endpoint =.*|sts_endpoint = $MCS_S3_STS_ENDPOINT|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
-      fi
-      if [ ! -z "$MCS_S3_USE_HTTP" ]; then
-          sed -i "s|^# use_http =.*|use_http = enabled|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
-      fi
-      if [ ! -z "$MCS_S3_NO_SSL_VERIFY" ]; then
-          sed -i "s|^# ssl_verify =.*|ssl_verify = disabled|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
-      fi
-      if [ ! -z "$MCS_S3_LIBS3_DEBUG" ]; then
-          sed -i "s|^# libs3_debug =.*|libs3_debug = enabled|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
-      fi
-      sed -i "s|^bucket =.*|bucket = $MCS_S3_BUCKET|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
-      sed -i "s|^# endpoint =.*|endpoint = $MCS_S3_ENDPOINT|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
-      sed -i "s|^# aws_access_key_id =.*|aws_access_key_id = $MCS_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
-      sed -i "s|^# aws_secret_access_key =.*|aws_secret_access_key = $MCS_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
-      @ENGINE_BINDIR@/testS3Connection
-      if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
-        sed -i "s|^iam_role_name =.*|# iam_role_name = |" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
-        sed -i "s|^sts_region =.*|# sts_region = |" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
-        sed -i "s|^sts_endpoint =.*|# sts_endpoint = |" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
-        sed -i "s|^endpoint =.*|# endpoint = |" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
-        sed -i "s|^aws_access_key_id =.*|# aws_access_key_id = |" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
-        sed -i "s|^aws_secret_access_key =.*|# aws_secret_access_key = |" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
-        echo "There was an error validating the settings used to access S3."
-        echo "The specified user or role must have GET, PUT, HEAD, and DELETE permissions to the bucket."
-        echo "Verify the following environment variables are correct:"
-        echo "MCS_S3_BUCKET"
-        echo "MCS_S3_ENDPOINT"
-        echo "MCS_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID"
-        echo "MCS_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY"
-        echo "MCS_S3_REGION"
-        echo "MCS_S3_ROLE_NAME (optional)"
-        echo "MCS_S3_STS_REGION (optional)"
-        echo "MCS_S3_STS_ENDPOINT (optional)"
-        echo "After environment variables are fixed, run command: columnstore-post-install"
-        exit 1
-      fi
-  fi
+    if [ -z "$MCS_S3_BUCKET" ]; then
+        echo "Environment variable \$MCS_USE_S3_STORAGE is set but there is no \$MCS_S3_BUCKET."
+    fi
+    if [ -z "$MCS_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID" ] && [ -z "$MCS_S3_ROLE_NAME" ]; then
+        echo "Environment variable \$MCS_USE_S3_STORAGE is set but there is no \$MCS_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID."
+    fi
+    if [ -z "$MCS_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY" ] && [ -z "$MCS_S3_ROLE_NAME" ]; then
+        echo "Environment variable \$MCS_USE_S3_STORAGE is set but there is no \$MCS_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY."
+    fi
+    if [ -z "$MCS_S3_BUCKET" ] || [[ -z "$MCS_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID" && -z "$MCS_S3_ROLE_NAME" ]] || [[ -z "$MCS_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY" && -z "$MCS_S3_ROLE_NAME" ]]; then
+        echo "Using local storage."
+        @ENGINE_BINDIR@/mcsSetConfig -d Installation DBRootStorageType "storagemanager"
+        @ENGINE_BINDIR@/mcsSetConfig -d StorageManager Enabled "Y"
+        @ENGINE_BINDIR@/mcsSetConfig -d SystemConfig DataFilePlugin "libcloudio.so"
+    else
+        @ENGINE_BINDIR@/mcsSetConfig -d Installation DBRootStorageType "storagemanager"
+        @ENGINE_BINDIR@/mcsSetConfig -d StorageManager Enabled "Y"
+        @ENGINE_BINDIR@/mcsSetConfig -d SystemConfig DataFilePlugin "libcloudio.so"
+        sed -i "s|^service =.*|service = S3|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
+        if [ ! -z "$MCS_S3_REGION" ]; then
+            sed -i "s|^region =.*|region = $MCS_S3_REGION|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
+        fi
+        if [ ! -z "$MCS_S3_ROLE_NAME" ]; then
+            sed -i "s|^# iam_role_name =.*|iam_role_name = $MCS_S3_ROLE_NAME|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
+        fi
+        if [ ! -z "$MCS_S3_STS_REGION" ]; then
+            sed -i "s|^# sts_region =.*|sts_region = $MCS_S3_STS_REGION|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
+        fi
+        if [ ! -z "$MCS_S3_STS_ENDPOINT" ]; then
+            sed -i "s|^# sts_endpoint =.*|sts_endpoint = $MCS_S3_STS_ENDPOINT|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
+        fi
+        if [ ! -z "$MCS_S3_USE_HTTP" ]; then
+            sed -i "s|^# use_http =.*|use_http = enabled|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
+        fi
+        if [ ! -z "$MCS_S3_NO_SSL_VERIFY" ]; then
+            sed -i "s|^# ssl_verify =.*|ssl_verify = disabled|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
+        fi
+        if [ ! -z "$MCS_S3_LIBS3_DEBUG" ]; then
+            sed -i "s|^# libs3_debug =.*|libs3_debug = enabled|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
+        fi
+        sed -i "s|^bucket =.*|bucket = $MCS_S3_BUCKET|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
+        sed -i "s|^# endpoint =.*|endpoint = $MCS_S3_ENDPOINT|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
+        sed -i "s|^# aws_access_key_id =.*|aws_access_key_id = $MCS_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
+        sed -i "s|^# aws_secret_access_key =.*|aws_secret_access_key = $MCS_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY|" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
+        @ENGINE_BINDIR@/testS3Connection
+        if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
+            sed -i "s|^iam_role_name =.*|# iam_role_name = |" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
+            sed -i "s|^sts_region =.*|# sts_region = |" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
+            sed -i "s|^sts_endpoint =.*|# sts_endpoint = |" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
+            sed -i "s|^endpoint =.*|# endpoint = |" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
+            sed -i "s|^aws_access_key_id =.*|# aws_access_key_id = |" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
+            sed -i "s|^aws_secret_access_key =.*|# aws_secret_access_key = |" /etc/columnstore/storagemanager.cnf
+            echo "There was an error validating the settings used to access S3."
+            echo "The specified user or role must have GET, PUT, HEAD, and DELETE permissions to the bucket."
+            echo "Verify the following environment variables are correct:"
+            echo "MCS_S3_BUCKET"
+            echo "MCS_S3_ENDPOINT"
+            echo "MCS_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID"
+            echo "MCS_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY"
+            echo "MCS_S3_REGION"
+            echo "MCS_S3_ROLE_NAME (optional)"
+            echo "MCS_S3_STS_REGION (optional)"
+            echo "MCS_S3_STS_ENDPOINT (optional)"
+            echo "After environment variables are fixed, run command: columnstore-post-install"
+            exit 1
+        fi
+    fi
 fi
 
 #change ownership/permissions to be able to run columnstore as non-root
@@ -375,14 +438,14 @@ fi
 if [ $(running_systemd) -eq 0 ]; then
     chown -R @DEFAULT_USER@:@DEFAULT_GROUP@ @ENGINE_LOGDIR@
     chown -R @DEFAULT_USER@:@DEFAULT_GROUP@ /etc/columnstore
-    findcmd=`which find 2>/dev/null`
+    findcmd=$(which find 2>/dev/null)
     if [ -n "$findcmd" ]; then
         if [[ $($findcmd @ENGINE_DATADIR@ -maxdepth 3 ! -user @DEFAULT_USER@ -exec echo {} \; -quit 2>/dev/null) ]]; then
             echo "At least one file is not owned by @DEFAULT_USER@ in @ENGINE_DATADIR@. Running chown..."
             chown -R @DEFAULT_USER@:@DEFAULT_GROUP@ @ENGINE_DATADIR@
         else
             echo "Confirmed top @ENGINE_DATADIR@ folders owned by @DEFAULT_USER@"
-        fi  
+        fi
     else
         chown -R @DEFAULT_USER@:@DEFAULT_GROUP@ @ENGINE_DATADIR@
     fi
@@ -390,7 +453,7 @@ if [ $(running_systemd) -eq 0 ]; then
     chmod 777 /dev/shm
 fi
 
-systemctl cat mariadb-columnstore.service > /dev/null 2>&1
+systemctl cat mariadb-columnstore.service >/dev/null 2>&1
 if [ $? -eq 0 ] && [ $(running_systemd) -eq 0 ]; then
 
     # mask mariadb-columnstore service to prevent starting services and dbbuilder
@@ -421,13 +484,13 @@ if [ $? -eq 0 ] && [ $(running_systemd) -eq 0 ]; then
     flock -u "$fd_lock"
 fi
 
-if [ $stop_mysqld -eq 1 ];then
+if [ $stop_mysqld -eq 1 ]; then
     # Make sure we stop mariadb since it wasn't running prior to columnstore installation
-    systemctl cat mariadb.service > /dev/null 2>&1
+    systemctl cat mariadb.service >/dev/null 2>&1
     if [ $? -eq 0 ] && [ $(running_systemd) -eq 0 ]; then
-        systemctl stop mariadb.service > /dev/null 2>&1
+        systemctl stop mariadb.service >/dev/null 2>&1
     else
-        pkill mysqld > /dev/null 2>&1
+        pkill mysqld >/dev/null 2>&1
     fi
 fi
 
diff --git a/oam/install_scripts/mariadb-columnstore-start.sh.in b/oam/install_scripts/mariadb-columnstore-start.sh.in
index f41b6647df..6617355172 100644
--- a/oam/install_scripts/mariadb-columnstore-start.sh.in
+++ b/oam/install_scripts/mariadb-columnstore-start.sh.in
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ flock -n "$fd_lock" || exit 0
 /bin/systemctl start mcs-writeengineserver
 /bin/systemctl start mcs-dmlproc
 /bin/systemctl start mcs-ddlproc
-su -s /bin/sh -c '@ENGINE_BINDIR@/dbbuilder 7' @DEFAULT_USER@ 1> @ENGINE_LOGDIR@/install/dbbuilder.log
+su -s /bin/sh -c 'ASAN_OPTIONS=abort_on_error=1:disable_coredump=0,print_stats=false,detect_odr_violation=0,check_initialization_order=1,detect_stack_use_after_return=1,atexit=false,log_path=/core/asan.dbbuilder @ENGINE_BINDIR@/dbbuilder 7' @DEFAULT_USER@ 1> @ENGINE_LOGDIR@/install/dbbuilder.log
 
 flock -u "$fd_lock"
 
diff --git a/storage-manager/src/smcat.cpp b/storage-manager/src/smcat.cpp
index 48dc50772c..e1655802bc 100644
--- a/storage-manager/src/smcat.cpp
+++ b/storage-manager/src/smcat.cpp
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ bool SMOnline()
   int err = ::connect(clientSocket, (const struct sockaddr*)&addr, sizeof(addr));
   if (err >= 0)
   {
+	  cerr << "unable to connect to clientSocket\n";
     ::close(clientSocket);
     return true;
   }
diff --git a/utils/loggingcpp/exceptclasses.h b/utils/loggingcpp/exceptclasses.h
index 4564360669..511c52aa75 100644
--- a/utils/loggingcpp/exceptclasses.h
+++ b/utils/loggingcpp/exceptclasses.h
@@ -283,6 +283,24 @@ class ProtocolError : public std::logic_error
     }                                                                                      \
   } while (0)
 
+#define idblog(x)                                                                       \
+  do                                                                                       \
+  {                                                                                        \
+    {                                                                                      \
+      std::ostringstream os;                                                               \
+                                                                                           \
+      os << __FILE__ << "@" << __LINE__ << ": \'" << x << "\'"; \
+      std::cerr << os.str() << std::endl;                                                  \
+      logging::MessageLog logger((logging::LoggingID()));                                  \
+      logging::Message message;                                                            \
+      logging::Message::Args args;                                                         \
+                                                                                           \
+      args.add(os.str());                                                                  \
+      message.format(args);                                                                \
+      logger.logErrorMessage(message);                                                     \
+    }                                                                                      \
+  } while (0)
+
 #define idbassert_s(x, s)                                                                                \
   do                                                                                                     \
   {                                                                                                      \
diff --git a/utils/messageqcpp/messagequeue.cpp b/utils/messageqcpp/messagequeue.cpp
index a5cad8e492..f66d3ec5e8 100644
--- a/utils/messageqcpp/messagequeue.cpp
+++ b/utils/messageqcpp/messagequeue.cpp
@@ -246,6 +246,7 @@ const SBS MessageQueueClient::read(const struct timespec* timeout, bool* isTimeO
 {
   if (!fClientSock.isOpen())
   {
+	  idblog("socket is not open, addr " << addr2String());
     fClientSock.open();
 
     try
@@ -254,6 +255,7 @@ const SBS MessageQueueClient::read(const struct timespec* timeout, bool* isTimeO
     }
     catch (...)
     {
+	    idblog("cannot connect");
       fClientSock.close();
       throw;
     }
diff --git a/versioning/BRM/dbrm.cpp b/versioning/BRM/dbrm.cpp
index f95b30825c..c87c64d736 100644
--- a/versioning/BRM/dbrm.cpp
+++ b/versioning/BRM/dbrm.cpp
@@ -3479,6 +3479,7 @@ int DBRM::getSystemReady() throw()
 {
   uint32_t stateFlags;
 
+  idblog("calling from getSystemReday");
   if (getSystemState(stateFlags) < 0)
   {
     return -1;
@@ -3491,6 +3492,7 @@ int DBRM::getSystemQueryReady() throw()
 {
   uint32_t stateFlags;
 
+  idblog("calling from getSystemQueryReday");
   if (getSystemState(stateFlags) < 0)
   {
     return -1;
diff --git a/versioning/BRM/extentmap.cpp b/versioning/BRM/extentmap.cpp
index ac584b776a..edaa145987 100644
--- a/versioning/BRM/extentmap.cpp
+++ b/versioning/BRM/extentmap.cpp
@@ -4541,7 +4541,7 @@ void ExtentMap::getDbRootHWMInfo(int OID, uint16_t pmNumber, EmDbRootHWMInfo_v&
            "There are no DBRoots for OID "
         << OID << " and PM " << pmNumber << endl;
     log(oss.str(), logging::LOG_TYPE_CRITICAL);
-    throw invalid_argument(oss.str());
+    // throw invalid_argument(oss.str());
   }
 
   grabEMEntryTable(READ);
diff --git a/versioning/BRM/slavecomm.cpp b/versioning/BRM/slavecomm.cpp
index 27e0eece01..358ff52015 100644
--- a/versioning/BRM/slavecomm.cpp
+++ b/versioning/BRM/slavecomm.cpp
@@ -2116,8 +2116,8 @@ int SlaveComm::replayJournal(string prefix)
 
   const char* filename = fName.c_str();
 
-  IDBDataFile* journalf =
-      IDBDataFile::open(IDBPolicy::getType(filename, IDBPolicy::WRITEENG), filename, "rb", 0);
+  std::unique_ptr<IDBDataFile> journalf =
+      std::unique_ptr<IDBDataFile>(IDBDataFile::open(IDBPolicy::getType(filename, IDBPolicy::WRITEENG), filename, "rb", 0));
 
   if (!journalf)
   {
diff --git a/versioning/BRM/vbbm.cpp b/versioning/BRM/vbbm.cpp
index d490783eb6..b485304e36 100644
--- a/versioning/BRM/vbbm.cpp
+++ b/versioning/BRM/vbbm.cpp
@@ -986,12 +986,12 @@ void VBBM::loadVersion2(IDBDataFile* in)
   }
 
   size_t readSize = vbbmEntries * sizeof(entry);
-  char* readBuf = new char[readSize];
+  std::unique_ptr<char[]> readBuf(new char[readSize]);
   size_t progress = 0;
   int err;
   while (progress < readSize)
   {
-    err = in->read(readBuf + progress, readSize - progress);
+    err = in->read(readBuf.get() + progress, readSize - progress);
     if (err < 0)
     {
       log_errno("VBBM::load()");
@@ -1005,7 +1005,7 @@ void VBBM::loadVersion2(IDBDataFile* in)
     progress += err;
   }
 
-  VBBMEntry* loadedEntries = (VBBMEntry*)readBuf;
+  VBBMEntry* loadedEntries = reinterpret_cast<VBBMEntry*>(readBuf.get());
   for (i = 0; i < vbbmEntries; i++)
     insert(loadedEntries[i].lbid, loadedEntries[i].verID, loadedEntries[i].vbOID, loadedEntries[i].vbFBO,
            true);
diff --git a/versioning/BRM/vss.cpp b/versioning/BRM/vss.cpp
index 522fc378ee..b437f670c0 100644
--- a/versioning/BRM/vss.cpp
+++ b/versioning/BRM/vss.cpp
@@ -1402,12 +1402,12 @@ void VSS::load(string filename)
   */
 
   size_t readSize = header.entries * sizeof(entry);
-  char* readBuf = new char[readSize];
+  std::unique_ptr<char[]>  readBuf(new char[readSize]);
   size_t progress = 0;
   int err;
   while (progress < readSize)
   {
-    err = in->read(readBuf + progress, readSize - progress);
+    err = in->read(readBuf.get() + progress, readSize - progress);
     if (err < 0)
     {
       log_errno("VBBM::load()");
@@ -1421,7 +1421,7 @@ void VSS::load(string filename)
     progress += err;
   }
 
-  VSSEntry* loadedEntries = (VSSEntry*)readBuf;
+  VSSEntry* loadedEntries = reinterpret_cast<VSSEntry*>(readBuf.get());
   for (i = 0; i < header.entries; i++)
     insert(loadedEntries[i].lbid, loadedEntries[i].verID, loadedEntries[i].vbFlag, loadedEntries[i].locked,
            true);
diff --git a/writeengine/client/we_clients.cpp b/writeengine/client/we_clients.cpp
index 1badf9ab44..277b744853 100644
--- a/writeengine/client/we_clients.cpp
+++ b/writeengine/client/we_clients.cpp
@@ -154,6 +154,22 @@ struct QueueShutdown
     x.shutdown();
   }
 };
+
+/**
+
+ * This function checks if the WriteEngineServer (WES) is configured
+ * for the specified node in the configuration.
+ * @param config Pointer to the configuration object
+ * @param fOtherEnd The name of the node to check
+ * @return true if WES is configured, false otherwise
+ */
+bool isWESConfigured(config::Config* config, const std::string& fOtherEnd)
+{
+  // Check if WES IP address record exists in the config (if not, this is a read-only node)
+  std::string otherEndDnOrIPStr = config->getConfig(fOtherEnd, "IPAddr");
+  return !(otherEndDnOrIPStr.empty() || otherEndDnOrIPStr == "unassigned");
+}
+
 }  // namespace
 
 namespace WriteEngine
@@ -224,6 +240,13 @@ void WEClients::Setup()
     snprintf(buff, sizeof(buff), "pm%u_WriteEngineServer", moduleID);
     string fServer(buff);
 
+    // Check if WES is configured for this module
+    if (!isWESConfigured(rm->getConfig(), fServer))
+    {
+      writeToLog(__FILE__, __LINE__, "Skipping WriteEngineServer client creation for " + fServer + " as the node is read-only", LOG_TYPE_INFO);
+      continue;
+    }
+
     boost::shared_ptr<MessageQueueClient> cl(new MessageQueueClient(fServer, rm->getConfig()));
     boost::shared_ptr<boost::mutex> nl(new boost::mutex());
 
@@ -287,6 +310,11 @@ void WEClients::Setup()
   }
 }
 
+bool WEClients::isConnectionReadonly(uint32_t connection)
+{
+  return fPmConnections[connection] == nullptr;
+}
+
 int WEClients::Close()
 {
   makeBusy(false);
@@ -315,13 +343,17 @@ void WEClients::Listen(boost::shared_ptr<MessageQueueClient> client, uint32_t co
 {
   SBS sbs;
 
+  idblog("conn index " << connIndex << ", other end " << client->otherEnd());
+
   try
   {
     while (Busy())
     {
       // TODO: This call blocks so setting Busy() in another thread doesn't work here...
+      idblog("receiving packet. conn index " << connIndex << ", other end " << client->otherEnd());
       sbs = client->read();
 
+      idblog("received packet. conn index " << connIndex << ", other end " << client->otherEnd() << ", length " << sbs->length());
       if (sbs->length() != 0)
       {
         // cout << "adding data to connIndex " << endl;
@@ -335,6 +367,7 @@ void WEClients::Listen(boost::shared_ptr<MessageQueueClient> client, uint32_t co
         }
 
         cerr << "WEC got 0 byte message for object " << this << endl;
+	idblog("0 byte message");
         goto Error;
       }
     }
@@ -344,17 +377,20 @@ void WEClients::Listen(boost::shared_ptr<MessageQueueClient> client, uint32_t co
   catch (std::exception& e)
   {
     cerr << "WEC Caught EXCEPTION: " << e.what() << endl;
+    idblog("exception " << e.what());
     goto Error;
   }
   catch (...)
   {
     cerr << "WEC Caught UNKNOWN EXCEPT" << endl;
+    idblog("unknown error ");
     goto Error;
   }
 
 Error:
   // error condition! push 0 length bs to messagequeuemap and
   // eventually let jobstep error out.
+  idblog("Error");
   boost::mutex::scoped_lock lk(fMlock);
 
   MessageQueueMap::iterator map_tok;
@@ -478,8 +514,9 @@ void WEClients::write(const messageqcpp::ByteStream& msg, uint32_t connection)
     fPmConnections[connection]->write(msg);
   else
   {
+    // new behavior: connection client is nullptr means it is read-only.
     ostringstream os;
-    os << "Lost connection to WriteEngineServer on pm" << connection;
+    os << "Connection to readonly pm" << connection;
     throw runtime_error(os.str());
   }
 }
diff --git a/writeengine/client/we_clients.h b/writeengine/client/we_clients.h
index 8a512f7323..29abdfc5f1 100644
--- a/writeengine/client/we_clients.h
+++ b/writeengine/client/we_clients.h
@@ -114,6 +114,18 @@ class WEClients
     return pmCount;
   }
 
+  uint32_t getRWConnections()
+  {
+    uint32_t count = 0;
+    for (uint32_t i = 0; i < fPmConnections.size(); i++)
+    {
+      count += fPmConnections[i] != nullptr;
+    }
+    return count;
+  }
+
+  bool isConnectionReadonly(uint32_t connection);
+
  private:
   WEClients(const WEClients& weClient);
   WEClients& operator=(const WEClients& weClient);
diff --git a/writeengine/server/we_dmlcommandproc.cpp b/writeengine/server/we_dmlcommandproc.cpp
index fff5ece087..584458e27c 100644
--- a/writeengine/server/we_dmlcommandproc.cpp
+++ b/writeengine/server/we_dmlcommandproc.cpp
@@ -1478,8 +1478,13 @@ uint8_t WE_DMLCommandProc::processBatchInsert(messageqcpp::ByteStream& bs, std::
   }
 
   // MCOL-1495 Remove fCatalogMap entries CS won't use anymore.
-  CalpontSystemCatalog::removeCalpontSystemCatalog(sessionId);
+  idblog("just before systemCatalogPtr reset");
+  systemCatalogPtr.reset(); // ??? XXX ???
+  idblog("right after systemCatalogPtr reset");
   CalpontSystemCatalog::removeCalpontSystemCatalog(sessionId | 0x80000000);
+  idblog("right after removing local sessionId");
+  CalpontSystemCatalog::removeCalpontSystemCatalog(sessionId);
+  idblog("right after removing sessionId");
   return rc;
 }
 
diff --git a/writeengine/server/we_readthread.cpp b/writeengine/server/we_readthread.cpp
index 8f6eb600dd..58aab13d54 100644
--- a/writeengine/server/we_readthread.cpp
+++ b/writeengine/server/we_readthread.cpp
@@ -888,6 +888,8 @@ void ReadThreadFactory::CreateReadThread(ThreadPool& Tp, IOSocket& Ios, BRM::DBR
 
   aBs.peek(msgId);
 
+  idblog("msgId " << int(msgId));
+
   switch (msgId)
   {
     case WE_SVR_DDL_KEEPALIVE:
diff --git a/writeengine/server/we_server.cpp b/writeengine/server/we_server.cpp
index 1388516094..cdc425e159 100644
--- a/writeengine/server/we_server.cpp
+++ b/writeengine/server/we_server.cpp
@@ -278,6 +278,7 @@ int ServiceWriteEngine::Child()
   ThreadPool tp(mt, qs);
 
   cout << "WriteEngineServer is ready" << endl;
+  idblog("WriteEngineServer is ready (look for PID)");
   NotifyServiceStarted();
 
   BRM::DBRM dbrm;