diff --git a/docs/requirements/Component-StoreAndForward.md b/docs/requirements/Component-StoreAndForward.md
index a2d39f56..53aa0564 100644
--- a/docs/requirements/Component-StoreAndForward.md
+++ b/docs/requirements/Component-StoreAndForward.md
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ There is **no maximum buffer size**. Messages accumulate in the buffer until del
 - The standby node applies the same operations to its own local SQLite database but is **passive**: it never runs the delivery sweep. The retry sweep is **gated to the active node** (the oldest Up member / singleton host, re-evaluated every sweep tick), so only one node delivers at a time. The standby applies replicated operations purely to keep its copy warm for a future failover.
 - On failover, the new active node has a near-complete copy of the buffer. In rare cases, the most recent operations may not have been replicated (e.g., a message added or removed just before failover). This can result in a few **duplicate deliveries** (message delivered but its `Remove` not yet replicated) or a few **missed retries** (message added but not replicated). Duplicate deliveries are therefore confined to the **failover window** — an in-flight delivery whose `Remove` had not yet replicated — and never occur in steady-state operation (the standby's gate keeps it from delivering the same rows). Both are acceptable trade-offs for the latency benefit.
 - On failover, the new active node's gate flips to active within one sweep interval and it resumes delivery from its local copy.
-- **Peer-join anti-entropy resync.** Asynchronous, no-ack replication keeps the standby warm in steady state, but a standby that was **down for an extended period** (a crash, a long maintenance window) misses every operation replicated while it was gone and would otherwise diverge from the active node's buffer forever. To close that gap, whenever a node **(re)tracks its peer**, a **standby** requests a full-buffer snapshot (`RequestSfBufferResync`); the **active** node answers with up to `MaxResyncRows` (10 000) of its oldest rows (`SfBufferSnapshot`), and the standby **replaces its entire local buffer** with that snapshot (`ReplaceAllAsync`, one transaction). Only the active node answers; only a standby applies (each side checks the repo-standard leader+Up active-node predicate, safe-by-default to standby). Because replicated applies are **upserts** (see the replication apply path), any Add/Remove/Park that lands after the resync merges cleanly onto the resynced state — no primary-key conflict, no lost delta. If the buffer exceeds the 10 000-row cap the snapshot is flagged `Truncated` and the standby logs a Warning; the residual divergence beyond the cap drains naturally as the active node delivers.
+- **Peer-join anti-entropy resync.** Asynchronous, no-ack replication keeps the standby warm in steady state, but a standby that was **down for an extended period** (a crash, a long maintenance window) misses every operation replicated while it was gone and would otherwise diverge from the active node's buffer forever. To close that gap, whenever a node **(re)tracks its peer**, a **standby** requests a full-buffer snapshot (`RequestSfBufferResync`); the **active** node answers with up to `MaxResyncRows` (10 000) of its oldest rows (`SfBufferSnapshot`), and the standby **replaces its entire local buffer** with that snapshot (`ReplaceAllAsync`, one transaction). Only the active node answers; only a standby applies (each side checks the repo-standard oldest-Up member active-node predicate — singleton-host semantics via the shared `ActiveNodeEvaluator`, the same predicate as the S&F delivery gate; N1 — safe-by-default to standby). Because replicated applies are **upserts** (see the replication apply path), any Add/Remove/Park that lands after the resync merges cleanly onto the resynced state — no primary-key conflict, no lost delta. If the buffer exceeds the 10 000-row cap the snapshot is flagged `Truncated` and the standby logs a Warning; the residual divergence beyond the cap drains naturally as the active node delivers.
 
 ### Operation Tracking Table (lives in Site Runtime, not here)
 
diff --git a/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Communication/Actors/SiteCommunicationActor.cs b/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Communication/Actors/SiteCommunicationActor.cs
index b3027ac6..4667b2ec 100644
--- a/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Communication/Actors/SiteCommunicationActor.cs
+++ b/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Communication/Actors/SiteCommunicationActor.cs
@@ -67,10 +67,10 @@ public class SiteCommunicationActor : ReceiveActor, IWithTimers
     /// <param name="deploymentManagerProxy">Local reference to the Deployment Manager singleton proxy.</param>
     /// <param name="isActiveCheck">
     /// Optional override returning <c>true</c> when this node
-    /// is the active member of the site cluster. <c>null</c> uses the real
-    /// Akka <see cref="Cluster"/> leader check (the default for production
-    /// wiring); tests pass a stub so they do not need to load Akka.Cluster
-    /// into the <c>TestKit</c> ActorSystem.
+    /// is the active member of the site cluster. <c>null</c> uses the shared oldest-Up
+    /// evaluator (production wiring passes the Host's singleton-host delegate); tests
+    /// pass a stub so they do not need to load Akka.Cluster into the <c>TestKit</c>
+    /// ActorSystem.
     /// </param>
     public SiteCommunicationActor(
         string siteId,
@@ -506,24 +506,16 @@ public class SiteCommunicationActor : ReceiveActor, IWithTimers
     }
 
     /// <summary>
-    /// Default active-node check used when no override is
-    /// supplied. Mirrors <c>ActiveNodeGate</c> in the Host (and
-    /// <c>ActiveNodeHealthCheck</c>): the node is the active member of the
-    /// site cluster when it is the current cluster leader AND its own
-    /// <see cref="MemberStatus"/> is <see cref="MemberStatus.Up"/>. Any other
-    /// state (still joining, leaving, no leader yet) reports standby —
-    /// safe-by-default, matching the standby case.
+    /// Default active-node check used when no override is supplied: oldest-Up member
+    /// semantics via the shared <see cref="ClusterState.ActiveNodeEvaluator"/> — the
+    /// same predicate as the S&F delivery gate and the replication resync authority
+    /// (review 02 round 2, N1). Unscoped by role: a site cluster's members all carry
+    /// the site role, so role scoping is a no-op here; production wiring passes the
+    /// Host's role-scoped IClusterNodeProvider delegate anyway. Any other state
+    /// (still joining, leaving) reports standby — safe-by-default.
     /// </summary>
-    private bool DefaultIsActiveCheck()
-    {
-        var cluster = Cluster.Get(Context.System);
-        var self = cluster.SelfMember;
-        if (self.Status != MemberStatus.Up)
-            return false;
-
-        var leader = cluster.State.Leader;
-        return leader != null && leader == self.Address;
-    }
+    private bool DefaultIsActiveCheck() =>
+        ClusterState.ActiveNodeEvaluator.SelfIsOldestUp(Cluster.Get(Context.System));
 
     // ── Internal messages ──
 
diff --git a/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host/Actors/AkkaHostedService.cs b/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host/Actors/AkkaHostedService.cs
index b28c21ba..7a7d8517 100644
--- a/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host/Actors/AkkaHostedService.cs
+++ b/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host/Actors/AkkaHostedService.cs
@@ -833,7 +833,8 @@ akka {{
             Props.Create(() => new SiteCommunicationActor(
                 _nodeOptions.SiteId!,
                 _communicationOptions,
-                dmProxy)),
+                dmProxy,
+                activeNodeCheck)),
             "site-communication");
 
         // Register local handlers with SiteCommunicationActor