diff --git a/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.StoreAndForward/StoreAndForwardOptions.cs b/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.StoreAndForward/StoreAndForwardOptions.cs
index 7546e942..39aaa321 100644
--- a/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.StoreAndForward/StoreAndForwardOptions.cs
+++ b/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.StoreAndForward/StoreAndForwardOptions.cs
@@ -29,4 +29,10 @@ public class StoreAndForwardOptions
     /// 0 = unlimited (legacy).
     /// </summary>
     public int SweepBatchLimit { get; set; } = 500;
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Max <c>(category, target)</c> lanes delivered concurrently per sweep.
+    /// 1 = legacy serial. Within a lane delivery stays sequential (per-target FIFO).
+    /// </summary>
+    public int SweepTargetParallelism { get; set; } = 4;
 }
diff --git a/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.StoreAndForward/StoreAndForwardService.cs b/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.StoreAndForward/StoreAndForwardService.cs
index d3ac792d..2f1ef7b6 100644
--- a/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.StoreAndForward/StoreAndForwardService.cs
+++ b/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.StoreAndForward/StoreAndForwardService.cs
@@ -606,20 +606,36 @@ public class StoreAndForwardService
 
             _logger.LogDebug("Retry sweep: {Count} messages due for retry", messages.Count);
 
-            var failedTargets = new HashSet<(StoreAndForwardCategory, string)>();
-            foreach (var message in messages)
-            {
-                // One transient failure per (category, target) per sweep: the target
-                // is down — burning a full timeout per remaining message serializes
-                // the sweep into hours under backlog (arch review 02, Performance #1).
-                // Skipped rows keep their RetryCount/LastAttemptAt untouched.
-                if (failedTargets.Contains((message.Category, message.Target)))
-                    continue;
+            // Group due rows into per-(category,target) lanes. GroupBy is stable, so
+            // each lane preserves created_at-ASC (oldest-first) order. Lanes run
+            // concurrently up to SweepTargetParallelism, so one slow/dead target no
+            // longer blocks delivery to healthy ones (arch review 02, Performance #2);
+            // within a lane delivery stays strictly sequential (per-target FIFO).
+            var lanes = messages
+                .GroupBy(m => (m.Category, m.Target))
+                .Select(g => g.ToList())
+                .ToList();
 
-                var outcome = await RetryMessageAsync(message);
-                if (outcome == RetryOutcome.TransientFailure)
-                    failedTargets.Add((message.Category, message.Target));
-            }
+            using var laneCap = new SemaphoreSlim(Math.Max(1, _options.SweepTargetParallelism));
+            var laneTasks = lanes.Select(async lane =>
+            {
+                await laneCap.WaitAsync();
+                try
+                {
+                    foreach (var message in lane)
+                    {
+                        // Task 8 short-circuit, per lane: one transient failure means
+                        // the target is down — skip the rest of this lane this sweep
+                        // rather than burning a full timeout per remaining message.
+                        // Skipped rows keep their RetryCount/LastAttemptAt untouched.
+                        var outcome = await RetryMessageAsync(message);
+                        if (outcome == RetryOutcome.TransientFailure)
+                            return;
+                    }
+                }
+                finally { laneCap.Release(); }
+            }).ToList();
+            await Task.WhenAll(laneTasks);
         }
         catch (Exception ex)
         {
diff --git a/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.StoreAndForward.Tests/StoreAndForwardServiceTests.cs b/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.StoreAndForward.Tests/StoreAndForwardServiceTests.cs
index 7ffcaefe..8fd5fda9 100644
--- a/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.StoreAndForward.Tests/StoreAndForwardServiceTests.cs
+++ b/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.StoreAndForward.Tests/StoreAndForwardServiceTests.cs
@@ -686,4 +686,64 @@ public class StoreAndForwardServiceTests : IAsyncLifetime, IDisposable
         // assertion doesn't depend on created_at tie-breaking.
         Assert.Equal(new[] { 0, 1 }, new[] { r1, r2 }.OrderBy(x => x).ToArray());
     }
+
+    // ── Task 9 (arch review 02, Performance): parallel per-target lanes ──
+    // A slow/dead target no longer serializes the whole sweep; delivery within a
+    // single (category, target) lane stays sequential (per-target FIFO).
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task RetrySweep_SlowTarget_DoesNotBlockOtherTargets()
+    {
+        var slowGate = new TaskCompletionSource();
+        var healthyDelivered = new TaskCompletionSource();
+        _service.RegisterDeliveryHandler(StoreAndForwardCategory.ExternalSystem, async msg =>
+        {
+            if (msg.Target == "slow") { await slowGate.Task; return true; }
+            healthyDelivered.TrySetResult();
+            return true;
+        });
+        await _service.EnqueueAsync(StoreAndForwardCategory.ExternalSystem, "slow", "{}",
+            attemptImmediateDelivery: false, retryInterval: TimeSpan.Zero);
+        await _service.EnqueueAsync(StoreAndForwardCategory.ExternalSystem, "healthy", "{}",
+            attemptImmediateDelivery: false, retryInterval: TimeSpan.Zero);
+
+        var sweep = _service.RetryPendingMessagesAsync();
+        // Healthy lane completes while the slow lane is still blocked — pre-fix this
+        // times out because delivery is strictly serial across targets.
+        await healthyDelivered.Task.WaitAsync(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5));
+        slowGate.SetResult();
+        await sweep;
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task RetrySweep_WithinTargetLane_StaysSequential()
+    {
+        var concurrent = 0;
+        var maxConcurrent = 0;
+        var delivered = 0;
+        _service.RegisterDeliveryHandler(StoreAndForwardCategory.ExternalSystem, async _ =>
+        {
+            var c = Interlocked.Increment(ref concurrent);
+            InterlockedMax(ref maxConcurrent, c);
+            await Task.Delay(20);
+            Interlocked.Decrement(ref concurrent);
+            Interlocked.Increment(ref delivered);
+            return true;
+        });
+        for (var i = 0; i < 4; i++)
+            await _service.EnqueueAsync(StoreAndForwardCategory.ExternalSystem, "same-target", "{}",
+                attemptImmediateDelivery: false, retryInterval: TimeSpan.Zero, messageId: $"m{i}");
+
+        await _service.RetryPendingMessagesAsync();
+
+        Assert.Equal(4, delivered);
+        Assert.Equal(1, maxConcurrent); // one (category,target) lane: strictly sequential
+    }
+
+    private static void InterlockedMax(ref int target, int value)
+    {
+        int current;
+        do { current = Volatile.Read(ref target); if (value <= current) return; }
+        while (Interlocked.CompareExchange(ref target, value, current) != current);
+    }
 }