diff --git a/code-reviews/Host/findings.md b/code-reviews/Host/findings.md
index 0d78d15..567e5bc 100644
--- a/code-reviews/Host/findings.md
+++ b/code-reviews/Host/findings.md
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 | Last reviewed | 2026-05-16 |
 | Reviewer | claude-agent |
 | Commit reviewed | `9c60592` |
-| Open findings | 8 |
+| Open findings | 1 |
 
 ## Summary
 
@@ -250,7 +250,7 @@ appropriately before the fix and pass after.
 |--|--|
 | Severity | Low |
 | Category | Concurrency & thread safety |
-| Status | Open |
+| Status | Resolved |
 | Location | `src/ScadaLink.Host/Actors/AkkaHostedService.cs:345` |
 
 **Description**
@@ -270,7 +270,20 @@ storeAndForwardService.StartAsync(cancellationToken)`. Propagate the
 
 **Resolution**
 
-_Unresolved._
+Resolved 2026-05-16 (commit `pending`). Root cause confirmed: `RegisterSiteActors`
+called `storeAndForwardService.StartAsync().GetAwaiter().GetResult()` synchronously
+inside the `IHostedService.StartAsync` path, blocking a startup thread and wrapping
+any failure in `AggregateException`. Fix: `AkkaHostedService.StartAsync` is now
+genuinely `async Task`; the site path was renamed `RegisterSiteActorsAsync` and made
+`async`; the store-and-forward init is now `await storeAndForwardService.StartAsync()`
+(the service's own signature, in another module, takes no `CancellationToken`, so the
+token is honoured via a `cancellationToken.ThrowIfCancellationRequested()` checkpoint
+immediately before the await). No blocking, no sync-context deadlock risk, and the
+original exception type now surfaces. No dedicated regression test: the only
+observable change is non-blocking/exception-unwrapping behaviour on a path that
+requires the full site DI graph plus a real SQLite store; the existing
+`HostStartupTests.SiteRole_*` and `CompositionRootTests` continue to exercise the
+async startup pipeline and remain green (175 passed).
 
 ### Host-006 — HOCON assembled by unescaped string interpolation
 
@@ -278,7 +291,7 @@ _Unresolved._
 |--|--|
 | Severity | Low |
 | Category | Akka.NET conventions |
-| Status | Open |
+| Status | Resolved |
 | Location | `src/ScadaLink.Host/Actors/AkkaHostedService.cs:70-108` |
 
 **Description**
@@ -302,7 +315,25 @@ and seed nodes) before substitution.
 
 **Resolution**
 
-_Unresolved._
+Resolved 2026-05-16 (commit `pending`). Root cause confirmed: the Akka HOCON was
+built by an interpolated string injecting `NodeHostname`, `SeedNodes`, roles and
+`SplitBrainResolverStrategy` directly into the document text with no escaping — a
+value containing a quote, backslash or whitespace would corrupt or misparse the
+document. Re-triaged the recommendation: switching wholesale to the typed
+`Akka.Hosting` builder is a larger refactor than this Low finding warrants and would
+touch how the whole cluster is bootstrapped, so the HOCON form was retained but made
+safe. Fix: the HOCON construction was extracted into a testable static
+`AkkaHostedService.BuildHocon`, and every interpolated *string* value is now routed
+through a `QuoteHocon` helper that wraps the value in a double-quoted HOCON literal
+and escapes embedded backslashes and quotes — `NodeHostname`, every seed node, every
+role, and `SplitBrainResolverStrategy` (the last was previously unquoted entirely, so
+whitespace alone would break it). Regression tests in new `HoconBuilderTests`:
+`BuildHocon_HostnameWithQuote_DoesNotCorruptDocument` (a hostname with a `"` still
+parses and following keys stay intact), `BuildHocon_StrategyWithWhitespace_RemainsQuoted`,
+and `BuildHocon_PlainValues_ParsesAndPreservesValues`. With the old raw interpolation
+a quote-containing hostname produced `hostname = "evil"host"`, closing the literal
+early and corrupting following keys; the escaped form parses correctly. Full Host
+suite green (175 passed).
 
 ### Host-007 — REQ-HOST-4 rule "GrpcPort ≠ RemotingPort" is not enforced
 
@@ -310,7 +341,7 @@ _Unresolved._
 |--|--|
 | Severity | Low |
 | Category | Design-document adherence |
-| Status | Open |
+| Status | Resolved |
 | Location | `src/ScadaLink.Host/StartupValidator.cs:43-47` |
 
 **Description**
@@ -332,7 +363,18 @@ Add a check in the `role == "Site"` block: if `GrpcPort` (resolved, including th
 
 **Resolution**
 
-_Unresolved._
+Resolved 2026-05-16 (commit `pending`). Root cause confirmed against
+`StartupValidator.cs`: the `role == "Site"` block validated the GrpcPort range but
+never compared it to `RemotingPort`, so a site config setting both ports equal
+passed validation and then failed opaquely when Kestrel and Akka.Remote both bound
+the port. Fix: added `if (port == grpcPort) errors.Add("ScadaLink:Node:GrpcPort must
+differ from RemotingPort")` in the Site block, using the resolved GrpcPort (including
+the 8083 `NodeOptions` default when the key is absent) against the parsed
+RemotingPort. Regression tests in `StartupValidatorTests`:
+`Site_GrpcPortEqualsRemotingPort_FailsValidation`,
+`Site_DefaultGrpcPortEqualsRemotingPort_FailsValidation` (default-8083 path), and
+`Site_GrpcPortDiffersFromRemotingPort_PassesValidation` — all failed appropriately
+before the fix and pass after. Full Host suite green (175 passed).
 
 ### Host-008 — `MachineDataDb` is validated and declared but never consumed
 
@@ -340,7 +382,7 @@ _Unresolved._
 |--|--|
 | Severity | Low |
 | Category | Code organization & conventions |
-| Status | Open |
+| Status | Resolved |
 | Location | `src/ScadaLink.Host/StartupValidator.cs:33-34`, `src/ScadaLink.Host/DatabaseOptions.cs:6` |
 
 **Description**
@@ -361,7 +403,22 @@ rule, the `DatabaseOptions` property, and the key from `appsettings.Central.json
 
 **Resolution**
 
-_Unresolved._
+Resolved 2026-05-16 (commit `pending`). Root cause confirmed: a repo-wide search
+shows `MachineDataDb` is read nowhere outside the Host module — only `ConfigurationDb`
+is wired into `AddConfigurationDatabase` — yet `StartupValidator` failed Central
+startup when it was absent. No machine-data store exists or is registered, so this is
+dead configuration. Fix (the "if no" branch of the recommendation): removed the
+`MachineDataDb` validation rule from `StartupValidator`, the `MachineDataDb` property
+from `DatabaseOptions`, the `MachineDataDb` key from `appsettings.Central.json`, and
+the now-pointless `MachineDataDb` reference from that file's `_secrets` note and from
+the `CentralDbTestEnvironment` test helper. Regression test: the prior
+`StartupValidatorTests.Central_MissingMachineDataDb_FailsValidation` was inverted to
+`Central_MissingMachineDataDb_PassesValidation` (absence must now NOT fail startup),
+and `MachineDataDb` was removed from the shared `ValidCentralConfig` fixture so all
+Central tests prove the key is no longer required; it failed under the old code and
+passes after. Full Host suite green (175 passed). Note: `appsettings.Central.json`
+under `docker/central-node-*` is outside this task's edit scope and still carries the
+key harmlessly — it will simply be ignored; a follow-up may remove it for tidiness.
 
 ### Host-009 — `StartAsync` reports success before role actors are confirmed running
 
@@ -369,7 +426,7 @@ _Unresolved._
 |--|--|
 | Severity | Low |
 | Category | Akka.NET conventions |
-| Status | Open |
+| Status | Resolved |
 | Location | `src/ScadaLink.Host/Actors/AkkaHostedService.cs:127-141` |
 
 **Description**
@@ -395,7 +452,24 @@ actor system exists, not that the cluster handshake has completed.
 
 **Resolution**
 
-_Unresolved._
+Resolved 2026-05-16 (commit `pending`) — re-triaged, documentation fix. Root cause
+confirmed: `SetReady` is called optimistically after `ActorOf` registrations whose
+`PreStart`/initial-contact handshakes run asynchronously. Re-triaged the first
+recommended option (gating `SetReady` on a `SiteCommunicationActor` `Ask`
+round-trip): that option is **incorrect** because the meaningful asynchronous step is
+the `ClusterClient` initial-contact handshake with central — gating site gRPC
+readiness on it would prevent a site from coming up and streaming locally while
+central is briefly unreachable, contradicting the design's site-autonomy model.
+Confirmed `SiteStreamGrpcServer` already rejects any stream opened before `SetReady`
+with `StatusCode.Unavailable`, so the window is benign. Fix (the second, correct
+option): the `SetReady` call site now carries an explicit comment documenting the
+narrow readiness contract — by `SetReady` the actor system exists,
+`SiteStreamManager.Initialize` has run, and every role actor has been created with
+ordered synchronous `ActorOf` + registration `Tell`s; what is deliberately NOT
+guaranteed is `PreStart` completion or the central handshake. No regression test is
+meaningful for a documentation-only clarification of an intentional design contract;
+the existing `HostStartupTests.SiteRole_*` cover the surrounding startup path. Full
+Host suite green (175 passed).
 
 ### Host-010 — No retry/backoff around startup preconditions (DB migration, readiness)
 
@@ -403,7 +477,7 @@ _Unresolved._
 |--|--|
 | Severity | Low |
 | Category | Error handling & resilience |
-| Status | Open |
+| Status | Resolved |
 | Location | `src/ScadaLink.Host/Program.cs:112-125` |
 
 **Description**
@@ -425,7 +499,22 @@ reports `503` until the database becomes reachable.
 
 **Resolution**
 
-_Unresolved._
+Resolved 2026-05-16 (commit `pending`). Root cause confirmed: Central startup called
+`MigrationHelper.ApplyOrValidateMigrationsAsync` directly with no tolerance for a
+database that is briefly unreachable at boot — a first connection failure threw, the
+top-level `catch` logged `Fatal`, and the process exited. Fix: added a new
+`StartupRetry.ExecuteWithRetryAsync` helper (bounded retry with capped exponential
+backoff — no Polly dependency, keeping the Host's package set minimal) and wrapped
+the migration step in it (`maxAttempts: 8`, `initialDelay: 2s`, doubling, capped at
+30s). Each retry opens a fresh DI scope so a transient connection fault does not
+leave a poisoned `DbContext`; once attempts are exhausted the last exception
+propagates and the existing fatal-log path still fires. Regression tests in new
+`StartupRetryTests`: `ExecuteWithRetry_SucceedsFirstTry_RunsOnce`,
+`ExecuteWithRetry_TransientFailures_RetriesUntilSuccess` (fails twice then succeeds),
+and `ExecuteWithRetry_ExhaustsAttempts_RethrowsLastException` (verifies the original
+exception type/message surfaces after exhaustion) — they fail to compile/pass against
+the pre-fix code (the helper did not exist) and pass after. Full Host suite green
+(175 passed).
 
 ### Host-011 — `LoggingOptions.MinimumLevel` is dead configuration
 
@@ -433,7 +522,7 @@ _Unresolved._
 |--|--|
 | Severity | Low |
 | Category | Code organization & conventions |
-| Status | Open |
+| Status | Resolved |
 | Location | `src/ScadaLink.Host/LoggingOptions.cs:5`, `src/ScadaLink.Host/Program.cs:42-50` |
 
 **Description**
@@ -456,4 +545,21 @@ configuration section. Keep one mechanism, not two.
 
 **Resolution**
 
-_Unresolved._
+Resolved 2026-05-16 (commit `pending`). Root cause confirmed: `LoggingOptions.MinimumLevel`
+was bound from `ScadaLink:Logging` but Serilog was configured purely via
+`ReadFrom.Configuration` (standard `Serilog` section), so editing
+`ScadaLink:Logging:MinimumLevel` had no effect. Re-triaged the two options: the
+"remove the option class" branch was rejected because `Component-Host.md` REQ-HOST-3
+explicitly lists `ScadaLink:Logging` → `LoggingOptions` and that design doc is outside
+this task's edit scope — removing the class would create a fresh code-vs-doc drift.
+Fix (the "consume it" branch): added a `LoggerConfigurationFactory.Build` that binds
+`LoggingOptions`, parses `MinimumLevel` into a Serilog `LogEventLevel` (falling back
+to `Information` for null/blank/unrecognised values), and pins it via
+`MinimumLevel.Is(...)` on top of `ReadFrom.Configuration`; `Program.cs` now builds the
+logger through this factory. `ScadaLink:Logging:MinimumLevel` is now live.
+Regression tests in new `LoggerConfigurationTests`:
+`MinimumLevel_Warning_SuppressesInformationLogs`,
+`MinimumLevel_Debug_AllowsDebugLogs`, and `MinimumLevel_Absent_DefaultsToInformation`
+— they assert the configured level actually filters log events; they pass against the
+new factory (and would fail against the old inline configuration, which ignored the
+key). Full Host suite green (175 passed).
diff --git a/src/ScadaLink.Host/Actors/AkkaHostedService.cs b/src/ScadaLink.Host/Actors/AkkaHostedService.cs
index cb9865d..9f313e3 100644
--- a/src/ScadaLink.Host/Actors/AkkaHostedService.cs
+++ b/src/ScadaLink.Host/Actors/AkkaHostedService.cs
@@ -54,58 +54,20 @@ public class AkkaHostedService : IHostedService
     /// </summary>
     public ActorSystem? ActorSystem => _actorSystem;
 
-    public Task StartAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
+    public async Task StartAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
     {
-        var seedNodesStr = string.Join(",",
-            _clusterOptions.SeedNodes.Select(s => $"\"{s}\""));
-
         // For site nodes, include a site-specific role (e.g., "site-SiteA") alongside the base role
         var roles = BuildRoles();
-        var rolesStr = string.Join(",", roles.Select(r => $"\"{r}\""));
 
         // WP-3: Transport heartbeat explicitly configured from CommunicationOptions (not framework defaults)
         var transportHeartbeatSec = _communicationOptions.TransportHeartbeatInterval.TotalSeconds;
         var transportFailureSec = _communicationOptions.TransportFailureThreshold.TotalSeconds;
 
-        var hocon = $@"
-akka {{
-    extensions = [
-        ""Akka.Cluster.Tools.PublishSubscribe.DistributedPubSubExtensionProvider, Akka.Cluster.Tools""
-    ]
-    actor {{
-        provider = cluster
-    }}
-    remote {{
-        dot-netty.tcp {{
-            hostname = ""{_nodeOptions.NodeHostname}""
-            port = {_nodeOptions.RemotingPort}
-        }}
-        transport-failure-detector {{
-            heartbeat-interval = {transportHeartbeatSec:F0}s
-            acceptable-heartbeat-pause = {transportFailureSec:F0}s
-        }}
-    }}
-    cluster {{
-        seed-nodes = [{seedNodesStr}]
-        roles = [{rolesStr}]
-        min-nr-of-members = {_clusterOptions.MinNrOfMembers}
-        split-brain-resolver {{
-            active-strategy = {_clusterOptions.SplitBrainResolverStrategy}
-            stable-after = {_clusterOptions.StableAfter.TotalSeconds:F0}s
-            keep-oldest {{
-                down-if-alone = on
-            }}
-        }}
-        failure-detector {{
-            heartbeat-interval = {_clusterOptions.HeartbeatInterval.TotalSeconds:F0}s
-            acceptable-heartbeat-pause = {_clusterOptions.FailureDetectionThreshold.TotalSeconds:F0}s
-        }}
-        run-coordinated-shutdown-when-down = on
-    }}
-    coordinated-shutdown {{
-        run-by-clr-shutdown-hook = on
-    }}
-}}";
+        // Host-006: HOCON is assembled in a dedicated builder that quotes/escapes every
+        // interpolated value, so a hostname, seed node or strategy containing a quote,
+        // backslash or whitespace cannot corrupt the configuration document.
+        var hocon = BuildHocon(_nodeOptions, _clusterOptions, roles,
+            transportHeartbeatSec, transportFailureSec);
 
         var config = ConfigurationFactory.ParseString(hocon);
         _actorSystem = ActorSystem.Create("scadalink", config);
@@ -135,10 +97,78 @@ akka {{
         }
         else if (_nodeOptions.Role.Equals("Site", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
         {
-            RegisterSiteActors();
+            await RegisterSiteActorsAsync(cancellationToken);
         }
+    }
 
-        return Task.CompletedTask;
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Builds the Akka HOCON configuration document. Every interpolated value is
+    /// routed through <see cref="QuoteHocon"/> (string values) so a hostname,
+    /// seed-node URI, role or split-brain strategy containing a quote, backslash or
+    /// whitespace cannot corrupt the document or be silently misparsed (Host-006).
+    /// </summary>
+    public static string BuildHocon(
+        NodeOptions nodeOptions,
+        ClusterOptions clusterOptions,
+        IEnumerable<string> roles,
+        double transportHeartbeatSec,
+        double transportFailureSec)
+    {
+        var seedNodesStr = string.Join(",",
+            clusterOptions.SeedNodes.Select(QuoteHocon));
+        var rolesStr = string.Join(",", roles.Select(QuoteHocon));
+
+        return $@"
+akka {{
+    extensions = [
+        ""Akka.Cluster.Tools.PublishSubscribe.DistributedPubSubExtensionProvider, Akka.Cluster.Tools""
+    ]
+    actor {{
+        provider = cluster
+    }}
+    remote {{
+        dot-netty.tcp {{
+            hostname = {QuoteHocon(nodeOptions.NodeHostname)}
+            port = {nodeOptions.RemotingPort}
+        }}
+        transport-failure-detector {{
+            heartbeat-interval = {transportHeartbeatSec:F0}s
+            acceptable-heartbeat-pause = {transportFailureSec:F0}s
+        }}
+    }}
+    cluster {{
+        seed-nodes = [{seedNodesStr}]
+        roles = [{rolesStr}]
+        min-nr-of-members = {clusterOptions.MinNrOfMembers}
+        split-brain-resolver {{
+            active-strategy = {QuoteHocon(clusterOptions.SplitBrainResolverStrategy)}
+            stable-after = {clusterOptions.StableAfter.TotalSeconds:F0}s
+            keep-oldest {{
+                down-if-alone = on
+            }}
+        }}
+        failure-detector {{
+            heartbeat-interval = {clusterOptions.HeartbeatInterval.TotalSeconds:F0}s
+            acceptable-heartbeat-pause = {clusterOptions.FailureDetectionThreshold.TotalSeconds:F0}s
+        }}
+        run-coordinated-shutdown-when-down = on
+    }}
+    coordinated-shutdown {{
+        run-by-clr-shutdown-hook = on
+    }}
+}}";
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Renders a value as a HOCON double-quoted string, escaping backslashes and
+    /// double quotes so the resulting token cannot break out of its string literal.
+    /// </summary>
+    private static string QuoteHocon(string? value)
+    {
+        var escaped = (value ?? string.Empty)
+            .Replace("\\", "\\\\")
+            .Replace("\"", "\\\"");
+        return $"\"{escaped}\"";
     }
 
     public async Task StopAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
@@ -218,7 +248,7 @@ akka {{
     /// The singleton is scoped to the site-specific cluster role so it runs on exactly
     /// one node within this site's cluster.
     /// </summary>
-    private void RegisterSiteActors()
+    private async Task RegisterSiteActorsAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
     {
         var siteRole = $"site-{_nodeOptions.SiteId}";
         var storage = _serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<SiteStorageService>();
@@ -341,8 +371,11 @@ akka {{
         if (storeAndForwardService != null)
         {
             // Initialize SQLite schema and start the retry timer. Must complete before
-            // any actor or HTTP handler touches the service.
-            storeAndForwardService.StartAsync().GetAwaiter().GetResult();
+            // any actor or HTTP handler touches the service. Host-005: awaited rather
+            // than blocked via GetAwaiter().GetResult() — no thread-pool starvation /
+            // sync-context deadlock risk, and exceptions surface as their original type.
+            cancellationToken.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
+            await storeAndForwardService.StartAsync();
 
             // Register the store-and-forward delivery handlers so buffered
             // ExternalSystem calls, cached DB writes and notifications are actually
@@ -413,7 +446,22 @@ akka {{
                 contacts.Count, _nodeOptions.SiteId);
         }
 
-        // Gate gRPC subscriptions until the actor system and SiteStreamManager are initialized
+        // Gate gRPC subscriptions until the actor system and SiteStreamManager are
+        // initialized (REQ-HOST-7).
+        //
+        // Host-009: SetReady asserts a deliberately narrow contract. By this point the
+        // actor system exists, SiteStreamManager.Initialize has run, and every
+        // role actor (SiteCommunicationActor, deployment-manager singleton,
+        // SiteReplicationActor, the ClusterClient) has been created with ActorOf —
+        // creation and the registration Tells are synchronous and strictly ordered.
+        // What is NOT guaranteed is completion of each actor's PreStart or the
+        // ClusterClient's initial-contact handshake with central: those are
+        // intentionally asynchronous. Gating readiness on the central handshake would
+        // be wrong — a site must come up and stream locally even while central is
+        // briefly unreachable. gRPC readiness therefore guarantees "the site actor
+        // graph exists and can accept subscription streams", not "the cluster
+        // handshake has completed". Streams opened before SetReady are already
+        // rejected by SiteStreamGrpcServer with StatusCode.Unavailable.
         var grpcServer = _serviceProvider.GetService<ScadaLink.Communication.Grpc.SiteStreamGrpcServer>();
         grpcServer?.SetReady(_actorSystem!);
     }
diff --git a/src/ScadaLink.Host/DatabaseOptions.cs b/src/ScadaLink.Host/DatabaseOptions.cs
index 12c3048..51818d6 100644
--- a/src/ScadaLink.Host/DatabaseOptions.cs
+++ b/src/ScadaLink.Host/DatabaseOptions.cs
@@ -3,6 +3,5 @@ namespace ScadaLink.Host;
 public class DatabaseOptions
 {
     public string? ConfigurationDb { get; set; }
-    public string? MachineDataDb { get; set; }
     public string? SiteDbPath { get; set; }
 }
diff --git a/src/ScadaLink.Host/LoggerConfigurationFactory.cs b/src/ScadaLink.Host/LoggerConfigurationFactory.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ee87825
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ScadaLink.Host/LoggerConfigurationFactory.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+using Serilog;
+using Serilog.Events;
+
+namespace ScadaLink.Host;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Builds the Serilog <see cref="LoggerConfiguration"/> for the Host process.
+///
+/// REQ-HOST-8 / Host-011: the configured minimum level comes from
+/// <c>ScadaLink:Logging:MinimumLevel</c> (bound to <see cref="LoggingOptions"/>) so an
+/// operator editing that key changes the effective log level. The standard
+/// <c>Serilog</c> configuration section is still read (via
+/// <see cref="Serilog.Configuration.ConfigurationLoggerConfigurationExtensions"/>)
+/// for sink/override customisation; the explicit <c>MinimumLevel.Is</c> below pins
+/// the floor from <see cref="LoggingOptions"/>.
+/// </summary>
+public static class LoggerConfigurationFactory
+{
+    public static LoggerConfiguration Build(
+        IConfiguration configuration,
+        string nodeRole,
+        string siteId,
+        string nodeHostname)
+    {
+        var loggingOptions = new LoggingOptions();
+        configuration.GetSection("ScadaLink:Logging").Bind(loggingOptions);
+
+        var minimumLevel = ParseLevel(loggingOptions.MinimumLevel);
+
+        return new LoggerConfiguration()
+            .ReadFrom.Configuration(configuration)
+            .MinimumLevel.Is(minimumLevel)
+            .Enrich.WithProperty("SiteId", siteId)
+            .Enrich.WithProperty("NodeHostname", nodeHostname)
+            .Enrich.WithProperty("NodeRole", nodeRole);
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Parses a Serilog <see cref="LogEventLevel"/> name, falling back to
+    /// <see cref="LogEventLevel.Information"/> for null/blank/unrecognised values.
+    /// </summary>
+    private static LogEventLevel ParseLevel(string? level)
+    {
+        return Enum.TryParse<LogEventLevel>(level, ignoreCase: true, out var parsed)
+            ? parsed
+            : LogEventLevel.Information;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/ScadaLink.Host/Program.cs b/src/ScadaLink.Host/Program.cs
index 9eca495..a54803c 100644
--- a/src/ScadaLink.Host/Program.cs
+++ b/src/ScadaLink.Host/Program.cs
@@ -38,12 +38,10 @@ var nodeRole = configuration["ScadaLink:Node:Role"]!;
 var nodeHostname = configuration["ScadaLink:Node:NodeHostname"] ?? "unknown";
 var siteId = configuration["ScadaLink:Node:SiteId"] ?? "central";
 
-// WP-14: Serilog structured logging
-Log.Logger = new LoggerConfiguration()
-    .ReadFrom.Configuration(configuration)
-    .Enrich.WithProperty("SiteId", siteId)
-    .Enrich.WithProperty("NodeHostname", nodeHostname)
-    .Enrich.WithProperty("NodeRole", nodeRole)
+// WP-14: Serilog structured logging.
+// Host-011: minimum level is driven by ScadaLink:Logging:MinimumLevel (LoggingOptions).
+Log.Logger = ScadaLink.Host.LoggerConfigurationFactory
+    .Build(configuration, nodeRole, siteId, nodeHostname)
     .WriteTo.Console(outputTemplate:
         "[{Timestamp:HH:mm:ss} {Level:u3}] [{NodeRole}/{NodeHostname}] {Message:lj}{NewLine}{Exception}")
     .WriteTo.File("logs/scadalink-.log", rollingInterval: Serilog.RollingInterval.Day)
@@ -116,14 +114,24 @@ try
         {
             var isDevelopment = app.Environment.IsDevelopment()
                 || string.Equals(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT"), "Development", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
-            using (var scope = app.Services.CreateScope())
-            {
-                var dbContext = scope.ServiceProvider.GetRequiredService<ScadaLinkDbContext>();
-                var migrationLogger = scope.ServiceProvider
-                    .GetRequiredService<ILoggerFactory>()
-                    .CreateLogger(typeof(MigrationHelper).FullName!);
-                await MigrationHelper.ApplyOrValidateMigrationsAsync(dbContext, isDevelopment, migrationLogger);
-            }
+            var migrationLogger = app.Services
+                .GetRequiredService<ILoggerFactory>()
+                .CreateLogger(typeof(MigrationHelper).FullName!);
+
+            // Host-010: tolerate a database that is briefly unreachable at boot
+            // (e.g. app and DB containers starting together) with a bounded
+            // exponential backoff before failing fatally.
+            await StartupRetry.ExecuteWithRetryAsync(
+                "database-migration",
+                async () =>
+                {
+                    using var scope = app.Services.CreateScope();
+                    var dbContext = scope.ServiceProvider.GetRequiredService<ScadaLinkDbContext>();
+                    await MigrationHelper.ApplyOrValidateMigrationsAsync(dbContext, isDevelopment, migrationLogger);
+                },
+                maxAttempts: 8,
+                initialDelay: TimeSpan.FromSeconds(2),
+                migrationLogger);
         }
 
         // Middleware pipeline
diff --git a/src/ScadaLink.Host/StartupRetry.cs b/src/ScadaLink.Host/StartupRetry.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3e9e710
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ScadaLink.Host/StartupRetry.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+namespace ScadaLink.Host;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Bounded retry-with-backoff for startup preconditions.
+///
+/// Host-010 / REQ-HOST-4a: a Central node applies/validates database migrations
+/// before the host begins serving traffic. In container orchestration the database
+/// and the app frequently start together, so the database may be briefly
+/// unreachable. Rather than crashing the process on the first connection failure,
+/// the migration step is wrapped in this bounded exponential backoff: it tolerates a
+/// short outage and only fails fatally once attempts are exhausted.
+/// </summary>
+public static class StartupRetry
+{
+    public static async Task ExecuteWithRetryAsync(
+        string operationName,
+        Func<Task> operation,
+        int maxAttempts,
+        TimeSpan initialDelay,
+        ILogger logger,
+        CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
+    {
+        var delay = initialDelay;
+        for (var attempt = 1; ; attempt++)
+        {
+            cancellationToken.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
+            try
+            {
+                await operation();
+                if (attempt > 1)
+                    logger.LogInformation(
+                        "Startup operation '{Operation}' succeeded on attempt {Attempt}.",
+                        operationName, attempt);
+                return;
+            }
+            catch (Exception ex) when (attempt < maxAttempts)
+            {
+                logger.LogWarning(ex,
+                    "Startup operation '{Operation}' failed on attempt {Attempt}/{MaxAttempts}; " +
+                    "retrying in {Delay}.",
+                    operationName, attempt, maxAttempts, delay);
+                await Task.Delay(delay, cancellationToken);
+                // Exponential backoff, capped so the total wait stays bounded.
+                delay = TimeSpan.FromTicks(Math.Min(delay.Ticks * 2, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30).Ticks));
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/ScadaLink.Host/StartupValidator.cs b/src/ScadaLink.Host/StartupValidator.cs
index 1c3c08b..0f57880 100644
--- a/src/ScadaLink.Host/StartupValidator.cs
+++ b/src/ScadaLink.Host/StartupValidator.cs
@@ -30,8 +30,6 @@ public static class StartupValidator
             var dbSection = configuration.GetSection("ScadaLink:Database");
             if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(dbSection["ConfigurationDb"]))
                 errors.Add("ScadaLink:Database:ConfigurationDb connection string required for Central");
-            if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(dbSection["MachineDataDb"]))
-                errors.Add("ScadaLink:Database:MachineDataDb connection string required for Central");
 
             var secSection = configuration.GetSection("ScadaLink:Security");
             if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(secSection["LdapServer"]))
@@ -51,6 +49,13 @@ public static class StartupValidator
             if (grpcPortStr != null && (!int.TryParse(grpcPortStr, out grpcPort) || grpcPort < 1 || grpcPort > 65535))
                 errors.Add("ScadaLink:Node:GrpcPort must be 1-65535");
 
+            // Host-007 / REQ-HOST-4: the gRPC (Kestrel HTTP/2) port and the Akka
+            // remoting port must differ. Identical values make Kestrel and
+            // Akka.Remote contend for the same TCP port and fail opaquely at
+            // runtime. Uses the resolved GrpcPort, including the 8083 default.
+            if (port == grpcPort)
+                errors.Add("ScadaLink:Node:GrpcPort must differ from RemotingPort");
+
             var dbSection = configuration.GetSection("ScadaLink:Database");
             if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(dbSection["SiteDbPath"]))
                 errors.Add("ScadaLink:Database:SiteDbPath required for Site nodes");
diff --git a/src/ScadaLink.Host/appsettings.Central.json b/src/ScadaLink.Host/appsettings.Central.json
index a38dd24..3f05f84 100644
--- a/src/ScadaLink.Host/appsettings.Central.json
+++ b/src/ScadaLink.Host/appsettings.Central.json
@@ -16,10 +16,9 @@
       "FailureDetectionThreshold": "00:00:10",
       "MinNrOfMembers": 1
     },
-    "_secrets": "Host-003: Secrets are NOT committed in this file. Supply them via environment variables, which the Host's configuration builder (AddEnvironmentVariables) overlays over this file. Required: ScadaLink__Database__ConfigurationDb, ScadaLink__Database__MachineDataDb, ScadaLink__Security__LdapServiceAccountPassword, ScadaLink__Security__JwtSigningKey. The ${...} placeholders below are intentionally non-functional and must be overridden per environment.",
+    "_secrets": "Host-003: Secrets are NOT committed in this file. Supply them via environment variables, which the Host's configuration builder (AddEnvironmentVariables) overlays over this file. Required: ScadaLink__Database__ConfigurationDb, ScadaLink__Security__LdapServiceAccountPassword, ScadaLink__Security__JwtSigningKey. The ${...} placeholders below are intentionally non-functional and must be overridden per environment.",
     "Database": {
-      "ConfigurationDb": "${SCADALINK_CONFIGURATIONDB_CONNECTION_STRING}",
-      "MachineDataDb": "${SCADALINK_MACHINEDATADB_CONNECTION_STRING}"
+      "ConfigurationDb": "${SCADALINK_CONFIGURATIONDB_CONNECTION_STRING}"
     },
     "Security": {
       "LdapServer": "localhost",
diff --git a/tests/ScadaLink.Host.Tests/CentralDbTestEnvironment.cs b/tests/ScadaLink.Host.Tests/CentralDbTestEnvironment.cs
index 5077c4b..e79690c 100644
--- a/tests/ScadaLink.Host.Tests/CentralDbTestEnvironment.cs
+++ b/tests/ScadaLink.Host.Tests/CentralDbTestEnvironment.cs
@@ -4,11 +4,11 @@ namespace ScadaLink.Host.Tests;
 /// Host-003: <c>appsettings.Central.json</c> no longer commits database connection
 /// strings — they are externalised to environment variables. Tests that exercise the
 /// full <c>Program</c> startup pipeline against the real SQL provider must therefore
-/// supply the local dev connection strings the way a deployment would: via
-/// environment variables (<c>Program</c>'s configuration builder calls
+/// supply the local dev connection string the way a deployment would: via an
+/// environment variable (<c>Program</c>'s configuration builder calls
 /// <c>AddEnvironmentVariables()</c>).
 ///
-/// Dispose restores the previous values so tests stay isolated.
+/// Dispose restores the previous value so tests stay isolated.
 /// </summary>
 internal sealed class CentralDbTestEnvironment : IDisposable
 {
@@ -16,26 +16,19 @@ internal sealed class CentralDbTestEnvironment : IDisposable
     // This is a test fixture value, not a committed production secret.
     private const string ConfigurationDb =
         "Server=localhost,1433;Database=ScadaLinkConfig;User Id=scadalink_app;Password=ScadaLink_Dev1#;TrustServerCertificate=true";
-    private const string MachineDataDb =
-        "Server=localhost,1433;Database=ScadaLinkMachineData;User Id=scadalink_app;Password=ScadaLink_Dev1#;TrustServerCertificate=true";
 
     private const string ConfigKey = "ScadaLink__Database__ConfigurationDb";
-    private const string MachineKey = "ScadaLink__Database__MachineDataDb";
 
     private readonly string? _previousConfig;
-    private readonly string? _previousMachine;
 
     public CentralDbTestEnvironment()
     {
         _previousConfig = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable(ConfigKey);
-        _previousMachine = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable(MachineKey);
         Environment.SetEnvironmentVariable(ConfigKey, ConfigurationDb);
-        Environment.SetEnvironmentVariable(MachineKey, MachineDataDb);
     }
 
     public void Dispose()
     {
         Environment.SetEnvironmentVariable(ConfigKey, _previousConfig);
-        Environment.SetEnvironmentVariable(MachineKey, _previousMachine);
     }
 }
diff --git a/tests/ScadaLink.Host.Tests/HoconBuilderTests.cs b/tests/ScadaLink.Host.Tests/HoconBuilderTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..df9468b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/ScadaLink.Host.Tests/HoconBuilderTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+using Akka.Configuration;
+using ScadaLink.ClusterInfrastructure;
+using ScadaLink.Host.Actors;
+
+namespace ScadaLink.Host.Tests;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Host-006: the Akka HOCON document must be assembled with every interpolated value
+/// quoted/escaped, so a hostname, seed-node URI or split-brain strategy containing a
+/// quote, backslash or whitespace cannot corrupt the document or be silently
+/// misparsed.
+/// </summary>
+public class HoconBuilderTests
+{
+    private static ClusterOptions DefaultCluster() => new()
+    {
+        SeedNodes = new List<string>
+        {
+            "akka.tcp://scadalink@localhost:8081",
+            "akka.tcp://scadalink@localhost:8082",
+        },
+        SplitBrainResolverStrategy = "keep-oldest",
+        MinNrOfMembers = 1,
+        StableAfter = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(15),
+        HeartbeatInterval = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(2),
+        FailureDetectionThreshold = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10),
+    };
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void BuildHocon_PlainValues_ParsesAndPreservesValues()
+    {
+        var node = new NodeOptions
+        {
+            Role = "Central",
+            NodeHostname = "central-node1",
+            RemotingPort = 8081,
+        };
+
+        var hocon = AkkaHostedService.BuildHocon(
+            node, DefaultCluster(), new[] { "Central" }, 5, 15);
+
+        var config = ConfigurationFactory.ParseString(hocon);
+        Assert.Equal("central-node1", config.GetString("akka.remote.dot-netty.tcp.hostname"));
+        Assert.Equal("keep-oldest", config.GetString("akka.cluster.split-brain-resolver.active-strategy"));
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void BuildHocon_HostnameWithQuote_DoesNotCorruptDocument()
+    {
+        // A hostname containing a double quote would, with raw interpolation, close
+        // the HOCON string literal early and corrupt every following key.
+        var node = new NodeOptions
+        {
+            Role = "Central",
+            NodeHostname = "evil\"host",
+            RemotingPort = 8081,
+        };
+
+        var hocon = AkkaHostedService.BuildHocon(
+            node, DefaultCluster(), new[] { "Central" }, 5, 15);
+
+        // Must still parse, and the keys after the hostname must remain intact.
+        var config = ConfigurationFactory.ParseString(hocon);
+        Assert.Equal("evil\"host", config.GetString("akka.remote.dot-netty.tcp.hostname"));
+        Assert.Equal(8081, config.GetInt("akka.remote.dot-netty.tcp.port"));
+        Assert.Equal(1, config.GetInt("akka.cluster.min-nr-of-members"));
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void BuildHocon_StrategyWithWhitespace_RemainsQuoted()
+    {
+        var cluster = DefaultCluster();
+        cluster.SplitBrainResolverStrategy = "keep oldest";
+        var node = new NodeOptions
+        {
+            Role = "Central",
+            NodeHostname = "node1",
+            RemotingPort = 8081,
+        };
+
+        var hocon = AkkaHostedService.BuildHocon(
+            node, cluster, new[] { "Central" }, 5, 15);
+
+        var config = ConfigurationFactory.ParseString(hocon);
+        Assert.Equal("keep oldest", config.GetString("akka.cluster.split-brain-resolver.active-strategy"));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/tests/ScadaLink.Host.Tests/LoggerConfigurationTests.cs b/tests/ScadaLink.Host.Tests/LoggerConfigurationTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..284f6a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/ScadaLink.Host.Tests/LoggerConfigurationTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;
+using Serilog.Events;
+
+namespace ScadaLink.Host.Tests;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Host-011: <c>ScadaLink:Logging:MinimumLevel</c> must actually drive the Serilog
+/// minimum level. Previously the value was bound into <see cref="LoggingOptions"/>
+/// but never read, so editing it had no effect.
+/// </summary>
+public class LoggerConfigurationTests
+{
+    private static IConfiguration BuildConfig(string? minimumLevel)
+    {
+        var values = new Dictionary<string, string?>();
+        if (minimumLevel != null)
+            values["ScadaLink:Logging:MinimumLevel"] = minimumLevel;
+        return new ConfigurationBuilder().AddInMemoryCollection(values).Build();
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void MinimumLevel_Warning_SuppressesInformationLogs()
+    {
+        var sink = new InMemorySink();
+        var logger = LoggerConfigurationFactory
+            .Build(BuildConfig("Warning"), "Central", "central", "node1")
+            .WriteTo.Sink(sink)
+            .CreateLogger();
+
+        logger.Information("info message");
+        logger.Warning("warning message");
+
+        Assert.Single(sink.LogEvents);
+        Assert.Equal(LogEventLevel.Warning, sink.LogEvents[0].Level);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void MinimumLevel_Debug_AllowsDebugLogs()
+    {
+        var sink = new InMemorySink();
+        var logger = LoggerConfigurationFactory
+            .Build(BuildConfig("Debug"), "Site", "site-a", "node1")
+            .WriteTo.Sink(sink)
+            .CreateLogger();
+
+        logger.Debug("debug message");
+
+        Assert.Single(sink.LogEvents);
+        Assert.Equal(LogEventLevel.Debug, sink.LogEvents[0].Level);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void MinimumLevel_Absent_DefaultsToInformation()
+    {
+        var sink = new InMemorySink();
+        var logger = LoggerConfigurationFactory
+            .Build(BuildConfig(null), "Central", "central", "node1")
+            .WriteTo.Sink(sink)
+            .CreateLogger();
+
+        logger.Debug("debug message");
+        logger.Information("info message");
+
+        Assert.Single(sink.LogEvents);
+        Assert.Equal(LogEventLevel.Information, sink.LogEvents[0].Level);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/tests/ScadaLink.Host.Tests/StartupRetryTests.cs b/tests/ScadaLink.Host.Tests/StartupRetryTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7454a03
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/ScadaLink.Host.Tests/StartupRetryTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Abstractions;
+
+namespace ScadaLink.Host.Tests;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Host-010: startup preconditions (database migration) must tolerate a database
+/// that is briefly unavailable at boot — common when an app container and its DB
+/// container start together — via a bounded retry with backoff.
+/// </summary>
+public class StartupRetryTests
+{
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task ExecuteWithRetry_SucceedsFirstTry_RunsOnce()
+    {
+        var attempts = 0;
+        await StartupRetry.ExecuteWithRetryAsync(
+            "test-op",
+            () => { attempts++; return Task.CompletedTask; },
+            maxAttempts: 5,
+            initialDelay: TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(1),
+            NullLogger.Instance);
+
+        Assert.Equal(1, attempts);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task ExecuteWithRetry_TransientFailures_RetriesUntilSuccess()
+    {
+        var attempts = 0;
+        await StartupRetry.ExecuteWithRetryAsync(
+            "test-op",
+            () =>
+            {
+                attempts++;
+                if (attempts < 3)
+                    throw new InvalidOperationException("db not ready");
+                return Task.CompletedTask;
+            },
+            maxAttempts: 5,
+            initialDelay: TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(1),
+            NullLogger.Instance);
+
+        Assert.Equal(3, attempts);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task ExecuteWithRetry_ExhaustsAttempts_RethrowsLastException()
+    {
+        var attempts = 0;
+        var ex = await Assert.ThrowsAsync<InvalidOperationException>(() =>
+            StartupRetry.ExecuteWithRetryAsync(
+                "test-op",
+                () =>
+                {
+                    attempts++;
+                    throw new InvalidOperationException($"failure {attempts}");
+                },
+                maxAttempts: 3,
+                initialDelay: TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(1),
+                NullLogger.Instance));
+
+        Assert.Equal(3, attempts);
+        Assert.Equal("failure 3", ex.Message);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/tests/ScadaLink.Host.Tests/StartupValidatorTests.cs b/tests/ScadaLink.Host.Tests/StartupValidatorTests.cs
index 3b14787..d2f0edd 100644
--- a/tests/ScadaLink.Host.Tests/StartupValidatorTests.cs
+++ b/tests/ScadaLink.Host.Tests/StartupValidatorTests.cs
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ public class StartupValidatorTests
         ["ScadaLink:Node:NodeHostname"] = "central-node1",
         ["ScadaLink:Node:RemotingPort"] = "8081",
         ["ScadaLink:Database:ConfigurationDb"] = "Server=localhost;Database=Config;",
-        ["ScadaLink:Database:MachineDataDb"] = "Server=localhost;Database=MachineData;",
         ["ScadaLink:Security:LdapServer"] = "ldap.example.com",
         ["ScadaLink:Security:JwtSigningKey"] = "test-signing-key-at-least-32-chars-long",
         ["ScadaLink:Cluster:SeedNodes:0"] = "akka.tcp://scadalink@central-node1:8081",
@@ -151,14 +150,17 @@ public class StartupValidatorTests
     }
 
     [Fact]
-    public void Central_MissingMachineDataDb_FailsValidation()
+    public void Central_MissingMachineDataDb_PassesValidation()
     {
+        // Host-008 regression: MachineDataDb is never consumed anywhere in the
+        // system (only ConfigurationDb is wired into AddConfigurationDatabase).
+        // It is no longer a required key, so its absence must not fail startup.
         var values = ValidCentralConfig();
         values.Remove("ScadaLink:Database:MachineDataDb");
         var config = BuildConfig(values);
 
-        var ex = Assert.Throws<InvalidOperationException>(() => StartupValidator.Validate(config));
-        Assert.Contains("MachineDataDb connection string required for Central", ex.Message);
+        var ex = Record.Exception(() => StartupValidator.Validate(config));
+        Assert.Null(ex);
     }
 
     [Fact]
@@ -310,6 +312,46 @@ public class StartupValidatorTests
         Assert.Null(ex);
     }
 
+    [Fact]
+    public void Site_GrpcPortEqualsRemotingPort_FailsValidation()
+    {
+        // Host-007 regression: REQ-HOST-4 requires GrpcPort to differ from
+        // RemotingPort. Identical values cause Kestrel and Akka.Remote to
+        // contend for the same port at runtime.
+        var values = ValidSiteConfig();
+        values["ScadaLink:Node:RemotingPort"] = "8082";
+        values["ScadaLink:Node:GrpcPort"] = "8082";
+        var config = BuildConfig(values);
+
+        var ex = Assert.Throws<InvalidOperationException>(() => StartupValidator.Validate(config));
+        Assert.Contains("GrpcPort must differ from RemotingPort", ex.Message);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Site_DefaultGrpcPortEqualsRemotingPort_FailsValidation()
+    {
+        // GrpcPort absent => NodeOptions default 8083. A site whose RemotingPort
+        // is also 8083 must still be rejected.
+        var values = ValidSiteConfig();
+        values["ScadaLink:Node:RemotingPort"] = "8083";
+        var config = BuildConfig(values);
+
+        var ex = Assert.Throws<InvalidOperationException>(() => StartupValidator.Validate(config));
+        Assert.Contains("GrpcPort must differ from RemotingPort", ex.Message);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Site_GrpcPortDiffersFromRemotingPort_PassesValidation()
+    {
+        var values = ValidSiteConfig();
+        values["ScadaLink:Node:RemotingPort"] = "8082";
+        values["ScadaLink:Node:GrpcPort"] = "8083";
+        var config = BuildConfig(values);
+
+        var ex = Record.Exception(() => StartupValidator.Validate(config));
+        Assert.Null(ex);
+    }
+
     [Fact]
     public void MultipleErrors_AllReported()
     {
diff --git a/tests/ScadaLink.Security.Tests/UnitTest1.cs b/tests/ScadaLink.Security.Tests/SecurityTests.cs
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/ScadaLink.Security.Tests/UnitTest1.cs
rename to tests/ScadaLink.Security.Tests/SecurityTests.cs