diff --git a/nemo_deploy/llm/megatronllm_deployable_ray.py b/nemo_deploy/llm/megatronllm_deployable_ray.py
index 904ef1c4e3..4468b1cee5 100644
--- a/nemo_deploy/llm/megatronllm_deployable_ray.py
+++ b/nemo_deploy/llm/megatronllm_deployable_ray.py
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 import logging
 import os
 import random
+import socket
 import time
 from typing import Any, Dict, Optional
 
@@ -66,6 +67,12 @@ def __init__(
         **model_config_kwargs,
     ):
         # Use replica-specific environment variables to avoid conflicts
+        # master_addr = "127.0.0.1"
+        # with socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM) as s:
+        #     s.bind(("", 0))  # Bind to port 0 lets OS pick a free port
+        #     new_port = s.getsockname()[1]
+        # self.master_port = str(new_port)
+
         os.environ["MASTER_PORT"] = master_port
         # All ranks must use the SAME MASTER_ADDR (rank 0 node IP)
         os.environ["MASTER_ADDR"] = master_addr if master_addr else ray._private.services.get_node_ip_address()
@@ -82,6 +89,11 @@ def __init__(
             LOGGER.info(f"Replica {replica_id} - MASTER_PORT: {os.environ['MASTER_PORT']}")
             LOGGER.info(f"Replica {replica_id} - MASTER_ADDR: {os.environ['MASTER_ADDR']}")
 
+        # if rank != 0:
+        # sleep_time = 5 + rank  # Rank 1 waits 6s, Rank 2 waits 7s, etc.
+        # LOGGER.info(f"Worker {rank}: Sleeping {sleep_time}s to avoid JIT lock contention...")
+        # time.sleep(sleep_time)
+
         try:
             self.model = MegatronLLMDeployableNemo2(
                 nemo_checkpoint_filepath=nemo_checkpoint_filepath,
@@ -176,8 +188,12 @@ def __init__(
             # Use replica-specific port to avoid conflicts between replicas
             base_port = random.randint(29500, 29999) + (replica_id % 100) * 100
             deploy_node_ip = ray._private.services.get_node_ip_address()
+            LOGGER.error(f"Replica {ray._private.services.get_node_ip_address()}")
+            if not deploy_node_ip:
+                deploy_node_ip = socket.gethostbyname(socket.gethostname())
+
             master_port = str(find_available_port(base_port, deploy_node_ip))
-            LOGGER.info(f"Replica {replica_id} - Pre-allocated master port: {master_port}")
+            LOGGER.error(f"Replica {replica_id} - Pre-allocated master port: {master_port}")
 
             # Create workers with proper synchronization for distributed initialization
             # Rank 0 must be created first as it acts as the master in PyTorch distributed
@@ -192,9 +208,8 @@ def __init__(
                     deployment_node_id = node.get("NodeID")
                     break
 
-            rank_0_worker = ModelWorker.options(
-                scheduling_strategy=NodeAffinitySchedulingStrategy(node_id=deployment_node_id, soft=False)
-            ).remote(
+            # Common arguments for rank 0 worker
+            rank_0_kwargs = dict(
                 nemo_checkpoint_filepath=nemo_checkpoint_filepath,
                 rank=0,
                 world_size=num_gpus,
@@ -216,6 +231,14 @@ def __init__(
                 micro_batch_size=micro_batch_size,
                 **model_config_kwargs,
             )
+
+            # Use node affinity if we found a matching node, otherwise use default scheduling
+            if deployment_node_id is not None:
+                rank_0_worker = ModelWorker.options(
+                    scheduling_strategy=NodeAffinitySchedulingStrategy(node_id=deployment_node_id, soft=True)
+                ).remote(**rank_0_kwargs)
+            else:
+                rank_0_worker = ModelWorker.remote(**rank_0_kwargs)
             worker_futures.append(rank_0_worker)
 
             # Wait for rank 0 to start before creating other workers