diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 953bdec..53aa989 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -249,6 +249,11 @@ Every Ansible deployment automatically deploys an observability stack alongside
       - `tmp/local-run-DD-MM-YYYY-HH-MM.log` for local deployments
       - `tmp/ansible-run-DD-MM-YYYY-HH-MM.log` for Ansible deployments
     - Example: `NETWORK_DIR=local-devnet ./spin-node.sh --node all --logs`
+19. `--network` sets the network name label attached to every metric and log stream scraped by the observability stack (Ansible mode only).
+   - Default: `devnet-3`, set in `parse-env.sh` after argument parsing
+   - Propagated to Ansible as the `network_name` variable, which is used in `prometheus.yml.j2` and `promtail.yml.j2` templates
+   - Appears as the `network` label on all Prometheus scrape targets (app, node_exporter, cadvisor) and all Promtail log streams, so you can filter by network in Grafana across multiple environments
+   - Example: `--network devnet-x`
 
 ### Preparing remote servers
 
diff --git a/ansible/playbooks/clean-node-data.yml b/ansible/playbooks/clean-node-data.yml
index a583782..adfbe0c 100644
--- a/ansible/playbooks/clean-node-data.yml
+++ b/ansible/playbooks/clean-node-data.yml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
   connection: local
   gather_facts: no
   vars:
-    validator_config_file: "{{ genesis_dir }}/validator-config.yaml"
+    validator_config_file: "{{ local_validator_config_path | default(genesis_dir + '/validator-config.yaml') }}"
   tags:
     - zeam
     - ream
diff --git a/ansible/playbooks/deploy-nodes.yml b/ansible/playbooks/deploy-nodes.yml
index 1c1ae9a..8f24766 100644
--- a/ansible/playbooks/deploy-nodes.yml
+++ b/ansible/playbooks/deploy-nodes.yml
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
     - deploy
     - observability
   vars:
-    validator_config_file: "{{ genesis_dir }}/validator-config.yaml"
+    validator_config_file: "{{ local_validator_config_path | default(genesis_dir + '/validator-config.yaml') }}"
 
   tasks:
     - name: Validate validator-config.yaml exists
@@ -122,10 +122,7 @@
 
     - name: Sync validator-config.yaml to remote host
       copy:
-        # Use the expanded subnet config when --subnets was specified; fall back
-        # to the standard validator-config.yaml otherwise. The destination is
-        # always validator-config.yaml so client roles don't need to change.
-        src: "{{ local_genesis_dir }}/{{ validator_config_basename | default('validator-config.yaml') }}"
+        src: "{{ local_validator_config_path | default(local_genesis_dir + '/validator-config.yaml') }}"
         dest: "{{ genesis_dir }}/validator-config.yaml"
         mode: '0644'
         force: yes
diff --git a/ansible/playbooks/generate-genesis.yml b/ansible/playbooks/generate-genesis.yml
index 7006d9c..e2ee5e4 100644
--- a/ansible/playbooks/generate-genesis.yml
+++ b/ansible/playbooks/generate-genesis.yml
@@ -34,9 +34,19 @@
       set_fact:
         project_root: "{{ project_root_result.stdout }}"
 
+    - name: Copy custom validator config to genesis dir if different
+      copy:
+        src: "{{ local_validator_config_path }}"
+        dest: "{{ genesis_dir }}/validator-config.yaml"
+        mode: '0644'
+      when:
+        - local_validator_config_path is defined
+        - local_validator_config_path != genesis_dir + '/validator-config.yaml'
+
     - name: Run generate-genesis.sh script
       shell: |
-        cd "{{ project_root }}" && ./generate-genesis.sh "{{ genesis_dir }}" --mode ansible --offset {{ genesis_time_offset }}
+        cd "{{ project_root }}" && ./generate-genesis.sh "{{ genesis_dir }}" --mode ansible --offset {{ genesis_time_offset }}{% if local_validator_config_path is defined and local_validator_config_path != '' %} --validator-config "{{ local_validator_config_path }}"{% endif %}
+
       register: genesis_result
       args:
         executable: /bin/bash
@@ -55,7 +65,7 @@
 
     - name: Extract node names from validator-config.yaml
       shell: |
-        yq eval '.validators[].name' "{{ genesis_dir }}/validator-config.yaml"
+        yq eval '.validators[].name' "{{ local_validator_config_path | default(genesis_dir + '/validator-config.yaml') }}"
       register: node_names_raw
       changed_when: false
 
diff --git a/ansible/playbooks/helpers/deploy-single-node.yml b/ansible/playbooks/helpers/deploy-single-node.yml
index 97c701b..e633c20 100644
--- a/ansible/playbooks/helpers/deploy-single-node.yml
+++ b/ansible/playbooks/helpers/deploy-single-node.yml
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 - name: Set validator config file paths
   set_fact:
     actual_validator_config_file: "{{ genesis_dir }}/validator-config.yaml"
-    local_validator_config_file: "{{ hostvars['localhost']['local_genesis_dir_path'] }}/validator-config.yaml"
+    local_validator_config_file: "{{ local_validator_config_path }}"
 
 - name: Extract node configuration (from local config)
   shell: |
diff --git a/ansible/playbooks/prepare.yml b/ansible/playbooks/prepare.yml
index 03ee3ce..10d5d3d 100644
--- a/ansible/playbooks/prepare.yml
+++ b/ansible/playbooks/prepare.yml
@@ -224,7 +224,7 @@
 
     - name: Read all node entries for this host from the active validator config
       vars:
-        _vc_file: "{{ _genesis_dir + '/' + (validator_config_basename | default('validator-config.yaml')) }}"
+        _vc_file: "{{ local_validator_config_path | default(_genesis_dir + '/validator-config.yaml') }}"
         _vc: "{{ lookup('file', _vc_file) | from_yaml }}"
         _entries: "{{ _vc.validators | selectattr('enrFields.ip', 'equalto', ansible_host) | list }}"
       set_fact:
diff --git a/ansible/playbooks/stop-nodes.yml b/ansible/playbooks/stop-nodes.yml
index 6d96bc3..8c6c880 100644
--- a/ansible/playbooks/stop-nodes.yml
+++ b/ansible/playbooks/stop-nodes.yml
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
   connection: local
   gather_facts: yes
   vars:
-    validator_config_file: "{{ genesis_dir }}/validator-config.yaml"
+    validator_config_file: "{{ local_validator_config_path | default(genesis_dir + '/validator-config.yaml') }}"
 
   tasks:
     - name: Validate validator-config.yaml exists
diff --git a/ansible/roles/ethlambda/tasks/main.yml b/ansible/roles/ethlambda/tasks/main.yml
index fc68d54..f8b467f 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/ethlambda/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/ethlambda/tasks/main.yml
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
 
 - name: Extract node configuration from validator-config.yaml
   shell: |
-    yq eval ".validators[] | select(.name == \"{{ node_name }}\") | .{{ item }}" "{{ hostvars['localhost']['local_genesis_dir_path'] }}/validator-config.yaml"
+    yq eval ".validators[] | select(.name == \"{{ node_name }}\") | .{{ item }}" "{{ local_validator_config_path }}"
   register: ethlambda_node_config
   changed_when: false
   delegate_to: localhost
diff --git a/ansible/roles/gean/tasks/main.yml b/ansible/roles/gean/tasks/main.yml
index c89bfad..83fa44d 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/gean/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/gean/tasks/main.yml
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
 
 - name: Extract node configuration from validator-config.yaml
   shell: |
-    yq eval ".validators[] | select(.name == \"{{ node_name }}\") | .{{ item }}" "{{ hostvars['localhost']['local_genesis_dir_path'] }}/validator-config.yaml"
+    yq eval ".validators[] | select(.name == \"{{ node_name }}\") | .{{ item }}" "{{ local_validator_config_path }}"
   register: gean_node_config
   changed_when: false
   delegate_to: localhost
diff --git a/ansible/roles/grandine/tasks/main.yml b/ansible/roles/grandine/tasks/main.yml
index cf9cf72..b1018c7 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/grandine/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/grandine/tasks/main.yml
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
 
 - name: Extract node configuration from validator-config.yaml
   shell: |
-    yq eval ".validators[] | select(.name == \"{{ node_name }}\") | .{{ item }}" "{{ hostvars['localhost']['local_genesis_dir_path'] }}/validator-config.yaml"
+    yq eval ".validators[] | select(.name == \"{{ node_name }}\") | .{{ item }}" "{{ local_validator_config_path }}"
   register: grandine_node_config
   changed_when: false
   delegate_to: localhost
diff --git a/ansible/roles/lantern/tasks/main.yml b/ansible/roles/lantern/tasks/main.yml
index bb3696d..66b77b2 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/lantern/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/lantern/tasks/main.yml
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 
 - name: Extract node configuration from validator-config.yaml
   shell: |
-    yq eval ".validators[] | select(.name == \"{{ node_name }}\") | .{{ item }}" "{{ hostvars['localhost']['local_genesis_dir_path'] }}/validator-config.yaml"
+    yq eval ".validators[] | select(.name == \"{{ node_name }}\") | .{{ item }}" "{{ local_validator_config_path }}"
   register: lantern_node_config
   changed_when: false
   delegate_to: localhost
diff --git a/ansible/roles/lighthouse/tasks/main.yml b/ansible/roles/lighthouse/tasks/main.yml
index cb8bd02..1491202 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/lighthouse/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/lighthouse/tasks/main.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
 
 - name: Extract node configuration from validator-config.yaml
   shell: |
-    yq eval ".validators[] | select(.name == \"{{ node_name }}\") | .{{ item }}" "{{ hostvars['localhost']['local_genesis_dir_path'] }}/validator-config.yaml"
+    yq eval ".validators[] | select(.name == \"{{ node_name }}\") | .{{ item }}" "{{ local_validator_config_path }}"
   register: lighthouse_node_config
   changed_when: false
   delegate_to: localhost
diff --git a/ansible/roles/nlean/tasks/main.yml b/ansible/roles/nlean/tasks/main.yml
index 339b757..03b578c 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/nlean/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/nlean/tasks/main.yml
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
 
 - name: Extract node configuration from validator-config.yaml
   shell: |
-    yq eval ".validators[] | select(.name == \"{{ node_name }}\") | .{{ item }}" "{{ hostvars['localhost']['local_genesis_dir_path'] }}/validator-config.yaml"
+    yq eval ".validators[] | select(.name == \"{{ node_name }}\") | .{{ item }}" "{{ local_validator_config_path }}"
   register: nlean_node_config
   changed_when: false
   delegate_to: localhost
diff --git a/ansible/roles/observability/tasks/main.yml b/ansible/roles/observability/tasks/main.yml
index fcead33..545942b 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/observability/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/observability/tasks/main.yml
@@ -2,16 +2,18 @@
 # Observability role: Deploy cadvisor, node_exporter, prometheus, and promtail
 # alongside each lean node on remote hosts.
 
-- name: Extract metricsPort from validator-config.yaml
+- name: Find all nodes on this host
   shell: |
-    yq eval ".validators[] | select(.name == \"{{ node_name }}\") | .metricsPort" "{{ local_genesis_dir }}/validator-config.yaml"
-  register: obs_metrics_port_raw
+    yq eval '[.validators[] | select(.enrFields.ip == "{{ ansible_host }}") | {"name": .name, "metricsPort": .metricsPort}]' \
+      "{{ local_validator_config_path }}" -o=json
+  register: colocated_nodes_raw
   changed_when: false
   delegate_to: localhost
 
-- name: Set metricsPort fact
+- name: Set colocated nodes fact
   set_fact:
-    obs_metrics_port: "{{ obs_metrics_port_raw.stdout | trim }}"
+    colocated_nodes: "{{ colocated_nodes_raw.stdout | from_json }}"
+    is_primary_node: "{{ (colocated_nodes_raw.stdout | from_json)[0].name == node_name }}"
 
 - name: Create observability config directory
   file:
@@ -32,10 +34,13 @@
     mode: '0644'
 
 # --- cadvisor (always recreate to ensure correct flags) ---
+# Only the first colocated node on each machine manages infra containers
+# to avoid parallel rm+run races when multiple nodes share a host.
 
 - name: Remove existing cadvisor container
   command: docker rm -f cadvisor
   failed_when: false
+  when: is_primary_node
 
 - name: Start cadvisor container
   command: >-
@@ -55,12 +60,14 @@
     -v /var/lib/docker/:/var/lib/docker:ro
     {{ cadvisor_image }}
     --port={{ cadvisor_port }}
+  when: is_primary_node
 
 # --- node_exporter (always recreate to ensure correct flags) ---
 
 - name: Remove existing node_exporter container
   command: docker rm -f node_exporter
   failed_when: false
+  when: is_primary_node
 
 - name: Start node_exporter container
   command: >-
@@ -77,6 +84,7 @@
     --path.sysfs=/host/sys
     --path.rootfs=/rootfs
     --web.listen-address=0.0.0.0:{{ node_exporter_port }}
+  when: is_primary_node
 
 # --- prometheus (always recreate to pick up config/mount changes, data persists on host) ---
 
@@ -90,6 +98,7 @@
 - name: Remove existing prometheus container
   command: docker rm -f prometheus
   failed_when: false
+  when: is_primary_node
 
 - name: Start prometheus container
   command: >-
@@ -103,12 +112,14 @@
     --config.file=/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml
     --storage.tsdb.retention.time=15d
     --web.listen-address=0.0.0.0:{{ prometheus_port }}
+  when: is_primary_node
 
 # --- promtail (always recreate to pick up config/mount changes) ---
 
 - name: Remove existing promtail container
   command: docker rm -f promtail
   failed_when: false
+  when: is_primary_node
 
 - name: Start promtail container
   command: >-
@@ -122,3 +133,4 @@
     {{ promtail_image }}
     -config.file=/etc/promtail/config.yml
     -server.http-listen-port={{ promtail_port }}
+  when: is_primary_node
diff --git a/ansible/roles/observability/templates/prometheus.yml.j2 b/ansible/roles/observability/templates/prometheus.yml.j2
index b2e55bf..2449749 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/observability/templates/prometheus.yml.j2
+++ b/ansible/roles/observability/templates/prometheus.yml.j2
@@ -2,22 +2,34 @@ global:
   scrape_interval: 15s
 
 scrape_configs:
-  - job_name: '{{ node_name }}'
+{% for node in colocated_nodes %}
+  - job_name: '{{ node.name }}'
     static_configs:
-      - targets: ['172.17.0.1:{{ obs_metrics_port }}']
+      - targets: ['172.17.0.1:{{ node.metricsPort }}']
         labels:
           type: 'app'
-          node_id: '{{ node_name }}'
+          instance: '{{ ansible_host }}'
+          network: '{{ network_name }}'
+          client_type: '{{ node.name.split("_")[0] }}'
+{% endfor %}
+  - job_name: 'node_exporter'
+    static_configs:
       - targets: ['172.17.0.1:{{ node_exporter_port }}']
         labels:
           type: 'node'
-          node_id: '{{ node_name }}'
+          instance: '{{ ansible_host }}'
+          network: '{{ network_name }}'
+  - job_name: 'cadvisor'
+    static_configs:
       - targets: ['172.17.0.1:{{ cadvisor_port }}']
         labels:
           type: 'docker'
-          node_id: '{{ node_name }}'
-    relabel_configs:
-      - source_labels: [node_id]
-        target_label: instance
+          instance: '{{ ansible_host }}'
+          network: '{{ network_name }}'
+    metric_relabel_configs:
+      - source_labels: [name]
+        regex: '([a-z]+)_.*'
+        target_label: client_type
+        replacement: '$1'
 remote_write:
   - url: {{ remote_write_url }}
diff --git a/ansible/roles/observability/templates/promtail.yml.j2 b/ansible/roles/observability/templates/promtail.yml.j2
index ebf0ea0..b399c1e 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/observability/templates/promtail.yml.j2
+++ b/ansible/roles/observability/templates/promtail.yml.j2
@@ -9,20 +9,25 @@ clients:
   - url: {{ loki_push_url }}
 
 scrape_configs:
-  - job_name: {{ node_name }}
+  - job_name: {{ ansible_host }}
     docker_sd_configs:
       - host: unix:///var/run/docker.sock
         refresh_interval: 5s
         filters:
           - name: name
-            values: ["{{ node_name }}"]
+            values:
+{% for node in colocated_nodes %}
+              - "{{ node.name }}"
+{% endfor %}
     relabel_configs:
       - source_labels: ['__meta_docker_container_name']
         regex: '/(.*)'
         target_label: 'container'
       - source_labels: ['__meta_docker_container_log_stream']
         target_label: 'stream'
-      - target_label: 'node'
-        replacement: '{{ node_name }}'
-      - target_label: 'host'
+      - source_labels: ['container']
+        target_label: 'node'
+      - target_label: 'instance'
         replacement: '{{ ansible_host }}'
+      - target_label: 'network'
+        replacement: '{{ network_name }}'
diff --git a/ansible/roles/peam/tasks/main.yml b/ansible/roles/peam/tasks/main.yml
index bea56b0..1ab5a46 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/peam/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/peam/tasks/main.yml
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
 
 - name: Extract node configuration from validator-config.yaml
   shell: |
-    yq eval ".validators[] | select(.name == \"{{ node_name }}\") | .{{ item }}" "{{ hostvars['localhost']['local_genesis_dir_path'] }}/validator-config.yaml"
+    yq eval ".validators[] | select(.name == \"{{ node_name }}\") | .{{ item }}" "{{ local_validator_config_path }}"
   register: peam_node_config
   changed_when: false
   delegate_to: localhost
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@
 
 - name: Extract local validator index from validator-config ordering
   shell: |
-    yq eval '.validators[].name' "{{ hostvars['localhost']['local_genesis_dir_path'] }}/validator-config.yaml" | nl -v0 | awk '$2=="{{ node_name }}" {print $1; exit}'
+    yq eval '.validators[].name' "{{ local_validator_config_path }}" | nl -v0 | awk '$2=="{{ node_name }}" {print $1; exit}'
   register: peam_validator_index
   changed_when: false
   delegate_to: localhost
@@ -68,14 +68,14 @@
 
 - name: Extract total validator count from validator-config.yaml
   shell: |
-    yq eval '.validators[].count // 1' "{{ hostvars['localhost']['local_genesis_dir_path'] }}/validator-config.yaml" | awk '{sum += $1} END {print sum + 0}'
+    yq eval '.validators[].count // 1' "{{ local_validator_config_path }}" | awk '{sum += $1} END {print sum + 0}'
   register: peam_total_validator_count
   changed_when: false
   delegate_to: localhost
 
 - name: Extract attestation committee count from validator-config.yaml
   shell: |
-    yq eval '.config.attestation_committee_count // 1' "{{ hostvars['localhost']['local_genesis_dir_path'] }}/validator-config.yaml"
+    yq eval '.config.attestation_committee_count // 1' "{{ local_validator_config_path }}"
   register: peam_attestation_committee_count_raw
   changed_when: false
   delegate_to: localhost
diff --git a/ansible/roles/qlean/tasks/main.yml b/ansible/roles/qlean/tasks/main.yml
index 336f8bd..651a4a0 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/qlean/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/qlean/tasks/main.yml
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
 
 - name: Extract node configuration from validator-config.yaml
   shell: |
-    yq eval ".validators[] | select(.name == \"{{ node_name }}\") | .{{ item }}" "{{ hostvars['localhost']['local_genesis_dir_path'] }}/validator-config.yaml"
+    yq eval ".validators[] | select(.name == \"{{ node_name }}\") | .{{ item }}" "{{ local_validator_config_path }}"
   register: qlean_node_config
   changed_when: false
   delegate_to: localhost
diff --git a/ansible/roles/ream/tasks/main.yml b/ansible/roles/ream/tasks/main.yml
index a86ed4f..f088275 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/ream/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/ream/tasks/main.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
 
 - name: Extract node configuration from validator-config.yaml
   shell: |
-    yq eval ".validators[] | select(.name == \"{{ node_name }}\") | .{{ item }}" "{{ hostvars['localhost']['local_genesis_dir_path'] }}/validator-config.yaml"
+    yq eval ".validators[] | select(.name == \"{{ node_name }}\") | .{{ item }}" "{{ local_validator_config_path }}"
   register: ream_node_config
   changed_when: false
   delegate_to: localhost
diff --git a/ansible/roles/zeam/tasks/main.yml b/ansible/roles/zeam/tasks/main.yml
index 8f7f30b..a7bd04e 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/zeam/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/zeam/tasks/main.yml
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
 
 - name: Extract node configuration from validator-config.yaml
   shell: |
-    yq eval ".validators[] | select(.name == \"{{ node_name }}\") | .{{ item }}" "{{ hostvars['localhost']['local_genesis_dir_path'] }}/validator-config.yaml"
+    yq eval ".validators[] | select(.name == \"{{ node_name }}\") | .{{ item }}" "{{ local_validator_config_path }}"
   register: node_config
   changed_when: false
   delegate_to: localhost
@@ -76,10 +76,6 @@
     state: directory
     mode: '0755'
 
-- name: Set validator config value
-  set_fact:
-    actual_validator_config: "{{ validator_config if validator_config is defined and validator_config != '' else 'genesis_bootnode' }}"
-
 - name: Deploy Zeam node using Docker
   block:
     - name: Stop existing Zeam container (if any)
@@ -106,7 +102,7 @@
         {{ zeam_global_flags }}
         node
         --custom_genesis /config
-        --validator_config {{ actual_validator_config }}
+        --validator_config /config
         --data-dir /data
         --node-id {{ node_name }}
         --node-key /config/{{ node_name }}.key
diff --git a/generate-genesis.sh b/generate-genesis.sh
index cd29b23..422c3db 100755
--- a/generate-genesis.sh
+++ b/generate-genesis.sh
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ PK_DOCKER_IMAGE="ethpandaops/eth-beacon-genesis:pk910-leanchain"
 # ========================================
 show_usage() {
     cat << EOF
-Usage: $0 <genesis-directory> [--mode local|ansible] [--offset <seconds>] [--forceKeyGen]
+Usage: $0 <genesis-directory> [--mode local|ansible] [--offset <seconds>] [--forceKeyGen] [--validator-config <path>]
 
 Generate genesis configuration files using PK's eth-beacon-genesis tool.
 Generates: config.yaml, validators.yaml, nodes.yaml, genesis.json, genesis.ssz, and .key files
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ Options:
                        - ansible: GENESIS_TIME = now + 360 seconds (default)
   --offset <seconds>   Override genesis time offset in seconds (overrides mode defaults)
   --forceKeyGen        Force regeneration of hash-sig validator keys
+  --validator-config   Path to a custom validator-config.yaml (default: <genesis-directory>/validator-config.yaml)
 
 Examples:
   $0 local-devnet/genesis                      # Local mode (30s offset)
@@ -118,6 +119,15 @@ while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
                 exit 1
             fi
             ;;
+        --validator-config)
+            if [ -n "$2" ] && [ "${2:0:1}" != "-" ]; then
+                VALIDATOR_CONFIG_FILE="$2"
+                shift 2
+            else
+                echo "❌ Error: --validator-config requires a path"
+                exit 1
+            fi
+            ;;
         *)
             shift
             ;;
@@ -403,6 +413,14 @@ echo "   Docker image: $PK_DOCKER_IMAGE"
 echo "   Command: leanchain"
 echo ""
 
+# If validator config is external (not already inside genesis dir), copy it in
+# so the Docker container can find it at the expected /data/genesis/validator-config.yaml path
+GENESIS_VALIDATOR_CONFIG="$GENESIS_DIR/validator-config.yaml"
+if [ "$VALIDATOR_CONFIG_FILE" != "$GENESIS_VALIDATOR_CONFIG" ]; then
+    cp "$VALIDATOR_CONFIG_FILE" "$GENESIS_VALIDATOR_CONFIG"
+    echo "   Copied external validator config to genesis dir"
+fi
+
 # Convert to absolute path for docker volume mount
 GENESIS_DIR_ABS="$(cd "$GENESIS_DIR" && pwd)"
 PARENT_DIR_ABS="$(cd "$GENESIS_DIR/.." && pwd)"
diff --git a/parse-env.sh b/parse-env.sh
index 6dfc0d0..51e56e1 100755
--- a/parse-env.sh
+++ b/parse-env.sh
@@ -3,21 +3,20 @@
 
 if [ -n "$NETWORK_DIR" ]
 then
-  echo "setting up network from $scriptDir/$NETWORK_DIR"
-  configDir="$scriptDir/$NETWORK_DIR/genesis"
-  dataDir="$scriptDir/$NETWORK_DIR/data"
+  # Support both absolute paths and relative paths (relative to scriptDir)
+  if [[ "$NETWORK_DIR" = /* ]]; then
+    _resolved_network_dir="$NETWORK_DIR"
+  else
+    _resolved_network_dir="$scriptDir/$NETWORK_DIR"
+  fi
+  echo "setting up network from $_resolved_network_dir"
+  configDir="$_resolved_network_dir/genesis"
+  dataDir="$_resolved_network_dir/data"
 else
   echo "set NETWORK_DIR env variable to run"
   exit
 fi;
 
-# TODO: check for presense of all required files by filenames on configDir
-if [ ! -n "$(ls -A $configDir)" ]
-then
-  echo "no genesis config at path=$configDir, exiting."
-  exit
-fi;
-
 while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
   key="$1"
   case $key in
@@ -126,6 +125,11 @@ while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
       shift
       shift
       ;;
+    --network)
+      networkName="$2"
+      shift # past argument
+      shift # past value
+      ;;
     --logs)
       enableLogs=true
       shift
@@ -143,6 +147,13 @@ then
   exit
 fi;
 
+# Check genesis dir exists and is non-empty, unless --generateGenesis will create it
+if [ "$generateGenesis" != "true" ] && [ ! -n "$(ls -A $configDir 2>/dev/null)" ]
+then
+  echo "no genesis config at path=$configDir, exiting."
+  exit
+fi;
+
 # Validate --replace-with requires --restart-client
 if [[ -n "$replaceWith" ]] && [[ ! -n "$restartClient" ]]; then
   echo "Warning: --replace-with requires --restart-client. Ignoring --replace-with."
@@ -162,6 +173,7 @@ fi;
 
 # freshStart logic removed - now handled by --generateGenesis flag
 
+networkName="${networkName:-devnet-3}"
 
 echo "configDir = $configDir"
 echo "dataDir = $dataDir"
@@ -179,4 +191,5 @@ echo "skipLeanpoint = ${skipLeanpoint:-false}"
 echo "skipNemo = ${skipNemo:-false}"
 echo "dryRun = ${dryRun:-false}"
 echo "replaceWith = ${replaceWith:-<not set>}"
+echo "networkName = $networkName"
 echo "enableLogs = ${enableLogs:-false}"
diff --git a/run-ansible.sh b/run-ansible.sh
index 75d8267..4035df9 100755
--- a/run-ansible.sh
+++ b/run-ansible.sh
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ skipGenesis="${10}"  # Set to "true" to skip genesis generation (e.g. when resta
 checkpointSyncUrl="${11}"  # URL for checkpoint sync (when restarting with --restart-client)
 dryRun="${12}"  # Set to "true" to run Ansible with --check --diff (no changes applied)
 syncAllHosts="${13}"  # Set to "true" to sync config yamls to all hosts (used after --replace-with)
+networkName="${14}"  # Network label applied to all metrics (e.g. devnet-3, testnet, mainnet)
 
 # Determine SSH user: use root if --useRoot flag is set, otherwise use current user
 if [ "$useRoot" == "true" ]; then
@@ -115,10 +116,9 @@ if [ -n "$validatorConfig" ] && [ "$validatorConfig" != "genesis_bootnode" ]; th
   EXTRA_VARS="$EXTRA_VARS validator_config=$validatorConfig"
 fi
 
-# Pass the basename of the active validator config file so deploy-nodes.yml
-# can sync the correct file (e.g. validator-config-subnets-2.yaml) to remotes.
-validator_config_basename=$(basename "$validator_config_file")
-EXTRA_VARS="$EXTRA_VARS validator_config_basename=$validator_config_basename"
+# Pass the full local path of the active validator config so deploy-nodes.yml
+# can sync the correct file regardless of where it lives on disk.
+EXTRA_VARS="$EXTRA_VARS local_validator_config_path=$validator_config_file"
 
 if [ -n "$coreDumps" ]; then
   EXTRA_VARS="$EXTRA_VARS enable_core_dumps=$coreDumps"
@@ -136,6 +136,8 @@ if [ "$syncAllHosts" == "true" ]; then
   EXTRA_VARS="$EXTRA_VARS sync_all_hosts=true"
 fi
 
+EXTRA_VARS="$EXTRA_VARS network_name=$networkName"
+
 # Determine deployment mode (docker/binary) - read default from group_vars/all.yml
 # Default to 'docker' if not specified in group_vars
 GROUP_VARS_FILE="$ANSIBLE_DIR/inventory/group_vars/all.yml"
diff --git a/set-up.sh b/set-up.sh
index fb556e9..c9c3362 100755
--- a/set-up.sh
+++ b/set-up.sh
@@ -16,6 +16,9 @@ if [ -n "$generateGenesis" ] || [ ! -f "$configDir/validators.yaml" ] || [ ! -f
   echo "🔧 Running genesis generator..."
   echo "================================================"
   
+  # Ensure genesis directory exists (may not exist when using an external NETWORK_DIR)
+  mkdir -p "$configDir"
+
   # Find the genesis generator script
   genesis_generator="$scriptDir/generate-genesis.sh"
   
@@ -24,8 +27,14 @@ if [ -n "$generateGenesis" ] || [ ! -f "$configDir/validators.yaml" ] || [ ! -f
     exit 1
   fi
   
+  # Pass external validator config if provided (not the default genesis_bootnode sentinel)
+  _validator_config_flag=""
+  if [ -n "$validatorConfig" ] && [ "$validatorConfig" != "genesis_bootnode" ]; then
+    _validator_config_flag="--validator-config $validatorConfig"
+  fi
+
   # Run the generator with deployment mode
-  if ! $genesis_generator "$configDir" --mode "$deployment_mode" $FORCE_KEYGEN_FLAG; then
+  if ! $genesis_generator "$configDir" --mode "$deployment_mode" $FORCE_KEYGEN_FLAG $_validator_config_flag; then
     echo "❌ Genesis generation failed!"
     exit 1
   fi
diff --git a/spin-node.sh b/spin-node.sh
index db4987a..d590950 100755
--- a/spin-node.sh
+++ b/spin-node.sh
@@ -76,16 +76,27 @@ if [ "$enableLogs" == "true" ]; then
     _log_dir="$scriptDir/tmp"
     mkdir -p "$_log_dir"
     _log_start=$(date -u +%s)
+    _ts=$(date -u '+%d-%m-%Y-%H-%M')
     if [ "$deployment_mode" == "ansible" ]; then
         _log_prefix="ansible-run"
+        _config_prefix="ansible"
     else
         _log_prefix="local-run"
+        _config_prefix="local"
     fi
-    _log_file="$_log_dir/${_log_prefix}-$(date -u '+%d-%m-%Y-%H-%M').log"
+    _log_file="$_log_dir/${_log_prefix}-${_ts}.log"
     echo "$(date -u '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') START spin-node.sh $_original_args" >> "$_log_dir/devnet.log"
     trap 'echo "$(date -u '\''+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'\'') END   spin-node.sh ($(( $(date -u +%s) - _log_start ))s) -> '"$_log_file"'" >> "'"$_log_dir"'/devnet.log"' EXIT
     exec > >(tee -a "$_log_file") 2>&1
     echo "Logging to $_log_file"
+    # Copy validator config with timestamped name matching the run log
+    if [ -n "$replaceWith" ]; then
+        _config_copy="$_log_dir/${_config_prefix}-${networkName}-validator-config-replace-${_ts}.yaml"
+    else
+        _config_copy="$_log_dir/${_config_prefix}-${networkName}-validator-config-${_ts}.yaml"
+    fi
+    cp "$validator_config_file" "$_config_copy"
+    echo "Validator config copied to $_config_copy"
 fi
 
 # If --subnets N is specified, expand the validator config template into a new
@@ -177,7 +188,7 @@ if [ -n "$prepareMode" ] && [ "$prepareMode" == "true" ]; then
     echo "Preparing remote servers (verifying and installing required software)..."
   fi
 
-  if ! "$scriptDir/run-ansible.sh" "$configDir" "" "" "" "$validator_config_file" "$sshKeyFile" "$useRoot" "prepare" "" "" "" "$dryRun"; then
+  if ! "$scriptDir/run-ansible.sh" "$configDir" "" "" "" "$validator_config_file" "$sshKeyFile" "$useRoot" "prepare" "" "" "" "$dryRun" "" "$networkName"; then
     echo "❌ Server preparation failed."
     exit 1
   fi
@@ -430,7 +441,7 @@ if [[ -n "$restartClient" ]]; then
         old_name="${replace_old_names[$idx]}"
         if [ "$deployment_mode" == "ansible" ]; then
           echo "Stopping $old_name and cleaning remote data via Ansible..."
-          "$scriptDir/run-ansible.sh" "$configDir" "$old_name" "true" "$validatorConfig" "$validator_config_file" "$sshKeyFile" "$useRoot" "stop" "" "true" "" || {
+          "$scriptDir/run-ansible.sh" "$configDir" "$old_name" "true" "$validatorConfig" "$validator_config_file" "$sshKeyFile" "$useRoot" "stop" "" "true" "" "" "" "$networkName" || {
             echo "Warning: Failed to stop $old_name via Ansible, continuing..."
           }
         else
@@ -582,7 +593,7 @@ if [ "$deployment_mode" == "ansible" ]; then
   # Handle stop action
   if [ -n "$stopNodes" ] && [ "$stopNodes" == "true" ]; then
     echo "Stopping nodes via Ansible..."
-    if ! "$scriptDir/run-ansible.sh" "$configDir" "$ansible_node_arg" "$cleanData" "$validatorConfig" "$validator_config_file" "$sshKeyFile" "$useRoot" "stop" "$coreDumps" "$ansible_skip_genesis" "" "$dryRun"; then
+    if ! "$scriptDir/run-ansible.sh" "$configDir" "$ansible_node_arg" "$cleanData" "$validatorConfig" "$validator_config_file" "$sshKeyFile" "$useRoot" "stop" "$coreDumps" "$ansible_skip_genesis" "" "$dryRun" "" "$networkName"; then
       echo "❌ Ansible stop operation failed. Exiting."
       exit 1
     fi
@@ -602,7 +613,7 @@ if [ "$deployment_mode" == "ansible" ]; then
   ansible_sync_all_hosts=""
   [[ "${has_replacements:-false}" = "true" ]] && ansible_sync_all_hosts="true"
 
-  if ! "$scriptDir/run-ansible.sh" "$configDir" "$ansible_node_arg" "$ansible_clean_data" "$validatorConfig" "$validator_config_file" "$sshKeyFile" "$useRoot" "" "$coreDumps" "$ansible_skip_genesis" "$ansible_checkpoint_url" "$dryRun" "$ansible_sync_all_hosts"; then
+  if ! "$scriptDir/run-ansible.sh" "$configDir" "$ansible_node_arg" "$ansible_clean_data" "$validatorConfig" "$validator_config_file" "$sshKeyFile" "$useRoot" "" "$coreDumps" "$ansible_skip_genesis" "$ansible_checkpoint_url" "$dryRun" "$ansible_sync_all_hosts" "$networkName"; then
     echo "❌ Ansible deployment failed. Exiting."
     exit 1
   fi
@@ -629,7 +640,7 @@ if [ "$deployment_mode" == "ansible" ]; then
     _genesis_time=$(grep "GENESIS_TIME:" "$_genesis_config" | awk '{print $2}')
     if [ -n "$_genesis_time" ]; then
       echo "lean_genesis_time $_genesis_time" | curl -s --data-binary @- \
-        "$_pushgateway_url/metrics/job/lean-quickstart" || \
+        "$_pushgateway_url/metrics/job/lean-quickstart/network/$networkName" || \
         echo "Warning: Failed to push lean_genesis_time to Pushgateway."
     fi
   fi