diff --git a/microbench/connector_tax/cache_sweep/run_5policy_both_modes.sh b/microbench/connector_tax/cache_sweep/run_5policy_both_modes.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a5b787b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/microbench/connector_tax/cache_sweep/run_5policy_both_modes.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# 5-policy comparison in BOTH dispatch modes on the SAME ttp-annotated trace,
+# so the only variable is dispatch-mode (tracets vs thinktime). Fresh vLLM
+# (cold APC) per arm via run_5policy_600s.sh -> b3_isolated_policy.sh.
+set -uo pipefail
+ROOT="${ROOT:-/home/admin/cpfs/wjh/agentic-kv}"
+TRACE_FILE="${TRACE_FILE:-$ROOT/traces/w600_r0.0015_st30_first600s_ttp.jsonl}"
+RUN5="$ROOT/microbench/connector_tax/cache_sweep/run_5policy_600s.sh"
+DATE="$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M)"
+
+echo "=== 5policy x {tracets,thinktime} | trace=$(basename "$TRACE_FILE") | $DATE ==="
+for MODE in tracets thinktime; do
+    OUT="$ROOT/outputs/policy5_600s_${MODE}_${DATE}"
+    echo "############ MODE=$MODE  OUT=$OUT  $(date) ############"
+    TRACE="$TRACE_FILE" REPLAY_DISPATCH_MODE="$MODE" OUTROOT="$OUT" \
+        bash "$RUN5"
+    echo "dispatch_mode=$MODE" >> "$OUT/RUNINFO.txt"
+    echo "trace=$TRACE_FILE" >> "$OUT/RUNINFO.txt"
+done
+echo "=== ALL DONE (both modes) $(date) ==="
diff --git a/scripts/b3_isolated_policy.sh b/scripts/b3_isolated_policy.sh
index 9b6644e..7ce6aad 100755
--- a/scripts/b3_isolated_policy.sh
+++ b/scripts/b3_isolated_policy.sh
@@ -126,8 +126,9 @@ done
 echo "[isolated] waiting for vLLM health ..."
 # NIXL init takes ~100-150s per instance even with concurrent launches;
 # Mooncake is closer to ~30-60s. Use a generous 360s timeout to cover
-# both (90s -> 360s vs the previous 180s).
-HEALTH_MAX_TRIES=180
+# both (90s -> 360s vs the previous 180s). Override via env for slow nodes
+# (e.g. HEALTH_MAX_TRIES=300 -> 600s).
+HEALTH_MAX_TRIES="${HEALTH_MAX_TRIES:-180}"
 for i in $(seq 0 $((N_INSTANCES - 1))); do
     port=$((BASE_PORT + i))
     tries=0