diff --git a/configs/glm5-nvfp4-8xb300.yaml b/configs/glm5-nvfp4-8xb300.yaml
index 90d1fc5..99398ed 100644
--- a/configs/glm5-nvfp4-8xb300.yaml
+++ b/configs/glm5-nvfp4-8xb300.yaml
@@ -14,11 +14,12 @@ model:
 hardware:
   type: 8xb300
   hbm_bytes: 1900.0e9          # KV budget after FP4 weights (~372 GB)
+  dram_bytes: 1.5e12             # ~1.5 TB usable CPU DRAM per node
 
 cluster:
-  num_instances: 32
+  num_instances: 8
   meta_store:
-    ttl_seconds: 120.0
+    ttl_seconds: 300.0
   router:
     mode: prefix_affinity
     prefix_k: 8
diff --git a/src/cluster/cluster.rs b/src/cluster/cluster.rs
index 233f947..d7e5cbd 100644
--- a/src/cluster/cluster.rs
+++ b/src/cluster/cluster.rs
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 use crate::cluster::meta_store::MetaStore;
 use crate::config::{Config, ModelConfig};
 use crate::instance::instance::AdmittedRequest;
+use crate::instance::kv_cache::L1Change;
 use crate::instance::Instance;
 use crate::router::{self, RouteDecision, Router};
 use crate::trace::RequestRecord;
@@ -53,7 +54,9 @@ impl Cluster {
     /// per-request stats for metrics. Does NOT schedule the BatchTick — the
     /// simulator driver does that based on the returned `ready_at`.
     pub fn route_and_admit(&mut self, req: &RequestRecord, now: f64) -> AdmissionStats {
-        let decision = self.router.route(req, &self.instances, &self.meta_store, now);
+        let decision = self
+            .router
+            .route(req, &self.instances, &self.meta_store, now);
         let inst_id = decision.chosen;
         let probe_overhead_s = decision.probe_overhead_s;
 
@@ -68,19 +71,18 @@ impl Cluster {
 
         // 2. L1 lookup on the remaining suffix.
         let suffix_after_l0 = &req.hash_ids[l0_hits as usize..];
-        let l1_hits = inst.cache.l1.longest_prefix(suffix_after_l0) as u32;
+        let l1_hits = inst.cache.l1.longest_prefix_peek(suffix_after_l0) as u32;
         // L1->L0 transfer cost
         let l1_bytes = (l1_hits as u64) * self.kv_block_bytes;
         let mut t = effective_now;
+        let mut l1_changes = Vec::new();
         if l1_hits > 0 {
             t = inst.links.pcie.reserve(t, l1_bytes);
-            // Promote those blocks into L0
-            let mut evicted = Vec::new();
-            inst.cache.l0.insert_blocks(
-                &suffix_after_l0[..l1_hits as usize],
-                &mut evicted,
-            );
+            l1_changes = inst
+                .cache
+                .promote_l1_blocks_to_l0(&suffix_after_l0[..l1_hits as usize]);
         }
+        Self::apply_l1_changes(&mut self.meta_store, inst_id, now, &l1_changes);
 
         // 3. Remote v6d lookup for the still-remaining suffix.
         let suffix_after_l1 = &suffix_after_l0[l1_hits as usize..];
@@ -98,20 +100,14 @@ impl Cluster {
         }
         let remote_bytes = (remote_hit_blocks as u64) * self.kv_block_bytes;
         if remote_hit_blocks > 0 {
-            // RDMA from peer host -> local DRAM, then PCIe -> GPU
-            let inst = &mut self.instances[inst_id as usize];
-            t = inst.links.rdma.reserve(t, remote_bytes);
-            t = inst.links.pcie.reserve(t, remote_bytes);
-            // Insert into local L1 (occupies LRU space) AND into L0
             let pulled = &suffix_after_l1[..remote_hit_blocks as usize];
-            let mut evicted_l1 = Vec::new();
-            inst.cache.l1.insert_blocks(pulled, &mut evicted_l1);
-            let mut evicted_l0 = Vec::new();
-            inst.cache.l0.insert_blocks(pulled, &mut evicted_l0);
-            // The local instance now also owns these blocks - update meta_store.
-            for &h in pulled {
-                self.meta_store.insert(h, inst_id, now);
-            }
+            let l1_changes = {
+                let inst = &mut self.instances[inst_id as usize];
+                t = inst.links.rdma.reserve(t, remote_bytes);
+                t = inst.links.pcie.reserve(t, remote_bytes);
+                inst.cache.fetch_remote_blocks_to_l0(pulled)
+            };
+            Self::apply_l1_changes(&mut self.meta_store, inst_id, now, &l1_changes);
         }
 
         // 4. Miss = remaining tokens to prefill from scratch.
@@ -119,20 +115,14 @@ impl Cluster {
         let miss_tokens = miss_blocks * self.block_size_tokens;
 
         // The newly-prefilled blocks (after the request runs) are inserted
-        // into L0 here, and into L1 / meta_store via async writeback. Doing
-        // this at admission time is OK because we're tracking presence, not
-        // actually moving bytes — the writeback latency is hidden behind
-        // request execution and we don't model meta_store inconsistency
-        // window beyond the TTL itself.
-        let inst = &mut self.instances[inst_id as usize];
+        // into L0 here. Only later L0 evictions become remotely visible by
+        // landing in L1 and being published to the meta store.
         let new_input_blocks = &req.hash_ids[(l0_hits + l1_hits + remote_hit_blocks) as usize..];
-        let mut evicted_l0 = Vec::new();
-        inst.cache.l0.insert_blocks(new_input_blocks, &mut evicted_l0);
-        let mut evicted_l1 = Vec::new();
-        inst.cache.l1.insert_blocks(new_input_blocks, &mut evicted_l1);
-        for &h in new_input_blocks {
-            self.meta_store.insert(h, inst_id, now);
-        }
+        let l1_changes = {
+            let inst = &mut self.instances[inst_id as usize];
+            inst.cache.insert_blocks_into_l0(new_input_blocks)
+        };
+        Self::apply_l1_changes(&mut self.meta_store, inst_id, now, &l1_changes);
 
         // 5. Reserve KV slots for this request's prefill residency.
         //    PD disaggregation: decode runs elsewhere, so only the input
@@ -145,6 +135,7 @@ impl Cluster {
             prefill_tokens_remaining: miss_tokens,
             reserved_blocks,
         };
+        let inst = &mut self.instances[inst_id as usize];
         inst.admit(admitted);
 
         let pcie_bytes = l1_bytes + remote_bytes;
@@ -164,4 +155,18 @@ impl Cluster {
             decision,
         }
     }
+
+    fn apply_l1_changes(
+        meta_store: &mut MetaStore,
+        inst_id: InstanceId,
+        now: f64,
+        changes: &[L1Change],
+    ) {
+        for change in changes {
+            match *change {
+                L1Change::Added(hash) => meta_store.insert(hash, inst_id, now),
+                L1Change::Removed(hash) => meta_store.remove(hash, inst_id),
+            }
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/cluster/meta_store.rs b/src/cluster/meta_store.rs
index 2fe3b94..04bf639 100644
--- a/src/cluster/meta_store.rs
+++ b/src/cluster/meta_store.rs
@@ -116,6 +116,21 @@ impl MetaStore {
         scores
     }
 
+    /// Remove `instance`'s entry for `block_hash` (e.g. after L1 eviction).
+    ///
+    /// The meta-store must reflect **L1 (DRAM) presence only**, because remote
+    /// RDMA fetch can only reach CPU DRAM, never GPU HBM.  Whenever the L1
+    /// tier evicts a block, the caller must invoke this so the meta-store
+    /// stops advertising the block as remotely available on this instance.
+    pub fn remove(&mut self, block_hash: u64, instance: InstanceId) {
+        if let Some(bucket) = self.map.get_mut(&block_hash) {
+            bucket.retain(|e| e.instance != instance);
+            if bucket.is_empty() {
+                self.map.remove(&block_hash);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Lookup which (alive) instances claim to hold a given block.
     pub fn instances_for(&self, hash: u64, now: f64) -> SmallVec<[InstanceId; 4]> {
         let mut out = SmallVec::new();
@@ -149,6 +164,34 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(s[2], 0);
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn remove_cleans_up() {
+        let mut m = MetaStore::new(60.0);
+        m.insert(10, 0, 0.0);
+        m.insert(10, 1, 0.0);
+        m.insert(11, 0, 0.0);
+
+        // instance 0 has both blocks, instance 1 has block 10 only
+        let owners = m.instances_for(10, 0.5);
+        assert_eq!(owners.len(), 2);
+
+        // Remove instance 0's entry for block 10
+        m.remove(10, 0);
+        let owners = m.instances_for(10, 0.5);
+        assert_eq!(owners.len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(owners[0], 1);
+
+        // Instance 0 still owns block 11
+        let owners = m.instances_for(11, 0.5);
+        assert_eq!(owners.len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(owners[0], 0);
+
+        // Remove last owner of a block -> entry fully cleaned
+        m.remove(10, 1);
+        let owners = m.instances_for(10, 0.5);
+        assert!(owners.is_empty());
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn ttl_expiry() {
         let mut m = MetaStore::new(1.0);
diff --git a/src/instance/kv_cache.rs b/src/instance/kv_cache.rs
index 9daaa56..68e4fa4 100644
--- a/src/instance/kv_cache.rs
+++ b/src/instance/kv_cache.rs
@@ -10,6 +10,12 @@
 
 use ahash::AHashMap;
 
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub enum L1Change {
+    Added(u64),
+    Removed(u64),
+}
+
 /// Doubly-linked-list-backed LRU keyed by block hash.
 #[derive(Debug)]
 pub struct LruBlocks {
@@ -56,6 +62,16 @@ impl LruBlocks {
         self.map.contains_key(&key)
     }
 
+    pub fn remove(&mut self, key: u64) -> bool {
+        if let Some(idx) = self.map.remove(&key) {
+            self.detach(idx);
+            self.free.push(idx);
+            true
+        } else {
+            false
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Touch (move to MRU) if present. Returns whether the key was present.
     pub fn touch(&mut self, key: u64) -> bool {
         if let Some(&idx) = self.map.get(&key) {
@@ -70,33 +86,47 @@ impl LruBlocks {
     /// existing block just touches it.
     pub fn insert_blocks(&mut self, hashes: &[u64], evicted_out: &mut Vec<u64>) {
         for &h in hashes {
-            if self.touch(h) {
-                continue;
+            if let Some(evicted) = self.insert_block(h) {
+                evicted_out.push(evicted);
             }
-            // need to make room?
-            if self.map.len() == self.capacity {
-                if let Some(tail_idx) = self.tail {
-                    let tail_key = self.nodes[tail_idx].key;
-                    self.detach(tail_idx);
-                    self.map.remove(&tail_key);
-                    self.free.push(tail_idx);
-                    evicted_out.push(tail_key);
-                }
-            }
-            // allocate node
-            let idx = if let Some(i) = self.free.pop() {
-                self.nodes[i] = Node { key: h, prev: None, next: None };
-                i
-            } else {
-                let i = self.nodes.len();
-                self.nodes.push(Node { key: h, prev: None, next: None });
-                i
-            };
-            self.map.insert(h, idx);
-            self.attach_to_head(idx);
         }
     }
 
+    pub fn insert_block(&mut self, key: u64) -> Option<u64> {
+        if self.touch(key) {
+            return None;
+        }
+        let mut evicted = None;
+        if self.map.len() == self.capacity {
+            if let Some(tail_idx) = self.tail {
+                let tail_key = self.nodes[tail_idx].key;
+                self.detach(tail_idx);
+                self.map.remove(&tail_key);
+                self.free.push(tail_idx);
+                evicted = Some(tail_key);
+            }
+        }
+        let idx = if let Some(i) = self.free.pop() {
+            self.nodes[i] = Node {
+                key,
+                prev: None,
+                next: None,
+            };
+            i
+        } else {
+            let i = self.nodes.len();
+            self.nodes.push(Node {
+                key,
+                prev: None,
+                next: None,
+            });
+            i
+        };
+        self.map.insert(key, idx);
+        self.attach_to_head(idx);
+        evicted
+    }
+
     /// Longest leading prefix of `hashes` present; touches the matched blocks.
     pub fn longest_prefix(&mut self, hashes: &[u64]) -> usize {
         let mut n = 0usize;
@@ -178,6 +208,68 @@ impl TwoTierCache {
             l1: LruBlocks::new(l1_cap),
         }
     }
+
+    pub fn insert_blocks_into_l0(&mut self, hashes: &[u64]) -> Vec<L1Change> {
+        let mut changes = Vec::new();
+        for &h in hashes {
+            self.insert_block_into_l0(h, &mut changes);
+        }
+        changes
+    }
+
+    pub fn promote_l1_blocks_to_l0(&mut self, hashes: &[u64]) -> Vec<L1Change> {
+        let mut changes = Vec::new();
+        for &h in hashes {
+            if self.l1.remove(h) {
+                changes.push(L1Change::Removed(h));
+            }
+            self.insert_block_into_l0(h, &mut changes);
+        }
+        changes
+    }
+
+    pub fn fetch_remote_blocks_to_l0(&mut self, hashes: &[u64]) -> Vec<L1Change> {
+        let mut changes = Vec::new();
+        for &h in hashes {
+            self.stage_remote_block_in_l1(h, &mut changes);
+            let removed = self.l1.remove(h);
+            debug_assert!(removed, "staged remote block must be present in l1");
+            self.insert_block_into_l0(h, &mut changes);
+        }
+        changes
+    }
+
+    fn insert_block_into_l0(&mut self, hash: u64, changes: &mut Vec<L1Change>) {
+        if self.l0.touch(hash) {
+            return;
+        }
+        if self.l1.remove(hash) {
+            changes.push(L1Change::Removed(hash));
+        }
+        if let Some(evicted_l0) = self.l0.insert_block(hash) {
+            self.demote_into_l1(evicted_l0, changes);
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn stage_remote_block_in_l1(&mut self, hash: u64, changes: &mut Vec<L1Change>) {
+        if self.l0.contains(hash) || self.l1.contains(hash) {
+            return;
+        }
+        if let Some(evicted_l1) = self.l1.insert_block(hash) {
+            changes.push(L1Change::Removed(evicted_l1));
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn demote_into_l1(&mut self, hash: u64, changes: &mut Vec<L1Change>) {
+        debug_assert!(!self.l0.contains(hash));
+        if self.l1.touch(hash) {
+            return;
+        }
+        if let Some(evicted_l1) = self.l1.insert_block(hash) {
+            changes.push(L1Change::Removed(evicted_l1));
+        }
+        changes.push(L1Change::Added(hash));
+    }
 }
 
 #[cfg(test)]
@@ -223,4 +315,61 @@ mod tests {
         c.insert_blocks(&[4], &mut ev);
         assert_eq!(ev, vec![2]);
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn two_tier_cache_demotes_l0_evictions_into_l1() {
+        let mut c = TwoTierCache::new(2, 2);
+
+        assert!(c.insert_blocks_into_l0(&[1, 2]).is_empty());
+        let changes = c.insert_blocks_into_l0(&[3]);
+
+        assert!(c.l0.contains(2));
+        assert!(c.l0.contains(3));
+        assert!(!c.l0.contains(1));
+        assert!(c.l1.contains(1));
+        assert_eq!(changes, vec![L1Change::Added(1)]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn promoting_l1_blocks_to_l0_keeps_tiers_exclusive() {
+        let mut c = TwoTierCache::new(2, 2);
+        c.insert_blocks_into_l0(&[1, 2, 3]);
+
+        let changes = c.promote_l1_blocks_to_l0(&[1]);
+
+        assert!(c.l0.contains(1));
+        assert!(c.l0.contains(3));
+        assert!(!c.l0.contains(2));
+        assert!(!c.l1.contains(1));
+        assert!(c.l1.contains(2));
+        assert_eq!(changes, vec![L1Change::Removed(1), L1Change::Added(2)]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn reinserting_block_into_l0_removes_duplicate_from_l1() {
+        let mut c = TwoTierCache::new(2, 2);
+        c.insert_blocks_into_l0(&[1, 2, 3]);
+
+        let changes = c.insert_blocks_into_l0(&[1]);
+
+        assert!(c.l0.contains(1));
+        assert!(c.l0.contains(3));
+        assert!(!c.l1.contains(1));
+        assert!(c.l1.contains(2));
+        assert_eq!(changes, vec![L1Change::Removed(1), L1Change::Added(2)]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn remote_fetch_uses_l1_capacity_before_promoting_to_l0() {
+        let mut c = TwoTierCache::new(2, 1);
+        c.insert_blocks_into_l0(&[1, 2, 3]);
+
+        let changes = c.fetch_remote_blocks_to_l0(&[4]);
+
+        assert!(c.l0.contains(3));
+        assert!(c.l0.contains(4));
+        assert!(!c.l1.contains(1));
+        assert!(c.l1.contains(2));
+        assert_eq!(changes, vec![L1Change::Removed(1), L1Change::Added(2)]);
+    }
 }