ME Writer Pick

src/config/defaults.rs

@@ -21,9 +21,10 @@ const DEFAULT_ME_ADAPTIVE_FLOOR_MAX_ACTIVE_WRITERS_PER_CORE: u16 = 64;
 const DEFAULT_ME_ADAPTIVE_FLOOR_MAX_WARM_WRITERS_PER_CORE: u16 = 64;
 const DEFAULT_ME_ADAPTIVE_FLOOR_MAX_ACTIVE_WRITERS_GLOBAL: u32 = 256;
 const DEFAULT_ME_ADAPTIVE_FLOOR_MAX_WARM_WRITERS_GLOBAL: u32 = 256;
-const DEFAULT_ME_WRITER_CMD_CHANNEL_CAPACITY: usize = 512;
+const DEFAULT_ME_WRITER_CMD_CHANNEL_CAPACITY: usize = 1024;
 const DEFAULT_ME_ROUTE_CHANNEL_CAPACITY: usize = 512;
-const DEFAULT_ME_C2ME_CHANNEL_CAPACITY: usize = 128;
+const DEFAULT_ME_C2ME_CHANNEL_CAPACITY: usize = 256;
+const DEFAULT_ME_WRITER_PICK_SAMPLE_SIZE: u8 = 3;
 const DEFAULT_ME_HEALTH_INTERVAL_MS_UNHEALTHY: u64 = 1000;
 const DEFAULT_ME_HEALTH_INTERVAL_MS_HEALTHY: u64 = 3000;
 const DEFAULT_ME_ADMISSION_POLL_MS: u64 = 1000;
@@ -315,6 +316,10 @@ pub(crate) fn default_me_c2me_channel_capacity() -> usize {
     DEFAULT_ME_C2ME_CHANNEL_CAPACITY
 }
 
+pub(crate) fn default_me_writer_pick_sample_size() -> u8 {
+    DEFAULT_ME_WRITER_PICK_SAMPLE_SIZE
+}
+
 pub(crate) fn default_me_health_interval_ms_unhealthy() -> u64 {
     DEFAULT_ME_HEALTH_INTERVAL_MS_UNHEALTHY
 }

src/config/hot_reload.rs

@@ -29,7 +29,10 @@ use notify::{EventKind, RecursiveMode, Watcher, recommended_watcher};
 use tokio::sync::{mpsc, watch};
 use tracing::{error, info, warn};
 
-use crate::config::{LogLevel, MeBindStaleMode, MeFloorMode, MeSocksKdfPolicy, MeTelemetryLevel};
+use crate::config::{
+    LogLevel, MeBindStaleMode, MeFloorMode, MeSocksKdfPolicy, MeTelemetryLevel,
+    MeWriterPickMode,
+};
 use super::load::ProxyConfig;
 
 // ── Hot fields ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -57,6 +60,8 @@ pub struct HotFields {
     pub me_bind_stale_ttl_secs: u64,
     pub me_secret_atomic_snapshot: bool,
     pub me_deterministic_writer_sort: bool,
+    pub me_writer_pick_mode: MeWriterPickMode,
+    pub me_writer_pick_sample_size: u8,
     pub me_single_endpoint_shadow_writers: u8,
     pub me_single_endpoint_outage_mode_enabled: bool,
     pub me_single_endpoint_outage_disable_quarantine: bool,
@@ -130,6 +135,8 @@ impl HotFields {
             me_bind_stale_ttl_secs: cfg.general.me_bind_stale_ttl_secs,
             me_secret_atomic_snapshot: cfg.general.me_secret_atomic_snapshot,
             me_deterministic_writer_sort: cfg.general.me_deterministic_writer_sort,
+            me_writer_pick_mode: cfg.general.me_writer_pick_mode,
+            me_writer_pick_sample_size: cfg.general.me_writer_pick_sample_size,
             me_single_endpoint_shadow_writers: cfg.general.me_single_endpoint_shadow_writers,
             me_single_endpoint_outage_mode_enabled: cfg
                 .general
@@ -292,6 +299,8 @@ fn overlay_hot_fields(old: &ProxyConfig, new: &ProxyConfig) -> ProxyConfig {
     cfg.general.me_bind_stale_ttl_secs = new.general.me_bind_stale_ttl_secs;
     cfg.general.me_secret_atomic_snapshot = new.general.me_secret_atomic_snapshot;
     cfg.general.me_deterministic_writer_sort = new.general.me_deterministic_writer_sort;
+    cfg.general.me_writer_pick_mode = new.general.me_writer_pick_mode;
+    cfg.general.me_writer_pick_sample_size = new.general.me_writer_pick_sample_size;
     cfg.general.me_single_endpoint_shadow_writers = new.general.me_single_endpoint_shadow_writers;
     cfg.general.me_single_endpoint_outage_mode_enabled =
         new.general.me_single_endpoint_outage_mode_enabled;
@@ -683,11 +692,15 @@ fn log_changes(
     }
     if old_hot.me_secret_atomic_snapshot != new_hot.me_secret_atomic_snapshot
         || old_hot.me_deterministic_writer_sort != new_hot.me_deterministic_writer_sort
+        || old_hot.me_writer_pick_mode != new_hot.me_writer_pick_mode
+        || old_hot.me_writer_pick_sample_size != new_hot.me_writer_pick_sample_size
     {
         info!(
-            "config reload: me_runtime_flags: secret_atomic_snapshot={} deterministic_sort={}",
+            "config reload: me_runtime_flags: secret_atomic_snapshot={} deterministic_sort={} writer_pick_mode={:?} writer_pick_sample_size={}",
             new_hot.me_secret_atomic_snapshot,
-            new_hot.me_deterministic_writer_sort
+            new_hot.me_deterministic_writer_sort,
+            new_hot.me_writer_pick_mode,
+            new_hot.me_writer_pick_sample_size,
         );
     }
     if old_hot.me_single_endpoint_shadow_writers != new_hot.me_single_endpoint_shadow_writers

src/config/load.rs

@@ -519,6 +519,12 @@ impl ProxyConfig {
             ));
         }
 
+        if !(2..=4).contains(&config.general.me_writer_pick_sample_size) {
+            return Err(ProxyError::Config(
+                "general.me_writer_pick_sample_size must be within [2, 4]".to_string(),
+            ));
+        }
+
         if config.general.me_route_inline_recovery_attempts == 0 {
             return Err(ProxyError::Config(
                 "general.me_route_inline_recovery_attempts must be > 0".to_string(),

src/config/types.rs

@@ -212,6 +212,32 @@ impl MeRouteNoWriterMode {
     }
 }
 
+/// Middle-End writer selection mode for new client bindings.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq, Serialize, Deserialize, Default)]
+#[serde(rename_all = "snake_case")]
+pub enum MeWriterPickMode {
+    SortedRr,
+    #[default]
+    P2c,
+}
+
+impl MeWriterPickMode {
+    pub fn as_u8(self) -> u8 {
+        match self {
+            MeWriterPickMode::SortedRr => 0,
+            MeWriterPickMode::P2c => 1,
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn from_u8(raw: u8) -> Self {
+        match raw {
+            0 => MeWriterPickMode::SortedRr,
+            1 => MeWriterPickMode::P2c,
+            _ => MeWriterPickMode::P2c,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 /// Per-user unique source IP limit mode.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq, Serialize, Deserialize, Default)]
 #[serde(rename_all = "snake_case")]
@@ -782,6 +808,14 @@ pub struct GeneralConfig {
     #[serde(default = "default_me_deterministic_writer_sort")]
     pub me_deterministic_writer_sort: bool,
 
+    /// Writer selection mode for ME route bind path.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub me_writer_pick_mode: MeWriterPickMode,
+
+    /// Number of candidates sampled by writer picker in `p2c` mode.
+    #[serde(default = "default_me_writer_pick_sample_size")]
+    pub me_writer_pick_sample_size: u8,
+
     /// Enable NTP drift check at startup.
     #[serde(default = "default_ntp_check")]
     pub ntp_check: bool,
@@ -912,6 +946,8 @@ impl Default for GeneralConfig {
             me_reinit_trigger_channel: default_me_reinit_trigger_channel(),
             me_reinit_coalesce_window_ms: default_me_reinit_coalesce_window_ms(),
             me_deterministic_writer_sort: default_me_deterministic_writer_sort(),
+            me_writer_pick_mode: MeWriterPickMode::default(),
+            me_writer_pick_sample_size: default_me_writer_pick_sample_size(),
             ntp_check: default_ntp_check(),
             ntp_servers: default_ntp_servers(),
             auto_degradation_enabled: default_true(),

src/main.rs

@@ -1047,6 +1047,8 @@ async fn main() -> std::result::Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
                         config.general.me_bind_stale_ttl_secs,
                         config.general.me_secret_atomic_snapshot,
                         config.general.me_deterministic_writer_sort,
+                        config.general.me_writer_pick_mode,
+                        config.general.me_writer_pick_sample_size,
                         config.general.me_socks_kdf_policy,
                         config.general.me_writer_cmd_channel_capacity,
                         config.general.me_route_channel_capacity,

src/transport/middle_proxy/config_updater.rs

@@ -306,6 +306,8 @@ async fn run_update_cycle(
         cfg.general.me_bind_stale_ttl_secs,
         cfg.general.me_secret_atomic_snapshot,
         cfg.general.me_deterministic_writer_sort,
+        cfg.general.me_writer_pick_mode,
+        cfg.general.me_writer_pick_sample_size,
         cfg.general.me_single_endpoint_shadow_writers,
         cfg.general.me_single_endpoint_outage_mode_enabled,
         cfg.general.me_single_endpoint_outage_disable_quarantine,
@@ -530,6 +532,8 @@ pub async fn me_config_updater(
                     cfg.general.me_bind_stale_ttl_secs,
                     cfg.general.me_secret_atomic_snapshot,
                     cfg.general.me_deterministic_writer_sort,
+                    cfg.general.me_writer_pick_mode,
+                    cfg.general.me_writer_pick_sample_size,
                     cfg.general.me_single_endpoint_shadow_writers,
                     cfg.general.me_single_endpoint_outage_mode_enabled,
                     cfg.general.me_single_endpoint_outage_disable_quarantine,

src/transport/middle_proxy/pool.rs

@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@ use std::time::{Duration, Instant, SystemTime, UNIX_EPOCH};
 use tokio::sync::{Mutex, Notify, RwLock, mpsc};
 use tokio_util::sync::CancellationToken;
 
-use crate::config::{MeBindStaleMode, MeFloorMode, MeRouteNoWriterMode, MeSocksKdfPolicy};
+use crate::config::{
+    MeBindStaleMode, MeFloorMode, MeRouteNoWriterMode, MeSocksKdfPolicy, MeWriterPickMode,
+};
 use crate::crypto::SecureRandom;
 use crate::network::IpFamily;
 use crate::network::probe::NetworkDecision;
@@ -39,6 +41,7 @@ pub struct MeWriter {
     pub tx: mpsc::Sender<WriterCommand>,
     pub cancel: CancellationToken,
     pub degraded: Arc<AtomicBool>,
+    pub rtt_ema_ms_x10: Arc<AtomicU32>,
     pub draining: Arc<AtomicBool>,
     pub draining_started_at_epoch_secs: Arc<AtomicU64>,
     pub drain_deadline_epoch_secs: Arc<AtomicU64>,
@@ -177,6 +180,8 @@ pub struct MePool {
     pub(super) me_bind_stale_ttl_secs: AtomicU64,
     pub(super) secret_atomic_snapshot: AtomicBool,
     pub(super) me_deterministic_writer_sort: AtomicBool,
+    pub(super) me_writer_pick_mode: AtomicU8,
+    pub(super) me_writer_pick_sample_size: AtomicU8,
     pub(super) me_socks_kdf_policy: AtomicU8,
     pub(super) me_route_no_writer_mode: AtomicU8,
     pub(super) me_route_no_writer_wait: Duration,
@@ -274,6 +279,8 @@ impl MePool {
         me_bind_stale_ttl_secs: u64,
         me_secret_atomic_snapshot: bool,
         me_deterministic_writer_sort: bool,
+        me_writer_pick_mode: MeWriterPickMode,
+        me_writer_pick_sample_size: u8,
         me_socks_kdf_policy: MeSocksKdfPolicy,
         me_writer_cmd_channel_capacity: usize,
         me_route_channel_capacity: usize,
@@ -450,6 +457,8 @@ impl MePool {
             me_bind_stale_ttl_secs: AtomicU64::new(me_bind_stale_ttl_secs),
             secret_atomic_snapshot: AtomicBool::new(me_secret_atomic_snapshot),
             me_deterministic_writer_sort: AtomicBool::new(me_deterministic_writer_sort),
+            me_writer_pick_mode: AtomicU8::new(me_writer_pick_mode.as_u8()),
+            me_writer_pick_sample_size: AtomicU8::new(me_writer_pick_sample_size.clamp(2, 4)),
             me_socks_kdf_policy: AtomicU8::new(me_socks_kdf_policy.as_u8()),
             me_route_no_writer_mode: AtomicU8::new(me_route_no_writer_mode.as_u8()),
             me_route_no_writer_wait: Duration::from_millis(me_route_no_writer_wait_ms),
@@ -489,6 +498,8 @@ impl MePool {
         bind_stale_ttl_secs: u64,
         secret_atomic_snapshot: bool,
         deterministic_writer_sort: bool,
+        writer_pick_mode: MeWriterPickMode,
+        writer_pick_sample_size: u8,
         single_endpoint_shadow_writers: u8,
         single_endpoint_outage_mode_enabled: bool,
         single_endpoint_outage_disable_quarantine: bool,
@@ -535,6 +546,14 @@ impl MePool {
             .store(secret_atomic_snapshot, Ordering::Relaxed);
         self.me_deterministic_writer_sort
             .store(deterministic_writer_sort, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        let previous_writer_pick_mode = self.writer_pick_mode();
+        self.me_writer_pick_mode
+            .store(writer_pick_mode.as_u8(), Ordering::Relaxed);
+        self.me_writer_pick_sample_size
+            .store(writer_pick_sample_size.clamp(2, 4), Ordering::Relaxed);
+        if previous_writer_pick_mode != writer_pick_mode {
+            self.stats.increment_me_writer_pick_mode_switch_total();
+        }
         self.me_single_endpoint_shadow_writers
             .store(single_endpoint_shadow_writers, Ordering::Relaxed);
         self.me_single_endpoint_outage_mode_enabled
@@ -692,6 +711,16 @@ impl MePool {
         MeBindStaleMode::from_u8(self.me_bind_stale_mode.load(Ordering::Relaxed))
     }
 
+    pub(super) fn writer_pick_mode(&self) -> MeWriterPickMode {
+        MeWriterPickMode::from_u8(self.me_writer_pick_mode.load(Ordering::Relaxed))
+    }
+
+    pub(super) fn writer_pick_sample_size(&self) -> usize {
+        self.me_writer_pick_sample_size
+            .load(Ordering::Relaxed)
+            .clamp(2, 4) as usize
+    }
+
     pub(super) fn required_writers_for_dc(&self, endpoint_count: usize) -> usize {
         if endpoint_count == 0 {
             return 0;

src/transport/middle_proxy/pool_status.rs

@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ pub(crate) struct MeApiWriterStatusSnapshot {
 pub(crate) struct MeApiDcStatusSnapshot {
     pub dc: i16,
     pub endpoints: Vec<SocketAddr>,
+    pub endpoint_writers: Vec<MeApiDcEndpointWriterSnapshot>,
     pub available_endpoints: usize,
     pub available_pct: f64,
     pub required_writers: usize,
@@ -38,6 +39,12 @@ pub(crate) struct MeApiDcStatusSnapshot {
     pub load: usize,
 }
 
+#[derive(Clone, Debug)]
+pub(crate) struct MeApiDcEndpointWriterSnapshot {
+    pub endpoint: SocketAddr,
+    pub active_writers: usize,
+}
+
 #[derive(Clone, Debug)]
 pub(crate) struct MeApiStatusSnapshot {
     pub generated_at_epoch_secs: u64,
@@ -118,6 +125,8 @@ pub(crate) struct MeApiRuntimeSnapshot {
     pub me_single_endpoint_outage_backoff_max_ms: u64,
     pub me_single_endpoint_shadow_rotate_every_secs: u64,
     pub me_deterministic_writer_sort: bool,
+    pub me_writer_pick_mode: &'static str,
+    pub me_writer_pick_sample_size: u8,
     pub me_socks_kdf_policy: &'static str,
     pub quarantined_endpoints: Vec<MeApiQuarantinedEndpointSnapshot>,
     pub network_path: Vec<MeApiDcPathSnapshot>,
@@ -338,6 +347,16 @@ impl MePool {
 
             dcs.push(MeApiDcStatusSnapshot {
                 dc,
+                endpoint_writers: endpoints
+                    .iter()
+                    .map(|endpoint| MeApiDcEndpointWriterSnapshot {
+                        endpoint: *endpoint,
+                        active_writers: live_writers_by_dc_endpoint
+                            .get(&(dc, *endpoint))
+                            .copied()
+                            .unwrap_or(0),
+                    })
+                    .collect(),
                 endpoints: endpoints.into_iter().collect(),
                 available_endpoints: dc_available_endpoints,
                 available_pct: ratio_pct(dc_available_endpoints, endpoint_count),
@@ -522,6 +541,8 @@ impl MePool {
             me_deterministic_writer_sort: self
                 .me_deterministic_writer_sort
                 .load(Ordering::Relaxed),
+            me_writer_pick_mode: writer_pick_mode_label(self.writer_pick_mode()),
+            me_writer_pick_sample_size: self.writer_pick_sample_size() as u8,
             me_socks_kdf_policy: socks_kdf_policy_label(self.socks_kdf_policy()),
             quarantined_endpoints,
             network_path,
@@ -570,6 +591,13 @@ fn bind_stale_mode_label(mode: MeBindStaleMode) -> &'static str {
     }
 }
 
+fn writer_pick_mode_label(mode: crate::config::MeWriterPickMode) -> &'static str {
+    match mode {
+        crate::config::MeWriterPickMode::SortedRr => "sorted_rr",
+        crate::config::MeWriterPickMode::P2c => "p2c",
+    }
+}
+
 fn socks_kdf_policy_label(policy: MeSocksKdfPolicy) -> &'static str {
     match policy {
         MeSocksKdfPolicy::Strict => "strict",

src/transport/middle_proxy/send.rs

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ use bytes::Bytes;
 use tokio::sync::mpsc::error::TrySendError;
 use tracing::{debug, warn};
 
-use crate::config::MeRouteNoWriterMode;
+use crate::config::{MeRouteNoWriterMode, MeWriterPickMode};
 use crate::error::{ProxyError, Result};
 use crate::network::IpFamily;
 use crate::protocol::constants::{RPC_CLOSE_CONN_U32, RPC_CLOSE_EXT_U32};
@@ -24,6 +24,10 @@ use super::registry::ConnMeta;
 const IDLE_WRITER_PENALTY_MID_SECS: u64 = 45;
 const IDLE_WRITER_PENALTY_HIGH_SECS: u64 = 55;
 const HYBRID_GLOBAL_BURST_PERIOD_ROUNDS: u32 = 4;
+const PICK_PENALTY_WARM: u64 = 200;
+const PICK_PENALTY_DRAINING: u64 = 600;
+const PICK_PENALTY_STALE: u64 = 300;
+const PICK_PENALTY_DEGRADED: u64 = 250;
 
 impl MePool {
     /// Send RPC_PROXY_REQ. `tag_override`: per-user ad_tag (from access.user_ad_tags); if None, uses pool default.
@@ -181,6 +185,7 @@ impl MePool {
                     .await;
             }
             if candidate_indices.is_empty() {
+                let pick_mode = self.writer_pick_mode();
                 match no_writer_mode {
                     MeRouteNoWriterMode::AsyncRecoveryFailfast => {
                         let deadline = *no_writer_deadline.get_or_insert_with(|| {
@@ -196,6 +201,7 @@ impl MePool {
                         if self.wait_for_candidate_until(routed_dc, deadline).await {
                             continue;
                         }
+                        self.stats.increment_me_writer_pick_no_candidate_total(pick_mode);
                         self.stats.increment_me_no_writer_failfast_total();
                         return Err(ProxyError::Proxy(
                             "No ME writers available for target DC in failfast window".into(),
@@ -209,10 +215,12 @@ impl MePool {
                             if self.wait_for_candidate_until(routed_dc, deadline).await {
                                 continue;
                             }
+                            self.stats.increment_me_writer_pick_no_candidate_total(pick_mode);
                             self.stats.increment_me_no_writer_failfast_total();
                             return Err(ProxyError::Proxy("No ME writers available for target DC".into()));
                         }
                         if emergency_attempts >= self.me_route_inline_recovery_attempts.max(1) {
+                            self.stats.increment_me_writer_pick_no_candidate_total(pick_mode);
                             self.stats.increment_me_no_writer_failfast_total();
                             return Err(ProxyError::Proxy("No ME writers available for target DC".into()));
                         }
@@ -237,6 +245,7 @@ impl MePool {
                                 .await;
                         }
                         if candidate_indices.is_empty() {
+                            self.stats.increment_me_writer_pick_no_candidate_total(pick_mode);
                             return Err(ProxyError::Proxy("No ME writers available for target DC".into()));
                         }
                     }
@@ -259,6 +268,8 @@ impl MePool {
                 }
             }
             hybrid_wait_current = hybrid_wait_step;
+            let pick_mode = self.writer_pick_mode();
+            let pick_sample_size = self.writer_pick_sample_size();
             let writer_ids: Vec<u64> = candidate_indices
                 .iter()
                 .map(|idx| writers_snapshot[*idx].id)
@@ -268,69 +279,84 @@ impl MePool {
                 .writer_idle_since_for_writer_ids(&writer_ids)
                 .await;
             let now_epoch_secs = Self::now_epoch_secs();
-
-            if self.me_deterministic_writer_sort.load(Ordering::Relaxed) {
-                candidate_indices.sort_by(|lhs, rhs| {
-                    let left = &writers_snapshot[*lhs];
-                    let right = &writers_snapshot[*rhs];
-                    let left_key = (
-                        self.writer_contour_rank_for_selection(left),
-                        (left.generation < self.current_generation()) as usize,
-                        left.degraded.load(Ordering::Relaxed) as usize,
-                        self.writer_idle_rank_for_selection(
-                            left,
-                            &writer_idle_since,
-                            now_epoch_secs,
-                        ),
-                        Reverse(left.tx.capacity()),
-                        left.addr,
-                        left.id,
-                    );
-                    let right_key = (
-                        self.writer_contour_rank_for_selection(right),
-                        (right.generation < self.current_generation()) as usize,
-                        right.degraded.load(Ordering::Relaxed) as usize,
-                        self.writer_idle_rank_for_selection(
-                            right,
-                            &writer_idle_since,
-                            now_epoch_secs,
-                        ),
-                        Reverse(right.tx.capacity()),
-                        right.addr,
-                        right.id,
-                    );
-                    left_key.cmp(&right_key)
-                });
-            } else {
-                candidate_indices.sort_by_key(|idx| {
-                    let w = &writers_snapshot[*idx];
-                    let degraded = w.degraded.load(Ordering::Relaxed);
-                    let stale = (w.generation < self.current_generation()) as usize;
-                    (
-                        self.writer_contour_rank_for_selection(w),
-                        stale,
-                        degraded as usize,
-                        self.writer_idle_rank_for_selection(
-                            w,
-                            &writer_idle_since,
-                            now_epoch_secs,
-                        ),
-                        Reverse(w.tx.capacity()),
-                    )
-                });
-            }
-
             let start = self.rr.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Relaxed) as usize % candidate_indices.len();
+            let ordered_candidate_indices = if pick_mode == MeWriterPickMode::P2c {
+                self.p2c_ordered_candidate_indices(
+                    &candidate_indices,
+                    &writers_snapshot,
+                    &writer_idle_since,
+                    now_epoch_secs,
+                    start,
+                    pick_sample_size,
+                )
+            } else {
+                if self.me_deterministic_writer_sort.load(Ordering::Relaxed) {
+                    candidate_indices.sort_by(|lhs, rhs| {
+                        let left = &writers_snapshot[*lhs];
+                        let right = &writers_snapshot[*rhs];
+                        let left_key = (
+                            self.writer_contour_rank_for_selection(left),
+                            (left.generation < self.current_generation()) as usize,
+                            left.degraded.load(Ordering::Relaxed) as usize,
+                            self.writer_idle_rank_for_selection(
+                                left,
+                                &writer_idle_since,
+                                now_epoch_secs,
+                            ),
+                            Reverse(left.tx.capacity()),
+                            left.addr,
+                            left.id,
+                        );
+                        let right_key = (
+                            self.writer_contour_rank_for_selection(right),
+                            (right.generation < self.current_generation()) as usize,
+                            right.degraded.load(Ordering::Relaxed) as usize,
+                            self.writer_idle_rank_for_selection(
+                                right,
+                                &writer_idle_since,
+                                now_epoch_secs,
+                            ),
+                            Reverse(right.tx.capacity()),
+                            right.addr,
+                            right.id,
+                        );
+                        left_key.cmp(&right_key)
+                    });
+                } else {
+                    candidate_indices.sort_by_key(|idx| {
+                        let w = &writers_snapshot[*idx];
+                        let degraded = w.degraded.load(Ordering::Relaxed);
+                        let stale = (w.generation < self.current_generation()) as usize;
+                        (
+                            self.writer_contour_rank_for_selection(w),
+                            stale,
+                            degraded as usize,
+                            self.writer_idle_rank_for_selection(
+                                w,
+                                &writer_idle_since,
+                                now_epoch_secs,
+                            ),
+                            Reverse(w.tx.capacity()),
+                        )
+                    });
+                }
+
+                let mut ordered = Vec::<usize>::with_capacity(candidate_indices.len());
+                for offset in 0..candidate_indices.len() {
+                    ordered.push(candidate_indices[(start + offset) % candidate_indices.len()]);
+                }
+                ordered
+            };
             let mut fallback_blocking_idx: Option<usize> = None;
 
-            for offset in 0..candidate_indices.len() {
+            for idx in ordered_candidate_indices {
-                let idx = candidate_indices[(start + offset) % candidate_indices.len()];
                 let w = &writers_snapshot[idx];
                 if !self.writer_accepts_new_binding(w) {
                     continue;
                 }
                 match w.tx.try_send(WriterCommand::Data(payload.clone())) {
                     Ok(()) => {
+                        self.stats.increment_me_writer_pick_success_try_total(pick_mode);
                         self.registry
                             .bind_writer(conn_id, w.id, w.tx.clone(), meta.clone())
                             .await;
@@ -352,6 +378,7 @@ impl MePool {
                         }
                     }
                     Err(TrySendError::Closed(_)) => {
+                        self.stats.increment_me_writer_pick_closed_total(pick_mode);
                         warn!(writer_id = w.id, "ME writer channel closed");
                         self.remove_writer_and_close_clients(w.id).await;
                         continue;
@@ -360,15 +387,20 @@ impl MePool {
             }
 
             let Some(blocking_idx) = fallback_blocking_idx else {
+                self.stats.increment_me_writer_pick_full_total(pick_mode);
                 continue;
             };
 
             let w = writers_snapshot[blocking_idx].clone();
             if !self.writer_accepts_new_binding(&w) {
+                self.stats.increment_me_writer_pick_full_total(pick_mode);
                 continue;
             }
+            self.stats.increment_me_writer_pick_blocking_fallback_total();
             match w.tx.send(WriterCommand::Data(payload.clone())).await {
                 Ok(()) => {
+                    self.stats
+                        .increment_me_writer_pick_success_fallback_total(pick_mode);
                     self.registry
                         .bind_writer(conn_id, w.id, w.tx.clone(), meta.clone())
                         .await;
@@ -378,6 +410,7 @@ impl MePool {
                     return Ok(());
                 }
                 Err(_) => {
+                    self.stats.increment_me_writer_pick_closed_total(pick_mode);
                     warn!(writer_id = w.id, "ME writer channel closed (blocking)");
                     self.remove_writer_and_close_clients(w.id).await;
                 }
@@ -626,4 +659,87 @@ impl MePool {
             0
         }
     }
+
+    fn writer_pick_score(
+        &self,
+        writer: &super::pool::MeWriter,
+        idle_since_by_writer: &HashMap<u64, u64>,
+        now_epoch_secs: u64,
+    ) -> u64 {
+        let contour_penalty = match WriterContour::from_u8(writer.contour.load(Ordering::Relaxed)) {
+            WriterContour::Active => 0,
+            WriterContour::Warm => PICK_PENALTY_WARM,
+            WriterContour::Draining => PICK_PENALTY_DRAINING,
+        };
+        let stale_penalty = if writer.generation < self.current_generation() {
+            PICK_PENALTY_STALE
+        } else {
+            0
+        };
+        let degraded_penalty = if writer.degraded.load(Ordering::Relaxed) {
+            PICK_PENALTY_DEGRADED
+        } else {
+            0
+        };
+        let idle_penalty =
+            (self.writer_idle_rank_for_selection(writer, idle_since_by_writer, now_epoch_secs) as u64)
+                * 100;
+        let queue_cap = self.writer_cmd_channel_capacity.max(1) as u64;
+        let queue_remaining = writer.tx.capacity() as u64;
+        let queue_used = queue_cap.saturating_sub(queue_remaining.min(queue_cap));
+        let queue_util_pct = queue_used.saturating_mul(100) / queue_cap;
+        let queue_penalty = queue_util_pct.saturating_mul(4);
+        let rtt_penalty = ((writer.rtt_ema_ms_x10.load(Ordering::Relaxed) as u64).saturating_add(5) / 10)
+            .min(400);
+
+        contour_penalty
+            .saturating_add(stale_penalty)
+            .saturating_add(degraded_penalty)
+            .saturating_add(idle_penalty)
+            .saturating_add(queue_penalty)
+            .saturating_add(rtt_penalty)
+    }
+
+    fn p2c_ordered_candidate_indices(
+        &self,
+        candidate_indices: &[usize],
+        writers_snapshot: &[super::pool::MeWriter],
+        idle_since_by_writer: &HashMap<u64, u64>,
+        now_epoch_secs: u64,
+        start: usize,
+        sample_size: usize,
+    ) -> Vec<usize> {
+        let total = candidate_indices.len();
+        if total == 0 {
+            return Vec::new();
+        }
+
+        let mut sampled = Vec::<usize>::with_capacity(sample_size.min(total));
+        let mut seen = HashSet::<usize>::with_capacity(total);
+        for offset in 0..sample_size.min(total) {
+            let idx = candidate_indices[(start + offset) % total];
+            if seen.insert(idx) {
+                sampled.push(idx);
+            }
+        }
+
+        sampled.sort_by_key(|idx| {
+            let writer = &writers_snapshot[*idx];
+            (
+                self.writer_pick_score(writer, idle_since_by_writer, now_epoch_secs),
+                writer.addr,
+                writer.id,
+            )
+        });
+
+        let mut ordered = Vec::<usize>::with_capacity(total);
+        ordered.extend(sampled.iter().copied());
+        for offset in 0..total {
+            let idx = candidate_indices[(start + offset) % total];
+            if seen.insert(idx) {
+                ordered.push(idx);
+            }
+        }
+        ordered
+    }
 }