diff --git a/compose/rw_core.yml b/compose/rw_core.yml
index 6948546..4600b1a 100644
--- a/compose/rw_core.yml
+++ b/compose/rw_core.yml
@@ -32,8 +32,9 @@
         - -kv_store_data_prefix=service/voltha
         - -in_competing_mode=false
         - -timeout_long_request=3000
-        - -timeout_request=300
-        - -log_level=0
+        - -timeout_request=500
+        - -core_timeout=500
+        - -log_level=2
     ports:
       - 50057:50057
     volumes:
diff --git a/rw_core/config/config.go b/rw_core/config/config.go
index 34b5867..9671f1a 100644
--- a/rw_core/config/config.go
+++ b/rw_core/config/config.go
@@ -19,14 +19,12 @@
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/opencord/voltha-go/common/log"
-	"os"
 )
 
 // RW Core service default constants
 const (
 	ConsulStoreName                   = "consul"
 	EtcdStoreName                     = "etcd"
-	default_InstanceID                = "rwcore001"
 	default_GrpcPort                  = 50057
 	default_GrpcHost                  = ""
 	default_KafkaAdapterHost          = "127.0.0.1"
@@ -58,7 +56,6 @@
 // RWCoreFlags represents the set of configurations used by the read-write core service
 type RWCoreFlags struct {
 	// Command line parameters
-	InstanceID                string
 	RWCoreEndpoint            string
 	GrpcHost                  string
 	GrpcPort                  int
@@ -94,7 +91,6 @@
 // NewRWCoreFlags returns a new RWCore config
 func NewRWCoreFlags() *RWCoreFlags {
 	var rwCoreFlag = RWCoreFlags{ // Default values
-		InstanceID:                default_InstanceID,
 		RWCoreEndpoint:            default_RWCoreEndpoint,
 		GrpcHost:                  default_GrpcHost,
 		GrpcPort:                  default_GrpcPort,
@@ -130,9 +126,6 @@
 
 	var help string
 
-	help = fmt.Sprintf("RW instance id")
-	flag.StringVar(&(cf.InstanceID), "instance-id", default_InstanceID, help)
-
 	help = fmt.Sprintf("RW core endpoint address")
 	flag.StringVar(&(cf.RWCoreEndpoint), "vcore-endpoint", default_RWCoreEndpoint, help)
 
@@ -203,14 +196,4 @@
 	flag.StringVar(&(cf.CoreBindingKey), "core_binding_key", default_CoreBindingKey, help)
 
 	flag.Parse()
-
-	containerName := getContainerInfo()
-	if len(containerName) > 0 {
-		cf.InstanceID = containerName
-	}
-
-}
-
-func getContainerInfo() string {
-	return os.Getenv("HOSTNAME")
 }
diff --git a/rw_core/core/core.go b/rw_core/core/core.go
index f03c7d2..938d8e9 100644
--- a/rw_core/core/core.go
+++ b/rw_core/core/core.go
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@
 	if err := core.startKafkaMessagingProxy(ctx); err != nil {
 		log.Fatal("Failure-starting-kafkaMessagingProxy")
 	}
-	log.Info("values", log.Fields{"kmp": core.kmp})
+	log.Debugw("values", log.Fields{"kmp": core.kmp})
 	core.adapterMgr = newAdapterManager(core.clusterDataProxy, core.instanceId)
 	core.deviceMgr = newDeviceManager(core)
 	core.logicalDeviceMgr = newLogicalDeviceManager(core, core.deviceMgr, core.kmp, core.clusterDataProxy, core.config.DefaultCoreTimeout)
@@ -120,14 +120,12 @@
 	log.Info("adaptercore-stopped")
 }
 
-//startGRPCService creates the grpc service handlers, registers it to the grpc server
-// and starts the server
+//startGRPCService creates the grpc service handlers, registers it to the grpc server and starts the server
 func (core *Core) startGRPCService(ctx context.Context) {
 	//	create an insecure gserver server
 	core.grpcServer = grpcserver.NewGrpcServer(core.config.GrpcHost, core.config.GrpcPort, nil, false)
 	log.Info("grpc-server-created")
 
-	//core.grpcNBIAPIHandler = NewAPIHandler(core.deviceMgr, core.logicalDeviceMgr, core.adapterMgr, core.config.InCompetingMode, core.config.LongRunningRequestTimeout, core.config.DefaultRequestTimeout)
 	core.grpcNBIAPIHandler = NewAPIHandler(core)
 	log.Infow("grpc-handler", log.Fields{"core_binding_key": core.config.CoreBindingKey})
 	core.logicalDeviceMgr.setGrpcNbiHandler(core.grpcNBIAPIHandler)
@@ -230,9 +228,6 @@
 }
 
 func (core *Core) startDeviceManager(ctx context.Context) {
-	// TODO: Interaction between the logicaldevicemanager and devicemanager should mostly occur via
-	// callbacks.  For now, until the model is ready, devicemanager will keep a reference to the
-	// logicaldevicemanager to initiate the creation of logical devices
 	log.Info("DeviceManager-Starting...")
 	core.deviceMgr.start(ctx, core.logicalDeviceMgr)
 	log.Info("DeviceManager-Started")
diff --git a/rw_core/core/device_ownership.go b/rw_core/core/device_ownership.go
index 49d860a..6efbdb8 100644
--- a/rw_core/core/device_ownership.go
+++ b/rw_core/core/device_ownership.go
@@ -47,10 +47,10 @@
 	deviceMgr          *DeviceManager
 	logicalDeviceMgr   *LogicalDeviceManager
 	deviceMap          map[string]*ownership
-	deviceMapLock      *sync.RWMutex
+	deviceMapLock      sync.RWMutex
 	deviceToKeyMap     map[string]string
-	deviceToKeyMapLock *sync.RWMutex
-	ownershipLock      *sync.RWMutex
+	deviceToKeyMapLock sync.RWMutex
+	ownershipLock      sync.RWMutex
 }
 
 func NewDeviceOwnership(id string, kvClient kvstore.Client, deviceMgr *DeviceManager, logicalDeviceMgr *LogicalDeviceManager, ownershipPrefix string, reservationTimeout int64) *DeviceOwnership {
@@ -63,10 +63,10 @@
 	deviceOwnership.ownershipPrefix = ownershipPrefix
 	deviceOwnership.reservationTimeout = reservationTimeout
 	deviceOwnership.deviceMap = make(map[string]*ownership)
-	deviceOwnership.deviceMapLock = &sync.RWMutex{}
+	deviceOwnership.deviceMapLock = sync.RWMutex{}
 	deviceOwnership.deviceToKeyMap = make(map[string]string)
-	deviceOwnership.deviceToKeyMapLock = &sync.RWMutex{}
-	deviceOwnership.ownershipLock = &sync.RWMutex{}
+	deviceOwnership.deviceToKeyMapLock = sync.RWMutex{}
+	deviceOwnership.ownershipLock = sync.RWMutex{}
 	return &deviceOwnership
 }
 
diff --git a/rw_core/core/grpc_nbi_api_handler.go b/rw_core/core/grpc_nbi_api_handler.go
index 8f7b328..d5e0305 100755
--- a/rw_core/core/grpc_nbi_api_handler.go
+++ b/rw_core/core/grpc_nbi_api_handler.go
@@ -121,8 +121,9 @@
 	return handler.coreInCompetingMode
 }
 
-// acquireRequestForList handles transaction processing for list requests, i.e. when there are no specific id requested.
-func (handler *APIHandler) acquireRequestForList(ctx context.Context, maxTimeout ...int64) (*KVTransaction, error) {
+// acquireRequest handles transaction processing for device creation and  list requests, i.e. when there are no
+// specific id requested (list scenario) or id present in the request (creation use case).
+func (handler *APIHandler) acquireRequest(ctx context.Context, maxTimeout ...int64) (*KVTransaction, error) {
 	timeout := handler.defaultRequestTimeout
 	if len(maxTimeout) > 0 {
 		timeout = maxTimeout[0]
@@ -138,37 +139,6 @@
 	}
 }
 
-// acquireRequest handles transaction processing for creation of new devices
-func (handler *APIHandler) acquireRequest(ctx context.Context, id interface{}, maxTimeout ...int64) (*KVTransaction, error) {
-	timeout := handler.defaultRequestTimeout
-	if len(maxTimeout) > 0 {
-		timeout = maxTimeout[0]
-	}
-	log.Debugw("transaction-timeout", log.Fields{"timeout": timeout})
-	txn, err := handler.createKvTransaction(ctx)
-	if txn == nil {
-		return nil, err
-	} else if txn.Acquired(timeout) {
-		return txn, nil
-	} else {
-		if id != nil {
-			// The id can either be a device Id or a logical device id.
-			if dId, ok := id.(*utils.DeviceID); ok {
-				// Since this core has not processed this request, let's load the device, along with its extended
-				// family (parents and children) in memory.   This will keep this core in-sync with its paired core as
-				// much as possible. The watch feature in the core model will ensure that the contents of those objects in
-				// memory are in sync.
-				time.Sleep(2 * time.Second)
-				go handler.deviceMgr.load(dId.Id)
-			} else if ldId, ok := id.(*utils.LogicalDeviceID); ok {
-				// This will load the logical device along with its children and grandchildren
-				go handler.logicalDeviceMgr.load(ldId.Id)
-			}
-		}
-		return nil, errors.New("failed-to-seize-request")
-	}
-}
-
 // takeRequestOwnership creates a transaction in the dB for this request and handles the logic of transaction
 // acquisition.  If the device is owned by this Core (in a core-pair) then acquire the transaction with a
 // timeout value (in the event of a timeout the other Core in the core-pair will proceed with the transaction).  If the
@@ -404,7 +374,7 @@
 func (handler *APIHandler) ListLogicalDevices(ctx context.Context, empty *empty.Empty) (*voltha.LogicalDevices, error) {
 	log.Debug("ListLogicalDevices-request")
 	if handler.competeForTransaction() {
-		if txn, err := handler.acquireRequestForList(ctx); err != nil {
+		if txn, err := handler.acquireRequest(ctx); err != nil {
 			return &voltha.LogicalDevices{}, err
 		} else {
 			defer txn.Close()
@@ -468,7 +438,8 @@
 	}
 
 	if handler.competeForTransaction() {
-		if txn, err := handler.acquireRequest(ctx, &utils.DeviceID{Id: device.Id}); err != nil {
+		// There are no device Id present in this function.
+		if txn, err := handler.acquireRequest(ctx); err != nil {
 			return &voltha.Device{}, err
 		} else {
 			defer txn.Close()
diff --git a/rw_core/main.go b/rw_core/main.go
index fc135f6..9ace2fb 100644
--- a/rw_core/main.go
+++ b/rw_core/main.go
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 	"github.com/opencord/voltha-go/kafka"
 	"github.com/opencord/voltha-go/rw_core/config"
 	c "github.com/opencord/voltha-go/rw_core/core"
+	"github.com/opencord/voltha-go/rw_core/utils"
 	ic "github.com/opencord/voltha-protos/go/inter_container"
 	"os"
 	"os/signal"
@@ -117,7 +118,7 @@
 	}
 }
 
-func (rw *rwCore) start(ctx context.Context) {
+func (rw *rwCore) start(ctx context.Context, instanceId string) {
 	log.Info("Starting RW Core components")
 
 	// Setup KV Client
@@ -126,7 +127,7 @@
 	if err == nil {
 		// Setup KV transaction context
 		txnPrefix := rw.config.KVStoreDataPrefix + "/transactions/"
-		if err = c.SetTransactionContext(rw.config.InstanceID,
+		if err = c.SetTransactionContext(instanceId,
 			txnPrefix,
 			rw.kvClient,
 			rw.config.KVStoreTimeout,
@@ -137,12 +138,12 @@
 	}
 
 	// Setup Kafka Client
-	if rw.kafkaClient, err = newKafkaClient("sarama", rw.config.KafkaAdapterHost, rw.config.KafkaAdapterPort, rw.config.InstanceID); err != nil {
+	if rw.kafkaClient, err = newKafkaClient("sarama", rw.config.KafkaAdapterHost, rw.config.KafkaAdapterPort, instanceId); err != nil {
 		log.Fatal("Unsupported-kafka-client")
 	}
 
 	// Create the core service
-	rw.core = c.NewCore(rw.config.InstanceID, rw.config, rw.kvClient, rw.kafkaClient)
+	rw.core = c.NewCore(instanceId, rw.config, rw.kvClient, rw.kafkaClient)
 
 	// start the core
 	rw.core.Start(ctx)
@@ -222,29 +223,33 @@
 	cf := config.NewRWCoreFlags()
 	cf.ParseCommandArguments()
 
-	// Setup logging
+	// Set the instance ID as the hostname
+	var instanceId string
+	hostName := utils.GetHostName()
+	if len(hostName) > 0 {
+		instanceId = hostName
+	} else {
+		log.Fatal("HOSTNAME not set")
+	}
 
 	//Setup default logger - applies for packages that do not have specific logger set
-	if _, err := log.SetDefaultLogger(log.JSON, cf.LogLevel, log.Fields{"instanceId": cf.InstanceID}); err != nil {
+	if _, err := log.SetDefaultLogger(log.JSON, cf.LogLevel, log.Fields{"instanceId": instanceId}); err != nil {
 		log.With(log.Fields{"error": err}).Fatal("Cannot setup logging")
 	}
 
-	// Update all loggers (provisionned via init) with a common field
-	if err := log.UpdateAllLoggers(log.Fields{"instanceId": cf.InstanceID}); err != nil {
+	// Update all loggers (provisioned via init) with a common field
+	if err := log.UpdateAllLoggers(log.Fields{"instanceId": instanceId}); err != nil {
 		log.With(log.Fields{"error": err}).Fatal("Cannot setup logging")
 	}
 
-	//log.SetAllLogLevel(log.ErrorLevel)
+	// Update all loggers to log level specified as input parameter
+	log.SetAllLogLevel(cf.LogLevel)
 
-	log.SetPackageLogLevel("github.com/opencord/voltha-go/rw_core/core", log.DebugLevel)
-	log.SetPackageLogLevel("github.com/opencord/voltha-go/rw_core/flow_decomposition", log.DebugLevel)
-	log.SetPackageLogLevel("github.com/opencord/voltha-go/rw_core/graph", log.DebugLevel)
-	//log.SetPackageLogLevel("github.com/opencord/voltha-go/kafka", log.DebugLevel)
-	//log.SetPackageLogLevel("github.com/opencord/voltha-go/db/model", log.DebugLevel)
+	//log.SetPackageLogLevel("github.com/opencord/voltha-go/rw_core/core", log.DebugLevel)
 
 	defer log.CleanUp()
 
-	// Print verison / build information and exit
+	// Print version / build information and exit
 	if cf.DisplayVersionOnly {
 		printVersion()
 		return
@@ -261,7 +266,7 @@
 	defer cancel()
 
 	rw := newRWCore(cf)
-	go rw.start(ctx)
+	go rw.start(ctx, instanceId)
 
 	code := waitForExit()
 	log.Infow("received-a-closing-signal", log.Fields{"code": code})
@@ -270,5 +275,5 @@
 	rw.stop()
 
 	elapsed := time.Since(start)
-	log.Infow("rw-core-run-time", log.Fields{"core": rw.config.InstanceID, "time": elapsed / time.Second})
+	log.Infow("rw-core-run-time", log.Fields{"core": instanceId, "time": elapsed / time.Second})
 }
diff --git a/rw_core/utils/core_utils.go b/rw_core/utils/core_utils.go
index 813c978..c9cd56d 100644
--- a/rw_core/utils/core_utils.go
+++ b/rw_core/utils/core_utils.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 import (
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/codes"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/status"
+	"os"
 	"reflect"
 	"time"
 )
@@ -30,6 +31,10 @@
 	Id string
 }
 
+func GetHostName() string {
+	return os.Getenv("HOSTNAME")
+}
+
 //WaitForNilOrErrorResponses waits on a variadic number of channels for either a nil response or an error
 //response. If an error is received from a given channel then the returned error array will contain that error.
 //The error will be at the index corresponding to the order in which the channel appear in the parameter list.