diff --git a/traffic_core/src/managed_file.rs b/traffic_core/src/managed_file.rs
index f7ce203..1cf17e0 100644
--- a/traffic_core/src/managed_file.rs
+++ b/traffic_core/src/managed_file.rs
@@ -40,6 +40,10 @@ impl ManagedFile {
         }
     }
 
+    pub fn path(&self) -> &std::path::Path {
+        &self.path
+    }
+
     /// `Ok(None)` only when the file is genuinely absent. Any other failure propagates.
     pub fn read(&self) -> anyhow::Result<Option<String>> {
         match fs::read_to_string(&self.path) {
diff --git a/traffic_core/src/swap.rs b/traffic_core/src/swap.rs
index 1eca4cb..b8a3ccb 100644
--- a/traffic_core/src/swap.rs
+++ b/traffic_core/src/swap.rs
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ use crate::{
     config::Config,
     fstab::{self, FSTAB_PATH, FstabTransaction, escape_field},
     lock::FileLock,
-    managed_file::ManagedFile,
+    managed_file::{ManagedFile, Ownership},
 };
 
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq)]
@@ -131,14 +131,26 @@ fn migrate_legacy_swappiness_file() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     drop_legacy_managed_file(&legacy_swappiness_file())
 }
 
-/// Removes a file left by an older version, tolerating a foreign file at that path.
+/// Removes a file left by an older version.
 ///
-/// A refusal from [`ManagedFile::remove`] means the path now belongs to someone else.
-/// That is not a migration failure: the current file lives elsewhere, so there is nothing
-/// to do and nothing to report.
+/// Only a foreign file is tolerated - that path belongs to someone else now and the
+/// current file lives elsewhere, so there is nothing to migrate. Everything else is
+/// reported: swallowing `PermissionDenied` or a failed unlink would leave
+/// `/etc/sysctl.d/99-awg2-harness.conf` in place, and it sorts *after* the new `90-` file,
+/// so the stale value would keep winning while the reconcile reported success.
 fn drop_legacy_managed_file(file: &ManagedFile) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
-    let _ = file.remove();
-    Ok(())
+    match file.ownership()? {
+        Ownership::Absent => Ok(()),
+        Ownership::Foreign => {
+            tracing::warn!(
+                target: "swap",
+                "legacy path {} holds a file we do not own; leaving it alone",
+                file.path().display()
+            );
+            Ok(())
+        }
+        Ownership::Managed => file.remove().map(|_| ()),
+    }
 }
 
 /// Brings host swap to the desired state as a transaction.
@@ -147,12 +159,15 @@ fn drop_legacy_managed_file(file: &ManagedFile) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
 /// any foreign swap is disabled. The previous order disabled foreign swaps first, so a
 /// failure in `fallocate`, `dd`, `mkswap` or `swapon` left the host with no swap at all.
 pub fn ensure_swap(cfg: &Config) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    // Taken before the enabled check: the disabled branch removes managed files, which is
+    // a mutation like any other. Leaving it outside the lock let a manual CLI run and the
+    // daemon's reconcile write and delete the same file at the same time.
+    let _lock = FileLock::acquire_timeout("/run/awg2-harness/swap.lock", Duration::from_secs(30))?;
+
     if !cfg.swap.enabled {
         return remove_managed_swap_state();
     }
 
-    let _lock = FileLock::acquire_timeout("/run/awg2-harness/swap.lock", Duration::from_secs(30))?;
-
     // 1. Preflight: nothing is modified here.
     let desired = DesiredSwap::from_config(cfg)?;
     assert_swap_path_is_safe(&desired.path)?;
@@ -614,16 +629,50 @@ fn parse_swapon_output(raw: &str) -> anyhow::Result<Vec<ActiveSwap>> {
 /// Destroying a swapfile an administrator created is not this package's call: `swapoff`
 /// plus removal from `/etc/fstab` already achieves the exclusive runtime state, and the
 /// file can be removed by hand once the operator agrees.
+/// Takes foreign swap offline, restoring what it already disabled if a later one fails.
+///
+/// Without the rollback a host with two foreign swaps could end up with the first one
+/// disabled and the second still up, because the error aborted the loop and nothing put
+/// the first back. That is a state neither the operator nor the next reconcile asked for.
 fn disable_foreign_swaps(desired: &DesiredSwap, active: &[ActiveSwap]) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    let mut disabled: Vec<&ActiveSwap> = Vec::new();
     for entry in active {
         if entry.name == desired.path {
             continue;
         }
-        run("swapoff", &[entry.name.to_string_lossy().as_ref()])?;
+        if let Err(e) = run("swapoff", &[entry.name.to_string_lossy().as_ref()]) {
+            reenable_swaps(&disabled);
+            return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
+                "failed to disable foreign swap {}: {e}",
+                entry.name.display()
+            ));
+        }
+        disabled.push(entry);
     }
     Ok(())
 }
 
+/// Best-effort restore after a failed teardown: report what could not be brought back
+/// rather than masking it, but never turn the rollback itself into the reported error.
+fn reenable_swaps(entries: &[&ActiveSwap]) {
+    for entry in entries.iter().rev() {
+        if let Err(e) = run(
+            "swapon",
+            &[
+                "-p",
+                &entry.priority.to_string(),
+                entry.name.to_string_lossy().as_ref(),
+            ],
+        ) {
+            tracing::warn!(
+                target: "swap",
+                "could not re-enable {} while rolling back: {e}",
+                entry.name.display()
+            );
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 /// Creates or validates the managed swapfile without ever touching an unowned one.
 ///
 /// `active` is needed because a live swapfile cannot be resized in place: if the managed
@@ -648,39 +697,119 @@ fn ensure_desired_swapfile(desired: &DesiredSwap, active: &[ActiveSwap]) -> anyh
         _ => {}
     }
 
-    let desired_active = active.iter().find(|s| s.name == *p);
-    let geometry_ok = desired_active
-        .map(|s| {
-            active_swap_size_matches(s.size_bytes, desired.size_bytes)
-                && s.priority == desired.priority
-        })
-        .unwrap_or(false);
+    let active_entry = active.iter().find(|s| s.name == *p);
+    let size_ok = ownership == SwapfileOwnership::ManagedValid;
 
-    if ownership == SwapfileOwnership::ManagedValid && (desired_active.is_none() || geometry_ok) {
-        set_swapfile_mode(p)?;
-        drop_legacy_ownership_sidecar(p);
-        return Ok(());
+    match (size_ok, active_entry) {
+        // Right file, right size, already active with the right priority: nothing to do.
+        (true, Some(entry))
+            if active_swap_size_matches(entry.size_bytes, desired.size_bytes)
+                && entry.priority == desired.priority =>
+        {
+            set_swapfile_mode(p)?;
+            drop_legacy_ownership_sidecar(p);
+            Ok(())
+        }
+        // Right file, right size, but the active priority differs. Re-activating is
+        // enough; the previous code fell through to a full recreate, so changing
+        // swap.priority destroyed and rebuilt a perfectly good multi-gigabyte file.
+        (true, Some(_)) => {
+            run("swapoff", &[p.to_string_lossy().as_ref()])?;
+            set_swapfile_mode(p)?;
+            drop_legacy_ownership_sidecar(p);
+            Ok(())
+        }
+        // Right file, not active: the caller activates it next.
+        (true, None) => {
+            set_swapfile_mode(p)?;
+            drop_legacy_ownership_sidecar(p);
+            Ok(())
+        }
+        // Wrong size or no file at all, and nothing of ours is active: build in place.
+        (false, None) => {
+            if ownership.is_managed() {
+                fs::remove_file(p)
+                    .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("failed to remove {}: {e}", p.display()))?;
+            }
+            build_swapfile(p, desired.size_bytes)?;
+            record_ownership(p)?;
+            drop_legacy_ownership_sidecar(p);
+            Ok(())
+        }
+        // Wrong size while our swap is live: replace it through a staging file.
+        (false, Some(_)) => replace_active_swapfile(desired),
+    }
+}
+
+/// Resizes the managed swapfile while it is active, without a swapless gap during the
+/// slow part.
+///
+/// A live swapfile cannot be resized in place, so it has to be replaced. Doing that as
+/// swapoff-then-create left the host with no swap for the whole duration of
+/// `fallocate`/`dd`/`mkswap` - on a machine that was given swap precisely because memory
+/// is tight, and with no way back if any of those steps failed. The allocation now happens
+/// while the old swap is still serving, and the only gap left is the swapoff/rename/swapon
+/// triple, which allocates nothing.
+fn replace_active_swapfile(desired: &DesiredSwap) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    let p = &desired.path;
+    let staging = staging_path(p)?;
+
+    match fs::remove_file(&staging) {
+        Ok(()) => {}
+        Err(e) if e.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound => {}
+        Err(e) => anyhow::bail!("failed to clear stale {}: {e}", staging.display()),
     }
 
-    if desired_active.is_some() {
-        run("swapoff", &[p.to_string_lossy().as_ref()])?;
+    // Built and activated while the old swap is still up.
+    build_swapfile(&staging, desired.size_bytes)?;
+    if let Err(e) = run(
+        "swapon",
+        &[
+            "-p",
+            &desired.priority.to_string(),
+            staging.to_string_lossy().as_ref(),
+        ],
+    ) {
+        let _ = fs::remove_file(&staging);
+        return Err(e);
     }
 
-    if ownership.is_managed() {
-        fs::remove_file(p).map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("failed to remove {}: {e}", p.display()))?;
-    }
+    // The old file is only released once the replacement is carrying load.
+    run("swapoff", &[p.to_string_lossy().as_ref()])?;
+    fs::remove_file(p).map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("failed to remove {}: {e}", p.display()))?;
 
-    create_swapfile(p, desired.size_bytes)?;
-    // Restrictive mode before mkswap, so the file is never briefly world-readable while
-    // it already contains swap structure.
-    set_swapfile_mode(p)?;
-    run("mkswap", &[p.to_string_lossy().as_ref()])?;
-    set_swapfile_mode(p)?;
+    // Short gap: no allocation happens between here and the swapon below.
+    run("swapoff", &[staging.to_string_lossy().as_ref()])?;
+    fs::rename(&staging, p).map_err(|e| {
+        anyhow::anyhow!(
+            "failed to move {} into place at {}: {e}; activate it manually with swapon",
+            staging.display(),
+            p.display()
+        )
+    })?;
     record_ownership(p)?;
     drop_legacy_ownership_sidecar(p);
     Ok(())
 }
 
+fn staging_path(path: &Path) -> anyhow::Result<PathBuf> {
+    let name = path
+        .file_name()
+        .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("invalid swap.path: {}", path.display()))?;
+    let mut staging = name.to_os_string();
+    staging.push(".awg2-harness.new");
+    Ok(path.with_file_name(staging))
+}
+
+/// Allocates a swapfile and formats it, with the restrictive mode applied before `mkswap`
+/// so the file is never briefly world-readable while it already holds swap structure.
+fn build_swapfile(path: &Path, size_bytes: u64) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    create_swapfile(path, size_bytes)?;
+    set_swapfile_mode(path)?;
+    run("mkswap", &[path.to_string_lossy().as_ref()])?;
+    set_swapfile_mode(path)
+}
+
 #[cfg(unix)]
 fn set_swapfile_mode(path: &Path) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     fs::set_permissions(path, fs::Permissions::from_mode(0o600))
@@ -1170,6 +1299,67 @@ mod tests {
         }
     }
 
+    fn active(name: &str, size_bytes: u64, priority: i32) -> ActiveSwap {
+        ActiveSwap {
+            name: PathBuf::from(name),
+            kind: "file".to_string(),
+            size_bytes,
+            priority,
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Changing only `swap.priority` used to fall through to a full recreate, destroying
+    /// and rebuilding a correct multi-gigabyte file. It is a reactivation, nothing more.
+    #[test]
+    fn priority_only_change_does_not_need_a_new_file() {
+        let desired = DesiredSwap {
+            path: PathBuf::from("/swapfile"),
+            size_bytes: 2048 * 1024 * 1024,
+            priority: 5,
+            swappiness: 1,
+        };
+        let entry = active("/swapfile", desired.size_bytes, 1);
+
+        // Same size, different priority: the file is fine, only the activation is wrong.
+        assert!(active_swap_size_matches(
+            entry.size_bytes,
+            desired.size_bytes
+        ));
+        assert_ne!(entry.priority, desired.priority);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn staging_path_is_a_sibling_of_the_swapfile() {
+        let staging = staging_path(Path::new("/var/lib/awg2-harness/swapfile")).expect("staging");
+        assert_eq!(
+            staging,
+            PathBuf::from("/var/lib/awg2-harness/swapfile.awg2-harness.new")
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// Foreign swaps are identified by not being the managed path; the managed one is
+    /// never included in the teardown set.
+    #[test]
+    fn managed_swap_is_never_in_the_foreign_set() {
+        let desired = DesiredSwap {
+            path: PathBuf::from("/swapfile"),
+            size_bytes: 1024,
+            priority: 1,
+            swappiness: 1,
+        };
+        let entries = [
+            active("/swapfile", 1024, 1),
+            active("/dev/sda2", 4096, -2),
+            active("/other/swap", 2048, 0),
+        ];
+        let foreign: Vec<_> = entries
+            .iter()
+            .filter(|e| e.name != desired.path)
+            .map(|e| e.name.display().to_string())
+            .collect();
+        assert_eq!(foreign, vec!["/dev/sda2", "/other/swap"]);
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn ownership_rejects_non_regular_file() {
         let dir = scratch("own_dir");
diff --git a/traffic_core/src/sysctl_tuning.rs b/traffic_core/src/sysctl_tuning.rs
index 0477201..cb32147 100644
--- a/traffic_core/src/sysctl_tuning.rs
+++ b/traffic_core/src/sysctl_tuning.rs
@@ -44,16 +44,18 @@ struct RenderPlan {
 }
 
 pub fn ensure_sysctl_tuning(cfg: &Config) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
-    if !cfg.sysctl_tuning.enabled {
-        remove_managed_sysctl_files_if_disabled(cfg)?;
-        return Ok(());
-    }
-
+    // Taken before the enabled check: removing the managed files is a mutation and must
+    // not race a concurrent apply.
     let _lock = FileLock::acquire_timeout(
         "/run/awg2-harness/sysctl_tuning.lock",
         Duration::from_secs(30),
     )?;
 
+    if !cfg.sysctl_tuning.enabled {
+        remove_managed_sysctl_files_if_disabled(cfg)?;
+        return Ok(());
+    }
+
     let plan = build_render_plan(cfg, true)?;
     for w in &plan.warnings {
         tracing::warn!(target: "sysctl_tuning", "{w}");