diff --git a/crates/aot/src/ledger/query.rs b/crates/aot/src/ledger/query.rs
index 0850b826..81076f5f 100644
--- a/crates/aot/src/ledger/query.rs
+++ b/crates/aot/src/ledger/query.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,11 @@
-use std::{fs::File, io::Write, ops::Deref, path::PathBuf, sync::Arc};
+use std::{
+    fs::File,
+    io::Write,
+    net::{IpAddr, SocketAddr},
+    ops::Deref,
+    path::PathBuf,
+    sync::Arc,
+};
 
 use anyhow::Result;
 use axum::{
@@ -21,6 +28,10 @@ pub struct LedgerQuery {
     /// Port to listen on for incoming messages
     pub port: u16,
 
+    #[arg(long, default_value = "0.0.0.0")]
+    // IP address to bind to
+    pub bind: IpAddr,
+
     #[arg(long)]
     /// When true, the POST /block endpoint will not be available
     pub readonly: bool,
@@ -72,7 +83,7 @@ impl LedgerQuery {
             .route("/block", post(Self::add_block))
             .with_state(Arc::new(state));
 
-        let listener = tokio::net::TcpListener::bind(format!("0.0.0.0:{}", self.port)).await?;
+        let listener = tokio::net::TcpListener::bind(SocketAddr::new(self.bind, self.port)).await?;
         tracing::info!("listening on: {:?}", listener.local_addr().unwrap());
         axum::serve(listener, app).await?;
 
diff --git a/crates/snot/src/schema/nodes.rs b/crates/snot/src/schema/nodes.rs
index 82217e53..52b2f609 100644
--- a/crates/snot/src/schema/nodes.rs
+++ b/crates/snot/src/schema/nodes.rs
@@ -48,9 +48,6 @@ pub struct Node {
     // TODO: turn this into an enum with options like `None`, `Additional(usize)`,
     // `Committee(usize)`, `Named(String)`, `Literal(String)`
     pub key: Option<String>,
-    /// The storage ID to use when starting the node.
-    /// TODO: move this outside of the node. this is a setting for the swarm
-    pub storage: String,
     /// Height of ledger to inherit.
     ///
     /// * When null, a ledger is created when the node is started.
diff --git a/crates/snot/src/testing.rs b/crates/snot/src/testing.rs
index 87e6762b..f0a1b769 100644
--- a/crates/snot/src/testing.rs
+++ b/crates/snot/src/testing.rs
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ use tracing::{info, warn};
 use crate::{
     schema::{
         nodes::{ExternalNode, Node},
+        storage::FilenameString,
         ItemDocument, NodeTargets,
     },
     state::GlobalState,
@@ -16,6 +17,7 @@ use crate::{
 
 #[derive(Debug, Clone)]
 pub struct Test {
+    pub storage_id: FilenameString,
     pub node_map: BiMap<NodeKey, TestPeer>,
     pub initial_nodes: IndexMap<NodeKey, TestNode>,
     // TODO: GlobalStorage.storage should maybe be here instead
@@ -57,7 +59,15 @@ impl Test {
 
         let mut state_lock = state.test.write().await;
 
+        let Some(storage_id) = documents.iter().find_map(|s| match s {
+            ItemDocument::Storage(storage) => Some(storage.id.clone()),
+            _ => None,
+        }) else {
+            bail!("no storage document found in test")
+        };
+
         let mut test = Test {
+            storage_id,
             node_map: Default::default(),
             initial_nodes: Default::default(),
         };
@@ -215,7 +225,16 @@ pub async fn initial_reconcile(state: &GlobalState) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     {
         let test_lock = state.test.read().await;
         let test = test_lock.as_ref().unwrap();
-        let storage_lock = state.storage.read().await;
+
+        // get the numeric storage ID from the string storage ID
+        let storage_id = {
+            let storage_lock = state.storage.read().await;
+            match storage_lock.get_by_right(test.storage_id.as_str()) {
+                Some(id) => *id,
+                None => bail!("invalid storage ID specified for node"),
+            }
+        };
+
         let pool_lock = state.pool.read().await;
 
         // Lookup agent peers given a node key
@@ -264,6 +283,13 @@ pub async fn initial_reconcile(state: &GlobalState) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
             // this can't really be cleverly optimized into
             // a single lookup at the moment because we don't treat @local
             // as a None namespace...
+
+            // TODO: ensure @local is always parsed as None, then we can
+            // optimize each target in this to be a direct lookup
+            // instead of walking through each node
+
+            // alternatively, use a more efficient data structure for
+            // storing node keys
             test.node_map
                 .iter()
                 .filter(|(k, _)| *k != key && target.matches(k))
@@ -275,11 +301,6 @@ pub async fn initial_reconcile(state: &GlobalState) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
             let TestNode::Internal(node) = node else {
                 continue;
             };
-            // get the numeric storage ID from the string storage ID
-            let storage_id = match storage_lock.get_by_right(&node.storage) {
-                Some(id) => *id,
-                None => bail!("invalid storage ID specified for node"),
-            };
 
             // get the internal agent ID from the node key
             let Some(TestPeer::Internal(id)) = test.node_map.get_by_left(key) else {
diff --git a/specs/test-4-validators.yaml b/specs/test-4-validators.yaml
index e6b43f81..1f89de1b 100644
--- a/specs/test-4-validators.yaml
+++ b/specs/test-4-validators.yaml
@@ -26,22 +26,18 @@ nodes:
     height: 0
     validators: [validator/*]
     peers: []
-    storage: base
   validator/1:
     key: APrivateKey1zkp2RWGDcde3efb89rjhME1VYA8QMxcxep5DShNBR6n8Yjh
     height: 0
     validators: [validator/*]
     peers: []
-    storage: base
   validator/2:
     key: APrivateKey1zkp2GUmKbVsuc1NSj28pa1WTQuZaK5f1DQJAT6vPcHyWokG
     height: 0
     validators: [validator/*]
     peers: []
-    storage: base
   validator/3:
     key: APrivateKey1zkpBjpEgLo4arVUkQmcLdKQMiAKGaHAQVVwmF8HQby8vdYs
     height: 0
     validators: [validator/*]
     peers: []
-    storage: base