diff --git a/Directory.Build.props b/Directory.Build.props
index 55a67ffec4..71b854a5c7 100644
--- a/Directory.Build.props
+++ b/Directory.Build.props
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 		<ClientOfficialVersion>3.35.1</ClientOfficialVersion>
 		<ClientPreviewVersion>3.35.1</ClientPreviewVersion>
 		<ClientPreviewSuffixVersion>preview</ClientPreviewSuffixVersion>
-		<DirectVersion>3.31.2</DirectVersion>
+		<DirectVersion>3.31.3</DirectVersion>
 		<EncryptionOfficialVersion>2.0.2</EncryptionOfficialVersion>
 		<EncryptionPreviewVersion>2.0.2</EncryptionPreviewVersion>
 		<EncryptionPreviewSuffixVersion>preview</EncryptionPreviewSuffixVersion>
diff --git a/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/src/CosmosClientOptions.cs b/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/src/CosmosClientOptions.cs
index 875fbba29a..0baea086de 100644
--- a/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/src/CosmosClientOptions.cs
+++ b/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/src/CosmosClientOptions.cs
@@ -347,21 +347,21 @@ public ConnectionMode ConnectionMode
         public bool? EnableContentResponseOnWrite { get; set; }
 
         /// <summary>
-        /// Gets or sets the prioritize healthy replicas flag.
-        /// Prioritizing healthy replicas helps the cosmos client to become more
-        /// resilient to connection timeouts, by choosing a healthy replica over an
-        /// unhealthy one. The default value for this parameter is false.
+        /// Gets or sets the advanced replica selection flag. The advanced replica selection logic keeps track of the replica connection
+        /// status, and based on status, it prioritizes the replicas which are connected to the backend, so that the requests can be sent
+        /// confidently to the particular replica. This helps the cosmos client to become more resilient and effictive to any connection
+        /// timeouts. The default value for this parameter is false.
         /// </summary>
         /// <remarks>
-        /// <para>This is optimal for workloads where latency spikes are critical during upgrades.</para>
+        /// <para>This is optimal for workloads where latency spikes are critical due to connection timeouts. Does not apply if <see cref="ConnectionMode.Gateway"/> is used.</para>
         /// </remarks>
-        /// <seealso cref="CosmosClientBuilder.WithPrioritizeHealthyReplicas(bool)"/>
+        /// <seealso cref="CosmosClientBuilder.WithAdvancedReplicaSelectionEnabledForTcp()"/>
 #if PREVIEW
         public
 #else
         internal
 #endif
-        bool PrioritizeHealthyReplicas { get; set; }
+        bool EnableAdvancedReplicaSelectionForTcp { get; set; }
 
         /// <summary>
         /// (Direct/TCP) Controls the amount of idle time after which unused connections are closed.
@@ -775,6 +775,7 @@ internal virtual ConnectionPolicy GetConnectionPolicy(int clientId)
                 EnablePartitionLevelFailover = this.EnablePartitionLevelFailover,
                 PortReuseMode = this.portReuseMode,
                 EnableTcpConnectionEndpointRediscovery = this.EnableTcpConnectionEndpointRediscovery,
+                EnableReplicaValidation = this.EnableAdvancedReplicaSelectionForTcp,
                 HttpClientFactory = this.httpClientFactory,
                 ServerCertificateCustomValidationCallback = this.ServerCertificateCustomValidationCallback
             };
diff --git a/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/src/DocumentClient.cs b/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/src/DocumentClient.cs
index 015959ba50..ca423eee00 100644
--- a/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/src/DocumentClient.cs
+++ b/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/src/DocumentClient.cs
@@ -6701,7 +6701,7 @@ private void CreateStoreModel(bool subscribeRntbdStatus)
                 !this.enableRntbdChannel,
                 this.UseMultipleWriteLocations && (this.accountServiceConfiguration.DefaultConsistencyLevel != Documents.ConsistencyLevel.Strong),
                 true,
-                this.ConnectionPolicy.EnableReplicaValidation);
+                enableReplicaValidation: this.ConnectionPolicy.EnableReplicaValidation);
 
             if (subscribeRntbdStatus)
             {
diff --git a/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/src/Fluent/CosmosClientBuilder.cs b/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/src/Fluent/CosmosClientBuilder.cs
index d2c3546204..35970bcca0 100644
--- a/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/src/Fluent/CosmosClientBuilder.cs
+++ b/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/src/Fluent/CosmosClientBuilder.cs
@@ -622,22 +622,20 @@ public CosmosClientBuilder WithContentResponseOnWrite(bool contentResponseOnWrit
         }
 
         /// <summary>
-        /// Gets or sets the prioritize healthy replicas flag.
-        /// Prioritizing healthy replicas helps the cosmos client to become more
-        /// resilient to connection timeouts, by choosing a healthy replica over an
-        /// unhealthy one. The default value for this parameter is false.
+        /// Enables the advanced replica selection flag. The advanced replica selection logic keeps track of the replica connection status,
+        /// and based on status, it prioritizes the replicas which are connected to the backend, so that the requests can be sent
+        /// confidently to the particular replica. This helps the cosmos client to become more resilient and effictive to any connection
+        /// timeouts. The default value for this parameter is false.
         /// </summary>
-        /// <param name="replicaValidationEnabled">a boolean flag indicating if the feature will be enabled.</param>
         /// <returns>The <see cref="CosmosClientBuilder"/> object</returns>
 #if PREVIEW
         public
 #else
         internal
 #endif
-        CosmosClientBuilder WithPrioritizeHealthyReplicas(
-            bool replicaValidationEnabled)
+        CosmosClientBuilder WithAdvancedReplicaSelectionEnabledForTcp()
         {
-            this.clientOptions.PrioritizeHealthyReplicas = replicaValidationEnabled;
+            this.clientOptions.EnableAdvancedReplicaSelectionForTcp = true;
             return this;
         }
 
diff --git a/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/src/Routing/GatewayAddressCache.cs b/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/src/Routing/GatewayAddressCache.cs
index 5c0719bf88..f47f1496b9 100644
--- a/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/src/Routing/GatewayAddressCache.cs
+++ b/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/src/Routing/GatewayAddressCache.cs
@@ -143,6 +143,7 @@ public async Task OpenConnectionsAsync(
                 Paths.CollectionsPathSegment,
                 Uri.EscapeUriString(collection.Id));
 
+            using CancellationTokenSource linkedTokenSource = CancellationTokenSource.CreateLinkedTokenSource(cancellationToken);
             using (DocumentServiceRequest request = DocumentServiceRequest.CreateFromName(
                 OperationType.Read,
                 collectionAltLink,
@@ -157,12 +158,11 @@ public async Task OpenConnectionsAsync(
                                 collectionRid: collection.ResourceId,
                                 partitionKeyRangeIds: partitionKeyRangeIdentities.Skip(i).Take(batchSize).Select(range => range.PartitionKeyRangeId),
                                 containerProperties: collection,
-                                shouldOpenRntbdChannels: shouldOpenRntbdChannels));
+                                shouldOpenRntbdChannels: shouldOpenRntbdChannels,
+                                cancellationToken: linkedTokenSource.Token));
                 }
             }
 
-            using CancellationTokenSource linkedTokenSource = CancellationTokenSource.CreateLinkedTokenSource(cancellationToken);
-
             // The `timeoutTask` is a background task which adds a delay for a period of WarmupCacheAndOpenConnectionTimeout. The task will
             // be cancelled either by - a) when `linkedTokenSource` expires, which means the original `cancellationToken` expires or
             // b) the the `linkedTokenSource.Cancel()` is called.
@@ -347,12 +347,14 @@ public async Task<PartitionAddressInformation> TryGetAddressesAsync(
         /// <param name="partitionKeyRangeIds">An instance of <see cref="IEnumerable{T}"/> containing the list of partition key range ids.</param>
         /// <param name="containerProperties">An instance of <see cref="ContainerProperties"/> containing the collection properties.</param>
         /// <param name="shouldOpenRntbdChannels">A boolean flag indicating whether Rntbd connections are required to be established to the backend replica nodes.</param>
+        /// <param name="cancellationToken">An instance of <see cref="CancellationToken"/>.</param>
         private async Task WarmupCachesAndOpenConnectionsAsync(
             DocumentServiceRequest request,
             string collectionRid,
             IEnumerable<string> partitionKeyRangeIds,
             ContainerProperties containerProperties,
-            bool shouldOpenRntbdChannels)
+            bool shouldOpenRntbdChannels,
+            CancellationToken cancellationToken)
         {
             TryCatch<DocumentServiceResponse> documentServiceResponseWrapper = await this.GetAddressesAsync(
                                 request: request,
@@ -380,6 +382,11 @@ private async Task WarmupCachesAndOpenConnectionsAsync(
                     List<Task> openConnectionTasks = new ();
                     foreach (Tuple<PartitionKeyRangeIdentity, PartitionAddressInformation> addressInfo in addressInfos)
                     {
+                        if (cancellationToken.IsCancellationRequested)
+                        {
+                            break;
+                        }
+
                         this.serverPartitionAddressCache.Set(
                             new PartitionKeyRangeIdentity(containerProperties.ResourceId, addressInfo.Item1.PartitionKeyRangeId),
                             addressInfo.Item2);
@@ -397,10 +404,7 @@ private async Task WarmupCachesAndOpenConnectionsAsync(
                         }
                     }
 
-                    if (openConnectionTasks.Any())
-                    {
-                        await Task.WhenAll(openConnectionTasks);
-                    }
+                    await Task.WhenAll(openConnectionTasks);
                 }
             }
             catch (Exception ex)
diff --git a/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/tests/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos.Tests/ClientRetryPolicyTests.cs b/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/tests/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos.Tests/ClientRetryPolicyTests.cs
index a41f08afa1..0851952f40 100644
--- a/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/tests/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos.Tests/ClientRetryPolicyTests.cs
+++ b/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/tests/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos.Tests/ClientRetryPolicyTests.cs
@@ -209,7 +209,8 @@ private async Task ValidateConnectTimeoutTriggersClientRetryPolicy(
                 enableReadRequestsFallback: false,
                 useMultipleWriteLocations: useMultipleWriteLocations,
                 detectClientConnectivityIssues: true,
-                disableRetryWithRetryPolicy: false);
+                disableRetryWithRetryPolicy: false,
+                enableReplicaValidation: false);
 
             // Reducing retry timeout to avoid long-running tests
             replicatedResourceClient.GoneAndRetryWithRetryTimeoutInSecondsOverride = 1;
diff --git a/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/tests/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos.Tests/CosmosClientOptionsUnitTests.cs b/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/tests/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos.Tests/CosmosClientOptionsUnitTests.cs
index efb06d7cc5..e6c5ea6f92 100644
--- a/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/tests/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos.Tests/CosmosClientOptionsUnitTests.cs
+++ b/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/tests/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos.Tests/CosmosClientOptionsUnitTests.cs
@@ -81,6 +81,7 @@ public void VerifyCosmosConfigurationPropertiesGetUpdated()
             Assert.IsNull(clientOptions.HttpClientFactory);
             Assert.AreNotEqual(consistencyLevel, clientOptions.ConsistencyLevel);
             Assert.IsFalse(clientOptions.EnablePartitionLevelFailover);
+            Assert.IsFalse(clientOptions.EnableAdvancedReplicaSelectionForTcp);
 
             //Verify GetConnectionPolicy returns the correct values for default
             ConnectionPolicy policy = clientOptions.GetConnectionPolicy(clientId: 0);
@@ -97,6 +98,7 @@ public void VerifyCosmosConfigurationPropertiesGetUpdated()
             Assert.IsNull(policy.HttpClientFactory);
             Assert.AreNotEqual(Cosmos.ConsistencyLevel.Session, clientOptions.ConsistencyLevel);
             Assert.IsFalse(policy.EnablePartitionLevelFailover);
+            Assert.IsFalse(policy.EnableReplicaValidation);
 
             cosmosClientBuilder.WithApplicationRegion(region)
                 .WithConnectionModeGateway(maxConnections, webProxy)
@@ -108,7 +110,8 @@ public void VerifyCosmosConfigurationPropertiesGetUpdated()
                 .WithBulkExecution(true)
                 .WithSerializerOptions(cosmosSerializerOptions)
                 .WithConsistencyLevel(consistencyLevel)
-                .WithPartitionLevelFailoverEnabled();
+                .WithPartitionLevelFailoverEnabled()
+                .WithAdvancedReplicaSelectionEnabledForTcp();
 
             cosmosClient = cosmosClientBuilder.Build(new MockDocumentClient());
             clientOptions = cosmosClient.ClientOptions;
@@ -131,6 +134,7 @@ public void VerifyCosmosConfigurationPropertiesGetUpdated()
             Assert.IsTrue(clientOptions.AllowBulkExecution);
             Assert.AreEqual(consistencyLevel, clientOptions.ConsistencyLevel);
             Assert.IsTrue(clientOptions.EnablePartitionLevelFailover);
+            Assert.IsTrue(clientOptions.EnableAdvancedReplicaSelectionForTcp);
 
             //Verify GetConnectionPolicy returns the correct values
             policy = clientOptions.GetConnectionPolicy(clientId: 0);
@@ -145,7 +149,8 @@ public void VerifyCosmosConfigurationPropertiesGetUpdated()
             Assert.AreEqual((int)maxRetryWaitTime.TotalSeconds, policy.RetryOptions.MaxRetryWaitTimeInSeconds);
             Assert.AreEqual((Documents.ConsistencyLevel)consistencyLevel, clientOptions.GetDocumentsConsistencyLevel());
             Assert.IsTrue(policy.EnablePartitionLevelFailover);
-            
+            Assert.IsTrue(policy.EnableReplicaValidation);
+
             IReadOnlyList<string> preferredLocations = new List<string>() { Regions.AustraliaCentral, Regions.AustraliaCentral2 };
             //Verify Direct Mode settings
             cosmosClientBuilder = new CosmosClientBuilder(
diff --git a/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/tests/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos.Tests/RequestEventHandlerTests.cs b/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/tests/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos.Tests/RequestEventHandlerTests.cs
index f5602a1f29..9a19fb4a90 100644
--- a/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/tests/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos.Tests/RequestEventHandlerTests.cs
+++ b/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/tests/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos.Tests/RequestEventHandlerTests.cs
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ private StoreClient GetMockStoreClient()
             TransportClient mockTransportClient = this.GetMockTransportClient();
             ISessionContainer sessionContainer = new SessionContainer(string.Empty);
 
-            StoreReader storeReader = new StoreReader(mockTransportClient, addressSelector, new AddressEnumerator(), sessionContainer);
+            StoreReader storeReader = new StoreReader(mockTransportClient, addressSelector, new AddressEnumerator(), sessionContainer, false);
 
             Mock<IAuthorizationTokenProvider> mockAuthorizationTokenProvider = new Mock<IAuthorizationTokenProvider>();
             mockAuthorizationTokenProvider.Setup(provider => provider.AddSystemAuthorizationHeaderAsync(
diff --git a/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/tests/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos.Tests/StoreReaderTest.cs b/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/tests/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos.Tests/StoreReaderTest.cs
index b92ca3c804..831e32041a 100644
--- a/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/tests/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos.Tests/StoreReaderTest.cs
+++ b/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos/tests/Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos.Tests/StoreReaderTest.cs
@@ -536,7 +536,8 @@ public void StoreReaderBarrierTest()
                 new StoreReader(mockTransportClient,
                     addressSelector,
                     new AddressEnumerator(),
-                    sessionContainer);
+                    sessionContainer,
+                    enableReplicaValidation: false);
 
             // reads always go to read quorum (2) replicas
             int replicaCountToRead = 2;
@@ -611,14 +612,14 @@ public void GlobalStrongConsistentWriteMockTest()
             for (int i = 0; i < addressInformation.Length; i++)
             {
                 TransportClient mockTransportClient = this.GetMockTransportClientForGlobalStrongWrites(addressInformation, i, false, false, false);
-                StoreReader storeReader = new StoreReader(mockTransportClient, addressSelector, new AddressEnumerator(), sessionContainer);
-                ConsistencyWriter consistencyWriter = new ConsistencyWriter(addressSelector, sessionContainer, mockTransportClient, mockServiceConfigReader.Object, mockAuthorizationTokenProvider.Object, false);
+                StoreReader storeReader = new StoreReader(mockTransportClient, addressSelector, new AddressEnumerator(), sessionContainer, false);
+                ConsistencyWriter consistencyWriter = new ConsistencyWriter(addressSelector, sessionContainer, mockTransportClient, mockServiceConfigReader.Object, mockAuthorizationTokenProvider.Object, false, false);
                 StoreResponse response = consistencyWriter.WriteAsync(entity, new TimeoutHelper(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30)), false).Result;
                 Assert.AreEqual(100, response.LSN);
 
                 //globalCommittedLsn never catches up in this case
                 mockTransportClient = this.GetMockTransportClientForGlobalStrongWrites(addressInformation, i, true, false, false);
-                consistencyWriter = new ConsistencyWriter(addressSelector, sessionContainer, mockTransportClient, mockServiceConfigReader.Object, mockAuthorizationTokenProvider.Object, false);
+                consistencyWriter = new ConsistencyWriter(addressSelector, sessionContainer, mockTransportClient, mockServiceConfigReader.Object, mockAuthorizationTokenProvider.Object, false, false);
                 try
                 {
                     response = consistencyWriter.WriteAsync(entity, new TimeoutHelper(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30)), false).Result;
@@ -629,17 +630,17 @@ public void GlobalStrongConsistentWriteMockTest()
                 }
 
                 mockTransportClient = this.GetMockTransportClientForGlobalStrongWrites(addressInformation, i, false, true, false);
-                consistencyWriter = new ConsistencyWriter(addressSelector, sessionContainer, mockTransportClient, mockServiceConfigReader.Object, mockAuthorizationTokenProvider.Object, false);
+                consistencyWriter = new ConsistencyWriter(addressSelector, sessionContainer, mockTransportClient, mockServiceConfigReader.Object, mockAuthorizationTokenProvider.Object, false, false);
                 response = consistencyWriter.WriteAsync(entity, new TimeoutHelper(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30)), false).Result;
                 Assert.AreEqual(100, response.LSN);
 
                 mockTransportClient = this.GetMockTransportClientForGlobalStrongWrites(addressInformation, i, false, true, true);
-                consistencyWriter = new ConsistencyWriter(addressSelector, sessionContainer, mockTransportClient, mockServiceConfigReader.Object, mockAuthorizationTokenProvider.Object, false);
+                consistencyWriter = new ConsistencyWriter(addressSelector, sessionContainer, mockTransportClient, mockServiceConfigReader.Object, mockAuthorizationTokenProvider.Object, false, false);
                 response = consistencyWriter.WriteAsync(entity, new TimeoutHelper(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30)), false).Result;
                 Assert.AreEqual(100, response.LSN);
 
                 mockTransportClient = this.GetMockTransportClientForGlobalStrongWrites(addressInformation, i, false, false, true);
-                consistencyWriter = new ConsistencyWriter(addressSelector, sessionContainer, mockTransportClient, mockServiceConfigReader.Object, mockAuthorizationTokenProvider.Object, false);
+                consistencyWriter = new ConsistencyWriter(addressSelector, sessionContainer, mockTransportClient, mockServiceConfigReader.Object, mockAuthorizationTokenProvider.Object, false, false);
                 response = consistencyWriter.WriteAsync(entity, new TimeoutHelper(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30)), false).Result;
                 Assert.AreEqual(100, response.LSN);
             }
@@ -703,7 +704,8 @@ public void GlobalStrongConsistencyMockTest()
                     new StoreReader(mockTransportClient,
                         addressSelector,
                         new AddressEnumerator(),
-                        sessionContainer);
+                        sessionContainer,
+                        false);
 
                 Mock<IAuthorizationTokenProvider> mockAuthorizationTokenProvider = new Mock<IAuthorizationTokenProvider>();
                 mockAuthorizationTokenProvider.Setup(provider => provider.AddSystemAuthorizationHeaderAsync(
@@ -746,7 +748,8 @@ public void GlobalStrongConsistencyMockTest()
                     new StoreReader(mockTransportClient,
                         addressSelector,
                         new AddressEnumerator(),
-                        sessionContainer);
+                        sessionContainer,
+                        false);
 
                 Mock<IAuthorizationTokenProvider> mockAuthorizationTokenProvider = new Mock<IAuthorizationTokenProvider>();
                 mockAuthorizationTokenProvider.Setup(provider => provider.AddSystemAuthorizationHeaderAsync(
@@ -798,7 +801,8 @@ public void GlobalStrongConsistencyMockTest()
                 new StoreReader(mockTransportClient,
                     addressSelector,
                     new AddressEnumerator(),
-                    sessionContainer);
+                    sessionContainer,
+                    false);
 
                 Mock<IAuthorizationTokenProvider> mockAuthorizationTokenProvider = new Mock<IAuthorizationTokenProvider>();
                 mockAuthorizationTokenProvider.Setup(provider => provider.AddSystemAuthorizationHeaderAsync(