diff --git a/ratis-common/src/main/java/org/apache/ratis/util/ReferenceCountedLeakDetector.java b/ratis-common/src/main/java/org/apache/ratis/util/ReferenceCountedLeakDetector.java
index 32abe805f1..8ac3929cb9 100644
--- a/ratis-common/src/main/java/org/apache/ratis/util/ReferenceCountedLeakDetector.java
+++ b/ratis-common/src/main/java/org/apache/ratis/util/ReferenceCountedLeakDetector.java
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ public static LeakDetector getLeakDetector() {
   private ReferenceCountedLeakDetector() {
   }
 
-  static synchronized void enable(boolean advanced) {
+  public static synchronized void enable(boolean advanced) {
     FACTORY.set(advanced ? Mode.ADVANCED : Mode.SIMPLE);
   }
 
diff --git a/ratis-common/src/main/java/org/apache/ratis/util/ReferenceCountedObject.java b/ratis-common/src/main/java/org/apache/ratis/util/ReferenceCountedObject.java
index b2c53182d3..1fc72c3445 100644
--- a/ratis-common/src/main/java/org/apache/ratis/util/ReferenceCountedObject.java
+++ b/ratis-common/src/main/java/org/apache/ratis/util/ReferenceCountedObject.java
@@ -182,13 +182,4 @@ static <V> ReferenceCountedObject<V> wrap(V value, Runnable retainMethod, Consum
   static <V> ReferenceCountedObject<V> wrap(V value, Runnable retainMethod, Runnable releaseMethod) {
     return wrap(value, retainMethod, ignored -> releaseMethod.run());
   }
-
-  static void enableLeakDetection() {
-    ReferenceCountedLeakDetector.enable(false);
-  }
-
-  static void enableAdvancedLeakDetection() {
-    ReferenceCountedLeakDetector.enable(true);
-  }
-
 }
diff --git a/ratis-examples/src/test/java/org/apache/ratis/TestMultiRaftGroup.java b/ratis-examples/src/test/java/org/apache/ratis/TestMultiRaftGroup.java
index 190f758589..ea3962c088 100644
--- a/ratis-examples/src/test/java/org/apache/ratis/TestMultiRaftGroup.java
+++ b/ratis-examples/src/test/java/org/apache/ratis/TestMultiRaftGroup.java
@@ -22,25 +22,20 @@
 import org.apache.ratis.examples.arithmetic.ArithmeticStateMachine;
 import org.apache.ratis.examples.arithmetic.TestArithmetic;
 import org.apache.ratis.protocol.RaftGroup;
-import org.apache.ratis.server.RaftServer;
 import org.apache.ratis.server.impl.GroupManagementBaseTest;
 import org.apache.ratis.server.impl.MiniRaftCluster;
-import org.apache.ratis.util.Slf4jUtils;
 import org.apache.ratis.util.function.CheckedBiConsumer;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Timeout;
 import org.junit.jupiter.params.ParameterizedTest;
 import org.junit.jupiter.params.provider.MethodSource;
-import org.slf4j.event.Level;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;
 
+@Timeout(value = 300)
 public class TestMultiRaftGroup extends BaseTest {
-  static {
-    Slf4jUtils.setLogLevel(RaftServer.Division.LOG, Level.DEBUG);
-  }
-
-  public static Collection<Object[]> data() throws IOException {
+  public static Collection<Object[]> data() {
     return ParameterizedBaseTest.getMiniRaftClusters(ArithmeticStateMachine.class, 0);
   }
 
diff --git a/ratis-grpc/src/test/java/org/apache/ratis/grpc/MiniRaftClusterWithGrpc.java b/ratis-grpc/src/test/java/org/apache/ratis/grpc/MiniRaftClusterWithGrpc.java
index 47f9e1d4b6..2abde84244 100644
--- a/ratis-grpc/src/test/java/org/apache/ratis/grpc/MiniRaftClusterWithGrpc.java
+++ b/ratis-grpc/src/test/java/org/apache/ratis/grpc/MiniRaftClusterWithGrpc.java
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@
 import org.apache.ratis.server.impl.MiniRaftCluster;
 import org.apache.ratis.server.impl.RaftServerTestUtil;
 import org.apache.ratis.util.NetUtils;
-import org.apache.ratis.util.ReferenceCountedObject;
 import org.junit.Assert;
 
 import java.util.Optional;
@@ -50,10 +49,6 @@ public MiniRaftClusterWithGrpc newCluster(String[] ids, String[] listenerIds, Ra
     }
   };
 
-  static {
-    ReferenceCountedObject.enableLeakDetection();
-  }
-
   public interface FactoryGet extends Factory.Get<MiniRaftClusterWithGrpc> {
     @Override
     default Factory<MiniRaftClusterWithGrpc> getFactory() {
diff --git a/ratis-server/src/main/java/org/apache/ratis/server/leader/LogAppenderDefault.java b/ratis-server/src/main/java/org/apache/ratis/server/leader/LogAppenderDefault.java
index f75a80f825..8ec6c19db1 100644
--- a/ratis-server/src/main/java/org/apache/ratis/server/leader/LogAppenderDefault.java
+++ b/ratis-server/src/main/java/org/apache/ratis/server/leader/LogAppenderDefault.java
@@ -59,23 +59,15 @@ public Comparator<Long> getCallIdComparator() {
   /** Send an appendEntries RPC; retry indefinitely. */
   private AppendEntriesReplyProto sendAppendEntriesWithRetries(AtomicLong requestFirstIndex)
       throws InterruptedException, InterruptedIOException, RaftLogIOException {
-    int retry = 0;
-
-    ReferenceCountedObject<AppendEntriesRequestProto> request = nextAppendEntriesRequest(
-        CallId.getAndIncrement(), false);
-    while (isRunning()) { // keep retrying for IOException
+    for(int retry = 0; isRunning(); retry++) {
+      final ReferenceCountedObject<AppendEntriesRequestProto> request = nextAppendEntriesRequest(
+          CallId.getAndIncrement(), false);
+      if (request == null) {
+        LOG.trace("{} no entries to send now, wait ...", this);
+        return null;
+      }
       try {
-        if (request == null || request.get().getEntriesCount() == 0) {
-          if (request != null) {
-            request.release();
-          }
-          request = nextAppendEntriesRequest(CallId.getAndIncrement(), false);
-        }
-
-        if (request == null) {
-          LOG.trace("{} no entries to send now, wait ...", this);
-          return null;
-        } else if (!isRunning()) {
+        if (!isRunning()) {
           LOG.info("{} is stopped. Skip appendEntries.", this);
           return null;
         }
@@ -84,17 +76,19 @@ private AppendEntriesReplyProto sendAppendEntriesWithRetries(AtomicLong requestF
         final AppendEntriesReplyProto reply = sendAppendEntries(proto);
         final long first = proto.getEntriesCount() > 0 ? proto.getEntries(0).getIndex() : RaftLog.INVALID_LOG_INDEX;
         requestFirstIndex.set(first);
-        request.release();
         return reply;
       } catch (InterruptedIOException | RaftLogIOException e) {
         throw e;
       } catch (IOException ioe) {
         // TODO should have more detailed retry policy here.
-        if (retry++ % 10 == 0) { // to reduce the number of messages
+        if (retry % 10 == 0) { // to reduce the number of messages
           LOG.warn("{}: Failed to appendEntries (retry={})", this, retry, ioe);
         }
         handleException(ioe);
+      } finally {
+        request.release();
       }
+
       if (isRunning()) {
         getServer().properties().rpcSleepTime().sleep();
       }
diff --git a/ratis-server/src/main/java/org/apache/ratis/server/raftlog/memory/MemoryRaftLog.java b/ratis-server/src/main/java/org/apache/ratis/server/raftlog/memory/MemoryRaftLog.java
index 2aac6c1b1f..f4b6dc452e 100644
--- a/ratis-server/src/main/java/org/apache/ratis/server/raftlog/memory/MemoryRaftLog.java
+++ b/ratis-server/src/main/java/org/apache/ratis/server/raftlog/memory/MemoryRaftLog.java
@@ -45,15 +45,10 @@
  */
 public class MemoryRaftLog extends RaftLogBase {
   static class EntryList {
-    private final List<ReferenceCountedObject<LogEntryProto>> entries = new ArrayList<>();
-
-    ReferenceCountedObject<LogEntryProto> getRef(int i) {
-      return i >= 0 && i < entries.size() ? entries.get(i) : null;
-    }
+    private final List<LogEntryProto> entries = new ArrayList<>();
 
     LogEntryProto get(int i) {
-      final ReferenceCountedObject<LogEntryProto> ref = getRef(i);
-      return ref != null ? ref.get() : null;
+      return i >= 0 && i < entries.size() ? entries.get(i) : null;
     }
 
     TermIndex getTermIndex(int i) {
@@ -81,13 +76,10 @@ void purge(int index) {
     }
 
     void clear(int from, int to) {
-      List<ReferenceCountedObject<LogEntryProto>> subList = entries.subList(from, to);
-      subList.forEach(ReferenceCountedObject::release);
-      subList.clear();
+      entries.subList(from, to).clear();
     }
 
-    void add(ReferenceCountedObject<LogEntryProto> entryRef) {
-      entryRef.retain();
+    void add(LogEntryProto entryRef) {
       entries.add(entryRef);
     }
   }
@@ -128,7 +120,8 @@ public LogEntryProto get(long index) throws RaftLogIOException {
   public ReferenceCountedObject<LogEntryProto> retainLog(long index) {
     checkLogState();
     try (AutoCloseableLock readLock = readLock()) {
-      ReferenceCountedObject<LogEntryProto> ref = entries.getRef(Math.toIntExact(index));
+      final LogEntryProto entry = entries.get(Math.toIntExact(index));
+      final ReferenceCountedObject<LogEntryProto> ref = ReferenceCountedObject.wrap(entry);
       ref.retain();
       return ref;
     }
@@ -205,7 +198,7 @@ protected CompletableFuture<Long> appendEntryImpl(ReferenceCountedObject<LogEntr
     LogEntryProto entry = entryRef.retain();
     try (AutoCloseableLock writeLock = writeLock()) {
       validateLogEntry(entry);
-      entries.add(entryRef);
+      entries.add(entry);
     } finally {
       entryRef.release();
     }
@@ -253,7 +246,7 @@ public List<CompletableFuture<Long>> appendImpl(ReferenceCountedObject<List<LogE
       }
       for (int i = index; i < logEntryProtos.size(); i++) {
         LogEntryProto logEntryProto = logEntryProtos.get(i);
-        entries.add(entriesRef.delegate(logEntryProto));
+        entries.add(LogProtoUtils.copy(logEntryProto));
         futures.add(CompletableFuture.completedFuture(logEntryProto.getIndex()));
       }
       return futures;
diff --git a/ratis-server/src/test/java/org/apache/ratis/RaftBasicTests.java b/ratis-server/src/test/java/org/apache/ratis/RaftBasicTests.java
index b16905d9a0..dbb0dbcabc 100644
--- a/ratis-server/src/test/java/org/apache/ratis/RaftBasicTests.java
+++ b/ratis-server/src/test/java/org/apache/ratis/RaftBasicTests.java
@@ -33,13 +33,11 @@
 import org.apache.ratis.server.RaftServerConfigKeys;
 import org.apache.ratis.server.impl.BlockRequestHandlingInjection;
 import org.apache.ratis.server.impl.MiniRaftCluster;
-import org.apache.ratis.server.impl.RaftServerTestUtil;
 import org.apache.ratis.server.impl.RetryCacheTestUtil;
 import org.apache.ratis.server.metrics.ServerMetricsTestUtils;
 import org.apache.ratis.server.raftlog.RaftLog;
 import org.apache.ratis.util.ExitUtils;
 import org.apache.ratis.util.JavaUtils;
-import org.apache.ratis.util.Slf4jUtils;
 import org.apache.ratis.util.TimeDuration;
 import org.apache.ratis.util.Timestamp;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions;
@@ -47,7 +45,6 @@
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Timeout;
 import org.slf4j.Logger;
-import org.slf4j.event.Level;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.List;
@@ -75,9 +72,6 @@ public abstract class RaftBasicTests<CLUSTER extends MiniRaftCluster>
     extends BaseTest
     implements MiniRaftCluster.Factory.Get<CLUSTER> {
   {
-    Slf4jUtils.setLogLevel(RaftServer.Division.LOG, Level.DEBUG);
-    RaftServerTestUtil.setStateMachineUpdaterLogLevel(Level.DEBUG);
-
     RaftServerConfigKeys.RetryCache.setExpiryTime(getProperties(), TimeDuration.valueOf(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS));
   }
 
diff --git a/ratis-server/src/test/java/org/apache/ratis/RaftTestUtil.java b/ratis-server/src/test/java/org/apache/ratis/RaftTestUtil.java
index be8739ad8e..7339937014 100644
--- a/ratis-server/src/test/java/org/apache/ratis/RaftTestUtil.java
+++ b/ratis-server/src/test/java/org/apache/ratis/RaftTestUtil.java
@@ -187,8 +187,11 @@ static boolean logEntriesContains(RaftLog log, long startIndex, long endIndex, S
             log.get(termIndices[idxEntries].getIndex()).getStateMachineLogEntry().getLogData().toByteArray())) {
           ++idxExpected;
         }
-      } catch (IOException e) {
-        throw new RuntimeException(e);
+      } catch (Exception e) {
+        throw new IllegalStateException("Failed logEntriesContains: startIndex=" + startIndex
+            + ", endIndex=" + endIndex
+            + ", #expectedMessages=" + expectedMessages.length
+            + ", log=" + log, e);
       }
       ++idxEntries;
     }
diff --git a/ratis-server/src/test/java/org/apache/ratis/server/impl/MiniRaftCluster.java b/ratis-server/src/test/java/org/apache/ratis/server/impl/MiniRaftCluster.java
index 9a54700ecd..ade6110edc 100644
--- a/ratis-server/src/test/java/org/apache/ratis/server/impl/MiniRaftCluster.java
+++ b/ratis-server/src/test/java/org/apache/ratis/server/impl/MiniRaftCluster.java
@@ -86,6 +86,10 @@
 public abstract class MiniRaftCluster implements Closeable {
   public static final Logger LOG = LoggerFactory.getLogger(MiniRaftCluster.class);
 
+  static {
+    ReferenceCountedLeakDetector.enable(false);
+  }
+
   public static final String CLASS_NAME = JavaUtils.getClassSimpleName(MiniRaftCluster.class);
   public static final String STATEMACHINE_CLASS_KEY = CLASS_NAME + ".statemachine.class";
   private static final StateMachine.Registry STATEMACHINE_REGISTRY_DEFAULT = gid -> new BaseStateMachine();