Partner conf cache (/tmp/.vv/) was only refreshed at array start. If a partner
updated their conf mid-day, this host's RAM cache went stale until next reboot.
Intermediate orchestrator now pulls partner confs every 4 hours as step 1.
conf_sync.sh --pull-only: pulls partner confs into local cache, skips push
(push is already handled by conf_populate.sh --push-only on conf save).