diff --git a/common/src/main/resources/reference.conf b/common/src/main/resources/reference.conf
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4e928ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/common/src/main/resources/reference.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+akka {
+    actor {
+        default-dispatcher {
+            # Configurable thread pool
+            thread-pool-executor {
+                fixed-pool-size = 32
+            }
+        }
+        
+        # Deployment configuration
+        deployment {
+            /parent-actor {
+                router = round-robin-pool
+                nr-of-instances = 5
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    
+    # Cluster configuration
+    cluster {
+        min-nr-of-members = 2
+        role {
+            frontend.min-nr-of-members = 1
+            backend.min-nr-of-members = 2
+        }
+    }
+} 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/parent-child/src/main/java/org/royrusso/actor/ParentActor.java b/parent-child/src/main/java/org/royrusso/actor/ParentActor.java
index 82c2f98..65c306c 100644
--- a/parent-child/src/main/java/org/royrusso/actor/ParentActor.java
+++ b/parent-child/src/main/java/org/royrusso/actor/ParentActor.java
@@ -47,16 +47,21 @@ public ParentActor() {
 
     @Override
     public void onReceive(Object msg) throws Exception {
-
-        log.info("Received Command: " + msg);
-
-        if (msg instanceof Command) {
-            final String data = ((Command) msg).getData();
-            final Event event = new Event(data, UUID.randomUUID().toString());
-
-            childActor.tell(event, getSelf());
-        } else if (msg.equals("echo")) {
-            log.info("ECHO!");
+        try {
+            log.info("Received Command: " + msg);
+            
+            if (msg instanceof Command) {
+                final String data = ((Command) msg).getData();
+                final Event event = new Event(data, UUID.randomUUID().toString());
+                childActor.tell(event, getSelf());
+            } else if (msg.equals("echo")) {
+                log.info("ECHO!");
+            } else {
+                unhandled(msg); // Handle unknown messages
+            }
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+            log.error("Error processing message: " + msg, e);
+            throw e;
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/persistent-channel/src/main/java/org/royrusso/actor/BaseProcessor.java b/persistent-channel/src/main/java/org/royrusso/actor/BaseProcessor.java
index 83f7eb4..7e05664 100644
--- a/persistent-channel/src/main/java/org/royrusso/actor/BaseProcessor.java
+++ b/persistent-channel/src/main/java/org/royrusso/actor/BaseProcessor.java
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 import akka.persistence.PersistentChannelSettings;
 import org.royrusso.command.ChannelReply;
 import scala.concurrent.duration.Duration;
+import akka.pattern.CircuitBreaker;
 
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 
@@ -42,9 +43,20 @@ public class BaseProcessor extends UntypedActor {
 
     private ActorRef receiver;
     private ActorRef channel;
+    private final CircuitBreaker circuitBreaker;
 
     public BaseProcessor(ActorRef receiver) {
         this.receiver = receiver;
+        
+        // Configure circuit breaker
+        this.circuitBreaker = new CircuitBreaker(
+            getContext().dispatcher(),
+            getContext().system().scheduler(),
+            5, // max failures
+            Duration.create(10, TimeUnit.SECONDS), // call timeout
+            Duration.create(1, TimeUnit.MINUTES) // reset timeout
+        );
+        
         this.channel = getContext().actorOf(PersistentChannel.props(
                 PersistentChannelSettings.create()
                         .withRedeliverInterval(Duration.create(30, TimeUnit.SECONDS))