diff --git a/batch/batch.go b/batch/batch.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6b1fa2ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/batch/batch.go
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+package batch
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"sync"
+
+	"github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/channeldb/kvdb"
+)
+
+// errSolo is a sentinel error indicating that the requester should re-run the
+// operation in isolation.
+var errSolo = errors.New(
+	"batch function returned an error and should be re-run solo",
+)
+
+type request struct {
+	*Request
+	errChan chan error
+}
+
+type batch struct {
+	db     kvdb.Backend
+	start  sync.Once
+	reqs   []*request
+	clear  func(b *batch)
+	locker sync.Locker
+}
+
+// trigger is the entry point for the batch and ensures that run is started at
+// most once.
+func (b *batch) trigger() {
+	b.start.Do(b.run)
+}
+
+// run executes the current batch of requests. If any individual requests fail
+// alongside others they will be retried by the caller.
+func (b *batch) run() {
+	// Clear the batch from its scheduler, ensuring that no new requests are
+	// added to this batch.
+	b.clear(b)
+
+	// If a cache lock was provided, hold it until the this method returns.
+	// This is critical for ensuring external consistency of the operation,
+	// so that caches don't get out of sync with the on disk state.
+	if b.locker != nil {
+		b.locker.Lock()
+		defer b.locker.Unlock()
+	}
+
+	// Apply the batch until a subset succeeds or all of them fail. Requests
+	// that fail will be retried individually.
+	for len(b.reqs) > 0 {
+		var failIdx = -1
+		err := kvdb.Update(b.db, func(tx kvdb.RwTx) error {
+			for i, req := range b.reqs {
+				err := req.Update(tx)
+				if err != nil {
+					failIdx = i
+					return err
+				}
+			}
+			return nil
+		}, func() {
+			for _, req := range b.reqs {
+				if req.Reset != nil {
+					req.Reset()
+				}
+			}
+		})
+
+		// If a request's Update failed, extract it and re-run the
+		// batch. The removed request will be retried individually by
+		// the caller.
+		if failIdx >= 0 {
+			req := b.reqs[failIdx]
+
+			// It's safe to shorten b.reqs here because the
+			// scheduler's batch no longer points to us.
+			b.reqs[failIdx] = b.reqs[len(b.reqs)-1]
+			b.reqs = b.reqs[:len(b.reqs)-1]
+
+			// Tell the submitter re-run it solo, continue with the
+			// rest of the batch.
+			req.errChan <- errSolo
+			continue
+		}
+
+		// None of the remaining requests failed, process the errors
+		// using each request's OnCommit closure and return the error
+		// to the requester. If no OnCommit closure is provided, simply
+		// return the error directly.
+		for _, req := range b.reqs {
+			if req.OnCommit != nil {
+				req.errChan <- req.OnCommit(err)
+			} else {
+				req.errChan <- err
+			}
+		}
+
+		return
+	}
+}
diff --git a/batch/interface.go b/batch/interface.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b9ab8b77
--- /dev/null
+++ b/batch/interface.go
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+package batch
+
+import "github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/channeldb/kvdb"
+
+// Request defines an operation that can be batched into a single bbolt
+// transaction.
+type Request struct {
+	// Reset is called before each invocation of Update and is used to clear
+	// any possible modifications to local state as a result of previous
+	// calls to Update that were not committed due to a concurrent batch
+	// failure.
+	//
+	// NOTE: This field is optional.
+	Reset func()
+
+	// Update is applied alongside other operations in the batch.
+	//
+	// NOTE: This method MUST NOT acquire any mutexes.
+	Update func(tx kvdb.RwTx) error
+
+	// OnCommit is called if the batch or a subset of the batch including
+	// this request all succeeded without failure. The passed error should
+	// contain the result of the transaction commit, as that can still fail
+	// even if none of the closures returned an error.
+	//
+	// NOTE: This field is optional.
+	OnCommit func(commitErr error) error
+}
+
+// Scheduler abstracts a generic batching engine that accumulates an incoming
+// set of Requests, executes them, and returns the error from the operation.
+type Scheduler interface {
+	// Execute schedules a Request for execution with the next available
+	// batch. This method blocks until the the underlying closure has been
+	// run against the databse. The resulting error is returned to the
+	// caller.
+	Execute(req *Request) error
+}
diff --git a/batch/scheduler.go b/batch/scheduler.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7d681376
--- /dev/null
+++ b/batch/scheduler.go
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+package batch
+
+import (
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/channeldb/kvdb"
+)
+
+// TimeScheduler is a batching engine that executes requests within a fixed
+// horizon. When the first request is received, a TimeScheduler waits a
+// configurable duration for other concurrent requests to join the batch. Once
+// this time has elapsed, the batch is closed and executed. Subsequent requests
+// are then added to a new batch which undergoes the same process.
+type TimeScheduler struct {
+	db       kvdb.Backend
+	locker   sync.Locker
+	duration time.Duration
+
+	mu sync.Mutex
+	b  *batch
+}
+
+// NewTimeScheduler initializes a new TimeScheduler with a fixed duration at
+// which to schedule batches. If the operation needs to modify a higher-level
+// cache, the cache's lock should be provided to so that external consistency
+// can be maintained, as successful db operations will cause a request's
+// OnCommit method to be executed while holding this lock.
+func NewTimeScheduler(db kvdb.Backend, locker sync.Locker,
+	duration time.Duration) *TimeScheduler {
+
+	return &TimeScheduler{
+		db:       db,
+		locker:   locker,
+		duration: duration,
+	}
+}
+
+// Execute schedules the provided request for batch execution along with other
+// concurrent requests. The request will be executed within a fixed horizon,
+// parameterizeed by the duration of the scheduler. The error from the
+// underlying operation is returned to the caller.
+//
+// NOTE: Part of the Scheduler interface.
+func (s *TimeScheduler) Execute(r *Request) error {
+	req := request{
+		Request: r,
+		errChan: make(chan error, 1),
+	}
+
+	// Add the request to the current batch. If the batch has been cleared
+	// or no batch exists, create a new one.
+	s.mu.Lock()
+	if s.b == nil {
+		s.b = &batch{
+			db:     s.db,
+			clear:  s.clear,
+			locker: s.locker,
+		}
+		time.AfterFunc(s.duration, s.b.trigger)
+	}
+	s.b.reqs = append(s.b.reqs, &req)
+	s.mu.Unlock()
+
+	// Wait for the batch to process the request. If the batch didn't
+	// ask us to execute the request individually, simply return the error.
+	err := <-req.errChan
+	if err != errSolo {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	// Obtain exclusive access to the cache if this scheduler needs to
+	// modify the cache in OnCommit.
+	if s.locker != nil {
+		s.locker.Lock()
+		defer s.locker.Unlock()
+	}
+
+	// Otherwise, run the request on its own.
+	commitErr := kvdb.Update(s.db, req.Update, func() {
+		if req.Reset != nil {
+			req.Reset()
+		}
+	})
+
+	// Finally, return the commit error directly or execute the OnCommit
+	// closure with the commit error if present.
+	if req.OnCommit != nil {
+		return req.OnCommit(commitErr)
+	}
+
+	return commitErr
+}
+
+// clear resets the scheduler's batch to nil so that no more requests can be
+// added.
+func (s *TimeScheduler) clear(b *batch) {
+	s.mu.Lock()
+	if s.b == b {
+		s.b = nil
+	}
+	s.mu.Unlock()
+}
diff --git a/channeldb/db.go b/channeldb/db.go
index 465003c4..5c7d90b0 100644
--- a/channeldb/db.go
+++ b/channeldb/db.go
@@ -275,6 +275,7 @@ func CreateWithBackend(backend kvdb.Backend, modifiers ...OptionModifier) (*DB,
 	}
 	chanDB.graph = newChannelGraph(
 		chanDB, opts.RejectCacheSize, opts.ChannelCacheSize,
+		opts.BatchCommitInterval,
 	)
 
 	// Synchronize the version of database and apply migrations if needed.
diff --git a/channeldb/graph.go b/channeldb/graph.go
index 5d599cf6..2333bc94 100644
--- a/channeldb/graph.go
+++ b/channeldb/graph.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/btcsuite/btcd/txscript"
 	"github.com/btcsuite/btcd/wire"
 	"github.com/btcsuite/btcutil"
+	"github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/batch"
 	"github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/channeldb/kvdb"
 	"github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/lnwire"
 	"github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/routing/route"
@@ -177,16 +178,27 @@ type ChannelGraph struct {
 	cacheMu     sync.RWMutex
 	rejectCache *rejectCache
 	chanCache   *channelCache
+
+	chanScheduler batch.Scheduler
+	nodeScheduler batch.Scheduler
 }
 
 // newChannelGraph allocates a new ChannelGraph backed by a DB instance. The
 // returned instance has its own unique reject cache and channel cache.
-func newChannelGraph(db *DB, rejectCacheSize, chanCacheSize int) *ChannelGraph {
-	return &ChannelGraph{
+func newChannelGraph(db *DB, rejectCacheSize, chanCacheSize int,
+	batchCommitInterval time.Duration) *ChannelGraph {
+	g := &ChannelGraph{
 		db:          db,
 		rejectCache: newRejectCache(rejectCacheSize),
 		chanCache:   newChannelCache(chanCacheSize),
 	}
+	g.chanScheduler = batch.NewTimeScheduler(
+		db.Backend, &g.cacheMu, batchCommitInterval,
+	)
+	g.nodeScheduler = batch.NewTimeScheduler(
+		db.Backend, nil, batchCommitInterval,
+	)
+	return g
 }
 
 // Database returns a pointer to the underlying database.
@@ -440,15 +452,17 @@ func (c *ChannelGraph) SetSourceNode(node *LightningNode) error {
 // AddLightningNode adds a vertex/node to the graph database. If the node is not
 // in the database from before, this will add a new, unconnected one to the
 // graph. If it is present from before, this will update that node's
-// information. Note that this method is expected to only be called to update
-// an already present node from a node announcement, or to insert a node found
-// in a channel update.
+// information. Note that this method is expected to only be called to update an
+// already present node from a node announcement, or to insert a node found in a
+// channel update.
 //
 // TODO(roasbeef): also need sig of announcement
 func (c *ChannelGraph) AddLightningNode(node *LightningNode) error {
-	return kvdb.Update(c.db, func(tx kvdb.RwTx) error {
-		return addLightningNode(tx, node)
-	}, func() {})
+	return c.nodeScheduler.Execute(&batch.Request{
+		Update: func(tx kvdb.RwTx) error {
+			return addLightningNode(tx, node)
+		},
+	})
 }
 
 func addLightningNode(tx kvdb.RwTx, node *LightningNode) error {
@@ -568,26 +582,42 @@ func (c *ChannelGraph) deleteLightningNode(nodes kvdb.RwBucket,
 }
 
 // AddChannelEdge adds a new (undirected, blank) edge to the graph database. An
-// undirected edge from the two target nodes are created. The information
-// stored denotes the static attributes of the channel, such as the channelID,
-// the keys involved in creation of the channel, and the set of features that
-// the channel supports. The chanPoint and chanID are used to uniquely identify
-// the edge globally within the database.
+// undirected edge from the two target nodes are created. The information stored
+// denotes the static attributes of the channel, such as the channelID, the keys
+// involved in creation of the channel, and the set of features that the channel
+// supports. The chanPoint and chanID are used to uniquely identify the edge
+// globally within the database.
 func (c *ChannelGraph) AddChannelEdge(edge *ChannelEdgeInfo) error {
-	c.cacheMu.Lock()
-	defer c.cacheMu.Unlock()
+	var alreadyExists bool
+	return c.chanScheduler.Execute(&batch.Request{
+		Reset: func() {
+			alreadyExists = false
+		},
+		Update: func(tx kvdb.RwTx) error {
+			err := c.addChannelEdge(tx, edge)
 
-	err := kvdb.Update(c.db, func(tx kvdb.RwTx) error {
-		return c.addChannelEdge(tx, edge)
-	}, func() {})
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
+			// Silence ErrEdgeAlreadyExist so that the batch can
+			// succeed, but propagate the error via local state.
+			if err == ErrEdgeAlreadyExist {
+				alreadyExists = true
+				return nil
+			}
 
-	c.rejectCache.remove(edge.ChannelID)
-	c.chanCache.remove(edge.ChannelID)
-
-	return nil
+			return err
+		},
+		OnCommit: func(err error) error {
+			switch {
+			case err != nil:
+				return err
+			case alreadyExists:
+				return ErrEdgeAlreadyExist
+			default:
+				c.rejectCache.remove(edge.ChannelID)
+				c.chanCache.remove(edge.ChannelID)
+				return nil
+			}
+		},
+	})
 }
 
 // addChannelEdge is the private form of AddChannelEdge that allows callers to
@@ -1929,51 +1959,71 @@ func delChannelEdge(edges, edgeIndex, chanIndex, zombieIndex,
 // the ChannelEdgePolicy determines which of the directed edges are being
 // updated. If the flag is 1, then the first node's information is being
 // updated, otherwise it's the second node's information. The node ordering is
-// determined by the lexicographical ordering of the identity public keys of
-// the nodes on either side of the channel.
+// determined by the lexicographical ordering of the identity public keys of the
+// nodes on either side of the channel.
 func (c *ChannelGraph) UpdateEdgePolicy(edge *ChannelEdgePolicy) error {
-	c.cacheMu.Lock()
-	defer c.cacheMu.Unlock()
+	var (
+		isUpdate1    bool
+		edgeNotFound bool
+	)
+	return c.chanScheduler.Execute(&batch.Request{
+		Reset: func() {
+			isUpdate1 = false
+			edgeNotFound = false
+		},
+		Update: func(tx kvdb.RwTx) error {
+			var err error
+			isUpdate1, err = updateEdgePolicy(tx, edge)
 
-	var isUpdate1 bool
-	err := kvdb.Update(c.db, func(tx kvdb.RwTx) error {
-		var err error
-		isUpdate1, err = updateEdgePolicy(tx, edge)
-		return err
-	}, func() {
-		isUpdate1 = false
+			// Silence ErrEdgeNotFound so that the batch can
+			// succeed, but propagate the error via local state.
+			if err == ErrEdgeNotFound {
+				edgeNotFound = true
+				return nil
+			}
+
+			return err
+		},
+		OnCommit: func(err error) error {
+			switch {
+			case err != nil:
+				return err
+			case edgeNotFound:
+				return ErrEdgeNotFound
+			default:
+				c.updateEdgeCache(edge, isUpdate1)
+				return nil
+			}
+		},
 	})
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
+}
 
+func (c *ChannelGraph) updateEdgeCache(e *ChannelEdgePolicy, isUpdate1 bool) {
 	// If an entry for this channel is found in reject cache, we'll modify
 	// the entry with the updated timestamp for the direction that was just
 	// written. If the edge doesn't exist, we'll load the cache entry lazily
 	// during the next query for this edge.
-	if entry, ok := c.rejectCache.get(edge.ChannelID); ok {
+	if entry, ok := c.rejectCache.get(e.ChannelID); ok {
 		if isUpdate1 {
-			entry.upd1Time = edge.LastUpdate.Unix()
+			entry.upd1Time = e.LastUpdate.Unix()
 		} else {
-			entry.upd2Time = edge.LastUpdate.Unix()
+			entry.upd2Time = e.LastUpdate.Unix()
 		}
-		c.rejectCache.insert(edge.ChannelID, entry)
+		c.rejectCache.insert(e.ChannelID, entry)
 	}
 
 	// If an entry for this channel is found in channel cache, we'll modify
 	// the entry with the updated policy for the direction that was just
 	// written. If the edge doesn't exist, we'll defer loading the info and
 	// policies and lazily read from disk during the next query.
-	if channel, ok := c.chanCache.get(edge.ChannelID); ok {
+	if channel, ok := c.chanCache.get(e.ChannelID); ok {
 		if isUpdate1 {
-			channel.Policy1 = edge
+			channel.Policy1 = e
 		} else {
-			channel.Policy2 = edge
+			channel.Policy2 = e
 		}
-		c.chanCache.insert(edge.ChannelID, channel)
+		c.chanCache.insert(e.ChannelID, channel)
 	}
-
-	return nil
 }
 
 // updateEdgePolicy attempts to update an edge's policy within the relevant
diff --git a/channeldb/graph_test.go b/channeldb/graph_test.go
index 52d1114d..2abdcc8e 100644
--- a/channeldb/graph_test.go
+++ b/channeldb/graph_test.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package channeldb
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"crypto/sha256"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"image/color"
 	"math"
@@ -11,6 +12,7 @@ import (
 	"net"
 	"reflect"
 	"runtime"
+	"sync"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
@@ -21,6 +23,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/channeldb/kvdb"
 	"github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/lnwire"
 	"github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/routing/route"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
 var (
@@ -3195,3 +3198,148 @@ func TestComputeFee(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("expected fee %v, but got %v", fee, fwdFee)
 	}
 }
+
+// TestBatchedAddChannelEdge asserts that BatchedAddChannelEdge properly
+// executes multiple AddChannelEdge requests in a single txn.
+func TestBatchedAddChannelEdge(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	db, cleanUp, err := MakeTestDB()
+	require.Nil(t, err)
+	defer cleanUp()
+
+	graph := db.ChannelGraph()
+	sourceNode, err := createTestVertex(db)
+	require.Nil(t, err)
+	err = graph.SetSourceNode(sourceNode)
+	require.Nil(t, err)
+
+	// We'd like to test the insertion/deletion of edges, so we create two
+	// vertexes to connect.
+	node1, err := createTestVertex(db)
+	require.Nil(t, err)
+	node2, err := createTestVertex(db)
+	require.Nil(t, err)
+
+	// In addition to the fake vertexes we create some fake channel
+	// identifiers.
+	var spendOutputs []*wire.OutPoint
+	var blockHash chainhash.Hash
+	copy(blockHash[:], bytes.Repeat([]byte{1}, 32))
+
+	// Prune the graph a few times to make sure we have entries in the
+	// prune log.
+	_, err = graph.PruneGraph(spendOutputs, &blockHash, 155)
+	require.Nil(t, err)
+	var blockHash2 chainhash.Hash
+	copy(blockHash2[:], bytes.Repeat([]byte{2}, 32))
+
+	_, err = graph.PruneGraph(spendOutputs, &blockHash2, 156)
+	require.Nil(t, err)
+
+	// We'll create 3 almost identical edges, so first create a helper
+	// method containing all logic for doing so.
+
+	// Create an edge which has its block height at 156.
+	height := uint32(156)
+	edgeInfo, _ := createEdge(height, 0, 0, 0, node1, node2)
+
+	// Create an edge with block height 157. We give it
+	// maximum values for tx index and position, to make
+	// sure our database range scan get edges from the
+	// entire range.
+	edgeInfo2, _ := createEdge(
+		height+1, math.MaxUint32&0x00ffffff, math.MaxUint16, 1,
+		node1, node2,
+	)
+
+	// Create a third edge, this with a block height of 155.
+	edgeInfo3, _ := createEdge(height-1, 0, 0, 2, node1, node2)
+
+	edges := []ChannelEdgeInfo{edgeInfo, edgeInfo2, edgeInfo3}
+	errChan := make(chan error, len(edges))
+	errTimeout := errors.New("timeout adding batched channel")
+
+	// Now add all these new edges to the database.
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
+	for _, edge := range edges {
+		wg.Add(1)
+		go func(edge ChannelEdgeInfo) {
+			defer wg.Done()
+
+			select {
+			case errChan <- graph.AddChannelEdge(&edge):
+			case <-time.After(2 * time.Second):
+				errChan <- errTimeout
+			}
+		}(edge)
+	}
+	wg.Wait()
+
+	for i := 0; i < len(edges); i++ {
+		err := <-errChan
+		require.Nil(t, err)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestBatchedUpdateEdgePolicy asserts that BatchedUpdateEdgePolicy properly
+// executes multiple UpdateEdgePolicy requests in a single txn.
+func TestBatchedUpdateEdgePolicy(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	db, cleanUp, err := MakeTestDB()
+	require.Nil(t, err)
+	defer cleanUp()
+
+	graph := db.ChannelGraph()
+
+	// We'd like to test the update of edges inserted into the database, so
+	// we create two vertexes to connect.
+	node1, err := createTestVertex(db)
+	require.Nil(t, err)
+	err = graph.AddLightningNode(node1)
+	require.Nil(t, err)
+	node2, err := createTestVertex(db)
+	require.Nil(t, err)
+	err = graph.AddLightningNode(node2)
+	require.Nil(t, err)
+
+	// Create an edge and add it to the db.
+	edgeInfo, edge1, edge2 := createChannelEdge(db, node1, node2)
+
+	// Make sure inserting the policy at this point, before the edge info
+	// is added, will fail.
+	err = graph.UpdateEdgePolicy(edge1)
+	require.Error(t, ErrEdgeNotFound, err)
+
+	// Add the edge info.
+	err = graph.AddChannelEdge(edgeInfo)
+	require.Nil(t, err)
+
+	errTimeout := errors.New("timeout adding batched channel")
+
+	updates := []*ChannelEdgePolicy{edge1, edge2}
+
+	errChan := make(chan error, len(updates))
+
+	// Now add all these new edges to the database.
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
+	for _, update := range updates {
+		wg.Add(1)
+		go func(update *ChannelEdgePolicy) {
+			defer wg.Done()
+
+			select {
+			case errChan <- graph.UpdateEdgePolicy(update):
+			case <-time.After(2 * time.Second):
+				errChan <- errTimeout
+			}
+		}(update)
+	}
+	wg.Wait()
+
+	for i := 0; i < len(updates); i++ {
+		err := <-errChan
+		require.Nil(t, err)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/channeldb/options.go b/channeldb/options.go
index c9144650..285da570 100644
--- a/channeldb/options.go
+++ b/channeldb/options.go
@@ -31,6 +31,10 @@ type Options struct {
 	// channel cache.
 	ChannelCacheSize int
 
+	// BatchCommitInterval is the maximum duration the batch schedulers will
+	// wait before attempting to commit a pending set of updates.
+	BatchCommitInterval time.Duration
+
 	// clock is the time source used by the database.
 	clock clock.Clock
 
@@ -92,6 +96,14 @@ func OptionAutoCompactMinAge(minAge time.Duration) OptionModifier {
 	}
 }
 
+// OptionSetBatchCommitInterval sets the batch commit interval for the internval
+// batch schedulers.
+func OptionSetBatchCommitInterval(interval time.Duration) OptionModifier {
+	return func(o *Options) {
+		o.BatchCommitInterval = interval
+	}
+}
+
 // OptionClock sets a non-default clock dependency.
 func OptionClock(clock clock.Clock) OptionModifier {
 	return func(o *Options) {
diff --git a/discovery/gossiper.go b/discovery/gossiper.go
index a20fb270..87dcde7c 100644
--- a/discovery/gossiper.go
+++ b/discovery/gossiper.go
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import (
 	"bytes"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
-	"runtime"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
 
@@ -912,9 +911,7 @@ func (d *AuthenticatedGossiper) networkHandler() {
 
 	// We'll use this validation to ensure that we process jobs in their
 	// dependency order during parallel validation.
-	validationBarrier := routing.NewValidationBarrier(
-		runtime.NumCPU()*4, d.quit,
-	)
+	validationBarrier := routing.NewValidationBarrier(1000, d.quit)
 
 	for {
 		select {
@@ -1692,9 +1689,7 @@ func (d *AuthenticatedGossiper) processNetworkAnnouncement(
 			// If the edge was rejected due to already being known,
 			// then it may be that case that this new message has a
 			// fresh channel proof, so we'll check.
-			if routing.IsError(err, routing.ErrOutdated,
-				routing.ErrIgnored) {
-
+			if routing.IsError(err, routing.ErrIgnored) {
 				// Attempt to process the rejected message to
 				// see if we get any new announcements.
 				anns, rErr := d.processRejectedEdge(msg, proof)
diff --git a/lncfg/db.go b/lncfg/db.go
index 63b58c46..8c920314 100644
--- a/lncfg/db.go
+++ b/lncfg/db.go
@@ -3,20 +3,24 @@ package lncfg
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/channeldb/kvdb"
 )
 
 const (
-	dbName      = "channel.db"
-	BoltBackend = "bolt"
-	EtcdBackend = "etcd"
+	dbName                     = "channel.db"
+	BoltBackend                = "bolt"
+	EtcdBackend                = "etcd"
+	DefaultBatchCommitInterval = 500 * time.Millisecond
 )
 
 // DB holds database configuration for LND.
 type DB struct {
 	Backend string `long:"backend" description:"The selected database backend."`
 
+	BatchCommitInterval time.Duration `long:"batch-commit-interval" description:"The maximum duration the channel graph batch schedulers will wait before attempting to commit a batch of pending updates. This can be tradeoff database contenion for commit latency."`
+
 	Etcd *kvdb.EtcdConfig `group:"etcd" namespace:"etcd" description:"Etcd settings."`
 
 	Bolt *kvdb.BoltConfig `group:"bolt" namespace:"bolt" description:"Bolt settings."`
@@ -25,7 +29,8 @@ type DB struct {
 // NewDB creates and returns a new default DB config.
 func DefaultDB() *DB {
 	return &DB{
-		Backend: BoltBackend,
+		Backend:             BoltBackend,
+		BatchCommitInterval: DefaultBatchCommitInterval,
 		Bolt: &kvdb.BoltConfig{
 			AutoCompactMinAge: kvdb.DefaultBoltAutoCompactMinAge,
 		},
diff --git a/lnd.go b/lnd.go
index 43692ccc..11997d14 100644
--- a/lnd.go
+++ b/lnd.go
@@ -1381,6 +1381,7 @@ func initializeDatabases(ctx context.Context,
 			databaseBackends.LocalDB,
 			channeldb.OptionSetRejectCacheSize(cfg.Caches.RejectCacheSize),
 			channeldb.OptionSetChannelCacheSize(cfg.Caches.ChannelCacheSize),
+			channeldb.OptionSetBatchCommitInterval(cfg.DB.BatchCommitInterval),
 			channeldb.OptionDryRunMigration(cfg.DryRunMigration),
 		)
 		switch {
@@ -1409,6 +1410,7 @@ func initializeDatabases(ctx context.Context,
 			databaseBackends.LocalDB,
 			channeldb.OptionSetRejectCacheSize(cfg.Caches.RejectCacheSize),
 			channeldb.OptionSetChannelCacheSize(cfg.Caches.ChannelCacheSize),
+			channeldb.OptionSetBatchCommitInterval(cfg.DB.BatchCommitInterval),
 			channeldb.OptionDryRunMigration(cfg.DryRunMigration),
 		)
 		switch {
@@ -1433,6 +1435,7 @@ func initializeDatabases(ctx context.Context,
 		remoteChanDB, err = channeldb.CreateWithBackend(
 			databaseBackends.RemoteDB,
 			channeldb.OptionDryRunMigration(cfg.DryRunMigration),
+			channeldb.OptionSetBatchCommitInterval(cfg.DB.BatchCommitInterval),
 		)
 		switch {
 		case err == channeldb.ErrDryRunMigrationOK:
diff --git a/lntest/itest/lnd_test.go b/lntest/itest/lnd_test.go
index 41ca93e6..aaa28df8 100644
--- a/lntest/itest/lnd_test.go
+++ b/lntest/itest/lnd_test.go
@@ -1850,31 +1850,36 @@ func getChannelPolicies(t *harnessTest, node *lntest.HarnessNode,
 	}
 	ctxt, _ := context.WithTimeout(ctxb, defaultTimeout)
 	chanGraph, err := node.DescribeGraph(ctxt, descReq)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("unable to query for alice's graph: %v", err)
-	}
+	require.NoError(t.t, err, "unable to query for alice's graph")
 
 	var policies []*lnrpc.RoutingPolicy
-out:
-	for _, chanPoint := range chanPoints {
-		for _, e := range chanGraph.Edges {
-			if e.ChanPoint != txStr(chanPoint) {
-				continue
+	err = wait.NoError(func() error {
+	out:
+		for _, chanPoint := range chanPoints {
+			for _, e := range chanGraph.Edges {
+				if e.ChanPoint != txStr(chanPoint) {
+					continue
+				}
+
+				if e.Node1Pub == advertisingNode {
+					policies = append(policies,
+						e.Node1Policy)
+				} else {
+					policies = append(policies,
+						e.Node2Policy)
+				}
+
+				continue out
 			}
 
-			if e.Node1Pub == advertisingNode {
-				policies = append(policies, e.Node1Policy)
-			} else {
-				policies = append(policies, e.Node2Policy)
-			}
-
-			continue out
+			// If we've iterated over all the known edges and we weren't
+			// able to find this specific one, then we'll fail.
+			return fmt.Errorf("did not find edge %v", txStr(chanPoint))
 		}
 
-		// If we've iterated over all the known edges and we weren't
-		// able to find this specific one, then we'll fail.
-		t.Fatalf("did not find edge %v", txStr(chanPoint))
-	}
+		return nil
+	}, defaultTimeout)
+	require.NoError(t.t, err)
 
 	return policies
 }
diff --git a/lntest/node.go b/lntest/node.go
index 4fcbc78b..d96fe995 100644
--- a/lntest/node.go
+++ b/lntest/node.go
@@ -238,6 +238,7 @@ func (cfg NodeConfig) genArgs() []string {
 	args = append(args, "--nobootstrap")
 	args = append(args, "--debuglevel=debug")
 	args = append(args, "--bitcoin.defaultchanconfs=1")
+	args = append(args, fmt.Sprintf("--db.batch-commit-interval=%v", 10*time.Millisecond))
 	args = append(args, fmt.Sprintf("--bitcoin.defaultremotedelay=%v", DefaultCSV))
 	args = append(args, fmt.Sprintf("--rpclisten=%v", cfg.RPCAddr()))
 	args = append(args, fmt.Sprintf("--restlisten=%v", cfg.RESTAddr()))
diff --git a/routing/router.go b/routing/router.go
index 93904f09..5d70f4b8 100644
--- a/routing/router.go
+++ b/routing/router.go
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ package routing
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"fmt"
-	"runtime"
 	"sync"
 	"sync/atomic"
 	"time"
@@ -914,7 +913,7 @@ func (r *ChannelRouter) networkHandler() {
 
 	// We'll use this validation barrier to ensure that we process all jobs
 	// in the proper order during parallel validation.
-	validationBarrier := NewValidationBarrier(runtime.NumCPU()*4, r.quit)
+	validationBarrier := NewValidationBarrier(1000, r.quit)
 
 	for {
 
diff --git a/sample-lnd.conf b/sample-lnd.conf
index 7fd8a696..760df39e 100644
--- a/sample-lnd.conf
+++ b/sample-lnd.conf
@@ -930,6 +930,10 @@ litecoin.node=ltcd
 ; also has experimental support for etcd, a replicated backend.
 ; db.backend=bolt
 
+; The maximum interval the graph database will wait between attempting to flush
+; a batch of modifications to disk. Defaults to 500 milliseconds.
+; db.batch-commit-interval=500ms
+
 [etcd]
 ; Etcd database host.
 ; db.etcd.host=localhost:2379