diff --git a/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/cache.go b/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/cache.go
index dcb176ff9..ad05338c8 100644
--- a/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/cache.go
+++ b/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/cache.go
@@ -24,6 +24,20 @@ import (
 	topologyv1alpha2 "github.com/k8stopologyawareschedwg/noderesourcetopology-api/pkg/apis/topology/v1alpha2"
 )
 
+type CachedNRTInfo struct {
+	// Generation is akin to the object resourceVersion and represents
+	// the observed state in the cache. It's an opaque monotonically increasing number which can only compared for equality
+	// and which is only increased in the resync loop. It is used to cross correlate resync attempts with observed state
+	// with cache content. Used only in logging. If the cache implementation has no concept of caching nor generation,
+	// it should always return 0 (zero).
+	Generation uint64
+
+	// Fresh signals the caller if the NRT data is fresh.
+	// If true, the data is fresh and ready to be consumed.
+	// If false, the data is stale and the caller need to wait for a future refresh.
+	Fresh bool
+}
+
 type Interface interface {
 	// GetCachedNRTCopy retrieves a NRT copy from cache, and then deducts over-reserved resources if necessary.
 	// It will be used as the source of truth across the Pod's scheduling cycle.
@@ -31,10 +45,8 @@ type Interface interface {
 	// of NRT pertaining to the same node, pessimistically overallocated on ALL the NUMA zones of the node.
 	// The pod argument is used only for logging purposes.
 	// Returns nil if there is no NRT data available for the node named `nodeName`.
-	// Returns a boolean to signal the caller if the NRT data is fresh.
-	// If true, the data is fresh and ready to be consumed.
-	// If false, the data is stale and the caller need to wait for a future refresh.
-	GetCachedNRTCopy(ctx context.Context, nodeName string, pod *corev1.Pod) (*topologyv1alpha2.NodeResourceTopology, bool)
+	// Returns a CachedNRTInfo describing the NRT data returned. Meaningful only if `nrt` != nil.
+	GetCachedNRTCopy(ctx context.Context, nodeName string, pod *corev1.Pod) (*topologyv1alpha2.NodeResourceTopology, CachedNRTInfo)
 
 	// NodeMaybeOverReserved declares a node was filtered out for not enough resources available.
 	// This means this node is eligible for a resync. When a node is marked discarded (dirty), it matters not
diff --git a/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/cache_test.go b/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/cache_test.go
index 90c8a4086..9df645a78 100644
--- a/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/cache_test.go
+++ b/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/cache_test.go
@@ -100,10 +100,10 @@ func checkGetCachedNRTCopy(t *testing.T, makeCache func(client ctrlclient.WithWa
 				nrtCache.NodeHasForeignPods(tc.nodeName, pod)
 			}
 
-			gotNRT, gotOK := nrtCache.GetCachedNRTCopy(ctx, tc.nodeName, pod)
+			gotNRT, gotInfo := nrtCache.GetCachedNRTCopy(ctx, tc.nodeName, pod)
 
-			if gotOK != tc.expectedOK {
-				t.Fatalf("unexpected object status from cache: got: %v expected: %v", gotOK, tc.expectedOK)
+			if gotInfo.Fresh != tc.expectedOK {
+				t.Fatalf("unexpected object status from cache: got: %v expected: %v", gotInfo.Fresh, tc.expectedOK)
 			}
 			if gotNRT != nil && tc.expectedNRT == nil {
 				t.Fatalf("object from cache not nil but expected nil")
diff --git a/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/discardreserved.go b/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/discardreserved.go
index ff877f9ee..b59d8cb2f 100644
--- a/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/discardreserved.go
+++ b/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/discardreserved.go
@@ -58,20 +58,21 @@ func NewDiscardReserved(lh logr.Logger, client ctrlclient.Client) Interface {
 	}
 }
 
-func (pt *DiscardReserved) GetCachedNRTCopy(ctx context.Context, nodeName string, _ *corev1.Pod) (*topologyv1alpha2.NodeResourceTopology, bool) {
+func (pt *DiscardReserved) GetCachedNRTCopy(ctx context.Context, nodeName string, _ *corev1.Pod) (*topologyv1alpha2.NodeResourceTopology, CachedNRTInfo) {
 	pt.rMutex.RLock()
 	defer pt.rMutex.RUnlock()
 	if t, ok := pt.reservationMap[nodeName]; ok {
 		if len(t) > 0 {
-			return nil, false
+			return nil, CachedNRTInfo{}
 		}
 	}
 
+	info := CachedNRTInfo{Fresh: true}
 	nrt := &topologyv1alpha2.NodeResourceTopology{}
 	if err := pt.client.Get(ctx, types.NamespacedName{Name: nodeName}, nrt); err != nil {
-		return nil, true
+		return nil, info
 	}
-	return nrt, true
+	return nrt, info
 }
 
 func (pt *DiscardReserved) NodeMaybeOverReserved(nodeName string, pod *corev1.Pod) {}
diff --git a/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/discardreserved_test.go b/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/discardreserved_test.go
index 63c763dca..46e86772f 100644
--- a/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/discardreserved_test.go
+++ b/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/discardreserved_test.go
@@ -66,8 +66,8 @@ func TestDiscardReservedNodesGetNRTCopyFails(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 	}
 
-	nrtObj, ok := nrtCache.GetCachedNRTCopy(context.Background(), "node1", &corev1.Pod{})
-	if ok {
+	nrtObj, nrtInfo := nrtCache.GetCachedNRTCopy(context.Background(), "node1", &corev1.Pod{})
+	if nrtInfo.Fresh {
 		t.Fatal("expected false\ngot true\n")
 	}
 	if nrtObj != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/overreserve.go b/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/overreserve.go
index 505ba955d..9cd5008c1 100644
--- a/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/overreserve.go
+++ b/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/overreserve.go
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ type OverReserve struct {
 	lh               logr.Logger
 	client           ctrlclient.Reader
 	lock             sync.Mutex
+	generation       uint64
 	nrts             *nrtStore
 	assumedResources map[string]*resourceStore // nodeName -> resourceStore
 	// nodesMaybeOverreserved counts how many times a node is filtered out. This is used as trigger condition to try
@@ -97,30 +98,33 @@ func NewOverReserve(ctx context.Context, lh logr.Logger, cfg *apiconfig.NodeReso
 	return obj, nil
 }
 
-func (ov *OverReserve) GetCachedNRTCopy(ctx context.Context, nodeName string, pod *corev1.Pod) (*topologyv1alpha2.NodeResourceTopology, bool) {
+func (ov *OverReserve) GetCachedNRTCopy(ctx context.Context, nodeName string, pod *corev1.Pod) (*topologyv1alpha2.NodeResourceTopology, CachedNRTInfo) {
 	ov.lock.Lock()
 	defer ov.lock.Unlock()
 	if ov.nodesWithForeignPods.IsSet(nodeName) {
-		return nil, false
+		return nil, CachedNRTInfo{}
 	}
 
+	info := CachedNRTInfo{Fresh: true}
 	nrt := ov.nrts.GetNRTCopyByNodeName(nodeName)
 	if nrt == nil {
-		return nil, true
+		return nil, info
 	}
+
+	info.Generation = ov.generation
 	nodeAssumedResources, ok := ov.assumedResources[nodeName]
 	if !ok {
-		return nrt, true
+		return nrt, info
 	}
 
 	logID := klog.KObj(pod)
-	lh := ov.lh.WithValues(logging.KeyPod, logID, logging.KeyPodUID, logging.PodUID(pod), logging.KeyNode, nodeName)
+	lh := ov.lh.WithValues(logging.KeyPod, logID, logging.KeyPodUID, logging.PodUID(pod), logging.KeyNode, nodeName, logging.KeyGeneration, ov.generation)
 
 	lh.V(6).Info("NRT", "fromcache", stringify.NodeResourceTopologyResources(nrt))
 	nodeAssumedResources.UpdateNRT(nrt, logging.KeyPod, logID)
 
 	lh.V(5).Info("NRT", "withassumed", stringify.NodeResourceTopologyResources(nrt))
-	return nrt, true
+	return nrt, info
 }
 
 func (ov *OverReserve) NodeMaybeOverReserved(nodeName string, pod *corev1.Pod) {
@@ -176,6 +180,7 @@ func (ov *OverReserve) UnreserveNodeResources(nodeName string, pod *corev1.Pod)
 }
 
 type DesyncedNodes struct {
+	Generation        uint64
 	MaybeOverReserved []string
 	ConfigChanged     []string
 }
@@ -207,6 +212,10 @@ func (rn DesyncedNodes) DirtyCount() int {
 func (ov *OverReserve) GetDesyncedNodes(lh logr.Logger) DesyncedNodes {
 	ov.lock.Lock()
 	defer ov.lock.Unlock()
+
+	// make sure to log the generation to be able to crosscorrelate with later logs
+	lh = lh.WithValues(logging.KeyGeneration, ov.generation)
+
 	// this is intentionally aggressive. We don't yet make any attempt to find out if the
 	// node was discarded because pessimistically overrserved (which should indeed trigger
 	// a resync) or if it was discarded because the actual resources on the node really were
@@ -229,6 +238,7 @@ func (ov *OverReserve) GetDesyncedNodes(lh logr.Logger) DesyncedNodes {
 		lh.V(4).Info("found dirty nodes", "foreign", foreignCount, "discarded", overreservedCount, "configChange", configChangeCount, "total", nodes.Len())
 	}
 	return DesyncedNodes{
+		Generation:        ov.generation,
 		MaybeOverReserved: nodes.Keys(),
 		ConfigChanged:     configChangeNodes.Keys(),
 	}
@@ -244,11 +254,14 @@ func (ov *OverReserve) GetDesyncedNodes(lh logr.Logger) DesyncedNodes {
 // too aggressive resync attempts, so to more, likely unnecessary, computation work on the scheduler side.
 func (ov *OverReserve) Resync() {
 	// we are not working with a specific pod, so we need a unique key to track this flow
-	lh_ := ov.lh.WithName(logging.FlowCacheSync).WithValues(logging.KeyLogID, logging.TimeLogID())
+	lh_ := ov.lh.WithName(logging.FlowCacheSync)
 	lh_.V(4).Info(logging.FlowBegin)
 	defer lh_.V(4).Info(logging.FlowEnd)
 
 	nodes := ov.GetDesyncedNodes(lh_)
+	// we start without because chicken/egg problem. This is the earliest we can use the generation value.
+	lh_ = lh_.WithValues(logging.KeyGeneration, nodes.Generation)
+
 	// avoid as much as we can unnecessary work and logs.
 	if nodes.Len() == 0 {
 		lh_.V(5).Info("no dirty nodes detected")
@@ -331,6 +344,7 @@ func (ov *OverReserve) Resync() {
 func (ov *OverReserve) FlushNodes(lh logr.Logger, nrts ...*topologyv1alpha2.NodeResourceTopology) {
 	ov.lock.Lock()
 	defer ov.lock.Unlock()
+
 	for _, nrt := range nrts {
 		lh.V(2).Info("flushing", logging.KeyNode, nrt.Name)
 		ov.nrts.Update(nrt)
@@ -339,6 +353,14 @@ func (ov *OverReserve) FlushNodes(lh logr.Logger, nrts ...*topologyv1alpha2.Node
 		ov.nodesWithForeignPods.Delete(nrt.Name)
 		ov.nodesWithAttrUpdate.Delete(nrt.Name)
 	}
+
+	if len(nrts) == 0 {
+		return
+	}
+
+	// increase only if we mutated the internal state
+	ov.generation += 1
+	lh.V(2).Info("generation", "new", ov.generation)
 }
 
 // to be used only in tests
diff --git a/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/overreserve_test.go b/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/overreserve_test.go
index 0d02ad95d..33214b444 100644
--- a/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/overreserve_test.go
+++ b/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/overreserve_test.go
@@ -720,8 +720,8 @@ func TestNodeWithForeignPods(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("unexpected dirty nodes: %v", nodes.MaybeOverReserved)
 	}
 
-	_, ok := nrtCache.GetCachedNRTCopy(context.Background(), target, &corev1.Pod{})
-	if ok {
+	_, info := nrtCache.GetCachedNRTCopy(context.Background(), target, &corev1.Pod{})
+	if info.Fresh {
 		t.Errorf("succesfully got node with foreign pods!")
 	}
 }
diff --git a/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/passthrough.go b/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/passthrough.go
index ac2107613..29f1e2a46 100644
--- a/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/passthrough.go
+++ b/pkg/noderesourcetopology/cache/passthrough.go
@@ -40,14 +40,15 @@ func NewPassthrough(lh logr.Logger, client ctrlclient.Client) Interface {
 	}
 }
 
-func (pt Passthrough) GetCachedNRTCopy(ctx context.Context, nodeName string, _ *corev1.Pod) (*topologyv1alpha2.NodeResourceTopology, bool) {
+func (pt Passthrough) GetCachedNRTCopy(ctx context.Context, nodeName string, _ *corev1.Pod) (*topologyv1alpha2.NodeResourceTopology, CachedNRTInfo) {
 	pt.lh.V(5).Info("lister for NRT plugin")
+	info := CachedNRTInfo{Fresh: true}
 	nrt := &topologyv1alpha2.NodeResourceTopology{}
 	if err := pt.client.Get(ctx, types.NamespacedName{Name: nodeName}, nrt); err != nil {
 		pt.lh.V(5).Error(err, "cannot get nrts from lister")
-		return nil, true
+		return nil, info
 	}
-	return nrt, true
+	return nrt, info
 }
 
 func (pt Passthrough) NodeMaybeOverReserved(nodeName string, pod *corev1.Pod)  {}
diff --git a/pkg/noderesourcetopology/filter.go b/pkg/noderesourcetopology/filter.go
index 58ba44899..f627d0639 100644
--- a/pkg/noderesourcetopology/filter.go
+++ b/pkg/noderesourcetopology/filter.go
@@ -196,8 +196,9 @@ func (tm *TopologyMatch) Filter(ctx context.Context, cycleState *framework.Cycle
 	lh.V(4).Info(logging.FlowBegin)
 	defer lh.V(4).Info(logging.FlowEnd)
 
-	nodeTopology, ok := tm.nrtCache.GetCachedNRTCopy(ctx, nodeName, pod)
-	if !ok {
+	nodeTopology, info := tm.nrtCache.GetCachedNRTCopy(ctx, nodeName, pod)
+	lh = lh.WithValues(logging.KeyGeneration, info.Generation)
+	if !info.Fresh {
 		lh.V(2).Info("invalid topology data")
 		return framework.NewStatus(framework.Unschedulable, "invalid node topology data")
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/noderesourcetopology/logging/logging.go b/pkg/noderesourcetopology/logging/logging.go
index 14d3ee2b1..33583facf 100644
--- a/pkg/noderesourcetopology/logging/logging.go
+++ b/pkg/noderesourcetopology/logging/logging.go
@@ -17,9 +17,7 @@ limitations under the License.
 package logging
 
 import (
-	"fmt"
 	"reflect"
-	"time"
 
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 )
@@ -33,6 +31,7 @@ const (
 	KeyFlow          string = "flow"
 	KeyContainer     string = "container"
 	KeyContainerKind string = "kind"
+	KeyGeneration    string = "gen"
 )
 
 const (
@@ -63,7 +62,3 @@ func PodUID(pod *corev1.Pod) string {
 	}
 	return string(pod.GetUID())
 }
-
-func TimeLogID() string {
-	return fmt.Sprintf("uts/%v", time.Now().UnixMilli())
-}
diff --git a/pkg/noderesourcetopology/score.go b/pkg/noderesourcetopology/score.go
index 88a92c414..e82c9a76f 100644
--- a/pkg/noderesourcetopology/score.go
+++ b/pkg/noderesourcetopology/score.go
@@ -73,9 +73,9 @@ func (tm *TopologyMatch) Score(ctx context.Context, state *framework.CycleState,
 		return framework.MaxNodeScore, nil
 	}
 
-	nodeTopology, ok := tm.nrtCache.GetCachedNRTCopy(ctx, nodeName, pod)
-
-	if !ok {
+	nodeTopology, info := tm.nrtCache.GetCachedNRTCopy(ctx, nodeName, pod)
+	lh = lh.WithValues(logging.KeyGeneration, info.Generation)
+	if !info.Fresh {
 		lh.V(4).Info("noderesourcetopology is not valid for node")
 		return 0, nil
 	}