diff --git a/backend/api/index.php b/backend/api/index.php
index 2682732..30db320 100644
--- a/backend/api/index.php
+++ b/backend/api/index.php
@@ -364,17 +364,15 @@ function handleComments($method, $id, $db) {
 }
 
 function handleNodes($method, $id, $db) {
-    // Ensure node_notes table exists
-    try { $db->exec("CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS node_notes (node_id INT, notes TEXT DEFAULT '')"); } catch (Exception $e) {}
     switch ($method) {
         case 'GET':
-            echo json_encode($db->query("SELECT n.*, nn.notes FROM network_nodes n LEFT JOIN node_notes nn ON n.id = nn.node_id ORDER BY n.group_name, n.label")->fetchAll(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC));
+            echo json_encode($db->query("SELECT * FROM network_nodes ORDER BY group_name, label")->fetchAll(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC));
             break;
         case 'POST':
             $data = json_decode(file_get_contents('php://input'), true);
             $stmt = $db->prepare("
-                INSERT INTO network_nodes (label, ip_address, node_type, status, group_name, pos_x, pos_y)
-                VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)
+                INSERT INTO network_nodes (label, ip_address, node_type, status, group_name, notes, pos_x, pos_y)
+                VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)
             ");
             $stmt->execute([
                 $data['label'],
@@ -382,24 +380,18 @@ function handleNodes($method, $id, $db) {
                 $data['node_type'] ?? 'host',
                 $data['status'] ?? 'unknown',
                 $data['group_name'] ?? 'default',
+                $data['notes'] ?? '',
                 $data['pos_x'] ?? 0,
                 $data['pos_y'] ?? 0
             ]);
-            $nodeId = $db->lastInsertId();
-            if (!empty($data['notes'])) {
-                try {
-                    $db->prepare("INSERT INTO node_notes (node_id, notes) VALUES (?, ?) ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE notes = VALUES(notes)")
-                        ->execute([$nodeId, $data['notes']]);
-                } catch (Exception $e) {}
-            }
-            echo json_encode(['id' => $nodeId]);
+            echo json_encode(['id' => $db->lastInsertId()]);
             break;
         case 'PUT':
             if ($id) {
                 $data = json_decode(file_get_contents('php://input'), true);
                 $fields = [];
                 $params = [];
-                foreach (['label','ip_address','node_type','status','group_name','pos_x','pos_y'] as $f) {
+                foreach (['label','ip_address','node_type','status','group_name','notes','pos_x','pos_y'] as $f) {
                     if (isset($data[$f])) {
                         $fields[] = "$f = ?";
                         $params[] = $data[$f];
@@ -410,19 +402,11 @@ function handleNodes($method, $id, $db) {
                     $stmt = $db->prepare("UPDATE network_nodes SET " . implode(', ', $fields) . " WHERE id = ?");
                     $stmt->execute($params);
                 }
-                // Update notes via separate table
-                if (isset($data['notes'])) {
-                    try {
-                        $db->prepare("INSERT INTO node_notes (node_id, notes) VALUES (?, ?) ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE notes = VALUES(notes)")
-                            ->execute([$id, $data['notes']]);
-                    } catch (Exception $e) {}
-                }
                 echo json_encode(['updated' => true]);
             }
             break;
         case 'DELETE':
             if ($id) {
-                $db->prepare("DELETE FROM node_notes WHERE node_id = ?")->execute([$id]);
                 $db->prepare("DELETE FROM network_nodes WHERE id = ?")->execute([$id]);
                 echo json_encode(['deleted' => true]);
             }
diff --git a/backend/config/database.php b/backend/config/database.php
index c43f62f..4fc73f6 100644
--- a/backend/config/database.php
+++ b/backend/config/database.php
@@ -39,10 +39,8 @@ function migrate($db) {
         created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
     )");
     try {
-        $rootDb = new PDO("mysql:host=" . (getenv('DB_HOST') ?: 'mysql') . ";dbname=" . (getenv('DB_NAME') ?: 'neptune') . ";charset=utf8mb4", 'root', getenv('MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD') ?: 'neptune_root_pass');
-        $rootDb->exec("CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS node_notes (id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY, node_id INT NOT NULL UNIQUE, notes TEXT DEFAULT '')");
+        $rootDb = new PDO("mysql:host=" . (getenv('DB_HOST') ?: 'mysql') . ";charset=utf8mb4", 'root', getenv('MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD') ?: 'neptune_root_pass');
+        $rootDb->exec("ALTER TABLE neptune.network_nodes ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS notes TEXT DEFAULT '' AFTER group_name");
     } catch (Exception $e) {
-        // Fallback: try with neptune user
-        $db->exec("CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS node_notes (id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY, node_id INT NOT NULL UNIQUE, notes TEXT DEFAULT '')");
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docker/init.sql b/docker/init.sql
index b185707..3696bd8 100644
--- a/docker/init.sql
+++ b/docker/init.sql
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS network_nodes (
     node_type ENUM('host','server','router','firewall','switch','cloud','endpoint','other') DEFAULT 'host',
     status ENUM('online','offline','unknown','compromised','monitoring') DEFAULT 'unknown',
     group_name VARCHAR(100) DEFAULT 'default',
+    notes TEXT DEFAULT '',
     pos_x FLOAT DEFAULT 0,
     pos_y FLOAT DEFAULT 0,
     created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP