diff --git a/src/emu/loom.c b/src/emu/loom.c
index fdce75e..bdea8a5 100644
--- a/src/emu/loom.c
+++ b/src/emu/loom.c
@@ -152,6 +152,20 @@ by_pid(struct proc *p1, struct proc *p2)
 		return 0;
 }
 
+static int
+by_rank(struct proc *p1, struct proc *p2)
+{
+	int id1 = p1->rank;
+	int id2 = p2->rank;
+
+	if (id1 < id2)
+		return -1;
+	if (id1 > id2)
+		return +1;
+	else
+		return 0;
+}
+
 static int
 by_phyid(struct cpu *c1, struct cpu *c2)
 {
@@ -169,12 +183,15 @@ by_phyid(struct cpu *c1, struct cpu *c2)
 void
 loom_sort(struct loom *loom)
 {
-	HASH_SORT(loom->procs, by_pid);
+	if (loom->rank_enabled)
+		HASH_SORT(loom->procs, by_rank);
+	else
+		HASH_SORT(loom->procs, by_pid);
+
 	HASH_SORT(loom->cpus, by_phyid);
 
-	for (struct proc *p = loom->procs; p; p = p->hh.next) {
+	for (struct proc *p = loom->procs; p; p = p->hh.next)
 		proc_sort(p);
-	}
 }
 
 int
@@ -188,6 +205,21 @@ loom_init_end(struct loom *loom)
 		}
 	}
 
+	/* Ensure that all processes have a rank */
+	if (loom->rank_enabled) {
+		for (struct proc *p = loom->procs; p; p = p->hh.next) {
+			if (p->rank < 0) {
+				err("process %s has no rank information", p->id);
+				return -1;
+			}
+
+			if (p->rank < loom->rank_min)
+				loom->rank_min = p->rank;
+		}
+	} else {
+		loom->rank_min = -1;
+	}
+
 	/* Populate cpus_array */
 	loom->cpus_array = calloc(loom->ncpus, sizeof(struct cpu *));
 	if (loom->cpus_array == NULL) {
@@ -249,6 +281,35 @@ loom_add_proc(struct loom *loom, struct proc *proc)
 		return -1;
 	}
 
+	if (!proc->metadata_loaded) {
+		err("process %d hasn't loaded metadata", pid);
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	if (loom->rank_enabled && proc->rank < 0) {
+		err("missing rank in process %d", pid);
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	/* Check previous ranks if any */
+	if (!loom->rank_enabled && proc->rank >= 0) {
+		loom->rank_enabled = 1;
+		loom->rank_min = INT_MAX;
+
+		for (struct proc *p = loom->procs; p; p = p->hh.next) {
+			if (p->rank < 0) {
+				err("missing rank in process %d", p->pid);
+				return -1;
+			}
+
+			if (p->rank < loom->rank_min)
+				loom->rank_min = p->rank;
+		}
+	}
+
+	if (loom->rank_enabled && proc->rank < loom->rank_min)
+		loom->rank_min = proc->rank;
+
 	HASH_ADD_INT(loom->procs, pid, proc);
 	loom->nprocs++;
 
diff --git a/src/emu/loom.h b/src/emu/loom.h
index 4381538..4a382d9 100644
--- a/src/emu/loom.h
+++ b/src/emu/loom.h
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ struct loom {
 	size_t ncpus;
 	size_t offset_ncpus;
 	int rank_enabled;
+	int rank_min;
 
 	int64_t clock_offset;
 
diff --git a/src/emu/system.c b/src/emu/system.c
index dc9abc3..596fdf4 100644
--- a/src/emu/system.c
+++ b/src/emu/system.c
@@ -84,11 +84,6 @@ create_proc(struct loom *loom, const char *tracedir, const char *relpath)
 		return NULL;
 	}
 
-	if (loom_add_proc(loom, proc) != 0) {
-		err("loom_add_proc failed");
-		return NULL;
-	}
-
 	/* Build metadata path */
 	char mpath[PATH_MAX];
 
@@ -104,6 +99,11 @@ create_proc(struct loom *loom, const char *tracedir, const char *relpath)
 		return NULL;
 	}
 
+	if (loom_add_proc(loom, proc) != 0) {
+		err("loom_add_proc failed");
+		return NULL;
+	}
+
 	return proc;
 }
 
@@ -212,15 +212,32 @@ create_system(struct system *sys, struct trace *trace)
 }
 
 static int
-cmp_loom(struct loom *a, struct loom *b)
+cmp_loom_id(struct loom *a, struct loom *b)
 {
 	return strcmp(a->id, b->id);
 }
 
+static int
+cmp_loom_rank(struct loom *a, struct loom *b)
+{
+	int id1 = a->rank_min;
+	int id2 = b->rank_min;
+
+	if (id1 < id2)
+		return -1;
+	if (id1 > id2)
+		return +1;
+	else
+		return 0;
+}
+
 static void
 sort_lpt(struct system *sys)
 {
-	DL_SORT(sys->looms, cmp_loom);
+	if (sys->sort_by_rank)
+		DL_SORT(sys->looms, cmp_loom_rank);
+	else
+		DL_SORT(sys->looms, cmp_loom_id);
 
 	for (struct loom *l = sys->looms; l; l = l->next)
 		loom_sort(l);
@@ -459,6 +476,29 @@ init_offsets(struct system *sys, struct trace *trace)
 	return 0;
 }
 
+static int
+set_sort_criteria(struct system *sys)
+{
+	for (struct loom *l = sys->looms; l; l = l->next) {
+		if (l->rank_enabled) {
+			sys->sort_by_rank = 1;
+			break;
+		}
+	}
+
+	if (!sys->sort_by_rank)
+		return 0;
+
+	for (struct loom *l = sys->looms; l; l = l->next) {
+		if (!l->rank_enabled) {
+			err("missing rank for loom %s", l->id);
+			return -1;
+		}
+	}
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
 int
 system_init(struct system *sys, struct emu_args *args, struct trace *trace)
 {
@@ -471,6 +511,11 @@ system_init(struct system *sys, struct emu_args *args, struct trace *trace)
 		return -1;
 	}
 
+	if (set_sort_criteria(sys) != 0) {
+		err("set_sort_criteria failed");
+		return -1;
+	}
+
 	/* Ensure they are sorted so they are easier to read */
 	sort_lpt(sys);
 
diff --git a/src/emu/system.h b/src/emu/system.h
index 0eaad7b..964078e 100644
--- a/src/emu/system.h
+++ b/src/emu/system.h
@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@ struct system {
 	size_t ncpus; /* Including virtual cpus */
 	size_t nphycpus;
 
+	int sort_by_rank;
+
 	struct loom *looms;
 	struct proc *procs;
 	struct thread *threads;
diff --git a/test/emu/ovni/CMakeLists.txt b/test/emu/ovni/CMakeLists.txt
index 85929ab..fd161ad 100644
--- a/test/emu/ovni/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/test/emu/ovni/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -17,3 +17,5 @@ test_emu(version-good.c)
 test_emu(version-bad.c SHOULD_FAIL REGEX "version mismatch")
 test_emu(clockgate.c MP SHOULD_FAIL REGEX "detected large clock gate")
 test_emu(no-cpus.c SHOULD_FAIL REGEX "loom .* has no physical CPUs")
+test_emu(sort-cpus-by-loom.c MP)
+test_emu(sort-cpus-by-rank.c MP)
diff --git a/test/emu/ovni/sort-cpus-by-loom.c b/test/emu/ovni/sort-cpus-by-loom.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7fe4f3f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/emu/ovni/sort-cpus-by-loom.c
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+/* Copyright (c) 2023 Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC)
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later */
+
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
+#include "common.h"
+#include "compat.h"
+#include "instr.h"
+#include "ovni.h"
+
+#define N 4
+
+/* Ensures that in the CPU timeline, the order of the CPUs is given by the loom
+ * alphanumeric order, when no rank information is present. */
+int
+main(void)
+{
+	int rank = atoi(getenv("OVNI_RANK"));
+	int nranks = atoi(getenv("OVNI_NRANKS"));
+
+	int cpus[N];
+
+	for (int i = 0; i < N; i++) {
+		cpus[i] = rank * N + i;
+	}
+
+	char loom[128];
+	if (snprintf(loom, 128, "loom.%04d", nranks - rank) >= 128)
+		die("snprintf failed");
+
+	ovni_proc_init(1, loom, getpid());
+	ovni_thread_init(get_tid());
+
+	for (int i = 0; i < N; i++)
+		ovni_add_cpu(i, cpus[i]);
+
+	instr_thread_execute(-1, -1, 0);
+
+	instr_end();
+
+	if (rank == 0) {
+		FILE *c = fopen("expected", "w");
+		if (c == NULL)
+			die("fopen failed:");
+
+		/* The expected order should be increasing loom id but the CPUs
+		 * should start from the end */
+		for (int i = 0; i < nranks; i++) {
+			int k = nranks - 1 - i;
+			for (int j = k * N; j < (k + 1) * N; j++) {
+				fprintf(c, " CPU %d.%d\n", i, j);
+			}
+		}
+
+		fclose(c);
+
+		FILE *f = fopen("match.sh", "w");
+		if (f == NULL)
+			die("fopen failed:");
+
+		fprintf(f, "grep ' CPU' ovni/cpu.row > found\n");
+		fprintf(f, "diff -y expected found\n");
+
+		fclose(f);
+	}
+
+	return 0;
+}
diff --git a/test/emu/ovni/sort-cpus-by-rank.c b/test/emu/ovni/sort-cpus-by-rank.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b919cb7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/emu/ovni/sort-cpus-by-rank.c
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+/* Copyright (c) 2023 Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC)
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later */
+
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
+#include "common.h"
+#include "compat.h"
+#include "instr.h"
+#include "ovni.h"
+
+#define N 4
+
+/* Ensures that in the CPU trace, the order of the CPUs is given by the minimum
+ * rank of the processes of that loom, when the rank information is present. */
+int
+main(void)
+{
+	int rank = atoi(getenv("OVNI_RANK"));
+	int nranks = atoi(getenv("OVNI_NRANKS"));
+
+	int cpus[N];
+
+	for (int i = 0; i < N; i++) {
+		cpus[i] = rank * N + i;
+	}
+
+	char loom[128];
+	if (snprintf(loom, 128, "loom.%04d", nranks - rank) >= 128)
+		die("snprintf failed");
+
+	ovni_proc_init(1, loom, getpid());
+	ovni_thread_init(get_tid());
+	ovni_proc_set_rank(rank, nranks);
+
+	for (int i = 0; i < N; i++)
+		ovni_add_cpu(i, cpus[i]);
+
+	instr_thread_execute(-1, -1, 0);
+
+	instr_end();
+
+	if (rank == 0) {
+		FILE *c = fopen("expected", "w");
+		if (c == NULL)
+			die("fopen failed:");
+
+		/* The expected order should be increasing rank and CPUs */
+		for (int i = 0; i < nranks; i++) {
+			for (int j = i * N; j < (i + 1) * N; j++) {
+				fprintf(c, " CPU %d.%d\n", i, j);
+			}
+		}
+
+		fclose(c);
+
+		FILE *f = fopen("match.sh", "w");
+		if (f == NULL)
+			die("fopen failed:");
+
+		fprintf(f, "grep ' CPU' ovni/cpu.row > found\n");
+		fprintf(f, "diff -y expected found\n");
+
+		fclose(f);
+	}
+
+	return 0;
+}
diff --git a/test/unit/loom.c b/test/unit/loom.c
index fdd621a..6283f90 100644
--- a/test/unit/loom.c
+++ b/test/unit/loom.c
@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ test_duplicate_procs(struct loom *loom)
 	struct proc proc;
 	OK(loom_init_begin(loom, testloom));
 	OK(proc_init_begin(&proc, testproc));
+	proc.metadata_loaded = 1;
 	OK(loom_add_proc(loom, &proc));
 	ERR(loom_add_proc(loom, &proc));