# DB-less Kong dataplane intermittently remains with empty configuration (configuration\_hash=000000...) after rollout until delayed reconciliation or KIC restart

**URL:** <https://discuss.konghq.com/t/db-less-kong-dataplane-intermittently-remains-with-empty-configuration-configuration-hash-000000-after-rollout-until-delayed-reconciliation-or-kic-restart/14111>\
**Category:** Questions\
**Tags:** kubernetes, kong-gateway\
**Created:** [September 9, 2026, 8:46pm UTC](https://discuss.konghq.com/t/db-less-kong-dataplane-intermittently-remains-with-empty-configuration-configuration-hash-000000-after-rollout-until-delayed-reconciliation-or-kic-restart/14111 "2026-09-09T20:46:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Waqas\_Riaz](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discuss.konghq.com/waqas_riaz/32/5247_2.png) [@Waqas\_Riaz](https://discuss.konghq.com/u/Waqas_Riaz)\
**Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 8:46pm UTC](https://discuss.konghq.com/t/db-less-kong-dataplane-intermittently-remains-with-empty-configuration-configuration-hash-000000-after-rollout-until-delayed-reconciliation-or-kic-restart/14111/1 "2026-09-09T20:46:25Z")

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# Subject

DB-less Kong dataplane intermittently remains with empty configuration (configuration\_hash=000000…) after rollout until delayed reconciliation or KIC restart

# Severity

Medium to High

During Kong proxy rollouts, newly created dataplane pods can remain NotReady for extended periods (10-20+ minutes observed), reducing available gateway capacity and increasing deployment risk.

## Kubernetes

Client Version: v1.34.4  
Server Version: v1.34.9-gke.1655001

## Kong Gateway

Issue reproduced on:

- kong:3.9.0
- kong:3.9.3

## Kong Ingress Controller (KIC)

Issue reproduced on:

- kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller:3.5.7
- kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller:3.5.13

## Deployment Topology

DB-less Kong deployment managed by KIC.

Controller configuration:

CONTROLLER\_KONG\_ADMIN\_URL=[https://kong-admin:8444](https://kong-admin:8444)  
CONTROLLER\_DUMP\_CONFIG=true  
CONTROLLER\_KONG\_ADMIN\_TLS\_SKIP\_VERIFY=true  
CONTROLLER\_PUBLISH\_SERVICE=

Observed controller image:

kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller:3.5.13

## Kong Admin Service

```yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: kong-admin
  namespace: <kong-namespace>
spec:
  type: ClusterIP
  sessionAffinity: None
  publishNotReadyAddresses: true

```

# Problem Description

During rolling restarts of Kong proxy pods, newly created Kong dataplane instances intermittently remain in an unconfigured state.

The readiness endpoint returns:

```json
{
  "message": "no configuration available (empty configuration present)"
}

```

The Admin API reports:

```json
{
  "configuration_hash": "00000000000000000000000000000000"
}

```

# Key Evidence

## EndpointSlices contain all three pods

- 10.16.3.19
- 10.16.3.20
- 10.16.0.26

## KIC logs

```plaintext
Fetching last good configuration from gateway clients
{"count":1}

```

```plaintext
Sending configuration to gateway clients
urls=["https://kong-admin:8444"]

```

```plaintext
Failed to fetch last good configuration from gateways
HTTP status 404 (message: Not found)

```

## Controller restart recovery

Before restart:

```plaintext
configuration_hash=00000000000000000000000000000000

```

After restart:

```plaintext
pod becomes ready
configuration_hash becomes non-zero

```

# Questions For Kong Engineering

1. Is KIC expected to synchronize configuration independently to every Kong dataplane instance when using a shared Admin Service?
2. Can Service-level load balancing contribute to delayed configuration propagation?
3. Is this a known limitation in DB-less multi-replica deployments?
4. Is Gateway Discovery the recommended topology?
5. Why does a dataplane remain at configuration\_hash=000… after appearing in EndpointSlices and being reachable via the Admin Service?

This is what I found in controller logs.

`2026-09-09T19:41:52Z info setup Initializing Dataplane address Discovery`  
`2026-09-09T19:42:00Z debug Fetching last good configuration from gateway clients {"count":1}`  
`2026-09-09T19:42:00Z error Failed to fetch last good configuration from gateways`  
`HTTP status 404 (Not found)`  
`failed to fetch configuration from ``https://kong-admin:8444`  
`2026-09-09T19:42:00Z debug Reconciling EndpointSlice kong-admin`  
`2026-09-09T19:42:00Z debug Reconciling EndpointSlice kong-proxy`  
`2026-09-09T19:42:00Z debug Sending configuration to gateway clients urls=["``https://kong-admin:8444``"]`  
`2026-09-09T19:42:03Z debug Sending configuration to gateway clients urls=["``https://kong-admin:8444``"]`  
`2026-09-09T19:42:06Z debug Sending configuration to gateway clients urls=["``https://kong-admin:8444``"]`  
`2026-09-09T19:42:09Z debug Sending configuration to gateway clients urls=["``https://kong-admin:8444``"]`  
`2026-09-09T19:42:17Z debug Reconciling EndpointSlice kong-admin`  
`2026-09-09T19:42:17Z debug Reconciling EndpointSlice kong-proxy`  
`2026-09-09T19:52:02Z debug Reconciling EndpointSlice kong-admin`  
`2026-09-09T19:52:02Z debug Reconciling EndpointSlice kong-proxy`  
`2026-09-09T19:52:19Z debug Reconciling EndpointSlice kong-admin`  
`2026-09-09T19:52:19Z debug Reconciling EndpointSlice kong-proxy`

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Waqas\_Riaz](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discuss.konghq.com/waqas_riaz/32/5247_2.png) [@Waqas\_Riaz](https://discuss.konghq.com/u/Waqas_Riaz)\
**Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 11:31am UTC](https://discuss.konghq.com/t/db-less-kong-dataplane-intermittently-remains-with-empty-configuration-configuration-hash-000000-after-rollout-until-delayed-reconciliation-or-kic-restart/14111/2 "2026-09-11T11:31:23Z")

</div>

Hello Kong rockstars, Can someone please suggest any way to resolve this blocker?  
Thank you so much.