diff --git a/cmd/freno/main.go b/cmd/freno/main.go
index 3bf0a7f9..5c7a8e9c 100644
--- a/cmd/freno/main.go
+++ b/cmd/freno/main.go
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ import (
 	"github.com/github/freno/pkg/http"
 	"github.com/github/freno/pkg/throttle"
 	"github.com/outbrain/golib/log"
+	"os"
+	"strconv"
 )
 
 // AppVersion has to be filled by ldflags:
@@ -120,6 +122,16 @@ func httpServe() error {
 	throttler := throttle.NewThrottler()
 	log.Infof("Starting consensus service")
 	log.Infof("- forced leadership: %+v", group.ForceLeadership)
+
+	bypassEnabled, err := strconv.ParseBool(os.Getenv("FRENO_BYPASS_ENABLED"))
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Infof("error parsing FRENO_BYPASS_ENABLED: %s", os.Getenv("FRENO_BYPASS_ENABLED"))
+		bypassEnabled = false
+	}
+	if bypassEnabled {
+		log.Info("- bypass on no hosts is enabled!")
+	}
+	throttler.BypassOnNoHostsFound = bypassEnabled
 	consensusServiceProvider, err := group.NewConsensusServiceProvider(throttler)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
diff --git a/pkg/throttle/mysql.go b/pkg/throttle/mysql.go
index 2489b34a..532440ba 100644
--- a/pkg/throttle/mysql.go
+++ b/pkg/throttle/mysql.go
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ func aggregateMySQLProbes(
 	ignoreHostsCount int,
 	ignoreDialTcpErrors bool,
 	ignoreHostsThreshold float64,
+	bypassOnNohosts bool,
 ) (worstMetric base.MetricResult) {
 	// probes is known not to change. It can be *replaced*, but not changed.
 	// so it's safe to iterate it
@@ -46,6 +47,9 @@ func aggregateMySQLProbes(
 		probeValues = append(probeValues, value)
 	}
 	if len(probeValues) == 0 {
+		if bypassOnNohosts {
+			return base.NewSimpleMetricResult(0.0)
+		}
 		return base.NoHostsMetricResult
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/throttle/mysql_test.go b/pkg/throttle/mysql_test.go
index 2b13f1a3..24c6f5ab 100644
--- a/pkg/throttle/mysql_test.go
+++ b/pkg/throttle/mysql_test.go
@@ -54,41 +54,48 @@ func TestAggregateMySQLProbesNoErrors(t *testing.T) {
 		probes[clusterKey.Key] = &mysql.Probe{Key: clusterKey.Key}
 	}
 	{
-		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 0, false, 0)
+		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 0, false, 0, false)
 		value, err := worstMetric.Get()
 		test.S(t).ExpectNil(err)
 		test.S(t).ExpectEquals(value, 1.7)
 	}
 	{
-		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 1, false, 0)
+		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 1, false, 0, false)
 		value, err := worstMetric.Get()
 		test.S(t).ExpectNil(err)
 		test.S(t).ExpectEquals(value, 1.2)
 	}
 	{
-		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 2, false, 0)
+		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 2, false, 0, false)
 		value, err := worstMetric.Get()
 		test.S(t).ExpectNil(err)
 		test.S(t).ExpectEquals(value, 1.1)
 	}
 	{
-		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 3, false, 0)
+		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 3, false, 0, false)
 		value, err := worstMetric.Get()
 		test.S(t).ExpectNil(err)
 		test.S(t).ExpectEquals(value, 0.6)
 	}
 	{
-		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 4, false, 0)
+		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 4, false, 0, false)
 		value, err := worstMetric.Get()
 		test.S(t).ExpectNil(err)
 		test.S(t).ExpectEquals(value, 0.3)
 	}
 	{
-		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 5, false, 0)
+		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 5, false, 0, false)
 		value, err := worstMetric.Get()
 		test.S(t).ExpectNil(err)
 		test.S(t).ExpectEquals(value, 0.3)
 	}
+	{
+		var emptyProbes mysql.Probes = map[mysql.InstanceKey](*mysql.Probe){}
+		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&emptyProbes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 5, false, 0, true)
+		value, err := worstMetric.Get()
+		test.S(t).ExpectNil(err)
+		test.S(t).ExpectEquals(value, 0.0)
+	}
 }
 
 func TestAggregateMySQLProbesNoErrorsIgnoreHostsThreshold(t *testing.T) {
@@ -117,37 +124,37 @@ func TestAggregateMySQLProbesNoErrorsIgnoreHostsThreshold(t *testing.T) {
 		probes[clusterKey.Key] = &mysql.Probe{Key: clusterKey.Key}
 	}
 	{
-		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 0, false, 1.0)
+		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 0, false, 1.0, false)
 		value, err := worstMetric.Get()
 		test.S(t).ExpectNil(err)
 		test.S(t).ExpectEquals(value, 1.7)
 	}
 	{
-		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 1, false, 1.0)
+		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 1, false, 1.0, false)
 		value, err := worstMetric.Get()
 		test.S(t).ExpectNil(err)
 		test.S(t).ExpectEquals(value, 1.2)
 	}
 	{
-		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 2, false, 1.0)
+		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 2, false, 1.0, false)
 		value, err := worstMetric.Get()
 		test.S(t).ExpectNil(err)
 		test.S(t).ExpectEquals(value, 1.1)
 	}
 	{
-		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 3, false, 1.0)
+		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 3, false, 1.0, false)
 		value, err := worstMetric.Get()
 		test.S(t).ExpectNil(err)
 		test.S(t).ExpectEquals(value, 0.6)
 	}
 	{
-		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 4, false, 1.0)
+		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 4, false, 1.0, false)
 		value, err := worstMetric.Get()
 		test.S(t).ExpectNil(err)
 		test.S(t).ExpectEquals(value, 0.6)
 	}
 	{
-		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 5, false, 1.0)
+		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 5, false, 1.0, false)
 		value, err := worstMetric.Get()
 		test.S(t).ExpectNil(err)
 		test.S(t).ExpectEquals(value, 0.6)
@@ -180,19 +187,19 @@ func TestAggregateMySQLProbesWithErrors(t *testing.T) {
 		probes[clusterKey.Key] = &mysql.Probe{Key: clusterKey.Key}
 	}
 	{
-		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 0, false, 0)
+		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 0, false, 0, false)
 		_, err := worstMetric.Get()
 		test.S(t).ExpectNotNil(err)
 		test.S(t).ExpectEquals(err, base.NoSuchMetricError)
 	}
 	{
-		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 1, false, 0)
+		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 1, false, 0, false)
 		value, err := worstMetric.Get()
 		test.S(t).ExpectNil(err)
 		test.S(t).ExpectEquals(value, 1.7)
 	}
 	{
-		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 2, false, 0)
+		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 2, false, 0, false)
 		value, err := worstMetric.Get()
 		test.S(t).ExpectNil(err)
 		test.S(t).ExpectEquals(value, 1.2)
@@ -200,19 +207,19 @@ func TestAggregateMySQLProbesWithErrors(t *testing.T) {
 
 	instanceResultsMap[key1cluster] = base.NoSuchMetric
 	{
-		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 0, false, 0)
+		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 0, false, 0, false)
 		_, err := worstMetric.Get()
 		test.S(t).ExpectNotNil(err)
 		test.S(t).ExpectEquals(err, base.NoSuchMetricError)
 	}
 	{
-		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 1, false, 0)
+		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 1, false, 0, false)
 		_, err := worstMetric.Get()
 		test.S(t).ExpectNotNil(err)
 		test.S(t).ExpectEquals(err, base.NoSuchMetricError)
 	}
 	{
-		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 2, false, 0)
+		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 2, false, 0, false)
 		value, err := worstMetric.Get()
 		test.S(t).ExpectNil(err)
 		test.S(t).ExpectEquals(value, 1.7)
@@ -245,13 +252,13 @@ func TestAggregateMySQLProbesWithHttpChecks(t *testing.T) {
 		probes[clusterKey.Key] = &mysql.Probe{Key: clusterKey.Key}
 	}
 	{
-		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 0, false, 0)
+		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 0, false, 0, false)
 		_, err := worstMetric.Get()
 		test.S(t).ExpectNil(err)
 	}
 	{
 		clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap[mysql.MySQLHttpCheckHashKey(clusterName, &key2)] = http.StatusNotFound
-		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 0, false, 0)
+		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 0, false, 0, false)
 		value, err := worstMetric.Get()
 		test.S(t).ExpectNil(err)
 		test.S(t).ExpectEquals(value, 1.2)
@@ -260,7 +267,7 @@ func TestAggregateMySQLProbesWithHttpChecks(t *testing.T) {
 		for hashKey := range clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap {
 			clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap[hashKey] = http.StatusNotFound
 		}
-		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 0, false, 0)
+		worstMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(&probes, clusterName, instanceResultsMap, clusterInstanceHttpCheckResultMap, 0, false, 0, false)
 		_, err := worstMetric.Get()
 		test.S(t).ExpectNotNil(err)
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/throttle/throttler.go b/pkg/throttle/throttler.go
index e0d103c9..58cd006a 100644
--- a/pkg/throttle/throttler.go
+++ b/pkg/throttle/throttler.go
@@ -78,6 +78,8 @@ type Throttler struct {
 
 	nonLowPriorityAppRequestsThrottled *cache.Cache
 	httpClient                         *http.Client
+
+	BypassOnNoHostsFound bool
 }
 
 func NewThrottler() *Throttler {
@@ -331,6 +333,10 @@ func (throttler *Throttler) refreshMySQLInventory() error {
 					}
 				}
 				if len(totalHosts) == 0 {
+					if throttler.BypassOnNoHostsFound {
+						log.Infof("No hosts for pool: %+v, but bypass is enabled", poolName)
+						return nil
+					}
 					return log.Errorf("Unable to get any HAproxy hosts for pool: %+v", poolName)
 				}
 
@@ -441,7 +447,7 @@ func (throttler *Throttler) aggregateMySQLMetrics() error {
 		metricName := fmt.Sprintf("mysql/%s", clusterName)
 		ignoreHostsCount := throttler.mysqlInventory.IgnoreHostsCount[clusterName]
 		ignoreHostsThreshold := throttler.mysqlInventory.IgnoreHostsThreshold[clusterName]
-		aggregatedMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(probes, clusterName, throttler.mysqlInventory.InstanceKeyMetrics, throttler.mysqlInventory.ClusterInstanceHttpChecks, ignoreHostsCount, config.Settings().Stores.MySQL.IgnoreDialTcpErrors, ignoreHostsThreshold)
+		aggregatedMetric := aggregateMySQLProbes(probes, clusterName, throttler.mysqlInventory.InstanceKeyMetrics, throttler.mysqlInventory.ClusterInstanceHttpChecks, ignoreHostsCount, config.Settings().Stores.MySQL.IgnoreDialTcpErrors, ignoreHostsThreshold, throttler.BypassOnNoHostsFound)
 		go throttler.aggregatedMetrics.Set(metricName, aggregatedMetric, cache.DefaultExpiration)
 		if throttler.memcacheClient != nil {
 			go func() {