diff --git a/include/maxscale/config.h b/include/maxscale/config.h
index e96539d92..af6a62a83 100644
--- a/include/maxscale/config.h
+++ b/include/maxscale/config.h
@@ -126,6 +126,7 @@ extern const char CN_NAME[];
 extern const char CN_NON_BLOCKING_POLLS[];
 extern const char CN_OPTIONS[];
 extern const char CN_PARAMETERS[];
+extern const char CN_PASSIVE[];
 extern const char CN_PASSWORD[];
 extern const char CN_POLL_SLEEP[];
 extern const char CN_PORT[];
@@ -208,6 +209,7 @@ typedef struct
     unsigned int  auth_read_timeout;                   /**< Read timeout for the user authentication */
     unsigned int  auth_write_timeout;                  /**< Write timeout for the user authentication */
     bool          skip_permission_checks;              /**< Skip service and monitor permission checks */
+    bool          passive;                             /**< True if MaxScale is in passive mode */
     char          qc_name[PATH_MAX];                   /**< The name of the query classifier to load */
     char*         qc_args;                             /**< Arguments for the query classifier */
     qc_sql_mode_t qc_sql_mode;                         /**< The query classifier sql mode */
diff --git a/server/core/config.cc b/server/core/config.cc
index 2021e9059..72cf41776 100644
--- a/server/core/config.cc
+++ b/server/core/config.cc
@@ -104,6 +104,7 @@ const char CN_NAME[]                          = "name";
 const char CN_NON_BLOCKING_POLLS[]            = "non_blocking_polls";
 const char CN_OPTIONS[]                       = "options";
 const char CN_PARAMETERS[]                    = "parameters";
+const char CN_PASSIVE[]                       = "passive";
 const char CN_PASSWORD[]                      = "password";
 const char CN_POLL_SLEEP[]                    = "poll_sleep";
 const char CN_PORT[]                          = "port";
@@ -1566,6 +1567,10 @@ handle_global_item(const char *name, const char *value)
     {
         gateway.admin_log_auth_failures = config_truth_value(value);
     }
+    else if (strcmp(name, CN_PASSIVE) == 0)
+    {
+        gateway.passive = config_truth_value((char*)value);
+    }
     else
     {
         for (i = 0; lognames[i].name; i++)
@@ -1755,6 +1760,7 @@ void config_set_global_defaults()
     gateway.admin_ssl_key[0] = '\0';
     gateway.admin_ssl_cert[0] = '\0';
     gateway.admin_ssl_ca_cert[0] = '\0';
+    gateway.passive = false;
 
     gateway.thread_stack_size = 0;
     pthread_attr_t attr;
@@ -3897,6 +3903,7 @@ json_t* config_maxscale_to_json(const char* host)
     json_object_set_new(param, CN_ADMIN_SSL_KEY, json_string(cnf->admin_ssl_key));
     json_object_set_new(param, CN_ADMIN_SSL_CERT, json_string(cnf->admin_ssl_cert));
     json_object_set_new(param, CN_ADMIN_SSL_CA_CERT, json_string(cnf->admin_ssl_ca_cert));
+    json_object_set_new(param, CN_PASSIVE, json_boolean(cnf->passive));
 
     json_object_set_new(param, CN_QUERY_CLASSIFIER, json_string(cnf->qc_name));
 
@@ -3942,6 +3949,7 @@ static bool create_global_config(const char *filename)
     dprintf(file, "%s=%u\n", CN_AUTH_READ_TIMEOUT, gateway.auth_read_timeout);
     dprintf(file, "%s=%u\n", CN_AUTH_WRITE_TIMEOUT, gateway.auth_write_timeout);
     dprintf(file, "%s=%s\n", CN_ADMIN_AUTH, gateway.admin_auth ? "true" : "false");
+    dprintf(file, "%s=%u\n", CN_PASSIVE, gateway.passive);
 
     close(file);
 
diff --git a/server/core/config_runtime.cc b/server/core/config_runtime.cc
index 96836294f..243e7848d 100644
--- a/server/core/config_runtime.cc
+++ b/server/core/config_runtime.cc
@@ -749,6 +749,23 @@ bool runtime_alter_maxscale(const char* name, const char* value)
             runtime_error("Invalid boolean value for '%s': %s", CN_ADMIN_LOG_AUTH_FAILURES, value);
         }
     }
+    else if (key == CN_PASSIVE)
+    {
+        int boolval = config_truth_value(value);
+
+        if (boolval != -1)
+        {
+            MXS_NOTICE("Updated '%s' from '%s' to '%s'", CN_PASSIVE,
+                       cnf.passive ? "true" : "false",
+                       boolval ? "true" : "false");
+            cnf.passive = boolval;
+            rval = true;
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            runtime_error("Invalid boolean value for '%s': %s", CN_PASSIVE, value);
+        }
+    }
     else
     {
         runtime_error("Unknown global parameter: %s=%s", name, value);
diff --git a/server/core/gateway.cc b/server/core/gateway.cc
index 1f2acd69b..93cef8e0d 100644
--- a/server/core/gateway.cc
+++ b/server/core/gateway.cc
@@ -129,6 +129,7 @@ static struct option long_options[] =
     {"version-full",     no_argument,       0, 'V'},
     {"help",             no_argument,       0, '?'},
     {"connector_plugindir", required_argument, 0, 'H'},
+    {"passive",          no_argument,       0, 'p'},
     {"debug",            required_argument, 0, 'g'},
     {0, 0, 0, 0}
 };
@@ -922,6 +923,7 @@ static void usage(void)
             "  -S, --maxlog=[yes|no]       log messages to MaxScale log (default: yes)\n"
             "  -G, --log_augmentation=0|1  augment messages with the name of the function\n"
             "                              where the message was logged (default: 0)\n"
+            "  -p, --passive               start MaxScale as a passive standby\n"
             "  -g, --debug=arg1,arg2,...   enable or disable debug features. Supported arguments:\n",
             progname);
     for (int i = 0; debug_arguments[i].action != NULL; i++)
@@ -1289,7 +1291,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
     file_write_header(stderr);
 
     // Option string for getopt
-    const char accepted_opts[] = "dcf:g:l:vVs:S:?L:D:C:B:U:A:P:G:N:E:F:M:H:";
+    const char accepted_opts[] = "dcf:g:l:vVs:S:?L:D:C:B:U:A:P:G:N:E:F:M:H:p";
 
     /*<
      * Register functions which are called at exit.
@@ -1577,6 +1579,10 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
             config_check = true;
             break;
 
+        case 'p':
+            cnf->passive = true;
+            break;
+
         case 'g':
             if (!handle_debug_args(optarg))
             {