diff --git a/plugins/network-elements/juniper-contrail/src/org/apache/cloudstack/network/contrail/management/ContrailManagerImpl.java b/plugins/network-elements/juniper-contrail/src/org/apache/cloudstack/network/contrail/management/ContrailManagerImpl.java
index 616a8c5c85a..b25de488f37 100644
--- a/plugins/network-elements/juniper-contrail/src/org/apache/cloudstack/network/contrail/management/ContrailManagerImpl.java
+++ b/plugins/network-elements/juniper-contrail/src/org/apache/cloudstack/network/contrail/management/ContrailManagerImpl.java
@@ -168,6 +168,9 @@ public class ContrailManagerImpl extends ManagerBase implements ContrailManager
 
     @Override
     public boolean start() {
+        if (_api == null) {
+            return true;
+        }
         /* Start background task */
         _dbSyncTimer = new Timer("DBSyncTimer");
         try {
@@ -301,8 +304,7 @@ public class ContrailManagerImpl extends ManagerBase implements ContrailManager
             String hostname = null;
             int port = 0;
             if (configFile == null) {
-                hostname = "localhost";
-                port = 8082;
+                return false;
             } else {
                 final Properties configProps = new Properties();
                 configProps.load(new FileInputStream(configFile));