diff --git a/src/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Host/Health/HealthEndpoints.cs b/src/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Host/Health/HealthEndpoints.cs
index 4ad7385e..903fb92e 100644
--- a/src/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Host/Health/HealthEndpoints.cs
+++ b/src/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Host/Health/HealthEndpoints.cs
@@ -17,21 +17,37 @@ public static class HealthEndpoints
 {
     /// <summary>
     /// Registers the shared ZB.MOM.WW health probes. Tier semantics preserved: configdb + akka on
-    /// ready+active; admin-leader on active only.
+    /// ready+active; admin-leader on active only. The configdb probe is admin-only (per-cluster mesh
+    /// Phase 4): a driver-only node holds no ConfigDb, so it is registered iff <paramref name="hasAdmin"/>.
     /// </summary>
     /// <param name="services">The service collection to register the health checks on.</param>
+    /// <param name="hasAdmin">
+    /// Whether this node carries the <c>admin</c> role. When <c>false</c> (a driver-only node) the
+    /// <c>configdb</c> probe is skipped — the node registers no <see cref="OtOpcUaConfigDbContext"/>
+    /// factory, so probing it would throw when the readiness endpoint resolves the factory. Defaults to
+    /// <c>true</c> so admin/fused callers (including the test harnesses) keep the probe unchanged.
+    /// </param>
     /// <returns>The same service collection, for chaining.</returns>
-    public static IServiceCollection AddOtOpcUaHealth(this IServiceCollection services)
+    public static IServiceCollection AddOtOpcUaHealth(this IServiceCollection services, bool hasAdmin = true)
     {
-        services.AddHealthChecks()
-            .AddTypeActivatedCheck<DatabaseHealthCheck<OtOpcUaConfigDbContext>>(
+        var checks = services.AddHealthChecks();
+
+        // configdb probe is admin-only (per-cluster mesh Phase 4). A driver-only node gets its config
+        // from central via ConfigSource:Mode=FetchAndCache and never registers the ConfigDb factory, so
+        // the type-activated DatabaseHealthCheck would throw resolving it. Admin + fused nodes: unchanged.
+        if (hasAdmin)
+        {
+            checks.AddTypeActivatedCheck<DatabaseHealthCheck<OtOpcUaConfigDbContext>>(
                 "configdb",
                 failureStatus: null,
                 tags: new[] { ZbHealthTags.Ready, ZbHealthTags.Active },
                 args: new DatabaseHealthCheckOptions<OtOpcUaConfigDbContext>
                 {
                     ProbeQuery = static (db, ct) => db.Deployments.AsNoTracking().Take(1).ToListAsync(ct),
-                })
+                });
+        }
+
+        checks
             .AddTypeActivatedCheck<AkkaClusterHealthCheck>(
                 "akka",
                 failureStatus: null,
@@ -42,11 +58,10 @@ public static class HealthEndpoints
                 failureStatus: null,
                 tags: new[] { ZbHealthTags.Active },
                 args: "admin")
-            // Registered unconditionally, not driver-gated. AddOtOpcUaHealth takes no role argument
-            // and runs on every node; the check itself resolves ISyncStatus optionally and reports
-            // Healthy when LocalDb is absent (admin-only graphs) or replication is default-OFF, so a
-            // plain node is never degraded by it. A factory registration keeps this no-arg signature
-            // while still reading ISyncStatus + options + the sync port from the container.
+            // Registered on every node regardless of role (unlike the admin-only configdb probe above):
+            // the check itself resolves ISyncStatus optionally and reports Healthy when LocalDb is absent
+            // (admin-only graphs) or replication is default-OFF, so a plain node is never degraded by it.
+            // A factory registration reads ISyncStatus + options + the sync port from the container.
             .Add(new HealthCheckRegistration(
                 "localdb-replication",
                 sp => new LocalDbReplicationHealthCheck(
diff --git a/src/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Host/Program.cs b/src/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Host/Program.cs
index 74fb072b..0ed23bda 100644
--- a/src/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Host/Program.cs
+++ b/src/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Host/Program.cs
@@ -122,8 +122,16 @@ builder.AddZbSerilog(o => o.ServiceName = "otopcua");
 // Windows-service registration is handled at install time by scripts/install/Install-Services.ps1
 // rather than in-process, so the binary stays cross-platform-compilable.
 
-// Shared services — always registered regardless of role. ConfigDb is required for everything.
-builder.Services.AddOtOpcUaConfigDb(builder.Configuration);
+// ConfigDb is admin-only now (per-cluster mesh Phase 4). Only the admin role owns a ConfigDb
+// connection string; a driver-only node holds none at all and gets its deployed configuration from
+// central over the Phase-3 fetch-and-cache path (ConfigSource:Mode=FetchAndCache). Registering it
+// unconditionally would throw on a driver-only node, since AddOtOpcUaConfigDb requires the string.
+// A fused admin+driver node keeps ConfigDb via its admin role — byte-for-byte unaffected.
+if (hasAdmin)
+    builder.Services.AddOtOpcUaConfigDb(builder.Configuration);
+else
+    Log.Information("Driver-only node — no ConfigDb registered; configuration via ConfigSource:Mode=FetchAndCache");
+
 builder.Services.AddOtOpcUaCluster(builder.Configuration);
 
 // Validate LdapOptions unconditionally so ANY role node (admin-only, driver-only, or fused)
@@ -392,7 +400,9 @@ if (hasAdmin)
 // Cluster replication is opt-in behind Secrets:Replication:Enabled (default false) — see SecretsRegistration.
 builder.Services.AddOtOpcUaSecrets(builder.Configuration);
 
-builder.Services.AddOtOpcUaHealth();
+// hasAdmin gates the configdb probe: a driver-only node registers no ConfigDb factory (see above), so
+// probing it would throw when the readiness endpoint resolves the factory.
+builder.Services.AddOtOpcUaHealth(hasAdmin);
 builder.Services.AddOtOpcUaObservability(builder.Configuration);
 
 // gRPC server plumbing shared by two endpoints: the LocalDb passive sync endpoint (driver-role,
diff --git a/tests/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Host.IntegrationTests/DriverOnlyNoConfigDbBootTests.cs b/tests/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Host.IntegrationTests/DriverOnlyNoConfigDbBootTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..954ddadc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Host.IntegrationTests/DriverOnlyNoConfigDbBootTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Builder;
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
+using Shouldly;
+using Xunit;
+using ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Configuration;
+
+namespace ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Host.IntegrationTests;
+
+/// <summary>
+///     Per-cluster mesh Phase 4 — ConfigDb is registered iff the node has the <c>admin</c> role.
+///     A driver-only node (Akka role <c>driver</c>, NOT <c>admin</c>) boots with NO <c>ConfigDb</c>
+///     connection string at all; its configuration arrives from central via the Phase-3
+///     <c>ConfigSource:Mode=FetchAndCache</c> path.
+/// </summary>
+/// <remarks>
+///     <para>
+///         These tests replicate the exact ConfigDb gating decision Program.cs makes —
+///         <c>if (hasAdmin) services.AddOtOpcUaConfigDb(configuration)</c> — over the real
+///         <see cref="ServiceCollectionExtensions.AddOtOpcUaConfigDb"/> method, for both role shapes.
+///         They deliberately do NOT boot the full host: Program.cs reads roles from the
+///         <c>OTOPCUA_ROLES</c> process env var and starting the host triggers the Akka cluster join
+///         (see <c>TwoNodeClusterHarness</c> on why <c>WebApplicationFactory&lt;Program&gt;</c> is not
+///         driven here, and <c>LocalDbWiringTests</c> for the same partial-graph harness model). The
+///         full driver-only boot is proven by the Phase-4 live gate + the later DI-graph sweep task.
+///     </para>
+/// </remarks>
+public sealed class DriverOnlyNoConfigDbBootTests : IDisposable
+{
+    private readonly List<WebApplication> _apps = [];
+
+    /// <summary>
+    ///     Builds the shared-services graph the way Program.cs gates ConfigDb: it is registered iff
+    ///     <paramref name="hasAdmin"/>. A driver-only node passes <c>hasAdmin: false</c> and supplies
+    ///     no <c>ConnectionStrings:ConfigDb</c> at all.
+    /// </summary>
+    private IServiceProvider BuildSharedServicesGraph(bool hasAdmin, string? configDbConnectionString)
+    {
+        var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(new WebApplicationOptions { Args = [] });
+        if (configDbConnectionString is not null)
+        {
+            builder.Configuration.AddInMemoryCollection(new Dictionary<string, string?>
+            {
+                ["ConnectionStrings:ConfigDb"] = configDbConnectionString,
+            });
+        }
+
+        if (hasAdmin)
+            builder.Services.AddOtOpcUaConfigDb(builder.Configuration);
+
+        var app = builder.Build();
+        _apps.Add(app);
+        return app.Services;
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void DriverOnlyNode_NoConnectionString_BuildsWithoutThrowing_AndRegistersNoConfigDbFactory()
+    {
+        // The core Phase-4 guarantee: a driver-only node holds no ConfigDb connection string and must
+        // still build its service graph without throwing — nothing in the shared registrations may
+        // reach for the ConfigDb factory.
+        IServiceProvider sp = null!;
+        Should.NotThrow(() => sp = BuildSharedServicesGraph(hasAdmin: false, configDbConnectionString: null));
+
+        sp.GetService<IDbContextFactory<OtOpcUaConfigDbContext>>().ShouldBeNull();
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void AdminNode_WithConnectionString_RegistersTheConfigDbFactory()
+    {
+        // The fused/admin path is byte-for-byte unaffected: ConfigDb is registered exactly as before.
+        var sp = BuildSharedServicesGraph(
+            hasAdmin: true,
+            configDbConnectionString: "Server=(local);Database=OtOpcUa;Trusted_Connection=True;TrustServerCertificate=True");
+
+        sp.GetService<IDbContextFactory<OtOpcUaConfigDbContext>>().ShouldNotBeNull();
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void AddOtOpcUaConfigDb_WithoutConnectionString_Throws()
+    {
+        // Why the gate exists: the unconditional call Program.cs made throws on a driver-only node,
+        // which has no ConfigDb connection string. This pins the exact failure the hasAdmin gate avoids.
+        var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(new WebApplicationOptions { Args = [] });
+
+        Should.Throw<InvalidOperationException>(() => builder.Services.AddOtOpcUaConfigDb(builder.Configuration));
+    }
+
+    public void Dispose()
+    {
+        foreach (var app in _apps)
+            ((IDisposable)app).Dispose();
+    }
+}