Bootstrapping with empty_seed_starts_cluster set to false

[SunSparc]

I am configuring an automated deployment of a Redpanda cluster using Nomad. I have been able to get a cluster to bootstrap by setting empty_seed_starts_cluster to true with an empty seed_servers list. However, the documentation tells me:

Starting with Redpanda version 22.3, you should explicitly set empty_seed_starts_cluster to false on every broker, and every broker in the cluster should have the same value set for seed_servers. (source)

Thus I am trying to set it up the recommended way. When I do start up 3 brokers (see config below) they are unable to trigger a bootstrap.

What am I doing wrong?

---

Logs from broker1. Logs from the other brokers are similar:

INFO  2025-10-15 16:31:27,489 [shard 0:main] cluster - cluster_discovery.cc:147 - Requesting node ID  for node UUID 08631c13-d21a-470a-9472-3b9210ed659d from {host: broker1.redpanda-internal-rpc.service.consul, port: 33145}
WARN  2025-10-15 16:31:27,490 [shard 0:main] cluster - cluster_discovery.cc:179 - Error registering UUID 08631c13-d21a-470a-9472-3b9210ed659d: rpc::errc::service_unavailable, retrying

INFO  2025-10-15 16:31:27,490 [shard 0:main] cluster - cluster_discovery.cc:147 - Requesting node ID  for node UUID 08631c13-d21a-470a-9472-3b9210ed659d from {host: broker2.redpanda-internal-rpc.service.consul, port: 33145}
WARN  2025-10-15 16:31:27,491 [shard 0:main] cluster - cluster_discovery.cc:179 - Error registering UUID 08631c13-d21a-470a-9472-3b9210ed659d: rpc::errc::service_unavailable, retrying

INFO  2025-10-15 16:31:27,491 [shard 0:main] cluster - cluster_discovery.cc:147 - Requesting node ID  for node UUID 08631c13-d21a-470a-9472-3b9210ed659d from {host: broker3.redpanda-internal-rpc.service.consul, port: 33145}
WARN  2025-10-15 16:31:27,495 [shard 0:main] cluster - cluster_discovery.cc:179 - Error registering UUID 08631c13-d21a-470a-9472-3b9210ed659d: rpc::errc::service_unavailable, retrying

My /etc/redpanda.yaml file:

redpanda:
  data_directory: "/var/lib/redpanda/data"

  empty_seed_starts_cluster: false
  seed_servers:
  - host:
      address: "broker1.redpanda-internal-rpc.service.consul"
      port: 33145
  - host:
      address: "broker2.redpanda-internal-rpc.service.consul"
      port: 33145
  - host:
      address: "broker3.redpanda-internal-rpc.service.consul"
      port: 33145

  rpc_server:
    address: "10.254.0.10"
    port: 33145

  kafka_api:
    - name: external-listener
      address: "5.6.7.8"
      port: 9092
      authentication_method: none
    - name: internal-listener
      address: "10.254.0.10"
      port: 19092
      authentication_method: none

  advertised_kafka_api:
  - name: external-listener
    address: "redpanda-001-broker1.testdomain.com"
    port: 9092
  - name: internal-listener
    address: "10.254.0.10"
    port: 19092

  kafka_api_tls:
    - name: external-listener
      enabled: true
      cert_file: "/secrets/certificates"
      key_file: "/secrets/certificates"
      truststore_file: "/secrets/certificates"
      require_client_auth: false

  admin:
    - name: admin-api
      address: "0.0.0.0"
      port:  9644

  admin_api_tls:
    - name: admin-api
      enable: true
      cert_file: "/secrets/certificates"
      key_file: "/secrets/certificates"
      truststore_file: "/secrets/certificates"
      require_client_auth: false

[dotnwat]

Thanks for the question @SunSparc. You may get a faster response for this type of question in our community slack https://redpanda.com/slack