diff --git a/x-pack/test_serverless/shared/config.base.ts b/x-pack/test_serverless/shared/config.base.ts
index 1c702f02cff28..988acf1943c53 100644
--- a/x-pack/test_serverless/shared/config.base.ts
+++ b/x-pack/test_serverless/shared/config.base.ts
@@ -94,6 +94,10 @@ export default async () => {
         'xpack.security.authc.realms.jwt.jwt1.order=-98',
         `xpack.security.authc.realms.jwt.jwt1.pkc_jwkset_path=${getDockerFileMountPath(jwksPath)}`,
         `xpack.security.authc.realms.jwt.jwt1.token_type=access_token`,
+        // controller cluster-settings
+        `cluster.service.slow_task_logging_threshold=15s`,
+        `cluster.service.slow_task_thread_dump_timeout=5s`,
+        `serverless.search.enable_replicas_for_instant_failover=true`,
       ],
       ssl: true, // SSL is required for SAML realm
     },