---
title: Allow Elasticsearch to allocate the index
description: The allocation of data can be controlled using the enable allocation configuration. In certain circumstances users might want to temporarily disable or...
url: https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/4236/troubleshoot/elasticsearch/allow-all-index-allocation
products:
  - Elasticsearch
---

# Allow Elasticsearch to allocate the index
The allocation of data can be controlled using the [enable allocation configuration](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/elasticsearch/tree/main/reference/elasticsearch/index-settings/index-modules#index-routing-allocation-enable-setting). In certain circumstances users might want to temporarily disable or restrict the allocation of data.
Forgetting to re-allow all data allocation can lead to unassigned shards.
In order to (re)allow all data to be allocated follow these steps:
<tab-set>
  <tab-item title="Elastic Cloud Hosted">
    In order to get the shards assigned we’ll need to change the value of the [configuration](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/elasticsearch/tree/main/reference/elasticsearch/index-settings/index-modules#index-routing-allocation-enable-setting) that restricts the assignemnt of the shards to `all`.**Use Kibana**
    1. Log in to the [Elastic Cloud console](https://cloud.elastic.co?page=docs&placement=docs-body).
    2. On the **Hosted deployments** panel, click the name of your deployment.
       <note>
       If the name of your deployment is disabled your Kibana instances might be unhealthy, in which case contact [Elastic Support](https://support.elastic.co). If your deployment doesn’t include Kibana, all you need to do is [enable it first](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/4236/deploy-manage/deploy/elastic-cloud/access-kibana).
       </note>
    3. Open your deployment’s side navigation menu (placed under the Elastic logo in the upper left corner) and go to **Dev Tools > Console**.
       ![](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/4236/troubleshoot/images/elasticsearch-reference-kibana-console.png)

    1. Inspect the `index.routing.allocation.enable` [index setting](https://www.elastic.co/docs/api/doc/elasticsearch/operation/operation-indices-get-settings) for the index with unassigned shards:
       ```json
       ```
       The response will look like this:
       ```json
       {
         "my-index-000001": {
           "settings": {
             "index.routing.allocation.enable": "none" 
           }
         }
       }
       ```
    2. [Change](https://www.elastic.co/docs/api/doc/elasticsearch/operation/operation-indices-put-settings) the [configuration](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/elasticsearch/tree/main/reference/elasticsearch/index-settings/index-modules#index-routing-allocation-enable-setting) value to allow the index to be fully allocated:
       ```json

       {
         "index" : {
           "routing.allocation.enable" : "all" <1>
         }
       }
       ```
  </tab-item>

  <tab-item title="Self-managed">
    In order to get the shards assigned we’ll need to change the value of the [configuration](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/elasticsearch/tree/main/reference/elasticsearch/index-settings/index-modules#index-routing-allocation-enable-setting) that restricts the assignemnt of the shards to `all`.
    1. Inspect the `index.routing.allocation.enable` [index setting](https://www.elastic.co/docs/api/doc/elasticsearch/operation/operation-indices-get-settings) for the index with unassigned shards:
       ```json
       ```
       The response will look like this:
       ```json
       {
         "my-index-000001": {
           "settings": {
             "index.routing.allocation.enable": "none" 
           }
         }
       }
       ```
    2. [Change](https://www.elastic.co/docs/api/doc/elasticsearch/operation/operation-indices-put-settings) the [configuration](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/elasticsearch/tree/main/reference/elasticsearch/index-settings/index-modules#index-routing-allocation-enable-setting) value to allow the index to be fully allocated:
       ```json

       {
         "index" : {
           "routing.allocation.enable" : "all" <1>
         }
       }
       ```
  </tab-item>
</tab-set>