diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/Transport.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/Transport.java
index 741a34cf2b1..e377252d853 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/Transport.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/Transport.java
@@ -31,6 +31,10 @@ import java.io.IOException;
  */
 public interface Transport extends LifecycleComponent<Transport> {
 
+    public static class TransportSettings {
+        public static final String TRANSPORT_TCP_COMPRESS = "transport.tcp.compress";
+    }
+
     void transportServiceAdapter(TransportServiceAdapter service);
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/netty/NettyTransport.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/netty/NettyTransport.java
index 56aa1044a94..95e8e534a0f 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/netty/NettyTransport.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/netty/NettyTransport.java
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ public class NettyTransport extends AbstractLifecycleComponent<Transport> implem
         this.port = componentSettings.get("port", settings.get("transport.tcp.port", "9300-9400"));
         this.bindHost = componentSettings.get("bind_host", settings.get("transport.bind_host", settings.get("transport.host")));
         this.publishHost = componentSettings.get("publish_host", settings.get("transport.publish_host", settings.get("transport.host")));
-        this.compress = settings.getAsBoolean("transport.tcp.compress", false);
+        this.compress = settings.getAsBoolean(TransportSettings.TRANSPORT_TCP_COMPRESS, false);
         this.connectTimeout = componentSettings.getAsTime("connect_timeout", settings.getAsTime("transport.tcp.connect_timeout", settings.getAsTime(TCP_CONNECT_TIMEOUT, TCP_DEFAULT_CONNECT_TIMEOUT)));
         this.tcpNoDelay = componentSettings.getAsBoolean("tcp_no_delay", settings.getAsBoolean(TCP_NO_DELAY, true));
         this.tcpKeepAlive = componentSettings.getAsBoolean("tcp_keep_alive", settings.getAsBoolean(TCP_KEEP_ALIVE, true));
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/TestCluster.java b/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/TestCluster.java
index 101a18fbd49..4803da08369 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/TestCluster.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/TestCluster.java
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.node.internal.InternalNode;
 import org.elasticsearch.test.engine.MockEngineModule;
 import org.elasticsearch.test.store.MockFSIndexStoreModule;
 import org.elasticsearch.test.transport.AssertingLocalTransportModule;
+import org.elasticsearch.transport.Transport;
 import org.elasticsearch.transport.TransportModule;
 import org.elasticsearch.transport.TransportService;
 import org.junit.Assert;
@@ -137,6 +138,8 @@ public final class TestCluster implements Iterable<Client> {
         .put("gateway.type", "none");
         if (isLocalTransportConfigured()) {
             builder.put(TransportModule.TRANSPORT_TYPE_KEY, AssertingLocalTransportModule.class.getName());
+        } else {
+            builder.put(Transport.TransportSettings.TRANSPORT_TCP_COMPRESS, random.nextInt(10) == 0);
         }
         this.defaultSettings = builder.build();
         this.nodeSettingsSource = nodeSettingsSource;