diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 60433d6..fcd56f5 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -9,3 +9,7 @@ pkg/
 .idea
 .skaffold-*.yaml
 .kubernetes-manifests-*/
+istio-1.*/
+install-istio.sh
+mtls.yaml
+istio.yaml
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b34dbf6..be43f70 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -212,35 +212,28 @@ by deploying the [release manifest](./release) directly to an existing cluster.
        --istio-config=auth=MTLS_PERMISSIVE
    ```
 
-   > NOTE: If you need to enable `MTLS_STRICT` mode, you will need to update
-   > several manifest files:
-   >
-   > - `kubernetes-manifests/frontend.yaml`: delete "livenessProbe" and
-   >   "readinessProbe" fields.
-   > - `kubernetes-manifests/loadgenerator.yaml`: delete "initContainers" field.
-
-1. (Optional) Enable Stackdriver Tracing/Logging with Istio Stackdriver Adapter
+2. (Optional) Enable Stackdriver Tracing/Logging with Istio Stackdriver Adapter
    by [following this guide](https://cloud.google.com/istio/docs/istio-on-gke/installing#enabling_tracing_and_logging).
 
-1. Install the automatic sidecar injection (annotate the `default` namespace
+3. Install the automatic sidecar injection (annotate the `default` namespace
    with the label):
 
    ```sh
    kubectl label namespace default istio-injection=enabled
    ```
 
-1. Apply the manifests in [`./istio-manifests`](./istio-manifests) directory.
+4. Apply the manifests in [`./istio-manifests`](./istio-manifests) directory.
    (This is required only once.)
 
    ```sh
    kubectl apply -f ./istio-manifests
    ```
 
-1. Deploy the application with `skaffold run --default-repo=gcr.io/[PROJECT_ID]`.
+5. Deploy the application with `skaffold run --default-repo=gcr.io/[PROJECT_ID]`.
 
-1. Run `kubectl get pods` to see pods are in a healthy and ready state.
+6. Run `kubectl get pods` to see pods are in a healthy and ready state.
 
-1. Find the IP address of your Istio gateway Ingress or Service, and visit the
+7. Find the IP address of your Istio gateway Ingress or Service, and visit the
    application.
 
    ```sh
diff --git a/release/kubernetes-manifests.yaml b/release/kubernetes-manifests.yaml
index 975ff6e..05621a8 100644
--- a/release/kubernetes-manifests.yaml
+++ b/release/kubernetes-manifests.yaml
@@ -199,6 +199,8 @@ spec:
     metadata:
       labels:
         app: frontend
+      annotations:
+        sidecar.istio.io/rewriteAppHTTPProbers: "true"
     spec:
       containers:
         - name: server
@@ -444,23 +446,27 @@ spec:
     metadata:
       labels:
         app: loadgenerator
+      annotations:
+        sidecar.istio.io/rewriteAppHTTPProbers: "true"
     spec:
       terminationGracePeriodSeconds: 5
       restartPolicy: Always
-      initContainers:
-      - name: wait-frontend
-        image: alpine:3.6
-        command: ['sh', '-c', 'set -x;  apk add --no-cache curl && 
-          until timeout -t 2 curl -f "http://${FRONTEND_ADDR}"; do 
-            echo "waiting for http://${FRONTEND_ADDR}"; 
-            sleep 2;
-          done;']
-        env:
-        - name: FRONTEND_ADDR
-          value: "frontend:80"
+      # initContainers:
+      # - name: wait-frontend
+      #   image: alpine:3.6
+      #   command: ['sh', '-c', 'set -x;  apk add --no-cache curl &&
+      #     until timeout -t 2 curl -f "http://${FRONTEND_ADDR}"; do
+      #       echo "waiting for http://${FRONTEND_ADDR}";
+      #       sleep 2;
+      #     done;']
+      #   env:
+      #   - name: FRONTEND_ADDR
+      #     value: "frontend:80"
       containers:
       - name: main
-        image: gcr.io/google-samples/microservices-demo/loadgenerator:v0.1.2
+#        image: gcr.io/google-samples/microservices-demo/loadgenerator:v0.1.2
+        image: gcr.io/megandemo/loadgen:failcurl
+        imagePullPolicy: Always
         env:
         - name: FRONTEND_ADDR
           value: "frontend:80"
diff --git a/src/loadgenerator/Dockerfile b/src/loadgenerator/Dockerfile
index af7fa10..cdd89d4 100644
--- a/src/loadgenerator/Dockerfile
+++ b/src/loadgenerator/Dockerfile
@@ -15,4 +15,7 @@ COPY --from=builder /install /usr/local
 
 COPY . .
 RUN chmod +x ./loadgen.sh
+RUN apt-get -qq update \
+    && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+        curl
 ENTRYPOINT ./loadgen.sh
diff --git a/src/loadgenerator/loadgen.sh b/src/loadgenerator/loadgen.sh
index 2a33434..9f7a15e 100755
--- a/src/loadgenerator/loadgen.sh
+++ b/src/loadgenerator/loadgen.sh
@@ -18,10 +18,19 @@
 set -e
 trap "exit" TERM
 
-if [[ -z "${FRONTEND_ADDR}" ]]; then
+if [ -z "${FRONTEND_ADDR}" ]; then
     echo >&2 "FRONTEND_ADDR not specified"
     exit 1
 fi
 
 set -x
+
+# if one request to the frontend fails, then exit
+STATUSCODE=$(curl --silent --output /dev/stderr --write-out "%{http_code}" http://${FRONTEND_ADDR})
+if test $STATUSCODE -ne 200; then
+    echo "Error: cannot reach frontend, exiting"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# else, run loadgen
 locust --host="http://${FRONTEND_ADDR}" --no-web -c "${USERS:-10}" 2>&1