diff --git a/src/chttpd/src/chttpd_db.erl b/src/chttpd/src/chttpd_db.erl
index 875df6e0005..ff2203af88f 100644
--- a/src/chttpd/src/chttpd_db.erl
+++ b/src/chttpd/src/chttpd_db.erl
@@ -554,12 +554,13 @@ db_req(
     %% for missing databases that'd return error 404 from chttpd
     %% get_security used to prefer shards on the same node over other nodes
     fabric:get_security(DbName, [{user_ctx, Ctx}]),
+    #shard{suffix = Suffix} = hd(mem3:shards(DbName)),
     send_json(
         Req,
         201,
         {[
             {ok, true},
-            {instance_start_time, <<"0">>}
+            {instance_start_time, Suffix}
         ]}
     );
 db_req(#httpd{path_parts = [_, <<"_ensure_full_commit">>]} = Req, _Db) ->
diff --git a/src/fabric/src/fabric_db_info.erl b/src/fabric/src/fabric_db_info.erl
index 2366420c894..1f499587272 100644
--- a/src/fabric/src/fabric_db_info.erl
+++ b/src/fabric/src/fabric_db_info.erl
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 
 go(DbName) ->
     Shards = mem3:shards(DbName),
+    #shard{suffix = Suffix} = hd(mem3:shards(DbName)),
     Workers = fabric_util:submit_jobs(Shards, get_db_info, []),
     RexiMon = fabric_util:create_monitors(Shards),
     Fun = fun handle_message/3,
@@ -28,7 +29,7 @@ go(DbName) ->
     try
         case fabric_util:recv(Workers, #shard.ref, Fun, Acc0) of
             {ok, Acc} ->
-                {ok, Acc};
+                {ok, [{instance_start_time, Suffix} | Acc]};
             {timeout, {WorkersDict, _, _}} ->
                 DefunctWorkers = fabric_util:remove_done_workers(
                     WorkersDict,
@@ -117,7 +118,7 @@ merge_results(Info) ->
             (_K, _V, Acc) ->
                 Acc
         end,
-        [{instance_start_time, <<"0">>}],
+        [],
         Dict
     ).
 
diff --git a/src/mem3/include/mem3.hrl b/src/mem3/include/mem3.hrl
index d97b2546962..97dbca5785c 100644
--- a/src/mem3/include/mem3.hrl
+++ b/src/mem3/include/mem3.hrl
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
     dbname :: binary() | 'undefined',
     range :: [non_neg_integer() | '$1' | '$2'] | '_' | 'undefined',
     ref :: reference() | '_' | 'undefined',
+    suffix :: binary(),
     opts :: list() | 'undefined'
 }).
 
@@ -33,6 +34,7 @@
     range :: [non_neg_integer() | '$1' | '$2'] | '_',
     ref :: reference() | 'undefined' | '_',
     order :: non_neg_integer() | 'undefined' | '_',
+    suffix :: binary(),
     opts :: list()
 }).
 
diff --git a/src/mem3/src/mem3_util.erl b/src/mem3/src/mem3_util.erl
index 8547fc071d4..b39d365e821 100644
--- a/src/mem3/src/mem3_util.erl
+++ b/src/mem3/src/mem3_util.erl
@@ -228,6 +228,7 @@ build_shards_by_node(DbName, DocProps) ->
                             dbname = DbName,
                             node = to_atom(Node),
                             range = [Beg, End],
+                            suffix = list_to_binary(Suffix),
                             opts = get_shard_opts(DocProps)
                         },
                         Suffix
@@ -255,6 +256,7 @@ build_shards_by_range(DbName, DocProps) ->
                             node = to_atom(Node),
                             range = [Beg, End],
                             order = Order,
+                            suffix = list_to_binary(Suffix),
                             opts = get_shard_opts(DocProps)
                         },
                         Suffix
@@ -370,6 +372,7 @@ downcast(#ordered_shard{} = S) ->
         dbname = S#ordered_shard.dbname,
         range = S#ordered_shard.range,
         ref = S#ordered_shard.ref,
+        suffix = S#ordered_shard.suffix,
         opts = S#ordered_shard.opts
     };
 downcast(Shards) when is_list(Shards) ->
diff --git a/src/mem3/test/eunit/mem3_util_test.erl b/src/mem3/test/eunit/mem3_util_test.erl
index 9cab89f6706..4fdf49dc4a0 100644
--- a/src/mem3/test/eunit/mem3_util_test.erl
+++ b/src/mem3/test/eunit/mem3_util_test.erl
@@ -113,21 +113,21 @@ build_shards_test() ->
     ExpectedShards1 =
         [
             {shard, <<"shards/00000000-1fffffff/testdb1">>, 'bigcouch@node.local', <<"testdb1">>,
-                [0, 536870911], undefined, []},
+                [0, 536870911], undefined, <<>>, []},
             {shard, <<"shards/20000000-3fffffff/testdb1">>, 'bigcouch@node.local', <<"testdb1">>,
-                [536870912, 1073741823], undefined, []},
+                [536870912, 1073741823], undefined, <<>>, []},
             {shard, <<"shards/40000000-5fffffff/testdb1">>, 'bigcouch@node.local', <<"testdb1">>,
-                [1073741824, 1610612735], undefined, []},
+                [1073741824, 1610612735], undefined, <<>>, []},
             {shard, <<"shards/60000000-7fffffff/testdb1">>, 'bigcouch@node.local', <<"testdb1">>,
-                [1610612736, 2147483647], undefined, []},
+                [1610612736, 2147483647], undefined, <<>>, []},
             {shard, <<"shards/80000000-9fffffff/testdb1">>, 'bigcouch@node.local', <<"testdb1">>,
-                [2147483648, 2684354559], undefined, []},
+                [2147483648, 2684354559], undefined, <<>>, []},
             {shard, <<"shards/a0000000-bfffffff/testdb1">>, 'bigcouch@node.local', <<"testdb1">>,
-                [2684354560, 3221225471], undefined, []},
+                [2684354560, 3221225471], undefined, <<>>, []},
             {shard, <<"shards/c0000000-dfffffff/testdb1">>, 'bigcouch@node.local', <<"testdb1">>,
-                [3221225472, 3758096383], undefined, []},
+                [3221225472, 3758096383], undefined, <<>>, []},
             {shard, <<"shards/e0000000-ffffffff/testdb1">>, 'bigcouch@node.local', <<"testdb1">>,
-                [3758096384, 4294967295], undefined, []}
+                [3758096384, 4294967295], undefined, <<>>, []}
         ],
     ?assertEqual(ExpectedShards1, Shards1),
     ok.