diff --git a/conf/defaults.ini b/conf/defaults.ini
index 7ae0c5ebfd9..358847724ab 100644
--- a/conf/defaults.ini
+++ b/conf/defaults.ini
@@ -402,9 +402,10 @@ global_session = -1
 
 #################################### Alerting ############################
 [alerting]
-# Makes it possible to turn off alert rule execution.
+# Disable alerting engine & UI features
+enabled = true
+# Makes it possible to turn off alert rule execution but alerting UI is visible
 execute_alerts = true
-show_alerting_ui = true
 
 #################################### Internal Grafana Metrics ############
 # Metrics available at HTTP API Url /api/metrics
diff --git a/pkg/api/frontendsettings.go b/pkg/api/frontendsettings.go
index c4b15ac54b6..3690784375d 100644
--- a/pkg/api/frontendsettings.go
+++ b/pkg/api/frontendsettings.go
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ func getFrontendSettingsMap(c *middleware.Context) (map[string]interface{}, erro
 		"allowOrgCreate":    (setting.AllowUserOrgCreate && c.IsSignedIn) || c.IsGrafanaAdmin,
 		"authProxyEnabled":  setting.AuthProxyEnabled,
 		"ldapEnabled":       setting.LdapEnabled,
-		"showAlertingUI":    setting.ShowAlertingUI,
+		"alertingEnabled":   setting.AlertingEnabled,
 		"buildInfo": map[string]interface{}{
 			"version":       setting.BuildVersion,
 			"commit":        setting.BuildCommit,
diff --git a/pkg/api/index.go b/pkg/api/index.go
index 172f98d4fb2..bf7a9fc1759 100644
--- a/pkg/api/index.go
+++ b/pkg/api/index.go
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ func setIndexViewData(c *middleware.Context) (*dtos.IndexViewData, error) {
 		Children: dashboardChildNavs,
 	})
 
-	if setting.ShowAlertingUI && (c.OrgRole == m.ROLE_ADMIN || c.OrgRole == m.ROLE_EDITOR) {
+	if setting.AlertingEnabled && (c.OrgRole == m.ROLE_ADMIN || c.OrgRole == m.ROLE_EDITOR) {
 		alertChildNavs := []*dtos.NavLink{
 			{Text: "Alert List", Url: setting.AppSubUrl + "/alerting/list"},
 			{Text: "Notification channels", Url: setting.AppSubUrl + "/alerting/notifications"},
diff --git a/pkg/cmd/grafana-server/server.go b/pkg/cmd/grafana-server/server.go
index 2a4682cbb4b..ccf6f39a1b4 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/grafana-server/server.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/grafana-server/server.go
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ func (g *GrafanaServerImpl) Start() {
 	plugins.Init()
 
 	// init alerting
-	if setting.ExecuteAlerts {
+	if setting.AlertingEnabled && setting.ExecuteAlerts {
 		engine := alerting.NewEngine()
 		g.childRoutines.Go(func() error { return engine.Run(g.context) })
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/setting/setting.go b/pkg/setting/setting.go
index f84bdd88f48..9c2ba6ee13c 100644
--- a/pkg/setting/setting.go
+++ b/pkg/setting/setting.go
@@ -150,8 +150,8 @@ var (
 	Quota QuotaSettings
 
 	// Alerting
+	AlertingEnabled bool
 	ExecuteAlerts   bool
-	ShowAlertingUI  bool
 
 	// logger
 	logger log.Logger
@@ -579,8 +579,8 @@ func NewConfigContext(args *CommandLineArgs) error {
 	LdapAllowSignup = ldapSec.Key("allow_sign_up").MustBool(true)
 
 	alerting := Cfg.Section("alerting")
+	AlertingEnabled = alerting.Key("enabled").MustBool(true)
 	ExecuteAlerts = alerting.Key("execute_alerts").MustBool(true)
-	ShowAlertingUI = alerting.Key("show_alerting_ui").MustBool(true)
 
 	readSessionConfig()
 	readSmtpSettings()
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/panel/graph/module.ts b/public/app/plugins/panel/graph/module.ts
index 99476598bf4..1a8fb3c0481 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/panel/graph/module.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/panel/graph/module.ts
@@ -132,7 +132,8 @@ class GraphCtrl extends MetricsPanelCtrl {
     this.addEditorTab('Axes', axesEditorComponent, 2);
     this.addEditorTab('Legend', 'public/app/plugins/panel/graph/tab_legend.html', 3);
     this.addEditorTab('Display', 'public/app/plugins/panel/graph/tab_display.html', 4);
-    if (config.showAlertingUI) {
+
+    if (config.alertingEnabled) {
       this.addEditorTab('Alert', alertTab, 5);
     }