diff --git a/KernelMemory.sln b/KernelMemory.sln
index 44dc4729b..516d58e90 100644
--- a/KernelMemory.sln
+++ b/KernelMemory.sln
@@ -78,7 +78,6 @@ Project("{2150E333-8FDC-42A3-9474-1A3956D46DE8}") = "root", "root", "{6EF76FD8-4
 		Directory.Packages.props = Directory.Packages.props
 		nuget-package.props = nuget-package.props
 		code-analysis.props = code-analysis.props
-		build.py = build.py
 		nuget.config = nuget.config
 		Dockerfile = Dockerfile
 		.dockerignore = .dockerignore
diff --git a/build.py b/build.py
deleted file mode 100755
index f37334886..000000000
--- a/build.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,244 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env python
-import glob
-import os
-import shutil
-import subprocess
-import sys
-
-cfg = {
-    "packages": [
-        "Microsoft.KernelMemory.Abstractions",
-        "Microsoft.KernelMemory.Core",
-        "Microsoft.KernelMemory.WebClient",
-        "Microsoft.KernelMemory.SemanticKernelPlugin",
-        "Microsoft.KernelMemory.ContentStorage.AzureBlobs",
-        "Microsoft.KernelMemory.DataFormats.AzureAIDocIntel",
-        "Microsoft.KernelMemory.Orchestration.AzureQueues",
-        "Microsoft.KernelMemory.Orchestration.RabbitMQ",
-        "Microsoft.KernelMemory.AI.AzureOpenAI",
-        "Microsoft.KernelMemory.AI.OpenAI",
-        "Microsoft.KernelMemory.AI.LlamaSharp",
-        "Microsoft.KernelMemory.MemoryDb.AzureAISearch",
-        "Microsoft.KernelMemory.MemoryDb.Postgres",
-        "Microsoft.KernelMemory.MemoryDb.Qdrant",
-    ],
-    "clear_dotnet_cache": False,
-    # Enable this if using Bash and you want to see colors, though shell output won't stream in realtime
-    "bash_with_colors_no_stream": False,
-}
-
-
-def main():
-
-    # Move into project dir
-    change_working_dir_to_project()
-    print("Directory: ", os.getcwd())
-
-    # Delete and rebuild packages
-    print(bold("### Deleting previous builds"))
-    delete_files_by_extension(os.getcwd(), [".nupkg", ".snupkg"])
-
-    # Find SLN file
-    print(bold("### Build solution"))
-    solution = find_sln_file(os.getcwd())
-    if not solution or solution.isspace():
-        print(bold("# Error:"), red("No valid .sln file found."))
-        exit(1)
-
-    # Clear .NET cache
-    if cfg["clear_dotnet_cache"]:
-        print(bold("# Deleting .NET cache"))
-        run_shell_command(f"dotnet clean {solution} --nologo -c Debug --verbosity minimal")
-        run_shell_command(f"dotnet clean {solution} --nologo -c Release --verbosity minimal")
-
-    # Build SLN
-    run_shell_command(f"dotnet build {solution} --nologo -c Release")
-
-    print(bold("### Verify packages have been built"))
-    verify_packages_build(os.getcwd())
-
-    print(bold("### Clearing Nuget cache"))
-    delete_cached_packages()
-
-    print(bold("### Copy Nuget packages to /packages"))
-    move_packages_build_to(os.getcwd(), os.path.join(os.getcwd(), "packages"))
-
-    # print(bold("# Clean .NET build"))
-    # run_shell_command(f"dotnet restore {solution} --nologo --no-cache")
-    # run_shell_command(f"dotnet clean {solution} --nologo -c Debug --verbosity minimal")
-    # run_shell_command(f"dotnet clean {solution} --nologo -c Release --verbosity minimal")
-
-
-def change_working_dir_to_project():
-    os.chdir(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)))
-
-
-def delete_files_by_extension(root_dir, extensions):
-    count = 0
-    if isinstance(extensions, str):
-        extensions = [extensions]
-
-    print("Deleting files from dir:", root_dir)
-    for dir_name, sub_dirs, filenames in os.walk(root_dir):
-        for filename in filenames:
-            if any(filename.endswith(ext) for ext in extensions):
-                file_path = os.path.join(dir_name, filename)
-                os.remove(file_path)
-                count += 1
-                print(f"Deleted: {file_path[len(root_dir) + 1:]}")
-    print("Files deleted:", count)
-
-
-def find_sln_file(root_folder):
-    for dir_name, sub_dirs, filenames in os.walk(root_folder):
-        for filename in filenames:
-            if filename.endswith(".sln") and "dev" not in filename.lower():
-                return filename
-
-
-def run_shell_command(command):
-    if cfg["bash_with_colors_no_stream"]:
-        run_shell_command_with_colors(command)
-    else:
-        run_shell_command_with_stream(command)
-
-
-def bold(text):
-    return f"\033[1m{text}\033[0m"
-
-
-def red(text):
-    return f"\033[91m{text}\033[0m"
-
-
-def yellow(text):
-    return f"\033[93m{text}\033[0m"
-
-
-def run_shell_command_with_stream(command):
-    try:
-        # Run the shell command printing output as it occurs. Note: this might strip colors
-        print(bold("# Command: "), command)
-
-        process = subprocess.Popen(
-            command,
-            shell=True,
-            stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
-            stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
-            text=True,
-            bufsize=1,
-            universal_newlines=True,
-            env={**os.environ, "TERM": "xterm-256color"},
-        )
-
-        # Print the command output in real-time for stdout and stderr
-        for line in process.stdout:
-            sys.stdout.write(line)
-            sys.stdout.flush()
-
-        for line in process.stderr:
-            sys.stdout.write(f"# Error: {line}")
-            sys.stdout.flush()
-
-        # Wait for the command to complete
-        process.wait()
-
-        # Check the return code
-        if process.returncode != 0:
-            print(bold("# Return Code: "), process.returncode)
-            exit(1)
-
-    except Exception as e:
-        print(bold("# Error: "), e)
-        exit(1)
-
-
-def run_shell_command_with_colors(command):
-    try:
-        # Run the shell command and capture the output along with color codes
-        print(bold("# Command: "), command)
-        result = subprocess.run(
-            ["script", "-q", "/dev/null", "bash", "-c", command],
-            check=True,
-            stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
-            stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
-            text=True,
-        )
-
-        if result.stdout and not result.stdout.isspace():
-            print("# Command Output:")
-            print(result.stdout)
-
-    except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
-        # Handle errors with original colors
-        print(bold("# Error Occurred: "))
-        print(bold("# Return Code: "), e.returncode)
-        print(bold("# Standard Output: "))
-        print(e.stdout)
-        if e.stderr and not e.stderr.isspace():
-            print(bold("# Standard Error: "))
-            print(e.stderr)
-
-        # Exit the script with an error code
-        exit(1)
-
-
-def verify_packages_build(root_dir):
-    for package in cfg["packages"]:
-        # Generate the expected file path
-        expected_file_path = os.path.join(root_dir, "**", "bin", "Release", f"{package}.*.nupkg")
-
-        # Use glob to check if any file matches the pattern
-        matches = glob.glob(expected_file_path, recursive=True)
-
-        if not matches:
-            print(f"# Error: {package}: package not found")
-            exit(1)
-        else:
-            for match in matches:
-                print(f"{match[len(root_dir) + 1:]}")
-
-
-def move_packages_build_to(root_dir, destination_dir):
-    for package in cfg["packages"]:
-        # Generate the expected file path
-        expected_file_path = os.path.join(root_dir, "**", "bin", "Release", f"{package}.*.nupkg")
-
-        # Use glob to check if any file matches the pattern
-        matches = glob.glob(expected_file_path, recursive=True)
-
-        if not matches:
-            print(f"# Error: {package}: package not found")
-            exit(1)
-        else:
-            for match in matches:
-                shutil.move(match, destination_dir)
-
-
-def delete_cached_packages():
-    for package in cfg["packages"]:
-        nuget_packages_dir = os.path.join(os.environ["HOME"], ".nuget", "packages", package)
-
-        if os.path.isdir(nuget_packages_dir):
-            print("Cache content before purge")
-            print(f"dir: {nuget_packages_dir}")
-            for entry in os.listdir(nuget_packages_dir):
-                print(entry)
-
-            try:
-                shutil.rmtree(nuget_packages_dir)
-            except Exception as e:
-                print(f"ERROR: unable to clear cache at {nuget_packages_dir}")
-                print(e)
-                exit(1)
-
-            if os.path.isdir(nuget_packages_dir):
-                print(f"ERROR: unable to clear cache at {nuget_packages_dir}")
-                exit(1)
-
-
-def green(text):
-    return f"\033[92m{text}\033[0m"
-
-
-main()
diff --git a/clients/dotnet/WebClient/MemoryWebClient.cs b/clients/dotnet/WebClient/MemoryWebClient.cs
index 56dc79245..730968374 100644
--- a/clients/dotnet/WebClient/MemoryWebClient.cs
+++ b/clients/dotnet/WebClient/MemoryWebClient.cs
@@ -71,8 +71,7 @@ public Task<string> ImportDocumentAsync(
         DocumentUploadRequest uploadRequest,
         CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
-        var index = IndexExtensions.CleanName(uploadRequest.Index);
-        return this.ImportInternalAsync(index, uploadRequest, cancellationToken);
+        return this.ImportInternalAsync(uploadRequest.Index, uploadRequest, cancellationToken);
     }
 
     /// <inheritdoc />
@@ -152,7 +151,6 @@ public async Task<IEnumerable<IndexDetails>> ListIndexesAsync(CancellationToken
     /// <inheritdoc />
     public async Task DeleteIndexAsync(string? index = null, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
-        index = IndexExtensions.CleanName(index);
         var url = Constants.HttpDeleteIndexEndpointWithParams
             .Replace(Constants.HttpIndexPlaceholder, index);
         HttpResponseMessage? response = await this._client.DeleteAsync(url, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
@@ -181,7 +179,6 @@ public async Task DeleteDocumentAsync(string documentId, string? index = null, C
             throw new KernelMemoryException("The document ID is empty");
         }
 
-        index = IndexExtensions.CleanName(index);
         var url = Constants.HttpDeleteDocumentEndpointWithParams
             .Replace(Constants.HttpIndexPlaceholder, index)
             .Replace(Constants.HttpDocumentIdPlaceholder, documentId);
@@ -219,7 +216,6 @@ public async Task<bool> IsDocumentReadyAsync(
         string? index = null,
         CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
-        index = IndexExtensions.CleanName(index);
         var url = Constants.HttpUploadStatusEndpointWithParams
             .Replace(Constants.HttpIndexPlaceholder, index)
             .Replace(Constants.HttpDocumentIdPlaceholder, documentId);
@@ -254,7 +250,6 @@ public async Task<SearchResult> SearchAsync(
             filters.Add(filter);
         }
 
-        index = IndexExtensions.CleanName(index);
         SearchQuery request = new()
         {
             Index = index,
@@ -288,7 +283,6 @@ public async Task<MemoryAnswer> AskAsync(
             filters.Add(filter);
         }
 
-        index = IndexExtensions.CleanName(index);
         MemoryQuery request = new()
         {
             Index = index,
diff --git a/extensions/AzureAISearch/AzureAISearch.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs b/extensions/AzureAISearch/AzureAISearch.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs
index 1f35edc8e..314040830 100644
--- a/extensions/AzureAISearch/AzureAISearch.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs
+++ b/extensions/AzureAISearch/AzureAISearch.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ public DefaultTests(IConfiguration cfg, ITestOutputHelper output) : base(cfg, ou
         Assert.False(string.IsNullOrEmpty(this.OpenAiConfig.APIKey));
 
         this._memory = new KernelMemoryBuilder()
+            .With(new KernelMemoryConfig { DefaultIndexName = "default4tests" })
             .WithSearchClientConfig(new SearchClientConfig { EmptyAnswer = NotFound })
             .WithOpenAI(this.OpenAiConfig)
             .WithAzureAISearchMemoryDb(this.AzureAiSearchConfig.Endpoint, this.AzureAiSearchConfig.APIKey)
@@ -66,6 +67,13 @@ public async Task ItNormalizesIndexNames()
         await IndexListTest.ItNormalizesIndexNames(this._memory, this.Log);
     }
 
+    [Fact]
+    [Trait("Category", "AzAISearch")]
+    public async Task ItUsesDefaultIndexName()
+    {
+        await IndexListTest.ItUsesDefaultIndexName(this._memory, this.Log, "default4tests");
+    }
+
     [Fact]
     [Trait("Category", "AzAISearch")]
     public async Task ItDeletesIndexes()
diff --git a/extensions/AzureAISearch/AzureAISearch/AzureAISearchMemory.cs b/extensions/AzureAISearch/AzureAISearch/AzureAISearchMemory.cs
index a6c2afe9a..26d8909ff 100644
--- a/extensions/AzureAISearch/AzureAISearch/AzureAISearchMemory.cs
+++ b/extensions/AzureAISearch/AzureAISearch/AzureAISearchMemory.cs
@@ -119,12 +119,6 @@ public async Task<IEnumerable<string>> GetIndexesAsync(CancellationToken cancell
     public Task DeleteIndexAsync(string index, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
         index = this.NormalizeIndexName(index);
-        if (string.Equals(index, Constants.DefaultIndex, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
-        {
-            this._log.LogWarning("The default index cannot be deleted");
-            return Task.CompletedTask;
-        }
-
         return this._adminClient.DeleteIndexAsync(index, cancellationToken);
     }
 
@@ -439,7 +433,7 @@ private string NormalizeIndexName(string index)
     {
         if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(index))
         {
-            index = Constants.DefaultIndex;
+            throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(index), "The index name is empty");
         }
 
         if (index.Length > 128)
diff --git a/extensions/Elasticsearch/Elasticsearch.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs b/extensions/Elasticsearch/Elasticsearch.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs
index c0ba8d485..b0cd341f8 100644
--- a/extensions/Elasticsearch/Elasticsearch.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs
+++ b/extensions/Elasticsearch/Elasticsearch.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ public DefaultTests(IConfiguration cfg, ITestOutputHelper output) : base(cfg, ou
         this._elasticsearchConfig = cfg.GetSection("KernelMemory:Services:Elasticsearch").Get<ElasticsearchConfig>()!;
 
         this._memory = new KernelMemoryBuilder()
+            .With(new KernelMemoryConfig { DefaultIndexName = "default4tests" })
             .WithSearchClientConfig(new SearchClientConfig { EmptyAnswer = NotFound })
             .WithOpenAI(this.OpenAiConfig)
             // .WithAzureOpenAITextGeneration(this.AzureOpenAITextConfiguration)
@@ -75,6 +76,13 @@ public async Task ItNormalizesIndexNames()
         await IndexListTest.ItNormalizesIndexNames(this._memory, this.Log);
     }
 
+    [Fact]
+    [Trait("Category", "Elasticsearch")]
+    public async Task ItUsesDefaultIndexName()
+    {
+        await IndexListTest.ItUsesDefaultIndexName(this._memory, this.Log, "default4tests");
+    }
+
     [Fact]
     [Trait("Category", "Elasticsearch")]
     public async Task ItDeletesIndexes()
diff --git a/extensions/LlamaSharp/LlamaSharp.FunctionalTests/appsettings.json b/extensions/LlamaSharp/LlamaSharp.FunctionalTests/appsettings.json
index cc1f1e80a..06200cdf7 100644
--- a/extensions/LlamaSharp/LlamaSharp.FunctionalTests/appsettings.json
+++ b/extensions/LlamaSharp/LlamaSharp.FunctionalTests/appsettings.json
@@ -28,8 +28,7 @@
       },
       "Qdrant": {
         "Endpoint": "http://127.0.0.1:6333",
-        "APIKey": "",
-        "DefaultIndex": "default"
+        "APIKey": ""
       },
       "OpenAI": {
         // Name of the model used to generate text (text completion or chat completion)
diff --git a/extensions/Postgres/Postgres.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs b/extensions/Postgres/Postgres.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs
index cc75e9779..544efea7f 100644
--- a/extensions/Postgres/Postgres.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs
+++ b/extensions/Postgres/Postgres.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ public DefaultTests(IConfiguration cfg, ITestOutputHelper output) : base(cfg, ou
         Assert.False(string.IsNullOrEmpty(this.OpenAiConfig.APIKey));
 
         this._memory = new KernelMemoryBuilder()
+            .With(new KernelMemoryConfig { DefaultIndexName = "default4tests" })
             .WithSearchClientConfig(new SearchClientConfig { EmptyAnswer = NotFound })
             .WithOpenAI(this.OpenAiConfig)
             // .WithAzureOpenAITextGeneration(this.AzureOpenAITextConfiguration)
@@ -65,6 +66,13 @@ public async Task ItNormalizesIndexNames()
         await IndexListTest.ItNormalizesIndexNames(this._memory, this.Log);
     }
 
+    [Fact]
+    [Trait("Category", "Postgres")]
+    public async Task ItUsesDefaultIndexName()
+    {
+        await IndexListTest.ItUsesDefaultIndexName(this._memory, this.Log, "default4tests");
+    }
+
     [Fact]
     [Trait("Category", "Postgres")]
     public async Task ItDeletesIndexes()
diff --git a/extensions/Postgres/Postgres/PostgresMemory.cs b/extensions/Postgres/Postgres/PostgresMemory.cs
index d1149c129..992c69de5 100644
--- a/extensions/Postgres/Postgres/PostgresMemory.cs
+++ b/extensions/Postgres/Postgres/PostgresMemory.cs
@@ -103,11 +103,6 @@ public async Task DeleteIndexAsync(
         CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
         index = NormalizeIndexName(index);
-        if (string.Equals(index, Constants.DefaultIndex, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
-        {
-            this._log.LogWarning("The default index cannot be deleted");
-            return;
-        }
 
         try
         {
@@ -241,7 +236,7 @@ private static string NormalizeIndexName(string index)
     {
         if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(index))
         {
-            index = Constants.DefaultIndex;
+            throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(index), "The index name is empty");
         }
 
         index = s_replaceIndexNameCharsRegex.Replace(index.Trim().ToLowerInvariant(), ValidSeparator);
diff --git a/extensions/Qdrant/Qdrant.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs b/extensions/Qdrant/Qdrant.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs
index b5dddda37..5cec4a8f1 100644
--- a/extensions/Qdrant/Qdrant.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs
+++ b/extensions/Qdrant/Qdrant.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ public DefaultTests(IConfiguration cfg, ITestOutputHelper output) : base(cfg, ou
         Assert.False(string.IsNullOrEmpty(this.OpenAiConfig.APIKey));
 
         this._memory = new KernelMemoryBuilder()
+            .With(new KernelMemoryConfig { DefaultIndexName = "default4tests" })
             .WithSearchClientConfig(new SearchClientConfig { EmptyAnswer = NotFound })
             .WithOpenAI(this.OpenAiConfig)
             .WithQdrantMemoryDb(this.QdrantConfig)
@@ -64,6 +65,13 @@ public async Task ItNormalizesIndexNames()
         await IndexListTest.ItNormalizesIndexNames(this._memory, this.Log);
     }
 
+    [Fact]
+    [Trait("Category", "Qdrant")]
+    public async Task ItUsesDefaultIndexName()
+    {
+        await IndexListTest.ItUsesDefaultIndexName(this._memory, this.Log, "default4tests");
+    }
+
     [Fact]
     [Trait("Category", "Qdrant")]
     public async Task ItDeletesIndexes()
diff --git a/extensions/Qdrant/Qdrant.FunctionalTests/appsettings.json b/extensions/Qdrant/Qdrant.FunctionalTests/appsettings.json
index 939219e58..b5a34509e 100644
--- a/extensions/Qdrant/Qdrant.FunctionalTests/appsettings.json
+++ b/extensions/Qdrant/Qdrant.FunctionalTests/appsettings.json
@@ -7,8 +7,7 @@
     "Services": {
       "Qdrant": {
         "Endpoint": "http://127.0.0.1:6333",
-        "APIKey": "",
-        "DefaultIndex": "default"
+        "APIKey": ""
       },
       "OpenAI": {
         // Name of the model used to generate text (text completion or chat completion)
diff --git a/extensions/Qdrant/Qdrant.TestApplication/appsettings.json b/extensions/Qdrant/Qdrant.TestApplication/appsettings.json
index 117b1b2f5..19f7e200c 100644
--- a/extensions/Qdrant/Qdrant.TestApplication/appsettings.json
+++ b/extensions/Qdrant/Qdrant.TestApplication/appsettings.json
@@ -9,8 +9,7 @@
     "Services": {
       "Qdrant": {
         "Endpoint": "http://127.0.0.1:6333",
-        "APIKey": "",
-        "DefaultIndex": "default"
+        "APIKey": ""
       }
     }
   }
diff --git a/extensions/Qdrant/Qdrant/QdrantConfig.cs b/extensions/Qdrant/Qdrant/QdrantConfig.cs
index 352317f4f..d635911a1 100644
--- a/extensions/Qdrant/Qdrant/QdrantConfig.cs
+++ b/extensions/Qdrant/Qdrant/QdrantConfig.cs
@@ -19,5 +19,4 @@ public class QdrantConfig
 
     public string Endpoint { get; set; } = string.Empty;
     public string APIKey { get; set; } = string.Empty;
-    public string DefaultIndex { get; set; } = Constants.DefaultIndex;
 }
diff --git a/extensions/Qdrant/Qdrant/QdrantMemory.cs b/extensions/Qdrant/Qdrant/QdrantMemory.cs
index e09f48fb8..2fcf83e8b 100644
--- a/extensions/Qdrant/Qdrant/QdrantMemory.cs
+++ b/extensions/Qdrant/Qdrant/QdrantMemory.cs
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@ public class QdrantMemory : IMemoryDb
     private readonly ITextEmbeddingGenerator _embeddingGenerator;
     private readonly QdrantClient<DefaultQdrantPayload> _qdrantClient;
     private readonly ILogger<QdrantMemory> _log;
-    private readonly string _defaultIndex;
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Create new instance
@@ -47,7 +46,6 @@ public QdrantMemory(
 
         this._log = log ?? DefaultLogger<QdrantMemory>.Instance;
         this._qdrantClient = new QdrantClient<DefaultQdrantPayload>(endpoint: config.Endpoint, apiKey: config.APIKey);
-        this._defaultIndex = !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(config.DefaultIndex) ? config.DefaultIndex : Constants.DefaultIndex;
     }
 
     /// <inheritdoc />
@@ -55,7 +53,7 @@ public Task CreateIndexAsync(
         string index, int vectorSize,
         CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
-        index = this.NormalizeIndexName(index);
+        index = NormalizeIndexName(index);
         return this._qdrantClient.CreateCollectionAsync(index, vectorSize, cancellationToken);
     }
 
@@ -73,13 +71,7 @@ public Task DeleteIndexAsync(
         string index,
         CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
-        index = this.NormalizeIndexName(index);
-        if (string.Equals(index, Constants.DefaultIndex, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
-        {
-            this._log.LogWarning("The default index cannot be deleted");
-            return Task.CompletedTask;
-        }
-
+        index = NormalizeIndexName(index);
         return this._qdrantClient.DeleteCollectionAsync(index, cancellationToken);
     }
 
@@ -89,7 +81,7 @@ public async Task<string> UpsertAsync(
         MemoryRecord record,
         CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
-        index = this.NormalizeIndexName(index);
+        index = NormalizeIndexName(index);
 
         QdrantPoint<DefaultQdrantPayload> qdrantPoint;
 
@@ -134,7 +126,7 @@ public async Task<string> UpsertAsync(
         bool withEmbeddings = false,
         [EnumeratorCancellation] CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
-        index = this.NormalizeIndexName(index);
+        index = NormalizeIndexName(index);
         if (limit <= 0) { limit = int.MaxValue; }
 
         // Remove empty filters
@@ -170,7 +162,7 @@ public async IAsyncEnumerable<MemoryRecord> GetListAsync(
         bool withEmbeddings = false,
         [EnumeratorCancellation] CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
-        index = this.NormalizeIndexName(index);
+        index = NormalizeIndexName(index);
         if (limit <= 0) { limit = int.MaxValue; }
 
         // Remove empty filters
@@ -202,7 +194,7 @@ public async Task DeleteAsync(
         MemoryRecord record,
         CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
-        index = this.NormalizeIndexName(index);
+        index = NormalizeIndexName(index);
 
         QdrantPoint<DefaultQdrantPayload>? existingPoint = await this._qdrantClient
             .GetVectorByPayloadIdAsync(index, record.Id, cancellationToken: cancellationToken)
@@ -223,11 +215,11 @@ public async Task DeleteAsync(
     private static readonly Regex s_replaceIndexNameCharsRegex = new(@"[\s|\\|/|.|_|:]");
     private const string ValidSeparator = "-";
 
-    private string NormalizeIndexName(string index)
+    private static string NormalizeIndexName(string index)
     {
         if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(index))
         {
-            index = this._defaultIndex;
+            throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(index), "The index name is empty");
         }
 
         index = s_replaceIndexNameCharsRegex.Replace(index.Trim().ToLowerInvariant(), ValidSeparator);
diff --git a/extensions/Redis/Redis.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs b/extensions/Redis/Redis.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs
index 40aea5c00..d328ecb59 100644
--- a/extensions/Redis/Redis.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs
+++ b/extensions/Redis/Redis.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ public DefaultTests(IConfiguration cfg, ITestOutputHelper output) : base(cfg, ou
         Assert.False(string.IsNullOrEmpty(this.OpenAiConfig.APIKey));
 
         this._memory = new KernelMemoryBuilder()
+            .With(new KernelMemoryConfig { DefaultIndexName = "default4tests" })
             .WithSearchClientConfig(new SearchClientConfig { EmptyAnswer = NotFound })
             .WithOpenAI(this.OpenAiConfig)
             .WithRedisMemoryDb(this.RedisConfig)
@@ -68,7 +69,7 @@ public async Task ItNormalizesIndexNames()
     [Trait("Category", "Redis")]
     public async Task ItUsesDefaultIndexName()
     {
-        await IndexListTest.ItUsesDefaultIndexName(this._memory, this.Log);
+        await IndexListTest.ItUsesDefaultIndexName(this._memory, this.Log, "default4tests");
     }
 
     [Fact]
diff --git a/extensions/Redis/Redis/RedisMemory.cs b/extensions/Redis/Redis/RedisMemory.cs
index ed0b61d36..8adc14717 100644
--- a/extensions/Redis/Redis/RedisMemory.cs
+++ b/extensions/Redis/Redis/RedisMemory.cs
@@ -401,7 +401,7 @@ private static string NormalizeIndexName(string index, string? prefix = null)
     {
         if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(index))
         {
-            index = Constants.DefaultIndex;
+            throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(index), "The index name is empty");
         }
 
         var indexWithPrefix = !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(prefix) ? $"{prefix}{index}" : index;
diff --git a/extensions/SQLServer/SQLServer.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs b/extensions/SQLServer/SQLServer.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs
index 9dd9bfe5a..4c0c4651e 100644
--- a/extensions/SQLServer/SQLServer.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs
+++ b/extensions/SQLServer/SQLServer.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ public DefaultTests(IConfiguration cfg, ITestOutputHelper output) : base(cfg, ou
         SqlServerConfig sqlServerConfig = cfg.GetSection("KernelMemory:Services:SqlServer").Get<SqlServerConfig>()!;
 
         this._memory = new KernelMemoryBuilder()
+            .With(new KernelMemoryConfig { DefaultIndexName = "default4tests" })
             .WithSearchClientConfig(new SearchClientConfig { EmptyAnswer = NotFound })
             .WithOpenAI(this.OpenAiConfig)
             // .WithAzureOpenAITextGeneration(this.AzureOpenAITextConfiguration)
@@ -74,6 +75,13 @@ public async Task ItNormalizesIndexNames()
         await IndexListTest.ItNormalizesIndexNames(this._memory, this.Log);
     }
 
+    [Fact]
+    [Trait("Category", "SQLServer")]
+    public async Task ItUsesDefaultIndexName()
+    {
+        await IndexListTest.ItUsesDefaultIndexName(this._memory, this.Log, "default4tests");
+    }
+
     [Fact]
     [Trait("Category", "SQLServer")]
     public async Task ItDeletesIndexes()
diff --git a/nuget-package.props b/nuget-package.props
index 99558093a..b42dcce56 100644
--- a/nuget-package.props
+++ b/nuget-package.props
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 <Project>
     <PropertyGroup>
         <!-- Central version prefix - applies to all nuget packages. -->
-        <Version>0.32.0</Version>
+        <Version>0.33.0</Version>
 
         <!-- These are set at the project level-->
         <IsPackable>false</IsPackable>
diff --git a/service/Abstractions/Constants.cs b/service/Abstractions/Constants.cs
index a15453a58..5dfb4ad2e 100644
--- a/service/Abstractions/Constants.cs
+++ b/service/Abstractions/Constants.cs
@@ -22,9 +22,6 @@ public static class Constants
     // Internal file used to track progress of asynchronous pipelines
     public const string PipelineStatusFilename = "__pipeline_status.json";
 
-    // Index name used when none is specified
-    public const string DefaultIndex = "default";
-
     // Tags settings
     public const char ReservedEqualsChar = ':';
     public const string ReservedTagsPrefix = "__";
diff --git a/service/Abstractions/Models/DocumentUploadRequest.cs b/service/Abstractions/Models/DocumentUploadRequest.cs
index c52bcb9fb..cc534c752 100644
--- a/service/Abstractions/Models/DocumentUploadRequest.cs
+++ b/service/Abstractions/Models/DocumentUploadRequest.cs
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ public DocumentUploadRequest()
     /// <param name="steps">How to process the files, e.g. how to extract/chunk etc.</param>
     public DocumentUploadRequest(Document document, string? index = null, IEnumerable<string>? steps = null)
     {
-        this.Index = IndexExtensions.CleanName(index);
+        this.Index = index ?? string.Empty;
         this.Steps = steps?.ToList() ?? new List<string>();
 
         this.DocumentId = document.Id;
diff --git a/service/Abstractions/Models/IndexExtensions.cs b/service/Abstractions/Models/IndexExtensions.cs
deleted file mode 100644
index 30a01d220..000000000
--- a/service/Abstractions/Models/IndexExtensions.cs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,14 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright (c) Microsoft. All rights reserved.
-
-namespace Microsoft.KernelMemory;
-
-public static class IndexExtensions
-{
-    public static string CleanName(string? name)
-    {
-        if (name == null) { return Constants.DefaultIndex; }
-
-        name = name.Trim();
-        return string.IsNullOrEmpty(name) ? Constants.DefaultIndex : name;
-    }
-}
diff --git a/service/Abstractions/Models/MemoryQuery.cs b/service/Abstractions/Models/MemoryQuery.cs
index d2ced508e..079536f57 100644
--- a/service/Abstractions/Models/MemoryQuery.cs
+++ b/service/Abstractions/Models/MemoryQuery.cs
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ public class MemoryQuery
 {
     [JsonPropertyName("index")]
     [JsonPropertyOrder(0)]
-    public string Index { get; set; } = string.Empty;
+    public string? Index { get; set; } = string.Empty;
 
     [JsonPropertyName("question")]
     [JsonPropertyOrder(1)]
diff --git a/service/Abstractions/Models/SearchQuery.cs b/service/Abstractions/Models/SearchQuery.cs
index a597396ea..642a17bec 100644
--- a/service/Abstractions/Models/SearchQuery.cs
+++ b/service/Abstractions/Models/SearchQuery.cs
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ public class SearchQuery
 {
     [JsonPropertyName("index")]
     [JsonPropertyOrder(0)]
-    public string Index { get; set; } = string.Empty;
+    public string? Index { get; set; } = string.Empty;
 
     [JsonPropertyName("query")]
     [JsonPropertyOrder(1)]
diff --git a/service/Abstractions/Pipeline/DataPipeline.cs b/service/Abstractions/Pipeline/DataPipeline.cs
index cf1459b58..0bee2c748 100644
--- a/service/Abstractions/Pipeline/DataPipeline.cs
+++ b/service/Abstractions/Pipeline/DataPipeline.cs
@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@ namespace Microsoft.KernelMemory.Pipeline;
 /// </summary>
 public sealed class DataPipeline
 {
-    private string _index = string.Empty;
-
     [JsonConverter(typeof(JsonStringEnumConverter))]
     public enum ArtifactTypes
     {
@@ -210,11 +208,7 @@ public string GetHandlerOutputFileName(IPipelineStepHandler handler, int index =
     /// </summary>
     [JsonPropertyOrder(0)]
     [JsonPropertyName("index")]
-    public string Index
-    {
-        get { return this._index; }
-        set { this._index = IndexExtensions.CleanName(value); }
-    }
+    public string Index { get; set; } = string.Empty;
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Id of the document and the pipeline instance.
diff --git a/service/Core/Configuration/KernelMemoryConfig.cs b/service/Core/Configuration/KernelMemoryConfig.cs
index 663495d67..559bbf517 100644
--- a/service/Core/Configuration/KernelMemoryConfig.cs
+++ b/service/Core/Configuration/KernelMemoryConfig.cs
@@ -127,6 +127,11 @@ public class RetrievalConfig
     /// </summary>
     public string TextGeneratorType { get; set; } = string.Empty;
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Name of the index to use when none is specified.
+    /// </summary>
+    public string DefaultIndexName { get; set; } = "default";
+
     /// <summary>
     /// HTTP service authorization settings.
     /// </summary>
diff --git a/service/Core/KernelMemoryBuilder.cs b/service/Core/KernelMemoryBuilder.cs
index 190058756..8aeeeda1d 100644
--- a/service/Core/KernelMemoryBuilder.cs
+++ b/service/Core/KernelMemoryBuilder.cs
@@ -212,8 +212,7 @@ private MemoryServerless BuildServerlessClient()
     {
         try
         {
-            var serviceProvider = this._memoryServiceCollection.BuildServiceProvider();
-
+            ServiceProvider serviceProvider = this._memoryServiceCollection.BuildServiceProvider();
             this.CompleteServerlessClient(serviceProvider);
 
             // In case the user didn't set the embedding generator and memory DB to use for ingestion, use the values set for retrieval
@@ -261,16 +260,11 @@ private MemoryService BuildAsyncClient()
         // In case the user didn't set the embedding generator and memory DB to use for ingestion, use the values set for retrieval
         this.ReuseRetrievalEmbeddingGeneratorIfNecessary(serviceProvider);
         this.ReuseRetrievalMemoryDbIfNecessary(serviceProvider);
+        this.CheckForMissingDependencies();
 
         // Recreate the service provider, in order to have the latest dependencies just configured
         serviceProvider = this._memoryServiceCollection.BuildServiceProvider();
-
-        var orchestrator = serviceProvider.GetService<DistributedPipelineOrchestrator>() ?? throw new ConfigurationException("Unable to build orchestrator");
-        var searchClient = serviceProvider.GetService<ISearchClient>() ?? throw new ConfigurationException("Unable to build search client");
-
-        this.CheckForMissingDependencies();
-
-        return new MemoryService(orchestrator, searchClient);
+        return ActivatorUtilities.CreateInstance<MemoryService>(serviceProvider);
     }
 
     private KernelMemoryBuilder CompleteServerlessClient(ServiceProvider serviceProvider)
diff --git a/service/Core/MemoryServerless.cs b/service/Core/MemoryServerless.cs
index 687674cf5..4d90aaab2 100644
--- a/service/Core/MemoryServerless.cs
+++ b/service/Core/MemoryServerless.cs
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
 using Microsoft.KernelMemory.Configuration;
 using Microsoft.KernelMemory.Diagnostics;
+using Microsoft.KernelMemory.Models;
 using Microsoft.KernelMemory.Pipeline;
 using Microsoft.KernelMemory.Search;
 
@@ -24,8 +25,8 @@ namespace Microsoft.KernelMemory;
 public class MemoryServerless : IKernelMemory
 {
     private readonly ISearchClient _searchClient;
-
     private readonly InProcessPipelineOrchestrator _orchestrator;
+    private readonly string? _defaultIndexName;
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Synchronous orchestrator used by the serverless memory.
@@ -39,10 +40,15 @@ public class MemoryServerless : IKernelMemory
 
     public MemoryServerless(
         InProcessPipelineOrchestrator orchestrator,
-        ISearchClient searchClient)
+        ISearchClient searchClient,
+        KernelMemoryConfig? config = null)
     {
         this._orchestrator = orchestrator ?? throw new ConfigurationException("The orchestrator is NULL");
         this._searchClient = searchClient ?? throw new ConfigurationException("The search client is NULL");
+
+        // A non-null config object is required in order to get a non-empty default index name
+        config ??= new KernelMemoryConfig();
+        this._defaultIndexName = config.DefaultIndexName;
     }
 
     /// <inheritdoc />
@@ -75,7 +81,7 @@ public Task<string> ImportDocumentAsync(
         DocumentUploadRequest uploadRequest,
         CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
-        var index = IndexExtensions.CleanName(uploadRequest.Index);
+        var index = IndexName.CleanName(uploadRequest.Index, this._defaultIndexName);
         return this._orchestrator.ImportDocumentAsync(index, uploadRequest, cancellationToken);
     }
 
@@ -147,12 +153,14 @@ public async Task<IEnumerable<IndexDetails>> ListIndexesAsync(CancellationToken
     /// <inheritdoc />
     public Task DeleteIndexAsync(string? index = null, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
+        index = IndexName.CleanName(index, this._defaultIndexName);
         return this._orchestrator.StartIndexDeletionAsync(index: index, cancellationToken);
     }
 
     /// <inheritdoc />
     public Task DeleteDocumentAsync(string documentId, string? index = null, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
+        index = IndexName.CleanName(index, this._defaultIndexName);
         return this._orchestrator.StartDocumentDeletionAsync(documentId: documentId, index: index, cancellationToken);
     }
 
@@ -162,7 +170,7 @@ public async Task<bool> IsDocumentReadyAsync(
         string? index = null,
         CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
-        index = IndexExtensions.CleanName(index);
+        index = IndexName.CleanName(index, this._defaultIndexName);
         return await this._orchestrator.IsDocumentReadyAsync(index: index, documentId, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
     }
 
@@ -172,7 +180,7 @@ public async Task<bool> IsDocumentReadyAsync(
         string? index = null,
         CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
-        index = IndexExtensions.CleanName(index);
+        index = IndexName.CleanName(index, this._defaultIndexName);
         try
         {
             DataPipeline? pipeline = await this._orchestrator.ReadPipelineStatusAsync(index: index, documentId, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
@@ -201,7 +209,7 @@ public Task<SearchResult> SearchAsync(
             filters.Add(filter);
         }
 
-        index = IndexExtensions.CleanName(index);
+        index = IndexName.CleanName(index, this._defaultIndexName);
         return this._searchClient.SearchAsync(
             index: index,
             query: query,
@@ -227,7 +235,7 @@ public Task<MemoryAnswer> AskAsync(
             filters.Add(filter);
         }
 
-        index = IndexExtensions.CleanName(index);
+        index = IndexName.CleanName(index, this._defaultIndexName);
         return this._searchClient.AskAsync(
             index: index,
             question: question,
diff --git a/service/Core/MemoryService.cs b/service/Core/MemoryService.cs
index 16250a935..b7267c060 100644
--- a/service/Core/MemoryService.cs
+++ b/service/Core/MemoryService.cs
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
 using Microsoft.KernelMemory.Configuration;
 using Microsoft.KernelMemory.Diagnostics;
+using Microsoft.KernelMemory.Models;
 using Microsoft.KernelMemory.Pipeline;
 using Microsoft.KernelMemory.Search;
 
@@ -19,13 +20,19 @@ public class MemoryService : IKernelMemory
 {
     private readonly IPipelineOrchestrator _orchestrator;
     private readonly ISearchClient _searchClient;
+    private readonly string? _defaultIndexName;
 
     public MemoryService(
         IPipelineOrchestrator orchestrator,
-        ISearchClient searchClient)
+        ISearchClient searchClient,
+        KernelMemoryConfig? config = null)
     {
         this._orchestrator = orchestrator ?? throw new ConfigurationException("The orchestrator is NULL");
         this._searchClient = searchClient ?? throw new ConfigurationException("The search client is NULL");
+
+        // A non-null config object is required in order to get a non-empty default index name
+        config ??= new KernelMemoryConfig();
+        this._defaultIndexName = config.DefaultIndexName;
     }
 
     /// <inheritdoc />
@@ -58,7 +65,7 @@ public Task<string> ImportDocumentAsync(
         DocumentUploadRequest uploadRequest,
         CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
-        var index = IndexExtensions.CleanName(uploadRequest.Index);
+        var index = IndexName.CleanName(uploadRequest.Index, this._defaultIndexName);
         return this._orchestrator.ImportDocumentAsync(index, uploadRequest, cancellationToken);
     }
 
@@ -131,12 +138,14 @@ public async Task<IEnumerable<IndexDetails>> ListIndexesAsync(CancellationToken
     /// <inheritdoc />
     public Task DeleteIndexAsync(string? index = null, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
+        index = IndexName.CleanName(index, this._defaultIndexName);
         return this._orchestrator.StartIndexDeletionAsync(index: index, cancellationToken);
     }
 
     /// <inheritdoc />
     public Task DeleteDocumentAsync(string documentId, string? index = null, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
+        index = IndexName.CleanName(index, this._defaultIndexName);
         return this._orchestrator.StartDocumentDeletionAsync(documentId: documentId, index: index, cancellationToken);
     }
 
@@ -146,7 +155,7 @@ public Task<bool> IsDocumentReadyAsync(
         string? index = null,
         CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
-        index = IndexExtensions.CleanName(index);
+        index = IndexName.CleanName(index, this._defaultIndexName);
         return this._orchestrator.IsDocumentReadyAsync(index: index, documentId, cancellationToken);
     }
 
@@ -156,7 +165,7 @@ public Task<bool> IsDocumentReadyAsync(
         string? index = null,
         CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
-        index = IndexExtensions.CleanName(index);
+        index = IndexName.CleanName(index, this._defaultIndexName);
         return this._orchestrator.ReadPipelineSummaryAsync(index: index, documentId, cancellationToken);
     }
 
@@ -177,7 +186,7 @@ public Task<SearchResult> SearchAsync(
             filters.Add(filter);
         }
 
-        index = IndexExtensions.CleanName(index);
+        index = IndexName.CleanName(index, this._defaultIndexName);
         return this._searchClient.SearchAsync(
             index: index,
             query: query,
@@ -203,7 +212,7 @@ public Task<MemoryAnswer> AskAsync(
             filters.Add(filter);
         }
 
-        index = IndexExtensions.CleanName(index);
+        index = IndexName.CleanName(index, this._defaultIndexName);
         return this._searchClient.AskAsync(
             index: index,
             question: question,
diff --git a/service/Core/MemoryStorage/DevTools/SimpleTextDb.cs b/service/Core/MemoryStorage/DevTools/SimpleTextDb.cs
index 11035af93..4ebd75924 100644
--- a/service/Core/MemoryStorage/DevTools/SimpleTextDb.cs
+++ b/service/Core/MemoryStorage/DevTools/SimpleTextDb.cs
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ private static string NormalizeIndexName(string index)
     {
         if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(index))
         {
-            index = Constants.DefaultIndex;
+            throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(index), "The index name is empty");
         }
 
         index = s_replaceIndexNameCharsRegex.Replace(index.Trim().ToLowerInvariant(), ValidSeparator);
diff --git a/service/Core/MemoryStorage/DevTools/SimpleVectorDb.cs b/service/Core/MemoryStorage/DevTools/SimpleVectorDb.cs
index 011ab1ad1..1ba4df624 100644
--- a/service/Core/MemoryStorage/DevTools/SimpleVectorDb.cs
+++ b/service/Core/MemoryStorage/DevTools/SimpleVectorDb.cs
@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ private static string NormalizeIndexName(string index)
     {
         if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(index))
         {
-            index = Constants.DefaultIndex;
+            throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(index), "The index name is empty");
         }
 
         index = s_replaceIndexNameCharsRegex.Replace(index.Trim().ToLowerInvariant(), ValidSeparator);
diff --git a/service/Core/Models/IndexName.cs b/service/Core/Models/IndexName.cs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..aa890a807
--- /dev/null
+++ b/service/Core/Models/IndexName.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+// Copyright (c) Microsoft. All rights reserved.
+
+using System;
+
+namespace Microsoft.KernelMemory.Models;
+
+public static class IndexName
+{
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Clean the index name, returning a non empty value if possible
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="name">Input index name</param>
+    /// <param name="defaultName">Default value to fall back when input is empty</param>
+    /// <returns>Non empty index name</returns>
+    public static string CleanName(string? name, string? defaultName)
+    {
+        if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(name) && string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(defaultName))
+        {
+            throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(defaultName),
+                "Both index name and default fallback value are empty. Provide an index name or a default value to use when the index name is empty.");
+        }
+
+        defaultName = defaultName?.Trim() ?? string.Empty;
+        if (name == null) { return defaultName; }
+
+        name = name.Trim();
+        return string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(name) ? defaultName : name;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/service/Core/Pipeline/BaseOrchestrator.cs b/service/Core/Pipeline/BaseOrchestrator.cs
index af8787145..79058954c 100644
--- a/service/Core/Pipeline/BaseOrchestrator.cs
+++ b/service/Core/Pipeline/BaseOrchestrator.cs
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 using Microsoft.KernelMemory.Diagnostics;
 using Microsoft.KernelMemory.FileSystem.DevTools;
 using Microsoft.KernelMemory.MemoryStorage;
+using Microsoft.KernelMemory.Models;
 
 namespace Microsoft.KernelMemory.Pipeline;
 
@@ -26,6 +27,7 @@ public abstract class BaseOrchestrator : IPipelineOrchestrator, IDisposable
     private readonly List<string> _defaultIngestionSteps;
     private readonly IContentStorage _contentStorage;
     private readonly IMimeTypeDetection _mimeTypeDetection;
+    private readonly string? _defaultIndexName;
 
     protected ILogger<BaseOrchestrator> Log { get; private set; }
     protected CancellationTokenSource CancellationTokenSource { get; private set; }
@@ -48,6 +50,7 @@ protected BaseOrchestrator(
         this._embeddingGenerators = embeddingGenerators;
         this._memoryDbs = memoryDbs;
         this._textGenerator = textGenerator;
+        this._defaultIndexName = config?.DefaultIndexName;
 
         this._mimeTypeDetection = mimeTypeDetection ?? new MimeTypesDetection();
         this.CancellationTokenSource = new CancellationTokenSource();
@@ -80,6 +83,8 @@ public async Task<string> ImportDocumentAsync(string index, DocumentUploadReques
     {
         this.Log.LogInformation("Queueing upload of {0} files for further processing [request {1}]", uploadRequest.Files.Count, uploadRequest.DocumentId);
 
+        index = IndexName.CleanName(index, this._defaultIndexName);
+
         var pipeline = this.PrepareNewDocumentUpload(
             index: index,
             documentId: uploadRequest.DocumentId,
@@ -122,6 +127,8 @@ public DataPipeline PrepareNewDocumentUpload(
         TagCollection tags,
         IEnumerable<DocumentUploadRequest.UploadedFile>? filesToUpload = null)
     {
+        index = IndexName.CleanName(index, this._defaultIndexName);
+
         filesToUpload ??= new List<DocumentUploadRequest.UploadedFile>();
 
         var pipeline = new DataPipeline
@@ -140,7 +147,7 @@ public DataPipeline PrepareNewDocumentUpload(
     ///<inheritdoc />
     public async Task<DataPipeline?> ReadPipelineStatusAsync(string index, string documentId, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
-        index = IndexExtensions.CleanName(index);
+        index = IndexName.CleanName(index, this._defaultIndexName);
 
         try
         {
@@ -170,6 +177,8 @@ public DataPipeline PrepareNewDocumentUpload(
     ///<inheritdoc />
     public async Task<DataPipelineStatus?> ReadPipelineSummaryAsync(string index, string documentId, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
+        index = IndexName.CleanName(index, this._defaultIndexName);
+
         try
         {
             DataPipeline? pipeline = await this.ReadPipelineStatusAsync(index: index, documentId: documentId, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
@@ -184,6 +193,8 @@ public DataPipeline PrepareNewDocumentUpload(
     ///<inheritdoc />
     public async Task<bool> IsDocumentReadyAsync(string index, string documentId, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
+        index = IndexName.CleanName(index, this._defaultIndexName);
+
         try
         {
             DataPipeline? pipeline = await this.ReadPipelineStatusAsync(index: index, documentId, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
@@ -205,24 +216,28 @@ public Task StopAllPipelinesAsync()
     ///<inheritdoc />
     public async Task<string> ReadTextFileAsync(DataPipeline pipeline, string fileName, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
+        pipeline.Index = IndexName.CleanName(pipeline.Index, this._defaultIndexName);
         return (await this.ReadFileAsync(pipeline, fileName, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false)).ToString();
     }
 
     ///<inheritdoc />
     public Task<BinaryData> ReadFileAsync(DataPipeline pipeline, string fileName, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
+        pipeline.Index = IndexName.CleanName(pipeline.Index, this._defaultIndexName);
         return this._contentStorage.ReadFileAsync(pipeline.Index, pipeline.DocumentId, fileName, true, cancellationToken);
     }
 
     ///<inheritdoc />
     public Task WriteTextFileAsync(DataPipeline pipeline, string fileName, string fileContent, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
+        pipeline.Index = IndexName.CleanName(pipeline.Index, this._defaultIndexName);
         return this.WriteFileAsync(pipeline, fileName, new BinaryData(fileContent), cancellationToken);
     }
 
     ///<inheritdoc />
     public Task WriteFileAsync(DataPipeline pipeline, string fileName, BinaryData fileContent, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
+        pipeline.Index = IndexName.CleanName(pipeline.Index, this._defaultIndexName);
         return this._contentStorage.WriteFileAsync(pipeline.Index, pipeline.DocumentId, fileName, fileContent.ToStream(), cancellationToken);
     }
 
@@ -250,6 +265,7 @@ public ITextGenerator GetTextGenerator()
     ///<inheritdoc />
     public Task StartIndexDeletionAsync(string? index = null, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
+        index = IndexName.CleanName(index, this._defaultIndexName);
         DataPipeline pipeline = PrepareIndexDeletion(index: index);
         return this.RunPipelineAsync(pipeline, cancellationToken);
     }
@@ -257,6 +273,7 @@ public Task StartIndexDeletionAsync(string? index = null, CancellationToken canc
     ///<inheritdoc />
     public Task StartDocumentDeletionAsync(string documentId, string? index = null, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
+        index = IndexName.CleanName(index, this._defaultIndexName);
         DataPipeline pipeline = PrepareDocumentDeletion(index: index, documentId: documentId);
         return this.RunPipelineAsync(pipeline, cancellationToken);
     }
diff --git a/service/Service/ServiceConfiguration.cs b/service/Service/ServiceConfiguration.cs
index b98812da1..eace5268b 100644
--- a/service/Service/ServiceConfiguration.cs
+++ b/service/Service/ServiceConfiguration.cs
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ private IKernelMemoryBuilder BuildUsingConfiguration(IKernelMemoryBuilder builde
         }
 
         // Required by ctors expecting KernelMemoryConfig via DI
-        builder.AddSingleton(this._memoryConfiguration);
+        builder.AddSingleton<KernelMemoryConfig>(this._memoryConfiguration);
 
         this.ConfigureMimeTypeDetectionDependency(builder);
 
diff --git a/service/Service/WebAPIEndpoints.cs b/service/Service/WebAPIEndpoints.cs
index 658952ec0..2fc1231f5 100644
--- a/service/Service/WebAPIEndpoints.cs
+++ b/service/Service/WebAPIEndpoints.cs
@@ -260,8 +260,6 @@ async Task<IResult> (
                     CancellationToken cancellationToken) =>
                 {
                     log.LogTrace("New document status HTTP request");
-                    index = IndexExtensions.CleanName(index);
-
                     if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(documentId))
                     {
                         return Results.Problem(detail: $"'{Constants.WebServiceDocumentIdField}' query parameter is missing or has no value", statusCode: 400);
diff --git a/service/Service/appsettings.json b/service/Service/appsettings.json
index 6483c2868..40ed6a544 100644
--- a/service/Service/appsettings.json
+++ b/service/Service/appsettings.json
@@ -96,6 +96,8 @@
     "ContentStorageType": "SimpleFileStorage",
     // "AzureOpenAIText", "OpenAI" or "LlamaSharp"
     "TextGeneratorType": "",
+    // Name of the index to use when none is specified
+    "DefaultIndexName": "default",
     // Data ingestion pipelines configuration.
     "DataIngestion": {
       // - InProcess: in process .NET orchestrator, synchronous/no queues
@@ -276,9 +278,7 @@
         // Qdrant endpoint
         "Endpoint": "http://127.0.0.1:6333",
         // Qdrant API key, e.g. when using Qdrant cloud
-        "APIKey": "",
-        // Name of the default KM index/Qdrant collection, when none is specified
-        "DefaultIndex": "default"
+        "APIKey": ""
       },
       "Redis": {
         // Redis connection string, e.g. "localhost:6379,password=..."
diff --git a/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/DefaultTestCases/DocumentUploadTest.cs b/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/DefaultTestCases/DocumentUploadTest.cs
index f8c1fa377..3aa88dd02 100644
--- a/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/DefaultTestCases/DocumentUploadTest.cs
+++ b/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/DefaultTestCases/DocumentUploadTest.cs
@@ -16,10 +16,12 @@ await memory.ImportDocumentAsync(
             documentId: Id,
             steps: Constants.PipelineWithoutSummary);
 
+        var count = 0;
         while (!await memory.IsDocumentReadyAsync(documentId: Id))
         {
+            Assert.True(count++ <= 30, "Document import timed out");
             log("Waiting for memory ingestion to complete...");
-            await Task.Delay(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(2));
+            await Task.Delay(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1));
         }
 
         // Act
diff --git a/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/DefaultTestCases/IndexListTest.cs b/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/DefaultTestCases/IndexListTest.cs
index 9275b1eef..128740424 100644
--- a/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/DefaultTestCases/IndexListTest.cs
+++ b/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/DefaultTestCases/IndexListTest.cs
@@ -21,20 +21,27 @@ public static async Task ItNormalizesIndexNames(IKernelMemory memory, Action<str
         await memory.DeleteIndexAsync(indexNameWithUnderscores);
     }
 
-    public static async Task ItUsesDefaultIndexName(IKernelMemory memory, Action<string> log)
+    public static async Task ItUsesDefaultIndexName(IKernelMemory memory, Action<string> log, string expectedDefault)
     {
         // Arrange
         string emptyIndexName = string.Empty;
 
         // Act
-        await memory.ImportTextAsync("something", index: emptyIndexName);
+        var id = await memory.ImportTextAsync("something", index: emptyIndexName);
+        var count = 0;
+        while (!await memory.IsDocumentReadyAsync(id))
+        {
+            Assert.True(count++ <= 30, "Document import timed out");
+            await Task.Delay(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1));
+        }
+
         var list = (await memory.ListIndexesAsync()).ToList();
 
         // Clean up before exceptions can occur
         await memory.DeleteIndexAsync(emptyIndexName);
 
         // Assert
-        Assert.True(list.Any(x => x.Name == "default"));
+        Assert.True(list.Any(x => x.Name == expectedDefault));
     }
 
     public static async Task ItListsIndexes(IKernelMemory memory, Action<string> log)
diff --git a/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/Models/IndexNameTest.cs b/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/Models/IndexNameTest.cs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a42c37021
--- /dev/null
+++ b/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/Models/IndexNameTest.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+// Copyright (c) Microsoft. All rights reserved.
+
+using Microsoft.KernelMemory;
+using Microsoft.KernelMemory.Models;
+
+namespace FunctionalTests.Models;
+
+public class IndexNameTest
+{
+    [Theory]
+    [Trait("Category", "UnitTest")]
+    [InlineData(null, "abc", "abc")]
+    [InlineData("", "bcd", "bcd")]
+    [InlineData("   ", "cde", "cde")]
+    [InlineData("   ", " def  ", "def")]
+    [InlineData(" \n  ", "cde", "cde")]
+    [InlineData(" \r  ", " def  ", "def")]
+    [InlineData(" \t  ", " def  ", "def")]
+    [InlineData("123", null, "123")]
+    [InlineData("123", "", "123")]
+    [InlineData("234", "xyz", "234")]
+    [InlineData(" 345    ", "xyz", "345")]
+    [InlineData(" 456    ", "    xyz    ", "456")]
+    public void ItReturnsExpectedIndexName(string? name, string defaultName, string expected)
+    {
+        Assert.Equal(expected, IndexName.CleanName(name, defaultName));
+    }
+
+    [Theory]
+    [Trait("Category", "UnitTest")]
+    [InlineData(null, null)]
+    [InlineData(null, "")]
+    [InlineData("", null)]
+    [InlineData("", "")]
+    [InlineData("     ", "")]
+    [InlineData("", "     ")]
+    [InlineData("   ", "   ")]
+    [InlineData(" \n  ", "   ")]
+    [InlineData(" ", " \n  ")]
+    [InlineData(" \r  ", "   ")]
+    [InlineData(" ", " \r  ")]
+    [InlineData(" \t  ", "   ")]
+    [InlineData(" ", " \t  ")]
+    public void ItThrowsIfIndexNameCannotBeCalculated(string? name, string defaultName)
+    {
+        Assert.Throws<ArgumentNullException>(() => IndexName.CleanName(name, defaultName));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/ServerLess/OpenAIDependencyInjectionTest.cs b/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/ServerLess/OpenAIDependencyInjectionTest.cs
index 298fa6419..235f13166 100644
--- a/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/ServerLess/OpenAIDependencyInjectionTest.cs
+++ b/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/ServerLess/OpenAIDependencyInjectionTest.cs
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ public async Task TestExtensionMethod1()
 
         // Assert
         var answer = await memory.AskAsync("What year is it?");
+        Console.WriteLine(answer.Result);
         Assert.Contains("2099", answer.Result);
     }
 
diff --git a/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/VectorDbComparison/TestCosineSimilarity.cs b/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/VectorDbComparison/TestCosineSimilarity.cs
index f01e58ce0..a4cfc149e 100644
--- a/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/VectorDbComparison/TestCosineSimilarity.cs
+++ b/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/VectorDbComparison/TestCosineSimilarity.cs
@@ -42,10 +42,13 @@ public async Task CompareCosineSimilarity()
         var postgres = new PostgresMemory(this.PostgresConfig, embeddingGenerator);
         var simpleVecDb = new SimpleVectorDb(this.SimpleVectorDbConfig, embeddingGenerator);
 
-        // TODO: revisit RedisMemory not to need this, e.g. not to connect in ctor
-        IConnectionMultiplexer redisMux;
-        if (RedisEnabled) { redisMux = await ConnectionMultiplexer.ConnectAsync(this.RedisConfig.ConnectionString); }
-        var redis = new RedisMemory(this.RedisConfig, redisMux, embeddingGenerator);
+        RedisMemory? redis = null;
+        if (RedisEnabled)
+        {
+            // TODO: revisit RedisMemory not to need this, e.g. not to connect in ctor
+            var redisMux = await ConnectionMultiplexer.ConnectAsync(this.RedisConfig.ConnectionString);
+            redis = new RedisMemory(this.RedisConfig, redisMux, embeddingGenerator);
+        }
 
         // == Delete indexes left over
 
diff --git a/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/appsettings.json b/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/appsettings.json
index 957a1ef1c..40099880b 100644
--- a/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/appsettings.json
+++ b/service/tests/Core.FunctionalTests/appsettings.json
@@ -28,8 +28,7 @@
       },
       "Qdrant": {
         "Endpoint": "http://127.0.0.1:6333",
-        "APIKey": "",
-        "DefaultIndex": "default"
+        "APIKey": ""
       },
       "Redis": {
         // Redis connection string, e.g. "localhost:6379,password=..."
diff --git a/service/tests/Service.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs b/service/tests/Service.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs
index ca05df2a0..907c70abb 100644
--- a/service/tests/Service.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs
+++ b/service/tests/Service.FunctionalTests/DefaultTests.cs
@@ -58,6 +58,13 @@ public async Task ItNormalizesIndexNames()
         await IndexListTest.ItNormalizesIndexNames(this._memory, this.Log);
     }
 
+    [Fact]
+    [Trait("Category", "WebService")]
+    public async Task ItUsesDefaultIndexName()
+    {
+        await IndexListTest.ItUsesDefaultIndexName(this._memory, this.Log, "default");
+    }
+
     [Fact]
     [Trait("Category", "WebService")]
     public async Task ItDeletesIndexes()
diff --git a/service/tests/Service.FunctionalTests/appsettings.json b/service/tests/Service.FunctionalTests/appsettings.json
index 5574dd021..701771a54 100644
--- a/service/tests/Service.FunctionalTests/appsettings.json
+++ b/service/tests/Service.FunctionalTests/appsettings.json
@@ -20,8 +20,7 @@
       },
       "Qdrant": {
         "Endpoint": "http://127.0.0.1:6333",
-        "APIKey": "",
-        "DefaultIndex": "default"
+        "APIKey": ""
       },
       "AzureOpenAIText": {
         // "ApiKey" or "AzureIdentity"