diff --git a/bigchaindb/__init__.py b/bigchaindb/__init__.py
index 53e7fd2b..1df2551c 100644
--- a/bigchaindb/__init__.py
+++ b/bigchaindb/__init__.py
@@ -5,48 +5,24 @@ import os
 # PORT_NUMBER = reduce(lambda x, y: x * y, map(ord, 'BigchainDB')) % 2**16
 # basically, the port number is 9984
 
-
-_base_database_rethinkdb = {
+_database_rethinkdb = {
+    'backend': os.environ.get('BIGCHAINDB_DATABASE_BACKEND', 'rethinkdb'),
     'host': os.environ.get('BIGCHAINDB_DATABASE_HOST', 'localhost'),
     'port': int(os.environ.get('BIGCHAINDB_DATABASE_PORT', 28015)),
     'name': os.environ.get('BIGCHAINDB_DATABASE_NAME', 'bigchain'),
+    'connection_timeout': 5000,
+    'max_tries': 3,
 }
 
-# This might sound excessive, but having an order on the keys will
-# stress users (and us) less.
-_base_database_rethinkdb_keys = ('host', 'port', 'name')
-
-_base_database_mongodb = {
+_database_mongodb = {
+    'backend': os.environ.get('BIGCHAINDB_DATABASE_BACKEND', 'mongodb'),
     'host': os.environ.get('BIGCHAINDB_DATABASE_HOST', 'localhost'),
     'port': int(os.environ.get('BIGCHAINDB_DATABASE_PORT', 27017)),
     'name': os.environ.get('BIGCHAINDB_DATABASE_NAME', 'bigchain'),
     'replicaset': os.environ.get('BIGCHAINDB_DATABASE_REPLICASET', 'bigchain-rs'),
-    'ssl': bool(os.environ.get('BIGCHAINDB_DATABASE_SSL', False)),
-    'login': os.environ.get('BIGCHAINDB_DATABASE_LOGIN'),
-    'password': os.environ.get('BIGCHAINDB_DATABASE_PASSWORD')
-}
-
-_base_database_mongodb_keys = ('host', 'port', 'name', 'replicaset',
-                               'ssl', 'login', 'password')
-
-_database_rethinkdb = {
-    'backend': os.environ.get('BIGCHAINDB_DATABASE_BACKEND', 'rethinkdb'),
     'connection_timeout': 5000,
     'max_tries': 3,
 }
-_database_rethinkdb.update(_base_database_rethinkdb)
-
-_database_mongodb = {
-    'backend': os.environ.get('BIGCHAINDB_DATABASE_BACKEND', 'mongodb'),
-    'connection_timeout': 5000,
-    'max_tries': 3,
-}
-_database_mongodb.update(_base_database_mongodb)
-
-_database_keys_map = {
-    'mongodb': _base_database_mongodb_keys,
-    'rethinkdb': _base_database_rethinkdb_keys
-}
 
 _database_map = {
     'mongodb': _database_mongodb,
diff --git a/bigchaindb/commands/bigchain.py b/bigchaindb/commands/bigchain.py
index a5ec9c6a..efefa9d7 100644
--- a/bigchaindb/commands/bigchain.py
+++ b/bigchaindb/commands/bigchain.py
@@ -90,7 +90,6 @@ def run_configure(args, skip_if_exists=False):
     # select the correct config defaults based on the backend
     print('Generating default configuration for backend {}'
           .format(args.backend), file=sys.stderr)
-    database_keys = bigchaindb._database_keys_map[args.backend]
     conf['database'] = bigchaindb._database_map[args.backend]
 
     if not args.yes:
@@ -100,7 +99,7 @@ def run_configure(args, skip_if_exists=False):
                 input_on_stderr('API Server {}? (default `{}`): '.format(key, val)) \
                 or val
 
-        for key in database_keys:
+        for key in ('host', 'port', 'name'):
             val = conf['database'][key]
             conf['database'][key] = \
                 input_on_stderr('Database {}? (default `{}`): '.format(key, val)) \
diff --git a/tests/test_config_utils.py b/tests/test_config_utils.py
index d81f5f75..0fa5135b 100644
--- a/tests/test_config_utils.py
+++ b/tests/test_config_utils.py
@@ -19,15 +19,6 @@ def clean_config(monkeypatch, request):
     monkeypatch.setattr('bigchaindb.config', original_config)
 
 
-def test_ordered_keys_match_database_config():
-    import bigchaindb
-
-    assert set(bigchaindb._base_database_rethinkdb.keys()) ==\
-        set(bigchaindb._base_database_rethinkdb_keys)
-    assert set(bigchaindb._base_database_mongodb.keys()) ==\
-        set(bigchaindb._base_database_mongodb_keys)
-
-
 def test_bigchain_instance_is_initialized_when_conf_provided(request):
     import bigchaindb
     from bigchaindb import config_utils
@@ -190,9 +181,6 @@ def test_autoconfigure_read_both_from_file_and_env(monkeypatch, request):
         'connection_timeout': 5000,
         'max_tries': 3,
         'replicaset': 'bigchain-rs',
-        'ssl': False,
-        'login': None,
-        'password': None
     }
 
     database = {}