**Description** - .NET 9+ GZipStream produces 0 bytes for empty responses, breaking gRPC communication when gzip compression is enabled - Standard GZipStream does not write valid gzip header/footer for empty content, causing decompression failures - Custom compression provider needed to handle edge case of empty response bodies **Deliverables** - **Custom Provider**: Implement GzipCompressionProvider with EmptyContentHandlingGzipStream that writes RFC 1952 compliant gzip format for empty content - **Test Coverage**: Add comprehensive unit tests validating empty content handling on Dispose/Flush and non-empty round-trip compression - **Integration**: Update gRPC compression configuration in API and cluster startup to use custom provider instead of default implementation