diff --git a/net/ceph/messenger.c b/net/ceph/messenger.c
index 9764c771cfb1..559c9f619c20 100644
--- a/net/ceph/messenger.c
+++ b/net/ceph/messenger.c
@@ -292,7 +292,11 @@ int ceph_msgr_init(void)
 	if (ceph_msgr_slab_init())
 		return -ENOMEM;
 
-	ceph_msgr_wq = alloc_workqueue("ceph-msgr", 0, 0);
+	/*
+	 * The number of active work items is limited by the number of
+	 * connections, so leave @max_active at default.
+	 */
+	ceph_msgr_wq = alloc_workqueue("ceph-msgr", WQ_MEM_RECLAIM, 0);
 	if (ceph_msgr_wq)
 		return 0;