diff --git a/blockdev-nbd.c b/blockdev-nbd.c
index d8443d235b..b264620b98 100644
--- a/blockdev-nbd.c
+++ b/blockdev-nbd.c
@@ -134,7 +134,12 @@ void nbd_server_start(SocketAddress *addr, const char *tls_creds,
     qio_net_listener_set_name(nbd_server->listener,
                               "nbd-listener");
 
-    if (qio_net_listener_open_sync(nbd_server->listener, addr, 1, errp) < 0) {
+    /*
+     * Because this server is persistent, a backlog of SOMAXCONN is
+     * better than trying to size it to max_connections.
+     */
+    if (qio_net_listener_open_sync(nbd_server->listener, addr, SOMAXCONN,
+                                   errp) < 0) {
         goto error;
     }
 
diff --git a/qemu-nbd.c b/qemu-nbd.c
index 608c63e82a..1a340ea485 100644
--- a/qemu-nbd.c
+++ b/qemu-nbd.c
@@ -964,8 +964,16 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 
     server = qio_net_listener_new();
     if (socket_activation == 0) {
+        int backlog;
+
+        if (persistent) {
+            backlog = SOMAXCONN;
+        } else {
+            backlog = MIN(shared, SOMAXCONN);
+        }
         saddr = nbd_build_socket_address(sockpath, bindto, port);
-        if (qio_net_listener_open_sync(server, saddr, 1, &local_err) < 0) {
+        if (qio_net_listener_open_sync(server, saddr, backlog,
+                                       &local_err) < 0) {
             object_unref(OBJECT(server));
             error_report_err(local_err);
             exit(EXIT_FAILURE);