diff --git a/compute/src/main/java/org/zstack/compute/host/HostGlobalConfig.java b/compute/src/main/java/org/zstack/compute/host/HostGlobalConfig.java
index b13f95673c..22af03fef5 100755
--- a/compute/src/main/java/org/zstack/compute/host/HostGlobalConfig.java
+++ b/compute/src/main/java/org/zstack/compute/host/HostGlobalConfig.java
@@ -56,6 +56,14 @@ public class HostGlobalConfig {
     @GlobalConfigValidation(numberGreaterThan = 1)
     public static GlobalConfig SYNC_HOST_HW_MONITOR_INTERVAL = new GlobalConfig(CATEGORY, "sync.host.hw.monitor.interval");
 
+    @GlobalConfigValidation(numberGreaterThan = -1)
+    @GlobalConfigDef(type = Integer.class, defaultValue = "30", description = "max jitter in seconds added to host reconnect initial delay to prevent thundering herd in large-scale environments")
+    public static GlobalConfig RECONNECT_JITTER_MAX_SECONDS = new GlobalConfig(CATEGORY, "connection.reconnectJitterMaxSeconds");
+
+    @GlobalConfigValidation(numberGreaterThan = 0)
+    @GlobalConfigDef(type = Integer.class, defaultValue = "100", description = "max number of concurrent host reconnect operations to prevent overwhelming the management node")
+    public static GlobalConfig RECONNECT_MAX_CONCURRENCY = new GlobalConfig(CATEGORY, "connection.reconnectMaxConcurrency");
+
     @GlobalConfigValidation
     @GlobalConfigDef(type = String.class, defaultValue = "10501:10999", description = "nbd port range")
     public static GlobalConfig NBD_PORT_RANGE = new GlobalConfig(CATEGORY, "nbd.port.range");
diff --git a/compute/src/main/java/org/zstack/compute/host/HostTrackImpl.java b/compute/src/main/java/org/zstack/compute/host/HostTrackImpl.java
index 48ed6a7dc4..50be711885 100755
--- a/compute/src/main/java/org/zstack/compute/host/HostTrackImpl.java
+++ b/compute/src/main/java/org/zstack/compute/host/HostTrackImpl.java
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 import javax.persistence.Tuple;
 import java.util.*;
 import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
+import java.util.concurrent.Semaphore;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;
 import java.util.stream.Collectors;
@@ -56,6 +57,9 @@ public class HostTrackImpl implements HostTracker, ManagementNodeChangeListener,
 
     private Map<String, AtomicInteger> hostDisconnectCount = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
 
+    private static final Random reconnectJitterRandom = new Random();
+    private volatile Semaphore reconnectSemaphore = new Semaphore(HostGlobalConfig.RECONNECT_MAX_CONCURRENCY.defaultValue(Integer.class), true);
+
     @Override
     public void managementNodeReady() {
         reScanHost();
@@ -69,6 +73,12 @@ enum ReconnectDecision {
     }
 
     private void reconnectNow(String uuid, Completion completion) {
+        if (!reconnectSemaphore.tryAcquire()) {
+            logger.debug(String.format("[Host Tracker]: reconnect concurrency limit reached, deferring reconnect for host[uuid:%s]", uuid));
+            completion.success();
+            return;
+        }
+
         ReconnectHostMsg msg = new ReconnectHostMsg();
         msg.setHostUuid(uuid);
         msg.setSkipIfHostConnected(true);
@@ -76,6 +86,7 @@ private void reconnectNow(String uuid, Completion completion) {
         bus.send(msg, new CloudBusCallBack(completion) {
             @Override
             public void run(MessageReply reply) {
+                reconnectSemaphore.release();
                 if (reply.isSuccess()) {
                     completion.success();
                 } else {
@@ -267,7 +278,14 @@ public void trackHost(String hostUuid) {
         if (CoreGlobalProperty.UNIT_TEST_ON && !alwaysStartRightNow) {
             t.start();
         } else {
-            t.startRightNow();
+            int jitterMaxSeconds = HostGlobalConfig.RECONNECT_JITTER_MAX_SECONDS.value(Integer.class);
+            if (jitterMaxSeconds > 0) {
+                int jitterSeconds = reconnectJitterRandom.nextInt(jitterMaxSeconds + 1);
+                logger.debug(String.format("starting tracking host[uuid:%s] with jitter delay %d seconds", hostUuid, jitterSeconds));
+                thdf.submitTimeoutTask(t, TimeUnit.SECONDS, jitterSeconds);
+            } else {
+                t.startRightNow();
+            }
         }
 
         logger.debug(String.format("starting tracking hosts[uuid:%s]", hostUuid));
@@ -357,6 +375,15 @@ public boolean start() {
         onHostStatusChange();
         onHostPingSkip();
 
+        // Initialize semaphore from live config (may differ from default at startup)
+        reconnectSemaphore = new Semaphore(HostGlobalConfig.RECONNECT_MAX_CONCURRENCY.value(Integer.class), true);
+
+        HostGlobalConfig.RECONNECT_MAX_CONCURRENCY.installUpdateExtension((oldConfig, newConfig) -> {
+            logger.debug(String.format("%s change from %s to %s, updating reconnect semaphore",
+                    oldConfig.getCanonicalName(), oldConfig.value(), newConfig.value()));
+            reconnectSemaphore = new Semaphore(newConfig.value(Integer.class), true);
+        });
+
         HostGlobalConfig.PING_HOST_INTERVAL.installUpdateExtension((oldConfig, newConfig) -> {
             logger.debug(String.format("%s change from %s to %s, restart host trackers",
                     oldConfig.getCanonicalName(), oldConfig.value(), newConfig.value()));