diff --git a/contrib/ansible/roles/k3s/master/templates/k3s.service.j2 b/contrib/ansible/roles/k3s/master/templates/k3s.service.j2
index 1d6c5d20f6..d0f7dcc0fd 100644
--- a/contrib/ansible/roles/k3s/master/templates/k3s.service.j2
+++ b/contrib/ansible/roles/k3s/master/templates/k3s.service.j2
@@ -10,7 +10,9 @@ ExecStartPre=-/sbin/modprobe overlay
 ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/k3s server {{ extra_server_args | default("") }}
 KillMode=process
 Delegate=yes
-LimitNOFILE=infinity
+# Having non-zero Limit*s causes performance problems due to accounting overhead
+# in the kernel. We recommend using cgroups to do container-local accounting.
+LimitNOFILE=1048576
 LimitNPROC=infinity
 LimitCORE=infinity
 TasksMax=infinity
diff --git a/contrib/ansible/roles/k3s/node/templates/k3s.service.j2 b/contrib/ansible/roles/k3s/node/templates/k3s.service.j2
index 76c927695e..cf491213d9 100644
--- a/contrib/ansible/roles/k3s/node/templates/k3s.service.j2
+++ b/contrib/ansible/roles/k3s/node/templates/k3s.service.j2
@@ -10,7 +10,9 @@ ExecStartPre=-/sbin/modprobe overlay
 ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/k3s agent --server https://{{ master_ip }}:6443 --token {{ hostvars[groups['master'][0]]['token'] }}
 KillMode=process
 Delegate=yes
-LimitNOFILE=infinity
+# Having non-zero Limit*s causes performance problems due to accounting overhead
+# in the kernel. We recommend using cgroups to do container-local accounting.
+LimitNOFILE=1048576
 LimitNPROC=infinity
 LimitCORE=infinity
 TasksMax=infinity
diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
index 942d21c22f..f72331b058 100755
--- a/install.sh
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -646,7 +646,9 @@ Type=${SYSTEMD_TYPE}
 EnvironmentFile=${FILE_K3S_ENV}
 KillMode=process
 Delegate=yes
-LimitNOFILE=infinity
+# Having non-zero Limit*s causes performance problems due to accounting overhead
+# in the kernel. We recommend using cgroups to do container-local accounting.
+LimitNOFILE=1048576
 LimitNPROC=infinity
 LimitCORE=infinity
 TasksMax=infinity
diff --git a/k3s.service b/k3s.service
index 94abfb771a..8da71c7d9c 100644
--- a/k3s.service
+++ b/k3s.service
@@ -9,7 +9,9 @@ EnvironmentFile=/etc/systemd/system/k3s.service.env
 ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/k3s server
 KillMode=process
 Delegate=yes
-LimitNOFILE=infinity
+# Having non-zero Limit*s causes performance problems due to accounting overhead
+# in the kernel. We recommend using cgroups to do container-local accounting.
+LimitNOFILE=1048576
 LimitNPROC=infinity
 LimitCORE=infinity
 TasksMax=infinity
diff --git a/package/rpm/install.sh b/package/rpm/install.sh
index ba9ec5345c..d4f8b6d047 100755
--- a/package/rpm/install.sh
+++ b/package/rpm/install.sh
@@ -670,7 +670,9 @@ Type=${SYSTEMD_TYPE}
 EnvironmentFile=${FILE_K3S_ENV}
 KillMode=process
 Delegate=yes
-LimitNOFILE=infinity
+# Having non-zero Limit*s causes performance problems due to accounting overhead
+# in the kernel. We recommend using cgroups to do container-local accounting.
+LimitNOFILE=1048576
 LimitNPROC=infinity
 LimitCORE=infinity
 TasksMax=infinity