diff --git a/plugin/pulpcore/plugin/download/base.py b/plugin/pulpcore/plugin/download/base.py
index 0fe286a6fa..e366158e98 100644
--- a/plugin/pulpcore/plugin/download/base.py
+++ b/plugin/pulpcore/plugin/download/base.py
@@ -61,7 +61,8 @@ class BaseDownloader:
             ``custom_file_object`` option was specified, otherwise None.
     """
 
-    def __init__(self, url, custom_file_object=None, expected_digests=None, expected_size=None):
+    def __init__(self, url, custom_file_object=None, expected_digests=None, expected_size=None,
+                 semaphore=None):
         """
         Create a BaseDownloader object. This is expected to be called by all subclasses.
 
@@ -73,6 +74,8 @@ def __init__(self, url, custom_file_object=None, expected_digests=None, expected
             expected_digests (dict): Keyed on the algorithm name provided by hashlib and stores the
                 value of the expected digest. e.g. {'md5': '912ec803b2ce49e4a541068d495ab570'}
             expected_size (int): The number of bytes the download is expected to have.
+            semaphore (asyncio.Semaphore): A semaphore the downloader must acquire before running.
+                Useful for limiting the number of outstanding downloaders in various ways.
         """
         self.url = url
         if custom_file_object:
@@ -83,6 +86,10 @@ def __init__(self, url, custom_file_object=None, expected_digests=None, expected
             self.path = self._writer.name
         self.expected_digests = expected_digests
         self.expected_size = expected_size
+        if semaphore:
+            self.semaphore = semaphore
+        else:
+            self.semaphore = asyncio.Semaphore()  # This will always be acquired
         self._digests = {n: hashlib.new(n) for n in Artifact.DIGEST_FIELDS}
         self._size = 0
 
@@ -203,6 +210,9 @@ async def run(self):
         :class:`~pulpcore.plugin.download.DownloadResult` is usually set to the
         :attr:`~pulpcore.plugin.download.BaseDownloader.artifact_attributes` property value.
 
+        Additionally it is expected for the downloader to acquire self.semaphore before doing other
+        work. This allows the `semaphore` parameter to restricts the downloader as expected.
+
         Returns:
             :class:`~pulpcore.plugin.download.DownloadResult`
 
diff --git a/plugin/pulpcore/plugin/download/factory.py b/plugin/pulpcore/plugin/download/factory.py
index efeaba59a9..e354ed220b 100644
--- a/plugin/pulpcore/plugin/download/factory.py
+++ b/plugin/pulpcore/plugin/download/factory.py
@@ -1,10 +1,12 @@
-import aiohttp
+import asyncio
 import atexit
 import copy
 from gettext import gettext as _
 import ssl
 from urllib.parse import urlparse
 
+import aiohttp
+
 from .http import HttpDownloader
 from .file import FileDownloader
 
@@ -20,7 +22,8 @@ class DownloaderFactory:
     """
     A factory for creating downloader objects that are configured from with remote settings.
 
-    The DownloadFactory correctly handles SSL settings, basic auth settings, and proxy settings.
+    The DownloadFactory correctly handles SSL settings, basic auth settings, proxy settings, and
+    connection limit settings.
 
     It supports handling urls with the `http`, `https`, and `file` protocols. The
     ``downloader_overrides`` option allows the caller to specify the download class to be used for
@@ -38,6 +41,10 @@ class DownloaderFactory:
     http://aiohttp.readthedocs.io/en/stable/client_quickstart.html#timeouts Behaviorally, it should
     allow for an active download to be arbitrarily long, while still detecting dead or closed
     sessions even when TCPKeepAlive is disabled.
+
+    Also for http and https urls, even though HTTP 1.1 is used, the TCP connection is setup and
+    closed with each request. This is done for compatibility reasons due to various issues related
+    to session continuation implementation in various servers.
     """
 
     def __init__(self, remote, downloader_overrides=None):
@@ -57,16 +64,19 @@ def __init__(self, remote, downloader_overrides=None):
         self._handler_map = {'https': self._http_or_https, 'http': self._http_or_https,
                              'file': self._generic}
         self._session = self._make_aiohttp_session_from_remote()
+        self._semaphore = asyncio.Semaphore(value=remote.connection_limit)
         atexit.register(self._session.close)
 
     def _make_aiohttp_session_from_remote(self):
         """
         Build a :class:`aiohttp.ClientSession` from the remote's settings and timing settings.
 
+        This method is what provides the force_close of the TCP connection with each request.
+
         Returns:
             :class:`aiohttp.ClientSession`
         """
-        tcp_conn_opts = {}
+        tcp_conn_opts = {'force_close': True}
 
         sslcontext = None
         if self._remote.ssl_ca_certificate.name:
@@ -90,9 +100,6 @@ def _make_aiohttp_session_from_remote(self):
         if self._remote.ssl_validation:
             tcp_conn_opts['verify_ssl'] = self._remote.ssl_validation
 
-        if self._remote.connection_limit:
-            tcp_conn_opts['limit'] = self._remote.connection_limit
-
         conn = aiohttp.TCPConnector(**tcp_conn_opts)
 
         auth_options = {}
@@ -109,6 +116,8 @@ def build(self, url, **kwargs):
         """
         Build a downloader which can optionally verify integrity using either digest or size.
 
+        The built downloader also provides concurrency restriction if specified by the remote.
+
         Args:
             url (str): The download URL.
             kwargs (dict): All kwargs are passed along to the downloader. At a minimum, these
@@ -118,6 +127,7 @@ def build(self, url, **kwargs):
             subclass of :class:`~pulpcore.plugin.download.BaseDownloader`: A downloader that
             is configured with the remote settings.
         """
+        kwargs['semaphore'] = self._semaphore
         scheme = urlparse(url).scheme.lower()
         try:
             builder = self._handler_map[scheme]
diff --git a/plugin/pulpcore/plugin/download/file.py b/plugin/pulpcore/plugin/download/file.py
index 533da5b581..8966b7bdb8 100644
--- a/plugin/pulpcore/plugin/download/file.py
+++ b/plugin/pulpcore/plugin/download/file.py
@@ -36,18 +36,22 @@ async def run(self, extra_data=None):
         """
         Read, validate, and compute digests on the `url`. This is a coroutine.
 
+        This method supports restricting the number of concurrent downloaders by acquiring the
+        self.semaphore immediately before any downloading is done.
+
         This method provides the same return object type and documented in
         :meth:`~pulpcore.plugin.download.BaseDownloader.run`.
 
         Args:
             extra_data (dict): Extra data passed to the downloader.
         """
-        async with aiofiles.open(self._path, 'rb') as f_handle:
-            while True:
-                chunk = await f_handle.read(1048576)  # 1 megabyte
-                if not chunk:
-                    self.finalize()
-                    break  # the reading is done
-                self.handle_data(chunk)
-            return DownloadResult(path=self._path, artifact_attributes=self.artifact_attributes,
-                                  url=self.url)
+        async with self.semaphore:
+            async with aiofiles.open(self._path, 'rb') as f_handle:
+                while True:
+                    chunk = await f_handle.read(1048576)  # 1 megabyte
+                    if not chunk:
+                        self.finalize()
+                        break  # the reading is done
+                    self.handle_data(chunk)
+                return DownloadResult(path=self._path, artifact_attributes=self.artifact_attributes,
+                                      url=self.url)
diff --git a/plugin/pulpcore/plugin/download/http.py b/plugin/pulpcore/plugin/download/http.py
index 0ea975e57c..8857162e70 100644
--- a/plugin/pulpcore/plugin/download/http.py
+++ b/plugin/pulpcore/plugin/download/http.py
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 logging.getLogger('backoff').addHandler(logging.StreamHandler())
 
 
-def giveup(exc):
+def http_giveup(exc):
     """
     Inspect a raised exception and determine if we should give up.
 
@@ -54,6 +54,10 @@ class HttpDownloader(BaseDownloader):
     allow for an active download to be arbitrarily long, while still detecting dead or closed
     sessions even when TCPKeepAlive is disabled.
 
+    If a session is not provided, the one created will force TCP connection closure after each
+    request. This is done for compatibility reasons due to various issues related to session
+    continuation implementation in various servers.
+
     `aiohttp.ClientSession` objects allows you to configure options that will apply to all
     downloaders using that session such as auth, timeouts, headers, etc. For more info on these
     options see the `aiohttp.ClientSession` docs for more information:
@@ -128,7 +132,8 @@ def __init__(self, url, session=None, auth=None, proxy=None, proxy_auth=None,
             self._close_session_on_finalize = False
         else:
             timeout = aiohttp.ClientTimeout(total=None, sock_connect=600, sock_read=600)
-            self.session = aiohttp.ClientSession(timeout=timeout)
+            conn = aiohttp.TCPConnector({'force_close': True})
+            self.session = aiohttp.ClientSession(connector=conn, timeout=timeout)
             self._close_session_on_finalize = True
         self.auth = auth
         self.proxy = proxy
@@ -158,7 +163,8 @@ async def _handle_response(self, response):
         return DownloadResult(path=self.path, artifact_attributes=self.artifact_attributes,
                               url=self.url)
 
-    @backoff.on_exception(backoff.expo, aiohttp.ClientResponseError, max_tries=10, giveup=giveup)
+    @backoff.on_exception(backoff.expo, aiohttp.ClientResponseError,
+                          max_tries=10, giveup=http_giveup)
     async def run(self, extra_data=None):
         """
         Download, validate, and compute digests on the `url`. This is a coroutine.
@@ -167,16 +173,20 @@ async def run(self, extra_data=None):
         some 5XX errors. It retries with exponential backoff 10 times before allowing
         a final exception to be raised.
 
+        This method supports restricting the number of concurrent downloaders by acquiring the
+        self.semaphore immediately before any downloading is done.
+
         This method provides the same return object type and documented in
         :meth:`~pulpcore.plugin.download.BaseDownloader.run`.
 
         Args:
             extra_data (dict): Extra data passed by the downloader.
         """
-        async with self.session.get(self.url) as response:
-            response.raise_for_status()
-            to_return = await self._handle_response(response)
-            await response.release()
-        if self._close_session_on_finalize:
-            await self.session.close()
-        return to_return
+        async with self.semaphore:
+            async with self.session.get(self.url) as response:
+                response.raise_for_status()
+                to_return = await self._handle_response(response)
+                await response.release()
+            if self._close_session_on_finalize:
+                await self.session.close()
+            return to_return
diff --git a/pulpcore/pulpcore/app/models/repository.py b/pulpcore/pulpcore/app/models/repository.py
index 850e65f2be..29f717c4d5 100644
--- a/pulpcore/pulpcore/app/models/repository.py
+++ b/pulpcore/pulpcore/app/models/repository.py
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ def tls_storage_path(self, name):
     username = models.TextField(blank=True)
     password = models.TextField(blank=True)
     last_synced = models.DateTimeField(blank=True, null=True)
-    connection_limit = models.PositiveIntegerField(default=5)
+    connection_limit = models.PositiveIntegerField(default=20)
 
     class Meta:
         default_related_name = 'remotes'