diff --git a/fs/nfsd/nfssvc.c b/fs/nfsd/nfssvc.c
index e45d46089959..0d3838dd59c1 100644
--- a/fs/nfsd/nfssvc.c
+++ b/fs/nfsd/nfssvc.c
@@ -237,15 +237,21 @@ static void nfsd_net_free(struct percpu_ref *ref)
  */
 #define	NFSD_MAXSERVS		8192
 
+/**
+ * nfsd_nrthreads - report a namespace's configured nfsd thread count
+ * @net: network namespace to query
+ *
+ * Return: the configured thread ceiling, or 0 when no service runs.
+ */
 int nfsd_nrthreads(struct net *net)
 {
-	int i, rv = 0;
+	int rv = 0;
 	struct nfsd_net *nn = net_generic(net, nfsd_net_id);
 
+	/* nfsd_mutex keeps nn->nfsd_serv valid across the read. */
 	mutex_lock(&nfsd_mutex);
 	if (nn->nfsd_serv)
-		for (i = 0; i < nn->nfsd_serv->sv_nrpools; ++i)
-			rv += nn->nfsd_serv->sv_pools[i].sp_nrthrmax;
+		rv = svc_serv_maxthreads(nn->nfsd_serv);
 	mutex_unlock(&nfsd_mutex);
 	return rv;
 }
diff --git a/include/linux/sunrpc/svc.h b/include/linux/sunrpc/svc.h
index 4be6204f6630..3a0152d926fb 100644
--- a/include/linux/sunrpc/svc.h
+++ b/include/linux/sunrpc/svc.h
@@ -469,6 +469,7 @@ int		   svc_set_pool_threads(struct svc_serv *serv, struct svc_pool *pool,
 					unsigned int min_threads, unsigned int max_threads);
 int		   svc_set_num_threads(struct svc_serv *serv, unsigned int min_threads,
 				       unsigned int nrservs);
+unsigned int	   svc_serv_maxthreads(const struct svc_serv *serv);
 int		   svc_pool_stats_open(struct svc_info *si, struct file *file);
 void		   svc_process(struct svc_rqst *rqstp);
 void		   svc_process_bc(struct rpc_rqst *req, struct svc_rqst *rqstp);
diff --git a/net/sunrpc/svc.c b/net/sunrpc/svc.c
index 009373737ea9..86d39610cf0a 100644
--- a/net/sunrpc/svc.c
+++ b/net/sunrpc/svc.c
@@ -987,6 +987,29 @@ svc_set_num_threads(struct svc_serv *serv, unsigned int min_threads,
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(svc_set_num_threads);
 
+/**
+ * svc_serv_maxthreads - report a service's configured thread ceiling
+ * @serv: RPC service to query
+ *
+ * A pooled service sizes its threads dynamically, so the number of
+ * threads running at any moment tracks recent load rather than the
+ * service's capacity. The per-pool maximum is the stable figure a
+ * consumer should size against.
+ *
+ * The caller must keep @serv valid for the duration of the call.
+ *
+ * Return: the sum of every pool's maximum thread count.
+ */
+unsigned int svc_serv_maxthreads(const struct svc_serv *serv)
+{
+	unsigned int i, max = 0;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < serv->sv_nrpools; i++)
+		max += data_race(serv->sv_pools[i].sp_nrthrmax);
+	return max;
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(svc_serv_maxthreads);
+
 /**
  * svc_rqst_replace_page - Replace one page in rq_respages[]
  * @rqstp: svc_rqst with pages to replace