diff --git a/elk_metrics_7x/roles/elastic_data_hosts/defaults/main.yml b/elk_metrics_7x/roles/elastic_data_hosts/defaults/main.yml
index edc8bba0..1a1db482 100644
--- a/elk_metrics_7x/roles/elastic_data_hosts/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/elk_metrics_7x/roles/elastic_data_hosts/defaults/main.yml
@@ -34,6 +34,9 @@ elastic_data_interface: "{{ ansible_default_ipv4['alias'] }}"
 ## Elasticsearch index template settings
 # Set the default max number of fields used in a query
 # elastic_max_docvalue_fields_search: "100"
+# Set the number of primary shards for each index
+# (defaults to the number of Elasticsearch data nodes)
+# elastic_primary_shard_count: 1
 
 # The set of nodes used for elasticsearch discovery
 # elasticsearch_discovery_seed_hosts: "{{ (elastic_hosts | union(groups['kibana'])) | map('extract', hostvars, 'ansible_host') | list }}"
diff --git a/elk_metrics_7x/roles/elastic_data_hosts/vars/data-node-variables.yml b/elk_metrics_7x/roles/elastic_data_hosts/vars/data-node-variables.yml
index 3bc23c57..b8958476 100644
--- a/elk_metrics_7x/roles/elastic_data_hosts/vars/data-node-variables.yml
+++ b/elk_metrics_7x/roles/elastic_data_hosts/vars/data-node-variables.yml
@@ -169,6 +169,7 @@ elasticsearch_number_of_replicas: "{{ ((data_nodes | length) > 2) | ternary('2',
 elasticsearch_beat_settings:
   number_of_replicas: "{{ elasticsearch_number_of_replicas }}"
   max_docvalue_fields_search: "{{ elastic_max_docvalue_fields_search | default('100') }}"
+  shard_count: "{{ elastic_primary_shard_count | default(elasticsearch_data_node_details | length) }}"
 
 # Shuffled elasticsearch endpoints (with localhost if relevant) for use in beat config files
 elasticsearch_data_hosts: |-
diff --git a/elk_metrics_7x/templates/_macros.j2 b/elk_metrics_7x/templates/_macros.j2
index 325eb449..b6ba9940 100644
--- a/elk_metrics_7x/templates/_macros.j2
+++ b/elk_metrics_7x/templates/_macros.j2
@@ -281,7 +281,7 @@ setup.template.fields: "${path.config}/fields.yml"
 # Overwrite existing template
 setup.template.overwrite: {{ host == data_nodes[0] | default(false)}}
 
-{% set shards = 1 %}
+{% set shards = elasticsearch_beat_settings.shard_count | int %}
 
 # Elasticsearch template settings
 setup.template.settings: