diff --git a/test/runner/lib/executor.py b/test/runner/lib/executor.py
index 544259bb138..6cdb767b0f5 100644
--- a/test/runner/lib/executor.py
+++ b/test/runner/lib/executor.py
@@ -624,6 +624,7 @@ def command_units(args):
 
         cmd = [
             'pytest',
+            '--boxed',
             '-r', 'a',
             '--color',
             'yes' if args.color else 'no',
diff --git a/test/runner/requirements/units.txt b/test/runner/requirements/units.txt
index 3d7f91211f6..a61fc9ce7f7 100644
--- a/test/runner/requirements/units.txt
+++ b/test/runner/requirements/units.txt
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ passlib
 pycrypto
 pytest
 pytest-mock
+pytest-xdist
 python-memcached
 pyyaml
 redis