diff --git a/memcached.ini b/memcached.ini
index f4bd68c0..de483dcb 100644
--- a/memcached.ini
+++ b/memcached.ini
@@ -47,6 +47,11 @@ memcached.sess_number_of_replicas = 0
 ; memcached session replica read randomize
 memcached.sess_randomize_replica_read = Off
 
+; memcached connect timeout value
+; In non-blocking mode this changes the value of the timeout 
+; during socket connection in milliseconds. Specifying -1 means an infinite timeout.
+memcached.sess_connect_timeout = 1000
+
 ; Set the compression type
 ; valid values are: fastlz, zlib
 ; the default is fastlz
diff --git a/php_memcached.c b/php_memcached.c
index d1d07246..064e3b6c 100644
--- a/php_memcached.c
+++ b/php_memcached.c
@@ -294,6 +294,7 @@ PHP_INI_BEGIN()
 	STD_PHP_INI_ENTRY("memcached.sess_randomize_replica_read",	"0",	PHP_INI_ALL, OnUpdateBool,	sess_randomize_replica_read,	zend_php_memcached_globals,	php_memcached_globals)
 	STD_PHP_INI_ENTRY("memcached.sess_consistent_hashing",	"0",		PHP_INI_ALL, OnUpdateBool,              sess_consistent_hashing_enabled,	zend_php_memcached_globals,     php_memcached_globals)
 	STD_PHP_INI_ENTRY("memcached.sess_remove_failed",	"0",		PHP_INI_ALL, OnUpdateBool,              sess_remove_failed_enabled,	zend_php_memcached_globals,     php_memcached_globals)
+	STD_PHP_INI_ENTRY("memcached.sess_connect_timeout",     "1000",         PHP_INI_ALL, OnUpdateLong, 		sess_connect_timeout,           zend_php_memcached_globals,     php_memcached_globals)
 #endif
 	STD_PHP_INI_ENTRY("memcached.compression_type",		"fastlz",	PHP_INI_ALL, OnUpdateCompressionType, compression_type,		zend_php_memcached_globals,	php_memcached_globals)
 	STD_PHP_INI_ENTRY("memcached.compression_factor",	"1.3",		PHP_INI_ALL, OnUpdateReal, compression_factor,		zend_php_memcached_globals,	php_memcached_globals)
@@ -3050,8 +3051,8 @@ static void php_memc_init_globals(zend_php_memcached_globals *php_memcached_glob
 	MEMC_G(sess_locked) = 0;
 	MEMC_G(sess_lock_key) = NULL;
 	MEMC_G(sess_lock_key_len) = 0;
-	MEMC_G(sess_number_of_replicas) = 0;
 	MEMC_G(sess_randomize_replica_read) = 0;
+	MEMC_G(sess_connect_timeout) = 1000;
 #endif
 	MEMC_G(serializer_name) = NULL;
 	MEMC_G(serializer) = SERIALIZER_DEFAULT;
diff --git a/php_memcached.h b/php_memcached.h
index 2bd5c83e..e3fd1bef 100644
--- a/php_memcached.h
+++ b/php_memcached.h
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ ZEND_BEGIN_MODULE_GLOBALS(php_memcached)
 	zend_bool sess_randomize_replica_read;
 	zend_bool sess_remove_failed_enabled;
 	zend_bool sess_consistent_hashing_enabled;
+	long  sess_connect_timeout;
 #endif
 	char *serializer_name;
 	enum memcached_serializer serializer;
diff --git a/php_memcached_session.c b/php_memcached_session.c
index 2b64581e..68501bb5 100644
--- a/php_memcached_session.c
+++ b/php_memcached_session.c
@@ -234,6 +234,11 @@ PS_OPEN_FUNC(memcached)
 					return FAILURE;
 				}
 			}
+			
+                        if (memcached_behavior_set(memc_sess->memc_sess, MEMCACHED_BEHAVIOR_CONNECT_TIMEOUT, (uint64_t) MEMC_G(sess_connect_timeout)) == MEMCACHED_FAILURE) {
+                                php_error_docref(NULL TSRMLS_CC, E_WARNING, "failed to set memcached connection timeout");
+                                return FAILURE;
+                        }
 
 			/* Allow libmemcached remove failed servers */
 			if (MEMC_G(sess_remove_failed_enabled)) {