diff --git a/roles/etcd/defaults/main.yml b/roles/etcd/defaults/main.yml
index a17c6d4fae59a774707588d1fff15b3da55b1101..7d1d976afaa636fcab0435830b338f37a982ef3c 100644
--- a/roles/etcd/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/roles/etcd/defaults/main.yml
@@ -25,4 +25,4 @@ etcd_memory_limit: 512M
 
 etcd_node_cert_hosts: "{{ groups['k8s-cluster'] | union(groups.get('calico-rr', [])) }}"
 
-etcd_compaction_retention: "0"
+etcd_compaction_retention: "8"