diff --git a/agent/consul/rpc.go b/agent/consul/rpc.go
index 927fe4f1afb8..678b80514080 100644
--- a/agent/consul/rpc.go
+++ b/agent/consul/rpc.go
@@ -307,11 +307,13 @@ func (s *Server) forwardDC(method, dc string, args interface{}, reply interface{
 func (s *Server) globalRPC(method string, args interface{},
 	reply structs.CompoundResponse) error {
 
-	errorCh := make(chan error)
-	respCh := make(chan interface{})
-
 	// Make a new request into each datacenter
 	dcs := s.router.GetDatacenters()
+
+	replies, total := 0, len(dcs)
+	errorCh := make(chan error, total)
+	respCh := make(chan interface{}, total)
+
 	for _, dc := range dcs {
 		go func(dc string) {
 			rr := reply.New()
@@ -323,7 +325,6 @@ func (s *Server) globalRPC(method string, args interface{},
 		}(dc)
 	}
 
-	replies, total := 0, len(dcs)
 	for replies < total {
 		select {
 		case err := <-errorCh: