diff --git a/deployment/barbican/barbican-api-container-puppet.yaml b/deployment/barbican/barbican-api-container-puppet.yaml
index 939bb4b8bc..2a7d5502aa 100644
--- a/deployment/barbican/barbican-api-container-puppet.yaml
+++ b/deployment/barbican/barbican-api-container-puppet.yaml
@@ -123,8 +123,8 @@ parameters:
     hidden: true
   BarbicanWorkers:
     description: Set the number of workers for barbican::wsgi::apache
-    default: '%{::processorcount}'
-    type: string
+    default: 0
+    type: number
   Debug:
     default: false
     description: Set to True to enable debugging on all services.
@@ -163,6 +163,8 @@ parameters:
     default: true
 
 conditions:
+  barbican_workers_set:
+    not: {equals : [{get_param: BarbicanWorkers}, 0]}
   hsm_enabled:
     or:
     - {get_param: BarbicanPkcs11CryptoThalesEnabled}
@@ -291,7 +293,10 @@ outputs:
                  params:
                    $NETWORK: {get_param: [ServiceNetMap, BarbicanApiNetwork]}
             barbican::wsgi::apache::ssl:  {get_param: EnableInternalTLS}
-            barbican::wsgi::apache::workers: {get_param: BarbicanWorkers}
+            barbican::wsgi::apache::workers:
+              if:
+                - barbican_workers_set
+                - {get_param: BarbicanWorkers}
             barbican::wsgi::apache::servername:
               str_replace:
                 template:
diff --git a/deployment/cinder/cinder-api-container-puppet.yaml b/deployment/cinder/cinder-api-container-puppet.yaml
index 496d9ba722..ce6621ef84 100644
--- a/deployment/cinder/cinder-api-container-puppet.yaml
+++ b/deployment/cinder/cinder-api-container-puppet.yaml
@@ -76,9 +76,9 @@ parameters:
     default: 'overcloud-cinder-api'
     type: string
   CinderWorkers:
-    type: string
+    type: number
     description: Set the number of workers for cinder::wsgi::apache
-    default: '%{::os_workers}'
+    default: 0
   CinderApiPolicies:
     description: |
       A hash of policies to configure for Cinder API.
@@ -109,6 +109,8 @@ parameters:
 conditions:
   auth_cloud_name_set:
     not: {equals: [{get_param: AuthCloudName}, ""]}
+  cinder_workers_set:
+    not: {equals : [{get_param: CinderWorkers}, 0]}
 
 resources:
   ContainersCommon:
@@ -244,7 +246,10 @@ outputs:
                   "Timeout TIMEOUT"
                 params:
                   TIMEOUT: {get_param: CinderApiWsgiTimeout}
-            cinder::wsgi::apache::workers: {get_param: CinderWorkers}
+            cinder::wsgi::apache::workers:
+              if:
+                - cinder_workers_set
+                - {get_param: CinderWorkers}
             cinder::api::sync_db: false
       service_config_settings:
         rsyslog:
diff --git a/deployment/glance/glance-api-container-puppet.yaml b/deployment/glance/glance-api-container-puppet.yaml
index 02cc49671f..ebb9bc6275 100644
--- a/deployment/glance/glance-api-container-puppet.yaml
+++ b/deployment/glance/glance-api-container-puppet.yaml
@@ -51,16 +51,12 @@ parameters:
     type: string
     hidden: true
   GlanceWorkers:
-    default: ''
+    default: 0
     description: |
-      Number of API worker processes for Glance. If left unset (empty string), the
-      default value will result in the configuration being left unset and a
-      system-dependent default value will be chosen (e.g.: number of
-      processors). Please note that this will create a large number of
-      processes on systems with a large number of CPUs resulting in excess
-      memory consumption. It is recommended that a suitable non-default value
-      be selected on such systems.
-    type: string
+      Number of API worker processes for Glance. The default value will result
+      in the configuration being left unset and a system-dependent default
+      value will be chosen.
+    type: number
   MonitoringSubscriptionGlanceApi:
     default: 'overcloud-glance-api'
     type: string
@@ -401,7 +397,7 @@ conditions:
         - {get_param: NovaEnableRbdBackend}
       - {get_param: GlanceSparseUploadEnabled}
   glance_workers_set:
-    not: {equals : [{get_param: GlanceWorkers}, '']}
+    not: {equals : [{get_param: GlanceWorkers}, 0]}
   glance_multiple_locations:
     or:
     - {get_param: GlanceShowMultipleLocations}
diff --git a/deployment/gnocchi/gnocchi-metricd-container-puppet.yaml b/deployment/gnocchi/gnocchi-metricd-container-puppet.yaml
index 74c70e529b..83dab306ca 100644
--- a/deployment/gnocchi/gnocchi-metricd-container-puppet.yaml
+++ b/deployment/gnocchi/gnocchi-metricd-container-puppet.yaml
@@ -68,9 +68,9 @@ parameters:
     default: 'overcloud-gnocchi-metricd'
     type: string
   GnocchiMetricdWorkers:
-    default: '%{::os_workers}'
+    default: 0
     description: Number of workers for Gnocchi MetricD
-    type: string
+    type: number
   MetricProcessingDelay:
     default: 30
     description: Delay between processing metrics.
@@ -83,6 +83,8 @@ parameters:
 
 conditions:
   nfs_backend_enabled: {equals: [{get_param: GnocchiNfsEnabled}, true]}
+  gnocchi_metricd_workers_set:
+    not: {equals: [{get_param: GnocchiMetricdWorkers}, 0]}
 
 resources:
 
@@ -123,7 +125,10 @@ outputs:
       config_settings:
         map_merge:
           - get_attr: [GnocchiServiceBase, role_data, config_settings]
-          - gnocchi::metricd::workers: {get_param: GnocchiMetricdWorkers}
+          - gnocchi::metricd::workers:
+              if:
+                - gnocchi_metricd_workers_set
+                - {get_param: GnocchiMetricdWorkers}
             gnocchi::metricd::metric_processing_delay: {get_param: MetricProcessingDelay}
       monitoring_subscription: {get_param: MonitoringSubscriptionGnocchiMetricd}
       service_config_settings:
diff --git a/deployment/keystone/keystone-container-puppet.yaml b/deployment/keystone/keystone-container-puppet.yaml
index 6190acaf29..a721027528 100644
--- a/deployment/keystone/keystone-container-puppet.yaml
+++ b/deployment/keystone/keystone-container-puppet.yaml
@@ -139,9 +139,9 @@ parameters:
     description: Set a token expiration time in seconds.
     type: number
   KeystoneWorkers:
-    type: string
+    type: number
     description: Set the number of workers for keystone::wsgi::apache
-    default: '%{::os_workers_keystone}'
+    default: 0
   MonitoringSubscriptionKeystone:
     default: 'overcloud-keystone'
     type: string
@@ -463,6 +463,8 @@ resources:
               ContainerKeystoneConfigImage: {get_param: ContainerKeystoneConfigImage}
 
 conditions:
+  keystone_workers_set:
+    not: {equals : [{get_param: KeystoneWorkers}, 0]}
   public_tls_enabled:
     and:
     - {get_param: EnablePublicTLS}
@@ -593,7 +595,10 @@ outputs:
                   "%{lookup('fqdn_$NETWORK')}"
                 params:
                   $NETWORK: {get_param: [ServiceNetMap, KeystonePublicApiNetwork]}
-            keystone::wsgi::apache::workers: {get_param: KeystoneWorkers}
+            keystone::wsgi::apache::workers:
+              if:
+                - keystone_workers_set
+                - {get_param: KeystoneWorkers}
             # override via extraconfig:
             keystone::wsgi::apache::threads: 1
             keystone::db::database_db_max_retries: -1
diff --git a/deployment/manila/manila-api-container-puppet.yaml b/deployment/manila/manila-api-container-puppet.yaml
index 2152447418..6bf1f6671e 100644
--- a/deployment/manila/manila-api-container-puppet.yaml
+++ b/deployment/manila/manila-api-container-puppet.yaml
@@ -41,9 +41,9 @@ parameters:
     type: boolean
     default: false
   ManilaWorkers:
-    type: string
+    type: number
     description: Set the number of workers for manila::wsgi::apache
-    default: '%{::os_workers}'
+    default: 0
   ManilaPassword:
     description: The password for the manila service account.
     type: string
@@ -118,6 +118,10 @@ parameters:
       Use the advanced (eventlet safe) memcached client pool.
     default: true
 
+conditions:
+  manila_workers_set:
+    not: {equals : [{get_param: ManilaWorkers}, 0]}
+
 resources:
   ContainersCommon:
     type: ../containers-common.yaml
@@ -257,7 +261,10 @@ outputs:
                   "%{lookup('fqdn_$NETWORK')}"
                 params:
                   $NETWORK: {get_param: [ServiceNetMap, ManilaApiNetwork]}
-            manila::wsgi::apache::workers: {get_param: ManilaWorkers}
+            manila::wsgi::apache::workers:
+              if:
+                - manila_workers_set
+                - {get_param: ManilaWorkers}
       service_config_settings:
         map_merge:
           - {get_attr: [ManilaBase, role_data, service_config_settings]}
diff --git a/deployment/neutron/neutron-api-container-puppet.yaml b/deployment/neutron/neutron-api-container-puppet.yaml
index 0a5ec9dc42..c0eeef2ab3 100644
--- a/deployment/neutron/neutron-api-container-puppet.yaml
+++ b/deployment/neutron/neutron-api-container-puppet.yaml
@@ -60,25 +60,21 @@ parameters:
     description: hash of optional environment variables
     type: json
   NeutronWorkers:
-    default: ''
+    default: 0
     description: |
       Sets the number of API workers for the Neutron service.
       The default value results in the configuration being left unset
-      and a system-dependent default will be chosen (usually the number
-      of processors). Please note that this can result in a large number
-      of processes and memory consumption on systems with a large core
-      count. On such systems it is recommended that a non-default value
-      be selected that matches the load requirements.
-    type: string
+      and a system-dependent default will be chosen.
+    type: number
   NeutronRpcWorkers:
-    default: ''
+    default: 0
     description: |
       Sets the number of RPC workers for the Neutron service.
       If not specified, it'll take the value of NeutronWorkers and if this is
       not specified either, the default value results in the configuration
       being left unset and a system-dependent default will be chosen
       (usually 1).
-    type: string
+    type: number
   NeutronPassword:
     description: The password for the neutron service and db account, used by neutron agents.
     type: string
@@ -233,9 +229,9 @@ parameter_groups:
 
 conditions:
   neutron_workers_set:
-    not: {equals : [{get_param: NeutronWorkers}, '']}
+    not: {equals : [{get_param: NeutronWorkers}, 0]}
   neutron_rpc_workers_set:
-    not: {equals : [{get_param: NeutronRpcWorkers}, '']}
+    not: {equals : [{get_param: NeutronRpcWorkers}, 0]}
   neutron_ovs_int_br_set:
     not: {equals : [{get_param: NeutronOvsIntegrationBridge}, '']}
   az_set:
diff --git a/deployment/neutron/neutron-metadata-container-puppet.yaml b/deployment/neutron/neutron-metadata-container-puppet.yaml
index 27fdbe2e22..db32b02d83 100644
--- a/deployment/neutron/neutron-metadata-container-puppet.yaml
+++ b/deployment/neutron/neutron-metadata-container-puppet.yaml
@@ -47,16 +47,12 @@ parameters:
     type: string
     hidden: true
   NeutronWorkers:
-    default: ''
+    default: 0
     description: |
       Sets the number of worker processes for the neutron metadata agent. The
       default value results in the configuration being left unset and a
-      system-dependent default will be chosen (usually the number of
-      processors). Please note that this can result in a large number of
-      processes and memory consumption on systems with a large core count. On
-      such systems it is recommended that a non-default value be selected that
-      matches the load requirements.
-    type: string
+      system-dependent default will be chosen.
+    type: number
   MonitoringSubscriptionNeutronMetadata:
     default: 'overcloud-neutron-metadata'
     type: string
@@ -74,7 +70,7 @@ parameters:
 
 conditions:
   neutron_workers_set:
-    not: {equals : [{get_param: NeutronWorkers}, '']}
+    not: {equals : [{get_param: NeutronWorkers}, 0]}
   neutron_shared_metadata_set:
     not: {equals: [{get_param: NeutronMetadataProxySharedSecret}, '']}
 
diff --git a/deployment/ovn/ovn-metadata-container-puppet.yaml b/deployment/ovn/ovn-metadata-container-puppet.yaml
index 7304977405..57f6afa44e 100644
--- a/deployment/ovn/ovn-metadata-container-puppet.yaml
+++ b/deployment/ovn/ovn-metadata-container-puppet.yaml
@@ -71,16 +71,12 @@ parameters:
     type: string
     hidden: true
   NeutronMetadataWorkers:
-    default: ''
+    default: 0
     description: |
       Sets the number of worker processes for the neutron OVN metadata agent.
       The default value results in the configuration being left unset and a
-      system-dependent default will be chosen (usually the number of
-      processors). Please note that this can result in a large number of
-      processes and memory consumption on systems with a large core count. On
-      such systems it is recommended that a non-default value be selected that
-      matches the load requirements.
-    type: string
+      system-dependent default will be chosen.
+    type: number
   OVNSouthboundServerPort:
     description: Port of the OVN Southbound DB server
     type: number
@@ -121,7 +117,7 @@ parameters:
 
 conditions:
   neutron_metadata_workers_set:
-    not: {equals : [{get_param: NeutronMetadataWorkers}, '']}
+    not: {equals : [{get_param: NeutronMetadataWorkers}, 0]}
   key_size_override_set:
     not: {equals: [{get_param: OvnMetadataCertificateKeySize}, '']}
 
diff --git a/deployment/swift/swift-proxy-container-puppet.yaml b/deployment/swift/swift-proxy-container-puppet.yaml
index ccc7bc8159..aea5e0f4ef 100644
--- a/deployment/swift/swift-proxy-container-puppet.yaml
+++ b/deployment/swift/swift-proxy-container-puppet.yaml
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ parameters:
   SwiftWorkers:
     default: 0
     description: Number of workers for Swift service.
-    type: string
+    type: number
   KeystoneRegion:
     type: string
     default: 'regionOne'
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ conditions:
   cors_allowed_origin_set:
     not: {equals : [{get_param: SwiftCorsAllowedOrigin}, '']}
   swift_workers_set:
-    not: {equals : [{get_param: SwiftWorkers}, '0']}
+    not: {equals : [{get_param: SwiftWorkers}, 0]}
 
 resources:
   ContainersCommon:
diff --git a/deployment/swift/swift-storage-container-puppet.yaml b/deployment/swift/swift-storage-container-puppet.yaml
index 6dcca89614..2e0c3e8d67 100644
--- a/deployment/swift/swift-storage-container-puppet.yaml
+++ b/deployment/swift/swift-storage-container-puppet.yaml
@@ -79,15 +79,15 @@ parameters:
   SwiftAccountWorkers:
     default: 0
     description: Number of workers for Swift account service.
-    type: string
+    type: number
   SwiftContainerWorkers:
     default: 0
     description: Number of workers for Swift account service.
-    type: string
+    type: number
   SwiftObjectWorkers:
     default: 0
     description: Number of workers for Swift account service.
-    type: string
+    type: number
   SwiftReconCronMinute:
     type: string
     description: >
@@ -138,11 +138,11 @@ conditions:
         - get_param: SwiftRawDisks
         - {}
   account_workers_set:
-    not: {equals : [{get_param: SwiftAccountWorkers}, '0']}
+    not: {equals : [{get_param: SwiftAccountWorkers}, 0]}
   container_workers_set:
-    not: {equals : [{get_param: SwiftContainerWorkers}, '0']}
+    not: {equals : [{get_param: SwiftContainerWorkers}, 0]}
   object_workers_set:
-    not: {equals : [{get_param: SwiftObjectWorkers}, '0']}
+    not: {equals : [{get_param: SwiftObjectWorkers}, 0]}
   use_node_data_lookup: {equals : [{get_param: SwiftUseNodeDataLookup}, true]}
 
 resources: