diff --git a/reactor-netty-core/src/main/java/reactor/netty/resources/ConnectionProvider.java b/reactor-netty-core/src/main/java/reactor/netty/resources/ConnectionProvider.java
index 12e7e4c750..a135340403 100644
--- a/reactor-netty-core/src/main/java/reactor/netty/resources/ConnectionProvider.java
+++ b/reactor-netty-core/src/main/java/reactor/netty/resources/ConnectionProvider.java
@@ -495,12 +495,15 @@ public final Builder forRemoteHost(SocketAddress remoteHost, Consumer<HostSpecif
 		/**
 		 * Specifies the maximum number of connection pools that the provider can create.
 		 * If the number of connection pools created exceeds this value, a warning message is logged.
-		 * The value must be positive or zero; otherwise, the connection pools check is ignored.
-		 *
-		 * @param maxConnectionPools the number of connection pools expected to be created.
+		 * The value must be strictly positive or -1; otherwise, the connection pools check is ignored.
+		 * Setting the configuration to -1 disables the setting.
+		 * @param maxConnectionPools the maximum number of connection pools that can be created.
 		 * @return the current {@link Builder} instance with the updated configuration.
 		 */
 		public Builder maxConnectionPools(int maxConnectionPools) {
+			if (maxConnectionPools != MAX_CONNECTION_POOLS && maxConnectionPools <= 0) {
+				throw new IllegalArgumentException("Maximum connection pools setting must be strictly positive.");
+			}
 			this.maxConnectionPools = maxConnectionPools;
 			return this;
 		}
diff --git a/reactor-netty-http/src/test/java/reactor/netty/http/client/HttpClientTest.java b/reactor-netty-http/src/test/java/reactor/netty/http/client/HttpClientTest.java
index 03d19902e1..91f966d73e 100644
--- a/reactor-netty-http/src/test/java/reactor/netty/http/client/HttpClientTest.java
+++ b/reactor-netty-http/src/test/java/reactor/netty/http/client/HttpClientTest.java
@@ -150,6 +150,7 @@
 import static io.netty.handler.codec.http.HttpHeaderValues.GZIP;
 import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
 import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThatExceptionOfType;
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThatIllegalArgumentException;
 import static org.assertj.core.api.Assumptions.assumeThat;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.times;
 
@@ -620,7 +621,14 @@ void sslExchangeRelativeGet() throws SSLException {
 
 	@ParameterizedTest
 	@ValueSource(booleans = {true, false})
-	void maxConnectionPools(boolean withMaxConnectionPools) throws SSLException {
+	void testMaxConnectionPools(boolean withMaxConnectionPools) throws SSLException {
+
+		ConnectionProvider connectionProvider = withMaxConnectionPools ? ConnectionProvider
+				.builder("max-connection-pools")
+				.maxConnectionPools(1)
+				.build() : ConnectionProvider
+				.builder("max-connection-pools")
+				.build();
 
 		try {
 			ArgumentCaptor<String> argumentCaptor = ArgumentCaptor.forClass(String.class);
@@ -636,12 +644,7 @@ void maxConnectionPools(boolean withMaxConnectionPools) throws SSLException {
 					.handle((req, resp) -> resp.sendString(Flux.just("hello ", req.uri())))
 					.bindNow();
 
-			ConnectionProvider connectionProvider = withMaxConnectionPools ? ConnectionProvider
-					.builder("max-connection-pools")
-					.maxConnectionPools(1)
-					.build() : ConnectionProvider
-					.builder("max-connection-pools")
-					.build();
+
 
 			StepVerifier
 					.create(Flux
@@ -674,12 +677,22 @@ void maxConnectionPools(boolean withMaxConnectionPools) throws SSLException {
 			}
 		}
 		finally {
-			disposableServer.dispose();
+			connectionProvider.dispose();
 			Loggers.resetLoggerFactory();
 		}
 
 	}
 
+	@ParameterizedTest
+	@ValueSource(ints = {0, -2})
+	void testInvalidMaxConnectionPoolsSetting(int maxConnectionPools) {
+
+		assertThatIllegalArgumentException().isThrownBy(() -> ConnectionProvider
+				.builder("max-connection-pools")
+				.maxConnectionPools(maxConnectionPools));
+
+	}
+
 	private SslContext createClientSslContext() {
 		try {
 			return SslContextBuilder.forClient()