diff --git a/configs/boot/netperf-server.rcS b/configs/boot/netperf-server.rcS
index f77ff0ce8..c75d918a2 100644
--- a/configs/boot/netperf-server.rcS
+++ b/configs/boot/netperf-server.rcS
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ echo "running netserver..."
 /benchmarks/netperf/netserver
 
 echo -n "signal client to begin..."
+sleep 1
 echo "server ready" | /usr/bin/netcat -c $CLIENT 8000
 echo "done."