diff --git a/lib/services/local/presence.go b/lib/services/local/presence.go
index 49828bb65492f..e0c567b63b628 100644
--- a/lib/services/local/presence.go
+++ b/lib/services/local/presence.go
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ type backendItemToResourceFunc func(item backend.Item) (types.ResourceWithLabels
 func NewPresenceService(b backend.Backend) *PresenceService {
 	return &PresenceService{
 		log:     logrus.WithFields(logrus.Fields{trace.Component: "Presence"}),
-		jitter:  utils.NewJitter(),
+		jitter:  utils.NewFullJitter(),
 		Backend: b,
 	}
 }
@@ -799,10 +799,10 @@ func (s *PresenceService) DeleteAllRemoteClusters() error {
 }
 
 // this combination of backoff parameters leads to worst-case total time spent
-// in backoff between 1200ms and 2400ms depending on jitter.  tests are in
+// in backoff between 1ms and 2000ms depending on jitter.  tests are in
 // place to verify that this is sufficient to resolve a 20-lease contention
 // event, which is worse than should ever occur in practice.
-const baseBackoff = time.Millisecond * 300
+const baseBackoff = time.Millisecond * 400
 const leaseRetryAttempts int64 = 6
 
 // AcquireSemaphore attempts to acquire the specified semaphore.  AcquireSemaphore will automatically handle
diff --git a/lib/services/local/services_test.go b/lib/services/local/services_test.go
index bdf19699e52ab..93166eca3f672 100644
--- a/lib/services/local/services_test.go
+++ b/lib/services/local/services_test.go
@@ -20,10 +20,9 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"os"
 	"testing"
-	"time"
 
 	"github.com/gravitational/teleport/lib/backend"
-	"github.com/gravitational/teleport/lib/backend/lite"
+	"github.com/gravitational/teleport/lib/backend/memory"
 	"github.com/gravitational/teleport/lib/services/suite"
 	"github.com/gravitational/teleport/lib/utils"
 	"github.com/jonboulle/clockwork"
@@ -48,10 +47,9 @@ func (s *ServicesSuite) SetUpTest(c *check.C) {
 
 	clock := clockwork.NewFakeClock()
 
-	s.bk, err = lite.NewWithConfig(ctx, lite.Config{
-		Path:             c.MkDir(),
-		PollStreamPeriod: 200 * time.Millisecond,
-		Clock:            clock,
+	s.bk, err = memory.New(memory.Config{
+		Context: ctx,
+		Clock:   clock,
 	})
 	c.Assert(err, check.IsNil)
 
diff --git a/lib/services/suite/suite.go b/lib/services/suite/suite.go
index 4f739d53fb2cc..0eef60f8e11cd 100644
--- a/lib/services/suite/suite.go
+++ b/lib/services/suite/suite.go
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import (
 	"crypto/x509"
 	"crypto/x509/pkix"
 	"encoding/base64"
+	"fmt"
 	"sort"
 	"sync"
 	"sync/atomic"
@@ -1280,7 +1281,7 @@ func (s *ServicesTestSuite) SemaphoreContention(c *check.C) {
 			Expiry:  time.Hour,
 			Params: types.AcquireSemaphoreRequest{
 				SemaphoreKind: types.SemaphoreKindConnection,
-				SemaphoreName: "alice",
+				SemaphoreName: fmt.Sprintf("sem-%d", i), // avoid overlap between iterations
 				MaxLeases:     locks,
 			},
 		}
@@ -1288,16 +1289,16 @@ func (s *ServicesTestSuite) SemaphoreContention(c *check.C) {
 		// context-based cancellation is needed to cleanup the
 		// background keepalive activity.
 		cancelCtx, cancel := context.WithCancel(ctx)
-		var wg sync.WaitGroup
+		acquireErrs := make(chan error, locks)
 		for i := int64(0); i < locks; i++ {
-			wg.Add(1)
 			go func() {
-				defer wg.Done()
 				_, err := services.AcquireSemaphoreLock(cancelCtx, cfg)
-				c.Assert(err, check.IsNil)
+				acquireErrs <- err
 			}()
 		}
-		wg.Wait()
+		for i := int64(0); i < locks; i++ {
+			c.Assert(<-acquireErrs, check.IsNil)
+		}
 		cancel()
 		c.Assert(s.PresenceS.DeleteSemaphore(ctx, types.SemaphoreFilter{
 			SemaphoreKind: cfg.Params.SemaphoreKind,
diff --git a/lib/utils/retry.go b/lib/utils/retry.go
index 012aeca55ec70..d7c16c8ce5170 100644
--- a/lib/utils/retry.go
+++ b/lib/utils/retry.go
@@ -80,6 +80,26 @@ func NewSeventhJitter() Jitter {
 	}
 }
 
+// NewFullJitter builds a new jitter on the range (0,n]. Most use-cases
+// are better served by a jitter with a meaningful minimum value, but if
+// the *only* purpose of the jitter is to spread out retries to the greatest
+// extent possible (e.g. when retrying a CompareAndSwap operation), a full jitter
+// may be appropriate.
+func NewFullJitter() Jitter {
+	var mu sync.Mutex
+	rng := rand.New(rand.NewSource(time.Now().UnixNano()))
+	return func(d time.Duration) time.Duration {
+		// values less than 1 cause rng to panic, and some logic
+		// relies on treating zero duration as non-blocking case.
+		if d < 1 {
+			return 0
+		}
+		mu.Lock()
+		defer mu.Unlock()
+		return time.Duration(1) + time.Duration(rng.Int63n(int64(d)))
+	}
+}
+
 // Retry is an interface that provides retry logic
 type Retry interface {
 	// Reset resets retry state