diff --git a/drivers/staging/lustre/lustre/ptlrpc/import.c b/drivers/staging/lustre/lustre/ptlrpc/import.c
index bf7b9d2aaa2b..a4f7544f46b8 100644
--- a/drivers/staging/lustre/lustre/ptlrpc/import.c
+++ b/drivers/staging/lustre/lustre/ptlrpc/import.c
@@ -1001,6 +1001,8 @@ finish:
 			return 0;
 		}
 	} else {
+		static bool warned;
+
 		spin_lock(&imp->imp_lock);
 		list_del(&imp->imp_conn_current->oic_item);
 		list_add(&imp->imp_conn_current->oic_item, &imp->imp_conn_list);
@@ -1020,7 +1022,7 @@ finish:
 			goto out;
 		}
 
-		if ((ocd->ocd_connect_flags & OBD_CONNECT_VERSION) &&
+		if (!warned && (ocd->ocd_connect_flags & OBD_CONNECT_VERSION) &&
 		    (ocd->ocd_version > LUSTRE_VERSION_CODE +
 					LUSTRE_VERSION_OFFSET_WARN ||
 		     ocd->ocd_version < LUSTRE_VERSION_CODE -
@@ -1028,10 +1030,8 @@ finish:
 			/* Sigh, some compilers do not like #ifdef in the middle
 			 * of macro arguments
 			 */
-			const char *older = "older. Consider upgrading server or downgrading client"
-				;
-			const char *newer = "newer than client version. Consider upgrading client"
-					    ;
+			const char *older = "older than client. Consider upgrading server";
+			const char *newer = "newer than client. Consider recompiling application";
 
 			LCONSOLE_WARN("Server %s version (%d.%d.%d.%d) is much %s (%s)\n",
 				      obd2cli_tgt(imp->imp_obd),
@@ -1041,6 +1041,7 @@ finish:
 				      OBD_OCD_VERSION_FIX(ocd->ocd_version),
 				      ocd->ocd_version > LUSTRE_VERSION_CODE ?
 				      newer : older, LUSTRE_VERSION_STRING);
+			warned = true;
 		}
 
 #if LUSTRE_VERSION_CODE < OBD_OCD_VERSION(3, 2, 50, 0)