diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index e40f1419..f088b583 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -85,6 +85,7 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/).
 - Log cpio errors more prominently. #1615
 - Improved syncuser conflict help text. #1614
 - Parallelized overlay build. #1018
+- Parallelized and optimized overlay build. #1018
 
 ### Removed
 
diff --git a/internal/app/wwctl/container/exec/child/main.go b/internal/app/wwctl/container/exec/child/main.go
index 2542f3c2..52c461b5 100644
--- a/internal/app/wwctl/container/exec/child/main.go
+++ b/internal/app/wwctl/container/exec/child/main.go
@@ -97,17 +97,17 @@ func CobraRunE(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) (err error) {
 			return fmt.Errorf("could not open node configuration: %s", err)
 		}
 
-		nodes, err := nodeDB.FindAllNodes()
+		allNodes, err := nodeDB.FindAllNodes()
 		if err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("could not get node list: %s", err)
 		}
-		nodes = node.FilterNodeListByName(nodes, []string{nodename})
-		if len(nodes) != 1 {
+		filteredNodes := node.FilterNodeListByName(allNodes, []string{nodename})
+		if len(filteredNodes) != 1 {
 			return fmt.Errorf("no single node idendified with %s", nodename)
 		}
-		overlays := nodes[0].SystemOverlay
-		overlays = append(overlays, nodes[0].RuntimeOverlay...)
-		err = overlay.BuildOverlayIndir(nodes[0], overlays, path.Join(runDir, "nodeoverlay"))
+		overlays := filteredNodes[0].SystemOverlay
+		overlays = append(overlays, filteredNodes[0].RuntimeOverlay...)
+		err = overlay.BuildOverlayIndir(filteredNodes[0], allNodes, overlays, path.Join(runDir, "nodeoverlay"))
 		if err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("could not build overlay: %s", err)
 		}
diff --git a/internal/app/wwctl/overlay/build/main.go b/internal/app/wwctl/overlay/build/main.go
index 21ce42c9..2e987de7 100644
--- a/internal/app/wwctl/overlay/build/main.go
+++ b/internal/app/wwctl/overlay/build/main.go
@@ -18,18 +18,21 @@ func CobraRunE(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("could not open node configuration: %s", err)
 	}
 
-	db, err := nodeDB.FindAllNodes()
+	allNodes, err := nodeDB.FindAllNodes()
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("could not get node list: %s", err)
 	}
 
+	var filteredNodes []node.Node
 	if len(args) > 0 {
 		args = hostlist.Expand(args)
-		db = node.FilterNodeListByName(db, args)
+		filteredNodes = node.FilterNodeListByName(allNodes, args)
 
-		if len(db) < len(args) {
+		if len(filteredNodes) < len(args) {
 			return errors.New("failed to find nodes")
 		}
+	} else {
+		filteredNodes = allNodes
 	}
 
 	// NOTE: this is to keep backward compatible
@@ -49,26 +52,25 @@ func CobraRunE(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		}
 
 		if len(args) > 0 {
-			if len(db) != 1 {
+			if len(filteredNodes) != 1 {
 				return errors.New("must specify one node to build overlay")
 			}
 
-			for _, node := range db {
-				return overlay.BuildOverlayIndir(node, OverlayNames, OverlayDir)
+			for _, node := range filteredNodes {
+				return overlay.BuildOverlayIndir(node, allNodes, OverlayNames, OverlayDir)
 			}
 		} else {
 			return errors.New("must specify a node to build overlay")
 		}
-
 	}
 
 	oldMask := syscall.Umask(007)
 	defer syscall.Umask(oldMask)
 
 	if len(OverlayNames) > 0 {
-		err = overlay.BuildSpecificOverlays(db, OverlayNames, Workers)
+		err = overlay.BuildSpecificOverlays(filteredNodes, allNodes, OverlayNames, Workers)
 	} else {
-		err = overlay.BuildAllOverlays(db, Workers)
+		err = overlay.BuildAllOverlays(filteredNodes, allNodes, Workers)
 	}
 
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/internal/app/wwctl/overlay/imprt/main.go b/internal/app/wwctl/overlay/imprt/main.go
index 55d3a208..f53144f8 100644
--- a/internal/app/wwctl/overlay/imprt/main.go
+++ b/internal/app/wwctl/overlay/imprt/main.go
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ func CobraRunE(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) (err error) {
 			}
 		}
 
-		return overlay.BuildSpecificOverlays(updateNodes, []string{overlayName}, Workers)
+		return overlay.BuildSpecificOverlays(updateNodes, nodes, []string{overlayName}, Workers)
 	}
 
 	return nil
diff --git a/internal/app/wwctl/overlay/show/main.go b/internal/app/wwctl/overlay/show/main.go
index 97f7a3e4..533322e7 100644
--- a/internal/app/wwctl/overlay/show/main.go
+++ b/internal/app/wwctl/overlay/show/main.go
@@ -57,7 +57,12 @@ func CobraRunE(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 			nodeConf = node.NewNode(hostName)
 			nodeConf.ClusterName = hostName
 		}
-		tstruct, err := overlay.InitStruct(overlayName, nodeConf)
+		var allNodes []node.Node
+		allNodes, err = nodeDB.FindAllNodes()
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		tstruct, err := overlay.InitStruct(overlayName, nodeConf, allNodes)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
diff --git a/internal/pkg/configure/hostfile.go b/internal/pkg/configure/hostfile.go
index 3046eb41..e8bf1759 100644
--- a/internal/pkg/configure/hostfile.go
+++ b/internal/pkg/configure/hostfile.go
@@ -20,8 +20,18 @@ func Hostfile() (err error) {
 		return fmt.Errorf("'the overlay template '/etc/hosts.ww' does not exists in 'host' overlay")
 	}
 
+	var allNodes []node.Node
+	if nodeDB, err := node.New(); err != nil {
+		return err
+	} else {
+		allNodes, err = nodeDB.FindAllNodes()
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+
 	hostname, _ := os.Hostname()
-	tstruct, err := overlay.InitStruct(overlay_.Name(), node.NewNode(hostname))
+	tstruct, err := overlay.InitStruct(overlay_.Name(), node.NewNode(hostname), allNodes)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/internal/pkg/overlay/datastructure.go b/internal/pkg/overlay/datastructure.go
index 67c61d5f..e818717f 100644
--- a/internal/pkg/overlay/datastructure.go
+++ b/internal/pkg/overlay/datastructure.go
@@ -46,16 +46,12 @@ type TemplateStruct struct {
 /*
 Initialize an TemplateStruct with the given node.NodeInfo
 */
-func InitStruct(overlayName string, nodeData node.Node) (TemplateStruct, error) {
+func InitStruct(overlayName string, nodeData node.Node, allNodes []node.Node) (TemplateStruct, error) {
 	var tstruct TemplateStruct
 	tstruct.Overlay = overlayName
 	hostname, _ := os.Hostname()
 	tstruct.BuildHost = hostname
 	controller := warewulfconf.Get()
-	nodeDB, err := node.New()
-	if err != nil {
-		return tstruct, err
-	}
 	tstruct.ThisNode = &nodeData
 	if tstruct.ThisNode.Kernel == nil {
 		tstruct.ThisNode.Kernel = new(node.KernelConf)
@@ -75,10 +71,6 @@ func InitStruct(overlayName string, nodeData node.Node) (TemplateStruct, error)
 	tstruct.Ipaddr6 = controller.Ipaddr6
 	tstruct.Netmask = controller.Netmask
 	tstruct.Network = controller.Network
-	allNodes, err := nodeDB.FindAllNodes()
-	if err != nil {
-		return tstruct, err
-	}
 	// init some convenience vars
 	tstruct.Id = nodeData.Id()
 	tstruct.Hostname = nodeData.Id()
@@ -92,14 +84,11 @@ func InitStruct(overlayName string, nodeData node.Node) (TemplateStruct, error)
 	var buf bytes.Buffer
 	enc := gob.NewEncoder(&buf)
 	dec := gob.NewDecoder(&buf)
-	err = enc.Encode(nodeData)
-	if err != nil {
+	if err := enc.Encode(nodeData); err != nil {
 		return tstruct, err
 	}
-	err = dec.Decode(&tstruct)
-	if err != nil {
+	if err := dec.Decode(&tstruct); err != nil {
 		return tstruct, err
 	}
 	return tstruct, nil
-
 }
diff --git a/internal/pkg/overlay/overlay.go b/internal/pkg/overlay/overlay.go
index 37724604..e0eba792 100644
--- a/internal/pkg/overlay/overlay.go
+++ b/internal/pkg/overlay/overlay.go
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ func (this Overlay) IsDistributionOverlay() bool {
 	return path.Dir(this.Path()) == config.Get().Paths.DistributionOverlaydir()
 }
 
-func BuildAllOverlays(nodes []node.Node, workerCount int) error {
+func BuildAllOverlays(nodes []node.Node, allNodes []node.Node, workerCount int) error {
 	nodeChan := make(chan node.Node, len(nodes))
 	errChan := make(chan error, len(nodes)*2)
 
@@ -109,12 +109,12 @@ func BuildAllOverlays(nodes []node.Node, workerCount int) error {
 	worker := func() {
 		for n := range nodeChan {
 			wwlog.Info("Building system overlays for %s: [%s]", n.Id(), strings.Join(n.SystemOverlay, ", "))
-			if err := BuildOverlay(n, "system", n.SystemOverlay); err != nil {
+			if err := BuildOverlay(n, allNodes, "system", n.SystemOverlay); err != nil {
 				errChan <- fmt.Errorf("could not build system overlays %v for node %s: %w", n.SystemOverlay, n.Id(), err)
 			}
 
 			wwlog.Info("Building runtime overlays for %s: [%s]", n.Id(), strings.Join(n.RuntimeOverlay, ", "))
-			if err := BuildOverlay(n, "runtime", n.RuntimeOverlay); err != nil {
+			if err := BuildOverlay(n, allNodes, "runtime", n.RuntimeOverlay); err != nil {
 				errChan <- fmt.Errorf("could not build runtime overlays %v for node %s: %w", n.RuntimeOverlay, n.Id(), err)
 			}
 		}
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ func BuildAllOverlays(nodes []node.Node, workerCount int) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func BuildSpecificOverlays(nodes []node.Node, overlayNames []string, workerCount int) error {
+func BuildSpecificOverlays(nodes []node.Node, allNodes []node.Node, overlayNames []string, workerCount int) error {
 	nodeChan := make(chan node.Node, len(nodes))
 	errChan := make(chan error, len(nodes))
 
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ func BuildSpecificOverlays(nodes []node.Node, overlayNames []string, workerCount
 		for n := range nodeChan {
 			wwlog.Info("Building overlay for %s: %v", n, overlayNames)
 			for _, overlayName := range overlayNames {
-				err := BuildOverlay(n, "", []string{overlayName})
+				err := BuildOverlay(n, allNodes, "", []string{overlayName})
 				if err != nil {
 					errChan <- fmt.Errorf("could not build overlay %s for node %s: %w", overlayName, n.Id(), err)
 				}
@@ -190,7 +190,16 @@ func BuildHostOverlay() error {
 	if !(stats.Mode() == os.FileMode(0750|os.ModeDir) || stats.Mode() == os.FileMode(0700|os.ModeDir)) {
 		wwlog.SecWarn("Permissions of host overlay dir %s are %s (750 is considered as secure)", hostdir, stats.Mode())
 	}
-	return BuildOverlayIndir(hostData, []string{"host"}, "/")
+	registry, err := node.New()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	var allNodes []node.Node
+	allNodes, err = registry.FindAllNodes()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	return BuildOverlayIndir(hostData, allNodes, []string{"host"}, "/")
 }
 
 /*
@@ -220,7 +229,7 @@ func FindOverlays() (overlayList []string, err error) {
 /*
 Build the given overlays for a node and create a Image for them
 */
-func BuildOverlay(nodeConf node.Node, context string, overlayNames []string) error {
+func BuildOverlay(nodeConf node.Node, allNodes []node.Node, context string, overlayNames []string) error {
 	if len(overlayNames) == 0 && context == "" {
 		return nil
 	}
@@ -245,7 +254,7 @@ func BuildOverlay(nodeConf node.Node, context string, overlayNames []string) err
 
 	wwlog.Debug("Created temporary directory for %s: %s", name, buildDir)
 
-	err = BuildOverlayIndir(nodeConf, overlayNames, buildDir)
+	err = BuildOverlayIndir(nodeConf, allNodes, overlayNames, buildDir)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to generate files for %s: %w", name, err)
 	}
@@ -274,7 +283,7 @@ func init() {
 }
 
 // Build the given overlays for a node in the given directory.
-func BuildOverlayIndir(nodeData node.Node, overlayNames []string, outputDir string) error {
+func BuildOverlayIndir(nodeData node.Node, allNodes []node.Node, overlayNames []string, outputDir string) error {
 	if len(overlayNames) == 0 {
 		return nil
 	}
@@ -323,7 +332,7 @@ func BuildOverlayIndir(nodeData node.Node, overlayNames []string, outputDir stri
 			} else if filepath.Ext(walkPath) == ".ww" {
 				originalOutputPath := outputPath
 				outputPath := strings.TrimSuffix(outputPath, ".ww")
-				tstruct, err := InitStruct(overlayName, nodeData)
+				tstruct, err := InitStruct(overlayName, nodeData, allNodes)
 				if err != nil {
 					return fmt.Errorf("failed to initial data for %s: %w", nodeData.Id(), err)
 				}
diff --git a/internal/pkg/overlay/overlay_test.go b/internal/pkg/overlay/overlay_test.go
index 5e198c4f..af6a09af 100644
--- a/internal/pkg/overlay/overlay_test.go
+++ b/internal/pkg/overlay/overlay_test.go
@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ T3
 
 			env.MkdirAll(t, tt.outputDir)
 
-			assert.NoError(t, BuildOverlayIndir(tt.node, tt.overlays, env.GetPath(tt.outputDir)))
+			assert.NoError(t, BuildOverlayIndir(tt.node, []node.Node{tt.node}, tt.overlays, env.GetPath(tt.outputDir)))
 			dirFiles := tt.outputDirs
 			for outputFile, _ := range tt.outputFiles {
 				dirFiles = append(dirFiles, outputFile)
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@ func Test_BuildOverlay(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, tt := range tests {
 		nodeInfo := node.NewNode(tt.nodeName)
 		t.Run(tt.description, func(t *testing.T) {
-			err := BuildOverlay(nodeInfo, tt.context, tt.overlays)
+			err := BuildOverlay(nodeInfo, []node.Node{nodeInfo}, tt.context, tt.overlays)
 			assert.NoError(t, err)
 			if tt.image != "" {
 				image := env.GetPath(path.Join("srv/warewulf/overlays", tt.image))
@@ -523,7 +523,7 @@ func Test_BuildAllOverlays(t *testing.T) {
 				}
 				nodes = append(nodes, nodeInfo)
 			}
-			err := BuildAllOverlays(nodes, runtime.NumCPU())
+			err := BuildAllOverlays(nodes, nodes, runtime.NumCPU())
 			assert.NoError(t, err)
 			if tt.createdOverlays == nil {
 				dirName := path.Join(provisionDir, "overlays")
@@ -615,7 +615,7 @@ func Test_BuildSpecificOverlays(t *testing.T) {
 				nodeInfo := node.NewNode(nodeName)
 				nodes = append(nodes, nodeInfo)
 			}
-			err := BuildSpecificOverlays(nodes, tt.overlays, runtime.NumCPU())
+			err := BuildSpecificOverlays(nodes, nodes, tt.overlays, runtime.NumCPU())
 			if !tt.succeed {
 				assert.Error(t, err)
 			} else {
diff --git a/internal/pkg/warewulfd/util.go b/internal/pkg/warewulfd/util.go
index a98c1b47..919ee05e 100644
--- a/internal/pkg/warewulfd/util.go
+++ b/internal/pkg/warewulfd/util.go
@@ -58,10 +58,23 @@ func getOverlayFile(n node.Node, context string, stage_overlays []string, autobu
 	}
 
 	if build {
+		registry, err := node.New()
+		if err != nil {
+			wwlog.Error("Failed to build overlay: %s, %s, %s\n%s",
+				n.Id(), stage_overlays, stage_file, err)
+			return "", err
+		}
+		var allNodes []node.Node
+		allNodes, err = registry.FindAllNodes()
+		if err != nil {
+			wwlog.Error("Failed to build overlay: %s, %s, %s\n%s",
+				n.Id(), stage_overlays, stage_file, err)
+			return "", err
+		}
 		if len(stage_overlays) > 0 {
-			err = overlay.BuildSpecificOverlays([]node.Node{n}, stage_overlays, 1)
+			err = overlay.BuildSpecificOverlays([]node.Node{n}, allNodes, stage_overlays, 1)
 		} else {
-			err = overlay.BuildAllOverlays([]node.Node{n}, 1)
+			err = overlay.BuildAllOverlays([]node.Node{n}, allNodes, 1)
 		}
 		if err != nil {
 			wwlog.Error("Failed to build overlay: %s, %s, %s\n%s",