diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/close/TransportCloseIndexAction.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/close/TransportCloseIndexAction.java
index c83fc7d177d..2c25ee34f18 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/close/TransportCloseIndexAction.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/close/TransportCloseIndexAction.java
@@ -36,15 +36,15 @@ import org.elasticsearch.node.settings.NodeSettingsService;
 import org.elasticsearch.threadpool.ThreadPool;
 import org.elasticsearch.transport.TransportService;
 
-import java.util.Arrays;
-
 /**
  * Close index action
  */
-public class TransportCloseIndexAction extends TransportMasterNodeAction<CloseIndexRequest, CloseIndexResponse> {
+public class TransportCloseIndexAction extends TransportMasterNodeAction<CloseIndexRequest, CloseIndexResponse> implements NodeSettingsService.Listener {
 
     private final MetaDataIndexStateService indexStateService;
     private final DestructiveOperations destructiveOperations;
+    private volatile boolean closeIndexEnabled;
+    public static final String SETTING_CLUSTER_INDICES_CLOSE_ENABLE = "cluster.indices.close.enable";
 
     @Inject
     public TransportCloseIndexAction(Settings settings, TransportService transportService, ClusterService clusterService,
@@ -54,6 +54,8 @@ public class TransportCloseIndexAction extends TransportMasterNodeAction<CloseIn
         super(settings, CloseIndexAction.NAME, transportService, clusterService, threadPool, actionFilters, indexNameExpressionResolver, CloseIndexRequest::new);
         this.indexStateService = indexStateService;
         this.destructiveOperations = destructiveOperations;
+        this.closeIndexEnabled = settings.getAsBoolean(SETTING_CLUSTER_INDICES_CLOSE_ENABLE, true);
+        nodeSettingsService.addListener(this);
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -70,6 +72,9 @@ public class TransportCloseIndexAction extends TransportMasterNodeAction<CloseIn
     @Override
     protected void doExecute(CloseIndexRequest request, ActionListener<CloseIndexResponse> listener) {
         destructiveOperations.failDestructive(request.indices());
+        if (closeIndexEnabled == false) {
+            throw new IllegalStateException("closing indices is disabled - set [" + SETTING_CLUSTER_INDICES_CLOSE_ENABLE + ": true] to enable it. NOTE: closed indices still consume a significant amount of diskspace");
+        }
         super.doExecute(request, listener);
     }
 
@@ -99,4 +104,13 @@ public class TransportCloseIndexAction extends TransportMasterNodeAction<CloseIn
             }
         });
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public void onRefreshSettings(Settings settings) {
+        final boolean enable = settings.getAsBoolean(SETTING_CLUSTER_INDICES_CLOSE_ENABLE, this.closeIndexEnabled);
+        if (enable != this.closeIndexEnabled) {
+            logger.info("updating [{}] from [{}] to [{}]", SETTING_CLUSTER_INDICES_CLOSE_ENABLE, this.closeIndexEnabled, enable);
+            this.closeIndexEnabled = enable;
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/ClusterModule.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/ClusterModule.java
index 640a21cd22d..cbc333e3392 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/ClusterModule.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/ClusterModule.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 
 package org.elasticsearch.cluster;
 
+import org.elasticsearch.action.admin.indices.close.TransportCloseIndexAction;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.support.DestructiveOperations;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.action.index.MappingUpdatedAction;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.action.index.NodeIndexDeletedAction;
@@ -202,6 +203,7 @@ public class ClusterModule extends AbstractModule {
         registerClusterDynamicSetting(TransportService.SETTING_TRACE_LOG_INCLUDE + ".*", Validator.EMPTY);
         registerClusterDynamicSetting(TransportService.SETTING_TRACE_LOG_EXCLUDE, Validator.EMPTY);
         registerClusterDynamicSetting(TransportService.SETTING_TRACE_LOG_EXCLUDE + ".*", Validator.EMPTY);
+        registerClusterDynamicSetting(TransportCloseIndexAction.SETTING_CLUSTER_INDICES_CLOSE_ENABLE, Validator.BOOLEAN);
     }
 
     private void registerBuiltinIndexSettings() {
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/state/CloseIndexDisableCloseAllIT.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/state/CloseIndexDisableCloseAllIT.java
index 326c5bb22e4..bde40aa928f 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/state/CloseIndexDisableCloseAllIT.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/state/CloseIndexDisableCloseAllIT.java
@@ -21,7 +21,9 @@ package org.elasticsearch.indices.state;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.admin.cluster.health.ClusterHealthResponse;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.admin.cluster.state.ClusterStateResponse;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.admin.indices.close.CloseIndexResponse;
+import org.elasticsearch.action.admin.indices.close.TransportCloseIndexAction;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.support.DestructiveOperations;
+import org.elasticsearch.client.Client;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.metadata.IndexMetaData;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Settings;
 import org.elasticsearch.test.ESIntegTestCase;
@@ -32,7 +34,7 @@ import static org.elasticsearch.test.hamcrest.ElasticsearchAssertions.assertAcke
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.equalTo;
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.notNullValue;
 
-@ClusterScope(scope= Scope.TEST, numDataNodes =2)
+@ClusterScope(scope=Scope.TEST, numDataNodes=2)
 public class CloseIndexDisableCloseAllIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
     // Combined multiple tests into one, because cluster scope is test.
     // The cluster scope is test b/c we can't clear cluster settings.
@@ -83,6 +85,20 @@ public class CloseIndexDisableCloseAllIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
         CloseIndexResponse closeIndexResponse = client().admin().indices().prepareClose("test3", "test2").execute().actionGet();
         assertThat(closeIndexResponse.isAcknowledged(), equalTo(true));
         assertIndexIsClosed("test2", "test3");
+
+        // disable closing
+        Client client = client();
+        createIndex("test_no_close");
+        healthResponse = client.admin().cluster().prepareHealth().setWaitForGreenStatus().execute().actionGet();
+        assertThat(healthResponse.isTimedOut(), equalTo(false));
+        client().admin().cluster().prepareUpdateSettings().setTransientSettings(Settings.builder().put(TransportCloseIndexAction.SETTING_CLUSTER_INDICES_CLOSE_ENABLE, false)).get();
+
+        try {
+            client.admin().indices().prepareClose("test_no_close").execute().actionGet();
+            fail("exception expected");
+        } catch (IllegalStateException ex) {
+            assertEquals(ex.getMessage(), "closing indices is disabled - set [cluster.indices.close.enable: true] to enable it. NOTE: closed indices still consume a significant amount of diskspace");
+        }
     }
 
     private void assertIndexIsClosed(String... indices) {
diff --git a/docs/reference/indices/open-close.asciidoc b/docs/reference/indices/open-close.asciidoc
index 29259d2b331..7f230b05a0c 100644
--- a/docs/reference/indices/open-close.asciidoc
+++ b/docs/reference/indices/open-close.asciidoc
@@ -26,4 +26,8 @@ or specifying patterns that identify them all (e.g. `*`).
 
 Identifying indices via wildcards or `_all` can be disabled by setting the
 `action.destructive_requires_name` flag in the config file to `true`.
-This setting can also be changed via the cluster update settings api.
\ No newline at end of file
+This setting can also be changed via the cluster update settings api.
+
+Closed indices consume a significant amount of disk-space which can cause problems
+issues in managed environments. Closing indices can be disabled via the cluster settings
+API by setting `cluster.indices.close.enable` to `false`. The default is `true`.
\ No newline at end of file