diff --git a/src/petals/server/server.py b/src/petals/server/server.py
index 562b56e..d084f06 100644
--- a/src/petals/server/server.py
+++ b/src/petals/server/server.py
@@ -264,6 +264,7 @@ class Server:
         self.mean_balance_check_period = mean_balance_check_period
         self.mean_block_selection_delay = mean_block_selection_delay
 
+        self.module_container = None
         self.stop = threading.Event()
 
     def _choose_num_blocks(self) -> int:
@@ -377,7 +378,7 @@ class Server:
             self._clean_memory_and_fds()
 
     def _clean_memory_and_fds(self):
-        del self.module_container
+        self.module_container = None
         gc.collect()  # In particular, this closes unused file descriptors
 
         if self.device.type == "cuda":
@@ -410,8 +411,10 @@ class Server:
         module_infos = get_remote_module_infos(self.dht, self.module_uids, latest=True)
         return block_selection.should_choose_other_blocks(self.dht.peer_id, module_infos, self.balance_quality)
 
-    def shutdown(self):
+    def shutdown(self, timeout: Optional[float] = 5):
         self.stop.set()
+        if self.module_container is not None and self.module_container.is_alive():
+            self.module_container.join(timeout)
 
         if self.reachability_protocol is not None:
             self.reachability_protocol.shutdown()