diff --git a/src/Microsoft.Android.Build.BaseTasks/AsyncTaskExtensions.cs b/src/Microsoft.Android.Build.BaseTasks/AsyncTaskExtensions.cs
index 3911cc3..fce4bc6 100644
--- a/src/Microsoft.Android.Build.BaseTasks/AsyncTaskExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/Microsoft.Android.Build.BaseTasks/AsyncTaskExtensions.cs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-// https://github.com/xamarin/xamarin-android/blob/83854738b8e01747f9536f426fe17ad784cc2081/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Utilities/AsyncTaskExtensions.cs
+// https://github.com/xamarin/xamarin-android/blob/83854738b8e01747f9536f426fe17ad784cc2081/src/Xamarin.Android.Build.Tasks/Utilities/AsyncTaskExtensions.cs
 
 using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
@@ -12,17 +12,24 @@ public static class AsyncTaskExtensions
 		/// <summary>
 		/// Creates a collection of Task with proper CancellationToken and error handling and waits via Task.WhenAll
 		/// </summary>
-		public static Task WhenAll<TSource>(this AsyncTask asyncTask, IEnumerable<TSource> source, Action<TSource> body)
+		public static Task WhenAll<TSource> (this AsyncTask asyncTask, IEnumerable<TSource> source, Action<TSource> body) =>
+			asyncTask.WhenAll (source, body, maxConcurrencyLevel: DefaultMaxConcurrencyLevel);
+
+		/// <summary>
+		/// Creates a collection of Task with proper CancellationToken and error handling and waits via Task.WhenAll
+		/// </summary>
+		public static Task WhenAll<TSource>(this AsyncTask asyncTask, IEnumerable<TSource> source, Action<TSource> body, int maxConcurrencyLevel, TaskCreationOptions creationOptions = TaskCreationOptions.LongRunning)
 		{
+			var scheduler = GetTaskScheduler (maxConcurrencyLevel);
 			var tasks = new List<Task> ();
 			foreach (var s in source) {
-				tasks.Add (Task.Run (() => {
+				tasks.Add (Task.Factory.StartNew (() => {
 					try {
 						body (s);
 					} catch (Exception exc) {
 						LogErrorAndCancel (asyncTask, exc);
 					}
-				}, asyncTask.CancellationToken));
+				}, asyncTask.CancellationToken, creationOptions, scheduler));
 			}
 			return Task.WhenAll (tasks);
 		}
@@ -31,18 +38,26 @@ public static Task WhenAll<TSource>(this AsyncTask asyncTask, IEnumerable<TSourc
 		/// Creates a collection of Task with proper CancellationToken and error handling and waits via Task.WhenAll
 		/// Passes an object the inner method can use for locking. The callback is of the form: (T item, object lockObject)
 		/// </summary>
-		public static Task WhenAllWithLock<TSource> (this AsyncTask asyncTask, IEnumerable<TSource> source, Action<TSource, object> body)
+		public static Task WhenAllWithLock<TSource> (this AsyncTask asyncTask, IEnumerable<TSource> source, Action<TSource, object> body) =>
+			asyncTask.WhenAllWithLock (source, body, maxConcurrencyLevel: DefaultMaxConcurrencyLevel);
+
+		/// <summary>
+		/// Creates a collection of Task with proper CancellationToken and error handling and waits via Task.WhenAll
+		/// Passes an object the inner method can use for locking. The callback is of the form: (T item, object lockObject)
+		/// </summary>
+		public static Task WhenAllWithLock<TSource> (this AsyncTask asyncTask, IEnumerable<TSource> source, Action<TSource, object> body, int maxConcurrencyLevel, TaskCreationOptions creationOptions = TaskCreationOptions.LongRunning)
 		{
+			var scheduler = GetTaskScheduler (maxConcurrencyLevel);
 			var lockObject = new object ();
 			var tasks = new List<Task> ();
 			foreach (var s in source) {
-				tasks.Add (Task.Run (() => {
+				tasks.Add (Task.Factory.StartNew (() => {
 					try {
 						body (s, lockObject);
 					} catch (Exception exc) {
 						LogErrorAndCancel (asyncTask, exc);
 					}
-				}, asyncTask.CancellationToken));
+				}, asyncTask.CancellationToken, creationOptions, scheduler));
 			}
 			return Task.WhenAll (tasks);
 		}
@@ -50,9 +65,15 @@ public static Task WhenAllWithLock<TSource> (this AsyncTask asyncTask, IEnumerab
 		/// <summary>
 		/// Calls Parallel.ForEach() with appropriate ParallelOptions and exception handling.
 		/// </summary>
-		public static ParallelLoopResult ParallelForEach<TSource> (this AsyncTask asyncTask, IEnumerable<TSource> source, Action<TSource> body)
+		public static ParallelLoopResult ParallelForEach<TSource> (this AsyncTask asyncTask, IEnumerable<TSource> source, Action<TSource> body) =>
+			asyncTask.ParallelForEach (source, body, maxConcurrencyLevel: DefaultMaxConcurrencyLevel);
+
+		/// <summary>
+		/// Calls Parallel.ForEach() with appropriate ParallelOptions and exception handling.
+		/// </summary>
+		public static ParallelLoopResult ParallelForEach<TSource> (this AsyncTask asyncTask, IEnumerable<TSource> source, Action<TSource> body, int maxConcurrencyLevel)
 		{
-			var options = ParallelOptions (asyncTask);
+			var options = ParallelOptions (asyncTask, maxConcurrencyLevel);
 			return Parallel.ForEach (source, options, s => {
 				try {
 					body (s);
@@ -66,9 +87,16 @@ public static ParallelLoopResult ParallelForEach<TSource> (this AsyncTask asyncT
 		/// Calls Parallel.ForEach() with appropriate ParallelOptions and exception handling.
 		/// Passes an object the inner method can use for locking. The callback is of the form: (T item, object lockObject)
 		/// </summary>
-		public static ParallelLoopResult ParallelForEachWithLock<TSource> (this AsyncTask asyncTask, IEnumerable<TSource> source, Action<TSource, object> body)
+		public static ParallelLoopResult ParallelForEachWithLock<TSource> (this AsyncTask asyncTask, IEnumerable<TSource> source, Action<TSource, object> body) =>
+			asyncTask.ParallelForEachWithLock (source, body, maxConcurrencyLevel: DefaultMaxConcurrencyLevel);
+
+		/// <summary>
+		/// Calls Parallel.ForEach() with appropriate ParallelOptions and exception handling.
+		/// Passes an object the inner method can use for locking. The callback is of the form: (T item, object lockObject)
+		/// </summary>
+		public static ParallelLoopResult ParallelForEachWithLock<TSource> (this AsyncTask asyncTask, IEnumerable<TSource> source, Action<TSource, object> body, int maxConcurrencyLevel)
 		{
-			var options = ParallelOptions (asyncTask);
+			var options = ParallelOptions (asyncTask, maxConcurrencyLevel);
 			var lockObject = new object ();
 			return Parallel.ForEach (source, options, s => {
 				try {
@@ -79,11 +107,19 @@ public static ParallelLoopResult ParallelForEachWithLock<TSource> (this AsyncTas
 			});
 		}
 
-		static ParallelOptions ParallelOptions (AsyncTask asyncTask) => new ParallelOptions {
+		static ParallelOptions ParallelOptions (AsyncTask asyncTask, int maxConcurrencyLevel) => new ParallelOptions {
 			CancellationToken = asyncTask.CancellationToken,
-			TaskScheduler = TaskScheduler.Default,
+			TaskScheduler = GetTaskScheduler (maxConcurrencyLevel),
 		};
 
+		static TaskScheduler GetTaskScheduler (int maxConcurrencyLevel)
+		{
+			var pair = new ConcurrentExclusiveSchedulerPair (TaskScheduler.Default, maxConcurrencyLevel);
+			return pair.ConcurrentScheduler;
+		}
+
+		static int DefaultMaxConcurrencyLevel => Math.Max (1, Environment.ProcessorCount - 1);
+
 		static void LogErrorAndCancel (AsyncTask asyncTask, Exception exc)
 		{
 			asyncTask.LogCodedError ("XA0000", Properties.Resources.XA0000_Exception, exc);
@@ -91,16 +127,27 @@ static void LogErrorAndCancel (AsyncTask asyncTask, Exception exc)
 		}
 
 		/// <summary>
-		/// Calls Task.Run() with a proper CancellationToken.
+		/// Calls Task.Factory.StartNew() with a proper CancellationToken, TaskScheduler, and TaskCreationOptions.LongRunning.
+		/// </summary>
+		public static Task RunTask (this AsyncTask asyncTask, Action body) =>
+			asyncTask.RunTask (body, maxConcurrencyLevel: DefaultMaxConcurrencyLevel);
+
+		/// <summary>
+		/// Calls Task.Factory.StartNew() with a proper CancellationToken
 		/// </summary>
-		public static Task RunTask (this AsyncTask asyncTask, Action body) => 
-			Task.Run (body, asyncTask.CancellationToken);
+		public static Task RunTask (this AsyncTask asyncTask, Action body, int maxConcurrencyLevel, TaskCreationOptions creationOptions = TaskCreationOptions.LongRunning) => 
+			Task.Factory.StartNew (body, asyncTask.CancellationToken, creationOptions, GetTaskScheduler (maxConcurrencyLevel));
 
+		/// <summary>
+		/// Calls Task.Factory.StartNew<T>() with a proper CancellationToken, TaskScheduler, and TaskCreationOptions.LongRunning.
+		/// </summary>
+		public static Task<TSource> RunTask<TSource> (this AsyncTask asyncTask, Func<TSource> body) =>
+			asyncTask.RunTask (body, maxConcurrencyLevel: DefaultMaxConcurrencyLevel);
 
 		/// <summary>
-		/// Calls Task.Run<T>() with a proper CancellationToken.
+		/// Calls Task.Factory.StartNew<T>() with a proper CancellationToken.
 		/// </summary>
-		public static Task<TSource> RunTask<TSource> (this AsyncTask asyncTask, Func<TSource> body) => 
-			Task.Run (body, asyncTask.CancellationToken);
+		public static Task<TSource> RunTask<TSource> (this AsyncTask asyncTask, Func<TSource> body, int maxConcurrencyLevel, TaskCreationOptions creationOptions = TaskCreationOptions.LongRunning) => 
+			Task.Factory.StartNew (body, asyncTask.CancellationToken, creationOptions, GetTaskScheduler (maxConcurrencyLevel));
 	}
 }
diff --git a/tests/Microsoft.Android.Build.BaseTasks-Tests/AsyncTaskExtensionsTests.cs b/tests/Microsoft.Android.Build.BaseTasks-Tests/AsyncTaskExtensionsTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ecfc866
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Microsoft.Android.Build.BaseTasks-Tests/AsyncTaskExtensionsTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;
+using Microsoft.Android.Build.Tasks;
+using NUnit.Framework;
+using Xamarin.Build;
+
+namespace Microsoft.Android.Build.BaseTasks.Tests
+{
+	[TestFixture]
+	public class AsyncTaskExtensionsTests
+	{
+		const int Iterations = 32;
+
+		[Test]
+		public async Task RunTask ()
+		{
+			bool set = false;
+			await new AsyncTask ().RunTask (delegate { set = true; }); // delegate { } has void return type
+			Assert.IsTrue (set);
+		}
+
+		[Test]
+		public async Task RunTaskOfT ()
+		{
+			bool set = false;
+			Assert.IsTrue (await new AsyncTask ().RunTask (() => set = true), "RunTask should return true");
+			Assert.IsTrue (set);
+		}
+
+		[Test]
+		public async Task WhenAll ()
+		{
+			bool set = false;
+			await new AsyncTask ().WhenAll (new [] { 0 }, _ => set = true);
+			Assert.IsTrue (set);
+		}
+
+		[Test]
+		public async Task WhenAllWithLock ()
+		{
+			var input = new int [Iterations];
+			var output = new List<int> ();
+			await new AsyncTask ().WhenAllWithLock (input, (i, l) => {
+				lock (l) output.Add (i);
+			});
+			Assert.AreEqual (Iterations, output.Count);
+		}
+
+		[Test]
+		public void ParallelForEach ()
+		{
+			bool set = false;
+			new AsyncTask ().ParallelForEach (new [] { 0 }, _ => set = true);
+			Assert.IsTrue (set);
+		}
+
+		[Test]
+		public void ParallelForEachWithLock ()
+		{
+			var input = new int [Iterations];
+			var output = new List<int> ();
+			new AsyncTask ().ParallelForEachWithLock (input, (i, l) => {
+				lock (l) output.Add (i);
+			});
+			Assert.AreEqual (Iterations, output.Count);
+		}
+	}
+}