diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/commands/citus_global_signal.c b/src/backend/distributed/commands/citus_global_signal.c
index 64bb67f0d..8f33f91b7 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/commands/citus_global_signal.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/commands/citus_global_signal.c
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 
 #include "distributed/backend_data.h"
 #include "distributed/metadata_cache.h"
+#include "distributed/remote_commands.h"
 #include "distributed/worker_manager.h"
 #include "lib/stringinfo.h"
 #include "signal.h"
@@ -111,18 +112,39 @@ CitusSignalBackend(uint64 globalPID, uint64 timeout, int sig)
 #endif
 	}
 
-	StringInfo queryResult = makeStringInfo();
+	int connectionFlags = 0;
+	MultiConnection *connection = GetNodeConnection(connectionFlags,
+													workerNode->workerName,
+													workerNode->workerPort);
 
-	bool reportResultError = true;
-
-	bool success = ExecuteRemoteQueryOrCommand(workerNode->workerName,
-											   workerNode->workerPort, cancelQuery->data,
-											   queryResult, reportResultError);
-
-	if (success && queryResult && strcmp(queryResult->data, "f") == 0)
+	if (!SendRemoteCommand(connection, cancelQuery->data))
 	{
+		/* if we cannot connect, we warn and report false */
+		ReportConnectionError(connection, WARNING);
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	bool raiseInterrupts = true;
+	PGresult *queryResult = GetRemoteCommandResult(connection, raiseInterrupts);
+
+	/* if remote node throws an error, we also throw an error */
+	if (!IsResponseOK(queryResult))
+	{
+		ReportResultError(connection, queryResult, ERROR);
+	}
+
+	StringInfo queryResultString = makeStringInfo();
+	bool success = EvaluateSingleQueryResult(connection, queryResult, queryResultString);
+	if (success && strcmp(queryResultString->data, "f") == 0)
+	{
+		/* worker node returned "f" */
 		success = false;
 	}
 
+	PQclear(queryResult);
+
+	bool raiseErrors = false;
+	ClearResults(connection, raiseErrors);
+
 	return success;
 }
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/connection/connection_management.c b/src/backend/distributed/connection/connection_management.c
index 7b89b3e96..e0c33b9ce 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/connection/connection_management.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/connection/connection_management.c
@@ -1477,6 +1477,18 @@ IsRebalancerInternalBackend(void)
 }
 
 
+/*
+ * IsCitusRunCommandBackend returns true if we are in a backend that one of
+ * the run_command_on_* functions initiated.
+ */
+bool
+IsCitusRunCommandBackend(void)
+{
+	return application_name &&
+		   strcmp(application_name, CITUS_RUN_COMMAND_APPLICATION_NAME) == 0;
+}
+
+
 /*
  * IsCitusInitiatedRemoteBackend returns true if we are in a backend that citus
  * initiated via remote connection.
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/connection/remote_commands.c b/src/backend/distributed/connection/remote_commands.c
index 4c1aae6bf..2445a69f3 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/connection/remote_commands.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/connection/remote_commands.c
@@ -1115,3 +1115,92 @@ SendCancelationRequest(MultiConnection *connection)
 
 	return cancelSent;
 }
+
+
+/*
+ * EvaluateSingleQueryResult gets the query result from connection and returns
+ * true if the query is executed successfully, false otherwise. A query result
+ * or an error message is returned in queryResultString. The function requires
+ * that the query returns a single column/single row result. It returns an
+ * error otherwise.
+ */
+bool
+EvaluateSingleQueryResult(MultiConnection *connection, PGresult *queryResult,
+						  StringInfo queryResultString)
+{
+	bool success = false;
+
+	ExecStatusType resultStatus = PQresultStatus(queryResult);
+	if (resultStatus == PGRES_COMMAND_OK)
+	{
+		char *commandStatus = PQcmdStatus(queryResult);
+		appendStringInfo(queryResultString, "%s", commandStatus);
+		success = true;
+	}
+	else if (resultStatus == PGRES_TUPLES_OK)
+	{
+		int ntuples = PQntuples(queryResult);
+		int nfields = PQnfields(queryResult);
+
+		/* error if query returns more than 1 rows, or more than 1 fields */
+		if (nfields != 1)
+		{
+			appendStringInfo(queryResultString,
+							 "expected a single column in query target");
+		}
+		else if (ntuples > 1)
+		{
+			appendStringInfo(queryResultString,
+							 "expected a single row in query result");
+		}
+		else
+		{
+			int row = 0;
+			int column = 0;
+			if (!PQgetisnull(queryResult, row, column))
+			{
+				char *queryResultValue = PQgetvalue(queryResult, row, column);
+				appendStringInfo(queryResultString, "%s", queryResultValue);
+			}
+			success = true;
+		}
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		StoreErrorMessage(connection, queryResultString);
+	}
+
+	return success;
+}
+
+
+/*
+ * StoreErrorMessage gets the error message from connection and stores it
+ * in queryResultString. It should be called only when error is present
+ * otherwise it would return a default error message.
+ */
+void
+StoreErrorMessage(MultiConnection *connection, StringInfo queryResultString)
+{
+	char *errorMessage = PQerrorMessage(connection->pgConn);
+	if (errorMessage != NULL)
+	{
+		/* copy the error message to a writable memory */
+		errorMessage = pnstrdup(errorMessage, strlen(errorMessage));
+
+		char *firstNewlineIndex = strchr(errorMessage, '\n');
+
+		/* trim the error message at the line break */
+		if (firstNewlineIndex != NULL)
+		{
+			*firstNewlineIndex = '\0';
+		}
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		/* put a default error message if no error message is reported */
+		errorMessage = "An error occurred while running the query";
+	}
+
+	appendStringInfo(queryResultString, "%s", errorMessage);
+}
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/operations/citus_tools.c b/src/backend/distributed/operations/citus_tools.c
index b7905d9f8..41122655e 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/operations/citus_tools.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/operations/citus_tools.c
@@ -29,6 +29,9 @@
 #include "utils/builtins.h"
 
 
+#define SET_APPLICATION_NAME_QUERY \
+	"SET application_name TO '" CITUS_RUN_COMMAND_APPLICATION_NAME "'"
+
 PG_FUNCTION_INFO_V1(master_run_on_worker);
 
 static int ParseCommandParameters(FunctionCallInfo fcinfo, StringInfo **nodeNameArray,
@@ -42,15 +45,15 @@ static void ExecuteCommandsInParallelAndStoreResults(StringInfo *nodeNameArray,
 													 int commandCount);
 static bool GetConnectionStatusAndResult(MultiConnection *connection, bool *resultStatus,
 										 StringInfo queryResultString);
-static bool EvaluateQueryResult(MultiConnection *connection, PGresult *queryResult,
-								StringInfo queryResultString);
-static void StoreErrorMessage(MultiConnection *connection, StringInfo queryResultString);
 static void ExecuteCommandsAndStoreResults(StringInfo *nodeNameArray,
 										   int *nodePortArray,
 										   StringInfo *commandStringArray,
 										   bool *statusArray,
 										   StringInfo *resultStringArray,
 										   int commandCount);
+static bool ExecuteOptionalSingleResultCommand(MultiConnection *connection,
+											   char *queryString, StringInfo
+											   queryResultString);
 static Tuplestorestate * CreateTupleStore(TupleDesc tupleDescriptor,
 										  StringInfo *nodeNameArray, int *nodePortArray,
 										  bool *statusArray,
@@ -239,18 +242,66 @@ ExecuteCommandsInParallelAndStoreResults(StringInfo *nodeNameArray, int *nodePor
 
 		FinishConnectionEstablishment(connection);
 
+		/* check whether connection attempt was successful */
 		if (PQstatus(connection->pgConn) != CONNECTION_OK)
 		{
 			appendStringInfo(queryResultString, "failed to connect to %s:%d", nodeName,
-							 (int) nodePort);
+							 nodePort);
 			statusArray[commandIndex] = false;
+			CloseConnection(connection);
 			connectionArray[commandIndex] = NULL;
 			finishedCount++;
+			continue;
 		}
-		else
+
+		/* set the application_name to avoid nested execution checks */
+		int querySent = SendRemoteCommand(connection, SET_APPLICATION_NAME_QUERY);
+		if (querySent == 0)
 		{
-			statusArray[commandIndex] = true;
+			StoreErrorMessage(connection, queryResultString);
+			statusArray[commandIndex] = false;
+			CloseConnection(connection);
+			connectionArray[commandIndex] = NULL;
+			finishedCount++;
+			continue;
 		}
+
+		statusArray[commandIndex] = true;
+	}
+
+	/* send queries at once */
+	for (int commandIndex = 0; commandIndex < commandCount; commandIndex++)
+	{
+		MultiConnection *connection = connectionArray[commandIndex];
+		if (connection == NULL)
+		{
+			continue;
+		}
+
+		bool raiseInterrupts = true;
+		PGresult *queryResult = GetRemoteCommandResult(connection, raiseInterrupts);
+
+		/* write the result value or error message to queryResultString */
+		StringInfo queryResultString = resultStringArray[commandIndex];
+		bool success = EvaluateSingleQueryResult(connection, queryResult,
+												 queryResultString);
+		if (!success)
+		{
+			statusArray[commandIndex] = false;
+			CloseConnection(connection);
+			connectionArray[commandIndex] = NULL;
+			finishedCount++;
+			continue;
+		}
+
+		/* clear results for the next command */
+		PQclear(queryResult);
+
+		bool raiseErrors = false;
+		ClearResults(connection, raiseErrors);
+
+		/* we only care about the SET application_name result on failure */
+		resetStringInfo(queryResultString);
 	}
 
 	/* send queries at once */
@@ -357,7 +408,7 @@ GetConnectionStatusAndResult(MultiConnection *connection, bool *resultStatus,
 
 	/* query result is available at this point */
 	PGresult *queryResult = PQgetResult(connection->pgConn);
-	bool success = EvaluateQueryResult(connection, queryResult, queryResultString);
+	bool success = EvaluateSingleQueryResult(connection, queryResult, queryResultString);
 	PQclear(queryResult);
 
 	*resultStatus = success;
@@ -366,95 +417,6 @@ GetConnectionStatusAndResult(MultiConnection *connection, bool *resultStatus,
 }
 
 
-/*
- * EvaluateQueryResult gets the query result from connection and returns
- * true if the query is executed successfully, false otherwise. A query result
- * or an error message is returned in queryResultString. The function requires
- * that the query returns a single column/single row result. It returns an
- * error otherwise.
- */
-static bool
-EvaluateQueryResult(MultiConnection *connection, PGresult *queryResult,
-					StringInfo queryResultString)
-{
-	bool success = false;
-
-	ExecStatusType resultStatus = PQresultStatus(queryResult);
-	if (resultStatus == PGRES_COMMAND_OK)
-	{
-		char *commandStatus = PQcmdStatus(queryResult);
-		appendStringInfo(queryResultString, "%s", commandStatus);
-		success = true;
-	}
-	else if (resultStatus == PGRES_TUPLES_OK)
-	{
-		int ntuples = PQntuples(queryResult);
-		int nfields = PQnfields(queryResult);
-
-		/* error if query returns more than 1 rows, or more than 1 fields */
-		if (nfields != 1)
-		{
-			appendStringInfo(queryResultString,
-							 "expected a single column in query target");
-		}
-		else if (ntuples > 1)
-		{
-			appendStringInfo(queryResultString,
-							 "expected a single row in query result");
-		}
-		else
-		{
-			int row = 0;
-			int column = 0;
-			if (!PQgetisnull(queryResult, row, column))
-			{
-				char *queryResultValue = PQgetvalue(queryResult, row, column);
-				appendStringInfo(queryResultString, "%s", queryResultValue);
-			}
-			success = true;
-		}
-	}
-	else
-	{
-		StoreErrorMessage(connection, queryResultString);
-	}
-
-	return success;
-}
-
-
-/*
- * StoreErrorMessage gets the error message from connection and stores it
- * in queryResultString. It should be called only when error is present
- * otherwise it would return a default error message.
- */
-static void
-StoreErrorMessage(MultiConnection *connection, StringInfo queryResultString)
-{
-	char *errorMessage = PQerrorMessage(connection->pgConn);
-	if (errorMessage != NULL)
-	{
-		/* copy the error message to a writable memory */
-		errorMessage = pnstrdup(errorMessage, strlen(errorMessage));
-
-		char *firstNewlineIndex = strchr(errorMessage, '\n');
-
-		/* trim the error message at the line break */
-		if (firstNewlineIndex != NULL)
-		{
-			*firstNewlineIndex = '\0';
-		}
-	}
-	else
-	{
-		/* put a default error message if no error message is reported */
-		errorMessage = "An error occurred while running the query";
-	}
-
-	appendStringInfo(queryResultString, "%s", errorMessage);
-}
-
-
 /*
  * ExecuteCommandsAndStoreResults connects to each node specified in
  * nodeNameArray and nodePortArray, and executes command in commandStringArray
@@ -469,63 +431,76 @@ ExecuteCommandsAndStoreResults(StringInfo *nodeNameArray, int *nodePortArray,
 {
 	for (int commandIndex = 0; commandIndex < commandCount; commandIndex++)
 	{
+		CHECK_FOR_INTERRUPTS();
+
 		char *nodeName = nodeNameArray[commandIndex]->data;
 		int32 nodePort = nodePortArray[commandIndex];
 		char *queryString = commandStringArray[commandIndex]->data;
 		StringInfo queryResultString = resultStringArray[commandIndex];
-		bool reportResultError = false;
 
-		bool success = ExecuteRemoteQueryOrCommand(nodeName, nodePort, queryString,
-												   queryResultString, reportResultError);
+		int connectionFlags = FORCE_NEW_CONNECTION;
+		MultiConnection *connection =
+			GetNodeConnection(connectionFlags, nodeName, nodePort);
+
+		/* set the application_name to avoid nested execution checks */
+		bool success = ExecuteOptionalSingleResultCommand(connection,
+														  SET_APPLICATION_NAME_QUERY,
+														  queryResultString);
+		if (!success)
+		{
+			statusArray[commandIndex] = false;
+			CloseConnection(connection);
+			continue;
+		}
+
+		/* we only care about the SET application_name result on failure */
+		resetStringInfo(queryResultString);
+
+		/* send the actual query string */
+		success = ExecuteOptionalSingleResultCommand(connection, queryString,
+													 queryResultString);
 
 		statusArray[commandIndex] = success;
-
-		CHECK_FOR_INTERRUPTS();
+		CloseConnection(connection);
 	}
 }
 
 
 /*
- * ExecuteRemoteQueryOrCommand executes a query at specified remote node using
+ * ExecuteOptionalSingleResultCommand executes a query at specified remote node using
  * the calling user's credentials. The function returns the query status
  * (success/failure), and query result. The query is expected to return a single
  * target containing zero or one rows.
  */
-bool
-ExecuteRemoteQueryOrCommand(char *nodeName, uint32 nodePort, char *queryString,
-							StringInfo queryResultString, bool reportResultError)
+static bool
+ExecuteOptionalSingleResultCommand(MultiConnection *connection, char *queryString,
+								   StringInfo queryResultString)
 {
-	int connectionFlags = FORCE_NEW_CONNECTION;
-	MultiConnection *connection =
-		GetNodeConnection(connectionFlags, nodeName, nodePort);
-	bool raiseInterrupts = true;
-
 	if (PQstatus(connection->pgConn) != CONNECTION_OK)
 	{
-		appendStringInfo(queryResultString, "failed to connect to %s:%d", nodeName,
-						 (int) nodePort);
+		appendStringInfo(queryResultString, "failed to connect to %s:%d",
+						 connection->hostname, connection->port);
 		return false;
 	}
 
 	if (!SendRemoteCommand(connection, queryString))
 	{
-		appendStringInfo(queryResultString, "failed to send query to %s:%d", nodeName,
-						 (int) nodePort);
+		appendStringInfo(queryResultString, "failed to send query to %s:%d",
+						 connection->hostname, connection->port);
 		return false;
 	}
 
+	bool raiseInterrupts = true;
 	PGresult *queryResult = GetRemoteCommandResult(connection, raiseInterrupts);
-	bool success = EvaluateQueryResult(connection, queryResult, queryResultString);
 
-	if (!success && reportResultError)
-	{
-		ReportResultError(connection, queryResult, ERROR);
-	}
+	/* write the result value or error message to queryResultString */
+	bool success = EvaluateSingleQueryResult(connection, queryResult, queryResultString);
 
+	/* clear result and close the connection */
 	PQclear(queryResult);
 
-	/* close the connection */
-	CloseConnection(connection);
+	bool raiseErrors = false;
+	ClearResults(connection, raiseErrors);
 
 	return success;
 }
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_shard_visibility.c b/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_shard_visibility.c
index e482a955c..fe7fe5143 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_shard_visibility.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/worker/worker_shard_visibility.c
@@ -358,7 +358,8 @@ ShouldHideShardsInternal(void)
 		return false;
 	}
 
-	if (IsCitusInternalBackend() || IsRebalancerInternalBackend())
+	if (IsCitusInternalBackend() || IsRebalancerInternalBackend() ||
+		IsCitusRunCommandBackend())
 	{
 		/* we never hide shards from Citus */
 		return false;
diff --git a/src/include/distributed/backend_data.h b/src/include/distributed/backend_data.h
index ccb4da535..036943c7c 100644
--- a/src/include/distributed/backend_data.h
+++ b/src/include/distributed/backend_data.h
@@ -70,10 +70,6 @@ extern int GetExternalClientBackendCount(void);
 extern uint32 IncrementExternalClientBackendCounter(void);
 extern void DecrementExternalClientBackendCounter(void);
 
-extern bool ExecuteRemoteQueryOrCommand(char *nodeName, uint32 nodePort,
-										char *queryString, StringInfo queryResultString,
-										bool reportResultError);
-
 #define INVALID_CITUS_INTERNAL_BACKEND_GPID 0
 #define GLOBAL_PID_NODE_ID_FOR_NODES_NOT_IN_METADATA 99999999
 
diff --git a/src/include/distributed/connection_management.h b/src/include/distributed/connection_management.h
index 2e31bc9da..7f47ffc62 100644
--- a/src/include/distributed/connection_management.h
+++ b/src/include/distributed/connection_management.h
@@ -35,6 +35,9 @@
 /* application name used for internal connections in rebalancer */
 #define CITUS_REBALANCER_NAME "citus_rebalancer"
 
+/* application name used for connections made by run_command_on_* */
+#define CITUS_RUN_COMMAND_APPLICATION_NAME "citus_run_command"
+
 /* deal with waiteventset errors */
 #define WAIT_EVENT_SET_INDEX_NOT_INITIALIZED -1
 #define WAIT_EVENT_SET_INDEX_FAILED -2
@@ -287,6 +290,7 @@ extern void ClaimConnectionExclusively(MultiConnection *connection);
 extern void UnclaimConnection(MultiConnection *connection);
 extern bool IsCitusInternalBackend(void);
 extern bool IsRebalancerInternalBackend(void);
+extern bool IsCitusRunCommandBackend(void);
 extern void MarkConnectionConnected(MultiConnection *connection);
 
 /* waiteventset utilities */
diff --git a/src/include/distributed/remote_commands.h b/src/include/distributed/remote_commands.h
index 7e2c4852f..93d4f6bfd 100644
--- a/src/include/distributed/remote_commands.h
+++ b/src/include/distributed/remote_commands.h
@@ -66,4 +66,8 @@ extern void WaitForAllConnections(List *connectionList, bool raiseInterrupts);
 
 extern bool SendCancelationRequest(MultiConnection *connection);
 
+extern bool EvaluateSingleQueryResult(MultiConnection *connection, PGresult *queryResult,
+									  StringInfo queryResultString);
+extern void StoreErrorMessage(MultiConnection *connection, StringInfo queryResultString);
+
 #endif /* REMOTE_COMMAND_H */
diff --git a/src/test/regress/expected/failure_multi_dml.out b/src/test/regress/expected/failure_multi_dml.out
index 527255bdd..612b441c7 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/expected/failure_multi_dml.out
+++ b/src/test/regress/expected/failure_multi_dml.out
@@ -218,6 +218,12 @@ COMMIT;
     '],
     false
 );
+WARNING:  server closed the connection unexpectedly
+	This probably means the server terminated abnormally
+	before or while processing the request.
+connection not open
+CONTEXT:  while executing command on localhost:xxxxx
+while executing command on localhost:xxxxx
    master_run_on_worker
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
  (localhost,57636,t,BEGIN)
diff --git a/src/test/regress/expected/isolation_replicate_reference_tables_to_coordinator.out b/src/test/regress/expected/isolation_replicate_reference_tables_to_coordinator.out
index a2792d0c4..ffaf739c6 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/expected/isolation_replicate_reference_tables_to_coordinator.out
+++ b/src/test/regress/expected/isolation_replicate_reference_tables_to_coordinator.out
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ step s1-update-ref-table:
     update ref_table set a = a + 1;
 
 step s2-sleep:
-	SELECT pg_sleep(0.5);
+ SELECT pg_sleep(0.5);
 
 pg_sleep
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -112,9 +112,10 @@ query                                    |state              |wait_event_type|wa
 (2 rows)
 
 step s2-view-worker:
-	SELECT query, state, wait_event_type, wait_event, usename, datname
+ SELECT query, state, wait_event_type, wait_event, usename, datname
     FROM citus_stat_activity
     WHERE query NOT ILIKE ALL(VALUES
+      ('%application_name%'),
       ('%pg_prepared_xacts%'),
       ('%COMMIT%'),
       ('%dump_local_%'),
@@ -168,9 +169,9 @@ step s1-update-ref-table:
     update ref_table set a = a + 1;
 
 step s2-active-transactions:
-	-- Admin should be able to see all transactions
-	SELECT count(*) FROM get_all_active_transactions() WHERE transaction_number != 0;
-	SELECT count(*) FROM get_global_active_transactions() WHERE transaction_number != 0;
+ -- Admin should be able to see all transactions
+ SELECT count(*) FROM get_all_active_transactions() WHERE transaction_number != 0;
+ SELECT count(*) FROM get_global_active_transactions() WHERE transaction_number != 0;
 
 count
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/src/test/regress/expected/run_command_on_all_nodes.out b/src/test/regress/expected/run_command_on_all_nodes.out
index 3e37b7c60..76c42ad23 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/expected/run_command_on_all_nodes.out
+++ b/src/test/regress/expected/run_command_on_all_nodes.out
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ SELECT tablename FROM pg_tables WHERE schemaname = 'run_command_on_all_nodes';
 (1 row)
 
 \c - - - :master_port
+SET search_path TO run_command_on_all_nodes;
 SELECT result FROM run_command_on_all_nodes('SELECT tablename FROM pg_tables WHERE schemaname = ''run_command_on_all_nodes'';');
  result
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -62,6 +63,13 @@ SELECT result FROM run_command_on_all_nodes('SELECT tablename FROM pg_tables WHE
  tbl
 (3 rows)
 
+CREATE TABLE test (x int, y int);
+SELECT create_distributed_table('test','x');
+ create_distributed_table
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+(1 row)
+
 -- break a node and check messages
 BEGIN;
 SELECT nodeid AS worker_1_nodeid FROM pg_dist_node WHERE nodeport = :worker_1_port \gset
@@ -127,6 +135,24 @@ SELECT success, result FROM run_command_on_all_nodes($$select result from run_co
  t       | 57636
 (3 rows)
 
+SELECT success, result FROM run_command_on_all_nodes($$select result from run_command_on_coordinator('select count(*) from run_command_on_all_nodes.test')$$);
+ success | result
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
+ t       | 0
+ t       | 0
+ t       | 0
+(3 rows)
+
+\c - - - :worker_1_port
+-- poor man's DDL from worker
+select result from run_command_on_coordinator($$create index on run_command_on_all_nodes.test (x)$$);
+    result
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
+ CREATE INDEX
+(1 row)
+
+\c - - - :master_port
+-- remove coordinator from metadata to restore pre-test situation
 SELECT citus_remove_node(nodename, nodeport) FROM pg_dist_node WHERE groupid = 0;
  citus_remove_node
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -141,5 +167,41 @@ ERROR:  the coordinator is not added to the metadata
 HINT:  Add the node as a coordinator by using: SELECT citus_set_coordinator_host('<hostname>')
 CONTEXT:  PL/pgSQL function run_command_on_coordinator(text,boolean) line XX at RAISE
 ROLLBACK;
+-- check that we can do distributed queries from worker nodes
+SELECT success, result FROM run_command_on_all_nodes($$insert into run_command_on_all_nodes.test values (1,2)$$, true);
+ success |   result
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
+ t       | INSERT 0 1
+ t       | INSERT 0 1
+ t       | INSERT 0 1
+(3 rows)
+
+SELECT success, result FROM run_command_on_all_nodes($$insert into run_command_on_all_nodes.test values (1,2)$$, false);
+ success |   result
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
+ t       | INSERT 0 1
+ t       | INSERT 0 1
+ t       | INSERT 0 1
+(3 rows)
+
+SELECT success, result FROM run_command_on_all_nodes($$select count(*) from run_command_on_all_nodes.test$$);
+ success | result
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
+ t       | 6
+ t       | 6
+ t       | 6
+(3 rows)
+
+-- ddl commands are only allowed from the coordinator
+SELECT success, result FROM run_command_on_all_nodes($$create index on run_command_on_all_nodes.test (x)$$);
+ success |                    result
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
+ f       | ERROR:  operation is not allowed on this node
+ f       | ERROR:  operation is not allowed on this node
+ t       | CREATE INDEX
+(3 rows)
+
 DROP SCHEMA run_command_on_all_nodes CASCADE;
-NOTICE:  drop cascades to table run_command_on_all_nodes.tbl
+NOTICE:  drop cascades to 2 other objects
+DETAIL:  drop cascades to table run_command_on_all_nodes.tbl
+drop cascades to table run_command_on_all_nodes.test
diff --git a/src/test/regress/spec/isolation_replicate_reference_tables_to_coordinator.spec b/src/test/regress/spec/isolation_replicate_reference_tables_to_coordinator.spec
index f55f869dd..11f260bfd 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/spec/isolation_replicate_reference_tables_to_coordinator.spec
+++ b/src/test/regress/spec/isolation_replicate_reference_tables_to_coordinator.spec
@@ -89,6 +89,7 @@ step "s2-view-worker"
 	SELECT query, state, wait_event_type, wait_event, usename, datname
     FROM citus_stat_activity
     WHERE query NOT ILIKE ALL(VALUES
+      ('%application_name%'),
       ('%pg_prepared_xacts%'),
       ('%COMMIT%'),
       ('%dump_local_%'),
diff --git a/src/test/regress/sql/run_command_on_all_nodes.sql b/src/test/regress/sql/run_command_on_all_nodes.sql
index 2f6327ce2..0004a74e7 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/sql/run_command_on_all_nodes.sql
+++ b/src/test/regress/sql/run_command_on_all_nodes.sql
@@ -27,8 +27,13 @@ SELECT tablename FROM pg_tables WHERE schemaname = 'run_command_on_all_nodes';
 SELECT tablename FROM pg_tables WHERE schemaname = 'run_command_on_all_nodes';
 
 \c - - - :master_port
+SET search_path TO run_command_on_all_nodes;
+
 SELECT result FROM run_command_on_all_nodes('SELECT tablename FROM pg_tables WHERE schemaname = ''run_command_on_all_nodes'';');
 
+CREATE TABLE test (x int, y int);
+SELECT create_distributed_table('test','x');
+
 -- break a node and check messages
 BEGIN;
 SELECT nodeid AS worker_1_nodeid FROM pg_dist_node WHERE nodeport = :worker_1_port \gset
@@ -57,6 +62,12 @@ SELECT success, result FROM run_command_on_all_nodes($$select result from run_co
 -- we can use run_command_on_coordinator from any node if the coordinator is in the metadata
 SELECT citus_set_coordinator_host('localhost');
 SELECT success, result FROM run_command_on_all_nodes($$select result from run_command_on_coordinator('select inet_server_port()')$$);
+SELECT success, result FROM run_command_on_all_nodes($$select result from run_command_on_coordinator('select count(*) from run_command_on_all_nodes.test')$$);
+\c - - - :worker_1_port
+-- poor man's DDL from worker
+select result from run_command_on_coordinator($$create index on run_command_on_all_nodes.test (x)$$);
+\c - - - :master_port
+-- remove coordinator from metadata to restore pre-test situation
 SELECT citus_remove_node(nodename, nodeport) FROM pg_dist_node WHERE groupid = 0;
 
 -- check that we fail when pg_dist_node is empty
@@ -65,4 +76,12 @@ DELETE FROM pg_dist_node;
 SELECT success, result FROM run_command_on_coordinator('select inet_server_port()');
 ROLLBACK;
 
+-- check that we can do distributed queries from worker nodes
+SELECT success, result FROM run_command_on_all_nodes($$insert into run_command_on_all_nodes.test values (1,2)$$, true);
+SELECT success, result FROM run_command_on_all_nodes($$insert into run_command_on_all_nodes.test values (1,2)$$, false);
+SELECT success, result FROM run_command_on_all_nodes($$select count(*) from run_command_on_all_nodes.test$$);
+
+-- ddl commands are only allowed from the coordinator
+SELECT success, result FROM run_command_on_all_nodes($$create index on run_command_on_all_nodes.test (x)$$);
+
 DROP SCHEMA run_command_on_all_nodes CASCADE;