diff --git a/lib/ironic b/lib/ironic
index dbeb3d3d38..46eae7efce 100644
--- a/lib/ironic
+++ b/lib/ironic
@@ -53,12 +53,7 @@ IRONIC_VM_SSH_PORT=${IRONIC_VM_SSH_PORT:-22}
 IRONIC_VM_SSH_ADDRESS=${IRONIC_VM_SSH_ADDRESS:-$HOST_IP}
 IRONIC_VM_COUNT=${IRONIC_VM_COUNT:-1}
 IRONIC_VM_SPECS_CPU=${IRONIC_VM_SPECS_CPU:-1}
-# NOTE(adam_g): Kernels 3.12 and newer user tmpfs by default for initramfs.
-#               DIB produced ramdisks tend to be ~250MB but tmpfs will only allow
-#               use of 50% of available memory before ENOSPC.  Set minimum 1GB
-#               for nodes to avoid (LP: #1311987) and ensure consistency across
-#               older and newer kernels.
-IRONIC_VM_SPECS_RAM=${IRONIC_VM_SPECS_RAM:-1024}
+IRONIC_VM_SPECS_RAM=${IRONIC_VM_SPECS_RAM:-512}
 IRONIC_VM_SPECS_DISK=${IRONIC_VM_SPECS_DISK:-10}
 IRONIC_VM_EPHEMERAL_DISK=${IRONIC_VM_EPHEMERAL_DISK:-0}
 IRONIC_VM_EMULATOR=${IRONIC_VM_EMULATOR:-/usr/bin/qemu-system-x86_64}