diff --git a/etc/nova/nova.conf.sample b/etc/nova/nova.conf.sample
index e84dfebc72e8..4f8913714c43 100644
--- a/etc/nova/nova.conf.sample
+++ b/etc/nova/nova.conf.sample
@@ -313,7 +313,7 @@
 
 # whether to use per-user rate limiting for the api. (boolean
 # value)
-#api_rate_limit=true
+#api_rate_limit=false
 
 # The strategy to use for auth: noauth or keystone. (string
 # value)
diff --git a/nova/api/auth.py b/nova/api/auth.py
index 4d10a59618bc..95e861baa940 100644
--- a/nova/api/auth.py
+++ b/nova/api/auth.py
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ from nova import wsgi
 
 auth_opts = [
     cfg.BoolOpt('api_rate_limit',
-                default=True,
+                default=False,
                 help='whether to use per-user rate limiting for the api.'),
     cfg.StrOpt('auth_strategy',
                default='noauth',