diff --git a/playbooks/zuul-tox/pre.yaml b/playbooks/zuul-tox/pre.yaml
index 166875a6bb..c8c1c65006 100644
--- a/playbooks/zuul-tox/pre.yaml
+++ b/playbooks/zuul-tox/pre.yaml
@@ -4,13 +4,3 @@
     - run-dstat
     - role: ensure-zookeeper
       zookeeper_use_tls: true
-  tasks:
-    # This is needed to run opendev unit test jobs under bionic/focal,
-    # but may not be necessary in later releases
-    - name: Increase open file limit
-      become: True
-      lineinfile:
-        path: /etc/security/limits.conf
-        line: '* soft nofile 4096'
-    - name: Reset SSH connection
-      meta: reset_connection