diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/agent_config/resource_limits.rs b/hive-c0re/src/agent_config/resource_limits.rs
index 153877ae..46ea47df 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/agent_config/resource_limits.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/agent_config/resource_limits.rs
@@ -260,32 +260,18 @@ pub fn validate_cpu_quota(value: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
     ))
 }
 
-/// Validate a systemd `MemoryMax=` value — a byte count with an optional
-/// `K`/`M`/`G`/`T` suffix, a percentage of physical memory, or the literal
-/// `infinity` — and return the exact string to store and pass to systemd.
-///
-/// That's not always `value` itself: a size is accepted case-insensitively
-/// and with an optional redundant trailing `B` (`8gb`, `8Gb`, `8GB`, `8g`,
-/// `8G` are all the same size to a human), but only `8G` is what systemd's
-/// own parser actually takes — confirmed directly against a running
-/// systemd 260: `MemoryMax=8GB` and `MemoryMax=8g` both fail unit
-/// activation with "Invalid argument", while `MemoryMax=8G` starts fine.
-/// Accepting the friendly spellings and normalizing them here means every
-/// caller downstream only ever sees the one form systemd accepts, instead
-/// of everyone re-deriving that systemd is this particular about case and
-/// the redundant `B`.
+/// Validate a systemd `MemoryMax=` value: a byte count with an optional
+/// `K`/`M`/`G`/`T` suffix, a percentage of physical memory, or the
+/// literal `infinity`.
 ///
 /// # Errors
 ///
 /// Returns a human-readable message naming the offending value and the
 /// three accepted shapes. Same operator-facing contract as
 /// [`validate_cpu_quota`].
-pub fn validate_memory_max(value: &str) -> Result<String, String> {
-    if value == "infinity" || is_percentage(value) {
-        return Ok(value.to_owned());
-    }
-    if let Some(normalized) = normalized_byte_size(value) {
-        return Ok(normalized);
+pub fn validate_memory_max(value: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
+    if value == "infinity" || is_percentage(value) || is_byte_size(value) {
+        return Ok(());
     }
     Err(format!(
         "invalid MemoryMax {value:?}: expected a size such as \"8G\", a percentage \
@@ -298,32 +284,12 @@ fn is_percentage(value: &str) -> bool {
     value.strip_suffix('%').is_some_and(is_plain_number)
 }
 
-/// A decimal number with an optional `K`/`M`/`G`/`T` suffix — accepted
-/// case-insensitively and with an optional trailing `B` (`gb`/`Gb`/`GB`/`g`
-/// are all read as `G`) — returned in the single uppercase-letter-no-
-/// redundant-`B` form systemd itself accepts. See [`validate_memory_max`]
-/// for why. A trailing `B` with no multiplier before it (`1048576B`) is a
-/// bare byte count and kept as-is — systemd accepts `B` as a unit on its
-/// own, unlike the redundant `KB`/`MB`/`GB`/`TB` combinations.
-fn normalized_byte_size(value: &str) -> Option<String> {
-    if let Some(before_b) = value.strip_suffix(['B', 'b']) {
-        return match before_b.strip_suffix(['K', 'M', 'G', 'T', 'k', 'm', 'g', 't']) {
-            Some(mantissa) if is_plain_number(mantissa) => {
-                let unit = before_b[mantissa.len()..].to_ascii_uppercase();
-                Some(format!("{mantissa}{unit}"))
-            }
-            Some(_) => None,
-            None => is_plain_number(before_b).then(|| format!("{before_b}B")),
-        };
-    }
-    match value.strip_suffix(['K', 'M', 'G', 'T', 'k', 'm', 'g', 't']) {
-        Some(mantissa) if is_plain_number(mantissa) => {
-            let unit = value[mantissa.len()..].to_ascii_uppercase();
-            Some(format!("{mantissa}{unit}"))
-        }
-        Some(_) => None,
-        None => is_plain_number(value).then(|| value.to_owned()),
-    }
+/// A decimal number with an optional single-letter binary suffix.
+fn is_byte_size(value: &str) -> bool {
+    let mantissa = value
+        .strip_suffix(['K', 'M', 'G', 'T', 'k', 'm', 'g', 't'])
+        .unwrap_or(value);
+    is_plain_number(mantissa)
 }
 
 /// Digits, optionally followed by a single `.` and more digits. Hand
@@ -436,31 +402,9 @@ mod tests {
         }
     }
 
-    /// mara hit this directly: "16GB" reads as an obviously
-    /// valid size to a human, but systemd's own parser takes only the
-    /// single-letter form — confirmed against a running systemd 260,
-    /// `MemoryMax=16GB` and `MemoryMax=16g` both fail unit activation,
-    /// `MemoryMax=16G` doesn't. Accept the friendly spellings and normalize
-    /// them to what systemd actually wants, rather than rejecting input a
-    /// human reasonably expects to work.
-    #[test]
-    fn friendly_size_spellings_normalize_to_systemds_own_form() {
-        for (input, want) in [
-            ("8GB", "8G"),
-            ("8Gb", "8G"),
-            ("8gb", "8G"),
-            ("8g", "8G"),
-            ("512mb", "512M"),
-            ("1048576b", "1048576B"),
-            ("1.5gb", "1.5G"),
-        ] {
-            assert_eq!(validate_memory_max(input).as_deref(), Ok(want));
-        }
-    }
-
     #[test]
     fn rejects_invalid_memory_maxes() {
-        for v in ["", "G", "abc", "-8G", "8 G", "Infinity", "8Gi", "8KG"] {
+        for v in ["", "8GB", "G", "abc", "-8G", "8 G", "Infinity", "8Gi"] {
             assert!(validate_memory_max(v).is_err(), "{v} should be rejected");
         }
     }
@@ -476,7 +420,7 @@ mod tests {
             parse_bytes("1.5G"),
             Some(1024 * 1024 * 1024 + 512 * 1024 * 1024)
         );
-        // Lowercase suffixes accepted, matching `normalized_byte_size`.
+        // Lowercase suffixes accepted, matching `is_byte_size`.
         assert_eq!(parse_bytes("4g"), Some(4 * 1024 * 1024 * 1024));
     }
 
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/dashboard/lifecycle_ops.rs b/hive-c0re/src/dashboard/lifecycle_ops.rs
index 3ba31e22..6204d434 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/dashboard/lifecycle_ops.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/dashboard/lifecycle_ops.rs
@@ -376,16 +376,14 @@ pub(super) async fn post_resource_limits(
     {
         return (StatusCode::UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY, e).into_response();
     }
-    // Returns the value to store, not just an ok/err verdict — see
-    // `validate_memory_max`'s own doc for why that isn't always `v`.
-    let memory_max = match memory_max.map(crate::resource_limits::validate_memory_max) {
-        Some(Err(e)) => return (StatusCode::UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY, e).into_response(),
-        Some(Ok(v)) => Some(v),
-        None => None,
-    };
+    if let Some(v) = memory_max
+        && let Err(e) = crate::resource_limits::validate_memory_max(v)
+    {
+        return (StatusCode::UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY, e).into_response();
+    }
     let limits = crate::resource_limits::AgentLimits {
         cpu_quota: cpu_quota.map(str::to_owned),
-        memory_max,
+        memory_max: memory_max.map(str::to_owned),
     };
     if let Err(e) = crate::meta::commit_resource_limits(ident.as_str(), &limits).await {
         return error_response(&format!("set limits {logical}: {e:#}"));
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/server.rs b/hive-c0re/src/server.rs
index 803682e2..547540d4 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/server.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/server.rs
@@ -502,17 +502,13 @@ async fn handle_set_resource_limits(
     if let Some(value) = cpu_quota {
         crate::resource_limits::validate_cpu_quota(value).map_err(anyhow::Error::msg)?;
     }
-    // `validate_memory_max` returns the value to store, not just an
-    // ok/err verdict: a friendly spelling like "8GB" is accepted but
-    // normalized to the "8G" systemd's own parser actually takes.
-    let memory_max = memory_max
-        .map(crate::resource_limits::validate_memory_max)
-        .transpose()
-        .map_err(anyhow::Error::msg)?;
+    if let Some(value) = memory_max {
+        crate::resource_limits::validate_memory_max(value).map_err(anyhow::Error::msg)?;
+    }
     tracing::info!(%name, ?cpu_quota, ?memory_max, "set_resource_limits");
     let limits = crate::resource_limits::AgentLimits {
         cpu_quota: cpu_quota.map(ToOwned::to_owned),
-        memory_max,
+        memory_max: memory_max.map(ToOwned::to_owned),
     };
     // Goes through `meta::commit_resource_limits`, not the bare
     // `resource_limits::set_limits`: the write has to be staged +