Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Slow Boot Caused by cloud-init Wait

📖 ~1 min read

Table of contents

1. Symptom & Impact
2. Environment & Reproduction
3. Root Cause Analysis
4. Quick Triage
5. Step-by-Step Diagnosis
6. Solution – Primary Fix
7. Solution – Alternative Approaches
8. Verification & Acceptance Criteria
9. Rollback Plan
10. Prevention & Hardening
11. Related Errors & Cross-Refs
12. References & Further Reading

Symptom & Impact

Boot process takes several extra minutes and dependent services start late.

Environment & Reproduction

Occurs on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS VM images where cloud-init waits for unavailable metadata.

Root Cause Analysis

cloud-init datasource detection retries and network waits delay boot target completion.

Quick Triage

Measure startup critical path before changing cloud-init settings.

Step-by-Step Diagnosis

Review cloud-init logs and datasource probe behavior for repeated timeout entries.

Solution – Primary Fix

Set correct datasource list or disable cloud-init where image metadata is not needed.

Solution – Alternative Approaches

Use datasource-specific configuration files rather than disabling cloud-init globally.

Verification & Acceptance Criteria

systemd-analyze reports reduced boot time and cloud-init completes without timeout loops.

Rollback Plan

Restore previous cloud-init config files and rebuild init state if provisioning regresses.

Prevention & Hardening

Standardize cloud image templates with known datasource settings for each platform.

Related Errors & Cross-Refs

Frequently appears with DHCP delays and netplan misconfigured interfaces.

Related tutorial: View the step-by-step tutorial for Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

View all Ubuntu 22.04 LTS tutorials on the Tutorials Hub →

Browse all common problems & solutions on the Tutorials Hub.

References & Further Reading

See cloud-init upstream docs and Ubuntu cloud image guidance.