Debian 13 – cloud-init rewrites network settings unexpectedly – Fix & Prevention

📖 ~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

Manual network changes revert after reboot, causing instability.

Environment & Reproduction

Common on cloud images where cloud-init remains network authority.

Root Cause Analysis

Datasource metadata regenerates network files during boot.

Quick Triage

Confirm cloud-init ownership and generated artifacts.

Step-by-Step Diagnosis

Inspect cloud-init execution logs and generated network JSON.

Solution – Primary Fix

Disable cloud-init networking and manage config directly.

Solution – Alternative Approaches

Retain cloud-init control and update seed user-data safely.

Verification & Acceptance Criteria

Network settings remain stable across restarts.

Rollback Plan

Remove disable file and return control to cloud-init.

Prevention & Hardening

Define a clear ownership model for cloud versus local network config.

Related Errors & Cross-Refs

Related to DHCP route metrics and metadata source changes.

Related tutorial: View the step-by-step tutorial for Debian 13.

View all Debian 13 tutorials on the Tutorials Hub →

Browse all common problems & solutions on the Tutorials Hub.

References & Further Reading

Debian cloud-init and netplan integration docs.