Affected versions: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

πŸ“– ~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 edits are reverted after restart.

Environment & Reproduction

Typical on cloud images managed by cloud-init.

Root Cause Analysis

Datasource metadata causes cloud-init to regenerate netplan files.

Quick Triage

Confirm cloud-init ownership of network config.

Step-by-Step Diagnosis

Inspect cloud-init logs and generated network JSON.

Illustrative mockup for ubuntu-22-04-lts β€” terminal_or_shell
cloud-init and netplan state checks β€” Illustrative mockup β€” Progressive Robot

Solution – Primary Fix

Disable cloud-init networking and manage netplan directly.

Still having issues? Our IT Solutions & Services team can diagnose and resolve this for you. Get in touch for a free consultation.

Illustrative mockup for ubuntu-22-04-lts β€” logs_or_journal
cloud-init logs for network stages β€” Illustrative mockup β€” Progressive Robot

Solution – Alternative Approaches

Keep cloud-init enabled and update seed userdata network config.

Verification & Acceptance Criteria

Network config remains stable across reboot cycles.

Rollback Plan

Remove disable file and let cloud-init manage network again.

Prevention & Hardening

Define clear ownership between image defaults and runtime config management.

Related to DHCP route metrics and stale metadata issues.

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

View all Ubuntu 22.04 LTS tutorials on the Tutorials Hub β†’

Browse all common problems & solutions on the Tutorials Hub.

References & Further Reading

Ubuntu cloud-init networking behavior documentation.

Need Expert Help?

If you cannot resolve this yourself, our team offers hands-on Server Management, Managed IT Services, and flexible Support Plans. Contact us today β€” we respond within one business day.