[FIXED] cloud-init Slow Booting in Proxmox / Ubuntu Server
The message cloud-init: waiting for network config or a 2 to 5-minute boot delay on Ubuntu Server virtual machines running on Proxmox VE, KVM, or Cloud VPS occurs when cloud-init stalls waiting for DHCP responses on unconfigured secondary network interfaces.
Quick Diagnostics
/etc/cloud/cloud.cfgsystemctl disable cloud-initQuick Solution (1 Minute): Disable post-provisioning cloud-init network waiting services:
BASHsudo touch /etc/cloud/cloud-init.disabled sudo systemctl disable cloud-init.service
🚀 Step-by-Step Fixes
Step 1: Diagnose Boot Bottlenecks
Inspect boot time duration per service using systemd-analyze:
systemd-analyze blame | grep cloud-init
If cloud-init-local.service or cloud-config.service reports times over 30 seconds, cloud-init is stuck on network queries.
Step 2: Disable cloud-init Post-Provisioning
Once your virtual machine has been fully created and configured with its static IP/hostname:
# Prevent cloud-init execution on subsequent boots
sudo touch /etc/cloud/cloud-init.disabled
# Disable systemd services
sudo systemctl disable cloud-init.service
sudo systemctl disable cloud-init-local.service
sudo systemctl disable cloud-config.service
sudo systemctl disable cloud-final.service
Step 3: Configure Non-Blocking Netplan Interfaces
On Ubuntu Server, edit /etc/netplan/50-cloud-init.yaml:
network:
version: 2
ethernets:
eth0:
dhcp4: true
optional: true
Adding optional: true allows Ubuntu to complete booting immediately even if DHCP network resolution is slow. Apply changes:
sudo netplan apply
Prevention Advice
Recommended security practices: