Cloud-init software package

IBM® Cloud Manager with OpenStack supports the cloud-init software package.

When you deploy an image with config drive enabled, IBM Cloud Manager with OpenStack makes the instance customizations available to cloud-init using the OpenStack config drive support. The cloud-init software package can then access the config drive and apply the customizations to the instance. The following are some of the customizations made available through the config drive:
  1. User data
  2. Personality files
  3. SSH key pair
  4. Network adapter information (for static networks)
  5. Password of the default user (the password option)
Using IBM Cloud Manager with OpenStack, you can enter the contents of the user data and personality files by using the deployment properties. You can enter the contents when you configure or deploy an image. The contents can be either base64 encoded or plain text. There are also deployment properties for the SSH key pair and network adapters that are based on the SSH key pairs and networks available. You can set the network adapters when you configure or deploy an image. However, the SSH key pair should not be set when you configure an image because OpenStack SSH key pairs are scoped to a user. Instead, the user who deploys the image should select an appropriate SSH key pair.
Note:
  • Config drive is ignored when deploying PowerVC images. As a result, the instance customizations that are passed by the config drive are also ignored.
  • The cloud-init password option sets the password for the default user, which is usually not the root user.
  • For more information about the cloud-init software package and the customizations that it supports, see CloudInit.
  • For more information about the OpenStack config drive support, see Config drive.
If force_config_drive is set to always in nova.conf, then config drive is already enabled. If this is not your configuration, then you must enable config drive each time that you deploy an image. To enable config drive manually, use one of the following methods:
  • If you are using the Nova command, add 'config-drive = true ' into a nova boot command.
  • If you are using the Heat template, set the boolean config_drive attribute to true in the template file.
  • If you are using the self-service portal to deploy an image, config drive is enabled by default. You can verify the setting on the Image page. Go to Configure > Software > Virtual Machine Configuration. Click Enable config drive.
  • If you are using OpenStack dashboard to deploy an image, on the Images page click Launch. On the Advanced Options panel, click Configuration Drive.