Controlling boot behavior with a config drive

A config drive is a read-only, unpartitioned, 64-MB block device that is attached to a server during build. The device is formatted to comply with ISO 9960. By default this drive contains server-specific metadata such as networking at launch. User-specified files can be added to this drive for the purpose of injecting data into the server.

The config drive’s contents are accessible only when the drive is mounted. If the operating system supports accessing disk by label, the config drive is labeled config-2.

The config drive is used primarily as a data source for cloud-init. If cloud-init or cloudbase-init is present, the config drive is automatically mounted.

See also

Using flavors to create a new cloud server Changing the characteristics of a cloud server Monitoring events on your cloud server Creating a cloud server in a region Handling host-related issues Operating a cloud server with nova-agent Configuring disks for a cloud server Managing access with SSH keys Synchronizing time with NTP Describing a cloud server with metadata: Setting and updating metadata Showing metadata

Understanding flavor classes: Flavor classes for virtual cloud servers Flavor classes for OnMetal cloud servers Choosing a flavor class Checking for regional availability of flavor classes Controlling cloud server initiation: Controlling boot behavior with cloud-init Controlling boot behavior with a config drive Controlling boot behavior with personality

Understanding Cloud Servers introduces key ideas. To learn how to put these ideas to work, start at Actions for Cloud Servers.