Upload Cloud Images to OpenStack Glance – All Linux, BSD and Windows

OpenStack Glance is the image service that stores and serves virtual machine disk images to Nova compute nodes. Every VM you launch in OpenStack starts from an image registered in Glance. This guide is a complete reference for uploading cloud images for all major Linux distributions, BSD systems, and Windows Server into your OpenStack environment.

All images listed here are official vendor-provided cloud images with cloud-init pre-installed for SSH key injection and instance metadata. We cover Rocky Linux 10/9, AlmaLinux 10/9, Ubuntu 24.04/22.04, Debian 13/12, Fedora 42, CentOS Stream 10/9, FreeBSD 14, openSUSE, Arch Linux, Flatcar, Fedora CoreOS, and Windows Server.

Prerequisites

• A running OpenStack deployment with Glance configured on the controller node
• Admin credentials sourced (source admin-openrc.sh)
• The openstack CLI client installed
• Enough disk space in /var/lib/glance/images/ (or your configured Glance backend)

Default Cloud Image Login Usernames

Cloud images use SSH key-based authentication. Password login is disabled by default. The table below lists the default username for each distribution – you’ll need this when connecting to instances.

Distribution	Default Username	Notes
Rocky Linux 9/10	rocky
AlmaLinux 9/10	almalinux
Ubuntu 24.04/22.04	ubuntu
Debian 13/12	debian
Fedora 42	fedora
CentOS Stream 10/9	cloud-user
RHEL 10/9	cloud-user	Requires Red Hat subscription for image
openSUSE Leap	opensuse
Arch Linux	arch
FreeBSD 14	freebsd
OpenBSD	openbsd
NetBSD	netbsd
Fedora CoreOS	core	Requires Ignition config
Flatcar Linux	core	Requires Ignition/cloud-config
Cirros (testing)	cirros	Password: gocubsgo
Windows Server	Administrator	Requires cloudbase-init

Understanding Glance Image Upload Options

Before uploading, here’s what the key flags mean:

Flag	Description	Common Value
--container-format	Container wrapping the disk image	bare (no container)
--disk-format	Format of the virtual disk	qcow2, raw, vmdk
--file	Local path to the image file
--public	Make visible to all projects
--protected	Prevent accidental deletion
--property	Set metadata (os_distro, hw_disk_bus, etc.)
--min-disk	Minimum disk size in GB required to boot
--min-ram	Minimum RAM in MB required to boot

Upload Cirros Test Image

Cirros is a tiny Linux image built specifically for testing OpenStack. Start here to verify your Glance setup works before uploading production images.

VERSION=$(curl -s http://download.cirros-cloud.net/version/released)
wget http://download.cirros-cloud.net/$VERSION/cirros-$VERSION-x86_64-disk.img

openstack image create \
    --container-format bare \
    --disk-format qcow2 \
    --public \
    --file cirros-$VERSION-x86_64-disk.img \
    Cirros-Test

Upload Rocky Linux Cloud Images

Rocky Linux 10:

wget https://download.rockylinux.org/pub/rocky/10/images/x86_64/Rocky-10-GenericCloud-Base.latest.x86_64.qcow2

openstack image create \
    --container-format bare \
    --disk-format qcow2 \
    --public \
    --property os_distro=rocky \
    --property os_admin_user=rocky \
    --min-disk 10 \
    --min-ram 512 \
    --file Rocky-10-GenericCloud-Base.latest.x86_64.qcow2 \
    Rocky-Linux-10

Rocky Linux 9:

wget https://download.rockylinux.org/pub/rocky/9/images/x86_64/Rocky-9-GenericCloud.latest.x86_64.qcow2

openstack image create \
    --container-format bare \
    --disk-format qcow2 \
    --public \
    --property os_distro=rocky \
    --property os_admin_user=rocky \
    --min-disk 10 \
    --min-ram 512 \
    --file Rocky-9-GenericCloud.latest.x86_64.qcow2 \
    Rocky-Linux-9

Upload AlmaLinux Cloud Images

AlmaLinux 10:

wget https://repo.almalinux.org/almalinux/10/cloud/x86_64/images/AlmaLinux-10-GenericCloud-latest.x86_64.qcow2

openstack image create \
    --container-format bare \
    --disk-format qcow2 \
    --public \
    --property os_distro=almalinux \
    --property os_admin_user=almalinux \
    --min-disk 10 \
    --min-ram 512 \
    --file AlmaLinux-10-GenericCloud-latest.x86_64.qcow2 \
    AlmaLinux-10

AlmaLinux 9:

wget https://repo.almalinux.org/almalinux/9/cloud/x86_64/images/AlmaLinux-9-GenericCloud-latest.x86_64.qcow2

openstack image create \
    --container-format bare \
    --disk-format qcow2 \
    --public \
    --property os_distro=almalinux \
    --property os_admin_user=almalinux \
    --min-disk 10 \
    --min-ram 512 \
    --file AlmaLinux-9-GenericCloud-latest.x86_64.qcow2 \
    AlmaLinux-9

Upload Ubuntu Cloud Images

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble):

wget https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/noble/current/noble-server-cloudimg-amd64.img

openstack image create \
    --container-format bare \
    --disk-format qcow2 \
    --public \
    --property os_distro=ubuntu \
    --property os_admin_user=ubuntu \
    --min-disk 10 \
    --min-ram 512 \
    --file noble-server-cloudimg-amd64.img \
    Ubuntu-24.04

Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy):

wget https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/jammy/current/jammy-server-cloudimg-amd64.img

openstack image create \
    --container-format bare \
    --disk-format qcow2 \
    --public \
    --property os_distro=ubuntu \
    --property os_admin_user=ubuntu \
    --min-disk 10 \
    --min-ram 512 \
    --file jammy-server-cloudimg-amd64.img \
    Ubuntu-22.04

Upload Debian Cloud Images

Debian 13 (Trixie):

wget https://cloud.debian.org/images/cloud/trixie/daily/latest/debian-13-generic-amd64-daily.qcow2

openstack image create \
    --container-format bare \
    --disk-format qcow2 \
    --public \
    --property hw_disk_bus=scsi \
    --property hw_scsi_model=virtio-scsi \
    --property os_type=linux \
    --property os_distro=debian \
    --property os_admin_user=debian \
    --min-disk 5 \
    --file debian-13-generic-amd64-daily.qcow2 \
    Debian-13

Debian 12 (Bookworm):

wget https://cloud.debian.org/images/cloud/bookworm/latest/debian-12-generic-amd64.qcow2

openstack image create \
    --container-format bare \
    --disk-format qcow2 \
    --public \
    --property hw_disk_bus=scsi \
    --property hw_scsi_model=virtio-scsi \
    --property os_type=linux \
    --property os_distro=debian \
    --property os_admin_user=debian \
    --min-disk 5 \
    --file debian-12-generic-amd64.qcow2 \
    Debian-12

Upload Fedora Cloud Image

Check the Fedora Cloud downloads page for the latest release.

wget https://download.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/releases/43/Cloud/x86_64/images/Fedora-Cloud-Base-Generic-43-1.6.x86_64.qcow2

openstack image create \
    --container-format bare \
    --disk-format qcow2 \
    --public \
    --property os_distro=fedora \
    --property os_admin_user=fedora \
    --min-disk 5 \
    --min-ram 512 \
    --file Fedora-Cloud-Base-Generic-43-1.6.x86_64.qcow2 \
    Fedora-43

Upload CentOS Stream Cloud Images

CentOS Stream 10:

wget https://cloud.centos.org/centos/10-stream/x86_64/images/CentOS-Stream-GenericCloud-10-latest.x86_64.qcow2

openstack image create \
    --container-format bare \
    --disk-format qcow2 \
    --public \
    --property os_distro=centos \
    --property os_admin_user=cloud-user \
    --min-disk 10 \
    --file CentOS-Stream-GenericCloud-10-latest.x86_64.qcow2 \
    CentOS-Stream-10

Upload openSUSE Leap Cloud Image

wget https://download.opensuse.org/distribution/leap/15.6/appliances/openSUSE-Leap-15.6-Minimal-VM.x86_64-Cloud.qcow2

openstack image create \
    --container-format bare \
    --disk-format qcow2 \
    --public \
    --property os_distro=opensuse \
    --property os_admin_user=opensuse \
    --min-disk 10 \
    --file openSUSE-Leap-15.6-Minimal-VM.x86_64-Cloud.qcow2 \
    openSUSE-Leap-15.6

Upload SUSE Linux Enterprise (SLES) Image

Download the SLES cloud image from the official SLES downloads page (requires SUSE account).

$ ls SLES15-SP6-Minimal-VM.x86_64-Cloud-GM.qcow2
SLES15-SP6-Minimal-VM.x86_64-Cloud-GM.qcow2

openstack image create \
    --container-format bare \
    --disk-format qcow2 \
    --public \
    --property os_distro=sles \
    --min-disk 10 \
    --file SLES15-SP6-Minimal-VM.x86_64-Cloud-GM.qcow2 \
    SLES15-SP6

Upload Arch Linux Cloud Image

wget https://linuximages.de/openstack/arch/arch-openstack-LATEST-image-bootstrap.qcow2

openstack image create \
    --container-format bare \
    --disk-format qcow2 \
    --public \
    --property os_distro=arch \
    --property os_admin_user=arch \
    --file arch-openstack-LATEST-image-bootstrap.qcow2 \
    Arch-Linux

Upload Fedora CoreOS Image

Fedora CoreOS is a container-focused OS that uses Ignition for configuration instead of cloud-init. Download from Fedora CoreOS downloads.

RELEASE=43.20260301.3.1
wget https://builds.coreos.fedoraproject.org/prod/streams/stable/builds/$RELEASE/x86_64/fedora-coreos-$RELEASE-openstack.x86_64.qcow2.xz

unxz fedora-coreos-$RELEASE-openstack.x86_64.qcow2.xz

openstack image create \
    --container-format bare \
    --disk-format qcow2 \
    --public \
    --property os_distro=fedora-coreos \
    --file fedora-coreos-$RELEASE-openstack.x86_64.qcow2 \
    Fedora-CoreOS

Upload Flatcar Container Linux Image

Flatcar is a container-optimized Linux distribution. Check the Flatcar releases page for the latest stable version.

wget https://stable.release.flatcar-linux.net/amd64-usr/current/flatcar_production_openstack_image.img.bz2
bunzip2 flatcar_production_openstack_image.img.bz2

openstack image create \
    --container-format bare \
    --disk-format qcow2 \
    --public \
    --property os_distro=flatcar \
    --file flatcar_production_openstack_image.img \
    Flatcar-Container-Linux

Upload FreeBSD / OpenBSD / NetBSD Images

Unofficial but well-maintained OpenStack images for BSD systems are available at bsd-cloud-image.org.

FreeBSD 14 (UFS):

wget https://object-storage.public.mtl1.vexxhost.net/swift/v1/1dbafeefbd4f4c80864414a441e72dd2/bsd-cloud-image.org/images/freebsd/14.2/2024-12-07/ufs/freebsd-14.2-ufs-2024-12-07.qcow2

openstack image create \
    --container-format bare \
    --disk-format qcow2 \
    --public \
    --property os_distro=freebsd \
    --property os_admin_user=freebsd \
    --file freebsd-14.2-ufs-2024-12-07.qcow2 \
    FreeBSD-14.2

FreeBSD 14 (ZFS):

wget https://object-storage.public.mtl1.vexxhost.net/swift/v1/1dbafeefbd4f4c80864414a441e72dd2/bsd-cloud-image.org/images/freebsd/14.2/2024-12-07/zfs/freebsd-14.2-zfs-2024-12-07.qcow2

openstack image create \
    --container-format bare \
    --disk-format qcow2 \
    --public \
    --property os_distro=freebsd \
    --property os_admin_user=freebsd \
    --file freebsd-14.2-zfs-2024-12-07.qcow2 \
    FreeBSD-14.2-ZFS

OpenBSD 7.6:

wget https://github.com/hcartiaux/openbsd-cloud-image/releases/download/v7.8_2025-10-22-09-25/openbsd-min.qcow2

openstack image create \
    --container-format bare \
    --disk-format qcow2 \
    --public \
    --property os_distro=openbsd \
    --property os_admin_user=openbsd \
    --file openbsd-min.qcow2 \
    OpenBSD-7.8

Upload Windows Server Image

Windows cloud images require cloudbase-init (the Windows equivalent of cloud-init) and VirtIO drivers. Pre-built evaluation images are available from Cloudbase Solutions.

# Download Windows Server 2022 evaluation image from Cloudbase
wget https://cloudbase.it/euladownload.php?h=kvm -O windows_server_2022_kvm.qcow2

openstack image create \
    --container-format bare \
    --disk-format qcow2 \
    --public \
    --property os_distro=windows \
    --property hw_disk_bus=virtio \
    --property hw_vif_model=virtio \
    --min-disk 40 \
    --min-ram 2048 \
    --file windows_server_2022_kvm.qcow2 \
    Windows-Server-2022

For production Windows images, build your own using the Windows OpenStack Imaging Tools with your own license key and VirtIO drivers.

Bulk Set Images to Public and Protected

After uploading all images, set them to public visibility and enable deletion protection in one shot:

for IMAGE_ID in $(openstack image list -f value -c ID); do
    openstack image set --public --protected "$IMAGE_ID"
    echo "Protected: $IMAGE_ID"
done

Verify from the Horizon dashboard under Admin > Compute > Images. All images should show Protected: Yes and Visibility: Public.

Verify Uploaded Images

List all images and confirm they’re active:

$ openstack image list
+--------------------------------------+------------------------+--------+
| ID                                   | Name                   | Status |
+--------------------------------------+------------------------+--------+
| a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890 | Rocky-Linux-10         | active |
| b2c3d4e5-f6a7-8901-bcde-f12345678901 | AlmaLinux-10           | active |
| c3d4e5f6-a7b8-9012-cdef-123456789012 | Ubuntu-24.04           | active |
| d4e5f6a7-b8c9-0123-defa-234567890123 | Debian-13              | active |
| e5f6a7b8-c9d0-1234-efab-345678901234 | Fedora-42              | active |
| f6a7b8c9-d0e1-2345-fabc-456789012345 | CentOS-Stream-10       | active |
+--------------------------------------+------------------------+--------+

Check details of a specific image:

openstack image show Rocky-Linux-10

Troubleshooting

Upload fails with “413 Request Entity Too Large”:

The Glance API or reverse proxy has a file size limit. For Nginx, increase client_max_body_size in the Glance vhost. For HAProxy, increase tune.maxrewrite.

Image stays in “queued” status:

Check Glance API logs: tail -f /var/log/glance/api.log. Common cause: insufficient disk space in the Glance store directory or incorrect file permissions on /var/lib/glance/images/.

Instance fails to boot from image:

• Verify the disk format matches what you specified (qcow2 vs raw): qemu-img info <image-file>
• Check that the image has cloud-init installed (required for SSH key injection)
• For Debian images, the hw_disk_bus=scsi and hw_scsi_model=virtio-scsi properties are required or the disk won’t be detected

Permission denied when uploading:

Make sure you sourced the admin credentials file: source admin-openrc.sh. Regular project users cannot upload public images unless the Glance policy allows it.

Conclusion

Your OpenStack Glance image service now has production-ready cloud images for all major Linux distributions, BSD systems, and Windows Server. Set up OpenStack compute flavors next to define the CPU, RAM, and disk sizes for your instances. For automated image updates, consider scripting the download and upload process with a cron job that checks for new image releases weekly.

Related guides:

• Add Compute Flavors to OpenStack from CLI
• Deploy VM Instance on OpenStack with Terraform
• Remove Admin Tenant Quota Limits in OpenStack
• Generate Rocky Linux Qcow2 Image for OpenStack / KVM