I'm closing this as 'Incomplete'. The bug was either simply with apt sources being out of date or with possible host resolution issue or archive inconsistency.
There was a period of time when ubuntu archives on ec2 were broken. ** Changed in: cloud-init (Ubuntu) Status: Triaged => Incomplete -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Server Team, which is subscribed to cloud-init in ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/652312 Title: apt cache not up to date on first boot -- Ubuntu-server-bugs mailing list Ubuntu-server-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-server-bugs