Bug ID 1976113: Deployment of BIG-IP Best Plus Images on Azure Fails with OSProvisioningClientError

Last Modified: Sep 02, 2025

Affected Product(s):
BIG-IP LTM(all modules)

Known Affected Versions:
17.5.0, 17.5.1

Opened: Jul 04, 2025

Severity: 3-Major

Symptoms

When deploying BIG-IP Best Plus images in Azure, the deployment process fails with the following error message: Status: "OSProvisioningClientError" Message: "SSH host key generation failed. Error details: [ProvisionError] Failed to generate ssh host key: ret=255, out= /config/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key.pub is not a public key file." Despite this error, the VM may still allow SSH login, causing confusion about the actual deployment status.

Impact

- Deployment status is reported as Failed even though the VM is accessible via SSH. - Automation workflows relying on successful provisioning status may break. - Users may assume the deployment is unusable, leading to unnecessary troubleshooting or redeployment.

Conditions

- Occurs during provisioning of BIG-IP Best Plus images in Azure. - The error is related to SSH key generation timing during the provisioning process.

Workaround

- After receiving the error, verify if the VM is accessible via SSH. - If accessible, you can proceed with manual configuration.

Fix Information

None

Behavior Change

Guides & references

K10134038: F5 Bug Tracker Filter Names and Tips