diff --git a/files/apts/general b/files/apts/general
index 31fa752714..f04f955651 100644
--- a/files/apts/general
+++ b/files/apts/general
@@ -17,3 +17,4 @@ wget
 curl
 tcpdump
 euca2ools # only for testing client
+tar
diff --git a/files/rpms/general b/files/rpms/general
index af199d54f7..52184d0004 100644
--- a/files/rpms/general
+++ b/files/rpms/general
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ python-pip
 python-unittest2
 python-virtualenv
 screen
+tar
 tcpdump
 unzip
 wget