diff --git a/elements/cloud-init-datasources/README.md b/elements/cloud-init-datasources/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..61a8d9dcd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/elements/cloud-init-datasources/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+Configures cloud-init to only use an explicit list of data sources.
+
+Cloud-init contains a growing collection of data source modules and most
+are enabled by default.  This causes cloud-init to query each data source
+on first boot.  This can cause delays or even boot problems depending on your
+environment.
+
+You must define `DIB_CLOUD_INIT_DATASOURCES` as a comma-separated list of valid
+data sources to limit the data sources that will be queried for metadata on
+first boot.
+
+For instance, to enable only the Ec2 datasource:
+
+    export `DIB_CLOUD_INIT_DATASOURCES`="Ec2"
+
+Or to enable multiple:
+
+    export `DIB_CLOUD_INIT_DATASOURCES`="Ec2, ConfigDrive, OpenStack"
+
+Including this element without setting `DIB_CLOUD_INIT_DATASOURCES` will cause
+image builds to fail.
diff --git a/elements/cloud-init-datasources/install.d/05-set-cloud-init-sources b/elements/cloud-init-datasources/install.d/05-set-cloud-init-sources
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..4f88ad954
--- /dev/null
+++ b/elements/cloud-init-datasources/install.d/05-set-cloud-init-sources
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -eu
+set -o pipefail
+
+DIB_CLOUD_INIT_DATASOURCES=${DIB_CLOUD_INIT_DATASOURCES:-""}
+
+if [ -z "$DIB_CLOUD_INIT_DATASOURCES" ] ; then
+    echo "DIB_CLOUD_INIT_DATASOURCES must be set to a comma-separated list "
+    echo "of cloud-init data sources you wish to use, ie 'Ec2, NoCloud, ConfigDrive'"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+cat > /etc/cloud/cloud.cfg.d/91-dib-cloud-init-datasources.cfg <<EOF
+datasource_list: [  $DIB_CLOUD_INIT_DATASOURCES, None ]
+EOF
diff --git a/elements/cloud-init-nocloud/element-deps b/elements/cloud-init-nocloud/element-deps
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7571a471f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/elements/cloud-init-nocloud/element-deps
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+cloud-init-datasources
diff --git a/elements/cloud-init-nocloud/environment.d/10-cloud-init-nocloud.bash b/elements/cloud-init-nocloud/environment.d/10-cloud-init-nocloud.bash
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..416732fdb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/elements/cloud-init-nocloud/environment.d/10-cloud-init-nocloud.bash
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+export DIB_CLOUD_INIT_DATASOURCES="NoCloud"
diff --git a/elements/cloud-init-nocloud/install.d/05-set-cloud-init-sources b/elements/cloud-init-nocloud/install.d/05-set-cloud-init-sources
deleted file mode 100755
index f172b6044..000000000
--- a/elements/cloud-init-nocloud/install.d/05-set-cloud-init-sources
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-
-set -eu
-set -o pipefail
-
-cat > /etc/cloud/cloud.cfg.d/91-local-metadata-only.cfg <<EOF
-# No cloud metadata available, use only what is in the image.
-datasource_list: [ NoCloud, None ]
-EOF