diff --git a/scripts/integration-vm.py b/scripts/integration-vm.py
index a425c40..9afbe0e 100644
--- a/scripts/integration-vm.py
+++ b/scripts/integration-vm.py
@@ -190,7 +190,16 @@ def up(host, name=None, mem_mib=DEFAULT_MEM_MIB, vcpus=DEFAULT_VCPUS):
     (RUN_DIR / "user-data").write_text(render_user_data(_ssh_pubkey(), "ansible"))
     (RUN_DIR / "meta-data").write_text(render_meta_data(f"iid-{name}", name))
     seed = CACHE_DIR / f"{name}-seed.img"
-    sh(["cloud-localds", str(seed), str(RUN_DIR / "user-data"), str(RUN_DIR / "meta-data")])
+    # Force DHCP on the VM NIC — don't rely on the genericcloud image's network fallback.
+    (RUN_DIR / "network-config").write_text(
+        'version: 2\n'
+        'ethernets:\n'
+        '  primary:\n'
+        '    match:\n'
+        '      name: "en*"\n'
+        '    dhcp4: true\n')
+    sh(["cloud-localds", "--network-config", str(RUN_DIR / "network-config"),
+        str(seed), str(RUN_DIR / "user-data"), str(RUN_DIR / "meta-data")])
     console = CACHE_DIR / f"{name}-console.log"
     sh(["virt-install", "--name", name, "--memory", str(mem_mib), "--vcpus", str(vcpus),
         "--import",