diff --git a/crucible.spec b/crucible.spec
index 4191943..609f9e2 100644
--- a/crucible.spec
+++ b/crucible.spec
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #
 # MIT License
 #
-# (C) Copyright 2022-2023 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
+# (C) Copyright 2023-2024 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
 #
 # Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
 # copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
@@ -28,12 +28,13 @@
 # https://github.com/openSUSE/python-rpm-macros#terminology
 %define pythons %(echo $PYTHON_BIN)
 
-%define conf_dir /etc/%{name}
+%define conf_dir %{_sysconfdir}/%{name}
 
 # python*-devel is not listed because we do not ship the ability to rebuild our PIP package.
 AutoReqProv: no
 BuildRequires: python-rpm-generators
 BuildRequires: python-rpm-macros
+BuildRequires: pkgconfig(systemd)
 Requires: python%{python_version_nodots}-base
 Name: %(echo $NAME)
 BuildArch: %(echo $ARCH)
@@ -45,6 +46,12 @@ Source: %{name}-%{version}.tar.bz2
 Vendor: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
 Obsoletes: %{python_flavor}-%{name}
 
+# helps when installing a program whose unit files makes use of a feature only available in a newer systemd version
+# If the program is installed on its own, it will have to make do with the available features
+# If a newer systemd package is planned to be installed in the same transaction as the program,
+# it can be beneficial to have systemd installed first, so that the features have become available by the time program is installed and restarted
+%{?systemd_ordering}
+
 %description
 A Python application for managing block devices
 for use by an Operating system.
@@ -79,6 +86,8 @@ install -D -m 755 -d %{buildroot}%{_bindir}
 cp -pr scripts %{buildroot}%{install_dir}/
 ln -snf %{install_dir}/scripts/lsnics.sh %{buildroot}%{_bindir}/lsnics
 ln -snf %{install_dir}/bin/%{name} %{buildroot}%{_bindir}/%{name}
+install -m 0755 init/%{name}-update.sh %{buildroot}%{install_dir}/bin/%{name}-update.sh
+install -D -m 0644 -t %{buildroot}%{_unitdir} init/%{name}-update.service
 
 install -D -m 755 -d %{buildroot}%{conf_dir}
 install -m 644 %{name}/network/ifname.yml %{buildroot}%{conf_dir}/ifname.yml
@@ -86,11 +95,24 @@ install -m 644 %{name}/network/ifname.yml %{buildroot}%{conf_dir}/ifname.yml
 find %{buildroot}%{install_dir} | sed 's:'${RPM_BUILD_ROOT}'::' | tee -a INSTALLED_FILES
 cat INSTALLED_FILES | xargs -i sh -c 'test -f $RPM_BUILD_ROOT{} && echo {} || test -L $RPM_BUILD_ROOT{} && echo {} || echo %dir {}' | sort -u > FILES
 
+%pre
+%service_add_pre %{name}-update.service
+
+%post
+%service_add_post %{name}-update.service
+
+%preun
+%service_del_preun %{name}-update.service
+
+%postun
+%service_del_postun %{name}-update.service
+
 %clean
 
 %files -f FILES
 /usr/bin/%{name}
 /usr/bin/lsnics
+%{_unitdir}/%{name}-update.service
 %config(noreplace) %{conf_dir}/ifname.yml
 %doc README.adoc
 %defattr(755,root,root)
diff --git a/crucible/scripts/install.sh b/crucible/scripts/install.sh
index 09f9993..10ab81e 100755
--- a/crucible/scripts/install.sh
+++ b/crucible/scripts/install.sh
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 #
 # MIT License
 #
-# (C) Copyright 2023 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
+# (C) Copyright 2023-2024 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
 #
 # Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
 # copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
@@ -372,6 +372,15 @@ _update_crucible() {
     else
         echo "Successfully updated crucible."
     fi
+
+    if [ ! -d "${overlay_mount}/etc/crucible" ]; then
+      echo >&2 "${overlay_mount}/etc/crucible/ did not exist, it should, but it didn't. This script made it anyway because Russell is tired of silly breakages for his proof of concept."
+      echo >&2 "Maybe this script is being used with an older version of crucible that doesn't create the directory in its spec file yet."
+      mkdir -p "${overlay_mount}/etc/crucible"
+    fi
+
+    # Disable auto-updating of crucible, since there's no management-vm to respond and we are already updating crucible in this script.
+    touch "${overlay_mount}/etc/crucible/auto-update.disabled"
 }
 
 ##############################################################################
diff --git a/init/crucible-update.service b/init/crucible-update.service
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..65066e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/init/crucible-update.service
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+#
+# MIT License
+#
+# (C) Copyright 2024 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
+#
+# Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
+# copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
+# to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
+# the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
+# and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
+# Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+#
+# The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included
+# in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+#
+# THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+# IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+# FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL
+# THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR
+# OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE,
+# ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR
+# OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+#
+[Unit]
+Description=Crucible automatic updater.
+Requires=network-online.target
+After=network-online.target
+
+[Service]
+ExecCondition=/bin/bash -c '[ ! -f /etc/crucible/auto-update.disabled ]'
+Environment=REPO_URL=http://bootserver/nexus/repository
+ExecStart=/usr/lib/crucible/bin/crucible-update.sh
+Restart=on-failure
+KillMode=control-group
+RemainAfterExit=true
+Type=oneshot
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
diff --git a/init/crucible-update.sh b/init/crucible-update.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..7ea600f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/init/crucible-update.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# MIT License
+#
+# (C) Copyright 2024 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
+#
+# Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
+# copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
+# to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
+# the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
+# and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
+# Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+#
+# The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included
+# in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+#
+# THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+# IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+# FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL
+# THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR
+# OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE,
+# ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR
+# OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+#
+set -euo pipefail
+
+REPO_URL=${REPO_URL:-'http://bootserver/nexus/repository'}
+
+# Some distros (e.g. centos) use space delimited values in /etc/os-release for ID_LIKE, ensure we just grab
+# the first entry.
+OS="$(awk -F= '/ID_LIKE/{gsub("\"", ""); print $NF}' /etc/os-release | awk '{print $1}')"
+if [ -z "${OS}" ]; then
+    echo >&2 'Failed to detect OS from /etc/os-release'
+    exit 1
+else
+    echo "Detected OS family: ${OS}"
+fi
+
+function update {
+    echo 'Checking for crucible updates ... '
+    case "${OS}" in
+        suse)
+            if ! zypper addrepo --gpgcheck-allow-unsigned "${REPO_URL}"'/fawkes-sle-${releasever_major}sp${releasever_minor}' fawkes-sle; then
+                echo "Repository already added, or unavailable."
+            fi
+
+            if ! zypper addrepo --gpgcheck-allow-unsigned "${REPO_URL}/fawkes-noos" fawkes-noos; then
+                echo "Repository already added, or unavailable."
+            fi
+
+            if ! zypper --no-gpg-checks up --no-confirm --auto-agree-with-licenses crucible; then
+                echo "No updates found, or no repository was reachable."
+            fi
+            ;;
+        *)
+            echo >&2 'Unhandled OS; nothing to do'
+            ;;
+    esac
+}
+
+update