diff --git a/roles/keystone/tasks/main.yml b/roles/keystone/tasks/main.yml
index 43d0773..386e0a2 100644
--- a/roles/keystone/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/keystone/tasks/main.yml
@@ -69,6 +69,11 @@
                     --bootstrap-internal-url http://{{ listen_ip | default(hostvars[groups['keystone'][0]]['ansible_default_ipv4']['address']) }}:35357/v3/
                     --bootstrap-public-url http://{{ listen_ip | default(hostvars[groups['keystone'][0]]['ansible_default_ipv4']['address']) }}:5000/v3/
                     --bootstrap-region-id RegionOne
+  # sometimes the initial connect fails.
+  # Retry until it succeeds.
+  retries: 7
+  delay: 3
+  ignore_errors: yes
 
 - name: make sure service is started
   systemd: