diff --git a/manifests/compute/libvirt.pp b/manifests/compute/libvirt.pp
index 09ba60716..13ed152b7 100644
--- a/manifests/compute/libvirt.pp
+++ b/manifests/compute/libvirt.pp
@@ -33,6 +33,11 @@
 #   cpu_mode="custom" and virt_type="kvm|qemu".
 #   Defaults to undef
 #
+# [*libvirt_snapshot_image_format*]
+#   (optional) Format to save snapshots to. Some filesystems
+#   have a preference and only operate on raw or qcow2
+#   Defaults to $::os_service_default
+#
 # [*libvirt_disk_cachemodes*]
 #   (optional) A list of cachemodes for different disk types, e.g.
 #   ["file=directsync", "block=none"]
@@ -111,6 +116,7 @@ class nova::compute::libvirt (
   $migration_support                          = false,
   $libvirt_cpu_mode                           = false,
   $libvirt_cpu_model                          = undef,
+  $libvirt_snapshot_image_format              = $::os_service_default,
   $libvirt_disk_cachemodes                    = [],
   $libvirt_hw_disk_discard                    = $::os_service_default,
   $libvirt_inject_password                    = false,
@@ -177,14 +183,15 @@ class nova::compute::libvirt (
   }
 
   nova_config {
-    'DEFAULT/compute_driver':   value => $compute_driver;
-    'vnc/vncserver_listen':     value => $vncserver_listen;
-    'libvirt/virt_type':        value => $libvirt_virt_type;
-    'libvirt/cpu_mode':         value => $libvirt_cpu_mode_real;
-    'libvirt/inject_password':  value => $libvirt_inject_password;
-    'libvirt/inject_key':       value => $libvirt_inject_key;
-    'libvirt/inject_partition': value => $libvirt_inject_partition;
-    'libvirt/hw_disk_discard':  value => $libvirt_hw_disk_discard;
+    'DEFAULT/compute_driver':        value => $compute_driver;
+    'vnc/vncserver_listen':          value => $vncserver_listen;
+    'libvirt/virt_type':             value => $libvirt_virt_type;
+    'libvirt/cpu_mode':              value => $libvirt_cpu_mode_real;
+    'libvirt/snapshot_image_format': value => $libvirt_snapshot_image_format;
+    'libvirt/inject_password':       value => $libvirt_inject_password;
+    'libvirt/inject_key':            value => $libvirt_inject_key;
+    'libvirt/inject_partition':      value => $libvirt_inject_partition;
+    'libvirt/hw_disk_discard':       value => $libvirt_hw_disk_discard;
   }
 
   # cpu_model param is only valid if cpu_mode=custom
diff --git a/spec/classes/nova_compute_libvirt_spec.rb b/spec/classes/nova_compute_libvirt_spec.rb
index 47872ff10..ac39454bb 100644
--- a/spec/classes/nova_compute_libvirt_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/classes/nova_compute_libvirt_spec.rb
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ describe 'nova::compute::libvirt' do
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/virt_type').with_value('kvm')}
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/cpu_mode').with_value('host-model')}
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/cpu_model').with_ensure('absent')}
+      it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/snapshot_image_format').with_ensure('absent')}
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/disk_cachemodes').with_ensure('absent')}
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/inject_password').with_value(false)}
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/inject_key').with_value(false)}
@@ -66,6 +67,7 @@ describe 'nova::compute::libvirt' do
           :vncserver_listen                           => '0.0.0.0',
           :libvirt_cpu_mode                           => 'host-passthrough',
           :libvirt_cpu_model                          => 'kvm64',
+          :libvirt_snapshot_image_format              => 'raw',
           :libvirt_disk_cachemodes                    => ['file=directsync','block=none'],
           :libvirt_hw_disk_discard                    => 'unmap',
           :remove_unused_base_images                  => true,
@@ -86,6 +88,7 @@ describe 'nova::compute::libvirt' do
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/virt_type').with_value('qemu')}
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/cpu_mode').with_value('host-passthrough')}
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/cpu_model').with_ensure('absent')}
+      it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/snapshot_image_format').with_ensure('absent')}
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/disk_cachemodes').with_value('file=directsync,block=none')}
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/hw_disk_discard').with_value('unmap')}
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('vnc/vncserver_listen').with_value('0.0.0.0')}
@@ -123,6 +126,14 @@ describe 'nova::compute::libvirt' do
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/cpu_model').with_value('kvm64')}
     end
 
+    describe 'with qcow2 as snapshot_image_format' do
+      let :params do
+        { :libvirt_snapshot_image_format => 'qcow2' }
+      end
+
+      it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/snapshot_image_format').with_value('qcow2')}
+    end
+
     describe 'with qemu as virt_type' do
       let :params do
         { :libvirt_virt_type => 'qemu' }