diff --git a/osa_toolkit/generate.py b/osa_toolkit/generate.py
index 444315b1c5..891bbaac9e 100755
--- a/osa_toolkit/generate.py
+++ b/osa_toolkit/generate.py
@@ -370,8 +370,8 @@ def _add_container_hosts(assignment, config, container_name, container_type,
         type_and_name = '{}_{}'.format(host_type, container_name)
         logger.debug("Generated container name %s", type_and_name)
         max_hostname_len = 52
-        if len(type_and_name) > max_hostname_len and \
-                not properties['is_metal']:
+        is_metal = properties.get('is_metal', False)
+        if len(type_and_name) > max_hostname_len and not is_metal:
             raise SystemExit(
                 'The resulting combination of [ "{}" + "{}" ] is longer than'
                 ' {} characters. This combination will result in a container'
@@ -383,7 +383,7 @@ def _add_container_hosts(assignment, config, container_name, container_type,
                     host_type, container_name, max_hostname_len
                 )
             )
-        elif len(host_type) > 63 and properties['is_metal']:
+        elif len(host_type) > 63 and is_metal:
             raise SystemExit(
                 'The resulting hostname "{0}" is longer than 63 characters.'
                 ' This combination may result in a name that is longer than'