diff --git a/cloudbaseinit/plugins/windows/sethostname.py b/cloudbaseinit/plugins/windows/sethostname.py
index 9c552693..d13f8c43 100644
--- a/cloudbaseinit/plugins/windows/sethostname.py
+++ b/cloudbaseinit/plugins/windows/sethostname.py
@@ -14,12 +14,24 @@
 #    License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations
 #    under the License.
 
+from cloudbaseinit.openstack.common import cfg
+from cloudbaseinit.openstack.common import log as logging
 from cloudbaseinit.osutils import factory as osutils_factory
 from cloudbaseinit.plugins import base
-from cloudbaseinit.openstack.common import log as logging
+
+opts = [
+    cfg.BoolOpt('netbios_host_name_compatibility', default=True,
+                help='Truncates the hostname to 15 characters for Netbios '
+                     'compatibility'),
+]
+
+CONF = cfg.CONF
+CONF.register_opts(opts)
 
 LOG = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
+NETBIOS_HOST_NAME_MAX_LEN = 15
+
 
 class SetHostNamePlugin(base.BasePlugin):
     def execute(self, service, shared_data):
@@ -30,7 +42,19 @@ class SetHostNamePlugin(base.BasePlugin):
 
         osutils = osutils_factory.OSUtilsFactory().get_os_utils()
 
-        new_host_name = meta_data['hostname'].split('.', 1)[0]
+        metadata_host_name = meta_data['hostname'].split('.', 1)[0]
+
+        if (len(metadata_host_name) > NETBIOS_HOST_NAME_MAX_LEN and
+                CONF.netbios_host_name_compatibility):
+            new_host_name = metadata_host_name[:NETBIOS_HOST_NAME_MAX_LEN]
+            LOG.warn('Truncating host name for Netbios compatibility. '
+                     'Old name: %(metadata_host_name)s, new name: '
+                     '%(new_host_name)s' %
+                     {'metadata_host_name': metadata_host_name,
+                      'new_host_name': new_host_name})
+        else:
+            new_host_name = metadata_host_name
+
         reboot_required = osutils.set_host_name(new_host_name)
 
         return (base.PLUGIN_EXECUTION_DONE, reboot_required)