diff --git a/manifests/designate.pp b/manifests/designate.pp
index 3b3ab1102..54347e3f5 100644
--- a/manifests/designate.pp
+++ b/manifests/designate.pp
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ class neutron::designate (
   include ::neutron::params
 
   neutron_config {
+    'DEFAULT/external_dns_driver':         value => 'designate';
     'designate/password':                  value => $password;
     'designate/url':                       value => $url;
     'designate/auth_type':                 value => $auth_type;
diff --git a/spec/classes/neutron_designate_spec.rb b/spec/classes/neutron_designate_spec.rb
index 287f2106c..febcac8d8 100644
--- a/spec/classes/neutron_designate_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/classes/neutron_designate_spec.rb
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ describe 'neutron::designate' do
       end
 
       it 'configures designate in neutron.conf' do
+        is_expected.to contain_neutron_config('DEFAULT/external_dns_driver').with_value('designate')
         is_expected.to contain_neutron_config('designate/url').with_value('http://ip/designate')
         is_expected.to contain_neutron_config('designate/password').with_value('secret')
         is_expected.to contain_neutron_config('designate/username').with_value('neutron')
@@ -42,6 +43,7 @@ describe 'neutron::designate' do
       end
 
       it 'configures designate in neutron.conf' do
+        is_expected.to contain_neutron_config('DEFAULT/external_dns_driver').with_value('designate')
         is_expected.to contain_neutron_config('designate/url').with_value('http://ip/designate')
         is_expected.to contain_neutron_config('designate/password').with_value('secret')
         is_expected.to contain_neutron_config('designate/username').with_value('user')