diff --git a/conf/distro/include/phosphor-base.inc b/conf/distro/include/phosphor-base.inc
index 203ed74..483e92f 100644
--- a/conf/distro/include/phosphor-base.inc
+++ b/conf/distro/include/phosphor-base.inc
@@ -70,3 +70,8 @@
 # enabled on a BMC distribution.  Silence the emitted
 # warning.
 SKIP_META_VIRT_SANITY_CHECK = "1"
+
+# Skip the udev database by default.  It adds around 2MB
+# compressed to the root filesystem, and probably doesn't
+# make sense on a BMC anyway.
+BAD_RECOMMENDATIONS_pn-obmc-phosphor-image = "udev-hwdb"