diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests.yml b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
index f1ba8bb02..b0dd84e0c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ jobs:
       SNAPSHOT_RESTORE: "1"
     if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'canonical' }}
     name: System (core)
-    runs-on: self-hosted-linux-amd64-noble-large
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
     needs: code-tests
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ jobs:
       SNAPSHOT_RESTORE: "1"
     if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'canonical' }}
     name: System (upgrade)
-    runs-on: self-hosted-linux-amd64-noble-large
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
     needs: code-tests
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
diff --git a/service/microceph.go b/service/microceph.go
index 901cd4526..031e15fe9 100644
--- a/service/microceph.go
+++ b/service/microceph.go
@@ -22,6 +22,9 @@ import (
 	cloudClient "github.com/canonical/microcloud/microcloud/client"
 )
 
+// cephJobTimeout is the maximum time we allow for a Ceph job to complete before the context gets canceled.
+const cephJobTimeout = 5 * time.Minute
+
 // CephService is a MicroCeph service.
 type CephService struct {
 	m *microcluster.MicroCluster
@@ -148,7 +151,7 @@ func (s CephService) AddDisk(ctx context.Context, data cephTypes.DisksPost, targ
 	// In the pipeline runners we often see runtimes > 1 minute.
 	// To prevent any issues with slow environments set a more forgiving upper limit.
 	// As long as the MicroCeph API doesn't return an error, the process is still running and we have to wait for it.
-	ctx, cancel = context.WithTimeout(ctx, 5*time.Minute)
+	ctx, cancel = context.WithTimeout(ctx, cephJobTimeout)
 	defer cancel()
 
 	err = c.Query(ctx, "POST", types.APIVersion, &api.NewURL().Path("disks").URL, data, &response)
@@ -232,6 +235,11 @@ func (s CephService) PoolSetReplicationFactor(ctx context.Context, data cephType
 		return err
 	}
 
+	// On the GH runners it was observed that setting the pool replication factor can take
+	// longer than the default of 30s if no deadline is set on the context.
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, cephJobTimeout)
+	defer cancel()
+
 	err = c.Query(ctx, "PUT", types.APIVersion, &api.NewURL().Path("pools-op").URL, data, nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("Failed setting replication factor: %w", err)
diff --git a/test/e2e/versions.tf b/test/e2e/versions.tf
index ddcbeb012..ccec0f917 100644
--- a/test/e2e/versions.tf
+++ b/test/e2e/versions.tf
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ terraform {
   required_providers {
     lxd = {
       source  = "terraform-lxd/lxd"
-      version = ">= 2.5.0"
+      version = "2.7.1"
     }
   }
 }