Comment 4 for bug 1885430

Note: the only way that works reliable in both cases (restart, bootup) is by adding requires=nova-compute.service to the systemd service file /lib/systemd/system/ceilometer-agent-compute.service

I've tried modifying the sysvinit file , rebooted with only the required-start in the sysvinit file, and it doesn't work either https://pastebin.canonical.com/p/STTRFyw9Wy/

I agree with Drew, option is Wants= or Requires (more strict), I tested the 2nd and works ok after service restart and machine bootup (with both enabled/disabled nova-compute).