This was because I was using http://maas.ubuntu.com/images/ephemeral-v2/daily (no trailing slash) instead of http://maas.ubuntu.com/images/ephemeral-v2/daily/.
Once I changed the URL properly, the UI indicated syncing was happening. So, this is another case of bug 1392761.
This was because I was using http:// maas.ubuntu. com/images/ ephemeral- v2/daily (no trailing slash) instead of http:// maas.ubuntu. com/images/ ephemeral- v2/daily/.
Once I changed the URL properly, the UI indicated syncing was happening. So, this is another case of bug 1392761.