Description: Baremetal node provisioning does not support IPv6 networking. When attempting to provision compute nodes in an IPv6-only environment, the provisioning process fails. The only available workaround is to use Redfish Virtual Media for provisioning, which bypasses the network-based PXE boot that requires IPv4.

This limitation prevents fully IPv6-based deployments and forces either dual-stack configuration for provisioning or reliance on vendor-specific Redfish Virtual Media capabilities.

Environment:

• OpenStack Platform: RHOSO 18 / OSP 18
• Provisioning: Metal3/Ironic baremetal provisioning
• Network Configuration: IPv6-only attempted
• Hardware: Baremetal servers with BMC/iDRAC

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Configure OpenStack deployment with IPv6-only networking
2. Attempt to provision baremetal compute nodes using standard network boot (PXE/iPXE)
3. Provisioning network configured with IPv6 addresses only
4. Observe provisioning failure

Actual Results:

• Baremetal node provisioning fails with IPv6-only networking
• PXE/iPXE boot process does not work over IPv6
• Nodes cannot download boot images or communicate with provisioning services
• Deployment cannot proceed without IPv4 on provisioning network

Expected Results:

• Baremetal provisioning should work with IPv6 networking
• PXE/iPXE boot should support IPv6
• Provisioning services (Ironic, Metal3) should be accessible via IPv6
• Fully IPv6-based deployments should be possible

Current Workaround: Use Redfish Virtual Media for provisioning instead of network boot:

1. Configure Ironic to use Redfish Virtual Media boot interface
2. BMC/iDRAC mounts ISO image virtually to provision nodes
3. Bypasses network-based PXE boot entirely
4. Allows provisioning without requiring IPv4

Workaround Configuration:

{{# Configure nodes to use virtual media
nodes:

• name: compute-0
  bmcAddress: redfish-virtualmedia://bmc-address/redfish/v1/Systems/1
  bootMode: UEFI}}
  Workaround Limitations:

• Requires Redfish Virtual Media support in BMC firmware
• Not all hardware supports Virtual Media
• More complex configuration than standard PXE boot
• May have performance implications compared to network boot
• Adds dependency on BMC capabilities

Impact:

• Severity: High
• Priority: High
• Blocks pure IPv6-only deployments for baremetal
• Forces dual-stack networking for provisioning even in IPv6 environments
• Limits hardware compatibility (requires Virtual Media support)
• Increases deployment complexity

Root Cause:

• PXE/iPXE boot process relies on IPv4 protocols (DHCP, TFTP)
• Ironic provisioning services may not be configured for IPv6
• HTTP boot over IPv6 not implemented or not working
• Metal3 provisioning network configuration lacks IPv6 support

Additional Information:

• Related Slack discussion: https://redhat-internal.slack.com/archives/CQXJFGMK6/p1763479379511139
• This is a fundamental limitation for IPv6-only datacenter deployments
• Industry standards exist for IPv6 network boot (HTTP Boot with IPv6) but not implemented
• Virtual Media workaround is functional but not ideal for scale deployments

Proposed Solution: Implement full IPv6 support for baremetal provisioning:

1. Enable HTTP Boot (UEFI) with IPv6 support
2. Configure Ironic services to listen on IPv6 addresses
3. Update provisioning network configuration to support IPv6
4. Ensure all provisioning-related services (image service, metadata service) work over IPv6
5. Update Metal3 to support IPv6 provisioning networks

Affects:

• Baremetal provisioning
• IPv6 networking
• EDPM deployments
• Metal3 provisioning