Error: "WaitingForIPAllocation"

Products

• Tanzu Kubernetes Runtime

Issue/Introduction

• New Machine objects fails to provision
• kubectl get machine -A shows new machines in a Provisioning state
• kubectl describe machine <machine-name> -n <namespace> shows the status condition:
   

  WaitingForIPAllocation

• This state can stall cluster upgrades or node replacements, leaving old nodes in a Ready,SchedulingDisabled state as they wait for their replacement to become "Ready".

Environment

2.5.x

Cause

The "WaitingForIPAllocation" status confirms that the CAPV controller, while attempting to create and configure the new virtual machine, is unable to assign it an IP address.

Resolution

If the pool is exhausted, either:

• Expand the DHCP scope or NSX-T IP Block with a larger CIDR or additional ranges.
• Identify and remove any stale DHCP leases belonging to old or deleted VMs.

Once the underlying IP or network issue is resolved, the CAPI/CAPV controllers will typically retry and successfully allocate an IP. The Machine object status will transition from Provisioning to Provisioned, and the node will then proceed to join the cluster and become Ready.