RFC: Supporting IPv6 in Provisioning, Registration & KEA

[ekohl]

@nofaralfasi

However, we’ve encountered a challenge: the open-source version of Kea doesn’t offer full API support. Some API requests require Kea’s hook libraries, which are only available with a premium subscription. For example, the Host Commands hook library, critical for managing reservations, is part of the premium version.

This is what I already noticed a few years ago, but I was told by someone that it was no longer a concern. Looks like it still is.

This is why I was suggestion to reconsider the whole model where we don’t need specific host reservations. I’m not sure if it’s feasible.

And fundamentally, we can also question if we want to integrate with an open-core DHCP server by default. You can treat it Infoblox and only support it for users who bought the premium version while defaulting to something smaller like dnsmasq.

Another alternative is to implement your own Kea hook plugin that provides the API you need.

Still, all not great.

@nofaralfasi

Given these limitations, we’re considering an alternative approach: implementing the Kea provider directly within Foreman. This would involve managing the installation and configuration of the Kea server on the smart proxy. While this adds complexity and requires more work, it may be necessary to deliver complete DHCP provider functionality.

This is what https://rubygems.org/gems/smart_proxy_dhcp_kea already does. I think it needs an update because Kea’s DB schema changed. I’m sure we can talk about ownership with CERN.