dell · snarthan · Jul 9, 2026 · Jul 8, 2026
diff --git a/common/library/module_utils/input_validation/common_utils/en_us_validation_msg.py b/common/library/module_utils/input_validation/common_utils/en_us_validation_msg.py
@@ -604,6 +604,12 @@ def json_file_mandatory(file_path):
     "primary_oim_admin_ip/netmask_bits in network_spec.yml."
 )
 
+ADMIN_ROUTER_INVALID_MSG = (
+    "admin_network.router is mandatory and must be a valid IPv4 address "
+    "(Example: 192.168.1.1). If no dedicated router is available, "
+    "primary_oim_admin_ip can be used as the router."
+)
+
 # additional_subnets (multi-subnet / multi-RAC support)
 ADDITIONAL_SUBNET_ROUTER_INVALID_MSG = (
     "router must be a valid IPv4 address within the subnet."

diff --git a/common/library/module_utils/input_validation/schema/network_spec.json b/common/library/module_utils/input_validation/schema/network_spec.json
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
                   "netmask_bits",
                   "primary_oim_admin_ip",
                   "primary_oim_bmc_ip",
+                  "router",
                   "dynamic_range"
                 ],
                 "properties": {
@@ -53,6 +54,10 @@
                     }
                     ]
                   },
+                  "router": {
+                    "type": "string",
+                    "pattern": "^(?:(?:25[0-5]|2[0-4][0-9]|1?[0-9]{1,2})\\.){3}(?:25[0-5]|2[0-4][0-9]|1?[0-9]{1,2})$"
+                  },
                   "dynamic_range": {
                     "type": "string",
                     "pattern": "^(?:(?:25[0-5]|2[0-4][0-9]|[01]?[0-9][0-9]?)\\.){3}(?:25[0-5]|2[0-4][0-9]|[01]?[0-9][0-9]?)-(?:(?:25[0-5]|2[0-4][0-9]|[01]?[0-9][0-9]?)\\.){3}(?:25[0-5]|2[0-4][0-9]|[01]?[0-9][0-9]?)$"

diff --git a/common/library/module_utils/input_validation/validation_flows/provision_validation.py b/common/library/module_utils/input_validation/validation_flows/provision_validation.py
@@ -1607,6 +1607,17 @@ def _validate_admin_network(network):
                 )
             )
 
+    # Validate admin_network.router (mandatory, must be a valid IPv4 address)
+    router = admin_net.get("router", "")
+    if not router or not validation_utils.validate_ipv4(router):
+        errors.append(
+            create_error_msg(
+                "admin_network.router",
+                router,
+                en_us_validation_msg.ADMIN_ROUTER_INVALID_MSG,
+            )
+        )
+
     #  Admin and BMC IP should not be the same
     errors.extend(validate_admin_bmc_ip_not_same(primary_oim_admin_ip, primary_oim_bmc_ip))
 

diff --git a/input/network_spec.yml b/input/network_spec.yml
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@
 # - 'primary_oim_bmc_ip': The iDRAC  IP address of the OIM server,
 #     Mandatory only if idrac_telemetry is set to true and telemetry data needs to be collected from the OIM server.
 #     Optional — can be omitted if iDRAC telemetry for the OIM server is not required.
+# - 'router': The gateway/router IP for the admin network (used as DHCP option 3).
+#     Mandatory. If no dedicated router is available, use 'primary_oim_admin_ip'.
 # - 'dynamic_range': The range of dynamic IP addresses available on the admin network.
 # - 'dns': The list of external DNS server IP address for the admin network.
 # - 'ntp_servers': The list of NTP servers for the admin network. Each NTP server entry should include: 
@@ -69,6 +71,7 @@ Networks:
     netmask_bits: "24"
     primary_oim_admin_ip: "172.16.107.254"
     primary_oim_bmc_ip: ""
+    router: "172.16.107.254"
     dynamic_range: "172.16.107.201-172.16.107.250"
     dns: []
     ntp_servers: []

diff --git a/prepare_oim/roles/deploy_containers/openchami/tasks/deploy_openchami.yml b/prepare_oim/roles/deploy_containers/openchami/tasks/deploy_openchami.yml
@@ -117,6 +117,7 @@
       {{ network_data.admin_network.dynamic_range | split('-') | last }}
     coredhcp_netmask: >-
       {{ (admin_nic_ip + '/' + network_data.admin_network.netmask_bits) | ansible.utils.ipaddr('netmask') }}
+    coredhcp_router: "{{ network_data.admin_network.router }}"
     coredhcp_lease_duration: "{{ default_lease_time }}s"
 
 - name: Set multi-subnet coredhcp facts

diff --git a/prepare_oim/roles/deploy_containers/openchami/tasks/refresh_openchami_configs.yml b/prepare_oim/roles/deploy_containers/openchami/tasks/refresh_openchami_configs.yml
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@
       {{ network_data.admin_network.dynamic_range | split('-') | last }}
     coredhcp_netmask: >-
       {{ (admin_nic_ip + '/' + network_data.admin_network.netmask_bits) | ansible.utils.ipaddr('netmask') }}
+    coredhcp_router: "{{ network_data.admin_network.router }}"
     coredhcp_lease_duration: "{{ default_lease_time }}s"
 
 - name: Set multi-subnet coredhcp facts

diff --git a/prepare_oim/roles/deploy_containers/openchami/templates/configs.yaml.j2 b/prepare_oim/roles/deploy_containers/openchami/templates/configs.yaml.j2
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ cluster_boot_ip: "{{ admin_nic_ip }}"
 cluster_boot_interface: "{{ admin_nic }}"
 coredhcp_dhcp_pool: "{{ network_data.admin_network.dynamic_range | split('-') | first }} {{ network_data.admin_network.dynamic_range | split('-') | last }}"
 coredhcp_netmask: "{{ (admin_nic_ip + '/' + network_data.admin_network.netmask_bits) | ansible.utils.ipaddr('netmask') }}"
+coredhcp_router: "{{ network_data.admin_network.router }}"
 coredhcp_lease_duration: "{{ default_lease_time }}s"
 openchami_work_dir: "{{ openchami_work_dir }}"
 data_oci_dir: "{{ data_oci_dir }}"

diff --git a/upgrade/prepare_upgrade.yml b/upgrade/prepare_upgrade.yml
@@ -94,8 +94,9 @@
           - ""
           - "File 1: network_spec.yml"
           - "    1.  admin_network.subnet              (auto-computed)"
-          - "    2.  admin_network.additional_subnets  (multi-RAC PXE)"
-          - "    3.  ib_network.dns                    (InfiniBand DNS)"
+          - "    2.  admin_network.router               (DHCP gateway — defaults to primary_oim_admin_ip)"
+          - "    3.  admin_network.additional_subnets  (multi-RAC PXE)"
+          - "    4.  ib_network.dns                    (InfiniBand DNS)"
           - ""
           - "File 2: storage_config.yml"
           - "    1.  nfs_client_params  is replaced by 'mounts' format"

diff --git a/upgrade/roles/import_input_parameters/templates/network_spec.j2 b/upgrade/roles/import_input_parameters/templates/network_spec.j2
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@
 # - 'primary_oim_bmc_ip': The iDRAC  IP address of the OIM server,
 #     Mandatory only if idrac_telemetry is set to true and telemetry data needs to be collected from the OIM server.
 #     Optional — can be omitted if iDRAC telemetry for the OIM server is not required.
+# - 'router': The gateway/router IP for the admin network (used as DHCP option 3).
+#     Mandatory. If no dedicated router is available, use 'primary_oim_admin_ip'.
 # - 'dynamic_range': The range of dynamic IP addresses available on the admin network.
 # - 'dns': The list of external DNS server IP address for the admin network.
 # - 'ntp_servers': The list of NTP servers for the admin network. Each NTP server entry should include: 
@@ -69,6 +71,7 @@ Networks:
     netmask_bits: "{{ admin_network.netmask_bits | default(network_default_netmask_bits) }}"
     primary_oim_admin_ip: "{{ admin_network.primary_oim_admin_ip | default('') }}"
     primary_oim_bmc_ip: "{{ admin_network.primary_oim_bmc_ip | default('') }}"
+    router: "{{ admin_network.router | default(admin_network.primary_oim_admin_ip | default('')) }}"
     dynamic_range: "{{ admin_network.dynamic_range | default('') }}"
     dns: {{ admin_network.dns | default([], true) }}
     ntp_servers: {{ admin_network.ntp_servers | default([], true) }}

diff --git a/upgrade/roles/upgrade_openchami/tasks/upgrade_openchami_containers.yml b/upgrade/roles/upgrade_openchami/tasks/upgrade_openchami_containers.yml
@@ -280,6 +280,7 @@
                 {{ (network_data.admin_network.primary_oim_admin_ip | default('0.0.0.0')
                 + '/' + (network_data.admin_network.netmask_bits | default('24') | string))
                 | ansible.utils.ipaddr('netmask') }}
+              coredhcp_router: "{{ network_data.admin_network.router | default(network_data.admin_network.primary_oim_admin_ip | default('')) }}"
               coredhcp_lease_duration: "{{ default_lease_time | default('86400') }}s"
               cluster_shortname: "nid"
               cluster_nidlength: 3
@@ -322,6 +323,7 @@
         cluster_nidlength: "{{ cluster_config.cluster_nidlength | default('3') }}"
         ochami_base_url: "https://{{ cluster_config.cluster_name }}.{{ cluster_config.cluster_domain }}:8443"
         coredhcp_netmask: "{{ cluster_config.coredhcp_netmask | default('255.255.255.0') }}"
+        coredhcp_router: "{{ cluster_config.coredhcp_router | default(cluster_config.cluster_boot_ip | default('')) }}"
         coredhcp_lease_duration: "{{ cluster_config.coredhcp_lease_duration | default('86400s') }}"
         coredhcp_dhcp_pool: "{{ cluster_config.coredhcp_dhcp_pool | default('') }}"
       when: