Troubleshoot nv-ipam 'Pool Not Found' Errors in Multus

💡 Quick Answer: If pod events show pool ... not found, verify the IPPool exists in the workload namespace, ensure SriovNetwork points to the same pool name, and check generated NAD ipam.poolName.

Typical event:

failed to set up IPAM plugin type "nv-ipam": configuration for pool "<name>", poolType "ippool" not found

1) Verify IPPool Existence

oc get ippool -A

Confirm there is exactly one intended pool name per target namespace.

2) Verify SriovNetwork Configuration

oc get sriovnetwork -n openshift-sriov-network-operator <name> -o yaml

Check:

• spec.networkNamespace
• spec.ipam.poolName

3) Verify Generated NAD

oc get network-attachment-definition -n <workload-namespace> <name> -o yaml

Check spec.config includes matching poolName.

4) Check nv-ipam Components

oc get pods -A | grep -i ipam

Common Misconfigurations

• IPPool created in wrong namespace.
• Duplicate pool names across namespaces causing confusion.
• Stale generated NAD after SriovNetwork changes.
• Missing or unhealthy nv-ipam controller components.

Recovery Pattern

1. Fix IPPool in the workload namespace.
2. Reconcile SriovNetwork.
3. Delete/recreate affected pod so CNI chain re-runs.