diff --git a/perl-xCAT/xCAT/NetworkUtils.pm b/perl-xCAT/xCAT/NetworkUtils.pm
index 0626d6a98..975aab41b 100755
--- a/perl-xCAT/xCAT/NetworkUtils.pm
+++ b/perl-xCAT/xCAT/NetworkUtils.pm
@@ -260,6 +260,9 @@ sub getipaddr
         {
              #return inet_ntoa(inet_aton($iporhost))
              #TODO, what if no scoket6 support, but passing in a IPv6 hostname?
+	     if ($iporhost =~ /:/) { #ipv6
+		die "Attempt to process IPv6 address, but system does not have requisite IPv6 perl support";
+	     }
 	     my $packed_ip;
              $iporhost and $packed_ip = inet_aton($iporhost);
              if (!$packed_ip)