diff --git a/config/crd/bases/boot.ironcore.dev_httpbootconfigs.yaml b/config/crd/bases/boot.ironcore.dev_httpbootconfigs.yaml
index 670616d..4ed47cb 100644
--- a/config/crd/bases/boot.ironcore.dev_httpbootconfigs.yaml
+++ b/config/crd/bases/boot.ironcore.dev_httpbootconfigs.yaml
@@ -52,10 +52,15 @@ spec:
                   referenced object inside the same namespace.
                 properties:
                   name:
+                    default: ""
                     description: |-
                       Name of the referent.
-                      More info: https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/overview/working-with-objects/names/#names
+                      This field is effectively required, but due to backwards compatibility is
+                      allowed to be empty. Instances of this type with an empty value here are
+                      almost certainly wrong.
                       TODO: Add other useful fields. apiVersion, kind, uid?
+                      More info: https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/overview/working-with-objects/names/#names
+                      TODO: Drop `kubebuilder:default` when controller-gen doesn't need it https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kubebuilder/issues/3896.
                     type: string
                 type: object
                 x-kubernetes-map-type: atomic
diff --git a/config/crd/bases/boot.ironcore.dev_ipxebootconfigs.yaml b/config/crd/bases/boot.ironcore.dev_ipxebootconfigs.yaml
index a4d42a2..621fde9 100644
--- a/config/crd/bases/boot.ironcore.dev_ipxebootconfigs.yaml
+++ b/config/crd/bases/boot.ironcore.dev_ipxebootconfigs.yaml
@@ -52,10 +52,15 @@ spec:
                   referenced object inside the same namespace.
                 properties:
                   name:
+                    default: ""
                     description: |-
                       Name of the referent.
-                      More info: https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/overview/working-with-objects/names/#names
+                      This field is effectively required, but due to backwards compatibility is
+                      allowed to be empty. Instances of this type with an empty value here are
+                      almost certainly wrong.
                       TODO: Add other useful fields. apiVersion, kind, uid?
+                      More info: https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/overview/working-with-objects/names/#names
+                      TODO: Drop `kubebuilder:default` when controller-gen doesn't need it https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kubebuilder/issues/3896.
                     type: string
                 type: object
                 x-kubernetes-map-type: atomic
diff --git a/server/bootserver.go b/server/bootserver.go
index d947a95..0c2b226 100644
--- a/server/bootserver.go
+++ b/server/bootserver.go
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import (
 	"net/http"
 	"path"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
 	"text/template"
 
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
@@ -73,11 +74,30 @@ func handleIPXE(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request, k8sClient client.Client,
 		return
 	}
 
+	clientIPs := []string{}
+	clientIPs = append(clientIPs, clientIP)
+
+	// Attempt to extract IPs from X-Forwarded-For if present
+	if xff := r.Header.Get("X-Forwarded-For"); xff != "" {
+		for _, ip := range strings.Split(xff, ",") {
+			trimmedIP := strings.TrimSpace(ip)
+			if trimmedIP != "" {
+				clientIPs = append(clientIPs, trimmedIP)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
 	var ipxeConfigs bootv1alpha1.IPXEBootConfigList
-	if err := k8sClient.List(ctx, &ipxeConfigs, client.MatchingFields{"spec.systemIP": clientIP}); err != nil {
-		log.Info("Failed to list IPXEBootConfig", "error", err)
-		http.Error(w, "Internal Server Error", http.StatusInternalServerError)
-		return
+	for _, ip := range clientIPs {
+		if err := k8sClient.List(ctx, &ipxeConfigs, client.MatchingFields{"spec.systemIP": ip}); err != nil {
+			log.Info("Failed to list IPXEBootConfig for IP", "IP", ip, "error", err)
+			continue
+		}
+
+		if len(ipxeConfigs.Items) > 0 {
+			log.Info("Found IPXEBootConfig", "IP", ip)
+			break
+		}
 	}
 
 	data := defaultIpxeTemplateData