iptables and ebtables missing 'alternatives' dependency in Photon 5 GA repo

Summary

Packages iptables and ebtables in the Photon 5 package repository have introduced a dependency on the alternatives package that is not satisfied when using a minimal installation.

Affected packages

• iptables-1.8.13-2.ph5.x86_64
• ebtables-2.0.11-4.ph5.x86_64

Error observed

When running tdnf install or tdnf distro-sync on a minimal Photon 5 installation (e.g. via the photon-minimal ISO), the following error occurs:

1. package iptables-1.8.13-2.ph5.x86_64 requires alternatives, but none of the providers can be installed
Found 1 problem(s) while resolving
Error(1301) : Solv general runtime error

and/or:

1. package ebtables-2.0.11-4.ph5.x86_64 requires alternatives, but none of the providers can be installed
Found 1 problem(s) while resolving
Error(1301) : Solv general runtime error

Steps to reproduce

1. Boot from the photon-minimal-5.0-dde71ec57.x86_64.iso (GA ISO)
2. Install a minimal set of packages (without alternatives)
3. Run tdnf install iptables ebtables -y or tdnf distro-sync -y --refresh

Expected behavior

iptables and ebtables should either bundle alternatives as an explicit dependency in their RPM spec, or the photon-minimal ISO should include alternatives by default.

Workaround

Explicitly install alternatives before installing iptables/ebtables:

tdnf install alternatives -y

Context

Discovered while building CAPI node images using kubernetes-sigs/image-builder against the Photon 5 GA repo.

Start by reproducing the dependency failure from the photon-minimal-5.0-dde71ec57.x86_64.iso with tdnf, then inspect the RPM specifications for iptables and ebtables and the package set for the photon-minimal ISO. Determine which packaging path should provide alternatives, and verify that installing or synchronizing iptables and ebtables succeeds on a minimal installation without the workaround.