diff --git a/ironic_python_agent/agent.py b/ironic_python_agent/agent.py
index 75a7e8aab..a0f183fde 100644
--- a/ironic_python_agent/agent.py
+++ b/ironic_python_agent/agent.py
@@ -147,7 +147,8 @@ class IronicPythonAgent(base.ExecuteCommandMixin):
 
     def __init__(self, api_url, advertise_address, listen_address,
                  ip_lookup_attempts, ip_lookup_sleep, network_interface,
-                 lookup_timeout, lookup_interval, driver_name, standalone):
+                 lookup_timeout, lookup_interval, driver_name, standalone,
+                 hardware_initialization_delay=0):
         super(IronicPythonAgent, self).__init__()
         self.ext_mgr = extension.ExtensionManager(
             namespace='ironic_python_agent.extensions',
@@ -175,6 +176,7 @@ class IronicPythonAgent(base.ExecuteCommandMixin):
         self.ip_lookup_sleep = ip_lookup_sleep
         self.network_interface = network_interface
         self.standalone = standalone
+        self.hardware_initialization_delay = hardware_initialization_delay
 
     def get_status(self):
         """Retrieve a serializable status.
@@ -289,6 +291,12 @@ class IronicPythonAgent(base.ExecuteCommandMixin):
 
         # Cached hw managers at runtime, not load time. See bug 1490008.
         hardware.load_managers()
+        # Operator-settable delay before hardware actually comes up.
+        # Helps with slow RAID drivers - see bug 1582797.
+        if self.hardware_initialization_delay > 0:
+            LOG.info('Waiting %d seconds before proceeding',
+                     self.hardware_initialization_delay)
+            time.sleep(self.hardware_initialization_delay)
 
         if not self.standalone:
             # Inspection should be started before call to lookup, otherwise
diff --git a/ironic_python_agent/cmd/agent.py b/ironic_python_agent/cmd/agent.py
index 8cec49990..705bf5873 100644
--- a/ironic_python_agent/cmd/agent.py
+++ b/ironic_python_agent/cmd/agent.py
@@ -129,6 +129,11 @@ cli_opts = [
                 help='Whether to wait for all interfaces to get their IP '
                      'addresses before inspection. If set to false '
                      '(the default), only waits for the PXE interface.'),
+
+    cfg.IntOpt('hardware_initialization_delay',
+               default=APARAMS.get('ipa-hardware-initialization-delay', 0),
+               help='How much time (in seconds) to wait for hardware to '
+                    'initialize before proceeding with any actions.'),
 ]
 
 CONF.register_cli_opts(cli_opts)
@@ -153,4 +158,5 @@ def run():
                             CONF.lookup_timeout,
                             CONF.lookup_interval,
                             CONF.driver_name,
-                            CONF.standalone).run()
+                            CONF.standalone,
+                            CONF.hardware_initialization_delay).run()
diff --git a/ironic_python_agent/tests/unit/test_agent.py b/ironic_python_agent/tests/unit/test_agent.py
index b51e68518..cd3009ff7 100644
--- a/ironic_python_agent/tests/unit/test_agent.py
+++ b/ironic_python_agent/tests/unit/test_agent.py
@@ -232,6 +232,37 @@ class TestBaseAgent(test_base.BaseTestCase):
 
         self.agent.heartbeater.start.assert_called_once_with()
 
+    @mock.patch.object(time, 'sleep', autospec=True)
+    @mock.patch('wsgiref.simple_server.make_server', autospec=True)
+    @mock.patch.object(hardware.HardwareManager, 'list_hardware_info')
+    def test_run_with_sleep(self, mocked_list_hardware, wsgi_server_cls,
+                            mocked_sleep):
+        CONF.set_override('inspection_callback_url', '', enforce_type=True)
+        wsgi_server = wsgi_server_cls.return_value
+        wsgi_server.start.side_effect = KeyboardInterrupt()
+
+        self.agent.hardware_initialization_delay = 10
+        self.agent.heartbeater = mock.Mock()
+        self.agent.api_client.lookup_node = mock.Mock()
+        self.agent.api_client.lookup_node.return_value = {
+            'node': {
+                'uuid': 'deadbeef-dabb-ad00-b105-f00d00bab10c'
+            },
+            'heartbeat_timeout': 300
+        }
+        self.agent.run()
+
+        listen_addr = ('192.0.2.1', 9999)
+        wsgi_server_cls.assert_called_once_with(
+            listen_addr[0],
+            listen_addr[1],
+            self.agent.api,
+            server_class=simple_server.WSGIServer)
+        wsgi_server.serve_forever.assert_called_once_with()
+
+        self.agent.heartbeater.start.assert_called_once_with()
+        mocked_sleep.assert_called_once_with(10)
+
     def test_async_command_success(self):
         result = base.AsyncCommandResult('foo_command', {'fail': False},
                                          foo_execute)
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/sleep-ebe58fbe07d30219.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/sleep-ebe58fbe07d30219.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..163034af3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/sleep-ebe58fbe07d30219.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+---
+features:
+  - Add a configurable (and disabled by default) sleep before IPA does any
+    actions.