Linux Installation Guide

Linux Installation Guide (PDF)

NVIDIA DOCA Installation Guide for Linux

This document details the necessary steps to set up NVIDIA DOCA in your Linux environment.

There are two ways to install the NVIDIA BlueField DPU software:

1.1. Supported Platforms

Model Number Description
MBF2H322A-AEEOT NVIDIA® BlueField®-2 P-Series DPU 25GbE Dual-Port SFP56, PCIe Gen4 x8, Crypto Enabled, 8GB on-board DDR, 1GbE OOB management, Tall Bracket, HHHL
MBF2H322A-AENOT NVIDIA BlueField-2 P-Series DPU 25GbE Dual-Port SFP56, PCIe Gen4 x8, Crypto Disabled, 8GB on-board DDR, 1GbE OOB management, Tall Bracket, HHHL
MBF2H332A-AEEOT NVIDIA BlueField-2 P-Series DPU 25GbE Dual-Port SFP56, PCIe Gen3/4 x8, Crypto Enabled, 16GB on-board DDR, 1GbE OOB management, Tall Bracket, HHHL
MBF2H332A-AENOT NVIDIA BlueField-2 P-Series DPU 25GbE Dual-Port SFP56, PCIe Gen3/4 x8, Crypto Disabled, 16GB on-board DDR, 1GbE OOB management, Tall Bracket, HHHL
MBF2H516A-CEEOT NVIDIA BlueField-2 P-Series DPU 100GbE Dual-Port QSFP56, PCIe Gen4 x16, Crypto Enabled, 16GB on-board DDR, 1GbE OOB management, Tall Bracket, FHHL
MBF2H516A-CENOT NVIDIA BlueField-2 P-Series DPU 100GbE Dual-Port QSFP56, PCIe Gen4 x16, Crypto Disabled, 16GB on-board DDR, 1GbE OOB management, Tall Bracket, FHHL
MBF2H516A-EEEOT NVIDIA BlueField-2 P-Series DPU 100GbE/EDR/HDR100 VPI Dual-Port QSFP56, PCIe Gen4 x16, Crypto Enabled, 16GB on-board DDR, 1GbE OOB management, Tall Bracket, FHHL
MBF2H516A-EENOT NVIDIA BlueField-2 P-Series DPU 100GbE/EDR VPI Dual-Port QSFP56; PCIe Gen4 x16; Crypto Disabled; 16GB on-board DDR; 1GbE OOB management; FHHL
MBF2H516B-CENOT NVIDIA BlueField-2 P-Series BF2500 DPU Controller, 100GbE Dual-Port QSFP56, PCIe Gen4 x16, Crypto Disabled, 16GB on-board DDR, 1GbE OOB Management, Tall Bracket, FHHL
MBF2H516B-EENOT NVIDIA BlueField-2 P-Series BF2500 DPU Controller, 100GbE/EDR/HDR100 VPI Dual-Port QSFP56, PCIe Gen4 x16, Crypto Disabled, 16GB on-board DDR, 1GbE OOB management, Tall Bracket, FHHL
MBF2M322A-AEEOT NVIDIA BlueField-2 E-Series DPU 25GbE Dual-Port SFP56, PCIe Gen3/4 x8, Crypto, 8GB on-board DDR, 1GbE OOB management, Tall Bracket, HHHL
MBF2M322A-AENOT NVIDIA BlueField-2 E-Series DPU 25GbE Dual-Port SFP56, PCIe Gen3/4 x8, Crypto Disabled, 8GB on-board DDR, 1GbE OOB management, Tall Bracket, HHHL
MBF2M332A-AEEOT NVIDIA BlueField-2 E-Series DPU 25GbE Dual-Port SFP56, PCIe Gen4 x8, Crypto, 16GB on-board DDR, 1GbE OOB management, Tall Bracket, HHHL
MBF2M332A-AENOT NVIDIA BlueField-2 E-Series DPU 25GbE Dual-Port SFP56, PCIe Gen4 x8, Crypto Disabled, 16GB on-board DDR, 1GbE OOB management, Tall Bracket, HHHL
MBF2M516A-CEEOT NVIDIA BlueField-2 E-Series DPU 100GbE Dual-Port QSFP56; PCIe Gen4 x16; Crypto Enabled; 16GB on-board DDR; 1GbE OOB management; FHHL
MBF2M516A-CENOT NVIDIA BlueField-2 E-Series DPU 100GbE Dual-Port QSFP56, PCIe Gen4 x16, Crypto Disabled, 16GB on-board DDR, 1GbE OOB management, Tall Bracket, FHHL
MBF2M516A-EEEOT NVIDIA BlueField-2 E-Series DPU 100GbE/EDR/HDR100 VPI Dual-Port QSFP56, PCIe Gen4 x16, Crypto Enabled, 16GB on-board DDR, 1GbE OOB management, Tall Bracket, FHHL
MBF2M516A-EENOT NVIDIA BlueField-2 E-Series DPU 100GbE/EDR/HDR100 VPI Dual-Port QSFP56; PCIe Gen4 x16; Crypto Disabled; 16GB on-board DDR; 1GbE OOB management; FHHL
900-21004-0030-000 NVIDIA BlueField-2 A30X, P1004 SKU 205, Generic, GA100, 24GB HBM2e, PCIe Passive Dual Slot 230W Gen 4.0, DPU Crypto ON W/ Bkt, 1 Dongle, Black, HF, VCPD
900-21004-0010-000 NVIDIA BlueField-2 A100X, P1004 SKU 230, Generic, GA100, 80GB HBM2e, PCIe Passive Dual Slot 300W Gen 4.0, DPU Crypto ON W/ Bkt, 1 Dongle, Black, HF, VCPD

1.2. Hardware Prerequisites

This quick start guide assumes that an NVIDIA® BlueField® DPU has been installed in a server according to the instructions detailed in your DPU's hardware user guide.

1.3. DOCA Packages

Device Component Version Description

Host

DOCA SDK 1.5.0 Software development kit package for developing host software
DOCA Runtime 1.5.0 Runtime libraries required to run DOCA-based software applications on host
DOCA Tools 1.5.0 Tools for developers and administrators on host

Arm emulated (QEMU) development container

3.9.3 Linux-based BlueField Arm emulated container for developers

Target BlueField-2 DPU (Arm)

BlueField Software 3.9.3 BlueField image and firmware
DOCA SDK 1.5.0 Software development kit packages for developing Arm software
DOCA Runtime 1.5.0 Runtime libraries requied to run DOCA-based software applications on Arm
DOCA Tools 1.5.0 Tools for developers and administrators for Arm target

1.4. Supported Operating System

The operating system supported on the BlueField DPU is Ubuntu 20.04. The following operating systems are supported on the host machine:

  • Ubuntu 18.04/20.04/22.04
  • CentOS/RHEL 7.6/8.0/8.2
  • Rocky 8.6
  • Debian 10.8

1.5. Supported Kernel Versions

Note:

Only the following generic kernel versions are supported for DOCA local repo package for host installation (whether by SDKM or manually).

Host Operation System Kernel Support Arch Support
CentOS 7.6 4.14.0-115.el7a.aarch64 aarch64
3.10.0-957.el7.x86_64 x86
CentOS 8.0 4.18.0-80.el8.x86_64
CentOS 8.2 4.18.0-193.el8.x86_64
RHEL 7.6 3.10.0-957.el7.x86_64
RHEL 8.0 4.18.0-80.el8.x86_64
RHEL 8.2 4.18.0-193.el8.x86_64
Rocky 8.6 4.18.0-372.9.1.el8.x86_64
Ubuntu 18.04 4.15.0-20-generic
Ubuntu 20.04 5.4.0-26-generic
Ubuntu 22.04 5.15.0-52-generic
Debian 10.8 4.19.0-14-amd64

NVIDIA SDK Manager supports DOCA installation, including software packages on the host and the BlueField-2 target.

Note:

SDK manager installation requires internet connection through out-of-band (OOB) port.

This guide provides the minimal first-step instructions for setting up DOCA on a standard system.

3.1. Installation Files

Device Component Arch and OS Link
Host

These files contain the following components suitable for their respective OS version.

  • DOCA SDK v1.5.0
  • DOCA Runtime v1.5.0
  • DOCA Tools v1.5.0
CentOS/RHEL 7.6 on x86 doca-host-repo-rhel76-1.5.0-0.2.2.1.5.0055.1.el7.5.8.1.0.1.1.x86_64.rpm
CentOS/RHEL 8.0 on x86 doca-host-repo-rhel80-1.5.0-0.2.2.1.5.0055.1.el8.5.8.1.0.1.1.x86_64.rpm
CentOS/RHEL 8.2 on x86 doca-host-repo-rhel82-1.5.0-0.2.2.1.5.0055.1.el8.5.8.1.0.1.1.x86_64.rpm
Rocky/RHEL 8.6 on x86 doca-host-repo-rhel86-1.5.0-0.2.2.1.5.0055.1.el8.5.8.1.0.1.1.x86_64.rpm
Ubuntu 18.04 on x86 doca-host-repo-ubuntu1804_1.5.0-0.2.2.1.5.0055.1.5.8.1.0.1.1_amd64.deb
Ubuntu 20.04 on x86 doca-host-repo-ubuntu2004_1.5.0-0.2.2.1.5.0055.1.5.8.1.0.1.1_amd64.deb
Ubuntu 22.04 on x86 doca-host-repo-ubuntu2204_1.5.0-0.2.2.1.5.0055.1.5.8.1.0.1.1_amd64.deb
Debian 10.8 on x86 doca-host-repo-debian108_1.5.0-0.2.2.1.5.0055.1.5.8.1.0.1.1_amd64.deb
Arm Emulated Development Container Arm container v3.9.3 on aarch64 doca_devel_ubuntu_20.04-inbox-5.5.tar
Target BlueField-2 DPU (Arm) BlueField Software v3.9.3 Ubuntu 20.04 on aarch64 doca_1.5.0_bsp_3.9.3_ubuntu_20.04-11.signed.bfb
DOCA SDK v1.5.0 doca-dpu-repo-ubuntu2004-local_1.5.0055-1.5.8.1.0.1.1.bf.3.9.3.12383.11.signed_arm64.deb
DOCA Runtime v1.5.0
DOCA Tools v1.5.0

3.2. Installing Software on Host

  1. Installation of MFT and RShim for managing and flashing the BlueField DPU. For Ubuntu/Debian
    1. Download the DOCA Tools package from Installation Files section for the host.
    2. Unpack the deb repo. Run:
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      host# sudo dpkg -i doca-host-repo-ubuntu<version>_amd64.deb

    3. Perform apt update. Run:
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      host# sudo apt-get update

    4. Run apt install for DOCA Tools.
      • For DPU:
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        host# sudo apt install doca-tools

      • For ConnectX on Ubuntu 20.04:
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        host# sudo apt install doca-cx-tools

    For CentOS/RHEL 7.x

    1. Download the DOCA Tools package from Installation Files section for the x86 host.
    2. Unpack the RPM repo. Run:
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      host# sudo rpm -Uvh doca-host-repo-rhel<version>.x86_64.rpm

    3. Enable new yum repos. Run:
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      host# sudo yum makecache

    4. Run yum install to install DOCA Tools.
      • For DPU:
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        host# sudo yum install doca-tools

      • For ConnectX:
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        host# sudo yum install doca-cx-tools

    For CentOS/RHEL 8.x or Rocky 8.6

    1. Download the DOCA Tools package from Installation Files section for the x86 host.
    2. Unpack the RPM repo. Run:
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      host# sudo rpm -Uvh doca-host-repo-rhel<version>.x86_64.rpm

    3. Enable new dnf repos. Run:
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      host# sudo dnf makecache

    4. Run dnf install to install DOCA Tools.
      • For DPU:
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        host# sudo dnf install doca-tools

      • For ConnectX:
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        host# sudo dnf install doca-cx-tools

    Note:

    Skip the following step to proceed without the DOCA local repo package for host.

  2. Alternatively, to continue with the DOCA local repo package for host installation: Installing DOCA Local Repo Package on Ubuntu/Debian Host
    1. Download the DOCA SDK and DOCA Runtime packages from Installation Files section for the host.
    2. Unpack the deb repo. Run:
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      host# sudo dpkg -i doca-host-repo-ubuntu<version>_amd64.deb

    3. Perform apt update. Run:
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      host# sudo apt-get update

    4. Run apt install for DOCA runtime, tools, and SDK.
      • For DPU:
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        host# sudo apt install -y doca-runtime doca-sdk

      • For ConnectX on Ubuntu 20.04:
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        host# sudo apt install -y doca-cx-runtime doca-cx-sdk

    5. Extra package:
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      host# sudo dnf install -y doca-extra

      doca-extra, located under /opt/mellanox/doca/tools/, contains:
      • doca-info – displays details of all installed dependencies in DOCA
      • doca-kernel-support – running it adds support on existing kernel to support DOCA

    Installing DOCA Local Repo Package on CentOS Host

    1. Download the DOCA SDK and DOCA Runtime packages from Installation Files section for the x86 host.
    2. Install the following software dependencies. Run:
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      host# sudo yum install -y epel-release

    3. For CentOS 8.2 only, also run:
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      host# yum config-manager --set-enabled PowerTools

    4. Unpack the RPM repo. Run:
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      host# sudo rpm -Uvh doca-host-repo-rhel<version>.x86_64.rpm

    5. Enable new yum repos. Run:
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      host# sudo yum makecache

    6. Run yum install for DOCA runtime, tools, and SDK.
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      host# sudo yum install -y doca-runtime doca-sdk

    7. Extra package:
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      host# sudo dnf install -y doca-extra

      doca-extra, located under /opt/mellanox/doca/tools/, contains:
      • doca-info – displays details of all installed dependencies in DOCA
      • doca-kernel-support – running it adds support on existing kernel to support DOCA

    Installing DOCA Local Repo Package on Rocky 8.6 Host

    1. Install the following software dependencies. Run:
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      host# sudo dnf install -y yum-utils host# sudo yum-config-manager --enable PowerTools

    2. Download the DOCA SDK, DOCA Runtime, and DOCA Tools package.
    3. Unpack the RMP repo. Run:
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      host# rpm -Uvh <repo_file>.rpm

    4. Clean cache. Run:
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      host# sudo dnf clean dbcache

    5. Run dnf install for DOCA SDK, DOCA runtime, DOCA tools.
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      host# sudo dnf install -y doca-runtime doca-sdk doca-tools

    6. Extra package:
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      host# sudo dnf install -y doca-extra

      doca-extra, located under /opt/mellanox/doca/tools/, contains:
      • doca-info – displays details of all installed dependencies in DOCA
      • doca-kernel-support – running it adds support on existing kernel to support DOCA

    Installing DOCA Local Repo Package on RHEL Host

    Note:

    For RHEL 7.6, only perform step d. from the following procedure.

    1. Open a RedHat account.
      1. Log into RedHat website via the developers tab.
      2. Create a developer user.
    2. Run:
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      host# subscription-manager register --username=<username> --password=PASSWORD

      To extract pool ID:
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      host# subscription-manager list --available --all ... Subscription Name: Red Hat Developer Subscription for Individuals Provides: Red Hat Developer Tools (for RHEL Server for ARM) ... Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder for x86_64 ... Pool ID: <pool-id> ...


      And use the pool ID for the Subscription Name and Provides that include Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder for x86_64.

    3. Run:
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      host# subscription-manager attach --pool=<pool-id> host# subscription-manager repos --enable codeready-builder-for-rhel-8-x86_64-rpms host# sudo yum makecache

    4. Install the DOCA local repo package for host, enable new yum repos, and install DOCA runtime and SDK. Run:
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      host# rpm -Uvh doca-host-repo-rhel<version>.x86_64.rpm host# sudo yum makecache host# sudo yum install -y doca-runtime doca-sdk

    5. Sign out from your RHEL account. Run:
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      host# subscription-manager remove --all host# subscription-manager unregister

    6. Extra package:
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      host# sudo dnf install -y doca-extra

      doca-extra, located under /opt/mellanox/doca/tools/, contains:
      • doca-info – displays details of all installed dependencies in DOCA
      • doca-kernel-support – running it adds support on existing kernel to support DOCA
  3. Initialize MST. Run:
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    host# sudo mst start

  4. Reset the nvconfig params to their default values:
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    host# sudo mlxconfig -d /dev/mst/mt41686_pciconf0 -y reset Reset configuration for device /dev/mst/mt41686_pciconf0? (y/n) [n] : y Applying... Done! -I- Please reboot machine to load new configurations.

  5. Skip this step if your BlueField DPU is Ethernet only. Please refer to Supported Platforms to learn your DPU type. If you have a VPI DPU, the default link type of the ports will be configured to IB. To verify your link type, run:
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    host# sudo mst start host# sudo mlxconfig -d /dev/mst/mt41686_pciconf0 -e q | grep -i link_type Configurations: Default Current Next Boot * LINK_TYPE_P1 IB(1) ETH(2) IB(1) * LINK_TYPE_P2 IB(1) ETH(2) IB(1)

    Note:

    If your DPU is Ethernet capable only, then the sudo mlxconfig -d <device> command will not provide an output.

    If the current link type is set to IB, run the following command to change it to Ethernet:
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    host# sudo mlxconfig -d /dev/mst/mt41686_pciconf0 s LINK_TYPE_P1=2 LINK_TYPE_P2=2


  6. Verify that RShim is active.
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    host# sudo systemctl status rshim

    This command is expected to display active (running). If RShim service does not launch automatically, run:
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    host# sudo systemctl enable rshim host# sudo systemctl start rshim

  7. Assign a dynamic IP to tmfifo_net0 interface (RShim host interface).
    Note:

    Skip this step if you are installing the DOCA image on multiple DPUs.

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    host# ifconfig tmfifo_net0 192.168.100.1 netmask 255.255.255.252 up

3.3. Installing Software on DPU

Users have two options for installing DOCA on the DPU:

  • Upgrading the full DOCA image on the DPU (recommended) - this option overwrites the entire boot partition.
  • Upgrading DOCA local repo package on the DPU – this option upgrades DOCA components without overwriting the boot partition. Use this option to preserve configurations or files on the DPU itself.

3.3.1. Installing Full DOCA Image on DPU

Note:

This installation sets up the OVS bridge.

Note:

If you are installing DOCA on multiple DPUs, skip to section Installing Full DOCA Image on Multiple DPUs.

Note:

This step overwrites the entire boot partition.


3.3.1.1. Option 1 - No Pre-defined Password

Note:

To set the password in advance, proceed to Option 2.

BFB installation is executed as follows:

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host# sudo bfb-install --rshim <rshimN> --bfb <image_path.bfb>


Where rshimN is rshim0 if you only have one DPU. You may run the following command to verify:

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host# ls -la /dev/ | grep rshim

3.3.1.2. Option 2 - Set Pre-defined Password

Ubuntu users can provide a unique password that will be applied at the end of the BlueField software image installation. This password needs to be defined in a bf.cfg configuration file. To set the password for the "ubuntu" user:

  1. Create password hash. Run:
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    host# openssl passwd -1 Password: Verifying - Password: $1$3B0RIrfX$TlHry93NFUJzg3Nya00rE1

  2. Add the password hash in quotes to the bf.cfg file:
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    host# sudo vim bf.cfg ubuntu_PASSWORD='$1$3B0RIrfX$TlHry93NFUJzg3Nya00rE1'

    When running the installation command, use the --config flag to provide the file containing the password:
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    host# sudo bfb-install --rshim <rshimN> --bfb <image_path.bfb> --config bf.cfg


    Note:

    If --config is not used, then upon first login to the BlueField device, users will be asked to update their password.

    The following is an example of Ubuntu installation assuming the "pv" Linux tool has been installed (to view the installation progress).
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    host# sudo bfb-install --rshim rshim0 --bfb DOCA_<version>-aarch64.bfb --config bf.cfg Pushing bfb 1.08GiB 0:00:57 [19.5MiB/s] [ <=> ] Collecting BlueField booting status. Press Ctrl+C to stop… INFO[BL2]: start INFO[BL2]: DDR POST passed INFO[BL2]: UEFI loaded INFO[BL31]: start INFO[BL31]: runtime INFO[UEFI]: eMMC init INFO[UEFI]: eMMC probed INFO[UEFI]: PCIe enum start INFO[UEFI]: PCIe enum end INFO[MISC]: Ubuntu installation started INFO[MISC]: Installation finished INFO[MISC]: Rebooting...


3.3.2. Installing Full DOCA Image on Multiple DPUs

On a host with multiple DPUs, the BFB image can be installed on all of them using the multi-bfb-install script.

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host# ./bfb-multi-install --bfb <bfb-file> --password <password>


This script detects the number of RShim devices and configures them statically.

  • For Ubuntu – the script creates a configuration file /etc/netplan/20-tmfifo.yaml
  • For CentOS/RHEL 7.6 – the script creates a configuration file /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-br_tmfifo
  • For CentOS/RHEL 8.0 and 8.2 – the script installs bridge-utils package to use the command brctl, creates bridge tm-br and connects all RShim interfaces to it

After the installation is complete, the configuration of the bridge and each RShim interface can be observed using ifconfig. The expected result is to see the IP on the bridge tm-br configured to 192.168.100.1 with subnet 255.255.255.0.

Note:

To log into BlueField with rshim0, run:

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ssh ubuntu@192.168.100.2

For each RShim after that, add 1 to the fourth octet of the IP address (e.g., ubuntu@192.168.100.3 for rshim1, ubuntu@192.168.100.4 for rshim2, etc).


The script burns a new MAC address to each DPU and configures a new IP, 192.168.100.x, as described earlier.

3.3.3. Installing DOCA Local Repo Package on DPU

Note:

If you have already installed BlueField image, be aware that the DOCA SDK, Runtime, and Tools are already contained in the BFB, and this installation is not mandatory. If you have not installed the BlueField image and wish to update DOCA Local Repo package, proceed with the following procedure.

Note:

Before installing DOCA on the target DPU, make sure the out-of-band interface (mgmt) is connected to the Internet.

  1. Download the DOCA SDK, DOCA Runtime, and DOCA Tools package from section Installation Files.
  2. Copy deb repo package into BlueField. Run:
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    host# sudo scp -r doca-repo-aarch64-ubuntu2004-local_<version>_arm64.deb ubuntu@192.168.100.2:/tmp/

  3. Unpack the deb repo. Run:
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    dpu# sudo dpkg -i doca-repo-aarch64-ubuntu2004-local_<version>_arm64.deb

  4. Run apt update:
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    dpu# sudo apt-get update

  5. Check for any DOCA package content upgrade. Run:
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    dpu# sudo apt install doca-runtime dpu# sudo apt install doca-tools dpu# sudo apt install doca-sdk

3.4. Upgrading Firmware

Note:

If multiple DPUs are installed, the following steps must be performed on all of them after BFB installation.

To upgrade firmware:

  1. SSH to your BlueField device via 192.168.100.2 (preconfigured).
    Note:

    If multiple DPUs are installed, the tmfifo IP interface does not have to be 192.168.100.2. The last octate changes and depends on the RShim number.

    The default credentials for Ubuntu are as follows:

    • Username: ubuntu
    • Password: ubuntu or a unique password that you set in bf.cfg

    For example:

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    host# ssh ubuntu@192.168.100.2 Password: <configured-password>


  2. Upgrade firmware in BlueField DPU. Run:
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    dpu# sudo /opt/mellanox/mlnx-fw-updater/mlnx_fw_updater.pl --force-fw-update

    Example output:
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    Device #1: ---------- Device Type: BlueField-2 [...] Versions: Current Available FW <Old_FW> <New_FW>

  3. For the firmware upgrade to take effect:
    1. Run the following command on the BlueField DPU and host:
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      dpu# sudo mst start

    2. Query the available reset flows:
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      dpu# sudo mlxfwreset -d /dev/mst/mt41686_pciconf0 q

      Example output:
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      Reset-levels: ... Reset-types (relevant only for reset-levels 3,4): ... Reset-sync (relevant only for reset-level 3): 0: Tool is the owner -Supported (default) 1: Driver is the owner -Supported


    3. If reset-sync 1 is not supported or if mlxfwreset failed, perform host power cycle. Otherwise, trigger reset by running the following:
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      dpu# sudo mlxfwreset -d /dev/mst/mt41686_pciconf0 --sync 1 -y reset

      Note:

      The entire DPU will experience reset.

3.5. Post-installation Procedure

  1. Restart the driver. Run:
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    host# sudo /etc/init.d/openibd restart Unloading HCA driver: [ OK ] Loading HCA driver and Access Layer: [ OK ]

  2. Configure the physical function (PF) interfaces.
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    host# sudo ifconfig <interface-1> <network-1/mask> up host# sudo ifconfig <interface-2> <network-2/mask> up

    For example:
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    host# sudo ifconfig p2p1 192.168.200.32/24 up host# sudo ifconfig p2p2 192.168.201.32/24 up

    Pings between the source and destination should now be operational.

Users wishing to build their own customized BlueField OS image can use the BFB build environment. Please refer to the bfb-build project in this GitHub webpage for more information.

Note:

For a customized BlueField OS image to boot on the UEFI secure-boot-enabled DPU (default DPU secure boot setting), the OS must be either signed with an existing key in the UEFI DB (e.g., the Microsoft key), or UEFI secure boot must be disabled. Please refer to the Secure Boot section and its subpages of the NVIDIA BlueField DPU Platform Operating System Documentation for more details.

For full instructions about setting up a development environment, refer to the NVIDIA DOCA Developer Guide.

NVIDIA® CUDA® is a parallel computing platform and programming model developed by NVIDIA for general computing GPUs.

This section details the necessary steps to set up CUDA on your environment. This section assumes that a BFB image has already been installed on your environment. To install CUDA on your converged accelerator:

  1. Download and install the latest NVIDIA Data Center GPU driver.
  2. Download and install CUDA.
Note:

Downloading CUDA includes the latest NVIDIA Data Center GPU driver and CUDA toolkit. For more information about CUDA and driver compatibility please refer to NVIDIA CUDA Toolkit Release Notes.


6.1. Configuring Operation Mode

There are two modes that the NVIDIA Converged Accelerator may operate in:

  • Standard mode (default) – the BlueField DPU and the GPU operate separately
  • BlueField-X mode – the GPU is exposed to the DPU and is no longer visible on the host

To verify which mode the system is operating in, run:

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host# sudo mst start host# sudo mlxconfig -d /dev/mst/mt41686_pciconf0 q PCI_DOWNSTREAM_PORT_OWNER[4]


Standard mode output:

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Device #1: […] Configurations: Next Boot PCI_DOWNSTREAM_PORT_OWNER[4] DEVICE_DEFAULT(0)


BlueField-X mode output:

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Device #1: […] Configurations: Next Boot PCI_DOWNSTREAM_PORT_OWNER[4] EMBEDDED_CPU(15)


To configure BlueField-X mode, run:

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host# mlxconfig -d /dev/mst/mt41686_pciconf0 s PCI_DOWNSTREAM_PORT_OWNER[4]=0xF


To configure standard mode, run:

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host# mlxconfig -d /dev/mst/mt41686_pciconf0 s PCI_DOWNSTREAM_PORT_OWNER[4]=0x0


Power cycle is required for configuration to take effect. To power cycle the host run:

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host# ipmitool power cycle

6.2. Downloading and Installing CUDA Toolkit and Driver

This section details the necessary steps to set up CUDA on your environment. It assumes that a BFB image has already been installed on your environment.

  1. Install CUDA by visiting the CUDA Toolkit 11.6.2 Downloads webpage.
    Note:

    Select the Linux distribution and version relevant for your environment.

  2. Test that the driver installation completed successfully. Run:
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    nvidia-smi Tue Apr 5 13:37:59 2022 +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | NVIDIA-SMI 510.47.03 Driver Version: 510.47.03 CUDA Version: 11.6 | |-------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ | GPU Name Persistence-M| Bus-Id Disp.A | Volatile Uncorr. ECC | | Fan Temp Perf Pwr:Usage/Cap| Memory-Usage | GPU-Util Compute M. | | | | MIG M. | |===============================+======================+======================| | 0 NVIDIA BF A10 Off | 00000000:06:00.0 Off | 0 | | 0% 43C P0 N/A / 225W | 0MiB / 23028MiB | 0% Default | | | | N/A | +-------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Processes: | | GPU GI CI PID Type Process name GPU Memory | | ID ID Usage | |=============================================================================| | No running processes found | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

  3. Verify that the installation completed successfully.
    1. Download CUDA samples repo. Run:
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      dpu# git clone https://github.com/NVIDIA/cuda-samples.git

    2. Build and run vectorAdd CUDA sample. Run:
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      dpu# cd cuda-samples/Samples/0_Introduction/vectorAdd dpu# make dpu# ./vectorAdd

    Note:

    If the vectorAdd sample works as expected, it should output "Test Passed".

    Note:

    If it seems that the GPU is slow or stuck, stop execution and run:

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    dpu# sudo setpci -v -d ::0302 800.L=201 # CPL_VC0 = 32

6.3. GPUDirect RDMA

To enable GPUDirect RDMA with a network card on NVIDIA Converged Accelerator, you need an additional kernel module. Run:

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dpu# sudo modprobe nvidia-peermem

6.4. DPDK GPUDEV

To enable CPU map GPU memory feature in DPDK's gpudev library, you need the GDRCopy library and driver to be installed on your system.

  1. Install GDRCopy library. Run:
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    dpu# git clone https://github.com/NVIDIA/gdrcopy.git

  2. Install dependencies.
    • For RHEL:
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      # DKMs can be installed from epel-release. See https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/EPEL. dpu# $ sudo yum install dkms check check-devel subunit subunit-devel

    • For Debian:
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      dpu# $ sudo apt install check libsubunit0 libsubunit-dev

  3. Build the library and install the driver. Run:
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    dpu# cd gdrcopy dpu# make # Launch gdrdrv kernel module on the system dpu# ./insmod.sh

  4. Setup GDRCopy path. Run:
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    dpu# export GDRCOPY_PATH_L=/path/to/libgdrapi

    Note:

    In general, the path to libgdrapi is /path/to/gdrcopy/src/.

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