DOCA Profiles
This document introduces and compares the different NVIDIA DOCA™ Host installation profiles, helping users select the most suitable configuration for their workloads and environments.
NVIDIA DOCA™ can be installed on host machines to support a range of NVIDIA® BlueField® DPUs and NVIDIA® ConnectX® SmartNICs. To meet the needs of different deployment scenarios, DOCA offers installation profiles—validated packages that streamline setup based on the desired functionality.
The following are the available DOCA profiles:
doca-alldoca-networkingdoca-ofeddoca-roce
DOCA functionality is limited by the specific device capabilities.
Selecting the right DOCA-Host installation profile is important to fully utilize the capabilities of your BlueField Platforms or ConnectX.
The functionality of DOCA-Host is limited by the device capabilities (e.g., ConnectX devices cannot utilize DOCA libs such as DPA, even if doca-all is installed on the host).
For BlueField devices:
It is recommended to use
doca-allIf you require the smallest installation package for networking-only purposes, use
doca-networkingFor MLNX_OFED-like installation, use
doca-ofed(no additional DOCA functionality)For ROCE functionality only, install
doca-roce
For ConnectX devices:
It is recommended to use
doca-networkingFor future-proof and mixed BlueField/ConnectX deployments, use
doca-allFor MLNX_OFED-like installation use
doca-ofed(no additional DOCA functionality)For ROCE functionality only, install
doca-roce
doca-all
Purpose | Install the full DOCA suite, including all libraries, drivers, and tools |
Includes |
|
Recommended for |
|
Some components may require manual installation after the default package.
doca-networking
Purpose | Networking-specific installation without full DOCA library overhead |
Includes |
|
Recommended for |
|
doca-ofed
Purpose | Driver-only installation equivalent to MLNX_OFED |
Includes |
|
Recommended for |
|
doca-roce
Purpose | Lightweight RDMA-over-Ethernet (ROCE) functionality |
Includes |
|
Recommended for |
|
All profiles support the following NVIDIA hardware:
BlueField-3
BlueField-2
ConnectX-7
ConnectX-6 DX / LX / standard
ConnectX-5
ConnectX-4 LX
DOCA functionality is limited by the specific device capabilities. For example, ConnectX devices cannot use certain DOCA libraries such as DPA.
Each DOCA-Host profile is supported on a subset of operating systems. Refer to the "Supported Host OS per DOCA-Host Installation Profile" section in the DOCA Host Installation and Upgrade Guide.
Follow the installation steps under " Installing Software on Host" in th e DOCA-HOST Installation and Upgrade for details on how to install the selected profile.
Refer to the "General Support" page of the release notes for information.