DOCA Pipeline Language Developer Tools

These pages describe the NVIDIA DOCA Pipeline Language (DPL) Developer Tools, which are used to inspect and debug DPL programs on NVIDIA® BlueField® DPUs.

For instructions on creating, compiling, and deploying DPL programs, refer to the DOCA Pipeline Language Service Guide.

Introduction

NVIDIA provides a suite of developer tools to assist with the validation and debugging of DPL applications:

Tool	Description
DPL Compiler	Converts DPL source code into a binary format that can be loaded by the DPL Runtime Daemon (`dpl_rtd`).
P4 Runtime Shell	Open-source control plane manager implementing the P4Runtime API.
DPL Nspect	Command-line interface (CLI) for inspecting DPL runtime state, including tables, keys, counters, and more.
DPL Debugger	Graphical interface for visualizing and debugging packet flow through the DPL program.
DPL Admin	CLI tool for dynamically modifying configuration items in the DPL Runtime Daemon.
DPL Runtime Controller SDK	SDK for building custom P4Runtime applications or integrating with DPL shared memory APIs.

All tools interact with the DPL Runtime Daemon (dpl_rtd) running on the BlueField DPU.

Prerequisites

To use the DPL developer tools, the following components must be set up:

DPL Runtime Service
1. The DPL Runtime Service container must be deployed and running on the DPU. This service manages the DPL Runtime daemon.
2. Ensure the dpl_rtd process is active and the DPU is configured to operate in DPU mode.
DPL program compiled for debugging:
1. Compile the DPL program using the DPL Compiler with the debug option enabled (for example, dplp4c.sh -g).
2. Load the compiled binary into dpl_rtd using the P4Runtime controller.
  
  For further details, refer to Compiling DPL Applications.

Setup

The developer tools are included in the DPL Development Container, which is publicly available on NGC. For installation instructions, refer to the DPL Installation Guide.

Last updated: November 17, 2025