DPA Application Security Attributes to Blob

Overview

dpa-app-attributes2blob is a tool for converting between FlexIO attributes YAML files and binary blob files, and vice versa. It is typically used to generate binary configuration blobs from human-readable YAML attributes, or to reverse the process for inspection and debugging.

Features

Converts attributes YAML files to binary blobs (default mode)
Converts binary blobs back to attributes YAML files
Supports a nested Feature_list structure
Validates input files and provides clear error messages
Sets default values to false for unspecified fields
Provides detailed feature descriptions in generated YAML files
Supports error modes for blob-to-YAML conversion
Configurable blob size for YAML-to-binary conversion
Comprehensive bit validation in binary blobs

Usage

dpa-app-attributes2blob [--help] [--version] [mode] [error_mode] [blob_size] <input-file> <output-file>

Option	Description	Notes
`--yaml2bin`	Convert an attributes YAML file to a binary blob	Default
`--bin2yaml`	Convert a binary blob to an attributes YAML file	N/A
`--restrictive`	Treat invalid bits in a binary blob as errors	Default bin2yaml only
`--notification`	Treat invalid bits in a binary blob as warnings	bin2yaml only
`--blob-size <size>`	Specify the output size of the blob in bytes. The size must be a multiple of 4 and less than 1024.	8 bytes by default yaml2bin only

Examples

Convert YAML to binary blob:

dpa-app-attributes2blob --yaml2bin config.yaml output.bin

Simple convert YAML to binary blob:

dpa-app-attributes2blob config.yaml output.bin

Convert YAML to binary blob with custom size:

dpa-app-attributes2blob --yaml2bin --blob-size 16 config.yaml output.bin

Convert binary blob to YAML:

dpa-app-attributes2blob --bin2yaml output.bin config.yaml

Convert binary blob to YAML with warning mode:

dpa-app-attributes2blob --bin2yaml --notification output.bin config.yaml

Attributes YAML Format

The attributes must have a top-level mapping containing only a Feature_list key.
The Feature_list value must be a mapping containing feature flags.
Field values must be boolean (true/false, yes/no, on/off).
Fields not explicitly set default to false.
Supported fields:
- Congestion_Control_Flow_Context_Access: Enables the application to access the Congestion Control Flow Context.
- Programmable_Congestion_Control: Enables the application to serve Programmable Congestion Control events.
- Generating_Empty_CQE: Enables the application to generate an Empty CQE on a given CQ (e.g., for triggering other software entries).
- Device_Emulation: Enables the application to emulate a PCIe device.

Example Attributes YAML

YAML

Feature_list:
  Congestion_Control_Flow_Context_Access: true
  Programmable_Congestion_Control: false
  Generating_Empty_CQE: true
  Device_Emulation: true

Generated YAML Output

When converting from binary to YAML, the tool generates descriptive comments:

YAML

# This file was generated by dpa-app-attributes2blob
# A dictionary of features enabled/disabled for the application
Feature_list:
  # Enables application to access Congestion Control Flow Context
  Congestion_Control_Flow_Context_Access: true
  # Disables application to serve Programmable Congestion Control events
  Programmable_Congestion_Control: false
  # Enables application to generate Empty CQE on a given CQ, e.g. for triggering other SW entries
  Generating_Empty_CQE: true
  # Enables application to emulate a PCI device
  Device_Emulation: true

Error Handling

The tool checks for duplicate fields, unknown fields, invalid boolean values, and malformed YAML structure.
Only one document and the specified nested structure are allowed in the YAML.
Sequences and aliases/anchors are not supported.
In blob-to-YAML mode, the tool validates that only valid feature bits are set in the binary blob.
Invalid bits can be treated as errors (default) or warnings (using --notification).
The tool provides detailed error messages showing which specific bits are invalid in the binary blob.
Command-line validation ensures error modes are only used with --bin2yaml and size options are only used with --yaml2bin.

Binary Blob Format

The binary blob is stored in big-endian byte order.
Custom blob sizes can be specified using the --blob-size option.
The blob size must be a multiple of 4 bytes and cannot exceed 1024 bytes.
Only the bits corresponding to defined features are validated; other bits are checked to ensure they are not set to 1.

Last updated: May 27, 2026