OVS Inside BlueField

Verifying Host Connection on Linux

When the DPU is connected to another DPU on another machine, manually assign IP addresses with the same subnet to both ends of the connection.

Assuming the link is connected to p3p1 on the other host, run:
```
$ ifconfig p3p1 192.168.200.1/24 up
```
On the host which the DPU is connected to, run:
```
$ ifconfig p4p2 192.168.200.2/24 up
```
Have one ping the other. This is an example of the DPU pinging the host:
```
$ ping 192.168.200.1
```

Verifying Connection from Host to BlueField

There are two SFs configured on the BlueField device, enp3s0f0s0 and enp3s0f1s0, and their representors are part of the built-in bridge. These interfaces will get IP addresses from the DHCP server if it is present. Otherwise it is possible to configure IP address from the host. It is possible to access BlueField via the SF netdev interfaces.

For example:

Verify the default OVS configuration. Run:

# ovs-vsctl show
5668f9a6-6b93-49cf-a72a-14fd64b4c82b
    Bridge ovsbr1
        Port pf0hpf
            Interface pf0hpf
        Port ovsbr1
            Interface ovsbr1
                type: internal
        Port p0
            Interface p0
        Port en3f0pf0sf0
            Interface en3f0pf0sf0
    Bridge ovsbr2
        Port en3f1pf1sf0
            Interface en3f1pf1sf0
        Port ovsbr2
            Interface ovsbr2
                type: internal
        Port pf1hpf
            Interface pf1hpf
        Port p1
            Interface p1
    ovs_version: "2.14.1"

Verify whether the SF netdev received an IP address from the DHCP server. If not, assign a static IP. Run:

# ifconfig enp3s0f0s0
enp3s0f0s0: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 192.168.200.125  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.200.255
        inet6 fe80::8e:bcff:fe36:19bc  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>
        ether 02:8e:bc:36:19:bc  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 3730  bytes 1217558 (1.1 MiB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 22  bytes 2220 (2.1 KiB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

Verify the connection of the configured IP address. Run:

# ping 192.168.200.25 -c 5
PING 192.168.200.25 (192.168.200.25) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 192.168.200.25: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.228 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.200.25: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.175 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.200.25: icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=0.232 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.200.25: icmp_seq=4 ttl=64 time=0.174 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.200.25: icmp_seq=5 ttl=64 time=0.168 ms

--- 192.168.200.25 ping statistics ---
5 packets transmitted, 5 received, 0% packet loss, time 91ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.168/0.195/0.232/0.031 ms

Verifying Host Connection on Windows

Set IP address on the Windows side for the RShim or Physical network adapter, please run the following command in Command Prompt:

PS C:\Users\Administrator> New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet 16" -IPAddress "192.168.100.1" -PrefixLength 22

To get the interface name, please run the following command in Command Prompt:

PS C:\Users\Administrator> Get-NetAdapter

Output should give us the interface name that matches the description (e.g. NVIDIA BlueField Management Network Adapter).

Ethernet 2			NVIDIA ConnectX-4 Lx Ethernet Adapter		 6 Not Present  24-8A-07-0D-E8-1D
Ethernet 6			NVIDIA ConnectX-4 Lx Ethernet Ad...#2		23 Not Present  24-8A-07-0D-E8-1C
Ethernet 16			NVIDIA BlueField Management Netw...#2		15 Up			CA-FE-01-CA-FE-02

Once IP address is set, Have one ping the other.

C:\Windows\system32>ping 192.168.100.2

Pinging 192.168.100.2 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.100.2: bytes=32 time=148ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.100.2: bytes=32 time=152ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.100.2: bytes=32 time=158ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.100.2: bytes=32 time=158ms TTL=64

Last updated: May 27, 2026