DPUFlavor

Overview

DPUFlavor is a Kubernetes Custom Resource Definition (CRD) that defines configuration templates for DPU system-level settings. It serves as a blueprint that specifies how DPUs should be configured during provisioning, including kernel parameters, firmware settings, OVS configuration, network interfaces, and resource allocation.

API Version

• API Group: provisioning.dpu.nvidia.com

• API Version: v1alpha1

• Kind: DPUFlavor

Key Features

• Immutable Configuration: Once created, the DPUFlavor spec cannot be modified to ensure consistency across DPU deployments

• Comprehensive System Configuration: Covers all aspects of DPU system configuration from boot parameters to runtime settings

• Resource Management: Defines resource requirements and allocation policies

• Multiple DPU Modes: Supports both standard DPU mode and zero-trust mode

• Template Reusability: Can be applied to multiple DPUs for consistent configuration

API Reference

DPUFlavorSpec

DPUFlavorGrub

DPUFlavorSysctl

NVConfig

IB Mode to Ethernet Mode Configuration

Example for single port DPU:

nvconfig:
  - device: '*'
    parameters:
      - LINK_TYPE_P1=ETH

Example for dual port DPU:

nvconfig:
  - device: '*'
    parameters:
      - LINK_TYPE_P1=ETH
      - LINK_TYPE_P2=ETH

DPUFlavorOVS

ConfigFile

ContainerdConfig

NetworkInterfaceConfig

Enumerations

DpuModeType

• dpu: Standard DPU mode

• zero-trust: Zero-trust security mode

DPUFlavorFileOp

• override: Replace file content entirely

• append: Append to existing file content

Resource Management

DPU Resources

The dpuResources field specifies the minimum resources required for a BFB with this flavor to be installed on a DPU. Using this field, the controller can understand if that flavor can be installed on a particular DPU. It should be set to the total amount of resources the system needs + the resources that should be made available for DPUServices to consume:

dpuResources:
  cpu: 16
  memory: 16Gi
  nvidia.com/sf: 20

System Reserved Resources

The systemReservedResources field indicates resources consumed by the system (OS, OVS, DPF system etc) and are not made available for DPUServices to consume. DPUServices can consume the difference between dpuResources and systemReservedResources. This field must not be specified if dpuResources are not specified.:

systemReservedResources:
  cpu: 4
  memory: 4Gi
  nvidia.com/sf: 4

The difference between dpuResources and systemReservedResources is available for DPUServices.

Examples

HBN-OVN DPUFlavor

apiVersion: provisioning.dpu.nvidia.com/v1alpha1
kind: DPUFlavor
metadata:
  name: hbn-ovn
  namespace: dpf-operator-system
spec:
  bfcfgParameters:
  - UPDATE_ATF_UEFI=yes
  - UPDATE_DPU_OS=yes
  - WITH_NIC_FW_UPDATE=yes
  configFiles:
  - operation: override
    path: /etc/mellanox/mlnx-bf.conf
    permissions: "0644"
    raw: |
      ALLOW_SHARED_RQ="no"
      IPSEC_FULL_OFFLOAD="no"
      ENABLE_ESWITCH_MULTIPORT="yes"
  - operation: override
    path: /etc/mellanox/mlnx-ovs.conf
    permissions: "0644"
    raw: |
      CREATE_OVS_BRIDGES="no"
      OVS_DOCA="yes"
  - operation: override
    path: /etc/mellanox/mlnx-sf.conf
    permissions: "0644"
    raw: ""
  dpuMode: dpu
  grub:
    kernelParameters:
    - console=hvc0
    - console=ttyAMA0
    - earlycon=pl011,0x13010000
    - fixrttc
    - net.ifnames=0
    - biosdevname=0
    - iommu.passthrough=1
    - cgroup_no_v1=net_prio,net_cls
    - hugepagesz=2048kB
    - hugepages=3072
  hostNetworkInterfaceConfigs:
  - dhcp: true
    mtu: 1500
    portNumber: 0
  nvconfig:
  - device: '*'
    parameters:
    - PF_BAR2_ENABLE=0
    - PER_PF_NUM_SF=1
    - PF_TOTAL_SF=20
    - PF_SF_BAR_SIZE=10
    - NUM_PF_MSIX_VALID=0
    - PF_NUM_PF_MSIX_VALID=1
    - PF_NUM_PF_MSIX=228
    - INTERNAL_CPU_MODEL=1
    - INTERNAL_CPU_OFFLOAD_ENGINE=0
    - SRIOV_EN=1
    - NUM_OF_VFS=46
    - LAG_RESOURCE_ALLOCATION=1
  ovs:
    rawConfigScript: |
      _ovs-vsctl() {
        ovs-vsctl --no-wait --timeout 15 "$@"
      }

      _ovs-vsctl set Open_vSwitch . other_config:doca-init=true
      _ovs-vsctl set Open_vSwitch . other_config:dpdk-max-memzones=50000
      _ovs-vsctl set Open_vSwitch . other_config:hw-offload=true
      _ovs-vsctl set Open_vSwitch . other_config:pmd-quiet-idle=true
      _ovs-vsctl set Open_vSwitch . other_config:max-idle=20000
      _ovs-vsctl set Open_vSwitch . other_config:max-revalidator=5000
      _ovs-vsctl set Open_vSwitch . other_config:ctl-pipe-size=1024
      _ovs-vsctl --if-exists del-br ovsbr1
      _ovs-vsctl --if-exists del-br ovsbr2
      _ovs-vsctl --may-exist add-br br-sfc
      _ovs-vsctl set bridge br-sfc datapath_type=netdev
      _ovs-vsctl set bridge br-sfc fail_mode=secure
      _ovs-vsctl --may-exist add-br br-hbn
      _ovs-vsctl set bridge br-hbn datapath_type=netdev
      _ovs-vsctl set bridge br-hbn fail_mode=secure
      _ovs-vsctl --may-exist add-port br-sfc p0
      _ovs-vsctl set Interface p0 type=dpdk
      _ovs-vsctl set Interface p0 mtu_request=9216
      _ovs-vsctl set Port p0 external_ids:dpf-type=physical

      _ovs-vsctl set Open_vSwitch . external-ids:ovn-bridge-datapath-type=netdev
      _ovs-vsctl --may-exist add-br br-ovn
      _ovs-vsctl set bridge br-ovn datapath_type=netdev
      _ovs-vsctl br-set-external-id br-ovn bridge-id br-ovn
      _ovs-vsctl br-set-external-id br-ovn bridge-uplink puplinkbrovntobrsfc
      _ovs-vsctl --may-exist add-port br-ovn pf0hpf
      _ovs-vsctl set Interface pf0hpf type=dpdk
      _ovs-vsctl set Interface pf0hpf mtu_request=9216

Best Practices

1. Resource Planning: Always specify dpuResources and systemReservedResources to ensure proper resource allocation

2. Immutability: Plan your configuration carefully as DPUFlavor specs cannot be modified after creation

3. Testing: Test DPUFlavor configurations in development environments before production deployment

4. Documentation: Document custom configurations and their purposes for team understanding

5. IB Mode Conversion: For DPUs initially in InfiniBand (IB) mode, always include LINK_TYPE_P1=2 in nvconfig parameters to convert to Ethernet mode. For dual port DPUs, also add LINK_TYPE_P2=2

Last updated: June 10, 2026