Host Based Networking | DOCA Platform Framework

Follow this guide from the source GitHub repo at github.com/NVIDIA/doca-platform and moving to the docs/public/user-guides/host-trusted/use-cases/hbn/README.md for better formatting of the code.

In this configuration NVIDIA Host Based Networking (HBN) is installed as a DPUService.

Prerequisites

This guide should be run by cloning the repo from github.com/NVIDIA/doca-platform and moving to the docs/public/user-guides/hbn_only directory.

The system is set up as described in the system prerequisites. The HBN DPUService has the additional requirements:

Software Prerequisites

This guide uses the following tools which must be installed on the machine where the commands contained in this guide run.

kubectl
helm
envsubst

Kubernetes Prerequisites

Control plane setup is complete before starting this guide
CNI installed before starting this guide
Worker nodes are not added until indicated by this guide
High-speed ports are used for secondary workload network and not for primary CNI

Virtual Functions

A number of virtual functions (VFs) will be created on hosts when provisioning DPUs. Certain of these VFs are marked for specific usage:

The first VF (vf0) is used by provisioning components.
The remaining VFs are allocated by SR-IOV Device Plugin.

Installation Guide

0. Required Variables

The following variables are required by this guide. A sensible default is provided where it makes sense, but many will be specific to the target infrastructure.

Commands in this guide are run in the same directory that contains this readme.

Environment variables file

## Virtual IP used by the load balancer for the DPU Cluster. Must be a reserved IP from the management subnet and not allocated by DHCP.
export DPUCLUSTER_VIP=

## DPU_P0 is the name of the first port of the DPU. This name must be the same on all worker nodes.
export DPU_P0=

## Interface on which the DPUCluster load balancer will listen. Should be the management interface of the control plane node.
export DPUCLUSTER_INTERFACE=

## IP address to the NFS server used as storage for the BFB.
export NFS_SERVER_IP=

## The repository URL for the NVIDIA Helm chart registry.
## Usually this is the NVIDIA Helm NGC registry. For development purposes, this can be set to a different repository.
export HELM_REGISTRY_REPO_URL=https://helm.ngc.nvidia.com/nvidia/doca

## The repository URL for the HBN container image.
## Usually this is the NVIDIA NGC registry. For development purposes, this can be set to a different repository.
export HBN_NGC_IMAGE_URL=nvcr.io/nvidia/doca/doca_hbn

## The DPF REGISTRY is the Helm repository URL where the DPF Operator Chart resides.
## Usually this is the NVIDIA Helm NGC registry. For development purposes, this can be set to a different repository.
export REGISTRY=https://helm.ngc.nvidia.com/nvidia/doca

## The DPF TAG is the version of the DPF components which will be deployed in this guide.
export TAG=v25.10.1

## URL to the BFB used in the `bfb.yaml` and linked by the DPUSet.
export BFB_URL="https://content.mellanox.com/BlueField/BFBs/Ubuntu24.04/bf-bundle-3.2.1-34_25.11_ubuntu-24.04_64k_prod.bfb"

Modify the variables in manifests/00-env-vars/envvars.env to fit your environment, then source the file:

source manifests/00-env-vars/envvars.env

1. DPF Operator Installation

Create storage required by the DPF Operator

A number of environment variables must be set before running this command.

kubectl create ns dpf-operator-system
cat manifests/01-dpf-operator-installation/*.yaml | envsubst | kubectl apply -f -

This deploys the following objects:

PersistentVolume and PersistentVolumeClaim for the provisioning controller

YAML

---
apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolume
metadata:
  name: bfb-pv
spec:
  capacity:
    storage: 10Gi
  volumeMode: Filesystem
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteMany
  nfs: 
    path: /mnt/dpf_share/bfb
    server: $NFS_SERVER_IP
  persistentVolumeReclaimPolicy: Delete
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
metadata:
  name: bfb-pvc
  namespace: dpf-operator-system
spec:
  accessModes:
  - ReadWriteMany
  resources:
    requests:
      storage: 10Gi
  volumeMode: Filesystem
  storageClassName: ""

Additional Dependencies

Before deploying the DPF Operator, ensure that Helm is properly configured according to the Helm prerequisites.

This is a critical prerequisite step that must be completed for the DPF Operator to function properly.

Deploy the DPF Operator

A number of environment variables must be set before running this command.

HTTP Registry (default)

If the $REGISTRY is an HTTP Registry (default value) use this command:

helm repo add --force-update dpf-repository ${REGISTRY}
helm repo update
helm upgrade --install -n dpf-operator-system dpf-operator dpf-repository/dpf-operator --version=$TAG

OCI Registry

For development purposes, if the $REGISTRY is an OCI Registry use this command:

helm upgrade --install -n dpf-operator-system dpf-operator $REGISTRY/dpf-operator --version=$TAG

Verification

These verification commands may need to be run multiple times to ensure the condition is met.

Verify the DPF Operator installation with:

## Ensure the DPF Operator deployment is available.
kubectl rollout status deployment --namespace dpf-operator-system dpf-operator-controller-manager
## Ensure all pods in the DPF Operator system are ready.
kubectl wait --for=condition=ready --namespace dpf-operator-system pods --all

2. DPF system installation

This section involves creating the DPF system components and some basic infrastructure required for a functioning DPF-enabled cluster.

Deploy the DPF System components

A number of environment variables must be set before running this command.

kubectl create ns dpu-cplane-tenant1
cat manifests/02-dpf-system-installation/*.yaml | envsubst | kubectl apply -f -

This will create the following objects:

DPFOperatorConfig to install the DPF System components

YAML

---
apiVersion: operator.dpu.nvidia.com/v1alpha1
kind: DPFOperatorConfig
metadata:
  name: dpfoperatorconfig
  namespace: dpf-operator-system
spec:
  provisioningController:
    bfbPVCName: "bfb-pvc"
    dmsTimeout: 900
  kamajiClusterManager:
    disable: false

DPUCluster to serve as Kubernetes control plane for DPU nodes

YAML

---
apiVersion: provisioning.dpu.nvidia.com/v1alpha1
kind: DPUCluster
metadata:
  name: dpu-cplane-tenant1
  namespace: dpu-cplane-tenant1
spec:
  type: kamaji
  maxNodes: 10
  clusterEndpoint:
    # deploy keepalived instances on the nodes that match the given nodeSelector.
    keepalived:
      # interface on which keepalived will listen. Should be the oob interface of the control plane node.
      interface: $DPUCLUSTER_INTERFACE
      # Virtual IP reserved for the DPU Cluster load balancer. Must not be allocatable by DHCP.
      vip: $DPUCLUSTER_VIP
      # virtualRouterID must be in range [1,255], make sure the given virtualRouterID does not duplicate with any existing keepalived process running on the host
      virtualRouterID: 126
      nodeSelector:
        node-role.kubernetes.io/control-plane: ""

Verification

These verification commands may need to be run multiple times to ensure the condition is met.

Verify the DPF System with:

## Ensure the provisioning and DPUService controller manager deployments are available.
kubectl rollout status deployment --namespace dpf-operator-system dpf-provisioning-controller-manager dpuservice-controller-manager
## Ensure all other deployments in the DPF Operator system are Available.
kubectl rollout status deployment --namespace dpf-operator-system 
## Ensure the DPUCluster is ready for nodes to join.
kubectl wait --for=condition=ready --namespace dpu-cplane-tenant1 dpucluster --all

3. Enable Accelerated Interfaces

Traffic can be routed through HBN on the worker node by mounting the DPU physical interface into a pod.

Install Multus and SRIOV Network Operator using NVIDIA Network Operator

helm repo add nvidia https://helm.ngc.nvidia.com/nvidia --force-update
helm upgrade --no-hooks --install --create-namespace --namespace nvidia-network-operator network-operator nvidia/network-operator --version 25.7.0 -f ./manifests/03-enable-accelerated-interfaces/helm-values/network-operator.yml

NVIDIA Network Operator Helm values

nfd:
  enabled: false
  deployNodeFeatureRules: false
sriovNetworkOperator:
  enabled: true
sriov-network-operator:
  operator:
    affinity:
      nodeAffinity:
        requiredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution:
          nodeSelectorTerms:
            - matchExpressions:
                - key: node-role.kubernetes.io/master
                  operator: Exists
            - matchExpressions:
                - key: node-role.kubernetes.io/control-plane
                  operator: Exists
  crds:
    enabled: true
  sriovOperatorConfig:
    deploy: true
    configDaemonNodeSelector: null
operator:
  affinity:
    nodeAffinity:
      requiredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution:
        nodeSelectorTerms:
          - matchExpressions:
              - key: node-role.kubernetes.io/master
                operator: Exists
          - matchExpressions:
              - key: node-role.kubernetes.io/control-plane
                operator: Exists

Apply the NICClusterConfiguration and SriovNetworkNodePolicy

cat manifests/03-enable-accelerated-interfaces/*.yaml | envsubst | kubectl apply -f -

This will deploy the following objects:

NICClusterPolicy for the NVIDIA Network Operator

YAML

---
apiVersion: mellanox.com/v1alpha1
kind: NicClusterPolicy
metadata:
  name: nic-cluster-policy
spec:
  secondaryNetwork:
    multus:
      image: multus-cni
      imagePullSecrets: []
      repository: ghcr.io/k8snetworkplumbingwg
      version: v3.9.3

SriovNetworkNodePolicy for the SR-IOV Network Operator

YAML

---
apiVersion: sriovnetwork.openshift.io/v1
kind: SriovNetworkNodePolicy
metadata:
  name: bf3-p0-vfs
  namespace: nvidia-network-operator
spec:
  nicSelector:
    deviceID: "a2dc"
    vendor: "15b3"
    pfNames:
    - $DPU_P0#2-45
  nodeSelector:
    node-role.kubernetes.io/worker: ""
  numVfs: 46
  resourceName: bf3-p0-vfs
  isRdma: true
  externallyManaged: true
  deviceType: netdevice
  linkType: eth

Verification

These verification commands may need to be run multiple times to ensure the condition is met.

Verify the DPF System with:

## Ensure the provisioning and DPUService controller manager deployments are available.
kubectl wait --for=condition=Ready --namespace nvidia-network-operator pods --all
## Expect the following Daemonsets to be successfully rolled out.
kubectl rollout status daemonset --namespace nvidia-network-operator kube-multus-ds sriov-network-config-daemon sriov-device-plugin

4. DPU Provisioning and Service Installation

In this step we deploy our DPUs and the services that will run on them.

The user is expected to create a DPUDeployment object that reflects a set of DPUServices that should run on a set of DPUs.

If you want to learn more about DPUDeployments, feel free to check the DPUDeployment documentation.

Create the DPUDeployment, DPUServiceConfig, DPUServiceTemplate and other necessary objects

In case more than 1 DPU exists per node, the relevant selector should be applied in the DPUDeployment to select the appropriate DPU. See DPUDeployment - DPUs Configuration to understand more about the selectors.

A number of environment variables must be set before running this command.

cat manifests/04-dpudeployment-installation/*.yaml | envsubst | kubectl apply -f -

This will deploy the following objects:

BFB to download Bluefield Bitstream to a shared volume

YAML

---
apiVersion: provisioning.dpu.nvidia.com/v1alpha1
kind: BFB
metadata:
  name: bf-bundle-$TAG
  namespace: dpf-operator-system
spec:
  url: $BFB_URL

HBN DPUFlavor to correctly configure the DPUs on provisioning

YAML

---
apiVersion: provisioning.dpu.nvidia.com/v1alpha1
kind: DPUFlavor
metadata:
  name: hbn-$TAG
  namespace: dpf-operator-system
spec:
  bfcfgParameters:
  - UPDATE_ATF_UEFI=yes
  - UPDATE_DPU_OS=yes
  - WITH_NIC_FW_UPDATE=yes
  configFiles:
  - operation: override
    path: /etc/mellanox/mlnx-bf.conf
    permissions: "0644"
    raw: |
      ALLOW_SHARED_RQ="no"
      IPSEC_FULL_OFFLOAD="no"
      ENABLE_ESWITCH_MULTIPORT="yes"
  - operation: override
    path: /etc/mellanox/mlnx-ovs.conf
    permissions: "0644"
    raw: |
      CREATE_OVS_BRIDGES="no"
      OVS_DOCA="yes"
  - operation: override
    path: /etc/mellanox/mlnx-sf.conf
    permissions: "0644"
    raw: ""
  grub:
    kernelParameters:
    - console=hvc0
    - console=ttyAMA0
    - earlycon=pl011,0x13010000
    - fixrttc
    - net.ifnames=0
    - biosdevname=0
    - iommu.passthrough=1
    - cgroup_no_v1=net_prio,net_cls
    - hugepagesz=2048kB
    - hugepages=3072
  nvconfig:
  - device: '*'
    parameters:
    - PF_BAR2_ENABLE=0
    - PER_PF_NUM_SF=1
    - PF_TOTAL_SF=20
    - PF_SF_BAR_SIZE=10
    - NUM_PF_MSIX_VALID=0
    - PF_NUM_PF_MSIX_VALID=1
    - PF_NUM_PF_MSIX=228
    - INTERNAL_CPU_MODEL=1
    - INTERNAL_CPU_OFFLOAD_ENGINE=0
    - SRIOV_EN=1
    - NUM_OF_VFS=46
    - LAG_RESOURCE_ALLOCATION=1
    - LINK_TYPE_P1=ETH
    - LINK_TYPE_P2=ETH
  ovs:
    rawConfigScript: |
      _ovs-vsctl() {
        ovs-vsctl --no-wait --timeout 15 "$@"
      }

      _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 --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-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 --may-exist add-br br-hbn
      _ovs-vsctl set bridge br-hbn datapath_type=netdev
      _ovs-vsctl set bridge br-hbn fail_mode=secure

DPUDeployment to provision DPUs on worker nodes

YAML

---
apiVersion: svc.dpu.nvidia.com/v1alpha1
kind: DPUDeployment
metadata:
  name: hbn-only
  namespace: dpf-operator-system
spec:
  dpus:
    bfb: bf-bundle-$TAG
    flavor: hbn-$TAG
    dpuSets:
    - nameSuffix: "dpuset1"
      nodeSelector:
        matchLabels:
          feature.node.kubernetes.io/dpu-enabled: "true"
      dpuSelector:
        provisioning.dpu.nvidia.com/dpudevice-pf0-name: $DPU_P0
  services:
    doca-hbn:
      serviceTemplate: doca-hbn
      serviceConfiguration: doca-hbn
  serviceChains:
    switches:
      - ports:
        - serviceInterface:
            matchLabels:
              uplink: p0
        - service:
            name: doca-hbn
            interface: p0_if
      - ports:
        - serviceInterface:
            matchLabels:
              uplink: p1
        - service:
            name: doca-hbn
            interface: p1_if
      - ports:
        - serviceInterface:
            matchLabels:
              vf: pf0vf10
        - service:
            name: doca-hbn
            interface: pf0vf10_if
      - ports:
        - serviceInterface:
            matchLabels:
              vf: pf1vf10
        - service:
            name: doca-hbn
            interface: pf1vf10_if

DPUServiceConfig and DPUServiceTemplate to deploy HBN workloads to the DPUs

YAML

---
apiVersion: svc.dpu.nvidia.com/v1alpha1
kind: DPUServiceConfiguration
metadata:
  name: doca-hbn
  namespace: dpf-operator-system
spec:
  deploymentServiceName: "doca-hbn"
  serviceConfiguration:
    serviceDaemonSet:
      annotations:
        k8s.v1.cni.cncf.io/networks: |-
          [
          {"name": "iprequest", "interface": "ip_lo", "cni-args": {"poolNames": ["loopback"], "poolType": "cidrpool"}},
          {"name": "iprequest", "interface": "ip_pf0vf10", "cni-args": {"poolNames": ["pool1"], "poolType": "cidrpool", "allocateDefaultGateway": true}},
          {"name": "iprequest", "interface": "ip_pf1vf10", "cni-args": {"poolNames": ["pool2"], "poolType": "cidrpool", "allocateDefaultGateway": true}}
          ]
    helmChart:
      values:
        configuration:
          perDPUValuesYAML: |
            - hostnamePattern: "*"
              values:
                bgp_peer_group: hbn
                vrf1: RED
                vrf2: BLUE
                l3vni1: 100001
                l3vni2: 100002
            - hostnamePattern: "worker1*"
              values:
                bgp_autonomous_system: 65101
            - hostnamePattern: "worker2*"
              values:
                bgp_autonomous_system: 65201
          startupYAMLJ2: |
            - header:
                model: bluefield
                nvue-api-version: nvue_v1
                rev-id: 1.0
                version: HBN 2.4.0
            - set:
                evpn:
                  enable: on
                  route-advertise: {}
                interface:
                  lo:
                    ip:
                      address:
                        {{ ipaddresses.ip_lo.ip }}/32: {}
                    type: loopback
                  p0_if,p1_if,pf0vf10_if,pf1vf10_if:
                    type: swp
                    link:
                      mtu: 9000
                  pf0vf10_if:
                    ip:
                      address:
                        {{ ipaddresses.ip_pf0vf10.cidr }}: {}
                      vrf: {{ config.vrf1 }}
                  pf1vf10_if:
                    ip:
                      address:
                        {{ ipaddresses.ip_pf1vf10.cidr }}: {}
                      vrf: {{ config.vrf2 }}
                nve:
                  vxlan:
                    arp-nd-suppress: on
                    enable: on
                    source:
                      address: {{ ipaddresses.ip_lo.ip }}
                router:
                  bgp:
                    enable: on
                    graceful-restart:
                      mode: full
                vrf:
                  default:
                    router:
                      bgp:
                        address-family:
                          ipv4-unicast:
                            enable: on
                            redistribute:
                              connected:
                                enable: on
                            multipaths:
                              ebgp: 16
                          l2vpn-evpn:
                            enable: on
                        autonomous-system: {{ config.bgp_autonomous_system }}
                        enable: on
                        neighbor:
                          p0_if:
                            peer-group: {{ config.bgp_peer_group }}
                            type: unnumbered
                            address-family:
                              l2vpn-evpn:
                                enable: on
                                add-path-tx: off
                          p1_if:
                            peer-group: {{ config.bgp_peer_group }}
                            type: unnumbered
                            address-family:
                              l2vpn-evpn:
                                enable: on
                                add-path-tx: off
                        path-selection:
                          multipath:
                            aspath-ignore: on
                        peer-group:
                          {{ config.bgp_peer_group }}:
                            address-family:
                              ipv4-unicast:
                                enable: on
                              l2vpn-evpn:
                                enable: on
                            remote-as: external
                        router-id: {{ ipaddresses.ip_lo.ip }}
                  {{ config.vrf1 }}:
                    evpn:
                      enable: on
                      vni:
                        {{ config.l3vni1 }}: {}
                    router:
                      bgp:
                        address-family:
                          ipv4-unicast:
                            enable: on
                            redistribute:
                              connected:
                                enable: on
                            route-export:
                              to-evpn:
                                enable: on
                        autonomous-system: {{ config.bgp_autonomous_system }}
                        enable: on
                  {{ config.vrf2 }}:
                    evpn:
                      enable: on
                      vni:
                        {{ config.l3vni2 }}: {}
                    router:
                      bgp:
                        address-family:
                          ipv4-unicast:
                            enable: on
                            redistribute:
                              connected:
                                enable: on
                            route-export:
                              to-evpn:
                                enable: on
                        autonomous-system: {{ config.bgp_autonomous_system }}
                        enable: on

  interfaces:
  - name: p0_if
    network: mybrhbn
  - name: p1_if
    network: mybrhbn
  - name: pf0vf10_if
    network: mybrhbn
  - name: pf1vf10_if
    network: mybrhbn

YAML

---
apiVersion: svc.dpu.nvidia.com/v1alpha1
kind: DPUServiceTemplate
metadata:
  name: doca-hbn
  namespace: dpf-operator-system
spec:
  deploymentServiceName: "doca-hbn"
  helmChart:
    source:
      repoURL: $HELM_REGISTRY_REPO_URL
      version: 1.0.5
      chart: doca-hbn
    values:
      image:
        repository: $HBN_NGC_IMAGE_URL
        tag: 3.2.1-doca3.2.1
      resources:
        memory: 6Gi
        nvidia.com/bf_sf: 4

DPUServiceInterfaces for physical ports on the DPU

YAML

---
apiVersion: svc.dpu.nvidia.com/v1alpha1
kind: DPUServiceInterface
metadata:
  name: p0
  namespace: dpf-operator-system
spec:
  template:
    spec:
      template:
        metadata:
          labels:
            uplink: "p0"
        spec:
          interfaceType: physical
          physical:
            interfaceName: p0
---
apiVersion: svc.dpu.nvidia.com/v1alpha1
kind: DPUServiceInterface
metadata:
  name: p1
  namespace: dpf-operator-system
spec:
  template:
    spec:
      template:
        metadata:
          labels:
            uplink: "p1"
        spec:
          interfaceType: physical
          physical:
            interfaceName: p1
---
apiVersion: svc.dpu.nvidia.com/v1alpha1
kind: DPUServiceInterface
metadata:
  name: pf0vf10-rep
  namespace: dpf-operator-system
spec:
  template:
    spec:
      template:
        metadata:
          labels:
            vf: "pf0vf10"
        spec:
          interfaceType: vf
          vf:
            parentInterfaceRef: p0
            pfID: 0
            vfID: 10
---
apiVersion: svc.dpu.nvidia.com/v1alpha1
kind: DPUServiceInterface
metadata:
  name: pf1vf10-rep
  namespace: dpf-operator-system
spec:
  template:
    spec:
      template:
        metadata:
          labels:
            vf: "pf1vf10"
        spec:
          interfaceType: vf
          vf:
            parentInterfaceRef: p1
            pfID: 1
            vfID: 10

DPUServiceIPAM to set up IP Address Management on the DPUCluster

YAML

---
apiVersion: svc.dpu.nvidia.com/v1alpha1
kind: DPUServiceIPAM
metadata:
  name: pool1
  namespace: dpf-operator-system
spec:
  ipv4Network:
    network: "10.0.121.0/24"
    gatewayIndex: 2
    prefixSize: 29
---
apiVersion: svc.dpu.nvidia.com/v1alpha1
kind: DPUServiceIPAM
metadata:
  name: pool2
  namespace: dpf-operator-system
spec:
  ipv4Network:
    network: "10.0.122.0/24"
    gatewayIndex: 2
    prefixSize: 29

DPUServiceIPAM for the loopback interface in HBN

YAML

---
apiVersion: svc.dpu.nvidia.com/v1alpha1
kind: DPUServiceIPAM
metadata:
  name: loopback
  namespace: dpf-operator-system
spec:
  ipv4Network:
    network: "11.0.0.0/24"
    prefixSize: 32

Verification

These verification commands may need to be run multiple times to ensure the condition is met.

Note that the DPUService name will have a random suffix. For example, doca-hbn-l2xsl.

Verify the DPU and Service installation with:

## Ensure the DPUServices are created and have been reconciled.
kubectl wait --for=condition=ApplicationsReconciled --namespace dpf-operator-system dpuservices -l svc.dpu.nvidia.com/owned-by-dpudeployment=dpf-operator-system_hbn-only
## Ensure the DPUServiceIPAMs have been reconciled
kubectl wait --for=condition=DPUIPAMObjectReconciled --namespace dpf-operator-system dpuserviceipam --all
## Ensure the DPUServiceInterfaces have been reconciled
kubectl wait --for=condition=ServiceInterfaceSetReconciled --namespace dpf-operator-system dpuserviceinterface --all
## Ensure the DPUServiceChains have been reconciled
kubectl wait --for=condition=ServiceChainSetReconciled --namespace dpf-operator-system dpuservicechain --all

5. Test Traffic

Add worker nodes to the cluster

At this point workers should be added to the cluster. Each worker node should be configured in line with the prerequisites. As workers are added to the cluster DPUs will be provisioned and DPUServices will begin to be spun up.

You can verify the status of the DPUDeployment and its components with the following command:

$ kubectl -n dpf-operator-system exec deploy/dpf-operator-controller-manager -- /dpfctl describe dpudeployments
NAME                                          NAMESPACE            STATUS        REASON     SINCE  MESSAGE
DPFOperatorConfig/dpfoperatorconfig           dpf-operator-system  Ready: True   Success    2h
└─DPUDeployments
  └─DPUDeployment/hbn-only                    dpf-operator-system  Ready: True   Success    2h     
    ├─DPUServiceChains
    │ └─DPUServiceChain/hbn-only-wkdhz        dpf-operator-system  Ready: True   Success    2h   
    ├─DPUSets
    │ └─DPUSet/hbn-only-dpuset1               dpf-operator-system
    │   ├─BFB/bf-bundle                       dpf-operator-system  Ready: True   Ready      2h     File: bf-bundle-3.2.1-34_25.11_ubuntu-24.04_64k_prod.bfb, DOCA: 3.2.1
    │   └─DPUs
    │     └─2 DPUs...                         dpf-operator-system  Ready: True   DPUReady   2h     See dpu-node-mt2310xz03lr-mt2310xz03lr, dpu-node-mt2310xz03m2-mt2310xz03m2
    └─Services
      ├─DPUServiceTemplates
      │ └─DPUServiceTemplate/doca-hbn         dpf-operator-system  Ready: True   Success    2h
      └─DPUServices   
        └─DPUService/doca-hbn-l2xsl           dpf-operator-system  Ready: True   Success    2h

Deploy Test Pods

kubectl apply -f manifests/05-test-traffic

HBN functionality can be tested by pinging between the pods and services deployed in the default namespace.

Uninstall

This section describes how to clean up the DPF components installed in this guide. It is recommended to run this section only after the DPF Operator and DPUCluster are no longer needed.

Delete DPF CNI acceleration components

kubectl delete -f manifests/03-enable-accelerated-interfaces --wait
helm uninstall -n nvidia-network-operator network-operator --wait

Delete the DPF Operator system and DPF Operator

kubectl delete -n dpf-operator-system dpfoperatorconfig dpfoperatorconfig --wait
helm uninstall -n dpf-operator-system dpf-operator --wait

Delete DPF Operator PVC

kubectl -n dpf-operator-system delete pvc bfb-pvc
kubectl delete pv bfb-pv

Note: there can be a race condition with deleting the underlying Kamaji cluster which runs the DPU cluster control plane in this guide. If that happens it may be necessary to remove finalizers manually from DPUCluster and Datastore objects.

Last updated: June 10, 2026