dpudevice.md

June 13, 2026 · View on GitHub

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The DPUDevice is a Kubernetes CRD that represents a physical DPU (Data Processing Unit) device that was discovered. The DPUDevice contain all the information required to identify and provision the DPU by the DPU Controller.

Overview

The DPUDevice resource serves as an inventory and management interface for physical DPU devices. It contains device-specific information such as serial numbers, product identifiers, BMC (Base Management Controller) details, and PCI addresses. The DPUDevice is can be created automatically through discovery processes or manually by administrators.

DPUDevice Specification

DPUDeviceSpec

The spec section defines the desired configuration for the DPU device:

Field	Type	Required	Description
`serialNumber`	string	Yes	The serial number of the device for inventory management
`psid`	string	No	Product Serial ID (deprecated, use status.psid)
`opn`	string	No	Ordering Part Number (deprecated, use status.opn)
`bmcIp`	string	No	IP address of the BMC for remote management
`bmcPort`	uint32	No	Port number for BMC communication (default: 443)
`numberOfPFs`	int	No	Number of Physical Functions on the device (default: 1)
`pf0Name`	string	No	Name of the first Physical Function

DPUDeviceStatus

The status section contains the observed state of the DPU device:

Field	Type	Description
`psid`	string	Product Serial ID discovered from the device
`serialNumber`	string	Serial number discovered from the device
`opn`	string	Ordering Part Number discovered from the device
`bmcIp`	string	BMC IP address discovered from the device
`bmcPort`	uint32	BMC port discovered from the device
`pciAddress`	string	PCI address of the device in the host system
`pf0Mac`	string	MAC address of the first Physical Function
`conditions`	array	Array of condition objects describing device state

Conditions

The DPUDevice resource uses several condition types to track its state:

DpuDeviceDiscovered: Indicates that the DPU has been discovered
DpuDeviceNodeAttached: Indicates that the DPU is attached to a node
DpuDeviceInitialized: Indicates that the DPU interface has been initialized
DpuDeviceError: Indicates that the DPUDevice has an error
DpuDeviceReady: Indicates that the DPUDevice is ready for use

Example Usage

Basic DPUDevice Creation

Determine the serial number of the DPUDevice. In zero-trust mode, serial number will be discovered from the BMC. In trusted mode, run: lspci -vvs ${pci_address} | grep "SN".

---
apiVersion: provisioning.dpu.nvidia.com/v1alpha1
kind: DPUDevice
metadata:
  name: MT25066004C7
  namespace: dpf-operator-system
spec:
  serialNumber: "MT25066004C7"
  bmcIp: "10.1.2.3"
  numberOfPFs: 1
  pf0Name: "eth0"

Lifecycle Management

Creation

DPUDevice resources are typically created through:

Automatic Discovery:
- Zero-Trust: Via DPUDiscovery controller scanning IP ranges
- Host-Trusted: Via dpudetector daemon on host nodes
Manual Creation: By administrators with known device details
DPU Detection: Via dpudetector daemon on host nodes

Firmware Update:

In zero-trust mode, BMC firmware will be updated to the latest version.

Updates

Most fields in DPUDevice are immutable once set. Only the following can be updated:

Labels and annotations
Status fields (managed by controllers)

apiVersion: provisioning.dpu.nvidia.com/v1alpha1
kind: DPUNode
metadata:
  name: dpu-node-001
spec:
  dpus:
  - name: MT25066004C7
  - name: MT25066004C8

DPU

DPU resources reference DPUDevice resources through the dpuDeviceName field:

apiVersion: provisioning.dpu.nvidia.com/v1alpha1
kind: DPU
metadata:
  name: dpu-001
spec:
  dpuDeviceName: MT25066004C7
  dpuNodeName: dpu-node-001
  # ... other fields

Monitoring and Troubleshooting

Checking Device Status

# Get all DPUDevice resources
kubectl get dpudevices -n dpf-operator-system

# Get detailed information about a specific device
kubectl describe dpudevice MT25066004C7 -n dpf-operator-system

# Check device conditions
kubectl get dpudevice MT25066004C7 -n dpf-operator-system -o jsonpath='{.status.conditions}'

Common Issues

Device Not Discovered when in Zero Trust setup: Check if the device is reachable via BMC IP
Invalid Serial Number: Ensure the serial number matches the required pattern
BMC Connection Issues: Verify BMC IP and port configuration
PCI Address Not Found: Check if the device is properly installed in the host

Status Conditions

Monitor the following conditions for device health:

# Check if device is ready
kubectl get dpudevice MT25066004C7 -n dpf-operator-system -o jsonpath='{.status.conditions[?(@.type=="DpuDeviceReady")].status}'

# Check for errors
kubectl get dpudevice MT25066004C7 -n dpf-operator-system -o jsonpath='{.status.conditions[?(@.type=="DpuDeviceError")]}'

DPUNode - Node-level DPU management
DPUDiscovery - Automatic DPU discovery
DPU - DPU provisioning and deployment
DPUSet - Bulk DPU management