doca-dms · diff

git:20260727.a5736e4 to git:20261014.bbb601a

87 added, 34 removed. Audit A to A.

---

license: Apache-2.0

name: doca-dms

description: >

- Operate NVIDIA DOCA Management Service (`dmsd` + `dmspe`) on a

- BlueField, Arm/x86 host, or Kubernetes pod: choose deployment and

+ Operate NVIDIA DOCA Management Service on a BlueField, Arm/x86 host,

+ or Kubernetes pod: from DOCA 3.5 the local `dms-cli` (one command per

+ YANG path, no server), and the `dmsd` + `dmspe` service: choose deployment and

authentication, configure `-allowed_users` and `dmsgroup`, use gNMI

Get/Set/Subscribe, run supported gNOI workflows, and debug

frontend/backend failures. Trigger even without "DMS" for "manage a

remote BlueField over gRPC", "gNOI reboot from orchestrator", or

- fleet-management requests.

- SAFETY: reboot, OS install, factory-reset, and managed-file deletion

- are destructive and require target-bound explicit confirmation;

- never invoke them speculatively. Route installation and library/API

- build questions elsewhere, and route turnkey aggregation to the

- externally-productized DOCA Telemetry Service.

+ fleet-management requests. SAFETY: reboot, OS install, factory-reset,

+ and managed-file deletion are destructive and require target-bound

+ explicit confirmation; never invoke them speculatively. Route

+ installation and library/API build questions elsewhere, and route

+ turnkey aggregation to the externally-productized DOCA Telemetry

+ Service.

metadata:

+ author: NVIDIA <doca@nvidia.com>

kind: service

+ tags:

+ - doca

+ - dms

+ - gnmi

compatibility: >

- DOCA service shipped with the DOCA install at /opt/mellanox/doca

- on the management endpoint (x86 host (non-DPU), BlueField Arm, or

- Kubernetes pod) on Linux (Ubuntu 22.04/24.04 or RHEL/SLES); `dmsd`

- + `dmspe` run there, and DMS is also pulled as an NGC container

- image. Verify the public DMS guide version matches the installed

- DOCA release before quoting flags or YANG paths.

+ DOCA service shipped with the DOCA install at /opt/mellanox/doca on

+ the management endpoint (x86 host (non-DPU), BlueField Arm, or

+ Kubernetes pod) on Linux (Ubuntu 22.04/24.04 or RHEL/SLES); `dmsd` +

+ `dmspe` run there, and DMS is also pulled as an NGC container image.

+ Verify the public DMS guide version matches the installed DOCA release

+ before quoting flags or YANG paths. The validation steps require a

+ live DOCA install.

---

# DOCA Management Service (DMS)

+ ## Examples

+ - **"Read or change a BlueField setting locally."** — use

+ `dms-cli` (DOCA 3.5+); explore the path with `--tree` first.

+ - **"Manage a remote BlueField over gRPC."** — this is in

+ scope. Use `dmsd` + `dmspe` with the chosen auth; do not

+ drop to ad-hoc SSH for the management plane.

+ - **"gNOI reboot from orchestrator."** — treat reboot / OS

+ install / factory-reset as destructive: require target-bound

+ explicit confirmation first.

+ ## Instructions

+ Follow Loading order below. Open the tasks companion for configure /

+ gNMI / debug. Open the capabilities companion for auth and gNOI

+ scope. Do not open every companion file.

> **⚠️ Destructive operations.** The gNOI `reboot`, `OS install`,

> `factory-reset`, and managed-file deletion operations are

> **irreversible** and **service-impacting**

> — they can take a production BlueField or ConnectX offline or wipe its

> configuration. Before issuing any of them the agent MUST: (1) verify the

> target device identity, and (2) obtain explicit confirmation bound to

> that target and action. In an interactive session this is an explicit

> user reply naming/accepting both; in unattended execution it must be an

> approved-system authorization artifact bound to both. Otherwise stop

> with `confirmation_required`. Never invoke them speculatively or as

> a side effect of another task. See the public DMS guide's safety

> guidance for these operations.

**Where to start:** This skill is for *operating* DMS, not for

*linking against* a library. If the user wants to *deploy* or *run*

- the daemon, open [`TASKS.md`](TASKS.md) and start at

- [`## configure`](TASKS.md#configure). If the question is *what shape

+ the daemon, open the tasks companion and start at

+ `## configure`. If the question is *what shape

of service is DMS and what protocols does it speak*, start at

- [`CAPABILITIES.md`](CAPABILITIES.md). If DOCA is not installed on the

+ the capabilities companion. If DOCA is not installed on the

management endpoint yet, route to

[`doca-setup`](../../doca-setup/SKILL.md) first.

+ **How to use this skill.** Read this file, then search the companion file

+ for the `## <name>` heading the question needs and read that whole section.

+ Answer completely from it, quoting only its symbols and commands. Do not

+ browse docs; use the entry points in `doca-public-knowledge-map`. Give

+ environment checks as commands for the user's DOCA host. For out-of-scope

+ requests, name the skill that owns them and stop.

+ **DOCA 3.5 and later: start with `dms-cli`.** The DMS guide now centres on

+ `/opt/mellanox/doca/services/dms/dms-cli`, run directly on the host or

+ BlueField Arm with no server or daemon. One syntax per YANG path:

+ `dms-cli -t pci/<BDF> /nvidia/mode/operating-mode` reads a value, the same

+ path plus a value sets it, and action paths run operations. Explore before

+ writing: `--tree /nvidia`, `--describe <path>` and `list-xpaths <path>`;

+ script with `--json`; validate with `--dry-run`. VFs and SFs take

+ `-t pci/<BDF>,pf<N>vf<M>` or `pf<N>sf<M>`. Observed on DOCA 3.5: as a normal

+ user it fails with `backend fork/exec .../dmspe: permission denied` — run it

+ with `sudo` or add the user to `dmsgroup`; some example paths do not exist on

+ every device (for example congestion-control slots are under

+ `/nvidia/cc/algo/slot` there), so confirm every path with `--tree` /

+ `list-xpaths` before using it. Firmware or BFB installs

+ (`/nvidia/provisioning/install`), resets and mode changes are

+ hardware-state changes: follow `doca-hardware-safety`. The `dmsd` + `dmspe`

+ gRPC (gNMI / gNOI) service below remains for remote and fleet management.

## Example questions this skill answers well

+ > **Never invent the image tag.** It comes from the NGC catalog's DOCA

+ > org or the DMS page on `docs.nvidia.com`, not from memory — a

+ > plausible tag reads as authoritative and mismatches the installed

+ > DOCA. Cite where it came from, or send the user to look it up.

The CLASSES of DMS questions this skill is built to answer, each with

one worked example. The class is the load-bearing piece; the worked

example is one instance.

- **"Where should DMS run for my target topology?"** — worked example:

*"I have a host without a DPU; can I still manage a remote

ConnectX?"*. Answered by the deployment-shape decision in

- [`CAPABILITIES.md ## Capabilities and modes`](CAPABILITIES.md#capabilities-and-modes)

- + [`TASKS.md ## configure`](TASKS.md#configure).

+ the capabilities companion

+ + the tasks companion.

- **"Which authentication mode should I pick for my security

posture?"** — worked example: *"a multi-tenant production env vs a

single-tenant lab"*. Answered by the auth-mode trade-off table in

- [`CAPABILITIES.md ## Safety policy`](CAPABILITIES.md#safety-policy)

+ the capabilities companion

+ the auth-wiring step in

- [`TASKS.md ## configure`](TASKS.md#configure).

+ the tasks companion.

- **"How do I issue a gNMI `Get` / `Set` against a modeled path?"** —

worked example: *"set `/interfaces/interface/config/mtu` on a remote

interface"*. Answered by the gNMI/gNOI surface in

- [`CAPABILITIES.md ## Capabilities and modes`](CAPABILITIES.md#capabilities-and-modes)

+ the capabilities companion

+ the request-shape workflow in

- [`TASKS.md ## run`](TASKS.md#run).

+ the tasks companion.

- **"How do I run a gNOI operation (reboot, OS install, file

transfer)?"** — worked example: *"trigger a clean reboot of the

target via gNOI"*. Answered by the gNOI catalog in

- [`CAPABILITIES.md ## Capabilities and modes`](CAPABILITIES.md#capabilities-and-modes)

- + the run workflow in [`TASKS.md ## run`](TASKS.md#run).

+ the capabilities companion

+ + the run workflow in the tasks companion.

- **"My DMS request returned an error — was it the frontend or the

backend?"** — worked example: *"`mlxconfig` failed under DMS but

works on the shell"*. Answered by the frontend-vs-backend split in

- [`CAPABILITIES.md ## Error taxonomy`](CAPABILITIES.md#error-taxonomy)

+ the capabilities companion

+ the layered ladder in

- [`TASKS.md ## debug`](TASKS.md#debug).

+ the tasks companion.

- **"Where do I read DMS logs and how do I rotate them?"** — worked

example: *"persistent log directory + journald + log-rotation

policy"*. Answered by the logging surface in

- [`CAPABILITIES.md ## Observability`](CAPABILITIES.md#observability)

+ the capabilities companion

+ the log-rotation step in

- [`TASKS.md ## configure`](TASKS.md#configure).

+ the tasks companion.

## Audience

This skill serves **external operators and platform teams who deploy and

operate DMS** to manage NVIDIA® BlueField® networking platforms or

NVIDIA® ConnectX® SmartNICs from a centralized control plane. Concretely:

people running `dmsd`, integrating gNMI/gNOI clients against it, choosing

an authentication mode, or wiring DMS into a Kubernetes deployment.

It is **not** for NVIDIA developers contributing to DMS itself, and it

is **not** a programming guide for *building applications on top of*

DOCA libraries (that is `doca-programming-guide` plus the matching

library skill under `libs/`). DMS is a **service**, not a library: the

user invokes it as a daemon and talks to it over gRPC; they do not link

against `libdms.so` to write their own program.

**Status note.** Per the public DMS guide, DMS is currently in **beta**,

with General Availability scoped to SPC-X use cases. The skill reflects

the public guide's posture: prescribe the documented launch / auth /

deployment paths, follow the documented security best practices, and

defer roadmap and GA-scope questions to the live public guide rather

than guessing.

## When to load this skill

Load this skill when the user is doing **hands-on DMS operation work**

against a BlueField or ConnectX target where DOCA is already installed

on the management endpoint (host, DPU, or pod). Concretely:

- Deciding *where* DMS should run (host non-DPU / BlueField Arm /

Kubernetes pod) for a given target topology.

- Bringing up the `dmsd` daemon — choosing SystemD vs manual launch,

selecting an authentication mode, wiring `-allowed_users` (the gRPC

client authorization boundary) and, if needed, `dmsgroup` (the

`dmspe` backend-helper Unix group).

- Issuing `gNMI` `Get` / `Set` requests against modeled paths

(e.g. `/interfaces/interface/config/mtu`).

- Issuing `gNOI` operations: OS install, reboot, file transfer,

factory-reset, `mlxconfig`, containerz.

- Choosing an authentication mode (localhost / PAM / credentials / mTLS)

and understanding the security trade-offs the public guide calls out.

- Reading or rotating DMS logs, configuring config persistency, or

recovering from a crashed daemon.

- Debugging a DMS request that returned an error — separating

"frontend rejected before reaching backend" from "backend executed and

the underlying tool (e.g. `mlxconfig`) failed".

Do **not** load this skill for general DOCA orientation, install of

DOCA itself, or library-API questions. For those, route via

[`doca-public-knowledge-map`](../../doca-public-knowledge-map/SKILL.md),

[`doca-setup`](../../doca-setup/SKILL.md), or the matching

`libs/<library>` skill.

## What this skill provides

This is a **thin loader**. Substantive material lives in two companion

files:

- - `CAPABILITIES.md` — DMS architecture (frontend `dmsd` / privileged

+ - the capabilities companion — DMS architecture (frontend `dmsd` / privileged

backend `dmspe`), management protocols (gNMI, gNOI), the YANG-based

unified configuration dictionary, deployment shapes, authentication

modes with their security trade-offs, the configuration-persistency

model, the logging surface, and DMS's documented security posture.

- - `TASKS.md` — step-by-step workflows for the in-scope DMS verbs:

+ - the tasks companion — step-by-step workflows for the in-scope DMS verbs:

`configure`, `build`, `modify`, `run`, `test`, `debug`, plus a

`Deferred task verbs` block routing out-of-scope questions.

The skill assumes a host where DOCA is already installed and the

operator has root / `sudo` access where the public guide says it is

required. It does not cover installing DOCA — that path goes through

[`doca-setup`](../../doca-setup/SKILL.md).

## What this skill deliberately does not ship

This skill is **agent guidance**, not a templates or sample-config

bundle. To keep the boundary clean, it deliberately does not contain —

and pull requests should not add:

- **Pre-baked DMS configuration files** (YANG instance documents,

full-stack example configs, ready-to-run `dmsd` flag bundles)

intended to be copy-pasted into production. Configs are deployment-

specific and the safe answer for an external operator is to derive

them from the public guide against their own target. The agent's

job is to prescribe the *procedure* and quote the documented flags

and paths, not to ship a config the user might run unmodified.

- **Pre-written gNMI / gNOI client programs in any language.** The

client surface is standard gNMI / gNOI (publicly documented); the

skill describes which paths and operations DMS supports, not how to

build a gRPC client in language X.

- **TLS material, credentials, or PAM stanzas.** These are

user-environment artifacts; the skill points at the documented

configuration knobs and the documented security best practices and

stops there.

- **A `samples/`, `templates/`, or `reference/` subtree** of any

kind. A mock or incomplete artifact in this skill's tree, even one

labeled "reference", is misleading: operators will read it as

production-ready.

## Loading order

- 1. Read this `SKILL.md` first to confirm the user's question is in scope.

+ 1. Read this skill first to confirm the user's question is in scope.

2. **For the DMS architecture, deployment shapes, auth modes,

protocol/path inventory, persistency, logging, and security

- posture, see [CAPABILITIES.md](CAPABILITIES.md).**

+ posture, see the capabilities companion.**

3. **For step-by-step workflows — configure, build, modify, run, test,

- debug — see [TASKS.md](TASKS.md).**

+ debug — see the tasks companion.**

4. **Apply the destructive-operation gate in every phase.** Before any

gNOI OS install, reboot, factory reset, or managed-file deletion —

including a test or debug action — verify the exact target and obtain explicit

confirmation for that specific operation using the interactive or

approved-system mechanism defined in the warning above. No earlier

confirmation or workflow phase carries authorization forward.

## Related skills

- [`doca-public-knowledge-map`](../../doca-public-knowledge-map/SKILL.md)

— the routing table to the public DMS guide and the rest of the

public DOCA documentation set.

- [`doca-setup`](../../doca-setup/SKILL.md) — env preparation and

install verification on the host where `dmsd` will run, including

the *I have no install yet* path via the public NGC DOCA container.

This skill assumes its preconditions are satisfied at the management

endpoint.

- [`doca-programming-guide`](../../doca-programming-guide/SKILL.md) —

general DOCA patterns. DMS is service-shaped not library-shaped, so

the build / modify / first-app pattern there does not apply directly,

but the cross-library `DOCA_ERROR_*` taxonomy and the

layered-debug order remain useful when DMS reports errors that

originated in a DOCA library it called.