configuring-netop-platform

name	configuring-netop-platform
description	Configure netop-tools for a specific hardware platform and use case. Use when setting up global_ops_user.cfg, choosing a use case (sriovnet_rdma, sriovibnet_rdma, hostdev, ipoib, macvlan), selecting IPAM type, configuring NETOP_NETLIST device list, setting feature flags, or switching between platforms (DGX, Dell, Lenovo, OCI, SuperMicro).

Configuring netop-tools Platform

Set up configuration for your hardware platform and networking use case.

Configuration Cascade

Priority (highest to lowest): ENV vars > global_ops_user.cfg > usecase/{USECASE}/netop.cfg > global_ops.cfg defaults

Step 1: Copy Platform Config

source NETOP_ROOT_DIR.sh

# Available platforms:
ls config/
# bcm11  dell  dgx  examples  igx  kvm  lenovo  oci  pdx  smc

# Copy for your hardware:
cp config/dgx/global_ops_user.cfg.DGXGB300.bcm global_ops_user.cfg
# Edit global_ops_user.cfg

Platform Quick Reference

Platform	Key Config	NIC	Typical Use Case
DGX B200/B300	config/dgx/*.bcm	ConnectX-7/8	sriovibnet_rdma or sriovnet_rdma
DGX GB200	config/dgx/*.DGXGB200.bcm	ConnectX-7, 16 VFs	sriovibnet_rdma
DGX GB300	config/dgx/*.DGXGB300.bcm	ConnectX-8, 16 VFs	sriovibnet_rdma
DGX H100/H200	config/dgx/*.bcm	ConnectX-7	sriovnet_rdma
Dell PowerEdge	config/dell/*	ConnectX-7	sriovnet_rdma
OCI	config/oci/*	ConnectX, 16 VFs	sriovnet_rdma
Examples	config/examples/*	Generic	One per use case

Step 2: Choose Use Case

Use Case	Network Type	VFs	Device Format	When to Use
sriovnet_rdma	SR-IOV Ethernet	8	PCI BDF: 0000:08:00.0	Most common, RoCE networks
sriovibnet_rdma	SR-IOV InfiniBand	8	IB interface: ibs0f1	InfiniBand fabrics
hostdev_rdma_sriov	HostDevice	8	Multi-PCI: 0000:07:00.0,0000:08:00.0	Exclusive device access
ipoib_rdma_shared_device	IPoIB shared	0	IB: ibs0f0 (field3=HCAMAX)	Shared IB, no VFs
macvlan_rdma_shared_device	Macvlan shared	0	Eth: ens2f0np0 (field3=HCAMAX)	Shared Ethernet, no VFs

Step 3: Configure NETOP_NETLIST

This is the most error-prone setting. Format: ( index,,,device_id )

# SR-IOV Ethernet — PCI BDF addresses
NETOP_NETLIST=( a,,,0000:08:00.0 b,,,0000:86:00.1 )

# SR-IOV InfiniBand — IB interface names
NETOP_NETLIST=( a,,,ibs0f1 b,,,ibs1f1 )

# HostDevice — multiple PCI per entry
NETOP_NETLIST=( a,,,0000:07:00.0,0000:08:00.0 )

# Shared device (field3 = HCAMAX, typically 63)
NETOP_NETLIST=( a,,63,ibs0f0 b,,63,ibs0f1 )

Common mistakes: Using PCI BDF for IB use cases, missing commas, wrong field count.

Step 4: Set Feature Flags

Variable	Default	Set When
OFED_ENABLE	true	false if using kernel OFED (not container)
NFD_ENABLE	true	false if GPU-operator runs NFD
NIC_CONFIG_ENABLE	false	true for firmware tuning (GB300, etc.)
IPAM_TYPE	nv-ipam	whereabouts for <60 nodes, dhcp for external DHCP
NETOP_BCM_CONFIG	false	true for multi-device combined YAML (DGX)
CREATE_CONFIG_ONLY	1	0 to actually deploy

Step 5: Validate

source global_ops.cfg
# Generate config without deploying:
./install/ins-network-operator.sh
# Review generated YAML:
ls -la usecase/${USECASE}/*.yaml

# Python CLI validation:
python3 python_tools/netop_tools.py config validate
python3 python_tools/netop_tools.py config show