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Using DPDK and RDMA

The containerized Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) application is supported on OpenShift Container Platform. You can use Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) network hardware with the Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) and with remote direct memory access (RDMA).

Before you perform any tasks in the following documentation, ensure that you installed the SR-IOV Network Operator.

Example use of a virtual function in a pod​

You can run a remote direct memory access (RDMA) or a Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) application in a pod with SR-IOV VF attached.

This example shows a pod using a virtual function (VF) in RDMA mode:

Pod spec that uses RDMA mode
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: rdma-app
  annotations:
    k8s.v1.cni.cncf.io/networks: sriov-rdma-mlnx
spec:
  containers:
  - name: testpmd
    image: <RDMA_image>
    imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
    securityContext:
      runAsUser: 0
      capabilities:
        add: ["IPC_LOCK","SYS_RESOURCE","NET_RAW"]
    command: ["sleep", "infinity"]

The following example shows a pod with a VF in DPDK mode:

Pod spec that uses DPDK mode
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: dpdk-app
  annotations:
    k8s.v1.cni.cncf.io/networks: sriov-dpdk-net
spec:
  containers:
  - name: testpmd
    image: <DPDK_image>
    securityContext:
      runAsUser: 0
      capabilities:
        add: ["IPC_LOCK","SYS_RESOURCE","NET_RAW"]
    volumeMounts:
    - mountPath: /dev/hugepages
      name: hugepage
    resources:
      limits:
        memory: "1Gi"
        cpu: "2"
        hugepages-1Gi: "4Gi"
      requests:
        memory: "1Gi"
        cpu: "2"
        hugepages-1Gi: "4Gi"
    command: ["sleep", "infinity"]
  volumes:
  - name: hugepage
    emptyDir:
      medium: HugePages

Use a virtual function in DPDK mode with an Intel NIC​

You can use a virtual function (VF) in Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) mode with an Intel NIC by creating a SriovNetworkNodePolicy object and then deploying a pod.

Prerequisites

  • Install the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • Install the SR-IOV Network Operator.
  • Log in as a user with cluster-admin privileges.

Procedure

  1. Create the following SriovNetworkNodePolicy object, and then save the YAML in the intel-dpdk-node-policy.yaml file.

    apiVersion: sriovnetwork.openshift.io/v1
    kind: SriovNetworkNodePolicy
    metadata:
      name: intel-dpdk-node-policy
      namespace: openshift-sriov-network-operator
    spec:
      resourceName: intelnics
      nodeSelector:
        feature.node.kubernetes.io/network-sriov.capable: "true"
      priority: <priority>
      numVfs: <num>
      nicSelector:
        vendor: "8086"
        deviceID: "158b"
        pfNames: ["<pf_name>", ...]
        rootDevices: ["<pci_bus_id>", "..."]
      deviceType: vfio-pci

    where:

    spec.deviceType
    Specifies the driver type for the virtual functions. Set to vfio-pci.
    note

    See the Configuring SR-IOV network devices section for a detailed explanation on each option in SriovNetworkNodePolicy.

    When applying the configuration specified in a SriovNetworkNodePolicy object, the SR-IOV Operator might drain the nodes, and in some cases, reboot nodes. It might take several minutes for a configuration change to apply. Ensure that there are enough available nodes in your cluster to handle the evicted workload beforehand.

    After the configuration update is applied, all the pods in openshift-sriov-network-operator namespace will change to a Running status.

  2. Create the SriovNetworkNodePolicy object by running the following command:

    $ oc create -f intel-dpdk-node-policy.yaml

  3. Create the following SriovNetwork object, and then save the YAML in the intel-dpdk-network.yaml file.

    apiVersion: sriovnetwork.openshift.io/v1
    kind: SriovNetwork
    metadata:
      name: intel-dpdk-network
      namespace: openshift-sriov-network-operator
    spec:
      networkNamespace: <target_namespace>
      ipam: |-
    # ...
      vlan: <vlan>
      resourceName: intelnics

    where:

    spec.ipam
    Specifies a configuration object for the IPAM CNI plugin as a YAML block scalar. The plugin manages IP address assignment for the attachment definition.
    note

    See the "Configuring SR-IOV additional network" section for a detailed explanation on each option in SriovNetwork.

    An optional library, app-netutil, provides several API methods for gathering network information about a container’s parent pod.

  4. Create the SriovNetwork object by running the following command:

    $ oc create -f intel-dpdk-network.yaml

  5. Create the following Pod spec, and then save the YAML in the intel-dpdk-pod.yaml file.

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Pod
    metadata:
      name: dpdk-app
      namespace: <target_namespace>
      annotations:
        k8s.v1.cni.cncf.io/networks: intel-dpdk-network
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: testpmd
        image: <DPDK_image>
        securityContext:
          runAsUser: 0
          capabilities:
            add: ["IPC_LOCK","SYS_RESOURCE","NET_RAW"]
        volumeMounts:
        - mountPath: /mnt/huge
          name: hugepage
        resources:
          limits:
            openshift.io/intelnics: "1"
            memory: "1Gi"
            cpu: "4"
            hugepages-1Gi: "4Gi"
          requests:
            openshift.io/intelnics: "1"
            memory: "1Gi"
            cpu: "4"
            hugepages-1Gi: "4Gi"
        command: ["sleep", "infinity"]
      volumes:
      - name: hugepage
        emptyDir:
          medium: HugePages

    where:

    metadata.namespace
    Specifies the same namespace where the SriovNetwork object intel-dpdk-network is created. If you want to create the pod in a different namespace, change target_namespace in both the Pod spec and the SriovNetwork object.
    spec.containers.image
    Specifies the DPDK image which includes your application and the DPDK library used by application.
    spec.containers.securityContext.capabilities.add
    Specifies additional capabilities required by the application inside the container for hugepage allocation, system resource allocation, and network interface access.
    spec.containers.volumeMounts.mountPath
    Specifies the path where a hugepage volume is mounted in the DPDK pod. The hugepage volume is backed by the emptyDir volume type with the medium being Hugepages.
    spec.containers.resources.limits.openshift.io/intelnics
    Optional: Specifies the number of DPDK devices allocated to DPDK pod. If not explicitly specified, this resource request and limit is automatically added by the SR-IOV network resource injector. The SR-IOV network resource injector is an admission controller component managed by the SR-IOV Operator. It is enabled by default and can be disabled by setting enableInjector option to false in the default SriovOperatorConfig CR.
    spec.containers.resources.limits.cpu
    Specifies the number of CPUs. The DPDK pod usually requires exclusive CPUs to be allocated from the kubelet. This is achieved by setting CPU Manager policy to static and creating a pod with Guaranteed QoS.
    spec.containers.resources.limits.hugepages-1Gi
    Specifies the hugepage size hugepages-1Gi or hugepages-2Mi and the quantity of hugepages that will be allocated to the DPDK pod. Configure 2Mi and 1Gi hugepages separately. Configuring 1Gi hugepage requires adding kernel arguments to Nodes. For example, adding kernel arguments default_hugepagesz=1GB, hugepagesz=1G and hugepages=16 will result in 16*1Gi hugepages be allocated during system boot.

  6. Create the DPDK pod by running the following command:

    $ oc create -f intel-dpdk-pod.yaml

Use a virtual function in DPDK mode with a Mellanox NIC​

You can create a network node policy and create a Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) pod by using a virtual function in DPDK mode with a Mellanox NIC.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • You have installed the Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) Network Operator.
  • You have logged in as a user with cluster-admin privileges.

Procedure

  1. Save the following SriovNetworkNodePolicy YAML configuration to an mlx-dpdk-node-policy.yaml file:

    apiVersion: sriovnetwork.openshift.io/v1
    kind: SriovNetworkNodePolicy
    metadata:
      name: mlx-dpdk-node-policy
      namespace: openshift-sriov-network-operator
    spec:
      resourceName: mlxnics
      nodeSelector:
        feature.node.kubernetes.io/network-sriov.capable: "true"
      priority: <priority>
      numVfs: <num>
      nicSelector:
        vendor: "15b3"
        deviceID: "1015"
        pfNames: ["<pf_name>", ...]
        rootDevices: ["<pci_bus_id>", "..."]
      deviceType: netdevice
      isRdma: true

    where:

    spec.nicSelector.deviceID
    Specifies the device hex code of the SR-IOV network device. The value "1015" is associated with a Mellanox NIC.
    spec.deviceType
    Specifies the driver type for the virtual functions. A Mellanox SR-IOV Virtual Function (VF) can work in DPDK mode without using the vfio-pci device type. Set to netdevice. The VF device is displayed as a kernel network interface inside a container.
    spec.isRdma
    Setting to true enables Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) mode. This is required for Mellanox cards to work in DPDK mode.
    note

    See Configuring an SR-IOV network device for a detailed explanation of each option in the SriovNetworkNodePolicy object.

    When applying the configuration specified in an SriovNetworkNodePolicy object, the SR-IOV Operator might drain the nodes, and in some cases, reboot nodes. It might take several minutes for a configuration change to apply. Ensure that there are enough available nodes in your cluster to handle the evicted workload beforehand.

    After the configuration update is applied, all the pods in the openshift-sriov-network-operator namespace will change to a Running status.

  2. Create the SriovNetworkNodePolicy object by running the following command:

    $ oc create -f mlx-dpdk-node-policy.yaml

  3. Save the following SriovNetwork YAML configuration to an mlx-dpdk-network.yaml file:

    apiVersion: sriovnetwork.openshift.io/v1
    kind: SriovNetwork
    metadata:
      name: mlx-dpdk-network
      namespace: openshift-sriov-network-operator
    spec:
      networkNamespace: <target_namespace>
      ipam: |-
    ...
      vlan: <vlan>
      resourceName: mlxnics

    where:

    spec.ipam
    Specifies a configuration object for the IP Address Management (IPAM) Container Network Interface (CNI) plugin as a YAML block scalar. The plugin manages IP address assignment for the attachment definition.
    note

    See Configuring an SR-IOV network device for a detailed explanation on each option in the SriovNetwork object.

    The app-netutil option library provides several API methods for gathering network information about the parent pod of a container.

  4. Create the SriovNetwork object by running the following command:

    $ oc create -f mlx-dpdk-network.yaml

  5. Save the following Pod YAML configuration to an mlx-dpdk-pod.yaml file:

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Pod
    metadata:
      name: dpdk-app
      namespace: <target_namespace>
      annotations:
        k8s.v1.cni.cncf.io/networks: mlx-dpdk-network
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: testpmd
        image: <DPDK_image>
        securityContext:
          runAsUser: 0
          capabilities:
            add: ["IPC_LOCK","SYS_RESOURCE","NET_RAW"]
        volumeMounts:
        - mountPath: /mnt/huge
          name: hugepage
        resources:
          limits:
            openshift.io/mlxnics: "1"
            memory: "1Gi"
            cpu: "4"
            hugepages-1Gi: "4Gi"
          requests:
            openshift.io/mlxnics: "1"
            memory: "1Gi"
            cpu: "4"
            hugepages-1Gi: "4Gi"
        command: ["sleep", "infinity"]
      volumes:
      - name: hugepage
        emptyDir:
          medium: HugePages

    where:

    metadata.namespace
    Specifies the same namespace where SriovNetwork object mlx-dpdk-network is created. To create the pod in a different namespace, change target_namespace in both the Pod spec and SriovNetwork object.
    spec.containers.image
    Specifies the DPDK image which includes your application and the DPDK library used by the application.
    spec.containers.securityContext.capabilities.add
    Specifies additional capabilities required by the application inside the container for hugepage allocation, system resource allocation, and network interface access.
    spec.containers.volumeMounts.mountPath
    Specifies the path where the hugepage volume is mounted in the DPDK pod. The hugepage volume is backed by the emptyDir volume type with the medium being Hugepages.
    spec.containers.resources.limits.openshift.io/mlxnics
    Optional: Specifies the number of DPDK devices allocated for the DPDK pod. If not explicitly specified, this resource request and limit is automatically added by the SR-IOV network resource injector. The SR-IOV network resource injector is an admission controller component managed by SR-IOV Operator. It is enabled by default and can be disabled by setting the enableInjector option to false in the default SriovOperatorConfig CR.
    spec.containers.resources.limits.cpu
    Specifies the number of CPUs. The DPDK pod usually requires that exclusive CPUs be allocated from the kubelet. To do this, set the CPU Manager policy to static and create a pod with Guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS).
    spec.containers.resources.limits.hugepages-1Gi
    Specifies the hugepage size hugepages-1Gi or hugepages-2Mi and the quantity of hugepages that will be allocated to the DPDK pod. Configure 2Mi and 1Gi hugepages separately. Configuring 1Gi hugepages requires adding kernel arguments to Nodes.

  6. Create the DPDK pod by running the following command:

    $ oc create -f mlx-dpdk-pod.yaml

Use the TAP CNI to run a rootless DPDK workload with kernel access​

DPDK applications can use virtio-user as an exception path to inject certain types of packets, such as log messages, into the kernel for processing.

In OpenShift Container Platform version 4.14 and later, you can use non-privileged pods to run DPDK applications alongside the tap CNI plugin. To enable this functionality, you need to mount the vhost-net device by setting the needVhostNet parameter to true within the SriovNetworkNodePolicy object.

Figure 1. DPDK and TAP example configuration

DPDK and TAP plugin

Prerequisites

  • You have installed the OpenShift CLI (oc).

  • You have installed the SR-IOV Network Operator.

  • You are logged in as a user with cluster-admin privileges.

  • Ensure that setsebools container_use_devices=on is set as root on all nodes.

    note

    Use the Machine Config Operator to set this SELinux boolean.

Procedure

  1. Create a file, such as test-namespace.yaml, with content such as the following example:

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Namespace
    metadata:
      name: test-namespace
      labels:
        pod-security.kubernetes.io/enforce: privileged
        pod-security.kubernetes.io/audit: privileged
        pod-security.kubernetes.io/warn: privileged
        security.openshift.io/scc.podSecurityLabelSync: "false"

  2. Create the new Namespace object by running the following command:

    $ oc apply -f test-namespace.yaml

  3. Create a file, such as sriov-node-network-policy.yaml, with content such as the following example:

    apiVersion: sriovnetwork.openshift.io/v1
    kind: SriovNetworkNodePolicy
    metadata:
     name: sriovnic
     namespace: openshift-sriov-network-operator
    spec:
     deviceType: netdevice
     isRdma: true
     needVhostNet: true
     nicSelector:
       vendor: "15b3"
       deviceID: "101b"
       rootDevices: ["00:05.0"]
     numVfs: 10
     priority: 99
     resourceName: sriovnic
     nodeSelector:
        feature.node.kubernetes.io/network-sriov.capable: "true"

    where:

    spec.deviceType
    Specifies that the profile is tailored specifically for Mellanox Network Interface Controllers (NICs). Set to netdevice.
    spec.isRdma
    Setting to true is only required for a Mellanox NIC.
    spec.needVhostNet
    Setting to true mounts the /dev/net/tun and /dev/vhost-net devices into the container so the application can create a tap device and connect the tap device to the DPDK workload.
    spec.nicSelector.vendor
    Specifies the vendor hexadecimal code of the SR-IOV network device. The value "15b3" is associated with a Mellanox NIC.
    spec.nicSelector.deviceID
    Specifies the device hexadecimal code of the SR-IOV network device.

  4. Create the SriovNetworkNodePolicy object by running the following command:

    $ oc create -f sriov-node-network-policy.yaml

  5. Create the following SriovNetwork object, and then save the YAML in the sriov-network-attachment.yaml file:

    apiVersion: sriovnetwork.openshift.io/v1
    kind: SriovNetwork
    metadata:
     name: sriov-network
     namespace: openshift-sriov-network-operator
    spec:
     networkNamespace: test-namespace
     resourceName: sriovnic
     spoofChk: "off"
     trust: "on"
    note

    See the "Configuring SR-IOV additional network" section for a detailed explanation on each option in SriovNetwork.

    An optional library, app-netutil, provides several API methods for gathering network information about a container’s parent pod.

  6. Create the SriovNetwork object by running the following command:

    $ oc create -f sriov-network-attachment.yaml

  7. Create a file, such as tap-example.yaml, that defines a network attachment definition, with content such as the following example:

    apiVersion: "k8s.cni.cncf.io/v1"
    kind: NetworkAttachmentDefinition
    metadata:
     name: tap-one
     namespace: test-namespace
    spec:
     config: '{
       "cniVersion": "0.4.0",
       "name": "tap",
       "plugins": [
         {
            "type": "tap",
            "multiQueue": true,
            "selinuxcontext": "system_u:system_r:container_t:s0"
         },
         {
           "type":"tuning",
           "capabilities":{
             "mac":true
           }
         }
       ]
     }'

    where:

    metadata.namespace
    Specifies the same target_namespace where the SriovNetwork object is created.

  8. Create the NetworkAttachmentDefinition object by running the following command:

    $ oc apply -f tap-example.yaml

  9. Create a file, such as dpdk-pod-rootless.yaml, with content such as the following example:

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Pod
    metadata:
      name: dpdk-app
      namespace: test-namespace
      annotations:
        k8s.v1.cni.cncf.io/networks: '[
          {"name": "sriov-network", "namespace": "test-namespace"},
          {"name": "tap-one", "interface": "ext0", "namespace": "test-namespace"}]'
    spec:
      nodeSelector:
        kubernetes.io/hostname: "worker-0"
      securityContext:
          fsGroup: 1001
          runAsGroup: 1001
          seccompProfile:
            type: RuntimeDefault
      containers:
      - name: testpmd
        image: <DPDK_image>
        securityContext:
          capabilities:
            drop: ["ALL"]
            add:
              - IPC_LOCK
              - NET_RAW #for mlx only
          runAsUser: 1001
          privileged: false
          allowPrivilegeEscalation: true
          runAsNonRoot: true
        volumeMounts:
        - mountPath: /mnt/huge
          name: hugepages
        resources:
          limits:
            openshift.io/sriovnic: "1"
            memory: "1Gi"
            cpu: "4"
            hugepages-1Gi: "4Gi"
          requests:
            openshift.io/sriovnic: "1"
            memory: "1Gi"
            cpu: "4"
            hugepages-1Gi: "4Gi"
        command: ["sleep", "infinity"]
      runtimeClassName: performance-cnf-performanceprofile
      volumes:
      - name: hugepages
        emptyDir:
          medium: HugePages

    where:

    metadata.namespace
    Specifies the same target_namespace in which the SriovNetwork object is created. If you want to create the pod in a different namespace, change target_namespace in both the Pod spec and the SriovNetwork object.
    spec.securityContext.fsGroup
    Sets the group ownership of volume-mounted directories and files created in those volumes.
    spec.securityContext.runAsGroup
    Specifies the primary group ID used for running the container.
    spec.containers.image
    Specifies the DPDK image that contains your application and the DPDK library used by application.
    spec.containers.securityContext.capabilities.drop
    Removing all capabilities (ALL) from the container’s securityContext means that the container has no special privileges beyond what is necessary for normal operation.
    spec.containers.securityContext.capabilities.add
    Specifies additional capabilities required by the application inside the container for hugepage allocation, system resource allocation, and network interface access. These capabilities must also be set in the binary file by using the setcap command. Mellanox network interface controller (NIC) requires the NET_RAW capability.
    spec.containers.securityContext.runAsUser
    Specifies the user ID used for running the container.
    spec.containers.securityContext.privileged
    Setting to false indicates that the container or containers within the pod should not be granted privileged access to the host system.
    spec.containers.securityContext.allowPrivilegeEscalation
    Setting to true allows a container to escalate its privileges beyond the initial non-root privileges it might have been assigned.
    spec.containers.securityContext.runAsNonRoot
    Setting to true ensures that the container runs with a non-root user. This helps enforce the principle of least privilege, limiting the potential impact of compromising the container and reducing the attack surface.
    spec.containers.volumeMounts.mountPath
    Specifies the path where a hugepage volume is mounted in the DPDK pod. The hugepage volume is backed by the emptyDir volume type with the medium being Hugepages.
    spec.containers.resources.limits.openshift.io/sriovnic
    Optional: Specifies the number of DPDK devices allocated for the DPDK pod. If not explicitly specified, this resource request and limit is automatically added by the SR-IOV network resource injector. The SR-IOV network resource injector is an admission controller component managed by SR-IOV Operator. It is enabled by default and can be disabled by setting the enableInjector option to false in the default SriovOperatorConfig CR.
    spec.containers.resources.limits.cpu
    Specifies the number of CPUs. The DPDK pod usually requires exclusive CPUs to be allocated from the kubelet. This is achieved by setting CPU Manager policy to static and creating a pod with Guaranteed QoS.
    spec.containers.resources.limits.hugepages-1Gi
    Specifies the hugepage size hugepages-1Gi or hugepages-2Mi and the quantity of hugepages that will be allocated to the DPDK pod. Configure 2Mi and 1Gi hugepages separately. Configuring 1Gi hugepage requires adding kernel arguments to Nodes. For example, adding kernel arguments default_hugepagesz=1GB, hugepagesz=1G and hugepages=16 will result in 16*1Gi hugepages be allocated during system boot.
    spec.runtimeClassName
    Specifies the performance profile runtime class. If your performance profile is not named cnf-performance profile, replace that string with the correct performance profile name.

  10. Create the DPDK pod by running the following command:

    $ oc create -f dpdk-pod-rootless.yaml

Additional resources

Overview of achieving a specific DPDK line rate​

To achieve a specific Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) line rate, deploy a Node Tuning Operator and configure Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV). You must also tune the DPDK settings for the following resources:

  • Isolated CPUs
  • Hugepages
  • The topology scheduler
note

In previous versions of OpenShift Container Platform, the Performance Addon Operator was used to implement automatic tuning to achieve low latency performance for OpenShift Container Platform applications. In OpenShift Container Platform 4.11 and later, this functionality is part of the Node Tuning Operator.

The following diagram shows the components of a DPDK test environment:

DPDK test environment

  • Traffic generator: An application that can generate high-volume packet traffic.
  • SR-IOV-supporting NIC: A network interface controller (NIC) compatible with SR-IOV. The card runs several virtual functions on a physical interface.
  • Physical Function (PF): A PCI Express (PCIe) function of a network adapter that supports the SR-IOV interface.
  • Virtual Function (VF): A lightweight PCIe function on a network adapter that supports SR-IOV. The VF is associated with the PCIe PF on the network adapter. The VF represents a virtualized instance of the network adapter.
  • Switch: A network switch. Nodes can also be connected back-to-back.
  • testpmd: An example application included with DPDK. The testpmd application can be used to test the DPDK in a packet-forwarding mode. The testpmd application is also an example of how to build a fully-fledged application using the DPDK Software Development Kit (SDK).
  • worker 0 and worker 1: OpenShift Container Platform nodes.

Use SR-IOV and the Node Tuning Operator to achieve a DPDK line rate​

You can use the Node Tuning Operator to configure isolated CPUs, hugepages, and a topology scheduler. You can then use the Node Tuning Operator with Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) to achieve a specific Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) line rate.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed the OpenShift CLI (oc).

  • You have installed the SR-IOV Network Operator.

  • You have logged in as a user with cluster-admin privileges.

  • You have deployed a standalone Node Tuning Operator.

    note

    In previous versions of OpenShift Container Platform, the Performance Addon Operator was used to implement automatic tuning to achieve low latency performance for OpenShift applications. In OpenShift Container Platform 4.11 and later, this functionality is part of the Node Tuning Operator.

Procedure

  1. Create a PerformanceProfile object based on the following example:

    apiVersion: performance.openshift.io/v2
    kind: PerformanceProfile
    metadata:
      name: performance
    spec:
      globallyDisableIrqLoadBalancing: true
      cpu:
        isolated: 21-51,73-103
        reserved: 0-20,52-72
      hugepages:
        defaultHugepagesSize: 1G
        pages:
          - count: 32
            size: 1G
      net:
        userLevelNetworking: true
      numa:
        topologyPolicy: "single-numa-node"
      nodeSelector:
        node-role.kubernetes.io/worker-cnf: ""

    where:

    metadata.name
    Specifies the name of the performance profile.
    spec.cpu.isolated
    Specifies the CPUs that are isolated for the application workloads. If Hyper-Threading is enabled on the system, allocate the relevant symbolic links to the isolated and reserved CPU groups. If the system has multiple non-uniform memory access (NUMA) nodes, allocate CPUs from both NUMAs to both groups. You can also use the Performance Profile Creator for this task. For more information, see Creating a performance profile.
    spec.cpu.reserved
    Specifies the CPUs that are reserved for the operating system and Kubernetes system daemons. You can also specify a list of devices that will have their queues set to the reserved CPU count. For more information, see Reducing NIC queues using the Node Tuning Operator.
    spec.hugepages.defaultHugepagesSize
    Specifies the default size of hugepages.
    spec.hugepages.pages
    Specifies the number and size of hugepages to allocate. You can specify the NUMA configuration for the hugepages. By default, the system allocates an even number to every NUMA node on the system.
    spec.net.userLevelNetworking
    Specifies whether to enable user-level networking. Set to true for DPDK workloads.
    spec.numa.topologyPolicy
    Specifies the NUMA topology policy. Set to single-numa-node to ensure that all resources are allocated from the same NUMA node.
    spec.nodeSelector
    Specifies the node selector label for nodes that this performance profile applies to.

  2. Save the yaml file as mlx-dpdk-perfprofile-policy.yaml.

  3. Apply the performance profile using the following command:

    $ oc create -f mlx-dpdk-perfprofile-policy.yaml

DPDK library for use with container applications​

An optional library, app-netutil, provides several API methods for gathering network information about a pod from within a container running within that pod.

This library can assist with integrating SR-IOV virtual functions (VFs) in Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) mode into the container. The library provides both a Golang API and a C API.

Currently there are three API methods implemented:

GetCPUInfo()
This function determines which CPUs are available to the container and returns the list.
GetHugepages()
This function determines the amount of huge page memory requested in the Pod spec for each container and returns the values.
GetInterfaces()
This function determines the set of interfaces in the container and returns the list. The return value includes the interface type and type-specific data for each interface.

The repository for the library includes a sample Dockerfile to build a container image, dpdk-app-centos. The container image can run one of the following DPDK sample applications, depending on an environment variable in the pod specification: l2fwd, l3wd or testpmd. The container image provides an example of integrating the app-netutil library into the container image itself. The library can also integrate into an init container. The init container can collect the required data and pass the data to an existing DPDK workload.

Example SR-IOV Network Operator for virtual functions​

You can use the Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) Network Operator to allocate and configure Virtual Functions (VFs) from SR-IOV-supporting Physical Function NICs on the nodes.

For more information on deploying the Operator, see Installing the SR-IOV Network Operator. For more information on configuring an SR-IOV network device, see Configuring an SR-IOV network device.

There are some differences between running Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) workloads on Intel VFs and Mellanox VFs. This section provides object configuration examples for both VF types. The following is an example of an sriovNetworkNodePolicy object used to run DPDK applications on Intel NICs:

apiVersion: sriovnetwork.openshift.io/v1
kind: SriovNetworkNodePolicy
metadata:
  name: dpdk-nic-1
  namespace: openshift-sriov-network-operator
spec:
  deviceType: vfio-pci
  needVhostNet: true
  nicSelector:
    pfNames: ["ens3f0"]
  nodeSelector:
    node-role.kubernetes.io/worker-cnf: ""
  numVfs: 10
  priority: 99
  resourceName: dpdk_nic_1
---
apiVersion: sriovnetwork.openshift.io/v1
kind: SriovNetworkNodePolicy
metadata:
  name: dpdk-nic-1
  namespace: openshift-sriov-network-operator
spec:
  deviceType: vfio-pci
  needVhostNet: true
  nicSelector:
    pfNames: ["ens3f1"]
  nodeSelector:
  node-role.kubernetes.io/worker-cnf: ""
  numVfs: 10
  priority: 99
  resourceName: dpdk_nic_2

where:

spec.deviceType
For Intel NICs, deviceType must be vfio-pci.
spec.needVhostNet
If kernel communication with DPDK workloads is required, set to true. This mounts the /dev/net/tun and /dev/vhost-net devices into the container so the application can create a tap device and connect the tap device to the DPDK workload.

The following is an example of an sriovNetworkNodePolicy object for Mellanox NICs:

apiVersion: sriovnetwork.openshift.io/v1
kind: SriovNetworkNodePolicy
metadata:
  name: dpdk-nic-1
  namespace: openshift-sriov-network-operator
spec:
  deviceType: netdevice
  isRdma: true
  nicSelector:
    rootDevices:
      - "0000:5e:00.1"
  nodeSelector:
    node-role.kubernetes.io/worker-cnf: ""
  numVfs: 5
  priority: 99
  resourceName: dpdk_nic_1
---
apiVersion: sriovnetwork.openshift.io/v1
kind: SriovNetworkNodePolicy
metadata:
  name: dpdk-nic-2
  namespace: openshift-sriov-network-operator
spec:
  deviceType: netdevice
  isRdma: true
  nicSelector:
    rootDevices:
      - "0000:5e:00.0"
  nodeSelector:
    node-role.kubernetes.io/worker-cnf: ""
  numVfs: 5
  priority: 99
  resourceName: dpdk_nic_2

where:

spec.deviceType
For Mellanox devices the deviceType must be netdevice.
spec.isRdma
For Mellanox devices isRdma must be true. Mellanox cards are connected to DPDK applications using Flow Bifurcation. This mechanism splits traffic between Linux user space and kernel space, and can enhance line rate processing capability.

Example SR-IOV network operator​

The following is an example definition of an sriovNetwork object. In this case, Intel and Mellanox configurations are identical:

apiVersion: sriovnetwork.openshift.io/v1
kind: SriovNetwork
metadata:
  name: dpdk-network-1
  namespace: openshift-sriov-network-operator
spec:
  ipam: '{"type": "host-local","ranges": [[{"subnet": "10.0.1.0/24"}]],"dataDir":
   "/run/my-orchestrator/container-ipam-state-1"}'
  networkNamespace: dpdk-test
  spoofChk: "off"
  trust: "on"
  resourceName: dpdk_nic_1
---
apiVersion: sriovnetwork.openshift.io/v1
kind: SriovNetwork
metadata:
  name: dpdk-network-2
  namespace: openshift-sriov-network-operator
spec:
  ipam: '{"type": "host-local","ranges": [[{"subnet": "10.0.2.0/24"}]],"dataDir":
   "/run/my-orchestrator/container-ipam-state-1"}'
  networkNamespace: dpdk-test
  spoofChk: "off"
  trust: "on"
  resourceName: dpdk_nic_2
  • You can use a different IP Address Management (IPAM) implementation, such as Whereabouts. For more information, see Dynamic IP address assignment configuration with Whereabouts.
  • You must request the networkNamespace where the network attachment definition will be created. You must create the sriovNetwork CR under the openshift-sriov-network-operator namespace.
  • The resourceName value must match that of the resourceName created under the sriovNetworkNodePolicy.

Example DPDK base workload​

The following is an example of a Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) container:

apiVersion: v1
kind: Namespace
metadata:
  name: dpdk-test
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  annotations:
    k8s.v1.cni.cncf.io/networks: '[
     {
      "name": "dpdk-network-1",
      "namespace": "dpdk-test"
     },
     {
      "name": "dpdk-network-2",
      "namespace": "dpdk-test"
     }
   ]'
    irq-load-balancing.crio.io: "disable"
    cpu-load-balancing.crio.io: "disable"
    cpu-quota.crio.io: "disable"
  labels:
    app: dpdk
  name: testpmd
  namespace: dpdk-test
spec:
  runtimeClassName: performance-performance
  containers:
    - command:
        - /bin/bash
        - -c
        - sleep INF
      image: registry.redhat.io/openshift4/dpdk-base-rhel8
      imagePullPolicy: Always
      name: dpdk
      resources:
        limits:
          cpu: "16"
          hugepages-1Gi: 8Gi
          memory: 2Gi
        requests:
          cpu: "16"
          hugepages-1Gi: 8Gi
          memory: 2Gi
      securityContext:
        capabilities:
          add:
            - IPC_LOCK
            - SYS_RESOURCE
            - NET_RAW
            - NET_ADMIN
        runAsUser: 0
      volumeMounts:
        - mountPath: /mnt/huge
          name: hugepages
  terminationGracePeriodSeconds: 5
  volumes:
    - emptyDir:
        medium: HugePages
      name: hugepages
  • Request the SR-IOV networks you need. Resources for the devices are injected automatically.
  • Disable the CPU and IRQ load balancing base. See Disabling interrupt processing for individual pods for more information.
  • Set the runtimeClass to performance-performance. Do not set the runtimeClass to HostNetwork or privileged.
  • Request an equal number of resources for requests and limits to start the pod with Guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS).
note

Do not start the pod with SLEEP and then exec into the pod to start the testpmd or the DPDK workload. This can add additional interrupts as the exec process is not pinned to any CPU.

Example testpmd script​

The following is an example script for running testpmd:

#!/bin/bash
set -ex
export CPU=$(cat /sys/fs/cgroup/cpuset/cpuset.cpus)
echo ${CPU}

dpdk-testpmd -l ${CPU} -a ${PCIDEVICE_OPENSHIFT_IO_DPDK_NIC_1} -a ${PCIDEVICE_OPENSHIFT_IO_DPDK_NIC_2} -n 4 -- -i --nb-cores=15 --rxd=4096 --txd=4096 --rxq=7 --txq=7 --forward-mode=mac --eth-peer=0,50:00:00:00:00:01 --eth-peer=1,50:00:00:00:00:02

This example uses two different sriovNetwork CRs. The environment variable contains the Virtual Function (VF) PCI address that was allocated for the pod. If you use the same network in the pod definition, you must split the pciAddress. It is important to configure the correct MAC addresses of the traffic generator. This example uses custom MAC addresses.

Use a virtual function in RDMA mode with a Mellanox NIC​

warning

RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE) is a Technology Preview feature only. Technology Preview features are not supported with Red Hat production service level agreements (SLAs) and might not be functionally complete. Red Hat does not recommend using them in production. These features provide early access to upcoming product features, enabling customers to test functionality and provide feedback during the development process.

For more information about the support scope of Red Hat Technology Preview features, see Technology Preview Features Support Scope.

RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE) is the only supported mode when using RDMA on OpenShift Container Platform.

Prerequisites

  • Install the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • Install the SR-IOV Network Operator.
  • Log in as a user with cluster-admin privileges.

Procedure

  1. Create the following SriovNetworkNodePolicy object, and then save the YAML in the mlx-rdma-node-policy.yaml file.

    apiVersion: sriovnetwork.openshift.io/v1
    kind: SriovNetworkNodePolicy
    metadata:
      name: mlx-rdma-node-policy
      namespace: openshift-sriov-network-operator
    spec:
      resourceName: mlxnics
      nodeSelector:
        feature.node.kubernetes.io/network-sriov.capable: "true"
      priority: <priority>
      numVfs: <num>
      nicSelector:
        vendor: "15b3"
        deviceID: "1015"
        pfNames: ["<pf_name>", ...]
        rootDevices: ["<pci_bus_id>", "..."]
      deviceType: netdevice
      isRdma: true

    where:

    spec.nicSelector.deviceID
    Specifies the device hex code of the SR-IOV network device.
    spec.deviceType
    Specifies the driver type for the virtual functions. Set to netdevice for Mellanox NICs.
    spec.isRdma
    Set to true to enable RDMA mode.
    note

    See the Configuring SR-IOV network devices section for a detailed explanation on each option in SriovNetworkNodePolicy.

    When applying the configuration specified in a SriovNetworkNodePolicy object, the SR-IOV Operator might drain the nodes, and in some cases, reboot nodes. It might take several minutes for a configuration change to apply. Ensure that there are enough available nodes in your cluster to handle the evicted workload beforehand.

    After the configuration update is applied, all the pods in the openshift-sriov-network-operator namespace will change to a Running status.

  2. Create the SriovNetworkNodePolicy object by running the following command:

    $ oc create -f mlx-rdma-node-policy.yaml

  3. Create the following SriovNetwork object, and then save the YAML in the mlx-rdma-network.yaml file.

    apiVersion: sriovnetwork.openshift.io/v1
    kind: SriovNetwork
    metadata:
      name: mlx-rdma-network
      namespace: openshift-sriov-network-operator
    spec:
      networkNamespace: <target_namespace>
      ipam: |-
    # ...
      vlan: <vlan>
      resourceName: mlxnics

    where:

    spec.ipam
    Specifies a configuration object for the IPAM CNI plugin as a YAML block scalar. The plugin manages IP address assignment for the attachment definition.
    note

    See the "Configuring SR-IOV additional network" section for a detailed explanation on each option in SriovNetwork.

    An optional library, app-netutil, provides several API methods for gathering network information about a container’s parent pod.

  4. Create the SriovNetworkNodePolicy object by running the following command:

    $ oc create -f mlx-rdma-network.yaml

  5. Create the following Pod spec, and then save the YAML in the mlx-rdma-pod.yaml file.

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Pod
    metadata:
      name: rdma-app
      namespace: <target_namespace>
      annotations:
        k8s.v1.cni.cncf.io/networks: mlx-rdma-network
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: testpmd
        image: <RDMA_image>
        securityContext:
          runAsUser: 0
          capabilities:
            add: ["IPC_LOCK","SYS_RESOURCE","NET_RAW"]
        volumeMounts:
        - mountPath: /mnt/huge
          name: hugepage
        resources:
          limits:
            memory: "1Gi"
            cpu: "4"
            hugepages-1Gi: "4Gi"
          requests:
            memory: "1Gi"
            cpu: "4"
            hugepages-1Gi: "4Gi"
        command: ["sleep", "infinity"]
      volumes:
      - name: hugepage
        emptyDir:
          medium: HugePages

    where:

    metadata.namespace
    Specifies the same namespace where SriovNetwork object mlx-rdma-network is created. If you want to create the pod in a different namespace, change target_namespace in both the Pod spec and the SriovNetwork object.
    spec.containers.image
    Specifies the RDMA image which includes your application and the RDMA library used by the application.
    spec.containers.securityContext.capabilities.add
    Specifies additional capabilities required by the application inside the container for hugepage allocation, system resource allocation, and network interface access.
    spec.containers.volumeMounts.mountPath
    Specifies the path where the hugepage volume is mounted in the RDMA pod. The hugepage volume is backed by the emptyDir volume type with the medium being HugePages.
    spec.containers.resources.limits.cpu
    Specifies the number of CPUs. The RDMA pod usually requires exclusive CPUs be allocated from the kubelet. This is achieved by setting CPU Manager policy to static and creating a pod with Guaranteed QoS.
    spec.containers.resources.limits.hugepages-1Gi
    Specifies the hugepage size (hugepages-1Gi or hugepages-2Mi) and the quantity of hugepages that will be allocated to the RDMA pod. Configure 2Mi and 1Gi hugepages separately. Configuring 1Gi hugepage requires adding kernel arguments to Nodes.

  6. Create the RDMA pod by running the following command:

    $ oc create -f mlx-rdma-pod.yaml

A test pod template for clusters that use OVS-DPDK on OpenStack​

The following testpmd pod demonstrates container creation with huge pages, reserved CPUs, and the SR-IOV port.

An example testpmd pod
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: testpmd-dpdk
  namespace: mynamespace
  annotations:
    cpu-load-balancing.crio.io: "disable"
    cpu-quota.crio.io: "disable"
# ...
spec:
  containers:
  - name: testpmd
    command: ["sleep", "99999"]
    image: registry.redhat.io/openshift4/dpdk-base-rhel8:v4.9
    securityContext:
      capabilities:
        add: ["IPC_LOCK","SYS_ADMIN"]
      privileged: true
      runAsUser: 0
    resources:
      requests:
        memory: 1000Mi
        hugepages-1Gi: 1Gi
        cpu: '2'
        openshift.io/dpdk1: 1
      limits:
        hugepages-1Gi: 1Gi
        cpu: '2'
        memory: 1000Mi
        openshift.io/dpdk1: 1
    volumeMounts:
      - mountPath: /mnt/huge
        name: hugepage
        readOnly: False
  runtimeClassName: performance-cnf-performanceprofile
  volumes:
  - name: hugepage
    emptyDir:
      medium: HugePages
  • The name dpdk1 in this example is a user-created SriovNetworkNodePolicy resource. You can substitute this name for that of a resource that you create.
  • If your performance profile is not named cnf-performance profile, replace that string with the correct performance profile name.

Additional resources