Host Device Network with RDMA

Step 1: Create NicClusterPolicy with host device support

apiVersion: mellanox.com/v1alpha1
kind: NicClusterPolicy
metadata:
  name: nic-cluster-policy
spec:
  sriovDevicePlugin:
    image: sriov-network-device-plugin
    repository: nvcr.io/nvidia/mellanox
    version: network-operator-v25.7.0
    config: |
      {
        "resourceList": [
          {
            "resourcePrefix": "nvidia.com",
            "resourceName": "hostdev",
            "selectors": {
              "vendors": ["15b3"],
              "isRdma": true
            }
          }
        ]
      }
  nvIpam:
    image: nvidia-k8s-ipam
    repository: nvcr.io/nvidia/mellanox
    version: network-operator-v25.7.0
    imagePullSecrets: []
    enableWebhook: false
  secondaryNetwork:
    cniPlugins:
      image: plugins
      repository: nvcr.io/nvidia/mellanox
      version: network-operator-v25.7.0
    multus:
      image: multus-cni
      repository: nvcr.io/nvidia/mellanox
      version: network-operator-v25.7.0

kubectl apply -f nicclusterpolicy.yaml

Step 2: Create IPPool for nv-ipam

apiVersion: nv-ipam.nvidia.com/v1alpha1
kind: IPPool
metadata:
  name: hostdev-pool
  namespace: nvidia-network-operator
spec:
  subnet: 192.168.3.0/24
  perNodeBlockSize: 50
  gateway: 192.168.3.1

kubectl apply -f ippool.yaml

Step 3: Create HostDeviceNetwork

apiVersion: mellanox.com/v1alpha1
kind: HostDeviceNetwork
metadata:
  name: hostdev-net
spec:
  networkNamespace: "default"
  resourceName: "hostdev"
  ipam: |
    {
      "type": "nv-ipam",
      "poolName": "hostdev-pool"
    }

kubectl apply -f hostdevicenetwork.yaml

Step 4: Deploy test workload

apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: hostdev-test-pod
  annotations:
    k8s.v1.cni.cncf.io/networks: hostdev-net
spec:
  containers:
  - name: test-container
    image: mellanox/rping-test
    command: ["/bin/bash", "-c", "sleep infinity"]
    securityContext:
      capabilities:
        add: ["IPC_LOCK"]
    resources:
      requests:
        nvidia.com/hostdev: '1'
      limits:
        nvidia.com/hostdev: '1'

kubectl apply -f pod.yaml

Verify the deployment:

kubectl exec -it hostdev-test-pod -- lspci | grep Mellanox

Complete Configuration

apiVersion: mellanox.com/v1alpha1
kind: NicClusterPolicy
metadata:
  name: nic-cluster-policy
spec:
  sriovDevicePlugin:
    image: sriov-network-device-plugin
    repository: nvcr.io/nvidia/mellanox
    version: network-operator-v25.7.0
    config: |
      {
        "resourceList": [
          {
            "resourcePrefix": "nvidia.com",
            "resourceName": "hostdev",
            "selectors": {
              "vendors": ["15b3"],
              "isRdma": true
            }
          }
        ]
      }
  nvIpam:
    image: nvidia-k8s-ipam
    repository: nvcr.io/nvidia/mellanox
    version: network-operator-v25.7.0
    imagePullSecrets: []
    enableWebhook: false
  secondaryNetwork:
    cniPlugins:
      image: plugins
      repository: nvcr.io/nvidia/mellanox
      version: network-operator-v25.7.0
    multus:
      image: multus-cni
      repository: nvcr.io/nvidia/mellanox
      version: network-operator-v25.7.0
---
apiVersion: nv-ipam.nvidia.com/v1alpha1
kind: IPPool
metadata:
  name: hostdev-pool
  namespace: nvidia-network-operator
spec:
  subnet: 192.168.3.0/24
  perNodeBlockSize: 50
  gateway: 192.168.3.1
---
apiVersion: mellanox.com/v1alpha1
kind: HostDeviceNetwork
metadata:
  name: hostdev-net
spec:
  networkNamespace: "default"
  resourceName: "hostdev"
  ipam: |
    {
      "type": "nv-ipam",
      "poolName": "hostdev-pool"
    }
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: hostdev-test-pod
  annotations:
    k8s.v1.cni.cncf.io/networks: hostdev-net
spec:
  containers:
  - name: test-container
    image: mellanox/rping-test
    command: ["/bin/bash", "-c", "sleep infinity"]
    securityContext:
      capabilities:
        add: ["IPC_LOCK"]
    resources:
      requests:
        nvidia.com/hostdev: '1'
      limits:
        nvidia.com/hostdev: '1'