A municipal AI factory needs DPU networking services on BlueField cards that front Spectrum-attached GPU servers. What must operators install?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
BlueField without DOCA is like a smart NIC with the brains still in the box. Install NVIDIA DOCA on those DPUs so the municipal AI factory can actually use the Spectrum-fronted networking services.
Full Explanation
A municipal AI factory that needs DPU networking services on BlueField cards fronting Spectrum-attached GPU servers must install NVIDIA DOCA on those BlueField DPUs. DOCA is the software platform that exposes and manages BlueField networking services; without it, the cards cannot deliver the DPU feature set the city expects beside Spectrum Ethernet hosts.
Installing NVIDIA DOCA host packages on the Spectrum-attached GPU servers fails by concept: those packages prepare the host side, but they do not put DOCA on the BlueField DPU itself, and the DPU cannot deliver its networking services without DOCA installed on the card. InfiniBand management software deployed on the Spectrum management network fails because subnet managers and IB management tools govern InfiniBand fabrics; deploying them on a Spectrum (Ethernet) management network does not install DOCA on the Spectrum-fronted BlueField cards. Provisioning Spectrum switch OS images directly onto the BlueField DPUs serving hosts fails because switch OS images are built for Spectrum switches, not BlueField DPUs, and flashing a switch OS onto a DPU does not install the DOCA stack required for DPU networking services.
Exam caveat: DOCA belongs on the BlueField DPU for NVIDIA DPU networking features; do not confuse DOCA host packages on the GPU servers or InfiniBand SM packages with the DPU software prerequisite on Spectrum-attached servers.
Operational check: inventory BlueField cards on the municipal Spectrum-attached GPU servers, install the approved DOCA package set, verify DOCA services and version report cleanly on each DPU, then enable the intended networking services only after that baseline is green.