About this skill
---
license: Apache-2.0
name: doca-rmax
description: >
Use this skill when the user is doing hands-on DOCA Rivermax work on
a BlueField DPU or ConnectX host — standing up `doca_rmax_in_stream`
(receive) sessions for timing-precise
media-over-IP (SMPTE ST 2110 video/audio, market data, scientific
feeds), confirming the Rivermax SDK + license precondition before
any DOCA-side code, running `doca_rmax_get_*_supported` capability queries,
pairing with `doca-eth` queues and `doca-flow` steering, or
debugging `DOCA_ERROR_*` from a Rivermax call. Trigger even when the
user does not explicitly mention "DOCA Rivermax" or "rmax" —
implicit phrasings include "ST 2110 receive isn't getting frames",
"sub-microsecond jitter on BlueField", "NOT_PERMITTED on first
rivermax create", "no recv events after stream start", or "license
check failing on a media receiver". Refuse and route elsewhere for
installing the Rivermax SDK or its license, programming the
underlying queue (`doca-eth`), steering rules (`doca-flow`), or
best-effort packet I/O — those belong to other skills.
metadata:
kind: library
compatibility: >
Requires DOCA SDK at /opt/mellanox/doca on Linux (Ubuntu 22.04/24.04 or
RHEL/SLES) with a BlueField DPU or ConnectX NIC, AND the separately-
installed NVIDIA Rivermax SDK with a valid Rivermax license readable by
the user — DOCA does NOT bundle Rivermax. Reads the local install via
`pkg-config doca-rmax`; route Rivermax SDK install/license questions to
the public Rivermax guide.
---
# DOCA Rivermax
**Where to start:** This skill assumes DOCA is already installed,
**AND** that the NVIDIA Rivermax SDK is separately installed with a
valid Rivermax license present on the host. The agent's FIRST
action on any Rivermax question is to confirm both — without
Rivermax SDK + license, `doca-rmax` cannot function regardless
of how clean the DOCA-side code is, and this is the #1 first-app
confusion (DOCA does *not* bundle Rivermax; it wraps it). Open
[`TASKS.md`](TASKS.md) if the user wants to *do* something
(configure / build / modify / run / test / debug); open
[`CAPABILITIES.md`](CAPABILITIES.md) when the question is *what
can DOCA Rivermax express* on this version + this Rivermax
install. If the user has not installed DOCA yet, route to
[`doca-setup`](../../doca-setup/SKILL.md) first; for the Rivermax
SDK + license install itself, route to the public DOCA Rivermax
guide (slug `DOCA-Rivermax`) via
[`doca-public-knowledge-map`](../../doca-public-knowledge-map/SKILL.md).
If the user is asking *"how do I get packets to land on my
Rivermax input stream at all"*, the answer is layered:
`doca-rmax` is the *Rivermax integration* surface,
[`doca-eth`](../doca-eth/SKILL.md) is the *queue* surface that
carries the packets, and [`doca-flow`](../doca-flow/SKILL.md)
is the *steering* surface that directs them.
## Example questions this skill answers well
The CLASSES of DOCA Rivermax questions this skill is built to
answer, each with one worked example. The agent should treat the
*class* as the load-bearing piece — the worked example is a
single instance.
- **"Can I even use `doca-rmax` on this host?"** — worked
example: *"the public docs mention `doca-rmax`; is it
usable without doing anything else?"*. Answered by the
Rivermax-SDK + license precondition rule in
[`CAPABILITIES.md ## Safety policy`](CAPABILITIES.md#safety-policy)
+ the env-prep checklist in
[`TASKS.md ## configure`](TASKS.md#configure) step 1, which
routes the install-side question to the public Rivermax guide
via
[`doca-public-knowledge-map`](../../doca-public-knowledge-map/SKILL.md)
and refuses to recommend a fallback to `doca-eth` alone that
would silently lose the timing properties.
- **"How do I set up a SMPTE ST 2110 video receive stream?"** —
worked example: *"line up an inbound Rivermax stream on a
representor of a BlueField port for first-run testing"*.
Answered by the per-stream object lifecycle in
[`TASKS.md ## configure`](TASKS.md#configure) +
[`CAPABILITIES.md ## Capabilities and modes`](CAPABILITIES.md#capabilities-and-modes)
input stream capability table.
- **"Which `doca_rmax_get_*_supported` query do I have to call before
picking a stream type / frame size / packet rate?"** — worked
example: *"can this device + this Rivermax install carry a
1080p60 video stream at the rate I want?"*. Answered by the
capability-query rule in
[`CAPABILITIES.md ## Capabilities and modes`](CAPABILITIES.md#capabilities-and-modes)
+ step 3 in
[`TASKS.md ## configure`](TASKS.md#configure).
- **"My stream is set up but no packets arrive — why?"** —
worked example: *"the Rivermax stream object started cleanly
but no recv events fire"*. Answered by the precondition matrix
in
[`CAPABILITIES.md ## Safety policy`](CAPABILITIES.md#safety-policy)
+ the env-prep checklist in
[`TASKS.md ## configure`](TASKS.md#configure) step 1, which
routes the steering side to
[`doca-flow`](../doca-flow/SKILL.md), the queue side to
[`doca-eth`](../doca-eth/SKILL.md), and the license side
back to the Rivermax-side precondition.
- **"Is this Rivermax integration capability available on my
device + my installed DOCA + my Rivermax SDK?"** — worked
example: *"does this device + this Rivermax version advertise
the stream type I need"*. Answered by the capability-query
rule in
[`CAPABILITIES.md ## Capabilities and modes`](CAPABILITIES.md#capabilities-and-modes)
+ the version-and-device overlay in
[`CAPABILITIES.md ## Version compatibility`](CAPABILITIES.md#version-compatibility),
which adds the *Rivermax-side version is a second axis* rule
on top of the canonical DOCA version-handling chain in
[`doca-version`](../../doca-version/SKILL.md).
- **"What does this `DOCA_ERROR_*` from a Rivermax call mean and
which layer caused it?"** — worked example:
*"`DOCA_ERROR_NOT_PERMITTED` on the first Rivermax stream
create"*. Answered by the Rivermax overlay on the
cross-library taxonomy in
[`CAPABILITIES.md ## Error taxonomy`](CAPABILITIES.md#error-taxonomy)
+ the layered ladder in
[`TASKS.md ## debug`](TASKS.md#debug) that escalates to
[`doca-debug`](../../doca-debug/SKILL.md), and which calls out
that `_NOT_PERMITTED` on Rivermax frequently means *"Rivermax
license missing / expired / not readable"*, not the usual
DOCA-side device-access shortfall.
## Audience
This skill serves **external developers building applications
that consume the DOCA Rivermax integration** — i.e., users whose
code calls `doca_rmax_*` (directly in C/C++, or through
FFI/bindings from another language) to drive timing-precise
media-over-IP streams (SMPTE ST 2110, real-time market data,
high-throughput scientific instrument streams) on top of a
separately-installed NVIDIA Rivermax SDK on a BlueField or
ConnectX host. It is *not* for NVIDIA developers contributing to
DOCA Rivermax itself, and it is *not* for users who want
best-effort packet I/O — for that, route to
[`doca-eth`](../doca-eth/SKILL.md) directly.
**Language scope.** DOCA Rivermax ships as a C library with
`pkg-config` module name `doca-rmax`. The shipped samples
live under `/opt/mellanox/doca/samples/doca_rmax/` and are
written in C. C and C++ consumers are the canonical case; the
worked examples in `TASKS.md` assume that path. Other-language
consumers (Rust, Go, Python, …) consume the same `*.so` through
FFI or language-specific bindings; the skill's contribution in
that case is to keep the precondition rule (Rivermax SDK +
license), per-stream lifecycle, capability-discovery,
permission, scheduling-discipline, and error-taxonomy guidance
language-neutral, and to route the agent to the public C ABI as
the authoritative surface that any wrapper will eventually call.
## When to load this skill
Load this skill when the user is doing hands-on DOCA Rivermax
work, in any language. Concretely:
- Confirming that the NVIDIA Rivermax SDK and a valid Rivermax
license are present on the host before any DOCA-side code is
written — this is a **mandatory precondition**, not an error
path; without it the answer is *"`doca-rmax` cannot be
used; pick a different library"*, not *"let's try and see what
fails"*.
- Initializing the global DOCA Rivermax engine with
`doca_rmax_init()` / `doca_rmax_release()`, then creating a
`doca_rmax_in_stream` (receive) context with
`doca_rmax_in_stream_create()` on a `doca_dev` opened against a
physical port, a representor, or an SF, and converting it via
`doca_rmax_in_stream_as_ctx()` before `doca_ctx_start()`. The
public DOCA Rivermax API is receive-only — there is no
transmit/output stream object.
- Configuring a Rivermax input stream for SMPTE ST 2110 audio +
video over IP, real-time market data feeds, or a scientific
instrument stream — with awareness that the stream type,
frame size, and packet rate the user wants are *all* device-
and Rivermax-conditional and gate on the matching
`doca_rmax_get_*_supported` query.
- Reading or setting Rivermax stream properties via
`doca_rmax_in_stream_set_*` and querying device + Rivermax
capability via the `doca_rmax_get_*_supported` family before
assuming any specific stream type / frame size / packet rate
is supported.
- Pairing the Rivermax stream with the `doca-eth` queue surface
that carries the packets and the `doca-flow` rules that
steer them — Rivermax does not program steering itself.
- Designing the real-time scheduling discipline for the
streaming threads (the underlying Rivermax stack expects
real-time priority for sub-microsecond jitter; the canonical
scheduling guidance lives in the Rivermax SDK docs reachable
through
[`doca-public-knowledge-map`](../../doca-public-knowledge-map/SKILL.md)).
- Debugging a `DOCA_ERROR_*` returned from a Rivermax call
(lifecycle vs. license / permission vs. capability vs.
driver-below) where the cause may live in the DOCA-side
wrapper, the underlying Rivermax stack, or the licensing
layer.
- Designing or extending non-C bindings (Rust, Go, Python, …)
that wrap the DOCA Rivermax C ABI — for the precondition
rule, lifecycle, capability, permission, and scheduling rules
the wrapper must honor.
Do **not** load this skill for general DOCA orientation, for
installing DOCA itself, for installing the Rivermax SDK or
managing the Rivermax license file (those live in the public
Rivermax SDK guide reachable through
[`doca-public-knowledge-map`](../../doca-public-knowledge-map/SKILL.md)),
for best-effort packet I/O without timing requirements (use
[`doca-eth`](../doca-eth/SKILL.md) directly), or for pure
host-side data processing without networking. For DOCA
documentation orientation, use
[`doca-public-knowledge-map`](../../doca-public-knowledge-map/SKILL.md).
## What this skill provides
This is a **thin loader**. The body keeps only the orientation
needed to pick the right next file. The substantive
Rivermax-specific material lives in two companion files:
- `CAPABILITIES.md` — what DOCA Rivermax can express on this
version *and this Rivermax SDK install*: the
Rivermax-as-hard-dependency rule, the receive-only
`doca_rmax_in_stream` object model, the capability-query surface
(`doca_rmax_get_*_supported`), the Rivermax error taxonomy
(mapped onto the cross-library `DOCA_ERROR_*` set, with
Rivermax-specific causes called out per row), the
observability surface (per-stream progress engine events,
capability snapshots, Rivermax-side license + driver state),
and the safety policy that gates the Rivermax-SDK-present /
license-present / device-access / scheduling-discipline
preconditions.
- `TASKS.md` — step-by-step workflows for the six in-scope
Rivermax verbs: `configure`, `build`, `modify`, `run`,
`test`, `debug`. Plus a `Deferred task verbs` block that
points out-of-scope questions (installing Rivermax,
managing the license, programming steering, programming the
underlying queue) at the right next skill, and a `Command
appendix` of the recurring commands the agent reaches for.
The skill assumes a host or BlueField where DOCA is already
installed at the standard location, the NVIDIA Rivermax SDK is
installed at its expected location with a valid license, and
the user has the privileges their public install profile
expects (typically sudo or `mlnx`-group membership to open a
`doca_dev` against a port). It does not cover installing DOCA —
that path goes through
[`doca-setup`](../../doca-setup/SKILL.md). It does not cover
installing Rivermax or its license — that path goes through the
public Rivermax SDK guide reachable through
[`doca-public-knowledge-map`](../../doca-public-knowledge-map/SKILL.md).
## What this skill deliberately does not ship
This skill is **agent guidance**, not a samples or templates
bundle. To keep the boundary clean, it deliberately does not
contain — and pull requests should not add:
- **Pre-written DOCA Rivermax application source code, in any
language.** The verified Rivermax source code is the shipped
C samples at `/opt/mellanox/doca/samples/doca_rmax/<name>/`.
The agent's job is to route the user to those files and
prescribe a minimum-diff modification on them via the
universal modify-a-sample workflow in
[`doca-programming-guide`](../../doca-programming-guide/SKILL.md),
layered with the Rivermax-specific overrides in
[`TASKS.md ## modify`](TASKS.md#modify).
- **Standalone build manifests** (`meson.build`,
`CMakeLists.txt`, `Cargo.toml`, …) parked inside the skill.
The agent constructs the build manifest *in the user's
project directory* against the user's installed DOCA, where
`pkg-config --modversion doca-rmax` is the source of
truth.
- **Quoted Rivermax symbol names beyond the public family
pattern (`doca_rmax_get_*_supported` for capability discovery,
receive-only `doca_rmax_in_stream` session objects driven by the
standard DOCA Core context lifecycle).** Exact Rivermax
symbol names are install-bound and Rivermax-SDK-version-
bound; the agent should read them from the installed headers
at $(pkg-config --variable=includedir doca-common) and from the
public DOCA Rivermax guide rather than rely on agent memory.
- **A `samples/`, `bindings/`, or `reference/` subtree** of
any kind. A mock or incomplete artifact in this skill's
tree, even one labeled *"reference"*, is misleading: users
will read it as buildable.
## Loading order
1. Read this `SKILL.md` first to confirm the user's question is
in scope **and** that the Rivermax-SDK + license
precondition has been considered.
2. **For the Rivermax capability matrix, the receive-only input
stream model, capability-query rules, error taxonomy,
observability, and safety policy, see
[CAPABILITIES.md](CAPABILITIES.md).**
3. **For step-by-step workflows — configure, build, modify,
run, test, debug — see [TASKS.md](TASKS.md).**
Both companion files cross-link to each other,
[`doca-version`](../../doca-version/SKILL.md) for the canonical
DOCA version-handling rules (Rivermax adds a Rivermax-SDK-
version axis on top),
[`doca-eth`](../doca-eth/SKILL.md) for the queue surface
that carries the packets,
[`doca-flow`](../doca-flow/SKILL.md) for the steering side
that decides which packets land on which queue, and
[`doca-public-knowledge-map`](../../doca-public-knowledge-map/SKILL.md)
whenever the right answer is *"look it up in the public
Rivermax SDK guide or the installed package layout"* rather
than *"Rivermax-integration-specific guidance"*.
## Related skills
- [`doca-public-knowledge-map`](../../doca-public-knowledge-map/SKILL.md) —
the routing table for every public DOCA documentation source
and the on-disk layout of an installed DOCA package. The
Rivermax URL slug is `DOCA-Rivermax`; the public Rivermax SDK
guide (separate product) is reachable from the same routing
table when the user asks how to install Rivermax or its
license.
- [`doca-setup`](../../doca-setup/SKILL.md) — env preparation,
install verification, port-state checks (`devlink dev show`,
`ip link`), permission and group-membership requirements for
opening a `doca_dev`. This skill assumes its preconditions
are satisfied; the Rivermax-SDK + license preconditions are
layered on top.
- [`doca-version`](../../doca-version/SKILL.md) — canonical
DOCA version-handling rules. This skill's `## Version
compatibility` cross-links the four-way match rule and adds
the Rivermax-specific overlay (Rivermax SDK version is a
second axis; the capability set on this host is the
intersection of DOCA-side cap-query results and
Rivermax-side capabilities).
- [`doca-structured-tools-contract`](../../doca-structured-tools-contract/SKILL.md) —
the bundle's structured-tools precedence rule (detect /
prefer / fall back / report). The Command appendix in
[TASKS.md](TASKS.md) honors this contract.
- [`doca-programming-guide`](../../doca-programming-guide/SKILL.md) —
general DOCA programming patterns shared by every library:
the canonical `pkg-config` + meson build pattern, the
universal modify-a-shipped-sample first-app workflow, the
universal lifecycle, the cross-library `DOCA_ERROR_*`
taxonomy, and the program-side debug order. This skill
layers Rivermax specifics on top.
- [`doca-eth`](../doca-eth/SKILL.md) — the queue surface
that carries the packets a Rivermax stream produces or
consumes. DOCA Rivermax does *not* program the underlying
queue itself; it integrates with the queue programmed via
`doca-eth`. The two skills' lifecycles are independent.
- [`doca-flow`](../doca-flow/SKILL.md) — the steering
surface that decides which packets land on which queue.
DOCA Rivermax does *not* program steering itself; an empty
Rivermax input stream almost always means a missing or wrong
Flow rule (or a missing Rivermax license), not a Rivermax
bug.
- [`doca-debug`](../../doca-debug/SKILL.md) — the
cross-cutting debug ladder (install / version / build /
link / runtime / program / driver). Rivermax-specific debug
(license precondition gaps, stream-type / packet-rate
capability mismatches, scheduling-discipline jitter
symptoms) overlays on top of that ladder.