/doca-rmax

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_SUPPORTED from
  doca_rmax_init", "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 PTP clock or hardware packet-placement order?"** — worked example: *"can this device + this Rivermax install use ST 2110-20 sequence-number placement?"*. 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 PTP clock or placement mode 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_SUPPORTED` from `doca_rmax_init()`"*. Answered by the Rivermax overlay on th