NVIDIA · chet · Jul 10, 2026 · Jul 10, 2026
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ List Mellanox/BlueField devices across all explored hosts:
 List the devices found under one host BMC:
     $ nico-admin-cli site-explorer mlx-devices --host 192.0.2.20
 
-Find DPUs in NIC mode whose NIC firmware is below the desired version:
+Find devices operating as NICs whose firmware is below the desired version:
     $ nico-admin-cli site-explorer mlx-devices --nic-mode-only --expected-version 32.42.1000
 
 ")]
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ pub struct Args {
     pub host: Option<String>,
     #[clap(
         long,
-        help = "Only BlueField-3 devices operating in NIC mode (part number 900-9D3B4)"
+        help = "Only devices operating as NICs: their DPU BMC reports NIC mode, or they have a SuperNIC SKU and the mode is unknown"
     )]
     pub nic_mode_only: bool,
     #[clap(

@@ -39,8 +39,8 @@ pub async fn mlx_devices(
         .get_all_explored_mlx_devices(page_size, opts.host)
         .await?
         .into_iter()
-        // Only NIC-mode DPUs, when asked.
-        .filter(|d| !nic_mode_only || d.device_kind == MlxDeviceKind::Bf3NicMode as i32)
+        // Only devices operating as NICs, when asked.
+        .filter(|d| !nic_mode_only || operating_as_nic(d))
         // Only devices whose NIC firmware is below the desired version, when given
         // one. A device with no firmware, or a version we can't parse, is surfaced
         // rather than hidden.
@@ -100,11 +100,31 @@ impl From<ExploredMlxDevice> for MlxDeviceRow {
     }
 }
 
+/// Whether a device is operating as a plain NIC -- its Arm OS is down, so scout
+/// can't report its firmware and this inventory is the only one that sees it.
+///
+/// The authoritative signal is `nic_mode`, the mode the DPU's own BMC reports;
+/// a `900-9D3B6` DPU flipped into NIC mode passes on that signal even though
+/// its SKU says DPU. When the mode is unknown (`nic_mode` unset -- no DPU BMC
+/// matched, or its firmware predates mode reporting), fall back to the SKU:
+/// the SuperNIC families ship running as NICs, and like the firmware filter
+/// below we err toward surfacing a device rather than hiding it.
+fn operating_as_nic(device: &ExploredMlxDevice) -> bool {
+    match device.nic_mode {
+        Some(mode) => mode == NicMode::Nic as i32,
+        None => {
+            device.device_kind == MlxDeviceKind::Bf3NicMode as i32
+                || device.device_kind == MlxDeviceKind::Bf3SuperNic as i32
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 fn kind_label(device_kind: i32) -> String {
     match MlxDeviceKind::try_from(device_kind) {
-        Ok(MlxDeviceKind::Bf3NicMode) => "BlueField-3 (NIC mode)",
-        Ok(MlxDeviceKind::Bf3DpuMode) => "BlueField-3 (DPU mode)",
-        Ok(MlxDeviceKind::Bf3SuperNic) => "BlueField-3 SuperNIC",
+        // Both SuperNIC SKU families render under NVIDIA's product name; the
+        // part-number column alongside is the discriminator.
+        Ok(MlxDeviceKind::Bf3NicMode) | Ok(MlxDeviceKind::Bf3SuperNic) => "BlueField-3 SuperNIC",
+        Ok(MlxDeviceKind::Bf3DpuMode) => "BlueField-3 DPU",
         Ok(MlxDeviceKind::Bf2Dpu) => "BlueField-2 DPU",
         Ok(MlxDeviceKind::Unknown) | Err(_) => "Unknown",
     }
@@ -172,6 +192,68 @@ fn parse_version(version: &str) -> Option<Vec<u64>> {
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
 
+    #[test]
+    fn operating_as_nic_prefers_reported_mode_over_sku() {
+        struct Case {
+            name: &'static str,
+            device_kind: MlxDeviceKind,
+            nic_mode: Option<NicMode>,
+            expect: bool,
+        }
+        let cases = [
+            Case {
+                name: "dpu sku flipped into nic mode",
+                device_kind: MlxDeviceKind::Bf3DpuMode,
+                nic_mode: Some(NicMode::Nic),
+                expect: true,
+            },
+            Case {
+                name: "dpu sku running as a dpu",
+                device_kind: MlxDeviceKind::Bf3DpuMode,
+                nic_mode: Some(NicMode::Dpu),
+                expect: false,
+            },
+            Case {
+                name: "supernic sku flipped into dpu mode",
+                device_kind: MlxDeviceKind::Bf3NicMode,
+                nic_mode: Some(NicMode::Dpu),
+                expect: false,
+            },
+            Case {
+                name: "unmatched 9d3b4 supernic falls back to sku",
+                device_kind: MlxDeviceKind::Bf3NicMode,
+                nic_mode: None,
+                expect: true,
+            },
+            Case {
+                name: "unmatched 9d3d4 supernic falls back to sku",
+                device_kind: MlxDeviceKind::Bf3SuperNic,
+                nic_mode: None,
+                expect: true,
+            },
+            Case {
+                name: "unmatched dpu sku stays a dpu",
+                device_kind: MlxDeviceKind::Bf3DpuMode,
+                nic_mode: None,
+                expect: false,
+            },
+            Case {
+                name: "unmatched bf2 stays a dpu",
+                device_kind: MlxDeviceKind::Bf2Dpu,
+                nic_mode: None,
+                expect: false,
+            },
+        ];
+        for case in cases {
+            let device = ExploredMlxDevice {
+                device_kind: case.device_kind as i32,
+                nic_mode: case.nic_mode.map(|mode| mode as i32),
+                ..Default::default()
+            };
+            assert_eq!(operating_as_nic(&device), case.expect, "{}", case.name);
+        }
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn firmware_below_compares_dotted_versions() {
         // Outdated -> below the target.

@@ -1815,16 +1815,22 @@ pub fn is_bluefield_part_number(part_number: &str) -> bool {
 
 /// The kind of BlueField/Mellanox device, classified from its Redfish part number.
 ///
-/// A BlueField-3's part number records the mode it is currently operating in:
-/// `900-9D3B4` is a card running as a NIC, `900-9D3B6` is the same generation
-/// running as a DPU, and `900-9D3D4` is a dedicated SuperNIC. That split is what
-/// lets us pick out a DPU operating in NIC mode -- whose NIC firmware is
-/// otherwise invisible while its Arm OS is down -- apart from a native SuperNIC.
+/// The part number identifies the card's factory SKU, not the mode it is
+/// operating in: `900-9D3B6` is a BlueField-3 DPU product, while `900-9D3B4`
+/// and `900-9D3D4` are BlueField-3 SuperNIC products that ship running as
+/// NICs. Reconfiguring a card between DPU and NIC mode (the DPU BMC's
+/// `Mode.Set` action) does not change its part number -- a flipped `900-9D3B6`
+/// still classifies as [`MlxDeviceKind::Bf3DpuMode`] here. For the mode a
+/// device is actually operating in, read [`ExploredMlxDevice::nic_mode`],
+/// which comes from the DPU's own BMC.
+///
+/// The `*Mode` variant names are frozen: they mirror the wire enum from when
+/// this classification was believed to track the operating mode.
 #[derive(Copy, Clone, PartialEq, Eq, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 pub enum MlxDeviceKind {
-    /// BlueField-3 operating as a NIC (part number `900-9D3B4...`).
+    /// BlueField-3 SuperNIC (part number `900-9D3B4...`).
     Bf3NicMode,
-    /// BlueField-3 operating as a DPU (part number `900-9D3B6...`).
+    /// BlueField-3 DPU (part number `900-9D3B6...`).
     Bf3DpuMode,
     /// BlueField-3 SuperNIC (part number `900-9D3D4...`).
     Bf3SuperNic,
@@ -1843,9 +1849,9 @@ impl MlxDeviceKind {
             return Self::Unknown;
         };
         let part_number = part_number.trim().to_lowercase();
-        // `is_bf3_supernic_part_number` deliberately groups `900-9d3b4` and `900-9d3d4`; here
-        // we split them, because a NIC-mode DPU (`b4`) and a native SuperNIC
-        // (`d4`) are exactly what an operator needs told apart.
+        // `is_bf3_supernic_part_number` deliberately groups `900-9d3b4` and
+        // `900-9d3d4`; here we keep them apart because the wire enum
+        // distinguishes the two SuperNIC SKU families.
         if part_number.starts_with("900-9d3b6") || part_number == "sn37b36732" {
             Self::Bf3DpuMode
         } else if part_number.starts_with("900-9d3b4") {
@@ -1858,20 +1864,15 @@ impl MlxDeviceKind {
             Self::Unknown
         }
     }
-
-    /// Whether this is a BlueField-3 operating in NIC mode -- the devices whose
-    /// NIC firmware most needs auditing, since their Arm OS can't report it.
-    pub fn is_nic_mode(&self) -> bool {
-        matches!(self, Self::Bf3NicMode)
-    }
 }
 
 impl Display for MlxDeviceKind {
     fn fmt(&self, f: &mut std::fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {
         let label = match self {
-            Self::Bf3NicMode => "BlueField-3 (NIC mode)",
-            Self::Bf3DpuMode => "BlueField-3 (DPU mode)",
-            Self::Bf3SuperNic => "BlueField-3 SuperNIC",
+            // Both SuperNIC SKU families render under NVIDIA's product name;
+            // the part number alongside is the discriminator.
+            Self::Bf3NicMode | Self::Bf3SuperNic => "BlueField-3 SuperNIC",
+            Self::Bf3DpuMode => "BlueField-3 DPU",
             Self::Bf2Dpu => "BlueField-2 DPU",
             Self::Unknown => "Unknown",
         };
@@ -1919,7 +1920,9 @@ pub struct ExploredMlxDevice {
     #[serde(default, skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
     pub dpu_bmc_ip: Option<IpAddr>,
     /// The DPU's authoritative operating mode, read from its own Redfish endpoint
-    /// when matched -- corroborates the part-number-derived `device_kind`.
+    /// when matched. This is the mode the card is running in right now;
+    /// `device_kind` is its factory SKU, and the two legitimately differ for a
+    /// DPU reconfigured to run as a NIC.
     #[serde(default, skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
     pub nic_mode: Option<NicMode>,
 }

@@ -193,13 +193,18 @@ message ExploredMlxDevice {
   // DPU we have explored -- the address to target for a firmware push.
   optional string dpu_bmc_ip = 9;
   // The DPU's authoritative operating mode, read from its own Redfish endpoint
-  // when matched.
+  // when matched. This is the mode the card is running in right now; it
+  // legitimately differs from the SKU-derived device_kind for a DPU
+  // reconfigured to run as a NIC.
   optional NicMode nic_mode = 10;
 }
 
-// The kind of BlueField/Mellanox device, classified from its part number. A
-// BlueField-3's part number records the mode it is operating in: 900-9D3B4
-// (NIC), 900-9D3B6 (DPU), 900-9D3D4 (SuperNIC).
+// The kind of BlueField/Mellanox device, classified from its part number. The
+// part number identifies the factory SKU, not the operating mode: 900-9D3B6 is
+// a BlueField-3 DPU product, 900-9D3B4 and 900-9D3D4 are BlueField-3 SuperNIC
+// products. A DPU/NIC mode flip does not change it -- nic_mode carries the
+// operating mode. The *_MODE value names are frozen from when this was
+// believed to track the operating mode.
 enum MlxDeviceKind {
   MLX_DEVICE_KIND_UNKNOWN = 0;
   MLX_DEVICE_KIND_BF3_NIC_MODE = 1;

@@ -198,13 +198,18 @@ message ExploredMlxDevice {
   // DPU we have explored -- the address to target for a firmware push.
   optional string dpu_bmc_ip = 9;
   // The DPU's authoritative operating mode, read from its own Redfish endpoint
-  // when matched.
+  // when matched. This is the mode the card is running in right now; it
+  // legitimately differs from the SKU-derived device_kind for a DPU
+  // reconfigured to run as a NIC.
   optional NicMode nic_mode = 10;
 }
 
-// The kind of BlueField/Mellanox device, classified from its part number. A
-// BlueField-3's part number records the mode it is operating in: 900-9D3B4
-// (NIC), 900-9D3B6 (DPU), 900-9D3D4 (SuperNIC).
+// The kind of BlueField/Mellanox device, classified from its part number. The
+// part number identifies the factory SKU, not the operating mode: 900-9D3B6 is
+// a BlueField-3 DPU product, 900-9D3B4 and 900-9D3D4 are BlueField-3 SuperNIC
+// products. A DPU/NIC mode flip does not change it -- nic_mode carries the
+// operating mode. The *_MODE value names are frozen from when this was
+// believed to track the operating mode.
 enum MlxDeviceKind {
   MLX_DEVICE_KIND_UNKNOWN = 0;
   MLX_DEVICE_KIND_BF3_NIC_MODE = 1;