diff --git a/common/src/address.rs b/common/src/address.rs
index 6013932d47a..7b22e8f3ec9 100644
--- a/common/src/address.rs
+++ b/common/src/address.rs
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ pub const SLED_AGENT_PORT: u16 = 12345;
 pub const PROPOLIS_PORT: u16 = 12400;
 pub const CLICKHOUSE_PORT: u16 = 8123;
 pub const OXIMETER_PORT: u16 = 12223;
+pub const DENDRITE_PORT: u16 = 12224;
 
 pub const NEXUS_INTERNAL_PORT: u16 = 12221;
 
diff --git a/internal-dns-client/src/names.rs b/internal-dns-client/src/names.rs
index 1b633f915e1..f3a81ed45f2 100644
--- a/internal-dns-client/src/names.rs
+++ b/internal-dns-client/src/names.rs
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ pub enum ServiceName {
     InternalDNS,
     Nexus,
     Oximeter,
+    Dendrite,
 }
 
 impl fmt::Display for ServiceName {
@@ -27,6 +28,7 @@ impl fmt::Display for ServiceName {
             ServiceName::InternalDNS => write!(f, "internalDNS"),
             ServiceName::Nexus => write!(f, "nexus"),
             ServiceName::Oximeter => write!(f, "oximeter"),
+            ServiceName::Dendrite => write!(f, "dendrite"),
         }
     }
 }
@@ -122,6 +124,10 @@ mod test {
             SRV::Service(ServiceName::Oximeter).to_string(),
             "_oximeter._tcp.control-plane.oxide.internal",
         );
+        assert_eq!(
+            SRV::Service(ServiceName::Dendrite).to_string(),
+            "_dendrite._tcp.control-plane.oxide.internal",
+        );
     }
 
     #[test]
diff --git a/nexus/src/db/model/service_kind.rs b/nexus/src/db/model/service_kind.rs
index f66532e64c0..7b5197cd0ad 100644
--- a/nexus/src/db/model/service_kind.rs
+++ b/nexus/src/db/model/service_kind.rs
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ impl_enum_type!(
     InternalDNS => b"internal_dns"
     Nexus => b"nexus"
     Oximeter => b"oximeter"
+    Dendrite => b"dendrite"
 );
 
 impl From<internal_api::params::ServiceKind> for ServiceKind {
@@ -32,6 +33,9 @@ impl From<internal_api::params::ServiceKind> for ServiceKind {
             internal_api::params::ServiceKind::Oximeter => {
                 ServiceKind::Oximeter
             }
+            internal_api::params::ServiceKind::Dendrite => {
+                ServiceKind::Dendrite
+            }
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/nexus/src/internal_api/params.rs b/nexus/src/internal_api/params.rs
index 8b83138c2b5..4e111cd06dd 100644
--- a/nexus/src/internal_api/params.rs
+++ b/nexus/src/internal_api/params.rs
@@ -106,6 +106,7 @@ pub enum ServiceKind {
     InternalDNS,
     Nexus,
     Oximeter,
+    Dendrite,
 }
 
 impl fmt::Display for ServiceKind {
@@ -115,6 +116,7 @@ impl fmt::Display for ServiceKind {
             InternalDNS => "internal_dns",
             Nexus => "nexus",
             Oximeter => "oximeter",
+            Dendrite => "dendrite",
         };
         write!(f, "{}", s)
     }
@@ -129,6 +131,7 @@ impl FromStr for ServiceKind {
             "nexus" => Ok(Nexus),
             "oximeter" => Ok(Oximeter),
             "internal_dns" => Ok(InternalDNS),
+            "dendrite" => Ok(Dendrite),
             _ => Err(Self::Err::InternalError {
                 internal_message: format!("Unknown service kind: {}", s),
             }),
diff --git a/openapi/nexus-internal.json b/openapi/nexus-internal.json
index 743b4107589..549ac7600ea 100644
--- a/openapi/nexus-internal.json
+++ b/openapi/nexus-internal.json
@@ -1741,7 +1741,8 @@
         "enum": [
           "internal_d_n_s",
           "nexus",
-          "oximeter"
+          "oximeter",
+          "dendrite"
         ]
       },
       "ServicePutRequest": {
diff --git a/openapi/sled-agent.json b/openapi/sled-agent.json
index 8dc890d68b8..021508f72fe 100644
--- a/openapi/sled-agent.json
+++ b/openapi/sled-agent.json
@@ -403,6 +403,14 @@
           }
         ]
       },
+      "DendriteAsic": {
+        "type": "string",
+        "enum": [
+          "tofino_asic",
+          "tofino_stub",
+          "softnpu"
+        ]
+      },
       "DiskEnsureBody": {
         "description": "Sent from to a sled agent to establish the runtime state of a Disk",
         "type": "object",
@@ -1206,6 +1214,24 @@
             "required": [
               "type"
             ]
+          },
+          {
+            "type": "object",
+            "properties": {
+              "asic": {
+                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/DendriteAsic"
+              },
+              "type": {
+                "type": "string",
+                "enum": [
+                  "dendrite"
+                ]
+              }
+            },
+            "required": [
+              "asic",
+              "type"
+            ]
           }
         ]
       },
diff --git a/package-manifest.toml b/package-manifest.toml
index d987cb0b21a..b6450ed25b9 100644
--- a/package-manifest.toml
+++ b/package-manifest.toml
@@ -124,3 +124,20 @@ commit = "2be097ddd1d3fd8e7f56bc0a4bfd696253b11454"
 # The SHA256 digest is automatically posted to:
 # https://buildomat.eng.oxide.computer/public/file/oxidecomputer/maghemite/image/<commit>/mg-ddm.sha256.txt
 sha256 = "94218915ec6fed75dcc81d736bd5e9ef62c9eb651a67a943b297d94d6b390941"
+
+[external_package.dendrite]
+service_name = "dendrite"
+zone = true
+[external_package.dendrite.source]
+# To manually override the package source:
+#
+# 1. Build the zone image manually
+#   1a. cd <dendrite tree>
+#   1b. cargo build --features=<tofino_stub|tofino_asic|softnpu>
+#   1c. cargo xtask dist -o
+# 2. Copy the output zone image from dendrite/out to omicron/out
+# 3. Use type = "manual" instead of the "prebuilt"
+type = "prebuilt"
+repo = "dendrite"
+commit = "e752af977c167fa64625231a74bedcbfa5457008"
+sha256 = "ddb7c271f4d4b68332adc69b32f90e728f07b1395e01cffd7e71230c2c648c63"
diff --git a/sled-agent/src/params.rs b/sled-agent/src/params.rs
index ae4cb40c6e2..1d0558905e9 100644
--- a/sled-agent/src/params.rs
+++ b/sled-agent/src/params.rs
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 // file, You can obtain one at https://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/.
 
 use internal_dns_client::names::{BackendName, ServiceName, AAAA, SRV};
-use omicron_common::address::OXIMETER_PORT;
+use omicron_common::address::{DENDRITE_PORT, OXIMETER_PORT};
 use omicron_common::api::external;
 use omicron_common::api::internal::nexus::{
     DiskRuntimeState, InstanceRuntimeState,
@@ -199,6 +199,41 @@ pub struct InstanceSerialConsoleData {
     pub last_byte_offset: u64,
 }
 
+// The type of networking 'ASIC' the Dendrite service is expected to manage
+#[derive(
+    Clone, Debug, Deserialize, Serialize, JsonSchema, PartialEq, Eq, Copy, Hash,
+)]
+#[serde(rename_all = "snake_case")]
+pub enum DendriteAsic {
+    TofinoAsic,
+    TofinoStub,
+    Softnpu,
+}
+
+impl std::fmt::Display for DendriteAsic {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut std::fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {
+        write!(
+            f,
+            "{}",
+            match self {
+                DendriteAsic::TofinoAsic => "tofino_asic",
+                DendriteAsic::TofinoStub => "tofino_stub",
+                DendriteAsic::Softnpu => "softnpu",
+            }
+        )
+    }
+}
+
+impl From<DendriteAsic> for sled_agent_client::types::DendriteAsic {
+    fn from(a: DendriteAsic) -> Self {
+        match a {
+            DendriteAsic::TofinoAsic => Self::TofinoAsic,
+            DendriteAsic::TofinoStub => Self::TofinoStub,
+            DendriteAsic::Softnpu => Self::Softnpu,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 /// The type of a dataset, and an auxiliary information necessary
 /// to successfully launch a zone managing the associated data.
 #[derive(Clone, Debug, Deserialize, Serialize, JsonSchema, PartialEq)]
@@ -306,6 +341,7 @@ pub enum ServiceType {
     Nexus { internal_address: SocketAddrV6, external_address: SocketAddrV6 },
     InternalDns { server_address: SocketAddrV6, dns_address: SocketAddrV6 },
     Oximeter,
+    Dendrite { asic: DendriteAsic },
 }
 
 impl From<ServiceType> for sled_agent_client::types::ServiceType {
@@ -325,6 +361,7 @@ impl From<ServiceType> for sled_agent_client::types::ServiceType {
                 }
             }
             St::Oximeter => AutoSt::Oximeter,
+            St::Dendrite { asic } => AutoSt::Dendrite { asic: asic.into() },
         }
     }
 }
@@ -367,6 +404,7 @@ impl ServiceRequest {
             }
             ServiceType::Nexus { .. } => SRV::Service(ServiceName::Nexus),
             ServiceType::Oximeter => SRV::Service(ServiceName::Oximeter),
+            ServiceType::Dendrite { .. } => SRV::Service(ServiceName::Dendrite),
         }
     }
 
@@ -377,6 +415,9 @@ impl ServiceRequest {
             ServiceType::Oximeter => {
                 SocketAddrV6::new(self.addresses[0], OXIMETER_PORT, 0, 0)
             }
+            ServiceType::Dendrite { .. } => {
+                SocketAddrV6::new(self.addresses[0], DENDRITE_PORT, 0, 0)
+            }
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/sled-agent/src/services.rs b/sled-agent/src/services.rs
index adf2731eb9a..7fefa81b313 100644
--- a/sled-agent/src/services.rs
+++ b/sled-agent/src/services.rs
@@ -507,6 +507,36 @@ impl ServiceManager {
                             err,
                         })?;
                 }
+                ServiceType::Dendrite { asic } => {
+                    info!(self.log, "Setting up dendrite service");
+                    running_zone
+                        .run_cmd(&[
+                            crate::illumos::zone::SVCCFG,
+                            "-s",
+                            &smf_name,
+                            "setprop",
+                            &format!("config/asic={}", asic),
+                        ])
+                        .map_err(|err| Error::ZoneCommand {
+                            intent: "set dendrite asic type".to_string(),
+                            err,
+                        })?;
+
+                    running_zone
+                        .run_cmd(&[
+                            crate::illumos::zone::SVCCFG,
+                            "-s",
+                            &default_smf_name,
+                            "refresh",
+                        ])
+                        .map_err(|err| Error::ZoneCommand {
+                            intent: format!(
+                                "Refresh SMF manifest {}",
+                                default_smf_name
+                            ),
+                            err,
+                        })?;
+                }
             }
 
             debug!(self.log, "enabling service");
diff --git a/smf/sled-agent/config-rss.toml b/smf/sled-agent/config-rss.toml
index a5f06d1cfc5..33a2ee53b2b 100644
--- a/smf/sled-agent/config-rss.toml
+++ b/smf/sled-agent/config-rss.toml
@@ -67,3 +67,12 @@ addresses = [ "fd00:1122:3344:0101::4" ]
 gz_addresses = []
 [request.service.service_type]
 type = "oximeter"
+
+[[request.service]]
+id = "a0fe5ebc-9261-6f77-acc1-972481755789"
+name = "dendrite"
+addresses = [ "fd00:1122:3344:0101::9" ]
+gz_addresses = []
+[request.service.service_type]
+type = "dendrite"
+asic = "tofino_stub"