1 Open vSwitch <http://openvswitch.org>
6 Open vSwitch is a multilayer software switch licensed under the open
7 source Apache 2 license. Our goal is to implement a production
8 quality switch platform that supports standard management interfaces
9 (e.g. NetFlow, sFlow(R), RSPAN, ERSPAN, IOS-like CLI), and opens the
10 forwarding functions to programmatic extension and control.
12 Open vSwitch is well suited to function as a virtual switch in VM
13 environments. In addition to exposing standard control and visibility
14 interfaces to the virtual networking layer, it was designed to support
15 distribution across multiple physical servers. Open vSwitch supports
16 multiple Linux-based virtualization technologies including
17 Xen/XenServer, KVM, and VirtualBox.
19 The bulk of the code is written in platform-independent C and is
20 easily ported to other environments. The current release of Open
21 vSwitch supports the following features:
23 * Visibility into inter-VM communication via NetFlow, sFlow, SPAN,
25 * Standard 802.1Q VLAN model with trunking
27 * NIC bonding with source-MAC load balancing
28 * Kernel-based forwarding
29 * Support for OpenFlow
30 * Compatibility layer for the Linux bridging code
32 The included Linux kernel module supports Linux 2.6.15 and up, with
33 testing focused on 2.6.18 with Centos and Xen patches and version
34 2.6.26 from kernel.org. Open vSwitch also has special support for
35 Citrix XenServer hosts.
37 Open vSwitch can also operate, at a cost in performance, entirely in
38 userspace, without assistance from a kernel module. This userspace
39 implementation should be easier to port than the kernel-based switch.
40 It is considered experimental.
45 The main components of this distribution are:
47 * ovs-vswitchd, a daemon that implements the switch, along with
48 a companion Linux kernel module for flow-based switching.
50 * ovsdb-server, a lightweight database server that ovs-vswitchd
51 queries to obtain its configuration.
53 * ovs-brcompatd, a daemon that allows ovs-vswitchd to act as a
54 drop-in replacement for the Linux bridge in many environments,
55 along with a companion Linux kernel module to intercept bridge
58 * ovs-dpctl, a tool for configuring the switch kernel module.
60 * Scripts and specs for building RPMs that allow Open vSwitch
61 to be installed on a Citrix XenServer host as a drop-in
62 replacement for its switch, with additional functionality.
64 * ovs-vsctl, a utility for querying and updating the configuration
67 * ovs-appctl, a utility that sends commands to running Open
70 Open vSwitch also provides an OpenFlow implementation and tools for
71 those interested in OpenFlow but not additional Open vSwitch features:
73 * ovs-openflowd, a program that implements a simple OpenFlow
74 switch (without the special features provided by ovs-vswitchd)
75 using the same kernel module as ovs-vswitchd.
77 * ovs-controller, a simple OpenFlow controller.
79 * ovs-ofctl, a utility for querying and controlling OpenFlow
80 switches and controllers.
82 * ovs-pki, a utility for creating and managing the public-key
83 infrastructure for OpenFlow switches.
85 * A patch to tcpdump that enables it to parse OpenFlow messages.
87 What other documentation is available?
88 --------------------------------------
90 To install Open vSwitch on a regular Linux machine, read INSTALL.Linux.
92 To use Open vSwitch as a drop-in replacement for the Linux bridge,
95 To build RPMs for installing Open vSwitch on a Citrix XenServer host
96 or resource pool, read INSTALL.XenServer.
98 To install Open vSwitch without using a kernel module, read
101 To learn set up SSL support for Open vSwitch, read INSTALL.SSL.
103 Each Open vSwitch userspace program is accompanied by a manpage. Many
104 of the manpages are customized to your configuration as part of the
105 build process, so we recommend building Open vSwitch before reading
112 http://openvswitch.org/