7 .TH ovs\-ofctl 8 "January 2011" "Open vSwitch" "Open vSwitch Manual"
11 ovs\-ofctl \- administer OpenFlow switches
15 [\fIoptions\fR] \fIcommand \fR[\fIswitch\fR] [\fIargs\fR\&...]
20 program is a command line tool for monitoring and administering
21 OpenFlow switches. It can also show the current state of an OpenFlow
22 switch, including features, configuration, and table entries.
24 .SS "OpenFlow Switch Management Commands"
26 These commands allow \fBovs\-ofctl\fR to monitor and administer an OpenFlow
27 switch. It is able to show the current state of a switch, including
28 features, configuration, and table entries.
30 Most of these commands take an argument that specifies the method for
31 connecting to an OpenFlow switch. The following connection methods
35 .so lib/vconn-active.man
38 This is short for \fBunix:\fIfile\fR, as long as \fIfile\fR does not
42 This is short for \fBunix:@RUNDIR@/\fIbridge\fB.mgmt\fR, as long as
43 \fIbridge\fR does not contain a colon.
45 .IP [\fItype\fB@\fR]\fIdp\fR
46 Attempts to look up the bridge associated with \fIdp\fR and open as
47 above. If \fItype\fR is given, it specifies the datapath provider of
48 \fIdp\fR, otherwise the default provider \fBsystem\fR is assumed.
53 Prints to the console information on \fIswitch\fR, including
54 information on its flow tables and ports.
57 \fBdump\-tables \fIswitch\fR
58 Prints to the console statistics for each of the flow tables used by
62 \fBdump\-ports \fIswitch\fR [\fInetdev\fR]
63 Prints to the console statistics for network devices associated with
64 \fIswitch\fR. If \fInetdev\fR is specified, only the statistics
65 associated with that device will be printed. \fInetdev\fR can be an
66 OpenFlow assigned port number or device name, e.g. \fBeth0\fR.
69 \fBdump\-ports\-desc \fIswitch\fR
70 Prints to the console detailed information about network devices
71 associated with \fIswitch\fR (version 1.7 or later). This is a subset
72 of the information provided by the \fBshow\fR command.
75 \fBmod\-port \fIswitch\fR \fInetdev\fR \fIaction\fR
76 Modify characteristics of an interface monitored by \fIswitch\fR.
77 \fInetdev\fR can be referred to by its OpenFlow assigned port number or
78 the device name, e.g. \fBeth0\fR. The \fIaction\fR may be any one of the
83 Enables the interface. This is equivalent to ``ifconfig up'' on a Unix
87 Disables the interface. This is equivalent to ``ifconfig down'' on a Unix
91 Allows forwarding of traffic on this interface. This is the default posture
95 Disallows forwarding of traffic on this interface.
98 When a \fIflood\fR action is specified, traffic will be sent out this
99 interface. This is the default posture for monitored ports.
102 When a \fIflood\fR action is specified, traffic will not be sent out
103 this interface. This is primarily useful to prevent loops when a
104 spanning tree protocol is not in use.
108 .IP "\fBget\-frags \fIswitch\fR"
109 Prints \fIswitch\fR's fragment handling mode. See \fBset\-frags\fR,
110 below, for a description of each fragment handling mode.
112 The \fBshow\fR command also prints the fragment handling mode among
115 .IP "\fBset\-frags \fIswitch frag_mode\fR"
116 Configures \fIswitch\fR's treatment of IPv4 and IPv6 fragments. The
117 choices for \fIfrag_mode\fR are:
120 Fragments pass through the flow table like non-fragmented packets.
121 The TCP ports, UDP ports, and ICMP type and code fields are always set
122 to 0, even for fragments where that information would otherwise be
123 available (fragments with offset 0). This is the default fragment
124 handling mode for an OpenFlow switch.
126 Fragments are dropped without passing through the flow table.
127 .IP "\fBreassemble\fR"
128 The switch reassembles fragments into full IP packets before passing
129 them through the flow table. Open vSwitch does not implement this
130 fragment handling mode.
131 .IP "\fBnx\-match\fR"
132 Fragments pass through the flow table like non-fragmented packets.
133 The TCP ports, UDP ports, and ICMP type and code fields are available
134 for matching for fragments with offset 0, and set to 0 in fragments
135 with nonzero offset. This mode is a Nicira extension.
138 See the description of \fBip_frag\fR, below, for a way to match on
139 whether a packet is a fragment and on its fragment offset.
142 \fBdump\-flows \fIswitch \fR[\fIflows\fR]
143 Prints to the console all flow entries in \fIswitch\fR's
144 tables that match \fIflows\fR. If \fIflows\fR is omitted, all flows
145 in the switch are retrieved. See \fBFlow Syntax\fR, below, for the
146 syntax of \fIflows\fR. The output format is described in
147 \fBTable Entry Output\fR.
150 \fBdump\-aggregate \fIswitch \fR[\fIflows\fR]
151 Prints to the console aggregate statistics for flows in
152 \fIswitch\fR's tables that match \fIflows\fR. If \fIflows\fR is omitted,
153 the statistics are aggregated across all flows in the switch's flow
154 tables. See \fBFlow Syntax\fR, below, for the syntax of \fIflows\fR.
155 The output format is described in \fBTable Entry Output\fR.
157 .IP "\fBqueue\-stats \fIswitch \fR[\fIport \fR[\fIqueue\fR]]"
158 Prints to the console statistics for the specified \fIqueue\fR on
159 \fIport\fR within \fIswitch\fR. Either of \fIport\fR or \fIqueue\fR
160 or both may be omitted (or equivalently specified as \fBALL\fR). If
161 both are omitted, statistics are printed for all queues on all ports.
162 If only \fIqueue\fR is omitted, then statistics are printed for all
163 queues on \fIport\fR; if only \fIport\fR is omitted, then statistics
164 are printed for \fIqueue\fR on every port where it exists.
166 .SS "OpenFlow Switch Flow Table Commands"
168 These commands manage the flow table in an OpenFlow switch. In each
169 case, \fIflow\fR specifies a flow entry in the format described in
170 \fBFlow Syntax\fR, below, and \fIfile\fR is a text file that contains
171 zero or more flows in the same syntax, one per line.
173 .IP "\fBadd\-flow \fIswitch flow\fR"
174 .IQ "\fBadd\-flow \fIswitch \fB\- < \fIfile\fR"
175 .IQ "\fBadd\-flows \fIswitch file\fR"
176 Add each flow entry to \fIswitch\fR's tables.
178 .IP "[\fB\-\-strict\fR] \fBmod\-flows \fIswitch flow\fR"
179 .IQ "[\fB\-\-strict\fR] \fBmod\-flows \fIswitch \fB\- < \fIfile\fR"
180 Modify the actions in entries from \fIswitch\fR's tables that match
181 the specified flows. With \fB\-\-strict\fR, wildcards are not treated
182 as active for matching purposes.
184 .IP "\fBdel\-flows \fIswitch\fR"
185 .IQ "[\fB\-\-strict\fR] \fBdel\-flows \fIswitch \fR[\fIflow\fR]"
186 .IQ "[\fB\-\-strict\fR] \fBdel\-flows \fIswitch \fB\- < \fIfile\fR"
187 Deletes entries from \fIswitch\fR's flow table. With only a
188 \fIswitch\fR argument, deletes all flows. Otherwise, deletes flow
189 entries that match the specified flows. With \fB\-\-strict\fR,
190 wildcards are not treated as active for matching purposes.
192 .IP "[\fB\-\-readd\fR] \fBreplace\-flows \fIswitch file\fR"
193 Reads flow entries from \fIfile\fR (or \fBstdin\fR if \fIfile\fR is
194 \fB\-\fR) and queries the flow table from \fIswitch\fR. Then it fixes
195 up any differences, adding flows from \fIflow\fR that are missing on
196 \fIswitch\fR, deleting flows from \fIswitch\fR that are not in
197 \fIfile\fR, and updating flows in \fIswitch\fR whose actions, cookie,
198 or timeouts differ in \fIfile\fR.
201 With \fB\-\-readd\fR, \fBovs\-ofctl\fR adds all the flows from
202 \fIfile\fR, even those that exist with the same actions, cookie, and
203 timeout in \fIswitch\fR. This resets all the flow packet and byte
204 counters to 0, which can be useful for debugging.
206 .IP "\fBdiff\-flows \fIsource1 source2\fR"
207 Reads flow entries from \fIsource1\fR and \fIsource2\fR and prints the
208 differences. A flow that is in \fIsource1\fR but not in \fIsource2\fR
209 is printed preceded by a \fB\-\fR, and a flow that is in \fIsource2\fR
210 but not in \fIsource1\fR is printed preceded by a \fB+\fR. If a flow
211 exists in both \fIsource1\fR and \fIsource2\fR with different actions,
212 cookie, or timeouts, then both versions are printed preceded by
213 \fB\-\fR and \fB+\fR, respectively.
215 \fIsource1\fR and \fIsource2\fR may each name a file or a switch. If
216 a name begins with \fB/\fR or \fB.\fR, then it is considered to be a
217 file name. A name that contains \fB:\fR is considered to be a switch.
218 Otherwise, it is a file if a file by that name exists, a switch if
221 For this command, an exit status of 0 means that no differences were
222 found, 1 means that an error occurred, and 2 means that some
223 differences were found.
225 .IP "\fBpacket\-out \fIswitch in_port actions packet\fR..."
226 Connects to \fIswitch\fR and instructs it to execute the OpenFlow
227 \fIactions\fR on each \fIpacket\fR. For the purpose of executing the
228 actions, the packets are considered to have arrived on \fIin_port\fR,
229 which may be an OpenFlow assigned port number, an OpenFlow port name
230 (e.g. \fBeth0\fR), the keyword \fBlocal\fR for the OpenFlow ``local''
231 port \fBOFPP_LOCAL\fR, or the keyword \fBnone\fR to indicate that the
232 packet was generated by the switch itself.
234 .SS "OpenFlow Switch Monitoring Commands"
236 .IP "\fBsnoop \fIswitch\fR"
237 Connects to \fIswitch\fR and prints to the console all OpenFlow
238 messages received. Unlike other \fBovs\-ofctl\fR commands, if
239 \fIswitch\fR is the name of a bridge, then the \fBsnoop\fR command
240 connects to a Unix domain socket named
241 \fB@RUNDIR@/\fIbridge\fB.snoop\fR. \fBovs\-vswitchd\fR listens on
242 such a socket for each bridge and sends to it all of the OpenFlow
243 messages sent to or received from its configured OpenFlow controller.
244 Thus, this command can be used to view OpenFlow protocol activity
245 between a switch and its controller.
247 When a switch has more than one controller configured, only the
248 traffic to and from a single controller is output. If none of the
249 controllers is configured as a master or a slave (using a Nicira
250 extension to OpenFlow), then a controller is chosen arbitrarily among
251 them. If there is a master controller, it is chosen; otherwise, if
252 there are any controllers that are not masters or slaves, one is
253 chosen arbitrarily; otherwise, a slave controller is chosen
254 arbitrarily. This choice is made once at connection time and does not
255 change as controllers reconfigure their roles.
257 If a switch has no controller configured, or if
258 the configured controller is disconnected, no traffic is sent, so
259 monitoring will not show any traffic.
261 .IP "\fBmonitor \fIswitch\fR [\fImiss-len\fR] [\fIinvalid_ttl\fR]"
262 Connects to \fIswitch\fR and prints to the console all OpenFlow
263 messages received. Usually, \fIswitch\fR should specify the name of a
264 bridge in the \fBovs\-vswitchd\fR database.
266 If \fImiss-len\fR is provided, \fBovs\-ofctl\fR sends an OpenFlow ``set
267 configuration'' message at connection setup time that requests
268 \fImiss-len\fR bytes of each packet that misses the flow table. Open vSwitch
269 does not send these and other asynchronous messages to an
270 \fBovs\-ofctl monitor\fR client connection unless a nonzero value is
271 specified on this argument. (Thus, if \fImiss\-len\fR is not
272 specified, very little traffic will ordinarily be printed.)
275 If \fBinvalid_ttl\fR is passed, \fBovs\-ofctl\fR sends an OpenFlow ``set
276 configuration'' message at connection setup time that requests
277 \fIINVALID_TTL_TO_CONTROLLER\fR, so that \fBovs\-ofctl monitor\fR can
278 receive ``packets-in'' messages when TTL reaches zero on \fBdec_ttl\fR action.
281 This command may be useful for debugging switch or controller
284 .SS "OpenFlow Switch and Controller Commands"
286 The following commands, like those in the previous section, may be
287 applied to OpenFlow switches, using any of the connection methods
288 described in that section. Unlike those commands, these may also be
289 applied to OpenFlow controllers.
292 \fBprobe \fItarget\fR
293 Sends a single OpenFlow echo-request message to \fItarget\fR and waits
294 for the response. With the \fB\-t\fR or \fB\-\-timeout\fR option, this
295 command can test whether an OpenFlow switch or controller is up and
299 \fBping \fItarget \fR[\fIn\fR]
300 Sends a series of 10 echo request packets to \fItarget\fR and times
301 each reply. The echo request packets consist of an OpenFlow header
302 plus \fIn\fR bytes (default: 64) of randomly generated payload. This
303 measures the latency of individual requests.
306 \fBbenchmark \fItarget n count\fR
307 Sends \fIcount\fR echo request packets that each consist of an
308 OpenFlow header plus \fIn\fR bytes of payload and waits for each
309 response. Reports the total time required. This is a measure of the
310 maximum bandwidth to \fItarget\fR for round-trips of \fIn\fR-byte
315 Some \fBovs\-ofctl\fR commands accept an argument that describes a flow or
316 flows. Such flow descriptions comprise a series
317 \fIfield\fB=\fIvalue\fR assignments, separated by commas or white
318 space. (Embedding spaces into a flow description normally requires
319 quoting to prevent the shell from breaking the description into
322 Flow descriptions should be in \fBnormal form\fR. This means that a
323 flow may only specify a value for an L3 field if it also specifies a
324 particular L2 protocol, and that a flow may only specify an L4 field
325 if it also specifies particular L2 and L3 protocol types. For
326 example, if the L2 protocol type \fBdl_type\fR is wildcarded, then L3
327 fields \fBnw_src\fR, \fBnw_dst\fR, and \fBnw_proto\fR must also be
328 wildcarded. Similarly, if \fBdl_type\fR or \fBnw_proto\fR (the L3
329 protocol type) is wildcarded, so must be \fBtp_dst\fR and
330 \fBtp_src\fR, which are L4 fields. \fBovs\-ofctl\fR will warn about
331 flows not in normal form.
333 The following field assignments describe how a flow matches a packet.
334 If any of these assignments is omitted from the flow syntax, the field
335 is treated as a wildcard; thus, if all of them are omitted, the
336 resulting flow matches all packets. The string \fB*\fR or \fBANY\fR
337 may be specified to explicitly mark any of these fields as a wildcard.
338 (\fB*\fR should be quoted to protect it from shell expansion.)
340 .IP \fBin_port=\fIport_no\fR
341 Matches OpenFlow port \fIport_no\fR. Ports are numbered as
342 displayed by \fBovs\-ofctl show\fR.
344 (The \fBresubmit\fR action can search OpenFlow flow tables with
345 arbitrary \fBin_port\fR values, so flows that match port numbers that
346 do not exist from an OpenFlow perspective can still potentially be
349 .IP \fBdl_vlan=\fIvlan\fR
350 Matches IEEE 802.1q Virtual LAN tag \fIvlan\fR. Specify \fB0xffff\fR
351 as \fIvlan\fR to match packets that are not tagged with a Virtual LAN;
352 otherwise, specify a number between 0 and 4095, inclusive, as the
353 12-bit VLAN ID to match.
355 .IP \fBdl_vlan_pcp=\fIpriority\fR
356 Matches IEEE 802.1q Priority Code Point (PCP) \fIpriority\fR, which is
357 specified as a value between 0 and 7, inclusive. A higher value
358 indicates a higher frame priority level.
360 .IP \fBdl_src=\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fR
361 .IQ \fBdl_dst=\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fR
362 Matches an Ethernet source (or destination) address specified as 6
363 pairs of hexadecimal digits delimited by colons
364 (e.g. \fB00:0A:E4:25:6B:B0\fR).
366 .IP \fBdl_dst=\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB/\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fR
367 Matches an Ethernet destination address specified as 6 pairs of
368 hexadecimal digits delimited by colons (e.g. \fB00:0A:E4:25:6B:B0\fR),
369 with a wildcard mask following the slash. Only
370 the following masks are allowed:
372 .IP \fB01:00:00:00:00:00\fR
373 Match only the multicast bit. Thus,
374 \fBdl_dst=01:00:00:00:00:00/01:00:00:00:00:00\fR matches all multicast
375 (including broadcast) Ethernet packets, and
376 \fBdl_dst=00:00:00:00:00:00/01:00:00:00:00:00\fR matches all unicast
378 .IP \fBfe:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff\fR
379 Match all bits except the multicast bit. This is probably not useful.
380 .IP \fBff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff\fR
381 Exact match (equivalent to omitting the mask).
382 .IP \fB00:00:00:00:00:00\fR
383 Wildcard all bits (equivalent to \fBdl_dst=*\fR.)
386 .IP \fBdl_type=\fIethertype\fR
387 Matches Ethernet protocol type \fIethertype\fR, which is specified as an
388 integer between 0 and 65535, inclusive, either in decimal or as a
389 hexadecimal number prefixed by \fB0x\fR (e.g. \fB0x0806\fR to match ARP
392 .IP \fBnw_src=\fIip\fR[\fB/\fInetmask\fR]
393 .IQ \fBnw_dst=\fIip\fR[\fB/\fInetmask\fR]
394 When \fBdl_type\fR is 0x0800 (possibly via shorthand, e.g. \fBip\fR
395 or \fBtcp\fR), matches IPv4 source (or destination) address \fIip\fR,
396 which may be specified as an IP address or host name
397 (e.g. \fB192.168.1.1\fR or \fBwww.example.com\fR). The optional
398 \fInetmask\fR allows restricting a match to an IPv4 address prefix.
399 The netmask may be specified as a dotted quad
400 (e.g. \fB192.168.1.0/255.255.255.0\fR) or as a CIDR block
401 (e.g. \fB192.168.1.0/24\fR).
403 When \fBdl_type=0x0806\fR or \fBarp\fR is specified, matches the
404 \fBar_spa\fR or \fBar_tpa\fR field, respectively, in ARP packets for
407 When \fBdl_type\fR is wildcarded or set to a value other than 0x0800
408 or 0x0806, the values of \fBnw_src\fR and \fBnw_dst\fR are ignored
409 (see \fBFlow Syntax\fR above).
411 .IP \fBnw_proto=\fIproto\fR
412 When \fBip\fR or \fBdl_type=0x0800\fR is specified, matches IP
413 protocol type \fIproto\fR, which is specified as a decimal number
414 between 0 and 255, inclusive (e.g. 1 to match ICMP packets or 6 to match
417 When \fBipv6\fR or \fBdl_type=0x86dd\fR is specified, matches IPv6
418 header type \fIproto\fR, which is specified as a decimal number between
419 0 and 255, inclusive (e.g. 58 to match ICMPv6 packets or 6 to match
420 TCP). The header type is the terminal header as described in the
421 \fBDESIGN\fR document.
423 When \fBarp\fR or \fBdl_type=0x0806\fR is specified, matches the lower
424 8 bits of the ARP opcode. ARP opcodes greater than 255 are treated as
427 When \fBdl_type\fR is wildcarded or set to a value other than 0x0800,
428 0x0806, or 0x86dd, the value of \fBnw_proto\fR is ignored (see \fBFlow
431 .IP \fBnw_tos=\fItos\fR
432 Matches IP ToS/DSCP or IPv6 traffic class field \fItos\fR, which is
433 specified as a decimal number between 0 and 255, inclusive. Note that
434 the two lower reserved bits are ignored for matching purposes.
436 When \fBdl_type\fR is wildcarded or set to a value other than 0x0800 or
437 0x86dd, the value of \fBnw_tos\fR is ignored (see \fBFlow Syntax\fR
440 .IP \fBnw_ecn=\fIecn\fR
441 Matches \fIecn\fR bits in IP ToS or IPv6 traffic class fields, which is
442 specified as a decimal number between 0 and 3, inclusive.
444 When \fBdl_type\fR is wildcarded or set to a value other than 0x0800 or
445 0x86dd, the value of \fBnw_ecn\fR is ignored (see \fBFlow Syntax\fR
448 .IP \fBnw_ttl=\fIttl\fR
449 Matches IP TTL or IPv6 hop limit value \fIttl\fR, which is
450 specified as a decimal number between 0 and 255, inclusive.
452 When \fBdl_type\fR is wildcarded or set to a value other than 0x0800 or
453 0x86dd, the value of \fBnw_ttl\fR is ignored (see \fBFlow Syntax\fR
457 .IP \fBtp_src=\fIport\fR
458 .IQ \fBtp_dst=\fIport\fR
459 When \fBdl_type\fR and \fBnw_proto\fR specify TCP or UDP, \fBtp_src\fR
460 and \fBtp_dst\fR match the UDP or TCP source or destination port
461 \fIport\fR, respectively, which is specified as a decimal number
462 between 0 and 65535, inclusive (e.g. 80 to match packets originating
465 When \fBdl_type\fR and \fBnw_proto\fR take other values, the values of
466 these settings are ignored (see \fBFlow Syntax\fR above).
468 .IP \fBtp_src=\fIport\fB/\fImask\fR
469 .IQ \fBtp_dst=\fIport\fB/\fImask\fR
470 Bitwise match on TCP (or UDP) source or destination port,
471 respectively. The \fIport\fR and \fImask\fR are 16-bit numbers
472 written in decimal or in hexadecimal prefixed by \fB0x\fR. Each 1-bit
473 in \fImask\fR requires that the corresponding bit in \fIport\fR must
474 match. Each 0-bit in \fImask\fR causes the corresponding bit to be
477 Bitwise matches on transport ports are rarely useful in isolation, but
478 a group of them can be used to reduce the number of flows required to
479 match on a range of transport ports. For example, suppose that the
480 goal is to match TCP source ports 1000 to 1999, inclusive. One way is
481 to insert 1000 flows, each of which matches on a single source port.
482 Another way is to look at the binary representations of 1000 and 1999,
489 and then to transform those into a series of bitwise matches that
490 accomplish the same results:
506 which become the following when written in the syntax required by
509 .B "tcp,tp_src=0x03e8/0xfff8"
511 .B "tcp,tp_src=0x03f0/0xfff0"
513 .B "tcp,tp_src=0x0400/0xfe00"
515 .B "tcp,tp_src=0x0600/0xff00"
517 .B "tcp,tp_src=0x0700/0xff80"
519 .B "tcp,tp_src=0x0780/0xffc0"
521 .B "tcp,tp_src=0x07c0/0xfff0"
523 Only Open vSwitch 1.6 and later supports bitwise matching on transport
526 Like the exact-match forms of \fBtp_src\fR and \fBtp_dst\fR described
527 above, the bitwise match forms apply only when \fBdl_type\fR and
528 \fBnw_proto\fR specify TCP or UDP.
530 .IP \fBicmp_type=\fItype\fR
531 .IQ \fBicmp_code=\fIcode\fR
532 When \fBdl_type\fR and \fBnw_proto\fR specify ICMP or ICMPv6, \fItype\fR
533 matches the ICMP type and \fIcode\fR matches the ICMP code. Each is
534 specified as a decimal number between 0 and 255, inclusive.
536 When \fBdl_type\fR and \fBnw_proto\fR take other values, the values of
537 these settings are ignored (see \fBFlow Syntax\fR above).
539 .IP \fBtable=\fInumber\fR
540 If specified, limits the flow manipulation and flow dump commands to
541 only apply to the table with the given \fInumber\fR between 0 and 254.
543 Behavior varies if \fBtable\fR is not specified (equivalent to
544 specifying 255 as \fInumber\fR). For flow table
545 modification commands without \fB\-\-strict\fR, the switch will choose
546 the table for these commands to operate on. For flow table
547 modification commands with \fB\-\-strict\fR, the command will operate
548 on any single matching flow in any table; it will do nothing if there
549 are matches in more than one table. The \fBdump-flows\fR and
550 \fBdump-aggregate\fR commands will gather statistics about flows from
553 When this field is specified in \fBadd-flow\fR, \fBadd-flows\fR,
554 \fBmod-flows\fR and \fBdel-flows\fR commands, it activates a Nicira
555 extension to OpenFlow, which as of this writing is only known to be
556 implemented by Open vSwitch.
559 The following shorthand notations are also available:
562 Same as \fBdl_type=0x0800\fR.
565 Same as \fBdl_type=0x0800,nw_proto=1\fR.
568 Same as \fBdl_type=0x0800,nw_proto=6\fR.
571 Same as \fBdl_type=0x0800,nw_proto=17\fR.
574 Same as \fBdl_type=0x0806\fR.
577 The following field assignments require support for the NXM (Nicira
578 Extended Match) extension to OpenFlow. When one of these is specified,
579 \fBovs\-ofctl\fR will automatically attempt to negotiate use of this
580 extension. If the switch does not support NXM, then \fBovs\-ofctl\fR
581 will report a fatal error.
583 .IP \fBvlan_tci=\fItci\fR[\fB/\fImask\fR]
584 Matches modified VLAN TCI \fItci\fR. If \fImask\fR is omitted,
585 \fItci\fR is the exact VLAN TCI to match; if \fImask\fR is specified,
586 then a 1-bit in \fImask\fR indicates that the corresponding bit in
587 \fItci\fR must match exactly, and a 0-bit wildcards that bit. Both
588 \fItci\fR and \fImask\fR are 16-bit values that are decimal by
589 default; use a \fB0x\fR prefix to specify them in hexadecimal.
592 The value that \fBvlan_tci\fR matches against is 0 for a packet that
593 has no 802.1Q header. Otherwise, it is the TCI value from the 802.1Q
594 header with the CFI bit (with value \fB0x1000\fR) forced to 1.
599 Match only packets without an 802.1Q header.
600 .IP \fBvlan_tci=0xf123\fR
601 Match packets tagged with priority 7 in VLAN 0x123.
602 .IP \fBvlan_tci=0x1123/0x1fff\fR
603 Match packets tagged with VLAN 0x123 (and any priority).
604 .IP \fBvlan_tci=0x5000/0xf000\fR
605 Match packets tagged with priority 2 (in any VLAN).
606 .IP \fBvlan_tci=0/0xfff\fR
607 Match packets with no 802.1Q header or tagged with VLAN 0 (and any
609 .IP \fBvlan_tci=0x5000/0xe000\fR
610 Match packets with no 802.1Q header or tagged with priority 2 (in any
612 .IP \fBvlan_tci=0/0xefff\fR
613 Match packets with no 802.1Q header or tagged with VLAN 0 and priority
617 Some of these matching possibilities can also be achieved with
618 \fBdl_vlan\fR and \fBdl_vlan_pcp\fR.
620 .IP \fBip_frag=\fIfrag_type\fR
621 When \fBdl_type\fR specifies IP or IPv6, \fIfrag_type\fR
622 specifies what kind of IP fragments or non-fragments to match. The
623 following values of \fIfrag_type\fR are supported:
626 Matches only non-fragmented packets.
628 Matches all fragments.
630 Matches only fragments with offset 0.
632 Matches only fragments with nonzero offset.
633 .IP "\fBnot_later\fR"
634 Matches non-fragmented packets and fragments with zero offset.
637 The \fBip_frag\fR match type is likely to be most useful in
638 \fBnx\-match\fR mode. See the description of the \fBset\-frags\fR
639 command, above, for more details.
641 .IP \fBarp_sha=\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fR
642 .IQ \fBarp_tha=\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fR
643 When \fBdl_type\fR specifies ARP, \fBarp_sha\fR and \fBarp_tha\fR match
644 the source and target hardware address, respectively. An address is
645 specified as 6 pairs of hexadecimal digits delimited by colons.
647 .IP \fBipv6_src=\fIipv6\fR[\fB/\fInetmask\fR]
648 .IQ \fBipv6_dst=\fIipv6\fR[\fB/\fInetmask\fR]
649 When \fBdl_type\fR is 0x86dd (possibly via shorthand, e.g., \fBipv6\fR
650 or \fBtcp6\fR), matches IPv6 source (or destination) address \fIipv6\fR,
651 which may be specified as defined in RFC 2373. The preferred format is
652 \fIx\fB:\fIx\fB:\fIx\fB:\fIx\fB:\fIx\fB:\fIx\fB:\fIx\fB:\fIx\fR, where
653 \fIx\fR are the hexadecimal values of the eight 16-bit pieces of the
654 address. A single instance of \fB::\fR may be used to indicate multiple
655 groups of 16-bits of zeros. The optional \fInetmask\fR allows
656 restricting a match to an IPv6 address prefix. A netmask is specified
657 as a CIDR block (e.g. \fB2001:db8:3c4d:1::/64\fR).
659 .IP \fBipv6_label=\fIlabel\fR
660 When \fBdl_type\fR is 0x86dd (possibly via shorthand, e.g., \fBipv6\fR
661 or \fBtcp6\fR), matches IPv6 flow label \fIlabel\fR.
663 .IP \fBnd_target=\fIipv6\fR[\fB/\fInetmask\fR]
664 When \fBdl_type\fR, \fBnw_proto\fR, and \fBicmp_type\fR specify
665 IPv6 Neighbor Discovery (ICMPv6 type 135 or 136), matches the target address
666 \fIipv6\fR. \fIipv6\fR is in the same format described earlier for the
667 \fBipv6_src\fR and \fBipv6_dst\fR fields.
669 .IP \fBnd_sll=\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fR
670 When \fBdl_type\fR, \fBnw_proto\fR, and \fBicmp_type\fR specify IPv6
671 Neighbor Solicitation (ICMPv6 type 135), matches the source link\-layer
672 address option. An address is specified as 6 pairs of hexadecimal
673 digits delimited by colons.
675 .IP \fBnd_tll=\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fB:\fIxx\fR
676 When \fBdl_type\fR, \fBnw_proto\fR, and \fBicmp_type\fR specify IPv6
677 Neighbor Advertisement (ICMPv6 type 136), matches the target link\-layer
678 address option. An address is specified as 6 pairs of hexadecimal
679 digits delimited by colons.
681 .IP \fBtun_id=\fItunnel-id\fR[\fB/\fImask\fR]
682 Matches tunnel identifier \fItunnel-id\fR. Only packets that arrive
683 over a tunnel that carries a key (e.g. GRE with the RFC 2890 key
684 extension and a nonzero key value) will have a nonzero tunnel ID.
685 If \fImask\fR is omitted, \fItunnel-id\fR is the exact tunnel ID to match;
686 if \fImask\fR is specified, then a 1-bit in \fImask\fR indicates that the
687 corresponding bit in \fItunnel-id\fR must match exactly, and a 0-bit
690 .IP "\fBreg\fIidx\fB=\fIvalue\fR[\fB/\fImask\fR]"
691 Matches \fIvalue\fR either exactly or with optional \fImask\fR in
692 register number \fIidx\fR. The valid range of \fIidx\fR depends on
693 the switch. \fIvalue\fR and \fImask\fR are 32-bit integers, by
694 default in decimal (use a \fB0x\fR prefix to specify hexadecimal).
695 Arbitrary \fImask\fR values are allowed: a 1-bit in \fImask\fR
696 indicates that the corresponding bit in \fIvalue\fR must match
697 exactly, and a 0-bit wildcards that bit.
699 When a packet enters an OpenFlow switch, all of the registers are set
700 to 0. Only explicit Nicira extension actions change register values.
703 Defining IPv6 flows (those with \fBdl_type\fR equal to 0x86dd) requires
704 support for NXM. The following shorthand notations are available for
708 Same as \fBdl_type=0x86dd\fR.
711 Same as \fBdl_type=0x86dd,nw_proto=6\fR.
714 Same as \fBdl_type=0x86dd,nw_proto=17\fR.
717 Same as \fBdl_type=0x86dd,nw_proto=58\fR.
720 Finally, field assignments to \fBduration\fR, \fBn_packets\fR, or
721 \fBn_bytes\fR are ignored to allow output from the \fBdump\-flows\fR
722 command to be used as input for other commands that parse flows.
725 The \fBadd\-flow\fR, \fBadd\-flows\fR, and \fBmod\-flows\fR commands
726 require an additional field, which must be the final field specified:
728 .IP \fBactions=\fR[\fItarget\fR][\fB,\fItarget\fR...]\fR
729 Specifies a comma-separated list of actions to take on a packet when the
730 flow entry matches. If no \fItarget\fR is specified, then packets
731 matching the flow are dropped. The \fItarget\fR may be a decimal port
732 number designating the physical port on which to output the packet, or one
733 of the following keywords:
736 .IP \fBoutput\fR:\fIport\fR
737 .IQ \fBoutput\fR:\fIsrc\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB]
738 Outputs the packet. If \fIport\fR is an OpenFlow port number, outputs directly
739 to it. Otherwise, outputs to the OpenFlow port number read from \fIsrc\fR
740 which must be an NXM field as described above. Outputting to an NXM field is
741 an OpenFlow extension which is not supported by standard OpenFlow switches.
743 Example: \fBoutput:NXM_NX_REG0[16..31]\fR outputs to the OpenFlow port number
744 written in the upper half of register 0.
746 .IP \fBenqueue\fR:\fIport\fB:\fIqueue\fR
747 Enqueues the packet on the specified \fIqueue\fR within port
748 \fIport\fR. The number of supported queues depends on the switch;
749 some OpenFlow implementations do not support queuing at all.
752 Subjects the packet to the device's normal L2/L3 processing. (This
753 action is not implemented by all OpenFlow switches.)
756 Outputs the packet on all switch physical ports other than the port on
757 which it was received and any ports on which flooding is disabled
758 (typically, these would be ports disabled by the IEEE 802.1D spanning
762 Outputs the packet on all switch physical ports other than the port on
763 which it was received.
765 .IP \fBcontroller(\fIkey\fB=\fIvalue\fR...\fB)
766 Sends the packet to the OpenFlow controller as a ``packet in''
767 message. The supported key-value pairs are:
769 .IP "\fBmax_len=\fInbytes\fR"
770 Limit to \fInbytes\fR the number of bytes of the packet to send to
771 the controller. By default the entire packet is sent.
772 .IP "\fBreason=\fIreason\fR"
773 Specify \fIreason\fR as the reason for sending the message in the
774 ``packet in'' message. The supported reasons are \fBaction\fR (the
775 default), \fBno_match\fR, and \fBinvalid_ttl\fR.
776 .IP "\fBid=\fIcontroller-id\fR"
777 Specify \fIcontroller-id\fR, a 16-bit integer, as the connection ID of
778 the OpenFlow controller or controllers to which the ``packet in''
779 message should be sent. The default is zero. Zero is also the
780 default connection ID for each controller connection, and a given
781 controller connection will only have a nonzero connection ID if its
782 controller uses the \fBNXT_SET_CONTROLLER_ID\fR Nicira extension to
785 Any \fIreason\fR other than \fBaction\fR and any nonzero
786 \fIcontroller-id\fR uses a Nicira vendor extension that, as of this
787 writing, is only known to be implemented by Open vSwitch (version 1.6
791 .IQ \fBcontroller\fR[\fB:\fInbytes\fR]
792 Shorthand for \fBcontroller()\fR or
793 \fBcontroller(max_len=\fInbytes\fB)\fR, respectively.
796 Outputs the packet on the ``local port,'' which corresponds to the
797 network device that has the same name as the bridge.
800 Outputs the packet on the port from which it was received.
803 Discards the packet, so no further processing or forwarding takes place.
804 If a drop action is used, no other actions may be specified.
806 .IP \fBmod_vlan_vid\fR:\fIvlan_vid\fR
807 Modifies the VLAN id on a packet. The VLAN tag is added or modified
808 as necessary to match the value specified. If the VLAN tag is added,
809 a priority of zero is used (see the \fBmod_vlan_pcp\fR action to set
812 .IP \fBmod_vlan_pcp\fR:\fIvlan_pcp\fR
813 Modifies the VLAN priority on a packet. The VLAN tag is added or modified
814 as necessary to match the value specified. Valid values are between 0
815 (lowest) and 7 (highest). If the VLAN tag is added, a vid of zero is used
816 (see the \fBmod_vlan_vid\fR action to set this).
819 Strips the VLAN tag from a packet if it is present.
821 .IP \fBmod_dl_src\fB:\fImac\fR
822 Sets the source Ethernet address to \fImac\fR.
824 .IP \fBmod_dl_dst\fB:\fImac\fR
825 Sets the destination Ethernet address to \fImac\fR.
827 .IP \fBmod_nw_src\fB:\fIip\fR
828 Sets the IPv4 source address to \fIip\fR.
830 .IP \fBmod_nw_dst\fB:\fIip\fR
831 Sets the IPv4 destination address to \fIip\fR.
833 .IP \fBmod_tp_src\fB:\fIport\fR
834 Sets the TCP or UDP source port to \fIport\fR.
836 .IP \fBmod_tp_dst\fB:\fIport\fR
837 Sets the TCP or UDP destination port to \fIport\fR.
839 .IP \fBmod_nw_tos\fB:\fItos\fR
840 Sets the IPv4 ToS/DSCP field to \fItos\fR. Valid values are between 0 and
841 255, inclusive. Note that the two lower reserved bits are never
846 The following actions are Nicira vendor extensions that, as of this writing, are
847 only known to be implemented by Open vSwitch:
851 .IP \fBresubmit\fB:\fIport\fR
852 .IQ \fBresubmit\fB(\fR[\fIport\fR]\fB,\fR[\fItable\fR]\fB)
853 Re-searches this OpenFlow flow table (or the table whose number is
854 specified by \fItable\fR) with the \fBin_port\fR field replaced by
855 \fIport\fR (if \fIport\fR is specified) and executes the actions
856 found, if any, in addition to any other actions in this flow entry.
858 Recursive \fBresubmit\fR actions are obeyed up to an
859 implementation-defined maximum depth. Open vSwitch 1.0.1 and earlier
860 did not support recursion; Open vSwitch before 1.2.90 did not support
863 .IP \fBset_tunnel\fB:\fIid\fR
864 .IQ \fBset_tunnel64\fB:\fIid\fR
865 If outputting to a port that encapsulates the packet in a tunnel and
866 supports an identifier (such as GRE), sets the identifier to \fIid\fR.
867 If the \fBset_tunnel\fR form is used and \fIid\fR fits in 32 bits,
868 then this uses an action extension that is supported by Open vSwitch
869 1.0 and later. Otherwise, if \fIid\fR is a 64-bit value, it requires
870 Open vSwitch 1.1 or later.
872 .IP \fBset_queue\fB:\fIqueue\fR
873 Sets the queue that should be used to \fIqueue\fR when packets are
874 output. The number of supported queues depends on the switch; some
875 OpenFlow implementations do not support queuing at all.
878 Restores the queue to the value it was before any \fBset_queue\fR
879 actions were applied.
882 Decrement TTL of IPv4 packet or hop limit of IPv6 packet. If the
883 TTL or hop limit is initially zero, no decrement occurs. Instead,
884 a ``packet-in'' message with reason code \fBOFPR_INVALID_TTL\fR is
885 sent to each connected controller that has enabled receiving them,
886 if any. Processing the current set of actions then stops.
887 However, if the current set of actions was reached through
888 ``resubmit'' then remaining actions in outer levels resume
891 .IP \fBnote:\fR[\fIhh\fR]...
892 Does nothing at all. Any number of bytes represented as hex digits
893 \fIhh\fR may be included. Pairs of hex digits may be separated by
894 periods for readability.
895 The \fBnote\fR action's format doesn't include an exact length for its
896 payload, so the provided bytes will be padded on the right by enough
897 bytes with value 0 to make the total number 6 more than a multiple of
900 .IP "\fBmove:\fIsrc\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB]\->\fIdst\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB]\fR"
901 Copies the named bits from field \fIsrc\fR to field \fIdst\fR.
902 \fIsrc\fR and \fIdst\fR must be NXM field names as defined in
903 \fBnicira\-ext.h\fR, e.g. \fBNXM_OF_UDP_SRC\fR or \fBNXM_NX_REG0\fR.
904 Each \fIstart\fR and \fIend\fR pair, which are inclusive, must specify
905 the same number of bits and must fit within its respective field.
906 Shorthands for \fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB]\fR exist: use
907 \fB[\fIbit\fB]\fR to specify a single bit or \fB[]\fR to specify an
910 Examples: \fBmove:NXM_NX_REG0[0..5]\->NXM_NX_REG1[26..31]\fR copies the
911 six bits numbered 0 through 5, inclusive, in register 0 into bits 26
912 through 31, inclusive;
913 \fBmove:NXM_NX_REG0[0..15]\->NXM_OF_VLAN_TCI[]\fR copies the least
914 significant 16 bits of register 0 into the VLAN TCI field.
916 .IP "\fBload:\fIvalue\fB\->\fIdst\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB]"
917 Writes \fIvalue\fR to bits \fIstart\fR through \fIend\fR, inclusive,
920 Example: \fBload:55\->NXM_NX_REG2[0..5]\fR loads value 55 (bit pattern
921 \fB110111\fR) into bits 0 through 5, inclusive, in register 2.
923 .IP "\fBmultipath(\fIfields\fB, \fIbasis\fB, \fIalgorithm\fB, \fIn_links\fB, \fIarg\fB, \fIdst\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB])\fR"
924 Hashes \fIfields\fR using \fIbasis\fR as a universal hash parameter,
925 then the applies multipath link selection \fIalgorithm\fR (with
926 parameter \fIarg\fR) to choose one of \fIn_links\fR output links
927 numbered 0 through \fIn_links\fR minus 1, and stores the link into
928 \fIdst\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB]\fR, which must be an NXM field as
931 Currently, \fIfields\fR must be either \fBeth_src\fR or
932 \fBsymmetric_l4\fR and \fIalgorithm\fR must be one of \fBmodulo_n\fR,
933 \fBhash_threshold\fR, \fBhrw\fR, and \fBiter_hash\fR. Only
934 the \fBiter_hash\fR algorithm uses \fIarg\fR.
936 Refer to \fBnicira\-ext.h\fR for more details.
938 .IP "\fBautopath(\fIid\fB, \fIdst\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB])\fR"
939 Given \fIid\fR, chooses an OpenFlow port and populates it in
940 \fIdst\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB]\fR, which must be an NXM field as
943 Currently, \fIid\fR should be the OpenFlow port number of an interface on the
944 bridge. If it isn't then \fIdst\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB]\fR will be
945 populated with the OpenFlow port "none". If \fIid\fR is a member of a bond,
946 the normal bond selection logic will be used to choose the destination port.
947 Otherwise, the register will be populated with \fIid\fR itself.
949 Refer to \fBnicira\-ext.h\fR for more details.
951 .IP "\fBbundle(\fIfields\fB, \fIbasis\fB, \fIalgorithm\fB, \fIslave_type\fB, slaves:[\fIs1\fB, \fIs2\fB, ...])\fR"
952 Hashes \fIfields\fR using \fIbasis\fR as a universal hash parameter, then
953 applies the bundle link selection \fIalgorithm\fR to choose one of the listed
954 slaves represented as \fIslave_type\fR. Currently the only supported
955 \fIslave_type\fR is \fBofport\fR. Thus, each \fIs1\fR through \fIsN\fR should
956 be an OpenFlow port number. Outputs to the selected slave.
958 Currently, \fIfields\fR must be either \fBeth_src\fR or \fBsymmetric_l4\fR and
959 \fIalgorithm\fR must be one of \fBhrw\fR and \fBactive_backup\fR.
961 Example: \fBbundle(eth_src,0,hrw,ofport,slaves:4,8)\fR uses an Ethernet source
962 hash with basis 0, to select between OpenFlow ports 4 and 8 using the Highest
963 Random Weight algorithm.
965 Refer to \fBnicira\-ext.h\fR for more details.
967 .IP "\fBbundle_load(\fIfields\fB, \fIbasis\fB, \fIalgorithm\fB, \fIslave_type\fB, \fIdst\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB], slaves:[\fIs1\fB, \fIs2\fB, ...])\fR"
968 Has the same behavior as the \fBbundle\fR action, with one exception. Instead
969 of outputting to the selected slave, it writes its selection to
970 \fIdst\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB]\fR, which must be an NXM field as described
973 Example: \fBbundle_load(eth_src, 0, hrw, ofport, NXM_NX_REG0[],
974 slaves:4, 8)\fR uses an Ethernet source hash with basis 0, to select
975 between OpenFlow ports 4 and 8 using the Highest Random Weight
976 algorithm, and writes the selection to \fBNXM_NX_REG0[]\fR.
978 Refer to \fBnicira\-ext.h\fR for more details.
980 .IP "\fBlearn(\fIargument\fR[\fB,\fIargument\fR]...\fB)\fR"
981 This action adds or modifies a flow in an OpenFlow table, similar to
982 \fBovs\-ofctl \-\-strict mod\-flows\fR. The arguments specify the
983 flow's match fields, actions, and other properties, as follows. At
984 least one match criterion and one action argument should ordinarily be
987 .IP \fBidle_timeout=\fIseconds\fR
988 .IQ \fBhard_timeout=\fIseconds\fR
989 .IQ \fBpriority=\fIvalue\fR
990 These key-value pairs have the same meaning as in the usual
991 \fBovs\-ofctl\fR flow syntax.
993 .IP \fBfin_idle_timeout=\fIseconds\fR
994 .IQ \fBfin_hard_timeout=\fIseconds\fR
995 Adds a \fBfin_timeout\fR action with the specified arguments to the
996 new flow. This feature was added in Open vSwitch 1.5.90.
998 .IP \fBtable=\fInumber\fR
999 The table in which the new flow should be inserted. Specify a decimal
1000 number between 0 and 254. The default, if \fBtable\fR is unspecified,
1003 .IP \fIfield\fB=\fIvalue\fR
1004 .IQ \fIfield\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB]=\fIsrc\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB]\fR
1005 .IQ \fIfield\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB]\fR
1006 Adds a match criterion to the new flow.
1008 The first form specifies that \fIfield\fR must match the literal
1009 \fIvalue\fR, e.g. \fBdl_type=0x0800\fR. All of the fields and values
1010 for \fBovs\-ofctl\fR flow syntax are available with their usual
1013 The second form specifies that \fIfield\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB]\fR
1014 in the new flow must match \fIsrc\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB]\fR taken
1015 from the flow currently being processed.
1017 The third form is a shorthand for the second form. It specifies that
1018 \fIfield\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB]\fR in the new flow must match
1019 \fIfield\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB]\fR taken from the flow currently
1022 .IP \fBload:\fIvalue\fB\->\fIdst\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB]
1023 .IQ \fBload:\fIsrc\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB]\->\fIdst\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB]
1025 Adds a \fBload\fR action to the new flow.
1027 The first form loads the literal \fIvalue\fR into bits \fIstart\fR
1028 through \fIend\fR, inclusive, in field \fIdst\fR. Its syntax is the
1029 same as the \fBload\fR action described earlier in this section.
1031 The second form loads \fIsrc\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB]\fR, a value
1032 from the flow currently being processed, into bits \fIstart\fR
1033 through \fIend\fR, inclusive, in field \fIdst\fR.
1035 .IP \fBoutput:\fIfield\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB]\fR
1036 Add an \fBoutput\fR action to the new flow's actions, that outputs to
1037 the OpenFlow port taken from \fIfield\fB[\fIstart\fB..\fIend\fB]\fR,
1038 which must be an NXM field as described above.
1041 For best performance, segregate learned flows into a table (using
1042 \fBtable=\fInumber\fR) that is not used for any other flows except
1043 possibly for a lowest-priority ``catch-all'' flow, that is, a flow
1044 with no match criteria. (This is why the default \fBtable\fR is 1, to
1045 keep the learned flows separate from the primary flow table 0.)
1048 .IP "\fBfin_timeout(\fIargument\fR[\fB,\fIargument\fR]\fB)"
1049 This action changes the idle timeout or hard timeout, or both, of this
1050 OpenFlow rule when the rule matches a TCP packet with the FIN or RST
1051 flag. When such a packet is observed, the action reduces the rule's
1052 timeouts to those specified on the action. If the rule's existing
1053 timeout is already shorter than the one that the action specifies,
1054 then that timeout is unaffected.
1056 \fIargument\fR takes the following forms:
1058 .IP "\fBidle_timeout=\fIseconds\fR"
1059 Causes the flow to expire after the given number of seconds of
1062 .IP "\fBhard_timeout=\fIseconds\fR"
1063 Causes the flow to expire after the given number of seconds,
1064 regardless of activity. (\fIseconds\fR specifies time since the
1065 flow's creation, not since the receipt of the FIN or RST.)
1068 This action was added in Open vSwitch 1.5.90.
1070 This action causes Open vSwitch to immediately halt execution of further
1071 actions. Those actions which have already been executed are unaffected. Any
1072 further actions, including those which may be in other tables, or different
1073 levels of the \fBresubmit\fR call stack, are ignored.
1076 An opaque identifier called a cookie can be used as a handle to identify
1079 .IP \fBcookie=\fIvalue\fR[\fB/\fImask\fR]
1081 A cookie can be associated with a flow using the \fBadd-flow\fR and
1082 \fBadd-flows\fR commands. \fIvalue\fR can be any 64-bit number and need
1083 not be unique among flows. If this field is omitted, a default cookie
1086 When using NXM, the cookie can be used as a handle for querying,
1087 modifying, and deleting flows. In addition to \fIvalue\fR, an optional
1088 \fImask\fR may be supplied for the \fBdel-flows\fR, \fBmod-flows\fR,
1089 \fBdump-flows\fR, and \fBdump-aggregate\fR commands to limit matching
1090 cookies. A 1-bit in \fImask\fR indicates that the corresponding bit in
1091 \fIcookie\fR must match exactly, and a 0-bit wildcards that bit.
1094 The following additional field sets the priority for flows added by
1095 the \fBadd\-flow\fR and \fBadd\-flows\fR commands. For
1096 \fBmod\-flows\fR and \fBdel\-flows\fR when \fB\-\-strict\fR is
1097 specified, priority must match along with the rest of the flow
1098 specification. For \fBmod\-flows\fR without \fB\-\-strict\fR,
1099 priority is only significant if the command creates a new flow, that
1100 is, non-strict \fBmod\-flows\fR does not match on priority and will
1101 not change the priority of existing flows. Other commands do not
1102 allow priority to be specified.
1104 .IP \fBpriority=\fIvalue\fR
1105 The priority at which a wildcarded entry will match in comparison to
1106 others. \fIvalue\fR is a number between 0 and 65535, inclusive. A higher
1107 \fIvalue\fR will match before a lower one. An exact-match entry will always
1108 have priority over an entry containing wildcards, so it has an implicit
1109 priority value of 65535. When adding a flow, if the field is not specified,
1110 the flow's priority will default to 32768.
1112 OpenFlow leaves behavior undefined when two or more flows with the
1113 same priority can match a single packet. Some users expect
1114 ``sensible'' behavior, such as more specific flows taking precedence
1115 over less specific flows, but OpenFlow does not specify this and Open
1116 vSwitch does not implement it. Users should therefore take care to
1117 use priorities to ensure the behavior that they expect.
1120 The \fBadd\-flow\fR, \fBadd\-flows\fR, and \fBmod\-flows\fR commands
1121 support the following additional options. These options affect only
1122 new flows. Thus, for \fBadd\-flow\fR and \fBadd\-flows\fR, these
1123 options are always significant, but for \fBmod\-flows\fR they are
1124 significant only if the command creates a new flow, that is, their
1125 values do not update or affect existing flows.
1127 .IP "\fBidle_timeout=\fIseconds\fR"
1128 Causes the flow to expire after the given number of seconds of
1129 inactivity. A value of 0 (the default) prevents a flow from expiring
1132 .IP \fBhard_timeout=\fIseconds\fR
1133 Causes the flow to expire after the given number of seconds,
1134 regardless of activity. A value of 0 (the default) gives the flow no
1135 hard expiration deadline.
1137 .IP "\fBsend_flow_rem\fR"
1138 Marks the flow with a flag that causes the switch to generate a ``flow
1139 removed'' message and send it to interested controllers when the flow
1140 later expires or is removed.
1142 .IP "\fBcheck_overlap\fR"
1143 Forces the switch to check that the flow match does not overlap that
1144 of any different flow with the same priority in the same table. (This
1145 check is expensive so it is best to avoid it.)
1148 The \fBdump\-flows\fR, \fBdump\-aggregate\fR, \fBdel\-flow\fR
1149 and \fBdel\-flows\fR commands support one additional optional field:
1152 \fBout_port=\fIport\fR
1153 If set, a matching flow must include an output action to \fIport\fR.
1155 .SS "Table Entry Output"
1157 The \fBdump\-tables\fR and \fBdump\-aggregate\fR commands print information
1158 about the entries in a datapath's tables. Each line of output is a
1159 flow entry as described in \fBFlow Syntax\fR, above, plus some
1162 .IP \fBduration=\fIsecs\fR
1163 The time, in seconds, that the entry has been in the table.
1164 \fIsecs\fR includes as much precision as the switch provides, possibly
1165 to nanosecond resolution.
1168 The number of packets that have matched the entry.
1171 The total number of bytes from packets that have matched the entry.
1174 The following additional fields are included only if the switch is
1175 Open vSwitch 1.6 or later and the NXM flow format is used to dump the
1176 flow (see the description of the \fB\-\-flow-format\fR option below).
1177 The values of these additional fields are approximations only and in
1178 particular \fBidle_age\fR will sometimes become nonzero even for busy
1181 .IP \fBhard_age=\fIsecs\fR
1182 The integer number of seconds since the flow was added or modified.
1183 \fBhard_age\fR is displayed only if it differs from the integer part
1184 of \fBduration\fR. (This is separate from \fBduration\fR because
1185 \fBmod\-flows\fR restarts the \fBhard_timeout\fR timer without zeroing
1188 .IP \fBidle_age=\fIsecs\fR
1189 The integer number of seconds that have passed without any packets
1190 passing through the flow.
1195 Uses strict matching when running flow modification commands.
1197 .IP "\fB\-F \fIformat\fR[\fB,\fIformat\fR...]"
1198 .IQ "\fB\-\-flow\-format=\fIformat\fR[\fB,\fIformat\fR...]"
1199 \fBovs\-ofctl\fR supports the following individual flow formats, any
1200 number of which may be listed as \fIformat\fR:
1202 .IP "\fBOpenFlow10\-table_id\fR"
1203 This is the standard OpenFlow 1.0 flow format. All OpenFlow switches
1204 and all versions of Open vSwitch support this flow format.
1206 .IP "\fBOpenFlow10+table_id\fR"
1207 This is the standard OpenFlow 1.0 flow format plus a Nicira extension
1208 that allows \fBovs\-ofctl\fR to specify the flow table in which a
1209 particular flow should be placed. Open vSwitch 1.2 and later supports
1212 .IP "\fBNXM\-table_id\fR (Nicira Extended Match)"
1213 This Nicira extension to OpenFlow is flexible and extensible. It
1214 supports all of the Nicira flow extensions, such as \fBtun_id\fR and
1215 registers. Open vSwitch 1.1 and later supports this flow format.
1217 .IP "\fBNXM+table_id\fR (Nicira Extended Match)"
1218 This combines Nicira Extended match with the ability to place a flow
1219 in a specific table. Open vSwitch 1.2 and later supports this flow
1224 \fBovs\-ofctl\fR also supports the following abbreviations for
1225 collections of flow formats:
1228 Any supported flow format.
1229 .IP "\fBOpenFlow10\fR"
1230 \fBOpenFlow10\-table_id\fR or \fBOpenFlow10+table_id\fR.
1232 \fBNXM\-table_id\fR or \fBNXM+table_id\fR.
1236 For commands that modify the flow table, \fBovs\-ofctl\fR by default
1237 negotiates the most widely supported flow format that supports the
1238 flows being added. For commands that query the flow table,
1239 \fBovs\-ofctl\fR by default uses the most advanced format supported by
1242 This option, where \fIformat\fR is a comma-separated list of one or
1243 more of the formats listed above, limits \fBovs\-ofctl\fR's choice of
1244 flow format. If a command cannot work as requested using one of the
1245 specified flow formats, \fBovs\-ofctl\fR will report a fatal error.
1247 .IP "\fB\-P \fIformat\fR"
1248 .IQ "\fB\-\-packet\-in\-format=\fIformat\fR"
1249 \fBovs\-ofctl\fR supports the following packet_in formats, in order of
1250 increasing capability:
1252 .IP "\fBopenflow10\fR"
1253 This is the standard OpenFlow 1.0 packet in format. It should be supported by
1254 all OpenFlow switches.
1256 .IP "\fBnxm\fR (Nicira Extended Match)"
1257 This packet_in format includes flow metadata encoded using the NXM format.
1261 Usually, \fBovs\-ofctl\fR prefers the \fBnxm\fR packet_in format, but will
1262 allow the switch to choose its default if \fBnxm\fR is unsupported. When
1263 \fIformat\fR is one of the formats listed in the above table, \fBovs\-ofctl\fR
1264 will insist on the selected format. If the switch does not support the
1265 requested format, \fBovs\-ofctl\fR will report a fatal error. This option only
1266 affects the \fBmonitor\fR command.
1268 .IP "\fB\-\-timestamp\fR"
1269 Print a timestamp before each received packet. This option only
1270 affects the \fBmonitor\fR and \fBsnoop\fR commands.
1273 .IQ "\fB\-\-more\fR"
1274 Increases the verbosity of OpenFlow messages printed and logged by
1275 \fBovs\-ofctl\fR commands. Specify this option more than once to
1276 increase verbosity further.
1279 \fBovs\-ofctl\fR detaches only when executing the \fBmonitor\fR or \
1280 \fBsnoop\fR commands.
1282 .SS "Public Key Infrastructure Options"
1287 .SH "RUNTIME MANAGEMENT COMMANDS"
1288 \fBovs\-appctl\fR(8) can send commands to a running \fBovs\-ofctl\fR
1289 process. The supported commands are listed below.
1292 Causes \fBovs\-ofctl\fR to gracefully terminate. This command applies
1293 only when executing the \fBmonitor\fR or \fBsnoop\fR commands.
1295 .IP "\fBofctl/set\-output\-file \fIfile\fR"
1296 Causes all subsequent output to go to \fIfile\fR instead of stderr.
1297 This command applies only when executing the \fBmonitor\fR or
1298 \fBsnoop\fR commands.
1300 .IP "\fBofctl/send \fIofmsg\fR..."
1301 Sends each \fIofmsg\fR, specified as a sequence of hex digits that
1302 express an OpenFlow message, on the OpenFlow connection. This command
1303 is useful only when executing the \fBmonitor\fR command.
1305 .IP "\fBofctl/barrier\fR"
1306 Sends an OpenFlow barrier request on the OpenFlow connection and waits
1307 for a reply. This command is useful only for the \fBmonitor\fR
1312 The following examples assume that \fBovs\-vswitchd\fR has a bridge
1313 named \fBbr0\fR configured.
1316 \fBovs\-ofctl dump\-tables br0\fR
1317 Prints out the switch's table stats. (This is more interesting after
1318 some traffic has passed through.)
1321 \fBovs\-ofctl dump\-flows br0\fR
1322 Prints the flow entries in the switch.
1326 .BR ovs\-appctl (8),
1327 .BR ovs\-controller (8),
1328 .BR ovs\-vswitchd (8)