14 .TH ovs\-vsctl 8 "November 2009" "Open vSwitch" "Open vSwitch Manual"
18 ovs\-vsctl \- utility for querying and configuring \fBovs\-vswitchd\fR
21 \fBovs\-vsctl\fR [\fIoptions\fR] [\fB\-\-\fR] \fIcommand \fR[\fIargs\fR\&...]
22 [\fB\-\-\fR \fIcommand \fR[\fIargs\fR\&...]]
25 The \fBovs\-vsctl\fR program configures \fBovs\-vswitchd\fR(8) by
26 providing a high\-level interface to editing its configuration
27 database. This program is mainly intended for use when
28 \fBovs\-vswitchd\fR is running. If it is used when
29 \fBovs\-vswitchd\fR is not running, then \fB\-\-no\-wait\fR should be
30 specified and configuration changes will only take effect when
31 \fBovs\-vswitchd\fR is started.
33 By default, each time \fBovs\-vsctl\fR runs, it connects to an
34 \fBovsdb\-server\fR process that maintains an Open vSwitch
35 configuration database. Using this connection, it queries and
36 possibly applies changes to the database, depending on the supplied
37 commands. Then, if it applied any changes, it waits until
38 \fBovs\-vswitchd\fR has finished reconfiguring itself before it exits.
40 \fBovs\-vsctl\fR can perform any number of commands in a single run,
41 implemented as a single atomic transaction against the database.
42 Commands are separated on the command line by \fB\-\-\fR arguments.
44 .SS "Linux VLAN Bridging Compatibility"
45 The \fBovs\-vsctl\fR program supports the model of a bridge
46 implemented by Open vSwitch, in which a single bridge supports ports
47 on multiple VLANs. In this model, each port on a bridge is either a
48 trunk port that potentially passes packets tagged with 802.1Q headers
49 that designate VLANs or it is assigned a single implicit VLAN that is
50 never tagged with an 802.1Q header.
52 For compatibility with software designed for the Linux bridge,
53 \fBovs\-vsctl\fR also supports a model in which traffic associated
54 with a given 802.1Q VLAN is segregated into a separate bridge. A
55 special form of the \fBadd\-br\fR command (see below) creates a ``fake
56 bridge'' within an Open vSwitch bridge to simulate this behavior.
57 When such a ``fake bridge'' is active, \fBovs\-vsctl\fR will treat it
58 much like a bridge separate from its ``parent bridge,'' but the actual
59 implementation in Open vSwitch uses only a single bridge, with ports on
60 the fake bridge assigned the implicit VLAN of the fake bridge of which
65 The following options affect the behavior \fBovs\-vsctl\fR as a whole.
66 Some individual commands also accept their own options, which are
67 given just before the command name. If the first command on the
68 command line has options, then those options must be separated from
69 the global options by \fB\-\-\fR.
71 .IP "\fB\-\-db=\fIserver\fR"
72 Sets \fIserver\fR as the database server that \fBovs\-vsctl\fR
73 contacts to query or modify configuration. The default is
74 \fBunix:@RUNDIR@/ovsdb\-server\fR. \fIserver\fR must take one of the
77 .so ovsdb/remote-active.man
80 .IP "\fB\-\-no\-wait\fR"
81 Prevents \fBovs\-vsctl\fR from waiting for \fBovs\-vswitchd\fR to
82 reconfigure itself according to the the modified database. This
83 option should be used if \fBovs\-vswitchd\fR is not running;
84 otherwise, \fBovs-vsctl\fR will not exit until \fBovs-vswitchd\fR
87 This option has no effect if the commands specified do not change the
90 .IP "\fB\-\-no\-syslog\fR"
91 By default, \fBovs\-vsctl\fR logs its arguments and the details of any
92 changes that it makes to the system log. This option disables this
95 This option is equivalent to \fB\-\-verbose=vvsctl:syslog:warn\fR.
97 .IP "\fB\-\-oneline\fR"
98 Modifies the output format so that the output for each command is printed
99 on a single line. New-line characters that would otherwise separate
100 lines are printed as \fB\\n\fR, and any instances of \fB\\\fR that
101 would otherwise appear in the output are doubled.
102 Prints a blank line for each command that has no output.
104 .IP "\fB\-\-dry\-run\fR"
105 Prevents \fBovs\-vsctl\fR from actually modifying the database.
107 .IP "\fB-t \fIsecs\fR"
108 .IQ "\fB--timeout=\fIsecs\fR"
109 Limits runtime to approximately \fIsecs\fR seconds. A value of
110 zero will cause \fBovs\-vsctl\fR to wait forever. If the timeout expires,
111 \fBovs\-vsctl\fR will exit with a \fBSIGALRM\fR signal. If this option is
112 not used, \fBovs\-vsctl\fR uses a timeout of five seconds.
113 (A timeout would normally happen only if the database cannot be contacted.)
119 The commands implemented by \fBovs\-vsctl\fR are described in the
121 .SS "Open vSwitch Commands"
122 These commands work with an Open vSwitch as a whole.
125 Initializes the Open vSwitch database, if it is empty. If the
126 database has already been initialized, this command has no effect.
128 Any successful \fBovs\-vsctl\fR command automatically initializes the
129 Open vSwitch database if it is empty. This command is provided to
130 initialize the database without executing any other command.
132 .SS "Bridge Commands"
133 These commands examine and manipulate Open vSwitch bridges.
135 .IP "\fBadd\-br \fIbridge\fR"
136 Creates a new bridge named \fIbridge\fR. Initially the bridge will
137 have no ports (other than \fIbridge\fR itself).
139 .IP "\fBadd\-br \fIbridge parent vlan\fR"
140 Creates a ``fake bridge'' named \fIbridge\fR within the existing Open
141 vSwitch bridge \fIparent\fR, which must already exist and must not
142 itself be a fake bridge. The new fake bridge will be on 802.1Q VLAN
143 \fIvlan\fR, which must be an integer between 1 and 4095. Initially
144 \fIbridge\fR will have no ports (other than \fIbridge\fR itself).
146 .IP "[\fB\-\-if\-exists\fR] \fBdel\-br \fIbridge\fR"
147 Deletes \fIbridge\fR and all of its ports. If \fIbridge\fR is a real
148 bridge, this command also deletes any fake bridges that were created
149 with \fIbridge\fR as parent, including all of their ports.
151 Without \fB\-\-if\-exists\fR, attempting to delete a bridge that does
152 not exist is an error. With \fB\-\-if\-exists\fR, attempting to
153 delete a bridge that does not exist has no effect.
156 Lists all existing real and fake bridges on standard output, one per
159 .IP "\fBbr\-exists \fIbridge\fR"
160 Tests whether \fIbridge\fR exists as a real or fake bridge. If so,
161 \fBovs\-vsctl\fR exits successfully with exit code 0. If not,
162 \fBovs\-vsctl\fR exits unsuccessfully with exit code 2.
164 .IP "\fBbr\-to\-vlan \fIbridge\fR"
165 If \fIbridge\fR is a fake bridge, prints the bridge's 802.1Q VLAN as a
166 decimal integer. If \fIbridge\fR is a real bridge, prints 0.
168 .IP "\fBbr\-to\-parent \fIbridge\fR"
169 If \fIbridge\fR is a fake bridge, prints the name of its parent
170 bridge. If \fIbridge\fR is a real bridge, print \fIbridge\fR.
172 .IP "\fBbr\-set\-external\-id \fIbridge key\fR [\fIvalue\fR]"
173 Sets or clears an ``external ID'' value on \fIbridge\fR. These values
174 are intended to identify entities external to Open vSwitch with which
175 \fIbridge\fR is associated, e.g. the bridge's identifier in a
176 virtualization management platform. The Open vSwitch database schema
177 specifies well-known \fIkey\fR values, but \fIkey\fR and \fIvalue\fR
178 are otherwise arbitrary strings.
180 If \fIvalue\fR is specified, then \fIkey\fR is set to \fIvalue\fR for
181 \fIbridge\fR, overwriting any previous value. If \fIvalue\fR is
182 omitted, then \fIkey\fR is removed from \fIbridge\fR's set of external
183 IDs (if it was present).
185 .IP "\fBbr\-get\-external\-id \fIbridge\fR [\fIkey\fR]"
186 Queries the external IDs on \fIbridge\fR. If \fIkey\fR is specified,
187 the output is the value for that \fIkey\fR or the empty string if
188 \fIkey\fR is unset. If \fIkey\fR is omitted, the output is
189 \fIkey\fB=\fIvalue\fR, one per line, for each key-value pair.
193 These commands examine and manipulate Open vSwitch ports. These
194 commands treat a bonded port as a single entity.
196 .IP "\fBlist\-ports \fIbridge\fR"
197 Lists all of the ports within \fIbridge\fR on standard output, one per
198 line. The local port \fIbridge\fR is not included in the list.
200 .IP "\fBadd\-port \fIbridge port\fR"
201 Creates on \fIbridge\fR a new port named \fIport\fR from the network
202 device of the same name.
204 .IP "[\fB\-\-fake\-iface\fR] \fBadd\-bond \fIbridge port iface\fR\&..."
205 Creates on \fIbridge\fR a new port named \fIport\fR that bonds
206 together the network devices given as each \fIiface\fR. At least two
207 interfaces must be named.
209 With \fB\-\-fake\-iface\fR, a fake interface with the name \fIport\fR is
210 created. This should only be used for compatibility with legacy
211 software that requires it.
213 .IP "[\fB\-\-if\-exists\fR] \fBdel\-port \fR[\fIbridge\fR] \fIport\fR"
214 Deletes \fIport\fR. If \fIbridge\fR is omitted, \fIport\fR is removed
215 from whatever bridge contains it; if \fIbridge\fR is specified, it
216 must be the real or fake bridge that contains \fIport\fR.
218 Without \fB\-\-if\-exists\fR, attempting to delete a port that does
219 not exist is an error. With \fB\-\-if\-exists\fR, attempting to
220 delete a port that does not exist has no effect.
222 .IP "\fBport\-to\-br \fIport\fR"
223 Prints the name of the bridge that contains \fIport\fR on standard
226 .IP "\fBport\-set\-external\-id \fIport key\fR [\fIvalue\fR]"
227 Sets or clears an ``external ID'' value on \fIport\fR. These value
228 are intended to identify entities external to Open vSwitch with which
229 \fIport\fR is associated, e.g. the port's identifier in a
230 virtualization management platform. The Open vSwitch database schema
231 specifies well-known \fIkey\fR values, but \fIkey\fR and \fIvalue\fR
232 are otherwise arbitrary strings.
234 If \fIvalue\fR is specified, then \fIkey\fR is set to \fIvalue\fR for
235 \fIport\fR, overwriting any previous value. If \fIvalue\fR is
236 omitted, then \fIkey\fR is removed from \fIport\fR's set of external
237 IDs (if it was present).
239 .IP "\fBbr\-get\-external\-id \fIport\fR [\fIkey\fR]"
240 Queries the external IDs on \fIport\fR. If \fIkey\fR is specified,
241 the output is the value for that \fIkey\fR or the empty string if
242 \fIkey\fR is unset. If \fIkey\fR is omitted, the output is
243 \fIkey\fB=\fIvalue\fR, one per line, for each key-value pair.
245 .SS "Interface Commands"
247 These commands examine the interfaces attached to an Open vSwitch
248 bridge. These commands treat a bonded port as a collection of two or
249 more interfaces, rather than as a single port.
251 .IP "\fBlist\-ifaces \fIbridge\fR"
252 Lists all of the interfaces within \fIbridge\fR on standard output,
253 one per line. The local port \fIbridge\fR is not included in the
256 .IP "\fBiface\-to\-br \fIiface\fR"
257 Prints the name of the bridge that contains \fIiface\fR on standard
260 .IP "\fBiface\-set\-external\-id \fIiface key\fR [\fIvalue\fR]"
261 Sets or clears an ``external ID'' value on \fIiface\fR. These value
262 are intended to identify entities external to Open vSwitch with which
263 \fIiface\fR is associated, e.g. the interface's identifier in a
264 virtualization management platform. The Open vSwitch database schema
265 specifies well-known \fIkey\fR values, but \fIkey\fR and \fIvalue\fR
266 are otherwise arbitrary strings.
268 If \fIvalue\fR is specified, then \fIkey\fR is set to \fIvalue\fR for
269 \fIiface\fR, overwriting any previous value. If \fIvalue\fR is
270 omitted, then \fIkey\fR is removed from \fIiface\fR's set of external
271 IDs (if it was present).
273 .IP "\fBbr\-get\-external\-id \fIiface\fR [\fIkey\fR]"
274 Queries the external IDs on \fIiface\fR. If \fIkey\fR is specified,
275 the output is the value for that \fIkey\fR or the empty string if
276 \fIkey\fR is unset. If \fIkey\fR is omitted, the output is
277 \fIkey\fB=\fIvalue\fR, one per line, for each key-value pair.
279 .SS "OpenFlow Controller Connectivity"
281 \fBovs\-vswitchd\fR can perform all configured bridging and switching
282 locally, or it can be configured to connect a given bridge to an
283 external OpenFlow controller, such as NOX.
285 If a \fIbridge\fR argument is given, the settings apply only to the
286 specified bridge. Otherwise, they apply to the Open vSwitch instance,
287 and its configuration applies to any bridge that has not been explicitly
288 configured through a \fIbridge\fR argument.
290 .IP "\fBget\-controller\fR [\fIbridge\fR]"
291 Prints the configured controller target.
293 .IP "\fBdel\-controller\fR [\fIbridge\fR]"
294 Deletes the configured controller target.
296 .IP "\fBset\-controller\fR [\fIbridge\fR] \fItarget\fR"
297 Sets the configured controller target. The \fItarget\fR may use any of
302 .so lib/vconn-active.man
305 .ST "Controller Failure Settings"
307 When a controller is configured, it is, ordinarily, responsible for
308 setting up all flows on the switch. Thus, if the connection to
309 the controller fails, no new network connections can be set up. If
310 the connection to the controller stays down long enough, no packets
311 can pass through the switch at all.
313 If the value is \fBstandalone\fR, or if neither of these settings
314 is set, \fBovs\-vswitchd\fR will take over
315 responsibility for setting up
316 flows when no message has been received from the controller for three
317 times the inactivity probe interval (xxx needs to be exposed). In this mode,
318 \fBovs\-vswitchd\fR causes the datapath to act like an ordinary
319 MAC-learning switch. \fBovs\-vswitchd\fR will continue to retry connecting
320 to the controller in the background and, when the connection succeeds,
321 it discontinues its standalone behavior.
323 If this option is set to \fBsecure\fR, \fBovs\-vswitchd\fR will not
324 set up flows on its own when the controller connection fails.
326 .IP "\fBget\-fail\-mode\fR [\fIbridge\fR]"
327 Prints the configured failure mode.
329 .IP "\fBdel\-fail\-mode\fR [\fIbridge\fR]"
330 Deletes the configured failure mode.
332 .IP "\fBset\-fail\-mode\fR [\fIbridge\fR] \fBstandalone\fR|\fBsecure\fR"
333 Sets the configured failure mode.
335 .SS "SSL Configuration"
336 When \fBovs\-vswitchd\fR is configured to connect over SSL for management or
337 controller connectivity, the following parameters are required:
340 Specifies a PEM file containing the private key used as the virtual
341 switch's identity for SSL connections to the controller.
344 Specifies a PEM file containing a certificate, signed by the
345 certificate authority (CA) used by the controller and manager, that
346 certifies the virtual switch's private key, identifying a trustworthy
350 Specifies a PEM file containing the CA certificate used to verify that
351 the virtual switch is connected to a trustworthy controller.
353 These files are read only once, at \fBovs\-vswitchd\fR startup time. If
354 their contents change, \fBovs\-vswitchd\fR must be killed and restarted.
356 These SSL settings apply to all SSL connections made by the virtual
360 Prints the SSL configuration.
363 Deletes the current SSL configuration.
365 .IP "[\fB\-\-bootstrap\fR] \fBset\-ssl\fR \fIprivate-key\fR \fIcertificate\fR \fIca-cert\fR"
366 Sets the SSL configuration. The \fB\-\-bootstrap\fR option is described
369 .ST "CA Certificate Bootstrap"
370 Ordinarily, all of the files named in the SSL configuration must exist
371 when \fBovs\-vswitchd\fR starts. However, if the \fB\-\-bootstrap\fR
372 option is given, then \fBovs\-vswitchd\fR will attempt to obtain the
373 CA certificate from the controller on its first SSL connection and
374 save it to the named PEM file. If it is successful, it will
375 immediately drop the connection and reconnect, and from then on all
376 SSL connections must be authenticated by a certificate signed by the
377 CA certificate thus obtained.
379 \fBThis option exposes the SSL connection to a man-in-the-middle
380 attack obtaining the initial CA certificate\fR, but it may be useful
383 This option is only useful if the controller sends its CA certificate
384 as part of the SSL certificate chain. The SSL protocol does not
385 require the controller to send the CA certificate, but
386 \fBcontroller\fR(8) can be configured to do so with the
387 \fB--peer-ca-cert\fR option.
389 .SS "Database Commands"
391 These commands query and modify the contents of \fBovsdb\fR tables.
392 They are a slight abstraction of the \fBovsdb\fR interface and as such
393 they operate at a lower level than other \fBovs\-vsctl\fR commands.
395 .ST "Identifying Tables, Records, and Columns"
397 Each of these commands has a \fItable\fR parameter to identify a table
398 within the database. Many of them also take a \fIrecord\fR parameter
399 that identifies a particular record within a table. The \fIrecord\fR
400 parameter may be the UUID for a record, and many tables offer
401 additional ways to identify records. Some commands also take
402 \fIcolumn\fR parameters that identify a particular field within the
405 The following tables are currently defined:
406 .IP "\fBOpen_vSwitch\fR"
407 Global configuration for an \fBovs\-vswitchd\fR. This table contains
408 exactly one record, identified by specifying \fB.\fR as the record
411 Configuration for a bridge within an Open vSwitch. Records may be
412 identified by bridge name.
414 A bridge port. Records may be identified by port name.
415 .IP "\fBInterface\fR"
416 A network device attached to a port. Records may be identified by
418 .IP "\fBController\fR"
419 Configuration for an OpenFlow controller. A controller attached to a
420 particular bridge may be identified by the bridge's name. The default
421 controller controller for an Open vSwitch may be identified by
422 specifying \fB.\fR as the record name.
424 A port mirroring configuration attached to a bridge. Records may be
425 identified by mirror name.
427 A NetFlow configuration attached to a bridge. Records may be
428 identified by bridge name.
430 Names of tables, records, and columns are not case-sensitive, and
431 \fB--\fR and \fB_\fR are treated interchangeably. Unique
432 abbreviations are acceptable, e.g. \fBnet\fR or \fRn\fR is sufficient
433 to identify the \fBNetFlow\fR table.
435 .ST "Database Values"
436 Each column in the database accepts a fixed type of data. The
437 currently defined basic types, and their representations, are:
439 A decimal integer in the range \-2**63 to 2**63\-1, inclusive.
441 A floating-point number.
443 True or false, written \fBtrue\fR or \fBfalse\fR, respectively.
445 An arbitrary Unicode string, except that null bytes are not allowed.
446 Quotes are optional for most strings that begin with an English letter
447 or underscore and consist only of letters, underscores, hyphens, and
448 periods. However, \fBtrue\fR and \fBfalse\fR and strings that match
449 the syntax of UUIDs (see below) must be enclosed in double quotes to
450 distinguish them from other basic types. When double quotes are used,
451 the syntax is that of strings in JSON, e.g. backslashes may be used to
452 escape special characters. The empty string must be represented as a
453 pair of double quotes (\fB""\fR).
455 A universally unique identifier in the style of RFC 4122,
456 e.g. \fBf81d4fae-7dec-11d0-a765-00a0c91e6bf6\fR.
458 Multiple values in a single column may be separated by spaces or a
459 single comma. When multiple values are present, duplicates are not
460 allowed, and order is not important. Conversely, some database
461 columns can have an empty set of values, represented as \fB[]\fR, and
462 square brackets may optionally enclose other non-empty sets or single
465 A few database columns are ``maps'' of key-value pairs, where the key
466 and the value are each some fixed database type. These are specified
467 in the form \fIkey\fB=\fIvalue\fR, where \fIkey\fR and \fIvalue\fR
468 follow the syntax for the column's key type and value type,
469 respectively. When multiple pairs are present (separated by spaces or
470 a comma), duplicate keys are not allowed, and again the order is not
471 important. Duplicate values are allowed. An empty map is represented
472 as \fB{}\fR, and curly braces may be optionally enclose non-empty maps
475 .ST "Database Command Syntax"
477 .IP "\fBlist \fItable \fR[\fIrecord\fR]..."
478 List the values of all columns of each specified \fIrecord\fR. If no
479 records are specified, lists all the records in \fItable\fR.
481 .IP "\fBget \fItable record column\fR[\fB:\fIkey\fR]..."
482 Prints the value of each specified \fIcolumn\fR in the given
483 \fIrecord\fR in \fItable\fR. For map columns, a \fIkey\fR may
484 optionally be specified, in which case the value associated with
485 \fIkey\fR in the column is printed, instead of the entire map.
487 .IP "\fBset \fItable record column\fR[\fB:\fIkey\fR]\fB=\fIvalue\fR..."
488 Sets the value of each specified \fIcolumn\fR in the given
489 \fIrecord\fR in \fItable\fR to \fIvalue\fR. For map columns, a
490 \fIkey\fR may optionally be specified, in which case the value
491 associated with \fIkey\fR in that column is changed (or added, if none
492 exists), instead of the entire map.
494 .IP "\fBadd \fItable record column \fR[\fIkey\fB=\fR]\fIvalue\fR..."
495 Adds the specified value or key-value pair to \fIcolumn\fR in
496 \fIrecord\fR in \fItable\fR. If \fIcolumn\fR is a map, then \fIkey\fR
497 is required, otherwise it is prohibited. If \fIkey\fR already exists
498 in a map column, then the current \fIvalue\fR is not replaced (use the
499 \fBset\fR command to replace an existing value).
501 Create a new bridge named br0 and add port eth0 to it:
503 .B "ovs-vsctl add\-br br0"
505 .B "ovs-vsctl add\-port br0 eth0"
507 Alternatively, perform both operations in a single atomic transaction:
509 .B "ovs-vsctl add\-br br0 \-\- add\-port br0 eth0"
511 Delete bridge \fBbr0\fR, reporting an error if it does not exist:
513 .B "ovs\-vsctl del\-br br0"
515 Delete bridge \fBbr0\fR if it exists (the \fB\-\-\fR is required to
516 separate \fBdel\-br\fR's options from the global options):
518 .B "ovs\-vsctl \-\- \-\-if\-exists del\-br br0"
522 Successful program execution.
524 Usage, syntax, or configuration file error.
526 The \fIbridge\fR argument to \fBbr\-exists\fR specified the name of a
527 bridge that does not exist.
530 .BR ovsdb\-server (1),
531 .BR ovs\-vswitchd (8).