1 <database title="Open vSwitch Configuration Database">
2 <p>A database with this schema holds the configuration for one Open
3 vSwitch daemon. The root of the configuration for the daemon is
4 the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table, which must have exactly one
5 record. Records in other tables are significant only when they
6 can be reached directly or indirectly from the
7 <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table.</p>
9 <table name="Open_vSwitch" title="Open vSwitch configuration.">
10 Configuration for an Open vSwitch daemon. There must be exactly one record
11 in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table.
13 <group title="Configuration">
14 <column name="bridges">
15 Set of bridges managed by the daemon.
18 <column name="controller">
19 Default OpenFlow <ref table="Controller"/> set used by bridges. May be
20 overridden on a per-bridge basis by the <ref table="Bridge"
21 column="controller"/> column in <ref table="Bridge"/>.
24 <column name="managers">
25 Remote database clients to which the Open vSwitch's database server
26 should connect or to which it should listen.
30 SSL used globally by the daemon.
33 <column name="external_ids">
34 Key-value pairs that identify this Open vSwitch's role in
35 external systems. The currently defined key-value pairs are:
37 <dt><code>system-uuid</code></dt>
38 <dd>A universally unique identifier for the Open vSwitch's
39 physical host. The form of the identifier depends on the
40 type of the host. On a Citrix XenServer, this is the host
41 UUID displayed by, e.g., <code>xe host-list</code>.</dd>
46 <group title="Status">
47 <column name="next_cfg">
48 Sequence number for client to increment. When a client modifies
49 any part of the database configuration and wishes to wait for
50 Open vSwitch to finish applying the changes, it may increment
54 <column name="cur_cfg">
55 Sequence number that Open vSwitch sets to the current value of
56 <ref column="next_cfg"/> after it finishes applying a set of
57 configuration changes.
60 <column name="capabilities">
61 Describes functionality supported by the hardware and software platform
62 on which this Open vSwitch is based. Clients should not modify this
63 column. See the <ref table="Capability"/> description for defined
64 capability categories and the meaning of associated
65 <ref table="Capability"/> records.
72 Configuration for a bridge within an
73 <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/>.
76 A <ref table="Bridge"/> record represents an Ethernet switch with one or
77 more ``ports,'' which are the <ref table="Port"/> records pointed to by
78 the <ref table="Bridge"/>'s <ref column="ports"/> column.
81 <group title="Core Features">
83 Bridge identifier. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8
84 bytes long. Must be unique among the names of ports, interfaces, and
89 Ports included in the bridge.
92 <column name="mirrors">
93 Port mirroring configuration.
96 <column name="netflow">
97 NetFlow configuration.
100 <column name="sflow">
104 <column name="flood_vlans">
105 VLAN IDs of VLANs on which MAC address learning should be disabled, so
106 that packets are flooded instead of being sent to specific ports that
107 are believed to contain packets' destination MACs. This should
108 ordinarily be used to disable MAC learning on VLANs used for mirroring
109 (RSPAN VLANs). It may also be useful for debugging.
113 <group title="OpenFlow Configuration">
114 <column name="controller">
115 OpenFlow controller set. If unset, defaults to the set of
116 controllers specified by <ref column="controller"
117 table="Open_vSwitch"/> in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/>
118 table. If the default is also unset, then no OpenFlow
119 controllers will be used.
122 <column name="datapath_id">
123 Reports the OpenFlow datapath ID in use. Exactly 16 hex
124 digits. (Setting this column will have no useful effect. Set
125 <ref column="other_config"/>:<code>other-config</code>
130 <group title="Other Features">
131 <column name="datapath_type">
132 Name of datapath provider. The kernel datapath has
133 type <code>system</code>. The userspace datapath has
134 type <code>netdev</code>.
137 <column name="external_ids">
138 Key-value pairs that identify this bridge's role in external systems.
139 The currently defined key-value pairs are:
141 <dt><code>network-uuids</code></dt>
142 <dd>Semicolon-delimited set of universally unique identifier(s) for
143 the network with which this bridge is associated. The form of the
144 identifier(s) depends on the type of the host. On a Citrix
145 XenServer host, the network identifiers are RFC 4122 UUIDs as
146 displayed by, e.g., <code>xe network-list</code>.</dd>
150 <column name="other_config">
151 Key-value pairs for configuring rarely used bridge
152 features. The currently defined key-value pairs are:
154 <dt><code>datapath-id</code></dt>
156 digits to set the OpenFlow datapath ID to a specific
158 <dt><code>hwaddr</code></dt>
159 <dd>An Ethernet address in the form
160 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>
161 to set the hardware address of the local port and influence the
168 <table name="Port" table="Port or bond configuration.">
169 <p>A port within a <ref table="Bridge"/>.</p>
170 <p>Most commonly, a port has exactly one ``interface,'' pointed to by its
171 <ref column="interfaces"/> column. Such a port logically
172 corresponds to a port on a physical Ethernet switch. A port
173 with more than one interface is a ``bonded port'' (see
174 <ref group="Bonding Configuration"/>).</p>
175 <p>Some properties that one might think as belonging to a port are actually
176 part of the port's <ref table="Interface"/> members.</p>
179 Port name. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8
180 bytes long. May be the same as the interface name, for
181 non-bonded ports. Must otherwise be unique among the names of
182 ports, interfaces, and bridges on a host.
185 <column name="interfaces">
186 The port's interfaces. If there is more than one, this is a
190 <group title="VLAN Configuration">
191 <p>A bridge port must be configured for VLANs in one of two
192 mutually exclusive ways:
194 <li>A ``trunk port'' has an empty value for <ref
195 column="tag"/>. Its <ref column="trunks"/> value may be
196 empty or non-empty.</li>
197 <li>An ``implicitly tagged VLAN port'' or ``access port''
198 has an nonempty value for <ref column="tag"/>. Its
199 <ref column="trunks"/> value must be empty.</li>
201 If <ref column="trunks"/> and <ref column="tag"/> are both
202 nonempty, the configuration is ill-formed.
207 If this is an access port (see above), the port's implicitly
208 tagged VLAN. Must be empty if this is a trunk port.
211 Frames arriving on trunk ports will be forwarded to this
212 port only if they are tagged with the given VLAN (or, if
213 <ref column="tag"/> is 0, then if they lack a VLAN header).
214 Frames arriving on other access ports will be forwarded to
215 this port only if they have the same <ref column="tag"/>
216 value. Frames forwarded to this port will not have an
220 When a frame with a 802.1Q header that indicates a nonzero
221 VLAN is received on an access port, it is discarded.
225 <column name="trunks">
227 If this is a trunk port (see above), the 802.1Q VLAN(s) that
228 this port trunks; if it is empty, then the port trunks all
229 VLANs. Must be empty if this is an access port.
232 Frames arriving on trunk ports are dropped if they are not
233 in one of the specified VLANs. For this purpose, packets
234 that have no VLAN header are treated as part of VLAN 0.
239 <group title="Bonding Configuration">
240 <p>A port that has more than one interface is a ``bonded port.''
241 Bonding allows for load balancing and fail-over. Open vSwitch
242 supports ``source load balancing'' (SLB) bonding, which
243 assigns flows to slaves based on source MAC address, with
244 periodic rebalancing as traffic patterns change. This form of
245 bonding does not require 802.3ad or other special support from
246 the upstream switch to which the slave devices are
249 <p>These columns apply only to bonded ports. Their values are
250 otherwise ignored.</p>
252 <column name="bond_updelay">
253 <p>For a bonded port, the number of milliseconds for which carrier must
254 stay up on an interface before the interface is considered to be up.
255 Specify <code>0</code> to enable the interface immediately.</p>
256 <p>This setting is honored only when at least one bonded interface is
257 already enabled. When no interfaces are enabled, then the first bond
258 interface to come up is enabled immediately.</p>
261 <column name="bond_downdelay">
262 For a bonded port, the number of milliseconds for which carrier must
263 stay down on an interface before the interface is considered to be
264 down. Specify <code>0</code> to disable the interface immediately.
267 <column name="bond_fake_iface">
268 For a bonded port, whether to create a fake internal interface with the
269 name of the port. Use only for compatibility with legacy software that
274 <group title="Other Features">
276 Quality of Service configuration for this port.
280 The MAC address to use for this port for the purpose of choosing the
281 bridge's MAC address. This column does not necessarily reflect the
282 port's actual MAC address, nor will setting it change the port's actual
286 <column name="fake_bridge">
287 Does this port represent a sub-bridge for its tagged VLAN within the
288 Bridge? See ovs-vsctl(8) for more information.
291 <column name="external_ids">
292 Key-value pairs that identify this port's role in external systems. No
293 key-value pairs native to <ref table="Port"/> are currently defined.
294 For fake bridges (see the <ref column="fake_bridge"/> column), external
295 IDs for the fake bridge are defined here by prefixing a
296 <ref table="Bridge"/> <ref table="Bridge" column="external_ids"/> key
297 with <code>fake-bridge-</code>,
298 e.g. <code>fake-bridge-network-uuids</code>.
301 <column name="other_config">
302 Key-value pairs for configuring rarely used port features. The
303 currently defined key-value pairs are:
305 <dt><code>hwaddr</code></dt>
306 <dd>An Ethernet address in the form
307 <code><var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var></code>.</dd>
308 <dt><code>bond-rebalance-interval</code></dt>
309 <dd>For a bonded port, the number of milliseconds between
310 successive attempts to rebalance the bond, that is, to
311 move source MACs and their flows from one interface on
312 the bond to another in an attempt to keep usage of each
313 interface roughly equal. The default is 10000 (10
314 seconds), and the minimum is 1000 (1 second).</dd>
320 <table name="Interface" title="One physical network device in a Port.">
321 An interface within a <ref table="Port"/>.
323 <group title="Core Features">
325 Interface name. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8 bytes
326 long. May be the same as the port name, for non-bonded ports. Must
327 otherwise be unique among the names of ports, interfaces, and bridges
332 <p>Ethernet address to set for this interface. If unset then the
333 default MAC address is used:</p>
335 <li>For the local interface, the default is the lowest-numbered MAC
336 address among the other bridge ports, either the value of the
337 <ref table="Port" column="mac"/> in its <ref table="Port"/> record,
338 if set, or its actual MAC (for bonded ports, the MAC of its slave
339 whose name is first in alphabetical order). Internal ports and
340 bridge ports that are used as port mirroring destinations (see the
341 <ref table="Mirror"/> table) are ignored.</li>
342 <li>For other internal interfaces, the default MAC is randomly
344 <li>External interfaces typically have a MAC address associated with
347 <p>Some interfaces may not have a software-controllable MAC
351 <column name="ofport">
352 <p>OpenFlow port number for this interface. Unlike most columns, this
353 column's value should be set only by Open vSwitch itself. Other
354 clients should set this column to an empty set (the default) when
355 creating an <ref table="Interface"/>.</p>
356 <p>Open vSwitch populates this column when the port number becomes
357 known. If the interface is successfully added,
358 <ref column="ofport"/> will be set to a number between 1 and 65535
359 (generally either in the range 1 to 65280, exclusive, or 65534, the
360 port number for the OpenFlow ``local port''). If the interface
361 cannot be added then Open vSwitch sets this column
366 <group title="System-Specific Details">
368 The interface type, one of:
370 <dt><code>system</code></dt>
371 <dd>An ordinary network device, e.g. <code>eth0</code> on Linux.
372 Sometimes referred to as ``external interfaces'' since they are
373 generally connected to hardware external to that on which the Open
374 vSwitch is running. The empty string is a synonym for
375 <code>system</code>.</dd>
376 <dt><code>internal</code></dt>
377 <dd>A simulated network device that sends and receives traffic. An
378 internal interface whose <ref column="name"/> is the same as its
379 bridge's <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="name"/> is called the
380 ``local interface.'' It does not make sense to bond an internal
381 interface, so the terms ``port'' and ``interface'' are often used
382 imprecisely for internal interfaces.</dd>
383 <dt><code>tap</code></dt>
384 <dd>A TUN/TAP device managed by Open vSwitch.</dd>
385 <dt><code>gre</code></dt>
386 <dd>An Ethernet over RFC 1702 Generic Routing Encapsulation over IPv4
387 tunnel. Each tunnel must be uniquely identified by the
388 combination of <code>remote_ip</code>, <code>local_ip</code>, and
389 <code>in_key</code>. Note that if two ports are defined that are
390 the same except one has an optional identifier and the other does
391 not, the more specific one is matched first. <code>in_key</code>
392 is considered more specific than <code>local_ip</code> if a port
393 defines one and another port defines the other. The arguments
396 <dt><code>remote_ip</code></dt>
397 <dd>Required. The tunnel endpoint.</dd>
400 <dt><code>local_ip</code></dt>
401 <dd>Optional. The destination IP that received packets must
402 match. Default is to match all addresses.</dd>
405 <dt><code>in_key</code></dt>
406 <dd>Optional. The GRE key that received packets must contain.
407 It may either be a 32-bit number (no key and a key of 0 are
408 treated as equivalent) or the word <code>flow</code>. If
409 <code>flow</code> is specified then any key will be accepted
410 and the key will be placed in the <code>tun_id</code> field
411 for matching in the flow table. The ovs-ofctl manual page
412 contains additional information about matching fields in
413 OpenFlow flows. Default is no key.</dd>
416 <dt><code>out_key</code></dt>
417 <dd>Optional. The GRE key to be set on outgoing packets. It may
418 either be a 32-bit number or the word <code>flow</code>. If
419 <code>flow</code> is specified then the key may be set using
420 the <code>set_tunnel</code> Nicira OpenFlow vendor extension (0
421 is used in the absense of an action). The ovs-ofctl manual
422 page contains additional information about the Nicira OpenFlow
423 vendor extensions. Default is no key.</dd>
426 <dt><code>key</code></dt>
427 <dd>Optional. Shorthand to set <code>in_key</code> and
428 <code>out_key</code> at the same time.</dd>
431 <dt><code>tos</code></dt>
432 <dd>Optional. The value of the ToS bits to be set on the
433 encapsulating packet. It may also be the word
434 <code>inherit</code>, in which case the ToS will be copied from
435 the inner packet if it is IPv4 or IPv6 (otherwise it will be
436 0). Note that the ECN fields are always inherited. Default is
440 <dt><code>ttl</code></dt>
441 <dd>Optional. The TTL to be set on the encapsulating packet.
442 It may also be the word <code>inherit</code>, in which case the
443 TTL will be copied from the inner packet if it is IPv4 or IPv6
444 (otherwise it will be the system default, typically 64).
445 Default is the system default TTL.</dd>
448 <dt><code>csum</code></dt>
449 <dd>Optional. Compute GRE checksums for outgoing packets and
450 require checksums for incoming packets. Default is enabled,
451 set to <code>false</code> to disable.</dd>
454 <dt><code>pmtud</code></dt>
455 <dd>Optional. Enable tunnel path MTU discovery. If enabled
456 ``ICMP destination unreachable - fragmentation'' needed
457 messages will be generated for IPv4 packets with the DF bit set
458 and IPv6 packets above the minimum MTU if the packet size
459 exceeds the path MTU minus the size of the tunnel headers. It
460 also forces the encapsulating packet DF bit to be set (it is
461 always set if the inner packet implies path MTU discovery).
462 Note that this option causes behavior that is typically
463 reserved for routers and therefore is not entirely in
464 compliance with the IEEE 802.1D specification for bridges.
465 Default is enabled, set to <code>false</code> to disable.</dd>
468 <dt><code>patch</code></dt>
469 <dd>A pair of virtual devices that act as a patch cable. A
470 <code>peer</code> argument is required that indicates the name
471 of the other side of the patch. Since a patch must work in
472 pairs, a second patch interface must be declared with the
473 <code>name</code> and <code>peer</code> arguments reversed.</dd>
477 <column name="options">
478 Configuration options whose interpretation varies based on
479 <ref column="type"/>.
483 <group title="Ingress Policing">
484 <column name="ingress_policing_burst">
485 <p>Maximum burst size for data received on this interface, in kb. The
486 default burst size if set to <code>0</code> is 1000 kb. This value
487 has no effect if <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/>
488 is <code>0</code>.</p>
489 <p>The burst size should be at least the size of the interface's
493 <column name="ingress_policing_rate">
494 <p>Maximum rate for data received on this interface, in kbps. Data
495 received faster than this rate is dropped. Set to <code>0</code> to
496 disable policing.</p>
497 <p>The meaning of ``ingress'' is from Open vSwitch's perspective. If
498 configured on a physical interface, then it limits the rate at which
499 traffic is allowed into the system from the outside. If configured
500 on a virtual interface that is connected to a virtual machine, then
501 it limits the rate at which the guest is able to transmit.</p>
505 <group title="Other Features">
506 <column name="external_ids">
507 <p>Key-value pairs that identify this interface's role in external
508 systems. All of the currently defined key-value pairs specifically
509 apply to an interface that represents a virtual Ethernet interface
510 connected to a virtual machine. These key-value pairs should not be
511 present for other types of interfaces. Keys whose names end
512 in <code>-uuid</code> have values that uniquely identify the entity
513 in question. For a Citrix XenServer hypervisor, these values are
514 UUIDs in RFC 4122 format. Other hypervisors may use other
516 <p>The currently defined key-value pairs are:</p>
518 <dt><code>vif-uuid</code></dt>
519 <dd>The virtual interface associated with this interface.</dd>
520 <dt><code>network-uuid</code></dt>
521 <dd>The virtual network to which this interface is attached.</dd>
522 <dt><code>vm-uuid</code></dt>
523 <dd>The VM to which this interface belongs.</dd>
524 <dt><code>vif-mac</code></dt>
525 <dd>The MAC address programmed into the "virtual hardware" for this
527 form <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>.
528 For Citrix XenServer, this is the value of the <code>MAC</code>
529 field in the VIF record for this interface.</dd>
535 <table name="QoS" title="Quality of Service configuration">
536 <p>Quality of Service (QoS) configuration for each Port that
540 <p>The type of QoS to implement. The <ref table="Open_vSwitch"
541 column="capabilities"/> column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table
542 identifies the types that a switch actually supports. The currently
543 defined types are listed below:</p>
545 <dt><code>linux-htb</code></dt>
546 <dd>Linux ``hierarchy token bucket'' classifier.</dd>
550 <column name="queues">
551 <p>A map from queue numbers to <ref table="Queue"/> records. The
552 supported range of queue numbers depend on <ref column="type"/>. The
553 queue numbers are the same as the <code>queue_id</code> used in
554 OpenFlow in <code>struct ofp_action_enqueue</code> and other
555 structures. Queue 0 is used by OpenFlow output actions that do not
556 specify a specific queue.</p>
559 <column name="other_config">
560 <p>Key-value pairs for configuring QoS features that depend on
561 <ref column="type"/>.</p>
562 <p>The <code>linux-htb</code> class supports the following key-value
565 <dt><code>max-rate</code></dt>
566 <dd>Maximum rate shared by all queued traffic, in bit/s.
567 Optional. If not specified, for physical interfaces, the
568 default is the link rate. For other interfaces or if the
569 link rate cannot be determined, the default is currently 100
575 <table name="Queue" title="QoS output queue.">
576 <p>A configuration for a port output queue, used in configuring Quality of
577 Service (QoS) features. May be referenced by <ref column="queues"
578 table="QoS"/> column in <ref table="QoS"/> table.</p>
580 <column name="other_config">
581 <p>Key-value pairs for configuring the output queue. The supported
582 key-value pairs and their meanings depend on the <ref column="type"/>
583 of the <ref column="QoS"/> records that reference this row.</p>
584 <p>The key-value pairs defined for <ref table="QoS"/> <ref table="QoS"
585 column="type"/> of <code>min-rate</code> are:</p>
587 <dt><code>min-rate</code></dt>
588 <dd>Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s. Required.</dd>
590 <p>The key-value pairs defined for <ref table="QoS"/> <ref table="QoS"
591 column="type"/> of <code>linux-htb</code> are:</p>
593 <dt><code>min-rate</code></dt>
594 <dd>Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s. Required.</dd>
595 <dt><code>max-rate</code></dt>
596 <dd>Maximum allowed bandwidth, in bit/s. Optional. If specified, the
597 queue's rate will not be allowed to exceed the specified value, even
598 if excess bandwidth is available. If unspecified, defaults to no
600 <dt><code>burst</code></dt>
601 <dd>Burst size, in bits. This is the maximum amount of ``credits''
602 that a queue can accumulate while it is idle. Optional. Details of
603 the <code>linux-htb</code> implementation require a minimum burst
604 size, so a too-small <code>burst</code> will be silently
606 <dt><code>priority</code></dt>
607 <dd>A nonnegative 32-bit integer. Defaults to 0 if
608 unspecified. A queue with a smaller <code>priority</code>
609 will receive all the excess bandwidth that it can use before
610 a queue with a larger value receives any. Specific priority
611 values are unimportant; only relative ordering matters.</dd>
616 <table name="Mirror" title="Port mirroring (SPAN/RSPAN).">
617 <p>A port mirror within a <ref table="Bridge"/>.</p>
618 <p>A port mirror configures a bridge to send selected frames to special
619 ``mirrored'' ports, in addition to their normal destinations. Mirroring
620 traffic may also be referred to as SPAN or RSPAN, depending on the
621 mechanism used for delivery.</p>
624 Arbitrary identifier for the <ref table="Mirror"/>.
627 <group title="Selecting Packets for Mirroring">
628 <column name="select_all">
629 If true, every packet arriving or departing on any port is
630 selected for mirroring.
633 <column name="select_dst_port">
634 Ports on which departing packets are selected for mirroring.
637 <column name="select_src_port">
638 Ports on which arriving packets are selected for mirroring.
641 <column name="select_vlan">
642 VLANs on which packets are selected for mirroring. An empty set
643 selects packets on all VLANs.
647 <group title="Mirroring Destination Configuration">
648 <column name="output_port">
649 <p>Output port for selected packets, if nonempty. Mutually exclusive
650 with <ref column="output_vlan"/>.</p>
651 <p>Specifying a port for mirror output reserves that port exclusively
652 for mirroring. No frames other than those selected for mirroring
653 will be forwarded to the port, and any frames received on the port
654 will be discarded.</p>
655 <p>This type of mirroring is sometimes called SPAN.</p>
658 <column name="output_vlan">
659 <p>Output VLAN for selected packets, if nonempty. Mutually exclusive
660 with <ref column="output_port"/>.</p>
661 <p>The frames will be sent out all ports that trunk
662 <ref column="output_vlan"/>, as well as any ports with implicit VLAN
663 <ref column="output_vlan"/>. When a mirrored frame is sent out a
664 trunk port, the frame's VLAN tag will be set to
665 <ref column="output_vlan"/>, replacing any existing tag; when it is
666 sent out an implicit VLAN port, the frame will not be tagged. This
667 type of mirroring is sometimes called RSPAN.</p>
668 <p><em>Please note:</em> Mirroring to a VLAN can disrupt a network that
669 contains unmanaged switches. Consider an unmanaged physical switch
670 with two ports: port 1, connected to an end host, and port 2,
671 connected to an Open vSwitch configured to mirror received packets
672 into VLAN 123 on port 2. Suppose that the end host sends a packet on
673 port 1 that the physical switch forwards to port 2. The Open vSwitch
674 forwards this packet to its destination and then reflects it back on
675 port 2 in VLAN 123. This reflected packet causes the unmanaged
676 physical switch to replace the MAC learning table entry, which
677 correctly pointed to port 1, with one that incorrectly points to port
678 2. Afterward, the physical switch will direct packets destined for
679 the end host to the Open vSwitch on port 2, instead of to the end
680 host on port 1, disrupting connectivity. If mirroring to a VLAN is
681 desired in this scenario, then the physical switch must be replaced
682 by one that learns Ethernet addresses on a per-VLAN basis. In
683 addition, learning should be disabled on the VLAN containing mirrored
684 traffic. If this is not done then intermediate switches will learn
685 the MAC address of each end host from the mirrored traffic. If
686 packets being sent to that end host are also mirrored, then they will
687 be dropped since the switch will attempt to send them out the input
688 port. Disabling learning for the VLAN will cause the switch to
689 correctly send the packet out all ports configured for that VLAN. If
690 Open vSwitch is being used as an intermediate switch, learning can be
691 disabled by adding the mirrored VLAN to <ref column="flood_vlans"/>
692 in the appropriate <ref table="Bridge"/> table or tables.</p>
697 <table name="Controller" title="OpenFlow controller configuration.">
698 <p>An OpenFlow controller.</p>
700 <p>Open vSwitch permits a bridge to have any number of OpenFlow
701 controllers. When multiple controllers are configured, Open vSwitch
702 connects to all of them simultaneously. OpenFlow 1.0 does not specify
703 how multiple controllers coordinate in interacting with a single switch,
704 so more than one controller should be specified only if the controllers
705 are themselves designed to coordinate with each other.</p>
707 <group title="Core Features">
708 <column name="target">
709 <p>Connection method for controller.
710 The following connection methods are currently
713 <dt><code>ssl:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
715 <p>The specified SSL <var>port</var> (default: 6633) on the host at
716 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
717 (not a DNS name). The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/>
718 column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> must point to a valid
719 SSL configuration when this form is used.</p>
720 <p>SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
721 part of Open vSwitch.</p>
723 <dt><code>tcp:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
724 <dd>The specified TCP <var>port</var> (default: 6633) on the host at
725 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
726 (not a DNS name).</dd>
727 <dt><code>discover</code></dt>
729 <p>Enables controller discovery.</p>
730 <p>In controller discovery mode, Open vSwitch broadcasts a DHCP
731 request with vendor class identifier <code>OpenFlow</code> across
732 all of the bridge's network devices. It will accept any valid
733 DHCP reply that has the same vendor class identifier and includes
734 a vendor-specific option with code 1 whose contents are a string
735 specifying the location of the controller in the same format as
736 <ref column="target"/>.</p>
737 <p>The DHCP reply may also, optionally, include a vendor-specific
738 option with code 2 whose contents are a string specifying the URI
739 to the base of the OpenFlow PKI
740 (e.g. <code>http://192.168.0.1/openflow/pki</code>). This URI is
741 used only for bootstrapping the OpenFlow PKI at initial switch
742 setup; <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> does not use it at all.</p>
744 <dt><code>none</code></dt>
745 <dd>Disables the controller.</dd>
747 <p>When multiple controllers are configured for a single bridge, the
748 <ref column="target"/> values must be unique. Duplicate
749 <ref column="target"/> values yield unspecified results.</p>
752 <column name="connection_mode">
753 <p>If it is specified, this setting must be one of the following
754 strings that describes how Open vSwitch contacts this OpenFlow
755 controller over the network:</p>
758 <dt><code>in-band</code></dt>
759 <dd>In this mode, this controller's OpenFlow traffic travels over the
760 bridge associated with the controller. With this setting, Open
761 vSwitch allows traffic to and from the controller regardless of the
762 contents of the OpenFlow flow table. (Otherwise, Open vSwitch
763 would never be able to connect to the controller, because it did
764 not have a flow to enable it.) This is the most common connection
765 mode because it is not necessary to maintain two independent
767 <dt><code>out-of-band</code></dt>
768 <dd>In this mode, OpenFlow traffic uses a control network separate
769 from the bridge associated with this controller, that is, the
770 bridge does not use any of its own network devices to communicate
771 with the controller. The control network must be configured
772 separately, before or after <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> is started.
776 <p>If not specified, the default is implementation-specific. If
777 <ref column="target"/> is <code>discover</code>, the connection mode
778 is always treated as <code>in-band</code> regardless of the actual
783 <group title="Controller Failure Detection and Handling">
784 <column name="max_backoff">
785 Maximum number of milliseconds to wait between connection attempts.
786 Default is implementation-specific.
789 <column name="inactivity_probe">
790 Maximum number of milliseconds of idle time on connection to
791 controller before sending an inactivity probe message. If Open
792 vSwitch does not communicate with the controller for the specified
793 number of seconds, it will send a probe. If a response is not
794 received for the same additional amount of time, Open vSwitch
795 assumes the connection has been broken and attempts to reconnect.
796 Default is implementation-specific.
799 <column name="fail_mode">
800 <p>When a controller is configured, it is, ordinarily, responsible
801 for setting up all flows on the switch. Thus, if the connection to
802 the controller fails, no new network connections can be set up.
803 If the connection to the controller stays down long enough,
804 no packets can pass through the switch at all. This setting
805 determines the switch's response to such a situation. It may be set
806 to one of the following:
808 <dt><code>standalone</code></dt>
809 <dd>If no message is received from the controller for three
810 times the inactivity probe interval
811 (see <ref column="inactivity_probe"/>), then Open vSwitch
812 will take over responsibility for setting up flows. In
813 this mode, Open vSwitch causes the bridge to act like an
814 ordinary MAC-learning switch. Open vSwitch will continue
815 to retry connecting to the controller in the background
816 and, when the connection succeeds, it will discontinue its
817 standalone behavior.</dd>
818 <dt><code>secure</code></dt>
819 <dd>Open vSwitch will not set up flows on its own when the
820 controller connection fails. It will continue retry
821 connecting to the controller forever.</dd>
824 <p>If this value is unset, the default is implementation-specific.</p>
825 <p>When more than one controller is configured,
826 <ref column="fail_mode"/> is considered only when none of the
827 configured controllers can be contacted. At that point, the bridge
828 enters secure mode if any of the controllers'
829 <ref column="fail_mode"/> is set to <code>secure</code>. Otherwise,
830 it enters standalone mode if at least one <ref column="fail_mode"/>
831 is set to <code>standalone</code>. If none of the
832 <ref column="fail_mode"/> values are set, the default is
833 implementation-defined.</p>
837 <group title="OpenFlow Rate Limiting">
838 <column name="controller_rate_limit">
839 <p>The maximum rate at which packets in unknown flows will be
840 forwarded to the OpenFlow controller, in packets per second. This
841 feature prevents a single bridge from overwhelming the controller.
842 If not specified, the default is implementation-specific.</p>
843 <p>In addition, when a high rate triggers rate-limiting, Open
844 vSwitch queues controller packets for each port and transmits
845 them to the controller at the configured rate. The number of
846 queued packets is limited by
847 the <ref column="controller_burst_limit"/> value. The packet
848 queue is shared fairly among the ports on a bridge.</p><p>Open
849 vSwitch maintains two such packet rate-limiters per bridge.
850 One of these applies to packets sent up to the controller
851 because they do not correspond to any flow. The other applies
852 to packets sent up to the controller by request through flow
853 actions. When both rate-limiters are filled with packets, the
854 actual rate that packets are sent to the controller is up to
855 twice the specified rate.</p>
858 <column name="controller_burst_limit">
859 In conjunction with <ref column="controller_rate_limit"/>,
860 the maximum number of unused packet credits that the bridge will
861 allow to accumulate, in packets. If not specified, the default
862 is implementation-specific.
866 <group title="Additional Discovery Configuration">
867 <p>These values are considered only when <ref column="target"/>
868 is <code>discover</code>.</p>
870 <column name="discover_accept_regex">
872 extended regular expression against which the discovered controller
873 location is validated. The regular expression is implicitly
874 anchored at the beginning of the controller location string, as
875 if it begins with <code>^</code>. If not specified, the default
876 is implementation-specific.
879 <column name="discover_update_resolv_conf">
880 Whether to update <code>/etc/resolv.conf</code> when the
881 controller is discovered. If not specified, the default
882 is implementation-specific. Open vSwitch will only modify
883 <code>/etc/resolv.conf</code> if the DHCP response that it receives
884 specifies one or more DNS servers.
888 <group title="Additional In-Band Configuration">
889 <p>These values are considered only in in-band control mode (see
890 <ref column="connection_mode"/>) and only when <ref column="target"/>
891 is not <code>discover</code>. (For controller discovery, the network
892 configuration obtained via DHCP is used instead.)</p>
894 <p>When multiple controllers are configured on a single bridge, there
895 should be only one set of unique values in these columns. If different
896 values are set for these columns in different controllers, the effect
899 <column name="local_ip">
900 The IP address to configure on the local port,
901 e.g. <code>192.168.0.123</code>. If this value is unset, then
902 <ref column="local_netmask"/> and <ref column="local_gateway"/> are
906 <column name="local_netmask">
907 The IP netmask to configure on the local port,
908 e.g. <code>255.255.255.0</code>. If <ref column="local_ip"/> is set
909 but this value is unset, then the default is chosen based on whether
910 the IP address is class A, B, or C.
913 <column name="local_gateway">
914 The IP address of the gateway to configure on the local port, as a
915 string, e.g. <code>192.168.0.1</code>. Leave this column unset if
916 this network has no gateway.
921 <table name="NetFlow">
922 A NetFlow target. NetFlow is a protocol that exports a number of
923 details about terminating IP flows, such as the principals involved
926 <column name="targets">
927 NetFlow targets in the form
928 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>. The <var>ip</var>
929 must be specified numerically, not as a DNS name.
932 <column name="engine_id">
933 Engine ID to use in NetFlow messages. Defaults to datapath index
937 <column name="engine_type">
938 Engine type to use in NetFlow messages. Defaults to datapath
939 index if not specified.
942 <column name="active_timeout">
943 The interval at which NetFlow records are sent for flows that are
944 still active, in seconds. A value of <code>0</code> requests the
945 default timeout (currently 600 seconds); a value of <code>-1</code>
946 disables active timeouts.
949 <column name="add_id_to_interface">
950 <p>If this column's value is <code>false</code>, the ingress and egress
951 interface fields of NetFlow flow records are derived from OpenFlow port
952 numbers. When it is <code>true</code>, the 7 most significant bits of
953 these fields will be replaced by the least significant 7 bits of the
954 engine id. This is useful because many NetFlow collectors do not
955 expect multiple switches to be sending messages from the same host, so
956 they do not store the engine information which could be used to
957 disambiguate the traffic.</p>
958 <p>When this option is enabled, a maximum of 508 ports are supported.</p>
963 SSL configuration for an Open_vSwitch.
965 <column name="private_key">
966 Name of a PEM file containing the private key used as the switch's
967 identity for SSL connections to the controller.
970 <column name="certificate">
971 Name of a PEM file containing a certificate, signed by the
972 certificate authority (CA) used by the controller and manager,
973 that certifies the switch's private key, identifying a trustworthy
977 <column name="ca_cert">
978 Name of a PEM file containing the CA certificate used to verify
979 that the switch is connected to a trustworthy controller.
982 <column name="bootstrap_ca_cert">
983 If set to <code>true</code>, then Open vSwitch will attempt to
984 obtain the CA certificate from the controller on its first SSL
985 connection and save it to the named PEM file. If it is successful,
986 it will immediately drop the connection and reconnect, and from then
987 on all SSL connections must be authenticated by a certificate signed
988 by the CA certificate thus obtained. <em>This option exposes the
989 SSL connection to a man-in-the-middle attack obtaining the initial
990 CA certificate.</em> It may still be useful for bootstrapping.
995 <p>An sFlow(R) target. sFlow is a protocol for remote monitoring
998 <column name="agent">
999 Name of the network device whose IP address should be reported as the
1000 ``agent address'' to collectors. If not specified, the IP address
1001 defaults to the <ref table="Controller" column="local_ip"/> in the
1002 collector's <ref table="Controller"/>. If an agent IP address cannot be
1003 determined either way, sFlow is disabled.
1006 <column name="header">
1007 Number of bytes of a sampled packet to send to the collector.
1008 If not specified, the default is 128 bytes.
1011 <column name="polling">
1012 Polling rate in seconds to send port statistics to the collector.
1013 If not specified, defaults to 30 seconds.
1016 <column name="sampling">
1017 Rate at which packets should be sampled and sent to the collector.
1018 If not specified, defaults to 400, which means one out of 400
1019 packets, on average, will be sent to the collector.
1022 <column name="targets">
1023 sFlow targets in the form
1024 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>.
1028 <table name="Capability">
1029 <p>Records in this table describe functionality supported by the hardware
1030 and software platform on which this Open vSwitch is based. Clients
1031 should not modify this table.</p>
1033 <p>A record in this table is meaningful only if it is referenced by the
1034 <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="capabilities"/> column in the
1035 <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table. The key used to reference it, called
1036 the record's ``category,'' determines the meanings of the
1037 <ref column="details"/> column. The following general forms of
1038 categories are currently defined:</p>
1041 <dt><code>qos-<var>type</var></code></dt>
1042 <dd><var>type</var> is supported as the value for
1043 <ref column="type" table="QoS"/> in the <ref table="QoS"/> table.
1047 <column name="details">
1048 <p>Key-value pairs that describe capabilities. The meaning of the pairs
1049 depends on the category key that the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"
1050 column="capabilities"/> column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table
1051 uses to reference this record, as described above.</p>
1053 <p>The presence of a record for category <code>qos-<var>type</var></code>
1054 indicates that the switch supports <var>type</var> as the value of
1055 the <ref table="QoS" column="type"/> column in the <ref table="QoS"/>
1056 table. The following key-value pairs are defined to further describe
1057 QoS capabilities:</p>
1060 <dt><code>n-queues</code></dt>
1061 <dd>Number of supported queues, as a positive integer. Keys in the
1062 <ref table="QoS" column="queues"/> column for <ref table="QoS"/>
1063 records whose <ref table="QoS" column="type"/> value
1064 equals <var>type</var> must range between 0 and this value minus one,