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="managers">
19 Remote database clients to which the Open vSwitch's database server
20 should connect or to which it should listen.
24 SSL used globally by the daemon.
27 <column name="external_ids">
28 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate
29 with Open vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System
30 integrators should either use the Open vSwitch development
31 mailing list to coordinate on common key-value definitions, or
32 choose key names that are likely to be unique. The currently
33 defined common key-value pairs are:
35 <dt><code>system-uuid</code></dt>
36 <dd>A universally unique identifier for the Open vSwitch's
37 physical host. The form of the identifier depends on the
38 type of the host. On a Citrix XenServer, this is the host
39 UUID displayed by, e.g., <code>xe host-list</code>.</dd>
44 <group title="Status">
45 <column name="next_cfg">
46 Sequence number for client to increment. When a client modifies
47 any part of the database configuration and wishes to wait for
48 Open vSwitch to finish applying the changes, it may increment
52 <column name="cur_cfg">
53 Sequence number that Open vSwitch sets to the current value of
54 <ref column="next_cfg"/> after it finishes applying a set of
55 configuration changes.
58 <column name="capabilities">
59 Describes functionality supported by the hardware and software platform
60 on which this Open vSwitch is based. Clients should not modify this
61 column. See the <ref table="Capability"/> description for defined
62 capability categories and the meaning of associated
63 <ref table="Capability"/> records.
66 <column name="statistics">
68 Key-value pairs that report statistics about a running Open_vSwitch
69 daemon. The current implementation updates these counters
70 periodically. In the future, we plan to, instead, update them only
71 when they are queried (e.g. using an OVSDB <code>select</code>
72 operation) and perhaps at other times, but not on any regular
75 The currently defined key-value pairs are listed below. Some Open
76 vSwitch implementations may not support some statistics, in which
77 case those key-value pairs are omitted.</p>
79 <dt><code>load-average</code></dt>
81 System load average multiplied by 100 and rounded to the nearest
90 Configuration for a bridge within an
91 <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/>.
94 A <ref table="Bridge"/> record represents an Ethernet switch with one or
95 more ``ports,'' which are the <ref table="Port"/> records pointed to by
96 the <ref table="Bridge"/>'s <ref column="ports"/> column.
99 <group title="Core Features">
101 Bridge identifier. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8
102 bytes long. Must be unique among the names of ports, interfaces, and
106 <column name="ports">
107 Ports included in the bridge.
110 <column name="mirrors">
111 Port mirroring configuration.
114 <column name="netflow">
115 NetFlow configuration.
118 <column name="sflow">
122 <column name="flood_vlans">
123 VLAN IDs of VLANs on which MAC address learning should be disabled, so
124 that packets are flooded instead of being sent to specific ports that
125 are believed to contain packets' destination MACs. This should
126 ordinarily be used to disable MAC learning on VLANs used for mirroring
127 (RSPAN VLANs). It may also be useful for debugging.
131 <group title="OpenFlow Configuration">
132 <column name="controller">
133 OpenFlow controller set. If unset, then no OpenFlow controllers
137 <column name="fail_mode">
138 <p>When a controller is configured, it is, ordinarily, responsible
139 for setting up all flows on the switch. Thus, if the connection to
140 the controller fails, no new network connections can be set up.
141 If the connection to the controller stays down long enough,
142 no packets can pass through the switch at all. This setting
143 determines the switch's response to such a situation. It may be set
144 to one of the following:
146 <dt><code>standalone</code></dt>
147 <dd>If no message is received from the controller for three
148 times the inactivity probe interval
149 (see <ref column="inactivity_probe"/>), then Open vSwitch
150 will take over responsibility for setting up flows. In
151 this mode, Open vSwitch causes the bridge to act like an
152 ordinary MAC-learning switch. Open vSwitch will continue
153 to retry connecting to the controller in the background
154 and, when the connection succeeds, it will discontinue its
155 standalone behavior.</dd>
156 <dt><code>secure</code></dt>
157 <dd>Open vSwitch will not set up flows on its own when the
158 controller connection fails or when no controllers are
159 defined. The bridge will continue to retry connecting to
160 any defined controllers forever.</dd>
163 <p>If this value is unset, the default is implementation-specific.</p>
164 <p>When more than one controller is configured,
165 <ref column="fail_mode"/> is considered only when none of the
166 configured controllers can be contacted.</p>
169 <column name="datapath_id">
170 Reports the OpenFlow datapath ID in use. Exactly 16 hex
171 digits. (Setting this column will have no useful effect. Set
172 <ref column="other_config"/>:<code>other-config</code>
177 <group title="Other Features">
178 <column name="datapath_type">
179 Name of datapath provider. The kernel datapath has
180 type <code>system</code>. The userspace datapath has
181 type <code>netdev</code>.
184 <column name="external_ids">
185 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate
186 with Open vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System
187 integrators should either use the Open vSwitch development
188 mailing list to coordinate on common key-value definitions, or
189 choose key names that are likely to be unique. The currently
190 defined common key-value pairs are:
192 <dt><code>network-uuids</code></dt>
193 <dd>Semicolon-delimited set of universally unique identifier(s) for
194 the network with which this bridge is associated. The form of the
195 identifier(s) depends on the type of the host. On a Citrix
196 XenServer host, the network identifiers are RFC 4122 UUIDs as
197 displayed by, e.g., <code>xe network-list</code>.</dd>
201 <column name="other_config">
202 Key-value pairs for configuring rarely used bridge
203 features. The currently defined key-value pairs are:
205 <dt><code>datapath-id</code></dt>
207 digits to set the OpenFlow datapath ID to a specific
209 <dt><code>hwaddr</code></dt>
210 <dd>An Ethernet address in the form
211 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>
212 to set the hardware address of the local port and influence the
219 <table name="Port" table="Port or bond configuration.">
220 <p>A port within a <ref table="Bridge"/>.</p>
221 <p>Most commonly, a port has exactly one ``interface,'' pointed to by its
222 <ref column="interfaces"/> column. Such a port logically
223 corresponds to a port on a physical Ethernet switch. A port
224 with more than one interface is a ``bonded port'' (see
225 <ref group="Bonding Configuration"/>).</p>
226 <p>Some properties that one might think as belonging to a port are actually
227 part of the port's <ref table="Interface"/> members.</p>
230 Port name. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8
231 bytes long. May be the same as the interface name, for
232 non-bonded ports. Must otherwise be unique among the names of
233 ports, interfaces, and bridges on a host.
236 <column name="interfaces">
237 The port's interfaces. If there is more than one, this is a
241 <group title="VLAN Configuration">
242 <p>A bridge port must be configured for VLANs in one of two
243 mutually exclusive ways:
245 <li>A ``trunk port'' has an empty value for <ref
246 column="tag"/>. Its <ref column="trunks"/> value may be
247 empty or non-empty.</li>
248 <li>An ``implicitly tagged VLAN port'' or ``access port''
249 has an nonempty value for <ref column="tag"/>. Its
250 <ref column="trunks"/> value must be empty.</li>
252 If <ref column="trunks"/> and <ref column="tag"/> are both
253 nonempty, the configuration is ill-formed.
258 If this is an access port (see above), the port's implicitly
259 tagged VLAN. Must be empty if this is a trunk port.
262 Frames arriving on trunk ports will be forwarded to this
263 port only if they are tagged with the given VLAN (or, if
264 <ref column="tag"/> is 0, then if they lack a VLAN header).
265 Frames arriving on other access ports will be forwarded to
266 this port only if they have the same <ref column="tag"/>
267 value. Frames forwarded to this port will not have an
271 When a frame with a 802.1Q header that indicates a nonzero
272 VLAN is received on an access port, it is discarded.
276 <column name="trunks">
278 If this is a trunk port (see above), the 802.1Q VLAN(s) that
279 this port trunks; if it is empty, then the port trunks all
280 VLANs. Must be empty if this is an access port.
283 Frames arriving on trunk ports are dropped if they are not
284 in one of the specified VLANs. For this purpose, packets
285 that have no VLAN header are treated as part of VLAN 0.
290 <group title="Bonding Configuration">
291 <p>A port that has more than one interface is a ``bonded port.''
292 Bonding allows for load balancing and fail-over. Open vSwitch
293 supports ``source load balancing'' (SLB) bonding, which
294 assigns flows to slaves based on source MAC address, with
295 periodic rebalancing as traffic patterns change. This form of
296 bonding does not require 802.3ad or other special support from
297 the upstream switch to which the slave devices are
300 <p>These columns apply only to bonded ports. Their values are
301 otherwise ignored.</p>
303 <column name="bond_updelay">
304 <p>For a bonded port, the number of milliseconds for which carrier must
305 stay up on an interface before the interface is considered to be up.
306 Specify <code>0</code> to enable the interface immediately.</p>
307 <p>This setting is honored only when at least one bonded interface is
308 already enabled. When no interfaces are enabled, then the first bond
309 interface to come up is enabled immediately.</p>
312 <column name="bond_downdelay">
313 For a bonded port, the number of milliseconds for which carrier must
314 stay down on an interface before the interface is considered to be
315 down. Specify <code>0</code> to disable the interface immediately.
318 <column name="bond_fake_iface">
319 For a bonded port, whether to create a fake internal interface with the
320 name of the port. Use only for compatibility with legacy software that
325 <group title="Other Features">
327 Quality of Service configuration for this port.
331 The MAC address to use for this port for the purpose of choosing the
332 bridge's MAC address. This column does not necessarily reflect the
333 port's actual MAC address, nor will setting it change the port's actual
337 <column name="fake_bridge">
338 Does this port represent a sub-bridge for its tagged VLAN within the
339 Bridge? See ovs-vsctl(8) for more information.
342 <column name="external_ids">
344 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate with
345 Open vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System integrators
346 should either use the Open vSwitch development mailing list to
347 coordinate on common key-value definitions, or choose key names that
348 are likely to be unique.
351 No key-value pairs native to <ref table="Port"/> are currently
352 defined. For fake bridges (see the <ref column="fake_bridge"/>
353 column), external IDs for the fake bridge are defined here by
354 prefixing a <ref table="Bridge"/> <ref table="Bridge"
355 column="external_ids"/> key with <code>fake-bridge-</code>,
356 e.g. <code>fake-bridge-network-uuids</code>.
360 <column name="other_config">
361 Key-value pairs for configuring rarely used port features. The
362 currently defined key-value pairs are:
364 <dt><code>hwaddr</code></dt>
365 <dd>An Ethernet address in the form
366 <code><var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var></code>.</dd>
367 <dt><code>bond-rebalance-interval</code></dt>
368 <dd>For a bonded port, the number of milliseconds between
369 successive attempts to rebalance the bond, that is, to
370 move source MACs and their flows from one interface on
371 the bond to another in an attempt to keep usage of each
372 interface roughly equal. The default is 10000 (10
373 seconds), and the minimum is 1000 (1 second).</dd>
379 <table name="Interface" title="One physical network device in a Port.">
380 An interface within a <ref table="Port"/>.
382 <group title="Core Features">
384 Interface name. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8 bytes
385 long. May be the same as the port name, for non-bonded ports. Must
386 otherwise be unique among the names of ports, interfaces, and bridges
391 <p>Ethernet address to set for this interface. If unset then the
392 default MAC address is used:</p>
394 <li>For the local interface, the default is the lowest-numbered MAC
395 address among the other bridge ports, either the value of the
396 <ref table="Port" column="mac"/> in its <ref table="Port"/> record,
397 if set, or its actual MAC (for bonded ports, the MAC of its slave
398 whose name is first in alphabetical order). Internal ports and
399 bridge ports that are used as port mirroring destinations (see the
400 <ref table="Mirror"/> table) are ignored.</li>
401 <li>For other internal interfaces, the default MAC is randomly
403 <li>External interfaces typically have a MAC address associated with
406 <p>Some interfaces may not have a software-controllable MAC
410 <column name="ofport">
411 <p>OpenFlow port number for this interface. Unlike most columns, this
412 column's value should be set only by Open vSwitch itself. Other
413 clients should set this column to an empty set (the default) when
414 creating an <ref table="Interface"/>.</p>
415 <p>Open vSwitch populates this column when the port number becomes
416 known. If the interface is successfully added,
417 <ref column="ofport"/> will be set to a number between 1 and 65535
418 (generally either in the range 1 to 65280, exclusive, or 65534, the
419 port number for the OpenFlow ``local port''). If the interface
420 cannot be added then Open vSwitch sets this column
425 <group title="System-Specific Details">
427 The interface type, one of:
429 <dt><code>system</code></dt>
430 <dd>An ordinary network device, e.g. <code>eth0</code> on Linux.
431 Sometimes referred to as ``external interfaces'' since they are
432 generally connected to hardware external to that on which the Open
433 vSwitch is running. The empty string is a synonym for
434 <code>system</code>.</dd>
435 <dt><code>internal</code></dt>
436 <dd>A simulated network device that sends and receives traffic. An
437 internal interface whose <ref column="name"/> is the same as its
438 bridge's <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="name"/> is called the
439 ``local interface.'' It does not make sense to bond an internal
440 interface, so the terms ``port'' and ``interface'' are often used
441 imprecisely for internal interfaces.</dd>
442 <dt><code>tap</code></dt>
443 <dd>A TUN/TAP device managed by Open vSwitch.</dd>
444 <dt><code>gre</code></dt>
445 <dd>An Ethernet over RFC 1702 Generic Routing Encapsulation over IPv4
446 tunnel. Each tunnel must be uniquely identified by the
447 combination of <code>remote_ip</code>, <code>local_ip</code>, and
448 <code>in_key</code>. Note that if two ports are defined that are
449 the same except one has an optional identifier and the other does
450 not, the more specific one is matched first. <code>in_key</code>
451 is considered more specific than <code>local_ip</code> if a port
452 defines one and another port defines the other. The following
453 options may be specified in the <ref column="options"/> column:
455 <dt><code>remote_ip</code></dt>
456 <dd>Required. The tunnel endpoint.</dd>
459 <dt><code>local_ip</code></dt>
460 <dd>Optional. The destination IP that received packets must
461 match. Default is to match all addresses.</dd>
464 <dt><code>in_key</code></dt>
465 <dd>Optional. The GRE key that received packets must contain.
466 It may either be a 32-bit number (no key and a key of 0 are
467 treated as equivalent) or the word <code>flow</code>. If
468 <code>flow</code> is specified then any key will be accepted
469 and the key will be placed in the <code>tun_id</code> field
470 for matching in the flow table. The ovs-ofctl manual page
471 contains additional information about matching fields in
472 OpenFlow flows. Default is no key.</dd>
475 <dt><code>out_key</code></dt>
476 <dd>Optional. The GRE key to be set on outgoing packets. It may
477 either be a 32-bit number or the word <code>flow</code>. If
478 <code>flow</code> is specified then the key may be set using
479 the <code>set_tunnel</code> Nicira OpenFlow vendor extension (0
480 is used in the absence of an action). The ovs-ofctl manual
481 page contains additional information about the Nicira OpenFlow
482 vendor extensions. Default is no key.</dd>
485 <dt><code>key</code></dt>
486 <dd>Optional. Shorthand to set <code>in_key</code> and
487 <code>out_key</code> at the same time.</dd>
490 <dt><code>tos</code></dt>
491 <dd>Optional. The value of the ToS bits to be set on the
492 encapsulating packet. It may also be the word
493 <code>inherit</code>, in which case the ToS will be copied from
494 the inner packet if it is IPv4 or IPv6 (otherwise it will be
495 0). Note that the ECN fields are always inherited. Default is
499 <dt><code>ttl</code></dt>
500 <dd>Optional. The TTL to be set on the encapsulating packet.
501 It may also be the word <code>inherit</code>, in which case the
502 TTL will be copied from the inner packet if it is IPv4 or IPv6
503 (otherwise it will be the system default, typically 64).
504 Default is the system default TTL.</dd>
507 <dt><code>csum</code></dt>
508 <dd>Optional. Compute GRE checksums for outgoing packets and
509 require checksums for incoming packets. Default is enabled,
510 set to <code>false</code> to disable.</dd>
513 <dt><code>pmtud</code></dt>
514 <dd>Optional. Enable tunnel path MTU discovery. If enabled
515 ``ICMP destination unreachable - fragmentation'' needed
516 messages will be generated for IPv4 packets with the DF bit set
517 and IPv6 packets above the minimum MTU if the packet size
518 exceeds the path MTU minus the size of the tunnel headers. It
519 also forces the encapsulating packet DF bit to be set (it is
520 always set if the inner packet implies path MTU discovery).
521 Note that this option causes behavior that is typically
522 reserved for routers and therefore is not entirely in
523 compliance with the IEEE 802.1D specification for bridges.
524 Default is enabled, set to <code>false</code> to disable.</dd>
527 <dt><code>patch</code></dt>
530 A pair of virtual devices that act as a patch cable. The <ref
531 column="options"/> column must have the following key-value pair:
534 <dt><code>peer</code></dt>
536 The <ref column="name"/> of the <ref table="Interface"/> for
537 the other side of the patch. The named <ref
538 table="Interface"/>'s own <code>peer</code> option must specify
539 this <ref table="Interface"/>'s name. That is, the two patch
540 interfaces must have reversed <ref column="name"/> and
541 <code>peer</code> values.
548 <column name="options">
549 Configuration options whose interpretation varies based on
550 <ref column="type"/>.
554 <group title="Ingress Policing">
555 <column name="ingress_policing_burst">
556 <p>Maximum burst size for data received on this interface, in kb. The
557 default burst size if set to <code>0</code> is 1000 kb. This value
558 has no effect if <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/>
559 is <code>0</code>.</p>
560 <p>The burst size should be at least the size of the interface's
564 <column name="ingress_policing_rate">
565 <p>Maximum rate for data received on this interface, in kbps. Data
566 received faster than this rate is dropped. Set to <code>0</code> to
567 disable policing.</p>
568 <p>The meaning of ``ingress'' is from Open vSwitch's perspective. If
569 configured on a physical interface, then it limits the rate at which
570 traffic is allowed into the system from the outside. If configured
571 on a virtual interface that is connected to a virtual machine, then
572 it limits the rate at which the guest is able to transmit.</p>
576 <group title="Other Features">
577 <column name="external_ids">
579 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate
580 with Open vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System
581 integrators should either use the Open vSwitch development
582 mailing list to coordinate on common key-value definitions, or
583 choose key names that are likely to be unique.
586 All of the currently defined key-value pairs specifically
587 apply to an interface that represents a virtual Ethernet interface
588 connected to a virtual machine. These key-value pairs should not be
589 present for other types of interfaces. Keys whose names end
590 in <code>-uuid</code> have values that uniquely identify the entity
591 in question. For a Citrix XenServer hypervisor, these values are
592 UUIDs in RFC 4122 format. Other hypervisors may use other
595 <p>The currently defined key-value pairs are:</p>
597 <dt><code>vif-uuid</code></dt>
598 <dd>The virtual interface associated with this interface.</dd>
599 <dt><code>network-uuid</code></dt>
600 <dd>The virtual network to which this interface is attached.</dd>
601 <dt><code>vm-uuid</code></dt>
602 <dd>The VM to which this interface belongs.</dd>
603 <dt><code>vif-mac</code></dt>
604 <dd>The MAC address programmed into the "virtual hardware" for this
606 form <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>.
607 For Citrix XenServer, this is the value of the <code>MAC</code>
608 field in the VIF record for this interface.</dd>
612 <column name="statistics">
614 Key-value pairs that report interface statistics. The current
615 implementation updates these counters periodically. In the future,
616 we plan to, instead, update them when an interface is created, when
617 they are queried (e.g. using an OVSDB <code>select</code> operation),
618 and just before an interface is deleted due to virtual interface
619 hot-unplug or VM shutdown, and perhaps at other times, but not on any
620 regular periodic basis.</p>
622 The currently defined key-value pairs are listed below. These are
623 the same statistics reported by OpenFlow in its <code>struct
624 ofp_port_stats</code> structure. If an interface does not support a
625 given statistic, then that pair is omitted.</p>
628 Successful transmit and receive counters:
630 <dt><code>rx_packets</code></dt>
631 <dd>Number of received packets.</dd>
632 <dt><code>rx_bytes</code></dt>
633 <dd>Number of received bytes.</dd>
634 <dt><code>tx_packets</code></dt>
635 <dd>Number of transmitted packets.</dd>
636 <dt><code>tx_bytes</code></dt>
637 <dd>Number of transmitted bytes.</dd>
643 <dt><code>rx_dropped</code></dt>
644 <dd>Number of packets dropped by RX.</dd>
645 <dt><code>rx_frame_err</code></dt>
646 <dd>Number of frame alignment errors.</dd>
647 <dt><code>rx_over_err</code></dt>
648 <dd>Number of packets with RX overrun.</dd>
649 <dt><code>rx_crc_err</code></dt>
650 <dd>Number of CRC errors.</dd>
651 <dt><code>rx_errors</code></dt>
653 Total number of receive errors, greater than or equal
654 to the sum of the above.
661 <dt><code>tx_dropped</code></dt>
662 <dd>Number of packets dropped by TX.</dd>
663 <dt><code>collisions</code></dt>
664 <dd>Number of collisions.</dd>
665 <dt><code>tx_errors</code></dt>
667 Total number of transmit errors, greater
668 than or equal to the sum of the above.
677 <table name="QoS" title="Quality of Service configuration">
678 <p>Quality of Service (QoS) configuration for each Port that
682 <p>The type of QoS to implement. The <ref table="Open_vSwitch"
683 column="capabilities"/> column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table
684 identifies the types that a switch actually supports. The currently
685 defined types are listed below:</p>
687 <dt><code>linux-htb</code></dt>
688 <dd>Linux ``hierarchy token bucket'' classifier.</dd>
692 <column name="queues">
693 <p>A map from queue numbers to <ref table="Queue"/> records. The
694 supported range of queue numbers depend on <ref column="type"/>. The
695 queue numbers are the same as the <code>queue_id</code> used in
696 OpenFlow in <code>struct ofp_action_enqueue</code> and other
697 structures. Queue 0 is used by OpenFlow output actions that do not
698 specify a specific queue.</p>
701 <column name="other_config">
702 <p>Key-value pairs for configuring QoS features that depend on
703 <ref column="type"/>.</p>
704 <p>The <code>linux-htb</code> class supports the following key-value
707 <dt><code>max-rate</code></dt>
708 <dd>Maximum rate shared by all queued traffic, in bit/s.
709 Optional. If not specified, for physical interfaces, the
710 default is the link rate. For other interfaces or if the
711 link rate cannot be determined, the default is currently 100
716 <column name="external_ids">
717 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate with Open
718 vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System integrators should
719 either use the Open vSwitch development mailing list to coordinate on
720 common key-value definitions, or choose key names that are likely to be
721 unique. No common key-value pairs are currently defined.
725 <table name="Queue" title="QoS output queue.">
726 <p>A configuration for a port output queue, used in configuring Quality of
727 Service (QoS) features. May be referenced by <ref column="queues"
728 table="QoS"/> column in <ref table="QoS"/> table.</p>
730 <column name="other_config">
731 <p>Key-value pairs for configuring the output queue. The supported
732 key-value pairs and their meanings depend on the <ref column="type"/>
733 of the <ref column="QoS"/> records that reference this row.</p>
734 <p>The key-value pairs defined for <ref table="QoS"/> <ref table="QoS"
735 column="type"/> of <code>min-rate</code> are:</p>
737 <dt><code>min-rate</code></dt>
738 <dd>Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s. Required.</dd>
740 <p>The key-value pairs defined for <ref table="QoS"/> <ref table="QoS"
741 column="type"/> of <code>linux-htb</code> are:</p>
743 <dt><code>min-rate</code></dt>
744 <dd>Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s. Required.</dd>
745 <dt><code>max-rate</code></dt>
746 <dd>Maximum allowed bandwidth, in bit/s. Optional. If specified, the
747 queue's rate will not be allowed to exceed the specified value, even
748 if excess bandwidth is available. If unspecified, defaults to no
750 <dt><code>burst</code></dt>
751 <dd>Burst size, in bits. This is the maximum amount of ``credits''
752 that a queue can accumulate while it is idle. Optional. Details of
753 the <code>linux-htb</code> implementation require a minimum burst
754 size, so a too-small <code>burst</code> will be silently
756 <dt><code>priority</code></dt>
757 <dd>A nonnegative 32-bit integer. Defaults to 0 if
758 unspecified. A queue with a smaller <code>priority</code>
759 will receive all the excess bandwidth that it can use before
760 a queue with a larger value receives any. Specific priority
761 values are unimportant; only relative ordering matters.</dd>
765 <column name="external_ids">
766 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate with Open
767 vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System integrators should
768 either use the Open vSwitch development mailing list to coordinate on
769 common key-value definitions, or choose key names that are likely to be
770 unique. No common key-value pairs are currently defined.
774 <table name="Mirror" title="Port mirroring (SPAN/RSPAN).">
775 <p>A port mirror within a <ref table="Bridge"/>.</p>
776 <p>A port mirror configures a bridge to send selected frames to special
777 ``mirrored'' ports, in addition to their normal destinations. Mirroring
778 traffic may also be referred to as SPAN or RSPAN, depending on the
779 mechanism used for delivery.</p>
782 Arbitrary identifier for the <ref table="Mirror"/>.
785 <group title="Selecting Packets for Mirroring">
786 <column name="select_all">
787 If true, every packet arriving or departing on any port is
788 selected for mirroring.
791 <column name="select_dst_port">
792 Ports on which departing packets are selected for mirroring.
795 <column name="select_src_port">
796 Ports on which arriving packets are selected for mirroring.
799 <column name="select_vlan">
800 VLANs on which packets are selected for mirroring. An empty set
801 selects packets on all VLANs.
805 <group title="Mirroring Destination Configuration">
806 <column name="output_port">
807 <p>Output port for selected packets, if nonempty. Mutually exclusive
808 with <ref column="output_vlan"/>.</p>
809 <p>Specifying a port for mirror output reserves that port exclusively
810 for mirroring. No frames other than those selected for mirroring
811 will be forwarded to the port, and any frames received on the port
812 will be discarded.</p>
813 <p>This type of mirroring is sometimes called SPAN.</p>
816 <column name="output_vlan">
817 <p>Output VLAN for selected packets, if nonempty. Mutually exclusive
818 with <ref column="output_port"/>.</p>
819 <p>The frames will be sent out all ports that trunk
820 <ref column="output_vlan"/>, as well as any ports with implicit VLAN
821 <ref column="output_vlan"/>. When a mirrored frame is sent out a
822 trunk port, the frame's VLAN tag will be set to
823 <ref column="output_vlan"/>, replacing any existing tag; when it is
824 sent out an implicit VLAN port, the frame will not be tagged. This
825 type of mirroring is sometimes called RSPAN.</p>
826 <p><em>Please note:</em> Mirroring to a VLAN can disrupt a network that
827 contains unmanaged switches. Consider an unmanaged physical switch
828 with two ports: port 1, connected to an end host, and port 2,
829 connected to an Open vSwitch configured to mirror received packets
830 into VLAN 123 on port 2. Suppose that the end host sends a packet on
831 port 1 that the physical switch forwards to port 2. The Open vSwitch
832 forwards this packet to its destination and then reflects it back on
833 port 2 in VLAN 123. This reflected packet causes the unmanaged
834 physical switch to replace the MAC learning table entry, which
835 correctly pointed to port 1, with one that incorrectly points to port
836 2. Afterward, the physical switch will direct packets destined for
837 the end host to the Open vSwitch on port 2, instead of to the end
838 host on port 1, disrupting connectivity. If mirroring to a VLAN is
839 desired in this scenario, then the physical switch must be replaced
840 by one that learns Ethernet addresses on a per-VLAN basis. In
841 addition, learning should be disabled on the VLAN containing mirrored
842 traffic. If this is not done then intermediate switches will learn
843 the MAC address of each end host from the mirrored traffic. If
844 packets being sent to that end host are also mirrored, then they will
845 be dropped since the switch will attempt to send them out the input
846 port. Disabling learning for the VLAN will cause the switch to
847 correctly send the packet out all ports configured for that VLAN. If
848 Open vSwitch is being used as an intermediate switch, learning can be
849 disabled by adding the mirrored VLAN to <ref column="flood_vlans"/>
850 in the appropriate <ref table="Bridge"/> table or tables.</p>
854 <group title="Other Features">
855 <column name="external_ids">
856 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate with Open
857 vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System integrators should
858 either use the Open vSwitch development mailing list to coordinate on
859 common key-value definitions, or choose key names that are likely to be
860 unique. No common key-value pairs are currently defined.
865 <table name="Controller" title="OpenFlow controller configuration.">
866 <p>An OpenFlow controller.</p>
869 Open vSwitch supports two kinds of OpenFlow controllers:
873 <dt>Primary controllers</dt>
876 This is the kind of controller envisioned by the OpenFlow 1.0
877 specification. Usually, a primary controller implements a network
878 policy by taking charge of the switch's flow table.
882 Open vSwitch initiates and maintains persistent connections to
883 primary controllers, retrying the connection each time it fails or
884 drops. The <ref table="Bridge" column="fail_mode"/> column in the
885 <ref table="Bridge"/> table applies to primary controllers.
889 Open vSwitch permits a bridge to have any number of primary
890 controllers. When multiple controllers are configured, Open
891 vSwitch connects to all of them simultaneously. Because
892 OpenFlow 1.0 does not specify how multiple controllers
893 coordinate in interacting with a single switch, more than
894 one primary controller should be specified only if the
895 controllers are themselves designed to coordinate with each
896 other. (The Nicira-defined <code>NXT_ROLE</code> OpenFlow
897 vendor extension may be useful for this.)
900 <dt>Service controllers</dt>
903 These kinds of OpenFlow controller connections are intended for
904 occasional support and maintenance use, e.g. with
905 <code>ovs-ofctl</code>. Usually a service controller connects only
906 briefly to inspect or modify some of a switch's state.
910 Open vSwitch listens for incoming connections from service
911 controllers. The service controllers initiate and, if necessary,
912 maintain the connections from their end. The <ref table="Bridge"
913 column="fail_mode"/> column in the <ref table="Bridge"/> table does
914 not apply to service controllers.
918 Open vSwitch supports configuring any number of service controllers.
924 The <ref column="target"/> determines the type of controller.
927 <group title="Core Features">
928 <column name="target">
929 <p>Connection method for controller.</p>
931 The following connection methods are currently supported for primary
935 <dt><code>ssl:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
937 <p>The specified SSL <var>port</var> (default: 6633) on the host at
938 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
939 (not a DNS name). The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/>
940 column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a
941 valid SSL configuration when this form is used.</p>
942 <p>SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
943 part of Open vSwitch.</p>
945 <dt><code>tcp:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
946 <dd>The specified TCP <var>port</var> (default: 6633) on the host at
947 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
948 (not a DNS name).</dd>
949 <dt><code>discover</code></dt>
951 <p>Enables controller discovery.</p>
952 <p>In controller discovery mode, Open vSwitch broadcasts a DHCP
953 request with vendor class identifier <code>OpenFlow</code> across
954 all of the bridge's network devices. It will accept any valid
955 DHCP reply that has the same vendor class identifier and includes
956 a vendor-specific option with code 1 whose contents are a string
957 specifying the location of the controller in the same format as
958 <ref column="target"/>.</p>
959 <p>The DHCP reply may also, optionally, include a vendor-specific
960 option with code 2 whose contents are a string specifying the URI
961 to the base of the OpenFlow PKI
962 (e.g. <code>http://192.168.0.1/openflow/pki</code>). This URI is
963 used only for bootstrapping the OpenFlow PKI at initial switch
964 setup; <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> does not use it at all.</p>
968 The following connection methods are currently supported for service
972 <dt><code>pssl:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
975 Listens for SSL connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
976 (default: 6633). If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an
977 IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then connections are
978 restricted to the specified local IP address.
981 The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/> column in the <ref
982 table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a valid SSL
983 configuration when this form is used.
985 <p>SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
986 part of Open vSwitch.</p>
988 <dt><code>ptcp:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
990 Listens for connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
991 (default: 6633). If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an
992 IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then connections are
993 restricted to the specified local IP address.
996 <p>When multiple controllers are configured for a single bridge, the
997 <ref column="target"/> values must be unique. Duplicate
998 <ref column="target"/> values yield unspecified results.</p>
1001 <column name="connection_mode">
1002 <p>If it is specified, this setting must be one of the following
1003 strings that describes how Open vSwitch contacts this OpenFlow
1004 controller over the network:</p>
1007 <dt><code>in-band</code></dt>
1008 <dd>In this mode, this controller's OpenFlow traffic travels over the
1009 bridge associated with the controller. With this setting, Open
1010 vSwitch allows traffic to and from the controller regardless of the
1011 contents of the OpenFlow flow table. (Otherwise, Open vSwitch
1012 would never be able to connect to the controller, because it did
1013 not have a flow to enable it.) This is the most common connection
1014 mode because it is not necessary to maintain two independent
1016 <dt><code>out-of-band</code></dt>
1017 <dd>In this mode, OpenFlow traffic uses a control network separate
1018 from the bridge associated with this controller, that is, the
1019 bridge does not use any of its own network devices to communicate
1020 with the controller. The control network must be configured
1021 separately, before or after <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> is started.
1025 <p>If not specified, the default is implementation-specific. If
1026 <ref column="target"/> is <code>discover</code>, the connection mode
1027 is always treated as <code>in-band</code> regardless of the actual
1032 <group title="Controller Failure Detection and Handling">
1033 <column name="max_backoff">
1034 Maximum number of milliseconds to wait between connection attempts.
1035 Default is implementation-specific.
1038 <column name="inactivity_probe">
1039 Maximum number of milliseconds of idle time on connection to
1040 controller before sending an inactivity probe message. If Open
1041 vSwitch does not communicate with the controller for the specified
1042 number of seconds, it will send a probe. If a response is not
1043 received for the same additional amount of time, Open vSwitch
1044 assumes the connection has been broken and attempts to reconnect.
1045 Default is implementation-specific.
1049 <group title="OpenFlow Rate Limiting">
1050 <column name="controller_rate_limit">
1051 <p>The maximum rate at which packets in unknown flows will be
1052 forwarded to the OpenFlow controller, in packets per second. This
1053 feature prevents a single bridge from overwhelming the controller.
1054 If not specified, the default is implementation-specific.</p>
1055 <p>In addition, when a high rate triggers rate-limiting, Open
1056 vSwitch queues controller packets for each port and transmits
1057 them to the controller at the configured rate. The number of
1058 queued packets is limited by
1059 the <ref column="controller_burst_limit"/> value. The packet
1060 queue is shared fairly among the ports on a bridge.</p><p>Open
1061 vSwitch maintains two such packet rate-limiters per bridge.
1062 One of these applies to packets sent up to the controller
1063 because they do not correspond to any flow. The other applies
1064 to packets sent up to the controller by request through flow
1065 actions. When both rate-limiters are filled with packets, the
1066 actual rate that packets are sent to the controller is up to
1067 twice the specified rate.</p>
1070 <column name="controller_burst_limit">
1071 In conjunction with <ref column="controller_rate_limit"/>,
1072 the maximum number of unused packet credits that the bridge will
1073 allow to accumulate, in packets. If not specified, the default
1074 is implementation-specific.
1078 <group title="Additional Discovery Configuration">
1079 <p>These values are considered only when <ref column="target"/>
1080 is <code>discover</code>.</p>
1082 <column name="discover_accept_regex">
1084 extended regular expression against which the discovered controller
1085 location is validated. The regular expression is implicitly
1086 anchored at the beginning of the controller location string, as
1087 if it begins with <code>^</code>. If not specified, the default
1088 is implementation-specific.
1091 <column name="discover_update_resolv_conf">
1092 Whether to update <code>/etc/resolv.conf</code> when the
1093 controller is discovered. If not specified, the default
1094 is implementation-specific. Open vSwitch will only modify
1095 <code>/etc/resolv.conf</code> if the DHCP response that it receives
1096 specifies one or more DNS servers.
1100 <group title="Additional In-Band Configuration">
1101 <p>These values are considered only in in-band control mode (see
1102 <ref column="connection_mode"/>) and only when <ref column="target"/>
1103 is not <code>discover</code>. (For controller discovery, the network
1104 configuration obtained via DHCP is used instead.)</p>
1106 <p>When multiple controllers are configured on a single bridge, there
1107 should be only one set of unique values in these columns. If different
1108 values are set for these columns in different controllers, the effect
1111 <column name="local_ip">
1112 The IP address to configure on the local port,
1113 e.g. <code>192.168.0.123</code>. If this value is unset, then
1114 <ref column="local_netmask"/> and <ref column="local_gateway"/> are
1118 <column name="local_netmask">
1119 The IP netmask to configure on the local port,
1120 e.g. <code>255.255.255.0</code>. If <ref column="local_ip"/> is set
1121 but this value is unset, then the default is chosen based on whether
1122 the IP address is class A, B, or C.
1125 <column name="local_gateway">
1126 The IP address of the gateway to configure on the local port, as a
1127 string, e.g. <code>192.168.0.1</code>. Leave this column unset if
1128 this network has no gateway.
1132 <group title="Other Features">
1133 <column name="external_ids">
1134 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate with Open
1135 vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System integrators should
1136 either use the Open vSwitch development mailing list to coordinate on
1137 common key-value definitions, or choose key names that are likely to be
1138 unique. No common key-value pairs are currently defined.
1143 <table name="NetFlow">
1144 A NetFlow target. NetFlow is a protocol that exports a number of
1145 details about terminating IP flows, such as the principals involved
1148 <column name="targets">
1149 NetFlow targets in the form
1150 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>. The <var>ip</var>
1151 must be specified numerically, not as a DNS name.
1154 <column name="engine_id">
1155 Engine ID to use in NetFlow messages. Defaults to datapath index
1159 <column name="engine_type">
1160 Engine type to use in NetFlow messages. Defaults to datapath
1161 index if not specified.
1164 <column name="active_timeout">
1165 The interval at which NetFlow records are sent for flows that are
1166 still active, in seconds. A value of <code>0</code> requests the
1167 default timeout (currently 600 seconds); a value of <code>-1</code>
1168 disables active timeouts.
1171 <column name="add_id_to_interface">
1172 <p>If this column's value is <code>false</code>, the ingress and egress
1173 interface fields of NetFlow flow records are derived from OpenFlow port
1174 numbers. When it is <code>true</code>, the 7 most significant bits of
1175 these fields will be replaced by the least significant 7 bits of the
1176 engine id. This is useful because many NetFlow collectors do not
1177 expect multiple switches to be sending messages from the same host, so
1178 they do not store the engine information which could be used to
1179 disambiguate the traffic.</p>
1180 <p>When this option is enabled, a maximum of 508 ports are supported.</p>
1183 <column name="external_ids">
1184 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate with Open
1185 vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System integrators should
1186 either use the Open vSwitch development mailing list to coordinate on
1187 common key-value definitions, or choose key names that are likely to be
1188 unique. No common key-value pairs are currently defined.
1193 SSL configuration for an Open_vSwitch.
1195 <column name="private_key">
1196 Name of a PEM file containing the private key used as the switch's
1197 identity for SSL connections to the controller.
1200 <column name="certificate">
1201 Name of a PEM file containing a certificate, signed by the
1202 certificate authority (CA) used by the controller and manager,
1203 that certifies the switch's private key, identifying a trustworthy
1207 <column name="ca_cert">
1208 Name of a PEM file containing the CA certificate used to verify
1209 that the switch is connected to a trustworthy controller.
1212 <column name="bootstrap_ca_cert">
1213 If set to <code>true</code>, then Open vSwitch will attempt to
1214 obtain the CA certificate from the controller on its first SSL
1215 connection and save it to the named PEM file. If it is successful,
1216 it will immediately drop the connection and reconnect, and from then
1217 on all SSL connections must be authenticated by a certificate signed
1218 by the CA certificate thus obtained. <em>This option exposes the
1219 SSL connection to a man-in-the-middle attack obtaining the initial
1220 CA certificate.</em> It may still be useful for bootstrapping.
1223 <column name="external_ids">
1224 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate with Open
1225 vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System integrators should
1226 either use the Open vSwitch development mailing list to coordinate on
1227 common key-value definitions, or choose key names that are likely to be
1228 unique. No common key-value pairs are currently defined.
1232 <table name="sFlow">
1233 <p>An sFlow(R) target. sFlow is a protocol for remote monitoring
1236 <column name="agent">
1237 Name of the network device whose IP address should be reported as the
1238 ``agent address'' to collectors. If not specified, the IP address
1239 defaults to the <ref table="Controller" column="local_ip"/> in the
1240 collector's <ref table="Controller"/>. If an agent IP address cannot be
1241 determined either way, sFlow is disabled.
1244 <column name="header">
1245 Number of bytes of a sampled packet to send to the collector.
1246 If not specified, the default is 128 bytes.
1249 <column name="polling">
1250 Polling rate in seconds to send port statistics to the collector.
1251 If not specified, defaults to 30 seconds.
1254 <column name="sampling">
1255 Rate at which packets should be sampled and sent to the collector.
1256 If not specified, defaults to 400, which means one out of 400
1257 packets, on average, will be sent to the collector.
1260 <column name="targets">
1261 sFlow targets in the form
1262 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>.
1265 <column name="external_ids">
1266 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate with Open
1267 vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System integrators should
1268 either use the Open vSwitch development mailing list to coordinate on
1269 common key-value definitions, or choose key names that are likely to be
1270 unique. No common key-value pairs are currently defined.
1274 <table name="Capability">
1275 <p>Records in this table describe functionality supported by the hardware
1276 and software platform on which this Open vSwitch is based. Clients
1277 should not modify this table.</p>
1279 <p>A record in this table is meaningful only if it is referenced by the
1280 <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="capabilities"/> column in the
1281 <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table. The key used to reference it, called
1282 the record's ``category,'' determines the meanings of the
1283 <ref column="details"/> column. The following general forms of
1284 categories are currently defined:</p>
1287 <dt><code>qos-<var>type</var></code></dt>
1288 <dd><var>type</var> is supported as the value for
1289 <ref column="type" table="QoS"/> in the <ref table="QoS"/> table.
1293 <column name="details">
1294 <p>Key-value pairs that describe capabilities. The meaning of the pairs
1295 depends on the category key that the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"
1296 column="capabilities"/> column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table
1297 uses to reference this record, as described above.</p>
1299 <p>The presence of a record for category <code>qos-<var>type</var></code>
1300 indicates that the switch supports <var>type</var> as the value of
1301 the <ref table="QoS" column="type"/> column in the <ref table="QoS"/>
1302 table. The following key-value pairs are defined to further describe
1303 QoS capabilities:</p>
1306 <dt><code>n-queues</code></dt>
1307 <dd>Number of supported queues, as a positive integer. Keys in the
1308 <ref table="QoS" column="queues"/> column for <ref table="QoS"/>
1309 records whose <ref table="QoS" column="type"/> value
1310 equals <var>type</var> must range between 0 and this value minus one,