1 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
2 <database title="Open vSwitch Configuration Database">
4 A database with this schema holds the configuration for one Open
5 vSwitch daemon. The top-level configuration for the daemon is the
6 <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table, which must have exactly one
7 record. Records in other tables are significant only when they
8 can be reached directly or indirectly from the <ref
9 table="Open_vSwitch"/> table. Records that are not reachable from
10 the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table are automatically deleted
11 from the database, except for records in a few distinguished
15 <h2>Common Columns</h2>
18 Most tables contain two special columns, named <code>other_config</code>
19 and <code>external_ids</code>. These columns have the same form and
20 purpose each place that they appear, so we describe them here to save space
25 <dt><code>other_config</code>: map of string-string pairs</dt>
28 Key-value pairs for configuring rarely used features. Supported keys,
29 along with the forms taken by their values, are documented individually
33 A few tables do not have <code>other_config</code> columns because no
34 key-value pairs have yet been defined for them.
38 <dt><code>external_ids</code>: map of string-string pairs</dt>
40 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate with Open
41 vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System integrators should
42 either use the Open vSwitch development mailing list to coordinate on
43 common key-value definitions, or choose key names that are likely to be
44 unique. In some cases, where key-value pairs have been defined that are
45 likely to be widely useful, they are documented individually for each
50 <table name="Open_vSwitch" title="Open vSwitch configuration.">
51 Configuration for an Open vSwitch daemon. There must be exactly
52 one record in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table.
54 <group title="Configuration">
55 <column name="bridges">
56 Set of bridges managed by the daemon.
60 SSL used globally by the daemon.
63 <column name="external_ids" key="system-id">
64 A unique identifier for the Open vSwitch's physical host.
65 The form of the identifier depends on the type of the host.
66 On a Citrix XenServer, this will likely be the same as
67 <ref column="external_ids" key="xs-system-uuid"/>.
70 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-system-uuid">
71 The Citrix XenServer universally unique identifier for the physical
72 host as displayed by <code>xe host-list</code>.
76 <group title="Status">
77 <column name="next_cfg">
78 Sequence number for client to increment. When a client modifies
79 any part of the database configuration and wishes to wait for
80 Open vSwitch to finish applying the changes, it may increment
84 <column name="cur_cfg">
85 Sequence number that Open vSwitch sets to the current value of
86 <ref column="next_cfg"/> after it finishes applying a set of
87 configuration changes.
90 <column name="capabilities">
91 Describes functionality supported by the hardware and software platform
92 on which this Open vSwitch is based. Clients should not modify this
93 column. See the <ref table="Capability"/> description for defined
94 capability categories and the meaning of associated
95 <ref table="Capability"/> records.
98 <group title="Statistics">
100 The <code>statistics</code> column contains key-value pairs that
101 report statistics about a system running an Open vSwitch. These are
102 updated periodically (currently, every 5 seconds). Key-value pairs
103 that cannot be determined or that do not apply to a platform are
107 <column name="other_config" key="enable-statistics"
108 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
109 Statistics are disabled by default to avoid overhead in the common
110 case when statistics gathering is not useful. Set this value to
111 <code>true</code> to enable populating the <ref column="statistics"/>
112 column or to <code>false</code> to explicitly disable it.
115 <column name="statistics" key="cpu"
116 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
118 Number of CPU processors, threads, or cores currently online and
119 available to the operating system on which Open vSwitch is running,
120 as an integer. This may be less than the number installed, if some
121 are not online or if they are not available to the operating
125 Open vSwitch userspace processes are not multithreaded, but the
126 Linux kernel-based datapath is.
130 <column name="statistics" key="load_average">
131 A comma-separated list of three floating-point numbers,
132 representing the system load average over the last 1, 5, and 15
133 minutes, respectively.
136 <column name="statistics" key="memory">
138 A comma-separated list of integers, each of which represents a
139 quantity of memory in kilobytes that describes the operating
140 system on which Open vSwitch is running. In respective order,
145 <li>Total amount of RAM allocated to the OS.</li>
146 <li>RAM allocated to the OS that is in use.</li>
147 <li>RAM that can be flushed out to disk or otherwise discarded
148 if that space is needed for another purpose. This number is
149 necessarily less than or equal to the previous value.</li>
150 <li>Total disk space allocated for swap.</li>
151 <li>Swap space currently in use.</li>
155 On Linux, all five values can be determined and are included. On
156 other operating systems, only the first two values can be
157 determined, so the list will only have two values.
161 <column name="statistics" key="process_NAME">
163 One such key-value pair, with <code>NAME</code> replaced by
164 a process name, will exist for each running Open vSwitch
165 daemon process, with <var>name</var> replaced by the
166 daemon's name (e.g. <code>process_ovs-vswitchd</code>). The
167 value is a comma-separated list of integers. The integers
168 represent the following, with memory measured in kilobytes
169 and durations in milliseconds:
173 <li>The process's virtual memory size.</li>
174 <li>The process's resident set size.</li>
175 <li>The amount of user and system CPU time consumed by the
177 <li>The number of times that the process has crashed and been
178 automatically restarted by the monitor.</li>
179 <li>The duration since the process was started.</li>
180 <li>The duration for which the process has been running.</li>
184 The interpretation of some of these values depends on whether the
185 process was started with the <option>--monitor</option>. If it
186 was not, then the crash count will always be 0 and the two
187 durations will always be the same. If <option>--monitor</option>
188 was given, then the crash count may be positive; if it is, the
189 latter duration is the amount of time since the most recent crash
194 There will be one key-value pair for each file in Open vSwitch's
195 ``run directory'' (usually <code>/var/run/openvswitch</code>)
196 whose name ends in <code>.pid</code>, whose contents are a
197 process ID, and which is locked by a running process. The
198 <var>name</var> is taken from the pidfile's name.
202 Currently Open vSwitch is only able to obtain all of the above
203 detail on Linux systems. On other systems, the same key-value
204 pairs will be present but the values will always be the empty
209 <column name="statistics" key="file_systems">
211 A space-separated list of information on local, writable file
212 systems. Each item in the list describes one file system and
213 consists in turn of a comma-separated list of the following:
217 <li>Mount point, e.g. <code>/</code> or <code>/var/log</code>.
218 Any spaces or commas in the mount point are replaced by
220 <li>Total size, in kilobytes, as an integer.</li>
221 <li>Amount of storage in use, in kilobytes, as an integer.</li>
225 This key-value pair is omitted if there are no local, writable
226 file systems or if Open vSwitch cannot obtain the needed
233 <group title="Version Reporting">
235 These columns report the types and versions of the hardware and
236 software running Open vSwitch. We recommend in general that software
237 should test whether specific features are supported instead of relying
238 on version number checks. These values are primarily intended for
239 reporting to human administrators.
242 <column name="ovs_version">
243 The Open vSwitch version number, e.g. <code>1.1.0</code>.
244 If Open vSwitch was configured with a build number, then it is
245 also included, e.g. <code>1.1.0+build6579</code>.
248 <column name="db_version">
250 The database schema version number in the form
251 <code><var>major</var>.<var>minor</var>.<var>tweak</var></code>,
252 e.g. <code>1.2.3</code>. Whenever the database schema is changed in
253 a non-backward compatible way (e.g. deleting a column or a table),
254 <var>major</var> is incremented. When the database schema is changed
255 in a backward compatible way (e.g. adding a new column),
256 <var>minor</var> is incremented. When the database schema is changed
257 cosmetically (e.g. reindenting its syntax), <var>tweak</var> is
262 The schema version is part of the database schema, so it can also be
263 retrieved by fetching the schema using the Open vSwitch database
268 <column name="system_type">
270 An identifier for the type of system on top of which Open vSwitch
271 runs, e.g. <code>XenServer</code> or <code>KVM</code>.
274 System integrators are responsible for choosing and setting an
275 appropriate value for this column.
279 <column name="system_version">
281 The version of the system identified by <ref column="system_type"/>,
282 e.g. <code>5.6.100-39265p</code> on XenServer 5.6.100 build 39265.
285 System integrators are responsible for choosing and setting an
286 appropriate value for this column.
292 <group title="Database Configuration">
294 These columns primarily configure the Open vSwitch database
295 (<code>ovsdb-server</code>), not the Open vSwitch switch
296 (<code>ovs-vswitchd</code>). The OVSDB database also uses the <ref
297 column="ssl"/> settings.
301 The Open vSwitch switch does read the database configuration to
302 determine remote IP addresses to which in-band control should apply.
305 <column name="manager_options">
306 Database clients to which the Open vSwitch database server should
307 connect or to which it should listen, along with options for how these
308 connection should be configured. See the <ref table="Manager"/> table
309 for more information.
313 <group title="Common Columns">
314 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
315 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
317 <column name="other_config"/>
318 <column name="external_ids"/>
322 <table name="Bridge">
324 Configuration for a bridge within an
325 <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/>.
328 A <ref table="Bridge"/> record represents an Ethernet switch with one or
329 more ``ports,'' which are the <ref table="Port"/> records pointed to by
330 the <ref table="Bridge"/>'s <ref column="ports"/> column.
333 <group title="Core Features">
335 Bridge identifier. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8
336 bytes long. Must be unique among the names of ports, interfaces, and
340 <column name="ports">
341 Ports included in the bridge.
344 <column name="mirrors">
345 Port mirroring configuration.
348 <column name="netflow">
349 NetFlow configuration.
352 <column name="sflow">
356 <column name="flood_vlans">
358 VLAN IDs of VLANs on which MAC address learning should be disabled,
359 so that packets are flooded instead of being sent to specific ports
360 that are believed to contain packets' destination MACs. This should
361 ordinarily be used to disable MAC learning on VLANs used for
362 mirroring (RSPAN VLANs). It may also be useful for debugging.
365 SLB bonding (see the <ref table="Port" column="bond_mode"/> column in
366 the <ref table="Port"/> table) is incompatible with
367 <code>flood_vlans</code>. Consider using another bonding mode or
368 a different type of mirror instead.
373 <group title="OpenFlow Configuration">
374 <column name="controller">
376 OpenFlow controller set. If unset, then no OpenFlow controllers
381 If there are primary controllers, removing all of them clears the
382 flow table. If there are no primary controllers, adding one also
383 clears the flow table. Other changes to the set of controllers, such
384 as adding or removing a service controller, adding another primary
385 controller to supplement an existing primary controller, or removing
386 only one of two primary controllers, have no effect on the flow
391 <column name="flow_tables">
392 Configuration for OpenFlow tables. Each pair maps from an OpenFlow
393 table ID to configuration for that table.
396 <column name="fail_mode">
397 <p>When a controller is configured, it is, ordinarily, responsible
398 for setting up all flows on the switch. Thus, if the connection to
399 the controller fails, no new network connections can be set up.
400 If the connection to the controller stays down long enough,
401 no packets can pass through the switch at all. This setting
402 determines the switch's response to such a situation. It may be set
403 to one of the following:
405 <dt><code>standalone</code></dt>
406 <dd>If no message is received from the controller for three
407 times the inactivity probe interval
408 (see <ref column="inactivity_probe"/>), then Open vSwitch
409 will take over responsibility for setting up flows. In
410 this mode, Open vSwitch causes the bridge to act like an
411 ordinary MAC-learning switch. Open vSwitch will continue
412 to retry connecting to the controller in the background
413 and, when the connection succeeds, it will discontinue its
414 standalone behavior.</dd>
415 <dt><code>secure</code></dt>
416 <dd>Open vSwitch will not set up flows on its own when the
417 controller connection fails or when no controllers are
418 defined. The bridge will continue to retry connecting to
419 any defined controllers forever.</dd>
422 <p>If this value is unset, the default is implementation-specific.</p>
423 <p>When more than one controller is configured,
424 <ref column="fail_mode"/> is considered only when none of the
425 configured controllers can be contacted.</p>
427 Changing <ref column="fail_mode"/> when no primary controllers are
428 configured clears the flow table.
432 <column name="datapath_id">
433 Reports the OpenFlow datapath ID in use. Exactly 16 hex digits.
434 (Setting this column has no useful effect. Set <ref
435 column="other-config" key="datapath-id"/> instead.)
438 <column name="other_config" key="datapath-id">
439 Exactly 16 hex digits to set the OpenFlow datapath ID to a specific
440 value. May not be all-zero.
443 <column name="other_config" key="disable-in-band"
444 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
445 If set to <code>true</code>, disable in-band control on the bridge
446 regardless of controller and manager settings.
449 <column name="other_config" key="in-band-queue"
450 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 4294967295}'>
451 A queue ID as a nonnegative integer. This sets the OpenFlow queue ID
452 that will be used by flows set up by in-band control on this bridge.
453 If unset, or if the port used by an in-band control flow does not have
454 QoS configured, or if the port does not have a queue with the specified
455 ID, the default queue is used instead.
459 <group title="Spanning Tree Configuration">
460 The IEEE 802.1D Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is a network protocol
461 that ensures loop-free topologies. It allows redundant links to
462 be included in the network to provide automatic backup paths if
463 the active links fails.
465 <column name="stp_enable">
466 Enable spanning tree on the bridge. By default, STP is disabled
467 on bridges. Bond, internal, and mirror ports are not supported
468 and will not participate in the spanning tree.
471 <column name="other_config" key="stp-system-id">
472 The bridge's STP identifier (the lower 48 bits of the bridge-id)
474 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>.
475 By default, the identifier is the MAC address of the bridge.
478 <column name="other_config" key="stp-priority"
479 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
480 The bridge's relative priority value for determining the root
481 bridge (the upper 16 bits of the bridge-id). A bridge with the
482 lowest bridge-id is elected the root. By default, the priority
486 <column name="other_config" key="stp-hello-time"
487 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 10}'>
488 The interval between transmissions of hello messages by
489 designated ports, in seconds. By default the hello interval is
493 <column name="other_config" key="stp-max-age"
494 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 6, "maxInteger": 40}'>
495 The maximum age of the information transmitted by the bridge
496 when it is the root bridge, in seconds. By default, the maximum
500 <column name="other_config" key="stp-forward-delay"
501 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 4, "maxInteger": 30}'>
502 The delay to wait between transitioning root and designated
503 ports to <code>forwarding</code>, in seconds. By default, the
504 forwarding delay is 15 seconds.
508 <group title="Other Features">
509 <column name="datapath_type">
510 Name of datapath provider. The kernel datapath has
511 type <code>system</code>. The userspace datapath has
512 type <code>netdev</code>.
515 <column name="external_ids" key="bridge-id">
516 A unique identifier of the bridge. On Citrix XenServer this will
517 commonly be the same as
518 <ref column="external_ids" key="xs-network-uuids"/>.
521 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-network-uuids">
522 Semicolon-delimited set of universally unique identifier(s) for the
523 network with which this bridge is associated on a Citrix XenServer
524 host. The network identifiers are RFC 4122 UUIDs as displayed by,
525 e.g., <code>xe network-list</code>.
528 <column name="other_config" key="hwaddr">
529 An Ethernet address in the form
530 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>
531 to set the hardware address of the local port and influence the
535 <column name="other_config" key="flow-eviction-threshold"
536 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
538 A number of flows as a nonnegative integer. This sets number of
539 flows at which eviction from the kernel flow table will be triggered.
540 If there are a large number of flows then increasing this value to
541 around the number of flows present can result in reduced CPU usage
545 The default is 1000. Values below 100 will be rounded up to 100.
549 <column name="other_config" key="forward-bpdu"
550 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
551 Option to allow forwarding of BPDU frames when NORMAL action is
552 invoked. Frames with reserved Ethernet addresses (e.g. STP
553 BPDU) will be forwarded when this option is enabled and the
554 switch is not providing that functionality. If STP is enabled
555 on the port, STP BPDUs will never be forwarded. If the Open
556 vSwitch bridge is used to connect different Ethernet networks,
557 and if Open vSwitch node does not run STP, then this option
558 should be enabled. Default is disabled, set to
559 <code>true</code> to enable.
562 <column name="other_config" key="mac-aging-time"
563 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
565 The maximum number of seconds to retain a MAC learning entry for
566 which no packets have been seen. The default is currently 300
567 seconds (5 minutes). The value, if specified, is forced into a
568 reasonable range, currently 15 to 3600 seconds.
572 A short MAC aging time allows a network to more quickly detect that a
573 host is no longer connected to a switch port. However, it also makes
574 it more likely that packets will be flooded unnecessarily, when they
575 are addressed to a connected host that rarely transmits packets. To
576 reduce the incidence of unnecessary flooding, use a MAC aging time
577 longer than the maximum interval at which a host will ordinarily
583 <group title="Bridge Status">
585 Status information about bridges.
587 <column name="status">
588 Key-value pairs that report bridge status.
590 <column name="status" key="stp_bridge_id">
592 The bridge-id (in hex) used in spanning tree advertisements.
593 Configuring the bridge-id is described in the
594 <code>stp-system-id</code> and <code>stp-priority</code> keys
595 of the <code>other_config</code> section earlier.
598 <column name="status" key="stp_designated_root">
600 The designated root (in hex) for this spanning tree.
603 <column name="status" key="stp_root_path_cost">
605 The path cost of reaching the designated bridge. A lower
611 <group title="Common Columns">
612 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
613 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
615 <column name="other_config"/>
616 <column name="external_ids"/>
620 <table name="Port" table="Port or bond configuration.">
621 <p>A port within a <ref table="Bridge"/>.</p>
622 <p>Most commonly, a port has exactly one ``interface,'' pointed to by its
623 <ref column="interfaces"/> column. Such a port logically
624 corresponds to a port on a physical Ethernet switch. A port
625 with more than one interface is a ``bonded port'' (see
626 <ref group="Bonding Configuration"/>).</p>
627 <p>Some properties that one might think as belonging to a port are actually
628 part of the port's <ref table="Interface"/> members.</p>
631 Port name. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8
632 bytes long. May be the same as the interface name, for
633 non-bonded ports. Must otherwise be unique among the names of
634 ports, interfaces, and bridges on a host.
637 <column name="interfaces">
638 The port's interfaces. If there is more than one, this is a
642 <group title="VLAN Configuration">
643 <p>Bridge ports support the following types of VLAN configuration:</p>
648 A trunk port carries packets on one or more specified VLANs
649 specified in the <ref column="trunks"/> column (often, on every
650 VLAN). A packet that ingresses on a trunk port is in the VLAN
651 specified in its 802.1Q header, or VLAN 0 if the packet has no
652 802.1Q header. A packet that egresses through a trunk port will
653 have an 802.1Q header if it has a nonzero VLAN ID.
657 Any packet that ingresses on a trunk port tagged with a VLAN that
658 the port does not trunk is dropped.
665 An access port carries packets on exactly one VLAN specified in the
666 <ref column="tag"/> column. Packets egressing on an access port
667 have no 802.1Q header.
671 Any packet with an 802.1Q header with a nonzero VLAN ID that
672 ingresses on an access port is dropped, regardless of whether the
673 VLAN ID in the header is the access port's VLAN ID.
677 <dt>native-tagged</dt>
679 A native-tagged port resembles a trunk port, with the exception that
680 a packet without an 802.1Q header that ingresses on a native-tagged
681 port is in the ``native VLAN'' (specified in the <ref column="tag"/>
685 <dt>native-untagged</dt>
687 A native-untagged port resembles a native-tagged port, with the
688 exception that a packet that egresses on a native-untagged port in
689 the native VLAN will not have an 802.1Q header.
693 A packet will only egress through bridge ports that carry the VLAN of
694 the packet, as described by the rules above.
697 <column name="vlan_mode">
699 The VLAN mode of the port, as described above. When this column is
700 empty, a default mode is selected as follows:
704 If <ref column="tag"/> contains a value, the port is an access
705 port. The <ref column="trunks"/> column should be empty.
708 Otherwise, the port is a trunk port. The <ref column="trunks"/>
709 column value is honored if it is present.
716 For an access port, the port's implicitly tagged VLAN. For a
717 native-tagged or native-untagged port, the port's native VLAN. Must
718 be empty if this is a trunk port.
722 <column name="trunks">
724 For a trunk, native-tagged, or native-untagged port, the 802.1Q VLAN
725 or VLANs that this port trunks; if it is empty, then the port trunks
726 all VLANs. Must be empty if this is an access port.
729 A native-tagged or native-untagged port always trunks its native
730 VLAN, regardless of whether <ref column="trunks"/> includes that
735 <column name="other_config" key="priority-tags"
736 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
738 An 802.1Q header contains two important pieces of information: a VLAN
739 ID and a priority. A frame with a zero VLAN ID, called a
740 ``priority-tagged'' frame, is supposed to be treated the same way as
741 a frame without an 802.1Q header at all (except for the priority).
745 However, some network elements ignore any frame that has 802.1Q
746 header at all, even when the VLAN ID is zero. Therefore, by default
747 Open vSwitch does not output priority-tagged frames, instead omitting
748 the 802.1Q header entirely if the VLAN ID is zero. Set this key to
749 <code>true</code> to enable priority-tagged frames on a port.
753 Regardless of this setting, Open vSwitch omits the 802.1Q header on
754 output if both the VLAN ID and priority would be zero.
758 All frames output to native-tagged ports have a nonzero VLAN ID, so
759 this setting is not meaningful on native-tagged ports.
764 <group title="Bonding Configuration">
765 <p>A port that has more than one interface is a ``bonded port.'' Bonding
766 allows for load balancing and fail-over. Some kinds of bonding will
767 work with any kind of upstream switch:</p>
770 <dt><code>balance-slb</code></dt>
772 Balances flows among slaves based on source MAC address and output
773 VLAN, with periodic rebalancing as traffic patterns change.
776 <dt><code>active-backup</code></dt>
778 Assigns all flows to one slave, failing over to a backup slave when
779 the active slave is disabled.
784 The following modes require the upstream switch to support 802.3ad with
785 successful LACP negotiation:
789 <dt><code>balance-tcp</code></dt>
791 Balances flows among slaves based on L2, L3, and L4 protocol
792 information such as destination MAC address, IP address, and TCP
796 <dt><code>stable</code></dt>
798 <p>Attempts to always assign a given flow to the same slave
799 consistently. In an effort to maintain stability, no load
800 balancing is done. Uses a similar hashing strategy to
801 <code>balance-tcp</code>, always taking into account L3 and L4
802 fields even if LACP negotiations are unsuccessful. </p>
803 <p>Slave selection decisions are made based on <ref table="Interface"
804 column="other_config" key="bond-stable-id"/> if set. Otherwise,
805 OpenFlow port number is used. Decisions are consistent across all
806 <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> instances with equivalent
807 <ref table="Interface" column="other_config" key="bond-stable-id"/>
812 <p>These columns apply only to bonded ports. Their values are
813 otherwise ignored.</p>
815 <column name="bond_mode">
816 <p>The type of bonding used for a bonded port. Defaults to
817 <code>active-backup</code> if unset.
821 <column name="other_config" key="bond-hash-basis"
822 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
823 An integer hashed along with flows when choosing output slaves in load
824 balanced bonds. When changed, all flows will be assigned different
825 hash values possibly causing slave selection decisions to change. Does
826 not affect bonding modes which do not employ load balancing such as
827 <code>active-backup</code>.
830 <group title="Link Failure Detection">
832 An important part of link bonding is detecting that links are down so
833 that they may be disabled. These settings determine how Open vSwitch
834 detects link failure.
837 <column name="other_config" key="bond-detect-mode"
838 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["carrier", "miimon"]]}'>
839 The means used to detect link failures. Defaults to
840 <code>carrier</code> which uses each interface's carrier to detect
841 failures. When set to <code>miimon</code>, will check for failures
842 by polling each interface's MII.
845 <column name="other_config" key="bond-miimon-interval"
846 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
847 The interval, in milliseconds, between successive attempts to poll
848 each interface's MII. Relevant only when <ref column="other_config"
849 key="bond-detect-mode"/> is <code>miimon</code>.
852 <column name="bond_updelay">
854 The number of milliseconds for which carrier must stay up on an
855 interface before the interface is considered to be up. Specify
856 <code>0</code> to enable the interface immediately.
860 This setting is honored only when at least one bonded interface is
861 already enabled. When no interfaces are enabled, then the first
862 bond interface to come up is enabled immediately.
866 <column name="bond_downdelay">
867 The number of milliseconds for which carrier must stay down on an
868 interface before the interface is considered to be down. Specify
869 <code>0</code> to disable the interface immediately.
873 <group title="LACP Configuration">
875 LACP, the Link Aggregation Control Protocol, is an IEEE standard that
876 allows switches to automatically detect that they are connected by
877 multiple links and aggregate across those links. These settings
878 control LACP behavior.
882 Configures LACP on this port. LACP allows directly connected
883 switches to negotiate which links may be bonded. LACP may be enabled
884 on non-bonded ports for the benefit of any switches they may be
885 connected to. <code>active</code> ports are allowed to initiate LACP
886 negotiations. <code>passive</code> ports are allowed to participate
887 in LACP negotiations initiated by a remote switch, but not allowed to
888 initiate such negotiations themselves. If LACP is enabled on a port
889 whose partner switch does not support LACP, the bond will be
890 disabled. Defaults to <code>off</code> if unset.
893 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-system-id">
894 The LACP system ID of this <ref table="Port"/>. The system ID of a
895 LACP bond is used to identify itself to its partners. Must be a
896 nonzero MAC address. Defaults to the bridge Ethernet address if
900 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-system-priority"
901 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
902 The LACP system priority of this <ref table="Port"/>. In LACP
903 negotiations, link status decisions are made by the system with the
904 numerically lower priority.
907 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-time">
909 The LACP timing which should be used on this <ref table="Port"/>.
910 Possible values are <code>fast</code>, <code>slow</code> and a
911 positive number of milliseconds. By default <code>slow</code> is
912 used. When configured to be <code>fast</code> LACP heartbeats are
913 requested at a rate of once per second causing connectivity
914 problems to be detected more quickly. In <code>slow</code> mode,
915 heartbeats are requested at a rate of once every 30 seconds.
919 Users may manually set a heartbeat transmission rate to increase
920 the fault detection speed further. When manually set, OVS expects
921 the partner switch to be configured with the same transmission
922 rate. Manually setting <code>lacp-time</code> to something other
923 than <code>fast</code> or <code>slow</code> is not supported by the
928 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-heartbeat"
929 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
930 Treat LACP like a simple heartbeat protocol for link state
931 monitoring. Most features of the LACP protocol are disabled
932 when this mode is in use. The default if not specified is
937 <group title="SLB Configuration">
939 These settings control behavior when a bond is in
940 <code>balance-slb</code> mode, regardless of whether the bond was
941 intentionally configured in SLB mode or it fell back to SLB mode
942 because LACP negotiation failed.
945 <column name="other_config" key="bond-rebalance-interval"
946 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 10000}'>
947 For a load balanced bonded port, the number of milliseconds between
948 successive attempts to rebalance the bond, that is, to move flows
949 from one interface on the bond to another in an attempt to keep usage
950 of each interface roughly equal. If zero, load balancing is disabled
951 on the bond (carrier status changes still cause flows to move). If
952 less than 1000ms, the rebalance interval will be 1000ms.
956 <column name="bond_fake_iface">
957 For a bonded port, whether to create a fake internal interface with the
958 name of the port. Use only for compatibility with legacy software that
963 <group title="Spanning Tree Configuration">
964 <column name="other_config" key="stp-enable"
965 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
966 If spanning tree is enabled on the bridge, member ports are
967 enabled by default (with the exception of bond, internal, and
968 mirror ports which do not work with STP). If this column's
969 value is <code>false</code> spanning tree is disabled on the
973 <column name="other_config" key="stp-port-num"
974 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 255}'>
975 The port number used for the lower 8 bits of the port-id. By
976 default, the numbers will be assigned automatically. If any
977 port's number is manually configured on a bridge, then they
981 <column name="other_config" key="stp-port-priority"
982 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 255}'>
983 The port's relative priority value for determining the root
984 port (the upper 8 bits of the port-id). A port with a lower
985 port-id will be chosen as the root port. By default, the
989 <column name="other_config" key="stp-path-cost"
990 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
991 Spanning tree path cost for the port. A lower number indicates
992 a faster link. By default, the cost is based on the maximum
997 <group title="Other Features">
999 Quality of Service configuration for this port.
1003 The MAC address to use for this port for the purpose of choosing the
1004 bridge's MAC address. This column does not necessarily reflect the
1005 port's actual MAC address, nor will setting it change the port's actual
1009 <column name="fake_bridge">
1010 Does this port represent a sub-bridge for its tagged VLAN within the
1011 Bridge? See ovs-vsctl(8) for more information.
1014 <column name="external_ids" key="fake-bridge-id-*">
1015 External IDs for a fake bridge (see the <ref column="fake_bridge"/>
1016 column) are defined by prefixing a <ref table="Bridge"/> <ref
1017 table="Bridge" column="external_ids"/> key with
1018 <code>fake-bridge-</code>,
1019 e.g. <code>fake-bridge-xs-network-uuids</code>.
1023 <group title="Port Status">
1025 Status information about ports attached to bridges.
1027 <column name="status">
1028 Key-value pairs that report port status.
1030 <column name="status" key="stp_port_id">
1032 The port-id (in hex) used in spanning tree advertisements for
1033 this port. Configuring the port-id is described in the
1034 <code>stp-port-num</code> and <code>stp-port-priority</code>
1035 keys of the <code>other_config</code> section earlier.
1038 <column name="status" key="stp_state"
1039 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set",
1040 ["disabled", "listening", "learning",
1041 "forwarding", "blocking"]]}'>
1043 STP state of the port.
1046 <column name="status" key="stp_sec_in_state"
1047 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
1049 The amount of time (in seconds) port has been in the current
1053 <column name="status" key="stp_role"
1054 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set",
1055 ["root", "designated", "alternate"]]}'>
1057 STP role of the port.
1062 <group title="Port Statistics">
1064 Key-value pairs that report port statistics.
1066 <group title="Statistics: STP transmit and receive counters">
1067 <column name="statistics" key="stp_tx_count">
1068 Number of STP BPDUs sent on this port by the spanning
1071 <column name="statistics" key="stp_rx_count">
1072 Number of STP BPDUs received on this port and accepted by the
1073 spanning tree library.
1075 <column name="statistics" key="stp_error_count">
1076 Number of bad STP BPDUs received on this port. Bad BPDUs
1077 include runt packets and those with an unexpected protocol ID.
1082 <group title="Common Columns">
1083 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
1084 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
1086 <column name="other_config"/>
1087 <column name="external_ids"/>
1091 <table name="Interface" title="One physical network device in a Port.">
1092 An interface within a <ref table="Port"/>.
1094 <group title="Core Features">
1095 <column name="name">
1096 Interface name. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8 bytes
1097 long. May be the same as the port name, for non-bonded ports. Must
1098 otherwise be unique among the names of ports, interfaces, and bridges
1103 <p>Ethernet address to set for this interface. If unset then the
1104 default MAC address is used:</p>
1106 <li>For the local interface, the default is the lowest-numbered MAC
1107 address among the other bridge ports, either the value of the
1108 <ref table="Port" column="mac"/> in its <ref table="Port"/> record,
1109 if set, or its actual MAC (for bonded ports, the MAC of its slave
1110 whose name is first in alphabetical order). Internal ports and
1111 bridge ports that are used as port mirroring destinations (see the
1112 <ref table="Mirror"/> table) are ignored.</li>
1113 <li>For other internal interfaces, the default MAC is randomly
1115 <li>External interfaces typically have a MAC address associated with
1116 their hardware.</li>
1118 <p>Some interfaces may not have a software-controllable MAC
1122 <column name="ofport">
1123 <p>OpenFlow port number for this interface. Unlike most columns, this
1124 column's value should be set only by Open vSwitch itself. Other
1125 clients should set this column to an empty set (the default) when
1126 creating an <ref table="Interface"/>.</p>
1127 <p>Open vSwitch populates this column when the port number becomes
1128 known. If the interface is successfully added,
1129 <ref column="ofport"/> will be set to a number between 1 and 65535
1130 (generally either in the range 1 to 65279, inclusive, or 65534, the
1131 port number for the OpenFlow ``local port''). If the interface
1132 cannot be added then Open vSwitch sets this column
1137 <group title="System-Specific Details">
1138 <column name="type">
1140 The interface type, one of:
1144 <dt><code>system</code></dt>
1145 <dd>An ordinary network device, e.g. <code>eth0</code> on Linux.
1146 Sometimes referred to as ``external interfaces'' since they are
1147 generally connected to hardware external to that on which the Open
1148 vSwitch is running. The empty string is a synonym for
1149 <code>system</code>.</dd>
1151 <dt><code>internal</code></dt>
1152 <dd>A simulated network device that sends and receives traffic. An
1153 internal interface whose <ref column="name"/> is the same as its
1154 bridge's <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="name"/> is called the
1155 ``local interface.'' It does not make sense to bond an internal
1156 interface, so the terms ``port'' and ``interface'' are often used
1157 imprecisely for internal interfaces.</dd>
1159 <dt><code>tap</code></dt>
1160 <dd>A TUN/TAP device managed by Open vSwitch.</dd>
1162 <dt><code>gre</code></dt>
1164 An Ethernet over RFC 2890 Generic Routing Encapsulation over IPv4
1165 tunnel. See <ref group="Tunnel Options"/> for information on
1166 configuring GRE tunnels.
1169 <dt><code>ipsec_gre</code></dt>
1171 An Ethernet over RFC 2890 Generic Routing Encapsulation over IPv4
1175 <dt><code>capwap</code></dt>
1177 An Ethernet tunnel over the UDP transport portion of CAPWAP (RFC
1178 5415). This allows interoperability with certain switches that do
1179 not support GRE. Only the tunneling component of the protocol is
1180 implemented. UDP ports 58881 and 58882 are used as the source and
1181 destination ports respectively. CAPWAP is currently supported only
1182 with the Linux kernel datapath with kernel version 2.6.26 or later.
1185 <dt><code>patch</code></dt>
1187 A pair of virtual devices that act as a patch cable.
1190 <dt><code>null</code></dt>
1191 <dd>An ignored interface.</dd>
1196 <group title="Tunnel Options">
1198 These options apply to interfaces with <ref column="type"/> of
1199 <code>gre</code>, <code>ipsec_gre</code>, and <code>capwap</code>.
1203 Each tunnel must be uniquely identified by the combination of <ref
1204 column="type"/>, <ref column="options" key="remote_ip"/>, <ref
1205 column="options" key="local_ip"/>, and <ref column="options"
1206 key="in_key"/>. If two ports are defined that are the same except one
1207 has an optional identifier and the other does not, the more specific
1208 one is matched first. <ref column="options" key="in_key"/> is
1209 considered more specific than <ref column="options" key="local_ip"/> if
1210 a port defines one and another port defines the other.
1213 <column name="options" key="remote_ip">
1215 Required. The tunnel endpoint. Unicast and multicast endpoints are
1220 When a multicast endpoint is specified, a routing table lookup occurs
1221 only when the tunnel is created. Following a routing change, delete
1222 and then re-create the tunnel to force a new routing table lookup.
1226 <column name="options" key="local_ip">
1227 Optional. The destination IP that received packets must match.
1228 Default is to match all addresses. Must be omitted when <ref
1229 column="options" key="remote_ip"/> is a multicast address.
1232 <column name="options" key="in_key">
1233 <p>Optional. The key that received packets must contain, one of:</p>
1237 <code>0</code>. The tunnel receives packets with no key or with a
1238 key of 0. This is equivalent to specifying no <ref column="options"
1239 key="in_key"/> at all.
1242 A positive 32-bit (for GRE) or 64-bit (for CAPWAP) number. The
1243 tunnel receives only packets with the specified key.
1246 The word <code>flow</code>. The tunnel accepts packets with any
1247 key. The key will be placed in the <code>tun_id</code> field for
1248 matching in the flow table. The <code>ovs-ofctl</code> manual page
1249 contains additional information about matching fields in OpenFlow
1258 <column name="options" key="out_key">
1259 <p>Optional. The key to be set on outgoing packets, one of:</p>
1263 <code>0</code>. Packets sent through the tunnel will have no key.
1264 This is equivalent to specifying no <ref column="options"
1265 key="out_key"/> at all.
1268 A positive 32-bit (for GRE) or 64-bit (for CAPWAP) number. Packets
1269 sent through the tunnel will have the specified key.
1272 The word <code>flow</code>. Packets sent through the tunnel will
1273 have the key set using the <code>set_tunnel</code> Nicira OpenFlow
1274 vendor extension (0 is used in the absence of an action). The
1275 <code>ovs-ofctl</code> manual page contains additional information
1276 about the Nicira OpenFlow vendor extensions.
1281 <column name="options" key="key">
1282 Optional. Shorthand to set <code>in_key</code> and
1283 <code>out_key</code> at the same time.
1286 <column name="options" key="tos">
1287 Optional. The value of the ToS bits to be set on the encapsulating
1288 packet. It may also be the word <code>inherit</code>, in which case
1289 the ToS will be copied from the inner packet if it is IPv4 or IPv6
1290 (otherwise it will be 0). The ECN fields are always inherited.
1294 <column name="options" key="ttl">
1295 Optional. The TTL to be set on the encapsulating packet. It may also
1296 be the word <code>inherit</code>, in which case the TTL will be copied
1297 from the inner packet if it is IPv4 or IPv6 (otherwise it will be the
1298 system default, typically 64). Default is the system default TTL.
1301 <column name="options" key="df_inherit" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1302 Optional. If enabled, the Don't Fragment bit will be copied from the
1303 inner IP headers (those of the encapsulated traffic) to the outer
1304 (tunnel) headers. Default is disabled; set to <code>true</code> to
1308 <column name="options" key="df_default"
1309 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1310 Optional. If enabled, the Don't Fragment bit will be set by default on
1311 tunnel headers if the <code>df_inherit</code> option is not set, or if
1312 the encapsulated packet is not IP. Default is enabled; set to
1313 <code>false</code> to disable.
1316 <column name="options" key="pmtud" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1317 Optional. Enable tunnel path MTU discovery. If enabled ``ICMP
1318 Destination Unreachable - Fragmentation Needed'' messages will be
1319 generated for IPv4 packets with the DF bit set and IPv6 packets above
1320 the minimum MTU if the packet size exceeds the path MTU minus the size
1321 of the tunnel headers. Note that this option causes behavior that is
1322 typically reserved for routers and therefore is not entirely in
1323 compliance with the IEEE 802.1D specification for bridges. Default is
1324 enabled; set to <code>false</code> to disable.
1327 <group title="Tunnel Options: gre only">
1329 Only <code>gre</code> interfaces support these options.
1332 <column name="options" key="header_cache" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1333 Enable caching of tunnel headers and the output path. This can lead
1334 to a significant performance increase without changing behavior. In
1335 general it should not be necessary to adjust this setting. However,
1336 the caching can bypass certain components of the IP stack (such as
1337 <code>iptables</code>) and it may be useful to disable it if these
1338 features are required or as a debugging measure. Default is enabled,
1339 set to <code>false</code> to disable.
1343 <group title="Tunnel Options: gre and ipsec_gre only">
1345 Only <code>gre</code> and <code>ipsec_gre</code> interfaces support
1349 <column name="options" key="csum" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1351 Optional. Compute GRE checksums on outgoing packets. Default is
1352 disabled, set to <code>true</code> to enable. Checksums present on
1353 incoming packets will be validated regardless of this setting.
1357 GRE checksums impose a significant performance penalty because they
1358 cover the entire packet. The encapsulated L3, L4, and L7 packet
1359 contents typically have their own checksums, so this additional
1360 checksum only adds value for the GRE and encapsulated L2 headers.
1364 This option is supported for <code>ipsec_gre</code>, but not useful
1365 because GRE checksums are weaker than, and redundant with, IPsec
1366 payload authentication.
1371 <group title="Tunnel Options: ipsec_gre only">
1373 Only <code>ipsec_gre</code> interfaces support these options.
1376 <column name="options" key="peer_cert">
1377 Required for certificate authentication. A string containing the
1378 peer's certificate in PEM format. Additionally the host's
1379 certificate must be specified with the <code>certificate</code>
1383 <column name="options" key="certificate">
1384 Required for certificate authentication. The name of a PEM file
1385 containing a certificate that will be presented to the peer during
1389 <column name="options" key="private_key">
1390 Optional for certificate authentication. The name of a PEM file
1391 containing the private key associated with <code>certificate</code>.
1392 If <code>certificate</code> contains the private key, this option may
1396 <column name="options" key="psk">
1397 Required for pre-shared key authentication. Specifies a pre-shared
1398 key for authentication that must be identical on both sides of the
1404 <group title="Patch Options">
1406 Only <code>patch</code> interfaces support these options.
1409 <column name="options" key="peer">
1410 The <ref column="name"/> of the <ref table="Interface"/> for the other
1411 side of the patch. The named <ref table="Interface"/>'s own
1412 <code>peer</code> option must specify this <ref table="Interface"/>'s
1413 name. That is, the two patch interfaces must have reversed <ref
1414 column="name"/> and <code>peer</code> values.
1418 <group title="Interface Status">
1420 Status information about interfaces attached to bridges, updated every
1421 5 seconds. Not all interfaces have all of these properties; virtual
1422 interfaces don't have a link speed, for example. Non-applicable
1423 columns will have empty values.
1425 <column name="admin_state">
1427 The administrative state of the physical network link.
1431 <column name="link_state">
1433 The observed state of the physical network link. This is ordinarily
1434 the link's carrier status. If the interface's <ref table="Port"/> is
1435 a bond configured for miimon monitoring, it is instead the network
1436 link's miimon status.
1440 <column name="link_resets">
1442 The number of times Open vSwitch has observed the
1443 <ref column="link_state"/> of this <ref table="Interface"/> change.
1447 <column name="link_speed">
1449 The negotiated speed of the physical network link.
1450 Valid values are positive integers greater than 0.
1454 <column name="duplex">
1456 The duplex mode of the physical network link.
1462 The MTU (maximum transmission unit); i.e. the largest
1463 amount of data that can fit into a single Ethernet frame.
1464 The standard Ethernet MTU is 1500 bytes. Some physical media
1465 and many kinds of virtual interfaces can be configured with
1469 This column will be empty for an interface that does not
1470 have an MTU as, for example, some kinds of tunnels do not.
1474 <column name="lacp_current">
1475 Boolean value indicating LACP status for this interface. If true, this
1476 interface has current LACP information about its LACP partner. This
1477 information may be used to monitor the health of interfaces in a LACP
1478 enabled port. This column will be empty if LACP is not enabled.
1481 <column name="status">
1482 Key-value pairs that report port status. Supported status values are
1483 <ref column="type"/>-dependent; some interfaces may not have a valid
1484 <ref column="status" key="driver_name"/>, for example.
1487 <column name="status" key="driver_name">
1488 The name of the device driver controlling the network adapter.
1491 <column name="status" key="driver_version">
1492 The version string of the device driver controlling the network
1496 <column name="status" key="firmware_version">
1497 The version string of the network adapter's firmware, if available.
1500 <column name="status" key="source_ip">
1501 The source IP address used for an IPv4 tunnel end-point, such as
1502 <code>gre</code> or <code>capwap</code>.
1505 <column name="status" key="tunnel_egress_iface">
1506 Egress interface for tunnels. Currently only relevant for GRE and
1507 CAPWAP tunnels. On Linux systems, this column will show the name of
1508 the interface which is responsible for routing traffic destined for the
1509 configured <ref column="options" key="remote_ip"/>. This could be an
1510 internal interface such as a bridge port.
1513 <column name="status" key="tunnel_egress_iface_carrier"
1514 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["down", "up"]]}'>
1515 Whether carrier is detected on <ref column="status"
1516 key="tunnel_egress_iface"/>.
1520 <group title="Statistics">
1522 Key-value pairs that report interface statistics. The current
1523 implementation updates these counters periodically. Future
1524 implementations may update them when an interface is created, when they
1525 are queried (e.g. using an OVSDB <code>select</code> operation), and
1526 just before an interface is deleted due to virtual interface hot-unplug
1527 or VM shutdown, and perhaps at other times, but not on any regular
1531 These are the same statistics reported by OpenFlow in its <code>struct
1532 ofp_port_stats</code> structure. If an interface does not support a
1533 given statistic, then that pair is omitted.
1535 <group title="Statistics: Successful transmit and receive counters">
1536 <column name="statistics" key="rx_packets">
1537 Number of received packets.
1539 <column name="statistics" key="rx_bytes">
1540 Number of received bytes.
1542 <column name="statistics" key="tx_packets">
1543 Number of transmitted packets.
1545 <column name="statistics" key="tx_bytes">
1546 Number of transmitted bytes.
1549 <group title="Statistics: Receive errors">
1550 <column name="statistics" key="rx_dropped">
1551 Number of packets dropped by RX.
1553 <column name="statistics" key="rx_frame_err">
1554 Number of frame alignment errors.
1556 <column name="statistics" key="rx_over_err">
1557 Number of packets with RX overrun.
1559 <column name="statistics" key="rx_crc_err">
1560 Number of CRC errors.
1562 <column name="statistics" key="rx_errors">
1563 Total number of receive errors, greater than or equal to the sum of
1567 <group title="Statistics: Transmit errors">
1568 <column name="statistics" key="tx_dropped">
1569 Number of packets dropped by TX.
1571 <column name="statistics" key="collisions">
1572 Number of collisions.
1574 <column name="statistics" key="tx_errors">
1575 Total number of transmit errors, greater than or equal to the sum of
1581 <group title="Ingress Policing">
1583 These settings control ingress policing for packets received on this
1584 interface. On a physical interface, this limits the rate at which
1585 traffic is allowed into the system from the outside; on a virtual
1586 interface (one connected to a virtual machine), this limits the rate at
1587 which the VM is able to transmit.
1590 Policing is a simple form of quality-of-service that simply drops
1591 packets received in excess of the configured rate. Due to its
1592 simplicity, policing is usually less accurate and less effective than
1593 egress QoS (which is configured using the <ref table="QoS"/> and <ref
1594 table="Queue"/> tables).
1597 Policing is currently implemented only on Linux. The Linux
1598 implementation uses a simple ``token bucket'' approach:
1602 The size of the bucket corresponds to <ref
1603 column="ingress_policing_burst"/>. Initially the bucket is full.
1606 Whenever a packet is received, its size (converted to tokens) is
1607 compared to the number of tokens currently in the bucket. If the
1608 required number of tokens are available, they are removed and the
1609 packet is forwarded. Otherwise, the packet is dropped.
1612 Whenever it is not full, the bucket is refilled with tokens at the
1613 rate specified by <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/>.
1617 Policing interacts badly with some network protocols, and especially
1618 with fragmented IP packets. Suppose that there is enough network
1619 activity to keep the bucket nearly empty all the time. Then this token
1620 bucket algorithm will forward a single packet every so often, with the
1621 period depending on packet size and on the configured rate. All of the
1622 fragments of an IP packets are normally transmitted back-to-back, as a
1623 group. In such a situation, therefore, only one of these fragments
1624 will be forwarded and the rest will be dropped. IP does not provide
1625 any way for the intended recipient to ask for only the remaining
1626 fragments. In such a case there are two likely possibilities for what
1627 will happen next: either all of the fragments will eventually be
1628 retransmitted (as TCP will do), in which case the same problem will
1629 recur, or the sender will not realize that its packet has been dropped
1630 and data will simply be lost (as some UDP-based protocols will do).
1631 Either way, it is possible that no forward progress will ever occur.
1633 <column name="ingress_policing_rate">
1635 Maximum rate for data received on this interface, in kbps. Data
1636 received faster than this rate is dropped. Set to <code>0</code>
1637 (the default) to disable policing.
1641 <column name="ingress_policing_burst">
1642 <p>Maximum burst size for data received on this interface, in kb. The
1643 default burst size if set to <code>0</code> is 1000 kb. This value
1644 has no effect if <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/>
1645 is <code>0</code>.</p>
1647 Specifying a larger burst size lets the algorithm be more forgiving,
1648 which is important for protocols like TCP that react severely to
1649 dropped packets. The burst size should be at least the size of the
1650 interface's MTU. Specifying a value that is numerically at least as
1651 large as 10% of <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/> helps TCP come
1652 closer to achieving the full rate.
1657 <group title="Connectivity Fault Management">
1659 802.1ag Connectivity Fault Management (CFM) allows a group of
1660 Maintenance Points (MPs) called a Maintenance Association (MA) to
1661 detect connectivity problems with each other. MPs within a MA should
1662 have complete and exclusive interconnectivity. This is verified by
1663 occasionally broadcasting Continuity Check Messages (CCMs) at a
1664 configurable transmission interval.
1668 According to the 802.1ag specification, each Maintenance Point should
1669 be configured out-of-band with a list of Remote Maintenance Points it
1670 should have connectivity to. Open vSwitch differs from the
1671 specification in this area. It simply assumes the link is faulted if
1672 no Remote Maintenance Points are reachable, and considers it not
1676 <column name="cfm_mpid">
1677 A Maintenance Point ID (MPID) uniquely identifies each endpoint within
1678 a Maintenance Association. The MPID is used to identify this endpoint
1679 to other Maintenance Points in the MA. Each end of a link being
1680 monitored should have a different MPID. Must be configured to enable
1681 CFM on this <ref table="Interface"/>.
1684 <column name="cfm_fault">
1686 Indicates a connectivity fault triggered by an inability to receive
1687 heartbeats from any remote endpoint. When a fault is triggered on
1688 <ref table="Interface"/>s participating in bonds, they will be
1692 Faults can be triggered for several reasons. Most importantly they
1693 are triggered when no CCMs are received for a period of 3.5 times the
1694 transmission interval. Faults are also triggered when any CCMs
1695 indicate that a Remote Maintenance Point is not receiving CCMs but
1696 able to send them. Finally, a fault is triggered if a CCM is
1697 received which indicates unexpected configuration. Notably, this
1698 case arises when a CCM is received which advertises the local MPID.
1702 <column name="cfm_remote_mpids">
1703 When CFM is properly configured, Open vSwitch will occasionally
1704 receive CCM broadcasts. These broadcasts contain the MPID of the
1705 sending Maintenance Point. The list of MPIDs from which this
1706 <ref table="Interface"/> is receiving broadcasts from is regularly
1707 collected and written to this column.
1710 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_interval"
1711 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
1712 The interval, in milliseconds, between transmissions of CFM heartbeats.
1713 Three missed heartbeat receptions indicate a connectivity fault.
1717 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_extended"
1718 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1719 When <code>true</code>, the CFM module operates in extended mode. This
1720 causes it to use a nonstandard destination address to avoid conflicting
1721 with compliant implementations which may be running concurrently on the
1722 network. Furthermore, extended mode increases the accuracy of the
1723 <code>cfm_interval</code> configuration parameter by breaking wire
1724 compatibility with 802.1ag compliant implementations. Defaults to
1727 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_opstate"
1728 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["down", "up"]]}'>
1729 When <code>down</code>, the CFM module marks all CCMs it generates as
1730 operationally down without triggering a fault. This allows remote
1731 maintenance points to choose not to forward traffic to the
1732 <ref table="Interface"/> on which this CFM module is running.
1733 Currently, in Open vSwitch, the opdown bit of CCMs affects
1734 <ref table="Interface"/>s participating in bonds, and the bundle
1735 OpenFlow action. This setting is ignored when CFM is not in extended
1736 mode. Defaults to <code>up</code>.
1739 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_ccm_vlan"
1740 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 4095}'>
1741 When set, the CFM module will apply a VLAN tag to all CCMs it generates
1742 with the given value.
1747 <group title="Bonding Configuration">
1748 <column name="other_config" key="bond-stable-id"
1749 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
1750 Used in <code>stable</code> bond mode to make slave
1751 selection decisions. Allocating <ref column="other_config"
1752 key="bond-stable-id"/> values consistently across interfaces
1753 participating in a bond will guarantee consistent slave selection
1754 decisions across <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> instances when using
1755 <code>stable</code> bonding mode.
1758 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-port-id"
1759 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
1760 The LACP port ID of this <ref table="Interface"/>. Port IDs are
1761 used in LACP negotiations to identify individual ports
1762 participating in a bond.
1765 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-port-priority"
1766 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
1767 The LACP port priority of this <ref table="Interface"/>. In LACP
1768 negotiations <ref table="Interface"/>s with numerically lower
1769 priorities are preferred for aggregation.
1772 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-aggregation-key"
1773 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
1774 The LACP aggregation key of this <ref table="Interface"/>. <ref
1775 table="Interface"/>s with different aggregation keys may not be active
1776 within a given <ref table="Port"/> at the same time.
1780 <group title="Virtual Machine Identifiers">
1782 These key-value pairs specifically apply to an interface that
1783 represents a virtual Ethernet interface connected to a virtual
1784 machine. These key-value pairs should not be present for other types
1785 of interfaces. Keys whose names end in <code>-uuid</code> have
1786 values that uniquely identify the entity in question. For a Citrix
1787 XenServer hypervisor, these values are UUIDs in RFC 4122 format.
1788 Other hypervisors may use other formats.
1791 <column name="external_ids" key="attached-mac">
1792 The MAC address programmed into the ``virtual hardware'' for this
1793 interface, in the form
1794 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>.
1795 For Citrix XenServer, this is the value of the <code>MAC</code> field
1796 in the VIF record for this interface.
1799 <column name="external_ids" key="iface-id">
1800 A system-unique identifier for the interface. On XenServer, this will
1801 commonly be the same as <ref column="external_ids" key="xs-vif-uuid"/>.
1804 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-vif-uuid">
1805 The virtual interface associated with this interface.
1808 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-network-uuid">
1809 The virtual network to which this interface is attached.
1812 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-vm-uuid">
1813 The VM to which this interface belongs.
1817 <group title="VLAN Splinters">
1819 The ``VLAN splinters'' feature increases Open vSwitch compatibility
1820 with buggy network drivers in old versions of Linux that do not
1821 properly support VLANs when VLAN devices are not used, at some cost
1822 in memory and performance.
1826 When VLAN splinters are enabled on a particular interface, Open vSwitch
1827 creates a VLAN device for each in-use VLAN. For sending traffic tagged
1828 with a VLAN on the interface, it substitutes the VLAN device. Traffic
1829 received on the VLAN device is treated as if it had been received on
1830 the interface on the particular VLAN.
1834 VLAN splinters consider a VLAN to be in use if:
1839 The VLAN is the <ref table="Port" column="tag"/> value in any <ref
1840 table="Port"/> record.
1844 The VLAN is listed within the <ref table="Port" column="trunks"/>
1845 column of the <ref table="Port"/> record of an interface on which
1846 VLAN splinters are enabled.
1848 An empty <ref table="Port" column="trunks"/> does not influence the
1849 in-use VLANs: creating 4,096 VLAN devices is impractical because it
1850 will exceed the current 1,024 port per datapath limit.
1854 An OpenFlow flow within any bridge matches the VLAN.
1859 The same set of in-use VLANs applies to every interface on which VLAN
1860 splinters are enabled. That is, the set is not chosen separately for
1861 each interface but selected once as the union of all in-use VLANs based
1866 It does not make sense to enable VLAN splinters on an interface for an
1867 access port, or on an interface that is not a physical port.
1871 VLAN splinters are deprecated. When broken device drivers are no
1872 longer in widespread use, we will delete this feature.
1875 <column name="other_config" key="enable-vlan-splinters"
1876 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1878 Set to <code>true</code> to enable VLAN splinters on this interface.
1879 Defaults to <code>false</code>.
1883 VLAN splinters increase kernel and userspace memory overhead, so do
1884 not use them unless they are needed.
1889 <group title="Common Columns">
1890 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
1891 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
1893 <column name="other_config"/>
1894 <column name="external_ids"/>
1898 <table name="Flow_Table" title="OpenFlow table configuration">
1899 <p>Configuration for a particular OpenFlow table.</p>
1901 <column name="name">
1902 The table's name. Set this column to change the name that controllers
1903 will receive when they request table statistics, e.g. <code>ovs-ofctl
1904 dump-tables</code>. The name does not affect switch behavior.
1907 <column name="flow_limit">
1908 If set, limits the number of flows that may be added to the table. Open
1909 vSwitch may limit the number of flows in a table for other reasons,
1910 e.g. due to hardware limitations or for resource availability or
1911 performance reasons.
1914 <column name="overflow_policy">
1916 Controls the switch's behavior when an OpenFlow flow table modification
1917 request would add flows in excess of <ref column="flow_limit"/>. The
1918 supported values are:
1922 <dt><code>refuse</code></dt>
1924 Refuse to add the flow or flows. This is also the default policy
1925 when <ref column="overflow_policy"/> is unset.
1928 <dt><code>evict</code></dt>
1930 Delete the flow that will expire soonest. See <ref column="groups"/>
1936 <column name="groups">
1938 When <ref column="overflow_policy"/> is <code>evict</code>, this
1939 controls how flows are chosen for eviction when the flow table would
1940 otherwise exceed <ref column="flow_limit"/> flows. Its value is a set
1941 of NXM fields or sub-fields, each of which takes one of the forms
1942 <code><var>field</var>[]</code> or
1943 <code><var>field</var>[<var>start</var>..<var>end</var>]</code>,
1944 e.g. <code>NXM_OF_IN_PORT[]</code>. Please see
1945 <code>nicira-ext.h</code> for a complete list of NXM field names.
1949 When a flow must be evicted due to overflow, the flow to evict is
1950 chosen through an approximation of the following algorithm:
1955 Divide the flows in the table into groups based on the values of the
1956 specified fields or subfields, so that all of the flows in a given
1957 group have the same values for those fields. If a flow does not
1958 specify a given field, that field's value is treated as 0.
1962 Consider the flows in the largest group, that is, the group that
1963 contains the greatest number of flows. If two or more groups all
1964 have the same largest number of flows, consider the flows in all of
1969 Among the flows under consideration, choose the flow that expires
1970 soonest for eviction.
1975 The eviction process only considers flows that have an idle timeout or
1976 a hard timeout. That is, eviction never deletes permanent flows.
1977 (Permanent flows do count against <ref column="flow_limit"/>.
1981 Open vSwitch ignores any invalid or unknown field specifications.
1985 When <ref column="overflow_policy"/> is not <code>evict</code>, this
1986 column has no effect.
1991 <table name="QoS" title="Quality of Service configuration">
1992 <p>Quality of Service (QoS) configuration for each Port that
1995 <column name="type">
1996 <p>The type of QoS to implement. The <ref table="Open_vSwitch"
1997 column="capabilities"/> column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table
1998 identifies the types that a switch actually supports. The currently
1999 defined types are listed below:</p>
2001 <dt><code>linux-htb</code></dt>
2003 Linux ``hierarchy token bucket'' classifier. See tc-htb(8) (also at
2004 <code>http://linux.die.net/man/8/tc-htb</code>) and the HTB manual
2005 (<code>http://luxik.cdi.cz/~devik/qos/htb/manual/userg.htm</code>)
2006 for information on how this classifier works and how to configure it.
2010 <dt><code>linux-hfsc</code></dt>
2012 Linux "Hierarchical Fair Service Curve" classifier.
2013 See <code>http://linux-ip.net/articles/hfsc.en/</code> for
2014 information on how this classifier works.
2019 <column name="queues">
2020 <p>A map from queue numbers to <ref table="Queue"/> records. The
2021 supported range of queue numbers depend on <ref column="type"/>. The
2022 queue numbers are the same as the <code>queue_id</code> used in
2023 OpenFlow in <code>struct ofp_action_enqueue</code> and other
2024 structures. Queue 0 is used by OpenFlow output actions that do not
2025 specify a specific queue.</p>
2028 <group title="Configuration for linux-htb and linux-hfsc">
2030 The <code>linux-htb</code> and <code>linux-hfsc</code> classes support
2031 the following key-value pair:
2034 <column name="other_config" key="max-rate" type='{"type": "integer"}'>
2035 Maximum rate shared by all queued traffic, in bit/s. Optional. If not
2036 specified, for physical interfaces, the default is the link rate. For
2037 other interfaces or if the link rate cannot be determined, the default
2038 is currently 100 Mbps.
2042 <group title="Common Columns">
2043 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2044 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2046 <column name="other_config"/>
2047 <column name="external_ids"/>
2051 <table name="Queue" title="QoS output queue.">
2052 <p>A configuration for a port output queue, used in configuring Quality of
2053 Service (QoS) features. May be referenced by <ref column="queues"
2054 table="QoS"/> column in <ref table="QoS"/> table.</p>
2056 <column name="dscp">
2057 If set, Open vSwitch will mark all traffic egressing this
2058 <ref table="Queue"/> with the given DSCP bits. Traffic egressing the
2059 default <ref table="Queue"/> is only marked if it was explicitly selected
2060 as the <ref table="Queue"/> at the time the packet was output. If unset,
2061 the DSCP bits of traffic egressing this <ref table="Queue"/> will remain
2065 <group title="Configuration for linux-htb QoS">
2067 <ref table="QoS"/> <ref table="QoS" column="type"/>
2068 <code>linux-htb</code> may use <code>queue_id</code>s less than 61440.
2069 It has the following key-value pairs defined.
2072 <column name="other_config" key="min-rate"
2073 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2074 Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s.
2077 <column name="other_config" key="max-rate"
2078 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2079 Maximum allowed bandwidth, in bit/s. Optional. If specified, the
2080 queue's rate will not be allowed to exceed the specified value, even
2081 if excess bandwidth is available. If unspecified, defaults to no
2085 <column name="other_config" key="burst"
2086 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2087 Burst size, in bits. This is the maximum amount of ``credits'' that a
2088 queue can accumulate while it is idle. Optional. Details of the
2089 <code>linux-htb</code> implementation require a minimum burst size, so
2090 a too-small <code>burst</code> will be silently ignored.
2093 <column name="other_config" key="priority"
2094 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 4294967295}'>
2095 A queue with a smaller <code>priority</code> will receive all the
2096 excess bandwidth that it can use before a queue with a larger value
2097 receives any. Specific priority values are unimportant; only relative
2098 ordering matters. Defaults to 0 if unspecified.
2102 <group title="Configuration for linux-hfsc QoS">
2104 <ref table="QoS"/> <ref table="QoS" column="type"/>
2105 <code>linux-hfsc</code> may use <code>queue_id</code>s less than 61440.
2106 It has the following key-value pairs defined.
2109 <column name="other_config" key="min-rate"
2110 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2111 Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s.
2114 <column name="other_config" key="max-rate"
2115 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2116 Maximum allowed bandwidth, in bit/s. Optional. If specified, the
2117 queue's rate will not be allowed to exceed the specified value, even if
2118 excess bandwidth is available. If unspecified, defaults to no
2123 <group title="Common Columns">
2124 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2125 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2127 <column name="other_config"/>
2128 <column name="external_ids"/>
2132 <table name="Mirror" title="Port mirroring.">
2133 <p>A port mirror within a <ref table="Bridge"/>.</p>
2134 <p>A port mirror configures a bridge to send selected frames to special
2135 ``mirrored'' ports, in addition to their normal destinations. Mirroring
2136 traffic may also be referred to as SPAN or RSPAN, depending on how
2137 the mirrored traffic is sent.</p>
2139 <column name="name">
2140 Arbitrary identifier for the <ref table="Mirror"/>.
2143 <group title="Selecting Packets for Mirroring">
2145 To be selected for mirroring, a given packet must enter or leave the
2146 bridge through a selected port and it must also be in one of the
2150 <column name="select_all">
2151 If true, every packet arriving or departing on any port is
2152 selected for mirroring.
2155 <column name="select_dst_port">
2156 Ports on which departing packets are selected for mirroring.
2159 <column name="select_src_port">
2160 Ports on which arriving packets are selected for mirroring.
2163 <column name="select_vlan">
2164 VLANs on which packets are selected for mirroring. An empty set
2165 selects packets on all VLANs.
2169 <group title="Mirroring Destination Configuration">
2171 These columns are mutually exclusive. Exactly one of them must be
2175 <column name="output_port">
2176 <p>Output port for selected packets, if nonempty.</p>
2177 <p>Specifying a port for mirror output reserves that port exclusively
2178 for mirroring. No frames other than those selected for mirroring
2180 will be forwarded to the port, and any frames received on the port
2181 will be discarded.</p>
2183 The output port may be any kind of port supported by Open vSwitch.
2184 It may be, for example, a physical port (sometimes called SPAN) or a
2189 <column name="output_vlan">
2190 <p>Output VLAN for selected packets, if nonempty.</p>
2191 <p>The frames will be sent out all ports that trunk
2192 <ref column="output_vlan"/>, as well as any ports with implicit VLAN
2193 <ref column="output_vlan"/>. When a mirrored frame is sent out a
2194 trunk port, the frame's VLAN tag will be set to
2195 <ref column="output_vlan"/>, replacing any existing tag; when it is
2196 sent out an implicit VLAN port, the frame will not be tagged. This
2197 type of mirroring is sometimes called RSPAN.</p>
2199 The following destination MAC addresses will not be mirrored to a
2200 VLAN to avoid confusing switches that interpret the protocols that
2204 <dt><code>01:80:c2:00:00:00</code></dt>
2205 <dd>IEEE 802.1D Spanning Tree Protocol (STP).</dd>
2207 <dt><code>01:80:c2:00:00:01</code></dt>
2208 <dd>IEEE Pause frame.</dd>
2210 <dt><code>01:80:c2:00:00:0<var>x</var></code></dt>
2211 <dd>Other reserved protocols.</dd>
2213 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cc:cc:cc</code></dt>
2215 Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP), VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP),
2216 Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP), Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP),
2220 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cc:cc:cd</code></dt>
2221 <dd>Cisco Shared Spanning Tree Protocol PVSTP+.</dd>
2223 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cd:cd:cd</code></dt>
2224 <dd>Cisco STP Uplink Fast.</dd>
2226 <dt><code>01:00:0c:00:00:00</code></dt>
2227 <dd>Cisco Inter Switch Link.</dd>
2229 <p><em>Please note:</em> Mirroring to a VLAN can disrupt a network that
2230 contains unmanaged switches. Consider an unmanaged physical switch
2231 with two ports: port 1, connected to an end host, and port 2,
2232 connected to an Open vSwitch configured to mirror received packets
2233 into VLAN 123 on port 2. Suppose that the end host sends a packet on
2234 port 1 that the physical switch forwards to port 2. The Open vSwitch
2235 forwards this packet to its destination and then reflects it back on
2236 port 2 in VLAN 123. This reflected packet causes the unmanaged
2237 physical switch to replace the MAC learning table entry, which
2238 correctly pointed to port 1, with one that incorrectly points to port
2239 2. Afterward, the physical switch will direct packets destined for
2240 the end host to the Open vSwitch on port 2, instead of to the end
2241 host on port 1, disrupting connectivity. If mirroring to a VLAN is
2242 desired in this scenario, then the physical switch must be replaced
2243 by one that learns Ethernet addresses on a per-VLAN basis. In
2244 addition, learning should be disabled on the VLAN containing mirrored
2245 traffic. If this is not done then intermediate switches will learn
2246 the MAC address of each end host from the mirrored traffic. If
2247 packets being sent to that end host are also mirrored, then they will
2248 be dropped since the switch will attempt to send them out the input
2249 port. Disabling learning for the VLAN will cause the switch to
2250 correctly send the packet out all ports configured for that VLAN. If
2251 Open vSwitch is being used as an intermediate switch, learning can be
2252 disabled by adding the mirrored VLAN to <ref column="flood_vlans"/>
2253 in the appropriate <ref table="Bridge"/> table or tables.</p>
2255 Mirroring to a GRE tunnel has fewer caveats than mirroring to a
2256 VLAN and should generally be preferred.
2261 <group title="Statistics: Mirror counters">
2263 Key-value pairs that report mirror statistics.
2265 <column name="statistics" key="tx_packets">
2266 Number of packets transmitted through this mirror.
2268 <column name="statistics" key="tx_bytes">
2269 Number of bytes transmitted through this mirror.
2273 <group title="Common Columns">
2274 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2275 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2277 <column name="external_ids"/>
2281 <table name="Controller" title="OpenFlow controller configuration.">
2282 <p>An OpenFlow controller.</p>
2285 Open vSwitch supports two kinds of OpenFlow controllers:
2289 <dt>Primary controllers</dt>
2292 This is the kind of controller envisioned by the OpenFlow 1.0
2293 specification. Usually, a primary controller implements a network
2294 policy by taking charge of the switch's flow table.
2298 Open vSwitch initiates and maintains persistent connections to
2299 primary controllers, retrying the connection each time it fails or
2300 drops. The <ref table="Bridge" column="fail_mode"/> column in the
2301 <ref table="Bridge"/> table applies to primary controllers.
2305 Open vSwitch permits a bridge to have any number of primary
2306 controllers. When multiple controllers are configured, Open
2307 vSwitch connects to all of them simultaneously. Because
2308 OpenFlow 1.0 does not specify how multiple controllers
2309 coordinate in interacting with a single switch, more than
2310 one primary controller should be specified only if the
2311 controllers are themselves designed to coordinate with each
2312 other. (The Nicira-defined <code>NXT_ROLE</code> OpenFlow
2313 vendor extension may be useful for this.)
2316 <dt>Service controllers</dt>
2319 These kinds of OpenFlow controller connections are intended for
2320 occasional support and maintenance use, e.g. with
2321 <code>ovs-ofctl</code>. Usually a service controller connects only
2322 briefly to inspect or modify some of a switch's state.
2326 Open vSwitch listens for incoming connections from service
2327 controllers. The service controllers initiate and, if necessary,
2328 maintain the connections from their end. The <ref table="Bridge"
2329 column="fail_mode"/> column in the <ref table="Bridge"/> table does
2330 not apply to service controllers.
2334 Open vSwitch supports configuring any number of service controllers.
2340 The <ref column="target"/> determines the type of controller.
2343 <group title="Core Features">
2344 <column name="target">
2345 <p>Connection method for controller.</p>
2347 The following connection methods are currently supported for primary
2351 <dt><code>ssl:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
2353 <p>The specified SSL <var>port</var> (default: 6633) on the host at
2354 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
2355 (not a DNS name). The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/>
2356 column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a
2357 valid SSL configuration when this form is used.</p>
2358 <p>SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
2359 part of Open vSwitch.</p>
2361 <dt><code>tcp:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
2362 <dd>The specified TCP <var>port</var> (default: 6633) on the host at
2363 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
2364 (not a DNS name).</dd>
2367 The following connection methods are currently supported for service
2371 <dt><code>pssl:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
2374 Listens for SSL connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
2375 (default: 6633). If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an
2376 IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then connections are
2377 restricted to the specified local IP address.
2380 The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/> column in the <ref
2381 table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a valid SSL
2382 configuration when this form is used.
2384 <p>SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
2385 part of Open vSwitch.</p>
2387 <dt><code>ptcp:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
2389 Listens for connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
2390 (default: 6633). If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an
2391 IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then connections are
2392 restricted to the specified local IP address.
2395 <p>When multiple controllers are configured for a single bridge, the
2396 <ref column="target"/> values must be unique. Duplicate
2397 <ref column="target"/> values yield unspecified results.</p>
2400 <column name="connection_mode">
2401 <p>If it is specified, this setting must be one of the following
2402 strings that describes how Open vSwitch contacts this OpenFlow
2403 controller over the network:</p>
2406 <dt><code>in-band</code></dt>
2407 <dd>In this mode, this controller's OpenFlow traffic travels over the
2408 bridge associated with the controller. With this setting, Open
2409 vSwitch allows traffic to and from the controller regardless of the
2410 contents of the OpenFlow flow table. (Otherwise, Open vSwitch
2411 would never be able to connect to the controller, because it did
2412 not have a flow to enable it.) This is the most common connection
2413 mode because it is not necessary to maintain two independent
2415 <dt><code>out-of-band</code></dt>
2416 <dd>In this mode, OpenFlow traffic uses a control network separate
2417 from the bridge associated with this controller, that is, the
2418 bridge does not use any of its own network devices to communicate
2419 with the controller. The control network must be configured
2420 separately, before or after <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> is started.
2424 <p>If not specified, the default is implementation-specific.</p>
2428 <group title="Controller Failure Detection and Handling">
2429 <column name="max_backoff">
2430 Maximum number of milliseconds to wait between connection attempts.
2431 Default is implementation-specific.
2434 <column name="inactivity_probe">
2435 Maximum number of milliseconds of idle time on connection to
2436 controller before sending an inactivity probe message. If Open
2437 vSwitch does not communicate with the controller for the specified
2438 number of seconds, it will send a probe. If a response is not
2439 received for the same additional amount of time, Open vSwitch
2440 assumes the connection has been broken and attempts to reconnect.
2441 Default is implementation-specific. A value of 0 disables
2446 <group title="OpenFlow Rate Limiting">
2447 <column name="controller_rate_limit">
2449 The maximum rate at which the switch will forward packets to the
2450 OpenFlow controller, in packets per second. This feature prevents a
2451 single bridge from overwhelming the controller. If not specified,
2452 the default is implementation-specific.
2456 In addition, when a high rate triggers rate-limiting, Open vSwitch
2457 queues controller packets for each port and transmits them to the
2458 controller at the configured rate. The <ref
2459 column="controller_burst_limit"/> value limits the number of queued
2460 packets. Ports on a bridge share the packet queue fairly.
2464 Open vSwitch maintains two such packet rate-limiters per bridge: one
2465 for packets sent up to the controller because they do not correspond
2466 to any flow, and the other for packets sent up to the controller by
2467 request through flow actions. When both rate-limiters are filled with
2468 packets, the actual rate that packets are sent to the controller is
2469 up to twice the specified rate.
2473 <column name="controller_burst_limit">
2474 In conjunction with <ref column="controller_rate_limit"/>,
2475 the maximum number of unused packet credits that the bridge will
2476 allow to accumulate, in packets. If not specified, the default
2477 is implementation-specific.
2481 <group title="Additional In-Band Configuration">
2482 <p>These values are considered only in in-band control mode (see
2483 <ref column="connection_mode"/>).</p>
2485 <p>When multiple controllers are configured on a single bridge, there
2486 should be only one set of unique values in these columns. If different
2487 values are set for these columns in different controllers, the effect
2490 <column name="local_ip">
2491 The IP address to configure on the local port,
2492 e.g. <code>192.168.0.123</code>. If this value is unset, then
2493 <ref column="local_netmask"/> and <ref column="local_gateway"/> are
2497 <column name="local_netmask">
2498 The IP netmask to configure on the local port,
2499 e.g. <code>255.255.255.0</code>. If <ref column="local_ip"/> is set
2500 but this value is unset, then the default is chosen based on whether
2501 the IP address is class A, B, or C.
2504 <column name="local_gateway">
2505 The IP address of the gateway to configure on the local port, as a
2506 string, e.g. <code>192.168.0.1</code>. Leave this column unset if
2507 this network has no gateway.
2511 <group title="Controller Status">
2512 <column name="is_connected">
2513 <code>true</code> if currently connected to this controller,
2514 <code>false</code> otherwise.
2518 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["other", "master", "slave"]]}'>
2519 <p>The level of authority this controller has on the associated
2520 bridge. Possible values are:</p>
2522 <dt><code>other</code></dt>
2523 <dd>Allows the controller access to all OpenFlow features.</dd>
2524 <dt><code>master</code></dt>
2525 <dd>Equivalent to <code>other</code>, except that there may be at
2526 most one master controller at a time. When a controller configures
2527 itself as <code>master</code>, any existing master is demoted to
2528 the <code>slave</code>role.</dd>
2529 <dt><code>slave</code></dt>
2530 <dd>Allows the controller read-only access to OpenFlow features.
2531 Attempts to modify the flow table will be rejected with an
2532 error. Slave controllers do not receive OFPT_PACKET_IN or
2533 OFPT_FLOW_REMOVED messages, but they do receive OFPT_PORT_STATUS
2538 <column name="status" key="last_error">
2539 A human-readable description of the last error on the connection
2540 to the controller; i.e. <code>strerror(errno)</code>. This key
2541 will exist only if an error has occurred.
2544 <column name="status" key="state"
2545 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["VOID", "BACKOFF", "CONNECTING", "ACTIVE", "IDLE"]]}'>
2547 The state of the connection to the controller:
2550 <dt><code>VOID</code></dt>
2551 <dd>Connection is disabled.</dd>
2553 <dt><code>BACKOFF</code></dt>
2554 <dd>Attempting to reconnect at an increasing period.</dd>
2556 <dt><code>CONNECTING</code></dt>
2557 <dd>Attempting to connect.</dd>
2559 <dt><code>ACTIVE</code></dt>
2560 <dd>Connected, remote host responsive.</dd>
2562 <dt><code>IDLE</code></dt>
2563 <dd>Connection is idle. Waiting for response to keep-alive.</dd>
2566 These values may change in the future. They are provided only for
2571 <column name="status" key="sec_since_connect"
2572 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
2573 The amount of time since this controller last successfully connected to
2574 the switch (in seconds). Value is empty if controller has never
2575 successfully connected.
2578 <column name="status" key="sec_since_disconnect"
2579 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2580 The amount of time since this controller last disconnected from
2581 the switch (in seconds). Value is empty if controller has never
2586 <group title="Common Columns">
2587 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2588 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2590 <column name="external_ids"/>
2594 <table name="Manager" title="OVSDB management connection.">
2596 Configuration for a database connection to an Open vSwitch database
2601 This table primarily configures the Open vSwitch database
2602 (<code>ovsdb-server</code>), not the Open vSwitch switch
2603 (<code>ovs-vswitchd</code>). The switch does read the table to determine
2604 what connections should be treated as in-band.
2608 The Open vSwitch database server can initiate and maintain active
2609 connections to remote clients. It can also listen for database
2613 <group title="Core Features">
2614 <column name="target">
2615 <p>Connection method for managers.</p>
2617 The following connection methods are currently supported:
2620 <dt><code>ssl:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
2623 The specified SSL <var>port</var> (default: 6632) on the host at
2624 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
2625 (not a DNS name). The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/>
2626 column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a
2627 valid SSL configuration when this form is used.
2630 SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
2631 part of Open vSwitch.
2635 <dt><code>tcp:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
2637 The specified TCP <var>port</var> (default: 6632) on the host at
2638 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
2641 <dt><code>pssl:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
2644 Listens for SSL connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
2645 (default: 6632). If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an
2646 IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then connections are
2647 restricted to the specified local IP address.
2650 The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/> column in the <ref
2651 table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a valid SSL
2652 configuration when this form is used.
2655 SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
2656 part of Open vSwitch.
2659 <dt><code>ptcp:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
2661 Listens for connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
2662 (default: 6632). If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an
2663 IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then connections are
2664 restricted to the specified local IP address.
2667 <p>When multiple managers are configured, the <ref column="target"/>
2668 values must be unique. Duplicate <ref column="target"/> values yield
2669 unspecified results.</p>
2672 <column name="connection_mode">
2674 If it is specified, this setting must be one of the following strings
2675 that describes how Open vSwitch contacts this OVSDB client over the
2680 <dt><code>in-band</code></dt>
2682 In this mode, this connection's traffic travels over a bridge
2683 managed by Open vSwitch. With this setting, Open vSwitch allows
2684 traffic to and from the client regardless of the contents of the
2685 OpenFlow flow table. (Otherwise, Open vSwitch would never be able
2686 to connect to the client, because it did not have a flow to enable
2687 it.) This is the most common connection mode because it is not
2688 necessary to maintain two independent networks.
2690 <dt><code>out-of-band</code></dt>
2692 In this mode, the client's traffic uses a control network separate
2693 from that managed by Open vSwitch, that is, Open vSwitch does not
2694 use any of its own network devices to communicate with the client.
2695 The control network must be configured separately, before or after
2696 <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> is started.
2701 If not specified, the default is implementation-specific.
2706 <group title="Client Failure Detection and Handling">
2707 <column name="max_backoff">
2708 Maximum number of milliseconds to wait between connection attempts.
2709 Default is implementation-specific.
2712 <column name="inactivity_probe">
2713 Maximum number of milliseconds of idle time on connection to the client
2714 before sending an inactivity probe message. If Open vSwitch does not
2715 communicate with the client for the specified number of seconds, it
2716 will send a probe. If a response is not received for the same
2717 additional amount of time, Open vSwitch assumes the connection has been
2718 broken and attempts to reconnect. Default is implementation-specific.
2719 A value of 0 disables inactivity probes.
2723 <group title="Status">
2724 <column name="is_connected">
2725 <code>true</code> if currently connected to this manager,
2726 <code>false</code> otherwise.
2729 <column name="status" key="last_error">
2730 A human-readable description of the last error on the connection
2731 to the manager; i.e. <code>strerror(errno)</code>. This key
2732 will exist only if an error has occurred.
2735 <column name="status" key="state"
2736 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["VOID", "BACKOFF", "CONNECTING", "ACTIVE", "IDLE"]]}'>
2738 The state of the connection to the manager:
2741 <dt><code>VOID</code></dt>
2742 <dd>Connection is disabled.</dd>
2744 <dt><code>BACKOFF</code></dt>
2745 <dd>Attempting to reconnect at an increasing period.</dd>
2747 <dt><code>CONNECTING</code></dt>
2748 <dd>Attempting to connect.</dd>
2750 <dt><code>ACTIVE</code></dt>
2751 <dd>Connected, remote host responsive.</dd>
2753 <dt><code>IDLE</code></dt>
2754 <dd>Connection is idle. Waiting for response to keep-alive.</dd>
2757 These values may change in the future. They are provided only for
2762 <column name="status" key="sec_since_connect"
2763 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
2764 The amount of time since this manager last successfully connected
2765 to the database (in seconds). Value is empty if manager has never
2766 successfully connected.
2769 <column name="status" key="sec_since_disconnect"
2770 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
2771 The amount of time since this manager last disconnected from the
2772 database (in seconds). Value is empty if manager has never
2776 <column name="status" key="locks_held">
2777 Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection
2778 holds. Omitted if the connection does not hold any locks.
2781 <column name="status" key="locks_waiting">
2782 Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection is
2783 currently waiting to acquire. Omitted if the connection is not waiting
2787 <column name="status" key="locks_lost">
2788 Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection
2789 has had stolen by another OVSDB client. Omitted if no locks have been
2790 stolen from this connection.
2793 <column name="status" key="n_connections"
2794 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 2}'>
2796 When <ref column="target"/> specifies a connection method that
2797 listens for inbound connections (e.g. <code>ptcp:</code> or
2798 <code>pssl:</code>) and more than one connection is actually active,
2799 the value is the number of active connections. Otherwise, this
2800 key-value pair is omitted.
2803 When multiple connections are active, status columns and key-value
2804 pairs (other than this one) report the status of one arbitrarily
2810 <group title="Common Columns">
2811 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2812 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2814 <column name="external_ids"/>
2818 <table name="NetFlow">
2819 A NetFlow target. NetFlow is a protocol that exports a number of
2820 details about terminating IP flows, such as the principals involved
2823 <column name="targets">
2824 NetFlow targets in the form
2825 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>. The <var>ip</var>
2826 must be specified numerically, not as a DNS name.
2829 <column name="engine_id">
2830 Engine ID to use in NetFlow messages. Defaults to datapath index
2834 <column name="engine_type">
2835 Engine type to use in NetFlow messages. Defaults to datapath
2836 index if not specified.
2839 <column name="active_timeout">
2840 The interval at which NetFlow records are sent for flows that are
2841 still active, in seconds. A value of <code>0</code> requests the
2842 default timeout (currently 600 seconds); a value of <code>-1</code>
2843 disables active timeouts.
2846 <column name="add_id_to_interface">
2847 <p>If this column's value is <code>false</code>, the ingress and egress
2848 interface fields of NetFlow flow records are derived from OpenFlow port
2849 numbers. When it is <code>true</code>, the 7 most significant bits of
2850 these fields will be replaced by the least significant 7 bits of the
2851 engine id. This is useful because many NetFlow collectors do not
2852 expect multiple switches to be sending messages from the same host, so
2853 they do not store the engine information which could be used to
2854 disambiguate the traffic.</p>
2855 <p>When this option is enabled, a maximum of 508 ports are supported.</p>
2858 <group title="Common Columns">
2859 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2860 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2862 <column name="external_ids"/>
2867 SSL configuration for an Open_vSwitch.
2869 <column name="private_key">
2870 Name of a PEM file containing the private key used as the switch's
2871 identity for SSL connections to the controller.
2874 <column name="certificate">
2875 Name of a PEM file containing a certificate, signed by the
2876 certificate authority (CA) used by the controller and manager,
2877 that certifies the switch's private key, identifying a trustworthy
2881 <column name="ca_cert">
2882 Name of a PEM file containing the CA certificate used to verify
2883 that the switch is connected to a trustworthy controller.
2886 <column name="bootstrap_ca_cert">
2887 If set to <code>true</code>, then Open vSwitch will attempt to
2888 obtain the CA certificate from the controller on its first SSL
2889 connection and save it to the named PEM file. If it is successful,
2890 it will immediately drop the connection and reconnect, and from then
2891 on all SSL connections must be authenticated by a certificate signed
2892 by the CA certificate thus obtained. <em>This option exposes the
2893 SSL connection to a man-in-the-middle attack obtaining the initial
2894 CA certificate.</em> It may still be useful for bootstrapping.
2897 <group title="Common Columns">
2898 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2899 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2901 <column name="external_ids"/>
2905 <table name="sFlow">
2906 <p>An sFlow(R) target. sFlow is a protocol for remote monitoring
2909 <column name="agent">
2910 Name of the network device whose IP address should be reported as the
2911 ``agent address'' to collectors. If not specified, the agent device is
2912 figured from the first target address and the routing table. If the
2913 routing table does not contain a route to the target, the IP address
2914 defaults to the <ref table="Controller" column="local_ip"/> in the
2915 collector's <ref table="Controller"/>. If an agent IP address cannot be
2916 determined any of these ways, sFlow is disabled.
2919 <column name="header">
2920 Number of bytes of a sampled packet to send to the collector.
2921 If not specified, the default is 128 bytes.
2924 <column name="polling">
2925 Polling rate in seconds to send port statistics to the collector.
2926 If not specified, defaults to 30 seconds.
2929 <column name="sampling">
2930 Rate at which packets should be sampled and sent to the collector.
2931 If not specified, defaults to 400, which means one out of 400
2932 packets, on average, will be sent to the collector.
2935 <column name="targets">
2936 sFlow targets in the form
2937 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>.
2940 <group title="Common Columns">
2941 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2942 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2944 <column name="external_ids"/>
2948 <table name="Capability">
2949 <p>Records in this table describe functionality supported by the hardware
2950 and software platform on which this Open vSwitch is based. Clients
2951 should not modify this table.</p>
2953 <p>A record in this table is meaningful only if it is referenced by the
2954 <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="capabilities"/> column in the
2955 <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table. The key used to reference it, called
2956 the record's ``category,'' determines the meanings of the
2957 <ref column="details"/> column. The following general forms of
2958 categories are currently defined:</p>
2961 <dt><code>qos-<var>type</var></code></dt>
2962 <dd><var>type</var> is supported as the value for
2963 <ref column="type" table="QoS"/> in the <ref table="QoS"/> table.
2967 <column name="details">
2968 <p>Key-value pairs that describe capabilities. The meaning of the pairs
2969 depends on the category key that the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"
2970 column="capabilities"/> column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table
2971 uses to reference this record, as described above.</p>
2973 <p>The presence of a record for category <code>qos-<var>type</var></code>
2974 indicates that the switch supports <var>type</var> as the value of
2975 the <ref table="QoS" column="type"/> column in the <ref table="QoS"/>
2976 table. The following key-value pairs are defined to further describe
2977 QoS capabilities:</p>
2980 <dt><code>n-queues</code></dt>
2981 <dd>Number of supported queues, as a positive integer. Keys in the
2982 <ref table="QoS" column="queues"/> column for <ref table="QoS"/>
2983 records whose <ref table="QoS" column="type"/> value
2984 equals <var>type</var> must range between 0 and this value minus one,