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">
375 OpenFlow controller set. If unset, then no OpenFlow controllers
379 <column name="fail_mode">
380 <p>When a controller is configured, it is, ordinarily, responsible
381 for setting up all flows on the switch. Thus, if the connection to
382 the controller fails, no new network connections can be set up.
383 If the connection to the controller stays down long enough,
384 no packets can pass through the switch at all. This setting
385 determines the switch's response to such a situation. It may be set
386 to one of the following:
388 <dt><code>standalone</code></dt>
389 <dd>If no message is received from the controller for three
390 times the inactivity probe interval
391 (see <ref column="inactivity_probe"/>), then Open vSwitch
392 will take over responsibility for setting up flows. In
393 this mode, Open vSwitch causes the bridge to act like an
394 ordinary MAC-learning switch. Open vSwitch will continue
395 to retry connecting to the controller in the background
396 and, when the connection succeeds, it will discontinue its
397 standalone behavior.</dd>
398 <dt><code>secure</code></dt>
399 <dd>Open vSwitch will not set up flows on its own when the
400 controller connection fails or when no controllers are
401 defined. The bridge will continue to retry connecting to
402 any defined controllers forever.</dd>
405 <p>If this value is unset, the default is implementation-specific.</p>
406 <p>When more than one controller is configured,
407 <ref column="fail_mode"/> is considered only when none of the
408 configured controllers can be contacted.</p>
411 <column name="datapath_id">
412 Reports the OpenFlow datapath ID in use. Exactly 16 hex digits.
413 (Setting this column has no useful effect. Set <ref
414 column="other-config" key="datapath-id"/> instead.)
417 <column name="other_config" key="datapath-id">
418 Exactly 16 hex digits to set the OpenFlow datapath ID to a specific
419 value. May not be all-zero.
422 <column name="other_config" key="disable-in-band"
423 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
424 If set to <code>true</code>, disable in-band control on the bridge
425 regardless of controller and manager settings.
428 <column name="other_config" key="in-band-queue"
429 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 4294967295}'>
430 A queue ID as a nonnegative integer. This sets the OpenFlow queue ID
431 that will be used by flows set up by in-band control on this bridge.
432 If unset, or if the port used by an in-band control flow does not have
433 QoS configured, or if the port does not have a queue with the specified
434 ID, the default queue is used instead.
438 <group title="Spanning Tree Configuration">
439 The IEEE 802.1D Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is a network protocol
440 that ensures loop-free topologies. It allows redundant links to
441 be included in the network to provide automatic backup paths if
442 the active links fails.
444 <column name="stp_enable">
445 Enable spanning tree on the bridge. By default, STP is disabled
446 on bridges. Bond, internal, and mirror ports are not supported
447 and will not participate in the spanning tree.
450 <column name="other_config" key="stp-system-id">
451 The bridge's STP identifier (the lower 48 bits of the bridge-id)
453 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>.
454 By default, the identifier is the MAC address of the bridge.
457 <column name="other_config" key="stp-priority"
458 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
459 The bridge's relative priority value for determining the root
460 bridge (the upper 16 bits of the bridge-id). A bridge with the
461 lowest bridge-id is elected the root. By default, the priority
465 <column name="other_config" key="stp-hello-time"
466 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 10}'>
467 The interval between transmissions of hello messages by
468 designated ports, in seconds. By default the hello interval is
472 <column name="other_config" key="stp-max-age"
473 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 6, "maxInteger": 40}'>
474 The maximum age of the information transmitted by the bridge
475 when it is the root bridge, in seconds. By default, the maximum
479 <column name="other_config" key="stp-forward-delay"
480 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 4, "maxInteger": 30}'>
481 The delay to wait between transitioning root and designated
482 ports to <code>forwarding</code>, in seconds. By default, the
483 forwarding delay is 15 seconds.
487 <group title="Other Features">
488 <column name="datapath_type">
489 Name of datapath provider. The kernel datapath has
490 type <code>system</code>. The userspace datapath has
491 type <code>netdev</code>.
494 <column name="external_ids" key="bridge-id">
495 A unique identifier of the bridge. On Citrix XenServer this will
496 commonly be the same as
497 <ref column="external_ids" key="xs-network-uuids"/>.
500 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-network-uuids">
501 Semicolon-delimited set of universally unique identifier(s) for the
502 network with which this bridge is associated on a Citrix XenServer
503 host. The network identifiers are RFC 4122 UUIDs as displayed by,
504 e.g., <code>xe network-list</code>.
507 <column name="other_config" key="hwaddr">
508 An Ethernet address in the form
509 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>
510 to set the hardware address of the local port and influence the
514 <column name="other_config" key="flow-eviction-threshold"
515 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
517 A number of flows as a nonnegative integer. This sets number of
518 flows at which eviction from the kernel flow table will be triggered.
519 If there are a large number of flows then increasing this value to
520 around the number of flows present can result in reduced CPU usage
524 The default is 1000. Values below 100 will be rounded up to 100.
528 <column name="other_config" key="forward-bpdu"
529 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
530 Option to allow forwarding of BPDU frames when NORMAL action is
531 invoked. Frames with reserved Ethernet addresses (e.g. STP
532 BPDU) will be forwarded when this option is enabled and the
533 switch is not providing that functionality. If STP is enabled
534 on the port, STP BPDUs will never be forwarded. If the Open
535 vSwitch bridge is used to connect different Ethernet networks,
536 and if Open vSwitch node does not run STP, then this option
537 should be enabled. Default is disabled, set to
538 <code>true</code> to enable.
542 <group title="Bridge Status">
544 Status information about bridges.
546 <column name="status">
547 Key-value pairs that report bridge status.
549 <column name="status" key="stp_bridge_id">
551 The bridge-id (in hex) used in spanning tree advertisements.
552 Configuring the bridge-id is described in the
553 <code>stp-system-id</code> and <code>stp-priority</code> keys
554 of the <code>other_config</code> section earlier.
557 <column name="status" key="stp_designated_root">
559 The designated root (in hex) for this spanning tree.
562 <column name="status" key="stp_root_path_cost">
564 The path cost of reaching the designated bridge. A lower
570 <group title="Common Columns">
571 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
572 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
574 <column name="other_config"/>
575 <column name="external_ids"/>
579 <table name="Port" table="Port or bond configuration.">
580 <p>A port within a <ref table="Bridge"/>.</p>
581 <p>Most commonly, a port has exactly one ``interface,'' pointed to by its
582 <ref column="interfaces"/> column. Such a port logically
583 corresponds to a port on a physical Ethernet switch. A port
584 with more than one interface is a ``bonded port'' (see
585 <ref group="Bonding Configuration"/>).</p>
586 <p>Some properties that one might think as belonging to a port are actually
587 part of the port's <ref table="Interface"/> members.</p>
590 Port name. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8
591 bytes long. May be the same as the interface name, for
592 non-bonded ports. Must otherwise be unique among the names of
593 ports, interfaces, and bridges on a host.
596 <column name="interfaces">
597 The port's interfaces. If there is more than one, this is a
601 <group title="VLAN Configuration">
602 <p>Bridge ports support the following types of VLAN configuration:</p>
607 A trunk port carries packets on one or more specified VLANs
608 specified in the <ref column="trunks"/> column (often, on every
609 VLAN). A packet that ingresses on a trunk port is in the VLAN
610 specified in its 802.1Q header, or VLAN 0 if the packet has no
611 802.1Q header. A packet that egresses through a trunk port will
612 have an 802.1Q header if it has a nonzero VLAN ID.
616 Any packet that ingresses on a trunk port tagged with a VLAN that
617 the port does not trunk is dropped.
624 An access port carries packets on exactly one VLAN specified in the
625 <ref column="tag"/> column. Packets egressing on an access port
626 have no 802.1Q header.
630 Any packet with an 802.1Q header with a nonzero VLAN ID that
631 ingresses on an access port is dropped, regardless of whether the
632 VLAN ID in the header is the access port's VLAN ID.
636 <dt>native-tagged</dt>
638 A native-tagged port resembles a trunk port, with the exception that
639 a packet without an 802.1Q header that ingresses on a native-tagged
640 port is in the ``native VLAN'' (specified in the <ref column="tag"/>
644 <dt>native-untagged</dt>
646 A native-untagged port resembles a native-tagged port, with the
647 exception that a packet that egresses on a native-untagged port in
648 the native VLAN will not have an 802.1Q header.
652 A packet will only egress through bridge ports that carry the VLAN of
653 the packet, as described by the rules above.
656 <column name="vlan_mode">
658 The VLAN mode of the port, as described above. When this column is
659 empty, a default mode is selected as follows:
663 If <ref column="tag"/> contains a value, the port is an access
664 port. The <ref column="trunks"/> column should be empty.
667 Otherwise, the port is a trunk port. The <ref column="trunks"/>
668 column value is honored if it is present.
675 For an access port, the port's implicitly tagged VLAN. For a
676 native-tagged or native-untagged port, the port's native VLAN. Must
677 be empty if this is a trunk port.
681 <column name="trunks">
683 For a trunk, native-tagged, or native-untagged port, the 802.1Q VLAN
684 or VLANs that this port trunks; if it is empty, then the port trunks
685 all VLANs. Must be empty if this is an access port.
688 A native-tagged or native-untagged port always trunks its native
689 VLAN, regardless of whether <ref column="trunks"/> includes that
694 <column name="other_config" key="priority-tags"
695 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
697 An 802.1Q header contains two important pieces of information: a VLAN
698 ID and a priority. A frame with a zero VLAN ID, called a
699 ``priority-tagged'' frame, is supposed to be treated the same way as
700 a frame without an 802.1Q header at all (except for the priority).
704 However, some network elements ignore any frame that has 802.1Q
705 header at all, even when the VLAN ID is zero. Therefore, by default
706 Open vSwitch does not output priority-tagged frames, instead omitting
707 the 802.1Q header entirely if the VLAN ID is zero. Set this key to
708 <code>true</code> to enable priority-tagged frames on a port.
712 Regardless of this setting, Open vSwitch omits the 802.1Q header on
713 output if both the VLAN ID and priority would be zero.
717 All frames output to native-tagged ports have a nonzero VLAN ID, so
718 this setting is not meaningful on native-tagged ports.
723 <group title="Bonding Configuration">
724 <p>A port that has more than one interface is a ``bonded port.'' Bonding
725 allows for load balancing and fail-over. Some kinds of bonding will
726 work with any kind of upstream switch:</p>
729 <dt><code>balance-slb</code></dt>
731 Balances flows among slaves based on source MAC address and output
732 VLAN, with periodic rebalancing as traffic patterns change.
735 <dt><code>active-backup</code></dt>
737 Assigns all flows to one slave, failing over to a backup slave when
738 the active slave is disabled.
743 The following modes require the upstream switch to support 802.3ad with
744 successful LACP negotiation. If LACP negotiation fails then
745 <code>balance-slb</code> style flow hashing is used as a fallback:
749 <dt><code>balance-tcp</code></dt>
751 Balances flows among slaves based on L2, L3, and L4 protocol
752 information such as destination MAC address, IP address, and TCP
756 <dt><code>stable</code></dt>
758 <p>Attempts to always assign a given flow to the same slave
759 consistently. In an effort to maintain stability, no load
760 balancing is done. Uses a similar hashing strategy to
761 <code>balance-tcp</code>, always taking into account L3 and L4
762 fields even if LACP negotiations are unsuccessful. </p>
763 <p>Slave selection decisions are made based on <ref table="Interface"
764 column="other_config" key="bond-stable-id"/> if set. Otherwise,
765 OpenFlow port number is used. Decisions are consistent across all
766 <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> instances with equivalent
767 <ref table="Interface" column="other_config" key="bond-stable-id"/>
772 <p>These columns apply only to bonded ports. Their values are
773 otherwise ignored.</p>
775 <column name="bond_mode">
776 <p>The type of bonding used for a bonded port. Defaults to
777 <code>balance-slb</code> if unset.
781 <column name="other_config" key="bond-hash-basis"
782 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
783 An integer hashed along with flows when choosing output slaves in load
784 balanced bonds. When changed, all flows will be assigned different
785 hash values possibly causing slave selection decisions to change. Does
786 not affect bonding modes which do not employ load balancing such as
787 <code>active-backup</code>.
790 <group title="Link Failure Detection">
792 An important part of link bonding is detecting that links are down so
793 that they may be disabled. These settings determine how Open vSwitch
794 detects link failure.
797 <column name="other_config" key="bond-detect-mode"
798 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["carrier", "miimon"]]}'>
799 The means used to detect link failures. Defaults to
800 <code>carrier</code> which uses each interface's carrier to detect
801 failures. When set to <code>miimon</code>, will check for failures
802 by polling each interface's MII.
805 <column name="other_config" key="bond-miimon-interval"
806 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
807 The interval, in milliseconds, between successive attempts to poll
808 each interface's MII. Relevant only when <ref column="other_config"
809 key="bond-detect-mode"/> is <code>miimon</code>.
812 <column name="bond_updelay">
814 The number of milliseconds for which carrier must stay up on an
815 interface before the interface is considered to be up. Specify
816 <code>0</code> to enable the interface immediately.
820 This setting is honored only when at least one bonded interface is
821 already enabled. When no interfaces are enabled, then the first
822 bond interface to come up is enabled immediately.
826 <column name="bond_downdelay">
827 The number of milliseconds for which carrier must stay down on an
828 interface before the interface is considered to be down. Specify
829 <code>0</code> to disable the interface immediately.
833 <group title="LACP Configuration">
835 LACP, the Link Aggregation Control Protocol, is an IEEE standard that
836 allows switches to automatically detect that they are connected by
837 multiple links and aggregate across those links. These settings
838 control LACP behavior.
842 Configures LACP on this port. LACP allows directly connected
843 switches to negotiate which links may be bonded. LACP may be enabled
844 on non-bonded ports for the benefit of any switches they may be
845 connected to. <code>active</code> ports are allowed to initiate LACP
846 negotiations. <code>passive</code> ports are allowed to participate
847 in LACP negotiations initiated by a remote switch, but not allowed to
848 initiate such negotiations themselves. Defaults to <code>off</code>
852 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-system-id">
853 The LACP system ID of this <ref table="Port"/>. The system ID of a
854 LACP bond is used to identify itself to its partners. Must be a
858 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-system-priority"
859 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
860 The LACP system priority of this <ref table="Port"/>. In LACP
861 negotiations, link status decisions are made by the system with the
862 numerically lower priority.
865 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-time">
867 The LACP timing which should be used on this <ref table="Port"/>.
868 Possible values are <code>fast</code>, <code>slow</code> and a
869 positive number of milliseconds. By default <code>slow</code> is
870 used. When configured to be <code>fast</code> LACP heartbeats are
871 requested at a rate of once per second causing connectivity
872 problems to be detected more quickly. In <code>slow</code> mode,
873 heartbeats are requested at a rate of once every 30 seconds.
877 Users may manually set a heartbeat transmission rate to increase
878 the fault detection speed further. When manually set, OVS expects
879 the partner switch to be configured with the same transmission
880 rate. Manually setting <code>lacp-time</code> to something other
881 than <code>fast</code> or <code>slow</code> is not supported by the
886 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-heartbeat"
887 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
888 Treat LACP like a simple heartbeat protocol for link state
889 monitoring. Most features of the LACP protocol are disabled
890 when this mode is in use. The default if not specified is
895 <group title="SLB Configuration">
897 These settings control behavior when a bond is in
898 <code>balance-slb</code> mode, regardless of whether the bond was
899 intentionally configured in SLB mode or it fell back to SLB mode
900 because LACP negotiation failed.
903 <column name="other_config" key="bond-rebalance-interval"
904 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1000, "maxInteger": 10000}'>
905 For an SLB bonded port, the number of milliseconds between successive
906 attempts to rebalance the bond, that is, to move source MACs and
907 their flows from one interface on the bond to another in an attempt
908 to keep usage of each interface roughly equal.
912 <column name="bond_fake_iface">
913 For a bonded port, whether to create a fake internal interface with the
914 name of the port. Use only for compatibility with legacy software that
919 <group title="Spanning Tree Configuration">
920 <column name="other_config" key="stp-enable"
921 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
922 If spanning tree is enabled on the bridge, member ports are
923 enabled by default (with the exception of bond, internal, and
924 mirror ports which do not work with STP). If this column's
925 value is <code>false</code> spanning tree is disabled on the
929 <column name="other_config" key="stp-port-num"
930 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 255}'>
931 The port number used for the lower 8 bits of the port-id. By
932 default, the numbers will be assigned automatically. If any
933 port's number is manually configured on a bridge, then they
937 <column name="other_config" key="stp-port-priority"
938 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 255}'>
939 The port's relative priority value for determining the root
940 port (the upper 8 bits of the port-id). A port with a lower
941 port-id will be chosen as the root port. By default, the
945 <column name="other_config" key="stp-path-cost"
946 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
947 Spanning tree path cost for the port. A lower number indicates
948 a faster link. By default, the cost is based on the maximum
953 <group title="Other Features">
955 Quality of Service configuration for this port.
959 The MAC address to use for this port for the purpose of choosing the
960 bridge's MAC address. This column does not necessarily reflect the
961 port's actual MAC address, nor will setting it change the port's actual
965 <column name="fake_bridge">
966 Does this port represent a sub-bridge for its tagged VLAN within the
967 Bridge? See ovs-vsctl(8) for more information.
970 <column name="external_ids" key="fake-bridge-id-*">
971 External IDs for a fake bridge (see the <ref column="fake_bridge"/>
972 column) are defined by prefixing a <ref table="Bridge"/> <ref
973 table="Bridge" column="external_ids"/> key with
974 <code>fake-bridge-</code>,
975 e.g. <code>fake-bridge-xs-network-uuids</code>.
979 <group title="Port Status">
981 Status information about ports attached to bridges.
983 <column name="status">
984 Key-value pairs that report port status.
986 <column name="status" key="stp_port_id">
988 The port-id (in hex) used in spanning tree advertisements for
989 this port. Configuring the port-id is described in the
990 <code>stp-port-num</code> and <code>stp-port-priority</code>
991 keys of the <code>other_config</code> section earlier.
994 <column name="status" key="stp_state"
995 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set",
996 ["disabled", "listening", "learning",
997 "forwarding", "blocking"]]}'>
999 STP state of the port.
1002 <column name="status" key="stp_sec_in_state"
1003 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
1005 The amount of time (in seconds) port has been in the current
1009 <column name="status" key="stp_role"
1010 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set",
1011 ["root", "designated", "alternate"]]}'>
1013 STP role of the port.
1018 <group title="Port Statistics">
1020 Key-value pairs that report port statistics.
1022 <group title="Statistics: STP transmit and receive counters">
1023 <column name="statistics" key="stp_tx_count">
1024 Number of STP BPDUs sent on this port by the spanning
1027 <column name="statistics" key="stp_rx_count">
1028 Number of STP BPDUs received on this port and accepted by the
1029 spanning tree library.
1031 <column name="statistics" key="stp_error_count">
1032 Number of bad STP BPDUs received on this port. Bad BPDUs
1033 include runt packets and those with an unexpected protocol ID.
1038 <group title="Common Columns">
1039 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
1040 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
1042 <column name="other_config"/>
1043 <column name="external_ids"/>
1047 <table name="Interface" title="One physical network device in a Port.">
1048 An interface within a <ref table="Port"/>.
1050 <group title="Core Features">
1051 <column name="name">
1052 Interface name. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8 bytes
1053 long. May be the same as the port name, for non-bonded ports. Must
1054 otherwise be unique among the names of ports, interfaces, and bridges
1059 <p>Ethernet address to set for this interface. If unset then the
1060 default MAC address is used:</p>
1062 <li>For the local interface, the default is the lowest-numbered MAC
1063 address among the other bridge ports, either the value of the
1064 <ref table="Port" column="mac"/> in its <ref table="Port"/> record,
1065 if set, or its actual MAC (for bonded ports, the MAC of its slave
1066 whose name is first in alphabetical order). Internal ports and
1067 bridge ports that are used as port mirroring destinations (see the
1068 <ref table="Mirror"/> table) are ignored.</li>
1069 <li>For other internal interfaces, the default MAC is randomly
1071 <li>External interfaces typically have a MAC address associated with
1072 their hardware.</li>
1074 <p>Some interfaces may not have a software-controllable MAC
1078 <column name="ofport">
1079 <p>OpenFlow port number for this interface. Unlike most columns, this
1080 column's value should be set only by Open vSwitch itself. Other
1081 clients should set this column to an empty set (the default) when
1082 creating an <ref table="Interface"/>.</p>
1083 <p>Open vSwitch populates this column when the port number becomes
1084 known. If the interface is successfully added,
1085 <ref column="ofport"/> will be set to a number between 1 and 65535
1086 (generally either in the range 1 to 65279, inclusive, or 65534, the
1087 port number for the OpenFlow ``local port''). If the interface
1088 cannot be added then Open vSwitch sets this column
1093 <group title="System-Specific Details">
1094 <column name="type">
1096 The interface type, one of:
1100 <dt><code>system</code></dt>
1101 <dd>An ordinary network device, e.g. <code>eth0</code> on Linux.
1102 Sometimes referred to as ``external interfaces'' since they are
1103 generally connected to hardware external to that on which the Open
1104 vSwitch is running. The empty string is a synonym for
1105 <code>system</code>.</dd>
1107 <dt><code>internal</code></dt>
1108 <dd>A simulated network device that sends and receives traffic. An
1109 internal interface whose <ref column="name"/> is the same as its
1110 bridge's <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="name"/> is called the
1111 ``local interface.'' It does not make sense to bond an internal
1112 interface, so the terms ``port'' and ``interface'' are often used
1113 imprecisely for internal interfaces.</dd>
1115 <dt><code>tap</code></dt>
1116 <dd>A TUN/TAP device managed by Open vSwitch.</dd>
1118 <dt><code>gre</code></dt>
1120 An Ethernet over RFC 2890 Generic Routing Encapsulation over IPv4
1121 tunnel. See <ref group="Tunnel Options"/> for information on
1122 configuring GRE tunnels.
1125 <dt><code>ipsec_gre</code></dt>
1127 An Ethernet over RFC 2890 Generic Routing Encapsulation over IPv4
1131 <dt><code>capwap</code></dt>
1133 An Ethernet tunnel over the UDP transport portion of CAPWAP (RFC
1134 5415). This allows interoperability with certain switches that do
1135 not support GRE. Only the tunneling component of the protocol is
1136 implemented. UDP ports 58881 and 58882 are used as the source and
1137 destination ports respectively. CAPWAP is currently supported only
1138 with the Linux kernel datapath with kernel version 2.6.26 or later.
1141 <dt><code>patch</code></dt>
1143 A pair of virtual devices that act as a patch cable.
1146 <dt><code>null</code></dt>
1147 <dd>An ignored interface.</dd>
1152 <group title="Tunnel Options">
1154 These options apply to interfaces with <ref column="type"/> of
1155 <code>gre</code>, <code>ipsec_gre</code>, and <code>capwap</code>.
1159 Each tunnel must be uniquely identified by the combination of <ref
1160 column="type"/>, <ref column="options" key="remote_ip"/>, <ref
1161 column="options" key="local_ip"/>, and <ref column="options"
1162 key="in_key"/>. If two ports are defined that are the same except one
1163 has an optional identifier and the other does not, the more specific
1164 one is matched first. <ref column="options" key="in_key"/> is
1165 considered more specific than <ref column="options" key="local_ip"/> if
1166 a port defines one and another port defines the other.
1169 <column name="options" key="remote_ip">
1171 Required. The tunnel endpoint. Unicast and multicast endpoints are
1176 When a multicast endpoint is specified, a routing table lookup occurs
1177 only when the tunnel is created. Following a routing change, delete
1178 and then re-create the tunnel to force a new routing table lookup.
1182 <column name="options" key="local_ip">
1183 Optional. The destination IP that received packets must match.
1184 Default is to match all addresses. Must be omitted when <ref
1185 column="options" key="remote_ip"/> is a multicast address.
1188 <column name="options" key="in_key">
1189 <p>Optional. The key that received packets must contain, one of:</p>
1193 <code>0</code>. The tunnel receives packets with no key or with a
1194 key of 0. This is equivalent to specifying no <ref column="options"
1195 key="in_key"/> at all.
1198 A positive 32-bit (for GRE) or 64-bit (for CAPWAP) number. The
1199 tunnel receives only packets with the specified key.
1202 The word <code>flow</code>. The tunnel accepts packets with any
1203 key. The key will be placed in the <code>tun_id</code> field for
1204 matching in the flow table. The <code>ovs-ofctl</code> manual page
1205 contains additional information about matching fields in OpenFlow
1214 <column name="options" key="out_key">
1215 <p>Optional. The key to be set on outgoing packets, one of:</p>
1219 <code>0</code>. Packets sent through the tunnel will have no key.
1220 This is equivalent to specifying no <ref column="options"
1221 key="out_key"/> at all.
1224 A positive 32-bit (for GRE) or 64-bit (for CAPWAP) number. Packets
1225 sent through the tunnel will have the specified key.
1228 The word <code>flow</code>. Packets sent through the tunnel will
1229 have the key set using the <code>set_tunnel</code> Nicira OpenFlow
1230 vendor extension (0 is used in the absence of an action). The
1231 <code>ovs-ofctl</code> manual page contains additional information
1232 about the Nicira OpenFlow vendor extensions.
1237 <column name="options" key="key">
1238 Optional. Shorthand to set <code>in_key</code> and
1239 <code>out_key</code> at the same time.
1242 <column name="options" key="tos">
1243 Optional. The value of the ToS bits to be set on the encapsulating
1244 packet. It may also be the word <code>inherit</code>, in which case
1245 the ToS will be copied from the inner packet if it is IPv4 or IPv6
1246 (otherwise it will be 0). The ECN fields are always inherited.
1250 <column name="options" key="ttl">
1251 Optional. The TTL to be set on the encapsulating packet. It may also
1252 be the word <code>inherit</code>, in which case the TTL will be copied
1253 from the inner packet if it is IPv4 or IPv6 (otherwise it will be the
1254 system default, typically 64). Default is the system default TTL.
1257 <column name="options" key="df_inherit" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1258 Optional. If enabled, the Don't Fragment bit will be copied from the
1259 inner IP headers (those of the encapsulated traffic) to the outer
1260 (tunnel) headers. Default is disabled; set to <code>true</code> to
1264 <column name="options" key="df_default"
1265 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1266 Optional. If enabled, the Don't Fragment bit will be set by default on
1267 tunnel headers if the <code>df_inherit</code> option is not set, or if
1268 the encapsulated packet is not IP. Default is enabled; set to
1269 <code>false</code> to disable.
1272 <column name="options" key="pmtud" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1273 Optional. Enable tunnel path MTU discovery. If enabled ``ICMP
1274 Destination Unreachable - Fragmentation Needed'' messages will be
1275 generated for IPv4 packets with the DF bit set and IPv6 packets above
1276 the minimum MTU if the packet size exceeds the path MTU minus the size
1277 of the tunnel headers. Note that this option causes behavior that is
1278 typically reserved for routers and therefore is not entirely in
1279 compliance with the IEEE 802.1D specification for bridges. Default is
1280 enabled; set to <code>false</code> to disable.
1283 <group title="Tunnel Options: gre only">
1285 Only <code>gre</code> interfaces support these options.
1288 <column name="options" key="header_cache" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1289 Enable caching of tunnel headers and the output path. This can lead
1290 to a significant performance increase without changing behavior. In
1291 general it should not be necessary to adjust this setting. However,
1292 the caching can bypass certain components of the IP stack (such as
1293 <code>iptables</code>) and it may be useful to disable it if these
1294 features are required or as a debugging measure. Default is enabled,
1295 set to <code>false</code> to disable.
1299 <group title="Tunnel Options: gre and ipsec_gre only">
1301 Only <code>gre</code> and <code>ipsec_gre</code> interfaces support
1305 <column name="options" key="csum" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1307 Optional. Compute GRE checksums on outgoing packets. Default is
1308 disabled, set to <code>true</code> to enable. Checksums present on
1309 incoming packets will be validated regardless of this setting.
1313 GRE checksums impose a significant performance penalty because they
1314 cover the entire packet. The encapsulated L3, L4, and L7 packet
1315 contents typically have their own checksums, so this additional
1316 checksum only adds value for the GRE and encapsulated L2 headers.
1320 This option is supported for <code>ipsec_gre</code>, but not useful
1321 because GRE checksums are weaker than, and redundant with, IPsec
1322 payload authentication.
1327 <group title="Tunnel Options: ipsec_gre only">
1329 Only <code>ipsec_gre</code> interfaces support these options.
1332 <column name="options" key="peer_cert">
1333 Required for certificate authentication. A string containing the
1334 peer's certificate in PEM format. Additionally the host's
1335 certificate must be specified with the <code>certificate</code>
1339 <column name="options" key="certificate">
1340 Required for certificate authentication. The name of a PEM file
1341 containing a certificate that will be presented to the peer during
1345 <column name="options" key="private_key">
1346 Optional for certificate authentication. The name of a PEM file
1347 containing the private key associated with <code>certificate</code>.
1348 If <code>certificate</code> contains the private key, this option may
1352 <column name="options" key="psk">
1353 Required for pre-shared key authentication. Specifies a pre-shared
1354 key for authentication that must be identical on both sides of the
1360 <group title="Patch Options">
1362 Only <code>patch</code> interfaces support these options.
1365 <column name="options" key="peer">
1366 The <ref column="name"/> of the <ref table="Interface"/> for the other
1367 side of the patch. The named <ref table="Interface"/>'s own
1368 <code>peer</code> option must specify this <ref table="Interface"/>'s
1369 name. That is, the two patch interfaces must have reversed <ref
1370 column="name"/> and <code>peer</code> values.
1374 <group title="Interface Status">
1376 Status information about interfaces attached to bridges, updated every
1377 5 seconds. Not all interfaces have all of these properties; virtual
1378 interfaces don't have a link speed, for example. Non-applicable
1379 columns will have empty values.
1381 <column name="admin_state">
1383 The administrative state of the physical network link.
1387 <column name="link_state">
1389 The observed state of the physical network link. This is ordinarily
1390 the link's carrier status. If the interface's <ref table="Port"/> is
1391 a bond configured for miimon monitoring, it is instead the network
1392 link's miimon status.
1396 <column name="link_resets">
1398 The number of times Open vSwitch has observed the
1399 <ref column="link_state"/> of this <ref table="Interface"/> change.
1403 <column name="link_speed">
1405 The negotiated speed of the physical network link.
1406 Valid values are positive integers greater than 0.
1410 <column name="duplex">
1412 The duplex mode of the physical network link.
1418 The MTU (maximum transmission unit); i.e. the largest
1419 amount of data that can fit into a single Ethernet frame.
1420 The standard Ethernet MTU is 1500 bytes. Some physical media
1421 and many kinds of virtual interfaces can be configured with
1425 This column will be empty for an interface that does not
1426 have an MTU as, for example, some kinds of tunnels do not.
1430 <column name="lacp_current">
1431 Boolean value indicating LACP status for this interface. If true, this
1432 interface has current LACP information about its LACP partner. This
1433 information may be used to monitor the health of interfaces in a LACP
1434 enabled port. This column will be empty if LACP is not enabled.
1437 <column name="status">
1438 Key-value pairs that report port status. Supported status values are
1439 <ref column="type"/>-dependent; some interfaces may not have a valid
1440 <ref column="status" key="driver_name"/>, for example.
1443 <column name="status" key="driver_name">
1444 The name of the device driver controlling the network adapter.
1447 <column name="status" key="driver_version">
1448 The version string of the device driver controlling the network
1452 <column name="status" key="firmware_version">
1453 The version string of the network adapter's firmware, if available.
1456 <column name="status" key="source_ip">
1457 The source IP address used for an IPv4 tunnel end-point, such as
1458 <code>gre</code> or <code>capwap</code>.
1461 <column name="status" key="tunnel_egress_iface">
1462 Egress interface for tunnels. Currently only relevant for GRE and
1463 CAPWAP tunnels. On Linux systems, this column will show the name of
1464 the interface which is responsible for routing traffic destined for the
1465 configured <ref column="options" key="remote_ip"/>. This could be an
1466 internal interface such as a bridge port.
1469 <column name="status" key="tunnel_egress_iface_carrier"
1470 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["down", "up"]]}'>
1471 Whether carrier is detected on <ref column="status"
1472 key="tunnel_egress_iface"/>.
1476 <group title="Statistics">
1478 Key-value pairs that report interface statistics. The current
1479 implementation updates these counters periodically. Future
1480 implementations may update them when an interface is created, when they
1481 are queried (e.g. using an OVSDB <code>select</code> operation), and
1482 just before an interface is deleted due to virtual interface hot-unplug
1483 or VM shutdown, and perhaps at other times, but not on any regular
1487 These are the same statistics reported by OpenFlow in its <code>struct
1488 ofp_port_stats</code> structure. If an interface does not support a
1489 given statistic, then that pair is omitted.
1491 <group title="Statistics: Successful transmit and receive counters">
1492 <column name="statistics" key="rx_packets">
1493 Number of received packets.
1495 <column name="statistics" key="rx_bytes">
1496 Number of received bytes.
1498 <column name="statistics" key="tx_packets">
1499 Number of transmitted packets.
1501 <column name="statistics" key="tx_bytes">
1502 Number of transmitted bytes.
1505 <group title="Statistics: Receive errors">
1506 <column name="statistics" key="rx_dropped">
1507 Number of packets dropped by RX.
1509 <column name="statistics" key="rx_frame_err">
1510 Number of frame alignment errors.
1512 <column name="statistics" key="rx_over_err">
1513 Number of packets with RX overrun.
1515 <column name="statistics" key="rx_crc_err">
1516 Number of CRC errors.
1518 <column name="statistics" key="rx_errors">
1519 Total number of receive errors, greater than or equal to the sum of
1523 <group title="Statistics: Transmit errors">
1524 <column name="statistics" key="tx_dropped">
1525 Number of packets dropped by TX.
1527 <column name="statistics" key="collisions">
1528 Number of collisions.
1530 <column name="statistics" key="tx_errors">
1531 Total number of transmit errors, greater than or equal to the sum of
1537 <group title="Ingress Policing">
1539 These settings control ingress policing for packets received on this
1540 interface. On a physical interface, this limits the rate at which
1541 traffic is allowed into the system from the outside; on a virtual
1542 interface (one connected to a virtual machine), this limits the rate at
1543 which the VM is able to transmit.
1546 Policing is a simple form of quality-of-service that simply drops
1547 packets received in excess of the configured rate. Due to its
1548 simplicity, policing is usually less accurate and less effective than
1549 egress QoS (which is configured using the <ref table="QoS"/> and <ref
1550 table="Queue"/> tables).
1553 Policing is currently implemented only on Linux. The Linux
1554 implementation uses a simple ``token bucket'' approach:
1558 The size of the bucket corresponds to <ref
1559 column="ingress_policing_burst"/>. Initially the bucket is full.
1562 Whenever a packet is received, its size (converted to tokens) is
1563 compared to the number of tokens currently in the bucket. If the
1564 required number of tokens are available, they are removed and the
1565 packet is forwarded. Otherwise, the packet is dropped.
1568 Whenever it is not full, the bucket is refilled with tokens at the
1569 rate specified by <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/>.
1573 Policing interacts badly with some network protocols, and especially
1574 with fragmented IP packets. Suppose that there is enough network
1575 activity to keep the bucket nearly empty all the time. Then this token
1576 bucket algorithm will forward a single packet every so often, with the
1577 period depending on packet size and on the configured rate. All of the
1578 fragments of an IP packets are normally transmitted back-to-back, as a
1579 group. In such a situation, therefore, only one of these fragments
1580 will be forwarded and the rest will be dropped. IP does not provide
1581 any way for the intended recipient to ask for only the remaining
1582 fragments. In such a case there are two likely possibilities for what
1583 will happen next: either all of the fragments will eventually be
1584 retransmitted (as TCP will do), in which case the same problem will
1585 recur, or the sender will not realize that its packet has been dropped
1586 and data will simply be lost (as some UDP-based protocols will do).
1587 Either way, it is possible that no forward progress will ever occur.
1589 <column name="ingress_policing_rate">
1591 Maximum rate for data received on this interface, in kbps. Data
1592 received faster than this rate is dropped. Set to <code>0</code>
1593 (the default) to disable policing.
1597 <column name="ingress_policing_burst">
1598 <p>Maximum burst size for data received on this interface, in kb. The
1599 default burst size if set to <code>0</code> is 1000 kb. This value
1600 has no effect if <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/>
1601 is <code>0</code>.</p>
1603 Specifying a larger burst size lets the algorithm be more forgiving,
1604 which is important for protocols like TCP that react severely to
1605 dropped packets. The burst size should be at least the size of the
1606 interface's MTU. Specifying a value that is numerically at least as
1607 large as 10% of <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/> helps TCP come
1608 closer to achieving the full rate.
1613 <group title="Connectivity Fault Management">
1615 802.1ag Connectivity Fault Management (CFM) allows a group of
1616 Maintenance Points (MPs) called a Maintenance Association (MA) to
1617 detect connectivity problems with each other. MPs within a MA should
1618 have complete and exclusive interconnectivity. This is verified by
1619 occasionally broadcasting Continuity Check Messages (CCMs) at a
1620 configurable transmission interval.
1624 According to the 802.1ag specification, each Maintenance Point should
1625 be configured out-of-band with a list of Remote Maintenance Points it
1626 should have connectivity to. Open vSwitch differs from the
1627 specification in this area. It simply assumes the link is faulted if
1628 no Remote Maintenance Points are reachable, and considers it not
1632 <column name="cfm_mpid">
1633 A Maintenance Point ID (MPID) uniquely identifies each endpoint within
1634 a Maintenance Association. The MPID is used to identify this endpoint
1635 to other Maintenance Points in the MA. Each end of a link being
1636 monitored should have a different MPID. Must be configured to enable
1637 CFM on this <ref table="Interface"/>.
1640 <column name="cfm_fault">
1642 Indicates a connectivity fault triggered by an inability to receive
1643 heartbeats from any remote endpoint. When a fault is triggered on
1644 <ref table="Interface"/>s participating in bonds, they will be
1648 Faults can be triggered for several reasons. Most importantly they
1649 are triggered when no CCMs are received for a period of 3.5 times the
1650 transmission interval. Faults are also triggered when any CCMs
1651 indicate that a Remote Maintenance Point is not receiving CCMs but
1652 able to send them. Finally, a fault is triggered if a CCM is
1653 received which indicates unexpected configuration. Notably, this
1654 case arises when a CCM is received which advertises the local MPID.
1658 <column name="cfm_remote_mpids">
1659 When CFM is properly configured, Open vSwitch will occasionally
1660 receive CCM broadcasts. These broadcasts contain the MPID of the
1661 sending Maintenance Point. The list of MPIDs from which this
1662 <ref table="Interface"/> is receiving broadcasts from is regularly
1663 collected and written to this column.
1666 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_interval"
1667 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
1668 The interval, in milliseconds, between transmissions of CFM heartbeats.
1669 Three missed heartbeat receptions indicate a connectivity fault.
1673 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_extended"
1674 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1675 When <code>true</code>, the CFM module operates in extended mode. This
1676 causes it to use a nonstandard destination address to avoid conflicting
1677 with compliant implementations which may be running concurrently on the
1678 network. Furthermore, extended mode increases the accuracy of the
1679 <code>cfm_interval</code> configuration parameter by breaking wire
1680 compatibility with 802.1ag compliant implementations. Defaults to
1683 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_opstate"
1684 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["down", "up"]]}'>
1685 When <code>down</code>, the CFM module marks all CCMs it generates as
1686 operationally down without triggering a fault. This allows remote
1687 maintenance points to choose not to forward traffic to the
1688 <ref table="Interface"/> on which this CFM module is running.
1689 Currently, in Open vSwitch, the opdown bit of CCMs affects
1690 <ref table="Interface"/>s participating in bonds, and the bundle
1691 OpenFlow action. This setting is ignored when CFM is not in extended
1692 mode. Defaults to <code>up</code>.
1695 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_ccm_vlan"
1696 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 4095}'>
1697 When set, the CFM module will apply a VLAN tag to all CCMs it generates
1698 with the given value.
1703 <group title="Bonding Configuration">
1704 <column name="other_config" key="bond-stable-id"
1705 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
1706 Used in <code>stable</code> bond mode to make slave
1707 selection decisions. Allocating <ref column="other_config"
1708 key="bond-stable-id"/> values consistently across interfaces
1709 participating in a bond will guarantee consistent slave selection
1710 decisions across <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> instances when using
1711 <code>stable</code> bonding mode.
1714 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-port-id"
1715 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
1716 The LACP port ID of this <ref table="Interface"/>. Port IDs are
1717 used in LACP negotiations to identify individual ports
1718 participating in a bond.
1721 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-port-priority"
1722 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
1723 The LACP port priority of this <ref table="Interface"/>. In LACP
1724 negotiations <ref table="Interface"/>s with numerically lower
1725 priorities are preferred for aggregation.
1728 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-aggregation-key"
1729 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
1730 The LACP aggregation key of this <ref table="Interface"/>. <ref
1731 table="Interface"/>s with different aggregation keys may not be active
1732 within a given <ref table="Port"/> at the same time.
1736 <group title="Virtual Machine Identifiers">
1738 These key-value pairs specifically apply to an interface that
1739 represents a virtual Ethernet interface connected to a virtual
1740 machine. These key-value pairs should not be present for other types
1741 of interfaces. Keys whose names end in <code>-uuid</code> have
1742 values that uniquely identify the entity in question. For a Citrix
1743 XenServer hypervisor, these values are UUIDs in RFC 4122 format.
1744 Other hypervisors may use other formats.
1747 <column name="external_ids" key="attached-mac">
1748 The MAC address programmed into the ``virtual hardware'' for this
1749 interface, in the form
1750 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>.
1751 For Citrix XenServer, this is the value of the <code>MAC</code> field
1752 in the VIF record for this interface.
1755 <column name="external_ids" key="iface-id">
1756 A system-unique identifier for the interface. On XenServer, this will
1757 commonly be the same as <ref column="external_ids" key="xs-vif-uuid"/>.
1760 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-vif-uuid">
1761 The virtual interface associated with this interface.
1764 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-network-uuid">
1765 The virtual network to which this interface is attached.
1768 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-vm-uuid">
1769 The VM to which this interface belongs.
1773 <group title="VLAN Splinters">
1775 The ``VLAN splinters'' feature increases Open vSwitch compatibility
1776 with buggy network drivers in old versions of Linux that do not
1777 properly support VLANs when VLAN devices are not used, at some cost
1778 in memory and performance.
1782 When VLAN splinters are enabled on a particular interface, Open vSwitch
1783 creates a VLAN device for each in-use VLAN. For sending traffic tagged
1784 with a VLAN on the interface, it substitutes the VLAN device. Traffic
1785 received on the VLAN device is treated as if it had been received on
1786 the interface on the particular VLAN.
1790 VLAN splinters consider a VLAN to be in use if:
1795 The VLAN is listed within the <ref table="Port" column="trunks"/>
1796 column of the <ref table="Port"/> record of an interface on which
1797 VLAN splinters are enabled.
1799 An empty <ref table="Port" column="trunks"/> does not influence the
1800 in-use VLANs: creating 4,096 VLAN devices is impractical because it
1801 will exceed the current 1,024 port per datapath limit.
1805 An OpenFlow flow within any bridge matches the VLAN.
1810 The same set of in-use VLANs applies to every interface on which VLAN
1811 splinters are enabled. That is, the set is not chosen separately for
1812 each interface but selected once as the union of all in-use VLANs based
1817 It does not make sense to enable VLAN splinters on an interface for an
1818 access port, or on an interface that is not a physical port.
1822 VLAN splinters are deprecated. When broken device drivers are no
1823 longer in widespread use, we will delete this feature.
1826 <column name="other_config" key="enable-vlan-splinters"
1827 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1829 Set to <code>true</code> to enable VLAN splinters on this interface.
1830 Defaults to <code>false</code>.
1834 VLAN splinters increase kernel and userspace memory overhead, so do
1835 not use them unless they are needed.
1840 <group title="Common Columns">
1841 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
1842 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
1844 <column name="other_config"/>
1845 <column name="external_ids"/>
1849 <table name="QoS" title="Quality of Service configuration">
1850 <p>Quality of Service (QoS) configuration for each Port that
1853 <column name="type">
1854 <p>The type of QoS to implement. The <ref table="Open_vSwitch"
1855 column="capabilities"/> column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table
1856 identifies the types that a switch actually supports. The currently
1857 defined types are listed below:</p>
1859 <dt><code>linux-htb</code></dt>
1861 Linux ``hierarchy token bucket'' classifier. See tc-htb(8) (also at
1862 <code>http://linux.die.net/man/8/tc-htb</code>) and the HTB manual
1863 (<code>http://luxik.cdi.cz/~devik/qos/htb/manual/userg.htm</code>)
1864 for information on how this classifier works and how to configure it.
1868 <dt><code>linux-hfsc</code></dt>
1870 Linux "Hierarchical Fair Service Curve" classifier.
1871 See <code>http://linux-ip.net/articles/hfsc.en/</code> for
1872 information on how this classifier works.
1877 <column name="queues">
1878 <p>A map from queue numbers to <ref table="Queue"/> records. The
1879 supported range of queue numbers depend on <ref column="type"/>. The
1880 queue numbers are the same as the <code>queue_id</code> used in
1881 OpenFlow in <code>struct ofp_action_enqueue</code> and other
1882 structures. Queue 0 is used by OpenFlow output actions that do not
1883 specify a specific queue.</p>
1886 <group title="Configuration for linux-htb and linux-hfsc">
1888 The <code>linux-htb</code> and <code>linux-hfsc</code> classes support
1889 the following key-value pair:
1892 <column name="other_config" key="max-rate" type='{"type": "integer"}'>
1893 Maximum rate shared by all queued traffic, in bit/s. Optional. If not
1894 specified, for physical interfaces, the default is the link rate. For
1895 other interfaces or if the link rate cannot be determined, the default
1896 is currently 100 Mbps.
1900 <group title="Common Columns">
1901 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
1902 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
1904 <column name="other_config"/>
1905 <column name="external_ids"/>
1909 <table name="Queue" title="QoS output queue.">
1910 <p>A configuration for a port output queue, used in configuring Quality of
1911 Service (QoS) features. May be referenced by <ref column="queues"
1912 table="QoS"/> column in <ref table="QoS"/> table.</p>
1914 <column name="dscp">
1915 If set, Open vSwitch will mark all traffic egressing this
1916 <ref table="Queue"/> with the given DSCP bits. Traffic egressing the
1917 default <ref table="Queue"/> is only marked if it was explicitly selected
1918 as the <ref table="Queue"/> at the time the packet was output. If unset,
1919 the DSCP bits of traffic egressing this <ref table="Queue"/> will remain
1923 <group title="Configuration for min-rate QoS">
1925 These key-value pairs are defined for <ref table="QoS"/> <ref
1926 table="QoS" column="type"/> of <code>min-rate</code>.
1929 <column name="other_config" key="min-rate"
1930 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 12000}'>
1931 Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s. Required. The floor value is
1932 1500 bytes/s (12,000 bit/s).
1936 <group title="Configuration for linux-htb QoS">
1938 These key-value pairs are defined for <ref table="QoS"/> <ref
1939 table="QoS" column="type"/> of <code>linux-htb</code>.
1942 <column name="other_config" key="min-rate"
1943 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
1944 Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s.
1947 <column name="other_config" key="max-rate"
1948 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
1949 Maximum allowed bandwidth, in bit/s. Optional. If specified, the
1950 queue's rate will not be allowed to exceed the specified value, even
1951 if excess bandwidth is available. If unspecified, defaults to no
1955 <column name="other_config" key="burst"
1956 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
1957 Burst size, in bits. This is the maximum amount of ``credits'' that a
1958 queue can accumulate while it is idle. Optional. Details of the
1959 <code>linux-htb</code> implementation require a minimum burst size, so
1960 a too-small <code>burst</code> will be silently ignored.
1963 <column name="other_config" key="priority"
1964 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 4294967295}'>
1965 A queue with a smaller <code>priority</code> will receive all the
1966 excess bandwidth that it can use before a queue with a larger value
1967 receives any. Specific priority values are unimportant; only relative
1968 ordering matters. Defaults to 0 if unspecified.
1972 <group title="Configuration for linux-hfsc QoS">
1974 These key-value pairs are defined for <ref table="QoS"/> <ref
1975 table="QoS" column="type"/> of <code>linux-hfsc</code>.
1978 <column name="other_config" key="min-rate"
1979 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
1980 Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s.
1983 <column name="other_config" key="max-rate"
1984 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
1985 Maximum allowed bandwidth, in bit/s. Optional. If specified, the
1986 queue's rate will not be allowed to exceed the specified value, even if
1987 excess bandwidth is available. If unspecified, defaults to no
1992 <group title="Common Columns">
1993 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
1994 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
1996 <column name="other_config"/>
1997 <column name="external_ids"/>
2001 <table name="Mirror" title="Port mirroring.">
2002 <p>A port mirror within a <ref table="Bridge"/>.</p>
2003 <p>A port mirror configures a bridge to send selected frames to special
2004 ``mirrored'' ports, in addition to their normal destinations. Mirroring
2005 traffic may also be referred to as SPAN or RSPAN, depending on how
2006 the mirrored traffic is sent.</p>
2008 <column name="name">
2009 Arbitrary identifier for the <ref table="Mirror"/>.
2012 <group title="Selecting Packets for Mirroring">
2014 To be selected for mirroring, a given packet must enter or leave the
2015 bridge through a selected port and it must also be in one of the
2019 <column name="select_all">
2020 If true, every packet arriving or departing on any port is
2021 selected for mirroring.
2024 <column name="select_dst_port">
2025 Ports on which departing packets are selected for mirroring.
2028 <column name="select_src_port">
2029 Ports on which arriving packets are selected for mirroring.
2032 <column name="select_vlan">
2033 VLANs on which packets are selected for mirroring. An empty set
2034 selects packets on all VLANs.
2038 <group title="Mirroring Destination Configuration">
2040 These columns are mutually exclusive. Exactly one of them must be
2044 <column name="output_port">
2045 <p>Output port for selected packets, if nonempty.</p>
2046 <p>Specifying a port for mirror output reserves that port exclusively
2047 for mirroring. No frames other than those selected for mirroring
2049 will be forwarded to the port, and any frames received on the port
2050 will be discarded.</p>
2052 The output port may be any kind of port supported by Open vSwitch.
2053 It may be, for example, a physical port (sometimes called SPAN) or a
2058 <column name="output_vlan">
2059 <p>Output VLAN for selected packets, if nonempty.</p>
2060 <p>The frames will be sent out all ports that trunk
2061 <ref column="output_vlan"/>, as well as any ports with implicit VLAN
2062 <ref column="output_vlan"/>. When a mirrored frame is sent out a
2063 trunk port, the frame's VLAN tag will be set to
2064 <ref column="output_vlan"/>, replacing any existing tag; when it is
2065 sent out an implicit VLAN port, the frame will not be tagged. This
2066 type of mirroring is sometimes called RSPAN.</p>
2068 The following destination MAC addresses will not be mirrored to a
2069 VLAN to avoid confusing switches that interpret the protocols that
2073 <dt><code>01:80:c2:00:00:00</code></dt>
2074 <dd>IEEE 802.1D Spanning Tree Protocol (STP).</dd>
2076 <dt><code>01:80:c2:00:00:01</code></dt>
2077 <dd>IEEE Pause frame.</dd>
2079 <dt><code>01:80:c2:00:00:0<var>x</var></code></dt>
2080 <dd>Other reserved protocols.</dd>
2082 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cc:cc:cc</code></dt>
2084 Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP), VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP),
2085 Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP), Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP),
2089 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cc:cc:cd</code></dt>
2090 <dd>Cisco Shared Spanning Tree Protocol PVSTP+.</dd>
2092 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cd:cd:cd</code></dt>
2093 <dd>Cisco STP Uplink Fast.</dd>
2095 <dt><code>01:00:0c:00:00:00</code></dt>
2096 <dd>Cisco Inter Switch Link.</dd>
2098 <p><em>Please note:</em> Mirroring to a VLAN can disrupt a network that
2099 contains unmanaged switches. Consider an unmanaged physical switch
2100 with two ports: port 1, connected to an end host, and port 2,
2101 connected to an Open vSwitch configured to mirror received packets
2102 into VLAN 123 on port 2. Suppose that the end host sends a packet on
2103 port 1 that the physical switch forwards to port 2. The Open vSwitch
2104 forwards this packet to its destination and then reflects it back on
2105 port 2 in VLAN 123. This reflected packet causes the unmanaged
2106 physical switch to replace the MAC learning table entry, which
2107 correctly pointed to port 1, with one that incorrectly points to port
2108 2. Afterward, the physical switch will direct packets destined for
2109 the end host to the Open vSwitch on port 2, instead of to the end
2110 host on port 1, disrupting connectivity. If mirroring to a VLAN is
2111 desired in this scenario, then the physical switch must be replaced
2112 by one that learns Ethernet addresses on a per-VLAN basis. In
2113 addition, learning should be disabled on the VLAN containing mirrored
2114 traffic. If this is not done then intermediate switches will learn
2115 the MAC address of each end host from the mirrored traffic. If
2116 packets being sent to that end host are also mirrored, then they will
2117 be dropped since the switch will attempt to send them out the input
2118 port. Disabling learning for the VLAN will cause the switch to
2119 correctly send the packet out all ports configured for that VLAN. If
2120 Open vSwitch is being used as an intermediate switch, learning can be
2121 disabled by adding the mirrored VLAN to <ref column="flood_vlans"/>
2122 in the appropriate <ref table="Bridge"/> table or tables.</p>
2124 Mirroring to a GRE tunnel has fewer caveats than mirroring to a
2125 VLAN and should generally be preferred.
2130 <group title="Statistics: Mirror counters">
2132 Key-value pairs that report mirror statistics.
2134 <column name="statistics" key="tx_packets">
2135 Number of packets transmitted through this mirror.
2137 <column name="statistics" key="tx_bytes">
2138 Number of bytes transmitted through this mirror.
2142 <group title="Common Columns">
2143 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2144 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2146 <column name="external_ids"/>
2150 <table name="Controller" title="OpenFlow controller configuration.">
2151 <p>An OpenFlow controller.</p>
2154 Open vSwitch supports two kinds of OpenFlow controllers:
2158 <dt>Primary controllers</dt>
2161 This is the kind of controller envisioned by the OpenFlow 1.0
2162 specification. Usually, a primary controller implements a network
2163 policy by taking charge of the switch's flow table.
2167 Open vSwitch initiates and maintains persistent connections to
2168 primary controllers, retrying the connection each time it fails or
2169 drops. The <ref table="Bridge" column="fail_mode"/> column in the
2170 <ref table="Bridge"/> table applies to primary controllers.
2174 Open vSwitch permits a bridge to have any number of primary
2175 controllers. When multiple controllers are configured, Open
2176 vSwitch connects to all of them simultaneously. Because
2177 OpenFlow 1.0 does not specify how multiple controllers
2178 coordinate in interacting with a single switch, more than
2179 one primary controller should be specified only if the
2180 controllers are themselves designed to coordinate with each
2181 other. (The Nicira-defined <code>NXT_ROLE</code> OpenFlow
2182 vendor extension may be useful for this.)
2185 <dt>Service controllers</dt>
2188 These kinds of OpenFlow controller connections are intended for
2189 occasional support and maintenance use, e.g. with
2190 <code>ovs-ofctl</code>. Usually a service controller connects only
2191 briefly to inspect or modify some of a switch's state.
2195 Open vSwitch listens for incoming connections from service
2196 controllers. The service controllers initiate and, if necessary,
2197 maintain the connections from their end. The <ref table="Bridge"
2198 column="fail_mode"/> column in the <ref table="Bridge"/> table does
2199 not apply to service controllers.
2203 Open vSwitch supports configuring any number of service controllers.
2209 The <ref column="target"/> determines the type of controller.
2212 <group title="Core Features">
2213 <column name="target">
2214 <p>Connection method for controller.</p>
2216 The following connection methods are currently supported for primary
2220 <dt><code>ssl:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
2222 <p>The specified SSL <var>port</var> (default: 6633) on the host at
2223 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
2224 (not a DNS name). The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/>
2225 column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a
2226 valid SSL configuration when this form is used.</p>
2227 <p>SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
2228 part of Open vSwitch.</p>
2230 <dt><code>tcp:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
2231 <dd>The specified TCP <var>port</var> (default: 6633) on the host at
2232 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
2233 (not a DNS name).</dd>
2236 The following connection methods are currently supported for service
2240 <dt><code>pssl:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
2243 Listens for SSL connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
2244 (default: 6633). If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an
2245 IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then connections are
2246 restricted to the specified local IP address.
2249 The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/> column in the <ref
2250 table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a valid SSL
2251 configuration when this form is used.
2253 <p>SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
2254 part of Open vSwitch.</p>
2256 <dt><code>ptcp:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
2258 Listens for connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
2259 (default: 6633). If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an
2260 IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then connections are
2261 restricted to the specified local IP address.
2264 <p>When multiple controllers are configured for a single bridge, the
2265 <ref column="target"/> values must be unique. Duplicate
2266 <ref column="target"/> values yield unspecified results.</p>
2269 <column name="connection_mode">
2270 <p>If it is specified, this setting must be one of the following
2271 strings that describes how Open vSwitch contacts this OpenFlow
2272 controller over the network:</p>
2275 <dt><code>in-band</code></dt>
2276 <dd>In this mode, this controller's OpenFlow traffic travels over the
2277 bridge associated with the controller. With this setting, Open
2278 vSwitch allows traffic to and from the controller regardless of the
2279 contents of the OpenFlow flow table. (Otherwise, Open vSwitch
2280 would never be able to connect to the controller, because it did
2281 not have a flow to enable it.) This is the most common connection
2282 mode because it is not necessary to maintain two independent
2284 <dt><code>out-of-band</code></dt>
2285 <dd>In this mode, OpenFlow traffic uses a control network separate
2286 from the bridge associated with this controller, that is, the
2287 bridge does not use any of its own network devices to communicate
2288 with the controller. The control network must be configured
2289 separately, before or after <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> is started.
2293 <p>If not specified, the default is implementation-specific.</p>
2297 <group title="Controller Failure Detection and Handling">
2298 <column name="max_backoff">
2299 Maximum number of milliseconds to wait between connection attempts.
2300 Default is implementation-specific.
2303 <column name="inactivity_probe">
2304 Maximum number of milliseconds of idle time on connection to
2305 controller before sending an inactivity probe message. If Open
2306 vSwitch does not communicate with the controller for the specified
2307 number of seconds, it will send a probe. If a response is not
2308 received for the same additional amount of time, Open vSwitch
2309 assumes the connection has been broken and attempts to reconnect.
2310 Default is implementation-specific. A value of 0 disables
2315 <group title="OpenFlow Rate Limiting">
2316 <column name="controller_rate_limit">
2317 <p>The maximum rate at which packets in unknown flows will be
2318 forwarded to the OpenFlow controller, in packets per second. This
2319 feature prevents a single bridge from overwhelming the controller.
2320 If not specified, the default is implementation-specific.</p>
2321 <p>In addition, when a high rate triggers rate-limiting, Open
2322 vSwitch queues controller packets for each port and transmits
2323 them to the controller at the configured rate. The number of
2324 queued packets is limited by
2325 the <ref column="controller_burst_limit"/> value. The packet
2326 queue is shared fairly among the ports on a bridge.</p><p>Open
2327 vSwitch maintains two such packet rate-limiters per bridge.
2328 One of these applies to packets sent up to the controller
2329 because they do not correspond to any flow. The other applies
2330 to packets sent up to the controller by request through flow
2331 actions. When both rate-limiters are filled with packets, the
2332 actual rate that packets are sent to the controller is up to
2333 twice the specified rate.</p>
2336 <column name="controller_burst_limit">
2337 In conjunction with <ref column="controller_rate_limit"/>,
2338 the maximum number of unused packet credits that the bridge will
2339 allow to accumulate, in packets. If not specified, the default
2340 is implementation-specific.
2344 <group title="Additional In-Band Configuration">
2345 <p>These values are considered only in in-band control mode (see
2346 <ref column="connection_mode"/>).</p>
2348 <p>When multiple controllers are configured on a single bridge, there
2349 should be only one set of unique values in these columns. If different
2350 values are set for these columns in different controllers, the effect
2353 <column name="local_ip">
2354 The IP address to configure on the local port,
2355 e.g. <code>192.168.0.123</code>. If this value is unset, then
2356 <ref column="local_netmask"/> and <ref column="local_gateway"/> are
2360 <column name="local_netmask">
2361 The IP netmask to configure on the local port,
2362 e.g. <code>255.255.255.0</code>. If <ref column="local_ip"/> is set
2363 but this value is unset, then the default is chosen based on whether
2364 the IP address is class A, B, or C.
2367 <column name="local_gateway">
2368 The IP address of the gateway to configure on the local port, as a
2369 string, e.g. <code>192.168.0.1</code>. Leave this column unset if
2370 this network has no gateway.
2374 <group title="Controller Status">
2375 <column name="is_connected">
2376 <code>true</code> if currently connected to this controller,
2377 <code>false</code> otherwise.
2381 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["other", "master", "slave"]]}'>
2382 <p>The level of authority this controller has on the associated
2383 bridge. Possible values are:</p>
2385 <dt><code>other</code></dt>
2386 <dd>Allows the controller access to all OpenFlow features.</dd>
2387 <dt><code>master</code></dt>
2388 <dd>Equivalent to <code>other</code>, except that there may be at
2389 most one master controller at a time. When a controller configures
2390 itself as <code>master</code>, any existing master is demoted to
2391 the <code>slave</code>role.</dd>
2392 <dt><code>slave</code></dt>
2393 <dd>Allows the controller read-only access to OpenFlow features.
2394 Attempts to modify the flow table will be rejected with an
2395 error. Slave controllers do not receive OFPT_PACKET_IN or
2396 OFPT_FLOW_REMOVED messages, but they do receive OFPT_PORT_STATUS
2401 <column name="status" key="last_error">
2402 A human-readable description of the last error on the connection
2403 to the controller; i.e. <code>strerror(errno)</code>. This key
2404 will exist only if an error has occurred.
2407 <column name="status" key="state"
2408 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["VOID", "BACKOFF", "CONNECTING", "ACTIVE", "IDLE"]]}'>
2410 The state of the connection to the controller:
2413 <dt><code>VOID</code></dt>
2414 <dd>Connection is disabled.</dd>
2416 <dt><code>BACKOFF</code></dt>
2417 <dd>Attempting to reconnect at an increasing period.</dd>
2419 <dt><code>CONNECTING</code></dt>
2420 <dd>Attempting to connect.</dd>
2422 <dt><code>ACTIVE</code></dt>
2423 <dd>Connected, remote host responsive.</dd>
2425 <dt><code>IDLE</code></dt>
2426 <dd>Connection is idle. Waiting for response to keep-alive.</dd>
2429 These values may change in the future. They are provided only for
2434 <column name="status" key="sec_since_connect"
2435 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
2436 The amount of time since this controller last successfully connected to
2437 the switch (in seconds). Value is empty if controller has never
2438 successfully connected.
2441 <column name="status" key="sec_since_disconnect"
2442 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2443 The amount of time since this controller last disconnected from
2444 the switch (in seconds). Value is empty if controller has never
2449 <group title="Common Columns">
2450 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2451 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2453 <column name="external_ids"/>
2457 <table name="Manager" title="OVSDB management connection.">
2459 Configuration for a database connection to an Open vSwitch database
2464 This table primarily configures the Open vSwitch database
2465 (<code>ovsdb-server</code>), not the Open vSwitch switch
2466 (<code>ovs-vswitchd</code>). The switch does read the table to determine
2467 what connections should be treated as in-band.
2471 The Open vSwitch database server can initiate and maintain active
2472 connections to remote clients. It can also listen for database
2476 <group title="Core Features">
2477 <column name="target">
2478 <p>Connection method for managers.</p>
2480 The following connection methods are currently supported:
2483 <dt><code>ssl:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
2486 The specified SSL <var>port</var> (default: 6632) on the host at
2487 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
2488 (not a DNS name). The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/>
2489 column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a
2490 valid SSL configuration when this form is used.
2493 SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
2494 part of Open vSwitch.
2498 <dt><code>tcp:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
2500 The specified TCP <var>port</var> (default: 6632) on the host at
2501 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
2504 <dt><code>pssl:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
2507 Listens for SSL connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
2508 (default: 6632). If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an
2509 IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then connections are
2510 restricted to the specified local IP address.
2513 The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/> column in the <ref
2514 table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a valid SSL
2515 configuration when this form is used.
2518 SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
2519 part of Open vSwitch.
2522 <dt><code>ptcp:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
2524 Listens for connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
2525 (default: 6632). If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an
2526 IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then connections are
2527 restricted to the specified local IP address.
2530 <p>When multiple managers are configured, the <ref column="target"/>
2531 values must be unique. Duplicate <ref column="target"/> values yield
2532 unspecified results.</p>
2535 <column name="connection_mode">
2537 If it is specified, this setting must be one of the following strings
2538 that describes how Open vSwitch contacts this OVSDB client over the
2543 <dt><code>in-band</code></dt>
2545 In this mode, this connection's traffic travels over a bridge
2546 managed by Open vSwitch. With this setting, Open vSwitch allows
2547 traffic to and from the client regardless of the contents of the
2548 OpenFlow flow table. (Otherwise, Open vSwitch would never be able
2549 to connect to the client, because it did not have a flow to enable
2550 it.) This is the most common connection mode because it is not
2551 necessary to maintain two independent networks.
2553 <dt><code>out-of-band</code></dt>
2555 In this mode, the client's traffic uses a control network separate
2556 from that managed by Open vSwitch, that is, Open vSwitch does not
2557 use any of its own network devices to communicate with the client.
2558 The control network must be configured separately, before or after
2559 <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> is started.
2564 If not specified, the default is implementation-specific.
2569 <group title="Client Failure Detection and Handling">
2570 <column name="max_backoff">
2571 Maximum number of milliseconds to wait between connection attempts.
2572 Default is implementation-specific.
2575 <column name="inactivity_probe">
2576 Maximum number of milliseconds of idle time on connection to the client
2577 before sending an inactivity probe message. If Open vSwitch does not
2578 communicate with the client for the specified number of seconds, it
2579 will send a probe. If a response is not received for the same
2580 additional amount of time, Open vSwitch assumes the connection has been
2581 broken and attempts to reconnect. Default is implementation-specific.
2582 A value of 0 disables inactivity probes.
2586 <group title="Status">
2587 <column name="is_connected">
2588 <code>true</code> if currently connected to this manager,
2589 <code>false</code> otherwise.
2592 <column name="status" key="last_error">
2593 A human-readable description of the last error on the connection
2594 to the manager; i.e. <code>strerror(errno)</code>. This key
2595 will exist only if an error has occurred.
2598 <column name="status" key="state"
2599 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["VOID", "BACKOFF", "CONNECTING", "ACTIVE", "IDLE"]]}'>
2601 The state of the connection to the manager:
2604 <dt><code>VOID</code></dt>
2605 <dd>Connection is disabled.</dd>
2607 <dt><code>BACKOFF</code></dt>
2608 <dd>Attempting to reconnect at an increasing period.</dd>
2610 <dt><code>CONNECTING</code></dt>
2611 <dd>Attempting to connect.</dd>
2613 <dt><code>ACTIVE</code></dt>
2614 <dd>Connected, remote host responsive.</dd>
2616 <dt><code>IDLE</code></dt>
2617 <dd>Connection is idle. Waiting for response to keep-alive.</dd>
2620 These values may change in the future. They are provided only for
2625 <column name="status" key="sec_since_connect"
2626 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
2627 The amount of time since this manager last successfully connected
2628 to the database (in seconds). Value is empty if manager has never
2629 successfully connected.
2632 <column name="status" key="sec_since_disconnect"
2633 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
2634 The amount of time since this manager last disconnected from the
2635 database (in seconds). Value is empty if manager has never
2639 <column name="status" key="locks_held">
2640 Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection
2641 holds. Omitted if the connection does not hold any locks.
2644 <column name="status" key="locks_waiting">
2645 Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection is
2646 currently waiting to acquire. Omitted if the connection is not waiting
2650 <column name="status" key="locks_lost">
2651 Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection
2652 has had stolen by another OVSDB client. Omitted if no locks have been
2653 stolen from this connection.
2656 <column name="status" key="n_connections"
2657 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 2}'>
2659 When <ref column="target"/> specifies a connection method that
2660 listens for inbound connections (e.g. <code>ptcp:</code> or
2661 <code>pssl:</code>) and more than one connection is actually active,
2662 the value is the number of active connections. Otherwise, this
2663 key-value pair is omitted.
2666 When multiple connections are active, status columns and key-value
2667 pairs (other than this one) report the status of one arbitrarily
2673 <group title="Common Columns">
2674 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2675 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2677 <column name="external_ids"/>
2681 <table name="NetFlow">
2682 A NetFlow target. NetFlow is a protocol that exports a number of
2683 details about terminating IP flows, such as the principals involved
2686 <column name="targets">
2687 NetFlow targets in the form
2688 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>. The <var>ip</var>
2689 must be specified numerically, not as a DNS name.
2692 <column name="engine_id">
2693 Engine ID to use in NetFlow messages. Defaults to datapath index
2697 <column name="engine_type">
2698 Engine type to use in NetFlow messages. Defaults to datapath
2699 index if not specified.
2702 <column name="active_timeout">
2703 The interval at which NetFlow records are sent for flows that are
2704 still active, in seconds. A value of <code>0</code> requests the
2705 default timeout (currently 600 seconds); a value of <code>-1</code>
2706 disables active timeouts.
2709 <column name="add_id_to_interface">
2710 <p>If this column's value is <code>false</code>, the ingress and egress
2711 interface fields of NetFlow flow records are derived from OpenFlow port
2712 numbers. When it is <code>true</code>, the 7 most significant bits of
2713 these fields will be replaced by the least significant 7 bits of the
2714 engine id. This is useful because many NetFlow collectors do not
2715 expect multiple switches to be sending messages from the same host, so
2716 they do not store the engine information which could be used to
2717 disambiguate the traffic.</p>
2718 <p>When this option is enabled, a maximum of 508 ports are supported.</p>
2721 <group title="Common Columns">
2722 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2723 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2725 <column name="external_ids"/>
2730 SSL configuration for an Open_vSwitch.
2732 <column name="private_key">
2733 Name of a PEM file containing the private key used as the switch's
2734 identity for SSL connections to the controller.
2737 <column name="certificate">
2738 Name of a PEM file containing a certificate, signed by the
2739 certificate authority (CA) used by the controller and manager,
2740 that certifies the switch's private key, identifying a trustworthy
2744 <column name="ca_cert">
2745 Name of a PEM file containing the CA certificate used to verify
2746 that the switch is connected to a trustworthy controller.
2749 <column name="bootstrap_ca_cert">
2750 If set to <code>true</code>, then Open vSwitch will attempt to
2751 obtain the CA certificate from the controller on its first SSL
2752 connection and save it to the named PEM file. If it is successful,
2753 it will immediately drop the connection and reconnect, and from then
2754 on all SSL connections must be authenticated by a certificate signed
2755 by the CA certificate thus obtained. <em>This option exposes the
2756 SSL connection to a man-in-the-middle attack obtaining the initial
2757 CA certificate.</em> It may still be useful for bootstrapping.
2760 <group title="Common Columns">
2761 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2762 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2764 <column name="external_ids"/>
2768 <table name="sFlow">
2769 <p>An sFlow(R) target. sFlow is a protocol for remote monitoring
2772 <column name="agent">
2773 Name of the network device whose IP address should be reported as the
2774 ``agent address'' to collectors. If not specified, the agent device is
2775 figured from the first target address and the routing table. If the
2776 routing table does not contain a route to the target, the IP address
2777 defaults to the <ref table="Controller" column="local_ip"/> in the
2778 collector's <ref table="Controller"/>. If an agent IP address cannot be
2779 determined any of these ways, sFlow is disabled.
2782 <column name="header">
2783 Number of bytes of a sampled packet to send to the collector.
2784 If not specified, the default is 128 bytes.
2787 <column name="polling">
2788 Polling rate in seconds to send port statistics to the collector.
2789 If not specified, defaults to 30 seconds.
2792 <column name="sampling">
2793 Rate at which packets should be sampled and sent to the collector.
2794 If not specified, defaults to 400, which means one out of 400
2795 packets, on average, will be sent to the collector.
2798 <column name="targets">
2799 sFlow targets in the form
2800 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>.
2803 <group title="Common Columns">
2804 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2805 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2807 <column name="external_ids"/>
2811 <table name="Capability">
2812 <p>Records in this table describe functionality supported by the hardware
2813 and software platform on which this Open vSwitch is based. Clients
2814 should not modify this table.</p>
2816 <p>A record in this table is meaningful only if it is referenced by the
2817 <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="capabilities"/> column in the
2818 <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table. The key used to reference it, called
2819 the record's ``category,'' determines the meanings of the
2820 <ref column="details"/> column. The following general forms of
2821 categories are currently defined:</p>
2824 <dt><code>qos-<var>type</var></code></dt>
2825 <dd><var>type</var> is supported as the value for
2826 <ref column="type" table="QoS"/> in the <ref table="QoS"/> table.
2830 <column name="details">
2831 <p>Key-value pairs that describe capabilities. The meaning of the pairs
2832 depends on the category key that the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"
2833 column="capabilities"/> column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table
2834 uses to reference this record, as described above.</p>
2836 <p>The presence of a record for category <code>qos-<var>type</var></code>
2837 indicates that the switch supports <var>type</var> as the value of
2838 the <ref table="QoS" column="type"/> column in the <ref table="QoS"/>
2839 table. The following key-value pairs are defined to further describe
2840 QoS capabilities:</p>
2843 <dt><code>n-queues</code></dt>
2844 <dd>Number of supported queues, as a positive integer. Keys in the
2845 <ref table="QoS" column="queues"/> column for <ref table="QoS"/>
2846 records whose <ref table="QoS" column="type"/> value
2847 equals <var>type</var> must range between 0 and this value minus one,