1 <database title="Open vSwitch Configuration Database">
2 <p>A database with this schema holds the configuration for one Open
3 vSwitch daemon. The root of the configuration for the daemon is
4 the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table, which must have exactly one
5 record. Records in other tables are significant only when they
6 can be reached directly or indirectly from the
7 <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table.</p>
9 <table name="Open_vSwitch" title="Open vSwitch configuration.">
10 Configuration for an Open vSwitch daemon. There must be exactly one record
11 in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table.
13 <group title="Configuration">
14 <column name="bridges">
15 Set of bridges managed by the daemon.
18 <column name="managers">
19 Remote database clients to which the Open vSwitch's database server
20 should connect or to which it should listen.
24 SSL used globally by the daemon.
27 <column name="external_ids">
28 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate
29 with Open vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System
30 integrators should either use the Open vSwitch development
31 mailing list to coordinate on common key-value definitions, or
32 choose key names that are likely to be unique. The currently
33 defined common key-value pairs are:
35 <dt><code>system-uuid</code></dt>
36 <dd>A universally unique identifier for the Open vSwitch's
37 physical host. The form of the identifier depends on the
38 type of the host. On a Citrix XenServer, this is the host
39 UUID displayed by, e.g., <code>xe host-list</code>.</dd>
44 <group title="Status">
45 <column name="next_cfg">
46 Sequence number for client to increment. When a client modifies
47 any part of the database configuration and wishes to wait for
48 Open vSwitch to finish applying the changes, it may increment
52 <column name="cur_cfg">
53 Sequence number that Open vSwitch sets to the current value of
54 <ref column="next_cfg"/> after it finishes applying a set of
55 configuration changes.
58 <column name="capabilities">
59 Describes functionality supported by the hardware and software platform
60 on which this Open vSwitch is based. Clients should not modify this
61 column. See the <ref table="Capability"/> description for defined
62 capability categories and the meaning of associated
63 <ref table="Capability"/> records.
66 <column name="statistics">
68 Key-value pairs that report statistics about a running Open_vSwitch
69 daemon. The current implementation updates these counters
70 periodically. In the future, we plan to, instead, update them only
71 when they are queried (e.g. using an OVSDB <code>select</code>
72 operation) and perhaps at other times, but not on any regular
75 The currently defined key-value pairs are listed below. Some Open
76 vSwitch implementations may not support some statistics, in which
77 case those key-value pairs are omitted.</p>
79 <dt><code>load-average</code></dt>
81 System load average multiplied by 100 and rounded to the nearest
90 Configuration for a bridge within an
91 <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/>.
94 A <ref table="Bridge"/> record represents an Ethernet switch with one or
95 more ``ports,'' which are the <ref table="Port"/> records pointed to by
96 the <ref table="Bridge"/>'s <ref column="ports"/> column.
99 <group title="Core Features">
101 Bridge identifier. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8
102 bytes long. Must be unique among the names of ports, interfaces, and
106 <column name="ports">
107 Ports included in the bridge.
110 <column name="mirrors">
111 Port mirroring configuration.
114 <column name="netflow">
115 NetFlow configuration.
118 <column name="sflow">
122 <column name="flood_vlans">
123 VLAN IDs of VLANs on which MAC address learning should be disabled, so
124 that packets are flooded instead of being sent to specific ports that
125 are believed to contain packets' destination MACs. This should
126 ordinarily be used to disable MAC learning on VLANs used for mirroring
127 (RSPAN VLANs). It may also be useful for debugging.
131 <group title="OpenFlow Configuration">
132 <column name="controller">
133 OpenFlow controller set. If unset, then no OpenFlow controllers
137 <column name="fail_mode">
138 <p>When a controller is configured, it is, ordinarily, responsible
139 for setting up all flows on the switch. Thus, if the connection to
140 the controller fails, no new network connections can be set up.
141 If the connection to the controller stays down long enough,
142 no packets can pass through the switch at all. This setting
143 determines the switch's response to such a situation. It may be set
144 to one of the following:
146 <dt><code>standalone</code></dt>
147 <dd>If no message is received from the controller for three
148 times the inactivity probe interval
149 (see <ref column="inactivity_probe"/>), then Open vSwitch
150 will take over responsibility for setting up flows. In
151 this mode, Open vSwitch causes the bridge to act like an
152 ordinary MAC-learning switch. Open vSwitch will continue
153 to retry connecting to the controller in the background
154 and, when the connection succeeds, it will discontinue its
155 standalone behavior.</dd>
156 <dt><code>secure</code></dt>
157 <dd>Open vSwitch will not set up flows on its own when the
158 controller connection fails or when no controllers are
159 defined. The bridge will continue to retry connecting to
160 any defined controllers forever.</dd>
163 <p>If this value is unset, the default is implementation-specific.</p>
164 <p>When more than one controller is configured,
165 <ref column="fail_mode"/> is considered only when none of the
166 configured controllers can be contacted.</p>
169 <column name="datapath_id">
170 Reports the OpenFlow datapath ID in use. Exactly 16 hex
171 digits. (Setting this column will have no useful effect. Set
172 <ref column="other_config"/>:<code>other-config</code>
177 <group title="Other Features">
178 <column name="datapath_type">
179 Name of datapath provider. The kernel datapath has
180 type <code>system</code>. The userspace datapath has
181 type <code>netdev</code>.
184 <column name="external_ids">
185 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate
186 with Open vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System
187 integrators should either use the Open vSwitch development
188 mailing list to coordinate on common key-value definitions, or
189 choose key names that are likely to be unique. The currently
190 defined common key-value pairs are:
192 <dt><code>network-uuids</code></dt>
193 <dd>Semicolon-delimited set of universally unique identifier(s) for
194 the network with which this bridge is associated. The form of the
195 identifier(s) depends on the type of the host. On a Citrix
196 XenServer host, the network identifiers are RFC 4122 UUIDs as
197 displayed by, e.g., <code>xe network-list</code>.</dd>
201 <column name="other_config">
202 Key-value pairs for configuring rarely used bridge
203 features. The currently defined key-value pairs are:
205 <dt><code>datapath-id</code></dt>
207 digits to set the OpenFlow datapath ID to a specific
209 <dt><code>hwaddr</code></dt>
210 <dd>An Ethernet address in the form
211 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>
212 to set the hardware address of the local port and influence the
219 <table name="Port" table="Port or bond configuration.">
220 <p>A port within a <ref table="Bridge"/>.</p>
221 <p>Most commonly, a port has exactly one ``interface,'' pointed to by its
222 <ref column="interfaces"/> column. Such a port logically
223 corresponds to a port on a physical Ethernet switch. A port
224 with more than one interface is a ``bonded port'' (see
225 <ref group="Bonding Configuration"/>).</p>
226 <p>Some properties that one might think as belonging to a port are actually
227 part of the port's <ref table="Interface"/> members.</p>
230 Port name. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8
231 bytes long. May be the same as the interface name, for
232 non-bonded ports. Must otherwise be unique among the names of
233 ports, interfaces, and bridges on a host.
236 <column name="interfaces">
237 The port's interfaces. If there is more than one, this is a
241 <group title="VLAN Configuration">
242 <p>A bridge port must be configured for VLANs in one of two
243 mutually exclusive ways:
245 <li>A ``trunk port'' has an empty value for <ref
246 column="tag"/>. Its <ref column="trunks"/> value may be
247 empty or non-empty.</li>
248 <li>An ``implicitly tagged VLAN port'' or ``access port''
249 has an nonempty value for <ref column="tag"/>. Its
250 <ref column="trunks"/> value must be empty.</li>
252 If <ref column="trunks"/> and <ref column="tag"/> are both
253 nonempty, the configuration is ill-formed.
258 If this is an access port (see above), the port's implicitly
259 tagged VLAN. Must be empty if this is a trunk port.
262 Frames arriving on trunk ports will be forwarded to this
263 port only if they are tagged with the given VLAN (or, if
264 <ref column="tag"/> is 0, then if they lack a VLAN header).
265 Frames arriving on other access ports will be forwarded to
266 this port only if they have the same <ref column="tag"/>
267 value. Frames forwarded to this port will not have an
271 When a frame with a 802.1Q header that indicates a nonzero
272 VLAN is received on an access port, it is discarded.
276 <column name="trunks">
278 If this is a trunk port (see above), the 802.1Q VLAN(s) that
279 this port trunks; if it is empty, then the port trunks all
280 VLANs. Must be empty if this is an access port.
283 Frames arriving on trunk ports are dropped if they are not
284 in one of the specified VLANs. For this purpose, packets
285 that have no VLAN header are treated as part of VLAN 0.
290 <group title="Bonding Configuration">
291 <p>A port that has more than one interface is a ``bonded port.''
292 Bonding allows for load balancing and fail-over. Open vSwitch
293 supports ``source load balancing'' (SLB) bonding, which
294 assigns flows to slaves based on source MAC address, with
295 periodic rebalancing as traffic patterns change. This form of
296 bonding does not require 802.3ad or other special support from
297 the upstream switch to which the slave devices are
300 <p>These columns apply only to bonded ports. Their values are
301 otherwise ignored.</p>
303 <column name="bond_updelay">
304 <p>For a bonded port, the number of milliseconds for which carrier must
305 stay up on an interface before the interface is considered to be up.
306 Specify <code>0</code> to enable the interface immediately.</p>
307 <p>This setting is honored only when at least one bonded interface is
308 already enabled. When no interfaces are enabled, then the first bond
309 interface to come up is enabled immediately.</p>
312 <column name="bond_downdelay">
313 For a bonded port, the number of milliseconds for which carrier must
314 stay down on an interface before the interface is considered to be
315 down. Specify <code>0</code> to disable the interface immediately.
318 <column name="bond_fake_iface">
319 For a bonded port, whether to create a fake internal interface with the
320 name of the port. Use only for compatibility with legacy software that
325 <group title="Other Features">
327 Quality of Service configuration for this port.
331 The MAC address to use for this port for the purpose of choosing the
332 bridge's MAC address. This column does not necessarily reflect the
333 port's actual MAC address, nor will setting it change the port's actual
337 <column name="fake_bridge">
338 Does this port represent a sub-bridge for its tagged VLAN within the
339 Bridge? See ovs-vsctl(8) for more information.
342 <column name="external_ids">
344 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate with
345 Open vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System integrators
346 should either use the Open vSwitch development mailing list to
347 coordinate on common key-value definitions, or choose key names that
348 are likely to be unique.
351 No key-value pairs native to <ref table="Port"/> are currently
352 defined. For fake bridges (see the <ref column="fake_bridge"/>
353 column), external IDs for the fake bridge are defined here by
354 prefixing a <ref table="Bridge"/> <ref table="Bridge"
355 column="external_ids"/> key with <code>fake-bridge-</code>,
356 e.g. <code>fake-bridge-network-uuids</code>.
360 <column name="other_config">
361 Key-value pairs for configuring rarely used port features. The
362 currently defined key-value pairs are:
364 <dt><code>hwaddr</code></dt>
365 <dd>An Ethernet address in the form
366 <code><var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var></code>.</dd>
367 <dt><code>bond-rebalance-interval</code></dt>
368 <dd>For a bonded port, the number of milliseconds between
369 successive attempts to rebalance the bond, that is, to
370 move source MACs and their flows from one interface on
371 the bond to another in an attempt to keep usage of each
372 interface roughly equal. The default is 10000 (10
373 seconds), and the minimum is 1000 (1 second).</dd>
379 <table name="Interface" title="One physical network device in a Port.">
380 An interface within a <ref table="Port"/>.
382 <group title="Core Features">
384 Interface name. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8 bytes
385 long. May be the same as the port name, for non-bonded ports. Must
386 otherwise be unique among the names of ports, interfaces, and bridges
391 <p>Ethernet address to set for this interface. If unset then the
392 default MAC address is used:</p>
394 <li>For the local interface, the default is the lowest-numbered MAC
395 address among the other bridge ports, either the value of the
396 <ref table="Port" column="mac"/> in its <ref table="Port"/> record,
397 if set, or its actual MAC (for bonded ports, the MAC of its slave
398 whose name is first in alphabetical order). Internal ports and
399 bridge ports that are used as port mirroring destinations (see the
400 <ref table="Mirror"/> table) are ignored.</li>
401 <li>For other internal interfaces, the default MAC is randomly
403 <li>External interfaces typically have a MAC address associated with
406 <p>Some interfaces may not have a software-controllable MAC
410 <column name="ofport">
411 <p>OpenFlow port number for this interface. Unlike most columns, this
412 column's value should be set only by Open vSwitch itself. Other
413 clients should set this column to an empty set (the default) when
414 creating an <ref table="Interface"/>.</p>
415 <p>Open vSwitch populates this column when the port number becomes
416 known. If the interface is successfully added,
417 <ref column="ofport"/> will be set to a number between 1 and 65535
418 (generally either in the range 1 to 65280, exclusive, or 65534, the
419 port number for the OpenFlow ``local port''). If the interface
420 cannot be added then Open vSwitch sets this column
425 <group title="System-Specific Details">
427 The interface type, one of:
429 <dt><code>system</code></dt>
430 <dd>An ordinary network device, e.g. <code>eth0</code> on Linux.
431 Sometimes referred to as ``external interfaces'' since they are
432 generally connected to hardware external to that on which the Open
433 vSwitch is running. The empty string is a synonym for
434 <code>system</code>.</dd>
435 <dt><code>internal</code></dt>
436 <dd>A simulated network device that sends and receives traffic. An
437 internal interface whose <ref column="name"/> is the same as its
438 bridge's <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="name"/> is called the
439 ``local interface.'' It does not make sense to bond an internal
440 interface, so the terms ``port'' and ``interface'' are often used
441 imprecisely for internal interfaces.</dd>
442 <dt><code>tap</code></dt>
443 <dd>A TUN/TAP device managed by Open vSwitch.</dd>
444 <dt><code>gre</code></dt>
445 <dd>An Ethernet over RFC 2890 Generic Routing Encapsulation over IPv4
446 tunnel. Each tunnel must be uniquely identified by the
447 combination of <code>remote_ip</code>, <code>local_ip</code>, and
448 <code>in_key</code>. Note that if two ports are defined that are
449 the same except one has an optional identifier and the other does
450 not, the more specific one is matched first. <code>in_key</code>
451 is considered more specific than <code>local_ip</code> if a port
452 defines one and another port defines the other. The following
453 options may be specified in the <ref column="options"/> column:
455 <dt><code>remote_ip</code></dt>
456 <dd>Required. The tunnel endpoint.</dd>
459 <dt><code>local_ip</code></dt>
460 <dd>Optional. The destination IP that received packets must
461 match. Default is to match all addresses.</dd>
464 <dt><code>in_key</code></dt>
465 <dd>Optional. The GRE key that received packets must contain.
466 It may either be a 32-bit number (no key and a key of 0 are
467 treated as equivalent) or the word <code>flow</code>. If
468 <code>flow</code> is specified then any key will be accepted
469 and the key will be placed in the <code>tun_id</code> field
470 for matching in the flow table. The ovs-ofctl manual page
471 contains additional information about matching fields in
472 OpenFlow flows. Default is no key.</dd>
475 <dt><code>out_key</code></dt>
476 <dd>Optional. The GRE key to be set on outgoing packets. It may
477 either be a 32-bit number or the word <code>flow</code>. If
478 <code>flow</code> is specified then the key may be set using
479 the <code>set_tunnel</code> Nicira OpenFlow vendor extension (0
480 is used in the absence of an action). The ovs-ofctl manual
481 page contains additional information about the Nicira OpenFlow
482 vendor extensions. Default is no key.</dd>
485 <dt><code>key</code></dt>
486 <dd>Optional. Shorthand to set <code>in_key</code> and
487 <code>out_key</code> at the same time.</dd>
490 <dt><code>tos</code></dt>
491 <dd>Optional. The value of the ToS bits to be set on the
492 encapsulating packet. It may also be the word
493 <code>inherit</code>, in which case the ToS will be copied from
494 the inner packet if it is IPv4 or IPv6 (otherwise it will be
495 0). Note that the ECN fields are always inherited. Default is
499 <dt><code>ttl</code></dt>
500 <dd>Optional. The TTL to be set on the encapsulating packet.
501 It may also be the word <code>inherit</code>, in which case the
502 TTL will be copied from the inner packet if it is IPv4 or IPv6
503 (otherwise it will be the system default, typically 64).
504 Default is the system default TTL.</dd>
507 <dt><code>csum</code></dt>
508 <dd>Optional. Compute GRE checksums for outgoing packets and
509 require checksums for incoming packets. Note that GRE checksums
510 impose a significant performance penalty as they cover the
511 entire packet. As the contents of the packet is typically
512 covered by L3 and L4 checksums, this additional checksum only
513 adds value for the GRE and encapsulated Ethernet headers.
514 Default is disabled, set to <code>true</code> to enable.</dd>
517 <dt><code>pmtud</code></dt>
518 <dd>Optional. Enable tunnel path MTU discovery. If enabled
519 ``ICMP destination unreachable - fragmentation'' needed
520 messages will be generated for IPv4 packets with the DF bit set
521 and IPv6 packets above the minimum MTU if the packet size
522 exceeds the path MTU minus the size of the tunnel headers. It
523 also forces the encapsulating packet DF bit to be set (it is
524 always set if the inner packet implies path MTU discovery).
525 Note that this option causes behavior that is typically
526 reserved for routers and therefore is not entirely in
527 compliance with the IEEE 802.1D specification for bridges.
528 Default is enabled, set to <code>false</code> to disable.</dd>
531 <dt><code>patch</code></dt>
534 A pair of virtual devices that act as a patch cable. The <ref
535 column="options"/> column must have the following key-value pair:
538 <dt><code>peer</code></dt>
540 The <ref column="name"/> of the <ref table="Interface"/> for
541 the other side of the patch. The named <ref
542 table="Interface"/>'s own <code>peer</code> option must specify
543 this <ref table="Interface"/>'s name. That is, the two patch
544 interfaces must have reversed <ref column="name"/> and
545 <code>peer</code> values.
552 <column name="options">
553 Configuration options whose interpretation varies based on
554 <ref column="type"/>.
558 <group title="Ingress Policing">
559 <column name="ingress_policing_burst">
560 <p>Maximum burst size for data received on this interface, in kb. The
561 default burst size if set to <code>0</code> is 1000 kb. This value
562 has no effect if <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/>
563 is <code>0</code>.</p>
564 <p>The burst size should be at least the size of the interface's
568 <column name="ingress_policing_rate">
569 <p>Maximum rate for data received on this interface, in kbps. Data
570 received faster than this rate is dropped. Set to <code>0</code> to
571 disable policing.</p>
572 <p>The meaning of ``ingress'' is from Open vSwitch's perspective. If
573 configured on a physical interface, then it limits the rate at which
574 traffic is allowed into the system from the outside. If configured
575 on a virtual interface that is connected to a virtual machine, then
576 it limits the rate at which the guest is able to transmit.</p>
580 <group title="Other Features">
581 <column name="external_ids">
583 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate
584 with Open vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System
585 integrators should either use the Open vSwitch development
586 mailing list to coordinate on common key-value definitions, or
587 choose key names that are likely to be unique.
590 All of the currently defined key-value pairs specifically
591 apply to an interface that represents a virtual Ethernet interface
592 connected to a virtual machine. These key-value pairs should not be
593 present for other types of interfaces. Keys whose names end
594 in <code>-uuid</code> have values that uniquely identify the entity
595 in question. For a Citrix XenServer hypervisor, these values are
596 UUIDs in RFC 4122 format. Other hypervisors may use other
599 <p>The currently defined key-value pairs are:</p>
601 <dt><code>vif-uuid</code></dt>
602 <dd>The virtual interface associated with this interface.</dd>
603 <dt><code>network-uuid</code></dt>
604 <dd>The virtual network to which this interface is attached.</dd>
605 <dt><code>vm-uuid</code></dt>
606 <dd>The VM to which this interface belongs.</dd>
607 <dt><code>vif-mac</code></dt>
608 <dd>The MAC address programmed into the "virtual hardware" for this
610 form <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>.
611 For Citrix XenServer, this is the value of the <code>MAC</code>
612 field in the VIF record for this interface.</dd>
616 <column name="statistics">
618 Key-value pairs that report interface statistics. The current
619 implementation updates these counters periodically. In the future,
620 we plan to, instead, update them when an interface is created, when
621 they are queried (e.g. using an OVSDB <code>select</code> operation),
622 and just before an interface is deleted due to virtual interface
623 hot-unplug or VM shutdown, and perhaps at other times, but not on any
624 regular periodic basis.</p>
626 The currently defined key-value pairs are listed below. These are
627 the same statistics reported by OpenFlow in its <code>struct
628 ofp_port_stats</code> structure. If an interface does not support a
629 given statistic, then that pair is omitted.</p>
632 Successful transmit and receive counters:
634 <dt><code>rx_packets</code></dt>
635 <dd>Number of received packets.</dd>
636 <dt><code>rx_bytes</code></dt>
637 <dd>Number of received bytes.</dd>
638 <dt><code>tx_packets</code></dt>
639 <dd>Number of transmitted packets.</dd>
640 <dt><code>tx_bytes</code></dt>
641 <dd>Number of transmitted bytes.</dd>
647 <dt><code>rx_dropped</code></dt>
648 <dd>Number of packets dropped by RX.</dd>
649 <dt><code>rx_frame_err</code></dt>
650 <dd>Number of frame alignment errors.</dd>
651 <dt><code>rx_over_err</code></dt>
652 <dd>Number of packets with RX overrun.</dd>
653 <dt><code>rx_crc_err</code></dt>
654 <dd>Number of CRC errors.</dd>
655 <dt><code>rx_errors</code></dt>
657 Total number of receive errors, greater than or equal
658 to the sum of the above.
665 <dt><code>tx_dropped</code></dt>
666 <dd>Number of packets dropped by TX.</dd>
667 <dt><code>collisions</code></dt>
668 <dd>Number of collisions.</dd>
669 <dt><code>tx_errors</code></dt>
671 Total number of transmit errors, greater
672 than or equal to the sum of the above.
681 <table name="QoS" title="Quality of Service configuration">
682 <p>Quality of Service (QoS) configuration for each Port that
686 <p>The type of QoS to implement. The <ref table="Open_vSwitch"
687 column="capabilities"/> column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table
688 identifies the types that a switch actually supports. The currently
689 defined types are listed below:</p>
691 <dt><code>linux-htb</code></dt>
692 <dd>Linux ``hierarchy token bucket'' classifier.</dd>
696 <column name="queues">
697 <p>A map from queue numbers to <ref table="Queue"/> records. The
698 supported range of queue numbers depend on <ref column="type"/>. The
699 queue numbers are the same as the <code>queue_id</code> used in
700 OpenFlow in <code>struct ofp_action_enqueue</code> and other
701 structures. Queue 0 is used by OpenFlow output actions that do not
702 specify a specific queue.</p>
705 <column name="other_config">
706 <p>Key-value pairs for configuring QoS features that depend on
707 <ref column="type"/>.</p>
708 <p>The <code>linux-htb</code> class supports the following key-value
711 <dt><code>max-rate</code></dt>
712 <dd>Maximum rate shared by all queued traffic, in bit/s.
713 Optional. If not specified, for physical interfaces, the
714 default is the link rate. For other interfaces or if the
715 link rate cannot be determined, the default is currently 100
720 <column name="external_ids">
721 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate with Open
722 vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System integrators should
723 either use the Open vSwitch development mailing list to coordinate on
724 common key-value definitions, or choose key names that are likely to be
725 unique. No common key-value pairs are currently defined.
729 <table name="Queue" title="QoS output queue.">
730 <p>A configuration for a port output queue, used in configuring Quality of
731 Service (QoS) features. May be referenced by <ref column="queues"
732 table="QoS"/> column in <ref table="QoS"/> table.</p>
734 <column name="other_config">
735 <p>Key-value pairs for configuring the output queue. The supported
736 key-value pairs and their meanings depend on the <ref column="type"/>
737 of the <ref column="QoS"/> records that reference this row.</p>
738 <p>The key-value pairs defined for <ref table="QoS"/> <ref table="QoS"
739 column="type"/> of <code>min-rate</code> are:</p>
741 <dt><code>min-rate</code></dt>
742 <dd>Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s. Required.</dd>
744 <p>The key-value pairs defined for <ref table="QoS"/> <ref table="QoS"
745 column="type"/> of <code>linux-htb</code> are:</p>
747 <dt><code>min-rate</code></dt>
748 <dd>Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s. Required.</dd>
749 <dt><code>max-rate</code></dt>
750 <dd>Maximum allowed bandwidth, in bit/s. Optional. If specified, the
751 queue's rate will not be allowed to exceed the specified value, even
752 if excess bandwidth is available. If unspecified, defaults to no
754 <dt><code>burst</code></dt>
755 <dd>Burst size, in bits. This is the maximum amount of ``credits''
756 that a queue can accumulate while it is idle. Optional. Details of
757 the <code>linux-htb</code> implementation require a minimum burst
758 size, so a too-small <code>burst</code> will be silently
760 <dt><code>priority</code></dt>
761 <dd>A nonnegative 32-bit integer. Defaults to 0 if
762 unspecified. A queue with a smaller <code>priority</code>
763 will receive all the excess bandwidth that it can use before
764 a queue with a larger value receives any. Specific priority
765 values are unimportant; only relative ordering matters.</dd>
769 <column name="external_ids">
770 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate with Open
771 vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System integrators should
772 either use the Open vSwitch development mailing list to coordinate on
773 common key-value definitions, or choose key names that are likely to be
774 unique. No common key-value pairs are currently defined.
778 <table name="Mirror" title="Port mirroring (SPAN/RSPAN).">
779 <p>A port mirror within a <ref table="Bridge"/>.</p>
780 <p>A port mirror configures a bridge to send selected frames to special
781 ``mirrored'' ports, in addition to their normal destinations. Mirroring
782 traffic may also be referred to as SPAN or RSPAN, depending on the
783 mechanism used for delivery.</p>
786 Arbitrary identifier for the <ref table="Mirror"/>.
789 <group title="Selecting Packets for Mirroring">
790 <column name="select_all">
791 If true, every packet arriving or departing on any port is
792 selected for mirroring.
795 <column name="select_dst_port">
796 Ports on which departing packets are selected for mirroring.
799 <column name="select_src_port">
800 Ports on which arriving packets are selected for mirroring.
803 <column name="select_vlan">
804 VLANs on which packets are selected for mirroring. An empty set
805 selects packets on all VLANs.
809 <group title="Mirroring Destination Configuration">
810 <column name="output_port">
811 <p>Output port for selected packets, if nonempty. Mutually exclusive
812 with <ref column="output_vlan"/>.</p>
813 <p>Specifying a port for mirror output reserves that port exclusively
814 for mirroring. No frames other than those selected for mirroring
815 will be forwarded to the port, and any frames received on the port
816 will be discarded.</p>
817 <p>This type of mirroring is sometimes called SPAN.</p>
820 <column name="output_vlan">
821 <p>Output VLAN for selected packets, if nonempty. Mutually exclusive
822 with <ref column="output_port"/>.</p>
823 <p>The frames will be sent out all ports that trunk
824 <ref column="output_vlan"/>, as well as any ports with implicit VLAN
825 <ref column="output_vlan"/>. When a mirrored frame is sent out a
826 trunk port, the frame's VLAN tag will be set to
827 <ref column="output_vlan"/>, replacing any existing tag; when it is
828 sent out an implicit VLAN port, the frame will not be tagged. This
829 type of mirroring is sometimes called RSPAN.</p>
830 <p><em>Please note:</em> Mirroring to a VLAN can disrupt a network that
831 contains unmanaged switches. Consider an unmanaged physical switch
832 with two ports: port 1, connected to an end host, and port 2,
833 connected to an Open vSwitch configured to mirror received packets
834 into VLAN 123 on port 2. Suppose that the end host sends a packet on
835 port 1 that the physical switch forwards to port 2. The Open vSwitch
836 forwards this packet to its destination and then reflects it back on
837 port 2 in VLAN 123. This reflected packet causes the unmanaged
838 physical switch to replace the MAC learning table entry, which
839 correctly pointed to port 1, with one that incorrectly points to port
840 2. Afterward, the physical switch will direct packets destined for
841 the end host to the Open vSwitch on port 2, instead of to the end
842 host on port 1, disrupting connectivity. If mirroring to a VLAN is
843 desired in this scenario, then the physical switch must be replaced
844 by one that learns Ethernet addresses on a per-VLAN basis. In
845 addition, learning should be disabled on the VLAN containing mirrored
846 traffic. If this is not done then intermediate switches will learn
847 the MAC address of each end host from the mirrored traffic. If
848 packets being sent to that end host are also mirrored, then they will
849 be dropped since the switch will attempt to send them out the input
850 port. Disabling learning for the VLAN will cause the switch to
851 correctly send the packet out all ports configured for that VLAN. If
852 Open vSwitch is being used as an intermediate switch, learning can be
853 disabled by adding the mirrored VLAN to <ref column="flood_vlans"/>
854 in the appropriate <ref table="Bridge"/> table or tables.</p>
858 <group title="Other Features">
859 <column name="external_ids">
860 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate with Open
861 vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System integrators should
862 either use the Open vSwitch development mailing list to coordinate on
863 common key-value definitions, or choose key names that are likely to be
864 unique. No common key-value pairs are currently defined.
869 <table name="Controller" title="OpenFlow controller configuration.">
870 <p>An OpenFlow controller.</p>
873 Open vSwitch supports two kinds of OpenFlow controllers:
877 <dt>Primary controllers</dt>
880 This is the kind of controller envisioned by the OpenFlow 1.0
881 specification. Usually, a primary controller implements a network
882 policy by taking charge of the switch's flow table.
886 Open vSwitch initiates and maintains persistent connections to
887 primary controllers, retrying the connection each time it fails or
888 drops. The <ref table="Bridge" column="fail_mode"/> column in the
889 <ref table="Bridge"/> table applies to primary controllers.
893 Open vSwitch permits a bridge to have any number of primary
894 controllers. When multiple controllers are configured, Open
895 vSwitch connects to all of them simultaneously. Because
896 OpenFlow 1.0 does not specify how multiple controllers
897 coordinate in interacting with a single switch, more than
898 one primary controller should be specified only if the
899 controllers are themselves designed to coordinate with each
900 other. (The Nicira-defined <code>NXT_ROLE</code> OpenFlow
901 vendor extension may be useful for this.)
904 <dt>Service controllers</dt>
907 These kinds of OpenFlow controller connections are intended for
908 occasional support and maintenance use, e.g. with
909 <code>ovs-ofctl</code>. Usually a service controller connects only
910 briefly to inspect or modify some of a switch's state.
914 Open vSwitch listens for incoming connections from service
915 controllers. The service controllers initiate and, if necessary,
916 maintain the connections from their end. The <ref table="Bridge"
917 column="fail_mode"/> column in the <ref table="Bridge"/> table does
918 not apply to service controllers.
922 Open vSwitch supports configuring any number of service controllers.
928 The <ref column="target"/> determines the type of controller.
931 <group title="Core Features">
932 <column name="target">
933 <p>Connection method for controller.</p>
935 The following connection methods are currently supported for primary
939 <dt><code>ssl:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
941 <p>The specified SSL <var>port</var> (default: 6633) on the host at
942 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
943 (not a DNS name). The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/>
944 column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a
945 valid SSL configuration when this form is used.</p>
946 <p>SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
947 part of Open vSwitch.</p>
949 <dt><code>tcp:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
950 <dd>The specified TCP <var>port</var> (default: 6633) on the host at
951 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
952 (not a DNS name).</dd>
953 <dt><code>discover</code></dt>
955 <p>Enables controller discovery.</p>
956 <p>In controller discovery mode, Open vSwitch broadcasts a DHCP
957 request with vendor class identifier <code>OpenFlow</code> across
958 all of the bridge's network devices. It will accept any valid
959 DHCP reply that has the same vendor class identifier and includes
960 a vendor-specific option with code 1 whose contents are a string
961 specifying the location of the controller in the same format as
962 <ref column="target"/>.</p>
963 <p>The DHCP reply may also, optionally, include a vendor-specific
964 option with code 2 whose contents are a string specifying the URI
965 to the base of the OpenFlow PKI
966 (e.g. <code>http://192.168.0.1/openflow/pki</code>). This URI is
967 used only for bootstrapping the OpenFlow PKI at initial switch
968 setup; <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> does not use it at all.</p>
972 The following connection methods are currently supported for service
976 <dt><code>pssl:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
979 Listens for SSL connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
980 (default: 6633). If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an
981 IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then connections are
982 restricted to the specified local IP address.
985 The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/> column in the <ref
986 table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a valid SSL
987 configuration when this form is used.
989 <p>SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
990 part of Open vSwitch.</p>
992 <dt><code>ptcp:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
994 Listens for connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
995 (default: 6633). If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an
996 IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then connections are
997 restricted to the specified local IP address.
1000 <p>When multiple controllers are configured for a single bridge, the
1001 <ref column="target"/> values must be unique. Duplicate
1002 <ref column="target"/> values yield unspecified results.</p>
1005 <column name="connection_mode">
1006 <p>If it is specified, this setting must be one of the following
1007 strings that describes how Open vSwitch contacts this OpenFlow
1008 controller over the network:</p>
1011 <dt><code>in-band</code></dt>
1012 <dd>In this mode, this controller's OpenFlow traffic travels over the
1013 bridge associated with the controller. With this setting, Open
1014 vSwitch allows traffic to and from the controller regardless of the
1015 contents of the OpenFlow flow table. (Otherwise, Open vSwitch
1016 would never be able to connect to the controller, because it did
1017 not have a flow to enable it.) This is the most common connection
1018 mode because it is not necessary to maintain two independent
1020 <dt><code>out-of-band</code></dt>
1021 <dd>In this mode, OpenFlow traffic uses a control network separate
1022 from the bridge associated with this controller, that is, the
1023 bridge does not use any of its own network devices to communicate
1024 with the controller. The control network must be configured
1025 separately, before or after <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> is started.
1029 <p>If not specified, the default is implementation-specific. If
1030 <ref column="target"/> is <code>discover</code>, the connection mode
1031 is always treated as <code>in-band</code> regardless of the actual
1036 <group title="Controller Failure Detection and Handling">
1037 <column name="max_backoff">
1038 Maximum number of milliseconds to wait between connection attempts.
1039 Default is implementation-specific.
1042 <column name="inactivity_probe">
1043 Maximum number of milliseconds of idle time on connection to
1044 controller before sending an inactivity probe message. If Open
1045 vSwitch does not communicate with the controller for the specified
1046 number of seconds, it will send a probe. If a response is not
1047 received for the same additional amount of time, Open vSwitch
1048 assumes the connection has been broken and attempts to reconnect.
1049 Default is implementation-specific.
1053 <group title="OpenFlow Rate Limiting">
1054 <column name="controller_rate_limit">
1055 <p>The maximum rate at which packets in unknown flows will be
1056 forwarded to the OpenFlow controller, in packets per second. This
1057 feature prevents a single bridge from overwhelming the controller.
1058 If not specified, the default is implementation-specific.</p>
1059 <p>In addition, when a high rate triggers rate-limiting, Open
1060 vSwitch queues controller packets for each port and transmits
1061 them to the controller at the configured rate. The number of
1062 queued packets is limited by
1063 the <ref column="controller_burst_limit"/> value. The packet
1064 queue is shared fairly among the ports on a bridge.</p><p>Open
1065 vSwitch maintains two such packet rate-limiters per bridge.
1066 One of these applies to packets sent up to the controller
1067 because they do not correspond to any flow. The other applies
1068 to packets sent up to the controller by request through flow
1069 actions. When both rate-limiters are filled with packets, the
1070 actual rate that packets are sent to the controller is up to
1071 twice the specified rate.</p>
1074 <column name="controller_burst_limit">
1075 In conjunction with <ref column="controller_rate_limit"/>,
1076 the maximum number of unused packet credits that the bridge will
1077 allow to accumulate, in packets. If not specified, the default
1078 is implementation-specific.
1082 <group title="Additional Discovery Configuration">
1083 <p>These values are considered only when <ref column="target"/>
1084 is <code>discover</code>.</p>
1086 <column name="discover_accept_regex">
1088 extended regular expression against which the discovered controller
1089 location is validated. The regular expression is implicitly
1090 anchored at the beginning of the controller location string, as
1091 if it begins with <code>^</code>. If not specified, the default
1092 is implementation-specific.
1095 <column name="discover_update_resolv_conf">
1096 Whether to update <code>/etc/resolv.conf</code> when the
1097 controller is discovered. If not specified, the default
1098 is implementation-specific. Open vSwitch will only modify
1099 <code>/etc/resolv.conf</code> if the DHCP response that it receives
1100 specifies one or more DNS servers.
1104 <group title="Additional In-Band Configuration">
1105 <p>These values are considered only in in-band control mode (see
1106 <ref column="connection_mode"/>) and only when <ref column="target"/>
1107 is not <code>discover</code>. (For controller discovery, the network
1108 configuration obtained via DHCP is used instead.)</p>
1110 <p>When multiple controllers are configured on a single bridge, there
1111 should be only one set of unique values in these columns. If different
1112 values are set for these columns in different controllers, the effect
1115 <column name="local_ip">
1116 The IP address to configure on the local port,
1117 e.g. <code>192.168.0.123</code>. If this value is unset, then
1118 <ref column="local_netmask"/> and <ref column="local_gateway"/> are
1122 <column name="local_netmask">
1123 The IP netmask to configure on the local port,
1124 e.g. <code>255.255.255.0</code>. If <ref column="local_ip"/> is set
1125 but this value is unset, then the default is chosen based on whether
1126 the IP address is class A, B, or C.
1129 <column name="local_gateway">
1130 The IP address of the gateway to configure on the local port, as a
1131 string, e.g. <code>192.168.0.1</code>. Leave this column unset if
1132 this network has no gateway.
1136 <group title="Other Features">
1137 <column name="external_ids">
1138 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate with Open
1139 vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System integrators should
1140 either use the Open vSwitch development mailing list to coordinate on
1141 common key-value definitions, or choose key names that are likely to be
1142 unique. No common key-value pairs are currently defined.
1147 <table name="NetFlow">
1148 A NetFlow target. NetFlow is a protocol that exports a number of
1149 details about terminating IP flows, such as the principals involved
1152 <column name="targets">
1153 NetFlow targets in the form
1154 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>. The <var>ip</var>
1155 must be specified numerically, not as a DNS name.
1158 <column name="engine_id">
1159 Engine ID to use in NetFlow messages. Defaults to datapath index
1163 <column name="engine_type">
1164 Engine type to use in NetFlow messages. Defaults to datapath
1165 index if not specified.
1168 <column name="active_timeout">
1169 The interval at which NetFlow records are sent for flows that are
1170 still active, in seconds. A value of <code>0</code> requests the
1171 default timeout (currently 600 seconds); a value of <code>-1</code>
1172 disables active timeouts.
1175 <column name="add_id_to_interface">
1176 <p>If this column's value is <code>false</code>, the ingress and egress
1177 interface fields of NetFlow flow records are derived from OpenFlow port
1178 numbers. When it is <code>true</code>, the 7 most significant bits of
1179 these fields will be replaced by the least significant 7 bits of the
1180 engine id. This is useful because many NetFlow collectors do not
1181 expect multiple switches to be sending messages from the same host, so
1182 they do not store the engine information which could be used to
1183 disambiguate the traffic.</p>
1184 <p>When this option is enabled, a maximum of 508 ports are supported.</p>
1187 <column name="external_ids">
1188 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate with Open
1189 vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System integrators should
1190 either use the Open vSwitch development mailing list to coordinate on
1191 common key-value definitions, or choose key names that are likely to be
1192 unique. No common key-value pairs are currently defined.
1197 SSL configuration for an Open_vSwitch.
1199 <column name="private_key">
1200 Name of a PEM file containing the private key used as the switch's
1201 identity for SSL connections to the controller.
1204 <column name="certificate">
1205 Name of a PEM file containing a certificate, signed by the
1206 certificate authority (CA) used by the controller and manager,
1207 that certifies the switch's private key, identifying a trustworthy
1211 <column name="ca_cert">
1212 Name of a PEM file containing the CA certificate used to verify
1213 that the switch is connected to a trustworthy controller.
1216 <column name="bootstrap_ca_cert">
1217 If set to <code>true</code>, then Open vSwitch will attempt to
1218 obtain the CA certificate from the controller on its first SSL
1219 connection and save it to the named PEM file. If it is successful,
1220 it will immediately drop the connection and reconnect, and from then
1221 on all SSL connections must be authenticated by a certificate signed
1222 by the CA certificate thus obtained. <em>This option exposes the
1223 SSL connection to a man-in-the-middle attack obtaining the initial
1224 CA certificate.</em> It may still be useful for bootstrapping.
1227 <column name="external_ids">
1228 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate with Open
1229 vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System integrators should
1230 either use the Open vSwitch development mailing list to coordinate on
1231 common key-value definitions, or choose key names that are likely to be
1232 unique. No common key-value pairs are currently defined.
1236 <table name="sFlow">
1237 <p>An sFlow(R) target. sFlow is a protocol for remote monitoring
1240 <column name="agent">
1241 Name of the network device whose IP address should be reported as the
1242 ``agent address'' to collectors. If not specified, the IP address
1243 defaults to the <ref table="Controller" column="local_ip"/> in the
1244 collector's <ref table="Controller"/>. If an agent IP address cannot be
1245 determined either way, sFlow is disabled.
1248 <column name="header">
1249 Number of bytes of a sampled packet to send to the collector.
1250 If not specified, the default is 128 bytes.
1253 <column name="polling">
1254 Polling rate in seconds to send port statistics to the collector.
1255 If not specified, defaults to 30 seconds.
1258 <column name="sampling">
1259 Rate at which packets should be sampled and sent to the collector.
1260 If not specified, defaults to 400, which means one out of 400
1261 packets, on average, will be sent to the collector.
1264 <column name="targets">
1265 sFlow targets in the form
1266 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>.
1269 <column name="external_ids">
1270 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate with Open
1271 vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System integrators should
1272 either use the Open vSwitch development mailing list to coordinate on
1273 common key-value definitions, or choose key names that are likely to be
1274 unique. No common key-value pairs are currently defined.
1278 <table name="Capability">
1279 <p>Records in this table describe functionality supported by the hardware
1280 and software platform on which this Open vSwitch is based. Clients
1281 should not modify this table.</p>
1283 <p>A record in this table is meaningful only if it is referenced by the
1284 <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="capabilities"/> column in the
1285 <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table. The key used to reference it, called
1286 the record's ``category,'' determines the meanings of the
1287 <ref column="details"/> column. The following general forms of
1288 categories are currently defined:</p>
1291 <dt><code>qos-<var>type</var></code></dt>
1292 <dd><var>type</var> is supported as the value for
1293 <ref column="type" table="QoS"/> in the <ref table="QoS"/> table.
1297 <column name="details">
1298 <p>Key-value pairs that describe capabilities. The meaning of the pairs
1299 depends on the category key that the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"
1300 column="capabilities"/> column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table
1301 uses to reference this record, as described above.</p>
1303 <p>The presence of a record for category <code>qos-<var>type</var></code>
1304 indicates that the switch supports <var>type</var> as the value of
1305 the <ref table="QoS" column="type"/> column in the <ref table="QoS"/>
1306 table. The following key-value pairs are defined to further describe
1307 QoS capabilities:</p>
1310 <dt><code>n-queues</code></dt>
1311 <dd>Number of supported queues, as a positive integer. Keys in the
1312 <ref table="QoS" column="queues"/> column for <ref table="QoS"/>
1313 records whose <ref table="QoS" column="type"/> value
1314 equals <var>type</var> must range between 0 and this value minus one,