====================================
This document describes how to build and install Open vSwitch on a
-generic Linux host host. If you want to install Open vSwitch on a
-Citrix XenServer 5.5.0, see INSTALL.XenServer instead.
+generic Linux host. If you want to install Open vSwitch on a Citrix
+XenServer version 5.5.0, see INSTALL.XenServer instead.
This version of Open vSwitch should be built manually with "configure"
and "make". Debian packaging for Open vSwitch is also included, but
This file documents how Open vSwitch may be used as a drop-in
replacement for a Linux kernel bridge in an environment that includes
elements that are tightly tied to the Linux bridge tools
-(e.g. "brctl") and architecture. We do not recommend using the
-approach described here outside such an environment, since the other
-tools included with Open vSwitch are easier to use and more
-general-purpose than the Linux bridging tools.
+(e.g. "brctl") and architecture. We recommend directly using the
+management tools provided with Open vSwitch rather than these
+compatibility hooks for environments that are not tightly tied to the
+Linux bridging tools; they are more efficient and better reflect the
+actual operation and status.
+
Installation Procedure
----------------------
bridge interfaces), to ensure that the Open vSwitch kernel modules
are loaded before the Linux kernel bridge module.
-3. Create an initial ovs-vswitchd.conf file. This file may be empty
- when ovs-vswitchd, or you may add any valid configuration
- directives to it (as described in ovs-vswitchd.conf(5)), but it
- must exist.
+3. Create an initial version of the configuration file, for example
+ /etc/ovs-vswitchd.conf. This file may be empty initially or may
+ contain add any valid configuration directives described in
+ ovs-vswitchd.conf(5). However, it must exist when you start
+ ovs-vswitchd.
To create an empty configuration file:
What is Open vSwitch?
---------------------
-Open vSwitch is a versatile software-based Ethernet switch with the
-following features:
-
- * NIC bonding with automatic fail-over and source MAC-based TX
- load balancing ("SLB").
-
- * 802.1Q VLAN support.
-
- * Port mirroring, with optional VLAN tagging.
-
- * NetFlow v5 flow logging.
-
- * Connectivity to an external OpenFlow controller, such as NOX.
+Open vSwitch is a multilayer software switch licensed under the open
+source Apache 2 license. Our goal is to implement a production
+quality switch platform that supports standard management interfaces
+(e.g. NetFlow, RSPAN, ERSPAN, IOS-like CLI), and opens the forwarding
+functions to programmatic extension and control.
+
+Open vSwitch is well suited to function as a virtual switch in VM
+environments. In addition to exposing standard control and visibility
+interfaces to the virtual networking layer, it was designed to support
+distribution across multiple physical servers. Open vSwitch supports
+multiple Linux-based virtualization technologies including
+Xen/XenServer, KVM, and VirtualBox.
+
+The bulk of the code is written in platform-independent C and is
+easily ported to other environments. The current release of Open
+vSwitch supports the following features:
+
+ * Visibility into inter-VM communication via NetFlow, SPAN, and RSPAN
+ * Standard 802.1Q VLAN model with trunking
+ * Per VM policing
+ * NIC bonding with source-MAC load balancing
+ * Kernel-based forwarding
+ * Support for OpenFlow
+ * Compatibility layer for the Linux bridging code
Open vSwitch supports Linux 2.6.15 and up, with testing focused on
2.6.18 with Centos and Xen patches and version 2.6.26 from kernel.org.