ovs-vswitchd.conf.db

Section: Open vSwitch Manual (5)
Updated: DB Schema 8.2.0
Page Index

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NAME

ovs-vswitchd46conf46db - Open_vSwitch database schema

A database with this schema holds the configuration for one Open vSwitch daemon46 The top-level configuration for the daemon is the Open_vSwitch table, which must have exactly one record46 Records in other tables are significant only when they can be reached directly or indirectly from the Open_vSwitch table46 Records that are not reachable from the Open_vSwitch table are automatically deleted from the database, except for records in a few distinguished ``root set'' tables46  

Common Columns

Most tables contain two special columns, named other_config and external_ids46 These columns have the same form and purpose each place that they appear, so we describe them here to save space later46

other_config: map of string-string pairs

Key-value pairs for configuring rarely used features46 Supported keys, along with the forms taken by their values, are documented individually for each table46

A few tables do not have other_config columns because no key-value pairs have yet been defined for them46

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate with Open vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself46 System integrators should either use the Open vSwitch development mailing list to coordinate on common key-value definitions, or choose key names that are likely to be unique46 In some cases, where key-value pairs have been defined that are likely to be widely useful, they are documented individually for each table46

 

TABLE SUMMARY

The following list summarizes the purpose of each of the tables in the Open_vSwitch database. Each table is described in more detail on a later page.

Table

Purpose

Open_vSwitch

Open vSwitch configuration46

Bridge

Bridge configuration46

Port

Port configuration46

Interface

One physical network device in a Port46

Flow_Table

OpenFlow table configuration

QoS

Quality of Service configuration

Queue

QoS output queue46

Mirror

Port mirroring46

Controller

OpenFlow controller configuration46

Manager

OVSDB management connection46

NetFlow

NetFlow configuration46

Datapath

Datapath configuration46

CT_Zone

CT_Zone configuration46

CT_Timeout_Policy

CT_Timeout_Policy configuration46

SSL

SSL configuration46

sFlow

sFlow configuration46

IPFIX

IPFIX configuration46

Flow_Sample_Collector_Set

Flow_Sample_Collector_Set configuration46

AutoAttach

AutoAttach configuration46

 

Open_vSwitch TABLE

Configuration for an Open vSwitch daemon46 There must be exactly one record in the Open_vSwitch table46  

Summary:

Configuration:

datapaths

map of string-Datapath pairs

bridges

set of Bridges

ssl

optional SSL

external_ids : system-id

optional string

external_ids : xs-system-uuid

optional string

external_ids : hostname

optional string

external_ids : rundir

optional string

other_config : stats-update-interval

optional string, containing an integer, at least 5,000

other_config : flow-restore-wait

optional string, either true or false

other_config : flow-limit

optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

other_config : max-idle

optional string, containing an integer, at least 500

other_config : max-revalidator

optional string, containing an integer, at least 100

other_config : min-revalidate-pps

optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

other_config : hw-offload

optional string, either true or false

other_config : tc-policy

optional string, one of none, skip_hw, or skip_sw

other_config : dpdk-init

optional string, one of false, true, or try

other_config : dpdk-lcore-mask

optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

other_config : pmd-cpu-mask

optional string

other_config : dpdk-alloc-mem

optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

other_config : dpdk-socket-mem

optional string

other_config : dpdk-socket-limit

optional string

other_config : dpdk-hugepage-dir

optional string

other_config : dpdk-extra

optional string

other_config : vhost-sock-dir

optional string

other_config : vhost-iommu-support

optional string, either true or false

other_config : vhost-postcopy-support

optional string, either true or false

other_config : per-port-memory

optional string, either true or false

other_config : tx-flush-interval

optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 1,000,000

other_config : pmd-perf-metrics

optional string, either true or false

other_config : smc-enable

optional string, either true or false

other_config : pmd-rxq-assign

optional string, either cycles or roundrobin

other_config : n-handler-threads

optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

other_config : n-revalidator-threads

optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

other_config : emc-insert-inv-prob

optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

other_config : vlan-limit

optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

other_config : bundle-idle-timeout

optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

other_config : offload-rebalance

optional string, either true or false

other_config : pmd-auto-lb

optional string, either true or false

other_config : pmd-auto-lb-rebal-interval

optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 20,000

other_config : userspace-tso-enable

optional string, either true or false

Status:

next_cfg

integer

cur_cfg

integer

dpdk_initialized

boolean

Statistics:

other_config : enable-statistics

optional string, either true or false

statistics : cpu

optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

statistics : load_average

optional string

statistics : memory

optional string

statistics : process_NAME

optional string

statistics : file_systems

optional string

Version Reporting:

ovs_version

optional string

db_version

optional string

system_type

optional string

system_version

optional string

dpdk_version

optional string

Capabilities:

datapath_types

set of strings

iface_types

set of strings

Database Configuration:

manager_options

set of Managers

IPsec:

other_config : private_key

optional string

other_config : certificate

optional string

other_config : ca_cert

optional string

Plaintext Tunnel Policy:

other_config : ipsec_skb_mark

optional string

Common Columns:

other_config

map of string-string pairs

external_ids

map of string-string pairs

 

Details:

Configuration:

datapaths: map of string-Datapath pairs

Map of datapath types to datapaths46 The datapath_type column of the Bridge table is used as a key for this map46 The value points to a row in the Datapath table46

bridges: set of Bridges

Set of bridges managed by the daemon46

ssl: optional SSL

SSL used globally by the daemon46

external_ids : system-id: optional string

A unique identifier for the Open vSwitch's physical host46 The form of the identifier depends on the type of the host46 On a Citrix XenServer, this will likely be the same as external_ids:xs-system-uuid46

external_ids : xs-system-uuid: optional string

The Citrix XenServer universally unique identifier for the physical host as displayed by xe host-list46

external_ids : hostname: optional string

The hostname for the host running Open vSwitch46 This is a fully qualified domain name since version 246646246

external_ids : rundir: optional string

In Open vSwitch 2468 and later, the run directory of the running Open vSwitch daemon46 This directory is used for runtime state such as control and management sockets46 The value of other_config:vhost-sock-dir is relative to this directory46

other_config : stats-update-interval: optional string, containing an integer, at least 5,000

Interval for updating statistics to the database, in milliseconds46 This option will affect the update of the statistics column in the following tables: Port, Interface , Mirror46

Default value is 5000 ms46

Getting statistics more frequently can be achieved via OpenFlow46

other_config : flow-restore-wait: optional string, either true or false

When ovs-vswitchd starts up, it has an empty flow table and therefore it handles all arriving packets in its default fashion according to its configuration, by dropping them or sending them to an OpenFlow controller or switching them as a standalone switch46 This behavior is ordinarily desirable46 However, if ovs-vswitchd is restarting as part of a ``hot-upgrade,'' then this leads to a relatively long period during which packets are mishandled46

This option allows for improvement46 When ovs-vswitchd starts with this value set as true, it will neither flush or expire previously set datapath flows nor will it send and receive any packets to or from the datapath46 When this value is later set to false, ovs-vswitchd will start receiving packets from the datapath and re-setup the flows46

Additionally, ovs-vswitchd is prevented from connecting to controllers when this value is set to true46 This prevents controllers from making changes to the flow table in the middle of flow restoration, which could result in undesirable intermediate states46 Once this value has been set to false and the desired flow state has been restored, ovs-vswitchd will be able to reconnect to controllers and process any new flow table modifications46

Thus, with this option, the procedure for a hot-upgrade of ovs-vswitchd becomes roughly the following:

1.

Stop ovs-vswitchd46

2.

Set other_config:flow-restore-wait to true46

3.

Start ovs-vswitchd46

4.

Use ovs-ofctl (or some other program, such as an OpenFlow controller) to restore the OpenFlow flow table to the desired state46

5.

Set other_config:flow-restore-wait to false (or remove it entirely from the database)46

The ovs-ctl's ``restart'' and ``force-reload-kmod'' functions use the above config option during hot upgrades46

other_config : flow-limit: optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

The maximum number of flows allowed in the datapath flow table46 Internally OVS will choose a flow limit which will likely be lower than this number, based on real time network conditions46 Tweaking this value is discouraged unless you know exactly what you're doing46

The default is 20000046

other_config : max-idle: optional string, containing an integer, at least 500

The maximum time (in ms) that idle flows will remain cached in the datapath46 Internally OVS will check the validity and activity for datapath flows regularly and may expire flows quicker than this number, based on real time network conditions46 Tweaking this value is discouraged unless you know exactly what you're doing46

The default is 1000046

other_config : max-revalidator: optional string, containing an integer, at least 100

The maximum time (in ms) that revalidator threads will wait before executing flow revalidation46 Note that this is maximum allowed value46 Actual timeout used by OVS is minimum of max-idle and max-revalidator values46 Tweaking this value is discouraged unless you know exactly what you're doing46

The default is 50046

other_config : min-revalidate-pps: optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

Set minimum pps that flow must have in order to be revalidated when revalidation duration exceeds half of max-revalidator config variable46

The default is 546

other_config : hw-offload: optional string, either true or false

Set this value to true to enable netdev flow offload46

The default value is false46 Changing this value requires restarting the daemon

Currently Open vSwitch supports hardware offloading on Linux systems46 On other systems, this value is ignored46 This functionality is considered 'experimental'46 Depending on which OpenFlow matches and actions are configured, which kernel version is used, and what hardware is available, Open vSwitch may not be able to offload functionality to hardware46

In order to dump HW offloaded flows use ovs-appctl dpctl/dump-flows, ovs-dpctl doesn't support this functionality46 See ovs-vswitchd(8) for details46

other_config : tc-policy: optional string, one of none, skip_hw, or skip_sw

Specified the policy used with HW offloading46 Options:

none

Add software rule and offload rule to HW46

skip_sw

Offload rule to HW only46

skip_hw

Add software rule without offloading rule to HW46

This is only relevant if other_config:hw-offload is enabled46

The default value is none46

other_config : dpdk-init: optional string, one of false, true, or try

Set this value to true or try to enable runtime support for DPDK ports46 The vswitch must have compile-time support for DPDK as well46

A value of true will cause the ovs-vswitchd process to abort if DPDK cannot be initialized46 A value of try will allow the ovs-vswitchd process to continue running even if DPDK cannot be initialized46

The default value is false46 Changing this value requires restarting the daemon

If this value is false at startup, any dpdk ports which are configured in the bridge will fail due to memory errors46

other_config : dpdk-lcore-mask: optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

Specifies the CPU cores where dpdk lcore threads should be spawned46 The DPDK lcore threads are used for DPDK library tasks, such as library internal message processing, logging, etc46 Value should be in the form of a hex string (so '0x123') similar to the 'taskset' mask input46

The lowest order bit corresponds to the first CPU core46 A set bit means the corresponding core is available and an lcore thread will be created and pinned to it46 If the input does not cover all cores, those uncovered cores are considered not set46

For performance reasons, it is best to set this to a single core on the system, rather than allow lcore threads to float46

If not specified, the value will be determined by choosing the lowest CPU core from initial cpu affinity list46 Otherwise, the value will be passed directly to the DPDK library46

other_config : pmd-cpu-mask: optional string

Specifies CPU mask for setting the cpu affinity of PMD (Poll Mode Driver) threads46 Value should be in the form of hex string, similar to the dpdk EAL '-c COREMASK' option input or the 'taskset' mask input46

The lowest order bit corresponds to the first CPU core46 A set bit means the corresponding core is available and a pmd thread will be created and pinned to it46 If the input does not cover all cores, those uncovered cores are considered not set46

If not specified, one pmd thread will be created for each numa node and pinned to any available core on the numa node by default46

other_config : dpdk-alloc-mem: optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

Specifies the amount of memory to preallocate from the hugepage pool, regardless of socket46 It is recommended that dpdk-socket-mem is used instead46

other_config : dpdk-socket-mem: optional string

Specifies the amount of memory to preallocate from the hugepage pool, on a per-socket basis46

The specifier is a comma-separated string, in ascending order of CPU socket46 E46g46 On a four socket system 1024,0,2048 would set socket 0 to preallocate 1024MB, socket 1 to preallocate 0MB, socket 2 to preallocate 2048MB and socket 3 (no value given) to preallocate 0MB46

If dpdk-socket-mem and dpdk-alloc-mem are not specified, dpdk-socket-mem will be used and the default value is 1024 for each numa node46 If dpdk-socket-mem and dpdk-alloc-mem are specified at same time, dpdk-socket-mem will be used as default46 Changing this value requires restarting the daemon46

other_config : dpdk-socket-limit: optional string

Limits the maximum amount of memory that can be used from the hugepage pool, on a per-socket basis46

The specifier is a comma-separated list of memory limits per socket46 0 will disable the limit for a particular socket46

If not specified, OVS will configure limits equal to the amount of preallocated memory specified by other_config:dpdk-socket-mem or --socket-mem in other_config:dpdk-extra46 If none of the above options specified or --legacy-mem provided in other_config:dpdk-extra, limits will not be applied46 Changing this value requires restarting the daemon46

other_config : dpdk-hugepage-dir: optional string

Specifies the path to the hugetlbfs mount point46

If not specified, this will be guessed by the DPDK library (default is /dev/hugepages)46 Changing this value requires restarting the daemon46

other_config : dpdk-extra: optional string

Specifies additional eal command line arguments for DPDK46

The default is empty46 Changing this value requires restarting the daemon

other_config : vhost-sock-dir: optional string

Specifies a relative path from external_ids:rundir to the vhost-user unix domain socket files46 If this value is unset, the sockets are put directly in external_ids:rundir46

Changing this value requires restarting the daemon46

other_config : vhost-iommu-support: optional string, either true or false

vHost IOMMU is a security feature, which restricts the vhost memory that a virtio device may access46 vHost IOMMU support is disabled by default, due to a bug in QEMU implementations of the vhost REPLY_ACK protocol, (on which vHost IOMMU relies) prior to v246946146 Setting this value to true enables vHost IOMMU support for vHost User Client ports in OvS-DPDK, starting from DPDK v17461146

Changing this value requires restarting the daemon46

other_config : vhost-postcopy-support: optional string, either true or false

vHost post-copy is a feature which allows switching live migration of VM attached to dpdkvhostuserclient port to post-copy mode if default pre-copy migration can not be converged or takes too long to converge46 Setting this value to true enables vHost post-copy support for all dpdkvhostuserclient ports46 Available starting from DPDK v184611 and QEMU 2461246

Changing this value requires restarting the daemon46

other_config : per-port-memory: optional string, either true or false

By default OVS DPDK uses a shared memory model wherein devices that have the same MTU and socket values can share the same mempool46 Setting this value to true changes this behaviour46 Per port memory allow DPDK devices to use private memory per device46 This can provide greater transparency as regards memory usage but potentially at the cost of greater memory requirements46

Changing this value requires restarting the daemon if dpdk-init has already been set to true46

other_config : tx-flush-interval: optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 1,000,000

Specifies the time in microseconds that a packet can wait in output batch for sending i46e46 amount of time that packet can spend in an intermediate output queue before sending to netdev46 This option can be used to configure balance between throughput and latency46 Lower values decreases latency while higher values may be useful to achieve higher performance46

Defaults to 0 i46e46 instant packet sending (latency optimized)46

other_config : pmd-perf-metrics: optional string, either true or false

Enables recording of detailed PMD performance metrics for analysis and trouble-shooting46 This can have a performance impact in the order of 1%46

Defaults to false but can be changed at any time46

other_config : smc-enable: optional string, either true or false

Signature match cache or SMC is a cache between EMC and megaflow cache46 It does not store the full key of the flow, so it is more memory efficient comparing to EMC cache46 SMC is especially useful when flow count is larger than EMC capacity46

Defaults to false but can be changed at any time46

other_config : pmd-rxq-assign: optional string, either cycles or roundrobin

Specifies how RX queues will be automatically assigned to CPU cores46 Options:

cycles

Rxqs will be sorted by order of measured processing cycles before being assigned to CPU cores46

roundrobin

Rxqs will be round-robined across CPU cores46

The default value is cycles46

Changing this value will affect an automatic re-assignment of Rxqs to CPUs46 Note: Rxqs mapped to CPU cores with pmd-rxq-affinity are unaffected46

other_config : n-handler-threads: optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

Specifies the number of threads for software datapaths to use for handling new flows46 The default the number of online CPU cores minus the number of revalidators46

This configuration is per datapath46 If you have more than one software datapath (e46g46 some system bridges and some netdev bridges), then the total number of threads is n-handler-threads times the number of software datapaths46

other_config : n-revalidator-threads: optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

Specifies the number of threads for software datapaths to use for revalidating flows in the datapath46 Typically, there is a direct correlation between the number of revalidator threads, and the number of flows allowed in the datapath46 The default is the number of cpu cores divided by four plus one46 If n-handler-threads is set, the default changes to the number of cpu cores minus the number of handler threads46

This configuration is per datapath46 If you have more than one software datapath (e46g46 some system bridges and some netdev bridges), then the total number of threads is n-handler-threads times the number of software datapaths46

other_config : emc-insert-inv-prob: optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

Specifies the inverse probability (1/emc-insert-inv-prob) of a flow being inserted into the Exact Match Cache (EMC)46 On average one in every emc-insert-inv-prob packets that generate a unique flow will cause an insertion into the EMC46 A value of 1 will result in an insertion for every flow (1/1 = 100%) whereas a value of zero will result in no insertions and essentially disable the EMC46

Defaults to 100 ie46 there is (1/100 =) 1% chance of EMC insertion46

other_config : vlan-limit: optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

Limits the number of VLAN headers that can be matched to the specified number46 Further VLAN headers will be treated as payload, e46g46 a packet with more 802461q headers will match Ethernet type 0x810046

Open vSwitch userspace currently supports at most 2 VLANs, and each datapath has its own limit46 If vlan-limit is nonzero, it acts as a further limit46

If this value is absent, the default is currently 146 This maintains backward compatibility with controllers that were designed for use with Open vSwitch versions earlier than 2468, which only supported one VLAN46

other_config : bundle-idle-timeout: optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

The maximum time (in seconds) that idle bundles will wait to be expired since it was either opened, modified or closed46

OpenFlow specification mandates the timeout to be at least one second46 The default is 10 seconds46

other_config : offload-rebalance: optional string, either true or false

Configures HW offload rebalancing, that allows to dynamically offload and un-offload flows while an offload-device is out of resources (OOR)46 This policy allows flows to be selected for offloading based on the packets-per-second (pps) rate of flows46

Set this value to true to enable this option46

The default value is false46 Changing this value requires restarting the daemon46

This is only relevant if HW offloading is enabled (hw-offload)46 When this policy is enabled, it also requires 'tc-policy' to be set to 'skip_sw'46

other_config : pmd-auto-lb: optional string, either true or false

Configures PMD Auto Load Balancing that allows automatic assignment of RX queues to PMDs if any of PMDs is overloaded (i46e46 processing cycles > 95%)46

It uses current scheme of cycle based assignment of RX queues that are not statically pinned to PMDs46

The default value is false46

Set this value to true to enable this option46 It is currently disabled by default and an experimental feature46

This only comes in effect if cycle based assignment is enabled and there are more than one non-isolated PMDs present and at least one of it polls more than one queue46

other_config : pmd-auto-lb-rebal-interval: optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 20,000

The minimum time (in minutes) 2 consecutive PMD Auto Load Balancing iterations46

The defaul value is 1 min46 If configured to 0 then it would be converted to default value i46e46 1 min

This option can be configured to avoid frequent trigger of auto load balancing of PMDs46 For e46g46 set the value (in min) such that it occurs once in few hours or a day or a week46

other_config : userspace-tso-enable: optional string, either true or false

Set this value to true to enable userspace support for TCP Segmentation Offloading (TSO)46 When it is enabled, the interfaces can provide an oversized TCP segment to the datapath and the datapath will offload the TCP segmentation and checksum calculation to the interfaces when necessary46

The default value is false46 Changing this value requires restarting the daemon46

The feature only works if Open vSwitch is built with DPDK support46

The feature is considered experimental46

Status:

next_cfg: integer

Sequence number for client to increment46 When a client modifies any part of the database configuration and wishes to wait for Open vSwitch to finish applying the changes, it may increment this sequence number46

cur_cfg: integer

Sequence number that Open vSwitch sets to the current value of next_cfg after it finishes applying a set of configuration changes46

dpdk_initialized: boolean

True if other_config:dpdk-init is set to true and the DPDK library is successfully initialized46

Statistics:

The statistics column contains key-value pairs that report statistics about a system running an Open vSwitch46 These are updated periodically (currently, every 5 seconds)46 Key-value pairs that cannot be determined or that do not apply to a platform are omitted46

other_config : enable-statistics: optional string, either true or false

Statistics are disabled by default to avoid overhead in the common case when statistics gathering is not useful46 Set this value to true to enable populating the statistics column or to false to explicitly disable it46

statistics : cpu: optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

Number of CPU processors, threads, or cores currently online and available to the operating system on which Open vSwitch is running, as an integer46 This may be less than the number installed, if some are not online or if they are not available to the operating system46

Open vSwitch userspace processes are not multithreaded, but the Linux kernel-based datapath is46

statistics : load_average: optional string

A comma-separated list of three floating-point numbers, representing the system load average over the last 1, 5, and 15 minutes, respectively46

statistics : memory: optional string

A comma-separated list of integers, each of which represents a quantity of memory in kilobytes that describes the operating system on which Open vSwitch is running46 In respective order, these values are:

1.

Total amount of RAM allocated to the OS46

2.

RAM allocated to the OS that is in use46

3.

RAM that can be flushed out to disk or otherwise discarded if that space is needed for another purpose46 This number is necessarily less than or equal to the previous value46

4.

Total disk space allocated for swap46

5.

Swap space currently in use46

On Linux, all five values can be determined and are included46 On other operating systems, only the first two values can be determined, so the list will only have two values46

statistics : process_NAME: optional string

One such key-value pair, with NAME replaced by a process name, will exist for each running Open vSwitch daemon process, with name replaced by the daemon's name (e46g46 process_ovs-vswitchd)46 The value is a comma-separated list of integers46 The integers represent the following, with memory measured in kilobytes and durations in milliseconds:

1.

The process's virtual memory size46

2.

The process's resident set size46

3.

The amount of user and system CPU time consumed by the process46

4.

The number of times that the process has crashed and been automatically restarted by the monitor46

5.

The duration since the process was started46

6.

The duration for which the process has been running46

The interpretation of some of these values depends on whether the process was started with the --monitor46 If it was not, then the crash count will always be 0 and the two durations will always be the same46 If --monitor was given, then the crash count may be positive; if it is, the latter duration is the amount of time since the most recent crash and restart46

There will be one key-value pair for each file in Open vSwitch's ``run directory'' (usually /var/run/openvswitch) whose name ends in 46pid, whose contents are a process ID, and which is locked by a running process46 The name is taken from the pidfile's name46

Currently Open vSwitch is only able to obtain all of the above detail on Linux systems46 On other systems, the same key-value pairs will be present but the values will always be the empty string46

statistics : file_systems: optional string

A space-separated list of information on local, writable file systems46 Each item in the list describes one file system and consists in turn of a comma-separated list of the following:

1.

Mount point, e46g46 / or /var/log46 Any spaces or commas in the mount point are replaced by underscores46

2.

Total size, in kilobytes, as an integer46

3.

Amount of storage in use, in kilobytes, as an integer46

This key-value pair is omitted if there are no local, writable file systems or if Open vSwitch cannot obtain the needed information46

Version Reporting:

These columns report the types and versions of the hardware and software running Open vSwitch46 We recommend in general that software should test whether specific features are supported instead of relying on version number checks46 These values are primarily intended for reporting to human administrators46

ovs_version: optional string

The Open vSwitch version number, e46g46 146146046

db_version: optional string

The database schema version number, e46g46 146246346 See ovsdb-tool(1) for an explanation of the numbering scheme46

The schema version is part of the database schema, so it can also be retrieved by fetching the schema using the Open vSwitch database protocol46

system_type: optional string

An identifier for the type of system on top of which Open vSwitch runs, e46g46 XenServer or KVM46

System integrators are responsible for choosing and setting an appropriate value for this column46

system_version: optional string

The version of the system identified by system_type, e46g46 546646100-39265p on XenServer 546646100 build 3926546

System integrators are responsible for choosing and setting an appropriate value for this column46

dpdk_version: optional string

The version of the linked DPDK library46

Capabilities:

These columns report capabilities of the Open vSwitch instance46

datapath_types: set of strings

This column reports the different dpifs registered with the system46 These are the values that this instance supports in the datapath_type column of the Bridge table46

iface_types: set of strings

This column reports the different netdevs registered with the system46 These are the values that this instance supports in the type column of the Interface table46

Database Configuration:

These columns primarily configure the Open vSwitch database (ovsdb-server), not the Open vSwitch switch (ovs-vswitchd)46 The OVSDB database also uses the ssl settings46

The Open vSwitch switch does read the database configuration to determine remote IP addresses to which in-band control should apply46

manager_options: set of Managers

Database clients to which the Open vSwitch database server should connect or to which it should listen, along with options for how these connections should be configured46 See the Manager table for more information46

For this column to serve its purpose, ovsdb-server must be configured to honor it46 The easiest way to do this is to invoke ovsdb-server with the option --remote=db:Open_vSwitch,Open_vSwitch,manager_options The startup scripts that accompany Open vSwitch do this by default46

IPsec:

These settings control the global configuration of IPsec tunnels46 The options column of the Interface table configures IPsec for individual tunnels46

OVS IPsec supports the following three forms of authentication46 Currently, all IPsec tunnels must use the same form:

1.

Pre-shared keys: Omit the global settings46 On each tunnel, set options:psk46

2.

Self-signed certificates: Set the private_key and certificate global settings46 On each tunnel, set options:remote_cert46 The remote certificate can be self-signed46

3.

CA-signed certificates: Set all of the global settings46 On each tunnel, set options:remote_name to the common name (CN) of the remote certificate46 The remote certificate must be signed by the CA46

other_config : private_key: optional string

Name of a PEM file containing the private key used as the switch's identity for IPsec tunnels46

other_config : certificate: optional string

Name of a PEM file containing a certificate that certifies the switch's private key, and identifies a trustworthy switch for IPsec tunnels46 The certificate must be x46509 version 3 and with the string in common name (CN) also set in the subject alternative name (SAN)46

other_config : ca_cert: optional string

Name of a PEM file containing the CA certificate used to verify that a remote switch of the IPsec tunnel is trustworthy46

Plaintext Tunnel Policy:

When an IPsec tunnel is configured in this database, multiple independent components take responsibility for implementing it46 ovs-vswitchd and its datapath handle packet forwarding to the tunnel and a separate daemon pushes the tunnel's IPsec policy configuration to the kernel or other entity that implements it46 There is a race: if the former configuration completes before the latter, then packets sent by the local host over the tunnel can be transmitted in plaintext46 Using this setting, OVS users can avoid this undesirable situation46

other_config : ipsec_skb_mark: optional string

This setting takes the form value/mask46 If it is specified, then the skb_mark field in every outgoing tunneled packet sent in plaintext is compared against it and, if it matches, the packet is dropped46 This is a global setting that is applied to every tunneled packet, regardless of whether IPsec encryption is enabled for the tunnel, the type of tunnel, or whether OVS is involved46

Example policies:

1/1

Drop all unencrypted tunneled packets in which the least-significant bit of skb_mark is 146 This would be a useful policy given an OpenFlow flow table that sets skb_mark to 1 for traffic that should be encrypted46 The default skb_mark is 0, so this would not affect other traffic46

0/1

Drop all unencrypted tunneled packets in which the least-significant bit of skb_mark is 046 This would be a useful policy if no unencrypted tunneled traffic should exit the system without being specially whitelisted by setting skb_mark to 146

(empty)

If this setting is empty or unset, then all unencrypted tunneled packets are transmitted in the usual way46

Common Columns:

The overall purpose of these columns is described under Common Columns at the beginning of this document46

other_config: map of string-string pairs

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

 

Bridge TABLE

Configuration for a bridge within an Open_vSwitch46

A Bridge record represents an Ethernet switch with one or more ``ports,'' which are the Port records pointed to by the Bridge's ports column46  

Summary:

Core Features:

name

immutable string (must be unique within table)

ports

set of Ports

mirrors

set of Mirrors

netflow

optional NetFlow

sflow

optional sFlow

ipfix

optional IPFIX

flood_vlans

set of up to 4,096 integers, in range 0 to 4,095

auto_attach

optional AutoAttach

OpenFlow Configuration:

controller

set of Controllers

flow_tables

map of integer-Flow_Table pairs, key in range 0 to 254

fail_mode

optional string, either secure or standalone

datapath_id

optional string

datapath_version

string

other_config : datapath-id

optional string

other_config : dp-desc

optional string

other_config : disable-in-band

optional string, either true or false

other_config : in-band-queue

optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

other_config : controller-queue-size

optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 512

protocols

set of strings, one of OpenFlow10, OpenFlow11, OpenFlow12, OpenFlow13, OpenFlow14, or OpenFlow15

Spanning Tree Configuration:

STP Configuration:

stp_enable

boolean

other_config : stp-system-id

optional string

other_config : stp-priority

optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 65,535

other_config : stp-hello-time

optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 10

other_config : stp-max-age

optional string, containing an integer, in range 6 to 40

other_config : stp-forward-delay

optional string, containing an integer, in range 4 to 30

other_config : mcast-snooping-aging-time

optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

other_config : mcast-snooping-table-size

optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

other_config : mcast-snooping-disable-flood-unregistered

optional string, either true or false

STP Status:

status : stp_bridge_id

optional string

status : stp_designated_root

optional string

status : stp_root_path_cost

optional string

Rapid Spanning Tree:

RSTP Configuration:

rstp_enable

boolean

other_config : rstp-address

optional string

other_config : rstp-priority

optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 61,440

other_config : rstp-ageing-time

optional string, containing an integer, in range 10 to 1,000,000

other_config : rstp-force-protocol-version

optional string, containing an integer

other_config : rstp-max-age

optional string, containing an integer, in range 6 to 40

other_config : rstp-forward-delay

optional string, containing an integer, in range 4 to 30

other_config : rstp-transmit-hold-count

optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 10

RSTP Status:

rstp_status : rstp_bridge_id

optional string

rstp_status : rstp_root_id

optional string

rstp_status : rstp_root_path_cost

optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

rstp_status : rstp_designated_id

optional string

rstp_status : rstp_designated_port_id

optional string

rstp_status : rstp_bridge_port_id

optional string

Multicast Snooping Configuration:

mcast_snooping_enable

boolean

Other Features:

datapath_type

string

external_ids : bridge-id

optional string

external_ids : xs-network-uuids

optional string

other_config : hwaddr

optional string

other_config : forward-bpdu

optional string, either true or false

other_config : mac-aging-time

optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

other_config : mac-table-size

optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

Common Columns:

other_config

map of string-string pairs

external_ids

map of string-string pairs

 

Details:

Core Features:

name: immutable string (must be unique within table)

Bridge identifier46 Must be unique among the names of ports, interfaces, and bridges on a host46

The name must be alphanumeric and must not contain forward or backward slashes46 The name of a bridge is also the name of an Interface (and a Port) within the bridge, so the restrictions on the name column in the Interface table, particularly on length, also apply to bridge names46 Refer to the documentation for Interface names for details46

ports: set of Ports

Ports included in the bridge46

mirrors: set of Mirrors

Port mirroring configuration46

netflow: optional NetFlow

NetFlow configuration46

sflow: optional sFlow

sFlow(R) configuration46

ipfix: optional IPFIX

IPFIX configuration46

flood_vlans: set of up to 4,096 integers, in range 0 to 4,095

VLAN IDs of VLANs on which MAC address learning should be disabled, so that packets are flooded instead of being sent to specific ports that are believed to contain packets' destination MACs46 This should ordinarily be used to disable MAC learning on VLANs used for mirroring (RSPAN VLANs)46 It may also be useful for debugging46

SLB bonding (see the bond_mode column in the Port table) is incompatible with flood_vlans46 Consider using another bonding mode or a different type of mirror instead46

auto_attach: optional AutoAttach

Auto Attach configuration46

OpenFlow Configuration:

controller: set of Controllers

OpenFlow controller set46 If unset, then no OpenFlow controllers will be used46

If there are primary controllers, removing all of them clears the OpenFlow flow tables, group table, and meter table46 If there are no primary controllers, adding one also clears these tables46 Other changes to the set of controllers, such as adding or removing a service controller, adding another primary controller to supplement an existing primary controller, or removing only one of two primary controllers, have no effect on these tables46

flow_tables: map of integer-Flow_Table pairs, key in range 0 to 254

Configuration for OpenFlow tables46 Each pair maps from an OpenFlow table ID to configuration for that table46

fail_mode: optional string, either secure or standalone

When a controller is configured, it is, ordinarily, responsible for setting up all flows on the switch46 Thus, if the connection to the controller fails, no new network connections can be set up46 If the connection to the controller stays down long enough, no packets can pass through the switch at all46 This setting determines the switch's response to such a situation46 It may be set to one of the following:

standalone

If no message is received from the controller for three times the inactivity probe interval (see inactivity_probe), then Open vSwitch will take over responsibility for setting up flows46 In this mode, Open vSwitch causes the bridge to act like an ordinary MAC-learning switch46 Open vSwitch will continue to retry connecting to the controller in the background and, when the connection succeeds, it will discontinue its standalone behavior46

secure

Open vSwitch will not set up flows on its own when the controller connection fails or when no controllers are defined46 The bridge will continue to retry connecting to any defined controllers forever46

The default is standalone if the value is unset, but future versions of Open vSwitch may change the default46

The standalone mode can create forwarding loops on a bridge that has more than one uplink port unless STP is enabled46 To avoid loops on such a bridge, configure secure mode or enable STP (see stp_enable)46

The fail_mode setting applies only to primary controllers46 When more than one primary controller is configured, fail_mode is considered only when none of the configured controllers can be contacted46

Changing fail_mode when no primary controllers are configured clears the OpenFlow flow tables, group table, and meter table46

datapath_id: optional string

Reports the OpenFlow datapath ID in use46 Exactly 16 hex digits46 (Setting this column has no useful effect46 Set other-config:datapath-id instead46)

datapath_version: string

Reports the datapath version46 This column is maintained for backwards compatibility46 The preferred locatation is the datapath_id column of the Datapath table46 The full documentation for this column is there46

other_config : datapath-id: optional string

Overrides the default OpenFlow datapath ID, setting it to the specified value specified in hex46 The value must either have a 0x prefix or be exactly 16 hex digits long46 May not be all-zero46

other_config : dp-desc: optional string

Human readable description of datapath46 It is a maximum 256 byte-long free-form string to describe the datapath for debugging purposes, e46g46 switch3 in room 312046

other_config : disable-in-band: optional string, either true or false

If set to true, disable in-band control on the bridge regardless of controller and manager settings46

other_config : in-band-queue: optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

A queue ID as a nonnegative integer46 This sets the OpenFlow queue ID that will be used by flows set up by in-band control on this bridge46 If unset, or if the port used by an in-band control flow does not have QoS configured, or if the port does not have a queue with the specified ID, the default queue is used instead46

other_config : controller-queue-size: optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 512

This sets the maximum size of the queue of packets that need to be sent to the OpenFlow management controller46 The value must be less than 51246 If not specified the queue size is limited to 100 packets by default46 Note: increasing the queue size might have a negative impact on latency46

protocols: set of strings, one of OpenFlow10, OpenFlow11, OpenFlow12, OpenFlow13, OpenFlow14, or OpenFlow15

List of OpenFlow protocols that may be used when negotiating a connection with a controller46 OpenFlow 1460, 1461, 1462, 1463, 1464, and 1465 are enabled by default if this column is empty46

Spanning Tree Configuration:

The IEEE 802461D Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is a network protocol that ensures loop-free topologies46 It allows redundant links to be included in the network to provide automatic backup paths if the active links fails46

These settings configure the slower-to-converge but still widely supported version of Spanning Tree Protocol, sometimes known as 802461D-199846 Open vSwitch also supports the newer Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP), documented later in the section titled Rapid Spanning Tree Configuration46

STP Configuration:

stp_enable: boolean

Enable spanning tree on the bridge46 By default, STP is disabled on bridges46 Bond, internal, and mirror ports are not supported and will not participate in the spanning tree46

STP and RSTP are mutually exclusive46 If both are enabled, RSTP will be used46

other_config : stp-system-id: optional string

The bridge's STP identifier (the lower 48 bits of the bridge-id) in the form xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx46 By default, the identifier is the MAC address of the bridge46

other_config : stp-priority: optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 65,535

The bridge's relative priority value for determining the root bridge (the upper 16 bits of the bridge-id)46 A bridge with the lowest bridge-id is elected the root46 By default, the priority is 0x800046

other_config : stp-hello-time: optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 10

The interval between transmissions of hello messages by designated ports, in seconds46 By default the hello interval is 2 seconds46

other_config : stp-max-age: optional string, containing an integer, in range 6 to 40

The maximum age of the information transmitted by the bridge when it is the root bridge, in seconds46 By default, the maximum age is 20 seconds46

other_config : stp-forward-delay: optional string, containing an integer, in range 4 to 30

The delay to wait between transitioning root and designated ports to forwarding, in seconds46 By default, the forwarding delay is 15 seconds46

other_config : mcast-snooping-aging-time: optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

The maximum number of seconds to retain a multicast snooping entry for which no packets have been seen46 The default is currently 300 seconds (5 minutes)46 The value, if specified, is forced into a reasonable range, currently 15 to 3600 seconds46

other_config : mcast-snooping-table-size: optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

The maximum number of multicast snooping addresses to learn46 The default is currently 204846 The value, if specified, is forced into a reasonable range, currently 10 to 1,000,00046

other_config : mcast-snooping-disable-flood-unregistered: optional string, either true or false

If set to false, unregistered multicast packets are forwarded to all ports46 If set to true, unregistered multicast packets are forwarded to ports connected to multicast routers46

STP Status:

These key-value pairs report the status of 802461D-199846 They are present only if STP is enabled (via the stp_enable column)46

status : stp_bridge_id: optional string

The bridge ID used in spanning tree advertisements, in the form xxxx46yyyyyyyyyyyy where the xs are the STP priority, the ys are the STP system ID, and each x and y is a hex digit46

status : stp_designated_root: optional string

The designated root for this spanning tree, in the same form as status:stp_bridge_id46 If this bridge is the root, this will have the same value as status:stp_bridge_id, otherwise it will differ46

status : stp_root_path_cost: optional string

The path cost of reaching the designated bridge46 A lower number is better46 The value is 0 if this bridge is the root, otherwise it is higher46

Rapid Spanning Tree:

Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP), like STP, is a network protocol that ensures loop-free topologies46 RSTP superseded STP with the publication of 802461D-200446 Compared to STP, RSTP converges more quickly and recovers more quickly from failures46

RSTP Configuration:

rstp_enable: boolean

Enable Rapid Spanning Tree on the bridge46 By default, RSTP is disabled on bridges46 Bond, internal, and mirror ports are not supported and will not participate in the spanning tree46

STP and RSTP are mutually exclusive46 If both are enabled, RSTP will be used46

other_config : rstp-address: optional string

The bridge's RSTP address (the lower 48 bits of the bridge-id) in the form xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx46 By default, the address is the MAC address of the bridge46

other_config : rstp-priority: optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 61,440

The bridge's relative priority value for determining the root bridge (the upper 16 bits of the bridge-id)46 A bridge with the lowest bridge-id is elected the root46 By default, the priority is 0x8000 (32768)46 This value needs to be a multiple of 4096, otherwise it's rounded to the nearest inferior one46

other_config : rstp-ageing-time: optional string, containing an integer, in range 10 to 1,000,000

The Ageing Time parameter for the Bridge46 The default value is 300 seconds46

other_config : rstp-force-protocol-version: optional string, containing an integer

The Force Protocol Version parameter for the Bridge46 This can take the value 0 (STP Compatibility mode) or 2 (the default, normal operation)46

other_config : rstp-max-age: optional string, containing an integer, in range 6 to 40

The maximum age of the information transmitted by the Bridge when it is the Root Bridge46 The default value is 2046

other_config : rstp-forward-delay: optional string, containing an integer, in range 4 to 30

The delay used by STP Bridges to transition Root and Designated Ports to Forwarding46 The default value is 1546

other_config : rstp-transmit-hold-count: optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 10

The Transmit Hold Count used by the Port Transmit state machine to limit transmission rate46 The default value is 646

RSTP Status:

These key-value pairs report the status of 802461D-200446 They are present only if RSTP is enabled (via the rstp_enable column)46

rstp_status : rstp_bridge_id: optional string

The bridge ID used in rapid spanning tree advertisements, in the form x46yyy46zzzzzzzzzzzz where x is the RSTP priority, the ys are a locally assigned system ID extension, the zs are the STP system ID, and each x, y, or z is a hex digit46

rstp_status : rstp_root_id: optional string

The root of this spanning tree, in the same form as rstp_status:rstp_bridge_id46 If this bridge is the root, this will have the same value as rstp_status:rstp_bridge_id, otherwise it will differ46

rstp_status : rstp_root_path_cost: optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

The path cost of reaching the root46 A lower number is better46 The value is 0 if this bridge is the root, otherwise it is higher46

rstp_status : rstp_designated_id: optional string

The RSTP designated ID, in the same form as rstp_status:rstp_bridge_id46

rstp_status : rstp_designated_port_id: optional string

The RSTP designated port ID, as a 4-digit hex number46

rstp_status : rstp_bridge_port_id: optional string

The RSTP bridge port ID, as a 4-digit hex number46

Multicast Snooping Configuration:

Multicast snooping (RFC 4541) monitors the Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) and Multicast Listener Discovery traffic between hosts and multicast routers46 The switch uses what IGMP and MLD snooping learns to forward multicast traffic only to interfaces that are connected to interested receivers46 Currently it supports IGMPv1, IGMPv2, IGMPv3, MLDv1 and MLDv2 protocols46

mcast_snooping_enable: boolean

Enable multicast snooping on the bridge46 For now, the default is disabled46

Other Features:

datapath_type: string

Name of datapath provider46 The kernel datapath has type system46 The userspace datapath has type netdev46 A manager may refer to the datapath_types column of the Open_vSwitch table for a list of the types accepted by this Open vSwitch instance46

external_ids : bridge-id: optional string

A unique identifier of the bridge46 On Citrix XenServer this will commonly be the same as external_ids:xs-network-uuids46

external_ids : xs-network-uuids: optional string

Semicolon-delimited set of universally unique identifier(s) for the network with which this bridge is associated on a Citrix XenServer host46 The network identifiers are RFC 4122 UUIDs as displayed by, e46g46, xe network-list46

other_config : hwaddr: optional string

An Ethernet address in the form xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx to set the hardware address of the local port and influence the datapath ID46

other_config : forward-bpdu: optional string, either true or false

Controls forwarding of BPDUs and other network control frames when NORMAL action is invoked46 When this option is false or unset, frames with reserved Ethernet addresses (see table below) will not be forwarded46 When this option is true, such frames will not be treated specially46

The above general rule has the following exceptions:

•

If STP is enabled on the bridge (see the stp_enable column in the Bridge table), the bridge processes all received STP packets and never passes them to OpenFlow or forwards them46 This is true even if STP is disabled on an individual port46

•

If LLDP is enabled on an interface (see the lldp column in the Interface table), the interface processes received LLDP packets and never passes them to OpenFlow or forwards them46

Set this option to true if the Open vSwitch bridge connects different Ethernet networks and is not configured to participate in STP46

This option affects packets with the following destination MAC addresses:

01:80:c2:00:00:00

IEEE 802461D Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)46

01:80:c2:00:00:01

IEEE Pause frame46

01:80:c2:00:00:0x

Other reserved protocols46

00:e0:2b:00:00:00

Extreme Discovery Protocol (EDP)46

00:e0:2b:00:00:04 and 00:e0:2b:00:00:06

Ethernet Automatic Protection Switching (EAPS)46

01:00:0c:cc:cc:cc

Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP), VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP), Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP), Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP), and others46

01:00:0c:cc:cc:cd

Cisco Shared Spanning Tree Protocol PVSTP+46

01:00:0c:cd:cd:cd

Cisco STP Uplink Fast46

01:00:0c:00:00:00

Cisco Inter Switch Link46

01:00:0c:cc:cc:cx

Cisco CFM46

other_config : mac-aging-time: optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

The maximum number of seconds to retain a MAC learning entry for which no packets have been seen46 The default is currently 300 seconds (5 minutes)46 The value, if specified, is forced into a reasonable range, currently 15 to 3600 seconds46

A short MAC aging time allows a network to more quickly detect that a host is no longer connected to a switch port46 However, it also makes it more likely that packets will be flooded unnecessarily, when they are addressed to a connected host that rarely transmits packets46 To reduce the incidence of unnecessary flooding, use a MAC aging time longer than the maximum interval at which a host will ordinarily transmit packets46

other_config : mac-table-size: optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

The maximum number of MAC addresses to learn46 The default is currently 819246 The value, if specified, is forced into a reasonable range, currently 10 to 1,000,00046

Common Columns:

The overall purpose of these columns is described under Common Columns at the beginning of this document46

other_config: map of string-string pairs

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

 

Port TABLE

A port within a Bridge46

Most commonly, a port has exactly one ``interface,'' pointed to by its interfaces column46 Such a port logically corresponds to a port on a physical Ethernet switch46 A port with more than one interface is a ``bonded port'' (see Bonding Configuration)46

Some properties that one might think as belonging to a port are actually part of the port's Interface members46  

Summary:

name

immutable string (must be unique within table)

interfaces

set of 1 or more Interfaces

VLAN Configuration:

vlan_mode

optional string, one of access, dot1q-tunnel, native-tagged, native-untagged, or trunk

tag

optional integer, in range 0 to 4,095

trunks

set of up to 4,096 integers, in range 0 to 4,095

cvlans

set of up to 4,096 integers, in range 0 to 4,095

other_config : qinq-ethtype

optional string, either 802461ad or 802461q

other_config : priority-tags

optional string, one of always, if-nonzero, or never

Bonding Configuration:

bond_mode

optional string, one of active-backup, balance-slb, or balance-tcp

other_config : bond-hash-basis

optional string, containing an integer

Link Failure Detection:

other_config : bond-detect-mode

optional string, either carrier or miimon

other_config : bond-miimon-interval

optional string, containing an integer

bond_updelay

integer

bond_downdelay

integer

LACP Configuration:

lacp

optional string, one of active, off, or passive

other_config : lacp-system-id

optional string

other_config : lacp-system-priority

optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 65,535

other_config : lacp-time

optional string, either fast or slow

other_config : lacp-fallback-ab

optional string, either true or false

Rebalancing Configuration:

other_config : bond-rebalance-interval

optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 2,147,483,647

bond_fake_iface

boolean

Spanning Tree Protocol:

STP Configuration:

other_config : stp-enable

optional string, either true or false

other_config : stp-port-num

optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 255

other_config : stp-port-priority

optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 255

other_config : stp-path-cost

optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 65,535

STP Status:

status : stp_port_id

optional string

status : stp_state

optional string, one of blocking, disabled, forwarding, learning, or listening

status : stp_sec_in_state

optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

status : stp_role

optional string, one of alternate, designated, or root

Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol:

RSTP Configuration:

other_config : rstp-enable

optional string, either true or false

other_config : rstp-port-priority

optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 240

other_config : rstp-port-num

optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 4,095

other_config : rstp-port-path-cost

optional string, containing an integer

other_config : rstp-port-admin-edge

optional string, either true or false

other_config : rstp-port-auto-edge

optional string, either true or false

other_config : rstp-port-mcheck

optional string, either true or false

RSTP Status:

rstp_status : rstp_port_id

optional string

rstp_status : rstp_port_role

optional string, one of Alternate, Backup, Designated, Disabled, or Root

rstp_status : rstp_port_state

optional string, one of Disabled, Discarding, Forwarding, or Learning

rstp_status : rstp_designated_bridge_id

optional string

rstp_status : rstp_designated_port_id

optional string

rstp_status : rstp_designated_path_cost

optional string, containing an integer

RSTP Statistics:

rstp_statistics : rstp_tx_count

optional integer

rstp_statistics : rstp_rx_count

optional integer

rstp_statistics : rstp_error_count

optional integer

rstp_statistics : rstp_uptime

optional integer

Multicast Snooping:

other_config : mcast-snooping-flood

optional string, either true or false

other_config : mcast-snooping-flood-reports

optional string, either true or false

Other Features:

qos

optional QoS

mac

optional string

fake_bridge

boolean

protected

boolean

external_ids : fake-bridge-id-*

optional string

other_config : transient

optional string, either true or false

bond_active_slave

optional string

Port Statistics:

Statistics: STP transmit and receive counters:

statistics : stp_tx_count

optional integer

statistics : stp_rx_count

optional integer

statistics : stp_error_count

optional integer

Common Columns:

other_config

map of string-string pairs

external_ids

map of string-string pairs

 

Details:

name: immutable string (must be unique within table)

Port name46 For a non-bonded port, this should be the same as its interface's name46 Port names must otherwise be unique among the names of ports, interfaces, and bridges on a host46 Because port and interfaces names are usually the same, the restrictions on the name column in the Interface table, particularly on length, also apply to port names46 Refer to the documentation for Interface names for details46

interfaces: set of 1 or more Interfaces

The port's interfaces46 If there is more than one, this is a bonded Port46

VLAN Configuration:

In short, a VLAN (short for ``virtual LAN'') is a way to partition a single switch into multiple switches46 VLANs can be confusing, so for an introduction, please refer to the question ``What's a VLAN?'' in the Open vSwitch FAQ46

A VLAN is sometimes encoded into a packet using a 802461Q or 802461ad VLAN header, but every packet is part of some VLAN whether or not it is encoded in the packet46 (A packet that appears to have no VLAN is part of VLAN 0, by default46) As a result, it's useful to think of a VLAN as a metadata property of a packet, separate from how the VLAN is encoded46 For a given port, this column determines how the encoding of a packet that ingresses or egresses the port maps to the packet's VLAN46 When a packet enters the switch, its VLAN is determined based on its setting in this column and its VLAN headers, if any, and then, conceptually, the VLAN headers are then stripped off46 Conversely, when a packet exits the switch, its VLAN and the settings in this column determine what VLAN headers, if any, are pushed onto the packet before it egresses the port46

The VLAN configuration in this column affects Open vSwitch only when it is doing ``normal switching46'' It does not affect flows set up by an OpenFlow controller, outside of the OpenFlow ``normal action46''

Bridge ports support the following types of VLAN configuration:

trunk

A trunk port carries packets on one or more specified VLANs specified in the trunks column (often, on every VLAN)46 A packet that ingresses on a trunk port is in the VLAN specified in its 802461Q header, or VLAN 0 if the packet has no 802461Q header46 A packet that egresses through a trunk port will have an 802461Q header if it has a nonzero VLAN ID46

Any packet that ingresses on a trunk port tagged with a VLAN that the port does not trunk is dropped46

access

An access port carries packets on exactly one VLAN specified in the tag column46 Packets egressing on an access port have no 802461Q header46

Any packet with an 802461Q header with a nonzero VLAN ID that ingresses on an access port is dropped, regardless of whether the VLAN ID in the header is the access port's VLAN ID46

native-tagged

A native-tagged port resembles a trunk port, with the exception that a packet without an 802461Q header that ingresses on a native-tagged port is in the ``native VLAN'' (specified in the tag column)46

native-untagged

A native-untagged port resembles a native-tagged port, with the exception that a packet that egresses on a native-untagged port in the native VLAN will not have an 802461Q header46

dot1q-tunnel

A dot1q-tunnel port is somewhat like an access port46 Like an access port, it carries packets on the single VLAN specified in the tag column and this VLAN, called the service VLAN, does not appear in an 802461Q header for packets that ingress or egress on the port46 The main difference lies in the behavior when packets that include a 802461Q header ingress on the port46 Whereas an access port drops such packets, a dot1q-tunnel port treats these as double-tagged with the outer service VLAN tag and the inner customer VLAN taken from the 802461Q header46 Correspondingly, to egress on the port, a packet outer VLAN (or only VLAN) must be tag, which is removed before egress, which exposes the inner (customer) VLAN if one is present46

If cvlans is set, only allows packets in the specified customer VLANs46

A packet will only egress through bridge ports that carry the VLAN of the packet, as described by the rules above46

vlan_mode: optional string, one of access, dot1q-tunnel, native-tagged, native-untagged, or trunk

The VLAN mode of the port, as described above46 When this column is empty, a default mode is selected as follows:

•

If tag contains a value, the port is an access port46 The trunks column should be empty46

•

Otherwise, the port is a trunk port46 The trunks column value is honored if it is present46

tag: optional integer, in range 0 to 4,095

For an access port, the port's implicitly tagged VLAN46 For a native-tagged or native-untagged port, the port's native VLAN46 Must be empty if this is a trunk port46

trunks: set of up to 4,096 integers, in range 0 to 4,095

For a trunk, native-tagged, or native-untagged port, the 802461Q VLAN or VLANs that this port trunks; if it is empty, then the port trunks all VLANs46 Must be empty if this is an access port46

A native-tagged or native-untagged port always trunks its native VLAN, regardless of whether trunks includes that VLAN46

cvlans: set of up to 4,096 integers, in range 0 to 4,095

For a dot1q-tunnel port, the customer VLANs that this port includes46 If this is empty, the port includes all customer VLANs46

For other kinds of ports, this setting is ignored46

other_config : qinq-ethtype: optional string, either 802461ad or 802461q

For a dot1q-tunnel port, this is the TPID for the service tag, that is, for the 802461Q header that contains the service VLAN ID46 Because packets that actually ingress and egress a dot1q-tunnel port do not include an 802461Q header for the service VLAN, this does not affect packets on the dot1q-tunnel port itself46 Rather, it determines the service VLAN for a packet that ingresses on a dot1q-tunnel port and egresses on a trunk port46

The value 802461ad specifies TPID 0x88a8, which is also the default if the setting is omitted46 The value 802461q specifies TPID 0x810046

For other kinds of ports, this setting is ignored46

other_config : priority-tags: optional string, one of always, if-nonzero, or never

An 802461Q header contains two important pieces of information: a VLAN ID and a priority46 A frame with a zero VLAN ID, called a ``priority-tagged'' frame, is supposed to be treated the same way as a frame without an 802461Q header at all (except for the priority)46

However, some network elements ignore any frame that has 802461Q header at all, even when the VLAN ID is zero46 Therefore, by default Open vSwitch does not output priority-tagged frames, instead omitting the 802461Q header entirely if the VLAN ID is zero46 Set this key to if-nonzero to enable priority-tagged frames on a port46

For if-nonzero Open vSwitch omits the 802461Q header on output if both the VLAN ID and priority would be zero46 Set to always to retain the 802461Q header in such frames as well46

All frames output to native-tagged ports have a nonzero VLAN ID, so this setting is not meaningful on native-tagged ports46

Bonding Configuration:

A port that has more than one interface is a ``bonded port46'' Bonding allows for load balancing and fail-over46

The following types of bonding will work with any kind of upstream switch46 On the upstream switch, do not configure the interfaces as a bond:

balance-slb

Balances flows among slaves based on source MAC address and output VLAN, with periodic rebalancing as traffic patterns change46

active-backup

Assigns all flows to one slave, failing over to a backup slave when the active slave is disabled46 This is the only bonding mode in which interfaces may be plugged into different upstream switches46

The following modes require the upstream switch to support 802463ad with successful LACP negotiation46 If LACP negotiation fails and other-config:lacp-fallback-ab is true, then active-backup mode is used:

balance-tcp

Balances flows among slaves based on L3 and L4 protocol information such as IP addresses and TCP/UDP ports46

These columns apply only to bonded ports46 Their values are otherwise ignored46

bond_mode: optional string, one of active-backup, balance-slb, or balance-tcp

The type of bonding used for a bonded port46 Defaults to active-backup if unset46

other_config : bond-hash-basis: optional string, containing an integer

An integer hashed along with flows when choosing output slaves in load balanced bonds46 When changed, all flows will be assigned different hash values possibly causing slave selection decisions to change46 Does not affect bonding modes which do not employ load balancing such as active-backup46

Link Failure Detection:

An important part of link bonding is detecting that links are down so that they may be disabled46 These settings determine how Open vSwitch detects link failure46

other_config : bond-detect-mode: optional string, either carrier or miimon

The means used to detect link failures46 Defaults to carrier which uses each interface's carrier to detect failures46 When set to miimon, will check for failures by polling each interface's MII46

other_config : bond-miimon-interval: optional string, containing an integer

The interval, in milliseconds, between successive attempts to poll each interface's MII46 Relevant only when other_config:bond-detect-mode is miimon46

bond_updelay: integer

The number of milliseconds for which the link must stay up on an interface before the interface is considered to be up46 Specify 0 to enable the interface immediately46

This setting is honored only when at least one bonded interface is already enabled46 When no interfaces are enabled, then the first bond interface to come up is enabled immediately46

bond_downdelay: integer

The number of milliseconds for which the link must stay down on an interface before the interface is considered to be down46 Specify 0 to disable the interface immediately46

LACP Configuration:

LACP, the Link Aggregation Control Protocol, is an IEEE standard that allows switches to automatically detect that they are connected by multiple links and aggregate across those links46 These settings control LACP behavior46

lacp: optional string, one of active, off, or passive

Configures LACP on this port46 LACP allows directly connected switches to negotiate which links may be bonded46 LACP may be enabled on non-bonded ports for the benefit of any switches they may be connected to46 active ports are allowed to initiate LACP negotiations46 passive ports are allowed to participate in LACP negotiations initiated by a remote switch, but not allowed to initiate such negotiations themselves46 If LACP is enabled on a port whose partner switch does not support LACP, the bond will be disabled, unless other-config:lacp-fallback-ab is set to true46 Defaults to off if unset46

other_config : lacp-system-id: optional string

The LACP system ID of this Port46 The system ID of a LACP bond is used to identify itself to its partners46 Must be a nonzero MAC address46 Defaults to the bridge Ethernet address if unset46

other_config : lacp-system-priority: optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 65,535

The LACP system priority of this Port46 In LACP negotiations, link status decisions are made by the system with the numerically lower priority46

other_config : lacp-time: optional string, either fast or slow

The LACP timing which should be used on this Port46 By default slow is used46 When configured to be fast LACP heartbeats are requested at a rate of once per second causing connectivity problems to be detected more quickly46 In slow mode, heartbeats are requested at a rate of once every 30 seconds46

other_config : lacp-fallback-ab: optional string, either true or false

Determines the behavior of openvswitch bond in LACP mode46 If the partner switch does not support LACP, setting this option to true allows openvswitch to fallback to active-backup46 If the option is set to false, the bond will be disabled46 In both the cases, once the partner switch is configured to LACP mode, the bond will use LACP46

Rebalancing Configuration:

These settings control behavior when a bond is in balance-slb or balance-tcp mode46

other_config : bond-rebalance-interval: optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 2,147,483,647

For a load balanced bonded port, the number of milliseconds between successive attempts to rebalance the bond, that is, to move flows from one interface on the bond to another in an attempt to keep usage of each interface roughly equal46 If zero, load balancing is disabled on the bond (link failure still cause flows to move)46 If less than 1000ms, the rebalance interval will be 1000ms46

bond_fake_iface: boolean

For a bonded port, whether to create a fake internal interface with the name of the port46 Use only for compatibility with legacy software that requires this46

Spanning Tree Protocol:

The configuration here is only meaningful, and the status is only populated, when 802461D-1998 Spanning Tree Protocol is enabled on the port's Bridge with its stp_enable column46

STP Configuration:

other_config : stp-enable: optional string, either true or false

When STP is enabled on a bridge, it is enabled by default on all of the bridge's ports except bond, internal, and mirror ports (which do not work with STP)46 If this column's value is false, STP is disabled on the port46

other_config : stp-port-num: optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 255

The port number used for the lower 8 bits of the port-id46 By default, the numbers will be assigned automatically46 If any port's number is manually configured on a bridge, then they must all be46

other_config : stp-port-priority: optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 255

The port's relative priority value for determining the root port (the upper 8 bits of the port-id)46 A port with a lower port-id will be chosen as the root port46 By default, the priority is 0x8046

other_config : stp-path-cost: optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 65,535

Spanning tree path cost for the port46 A lower number indicates a faster link46 By default, the cost is based on the maximum speed of the link46

STP Status:

status : stp_port_id: optional string

The port ID used in spanning tree advertisements for this port, as 4 hex digits46 Configuring the port ID is described in the stp-port-num and stp-port-priority keys of the other_config section earlier46

status : stp_state: optional string, one of blocking, disabled, forwarding, learning, or listening

STP state of the port46

status : stp_sec_in_state: optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

The amount of time this port has been in the current STP state, in seconds46

status : stp_role: optional string, one of alternate, designated, or root

STP role of the port46

Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol:

The configuration here is only meaningful, and the status and statistics are only populated, when 802461D-1998 Spanning Tree Protocol is enabled on the port's Bridge with its stp_enable column46

RSTP Configuration:

other_config : rstp-enable: optional string, either true or false

When RSTP is enabled on a bridge, it is enabled by default on all of the bridge's ports except bond, internal, and mirror ports (which do not work with RSTP)46 If this column's value is false, RSTP is disabled on the port46

other_config : rstp-port-priority: optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 240

The port's relative priority value for determining the root port, in multiples of 1646 By default, the port priority is 0x80 (128)46 Any value in the lower 4 bits is rounded off46 The significant upper 4 bits become the upper 4 bits of the port-id46 A port with the lowest port-id is elected as the root46

other_config : rstp-port-num: optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 4,095

The local RSTP port number, used as the lower 12 bits of the port-id46 By default the port numbers are assigned automatically, and typically may not correspond to the OpenFlow port numbers46 A port with the lowest port-id is elected as the root46

other_config : rstp-port-path-cost: optional string, containing an integer

The port path cost46 The Port's contribution, when it is the Root Port, to the Root Path Cost for the Bridge46 By default the cost is automatically calculated from the port's speed46

other_config : rstp-port-admin-edge: optional string, either true or false

The admin edge port parameter for the Port46 Default is false46

other_config : rstp-port-auto-edge: optional string, either true or false

The auto edge port parameter for the Port46 Default is true46

other_config : rstp-port-mcheck: optional string, either true or false

The mcheck port parameter for the Port46 Default is false46 May be set to force the Port Protocol Migration state machine to transmit RST BPDUs for a MigrateTime period, to test whether all STP Bridges on the attached LAN have been removed and the Port can continue to transmit RSTP BPDUs46 Setting mcheck has no effect if the Bridge is operating in STP Compatibility mode46

Changing the value from true to false has no effect, but needs to be done if this behavior is to be triggered again by subsequently changing the value from false to true46

RSTP Status:

rstp_status : rstp_port_id: optional string

The port ID used in spanning tree advertisements for this port, as 4 hex digits46 Configuring the port ID is described in the rstp-port-num and rstp-port-priority keys of the other_config section earlier46

rstp_status : rstp_port_role: optional string, one of Alternate, Backup, Designated, Disabled, or Root

RSTP role of the port46

rstp_status : rstp_port_state: optional string, one of Disabled, Discarding, Forwarding, or Learning

RSTP state of the port46

rstp_status : rstp_designated_bridge_id: optional string

The port's RSTP designated bridge ID, in the same form as rstp_status:rstp_bridge_id in the Bridge table46

rstp_status : rstp_designated_port_id: optional string

The port's RSTP designated port ID, as 4 hex digits46

rstp_status : rstp_designated_path_cost: optional string, containing an integer

The port's RSTP designated path cost46 Lower is better46

RSTP Statistics:

rstp_statistics : rstp_tx_count: optional integer

Number of RSTP BPDUs transmitted through this port46

rstp_statistics : rstp_rx_count: optional integer

Number of valid RSTP BPDUs received by this port46

rstp_statistics : rstp_error_count: optional integer

Number of invalid RSTP BPDUs received by this port46

rstp_statistics : rstp_uptime: optional integer

The duration covered by the other RSTP statistics, in seconds46

Multicast Snooping:

other_config : mcast-snooping-flood: optional string, either true or false

If set to true, multicast packets (except Reports) are unconditionally forwarded to the specific port46

other_config : mcast-snooping-flood-reports: optional string, either true or false

If set to true, multicast Reports are unconditionally forwarded to the specific port46

Other Features:

qos: optional QoS

Quality of Service configuration for this port46

mac: optional string

The MAC address to use for this port for the purpose of choosing the bridge's MAC address46 This column does not necessarily reflect the port's actual MAC address, nor will setting it change the port's actual MAC address46

fake_bridge: boolean

Does this port represent a sub-bridge for its tagged VLAN within the Bridge? See ovs-vsctl(8) for more information46

protected: boolean

The protected ports feature allows certain ports to be designated as protected46 Traffic between protected ports is blocked46 Protected ports can send traffic to unprotected ports46 Unprotected ports can send traffic to any port46 Default is false46

external_ids : fake-bridge-id-*: optional string

External IDs for a fake bridge (see the fake_bridge column) are defined by prefixing a Bridge external_ids key with fake-bridge-, e46g46 fake-bridge-xs-network-uuids46

other_config : transient: optional string, either true or false

If set to true, the port will be removed when ovs-ctl start --delete-transient-ports is used46

bond_active_slave: optional string

For a bonded port, record the mac address of the current active slave46

Port Statistics:

Key-value pairs that report port statistics46 The update period is controlled by other_config:stats-update-interval in the Open_vSwitch table46

Statistics: STP transmit and receive counters:

statistics : stp_tx_count: optional integer

Number of STP BPDUs sent on this port by the spanning tree library46

statistics : stp_rx_count: optional integer

Number of STP BPDUs received on this port and accepted by the spanning tree library46

statistics : stp_error_count: optional integer

Number of bad STP BPDUs received on this port46 Bad BPDUs include runt packets and those with an unexpected protocol ID46

Common Columns:

The overall purpose of these columns is described under Common Columns at the beginning of this document46

other_config: map of string-string pairs

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

 

Interface TABLE

An interface within a Port46  

Summary:

Core Features:

name

immutable string (must be unique within table)

ifindex

optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

mac_in_use

optional string

mac

optional string

error

optional string

OpenFlow Port Number:

ofport

optional integer

ofport_request

optional integer, in range 1 to 65,279

System-Specific Details:

type

string

Tunnel Options:

options : remote_ip

optional string

options : local_ip

optional string

options : in_key

optional string

options : out_key

optional string

options : dst_port

optional string

options : key

optional string

options : tos

optional string

options : ttl

optional string

options : df_default

optional string, either true or false

options : egress_pkt_mark

optional string

Tunnel Options: lisp only:

options : packet_type

optional string, either legacy_l3 or ptap

Tunnel Options: vxlan only:

options : exts

optional string

options : packet_type

optional string, one of legacy_l2, legacy_l3, or ptap

Tunnel Options: gre only:

options : packet_type

optional string, one of legacy_l2, legacy_l3, or ptap

options : seq

optional string, either true or false

Tunnel Options: gre, ip6gre, geneve, and vxlan:

options : csum

optional string, either true or false

Tunnel Options: IPsec:

options : psk

optional string

options : remote_cert

optional string

options : remote_name

optional string

Tunnel Options: erspan only:

options : erspan_idx

optional string

options : erspan_ver

optional string

options : erspan_dir

optional string

options : erspan_hwid

optional string

Patch Options:

options : peer

optional string

PMD (Poll Mode Driver) Options:

options : n_rxq

optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

options : dpdk-devargs

optional string

other_config : pmd-rxq-affinity

optional string

options : xdp-mode

optional string, one of best-effort, generic, native-with-zerocopy, or native

options : use-need-wakeup

optional string, either true or false

options : vhost-server-path

optional string

options : dq-zero-copy

optional string, either true or false

options : tx-retries-max

optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 32

options : n_rxq_desc

optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 4,096

options : n_txq_desc

optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 4,096

EMC (Exact Match Cache) Configuration:

other_config : emc-enable

optional string, either true or false

MTU:

mtu

optional integer

mtu_request

optional integer, at least 1

Interface Status:

admin_state

optional string, either down or up

link_state

optional string, either down or up

link_resets

optional integer

link_speed

optional integer

duplex

optional string, either full or half

lacp_current

optional boolean

status

map of string-string pairs

status : driver_name

optional string

status : driver_version

optional string

status : firmware_version

optional string

status : source_ip

optional string

status : tunnel_egress_iface

optional string

status : tunnel_egress_iface_carrier

optional string, either down or up

dpdk:

status : port_no

optional string

status : numa_id

optional string

status : min_rx_bufsize

optional string

status : max_rx_pktlen

optional string

status : max_rx_queues

optional string

status : max_tx_queues

optional string

status : max_mac_addrs

optional string

status : max_hash_mac_addrs

optional string

status : max_vfs

optional string

status : max_vmdq_pools

optional string

status : if_type

optional string

status : if_descr

optional string

status : pci-vendor_id

optional string

status : pci-device_id

optional string

Statistics:

Statistics: Successful transmit and receive counters:

statistics : rx_packets

optional integer

statistics : rx_bytes

optional integer

statistics : tx_packets

optional integer

statistics : tx_bytes

optional integer

Statistics: Receive errors:

statistics : rx_dropped

optional integer

statistics : rx_frame_err

optional integer

statistics : rx_over_err

optional integer

statistics : rx_crc_err

optional integer

statistics : rx_errors

optional integer

Statistics: Transmit errors:

statistics : tx_dropped

optional integer

statistics : collisions

optional integer

statistics : tx_errors

optional integer

Ingress Policing:

ingress_policing_rate

integer, at least 0

ingress_policing_burst

integer, at least 0

Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD):

BFD Configuration:

bfd : enable

optional string, either true or false

bfd : min_rx

optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

bfd : min_tx

optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

bfd : decay_min_rx

optional string, containing an integer

bfd : forwarding_if_rx

optional string, either true or false

bfd : cpath_down

optional string, either true or false

bfd : check_tnl_key

optional string, either true or false

bfd : bfd_local_src_mac

optional string

bfd : bfd_local_dst_mac

optional string

bfd : bfd_remote_dst_mac

optional string

bfd : bfd_src_ip

optional string

bfd : bfd_dst_ip

optional string

bfd : oam

optional string

bfd : mult

optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 255

BFD Status:

bfd_status : state

optional string, one of admin_down, down, init, or up

bfd_status : forwarding

optional string, either true or false

bfd_status : diagnostic

optional string

bfd_status : remote_state

optional string, one of admin_down, down, init, or up

bfd_status : remote_diagnostic

optional string

bfd_status : flap_count

optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

Connectivity Fault Management:

cfm_mpid

optional integer

cfm_flap_count

optional integer

cfm_fault

optional boolean

cfm_fault_status : recv

none

cfm_fault_status : rdi

none

cfm_fault_status : maid

none

cfm_fault_status : loopback

none

cfm_fault_status : overflow

none

cfm_fault_status : override

none

cfm_fault_status : interval

none

cfm_remote_opstate

optional string, either down or up

cfm_health

optional integer, in range 0 to 100

cfm_remote_mpids

set of integers

other_config : cfm_interval

optional string, containing an integer

other_config : cfm_extended

optional string, either true or false

other_config : cfm_demand

optional string, either true or false

other_config : cfm_opstate

optional string, either down or up

other_config : cfm_ccm_vlan

optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 4,095

other_config : cfm_ccm_pcp

optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 7

Bonding Configuration:

other_config : lacp-port-id

optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 65,535

other_config : lacp-port-priority

optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 65,535

other_config : lacp-aggregation-key

optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 65,535

Virtual Machine Identifiers:

external_ids : attached-mac

optional string

external_ids : iface-id

optional string

external_ids : iface-status

optional string, either active or inactive

external_ids : xs-vif-uuid

optional string

external_ids : xs-network-uuid

optional string

external_ids : vm-id

optional string

external_ids : xs-vm-uuid

optional string

Auto Attach Configuration:

lldp : enable

optional string, either true or false

Flow control Configuration:

options : rx-flow-ctrl

optional string, either true or false

options : tx-flow-ctrl

optional string, either true or false

options : flow-ctrl-autoneg

optional string, either true or false

Link State Change detection mode:

options : dpdk-lsc-interrupt

optional string, either true or false

Common Columns:

other_config

map of string-string pairs

external_ids

map of string-string pairs

 

Details:

Core Features:

name: immutable string (must be unique within table)

Interface name46 Should be alphanumeric46 For non-bonded port, this should be the same as the port name46 It must otherwise be unique among the names of ports, interfaces, and bridges on a host46

The maximum length of an interface name depends on the underlying datapath:

•

The names of interfaces implemented as Linux and BSD network devices, including interfaces with type internal, tap, or system plus the different types of tunnel ports, are limited to 15 bytes46 Windows limits these names to 255 bytes46

•

The names of patch ports are not used in the underlying datapath, so operating system restrictions do not apply46 Thus, they may have arbitrary length46

Regardless of other restrictions, OpenFlow only supports 15-byte names, which means that ovs-ofctl and OpenFlow controllers will show names truncated to 15 bytes46

ifindex: optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

A positive interface index as defined for SNMP MIB-II in RFCs 1213 and 2863, if the interface has one, otherwise 046 The ifindex is useful for seamless integration with protocols such as SNMP and sFlow46

mac_in_use: optional string

The MAC address in use by this interface46

mac: optional string

Ethernet address to set for this interface46 If unset then the default MAC address is used:

•

For the local interface, the default is the lowest-numbered MAC address among the other bridge ports, either the value of the mac in its Port record, if set, or its actual MAC (for bonded ports, the MAC of its slave whose name is first in alphabetical order)46 Internal ports and bridge ports that are used as port mirroring destinations (see the Mirror table) are ignored46

•

For other internal interfaces, the default MAC is randomly generated46

•

External interfaces typically have a MAC address associated with their hardware46

Some interfaces may not have a software-controllable MAC address46 This option only affects internal ports46 For other type ports, you can change the MAC address outside Open vSwitch, using ip command46

error: optional string

If the configuration of the port failed, as indicated by -1 in ofport, Open vSwitch sets this column to an error description in human readable form46 Otherwise, Open vSwitch clears this column46

OpenFlow Port Number:

When a client adds a new interface, Open vSwitch chooses an OpenFlow port number for the new port46 If the client that adds the port fills in ofport_request, then Open vSwitch tries to use its value as the OpenFlow port number46 Otherwise, or if the requested port number is already in use or cannot be used for another reason, Open vSwitch automatically assigns a free port number46 Regardless of how the port number was obtained, Open vSwitch then reports in ofport the port number actually assigned46

Open vSwitch limits the port numbers that it automatically assigns to the range 1 through 32,767, inclusive46 Controllers therefore have free use of ports 32,768 and up46

ofport: optional integer

OpenFlow port number for this interface46 Open vSwitch sets this column's value, so other clients should treat it as read-only46

The OpenFlow ``local'' port (OFPP_LOCAL) is 65,53446 The other valid port numbers are in the range 1 to 65,279, inclusive46 Value -1 indicates an error adding the interface46

ofport_request: optional integer, in range 1 to 65,279

Requested OpenFlow port number for this interface46

A client should ideally set this column's value in the same database transaction that it uses to create the interface46 Open vSwitch version 2461 and later will honor a later request for a specific port number, althuogh it might confuse some controllers: OpenFlow does not have a way to announce a port number change, so Open vSwitch represents it over OpenFlow as a port deletion followed immediately by a port addition46

If ofport_request is set or changed to some other port's automatically assigned port number, Open vSwitch chooses a new port number for the latter port46

System-Specific Details:

type: string

The interface type46 The types supported by a particular instance of Open vSwitch are listed in the iface_types column in the Open_vSwitch table46 The following types are defined:

system

An ordinary network device, e46g46 eth0 on Linux46 Sometimes referred to as ``external interfaces'' since they are generally connected to hardware external to that on which the Open vSwitch is running46 The empty string is a synonym for system46

internal

A simulated network device that sends and receives traffic46 An internal interface whose name is the same as its bridge's name is called the ``local interface46'' It does not make sense to bond an internal interface, so the terms ``port'' and ``interface'' are often used imprecisely for internal interfaces46

tap

A TUN/TAP device managed by Open vSwitch46

Open vSwitch checks the interface state before send packets to the device46 When it is down, the packets are dropped and the tx_dropped statistic is updated accordingly46 Older versions of Open vSwitch did not check the interface state and then the tx_packets was incremented along with tx_dropped46

geneve

An Ethernet over Geneve (http://tools46ietf46org/html/draft-ietf-nvo3-geneve) IPv4/IPv6 tunnel46 A description of how to match and set Geneve options can be found in the ovs-ofctl manual page46

gre

Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) over IPv4 tunnel, configurable to encapsulate layer 2 or layer 3 traffic46

ip6gre

Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) over IPv6 tunnel, encapsulate layer 2 traffic46

vxlan

An Ethernet tunnel over the UDP-based VXLAN protocol described in RFC 734846

Open vSwitch uses IANA-assigned UDP destination port 478946 The source port used for VXLAN traffic varies on a per-flow basis and is in the ephemeral port range46

lisp

A layer 3 tunnel over the experimental, UDP-based Locator/ID Separation Protocol (RFC 6830)46

Only IPv4 and IPv6 packets are supported by the protocol, and they are sent and received without an Ethernet header46 Traffic to/from LISP ports is expected to be configured explicitly, and the ports are not intended to participate in learning based switching46 As such, they are always excluded from packet flooding46

stt

The Stateless TCP Tunnel (STT) is particularly useful when tunnel endpoints are in end-systems, as it utilizes the capabilities of standard network interface cards to improve performance46 STT utilizes a TCP-like header inside the IP header46 It is stateless, i46e46, there is no TCP connection state of any kind associated with the tunnel46 The TCP-like header is used to leverage the capabilities of existing network interface cards, but should not be interpreted as implying any sort of connection state between endpoints46 Since the STT protocol does not engage in the usual TCP 3-way handshake, so it will have difficulty traversing stateful firewalls46 The protocol is documented at https://tools46ietf46org/html/draft-davie-stt All traffic uses a default destination port of 747146

patch

A pair of virtual devices that act as a patch cable46

Tunnel Options:

These options apply to interfaces with type of geneve, gre, ip6gre, vxlan, lisp and stt46

Each tunnel must be uniquely identified by the combination of type, options:remote_ip, options:local_ip, and options:in_key46 If two ports are defined that are the same except one has an optional identifier and the other does not, the more specific one is matched first46 options:in_key is considered more specific than options:local_ip if a port defines one and another port defines the other46

options : remote_ip: optional string

Required46 The remote tunnel endpoint, one of:

•

An IPv4 or IPv6 address (not a DNS name), e46g46 192461684604612346 Only unicast endpoints are supported46

•

The word flow46 The tunnel accepts packets from any remote tunnel endpoint46 To process only packets from a specific remote tunnel endpoint, the flow entries may match on the tun_src or tun_ipv6_srcfield46 When sending packets to a remote_ip=flow tunnel, the flow actions must explicitly set the tun_dst or tun_ipv6_dst field to the IP address of the desired remote tunnel endpoint, e46g46 with a set_field action46

The remote tunnel endpoint for any packet received from a tunnel is available in the tun_src field for matching in the flow table46

options : local_ip: optional string

Optional46 The tunnel destination IP that received packets must match46 Default is to match all addresses46 If specified, may be one of:

•

An IPv4/IPv6 address (not a DNS name), e46g46 19246168461246346

•

The word flow46 The tunnel accepts packets sent to any of the local IP addresses of the system running OVS46 To process only packets sent to a specific IP address, the flow entries may match on the tun_dst or tun_ipv6_dst field46 When sending packets to a local_ip=flow tunnel, the flow actions may explicitly set the tun_src or tun_ipv6_src field to the desired IP address, e46g46 with a set_field action46 However, while routing the tunneled packet out, the local system may override the specified address with the local IP address configured for the outgoing system interface46

This option is valid only for tunnels also configured with the remote_ip=flow option46

The tunnel destination IP address for any packet received from a tunnel is available in the tun_dst or tun_ipv6_dst field for matching in the flow table46

options : in_key: optional string

Optional46 The key that received packets must contain, one of:

•

046 The tunnel receives packets with no key or with a key of 046 This is equivalent to specifying no options:in_key at all46

•

A positive 24-bit (for Geneve, VXLAN, and LISP), 32-bit (for GRE) or 64-bit (for STT) number46 The tunnel receives only packets with the specified key46

•

The word flow46 The tunnel accepts packets with any key46 The key will be placed in the tun_id field for matching in the flow table46 The ovs-fields(7) manual page contains additional information about matching fields in OpenFlow flows46

options : out_key: optional string

Optional46 The key to be set on outgoing packets, one of:

•

046 Packets sent through the tunnel will have no key46 This is equivalent to specifying no options:out_key at all46

•

A positive 24-bit (for Geneve, VXLAN and LISP), 32-bit (for GRE) or 64-bit (for STT) number46 Packets sent through the tunnel will have the specified key46

•

The word flow46 Packets sent through the tunnel will have the key set using the set_tunnel Nicira OpenFlow vendor extension (0 is used in the absence of an action)46 The ovs-fields(7) manual page contains additional information about the Nicira OpenFlow vendor extensions46

options : dst_port: optional string

Optional46 The tunnel transport layer destination port, for UDP and TCP based tunnel protocols (Geneve, VXLAN, LISP, and STT)46

options : key: optional string

Optional46 Shorthand to set in_key and out_key at the same time46

options : tos: optional string

Optional46 The value of the ToS bits to be set on the encapsulating packet46 ToS is interpreted as DSCP and ECN bits, ECN part must be zero46 It may also be the word inherit, in which case the ToS will be copied from the inner packet if it is IPv4 or IPv6 (otherwise it will be 0)46 The ECN fields are always inherited46 Default is 046

options : ttl: optional string

Optional46 The TTL to be set on the encapsulating packet46 It may also be the word inherit, in which case the TTL will be copied from the inner packet if it is IPv4 or IPv6 (otherwise it will be the system default, typically 64)46 Default is the system default TTL46

options : df_default: optional string, either true or false

Optional46 If enabled, the Don't Fragment bit will be set on tunnel outer headers to allow path MTU discovery46 Default is enabled; set to false to disable46

options : egress_pkt_mark: optional string

Optional46 The pkt_mark to be set on the encapsulating packet46 This option sets packet mark for the tunnel endpoint for all tunnel packets including tunnel monitoring46

Tunnel Options: lisp only:

options : packet_type: optional string, either legacy_l3 or ptap

A LISP tunnel sends and receives only IPv4 and IPv6 packets46 This option controls what how the tunnel represents the packets that it sends and receives:

•

By default, or if this option is legacy_l3, the tunnel represents packets as Ethernet frames for compatibility with legacy OpenFlow controllers that expect this behavior46

•

If this option is ptap, the tunnel represents packets using the packet_type mechanism introduced in OpenFlow 146546

Tunnel Options: vxlan only:

options : exts: optional string

Optional46 Comma separated list of optional VXLAN extensions to enable46 The following extensions are supported:

•

gbp: VXLAN-GBP allows to transport the group policy context of a packet across the VXLAN tunnel to other network peers46 See the description of tun_gbp_id and tun_gbp_flags in ovs-fields(7) for additional information46 (https://tools46ietf46org/html/draft-smith-vxlan-group-policy)

•

gpe: Support for Generic Protocol Encapsulation in accordance with IETF draft https://tools46ietf46org/html/draft-ietf-nvo3-vxlan-gpe46 Without this option, a VXLAN packet always encapsulates an Ethernet frame46 With this option, an VXLAN packet may also encapsulate an IPv4, IPv6, NSH, or MPLS packet46

options : packet_type: optional string, one of legacy_l2, legacy_l3, or ptap

This option controls what types of packets the tunnel sends and receives and how it represents them:

•

By default, or if this option is legacy_l2, the tunnel sends and receives only Ethernet frames46

•

If this option is legacy_l3, the tunnel sends and receives only non-Ethernet (L3) packet, but the packets are represented as Ethernet frames for compatibility with legacy OpenFlow controllers that expect this behavior46 This requires enabling gpe in options:exts46

•

If this option is ptap, Open vSwitch represents packets in the tunnel using the packet_type mechanism introduced in OpenFlow 146546 This mechanism supports any kind of packet, but actually sending and receiving non-Ethernet packets requires additionally enabling gpe in options:exts46

Tunnel Options: gre only:

gre interfaces support these options46

options : packet_type: optional string, one of legacy_l2, legacy_l3, or ptap

This option controls what types of packets the tunnel sends and receives and how it represents them:

•

By default, or if this option is legacy_l2, the tunnel sends and receives only Ethernet frames46

•

If this option is legacy_l3, the tunnel sends and receives only non-Ethernet (L3) packet, but the packets are represented as Ethernet frames for compatibility with legacy OpenFlow controllers that expect this behavior46

•

The legacy_l3 option is only available via the user space datapath46 The OVS kernel datapath does not support devices of type ARPHRD_IPGRE which is the requirement for legacy_l3 type packets46

•

If this option is ptap, the tunnel sends and receives any kind of packet46 Open vSwitch represents packets in the tunnel using the packet_type mechanism introduced in OpenFlow 146546

options : seq: optional string, either true or false

Optional46 A 4-byte sequence number field for GRE tunnel only46 Default is disabled, set to true to enable46 Sequence number is incremented by one on each outgoing packet46

Tunnel Options: gre, ip6gre, geneve, and vxlan:

gre, ip6gre, geneve, and vxlan interfaces support these options46

options : csum: optional string, either true or false

Optional46 Compute encapsulation header (either GRE or UDP) checksums on outgoing packets46 Default is disabled, set to true to enable46 Checksums present on incoming packets will be validated regardless of this setting46

When using the upstream Linux kernel module, computation of checksums for geneve and vxlan requires Linux kernel version 4460 or higher46 gre and ip6gre support checksums for all versions of Open vSwitch that support GRE46 The out of tree kernel module distributed as part of OVS can compute all tunnel checksums on any kernel version that it is compatible with46

Tunnel Options: IPsec:

Setting any of these options enables IPsec support for a given tunnel46 gre, ip6gre, geneve, vxlan and stt interfaces support these options46 See the IPsec section in the Open_vSwitch table for a description of each mode46

options : psk: optional string

In PSK mode only, the preshared secret to negotiate tunnel46 This value must match on both tunnel ends46

options : remote_cert: optional string

In self-signed certificate mode only, name of a PEM file containing a certificate of the remote switch46 The certificate must be x46509 version 3 and with the string in common name (CN) also set in the subject alternative name (SAN)46

options : remote_name: optional string

In CA-signed certificate mode only, common name (CN) of the remote certificate46

Tunnel Options: erspan only:

Only erspan interfaces support these options46

options : erspan_idx: optional string

20 bit index/port number associated with the ERSPAN traffic's source port and direction (ingress/egress)46 This field is platform dependent46

options : erspan_ver: optional string

ERSPAN version: 1 for version 1 (type II) or 2 for version 2 (type III)46

options : erspan_dir: optional string

Specifies the ERSPAN v2 mirrored traffic's direction46 1 for egress traffic, and 0 for ingress traffic46

options : erspan_hwid: optional string

ERSPAN hardware ID is a 6-bit unique identifier of an ERSPAN v2 engine within a system46

Patch Options:

These options apply only to patch ports, that is, interfaces whose type column is patch46 Patch ports are mainly a way to connect otherwise independent bridges to one another, similar to how one might plug an Ethernet cable (a ``patch cable'') into two physical switches to connect those switches46 The effect of plugging a patch port into two switches is conceptually similar to that of plugging the two ends of a Linux veth device into those switches, but the implementation of patch ports makes them much more efficient46

Patch ports may connect two different bridges (the usual case) or the same bridge46 In the latter case, take special care to avoid loops, e46g46 by programming appropriate flows with OpenFlow46 Patch ports do not work if its ends are attached to bridges on different datapaths, e46g46 to connect bridges in system and netdev datapaths46

The following command creates and connects patch ports p0 and p1 and adds them to bridges br0 and br1, respectively:

ovs-vsctl add-port br0 p0 -- set Interface p0 type=patch options:peer=p1 \


       -- add-port br1 p1 -- set Interface p1 type=patch options:peer=p0


      

options : peer: optional string

The name of the Interface for the other side of the patch46 The named Interface's own peer option must specify this Interface's name46 That is, the two patch interfaces must have reversed name and peer values46

PMD (Poll Mode Driver) Options:

Only PMD netdevs support these options46

options : n_rxq: optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

Specifies the maximum number of rx queues to be created for PMD netdev46 If not specified or specified to 0, one rx queue will be created by default46 Not supported by DPDK vHost interfaces46

options : dpdk-devargs: optional string

Specifies the PCI address associated with the port for physical devices, or the virtual driver to be used for the port when a virtual PMD is intended to be used46 For the latter, the argument string typically takes the form of eth_driver_namex, where driver_name is a valid virtual DPDK PMD driver name and x is a unique identifier of your choice for the given port46 Only supported by the dpdk port type46

other_config : pmd-rxq-affinity: optional string

Specifies mapping of RX queues of this interface to CPU cores46

Value should be set in the following form:

other_config:pmd-rxq-affinity=<rxq-affinity-list>

where

•

<rxq-affinity-list> ::= NULL | <non-empty-list>

•

<non-empty-list> ::= <affinity-pair> | <affinity-pair> , <non-empty-list>

•

<affinity-pair> ::= <queue-id> : <core-id>

options : xdp-mode: optional string, one of best-effort, generic, native-with-zerocopy, or native

Specifies the operational mode of the XDP program46

In native-with-zerocopy mode the XDP program is loaded into the device driver with zero-copy RX and TX enabled46 This mode requires device driver support and has the best performance because there should be no copying of packets46

native is the same as native-with-zerocopy, but without zero-copy capability46 This requires at least one copy between kernel and the userspace46 This mode also requires support from device driver46

In generic case the XDP program in kernel works after skb allocation on early stages of packet processing inside the network stack46 This mode doesn't require driver support, but has much lower performance46

best-effort tries to detect and choose the best (fastest) from the available modes for current interface46

Note that this option is specific to netdev-afxdp46 Defaults to best-effort mode46

options : use-need-wakeup: optional string, either true or false

Specifies whether to use need_wakeup feature in afxdp netdev46 If enabled, OVS explicitly wakes up the kernel RX, using poll() syscall and wakes up TX, using sendto() syscall46 For physical devices, this feature improves the performance by avoiding unnecessary sendto syscalls46 Defaults to true if supported by libbpf46

options : vhost-server-path: optional string

The value specifies the path to the socket associated with a vHost User client mode device that has been or will be created by QEMU46 Only supported by dpdkvhostuserclient interfaces46

options : dq-zero-copy: optional string, either true or false

The value specifies whether or not to enable dequeue zero copy on the given interface46 Must be set before vhost-server-path is specified46 Only supported by dpdkvhostuserclient interfaces46 The feature is considered experimental46

options : tx-retries-max: optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 32

The value specifies the maximum amount of vhost tx retries that can be made while trying to send a batch of packets to an interface46 Only supported by dpdkvhostuserclient interfaces46

Default value is 846

options : n_rxq_desc: optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 4,096

Specifies the rx queue size (number rx descriptors) for dpdk ports46 The value must be a power of 2, less than 4096 and supported by the hardware of the device being configured46 If not specified or an incorrect value is specified, 2048 rx descriptors will be used by default46

options : n_txq_desc: optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 4,096

Specifies the tx queue size (number tx descriptors) for dpdk ports46 The value must be a power of 2, less than 4096 and supported by the hardware of the device being configured46 If not specified or an incorrect value is specified, 2048 tx descriptors will be used by default46

EMC (Exact Match Cache) Configuration:

These settings controls behaviour of EMC lookups/insertions for packets received from the interface46

other_config : emc-enable: optional string, either true or false

Specifies if Exact Match Cache (EMC) should be used while processing packets received from this interface46 If true, other_config:emc-insert-inv-prob will have effect on this interface46

Defaults to true46

MTU:

The MTU (maximum transmission unit) is the largest amount of data that can fit into a single Ethernet frame46 The standard Ethernet MTU is 1500 bytes46 Some physical media and many kinds of virtual interfaces can be configured with higher MTUs46

A client may change an interface MTU by filling in mtu_request46 Open vSwitch then reports in mtu the currently configured value46

mtu: optional integer

The currently configured MTU for the interface46

This column will be empty for an interface that does not have an MTU as, for example, some kinds of tunnels do not46

Open vSwitch sets this column's value, so other clients should treat it as read-only46

mtu_request: optional integer, at least 1

Requested MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) for the interface46 A client can fill this column to change the MTU of an interface46

RFC 791 requires every internet module to be able to forward a datagram of 68 octets without further fragmentation46 The maximum size of an IP packet is 65535 bytes46

If this is not set and if the interface has internal type, Open vSwitch will change the MTU to match the minimum of the other interfaces in the bridge46

Interface Status:

Status information about interfaces attached to bridges, updated every 5 seconds46 Not all interfaces have all of these properties; virtual interfaces don't have a link speed, for example46 Non-applicable columns will have empty values46

admin_state: optional string, either down or up

The administrative state of the physical network link46

link_state: optional string, either down or up

The observed state of the physical network link46 This is ordinarily the link's carrier status46 If the interface's Port is a bond configured for miimon monitoring, it is instead the network link's miimon status46

link_resets: optional integer

The number of times Open vSwitch has observed the link_state of this Interface change46

link_speed: optional integer

The negotiated speed of the physical network link46 Valid values are positive integers greater than 046

duplex: optional string, either full or half

The duplex mode of the physical network link46

lacp_current: optional boolean

Boolean value indicating LACP status for this interface46 If true, this interface has current LACP information about its LACP partner46 This information may be used to monitor the health of interfaces in a LACP enabled port46 This column will be empty if LACP is not enabled46

status: map of string-string pairs

Key-value pairs that report port status46 Supported status values are type-dependent; some interfaces may not have a valid status:driver_name, for example46

status : driver_name: optional string

The name of the device driver controlling the network adapter46

status : driver_version: optional string

The version string of the device driver controlling the network adapter46

status : firmware_version: optional string

The version string of the network adapter's firmware, if available46

status : source_ip: optional string

The source IP address used for an IPv4/IPv6 tunnel end-point, such as gre46

status : tunnel_egress_iface: optional string

Egress interface for tunnels46 Currently only relevant for tunnels on Linux systems, this column will show the name of the interface which is responsible for routing traffic destined for the configured options:remote_ip46 This could be an internal interface such as a bridge port46

status : tunnel_egress_iface_carrier: optional string, either down or up

Whether carrier is detected on status:tunnel_egress_iface46

dpdk:

DPDK specific interface status options46

status : port_no: optional string

DPDK port ID46

status : numa_id: optional string

NUMA socket ID to which an Ethernet device is connected46

status : min_rx_bufsize: optional string

Minimum size of RX buffer46

status : max_rx_pktlen: optional string

Maximum configurable length of RX pkt46

status : max_rx_queues: optional string

Maximum number of RX queues46

status : max_tx_queues: optional string

Maximum number of TX queues46

status : max_mac_addrs: optional string

Maximum number of MAC addresses46

status : max_hash_mac_addrs: optional string

Maximum number of hash MAC addresses for MTA and UTA46

status : max_vfs: optional string

Maximum number of hash MAC addresses for MTA and UTA46 Maximum number of VFs46

status : max_vmdq_pools: optional string

Maximum number of VMDq pools46

status : if_type: optional string

Interface type ID according to IANA ifTYPE MIB definitions46

status : if_descr: optional string

Interface description string46

status : pci-vendor_id: optional string

Vendor ID of PCI device46

status : pci-device_id: optional string

Device ID of PCI device46

Statistics:

Key-value pairs that report interface statistics46 The current implementation updates these counters periodically46 The update period is controlled by other_config:stats-update-interval in the Open_vSwitch table46 Future implementations may update them when an interface is created, when they are queried (e46g46 using an OVSDB select operation), and just before an interface is deleted due to virtual interface hot-unplug or VM shutdown, and perhaps at other times, but not on any regular periodic basis46

These are the same statistics reported by OpenFlow in its struct ofp_port_stats structure46 If an interface does not support a given statistic, then that pair is omitted46

Statistics: Successful transmit and receive counters:

statistics : rx_packets: optional integer

Number of received packets46

statistics : rx_bytes: optional integer

Number of received bytes46

statistics : tx_packets: optional integer

Number of transmitted packets46

statistics : tx_bytes: optional integer

Number of transmitted bytes46

Statistics: Receive errors:

statistics : rx_dropped: optional integer

Number of packets dropped by RX46

statistics : rx_frame_err: optional integer

Number of frame alignment errors46

statistics : rx_over_err: optional integer

Number of packets with RX overrun46

statistics : rx_crc_err: optional integer

Number of CRC errors46

statistics : rx_errors: optional integer

Total number of receive errors, greater than or equal to the sum of the above46

Statistics: Transmit errors:

statistics : tx_dropped: optional integer

Number of packets dropped by TX46

statistics : collisions: optional integer

Number of collisions46

statistics : tx_errors: optional integer

Total number of transmit errors, greater than or equal to the sum of the above46

Ingress Policing:

These settings control ingress policing for packets received on this interface46 On a physical interface, this limits the rate at which traffic is allowed into the system from the outside; on a virtual interface (one connected to a virtual machine), this limits the rate at which the VM is able to transmit46

Policing is a simple form of quality-of-service that simply drops packets received in excess of the configured rate46 Due to its simplicity, policing is usually less accurate and less effective than egress QoS (which is configured using the QoS and Queue tables)46

Policing is currently implemented on Linux and OVS with DPDK46 Both implementations use a simple ``token bucket'' approach:

•

The size of the bucket corresponds to ingress_policing_burst46 Initially the bucket is full46

•

Whenever a packet is received, its size (converted to tokens) is compared to the number of tokens currently in the bucket46 If the required number of tokens are available, they are removed and the packet is forwarded46 Otherwise, the packet is dropped46

•

Whenever it is not full, the bucket is refilled with tokens at the rate specified by ingress_policing_rate46

Policing interacts badly with some network protocols, and especially with fragmented IP packets46 Suppose that there is enough network activity to keep the bucket nearly empty all the time46 Then this token bucket algorithm will forward a single packet every so often, with the period depending on packet size and on the configured rate46 All of the fragments of an IP packets are normally transmitted back-to-back, as a group46 In such a situation, therefore, only one of these fragments will be forwarded and the rest will be dropped46 IP does not provide any way for the intended recipient to ask for only the remaining fragments46 In such a case there are two likely possibilities for what will happen next: either all of the fragments will eventually be retransmitted (as TCP will do), in which case the same problem will recur, or the sender will not realize that its packet has been dropped and data will simply be lost (as some UDP-based protocols will do)46 Either way, it is possible that no forward progress will ever occur46

ingress_policing_rate: integer, at least 0

Maximum rate for data received on this interface, in kbps46 Data received faster than this rate is dropped46 Set to 0 (the default) to disable policing46

ingress_policing_burst: integer, at least 0

Maximum burst size for data received on this interface, in kb46 The default burst size if set to 0 is 8000 kbit46 This value has no effect if ingress_policing_rate is 046

Specifying a larger burst size lets the algorithm be more forgiving, which is important for protocols like TCP that react severely to dropped packets46 The burst size should be at least the size of the interface's MTU46 Specifying a value that is numerically at least as large as 80% of ingress_policing_rate helps TCP come closer to achieving the full rate46

Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD):

BFD, defined in RFC 5880 and RFC 5881, allows point-to-point detection of connectivity failures by occasional transmission of BFD control messages46 Open vSwitch implements BFD to serve as a more popular and standards compliant alternative to CFM46

BFD operates by regularly transmitting BFD control messages at a rate negotiated independently in each direction46 Each endpoint specifies the rate at which it expects to receive control messages, and the rate at which it is willing to transmit them46 By default, Open vSwitch uses a detection multiplier of three, meaning that an endpoint signals a connectivity fault if three consecutive BFD control messages fail to arrive46 In the case of a unidirectional connectivity issue, the system not receiving BFD control messages signals the problem to its peer in the messages it transmits46

The Open vSwitch implementation of BFD aims to comply faithfully with RFC 5880 requirements46 Open vSwitch does not implement the optional Authentication or ``Echo Mode'' features46

BFD Configuration:

A controller sets up key-value pairs in the bfd column to enable and configure BFD46

bfd : enable: optional string, either true or false

True to enable BFD on this Interface46 If not specified, BFD will not be enabled by default46

bfd : min_rx: optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

The shortest interval, in milliseconds, at which this BFD session offers to receive BFD control messages46 The remote endpoint may choose to send messages at a slower rate46 Defaults to 100046

bfd : min_tx: optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

The shortest interval, in milliseconds, at which this BFD session is willing to transmit BFD control messages46 Messages will actually be transmitted at a slower rate if the remote endpoint is not willing to receive as quickly as specified46 Defaults to 10046

bfd : decay_min_rx: optional string, containing an integer

An alternate receive interval, in milliseconds, that must be greater than or equal to bfd:min_rx46 The implementation switches from bfd:min_rx to bfd:decay_min_rx when there is no obvious incoming data traffic at the interface, to reduce the CPU and bandwidth cost of monitoring an idle interface46 This feature may be disabled by setting a value of 046 This feature is reset whenever bfd:decay_min_rx or bfd:min_rx changes46

bfd : forwarding_if_rx: optional string, either true or false

When true, traffic received on the Interface is used to indicate the capability of packet I/O46 BFD control packets are still transmitted and received46 At least one BFD control packet must be received every 100 * bfd:min_rx amount of time46 Otherwise, even if traffic are received, the bfd:forwarding will be false46

bfd : cpath_down: optional string, either true or false

Set to true to notify the remote endpoint that traffic should not be forwarded to this system for some reason other than a connectivty failure on the interface being monitored46 The typical underlying reason is ``concatenated path down,'' that is, that connectivity beyond the local system is down46 Defaults to false46

bfd : check_tnl_key: optional string, either true or false

Set to true to make BFD accept only control messages with a tunnel key of zero46 By default, BFD accepts control messages with any tunnel key46

bfd : bfd_local_src_mac: optional string

Set to an Ethernet address in the form xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx to set the MAC used as source for transmitted BFD packets46 The default is the mac address of the BFD enabled interface46

bfd : bfd_local_dst_mac: optional string

Set to an Ethernet address in the form xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx to set the MAC used as destination for transmitted BFD packets46 The default is 00:23:20:00:00:0146

bfd : bfd_remote_dst_mac: optional string

Set to an Ethernet address in the form xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx to set the MAC used for checking the destination of received BFD packets46 Packets with different destination MAC will not be considered as BFD packets46 If not specified the destination MAC address of received BFD packets are not checked46

bfd : bfd_src_ip: optional string

Set to an IPv4 address to set the IP address used as source for transmitted BFD packets46 The default is 1694625446146146

bfd : bfd_dst_ip: optional string

Set to an IPv4 address to set the IP address used as destination for transmitted BFD packets46 The default is 1694625446146046

bfd : oam: optional string

Some tunnel protocols (such as Geneve) include a bit in the header to indicate that the encapsulated packet is an OAM frame46 By setting this to true, BFD packets will be marked as OAM if encapsulated in one of these tunnels46

bfd : mult: optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 255

The BFD detection multiplier, which defaults to 346 An endpoint signals a connectivity fault if the given number of consecutive BFD control messages fail to arrive46

BFD Status:

The switch sets key-value pairs in the bfd_status column to report the status of BFD on this interface46 When BFD is not enabled, with bfd:enable, the switch clears all key-value pairs from bfd_status46

bfd_status : state: optional string, one of admin_down, down, init, or up

Reports the state of the BFD session46 The BFD session is fully healthy and negotiated if UP46

bfd_status : forwarding: optional string, either true or false

Reports whether the BFD session believes this Interface may be used to forward traffic46 Typically this means the local session is signaling UP, and the remote system isn't signaling a problem such as concatenated path down46

bfd_status : diagnostic: optional string

A diagnostic code specifying the local system's reason for the last change in session state46 The error messages are defined in section 4461 of [RFC 5880]46

bfd_status : remote_state: optional string, one of admin_down, down, init, or up

Reports the state of the remote endpoint's BFD session46

bfd_status : remote_diagnostic: optional string

A diagnostic code specifying the remote system's reason for the last change in session state46 The error messages are defined in section 4461 of [RFC 5880]46

bfd_status : flap_count: optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

Counts the number of bfd_status:forwarding flaps since start46 A flap is considered as a change of the bfd_status:forwarding value46

Connectivity Fault Management:

802461ag Connectivity Fault Management (CFM) allows a group of Maintenance Points (MPs) called a Maintenance Association (MA) to detect connectivity problems with each other46 MPs within a MA should have complete and exclusive interconnectivity46 This is verified by occasionally broadcasting Continuity Check Messages (CCMs) at a configurable transmission interval46

According to the 802461ag specification, each Maintenance Point should be configured out-of-band with a list of Remote Maintenance Points it should have connectivity to46 Open vSwitch differs from the specification in this area46 It simply assumes the link is faulted if no Remote Maintenance Points are reachable, and considers it not faulted otherwise46

When operating over tunnels which have no in_key, or an in_key of flow46 CFM will only accept CCMs with a tunnel key of zero46

cfm_mpid: optional integer

A Maintenance Point ID (MPID) uniquely identifies each endpoint within a Maintenance Association46 The MPID is used to identify this endpoint to other Maintenance Points in the MA46 Each end of a link being monitored should have a different MPID46 Must be configured to enable CFM on this Interface46

According to the 802461ag specification, MPIDs can only range between [1, 8191]46 However, extended mode (see other_config:cfm_extended) supports eight byte MPIDs46

cfm_flap_count: optional integer

Counts the number of cfm fault flapps since boot46 A flap is considered to be a change of the cfm_fault value46

cfm_fault: optional boolean

Indicates a connectivity fault triggered by an inability to receive heartbeats from any remote endpoint46 When a fault is triggered on Interfaces participating in bonds, they will be disabled46

Faults can be triggered for several reasons46 Most importantly they are triggered when no CCMs are received for a period of 3465 times the transmission interval46 Faults are also triggered when any CCMs indicate that a Remote Maintenance Point is not receiving CCMs but able to send them46 Finally, a fault is triggered if a CCM is received which indicates unexpected configuration46 Notably, this case arises when a CCM is received which advertises the local MPID46

cfm_fault_status : recv: none

Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to a lack of CCMs received on the Interface46

cfm_fault_status : rdi: none

Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to the reception of a CCM with the RDI bit flagged46 Endpoints set the RDI bit in their CCMs when they are not receiving CCMs themselves46 This typically indicates a unidirectional connectivity failure46

cfm_fault_status : maid: none

Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to the reception of a CCM with a MAID other than the one Open vSwitch uses46 CFM broadcasts are tagged with an identification number in addition to the MPID called the MAID46 Open vSwitch only supports receiving CCM broadcasts tagged with the MAID it uses internally46

cfm_fault_status : loopback: none

Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to the reception of a CCM advertising the same MPID configured in the cfm_mpid column of this Interface46 This may indicate a loop in the network46

cfm_fault_status : overflow: none

Indicates a CFM fault was triggered because the CFM module received CCMs from more remote endpoints than it can keep track of46

cfm_fault_status : override: none

Indicates a CFM fault was manually triggered by an administrator using an ovs-appctl command46

cfm_fault_status : interval: none

Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to the reception of a CCM frame having an invalid interval46

cfm_remote_opstate: optional string, either down or up

When in extended mode, indicates the operational state of the remote endpoint as either up or down46 See other_config:cfm_opstate46

cfm_health: optional integer, in range 0 to 100

Indicates the health of the interface as a percentage of CCM frames received over 21 other_config:cfm_intervals46 The health of an interface is undefined if it is communicating with more than one cfm_remote_mpids46 It reduces if healthy heartbeats are not received at the expected rate, and gradually improves as healthy heartbeats are received at the desired rate46 Every 21 other_config:cfm_intervals, the health of the interface is refreshed46

As mentioned above, the faults can be triggered for several reasons46 The link health will deteriorate even if heartbeats are received but they are reported to be unhealthy46 An unhealthy heartbeat in this context is a heartbeat for which either some fault is set or is out of sequence46 The interface health can be 100 only on receiving healthy heartbeats at the desired rate46

cfm_remote_mpids: set of integers

When CFM is properly configured, Open vSwitch will occasionally receive CCM broadcasts46 These broadcasts contain the MPID of the sending Maintenance Point46 The list of MPIDs from which this Interface is receiving broadcasts from is regularly collected and written to this column46

other_config : cfm_interval: optional string, containing an integer

The interval, in milliseconds, between transmissions of CFM heartbeats46 Three missed heartbeat receptions indicate a connectivity fault46

In standard operation only intervals of 3, 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, 60,000, or 600,000 ms are supported46 Other values will be rounded down to the nearest value on the list46 Extended mode (see other_config:cfm_extended) supports any interval up to 65,535 ms46 In either mode, the default is 1000 ms46

We do not recommend using intervals less than 100 ms46

other_config : cfm_extended: optional string, either true or false

When true, the CFM module operates in extended mode46 This causes it to use a nonstandard destination address to avoid conflicting with compliant implementations which may be running concurrently on the network46 Furthermore, extended mode increases the accuracy of the cfm_interval configuration parameter by breaking wire compatibility with 802461ag compliant implementations46 And extended mode allows eight byte MPIDs46 Defaults to false46

other_config : cfm_demand: optional string, either true or false

When true, and other_config:cfm_extended is true, the CFM module operates in demand mode46 When in demand mode, traffic received on the Interface is used to indicate liveness46 CCMs are still transmitted and received46 At least one CCM must be received every 100 * other_config:cfm_interval amount of time46 Otherwise, even if traffic are received, the CFM module will raise the connectivity fault46

Demand mode has a couple of caveats:

•

To ensure that ovs-vswitchd has enough time to pull statistics from the datapath, the fault detection interval is set to 3465 * MAX(other_config:cfm_interval, 500) ms46

•

To avoid ambiguity, demand mode disables itself when there are multiple remote maintenance points46

•

If the Interface is heavily congested, CCMs containing the other_config:cfm_opstate status may be dropped causing changes in the operational state to be delayed46 Similarly, if CCMs containing the RDI bit are not received, unidirectional link failures may not be detected46

other_config : cfm_opstate: optional string, either down or up

When down, the CFM module marks all CCMs it generates as operationally down without triggering a fault46 This allows remote maintenance points to choose not to forward traffic to the Interface on which this CFM module is running46 Currently, in Open vSwitch, the opdown bit of CCMs affects Interfaces participating in bonds, and the bundle OpenFlow action46 This setting is ignored when CFM is not in extended mode46 Defaults to up46

other_config : cfm_ccm_vlan: optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 4,095

When set, the CFM module will apply a VLAN tag to all CCMs it generates with the given value46 May be the string random in which case each CCM will be tagged with a different randomly generated VLAN46

other_config : cfm_ccm_pcp: optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 7

When set, the CFM module will apply a VLAN tag to all CCMs it generates with the given PCP value, the VLAN ID of the tag is governed by the value of other_config:cfm_ccm_vlan46 If other_config:cfm_ccm_vlan is unset, a VLAN ID of zero is used46

Bonding Configuration:

other_config : lacp-port-id: optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 65,535

The LACP port ID of this Interface46 Port IDs are used in LACP negotiations to identify individual ports participating in a bond46

other_config : lacp-port-priority: optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 65,535

The LACP port priority of this Interface46 In LACP negotiations Interfaces with numerically lower priorities are preferred for aggregation46

other_config : lacp-aggregation-key: optional string, containing an integer, in range 1 to 65,535

The LACP aggregation key of this Interface46 Interfaces with different aggregation keys may not be active within a given Port at the same time46

Virtual Machine Identifiers:

These key-value pairs specifically apply to an interface that represents a virtual Ethernet interface connected to a virtual machine46 These key-value pairs should not be present for other types of interfaces46 Keys whose names end in -uuid have values that uniquely identify the entity in question46 For a Citrix XenServer hypervisor, these values are UUIDs in RFC 4122 format46 Other hypervisors may use other formats46

external_ids : attached-mac: optional string

The MAC address programmed into the ``virtual hardware'' for this interface, in the form xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx46 For Citrix XenServer, this is the value of the MAC field in the VIF record for this interface46

external_ids : iface-id: optional string

A system-unique identifier for the interface46 On XenServer, this will commonly be the same as external_ids:xs-vif-uuid46

external_ids : iface-status: optional string, either active or inactive

Hypervisors may sometimes have more than one interface associated with a given external_ids:iface-id, only one of which is actually in use at a given time46 For example, in some circumstances XenServer has both a ``tap'' and a ``vif'' interface for a single external_ids:iface-id, but only uses one of them at a time46 A hypervisor that behaves this way must mark the currently in use interface active and the others inactive46 A hypervisor that never has more than one interface for a given external_ids:iface-id may mark that interface active or omit external_ids:iface-status entirely46

During VM migration, a given external_ids:iface-id might transiently be marked active on two different hypervisors46 That is, active means that this external_ids:iface-id is the active instance within a single hypervisor, not in a broader scope46 There is one exception: some hypervisors support ``migration'' from a given hypervisor to itself (most often for test purposes)46 During such a ``migration,'' two instances of a single external_ids:iface-id might both be briefly marked active on a single hypervisor46

external_ids : xs-vif-uuid: optional string

The virtual interface associated with this interface46

external_ids : xs-network-uuid: optional string

The virtual network to which this interface is attached46

external_ids : vm-id: optional string

The VM to which this interface belongs46 On XenServer, this will be the same as external_ids:xs-vm-uuid46

external_ids : xs-vm-uuid: optional string

The VM to which this interface belongs46

Auto Attach Configuration:

Auto Attach configuration for a particular interface46

lldp : enable: optional string, either true or false

True to enable LLDP on this Interface46 If not specified, LLDP will be disabled by default46

Flow control Configuration:

Ethernet flow control defined in IEEE 802461Qbb provides link level flow control using MAC pause frames46 Implemented only for interfaces with type dpdk46

options : rx-flow-ctrl: optional string, either true or false

Set to true to enable Rx flow control on physical ports46 By default, Rx flow control is disabled46

options : tx-flow-ctrl: optional string, either true or false

Set to true to enable Tx flow control on physical ports46 By default, Tx flow control is disabled46

options : flow-ctrl-autoneg: optional string, either true or false

Set to true to enable flow control auto negotiation on physical ports46 By default, auto-neg is disabled46

Link State Change detection mode:

options : dpdk-lsc-interrupt: optional string, either true or false

Set this value to true to configure interrupt mode for Link State Change (LSC) detection instead of poll mode for the DPDK interface46

If this value is not set, poll mode is configured46

This parameter has an effect only on netdev dpdk interfaces46

Common Columns:

The overall purpose of these columns is described under Common Columns at the beginning of this document46

other_config: map of string-string pairs

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

 

Flow_Table TABLE

Configuration for a particular OpenFlow table46  

Summary:

name

optional string

Eviction Policy:

flow_limit

optional integer, at least 0

overflow_policy

optional string, either evict or refuse

groups

set of strings

Classifier Optimization:

prefixes

set of up to 3 strings

Common Columns:

external_ids

map of string-string pairs

 

Details:

name: optional string

The table's name46 Set this column to change the name that controllers will receive when they request table statistics, e46g46 ovs-ofctl dump-tables46 The name does not affect switch behavior46

Eviction Policy:

Open vSwitch supports limiting the number of flows that may be installed in a flow table, via the flow_limit column46 When adding a flow would exceed this limit, by default Open vSwitch reports an error, but there are two ways to configure Open vSwitch to instead delete (``evict'') a flow to make room for the new one:

•

Set the overflow_policy column to evict46

•

Send an OpenFlow 1464+ ``table mod request'' to enable eviction for the flow table (e46g46 ovs-ofctl -O OpenFlow14 mod-table br0 0 evict to enable eviction on flow table 0 of bridge br0)46

When a flow must be evicted due to overflow, the flow to evict is chosen through an approximation of the following algorithm46 This algorithm is used regardless of how eviction was enabled:

1.

Divide the flows in the table into groups based on the values of the fields or subfields specified in the groups column, so that all of the flows in a given group have the same values for those fields46 If a flow does not specify a given field, that field's value is treated as 046 If groups is empty, then all of the flows in the flow table are treated as a single group46

2.

Consider the flows in the largest group, that is, the group that contains the greatest number of flows46 If two or more groups all have the same largest number of flows, consider the flows in all of those groups46

3.

If the flows under consideration have different importance values, eliminate from consideration any flows except those with the lowest importance46 (``Importance,'' a 16-bit integer value attached to each flow, was introduced in OpenFlow 146446 Flows inserted with older versions of OpenFlow always have an importance of 046)

4.

Among the flows under consideration, choose the flow that expires soonest for eviction46

The eviction process only considers flows that have an idle timeout or a hard timeout46 That is, eviction never deletes permanent flows46 (Permanent flows do count against flow_limit46)

flow_limit: optional integer, at least 0

If set, limits the number of flows that may be added to the table46 Open vSwitch may limit the number of flows in a table for other reasons, e46g46 due to hardware limitations or for resource availability or performance reasons46

overflow_policy: optional string, either evict or refuse

Controls the switch's behavior when an OpenFlow flow table modification request would add flows in excess of flow_limit46 The supported values are:

refuse

Refuse to add the flow or flows46 This is also the default policy when overflow_policy is unset46

evict

Delete a flow chosen according to the algorithm described above46

groups: set of strings

When overflow_policy is evict, this controls how flows are chosen for eviction when the flow table would otherwise exceed flow_limit flows46 Its value is a set of NXM fields or sub-fields, each of which takes one of the forms field[] or field[start4646end], e46g46 NXM_OF_IN_PORT[]46 Please see meta-flow46h for a complete list of NXM field names46

Open vSwitch ignores any invalid or unknown field specifications46

When eviction is not enabled, via overflow_policy or an OpenFlow 1464+ ``table mod,'' this column has no effect46

Classifier Optimization:

prefixes: set of up to 3 strings

This string set specifies which fields should be used for address prefix tracking46 Prefix tracking allows the classifier to skip rules with longer than necessary prefixes, resulting in better wildcarding for datapath flows46

Prefix tracking may be beneficial when a flow table contains matches on IP address fields with different prefix lengths46 For example, when a flow table contains IP address matches on both full addresses and proper prefixes, the full address matches will typically cause the datapath flow to un-wildcard the whole address field (depending on flow entry priorities)46 In this case each packet with a different address gets handed to the userspace for flow processing and generates its own datapath flow46 With prefix tracking enabled for the address field in question packets with addresses matching shorter prefixes would generate datapath flows where the irrelevant address bits are wildcarded, allowing the same datapath flow to handle all the packets within the prefix in question46 In this case many userspace upcalls can be avoided and the overall performance can be better46

This is a performance optimization only, so packets will receive the same treatment with or without prefix tracking46

The supported fields are: tun_id, tun_src, tun_dst, tun_ipv6_src, tun_ipv6_dst, nw_src, nw_dst (or aliases ip_src and ip_dst), ipv6_src, and ipv6_dst46 (Using this feature for tun_id would only make sense if the tunnel IDs have prefix structure similar to IP addresses46)

By default, the prefixes=ip_dst,ip_src are used on each flow table46 This instructs the flow classifier to track the IP destination and source addresses used by the rules in this specific flow table46

The keyword none is recognized as an explicit override of the default values, causing no prefix fields to be tracked46

To set the prefix fields, the flow table record needs to exist:

ovs-vsctl set Bridge br0 flow_tables:0=@N1 -- --id=@N1 create Flow_Table name=table0

Creates a flow table record for the OpenFlow table number 046

ovs-vsctl set Flow_Table table0 prefixes=ip_dst,ip_src

Enables prefix tracking for IP source and destination address fields46

There is a maximum number of fields that can be enabled for any one flow table46 Currently this limit is 346

Common Columns:

The overall purpose of these columns is described under Common Columns at the beginning of this document46

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

 

QoS TABLE

Quality of Service (QoS) configuration for each Port that references it46  

Summary:

type

string

queues

map of integer-Queue pairs, key in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

Configuration for linux-htb and linux-hfsc:

other_config : max-rate

optional string, containing an integer

Configuration for egress-policer QoS:

other_config : cir

optional string, containing an integer

other_config : cbs

optional string, containing an integer

other_config : eir

optional string, containing an integer

other_config : ebs

optional string, containing an integer

Configuration for linux-sfq:

other_config : perturb

optional string, containing an integer

other_config : quantum

optional string, containing an integer

Configuration for linux-netem:

other_config : latency

optional string, containing an integer

other_config : limit

optional string, containing an integer

other_config : loss

optional string, containing an integer

Common Columns:

other_config

map of string-string pairs

external_ids

map of string-string pairs

 

Details:

type: string

The type of QoS to implement46 The currently defined types are listed below:

linux-htb

Linux ``hierarchy token bucket'' classifier46 See tc-htb(8) (also at http://linux46die46net/man/8/tc-htb) and the HTB manual (http://luxik46cdi46cz/~devik/qos/htb/manual/userg46htm) for information on how this classifier works and how to configure it46

linux-hfsc

Linux "Hierarchical Fair Service Curve" classifier46 See http://linux-ip46net/articles/hfsc46en/ for information on how this classifier works46

linux-sfq

Linux ``Stochastic Fairness Queueing'' classifier46 See tc-sfq(8) (also at http://linux46die46net/man/8/tc-sfq) for information on how this classifier works46

linux-codel

Linux ``Controlled Delay'' classifier46 See tc-codel(8) (also at http://man746org/linux/man-pages/man8/tc-codel46846html) for information on how this classifier works46

linux-fq_codel

Linux ``Fair Queuing with Controlled Delay'' classifier46 See tc-fq_codel(8) (also at http://man746org/linux/man-pages/man8/tc-fq_codel46846html) for information on how this classifier works46

linux-netem

Linux ``Network Emulator'' classifier46 See tc-netem(8) (also at http://man746org/linux/man-pages/man8/tc-netem46846html) for information on how this classifier works46

linux-noop

Linux ``No operation46'' By default, Open vSwitch manages quality of service on all of its configured ports46 This can be helpful, but sometimes administrators prefer to use other software to manage QoS46 This type prevents Open vSwitch from changing the QoS configuration for a port46

egress-policer

A DPDK egress policer algorithm using the DPDK rte_meter library46 The rte_meter library provides an implementation which allows the metering and policing of traffic46 The implementation in OVS essentially creates a single token bucket used to police traffic46 It should be noted that when the rte_meter is configured as part of QoS there will be a performance overhead as the rte_meter itself will consume CPU cycles in order to police traffic46 These CPU cycles ordinarily are used for packet proccessing46 As such the drop in performance will be noticed in terms of overall aggregate traffic throughput46

trtcm-policer

A DPDK egress policer algorithm using RFC 4115's Two-Rate, Three-Color marker46 It's a two-level hierarchical policer which first does a color-blind marking of the traffic at the queue level, followed by a color-aware marking at the port level46 At the end traffic marked as Green or Yellow is forwarded, Red is dropped46 For details on how traffic is marked, see RFC 411546 If the ``default queue'', 0, is not configured it's automatically created with the same other_config values as the physical port46

queues: map of integer-Queue pairs, key in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

A map from queue numbers to Queue records46 The supported range of queue numbers depend on type46 The queue numbers are the same as the queue_id used in OpenFlow in struct ofp_action_enqueue and other structures46

Queue 0 is the ``default queue46'' It is used by OpenFlow output actions when no specific queue has been set46 When no configuration for queue 0 is present, it is automatically configured as if a Queue record with empty dscp and other_config columns had been specified46 (Before version 1466, Open vSwitch would leave queue 0 unconfigured in this case46 With some queuing disciplines, this dropped all packets destined for the default queue46)

Configuration for linux-htb and linux-hfsc:

The linux-htb and linux-hfsc classes support the following key-value pair:

other_config : max-rate: optional string, containing an integer

Maximum rate shared by all queued traffic, in bit/s46 Optional46 If not specified, for physical interfaces, the default is the link rate46 For other interfaces or if the link rate cannot be determined, the default is currently 100 Mbps46

Configuration for egress-policer QoS:

QoS type egress-policer provides egress policing for userspace port types with DPDK46 It has the following key-value pairs defined46

other_config : cir: optional string, containing an integer

The Committed Information Rate (CIR) is measured in bytes of IP packets per second, i46e46 it includes the IP header, but not link specific (e46g46 Ethernet) headers46 This represents the bytes per second rate at which the token bucket will be updated46 The cir value is calculated by (pps x packet data size)46 For example assuming a user wishes to limit a stream consisting of 64 byte packets to 1 million packets per second the CIR would be set to to to 4600000046 This value can be broken into '1,000,000 x 46'46 Where 1,000,000 is the policing rate for the number of packets per second and 46 represents the size of the packet data for a 64 byte ip packet46

other_config : cbs: optional string, containing an integer

The Committed Burst Size (CBS) is measured in bytes and represents a token bucket46 At a minimum this value should be be set to the expected largest size packet in the traffic stream46 In practice larger values may be used to increase the size of the token bucket46 If a packet can be transmitted then the cbs will be decremented by the number of bytes/tokens of the packet46 If there are not enough tokens in the cbs bucket the packet will be dropped46

other_config : eir: optional string, containing an integer

The Excess Information Rate (EIR) is measured in bytes of IP packets per second, i46e46 it includes the IP header, but not link specific (e46g46 Ethernet) headers46 This represents the bytes per second rate at which the token bucket will be updated46 The eir value is calculated by (pps x packet data size)46 For example assuming a user wishes to limit a stream consisting of 64 byte packets to 1 million packets per second the EIR would be set to to to 4600000046 This value can be broken into '1,000,000 x 46'46 Where 1,000,000 is the policing rate for the number of packets per second and 46 represents the size of the packet data for a 64 byte ip packet46

other_config : ebs: optional string, containing an integer

The Excess Burst Size (EBS) is measured in bytes and represents a token bucket46 At a minimum this value should be be set to the expected largest size packet in the traffic stream46 In practice larger values may be used to increase the size of the token bucket46 If a packet can be transmitted then the ebs will be decremented by the number of bytes/tokens of the packet46 If there are not enough tokens in the cbs bucket the packet might be dropped46

Configuration for linux-sfq:

The linux-sfq QoS supports the following key-value pairs:

other_config : perturb: optional string, containing an integer

Number of seconds between consecutive perturbations in hashing algorithm46 Different flows can end up in the same hash bucket causing unfairness46 Perturbation's goal is to remove possible unfairness46 The default and recommended value is 1046 Too low a value is discouraged because each perturbation can cause packet reordering46

other_config : quantum: optional string, containing an integer

Number of bytes linux-sfq QoS can dequeue in one turn in round-robin from one flow46 The default and recommended value is equal to interface's MTU46

Configuration for linux-netem:

The linux-netem QoS supports the following key-value pairs:

other_config : latency: optional string, containing an integer

Adds the chosen delay to the packets outgoing to chosen network interface46 The latency value expressed in us46

other_config : limit: optional string, containing an integer

Maximum number of packets the qdisc may hold queued at a time46 The default value is 100046

other_config : loss: optional string, containing an integer

Adds an independent loss probability to the packets outgoing from the chosen network interface46

Common Columns:

The overall purpose of these columns is described under Common Columns at the beginning of this document46

other_config: map of string-string pairs

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

 

Queue TABLE

A configuration for a port output queue, used in configuring Quality of Service (QoS) features46 May be referenced by queues column in QoS table46  

Summary:

dscp

optional integer, in range 0 to 63

Configuration for linux-htb QoS:

other_config : min-rate

optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

other_config : max-rate

optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

other_config : burst

optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

other_config : priority

optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

Configuration for linux-hfsc QoS:

other_config : min-rate

optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

other_config : max-rate

optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

Common Columns:

other_config

map of string-string pairs

external_ids

map of string-string pairs

 

Details:

dscp: optional integer, in range 0 to 63

If set, Open vSwitch will mark all traffic egressing this Queue with the given DSCP bits46 Traffic egressing the default Queue is only marked if it was explicitly selected as the Queue at the time the packet was output46 If unset, the DSCP bits of traffic egressing this Queue will remain unchanged46

Configuration for linux-htb QoS:

QoS type linux-htb may use queue_ids less than 6144046 It has the following key-value pairs defined46

other_config : min-rate: optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s46

other_config : max-rate: optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

Maximum allowed bandwidth, in bit/s46 Optional46 If specified, the queue's rate will not be allowed to exceed the specified value, even if excess bandwidth is available46 If unspecified, defaults to no limit46

other_config : burst: optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

Burst size, in bits46 This is the maximum amount of ``credits'' that a queue can accumulate while it is idle46 Optional46 Details of the linux-htb implementation require a minimum burst size, so a too-small burst will be silently ignored46

other_config : priority: optional string, containing an integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

A queue with a smaller priority will receive all the excess bandwidth that it can use before a queue with a larger value receives any46 Specific priority values are unimportant; only relative ordering matters46 Defaults to 0 if unspecified46

Configuration for linux-hfsc QoS:

QoS type linux-hfsc may use queue_ids less than 6144046 It has the following key-value pairs defined46

other_config : min-rate: optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s46

other_config : max-rate: optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

Maximum allowed bandwidth, in bit/s46 Optional46 If specified, the queue's rate will not be allowed to exceed the specified value, even if excess bandwidth is available46 If unspecified, defaults to no limit46

Common Columns:

The overall purpose of these columns is described under Common Columns at the beginning of this document46

other_config: map of string-string pairs

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

 

Mirror TABLE

A port mirror within a Bridge46

A port mirror configures a bridge to send selected frames to special ``mirrored'' ports, in addition to their normal destinations46 Mirroring traffic may also be referred to as SPAN or RSPAN, depending on how the mirrored traffic is sent46

When a packet enters an Open vSwitch bridge, it becomes eligible for mirroring based on its ingress port and VLAN46 As the packet travels through the flow tables, each time it is output to a port, it becomes eligible for mirroring based on the egress port and VLAN46 In Open vSwitch 2465 and later, mirroring occurs just after a packet first becomes eligible, using the packet as it exists at that point; in Open vSwitch 2464 and earlier, mirroring occurs only after a packet has traversed all the flow tables, using the original packet as it entered the bridge46 This makes a difference only when the flow table modifies the packet: in Open vSwitch 2464, the modifications are never visible to mirrors, whereas in Open vSwitch 2465 and later modifications made before the first output that makes it eligible for mirroring to a particular destination are visible46

A packet that enters an Open vSwitch bridge is mirrored to a particular destination only once, even if it is eligible for multiple reasons46 For example, a packet would be mirrored to a particular output_port only once, even if it is selected for mirroring to that port by select_dst_port and select_src_port in the same or different Mirror records46  

Summary:

name

string

Selecting Packets for Mirroring:

select_all

boolean

select_dst_port

set of weak reference to Ports

select_src_port

set of weak reference to Ports

select_vlan

set of up to 4,096 integers, in range 0 to 4,095

Mirroring Destination Configuration:

output_port

optional weak reference to Port

output_vlan

optional integer, in range 1 to 4,095

snaplen

optional integer, in range 14 to 65,535

Statistics: Mirror counters:

statistics : tx_packets

optional integer

statistics : tx_bytes

optional integer

Common Columns:

external_ids

map of string-string pairs

 

Details:

name: string

Arbitrary identifier for the Mirror46

Selecting Packets for Mirroring:

To be selected for mirroring, a given packet must enter or leave the bridge through a selected port and it must also be in one of the selected VLANs46

select_all: boolean

If true, every packet arriving or departing on any port is selected for mirroring46

select_dst_port: set of weak reference to Ports

Ports on which departing packets are selected for mirroring46

select_src_port: set of weak reference to Ports

Ports on which arriving packets are selected for mirroring46

select_vlan: set of up to 4,096 integers, in range 0 to 4,095

VLANs on which packets are selected for mirroring46 An empty set selects packets on all VLANs46

Mirroring Destination Configuration:

These columns are mutually exclusive46 Exactly one of them must be nonempty46

output_port: optional weak reference to Port

Output port for selected packets, if nonempty46

Specifying a port for mirror output reserves that port exclusively for mirroring46 No frames other than those selected for mirroring via this column will be forwarded to the port, and any frames received on the port will be discarded46

The output port may be any kind of port supported by Open vSwitch46 It may be, for example, a physical port (sometimes called SPAN) or a GRE tunnel46

output_vlan: optional integer, in range 1 to 4,095

Output VLAN for selected packets, if nonempty46

The frames will be sent out all ports that trunk output_vlan, as well as any ports with implicit VLAN output_vlan46 When a mirrored frame is sent out a trunk port, the frame's VLAN tag will be set to output_vlan, replacing any existing tag; when it is sent out an implicit VLAN port, the frame will not be tagged46 This type of mirroring is sometimes called RSPAN46

See the documentation for other_config:forward-bpdu in the Interface table for a list of destination MAC addresses which will not be mirrored to a VLAN to avoid confusing switches that interpret the protocols that they represent46

Please note: Mirroring to a VLAN can disrupt a network that contains unmanaged switches46 Consider an unmanaged physical switch with two ports: port 1, connected to an end host, and port 2, connected to an Open vSwitch configured to mirror received packets into VLAN 123 on port 246 Suppose that the end host sends a packet on port 1 that the physical switch forwards to port 246 The Open vSwitch forwards this packet to its destination and then reflects it back on port 2 in VLAN 12346 This reflected packet causes the unmanaged physical switch to replace the MAC learning table entry, which correctly pointed to port 1, with one that incorrectly points to port 246 Afterward, the physical switch will direct packets destined for the end host to the Open vSwitch on port 2, instead of to the end host on port 1, disrupting connectivity46 If mirroring to a VLAN is desired in this scenario, then the physical switch must be replaced by one that learns Ethernet addresses on a per-VLAN basis46 In addition, learning should be disabled on the VLAN containing mirrored traffic46 If this is not done then intermediate switches will learn the MAC address of each end host from the mirrored traffic46 If packets being sent to that end host are also mirrored, then they will be dropped since the switch will attempt to send them out the input port46 Disabling learning for the VLAN will cause the switch to correctly send the packet out all ports configured for that VLAN46 If Open vSwitch is being used as an intermediate switch, learning can be disabled by adding the mirrored VLAN to flood_vlans in the appropriate Bridge table or tables46

Mirroring to a GRE tunnel has fewer caveats than mirroring to a VLAN and should generally be preferred46

snaplen: optional integer, in range 14 to 65,535

Maximum per-packet number of bytes to mirror46

A mirrored packet with size larger than snaplen will be truncated in datapath to snaplen bytes before sending to the mirror output port46 If omitted, packets are not truncated46

Statistics: Mirror counters:

Key-value pairs that report mirror statistics46 The update period is controlled by other_config:stats-update-interval in the Open_vSwitch table46

statistics : tx_packets: optional integer

Number of packets transmitted through this mirror46

statistics : tx_bytes: optional integer

Number of bytes transmitted through this mirror46

Common Columns:

The overall purpose of these columns is described under Common Columns at the beginning of this document46

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

 

Controller TABLE

An OpenFlow controller46  

Summary:

Core Features:

type

optional string, either primary or service

target

string

connection_mode

optional string, either in-band or out-of-band

Controller Failure Detection and Handling:

max_backoff

optional integer, at least 1,000

inactivity_probe

optional integer

Asynchronous Messages:

enable_async_messages

optional boolean

Controller Rate Limiting:

controller_queue_size

optional integer, in range 1 to 512

controller_rate_limit

optional integer, at least 100

controller_burst_limit

optional integer, at least 25

Controller Rate Limiting Statistics:

status : packet-in-TYPE-bypassed

optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

status : packet-in-TYPE-queued

optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

status : packet-in-TYPE-dropped

optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

status : packet-in-TYPE-backlog

optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

Additional In-Band Configuration:

local_ip

optional string

local_netmask

optional string

local_gateway

optional string

Controller Status:

is_connected

boolean

role

optional string, one of master, other, or slave

status : last_error

optional string

status : state

optional string, one of ACTIVE, BACKOFF, CONNECTING, IDLE, or VOID

status : sec_since_connect

optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

status : sec_since_disconnect

optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

Connection Parameters:

other_config : dscp

optional string, containing an integer

Common Columns:

external_ids

map of string-string pairs

other_config

map of string-string pairs

 

Details:

Core Features:

type: optional string, either primary or service

Open vSwitch supports two kinds of OpenFlow controllers46 A bridge may have any number of each kind:

Primary controllers

This is the kind of controller envisioned by the OpenFlow specifications46 Usually, a primary controller implements a network policy by taking charge of the switch's flow table46

The fail_mode column in the Bridge table applies to primary controllers46

When multiple primary controllers are configured, Open vSwitch connects to all of them simultaneously46 OpenFlow provides few facilities to allow multiple controllers to coordinate in interacting with a single switch, so more than one primary controller should be specified only if the controllers are themselves designed to coordinate with each other46

Service controllers

These kinds of OpenFlow controller connections are intended for occasional support and maintenance use, e46g46 with ovs-ofctl46 Usually a service controller connects only briefly to inspect or modify some of a switch's state46

The fail_mode column in the Bridge table does not apply to service controllers46

By default, Open vSwitch treats controllers with active connection methods as primary controllers and those with passive connection methods as service controllers46 Set this column to the desired type to override this default46

target: string

Connection method for controller46

The following active connection methods are currently supported:

ssl:host[:port]

The specified SSL port on the host at the given host, which can either be a DNS name (if built with unbound library) or an IP address46 The ssl column in the Open_vSwitch table must point to a valid SSL configuration when this form is used46

If port is not specified, it defaults to 665346

SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as part of Open vSwitch46

tcp:host[:port]

The specified TCP port on the host at the given host, which can either be a DNS name (if built with unbound library) or an IP address (IPv4 or IPv6)46 If host is an IPv6 address, wrap it in square brackets, e46g46 tcp:[::1]:665346

If port is not specified, it defaults to 665346

The following passive connection methods are currently supported:

pssl:[port][:host]

Listens for SSL connections on the specified TCP port46 If host, which can either be a DNS name (if built with unbound library) or an IP address, is specified, then connections are restricted to the resolved or specified local IP address (either IPv4 or IPv6)46 If host is an IPv6 address, wrap it in square brackets, e46g46 pssl:6653:[::1]46

If port is not specified, it defaults to 665346 If host is not specified then it listens only on IPv4 (but not IPv6) addresses46 The ssl column in the Open_vSwitch table must point to a valid SSL configuration when this form is used46

If port is not specified, it currently to 665346

SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as part of Open vSwitch46

ptcp:[port][:host]

Listens for connections on the specified TCP port46 If host, which can either be a DNS name (if built with unbound library) or an IP address, is specified, then connections are restricted to the resolved or specified local IP address (either IPv4 or IPv6)46 If host is an IPv6 address, wrap it in square brackets, e46g46 ptcp:6653:[::1]46 If host is not specified then it listens only on IPv4 addresses46

If port is not specified, it defaults to 665346

When multiple controllers are configured for a single bridge, the target values must be unique46 Duplicate target values yield unspecified results46

connection_mode: optional string, either in-band or out-of-band

If it is specified, this setting must be one of the following strings that describes how Open vSwitch contacts this OpenFlow controller over the network:

in-band

In this mode, this controller's OpenFlow traffic travels over the bridge associated with the controller46 With this setting, Open vSwitch allows traffic to and from the controller regardless of the contents of the OpenFlow flow table46 (Otherwise, Open vSwitch would never be able to connect to the controller, because it did not have a flow to enable it46) This is the most common connection mode because it is not necessary to maintain two independent networks46

out-of-band

In this mode, OpenFlow traffic uses a control network separate from the bridge associated with this controller, that is, the bridge does not use any of its own network devices to communicate with the controller46 The control network must be configured separately, before or after ovs-vswitchd is started46

If not specified, the default is implementation-specific46

Controller Failure Detection and Handling:

max_backoff: optional integer, at least 1,000

Maximum number of milliseconds to wait between connection attempts46 Default is implementation-specific46

inactivity_probe: optional integer

Maximum number of milliseconds of idle time on connection to controller before sending an inactivity probe message46 If Open vSwitch does not communicate with the controller for the specified number of seconds, it will send a probe46 If a response is not received for the same additional amount of time, Open vSwitch assumes the connection has been broken and attempts to reconnect46 Default is implementation-specific46 A value of 0 disables inactivity probes46

Asynchronous Messages:

OpenFlow switches send certain messages to controllers spontanenously, that is, not in response to any request from the controller46 These messages are called ``asynchronous messages46'' These columns allow asynchronous messages to be limited or disabled to ensure the best use of network resources46

enable_async_messages: optional boolean

The OpenFlow protocol enables asynchronous messages at time of connection establishment, which means that a controller can receive asynchronous messages, potentially many of them, even if it turns them off immediately after connecting46 Set this column to false to change Open vSwitch behavior to disable, by default, all asynchronous messages46 The controller can use the NXT_SET_ASYNC_CONFIG Nicira extension to OpenFlow to turn on any messages that it does want to receive, if any46

Controller Rate Limiting:

A switch can forward packets to a controller over the OpenFlow protocol46 Forwarding packets this way at too high a rate can overwhelm a controller, frustrate use of the OpenFlow connection for other purposes, increase the latency of flow setup, and use an unreasonable amount of bandwidth46 Therefore, Open vSwitch supports limiting the rate of packet forwarding to a controller46

There are two main reasons in OpenFlow for a packet to be sent to a controller: either the packet ``misses'' in the flow table, that is, there is no matching flow, or a flow table action says to send the packet to the controller46 Open vSwitch limits the rate of each kind of packet separately at the configured rate46 Therefore, the actual rate that packets are sent to the controller can be up to twice the configured rate, when packets are sent for both reasons46

This feature is specific to forwarding packets over an OpenFlow connection46 It is not general-purpose QoS46 See the QoS table for quality of service configuration, and ingress_policing_rate in the Interface table for ingress policing configuration46

controller_queue_size: optional integer, in range 1 to 512

This sets the maximum size of the queue of packets that need to be sent to this OpenFlow controller46 The value must be less than 51246 If not specified the queue size is limited to the value set for the management controller in other_config:controller-queue-size if present or 100 packets by default46 Note: increasing the queue size might have a negative impact on latency46

controller_rate_limit: optional integer, at least 100

The maximum rate at which the switch will forward packets to the OpenFlow controller, in packets per second46 If no value is specified, rate limiting is disabled46

controller_burst_limit: optional integer, at least 25

When a high rate triggers rate-limiting, Open vSwitch queues packets to the controller for each port and transmits them to the controller at the configured rate46 This value limits the number of queued packets46 Ports on a bridge share the packet queue fairly46

This value has no effect unless controller_rate_limit is configured46 The current default when this value is not specified is one-quarter of controller_rate_limit, meaning that queuing can delay forwarding a packet to the controller by up to 250 ms46

Controller Rate Limiting Statistics:

These values report the effects of rate limiting46 Their values are relative to establishment of the most recent OpenFlow connection, or since rate limiting was enabled, whichever happened more recently46 Each consists of two values, one with TYPE replaced by miss for rate limiting flow table misses, and the other with TYPE replaced by action for rate limiting packets sent by OpenFlow actions46

These statistics are reported only when controller rate limiting is enabled46

status : packet-in-TYPE-bypassed: optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

Number of packets sent directly to the controller, without queuing, because the rate did not exceed the configured maximum46

status : packet-in-TYPE-queued: optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

Number of packets added to the queue to send later46

status : packet-in-TYPE-dropped: optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

Number of packets added to the queue that were later dropped due to overflow46 This value is less than or equal to status:packet-in-TYPE-queued46

status : packet-in-TYPE-backlog: optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

Number of packets currently queued46 The other statistics increase monotonically, but this one fluctuates between 0 and the controller_burst_limit as conditions change46

Additional In-Band Configuration:

These values are considered only in in-band control mode (see connection_mode)46

When multiple controllers are configured on a single bridge, there should be only one set of unique values in these columns46 If different values are set for these columns in different controllers, the effect is unspecified46

local_ip: optional string

The IP address to configure on the local port, e46g46 192461684604612346 If this value is unset, then local_netmask and local_gateway are ignored46

local_netmask: optional string

The IP netmask to configure on the local port, e46g46 255462554625546046 If local_ip is set but this value is unset, then the default is chosen based on whether the IP address is class A, B, or C46

local_gateway: optional string

The IP address of the gateway to configure on the local port, as a string, e46g46 1924616846046146 Leave this column unset if this network has no gateway46

Controller Status:

is_connected: boolean

true if currently connected to this controller, false otherwise46

role: optional string, one of master, other, or slave

The level of authority this controller has on the associated bridge46 Possible values are:

other

Allows the controller access to all OpenFlow features46

master

Equivalent to other, except that there may be at most one master controller at a time46 When a controller configures itself as master, any existing master is demoted to the slave role46

slave

Allows the controller read-only access to OpenFlow features46 Attempts to modify the flow table will be rejected with an error46 Slave controllers do not receive OFPT_PACKET_IN or OFPT_FLOW_REMOVED messages, but they do receive OFPT_PORT_STATUS messages46

status : last_error: optional string

A human-readable description of the last error on the connection to the controller; i46e46 strerror(errno)46 This key will exist only if an error has occurred46

status : state: optional string, one of ACTIVE, BACKOFF, CONNECTING, IDLE, or VOID

The state of the connection to the controller:

VOID

Connection is disabled46

BACKOFF

Attempting to reconnect at an increasing period46

CONNECTING

Attempting to connect46

ACTIVE

Connected, remote host responsive46

IDLE

Connection is idle46 Waiting for response to keep-alive46

These values may change in the future46 They are provided only for human consumption46

status : sec_since_connect: optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

The amount of time since this controller last successfully connected to the switch (in seconds)46 Value is empty if controller has never successfully connected46

status : sec_since_disconnect: optional string, containing an integer, at least 1

The amount of time since this controller last disconnected from the switch (in seconds)46 Value is empty if controller has never disconnected46

Connection Parameters:

Additional configuration for a connection between the controller and the Open vSwitch46

other_config : dscp: optional string, containing an integer

The Differentiated Service Code Point (DSCP) is specified using 6 bits in the Type of Service (TOS) field in the IP header46 DSCP provides a mechanism to classify the network traffic and provide Quality of Service (QoS) on IP networks46 The DSCP value specified here is used when establishing the connection between the controller and the Open vSwitch46 If no value is specified, a default value of 48 is chosen46 Valid DSCP values must be in the range 0 to 6346

Common Columns:

The overall purpose of these columns is described under Common Columns at the beginning of this document46

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

other_config: map of string-string pairs

 

Manager TABLE

Configuration for a database connection to an Open vSwitch database (OVSDB) client46

This table primarily configures the Open vSwitch database (ovsdb-server), not the Open vSwitch switch (ovs-vswitchd)46 The switch does read the table to determine what connections should be treated as in-band46

The Open vSwitch database server can initiate and maintain active connections to remote clients46 It can also listen for database connections46  

Summary:

Core Features:

target

string (must be unique within table)

connection_mode

optional string, either in-band or out-of-band

Client Failure Detection and Handling:

max_backoff

optional integer, at least 1,000

inactivity_probe

optional integer

Status:

is_connected

boolean

status : last_error

optional string

status : state

optional string, one of ACTIVE, BACKOFF, CONNECTING, IDLE, or VOID

status : sec_since_connect

optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

status : sec_since_disconnect

optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

status : locks_held

optional string

status : locks_waiting

optional string

status : locks_lost

optional string

status : n_connections

optional string, containing an integer, at least 2

status : bound_port

optional string, containing an integer

Connection Parameters:

other_config : dscp

optional string, containing an integer

Common Columns:

external_ids

map of string-string pairs

other_config

map of string-string pairs

 

Details:

Core Features:

target: string (must be unique within table)

Connection method for managers46

The following connection methods are currently supported:

ssl:host[:port]

The specified SSL port on the host at the given host, which can either be a DNS name (if built with unbound library) or an IP address46 The ssl column in the Open_vSwitch table must point to a valid SSL configuration when this form is used46

If port is not specified, it defaults to 664046

SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as part of Open vSwitch46

tcp:host[:port]

The specified TCP port on the host at the given host, which can either be a DNS name (if built with unbound library) or an IP address (IPv4 or IPv6)46 If host is an IPv6 address, wrap it in square brackets, e46g46 tcp:[::1]:664046

If port is not specified, it defaults to 664046

pssl:[port][:host]

Listens for SSL connections on the specified TCP port46 Specify 0 for port to have the kernel automatically choose an available port46 If host, which can either be a DNS name (if built with unbound library) or an IP address, is specified, then connections are restricted to the resolved or specified local IP address (either IPv4 or IPv6 address)46 If host is an IPv6 address, wrap in square brackets, e46g46 pssl:6640:[::1]46 If host is not specified then it listens only on IPv4 (but not IPv6) addresses46 The ssl column in the Open_vSwitch table must point to a valid SSL configuration when this form is used46

If port is not specified, it defaults to 664046

SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as part of Open vSwitch46

ptcp:[port][:host]

Listens for connections on the specified TCP port46 Specify 0 for port to have the kernel automatically choose an available port46 If host, which can either be a DNS name (if built with unbound library) or an IP address, is specified, then connections are restricted to the resolved or specified local IP address (either IPv4 or IPv6 address)46 If host is an IPv6 address, wrap it in square brackets, e46g46 ptcp:6640:[::1]46 If host is not specified then it listens only on IPv4 addresses46

If port is not specified, it defaults to 664046

When multiple managers are configured, the target values must be unique46 Duplicate target values yield unspecified results46

connection_mode: optional string, either in-band or out-of-band

If it is specified, this setting must be one of the following strings that describes how Open vSwitch contacts this OVSDB client over the network:

in-band

In this mode, this connection's traffic travels over a bridge managed by Open vSwitch46 With this setting, Open vSwitch allows traffic to and from the client regardless of the contents of the OpenFlow flow table46 (Otherwise, Open vSwitch would never be able to connect to the client, because it did not have a flow to enable it46) This is the most common connection mode because it is not necessary to maintain two independent networks46

out-of-band

In this mode, the client's traffic uses a control network separate from that managed by Open vSwitch, that is, Open vSwitch does not use any of its own network devices to communicate with the client46 The control network must be configured separately, before or after ovs-vswitchd is started46

If not specified, the default is implementation-specific46

Client Failure Detection and Handling:

max_backoff: optional integer, at least 1,000

Maximum number of milliseconds to wait between connection attempts46 Default is implementation-specific46

inactivity_probe: optional integer

Maximum number of milliseconds of idle time on connection to the client before sending an inactivity probe message46 If Open vSwitch does not communicate with the client for the specified number of seconds, it will send a probe46 If a response is not received for the same additional amount of time, Open vSwitch assumes the connection has been broken and attempts to reconnect46 Default is implementation-specific46 A value of 0 disables inactivity probes46

Status:

Key-value pair of is_connected is always updated46 Other key-value pairs in the status columns may be updated depends on the target type46

When target specifies a connection method that listens for inbound connections (e46g46 ptcp: or punix:), both n_connections and is_connected may also be updated while the remaining key-value pairs are omitted46

On the other hand, when target specifies an outbound connection, all key-value pairs may be updated, except the above-mentioned two key-value pairs associated with inbound connection targets46 They are omitted46

is_connected: boolean

true if currently connected to this manager, false otherwise46

status : last_error: optional string

A human-readable description of the last error on the connection to the manager; i46e46 strerror(errno)46 This key will exist only if an error has occurred46

status : state: optional string, one of ACTIVE, BACKOFF, CONNECTING, IDLE, or VOID

The state of the connection to the manager:

VOID

Connection is disabled46

BACKOFF

Attempting to reconnect at an increasing period46

CONNECTING

Attempting to connect46

ACTIVE

Connected, remote host responsive46

IDLE

Connection is idle46 Waiting for response to keep-alive46

These values may change in the future46 They are provided only for human consumption46

status : sec_since_connect: optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

The amount of time since this manager last successfully connected to the database (in seconds)46 Value is empty if manager has never successfully connected46

status : sec_since_disconnect: optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

The amount of time since this manager last disconnected from the database (in seconds)46 Value is empty if manager has never disconnected46

status : locks_held: optional string

Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection holds46 Omitted if the connection does not hold any locks46

status : locks_waiting: optional string

Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection is currently waiting to acquire46 Omitted if the connection is not waiting for any locks46

status : locks_lost: optional string

Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection has had stolen by another OVSDB client46 Omitted if no locks have been stolen from this connection46

status : n_connections: optional string, containing an integer, at least 2

When target specifies a connection method that listens for inbound connections (e46g46 ptcp: or pssl:) and more than one connection is actually active, the value is the number of active connections46 Otherwise, this key-value pair is omitted46

status : bound_port: optional string, containing an integer

When target is ptcp: or pssl:, this is the TCP port on which the OVSDB server is listening46 (This is particularly useful when target specifies a port of 0, allowing the kernel to choose any available port46)

Connection Parameters:

Additional configuration for a connection between the manager and the Open vSwitch Database46

other_config : dscp: optional string, containing an integer

The Differentiated Service Code Point (DSCP) is specified using 6 bits in the Type of Service (TOS) field in the IP header46 DSCP provides a mechanism to classify the network traffic and provide Quality of Service (QoS) on IP networks46 The DSCP value specified here is used when establishing the connection between the manager and the Open vSwitch46 If no value is specified, a default value of 48 is chosen46 Valid DSCP values must be in the range 0 to 6346

Common Columns:

The overall purpose of these columns is described under Common Columns at the beginning of this document46

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

other_config: map of string-string pairs

 

NetFlow TABLE

A NetFlow target46 NetFlow is a protocol that exports a number of details about terminating IP flows, such as the principals involved and duration46  

Summary:

targets

set of 1 or more strings

engine_id

optional integer, in range 0 to 255

engine_type

optional integer, in range 0 to 255

active_timeout

integer, at least -1

add_id_to_interface

boolean

Common Columns:

external_ids

map of string-string pairs

 

Details:

targets: set of 1 or more strings

NetFlow targets in the form ip:port46 The ip must be specified numerically, not as a DNS name46

engine_id: optional integer, in range 0 to 255

Engine ID to use in NetFlow messages46 Defaults to datapath index if not specified46

engine_type: optional integer, in range 0 to 255

Engine type to use in NetFlow messages46 Defaults to datapath index if not specified46

active_timeout: integer, at least -1

The interval at which NetFlow records are sent for flows that are still active, in seconds46 A value of 0 requests the default timeout (currently 600 seconds); a value of -1 disables active timeouts46

The NetFlow passive timeout, for flows that become inactive, is not configurable46 It will vary depending on the Open vSwitch version, the forms and contents of the OpenFlow flow tables, CPU and memory usage, and network activity46 A typical passive timeout is about a second46

add_id_to_interface: boolean

If this column's value is false, the ingress and egress interface fields of NetFlow flow records are derived from OpenFlow port numbers46 When it is true, the 7 most significant bits of these fields will be replaced by the least significant 7 bits of the engine id46 This is useful because many NetFlow collectors do not expect multiple switches to be sending messages from the same host, so they do not store the engine information which could be used to disambiguate the traffic46

When this option is enabled, a maximum of 508 ports are supported46

Common Columns:

The overall purpose of these columns is described under Common Columns at the beginning of this document46

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

 

Datapath TABLE

Configuration for a datapath within Open_vSwitch46

A datapath is responsible for providing the packet handling in Open vSwitch46 There are two primary datapath implementations used by Open vSwitch: kernel and userspace46 Kernel datapath implementations are available for Linux and Hyper-V, and selected as system in the datapath_type column of the Bridge table46 The userspace datapath is used by DPDK and AF-XDP, and is selected as netdev in the datapath_type column of the Bridge table46

A datapath of a particular type is shared by all the bridges that use that datapath46 Thus, configurations applied to this table affect all bridges that use this datapath46  

Summary:

datapath_version

string

ct_zones

map of integer-CT_Zone pairs, key in range 0 to 65,535

Capabilities:

capabilities : max_vlan_headers

optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

capabilities : recirc

optional string, either true or false

Connection-Tracking Capabilities:

capabilities : ct_state

optional string, either true or false

capabilities : ct_state_nat

optional string, either true or false

capabilities : ct_zone

optional string, either true or false

capabilities : ct_mark

optional string, either true or false

capabilities : ct_label

optional string, either true or false

capabilities : ct_orig_tuple

optional string, either true or false

capabilities : ct_orig_tuple6

optional string, either true or false

capabilities : masked_set_action

optional string, either true or false

capabilities : tnl_push_pop

optional string, either true or false

capabilities : ufid

optional string, either true or false

capabilities : trunc

optional string, either true or false

capabilities : nd_ext

optional string, either true or false

Clone Actions:

capabilities : clone

optional string, either true or false

capabilities : sample_nesting

optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

capabilities : ct_eventmask

optional string, either true or false

capabilities : ct_clear

optional string, either true or false

capabilities : max_hash_alg

optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

capabilities : check_pkt_len

optional string, either true or false

capabilities : ct_timeout

optional string, either true or false

capabilities : explicit_drop_action

optional string, either true or false

Common Columns:

external_ids

map of string-string pairs

 

Details:

datapath_version: string

Reports the version number of the Open vSwitch datapath in use46 This allows management software to detect and report discrepancies between Open vSwitch userspace and datapath versions46 (The ovs_version column in the Open_vSwitch reports the Open vSwitch userspace version46) The version reported depends on the datapath in use:

•

When the kernel module included in the Open vSwitch source tree is used, this column reports the Open vSwitch version from which the module was taken46

•

When the kernel module that is part of the upstream Linux kernel is used, this column reports <unknown>46

•

When the datapath is built into the ovs-vswitchd binary, this column reports <built-in>46 A built-in datapath is by definition the same version as the rest of the Open vSwitch userspace46

•

Other datapaths (such as the Hyper-V kernel datapath) currently report <unknown>46

A version discrepancy between ovs-vswitchd and the datapath in use is not normally cause for alarm46 The Open vSwitch kernel datapaths for Linux and Hyper-V, in particular, are designed for maximum inter-version compatibility: any userspace version works with with any kernel version46 Some reasons do exist to insist on particular user/kernel pairings46 First, newer kernel versions add new features, that can only be used by new-enough userspace, e46g46 VXLAN tunneling requires certain minimal userspace and kernel versions46 Second, as an extension to the first reason, some newer kernel versions add new features for enhancing performance that only new-enough userspace versions can take advantage of46

ct_zones: map of integer-CT_Zone pairs, key in range 0 to 65,535

Configuration for connection tracking zones46 Each pair maps from a zone id to a configuration for that zone46 Zone 0 applies to the default zone (ie, the one used if a zone is not specified in connection tracking-related OpenFlow matches and actions)46

Capabilities:

The capabilities column reports a datapath's features46 For the netdev datapath, the capabilities are fixed for a given version of Open vSwitch because this datapath is built into the ovs-vswitchd binary46 The Linux kernel and Windows and other datapaths, which are external to OVS userspace, can vary in version and capabilities independently from ovs-vswitchd46

Some of these features indicate whether higher-level Open vSwitch features are available46 For example, OpenFlow features for connection-tracking are available only when capabilities:ct_state is true46 A controller that wishes to determine whether a feature is supported could, therefore, consult the relevant capabilities in this table46 However, as a general rule, it is better for a controller to try to use the higher-level feature and use the result as an indication of support, since the low-level capabilities are more likely to shift over time than the high-level features that rely on them46

capabilities : max_vlan_headers: optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

Number of 802461q VLAN headers supported by the datapath, as probed by the ovs-vswitchd slow path46 If the datapath supports more VLAN headers than the slow path, this reports the slow path's limit46 The value of other-config:vlan-limit in the Open_vSwitch table does not influence the number reported here46

capabilities : recirc: optional string, either true or false

If this is true, then the datapath supports recirculation, specifically OVS_KEY_ATTR_RECIRC_ID46 Recirculation enables higher performance for MPLS and active-active load balancing bonding modes46

Connection-Tracking Capabilities:

These capabilities are granular because Open vSwitch and its datapaths added support for connection tracking over several releases, with features added individually over that time46

capabilities : ct_state: optional string, either true or false

If true, datapath supports OVS_KEY_ATTR_CT_STATE, which indicates support for the bits in the OpenFlow ct_state field (see ovs-fields(7)) other than snat and dnat, which have a separate capability46

If this is false, the datapath does not support connection-tracking at all and the remaining connection-tracking capabilities should all be false46 In this case, Open vSwitch will reject flows that match on the ct_state field or use the ct action46

capabilities : ct_state_nat: optional string, either true or false

If true, it means that the datapath supports the snat and dnat flags in the OpenFlow ct_state field46 The ct_state capability must be true for this to make sense46

If false, Open vSwitch will reject flows that match on the snat or dnat bits in ct_state or use nat in the ct action46

capabilities : ct_zone: optional string, either true or false

If true, datapath supports OVS_KEY_ATTR_CT_ZONE46 If false, Open vSwitch rejects flows that match on the ct_zone field or that specify a nonzero zone or a zone field on the ct action46

capabilities : ct_mark: optional string, either true or false

If true, datapath supports OVS_KEY_ATTR_CT_MARK46 If false, Open vSwitch rejects flows that match on the ct_mark field or that set ct_mark in the ct action46

capabilities : ct_label: optional string, either true or false

If true, datapath supports OVS_KEY_ATTR_CT_LABEL46 If false, Open vSwitch rejects flows that match on the ct_label field or that set ct_label in the ct action46

capabilities : ct_orig_tuple: optional string, either true or false

If true, the datapath supports matching the 5-tuple from the connection's original direction for IPv4 traffic46 If false, Open vSwitch rejects flows that match on ct_nw_src or ct_nw_dst, that use the ct feature of the resubmit action, or the force keyword in the ct action46 (The latter isn't tied to connection tracking support of original tuples in any technical way46 They are conflated because all current datapaths implemented the two features at the same time46)

If this and capabilities:ct_orig_tuple6 are both false, Open vSwitch rejects flows that match on ct_nw_proto, ct_tp_src, or ct_tp_dst46

capabilities : ct_orig_tuple6: optional string, either true or false

If true, the datapath supports matching the 5-tuple from the connection's original direction for IPv6 traffic46 If false, Open vSwitch rejects flows that match on ct_ipv6_src or ct_ipv6_dst46

capabilities : masked_set_action: optional string, either true or false

True if the datapath supports masked data in OVS_ACTION_ATTR_SET actions46 Masked data can improve performance by allowing megaflows to match on fewer fields46

capabilities : tnl_push_pop: optional string, either true or false

True if the datapath supports tnl_push and pop actions46 This is a prerequisite for a datapath to support native tunneling46

capabilities : ufid: optional string, either true or false

True if the datapath supports OVS_FLOW_ATTR_UFID46 UFID support improves revalidation performance by transferring less data between the slow path and the datapath46

capabilities : trunc: optional string, either true or false

True if the datapath supports OVS_ACTION_ATTR_TRUNC action46 If false, the output action with packet truncation requires every packet to be sent to the Open vSwitch slow path, which is likely to make it too slow for mirroring traffic in bulk46

capabilities : nd_ext: optional string, either true or false

True if the datapath supports OVS_KEY_ATTR_ND_EXTENSIONS to match on ICMPv6 "ND reserved" and "ND option type" header fields46 If false, the datapath reports error if the feature is used46

Clone Actions:

When Open vSwitch translates actions from OpenFlow into the datapath representation, some of the datapath actions may modify the packet or have other side effects that later datapath actions can't undo46 The OpenFlow ct, meter, output with truncation, encap, decap, and dec_nsh_ttl actions fall into this category46 Often, this is not a problem because nothing later on needs the original packet46

Such actions can, however, occur in circumstances where the translation does require the original packet46 For example, an OpenFlow output action might direct a packet to a patch port, which might in turn lead to a ct action that NATs the packet (which cannot be undone), and then afterward when control flow pops back across the patch port some other action might need to act on the original packet46

Open vSwitch has two different ways to implement this ``save and restore'' via datapath actions46 These capabilities indicate which one Open vSwitch will choose46 When neither is available, Open vSwitch simply fails in situations that require this feature46

capabilities : clone: optional string, either true or false

True if the datapath supports OVS_ACTION_ATTR_CLONE action46 This is the preferred option for saving and restoring packets, since it is intended for the purpose, but old datapaths do not support it46 Open vSwitch will use it whenever it is available46

(The OpenFlow clone action does not always yield a OVS_ACTION_ATTR_CLONE action46 It only does so when the datapath supports it and the clone brackets actions that otherwise cannot be undone46)

capabilities : sample_nesting: optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

Maximum level of nesting allowed by OVS_ACTION_ATTR_SAMPLE action46 Open vSwitch misuses this action for saving and restoring packets when the datapath supports more than 3 levels of nesting and OVS_ACTION_ATTR_CLONE is not available46

capabilities : ct_eventmask: optional string, either true or false

True if the datapath's OVS_ACTION_ATTR_CT action implements the OVS_CT_ATTR_EVENTMASK attribute46 When this is true, Open vSwitch uses the event mask feature to limit the kinds of events reported to conntrack update listeners46 When Open vSwitch doesn't limit the event mask, listeners receive reports of numerous usually unimportant events, such as TCP state machine changes, which can waste CPU time46

capabilities : ct_clear: optional string, either true or false

True if the datapath supports OVS_ACTION_ATTR_CT_CLEAR action46 If false, the OpenFlow ct_clear action has no effect on the datapath46

capabilities : max_hash_alg: optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

Highest supported dp_hash algorithm46 This allows Open vSwitch to avoid requesting a packet hash that the datapath does not support46

capabilities : check_pkt_len: optional string, either true or false

True if the datapath supports OVS_ACTION_ATTR_CHECK_PKT_LEN46 If false, Open vSwitch implements the check_pkt_larger action by sending every packet through the Open vSwitch slow path, which is likely to make it too slow for handling traffic in bulk46

capabilities : ct_timeout: optional string, either true or false

True if the datapath supports OVS_CT_ATTR_TIMEOUT in the OVS_ACTION_ATTR_CT action46 If false, Open vswitch cannot implement timeout policies based on connection tracking zones, as configured through the CT_Timeout_Policy table46

capabilities : explicit_drop_action: optional string, either true or false

True if the datapath supports OVS_ACTION_ATTR_DROP46 If false, explicit drop action will not be sent to the datapath46

Common Columns:

The overall purpose of these columns is described under Common Columns at the beginning of this document46

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

 

CT_Zone TABLE

Connection tracking zone configuration  

Summary:

timeout_policy

optional CT_Timeout_Policy

Common Columns:

external_ids

map of string-string pairs

 

Details:

timeout_policy: optional CT_Timeout_Policy

Connection tracking timeout policy for this zone46 If a timeout policy is not specified, it defaults to the timeout policy in the system46

Common Columns:

The overall purpose of these columns is described under Common Columns at the beginning of this document46

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

 

CT_Timeout_Policy TABLE

Connection tracking timeout policy configuration  

Summary:

Timeouts:

timeouts

map of string-integer pairs, key one of icmp_first, icmp_reply, tcp_close, tcp_close_wait, tcp_established, tcp_fin_wait, tcp_last_ack, tcp_retransmit, tcp_syn_recv, tcp_syn_sent2, tcp_syn_sent, tcp_time_wait, tcp_unack, udp_first, udp_multiple, or udp_single, value in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

TCP Timeouts:

timeouts : tcp_syn_sent

optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

timeouts : tcp_syn_recv

optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

timeouts : tcp_established

optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

timeouts : tcp_fin_wait

optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

timeouts : tcp_close_wait

optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

timeouts : tcp_last_ack

optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

timeouts : tcp_time_wait

optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

timeouts : tcp_close

optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

timeouts : tcp_syn_sent2

optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

timeouts : tcp_retransmit

optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

timeouts : tcp_unack

optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

UDP Timeouts:

timeouts : udp_first

optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

timeouts : udp_single

optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

timeouts : udp_multiple

optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

ICMP Timeouts:

timeouts : icmp_first

optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

timeouts : icmp_reply

optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

Common Columns:

external_ids

map of string-string pairs

 

Details:

Timeouts:

timeouts: map of string-integer pairs, key one of icmp_first, icmp_reply, tcp_close, tcp_close_wait, tcp_established, tcp_fin_wait, tcp_last_ack, tcp_retransmit, tcp_syn_recv, tcp_syn_sent2, tcp_syn_sent, tcp_time_wait, tcp_unack, udp_first, udp_multiple, or udp_single, value in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

The timeouts column contains key-value pairs used to configure connection tracking timeouts in a datapath46 Key-value pairs that are not supported by a datapath are ignored46 The timeout value is in seconds46

TCP Timeouts:

timeouts : tcp_syn_sent: optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

The timeout for the connection after the first TCP SYN packet has been seen by conntrack46

timeouts : tcp_syn_recv: optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

The timeout of the connection after the first TCP SYN-ACK packet has been seen by conntrack46

timeouts : tcp_established: optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

The timeout of the connection after the connection has been fully established46

timeouts : tcp_fin_wait: optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

The timeout of the connection after the first TCP FIN packet has been seen by conntrack46

timeouts : tcp_close_wait: optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

The timeout of the connection after the first TCP ACK packet has been seen after it receives TCP FIN packet46 This timeout is only supported by the Linux kernel datapath46

timeouts : tcp_last_ack: optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

The timeout of the connection after TCP FIN packets have been seen by conntrack from both directions46 This timeout is only supported by the Linux kernel datapath46

timeouts : tcp_time_wait: optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

The timeout of the connection after conntrack has seen the TCP ACK packet for the second TCP FIN packet46

timeouts : tcp_close: optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

The timeout of the connection after the first TCP RST packet has been seen by conntrack46

timeouts : tcp_syn_sent2: optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

The timeout of the connection when only a TCP SYN packet has been seen by conntrack from both directions (simultaneous open)46 This timeout is only supported by the Linux kernel datapath46

timeouts : tcp_retransmit: optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

The timeout of the connection when it exceeds the maximum number of retransmissions46 This timeout is only supported by the Linux kernel datapath46

timeouts : tcp_unack: optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

The timeout of the connection when non-SYN packets create an established connection in TCP loose tracking mode46 This timeout is only supported by the Linux kernel datapath46

UDP Timeouts:

timeouts : udp_first: optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

The timeout of the connection after the first UDP packet has been seen by conntrack46 This timeout is only supported by the userspace datapath46

timeouts : udp_single: optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

The timeout of the connection when conntrack only seen UDP packet from the source host, but the destination host has never sent one back46

timeouts : udp_multiple: optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

The timeout of the connection when UDP packets have been seen in both directions46

ICMP Timeouts:

timeouts : icmp_first: optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

The timeout of the connection after the first ICMP packet has been seen by conntrack46

timeouts : icmp_reply: optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

The timeout of the connection after an ICMP error is replied in response to an ICMP packet46 This timeout is only supported by the userspace datapath46

Common Columns:

The overall purpose of these columns is described under Common Columns at the beginning of this document46

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

 

SSL TABLE

SSL configuration for an Open_vSwitch46  

Summary:

private_key

string

certificate

string

ca_cert

string

bootstrap_ca_cert

boolean

Common Columns:

external_ids

map of string-string pairs

 

Details:

private_key: string

Name of a PEM file containing the private key used as the switch's identity for SSL connections to the controller46

certificate: string

Name of a PEM file containing a certificate, signed by the certificate authority (CA) used by the controller and manager, that certifies the switch's private key, identifying a trustworthy switch46

ca_cert: string

Name of a PEM file containing the CA certificate used to verify that the switch is connected to a trustworthy controller46

bootstrap_ca_cert: boolean

If set to true, then Open vSwitch will attempt to obtain the CA certificate from the controller on its first SSL connection and save it to the named PEM file46 If it is successful, it will immediately drop the connection and reconnect, and from then on all SSL connections must be authenticated by a certificate signed by the CA certificate thus obtained46 This option exposes the SSL connection to a man-in-the-middle attack obtaining the initial CA certificate46 It may still be useful for bootstrapping46

Common Columns:

The overall purpose of these columns is described under Common Columns at the beginning of this document46

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

 

sFlow TABLE

A set of sFlow(R) targets46 sFlow is a protocol for remote monitoring of switches46  

Summary:

agent

optional string

header

optional integer

polling

optional integer

sampling

optional integer

targets

set of 1 or more strings

Common Columns:

external_ids

map of string-string pairs

 

Details:

agent: optional string

Determines the agent address, that is, the IP address reported to collectors as the source of the sFlow data46 It may be an IP address or the name of a network device46 In the latter case, the network device's IP address is used,

If not specified, the agent device is figured from the first target address and the routing table46 If the routing table does not contain a route to the target, the IP address defaults to the local_ip in the collector's Controller46

If an agent IP address cannot be determined, sFlow is disabled46

header: optional integer

Number of bytes of a sampled packet to send to the collector46 If not specified, the default is 128 bytes46

polling: optional integer

Polling rate in seconds to send port statistics to the collector46 If not specified, defaults to 30 seconds46

sampling: optional integer

Rate at which packets should be sampled and sent to the collector46 If not specified, defaults to 400, which means one out of 400 packets, on average, will be sent to the collector46

targets: set of 1 or more strings

sFlow targets in the form ip:port46

Common Columns:

The overall purpose of these columns is described under Common Columns at the beginning of this document46

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

 

IPFIX TABLE

Configuration for sending packets to IPFIX collectors46

IPFIX is a protocol that exports a number of details about flows46 The IPFIX implementation in Open vSwitch samples packets at a configurable rate, extracts flow information from those packets, optionally caches and aggregates the flow information, and sends the result to one or more collectors46

IPFIX in Open vSwitch can be configured two different ways:

•

With per-bridge sampling, Open vSwitch performs IPFIX sampling automatically on all packets that pass through a bridge46 To configure per-bridge sampling, create an IPFIX record and point a Bridge table's ipfix column to it46 The Flow_Sample_Collector_Set table is not used for per-bridge sampling46

•

With flow-based sampling, sample actions in the OpenFlow flow table drive IPFIX sampling46 See ovs-actions(7) for a description of the sample action46

Flow-based sampling also requires database configuration: create a IPFIX record that describes the IPFIX configuration and a Flow_Sample_Collector_Set record that points to the Bridge whose flow table holds the sample actions and to IPFIX record46 The ipfix in the Bridge table is not used for flow-based sampling46

 

Summary:

targets

set of strings

cache_active_timeout

optional integer, in range 0 to 4,200

cache_max_flows

optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

other_config : enable-tunnel-sampling

optional string, either true or false

other_config : virtual_obs_id

optional string

Per-Bridge Sampling:

sampling

optional integer, in range 1 to 4,294,967,295

obs_domain_id

optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

obs_point_id

optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

other_config : enable-input-sampling

optional string, either true or false

other_config : enable-output-sampling

optional string, either true or false

Common Columns:

external_ids

map of string-string pairs

 

Details:

targets: set of strings

IPFIX target collectors in the form ip:port46

cache_active_timeout: optional integer, in range 0 to 4,200

The maximum period in seconds for which an IPFIX flow record is cached and aggregated before being sent46 If not specified, defaults to 046 If 0, caching is disabled46

cache_max_flows: optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

The maximum number of IPFIX flow records that can be cached at a time46 If not specified, defaults to 046 If 0, caching is disabled46

other_config : enable-tunnel-sampling: optional string, either true or false

Set to true to enable sampling and reporting tunnel header 7-tuples in IPFIX flow records46 Tunnel sampling is enabled by default46

The following enterprise entities report the sampled tunnel info:

tunnelType:

ID: 891, and enterprise ID 6876 (VMware)46

type: unsigned 8-bit integer46

data type semantics: identifier46

description: Identifier of the layer 2 network overlay network encapsulation type: 0x01 VxLAN, 0x02 GRE, 0x03 LISP, 0x07 GENEVE46

tunnelKey:

ID: 892, and enterprise ID 6876 (VMware)46

type: variable-length octetarray46

data type semantics: identifier46

description: Key which is used for identifying an individual traffic flow within a VxLAN (24-bit VNI), GENEVE (24-bit VNI), GRE (32-bit key), or LISP (24-bit instance ID) tunnel46 The key is encoded in this octetarray as a 3-, 4-, or 8-byte integer ID in network byte order46

tunnelSourceIPv4Address:

ID: 893, and enterprise ID 6876 (VMware)46

type: unsigned 32-bit integer46

data type semantics: identifier46

description: The IPv4 source address in the tunnel IP packet header46

tunnelDestinationIPv4Address:

ID: 894, and enterprise ID 6876 (VMware)46

type: unsigned 32-bit integer46

data type semantics: identifier46

description: The IPv4 destination address in the tunnel IP packet header46

tunnelProtocolIdentifier:

ID: 895, and enterprise ID 6876 (VMware)46

type: unsigned 8-bit integer46

data type semantics: identifier46

description: The value of the protocol number in the tunnel IP packet header46 The protocol number identifies the tunnel IP packet payload type46

tunnelSourceTransportPort:

ID: 896, and enterprise ID 6876 (VMware)46

type: unsigned 16-bit integer46

data type semantics: identifier46

description: The source port identifier in the tunnel transport header46 For the transport protocols UDP, TCP, and SCTP, this is the source port number given in the respective header46

tunnelDestinationTransportPort:

ID: 897, and enterprise ID 6876 (VMware)46

type: unsigned 16-bit integer46

data type semantics: identifier46

description: The destination port identifier in the tunnel transport header46 For the transport protocols UDP, TCP, and SCTP, this is the destination port number given in the respective header46

Before Open vSwitch 24654690, other_config:enable-tunnel-sampling was only supported with per-bridge sampling, and ignored otherwise46 Open vSwitch 24654690 and later support other_config:enable-tunnel-sampling for per-bridge and per-flow sampling46

other_config : virtual_obs_id: optional string

A string that accompanies each IPFIX flow record46 Its intended use is for the ``virtual observation ID,'' an identifier of a virtual observation point that is locally unique in a virtual network46 It describes a location in the virtual network where IP packets can be observed46 The maximum length is 254 bytes46 If not specified, the field is omitted from the IPFIX flow record46

The following enterprise entity reports the specified virtual observation ID:

virtualObsID:

ID: 898, and enterprise ID 6876 (VMware)46

type: variable-length string46

data type semantics: identifier46

description: A virtual observation domain ID that is locally unique in a virtual network46

This feature was introduced in Open vSwitch 2465469046

Per-Bridge Sampling:

These values affect only per-bridge sampling46 See above for a description of the differences between per-bridge and flow-based sampling46

sampling: optional integer, in range 1 to 4,294,967,295

The rate at which packets should be sampled and sent to each target collector46 If not specified, defaults to 400, which means one out of 400 packets, on average, will be sent to each target collector46

obs_domain_id: optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

The IPFIX Observation Domain ID sent in each IPFIX packet46 If not specified, defaults to 046

obs_point_id: optional integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

The IPFIX Observation Point ID sent in each IPFIX flow record46 If not specified, defaults to 046

other_config : enable-input-sampling: optional string, either true or false

By default, Open vSwitch samples and reports flows at bridge port input in IPFIX flow records46 Set this column to false to disable input sampling46

other_config : enable-output-sampling: optional string, either true or false

By default, Open vSwitch samples and reports flows at bridge port output in IPFIX flow records46 Set this column to false to disable output sampling46

Common Columns:

The overall purpose of these columns is described under Common Columns at the beginning of this document46

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

 

Flow_Sample_Collector_Set TABLE

A set of IPFIX collectors of packet samples generated by OpenFlow sample actions46 This table is used only for IPFIX flow-based sampling, not for per-bridge sampling (see the IPFIX table for a description of the two forms)46  

Summary:

id

integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

bridge Bridge

ipfix

optional IPFIX

Common Columns:

external_ids

map of string-string pairs

 

Details:

id: integer, in range 0 to 4,294,967,295

The ID of this collector set, unique among the bridge's collector sets, to be used as the collector_set_id in OpenFlow sample actions46

bridge: Bridge

The bridge into which OpenFlow sample actions can be added to send packet samples to this set of IPFIX collectors46

ipfix: optional IPFIX

Configuration of the set of IPFIX collectors to send one flow record per sampled packet to46

Common Columns:

The overall purpose of these columns is described under Common Columns at the beginning of this document46

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

 

AutoAttach TABLE

Auto Attach configuration within a bridge46 The IETF Auto-Attach SPBM draft standard describes a compact method of using IEEE 802461AB Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) together with a IEEE 802461aq Shortest Path Bridging (SPB) network to automatically attach network devices to individual services in a SPB network46 The intent here is to allow network applications and devices using OVS to be able to easily take advantage of features offered by industry standard SPB networks46

Auto Attach (AA) uses LLDP to communicate between a directly connected Auto Attach Client (AAC) and Auto Attach Server (AAS)46 The LLDP protocol is extended to add two new Type-Length-Value tuples (TLVs)46 The first new TLV supports the ongoing discovery of directly connected AA correspondents46 Auto Attach operates by regularly transmitting AA discovery TLVs between the AA client and AA server46 By exchanging these discovery messages, both the AAC and AAS learn the system name and system description of their peer46 In the OVS context, OVS operates as the AA client and the AA server resides on a switch at the edge of the SPB network46

Once AA discovery has been completed the AAC then uses the second new TLV to deliver identifier mappings from the AAC to the AAS46 A primary feature of Auto Attach is to facilitate the mapping of VLANs defined outside the SPB network onto service ids (ISIDs) defined within the SPM network46 By doing so individual external VLANs can be mapped onto specific SPB network services46 These VLAN id to ISID mappings can be configured and managed locally using new options added to the ovs-vsctl command46

The Auto Attach OVS feature does not provide a full implementation of the LLDP protocol46 Support for the mandatory TLVs as defined by the LLDP standard and support for the AA TLV extensions is provided46 LLDP protocol support in OVS can be enabled or disabled on a port by port basis46 LLDP support is disabled by default46  

Summary:

system_name

string

system_description

string

mappings

map of integer-integer pairs, key in range 0 to 16,777,215, value in range 0 to 4,095

 

Details:

system_name: string

The system_name string is exported in LLDP messages46 It should uniquely identify the bridge in the network46

system_description: string

The system_description string is exported in LLDP messages46 It should describe the type of software and hardware46

mappings: map of integer-integer pairs, key in range 0 to 16,777,215, value in range 0 to 4,095

A mapping from SPB network Individual Service Identifier (ISID) to VLAN id46

---

 

Index

NAME

Common Columns

TABLE SUMMARY

Open_vSwitch TABLE

Summary:

Details:

Bridge TABLE

Summary:

Details:

Port TABLE

Summary:

Details:

Interface TABLE

Summary:

Details:

Flow_Table TABLE

Summary:

Details:

QoS TABLE

Summary:

Details:

Queue TABLE

Summary:

Details:

Mirror TABLE

Summary:

Details:

Controller TABLE

Summary:

Details:

Manager TABLE

Summary:

Details:

NetFlow TABLE

Summary:

Details:

Datapath TABLE

Summary:

Details:

CT_Zone TABLE

Summary:

Details:

CT_Timeout_Policy TABLE

Summary:

Details:

SSL TABLE

Summary:

Details:

sFlow TABLE

Summary:

Details:

IPFIX TABLE

Summary:

Details:

Flow_Sample_Collector_Set TABLE

Summary:

Details:

AutoAttach TABLE

Summary:

Details:

Index (this page) | LinuxReviews : manual page archive : man5