1 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
2 <database title="Open vSwitch Configuration Database">
4 A database with this schema holds the configuration for one Open
5 vSwitch daemon. The top-level configuration for the daemon is the
6 <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table, which must have exactly one
7 record. Records in other tables are significant only when they
8 can be reached directly or indirectly from the <ref
9 table="Open_vSwitch"/> table. Records that are not reachable from
10 the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table are automatically deleted
11 from the database, except for records in a few distinguished
15 <h2>Common Columns</h2>
18 Most tables contain two special columns, named <code>other_config</code>
19 and <code>external_ids</code>. These columns have the same form and
20 purpose each place that they appear, so we describe them here to save space
25 <dt><code>other_config</code>: map of string-string pairs</dt>
28 Key-value pairs for configuring rarely used features. Supported keys,
29 along with the forms taken by their values, are documented individually
33 A few tables do not have <code>other_config</code> columns because no
34 key-value pairs have yet been defined for them.
38 <dt><code>external_ids</code>: map of string-string pairs</dt>
40 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate with Open
41 vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System integrators should
42 either use the Open vSwitch development mailing list to coordinate on
43 common key-value definitions, or choose key names that are likely to be
44 unique. In some cases, where key-value pairs have been defined that are
45 likely to be widely useful, they are documented individually for each
50 <table name="Open_vSwitch" title="Open vSwitch configuration.">
51 Configuration for an Open vSwitch daemon. There must be exactly
52 one record in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table.
54 <group title="Configuration">
55 <column name="bridges">
56 Set of bridges managed by the daemon.
60 SSL used globally by the daemon.
63 <column name="external_ids" key="system-id">
64 A unique identifier for the Open vSwitch's physical host.
65 The form of the identifier depends on the type of the host.
66 On a Citrix XenServer, this will likely be the same as
67 <ref column="external_ids" key="xs-system-uuid"/>.
70 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-system-uuid">
71 The Citrix XenServer universally unique identifier for the physical
72 host as displayed by <code>xe host-list</code>.
75 <column name="other_config" key="flow-restore-wait"
76 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
78 When <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> starts up, it has an empty flow table
79 and therefore it handles all arriving packets in its default fashion
80 according to its configuration, by dropping them or sending them to
81 an OpenFlow controller or switching them as a standalone switch.
82 This behavior is ordinarily desirable. However, if
83 <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> is restarting as part of a ``hot-upgrade,''
84 then this leads to a relatively long period during which packets are
88 This option allows for improvement. When <code>ovs-vswitchd</code>
89 starts with this value set as <code>true</code>, it will neither
90 flush or expire previously set datapath flows nor will it send and
91 receive any packets to or from the datapath. When this value is
92 later set to <code>false</code>, <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> will
93 start receiving packets from the datapath and re-setup the flows.
96 Thus, with this option, the procedure for a hot-upgrade of
97 <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> becomes roughly the following:
101 Stop <code>ovs-vswitchd</code>.
104 Set <ref column="other_config" key="flow-restore-wait"/>
105 to <code>true</code>.
108 Start <code>ovs-vswitchd</code>.
111 Use <code>ovs-ofctl</code> (or some other program, such as an
112 OpenFlow controller) to restore the OpenFlow flow table
113 to the desired state.
116 Set <ref column="other_config" key="flow-restore-wait"/>
117 to <code>false</code> (or remove it entirely from the database).
121 The <code>ovs-ctl</code>'s ``restart'' and ``force-reload-kmod''
122 functions use the above config option during hot upgrades.
126 <column name="other_config" key="flow-eviction-threshold"
127 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
129 A number of flows as a nonnegative integer. This sets number of
130 flows at which eviction from the datapath flow table will be
131 triggered. If there are a large number of flows then increasing this
132 value to around the number of flows present can result in reduced CPU
133 usage and packet loss.
136 The default is 2500. Values below 100 will be rounded up to 100.
140 <column name="other_config" key="force-miss-model">
142 Specifies userspace behaviour for handling flow misses. This takes
143 precedence over flow-eviction-threshold.
147 <dt><code>auto</code></dt>
148 <dd>Handle automatically based on the flow-eviction-threshold and
149 the flow setup governer (default, recommended).</dd>
150 <dt><code>with-facets</code></dt>
151 <dd>Always create facets. Expensive kernel flow creation and
152 statistics tracking is always performed, even on flows with only
153 a small number of packets.</dd>
154 <dt><code>without-facets</code></dt>
155 <dd>Always handle without facets. Forces flow misses to be handled
156 in userspace. May cause an increase in CPU usage and packet loss
157 on high throughput.</dd>
163 <group title="Status">
164 <column name="next_cfg">
165 Sequence number for client to increment. When a client modifies
166 any part of the database configuration and wishes to wait for
167 Open vSwitch to finish applying the changes, it may increment
168 this sequence number.
171 <column name="cur_cfg">
172 Sequence number that Open vSwitch sets to the current value of
173 <ref column="next_cfg"/> after it finishes applying a set of
174 configuration changes.
177 <group title="Statistics">
179 The <code>statistics</code> column contains key-value pairs that
180 report statistics about a system running an Open vSwitch. These are
181 updated periodically (currently, every 5 seconds). Key-value pairs
182 that cannot be determined or that do not apply to a platform are
186 <column name="other_config" key="enable-statistics"
187 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
188 Statistics are disabled by default to avoid overhead in the common
189 case when statistics gathering is not useful. Set this value to
190 <code>true</code> to enable populating the <ref column="statistics"/>
191 column or to <code>false</code> to explicitly disable it.
194 <column name="statistics" key="cpu"
195 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
197 Number of CPU processors, threads, or cores currently online and
198 available to the operating system on which Open vSwitch is running,
199 as an integer. This may be less than the number installed, if some
200 are not online or if they are not available to the operating
204 Open vSwitch userspace processes are not multithreaded, but the
205 Linux kernel-based datapath is.
209 <column name="statistics" key="load_average">
210 A comma-separated list of three floating-point numbers,
211 representing the system load average over the last 1, 5, and 15
212 minutes, respectively.
215 <column name="statistics" key="memory">
217 A comma-separated list of integers, each of which represents a
218 quantity of memory in kilobytes that describes the operating
219 system on which Open vSwitch is running. In respective order,
224 <li>Total amount of RAM allocated to the OS.</li>
225 <li>RAM allocated to the OS that is in use.</li>
226 <li>RAM that can be flushed out to disk or otherwise discarded
227 if that space is needed for another purpose. This number is
228 necessarily less than or equal to the previous value.</li>
229 <li>Total disk space allocated for swap.</li>
230 <li>Swap space currently in use.</li>
234 On Linux, all five values can be determined and are included. On
235 other operating systems, only the first two values can be
236 determined, so the list will only have two values.
240 <column name="statistics" key="process_NAME">
242 One such key-value pair, with <code>NAME</code> replaced by
243 a process name, will exist for each running Open vSwitch
244 daemon process, with <var>name</var> replaced by the
245 daemon's name (e.g. <code>process_ovs-vswitchd</code>). The
246 value is a comma-separated list of integers. The integers
247 represent the following, with memory measured in kilobytes
248 and durations in milliseconds:
252 <li>The process's virtual memory size.</li>
253 <li>The process's resident set size.</li>
254 <li>The amount of user and system CPU time consumed by the
256 <li>The number of times that the process has crashed and been
257 automatically restarted by the monitor.</li>
258 <li>The duration since the process was started.</li>
259 <li>The duration for which the process has been running.</li>
263 The interpretation of some of these values depends on whether the
264 process was started with the <option>--monitor</option>. If it
265 was not, then the crash count will always be 0 and the two
266 durations will always be the same. If <option>--monitor</option>
267 was given, then the crash count may be positive; if it is, the
268 latter duration is the amount of time since the most recent crash
273 There will be one key-value pair for each file in Open vSwitch's
274 ``run directory'' (usually <code>/var/run/openvswitch</code>)
275 whose name ends in <code>.pid</code>, whose contents are a
276 process ID, and which is locked by a running process. The
277 <var>name</var> is taken from the pidfile's name.
281 Currently Open vSwitch is only able to obtain all of the above
282 detail on Linux systems. On other systems, the same key-value
283 pairs will be present but the values will always be the empty
288 <column name="statistics" key="file_systems">
290 A space-separated list of information on local, writable file
291 systems. Each item in the list describes one file system and
292 consists in turn of a comma-separated list of the following:
296 <li>Mount point, e.g. <code>/</code> or <code>/var/log</code>.
297 Any spaces or commas in the mount point are replaced by
299 <li>Total size, in kilobytes, as an integer.</li>
300 <li>Amount of storage in use, in kilobytes, as an integer.</li>
304 This key-value pair is omitted if there are no local, writable
305 file systems or if Open vSwitch cannot obtain the needed
312 <group title="Version Reporting">
314 These columns report the types and versions of the hardware and
315 software running Open vSwitch. We recommend in general that software
316 should test whether specific features are supported instead of relying
317 on version number checks. These values are primarily intended for
318 reporting to human administrators.
321 <column name="ovs_version">
322 The Open vSwitch version number, e.g. <code>1.1.0</code>.
325 <column name="db_version">
327 The database schema version number in the form
328 <code><var>major</var>.<var>minor</var>.<var>tweak</var></code>,
329 e.g. <code>1.2.3</code>. Whenever the database schema is changed in
330 a non-backward compatible way (e.g. deleting a column or a table),
331 <var>major</var> is incremented. When the database schema is changed
332 in a backward compatible way (e.g. adding a new column),
333 <var>minor</var> is incremented. When the database schema is changed
334 cosmetically (e.g. reindenting its syntax), <var>tweak</var> is
339 The schema version is part of the database schema, so it can also be
340 retrieved by fetching the schema using the Open vSwitch database
345 <column name="system_type">
347 An identifier for the type of system on top of which Open vSwitch
348 runs, e.g. <code>XenServer</code> or <code>KVM</code>.
351 System integrators are responsible for choosing and setting an
352 appropriate value for this column.
356 <column name="system_version">
358 The version of the system identified by <ref column="system_type"/>,
359 e.g. <code>5.6.100-39265p</code> on XenServer 5.6.100 build 39265.
362 System integrators are responsible for choosing and setting an
363 appropriate value for this column.
369 <group title="Database Configuration">
371 These columns primarily configure the Open vSwitch database
372 (<code>ovsdb-server</code>), not the Open vSwitch switch
373 (<code>ovs-vswitchd</code>). The OVSDB database also uses the <ref
374 column="ssl"/> settings.
378 The Open vSwitch switch does read the database configuration to
379 determine remote IP addresses to which in-band control should apply.
382 <column name="manager_options">
383 Database clients to which the Open vSwitch database server should
384 connect or to which it should listen, along with options for how these
385 connection should be configured. See the <ref table="Manager"/> table
386 for more information.
390 <group title="Common Columns">
391 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
392 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
394 <column name="other_config"/>
395 <column name="external_ids"/>
399 <table name="Bridge">
401 Configuration for a bridge within an
402 <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/>.
405 A <ref table="Bridge"/> record represents an Ethernet switch with one or
406 more ``ports,'' which are the <ref table="Port"/> records pointed to by
407 the <ref table="Bridge"/>'s <ref column="ports"/> column.
410 <group title="Core Features">
412 Bridge identifier. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8
413 bytes long. Must be unique among the names of ports, interfaces, and
417 <column name="ports">
418 Ports included in the bridge.
421 <column name="mirrors">
422 Port mirroring configuration.
425 <column name="netflow">
426 NetFlow configuration.
429 <column name="sflow">
430 sFlow(R) configuration.
433 <column name="ipfix">
437 <column name="flood_vlans">
439 VLAN IDs of VLANs on which MAC address learning should be disabled,
440 so that packets are flooded instead of being sent to specific ports
441 that are believed to contain packets' destination MACs. This should
442 ordinarily be used to disable MAC learning on VLANs used for
443 mirroring (RSPAN VLANs). It may also be useful for debugging.
446 SLB bonding (see the <ref table="Port" column="bond_mode"/> column in
447 the <ref table="Port"/> table) is incompatible with
448 <code>flood_vlans</code>. Consider using another bonding mode or
449 a different type of mirror instead.
454 <group title="OpenFlow Configuration">
455 <column name="controller">
457 OpenFlow controller set. If unset, then no OpenFlow controllers
462 If there are primary controllers, removing all of them clears the
463 flow table. If there are no primary controllers, adding one also
464 clears the flow table. Other changes to the set of controllers, such
465 as adding or removing a service controller, adding another primary
466 controller to supplement an existing primary controller, or removing
467 only one of two primary controllers, have no effect on the flow
472 <column name="flow_tables">
473 Configuration for OpenFlow tables. Each pair maps from an OpenFlow
474 table ID to configuration for that table.
477 <column name="fail_mode">
478 <p>When a controller is configured, it is, ordinarily, responsible
479 for setting up all flows on the switch. Thus, if the connection to
480 the controller fails, no new network connections can be set up.
481 If the connection to the controller stays down long enough,
482 no packets can pass through the switch at all. This setting
483 determines the switch's response to such a situation. It may be set
484 to one of the following:
486 <dt><code>standalone</code></dt>
487 <dd>If no message is received from the controller for three
488 times the inactivity probe interval
489 (see <ref column="inactivity_probe"/>), then Open vSwitch
490 will take over responsibility for setting up flows. In
491 this mode, Open vSwitch causes the bridge to act like an
492 ordinary MAC-learning switch. Open vSwitch will continue
493 to retry connecting to the controller in the background
494 and, when the connection succeeds, it will discontinue its
495 standalone behavior.</dd>
496 <dt><code>secure</code></dt>
497 <dd>Open vSwitch will not set up flows on its own when the
498 controller connection fails or when no controllers are
499 defined. The bridge will continue to retry connecting to
500 any defined controllers forever.</dd>
504 The default is <code>standalone</code> if the value is unset, but
505 future versions of Open vSwitch may change the default.
508 The <code>standalone</code> mode can create forwarding loops on a
509 bridge that has more than one uplink port unless STP is enabled. To
510 avoid loops on such a bridge, configure <code>secure</code> mode or
511 enable STP (see <ref column="stp_enable"/>).
513 <p>When more than one controller is configured,
514 <ref column="fail_mode"/> is considered only when none of the
515 configured controllers can be contacted.</p>
517 Changing <ref column="fail_mode"/> when no primary controllers are
518 configured clears the flow table.
522 <column name="datapath_id">
523 Reports the OpenFlow datapath ID in use. Exactly 16 hex digits.
524 (Setting this column has no useful effect. Set <ref
525 column="other-config" key="datapath-id"/> instead.)
528 <column name="other_config" key="datapath-id">
529 Exactly 16 hex digits to set the OpenFlow datapath ID to a specific
530 value. May not be all-zero.
533 <column name="other_config" key="dp-desc">
534 Human readable description of datapath. It it a maximum 256
535 byte-long free-form string to describe the datapath for
536 debugging purposes, e.g. <code>switch3 in room 3120</code>.
539 <column name="other_config" key="disable-in-band"
540 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
541 If set to <code>true</code>, disable in-band control on the bridge
542 regardless of controller and manager settings.
545 <column name="other_config" key="in-band-queue"
546 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 4294967295}'>
547 A queue ID as a nonnegative integer. This sets the OpenFlow queue ID
548 that will be used by flows set up by in-band control on this bridge.
549 If unset, or if the port used by an in-band control flow does not have
550 QoS configured, or if the port does not have a queue with the specified
551 ID, the default queue is used instead.
554 <column name="protocols">
555 List of OpenFlow protocols that may be used when negotiating a
556 connection with a controller. A default value of
557 <code>OpenFlow10</code> will be used if this column is empty.
561 <group title="Spanning Tree Configuration">
562 The IEEE 802.1D Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is a network protocol
563 that ensures loop-free topologies. It allows redundant links to
564 be included in the network to provide automatic backup paths if
565 the active links fails.
567 <column name="stp_enable">
568 Enable spanning tree on the bridge. By default, STP is disabled
569 on bridges. Bond, internal, and mirror ports are not supported
570 and will not participate in the spanning tree.
573 <column name="other_config" key="stp-system-id">
574 The bridge's STP identifier (the lower 48 bits of the bridge-id)
576 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>.
577 By default, the identifier is the MAC address of the bridge.
580 <column name="other_config" key="stp-priority"
581 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
582 The bridge's relative priority value for determining the root
583 bridge (the upper 16 bits of the bridge-id). A bridge with the
584 lowest bridge-id is elected the root. By default, the priority
588 <column name="other_config" key="stp-hello-time"
589 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 10}'>
590 The interval between transmissions of hello messages by
591 designated ports, in seconds. By default the hello interval is
595 <column name="other_config" key="stp-max-age"
596 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 6, "maxInteger": 40}'>
597 The maximum age of the information transmitted by the bridge
598 when it is the root bridge, in seconds. By default, the maximum
602 <column name="other_config" key="stp-forward-delay"
603 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 4, "maxInteger": 30}'>
604 The delay to wait between transitioning root and designated
605 ports to <code>forwarding</code>, in seconds. By default, the
606 forwarding delay is 15 seconds.
610 <group title="Other Features">
611 <column name="datapath_type">
612 Name of datapath provider. The kernel datapath has
613 type <code>system</code>. The userspace datapath has
614 type <code>netdev</code>.
617 <column name="external_ids" key="bridge-id">
618 A unique identifier of the bridge. On Citrix XenServer this will
619 commonly be the same as
620 <ref column="external_ids" key="xs-network-uuids"/>.
623 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-network-uuids">
624 Semicolon-delimited set of universally unique identifier(s) for the
625 network with which this bridge is associated on a Citrix XenServer
626 host. The network identifiers are RFC 4122 UUIDs as displayed by,
627 e.g., <code>xe network-list</code>.
630 <column name="other_config" key="hwaddr">
631 An Ethernet address in the form
632 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>
633 to set the hardware address of the local port and influence the
637 <column name="other_config" key="forward-bpdu"
638 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
639 Option to allow forwarding of BPDU frames when NORMAL action is
640 invoked. Frames with reserved Ethernet addresses (e.g. STP
641 BPDU) will be forwarded when this option is enabled and the
642 switch is not providing that functionality. If STP is enabled
643 on the port, STP BPDUs will never be forwarded. If the Open
644 vSwitch bridge is used to connect different Ethernet networks,
645 and if Open vSwitch node does not run STP, then this option
646 should be enabled. Default is disabled, set to
647 <code>true</code> to enable.
649 The following destination MAC addresss will not be forwarded when this
652 <dt><code>01:80:c2:00:00:00</code></dt>
653 <dd>IEEE 802.1D Spanning Tree Protocol (STP).</dd>
655 <dt><code>01:80:c2:00:00:01</code></dt>
656 <dd>IEEE Pause frame.</dd>
658 <dt><code>01:80:c2:00:00:0<var>x</var></code></dt>
659 <dd>Other reserved protocols.</dd>
661 <dt><code>00:e0:2b:00:00:00</code></dt>
662 <dd>Extreme Discovery Protocol (EDP).</dd>
665 <code>00:e0:2b:00:00:04</code> and <code>00:e0:2b:00:00:06</code>
667 <dd>Ethernet Automatic Protection Switching (EAPS).</dd>
669 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cc:cc:cc</code></dt>
671 Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP), VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP),
672 Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP), Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP),
676 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cc:cc:cd</code></dt>
677 <dd>Cisco Shared Spanning Tree Protocol PVSTP+.</dd>
679 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cd:cd:cd</code></dt>
680 <dd>Cisco STP Uplink Fast.</dd>
682 <dt><code>01:00:0c:00:00:00</code></dt>
683 <dd>Cisco Inter Switch Link.</dd>
685 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cc:cc:c<var>x</var></code></dt>
690 <column name="other_config" key="mac-aging-time"
691 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
693 The maximum number of seconds to retain a MAC learning entry for
694 which no packets have been seen. The default is currently 300
695 seconds (5 minutes). The value, if specified, is forced into a
696 reasonable range, currently 15 to 3600 seconds.
700 A short MAC aging time allows a network to more quickly detect that a
701 host is no longer connected to a switch port. However, it also makes
702 it more likely that packets will be flooded unnecessarily, when they
703 are addressed to a connected host that rarely transmits packets. To
704 reduce the incidence of unnecessary flooding, use a MAC aging time
705 longer than the maximum interval at which a host will ordinarily
710 <column name="other_config" key="mac-table-size"
711 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
713 The maximum number of MAC addresses to learn. The default is
714 currently 2048. The value, if specified, is forced into a reasonable
715 range, currently 10 to 1,000,000.
720 <group title="Bridge Status">
722 Status information about bridges.
724 <column name="status">
725 Key-value pairs that report bridge status.
727 <column name="status" key="stp_bridge_id">
729 The bridge-id (in hex) used in spanning tree advertisements.
730 Configuring the bridge-id is described in the
731 <code>stp-system-id</code> and <code>stp-priority</code> keys
732 of the <code>other_config</code> section earlier.
735 <column name="status" key="stp_designated_root">
737 The designated root (in hex) for this spanning tree.
740 <column name="status" key="stp_root_path_cost">
742 The path cost of reaching the designated bridge. A lower
748 <group title="Common Columns">
749 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
750 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
752 <column name="other_config"/>
753 <column name="external_ids"/>
757 <table name="Port" table="Port or bond configuration.">
758 <p>A port within a <ref table="Bridge"/>.</p>
759 <p>Most commonly, a port has exactly one ``interface,'' pointed to by its
760 <ref column="interfaces"/> column. Such a port logically
761 corresponds to a port on a physical Ethernet switch. A port
762 with more than one interface is a ``bonded port'' (see
763 <ref group="Bonding Configuration"/>).</p>
764 <p>Some properties that one might think as belonging to a port are actually
765 part of the port's <ref table="Interface"/> members.</p>
768 Port name. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8
769 bytes long. May be the same as the interface name, for
770 non-bonded ports. Must otherwise be unique among the names of
771 ports, interfaces, and bridges on a host.
774 <column name="interfaces">
775 The port's interfaces. If there is more than one, this is a
779 <group title="VLAN Configuration">
780 <p>Bridge ports support the following types of VLAN configuration:</p>
785 A trunk port carries packets on one or more specified VLANs
786 specified in the <ref column="trunks"/> column (often, on every
787 VLAN). A packet that ingresses on a trunk port is in the VLAN
788 specified in its 802.1Q header, or VLAN 0 if the packet has no
789 802.1Q header. A packet that egresses through a trunk port will
790 have an 802.1Q header if it has a nonzero VLAN ID.
794 Any packet that ingresses on a trunk port tagged with a VLAN that
795 the port does not trunk is dropped.
802 An access port carries packets on exactly one VLAN specified in the
803 <ref column="tag"/> column. Packets egressing on an access port
804 have no 802.1Q header.
808 Any packet with an 802.1Q header with a nonzero VLAN ID that
809 ingresses on an access port is dropped, regardless of whether the
810 VLAN ID in the header is the access port's VLAN ID.
814 <dt>native-tagged</dt>
816 A native-tagged port resembles a trunk port, with the exception that
817 a packet without an 802.1Q header that ingresses on a native-tagged
818 port is in the ``native VLAN'' (specified in the <ref column="tag"/>
822 <dt>native-untagged</dt>
824 A native-untagged port resembles a native-tagged port, with the
825 exception that a packet that egresses on a native-untagged port in
826 the native VLAN will not have an 802.1Q header.
830 A packet will only egress through bridge ports that carry the VLAN of
831 the packet, as described by the rules above.
834 <column name="vlan_mode">
836 The VLAN mode of the port, as described above. When this column is
837 empty, a default mode is selected as follows:
841 If <ref column="tag"/> contains a value, the port is an access
842 port. The <ref column="trunks"/> column should be empty.
845 Otherwise, the port is a trunk port. The <ref column="trunks"/>
846 column value is honored if it is present.
853 For an access port, the port's implicitly tagged VLAN. For a
854 native-tagged or native-untagged port, the port's native VLAN. Must
855 be empty if this is a trunk port.
859 <column name="trunks">
861 For a trunk, native-tagged, or native-untagged port, the 802.1Q VLAN
862 or VLANs that this port trunks; if it is empty, then the port trunks
863 all VLANs. Must be empty if this is an access port.
866 A native-tagged or native-untagged port always trunks its native
867 VLAN, regardless of whether <ref column="trunks"/> includes that
872 <column name="other_config" key="priority-tags"
873 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
875 An 802.1Q header contains two important pieces of information: a VLAN
876 ID and a priority. A frame with a zero VLAN ID, called a
877 ``priority-tagged'' frame, is supposed to be treated the same way as
878 a frame without an 802.1Q header at all (except for the priority).
882 However, some network elements ignore any frame that has 802.1Q
883 header at all, even when the VLAN ID is zero. Therefore, by default
884 Open vSwitch does not output priority-tagged frames, instead omitting
885 the 802.1Q header entirely if the VLAN ID is zero. Set this key to
886 <code>true</code> to enable priority-tagged frames on a port.
890 Regardless of this setting, Open vSwitch omits the 802.1Q header on
891 output if both the VLAN ID and priority would be zero.
895 All frames output to native-tagged ports have a nonzero VLAN ID, so
896 this setting is not meaningful on native-tagged ports.
901 <group title="Bonding Configuration">
902 <p>A port that has more than one interface is a ``bonded port.'' Bonding
903 allows for load balancing and fail-over.</p>
906 The following types of bonding will work with any kind of upstream
907 switch. On the upstream switch, do not configure the interfaces as a
912 <dt><code>balance-slb</code></dt>
914 Balances flows among slaves based on source MAC address and output
915 VLAN, with periodic rebalancing as traffic patterns change.
918 <dt><code>active-backup</code></dt>
920 Assigns all flows to one slave, failing over to a backup slave when
921 the active slave is disabled. This is the only bonding mode in which
922 interfaces may be plugged into different upstream switches.
927 The following modes require the upstream switch to support 802.3ad with
928 successful LACP negotiation:
932 <dt><code>balance-tcp</code></dt>
934 Balances flows among slaves based on L2, L3, and L4 protocol
935 information such as destination MAC address, IP address, and TCP
940 <p>These columns apply only to bonded ports. Their values are
941 otherwise ignored.</p>
943 <column name="bond_mode">
944 <p>The type of bonding used for a bonded port. Defaults to
945 <code>active-backup</code> if unset.
949 <column name="other_config" key="bond-hash-basis"
950 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
951 An integer hashed along with flows when choosing output slaves in load
952 balanced bonds. When changed, all flows will be assigned different
953 hash values possibly causing slave selection decisions to change. Does
954 not affect bonding modes which do not employ load balancing such as
955 <code>active-backup</code>.
958 <group title="Link Failure Detection">
960 An important part of link bonding is detecting that links are down so
961 that they may be disabled. These settings determine how Open vSwitch
962 detects link failure.
965 <column name="other_config" key="bond-detect-mode"
966 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["carrier", "miimon"]]}'>
967 The means used to detect link failures. Defaults to
968 <code>carrier</code> which uses each interface's carrier to detect
969 failures. When set to <code>miimon</code>, will check for failures
970 by polling each interface's MII.
973 <column name="other_config" key="bond-miimon-interval"
974 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
975 The interval, in milliseconds, between successive attempts to poll
976 each interface's MII. Relevant only when <ref column="other_config"
977 key="bond-detect-mode"/> is <code>miimon</code>.
980 <column name="bond_updelay">
982 The number of milliseconds for which the link must stay up on an
983 interface before the interface is considered to be up. Specify
984 <code>0</code> to enable the interface immediately.
988 This setting is honored only when at least one bonded interface is
989 already enabled. When no interfaces are enabled, then the first
990 bond interface to come up is enabled immediately.
994 <column name="bond_downdelay">
995 The number of milliseconds for which the link must stay down on an
996 interface before the interface is considered to be down. Specify
997 <code>0</code> to disable the interface immediately.
1001 <group title="LACP Configuration">
1003 LACP, the Link Aggregation Control Protocol, is an IEEE standard that
1004 allows switches to automatically detect that they are connected by
1005 multiple links and aggregate across those links. These settings
1006 control LACP behavior.
1009 <column name="lacp">
1010 Configures LACP on this port. LACP allows directly connected
1011 switches to negotiate which links may be bonded. LACP may be enabled
1012 on non-bonded ports for the benefit of any switches they may be
1013 connected to. <code>active</code> ports are allowed to initiate LACP
1014 negotiations. <code>passive</code> ports are allowed to participate
1015 in LACP negotiations initiated by a remote switch, but not allowed to
1016 initiate such negotiations themselves. If LACP is enabled on a port
1017 whose partner switch does not support LACP, the bond will be
1018 disabled. Defaults to <code>off</code> if unset.
1021 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-system-id">
1022 The LACP system ID of this <ref table="Port"/>. The system ID of a
1023 LACP bond is used to identify itself to its partners. Must be a
1024 nonzero MAC address. Defaults to the bridge Ethernet address if
1028 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-system-priority"
1029 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
1030 The LACP system priority of this <ref table="Port"/>. In LACP
1031 negotiations, link status decisions are made by the system with the
1032 numerically lower priority.
1035 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-time"
1036 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["fast", "slow"]]}'>
1038 The LACP timing which should be used on this <ref table="Port"/>.
1039 By default <code>slow</code> is used. When configured to be
1040 <code>fast</code> LACP heartbeats are requested at a rate of once
1041 per second causing connectivity problems to be detected more
1042 quickly. In <code>slow</code> mode, heartbeats are requested at a
1043 rate of once every 30 seconds.
1048 <group title="Rebalancing Configuration">
1050 These settings control behavior when a bond is in
1051 <code>balance-slb</code> or <code>balance-tcp</code> mode.
1054 <column name="other_config" key="bond-rebalance-interval"
1055 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 10000}'>
1056 For a load balanced bonded port, the number of milliseconds between
1057 successive attempts to rebalance the bond, that is, to move flows
1058 from one interface on the bond to another in an attempt to keep usage
1059 of each interface roughly equal. If zero, load balancing is disabled
1060 on the bond (link failure still cause flows to move). If
1061 less than 1000ms, the rebalance interval will be 1000ms.
1065 <column name="bond_fake_iface">
1066 For a bonded port, whether to create a fake internal interface with the
1067 name of the port. Use only for compatibility with legacy software that
1072 <group title="Spanning Tree Configuration">
1073 <column name="other_config" key="stp-enable"
1074 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1075 If spanning tree is enabled on the bridge, member ports are
1076 enabled by default (with the exception of bond, internal, and
1077 mirror ports which do not work with STP). If this column's
1078 value is <code>false</code> spanning tree is disabled on the
1082 <column name="other_config" key="stp-port-num"
1083 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 255}'>
1084 The port number used for the lower 8 bits of the port-id. By
1085 default, the numbers will be assigned automatically. If any
1086 port's number is manually configured on a bridge, then they
1090 <column name="other_config" key="stp-port-priority"
1091 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 255}'>
1092 The port's relative priority value for determining the root
1093 port (the upper 8 bits of the port-id). A port with a lower
1094 port-id will be chosen as the root port. By default, the
1098 <column name="other_config" key="stp-path-cost"
1099 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
1100 Spanning tree path cost for the port. A lower number indicates
1101 a faster link. By default, the cost is based on the maximum
1106 <group title="Other Features">
1108 Quality of Service configuration for this port.
1112 The MAC address to use for this port for the purpose of choosing the
1113 bridge's MAC address. This column does not necessarily reflect the
1114 port's actual MAC address, nor will setting it change the port's actual
1118 <column name="fake_bridge">
1119 Does this port represent a sub-bridge for its tagged VLAN within the
1120 Bridge? See ovs-vsctl(8) for more information.
1123 <column name="external_ids" key="fake-bridge-id-*">
1124 External IDs for a fake bridge (see the <ref column="fake_bridge"/>
1125 column) are defined by prefixing a <ref table="Bridge"/> <ref
1126 table="Bridge" column="external_ids"/> key with
1127 <code>fake-bridge-</code>,
1128 e.g. <code>fake-bridge-xs-network-uuids</code>.
1132 <group title="Port Status">
1134 Status information about ports attached to bridges.
1136 <column name="status">
1137 Key-value pairs that report port status.
1139 <column name="status" key="stp_port_id">
1141 The port-id (in hex) used in spanning tree advertisements for
1142 this port. Configuring the port-id is described in the
1143 <code>stp-port-num</code> and <code>stp-port-priority</code>
1144 keys of the <code>other_config</code> section earlier.
1147 <column name="status" key="stp_state"
1148 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set",
1149 ["disabled", "listening", "learning",
1150 "forwarding", "blocking"]]}'>
1152 STP state of the port.
1155 <column name="status" key="stp_sec_in_state"
1156 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
1158 The amount of time (in seconds) port has been in the current
1162 <column name="status" key="stp_role"
1163 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set",
1164 ["root", "designated", "alternate"]]}'>
1166 STP role of the port.
1171 <group title="Port Statistics">
1173 Key-value pairs that report port statistics.
1175 <group title="Statistics: STP transmit and receive counters">
1176 <column name="statistics" key="stp_tx_count">
1177 Number of STP BPDUs sent on this port by the spanning
1180 <column name="statistics" key="stp_rx_count">
1181 Number of STP BPDUs received on this port and accepted by the
1182 spanning tree library.
1184 <column name="statistics" key="stp_error_count">
1185 Number of bad STP BPDUs received on this port. Bad BPDUs
1186 include runt packets and those with an unexpected protocol ID.
1191 <group title="Common Columns">
1192 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
1193 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
1195 <column name="other_config"/>
1196 <column name="external_ids"/>
1200 <table name="Interface" title="One physical network device in a Port.">
1201 An interface within a <ref table="Port"/>.
1203 <group title="Core Features">
1204 <column name="name">
1205 Interface name. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8 bytes
1206 long. May be the same as the port name, for non-bonded ports. Must
1207 otherwise be unique among the names of ports, interfaces, and bridges
1211 <column name="mac_in_use">
1212 The MAC address in use by this interface.
1216 <p>Ethernet address to set for this interface. If unset then the
1217 default MAC address is used:</p>
1219 <li>For the local interface, the default is the lowest-numbered MAC
1220 address among the other bridge ports, either the value of the
1221 <ref table="Port" column="mac"/> in its <ref table="Port"/> record,
1222 if set, or its actual MAC (for bonded ports, the MAC of its slave
1223 whose name is first in alphabetical order). Internal ports and
1224 bridge ports that are used as port mirroring destinations (see the
1225 <ref table="Mirror"/> table) are ignored.</li>
1226 <li>For other internal interfaces, the default MAC is randomly
1228 <li>External interfaces typically have a MAC address associated with
1229 their hardware.</li>
1231 <p>Some interfaces may not have a software-controllable MAC
1235 <column name="ofport">
1236 <p>OpenFlow port number for this interface. Unlike most columns, this
1237 column's value should be set only by Open vSwitch itself. Other
1238 clients should set this column to an empty set (the default) when
1239 creating an <ref table="Interface"/>.</p>
1240 <p>Open vSwitch populates this column when the port number becomes
1241 known. If the interface is successfully added,
1242 <ref column="ofport"/> will be set to a number between 1 and 65535
1243 (generally either in the range 1 to 65279, inclusive, or 65534, the
1244 port number for the OpenFlow ``local port''). If the interface
1245 cannot be added then Open vSwitch sets this column
1247 <p>When <ref column="ofport_request"/> is not set, Open vSwitch picks
1248 an appropriate value for this column and then tries to keep the value
1249 constant across restarts.</p>
1252 <column name="ofport_request">
1253 <p>Requested OpenFlow port number for this interface. The port
1254 number must be between 1 and 65279, inclusive. Some datapaths
1255 cannot satisfy all requests for particular port numbers. When
1256 this column is empty or the request cannot be fulfilled, the
1257 system will choose a free port. The <ref column="ofport"/>
1258 column reports the assigned OpenFlow port number.</p>
1259 <p>The port number must be requested in the same transaction
1260 that creates the port.</p>
1264 <group title="System-Specific Details">
1265 <column name="type">
1267 The interface type, one of:
1271 <dt><code>system</code></dt>
1272 <dd>An ordinary network device, e.g. <code>eth0</code> on Linux.
1273 Sometimes referred to as ``external interfaces'' since they are
1274 generally connected to hardware external to that on which the Open
1275 vSwitch is running. The empty string is a synonym for
1276 <code>system</code>.</dd>
1278 <dt><code>internal</code></dt>
1279 <dd>A simulated network device that sends and receives traffic. An
1280 internal interface whose <ref column="name"/> is the same as its
1281 bridge's <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="name"/> is called the
1282 ``local interface.'' It does not make sense to bond an internal
1283 interface, so the terms ``port'' and ``interface'' are often used
1284 imprecisely for internal interfaces.</dd>
1286 <dt><code>tap</code></dt>
1287 <dd>A TUN/TAP device managed by Open vSwitch.</dd>
1289 <dt><code>gre</code></dt>
1291 An Ethernet over RFC 2890 Generic Routing Encapsulation over IPv4
1295 <dt><code>ipsec_gre</code></dt>
1297 An Ethernet over RFC 2890 Generic Routing Encapsulation over IPv4
1301 <dt><code>gre64</code></dt>
1303 It is same as GRE, but it allows 64 bit key. To store higher 32-bits
1304 of key, it uses GRE protocol sequence number field. This is non
1305 standard use of GRE protocol since OVS does not increment
1306 sequence number for every packet at time of encap as expected by
1307 standard GRE implementation. See <ref group="Tunnel Options"/>
1308 for information on configuring GRE tunnels.
1311 <dt><code>ipsec_gre64</code></dt>
1313 Same as IPSEC_GRE except 64 bit key.
1316 <dt><code>vxlan</code></dt>
1319 An Ethernet tunnel over the experimental, UDP-based VXLAN
1320 protocol described at
1321 <code>http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-mahalingam-dutt-dcops-vxlan-03</code>.
1322 VXLAN is currently supported only with the Linux kernel datapath
1323 with kernel version 2.6.26 or later.
1326 Open vSwitch uses UDP destination port 4789. The source port used for
1327 VXLAN traffic varies on a per-flow basis and is in the ephemeral port
1332 <dt><code>lisp</code></dt>
1334 A layer 3 tunnel over the experimental, UDP-based Locator/ID
1335 Separation Protocol (RFC 6830). LISP is currently supported only
1336 with the Linux kernel datapath with kernel version 2.6.26 or later.
1339 <dt><code>patch</code></dt>
1341 A pair of virtual devices that act as a patch cable.
1344 <dt><code>null</code></dt>
1345 <dd>An ignored interface. Deprecated and slated for removal in
1351 <group title="Tunnel Options">
1353 These options apply to interfaces with <ref column="type"/> of
1354 <code>gre</code>, <code>ipsec_gre</code>, <code>gre64</code>,
1355 <code>ipsec_gre64</code>, <code>vxlan</code>, and <code>lisp</code>.
1359 Each tunnel must be uniquely identified by the combination of <ref
1360 column="type"/>, <ref column="options" key="remote_ip"/>, <ref
1361 column="options" key="local_ip"/>, and <ref column="options"
1362 key="in_key"/>. If two ports are defined that are the same except one
1363 has an optional identifier and the other does not, the more specific
1364 one is matched first. <ref column="options" key="in_key"/> is
1365 considered more specific than <ref column="options" key="local_ip"/> if
1366 a port defines one and another port defines the other.
1369 <column name="options" key="remote_ip">
1370 <p>Required. The remote tunnel endpoint, one of:</p>
1374 An IPv4 address (not a DNS name), e.g. <code>192.168.0.123</code>.
1375 Only unicast endpoints are supported.
1378 The word <code>flow</code>. The tunnel accepts packets from any
1379 remote tunnel endpoint. To process only packets from a specific
1380 remote tunnel endpoint, the flow entries may match on the
1381 <code>tun_src</code> field. When sending packets to a
1382 <code>remote_ip=flow</code> tunnel, the flow actions must
1383 explicitly set the <code>tun_dst</code> field to the IP address of
1384 the desired remote tunnel endpoint, e.g. with a
1385 <code>set_field</code> action.
1390 The remote tunnel endpoint for any packet received from a tunnel
1391 is available in the <code>tun_src</code> field for matching in the
1396 <column name="options" key="local_ip">
1398 Optional. The tunnel destination IP that received packets must
1399 match. Default is to match all addresses. If specified, may be one
1405 An IPv4 address (not a DNS name), e.g. <code>192.168.12.3</code>.
1408 The word <code>flow</code>. The tunnel accepts packets sent to any
1409 of the local IP addresses of the system running OVS. To process
1410 only packets sent to a specific IP address, the flow entries may
1411 match on the <code>tun_dst</code> field. When sending packets to a
1412 <code>local_ip=flow</code> tunnel, the flow actions may
1413 explicitly set the <code>tun_src</code> field to the desired IP
1414 address, e.g. with a <code>set_field</code> action. However, while
1415 routing the tunneled packet out, the local system may override the
1416 specified address with the local IP address configured for the
1417 outgoing system interface.
1420 This option is valid only for tunnels also configured with the
1421 <code>remote_ip=flow</code> option.
1427 The tunnel destination IP address for any packet received from a
1428 tunnel is available in the <code>tun_dst</code> field for matching in
1433 <column name="options" key="in_key">
1434 <p>Optional. The key that received packets must contain, one of:</p>
1438 <code>0</code>. The tunnel receives packets with no key or with a
1439 key of 0. This is equivalent to specifying no <ref column="options"
1440 key="in_key"/> at all.
1443 A positive 24-bit (for VXLAN and LISP), 32-bit (for GRE) or 64-bit
1444 (for GRE64) number. The tunnel receives only packets with the
1448 The word <code>flow</code>. The tunnel accepts packets with any
1449 key. The key will be placed in the <code>tun_id</code> field for
1450 matching in the flow table. The <code>ovs-ofctl</code> manual page
1451 contains additional information about matching fields in OpenFlow
1460 <column name="options" key="out_key">
1461 <p>Optional. The key to be set on outgoing packets, one of:</p>
1465 <code>0</code>. Packets sent through the tunnel will have no key.
1466 This is equivalent to specifying no <ref column="options"
1467 key="out_key"/> at all.
1470 A positive 24-bit (for VXLAN and LISP), 32-bit (for GRE) or 64-bit
1471 (for GRE64) number. Packets sent through the tunnel will have the
1475 The word <code>flow</code>. Packets sent through the tunnel will
1476 have the key set using the <code>set_tunnel</code> Nicira OpenFlow
1477 vendor extension (0 is used in the absence of an action). The
1478 <code>ovs-ofctl</code> manual page contains additional information
1479 about the Nicira OpenFlow vendor extensions.
1484 <column name="options" key="key">
1485 Optional. Shorthand to set <code>in_key</code> and
1486 <code>out_key</code> at the same time.
1489 <column name="options" key="tos">
1490 Optional. The value of the ToS bits to be set on the encapsulating
1491 packet. ToS is interpreted as DSCP and ECN bits, ECN part must be
1492 zero. It may also be the word <code>inherit</code>, in which case
1493 the ToS will be copied from the inner packet if it is IPv4 or IPv6
1494 (otherwise it will be 0). The ECN fields are always inherited.
1498 <column name="options" key="ttl">
1499 Optional. The TTL to be set on the encapsulating packet. It may also
1500 be the word <code>inherit</code>, in which case the TTL will be copied
1501 from the inner packet if it is IPv4 or IPv6 (otherwise it will be the
1502 system default, typically 64). Default is the system default TTL.
1505 <column name="options" key="df_default"
1506 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1507 Optional. If enabled, the Don't Fragment bit will be set on tunnel
1508 outer headers to allow path MTU discovery. Default is enabled; set
1509 to <code>false</code> to disable.
1512 <group title="Tunnel Options: gre and ipsec_gre only">
1514 Only <code>gre</code> and <code>ipsec_gre</code> interfaces support
1518 <column name="options" key="csum" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1520 Optional. Compute GRE checksums on outgoing packets. Default is
1521 disabled, set to <code>true</code> to enable. Checksums present on
1522 incoming packets will be validated regardless of this setting.
1526 GRE checksums impose a significant performance penalty because they
1527 cover the entire packet. The encapsulated L3, L4, and L7 packet
1528 contents typically have their own checksums, so this additional
1529 checksum only adds value for the GRE and encapsulated L2 headers.
1533 This option is supported for <code>ipsec_gre</code>, but not useful
1534 because GRE checksums are weaker than, and redundant with, IPsec
1535 payload authentication.
1540 <group title="Tunnel Options: ipsec_gre only">
1542 Only <code>ipsec_gre</code> interfaces support these options.
1545 <column name="options" key="peer_cert">
1546 Required for certificate authentication. A string containing the
1547 peer's certificate in PEM format. Additionally the host's
1548 certificate must be specified with the <code>certificate</code>
1552 <column name="options" key="certificate">
1553 Required for certificate authentication. The name of a PEM file
1554 containing a certificate that will be presented to the peer during
1558 <column name="options" key="private_key">
1559 Optional for certificate authentication. The name of a PEM file
1560 containing the private key associated with <code>certificate</code>.
1561 If <code>certificate</code> contains the private key, this option may
1565 <column name="options" key="psk">
1566 Required for pre-shared key authentication. Specifies a pre-shared
1567 key for authentication that must be identical on both sides of the
1573 <group title="Patch Options">
1575 Only <code>patch</code> interfaces support these options.
1578 <column name="options" key="peer">
1579 The <ref column="name"/> of the <ref table="Interface"/> for the other
1580 side of the patch. The named <ref table="Interface"/>'s own
1581 <code>peer</code> option must specify this <ref table="Interface"/>'s
1582 name. That is, the two patch interfaces must have reversed <ref
1583 column="name"/> and <code>peer</code> values.
1587 <group title="Interface Status">
1589 Status information about interfaces attached to bridges, updated every
1590 5 seconds. Not all interfaces have all of these properties; virtual
1591 interfaces don't have a link speed, for example. Non-applicable
1592 columns will have empty values.
1594 <column name="admin_state">
1596 The administrative state of the physical network link.
1600 <column name="link_state">
1602 The observed state of the physical network link. This is ordinarily
1603 the link's carrier status. If the interface's <ref table="Port"/> is
1604 a bond configured for miimon monitoring, it is instead the network
1605 link's miimon status.
1609 <column name="link_resets">
1611 The number of times Open vSwitch has observed the
1612 <ref column="link_state"/> of this <ref table="Interface"/> change.
1616 <column name="link_speed">
1618 The negotiated speed of the physical network link.
1619 Valid values are positive integers greater than 0.
1623 <column name="duplex">
1625 The duplex mode of the physical network link.
1631 The MTU (maximum transmission unit); i.e. the largest
1632 amount of data that can fit into a single Ethernet frame.
1633 The standard Ethernet MTU is 1500 bytes. Some physical media
1634 and many kinds of virtual interfaces can be configured with
1638 This column will be empty for an interface that does not
1639 have an MTU as, for example, some kinds of tunnels do not.
1643 <column name="lacp_current">
1644 Boolean value indicating LACP status for this interface. If true, this
1645 interface has current LACP information about its LACP partner. This
1646 information may be used to monitor the health of interfaces in a LACP
1647 enabled port. This column will be empty if LACP is not enabled.
1650 <column name="status">
1651 Key-value pairs that report port status. Supported status values are
1652 <ref column="type"/>-dependent; some interfaces may not have a valid
1653 <ref column="status" key="driver_name"/>, for example.
1656 <column name="status" key="driver_name">
1657 The name of the device driver controlling the network adapter.
1660 <column name="status" key="driver_version">
1661 The version string of the device driver controlling the network
1665 <column name="status" key="firmware_version">
1666 The version string of the network adapter's firmware, if available.
1669 <column name="status" key="source_ip">
1670 The source IP address used for an IPv4 tunnel end-point, such as
1674 <column name="status" key="tunnel_egress_iface">
1675 Egress interface for tunnels. Currently only relevant for GRE tunnels
1676 On Linux systems, this column will show the name of the interface
1677 which is responsible for routing traffic destined for the configured
1678 <ref column="options" key="remote_ip"/>. This could be an internal
1679 interface such as a bridge port.
1682 <column name="status" key="tunnel_egress_iface_carrier"
1683 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["down", "up"]]}'>
1684 Whether carrier is detected on <ref column="status"
1685 key="tunnel_egress_iface"/>.
1689 <group title="Statistics">
1691 Key-value pairs that report interface statistics. The current
1692 implementation updates these counters periodically. Future
1693 implementations may update them when an interface is created, when they
1694 are queried (e.g. using an OVSDB <code>select</code> operation), and
1695 just before an interface is deleted due to virtual interface hot-unplug
1696 or VM shutdown, and perhaps at other times, but not on any regular
1700 These are the same statistics reported by OpenFlow in its <code>struct
1701 ofp_port_stats</code> structure. If an interface does not support a
1702 given statistic, then that pair is omitted.
1704 <group title="Statistics: Successful transmit and receive counters">
1705 <column name="statistics" key="rx_packets">
1706 Number of received packets.
1708 <column name="statistics" key="rx_bytes">
1709 Number of received bytes.
1711 <column name="statistics" key="tx_packets">
1712 Number of transmitted packets.
1714 <column name="statistics" key="tx_bytes">
1715 Number of transmitted bytes.
1718 <group title="Statistics: Receive errors">
1719 <column name="statistics" key="rx_dropped">
1720 Number of packets dropped by RX.
1722 <column name="statistics" key="rx_frame_err">
1723 Number of frame alignment errors.
1725 <column name="statistics" key="rx_over_err">
1726 Number of packets with RX overrun.
1728 <column name="statistics" key="rx_crc_err">
1729 Number of CRC errors.
1731 <column name="statistics" key="rx_errors">
1732 Total number of receive errors, greater than or equal to the sum of
1736 <group title="Statistics: Transmit errors">
1737 <column name="statistics" key="tx_dropped">
1738 Number of packets dropped by TX.
1740 <column name="statistics" key="collisions">
1741 Number of collisions.
1743 <column name="statistics" key="tx_errors">
1744 Total number of transmit errors, greater than or equal to the sum of
1750 <group title="Ingress Policing">
1752 These settings control ingress policing for packets received on this
1753 interface. On a physical interface, this limits the rate at which
1754 traffic is allowed into the system from the outside; on a virtual
1755 interface (one connected to a virtual machine), this limits the rate at
1756 which the VM is able to transmit.
1759 Policing is a simple form of quality-of-service that simply drops
1760 packets received in excess of the configured rate. Due to its
1761 simplicity, policing is usually less accurate and less effective than
1762 egress QoS (which is configured using the <ref table="QoS"/> and <ref
1763 table="Queue"/> tables).
1766 Policing is currently implemented only on Linux. The Linux
1767 implementation uses a simple ``token bucket'' approach:
1771 The size of the bucket corresponds to <ref
1772 column="ingress_policing_burst"/>. Initially the bucket is full.
1775 Whenever a packet is received, its size (converted to tokens) is
1776 compared to the number of tokens currently in the bucket. If the
1777 required number of tokens are available, they are removed and the
1778 packet is forwarded. Otherwise, the packet is dropped.
1781 Whenever it is not full, the bucket is refilled with tokens at the
1782 rate specified by <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/>.
1786 Policing interacts badly with some network protocols, and especially
1787 with fragmented IP packets. Suppose that there is enough network
1788 activity to keep the bucket nearly empty all the time. Then this token
1789 bucket algorithm will forward a single packet every so often, with the
1790 period depending on packet size and on the configured rate. All of the
1791 fragments of an IP packets are normally transmitted back-to-back, as a
1792 group. In such a situation, therefore, only one of these fragments
1793 will be forwarded and the rest will be dropped. IP does not provide
1794 any way for the intended recipient to ask for only the remaining
1795 fragments. In such a case there are two likely possibilities for what
1796 will happen next: either all of the fragments will eventually be
1797 retransmitted (as TCP will do), in which case the same problem will
1798 recur, or the sender will not realize that its packet has been dropped
1799 and data will simply be lost (as some UDP-based protocols will do).
1800 Either way, it is possible that no forward progress will ever occur.
1802 <column name="ingress_policing_rate">
1804 Maximum rate for data received on this interface, in kbps. Data
1805 received faster than this rate is dropped. Set to <code>0</code>
1806 (the default) to disable policing.
1810 <column name="ingress_policing_burst">
1811 <p>Maximum burst size for data received on this interface, in kb. The
1812 default burst size if set to <code>0</code> is 1000 kb. This value
1813 has no effect if <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/>
1814 is <code>0</code>.</p>
1816 Specifying a larger burst size lets the algorithm be more forgiving,
1817 which is important for protocols like TCP that react severely to
1818 dropped packets. The burst size should be at least the size of the
1819 interface's MTU. Specifying a value that is numerically at least as
1820 large as 10% of <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/> helps TCP come
1821 closer to achieving the full rate.
1826 <group title="Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD)">
1828 BFD, defined in RFC 5880 and RFC 5881, allows point to point
1829 detection of connectivity failures by occasional transmission of
1830 BFD control messages. It is implemented in Open vSwitch to serve
1831 as a more popular and standards compliant alternative to CFM.
1835 BFD operates by regularly transmitting BFD control messages at a
1836 rate negotiated independently in each direction. Each endpoint
1837 specifies the rate at which it expects to receive control messages,
1838 and the rate at which it's willing to transmit them. Open vSwitch
1839 uses a detection multiplier of three, meaning that an endpoint
1840 which fails to receive BFD control messages for a period of three
1841 times the expected reception rate, will signal a connectivity
1842 fault. In the case of a unidirectional connectivity issue, the
1843 system not receiving BFD control messages will signal the problem
1844 to its peer in the messages is transmists.
1848 The Open vSwitch implementation of BFD aims to comply faithfully
1849 with the requirements put forth in RFC 5880. Currently, the only
1850 known omission is ``Demand Mode'', which we hope to include in
1851 future. Open vSwitch does not implement the optional
1852 Authentication or ``Echo Mode'' features.
1855 <column name="bfd" key="enable">
1856 When <code>true</code> BFD is enabled on this
1857 <ref table="Interface"/>, otherwise it's disabled. Defaults to
1861 <column name="bfd" key="min_rx"
1862 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
1863 The fastest rate, in milliseconds, at which this BFD session is
1864 willing to receive BFD control messages. The actual rate may be
1865 slower if the remote endpoint isn't willing to transmit as quickly as
1866 specified. Defaults to <code>1000</code>.
1869 <column name="bfd" key="min_tx"
1870 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
1871 The fastest rate, in milliseconds, at which this BFD session is
1872 willing to transmit BFD control messages. The actual rate may be
1873 slower if the remote endpoint isn't willing to receive as quickly as
1874 specified. Defaults to <code>100</code>.
1877 <column name="bfd" key="cpath_down" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1878 Concatenated path down may be used when the local system should not
1879 have traffic forwarded to it for some reason other than a connectivty
1880 failure on the interface being monitored. When a controller thinks
1881 this may be the case, it may set <code>cpath_down</code> to
1882 <code>true</code> which may cause the remote BFD session not to
1883 forward traffic to this <ref table="Interface"/>. Defaults to
1887 <column name="bfd_status" key="state"
1888 type='{"type": "string",
1889 "enum": ["set", ["admin_down", "down", "init", "up"]]}'>
1890 State of the BFD session. The BFD session is fully healthy and
1891 negotiated if <code>UP</code>.
1894 <column name="bfd_status" key="forwarding" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1895 True if the BFD session believes this <ref table="Interface"/> may be
1896 used to forward traffic. Typically this means the local session is
1897 signaling <code>UP</code>, and the remote system isn't signaling a
1898 problem such as concatenated path down.
1901 <column name="bfd_status" key="diagnostic">
1902 A short message indicating what the BFD session thinks is wrong in
1906 <column name="bfd_status" key="remote_state"
1907 type='{"type": "string",
1908 "enum": ["set", ["admin_down", "down", "init", "up"]]}'>
1909 State of the remote endpoint's BFD session.
1912 <column name="bfd_status" key="remote_diagnostic">
1913 A short message indicating what the remote endpoint's BFD session
1914 thinks is wrong in case of a problem.
1918 <group title="Connectivity Fault Management">
1920 802.1ag Connectivity Fault Management (CFM) allows a group of
1921 Maintenance Points (MPs) called a Maintenance Association (MA) to
1922 detect connectivity problems with each other. MPs within a MA should
1923 have complete and exclusive interconnectivity. This is verified by
1924 occasionally broadcasting Continuity Check Messages (CCMs) at a
1925 configurable transmission interval.
1929 According to the 802.1ag specification, each Maintenance Point should
1930 be configured out-of-band with a list of Remote Maintenance Points it
1931 should have connectivity to. Open vSwitch differs from the
1932 specification in this area. It simply assumes the link is faulted if
1933 no Remote Maintenance Points are reachable, and considers it not
1938 When operating over tunnels which have no <code>in_key</code>, or an
1939 <code>in_key</code> of <code>flow</code>. CFM will only accept CCMs
1940 with a tunnel key of zero.
1943 <column name="cfm_mpid">
1944 A Maintenance Point ID (MPID) uniquely identifies each endpoint within
1945 a Maintenance Association. The MPID is used to identify this endpoint
1946 to other Maintenance Points in the MA. Each end of a link being
1947 monitored should have a different MPID. Must be configured to enable
1948 CFM on this <ref table="Interface"/>.
1951 <column name="cfm_fault">
1953 Indicates a connectivity fault triggered by an inability to receive
1954 heartbeats from any remote endpoint. When a fault is triggered on
1955 <ref table="Interface"/>s participating in bonds, they will be
1959 Faults can be triggered for several reasons. Most importantly they
1960 are triggered when no CCMs are received for a period of 3.5 times the
1961 transmission interval. Faults are also triggered when any CCMs
1962 indicate that a Remote Maintenance Point is not receiving CCMs but
1963 able to send them. Finally, a fault is triggered if a CCM is
1964 received which indicates unexpected configuration. Notably, this
1965 case arises when a CCM is received which advertises the local MPID.
1969 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="recv">
1970 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to a lack of CCMs received on
1971 the <ref table="Interface"/>.
1974 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="rdi">
1975 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to the reception of a CCM with
1976 the RDI bit flagged. Endpoints set the RDI bit in their CCMs when they
1977 are not receiving CCMs themselves. This typically indicates a
1978 unidirectional connectivity failure.
1981 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="maid">
1982 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to the reception of a CCM with
1983 a MAID other than the one Open vSwitch uses. CFM broadcasts are tagged
1984 with an identification number in addition to the MPID called the MAID.
1985 Open vSwitch only supports receiving CCM broadcasts tagged with the
1986 MAID it uses internally.
1989 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="loopback">
1990 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to the reception of a CCM
1991 advertising the same MPID configured in the <ref column="cfm_mpid"/>
1992 column of this <ref table="Interface"/>. This may indicate a loop in
1996 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="overflow">
1997 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered because the CFM module received
1998 CCMs from more remote endpoints than it can keep track of.
2001 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="override">
2002 Indicates a CFM fault was manually triggered by an administrator using
2003 an <code>ovs-appctl</code> command.
2006 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="interval">
2007 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to the reception of a CCM
2008 frame having an invalid interval.
2011 <column name="cfm_remote_opstate">
2012 <p>When in extended mode, indicates the operational state of the
2013 remote endpoint as either <code>up</code> or <code>down</code>. See
2014 <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_opstate"/>.
2018 <column name="cfm_health">
2020 Indicates the health of the interface as a percentage of CCM frames
2021 received over 21 <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_interval"/>s.
2022 The health of an interface is undefined if it is communicating with
2023 more than one <ref column="cfm_remote_mpids"/>. It reduces if
2024 healthy heartbeats are not received at the expected rate, and
2025 gradually improves as healthy heartbeats are received at the desired
2026 rate. Every 21 <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_interval"/>s, the
2027 health of the interface is refreshed.
2030 As mentioned above, the faults can be triggered for several reasons.
2031 The link health will deteriorate even if heartbeats are received but
2032 they are reported to be unhealthy. An unhealthy heartbeat in this
2033 context is a heartbeat for which either some fault is set or is out
2034 of sequence. The interface health can be 100 only on receiving
2035 healthy heartbeats at the desired rate.
2039 <column name="cfm_remote_mpids">
2040 When CFM is properly configured, Open vSwitch will occasionally
2041 receive CCM broadcasts. These broadcasts contain the MPID of the
2042 sending Maintenance Point. The list of MPIDs from which this
2043 <ref table="Interface"/> is receiving broadcasts from is regularly
2044 collected and written to this column.
2047 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_interval"
2048 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
2050 The interval, in milliseconds, between transmissions of CFM
2051 heartbeats. Three missed heartbeat receptions indicate a
2056 In standard operation only intervals of 3, 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000,
2057 60,000, or 600,000 ms are supported. Other values will be rounded
2058 down to the nearest value on the list. Extended mode (see <ref
2059 column="other_config" key="cfm_extended"/>) supports any interval up
2060 to 65,535 ms. In either mode, the default is 1000 ms.
2063 <p>We do not recommend using intervals less than 100 ms.</p>
2066 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_extended"
2067 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
2068 When <code>true</code>, the CFM module operates in extended mode. This
2069 causes it to use a nonstandard destination address to avoid conflicting
2070 with compliant implementations which may be running concurrently on the
2071 network. Furthermore, extended mode increases the accuracy of the
2072 <code>cfm_interval</code> configuration parameter by breaking wire
2073 compatibility with 802.1ag compliant implementations. Defaults to
2077 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_demand" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
2079 When <code>true</code>, and
2080 <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_extended"/> is true, the CFM
2081 module operates in demand mode. When in demand mode, traffic
2082 received on the <ref table="Interface"/> is used to indicate
2083 liveness. CCMs are still transmitted and received, but if the
2084 <ref table="Interface"/> is receiving traffic, their absence does not
2085 cause a connectivity fault.
2089 Demand mode has a couple of caveats:
2092 To ensure that ovs-vswitchd has enough time to pull statistics
2093 from the datapath, the minimum
2094 <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_interval"/> is 500ms.
2098 To avoid ambiguity, demand mode disables itself when there are
2099 multiple remote maintenance points.
2103 If the <ref table="Interface"/> is heavily congested, CCMs
2104 containing the <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_opstate"/>
2105 status may be dropped causing changes in the operational state to
2106 be delayed. Similarly, if CCMs containing the RDI bit are not
2107 received, unidirectional link failures may not be detected.
2113 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_opstate"
2114 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["down", "up"]]}'>
2115 When <code>down</code>, the CFM module marks all CCMs it generates as
2116 operationally down without triggering a fault. This allows remote
2117 maintenance points to choose not to forward traffic to the
2118 <ref table="Interface"/> on which this CFM module is running.
2119 Currently, in Open vSwitch, the opdown bit of CCMs affects
2120 <ref table="Interface"/>s participating in bonds, and the bundle
2121 OpenFlow action. This setting is ignored when CFM is not in extended
2122 mode. Defaults to <code>up</code>.
2125 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_ccm_vlan"
2126 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 4095}'>
2127 When set, the CFM module will apply a VLAN tag to all CCMs it generates
2128 with the given value. May be the string <code>random</code> in which
2129 case each CCM will be tagged with a different randomly generated VLAN.
2132 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_ccm_pcp"
2133 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 7}'>
2134 When set, the CFM module will apply a VLAN tag to all CCMs it generates
2135 with the given PCP value, the VLAN ID of the tag is governed by the
2136 value of <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_ccm_vlan"/>. If
2137 <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_ccm_vlan"/> is unset, a VLAN ID of
2143 <group title="Bonding Configuration">
2144 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-port-id"
2145 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
2146 The LACP port ID of this <ref table="Interface"/>. Port IDs are
2147 used in LACP negotiations to identify individual ports
2148 participating in a bond.
2151 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-port-priority"
2152 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
2153 The LACP port priority of this <ref table="Interface"/>. In LACP
2154 negotiations <ref table="Interface"/>s with numerically lower
2155 priorities are preferred for aggregation.
2158 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-aggregation-key"
2159 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
2160 The LACP aggregation key of this <ref table="Interface"/>. <ref
2161 table="Interface"/>s with different aggregation keys may not be active
2162 within a given <ref table="Port"/> at the same time.
2166 <group title="Virtual Machine Identifiers">
2168 These key-value pairs specifically apply to an interface that
2169 represents a virtual Ethernet interface connected to a virtual
2170 machine. These key-value pairs should not be present for other types
2171 of interfaces. Keys whose names end in <code>-uuid</code> have
2172 values that uniquely identify the entity in question. For a Citrix
2173 XenServer hypervisor, these values are UUIDs in RFC 4122 format.
2174 Other hypervisors may use other formats.
2177 <column name="external_ids" key="attached-mac">
2178 The MAC address programmed into the ``virtual hardware'' for this
2179 interface, in the form
2180 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>.
2181 For Citrix XenServer, this is the value of the <code>MAC</code> field
2182 in the VIF record for this interface.
2185 <column name="external_ids" key="iface-id">
2186 A system-unique identifier for the interface. On XenServer, this will
2187 commonly be the same as <ref column="external_ids" key="xs-vif-uuid"/>.
2190 <column name="external_ids" key="iface-status"
2191 type='{"type": "string",
2192 "enum": ["set", ["active", "inactive"]]}'>
2194 Hypervisors may sometimes have more than one interface associated
2195 with a given <ref column="external_ids" key="iface-id"/>, only one of
2196 which is actually in use at a given time. For example, in some
2197 circumstances XenServer has both a ``tap'' and a ``vif'' interface
2198 for a single <ref column="external_ids" key="iface-id"/>, but only
2199 uses one of them at a time. A hypervisor that behaves this way must
2200 mark the currently in use interface <code>active</code> and the
2201 others <code>inactive</code>. A hypervisor that never has more than
2202 one interface for a given <ref column="external_ids" key="iface-id"/>
2203 may mark that interface <code>active</code> or omit <ref
2204 column="external_ids" key="iface-status"/> entirely.
2208 During VM migration, a given <ref column="external_ids"
2209 key="iface-id"/> might transiently be marked <code>active</code> on
2210 two different hypervisors. That is, <code>active</code> means that
2211 this <ref column="external_ids" key="iface-id"/> is the active
2212 instance within a single hypervisor, not in a broader scope.
2213 There is one exception: some hypervisors support ``migration'' from a
2214 given hypervisor to itself (most often for test purposes). During
2215 such a ``migration,'' two instances of a single <ref
2216 column="external_ids" key="iface-id"/> might both be briefly marked
2217 <code>active</code> on a single hypervisor.
2221 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-vif-uuid">
2222 The virtual interface associated with this interface.
2225 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-network-uuid">
2226 The virtual network to which this interface is attached.
2229 <column name="external_ids" key="vm-id">
2230 The VM to which this interface belongs. On XenServer, this will be the
2231 same as <ref column="external_ids" key="xs-vm-uuid"/>.
2234 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-vm-uuid">
2235 The VM to which this interface belongs.
2239 <group title="VLAN Splinters">
2241 The ``VLAN splinters'' feature increases Open vSwitch compatibility
2242 with buggy network drivers in old versions of Linux that do not
2243 properly support VLANs when VLAN devices are not used, at some cost
2244 in memory and performance.
2248 When VLAN splinters are enabled on a particular interface, Open vSwitch
2249 creates a VLAN device for each in-use VLAN. For sending traffic tagged
2250 with a VLAN on the interface, it substitutes the VLAN device. Traffic
2251 received on the VLAN device is treated as if it had been received on
2252 the interface on the particular VLAN.
2256 VLAN splinters consider a VLAN to be in use if:
2261 The VLAN is the <ref table="Port" column="tag"/> value in any <ref
2262 table="Port"/> record.
2266 The VLAN is listed within the <ref table="Port" column="trunks"/>
2267 column of the <ref table="Port"/> record of an interface on which
2268 VLAN splinters are enabled.
2270 An empty <ref table="Port" column="trunks"/> does not influence the
2271 in-use VLANs: creating 4,096 VLAN devices is impractical because it
2272 will exceed the current 1,024 port per datapath limit.
2276 An OpenFlow flow within any bridge matches the VLAN.
2281 The same set of in-use VLANs applies to every interface on which VLAN
2282 splinters are enabled. That is, the set is not chosen separately for
2283 each interface but selected once as the union of all in-use VLANs based
2288 It does not make sense to enable VLAN splinters on an interface for an
2289 access port, or on an interface that is not a physical port.
2293 VLAN splinters are deprecated. When broken device drivers are no
2294 longer in widespread use, we will delete this feature.
2297 <column name="other_config" key="enable-vlan-splinters"
2298 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
2300 Set to <code>true</code> to enable VLAN splinters on this interface.
2301 Defaults to <code>false</code>.
2305 VLAN splinters increase kernel and userspace memory overhead, so do
2306 not use them unless they are needed.
2310 VLAN splinters do not support 802.1p priority tags. Received
2311 priorities will appear to be 0, regardless of their actual values,
2312 and priorities on transmitted packets will also be cleared to 0.
2317 <group title="Common Columns">
2318 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2319 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2321 <column name="other_config"/>
2322 <column name="external_ids"/>
2326 <table name="Flow_Table" title="OpenFlow table configuration">
2327 <p>Configuration for a particular OpenFlow table.</p>
2329 <column name="name">
2330 The table's name. Set this column to change the name that controllers
2331 will receive when they request table statistics, e.g. <code>ovs-ofctl
2332 dump-tables</code>. The name does not affect switch behavior.
2335 <column name="flow_limit">
2336 If set, limits the number of flows that may be added to the table. Open
2337 vSwitch may limit the number of flows in a table for other reasons,
2338 e.g. due to hardware limitations or for resource availability or
2339 performance reasons.
2342 <column name="overflow_policy">
2344 Controls the switch's behavior when an OpenFlow flow table modification
2345 request would add flows in excess of <ref column="flow_limit"/>. The
2346 supported values are:
2350 <dt><code>refuse</code></dt>
2352 Refuse to add the flow or flows. This is also the default policy
2353 when <ref column="overflow_policy"/> is unset.
2356 <dt><code>evict</code></dt>
2358 Delete the flow that will expire soonest. See <ref column="groups"/>
2364 <column name="groups">
2366 When <ref column="overflow_policy"/> is <code>evict</code>, this
2367 controls how flows are chosen for eviction when the flow table would
2368 otherwise exceed <ref column="flow_limit"/> flows. Its value is a set
2369 of NXM fields or sub-fields, each of which takes one of the forms
2370 <code><var>field</var>[]</code> or
2371 <code><var>field</var>[<var>start</var>..<var>end</var>]</code>,
2372 e.g. <code>NXM_OF_IN_PORT[]</code>. Please see
2373 <code>nicira-ext.h</code> for a complete list of NXM field names.
2377 When a flow must be evicted due to overflow, the flow to evict is
2378 chosen through an approximation of the following algorithm:
2383 Divide the flows in the table into groups based on the values of the
2384 specified fields or subfields, so that all of the flows in a given
2385 group have the same values for those fields. If a flow does not
2386 specify a given field, that field's value is treated as 0.
2390 Consider the flows in the largest group, that is, the group that
2391 contains the greatest number of flows. If two or more groups all
2392 have the same largest number of flows, consider the flows in all of
2397 Among the flows under consideration, choose the flow that expires
2398 soonest for eviction.
2403 The eviction process only considers flows that have an idle timeout or
2404 a hard timeout. That is, eviction never deletes permanent flows.
2405 (Permanent flows do count against <ref column="flow_limit"/>.)
2409 Open vSwitch ignores any invalid or unknown field specifications.
2413 When <ref column="overflow_policy"/> is not <code>evict</code>, this
2414 column has no effect.
2419 <table name="QoS" title="Quality of Service configuration">
2420 <p>Quality of Service (QoS) configuration for each Port that
2423 <column name="type">
2424 <p>The type of QoS to implement. The currently defined types are
2427 <dt><code>linux-htb</code></dt>
2429 Linux ``hierarchy token bucket'' classifier. See tc-htb(8) (also at
2430 <code>http://linux.die.net/man/8/tc-htb</code>) and the HTB manual
2431 (<code>http://luxik.cdi.cz/~devik/qos/htb/manual/userg.htm</code>)
2432 for information on how this classifier works and how to configure it.
2436 <dt><code>linux-hfsc</code></dt>
2438 Linux "Hierarchical Fair Service Curve" classifier.
2439 See <code>http://linux-ip.net/articles/hfsc.en/</code> for
2440 information on how this classifier works.
2445 <column name="queues">
2446 <p>A map from queue numbers to <ref table="Queue"/> records. The
2447 supported range of queue numbers depend on <ref column="type"/>. The
2448 queue numbers are the same as the <code>queue_id</code> used in
2449 OpenFlow in <code>struct ofp_action_enqueue</code> and other
2453 Queue 0 is the ``default queue.'' It is used by OpenFlow output
2454 actions when no specific queue has been set. When no configuration for
2455 queue 0 is present, it is automatically configured as if a <ref
2456 table="Queue"/> record with empty <ref table="Queue" column="dscp"/>
2457 and <ref table="Queue" column="other_config"/> columns had been
2459 (Before version 1.6, Open vSwitch would leave queue 0 unconfigured in
2460 this case. With some queuing disciplines, this dropped all packets
2461 destined for the default queue.)
2465 <group title="Configuration for linux-htb and linux-hfsc">
2467 The <code>linux-htb</code> and <code>linux-hfsc</code> classes support
2468 the following key-value pair:
2471 <column name="other_config" key="max-rate" type='{"type": "integer"}'>
2472 Maximum rate shared by all queued traffic, in bit/s. Optional. If not
2473 specified, for physical interfaces, the default is the link rate. For
2474 other interfaces or if the link rate cannot be determined, the default
2475 is currently 100 Mbps.
2479 <group title="Common Columns">
2480 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2481 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2483 <column name="other_config"/>
2484 <column name="external_ids"/>
2488 <table name="Queue" title="QoS output queue.">
2489 <p>A configuration for a port output queue, used in configuring Quality of
2490 Service (QoS) features. May be referenced by <ref column="queues"
2491 table="QoS"/> column in <ref table="QoS"/> table.</p>
2493 <column name="dscp">
2494 If set, Open vSwitch will mark all traffic egressing this
2495 <ref table="Queue"/> with the given DSCP bits. Traffic egressing the
2496 default <ref table="Queue"/> is only marked if it was explicitly selected
2497 as the <ref table="Queue"/> at the time the packet was output. If unset,
2498 the DSCP bits of traffic egressing this <ref table="Queue"/> will remain
2502 <group title="Configuration for linux-htb QoS">
2504 <ref table="QoS"/> <ref table="QoS" column="type"/>
2505 <code>linux-htb</code> may use <code>queue_id</code>s less than 61440.
2506 It has the following key-value pairs defined.
2509 <column name="other_config" key="min-rate"
2510 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2511 Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s.
2514 <column name="other_config" key="max-rate"
2515 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2516 Maximum allowed bandwidth, in bit/s. Optional. If specified, the
2517 queue's rate will not be allowed to exceed the specified value, even
2518 if excess bandwidth is available. If unspecified, defaults to no
2522 <column name="other_config" key="burst"
2523 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2524 Burst size, in bits. This is the maximum amount of ``credits'' that a
2525 queue can accumulate while it is idle. Optional. Details of the
2526 <code>linux-htb</code> implementation require a minimum burst size, so
2527 a too-small <code>burst</code> will be silently ignored.
2530 <column name="other_config" key="priority"
2531 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 4294967295}'>
2532 A queue with a smaller <code>priority</code> will receive all the
2533 excess bandwidth that it can use before a queue with a larger value
2534 receives any. Specific priority values are unimportant; only relative
2535 ordering matters. Defaults to 0 if unspecified.
2539 <group title="Configuration for linux-hfsc QoS">
2541 <ref table="QoS"/> <ref table="QoS" column="type"/>
2542 <code>linux-hfsc</code> may use <code>queue_id</code>s less than 61440.
2543 It has the following key-value pairs defined.
2546 <column name="other_config" key="min-rate"
2547 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2548 Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s.
2551 <column name="other_config" key="max-rate"
2552 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2553 Maximum allowed bandwidth, in bit/s. Optional. If specified, the
2554 queue's rate will not be allowed to exceed the specified value, even if
2555 excess bandwidth is available. If unspecified, defaults to no
2560 <group title="Common Columns">
2561 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2562 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2564 <column name="other_config"/>
2565 <column name="external_ids"/>
2569 <table name="Mirror" title="Port mirroring.">
2570 <p>A port mirror within a <ref table="Bridge"/>.</p>
2571 <p>A port mirror configures a bridge to send selected frames to special
2572 ``mirrored'' ports, in addition to their normal destinations. Mirroring
2573 traffic may also be referred to as SPAN or RSPAN, depending on how
2574 the mirrored traffic is sent.</p>
2576 <column name="name">
2577 Arbitrary identifier for the <ref table="Mirror"/>.
2580 <group title="Selecting Packets for Mirroring">
2582 To be selected for mirroring, a given packet must enter or leave the
2583 bridge through a selected port and it must also be in one of the
2587 <column name="select_all">
2588 If true, every packet arriving or departing on any port is
2589 selected for mirroring.
2592 <column name="select_dst_port">
2593 Ports on which departing packets are selected for mirroring.
2596 <column name="select_src_port">
2597 Ports on which arriving packets are selected for mirroring.
2600 <column name="select_vlan">
2601 VLANs on which packets are selected for mirroring. An empty set
2602 selects packets on all VLANs.
2606 <group title="Mirroring Destination Configuration">
2608 These columns are mutually exclusive. Exactly one of them must be
2612 <column name="output_port">
2613 <p>Output port for selected packets, if nonempty.</p>
2614 <p>Specifying a port for mirror output reserves that port exclusively
2615 for mirroring. No frames other than those selected for mirroring
2617 will be forwarded to the port, and any frames received on the port
2618 will be discarded.</p>
2620 The output port may be any kind of port supported by Open vSwitch.
2621 It may be, for example, a physical port (sometimes called SPAN) or a
2626 <column name="output_vlan">
2627 <p>Output VLAN for selected packets, if nonempty.</p>
2628 <p>The frames will be sent out all ports that trunk
2629 <ref column="output_vlan"/>, as well as any ports with implicit VLAN
2630 <ref column="output_vlan"/>. When a mirrored frame is sent out a
2631 trunk port, the frame's VLAN tag will be set to
2632 <ref column="output_vlan"/>, replacing any existing tag; when it is
2633 sent out an implicit VLAN port, the frame will not be tagged. This
2634 type of mirroring is sometimes called RSPAN.</p>
2636 See the documentation for
2637 <ref column="other_config" key="forward-bpdu"/> in the
2638 <ref table="Interface"/> table for a list of destination MAC
2639 addresses which will not be mirrored to a VLAN to avoid confusing
2640 switches that interpret the protocols that they represent.
2642 <p><em>Please note:</em> Mirroring to a VLAN can disrupt a network that
2643 contains unmanaged switches. Consider an unmanaged physical switch
2644 with two ports: port 1, connected to an end host, and port 2,
2645 connected to an Open vSwitch configured to mirror received packets
2646 into VLAN 123 on port 2. Suppose that the end host sends a packet on
2647 port 1 that the physical switch forwards to port 2. The Open vSwitch
2648 forwards this packet to its destination and then reflects it back on
2649 port 2 in VLAN 123. This reflected packet causes the unmanaged
2650 physical switch to replace the MAC learning table entry, which
2651 correctly pointed to port 1, with one that incorrectly points to port
2652 2. Afterward, the physical switch will direct packets destined for
2653 the end host to the Open vSwitch on port 2, instead of to the end
2654 host on port 1, disrupting connectivity. If mirroring to a VLAN is
2655 desired in this scenario, then the physical switch must be replaced
2656 by one that learns Ethernet addresses on a per-VLAN basis. In
2657 addition, learning should be disabled on the VLAN containing mirrored
2658 traffic. If this is not done then intermediate switches will learn
2659 the MAC address of each end host from the mirrored traffic. If
2660 packets being sent to that end host are also mirrored, then they will
2661 be dropped since the switch will attempt to send them out the input
2662 port. Disabling learning for the VLAN will cause the switch to
2663 correctly send the packet out all ports configured for that VLAN. If
2664 Open vSwitch is being used as an intermediate switch, learning can be
2665 disabled by adding the mirrored VLAN to <ref column="flood_vlans"/>
2666 in the appropriate <ref table="Bridge"/> table or tables.</p>
2668 Mirroring to a GRE tunnel has fewer caveats than mirroring to a
2669 VLAN and should generally be preferred.
2674 <group title="Statistics: Mirror counters">
2676 Key-value pairs that report mirror statistics.
2678 <column name="statistics" key="tx_packets">
2679 Number of packets transmitted through this mirror.
2681 <column name="statistics" key="tx_bytes">
2682 Number of bytes transmitted through this mirror.
2686 <group title="Common Columns">
2687 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2688 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2690 <column name="external_ids"/>
2694 <table name="Controller" title="OpenFlow controller configuration.">
2695 <p>An OpenFlow controller.</p>
2698 Open vSwitch supports two kinds of OpenFlow controllers:
2702 <dt>Primary controllers</dt>
2705 This is the kind of controller envisioned by the OpenFlow 1.0
2706 specification. Usually, a primary controller implements a network
2707 policy by taking charge of the switch's flow table.
2711 Open vSwitch initiates and maintains persistent connections to
2712 primary controllers, retrying the connection each time it fails or
2713 drops. The <ref table="Bridge" column="fail_mode"/> column in the
2714 <ref table="Bridge"/> table applies to primary controllers.
2718 Open vSwitch permits a bridge to have any number of primary
2719 controllers. When multiple controllers are configured, Open
2720 vSwitch connects to all of them simultaneously. Because
2721 OpenFlow 1.0 does not specify how multiple controllers
2722 coordinate in interacting with a single switch, more than
2723 one primary controller should be specified only if the
2724 controllers are themselves designed to coordinate with each
2725 other. (The Nicira-defined <code>NXT_ROLE</code> OpenFlow
2726 vendor extension may be useful for this.)
2729 <dt>Service controllers</dt>
2732 These kinds of OpenFlow controller connections are intended for
2733 occasional support and maintenance use, e.g. with
2734 <code>ovs-ofctl</code>. Usually a service controller connects only
2735 briefly to inspect or modify some of a switch's state.
2739 Open vSwitch listens for incoming connections from service
2740 controllers. The service controllers initiate and, if necessary,
2741 maintain the connections from their end. The <ref table="Bridge"
2742 column="fail_mode"/> column in the <ref table="Bridge"/> table does
2743 not apply to service controllers.
2747 Open vSwitch supports configuring any number of service controllers.
2753 The <ref column="target"/> determines the type of controller.
2756 <group title="Core Features">
2757 <column name="target">
2758 <p>Connection method for controller.</p>
2760 The following connection methods are currently supported for primary
2764 <dt><code>ssl:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
2766 <p>The specified SSL <var>port</var> (default: 6633) on the host at
2767 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
2768 (not a DNS name). The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/>
2769 column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a
2770 valid SSL configuration when this form is used.</p>
2771 <p>SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
2772 part of Open vSwitch.</p>
2774 <dt><code>tcp:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
2775 <dd>The specified TCP <var>port</var> (default: 6633) on the host at
2776 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
2777 (not a DNS name).</dd>
2780 The following connection methods are currently supported for service
2784 <dt><code>pssl:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
2787 Listens for SSL connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
2788 (default: 6633). If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an
2789 IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then connections are
2790 restricted to the specified local IP address.
2793 The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/> column in the <ref
2794 table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a valid SSL
2795 configuration when this form is used.
2797 <p>SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
2798 part of Open vSwitch.</p>
2800 <dt><code>ptcp:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
2802 Listens for connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
2803 (default: 6633). If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an
2804 IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then connections are
2805 restricted to the specified local IP address.
2808 <p>When multiple controllers are configured for a single bridge, the
2809 <ref column="target"/> values must be unique. Duplicate
2810 <ref column="target"/> values yield unspecified results.</p>
2813 <column name="connection_mode">
2814 <p>If it is specified, this setting must be one of the following
2815 strings that describes how Open vSwitch contacts this OpenFlow
2816 controller over the network:</p>
2819 <dt><code>in-band</code></dt>
2820 <dd>In this mode, this controller's OpenFlow traffic travels over the
2821 bridge associated with the controller. With this setting, Open
2822 vSwitch allows traffic to and from the controller regardless of the
2823 contents of the OpenFlow flow table. (Otherwise, Open vSwitch
2824 would never be able to connect to the controller, because it did
2825 not have a flow to enable it.) This is the most common connection
2826 mode because it is not necessary to maintain two independent
2828 <dt><code>out-of-band</code></dt>
2829 <dd>In this mode, OpenFlow traffic uses a control network separate
2830 from the bridge associated with this controller, that is, the
2831 bridge does not use any of its own network devices to communicate
2832 with the controller. The control network must be configured
2833 separately, before or after <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> is started.
2837 <p>If not specified, the default is implementation-specific.</p>
2841 <group title="Controller Failure Detection and Handling">
2842 <column name="max_backoff">
2843 Maximum number of milliseconds to wait between connection attempts.
2844 Default is implementation-specific.
2847 <column name="inactivity_probe">
2848 Maximum number of milliseconds of idle time on connection to
2849 controller before sending an inactivity probe message. If Open
2850 vSwitch does not communicate with the controller for the specified
2851 number of seconds, it will send a probe. If a response is not
2852 received for the same additional amount of time, Open vSwitch
2853 assumes the connection has been broken and attempts to reconnect.
2854 Default is implementation-specific. A value of 0 disables
2859 <group title="Asynchronous Message Configuration">
2861 OpenFlow switches send certain messages to controllers spontanenously,
2862 that is, not in response to any request from the controller. These
2863 messages are called ``asynchronous messages.'' These columns allow
2864 asynchronous messages to be limited or disabled to ensure the best use
2865 of network resources.
2868 <column name="enable_async_messages">
2869 The OpenFlow protocol enables asynchronous messages at time of
2870 connection establishment, which means that a controller can receive
2871 asynchronous messages, potentially many of them, even if it turns them
2872 off immediately after connecting. Set this column to
2873 <code>false</code> to change Open vSwitch behavior to disable, by
2874 default, all asynchronous messages. The controller can use the
2875 <code>NXT_SET_ASYNC_CONFIG</code> Nicira extension to OpenFlow to turn
2876 on any messages that it does want to receive, if any.
2879 <column name="controller_rate_limit">
2881 The maximum rate at which the switch will forward packets to the
2882 OpenFlow controller, in packets per second. This feature prevents a
2883 single bridge from overwhelming the controller. If not specified,
2884 the default is implementation-specific.
2888 In addition, when a high rate triggers rate-limiting, Open vSwitch
2889 queues controller packets for each port and transmits them to the
2890 controller at the configured rate. The <ref
2891 column="controller_burst_limit"/> value limits the number of queued
2892 packets. Ports on a bridge share the packet queue fairly.
2896 Open vSwitch maintains two such packet rate-limiters per bridge: one
2897 for packets sent up to the controller because they do not correspond
2898 to any flow, and the other for packets sent up to the controller by
2899 request through flow actions. When both rate-limiters are filled with
2900 packets, the actual rate that packets are sent to the controller is
2901 up to twice the specified rate.
2905 <column name="controller_burst_limit">
2906 In conjunction with <ref column="controller_rate_limit"/>,
2907 the maximum number of unused packet credits that the bridge will
2908 allow to accumulate, in packets. If not specified, the default
2909 is implementation-specific.
2913 <group title="Additional In-Band Configuration">
2914 <p>These values are considered only in in-band control mode (see
2915 <ref column="connection_mode"/>).</p>
2917 <p>When multiple controllers are configured on a single bridge, there
2918 should be only one set of unique values in these columns. If different
2919 values are set for these columns in different controllers, the effect
2922 <column name="local_ip">
2923 The IP address to configure on the local port,
2924 e.g. <code>192.168.0.123</code>. If this value is unset, then
2925 <ref column="local_netmask"/> and <ref column="local_gateway"/> are
2929 <column name="local_netmask">
2930 The IP netmask to configure on the local port,
2931 e.g. <code>255.255.255.0</code>. If <ref column="local_ip"/> is set
2932 but this value is unset, then the default is chosen based on whether
2933 the IP address is class A, B, or C.
2936 <column name="local_gateway">
2937 The IP address of the gateway to configure on the local port, as a
2938 string, e.g. <code>192.168.0.1</code>. Leave this column unset if
2939 this network has no gateway.
2943 <group title="Controller Status">
2944 <column name="is_connected">
2945 <code>true</code> if currently connected to this controller,
2946 <code>false</code> otherwise.
2950 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["other", "master", "slave"]]}'>
2951 <p>The level of authority this controller has on the associated
2952 bridge. Possible values are:</p>
2954 <dt><code>other</code></dt>
2955 <dd>Allows the controller access to all OpenFlow features.</dd>
2956 <dt><code>master</code></dt>
2957 <dd>Equivalent to <code>other</code>, except that there may be at
2958 most one master controller at a time. When a controller configures
2959 itself as <code>master</code>, any existing master is demoted to
2960 the <code>slave</code>role.</dd>
2961 <dt><code>slave</code></dt>
2962 <dd>Allows the controller read-only access to OpenFlow features.
2963 Attempts to modify the flow table will be rejected with an
2964 error. Slave controllers do not receive OFPT_PACKET_IN or
2965 OFPT_FLOW_REMOVED messages, but they do receive OFPT_PORT_STATUS
2970 <column name="status" key="last_error">
2971 A human-readable description of the last error on the connection
2972 to the controller; i.e. <code>strerror(errno)</code>. This key
2973 will exist only if an error has occurred.
2976 <column name="status" key="state"
2977 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["VOID", "BACKOFF", "CONNECTING", "ACTIVE", "IDLE"]]}'>
2979 The state of the connection to the controller:
2982 <dt><code>VOID</code></dt>
2983 <dd>Connection is disabled.</dd>
2985 <dt><code>BACKOFF</code></dt>
2986 <dd>Attempting to reconnect at an increasing period.</dd>
2988 <dt><code>CONNECTING</code></dt>
2989 <dd>Attempting to connect.</dd>
2991 <dt><code>ACTIVE</code></dt>
2992 <dd>Connected, remote host responsive.</dd>
2994 <dt><code>IDLE</code></dt>
2995 <dd>Connection is idle. Waiting for response to keep-alive.</dd>
2998 These values may change in the future. They are provided only for
3003 <column name="status" key="sec_since_connect"
3004 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
3005 The amount of time since this controller last successfully connected to
3006 the switch (in seconds). Value is empty if controller has never
3007 successfully connected.
3010 <column name="status" key="sec_since_disconnect"
3011 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
3012 The amount of time since this controller last disconnected from
3013 the switch (in seconds). Value is empty if controller has never
3018 <group title="Connection Parameters">
3020 Additional configuration for a connection between the controller
3021 and the Open vSwitch.
3024 <column name="other_config" key="dscp"
3025 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
3026 The Differentiated Service Code Point (DSCP) is specified using 6 bits
3027 in the Type of Service (TOS) field in the IP header. DSCP provides a
3028 mechanism to classify the network traffic and provide Quality of
3029 Service (QoS) on IP networks.
3031 The DSCP value specified here is used when establishing the connection
3032 between the controller and the Open vSwitch. If no value is specified,
3033 a default value of 48 is chosen. Valid DSCP values must be in the
3039 <group title="Common Columns">
3040 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3041 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3043 <column name="external_ids"/>
3044 <column name="other_config"/>
3048 <table name="Manager" title="OVSDB management connection.">
3050 Configuration for a database connection to an Open vSwitch database
3055 This table primarily configures the Open vSwitch database
3056 (<code>ovsdb-server</code>), not the Open vSwitch switch
3057 (<code>ovs-vswitchd</code>). The switch does read the table to determine
3058 what connections should be treated as in-band.
3062 The Open vSwitch database server can initiate and maintain active
3063 connections to remote clients. It can also listen for database
3067 <group title="Core Features">
3068 <column name="target">
3069 <p>Connection method for managers.</p>
3071 The following connection methods are currently supported:
3074 <dt><code>ssl:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
3077 The specified SSL <var>port</var> (default: 6632) on the host at
3078 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
3079 (not a DNS name). The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/>
3080 column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a
3081 valid SSL configuration when this form is used.
3084 SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
3085 part of Open vSwitch.
3089 <dt><code>tcp:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
3091 The specified TCP <var>port</var> (default: 6632) on the host at
3092 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
3095 <dt><code>pssl:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
3098 Listens for SSL connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
3099 (default: 6632). Specify 0 for <var>port</var> to have the
3100 kernel automatically choose an available port. If <var>ip</var>,
3101 which must be expressed as an IP address (not a DNS name), is
3102 specified, then connections are restricted to the specified local
3106 The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/> column in the <ref
3107 table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a valid SSL
3108 configuration when this form is used.
3111 SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
3112 part of Open vSwitch.
3115 <dt><code>ptcp:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
3117 Listens for connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
3118 (default: 6632). Specify 0 for <var>port</var> to have the kernel
3119 automatically choose an available port. If <var>ip</var>, which
3120 must be expressed as an IP address (not a DNS name), is specified,
3121 then connections are restricted to the specified local IP address.
3124 <p>When multiple managers are configured, the <ref column="target"/>
3125 values must be unique. Duplicate <ref column="target"/> values yield
3126 unspecified results.</p>
3129 <column name="connection_mode">
3131 If it is specified, this setting must be one of the following strings
3132 that describes how Open vSwitch contacts this OVSDB client over the
3137 <dt><code>in-band</code></dt>
3139 In this mode, this connection's traffic travels over a bridge
3140 managed by Open vSwitch. With this setting, Open vSwitch allows
3141 traffic to and from the client regardless of the contents of the
3142 OpenFlow flow table. (Otherwise, Open vSwitch would never be able
3143 to connect to the client, because it did not have a flow to enable
3144 it.) This is the most common connection mode because it is not
3145 necessary to maintain two independent networks.
3147 <dt><code>out-of-band</code></dt>
3149 In this mode, the client's traffic uses a control network separate
3150 from that managed by Open vSwitch, that is, Open vSwitch does not
3151 use any of its own network devices to communicate with the client.
3152 The control network must be configured separately, before or after
3153 <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> is started.
3158 If not specified, the default is implementation-specific.
3163 <group title="Client Failure Detection and Handling">
3164 <column name="max_backoff">
3165 Maximum number of milliseconds to wait between connection attempts.
3166 Default is implementation-specific.
3169 <column name="inactivity_probe">
3170 Maximum number of milliseconds of idle time on connection to the client
3171 before sending an inactivity probe message. If Open vSwitch does not
3172 communicate with the client for the specified number of seconds, it
3173 will send a probe. If a response is not received for the same
3174 additional amount of time, Open vSwitch assumes the connection has been
3175 broken and attempts to reconnect. Default is implementation-specific.
3176 A value of 0 disables inactivity probes.
3180 <group title="Status">
3181 <column name="is_connected">
3182 <code>true</code> if currently connected to this manager,
3183 <code>false</code> otherwise.
3186 <column name="status" key="last_error">
3187 A human-readable description of the last error on the connection
3188 to the manager; i.e. <code>strerror(errno)</code>. This key
3189 will exist only if an error has occurred.
3192 <column name="status" key="state"
3193 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["VOID", "BACKOFF", "CONNECTING", "ACTIVE", "IDLE"]]}'>
3195 The state of the connection to the manager:
3198 <dt><code>VOID</code></dt>
3199 <dd>Connection is disabled.</dd>
3201 <dt><code>BACKOFF</code></dt>
3202 <dd>Attempting to reconnect at an increasing period.</dd>
3204 <dt><code>CONNECTING</code></dt>
3205 <dd>Attempting to connect.</dd>
3207 <dt><code>ACTIVE</code></dt>
3208 <dd>Connected, remote host responsive.</dd>
3210 <dt><code>IDLE</code></dt>
3211 <dd>Connection is idle. Waiting for response to keep-alive.</dd>
3214 These values may change in the future. They are provided only for
3219 <column name="status" key="sec_since_connect"
3220 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
3221 The amount of time since this manager last successfully connected
3222 to the database (in seconds). Value is empty if manager has never
3223 successfully connected.
3226 <column name="status" key="sec_since_disconnect"
3227 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
3228 The amount of time since this manager last disconnected from the
3229 database (in seconds). Value is empty if manager has never
3233 <column name="status" key="locks_held">
3234 Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection
3235 holds. Omitted if the connection does not hold any locks.
3238 <column name="status" key="locks_waiting">
3239 Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection is
3240 currently waiting to acquire. Omitted if the connection is not waiting
3244 <column name="status" key="locks_lost">
3245 Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection
3246 has had stolen by another OVSDB client. Omitted if no locks have been
3247 stolen from this connection.
3250 <column name="status" key="n_connections"
3251 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 2}'>
3253 When <ref column="target"/> specifies a connection method that
3254 listens for inbound connections (e.g. <code>ptcp:</code> or
3255 <code>pssl:</code>) and more than one connection is actually active,
3256 the value is the number of active connections. Otherwise, this
3257 key-value pair is omitted.
3260 When multiple connections are active, status columns and key-value
3261 pairs (other than this one) report the status of one arbitrarily
3266 <column name="status" key="bound_port" type='{"type": "integer"}'>
3267 When <ref column="target"/> is <code>ptcp:</code> or
3268 <code>pssl:</code>, this is the TCP port on which the OVSDB server is
3269 listening. (This is is particularly useful when <ref
3270 column="target"/> specifies a port of 0, allowing the kernel to
3271 choose any available port.)
3275 <group title="Connection Parameters">
3277 Additional configuration for a connection between the manager
3278 and the Open vSwitch Database.
3281 <column name="other_config" key="dscp"
3282 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
3283 The Differentiated Service Code Point (DSCP) is specified using 6 bits
3284 in the Type of Service (TOS) field in the IP header. DSCP provides a
3285 mechanism to classify the network traffic and provide Quality of
3286 Service (QoS) on IP networks.
3288 The DSCP value specified here is used when establishing the connection
3289 between the manager and the Open vSwitch. If no value is specified, a
3290 default value of 48 is chosen. Valid DSCP values must be in the range
3295 <group title="Common Columns">
3296 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3297 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3299 <column name="external_ids"/>
3300 <column name="other_config"/>
3304 <table name="NetFlow">
3305 A NetFlow target. NetFlow is a protocol that exports a number of
3306 details about terminating IP flows, such as the principals involved
3309 <column name="targets">
3310 NetFlow targets in the form
3311 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>. The <var>ip</var>
3312 must be specified numerically, not as a DNS name.
3315 <column name="engine_id">
3316 Engine ID to use in NetFlow messages. Defaults to datapath index
3320 <column name="engine_type">
3321 Engine type to use in NetFlow messages. Defaults to datapath
3322 index if not specified.
3325 <column name="active_timeout">
3326 The interval at which NetFlow records are sent for flows that are
3327 still active, in seconds. A value of <code>0</code> requests the
3328 default timeout (currently 600 seconds); a value of <code>-1</code>
3329 disables active timeouts.
3332 <column name="add_id_to_interface">
3333 <p>If this column's value is <code>false</code>, the ingress and egress
3334 interface fields of NetFlow flow records are derived from OpenFlow port
3335 numbers. When it is <code>true</code>, the 7 most significant bits of
3336 these fields will be replaced by the least significant 7 bits of the
3337 engine id. This is useful because many NetFlow collectors do not
3338 expect multiple switches to be sending messages from the same host, so
3339 they do not store the engine information which could be used to
3340 disambiguate the traffic.</p>
3341 <p>When this option is enabled, a maximum of 508 ports are supported.</p>
3344 <group title="Common Columns">
3345 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3346 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3348 <column name="external_ids"/>
3353 SSL configuration for an Open_vSwitch.
3355 <column name="private_key">
3356 Name of a PEM file containing the private key used as the switch's
3357 identity for SSL connections to the controller.
3360 <column name="certificate">
3361 Name of a PEM file containing a certificate, signed by the
3362 certificate authority (CA) used by the controller and manager,
3363 that certifies the switch's private key, identifying a trustworthy
3367 <column name="ca_cert">
3368 Name of a PEM file containing the CA certificate used to verify
3369 that the switch is connected to a trustworthy controller.
3372 <column name="bootstrap_ca_cert">
3373 If set to <code>true</code>, then Open vSwitch will attempt to
3374 obtain the CA certificate from the controller on its first SSL
3375 connection and save it to the named PEM file. If it is successful,
3376 it will immediately drop the connection and reconnect, and from then
3377 on all SSL connections must be authenticated by a certificate signed
3378 by the CA certificate thus obtained. <em>This option exposes the
3379 SSL connection to a man-in-the-middle attack obtaining the initial
3380 CA certificate.</em> It may still be useful for bootstrapping.
3383 <group title="Common Columns">
3384 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3385 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3387 <column name="external_ids"/>
3391 <table name="sFlow">
3392 <p>A set of sFlow(R) targets. sFlow is a protocol for remote
3393 monitoring of switches.</p>
3395 <column name="agent">
3396 Name of the network device whose IP address should be reported as the
3397 ``agent address'' to collectors. If not specified, the agent device is
3398 figured from the first target address and the routing table. If the
3399 routing table does not contain a route to the target, the IP address
3400 defaults to the <ref table="Controller" column="local_ip"/> in the
3401 collector's <ref table="Controller"/>. If an agent IP address cannot be
3402 determined any of these ways, sFlow is disabled.
3405 <column name="header">
3406 Number of bytes of a sampled packet to send to the collector.
3407 If not specified, the default is 128 bytes.
3410 <column name="polling">
3411 Polling rate in seconds to send port statistics to the collector.
3412 If not specified, defaults to 30 seconds.
3415 <column name="sampling">
3416 Rate at which packets should be sampled and sent to the collector.
3417 If not specified, defaults to 400, which means one out of 400
3418 packets, on average, will be sent to the collector.
3421 <column name="targets">
3422 sFlow targets in the form
3423 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>.
3426 <group title="Common Columns">
3427 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3428 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3430 <column name="external_ids"/>
3434 <table name="IPFIX">
3435 <p>A set of IPFIX collectors. IPFIX is a protocol that exports a
3436 number of details about flows.</p>
3438 <column name="targets">
3439 IPFIX target collectors in the form
3440 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>.
3443 <column name="sampling">
3444 For per-bridge packet sampling, i.e. when this row is referenced
3445 from a <ref table="Bridge"/>, the rate at which packets should
3446 be sampled and sent to each target collector. If not specified,
3447 defaults to 400, which means one out of 400 packets, on average,
3448 will be sent to each target collector. Ignored for per-flow
3449 sampling, i.e. when this row is referenced from a <ref
3450 table="Flow_Sample_Collector_Set"/>.
3453 <column name="obs_domain_id">
3454 For per-bridge packet sampling, i.e. when this row is referenced
3455 from a <ref table="Bridge"/>, the IPFIX Observation Domain ID
3456 sent in each IPFIX packet. If not specified, defaults to 0.
3457 Ignored for per-flow sampling, i.e. when this row is referenced
3458 from a <ref table="Flow_Sample_Collector_Set"/>.
3461 <column name="obs_point_id">
3462 For per-bridge packet sampling, i.e. when this row is referenced
3463 from a <ref table="Bridge"/>, the IPFIX Observation Point ID
3464 sent in each IPFIX flow record. If not specified, defaults to
3465 0. Ignored for per-flow sampling, i.e. when this row is
3466 referenced from a <ref table="Flow_Sample_Collector_Set"/>.
3469 <group title="Common Columns">
3470 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3471 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3473 <column name="external_ids"/>
3477 <table name="Flow_Sample_Collector_Set">
3478 <p>A set of IPFIX collectors of packet samples generated by
3479 OpenFlow <code>sample</code> actions.</p>
3482 The ID of this collector set, unique among the bridge's
3483 collector sets, to be used as the <code>collector_set_id</code>
3484 in OpenFlow <code>sample</code> actions.
3487 <column name="bridge">
3488 The bridge into which OpenFlow <code>sample</code> actions can
3489 be added to send packet samples to this set of IPFIX collectors.
3492 <column name="ipfix">
3493 Configuration of the set of IPFIX collectors to send one flow
3494 record per sampled packet to.
3497 <group title="Common Columns">
3498 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3499 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3501 <column name="external_ids"/>