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>
162 <column name="other_config" key="n-handler-threads"
163 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
165 Specifies the number of threads for software datapaths to use for
166 handling new flows. The default is two less than the number of
167 online CPU cores (but at least 1).
170 This configuration is per datapath. If you have more than one
171 software datapath (e.g. some <code>system</code> bridges and some
172 <code>netdev</code> bridges), then the total number of threads is
173 <code>n-handler-threads</code> times the number of software
179 <group title="Status">
180 <column name="next_cfg">
181 Sequence number for client to increment. When a client modifies
182 any part of the database configuration and wishes to wait for
183 Open vSwitch to finish applying the changes, it may increment
184 this sequence number.
187 <column name="cur_cfg">
188 Sequence number that Open vSwitch sets to the current value of
189 <ref column="next_cfg"/> after it finishes applying a set of
190 configuration changes.
193 <group title="Statistics">
195 The <code>statistics</code> column contains key-value pairs that
196 report statistics about a system running an Open vSwitch. These are
197 updated periodically (currently, every 5 seconds). Key-value pairs
198 that cannot be determined or that do not apply to a platform are
202 <column name="other_config" key="enable-statistics"
203 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
204 Statistics are disabled by default to avoid overhead in the common
205 case when statistics gathering is not useful. Set this value to
206 <code>true</code> to enable populating the <ref column="statistics"/>
207 column or to <code>false</code> to explicitly disable it.
210 <column name="statistics" key="cpu"
211 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
213 Number of CPU processors, threads, or cores currently online and
214 available to the operating system on which Open vSwitch is running,
215 as an integer. This may be less than the number installed, if some
216 are not online or if they are not available to the operating
220 Open vSwitch userspace processes are not multithreaded, but the
221 Linux kernel-based datapath is.
225 <column name="statistics" key="load_average">
226 A comma-separated list of three floating-point numbers,
227 representing the system load average over the last 1, 5, and 15
228 minutes, respectively.
231 <column name="statistics" key="memory">
233 A comma-separated list of integers, each of which represents a
234 quantity of memory in kilobytes that describes the operating
235 system on which Open vSwitch is running. In respective order,
240 <li>Total amount of RAM allocated to the OS.</li>
241 <li>RAM allocated to the OS that is in use.</li>
242 <li>RAM that can be flushed out to disk or otherwise discarded
243 if that space is needed for another purpose. This number is
244 necessarily less than or equal to the previous value.</li>
245 <li>Total disk space allocated for swap.</li>
246 <li>Swap space currently in use.</li>
250 On Linux, all five values can be determined and are included. On
251 other operating systems, only the first two values can be
252 determined, so the list will only have two values.
256 <column name="statistics" key="process_NAME">
258 One such key-value pair, with <code>NAME</code> replaced by
259 a process name, will exist for each running Open vSwitch
260 daemon process, with <var>name</var> replaced by the
261 daemon's name (e.g. <code>process_ovs-vswitchd</code>). The
262 value is a comma-separated list of integers. The integers
263 represent the following, with memory measured in kilobytes
264 and durations in milliseconds:
268 <li>The process's virtual memory size.</li>
269 <li>The process's resident set size.</li>
270 <li>The amount of user and system CPU time consumed by the
272 <li>The number of times that the process has crashed and been
273 automatically restarted by the monitor.</li>
274 <li>The duration since the process was started.</li>
275 <li>The duration for which the process has been running.</li>
279 The interpretation of some of these values depends on whether the
280 process was started with the <option>--monitor</option>. If it
281 was not, then the crash count will always be 0 and the two
282 durations will always be the same. If <option>--monitor</option>
283 was given, then the crash count may be positive; if it is, the
284 latter duration is the amount of time since the most recent crash
289 There will be one key-value pair for each file in Open vSwitch's
290 ``run directory'' (usually <code>/var/run/openvswitch</code>)
291 whose name ends in <code>.pid</code>, whose contents are a
292 process ID, and which is locked by a running process. The
293 <var>name</var> is taken from the pidfile's name.
297 Currently Open vSwitch is only able to obtain all of the above
298 detail on Linux systems. On other systems, the same key-value
299 pairs will be present but the values will always be the empty
304 <column name="statistics" key="file_systems">
306 A space-separated list of information on local, writable file
307 systems. Each item in the list describes one file system and
308 consists in turn of a comma-separated list of the following:
312 <li>Mount point, e.g. <code>/</code> or <code>/var/log</code>.
313 Any spaces or commas in the mount point are replaced by
315 <li>Total size, in kilobytes, as an integer.</li>
316 <li>Amount of storage in use, in kilobytes, as an integer.</li>
320 This key-value pair is omitted if there are no local, writable
321 file systems or if Open vSwitch cannot obtain the needed
328 <group title="Version Reporting">
330 These columns report the types and versions of the hardware and
331 software running Open vSwitch. We recommend in general that software
332 should test whether specific features are supported instead of relying
333 on version number checks. These values are primarily intended for
334 reporting to human administrators.
337 <column name="ovs_version">
338 The Open vSwitch version number, e.g. <code>1.1.0</code>.
341 <column name="db_version">
343 The database schema version number in the form
344 <code><var>major</var>.<var>minor</var>.<var>tweak</var></code>,
345 e.g. <code>1.2.3</code>. Whenever the database schema is changed in
346 a non-backward compatible way (e.g. deleting a column or a table),
347 <var>major</var> is incremented. When the database schema is changed
348 in a backward compatible way (e.g. adding a new column),
349 <var>minor</var> is incremented. When the database schema is changed
350 cosmetically (e.g. reindenting its syntax), <var>tweak</var> is
355 The schema version is part of the database schema, so it can also be
356 retrieved by fetching the schema using the Open vSwitch database
361 <column name="system_type">
363 An identifier for the type of system on top of which Open vSwitch
364 runs, e.g. <code>XenServer</code> or <code>KVM</code>.
367 System integrators are responsible for choosing and setting an
368 appropriate value for this column.
372 <column name="system_version">
374 The version of the system identified by <ref column="system_type"/>,
375 e.g. <code>5.6.100-39265p</code> on XenServer 5.6.100 build 39265.
378 System integrators are responsible for choosing and setting an
379 appropriate value for this column.
385 <group title="Database Configuration">
387 These columns primarily configure the Open vSwitch database
388 (<code>ovsdb-server</code>), not the Open vSwitch switch
389 (<code>ovs-vswitchd</code>). The OVSDB database also uses the <ref
390 column="ssl"/> settings.
394 The Open vSwitch switch does read the database configuration to
395 determine remote IP addresses to which in-band control should apply.
398 <column name="manager_options">
399 Database clients to which the Open vSwitch database server should
400 connect or to which it should listen, along with options for how these
401 connection should be configured. See the <ref table="Manager"/> table
402 for more information.
406 <group title="Common Columns">
407 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
408 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
410 <column name="other_config"/>
411 <column name="external_ids"/>
415 <table name="Bridge">
417 Configuration for a bridge within an
418 <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/>.
421 A <ref table="Bridge"/> record represents an Ethernet switch with one or
422 more ``ports,'' which are the <ref table="Port"/> records pointed to by
423 the <ref table="Bridge"/>'s <ref column="ports"/> column.
426 <group title="Core Features">
428 Bridge identifier. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8
429 bytes long. Must be unique among the names of ports, interfaces, and
433 <column name="ports">
434 Ports included in the bridge.
437 <column name="mirrors">
438 Port mirroring configuration.
441 <column name="netflow">
442 NetFlow configuration.
445 <column name="sflow">
446 sFlow(R) configuration.
449 <column name="ipfix">
453 <column name="flood_vlans">
455 VLAN IDs of VLANs on which MAC address learning should be disabled,
456 so that packets are flooded instead of being sent to specific ports
457 that are believed to contain packets' destination MACs. This should
458 ordinarily be used to disable MAC learning on VLANs used for
459 mirroring (RSPAN VLANs). It may also be useful for debugging.
462 SLB bonding (see the <ref table="Port" column="bond_mode"/> column in
463 the <ref table="Port"/> table) is incompatible with
464 <code>flood_vlans</code>. Consider using another bonding mode or
465 a different type of mirror instead.
470 <group title="OpenFlow Configuration">
471 <column name="controller">
473 OpenFlow controller set. If unset, then no OpenFlow controllers
478 If there are primary controllers, removing all of them clears the
479 flow table. If there are no primary controllers, adding one also
480 clears the flow table. Other changes to the set of controllers, such
481 as adding or removing a service controller, adding another primary
482 controller to supplement an existing primary controller, or removing
483 only one of two primary controllers, have no effect on the flow
488 <column name="flow_tables">
489 Configuration for OpenFlow tables. Each pair maps from an OpenFlow
490 table ID to configuration for that table.
493 <column name="fail_mode">
494 <p>When a controller is configured, it is, ordinarily, responsible
495 for setting up all flows on the switch. Thus, if the connection to
496 the controller fails, no new network connections can be set up.
497 If the connection to the controller stays down long enough,
498 no packets can pass through the switch at all. This setting
499 determines the switch's response to such a situation. It may be set
500 to one of the following:
502 <dt><code>standalone</code></dt>
503 <dd>If no message is received from the controller for three
504 times the inactivity probe interval
505 (see <ref column="inactivity_probe"/>), then Open vSwitch
506 will take over responsibility for setting up flows. In
507 this mode, Open vSwitch causes the bridge to act like an
508 ordinary MAC-learning switch. Open vSwitch will continue
509 to retry connecting to the controller in the background
510 and, when the connection succeeds, it will discontinue its
511 standalone behavior.</dd>
512 <dt><code>secure</code></dt>
513 <dd>Open vSwitch will not set up flows on its own when the
514 controller connection fails or when no controllers are
515 defined. The bridge will continue to retry connecting to
516 any defined controllers forever.</dd>
520 The default is <code>standalone</code> if the value is unset, but
521 future versions of Open vSwitch may change the default.
524 The <code>standalone</code> mode can create forwarding loops on a
525 bridge that has more than one uplink port unless STP is enabled. To
526 avoid loops on such a bridge, configure <code>secure</code> mode or
527 enable STP (see <ref column="stp_enable"/>).
529 <p>When more than one controller is configured,
530 <ref column="fail_mode"/> is considered only when none of the
531 configured controllers can be contacted.</p>
533 Changing <ref column="fail_mode"/> when no primary controllers are
534 configured clears the flow table.
538 <column name="datapath_id">
539 Reports the OpenFlow datapath ID in use. Exactly 16 hex digits.
540 (Setting this column has no useful effect. Set <ref
541 column="other-config" key="datapath-id"/> instead.)
544 <column name="other_config" key="datapath-id">
545 Exactly 16 hex digits to set the OpenFlow datapath ID to a specific
546 value. May not be all-zero.
549 <column name="other_config" key="dp-desc">
550 Human readable description of datapath. It it a maximum 256
551 byte-long free-form string to describe the datapath for
552 debugging purposes, e.g. <code>switch3 in room 3120</code>.
555 <column name="other_config" key="disable-in-band"
556 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
557 If set to <code>true</code>, disable in-band control on the bridge
558 regardless of controller and manager settings.
561 <column name="other_config" key="in-band-queue"
562 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 4294967295}'>
563 A queue ID as a nonnegative integer. This sets the OpenFlow queue ID
564 that will be used by flows set up by in-band control on this bridge.
565 If unset, or if the port used by an in-band control flow does not have
566 QoS configured, or if the port does not have a queue with the specified
567 ID, the default queue is used instead.
570 <column name="protocols">
571 List of OpenFlow protocols that may be used when negotiating a
572 connection with a controller. A default value of
573 <code>OpenFlow10</code> will be used if this column is empty.
577 <group title="Spanning Tree Configuration">
578 The IEEE 802.1D Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is a network protocol
579 that ensures loop-free topologies. It allows redundant links to
580 be included in the network to provide automatic backup paths if
581 the active links fails.
583 <column name="stp_enable">
584 Enable spanning tree on the bridge. By default, STP is disabled
585 on bridges. Bond, internal, and mirror ports are not supported
586 and will not participate in the spanning tree.
589 <column name="other_config" key="stp-system-id">
590 The bridge's STP identifier (the lower 48 bits of the bridge-id)
592 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>.
593 By default, the identifier is the MAC address of the bridge.
596 <column name="other_config" key="stp-priority"
597 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
598 The bridge's relative priority value for determining the root
599 bridge (the upper 16 bits of the bridge-id). A bridge with the
600 lowest bridge-id is elected the root. By default, the priority
604 <column name="other_config" key="stp-hello-time"
605 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 10}'>
606 The interval between transmissions of hello messages by
607 designated ports, in seconds. By default the hello interval is
611 <column name="other_config" key="stp-max-age"
612 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 6, "maxInteger": 40}'>
613 The maximum age of the information transmitted by the bridge
614 when it is the root bridge, in seconds. By default, the maximum
618 <column name="other_config" key="stp-forward-delay"
619 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 4, "maxInteger": 30}'>
620 The delay to wait between transitioning root and designated
621 ports to <code>forwarding</code>, in seconds. By default, the
622 forwarding delay is 15 seconds.
626 <group title="Other Features">
627 <column name="datapath_type">
628 Name of datapath provider. The kernel datapath has
629 type <code>system</code>. The userspace datapath has
630 type <code>netdev</code>.
633 <column name="external_ids" key="bridge-id">
634 A unique identifier of the bridge. On Citrix XenServer this will
635 commonly be the same as
636 <ref column="external_ids" key="xs-network-uuids"/>.
639 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-network-uuids">
640 Semicolon-delimited set of universally unique identifier(s) for the
641 network with which this bridge is associated on a Citrix XenServer
642 host. The network identifiers are RFC 4122 UUIDs as displayed by,
643 e.g., <code>xe network-list</code>.
646 <column name="other_config" key="hwaddr">
647 An Ethernet address in the form
648 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>
649 to set the hardware address of the local port and influence the
653 <column name="other_config" key="forward-bpdu"
654 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
655 Option to allow forwarding of BPDU frames when NORMAL action is
656 invoked. Frames with reserved Ethernet addresses (e.g. STP
657 BPDU) will be forwarded when this option is enabled and the
658 switch is not providing that functionality. If STP is enabled
659 on the port, STP BPDUs will never be forwarded. If the Open
660 vSwitch bridge is used to connect different Ethernet networks,
661 and if Open vSwitch node does not run STP, then this option
662 should be enabled. Default is disabled, set to
663 <code>true</code> to enable.
665 The following destination MAC addresss will not be forwarded when this
668 <dt><code>01:80:c2:00:00:00</code></dt>
669 <dd>IEEE 802.1D Spanning Tree Protocol (STP).</dd>
671 <dt><code>01:80:c2:00:00:01</code></dt>
672 <dd>IEEE Pause frame.</dd>
674 <dt><code>01:80:c2:00:00:0<var>x</var></code></dt>
675 <dd>Other reserved protocols.</dd>
677 <dt><code>00:e0:2b:00:00:00</code></dt>
678 <dd>Extreme Discovery Protocol (EDP).</dd>
681 <code>00:e0:2b:00:00:04</code> and <code>00:e0:2b:00:00:06</code>
683 <dd>Ethernet Automatic Protection Switching (EAPS).</dd>
685 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cc:cc:cc</code></dt>
687 Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP), VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP),
688 Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP), Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP),
692 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cc:cc:cd</code></dt>
693 <dd>Cisco Shared Spanning Tree Protocol PVSTP+.</dd>
695 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cd:cd:cd</code></dt>
696 <dd>Cisco STP Uplink Fast.</dd>
698 <dt><code>01:00:0c:00:00:00</code></dt>
699 <dd>Cisco Inter Switch Link.</dd>
701 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cc:cc:c<var>x</var></code></dt>
706 <column name="other_config" key="mac-aging-time"
707 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
709 The maximum number of seconds to retain a MAC learning entry for
710 which no packets have been seen. The default is currently 300
711 seconds (5 minutes). The value, if specified, is forced into a
712 reasonable range, currently 15 to 3600 seconds.
716 A short MAC aging time allows a network to more quickly detect that a
717 host is no longer connected to a switch port. However, it also makes
718 it more likely that packets will be flooded unnecessarily, when they
719 are addressed to a connected host that rarely transmits packets. To
720 reduce the incidence of unnecessary flooding, use a MAC aging time
721 longer than the maximum interval at which a host will ordinarily
726 <column name="other_config" key="mac-table-size"
727 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
729 The maximum number of MAC addresses to learn. The default is
730 currently 2048. The value, if specified, is forced into a reasonable
731 range, currently 10 to 1,000,000.
736 <group title="Bridge Status">
738 Status information about bridges.
740 <column name="status">
741 Key-value pairs that report bridge status.
743 <column name="status" key="stp_bridge_id">
745 The bridge-id (in hex) used in spanning tree advertisements.
746 Configuring the bridge-id is described in the
747 <code>stp-system-id</code> and <code>stp-priority</code> keys
748 of the <code>other_config</code> section earlier.
751 <column name="status" key="stp_designated_root">
753 The designated root (in hex) for this spanning tree.
756 <column name="status" key="stp_root_path_cost">
758 The path cost of reaching the designated bridge. A lower
764 <group title="Common Columns">
765 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
766 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
768 <column name="other_config"/>
769 <column name="external_ids"/>
773 <table name="Port" table="Port or bond configuration.">
774 <p>A port within a <ref table="Bridge"/>.</p>
775 <p>Most commonly, a port has exactly one ``interface,'' pointed to by its
776 <ref column="interfaces"/> column. Such a port logically
777 corresponds to a port on a physical Ethernet switch. A port
778 with more than one interface is a ``bonded port'' (see
779 <ref group="Bonding Configuration"/>).</p>
780 <p>Some properties that one might think as belonging to a port are actually
781 part of the port's <ref table="Interface"/> members.</p>
784 Port name. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8
785 bytes long. May be the same as the interface name, for
786 non-bonded ports. Must otherwise be unique among the names of
787 ports, interfaces, and bridges on a host.
790 <column name="interfaces">
791 The port's interfaces. If there is more than one, this is a
795 <group title="VLAN Configuration">
796 <p>Bridge ports support the following types of VLAN configuration:</p>
801 A trunk port carries packets on one or more specified VLANs
802 specified in the <ref column="trunks"/> column (often, on every
803 VLAN). A packet that ingresses on a trunk port is in the VLAN
804 specified in its 802.1Q header, or VLAN 0 if the packet has no
805 802.1Q header. A packet that egresses through a trunk port will
806 have an 802.1Q header if it has a nonzero VLAN ID.
810 Any packet that ingresses on a trunk port tagged with a VLAN that
811 the port does not trunk is dropped.
818 An access port carries packets on exactly one VLAN specified in the
819 <ref column="tag"/> column. Packets egressing on an access port
820 have no 802.1Q header.
824 Any packet with an 802.1Q header with a nonzero VLAN ID that
825 ingresses on an access port is dropped, regardless of whether the
826 VLAN ID in the header is the access port's VLAN ID.
830 <dt>native-tagged</dt>
832 A native-tagged port resembles a trunk port, with the exception that
833 a packet without an 802.1Q header that ingresses on a native-tagged
834 port is in the ``native VLAN'' (specified in the <ref column="tag"/>
838 <dt>native-untagged</dt>
840 A native-untagged port resembles a native-tagged port, with the
841 exception that a packet that egresses on a native-untagged port in
842 the native VLAN will not have an 802.1Q header.
846 A packet will only egress through bridge ports that carry the VLAN of
847 the packet, as described by the rules above.
850 <column name="vlan_mode">
852 The VLAN mode of the port, as described above. When this column is
853 empty, a default mode is selected as follows:
857 If <ref column="tag"/> contains a value, the port is an access
858 port. The <ref column="trunks"/> column should be empty.
861 Otherwise, the port is a trunk port. The <ref column="trunks"/>
862 column value is honored if it is present.
869 For an access port, the port's implicitly tagged VLAN. For a
870 native-tagged or native-untagged port, the port's native VLAN. Must
871 be empty if this is a trunk port.
875 <column name="trunks">
877 For a trunk, native-tagged, or native-untagged port, the 802.1Q VLAN
878 or VLANs that this port trunks; if it is empty, then the port trunks
879 all VLANs. Must be empty if this is an access port.
882 A native-tagged or native-untagged port always trunks its native
883 VLAN, regardless of whether <ref column="trunks"/> includes that
888 <column name="other_config" key="priority-tags"
889 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
891 An 802.1Q header contains two important pieces of information: a VLAN
892 ID and a priority. A frame with a zero VLAN ID, called a
893 ``priority-tagged'' frame, is supposed to be treated the same way as
894 a frame without an 802.1Q header at all (except for the priority).
898 However, some network elements ignore any frame that has 802.1Q
899 header at all, even when the VLAN ID is zero. Therefore, by default
900 Open vSwitch does not output priority-tagged frames, instead omitting
901 the 802.1Q header entirely if the VLAN ID is zero. Set this key to
902 <code>true</code> to enable priority-tagged frames on a port.
906 Regardless of this setting, Open vSwitch omits the 802.1Q header on
907 output if both the VLAN ID and priority would be zero.
911 All frames output to native-tagged ports have a nonzero VLAN ID, so
912 this setting is not meaningful on native-tagged ports.
917 <group title="Bonding Configuration">
918 <p>A port that has more than one interface is a ``bonded port.'' Bonding
919 allows for load balancing and fail-over.</p>
922 The following types of bonding will work with any kind of upstream
923 switch. On the upstream switch, do not configure the interfaces as a
928 <dt><code>balance-slb</code></dt>
930 Balances flows among slaves based on source MAC address and output
931 VLAN, with periodic rebalancing as traffic patterns change.
934 <dt><code>active-backup</code></dt>
936 Assigns all flows to one slave, failing over to a backup slave when
937 the active slave is disabled. This is the only bonding mode in which
938 interfaces may be plugged into different upstream switches.
943 The following modes require the upstream switch to support 802.3ad with
944 successful LACP negotiation:
948 <dt><code>balance-tcp</code></dt>
950 Balances flows among slaves based on L2, L3, and L4 protocol
951 information such as destination MAC address, IP address, and TCP
956 <p>These columns apply only to bonded ports. Their values are
957 otherwise ignored.</p>
959 <column name="bond_mode">
960 <p>The type of bonding used for a bonded port. Defaults to
961 <code>active-backup</code> if unset.
965 <column name="other_config" key="bond-hash-basis"
966 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
967 An integer hashed along with flows when choosing output slaves in load
968 balanced bonds. When changed, all flows will be assigned different
969 hash values possibly causing slave selection decisions to change. Does
970 not affect bonding modes which do not employ load balancing such as
971 <code>active-backup</code>.
974 <group title="Link Failure Detection">
976 An important part of link bonding is detecting that links are down so
977 that they may be disabled. These settings determine how Open vSwitch
978 detects link failure.
981 <column name="other_config" key="bond-detect-mode"
982 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["carrier", "miimon"]]}'>
983 The means used to detect link failures. Defaults to
984 <code>carrier</code> which uses each interface's carrier to detect
985 failures. When set to <code>miimon</code>, will check for failures
986 by polling each interface's MII.
989 <column name="other_config" key="bond-miimon-interval"
990 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
991 The interval, in milliseconds, between successive attempts to poll
992 each interface's MII. Relevant only when <ref column="other_config"
993 key="bond-detect-mode"/> is <code>miimon</code>.
996 <column name="bond_updelay">
998 The number of milliseconds for which the link must stay up on an
999 interface before the interface is considered to be up. Specify
1000 <code>0</code> to enable the interface immediately.
1004 This setting is honored only when at least one bonded interface is
1005 already enabled. When no interfaces are enabled, then the first
1006 bond interface to come up is enabled immediately.
1010 <column name="bond_downdelay">
1011 The number of milliseconds for which the link must stay down on an
1012 interface before the interface is considered to be down. Specify
1013 <code>0</code> to disable the interface immediately.
1017 <group title="LACP Configuration">
1019 LACP, the Link Aggregation Control Protocol, is an IEEE standard that
1020 allows switches to automatically detect that they are connected by
1021 multiple links and aggregate across those links. These settings
1022 control LACP behavior.
1025 <column name="lacp">
1026 Configures LACP on this port. LACP allows directly connected
1027 switches to negotiate which links may be bonded. LACP may be enabled
1028 on non-bonded ports for the benefit of any switches they may be
1029 connected to. <code>active</code> ports are allowed to initiate LACP
1030 negotiations. <code>passive</code> ports are allowed to participate
1031 in LACP negotiations initiated by a remote switch, but not allowed to
1032 initiate such negotiations themselves. If LACP is enabled on a port
1033 whose partner switch does not support LACP, the bond will be
1034 disabled. Defaults to <code>off</code> if unset.
1037 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-system-id">
1038 The LACP system ID of this <ref table="Port"/>. The system ID of a
1039 LACP bond is used to identify itself to its partners. Must be a
1040 nonzero MAC address. Defaults to the bridge Ethernet address if
1044 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-system-priority"
1045 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
1046 The LACP system priority of this <ref table="Port"/>. In LACP
1047 negotiations, link status decisions are made by the system with the
1048 numerically lower priority.
1051 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-time"
1052 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["fast", "slow"]]}'>
1054 The LACP timing which should be used on this <ref table="Port"/>.
1055 By default <code>slow</code> is used. When configured to be
1056 <code>fast</code> LACP heartbeats are requested at a rate of once
1057 per second causing connectivity problems to be detected more
1058 quickly. In <code>slow</code> mode, heartbeats are requested at a
1059 rate of once every 30 seconds.
1064 <group title="Rebalancing Configuration">
1066 These settings control behavior when a bond is in
1067 <code>balance-slb</code> or <code>balance-tcp</code> mode.
1070 <column name="other_config" key="bond-rebalance-interval"
1071 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 10000}'>
1072 For a load balanced bonded port, the number of milliseconds between
1073 successive attempts to rebalance the bond, that is, to move flows
1074 from one interface on the bond to another in an attempt to keep usage
1075 of each interface roughly equal. If zero, load balancing is disabled
1076 on the bond (link failure still cause flows to move). If
1077 less than 1000ms, the rebalance interval will be 1000ms.
1081 <column name="bond_fake_iface">
1082 For a bonded port, whether to create a fake internal interface with the
1083 name of the port. Use only for compatibility with legacy software that
1088 <group title="Spanning Tree Configuration">
1089 <column name="other_config" key="stp-enable"
1090 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1091 If spanning tree is enabled on the bridge, member ports are
1092 enabled by default (with the exception of bond, internal, and
1093 mirror ports which do not work with STP). If this column's
1094 value is <code>false</code> spanning tree is disabled on the
1098 <column name="other_config" key="stp-port-num"
1099 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 255}'>
1100 The port number used for the lower 8 bits of the port-id. By
1101 default, the numbers will be assigned automatically. If any
1102 port's number is manually configured on a bridge, then they
1106 <column name="other_config" key="stp-port-priority"
1107 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 255}'>
1108 The port's relative priority value for determining the root
1109 port (the upper 8 bits of the port-id). A port with a lower
1110 port-id will be chosen as the root port. By default, the
1114 <column name="other_config" key="stp-path-cost"
1115 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
1116 Spanning tree path cost for the port. A lower number indicates
1117 a faster link. By default, the cost is based on the maximum
1122 <group title="Other Features">
1124 Quality of Service configuration for this port.
1128 The MAC address to use for this port for the purpose of choosing the
1129 bridge's MAC address. This column does not necessarily reflect the
1130 port's actual MAC address, nor will setting it change the port's actual
1134 <column name="fake_bridge">
1135 Does this port represent a sub-bridge for its tagged VLAN within the
1136 Bridge? See ovs-vsctl(8) for more information.
1139 <column name="external_ids" key="fake-bridge-id-*">
1140 External IDs for a fake bridge (see the <ref column="fake_bridge"/>
1141 column) are defined by prefixing a <ref table="Bridge"/> <ref
1142 table="Bridge" column="external_ids"/> key with
1143 <code>fake-bridge-</code>,
1144 e.g. <code>fake-bridge-xs-network-uuids</code>.
1148 <group title="Port Status">
1150 Status information about ports attached to bridges.
1152 <column name="status">
1153 Key-value pairs that report port status.
1155 <column name="status" key="stp_port_id">
1157 The port-id (in hex) used in spanning tree advertisements for
1158 this port. Configuring the port-id is described in the
1159 <code>stp-port-num</code> and <code>stp-port-priority</code>
1160 keys of the <code>other_config</code> section earlier.
1163 <column name="status" key="stp_state"
1164 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set",
1165 ["disabled", "listening", "learning",
1166 "forwarding", "blocking"]]}'>
1168 STP state of the port.
1171 <column name="status" key="stp_sec_in_state"
1172 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
1174 The amount of time (in seconds) port has been in the current
1178 <column name="status" key="stp_role"
1179 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set",
1180 ["root", "designated", "alternate"]]}'>
1182 STP role of the port.
1187 <group title="Port Statistics">
1189 Key-value pairs that report port statistics.
1191 <group title="Statistics: STP transmit and receive counters">
1192 <column name="statistics" key="stp_tx_count">
1193 Number of STP BPDUs sent on this port by the spanning
1196 <column name="statistics" key="stp_rx_count">
1197 Number of STP BPDUs received on this port and accepted by the
1198 spanning tree library.
1200 <column name="statistics" key="stp_error_count">
1201 Number of bad STP BPDUs received on this port. Bad BPDUs
1202 include runt packets and those with an unexpected protocol ID.
1207 <group title="Common Columns">
1208 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
1209 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
1211 <column name="other_config"/>
1212 <column name="external_ids"/>
1216 <table name="Interface" title="One physical network device in a Port.">
1217 An interface within a <ref table="Port"/>.
1219 <group title="Core Features">
1220 <column name="name">
1221 Interface name. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8 bytes
1222 long. May be the same as the port name, for non-bonded ports. Must
1223 otherwise be unique among the names of ports, interfaces, and bridges
1227 <column name="ifindex">
1228 A positive interface index as defined for SNMP MIB-II in RFCs 1213 and
1229 2863, if the interface has one, otherwise 0. The ifindex is useful for
1230 seamless integration with protocols such as SNMP and sFlow.
1233 <column name="mac_in_use">
1234 The MAC address in use by this interface.
1238 <p>Ethernet address to set for this interface. If unset then the
1239 default MAC address is used:</p>
1241 <li>For the local interface, the default is the lowest-numbered MAC
1242 address among the other bridge ports, either the value of the
1243 <ref table="Port" column="mac"/> in its <ref table="Port"/> record,
1244 if set, or its actual MAC (for bonded ports, the MAC of its slave
1245 whose name is first in alphabetical order). Internal ports and
1246 bridge ports that are used as port mirroring destinations (see the
1247 <ref table="Mirror"/> table) are ignored.</li>
1248 <li>For other internal interfaces, the default MAC is randomly
1250 <li>External interfaces typically have a MAC address associated with
1251 their hardware.</li>
1253 <p>Some interfaces may not have a software-controllable MAC
1257 <column name="ofport">
1258 <p>OpenFlow port number for this interface. Unlike most columns, this
1259 column's value should be set only by Open vSwitch itself. Other
1260 clients should set this column to an empty set (the default) when
1261 creating an <ref table="Interface"/>.</p>
1262 <p>Open vSwitch populates this column when the port number becomes
1263 known. If the interface is successfully added,
1264 <ref column="ofport"/> will be set to a number between 1 and 65535
1265 (generally either in the range 1 to 65279, inclusive, or 65534, the
1266 port number for the OpenFlow ``local port''). If the interface
1267 cannot be added then Open vSwitch sets this column
1269 <p>When <ref column="ofport_request"/> is not set, Open vSwitch picks
1270 an appropriate value for this column and then tries to keep the value
1271 constant across restarts.</p>
1274 <column name="ofport_request">
1275 <p>Requested OpenFlow port number for this interface. The port
1276 number must be between 1 and 65279, inclusive. Some datapaths
1277 cannot satisfy all requests for particular port numbers. When
1278 this column is empty or the request cannot be fulfilled, the
1279 system will choose a free port. The <ref column="ofport"/>
1280 column reports the assigned OpenFlow port number.</p>
1281 <p>The port number must be requested in the same transaction
1282 that creates the port.</p>
1286 <group title="System-Specific Details">
1287 <column name="type">
1289 The interface type, one of:
1293 <dt><code>system</code></dt>
1294 <dd>An ordinary network device, e.g. <code>eth0</code> on Linux.
1295 Sometimes referred to as ``external interfaces'' since they are
1296 generally connected to hardware external to that on which the Open
1297 vSwitch is running. The empty string is a synonym for
1298 <code>system</code>.</dd>
1300 <dt><code>internal</code></dt>
1301 <dd>A simulated network device that sends and receives traffic. An
1302 internal interface whose <ref column="name"/> is the same as its
1303 bridge's <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="name"/> is called the
1304 ``local interface.'' It does not make sense to bond an internal
1305 interface, so the terms ``port'' and ``interface'' are often used
1306 imprecisely for internal interfaces.</dd>
1308 <dt><code>tap</code></dt>
1309 <dd>A TUN/TAP device managed by Open vSwitch.</dd>
1311 <dt><code>gre</code></dt>
1313 An Ethernet over RFC 2890 Generic Routing Encapsulation over IPv4
1317 <dt><code>ipsec_gre</code></dt>
1319 An Ethernet over RFC 2890 Generic Routing Encapsulation over IPv4
1323 <dt><code>gre64</code></dt>
1325 It is same as GRE, but it allows 64 bit key. To store higher 32-bits
1326 of key, it uses GRE protocol sequence number field. This is non
1327 standard use of GRE protocol since OVS does not increment
1328 sequence number for every packet at time of encap as expected by
1329 standard GRE implementation. See <ref group="Tunnel Options"/>
1330 for information on configuring GRE tunnels.
1333 <dt><code>ipsec_gre64</code></dt>
1335 Same as IPSEC_GRE except 64 bit key.
1338 <dt><code>vxlan</code></dt>
1341 An Ethernet tunnel over the experimental, UDP-based VXLAN
1342 protocol described at
1343 <code>http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-mahalingam-dutt-dcops-vxlan-03</code>.
1346 Open vSwitch uses UDP destination port 4789. The source port used for
1347 VXLAN traffic varies on a per-flow basis and is in the ephemeral port
1352 <dt><code>lisp</code></dt>
1354 A layer 3 tunnel over the experimental, UDP-based Locator/ID
1355 Separation Protocol (RFC 6830).
1358 <dt><code>patch</code></dt>
1360 A pair of virtual devices that act as a patch cable.
1363 <dt><code>null</code></dt>
1364 <dd>An ignored interface. Deprecated and slated for removal in
1370 <group title="Tunnel Options">
1372 These options apply to interfaces with <ref column="type"/> of
1373 <code>gre</code>, <code>ipsec_gre</code>, <code>gre64</code>,
1374 <code>ipsec_gre64</code>, <code>vxlan</code>, and <code>lisp</code>.
1378 Each tunnel must be uniquely identified by the combination of <ref
1379 column="type"/>, <ref column="options" key="remote_ip"/>, <ref
1380 column="options" key="local_ip"/>, and <ref column="options"
1381 key="in_key"/>. If two ports are defined that are the same except one
1382 has an optional identifier and the other does not, the more specific
1383 one is matched first. <ref column="options" key="in_key"/> is
1384 considered more specific than <ref column="options" key="local_ip"/> if
1385 a port defines one and another port defines the other.
1388 <column name="options" key="remote_ip">
1389 <p>Required. The remote tunnel endpoint, one of:</p>
1393 An IPv4 address (not a DNS name), e.g. <code>192.168.0.123</code>.
1394 Only unicast endpoints are supported.
1397 The word <code>flow</code>. The tunnel accepts packets from any
1398 remote tunnel endpoint. To process only packets from a specific
1399 remote tunnel endpoint, the flow entries may match on the
1400 <code>tun_src</code> field. When sending packets to a
1401 <code>remote_ip=flow</code> tunnel, the flow actions must
1402 explicitly set the <code>tun_dst</code> field to the IP address of
1403 the desired remote tunnel endpoint, e.g. with a
1404 <code>set_field</code> action.
1409 The remote tunnel endpoint for any packet received from a tunnel
1410 is available in the <code>tun_src</code> field for matching in the
1415 <column name="options" key="local_ip">
1417 Optional. The tunnel destination IP that received packets must
1418 match. Default is to match all addresses. If specified, may be one
1424 An IPv4 address (not a DNS name), e.g. <code>192.168.12.3</code>.
1427 The word <code>flow</code>. The tunnel accepts packets sent to any
1428 of the local IP addresses of the system running OVS. To process
1429 only packets sent to a specific IP address, the flow entries may
1430 match on the <code>tun_dst</code> field. When sending packets to a
1431 <code>local_ip=flow</code> tunnel, the flow actions may
1432 explicitly set the <code>tun_src</code> field to the desired IP
1433 address, e.g. with a <code>set_field</code> action. However, while
1434 routing the tunneled packet out, the local system may override the
1435 specified address with the local IP address configured for the
1436 outgoing system interface.
1439 This option is valid only for tunnels also configured with the
1440 <code>remote_ip=flow</code> option.
1446 The tunnel destination IP address for any packet received from a
1447 tunnel is available in the <code>tun_dst</code> field for matching in
1452 <column name="options" key="in_key">
1453 <p>Optional. The key that received packets must contain, one of:</p>
1457 <code>0</code>. The tunnel receives packets with no key or with a
1458 key of 0. This is equivalent to specifying no <ref column="options"
1459 key="in_key"/> at all.
1462 A positive 24-bit (for VXLAN and LISP), 32-bit (for GRE) or 64-bit
1463 (for GRE64) number. The tunnel receives only packets with the
1467 The word <code>flow</code>. The tunnel accepts packets with any
1468 key. The key will be placed in the <code>tun_id</code> field for
1469 matching in the flow table. The <code>ovs-ofctl</code> manual page
1470 contains additional information about matching fields in OpenFlow
1479 <column name="options" key="out_key">
1480 <p>Optional. The key to be set on outgoing packets, one of:</p>
1484 <code>0</code>. Packets sent through the tunnel will have no key.
1485 This is equivalent to specifying no <ref column="options"
1486 key="out_key"/> at all.
1489 A positive 24-bit (for VXLAN and LISP), 32-bit (for GRE) or 64-bit
1490 (for GRE64) number. Packets sent through the tunnel will have the
1494 The word <code>flow</code>. Packets sent through the tunnel will
1495 have the key set using the <code>set_tunnel</code> Nicira OpenFlow
1496 vendor extension (0 is used in the absence of an action). The
1497 <code>ovs-ofctl</code> manual page contains additional information
1498 about the Nicira OpenFlow vendor extensions.
1503 <column name="options" key="key">
1504 Optional. Shorthand to set <code>in_key</code> and
1505 <code>out_key</code> at the same time.
1508 <column name="options" key="tos">
1509 Optional. The value of the ToS bits to be set on the encapsulating
1510 packet. ToS is interpreted as DSCP and ECN bits, ECN part must be
1511 zero. It may also be the word <code>inherit</code>, in which case
1512 the ToS will be copied from the inner packet if it is IPv4 or IPv6
1513 (otherwise it will be 0). The ECN fields are always inherited.
1517 <column name="options" key="ttl">
1518 Optional. The TTL to be set on the encapsulating packet. It may also
1519 be the word <code>inherit</code>, in which case the TTL will be copied
1520 from the inner packet if it is IPv4 or IPv6 (otherwise it will be the
1521 system default, typically 64). Default is the system default TTL.
1524 <column name="options" key="df_default"
1525 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1526 Optional. If enabled, the Don't Fragment bit will be set on tunnel
1527 outer headers to allow path MTU discovery. Default is enabled; set
1528 to <code>false</code> to disable.
1531 <group title="Tunnel Options: gre and ipsec_gre only">
1533 Only <code>gre</code> and <code>ipsec_gre</code> interfaces support
1537 <column name="options" key="csum" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1539 Optional. Compute GRE checksums on outgoing packets. Default is
1540 disabled, set to <code>true</code> to enable. Checksums present on
1541 incoming packets will be validated regardless of this setting.
1545 GRE checksums impose a significant performance penalty because they
1546 cover the entire packet. The encapsulated L3, L4, and L7 packet
1547 contents typically have their own checksums, so this additional
1548 checksum only adds value for the GRE and encapsulated L2 headers.
1552 This option is supported for <code>ipsec_gre</code>, but not useful
1553 because GRE checksums are weaker than, and redundant with, IPsec
1554 payload authentication.
1559 <group title="Tunnel Options: ipsec_gre only">
1561 Only <code>ipsec_gre</code> interfaces support these options.
1564 <column name="options" key="peer_cert">
1565 Required for certificate authentication. A string containing the
1566 peer's certificate in PEM format. Additionally the host's
1567 certificate must be specified with the <code>certificate</code>
1571 <column name="options" key="certificate">
1572 Required for certificate authentication. The name of a PEM file
1573 containing a certificate that will be presented to the peer during
1577 <column name="options" key="private_key">
1578 Optional for certificate authentication. The name of a PEM file
1579 containing the private key associated with <code>certificate</code>.
1580 If <code>certificate</code> contains the private key, this option may
1584 <column name="options" key="psk">
1585 Required for pre-shared key authentication. Specifies a pre-shared
1586 key for authentication that must be identical on both sides of the
1592 <group title="Patch Options">
1594 Only <code>patch</code> interfaces support these options.
1597 <column name="options" key="peer">
1598 The <ref column="name"/> of the <ref table="Interface"/> for the other
1599 side of the patch. The named <ref table="Interface"/>'s own
1600 <code>peer</code> option must specify this <ref table="Interface"/>'s
1601 name. That is, the two patch interfaces must have reversed <ref
1602 column="name"/> and <code>peer</code> values.
1606 <group title="Interface Status">
1608 Status information about interfaces attached to bridges, updated every
1609 5 seconds. Not all interfaces have all of these properties; virtual
1610 interfaces don't have a link speed, for example. Non-applicable
1611 columns will have empty values.
1613 <column name="admin_state">
1615 The administrative state of the physical network link.
1619 <column name="link_state">
1621 The observed state of the physical network link. This is ordinarily
1622 the link's carrier status. If the interface's <ref table="Port"/> is
1623 a bond configured for miimon monitoring, it is instead the network
1624 link's miimon status.
1628 <column name="link_resets">
1630 The number of times Open vSwitch has observed the
1631 <ref column="link_state"/> of this <ref table="Interface"/> change.
1635 <column name="link_speed">
1637 The negotiated speed of the physical network link.
1638 Valid values are positive integers greater than 0.
1642 <column name="duplex">
1644 The duplex mode of the physical network link.
1650 The MTU (maximum transmission unit); i.e. the largest
1651 amount of data that can fit into a single Ethernet frame.
1652 The standard Ethernet MTU is 1500 bytes. Some physical media
1653 and many kinds of virtual interfaces can be configured with
1657 This column will be empty for an interface that does not
1658 have an MTU as, for example, some kinds of tunnels do not.
1662 <column name="lacp_current">
1663 Boolean value indicating LACP status for this interface. If true, this
1664 interface has current LACP information about its LACP partner. This
1665 information may be used to monitor the health of interfaces in a LACP
1666 enabled port. This column will be empty if LACP is not enabled.
1669 <column name="status">
1670 Key-value pairs that report port status. Supported status values are
1671 <ref column="type"/>-dependent; some interfaces may not have a valid
1672 <ref column="status" key="driver_name"/>, for example.
1675 <column name="status" key="driver_name">
1676 The name of the device driver controlling the network adapter.
1679 <column name="status" key="driver_version">
1680 The version string of the device driver controlling the network
1684 <column name="status" key="firmware_version">
1685 The version string of the network adapter's firmware, if available.
1688 <column name="status" key="source_ip">
1689 The source IP address used for an IPv4 tunnel end-point, such as
1693 <column name="status" key="tunnel_egress_iface">
1694 Egress interface for tunnels. Currently only relevant for GRE tunnels
1695 On Linux systems, this column will show the name of the interface
1696 which is responsible for routing traffic destined for the configured
1697 <ref column="options" key="remote_ip"/>. This could be an internal
1698 interface such as a bridge port.
1701 <column name="status" key="tunnel_egress_iface_carrier"
1702 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["down", "up"]]}'>
1703 Whether carrier is detected on <ref column="status"
1704 key="tunnel_egress_iface"/>.
1708 <group title="Statistics">
1710 Key-value pairs that report interface statistics. The current
1711 implementation updates these counters periodically. Future
1712 implementations may update them when an interface is created, when they
1713 are queried (e.g. using an OVSDB <code>select</code> operation), and
1714 just before an interface is deleted due to virtual interface hot-unplug
1715 or VM shutdown, and perhaps at other times, but not on any regular
1719 These are the same statistics reported by OpenFlow in its <code>struct
1720 ofp_port_stats</code> structure. If an interface does not support a
1721 given statistic, then that pair is omitted.
1723 <group title="Statistics: Successful transmit and receive counters">
1724 <column name="statistics" key="rx_packets">
1725 Number of received packets.
1727 <column name="statistics" key="rx_bytes">
1728 Number of received bytes.
1730 <column name="statistics" key="tx_packets">
1731 Number of transmitted packets.
1733 <column name="statistics" key="tx_bytes">
1734 Number of transmitted bytes.
1737 <group title="Statistics: Receive errors">
1738 <column name="statistics" key="rx_dropped">
1739 Number of packets dropped by RX.
1741 <column name="statistics" key="rx_frame_err">
1742 Number of frame alignment errors.
1744 <column name="statistics" key="rx_over_err">
1745 Number of packets with RX overrun.
1747 <column name="statistics" key="rx_crc_err">
1748 Number of CRC errors.
1750 <column name="statistics" key="rx_errors">
1751 Total number of receive errors, greater than or equal to the sum of
1755 <group title="Statistics: Transmit errors">
1756 <column name="statistics" key="tx_dropped">
1757 Number of packets dropped by TX.
1759 <column name="statistics" key="collisions">
1760 Number of collisions.
1762 <column name="statistics" key="tx_errors">
1763 Total number of transmit errors, greater than or equal to the sum of
1769 <group title="Ingress Policing">
1771 These settings control ingress policing for packets received on this
1772 interface. On a physical interface, this limits the rate at which
1773 traffic is allowed into the system from the outside; on a virtual
1774 interface (one connected to a virtual machine), this limits the rate at
1775 which the VM is able to transmit.
1778 Policing is a simple form of quality-of-service that simply drops
1779 packets received in excess of the configured rate. Due to its
1780 simplicity, policing is usually less accurate and less effective than
1781 egress QoS (which is configured using the <ref table="QoS"/> and <ref
1782 table="Queue"/> tables).
1785 Policing is currently implemented only on Linux. The Linux
1786 implementation uses a simple ``token bucket'' approach:
1790 The size of the bucket corresponds to <ref
1791 column="ingress_policing_burst"/>. Initially the bucket is full.
1794 Whenever a packet is received, its size (converted to tokens) is
1795 compared to the number of tokens currently in the bucket. If the
1796 required number of tokens are available, they are removed and the
1797 packet is forwarded. Otherwise, the packet is dropped.
1800 Whenever it is not full, the bucket is refilled with tokens at the
1801 rate specified by <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/>.
1805 Policing interacts badly with some network protocols, and especially
1806 with fragmented IP packets. Suppose that there is enough network
1807 activity to keep the bucket nearly empty all the time. Then this token
1808 bucket algorithm will forward a single packet every so often, with the
1809 period depending on packet size and on the configured rate. All of the
1810 fragments of an IP packets are normally transmitted back-to-back, as a
1811 group. In such a situation, therefore, only one of these fragments
1812 will be forwarded and the rest will be dropped. IP does not provide
1813 any way for the intended recipient to ask for only the remaining
1814 fragments. In such a case there are two likely possibilities for what
1815 will happen next: either all of the fragments will eventually be
1816 retransmitted (as TCP will do), in which case the same problem will
1817 recur, or the sender will not realize that its packet has been dropped
1818 and data will simply be lost (as some UDP-based protocols will do).
1819 Either way, it is possible that no forward progress will ever occur.
1821 <column name="ingress_policing_rate">
1823 Maximum rate for data received on this interface, in kbps. Data
1824 received faster than this rate is dropped. Set to <code>0</code>
1825 (the default) to disable policing.
1829 <column name="ingress_policing_burst">
1830 <p>Maximum burst size for data received on this interface, in kb. The
1831 default burst size if set to <code>0</code> is 1000 kb. This value
1832 has no effect if <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/>
1833 is <code>0</code>.</p>
1835 Specifying a larger burst size lets the algorithm be more forgiving,
1836 which is important for protocols like TCP that react severely to
1837 dropped packets. The burst size should be at least the size of the
1838 interface's MTU. Specifying a value that is numerically at least as
1839 large as 10% of <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/> helps TCP come
1840 closer to achieving the full rate.
1845 <group title="Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD)">
1847 BFD, defined in RFC 5880 and RFC 5881, allows point-to-point
1848 detection of connectivity failures by occasional transmission of
1849 BFD control messages. Open vSwitch implements BFD to serve
1850 as a more popular and standards compliant alternative to CFM.
1854 BFD operates by regularly transmitting BFD control messages at a rate
1855 negotiated independently in each direction. Each endpoint specifies
1856 the rate at which it expects to receive control messages, and the rate
1857 at which it is willing to transmit them. Open vSwitch uses a detection
1858 multiplier of three, meaning that an endpoint signals a connectivity
1859 fault if three consecutive BFD control messages fail to arrive. In the
1860 case of a unidirectional connectivity issue, the system not receiving
1861 BFD control messages signals the problem to its peer in the messages it
1866 The Open vSwitch implementation of BFD aims to comply faithfully
1867 with RFC 5880 requirements. Open vSwitch does not implement the
1868 optional Authentication or ``Echo Mode'' features.
1871 <group title="BFD Configuration">
1873 A controller sets up key-value pairs in the <ref column="bfd"/>
1874 column to enable and configure BFD.
1877 <column name="bfd" key="enable" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1878 True to enable BFD on this <ref table="Interface"/>.
1881 <column name="bfd" key="min_rx"
1882 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
1883 The shortest interval, in milliseconds, at which this BFD session
1884 offers to receive BFD control messages. The remote endpoint may
1885 choose to send messages at a slower rate. Defaults to
1889 <column name="bfd" key="min_tx"
1890 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
1891 The shortest interval, in milliseconds, at which this BFD session is
1892 willing to transmit BFD control messages. Messages will actually be
1893 transmitted at a slower rate if the remote endpoint is not willing to
1894 receive as quickly as specified. Defaults to <code>100</code>.
1897 <column name="bfd" key="decay_min_rx" type='{"type": "integer"}'>
1898 An alternate receive interval, in milliseconds, that must be greater
1899 than or equal to <ref column="bfd" key="min_rx"/>. The
1900 implementation switches from <ref column="bfd" key="min_rx"/> to <ref
1901 column="bfd" key="decay_min_rx"/> when there is no obvious incoming
1902 data traffic at the interface, to reduce the CPU and bandwidth cost
1903 of monitoring an idle interface. This feature may be disabled by
1904 setting a value of 0. This feature is reset whenever <ref
1905 column="bfd" key="decay_min_rx"/> or <ref column="bfd" key="min_rx"/>
1909 <column name="bfd" key="forwarding_if_rx" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1910 True to consider the interface capable of packet I/O as long as it
1911 continues to receive any packets (not just BFD packets). This
1912 prevents link congestion that causes consecutive BFD control packets
1913 to be lost from marking the interface down.
1916 <column name="bfd" key="cpath_down" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1917 Set to true to notify the remote endpoint that traffic should not be
1918 forwarded to this system for some reason other than a connectivty
1919 failure on the interface being monitored. The typical underlying
1920 reason is ``concatenated path down,'' that is, that connectivity
1921 beyond the local system is down. Defaults to false.
1924 <column name="bfd" key="check_tnl_key" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1925 Set to true to make BFD accept only control messages with a tunnel
1926 key of zero. By default, BFD accepts control messages with any
1930 <column name="bfd" key="bfd_dst_mac">
1931 Set to an Ethernet address in the form
1932 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>
1933 to set the MAC used as destination for transmitted BFD packets and
1934 expected as destination for received BFD packets. The default is
1935 <code>00:23:20:00:00:01</code>.
1939 <group title="BFD Status">
1941 The switch sets key-value pairs in the <ref column="bfd_status"/>
1942 column to report the status of BFD on this interface. When BFD is
1943 not enabled, with <ref column="bfd" key="enable"/>, the switch clears
1944 all key-value pairs from <ref column="bfd_status"/>.
1947 <column name="bfd_status" key="state"
1948 type='{"type": "string",
1949 "enum": ["set", ["admin_down", "down", "init", "up"]]}'>
1950 Reports the state of the BFD session. The BFD session is fully
1951 healthy and negotiated if <code>UP</code>.
1954 <column name="bfd_status" key="forwarding" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1955 Reports whether the BFD session believes this <ref
1956 table="Interface"/> may be used to forward traffic. Typically this
1957 means the local session is signaling <code>UP</code>, and the remote
1958 system isn't signaling a problem such as concatenated path down.
1961 <column name="bfd_status" key="diagnostic">
1962 In case of a problem, set to a short message that reports what the
1963 local BFD session thinks is wrong.
1966 <column name="bfd_status" key="remote_state"
1967 type='{"type": "string",
1968 "enum": ["set", ["admin_down", "down", "init", "up"]]}'>
1969 Reports the state of the remote endpoint's BFD session.
1972 <column name="bfd_status" key="remote_diagnostic">
1973 In case of a problem, set to a short message that reports what the
1974 remote endpoint's BFD session thinks is wrong.
1979 <group title="Connectivity Fault Management">
1981 802.1ag Connectivity Fault Management (CFM) allows a group of
1982 Maintenance Points (MPs) called a Maintenance Association (MA) to
1983 detect connectivity problems with each other. MPs within a MA should
1984 have complete and exclusive interconnectivity. This is verified by
1985 occasionally broadcasting Continuity Check Messages (CCMs) at a
1986 configurable transmission interval.
1990 According to the 802.1ag specification, each Maintenance Point should
1991 be configured out-of-band with a list of Remote Maintenance Points it
1992 should have connectivity to. Open vSwitch differs from the
1993 specification in this area. It simply assumes the link is faulted if
1994 no Remote Maintenance Points are reachable, and considers it not
1999 When operating over tunnels which have no <code>in_key</code>, or an
2000 <code>in_key</code> of <code>flow</code>. CFM will only accept CCMs
2001 with a tunnel key of zero.
2004 <column name="cfm_mpid">
2005 A Maintenance Point ID (MPID) uniquely identifies each endpoint within
2006 a Maintenance Association. The MPID is used to identify this endpoint
2007 to other Maintenance Points in the MA. Each end of a link being
2008 monitored should have a different MPID. Must be configured to enable
2009 CFM on this <ref table="Interface"/>.
2012 <column name="cfm_fault">
2014 Indicates a connectivity fault triggered by an inability to receive
2015 heartbeats from any remote endpoint. When a fault is triggered on
2016 <ref table="Interface"/>s participating in bonds, they will be
2020 Faults can be triggered for several reasons. Most importantly they
2021 are triggered when no CCMs are received for a period of 3.5 times the
2022 transmission interval. Faults are also triggered when any CCMs
2023 indicate that a Remote Maintenance Point is not receiving CCMs but
2024 able to send them. Finally, a fault is triggered if a CCM is
2025 received which indicates unexpected configuration. Notably, this
2026 case arises when a CCM is received which advertises the local MPID.
2030 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="recv">
2031 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to a lack of CCMs received on
2032 the <ref table="Interface"/>.
2035 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="rdi">
2036 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to the reception of a CCM with
2037 the RDI bit flagged. Endpoints set the RDI bit in their CCMs when they
2038 are not receiving CCMs themselves. This typically indicates a
2039 unidirectional connectivity failure.
2042 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="maid">
2043 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to the reception of a CCM with
2044 a MAID other than the one Open vSwitch uses. CFM broadcasts are tagged
2045 with an identification number in addition to the MPID called the MAID.
2046 Open vSwitch only supports receiving CCM broadcasts tagged with the
2047 MAID it uses internally.
2050 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="loopback">
2051 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to the reception of a CCM
2052 advertising the same MPID configured in the <ref column="cfm_mpid"/>
2053 column of this <ref table="Interface"/>. This may indicate a loop in
2057 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="overflow">
2058 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered because the CFM module received
2059 CCMs from more remote endpoints than it can keep track of.
2062 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="override">
2063 Indicates a CFM fault was manually triggered by an administrator using
2064 an <code>ovs-appctl</code> command.
2067 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="interval">
2068 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to the reception of a CCM
2069 frame having an invalid interval.
2072 <column name="cfm_remote_opstate">
2073 <p>When in extended mode, indicates the operational state of the
2074 remote endpoint as either <code>up</code> or <code>down</code>. See
2075 <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_opstate"/>.
2079 <column name="cfm_health">
2081 Indicates the health of the interface as a percentage of CCM frames
2082 received over 21 <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_interval"/>s.
2083 The health of an interface is undefined if it is communicating with
2084 more than one <ref column="cfm_remote_mpids"/>. It reduces if
2085 healthy heartbeats are not received at the expected rate, and
2086 gradually improves as healthy heartbeats are received at the desired
2087 rate. Every 21 <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_interval"/>s, the
2088 health of the interface is refreshed.
2091 As mentioned above, the faults can be triggered for several reasons.
2092 The link health will deteriorate even if heartbeats are received but
2093 they are reported to be unhealthy. An unhealthy heartbeat in this
2094 context is a heartbeat for which either some fault is set or is out
2095 of sequence. The interface health can be 100 only on receiving
2096 healthy heartbeats at the desired rate.
2100 <column name="cfm_remote_mpids">
2101 When CFM is properly configured, Open vSwitch will occasionally
2102 receive CCM broadcasts. These broadcasts contain the MPID of the
2103 sending Maintenance Point. The list of MPIDs from which this
2104 <ref table="Interface"/> is receiving broadcasts from is regularly
2105 collected and written to this column.
2108 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_interval"
2109 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
2111 The interval, in milliseconds, between transmissions of CFM
2112 heartbeats. Three missed heartbeat receptions indicate a
2117 In standard operation only intervals of 3, 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000,
2118 60,000, or 600,000 ms are supported. Other values will be rounded
2119 down to the nearest value on the list. Extended mode (see <ref
2120 column="other_config" key="cfm_extended"/>) supports any interval up
2121 to 65,535 ms. In either mode, the default is 1000 ms.
2124 <p>We do not recommend using intervals less than 100 ms.</p>
2127 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_extended"
2128 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
2129 When <code>true</code>, the CFM module operates in extended mode. This
2130 causes it to use a nonstandard destination address to avoid conflicting
2131 with compliant implementations which may be running concurrently on the
2132 network. Furthermore, extended mode increases the accuracy of the
2133 <code>cfm_interval</code> configuration parameter by breaking wire
2134 compatibility with 802.1ag compliant implementations. Defaults to
2138 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_demand" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
2140 When <code>true</code>, and
2141 <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_extended"/> is true, the CFM
2142 module operates in demand mode. When in demand mode, traffic
2143 received on the <ref table="Interface"/> is used to indicate
2144 liveness. CCMs are still transmitted and received, but if the
2145 <ref table="Interface"/> is receiving traffic, their absence does not
2146 cause a connectivity fault.
2150 Demand mode has a couple of caveats:
2153 To ensure that ovs-vswitchd has enough time to pull statistics
2154 from the datapath, the fault detection interval is set to
2155 3.5 * MAX(<ref column="other_config" key="cfm_interval"/>, 500)
2160 To avoid ambiguity, demand mode disables itself when there are
2161 multiple remote maintenance points.
2165 If the <ref table="Interface"/> is heavily congested, CCMs
2166 containing the <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_opstate"/>
2167 status may be dropped causing changes in the operational state to
2168 be delayed. Similarly, if CCMs containing the RDI bit are not
2169 received, unidirectional link failures may not be detected.
2175 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_opstate"
2176 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["down", "up"]]}'>
2177 When <code>down</code>, the CFM module marks all CCMs it generates as
2178 operationally down without triggering a fault. This allows remote
2179 maintenance points to choose not to forward traffic to the
2180 <ref table="Interface"/> on which this CFM module is running.
2181 Currently, in Open vSwitch, the opdown bit of CCMs affects
2182 <ref table="Interface"/>s participating in bonds, and the bundle
2183 OpenFlow action. This setting is ignored when CFM is not in extended
2184 mode. Defaults to <code>up</code>.
2187 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_ccm_vlan"
2188 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 4095}'>
2189 When set, the CFM module will apply a VLAN tag to all CCMs it generates
2190 with the given value. May be the string <code>random</code> in which
2191 case each CCM will be tagged with a different randomly generated VLAN.
2194 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_ccm_pcp"
2195 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 7}'>
2196 When set, the CFM module will apply a VLAN tag to all CCMs it generates
2197 with the given PCP value, the VLAN ID of the tag is governed by the
2198 value of <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_ccm_vlan"/>. If
2199 <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_ccm_vlan"/> is unset, a VLAN ID of
2205 <group title="Bonding Configuration">
2206 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-port-id"
2207 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
2208 The LACP port ID of this <ref table="Interface"/>. Port IDs are
2209 used in LACP negotiations to identify individual ports
2210 participating in a bond.
2213 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-port-priority"
2214 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
2215 The LACP port priority of this <ref table="Interface"/>. In LACP
2216 negotiations <ref table="Interface"/>s with numerically lower
2217 priorities are preferred for aggregation.
2220 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-aggregation-key"
2221 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
2222 The LACP aggregation key of this <ref table="Interface"/>. <ref
2223 table="Interface"/>s with different aggregation keys may not be active
2224 within a given <ref table="Port"/> at the same time.
2228 <group title="Virtual Machine Identifiers">
2230 These key-value pairs specifically apply to an interface that
2231 represents a virtual Ethernet interface connected to a virtual
2232 machine. These key-value pairs should not be present for other types
2233 of interfaces. Keys whose names end in <code>-uuid</code> have
2234 values that uniquely identify the entity in question. For a Citrix
2235 XenServer hypervisor, these values are UUIDs in RFC 4122 format.
2236 Other hypervisors may use other formats.
2239 <column name="external_ids" key="attached-mac">
2240 The MAC address programmed into the ``virtual hardware'' for this
2241 interface, in the form
2242 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>.
2243 For Citrix XenServer, this is the value of the <code>MAC</code> field
2244 in the VIF record for this interface.
2247 <column name="external_ids" key="iface-id">
2248 A system-unique identifier for the interface. On XenServer, this will
2249 commonly be the same as <ref column="external_ids" key="xs-vif-uuid"/>.
2252 <column name="external_ids" key="iface-status"
2253 type='{"type": "string",
2254 "enum": ["set", ["active", "inactive"]]}'>
2256 Hypervisors may sometimes have more than one interface associated
2257 with a given <ref column="external_ids" key="iface-id"/>, only one of
2258 which is actually in use at a given time. For example, in some
2259 circumstances XenServer has both a ``tap'' and a ``vif'' interface
2260 for a single <ref column="external_ids" key="iface-id"/>, but only
2261 uses one of them at a time. A hypervisor that behaves this way must
2262 mark the currently in use interface <code>active</code> and the
2263 others <code>inactive</code>. A hypervisor that never has more than
2264 one interface for a given <ref column="external_ids" key="iface-id"/>
2265 may mark that interface <code>active</code> or omit <ref
2266 column="external_ids" key="iface-status"/> entirely.
2270 During VM migration, a given <ref column="external_ids"
2271 key="iface-id"/> might transiently be marked <code>active</code> on
2272 two different hypervisors. That is, <code>active</code> means that
2273 this <ref column="external_ids" key="iface-id"/> is the active
2274 instance within a single hypervisor, not in a broader scope.
2275 There is one exception: some hypervisors support ``migration'' from a
2276 given hypervisor to itself (most often for test purposes). During
2277 such a ``migration,'' two instances of a single <ref
2278 column="external_ids" key="iface-id"/> might both be briefly marked
2279 <code>active</code> on a single hypervisor.
2283 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-vif-uuid">
2284 The virtual interface associated with this interface.
2287 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-network-uuid">
2288 The virtual network to which this interface is attached.
2291 <column name="external_ids" key="vm-id">
2292 The VM to which this interface belongs. On XenServer, this will be the
2293 same as <ref column="external_ids" key="xs-vm-uuid"/>.
2296 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-vm-uuid">
2297 The VM to which this interface belongs.
2301 <group title="VLAN Splinters">
2303 The ``VLAN splinters'' feature increases Open vSwitch compatibility
2304 with buggy network drivers in old versions of Linux that do not
2305 properly support VLANs when VLAN devices are not used, at some cost
2306 in memory and performance.
2310 When VLAN splinters are enabled on a particular interface, Open vSwitch
2311 creates a VLAN device for each in-use VLAN. For sending traffic tagged
2312 with a VLAN on the interface, it substitutes the VLAN device. Traffic
2313 received on the VLAN device is treated as if it had been received on
2314 the interface on the particular VLAN.
2318 VLAN splinters consider a VLAN to be in use if:
2323 The VLAN is the <ref table="Port" column="tag"/> value in any <ref
2324 table="Port"/> record.
2328 The VLAN is listed within the <ref table="Port" column="trunks"/>
2329 column of the <ref table="Port"/> record of an interface on which
2330 VLAN splinters are enabled.
2332 An empty <ref table="Port" column="trunks"/> does not influence the
2333 in-use VLANs: creating 4,096 VLAN devices is impractical because it
2334 will exceed the current 1,024 port per datapath limit.
2338 An OpenFlow flow within any bridge matches the VLAN.
2343 The same set of in-use VLANs applies to every interface on which VLAN
2344 splinters are enabled. That is, the set is not chosen separately for
2345 each interface but selected once as the union of all in-use VLANs based
2350 It does not make sense to enable VLAN splinters on an interface for an
2351 access port, or on an interface that is not a physical port.
2355 VLAN splinters are deprecated. When broken device drivers are no
2356 longer in widespread use, we will delete this feature.
2359 <column name="other_config" key="enable-vlan-splinters"
2360 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
2362 Set to <code>true</code> to enable VLAN splinters on this interface.
2363 Defaults to <code>false</code>.
2367 VLAN splinters increase kernel and userspace memory overhead, so do
2368 not use them unless they are needed.
2372 VLAN splinters do not support 802.1p priority tags. Received
2373 priorities will appear to be 0, regardless of their actual values,
2374 and priorities on transmitted packets will also be cleared to 0.
2379 <group title="Common Columns">
2380 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2381 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2383 <column name="other_config"/>
2384 <column name="external_ids"/>
2388 <table name="Flow_Table" title="OpenFlow table configuration">
2389 <p>Configuration for a particular OpenFlow table.</p>
2391 <column name="name">
2392 The table's name. Set this column to change the name that controllers
2393 will receive when they request table statistics, e.g. <code>ovs-ofctl
2394 dump-tables</code>. The name does not affect switch behavior.
2397 <column name="flow_limit">
2398 If set, limits the number of flows that may be added to the table. Open
2399 vSwitch may limit the number of flows in a table for other reasons,
2400 e.g. due to hardware limitations or for resource availability or
2401 performance reasons.
2404 <column name="overflow_policy">
2406 Controls the switch's behavior when an OpenFlow flow table modification
2407 request would add flows in excess of <ref column="flow_limit"/>. The
2408 supported values are:
2412 <dt><code>refuse</code></dt>
2414 Refuse to add the flow or flows. This is also the default policy
2415 when <ref column="overflow_policy"/> is unset.
2418 <dt><code>evict</code></dt>
2420 Delete the flow that will expire soonest. See <ref column="groups"/>
2426 <column name="groups">
2428 When <ref column="overflow_policy"/> is <code>evict</code>, this
2429 controls how flows are chosen for eviction when the flow table would
2430 otherwise exceed <ref column="flow_limit"/> flows. Its value is a set
2431 of NXM fields or sub-fields, each of which takes one of the forms
2432 <code><var>field</var>[]</code> or
2433 <code><var>field</var>[<var>start</var>..<var>end</var>]</code>,
2434 e.g. <code>NXM_OF_IN_PORT[]</code>. Please see
2435 <code>nicira-ext.h</code> for a complete list of NXM field names.
2439 When a flow must be evicted due to overflow, the flow to evict is
2440 chosen through an approximation of the following algorithm:
2445 Divide the flows in the table into groups based on the values of the
2446 specified fields or subfields, so that all of the flows in a given
2447 group have the same values for those fields. If a flow does not
2448 specify a given field, that field's value is treated as 0.
2452 Consider the flows in the largest group, that is, the group that
2453 contains the greatest number of flows. If two or more groups all
2454 have the same largest number of flows, consider the flows in all of
2459 Among the flows under consideration, choose the flow that expires
2460 soonest for eviction.
2465 The eviction process only considers flows that have an idle timeout or
2466 a hard timeout. That is, eviction never deletes permanent flows.
2467 (Permanent flows do count against <ref column="flow_limit"/>.)
2471 Open vSwitch ignores any invalid or unknown field specifications.
2475 When <ref column="overflow_policy"/> is not <code>evict</code>, this
2476 column has no effect.
2481 <table name="QoS" title="Quality of Service configuration">
2482 <p>Quality of Service (QoS) configuration for each Port that
2485 <column name="type">
2486 <p>The type of QoS to implement. The currently defined types are
2489 <dt><code>linux-htb</code></dt>
2491 Linux ``hierarchy token bucket'' classifier. See tc-htb(8) (also at
2492 <code>http://linux.die.net/man/8/tc-htb</code>) and the HTB manual
2493 (<code>http://luxik.cdi.cz/~devik/qos/htb/manual/userg.htm</code>)
2494 for information on how this classifier works and how to configure it.
2498 <dt><code>linux-hfsc</code></dt>
2500 Linux "Hierarchical Fair Service Curve" classifier.
2501 See <code>http://linux-ip.net/articles/hfsc.en/</code> for
2502 information on how this classifier works.
2507 <column name="queues">
2508 <p>A map from queue numbers to <ref table="Queue"/> records. The
2509 supported range of queue numbers depend on <ref column="type"/>. The
2510 queue numbers are the same as the <code>queue_id</code> used in
2511 OpenFlow in <code>struct ofp_action_enqueue</code> and other
2515 Queue 0 is the ``default queue.'' It is used by OpenFlow output
2516 actions when no specific queue has been set. When no configuration for
2517 queue 0 is present, it is automatically configured as if a <ref
2518 table="Queue"/> record with empty <ref table="Queue" column="dscp"/>
2519 and <ref table="Queue" column="other_config"/> columns had been
2521 (Before version 1.6, Open vSwitch would leave queue 0 unconfigured in
2522 this case. With some queuing disciplines, this dropped all packets
2523 destined for the default queue.)
2527 <group title="Configuration for linux-htb and linux-hfsc">
2529 The <code>linux-htb</code> and <code>linux-hfsc</code> classes support
2530 the following key-value pair:
2533 <column name="other_config" key="max-rate" type='{"type": "integer"}'>
2534 Maximum rate shared by all queued traffic, in bit/s. Optional. If not
2535 specified, for physical interfaces, the default is the link rate. For
2536 other interfaces or if the link rate cannot be determined, the default
2537 is currently 100 Mbps.
2541 <group title="Common Columns">
2542 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2543 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2545 <column name="other_config"/>
2546 <column name="external_ids"/>
2550 <table name="Queue" title="QoS output queue.">
2551 <p>A configuration for a port output queue, used in configuring Quality of
2552 Service (QoS) features. May be referenced by <ref column="queues"
2553 table="QoS"/> column in <ref table="QoS"/> table.</p>
2555 <column name="dscp">
2556 If set, Open vSwitch will mark all traffic egressing this
2557 <ref table="Queue"/> with the given DSCP bits. Traffic egressing the
2558 default <ref table="Queue"/> is only marked if it was explicitly selected
2559 as the <ref table="Queue"/> at the time the packet was output. If unset,
2560 the DSCP bits of traffic egressing this <ref table="Queue"/> will remain
2564 <group title="Configuration for linux-htb QoS">
2566 <ref table="QoS"/> <ref table="QoS" column="type"/>
2567 <code>linux-htb</code> may use <code>queue_id</code>s less than 61440.
2568 It has the following key-value pairs defined.
2571 <column name="other_config" key="min-rate"
2572 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2573 Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s.
2576 <column name="other_config" key="max-rate"
2577 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2578 Maximum allowed bandwidth, in bit/s. Optional. If specified, the
2579 queue's rate will not be allowed to exceed the specified value, even
2580 if excess bandwidth is available. If unspecified, defaults to no
2584 <column name="other_config" key="burst"
2585 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2586 Burst size, in bits. This is the maximum amount of ``credits'' that a
2587 queue can accumulate while it is idle. Optional. Details of the
2588 <code>linux-htb</code> implementation require a minimum burst size, so
2589 a too-small <code>burst</code> will be silently ignored.
2592 <column name="other_config" key="priority"
2593 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 4294967295}'>
2594 A queue with a smaller <code>priority</code> will receive all the
2595 excess bandwidth that it can use before a queue with a larger value
2596 receives any. Specific priority values are unimportant; only relative
2597 ordering matters. Defaults to 0 if unspecified.
2601 <group title="Configuration for linux-hfsc QoS">
2603 <ref table="QoS"/> <ref table="QoS" column="type"/>
2604 <code>linux-hfsc</code> may use <code>queue_id</code>s less than 61440.
2605 It has the following key-value pairs defined.
2608 <column name="other_config" key="min-rate"
2609 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2610 Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s.
2613 <column name="other_config" key="max-rate"
2614 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2615 Maximum allowed bandwidth, in bit/s. Optional. If specified, the
2616 queue's rate will not be allowed to exceed the specified value, even if
2617 excess bandwidth is available. If unspecified, defaults to no
2622 <group title="Common Columns">
2623 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2624 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2626 <column name="other_config"/>
2627 <column name="external_ids"/>
2631 <table name="Mirror" title="Port mirroring.">
2632 <p>A port mirror within a <ref table="Bridge"/>.</p>
2633 <p>A port mirror configures a bridge to send selected frames to special
2634 ``mirrored'' ports, in addition to their normal destinations. Mirroring
2635 traffic may also be referred to as SPAN or RSPAN, depending on how
2636 the mirrored traffic is sent.</p>
2638 <column name="name">
2639 Arbitrary identifier for the <ref table="Mirror"/>.
2642 <group title="Selecting Packets for Mirroring">
2644 To be selected for mirroring, a given packet must enter or leave the
2645 bridge through a selected port and it must also be in one of the
2649 <column name="select_all">
2650 If true, every packet arriving or departing on any port is
2651 selected for mirroring.
2654 <column name="select_dst_port">
2655 Ports on which departing packets are selected for mirroring.
2658 <column name="select_src_port">
2659 Ports on which arriving packets are selected for mirroring.
2662 <column name="select_vlan">
2663 VLANs on which packets are selected for mirroring. An empty set
2664 selects packets on all VLANs.
2668 <group title="Mirroring Destination Configuration">
2670 These columns are mutually exclusive. Exactly one of them must be
2674 <column name="output_port">
2675 <p>Output port for selected packets, if nonempty.</p>
2676 <p>Specifying a port for mirror output reserves that port exclusively
2677 for mirroring. No frames other than those selected for mirroring
2679 will be forwarded to the port, and any frames received on the port
2680 will be discarded.</p>
2682 The output port may be any kind of port supported by Open vSwitch.
2683 It may be, for example, a physical port (sometimes called SPAN) or a
2688 <column name="output_vlan">
2689 <p>Output VLAN for selected packets, if nonempty.</p>
2690 <p>The frames will be sent out all ports that trunk
2691 <ref column="output_vlan"/>, as well as any ports with implicit VLAN
2692 <ref column="output_vlan"/>. When a mirrored frame is sent out a
2693 trunk port, the frame's VLAN tag will be set to
2694 <ref column="output_vlan"/>, replacing any existing tag; when it is
2695 sent out an implicit VLAN port, the frame will not be tagged. This
2696 type of mirroring is sometimes called RSPAN.</p>
2698 See the documentation for
2699 <ref column="other_config" key="forward-bpdu"/> in the
2700 <ref table="Interface"/> table for a list of destination MAC
2701 addresses which will not be mirrored to a VLAN to avoid confusing
2702 switches that interpret the protocols that they represent.
2704 <p><em>Please note:</em> Mirroring to a VLAN can disrupt a network that
2705 contains unmanaged switches. Consider an unmanaged physical switch
2706 with two ports: port 1, connected to an end host, and port 2,
2707 connected to an Open vSwitch configured to mirror received packets
2708 into VLAN 123 on port 2. Suppose that the end host sends a packet on
2709 port 1 that the physical switch forwards to port 2. The Open vSwitch
2710 forwards this packet to its destination and then reflects it back on
2711 port 2 in VLAN 123. This reflected packet causes the unmanaged
2712 physical switch to replace the MAC learning table entry, which
2713 correctly pointed to port 1, with one that incorrectly points to port
2714 2. Afterward, the physical switch will direct packets destined for
2715 the end host to the Open vSwitch on port 2, instead of to the end
2716 host on port 1, disrupting connectivity. If mirroring to a VLAN is
2717 desired in this scenario, then the physical switch must be replaced
2718 by one that learns Ethernet addresses on a per-VLAN basis. In
2719 addition, learning should be disabled on the VLAN containing mirrored
2720 traffic. If this is not done then intermediate switches will learn
2721 the MAC address of each end host from the mirrored traffic. If
2722 packets being sent to that end host are also mirrored, then they will
2723 be dropped since the switch will attempt to send them out the input
2724 port. Disabling learning for the VLAN will cause the switch to
2725 correctly send the packet out all ports configured for that VLAN. If
2726 Open vSwitch is being used as an intermediate switch, learning can be
2727 disabled by adding the mirrored VLAN to <ref column="flood_vlans"/>
2728 in the appropriate <ref table="Bridge"/> table or tables.</p>
2730 Mirroring to a GRE tunnel has fewer caveats than mirroring to a
2731 VLAN and should generally be preferred.
2736 <group title="Statistics: Mirror counters">
2738 Key-value pairs that report mirror statistics.
2740 <column name="statistics" key="tx_packets">
2741 Number of packets transmitted through this mirror.
2743 <column name="statistics" key="tx_bytes">
2744 Number of bytes transmitted through this mirror.
2748 <group title="Common Columns">
2749 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2750 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2752 <column name="external_ids"/>
2756 <table name="Controller" title="OpenFlow controller configuration.">
2757 <p>An OpenFlow controller.</p>
2760 Open vSwitch supports two kinds of OpenFlow controllers:
2764 <dt>Primary controllers</dt>
2767 This is the kind of controller envisioned by the OpenFlow 1.0
2768 specification. Usually, a primary controller implements a network
2769 policy by taking charge of the switch's flow table.
2773 Open vSwitch initiates and maintains persistent connections to
2774 primary controllers, retrying the connection each time it fails or
2775 drops. The <ref table="Bridge" column="fail_mode"/> column in the
2776 <ref table="Bridge"/> table applies to primary controllers.
2780 Open vSwitch permits a bridge to have any number of primary
2781 controllers. When multiple controllers are configured, Open
2782 vSwitch connects to all of them simultaneously. Because
2783 OpenFlow 1.0 does not specify how multiple controllers
2784 coordinate in interacting with a single switch, more than
2785 one primary controller should be specified only if the
2786 controllers are themselves designed to coordinate with each
2787 other. (The Nicira-defined <code>NXT_ROLE</code> OpenFlow
2788 vendor extension may be useful for this.)
2791 <dt>Service controllers</dt>
2794 These kinds of OpenFlow controller connections are intended for
2795 occasional support and maintenance use, e.g. with
2796 <code>ovs-ofctl</code>. Usually a service controller connects only
2797 briefly to inspect or modify some of a switch's state.
2801 Open vSwitch listens for incoming connections from service
2802 controllers. The service controllers initiate and, if necessary,
2803 maintain the connections from their end. The <ref table="Bridge"
2804 column="fail_mode"/> column in the <ref table="Bridge"/> table does
2805 not apply to service controllers.
2809 Open vSwitch supports configuring any number of service controllers.
2815 The <ref column="target"/> determines the type of controller.
2818 <group title="Core Features">
2819 <column name="target">
2820 <p>Connection method for controller.</p>
2822 The following connection methods are currently supported for primary
2826 <dt><code>ssl:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
2828 <p>The specified SSL <var>port</var> on the host at the
2829 given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP
2830 address (not a DNS name). The <ref table="Open_vSwitch"
2831 column="ssl"/> column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/>
2832 table must point to a valid SSL configuration when this form
2834 <p>If <var>port</var> is not specified, it currently
2835 defaults to 6633. In the future, the default will change to
2836 6653, which is the IANA-defined value.</p>
2837 <p>SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
2838 part of Open vSwitch.</p>
2840 <dt><code>tcp:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
2842 <p>The specified TCP <var>port</var> on the host at the
2843 given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP
2844 address (not a DNS name).</p>
2845 <p>If <var>port</var> is not specified, it currently
2846 defaults to 6633. In the future, the default will change to
2847 6653, which is the IANA-defined value.</p>
2851 The following connection methods are currently supported for service
2855 <dt><code>pssl:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
2857 <p> Listens for SSL connections on the specified TCP
2858 <var>port</var>. If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed
2859 as an IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then
2860 connections are restricted to the specified local IP
2861 address. The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/>
2862 column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point
2863 to a valid SSL configuration when this form is used.</p>
2864 <p>If <var>port</var> is not specified, it currently
2865 defaults to 6633. In the future, the default will change to
2866 6653, which is the IANA-defined value.</p>
2867 <p>SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
2868 part of Open vSwitch.</p>
2870 <dt><code>ptcp:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
2872 <p>Listens for connections on the specified TCP
2873 <var>port</var>. If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed
2874 as an IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then
2875 connections are restricted to the specified local IP
2877 <p>If <var>port</var> is not specified, it currently
2878 defaults to 6633. In the future, the default will change to
2879 6653, which is the IANA-defined value.</p>
2882 <p>When multiple controllers are configured for a single bridge, the
2883 <ref column="target"/> values must be unique. Duplicate
2884 <ref column="target"/> values yield unspecified results.</p>
2887 <column name="connection_mode">
2888 <p>If it is specified, this setting must be one of the following
2889 strings that describes how Open vSwitch contacts this OpenFlow
2890 controller over the network:</p>
2893 <dt><code>in-band</code></dt>
2894 <dd>In this mode, this controller's OpenFlow traffic travels over the
2895 bridge associated with the controller. With this setting, Open
2896 vSwitch allows traffic to and from the controller regardless of the
2897 contents of the OpenFlow flow table. (Otherwise, Open vSwitch
2898 would never be able to connect to the controller, because it did
2899 not have a flow to enable it.) This is the most common connection
2900 mode because it is not necessary to maintain two independent
2902 <dt><code>out-of-band</code></dt>
2903 <dd>In this mode, OpenFlow traffic uses a control network separate
2904 from the bridge associated with this controller, that is, the
2905 bridge does not use any of its own network devices to communicate
2906 with the controller. The control network must be configured
2907 separately, before or after <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> is started.
2911 <p>If not specified, the default is implementation-specific.</p>
2915 <group title="Controller Failure Detection and Handling">
2916 <column name="max_backoff">
2917 Maximum number of milliseconds to wait between connection attempts.
2918 Default is implementation-specific.
2921 <column name="inactivity_probe">
2922 Maximum number of milliseconds of idle time on connection to
2923 controller before sending an inactivity probe message. If Open
2924 vSwitch does not communicate with the controller for the specified
2925 number of seconds, it will send a probe. If a response is not
2926 received for the same additional amount of time, Open vSwitch
2927 assumes the connection has been broken and attempts to reconnect.
2928 Default is implementation-specific. A value of 0 disables
2933 <group title="Asynchronous Message Configuration">
2935 OpenFlow switches send certain messages to controllers spontanenously,
2936 that is, not in response to any request from the controller. These
2937 messages are called ``asynchronous messages.'' These columns allow
2938 asynchronous messages to be limited or disabled to ensure the best use
2939 of network resources.
2942 <column name="enable_async_messages">
2943 The OpenFlow protocol enables asynchronous messages at time of
2944 connection establishment, which means that a controller can receive
2945 asynchronous messages, potentially many of them, even if it turns them
2946 off immediately after connecting. Set this column to
2947 <code>false</code> to change Open vSwitch behavior to disable, by
2948 default, all asynchronous messages. The controller can use the
2949 <code>NXT_SET_ASYNC_CONFIG</code> Nicira extension to OpenFlow to turn
2950 on any messages that it does want to receive, if any.
2953 <column name="controller_rate_limit">
2955 The maximum rate at which the switch will forward packets to the
2956 OpenFlow controller, in packets per second. This feature prevents a
2957 single bridge from overwhelming the controller. If not specified,
2958 the default is implementation-specific.
2962 In addition, when a high rate triggers rate-limiting, Open vSwitch
2963 queues controller packets for each port and transmits them to the
2964 controller at the configured rate. The <ref
2965 column="controller_burst_limit"/> value limits the number of queued
2966 packets. Ports on a bridge share the packet queue fairly.
2970 Open vSwitch maintains two such packet rate-limiters per bridge: one
2971 for packets sent up to the controller because they do not correspond
2972 to any flow, and the other for packets sent up to the controller by
2973 request through flow actions. When both rate-limiters are filled with
2974 packets, the actual rate that packets are sent to the controller is
2975 up to twice the specified rate.
2979 <column name="controller_burst_limit">
2980 In conjunction with <ref column="controller_rate_limit"/>,
2981 the maximum number of unused packet credits that the bridge will
2982 allow to accumulate, in packets. If not specified, the default
2983 is implementation-specific.
2987 <group title="Additional In-Band Configuration">
2988 <p>These values are considered only in in-band control mode (see
2989 <ref column="connection_mode"/>).</p>
2991 <p>When multiple controllers are configured on a single bridge, there
2992 should be only one set of unique values in these columns. If different
2993 values are set for these columns in different controllers, the effect
2996 <column name="local_ip">
2997 The IP address to configure on the local port,
2998 e.g. <code>192.168.0.123</code>. If this value is unset, then
2999 <ref column="local_netmask"/> and <ref column="local_gateway"/> are
3003 <column name="local_netmask">
3004 The IP netmask to configure on the local port,
3005 e.g. <code>255.255.255.0</code>. If <ref column="local_ip"/> is set
3006 but this value is unset, then the default is chosen based on whether
3007 the IP address is class A, B, or C.
3010 <column name="local_gateway">
3011 The IP address of the gateway to configure on the local port, as a
3012 string, e.g. <code>192.168.0.1</code>. Leave this column unset if
3013 this network has no gateway.
3017 <group title="Controller Status">
3018 <column name="is_connected">
3019 <code>true</code> if currently connected to this controller,
3020 <code>false</code> otherwise.
3024 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["other", "master", "slave"]]}'>
3025 <p>The level of authority this controller has on the associated
3026 bridge. Possible values are:</p>
3028 <dt><code>other</code></dt>
3029 <dd>Allows the controller access to all OpenFlow features.</dd>
3030 <dt><code>master</code></dt>
3031 <dd>Equivalent to <code>other</code>, except that there may be at
3032 most one master controller at a time. When a controller configures
3033 itself as <code>master</code>, any existing master is demoted to
3034 the <code>slave</code>role.</dd>
3035 <dt><code>slave</code></dt>
3036 <dd>Allows the controller read-only access to OpenFlow features.
3037 Attempts to modify the flow table will be rejected with an
3038 error. Slave controllers do not receive OFPT_PACKET_IN or
3039 OFPT_FLOW_REMOVED messages, but they do receive OFPT_PORT_STATUS
3044 <column name="status" key="last_error">
3045 A human-readable description of the last error on the connection
3046 to the controller; i.e. <code>strerror(errno)</code>. This key
3047 will exist only if an error has occurred.
3050 <column name="status" key="state"
3051 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["VOID", "BACKOFF", "CONNECTING", "ACTIVE", "IDLE"]]}'>
3053 The state of the connection to the controller:
3056 <dt><code>VOID</code></dt>
3057 <dd>Connection is disabled.</dd>
3059 <dt><code>BACKOFF</code></dt>
3060 <dd>Attempting to reconnect at an increasing period.</dd>
3062 <dt><code>CONNECTING</code></dt>
3063 <dd>Attempting to connect.</dd>
3065 <dt><code>ACTIVE</code></dt>
3066 <dd>Connected, remote host responsive.</dd>
3068 <dt><code>IDLE</code></dt>
3069 <dd>Connection is idle. Waiting for response to keep-alive.</dd>
3072 These values may change in the future. They are provided only for
3077 <column name="status" key="sec_since_connect"
3078 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
3079 The amount of time since this controller last successfully connected to
3080 the switch (in seconds). Value is empty if controller has never
3081 successfully connected.
3084 <column name="status" key="sec_since_disconnect"
3085 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
3086 The amount of time since this controller last disconnected from
3087 the switch (in seconds). Value is empty if controller has never
3092 <group title="Connection Parameters">
3094 Additional configuration for a connection between the controller
3095 and the Open vSwitch.
3098 <column name="other_config" key="dscp"
3099 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
3100 The Differentiated Service Code Point (DSCP) is specified using 6 bits
3101 in the Type of Service (TOS) field in the IP header. DSCP provides a
3102 mechanism to classify the network traffic and provide Quality of
3103 Service (QoS) on IP networks.
3105 The DSCP value specified here is used when establishing the connection
3106 between the controller and the Open vSwitch. If no value is specified,
3107 a default value of 48 is chosen. Valid DSCP values must be in the
3113 <group title="Common Columns">
3114 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3115 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3117 <column name="external_ids"/>
3118 <column name="other_config"/>
3122 <table name="Manager" title="OVSDB management connection.">
3124 Configuration for a database connection to an Open vSwitch database
3129 This table primarily configures the Open vSwitch database
3130 (<code>ovsdb-server</code>), not the Open vSwitch switch
3131 (<code>ovs-vswitchd</code>). The switch does read the table to determine
3132 what connections should be treated as in-band.
3136 The Open vSwitch database server can initiate and maintain active
3137 connections to remote clients. It can also listen for database
3141 <group title="Core Features">
3142 <column name="target">
3143 <p>Connection method for managers.</p>
3145 The following connection methods are currently supported:
3148 <dt><code>ssl:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
3151 The specified SSL <var>port</var> on the host at the given
3152 <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
3153 (not a DNS name). The <ref table="Open_vSwitch"
3154 column="ssl"/> column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/>
3155 table must point to a valid SSL configuration when this
3159 If <var>port</var> is not specified, it currently defaults
3160 to 6632. In the future, the default will change to 6640,
3161 which is the IANA-defined value.
3164 SSL support is an optional feature that is not always
3165 built as part of Open vSwitch.
3169 <dt><code>tcp:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
3172 The specified TCP <var>port</var> on the host at the given
3173 <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
3177 If <var>port</var> is not specified, it currently defaults
3178 to 6632. In the future, the default will change to 6640,
3179 which is the IANA-defined value.
3182 <dt><code>pssl:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
3185 Listens for SSL connections on the specified TCP
3186 <var>port</var>. Specify 0 for <var>port</var> to have
3187 the kernel automatically choose an available port. If
3188 <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
3189 (not a DNS name), is specified, then connections are
3190 restricted to the specified local IP address. The <ref
3191 table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/> column in the <ref
3192 table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a valid SSL
3193 configuration when this form is used.
3196 If <var>port</var> is not specified, it currently defaults
3197 to 6632. In the future, the default will change to 6640,
3198 which is the IANA-defined value.
3201 SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
3202 part of Open vSwitch.
3205 <dt><code>ptcp:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
3208 Listens for connections on the specified TCP
3209 <var>port</var>. Specify 0 for <var>port</var> to have
3210 the kernel automatically choose an available port. If
3211 <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
3212 (not a DNS name), is specified, then connections are
3213 restricted to the specified local IP address.
3216 If <var>port</var> is not specified, it currently defaults
3217 to 6632. In the future, the default will change to 6640,
3218 which is the IANA-defined value.
3222 <p>When multiple managers are configured, the <ref column="target"/>
3223 values must be unique. Duplicate <ref column="target"/> values yield
3224 unspecified results.</p>
3227 <column name="connection_mode">
3229 If it is specified, this setting must be one of the following strings
3230 that describes how Open vSwitch contacts this OVSDB client over the
3235 <dt><code>in-band</code></dt>
3237 In this mode, this connection's traffic travels over a bridge
3238 managed by Open vSwitch. With this setting, Open vSwitch allows
3239 traffic to and from the client regardless of the contents of the
3240 OpenFlow flow table. (Otherwise, Open vSwitch would never be able
3241 to connect to the client, because it did not have a flow to enable
3242 it.) This is the most common connection mode because it is not
3243 necessary to maintain two independent networks.
3245 <dt><code>out-of-band</code></dt>
3247 In this mode, the client's traffic uses a control network separate
3248 from that managed by Open vSwitch, that is, Open vSwitch does not
3249 use any of its own network devices to communicate with the client.
3250 The control network must be configured separately, before or after
3251 <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> is started.
3256 If not specified, the default is implementation-specific.
3261 <group title="Client Failure Detection and Handling">
3262 <column name="max_backoff">
3263 Maximum number of milliseconds to wait between connection attempts.
3264 Default is implementation-specific.
3267 <column name="inactivity_probe">
3268 Maximum number of milliseconds of idle time on connection to the client
3269 before sending an inactivity probe message. If Open vSwitch does not
3270 communicate with the client for the specified number of seconds, it
3271 will send a probe. If a response is not received for the same
3272 additional amount of time, Open vSwitch assumes the connection has been
3273 broken and attempts to reconnect. Default is implementation-specific.
3274 A value of 0 disables inactivity probes.
3278 <group title="Status">
3279 <column name="is_connected">
3280 <code>true</code> if currently connected to this manager,
3281 <code>false</code> otherwise.
3284 <column name="status" key="last_error">
3285 A human-readable description of the last error on the connection
3286 to the manager; i.e. <code>strerror(errno)</code>. This key
3287 will exist only if an error has occurred.
3290 <column name="status" key="state"
3291 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["VOID", "BACKOFF", "CONNECTING", "ACTIVE", "IDLE"]]}'>
3293 The state of the connection to the manager:
3296 <dt><code>VOID</code></dt>
3297 <dd>Connection is disabled.</dd>
3299 <dt><code>BACKOFF</code></dt>
3300 <dd>Attempting to reconnect at an increasing period.</dd>
3302 <dt><code>CONNECTING</code></dt>
3303 <dd>Attempting to connect.</dd>
3305 <dt><code>ACTIVE</code></dt>
3306 <dd>Connected, remote host responsive.</dd>
3308 <dt><code>IDLE</code></dt>
3309 <dd>Connection is idle. Waiting for response to keep-alive.</dd>
3312 These values may change in the future. They are provided only for
3317 <column name="status" key="sec_since_connect"
3318 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
3319 The amount of time since this manager last successfully connected
3320 to the database (in seconds). Value is empty if manager has never
3321 successfully connected.
3324 <column name="status" key="sec_since_disconnect"
3325 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
3326 The amount of time since this manager last disconnected from the
3327 database (in seconds). Value is empty if manager has never
3331 <column name="status" key="locks_held">
3332 Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection
3333 holds. Omitted if the connection does not hold any locks.
3336 <column name="status" key="locks_waiting">
3337 Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection is
3338 currently waiting to acquire. Omitted if the connection is not waiting
3342 <column name="status" key="locks_lost">
3343 Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection
3344 has had stolen by another OVSDB client. Omitted if no locks have been
3345 stolen from this connection.
3348 <column name="status" key="n_connections"
3349 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 2}'>
3351 When <ref column="target"/> specifies a connection method that
3352 listens for inbound connections (e.g. <code>ptcp:</code> or
3353 <code>pssl:</code>) and more than one connection is actually active,
3354 the value is the number of active connections. Otherwise, this
3355 key-value pair is omitted.
3358 When multiple connections are active, status columns and key-value
3359 pairs (other than this one) report the status of one arbitrarily
3364 <column name="status" key="bound_port" type='{"type": "integer"}'>
3365 When <ref column="target"/> is <code>ptcp:</code> or
3366 <code>pssl:</code>, this is the TCP port on which the OVSDB server is
3367 listening. (This is is particularly useful when <ref
3368 column="target"/> specifies a port of 0, allowing the kernel to
3369 choose any available port.)
3373 <group title="Connection Parameters">
3375 Additional configuration for a connection between the manager
3376 and the Open vSwitch Database.
3379 <column name="other_config" key="dscp"
3380 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
3381 The Differentiated Service Code Point (DSCP) is specified using 6 bits
3382 in the Type of Service (TOS) field in the IP header. DSCP provides a
3383 mechanism to classify the network traffic and provide Quality of
3384 Service (QoS) on IP networks.
3386 The DSCP value specified here is used when establishing the connection
3387 between the manager and the Open vSwitch. If no value is specified, a
3388 default value of 48 is chosen. Valid DSCP values must be in the range
3393 <group title="Common Columns">
3394 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3395 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3397 <column name="external_ids"/>
3398 <column name="other_config"/>
3402 <table name="NetFlow">
3403 A NetFlow target. NetFlow is a protocol that exports a number of
3404 details about terminating IP flows, such as the principals involved
3407 <column name="targets">
3408 NetFlow targets in the form
3409 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>. The <var>ip</var>
3410 must be specified numerically, not as a DNS name.
3413 <column name="engine_id">
3414 Engine ID to use in NetFlow messages. Defaults to datapath index
3418 <column name="engine_type">
3419 Engine type to use in NetFlow messages. Defaults to datapath
3420 index if not specified.
3423 <column name="active_timeout">
3424 The interval at which NetFlow records are sent for flows that are
3425 still active, in seconds. A value of <code>0</code> requests the
3426 default timeout (currently 600 seconds); a value of <code>-1</code>
3427 disables active timeouts.
3430 <column name="add_id_to_interface">
3431 <p>If this column's value is <code>false</code>, the ingress and egress
3432 interface fields of NetFlow flow records are derived from OpenFlow port
3433 numbers. When it is <code>true</code>, the 7 most significant bits of
3434 these fields will be replaced by the least significant 7 bits of the
3435 engine id. This is useful because many NetFlow collectors do not
3436 expect multiple switches to be sending messages from the same host, so
3437 they do not store the engine information which could be used to
3438 disambiguate the traffic.</p>
3439 <p>When this option is enabled, a maximum of 508 ports are supported.</p>
3442 <group title="Common Columns">
3443 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3444 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3446 <column name="external_ids"/>
3451 SSL configuration for an Open_vSwitch.
3453 <column name="private_key">
3454 Name of a PEM file containing the private key used as the switch's
3455 identity for SSL connections to the controller.
3458 <column name="certificate">
3459 Name of a PEM file containing a certificate, signed by the
3460 certificate authority (CA) used by the controller and manager,
3461 that certifies the switch's private key, identifying a trustworthy
3465 <column name="ca_cert">
3466 Name of a PEM file containing the CA certificate used to verify
3467 that the switch is connected to a trustworthy controller.
3470 <column name="bootstrap_ca_cert">
3471 If set to <code>true</code>, then Open vSwitch will attempt to
3472 obtain the CA certificate from the controller on its first SSL
3473 connection and save it to the named PEM file. If it is successful,
3474 it will immediately drop the connection and reconnect, and from then
3475 on all SSL connections must be authenticated by a certificate signed
3476 by the CA certificate thus obtained. <em>This option exposes the
3477 SSL connection to a man-in-the-middle attack obtaining the initial
3478 CA certificate.</em> It may still be useful for bootstrapping.
3481 <group title="Common Columns">
3482 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3483 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3485 <column name="external_ids"/>
3489 <table name="sFlow">
3490 <p>A set of sFlow(R) targets. sFlow is a protocol for remote
3491 monitoring of switches.</p>
3493 <column name="agent">
3494 Name of the network device whose IP address should be reported as the
3495 ``agent address'' to collectors. If not specified, the agent device is
3496 figured from the first target address and the routing table. If the
3497 routing table does not contain a route to the target, the IP address
3498 defaults to the <ref table="Controller" column="local_ip"/> in the
3499 collector's <ref table="Controller"/>. If an agent IP address cannot be
3500 determined any of these ways, sFlow is disabled.
3503 <column name="header">
3504 Number of bytes of a sampled packet to send to the collector.
3505 If not specified, the default is 128 bytes.
3508 <column name="polling">
3509 Polling rate in seconds to send port statistics to the collector.
3510 If not specified, defaults to 30 seconds.
3513 <column name="sampling">
3514 Rate at which packets should be sampled and sent to the collector.
3515 If not specified, defaults to 400, which means one out of 400
3516 packets, on average, will be sent to the collector.
3519 <column name="targets">
3520 sFlow targets in the form
3521 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>.
3524 <group title="Common Columns">
3525 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3526 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3528 <column name="external_ids"/>
3532 <table name="IPFIX">
3533 <p>A set of IPFIX collectors. IPFIX is a protocol that exports a
3534 number of details about flows.</p>
3536 <column name="targets">
3537 IPFIX target collectors in the form
3538 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>.
3541 <column name="sampling">
3542 For per-bridge packet sampling, i.e. when this row is referenced
3543 from a <ref table="Bridge"/>, the rate at which packets should
3544 be sampled and sent to each target collector. If not specified,
3545 defaults to 400, which means one out of 400 packets, on average,
3546 will be sent to each target collector. Ignored for per-flow
3547 sampling, i.e. when this row is referenced from a <ref
3548 table="Flow_Sample_Collector_Set"/>.
3551 <column name="obs_domain_id">
3552 For per-bridge packet sampling, i.e. when this row is referenced
3553 from a <ref table="Bridge"/>, the IPFIX Observation Domain ID
3554 sent in each IPFIX packet. If not specified, defaults to 0.
3555 Ignored for per-flow sampling, i.e. when this row is referenced
3556 from a <ref table="Flow_Sample_Collector_Set"/>.
3559 <column name="obs_point_id">
3560 For per-bridge packet sampling, i.e. when this row is referenced
3561 from a <ref table="Bridge"/>, the IPFIX Observation Point ID
3562 sent in each IPFIX flow record. If not specified, defaults to
3563 0. Ignored for per-flow sampling, i.e. when this row is
3564 referenced from a <ref table="Flow_Sample_Collector_Set"/>.
3567 <column name="cache_active_timeout">
3568 The maximum period in seconds for which an IPFIX flow record is
3569 cached and aggregated before being sent. If not specified,
3570 defaults to 0. If 0, caching is disabled.
3573 <column name="cache_max_flows">
3574 The maximum number of IPFIX flow records that can be cached at a
3575 time. If not specified, defaults to 0. If 0, caching is
3579 <group title="Common Columns">
3580 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3581 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3583 <column name="external_ids"/>
3587 <table name="Flow_Sample_Collector_Set">
3588 <p>A set of IPFIX collectors of packet samples generated by
3589 OpenFlow <code>sample</code> actions.</p>
3592 The ID of this collector set, unique among the bridge's
3593 collector sets, to be used as the <code>collector_set_id</code>
3594 in OpenFlow <code>sample</code> actions.
3597 <column name="bridge">
3598 The bridge into which OpenFlow <code>sample</code> actions can
3599 be added to send packet samples to this set of IPFIX collectors.
3602 <column name="ipfix">
3603 Configuration of the set of IPFIX collectors to send one flow
3604 record per sampled packet to.
3607 <group title="Common Columns">
3608 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3609 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3611 <column name="external_ids"/>