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.
127 <group title="Status">
128 <column name="next_cfg">
129 Sequence number for client to increment. When a client modifies
130 any part of the database configuration and wishes to wait for
131 Open vSwitch to finish applying the changes, it may increment
132 this sequence number.
135 <column name="cur_cfg">
136 Sequence number that Open vSwitch sets to the current value of
137 <ref column="next_cfg"/> after it finishes applying a set of
138 configuration changes.
141 <group title="Statistics">
143 The <code>statistics</code> column contains key-value pairs that
144 report statistics about a system running an Open vSwitch. These are
145 updated periodically (currently, every 5 seconds). Key-value pairs
146 that cannot be determined or that do not apply to a platform are
150 <column name="other_config" key="enable-statistics"
151 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
152 Statistics are disabled by default to avoid overhead in the common
153 case when statistics gathering is not useful. Set this value to
154 <code>true</code> to enable populating the <ref column="statistics"/>
155 column or to <code>false</code> to explicitly disable it.
158 <column name="statistics" key="cpu"
159 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
161 Number of CPU processors, threads, or cores currently online and
162 available to the operating system on which Open vSwitch is running,
163 as an integer. This may be less than the number installed, if some
164 are not online or if they are not available to the operating
168 Open vSwitch userspace processes are not multithreaded, but the
169 Linux kernel-based datapath is.
173 <column name="statistics" key="load_average">
174 A comma-separated list of three floating-point numbers,
175 representing the system load average over the last 1, 5, and 15
176 minutes, respectively.
179 <column name="statistics" key="memory">
181 A comma-separated list of integers, each of which represents a
182 quantity of memory in kilobytes that describes the operating
183 system on which Open vSwitch is running. In respective order,
188 <li>Total amount of RAM allocated to the OS.</li>
189 <li>RAM allocated to the OS that is in use.</li>
190 <li>RAM that can be flushed out to disk or otherwise discarded
191 if that space is needed for another purpose. This number is
192 necessarily less than or equal to the previous value.</li>
193 <li>Total disk space allocated for swap.</li>
194 <li>Swap space currently in use.</li>
198 On Linux, all five values can be determined and are included. On
199 other operating systems, only the first two values can be
200 determined, so the list will only have two values.
204 <column name="statistics" key="process_NAME">
206 One such key-value pair, with <code>NAME</code> replaced by
207 a process name, will exist for each running Open vSwitch
208 daemon process, with <var>name</var> replaced by the
209 daemon's name (e.g. <code>process_ovs-vswitchd</code>). The
210 value is a comma-separated list of integers. The integers
211 represent the following, with memory measured in kilobytes
212 and durations in milliseconds:
216 <li>The process's virtual memory size.</li>
217 <li>The process's resident set size.</li>
218 <li>The amount of user and system CPU time consumed by the
220 <li>The number of times that the process has crashed and been
221 automatically restarted by the monitor.</li>
222 <li>The duration since the process was started.</li>
223 <li>The duration for which the process has been running.</li>
227 The interpretation of some of these values depends on whether the
228 process was started with the <option>--monitor</option>. If it
229 was not, then the crash count will always be 0 and the two
230 durations will always be the same. If <option>--monitor</option>
231 was given, then the crash count may be positive; if it is, the
232 latter duration is the amount of time since the most recent crash
237 There will be one key-value pair for each file in Open vSwitch's
238 ``run directory'' (usually <code>/var/run/openvswitch</code>)
239 whose name ends in <code>.pid</code>, whose contents are a
240 process ID, and which is locked by a running process. The
241 <var>name</var> is taken from the pidfile's name.
245 Currently Open vSwitch is only able to obtain all of the above
246 detail on Linux systems. On other systems, the same key-value
247 pairs will be present but the values will always be the empty
252 <column name="statistics" key="file_systems">
254 A space-separated list of information on local, writable file
255 systems. Each item in the list describes one file system and
256 consists in turn of a comma-separated list of the following:
260 <li>Mount point, e.g. <code>/</code> or <code>/var/log</code>.
261 Any spaces or commas in the mount point are replaced by
263 <li>Total size, in kilobytes, as an integer.</li>
264 <li>Amount of storage in use, in kilobytes, as an integer.</li>
268 This key-value pair is omitted if there are no local, writable
269 file systems or if Open vSwitch cannot obtain the needed
276 <group title="Version Reporting">
278 These columns report the types and versions of the hardware and
279 software running Open vSwitch. We recommend in general that software
280 should test whether specific features are supported instead of relying
281 on version number checks. These values are primarily intended for
282 reporting to human administrators.
285 <column name="ovs_version">
286 The Open vSwitch version number, e.g. <code>1.1.0</code>.
289 <column name="db_version">
291 The database schema version number in the form
292 <code><var>major</var>.<var>minor</var>.<var>tweak</var></code>,
293 e.g. <code>1.2.3</code>. Whenever the database schema is changed in
294 a non-backward compatible way (e.g. deleting a column or a table),
295 <var>major</var> is incremented. When the database schema is changed
296 in a backward compatible way (e.g. adding a new column),
297 <var>minor</var> is incremented. When the database schema is changed
298 cosmetically (e.g. reindenting its syntax), <var>tweak</var> is
303 The schema version is part of the database schema, so it can also be
304 retrieved by fetching the schema using the Open vSwitch database
309 <column name="system_type">
311 An identifier for the type of system on top of which Open vSwitch
312 runs, e.g. <code>XenServer</code> or <code>KVM</code>.
315 System integrators are responsible for choosing and setting an
316 appropriate value for this column.
320 <column name="system_version">
322 The version of the system identified by <ref column="system_type"/>,
323 e.g. <code>5.6.100-39265p</code> on XenServer 5.6.100 build 39265.
326 System integrators are responsible for choosing and setting an
327 appropriate value for this column.
333 <group title="Database Configuration">
335 These columns primarily configure the Open vSwitch database
336 (<code>ovsdb-server</code>), not the Open vSwitch switch
337 (<code>ovs-vswitchd</code>). The OVSDB database also uses the <ref
338 column="ssl"/> settings.
342 The Open vSwitch switch does read the database configuration to
343 determine remote IP addresses to which in-band control should apply.
346 <column name="manager_options">
347 Database clients to which the Open vSwitch database server should
348 connect or to which it should listen, along with options for how these
349 connection should be configured. See the <ref table="Manager"/> table
350 for more information.
354 <group title="Common Columns">
355 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
356 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
358 <column name="other_config"/>
359 <column name="external_ids"/>
363 <table name="Bridge">
365 Configuration for a bridge within an
366 <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/>.
369 A <ref table="Bridge"/> record represents an Ethernet switch with one or
370 more ``ports,'' which are the <ref table="Port"/> records pointed to by
371 the <ref table="Bridge"/>'s <ref column="ports"/> column.
374 <group title="Core Features">
376 Bridge identifier. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8
377 bytes long. Must be unique among the names of ports, interfaces, and
381 <column name="ports">
382 Ports included in the bridge.
385 <column name="mirrors">
386 Port mirroring configuration.
389 <column name="netflow">
390 NetFlow configuration.
393 <column name="sflow">
394 sFlow(R) configuration.
397 <column name="ipfix">
401 <column name="flood_vlans">
403 VLAN IDs of VLANs on which MAC address learning should be disabled,
404 so that packets are flooded instead of being sent to specific ports
405 that are believed to contain packets' destination MACs. This should
406 ordinarily be used to disable MAC learning on VLANs used for
407 mirroring (RSPAN VLANs). It may also be useful for debugging.
410 SLB bonding (see the <ref table="Port" column="bond_mode"/> column in
411 the <ref table="Port"/> table) is incompatible with
412 <code>flood_vlans</code>. Consider using another bonding mode or
413 a different type of mirror instead.
418 <group title="OpenFlow Configuration">
419 <column name="controller">
421 OpenFlow controller set. If unset, then no OpenFlow controllers
426 If there are primary controllers, removing all of them clears the
427 flow table. If there are no primary controllers, adding one also
428 clears the flow table. Other changes to the set of controllers, such
429 as adding or removing a service controller, adding another primary
430 controller to supplement an existing primary controller, or removing
431 only one of two primary controllers, have no effect on the flow
436 <column name="flow_tables">
437 Configuration for OpenFlow tables. Each pair maps from an OpenFlow
438 table ID to configuration for that table.
441 <column name="fail_mode">
442 <p>When a controller is configured, it is, ordinarily, responsible
443 for setting up all flows on the switch. Thus, if the connection to
444 the controller fails, no new network connections can be set up.
445 If the connection to the controller stays down long enough,
446 no packets can pass through the switch at all. This setting
447 determines the switch's response to such a situation. It may be set
448 to one of the following:
450 <dt><code>standalone</code></dt>
451 <dd>If no message is received from the controller for three
452 times the inactivity probe interval
453 (see <ref column="inactivity_probe"/>), then Open vSwitch
454 will take over responsibility for setting up flows. In
455 this mode, Open vSwitch causes the bridge to act like an
456 ordinary MAC-learning switch. Open vSwitch will continue
457 to retry connecting to the controller in the background
458 and, when the connection succeeds, it will discontinue its
459 standalone behavior.</dd>
460 <dt><code>secure</code></dt>
461 <dd>Open vSwitch will not set up flows on its own when the
462 controller connection fails or when no controllers are
463 defined. The bridge will continue to retry connecting to
464 any defined controllers forever.</dd>
468 The default is <code>standalone</code> if the value is unset, but
469 future versions of Open vSwitch may change the default.
472 The <code>standalone</code> mode can create forwarding loops on a
473 bridge that has more than one uplink port unless STP is enabled. To
474 avoid loops on such a bridge, configure <code>secure</code> mode or
475 enable STP (see <ref column="stp_enable"/>).
477 <p>When more than one controller is configured,
478 <ref column="fail_mode"/> is considered only when none of the
479 configured controllers can be contacted.</p>
481 Changing <ref column="fail_mode"/> when no primary controllers are
482 configured clears the flow table.
486 <column name="datapath_id">
487 Reports the OpenFlow datapath ID in use. Exactly 16 hex digits.
488 (Setting this column has no useful effect. Set <ref
489 column="other-config" key="datapath-id"/> instead.)
492 <column name="other_config" key="datapath-id">
493 Exactly 16 hex digits to set the OpenFlow datapath ID to a specific
494 value. May not be all-zero.
497 <column name="other_config" key="dp-desc">
498 Human readable description of datapath. It it a maximum 256
499 byte-long free-form string to describe the datapath for
500 debugging purposes, e.g. <code>switch3 in room 3120</code>.
503 <column name="other_config" key="disable-in-band"
504 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
505 If set to <code>true</code>, disable in-band control on the bridge
506 regardless of controller and manager settings.
509 <column name="other_config" key="in-band-queue"
510 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 4294967295}'>
511 A queue ID as a nonnegative integer. This sets the OpenFlow queue ID
512 that will be used by flows set up by in-band control on this bridge.
513 If unset, or if the port used by an in-band control flow does not have
514 QoS configured, or if the port does not have a queue with the specified
515 ID, the default queue is used instead.
518 <column name="protocols">
519 List of OpenFlow protocols that may be used when negotiating a
520 connection with a controller. A default value of
521 <code>OpenFlow10</code> will be used if this column is empty.
525 <group title="Spanning Tree Configuration">
526 The IEEE 802.1D Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is a network protocol
527 that ensures loop-free topologies. It allows redundant links to
528 be included in the network to provide automatic backup paths if
529 the active links fails.
531 <column name="stp_enable">
532 Enable spanning tree on the bridge. By default, STP is disabled
533 on bridges. Bond, internal, and mirror ports are not supported
534 and will not participate in the spanning tree.
537 <column name="other_config" key="stp-system-id">
538 The bridge's STP identifier (the lower 48 bits of the bridge-id)
540 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>.
541 By default, the identifier is the MAC address of the bridge.
544 <column name="other_config" key="stp-priority"
545 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
546 The bridge's relative priority value for determining the root
547 bridge (the upper 16 bits of the bridge-id). A bridge with the
548 lowest bridge-id is elected the root. By default, the priority
552 <column name="other_config" key="stp-hello-time"
553 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 10}'>
554 The interval between transmissions of hello messages by
555 designated ports, in seconds. By default the hello interval is
559 <column name="other_config" key="stp-max-age"
560 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 6, "maxInteger": 40}'>
561 The maximum age of the information transmitted by the bridge
562 when it is the root bridge, in seconds. By default, the maximum
566 <column name="other_config" key="stp-forward-delay"
567 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 4, "maxInteger": 30}'>
568 The delay to wait between transitioning root and designated
569 ports to <code>forwarding</code>, in seconds. By default, the
570 forwarding delay is 15 seconds.
574 <group title="Other Features">
575 <column name="datapath_type">
576 Name of datapath provider. The kernel datapath has
577 type <code>system</code>. The userspace datapath has
578 type <code>netdev</code>.
581 <column name="external_ids" key="bridge-id">
582 A unique identifier of the bridge. On Citrix XenServer this will
583 commonly be the same as
584 <ref column="external_ids" key="xs-network-uuids"/>.
587 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-network-uuids">
588 Semicolon-delimited set of universally unique identifier(s) for the
589 network with which this bridge is associated on a Citrix XenServer
590 host. The network identifiers are RFC 4122 UUIDs as displayed by,
591 e.g., <code>xe network-list</code>.
594 <column name="other_config" key="hwaddr">
595 An Ethernet address in the form
596 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>
597 to set the hardware address of the local port and influence the
601 <column name="other_config" key="flow-eviction-threshold"
602 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
604 A number of flows as a nonnegative integer. This sets number of
605 flows at which eviction from the kernel flow table will be triggered.
606 If there are a large number of flows then increasing this value to
607 around the number of flows present can result in reduced CPU usage
611 The default is 1000. Values below 100 will be rounded up to 100.
615 <column name="other_config" key="forward-bpdu"
616 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
617 Option to allow forwarding of BPDU frames when NORMAL action is
618 invoked. Frames with reserved Ethernet addresses (e.g. STP
619 BPDU) will be forwarded when this option is enabled and the
620 switch is not providing that functionality. If STP is enabled
621 on the port, STP BPDUs will never be forwarded. If the Open
622 vSwitch bridge is used to connect different Ethernet networks,
623 and if Open vSwitch node does not run STP, then this option
624 should be enabled. Default is disabled, set to
625 <code>true</code> to enable.
627 The following destination MAC addresss will not be forwarded when this
630 <dt><code>01:80:c2:00:00:00</code></dt>
631 <dd>IEEE 802.1D Spanning Tree Protocol (STP).</dd>
633 <dt><code>01:80:c2:00:00:01</code></dt>
634 <dd>IEEE Pause frame.</dd>
636 <dt><code>01:80:c2:00:00:0<var>x</var></code></dt>
637 <dd>Other reserved protocols.</dd>
639 <dt><code>00:e0:2b:00:00:00</code></dt>
640 <dd>Extreme Discovery Protocol (EDP).</dd>
643 <code>00:e0:2b:00:00:04</code> and <code>00:e0:2b:00:00:06</code>
645 <dd>Ethernet Automatic Protection Switching (EAPS).</dd>
647 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cc:cc:cc</code></dt>
649 Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP), VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP),
650 Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP), Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP),
654 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cc:cc:cd</code></dt>
655 <dd>Cisco Shared Spanning Tree Protocol PVSTP+.</dd>
657 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cd:cd:cd</code></dt>
658 <dd>Cisco STP Uplink Fast.</dd>
660 <dt><code>01:00:0c:00:00:00</code></dt>
661 <dd>Cisco Inter Switch Link.</dd>
663 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cc:cc:c<var>x</var></code></dt>
668 <column name="other_config" key="mac-aging-time"
669 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
671 The maximum number of seconds to retain a MAC learning entry for
672 which no packets have been seen. The default is currently 300
673 seconds (5 minutes). The value, if specified, is forced into a
674 reasonable range, currently 15 to 3600 seconds.
678 A short MAC aging time allows a network to more quickly detect that a
679 host is no longer connected to a switch port. However, it also makes
680 it more likely that packets will be flooded unnecessarily, when they
681 are addressed to a connected host that rarely transmits packets. To
682 reduce the incidence of unnecessary flooding, use a MAC aging time
683 longer than the maximum interval at which a host will ordinarily
688 <column name="other_config" key="mac-table-size"
689 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
691 The maximum number of MAC addresses to learn. The default is
692 currently 2048. The value, if specified, is forced into a reasonable
693 range, currently 10 to 1,000,000.
698 <group title="Bridge Status">
700 Status information about bridges.
702 <column name="status">
703 Key-value pairs that report bridge status.
705 <column name="status" key="stp_bridge_id">
707 The bridge-id (in hex) used in spanning tree advertisements.
708 Configuring the bridge-id is described in the
709 <code>stp-system-id</code> and <code>stp-priority</code> keys
710 of the <code>other_config</code> section earlier.
713 <column name="status" key="stp_designated_root">
715 The designated root (in hex) for this spanning tree.
718 <column name="status" key="stp_root_path_cost">
720 The path cost of reaching the designated bridge. A lower
726 <group title="Common Columns">
727 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
728 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
730 <column name="other_config"/>
731 <column name="external_ids"/>
735 <table name="Port" table="Port or bond configuration.">
736 <p>A port within a <ref table="Bridge"/>.</p>
737 <p>Most commonly, a port has exactly one ``interface,'' pointed to by its
738 <ref column="interfaces"/> column. Such a port logically
739 corresponds to a port on a physical Ethernet switch. A port
740 with more than one interface is a ``bonded port'' (see
741 <ref group="Bonding Configuration"/>).</p>
742 <p>Some properties that one might think as belonging to a port are actually
743 part of the port's <ref table="Interface"/> members.</p>
746 Port name. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8
747 bytes long. May be the same as the interface name, for
748 non-bonded ports. Must otherwise be unique among the names of
749 ports, interfaces, and bridges on a host.
752 <column name="interfaces">
753 The port's interfaces. If there is more than one, this is a
757 <group title="VLAN Configuration">
758 <p>Bridge ports support the following types of VLAN configuration:</p>
763 A trunk port carries packets on one or more specified VLANs
764 specified in the <ref column="trunks"/> column (often, on every
765 VLAN). A packet that ingresses on a trunk port is in the VLAN
766 specified in its 802.1Q header, or VLAN 0 if the packet has no
767 802.1Q header. A packet that egresses through a trunk port will
768 have an 802.1Q header if it has a nonzero VLAN ID.
772 Any packet that ingresses on a trunk port tagged with a VLAN that
773 the port does not trunk is dropped.
780 An access port carries packets on exactly one VLAN specified in the
781 <ref column="tag"/> column. Packets egressing on an access port
782 have no 802.1Q header.
786 Any packet with an 802.1Q header with a nonzero VLAN ID that
787 ingresses on an access port is dropped, regardless of whether the
788 VLAN ID in the header is the access port's VLAN ID.
792 <dt>native-tagged</dt>
794 A native-tagged port resembles a trunk port, with the exception that
795 a packet without an 802.1Q header that ingresses on a native-tagged
796 port is in the ``native VLAN'' (specified in the <ref column="tag"/>
800 <dt>native-untagged</dt>
802 A native-untagged port resembles a native-tagged port, with the
803 exception that a packet that egresses on a native-untagged port in
804 the native VLAN will not have an 802.1Q header.
808 A packet will only egress through bridge ports that carry the VLAN of
809 the packet, as described by the rules above.
812 <column name="vlan_mode">
814 The VLAN mode of the port, as described above. When this column is
815 empty, a default mode is selected as follows:
819 If <ref column="tag"/> contains a value, the port is an access
820 port. The <ref column="trunks"/> column should be empty.
823 Otherwise, the port is a trunk port. The <ref column="trunks"/>
824 column value is honored if it is present.
831 For an access port, the port's implicitly tagged VLAN. For a
832 native-tagged or native-untagged port, the port's native VLAN. Must
833 be empty if this is a trunk port.
837 <column name="trunks">
839 For a trunk, native-tagged, or native-untagged port, the 802.1Q VLAN
840 or VLANs that this port trunks; if it is empty, then the port trunks
841 all VLANs. Must be empty if this is an access port.
844 A native-tagged or native-untagged port always trunks its native
845 VLAN, regardless of whether <ref column="trunks"/> includes that
850 <column name="other_config" key="priority-tags"
851 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
853 An 802.1Q header contains two important pieces of information: a VLAN
854 ID and a priority. A frame with a zero VLAN ID, called a
855 ``priority-tagged'' frame, is supposed to be treated the same way as
856 a frame without an 802.1Q header at all (except for the priority).
860 However, some network elements ignore any frame that has 802.1Q
861 header at all, even when the VLAN ID is zero. Therefore, by default
862 Open vSwitch does not output priority-tagged frames, instead omitting
863 the 802.1Q header entirely if the VLAN ID is zero. Set this key to
864 <code>true</code> to enable priority-tagged frames on a port.
868 Regardless of this setting, Open vSwitch omits the 802.1Q header on
869 output if both the VLAN ID and priority would be zero.
873 All frames output to native-tagged ports have a nonzero VLAN ID, so
874 this setting is not meaningful on native-tagged ports.
879 <group title="Bonding Configuration">
880 <p>A port that has more than one interface is a ``bonded port.'' Bonding
881 allows for load balancing and fail-over.</p>
884 The following types of bonding will work with any kind of upstream
885 switch. On the upstream switch, do not configure the interfaces as a
890 <dt><code>balance-slb</code></dt>
892 Balances flows among slaves based on source MAC address and output
893 VLAN, with periodic rebalancing as traffic patterns change.
896 <dt><code>active-backup</code></dt>
898 Assigns all flows to one slave, failing over to a backup slave when
899 the active slave is disabled. This is the only bonding mode in which
900 interfaces may be plugged into different upstream switches.
905 The following modes require the upstream switch to support 802.3ad with
906 successful LACP negotiation:
910 <dt><code>balance-tcp</code></dt>
912 Balances flows among slaves based on L2, L3, and L4 protocol
913 information such as destination MAC address, IP address, and TCP
918 <p>These columns apply only to bonded ports. Their values are
919 otherwise ignored.</p>
921 <column name="bond_mode">
922 <p>The type of bonding used for a bonded port. Defaults to
923 <code>active-backup</code> if unset.
927 <column name="other_config" key="bond-hash-basis"
928 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
929 An integer hashed along with flows when choosing output slaves in load
930 balanced bonds. When changed, all flows will be assigned different
931 hash values possibly causing slave selection decisions to change. Does
932 not affect bonding modes which do not employ load balancing such as
933 <code>active-backup</code>.
936 <group title="Link Failure Detection">
938 An important part of link bonding is detecting that links are down so
939 that they may be disabled. These settings determine how Open vSwitch
940 detects link failure.
943 <column name="other_config" key="bond-detect-mode"
944 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["carrier", "miimon"]]}'>
945 The means used to detect link failures. Defaults to
946 <code>carrier</code> which uses each interface's carrier to detect
947 failures. When set to <code>miimon</code>, will check for failures
948 by polling each interface's MII.
951 <column name="other_config" key="bond-miimon-interval"
952 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
953 The interval, in milliseconds, between successive attempts to poll
954 each interface's MII. Relevant only when <ref column="other_config"
955 key="bond-detect-mode"/> is <code>miimon</code>.
958 <column name="bond_updelay">
960 The number of milliseconds for which the link must stay up on an
961 interface before the interface is considered to be up. Specify
962 <code>0</code> to enable the interface immediately.
966 This setting is honored only when at least one bonded interface is
967 already enabled. When no interfaces are enabled, then the first
968 bond interface to come up is enabled immediately.
972 <column name="bond_downdelay">
973 The number of milliseconds for which the link must stay down on an
974 interface before the interface is considered to be down. Specify
975 <code>0</code> to disable the interface immediately.
979 <group title="LACP Configuration">
981 LACP, the Link Aggregation Control Protocol, is an IEEE standard that
982 allows switches to automatically detect that they are connected by
983 multiple links and aggregate across those links. These settings
984 control LACP behavior.
988 Configures LACP on this port. LACP allows directly connected
989 switches to negotiate which links may be bonded. LACP may be enabled
990 on non-bonded ports for the benefit of any switches they may be
991 connected to. <code>active</code> ports are allowed to initiate LACP
992 negotiations. <code>passive</code> ports are allowed to participate
993 in LACP negotiations initiated by a remote switch, but not allowed to
994 initiate such negotiations themselves. If LACP is enabled on a port
995 whose partner switch does not support LACP, the bond will be
996 disabled. Defaults to <code>off</code> if unset.
999 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-system-id">
1000 The LACP system ID of this <ref table="Port"/>. The system ID of a
1001 LACP bond is used to identify itself to its partners. Must be a
1002 nonzero MAC address. Defaults to the bridge Ethernet address if
1006 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-system-priority"
1007 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
1008 The LACP system priority of this <ref table="Port"/>. In LACP
1009 negotiations, link status decisions are made by the system with the
1010 numerically lower priority.
1013 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-time"
1014 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["fast", "slow"]]}'>
1016 The LACP timing which should be used on this <ref table="Port"/>.
1017 By default <code>slow</code> is used. When configured to be
1018 <code>fast</code> LACP heartbeats are requested at a rate of once
1019 per second causing connectivity problems to be detected more
1020 quickly. In <code>slow</code> mode, heartbeats are requested at a
1021 rate of once every 30 seconds.
1026 <group title="Rebalancing Configuration">
1028 These settings control behavior when a bond is in
1029 <code>balance-slb</code> or <code>balance-tcp</code> mode.
1032 <column name="other_config" key="bond-rebalance-interval"
1033 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 10000}'>
1034 For a load balanced bonded port, the number of milliseconds between
1035 successive attempts to rebalance the bond, that is, to move flows
1036 from one interface on the bond to another in an attempt to keep usage
1037 of each interface roughly equal. If zero, load balancing is disabled
1038 on the bond (link failure still cause flows to move). If
1039 less than 1000ms, the rebalance interval will be 1000ms.
1043 <column name="bond_fake_iface">
1044 For a bonded port, whether to create a fake internal interface with the
1045 name of the port. Use only for compatibility with legacy software that
1050 <group title="Spanning Tree Configuration">
1051 <column name="other_config" key="stp-enable"
1052 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1053 If spanning tree is enabled on the bridge, member ports are
1054 enabled by default (with the exception of bond, internal, and
1055 mirror ports which do not work with STP). If this column's
1056 value is <code>false</code> spanning tree is disabled on the
1060 <column name="other_config" key="stp-port-num"
1061 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 255}'>
1062 The port number used for the lower 8 bits of the port-id. By
1063 default, the numbers will be assigned automatically. If any
1064 port's number is manually configured on a bridge, then they
1068 <column name="other_config" key="stp-port-priority"
1069 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 255}'>
1070 The port's relative priority value for determining the root
1071 port (the upper 8 bits of the port-id). A port with a lower
1072 port-id will be chosen as the root port. By default, the
1076 <column name="other_config" key="stp-path-cost"
1077 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
1078 Spanning tree path cost for the port. A lower number indicates
1079 a faster link. By default, the cost is based on the maximum
1084 <group title="Other Features">
1086 Quality of Service configuration for this port.
1090 The MAC address to use for this port for the purpose of choosing the
1091 bridge's MAC address. This column does not necessarily reflect the
1092 port's actual MAC address, nor will setting it change the port's actual
1096 <column name="fake_bridge">
1097 Does this port represent a sub-bridge for its tagged VLAN within the
1098 Bridge? See ovs-vsctl(8) for more information.
1101 <column name="external_ids" key="fake-bridge-id-*">
1102 External IDs for a fake bridge (see the <ref column="fake_bridge"/>
1103 column) are defined by prefixing a <ref table="Bridge"/> <ref
1104 table="Bridge" column="external_ids"/> key with
1105 <code>fake-bridge-</code>,
1106 e.g. <code>fake-bridge-xs-network-uuids</code>.
1110 <group title="Port Status">
1112 Status information about ports attached to bridges.
1114 <column name="status">
1115 Key-value pairs that report port status.
1117 <column name="status" key="stp_port_id">
1119 The port-id (in hex) used in spanning tree advertisements for
1120 this port. Configuring the port-id is described in the
1121 <code>stp-port-num</code> and <code>stp-port-priority</code>
1122 keys of the <code>other_config</code> section earlier.
1125 <column name="status" key="stp_state"
1126 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set",
1127 ["disabled", "listening", "learning",
1128 "forwarding", "blocking"]]}'>
1130 STP state of the port.
1133 <column name="status" key="stp_sec_in_state"
1134 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
1136 The amount of time (in seconds) port has been in the current
1140 <column name="status" key="stp_role"
1141 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set",
1142 ["root", "designated", "alternate"]]}'>
1144 STP role of the port.
1149 <group title="Port Statistics">
1151 Key-value pairs that report port statistics.
1153 <group title="Statistics: STP transmit and receive counters">
1154 <column name="statistics" key="stp_tx_count">
1155 Number of STP BPDUs sent on this port by the spanning
1158 <column name="statistics" key="stp_rx_count">
1159 Number of STP BPDUs received on this port and accepted by the
1160 spanning tree library.
1162 <column name="statistics" key="stp_error_count">
1163 Number of bad STP BPDUs received on this port. Bad BPDUs
1164 include runt packets and those with an unexpected protocol ID.
1169 <group title="Common Columns">
1170 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
1171 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
1173 <column name="other_config"/>
1174 <column name="external_ids"/>
1178 <table name="Interface" title="One physical network device in a Port.">
1179 An interface within a <ref table="Port"/>.
1181 <group title="Core Features">
1182 <column name="name">
1183 Interface name. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8 bytes
1184 long. May be the same as the port name, for non-bonded ports. Must
1185 otherwise be unique among the names of ports, interfaces, and bridges
1189 <column name="mac_in_use">
1190 The MAC address in use by this interface.
1194 <p>Ethernet address to set for this interface. If unset then the
1195 default MAC address is used:</p>
1197 <li>For the local interface, the default is the lowest-numbered MAC
1198 address among the other bridge ports, either the value of the
1199 <ref table="Port" column="mac"/> in its <ref table="Port"/> record,
1200 if set, or its actual MAC (for bonded ports, the MAC of its slave
1201 whose name is first in alphabetical order). Internal ports and
1202 bridge ports that are used as port mirroring destinations (see the
1203 <ref table="Mirror"/> table) are ignored.</li>
1204 <li>For other internal interfaces, the default MAC is randomly
1206 <li>External interfaces typically have a MAC address associated with
1207 their hardware.</li>
1209 <p>Some interfaces may not have a software-controllable MAC
1213 <column name="ofport">
1214 <p>OpenFlow port number for this interface. Unlike most columns, this
1215 column's value should be set only by Open vSwitch itself. Other
1216 clients should set this column to an empty set (the default) when
1217 creating an <ref table="Interface"/>.</p>
1218 <p>Open vSwitch populates this column when the port number becomes
1219 known. If the interface is successfully added,
1220 <ref column="ofport"/> will be set to a number between 1 and 65535
1221 (generally either in the range 1 to 65279, inclusive, or 65534, the
1222 port number for the OpenFlow ``local port''). If the interface
1223 cannot be added then Open vSwitch sets this column
1225 <p>When <ref column="ofport_request"/> is not set, Open vSwitch picks
1226 an appropriate value for this column and then tries to keep the value
1227 constant across restarts.</p>
1230 <column name="ofport_request">
1231 <p>Requested OpenFlow port number for this interface. The port
1232 number must be between 1 and 65279, inclusive. Some datapaths
1233 cannot satisfy all requests for particular port numbers. When
1234 this column is empty or the request cannot be fulfilled, the
1235 system will choose a free port. The <ref column="ofport"/>
1236 column reports the assigned OpenFlow port number.</p>
1237 <p>The port number must be requested in the same transaction
1238 that creates the port.</p>
1242 <group title="System-Specific Details">
1243 <column name="type">
1245 The interface type, one of:
1249 <dt><code>system</code></dt>
1250 <dd>An ordinary network device, e.g. <code>eth0</code> on Linux.
1251 Sometimes referred to as ``external interfaces'' since they are
1252 generally connected to hardware external to that on which the Open
1253 vSwitch is running. The empty string is a synonym for
1254 <code>system</code>.</dd>
1256 <dt><code>internal</code></dt>
1257 <dd>A simulated network device that sends and receives traffic. An
1258 internal interface whose <ref column="name"/> is the same as its
1259 bridge's <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="name"/> is called the
1260 ``local interface.'' It does not make sense to bond an internal
1261 interface, so the terms ``port'' and ``interface'' are often used
1262 imprecisely for internal interfaces.</dd>
1264 <dt><code>tap</code></dt>
1265 <dd>A TUN/TAP device managed by Open vSwitch.</dd>
1267 <dt><code>gre</code></dt>
1269 An Ethernet over RFC 2890 Generic Routing Encapsulation over IPv4
1273 <dt><code>ipsec_gre</code></dt>
1275 An Ethernet over RFC 2890 Generic Routing Encapsulation over IPv4
1279 <dt><code>gre64</code></dt>
1281 It is same as GRE, but it allows 64 bit key. To store higher 32-bits
1282 of key, it uses GRE protocol sequence number field. This is non
1283 standard use of GRE protocol since OVS does not increment
1284 sequence number for every packet at time of encap as expected by
1285 standard GRE implementation. See <ref group="Tunnel Options"/>
1286 for information on configuring GRE tunnels.
1289 <dt><code>ipsec_gre64</code></dt>
1291 Same as IPSEC_GRE except 64 bit key.
1294 <dt><code>vxlan</code></dt>
1297 An Ethernet tunnel over the experimental, UDP-based VXLAN
1298 protocol described at
1299 <code>http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-mahalingam-dutt-dcops-vxlan-03</code>.
1300 VXLAN is currently supported only with the Linux kernel datapath
1301 with kernel version 2.6.26 or later.
1304 Open vSwitch uses UDP destination port 4789. The source port used for
1305 VXLAN traffic varies on a per-flow basis and is in the ephemeral port
1310 <dt><code>lisp</code></dt>
1312 A layer 3 tunnel over the experimental, UDP-based Locator/ID
1313 Separation Protocol (RFC 6830). LISP is currently supported only
1314 with the Linux kernel datapath with kernel version 2.6.26 or later.
1317 <dt><code>patch</code></dt>
1319 A pair of virtual devices that act as a patch cable.
1322 <dt><code>null</code></dt>
1323 <dd>An ignored interface. Deprecated and slated for removal in
1329 <group title="Tunnel Options">
1331 These options apply to interfaces with <ref column="type"/> of
1332 <code>gre</code>, <code>ipsec_gre</code>, <code>gre64</code>,
1333 <code>ipsec_gre64</code>, <code>vxlan</code>, and <code>lisp</code>.
1337 Each tunnel must be uniquely identified by the combination of <ref
1338 column="type"/>, <ref column="options" key="remote_ip"/>, <ref
1339 column="options" key="local_ip"/>, and <ref column="options"
1340 key="in_key"/>. If two ports are defined that are the same except one
1341 has an optional identifier and the other does not, the more specific
1342 one is matched first. <ref column="options" key="in_key"/> is
1343 considered more specific than <ref column="options" key="local_ip"/> if
1344 a port defines one and another port defines the other.
1347 <column name="options" key="remote_ip">
1348 <p>Required. The remote tunnel endpoint, one of:</p>
1352 An IPv4 address (not a DNS name), e.g. <code>192.168.0.123</code>.
1353 Only unicast endpoints are supported.
1356 The word <code>flow</code>. The tunnel accepts packets from any
1357 remote tunnel endpoint. To process only packets from a specific
1358 remote tunnel endpoint, the flow entries may match on the
1359 <code>tun_src</code> field. When sending packets to a
1360 <code>remote_ip=flow</code> tunnel, the flow actions must
1361 explicitly set the <code>tun_dst</code> field to the IP address of
1362 the desired remote tunnel endpoint, e.g. with a
1363 <code>set_field</code> action.
1368 The remote tunnel endpoint for any packet received from a tunnel
1369 is available in the <code>tun_src</code> field for matching in the
1374 <column name="options" key="local_ip">
1376 Optional. The tunnel destination IP that received packets must
1377 match. Default is to match all addresses. If specified, may be one
1383 An IPv4 address (not a DNS name), e.g. <code>192.168.12.3</code>.
1386 The word <code>flow</code>. The tunnel accepts packets sent to any
1387 of the local IP addresses of the system running OVS. To process
1388 only packets sent to a specific IP address, the flow entries may
1389 match on the <code>tun_dst</code> field. When sending packets to a
1390 <code>local_ip=flow</code> tunnel, the flow actions may
1391 explicitly set the <code>tun_src</code> field to the desired IP
1392 address, e.g. with a <code>set_field</code> action. However, while
1393 routing the tunneled packet out, the local system may override the
1394 specified address with the local IP address configured for the
1395 outgoing system interface.
1398 This option is valid only for tunnels also configured with the
1399 <code>remote_ip=flow</code> option.
1405 The tunnel destination IP address for any packet received from a
1406 tunnel is available in the <code>tun_dst</code> field for matching in
1411 <column name="options" key="in_key">
1412 <p>Optional. The key that received packets must contain, one of:</p>
1416 <code>0</code>. The tunnel receives packets with no key or with a
1417 key of 0. This is equivalent to specifying no <ref column="options"
1418 key="in_key"/> at all.
1421 A positive 24-bit (for VXLAN and LISP), 32-bit (for GRE) or 64-bit
1422 (for GRE64) number. The tunnel receives only packets with the
1426 The word <code>flow</code>. The tunnel accepts packets with any
1427 key. The key will be placed in the <code>tun_id</code> field for
1428 matching in the flow table. The <code>ovs-ofctl</code> manual page
1429 contains additional information about matching fields in OpenFlow
1438 <column name="options" key="out_key">
1439 <p>Optional. The key to be set on outgoing packets, one of:</p>
1443 <code>0</code>. Packets sent through the tunnel will have no key.
1444 This is equivalent to specifying no <ref column="options"
1445 key="out_key"/> at all.
1448 A positive 24-bit (for VXLAN and LISP), 32-bit (for GRE) or 64-bit
1449 (for GRE64) number. Packets sent through the tunnel will have the
1453 The word <code>flow</code>. Packets sent through the tunnel will
1454 have the key set using the <code>set_tunnel</code> Nicira OpenFlow
1455 vendor extension (0 is used in the absence of an action). The
1456 <code>ovs-ofctl</code> manual page contains additional information
1457 about the Nicira OpenFlow vendor extensions.
1462 <column name="options" key="key">
1463 Optional. Shorthand to set <code>in_key</code> and
1464 <code>out_key</code> at the same time.
1467 <column name="options" key="tos">
1468 Optional. The value of the ToS bits to be set on the encapsulating
1469 packet. ToS is interpreted as DSCP and ECN bits, ECN part must be
1470 zero. It may also be the word <code>inherit</code>, in which case
1471 the ToS will be copied from the inner packet if it is IPv4 or IPv6
1472 (otherwise it will be 0). The ECN fields are always inherited.
1476 <column name="options" key="ttl">
1477 Optional. The TTL to be set on the encapsulating packet. It may also
1478 be the word <code>inherit</code>, in which case the TTL will be copied
1479 from the inner packet if it is IPv4 or IPv6 (otherwise it will be the
1480 system default, typically 64). Default is the system default TTL.
1483 <column name="options" key="df_default"
1484 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1485 Optional. If enabled, the Don't Fragment bit will be set on tunnel
1486 outer headers to allow path MTU discovery. Default is enabled; set
1487 to <code>false</code> to disable.
1490 <group title="Tunnel Options: gre and ipsec_gre only">
1492 Only <code>gre</code> and <code>ipsec_gre</code> interfaces support
1496 <column name="options" key="csum" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1498 Optional. Compute GRE checksums on outgoing packets. Default is
1499 disabled, set to <code>true</code> to enable. Checksums present on
1500 incoming packets will be validated regardless of this setting.
1504 GRE checksums impose a significant performance penalty because they
1505 cover the entire packet. The encapsulated L3, L4, and L7 packet
1506 contents typically have their own checksums, so this additional
1507 checksum only adds value for the GRE and encapsulated L2 headers.
1511 This option is supported for <code>ipsec_gre</code>, but not useful
1512 because GRE checksums are weaker than, and redundant with, IPsec
1513 payload authentication.
1518 <group title="Tunnel Options: ipsec_gre only">
1520 Only <code>ipsec_gre</code> interfaces support these options.
1523 <column name="options" key="peer_cert">
1524 Required for certificate authentication. A string containing the
1525 peer's certificate in PEM format. Additionally the host's
1526 certificate must be specified with the <code>certificate</code>
1530 <column name="options" key="certificate">
1531 Required for certificate authentication. The name of a PEM file
1532 containing a certificate that will be presented to the peer during
1536 <column name="options" key="private_key">
1537 Optional for certificate authentication. The name of a PEM file
1538 containing the private key associated with <code>certificate</code>.
1539 If <code>certificate</code> contains the private key, this option may
1543 <column name="options" key="psk">
1544 Required for pre-shared key authentication. Specifies a pre-shared
1545 key for authentication that must be identical on both sides of the
1551 <group title="Patch Options">
1553 Only <code>patch</code> interfaces support these options.
1556 <column name="options" key="peer">
1557 The <ref column="name"/> of the <ref table="Interface"/> for the other
1558 side of the patch. The named <ref table="Interface"/>'s own
1559 <code>peer</code> option must specify this <ref table="Interface"/>'s
1560 name. That is, the two patch interfaces must have reversed <ref
1561 column="name"/> and <code>peer</code> values.
1565 <group title="Interface Status">
1567 Status information about interfaces attached to bridges, updated every
1568 5 seconds. Not all interfaces have all of these properties; virtual
1569 interfaces don't have a link speed, for example. Non-applicable
1570 columns will have empty values.
1572 <column name="admin_state">
1574 The administrative state of the physical network link.
1578 <column name="link_state">
1580 The observed state of the physical network link. This is ordinarily
1581 the link's carrier status. If the interface's <ref table="Port"/> is
1582 a bond configured for miimon monitoring, it is instead the network
1583 link's miimon status.
1587 <column name="link_resets">
1589 The number of times Open vSwitch has observed the
1590 <ref column="link_state"/> of this <ref table="Interface"/> change.
1594 <column name="link_speed">
1596 The negotiated speed of the physical network link.
1597 Valid values are positive integers greater than 0.
1601 <column name="duplex">
1603 The duplex mode of the physical network link.
1609 The MTU (maximum transmission unit); i.e. the largest
1610 amount of data that can fit into a single Ethernet frame.
1611 The standard Ethernet MTU is 1500 bytes. Some physical media
1612 and many kinds of virtual interfaces can be configured with
1616 This column will be empty for an interface that does not
1617 have an MTU as, for example, some kinds of tunnels do not.
1621 <column name="lacp_current">
1622 Boolean value indicating LACP status for this interface. If true, this
1623 interface has current LACP information about its LACP partner. This
1624 information may be used to monitor the health of interfaces in a LACP
1625 enabled port. This column will be empty if LACP is not enabled.
1628 <column name="status">
1629 Key-value pairs that report port status. Supported status values are
1630 <ref column="type"/>-dependent; some interfaces may not have a valid
1631 <ref column="status" key="driver_name"/>, for example.
1634 <column name="status" key="driver_name">
1635 The name of the device driver controlling the network adapter.
1638 <column name="status" key="driver_version">
1639 The version string of the device driver controlling the network
1643 <column name="status" key="firmware_version">
1644 The version string of the network adapter's firmware, if available.
1647 <column name="status" key="source_ip">
1648 The source IP address used for an IPv4 tunnel end-point, such as
1652 <column name="status" key="tunnel_egress_iface">
1653 Egress interface for tunnels. Currently only relevant for GRE tunnels
1654 On Linux systems, this column will show the name of the interface
1655 which is responsible for routing traffic destined for the configured
1656 <ref column="options" key="remote_ip"/>. This could be an internal
1657 interface such as a bridge port.
1660 <column name="status" key="tunnel_egress_iface_carrier"
1661 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["down", "up"]]}'>
1662 Whether carrier is detected on <ref column="status"
1663 key="tunnel_egress_iface"/>.
1667 <group title="Statistics">
1669 Key-value pairs that report interface statistics. The current
1670 implementation updates these counters periodically. Future
1671 implementations may update them when an interface is created, when they
1672 are queried (e.g. using an OVSDB <code>select</code> operation), and
1673 just before an interface is deleted due to virtual interface hot-unplug
1674 or VM shutdown, and perhaps at other times, but not on any regular
1678 These are the same statistics reported by OpenFlow in its <code>struct
1679 ofp_port_stats</code> structure. If an interface does not support a
1680 given statistic, then that pair is omitted.
1682 <group title="Statistics: Successful transmit and receive counters">
1683 <column name="statistics" key="rx_packets">
1684 Number of received packets.
1686 <column name="statistics" key="rx_bytes">
1687 Number of received bytes.
1689 <column name="statistics" key="tx_packets">
1690 Number of transmitted packets.
1692 <column name="statistics" key="tx_bytes">
1693 Number of transmitted bytes.
1696 <group title="Statistics: Receive errors">
1697 <column name="statistics" key="rx_dropped">
1698 Number of packets dropped by RX.
1700 <column name="statistics" key="rx_frame_err">
1701 Number of frame alignment errors.
1703 <column name="statistics" key="rx_over_err">
1704 Number of packets with RX overrun.
1706 <column name="statistics" key="rx_crc_err">
1707 Number of CRC errors.
1709 <column name="statistics" key="rx_errors">
1710 Total number of receive errors, greater than or equal to the sum of
1714 <group title="Statistics: Transmit errors">
1715 <column name="statistics" key="tx_dropped">
1716 Number of packets dropped by TX.
1718 <column name="statistics" key="collisions">
1719 Number of collisions.
1721 <column name="statistics" key="tx_errors">
1722 Total number of transmit errors, greater than or equal to the sum of
1728 <group title="Ingress Policing">
1730 These settings control ingress policing for packets received on this
1731 interface. On a physical interface, this limits the rate at which
1732 traffic is allowed into the system from the outside; on a virtual
1733 interface (one connected to a virtual machine), this limits the rate at
1734 which the VM is able to transmit.
1737 Policing is a simple form of quality-of-service that simply drops
1738 packets received in excess of the configured rate. Due to its
1739 simplicity, policing is usually less accurate and less effective than
1740 egress QoS (which is configured using the <ref table="QoS"/> and <ref
1741 table="Queue"/> tables).
1744 Policing is currently implemented only on Linux. The Linux
1745 implementation uses a simple ``token bucket'' approach:
1749 The size of the bucket corresponds to <ref
1750 column="ingress_policing_burst"/>. Initially the bucket is full.
1753 Whenever a packet is received, its size (converted to tokens) is
1754 compared to the number of tokens currently in the bucket. If the
1755 required number of tokens are available, they are removed and the
1756 packet is forwarded. Otherwise, the packet is dropped.
1759 Whenever it is not full, the bucket is refilled with tokens at the
1760 rate specified by <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/>.
1764 Policing interacts badly with some network protocols, and especially
1765 with fragmented IP packets. Suppose that there is enough network
1766 activity to keep the bucket nearly empty all the time. Then this token
1767 bucket algorithm will forward a single packet every so often, with the
1768 period depending on packet size and on the configured rate. All of the
1769 fragments of an IP packets are normally transmitted back-to-back, as a
1770 group. In such a situation, therefore, only one of these fragments
1771 will be forwarded and the rest will be dropped. IP does not provide
1772 any way for the intended recipient to ask for only the remaining
1773 fragments. In such a case there are two likely possibilities for what
1774 will happen next: either all of the fragments will eventually be
1775 retransmitted (as TCP will do), in which case the same problem will
1776 recur, or the sender will not realize that its packet has been dropped
1777 and data will simply be lost (as some UDP-based protocols will do).
1778 Either way, it is possible that no forward progress will ever occur.
1780 <column name="ingress_policing_rate">
1782 Maximum rate for data received on this interface, in kbps. Data
1783 received faster than this rate is dropped. Set to <code>0</code>
1784 (the default) to disable policing.
1788 <column name="ingress_policing_burst">
1789 <p>Maximum burst size for data received on this interface, in kb. The
1790 default burst size if set to <code>0</code> is 1000 kb. This value
1791 has no effect if <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/>
1792 is <code>0</code>.</p>
1794 Specifying a larger burst size lets the algorithm be more forgiving,
1795 which is important for protocols like TCP that react severely to
1796 dropped packets. The burst size should be at least the size of the
1797 interface's MTU. Specifying a value that is numerically at least as
1798 large as 10% of <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/> helps TCP come
1799 closer to achieving the full rate.
1804 <group title="Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD)">
1806 BFD, defined in RFC 5880 and RFC 5881, allows point to point
1807 detection of connectivity failures by occasional transmission of
1808 BFD control messages. It is implemented in Open vSwitch to serve
1809 as a more popular and standards compliant alternative to CFM.
1813 BFD operates by regularly transmitting BFD control messages at a
1814 rate negotiated independently in each direction. Each endpoint
1815 specifies the rate at which it expects to receive control messages,
1816 and the rate at which it's willing to transmit them. Open vSwitch
1817 uses a detection multiplier of three, meaning that an endpoint
1818 which fails to receive BFD control messages for a period of three
1819 times the expected reception rate, will signal a connectivity
1820 fault. In the case of a unidirectional connectivity issue, the
1821 system not receiving BFD control messages will signal the problem
1822 to its peer in the messages is transmists.
1826 The Open vSwitch implementation of BFD aims to comply faithfully
1827 with the requirements put forth in RFC 5880. Currently, the only
1828 known omission is ``Demand Mode'', which we hope to include in
1829 future. Open vSwitch does not implement the optional
1830 Authentication or ``Echo Mode'' features.
1833 <column name="bfd" key="enable">
1834 When <code>true</code> BFD is enabled on this
1835 <ref table="Interface"/>, otherwise it's disabled. Defaults to
1839 <column name="bfd" key="min_rx"
1840 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
1841 The fastest rate, in milliseconds, at which this BFD session is
1842 willing to receive BFD control messages. The actual rate may be
1843 slower if the remote endpoint isn't willing to transmit as quickly as
1844 specified. Defaults to <code>1000</code>.
1847 <column name="bfd" key="min_tx"
1848 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
1849 The fastest rate, in milliseconds, at which this BFD session is
1850 willing to transmit BFD control messages. The actual rate may be
1851 slower if the remote endpoint isn't willing to receive as quickly as
1852 specified. Defaults to <code>100</code>.
1855 <column name="bfd" key="cpath_down" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1856 Concatenated path down may be used when the local system should not
1857 have traffic forwarded to it for some reason other than a connectivty
1858 failure on the interface being monitored. When a controller thinks
1859 this may be the case, it may set <code>cpath_down</code> to
1860 <code>true</code> which may cause the remote BFD session not to
1861 forward traffic to this <ref table="Interface"/>. Defaults to
1865 <column name="bfd_status" key="state"
1866 type='{"type": "string",
1867 "enum": ["set", ["admin_down", "down", "init", "up"]]}'>
1868 State of the BFD session. The BFD session is fully healthy and
1869 negotiated if <code>UP</code>.
1872 <column name="bfd_status" key="forwarding" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1873 True if the BFD session believes this <ref table="Interface"/> may be
1874 used to forward traffic. Typically this means the local session is
1875 signaling <code>UP</code>, and the remote system isn't signaling a
1876 problem such as concatenated path down.
1879 <column name="bfd_status" key="diagnostic">
1880 A short message indicating what the BFD session thinks is wrong in
1884 <column name="bfd_status" key="remote_state"
1885 type='{"type": "string",
1886 "enum": ["set", ["admin_down", "down", "init", "up"]]}'>
1887 State of the remote endpoint's BFD session.
1890 <column name="bfd_status" key="remote_diagnostic">
1891 A short message indicating what the remote endpoint's BFD session
1892 thinks is wrong in case of a problem.
1896 <group title="Connectivity Fault Management">
1898 802.1ag Connectivity Fault Management (CFM) allows a group of
1899 Maintenance Points (MPs) called a Maintenance Association (MA) to
1900 detect connectivity problems with each other. MPs within a MA should
1901 have complete and exclusive interconnectivity. This is verified by
1902 occasionally broadcasting Continuity Check Messages (CCMs) at a
1903 configurable transmission interval.
1907 According to the 802.1ag specification, each Maintenance Point should
1908 be configured out-of-band with a list of Remote Maintenance Points it
1909 should have connectivity to. Open vSwitch differs from the
1910 specification in this area. It simply assumes the link is faulted if
1911 no Remote Maintenance Points are reachable, and considers it not
1916 When operating over tunnels which have no <code>in_key</code>, or an
1917 <code>in_key</code> of <code>flow</code>. CFM will only accept CCMs
1918 with a tunnel key of zero.
1921 <column name="cfm_mpid">
1922 A Maintenance Point ID (MPID) uniquely identifies each endpoint within
1923 a Maintenance Association. The MPID is used to identify this endpoint
1924 to other Maintenance Points in the MA. Each end of a link being
1925 monitored should have a different MPID. Must be configured to enable
1926 CFM on this <ref table="Interface"/>.
1929 <column name="cfm_fault">
1931 Indicates a connectivity fault triggered by an inability to receive
1932 heartbeats from any remote endpoint. When a fault is triggered on
1933 <ref table="Interface"/>s participating in bonds, they will be
1937 Faults can be triggered for several reasons. Most importantly they
1938 are triggered when no CCMs are received for a period of 3.5 times the
1939 transmission interval. Faults are also triggered when any CCMs
1940 indicate that a Remote Maintenance Point is not receiving CCMs but
1941 able to send them. Finally, a fault is triggered if a CCM is
1942 received which indicates unexpected configuration. Notably, this
1943 case arises when a CCM is received which advertises the local MPID.
1947 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="recv">
1948 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to a lack of CCMs received on
1949 the <ref table="Interface"/>.
1952 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="rdi">
1953 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to the reception of a CCM with
1954 the RDI bit flagged. Endpoints set the RDI bit in their CCMs when they
1955 are not receiving CCMs themselves. This typically indicates a
1956 unidirectional connectivity failure.
1959 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="maid">
1960 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to the reception of a CCM with
1961 a MAID other than the one Open vSwitch uses. CFM broadcasts are tagged
1962 with an identification number in addition to the MPID called the MAID.
1963 Open vSwitch only supports receiving CCM broadcasts tagged with the
1964 MAID it uses internally.
1967 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="loopback">
1968 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to the reception of a CCM
1969 advertising the same MPID configured in the <ref column="cfm_mpid"/>
1970 column of this <ref table="Interface"/>. This may indicate a loop in
1974 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="overflow">
1975 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered because the CFM module received
1976 CCMs from more remote endpoints than it can keep track of.
1979 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="override">
1980 Indicates a CFM fault was manually triggered by an administrator using
1981 an <code>ovs-appctl</code> command.
1984 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="interval">
1985 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to the reception of a CCM
1986 frame having an invalid interval.
1989 <column name="cfm_remote_opstate">
1990 <p>When in extended mode, indicates the operational state of the
1991 remote endpoint as either <code>up</code> or <code>down</code>. See
1992 <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_opstate"/>.
1996 <column name="cfm_health">
1998 Indicates the health of the interface as a percentage of CCM frames
1999 received over 21 <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_interval"/>s.
2000 The health of an interface is undefined if it is communicating with
2001 more than one <ref column="cfm_remote_mpids"/>. It reduces if
2002 healthy heartbeats are not received at the expected rate, and
2003 gradually improves as healthy heartbeats are received at the desired
2004 rate. Every 21 <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_interval"/>s, the
2005 health of the interface is refreshed.
2008 As mentioned above, the faults can be triggered for several reasons.
2009 The link health will deteriorate even if heartbeats are received but
2010 they are reported to be unhealthy. An unhealthy heartbeat in this
2011 context is a heartbeat for which either some fault is set or is out
2012 of sequence. The interface health can be 100 only on receiving
2013 healthy heartbeats at the desired rate.
2017 <column name="cfm_remote_mpids">
2018 When CFM is properly configured, Open vSwitch will occasionally
2019 receive CCM broadcasts. These broadcasts contain the MPID of the
2020 sending Maintenance Point. The list of MPIDs from which this
2021 <ref table="Interface"/> is receiving broadcasts from is regularly
2022 collected and written to this column.
2025 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_interval"
2026 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
2028 The interval, in milliseconds, between transmissions of CFM
2029 heartbeats. Three missed heartbeat receptions indicate a
2034 In standard operation only intervals of 3, 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000,
2035 60,000, or 600,000 ms are supported. Other values will be rounded
2036 down to the nearest value on the list. Extended mode (see <ref
2037 column="other_config" key="cfm_extended"/>) supports any interval up
2038 to 65,535 ms. In either mode, the default is 1000 ms.
2041 <p>We do not recommend using intervals less than 100 ms.</p>
2044 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_extended"
2045 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
2046 When <code>true</code>, the CFM module operates in extended mode. This
2047 causes it to use a nonstandard destination address to avoid conflicting
2048 with compliant implementations which may be running concurrently on the
2049 network. Furthermore, extended mode increases the accuracy of the
2050 <code>cfm_interval</code> configuration parameter by breaking wire
2051 compatibility with 802.1ag compliant implementations. Defaults to
2055 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_demand" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
2057 When <code>true</code>, and
2058 <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_extended"/> is true, the CFM
2059 module operates in demand mode. When in demand mode, traffic
2060 received on the <ref table="Interface"/> is used to indicate
2061 liveness. CCMs are still transmitted and received, but if the
2062 <ref table="Interface"/> is receiving traffic, their absence does not
2063 cause a connectivity fault.
2067 Demand mode has a couple of caveats:
2070 To ensure that ovs-vswitchd has enough time to pull statistics
2071 from the datapath, the minimum
2072 <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_interval"/> is 500ms.
2076 To avoid ambiguity, demand mode disables itself when there are
2077 multiple remote maintenance points.
2081 If the <ref table="Interface"/> is heavily congested, CCMs
2082 containing the <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_opstate"/>
2083 status may be dropped causing changes in the operational state to
2084 be delayed. Similarly, if CCMs containing the RDI bit are not
2085 received, unidirectional link failures may not be detected.
2091 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_opstate"
2092 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["down", "up"]]}'>
2093 When <code>down</code>, the CFM module marks all CCMs it generates as
2094 operationally down without triggering a fault. This allows remote
2095 maintenance points to choose not to forward traffic to the
2096 <ref table="Interface"/> on which this CFM module is running.
2097 Currently, in Open vSwitch, the opdown bit of CCMs affects
2098 <ref table="Interface"/>s participating in bonds, and the bundle
2099 OpenFlow action. This setting is ignored when CFM is not in extended
2100 mode. Defaults to <code>up</code>.
2103 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_ccm_vlan"
2104 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 4095}'>
2105 When set, the CFM module will apply a VLAN tag to all CCMs it generates
2106 with the given value. May be the string <code>random</code> in which
2107 case each CCM will be tagged with a different randomly generated VLAN.
2110 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_ccm_pcp"
2111 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 7}'>
2112 When set, the CFM module will apply a VLAN tag to all CCMs it generates
2113 with the given PCP value, the VLAN ID of the tag is governed by the
2114 value of <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_ccm_vlan"/>. If
2115 <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_ccm_vlan"/> is unset, a VLAN ID of
2121 <group title="Bonding Configuration">
2122 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-port-id"
2123 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
2124 The LACP port ID of this <ref table="Interface"/>. Port IDs are
2125 used in LACP negotiations to identify individual ports
2126 participating in a bond.
2129 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-port-priority"
2130 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
2131 The LACP port priority of this <ref table="Interface"/>. In LACP
2132 negotiations <ref table="Interface"/>s with numerically lower
2133 priorities are preferred for aggregation.
2136 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-aggregation-key"
2137 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
2138 The LACP aggregation key of this <ref table="Interface"/>. <ref
2139 table="Interface"/>s with different aggregation keys may not be active
2140 within a given <ref table="Port"/> at the same time.
2144 <group title="Virtual Machine Identifiers">
2146 These key-value pairs specifically apply to an interface that
2147 represents a virtual Ethernet interface connected to a virtual
2148 machine. These key-value pairs should not be present for other types
2149 of interfaces. Keys whose names end in <code>-uuid</code> have
2150 values that uniquely identify the entity in question. For a Citrix
2151 XenServer hypervisor, these values are UUIDs in RFC 4122 format.
2152 Other hypervisors may use other formats.
2155 <column name="external_ids" key="attached-mac">
2156 The MAC address programmed into the ``virtual hardware'' for this
2157 interface, in the form
2158 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>.
2159 For Citrix XenServer, this is the value of the <code>MAC</code> field
2160 in the VIF record for this interface.
2163 <column name="external_ids" key="iface-id">
2164 A system-unique identifier for the interface. On XenServer, this will
2165 commonly be the same as <ref column="external_ids" key="xs-vif-uuid"/>.
2168 <column name="external_ids" key="iface-status"
2169 type='{"type": "string",
2170 "enum": ["set", ["active", "inactive"]]}'>
2172 Hypervisors may sometimes have more than one interface associated
2173 with a given <ref column="external_ids" key="iface-id"/>, only one of
2174 which is actually in use at a given time. For example, in some
2175 circumstances XenServer has both a ``tap'' and a ``vif'' interface
2176 for a single <ref column="external_ids" key="iface-id"/>, but only
2177 uses one of them at a time. A hypervisor that behaves this way must
2178 mark the currently in use interface <code>active</code> and the
2179 others <code>inactive</code>. A hypervisor that never has more than
2180 one interface for a given <ref column="external_ids" key="iface-id"/>
2181 may mark that interface <code>active</code> or omit <ref
2182 column="external_ids" key="iface-status"/> entirely.
2186 During VM migration, a given <ref column="external_ids"
2187 key="iface-id"/> might transiently be marked <code>active</code> on
2188 two different hypervisors. That is, <code>active</code> means that
2189 this <ref column="external_ids" key="iface-id"/> is the active
2190 instance within a single hypervisor, not in a broader scope.
2191 There is one exception: some hypervisors support ``migration'' from a
2192 given hypervisor to itself (most often for test purposes). During
2193 such a ``migration,'' two instances of a single <ref
2194 column="external_ids" key="iface-id"/> might both be briefly marked
2195 <code>active</code> on a single hypervisor.
2199 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-vif-uuid">
2200 The virtual interface associated with this interface.
2203 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-network-uuid">
2204 The virtual network to which this interface is attached.
2207 <column name="external_ids" key="vm-id">
2208 The VM to which this interface belongs. On XenServer, this will be the
2209 same as <ref column="external_ids" key="xs-vm-uuid"/>.
2212 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-vm-uuid">
2213 The VM to which this interface belongs.
2217 <group title="VLAN Splinters">
2219 The ``VLAN splinters'' feature increases Open vSwitch compatibility
2220 with buggy network drivers in old versions of Linux that do not
2221 properly support VLANs when VLAN devices are not used, at some cost
2222 in memory and performance.
2226 When VLAN splinters are enabled on a particular interface, Open vSwitch
2227 creates a VLAN device for each in-use VLAN. For sending traffic tagged
2228 with a VLAN on the interface, it substitutes the VLAN device. Traffic
2229 received on the VLAN device is treated as if it had been received on
2230 the interface on the particular VLAN.
2234 VLAN splinters consider a VLAN to be in use if:
2239 The VLAN is the <ref table="Port" column="tag"/> value in any <ref
2240 table="Port"/> record.
2244 The VLAN is listed within the <ref table="Port" column="trunks"/>
2245 column of the <ref table="Port"/> record of an interface on which
2246 VLAN splinters are enabled.
2248 An empty <ref table="Port" column="trunks"/> does not influence the
2249 in-use VLANs: creating 4,096 VLAN devices is impractical because it
2250 will exceed the current 1,024 port per datapath limit.
2254 An OpenFlow flow within any bridge matches the VLAN.
2259 The same set of in-use VLANs applies to every interface on which VLAN
2260 splinters are enabled. That is, the set is not chosen separately for
2261 each interface but selected once as the union of all in-use VLANs based
2266 It does not make sense to enable VLAN splinters on an interface for an
2267 access port, or on an interface that is not a physical port.
2271 VLAN splinters are deprecated. When broken device drivers are no
2272 longer in widespread use, we will delete this feature.
2275 <column name="other_config" key="enable-vlan-splinters"
2276 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
2278 Set to <code>true</code> to enable VLAN splinters on this interface.
2279 Defaults to <code>false</code>.
2283 VLAN splinters increase kernel and userspace memory overhead, so do
2284 not use them unless they are needed.
2288 VLAN splinters do not support 802.1p priority tags. Received
2289 priorities will appear to be 0, regardless of their actual values,
2290 and priorities on transmitted packets will also be cleared to 0.
2295 <group title="Common Columns">
2296 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2297 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2299 <column name="other_config"/>
2300 <column name="external_ids"/>
2304 <table name="Flow_Table" title="OpenFlow table configuration">
2305 <p>Configuration for a particular OpenFlow table.</p>
2307 <column name="name">
2308 The table's name. Set this column to change the name that controllers
2309 will receive when they request table statistics, e.g. <code>ovs-ofctl
2310 dump-tables</code>. The name does not affect switch behavior.
2313 <column name="flow_limit">
2314 If set, limits the number of flows that may be added to the table. Open
2315 vSwitch may limit the number of flows in a table for other reasons,
2316 e.g. due to hardware limitations or for resource availability or
2317 performance reasons.
2320 <column name="overflow_policy">
2322 Controls the switch's behavior when an OpenFlow flow table modification
2323 request would add flows in excess of <ref column="flow_limit"/>. The
2324 supported values are:
2328 <dt><code>refuse</code></dt>
2330 Refuse to add the flow or flows. This is also the default policy
2331 when <ref column="overflow_policy"/> is unset.
2334 <dt><code>evict</code></dt>
2336 Delete the flow that will expire soonest. See <ref column="groups"/>
2342 <column name="groups">
2344 When <ref column="overflow_policy"/> is <code>evict</code>, this
2345 controls how flows are chosen for eviction when the flow table would
2346 otherwise exceed <ref column="flow_limit"/> flows. Its value is a set
2347 of NXM fields or sub-fields, each of which takes one of the forms
2348 <code><var>field</var>[]</code> or
2349 <code><var>field</var>[<var>start</var>..<var>end</var>]</code>,
2350 e.g. <code>NXM_OF_IN_PORT[]</code>. Please see
2351 <code>nicira-ext.h</code> for a complete list of NXM field names.
2355 When a flow must be evicted due to overflow, the flow to evict is
2356 chosen through an approximation of the following algorithm:
2361 Divide the flows in the table into groups based on the values of the
2362 specified fields or subfields, so that all of the flows in a given
2363 group have the same values for those fields. If a flow does not
2364 specify a given field, that field's value is treated as 0.
2368 Consider the flows in the largest group, that is, the group that
2369 contains the greatest number of flows. If two or more groups all
2370 have the same largest number of flows, consider the flows in all of
2375 Among the flows under consideration, choose the flow that expires
2376 soonest for eviction.
2381 The eviction process only considers flows that have an idle timeout or
2382 a hard timeout. That is, eviction never deletes permanent flows.
2383 (Permanent flows do count against <ref column="flow_limit"/>.)
2387 Open vSwitch ignores any invalid or unknown field specifications.
2391 When <ref column="overflow_policy"/> is not <code>evict</code>, this
2392 column has no effect.
2397 <table name="QoS" title="Quality of Service configuration">
2398 <p>Quality of Service (QoS) configuration for each Port that
2401 <column name="type">
2402 <p>The type of QoS to implement. The currently defined types are
2405 <dt><code>linux-htb</code></dt>
2407 Linux ``hierarchy token bucket'' classifier. See tc-htb(8) (also at
2408 <code>http://linux.die.net/man/8/tc-htb</code>) and the HTB manual
2409 (<code>http://luxik.cdi.cz/~devik/qos/htb/manual/userg.htm</code>)
2410 for information on how this classifier works and how to configure it.
2414 <dt><code>linux-hfsc</code></dt>
2416 Linux "Hierarchical Fair Service Curve" classifier.
2417 See <code>http://linux-ip.net/articles/hfsc.en/</code> for
2418 information on how this classifier works.
2423 <column name="queues">
2424 <p>A map from queue numbers to <ref table="Queue"/> records. The
2425 supported range of queue numbers depend on <ref column="type"/>. The
2426 queue numbers are the same as the <code>queue_id</code> used in
2427 OpenFlow in <code>struct ofp_action_enqueue</code> and other
2431 Queue 0 is the ``default queue.'' It is used by OpenFlow output
2432 actions when no specific queue has been set. When no configuration for
2433 queue 0 is present, it is automatically configured as if a <ref
2434 table="Queue"/> record with empty <ref table="Queue" column="dscp"/>
2435 and <ref table="Queue" column="other_config"/> columns had been
2437 (Before version 1.6, Open vSwitch would leave queue 0 unconfigured in
2438 this case. With some queuing disciplines, this dropped all packets
2439 destined for the default queue.)
2443 <group title="Configuration for linux-htb and linux-hfsc">
2445 The <code>linux-htb</code> and <code>linux-hfsc</code> classes support
2446 the following key-value pair:
2449 <column name="other_config" key="max-rate" type='{"type": "integer"}'>
2450 Maximum rate shared by all queued traffic, in bit/s. Optional. If not
2451 specified, for physical interfaces, the default is the link rate. For
2452 other interfaces or if the link rate cannot be determined, the default
2453 is currently 100 Mbps.
2457 <group title="Common Columns">
2458 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2459 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2461 <column name="other_config"/>
2462 <column name="external_ids"/>
2466 <table name="Queue" title="QoS output queue.">
2467 <p>A configuration for a port output queue, used in configuring Quality of
2468 Service (QoS) features. May be referenced by <ref column="queues"
2469 table="QoS"/> column in <ref table="QoS"/> table.</p>
2471 <column name="dscp">
2472 If set, Open vSwitch will mark all traffic egressing this
2473 <ref table="Queue"/> with the given DSCP bits. Traffic egressing the
2474 default <ref table="Queue"/> is only marked if it was explicitly selected
2475 as the <ref table="Queue"/> at the time the packet was output. If unset,
2476 the DSCP bits of traffic egressing this <ref table="Queue"/> will remain
2480 <group title="Configuration for linux-htb QoS">
2482 <ref table="QoS"/> <ref table="QoS" column="type"/>
2483 <code>linux-htb</code> may use <code>queue_id</code>s less than 61440.
2484 It has the following key-value pairs defined.
2487 <column name="other_config" key="min-rate"
2488 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2489 Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s.
2492 <column name="other_config" key="max-rate"
2493 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2494 Maximum allowed bandwidth, in bit/s. Optional. If specified, the
2495 queue's rate will not be allowed to exceed the specified value, even
2496 if excess bandwidth is available. If unspecified, defaults to no
2500 <column name="other_config" key="burst"
2501 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2502 Burst size, in bits. This is the maximum amount of ``credits'' that a
2503 queue can accumulate while it is idle. Optional. Details of the
2504 <code>linux-htb</code> implementation require a minimum burst size, so
2505 a too-small <code>burst</code> will be silently ignored.
2508 <column name="other_config" key="priority"
2509 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 4294967295}'>
2510 A queue with a smaller <code>priority</code> will receive all the
2511 excess bandwidth that it can use before a queue with a larger value
2512 receives any. Specific priority values are unimportant; only relative
2513 ordering matters. Defaults to 0 if unspecified.
2517 <group title="Configuration for linux-hfsc QoS">
2519 <ref table="QoS"/> <ref table="QoS" column="type"/>
2520 <code>linux-hfsc</code> may use <code>queue_id</code>s less than 61440.
2521 It has the following key-value pairs defined.
2524 <column name="other_config" key="min-rate"
2525 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2526 Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s.
2529 <column name="other_config" key="max-rate"
2530 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2531 Maximum allowed bandwidth, in bit/s. Optional. If specified, the
2532 queue's rate will not be allowed to exceed the specified value, even if
2533 excess bandwidth is available. If unspecified, defaults to no
2538 <group title="Common Columns">
2539 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2540 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2542 <column name="other_config"/>
2543 <column name="external_ids"/>
2547 <table name="Mirror" title="Port mirroring.">
2548 <p>A port mirror within a <ref table="Bridge"/>.</p>
2549 <p>A port mirror configures a bridge to send selected frames to special
2550 ``mirrored'' ports, in addition to their normal destinations. Mirroring
2551 traffic may also be referred to as SPAN or RSPAN, depending on how
2552 the mirrored traffic is sent.</p>
2554 <column name="name">
2555 Arbitrary identifier for the <ref table="Mirror"/>.
2558 <group title="Selecting Packets for Mirroring">
2560 To be selected for mirroring, a given packet must enter or leave the
2561 bridge through a selected port and it must also be in one of the
2565 <column name="select_all">
2566 If true, every packet arriving or departing on any port is
2567 selected for mirroring.
2570 <column name="select_dst_port">
2571 Ports on which departing packets are selected for mirroring.
2574 <column name="select_src_port">
2575 Ports on which arriving packets are selected for mirroring.
2578 <column name="select_vlan">
2579 VLANs on which packets are selected for mirroring. An empty set
2580 selects packets on all VLANs.
2584 <group title="Mirroring Destination Configuration">
2586 These columns are mutually exclusive. Exactly one of them must be
2590 <column name="output_port">
2591 <p>Output port for selected packets, if nonempty.</p>
2592 <p>Specifying a port for mirror output reserves that port exclusively
2593 for mirroring. No frames other than those selected for mirroring
2595 will be forwarded to the port, and any frames received on the port
2596 will be discarded.</p>
2598 The output port may be any kind of port supported by Open vSwitch.
2599 It may be, for example, a physical port (sometimes called SPAN) or a
2604 <column name="output_vlan">
2605 <p>Output VLAN for selected packets, if nonempty.</p>
2606 <p>The frames will be sent out all ports that trunk
2607 <ref column="output_vlan"/>, as well as any ports with implicit VLAN
2608 <ref column="output_vlan"/>. When a mirrored frame is sent out a
2609 trunk port, the frame's VLAN tag will be set to
2610 <ref column="output_vlan"/>, replacing any existing tag; when it is
2611 sent out an implicit VLAN port, the frame will not be tagged. This
2612 type of mirroring is sometimes called RSPAN.</p>
2614 See the documentation for
2615 <ref column="other_config" key="forward-bpdu"/> in the
2616 <ref table="Interface"/> table for a list of destination MAC
2617 addresses which will not be mirrored to a VLAN to avoid confusing
2618 switches that interpret the protocols that they represent.
2620 <p><em>Please note:</em> Mirroring to a VLAN can disrupt a network that
2621 contains unmanaged switches. Consider an unmanaged physical switch
2622 with two ports: port 1, connected to an end host, and port 2,
2623 connected to an Open vSwitch configured to mirror received packets
2624 into VLAN 123 on port 2. Suppose that the end host sends a packet on
2625 port 1 that the physical switch forwards to port 2. The Open vSwitch
2626 forwards this packet to its destination and then reflects it back on
2627 port 2 in VLAN 123. This reflected packet causes the unmanaged
2628 physical switch to replace the MAC learning table entry, which
2629 correctly pointed to port 1, with one that incorrectly points to port
2630 2. Afterward, the physical switch will direct packets destined for
2631 the end host to the Open vSwitch on port 2, instead of to the end
2632 host on port 1, disrupting connectivity. If mirroring to a VLAN is
2633 desired in this scenario, then the physical switch must be replaced
2634 by one that learns Ethernet addresses on a per-VLAN basis. In
2635 addition, learning should be disabled on the VLAN containing mirrored
2636 traffic. If this is not done then intermediate switches will learn
2637 the MAC address of each end host from the mirrored traffic. If
2638 packets being sent to that end host are also mirrored, then they will
2639 be dropped since the switch will attempt to send them out the input
2640 port. Disabling learning for the VLAN will cause the switch to
2641 correctly send the packet out all ports configured for that VLAN. If
2642 Open vSwitch is being used as an intermediate switch, learning can be
2643 disabled by adding the mirrored VLAN to <ref column="flood_vlans"/>
2644 in the appropriate <ref table="Bridge"/> table or tables.</p>
2646 Mirroring to a GRE tunnel has fewer caveats than mirroring to a
2647 VLAN and should generally be preferred.
2652 <group title="Statistics: Mirror counters">
2654 Key-value pairs that report mirror statistics.
2656 <column name="statistics" key="tx_packets">
2657 Number of packets transmitted through this mirror.
2659 <column name="statistics" key="tx_bytes">
2660 Number of bytes transmitted through this mirror.
2664 <group title="Common Columns">
2665 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2666 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2668 <column name="external_ids"/>
2672 <table name="Controller" title="OpenFlow controller configuration.">
2673 <p>An OpenFlow controller.</p>
2676 Open vSwitch supports two kinds of OpenFlow controllers:
2680 <dt>Primary controllers</dt>
2683 This is the kind of controller envisioned by the OpenFlow 1.0
2684 specification. Usually, a primary controller implements a network
2685 policy by taking charge of the switch's flow table.
2689 Open vSwitch initiates and maintains persistent connections to
2690 primary controllers, retrying the connection each time it fails or
2691 drops. The <ref table="Bridge" column="fail_mode"/> column in the
2692 <ref table="Bridge"/> table applies to primary controllers.
2696 Open vSwitch permits a bridge to have any number of primary
2697 controllers. When multiple controllers are configured, Open
2698 vSwitch connects to all of them simultaneously. Because
2699 OpenFlow 1.0 does not specify how multiple controllers
2700 coordinate in interacting with a single switch, more than
2701 one primary controller should be specified only if the
2702 controllers are themselves designed to coordinate with each
2703 other. (The Nicira-defined <code>NXT_ROLE</code> OpenFlow
2704 vendor extension may be useful for this.)
2707 <dt>Service controllers</dt>
2710 These kinds of OpenFlow controller connections are intended for
2711 occasional support and maintenance use, e.g. with
2712 <code>ovs-ofctl</code>. Usually a service controller connects only
2713 briefly to inspect or modify some of a switch's state.
2717 Open vSwitch listens for incoming connections from service
2718 controllers. The service controllers initiate and, if necessary,
2719 maintain the connections from their end. The <ref table="Bridge"
2720 column="fail_mode"/> column in the <ref table="Bridge"/> table does
2721 not apply to service controllers.
2725 Open vSwitch supports configuring any number of service controllers.
2731 The <ref column="target"/> determines the type of controller.
2734 <group title="Core Features">
2735 <column name="target">
2736 <p>Connection method for controller.</p>
2738 The following connection methods are currently supported for primary
2742 <dt><code>ssl:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
2744 <p>The specified SSL <var>port</var> (default: 6633) on the host at
2745 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
2746 (not a DNS name). The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/>
2747 column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a
2748 valid SSL configuration when this form is used.</p>
2749 <p>SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
2750 part of Open vSwitch.</p>
2752 <dt><code>tcp:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
2753 <dd>The specified TCP <var>port</var> (default: 6633) on the host at
2754 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
2755 (not a DNS name).</dd>
2758 The following connection methods are currently supported for service
2762 <dt><code>pssl:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
2765 Listens for SSL connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
2766 (default: 6633). If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an
2767 IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then connections are
2768 restricted to the specified local IP address.
2771 The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/> column in the <ref
2772 table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a valid SSL
2773 configuration when this form is used.
2775 <p>SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
2776 part of Open vSwitch.</p>
2778 <dt><code>ptcp:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
2780 Listens for connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
2781 (default: 6633). If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an
2782 IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then connections are
2783 restricted to the specified local IP address.
2786 <p>When multiple controllers are configured for a single bridge, the
2787 <ref column="target"/> values must be unique. Duplicate
2788 <ref column="target"/> values yield unspecified results.</p>
2791 <column name="connection_mode">
2792 <p>If it is specified, this setting must be one of the following
2793 strings that describes how Open vSwitch contacts this OpenFlow
2794 controller over the network:</p>
2797 <dt><code>in-band</code></dt>
2798 <dd>In this mode, this controller's OpenFlow traffic travels over the
2799 bridge associated with the controller. With this setting, Open
2800 vSwitch allows traffic to and from the controller regardless of the
2801 contents of the OpenFlow flow table. (Otherwise, Open vSwitch
2802 would never be able to connect to the controller, because it did
2803 not have a flow to enable it.) This is the most common connection
2804 mode because it is not necessary to maintain two independent
2806 <dt><code>out-of-band</code></dt>
2807 <dd>In this mode, OpenFlow traffic uses a control network separate
2808 from the bridge associated with this controller, that is, the
2809 bridge does not use any of its own network devices to communicate
2810 with the controller. The control network must be configured
2811 separately, before or after <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> is started.
2815 <p>If not specified, the default is implementation-specific.</p>
2819 <group title="Controller Failure Detection and Handling">
2820 <column name="max_backoff">
2821 Maximum number of milliseconds to wait between connection attempts.
2822 Default is implementation-specific.
2825 <column name="inactivity_probe">
2826 Maximum number of milliseconds of idle time on connection to
2827 controller before sending an inactivity probe message. If Open
2828 vSwitch does not communicate with the controller for the specified
2829 number of seconds, it will send a probe. If a response is not
2830 received for the same additional amount of time, Open vSwitch
2831 assumes the connection has been broken and attempts to reconnect.
2832 Default is implementation-specific. A value of 0 disables
2837 <group title="Asynchronous Message Configuration">
2839 OpenFlow switches send certain messages to controllers spontanenously,
2840 that is, not in response to any request from the controller. These
2841 messages are called ``asynchronous messages.'' These columns allow
2842 asynchronous messages to be limited or disabled to ensure the best use
2843 of network resources.
2846 <column name="enable_async_messages">
2847 The OpenFlow protocol enables asynchronous messages at time of
2848 connection establishment, which means that a controller can receive
2849 asynchronous messages, potentially many of them, even if it turns them
2850 off immediately after connecting. Set this column to
2851 <code>false</code> to change Open vSwitch behavior to disable, by
2852 default, all asynchronous messages. The controller can use the
2853 <code>NXT_SET_ASYNC_CONFIG</code> Nicira extension to OpenFlow to turn
2854 on any messages that it does want to receive, if any.
2857 <column name="controller_rate_limit">
2859 The maximum rate at which the switch will forward packets to the
2860 OpenFlow controller, in packets per second. This feature prevents a
2861 single bridge from overwhelming the controller. If not specified,
2862 the default is implementation-specific.
2866 In addition, when a high rate triggers rate-limiting, Open vSwitch
2867 queues controller packets for each port and transmits them to the
2868 controller at the configured rate. The <ref
2869 column="controller_burst_limit"/> value limits the number of queued
2870 packets. Ports on a bridge share the packet queue fairly.
2874 Open vSwitch maintains two such packet rate-limiters per bridge: one
2875 for packets sent up to the controller because they do not correspond
2876 to any flow, and the other for packets sent up to the controller by
2877 request through flow actions. When both rate-limiters are filled with
2878 packets, the actual rate that packets are sent to the controller is
2879 up to twice the specified rate.
2883 <column name="controller_burst_limit">
2884 In conjunction with <ref column="controller_rate_limit"/>,
2885 the maximum number of unused packet credits that the bridge will
2886 allow to accumulate, in packets. If not specified, the default
2887 is implementation-specific.
2891 <group title="Additional In-Band Configuration">
2892 <p>These values are considered only in in-band control mode (see
2893 <ref column="connection_mode"/>).</p>
2895 <p>When multiple controllers are configured on a single bridge, there
2896 should be only one set of unique values in these columns. If different
2897 values are set for these columns in different controllers, the effect
2900 <column name="local_ip">
2901 The IP address to configure on the local port,
2902 e.g. <code>192.168.0.123</code>. If this value is unset, then
2903 <ref column="local_netmask"/> and <ref column="local_gateway"/> are
2907 <column name="local_netmask">
2908 The IP netmask to configure on the local port,
2909 e.g. <code>255.255.255.0</code>. If <ref column="local_ip"/> is set
2910 but this value is unset, then the default is chosen based on whether
2911 the IP address is class A, B, or C.
2914 <column name="local_gateway">
2915 The IP address of the gateway to configure on the local port, as a
2916 string, e.g. <code>192.168.0.1</code>. Leave this column unset if
2917 this network has no gateway.
2921 <group title="Controller Status">
2922 <column name="is_connected">
2923 <code>true</code> if currently connected to this controller,
2924 <code>false</code> otherwise.
2928 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["other", "master", "slave"]]}'>
2929 <p>The level of authority this controller has on the associated
2930 bridge. Possible values are:</p>
2932 <dt><code>other</code></dt>
2933 <dd>Allows the controller access to all OpenFlow features.</dd>
2934 <dt><code>master</code></dt>
2935 <dd>Equivalent to <code>other</code>, except that there may be at
2936 most one master controller at a time. When a controller configures
2937 itself as <code>master</code>, any existing master is demoted to
2938 the <code>slave</code>role.</dd>
2939 <dt><code>slave</code></dt>
2940 <dd>Allows the controller read-only access to OpenFlow features.
2941 Attempts to modify the flow table will be rejected with an
2942 error. Slave controllers do not receive OFPT_PACKET_IN or
2943 OFPT_FLOW_REMOVED messages, but they do receive OFPT_PORT_STATUS
2948 <column name="status" key="last_error">
2949 A human-readable description of the last error on the connection
2950 to the controller; i.e. <code>strerror(errno)</code>. This key
2951 will exist only if an error has occurred.
2954 <column name="status" key="state"
2955 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["VOID", "BACKOFF", "CONNECTING", "ACTIVE", "IDLE"]]}'>
2957 The state of the connection to the controller:
2960 <dt><code>VOID</code></dt>
2961 <dd>Connection is disabled.</dd>
2963 <dt><code>BACKOFF</code></dt>
2964 <dd>Attempting to reconnect at an increasing period.</dd>
2966 <dt><code>CONNECTING</code></dt>
2967 <dd>Attempting to connect.</dd>
2969 <dt><code>ACTIVE</code></dt>
2970 <dd>Connected, remote host responsive.</dd>
2972 <dt><code>IDLE</code></dt>
2973 <dd>Connection is idle. Waiting for response to keep-alive.</dd>
2976 These values may change in the future. They are provided only for
2981 <column name="status" key="sec_since_connect"
2982 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
2983 The amount of time since this controller last successfully connected to
2984 the switch (in seconds). Value is empty if controller has never
2985 successfully connected.
2988 <column name="status" key="sec_since_disconnect"
2989 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2990 The amount of time since this controller last disconnected from
2991 the switch (in seconds). Value is empty if controller has never
2996 <group title="Connection Parameters">
2998 Additional configuration for a connection between the controller
2999 and the Open vSwitch.
3002 <column name="other_config" key="dscp"
3003 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
3004 The Differentiated Service Code Point (DSCP) is specified using 6 bits
3005 in the Type of Service (TOS) field in the IP header. DSCP provides a
3006 mechanism to classify the network traffic and provide Quality of
3007 Service (QoS) on IP networks.
3009 The DSCP value specified here is used when establishing the connection
3010 between the controller and the Open vSwitch. If no value is specified,
3011 a default value of 48 is chosen. Valid DSCP values must be in the
3017 <group title="Common Columns">
3018 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3019 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3021 <column name="external_ids"/>
3022 <column name="other_config"/>
3026 <table name="Manager" title="OVSDB management connection.">
3028 Configuration for a database connection to an Open vSwitch database
3033 This table primarily configures the Open vSwitch database
3034 (<code>ovsdb-server</code>), not the Open vSwitch switch
3035 (<code>ovs-vswitchd</code>). The switch does read the table to determine
3036 what connections should be treated as in-band.
3040 The Open vSwitch database server can initiate and maintain active
3041 connections to remote clients. It can also listen for database
3045 <group title="Core Features">
3046 <column name="target">
3047 <p>Connection method for managers.</p>
3049 The following connection methods are currently supported:
3052 <dt><code>ssl:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
3055 The specified SSL <var>port</var> (default: 6632) on the host at
3056 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
3057 (not a DNS name). The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/>
3058 column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a
3059 valid SSL configuration when this form is used.
3062 SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
3063 part of Open vSwitch.
3067 <dt><code>tcp:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
3069 The specified TCP <var>port</var> (default: 6632) on the host at
3070 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
3073 <dt><code>pssl:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
3076 Listens for SSL connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
3077 (default: 6632). Specify 0 for <var>port</var> to have the
3078 kernel automatically choose an available port. If <var>ip</var>,
3079 which must be expressed as an IP address (not a DNS name), is
3080 specified, then connections are restricted to the specified local
3084 The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/> column in the <ref
3085 table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a valid SSL
3086 configuration when this form is used.
3089 SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
3090 part of Open vSwitch.
3093 <dt><code>ptcp:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
3095 Listens for connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
3096 (default: 6632). Specify 0 for <var>port</var> to have the kernel
3097 automatically choose an available port. If <var>ip</var>, which
3098 must be expressed as an IP address (not a DNS name), is specified,
3099 then connections are restricted to the specified local IP address.
3102 <p>When multiple managers are configured, the <ref column="target"/>
3103 values must be unique. Duplicate <ref column="target"/> values yield
3104 unspecified results.</p>
3107 <column name="connection_mode">
3109 If it is specified, this setting must be one of the following strings
3110 that describes how Open vSwitch contacts this OVSDB client over the
3115 <dt><code>in-band</code></dt>
3117 In this mode, this connection's traffic travels over a bridge
3118 managed by Open vSwitch. With this setting, Open vSwitch allows
3119 traffic to and from the client regardless of the contents of the
3120 OpenFlow flow table. (Otherwise, Open vSwitch would never be able
3121 to connect to the client, because it did not have a flow to enable
3122 it.) This is the most common connection mode because it is not
3123 necessary to maintain two independent networks.
3125 <dt><code>out-of-band</code></dt>
3127 In this mode, the client's traffic uses a control network separate
3128 from that managed by Open vSwitch, that is, Open vSwitch does not
3129 use any of its own network devices to communicate with the client.
3130 The control network must be configured separately, before or after
3131 <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> is started.
3136 If not specified, the default is implementation-specific.
3141 <group title="Client Failure Detection and Handling">
3142 <column name="max_backoff">
3143 Maximum number of milliseconds to wait between connection attempts.
3144 Default is implementation-specific.
3147 <column name="inactivity_probe">
3148 Maximum number of milliseconds of idle time on connection to the client
3149 before sending an inactivity probe message. If Open vSwitch does not
3150 communicate with the client for the specified number of seconds, it
3151 will send a probe. If a response is not received for the same
3152 additional amount of time, Open vSwitch assumes the connection has been
3153 broken and attempts to reconnect. Default is implementation-specific.
3154 A value of 0 disables inactivity probes.
3158 <group title="Status">
3159 <column name="is_connected">
3160 <code>true</code> if currently connected to this manager,
3161 <code>false</code> otherwise.
3164 <column name="status" key="last_error">
3165 A human-readable description of the last error on the connection
3166 to the manager; i.e. <code>strerror(errno)</code>. This key
3167 will exist only if an error has occurred.
3170 <column name="status" key="state"
3171 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["VOID", "BACKOFF", "CONNECTING", "ACTIVE", "IDLE"]]}'>
3173 The state of the connection to the manager:
3176 <dt><code>VOID</code></dt>
3177 <dd>Connection is disabled.</dd>
3179 <dt><code>BACKOFF</code></dt>
3180 <dd>Attempting to reconnect at an increasing period.</dd>
3182 <dt><code>CONNECTING</code></dt>
3183 <dd>Attempting to connect.</dd>
3185 <dt><code>ACTIVE</code></dt>
3186 <dd>Connected, remote host responsive.</dd>
3188 <dt><code>IDLE</code></dt>
3189 <dd>Connection is idle. Waiting for response to keep-alive.</dd>
3192 These values may change in the future. They are provided only for
3197 <column name="status" key="sec_since_connect"
3198 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
3199 The amount of time since this manager last successfully connected
3200 to the database (in seconds). Value is empty if manager has never
3201 successfully connected.
3204 <column name="status" key="sec_since_disconnect"
3205 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
3206 The amount of time since this manager last disconnected from the
3207 database (in seconds). Value is empty if manager has never
3211 <column name="status" key="locks_held">
3212 Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection
3213 holds. Omitted if the connection does not hold any locks.
3216 <column name="status" key="locks_waiting">
3217 Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection is
3218 currently waiting to acquire. Omitted if the connection is not waiting
3222 <column name="status" key="locks_lost">
3223 Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection
3224 has had stolen by another OVSDB client. Omitted if no locks have been
3225 stolen from this connection.
3228 <column name="status" key="n_connections"
3229 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 2}'>
3231 When <ref column="target"/> specifies a connection method that
3232 listens for inbound connections (e.g. <code>ptcp:</code> or
3233 <code>pssl:</code>) and more than one connection is actually active,
3234 the value is the number of active connections. Otherwise, this
3235 key-value pair is omitted.
3238 When multiple connections are active, status columns and key-value
3239 pairs (other than this one) report the status of one arbitrarily
3244 <column name="status" key="bound_port" type='{"type": "integer"}'>
3245 When <ref column="target"/> is <code>ptcp:</code> or
3246 <code>pssl:</code>, this is the TCP port on which the OVSDB server is
3247 listening. (This is is particularly useful when <ref
3248 column="target"/> specifies a port of 0, allowing the kernel to
3249 choose any available port.)
3253 <group title="Connection Parameters">
3255 Additional configuration for a connection between the manager
3256 and the Open vSwitch Database.
3259 <column name="other_config" key="dscp"
3260 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
3261 The Differentiated Service Code Point (DSCP) is specified using 6 bits
3262 in the Type of Service (TOS) field in the IP header. DSCP provides a
3263 mechanism to classify the network traffic and provide Quality of
3264 Service (QoS) on IP networks.
3266 The DSCP value specified here is used when establishing the connection
3267 between the manager and the Open vSwitch. If no value is specified, a
3268 default value of 48 is chosen. Valid DSCP values must be in the range
3273 <group title="Common Columns">
3274 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3275 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3277 <column name="external_ids"/>
3278 <column name="other_config"/>
3282 <table name="NetFlow">
3283 A NetFlow target. NetFlow is a protocol that exports a number of
3284 details about terminating IP flows, such as the principals involved
3287 <column name="targets">
3288 NetFlow targets in the form
3289 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>. The <var>ip</var>
3290 must be specified numerically, not as a DNS name.
3293 <column name="engine_id">
3294 Engine ID to use in NetFlow messages. Defaults to datapath index
3298 <column name="engine_type">
3299 Engine type to use in NetFlow messages. Defaults to datapath
3300 index if not specified.
3303 <column name="active_timeout">
3304 The interval at which NetFlow records are sent for flows that are
3305 still active, in seconds. A value of <code>0</code> requests the
3306 default timeout (currently 600 seconds); a value of <code>-1</code>
3307 disables active timeouts.
3310 <column name="add_id_to_interface">
3311 <p>If this column's value is <code>false</code>, the ingress and egress
3312 interface fields of NetFlow flow records are derived from OpenFlow port
3313 numbers. When it is <code>true</code>, the 7 most significant bits of
3314 these fields will be replaced by the least significant 7 bits of the
3315 engine id. This is useful because many NetFlow collectors do not
3316 expect multiple switches to be sending messages from the same host, so
3317 they do not store the engine information which could be used to
3318 disambiguate the traffic.</p>
3319 <p>When this option is enabled, a maximum of 508 ports are supported.</p>
3322 <group title="Common Columns">
3323 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3324 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3326 <column name="external_ids"/>
3331 SSL configuration for an Open_vSwitch.
3333 <column name="private_key">
3334 Name of a PEM file containing the private key used as the switch's
3335 identity for SSL connections to the controller.
3338 <column name="certificate">
3339 Name of a PEM file containing a certificate, signed by the
3340 certificate authority (CA) used by the controller and manager,
3341 that certifies the switch's private key, identifying a trustworthy
3345 <column name="ca_cert">
3346 Name of a PEM file containing the CA certificate used to verify
3347 that the switch is connected to a trustworthy controller.
3350 <column name="bootstrap_ca_cert">
3351 If set to <code>true</code>, then Open vSwitch will attempt to
3352 obtain the CA certificate from the controller on its first SSL
3353 connection and save it to the named PEM file. If it is successful,
3354 it will immediately drop the connection and reconnect, and from then
3355 on all SSL connections must be authenticated by a certificate signed
3356 by the CA certificate thus obtained. <em>This option exposes the
3357 SSL connection to a man-in-the-middle attack obtaining the initial
3358 CA certificate.</em> It may still be useful for bootstrapping.
3361 <group title="Common Columns">
3362 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3363 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3365 <column name="external_ids"/>
3369 <table name="sFlow">
3370 <p>A set of sFlow(R) targets. sFlow is a protocol for remote
3371 monitoring of switches.</p>
3373 <column name="agent">
3374 Name of the network device whose IP address should be reported as the
3375 ``agent address'' to collectors. If not specified, the agent device is
3376 figured from the first target address and the routing table. If the
3377 routing table does not contain a route to the target, the IP address
3378 defaults to the <ref table="Controller" column="local_ip"/> in the
3379 collector's <ref table="Controller"/>. If an agent IP address cannot be
3380 determined any of these ways, sFlow is disabled.
3383 <column name="header">
3384 Number of bytes of a sampled packet to send to the collector.
3385 If not specified, the default is 128 bytes.
3388 <column name="polling">
3389 Polling rate in seconds to send port statistics to the collector.
3390 If not specified, defaults to 30 seconds.
3393 <column name="sampling">
3394 Rate at which packets should be sampled and sent to the collector.
3395 If not specified, defaults to 400, which means one out of 400
3396 packets, on average, will be sent to the collector.
3399 <column name="targets">
3400 sFlow targets in the form
3401 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>.
3404 <group title="Common Columns">
3405 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3406 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3408 <column name="external_ids"/>
3412 <table name="IPFIX">
3413 <p>A set of IPFIX collectors. IPFIX is a protocol that exports a
3414 number of details about flows.</p>
3416 <column name="targets">
3417 IPFIX target collectors in the form
3418 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>.
3421 <column name="sampling">
3422 For per-bridge packet sampling, i.e. when this row is referenced
3423 from a <ref table="Bridge"/>, the rate at which packets should
3424 be sampled and sent to each target collector. If not specified,
3425 defaults to 400, which means one out of 400 packets, on average,
3426 will be sent to each target collector. Ignored for per-flow
3427 sampling, i.e. when this row is referenced from a <ref
3428 table="Flow_Sample_Collector_Set"/>.
3431 <column name="obs_domain_id">
3432 For per-bridge packet sampling, i.e. when this row is referenced
3433 from a <ref table="Bridge"/>, the IPFIX Observation Domain ID
3434 sent in each IPFIX packet. If not specified, defaults to 0.
3435 Ignored for per-flow sampling, i.e. when this row is referenced
3436 from a <ref table="Flow_Sample_Collector_Set"/>.
3439 <column name="obs_point_id">
3440 For per-bridge packet sampling, i.e. when this row is referenced
3441 from a <ref table="Bridge"/>, the IPFIX Observation Point ID
3442 sent in each IPFIX flow record. If not specified, defaults to
3443 0. Ignored for per-flow sampling, i.e. when this row is
3444 referenced from a <ref table="Flow_Sample_Collector_Set"/>.
3447 <group title="Common Columns">
3448 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3449 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3451 <column name="external_ids"/>
3455 <table name="Flow_Sample_Collector_Set">
3456 <p>A set of IPFIX collectors of packet samples generated by
3457 OpenFlow <code>sample</code> actions.</p>
3460 The ID of this collector set, unique among the bridge's
3461 collector sets, to be used as the <code>collector_set_id</code>
3462 in OpenFlow <code>sample</code> actions.
3465 <column name="bridge">
3466 The bridge into which OpenFlow <code>sample</code> actions can
3467 be added to send packet samples to this set of IPFIX collectors.
3470 <column name="ipfix">
3471 Configuration of the set of IPFIX collectors to send one flow
3472 record per sampled packet to.
3475 <group title="Common Columns">
3476 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3477 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3479 <column name="external_ids"/>