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>.
76 <group title="Status">
77 <column name="next_cfg">
78 Sequence number for client to increment. When a client modifies
79 any part of the database configuration and wishes to wait for
80 Open vSwitch to finish applying the changes, it may increment
84 <column name="cur_cfg">
85 Sequence number that Open vSwitch sets to the current value of
86 <ref column="next_cfg"/> after it finishes applying a set of
87 configuration changes.
90 <column name="capabilities">
91 Describes functionality supported by the hardware and software platform
92 on which this Open vSwitch is based. Clients should not modify this
93 column. See the <ref table="Capability"/> description for defined
94 capability categories and the meaning of associated
95 <ref table="Capability"/> records.
98 <group title="Statistics">
100 The <code>statistics</code> column contains key-value pairs that
101 report statistics about a system running an Open vSwitch. These are
102 updated periodically (currently, every 5 seconds). Key-value pairs
103 that cannot be determined or that do not apply to a platform are
107 <column name="other_config" key="enable-statistics"
108 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
109 Statistics are disabled by default to avoid overhead in the common
110 case when statistics gathering is not useful. Set this value to
111 <code>true</code> to enable populating the <ref column="statistics"/>
112 column or to <code>false</code> to explicitly disable it.
115 <column name="statistics" key="cpu"
116 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
118 Number of CPU processors, threads, or cores currently online and
119 available to the operating system on which Open vSwitch is running,
120 as an integer. This may be less than the number installed, if some
121 are not online or if they are not available to the operating
125 Open vSwitch userspace processes are not multithreaded, but the
126 Linux kernel-based datapath is.
130 <column name="statistics" key="load_average">
131 A comma-separated list of three floating-point numbers,
132 representing the system load average over the last 1, 5, and 15
133 minutes, respectively.
136 <column name="statistics" key="memory">
138 A comma-separated list of integers, each of which represents a
139 quantity of memory in kilobytes that describes the operating
140 system on which Open vSwitch is running. In respective order,
145 <li>Total amount of RAM allocated to the OS.</li>
146 <li>RAM allocated to the OS that is in use.</li>
147 <li>RAM that can be flushed out to disk or otherwise discarded
148 if that space is needed for another purpose. This number is
149 necessarily less than or equal to the previous value.</li>
150 <li>Total disk space allocated for swap.</li>
151 <li>Swap space currently in use.</li>
155 On Linux, all five values can be determined and are included. On
156 other operating systems, only the first two values can be
157 determined, so the list will only have two values.
161 <column name="statistics" key="process_NAME">
163 One such key-value pair, with <code>NAME</code> replaced by
164 a process name, will exist for each running Open vSwitch
165 daemon process, with <var>name</var> replaced by the
166 daemon's name (e.g. <code>process_ovs-vswitchd</code>). The
167 value is a comma-separated list of integers. The integers
168 represent the following, with memory measured in kilobytes
169 and durations in milliseconds:
173 <li>The process's virtual memory size.</li>
174 <li>The process's resident set size.</li>
175 <li>The amount of user and system CPU time consumed by the
177 <li>The number of times that the process has crashed and been
178 automatically restarted by the monitor.</li>
179 <li>The duration since the process was started.</li>
180 <li>The duration for which the process has been running.</li>
184 The interpretation of some of these values depends on whether the
185 process was started with the <option>--monitor</option>. If it
186 was not, then the crash count will always be 0 and the two
187 durations will always be the same. If <option>--monitor</option>
188 was given, then the crash count may be positive; if it is, the
189 latter duration is the amount of time since the most recent crash
194 There will be one key-value pair for each file in Open vSwitch's
195 ``run directory'' (usually <code>/var/run/openvswitch</code>)
196 whose name ends in <code>.pid</code>, whose contents are a
197 process ID, and which is locked by a running process. The
198 <var>name</var> is taken from the pidfile's name.
202 Currently Open vSwitch is only able to obtain all of the above
203 detail on Linux systems. On other systems, the same key-value
204 pairs will be present but the values will always be the empty
209 <column name="statistics" key="file_systems">
211 A space-separated list of information on local, writable file
212 systems. Each item in the list describes one file system and
213 consists in turn of a comma-separated list of the following:
217 <li>Mount point, e.g. <code>/</code> or <code>/var/log</code>.
218 Any spaces or commas in the mount point are replaced by
220 <li>Total size, in kilobytes, as an integer.</li>
221 <li>Amount of storage in use, in kilobytes, as an integer.</li>
225 This key-value pair is omitted if there are no local, writable
226 file systems or if Open vSwitch cannot obtain the needed
233 <group title="Version Reporting">
235 These columns report the types and versions of the hardware and
236 software running Open vSwitch. We recommend in general that software
237 should test whether specific features are supported instead of relying
238 on version number checks. These values are primarily intended for
239 reporting to human administrators.
242 <column name="ovs_version">
243 The Open vSwitch version number, e.g. <code>1.1.0</code>.
244 If Open vSwitch was configured with a build number, then it is
245 also included, e.g. <code>1.1.0+build6579</code>.
248 <column name="db_version">
250 The database schema version number in the form
251 <code><var>major</var>.<var>minor</var>.<var>tweak</var></code>,
252 e.g. <code>1.2.3</code>. Whenever the database schema is changed in
253 a non-backward compatible way (e.g. deleting a column or a table),
254 <var>major</var> is incremented. When the database schema is changed
255 in a backward compatible way (e.g. adding a new column),
256 <var>minor</var> is incremented. When the database schema is changed
257 cosmetically (e.g. reindenting its syntax), <var>tweak</var> is
262 The schema version is part of the database schema, so it can also be
263 retrieved by fetching the schema using the Open vSwitch database
268 <column name="system_type">
270 An identifier for the type of system on top of which Open vSwitch
271 runs, e.g. <code>XenServer</code> or <code>KVM</code>.
274 System integrators are responsible for choosing and setting an
275 appropriate value for this column.
279 <column name="system_version">
281 The version of the system identified by <ref column="system_type"/>,
282 e.g. <code>5.6.100-39265p</code> on XenServer 5.6.100 build 39265.
285 System integrators are responsible for choosing and setting an
286 appropriate value for this column.
292 <group title="Database Configuration">
294 These columns primarily configure the Open vSwitch database
295 (<code>ovsdb-server</code>), not the Open vSwitch switch
296 (<code>ovs-vswitchd</code>). The OVSDB database also uses the <ref
297 column="ssl"/> settings.
301 The Open vSwitch switch does read the database configuration to
302 determine remote IP addresses to which in-band control should apply.
305 <column name="manager_options">
306 Database clients to which the Open vSwitch database server should
307 connect or to which it should listen, along with options for how these
308 connection should be configured. See the <ref table="Manager"/> table
309 for more information.
313 <group title="Common Columns">
314 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
315 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
317 <column name="other_config"/>
318 <column name="external_ids"/>
322 <table name="Bridge">
324 Configuration for a bridge within an
325 <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/>.
328 A <ref table="Bridge"/> record represents an Ethernet switch with one or
329 more ``ports,'' which are the <ref table="Port"/> records pointed to by
330 the <ref table="Bridge"/>'s <ref column="ports"/> column.
333 <group title="Core Features">
335 Bridge identifier. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8
336 bytes long. Must be unique among the names of ports, interfaces, and
340 <column name="ports">
341 Ports included in the bridge.
344 <column name="mirrors">
345 Port mirroring configuration.
348 <column name="netflow">
349 NetFlow configuration.
352 <column name="sflow">
356 <column name="flood_vlans">
358 VLAN IDs of VLANs on which MAC address learning should be disabled,
359 so that packets are flooded instead of being sent to specific ports
360 that are believed to contain packets' destination MACs. This should
361 ordinarily be used to disable MAC learning on VLANs used for
362 mirroring (RSPAN VLANs). It may also be useful for debugging.
365 SLB bonding (see the <ref table="Port" column="bond_mode"/> column in
366 the <ref table="Port"/> table) is incompatible with
367 <code>flood_vlans</code>. Consider using another bonding mode or
368 a different type of mirror instead.
373 <group title="OpenFlow Configuration">
374 <column name="controller">
375 OpenFlow controller set. If unset, then no OpenFlow controllers
379 <column name="fail_mode">
380 <p>When a controller is configured, it is, ordinarily, responsible
381 for setting up all flows on the switch. Thus, if the connection to
382 the controller fails, no new network connections can be set up.
383 If the connection to the controller stays down long enough,
384 no packets can pass through the switch at all. This setting
385 determines the switch's response to such a situation. It may be set
386 to one of the following:
388 <dt><code>standalone</code></dt>
389 <dd>If no message is received from the controller for three
390 times the inactivity probe interval
391 (see <ref column="inactivity_probe"/>), then Open vSwitch
392 will take over responsibility for setting up flows. In
393 this mode, Open vSwitch causes the bridge to act like an
394 ordinary MAC-learning switch. Open vSwitch will continue
395 to retry connecting to the controller in the background
396 and, when the connection succeeds, it will discontinue its
397 standalone behavior.</dd>
398 <dt><code>secure</code></dt>
399 <dd>Open vSwitch will not set up flows on its own when the
400 controller connection fails or when no controllers are
401 defined. The bridge will continue to retry connecting to
402 any defined controllers forever.</dd>
405 <p>If this value is unset, the default is implementation-specific.</p>
406 <p>When more than one controller is configured,
407 <ref column="fail_mode"/> is considered only when none of the
408 configured controllers can be contacted.</p>
411 <column name="datapath_id">
412 Reports the OpenFlow datapath ID in use. Exactly 16 hex digits.
413 (Setting this column has no useful effect. Set <ref
414 column="other-config" key="datapath-id"/> instead.)
417 <column name="other_config" key="datapath-id">
418 Exactly 16 hex digits to set the OpenFlow datapath ID to a specific
419 value. May not be all-zero.
422 <column name="other_config" key="disable-in-band"
423 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
424 If set to <code>true</code>, disable in-band control on the bridge
425 regardless of controller and manager settings.
428 <column name="other_config" key="in-band-queue"
429 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 4294967295}'>
430 A queue ID as a nonnegative integer. This sets the OpenFlow queue ID
431 that will be used by flows set up by in-band control on this bridge.
432 If unset, or if the port used by an in-band control flow does not have
433 QoS configured, or if the port does not have a queue with the specified
434 ID, the default queue is used instead.
438 <group title="Spanning Tree Configuration">
439 The IEEE 802.1D Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is a network protocol
440 that ensures loop-free topologies. It allows redundant links to
441 be included in the network to provide automatic backup paths if
442 the active links fails.
444 <column name="stp_enable">
445 Enable spanning tree on the bridge. By default, STP is disabled
446 on bridges. Bond, internal, and mirror ports are not supported
447 and will not participate in the spanning tree.
450 <column name="other_config" key="stp-system-id">
451 The bridge's STP identifier (the lower 48 bits of the bridge-id)
453 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>.
454 By default, the identifier is the MAC address of the bridge.
457 <column name="other_config" key="stp-priority"
458 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
459 The bridge's relative priority value for determining the root
460 bridge (the upper 16 bits of the bridge-id). A bridge with the
461 lowest bridge-id is elected the root. By default, the priority
465 <column name="other_config" key="stp-hello-time"
466 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 10}'>
467 The interval between transmissions of hello messages by
468 designated ports, in seconds. By default the hello interval is
472 <column name="other_config" key="stp-max-age"
473 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 6, "maxInteger": 40}'>
474 The maximum age of the information transmitted by the bridge
475 when it is the root bridge, in seconds. By default, the maximum
479 <column name="other_config" key="stp-forward-delay"
480 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 4, "maxInteger": 30}'>
481 The delay to wait between transitioning root and designated
482 ports to <code>forwarding</code>, in seconds. By default, the
483 forwarding delay is 15 seconds.
487 <group title="Other Features">
488 <column name="datapath_type">
489 Name of datapath provider. The kernel datapath has
490 type <code>system</code>. The userspace datapath has
491 type <code>netdev</code>.
494 <column name="external_ids" key="bridge-id">
495 A unique identifier of the bridge. On Citrix XenServer this will
496 commonly be the same as
497 <ref column="external_ids" key="xs-network-uuids"/>.
500 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-network-uuids">
501 Semicolon-delimited set of universally unique identifier(s) for the
502 network with which this bridge is associated on a Citrix XenServer
503 host. The network identifiers are RFC 4122 UUIDs as displayed by,
504 e.g., <code>xe network-list</code>.
507 <column name="other_config" key="hwaddr">
508 An Ethernet address in the form
509 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>
510 to set the hardware address of the local port and influence the
514 <column name="other_config" key="flow-eviction-threshold"
515 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
517 A number of flows as a nonnegative integer. This sets number of
518 flows at which eviction from the kernel flow table will be triggered.
519 If there are a large number of flows then increasing this value to
520 around the number of flows present can result in reduced CPU usage
524 The default is 1000. Values below 100 will be rounded up to 100.
528 <column name="other_config" key="forward-bpdu"
529 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
530 Option to allow forwarding of BPDU frames when NORMAL action is
531 invoked. Frames with reserved Ethernet addresses (e.g. STP
532 BPDU) will be forwarded when this option is enabled and the
533 switch is not providing that functionality. If STP is enabled
534 on the port, STP BPDUs will never be forwarded. If the Open
535 vSwitch bridge is used to connect different Ethernet networks,
536 and if Open vSwitch node does not run STP, then this option
537 should be enabled. Default is disabled, set to
538 <code>true</code> to enable.
541 <column name="other_config" key="mac-aging-time"
542 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
544 The maximum number of seconds to retain a MAC learning entry for
545 which no packets have been seen. The default is currently 300
546 seconds (5 minutes). The value, if specified, is forced into a
547 reasonable range, currently 15 to 3600 seconds.
551 A short MAC aging time allows a network to more quickly detect that a
552 host is no longer connected to a switch port. However, it also makes
553 it more likely that packets will be flooded unnecessarily, when they
554 are addressed to a connected host that rarely transmits packets. To
555 reduce the incidence of unnecessary flooding, use a MAC aging time
556 longer than the maximum interval at which a host will ordinarily
562 <group title="Bridge Status">
564 Status information about bridges.
566 <column name="status">
567 Key-value pairs that report bridge status.
569 <column name="status" key="stp_bridge_id">
571 The bridge-id (in hex) used in spanning tree advertisements.
572 Configuring the bridge-id is described in the
573 <code>stp-system-id</code> and <code>stp-priority</code> keys
574 of the <code>other_config</code> section earlier.
577 <column name="status" key="stp_designated_root">
579 The designated root (in hex) for this spanning tree.
582 <column name="status" key="stp_root_path_cost">
584 The path cost of reaching the designated bridge. A lower
590 <group title="Common Columns">
591 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
592 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
594 <column name="other_config"/>
595 <column name="external_ids"/>
599 <table name="Port" table="Port or bond configuration.">
600 <p>A port within a <ref table="Bridge"/>.</p>
601 <p>Most commonly, a port has exactly one ``interface,'' pointed to by its
602 <ref column="interfaces"/> column. Such a port logically
603 corresponds to a port on a physical Ethernet switch. A port
604 with more than one interface is a ``bonded port'' (see
605 <ref group="Bonding Configuration"/>).</p>
606 <p>Some properties that one might think as belonging to a port are actually
607 part of the port's <ref table="Interface"/> members.</p>
610 Port name. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8
611 bytes long. May be the same as the interface name, for
612 non-bonded ports. Must otherwise be unique among the names of
613 ports, interfaces, and bridges on a host.
616 <column name="interfaces">
617 The port's interfaces. If there is more than one, this is a
621 <group title="VLAN Configuration">
622 <p>Bridge ports support the following types of VLAN configuration:</p>
627 A trunk port carries packets on one or more specified VLANs
628 specified in the <ref column="trunks"/> column (often, on every
629 VLAN). A packet that ingresses on a trunk port is in the VLAN
630 specified in its 802.1Q header, or VLAN 0 if the packet has no
631 802.1Q header. A packet that egresses through a trunk port will
632 have an 802.1Q header if it has a nonzero VLAN ID.
636 Any packet that ingresses on a trunk port tagged with a VLAN that
637 the port does not trunk is dropped.
644 An access port carries packets on exactly one VLAN specified in the
645 <ref column="tag"/> column. Packets egressing on an access port
646 have no 802.1Q header.
650 Any packet with an 802.1Q header with a nonzero VLAN ID that
651 ingresses on an access port is dropped, regardless of whether the
652 VLAN ID in the header is the access port's VLAN ID.
656 <dt>native-tagged</dt>
658 A native-tagged port resembles a trunk port, with the exception that
659 a packet without an 802.1Q header that ingresses on a native-tagged
660 port is in the ``native VLAN'' (specified in the <ref column="tag"/>
664 <dt>native-untagged</dt>
666 A native-untagged port resembles a native-tagged port, with the
667 exception that a packet that egresses on a native-untagged port in
668 the native VLAN will not have an 802.1Q header.
672 A packet will only egress through bridge ports that carry the VLAN of
673 the packet, as described by the rules above.
676 <column name="vlan_mode">
678 The VLAN mode of the port, as described above. When this column is
679 empty, a default mode is selected as follows:
683 If <ref column="tag"/> contains a value, the port is an access
684 port. The <ref column="trunks"/> column should be empty.
687 Otherwise, the port is a trunk port. The <ref column="trunks"/>
688 column value is honored if it is present.
695 For an access port, the port's implicitly tagged VLAN. For a
696 native-tagged or native-untagged port, the port's native VLAN. Must
697 be empty if this is a trunk port.
701 <column name="trunks">
703 For a trunk, native-tagged, or native-untagged port, the 802.1Q VLAN
704 or VLANs that this port trunks; if it is empty, then the port trunks
705 all VLANs. Must be empty if this is an access port.
708 A native-tagged or native-untagged port always trunks its native
709 VLAN, regardless of whether <ref column="trunks"/> includes that
714 <column name="other_config" key="priority-tags"
715 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
717 An 802.1Q header contains two important pieces of information: a VLAN
718 ID and a priority. A frame with a zero VLAN ID, called a
719 ``priority-tagged'' frame, is supposed to be treated the same way as
720 a frame without an 802.1Q header at all (except for the priority).
724 However, some network elements ignore any frame that has 802.1Q
725 header at all, even when the VLAN ID is zero. Therefore, by default
726 Open vSwitch does not output priority-tagged frames, instead omitting
727 the 802.1Q header entirely if the VLAN ID is zero. Set this key to
728 <code>true</code> to enable priority-tagged frames on a port.
732 Regardless of this setting, Open vSwitch omits the 802.1Q header on
733 output if both the VLAN ID and priority would be zero.
737 All frames output to native-tagged ports have a nonzero VLAN ID, so
738 this setting is not meaningful on native-tagged ports.
743 <group title="Bonding Configuration">
744 <p>A port that has more than one interface is a ``bonded port.'' Bonding
745 allows for load balancing and fail-over. Some kinds of bonding will
746 work with any kind of upstream switch:</p>
749 <dt><code>balance-slb</code></dt>
751 Balances flows among slaves based on source MAC address and output
752 VLAN, with periodic rebalancing as traffic patterns change.
755 <dt><code>active-backup</code></dt>
757 Assigns all flows to one slave, failing over to a backup slave when
758 the active slave is disabled.
763 The following modes require the upstream switch to support 802.3ad with
764 successful LACP negotiation. If LACP negotiation fails then
765 <code>balance-slb</code> style flow hashing is used as a fallback:
769 <dt><code>balance-tcp</code></dt>
771 Balances flows among slaves based on L2, L3, and L4 protocol
772 information such as destination MAC address, IP address, and TCP
776 <dt><code>stable</code></dt>
778 <p>Attempts to always assign a given flow to the same slave
779 consistently. In an effort to maintain stability, no load
780 balancing is done. Uses a similar hashing strategy to
781 <code>balance-tcp</code>, always taking into account L3 and L4
782 fields even if LACP negotiations are unsuccessful. </p>
783 <p>Slave selection decisions are made based on <ref table="Interface"
784 column="other_config" key="bond-stable-id"/> if set. Otherwise,
785 OpenFlow port number is used. Decisions are consistent across all
786 <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> instances with equivalent
787 <ref table="Interface" column="other_config" key="bond-stable-id"/>
792 <p>These columns apply only to bonded ports. Their values are
793 otherwise ignored.</p>
795 <column name="bond_mode">
796 <p>The type of bonding used for a bonded port. Defaults to
797 <code>balance-slb</code> if unset.
801 <group title="Link Failure Detection">
803 An important part of link bonding is detecting that links are down so
804 that they may be disabled. These settings determine how Open vSwitch
805 detects link failure.
808 <column name="other_config" key="bond-detect-mode"
809 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["carrier", "miimon"]]}'>
810 The means used to detect link failures. Defaults to
811 <code>carrier</code> which uses each interface's carrier to detect
812 failures. When set to <code>miimon</code>, will check for failures
813 by polling each interface's MII.
816 <column name="other_config" key="bond-miimon-interval"
817 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
818 The interval, in milliseconds, between successive attempts to poll
819 each interface's MII. Relevant only when <ref column="other_config"
820 key="bond-detect-mode"/> is <code>miimon</code>.
823 <column name="bond_updelay">
825 The number of milliseconds for which carrier must stay up on an
826 interface before the interface is considered to be up. Specify
827 <code>0</code> to enable the interface immediately.
831 This setting is honored only when at least one bonded interface is
832 already enabled. When no interfaces are enabled, then the first
833 bond interface to come up is enabled immediately.
837 <column name="bond_downdelay">
838 The number of milliseconds for which carrier must stay down on an
839 interface before the interface is considered to be down. Specify
840 <code>0</code> to disable the interface immediately.
844 <group title="LACP Configuration">
846 LACP, the Link Aggregation Control Protocol, is an IEEE standard that
847 allows switches to automatically detect that they are connected by
848 multiple links and aggregate across those links. These settings
849 control LACP behavior.
853 Configures LACP on this port. LACP allows directly connected
854 switches to negotiate which links may be bonded. LACP may be enabled
855 on non-bonded ports for the benefit of any switches they may be
856 connected to. <code>active</code> ports are allowed to initiate LACP
857 negotiations. <code>passive</code> ports are allowed to participate
858 in LACP negotiations initiated by a remote switch, but not allowed to
859 initiate such negotiations themselves. Defaults to <code>off</code>
863 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-system-id">
864 The LACP system ID of this <ref table="Port"/>. The system ID of a
865 LACP bond is used to identify itself to its partners. Must be a
869 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-system-priority"
870 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
871 The LACP system priority of this <ref table="Port"/>. In LACP
872 negotiations, link status decisions are made by the system with the
873 numerically lower priority.
876 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-time">
878 The LACP timing which should be used on this <ref table="Port"/>.
879 Possible values are <code>fast</code>, <code>slow</code> and a
880 positive number of milliseconds. By default <code>slow</code> is
881 used. When configured to be <code>fast</code> LACP heartbeats are
882 requested at a rate of once per second causing connectivity
883 problems to be detected more quickly. In <code>slow</code> mode,
884 heartbeats are requested at a rate of once every 30 seconds.
888 Users may manually set a heartbeat transmission rate to increase
889 the fault detection speed further. When manually set, OVS expects
890 the partner switch to be configured with the same transmission
891 rate. Manually setting <code>lacp-time</code> to something other
892 than <code>fast</code> or <code>slow</code> is not supported by the
897 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-heartbeat"
898 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
899 Treat LACP like a simple heartbeat protocol for link state
900 monitoring. Most features of the LACP protocol are disabled
901 when this mode is in use. The default if not specified is
905 <column name="other_config" key="bond-hash-basis"
906 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
907 An integer hashed along with flows when choosing output slaves. When
908 changed, all flows will be assigned different hash values possibly
909 causing slave selection decisions to change.
913 <group title="SLB Configuration">
915 These settings control behavior when a bond is in
916 <code>balance-slb</code> mode, regardless of whether the bond was
917 intentionally configured in SLB mode or it fell back to SLB mode
918 because LACP negotiation failed.
921 <column name="other_config" key="bond-rebalance-interval"
922 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1000, "maxInteger": 10000}'>
923 For an SLB bonded port, the number of milliseconds between successive
924 attempts to rebalance the bond, that is, to move source MACs and
925 their flows from one interface on the bond to another in an attempt
926 to keep usage of each interface roughly equal.
930 <column name="bond_fake_iface">
931 For a bonded port, whether to create a fake internal interface with the
932 name of the port. Use only for compatibility with legacy software that
937 <group title="Spanning Tree Configuration">
938 <column name="other_config" key="stp-enable"
939 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
940 If spanning tree is enabled on the bridge, member ports are
941 enabled by default (with the exception of bond, internal, and
942 mirror ports which do not work with STP). If this column's
943 value is <code>false</code> spanning tree is disabled on the
947 <column name="other_config" key="stp-port-num"
948 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 255}'>
949 The port number used for the lower 8 bits of the port-id. By
950 default, the numbers will be assigned automatically. If any
951 port's number is manually configured on a bridge, then they
955 <column name="other_config" key="stp-port-priority"
956 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 255}'>
957 The port's relative priority value for determining the root
958 port (the upper 8 bits of the port-id). A port with a lower
959 port-id will be chosen as the root port. By default, the
963 <column name="other_config" key="stp-path-cost"
964 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
965 Spanning tree path cost for the port. A lower number indicates
966 a faster link. By default, the cost is based on the maximum
971 <group title="Other Features">
973 Quality of Service configuration for this port.
977 The MAC address to use for this port for the purpose of choosing the
978 bridge's MAC address. This column does not necessarily reflect the
979 port's actual MAC address, nor will setting it change the port's actual
983 <column name="fake_bridge">
984 Does this port represent a sub-bridge for its tagged VLAN within the
985 Bridge? See ovs-vsctl(8) for more information.
988 <column name="external_ids" key="fake-bridge-id-*">
989 External IDs for a fake bridge (see the <ref column="fake_bridge"/>
990 column) are defined by prefixing a <ref table="Bridge"/> <ref
991 table="Bridge" column="external_ids"/> key with
992 <code>fake-bridge-</code>,
993 e.g. <code>fake-bridge-xs-network-uuids</code>.
997 <group title="Port Status">
999 Status information about ports attached to bridges.
1001 <column name="status">
1002 Key-value pairs that report port status.
1004 <column name="status" key="stp_port_id">
1006 The port-id (in hex) used in spanning tree advertisements for
1007 this port. Configuring the port-id is described in the
1008 <code>stp-port-num</code> and <code>stp-port-priority</code>
1009 keys of the <code>other_config</code> section earlier.
1012 <column name="status" key="stp_state"
1013 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set",
1014 ["disabled", "listening", "learning",
1015 "forwarding", "blocking"]]}'>
1017 STP state of the port.
1020 <column name="status" key="stp_sec_in_state"
1021 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
1023 The amount of time (in seconds) port has been in the current
1027 <column name="status" key="stp_role"
1028 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set",
1029 ["root", "designated", "alternate"]]}'>
1031 STP role of the port.
1036 <group title="Port Statistics">
1038 Key-value pairs that report port statistics.
1040 <group title="Statistics: STP transmit and receive counters">
1041 <column name="statistics" key="stp_tx_count">
1042 Number of STP BPDUs sent on this port by the spanning
1045 <column name="statistics" key="stp_rx_count">
1046 Number of STP BPDUs received on this port and accepted by the
1047 spanning tree library.
1049 <column name="statistics" key="stp_error_count">
1050 Number of bad STP BPDUs received on this port. Bad BPDUs
1051 include runt packets and those with an unexpected protocol ID.
1056 <group title="Common Columns">
1057 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
1058 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
1060 <column name="other_config"/>
1061 <column name="external_ids"/>
1065 <table name="Interface" title="One physical network device in a Port.">
1066 An interface within a <ref table="Port"/>.
1068 <group title="Core Features">
1069 <column name="name">
1070 Interface name. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8 bytes
1071 long. May be the same as the port name, for non-bonded ports. Must
1072 otherwise be unique among the names of ports, interfaces, and bridges
1077 <p>Ethernet address to set for this interface. If unset then the
1078 default MAC address is used:</p>
1080 <li>For the local interface, the default is the lowest-numbered MAC
1081 address among the other bridge ports, either the value of the
1082 <ref table="Port" column="mac"/> in its <ref table="Port"/> record,
1083 if set, or its actual MAC (for bonded ports, the MAC of its slave
1084 whose name is first in alphabetical order). Internal ports and
1085 bridge ports that are used as port mirroring destinations (see the
1086 <ref table="Mirror"/> table) are ignored.</li>
1087 <li>For other internal interfaces, the default MAC is randomly
1089 <li>External interfaces typically have a MAC address associated with
1090 their hardware.</li>
1092 <p>Some interfaces may not have a software-controllable MAC
1096 <column name="ofport">
1097 <p>OpenFlow port number for this interface. Unlike most columns, this
1098 column's value should be set only by Open vSwitch itself. Other
1099 clients should set this column to an empty set (the default) when
1100 creating an <ref table="Interface"/>.</p>
1101 <p>Open vSwitch populates this column when the port number becomes
1102 known. If the interface is successfully added,
1103 <ref column="ofport"/> will be set to a number between 1 and 65535
1104 (generally either in the range 1 to 65279, inclusive, or 65534, the
1105 port number for the OpenFlow ``local port''). If the interface
1106 cannot be added then Open vSwitch sets this column
1111 <group title="System-Specific Details">
1112 <column name="type">
1114 The interface type, one of:
1118 <dt><code>system</code></dt>
1119 <dd>An ordinary network device, e.g. <code>eth0</code> on Linux.
1120 Sometimes referred to as ``external interfaces'' since they are
1121 generally connected to hardware external to that on which the Open
1122 vSwitch is running. The empty string is a synonym for
1123 <code>system</code>.</dd>
1125 <dt><code>internal</code></dt>
1126 <dd>A simulated network device that sends and receives traffic. An
1127 internal interface whose <ref column="name"/> is the same as its
1128 bridge's <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="name"/> is called the
1129 ``local interface.'' It does not make sense to bond an internal
1130 interface, so the terms ``port'' and ``interface'' are often used
1131 imprecisely for internal interfaces.</dd>
1133 <dt><code>tap</code></dt>
1134 <dd>A TUN/TAP device managed by Open vSwitch.</dd>
1136 <dt><code>gre</code></dt>
1138 An Ethernet over RFC 2890 Generic Routing Encapsulation over IPv4
1139 tunnel. See <ref group="Tunnel Options"/> for information on
1140 configuring GRE tunnels.
1143 <dt><code>ipsec_gre</code></dt>
1145 An Ethernet over RFC 2890 Generic Routing Encapsulation over IPv4
1149 <dt><code>capwap</code></dt>
1151 An Ethernet tunnel over the UDP transport portion of CAPWAP (RFC
1152 5415). This allows interoperability with certain switches that do
1153 not support GRE. Only the tunneling component of the protocol is
1154 implemented. UDP ports 58881 and 58882 are used as the source and
1155 destination ports respectively. CAPWAP is currently supported only
1156 with the Linux kernel datapath with kernel version 2.6.26 or later.
1159 <dt><code>patch</code></dt>
1161 A pair of virtual devices that act as a patch cable.
1164 <dt><code>null</code></dt>
1165 <dd>An ignored interface.</dd>
1170 <group title="Tunnel Options">
1172 These options apply to interfaces with <ref column="type"/> of
1173 <code>gre</code>, <code>ipsec_gre</code>, and <code>capwap</code>.
1177 Each tunnel must be uniquely identified by the combination of <ref
1178 column="type"/>, <ref column="options" key="remote_ip"/>, <ref
1179 column="options" key="local_ip"/>, and <ref column="options"
1180 key="in_key"/>. If two ports are defined that are the same except one
1181 has an optional identifier and the other does not, the more specific
1182 one is matched first. <ref column="options" key="in_key"/> is
1183 considered more specific than <ref column="options" key="local_ip"/> if
1184 a port defines one and another port defines the other.
1187 <column name="options" key="remote_ip">
1189 Required. The tunnel endpoint. Unicast and multicast endpoints are
1194 When a multicast endpoint is specified, a routing table lookup occurs
1195 only when the tunnel is created. Following a routing change, delete
1196 and then re-create the tunnel to force a new routing table lookup.
1200 <column name="options" key="local_ip">
1201 Optional. The destination IP that received packets must match.
1202 Default is to match all addresses. Must be omitted when <ref
1203 column="options" key="remote_ip"/> is a multicast address.
1206 <column name="options" key="in_key">
1207 <p>Optional. The key that received packets must contain, one of:</p>
1211 <code>0</code>. The tunnel receives packets with no key or with a
1212 key of 0. This is equivalent to specifying no <ref column="options"
1213 key="in_key"/> at all.
1216 A positive 32-bit (for GRE) or 64-bit (for CAPWAP) number. The
1217 tunnel receives only packets with the specified key.
1220 The word <code>flow</code>. The tunnel accepts packets with any
1221 key. The key will be placed in the <code>tun_id</code> field for
1222 matching in the flow table. The <code>ovs-ofctl</code> manual page
1223 contains additional information about matching fields in OpenFlow
1232 <column name="options" key="out_key">
1233 <p>Optional. The key to be set on outgoing packets, one of:</p>
1237 <code>0</code>. Packets sent through the tunnel will have no key.
1238 This is equivalent to specifying no <ref column="options"
1239 key="out_key"/> at all.
1242 A positive 32-bit (for GRE) or 64-bit (for CAPWAP) number. Packets
1243 sent through the tunnel will have the specified key.
1246 The word <code>flow</code>. Packets sent through the tunnel will
1247 have the key set using the <code>set_tunnel</code> Nicira OpenFlow
1248 vendor extension (0 is used in the absence of an action). The
1249 <code>ovs-ofctl</code> manual page contains additional information
1250 about the Nicira OpenFlow vendor extensions.
1255 <column name="options" key="key">
1256 Optional. Shorthand to set <code>in_key</code> and
1257 <code>out_key</code> at the same time.
1260 <column name="options" key="tos">
1261 Optional. The value of the ToS bits to be set on the encapsulating
1262 packet. It may also be the word <code>inherit</code>, in which case
1263 the ToS will be copied from the inner packet if it is IPv4 or IPv6
1264 (otherwise it will be 0). The ECN fields are always inherited.
1268 <column name="options" key="ttl">
1269 Optional. The TTL to be set on the encapsulating packet. It may also
1270 be the word <code>inherit</code>, in which case the TTL will be copied
1271 from the inner packet if it is IPv4 or IPv6 (otherwise it will be the
1272 system default, typically 64). Default is the system default TTL.
1275 <column name="options" key="df_inherit" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1276 Optional. If enabled, the Don't Fragment bit will be copied from the
1277 inner IP headers (those of the encapsulated traffic) to the outer
1278 (tunnel) headers. Default is disabled; set to <code>true</code> to
1282 <column name="options" key="df_default"
1283 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1284 Optional. If enabled, the Don't Fragment bit will be set by default on
1285 tunnel headers if the <code>df_inherit</code> option is not set, or if
1286 the encapsulated packet is not IP. Default is enabled; set to
1287 <code>false</code> to disable.
1290 <column name="options" key="pmtud" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1291 Optional. Enable tunnel path MTU discovery. If enabled ``ICMP
1292 Destination Unreachable - Fragmentation Needed'' messages will be
1293 generated for IPv4 packets with the DF bit set and IPv6 packets above
1294 the minimum MTU if the packet size exceeds the path MTU minus the size
1295 of the tunnel headers. Note that this option causes behavior that is
1296 typically reserved for routers and therefore is not entirely in
1297 compliance with the IEEE 802.1D specification for bridges. Default is
1298 enabled; set to <code>false</code> to disable.
1301 <group title="Tunnel Options: gre only">
1303 Only <code>gre</code> interfaces support these options.
1306 <column name="options" key="header_cache" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1307 Enable caching of tunnel headers and the output path. This can lead
1308 to a significant performance increase without changing behavior. In
1309 general it should not be necessary to adjust this setting. However,
1310 the caching can bypass certain components of the IP stack (such as
1311 <code>iptables</code>) and it may be useful to disable it if these
1312 features are required or as a debugging measure. Default is enabled,
1313 set to <code>false</code> to disable.
1317 <group title="Tunnel Options: gre and ipsec_gre only">
1319 Only <code>gre</code> and <code>ipsec_gre</code> interfaces support
1323 <column name="options" key="csum" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1325 Optional. Compute GRE checksums on outgoing packets. Default is
1326 disabled, set to <code>true</code> to enable. Checksums present on
1327 incoming packets will be validated regardless of this setting.
1331 GRE checksums impose a significant performance penalty because they
1332 cover the entire packet. The encapsulated L3, L4, and L7 packet
1333 contents typically have their own checksums, so this additional
1334 checksum only adds value for the GRE and encapsulated L2 headers.
1338 This option is supported for <code>ipsec_gre</code>, but not useful
1339 because GRE checksums are weaker than, and redundant with, IPsec
1340 payload authentication.
1345 <group title="Tunnel Options: ipsec_gre only">
1347 Only <code>ipsec_gre</code> interfaces support these options.
1350 <column name="options" key="peer_cert">
1351 Required for certificate authentication. A string containing the
1352 peer's certificate in PEM format. Additionally the host's
1353 certificate must be specified with the <code>certificate</code>
1357 <column name="options" key="certificate">
1358 Required for certificate authentication. The name of a PEM file
1359 containing a certificate that will be presented to the peer during
1363 <column name="options" key="private_key">
1364 Optional for certificate authentication. The name of a PEM file
1365 containing the private key associated with <code>certificate</code>.
1366 If <code>certificate</code> contains the private key, this option may
1370 <column name="options" key="psk">
1371 Required for pre-shared key authentication. Specifies a pre-shared
1372 key for authentication that must be identical on both sides of the
1378 <group title="Patch Options">
1380 Only <code>patch</code> interfaces support these options.
1383 <column name="options" key="peer">
1384 The <ref column="name"/> of the <ref table="Interface"/> for the other
1385 side of the patch. The named <ref table="Interface"/>'s own
1386 <code>peer</code> option must specify this <ref table="Interface"/>'s
1387 name. That is, the two patch interfaces must have reversed <ref
1388 column="name"/> and <code>peer</code> values.
1392 <group title="Interface Status">
1394 Status information about interfaces attached to bridges, updated every
1395 5 seconds. Not all interfaces have all of these properties; virtual
1396 interfaces don't have a link speed, for example. Non-applicable
1397 columns will have empty values.
1399 <column name="admin_state">
1401 The administrative state of the physical network link.
1405 <column name="link_state">
1407 The observed state of the physical network link. This is ordinarily
1408 the link's carrier status. If the interface's <ref table="Port"/> is
1409 a bond configured for miimon monitoring, it is instead the network
1410 link's miimon status.
1414 <column name="link_resets">
1416 The number of times Open vSwitch has observed the
1417 <ref column="link_state"/> of this <ref table="Interface"/> change.
1421 <column name="link_speed">
1423 The negotiated speed of the physical network link.
1424 Valid values are positive integers greater than 0.
1428 <column name="duplex">
1430 The duplex mode of the physical network link.
1436 The MTU (maximum transmission unit); i.e. the largest
1437 amount of data that can fit into a single Ethernet frame.
1438 The standard Ethernet MTU is 1500 bytes. Some physical media
1439 and many kinds of virtual interfaces can be configured with
1443 This column will be empty for an interface that does not
1444 have an MTU as, for example, some kinds of tunnels do not.
1448 <column name="lacp_current">
1449 Boolean value indicating LACP status for this interface. If true, this
1450 interface has current LACP information about its LACP partner. This
1451 information may be used to monitor the health of interfaces in a LACP
1452 enabled port. This column will be empty if LACP is not enabled.
1455 <column name="status">
1456 Key-value pairs that report port status. Supported status values are
1457 <ref column="type"/>-dependent; some interfaces may not have a valid
1458 <ref column="status" key="driver_name"/>, for example.
1461 <column name="status" key="driver_name">
1462 The name of the device driver controlling the network adapter.
1465 <column name="status" key="driver_version">
1466 The version string of the device driver controlling the network
1470 <column name="status" key="firmware_version">
1471 The version string of the network adapter's firmware, if available.
1474 <column name="status" key="source_ip">
1475 The source IP address used for an IPv4 tunnel end-point, such as
1476 <code>gre</code> or <code>capwap</code>.
1479 <column name="status" key="tunnel_egress_iface">
1480 Egress interface for tunnels. Currently only relevant for GRE and
1481 CAPWAP tunnels. On Linux systems, this column will show the name of
1482 the interface which is responsible for routing traffic destined for the
1483 configured <ref column="options" key="remote_ip"/>. This could be an
1484 internal interface such as a bridge port.
1487 <column name="status" key="tunnel_egress_iface_carrier"
1488 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["down", "up"]]}'>
1489 Whether carrier is detected on <ref column="status"
1490 key="tunnel_egress_iface"/>.
1494 <group title="Statistics">
1496 Key-value pairs that report interface statistics. The current
1497 implementation updates these counters periodically. Future
1498 implementations may update them when an interface is created, when they
1499 are queried (e.g. using an OVSDB <code>select</code> operation), and
1500 just before an interface is deleted due to virtual interface hot-unplug
1501 or VM shutdown, and perhaps at other times, but not on any regular
1505 These are the same statistics reported by OpenFlow in its <code>struct
1506 ofp_port_stats</code> structure. If an interface does not support a
1507 given statistic, then that pair is omitted.
1509 <group title="Statistics: Successful transmit and receive counters">
1510 <column name="statistics" key="rx_packets">
1511 Number of received packets.
1513 <column name="statistics" key="rx_bytes">
1514 Number of received bytes.
1516 <column name="statistics" key="tx_packets">
1517 Number of transmitted packets.
1519 <column name="statistics" key="tx_bytes">
1520 Number of transmitted bytes.
1523 <group title="Statistics: Receive errors">
1524 <column name="statistics" key="rx_dropped">
1525 Number of packets dropped by RX.
1527 <column name="statistics" key="rx_frame_err">
1528 Number of frame alignment errors.
1530 <column name="statistics" key="rx_over_err">
1531 Number of packets with RX overrun.
1533 <column name="statistics" key="rx_crc_err">
1534 Number of CRC errors.
1536 <column name="statistics" key="rx_errors">
1537 Total number of receive errors, greater than or equal to the sum of
1541 <group title="Statistics: Transmit errors">
1542 <column name="statistics" key="tx_dropped">
1543 Number of packets dropped by TX.
1545 <column name="statistics" key="collisions">
1546 Number of collisions.
1548 <column name="statistics" key="tx_errors">
1549 Total number of transmit errors, greater than or equal to the sum of
1555 <group title="Ingress Policing">
1557 These settings control ingress policing for packets received on this
1558 interface. On a physical interface, this limits the rate at which
1559 traffic is allowed into the system from the outside; on a virtual
1560 interface (one connected to a virtual machine), this limits the rate at
1561 which the VM is able to transmit.
1564 Policing is a simple form of quality-of-service that simply drops
1565 packets received in excess of the configured rate. Due to its
1566 simplicity, policing is usually less accurate and less effective than
1567 egress QoS (which is configured using the <ref table="QoS"/> and <ref
1568 table="Queue"/> tables).
1571 Policing is currently implemented only on Linux. The Linux
1572 implementation uses a simple ``token bucket'' approach:
1576 The size of the bucket corresponds to <ref
1577 column="ingress_policing_burst"/>. Initially the bucket is full.
1580 Whenever a packet is received, its size (converted to tokens) is
1581 compared to the number of tokens currently in the bucket. If the
1582 required number of tokens are available, they are removed and the
1583 packet is forwarded. Otherwise, the packet is dropped.
1586 Whenever it is not full, the bucket is refilled with tokens at the
1587 rate specified by <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/>.
1591 Policing interacts badly with some network protocols, and especially
1592 with fragmented IP packets. Suppose that there is enough network
1593 activity to keep the bucket nearly empty all the time. Then this token
1594 bucket algorithm will forward a single packet every so often, with the
1595 period depending on packet size and on the configured rate. All of the
1596 fragments of an IP packets are normally transmitted back-to-back, as a
1597 group. In such a situation, therefore, only one of these fragments
1598 will be forwarded and the rest will be dropped. IP does not provide
1599 any way for the intended recipient to ask for only the remaining
1600 fragments. In such a case there are two likely possibilities for what
1601 will happen next: either all of the fragments will eventually be
1602 retransmitted (as TCP will do), in which case the same problem will
1603 recur, or the sender will not realize that its packet has been dropped
1604 and data will simply be lost (as some UDP-based protocols will do).
1605 Either way, it is possible that no forward progress will ever occur.
1607 <column name="ingress_policing_rate">
1609 Maximum rate for data received on this interface, in kbps. Data
1610 received faster than this rate is dropped. Set to <code>0</code>
1611 (the default) to disable policing.
1615 <column name="ingress_policing_burst">
1616 <p>Maximum burst size for data received on this interface, in kb. The
1617 default burst size if set to <code>0</code> is 1000 kb. This value
1618 has no effect if <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/>
1619 is <code>0</code>.</p>
1621 Specifying a larger burst size lets the algorithm be more forgiving,
1622 which is important for protocols like TCP that react severely to
1623 dropped packets. The burst size should be at least the size of the
1624 interface's MTU. Specifying a value that is numerically at least as
1625 large as 10% of <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/> helps TCP come
1626 closer to achieving the full rate.
1631 <group title="Connectivity Fault Management">
1633 802.1ag Connectivity Fault Management (CFM) allows a group of
1634 Maintenance Points (MPs) called a Maintenance Association (MA) to
1635 detect connectivity problems with each other. MPs within a MA should
1636 have complete and exclusive interconnectivity. This is verified by
1637 occasionally broadcasting Continuity Check Messages (CCMs) at a
1638 configurable transmission interval.
1642 According to the 802.1ag specification, each Maintenance Point should
1643 be configured out-of-band with a list of Remote Maintenance Points it
1644 should have connectivity to. Open vSwitch differs from the
1645 specification in this area. It simply assumes the link is faulted if
1646 no Remote Maintenance Points are reachable, and considers it not
1650 <column name="cfm_mpid">
1651 A Maintenance Point ID (MPID) uniquely identifies each endpoint within
1652 a Maintenance Association. The MPID is used to identify this endpoint
1653 to other Maintenance Points in the MA. Each end of a link being
1654 monitored should have a different MPID. Must be configured to enable
1655 CFM on this <ref table="Interface"/>.
1658 <column name="cfm_fault">
1660 Indicates a connectivity fault triggered by an inability to receive
1661 heartbeats from any remote endpoint. When a fault is triggered on
1662 <ref table="Interface"/>s participating in bonds, they will be
1666 Faults can be triggered for several reasons. Most importantly they
1667 are triggered when no CCMs are received for a period of 3.5 times the
1668 transmission interval. Faults are also triggered when any CCMs
1669 indicate that a Remote Maintenance Point is not receiving CCMs but
1670 able to send them. Finally, a fault is triggered if a CCM is
1671 received which indicates unexpected configuration. Notably, this
1672 case arises when a CCM is received which advertises the local MPID.
1676 <column name="cfm_remote_mpids">
1677 When CFM is properly configured, Open vSwitch will occasionally
1678 receive CCM broadcasts. These broadcasts contain the MPID of the
1679 sending Maintenance Point. The list of MPIDs from which this
1680 <ref table="Interface"/> is receiving broadcasts from is regularly
1681 collected and written to this column.
1684 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_interval"
1685 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
1686 The interval, in milliseconds, between transmissions of CFM heartbeats.
1687 Three missed heartbeat receptions indicate a connectivity fault.
1691 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_extended"
1692 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1693 When <code>true</code>, the CFM module operates in extended mode. This
1694 causes it to use a nonstandard destination address to avoid conflicting
1695 with compliant implementations which may be running concurrently on the
1696 network. Furthermore, extended mode increases the accuracy of the
1697 <code>cfm_interval</code> configuration parameter by breaking wire
1698 compatibility with 802.1ag compliant implementations. Defaults to
1701 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_opstate"
1702 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["down", "up"]]}'>
1703 When <code>down</code>, the CFM module marks all CCMs it generates as
1704 operationally down without triggering a fault. This allows remote
1705 maintenance points to choose not to forward traffic to the
1706 <ref table="Interface"/> on which this CFM module is running.
1707 Currently, in Open vSwitch, the opdown bit of CCMs affects
1708 <ref table="Interface"/>s participating in bonds, and the bundle
1709 OpenFlow action. This setting is ignored when CFM is not in extended
1710 mode. Defaults to <code>up</code>.
1713 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_ccm_vlan"
1714 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 4095}'>
1715 When set, the CFM module will apply a VLAN tag to all CCMs it generates
1716 with the given value.
1721 <group title="Bonding Configuration">
1722 <column name="other_config" key="bond-stable-id"
1723 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
1724 Used in <code>stable</code> bond mode to make slave
1725 selection decisions. Allocating <ref column="other_config"
1726 key="bond-stable-id"/> values consistently across interfaces
1727 participating in a bond will guarantee consistent slave selection
1728 decisions across <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> instances when using
1729 <code>stable</code> bonding mode.
1732 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-port-id"
1733 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
1734 The LACP port ID of this <ref table="Interface"/>. Port IDs are
1735 used in LACP negotiations to identify individual ports
1736 participating in a bond.
1739 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-port-priority"
1740 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
1741 The LACP port priority of this <ref table="Interface"/>. In LACP
1742 negotiations <ref table="Interface"/>s with numerically lower
1743 priorities are preferred for aggregation.
1746 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-aggregation-key"
1747 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
1748 The LACP aggregation key of this <ref table="Interface"/>. <ref
1749 table="Interface"/>s with different aggregation keys may not be active
1750 within a given <ref table="Port"/> at the same time.
1754 <group title="Virtual Machine Identifiers">
1756 These key-value pairs specifically apply to an interface that
1757 represents a virtual Ethernet interface connected to a virtual
1758 machine. These key-value pairs should not be present for other types
1759 of interfaces. Keys whose names end in <code>-uuid</code> have
1760 values that uniquely identify the entity in question. For a Citrix
1761 XenServer hypervisor, these values are UUIDs in RFC 4122 format.
1762 Other hypervisors may use other formats.
1765 <column name="external_ids" key="attached-mac">
1766 The MAC address programmed into the ``virtual hardware'' for this
1767 interface, in the form
1768 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>.
1769 For Citrix XenServer, this is the value of the <code>MAC</code> field
1770 in the VIF record for this interface.
1773 <column name="external_ids" key="iface-id">
1774 A system-unique identifier for the interface. On XenServer, this will
1775 commonly be the same as <ref column="external_ids" key="xs-vif-uuid"/>.
1778 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-vif-uuid">
1779 The virtual interface associated with this interface.
1782 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-network-uuid">
1783 The virtual network to which this interface is attached.
1786 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-vm-uuid">
1787 The VM to which this interface belongs.
1791 <group title="VLAN Splinters">
1793 The ``VLAN splinters'' feature increases Open vSwitch compatibility
1794 with buggy network drivers in old versions of Linux that do not
1795 properly support VLANs when VLAN devices are not used, at some cost
1796 in memory and performance.
1800 When VLAN splinters are enabled on a particular interface, Open vSwitch
1801 creates a VLAN device for each in-use VLAN. For sending traffic tagged
1802 with a VLAN on the interface, it substitutes the VLAN device. Traffic
1803 received on the VLAN device is treated as if it had been received on
1804 the interface on the particular VLAN.
1808 VLAN splinters consider a VLAN to be in use if:
1813 The VLAN is the <ref table="Port" column="tag"/> value in any <ref
1814 table="Port"/> record.
1818 The VLAN is listed within the <ref table="Port" column="trunks"/>
1819 column of the <ref table="Port"/> record of an interface on which
1820 VLAN splinters are enabled.
1822 An empty <ref table="Port" column="trunks"/> does not influence the
1823 in-use VLANs: creating 4,096 VLAN devices is impractical because it
1824 will exceed the current 1,024 port per datapath limit.
1828 An OpenFlow flow within any bridge matches the VLAN.
1833 The same set of in-use VLANs applies to every interface on which VLAN
1834 splinters are enabled. That is, the set is not chosen separately for
1835 each interface but selected once as the union of all in-use VLANs based
1840 It does not make sense to enable VLAN splinters on an interface for an
1841 access port, or on an interface that is not a physical port.
1845 VLAN splinters are deprecated. When broken device drivers are no
1846 longer in widespread use, we will delete this feature.
1849 <column name="other_config" key="enable-vlan-splinters"
1850 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1852 Set to <code>true</code> to enable VLAN splinters on this interface.
1853 Defaults to <code>false</code>.
1857 VLAN splinters increase kernel and userspace memory overhead, so do
1858 not use them unless they are needed.
1863 <group title="Common Columns">
1864 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
1865 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
1867 <column name="other_config"/>
1868 <column name="external_ids"/>
1872 <table name="QoS" title="Quality of Service configuration">
1873 <p>Quality of Service (QoS) configuration for each Port that
1876 <column name="type">
1877 <p>The type of QoS to implement. The <ref table="Open_vSwitch"
1878 column="capabilities"/> column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table
1879 identifies the types that a switch actually supports. The currently
1880 defined types are listed below:</p>
1882 <dt><code>linux-htb</code></dt>
1884 Linux ``hierarchy token bucket'' classifier. See tc-htb(8) (also at
1885 <code>http://linux.die.net/man/8/tc-htb</code>) and the HTB manual
1886 (<code>http://luxik.cdi.cz/~devik/qos/htb/manual/userg.htm</code>)
1887 for information on how this classifier works and how to configure it.
1891 <dt><code>linux-hfsc</code></dt>
1893 Linux "Hierarchical Fair Service Curve" classifier.
1894 See <code>http://linux-ip.net/articles/hfsc.en/</code> for
1895 information on how this classifier works.
1900 <column name="queues">
1901 <p>A map from queue numbers to <ref table="Queue"/> records. The
1902 supported range of queue numbers depend on <ref column="type"/>. The
1903 queue numbers are the same as the <code>queue_id</code> used in
1904 OpenFlow in <code>struct ofp_action_enqueue</code> and other
1905 structures. Queue 0 is used by OpenFlow output actions that do not
1906 specify a specific queue.</p>
1909 <group title="Configuration for linux-htb and linux-hfsc">
1911 The <code>linux-htb</code> and <code>linux-hfsc</code> classes support
1912 the following key-value pair:
1915 <column name="other_config" key="max-rate" type='{"type": "integer"}'>
1916 Maximum rate shared by all queued traffic, in bit/s. Optional. If not
1917 specified, for physical interfaces, the default is the link rate. For
1918 other interfaces or if the link rate cannot be determined, the default
1919 is currently 100 Mbps.
1923 <group title="Common Columns">
1924 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
1925 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
1927 <column name="other_config"/>
1928 <column name="external_ids"/>
1932 <table name="Queue" title="QoS output queue.">
1933 <p>A configuration for a port output queue, used in configuring Quality of
1934 Service (QoS) features. May be referenced by <ref column="queues"
1935 table="QoS"/> column in <ref table="QoS"/> table.</p>
1937 <column name="dscp">
1938 If set, Open vSwitch will mark all traffic egressing this
1939 <ref table="Queue"/> with the given DSCP bits. Traffic egressing the
1940 default <ref table="Queue"/> is only marked if it was explicitly selected
1941 as the <ref table="Queue"/> at the time the packet was output. If unset,
1942 the DSCP bits of traffic egressing this <ref table="Queue"/> will remain
1946 <group title="Configuration for min-rate QoS">
1948 These key-value pairs are defined for <ref table="QoS"/> <ref
1949 table="QoS" column="type"/> of <code>min-rate</code>.
1952 <column name="other_config" key="min-rate"
1953 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 12000}'>
1954 Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s. Required. The floor value is
1955 1500 bytes/s (12,000 bit/s).
1959 <group title="Configuration for linux-htb QoS">
1961 These key-value pairs are defined for <ref table="QoS"/> <ref
1962 table="QoS" column="type"/> of <code>linux-htb</code>.
1965 <column name="other_config" key="min-rate"
1966 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
1967 Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s.
1970 <column name="other_config" key="max-rate"
1971 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
1972 Maximum allowed bandwidth, in bit/s. Optional. If specified, the
1973 queue's rate will not be allowed to exceed the specified value, even
1974 if excess bandwidth is available. If unspecified, defaults to no
1978 <column name="other_config" key="burst"
1979 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
1980 Burst size, in bits. This is the maximum amount of ``credits'' that a
1981 queue can accumulate while it is idle. Optional. Details of the
1982 <code>linux-htb</code> implementation require a minimum burst size, so
1983 a too-small <code>burst</code> will be silently ignored.
1986 <column name="other_config" key="priority"
1987 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 4294967295}'>
1988 A queue with a smaller <code>priority</code> will receive all the
1989 excess bandwidth that it can use before a queue with a larger value
1990 receives any. Specific priority values are unimportant; only relative
1991 ordering matters. Defaults to 0 if unspecified.
1995 <group title="Configuration for linux-hfsc QoS">
1997 These key-value pairs are defined for <ref table="QoS"/> <ref
1998 table="QoS" column="type"/> of <code>linux-hfsc</code>.
2001 <column name="other_config" key="min-rate"
2002 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2003 Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s.
2006 <column name="other_config" key="max-rate"
2007 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2008 Maximum allowed bandwidth, in bit/s. Optional. If specified, the
2009 queue's rate will not be allowed to exceed the specified value, even if
2010 excess bandwidth is available. If unspecified, defaults to no
2015 <group title="Common Columns">
2016 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2017 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2019 <column name="other_config"/>
2020 <column name="external_ids"/>
2024 <table name="Mirror" title="Port mirroring.">
2025 <p>A port mirror within a <ref table="Bridge"/>.</p>
2026 <p>A port mirror configures a bridge to send selected frames to special
2027 ``mirrored'' ports, in addition to their normal destinations. Mirroring
2028 traffic may also be referred to as SPAN or RSPAN, depending on how
2029 the mirrored traffic is sent.</p>
2031 <column name="name">
2032 Arbitrary identifier for the <ref table="Mirror"/>.
2035 <group title="Selecting Packets for Mirroring">
2037 To be selected for mirroring, a given packet must enter or leave the
2038 bridge through a selected port and it must also be in one of the
2042 <column name="select_all">
2043 If true, every packet arriving or departing on any port is
2044 selected for mirroring.
2047 <column name="select_dst_port">
2048 Ports on which departing packets are selected for mirroring.
2051 <column name="select_src_port">
2052 Ports on which arriving packets are selected for mirroring.
2055 <column name="select_vlan">
2056 VLANs on which packets are selected for mirroring. An empty set
2057 selects packets on all VLANs.
2061 <group title="Mirroring Destination Configuration">
2063 These columns are mutually exclusive. Exactly one of them must be
2067 <column name="output_port">
2068 <p>Output port for selected packets, if nonempty.</p>
2069 <p>Specifying a port for mirror output reserves that port exclusively
2070 for mirroring. No frames other than those selected for mirroring
2072 will be forwarded to the port, and any frames received on the port
2073 will be discarded.</p>
2075 The output port may be any kind of port supported by Open vSwitch.
2076 It may be, for example, a physical port (sometimes called SPAN) or a
2081 <column name="output_vlan">
2082 <p>Output VLAN for selected packets, if nonempty.</p>
2083 <p>The frames will be sent out all ports that trunk
2084 <ref column="output_vlan"/>, as well as any ports with implicit VLAN
2085 <ref column="output_vlan"/>. When a mirrored frame is sent out a
2086 trunk port, the frame's VLAN tag will be set to
2087 <ref column="output_vlan"/>, replacing any existing tag; when it is
2088 sent out an implicit VLAN port, the frame will not be tagged. This
2089 type of mirroring is sometimes called RSPAN.</p>
2091 The following destination MAC addresses will not be mirrored to a
2092 VLAN to avoid confusing switches that interpret the protocols that
2096 <dt><code>01:80:c2:00:00:00</code></dt>
2097 <dd>IEEE 802.1D Spanning Tree Protocol (STP).</dd>
2099 <dt><code>01:80:c2:00:00:01</code></dt>
2100 <dd>IEEE Pause frame.</dd>
2102 <dt><code>01:80:c2:00:00:0<var>x</var></code></dt>
2103 <dd>Other reserved protocols.</dd>
2105 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cc:cc:cc</code></dt>
2107 Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP), VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP),
2108 Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP), Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP),
2112 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cc:cc:cd</code></dt>
2113 <dd>Cisco Shared Spanning Tree Protocol PVSTP+.</dd>
2115 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cd:cd:cd</code></dt>
2116 <dd>Cisco STP Uplink Fast.</dd>
2118 <dt><code>01:00:0c:00:00:00</code></dt>
2119 <dd>Cisco Inter Switch Link.</dd>
2121 <p><em>Please note:</em> Mirroring to a VLAN can disrupt a network that
2122 contains unmanaged switches. Consider an unmanaged physical switch
2123 with two ports: port 1, connected to an end host, and port 2,
2124 connected to an Open vSwitch configured to mirror received packets
2125 into VLAN 123 on port 2. Suppose that the end host sends a packet on
2126 port 1 that the physical switch forwards to port 2. The Open vSwitch
2127 forwards this packet to its destination and then reflects it back on
2128 port 2 in VLAN 123. This reflected packet causes the unmanaged
2129 physical switch to replace the MAC learning table entry, which
2130 correctly pointed to port 1, with one that incorrectly points to port
2131 2. Afterward, the physical switch will direct packets destined for
2132 the end host to the Open vSwitch on port 2, instead of to the end
2133 host on port 1, disrupting connectivity. If mirroring to a VLAN is
2134 desired in this scenario, then the physical switch must be replaced
2135 by one that learns Ethernet addresses on a per-VLAN basis. In
2136 addition, learning should be disabled on the VLAN containing mirrored
2137 traffic. If this is not done then intermediate switches will learn
2138 the MAC address of each end host from the mirrored traffic. If
2139 packets being sent to that end host are also mirrored, then they will
2140 be dropped since the switch will attempt to send them out the input
2141 port. Disabling learning for the VLAN will cause the switch to
2142 correctly send the packet out all ports configured for that VLAN. If
2143 Open vSwitch is being used as an intermediate switch, learning can be
2144 disabled by adding the mirrored VLAN to <ref column="flood_vlans"/>
2145 in the appropriate <ref table="Bridge"/> table or tables.</p>
2147 Mirroring to a GRE tunnel has fewer caveats than mirroring to a
2148 VLAN and should generally be preferred.
2153 <group title="Statistics: Mirror counters">
2155 Key-value pairs that report mirror statistics.
2157 <column name="statistics" key="tx_packets">
2158 Number of packets transmitted through this mirror.
2160 <column name="statistics" key="tx_bytes">
2161 Number of bytes transmitted through this mirror.
2165 <group title="Common Columns">
2166 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2167 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2169 <column name="external_ids"/>
2173 <table name="Controller" title="OpenFlow controller configuration.">
2174 <p>An OpenFlow controller.</p>
2177 Open vSwitch supports two kinds of OpenFlow controllers:
2181 <dt>Primary controllers</dt>
2184 This is the kind of controller envisioned by the OpenFlow 1.0
2185 specification. Usually, a primary controller implements a network
2186 policy by taking charge of the switch's flow table.
2190 Open vSwitch initiates and maintains persistent connections to
2191 primary controllers, retrying the connection each time it fails or
2192 drops. The <ref table="Bridge" column="fail_mode"/> column in the
2193 <ref table="Bridge"/> table applies to primary controllers.
2197 Open vSwitch permits a bridge to have any number of primary
2198 controllers. When multiple controllers are configured, Open
2199 vSwitch connects to all of them simultaneously. Because
2200 OpenFlow 1.0 does not specify how multiple controllers
2201 coordinate in interacting with a single switch, more than
2202 one primary controller should be specified only if the
2203 controllers are themselves designed to coordinate with each
2204 other. (The Nicira-defined <code>NXT_ROLE</code> OpenFlow
2205 vendor extension may be useful for this.)
2208 <dt>Service controllers</dt>
2211 These kinds of OpenFlow controller connections are intended for
2212 occasional support and maintenance use, e.g. with
2213 <code>ovs-ofctl</code>. Usually a service controller connects only
2214 briefly to inspect or modify some of a switch's state.
2218 Open vSwitch listens for incoming connections from service
2219 controllers. The service controllers initiate and, if necessary,
2220 maintain the connections from their end. The <ref table="Bridge"
2221 column="fail_mode"/> column in the <ref table="Bridge"/> table does
2222 not apply to service controllers.
2226 Open vSwitch supports configuring any number of service controllers.
2232 The <ref column="target"/> determines the type of controller.
2235 <group title="Core Features">
2236 <column name="target">
2237 <p>Connection method for controller.</p>
2239 The following connection methods are currently supported for primary
2243 <dt><code>ssl:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
2245 <p>The specified SSL <var>port</var> (default: 6633) on the host at
2246 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
2247 (not a DNS name). The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/>
2248 column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a
2249 valid SSL configuration when this form is used.</p>
2250 <p>SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
2251 part of Open vSwitch.</p>
2253 <dt><code>tcp:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
2254 <dd>The specified TCP <var>port</var> (default: 6633) on the host at
2255 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
2256 (not a DNS name).</dd>
2259 The following connection methods are currently supported for service
2263 <dt><code>pssl:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
2266 Listens for SSL connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
2267 (default: 6633). If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an
2268 IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then connections are
2269 restricted to the specified local IP address.
2272 The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/> column in the <ref
2273 table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a valid SSL
2274 configuration when this form is used.
2276 <p>SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
2277 part of Open vSwitch.</p>
2279 <dt><code>ptcp:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
2281 Listens for connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
2282 (default: 6633). If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an
2283 IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then connections are
2284 restricted to the specified local IP address.
2287 <p>When multiple controllers are configured for a single bridge, the
2288 <ref column="target"/> values must be unique. Duplicate
2289 <ref column="target"/> values yield unspecified results.</p>
2292 <column name="connection_mode">
2293 <p>If it is specified, this setting must be one of the following
2294 strings that describes how Open vSwitch contacts this OpenFlow
2295 controller over the network:</p>
2298 <dt><code>in-band</code></dt>
2299 <dd>In this mode, this controller's OpenFlow traffic travels over the
2300 bridge associated with the controller. With this setting, Open
2301 vSwitch allows traffic to and from the controller regardless of the
2302 contents of the OpenFlow flow table. (Otherwise, Open vSwitch
2303 would never be able to connect to the controller, because it did
2304 not have a flow to enable it.) This is the most common connection
2305 mode because it is not necessary to maintain two independent
2307 <dt><code>out-of-band</code></dt>
2308 <dd>In this mode, OpenFlow traffic uses a control network separate
2309 from the bridge associated with this controller, that is, the
2310 bridge does not use any of its own network devices to communicate
2311 with the controller. The control network must be configured
2312 separately, before or after <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> is started.
2316 <p>If not specified, the default is implementation-specific.</p>
2320 <group title="Controller Failure Detection and Handling">
2321 <column name="max_backoff">
2322 Maximum number of milliseconds to wait between connection attempts.
2323 Default is implementation-specific.
2326 <column name="inactivity_probe">
2327 Maximum number of milliseconds of idle time on connection to
2328 controller before sending an inactivity probe message. If Open
2329 vSwitch does not communicate with the controller for the specified
2330 number of seconds, it will send a probe. If a response is not
2331 received for the same additional amount of time, Open vSwitch
2332 assumes the connection has been broken and attempts to reconnect.
2333 Default is implementation-specific. A value of 0 disables
2338 <group title="OpenFlow Rate Limiting">
2339 <column name="controller_rate_limit">
2340 <p>The maximum rate at which packets in unknown flows will be
2341 forwarded to the OpenFlow controller, in packets per second. This
2342 feature prevents a single bridge from overwhelming the controller.
2343 If not specified, the default is implementation-specific.</p>
2344 <p>In addition, when a high rate triggers rate-limiting, Open
2345 vSwitch queues controller packets for each port and transmits
2346 them to the controller at the configured rate. The number of
2347 queued packets is limited by
2348 the <ref column="controller_burst_limit"/> value. The packet
2349 queue is shared fairly among the ports on a bridge.</p><p>Open
2350 vSwitch maintains two such packet rate-limiters per bridge.
2351 One of these applies to packets sent up to the controller
2352 because they do not correspond to any flow. The other applies
2353 to packets sent up to the controller by request through flow
2354 actions. When both rate-limiters are filled with packets, the
2355 actual rate that packets are sent to the controller is up to
2356 twice the specified rate.</p>
2359 <column name="controller_burst_limit">
2360 In conjunction with <ref column="controller_rate_limit"/>,
2361 the maximum number of unused packet credits that the bridge will
2362 allow to accumulate, in packets. If not specified, the default
2363 is implementation-specific.
2367 <group title="Additional In-Band Configuration">
2368 <p>These values are considered only in in-band control mode (see
2369 <ref column="connection_mode"/>).</p>
2371 <p>When multiple controllers are configured on a single bridge, there
2372 should be only one set of unique values in these columns. If different
2373 values are set for these columns in different controllers, the effect
2376 <column name="local_ip">
2377 The IP address to configure on the local port,
2378 e.g. <code>192.168.0.123</code>. If this value is unset, then
2379 <ref column="local_netmask"/> and <ref column="local_gateway"/> are
2383 <column name="local_netmask">
2384 The IP netmask to configure on the local port,
2385 e.g. <code>255.255.255.0</code>. If <ref column="local_ip"/> is set
2386 but this value is unset, then the default is chosen based on whether
2387 the IP address is class A, B, or C.
2390 <column name="local_gateway">
2391 The IP address of the gateway to configure on the local port, as a
2392 string, e.g. <code>192.168.0.1</code>. Leave this column unset if
2393 this network has no gateway.
2397 <group title="Controller Status">
2398 <column name="is_connected">
2399 <code>true</code> if currently connected to this controller,
2400 <code>false</code> otherwise.
2404 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["other", "master", "slave"]]}'>
2405 <p>The level of authority this controller has on the associated
2406 bridge. Possible values are:</p>
2408 <dt><code>other</code></dt>
2409 <dd>Allows the controller access to all OpenFlow features.</dd>
2410 <dt><code>master</code></dt>
2411 <dd>Equivalent to <code>other</code>, except that there may be at
2412 most one master controller at a time. When a controller configures
2413 itself as <code>master</code>, any existing master is demoted to
2414 the <code>slave</code>role.</dd>
2415 <dt><code>slave</code></dt>
2416 <dd>Allows the controller read-only access to OpenFlow features.
2417 Attempts to modify the flow table will be rejected with an
2418 error. Slave controllers do not receive OFPT_PACKET_IN or
2419 OFPT_FLOW_REMOVED messages, but they do receive OFPT_PORT_STATUS
2424 <column name="status" key="last_error">
2425 A human-readable description of the last error on the connection
2426 to the controller; i.e. <code>strerror(errno)</code>. This key
2427 will exist only if an error has occurred.
2430 <column name="status" key="state"
2431 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["VOID", "BACKOFF", "CONNECTING", "ACTIVE", "IDLE"]]}'>
2433 The state of the connection to the controller:
2436 <dt><code>VOID</code></dt>
2437 <dd>Connection is disabled.</dd>
2439 <dt><code>BACKOFF</code></dt>
2440 <dd>Attempting to reconnect at an increasing period.</dd>
2442 <dt><code>CONNECTING</code></dt>
2443 <dd>Attempting to connect.</dd>
2445 <dt><code>ACTIVE</code></dt>
2446 <dd>Connected, remote host responsive.</dd>
2448 <dt><code>IDLE</code></dt>
2449 <dd>Connection is idle. Waiting for response to keep-alive.</dd>
2452 These values may change in the future. They are provided only for
2457 <column name="status" key="sec_since_connect"
2458 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
2459 The amount of time since this controller last successfully connected to
2460 the switch (in seconds). Value is empty if controller has never
2461 successfully connected.
2464 <column name="status" key="sec_since_disconnect"
2465 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2466 The amount of time since this controller last disconnected from
2467 the switch (in seconds). Value is empty if controller has never
2472 <group title="Common Columns">
2473 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2474 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2476 <column name="external_ids"/>
2480 <table name="Manager" title="OVSDB management connection.">
2482 Configuration for a database connection to an Open vSwitch database
2487 This table primarily configures the Open vSwitch database
2488 (<code>ovsdb-server</code>), not the Open vSwitch switch
2489 (<code>ovs-vswitchd</code>). The switch does read the table to determine
2490 what connections should be treated as in-band.
2494 The Open vSwitch database server can initiate and maintain active
2495 connections to remote clients. It can also listen for database
2499 <group title="Core Features">
2500 <column name="target">
2501 <p>Connection method for managers.</p>
2503 The following connection methods are currently supported:
2506 <dt><code>ssl:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
2509 The specified SSL <var>port</var> (default: 6632) on the host at
2510 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
2511 (not a DNS name). The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/>
2512 column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a
2513 valid SSL configuration when this form is used.
2516 SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
2517 part of Open vSwitch.
2521 <dt><code>tcp:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
2523 The specified TCP <var>port</var> (default: 6632) on the host at
2524 the given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
2527 <dt><code>pssl:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
2530 Listens for SSL connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
2531 (default: 6632). If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an
2532 IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then connections are
2533 restricted to the specified local IP address.
2536 The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/> column in the <ref
2537 table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a valid SSL
2538 configuration when this form is used.
2541 SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
2542 part of Open vSwitch.
2545 <dt><code>ptcp:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
2547 Listens for connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>
2548 (default: 6632). If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an
2549 IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then connections are
2550 restricted to the specified local IP address.
2553 <p>When multiple managers are configured, the <ref column="target"/>
2554 values must be unique. Duplicate <ref column="target"/> values yield
2555 unspecified results.</p>
2558 <column name="connection_mode">
2560 If it is specified, this setting must be one of the following strings
2561 that describes how Open vSwitch contacts this OVSDB client over the
2566 <dt><code>in-band</code></dt>
2568 In this mode, this connection's traffic travels over a bridge
2569 managed by Open vSwitch. With this setting, Open vSwitch allows
2570 traffic to and from the client regardless of the contents of the
2571 OpenFlow flow table. (Otherwise, Open vSwitch would never be able
2572 to connect to the client, because it did not have a flow to enable
2573 it.) This is the most common connection mode because it is not
2574 necessary to maintain two independent networks.
2576 <dt><code>out-of-band</code></dt>
2578 In this mode, the client's traffic uses a control network separate
2579 from that managed by Open vSwitch, that is, Open vSwitch does not
2580 use any of its own network devices to communicate with the client.
2581 The control network must be configured separately, before or after
2582 <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> is started.
2587 If not specified, the default is implementation-specific.
2592 <group title="Client Failure Detection and Handling">
2593 <column name="max_backoff">
2594 Maximum number of milliseconds to wait between connection attempts.
2595 Default is implementation-specific.
2598 <column name="inactivity_probe">
2599 Maximum number of milliseconds of idle time on connection to the client
2600 before sending an inactivity probe message. If Open vSwitch does not
2601 communicate with the client for the specified number of seconds, it
2602 will send a probe. If a response is not received for the same
2603 additional amount of time, Open vSwitch assumes the connection has been
2604 broken and attempts to reconnect. Default is implementation-specific.
2605 A value of 0 disables inactivity probes.
2609 <group title="Status">
2610 <column name="is_connected">
2611 <code>true</code> if currently connected to this manager,
2612 <code>false</code> otherwise.
2615 <column name="status" key="last_error">
2616 A human-readable description of the last error on the connection
2617 to the manager; i.e. <code>strerror(errno)</code>. This key
2618 will exist only if an error has occurred.
2621 <column name="status" key="state"
2622 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["VOID", "BACKOFF", "CONNECTING", "ACTIVE", "IDLE"]]}'>
2624 The state of the connection to the manager:
2627 <dt><code>VOID</code></dt>
2628 <dd>Connection is disabled.</dd>
2630 <dt><code>BACKOFF</code></dt>
2631 <dd>Attempting to reconnect at an increasing period.</dd>
2633 <dt><code>CONNECTING</code></dt>
2634 <dd>Attempting to connect.</dd>
2636 <dt><code>ACTIVE</code></dt>
2637 <dd>Connected, remote host responsive.</dd>
2639 <dt><code>IDLE</code></dt>
2640 <dd>Connection is idle. Waiting for response to keep-alive.</dd>
2643 These values may change in the future. They are provided only for
2648 <column name="status" key="sec_since_connect"
2649 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
2650 The amount of time since this manager last successfully connected
2651 to the database (in seconds). Value is empty if manager has never
2652 successfully connected.
2655 <column name="status" key="sec_since_disconnect"
2656 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
2657 The amount of time since this manager last disconnected from the
2658 database (in seconds). Value is empty if manager has never
2662 <column name="status" key="locks_held">
2663 Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection
2664 holds. Omitted if the connection does not hold any locks.
2667 <column name="status" key="locks_waiting">
2668 Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection is
2669 currently waiting to acquire. Omitted if the connection is not waiting
2673 <column name="status" key="locks_lost">
2674 Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection
2675 has had stolen by another OVSDB client. Omitted if no locks have been
2676 stolen from this connection.
2679 <column name="status" key="n_connections"
2680 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 2}'>
2682 When <ref column="target"/> specifies a connection method that
2683 listens for inbound connections (e.g. <code>ptcp:</code> or
2684 <code>pssl:</code>) and more than one connection is actually active,
2685 the value is the number of active connections. Otherwise, this
2686 key-value pair is omitted.
2689 When multiple connections are active, status columns and key-value
2690 pairs (other than this one) report the status of one arbitrarily
2696 <group title="Common Columns">
2697 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2698 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2700 <column name="external_ids"/>
2704 <table name="NetFlow">
2705 A NetFlow target. NetFlow is a protocol that exports a number of
2706 details about terminating IP flows, such as the principals involved
2709 <column name="targets">
2710 NetFlow targets in the form
2711 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>. The <var>ip</var>
2712 must be specified numerically, not as a DNS name.
2715 <column name="engine_id">
2716 Engine ID to use in NetFlow messages. Defaults to datapath index
2720 <column name="engine_type">
2721 Engine type to use in NetFlow messages. Defaults to datapath
2722 index if not specified.
2725 <column name="active_timeout">
2726 The interval at which NetFlow records are sent for flows that are
2727 still active, in seconds. A value of <code>0</code> requests the
2728 default timeout (currently 600 seconds); a value of <code>-1</code>
2729 disables active timeouts.
2732 <column name="add_id_to_interface">
2733 <p>If this column's value is <code>false</code>, the ingress and egress
2734 interface fields of NetFlow flow records are derived from OpenFlow port
2735 numbers. When it is <code>true</code>, the 7 most significant bits of
2736 these fields will be replaced by the least significant 7 bits of the
2737 engine id. This is useful because many NetFlow collectors do not
2738 expect multiple switches to be sending messages from the same host, so
2739 they do not store the engine information which could be used to
2740 disambiguate the traffic.</p>
2741 <p>When this option is enabled, a maximum of 508 ports are supported.</p>
2744 <group title="Common Columns">
2745 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2746 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2748 <column name="external_ids"/>
2753 SSL configuration for an Open_vSwitch.
2755 <column name="private_key">
2756 Name of a PEM file containing the private key used as the switch's
2757 identity for SSL connections to the controller.
2760 <column name="certificate">
2761 Name of a PEM file containing a certificate, signed by the
2762 certificate authority (CA) used by the controller and manager,
2763 that certifies the switch's private key, identifying a trustworthy
2767 <column name="ca_cert">
2768 Name of a PEM file containing the CA certificate used to verify
2769 that the switch is connected to a trustworthy controller.
2772 <column name="bootstrap_ca_cert">
2773 If set to <code>true</code>, then Open vSwitch will attempt to
2774 obtain the CA certificate from the controller on its first SSL
2775 connection and save it to the named PEM file. If it is successful,
2776 it will immediately drop the connection and reconnect, and from then
2777 on all SSL connections must be authenticated by a certificate signed
2778 by the CA certificate thus obtained. <em>This option exposes the
2779 SSL connection to a man-in-the-middle attack obtaining the initial
2780 CA certificate.</em> It may still be useful for bootstrapping.
2783 <group title="Common Columns">
2784 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2785 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2787 <column name="external_ids"/>
2791 <table name="sFlow">
2792 <p>An sFlow(R) target. sFlow is a protocol for remote monitoring
2795 <column name="agent">
2796 Name of the network device whose IP address should be reported as the
2797 ``agent address'' to collectors. If not specified, the IP address
2798 defaults to the <ref table="Controller" column="local_ip"/> in the
2799 collector's <ref table="Controller"/>. If an agent IP address cannot be
2800 determined either way, sFlow is disabled.
2803 <column name="header">
2804 Number of bytes of a sampled packet to send to the collector.
2805 If not specified, the default is 128 bytes.
2808 <column name="polling">
2809 Polling rate in seconds to send port statistics to the collector.
2810 If not specified, defaults to 30 seconds.
2813 <column name="sampling">
2814 Rate at which packets should be sampled and sent to the collector.
2815 If not specified, defaults to 400, which means one out of 400
2816 packets, on average, will be sent to the collector.
2819 <column name="targets">
2820 sFlow targets in the form
2821 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>.
2824 <group title="Common Columns">
2825 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2826 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2828 <column name="external_ids"/>
2832 <table name="Capability">
2833 <p>Records in this table describe functionality supported by the hardware
2834 and software platform on which this Open vSwitch is based. Clients
2835 should not modify this table.</p>
2837 <p>A record in this table is meaningful only if it is referenced by the
2838 <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="capabilities"/> column in the
2839 <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table. The key used to reference it, called
2840 the record's ``category,'' determines the meanings of the
2841 <ref column="details"/> column. The following general forms of
2842 categories are currently defined:</p>
2845 <dt><code>qos-<var>type</var></code></dt>
2846 <dd><var>type</var> is supported as the value for
2847 <ref column="type" table="QoS"/> in the <ref table="QoS"/> table.
2851 <column name="details">
2852 <p>Key-value pairs that describe capabilities. The meaning of the pairs
2853 depends on the category key that the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"
2854 column="capabilities"/> column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table
2855 uses to reference this record, as described above.</p>
2857 <p>The presence of a record for category <code>qos-<var>type</var></code>
2858 indicates that the switch supports <var>type</var> as the value of
2859 the <ref table="QoS" column="type"/> column in the <ref table="QoS"/>
2860 table. The following key-value pairs are defined to further describe
2861 QoS capabilities:</p>
2864 <dt><code>n-queues</code></dt>
2865 <dd>Number of supported queues, as a positive integer. Keys in the
2866 <ref table="QoS" column="queues"/> column for <ref table="QoS"/>
2867 records whose <ref table="QoS" column="type"/> value
2868 equals <var>type</var> must range between 0 and this value minus one,