================================================
This document describes how to build and install Open vSwitch on a
-generic Linux or FreeBSD host. If you want to install Open vSwitch on
-a Citrix XenServer, see INSTALL.XenServer instead.
+generic Linux or FreeBSD host. For specifics around installation on a
+specific platform, please see one of these files:
-This version of Open vSwitch may be built manually with "configure"
-and "make", as described below. You may also build Debian packages by
-running "dpkg-buildpackage".
+ - INSTALL.Debian
+ - INSTALL.Fedora
+ - INSTALL.RHEL
+ - INSTALL.XenServer
Build Requirements
------------------
To compile the userspace programs in the Open vSwitch distribution,
you will need the following software:
- - A make program, e.g. GNU make. BSD make should also work.
+ - GNU make.
- The GNU C compiler. We generally test with version 4.1, 4.2, or
4.3.
additional environment variables. For a full list, invoke
configure with the --help option.
-3. Run make in the top source directory:
+3. Run GNU make in the top source directory, e.g.:
% make
- On FreeBSD you may need to use GNU make (gmake) or NetBSD make
- (bmake) instead of the native make.
+ or if GNU make is installed as "gmake":
+
+ % gmake
For improved warnings if you installed "sparse" (see
- "Prerequisites"), add C=1 to the "make" command line.
+ "Prerequisites"), add C=1 to the command line.
-4. Become root by running "su" or another program.
+4. Consider running the testsuite. Refer to "Running the Testsuite"
+ below, for instructions.
-5. Run "make install" to install the executables and manpages into the
+5. Become root by running "su" or another program.
+
+6. Run "make install" to install the executables and manpages into the
running system, by default under /usr/local.
-6. If you built kernel modules, you may load them with "insmod", e.g.:
+7. If you built kernel modules, you may load them with "insmod", e.g.:
% insmod datapath/linux/openvswitch.ko
% make modules_install
-7. Initialize the configuration database using ovsdb-tool, e.g.:
+8. Initialize the configuration database using ovsdb-tool, e.g.:
% mkdir -p /usr/local/etc/openvswitch
% ovsdb-tool create /usr/local/etc/openvswitch/conf.db vswitchd/vswitch.ovsschema
4. Start the Open vSwitch daemons as described under "Building and
Installing Open vSwitch for Linux or FreeBSD" above.
+Running the Testsuite
+=====================
+
+Open vSwitch includes a testsuite. Before you submit patches
+upstream, we advise that you run the tests and ensure that they pass.
+If you add new features to Open vSwitch, then adding tests for those
+features will ensure your features don't break as developers modify
+other areas of Open vSwitch.
+
+You must configure and build Open vSwitch (steps 1 through 3 in
+"Building and Installing Open vSwitch for Linux or FreeBSD" above)
+before you run the testsuite. You do not need to install Open vSwitch
+or to build or load the kernel module to run the testsuite. You do
+not need supervisor privilege to run the testsuite.
+
+To run all the unit tests in Open vSwitch, one at a time:
+ make check
+This takes under 5 minutes on a modern desktop system.
+
+To run all the unit tests in Open vSwitch, up to 8 in parallel:
+ make check TESTSUITEFLAGS=-j8
+This takes under a minute on a modern 4-core desktop system.
+
+To see a list of all the available tests, run:
+ make check TESTSUITEFLAGS=--list
+
+To run only a subset of tests, e.g. test 123 and tests 477 through 484:
+ make check TESTSUITEFLAGS='123 477-484'
+(Tests do not have inter-dependencies, so you may run any subset.)
+
+To run tests matching a keyword, e.g. "ovsdb":
+ make check TESTSUITEFLAGS='-k ovsdb'
+
+To see a complete list of test options:
+ make check TESTSUITEFLAGS=--help
+
+The results of a testing run are reported in tests/testsuite.log.
+Please report test failures as bugs and include the testsuite.log in
+your report.
+
+If you have "valgrind" installed, then you can also run the testsuite
+under valgrind by using "make check-valgrind" in place of "make
+check". All the same options are available via TESTSUITEFLAGS. When
+you do this, the "valgrind" results for test <N> are reported in files
+named tests/testsuite.dir/<N>/valgrind.*. You may find that the
+valgrind results are easier to interpret if you put "-q" in
+~/.valgrindrc, since that reduces the amount of
+
+Sometimes a few tests may fail on some runs but not others. This is
+usually a bug in the testsuite, not a bug in Open vSwitch itself. If
+you find that a test fails intermittently, please report it, since the
+developers may not have noticed.
+
Bug Reporting
-------------