What is Open vSwitch?
---------------------
-Open vSwitch is a versatile software-based Ethernet switch with the
-following features:
-
- * NIC bonding with automatic fail-over and source MAC-based TX
- load balancing ("SLB").
-
- * 802.1Q VLAN support.
-
- * Port mirroring, with optional VLAN tagging.
-
- * NetFlow v5 flow logging.
-
- * Connectivity to an external OpenFlow controller, such as NOX.
-
-Open vSwitch supports Linux 2.6.15 and up, with testing focused on
-2.6.18 with Centos and Xen patches and version 2.6.26 from kernel.org.
-Open vSwitch also has special support for Citrix XenServer hosts.
+Open vSwitch is a multilayer software switch licensed under the open
+source Apache 2 license. Our goal is to implement a production
+quality switch platform that supports standard management interfaces
+and opens the forwarding functions to programmatic extension and
+control.
+
+Open vSwitch is well suited to function as a virtual switch in VM
+environments. In addition to exposing standard control and visibility
+interfaces to the virtual networking layer, it was designed to support
+distribution across multiple physical servers. Open vSwitch supports
+multiple Linux-based virtualization technologies including
+Xen/XenServer, KVM, and VirtualBox.
+
+The bulk of the code is written in platform-independent C and is
+easily ported to other environments. The current release of Open
+vSwitch supports the following features:
+
+ * Standard 802.1Q VLAN model with trunk and access ports
+ * NIC bonding with or without LACP on upstream switch
+ * NetFlow, sFlow(R), and mirroring for increased visibility
+ * QoS (Quality of Service) configuration, plus policing
+ * GRE, GRE over IPSEC, VXLAN, and LISP tunneling
+ * 802.1ag connectivity fault management
+ * OpenFlow 1.0 plus numerous extensions
+ * Transactional configuration database with C and Python bindings
+ * High-performance forwarding using a Linux kernel module
+
+The included Linux kernel module supports Linux 2.6.32 and up, with
+testing focused on 2.6.32 with Centos and Xen patches. Open vSwitch
+also has special support for Citrix XenServer and Red Hat Enterprise
+Linux hosts.
+
+Open vSwitch can also operate, at a cost in performance, entirely in
+userspace, without assistance from a kernel module. This userspace
+implementation should be easier to port than the kernel-based switch.
+It is considered experimental.
What's here?
------------
* ovs-vswitchd, a daemon that implements the switch, along with
a companion Linux kernel module for flow-based switching.
- * ovs-brcompatd, a daemon that allows ovs-vswitchd to act as a
- drop-in replacement for the Linux bridge in many environments,
- along with a companion Linux kernel module to intercept bridge
- ioctls.
+ * ovsdb-server, a lightweight database server that ovs-vswitchd
+ queries to obtain its configuration.
* ovs-dpctl, a tool for configuring the switch kernel module.
- * Scripts and specs for building RPMs that allow Open vSwitch
- to be installed on a Citrix XenServer host as a drop-in
- replacement for its switch, with additional functionality.
+ * Scripts and specs for building RPMs for Citrix XenServer and Red
+ Hat Enterprise Linux. The XenServer RPMs allow Open vSwitch to
+ be installed on a Citrix XenServer host as a drop-in replacement
+ for its switch, with additional functionality.
- * ovs-appctl, a utility that can control Open vSwitch daemons,
- adjusting their logging levels among other uses.
+ * ovs-vsctl, a utility for querying and updating the configuration
+ of ovs-vswitchd.
-Open vSwitch also provides an OpenFlow implementation and tools for
-those interested in OpenFlow but not additional Open vSwitch features:
+ * ovs-appctl, a utility that sends commands to running Open
+ vSwitch daemons.
- * ovs-openflowd, a program that implements a simple OpenFlow
- switch (without the special features provided by ovs-vswitchd)
- using the same kernel module as ovs-vswitchd.
-
- * ovs-controller, a simple OpenFlow controller.
+Open vSwitch also provides some tools:
* ovs-ofctl, a utility for querying and controlling OpenFlow
switches and controllers.
What other documentation is available?
--------------------------------------
-To install Open vSwitch on a regular Linux machine, read INSTALL.Linux.
+To install Open vSwitch on a regular Linux or FreeBSD host, please
+read INSTALL. For specifics around installation on a specific
+platform, please see one of these files:
+
+ - INSTALL.Debian
+ - INSTALL.Fedora
+ - INSTALL.RHEL
+ - INSTALL.XenServer
+
+To use Open vSwitch...
+
+ - ...with KVM on Linux, read INSTALL, read INSTALL.KVM.
+
+ - ...with Libvirt, read INSTALL.Libvirt.
+
+ - ...without using a kernel module, read INSTALL.userspace.
-To use Open vSwitch as a drop-in replacement for the Linux bridge,
-read INSTALL.bridge.
+For answers to common questions, read FAQ.
-To build RPMs for installing Open vSwitch on a Citrix XenServer host
-or resource pool, read INSTALL.XenServer.
+To learn how to set up SSL support for Open vSwitch, read INSTALL.SSL.
-To learn set up SSL support for Open vSwitch, read INSTALL.SSL.
+To learn about some advanced features of the Open vSwitch software
+switch, read the tutorial in tutorial/Tutorial.
Each Open vSwitch userspace program is accompanied by a manpage. Many
of the manpages are customized to your configuration as part of the
git://git.onelab.eu / sliver-openvswitch.git / blobdiff