1 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
2 <database name="ovs-vswitchd.conf.db" title="Open vSwitch Configuration Database">
4 A database with this schema holds the configuration for one Open
5 vSwitch daemon. The top-level configuration for the daemon is the
6 <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table, which must have exactly one
7 record. Records in other tables are significant only when they
8 can be reached directly or indirectly from the <ref
9 table="Open_vSwitch"/> table. Records that are not reachable from
10 the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table are automatically deleted
11 from the database, except for records in a few distinguished
15 <h2>Common Columns</h2>
18 Most tables contain two special columns, named <code>other_config</code>
19 and <code>external_ids</code>. These columns have the same form and
20 purpose each place that they appear, so we describe them here to save space
25 <dt><code>other_config</code>: map of string-string pairs</dt>
28 Key-value pairs for configuring rarely used features. Supported keys,
29 along with the forms taken by their values, are documented individually
33 A few tables do not have <code>other_config</code> columns because no
34 key-value pairs have yet been defined for them.
38 <dt><code>external_ids</code>: map of string-string pairs</dt>
40 Key-value pairs for use by external frameworks that integrate with Open
41 vSwitch, rather than by Open vSwitch itself. System integrators should
42 either use the Open vSwitch development mailing list to coordinate on
43 common key-value definitions, or choose key names that are likely to be
44 unique. In some cases, where key-value pairs have been defined that are
45 likely to be widely useful, they are documented individually for each
50 <table name="Open_vSwitch" title="Open vSwitch configuration.">
51 Configuration for an Open vSwitch daemon. There must be exactly
52 one record in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table.
54 <group title="Configuration">
55 <column name="bridges">
56 Set of bridges managed by the daemon.
60 SSL used globally by the daemon.
63 <column name="external_ids" key="system-id">
64 A unique identifier for the Open vSwitch's physical host.
65 The form of the identifier depends on the type of the host.
66 On a Citrix XenServer, this will likely be the same as
67 <ref column="external_ids" key="xs-system-uuid"/>.
70 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-system-uuid">
71 The Citrix XenServer universally unique identifier for the physical
72 host as displayed by <code>xe host-list</code>.
75 <column name="other_config" key="stats-update-interval"
76 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 5000}'>
78 Interval for updating statistics to the database, in milliseconds.
79 This option will affect the update of the <code>statistics</code>
80 column in the following tables: <code>Port</code>, <code>Interface
81 </code>, <code>Mirror</code>.
84 Default value is 5000 ms.
87 Getting statistics more frequently can be achieved via OpenFlow.
91 <column name="other_config" key="flow-restore-wait"
92 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
94 When <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> starts up, it has an empty flow table
95 and therefore it handles all arriving packets in its default fashion
96 according to its configuration, by dropping them or sending them to
97 an OpenFlow controller or switching them as a standalone switch.
98 This behavior is ordinarily desirable. However, if
99 <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> is restarting as part of a ``hot-upgrade,''
100 then this leads to a relatively long period during which packets are
104 This option allows for improvement. When <code>ovs-vswitchd</code>
105 starts with this value set as <code>true</code>, it will neither
106 flush or expire previously set datapath flows nor will it send and
107 receive any packets to or from the datapath. When this value is
108 later set to <code>false</code>, <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> will
109 start receiving packets from the datapath and re-setup the flows.
112 Thus, with this option, the procedure for a hot-upgrade of
113 <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> becomes roughly the following:
117 Stop <code>ovs-vswitchd</code>.
120 Set <ref column="other_config" key="flow-restore-wait"/>
121 to <code>true</code>.
124 Start <code>ovs-vswitchd</code>.
127 Use <code>ovs-ofctl</code> (or some other program, such as an
128 OpenFlow controller) to restore the OpenFlow flow table
129 to the desired state.
132 Set <ref column="other_config" key="flow-restore-wait"/>
133 to <code>false</code> (or remove it entirely from the database).
137 The <code>ovs-ctl</code>'s ``restart'' and ``force-reload-kmod''
138 functions use the above config option during hot upgrades.
142 <column name="other_config" key="flow-limit"
143 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
146 number of flows allowed in the datapath flow table. Internally OVS
147 will choose a flow limit which will likely be lower than this number,
148 based on real time network conditions.
151 The default is 200000.
155 <column name="other_config" key="n-dpdk-rxqs"
156 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
158 Specifies the number of rx queues to be created for each dpdk
159 interface. If not specified or specified to 0, one rx queue will
160 be created for each dpdk interface by default.
164 <column name="other_config" key="pmd-cpu-mask">
166 Specifies CPU mask for setting the cpu affinity of PMD (Poll
167 Mode Driver) threads. Value should be in the form of hex string,
168 similar to the dpdk EAL '-c COREMASK' option input or the 'taskset'
172 The lowest order bit corresponds to the first CPU core. A set bit
173 means the corresponding core is available and a pmd thread will be
174 created and pinned to it. If the input does not cover all cores,
175 those uncovered cores are considered not set.
178 If not specified, one pmd thread will be created for each numa node
179 and pinned to any available core on the numa node by default.
183 <column name="other_config" key="n-handler-threads"
184 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
186 Specifies the number of threads for software datapaths to use for
187 handling new flows. The default the number of online CPU cores minus
188 the number of revalidators.
191 This configuration is per datapath. If you have more than one
192 software datapath (e.g. some <code>system</code> bridges and some
193 <code>netdev</code> bridges), then the total number of threads is
194 <code>n-handler-threads</code> times the number of software
199 <column name="other_config" key="n-revalidator-threads"
200 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
202 Specifies the number of threads for software datapaths to use for
203 revalidating flows in the datapath. Typically, there is a direct
204 correlation between the number of revalidator threads, and the number
205 of flows allowed in the datapath. The default is the number of cpu
206 cores divided by four plus one. If <code>n-handler-threads</code> is
207 set, the default changes to the number of cpu cores minus the number
211 This configuration is per datapath. If you have more than one
212 software datapath (e.g. some <code>system</code> bridges and some
213 <code>netdev</code> bridges), then the total number of threads is
214 <code>n-handler-threads</code> times the number of software
220 <group title="Status">
221 <column name="next_cfg">
222 Sequence number for client to increment. When a client modifies
223 any part of the database configuration and wishes to wait for
224 Open vSwitch to finish applying the changes, it may increment
225 this sequence number.
228 <column name="cur_cfg">
229 Sequence number that Open vSwitch sets to the current value of
230 <ref column="next_cfg"/> after it finishes applying a set of
231 configuration changes.
234 <group title="Statistics">
236 The <code>statistics</code> column contains key-value pairs that
237 report statistics about a system running an Open vSwitch. These are
238 updated periodically (currently, every 5 seconds). Key-value pairs
239 that cannot be determined or that do not apply to a platform are
243 <column name="other_config" key="enable-statistics"
244 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
245 Statistics are disabled by default to avoid overhead in the common
246 case when statistics gathering is not useful. Set this value to
247 <code>true</code> to enable populating the <ref column="statistics"/>
248 column or to <code>false</code> to explicitly disable it.
251 <column name="statistics" key="cpu"
252 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
254 Number of CPU processors, threads, or cores currently online and
255 available to the operating system on which Open vSwitch is running,
256 as an integer. This may be less than the number installed, if some
257 are not online or if they are not available to the operating
261 Open vSwitch userspace processes are not multithreaded, but the
262 Linux kernel-based datapath is.
266 <column name="statistics" key="load_average">
267 A comma-separated list of three floating-point numbers,
268 representing the system load average over the last 1, 5, and 15
269 minutes, respectively.
272 <column name="statistics" key="memory">
274 A comma-separated list of integers, each of which represents a
275 quantity of memory in kilobytes that describes the operating
276 system on which Open vSwitch is running. In respective order,
281 <li>Total amount of RAM allocated to the OS.</li>
282 <li>RAM allocated to the OS that is in use.</li>
283 <li>RAM that can be flushed out to disk or otherwise discarded
284 if that space is needed for another purpose. This number is
285 necessarily less than or equal to the previous value.</li>
286 <li>Total disk space allocated for swap.</li>
287 <li>Swap space currently in use.</li>
291 On Linux, all five values can be determined and are included. On
292 other operating systems, only the first two values can be
293 determined, so the list will only have two values.
297 <column name="statistics" key="process_NAME">
299 One such key-value pair, with <code>NAME</code> replaced by
300 a process name, will exist for each running Open vSwitch
301 daemon process, with <var>name</var> replaced by the
302 daemon's name (e.g. <code>process_ovs-vswitchd</code>). The
303 value is a comma-separated list of integers. The integers
304 represent the following, with memory measured in kilobytes
305 and durations in milliseconds:
309 <li>The process's virtual memory size.</li>
310 <li>The process's resident set size.</li>
311 <li>The amount of user and system CPU time consumed by the
313 <li>The number of times that the process has crashed and been
314 automatically restarted by the monitor.</li>
315 <li>The duration since the process was started.</li>
316 <li>The duration for which the process has been running.</li>
320 The interpretation of some of these values depends on whether the
321 process was started with the <option>--monitor</option>. If it
322 was not, then the crash count will always be 0 and the two
323 durations will always be the same. If <option>--monitor</option>
324 was given, then the crash count may be positive; if it is, the
325 latter duration is the amount of time since the most recent crash
330 There will be one key-value pair for each file in Open vSwitch's
331 ``run directory'' (usually <code>/var/run/openvswitch</code>)
332 whose name ends in <code>.pid</code>, whose contents are a
333 process ID, and which is locked by a running process. The
334 <var>name</var> is taken from the pidfile's name.
338 Currently Open vSwitch is only able to obtain all of the above
339 detail on Linux systems. On other systems, the same key-value
340 pairs will be present but the values will always be the empty
345 <column name="statistics" key="file_systems">
347 A space-separated list of information on local, writable file
348 systems. Each item in the list describes one file system and
349 consists in turn of a comma-separated list of the following:
353 <li>Mount point, e.g. <code>/</code> or <code>/var/log</code>.
354 Any spaces or commas in the mount point are replaced by
356 <li>Total size, in kilobytes, as an integer.</li>
357 <li>Amount of storage in use, in kilobytes, as an integer.</li>
361 This key-value pair is omitted if there are no local, writable
362 file systems or if Open vSwitch cannot obtain the needed
369 <group title="Version Reporting">
371 These columns report the types and versions of the hardware and
372 software running Open vSwitch. We recommend in general that software
373 should test whether specific features are supported instead of relying
374 on version number checks. These values are primarily intended for
375 reporting to human administrators.
378 <column name="ovs_version">
379 The Open vSwitch version number, e.g. <code>1.1.0</code>.
382 <column name="db_version">
384 The database schema version number in the form
385 <code><var>major</var>.<var>minor</var>.<var>tweak</var></code>,
386 e.g. <code>1.2.3</code>. Whenever the database schema is changed in
387 a non-backward compatible way (e.g. deleting a column or a table),
388 <var>major</var> is incremented. When the database schema is changed
389 in a backward compatible way (e.g. adding a new column),
390 <var>minor</var> is incremented. When the database schema is changed
391 cosmetically (e.g. reindenting its syntax), <var>tweak</var> is
396 The schema version is part of the database schema, so it can also be
397 retrieved by fetching the schema using the Open vSwitch database
402 <column name="system_type">
404 An identifier for the type of system on top of which Open vSwitch
405 runs, e.g. <code>XenServer</code> or <code>KVM</code>.
408 System integrators are responsible for choosing and setting an
409 appropriate value for this column.
413 <column name="system_version">
415 The version of the system identified by <ref column="system_type"/>,
416 e.g. <code>5.6.100-39265p</code> on XenServer 5.6.100 build 39265.
419 System integrators are responsible for choosing and setting an
420 appropriate value for this column.
426 <group title="Database Configuration">
428 These columns primarily configure the Open vSwitch database
429 (<code>ovsdb-server</code>), not the Open vSwitch switch
430 (<code>ovs-vswitchd</code>). The OVSDB database also uses the <ref
431 column="ssl"/> settings.
435 The Open vSwitch switch does read the database configuration to
436 determine remote IP addresses to which in-band control should apply.
439 <column name="manager_options">
440 Database clients to which the Open vSwitch database server should
441 connect or to which it should listen, along with options for how these
442 connection should be configured. See the <ref table="Manager"/> table
443 for more information.
447 <group title="Common Columns">
448 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
449 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
451 <column name="other_config"/>
452 <column name="external_ids"/>
456 <table name="Bridge">
458 Configuration for a bridge within an
459 <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/>.
462 A <ref table="Bridge"/> record represents an Ethernet switch with one or
463 more ``ports,'' which are the <ref table="Port"/> records pointed to by
464 the <ref table="Bridge"/>'s <ref column="ports"/> column.
467 <group title="Core Features">
469 Bridge identifier. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8
470 bytes long. Must be unique among the names of ports, interfaces, and
474 <column name="ports">
475 Ports included in the bridge.
478 <column name="mirrors">
479 Port mirroring configuration.
482 <column name="netflow">
483 NetFlow configuration.
486 <column name="sflow">
487 sFlow(R) configuration.
490 <column name="ipfix">
494 <column name="flood_vlans">
496 VLAN IDs of VLANs on which MAC address learning should be disabled,
497 so that packets are flooded instead of being sent to specific ports
498 that are believed to contain packets' destination MACs. This should
499 ordinarily be used to disable MAC learning on VLANs used for
500 mirroring (RSPAN VLANs). It may also be useful for debugging.
503 SLB bonding (see the <ref table="Port" column="bond_mode"/> column in
504 the <ref table="Port"/> table) is incompatible with
505 <code>flood_vlans</code>. Consider using another bonding mode or
506 a different type of mirror instead.
511 <group title="OpenFlow Configuration">
512 <column name="controller">
514 OpenFlow controller set. If unset, then no OpenFlow controllers
519 If there are primary controllers, removing all of them clears the
520 flow table. If there are no primary controllers, adding one also
521 clears the flow table. Other changes to the set of controllers, such
522 as adding or removing a service controller, adding another primary
523 controller to supplement an existing primary controller, or removing
524 only one of two primary controllers, have no effect on the flow
529 <column name="flow_tables">
530 Configuration for OpenFlow tables. Each pair maps from an OpenFlow
531 table ID to configuration for that table.
534 <column name="fail_mode">
535 <p>When a controller is configured, it is, ordinarily, responsible
536 for setting up all flows on the switch. Thus, if the connection to
537 the controller fails, no new network connections can be set up.
538 If the connection to the controller stays down long enough,
539 no packets can pass through the switch at all. This setting
540 determines the switch's response to such a situation. It may be set
541 to one of the following:
543 <dt><code>standalone</code></dt>
544 <dd>If no message is received from the controller for three
545 times the inactivity probe interval
546 (see <ref column="inactivity_probe"/>), then Open vSwitch
547 will take over responsibility for setting up flows. In
548 this mode, Open vSwitch causes the bridge to act like an
549 ordinary MAC-learning switch. Open vSwitch will continue
550 to retry connecting to the controller in the background
551 and, when the connection succeeds, it will discontinue its
552 standalone behavior.</dd>
553 <dt><code>secure</code></dt>
554 <dd>Open vSwitch will not set up flows on its own when the
555 controller connection fails or when no controllers are
556 defined. The bridge will continue to retry connecting to
557 any defined controllers forever.</dd>
561 The default is <code>standalone</code> if the value is unset, but
562 future versions of Open vSwitch may change the default.
565 The <code>standalone</code> mode can create forwarding loops on a
566 bridge that has more than one uplink port unless STP is enabled. To
567 avoid loops on such a bridge, configure <code>secure</code> mode or
568 enable STP (see <ref column="stp_enable"/>).
570 <p>When more than one controller is configured,
571 <ref column="fail_mode"/> is considered only when none of the
572 configured controllers can be contacted.</p>
574 Changing <ref column="fail_mode"/> when no primary controllers are
575 configured clears the flow table.
579 <column name="datapath_id">
580 Reports the OpenFlow datapath ID in use. Exactly 16 hex digits.
581 (Setting this column has no useful effect. Set <ref
582 column="other-config" key="datapath-id"/> instead.)
585 <column name="datapath_version">
587 Reports the version number of the Open vSwitch datapath in use.
588 This allows management software to detect and report discrepancies
589 between Open vSwitch userspace and datapath versions. (The <ref
590 column="ovs_version" table="Open_vSwitch"/> column in the <ref
591 table="Open_vSwitch"/> reports the Open vSwitch userspace version.)
592 The version reported depends on the datapath in use:
597 When the kernel module included in the Open vSwitch source tree is
598 used, this column reports the Open vSwitch version from which the
603 When the kernel module that is part of the upstream Linux kernel is
604 used, this column reports <code><unknown></code>.
608 When the datapath is built into the <code>ovs-vswitchd</code>
609 binary, this column reports <code><built-in></code>. A
610 built-in datapath is by definition the same version as the rest of
611 the Open VSwitch userspace.
615 Other datapaths (such as the Hyper-V kernel datapath) currently
616 report <code><unknown></code>.
621 A version discrepancy between <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> and the
622 datapath in use is not normally cause for alarm. The Open vSwitch
623 kernel datapaths for Linux and Hyper-V, in particular, are designed
624 for maximum inter-version compatibility: any userspace version works
625 with with any kernel version. Some reasons do exist to insist on
626 particular user/kernel pairings. First, newer kernel versions add
627 new features, that can only be used by new-enough userspace, e.g.
628 VXLAN tunneling requires certain minimal userspace and kernel
629 versions. Second, as an extension to the first reason, some newer
630 kernel versions add new features for enhancing performance that only
631 new-enough userspace versions can take advantage of.
635 <column name="other_config" key="datapath-id">
636 Exactly 16 hex digits to set the OpenFlow datapath ID to a specific
637 value. May not be all-zero.
640 <column name="other_config" key="dp-desc">
641 Human readable description of datapath. It it a maximum 256
642 byte-long free-form string to describe the datapath for
643 debugging purposes, e.g. <code>switch3 in room 3120</code>.
646 <column name="other_config" key="disable-in-band"
647 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
648 If set to <code>true</code>, disable in-band control on the bridge
649 regardless of controller and manager settings.
652 <column name="other_config" key="in-band-queue"
653 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 4294967295}'>
654 A queue ID as a nonnegative integer. This sets the OpenFlow queue ID
655 that will be used by flows set up by in-band control on this bridge.
656 If unset, or if the port used by an in-band control flow does not have
657 QoS configured, or if the port does not have a queue with the specified
658 ID, the default queue is used instead.
661 <column name="protocols">
663 List of OpenFlow protocols that may be used when negotiating
664 a connection with a controller. OpenFlow 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, and
665 1.3 are enabled by default if this column is empty.
669 OpenFlow 1.4 is not enabled by default because its implementation is
674 OpenFlow 1.5 has the same risks as OpenFlow 1.4, but it is even more
675 experimental because the OpenFlow 1.5 specification is still under
676 development and thus subject to change. Pass
677 <code>--enable-of15</code> to <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> to allow
678 OpenFlow 1.5 to be enabled.
683 <group title="Spanning Tree Configuration">
685 The IEEE 802.1D Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is a network protocol
686 that ensures loop-free topologies. It allows redundant links to
687 be included in the network to provide automatic backup paths if
688 the active links fails.
692 These settings configure the slower-to-converge but still widely
693 supported version of Spanning Tree Protocol, sometimes known as
694 802.1D-1998. Open vSwitch also supports the newer Rapid Spanning Tree
695 Protocol (RSTP), documented later in the section titled <code>Rapid
696 Spanning Tree Configuration</code>.
699 <group title="STP Configuration">
700 <column name="stp_enable" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
702 Enable spanning tree on the bridge. By default, STP is disabled
703 on bridges. Bond, internal, and mirror ports are not supported
704 and will not participate in the spanning tree.
708 STP and RSTP are mutually exclusive. If both are enabled, RSTP
713 <column name="other_config" key="stp-system-id">
714 The bridge's STP identifier (the lower 48 bits of the bridge-id)
716 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>.
717 By default, the identifier is the MAC address of the bridge.
720 <column name="other_config" key="stp-priority"
721 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
722 The bridge's relative priority value for determining the root
723 bridge (the upper 16 bits of the bridge-id). A bridge with the
724 lowest bridge-id is elected the root. By default, the priority
728 <column name="other_config" key="stp-hello-time"
729 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 10}'>
730 The interval between transmissions of hello messages by
731 designated ports, in seconds. By default the hello interval is
735 <column name="other_config" key="stp-max-age"
736 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 6, "maxInteger": 40}'>
737 The maximum age of the information transmitted by the bridge
738 when it is the root bridge, in seconds. By default, the maximum
742 <column name="other_config" key="stp-forward-delay"
743 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 4, "maxInteger": 30}'>
744 The delay to wait between transitioning root and designated
745 ports to <code>forwarding</code>, in seconds. By default, the
746 forwarding delay is 15 seconds.
749 <column name="other_config" key="mcast-snooping-aging-time"
750 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
752 The maximum number of seconds to retain a multicast snooping entry for
753 which no packets have been seen. The default is currently 300
754 seconds (5 minutes). The value, if specified, is forced into a
755 reasonable range, currently 15 to 3600 seconds.
759 <column name="other_config" key="mcast-snooping-table-size"
760 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
762 The maximum number of multicast snooping addresses to learn. The
763 default is currently 2048. The value, if specified, is forced into
764 a reasonable range, currently 10 to 1,000,000.
767 <column name="other_config" key="mcast-snooping-disable-flood-unregistered"
768 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
770 If set to <code>false</code>, unregistered multicast packets are forwarded
772 If set to <code>true</code>, unregistered multicast packets are forwarded
773 to ports connected to multicast routers.
778 <group title="STP Status">
780 These key-value pairs report the status of 802.1D-1998. They are
781 present only if STP is enabled (via the <ref column="stp_enable"/>
784 <column name="status" key="stp_bridge_id">
785 The bridge ID used in spanning tree advertisements, in the form
786 <var>xxxx</var>.<var>yyyyyyyyyyyy</var> where the <var>x</var>s are
787 the STP priority, the <var>y</var>s are the STP system ID, and each
788 <var>x</var> and <var>y</var> is a hex digit.
790 <column name="status" key="stp_designated_root">
791 The designated root for this spanning tree, in the same form as <ref
792 column="status" key="stp_bridge_id"/>. If this bridge is the root,
793 this will have the same value as <ref column="status"
794 key="stp_bridge_id"/>, otherwise it will differ.
796 <column name="status" key="stp_root_path_cost">
797 The path cost of reaching the designated bridge. A lower number is
798 better. The value is 0 if this bridge is the root, otherwise it is
804 <group title="Rapid Spanning Tree">
806 Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP), like STP, is a network protocol
807 that ensures loop-free topologies. RSTP superseded STP with the
808 publication of 802.1D-2004. Compared to STP, RSTP converges more
809 quickly and recovers more quickly from failures.
812 <group title="RSTP Configuration">
813 <column name="rstp_enable" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
815 Enable Rapid Spanning Tree on the bridge. By default, RSTP is disabled
816 on bridges. Bond, internal, and mirror ports are not supported
817 and will not participate in the spanning tree.
821 STP and RSTP are mutually exclusive. If both are enabled, RSTP
826 <column name="other_config" key="rstp-address">
827 The bridge's RSTP address (the lower 48 bits of the bridge-id)
829 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>.
830 By default, the address is the MAC address of the bridge.
833 <column name="other_config" key="rstp-priority"
834 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 61440}'>
835 The bridge's relative priority value for determining the root
836 bridge (the upper 16 bits of the bridge-id). A bridge with the
837 lowest bridge-id is elected the root. By default, the priority
838 is 0x8000 (32768). This value needs to be a multiple of 4096,
839 otherwise it's rounded to the nearest inferior one.
842 <column name="other_config" key="rstp-ageing-time"
843 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 10, "maxInteger": 1000000}'>
844 The Ageing Time parameter for the Bridge. The default value
848 <column name="other_config" key="rstp-force-protocol-version"
849 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
850 The Force Protocol Version parameter for the Bridge. This
851 can take the value 0 (STP Compatibility mode) or 2
852 (the default, normal operation).
855 <column name="other_config" key="rstp-max-age"
856 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 6, "maxInteger": 40}'>
857 The maximum age of the information transmitted by the Bridge
858 when it is the Root Bridge. The default value is 20.
861 <column name="other_config" key="rstp-forward-delay"
862 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 4, "maxInteger": 30}'>
863 The delay used by STP Bridges to transition Root and Designated
864 Ports to Forwarding. The default value is 15.
867 <column name="other_config" key="rstp-transmit-hold-count"
868 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 10}'>
869 The Transmit Hold Count used by the Port Transmit state machine
870 to limit transmission rate. The default value is 6.
874 <group title="RSTP Status">
876 These key-value pairs report the status of 802.1D-2004. They are
877 present only if RSTP is enabled (via the <ref column="rstp_enable"/>
880 <column name="rstp_status" key="rstp_bridge_id">
881 The bridge ID used in rapid spanning tree advertisements, in the form
882 <var>x</var>.<var>yyy</var>.<var>zzzzzzzzzzzz</var> where
883 <var>x</var> is the RSTP priority, the <var>y</var>s are a locally
884 assigned system ID extension, the <var>z</var>s are the STP system
885 ID, and each <var>x</var>, <var>y</var>, or <var>z</var> is a hex
888 <column name="rstp_status" key="rstp_root_id">
889 The root of this spanning tree, in the same form as <ref
890 column="rstp_status" key="rstp_bridge_id"/>. If this bridge is the
891 root, this will have the same value as <ref column="rstp_status"
892 key="rstp_bridge_id"/>, otherwise it will differ.
894 <column name="rstp_status" key="rstp_root_path_cost"
895 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
896 The path cost of reaching the root. A lower number is better. The
897 value is 0 if this bridge is the root, otherwise it is higher.
899 <column name="rstp_status" key="rstp_designated_id">
900 The RSTP designated ID, in the same form as <ref column="rstp_status"
901 key="rstp_bridge_id"/>.
903 <column name="rstp_status" key="rstp_designated_port_id">
904 The RSTP designated port ID, as a 4-digit hex number.
906 <column name="rstp_status" key="rstp_bridge_port_id">
907 The RSTP bridge port ID, as a 4-digit hex number.
912 <group title="Multicast Snooping Configuration">
913 Multicast snooping (RFC 4541) monitors the Internet Group Management
914 Protocol (IGMP) traffic between hosts and multicast routers. The
915 switch uses what IGMP snooping learns to forward multicast traffic
916 only to interfaces that are connected to interested receivers.
917 Currently it supports IGMPv1 and IGMPv2 protocols.
919 <column name="mcast_snooping_enable">
920 Enable multicast snooping on the bridge. For now, the default
925 <group title="Other Features">
926 <column name="datapath_type">
927 Name of datapath provider. The kernel datapath has
928 type <code>system</code>. The userspace datapath has
929 type <code>netdev</code>.
932 <column name="external_ids" key="bridge-id">
933 A unique identifier of the bridge. On Citrix XenServer this will
934 commonly be the same as
935 <ref column="external_ids" key="xs-network-uuids"/>.
938 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-network-uuids">
939 Semicolon-delimited set of universally unique identifier(s) for the
940 network with which this bridge is associated on a Citrix XenServer
941 host. The network identifiers are RFC 4122 UUIDs as displayed by,
942 e.g., <code>xe network-list</code>.
945 <column name="other_config" key="hwaddr">
946 An Ethernet address in the form
947 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>
948 to set the hardware address of the local port and influence the
952 <column name="other_config" key="forward-bpdu"
953 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
954 Option to allow forwarding of BPDU frames when NORMAL action is
955 invoked. Frames with reserved Ethernet addresses (e.g. STP
956 BPDU) will be forwarded when this option is enabled and the
957 switch is not providing that functionality. If STP is enabled
958 on the port, STP BPDUs will never be forwarded. If the Open
959 vSwitch bridge is used to connect different Ethernet networks,
960 and if Open vSwitch node does not run STP, then this option
961 should be enabled. Default is disabled, set to
962 <code>true</code> to enable.
964 The following destination MAC addresss will not be forwarded when this
967 <dt><code>01:80:c2:00:00:00</code></dt>
968 <dd>IEEE 802.1D Spanning Tree Protocol (STP).</dd>
970 <dt><code>01:80:c2:00:00:01</code></dt>
971 <dd>IEEE Pause frame.</dd>
973 <dt><code>01:80:c2:00:00:0<var>x</var></code></dt>
974 <dd>Other reserved protocols.</dd>
976 <dt><code>00:e0:2b:00:00:00</code></dt>
977 <dd>Extreme Discovery Protocol (EDP).</dd>
980 <code>00:e0:2b:00:00:04</code> and <code>00:e0:2b:00:00:06</code>
982 <dd>Ethernet Automatic Protection Switching (EAPS).</dd>
984 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cc:cc:cc</code></dt>
986 Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP), VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP),
987 Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP), Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP),
991 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cc:cc:cd</code></dt>
992 <dd>Cisco Shared Spanning Tree Protocol PVSTP+.</dd>
994 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cd:cd:cd</code></dt>
995 <dd>Cisco STP Uplink Fast.</dd>
997 <dt><code>01:00:0c:00:00:00</code></dt>
998 <dd>Cisco Inter Switch Link.</dd>
1000 <dt><code>01:00:0c:cc:cc:c<var>x</var></code></dt>
1005 <column name="other_config" key="mac-aging-time"
1006 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
1008 The maximum number of seconds to retain a MAC learning entry for
1009 which no packets have been seen. The default is currently 300
1010 seconds (5 minutes). The value, if specified, is forced into a
1011 reasonable range, currently 15 to 3600 seconds.
1015 A short MAC aging time allows a network to more quickly detect that a
1016 host is no longer connected to a switch port. However, it also makes
1017 it more likely that packets will be flooded unnecessarily, when they
1018 are addressed to a connected host that rarely transmits packets. To
1019 reduce the incidence of unnecessary flooding, use a MAC aging time
1020 longer than the maximum interval at which a host will ordinarily
1025 <column name="other_config" key="mac-table-size"
1026 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
1028 The maximum number of MAC addresses to learn. The default is
1029 currently 2048. The value, if specified, is forced into a reasonable
1030 range, currently 10 to 1,000,000.
1035 <group title="Common Columns">
1036 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
1037 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
1039 <column name="other_config"/>
1040 <column name="external_ids"/>
1044 <table name="Port" table="Port or bond configuration.">
1045 <p>A port within a <ref table="Bridge"/>.</p>
1046 <p>Most commonly, a port has exactly one ``interface,'' pointed to by its
1047 <ref column="interfaces"/> column. Such a port logically
1048 corresponds to a port on a physical Ethernet switch. A port
1049 with more than one interface is a ``bonded port'' (see
1050 <ref group="Bonding Configuration"/>).</p>
1051 <p>Some properties that one might think as belonging to a port are actually
1052 part of the port's <ref table="Interface"/> members.</p>
1054 <column name="name">
1055 Port name. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8
1056 bytes long. May be the same as the interface name, for
1057 non-bonded ports. Must otherwise be unique among the names of
1058 ports, interfaces, and bridges on a host.
1061 <column name="interfaces">
1062 The port's interfaces. If there is more than one, this is a
1066 <group title="VLAN Configuration">
1067 <p>Bridge ports support the following types of VLAN configuration:</p>
1072 A trunk port carries packets on one or more specified VLANs
1073 specified in the <ref column="trunks"/> column (often, on every
1074 VLAN). A packet that ingresses on a trunk port is in the VLAN
1075 specified in its 802.1Q header, or VLAN 0 if the packet has no
1076 802.1Q header. A packet that egresses through a trunk port will
1077 have an 802.1Q header if it has a nonzero VLAN ID.
1081 Any packet that ingresses on a trunk port tagged with a VLAN that
1082 the port does not trunk is dropped.
1089 An access port carries packets on exactly one VLAN specified in the
1090 <ref column="tag"/> column. Packets egressing on an access port
1091 have no 802.1Q header.
1095 Any packet with an 802.1Q header with a nonzero VLAN ID that
1096 ingresses on an access port is dropped, regardless of whether the
1097 VLAN ID in the header is the access port's VLAN ID.
1101 <dt>native-tagged</dt>
1103 A native-tagged port resembles a trunk port, with the exception that
1104 a packet without an 802.1Q header that ingresses on a native-tagged
1105 port is in the ``native VLAN'' (specified in the <ref column="tag"/>
1109 <dt>native-untagged</dt>
1111 A native-untagged port resembles a native-tagged port, with the
1112 exception that a packet that egresses on a native-untagged port in
1113 the native VLAN will not have an 802.1Q header.
1117 A packet will only egress through bridge ports that carry the VLAN of
1118 the packet, as described by the rules above.
1121 <column name="vlan_mode">
1123 The VLAN mode of the port, as described above. When this column is
1124 empty, a default mode is selected as follows:
1128 If <ref column="tag"/> contains a value, the port is an access
1129 port. The <ref column="trunks"/> column should be empty.
1132 Otherwise, the port is a trunk port. The <ref column="trunks"/>
1133 column value is honored if it is present.
1140 For an access port, the port's implicitly tagged VLAN. For a
1141 native-tagged or native-untagged port, the port's native VLAN. Must
1142 be empty if this is a trunk port.
1146 <column name="trunks">
1148 For a trunk, native-tagged, or native-untagged port, the 802.1Q VLAN
1149 or VLANs that this port trunks; if it is empty, then the port trunks
1150 all VLANs. Must be empty if this is an access port.
1153 A native-tagged or native-untagged port always trunks its native
1154 VLAN, regardless of whether <ref column="trunks"/> includes that
1159 <column name="other_config" key="priority-tags"
1160 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1162 An 802.1Q header contains two important pieces of information: a VLAN
1163 ID and a priority. A frame with a zero VLAN ID, called a
1164 ``priority-tagged'' frame, is supposed to be treated the same way as
1165 a frame without an 802.1Q header at all (except for the priority).
1169 However, some network elements ignore any frame that has 802.1Q
1170 header at all, even when the VLAN ID is zero. Therefore, by default
1171 Open vSwitch does not output priority-tagged frames, instead omitting
1172 the 802.1Q header entirely if the VLAN ID is zero. Set this key to
1173 <code>true</code> to enable priority-tagged frames on a port.
1177 Regardless of this setting, Open vSwitch omits the 802.1Q header on
1178 output if both the VLAN ID and priority would be zero.
1182 All frames output to native-tagged ports have a nonzero VLAN ID, so
1183 this setting is not meaningful on native-tagged ports.
1188 <group title="Bonding Configuration">
1189 <p>A port that has more than one interface is a ``bonded port.'' Bonding
1190 allows for load balancing and fail-over.</p>
1193 The following types of bonding will work with any kind of upstream
1194 switch. On the upstream switch, do not configure the interfaces as a
1199 <dt><code>balance-slb</code></dt>
1201 Balances flows among slaves based on source MAC address and output
1202 VLAN, with periodic rebalancing as traffic patterns change.
1205 <dt><code>active-backup</code></dt>
1207 Assigns all flows to one slave, failing over to a backup slave when
1208 the active slave is disabled. This is the only bonding mode in which
1209 interfaces may be plugged into different upstream switches.
1214 The following modes require the upstream switch to support 802.3ad with
1215 successful LACP negotiation. If LACP negotiation fails and
1216 other-config:lacp-fallback-ab is true, then <code>active-backup</code>
1221 <dt><code>balance-tcp</code></dt>
1223 Balances flows among slaves based on L2, L3, and L4 protocol
1224 information such as destination MAC address, IP address, and TCP
1229 <p>These columns apply only to bonded ports. Their values are
1230 otherwise ignored.</p>
1232 <column name="bond_mode">
1233 <p>The type of bonding used for a bonded port. Defaults to
1234 <code>active-backup</code> if unset.
1238 <column name="other_config" key="bond-hash-basis"
1239 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
1240 An integer hashed along with flows when choosing output slaves in load
1241 balanced bonds. When changed, all flows will be assigned different
1242 hash values possibly causing slave selection decisions to change. Does
1243 not affect bonding modes which do not employ load balancing such as
1244 <code>active-backup</code>.
1247 <group title="Link Failure Detection">
1249 An important part of link bonding is detecting that links are down so
1250 that they may be disabled. These settings determine how Open vSwitch
1251 detects link failure.
1254 <column name="other_config" key="bond-detect-mode"
1255 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["carrier", "miimon"]]}'>
1256 The means used to detect link failures. Defaults to
1257 <code>carrier</code> which uses each interface's carrier to detect
1258 failures. When set to <code>miimon</code>, will check for failures
1259 by polling each interface's MII.
1262 <column name="other_config" key="bond-miimon-interval"
1263 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
1264 The interval, in milliseconds, between successive attempts to poll
1265 each interface's MII. Relevant only when <ref column="other_config"
1266 key="bond-detect-mode"/> is <code>miimon</code>.
1269 <column name="bond_updelay">
1271 The number of milliseconds for which the link must stay up on an
1272 interface before the interface is considered to be up. Specify
1273 <code>0</code> to enable the interface immediately.
1277 This setting is honored only when at least one bonded interface is
1278 already enabled. When no interfaces are enabled, then the first
1279 bond interface to come up is enabled immediately.
1283 <column name="bond_downdelay">
1284 The number of milliseconds for which the link must stay down on an
1285 interface before the interface is considered to be down. Specify
1286 <code>0</code> to disable the interface immediately.
1290 <group title="LACP Configuration">
1292 LACP, the Link Aggregation Control Protocol, is an IEEE standard that
1293 allows switches to automatically detect that they are connected by
1294 multiple links and aggregate across those links. These settings
1295 control LACP behavior.
1298 <column name="lacp">
1299 Configures LACP on this port. LACP allows directly connected
1300 switches to negotiate which links may be bonded. LACP may be enabled
1301 on non-bonded ports for the benefit of any switches they may be
1302 connected to. <code>active</code> ports are allowed to initiate LACP
1303 negotiations. <code>passive</code> ports are allowed to participate
1304 in LACP negotiations initiated by a remote switch, but not allowed to
1305 initiate such negotiations themselves. If LACP is enabled on a port
1306 whose partner switch does not support LACP, the bond will be
1307 disabled, unless other-config:lacp-fallback-ab is set to true.
1308 Defaults to <code>off</code> if unset.
1311 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-system-id">
1312 The LACP system ID of this <ref table="Port"/>. The system ID of a
1313 LACP bond is used to identify itself to its partners. Must be a
1314 nonzero MAC address. Defaults to the bridge Ethernet address if
1318 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-system-priority"
1319 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
1320 The LACP system priority of this <ref table="Port"/>. In LACP
1321 negotiations, link status decisions are made by the system with the
1322 numerically lower priority.
1325 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-time"
1326 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["fast", "slow"]]}'>
1328 The LACP timing which should be used on this <ref table="Port"/>.
1329 By default <code>slow</code> is used. When configured to be
1330 <code>fast</code> LACP heartbeats are requested at a rate of once
1331 per second causing connectivity problems to be detected more
1332 quickly. In <code>slow</code> mode, heartbeats are requested at a
1333 rate of once every 30 seconds.
1337 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-fallback-ab"
1338 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1340 Determines the behavior of openvswitch bond in LACP mode. If
1341 the partner switch does not support LACP, setting this option
1342 to <code>true</code> allows openvswitch to fallback to
1343 active-backup. If the option is set to <code>false</code>, the
1344 bond will be disabled. In both the cases, once the partner switch
1345 is configured to LACP mode, the bond will use LACP.
1350 <group title="Rebalancing Configuration">
1352 These settings control behavior when a bond is in
1353 <code>balance-slb</code> or <code>balance-tcp</code> mode.
1356 <column name="other_config" key="bond-rebalance-interval"
1357 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 10000}'>
1358 For a load balanced bonded port, the number of milliseconds between
1359 successive attempts to rebalance the bond, that is, to move flows
1360 from one interface on the bond to another in an attempt to keep usage
1361 of each interface roughly equal. If zero, load balancing is disabled
1362 on the bond (link failure still cause flows to move). If
1363 less than 1000ms, the rebalance interval will be 1000ms.
1367 <column name="bond_fake_iface">
1368 For a bonded port, whether to create a fake internal interface with the
1369 name of the port. Use only for compatibility with legacy software that
1374 <group title="Spanning Tree Protocol">
1376 The configuration here is only meaningful, and the status is only
1377 populated, when 802.1D-1998 Spanning Tree Protocol is enabled on the
1378 port's <ref column="Bridge"/> with its <ref column="stp_enable"/>
1382 <group title="STP Configuration">
1383 <column name="other_config" key="stp-enable"
1384 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1385 When STP is enabled on a bridge, it is enabled by default on all of
1386 the bridge's ports except bond, internal, and mirror ports (which do
1387 not work with STP). If this column's value is <code>false</code>,
1388 STP is disabled on the port.
1391 <column name="other_config" key="stp-port-num"
1392 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 255}'>
1393 The port number used for the lower 8 bits of the port-id. By
1394 default, the numbers will be assigned automatically. If any
1395 port's number is manually configured on a bridge, then they
1399 <column name="other_config" key="stp-port-priority"
1400 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 255}'>
1401 The port's relative priority value for determining the root
1402 port (the upper 8 bits of the port-id). A port with a lower
1403 port-id will be chosen as the root port. By default, the
1407 <column name="other_config" key="stp-path-cost"
1408 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
1409 Spanning tree path cost for the port. A lower number indicates
1410 a faster link. By default, the cost is based on the maximum
1415 <group title="STP Status">
1416 <column name="status" key="stp_port_id">
1417 The port ID used in spanning tree advertisements for this port, as 4
1418 hex digits. Configuring the port ID is described in the
1419 <code>stp-port-num</code> and <code>stp-port-priority</code> keys of
1420 the <code>other_config</code> section earlier.
1422 <column name="status" key="stp_state"
1423 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set",
1424 ["disabled", "listening", "learning",
1425 "forwarding", "blocking"]]}'>
1426 STP state of the port.
1428 <column name="status" key="stp_sec_in_state"
1429 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
1430 The amount of time this port has been in the current STP state, in
1433 <column name="status" key="stp_role"
1434 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set",
1435 ["root", "designated", "alternate"]]}'>
1436 STP role of the port.
1441 <group title="Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol">
1443 The configuration here is only meaningful, and the status and
1444 statistics are only populated, when 802.1D-1998 Spanning Tree Protocol
1445 is enabled on the port's <ref column="Bridge"/> with its <ref
1446 column="stp_enable"/> column.
1449 <group title="RSTP Configuration">
1450 <column name="other_config" key="rstp-enable"
1451 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1452 When RSTP is enabled on a bridge, it is enabled by default on all of
1453 the bridge's ports except bond, internal, and mirror ports (which do
1454 not work with RSTP). If this column's value is <code>false</code>,
1455 RSTP is disabled on the port.
1458 <column name="other_config" key="rstp-port-priority"
1459 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 240}'>
1460 The port's relative priority value for determining the root port, in
1461 multiples of 16. By default, the port priority is 0x80 (128). Any
1462 value in the lower 4 bits is rounded off. The significant upper 4
1463 bits become the upper 4 bits of the port-id. A port with the lowest
1464 port-id is elected as the root.
1467 <column name="other_config" key="rstp-port-num"
1468 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 4095}'>
1469 The local RSTP port number, used as the lower 12 bits of the port-id.
1470 By default the port numbers are assigned automatically, and typically
1471 may not correspond to the OpenFlow port numbers. A port with the
1472 lowest port-id is elected as the root.
1475 <column name="other_config" key="rstp-port-path-cost"
1476 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
1477 The port path cost. The Port's contribution, when it is
1478 the Root Port, to the Root Path Cost for the Bridge. By default the
1479 cost is automatically calculated from the port's speed.
1482 <column name="other_config" key="rstp-port-admin-edge"
1483 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1484 The admin edge port parameter for the Port. Default is
1488 <column name="other_config" key="rstp-port-auto-edge"
1489 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1490 The auto edge port parameter for the Port. Default is
1494 <column name="other_config" key="rstp-port-mcheck"
1495 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1497 The mcheck port parameter for the Port. Default is
1498 <code>false</code>. May be set to force the Port Protocol
1499 Migration state machine to transmit RST BPDUs for a
1500 MigrateTime period, to test whether all STP Bridges on the
1501 attached LAN have been removed and the Port can continue to
1502 transmit RSTP BPDUs. Setting mcheck has no effect if the
1503 Bridge is operating in STP Compatibility mode.
1506 Changing the value from <code>true</code> to
1507 <code>false</code> has no effect, but needs to be done if
1508 this behavior is to be triggered again by subsequently
1509 changing the value from <code>false</code> to
1515 <group title="RSTP Status">
1516 <column name="rstp_status" key="rstp_port_id">
1517 The port ID used in spanning tree advertisements for this port, as 4
1518 hex digits. Configuring the port ID is described in the
1519 <code>rstp-port-num</code> and <code>rstp-port-priority</code> keys
1520 of the <code>other_config</code> section earlier.
1522 <column name="rstp_status" key="rstp_port_role"
1523 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set",
1524 ["Root", "Designated", "Alternate", "Backup", "Disabled"]]}'>
1525 RSTP role of the port.
1527 <column name="rstp_status" key="rstp_port_state"
1528 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set",
1529 ["Disabled", "Learning", "Forwarding", "Discarding"]]}'>
1530 RSTP state of the port.
1532 <column name="rstp_status" key="rstp_designated_bridge_id">
1533 The port's RSTP designated bridge ID, in the same form as <ref
1534 column="rstp_status" key="rstp_bridge_id"/> in the <ref
1535 table="Bridge"/> table.
1537 <column name="rstp_status" key="rstp_designated_port_id">
1538 The port's RSTP designated port ID, as 4 hex digits.
1540 <column name="rstp_status" key="rstp_designated_path_cost"
1541 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
1542 The port's RSTP designated path cost. Lower is better.
1546 <group title="RSTP Statistics">
1547 <column name="rstp_statistics" key="rstp_tx_count">
1548 Number of RSTP BPDUs transmitted through this port.
1550 <column name="rstp_statistics" key="rstp_rx_count">
1551 Number of valid RSTP BPDUs received by this port.
1553 <column name="rstp_statistics" key="rstp_error_count">
1554 Number of invalid RSTP BPDUs received by this port.
1556 <column name="rstp_statistics" key="rstp_uptime">
1557 The duration covered by the other RSTP statistics, in seconds.
1562 <group title="Multicast Snooping">
1563 <column name="other_config" key="mcast-snooping-flood"
1564 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1566 If set to <code>true</code>, multicast packets (except Reports) are
1567 unconditionally forwarded to the specific port.
1570 <column name="other_config" key="mcast-snooping-flood-reports"
1571 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
1573 If set to <code>true</code>, multicast Reports are unconditionally
1574 forwarded to the specific port.
1579 <group title="Other Features">
1581 Quality of Service configuration for this port.
1585 The MAC address to use for this port for the purpose of choosing the
1586 bridge's MAC address. This column does not necessarily reflect the
1587 port's actual MAC address, nor will setting it change the port's actual
1591 <column name="fake_bridge">
1592 Does this port represent a sub-bridge for its tagged VLAN within the
1593 Bridge? See ovs-vsctl(8) for more information.
1596 <column name="external_ids" key="fake-bridge-id-*">
1597 External IDs for a fake bridge (see the <ref column="fake_bridge"/>
1598 column) are defined by prefixing a <ref table="Bridge"/> <ref
1599 table="Bridge" column="external_ids"/> key with
1600 <code>fake-bridge-</code>,
1601 e.g. <code>fake-bridge-xs-network-uuids</code>.
1605 <column name="bond_active_slave">
1606 For a bonded port, record the mac address of the current active slave.
1609 <group title="Port Statistics">
1611 Key-value pairs that report port statistics. The update period
1612 is controlled by <ref column="other_config"
1613 key="stats-update-interval"/> in the <code>Open_vSwitch</code> table.
1615 <group title="Statistics: STP transmit and receive counters">
1616 <column name="statistics" key="stp_tx_count">
1617 Number of STP BPDUs sent on this port by the spanning
1620 <column name="statistics" key="stp_rx_count">
1621 Number of STP BPDUs received on this port and accepted by the
1622 spanning tree library.
1624 <column name="statistics" key="stp_error_count">
1625 Number of bad STP BPDUs received on this port. Bad BPDUs
1626 include runt packets and those with an unexpected protocol ID.
1631 <group title="Common Columns">
1632 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
1633 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
1635 <column name="other_config"/>
1636 <column name="external_ids"/>
1640 <table name="Interface" title="One physical network device in a Port.">
1641 An interface within a <ref table="Port"/>.
1643 <group title="Core Features">
1644 <column name="name">
1645 Interface name. Should be alphanumeric and no more than about 8 bytes
1646 long. May be the same as the port name, for non-bonded ports. Must
1647 otherwise be unique among the names of ports, interfaces, and bridges
1651 <column name="ifindex">
1652 A positive interface index as defined for SNMP MIB-II in RFCs 1213 and
1653 2863, if the interface has one, otherwise 0. The ifindex is useful for
1654 seamless integration with protocols such as SNMP and sFlow.
1657 <column name="mac_in_use">
1658 The MAC address in use by this interface.
1662 <p>Ethernet address to set for this interface. If unset then the
1663 default MAC address is used:</p>
1665 <li>For the local interface, the default is the lowest-numbered MAC
1666 address among the other bridge ports, either the value of the
1667 <ref table="Port" column="mac"/> in its <ref table="Port"/> record,
1668 if set, or its actual MAC (for bonded ports, the MAC of its slave
1669 whose name is first in alphabetical order). Internal ports and
1670 bridge ports that are used as port mirroring destinations (see the
1671 <ref table="Mirror"/> table) are ignored.</li>
1672 <li>For other internal interfaces, the default MAC is randomly
1674 <li>External interfaces typically have a MAC address associated with
1675 their hardware.</li>
1677 <p>Some interfaces may not have a software-controllable MAC
1681 <column name="error">
1682 If the configuration of the port failed, as indicated by -1 in <ref
1683 column="ofport"/>, Open vSwitch sets this column to an error
1684 description in human readable form. Otherwise, Open vSwitch clears
1688 <group title="OpenFlow Port Number">
1690 When a client adds a new interface, Open vSwitch chooses an OpenFlow
1691 port number for the new port. If the client that adds the port fills
1692 in <ref column="ofport_request"/>, then Open vSwitch tries to use its
1693 value as the OpenFlow port number. Otherwise, or if the requested
1694 port number is already in use or cannot be used for another reason,
1695 Open vSwitch automatically assigns a free port number. Regardless of
1696 how the port number was obtained, Open vSwitch then reports in <ref
1697 column="ofport"/> the port number actually assigned.
1701 Open vSwitch limits the port numbers that it automatically assigns to
1702 the range 1 through 32,767, inclusive. Controllers therefore have
1703 free use of ports 32,768 and up.
1706 <column name="ofport">
1708 OpenFlow port number for this interface. Open vSwitch sets this
1709 column's value, so other clients should treat it as read-only.
1712 The OpenFlow ``local'' port (<code>OFPP_LOCAL</code>) is 65,534.
1713 The other valid port numbers are in the range 1 to 65,279,
1714 inclusive. Value -1 indicates an error adding the interface.
1718 <column name="ofport_request"
1719 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65279}'>
1721 Requested OpenFlow port number for this interface.
1725 A client should ideally set this column's value in the same
1726 database transaction that it uses to create the interface. Open
1727 vSwitch version 2.1 and later will honor a later request for a
1728 specific port number, althuogh it might confuse some controllers:
1729 OpenFlow does not have a way to announce a port number change, so
1730 Open vSwitch represents it over OpenFlow as a port deletion
1731 followed immediately by a port addition.
1735 If <ref column="ofport_request"/> is set or changed to some other
1736 port's automatically assigned port number, Open vSwitch chooses a
1737 new port number for the latter port.
1743 <group title="System-Specific Details">
1744 <column name="type">
1746 The interface type, one of:
1750 <dt><code>system</code></dt>
1751 <dd>An ordinary network device, e.g. <code>eth0</code> on Linux.
1752 Sometimes referred to as ``external interfaces'' since they are
1753 generally connected to hardware external to that on which the Open
1754 vSwitch is running. The empty string is a synonym for
1755 <code>system</code>.</dd>
1757 <dt><code>internal</code></dt>
1758 <dd>A simulated network device that sends and receives traffic. An
1759 internal interface whose <ref column="name"/> is the same as its
1760 bridge's <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="name"/> is called the
1761 ``local interface.'' It does not make sense to bond an internal
1762 interface, so the terms ``port'' and ``interface'' are often used
1763 imprecisely for internal interfaces.</dd>
1765 <dt><code>tap</code></dt>
1766 <dd>A TUN/TAP device managed by Open vSwitch.</dd>
1768 <dt><code>geneve</code></dt>
1770 An Ethernet over Geneve (<code>http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-gross-geneve-00</code>)
1773 Geneve supports options as a means to transport additional metadata,
1774 however, currently only the 24-bit VNI is supported. This is planned
1775 to be extended in the future.
1778 <dt><code>gre</code></dt>
1780 An Ethernet over RFC 2890 Generic Routing Encapsulation over IPv4
1784 <dt><code>ipsec_gre</code></dt>
1786 An Ethernet over RFC 2890 Generic Routing Encapsulation over IPv4
1790 <dt><code>gre64</code></dt>
1792 It is same as GRE, but it allows 64 bit key. To store higher 32-bits
1793 of key, it uses GRE protocol sequence number field. This is non
1794 standard use of GRE protocol since OVS does not increment
1795 sequence number for every packet at time of encap as expected by
1796 standard GRE implementation. See <ref group="Tunnel Options"/>
1797 for information on configuring GRE tunnels.
1800 <dt><code>ipsec_gre64</code></dt>
1802 Same as IPSEC_GRE except 64 bit key.
1805 <dt><code>vxlan</code></dt>
1808 An Ethernet tunnel over the UDP-based VXLAN protocol described in
1812 Open vSwitch uses UDP destination port 4789. The source port used for
1813 VXLAN traffic varies on a per-flow basis and is in the ephemeral port
1818 <dt><code>lisp</code></dt>
1821 A layer 3 tunnel over the experimental, UDP-based Locator/ID
1822 Separation Protocol (RFC 6830).
1825 Only IPv4 and IPv6 packets are supported by the protocol, and
1826 they are sent and received without an Ethernet header. Traffic
1827 to/from LISP ports is expected to be configured explicitly, and
1828 the ports are not intended to participate in learning based
1829 switching. As such, they are always excluded from packet
1834 <dt><code>patch</code></dt>
1836 A pair of virtual devices that act as a patch cable.
1839 <dt><code>null</code></dt>
1840 <dd>An ignored interface. Deprecated and slated for removal in
1846 <group title="Tunnel Options">
1848 These options apply to interfaces with <ref column="type"/> of
1849 <code>geneve</code>, <code>gre</code>, <code>ipsec_gre</code>,
1850 <code>gre64</code>, <code>ipsec_gre64</code>, <code>vxlan</code>,
1851 and <code>lisp</code>.
1855 Each tunnel must be uniquely identified by the combination of <ref
1856 column="type"/>, <ref column="options" key="remote_ip"/>, <ref
1857 column="options" key="local_ip"/>, and <ref column="options"
1858 key="in_key"/>. If two ports are defined that are the same except one
1859 has an optional identifier and the other does not, the more specific
1860 one is matched first. <ref column="options" key="in_key"/> is
1861 considered more specific than <ref column="options" key="local_ip"/> if
1862 a port defines one and another port defines the other.
1865 <column name="options" key="remote_ip">
1866 <p>Required. The remote tunnel endpoint, one of:</p>
1870 An IPv4 address (not a DNS name), e.g. <code>192.168.0.123</code>.
1871 Only unicast endpoints are supported.
1874 The word <code>flow</code>. The tunnel accepts packets from any
1875 remote tunnel endpoint. To process only packets from a specific
1876 remote tunnel endpoint, the flow entries may match on the
1877 <code>tun_src</code> field. When sending packets to a
1878 <code>remote_ip=flow</code> tunnel, the flow actions must
1879 explicitly set the <code>tun_dst</code> field to the IP address of
1880 the desired remote tunnel endpoint, e.g. with a
1881 <code>set_field</code> action.
1886 The remote tunnel endpoint for any packet received from a tunnel
1887 is available in the <code>tun_src</code> field for matching in the
1892 <column name="options" key="local_ip">
1894 Optional. The tunnel destination IP that received packets must
1895 match. Default is to match all addresses. If specified, may be one
1901 An IPv4 address (not a DNS name), e.g. <code>192.168.12.3</code>.
1904 The word <code>flow</code>. The tunnel accepts packets sent to any
1905 of the local IP addresses of the system running OVS. To process
1906 only packets sent to a specific IP address, the flow entries may
1907 match on the <code>tun_dst</code> field. When sending packets to a
1908 <code>local_ip=flow</code> tunnel, the flow actions may
1909 explicitly set the <code>tun_src</code> field to the desired IP
1910 address, e.g. with a <code>set_field</code> action. However, while
1911 routing the tunneled packet out, the local system may override the
1912 specified address with the local IP address configured for the
1913 outgoing system interface.
1916 This option is valid only for tunnels also configured with the
1917 <code>remote_ip=flow</code> option.
1923 The tunnel destination IP address for any packet received from a
1924 tunnel is available in the <code>tun_dst</code> field for matching in
1929 <column name="options" key="in_key">
1930 <p>Optional. The key that received packets must contain, one of:</p>
1934 <code>0</code>. The tunnel receives packets with no key or with a
1935 key of 0. This is equivalent to specifying no <ref column="options"
1936 key="in_key"/> at all.
1939 A positive 24-bit (for Geneve, VXLAN, and LISP), 32-bit (for GRE)
1940 or 64-bit (for GRE64) number. The tunnel receives only packets
1941 with the specified key.
1944 The word <code>flow</code>. The tunnel accepts packets with any
1945 key. The key will be placed in the <code>tun_id</code> field for
1946 matching in the flow table. The <code>ovs-ofctl</code> manual page
1947 contains additional information about matching fields in OpenFlow
1956 <column name="options" key="out_key">
1957 <p>Optional. The key to be set on outgoing packets, one of:</p>
1961 <code>0</code>. Packets sent through the tunnel will have no key.
1962 This is equivalent to specifying no <ref column="options"
1963 key="out_key"/> at all.
1966 A positive 24-bit (for Geneve, VXLAN and LISP), 32-bit (for GRE) or
1967 64-bit (for GRE64) number. Packets sent through the tunnel will
1968 have the specified key.
1971 The word <code>flow</code>. Packets sent through the tunnel will
1972 have the key set using the <code>set_tunnel</code> Nicira OpenFlow
1973 vendor extension (0 is used in the absence of an action). The
1974 <code>ovs-ofctl</code> manual page contains additional information
1975 about the Nicira OpenFlow vendor extensions.
1980 <column name="options" key="key">
1981 Optional. Shorthand to set <code>in_key</code> and
1982 <code>out_key</code> at the same time.
1985 <column name="options" key="tos">
1986 Optional. The value of the ToS bits to be set on the encapsulating
1987 packet. ToS is interpreted as DSCP and ECN bits, ECN part must be
1988 zero. It may also be the word <code>inherit</code>, in which case
1989 the ToS will be copied from the inner packet if it is IPv4 or IPv6
1990 (otherwise it will be 0). The ECN fields are always inherited.
1994 <column name="options" key="ttl">
1995 Optional. The TTL to be set on the encapsulating packet. It may also
1996 be the word <code>inherit</code>, in which case the TTL will be copied
1997 from the inner packet if it is IPv4 or IPv6 (otherwise it will be the
1998 system default, typically 64). Default is the system default TTL.
2001 <column name="options" key="df_default"
2002 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
2003 Optional. If enabled, the Don't Fragment bit will be set on tunnel
2004 outer headers to allow path MTU discovery. Default is enabled; set
2005 to <code>false</code> to disable.
2008 <group title="Tunnel Options: vxlan only">
2010 <column name="options" key="exts">
2011 <p>Optional. Comma separated list of optional VXLAN extensions to
2012 enable. The following extensions are supported:</p>
2016 <code>gbp</code>: VXLAN-GBP allows to transport the group policy
2017 context of a packet across the VXLAN tunnel to other network
2018 peers. See the field description of <code>tun_gbp_id</code> and
2019 <code>tun_gbp_flags</code> in ovs-ofctl(8) for additional
2021 (<code>https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-smith-vxlan-group-policy</code>)
2028 <group title="Tunnel Options: gre and ipsec_gre only">
2030 Only <code>gre</code> and <code>ipsec_gre</code> interfaces support
2034 <column name="options" key="csum" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
2036 Optional. Compute GRE checksums on outgoing packets. Default is
2037 disabled, set to <code>true</code> to enable. Checksums present on
2038 incoming packets will be validated regardless of this setting.
2042 GRE checksums impose a significant performance penalty because they
2043 cover the entire packet. The encapsulated L3, L4, and L7 packet
2044 contents typically have their own checksums, so this additional
2045 checksum only adds value for the GRE and encapsulated L2 headers.
2049 This option is supported for <code>ipsec_gre</code>, but not useful
2050 because GRE checksums are weaker than, and redundant with, IPsec
2051 payload authentication.
2056 <group title="Tunnel Options: ipsec_gre only">
2058 Only <code>ipsec_gre</code> interfaces support these options.
2061 <column name="options" key="peer_cert">
2062 Required for certificate authentication. A string containing the
2063 peer's certificate in PEM format. Additionally the host's
2064 certificate must be specified with the <code>certificate</code>
2068 <column name="options" key="certificate">
2069 Required for certificate authentication. The name of a PEM file
2070 containing a certificate that will be presented to the peer during
2074 <column name="options" key="private_key">
2075 Optional for certificate authentication. The name of a PEM file
2076 containing the private key associated with <code>certificate</code>.
2077 If <code>certificate</code> contains the private key, this option may
2081 <column name="options" key="psk">
2082 Required for pre-shared key authentication. Specifies a pre-shared
2083 key for authentication that must be identical on both sides of the
2089 <group title="Patch Options">
2091 Only <code>patch</code> interfaces support these options.
2094 <column name="options" key="peer">
2095 The <ref column="name"/> of the <ref table="Interface"/> for the other
2096 side of the patch. The named <ref table="Interface"/>'s own
2097 <code>peer</code> option must specify this <ref table="Interface"/>'s
2098 name. That is, the two patch interfaces must have reversed <ref
2099 column="name"/> and <code>peer</code> values.
2103 <group title="Interface Status">
2105 Status information about interfaces attached to bridges, updated every
2106 5 seconds. Not all interfaces have all of these properties; virtual
2107 interfaces don't have a link speed, for example. Non-applicable
2108 columns will have empty values.
2110 <column name="admin_state">
2112 The administrative state of the physical network link.
2116 <column name="link_state">
2118 The observed state of the physical network link. This is ordinarily
2119 the link's carrier status. If the interface's <ref table="Port"/> is
2120 a bond configured for miimon monitoring, it is instead the network
2121 link's miimon status.
2125 <column name="link_resets">
2127 The number of times Open vSwitch has observed the
2128 <ref column="link_state"/> of this <ref table="Interface"/> change.
2132 <column name="link_speed">
2134 The negotiated speed of the physical network link.
2135 Valid values are positive integers greater than 0.
2139 <column name="duplex">
2141 The duplex mode of the physical network link.
2147 The MTU (maximum transmission unit); i.e. the largest
2148 amount of data that can fit into a single Ethernet frame.
2149 The standard Ethernet MTU is 1500 bytes. Some physical media
2150 and many kinds of virtual interfaces can be configured with
2154 This column will be empty for an interface that does not
2155 have an MTU as, for example, some kinds of tunnels do not.
2159 <column name="lacp_current">
2160 Boolean value indicating LACP status for this interface. If true, this
2161 interface has current LACP information about its LACP partner. This
2162 information may be used to monitor the health of interfaces in a LACP
2163 enabled port. This column will be empty if LACP is not enabled.
2166 <column name="status">
2167 Key-value pairs that report port status. Supported status values are
2168 <ref column="type"/>-dependent; some interfaces may not have a valid
2169 <ref column="status" key="driver_name"/>, for example.
2172 <column name="status" key="driver_name">
2173 The name of the device driver controlling the network adapter.
2176 <column name="status" key="driver_version">
2177 The version string of the device driver controlling the network
2181 <column name="status" key="firmware_version">
2182 The version string of the network adapter's firmware, if available.
2185 <column name="status" key="source_ip">
2186 The source IP address used for an IPv4 tunnel end-point, such as
2190 <column name="status" key="tunnel_egress_iface">
2191 Egress interface for tunnels. Currently only relevant for tunnels
2192 on Linux systems, this column will show the name of the interface
2193 which is responsible for routing traffic destined for the configured
2194 <ref column="options" key="remote_ip"/>. This could be an internal
2195 interface such as a bridge port.
2198 <column name="status" key="tunnel_egress_iface_carrier"
2199 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["down", "up"]]}'>
2200 Whether carrier is detected on <ref column="status"
2201 key="tunnel_egress_iface"/>.
2205 <group title="Statistics">
2207 Key-value pairs that report interface statistics. The current
2208 implementation updates these counters periodically. The update period
2209 is controlled by <ref column="other_config"
2210 key="stats-update-interval"/> in the <code>Open_vSwitch</code> table.
2211 Future implementations may update them when an interface is created,
2212 when they are queried (e.g. using an OVSDB <code>select</code>
2213 operation), and just before an interface is deleted due to virtual
2214 interface hot-unplug or VM shutdown, and perhaps at other times, but
2215 not on any regular periodic basis.
2218 These are the same statistics reported by OpenFlow in its <code>struct
2219 ofp_port_stats</code> structure. If an interface does not support a
2220 given statistic, then that pair is omitted.
2222 <group title="Statistics: Successful transmit and receive counters">
2223 <column name="statistics" key="rx_packets">
2224 Number of received packets.
2226 <column name="statistics" key="rx_bytes">
2227 Number of received bytes.
2229 <column name="statistics" key="tx_packets">
2230 Number of transmitted packets.
2232 <column name="statistics" key="tx_bytes">
2233 Number of transmitted bytes.
2236 <group title="Statistics: Receive errors">
2237 <column name="statistics" key="rx_dropped">
2238 Number of packets dropped by RX.
2240 <column name="statistics" key="rx_frame_err">
2241 Number of frame alignment errors.
2243 <column name="statistics" key="rx_over_err">
2244 Number of packets with RX overrun.
2246 <column name="statistics" key="rx_crc_err">
2247 Number of CRC errors.
2249 <column name="statistics" key="rx_errors">
2250 Total number of receive errors, greater than or equal to the sum of
2254 <group title="Statistics: Transmit errors">
2255 <column name="statistics" key="tx_dropped">
2256 Number of packets dropped by TX.
2258 <column name="statistics" key="collisions">
2259 Number of collisions.
2261 <column name="statistics" key="tx_errors">
2262 Total number of transmit errors, greater than or equal to the sum of
2268 <group title="Ingress Policing">
2270 These settings control ingress policing for packets received on this
2271 interface. On a physical interface, this limits the rate at which
2272 traffic is allowed into the system from the outside; on a virtual
2273 interface (one connected to a virtual machine), this limits the rate at
2274 which the VM is able to transmit.
2277 Policing is a simple form of quality-of-service that simply drops
2278 packets received in excess of the configured rate. Due to its
2279 simplicity, policing is usually less accurate and less effective than
2280 egress QoS (which is configured using the <ref table="QoS"/> and <ref
2281 table="Queue"/> tables).
2284 Policing is currently implemented only on Linux. The Linux
2285 implementation uses a simple ``token bucket'' approach:
2289 The size of the bucket corresponds to <ref
2290 column="ingress_policing_burst"/>. Initially the bucket is full.
2293 Whenever a packet is received, its size (converted to tokens) is
2294 compared to the number of tokens currently in the bucket. If the
2295 required number of tokens are available, they are removed and the
2296 packet is forwarded. Otherwise, the packet is dropped.
2299 Whenever it is not full, the bucket is refilled with tokens at the
2300 rate specified by <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/>.
2304 Policing interacts badly with some network protocols, and especially
2305 with fragmented IP packets. Suppose that there is enough network
2306 activity to keep the bucket nearly empty all the time. Then this token
2307 bucket algorithm will forward a single packet every so often, with the
2308 period depending on packet size and on the configured rate. All of the
2309 fragments of an IP packets are normally transmitted back-to-back, as a
2310 group. In such a situation, therefore, only one of these fragments
2311 will be forwarded and the rest will be dropped. IP does not provide
2312 any way for the intended recipient to ask for only the remaining
2313 fragments. In such a case there are two likely possibilities for what
2314 will happen next: either all of the fragments will eventually be
2315 retransmitted (as TCP will do), in which case the same problem will
2316 recur, or the sender will not realize that its packet has been dropped
2317 and data will simply be lost (as some UDP-based protocols will do).
2318 Either way, it is possible that no forward progress will ever occur.
2320 <column name="ingress_policing_rate">
2322 Maximum rate for data received on this interface, in kbps. Data
2323 received faster than this rate is dropped. Set to <code>0</code>
2324 (the default) to disable policing.
2328 <column name="ingress_policing_burst">
2329 <p>Maximum burst size for data received on this interface, in kb. The
2330 default burst size if set to <code>0</code> is 1000 kb. This value
2331 has no effect if <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/>
2332 is <code>0</code>.</p>
2334 Specifying a larger burst size lets the algorithm be more forgiving,
2335 which is important for protocols like TCP that react severely to
2336 dropped packets. The burst size should be at least the size of the
2337 interface's MTU. Specifying a value that is numerically at least as
2338 large as 10% of <ref column="ingress_policing_rate"/> helps TCP come
2339 closer to achieving the full rate.
2344 <group title="Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD)">
2346 BFD, defined in RFC 5880 and RFC 5881, allows point-to-point
2347 detection of connectivity failures by occasional transmission of
2348 BFD control messages. Open vSwitch implements BFD to serve
2349 as a more popular and standards compliant alternative to CFM.
2353 BFD operates by regularly transmitting BFD control messages at a rate
2354 negotiated independently in each direction. Each endpoint specifies
2355 the rate at which it expects to receive control messages, and the rate
2356 at which it is willing to transmit them. Open vSwitch uses a detection
2357 multiplier of three, meaning that an endpoint signals a connectivity
2358 fault if three consecutive BFD control messages fail to arrive. In the
2359 case of a unidirectional connectivity issue, the system not receiving
2360 BFD control messages signals the problem to its peer in the messages it
2365 The Open vSwitch implementation of BFD aims to comply faithfully
2366 with RFC 5880 requirements. Open vSwitch does not implement the
2367 optional Authentication or ``Echo Mode'' features.
2370 <group title="BFD Configuration">
2372 A controller sets up key-value pairs in the <ref column="bfd"/>
2373 column to enable and configure BFD.
2376 <column name="bfd" key="enable" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
2377 True to enable BFD on this <ref table="Interface"/>. If not
2378 specified, BFD will not be enabled by default.
2381 <column name="bfd" key="min_rx"
2382 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2383 The shortest interval, in milliseconds, at which this BFD session
2384 offers to receive BFD control messages. The remote endpoint may
2385 choose to send messages at a slower rate. Defaults to
2389 <column name="bfd" key="min_tx"
2390 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
2391 The shortest interval, in milliseconds, at which this BFD session is
2392 willing to transmit BFD control messages. Messages will actually be
2393 transmitted at a slower rate if the remote endpoint is not willing to
2394 receive as quickly as specified. Defaults to <code>100</code>.
2397 <column name="bfd" key="decay_min_rx" type='{"type": "integer"}'>
2398 An alternate receive interval, in milliseconds, that must be greater
2399 than or equal to <ref column="bfd" key="min_rx"/>. The
2400 implementation switches from <ref column="bfd" key="min_rx"/> to <ref
2401 column="bfd" key="decay_min_rx"/> when there is no obvious incoming
2402 data traffic at the interface, to reduce the CPU and bandwidth cost
2403 of monitoring an idle interface. This feature may be disabled by
2404 setting a value of 0. This feature is reset whenever <ref
2405 column="bfd" key="decay_min_rx"/> or <ref column="bfd" key="min_rx"/>
2409 <column name="bfd" key="forwarding_if_rx" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
2410 When <code>true</code>, traffic received on the
2411 <ref table="Interface"/> is used to indicate the capability of packet
2412 I/O. BFD control packets are still transmitted and received. At
2413 least one BFD control packet must be received every 100 * <ref
2414 column="bfd" key="min_rx"/> amount of time. Otherwise, even if
2415 traffic are received, the <ref column="bfd" key="forwarding"/>
2416 will be <code>false</code>.
2419 <column name="bfd" key="cpath_down" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
2420 Set to true to notify the remote endpoint that traffic should not be
2421 forwarded to this system for some reason other than a connectivty
2422 failure on the interface being monitored. The typical underlying
2423 reason is ``concatenated path down,'' that is, that connectivity
2424 beyond the local system is down. Defaults to false.
2427 <column name="bfd" key="check_tnl_key" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
2428 Set to true to make BFD accept only control messages with a tunnel
2429 key of zero. By default, BFD accepts control messages with any
2433 <column name="bfd" key="bfd_local_src_mac">
2434 Set to an Ethernet address in the form
2435 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>
2436 to set the MAC used as source for transmitted BFD packets. The
2437 default is the mac address of the BFD enabled interface.
2440 <column name="bfd" key="bfd_local_dst_mac">
2441 Set to an Ethernet address in the form
2442 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>
2443 to set the MAC used as destination for transmitted BFD packets. The
2444 default is <code>00:23:20:00:00:01</code>.
2447 <column name="bfd" key="bfd_remote_dst_mac">
2448 Set to an Ethernet address in the form
2449 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>
2450 to set the MAC used for checking the destination of received BFD packets.
2451 Packets with different destination MAC will not be considered as BFD packets.
2452 If not specified the destination MAC address of received BFD packets
2456 <column name="bfd" key="bfd_src_ip">
2457 Set to an IPv4 address to set the IP address used as source for
2458 transmitted BFD packets. The default is <code>169.254.1.1</code>.
2461 <column name="bfd" key="bfd_dst_ip">
2462 Set to an IPv4 address to set the IP address used as destination
2463 for transmitted BFD packets. The default is <code>169.254.1.0</code>.
2467 <group title="BFD Status">
2469 The switch sets key-value pairs in the <ref column="bfd_status"/>
2470 column to report the status of BFD on this interface. When BFD is
2471 not enabled, with <ref column="bfd" key="enable"/>, the switch clears
2472 all key-value pairs from <ref column="bfd_status"/>.
2475 <column name="bfd_status" key="state"
2476 type='{"type": "string",
2477 "enum": ["set", ["admin_down", "down", "init", "up"]]}'>
2478 Reports the state of the BFD session. The BFD session is fully
2479 healthy and negotiated if <code>UP</code>.
2482 <column name="bfd_status" key="forwarding" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
2483 Reports whether the BFD session believes this <ref
2484 table="Interface"/> may be used to forward traffic. Typically this
2485 means the local session is signaling <code>UP</code>, and the remote
2486 system isn't signaling a problem such as concatenated path down.
2489 <column name="bfd_status" key="diagnostic">
2490 In case of a problem, set to an error message that reports what the
2491 local BFD session thinks is wrong. The error messages are defined
2492 in section 4.1 of [RFC 5880].
2495 <column name="bfd_status" key="remote_state"
2496 type='{"type": "string",
2497 "enum": ["set", ["admin_down", "down", "init", "up"]]}'>
2498 Reports the state of the remote endpoint's BFD session.
2501 <column name="bfd_status" key="remote_diagnostic">
2502 In case of a problem, set to an error message that reports what the
2503 remote endpoint's BFD session thinks is wrong. The error messages
2504 are defined in section 4.1 of [RFC 5880].
2507 <column name="bfd_status" key="flap_count"
2508 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
2509 Counts the number of <ref column="bfd_status" key="forwarding" />
2510 flaps since start. A flap is considered as a change of the
2511 <ref column="bfd_status" key="forwarding" /> value.
2516 <group title="Connectivity Fault Management">
2518 802.1ag Connectivity Fault Management (CFM) allows a group of
2519 Maintenance Points (MPs) called a Maintenance Association (MA) to
2520 detect connectivity problems with each other. MPs within a MA should
2521 have complete and exclusive interconnectivity. This is verified by
2522 occasionally broadcasting Continuity Check Messages (CCMs) at a
2523 configurable transmission interval.
2527 According to the 802.1ag specification, each Maintenance Point should
2528 be configured out-of-band with a list of Remote Maintenance Points it
2529 should have connectivity to. Open vSwitch differs from the
2530 specification in this area. It simply assumes the link is faulted if
2531 no Remote Maintenance Points are reachable, and considers it not
2536 When operating over tunnels which have no <code>in_key</code>, or an
2537 <code>in_key</code> of <code>flow</code>. CFM will only accept CCMs
2538 with a tunnel key of zero.
2541 <column name="cfm_mpid">
2543 A Maintenance Point ID (MPID) uniquely identifies each endpoint
2544 within a Maintenance Association. The MPID is used to identify this
2545 endpoint to other Maintenance Points in the MA. Each end of a link
2546 being monitored should have a different MPID. Must be configured to
2547 enable CFM on this <ref table="Interface"/>.
2550 According to the 802.1ag specification, MPIDs can only range between
2551 [1, 8191]. However, extended mode (see <ref column="other_config"
2552 key="cfm_extended"/>) supports eight byte MPIDs.
2556 <column name="cfm_flap_count">
2557 Counts the number of cfm fault flapps since boot. A flap is
2558 considered to be a change of the <ref column="cfm_fault"/> value.
2561 <column name="cfm_fault">
2563 Indicates a connectivity fault triggered by an inability to receive
2564 heartbeats from any remote endpoint. When a fault is triggered on
2565 <ref table="Interface"/>s participating in bonds, they will be
2569 Faults can be triggered for several reasons. Most importantly they
2570 are triggered when no CCMs are received for a period of 3.5 times the
2571 transmission interval. Faults are also triggered when any CCMs
2572 indicate that a Remote Maintenance Point is not receiving CCMs but
2573 able to send them. Finally, a fault is triggered if a CCM is
2574 received which indicates unexpected configuration. Notably, this
2575 case arises when a CCM is received which advertises the local MPID.
2579 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="recv">
2580 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to a lack of CCMs received on
2581 the <ref table="Interface"/>.
2584 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="rdi">
2585 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to the reception of a CCM with
2586 the RDI bit flagged. Endpoints set the RDI bit in their CCMs when they
2587 are not receiving CCMs themselves. This typically indicates a
2588 unidirectional connectivity failure.
2591 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="maid">
2592 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to the reception of a CCM with
2593 a MAID other than the one Open vSwitch uses. CFM broadcasts are tagged
2594 with an identification number in addition to the MPID called the MAID.
2595 Open vSwitch only supports receiving CCM broadcasts tagged with the
2596 MAID it uses internally.
2599 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="loopback">
2600 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to the reception of a CCM
2601 advertising the same MPID configured in the <ref column="cfm_mpid"/>
2602 column of this <ref table="Interface"/>. This may indicate a loop in
2606 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="overflow">
2607 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered because the CFM module received
2608 CCMs from more remote endpoints than it can keep track of.
2611 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="override">
2612 Indicates a CFM fault was manually triggered by an administrator using
2613 an <code>ovs-appctl</code> command.
2616 <column name="cfm_fault_status" key="interval">
2617 Indicates a CFM fault was triggered due to the reception of a CCM
2618 frame having an invalid interval.
2621 <column name="cfm_remote_opstate">
2622 <p>When in extended mode, indicates the operational state of the
2623 remote endpoint as either <code>up</code> or <code>down</code>. See
2624 <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_opstate"/>.
2628 <column name="cfm_health">
2630 Indicates the health of the interface as a percentage of CCM frames
2631 received over 21 <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_interval"/>s.
2632 The health of an interface is undefined if it is communicating with
2633 more than one <ref column="cfm_remote_mpids"/>. It reduces if
2634 healthy heartbeats are not received at the expected rate, and
2635 gradually improves as healthy heartbeats are received at the desired
2636 rate. Every 21 <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_interval"/>s, the
2637 health of the interface is refreshed.
2640 As mentioned above, the faults can be triggered for several reasons.
2641 The link health will deteriorate even if heartbeats are received but
2642 they are reported to be unhealthy. An unhealthy heartbeat in this
2643 context is a heartbeat for which either some fault is set or is out
2644 of sequence. The interface health can be 100 only on receiving
2645 healthy heartbeats at the desired rate.
2649 <column name="cfm_remote_mpids">
2650 When CFM is properly configured, Open vSwitch will occasionally
2651 receive CCM broadcasts. These broadcasts contain the MPID of the
2652 sending Maintenance Point. The list of MPIDs from which this
2653 <ref table="Interface"/> is receiving broadcasts from is regularly
2654 collected and written to this column.
2657 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_interval"
2658 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
2660 The interval, in milliseconds, between transmissions of CFM
2661 heartbeats. Three missed heartbeat receptions indicate a
2666 In standard operation only intervals of 3, 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000,
2667 60,000, or 600,000 ms are supported. Other values will be rounded
2668 down to the nearest value on the list. Extended mode (see <ref
2669 column="other_config" key="cfm_extended"/>) supports any interval up
2670 to 65,535 ms. In either mode, the default is 1000 ms.
2673 <p>We do not recommend using intervals less than 100 ms.</p>
2676 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_extended"
2677 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
2678 When <code>true</code>, the CFM module operates in extended mode. This
2679 causes it to use a nonstandard destination address to avoid conflicting
2680 with compliant implementations which may be running concurrently on the
2681 network. Furthermore, extended mode increases the accuracy of the
2682 <code>cfm_interval</code> configuration parameter by breaking wire
2683 compatibility with 802.1ag compliant implementations. And extended
2684 mode allows eight byte MPIDs. Defaults to <code>false</code>.
2687 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_demand" type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
2689 When <code>true</code>, and
2690 <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_extended"/> is true, the CFM
2691 module operates in demand mode. When in demand mode, traffic
2692 received on the <ref table="Interface"/> is used to indicate
2693 liveness. CCMs are still transmitted and received. At least one
2694 CCM must be received every 100 * <ref column="other_config"
2695 key="cfm_interval"/> amount of time. Otherwise, even if traffic
2696 are received, the CFM module will raise the connectivity fault.
2700 Demand mode has a couple of caveats:
2703 To ensure that ovs-vswitchd has enough time to pull statistics
2704 from the datapath, the fault detection interval is set to
2705 3.5 * MAX(<ref column="other_config" key="cfm_interval"/>, 500)
2710 To avoid ambiguity, demand mode disables itself when there are
2711 multiple remote maintenance points.
2715 If the <ref table="Interface"/> is heavily congested, CCMs
2716 containing the <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_opstate"/>
2717 status may be dropped causing changes in the operational state to
2718 be delayed. Similarly, if CCMs containing the RDI bit are not
2719 received, unidirectional link failures may not be detected.
2725 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_opstate"
2726 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["down", "up"]]}'>
2727 When <code>down</code>, the CFM module marks all CCMs it generates as
2728 operationally down without triggering a fault. This allows remote
2729 maintenance points to choose not to forward traffic to the
2730 <ref table="Interface"/> on which this CFM module is running.
2731 Currently, in Open vSwitch, the opdown bit of CCMs affects
2732 <ref table="Interface"/>s participating in bonds, and the bundle
2733 OpenFlow action. This setting is ignored when CFM is not in extended
2734 mode. Defaults to <code>up</code>.
2737 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_ccm_vlan"
2738 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 4095}'>
2739 When set, the CFM module will apply a VLAN tag to all CCMs it generates
2740 with the given value. May be the string <code>random</code> in which
2741 case each CCM will be tagged with a different randomly generated VLAN.
2744 <column name="other_config" key="cfm_ccm_pcp"
2745 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 7}'>
2746 When set, the CFM module will apply a VLAN tag to all CCMs it generates
2747 with the given PCP value, the VLAN ID of the tag is governed by the
2748 value of <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_ccm_vlan"/>. If
2749 <ref column="other_config" key="cfm_ccm_vlan"/> is unset, a VLAN ID of
2755 <group title="Bonding Configuration">
2756 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-port-id"
2757 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
2758 The LACP port ID of this <ref table="Interface"/>. Port IDs are
2759 used in LACP negotiations to identify individual ports
2760 participating in a bond.
2763 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-port-priority"
2764 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
2765 The LACP port priority of this <ref table="Interface"/>. In LACP
2766 negotiations <ref table="Interface"/>s with numerically lower
2767 priorities are preferred for aggregation.
2770 <column name="other_config" key="lacp-aggregation-key"
2771 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1, "maxInteger": 65535}'>
2772 The LACP aggregation key of this <ref table="Interface"/>. <ref
2773 table="Interface"/>s with different aggregation keys may not be active
2774 within a given <ref table="Port"/> at the same time.
2778 <group title="Virtual Machine Identifiers">
2780 These key-value pairs specifically apply to an interface that
2781 represents a virtual Ethernet interface connected to a virtual
2782 machine. These key-value pairs should not be present for other types
2783 of interfaces. Keys whose names end in <code>-uuid</code> have
2784 values that uniquely identify the entity in question. For a Citrix
2785 XenServer hypervisor, these values are UUIDs in RFC 4122 format.
2786 Other hypervisors may use other formats.
2789 <column name="external_ids" key="attached-mac">
2790 The MAC address programmed into the ``virtual hardware'' for this
2791 interface, in the form
2792 <var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>:<var>xx</var>.
2793 For Citrix XenServer, this is the value of the <code>MAC</code> field
2794 in the VIF record for this interface.
2797 <column name="external_ids" key="iface-id">
2798 A system-unique identifier for the interface. On XenServer, this will
2799 commonly be the same as <ref column="external_ids" key="xs-vif-uuid"/>.
2802 <column name="external_ids" key="iface-status"
2803 type='{"type": "string",
2804 "enum": ["set", ["active", "inactive"]]}'>
2806 Hypervisors may sometimes have more than one interface associated
2807 with a given <ref column="external_ids" key="iface-id"/>, only one of
2808 which is actually in use at a given time. For example, in some
2809 circumstances XenServer has both a ``tap'' and a ``vif'' interface
2810 for a single <ref column="external_ids" key="iface-id"/>, but only
2811 uses one of them at a time. A hypervisor that behaves this way must
2812 mark the currently in use interface <code>active</code> and the
2813 others <code>inactive</code>. A hypervisor that never has more than
2814 one interface for a given <ref column="external_ids" key="iface-id"/>
2815 may mark that interface <code>active</code> or omit <ref
2816 column="external_ids" key="iface-status"/> entirely.
2820 During VM migration, a given <ref column="external_ids"
2821 key="iface-id"/> might transiently be marked <code>active</code> on
2822 two different hypervisors. That is, <code>active</code> means that
2823 this <ref column="external_ids" key="iface-id"/> is the active
2824 instance within a single hypervisor, not in a broader scope.
2825 There is one exception: some hypervisors support ``migration'' from a
2826 given hypervisor to itself (most often for test purposes). During
2827 such a ``migration,'' two instances of a single <ref
2828 column="external_ids" key="iface-id"/> might both be briefly marked
2829 <code>active</code> on a single hypervisor.
2833 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-vif-uuid">
2834 The virtual interface associated with this interface.
2837 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-network-uuid">
2838 The virtual network to which this interface is attached.
2841 <column name="external_ids" key="vm-id">
2842 The VM to which this interface belongs. On XenServer, this will be the
2843 same as <ref column="external_ids" key="xs-vm-uuid"/>.
2846 <column name="external_ids" key="xs-vm-uuid">
2847 The VM to which this interface belongs.
2851 <group title="VLAN Splinters">
2853 The ``VLAN splinters'' feature increases Open vSwitch compatibility
2854 with buggy network drivers in old versions of Linux that do not
2855 properly support VLANs when VLAN devices are not used, at some cost
2856 in memory and performance.
2860 When VLAN splinters are enabled on a particular interface, Open vSwitch
2861 creates a VLAN device for each in-use VLAN. For sending traffic tagged
2862 with a VLAN on the interface, it substitutes the VLAN device. Traffic
2863 received on the VLAN device is treated as if it had been received on
2864 the interface on the particular VLAN.
2868 VLAN splinters consider a VLAN to be in use if:
2873 The VLAN is the <ref table="Port" column="tag"/> value in any <ref
2874 table="Port"/> record.
2878 The VLAN is listed within the <ref table="Port" column="trunks"/>
2879 column of the <ref table="Port"/> record of an interface on which
2880 VLAN splinters are enabled.
2882 An empty <ref table="Port" column="trunks"/> does not influence the
2883 in-use VLANs: creating 4,096 VLAN devices is impractical because it
2884 will exceed the current 1,024 port per datapath limit.
2888 An OpenFlow flow within any bridge matches the VLAN.
2893 The same set of in-use VLANs applies to every interface on which VLAN
2894 splinters are enabled. That is, the set is not chosen separately for
2895 each interface but selected once as the union of all in-use VLANs based
2900 It does not make sense to enable VLAN splinters on an interface for an
2901 access port, or on an interface that is not a physical port.
2905 VLAN splinters are deprecated. When broken device drivers are no
2906 longer in widespread use, we will delete this feature.
2909 <column name="other_config" key="enable-vlan-splinters"
2910 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
2912 Set to <code>true</code> to enable VLAN splinters on this interface.
2913 Defaults to <code>false</code>.
2917 VLAN splinters increase kernel and userspace memory overhead, so do
2918 not use them unless they are needed.
2922 VLAN splinters do not support 802.1p priority tags. Received
2923 priorities will appear to be 0, regardless of their actual values,
2924 and priorities on transmitted packets will also be cleared to 0.
2929 <group title="Common Columns">
2930 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
2931 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
2933 <column name="other_config"/>
2934 <column name="external_ids"/>
2938 <table name="Flow_Table" title="OpenFlow table configuration">
2939 <p>Configuration for a particular OpenFlow table.</p>
2941 <column name="name">
2942 The table's name. Set this column to change the name that controllers
2943 will receive when they request table statistics, e.g. <code>ovs-ofctl
2944 dump-tables</code>. The name does not affect switch behavior.
2947 <column name="flow_limit">
2948 If set, limits the number of flows that may be added to the table. Open
2949 vSwitch may limit the number of flows in a table for other reasons,
2950 e.g. due to hardware limitations or for resource availability or
2951 performance reasons.
2954 <column name="overflow_policy">
2956 Controls the switch's behavior when an OpenFlow flow table modification
2957 request would add flows in excess of <ref column="flow_limit"/>. The
2958 supported values are:
2962 <dt><code>refuse</code></dt>
2964 Refuse to add the flow or flows. This is also the default policy
2965 when <ref column="overflow_policy"/> is unset.
2968 <dt><code>evict</code></dt>
2970 Delete the flow that will expire soonest. See <ref column="groups"/>
2976 <column name="groups">
2978 When <ref column="overflow_policy"/> is <code>evict</code>, this
2979 controls how flows are chosen for eviction when the flow table would
2980 otherwise exceed <ref column="flow_limit"/> flows. Its value is a set
2981 of NXM fields or sub-fields, each of which takes one of the forms
2982 <code><var>field</var>[]</code> or
2983 <code><var>field</var>[<var>start</var>..<var>end</var>]</code>,
2984 e.g. <code>NXM_OF_IN_PORT[]</code>. Please see
2985 <code>nicira-ext.h</code> for a complete list of NXM field names.
2989 When a flow must be evicted due to overflow, the flow to evict is
2990 chosen through an approximation of the following algorithm:
2995 Divide the flows in the table into groups based on the values of the
2996 specified fields or subfields, so that all of the flows in a given
2997 group have the same values for those fields. If a flow does not
2998 specify a given field, that field's value is treated as 0.
3002 Consider the flows in the largest group, that is, the group that
3003 contains the greatest number of flows. If two or more groups all
3004 have the same largest number of flows, consider the flows in all of
3009 Among the flows under consideration, choose the flow that expires
3010 soonest for eviction.
3015 The eviction process only considers flows that have an idle timeout or
3016 a hard timeout. That is, eviction never deletes permanent flows.
3017 (Permanent flows do count against <ref column="flow_limit"/>.)
3021 Open vSwitch ignores any invalid or unknown field specifications.
3025 When <ref column="overflow_policy"/> is not <code>evict</code>, this
3026 column has no effect.
3030 <column name="prefixes">
3032 This string set specifies which fields should be used for
3033 address prefix tracking. Prefix tracking allows the
3034 classifier to skip rules with longer than necessary prefixes,
3035 resulting in better wildcarding for datapath flows.
3038 Prefix tracking may be beneficial when a flow table contains
3039 matches on IP address fields with different prefix lengths.
3040 For example, when a flow table contains IP address matches on
3041 both full addresses and proper prefixes, the full address
3042 matches will typically cause the datapath flow to un-wildcard
3043 the whole address field (depending on flow entry priorities).
3044 In this case each packet with a different address gets handed
3045 to the userspace for flow processing and generates its own
3046 datapath flow. With prefix tracking enabled for the address
3047 field in question packets with addresses matching shorter
3048 prefixes would generate datapath flows where the irrelevant
3049 address bits are wildcarded, allowing the same datapath flow
3050 to handle all the packets within the prefix in question. In
3051 this case many userspace upcalls can be avoided and the
3052 overall performance can be better.
3055 This is a performance optimization only, so packets will
3056 receive the same treatment with or without prefix tracking.
3059 The supported fields are: <code>tun_id</code>,
3060 <code>tun_src</code>, <code>tun_dst</code>,
3061 <code>nw_src</code>, <code>nw_dst</code> (or aliases
3062 <code>ip_src</code> and <code>ip_dst</code>),
3063 <code>ipv6_src</code>, and <code>ipv6_dst</code>. (Using this
3064 feature for <code>tun_id</code> would only make sense if the
3065 tunnel IDs have prefix structure similar to IP addresses.)
3069 By default, the <code>prefixes=ip_dst,ip_src</code> are used
3070 on each flow table. This instructs the flow classifier to
3071 track the IP destination and source addresses used by the
3072 rules in this specific flow table.
3076 The keyword <code>none</code> is recognized as an explicit
3077 override of the default values, causing no prefix fields to be
3082 To set the prefix fields, the flow table record needs to
3087 <dt><code>ovs-vsctl set Bridge br0 flow_tables:0=@N1 -- --id=@N1 create Flow_Table name=table0</code></dt>
3089 Creates a flow table record for the OpenFlow table number 0.
3092 <dt><code>ovs-vsctl set Flow_Table table0 prefixes=ip_dst,ip_src</code></dt>
3094 Enables prefix tracking for IP source and destination
3100 There is a maximum number of fields that can be enabled for any
3101 one flow table. Currently this limit is 3.
3105 <group title="Common Columns">
3106 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3107 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3109 <column name="external_ids"/>
3113 <table name="QoS" title="Quality of Service configuration">
3114 <p>Quality of Service (QoS) configuration for each Port that
3117 <column name="type">
3118 <p>The type of QoS to implement. The currently defined types are
3121 <dt><code>linux-htb</code></dt>
3123 Linux ``hierarchy token bucket'' classifier. See tc-htb(8) (also at
3124 <code>http://linux.die.net/man/8/tc-htb</code>) and the HTB manual
3125 (<code>http://luxik.cdi.cz/~devik/qos/htb/manual/userg.htm</code>)
3126 for information on how this classifier works and how to configure it.
3130 <dt><code>linux-hfsc</code></dt>
3132 Linux "Hierarchical Fair Service Curve" classifier.
3133 See <code>http://linux-ip.net/articles/hfsc.en/</code> for
3134 information on how this classifier works.
3139 <column name="queues">
3140 <p>A map from queue numbers to <ref table="Queue"/> records. The
3141 supported range of queue numbers depend on <ref column="type"/>. The
3142 queue numbers are the same as the <code>queue_id</code> used in
3143 OpenFlow in <code>struct ofp_action_enqueue</code> and other
3147 Queue 0 is the ``default queue.'' It is used by OpenFlow output
3148 actions when no specific queue has been set. When no configuration for
3149 queue 0 is present, it is automatically configured as if a <ref
3150 table="Queue"/> record with empty <ref table="Queue" column="dscp"/>
3151 and <ref table="Queue" column="other_config"/> columns had been
3153 (Before version 1.6, Open vSwitch would leave queue 0 unconfigured in
3154 this case. With some queuing disciplines, this dropped all packets
3155 destined for the default queue.)
3159 <group title="Configuration for linux-htb and linux-hfsc">
3161 The <code>linux-htb</code> and <code>linux-hfsc</code> classes support
3162 the following key-value pair:
3165 <column name="other_config" key="max-rate" type='{"type": "integer"}'>
3166 Maximum rate shared by all queued traffic, in bit/s. Optional. If not
3167 specified, for physical interfaces, the default is the link rate. For
3168 other interfaces or if the link rate cannot be determined, the default
3169 is currently 100 Mbps.
3173 <group title="Common Columns">
3174 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3175 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3177 <column name="other_config"/>
3178 <column name="external_ids"/>
3182 <table name="Queue" title="QoS output queue.">
3183 <p>A configuration for a port output queue, used in configuring Quality of
3184 Service (QoS) features. May be referenced by <ref column="queues"
3185 table="QoS"/> column in <ref table="QoS"/> table.</p>
3187 <column name="dscp">
3188 If set, Open vSwitch will mark all traffic egressing this
3189 <ref table="Queue"/> with the given DSCP bits. Traffic egressing the
3190 default <ref table="Queue"/> is only marked if it was explicitly selected
3191 as the <ref table="Queue"/> at the time the packet was output. If unset,
3192 the DSCP bits of traffic egressing this <ref table="Queue"/> will remain
3196 <group title="Configuration for linux-htb QoS">
3198 <ref table="QoS"/> <ref table="QoS" column="type"/>
3199 <code>linux-htb</code> may use <code>queue_id</code>s less than 61440.
3200 It has the following key-value pairs defined.
3203 <column name="other_config" key="min-rate"
3204 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
3205 Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s.
3208 <column name="other_config" key="max-rate"
3209 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
3210 Maximum allowed bandwidth, in bit/s. Optional. If specified, the
3211 queue's rate will not be allowed to exceed the specified value, even
3212 if excess bandwidth is available. If unspecified, defaults to no
3216 <column name="other_config" key="burst"
3217 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
3218 Burst size, in bits. This is the maximum amount of ``credits'' that a
3219 queue can accumulate while it is idle. Optional. Details of the
3220 <code>linux-htb</code> implementation require a minimum burst size, so
3221 a too-small <code>burst</code> will be silently ignored.
3224 <column name="other_config" key="priority"
3225 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0, "maxInteger": 4294967295}'>
3226 A queue with a smaller <code>priority</code> will receive all the
3227 excess bandwidth that it can use before a queue with a larger value
3228 receives any. Specific priority values are unimportant; only relative
3229 ordering matters. Defaults to 0 if unspecified.
3233 <group title="Configuration for linux-hfsc QoS">
3235 <ref table="QoS"/> <ref table="QoS" column="type"/>
3236 <code>linux-hfsc</code> may use <code>queue_id</code>s less than 61440.
3237 It has the following key-value pairs defined.
3240 <column name="other_config" key="min-rate"
3241 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
3242 Minimum guaranteed bandwidth, in bit/s.
3245 <column name="other_config" key="max-rate"
3246 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
3247 Maximum allowed bandwidth, in bit/s. Optional. If specified, the
3248 queue's rate will not be allowed to exceed the specified value, even if
3249 excess bandwidth is available. If unspecified, defaults to no
3254 <group title="Common Columns">
3255 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3256 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3258 <column name="other_config"/>
3259 <column name="external_ids"/>
3263 <table name="Mirror" title="Port mirroring.">
3264 <p>A port mirror within a <ref table="Bridge"/>.</p>
3265 <p>A port mirror configures a bridge to send selected frames to special
3266 ``mirrored'' ports, in addition to their normal destinations. Mirroring
3267 traffic may also be referred to as SPAN or RSPAN, depending on how
3268 the mirrored traffic is sent.</p>
3270 <column name="name">
3271 Arbitrary identifier for the <ref table="Mirror"/>.
3274 <group title="Selecting Packets for Mirroring">
3276 To be selected for mirroring, a given packet must enter or leave the
3277 bridge through a selected port and it must also be in one of the
3281 <column name="select_all">
3282 If true, every packet arriving or departing on any port is
3283 selected for mirroring.
3286 <column name="select_dst_port">
3287 Ports on which departing packets are selected for mirroring.
3290 <column name="select_src_port">
3291 Ports on which arriving packets are selected for mirroring.
3294 <column name="select_vlan">
3295 VLANs on which packets are selected for mirroring. An empty set
3296 selects packets on all VLANs.
3300 <group title="Mirroring Destination Configuration">
3302 These columns are mutually exclusive. Exactly one of them must be
3306 <column name="output_port">
3307 <p>Output port for selected packets, if nonempty.</p>
3308 <p>Specifying a port for mirror output reserves that port exclusively
3309 for mirroring. No frames other than those selected for mirroring
3311 will be forwarded to the port, and any frames received on the port
3312 will be discarded.</p>
3314 The output port may be any kind of port supported by Open vSwitch.
3315 It may be, for example, a physical port (sometimes called SPAN) or a
3320 <column name="output_vlan">
3321 <p>Output VLAN for selected packets, if nonempty.</p>
3322 <p>The frames will be sent out all ports that trunk
3323 <ref column="output_vlan"/>, as well as any ports with implicit VLAN
3324 <ref column="output_vlan"/>. When a mirrored frame is sent out a
3325 trunk port, the frame's VLAN tag will be set to
3326 <ref column="output_vlan"/>, replacing any existing tag; when it is
3327 sent out an implicit VLAN port, the frame will not be tagged. This
3328 type of mirroring is sometimes called RSPAN.</p>
3330 See the documentation for
3331 <ref column="other_config" key="forward-bpdu"/> in the
3332 <ref table="Interface"/> table for a list of destination MAC
3333 addresses which will not be mirrored to a VLAN to avoid confusing
3334 switches that interpret the protocols that they represent.
3336 <p><em>Please note:</em> Mirroring to a VLAN can disrupt a network that
3337 contains unmanaged switches. Consider an unmanaged physical switch
3338 with two ports: port 1, connected to an end host, and port 2,
3339 connected to an Open vSwitch configured to mirror received packets
3340 into VLAN 123 on port 2. Suppose that the end host sends a packet on
3341 port 1 that the physical switch forwards to port 2. The Open vSwitch
3342 forwards this packet to its destination and then reflects it back on
3343 port 2 in VLAN 123. This reflected packet causes the unmanaged
3344 physical switch to replace the MAC learning table entry, which
3345 correctly pointed to port 1, with one that incorrectly points to port
3346 2. Afterward, the physical switch will direct packets destined for
3347 the end host to the Open vSwitch on port 2, instead of to the end
3348 host on port 1, disrupting connectivity. If mirroring to a VLAN is
3349 desired in this scenario, then the physical switch must be replaced
3350 by one that learns Ethernet addresses on a per-VLAN basis. In
3351 addition, learning should be disabled on the VLAN containing mirrored
3352 traffic. If this is not done then intermediate switches will learn
3353 the MAC address of each end host from the mirrored traffic. If
3354 packets being sent to that end host are also mirrored, then they will
3355 be dropped since the switch will attempt to send them out the input
3356 port. Disabling learning for the VLAN will cause the switch to
3357 correctly send the packet out all ports configured for that VLAN. If
3358 Open vSwitch is being used as an intermediate switch, learning can be
3359 disabled by adding the mirrored VLAN to <ref column="flood_vlans"/>
3360 in the appropriate <ref table="Bridge"/> table or tables.</p>
3362 Mirroring to a GRE tunnel has fewer caveats than mirroring to a
3363 VLAN and should generally be preferred.
3368 <group title="Statistics: Mirror counters">
3370 Key-value pairs that report mirror statistics. The update period
3371 is controlled by <ref column="other_config"
3372 key="stats-update-interval"/> in the <code>Open_vSwitch</code> table.
3374 <column name="statistics" key="tx_packets">
3375 Number of packets transmitted through this mirror.
3377 <column name="statistics" key="tx_bytes">
3378 Number of bytes transmitted through this mirror.
3382 <group title="Common Columns">
3383 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3384 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3386 <column name="external_ids"/>
3390 <table name="Controller" title="OpenFlow controller configuration.">
3391 <p>An OpenFlow controller.</p>
3394 Open vSwitch supports two kinds of OpenFlow controllers:
3398 <dt>Primary controllers</dt>
3401 This is the kind of controller envisioned by the OpenFlow 1.0
3402 specification. Usually, a primary controller implements a network
3403 policy by taking charge of the switch's flow table.
3407 Open vSwitch initiates and maintains persistent connections to
3408 primary controllers, retrying the connection each time it fails or
3409 drops. The <ref table="Bridge" column="fail_mode"/> column in the
3410 <ref table="Bridge"/> table applies to primary controllers.
3414 Open vSwitch permits a bridge to have any number of primary
3415 controllers. When multiple controllers are configured, Open
3416 vSwitch connects to all of them simultaneously. Because
3417 OpenFlow 1.0 does not specify how multiple controllers
3418 coordinate in interacting with a single switch, more than
3419 one primary controller should be specified only if the
3420 controllers are themselves designed to coordinate with each
3421 other. (The Nicira-defined <code>NXT_ROLE</code> OpenFlow
3422 vendor extension may be useful for this.)
3425 <dt>Service controllers</dt>
3428 These kinds of OpenFlow controller connections are intended for
3429 occasional support and maintenance use, e.g. with
3430 <code>ovs-ofctl</code>. Usually a service controller connects only
3431 briefly to inspect or modify some of a switch's state.
3435 Open vSwitch listens for incoming connections from service
3436 controllers. The service controllers initiate and, if necessary,
3437 maintain the connections from their end. The <ref table="Bridge"
3438 column="fail_mode"/> column in the <ref table="Bridge"/> table does
3439 not apply to service controllers.
3443 Open vSwitch supports configuring any number of service controllers.
3449 The <ref column="target"/> determines the type of controller.
3452 <group title="Core Features">
3453 <column name="target">
3454 <p>Connection method for controller.</p>
3456 The following connection methods are currently supported for primary
3460 <dt><code>ssl:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
3462 <p>The specified SSL <var>port</var> on the host at the
3463 given <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP
3464 address (not a DNS name). The <ref table="Open_vSwitch"
3465 column="ssl"/> column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/>
3466 table must point to a valid SSL configuration when this form
3468 <p>If <var>port</var> is not specified, it currently
3469 defaults to 6633. In the future, the default will change to
3470 6653, which is the IANA-defined value.</p>
3471 <p>SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
3472 part of Open vSwitch.</p>
3474 <dt><code>tcp:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
3477 The specified TCP <var>port</var> on the host at the given
3478 <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address (not a
3479 DNS name), where <var>ip</var> can be IPv4 or IPv6 address. If
3480 <var>ip</var> is an IPv6 address, wrap it in square brackets,
3481 e.g. <code>tcp:[::1]:6632</code>.
3484 If <var>port</var> is not specified, it currently defaults to
3485 6633. In the future, the default will change to 6653, which is
3486 the IANA-defined value.
3491 The following connection methods are currently supported for service
3495 <dt><code>pssl:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
3498 Listens for SSL connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>.
3499 If <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address (not a
3500 DNS name), is specified, then connections are restricted to the
3501 specified local IP address (either IPv4 or IPv6). If
3502 <var>ip</var> is an IPv6 address, wrap it in square brackets,
3503 e.g. <code>pssl:6632:[::1]</code>.
3506 If <var>port</var> is not specified, it currently defaults to
3507 6633. If <var>ip</var> is not specified then it listens only on
3508 IPv4 (but not IPv6) addresses. The
3509 <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/>
3510 column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a
3511 valid SSL configuration when this form is used.
3514 If <var>port</var> is not specified, it currently defaults to
3515 6633. In the future, the default will change to 6653, which is
3516 the IANA-defined value.
3519 SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
3520 part of Open vSwitch.
3523 <dt><code>ptcp:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
3526 Listens for connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>. If
3527 <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address (not a
3528 DNS name), is specified, then connections are restricted to the
3529 specified local IP address (either IPv4 or IPv6). If
3530 <var>ip</var> is an IPv6 address, wrap it in square brackets,
3531 e.g. <code>ptcp:6632:[::1]</code>. If <var>ip</var> is not
3532 specified then it listens only on IPv4 addresses.
3535 If <var>port</var> is not specified, it currently defaults to
3536 6633. In the future, the default will change to 6653, which is
3537 the IANA-defined value.
3541 <p>When multiple controllers are configured for a single bridge, the
3542 <ref column="target"/> values must be unique. Duplicate
3543 <ref column="target"/> values yield unspecified results.</p>
3546 <column name="connection_mode">
3547 <p>If it is specified, this setting must be one of the following
3548 strings that describes how Open vSwitch contacts this OpenFlow
3549 controller over the network:</p>
3552 <dt><code>in-band</code></dt>
3553 <dd>In this mode, this controller's OpenFlow traffic travels over the
3554 bridge associated with the controller. With this setting, Open
3555 vSwitch allows traffic to and from the controller regardless of the
3556 contents of the OpenFlow flow table. (Otherwise, Open vSwitch
3557 would never be able to connect to the controller, because it did
3558 not have a flow to enable it.) This is the most common connection
3559 mode because it is not necessary to maintain two independent
3561 <dt><code>out-of-band</code></dt>
3562 <dd>In this mode, OpenFlow traffic uses a control network separate
3563 from the bridge associated with this controller, that is, the
3564 bridge does not use any of its own network devices to communicate
3565 with the controller. The control network must be configured
3566 separately, before or after <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> is started.
3570 <p>If not specified, the default is implementation-specific.</p>
3574 <group title="Controller Failure Detection and Handling">
3575 <column name="max_backoff">
3576 Maximum number of milliseconds to wait between connection attempts.
3577 Default is implementation-specific.
3580 <column name="inactivity_probe">
3581 Maximum number of milliseconds of idle time on connection to
3582 controller before sending an inactivity probe message. If Open
3583 vSwitch does not communicate with the controller for the specified
3584 number of seconds, it will send a probe. If a response is not
3585 received for the same additional amount of time, Open vSwitch
3586 assumes the connection has been broken and attempts to reconnect.
3587 Default is implementation-specific. A value of 0 disables
3592 <group title="Asynchronous Messages">
3594 OpenFlow switches send certain messages to controllers spontanenously,
3595 that is, not in response to any request from the controller. These
3596 messages are called ``asynchronous messages.'' These columns allow
3597 asynchronous messages to be limited or disabled to ensure the best use
3598 of network resources.
3601 <column name="enable_async_messages">
3602 The OpenFlow protocol enables asynchronous messages at time of
3603 connection establishment, which means that a controller can receive
3604 asynchronous messages, potentially many of them, even if it turns them
3605 off immediately after connecting. Set this column to
3606 <code>false</code> to change Open vSwitch behavior to disable, by
3607 default, all asynchronous messages. The controller can use the
3608 <code>NXT_SET_ASYNC_CONFIG</code> Nicira extension to OpenFlow to turn
3609 on any messages that it does want to receive, if any.
3612 <group title="Controller Rate Limiting">
3614 A switch can forward packets to a controller over the OpenFlow
3615 protocol. Forwarding packets this way at too high a rate can
3616 overwhelm a controller, frustrate use of the OpenFlow connection for
3617 other purposes, increase the latency of flow setup, and use an
3618 unreasonable amount of bandwidth. Therefore, Open vSwitch supports
3619 limiting the rate of packet forwarding to a controller.
3623 There are two main reasons in OpenFlow for a packet to be sent to a
3624 controller: either the packet ``misses'' in the flow table, that is,
3625 there is no matching flow, or a flow table action says to send the
3626 packet to the controller. Open vSwitch limits the rate of each kind
3627 of packet separately at the configured rate. Therefore, the actual
3628 rate that packets are sent to the controller can be up to twice the
3629 configured rate, when packets are sent for both reasons.
3633 This feature is specific to forwarding packets over an OpenFlow
3634 connection. It is not general-purpose QoS. See the <ref
3635 table="QoS"/> table for quality of service configuration, and <ref
3636 column="ingress_policing_rate" table="Interface"/> in the <ref
3637 table="Interface"/> table for ingress policing configuration.
3640 <column name="controller_rate_limit">
3642 The maximum rate at which the switch will forward packets to the
3643 OpenFlow controller, in packets per second. If no value is
3644 specified, rate limiting is disabled.
3648 <column name="controller_burst_limit">
3650 When a high rate triggers rate-limiting, Open vSwitch queues
3651 packets to the controller for each port and transmits them to the
3652 controller at the configured rate. This value limits the number of
3653 queued packets. Ports on a bridge share the packet queue fairly.
3657 This value has no effect unless <ref
3658 column="controller_rate_limit"/> is configured. The current
3659 default when this value is not specified is one-quarter of <ref
3660 column="controller_rate_limit"/>, meaning that queuing can delay
3661 forwarding a packet to the controller by up to 250 ms.
3665 <group title="Controller Rate Limiting Statistics">
3667 These values report the effects of rate limiting. Their values are
3668 relative to establishment of the most recent OpenFlow connection,
3669 or since rate limiting was enabled, whichever happened more
3670 recently. Each consists of two values, one with <code>TYPE</code>
3671 replaced by <code>miss</code> for rate limiting flow table misses,
3672 and the other with <code>TYPE</code> replaced by
3673 <code>action</code> for rate limiting packets sent by OpenFlow
3678 These statistics are reported only when controller rate limiting is
3682 <column name="status" key="packet-in-TYPE-bypassed"
3683 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
3684 Number of packets sent directly to the controller, without queuing,
3685 because the rate did not exceed the configured maximum.
3688 <column name="status" key="packet-in-TYPE-queued"
3689 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
3690 Number of packets added to the queue to send later.
3693 <column name="status" key="packet-in-TYPE-dropped"
3694 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
3695 Number of packets added to the queue that were later dropped due to
3696 overflow. This value is less than or equal to <ref column="status"
3697 key="packet-in-TYPE-queued"/>.
3700 <column name="status" key="packet-in-TYPE-backlog"
3701 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
3702 Number of packets currently queued. The other statistics increase
3703 monotonically, but this one fluctuates between 0 and the <ref
3704 column="controller_burst_limit"/> as conditions change.
3710 <group title="Additional In-Band Configuration">
3711 <p>These values are considered only in in-band control mode (see
3712 <ref column="connection_mode"/>).</p>
3714 <p>When multiple controllers are configured on a single bridge, there
3715 should be only one set of unique values in these columns. If different
3716 values are set for these columns in different controllers, the effect
3719 <column name="local_ip">
3720 The IP address to configure on the local port,
3721 e.g. <code>192.168.0.123</code>. If this value is unset, then
3722 <ref column="local_netmask"/> and <ref column="local_gateway"/> are
3726 <column name="local_netmask">
3727 The IP netmask to configure on the local port,
3728 e.g. <code>255.255.255.0</code>. If <ref column="local_ip"/> is set
3729 but this value is unset, then the default is chosen based on whether
3730 the IP address is class A, B, or C.
3733 <column name="local_gateway">
3734 The IP address of the gateway to configure on the local port, as a
3735 string, e.g. <code>192.168.0.1</code>. Leave this column unset if
3736 this network has no gateway.
3740 <group title="Controller Status">
3741 <column name="is_connected">
3742 <code>true</code> if currently connected to this controller,
3743 <code>false</code> otherwise.
3747 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["other", "master", "slave"]]}'>
3748 <p>The level of authority this controller has on the associated
3749 bridge. Possible values are:</p>
3751 <dt><code>other</code></dt>
3752 <dd>Allows the controller access to all OpenFlow features.</dd>
3753 <dt><code>master</code></dt>
3754 <dd>Equivalent to <code>other</code>, except that there may be at
3755 most one master controller at a time. When a controller configures
3756 itself as <code>master</code>, any existing master is demoted to
3757 the <code>slave</code> role.</dd>
3758 <dt><code>slave</code></dt>
3759 <dd>Allows the controller read-only access to OpenFlow features.
3760 Attempts to modify the flow table will be rejected with an
3761 error. Slave controllers do not receive OFPT_PACKET_IN or
3762 OFPT_FLOW_REMOVED messages, but they do receive OFPT_PORT_STATUS
3767 <column name="status" key="last_error">
3768 A human-readable description of the last error on the connection
3769 to the controller; i.e. <code>strerror(errno)</code>. This key
3770 will exist only if an error has occurred.
3773 <column name="status" key="state"
3774 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["VOID", "BACKOFF", "CONNECTING", "ACTIVE", "IDLE"]]}'>
3776 The state of the connection to the controller:
3779 <dt><code>VOID</code></dt>
3780 <dd>Connection is disabled.</dd>
3782 <dt><code>BACKOFF</code></dt>
3783 <dd>Attempting to reconnect at an increasing period.</dd>
3785 <dt><code>CONNECTING</code></dt>
3786 <dd>Attempting to connect.</dd>
3788 <dt><code>ACTIVE</code></dt>
3789 <dd>Connected, remote host responsive.</dd>
3791 <dt><code>IDLE</code></dt>
3792 <dd>Connection is idle. Waiting for response to keep-alive.</dd>
3795 These values may change in the future. They are provided only for
3800 <column name="status" key="sec_since_connect"
3801 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
3802 The amount of time since this controller last successfully connected to
3803 the switch (in seconds). Value is empty if controller has never
3804 successfully connected.
3807 <column name="status" key="sec_since_disconnect"
3808 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 1}'>
3809 The amount of time since this controller last disconnected from
3810 the switch (in seconds). Value is empty if controller has never
3815 <group title="Connection Parameters">
3817 Additional configuration for a connection between the controller
3818 and the Open vSwitch.
3821 <column name="other_config" key="dscp"
3822 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
3823 The Differentiated Service Code Point (DSCP) is specified using 6 bits
3824 in the Type of Service (TOS) field in the IP header. DSCP provides a
3825 mechanism to classify the network traffic and provide Quality of
3826 Service (QoS) on IP networks.
3828 The DSCP value specified here is used when establishing the connection
3829 between the controller and the Open vSwitch. If no value is specified,
3830 a default value of 48 is chosen. Valid DSCP values must be in the
3836 <group title="Common Columns">
3837 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
3838 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
3840 <column name="external_ids"/>
3841 <column name="other_config"/>
3845 <table name="Manager" title="OVSDB management connection.">
3847 Configuration for a database connection to an Open vSwitch database
3852 This table primarily configures the Open vSwitch database
3853 (<code>ovsdb-server</code>), not the Open vSwitch switch
3854 (<code>ovs-vswitchd</code>). The switch does read the table to determine
3855 what connections should be treated as in-band.
3859 The Open vSwitch database server can initiate and maintain active
3860 connections to remote clients. It can also listen for database
3864 <group title="Core Features">
3865 <column name="target">
3866 <p>Connection method for managers.</p>
3868 The following connection methods are currently supported:
3871 <dt><code>ssl:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
3874 The specified SSL <var>port</var> on the host at the given
3875 <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address
3876 (not a DNS name). The <ref table="Open_vSwitch"
3877 column="ssl"/> column in the <ref table="Open_vSwitch"/>
3878 table must point to a valid SSL configuration when this
3882 If <var>port</var> is not specified, it currently defaults
3883 to 6632. In the future, the default will change to 6640,
3884 which is the IANA-defined value.
3887 SSL support is an optional feature that is not always
3888 built as part of Open vSwitch.
3892 <dt><code>tcp:<var>ip</var></code>[<code>:<var>port</var></code>]</dt>
3895 The specified TCP <var>port</var> on the host at the given
3896 <var>ip</var>, which must be expressed as an IP address (not a
3897 DNS name), where <var>ip</var> can be IPv4 or IPv6 address. If
3898 <var>ip</var> is an IPv6 address, wrap it in square brackets,
3899 e.g. <code>tcp:[::1]:6632</code>.
3902 If <var>port</var> is not specified, it currently defaults
3903 to 6632. In the future, the default will change to 6640,
3904 which is the IANA-defined value.
3907 <dt><code>pssl:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
3910 Listens for SSL connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>.
3911 Specify 0 for <var>port</var> to have the kernel automatically
3912 choose an available port. If <var>ip</var>, which must be
3913 expressed as an IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then
3914 connections are restricted to the specified local IP address
3915 (either IPv4 or IPv6 address). If <var>ip</var> is an IPv6
3916 address, wrap in square brackets,
3917 e.g. <code>pssl:6632:[::1]</code>. If <var>ip</var> is not
3918 specified then it listens only on IPv4 (but not IPv6) addresses.
3919 The <ref table="Open_vSwitch" column="ssl"/> column in the <ref
3920 table="Open_vSwitch"/> table must point to a valid SSL
3921 configuration when this form is used.
3924 If <var>port</var> is not specified, it currently defaults
3925 to 6632. In the future, the default will change to 6640,
3926 which is the IANA-defined value.
3929 SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as
3930 part of Open vSwitch.
3933 <dt><code>ptcp:</code>[<var>port</var>][<code>:<var>ip</var></code>]</dt>
3936 Listens for connections on the specified TCP <var>port</var>.
3937 Specify 0 for <var>port</var> to have the kernel automatically
3938 choose an available port. If <var>ip</var>, which must be
3939 expressed as an IP address (not a DNS name), is specified, then
3940 connections are restricted to the specified local IP address
3941 (either IPv4 or IPv6 address). If <var>ip</var> is an IPv6
3942 address, wrap it in square brackets,
3943 e.g. <code>ptcp:6632:[::1]</code>. If <var>ip</var> is not
3944 specified then it listens only on IPv4 addresses.
3947 If <var>port</var> is not specified, it currently defaults
3948 to 6632. In the future, the default will change to 6640,
3949 which is the IANA-defined value.
3953 <p>When multiple managers are configured, the <ref column="target"/>
3954 values must be unique. Duplicate <ref column="target"/> values yield
3955 unspecified results.</p>
3958 <column name="connection_mode">
3960 If it is specified, this setting must be one of the following strings
3961 that describes how Open vSwitch contacts this OVSDB client over the
3966 <dt><code>in-band</code></dt>
3968 In this mode, this connection's traffic travels over a bridge
3969 managed by Open vSwitch. With this setting, Open vSwitch allows
3970 traffic to and from the client regardless of the contents of the
3971 OpenFlow flow table. (Otherwise, Open vSwitch would never be able
3972 to connect to the client, because it did not have a flow to enable
3973 it.) This is the most common connection mode because it is not
3974 necessary to maintain two independent networks.
3976 <dt><code>out-of-band</code></dt>
3978 In this mode, the client's traffic uses a control network separate
3979 from that managed by Open vSwitch, that is, Open vSwitch does not
3980 use any of its own network devices to communicate with the client.
3981 The control network must be configured separately, before or after
3982 <code>ovs-vswitchd</code> is started.
3987 If not specified, the default is implementation-specific.
3992 <group title="Client Failure Detection and Handling">
3993 <column name="max_backoff">
3994 Maximum number of milliseconds to wait between connection attempts.
3995 Default is implementation-specific.
3998 <column name="inactivity_probe">
3999 Maximum number of milliseconds of idle time on connection to the client
4000 before sending an inactivity probe message. If Open vSwitch does not
4001 communicate with the client for the specified number of seconds, it
4002 will send a probe. If a response is not received for the same
4003 additional amount of time, Open vSwitch assumes the connection has been
4004 broken and attempts to reconnect. Default is implementation-specific.
4005 A value of 0 disables inactivity probes.
4009 <group title="Status">
4010 <column name="is_connected">
4011 <code>true</code> if currently connected to this manager,
4012 <code>false</code> otherwise.
4015 <column name="status" key="last_error">
4016 A human-readable description of the last error on the connection
4017 to the manager; i.e. <code>strerror(errno)</code>. This key
4018 will exist only if an error has occurred.
4021 <column name="status" key="state"
4022 type='{"type": "string", "enum": ["set", ["VOID", "BACKOFF", "CONNECTING", "ACTIVE", "IDLE"]]}'>
4024 The state of the connection to the manager:
4027 <dt><code>VOID</code></dt>
4028 <dd>Connection is disabled.</dd>
4030 <dt><code>BACKOFF</code></dt>
4031 <dd>Attempting to reconnect at an increasing period.</dd>
4033 <dt><code>CONNECTING</code></dt>
4034 <dd>Attempting to connect.</dd>
4036 <dt><code>ACTIVE</code></dt>
4037 <dd>Connected, remote host responsive.</dd>
4039 <dt><code>IDLE</code></dt>
4040 <dd>Connection is idle. Waiting for response to keep-alive.</dd>
4043 These values may change in the future. They are provided only for
4048 <column name="status" key="sec_since_connect"
4049 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
4050 The amount of time since this manager last successfully connected
4051 to the database (in seconds). Value is empty if manager has never
4052 successfully connected.
4055 <column name="status" key="sec_since_disconnect"
4056 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 0}'>
4057 The amount of time since this manager last disconnected from the
4058 database (in seconds). Value is empty if manager has never
4062 <column name="status" key="locks_held">
4063 Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection
4064 holds. Omitted if the connection does not hold any locks.
4067 <column name="status" key="locks_waiting">
4068 Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection is
4069 currently waiting to acquire. Omitted if the connection is not waiting
4073 <column name="status" key="locks_lost">
4074 Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection
4075 has had stolen by another OVSDB client. Omitted if no locks have been
4076 stolen from this connection.
4079 <column name="status" key="n_connections"
4080 type='{"type": "integer", "minInteger": 2}'>
4082 When <ref column="target"/> specifies a connection method that
4083 listens for inbound connections (e.g. <code>ptcp:</code> or
4084 <code>pssl:</code>) and more than one connection is actually active,
4085 the value is the number of active connections. Otherwise, this
4086 key-value pair is omitted.
4089 When multiple connections are active, status columns and key-value
4090 pairs (other than this one) report the status of one arbitrarily
4095 <column name="status" key="bound_port" type='{"type": "integer"}'>
4096 When <ref column="target"/> is <code>ptcp:</code> or
4097 <code>pssl:</code>, this is the TCP port on which the OVSDB server is
4098 listening. (This is is particularly useful when <ref
4099 column="target"/> specifies a port of 0, allowing the kernel to
4100 choose any available port.)
4104 <group title="Connection Parameters">
4106 Additional configuration for a connection between the manager
4107 and the Open vSwitch Database.
4110 <column name="other_config" key="dscp"
4111 type='{"type": "integer"}'>
4112 The Differentiated Service Code Point (DSCP) is specified using 6 bits
4113 in the Type of Service (TOS) field in the IP header. DSCP provides a
4114 mechanism to classify the network traffic and provide Quality of
4115 Service (QoS) on IP networks.
4117 The DSCP value specified here is used when establishing the connection
4118 between the manager and the Open vSwitch. If no value is specified, a
4119 default value of 48 is chosen. Valid DSCP values must be in the range
4124 <group title="Common Columns">
4125 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
4126 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
4128 <column name="external_ids"/>
4129 <column name="other_config"/>
4133 <table name="NetFlow">
4134 A NetFlow target. NetFlow is a protocol that exports a number of
4135 details about terminating IP flows, such as the principals involved
4138 <column name="targets">
4139 NetFlow targets in the form
4140 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>. The <var>ip</var>
4141 must be specified numerically, not as a DNS name.
4144 <column name="engine_id">
4145 Engine ID to use in NetFlow messages. Defaults to datapath index
4149 <column name="engine_type">
4150 Engine type to use in NetFlow messages. Defaults to datapath
4151 index if not specified.
4154 <column name="active_timeout">
4156 The interval at which NetFlow records are sent for flows that
4157 are still active, in seconds. A value of <code>0</code>
4158 requests the default timeout (currently 600 seconds); a value
4159 of <code>-1</code> disables active timeouts.
4163 The NetFlow passive timeout, for flows that become inactive,
4164 is not configurable. It will vary depending on the Open
4165 vSwitch version, the forms and contents of the OpenFlow flow
4166 tables, CPU and memory usage, and network activity. A typical
4167 passive timeout is about a second.
4171 <column name="add_id_to_interface">
4172 <p>If this column's value is <code>false</code>, the ingress and egress
4173 interface fields of NetFlow flow records are derived from OpenFlow port
4174 numbers. When it is <code>true</code>, the 7 most significant bits of
4175 these fields will be replaced by the least significant 7 bits of the
4176 engine id. This is useful because many NetFlow collectors do not
4177 expect multiple switches to be sending messages from the same host, so
4178 they do not store the engine information which could be used to
4179 disambiguate the traffic.</p>
4180 <p>When this option is enabled, a maximum of 508 ports are supported.</p>
4183 <group title="Common Columns">
4184 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
4185 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
4187 <column name="external_ids"/>
4192 SSL configuration for an Open_vSwitch.
4194 <column name="private_key">
4195 Name of a PEM file containing the private key used as the switch's
4196 identity for SSL connections to the controller.
4199 <column name="certificate">
4200 Name of a PEM file containing a certificate, signed by the
4201 certificate authority (CA) used by the controller and manager,
4202 that certifies the switch's private key, identifying a trustworthy
4206 <column name="ca_cert">
4207 Name of a PEM file containing the CA certificate used to verify
4208 that the switch is connected to a trustworthy controller.
4211 <column name="bootstrap_ca_cert">
4212 If set to <code>true</code>, then Open vSwitch will attempt to
4213 obtain the CA certificate from the controller on its first SSL
4214 connection and save it to the named PEM file. If it is successful,
4215 it will immediately drop the connection and reconnect, and from then
4216 on all SSL connections must be authenticated by a certificate signed
4217 by the CA certificate thus obtained. <em>This option exposes the
4218 SSL connection to a man-in-the-middle attack obtaining the initial
4219 CA certificate.</em> It may still be useful for bootstrapping.
4222 <group title="Common Columns">
4223 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
4224 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
4226 <column name="external_ids"/>
4230 <table name="sFlow">
4231 <p>A set of sFlow(R) targets. sFlow is a protocol for remote
4232 monitoring of switches.</p>
4234 <column name="agent">
4235 Name of the network device whose IP address should be reported as the
4236 ``agent address'' to collectors. If not specified, the agent device is
4237 figured from the first target address and the routing table. If the
4238 routing table does not contain a route to the target, the IP address
4239 defaults to the <ref table="Controller" column="local_ip"/> in the
4240 collector's <ref table="Controller"/>. If an agent IP address cannot be
4241 determined any of these ways, sFlow is disabled.
4244 <column name="header">
4245 Number of bytes of a sampled packet to send to the collector.
4246 If not specified, the default is 128 bytes.
4249 <column name="polling">
4250 Polling rate in seconds to send port statistics to the collector.
4251 If not specified, defaults to 30 seconds.
4254 <column name="sampling">
4255 Rate at which packets should be sampled and sent to the collector.
4256 If not specified, defaults to 400, which means one out of 400
4257 packets, on average, will be sent to the collector.
4260 <column name="targets">
4261 sFlow targets in the form
4262 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>.
4265 <group title="Common Columns">
4266 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
4267 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
4269 <column name="external_ids"/>
4273 <table name="IPFIX">
4274 <p>Configuration for sending packets to IPFIX collectors.</p>
4277 IPFIX is a protocol that exports a number of details about flows. The
4278 IPFIX implementation in Open vSwitch samples packets at a configurable
4279 rate, extracts flow information from those packets, optionally caches and
4280 aggregates the flow information, and sends the result to one or more
4285 IPFIX in Open vSwitch can be configured two different ways:
4290 With <em>per-bridge sampling</em>, Open vSwitch performs IPFIX sampling
4291 automatically on all packets that pass through a bridge. To configure
4292 per-bridge sampling, create an <ref table="IPFIX"/> record and point a
4293 <ref table="Bridge"/> table's <ref table="Bridge" column="ipfix"/>
4294 column to it. The <ref table="Flow_Sample_Collector_Set"/> table is
4295 not used for per-bridge sampling.
4300 With <em>flow-based sampling</em>, <code>sample</code> actions in the
4301 OpenFlow flow table drive IPFIX sampling. See
4302 <code>ovs-ofctl</code>(8) for a description of the
4303 <code>sample</code> action.
4307 Flow-based sampling also requires database configuration: create a
4308 <ref table="IPFIX"/> record that describes the IPFIX configuration
4309 and a <ref table="Flow_Sample_Collector_Set"/> record that points to
4310 the <ref table="Bridge"/> whose flow table holds the
4311 <code>sample</code> actions and to <ref table="IPFIX"/> record. The
4312 <ref table="Bridge" column="ipfix"/> in the <ref table="Bridge"/>
4313 table is not used for flow-based sampling.
4318 <column name="targets">
4319 IPFIX target collectors in the form
4320 <code><var>ip</var>:<var>port</var></code>.
4323 <column name="cache_active_timeout">
4324 The maximum period in seconds for which an IPFIX flow record is
4325 cached and aggregated before being sent. If not specified,
4326 defaults to 0. If 0, caching is disabled.
4329 <column name="cache_max_flows">
4330 The maximum number of IPFIX flow records that can be cached at a
4331 time. If not specified, defaults to 0. If 0, caching is
4335 <group title="Per-Bridge Sampling">
4337 These values affect only per-bridge sampling. See above for a
4338 description of the differences between per-bridge and flow-based
4342 <column name="sampling">
4343 The rate at which packets should be sampled and sent to each target
4344 collector. If not specified, defaults to 400, which means one out of
4345 400 packets, on average, will be sent to each target collector.
4348 <column name="obs_domain_id">
4349 The IPFIX Observation Domain ID sent in each IPFIX packet. If not
4350 specified, defaults to 0.
4353 <column name="obs_point_id">
4354 The IPFIX Observation Point ID sent in each IPFIX flow record. If not
4355 specified, defaults to 0.
4358 <column name="other_config" key="enable-tunnel-sampling"
4359 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
4361 Set to <code>true</code> to enable sampling and reporting tunnel
4362 header 7-tuples in IPFIX flow records. Tunnel sampling is disabled
4367 The following enterprise entities report the sampled tunnel info:
4371 <dt>tunnelType:</dt>
4373 <p>ID: 891, and enterprise ID 6876 (VMware).</p>
4374 <p>type: unsigned 8-bit integer.</p>
4375 <p>data type semantics: identifier.</p>
4376 <p>description: Identifier of the layer 2 network overlay network
4377 encapsulation type: 0x01 VxLAN, 0x02 GRE, 0x03 LISP, 0x05 IPsec+GRE,
4382 <p>ID: 892, and enterprise ID 6876 (VMware).</p>
4383 <p>type: variable-length octetarray.</p>
4384 <p>data type semantics: identifier.</p>
4385 <p>description: Key which is used for identifying an individual
4386 traffic flow within a VxLAN (24-bit VNI), GENEVE (24-bit VNI),
4387 GRE (32- or 64-bit key), or LISP (24-bit instance ID) tunnel. The
4388 key is encoded in this octetarray as a 3-, 4-, or 8-byte integer
4389 ID in network byte order.</p>
4391 <dt>tunnelSourceIPv4Address:</dt>
4393 <p>ID: 893, and enterprise ID 6876 (VMware).</p>
4394 <p>type: unsigned 32-bit integer.</p>
4395 <p>data type semantics: identifier.</p>
4396 <p>description: The IPv4 source address in the tunnel IP packet
4399 <dt>tunnelDestinationIPv4Address:</dt>
4401 <p>ID: 894, and enterprise ID 6876 (VMware).</p>
4402 <p>type: unsigned 32-bit integer.</p>
4403 <p>data type semantics: identifier.</p>
4404 <p>description: The IPv4 destination address in the tunnel IP
4407 <dt>tunnelProtocolIdentifier:</dt>
4409 <p>ID: 895, and enterprise ID 6876 (VMware).</p>
4410 <p>type: unsigned 8-bit integer.</p>
4411 <p>data type semantics: identifier.</p>
4412 <p>description: The value of the protocol number in the tunnel
4413 IP packet header. The protocol number identifies the tunnel IP
4414 packet payload type.</p>
4416 <dt>tunnelSourceTransportPort:</dt>
4418 <p>ID: 896, and enterprise ID 6876 (VMware).</p>
4419 <p>type: unsigned 16-bit integer.</p>
4420 <p>data type semantics: identifier.</p>
4421 <p>description: The source port identifier in the tunnel transport
4422 header. For the transport protocols UDP, TCP, and SCTP, this is
4423 the source port number given in the respective header.</p>
4425 <dt>tunnelDestinationTransportPort:</dt>
4427 <p>ID: 897, and enterprise ID 6876 (VMware).</p>
4428 <p>type: unsigned 16-bit integer.</p>
4429 <p>data type semantics: identifier.</p>
4430 <p>description: The destination port identifier in the tunnel
4431 transport header. For the transport protocols UDP, TCP, and SCTP,
4432 this is the destination port number given in the respective header.
4438 <column name="other_config" key="enable-input-sampling"
4439 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
4440 By default, Open vSwitch samples and reports flows at bridge port input
4441 in IPFIX flow records. Set this column to <code>false</code> to
4442 disable input sampling.
4445 <column name="other_config" key="enable-output-sampling"
4446 type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
4447 By default, Open vSwitch samples and reports flows at bridge port
4448 output in IPFIX flow records. Set this column to <code>false</code> to
4449 disable output sampling.
4453 <group title="Common Columns">
4454 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
4455 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
4457 <column name="external_ids"/>
4461 <table name="Flow_Sample_Collector_Set">
4463 A set of IPFIX collectors of packet samples generated by OpenFlow
4464 <code>sample</code> actions. This table is used only for IPFIX
4465 flow-based sampling, not for per-bridge sampling (see the <ref
4466 table="IPFIX"/> table for a description of the two forms).
4470 The ID of this collector set, unique among the bridge's
4471 collector sets, to be used as the <code>collector_set_id</code>
4472 in OpenFlow <code>sample</code> actions.
4475 <column name="bridge">
4476 The bridge into which OpenFlow <code>sample</code> actions can
4477 be added to send packet samples to this set of IPFIX collectors.
4480 <column name="ipfix">
4481 Configuration of the set of IPFIX collectors to send one flow
4482 record per sampled packet to.
4485 <group title="Common Columns">
4486 The overall purpose of these columns is described under <code>Common
4487 Columns</code> at the beginning of this document.
4489 <column name="external_ids"/>