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1 | .. NOTE(stephenfin): If making changes to this file, ensure that the line |
2 | numbers found in 'Documentation/intro/what-is-ovs' are kept up-to-date. | |
3 | ||
b1fe1c94 SF |
4 | ============ |
5 | Open vSwitch | |
6 | ============ | |
7 | ||
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8 | .. image:: https://travis-ci.org/openvswitch/ovs.png |
9 | :target: https://travis-ci.org/openvswitch/ovs | |
10 | ||
11 | What is Open vSwitch? | |
12 | --------------------- | |
13 | ||
14 | Open vSwitch is a multilayer software switch licensed under the open source | |
15 | Apache 2 license. Our goal is to implement a production quality switch | |
16 | platform that supports standard management interfaces and opens the forwarding | |
17 | functions to programmatic extension and control. | |
18 | ||
19 | Open vSwitch is well suited to function as a virtual switch in VM environments. | |
20 | In addition to exposing standard control and visibility interfaces to the | |
21 | virtual networking layer, it was designed to support distribution across | |
22 | multiple physical servers. Open vSwitch supports multiple Linux-based | |
23 | virtualization technologies including Xen/XenServer, KVM, and VirtualBox. | |
24 | ||
25 | The bulk of the code is written in platform-independent C and is easily ported | |
26 | to other environments. The current release of Open vSwitch supports the | |
27 | following features: | |
28 | ||
29 | - Standard 802.1Q VLAN model with trunk and access ports | |
30 | - NIC bonding with or without LACP on upstream switch | |
31 | - NetFlow, sFlow(R), and mirroring for increased visibility | |
32 | - QoS (Quality of Service) configuration, plus policing | |
33 | - Geneve, GRE, VXLAN, STT, and LISP tunneling | |
34 | - 802.1ag connectivity fault management | |
35 | - OpenFlow 1.0 plus numerous extensions | |
36 | - Transactional configuration database with C and Python bindings | |
37 | - High-performance forwarding using a Linux kernel module | |
38 | ||
39 | The included Linux kernel module supports Linux 3.10 and up. | |
40 | ||
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41 | Open vSwitch can also operate entirely in userspace without assistance from |
42 | a kernel module. This userspace implementation should be easier to port than | |
43 | the kernel-based switch. OVS in userspace can access Linux or DPDK devices. | |
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44 | Note Open vSwitch with userspace datapath and non DPDK devices is considered |
45 | experimental and comes with a cost in performance. | |
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46 | |
47 | What's here? | |
48 | ------------ | |
49 | ||
50 | The main components of this distribution are: | |
51 | ||
52 | - ovs-vswitchd, a daemon that implements the switch, along with a companion | |
53 | Linux kernel module for flow-based switching. | |
54 | - ovsdb-server, a lightweight database server that ovs-vswitchd queries to | |
55 | obtain its configuration. | |
56 | - ovs-dpctl, a tool for configuring the switch kernel module. | |
57 | - Scripts and specs for building RPMs for Citrix XenServer and Red Hat | |
58 | Enterprise Linux. The XenServer RPMs allow Open vSwitch to be installed on a | |
59 | Citrix XenServer host as a drop-in replacement for its switch, with | |
60 | additional functionality. | |
61 | - ovs-vsctl, a utility for querying and updating the configuration of | |
62 | ovs-vswitchd. | |
63 | - ovs-appctl, a utility that sends commands to running Open vSwitch daemons. | |
64 | ||
65 | Open vSwitch also provides some tools: | |
66 | ||
67 | - ovs-ofctl, a utility for querying and controlling OpenFlow switches and | |
68 | controllers. | |
69 | - ovs-pki, a utility for creating and managing the public-key infrastructure | |
70 | for OpenFlow switches. | |
71 | - ovs-testcontroller, a simple OpenFlow controller that may be useful for | |
72 | testing (though not for production). | |
73 | - A patch to tcpdump that enables it to parse OpenFlow messages. | |
74 | ||
75 | What other documentation is available? | |
76 | -------------------------------------- | |
77 | ||
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78 | .. TODO(stephenfin): Update with a link to the hosting site of the docs, once |
79 | we know where that is | |
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81 | To install Open vSwitch on a regular Linux or FreeBSD host, please read the |
82 | `installation guide <Documentation/intro/install/general.rst>`__. For specifics | |
83 | around installation on a specific platform, refer to one of the `other | |
84 | installation guides <Documentation/intro/install/index.rst>`__ | |
b1fe1c94 | 85 | |
11e02906 | 86 | For answers to common questions, refer to the `FAQ <Documentation/faq>`__. |
b1fe1c94 | 87 | |
b1fe1c94 | 88 | To learn about some advanced features of the Open vSwitch software switch, read |
e12569bb | 89 | the `tutorial <Documentation/tutorials/ovs-advanced.rst>`__. |
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90 | |
91 | Each Open vSwitch userspace program is accompanied by a manpage. Many of the | |
92 | manpages are customized to your configuration as part of the build process, so | |
93 | we recommend building Open vSwitch before reading the manpages. | |
94 | ||
95 | Contact | |
96 | ------- | |
97 | ||
98 | bugs@openvswitch.org |