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1 | .. NOTE(stephenfin): If making changes to this file, ensure that the | |
2 | start-after/end-before lines found in 'Documentation/intro/what-is-ovs' | |
3 | are kept up-to-date. | |
4 | ||
5 | ============ | |
6 | Open vSwitch | |
7 | ============ | |
8 | ||
9 | .. image:: https://github.com/openvswitch/ovs/workflows/Build%20and%20Test/badge.svg | |
10 | :target: https://github.com/openvswitch/ovs/actions | |
11 | .. image:: https://travis-ci.org/openvswitch/ovs.png | |
12 | :target: https://travis-ci.org/openvswitch/ovs | |
13 | .. image:: https://ci.appveyor.com/api/projects/status/github/openvswitch/ovs?branch=master&svg=true&retina=true | |
14 | :target: https://ci.appveyor.com/project/blp/ovs/history | |
15 | .. image:: https://api.cirrus-ci.com/github/openvswitch/ovs.svg | |
16 | :target: https://cirrus-ci.com/github/openvswitch/ovs | |
17 | ||
18 | What is Open vSwitch? | |
19 | --------------------- | |
20 | ||
21 | Open vSwitch is a multilayer software switch licensed under the open source | |
22 | Apache 2 license. Our goal is to implement a production quality switch | |
23 | platform that supports standard management interfaces and opens the forwarding | |
24 | functions to programmatic extension and control. | |
25 | ||
26 | Open vSwitch is well suited to function as a virtual switch in VM environments. | |
27 | In addition to exposing standard control and visibility interfaces to the | |
28 | virtual networking layer, it was designed to support distribution across | |
29 | multiple physical servers. Open vSwitch supports multiple Linux-based | |
30 | virtualization technologies including Xen/XenServer, KVM, and VirtualBox. | |
31 | ||
32 | The bulk of the code is written in platform-independent C and is easily ported | |
33 | to other environments. The current release of Open vSwitch supports the | |
34 | following features: | |
35 | ||
36 | - Standard 802.1Q VLAN model with trunk and access ports | |
37 | - NIC bonding with or without LACP on upstream switch | |
38 | - NetFlow, sFlow(R), and mirroring for increased visibility | |
39 | - QoS (Quality of Service) configuration, plus policing | |
40 | - Geneve, GRE, VXLAN, STT, and LISP tunneling | |
41 | - 802.1ag connectivity fault management | |
42 | - OpenFlow 1.0 plus numerous extensions | |
43 | - Transactional configuration database with C and Python bindings | |
44 | - High-performance forwarding using a Linux kernel module | |
45 | ||
46 | The included Linux kernel module supports Linux 3.10 and up. | |
47 | ||
48 | Open vSwitch can also operate entirely in userspace without assistance from | |
49 | a kernel module. This userspace implementation should be easier to port than | |
50 | the kernel-based switch. OVS in userspace can access Linux or DPDK devices. | |
51 | Note Open vSwitch with userspace datapath and non DPDK devices is considered | |
52 | experimental and comes with a cost in performance. | |
53 | ||
54 | What's here? | |
55 | ------------ | |
56 | ||
57 | The main components of this distribution are: | |
58 | ||
59 | - ovs-vswitchd, a daemon that implements the switch, along with a companion | |
60 | Linux kernel module for flow-based switching. | |
61 | - ovsdb-server, a lightweight database server that ovs-vswitchd queries to | |
62 | obtain its configuration. | |
63 | - ovs-dpctl, a tool for configuring the switch kernel module. | |
64 | - Scripts and specs for building RPMs for Citrix XenServer and Red Hat | |
65 | Enterprise Linux. The XenServer RPMs allow Open vSwitch to be installed on a | |
66 | Citrix XenServer host as a drop-in replacement for its switch, with | |
67 | additional functionality. | |
68 | - ovs-vsctl, a utility for querying and updating the configuration of | |
69 | ovs-vswitchd. | |
70 | - ovs-appctl, a utility that sends commands to running Open vSwitch daemons. | |
71 | ||
72 | Open vSwitch also provides some tools: | |
73 | ||
74 | - ovs-ofctl, a utility for querying and controlling OpenFlow switches and | |
75 | controllers. | |
76 | - ovs-pki, a utility for creating and managing the public-key infrastructure | |
77 | for OpenFlow switches. | |
78 | - ovs-testcontroller, a simple OpenFlow controller that may be useful for | |
79 | testing (though not for production). | |
80 | - A patch to tcpdump that enables it to parse OpenFlow messages. | |
81 | ||
82 | What other documentation is available? | |
83 | -------------------------------------- | |
84 | ||
85 | .. TODO(stephenfin): Update with a link to the hosting site of the docs, once | |
86 | we know where that is | |
87 | ||
88 | To install Open vSwitch on a regular Linux or FreeBSD host, please read the | |
89 | `installation guide <Documentation/intro/install/general.rst>`__. For specifics | |
90 | around installation on a specific platform, refer to one of the `other | |
91 | installation guides <Documentation/intro/install/index.rst>`__ | |
92 | ||
93 | For answers to common questions, refer to the `FAQ <Documentation/faq>`__. | |
94 | ||
95 | To learn about some advanced features of the Open vSwitch software switch, read | |
96 | the `tutorial <Documentation/tutorials/ovs-advanced.rst>`__. | |
97 | ||
98 | Each Open vSwitch userspace program is accompanied by a manpage. Many of the | |
99 | manpages are customized to your configuration as part of the build process, so | |
100 | we recommend building Open vSwitch before reading the manpages. | |
101 | ||
102 | License | |
103 | ------- | |
104 | ||
105 | The following is a summary of the licensing of files in this distribution. | |
106 | As mentioned, Open vSwitch is licensed under the open source Apache 2 license. | |
107 | Some files may be marked specifically with a different license, in which case | |
108 | that license applies to the file in question. | |
109 | ||
110 | ||
111 | Files under the datapath directory are licensed under the GNU General Public | |
112 | License, version 2. | |
113 | ||
114 | File build-aux/cccl is licensed under the GNU General Public License, version 2. | |
115 | ||
116 | The following files are licensed under the 2-clause BSD license. | |
117 | include/windows/getopt.h | |
118 | lib/getopt_long.c | |
119 | lib/conntrack-tcp.c | |
120 | ||
121 | The following files are licensed under the 3-clause BSD-license | |
122 | include/windows/netinet/icmp6.h | |
123 | include/windows/netinet/ip6.h | |
124 | lib/strsep.c | |
125 | ||
126 | Files under the xenserver directory are licensed on a file-by-file basis. | |
127 | Refer to each file for details. | |
128 | ||
129 | Files lib/sflow*.[ch] are licensed under the terms of either the | |
130 | Sun Industry Standards Source License 1.1, that is available at: | |
131 | http://host-sflow.sourceforge.net/sissl.html | |
132 | or the InMon sFlow License, that is available at: | |
133 | http://www.inmon.com/technology/sflowlicense.txt | |
134 | ||
135 | Contact | |
136 | ------- | |
137 | ||
138 | bugs@openvswitch.org |