README.rst

   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
   4 ============
   5 Open vSwitch
   6 ============
   7
   8 .. image:: https://travis-ci.org/openvswitch/ovs.png
   9     :target: https://travis-ci.org/openvswitch/ovs
  10 .. image:: https://ci.appveyor.com/api/projects/status/github/openvswitch/ovs?branch=master&svg=true&retina=true
  11     :target: https://ci.appveyor.com/project/blp/ovs/history
  12
  13 What is Open vSwitch?
  14 ---------------------
  15
  16 Open vSwitch is a multilayer software switch licensed under the open source
  17 Apache 2 license.  Our goal is to implement a production quality switch
  18 platform that supports standard management interfaces and opens the forwarding
  19 functions to programmatic extension and control.
  20
  21 Open vSwitch is well suited to function as a virtual switch in VM environments.
  22 In addition to exposing standard control and visibility interfaces to the
  23 virtual networking layer, it was designed to support distribution across
  24 multiple physical servers.  Open vSwitch supports multiple Linux-based
  25 virtualization technologies including Xen/XenServer, KVM, and VirtualBox.
  26
  27 The bulk of the code is written in platform-independent C and is easily ported
  28 to other environments.  The current release of Open vSwitch supports the
  29 following features:
  30
  31 - Standard 802.1Q VLAN model with trunk and access ports
  32 - NIC bonding with or without LACP on upstream switch
  33 - NetFlow, sFlow(R), and mirroring for increased visibility
  34 - QoS (Quality of Service) configuration, plus policing
  35 - Geneve, GRE, VXLAN, STT, and LISP tunneling
  36 - 802.1ag connectivity fault management
  37 - OpenFlow 1.0 plus numerous extensions
  38 - Transactional configuration database with C and Python bindings
  39 - High-performance forwarding using a Linux kernel module
  40
  41 The included Linux kernel module supports Linux 3.10 and up.
  42
  43 Open vSwitch can also operate entirely in userspace without assistance from
  44 a kernel module.  This userspace implementation should be easier to port than
  45 the kernel-based switch. OVS in userspace can access Linux or DPDK devices.
  46 Note Open vSwitch with userspace datapath and non DPDK devices is considered
  47 experimental and comes with a cost in performance.
  48
  49 What's here?
  50 ------------
  51
  52 The main components of this distribution are:
  53
  54 - ovs-vswitchd, a daemon that implements the switch, along with a companion
  55   Linux kernel module for flow-based switching.
  56 - ovsdb-server, a lightweight database server that ovs-vswitchd queries to
  57   obtain its configuration.
  58 - ovs-dpctl, a tool for configuring the switch kernel module.
  59 - Scripts and specs for building RPMs for Citrix XenServer and Red Hat
  60   Enterprise Linux.  The XenServer RPMs allow Open vSwitch to be installed on a
  61   Citrix XenServer host as a drop-in replacement for its switch, with
  62   additional functionality.
  63 - ovs-vsctl, a utility for querying and updating the configuration of
  64   ovs-vswitchd.
  65 - ovs-appctl, a utility that sends commands to running Open vSwitch daemons.
  66
  67 Open vSwitch also provides some tools:
  68
  69 - ovs-ofctl, a utility for querying and controlling OpenFlow switches and
  70   controllers.
  71 - ovs-pki, a utility for creating and managing the public-key infrastructure
  72   for OpenFlow switches.
  73 - ovs-testcontroller, a simple OpenFlow controller that may be useful for
  74   testing (though not for production).
  75 - A patch to tcpdump that enables it to parse OpenFlow messages.
  76
  77 What other documentation is available?
  78 --------------------------------------
  79
  80 .. TODO(stephenfin): Update with a link to the hosting site of the docs, once
  81    we know where that is
  82
  83 To install Open vSwitch on a regular Linux or FreeBSD host, please read the
  84 `installation guide <Documentation/intro/install/general.rst>`__. For specifics
  85 around installation on a specific platform, refer to one of the `other
  86 installation guides <Documentation/intro/install/index.rst>`__
  87
  88 For answers to common questions, refer to the `FAQ <Documentation/faq>`__.
  89
  90 To learn about some advanced features of the Open vSwitch software switch, read
  91 the `tutorial <Documentation/tutorials/ovs-advanced.rst>`__.
  92
  93 Each Open vSwitch userspace program is accompanied by a manpage.  Many of the
  94 manpages are customized to your configuration as part of the build process, so
  95 we recommend building Open vSwitch before reading the manpages.
  96
  97 Contact
  98 -------
  99
 100 bugs@openvswitch.org