ovs-dpctl(8)							Open vSwitch Manual						      ovs-dpctl(8)

NAME

       ovs-dpctl - administer Open vSwitch datapaths

SYNOPSIS

       ovs-dpctl [options] command [switch] [args...]

DESCRIPTION

       The  ovs-dpctl program can create, modify, and delete Open vSwitch datapaths.  A single machine may host up to 256 datapaths (numbered 0 to
       255).

       A newly created datapath is associated with only one network device, a virtual network  device  sometimes  called  the  datapath's  ``local
       port''.	A newly created datapath is not, however, associated with any of the host's other network devices.  To intercept and process traf-
       fic on a given network device, use the add-if command to explicitly add that network device to the datapath.

       If ovs-vswitchd(8) is in use, use ovs-vsctl(8) instead of ovs-dpctl.

       Most ovs-dpctl commands that work with datapaths take an argument that specifies the name of the datapath.  Datapath names  take  the  form
       [type@]name,  where  name  is  the  network  device associated with the datapath's local port.  If type is given, it specifies the datapath
       provider of name, otherwise the default provider system is assumed.

       The following commands manage datapaths.

       add-dp dp [netdev[,option]...]
	      Creates datapath dp, with a local port also named dp.  This will fail if a network device dp already exists.

	      If netdevs are specified, ovs-dpctl adds them to the new datapath, just as if add-if was specified.

       del-dp dp
	      Deletes datapath dp.  If dp is associated with any network devices, they are automatically removed.

       add-if dp netdev[,option]...
	      Adds each netdev to the set of network devices datapath dp monitors, where dp is the name of an existing datapath, and netdev is the
	      name of one of the host's network devices, e.g. eth0.  Once a network device has been added to a datapath, the datapath has complete
	      ownership of the network device's traffic and the network device appears silent to the rest of the system.

	      A netdev may be followed by a comma-separated list of options.  The following options are currently supported:

	      type=type
		     Specifies the type of port to add.  The default type is system.

	      key=value
		     Adds an arbitrary key-value option to the port's configuration.

	      ovs-vswitchd.conf.db(5) documents the available port types and options.

       set-if dp port[,option]...
	      Reconfigures each port in dp as specified.  An option of the form key=value adds the specified key-value option to the port or over-
	      rides  an existing key's value.  An option of the form key=, that is, without a value, deletes the key-value named key.  The type of
	      a port cannot be changed, so type=type is only allowed if type is the port's existing type.

       del-if dp netdev...
	      Removes each netdev from the list of network devices datapath dp monitors.

       dump-dps
	      Prints the name of each configured datapath on a separate line.

       [-s | --statistics] show [dp...]
	      Prints a summary of configured datapaths, including their datapath numbers and a list of ports connected	to  each  datapath.   (The
	      local  port  is  identified as port 0.)  If -s or --statistics is specified, then packet and byte counters are also printed for each
	      port.

	      If one or more datapaths are specified, information on only those datapaths are displayed.  Otherwise, ovs-dpctl	displays  informa-
	      tion about all configured datapaths.

       dump-flows dp
	      Prints to the console all flow entries in datapath dp's flow table.

	      This command is primarily useful for debugging Open vSwitch.  The flow table entries that it displays are not OpenFlow flow entries.
	      Instead, they are different and considerably simpler flows maintained by the Open vSwitch kernel module.

       del-flows dp
	      Deletes all flow entries from datapath dp's flow table.

	      This command is primarily useful for debugging Open vSwitch.  As discussed in  dump-flows,  these  entries  are  not  OpenFlow  flow
	      entries.	By deleting them, the process that set them up may be confused about their disappearance.

OPTIONS

       -s, --statistics
	      Causes the show command to print packet and byte counters for each port within the datapaths that it shows.

       -t, --timeout=secs
	      Limits ovs-dpctl runtime to approximately secs seconds.  If the timeout expires, ovs-dpctl will exit with a SIGALRM signal.

       -vmodule[:facility[:level]], --verbose=module[:facility[:level]]
	      Sets the logging level for module in facility to level:

	      o      module  may be any valid module name (as displayed by the --list action on ovs-appctl(8)), or the special name ANY to set the
		     logging levels for all modules.

	      o      facility may be syslog, console, or file to set the levels for logging to the system log, the  console,  or  a  file  respec-
		     tively, or ANY to set the logging levels for both facilities.  If it is omitted, facility defaults to ANY.

		     Regardless  of  the  log  levels set for file, logging to a file will not take place unless --log-file is also specified (see
		     below).

	      o      level must be one of off, emer, err, warn, info, or dbg, designating the minimum severity of a message for it to  be  logged.
		     If it is omitted, level defaults to dbg.  See ovs-appctl(8) for a definition of each log level.

       -v, --verbose
	      Sets the maximum logging verbosity level, equivalent to --verbose=ANY:ANY:dbg.

       -vPATTERN:facility:pattern, --verbose=PATTERN:facility:pattern
	      Sets the log pattern for facility to pattern.  Refer to ovs-appctl(8) for a description of the valid syntax for pattern.

       --log-file[=file]
	      Enables  logging	to  a  file.  If file is specified, then it is used as the exact name for the log file.  The default log file name
	      used if file is omitted is /var/log/openvswitch/ovs-dpctl.log.

       -h, --help
	      Prints a brief help message to the console.

       -V, --version
	      Prints version information to the console.

SEE ALSO

       ovs-appctl(8), ovs-vswitchd(8)

Open vSwitch							    August 2009 						      ovs-dpctl(8)