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)