Does some cleanup and adds entries that cover:
- OVS isn't Linux-specific.
- Point out PORTING guide.
- Explanation of LTS releases.
- Supported versions of OpenFlow.
- Missing features from userspace datapath and upstream kernel
module.
---
FAQ | 94 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++---------------
1 files changed, 73 insertions(+), 21 deletions(-)
diff --git a/FAQ b/FAQ
index 18ecc91..0305bf1 100644
--- a/FAQ
+++ b/FAQ
@@ -35,15 +35,34 @@ A: Open vSwitch can currently run on any Linux-based
virtualization
Q: How can I try Open vSwitch?
-A: Open vSwitch is as source code to be built on a Linux system. You
- can build and experiment with Open vSwitch on any Linux machine.
- Packages for various Linux distributions are underway and will be linked
- to from this website as they materialize.
+A: The Open vSwitch source code can be built on a Linux system. You can
+ build and experiment with Open vSwitch on any Linux machine.
+ Packages for various Linux distributions are available on many
+ platforms, including: Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora.
You may also download and run a virtualization platform that already
- has Open vSwitch integrated. For example, download the ISO for Xen
- Cloud Platform. Be aware that the version integrated with a
- particular platform may not be the most recent Open vSwitch release.
+ has Open vSwitch integrated. For example, download a recent ISO for
+ XenServer or Xen Cloud Platform. Be aware that the version
+ integrated with a particular platform may not be the most recent Open
+ vSwitch release.
+
+Q: Does Open vSwitch only work on Linux?
+
+A: No, Open vSwitch has been ported to a number of different operating
+ systems and hardware platforms. Most of the development work occurs
+ on Linux, but the code should be portable to any POSIX system. We've
+ seen Open vSwitch ported to a number of different platforms,
+ including FreeBSD, Windows, and even non-POSIX embedded systems.
+
+ By definition, the Open vSwitch Linux kernel module only works on
+ Linux and will provide the highest performance. However, a userspace
+ datapath is available that should be very portable.
+
+Q: What's involved with porting Open vSwitch to a new platform or
+ switching ASIC?
+
+A: The PORTING document describes how one would go about porting Open
+ vSwitch to a new operating system or hardware platform.
Q: Why would I use Open vSwitch instead of the Linux bridge?
@@ -84,26 +103,49 @@ A: Open vSwitch is intended to be a useful component for
building
support all as a primitive building block rather than choose a
particular point in the distributed design space.
-Q: What does it mean for an Open vSwitch release to be "stable"?
-
-A: A stable Open vSwitch release is code that has been through a
- comprehensive testing process and is suitable for production use.
- Planned stable releases will occur several times a year. If a
- significant bug is identified in a stable release, we will provide an
- updated stable release that includes the fix. Developers looking to
- test the latest Open vSwitch code can use an "unstable" release or
- directly access the code via git.
-
Q: How can I contribute to the Open vSwitch Community?
A: You can start by joining the mailing lists and helping to answer
- questions. You can also suggest improvements to documentation or offer
- to write a configuration cookbook entry.
-
- If you have a feature or bug you would like to work on send a mail to
+ questions. You can also suggest improvements to documentation. If
+ you have a feature or bug you would like to work on send a mail to
dev mailing list.
+Releases
+--------
+
+Q: What does it mean for an Open vSwitch release to be LTS (long-term
+ support)?
+
+A: All official releases have been through a comprehensive testing
+ process and are suitable for production use. Planned releases will
+ occur several times a year. If a significant bug is identified in an
+ LTS release, we will provide an updated release that includes the
+ fix. Releases that are not LTS may not be fixed and may just be
+ supplanted by the next major release. The current LTS release is
+ 1.4.x.
+
+Q: What features are not available in the Open vSwitch kernel datapath
+ that ships as part of the upstream Linux kernel?
+
+A: To avoid duplicating functionality in the kernel, certain features of
+ Open vSwitch were left out of the upstream version. This includes
+ bridge compatibility, which makes Open vSwitch work with the bridge
+ utilities and exports many of its external interfaces.
+
+ Additionally, dynamic tunneling support is not included. It is
+ possible to create tunnels in Linux and attach them to Open vSwitch
+ as system devices. However, they cannot be dynamically created
+ through the OVSDB protocol or set the tunnel ids as a flow action.
+
+Q: What features are not available when using the userspace datapath?
+
+A: Similar to the upstream kernel datapath, dynamic tunneling is not
+ supported. It is also not possible to use queue-related actions.
+ On older Linux kernels, maximum-sized VLAN packets may not be
+ transmitted.
+
+
Configuration Problems
----------------------
@@ -344,6 +386,15 @@ A: The configuration for VLANs in the Open vSwitch
database (e.g. via
Controllers
-----------
+Q: What versions of OpenFlow does Open vSwitch support?
+
+A: Open vSwitch supports OpenFlow 1.0. It also includes a number of
+ extensions that bring many of the features from later versions of
+ OpenFlow. Work is underway to provide support for later versions and
+ can be tracked here:
+
+ http://openvswitch.org/development/openflow-1-x-plan/
+
Q: I'm getting "error type 45250 code 0". What's that?
A: This is a Open vSwitch extension to OpenFlow error codes. Open
@@ -416,6 +467,7 @@ Q: My OpenFlow controller doesn't see the VLANs that I
expect.
A: See answer under "VLANs", above.
+
Contact
-------
--
1.7.5.4
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