This is an easy way to keep track of the features supported by the different datapaths.
Nithin helped filling the list for the Hyper-V port. CC: Nithin Raju <[email protected]> Signed-off-by: Daniele Di Proietto <[email protected]> Acked-by: Ben Pfaff <[email protected]> Acked-by: Nithin Raju <[email protected]> --- v1 -> v2: * Mention FreeBSD and NetBSD in the userspace datapath description. * Split QoS in shaping and policing. * Remove previous FAQ (superseeded by this). --- FAQ.md | 88 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++----------------- 1 file changed, 66 insertions(+), 22 deletions(-) diff --git a/FAQ.md b/FAQ.md index 8397e0f..9a87002 100644 --- a/FAQ.md +++ b/FAQ.md @@ -165,28 +165,72 @@ A: The following table lists the Linux kernel versions against which the It should build against almost any kernel, certainly against 2.6.32 and later. -### Q: Are all features available with all versions of the kernel module? - -A: Features are gradually introduced into the upstream kernel so unless - you are running the latest Linux release there may be some missing - features. ovs-vswitchd probes for kernel features during startup and - lists them in the ovs-vswitchd log file. If you need features that - are unsupported, you can upgrade the Linux version or use the kernel - module paired with the userspace distribution. - - For a given Open vSwitch release, the vast majority of features are - supported when using the kernel module paired with the userspace - distribution, no matter which kernel you build it against. However, - from time to time, new features may be introduced which rely on - functionality not available in older kernels. The features below are - included in the kernel module distributed with OVS, but have more - stringent requirements for minimum kernel versions than the support - listed earlier. - -| Feature | Open vSwitch | Linux kernel -|:---------:|:------------:|:------------: -| STT | 2.4+ | 3.5+ -| Conntrack | 2.5+ | 3.10+ +### Q: Are all features available with all datapaths? + +A: Open vSwitch supports different datapaths on different platforms. Each + datapath has a different feature set: the following tables try to summarize + the status. + + Supported datapaths: + + * *Linux upstream*: The datapath implemented by the kernel module shipped + with Linux upstream. Since features have been gradually + introduced into the kernel, the table mentions the first + Linux release whose OVS module supports the feature. + + * *Linux OVS tree*: The datapath implemented by the Linux kernel module + distributed with the OVS source tree. Some features of + this module rely on functionality not available in older + kernels: in this case the minumum Linux version (against + which the module can be compiled) is listed. + + * *Userspace*: Also known as DPDK, dpif-netdev or dummy datapath. It is the + only datapath that works on NetBSD and FreeBSD. + + * *Hyper-V*: Also known as the windows datapath. + + The following table lists the datapath supported features from + an Open vSwitch user's perspective. + +Feature | Linux upstream | Linux OVS tree | Userspace | Hyper-V | +----------------------|:--------------:|:--------------:|:---------:|:-------:| +Connection tracking | 4.3 | 3.10 | NO | NO | +Tunnel - LISP | NO | YES | NO | NO | +Tunnel - STT | NO | 3.5 | NO | YES | +Tunnel - GRE | 3.11 | YES | YES | NO | +Tunnel - VXLAN | 3.12 | YES | YES | YES | +Tunnel - Geneve | 3.18 | YES | YES | NO | +QoS - Policing | YES | YES | NO | NO | +QoS - Shaping | YES | YES | NO | NO | +sFlow | YES | YES | YES | NO | +Set action | YES | YES | YES | PARTIAL | +NIC Bonding | YES | YES | YES | NO | +Multiple VTEPs | YES | YES | YES | NO | + + **Notes:** + * Only a limited set of flow fields is modifiable via the set action by the + Hyper-V datapath. + * The Hyper-V datapath only supports one physical NIC per datapath. This is + why bonding is not supported. + * The Hyper-V datapath can have at most one IP address configured as a + tunnel endpoint. + + The following table lists features that do not *directly* impact an + Open vSwitch user, e.g. because their absence can be hidden by the ofproto + layer (usually this comes with a performance penalty). + +Feature | Linux upstream | Linux OVS tree | Userspace | Hyper-V | +----------------------|:--------------:|:--------------:|:---------:|:-------:| +SCTP flows | 3.12 | YES | YES | YES | +MPLS | 3.19 | YES | YES | NO | +UFID | 4.0 | YES | YES | NO | +Megaflows | 3.12 | YES | YES | NO | +Masked set action | 4.0 | YES | YES | NO | +Recirculation | 3.19 | YES | YES | NO | +TCP flags matching | 3.13 | YES | YES | NO | +Validate flow actions | YES | YES | N/A | NO | +Multiple datapaths | YES | YES | YES | NO | +Tunnel TSO - STT | N/A | YES | NO | YES | ### Q: I get an error like this when I configure Open vSwitch: -- 2.1.4 _______________________________________________ dev mailing list [email protected] http://openvswitch.org/mailman/listinfo/dev
