ovsdb-server.1.in

.\" -*- nroff -*-
.de IQ
.  br
.  ns
.  IP "\\$1"
..
.TH ovsdb\-server 1 "@VERSION@" "Open vSwitch" "Open vSwitch Manual"
.\" This program's name:
.ds PN ovsdb\-server
.
.SH NAME
ovsdb\-server \- Open vSwitch database server
.
.SH SYNOPSIS
\fBovsdb\-server\fR
[\fIdatabase\fR]\&...
[\fB\-\-remote=\fIremote\fR]\&...
[\fB\-\-run=\fIcommand\fR]
.so lib/daemon-syn.man
.so lib/service-syn.man
.so lib/vlog-syn.man
.so lib/ssl-syn.man
.so lib/ssl-bootstrap-syn.man
.so lib/unixctl-syn.man
.so lib/common-syn.man
.
.SH DESCRIPTION
The \fBovsdb\-server\fR program provides RPC interfaces to one or more
Open vSwitch databases (OVSDBs).  It supports JSON-RPC client
connections over active or passive TCP/IP or Unix domain sockets.
.PP
Each OVSDB file may be specified on the command line as \fIdatabase\fR.
If none is specified, the default is \fB@DBDIR@/conf.db\fR.  The database
files must already have been created and initialized using, for
example, \fBovsdb\-tool create\fR.
.
.SH OPTIONS
.
.IP "\fB\-\-remote=\fIremote\fR"
Adds \fIremote\fR as a connection method used by \fBovsdb\-server\fR.
\fIremote\fR must take one of the following forms:
.
.RS
.so ovsdb/remote-passive.man
.so ovsdb/remote-active.man
.
.IP "\fBdb:\fIdb\fB,\fItable\fB,\fIcolumn\fR"
Reads additional connection methods from \fIcolumn\fR in all of the
rows in \fItable\fR within \fIdb\fR.  As the contents of \fIcolumn\fR changes,
\fBovsdb\-server\fR also adds and drops connection methods accordingly.
.IP
If \fIcolumn\fR's type is string or set of strings, then the
connection methods are taken directly from the column.  The connection
methods in the column must have one of the forms described above.
.IP
If \fIcolumn\fR's type is UUID or set of UUIDs and references a table,
then each UUID is looked up in the referenced table to obtain a row.
The following columns in the row, if present and of the correct type,
configure a connection method.  Any additional columns are ignored.
.RS
.IP "\fBtarget\fR (string)"
Connection method, in one of the forms described above.  This column
is mandatory: if it is missing or empty then no connection method can
be configured.
.IP "\fBmax_backoff\fR (integer)"
Maximum number of milliseconds to wait between connection attempts.
.IP "\fBinactivity_probe\fR (integer)"
Maximum number of milliseconds of idle time on connection to
client before sending an inactivity probe message.
.RE
.IP
It is an error for \fIcolumn\fR to have another type.
.RE
.
.IP
To connect or listen on multiple connection methods, use multiple
\fB\-\-remote\fR options.
.
.IP "\fB\-\-run=\fIcommand\fR]"
Ordinarily \fBovsdb\-server\fR runs forever, or until it is told to
exit (see \fBRUNTIME MANAGEMENT COMMANDS\fR below).  With this option,
\fBovsdb\-server\fR instead starts a shell subprocess running
\fIcommand\fR.  When the subprocess terminates, \fBovsdb\-server\fR
also exits gracefully.  If the subprocess exits normally with exit
code 0, then \fBovsdb\-server\fR exits with exit code 0 also;
otherwise, it exits with exit code 1.
.IP
This option can be useful where a database server is needed only to
run a single command, e.g.:
.B "ovsdb\-server \-\-remote=punix:socket \-\-run='ovsdb\-client dump unix:socket Open_vSwitch'"
.IP
This option is not supported on Windows platform.
.SS "Daemon Options"
.ds DD \
\fBovsdb\-server\fR detaches only after it starts listening on all \
configured remotes.
.so lib/daemon.man
.SS "Service Options"
.so lib/service.man
.SS "Logging Options"
.so lib/vlog.man
.SS "Public Key Infrastructure Options"
The options described below for configuring the SSL public key
infrastructure accept a special syntax for obtaining their
configuration from the database.  If any of these options is given
\fBdb:\fIdb\fB,\fItable\fB,\fIcolumn\fR as its argument, then the
actual file name is read from the specified \fIcolumn\fR in \fItable\fR
within the \fIdb\fR database.  The \fIcolumn\fR must have type
string or set of strings.  The first nonempty string in the table is taken
as the file name.  (This means that ordinarily there should be at most
one row in \fItable\fR.)
.so lib/ssl.man
.so lib/ssl-bootstrap.man
.SS "Other Options"
.so lib/unixctl.man
.so lib/common.man
.SH "RUNTIME MANAGEMENT COMMANDS"
\fBovs\-appctl\fR(8) can send commands to a running
\fBovsdb\-server\fR process.  The currently supported commands are
described below.
.SS "OVSDB\-SERVER COMMANDS"
These commands are specific to \fBovsdb\-server\fR.
.IP "\fBexit\fR"
Causes \fBovsdb\-server\fR to gracefully terminate.
.IP "\fBovsdb\-server/compact\fR [\fIdb\fR]\&..."
Compacts each database \fIdb\fR in-place.  If no \fIdb\fR is
specified, compacts every database in-place.  Databases are also
automatically compacted occasionally.
.
.IP "\fBovsdb\-server/reconnect\fR"
Makes \fBovsdb\-server\fR drop all of the JSON\-RPC
connections to database clients and reconnect.
.IP
This command might be useful for debugging issues with database
clients.
.
.IP "\fBovsdb\-server/add\-remote \fIremote\fR"
Adds a remote, as if \fB\-\-remote=\fIremote\fR had been specified on
the \fBovsdb\-server\fR command line.  (If \fIremote\fR is already a
remote, this command succeeds without changing the configuration.)
.
.IP "\fBovsdb\-server/remove\-remote \fIremote\fR"
Removes the specified \fIremote\fR from the configuration, failing
with an error if \fIremote\fR is not configured as a remote.  This
command only works with remotes that were named on \fB\-\-remote\fR or
\fBovsdb\-server/add\-remote\fR, that is, it will not remove remotes
added indirectly because they were read from the database by
configuring a \fBdb:\fIdb\fB,\fItable\fB,\fIcolumn\fR remote.
(You can remove a database source with \fBovsdb\-server/remove\-remote
\fBdb:\fIdb\fB,\fItable\fB,\fIcolumn\fR, but not individual
remotes found indirectly through the database.)
.
.IP "\fBovsdb\-server/list\-remotes"
Outputs a list of the currently configured remotes named on
\fB\-\-remote\fR or \fBovsdb\-server/add\-remote\fR, that is, it does
not list remotes added indirectly because they were read from the
database by configuring a
\fBdb:\fIdb\fB,\fItable\fB,\fIcolumn\fR remote.
.
.IP "\fBovsdb\-server/add\-db \fIdatabase\fR"
Adds the \fIdatabase\fR to the running \fBovsdb\-server\fR.  The database
file must already have been created and initialized using, for example,
\fBovsdb\-tool create\fR.
.
.IP "\fBovsdb\-server/remove\-db \fIdatabase\fR"
Removes \fIdatabase\fR from the running \fBovsdb\-server\fR.  \fIdatabase\fR
must be a database name as listed by \fBovsdb-server/list\-dbs\fR.
.IP
If a remote has been configured that points to the specified
\fIdatabase\fR (e.g. \fB\-\-remote=db:\fIdatabase\fB,\fR... on the
command line), then it will be disabled until another database with
the same name is added again (with \fBovsdb\-server/add\-db\fR).
.IP
Any public key infrastructure options specified through this database
(e.g. \fB\-\-private\-key=db:\fIdatabase,\fR... on the command line)
will be disabled until another database with the same name is added
again (with \fBovsdb\-server/add\-db\fR).
.
.IP "\fBovsdb\-server/list\-dbs"
Outputs a list of the currently configured databases added either through
the command line or through the \fBovsdb\-server/add\-db\fR command.
.
.so lib/vlog-unixctl.man
.so lib/memory-unixctl.man
.so lib/coverage-unixctl.man
.SH "SPECIFICATIONS"
.
.PP
\fBovsdb\-server\fR implements the Open vSwitch Database (OVSDB)
protocol specified in RFC 7047, with the following clarifications:
.
.IP "3.1. JSON Usage"
RFC 4627 says that names within a JSON object should be unique.
The Open vSwitch JSON parser discards all but the last value
for a name that is specified more than once.
.
.IP
The definition of <error> allows for implementation extensions.
Currently \fBovsdb\-server\fR uses the following additional "error"
strings which might change in later releases):
.
.RS
.IP "\fBsyntax error\fR or \fBunknown column\fR"
The request could not be parsed as an OVSDB request.  An additional
"syntax" member, whose value is a string that contains JSON, may
narrow down the particular syntax that could not be parsed.
.IP "\fBinternal error\fR"
The request triggered a bug in \fBovsdb\-server\fR.
.IP "\fBovsdb error\fR"
A map or set contains a duplicate key.
.RE
.
.IP "3.2. Schema Format"
RFC 7047 requires the "version" field in <database-schema>.  Current
versions of \fBovsdb\-server\fR allow it to be omitted (future
versions are likely to require it).
.
.IP "4. Wire Protocol"
The original OVSDB specifications included the following reason,
omitted from RFC 7047, to operate JSON-RPC directly over a stream
instead of over HTTP:
.
.RS
.IP \(bu
JSON-RPC is a peer-to-peer protocol, but HTTP is a client-server
protocol, which is a poor match.  Thus, JSON-RPC over HTTP requires
the client to periodically poll the server to receive server requests.
.IP \(bu
HTTP is more complicated than stream connections and doesn't provide
any corresponding advantage.
.IP \(bu
The JSON-RPC specification for HTTP transport is incomplete.
.RE
.
.IP "4.1.5. Monitor"
For backward compatibility, \fBovsdb\-server\fR currently permits a
single <monitor-request> to be used instead of an array; it is treated
as a single-element array.  Future versions of \fBovsdb\-server\fR
might remove this compatibility feature.
.IP
Because the <json-value> parameter is used to match subsequent update
notifications (see below) to the request, it must be unique among all
active monitors.  \fBovsdb\-server\fR rejects attempt to create two
monitors with the same identifier.
.
.IP "5.1. Notation"
For <condition>, RFC 7047 only allows the use of \fB!=\fR, \fB==\fR,
\fBincludes\fR, and \fBexcludes\fR operators with set types.  Open
vSwitch 2.4 and later extend <condition> to allow the use of \fB<\fR,
\fB<=\fR, \fB>=\fR, and \fB>\fR operators with columns with type ``set
of 0 or 1 integer'' and ``set of 0 or 1 real''.  These conditions
evaluate to false when the column is empty, and otherwise as described
in RFC 7047 for integer and real types.
.
.SH "BUGS"
.
In Open vSwitch before version 2.4, when \fBovsdb\-server\fR sent
JSON-RPC error responses to some requests, it incorrectly formulated
them with the \fBresult\fR and \fBerror\fR swapped, so that the
response appeared to indicate success (with a nonsensical result)
rather than an error.  The requests that suffered from this problem
were:
.
.IP \fBtransact\fR
.IQ \fBget_schema\fR
Only if the request names a nonexistent database.
.IP \fBmonitor\fR
.IQ \fBlock\fR
.IQ \fBunlock\fR
In all error cases.
.
.PP
Of these cases, the only error that a well-written application is
likely to encounter in practice is \fBmonitor\fR of tables or columns
that do not exist, in an situation where the application has been
upgraded but the old database schema is still temporarily in use.  To
handle this situation gracefully, we recommend that clients should
treat a \fBmonitor\fR response with a \fBresult\fR that contains an
\fBerror\fR key-value pair as an error (assuming that the database
being monitored does not contain a table named \fBerror\fR).
.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.
.BR ovsdb\-tool (1).