ovn-ic-nb - Man Page

Name

ovn-ic-nb — OVN_IC_Northbound database schema

This database is the interface for cloud management system (CMS), such as OpenStack, to configure OVN interconnection settings. The CMS produces almost all of the contents of the database. The ovn-ic program monitors the database contents, transforms it, and stores it into the OVN_IC_Southbound database.

We generally speak of ``the’’ CMS, but one can imagine scenarios in which multiple CMSes manage different parts of OVN interconnection.

External IDs

Each of the tables in this database contains a special column, named external_ids. This column has the same form and purpose each place it appears.

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

Key-value pairs for use by the CMS. The CMS might use certain pairs, for example, to identify entities in its own configuration that correspond to those in this database.

Table Summary

The following list summarizes the purpose of each of the tables in the OVN_IC_Northbound database.  Each table is described in more detail on a later page.

Table

Purpose

IC_NB_Global

IC Northbound configuration

Transit_Switch

Transit logical switch

SSL

SSL configuration.

Connection

OVSDB client connections.

Table Relationships

The following diagram shows the relationship among tables in the database.  Each node represents a table.  Tables that are part of the “root set” are shown with double borders.  Each edge leads from the table that contains it and points to the table that its value represents.  Edges are labeled with their column names, followed by a constraint on the number of allowed values: ? for zero or one, * for zero or more, + for one or more.  Thick lines represent strong references; thin lines represent weak references.

IC_NB_Global Connection SSL Transit_Switch connections* ssl?

IC_NB_Global TABLE

Northbound configuration for OVN interconnection. This table must have exactly one row.

Summary

Status:
nb_ic_cfg

integer

sb_ic_cfg

integer

Common Columns:
external_ids

map of string-string pairs

Common options:
options

map of string-string pairs

options : ic_probe_interval

optional string

Connection Options:
connections

set of Connections

ssl

optional SSL

Details

Status:

These columns allow a client to track the overall configuration state of the system.

nb_ic_cfg: integer

Sequence number for client to increment. When a client modifies the interconnect northbound database configuration and wishes to wait for OVN-ICs to handle this change and update the Interconnect southbound database, it may increment this sequence number.

sb_ic_cfg: integer

Sequence number that one OVN-IC sets to the value of nb_ic_cfg after waiting to all the OVN-ICs finish applying their changes to interconnect southbound database.

Common Columns:

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

See External IDs at the beginning of this document.

Common options:

options: map of string-string pairs

This column provides general key/value settings. The supported options are described individually below.

options : ic_probe_interval: optional string

The inactivity probe interval of the connection to the OVN IC Northbound and Southbound databases from ovn-ic, in milliseconds. If the value is zero, it disables the connection keepalive feature.

If the value is nonzero, then it will be forced to a value of at least 1000 ms.

Connection Options:

connections: set of Connections

Database clients to which the Open vSwitch database server should connect or on which it should listen, along with options for how these connections should be configured. See the Connection table for more information.

ssl: optional SSL

Global SSL configuration.

Transit_Switch TABLE

Each row represents one transit logical switch for interconnection between different OVN deployments (availability zones).

Summary

Naming:
name

string (must be unique within table)

Common Columns:
other_config

map of string-string pairs

external_ids

map of string-string pairs

Details

Naming:

name: string (must be unique within table)

A name that uniquely identifies the transit logical switch.

Common Columns:

other_config: map of string-string pairs
external_ids: map of string-string pairs

See External IDs at the beginning of this document.

SSL Table

SSL configuration for ovn-nb database access.

Summary

private_key

string

certificate

string

ca_cert

string

bootstrap_ca_cert

boolean

ssl_protocols

string

ssl_ciphers

string

Common Columns:
external_ids

map of string-string pairs

Details

private_key: string

Name of a PEM file containing the private key used as the switch’s identity for SSL connections to the controller.

certificate: string

Name of a PEM file containing a certificate, signed by the certificate authority (CA) used by the controller and manager, that certifies the switch’s private key, identifying a trustworthy switch.

ca_cert: string

Name of a PEM file containing the CA certificate used to verify that the switch is connected to a trustworthy controller.

bootstrap_ca_cert: boolean

If set to true, then Open vSwitch will attempt to obtain the CA certificate from the controller on its first SSL connection and save it to the named PEM file. If it is successful, it will immediately drop the connection and reconnect, and from then on all SSL connections must be authenticated by a certificate signed by the CA certificate thus obtained. This option exposes the SSL connection to a man-in-the-middle attack obtaining the initial CA certificate. It may still be useful for bootstrapping.

ssl_protocols: string

List of SSL protocols to be enabled for SSL connections. The default when this option is omitted is TLSv1,TLSv1.1,TLSv1.2.

ssl_ciphers: string

List of ciphers (in OpenSSL cipher string format) to be supported for SSL connections. The default when this option is omitted is HIGH:!aNULL:!MD5.

Common Columns:

The overall purpose of these columns is described under Common Columns at the beginning of this document.

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

Connection TABLE

Configuration for a database connection to an Open vSwitch database (OVSDB) client.

This table primarily configures the Open vSwitch database server (ovsdb-server).

The Open vSwitch database server can initiate and maintain active connections to remote clients. It can also listen for database connections.

Summary

Core Features:
target

string (must be unique within table)

Client Failure Detection and Handling:
max_backoff

optional integer, at least 1,000

inactivity_probe

optional integer

Status:
is_connected

boolean

status : last_error

optional string

status : state

optional string, one of ACTIVE, BACKOFF, CONNECTING, IDLE, or VOID

status : sec_since_connect

optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

status : sec_since_disconnect

optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

status : locks_held

optional string

status : locks_waiting

optional string

status : locks_lost

optional string

status : n_connections

optional string, containing an integer, at least 2

status : bound_port

optional string, containing an integer

Common Columns:
external_ids

map of string-string pairs

other_config

map of string-string pairs

Details

Core Features:

target: string (must be unique within table)

Connection methods for clients.

The following connection methods are currently supported:

ssl:host[:port]

The specified SSL port on the host at the given host, which can either be a DNS name (if built with unbound library) or an IP address. A valid SSL configuration must be provided when this form is used, this configuration can be specified via command-line options or the SSL table.

If port is not specified, it defaults to 6640.

SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as part of Open vSwitch.

tcp:host[:port]

The specified TCP port on the host at the given host, which can either be a DNS name (if built with unbound library) or an IP address. If host is an IPv6 address, wrap it in square brackets, e.g. tcp:[::1]:6640.

If port is not specified, it defaults to 6640.

pssl:[port][:host]

Listens for SSL connections on the specified TCP port. Specify 0 for port to have the kernel automatically choose an available port. If host, which can either be a DNS name (if built with unbound library) or an IP address, is specified, then connections are restricted to the resolved or specified local IPaddress (either IPv4 or IPv6 address). If host is an IPv6 address, wrap in square brackets, e.g. pssl:6640:[::1]. If host is not specified then it listens only on IPv4 (but not IPv6) addresses. A valid SSL configuration must be provided when this form is used, this can be specified either via command-line options or the SSL table.

If port is not specified, it defaults to 6640.

SSL support is an optional feature that is not always built as part of Open vSwitch.

ptcp:[port][:host]

Listens for connections on the specified TCP port. Specify 0 for port to have the kernel automatically choose an available port. If host, which can either be a DNS name (if built with unbound library) or an IP address, is specified, then connections are restricted to the resolved or specified local IP address (either IPv4 or IPv6 address). If host is an IPv6 address, wrap it in square brackets, e.g. ptcp:6640:[::1]. If host is not specified then it listens only on IPv4 addresses.

If port is not specified, it defaults to 6640.

When multiple clients are configured, the target values must be unique. Duplicate target values yield unspecified results.

Client Failure Detection and Handling:

max_backoff: optional integer, at least 1,000

Maximum number of milliseconds to wait between connection attempts. Default is implementation-specific.

inactivity_probe: optional integer

Maximum number of milliseconds of idle time on connection to the client before sending an inactivity probe message. If Open vSwitch does not communicate with the client for the specified number of seconds, it will send a probe. If a response is not received for the same additional amount of time, Open vSwitch assumes the connection has been broken and attempts to reconnect. Default is implementation-specific. A value of 0 disables inactivity probes.

Status:

Key-value pair of is_connected is always updated. Other key-value pairs in the status columns may be updated depends on the target type.

When target specifies a connection method that listens for inbound connections (e.g. ptcp: or punix:), both n_connections and is_connected may also be updated while the remaining key-value pairs are omitted.

On the other hand, when target specifies an outbound connection, all key-value pairs may be updated, except the above-mentioned two key-value pairs associated with inbound connection targets. They are omitted.

is_connected: boolean

true if currently connected to this client, false otherwise.

status : last_error: optional string

A human-readable description of the last error on the connection to the manager; i.e. strerror(errno). This key will exist only if an error has occurred.

status : state: optional string, one of ACTIVE, BACKOFF, CONNECTING, IDLE, or VOID

The state of the connection to the manager:

VOID

Connection is disabled.

BACKOFF

Attempting to reconnect at an increasing period.

CONNECTING

Attempting to connect.

ACTIVE

Connected, remote host responsive.

IDLE

Connection is idle. Waiting for response to keep-alive.

These values may change in the future. They are provided only for human consumption.

status : sec_since_connect: optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

The amount of time since this client last successfully connected to the database (in seconds). Value is empty if client has never successfully been connected.

status : sec_since_disconnect: optional string, containing an integer, at least 0

The amount of time since this client last disconnected from the database (in seconds). Value is empty if client has never disconnected.

status : locks_held: optional string

Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection holds. Omitted if the connection does not hold any locks.

status : locks_waiting: optional string

Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection is currently waiting to acquire. Omitted if the connection is not waiting for any locks.

status : locks_lost: optional string

Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection has had stolen by another OVSDB client. Omitted if no locks have been stolen from this connection.

status : n_connections: optional string, containing an integer, at least 2

When target specifies a connection method that listens for inbound connections (e.g. ptcp: or pssl:) and more than one connection is actually active, the value is the number of active connections. Otherwise, this key-value pair is omitted.

status : bound_port: optional string, containing an integer

When target is ptcp: or pssl:, this is the TCP port on which the OVSDB server is listening. (This is particularly useful when target specifies a port of 0, allowing the kernel to choose any available port.)

Common Columns:

The overall purpose of these columns is described under Common Columns at the beginning of this document.

external_ids: map of string-string pairs

other_config: map of string-string pairs

Referenced By

ovn-ic-nbctl(8).

DB Schema 1.1.0 Open vSwitch 24.09.1 Open vSwitch Manual