DOKK / manpages / debian 12 / ovn-common / ovn-ic-nb.5.en
ovn-ic-nb(5) Open vSwitch Manual ovn-ic-nb(5)

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.

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.

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.

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.

Purpose
IC Northbound configuration
Transit logical switch
SSL configuration.
OVSDB client connections.

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


map of string-string pairs


map of string-string pairs


set of Connections
optional SSL

Common Columns:
See External IDs at the beginning of this document.

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

Connection Options:
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.
Global SSL configuration.

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


string (must be unique within table)


map of string-string pairs
map of string-string pairs

Naming:
A name that uniquely identifies the transit logical switch.

Common Columns:
See External IDs at the beginning of this document.

SSL configuration for ovn-nb database access.

string
string
string
boolean
string
string

map of string-string pairs

Name of a PEM file containing the private key used as the switch’s identity for SSL connections to the controller.
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.
Name of a PEM file containing the CA certificate used to verify that the switch is connected to a trustworthy controller.
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.
List of SSL protocols to be enabled for SSL connections. The default when this option is omitted is TLSv1,TLSv1.1,TLSv1.2.
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.

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.


string (must be unique within table)


optional integer, at least 1,000
optional integer


boolean
optional string
optional string, one of ACTIVE, BACKOFF, CONNECTING, IDLE, or VOID
optional string, containing an integer, at least 0
optional string, containing an integer, at least 0
optional string
optional string
optional string
optional string, containing an integer, at least 2
optional string, containing an integer


map of string-string pairs
map of string-string pairs

Core Features:
Connection methods for clients.
The following connection methods are currently supported:
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.
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.
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.
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:
Maximum number of milliseconds to wait between connection attempts. Default is implementation-specific.
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.

true if currently connected to this client, false otherwise.
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.
The state of the connection to the manager:
Connection is disabled.
Attempting to reconnect at an increasing period.
Attempting to connect.
Connected, remote host responsive.
Connection is idle. Waiting for response to keep-alive.
These values may change in the future. They are provided only for human consumption.
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.
The amount of time since this client last disconnected from the database (in seconds). Value is empty if client has never disconnected.
Space-separated list of the names of OVSDB locks that the connection holds. Omitted if the connection does not hold any locks.
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.
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.
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.
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.

DB Schema 1.0.0 Open vSwitch 23.03.0