openflow/utilities/dpctl.8

.TH dpctl 8 "May 2008" "OpenFlow" "OpenFlow Manual"

.SH NAME
dpctl \- administer OpenFlow datapaths

.SH SYNOPSIS
.B dpctl
[\fIoptions\fR] \fIcommand \fR[\fIswitch\fR] [\fIargs\fR&...]

.SH DESCRIPTION
The
.B dpctl
program is a command line tool for monitoring and administering OpenFlow 
datapaths.  It is able to show the current state of a datapath,
including features, configuration, and tables entries.  When using the
OpenFlow kernel module,
.B dpctl
is used to add, delete, modify, and monitor datapaths.  

Most \fBdpctl\fR commands take an argument that specifies the
method for connecting to an OpenFlow switch.  The following connection
methods are supported:

.TP
\fBnl:\fIdp_idx\fR
The local Netlink datapath numbered \fIdp_idx\fR.  This form requires
that the local host has the OpenFlow kernel module for Linux loaded.

.TP
\fBssl:\fIhost\fR[\fB:\fIport\fR]
The specified SSL \fIport\fR (default: 976) on the given remote
\fIhost\fR.  The \fB--private-key\fR, \fB--certificate\fR, and
\fB--ca-cert\fR options are mandatory when this form is used.

.TP
\fBtcp:\fIhost\fR[\fB:\fIport\fR]
The specified TCP \fIport\fR (default: 975) on the given remote
\fIhost\fR.

.SH COMMANDS

With the \fBdpctl\fR program, datapaths running in the kernel can be 
created, deleted, modified, and monitored.  A single machine may 
host up to 32 datapaths (numbered 0 to 31).  In most situations, 
a machine hosts only one datapath.

A newly created datapath is not associated with any of the
host's network devices thus does not process any incoming
traffic.  To intercept and process traffic on a given network device, the
network device must be explicitly added to a datapath through the
\fBaddif\fR command.

The following commands manage local datapaths.

.TP
\fBadddp nl:\fIdp_idx\fR
Creates datapath numbered \fIdp_idx\fR on the local host.  This will 
fail if \fIdp_idx\fR is not in the range 0 to 31, or if the datapath 
with that number already exists on the host.

.TP
\fBdeldp nl:\fIdp_idx\fR
Deletes datapath \fIdp_idx\fR on the local host.  \fIdp_idx\fR must be
an existing datapath.  All of a datapath's network devices must be
explicitly removed before the datapath can be deleted (see \fBdelif\fR
command).

.TP
\fBaddif nl:\fIdp_idx netdev\fR
Adds \fInetdev\fR to the list of network devices datapath
\fIdp_idx\fR monitors, where \fIdp_idx\fR is the ID of an existing
datapath, and \fInetdev\fR is the name of one of the host's
network devices, e.g. \fBeth0\fR.  Once a network device has been added
to a datapath, the datapath has complete ownership of the network device's
traffic and the network device appears silent to the rest of the system.

.TP
\fBdelif nl:\fIdp_idx netdev\fR
Removes \fInetdev\fR from the list of network devices datapath
\fIdp_idx\fR monitors.

.TP
\fBmonitor nl:\fIdp_idx\fR
Prints to the console all OpenFlow packets sent by datapath
\fIdp_idx\fR to its controller, where \fIdp_idx\fR is the ID of an
existing datapath.

.PP
The following commands can be apply to OpenFlow switches regardless of
the connection method.

.TP
\fBshow \fIswitch\fR
Prints to the console information on datapath \fIswitch\fR including
information on its flow tables and ports.

.TP
\fBdump-tables \fIswitch\fR
Prints to the console statistics for each of the flow tables used by
datapath \fIswitch\fR.

.TP
\fBdump-ports \fIswitch\fR
Prints to the console statistics for each of the network devices
associated with datapath \fIswitch\fR.

.TP
\fBdump-flows \fIswitch \fR[\fIflows\fR]
Prints to the console all flow entries in datapath \fIswitch\fR's
tables that match \fIflows\fR.  If \fIflows\fR is omitted, all flows
in the datapath are retrieved.  See \fBFLOW SYNTAX\fR, below, for the
syntax of \fIflows\fR.

.TP
\fBdump-aggregate \fIswitch \fR[\fIflows\fR]
Prints to the console aggregate statistics for flows in datapath
\fSWITCH\fR's tables that match \fIflows\fR.  If \fIflows\fR is omitted, 
the statistics are aggregated across all flows in the datapath's flow
tables.  See \fBFLOW SYNTAX\fR, below, for the syntax of \fIflows\fR.

.TP
\fBadd-flow \fIswitch flow\fR
Add the flow entry as described by \fIflow\fR to the datapath \fIswitch\fR's 
tables.  The flow entry is in the format described in \fBFLOW SYNTAX\fR, 
below.

.TP
\fBadd-flows \fIswitch file\fR
Add flow entries as described in \fIfile\fR to the datapath \fIswitch\fR's 
tables.  Each line in \fIfile\fR is a flow entry in the format
described in \fBFLOW SYNTAX\fR, below.

.TP
\fBdel-flows \fIswitch \fR[\fIflow\fR]
Deletes entries from the datapath \fIswitch\fR's tables that match
\fIflow\fR.  If \fIflow\fR is omitted, all flows in the datapath's
tables are removed.  See \fBFLOW SYNTAX\fR, below, for the syntax of
\fIflows\fR.

.PP
The following commands can be used regardless of the connection
method.  They apply to OpenFlow switches and controllers.

.TP
\fBprobe \fIvconn\fR
Connects to \fIvconn\fR and sends a single OpenFlow echo-request
packet and waits for the response.  With the \fB-t\fR or
\fB--timeout\fR option, this command can test whether an OpenFlow
switch or controller is up and running.

.TP
\fBping \fIvconn \fR[\fIn\fR]
Sends a series of 10 echo request packets to \fIvconn\fR and times
each reply.  The echo request packets consist of an OpenFlow header
plus \fIn\fR bytes (default: 64) of randomly generated payload.  This
measures the latency of individual requests.

.TP
\fBbenchmark \fIvconn n count\fR
Sends \fIcount\fR echo request packets that each consist of an
OpenFlow header plus \fIn\fR bytes of payload and waits for each
response.  Reports the total time required.  This is a measure of the
maximum bandwidth to \fIvconn\fR for round-trips of \fIn\fR-byte
messages.

.SH "FLOW SYNTAX"

Some \fBdpctl\fR commands accept an argument that describes a flow or
flows.  Such flow descriptions comprise a series
\fIfield\fB=\fIvalue\fR assignments, separated by commas or white
space.

The following field assignments describe how a flow matches a packet.
If any of these assignments is omitted from the flow syntax, the field
is treated as a wildcard; thus, if all of them are omitted, the
resulting flow matches all packets.  The string \fB*\fR or \fBANY\fR
may be specified a value to explicitly mark any of these fields as a
wildcard.

.IP \fBin_port=\fIport_no\fR
Matches physical port \fIport_no\fR.  Switch ports are numbered as
displayed by \fBdpctl show\fR.

.IP \fBdl_vlan=\fIvlan\fR
Matches IEEE 802.1q virtual LAN tag \fIvlan\fR.  Specify \fB0xffff\fR
as \fIvlan\fR to match packets that are not tagged with a virtual LAN;
otherwise, specify a number between 0 and 4095, inclusive, as the
12-bit VLAN ID to match.

.IP \fBdl_src=\fImac\fR
Matches Ethernet source address \fImac\fR, which should be specified
as 6 pairs of hexadecimal digits delimited by colons,
e.g. \fB00:0A:E4:25:6B:B0\fR.

.IP \fBdl_dst=\fImac\fR
Matches Ethernet destination address \fImac\fR.

.IP \fBdl_type=\fIethertype\fR
Matches Ethernet protocol type \fIethertype\fR, which should be
specified as a integer between 0 and 65535, inclusive, either in
decimal or as a hexadecimal number prefixed by \fB0x\fR,
e.g. \fB0x0806\fR to match ARP packets.

.IP \fBnw_src=\fIip\fR
Matches IPv4 source address \fIip\fR, which should be specified as an
IP address or host name, e.g. \fB192.168.1.1\fR or
\fBwww.example.com\fR.

.IP \fBnw_dst=\fInw_dst\fR
Matches IPv4 destination address \fIip\fR.

.IP \fBnw_proto=\fIproto\fR
Matches IP protocol type \fIproto\fR, which should be specified as a
decimal number between 0 and 255, inclusive, e.g. 6 to match TCP
packets.

.IP \fBtp_src=\fIport\fR
Matches UDP or TCP source port \fIport\fR, which should be specified
as a decimal number between 0 and 65535, inclusive, e.g. 80 to match
packets originating from a HTTP server.

.IP \fBtp_dst=\fIport\fR
Matches UDP or TCP destination port \fIport\fR.

.PP
The \fBadd-flow\fR and \fBadd-flows\fR commands require an additional field:

.IP \fIactions\fB=\fItarget\fR[\fB,\fItarget\fR...]\fR
Specifies a comma-separated list of actions to take on a packet when the 
flow entry matches.  The \fItarget\fR may be a decimal port number 
designating the physical port on which to output the packet, or one of 
the following keywords:

.RS
.IP \fBoutput\fR:\fIport\fR
Outputs the packet on the port specified by \fIport\fR.

.IP \fBnormal\fR
Subjects the packet to the device's normal L2/L3 processing.  (This
action is not implemented by all OpenFlow switches.)

.IP \fBflood\fR
Outputs the packet on all switch physical ports other than the port on
which it was received and any ports on which flooding is disabled
(typically, these would be ports disabled by the IEEE 802.1D spanning
tree protocol).

.IP \fBall\fR
Outputs the packet on all switch physical ports other than the port on
which it was received.

.IP \fBcontroller\fR:\fImax_len\fR
Sends the packet to the OpenFlow controller as a ``packet in''
message.  If \fImax_len\fR is a number, then it specifies the maximum
number of bytes that should be sent.  If \fImax_len\fR is \fBALL\fR or
omitted, then the entire packet is sent.

.IP \fBlocal\fR
Outputs the packet on the ``local port,'' which corresponds to the
\fBof\fIn\fR network device (see \fBCONTACTING THE CONTROLLER\fR in
\fBsecchan\fR(8) for information on the \fBof\fIn\fR network device).

.IP \fBmod_vlan\fR:\fIvlan_id\fR
Modifies the VLAN tag on a packet.  If \fIvlan_id\fR is a number, then 
the VLAN tag is added or modified as necessary to match the value 
specified.  If \fIvlan_id\fR is \fBSTRIP\fR, then the VLAN tag is 
stripped from the packet if one is present.  (This action is not 
implemented by all OpenFlow switches.)
.RE

.IP
(The OpenFlow protocol supports other actions that \fBdpctl\fR does
not yet expose to the user.)

.PP
The \fBadd-flows\fR and \fBdel-flows\fR commands support an additional
optional field:

.IP \fBpriority=\fIvalue\fR
Sets the priority of the flow to be added or deleted to \fIvalue\fR,
which should be a number between 0 and 65535, inclusive.  If this
field is not specified, it defaults to 32768.

.PP
The \fBdump-flows\fR and \fBdump-aggregate\fR commands support an
additional optional field:

.IP \fBtable=\fInumber\fR
If specified, limits the flows about which statistics are gathered to
those in the table with the given \fInumber\fR.  Tables are numbered
as shown by the \fBdump-tables\fR command.

If this field is not specified, or if \fInumber\fR is given as
\fB255\fR, statistics are gathered about flows from all tables.

.SH OPTIONS
.TP
\fB-t\fR, \fB--timeout=\fIsecs\fR
Limits \fBdpctl\fR runtime to approximately \fIsecs\fR seconds.  If
the timeout expires, \fBdpctl\fR will exit with a \fBSIGALRM\fR
signal.

.TP
\fB-p\fR, \fB--private-key=\fIprivkey.pem\fR
Specifies a PEM file containing the private key used as the
identity for SSL connections to a switch.

.TP
\fB-c\fR, \fB--certificate=\fIcert.pem\fR
Specifies a PEM file containing a certificate, signed by the
controller's certificate authority (CA), that certifies the
private key to identify a trustworthy controller.

.TP
\fB-C\fR, \fB--ca-cert=\fIcacert.pem\fR
Specifies a PEM file containing the CA certificate used to verify that
a switch is trustworthy.

.TP
.BR \-h ", " \-\^\-help
Prints a brief help message to the console.

.TP
\fB-v\fImodule\fR[\fB:\fIfacility\fR[\fB:\fIlevel\fR]], \fB--verbose=\fImodule\fR[\fB:\fIfacility\fR[\fB:\fIlevel\fR]]
Sets the logging level for \fImodule\fR in \fIfacility\fR to
\fIlevel\fR.  The \fImodule\fR may be any valid module name (as
displayed by the \fB--list\fR action on \fBvlogconf\fR(8)), or the
special name \fBANY\fR to set the logging levels for all modules.  The
\fIfacility\fR may be \fBsyslog\fR or \fBconsole\fR to set the levels
for logging to the system log or to the console, respectively, or
\fBANY\fR to set the logging levels for both facilities.  If it is
omitted, \fIfacility\fR defaults to \fBANY\fR.  The \fIlevel\fR must
be one of \fBemer\fR, \fBerr\fR, \fBwarn\fR, or \fBdbg\fR, designating
the minimum severity of a message for it to be logged.  If it is
omitted, \fIlevel\fR defaults to \fBdbg\fR.

.TP
\fB-v\fR, \fB--verbose\fR
Sets the maximum logging verbosity level, equivalent to
\fB--verbose=ANY:ANY:dbg\fR.

.TP
.BR \-V ", " \-\^\-version
Prints version information to the console.

.SH EXAMPLES

A typical dpctl command sequence for controlling an OpenFlow kernel module:
.nf
.TP
Create datapath numbered 0:

.B % dpctl adddp nl:0

.TP
Add two network devices to the new datapath:

.B % dpctl addif nl:0 eth0
.B % dpctl addif nl:0 eth1

.TP
Monitor traffic received by the datapath (exit with control-C):

.B % dpctl monitor nl:0


.TP
View the datapath's table stats after some traffic has passed through:

.B % dpctl dump-tables nl:0

.TP
View the flow entries in the datapath:

.B % dpctl dump-flows nl:0 

.TP
Remove network devices from the datapath when finished:

.B % dpctl delif nl:0 eth0
.B % dpctl delif nl:0 eth1

.TP
Delete the datapath:

.B % dpctl deldp nl:0
.fi
.SH "SEE ALSO"

.BR secchan (8),
.BR switch (8),
.BR controller (8),
.BR vlogconf (8)