Open vSwitch (OVS)

Open vSwitch (OVS) is an advanced, production-quality, multilayer virtual switch. Vapor provides first-class support for OVS, making it the recommended choice for complex virtual networking topologies.

OVS Bridges

An OVS Bridge functions similarly to a standard Linux Bridge but offers significantly more features, such as advanced flow control, QOS, and better performance for virtual workloads.

Managing OVS Bridges

1. Navigate to Network > OVS.
2. Click Create OVS Bridge.
3. Provide a name (e.g., ovsbr0).

OVS Ports and Topology

Once an OVS Bridge is created, you can attach various types of ports to it:

• Physical Ports: Attach physical NICs to connect the OVS bridge to the external network.
• Internal Ports: Create virtual interfaces on the host that are connected to the OVS switch. These can be assigned IP addresses for host management routing.
• Patch Ports: Connect two OVS bridges together.
• Bond Ports: Combine multiple physical interfaces into an OVS-managed LACP bond.

Visual Topology

Vapor provides a visual representation of your OVS configuration. By clicking the Topology view within an OVS bridge, you can see a graphical map of all attached ports, VMs, and their respective VLAN tags.