Messages in this thread | | | Date | Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:25:46 +1100 | Subject | Re: [patch v4, kernel version 3.2.1] net/ipv4/ip_gre: Ethernet multipoint GRE over IP | From | Joseph Glanville <> |
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Hi,
Sorry David, I think I might have failed to convey my meaning.
What I meant by only true L2 multipoint VPN is that Open vSwitch cannot fuffil this on it's own at this time. Without NVGRE or VXLAN support its required to implement some logic in a Openflow controller to achieve this functionality. However once NVGRE/VXLAN is complete advanced users can setup a VXLAN domain to accomplish this.
Open vSwitch fufils a different role to this simplistic VPN. The point of OVS is to be a generic L2 forwarding plane for Software Defined Networking (SDN) solutions, an effective cornerstone of network virtualisation. If anything it's more analgous to Solaris's Crossbow or FreeBSD's VIMAGE in that it's more of a wholistic solution to the problem cappable of solving arbitarily difficult fowarding problems with the assistance of userspace logic. As such given a controller that implemented the tunnel endpoint learning, establishment of tunnels between every endpoint and a broadcast tunnel you could build a solution that is on par with this patch if not better.
The 2 are fundamentally different usecases however - many people don't need or couldn't care less about SDN and just want a mulitpoint VPN or L3 encapsulation of L2 between bridges, this is an ideal solution for these simpler usecases.
The primary users of Open vSwitch are likely to be large virtual environments with complex network topologies and well defined virtual networking needs. For this class of users the Linux Bridge module + static tunneling isn't going to cut it without some very clever control software - which is why OVS exists.
I think there is quite some way to go yet integrating OVS into the kernel and making use of all of it's advanced features but I would say it's far from useless and that in the long run it's inclusion will be very rewarding.
Kind regards, Joseph.
On 25 January 2012 18:11, Jesse Gross <jesse@nicira.com> wrote: > On Tue, Jan 24, 2012 at 8:02 PM, David Miller <davem@davemloft.net> wrote: >> From: Joseph Glanville <joseph.glanville@orionvm.com.au> >> Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:48:37 +1100 >> >>> The reason why this patch is useful is that it stands to be the only >>> true mulitpoint L2 VPN with a kernel space forwarding plane. >> >> So what you're telling me is that I added this huge openvswitch >> thing essentially for nothing? > > I think it's actually the opposite - Open vSwitch can be used to > implement this type of thing as well as for many other use cases. On > the other hand, even when implementing a multipoint L2 solution it can > be useful to have additional levels of control but you can't do that > with this patch because it essentially statically glues together > tunneling and bridging.
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