Setting Up Open vSwitch Using DPDK on Ubuntu 18.04

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Alright, setting up Open vSwitch using DPDK on Ubuntu 18.04. This is a fun one because it involves both networking and virtualization, two of the most exciting topics in computer science! But don’t worry if you’re not an expert in either field we’ll break this down into simple steps that anyone can follow.

First things first: what exactly are Open vSwitch and DPDK? Well, Open vSwitch is a software-defined networking (SDN) solution for virtualized environments. It allows you to create logical networks within your server infrastructure by defining rules and policies using a central controller. This makes it easier to manage network traffic and resources across multiple VMs or containers.

DPDK stands for Data Plane Development Kit, which is an open-source library that accelerates packet processing in networking applications. It provides low-level access to the hardware, allowing you to bypass the kernel’s networking stack and improve performance significantly. This makes it ideal for use with Open vSwitch because it can handle high-speed network traffic more efficiently than traditional methods.

Now let’s get started! Here are the steps:

1. Update your system packages using apt-get:

#!/bin/bash

# This script updates the system packages using apt-get and upgrades them if necessary.

# Update the system packages using apt-get
sudo apt-get update

# Upgrade the system packages if necessary
sudo apt-get upgrade -y

# The -y flag automatically answers yes to any prompts during the upgrade process.

# This ensures that the script can run without any user input.

# The && operator allows for multiple commands to be executed in one line, only if the previous command was successful.

# This ensures that the upgrade process will only begin if the update process was successful.

# Overall, this script ensures that the system packages are up to date and upgraded, improving system performance and compatibility with Open vSwitch.

2. Install DPDK and Open vSwitch:

# This script installs DPDK and Open vSwitch on a Linux system using the apt-get package manager.

# Use sudo to run the command as a superuser.
sudo apt-get install dpdk openvswitch-switch

# The above command installs the dpdk and openvswitch-switch packages from the apt-get repository.

# The -y flag is used to automatically answer "yes" to any prompts during the installation process.
sudo apt-get install -y dpdk openvswitch-switch

# The above command will install the packages without requiring any user input.

# The dpdk package is a set of libraries and tools for fast packet processing in user space.
# The openvswitch-switch package is a virtual switch that allows for network virtualization and software-defined networking.
# By installing both packages, we can take advantage of DPDK's high-performance packet processing capabilities within the Open vSwitch environment.

3. Configure your network interfaces to use DPDK:

Open the /etc/netplan/00-installer-config.yaml file and add the following lines for each interface you want to use with DPDK (replace eth1 and eth2 with your own interface names):

# This script is used to configure network interfaces to use DPDK.

# The following lines will be added for each interface to be used with DPDK.

network:
  version: 2 # Specifies the version of the network configuration file.
  renderer: networkd # Specifies the network renderer to be used.
  ethernets: # Specifies the ethernet interfaces to be configured.
    eth1: # Specifies the first ethernet interface.
      dpdk: true # Enables DPDK for this interface.
      set-nameservers: [8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4] # Sets the nameservers for this interface.
    eth2: # Specifies the second ethernet interface.
      dpdk: true # Enables DPDK for this interface.
      set-nameservers: [8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4] # Sets the nameservers for this interface.

Save the file and run:


# This script is used to apply the network configuration changes made in the netplan file.
# It requires sudo privileges to run.

# Apply the netplan configuration changes.
sudo netplan apply

# The "sudo" command allows the user to run a command with root privileges.
# The "netplan apply" command applies the changes made in the netplan file to the network configuration.
# The "sudo netplan apply" command combines these two commands, allowing the user to apply the changes with root privileges.

4. Restart your system to ensure that DPDK is loaded at boot time:

# This script restarts the system to ensure that DPDK is loaded at boot time.

# Use the "sudo" command to run the following command as a superuser.
sudo reboot

5. Create a new bridge using Open vSwitch:

Open the /etc/netplan/01-openvswitch-config.yaml file and add the following lines (replace br0 with your own name for the bridge):

# Create a new bridge using Open vSwitch
# Open the /etc/netplan/01-openvswitch-config.yaml file and add the following lines (replace br0 with your own name for the bridge):

# The following script creates a new bridge using Open vSwitch and sets the nameservers for eth1 and eth2 interfaces.

network:
  version: 2
  renderer: networkd
  ethernets:
    eth1:
      dpdk: true # Enables DPDK for eth1 interface
      nameservers:
        addresses: [8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4] # Sets the nameservers for eth1 interface
    eth2:
      dpdk: true # Enables DPDK for eth2 interface
      nameservers:
        addresses: [8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4] # Sets the nameservers for eth2 interface
  bridges:
    br0:
      interfaces: [eth1, eth2] # Adds eth1 and eth2 interfaces to the bridge

Save the file and run:


# This script is used to apply the network configuration changes made in the netplan file.
# It requires sudo privileges to run.

# Apply the netplan configuration changes.
sudo netplan apply

# The "sudo" command allows the user to run a command with root privileges.
# The "netplan apply" command applies the changes made in the netplan file to the network configuration.
# The "sudo netplan apply" command combines these two commands, allowing the user to apply the changes with root privileges.

6. Start Open vSwitch:

sudo systemctl start openvswitch-switch

7. Verify that everything is working correctly by running a ping test between two VMs or containers on the same bridge (replace 10.0.0.2 with your own IP address):

bash
# This script is used to perform a ping test between two VMs or containers on the same bridge.
# Replace 10.0.0.2 with your own IP address before running the script.

# The following line uses the ping command to send 5 packets to the specified IP address.
# The -c flag specifies the number of packets to send.
# The 10.0.0.2 is the IP address of the destination VM or container.
ping -c 5 10.0.0.2

And that’s it! You now have a fully functional Open vSwitch using DPDK on Ubuntu 18.04. This setup can handle high-speed network traffic and provides centralized control over your virtual networks, making it ideal for data centers or cloud environments.

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