Basic Open vSwitch troubleshooting

Open vSwitch is a rather complex system that consists of multiple components and protocols. In the event of problems, it may be very difficult to keep track of the specific level of the problem. However, Open vSwitch provides many tools and the database it uses (OVSDB) is very easy to read and understand. The objective of this section is to provide basic guidelines for diagnosing problems arising from the use of Open vSwitch:

• Log Files: Logs are the most important and vital source of information when it comes to troubleshooting or diagnosing problems. OpenvSwitch's core components record logs in the/var/log/openvswitch/ovs-vswitchd.log and /var/log/openvswitch/ovsdb-server.log files. If a problem occurs in starting up the Open vSwitch service, first review these logs.
• Built-in VLOG facility: Open vSwitch has a built-in logging mechanism called VLOG. The VLOG facility exposes deep internal information about various components. First, determine at what...