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mininetopenvswitch

Mininet uses openvSwitch?


I am new to Mininet and openvSwitch.

I know that mininet creates a virtual network using my pc resources.

And I know that openvSwitch creates virtual switches.

But I couldn't understand if mininet uses virtual switches created by openvSwitch to create the virtual network.


Solution

  • Mininet can use openvSwitch switches or openflow switches or your own custom switches. It all depends on how you configure it either directly on the commandline or via the python api.

    Have you read the introductory docs ?
    Especially the introduction walk through and sample workflow ?

    from the introduction https://github.com/mininet/mininet/wiki/Introduction-to-Mininet
    "Emulated Switches. Mininet typically uses the default Linux bridge or Open vSwitch running in kernel mode to switch packets across interfaces. Switches and routers can run in the kernel (for speed) or in user space (so we can modify them easily)."

    from http://mininet.org/sample-workflow/ "Creating a Network

    You can create a network with a single command. For example,

    sudo mn --switch ovsk --controller ref --topo tree, depth=2, fanout=8 --test pingall

    starts a network with a tree topology of depth 2 and fanout 8 (i.e. 64 hosts connected to 9 switches), using Open vSwitch switches under the control of the
    OpenFlow/Stanford reference controller, and runs the pingall test to check connectivity between every pair of nodes. "

    You should follow the suggestion on http://mininet.org/download/
    5. Follow the Walkthrough to get familiar with Mininet commands and typical usage. (In addition to the above resources, we’ve prepared a helpful Mininet FAQ as well as Documentation which you can refer to at any time!) Once you’ve completed the Walkthrough, you should have a clear idea for what Mininet is and what you might use it for. If you are interested in OpenFlow and Software-Defined Networking, you will want to complete the OpenFlow tutorial as well. Good luck, and have fun!

    http://mininet.org/walkthrough/
    https://github.com/mininet/mininet/wiki/Introduction-to-Mininet
    https://github.com/mininet/mininet/tree/master/examples