Configure OVS for RYU OpenFlow Controller

In OVS, the controller property of the bridge created earlier needs to be added to include the controller IP address and port number. The command ovs-vsctl set-controller br0 tcp:200.16.1.240:6633 sets the controller address for bridge br0 on port 6633. The command ovs-vsctl show would then show the bridge information. The connection status is not shown because the controller has not been started yet.

Figure 5 – Set RYU controller IP address


The RYU controller will be running on the controller PC with IP address 200.16.1.240 using the default port 6633. The port number can be changed. For this exercise, the controller will be started with the –verbose mode.

Figure 6 – Start RYU-manager with verbose option

 
The --verbose mode helps us understand the RYU controller-OVS interaction. Use the command ryu-manager –verbose to start the controller. The TCP connection is established first and the connection information is printed with peer (OVS) IP address 10.10.50.20. Once the controller is started, the connection status will change to is_connected: true. The controller port information can also be shown using the command ovs-ofctl show br0.

Figure 7 – Show controller connection status