VPP/Build, install, and test images
This page explains how to build, install, and smoke-test a VPP package.
These procedures assume that you have a working development environment available. If you are not sure, see Setting Up Your Dev Environment.
Build A VPP Package
The following steps explain how to build a package.
- Open a command line (terminal) window.
-  Navigate to the build-root directory.$ cd [install_dir]/vpp/build-root 
Step 2: (Optional) Update the tree and clean up the build directories
You can execute a git pull command to obtain the latest updates from the repository. It's also a good idea to execute a "make distclean" command after you do this. Execute the bootstrap script to make sure that build paths and build tools are in a clean state.
$ git pull $ make distclean $ ./bootstrap.sh
Step 3: Build Debian or RPM Packages
Execute the make command to start the build process. You can review the makefile (located in the build-root directory) to examine the build parameters.
To build a Debian package:
$ make V=0 PLATFORM=vpp TAG=vpp install-deb
To build an RPM package:
$ make V=0 PLATFORM=vpp TAG=vpp install-rpm
On Ubuntu 15.10 I needed to execute the line above using 'sudo' and the 'dpkg' below as well.
Install A VPP Package
After you have successfully built a vpp package, you need to install it in order to run.
Step 1: Install the packages
Install the packages. You can install packages with standard package installation tools (dpkg -i on debian/ubuntu, rpm on RedHat/CentOS).
NOTE: You will need root privileges.
To install the package(s) on a Debian operating system:
- Login with root privileges
-  Type the dpkg installation command:# dpkg -i *.deb 
To install the package(s) using Redhat Package Manager (RPM):
- Login with root privileges
-  Type the RPM installation command:$ rpm -i *.rpm 
NOTE:
On Ubuntu/Debian and RedHat/CentOS systems, the vpp engine consists of multiple installation packages:
- vpp - main VPP process
- vpp-lib - dynamically linked libraries
- vpp-dev - development support files and examples
- vpp-dpdk-dkms - DKMS based DPDK kernel module package (only on Debian/Ubuntu)
Step 2: (Optional) Examine the startup configuration
After successful installation, vpp installs a startup config file named startup.conf in the /etc/vpp directory. You can modify that file if appropriate.
Here is a sample:
unix {
  nodaemon
  log /tmp/vpe.log
  cli-listen localhost:5002
  full-coredump
}
api-trace {
  on
}
dpdk {
  socket-mem 1024
}
 
Step 3: Start vpp (Debian / Ubuntu)
To start the data plane:
- Login with root privileges
-  Type the start vpp command:# start vpp 
-  Wait for a few seconds, then telnet to the vpp debug CLI console.# telnet 0 5002 
-  Check the interface list.
 It's a good idea to check the interface list to see which interfaces vpp has discovered. To show the interface list, execute the show command:vpp# show interface 
The following is an example of an interface list. The interface set varies depending on the system configuration.
Name Idx State Counter Count GigabitEthernet2/2/0 5 down GigabitEthernet2/3/0 6 down GigabitEthernet2/4/0 7 down GigabitEthernet2/5/0 8 down GigabitEthernet2/6/0 9 down GigabitEthernet2/7/0 10 down local0 0 down pg/stream-0 1 down pg/stream-1 2 down pg/stream-2 3 down pg/stream-3 4 down
Step 4: Change blacklist behavior
If vpp seems not to have discovered an interface that you expected to see, it's likely that the data-plane blacklisted it. The VPP process blacklists interfaces whose corresponding Linux interfaces are up, and/or have ip4/6 addresses configured on them.
You can change this blacklist behavior. For example, if you want vpp to take over an interface ethX which has been blacklisted, execute the following commands.
To remove ethX from the running VPP blacklist:
# ifconfig ethX down # ip addr flush dev ethX # stop vpp # start vpp
Test The VPP Package
It's a good idea to perform a few basic smoke-tests. In other words, it's a good idea to perform some basic tasks to make sure that vpp is running as expected.
Step 1: Configure and enable an interface
Use the set int command to configure an interface. For this test, configure an ipv4 address on an interface, and enable the interface. Use the sudo command in combination with the vpp engine's vppctl command to execute the command with root privilege:
# sudo vppctl set int ip address GigabitEthernet2/2/0 192.168.1.1/24 # sudo vppctl set int state GigabitEthernet2/2/0 up
You can also use the vppctl command in combination with native Linux commands such as grep:
# sudo vppctl show int | grep state
Use the ip probe command to probe an adjacent system, by sending an ipv4 icmp echo-request:
# sudo vppctl ip probe 192.168.1.2 GigabitEthernet2/2/0 Resolved 192.168.1.2
Use the sh ip command to check the ARP and ipv4 FIB tables:
# sudo vppctl  sh ip arp
   Time      FIB        IP4      Stat      Ethernet              Interface     
  2782.7392   0     192.168.1.2        00:50:56:b7:05:bb    GigabitEthernet2/2/0
# sudo vppctl  sh ip fib
Table 0, fib_index 0, flow hash: src dst sport dport proto
     Destination         Packets          Bytes         Adjacency
192.168.1.0/24                     0               0 weight 1, index 5
                                                     arp GigabitEthernet2/2/0 192.168.1.1/24
192.168.1.1/32                     0               0 weight 1, index 4
                                                     local 192.168.1.1/24
192.168.1.2/32                     0               0 weight 1, index 3
                                                     GigabitEthernet2/2/0
                                                     IP4: 00:50:56:b7:05:bc -> 00:50:56:b7:05:bb
Step 2: Check the error counters
After pinging the vpp engine from 192.168.1.2, use the show error command to check the error counters.
In this case, all of the counters represent normal events:
# sudo vppctl show error
       Count                       Node               Reason
             1                 ip4-arp                ARP requests sent
          9810             ip4-icmp-input             echo replies sent
             2                arp-input               ARP replies received
Step 3: Reset the statistics
Use the clear run command to reset the per-node runtime statistics:
# sudo vppctl clear run
Step 4: Check for new statistics
Send a small number of ipv4 icmp echo replies from the adjacent Linux system. Note that the vpp data plane is capable of answering several MPPS worth of ipv4 icmp echo replies; as the vector size increases, the clocks/pkt statistics will improve drastically.
Use the show run command to see the new statistics.
# sudo vppctl show run
Time 18.1, average vectors/node 1.00, last 128 main loops 0.00 per node 0.00
  vector rates in 2.2068e-1, out 2.2068e-1, drop 0.0000e0, punt 0.0000e0
             Name                 State         Calls          Vectors        Suspends         Clocks       Vectors/Call
GigabitEthernet2/2/0-output      active                  4               4               0          1.71e3            1.00
GigabitEthernet2/2/0-tx          active                  4               4               0          7.49e3            1.00
api-rx-from-ring                any wait                 0               0               1          9.90e3            0.00
cnat-db-scanner                 any wait                 0               0            1813          1.17e3            0.00
dpdk-input                       polling          60666120               4               0          4.04e9            0.00
dpdk-process                    any wait                 0               0               4          1.29e7            0.00
ethernet-input                   active                  4               4               0          5.51e3            1.00
gmon-process                    time wait                0               0               3          5.59e3            0.00
ip4-icmp-echo-request            active                  4               4               0          1.85e3            1.00
ip4-icmp-input                   active                  4               4               0          1.51e3            1.00
ip4-input                        active                  4               4               0          3.49e3            1.00
ip4-local                        active                  4               4               0          3.23e3            1.00
ip4-lookup                       active                  4               4               0          4.49e3            1.00
ip4-rewrite-local                active                  4               4               0          3.72e3            1.00
ip6-icmp-neighbor-discovery-ev  any wait                 0               0              18          6.74e3            0.00
unix-cli-127.0.0.1:48387         active                  0               0               9          7.15e4            0.00
unix-epoll-input                 polling          60666120               0               0          5.15e2            0.00
vpe-oam-process                 any wait                 0               0               9          6.45e3            0.00
Step 5: Start a packet trace
Use the trace add command to start a packet-tracer capture:
# sudo vppctl trace add dpdk-input 10
Step 6: Verify test packets
Ping 192.168.1.1 from 192.168.1.2, AKA send ipv4 icmp echo request packets. If the ping succeeds, you should be all set.
Use the show trace command to display the packet trace.
To show trace information:
# sudo vppctl show trace
The packet trace will look something like this:
------------------- Start of thread 0 vpp_main -------------------
Packet 1
01:10:14:046893: dpdk-input
 GigabitEthernet2/2/0 rx queue 0
 buffer 0x631e: current data 0, length 102, free-list 0, totlen-nifb 0, trace 0x0
 PKT MBUF: port 0, nb_segs 1, pkt_len 102
   buf_len 2304, data_len 102, ol_flags 0x0,
   packet_type 0x0
 IP4: 00:50:56:b7:05:bb -> 00:50:56:b7:05:bc
 ICMP: 192.168.1.2 -> 192.168.1.1
   tos 0x00, ttl 64, length 84, checksum 0x7c1f
   fragment id 0x3b36, flags DONT_FRAGMENT
 ICMP echo_request checksum 0x7cd1
01:10:14:046989: ethernet-input
 IP4: 00:50:56:b7:05:bb -> 00:50:56:b7:05:bc
01:10:14:047010: ip4-input
 ICMP: 192.168.1.2 -> 192.168.1.1
   tos 0x00, ttl 64, length 84, checksum 0x7c1f
   fragment id 0x3b36, flags DONT_FRAGMENT
 ICMP echo_request checksum 0x7cd1
01:10:14:047013: ip4-local
 fib: 0 adjacency: local 192.168.1.1/24 flow hash: 0x00000000
01:10:14:047017: ip4-icmp-input
 ICMP: 192.168.1.2 -> 192.168.1.1
   tos 0x00, ttl 64, length 84, checksum 0x7c1f
   fragment id 0x3b36, flags DONT_FRAGMENT
 ICMP echo_request checksum 0x7cd1
01:10:14:047019: ip4-icmp-echo-request
 ICMP: 192.168.1.2 -> 192.168.1.1
   tos 0x00, ttl 64, length 84, checksum 0x7c1f
   fragment id 0x3b36, flags DONT_FRAGMENT
 ICMP echo_request checksum 0x7cd1
01:10:14:047019: ip4-rewrite-local
 fib: 0 adjacency: GigabitEthernet2/2/0
                   IP4: 00:50:56:b7:05:bc -> 00:50:56:b7:05:bb flow hash: 0x00000000
 IP4: 00:50:56:b7:05:bc -> 00:50:56:b7:05:bb
 ICMP: 192.168.1.1 -> 192.168.1.2
   tos 0x00, ttl 64, length 84, checksum 0x6383
   fragment id 0x53d2, flags DONT_FRAGMENT
 ICMP echo_reply checksum 0x84d1
01:10:14:047021: GigabitEthernet2/2/0-output
 GigabitEthernet2/2/0
 IP4: 00:50:56:b7:05:bc -> 00:50:56:b7:05:bb
 ICMP: 192.168.1.1 -> 192.168.1.2
   tos 0x00, ttl 64, length 84, checksum 0x6383
   fragment id 0x53d2, flags DONT_FRAGMENT
 ICMP echo_reply checksum 0x84d1
01:10:14:047022: GigabitEthernet2/2/0-tx
 GigabitEthernet2/2/0 tx queue 0
 buffer 0x631e: current data 0, length 102, free-list 0, totlen-nifb 0, trace 0x0
 IP4: 00:50:56:b7:05:bc -> 00:50:56:b7:05:bb
 ICMP: 192.168.1.1 -> 192.168.1.2
   tos 0x00, ttl 64, length 84, checksum 0x6383
   fragment id 0x53d2, flags DONT_FRAGMENT
 ICMP echo_reply checksum 0x84d1
Packet 2
01:10:15:044487: dpdk-input
 GigabitEthernet2/2/0 rx queue 0
 buffer 0x6345: current data 0, length 102, free-list 0, totlen-nifb 0, trace 0x1
 PKT MBUF: port 0, nb_segs 1, pkt_len 102
   buf_len 2304, data_len 102, ol_flags 0x0,
   packet_type 0x0
 IP4: 00:50:56:b7:05:bb -> 00:50:56:b7:05:bc
 ICMP: 192.168.1.2 -> 192.168.1.1
   tos 0x00, ttl 64, length 84, checksum 0x7bc7
   fragment id 0x3b8e, flags DONT_FRAGMENT
 ICMP echo_request checksum 0x64d4
01:10:15:044496: ethernet-input
 IP4: 00:50:56:b7:05:bb -> 00:50:56:b7:05:bc
01:10:15:044500: ip4-input
 ICMP: 192.168.1.2 -> 192.168.1.1
   tos 0x00, ttl 64, length 84, checksum 0x7bc7
   fragment id 0x3b8e, flags DONT_FRAGMENT
 ICMP echo_request checksum 0x64d4
01:10:15:044504: ip4-local
 fib: 0 adjacency: local 192.168.1.1/24 flow hash: 0x00000000
01:10:15:044506: ip4-icmp-input
 ICMP: 192.168.1.2 -> 192.168.1.1
   tos 0x00, ttl 64, length 84, checksum 0x7bc7
   fragment id 0x3b8e, flags DONT_FRAGMENT
 ICMP echo_request checksum 0x64d4
01:10:15:044507: ip4-icmp-echo-request
 ICMP: 192.168.1.2 -> 192.168.1.1
   tos 0x00, ttl 64, length 84, checksum 0x7bc7
   fragment id 0x3b8e, flags DONT_FRAGMENT
 ICMP echo_request checksum 0x64d4
01:10:15:044507: ip4-rewrite-local
 fib: 0 adjacency: GigabitEthernet2/2/0
                   IP4: 00:50:56:b7:05:bc -> 00:50:56:b7:05:bb flow hash: 0x00000000
 IP4: 00:50:56:b7:05:bc -> 00:50:56:b7:05:bb
 ICMP: 192.168.1.1 -> 192.168.1.2
   tos 0x00, ttl 64, length 84, checksum 0x82be
   fragment id 0x3497, flags DONT_FRAGMENT
 ICMP echo_reply checksum 0x6cd4
01:10:15:044509: GigabitEthernet2/2/0-output
 GigabitEthernet2/2/0
 IP4: 00:50:56:b7:05:bc -> 00:50:56:b7:05:bb
 ICMP: 192.168.1.1 -> 192.168.1.2
   tos 0x00, ttl 64, length 84, checksum 0x82be
   fragment id 0x3497, flags DONT_FRAGMENT
 ICMP echo_reply checksum 0x6cd4
01:10:15:044510: GigabitEthernet2/2/0-tx
 GigabitEthernet2/2/0 tx queue 0
 buffer 0x6345: current data 0, length 102, free-list 0, totlen-nifb 0, trace 0x1
 IP4: 00:50:56:b7:05:bc -> 00:50:56:b7:05:bb
 ICMP: 192.168.1.1 -> 192.168.1.2
   tos 0x00, ttl 64, length 84, checksum 0x82be
   fragment id 0x3497, flags DONT_FRAGMENT
 ICMP echo_reply checksum 0x6cd4
If you see packet information from ICMP: 192.168.1.2, then you know that vpp is successfully processing packets.
