Open vSwitch
Open vSwitch is an open-source multilayer virtual switch under the Linux Foundation, providing production-grade network virtualization and automation for cloud platforms, virtualization operators, and hyperscale data centers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Open vSwitch does
Open vSwitch is a production-quality, multilayer virtual switch licensed under the open source Apache 2.0 license and operated as a Linux Foundation Collaborative Project headquartered in San Francisco, United States. The software is written primarily in platform-independent C and is designed to enable massive network automation through programmatic extension while supporting standard management interfaces and protocols including NetFlow, sFlow, IPFIX, RSPAN, CLI, LACP, and 802.1ag. Open vSwitch can operate both as a soft switch running within hypervisors and as the control stack for switching silicon; its kernel datapath is distributed as part of the mainline Linux kernel, and an in-progress release is being ported to the DPDK (Data Plane Development Kit) for high-performance packet processing. Each stable release is validated against a regression suite of hundreds of system-level tests and thousands of unit tests.
The project maintains two core offerings: Open vSwitch (OVS) itself and OVN (Open Virtual Network), a complementary project that adds native support for virtual network abstractions such as virtual L2 and L3 overlays and security groups. Open vSwitch supports multiple virtualization platforms including Xen, KVM, Proxmox VE, and VirtualBox, and is the default switch in XenServer 6.0 and the Xen Cloud Platform. It is integrated into cloud and virtualization management systems including OpenStack, openQRM, OpenNebula, and oVirt, with native packages available for Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE, FreeBSD, and NetBSD. The project is used in multiple products and runs in many large production environments.
As an open-source collaborative project under the Linux Foundation, Open vSwitch does not generate commercial revenue through traditional means; pricing is not applicable and no headcount, funding rounds, or ownership transactions are disclosed. Distribution and community engagement are conducted through direct downloads from openvswitch.org, Linux distribution packages, mailing lists (announce, discuss, dev, git, build, ovs-hw), a YouTube channel (OpenvSwitchOrg), and an annual OVS+OVN conference series that has run continuously since 2014, most recently held as a hybrid event in Prague, Czech Republic on November 19–20, 2025.
Open vSwitch firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Open vSwitch
- Legal name
- Open vSwitch (A Linux Foundation Collaborative Project)
- Website
- https://openvswitch.org
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Open vSwitch is an open-source multilayer virtual switch under the Linux Foundation, providing production-grade network virtualization and automation for cloud platforms, virtualization operators, and hyperscale data centers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Open vSwitch industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Network Virtualization Software
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)
- SIC
- Computer Communications Equipment (3576)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) (HDAFANAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Hyperscale & OCP Server Designs (HDABADAB)
Keywords
Where Open vSwitch is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Open vSwitch business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Open vSwitch product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Open vSwitch is a production-quality, multilayer virtual switch licensed under the Apache 2.0 open source license. It enables massive network automation through programmatic extension while supporting standard management interfaces and protocols (NetFlow, sFlow, IPFIX, RSPAN, CLI, LACP, 802.1ag), and operates both as a soft switch within hypervisors and as the control stack for switching silicon. The Open vSwitch community also maintains the OVN (Open Virtual Network) project, which adds native support for virtual network abstractions such as virtual L2 and L3 overlays and security groups.
Product overview
Open vSwitch is a single open-source product portfolio consisting of Open vSwitch (OVS), a production-quality multilayer virtual switch, and OVN (Open Virtual Network), which complements OVS to add native support for virtual network abstractions. Open vSwitch can operate both as a soft switch running within the hypervisor and as the control stack for switching silicon. Each stable release undergoes a regression suite of hundreds of system-level tests and thousands of unit tests. The Open vSwitch community also maintains the OVN project.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- OVN (Open Virtual Network): A project that complements Open vSwitch by adding native support for virtual network abstractions such as virtual L2 and L3 overlays and security groups
Products and services
- Open vSwitch (OVS) A production-quality, multilayer virtual switch licensed under Apache 2.0, designed to enable massive network automation through programmatic extension while supporting standard management interfaces and protocols (NetFlow, sFlow, IPFIX, RSPAN, CLI, LACP, 802.1ag). It can operate as a soft switch within hypervisors or as the control stack for switching silicon, and is targeted at cloud infrastructure providers and virtualization platform operators.
- OVN (Open Virtual Network) A complementary project to Open vSwitch that adds native support for virtual network abstractions such as virtual L2 and L3 overlays and security groups, providing cloud-style networking for virtual environments.
Quantifiable outcome
- Hundreds of system-level tests and thousands of unit tests run against each stable release ensuring production quality
Companies that use Open vSwitch
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Open vSwitch technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration12 records
Feature5 records
Open vSwitch partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators1 record
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Open vSwitch competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cilium: Cilium is an open-source eBPF-based networking, security, and observability layer for Kubernetes and cloud-native workloads. It is the most direct emerging competitor to OVS/OVN in container and microservice networking, offering an alternative virtual networking datapath that bypasses traditional iptables/OVS fast paths.
- Vector Packet Processing (VPP) / FD.io: VPP, hosted by the Linux Foundation's FD.io project, is a high-performance open-source userspace packet processing stack that competes with OVS's userspace fast path (DPDK-accelerated OVS) for NFV, vRouter, and high-throughput virtual switching workloads. Both target the same high-performance virtual networking niche with overlapping feature sets.
- Tungsten Fabric (formerly OpenContrail): Tungsten Fabric is an open-source SDN and network virtualization platform that, like OVN, provides overlay networking and virtual network abstractions on top of virtual switching infrastructure. It is a direct open-source alternative for organizations building overlay-based cloud networks.
Broad incumbents
- VMware NSX: VMware NSX is the commercial incumbent in network virtualization, explicitly referenced in OVS's own positioning as comparable to "VMware's vNetwork distributed vswitch." NSX competes head-to-head with OVS+OVN in enterprise data centers and private clouds, but as a broader portfolio product from a large vendor.
- Nuage Networks (Nokia): Nuage Networks, a Nokia subsidiary, provides commercial SDN and overlay networking solutions for data centers and wide-area networks. It competes with OVS+OVN in enterprise hybrid cloud and telco NFV deployments as a vendor-backed alternative.
- Juniper Contrail: Juniper's Contrail is a commercial SDN and network virtualization platform providing overlay networking for data center and telco cloud environments. It competes in the same overlay/virtual networking category as OVS+OVN, particularly in service provider and large enterprise NFV deployments.
- Cisco Nexus 1000V: Cisco's Nexus 1000V is a distributed virtual switch cited in OVS's own materials as a comparable reference architecture. It is the historical enterprise-grade alternative for virtual switching, backed by Cisco's commercial support model.
Emerging players
- Calico (Tigera): Calico is an open-source networking and network policy solution for Kubernetes containers, with eBPF dataplane options. It overlaps with OVS/OVN in providing virtual networking for containerized workloads and competes for the cloud-native networking default.
- Midokura Midonet: Midokura's Midonet is an open-source network virtualization platform that, like OVN, builds distributed virtual networks on top of virtual switches. It targets similar overlay networking use cases for OpenStack and cloud environments.
- Flannel: Flannel is a simple CNCF-hosted overlay network for Kubernetes that provides L3 connectivity between containers. While less feature-rich than OVS/OVN, it competes for the Kubernetes networking default in simpler deployments and represents the cloud-native alternative trajectory.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses3 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks4 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Open vSwitch social profiles
Digital presenceOpen vSwitch financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Open vSwitch leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Open vSwitch funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Open vSwitch M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Open vSwitch
What does Open vSwitch do?
Open vSwitch is a production-quality, multilayer virtual switch licensed under the Apache 2.0 open source license. It enables massive network automation through programmatic extension while supporting standard management interfaces and protocols (NetFlow, sFlow, IPFIX, RSPAN, CLI, LACP, 802.1ag), and operates both as a soft switch within hypervisors and as the control stack for switching silicon. The Open vSwitch community also maintains the OVN (Open Virtual Network) project, which adds native support for virtual network abstractions such as virtual L2 and L3 overlays and security groups.
Is Open vSwitch a public or private company?
Open vSwitch is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Open vSwitch founded?
Open vSwitch was founded in -1.
Where is Open vSwitch based?
Open vSwitch is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Open vSwitch's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cilium, Vector Packet Processing (VPP) / FD.io and Tungsten Fabric (formerly OpenContrail). Broad incumbents are VMware NSX, Nuage Networks (Nokia), Juniper Contrail and Cisco Nexus 1000V. Emerging players are Calico (Tigera), Midokura Midonet and Flannel.
Does Open vSwitch have an API?
No public API is recorded for Open vSwitch.
What industry is Open vSwitch in?
Open vSwitch's product category is Network Virtualization Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAFANAA, Virtual Network Functions (VNFs), with a secondary code of HDABADAB, Hyperscale & OCP Server Designs. Its NAICS code is 518 and its SIC code is 3576.