STRUCT OVS_NET(9)

💅 struct ovs_net(9) — the Kernel API Manual page, bestie edition 🦋

okay so real talk, this is a page from the Kernel API Manual and it's all about struct ovs_net — literally the per net-namespace data for ovs. that's it. that's the whole vibe. it's the lil backpack every network namespace carries around when it's doing openvswitch stuff 🎀

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✨ NAME ✨

struct ovs_net — Per net-namespace data for ovs. periodt 💅

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

here's the whole struct, copy it exactly, don't be weird about it:

struct ovs_net {
    struct list_head dps;
    struct work_struct dp_notify_work;
    struct delayed_work masks_rebalance;
  #if IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_NETFILTER_CONNCOUNT);
    struct ovs_ct_limit_info *ct_limit_info;
    struct ovs_ct_limit_info *ct_limit_exit_data;
  #endif;
    bool xt_label;
 };

like yes she has a #if IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_NETFILTER_CONNCOUNT); block with the semicolons and everything, that's just how she is, we respect her 💖

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🫶 Members 🫶

okay now the main character energy part — every single member, no skipping:

• dps — List of datapaths to enable dumping them all out. Protected by genl_mutex. 🔒 lowkey she's the whole point of the struct — this list is how you dump every datapath at once.
• dp_notify_work — A work notifier to handle port unregistering. ngl she's doing the unglamorous cleanup work and we love her for it 🧹
• masks_rebalance — A work to periodically optimize flow table caches. not her doing self-care on a schedule 😭✨ iconic.
• ct_limit_info — Hash table of conntrack zone connection limits. Protected by RCU; updates and teardown are serialized by ovs_mutex. May be NULL during netns teardown. 🚨 bestie pls note that NULL — she can literally be NULL while the netns is tearing down, so vibe-check before you deref.
• ct_limit_exit_data — CT limit state detached at .pre_exit, freed at .exit. she's in her exit arc 💀
• xt_label — Whether connlables are configured for the network or not. (connlables — that's the original's spelling fr fr, we don't touch it, we just report it 🙈)

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💀 friendly reminder that ct_limit_info and ct_limit_exit_data only exist when CONFIG_NETFILTER_CONNCOUNT is enabled, and ct_limit_info may be NULL during netns teardown. no cap, guard ya pointers.

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🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

go read these next, i'm obsessed with the cross-references:

• Kernel file ./net/openvswitch/datapath.h struct dp_stats_percpu(9)
• struct dp_nlsk_pids(9)
• struct datapath(9)
• struct ovs_skb_cb(9)
• struct dp_upcall_info(9)
• enum ovs_pkt_hash_types(9)

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and that's the whole page bestie, you ate that 🍓

cute lil sign-off: this one lives in ./net/openvswitch, and it's dated October 2026 — put that on your calendar, mwah 💜🌈⭐