Faucet vs Open Virtual Network
Faucet
faucet.nzOpen Virtual Network
ovn.orgSide by side
| Figure | Faucet | Open Virtual Network |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 1 |
| Spec score · Software-Defined Networking Software | 7.3 (#10) | 7.3 (#13) |
| Integrations | The documentation lists integrations including doveSnap, pipette, Poseidon, DAQ, Forch, and a GNS3 Faucet appliance. | The architecture page names OpenStack Neutron’s ml2/ovn plugin and the ovn-kubernetes project as cloud management system examples. |
| Security | The switch control channel can use TLS on a dedicated port, and switches can use fail-secure or fail-standalone behavior. | OVN’s security process directs vulnerability reports to the ovs-security mailing list for coordinated handling. |
| Support | Users can ask questions and request features through the mailing list, and report issues through GitHub. | The installation guide directs users to GitHub issues or [email protected] to report problems. |
| Supported systems | The documentation lists Debian 10+, Raspbian 10+, Raspberry Pi OS 11+, and Ubuntu 18.04+ for its apt repository. | The generic build and installation guide covers Linux, FreeBSD, and NetBSD hosts. |
Plans
In their own words
Faucet
Faucet is a free, open-source OpenFlow controller for network operators managing production networks and OpenFlow hardware. It moves routing, neighbour discovery and switching algorithms into vendor-independent server software with a centralised control plane. Faucet controls OpenFlow 1.3.x switches with multiple tables and group tables, supporting VLANs, IPv4 and IPv6, static and BGP routing, access control lists, port mirroring and switch stacking. Policy-based forwarding can offload processing to external systems, including 802.1X through hostapd. YAML provides network configuration, with a documented command for checking configuration before loading it. Installation options include pip3, apt-get and Docker; the guide places Faucet with Gauge, Prometheus and Grafana, while InfluxDB supplies time-series statistics. TLS can protect the switch control channel, and fail-secure or fail-standalone modes are available. High availability uses redundant controllers with matching configuration but no shared state. Faucet runs on Linux and self-hosted deployments and is licensed under Apache-2.0.
Open Virtual Network
Open Virtual Network (OVN) provides logical networking for virtual machine and container environments, intended for cloud management software. It converts virtual network configurations into OpenFlow and organizes them around logical routers and switches. Listed capabilities include distributed virtual routers and logical switches, access control lists, DHCP, and a DNS server. Tunnels or other encapsulations isolate logical networks from physical and virtual networks, allowing overlapping address spaces. Virtual machines can move between physical machines without network disruption, and gateways connect tunnel-based logical networks to physical networks. Examples of cloud-management integrations include OpenStack Neutron’s ml2/ovn plugin and ovn-kubernetes. OVN runs in userspace, needs no kernel modules, and is written in platform-independent C; its generic build guide covers Linux, FreeBSD, and NetBSD hosts. It is free under the Apache 2 license, with on-premises deployment, a centralized control plane, and a Linux and self-hosted platform listing. OpenSSL libssl is optional but recommended for secure connections to OVN database servers.