eBPF Technology - unix1998/technical_notes GitHub Wiki

eBPF (extended Berkeley Packet Filter) has gained popularity for its ability to provide high-performance, low-overhead observability and security features within the Linux kernel. Several observability platforms and other software tools leverage eBPF technology for monitoring, performance analysis, and security purposes. Here are some notable examples:

Observability Platforms Using eBPF

  1. Pixie:

    • Description: A Kubernetes-native observability platform that uses eBPF to collect telemetry data. Pixie provides real-time debugging, application performance monitoring, and distributed tracing without the need for manual instrumentation.
    • Features: Real-time metrics, full-body request tracing, and continuous profiling.

  2. Cilium:

    • Description: A networking, security, and observability solution for Kubernetes that uses eBPF for implementing networking, load balancing, and security policies.
    • Features: Network monitoring, performance monitoring, security observability, and network policy enforcement.

  3. Parca:

    • Description: An open-source continuous profiling platform that uses eBPF to collect profiling data from applications and the kernel. Parca provides detailed insights into CPU and memory usage.
    • Features: Continuous profiling, flame graphs, and performance analysis.

Other Software and Tools Using eBPF

  1. Sysdig:

    • Description: A security and monitoring platform that uses eBPF to provide visibility into system calls and other kernel-level events. Sysdig offers capabilities for container security, compliance, and performance monitoring.
    • Features: Deep system visibility, security monitoring, and compliance checks.

  2. Falco:

    • Description: An open-source runtime security tool that uses eBPF to monitor system behavior and detect security threats. It can detect abnormal behavior in containers and cloud-native environments.
    • Features: Real-time threat detection, anomaly detection, and policy enforcement.

  3. Tracee:

    • Description: An open-source runtime security and forensic tool that leverages eBPF to trace system calls and other events for security monitoring and incident response.
    • Features: Event tracing, security monitoring, and forensic analysis.

  4. bcc (BPF Compiler Collection):

    • Description: A set of tools and libraries for writing, loading, and running eBPF programs. It includes various pre-built tools for performance analysis, networking, and tracing.
    • Features: Performance monitoring, networking diagnostics, and event tracing.

  5. BPFTrace:

    • Description: A high-level tracing language for writing eBPF programs. BPFTrace is designed for performance analysis and debugging, allowing users to write simple scripts to collect and visualize kernel and application metrics.
    • Features: Performance analysis, debugging, and ad-hoc tracing.

eBPF is a versatile technology that is increasingly being adopted across various domains for its efficiency and powerful capabilities in observability, security, and networking. These tools and platforms leverage eBPF to provide deep insights and enhanced performance with minimal overhead.