Company
Date Published
Author
Dotan Horovits
Word count
1234
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

eBPF (extended Berkeley Packet Filter) is emerging as a transformative technology for Linux kernel-level instrumentation, offering the potential for zero-code observability and auto-instrumentation, particularly in Kubernetes and microservices environments. Unlike traditional manual instrumentation, eBPF allows for the collection of telemetry data without modifying application code by running code within the kernel through hooks and probes. This feature enables it to capture a wide range of data, including network packets, system metrics, and encrypted traffic, providing a unified observability framework. Supported by major tech companies and integrated into projects like OpenTelemetry and Pixie OSS, eBPF is being adopted in large-scale operations, such as Netflix's network observability, and is poised to revolutionize the industry by simplifying observability and enhancing performance with minimal resource overhead. As it gains popularity and extends to platforms like Windows, eBPF is expected to drive significant advancements in observability, security, and networking, echoing the impact of Docker on application containerization.