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Devii · Cloud · 2026-05-23 · 8 min read

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eBPF: Kernel Programs For Observability, Networking, And Security

Extended Berkeley Packet Filter programs attach safely in Linux; Cilium and bpftrace examples in production.

**eBPF** lets sandboxed programs run in the Linux kernel without loading kernel modules. The verifier ensures bounded execution. Use cases include high-performance networking (**Cilium**), security auditing, and profiling tools like **bpftrace**.

User-space loaders (libbpf, BCC) compile C or Rust to eBPF bytecode. Maps share data between kernel and user space for metrics export to Prometheus.

Cloud native networking diagram
Cloud native networking diagram

Kubernetes clusters adopt Cilium as a CNI providing observability via Hubble and kube-proxy replacements in some configurations. Requires compatible kernel versions documented by your distribution.

eBPF is Linux-specific. Account for overhead when attaching probes to hot paths. Read `ebpf.io` and kernel documentation for your LTS kernel before custom program development.