top of page
Writer's pictureamit srivastava

Why I’m Excited About eBPF: Transforming Observability in Open Source

I have been following and working in the observability space for significantly over a decade now, and I think eBPF (extended Berkeley Packet Filter) is one of the most exciting developments in this domain. Its potential for revolutionizing how we observe and interact with systems—especially in open-source observability projects—is enormous. eBPF allows us to efficiently and safely execute code within the Linux kernel, making it possible to observe a system’s inner workings with minimal overhead and without needing to modify application code.

In recent years, the power of eBPF has gained recognition, particularly as observability requirements have expanded from simple metrics and logging to include in-depth tracing and runtime behavior monitoring. Unlike traditional methods that can impose significant performance costs, eBPF programs can dynamically attach to various points in the Linux kernel, such as system calls, network packets, and even user-defined tracepoints, providing deep visibility into system and application performance.

For open-source observability projects, eBPF is a game-changer. It offers a unified, low-overhead way to access data across multiple layers of the stack, from networking to storage and application-level telemetry. Open-source tools like Prometheus, Grafana, and OpenTelemetry can leverage eBPF to gather more granular insights with far fewer resource constraints than previously possible. Several projects are already integrating or experimenting with eBPF, such as Pixie, which provides real-time debugging and observability through eBPF, or Cilium, a powerful tool for network observability and security built entirely on eBPF.

What makes eBPF especially powerful for the open-source community is that it democratizes access to kernel-level observability, which previously required specialized tools or even kernel modifications. Now, developers and operators can deploy eBPF-based observability tools across environments and with minimal risk to production performance. eBPF also enables organizations to gain a level of observability previously reserved for proprietary tools, opening doors for deeper collaboration and innovation in observability standards.

As the capabilities of eBPF continue to expand, we can expect to see even more open-source observability projects embracing it to enhance their data collection and analysis capabilities. The flexibility, performance, and extensibility of eBPF hold incredible promise for the future of observability—ushering in a new era where comprehensive, low-cost observability becomes accessible to everyone, from small startups to large enterprises.


*Also publiushed on Author's LinkedIn page

Comments


bottom of page