eBPFbased

eBPFbased is a term used to describe software and systems that rely on the extended Berkeley Packet Filter (eBPF) framework to extend the Linux kernel’s capabilities at runtime, without modifying kernel source code. It encompasses high-performance networking, tracing, security, and observability components that execute within the kernel in a safe, sandboxed manner.

Developers write eBPF programs in C (or using higher-level frontends), compile to BPF bytecode, and load into the kernel via BPF system calls. The kernel’s verifier checks safety and resource bounds before the program is allowed to run. Once loaded, programs attach to hooks such as XDP or traffic control for networking, or to tracepoints, kprobes, and uprobes for observability and debugging. Communication with user space occurs through BPF maps, which provide shared, in-kernel data structures.

Key components include the kernel’s eBPF virtual machine, the verifier, BPF maps, and helper functions provided by the kernel. In user space, toolchains such as libbpf and bpftool, and frontends like BCC or bpftrace, compile and manage eBPF programs, load them, and read back results.

Common use cases are high-performance network processing with XDP, detailed tracing and profiling with BPF tracepoints or bpftrace, security monitoring with projects like Falco, and policy enforcement in cloud-native systems with Cilium or similar projects. eBPF enables dynamic, kernel-level functionality without rebooting or kernel recompilation.

Safety is enforced by the verifier, which constrains loops, memory access, and resource usage. Programs are designed to be short-running and per-event or per-packet. Limitations include dependence on kernel support, potential verifier complexity for large programs, and tooling maturity varying by distribution.