Linux Observability with BPF: Advanced Programming for Performance Analysis and Networking

by David Calavera, Lorenzo Fontana

Build your expertise in the BPF virtual machine in the Linux kernel with this practical guide for systems engineers. You’ll not only dive into the BPF program lifecycle but also learn to write applications that observe and modify the kernel’s behavior; inject code to monitor, trace, and securely observe events in the kernel; and more.

Authors David Calavera and Lorenzo Fontana help you harness the power of BPF to make any computing system more observable. Familiarize yourself with the essential concepts you’ll use on a day-to-day basis and augment your knowledge about performance optimization, networking, and security. Then see how it all comes together with code examples in C, Go, and Python.

Write applications that use BPF to observe and modify the Linux kernel’s behavior on demand Inject code to monitor, trace, and observe events in the kernel in a secure way—no need to recompile the kernel or reboot the system Explore code examples in C, Go, and Python Gain a more thorough understanding of the BPF program lifecycle

Genres: Programming, Technology, Computer Science

281 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 14, 2019

Reviews

[Simone · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fair introduction to eBPF.

It is however more focused on BCC rather than plain C eBPF programs and it doesn't cover what you need to know to develop and compile those. BTF it is not really covered, only referred to as debug information, not a single mention to the fact that it enables CORE and how, that is basically the future of BPF. A few inaccuracies here and there. The only detailed section is the one about XDP.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good info but lots of typos in first edition.

[Joshua Reuben · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tough read. This is a complicated tech stack with a high barrier of entry in a nieche area. The book gives a solid overview of the programming model and the use cases.