UNLOCKING
THE KERNEL
Witness the journey from inception to adoption…
of a landmark and revolutionary technology eBPF that allows user-level code execution inside the Linux Kernel, transforming network traffic handling for SDN environments.
This compelling documentary film provides an in-depth exploration on the origins of eBPF and showcases the stories, challenges, and rewards of this game-changing technology. You will hear from the best and brightest in the open-source world: key stakeholders from Meta, Intel, Isovalent, Google, Red Hat, and Netflix, who helped shape and build the tools that drove the success and adoption of eBPF. This film will show viewers why eBPF is seen as one of the most promising, emerging applications and cutting-edge technologies in the Linux ecosystem today.
eBPF the Journey
Born out of Necessity
In 2014, engineers at Plumgrid sought an innovative and cost-effective approach to handle network traffic in SDN environments. While traditional methods of network management often involved costly and rigid hardware, by using the Linux Kernel, they created a solution that improved efficiency and flexibility beyond traditional methods.
You Say You Want a Revolution
What they created became known as eBPF. This technology would allow user-level code execution inside the Linux Kernel, transforming network traffic handling in SDN environments. Whether Plumgrid’s engineers knew it or not, they had just revolutionized the Linux Kernel.
The World By Storm
Initially overlooked, eBPF gained attention as its potential for network tracing, security, and performance optimization emerged. Meta, Netflix, and Google developed their own eBPF- based tools and applications, leading to a surge of interest in the technology as a game-changer in Kernel development. By 2022, all major cloud providers had adopted eBPF. Today, it is seen as one of the most promising technologies in the Linux ecosystem, with new applications emerging constantly.
Discover
The Founders & Community
Inception
Alexei Starovoitov,
Co-Creator of eBPF/Software
Engineer, Meta
Early Potential
Chris Wright,
Chief Technology Officer, Red Hat
Merging Into The kernel
Daniel Borkmann,
Co-Creator of eBPF/Software
Engineer, Isovalent
Big Companies Adopt
Shweta Saraf,
Director of Platform Networking, Netflix
Lower Barriers to Adoption
Thomas Graf,
Co-Founder and CTO, Isovalent
A Game Changer
Brendan Gregg,
Fellow, Intel
Brendan shares tales of popularizing eBPF for observability and how eBPF became a performance booster.
Contributors
Featuring some of the most prominent pioneers, executives, developers and engineers from the tech industry today.
Our Sponsors
A huge thank you to our sponsors for your support and making it possible to share the story of eBPF.
