On Integrating eBPF into Pluginized Protocols

eBPF is a popular technology originating from the Linux kernel that enables safely running user-provided programs in a kernelcontext. This technology opened the door for efficient programming in the operating system, especially in its network stack. However, its applicability is not limited to the Linux kernel. Various efforts leveraged the eBPF Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) as the basis of other networking related use cases outside of the Linux kernel. This paper focuses on the pluginized protocols’ use case such as PQUIC and xBGP where the eBPF ISA serves as the basis to execute plugins providing per-session protocol behavior. It first quickly describes how the Linux kernel builds around this eBPF ISA to provide enhanced in-kernel network programmability. Then, the paper considers the case of pluginized protocols. Leveraging eBPF outside of the Linux kernel environment requires complementing the eBPF ISA to meet the pluginized protocols’ requirements. This paper details these integration efforts. Based on the lessons learned from these, it finally concludes by an applicability discussion of the eBPF ISA to other use cases.