Abstract
BPF has its roots in tracing. When the Linux kernel got an ability to run BPF programs attached to an arbitrary kernel function it sparked a tracing boom. Hundreds of performance analysis tools were written. Users can now ask Gen AI to write a bpftrace script. Early tools were at syscall level. Then they went deeper into kernel internals and eventually they stopped being read-only. Now developing a tracing program resembles writing a kernel code. Thousands of user space developers became kernel hackers. BPF programs are safe kernel modules. This talk will uncover modern BPF features that landed in the latest kernels and not yet adopted by the tracing community and will reveal far-reaching BPF features that are being developed. They promise to disrupt the kernel programming even further. The Linux community is observing micro-kernel in the making.
Biography
Alexei is the co-maintainer of BPF. When not hacking the kernel Alexei enjoys off-grid activities with his family: backpacking, hiking, camping.