P4, eBPF and Linux TC Offload

In this talk we discuss the mechanisms of utilizing the eBPF language to perform hardware accelerated network packet manipulation and filtering. P4 programs can be compiled into eBPF scripts for offload in the Linux kernel using the Traffic Classifier (TC) subsystem. We demonstrate how, using eBPF as an intermediate language, it has been possible to extend the TC to either Just In Time (JIT) compile eBPF code to x86 assembler for software offload or to IXP byte code for execution in a trusted hardware environment within the Netronome Agilio intelligent server adapter. We finish by encouraging the audience to experiment with their own eBPF applications within the TC hardware accelerated system. The TC kernel patches are available on the Linux Kernel Networking mailing list as a Request For Comment (RFC) contribution. Dinan Gunawardena, Director, Software Engineering, Netronome Dinan Gunawardena is a Software Director focusing on running the driver team at Netronome. Previously, Dinan founded a software startup and was a Senior Research Engineer within the Operating Systems and Networking Group at Microsoft Research for 12 years, shipping technology in several versions of Microsoft Windows and the Bing Search Engine. Dinan has received over 20 patents and is a Chartered Software Engineer. Dinan has a Masters in Computer Science from University of Cambridge and a M.B.A. from WBS. Jakub Kicinski, Software Engineering, Netronome Jakub Kicinski is a Software Engineer specializing in the Linux Kernel drivers for Netronome SmartNICs. Jakub has previously worked as an intern for Intel Corporation. Jakub is also a researcher with expertise in Linux kernel. Experience in application development on complex multi-CPU and FPGA platforms. He is interested in high-performance software exploiting hardware capabilities and is passionate about networking. Jakub has a Masters in Computer Science from Gdansk University of Technology.