In addition to the standard Linux iptables data plane, Calico Open Source has a pluggable data plane that offers Calico users options, to take advantage of the best possible data plane technologies available in a given environment. One of those options is the Calico eBPF data plane. It offers significant advantages, including even more highly optimised throughput and latency, and enabling improved logging and visibility.
However, to benefit from these features, you need to know how to enable the Calico eBPF data plane correctly, and understand the prerequisites. It also helps to understand what eBPF actually is, and what it can do!
The CCO-L2-EBPF course is therefore intended to help the learner:
- understand hands-on, what eBPF actually is, including running and modifying simple eBPF programs
- understand how Calico benefits from using eBPF
- understand where the Calico eBPF data plane can be used
- understand the deployment options and methods
- gain confidence in deploying eBPF across multiple environment types
Target Audience
This is a level 2 course, so it assumes the learner is familiar with Calico, and has already completed the CCO-L1 course. If not, consider doing that first. You can learn more here. In addition, a solid understanding of IP networking is beneficial. The learner will also need to be comfortable with working at a command-line interface. The course does contain programming exercises; these are heavily guided though, so there is no need to be a programmer. These are included to help with understanding of eBPF.
What the Course Covers
- Week 1
- Get Started with eBPF
- Lab Setup
- Writing an eBPF program
- Writing a Kernel Probe for Tracing
- Understanding the Tools
- eBPF in Kubernetes
- Week 2
- GCP Lab Setup
- Deploying Calico with eBPF on Upstream Kubernetes
- Key Benefits of the Calico eBPF Data Plane
- Week 3
- Deploying Calico with eBPF on OpenShift
- Understanding Calico eBPF and CNI Choice
- Deploying a Rancher RKE Cluster with eBPF, and connecting to a Rancher Server
- Week 4
- Calico eBPF and WireGuard
- Monitoring and Troubleshooting the Calico eBPF Data Plane
- Advanced Topics