Debuggers and eBPF - Bringing Debugging to Production

Explore the intersection of debuggers and eBPF in production environments through this insightful conference talk. Discover how to overcome the challenges of traditional debugging methods in production systems and learn about a hybrid approach that combines source-level debugging with low-overhead tracing. Gain a deeper understanding of debuggers, eBPF, and their practical applications in resolving production issues. Delve into topics such as pTrace, eBPF benchmarks, implementation details, ring buffers, maps, and probes. Examine the upsides and downsides of eBPF programs, including verifier challenges and limited control flow. Walk away with valuable knowledge to enhance your development workflow and improve software telemetry with minimal performance impact.

Introduction
Overview
Derek Parker
Why
PTrace
Testing
Why is ptrace so slow
Solution eBPF
Benchmarks
Why is eBPF so fast
eBPF requirements
Embedded eBPF
Lowlevel implementation details
Ring buffers and maps
eBPF information
eBPF probes
Updating eBPF map
Getting data back from eBPF
Upsides and downsides
eBPF programs
Fighting the verifier
Small stack requirements
Limited control flow
Rep probes