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The GeekNarrator

eBPF and continuous profiling with Frederic

Mar 14, 2025
01:17:46

The GeekNarrator memberships can be joined here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_mGuY4g0mggeUGM6V1osdA/joinMembership will get you access to member only videos, exclusive notes and monthly 1:1 with me. Here you can see all the member only videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UUMO_mGuY4g0mggeUGM6V1osdA------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------About this episode: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In this episode, Kaivalya Apte and Frederic Branczyk talk about observability, focusing on continuous profiling and the role of eBPF. They discuss the evolution of profiling techniques, the importance of systematic data collection, and the challenges faced in maintaining low overhead while gathering detailed performance metrics.Frederic shares insights from his extensive experience with Prometheus and Kubernetes, emphasizing the transformative impact of continuous profiling on software performance optimization. This conversation delves into the intricacies of eBPF (Extended Berkeley Packet Filter) and its applications in profiling and performance analysis. The discussion covers the capabilities of eBPF in extending the kernel safely, the mechanisms of user space profiling, and the handling of process terminations. It also explores memory and network profiling techniques, the challenges of profiling in different programming environments, and the limitations of eBPF in certain use cases. The conversation concludes with valuable resources for those interested in learning more about eBPF and profiling techniques.Chapters:00:00 Introduction to Observability and Profiling01:17 Frederic's Background and Expertise02:11 The Importance of Continuous Profiling06:46 The Value of Continuous Profiling11:20 Understanding Profiling Data19:09 Data Structures and Performance in Profiling32:35 The Role of eBPF in Profiling42:48 Introduction to eBPF and Its Capabilities48:32 User Space Profiling and Memory Management51:39 Handling Process Termination and Agent Recovery55:27 Memory and Network Profiling Techniques01:01:33 Profiling in Different Programming Environments01:11:47 Use Cases and Limitations of eBPF in Profiling01:13:54 Resources for Learning eBPF and Profiling Techniques------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Like building real stuff?------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Try out CodeCrafters and build amazing real world systems like Redis, Kafka, Sqlite. Use the link below to signup and get 40% off on paid subscription.https://app.codecrafters.io/join?via=geeknarrator------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Link to other playlists. LIKE, SHARE and SUBSCRIBE------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Database internals series: https://youtu.be/yV_Zp0Mi3xsPopular playlists:Realtime streaming systems: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL7QpTxsA4se-mAKKoVOs3VcaP71X_LA-Software Engineering: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL7QpTxsA4sf6By03bot5BhKoMgxDUU17Distributed systems and databases: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL7QpTxsA4sfLDUnjBJXJGFhhz94jDd_dModern databases: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL7QpTxsA4scSeZAsCUXijtnfW5ARlrsNStay Curios! Keep Learning!

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