Software Engineering Daily ByteDance’s Container Networking Stack with Chen Tang
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Jul 1, 2025 
In this discussion, Chen Tang, an engineer at ByteDance specializing in container networking, dives into the innovative use of eBPF technology to enhance performance and stability at massive scales. He shares how ByteDance’s decentralized networking stack improves efficiency and scalability for over a million servers. Tang elaborates on transitioning from traditional virtualization to cloud-native solutions with Kubernetes and addresses challenges in scaling container networking effectively. Listeners will find insights into optimizing eBPF for advanced networking needs.
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eBPF Enables Safe Kernel Programming
- eBPF enables running sandboxed, custom code safely inside the Linux kernel without risking system stability.
- Its verifier ensures only safe programs are loaded, making kernel extension accessible and secure for developers.
eBPF Solves Container Networking
- Containers have isolated network namespaces but share the host kernel, creating a need for packet redirection.
- eBPF programs capture and route packets between containers and the physical network device efficiently.
ByteDance's eBPF Adoption Journey
- ByteDance initially used heavy virtual switches and virtual machines for networking, which required dedicated cores and resources.
- As eBPF matured over five years, it became the preferred lightweight solution for container networking at ByteDance.
