The Linux Foundation Networking, considered the de-facto collaboration ecosystem for Open-Source Networking projects, has announced the L3EF Release 2.1.0.
This announcement has extended eBPF life cycle management. This advances networking, security, and observability across production networks.
As per the Linux Foundation, the key highlights of L3EAF v2.1 are: –
- “L3AF 2.1 introduces Graceful Restart functionality, allowing seamless upgrades of the L3AF control plane without impacting any running eBPF programs in the data plane.
- Container Support for l3afd: L3AF can now run within a container, equipped to operate in cloud-native environments, improving orchestration and scalability for users leveraging cloud-native platforms.
- BPF CO-RE in the eBPF Package Repository: L3AF 2.1 now supports BPF CO-RE, enabling portable BPF applications that run across different Linux kernels without modifications.
- Support for KProbes and Tracepoints: Enhanced observability with support for kprobes and tracepoints, providing deeper kernel-level insights for better eBPF troubleshooting.
- Dynamically add programs to new interfaces: L3AF 2.1 allows dynamic program attachment to new interfaces, benefiting complex network environments like multi-VM hypervisors**.**
- Alternative traffic management options: L3AF now supports attaching eBPF programs to HTB qdisc hooks for refined traffic shaping and resource allocation.
- Enhanced Logging and Storage for Easier Debugging: Improved logging with local filesystem storage simplifies debugging, accelerates issue resolution, and supports integration with centralized log analysis systems for better observability.
- L3AF Goes to Dockerhub: L3AF is now available on Docker Hub, making deployment easier within containerized environments for streamlined DevOps integration.”
The L3EAF has strengthened its position as the eBPF-based networking and observability leader.
Open Source: The future?
From Kubernetes to L3AF, open-source networking has dominated the market. The community around these solutions is also passionate and equally adept at problem-solving. We have to ask: Is the future of software open source?