The impact of using eBPF technology on the performance of networking solutions in a Kubernetes cluster
Konrad Miziński, Sławomir Przyłucki · Journal of Computer Sciences Institute · 2025
The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of eBPF technology on the performance of network solutions in Kubernetes clusters. Two configurations were compared: a traditional iptables-based setup and eBPF based solution via the Cilium networking plugin. Performance tests were conducted, measuring throughput, latency, CPU usage, and memory consumption under unloaded and loaded conditions. The results indicate that the traditional configuration achieved higher throughput and lower latency in unloaded scenarios. However, under load, the eBPF-enabled cluster demonstrated advantages, including reduced CPU and memory usage and slightly improved latency. This study highlights the potential of eBPF as an efficient technology for Kubernetes environments, particularly in scenarios demanding high performance and resource efficiency.