Implementing eBPF-Based Service Mesh with Cilium 1.12 and Envoy 1.24: A Deep Dive into Network Policy and Observability

Introduction to eBPF and Service Mesh

When I first started working with eBPF and service mesh, I was surprised by the lack of production-grade documentation. Most docs skip the hard part - implementing eBPF-based service mesh with Cilium and Envoy. Here's what I learned when trying to set up a production-ready environment.

The Problem with Traditional Service Mesh Implementations

Traditional service mesh implementations often rely on complex configurations and proprietary solutions. I realized that eBPF offers a more flexible and scalable approach, but it requires a deep understanding of network policy and observability. My colleague Jake suggested that we explore Cilium and Envoy as potential solutions.

Cilium and Envoy: A Brief Overview

Cilium is an open-source service mesh that provides a scalable and secure way to manage network traffic. Envoy, on the other hand, is a high-performance service proxy that can be used with Cilium to provide observability and traffic management. When I first tried to integrate Cilium and Envoy, it broke because of a misconfigured eBPF program.

Implementing eBPF-Based Service Mesh with Cilium and Envoy

To implement eBPF-based service mesh with Cilium and Envoy, you need to follow these steps:

1. Install Cilium: You can install Cilium using the official documentation. Make sure to configure the eBPF program to match your network policy requirements.