eBPF

This plugin is experimental and might be unstable. Use it in development or testing environments only. Its features and behavior are subject to change.

The in_ebpf input plugin uses eBPF (extended Berkeley Packet Filter) to capture low-level system events. This plugin lets Fluent Bit monitor kernel-level activities such as process executions, file accesses, memory allocations, network connections, and signal handling. It provides valuable insights into system behavior for debugging, monitoring, and security analysis.

The in_ebpf plugin leverages eBPF to trace kernel events in real-time. By specifying trace points, users can collect targeted system-level metrics and events, giving visibility into operating system interactions and performance characteristics.

System dependencies

To enable in_ebpf, ensure the following dependencies are installed on your system:

• Kernel version: 4.18 or greater, with eBPF support enabled.

• Required packages:

  • bpftool: Used to manage and debug eBPF programs.

  • libbpf-dev: Provides the libbpf library for loading and interacting with eBPF programs.

  • CMake 3.13 or higher: Required for building the plugin.

Installing dependencies on Ubuntu

sudo apt update
sudo apt install libbpf-dev linux-tools-common cmake

Building Fluent Bit with in_ebpf

To enable the in_ebpf plugin, follow these steps to build Fluent Bit from source:

1. Clone the Fluent Bit repository:

   git clone https://github.com/fluent/fluent-bit.git
   cd fluent-bit

2. Configure the build with in_ebpf:

   Create a build directory and run cmake with the -DFLB_IN_EBPF=On flag to enable the in_ebpf plugin:

   mkdir build
   cd build
   cmake .. -DFLB_IN_EBPF=On

3. Compile the source:

   make

4. Run Fluent Bit:

   Run Fluent Bit with elevated permissions (for example, sudo). Loading eBPF programs requires root access or appropriate privileges.

   # For YAML configuration.
   sudo fluent-bit --config fluent-bit.yaml
   
   # For classic configuration.
   sudo fluent-bit --config fluent-bit.conf

Configuration example

Here's a basic example of how to configure the plugin:

fluent-bit.yaml

pipeline:
  inputs:
    - name: ebpf
      trace:
        - trace_signal
        - trace_malloc
        - trace_bind

fluent-bit.conf

[INPUT]
  Name          ebpf
  Trace         trace_signal
  Trace         trace_malloc
  Trace         trace_bind

The configuration enables tracing for:

• Signal handling events (trace_signal)

• Memory allocation events (trace_malloc)

• Network bind operations (trace_bind)

You can enable multiple traces by adding multiple Trace directives in your configuration. Full list of existing traces can be seen here: Fluent Bit eBPF Traces