eBPF offers versatile, high-performance networking for Kubernetes. However, achieving high availability at scale requires using multiple traffic paths via protocols like Equal-Cost Multi-Path Routing (ECMP), along with the ability to swiftly detect path failures and rapidly switch to redundant paths. Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) is a lightweight protocol designed for quick detection and signaling of path failures.

In this talk, Sudhi will present eBay’s custom pod networking solution, built with eBPF, that addresses eBay’s scalability challenges and availability requirements. Vinay will explain how ECMP and BFD protocols function, focusing on BFD's capability for sub-second path failure detection. He will discuss extensions to BFD that enable eBPF pod networking programs to quickly detect and switch to alternate paths, ensuring high availability. He will present an analysis of the solution's performance and scalability metrics, and conclude with a demo.