For those looking to get started with enterprise grade cloud monitoring and analytics from our observability platform, VMware Aria Operations for Applications, the onboarding process has never been easier! With auto-instrumentation enabled via eBPF, you’ll be able to send data from your Kubernetes applications using our seamless installation experience. From here, Aria Operations for Applications handles auto-discovering all the services in your Kubernetes cluster and then showcasing a drill-down service map view for each of your applications, as well as request, error, and duration (RED) metrics.
Not only is our auto-instrumentation solution easy to set up and use (i.e., no manual configuration required), it’s also very useful for the monitoring and troubleshooting Kubernetes-based applications. You’ll be able to receive low-level information through the service-to-service HTTPS requests that are captured in detail on service maps.
But let’s dive deeper…
What is eBPF and why is it important?
eBPF (extended Berkeley Packet Filter) is a technology based in the Linux kernel that allows you to run your programs in a privileged environment that enables you to safely run programs without touching kernel-level source code.
Today, eBPF is revolutionizing the way in which observability, security, and networking functionalities are implemented. In terms of observability, eBPF allows us to gain accurate low-level information on network performance such as transmission control protocol (TCP) traffic visibility and process profiling. This functionality is important when troubleshooting or figuring out why network communication is failing, and understanding whether there is an application or network issue at hand.
Additionally, with application monitoring capabilities, you can view 95th and 99th percentile latencies between HTTP requests/responses and observe which services are underperforming. Aria Operations for Applications will be able to auto-discover your services and capture network traffic and RED metrics through service maps, enabling you to view which services are communicating with each other, validate if there are any remote procedure call (gRPC) or HTTP errors between services, and be aware of any services being accessed externally.
Below you’ll find an overview of how our architecture is set up to send data from your Kubernetes cluster to our servers.
Who is this useful for?
Recent advances in auto-instrumentation tools have opened the doors to include a wider range of users who can gain insight into their applications. Traditional users of distributed tracing have come from application developer backgrounds; but with the convenience of technologies such as eBPF, persona instrumenting applications have expanded to include site reliability engineering (SRE) teams and platform operators. Gaining insight into application and network performance helps these users in their daily job functions. The Aria Operations for Applications team has worked to deliver a seamless onboarding experience with eBPF to provide faster time to value from our observability platform for such users.
Next, we’ll get into the details of how you can start sending Kubernetes application data via eBPF.
An overview on how to auto-instrument using eBPF
Please visit the official documentation on how to install the Operations for Applications Kubernetes Operator, enable the OTel Pixie plug-in, and install the Operations for Applications Pixie Collection Script.
Once you have completed this process, you’ll be able to do the following:
- View the services on the Services and Applications page.
- See how a specific service communicates with the other services using the Service Map.
- Identify potential hotspots using the Service Dashboard.
- Create charts using RED metrics.
Next steps
eBPF is quickly gaining recognition and adoption as an observability tool. If you’re interested in using this technology as a form of auto-instrumentation for your Kubernetes applications, Aria Operations for Applications can help you receive RED metrics and drill-down service maps as part of our out-of-the-box experience. With our unified observability platform you’ll gain complete visibility into any complex application environment. If you’d like to experience the benefits of eBPF, contact your account representative or technical support.
