README.md

bpf_performance

A set of platform-agnostic tools to measure the performance of various BPF helper functions.

Overview

Tests are defined as BPF programs, each consisting of a map_state_preparation phase and a test phase. These tests are described in a YAML file.

As an example:

tests:
  - name: Baseline
    description: The Baseline test with an empty eBPF program.
    elf_file: baseline.o
    iteration_count: 10000000
    program_cpu_assignment:
      baseline_program: all

  - name: Hash-table Map Read
    description: Tests reading from a BPF_MAP_TYPE_HASH map.
    elf_file: generic_map.o
    map_state_preparation:
      program: prepare_HASH_state_generic_read
      iteration_count: 1024
    iteration_count: 10000000
    program_cpu_assignment:
      read_HASH: all

  - name: Hash-table Map Update / Read
    description: Tests reading and writing to a BPF_MAP_TYPE_HASH map.
    elf_file: generic_map.o
    map_state_preparation:
      program: prepare_HASH_state_generic_read
      iteration_count: 1024
    iteration_count: 10000000
    program_cpu_assignment:
      update_HASH: [0]
      read_HASH: remaining

Test programs can be pinned to specific CPUs to permit mixed behavior tests, such as concurrent reads and updates to a map.

Building

To build the project:

cmake -B build -S .
cmake --build build

This build process works on both Windows (using eBPF for Windows) and Linux.

For Linux, you need the following packages:

1. gcc-multilib
2. libbpf-dev
3. Clang / llvm

For Windows, you need the following tools:

1. Nuget
2. Clang / LLVM

Running the tests

To run the tests on Linux:

cd build/bin
sudo ./bpf_performance_runner tests.yml

On Windows (after installing eBPF for Windows MSI):

cd build\bin\Debug
.\bpf_performance_runner tests.yml