Overview
Cilium is a next-generation CNI plugin that leverages eBPF (Extended Berkeley Packet Filter) in the Linux kernel. This allows it to provide high-performance networking and security without the overhead of traditional tools like iptables.
Key Features
- eBPF Performance: Extremely fast packet processing and load balancing.
- Identity-Based Security: Security policies are based on pod labels (identity) rather than IP addresses.
- Hubble: A powerful observability tool built on top of Cilium that provides deep visibility into network traffic.
- Service Mesh Features: Can perform many service mesh tasks (like load balancing and encryption) at the kernel level without sidecars.
Importance
Cilium is rapidly becoming the preferred choice for high-scale, security-conscious Kubernetes deployments.