Fast by Friday: Why Kernel Superpowers are Essential

Explore the concept of "Fast by Friday" in this 43-minute conference talk from Kernel Recipes 2023. Discover why kernel superpowers are crucial for efficiently solving performance issues in software within a week. Learn how kernel technologies like eBPF and performance methodologies can revolutionize the approach to identifying root causes of slowdowns. Examine the challenges of current Linux environments, including the use of /proc-based tools, Ftrace, and perf. Delve into the potential of eBPF tracing tools like bcc and bpftrace. Investigate technical challenges such as eBPF stack walking, runtime behavior, uprobes, compiler optimization defaults, OS default packages, and non-CPU targets like GPUs and accelerators. Gain insights into efficient computing practices that can save both cycles and carbon, ultimately leading to faster problem-solving and improved user experiences.