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Cilium Cilium BPF map limit reached

Too many endpoints or connections.

Understanding Cilium and Its Purpose

Cilium is an open-source networking, observability, and security solution for cloud-native environments, such as Kubernetes. It leverages eBPF (extended Berkeley Packet Filter) technology to provide high-performance networking and security features. Cilium is designed to handle the complexities of microservices communication, offering features like load balancing, network policies, and transparent encryption.

Identifying the Symptom: BPF Map Limit Reached

When using Cilium, you might encounter the error: 'Cilium BPF map limit reached'. This error typically manifests when the number of endpoints or connections exceeds the capacity of the BPF maps configured in your environment. As a result, new connections may fail, and network performance could degrade.

Explaining the Issue: BPF Map Limit

BPF maps are data structures used by eBPF programs to store and retrieve data efficiently. In Cilium, these maps are crucial for managing network policies, connection tracking, and other functionalities. The error indicates that the current BPF map size is insufficient to handle the existing workload, often due to a high number of endpoints or active connections.

For more information on BPF maps, you can refer to the Cilium BPF documentation.

Steps to Resolve the BPF Map Limit Issue

Step 1: Assess Current BPF Map Usage

First, check the current usage of BPF maps to understand the extent of the issue. You can use the following command to list BPF maps and their usage:

cilium bpf map list

This command will provide an overview of all BPF maps and their current usage statistics.

Step 2: Increase BPF Map Limits

If the BPF map usage is high, you may need to increase the map limits. This can be done by adjusting the Cilium configuration. Update the cilium-config ConfigMap in your Kubernetes cluster:

kubectl edit configmap cilium-config -n kube-system

Look for the following parameters and increase their values as needed:

  • bpf-map-max: Maximum number of entries in BPF maps.
  • ct-global-max-entries: Maximum number of connection tracking entries.

After making changes, restart the Cilium pods to apply the new configuration:

kubectl rollout restart daemonset cilium -n kube-system

Step 3: Optimize Endpoint and Connection Management

Consider reducing the number of endpoints or connections if possible. This can be achieved by optimizing your application architecture or scaling down unnecessary services. Additionally, review your network policies to ensure they are not overly complex or redundant.

Conclusion

By understanding and addressing the BPF map limit issue, you can ensure that Cilium continues to provide efficient networking and security for your cloud-native applications. For further assistance, refer to the Cilium troubleshooting guide.

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