Lightning Talk: Optimizing Security Container Runtime's Network Performance with Modula... Anqi Shen

Lightning Talk: Optimizing Security Container Runtime's Network Performance with Modular Plugin TCP/IP Stack - Anqi Shen, Ant Group
Security container runtimes have been evolving to safeguard cloud infrastructure and user workloads amidst the growing complexity of cloud environments. However, their implementation is not without trade-offs, as they introduce an additional layer of overhead. Cloud-native applications, often highly sensitive to network performance, face the dilemma of choosing between enhanced security and optimized performance. In this talk, we will explore how a high-performance user-level network stack can enhance security container runtimes, ensuring both robust security and optimal network I/O performance. By incorporating a modular network stack, security container runtimes can benefit from: 1. a more efficient I/O threading model; 2. a Poll Mode Driver that supporting both virtual-device mode and device-passthrough mode; and 3. supplemental features such as traffic audits, access control, and more, all provided by the user-level network stack. Furthermore, incorporating the user-level network stack into security container runtimes enhances the portability of the user-level network stack itself.