Matteo Bertrone

Milan, ITALY · +39 (334) 798-6923 · m.bertrone AT gmail DOT com

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My name is Matteo and I'm Software Engineer at SysDig, working on SysDig Secure, Kubernetes security for enterprise cloud-native stacks.

Previously Research Assistant at Department of Control and Computer Engineering of Politecnico di Torino, Italy, where in 2016 I obtained the MS.c in Computer Engineer with the highest mark.

I've touched networking topics, dealing with eXpress Data Path (XDP) and eBPF technology, with particular attention to high performance, network programmability, SDN and Cloud Computing.

I'm core developer of Polycube, an Open Source framework to provide fast, in-kernel, virtualized network functions. My focus was also directed to study the feasibility and implementation of an eBPF based iptables version.

I spent some time visiting and collaborating with tech companies in Silicon Valley, as part of my research work.

In 2010, I participated in the Italian Olympics in Computer Science and I secured a bronze medal. I also took part in the International Collegiate Programming Contest - SWERC 2014 in Porto (Portugal) and SWERC 2013 Valencia (Spain).

I love cooking and photography.


Experience

Software Engineer

SysDig - Milan, IT

Working on Sysdig Secure, Kubernetes security for enterprise cloud-native stacks.

Jul 2019 - Present

Research Assistant

Polytechnic of Turin - Turin, IT

Working on eBPF (Extended Berkeley Packet Filter) and XDP (eXpress DataPath) to build high-performance and scalable networking solutions for linux. Studying an eBPF-based clone of iptables. I'm core developer of Polycube an open source framework for build network functions with eBPF.

Jan 2017 - Jun 2019

Internship

Huawei Technologies - Santa Clara, CA
May 2018 - Jun 2018

Consultant

Nebbiolo Technologies, Inc. - Milpitas, CA

I collaborated with Nebbiolo Technologies to study, provide and deploy a virtual network solutions, using eBPF.

Feb 2017 - May 2017

Intern

PLUMgrid Inc. (acquired by VMware) - Santa Clara, CA

As part of my Master thesis, I spent some months visiting PLUMgrid, in Silicon Valley. I collaborated with smart and nice guys, with first hand knowledge of BPF and networing. I've learned a lot from them, while developing iovisor-ovn.

Sep 2016 - Jan 2017

Dotnet developer for FCA

EiS s.r.l - Turin, IT

Development of a network analysis and diagnostic tool for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

Mar 2014 - May 2014

Publications

Securing Linux with a Faster and Scalable Iptables

Draft, 1 December 2018

This paper presents an eBPF-based firewall, bpf-iptables, which emulates the iptables filtering semantic while guaranteeing higher throughput outperforming other Linux-based firewalls particularly when a high number of rules is involved.

Accelerating Linux Security with eBPF iptables

ACM SIGCOMM 2018 Conference Posters and Demos, Budapest (H), 20-25 August 2018

This paper presents an eBPF-based prototype, bpf-iptables, which emulates the iptables filtering semantic and exploits a more efficient matching algorithm. Our prototype outperforms iptables, particularly when a high number of rules is involved, without requiring custom kernels or invasive software frameworks.

Toward an eBPF-based clone of iptables

Netdev 0x12, The Technical Conference on Linux Networking, Montréal (Canada), 11-13 July 2018

This paper reports the first results of a project that aims at creating a (partial) clone of iptables, using the eBPF/XDP technology. This project assumes unmodified Linux kernel and guarantees the full compatibility (in terms of semantics and synxtax) with current iptables.

Creating Complex Network Services with eBPF: Experience and Lessons Learned

IEEE International Conference on High Performance Switching and Routing, Bucharest (RO), 17-20 June 2018

In this paper we summarize the most important lessons learned while exploiting eBPF to create complex network functions, presenting the most promising characteristics of this technology and the main encountered limitations.


Education

Polytechnic of Turin

Master’s Degree, Computer Engineering, 110/110
The main objective of the MSc degree in Computer Engineering is to train engineers who can operate in sectors for the design, engineering, development, implementation and maintenance of computer applications and systems, information processing systems and complex information systems. The computer engineering graduate can work in industrial production and in the area of services to the general public and to businesses.
2014 - 2016

Polytechnic of Turin

BSc degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Engineering, 110/110
Computer engineering students receive a solid grounding in basic sciences (mathematics, physics, chemistry) as well as engineering sciences, providing the tools and scientific methods to ensure a rigorous approach to engineering problems. The analysis, design and maintenance of IT systems requires wide-ranging scientific knowledge in key areas of information engineering (electronics, automation, telecommunications), accompanied by thorough technological and methodological expertise in the main areas specific to computing.
2011 - 2014

Projects

Polycube

Polycube is an open source framework to build fast network functions with XDP and eBPF

On top of that we built couple of applications:

  • pcn-iptables: a much more efficient clone of iptables firewall, exploiting efficient algorithms, XDP optimizations, and leading up to 10x performance gain.
  • pcn-k8s: a brand new network provider for Kubernetes, exploiting eBPF and XDP optimizations and performance gain.

Website: https://github.com/polycube-network/polycube

Iovisor-ovn

Iovisor-ovn is a network plugin for OpenStack, that provides a network layer based on bpf.

Website: https://github.com/iovisor/iovisor-ovn


Conferences

Toward an eBPF-based clone of iptables

Netdev 0x12, The Technical Conference on Linux Networking, Montreal (Canada), July 2018. Site, Paper, Slides, Video.

A Control and Management Plane for IOModules

IOVisor Summit, Mountain View, CA, Feb 27th, 2017. Site, Slides.

Coupling the Flexibility of OVN with the Efficiency of IOVisor: Architecture and Demo

2016 Fall Open vSwitch Conference, San Jose (CA, USA), Nov 7th, 2016. Site, Slides, Video.


Interests

Apart from being a developer, and tech passionate, I enjoy most of my time being outdoors. I love long walks, in my city, Turin, and also on beautiful Mountains surrounding north Italy and my hometown.

I always bring my camera with me, I'm a passionate photographer! I love cooking, it's my favourite hobby, it makes me feel better and satisfied. A friend of mine once said: "Matteo, your pasta is the best pasta ever."


Awards & Certifications

  • Italian Olympics in Computer Science - Bronze medal - Sirmione 2010
  • ACM-ICPC International Collegiate Programming Contest - SWERC 2013 Valencia (Spain)
  • ACM-ICPC International Collegiate Programming Contest - SWERC 2014 Porto (Portugal)
  • Cambridge P.E.T. - Pass with Merit