Sky Systems Seminar: Keith Winstein (Stanford) – Computation as the Service

Speaker: Keith Winstein
Location: Wozniak Lounge
Date: January 19, 2023
Time: 11am-12pm PST

Title:
Computation as the Service

Abstract:

Cloud computing today works mostly on a model of “paying for effort.” What would it take to move to “paying for results”? I’ll discuss our efforts to create a new kind of OS abstraction where I/O is separated from compute, application dataflow is visible at fine granularity, and computation is a first-class primitive. Holding infrastructure accountable to higher-level abstractions could permit agility and innovation on other axes.

Bio:
Keith Winstein is an associate professor of computer science and, by courtesy, of electrical engineering at Stanford University. His research group creates new kinds of networked systems by rethinking abstractions around communication, compression, and computing. Some of his group’s research has found broader use, including the Mosh tool, the Puffer video-streaming site, the Lepton compression tool, and the Mahimahi network emulators. Winstein previously served as a staff reporter at The Wall Street Journal and worked at Ksplice, a startup company (now part of Oracle) where he was the vice president of product management and business development and also cleaned the bathroom. (https://cs.stanford.edu/~keithw)