Seminar by Prof Willy Zwaenepoel, University of Sydney, 24 Sept 2024, N4-B1C-17

Title: Software for Fast Storage Hardware

Time: 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM, Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Location: N4-B1C-17

Abstract: Storage technologies have entered the market with performance vastly superior to conventional storage devices. This technology shift requires a complete rethinking of the software storage stack. In this talk, Professor Zwaenepoel will give two examples of their work with Optane-based solid-state (block) devices that illustrate the need for and the benefit of a wholesale redesign.

First, he will describe the KVell key-value (KV) store. The key observation underlying KVell is that conventional KV software on fast devices is bottlenecked by the CPU rather than by the device. KVell therefore focuses on minimizing CPU intervention. Second, he will describe the KVell+ OLTP/OLAP system built on top of KVell. The key underlying observation here is that these storage devices have become so fast that the conventional implementation of snapshot isolation – maintaining multiple versions – leads to intolerable space amplification. KVell+ therefore processes versions as they are created. This talk describes joint work with Oana Balmau (McGill University), Karan Gupta (Nutanix), and Baptiste Lepers (University of Neuchatel).

Short Bio: Willy Zwaenepoel received his BS/MS from Ghent University in 1979, and his MS and PhD from Stanford University in 1980 and 1984, respectively. He is currently a professor of computer science at the University of Sydney. Previously, he has been on the faculty at Rice University, head of the School of Computer and Communication Sciences at EPFL, and dean of engineering at the University of Sydney. He has been involved with several startups, including Nutanix (Nasdaq: NTNX). He was elected IEEE Fellow in 1998 and ACM Fellow in 2000. He has received numerous awards for his teaching and research, including the IEEE Kanai Award, the Eurosys Lifetime Achievement Award, the IEEE Outstanding Technical Achievement in Distributed Processing Award, and most recently, the IEEE Harry Goode Memorial Award. His main interests are in operating systems and distributed systems.