Prof. Randy Katz |
Prof. Krste Asanović |
This experimental course will discuss the principles and hardware and software technologies that will underlie the next generation of Warehouse-Scale Computers (WSCs). The basic building block is a ~1 MegaWatt WSC containing up to 10,000 compute nodes and up to an Exabyte (2^60 Bytes) of non-volatile memory connected via a low-latency, high-bandwidth optical switch. The technologies to be discussed include custom datacenter systems on a chip (SoCs), distributed simulation tools for warehouse-scale machines, and systems software for modern disaggregated datacenter architectures. The first part of the semester will consist of formal readings and presentations (sometimes with outside speakers) on the key underlying technologies and components of datacenter design. The remainder of the course will consist of group directed research projects developed by the students and the instructors.
Class communication will be Piazza, and you can sign up at CS294-143 FireClass.