Cloud computing delivers scalable and cost-effective compute resources to a wide range of customers. The ability for cloud providers to share components of the hardware stack across customers, or tenants, is essential for running efficient cloud systems. For example, modern central processing units (CPUs) pack hundreds of physical hardware threads sharing terabytes of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), which can be flexibly assigned to many independent virtual machines (VMs). Preventing tenants from snooping on others who  

GEHRKE: Welcome, Lex. LEX STORY: Oh, thank you. GEHRKE: Really great to have you here. Can you tell us a little bit about what you’re doing here at MSR (Microsoft Research) … STORY: OK. GEHRKE: … and how did you actually end up here? STORY: Well, um, within MSR, I actually work in the hardware prototype, hardware development. I find solutions for the researchers, especially in the areas of developing hardware through various fabrication and industrial-like methods. I’m a model […]

I’m thrilled to be in the booth today, IRL, with Dr. Jake Smith, a senior researcher at Microsoft Research and part of the Microsoft Climate Research Initiative, or MCRI. And with him is Dr. Aniruddh Vashisth. He’s an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Washington and director of the Vashisth Research Lab. Jake and Aniruddh are working on a project that uses machine learning to help scientists design sustainable polymers with a particularly exciting application in the […]

Modern computer systems and applications, with unprecedented scale, complexity, and security needs, require careful co-design and co-evolution of hardware and software. The ACM International Conference on Architectural Support for Programming Languages and Operating Systems (ASPLOS) (opens in new tab), is the main forum where researchers bridge the gap between architecture, programming languages, and operating systems to advance the state of the art. ASPLOS 2024 is taking place in San Diego between April 27 and