Bridging the software-hardware divide
An open-access project funded by the National Science Foundation is expected to pave the way for more efficient, cost-effective, and high-performing computing services that could benefit billions of end users.
Political parties. Mind and body. Wealth and lack.
To the long list of divides society must navigate, add the growing gap between the capacity of hardware devices and the demands of the applications that run on them. But researchers like Huaicheng Li, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, and his team are working to solve this vexing computing challenge.
With applications that require more robust processing speed and efficiency, the pressure is on to make every server in every data center work harder. Under the auspices of a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award, Li’s group will work to “improve system efficiency, programmability, and performance to bridge the gap between emerging hardware technologies and the needs of modern software applications,” Li said.
The award at a glance
- Project title: “Rethinking System Stack for the Load-Store I/O Era”
- Time frame: May 1, 2024, to April 30, 2029
- Grant: $676,549
- Goal: Redesign the Linux operating system to work with a promising new hardware technology Compute Express Link (CXL)
Over the past decade, increasing demands for improved data storage and processing capabilities have fueled rapid changes in the datacenter landscape.
Software such as the operating system plays a key role in hardware performance. Unfortunately, it has become clumsy. Everything reliant on high-level computing needs new technologies to enhance how memory, storage, and computing can be used. Li’s group is working to expand the use with CXL specifically.
“We envision a future where computer systems will adopt CXL for next generation storage, memory, and compute devices. Unfortunately, CXL is still very new, and it's not designed for nearly decade-old operating systems,” Li said. “Our ultimate goal is to introduce a holistic approach to unify memory, storage, and computing devices to make them faster, more cost-efficient, and easier to use.”
This open-access project could enable advancements in data analytics, machine learning, and more. It’s also expected to boost data center efficiency while reducing costs. Less expensive, high-performance services will benefit billions of end users, Li said.
Reaching across continents
In addition to its research value, the project incorporates extensive education plans to provide today’s students with up-to-date, research-driven learning and industry collaboration opportunities. And it’s not just for graduate students.
“We plan to hire some undergraduates into the group so that they can get familiar with this emerging hardware technology and help build systems to support it,” Li said.
In fact, his team is already working remotely with a small group of undergraduates in Indonesia. The project could expand the relationships not just with Virginia Tech undergraduates, but also with international students and eventually recruit top talent for graduate work.
“The goal is to mentor them and teach them what research is about, how to do research, and to think about research in the long term,” Li said. “Eventually, I would hope that all the undergraduates we work with can be just as independent and productive as my Ph.D. students.”
As part of the CAREER award, Li also plans to integrate the research into the courses he teaches on the Blacksburg campus.
“We will revamp how we teach students about computer systems and operating systems,” Li said. “We’ll do this by integrating the latest advancements in computer architecture and system design into the curriculum.”
