The End-to-end Argument for Storage Systems
Remzi H. Arpaci-Dusseau, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Abstract
The end-to-end argument is often used in the context of networked systems and helps in deciding whether a particular feature (e.g., checksums, retry) is useful in achieving an important end goal (e.g., reliable file transfer). In storage systems, however, its application is less consistent, and has led to a world where the correctness of a storage system's operation in critical tasks (such as maintaining data integrity in the presence of system crashes) is strongly dependent on the fault-free behavior of underlying components. In this talk, I discuss the dangers of our current approaches, and sketch out new directions for storage systems design that truly embrace end-to-end principals.

Speaker Bio
Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau is a full professor in the Department of Computer Sciences at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He received his B.S. in Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley under advisor David Patterson. Remzi co-leads a research group with his wife Andrea Arpaci-Dusseau; together with their students they have won numerous best paper awards and still hold the Datamation world record in external sorting. Remzi also cares deeply about education, and has won the SACM Student Choice Professor of the Year award four times and the Carolyn Rosner "Excellent Educator" award for his efforts in teaching operating systems to both undergraduate and graduate students. Remzi is an active participant in the systems community, having served on numerous program committees, as well as co-chair of the USENIX Annual Technical Conference in 2004, the USENIX File and Storage Technology Conference in 2007, and the Operating Systems Design and Implementation Conference in 2010. His current research focuses on building a new generation of simpler and more understandable computer systems.