计算机学院系列讲座菁英论坛第48期——Building Next-Generation Accelerated Data Center Networking Systems

报告题目(Title)： Building Next-Generation Accelerated Data Center Networking Systems

时间(Date & Time)：2026.1.7; 10:00-11:00

地点(Location)：北京大学理科二号楼2736报告厅

主讲人(Speaker)：Jiaxin Lin

邀请人(Host)：吴文斐

报告摘要(Abstract)：

Abstract: Next-generation distributed applications increasingly rely on specialized network hardware and interconnects to overcome the performance limitations of general-purpose CPUs. However, this growing specialization introduces significant challenges in programmability, deployment, and system integration. How can we harness the benefits of specialization without being overwhelmed by its complexity?

In this talk, I will demonstrate how powerful abstractions can help hide hardware complexity. I will first ground this challenge in the domain of network processing, where specialized devices such as Smart Network Interface Cards (SmartNICs) are emerging to offload tasks from the CPU. While powerful, these SmartNICs are notoriously difficult to program and deploy. I will introduce Alkali, a SmartNIC compiler framework that abstracts away hardware-specific details through a novel intermediate representation (IR). This IR enables the construction of reusable and extensible compilers across diverse NIC architectures, allowing developers to “write once, run anywhere.”

Domain-specific hardware development is intensifying, with SmartNICs being just one example. The second part of the talk will broaden this vision and illustrate my ongoing work for crafting novel abstractions and using automated co-design to harness the full potential of a broader range of specialized scale-up interconnects and GPU systems.

主讲人简介(Bio)：

Jiaxin Lin is an assistant professor at Cornell ECE. She received her Ph.D. from UT Austin in the summer of 2025. Her research aims to design innovative software and hardware for accelerated data center networks. She has received the Google and Meta PhD Fellowships in Computer Networking and was selected as an MIT EECS Rising Star in 2024 and a Google Junior Faculty Award in 2025. Her lab is recruiting 2-3 PhD students this fall.

欢迎关注计算机学院微信公众号，了解更多讲座信息！

北京大学计算机学院