My research involves scalable network services - my group has designed and implemented the TranSend transformational web proxy (https://transend.cs.berkeley.edu), which performs the on-the-fly, on-demand, datatype specific distillation (high-level, lossy compression) of web data. This transformation is indended to deliver web data in a representation more suitable for impoverished clients (such as PDAs or smartphones) or low-speed, high latency networks (such as WAN wireless or modem connections).

TranSend runs on a network of workstations (NOW), and achieves linear scaling in terms of the number of distillation requests per second that can be supported as a function of the number of NOW workstations harnessed. TranSend is achieves fault-tolerance and high availability by using redundancy and intelligent component fault detection and recovery techniques.

Our next generation of research will focus on operating system and compiler support for such high performance, scalable, highly available network services. We are considering diversifying our research efforts by exploring the NT platform in addition to our current focus of UNIX. My goal in attending this conference is:

- to assess the viability of NT as an OS for supporting scalable network service research,
- to become more familiar with the research tools and environments currently in use by NT researchers,
- and to forge contacts with other NT researchers that are interested in similar topics.

Steve Gribble, UC Berkeley CS Division
445 Soda Hall, #1776
UC Berkeley Campus, Berkeley, CA 94720-1776
gribble@cs.berkeley.edu
https://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~gribble