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SUMMARY:Towards Networks without Management Complexity - Theophilus Benson
 \, University of Wisconsin\, Madison
DTSTART:20120402T090000Z
DTEND:20120402T100000Z
UID:TALK37307@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Microsoft Research Cambridge Talks Admins
DESCRIPTION:Networks are a crucial and integral aspect of modern enterpris
 es\, with the productivity and fate of many enterprises significantly inte
 rtwined with the performance and reliability of their networks.  Yet despi
 te their importance\, these networks remain highly susceptible to poor per
 formance\, failures\, and outages. \n\nI posit that the fragility of enter
 prise networks is largely a byproduct of the complexity involved in managi
 ng conflicting global policies.  In this talk\, I argue that only by under
 standing this complexity can we harden these networks. In my research\, I 
 have developed simple yet highly effective models of enterprise networks a
 nd used these models as first order principles in designing practical fram
 eworks that improve the performance and reliability of these networks.  In
  the first half of this talk\, I will present a set of novel models that c
 apture the difficulty of implementing high level network objectives within
  the network. In the second half of the talk\, I will focus on using the f
 rameworks arising out of these models to mitigate complexity by informing 
 the design of more efficient and reliable services and by enabling large e
 nterprises to debug their network's configuration.  \n\nTogether these stu
 dies illustrate how eliminating complexity can lead to manageable networks
 \, thus reducing misconfigurations and promoting innovative changes.  Unde
 rstanding complexity has several benefits: in the short run\, knowledge of
  complexity leads to the development of mechanisms that foster better perf
 ormance and higher resiliency\; and in the long run\, the dialogue created
  by understanding complexity will shape the design of future networking in
 terfaces and abstractions.\n
LOCATION:Small lecture theatre\, Microsoft Research Ltd\, 7 J J Thomson Av
 enue (Off Madingley Road)\, Cambridge
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