Datacenter Network Infrastructure (CS6501-003)
Fall 2025
Course Overview
This course examines the design and implementation of modern datacenter systems through the lens of networking, operating systems, and computer architecture. As today’s large-scale workloads—from cloud services to AI and scientific computing—push infrastructure to its limits, understanding how different layers of the stack interact is essential. This includes things from transport protocols and OS scheduling to interconnects like PCIe/CXL and specialized hardware such as GPUs, FPGAs, and SmartNICs.
Students will develop skills in reading and critically analyzing research papers, presenting technical material, and identifying open problems. A semester-long research or survey project will reinforce these skills.
Topics include datacenter network architectures, congestion control, hardware/software offloading, host interconnects, memory/storage systems, and systems support for demanding workloads such as machine learning—though the focus extends well beyond ML alone.
Prerequisite: Familiarity with operating systems and networking (e.g., UVA CS 4414 or equivalent). Exposure to distributed systems is helpful but not required.
Class Info
- Time/Location: Mo/We 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM, Olsson Hall 005
- Dates: 08/26/2025 – 12/09/2025
- Instructor: Qizhe Cai
- Email: caiqizhe@virginia.edu
- Office Hours: Monday 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM, Rice 102
- TA(s): TBD
- Preferred email / forum: TBD