CAREER: Toward Programmable NICs as Multi-Tenant Cloud Resources

NSF Award Search · 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT · $622,738 · view on nsf.gov ↗

Abstract

Cloud computing resources are increasingly stretched thin, as demand for ever more compute cycles continues to increase unabated. To address this, cloud providers are increasingly adopting programmable network interface cards (NICs) to enhance data center efficiency by offloading networking, storage, and security tasks from server CPUs. Concurrently, there is growing interest in offloading parts of user-facing application logic to NICs. Despite their potential to accelerate diverse applications, NICs remain underutilized due to limited resource management capabilities. This project addresses exactly these challenges by developing NicOS, a new operating system designed to transform programmable NICs into fully shareable and efficient resources in multi-tenant cloud environments. The project integrates its research outcomes into educational programs, offering hands-on experiences for students. Broader dissemination through open-source prototypes, industry partnerships, and outreach to high school students will ensure widespread impact, supporting national goals of advancing technology and workforce development in STEM. This project tackles fundamental challenges at the intersection of networking, computer systems, and security to realize the vision of NicOS. It will (1) design novel abstractions for managing on-chip resources, memory, and communication channels tailored to various NIC architectures, accompanied by runtime resource management optimized for streaming workloads

Key facts

NSF award ID
2443203
Awardee
University of Texas at Austin (TX)
SAM.gov UEI
V6AFQPN18437
PI
Daehyeok Kim
Primary program
01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
All programs
CAREER-Faculty Erly Career Dev
Estimated total
$622,738
Funds obligated
$486,579
Transaction type
Continuing Grant
Period
07/01/2025 → 06/30/2030