Eric Grosse, CSME Workshop, 24-25 March 2003

1. Eric Grosse, CSME Workshop, 24-25 March 2003 adventures in CSME at Bell Labs • Scientific Computing Research Department • Secure Networking Research Department encouraging freedom and diversity while funding CSME • freedom to use any size or style of computing • diversity of platforms • diversity of background • ambassadors • how people succeed or not

2. adventures in CSME at Bell Labs • netlib • semiconductor device and circuit simulation using domain decomposition, distributed computing • moving least squares, splines, level-aligned • visualization and sonification • non-obtuse, no-small-angle triangulation • non-destructive testing, floating point, S-C, … with physicists, statisticians, theoreticians, manufacturing engineers, businessfolk

3. Secure Networking Research Department • breaking old crypto (PKCS#1, DSA) • inventing new crypto (PAK) • protocol techniques (composability, timed release) • biometrics (voice authentication, secured models) • crypto libraries, finding subtle security holes • integration of 802.11 and 3G AAA • secure systems (Venti, Viaduct, …) • firewalls, honeypots • network mapping -------- indestructible networks and systems …

4. Security in the Plan 9 operating system, 4th ed. • Goal: system strong enough to live outside firewall • A secure place to keep your keys. • A trusted agent to handle them. • A clean way to separate security code from kernels, applications, etc. • easy to understand the model • easy to use • easy to change keys, protocols, implementation • More secure and easier to use. http://cm.bell-labs.com/plan9 USENIX Security, Aug’02; media attention after winning Best Paper continuing work with Russ Cox, Dave Presotto

5. keeping good features of Plan 9 AAA: authentication, authorization, auditing • everything is a file • Unix chmod, plus: append-only, exclusive-use, group, last-modifier • logfile is a-rw-rw-rw- • mailbox is alrw--w--w- • [rsc] --rw-rw-r-- rob sys 18624 Nov 11 12:04 /sys/include/libc.h • presented to kernel, library, remote systems by 9P2000 file protocol • get distributed computing, VPNs as natural consequence • private process-group namespaces • allows sandboxing unmount(“/net”) • Los Alamos port to native Linux; MIT and BL port to BSD; BL attempting port to Windows, as far as we can.

6. Factotum/SecureStore architecture • factotum, authentication agent acting for user or system • holds keys, performs cryptographic operations • speaks SSL, SSH, APOP, VNC, ...; proxied by application • key(proto=apop dom=lucent.com user=ehg !password=x confirm=yes) • long-term storage of keys in secstore in the network • loaded into factotum via Encrypted Key Exchange π gx H(π)mod p H(π), keys PAK gy mod p Z= (gx)y mod p Z= (gy)x mod p

7. advantages of factotum • user only has to remember one password • others are automatic and can be high-entropy random strings • PAK comes with a proof, so less chance of nasty surprise later • file on SecureStore is saved in AES CBC format • so even the sysadmin has to work hard to read your secrets • in contrast with Microsoft Passport or Liberty Alliance • other systems don’t know you’re using factotum • incremental deployment • no need to ask anybody for permission or trust freedom and diversity

8. netlib • innovations don’t last forever • in Feb 1984, state of the art was mailing mag tape • through first year or two of Web, central distribution (evolving by email, ftp, http, …) was a win • now, it’s easy for everybody to publish locally • for a while, editorial effort of collection was worthwhile • but eventually hotlists created a diverse, tailored alternative • still, many people like the netlib collection • for a while, searching was still a reason to stay centralized • AltaVista wasn’t enough, but Google is • maybe even now, Historic Netlib is an advantage • an early netlib motivation was loss of Underwood’s thesis code • Internet Archive or Historic Google will solve this eventually local demonstration… ack: Jack Dongarra and NSF

9. promoting freedom and diversity in CSME • take as given: • research directions based on deep technical understanding • resources suitable for tackling grand challenges • programs like ITR and SciDAC that promote cross-disciplinary teams • appreciation for theory, algorithms, software, data, evaluation • deltas: • freedom to use any size or style of computing • diversity of platforms, to promote software reuse • diversity of background • ambassadors • how people succeed or not Pardon my naiveté; I’m from a historically unfunded lab.

10. freedom to use any size or style of computing • Which grid to use? It depends on the technology.

11. computational equivalent of co-generation • novel sources of cycles • network processors, graphics processors • suited to early data processing, as in real-time collection • needs team of algorithm experts and software specialists • trustworthy sandboxing, portable namespaces • stability considerations as the grid changes • I-BGP oscillations • I-BGP mostly works fine, but has subtle instabilities • problems masquerade as network configuration mistakes • temptation to use quick-fix engineering patch • careful theoretical analysis gives sounder base for the future

12. definition of a distributed system In a distributed system, the failure of a computer you didn't even know existed can render your own computer unusable. Leslie Lamport build in robustness against • loss of nodes and links • unexpected input • malicious input • human error apply capacity for clever redundancy, not just large feature sets

13. electricity is fungible, computing is not • The computing debate too often focuses on the size and interconnect of CPUs. This misses a key point of networking. • a personal journey, but not atypical • 70’s • at SDRC in Ohio, calculating on CDC6500 at US Steel • at Stanford, calculating in Macsyma at MIT • 80’s • calculating on supercomputer, shared across many organizations • switched to cluster computing, driven by social factors • 90’s • calculating on laptops, driven by customers’ wishes • 00’s • building systems on hardware/software platforms far away • So CISE properly features remote access to unique data, experimental apparatus, communities of experts.

14. diversity of platforms to encourage software reuse • standing on the shoulders of giants • portable code comes not from good intentions but constant practice • supply build environments to wide community • encourage transformation tool builders to link with other grantees • we need incentives to use others’ work • human nature to build on one’s own work • consider evidence of reuse when evaluating novelty of proposals • ask about past history of effective reuse • don’t use stupid metrics • web page hits and downloads are almost meaningless • requests for help and bug reports are better • notice whose software is being cited in “past history of reuse”

15. diversity of background • Looking back over multi-disciplinary projects at Bell Labs, disproportionate success when led by women and minorities. CSME is a natural for those who’ve learned to bridge differing backgrounds. • Why so few GRPW/CRFP fellowship applications in computational science and engineering? Please encourage them! today’s NA-Digest: MIT School of Engineering position in Computational Engineering CRA Taulbee survey 35/847 = 4% of CS PhD in scientific computing

16. collecting cautionary examples • another, less benign, kind of diversity of background in CSME: people with less numerical and statistical experience • can lead to simplistic simulation attempts • as a discipline, we need to be collecting cautionary examples • test collections today often are designed for experts • to compare performance of algorithms on typical problems • need to also stress convergence criteria, violated assumptions

17. ambassadors • anecdote from approximation theory • Franke compared bivariate scattered-data interpolation methods • a winner was Hardy’s multiquadric from geophysics • beginning of flowering of research in radial basis functions • anecdote from electronic circuit simulation • splines replaced low-order tables • reduced order modeling, Pade via Lanczos • vicissitudes of business: fewer numerical people in field, and stories of missing the connections • proposal: fund senior person to reach out to other field • somewhat like distinguished lecturer programs • administered by professional societies • judge by surprising connections uncovered and theorems applied • supplement to traditional multidisciplinary teams

18. how people succeed or not • projects at Bell Labs have long been cross-discipline • who succeeds? • broad, knowledgeable, fearless individuals • people driven to see their tools in use by others • people with enough professional success to willingly share credit • supported by managers who appreciate the costs and by second level managers who also can share credit • software architects • crucial; seeing simulation projects founder without architect • Do we give architects a good career path?

19. action items • remember to promote freedom and diversity • nominate ambassadors • reward re-use • collect cautionary examples • find a career path for software architects