dc.contributor.advisor | Steinmeyer, Joseph D. | |
dc.contributor.author | Lang, Jay | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2023-07-31T19:37:45Z | |
dc.date.available | 2023-07-31T19:37:45Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2023-06 | |
dc.date.submitted | 2023-06-06T16:35:30.752Z | |
dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/151412 | |
dc.description.abstract | In this thesis, we investigate the deployment of real-world Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools in the digital design classroom. Hands-on experience with these tools is essential to prepare students for state-of-the-art research and industry settings. However, modern EDA tools such as Xilinx’s Vivado have limited to no compatibility with a broad subset of architectures and operating systems used by students. Past digital design courses have sidestepped this problem by providing a lab space stocked with research-grade computers - however, this solution is incompatible with trends in remote and hybrid learning in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Accordingly, we have designed and implemented lab-bc, a serverless computing platform which allows our students to invoke industry-standard EDA tooling remotely. Our system is significant in that it provides locality transparency: in contrast to existing remote interfaces, students may invoke tools like Vivado as if they are installed on their own devices. This interface grants students the generality, ease-of-use, and performance of a local installation regardless of the hardware they own. lab-bc is deployed onto a set of excess servers in our lab space, where despite frequent spinning disk failures and unreliable power delivery, the system provides high-performance, strongly-sandboxed Vivado instances to MIT students nationwide. | |
dc.publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | |
dc.rights | Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) | |
dc.rights | Copyright retained by author(s) | |
dc.rights.uri | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | |
dc.title | Lab-bc: A Serverless Computing Platform for MIT
Educators | |
dc.type | Thesis | |
dc.description.degree | M.Eng. | |
dc.contributor.department | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | |
mit.thesis.degree | Master | |
thesis.degree.name | Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | |