USENIX Courses

A Postmortem of SRE Interviewing

Insights from 110+ SRE interviews: improving the hiring process for all parties involved, from application to offer acceptance, with practical tips for candidates and companies.

• YouTube
• 33 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

Taking the 737 to the Max

Explore Boeing's decision-making process for the 737 MAX, examining key choices and their consequences to gain insights on effective team decision-making and avoiding critical errors.

• YouTube
• 34 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

Using Serverless Functions for Real-time Observability

Explore how serverless functions enhance real-time observability in large-scale systems. Learn about query engine evolution, lambda management challenges, and optimizing performance with cloud storage and parallel workers.

• YouTube
• 32 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

LDPC-in-SSD - Making Advanced Error Correction Codes Work Effectively in Solid State Drives

Explore advanced error correction techniques for solid state drives, focusing on LDPC codes to improve reliability while mitigating response time delays in NAND flash memory.

• YouTube
• 25 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

Scaling Distributed Machine Learning with the Parameter Server

Explore a framework for distributed machine learning using parameter servers, enabling scalable processing of petabyte-scale data with billions of examples and parameters across various algorithms.

• YouTube
• 24 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

CONIKS - Bringing Key Transparency to End Users

Explore CONIKS, an innovative key verification service for end-to-end encrypted communication systems, addressing privacy and efficiency challenges in user key binding consistency and provider auditing.

• YouTube
• 29 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

An Introduction to Database as a Service with an Emphasis on OpenStack Using Trove

Explore Database as a Service with OpenStack Trove, covering architecture, benefits, and practical considerations for enterprise adoption. Gain insights into DBaaS implementation and management.

• YouTube
• 45 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

It Was Never Going to Work, So Let’s Have Some Tea

Humorous exploration of large system administration challenges, advocating for embracing limitations and focusing on achievable goals instead of unrealistic expectations.

• YouTube
• 32 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

3D Tracking via Body Radio Reflections

WiTrack: Innovative system for 3D motion tracking through walls using radio reflections. Achieves high accuracy without wearables, bridging gap between RF localization and motion capture technologies.

• YouTube
• 26 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

The Moral Character of Cryptographic Work

Exploring cryptography's political and moral dimensions, emphasizing its power to reshape societal structures and calling for a renewed focus on addressing mass surveillance through innovative research and ethical considerations.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 48 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

Consul as a Monitoring Solution

Explore Consul's advanced monitoring capabilities, including intelligent health checks, automatic traffic routing, and problem-solving without human intervention for efficient cluster management.

• YouTube
• 41 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

The Knowledge - Towards a Culture of Engineering Documentation

Strategies for improving engineering documentation: building platforms, integrating with toolchains, and fostering a culture where documentation is essential to development.

• YouTube
• 40 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

So You Want to Be a Wizard

Discover strategies for effective debugging, information gathering, and problem-solving in SRE. Learn to leverage curiosity, source code analysis, and organizational understanding to excel in your role.

• YouTube
• 36 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

Reliable Data Processing with Minimal Toil

Explore strategies for safer, automated batch job processing across millions of users, featuring insights from Google and Slack on canarying, rollouts, and validations.

• YouTube
• 30 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

Improving Observability in Your Observability - Simple Tips for SREs

Practical tips for SREs to enhance data visualization in dashboards, drawing inspiration from historical figures and avoiding common pitfalls to improve information density and credibility.

• YouTube
• 26 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk