Arpit Gupta

As a systems researcher, I design and build easy-to-use, scalable, and deployable systems that solve real-world problems at the intersection of networking, cybersecurity, and machine learning.

First, I identify real-world issues that network operators and vendors face while working “in the trenches” and understand their practical constraints. I then design innovative and provable solutions to these problems using various theoretical techniques (e.g., optimization, graph theory, machine learning) and emerging technologies (e.g., programmable data plane, scalable stream processors). Finally, I build practical systems with minimal deployment overhead. My systems and the software packages I wrote are widely used in both academia and industry. For example, my software-defined Internet exchange point (IXP) prototype is used by many IXP operators across the globe. 

Currently, my research revolves around answering the question, "How can networks run themselves?"  Conventional network management tools and practices built for much simpler networks are ill-suited to handle increased complexity, attributable to the proliferation of networked devices (e.g., Internet-of-Things), systems (e.g., container networks), and applications (e.g., augmented or virtual reality) in recent years. To satisfy the increased security, availability, and performance requirements of modern networks, my goal is to design and build self-driving networks that automatically (with no or little humans intervention) make holistic (not protocol-specific) control decisions in real time.