Decentralized and Stateful Serverless Computing on the Internet Computer Blockchain

Explore a conference talk from USENIX ATC '23 that delves into the Internet Computer (IC), a revolutionary decentralized blockchain-based platform for executing general-purpose applications. Learn how the IC challenges traditional serverless computing by offering decentralized stateful serverless computation across untrusted, independent datacenters. Discover the unique features of IC's programming model, which allows developers to deploy stateful canisters using modern languages like Rust or Python, while automatically maintaining state without developer intervention. Gain insights into the significant systems challenges addressed to enable efficient decentralized stateful serverless computation, including scalability, stateful execution through orthogonal persistence, and deterministic scheduling. Examine the design of the IC and analyze operational data gathered over 1.5 years, along with performance metrics. This 21-minute presentation by experts from DFINITY in Zurich provides a comprehensive overview of the Internet Computer's innovative approach to decentralized computing.