#201 The Database is the Operating System with Mike Stonebraker, CTO & Co-Founder At DBOS

Apr 25, 2024

In this engaging discussion, Mike Stonebraker, a pioneering computer scientist and co-founder of DBOS, dives into the revolutionary idea of building operating systems on database foundations. He tackles the challenges of 'Heisen bugs' in database systems and how SQL-based architectures can solve these issues. Stonebraker also highlights the transformative potential of database-focused OS for app development and cybersecurity, emphasizing their ability to enhance efficiency and reduce vulnerabilities. His journey from academia to entrepreneurship adds a personal touch, showcasing his drive to impact the tech landscape.

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INSIGHT

OS State Management

Operating system state management has become a database problem due to a massive increase in resources.
Modern operating systems struggle with scalability and legacy code, making a database-centric approach necessary.

ANECDOTE

Once and Only Once

A regional bank's application logic is one-third to one-half dedicated to ensuring "once and only once" transactionality.
DBOS automatically addresses this by controlling all parts of the interaction within the database.

ANECDOTE

Ransomware Recovery

A large enterprise with a complex security system experiences hours of delay in ransomware attack response.
DBOS offers automatic recovery from ransomware attacks by storing all OS and application state in the database.

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Databases are ubiquitous, and you don’t need to be a data practitioner to know that all data everywhere is stored in a database—or is it? While the majority of data around the world lives in a database, the data that helps run the heart of our operating systems—the core functions of our computers— is not stored in the same place as everywhere else. This is due to database storage sitting ‘above’ the operating system, requiring the OS to run before the databases can be used. But what if the OS was built ‘on top’ of a database? What difference could this fundamental change make to how we use computers?

Mike Stonebraker is a distinguished computer scientist known for his foundational work in database systems, he is also currently CTO & Co-Founder At DBOS. His extensive career includes significant contributions through academic prototypes and commercial startups, leading to the creation of several pivotal relational database companies such as Ingres Corporation, Illustra, Paradigm4, StreamBase Systems, Tamr, Vertica, and VoltDB. Stonebraker's role as chief technical officer at Informix and his influential research earned him the prestigious 2014 Turing Award.

Stonebraker's professional journey spans two major phases: initially at the University of California, Berkeley, focusing on relational database management systems like Ingres and Postgres, and later, from 2001 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he pioneered advanced data management techniques including C-Store, H-Store, SciDB, and DBOS. He remains a professor emeritus at UC Berkeley and continues to influence as an adjunct professor at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Stonebraker is also recognized for his editorial work on the book "Readings in Database Systems."

In the episode, Richie and Mike explore the the success of PostgreSQL, the evolution of SQL databases, the shift towards cloud computing and what that means in practice when migrating to the cloud, the impact of disaggregated storage, software and serverless trends, the role of databases in facilitating new data and AI trends, DBOS and it’s advantages for security, and much more.

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