110: Rick Altherr

Date: 2024-04-24

Duration: 02:16:38

Rick Altherr joins to talk about working on hardware performance analysis tools at Apple during the PowerPC to x86 transition, building flight control software for internet satellites at Google, discovering vulnerabilities in baseboard management controllers, and much more. We also spend an extended portion of the conversation on Rick’s current work in quantum computing, including comparing and contrasting with classical computing, and examining some of the challenges of interfacing with these machines today.

Rick’s Site: https://www.kc8apf.net/

Rick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mxshift/

Rick on Mastodon: https://social.treehouse.systems/@mxshift

Rick on GitHub: https://github.com/mx-shift

Rick’s Mentoring Sign-Up: https://calendly.com/mxshift

Show Notes

Welcome Rick (00:01:45)
Rick on On the Metal Podcast (00:02:02)
- https://oxide.computer/podcasts/on-the-metal/rick-altherr
The Amp Hour Podcast (00:02:12)
- https://theamphour.com/357-an-interview-with-rick-altherr/
Introduction to Computing (00:02:44)
Growing up in a Family of Auto Mechanics (00:03:01)
Wurlitzer Hope-Jones Unit Orchestra (00:03:18)
- https://www.netoa.org.uk/organ/what-is-a-wurlitzer-theatre-pipe-organ/)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hope-Jones
Hanging out in the Computer Store (00:04:17)
Intel 80286 (00:04:38)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_80286
Working at the Local ISP (00:05:03)
Choosing Computer Science over Computer Engineering (00:05:34)
Intel 8086 (00:05:54)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_8086
Intel 80386 (i386) (00:06:12)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I386
BASIC (00:06:19)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BASIC
Exposure to Computing Growing Up in the Midwest (00:06:40)
QBasic (00:06:57)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QBasic
DOS (00:06:59)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOS
Cisco CCNA Courses (00:08:17)
- https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/learn/training-certifications/certifications/enterprise/ccna/index.html
TI Calculators (00:09:20)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Texas_Instruments_graphing_calculators
Decision to Study Computer Science (00:10:35)
Computer Science Curriculum at University of Cincinnati (00:12:19)
- https://ceas.uc.edu/academics/departments/computer-science.html
Nathanael Huffman on the Microarch Club (00:13:04)
- https://microarch.club/episodes/100/
Co-Op Program at University of Cincinnati (00:13:06)
- https://www.uc.edu/co-op.html
Getting an Internship at Apple (00:13:27)
Working on Performance Analysis at Apple (00:16:24)
Hardware Performance Counters (00:16:38)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardware_performance_counter
PowerPC 970 (00:16:39)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PowerPC_970
Writing the IBM Performance Counter Documentation (00:17:11)
Power Mac G5 (00:17:30)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Mac_G5
Out of Order Processor (00:17:37)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out-of-order_execution
CHUD Tools (00:18:03)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Developer_Tools#Computer_Hardware_Understanding_Development_Tools)
- https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/Performance/Conceptual/PerformanceOverview/PerformanceTools/PerformanceTools.html
C.H.U.D. (1984) (00:18:51)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.H.U.D.
Apple Transition from PowerPC to x86 (00:19:51)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_transition_to_Intel_processors
Migrating Tooling to x86 (00:20:56)
Cycle Accurate Simulation (00:21:27)
- https://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/questions/1191/what-exactly-is-a-cycle-accurate-emulator
Endianness (00:22:13)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endianness
Beginning of iPhone Development (00:22:28)
ARM (00:22:34)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARM_architecture_family
Secrecy at Apple (00:22:59)
Working with Adobe on Photoshop (00:25:05)
Rock Band Performance Bug (00:25:30)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Band
System X (G5 Supercomputing Cluster) (00:26:10)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_X_(supercomputer)
Apple Instruments (00:27:50)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instruments_(software)
Decision to Join Google (00:28:11)
Analyzing Performance of Single Machine vs. Data Center Scale Systems (00:29:23)
Internal Tooling at Google (00:30:35)
Google Server System Software (00:31:35)
Matt Godbolt on the Microarch Club (00:32:21)
- https://microarch.club/episodes/101/
Micro-Optimizations at Google Scale (00:32:34)
Google Search Auto-Complete (00:33:06)
CPU Scheduler Bug (00:33:43)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheduling_(computing)
Allocating Unused PCIe Pins for USB (00:34:13)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express
SR-IOV (00:34:38)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-root_input/output_virtualization
MR-IOV (00:35:04)
- https://www.embedded.com/using-multi-root-mr-pcie-to-extend-nextgen-multi-host-storage-server-switch-fabrics/
Open Compute Project (00:35:41)
- https://www.opencompute.org/
OpenBMC (00:35:48)
- https://www.openbmc.org/
Barreleye G2 (00:35:53)
Zaius (00:35:56)
- https://github.com/opencomputeproject/zaius-barreleye-g2
IBM Power 8 (00:36:00)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/POWER8
Baseband Management Controller (BMC) (00:36:14)
- https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/baseboard-management-controller
Google Server Architecture (00:37:56)
Server Architecture Mirrors Organizational Responsibilities (00:38:14)
Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) (00:38:51)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_Platform_Management_Interface
Lights Out Management (00:40:15)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out-of-band_management
ipmitool (00:41:08)
- https://github.com/ipmitool/ipmitool
Redfish (00:41:31)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redfish_(specification)
BMCs Outside of the Data Center (00:42:01)
Active Management Technology (AMT) (00:43:05)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Active_Management_Technology
Working on Flight Control Software at Google (00:44:18)
Building Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellite Internet (00:45:10)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Earth_orbit
Starlink (00:45:22)
- https://www.starlink.com/
Spatial Temporal Software Defined Network (00:47:28)
Project Loon (00:47:58)
- https://x.company/projects/loon/
Why Satellite Internet Didn’t Work at Google (00:48:25)
Collision Avoidance in Space (00:49:53)
Architecture of an Internet Satellite (00:50:37)
Firmware Update Process for Satellites (00:52:05)
Working on Open Source FPGA Tooling (00:53:09)
- https://f4pga.org/
The Aspeed / Nuvoton BMC Duopoly (00:54:29)
- https://www.aspeedtech.com/)
- https://www.nuvoton.com/
Google Axion Arm Processors (00:55:25)
- https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/compute/introducing-googles-new-arm-based-cpu
Bart Sano (00:55:35)
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-sano-90954/
Tim Ansell (00:56:00)
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/mithro/
Reverse Engineering FPGA Chips (00:56:45)
prjxray (00:56:56)
- https://github.com/f4pga/prjxray
Claire Wolf (00:57:03)
- https://www.clairexen.net/
Verilog (00:57:45)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verilog
Xilinx 7 Series FPGAs (00:58:53)
- https://docs.amd.com/v/u/en-US/7-series-product-selection-guide
Modern Hardware Description Languages (HDL) (00:59:12)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardware_description_language
Symbiflow (00:59:35)
- https://github.com/SymbiFlow
Whitequark (01:00:13)
- https://github.com/whitequark
Amaranth HDL (01:00:15)
- https://github.com/amaranth-lang/amaranth
SystemVerilog (01:00:46)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SystemVerilog
Yosys (01:01:20)
- https://github.com/YosysHQ/yosys
nextpnr (01:01:21)
- https://github.com/YosysHQ/nextpnr
Decision to Leave Google (01:01:42)
Getting Involved in Hardware and Firmware Security (01:02:47)
Aurora Attacks (01:03:41)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Aurora
How Do You Know That Hardware Can Be Trusted? (01:04:52)
OpenTitan (01:05:31)
- https://opentitan.org/
Root of Trust (RoT) (01:05:39)
- https://www.rambus.com/blogs/hardware-root-of-trust/
How Project Titan Works (01:06:16)
- https://research.google/pubs/a-vendor-agnostic-root-of-trust-for-measurement/
UEFI Secure Boot (01:06:33)
- https://access.redhat.com/articles/5254641
Intel Boot Guard (01:06:39)
- https://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/central-libraries/us/en/documents/below-the-os-security-white-paper.pdf
First Instruction Integrity (01:06:43)
- https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3380774.3382016
Prevention vs. Detection vs. Remediation (01:07:34)
Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) (01:08:15)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_Peripheral_Interface
SPI Speed (01:09:53)
Trusted Platform Module (TPM) (01:10:26)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trusted_Platform_Module
Research vs. Engineering (01:10:58)
Eclypsium (01:11:17)
- https://eclypsium.com/
Security Research Business Model (01:12:40)
USBAnywhere (01:14:54)
- https://github.com/eclypsium/USBAnywhere
USB Emulation (01:16:07)
USB On-the-Go (OTG) (01:16:22)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_On-The-Go
Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) (01:17:52)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCSI
WebSocket (01:18:15)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebSocket
Java Native Interface (JNI) (01:18:50)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_Native_Interface
ami (01:19:17)
- https://www.ami.com/
Vertiv (01:19:19)
- https://www.vertiv.com/
Facedancer (01:20:11)
- https://github.com/greatscottgadgets/facedancer
Reception to USBAnywhere (01:21:18)
Joining Oxide Computer Company (01:23:40)
- https://oxide.computer/
Jessie Frazelle (01:24:44)
- https://jessfraz.com/
Bryan Cantrill (01:24:55)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Cantrill
Open Compute Project as a Product (01:27:20)
Oxide’s Alternative to a Traditional BMC (01:28:23)
- https://oxide.computer/podcasts/oxide-and-friends/1084759
Rack Scale Computing (01:29:59)
- https://oxide.computer/podcasts/oxide-and-friends/1231631
Ignition FPGA (01:30:48)
FPGA and Microcontrollers on the Oxide Server Board (01:31:25)
NXP LPC55S69 (01:33:40)
- https://www.nxp.com/products/processors-and-microcontrollers/arm-microcontrollers/general-purpose-mcus/lpc5500-arm-cortex-m33/high-efficiency-arm-cortex-m33-based-microcontroller-family:LPC55S6x
Discovering Vulnerabilities in the Root of Trust (01:34:13)
- https://oxide.computer/blog/exploiting-undocumented-hardware-blocks-in-the-lpc55s69)
- https://oxide.computer/blog/another-vulnerability-in-the-lpc55s69-rom
Decapping (01:34:43)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decapping
Physically Unclonable Function (PUF) (01:35:14)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_unclonable_function
Reverse Engineering ROM (01:36:47)
- https://ghidra-sre.org/
Vulnerability Disclosure (01:37:44)
DefCon Talk (01:37:55)
- https://youtu.be/eKKgaGbcq4o
Dumping and Analyzing ROM (01:38:24)
Joining IONQ (01:39:56)
- https://ionq.com/
How Quantum Computing Works (01:40:47)
quantum.country Tutorial (01:42:22)
- https://quantum.country/
Quantum Mechanics (01:42:39)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mechanics
Qubits (01:42:57)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qubit
Bloch Sphere (01:43:12)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloch_sphere
Unit Sphere (01:43:35)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_sphere
Quantum Computing Theory vs. Practice (01:45:05)
Current State of Quantum Computers (01:45:22)
Relay Computers (01:45:48)
- https://en.wikichip.org/wiki/relay_computer
Vacuum Tubes (01:45:50)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum-tube_computer
Williams Tubes (01:45:54)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_tube
Mercury Delay Lines (01:45:57)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delay-line_memory
Transmons (01:46:06)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmon
Trapped Ions (01:46:09)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trapped-ion_quantum_computer
Using Binary in Classical Computing (01:46:34)
Ytterbium (01:47:06)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ytterbium
IONQ Learning Resources (01:49:45)
- https://ionq.com/technology)
- https://ionq.com/resources/glossary
Entanglement (01:51:08)
- https://spectrum.ieee.org/what-is-quantum-entanglement
Q Gate (01:51:43)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_logic_gate
Teleportation (01:54:26)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_teleportation
Instruction Set of Quantum Computers (01:56:32)
Comparison to VLIW Processors (01:59:40)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very_long_instruction_word
Quantum Error Correction (QEC) (02:01:28)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_error_correction
Hybrid Quantum Computing (02:02:09)
- https://ionq.com/resources/what-is-hybrid-quantum-computing
Experience of Using Quantum Computers Today (02:07:45)
Qiskit (02:08:50)
- https://www.ibm.com/quantum/qiskit
AWS Braket (02:08:56)
- https://aws.amazon.com/braket/
Mentorship (02:10:42)
- https://calendly.com/mxshift
Sharing Work Publicly (02:13:23)
- https://youtu.be/qV3KnpuRdQk
99% Invisible Podcast (02:14:48)
- https://99percentinvisible.org/

Transcript

Coming soon.