Professor of Networked Systems at UCL and Networks at OpenAI

Joined May 2012
There is a lot of news about compute being the bottleneck for AI. There is less visibility into the engineering it takes to make large-scale compute actually work reliably. In my view, this is one of the most interesting computer science problems in the industry right now. It is not just about getting more GPUs. It is about making every layer of the system work: networking, scheduling, hardware health, storage, orchestration, reliability, observability, security, and the developer experience for researchers. This blog gives a rare preview into the depth of engineering happening across the stack at OpenAI, starting with MRC and supercomputer networking. We're excited to start sharing more about designing, building, and operating compute at planet scale. openai.com/index/mrc-superco… Join us: openai.com/careers/software-…
AI supercomputers need a new kind of network to stay in sync at massive scale. OpenAI’s @markjhandley and @poyntingatgreg join @AndrewMayne to discuss what it takes to move data across record numbers of chips reliably and efficiently, the new Multipath Reliable Connection (MRC) networking protocol, and why it's available for the whole industry to use.
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Mark Handley retweeted
AI supercomputers need a new kind of network to stay in sync at massive scale. OpenAI’s @markjhandley and @poyntingatgreg join @AndrewMayne to discuss what it takes to move data across record numbers of chips reliably and efficiently, the new Multipath Reliable Connection (MRC) networking protocol, and why it's available for the whole industry to use.
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Mark Handley retweeted
We’ve partnered with @AMD, @Broadcom, @Intel, @Microsoft, and @NVIDIA, to release Multipath Reliable Connection (MRC), a new open networking protocol that helps large AI training clusters run faster and more reliably, with less wasted GPU time. openai.com/index/mrc-superco…
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Excited to be able to share what I've been working on for the last few years!
Today we shared MRC (openai.com/index/mrc-superco…), a networking protocol developed with @Microsoft, @nvidia, @AMD, @Broadcom, and @intel to improve how large AI training systems move data and recover from failures. This innovation has come full circle for me personally, it was initiated by @OpenAI with my team at @intel then when I was leading the networking business there and it's great to see it come to life at scale! As training clusters scale, networking becomes a critical part of overall compute efficiency. It is not enough to add more capacity. You also need systems that keep jobs running reliably, use bandwidth well, and reduce wasted GPU time. MRC is one example of the kind of infrastructure work required to make frontier model training more efficient and more resilient. It reflects a broader view we have at OpenAI: progress in AI depends not just on better models, but on better compute systems across the stack.
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When I became a wheelchair user, I thought coastline trails had become inaccessible to me. Fortunately, I was wrong! On a three day adventure in North Wales, I explored some of the accessible sections of @WalesCoastPath for @countrylivinguk: countryliving.com/uk/wildlif…
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Mark Handley retweeted
this is the alcohol / politics / statistics crossover we’ve all been waiting for
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Not often you see an aurora over the Thames
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One more - I like the banding on this one
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These are taken on a Oneplus Nord 2T in manual mode: 30 second exposure, 100 iso. I'm really impressed what this 2 year old mid-range phone can do!
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Aurora is getting even better!
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Aurora over London!
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Replying to @rossjanderson
@rossjanderson Professor Ross Anderson, FRS, FREng Dear friend and treasured long term campaigner for privacy and security, Professor of Security Engineering at Cambridge University and Edinburgh University, Lovelace Medal winner, has died suddenly at home in Cambridge.
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My uncle @MarkJHandley turned up this weekend with an all-terrain wheelchair he's designed & made! Can't express what it means to be back on my favourite trails. Getting my freedom back one muddy path at a time 💛
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Suspiciously long journey our rental car did on the 25th. Either the sleigh wasn't working this year, or Kia's software has a bug.
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Just realised it's more than three years since I fixed a failed Mac Mini by baking it in the oven to reflow the solder. Surprised and happy to report it's still going strong (mostly used as an Octoprint server for my 3d printer). #cantbelieveitstillworks
When needs must: repaired failed Mac by heating logic board in the oven at 200C for 8 minutes to reflow solder. Typing this on it now. #cantbelieveitworked
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Got this Bard answer via @larrypress. I've done space nets research, but: - This paper doesn't exist - Space Communications last issue was 2013 - I've never been at Bristol Uni - I don't work on optics But, #HeyGoogle, could you hallucinate citations for it in Google Scholar...
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Mark Handley retweeted
In the past 10 years, Japan has moved at a tremendous pace to install elevators & escalators in subway and train stations for the disabled and the elderly. These wheelchair accessible escalators are unique to Japan [read more: buff.ly/3G1WQXW]
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The ILCAs seem oblivious to the cuckoo in their nest @UKLA_ILCA_UK
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