Victor Bahl

Technical Fellow & Chief Technology Officer, Azure for Operators

About

I have one of the best jobs in the industry – pursuing un-tethered research, setting the vision, shepherding brilliant researchers and helping shape Microsoft’s long-term strategy through research, industry partnerships, and associated policy engagement with governments and research institutions around the world.

I pursue research in a variety of topics including: 5G (converging cloud & communications industries), edge computing, live video analytics, mobile computing, wireless systems, cloud services and data center networking & management. Over my career I have built a number of seminal and highly-cited systems, published prolifically in top computer science conferences and journals, authored/co-authored over 165 U.S. patents, given close to five dozen keynotes (including a commencement speech at a major public university), received several prestigious awards and honor (including four lifetime achievement awards), and engaged in significant professional and company-wide leadership activities.

On a personal front, my wife Ritu is the founder & CEO of Computing Kids whose mission is to empower every student in every school by teaching them computer science and its applications. In 2015 my wife & I co-founded a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization Computing For All (CFA), whose mission is to break down cultural and systemic social barriers that prevent young adults of all races, genders, and abilities from exploring computer science as a potential career.

Follow @SuperBahl

I gave this keynote just 4 weeks ago, but with #COVID19, it seems like an eternity It was great fun to engage with participants @SAIConference FICC2020 & yes I strongly believe resistance is futile, convergence is inevitable. (#EdgeComputing #5G #videoanalytics #Telecom) https://t.co/JkSpYoFafN

— Victor Bahl (@SuperBahl) April 2, 2020

From Victor's Desk

The Genesis of Edge Computing (Podcast)

October 1, 2020 - Victor Bahl is one of the fathers of edge computing. His seminal 2009 paper spawned the vision for what we now call edge. In this interview Victor shares the story behind the genesis of that paper, and his experience of the evolution of edge computing in the years since.

Rocket is Open Source

January 22, 2020 - Rocket allows rapid construction of video pipelines for efficiently processing live video streams – with the goal of making it easy and affordable for anyone with a camera to benefit from video analytics.

High performance container networking

February 26, 2019 - A container is an isolated execution environment on a Linux host. Until recently, container networking solutions had either poor performance or poor portability, which undermined some of the advantages of containerization.

Microsoft's Victor Bahl on the past & future of the Internet

February 6, 2019 - 20 years is an eternity in the life of the internet. Back then, Microsoft researcher Victor Bahl was working on the first public Wi-Fi hotspot. Hear how Bahl continues to work on understanding and improving the systems behind the internet.

10 years, but we are just getting started

October 19, 2018 - Bahl shares thoughts on the history, advancements, and future of edge computing.

A brief history of networking with Dr. Victor Bahl

Episode 37, August 15, 2018 - Today, in our first live podcast, recorded at the Microsoft Research Faculty Summit 2018, Dr. Bahl shares some fascinating stories from his long and illustrious career, gives us an inside look at what’s new in networking, and, explains why, in an industry where it pays to be the smartest person in the room, it’s important to be a world-class listener.

Reliable Networking in the Cloud

August 24, 2018 - A discussion with Victor Bahl, Distinguished Scientist, Microsoft Research and Albert Greenberg, Corporate Vice President, Azure Networking on how they are focused on cloud availability, why network emulation is more important than ever before and how the Open Network Emulator brings us to a new level of cloud reliability.