# Transparency in Hardware/Software Interfaces

- Show: [Oxide and Friends](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends)
- Published: 2025-02-28
- Length: 1h 48m
- Episode: 7
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-02-28-transparency-in-hardware-software-interfaces
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/b4a76a8b

## Summary

Bryan Cantrill and Adam Leventhal of Oxide Computer Company, joined by colleague Ryan Goodfellow, discuss the critical need for transparency in hardware/software interfaces, arguing that proprietary control interfaces create opaque 'blobs' that hinder debugging and ecosystem growth. They detail their frustrations with Intel's Tofino switch silicon and the lack of documentation for components like the STM32 and LPC55s69, contrasting these with the open documentation provided by STMicroelectronics. The episode outlines a tiered approach to transparency—from public documentation to open-source compilers—and debunks common vendor objections regarding security, support burdens, and IP protection, citing Joy's Law to emphasize that more smart people work outside a company than inside it.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-02-28-transparency-in-hardware-software-interfaces#t=0) Introduction: ChatGPT, Gemini, and RFD 552
- [13:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-02-28-transparency-in-hardware-software-interfaces#t=786) The Problem with Proprietary Silicon Interfaces
- [28:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-02-28-transparency-in-hardware-software-interfaces#t=1716) Control Interfaces vs. Instruction Set Architectures
- [38:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-02-28-transparency-in-hardware-software-interfaces#t=2285) Case Study: Intel Tofino and DPDK
- [48:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-02-28-transparency-in-hardware-software-interfaces#t=2923) The Transparency Tiers: Documentation to Reverse Engineering
- [1:04:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-02-28-transparency-in-hardware-software-interfaces#t=3843) Debunking Vendor Objections: Security and Support
- [1:21:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-02-28-transparency-in-hardware-software-interfaces#t=4867) The Unstated Arguments: Fear and Inadequacy
- [1:35:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-02-28-transparency-in-hardware-software-interfaces#t=5733) Joy's Law and Building Ecosystems

## Topics

- [Security & privacy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/security-and-privacy)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [Intellectual property](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/intellectual-property)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Oxide Computer Company (company)
- Intel (company)
- Tofino (chip)
- STMicroelectronics (company)
- STM32 (chip)
- LPC55s69 (chip)
- AMD (company)
- OpenSIL (product)
- NVIDIA (company)
- CUDA (product)
- PTX (product)
- Lattice (company)
- Netronome (company)
- Cumulus Linux (product)
- DPDK (product)
- ChatGPT (tool)
- Gemini (tool)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [010 - T0015! Part 0x3 - Debug Interfaces](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2018-05-15-010-t0015-part-0x3-debug-interfaces) (Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast)
- [058 - Technically Met the Specs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2022-06-15-058-technically-met-the-specs) (Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast)
- [Don't Turn It On, Don't Take It Apart](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-05-13-dont-turn-it-on-dont-take-it-apart) (The Amp Hour)
- [342: That Girl's Brain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2020-08-27-342-that-girls-brain) (Embedded.fm)
- [Hardware, Surveys and Giveaways - Radular Rental Ranting](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-03-13-hardware-surveys-and-giveaways-radular-rental-ranting) (The Amp Hour)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-02-28-transparency-in-hardware-software-interfaces. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Oxide and Friends.