Viraj is usually tinkering with hardware and software. Always looking towards working at the intersection of new, exciting and stressful.

His research focused on disaggregated database systems, tuning LSM-KVS, cutting edge hardware devices (SMR, ZNS), and integration of modern AI techniques in database systems.

Publications

Probe Less, Learn More: Characterizing and Correcting eBPF Instrumentation Overhead
Viraj Thakkar, Timo Sokler, John Byrne, MJ Son, Sekwon Lee, Harumi Kuno, Aditya Dhakal
ProTools Workshop @ SC 2026   ·   To Appear
TellyTune: Exploring the Limits of LLM-Assisted Tuning for LSM-Based Key-Value Stores
Viraj Thakkar, Qi Lin, Kenanya Prasetyo, Haryosatyo Wisjnunandono, Jin Wang, Achmad Imam Kistijantoro, Reza Fuad Rachmadi, Zhichao Cao
ACM SYSTOR 2026   ·   02 Sep 2026   ·   doi:10.1145/3793230.3839381
ANCHOR: A Vision for Secure Persistent Key-Value Stores in Disaggregated Data Centers
Viraj Thakkar, Dongha Kim, Hokeun Kim, Zhichao Cao
ACM SeQureDB 2026   ·   To Appear   ·   Preprint (arXiv:2608.27819)
O3-LSM: Maximizing Disaggregated LSM Write Performance via Three-Layer Offloading
Qi Lin, Gangqi Huang, Te Guo, Chang Guo, Viraj Thakkar, Zichen Zhu, Jianguo Wang, Zhichao Cao
ACM SIGMOD 2026   ·   18 May 2026   ·   doi:10.1145/3802093
SHIELD: Encrypting Persistent Data of LSM-KVS from Monolithic to Disaggregated Storage
Viraj Thakkar, Dongha Kim, Yingchun Lai, Hokeun Kim, Zhichao Cao
ACM SIGMOD 2025   ·   17 Jun 2025   ·   doi:10.1145/3725354
Can Modern LLMs Tune and Configure LSM-based Key-Value Stores?
Viraj Thakkar, Madhumitha Sukumar, Jiaxin Dai, Kaushiki Singh, Zhichao Cao
ACM HotStorage 2024   ·   08 Jul 2024   ·   doi:10.1145/3655038.3665954
CaaS-LSM: Compaction-as-a-Service for LSM-based Key-Value Stores in Storage Disaggregated Infrastructure
Qiaolin Yu, Chang Guo, Jay Zhuang, Viraj Thakkar, Jianguo Wang, Zhichao Cao
ACM SIGMOD 2024   ·   29 May 2024   ·   doi:10.1145/3654927