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Architectural Paradigm Shift

TAHO represents a fundamental rethinking of distributed computing infrastructure. While traditional platforms like Kubernetes operate at the container level with coarse-grained resource allocation, TAHO operates at the thread level – providing unprecedented control and efficiency.
Key Insight: By operating below the OS process level and using WebAssembly for secure isolation, TAHO eliminates entire layers of overhead present in traditional systems.

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Core Architecture Components

TAHO Federated Architecture

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1. Federated WebAssembly Components

TAHO’s Distributed Application Runtime introduces a modular, federated approach to executing WebAssembly workloads across diverse infrastructure:

Guest Components

WebAssembly Modules
  • Polyglot language support (Rust, Python, JS, Go, etc.)
  • Secure sandboxed execution
  • Near-native performance
  • Portable across all hardware

Host Actors

Execution Management
  • Resource allocation and lifecycle control
  • Policy enforcement
  • Orders-of-magnitude faster cold starts
  • Memory-safe isolation

Service Actors

System Services
  • Distributed cache
  • Service discovery
  • Data federation
  • Real-time coordination

Federation Server

Control Plane
  • Zero-downtime deployment
  • DDS/ROS 2 messaging
  • Self-healing mesh
  • Global consistency

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2. Hexagonal Architecture Pattern

TAHO adopts a port-and-adapter architecture that cleanly separates business logic from technical infrastructure: Benefits:
  • Independent Evolution: Business and technical layers can change independently
  • Extensibility: New adapters can be added without modifying core logic
  • Testability: Business logic can be tested in isolation
  • Reusability: Adapters can be shared across components

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Revolutionary Design Principles

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1. Thread-Level Operation

Unlike container-based systems, TAHO operates at the thread level within the host runtime: 
Node → OS → Container Runtime → Container → Process → Threads
  • Heavy resource overhead per container
  • Slow startup (seconds to minutes)
  • Coarse-grained scheduling
  • Poor resource sharing

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2. Ephemeral, Memory-First Design

TAHO minimizes disk footprint through revolutionary design choices:
Traditional Approach: Store container images on disk (GB+ per image), load into memory on start, significant I/O bottleneck
TAHO Approach: Stream components over network, load directly into memory, zero disk footprint for workloads
Benefits:
  • Instant Deployment: No waiting for image downloads
  • Reduced I/O: Eliminate disk bottlenecks
  • Dynamic Scaling: Components load on-demand
  • Stateless Nodes: Any node can run any workload

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3. Federated Mesh Architecture

TAHO creates a unified compute fabric across heterogeneous infrastructure: Key Features:
  • Brokerless Discovery: DDS-based multicast for instant node discovery
  • Self-Healing: Automatic failover with libp2p networking
  • Location Transparency: Workloads run anywhere in the mesh
  • Multi-Cloud Native: Seamless operation across clouds

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Technical Architecture Deep Dive

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Runtime Layer Stack

1

Hardware Layer

Fully Abstracted Resources
  • CPU, GPU, RAM, Storage
  • From local servers to multi-cloud
  • Unified resource pool
2

Operating System

Current: Runs on Linux/macOS/Windows Future: Built into OS as Federation Server
3

TAHO Runtime

High-Performance Execution
  • WebAssembly runtimes (WasmTime, WasmEdge, Wasm-Micro)
  • Embedded orchestration
  • Resource federation
  • Closed-loop automation
4

Application Layer

Seamless Integration
  • Coexists with Docker/K8s
  • WIT interface definitions
  • Language-agnostic components

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Component Communication

TAHO uses WebAssembly Interface Types (WIT) for component interaction: 
package taho:component;

interface service {
  // Synchronous request/response
  handle-request: func(request: request) -> result<response, error>;
  
  // Asynchronous messaging
  publish-event: func(event: event) -> result<_, error>;
  subscribe-events: func(topic: string) -> result<stream<event>, error>;
}

world component {
  import logging;
  import metrics;
  import storage;
  
  export service;
}

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Resource Management

TAHO’s decentralized scheduler provides intelligent resource allocation:

Real-Time Scheduling

  • Microsecond placement decisions
  • Load-aware distribution
  • Locality optimization
  • QoS enforcement

Dynamic Migration

  • Live thread migration
  • Zero-downtime rebalancing
  • Automatic scaling
  • Fault tolerance

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Security Model

TAHO provides defense-in-depth security through WebAssembly isolation:
  • Memory Safety: Each component has isolated linear memory
  • Capability-Based: No ambient authority, explicit permissions
  • Sandboxed Execution: No direct system calls
  • Zero-Trust Networking: Encrypted mesh communication

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Performance Characteristics

Based on measured benchmarks and conservative estimates:
MetricTraditionalTAHOImprovement
Cold Start2-30 seconds<100μs1000x faster
Warm Start500ms<10μs50x faster
Scale to 10005+ minutes<1 second300x faster

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Comparison with Incumbent Platforms

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vs. Kubernetes/OpenShift

Kubernetes Limitations:
  • Container-level granularity (coarse resource allocation)
  • Complex orchestration requiring extensive expertise
  • Poor GPU utilization (exclusive pod assignment)
  • High operational overhead
TAHO Advantages:
  • Thread-level granularity (fine-grained optimization)
  • Built-in orchestration (zero configuration)
  • Real-time GPU sharing (multiple workloads per GPU)
  • Minimal operational overhead

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vs. Traditional HPC (Slurm)

Slurm Limitations:
  • Batch job scheduling (high latency)
  • Single-cluster focus (complex multi-site setup)
  • Static resource allocation
  • Manual intervention required
TAHO Advantages:
  • Real-time scheduling (microsecond decisions)
  • Federated multi-cloud (native support)
  • Dynamic resource allocation
  • Self-healing automation

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Implementation Architecture

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Component Lifecycle

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Multi-Cloud Federation

TAHO treats multi-cloud as a first-class citizen:
Cloud Portability: Deploy on AWS today, add Azure nodes tomorrow, burst to GCP when needed – all without changing your components or configuration.
Use Cases:
  • Cost Optimization: Run workloads where cheapest
  • Compliance: Keep data in specific regions
  • Resilience: Survive entire cloud outages
  • Performance: Place compute near data

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Next Steps

WebAssembly in TAHO

Understand how TAHO leverages WebAssembly for secure, portable execution

Federation Deep Dive

Explore TAHO’s federated mesh networking and discovery

Port & Adapter Pattern

Learn how to build extensible components with hexagonal architecture

Component Development

Start building your first TAHO component