Acknowledgements This thesis is the result of five years of work that would not have been possible without a long list of people. First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisors Edouard Bugnion and James Larus. Ed accepted me in the DCSL laboratory despite my obvious lack of interest for datacenter networking. He gave me the opportunity to work on the topics that truly interested me and provided me with the freedom to explore my own research ideas. Throughout my PhD, Ed was supportive,

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... sting, but also demanding, thus finding the right balance to keep me on track while I was slowly building myself up as a researcher. I am also grateful that I had the chance to have Jim as a second advisor. Inviting him to be part of the jury for my candidacy exam was probably one of the most decisive decisions I made during my PhD as it led to our continued collaboration after my first year. Jim has a beautiful mind that I admire. He has the ability to sleep through an entire presentation and still ask better questions than a room full of PhD students and professors; he can summarize, in one simple sentence, complex concepts that others are unable to explain in several paragraphs; he always finds the real research question hidden behind misleading details. Jim was supportive throughout my PhD, pushing me to do more than I orginally thought I could achieve. This PhD would not have been possible without the combination of these two amazing advisors. At EPFL, I also had the chance to work with Mathias Payer on the enclosure project. He brought his security expertise to the project and is one of the friendliest and most approchable faculty members I met. Next, I would like to thank my external jury members, Dr. Galen Hunt and Dr. Andrew Baumann. My PhD started with one of their papers [67] and ended with both of them taking part in my private defense. I feel lucky that such talented and renown researchers accepted to officiate as my jury members. I also need to thank my "shadow" advisor Marios Kogias, who has been with me during my entire PhD as a colleague, office mate, a mentor, and a friend. Thanks for tolerating my constant interruptions in the office, for always taking the time to listen to my ideas and discuss them, for continuing to give me time and advices, even after you left EPFL. Thank you also for being a good friend and listening to my girls problems and random anecdotes, and putting up with my childish craziness. I am impatient to get my colleague (and good friend) back! Of course, the PhD would not have been possible without the support of my family. My dad, Sejean "Padre" Ghosn, in his infinite wisdom, came up with a one sentence formula, "Tu peux pas regretter quelque chose qui est pour ton bien" that he generously prodigated during these i Acknowledgements past 5 years. Dorina "Quiche" Ghosn, my mother whom I love. We both know that you are the one to thank for every single one of my achievements. You taught me how to be curious about everything, strong in the face of adversity, and proud enough to have self-respect but never quite enough to stop improving. I also thank (and blame) you for my hereditary craziness and my exaggerated love of disco music. I thank my sister, Aline, for being the moral compass of the family, and Slomfy, my cat, that I loved so much. My English writing skills are not good enough to fit every single person that I would like to thank here in a well-constructed text. Thus, I will default to a list, thanking: Margaret Church for being our "work" mom. Maggy sees every single one of us through the prism of motherly love, exaggerating our qualities and completely ignoring our imperfections. Thank you for all the love and support you gave me during these 5 years.