# Systems Conference Guide: OSDI, NSDI, ASPLOS, SOSP This reference provides comprehensive details for top systems conferences, including deadlines, formatting requirements, track descriptions, and submission strategies. --- ## Conference Overview | Conference | Full Name | Page Limit | Template | Tracks | |------------|-----------|------------|----------|--------| | **OSDI 2026** | 20th USENIX Symposium on Operating Systems Design and Implementation | 12 pages (+2 camera-ready) | USENIX `usenix-2020-09.sty` | Research + Operational Systems | | **NSDI 2027** | 24th USENIX Symposium on Networked Systems Design and Implementation | 12 pages | USENIX `usenix-2020-09.sty` | Research / Frontiers / Operational | | **ASPLOS 2027** | ACM International Conference on Architectural Support for Programming Languages and Operating Systems | 12 pages (ACM) | ACM SIGPLAN `acmart.cls` | Single track, dual review cycles | | **SOSP 2026** | 32nd ACM Symposium on Operating Systems Principles | 12 pages | ACM SIGPLAN `acmart.cls` | Single track | > **OSDI 2026**: New "Operational Systems" track. Max 8 papers per author. Encourages appropriate paper length (don't pad to 12 pages). Target acceptance rate ≥20%. No author response period; uses "conditional accept" instead of major revision. > > **NSDI 2027**: Two deadlines (Spring/Fall). New "Frontiers Track" for ambitious, forward-looking ideas. All papers undergo Introduction prescreening. Rejected papers may receive one-shot revision opportunity. > > **ASPLOS 2027**: Two cycles (April/September). New rapid review round (only first 2 pages reviewed). Evaluates contributions to architecture/PL/OS core areas. Max 4 papers per author per cycle. > > **SOSP 2026**: ACM SIGPLAN format. Optional Artifact Evaluation. Double-blind review. Encourages breakthrough research directions. --- ## Deadlines & Key Dates ### OSDI 2026 (Seattle, WA, USA | July 13–15, 2026) | Milestone | Date | |-----------|------| | Abstract registration | December 4, 2025, 5:59 PM EST | | Full paper submission | December 11, 2025, 5:59 PM EST | | Notification | March 26, 2026 | | Camera-ready | June 9, 2026 | ### NSDI 2027 (Providence, RI, USA | May 11–13, 2027) **Spring Deadline:** | Milestone | Date | |-----------|------| | Titles and abstracts | April 16, 2026, 11:59 PM EDT | | Full paper | April 23, 2026, 11:59 PM EDT | | Notification | July 23, 2026 | | Camera-ready | October 20, 2026 | **Fall Deadline:** | Milestone | Date | |-----------|------| | Titles and abstracts | September 10, 2026, 11:59 PM EDT | | Full paper | September 17, 2026, 11:59 PM EDT | | Notification | December 8, 2026 | | Camera-ready | March 4, 2027 | ### ASPLOS 2027 **April Cycle:** | Milestone | Date | |-----------|------| | Full paper submission | April 15, 2026 (AoE) | | Author response | July 6–9, 2026 | | Notification | July 27, 2026 | **September Cycle:** | Milestone | Date | |-----------|------| | Full paper submission | September 9, 2026 (AoE) | | Author response | December 1–4, 2026 | | Notification | December 21, 2026 | ### SOSP 2026 (September 30, 2026) | Milestone | Date | |-----------|------| | Abstract registration | March 26, 2026 (AoE) | | Full paper submission | April 1, 2026 (AoE) | | Notification | July 3, 2026 | | Camera-ready | August 28, 2026 | | Workshops | September 29, 2026 | | Conference | September 30, 2026 | --- ## Track Descriptions ### OSDI 2026 Tracks **Research Track**: Broad interest in operating systems design, implementation, analysis, evaluation, and deployment. Topics include: - Operating systems, their interaction with hardware/software, and their role as building blocks for other systems - Virtualization, including virtual machine monitors, hypervisors, and OS-level virtualization - File and storage systems, distributed systems, cloud computing - Systems for machine learning/AI, security and privacy, embedded/real-time systems **Operational Systems Track** (NEW): - Papers describing deployed and operational systems with valuable lessons - Title must end with "(Operational Systems)" - Evaluation criteria focus on deployment insights rather than novelty ### NSDI 2027 Tracks **Research Track**: Original research on networked systems design and implementation. **Frontiers Track** (NEW): - For ambitious, forward-looking ideas in networked systems - May have less complete evaluation but must present compelling vision **Operational Track**: Systems deployed at scale with operational insights. ### ASPLOS 2027 Review Process **Rapid Review Round** (NEW): - Reviewers read ONLY the first 2 pages to decide if paper merits full review - First 2 pages must be self-contained: problem, approach, key results, contribution - Papers failing rapid review receive brief feedback and are rejected **Full Review Round**: - Standard double-blind review process - Author response period - Major revision available (not just accept/reject) ### SOSP 2026 Features - **Artifact Evaluation** (optional but encouraged): Submit artifacts for reproducibility - **Author Response**: 500-word limit, no new experiments allowed --- ## Formatting Requirements ### USENIX Format (OSDI, NSDI) ```latex % USENIX format setup \documentclass[letterpaper,twocolumn,10pt]{article} \usepackage{usenix-2020-09} % Key specifications: % - Paper size: US Letter (8.5" x 11") % - Font: Times Roman, 10pt on 12pt leading % - Text block: 7" x 9" % - Two columns, 0.33" column separation % - Page limit: 12 pages (excluding references) ``` ### ACM SIGPLAN Format (ASPLOS, SOSP) ```latex % ACM SIGPLAN format setup \documentclass[sigplan,10pt]{acmart} % For submission (hide copyright block): \setcopyright{none} \settopmatter{printfolios=true, printccs=false, printacmref=false} \renewcommand\footnotetextcopyrightpermission[1]{} % Key specifications: % - Paper size: US Letter % - Font: 10pt % - Text block: 178mm x 229mm % - Two columns % - Page limit: 12 pages (excluding references) ``` --- ## Submission Rules ### OSDI 2026 - **Max submissions per author**: 8 papers - **No author response period** - **Conditional accept** replaces major revision - **Anonymization**: System name must differ from arXiv/talks - **Paper length**: Encouraged to be as short as needed (don't pad to 12 pages) - **AI policy**: Generative AI tools allowed if disclosed; AI cannot be listed as author ### NSDI 2027 - **Prescreening via Introduction**: All papers first evaluated based on Introduction quality - **One-shot revision**: Rejected papers may receive revision opportunity - **Dual deadlines**: Spring (April 2026) + Fall (September 2026) - **Track selection**: Must choose Research, Frontiers, or Operational at submission ### ASPLOS 2027 - **Max submissions per author per cycle**: 4 papers - **Rapid review**: Only first 2 pages reviewed initially - **Dual cycles**: April + September - **Resubmission note**: Required if previously submitted to ASPLOS - **Must advance**: Architecture, Programming Languages, or Operating Systems research ### SOSP 2026 - **Artifact Evaluation**: Optional but recommended - **Author response**: 500-word limit, no new experiments - **Anonymous system name**: Required, different from public versions - **Double-blind**: Authors must not be identifiable --- ## Format Conversion: ML Venue → Systems Venue When converting a paper from an ML venue to a systems venue, the changes go beyond template swapping: | Aspect | ML Venue | Systems Venue | Action | |-------|----------|---------------|--------| | **Page limit** | 7-9 pages | 12 pages | Expand with system design details | | **Evaluation** | Benchmarks, ablations | End-to-end + microbenchmarks | Add system-level evaluation | | **Contribution framing** | Algorithmic novelty | System design + implementation | Reframe as systems contribution | | **Implementation** | Often secondary | Core contribution | Detail architecture, optimizations | | **Deployment** | Rarely discussed | Highly valued (especially OSDI/NSDI) | Add deployment experience | ### Specific Conversion Paths | From → To | Key Adjustments | |-----------|------------------| | ML → OSDI | USENIX template; reframe for systems; add design/implementation; emphasize deployment | | ML → NSDI | USENIX format; emphasize networked systems; choose track | | ML → ASPLOS | ACM SIGPLAN; self-contained first 2 pages (rapid review); frame for arch/PL/OS | | ML → SOSP | ACM SIGPLAN; emphasize OS principles; system design/evaluation | | OSDI ↔ SOSP | USENIX ↔ ACM SIGPLAN template; similar page limits | | OSDI ↔ NSDI | Same USENIX format; adjust scope (general vs networked) | --- ## Systems Paper Structure A typical systems paper follows this structure (differs from ML papers): ```text 1. Introduction - Problem, approach, key results (CRITICAL for NSDI prescreening / ASPLOS rapid review) 2. Background/Motivation - System context, why existing solutions fail 3. Design - System architecture, key design decisions 4. Implementation - Implementation details, optimizations, engineering challenges 5. Evaluation - End-to-end performance + microbenchmarks + scalability 6. Discussion - Limitations, deployment lessons (optional but valued at SOSP) 7. Related Work - Organized by approach, not chronologically 8. Conclusion - Summary of contributions and impact ``` **Key differences from ML papers**: - **Design section** replaces Methods: Focus on architecture and trade-offs - **Implementation section** is a core contribution, not an afterthought - **Evaluation** includes both macro (end-to-end) and micro benchmarks - **Discussion** section is common (especially SOSP) --- ## Official CFP Links - **OSDI 2026**: - **NSDI 2027**: - **ASPLOS 2027**: - **SOSP 2026**: - **USENIX LaTeX Template**: - **ACM SIGPLAN Template**: