In this technical deep-dive, we follow the life of an IO as it travels from the application layer down to the VAST architecture. We will explore how specific application operations translate into VAST operations and the critical role the AI operating system and its  unstructured data stores (NFS/S3) play in that journey. Attendees will learn how to optimize these layers for maximum compute utilization and gain insights into whether their benchmarks actually reflect production reality. We will also examine the fundamental differences between CPU and GPU workloads, demonstrating how RDMA and GPUDirect can be leveraged to eliminate bottlenecks. Finally, we’ll discuss how to design your data for peak performance and implement observability strategies that allow infrastructure teams to monitor application health without requiring constant input from developers.