CS 423, Spring 2010

Operating Systems Design

Syllabus

Instructor
Tarek Abdelzaher, 4126 Siebel Center, Tel: 265-6793
Office Hours: Wed/Fri, 11am-noon, 4126 Siebel Center

Recommended Textbooks

Recommended: Modern Operating Systems (Third Edition), Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Prentice Hall, 2008,

Recommended: Virtual Machines, James E. Smith and Ravi Nair, Elsevier / Morgan Kaufmann, 2005

Optional: Understanding the Linux Kernel, Daniel P. Bovet and Marco Cesati, 3rd Edition (Covers Linux Kernel 2.6.11), O'Reilly Media, Inc. 2007.

Lecture Times

Monday/Wednesday/Friday, 10-11am, 1105 Siebel Center

Description

This course introduces students to the next step in operating system design (after CS 241 or equivalent). Students will understand the main operating system functions in class and analyze their implementation through a series of machine problems that require modifications to operating system code. Students will also be exposed to the concepts of virtual machines and issues of distribution and networking, such as sockets, distributed files systems, and map-reduce operators for distributed computation.

Grading

The course will involve 4 machine problems, a homework, a midterm, and a final. Graduate students have the option of taking this class for either 3 or 4 credits. If you are taking this class for 4 credits, a pass/fail project will be required. Grades will be assigned as follows:

• Machine Problems: Four MPs will collectively account for 25% of the grade, divided into 4%, 7%, 7%, and 7%. MPs should be solved in groups of 2-3 people. No late submissions are allowed.
• Homework: Prior to the final, a homework will be given to prepare you for the exam. You will need to work on it independently. The homework is worth 5%.
• Midterm: An open-book take-home midterm exam will be held for 25% of the grade.
• Final: A final exam with be held last day of class, for 35% of the grade.
• Class Project: If you are taking this course for 4 credits, a group project of 2-3 people will be required on an operating systems related topic. The project is pass/fail.
• Class Participation: Accounts for 10%. Includes attendance, pop quizzes and class discussion.