Operating Systems, Fall 2011

This course offers an introduction to the concepts and principles in modern operating systems. It consists of two major parts: Basic Components and Distributed Systems. Advanced topics such as real-time and multimedia systems will also be covered if time permits. The course is offered in the graduate program, and taught in English.

Course Information

Instructor: Jenq-Haur Wang
E-mail: jhwang AT csie DOT <the domain for our school>
Office: R1534, Technology Building, ext. 4238
Office Hours: Tue. 8:10-10:00, and Wed. 10:10-12:00am, 2:10-4:00pm
Class Hours: Thu. 9:10-12:00am, R1324, Technology Builing
Textbook: Operating System Concepts, 8th ed., by Abraham Silberschatz, Peter Baer Galvin, and Greg Gagne, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2008.
- Note: Earlier editions (such as 7th ed. or Java version) of the textbook is also acceptable. Content new to the 8th edition will be mentioned whenever applicable.
- Note: The authros publish a new version called "Operating System Concepts Essentials, 8th Edition", which covers most of the core topics in the contemporary operating systems. Some chapters were removed (such as Deadlocks, Distributed Systems, Real-time Systems, and Multimedua Systems). Also, a new chapter on Windows 7 was added.
Reference:
- Understanding the Linux Kernel, 3rd ed., by Daniel P. Bovet and Marco Cesati, O'Reilly, 2005. (ULK3)
- Distributed Systems: Principles and Paradigms, 2nd ed., by Andrew S. Tanenbaum and Maarten van Steen, Prentice-Hall, 2006. (DS2)
- Modern Operating Systems, 3rd ed., by Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Prentice-Hall, 2007. (MOS3)

Latest News

Jan. 16, 2012: The final score has been posted this afternoon. Please check if there's any error *as soon as possible* before Jan. 17, 2012.
Jan. 11, 2012: [NOTE] All homeworks and reports MUST be uploaded to the homework submission site on or before Jan. 13, 2012. No credits will be given after that. The final score is expected to be posted on Jan. 14, 2012. Any question on your score should be sent to me before Jan. 16, 2012.
Dec. 21, 2011: [NOTE] Term project presentations can ONLY be made in the three time slots on Dec. 29, Jan. 5, and Jan. 12. No other time slots will be allocated.
Dec. 15, 2011: There are 23 students in 18 teams for the term project presentation. If you haven't submitted your proposal, please do it AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
Nov. 26, 2011: [NOTE] The current list of term project proposal has been posted. Please check if there's any mistake.
Nov. 17, 2011: Note that the deadline for term project proposal and HW#3 has been extended to Nov. 21, 2011.
Nov. 3, 2011: Please check the details about term project proposal.
Nov. 3, 2011: HW#3 has been announced.
Oct. 20, 2011: HW#2 has been announced.
Oct. 6, 2011: HW#1 has been announced.
Sep. 6, 2011: The homepage for Operating Systems (Fall 2011) has been set up.

Tentative Schedule

NOTE: The tentative schedule and the slides are subject to modification.

Week	Date	Content	Homework
1	Sep. 15, 2011	Course Overview Chap. 1, Introduction
2	Sep. 22, 2011	Chap. 2, Operating System Structures
3	Sep. 29, 2011	Chap. 3, Process Concept Chap. 4, Multithreaded Programming Processes and Threads in Linux (Chap.3 in ULK3)
4	Oct. 6, 2011	Chap. 5, Process Scheduling Process Scheduling in Linux (Chap.7 in ULK3)	HW#1
5	Oct. 13, 2011	Chap. 6, Synchronization Synchronization in Linux (Chap.5 in ULK3)
6	Oct. 20, 2011	Chap. 7, Deadlocks	Due: HW#1 HW#2
7	Oct. 27, 2011	Chap. 8, Memory Management Strategies Memory Addressing in Linux (Chap.2 in ULK3)
8	Nov. 3, 2011	Chap. 9, Virtual Memory Management Memory Management in Linux (Chap.8 in ULK3)	Term Project Proposal Due: HW#2 HW#3
9	Nov. 10, 2011	(Midterm Exam)
10	Nov. 17, 2011	Chap. 11, Implementing File Systems	Due: Term Project Proposal Due: HW#3
11	Nov. 24, 2011	VFS in Linux (Chap.12 in ULK3) Chap. 12, Secondary Storage	HW#4
12	Dec. 1, 2011	Introduction to Distributed Systems (Chap. 1 from DS2) Architectures in Distributed Systems (Chap. 2 from DS2)
13	Dec. 8, 2011	Processes in Distributed Systems (Chap. 3 from DS2)	Due: HW#4
14	Dec. 15, 2011	Communication in Distributed Systems (Chap. 4 from DS2) Chap. 16, Distributed Operating Systems
15	Dec. 22, 2011	Naming in Distributed Systems (Chap. 5 from DS2) Chap. 17, Distributed File Systems (Synchronization in Distributed Systems (Chap.6 from DS2) Chap. 18, Distrbuted Synchronization)
16	Dec. 29, 2011	Term Project Presentation (I): 8 teams (3 papers, 2 demos, 3 surveys) - 8 completed.
17	Jan. 5, 2012	Term Project Presentation (II): 8 teams (5 papers, 2 demos, 1 surveys) - 8 completed.
18	Jan. 12, 2012	Term Project Presentation (III): 3 teams (2 papers, 1 survey)

Homework Assignments

Please hand in your homework in paper form or in electronic files before deadline.
Programs or homework in electronic files must be submitted to me via our submission site as follows:

Program Submission Site: http://140.124.183.39/os/
User Account: your student ID
Since the initial password is also your student ID, please remember to change your password in your first login.
Program Uploading: Please clearly name your program files using your ID.
Note: If your program needs special environment or tool to compile or run, please write a note about it.

HW#1: Ch.1-4
Due: Oct. 20, 2011
Reference Solution to HW#1
HW#2 : Ch.5-6
Due: Nov. 3, 2011
Reference Solution to HW#2
HW#3 : Ch. 7-8
Due: Extended to Nov. 21, 2011
HW#4 : Ch. 9 & 11
Due: Dec. 8, 2011

Project

Term Project
1. Project Proposal: Due: extended to Nov. 21, 2011 (after midterm)
  - Each team is requried to submit a proposal, which will be counted as part of the score.
    Please check the Detailed instructions of term project proposal for more details.
  - Please also check the current list of term project proposal.
    [NOTE] As of Dec. 21, 2011, there are 24 students in 19 teams in this list. If you haven't submitted the proposal, please do it *as soon as possible*!
2. Presentation Schedule
  - The presentations are scheduled in the last three weeks of this semester (starting from Dec. 29, 2011).
    Due to the time limits, each presentation will have 20-25 minutes. (including Q & A)
  - Please check the final list of presentation schedule.
  - NOTE: All presentations MUST be finished within the last three weeks of this semester.
3. Project Report
  - NOTE: Each team should turn in their presentation files, survey report or system codes after completing the presentation. Please submit your report in our homework submission system.

Exams

Midterm Exam: Nov. 7-11, 2011.
- Date: Nov. 10, 2011 (Thu.)
- Time: 9:10-12:00am
- Range: Ch.1-9 (in textbook only)
  Reference solution to the midterm exam
Final Exam: Jan. 9-13, 2012.
Note: There will be no final exam for this course.

Score

The final score (as of Jan. 16, 2012)

E-mail: jhwang AT csie DOT <the domain for our school>
Created: Sep. 6, 2011.
Last Updated: Jan. 16, 2012.