Operating Systems, Fall 2009

This course offers an introduction to the concepts and principles in modern operating systems. The course is divided into two parts: Basic Components and Distributed Systems. Advanced topics such as real-time and multimedia systems will also be covered if time permits. It is in the graduate program, and is 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. 15:10-17:00, and Thu. 10:10-12:00am
Class Hours: Wed. 4:10-6:00pm, Thu. 11:10-12:00am, R332/334, 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.
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. 22, 2010: The final score has been submitted.
[Jan. 20, 2010]: *** [NOTE] *** The final score has been posted. It will be submitted at noon, Jan. 22, 2010.
No modification to the final score is possible after that. Please check if there's any problem, and contact me *as soon as possible*.
Jan. 7, 2010: Up to now, 17 teams have completed the term project presentation. The remaining teams have to finish the presentation by Jan. 14.
Dec. 17, 2009: The (tentative) schedule for term project presentation has been determined. Please check if there's any error.
Dec. 16, 2009: The score and reference solution to midterm exam has been posted. Please contact me if there's any error.
Dec. 11, 2009: [NOTE] Currently, the available time slots include: 12/30 and 1/14. At least one of the remaining teams SHOULD present on 12/30.
Dec. 10, 2009: HW#4 has bee posted.
Dec. 8, 2009: There are 30 people in 26 teams for term project presentation.
Nov. 26, 2009: Please remember to select your favorite time slot for term project presentation via e-mail. The schedule will be determined in a first-come-first-served way.
Nov. 25, 2009: The current list of term project topics has been posted. Please check it and correct me if necessary.
Nov. 19, 2009: HW#3 has been announced. Note that the submission deadline for term projuect proposal will be extended to the end of this week (Nov. 22, 2009). Please remember to submit it ASAP!
Nov. 11, 2009: [NOTE]
1. There will be no class on Nov. 12, 2009 (Thu.).
2. Term project proposal: Details of the proposal for term project has been posted. Please submit your proposal to the homework submission site on or before Nov. 18, 2009.
Nov. 5, 2009: The midterm exam will be held during 16:00-18:00, Nov. 11, 2009 (Wed.). Also, please prepare your term project proposal.
Oct. 15, 2009: HW#2 has been announced.
Oct. 3, 2009: The program submission site has been set up.
Sep. 30, 2009: HW#1 has been announced. The optional programming projects will be scanned and posted in a few days.
Sep. 16, 2009: The homepage for Operating Systems (Fall 2009) has been setup.

Final Schedule

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

Week	Date	Content	Homework
1	Sep. 16, 2009	Course Overview Chap. 1, Introduction Operating Systems
1	Sep. 17, 2009	Chap. 2, Operating System Structures
2	Sep. 23, 2009	Chap. 3, Process Concept
2	Sep. 24, 2009	Chap. 4, Multithreaded Programming
3	Sep. 30, 2009	Processes and Threads in Linux (Chap.3 in ULK3)	HW#1
3	Oct. 1, 2009	Chap. 5, Process Scheduling
4	Oct. 7, 2009	Process Scheduling in Linux (Chap.7 in ULK3)
4	Oct. 8, 2009	Chap. 6, Synchronization
5	Oct. 14 & 15, 2009	Synchronization in Linux (Chap.5 in ULK3) Chap. 7, Deadlocks	Due: HW#1 HW#2
6	Oct. 21 & 22, 2009	(Leave for AIRS 2009)
7	Oct. 28, 2009	(Leave for AIRS 2009)
7	Oct. 29, 2009	Chap. 8, Memory Management Strategies	Due: HW#2
8	Nov. 4 & 5, 2009	Memory Addressing in Linux (Chap.2 in ULK3) Chap. 9, Virtual Memory Management
9	Nov. 11, 2009	(Midterm Exam)	Term Project Proposal
9	Nov. 12, 2009	(no class)
10	Nov. 18 & 19, 2009	Memory Management in Linux (Chap.8 in ULK3) Chap. 11, Implementing File Systems	HW#3
11	Nov. 25 & 26, 2009	Chap. 12, Secondary Storage VFS in Linux (Chap.12 in ULK3) Introduction to Distributed Systems (Chap. 1 from DS2)
12	Dec. 2 & 3, 2009	Architectures in Distributed Systems (Chap. 2 from DS2) Processes in Distributed Systems (Chap. 3 from DS2)	Due: HW#3
13	Dec. 9, 2009	Communication in Distributed Systems (Chap. 4 from DS2)
13	Dec. 10, 2009	Chap. 16, Distributed Operating Systems Naming in Distributed Systems (Chap. 5 from DS2)	HW#4
14	Dec. 16 & 17, 2009	Chap. 17, Distributed File Systems Synchronization in Distributed Systems (Chap. 6 from DS2)
15	Dec. 23 & 24, 2009	Chap. 18, Distrbuted Synchronization	Due: HW#4
16	Dec. 30 & 31, 2009	Term Project Presentation (I): 5 / 3
17	Jan. 6 & 7, 2010	Term Project Presentation (II): 4 / 5
18	Jan. 13 & 14, 2010	Term Project Presentation (III): 4 / 5

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://140.124.183.12/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: Due: Oct. 14, 2009.
HW#2: Due: Oct. 29, 2009.
HW#3: Due: Dec. 3, 2009.
HW#4: Due: Dec. 24, 2009.

Project

Term Project
1. Project Proposal: Due: Nov. 22, 2009 (Tentative)
  - Please read the details for the term project proposal first.
  - Please submit to the homework submission site. Please check the current list of term project topics, and correct me if necessary.
2. Presentation Schedule
  - Please check the (tentative) schedule of term project presentation. The time slot will be determined in a first-come-first-served way.
  - The presentations are scheduled in the last three weeks of this semester (starting from Dec. 30, 2009).
  - Each presentation file (slides) should be written in English, but you can present in Chinese or English.
  - Due to the time limits, each team will be allocated 20-25 minutes for presentation/demo.
  - NOTE: To help streamline the process, each presenter should prepare their own presentation files or systems for demonstration before your time slot.
3. Project Report
  - NOTE: Each team should turn in their presentation files, survey report or system codes after completing the presentation.
  - Report submission can be done in our homework submission system.

Exams

Midterm Exam: Nov. 9-13, 2009.
Reference solution to the midterm exam
- Date: Nov. 11, 2009 (Wed.)
- Time: 16:10-18:00pm
- Range: Ch. 1-9 (closed book)
Final Exam: Jan. 11-15, 2010.
Note: There will be no final exam for this course.

Score

Current score for midterm exam
Final score (submitted on Jan. 22, 2010)

E-mail: jhwang AT csie DOT <the domain for our school>
Created: Sep. 16, 2009.
Last Updated: Jan. 22, 2010.