CSE 221: Graduate Operating Systems

Spring 2002

Instructor: Keith Marzullo marzullo@cs.ucsd.edu
Teaching Assistant: Anirban Bagchi (abagchi@cs.ucsd.edu)
Lectures: Tu/Th 12:45 - 2:05 in CSB 004
Office Hours

Course Objectives

The purpose of this course is to teach computer software system structures from a design point of view. We will look at different structuring techniques, and we will examine their usage in both important historical systems and in modern systems.

In addition to learning about different system structures and different operating systems, you should learn:

How to read a research paper in an objective manner.
How to do a literature search in a given system topic as the first step of research.

Reading List

We will be reading and discussing two papers each class period. The list of papers can be found here.

Class Participation

The structure of this class is unusual in that there are no lectures or presentations during the class period. Instead, we will discuss research papers that we will have all read before each class period. I will lead discussions by asking questions of students at random in class. Note that your answers to these questions form a significant portion of your overall grade, so it is important that you both show up to class as well as read the papers carefully.

Because of the unusual format of this class, I will not grade you on class participation during the first two weeks of class.

Paper Evaluations

One goal of the course is to improve your skill at evaluating research papers. Towards this end, I ask that you submit short evaluations of the papers that we will discuss before each class period. Writing the evaluations will be excellent preparation for answering questions in class. You also might find it very helpful to read and discuss the papers with other students in the class before lecture.

The evaluations can be short, and should contain the following information:

What problem did the paper address?
What is the approach used to solve the problem?
How does the paper support or otherwise justify the conclusions it reached?
Was the paper, in your estimation, successful in addressing the problem?

I have included with each paper a question about the material in the paper. I will ask this question to one of you (as well as the four questions in the bulleted list above) in class. You can use this question to structure your evaluation if you wish.

Evaluations due by 9 am on the day of the class in which the paper is discussed. Please use the online Web form to submit your evaluations and to see other students' evaluations. Click on the name of the paper to bring up the evaluation form.

Comments from the TA:

A synopsis should follow a structure. It's better to attack each question in the list above in a separate paragraph. The comments addressing the question should be objective, self-explanatory and precise. Each paragraph should be concise without lacking the necessary points in some detail. Finally, the synopsis should represent your personal ideas and feelings about the paper without repeating that of the authors verbatim.

Note that most of you have been following the above suggestions. If you have any questions, look at what most others are doing.

Project

Details on the project can be found here.

Final

There will be a final exam on Tuesday, June 11 from 11:30 to 2:30. You will be asked questions about the papers similar to those that were raised in class and those given in the reading list. You will not be allowed to bring any notes nor any of the papers with you to the final.

Grading

Class participation: 20%
Paper evaluations: 20%
Project: 30%
Final: 30%