[Operating Systems - CS 421, CSEE Department, UMBC, Spring 2009]

[Operating Systems - CS 421, Section 0101 and 0201]

Basic Course Webpage

All key information regarding this course will be updated at this page on a regular basis. You will find information on class times, office hours, TA names and office locations, class syllabus, textbooks, grading policy, academic honesty issues and project information.

Section 0101 Section 0201
Instructor Dr. Yelena Yesha
Email: yeyesha@umbc.edu
Phone: (410) 455-3542
Office: ITE 335
Office hours: TuTh 1:30pm-2:30pm, and by appointment. 		Dr. Samir Chettri
Email: chettri@csee.umbc.edu
Phone: (410) 455-TBA
Office: ITE TBA
Office hours: TBA, and by appointment.
Class Meeting Time TuTh 2:30pm - 3:45pm MW 7:10pm - 8:25pm
Class Meeting Place SOND 101 ACIV 013
Teaching Assistants
Name Email Office Hours Location
Rick Carback carback1@umbc.edu TBA ITE 240
Mayank Sawhney mayank2@umbc.edu TBA ITE 240
Lab The Computer Systems Lab in ITE 240 will be available for the class, See lab details.

TAs will hold their office hours in the Lab.

The lab will be open 9:00am-9:00pm Mon-Fri until the last day of classes. It will be closed all other times.

Prequisites

CMSC-341, and (CMSC-211 and CMSC-311) or CMSC-313 or (CMPE-310 and CMPE-312). If you do not meet these prerequisites, you will be required to drop the course. Students *must* be familiar with C.

Text books

  • OSC: Operating Systems Concepts, (8th Ed), Silberschatz, Galvin, and Gagne. John Wiley, 2008. ISBN 0-470-12872-0. REQUIRDED.
  • ULK. Understanding the Linux Kernel (3rd Ed), Bovet, D.P., Cesati, M. O'Reilly, Nov. 2005. ISBN 0-596-00565-2. Recommended.
  • LKN. Linux Kernel in a Nutshell, Kroah-Hartman, Greg. O'Reilly, 2006. ISBN 0596100797. Recommended.
  • MOS: Modern Operating Systems, (2nd Ed), Tannenbaum, A. S., Prentice Hall 2001. ISBN-0-13-031358-0. Recommended.

    Syllabus

    Typically, we will cover chapters 1-15 in Operating Systems Concepts (8th Ed) by Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne. Time permitting, the professors may choose to teach some special topics as well.

    Objectives

    Learn fundamental concepts in the design and implementation of Operating Systems. Gain mature understanding of modern operating systems. Apply s/w development tools and skills in the arena of Operating Systems.

    Required Work

  • Exams - 2 (midterm, final)
  • Homeworks - 3 or more
  • Programming Projects - 3 or more.

    Modes of communication

    Students are expected to keep up with the class webpages, i.e., these pages. Additionally, they should keep track of http://blackboard.umbc.edu regularly for news, assignments and announcements. Failure to keep track of the class webpages or the blackboard (or both) is not an acceptable excuse for being late. Use of the blackboard does not give you the right to violate University Academic Policy.

    Grading Policy

    You must have 50% average on projects, 50% average for Homeworks and at least 35% per exam to pass the course. Weighting:
  • HW - 10%
  • Projects - 30%
  • Midterm - 25%
  • Final - 35%

    Academic Integrity Policy

    There will be no tolerance for academic dishonesty in this course. Any and all academic dishonesty acts will be treated severely, as prescribed in UMBC's Student Academic Conduct Policy.

    ADA Compliance

    Students may have disabilities requiring special attention from teachers. Make us aware of them as soon possible so that we may make suitable accomodations.

    Laboratory Usage and Rules

    Facilities in ITE 240 may be used by CMSC 421 students. There are 24 Pentium machines with 1GB RAM with CD R/W drives. TA's will hold regular office hours. Please avail of their skills. Rules for laboratory usage are as follows:
  • Observe all Department and University rules and regulations concerning use.
  • No food or drinks in the lab.
  • Do not log into multiple machines in the lab, thereby preventing other students from using the resources.
  • Do not disturb other students in their academic pursuits.
  • Only use ITE 240 for your CMSC 421 work. For other academic work use other designated OIT facilities.
  • Repeated offenses may result in shutting down the lab and/or suspension of use privileges.

    HW News


    Project News

    • We'll be providing more pointers to the project as time goes by. In the meanwhile, there is a UMBC Linux Users Group that may be helpful: UMBC LUG.
    • All projects will be submitted using the UMBC submit program. No late projects will be accepted or graded unless University Policy dictates otherwise. You must submitt written portions in PDF format. No other format is allowed.
    • Project 0 is here
    • Project 1 is here
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    • Project 2 is here

    Exam 1 (Midterm) News

    • There will be no make up exams scheduled unless exceptional circumstances present themselves. Medical emergencies should be documented. If you have any doubts regarding policy please get in touch with your instructor.
    • Mock exam in MSWord format.
    • Cheating in the exam is grounds for immediate dismissal from the class room.
    • Bring a picture ID to class.
    • Joint mid-term exam for 0201 and 0101.
    • LOCATION, DATE, TIME: LH5, 11 March 2009, 7:10-8:25pm.

    Final Exam News

    • There will be no make up exams scheduled unless exceptional circumstances present themselves. Medical emergencies should be documented. If you have any doubts regarding policy please get in touch with your instructor.
    • Cheating in the exam is grounds for immediate dismissal from the class room.
    • Bring a picture ID to class.
    • Joint comprehensive final exam for both sections.
    • LOCATION, DATE, TIME: LH7, 14 May 2009, 3:30-5:30pm

    HW News

    • HW1

    Lecture Notes

    • CHAPTER 4: This is the client and the server code that illustrates the use of sockets in Java. For further reference see pages 119 and 120 of the text. I'd recommend you compile and play with these two pieces of code.
    • CHAPTER 5: This is the code that does the thread creation and the thread that does Summation . See page 146 of the text for more detail. Go ahead and compile the code, I dare you to.
    • ALL THE LECTURE NOTES: These notes are available in zip fomat (linux has this program available) here
    • CHAPTER 7: Please note the many changes between these notes and those provided by the authors of our recommended text, i.e., Silberschatz et al. If you have difficulty understanding the proof of the Baker's algorithm, send me e-mail.
    [Samir Chettri]