Spring 2009 - COMP 4704 - Admin 01: Syllabus
Course Description:
This course will cover major topics in distributed systems engineering including: system architectures, processes, communication, naming, synchronization, consistency and replication, fault tolerance, and security. We will also look at examples of distributed object-based systems, distributed file systems, distributed web-based systems and distributed coordination-based systems. Classes will be a mix of lecture, in-class exercises, and student presentations.
Reading Assignments: The weekly course reading assignments will include chapters from the textbook and several short academic papers about distributed systems related to the topics of the week.
Homework Assignments: Each week, students can choose one of two homework assignments: programming or non-programming. The programming assignments will involve the implementation of simple systems and parts of systems in their language / platform of choice. Non-programming assignments will have more writing, research and non-programming problems to work.
Student Presentations: Each week (except the first and last weeks), there will be several student presentations centered around the academic papers assigned for reading. For each presentation, students will be asked to prepare a handful of slides, discuss the major features of the systems being described and relate them to the course topics.
- Instructor:
- Matthew J. Rutherford <mjr@cs.du.edu>
- Class Meeting Time:
- 5pm - 8:40pm, Thursday at the Lockheed-Martin Deercreek Campus
- Office Hours:
- After class (8:40pm - ?). Before class (in person) and any other time (on the phone) by appointment
- Class Conference Call:
- Tuesday, Noon - 1pm, Phone Number: 303-977-4827 code: 444308#
- Course Website:
- Required Textbook:
- Distributed Systems: Principles and Paradigms, 2nd Edition, Andrew Tanenbaum and Maarten Van Steen, Prentice Hall, 2007. ISBN: 0-13-239227-5
- Grading:
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Homework (7 assignments, lowest grade can be dropped): 50% In-Class Presentation: 10% Take-home Midterm Exam: 15% Take-home Final Exam: 25% - Course Policies:
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Students are responsible for all material covered in class and in assigned readings. Students are expected to do readings before the class in which they will be discussed.
Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the due date. You will be asked to turn in either a hard copy in class or a digital copy by email, depending on the assignment. Normally, late assignments will not be accepted. In the case of an emergency, you will be asked to provide appropriate documentation.
Homework assignments and labs may be discussed in a general fashion with other students. You should not discuss specific solutions or code. You should NEVER copy assignments that have been written by another student or allow another student to copy your assignments. If any of your work includes ideas or quotes from a book, paper, or web site, you should clearly cite the original source.
All students are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of the University of Denver. Information on the Honor Code can be found at http://www.du.edu/ccs/honorcode.