CSCE 455/855: Distributed Operating Systems
Spring 2013, MWF 9:30-10:20am
Avery Hall 118
Instructor:
TA:
Dr. Ying Lu
Office: Schorr Center 104
Office Hours: WF 10:30-11:30am and by appointment
Email: ylu at cse.unl.edu
Phone: 472-5793
WWW: http://www.cse.unl.edu/~ylu/csce855
Weiyue Xu
Office: Schorr Center 207
Office Hours: M 4:30-5:30pm at SRC (Avery Hall 13),
W 3:30-4:30pm at Schorr Center 104,
and by appointment
Email: weiyue at cse.unl.edu
Prerequisites: CSCE451: Operating Systems Principles
Text:
Distributed Systems: Principles and Paradigms
Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Maarten Van Steen
Prentice Hall, 2006
ISBN: 0132392275
Course Objectives:
This course is designed to examine the fundamental principles of distributed systems,
and provide students hands-on experience in developing distributed protocols. While we
still look at issues in distributed operating systems, this course will address distributed
systems in a broader sense. Emphasis will be placed on communication, process, naming,
synchronization, consistency and replication, and fault tolerance.
Course Outline:
We will cover the first eight chapters of the textbook, and also some sections in other
chapters. Note that we will not follow the textbook completely, and we will study some
materials not covered by the textbook.
Grading Policy:
Midterm Exam 1 ………………………………………………………… 15%
Midterm Exam 2 ………………………………………………………… 15%
Final Exam …………………………………………………………………… 20%
Homework Assignments …………………………………………… 20%
Programming Assignments ………………………………………. 30%
Following table gives the tentative conversion of marks to letter grades. It may be
modified if necessary. For example, if the class average is less than 75, the final
weighted marks will be scaled appropriately to calculate the letter grades. Letter
grade of A+ will be given to students who perform exceptionally well in the course.
A+  97
A  93
A-  90
B+  87
B  83
B-  80
C+  77
C  73
C-  70
D+  67
D  63
D-  60
F < 60
There will be two midterm exams. The first one will be given sometime in February, and
the second one will be given sometime in March. The second exam only covers the
materials that are not covered by the first exam. The final exam covers the entire
course.
There will be about four homework assignments and three programming assignments.
Programming assignments will involve C, C++ and/or Java (the actual language will most
likely depend on the particular assignment).
All homework submitted after its deadline is considered late. Homework will be
accepted within 2 days for up to 70% credit. Homework more than 2 days late will
receive no credit. A late homework assignment will be accepted without any penalty only
if you have a reasonable excuse (e.g. sick, but need a note from a doctor).
Academic Dishonesty:
The department of Computer Science and Engineering adopted an Academic Integrity
Policy on May 3, 2001. Students enrolled in any computer science course are bound by
the policy. I strongly recommend every student to read and understand it. Any violation
of the policy will be dealt with severely. You can read the policy at
http://cse.unl.edu/grad/resources/academic_integrity.php.
Suggestion:
I strongly encourage you to submit suggestions and/or comments that you may have
regarding any aspect of the course by email to me (ylu at cse.unl.edu).