Instructor  Weisong Shi Department of Computer Science Wayne State University weisong@wayne.edu shiweisong@ict.ac.cn

Class Info Time: 9:00AM-12:00PM, 4, May - 8, May       Place: FIT 1-312, Tsinghua University (4 - 7 May)           FIT 1-315 Tsinghua University (8 May) Big Map

Synopsis

Many fundamental ideas, such as design principles, modularity, naming, abstraction, concurrency, communications, fault tolerance, security, and atomicity, are in common across to advanced topics in computer science and engineering research/education, such as operating systems, networks, database systems, computer architecture, and so on. The course has two parts. One is the common principles abstracted from practical systems design, the second is how to apply these principles into systems design, such as naming, client/services, virtualization, reliability and consistency.

Prerequisites

Operating Systems, Computer Architecture, and 1-2 year of research experience.

Major Topics

• Computer Systems Complexity
• Elements of Computer System Organization
• Naming Schemes
• Clients/Services
• Virtualization
• Build Reliable Systems from Unreliable Components
• Consistency/Atomicity.

References and Lectures

There is no particular textbooks for this course. Lecture slides will be provided during the class. The majority of the course will come from papers and relevant reference books. Students are encouraged to attend the class and actively participate the discussion. A reading list, selected from the top systems conferences, will be given out at the beginning of the course. Students are required to read and discuss the papers.

Reference Books

• Distributed Systems: Principles and Paradigm, 2nd Edition, Andrew S. Tanenbaum and Maarten van Steen, Prentice Hall, 2007.
• Fundamental Tools of Computer Systems Research, edited by Weisong Shi, online book, available soon.  
• Principles of Computer System Design, Jerome Saltzer, M. Frans Kaashoek, Morgan Kauffman, publication date Jul 2009.

Online Discussion