CS 571, Operating Systems - Fall 2009

[Please see more information at the Class Website]


Instructor: Angelos Stavrou
Lecture: Monday 4:30 pm - 7:10pm
Room:
Robinson Hall B 218
Office Hours: Monday 2:30 - 4:30pm and by appointment
Email: astavrou(_)gmu.edu

Teaching Assistant: Changwei Liu
Office:
CS TA Room, Engineering Buidling
Office Hours: TBD
Email: cliu6(_)gmu.edu


Cour
se Description:

This course covers the principles of operating systems theory and practice. Fundamental concepts such as processes, synchronization, scheduling and memory management will be presented. Another emphasis will be on the principles of
distributed operating systems and virtualization technologies.

Topics Covered:

Prerequisites:

CS 310 and CS 465, or equivalent. A solid background in Computer Architecture is required. The coursework will include substantial programming projects; in order to be able to work on these, the students must be comfortable with C/C++ or Java programming languages.

Bibliography:

Required:
Operating System Concepts, 8th Edition (or 7th Edition), Abraham Silberschatz, Yale University Peter Baer Galvin, Corporate Technologies Greg Gagne, Westminster College, ISBN: 978-0-470-12872-5 ©2009 Willey
Available by: [GMU Bookstore] [Willey] [Amazon] [Author's site]


Recommended:
Modern Operating Systems, 3/E Andrew S. Tanenbaum. ISBN-10: 0136006639 ISBN-13: 9780136006633 Prentice Hall Available by: [GMU Bookstore] [Prentice Hall] [Amazon]

Grading:

The students must achieve a total score of at least 85 (out of 100) to be considered for an A. No early exams will be given and make-up exams are strongly discouraged. A student should present an official and verifiable excuse to miss an exam (such as a doctor's note). However, we will be offering extra credit assignments to help students to achieve better understanding (and final score).

Computer Accounts:

All students should have accounts on the central Mason Unix system mason.gmu.edu (also known as osf1.gmu.edu)
and on IT&E Unix cluster zeus.ite.gmu.edu (Instructions and related links are here). Please read the FAQ if you have any questions. Students can work in IT&E computer labs for programming projects during the specified hours.

Please read the University's Academic Honesty Page and GMU Honor Code.

Disability Statement

If you have a documented learning disability or other condition that may affect academic performance you should:
1) Make sure this documentation is on file with the Office of Disability Services:
(SUB I, Rm. 222; 993-2474; www.gmu.edu/student/drc) to determine the accommodations you need;
2) Talk with me to discuss your accommodation needs.