George Mason University
Department of Computer Science

Description: This course covers the principles of operating systems theory and practice. Fundamental concepts such as processes, synchronization, scheduling, memory management, file systems, and security will be presented.

Prerequisites: (Grade of C or better in CS 310) and (grade of C or better in CS 367 or ECE 445). The students should be fluent in C programming language in order to complete the course work, which includes substantial programming projects. Prerequisites will be strictly enforced.

Meeting Times and Location: Wednesday 4:30 - 7:10 PM, Merten Hall Rm. 1200.

Course Outcomes: Upon completion of this course, the students should be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge about the role and purpose of the operating systems
• Be able to explain the features of operating systems found in different types of computer systems (e.g., mainframe systems, personal computers, multiprocessor systems, handheld systems)
• Demonstrate basic knowledge about the evolution of operating system concepts from early batch systems to today's sophisticated multiuser/multiprocessor systems
• Demonstrate knowledge about different approaches to operating system design and the involved trade-offs
• Be able to explain the main performance evaluation criteria for computer systems and how the operating system design can have an impact on these
• Show an understanding of the need for the concurrent operation of multiple tasks (processes/threads) and an ability to solve basic process synchronization problems that arise from concurrent operation settings
• Demonstrate the knowledge about process scheduling, basic memory management and file system management techniques and their impact on the overall performance
• Demonstrate the basic knowledge about distributed systems and how the ever increasing networking features have affected (and are affecting) operating system design
• Be able to implement a suite of basic algorithms proposed for the main OS services such as memory management and process scheduling

Readings:
The main resource for this class is the lectures delivered by the instructor, supported by the course slides. There is no required textbook. As additional reading, the following textbook is suggested:
Operating System Concepts by Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne (9th or 10th Edition, John Wiley & Sons).

In addition, the following textbooks are also good resources for in-depth discussion of operating systems topics.
Operating Systems - Principles and Practice (2nd Edition, Recursive Books) by Anderson and Dahlin
Modern Operating Systems (4th edition, Pearson) by A. S. Tanenbaum
Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces (Online Book v1.00, Arpaci-Dusseau Books) by R. H. Arpaci-Dusseau and A. C. Arpaci-Dusseau.

Instructor Office Hours: Wednesday 1:00 - 2:00 PM and by appointment (Office: Engineering Building, Rm. 5308)

Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA): Jixuan Zhi (jzhi@masonlive.gmu.edu)
GTA Office Hours: Monday 2:00 - 4:00 PM; Thursday 10 AM - 12 noon (ENGR 4456).

• Introduction
• Processes
• Threads
• Process Synchronization
• CPU Scheduling
• Memory Management
• Virtual Memory
• File, I/O, and Storage Systems
• Protection and Security
• OS Design Approaches
• Virtual Machines
• Distributed Systems

Grading: Grading components will be as follows.

• Homeworks and Quizzes: 15%
• Programming Projects: 30%
• Midterm Exams: (15% + 15%)
• Final Exam: 25%

The students must achieve a total score of at least 90 (out of 100) to be considered for an A. No early midterm/final exams will be given and make-up exams are strongly discouraged.  A student should present an official and verifiable excuse to miss a midterm/final exam (such as a doctor's note). A total score less than 50 or a final exam score less than 40 will result in F.

All exams are closed book. The final exam will be cumulative; that is, it will include all topics discussed during the term.

During the semester there will be several in-class quizzes. The timing of the quizzes will not be announced in advance, and there will not be make-up opportunities for the missed quizzes. However, the quiz with the lowest score will not be considered when determining the overall score.

The students are responsible for keeping back-ups of their work while they are working on a programming assignment.

All students must abide by the GMU Honor Code and CS Department's Honor Code and Academic Integrity Policies during the semester. The students are supposed to work individually on the assignments. Collaboration will be allowed only for the group assignments, within each group. We reserve the right to use automated tools such as MOSS to detect plagiarism. Violations of the Honor Code will result in an F. Those violations will be also reported to the GMU Honor Council.

The students, if they feel that their work is not accurately graded, must initiate contact with the grader within a week of receiving the grade (either in the lecture during which it was first handed out or on the Blackboard). Grade contesting beyond this time window will not be allowed.

Class Home Page: Throughout the term, all course material (announcements, slides, handouts, etc.) will be available on the GMU Blackboard system. Important announcements will be also sent by e-mail to the students' GMU e-mail addresses.

Computer Accounts: All students should have accounts on VSE Unix cluster (aka zeus.vse.gmu.edu). Information can be found here. Your programs will be tested and graded on the VSE Unix Cluster. If you develop your programs on systems other than zeus, it will be your responsibility to port them to zeus before the submission deadlines.

Classroom Behavior: During the lectures, the students should avoid behavior that may distract others, including chatting, sleeping, playing games. The use of electronic devices (including laptops, tablets, cell phones, smartphones, etc.) is not allowed in this class. If you feel that your learning will be hampered by not having access to your tablet/laptop computer for note-taking or other course-related purpose, you should speak to the instructor at the beginning of the term.

Disability Statement: If you have a learning or physical difference that may affect your academic work, you will need to furnish appropriate documentation to GMU Disability Resource Center (DRC). If you qualify for accommodation, the DRC staff will give you a form detailing appropriate accommodations for your instructor. If you have such a condition, you must talk to the instructor during the first week of the term about the issue.