CS 471 Syllabus - Fall 2021

1 Course Basics

1.0 Course Overview

CS471 provides an introduction to the principles of operating systems theory and practice. Fundamental concepts such as processes, synchronization, scheduling, memory management, file systems, and security will be presented.

Topics for this semester will include.

Operating System Fundamentals
Processes
Concurrency and Synchronization
CPU Scheduling
Memory Management and Virtual Memory
File and Storage Systems
Security

1.1 Schedule

The planned course schedule will be found on Blackboard under Schedule when Blackboard is Opened.
All courses will meet in-person at the times listed in the following section using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra.

1.2 Professor and Section Information

Face Masks and In-Person Classes:

As of August 11, 2021, everyone, including those who are vaccinated, are required to wear a face mask in buildings.

https://universitypolicy.gmu.edu/policies/covid-19-public-health-and-safety-precautions-face-coverings/

In-Person Classes are all going to be held as scheduled.

If anything changes, we will let you know any alternate meeting policies as needed.
Blackboard Collaborate is the online instructional method that we would be using in that scenario.

More Information on the Safe Return to Campus is in Section 3 of the Syllabus.

Lecture	Professor	Email	Class Time	Class Location
002	Prof. Kevin Andrea	kandrea (at) gmu (dot) edu	TR 1:30pm - 2:45pm	Music/Theater 1005
003	Prof. Kevin Andrea	kandrea (at) gmu (dot) edu	TR 10:30am - 11:45am	East 201

GTA for Section 002 is Yuqi Fu (yfu5@gmu.edu) [Office Hours: Wed 1:00-3:00pm in ENGR 5321]
GTA for Section 003 is Yuyang Leng (yleng2@gmu.edu) [Office Hours: Mon 12:00-2:00pm on Blackboard Online)

Your Professor will be responsible for all lecture and course material, as well as grading your examinations.

Your GTA will be responsible for providing assistance for and ultimately grading your course projects.
Their Contact Information and Office Hours will be available on Piazza (link in section 1.7).

This is a 3-credit course.

1.3 Office Hours

Office Hours locations and times are available on Piazza (link in section 1.7).

For Exam and Homework Grading Questions, see your Professor
For Project Assistance, post on Piazza
For Project Questions or Project Grading Questions, see your Recitation GTA

1.4 Prerequisites

The prerequisites are automatically and strictly enforced.

Grade of C or better in CS 310 and
Grade of C or better in CS 367 (or ECE 445)

1.5 Course Outcomes

The CS department has identified these outcomes as ones that must be met throughout the semester.

Demonstrate knowledge of operating systems features, evolution, and design.
Show an understanding of the need for concurrent operation of multiple tasks (processes/threads) and an ability to solve basic process synchronization problems that arise from concurrent operation settings.
Demonstrate knowledge of process scheduling, basic memory management, storage systems, and file system management techniques and their impact on performance.
Be able to implement basic algorithms for OS services such as memory management and process scheduling.
emonstrate knowledge of security threats to an operating system from both processes and networked sources and show an understanding of protection techniques.
Demonstrate knowledge of how system calls work along with the mechanisms for interrupt handling.

1.6 Required Textbook

In this class, the main resource for the material will be the lectures and slides delivered by the instructor. There are many, many different ways to approach these topics, and each operating system (and each different version or that code) may support completely different implementations. For this reason, there is no one required textbook. The lectures are the primary resource for the course.

The following textbooks, however, all cover the same topics, albeit in slightly different ways. Any of these books may be used as supplemental reference for the course. The one book that will be referred to the most is the following book, which is available completely for free online.

Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces (Online Book, Arpaci-Dusseau Books) by R.H. Arpaci-Dusseau and A.C. Arpaci-Dusseau. Available: http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~Eremzi/OSTEP/

Additionally, these other textbooks are also good resources for in-depth discussions of Operating Systems topics. They generally cover the same topics as the Three Easy Pieces textbook:

Operating System Concepts by Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne (9th or 10th Edition, John Wiley & Sons)
Operating Systems - Principles and Practice (2nd Edition, Recursive Books) by Anderson and Dahlin
Modern Operating Systems (4th edition, Pearson) by A. S. Tanenbaum

None of these books are required, but if you are interested in more detailed analyses of different implementations we discuss in class, or would like more information about any topic, all four of these books are good references for the same OS design concepts we will cover in class.

1.7 Piazza

Piazza Course Link: TBA

All correspondence concerning Projects will go through Piazza.
All messages you write will be private only, but any of the course GTAs across all of the sections will be able to respond to your question about the projects.
Assignments will be posted to Blackboard and are common to all sections.

1.8 Blackboard

http://mymason.gmu.edu
All digital work is submitted to Blackboard by the given deadlines.
Grades are posted on Blackboard for all assignments.

1.9 Computer Accounts

All work must compile and run on Zeus. This is the reference machine architecture and all projects will be tested and graded on the Zeus server.

Zeus is an x86-64 Architecture server running Linux.

All grading occurs on this system; other systems might be more forgiving for memory errors, and you don't want to find that out with your grade!
To access Zeus from off campus, you will need to set up a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
Instructions for accessing Zeus in general, and from off campus, are in the following link.

https://labs.vse.gmu.edu/index.php/Systems/Zeus

2 Grading

The course will have two midterms and a final, which will all be online. Much of the work during the semester will be completing projects, as well as regular online homework assignments.

In general, all grades should be available about one week after turning it in.

2.1 Semester Grades

Weighting of Assessments:

Category	grade %	notes
Projects	30% Total	Approximately Three Projects (PA0 - PA2)
Homework Assignments	15% Total	Approximately 6 Homeworks
Midterms	15% Each (30% Total)
Final Exam	25%	Cumulative

In order to pass the course, a minimum score of 40% is required on the Final Exam.

2.2 Grading Scale

Grades will be assessed on the following scale:

Grade	Cut-off	Grade	Cut-off	Grade	Cut-off	Grade	Cut-off
A+	98 %	B+	88%	C+	78%	D	60%
A	92 %	B	82%	C	72%	F	0%
A-	90 %	B-	80%	C-	70%

Grades will not be rounded prior to assessing the letter grades.

2.3 Calculating Semester Grades

You should always be able to calculate your semester grade at any point in the semester with the weightings and the scales above.
There will be no make-up or extra-credit assignments at the end of the semester; your grade should be a measure of your semester-long progress.
This is not a course that receives a magic, gigantic curve at the end. Wherever your grade is headed, that is the outcome you should expect after continued efforts.

2.4 Projects (Programming Assignments)

Projects are significantly more involved than in previous classes.

You will be working on an OS kernel. There will be hundreds of files in the build.
You will be designing new OS features and integrating them into the kernel.

- Start your projects early. You will need extra time to design your solution before programming.
- You will need time to design test cases for your projects as well. Test cases will not be provided.
- There is a significant design and code reading component to these projects.
Projects are due at a specific time on a specific day.
Each Project will Specify Rules and Penalties for that Project.

In General, there will be a late penalty stated on each project.
Submissions late by 3 days or more will not be accepted.

- Submit your projects early and often.
- Do not wait until the last minute, submission may take extra time at the deadlines.
- Always submit at least a few minutes before the deadline.
There are No Late Tokens. The Deadlines are fixed, though each project will specify any late penalties.
Code that doesn't compile will likely get a very, very low score. It specifically must compile on the zeus server.
Turning it in on BlackBoard: Each Project will contain submission instructions.
- Turning in the wrong files will likely result in a zero.
- Backup your work! Catastrophic computer failure will not be cause for an extension.

2.5 Homework Assignments

There will be occasional homework assignments.
The homework assignments will all be assigned on Blackboard.
These will cover the major topics in the course and will be your best way to prepare for the exams.

2.6 Tests and Final Exam

There will be two Midterms and one Final Exam.
All exams will be adminstered in-class, using the full class time.

Details will be provided by your Professor ahead of any exam.

If you know you will miss a test, let your Professor know as soon as possible to coordinate an alternate time.
- The reason for missing a test must be verified with documentation and may not be automatically granted.
If you miss a test (without prior approval), and a valid reason is verified with documentation (ER visit, traffic accident, etc.), we may elect to allow the final exam to count the extra amount to give you a sort of do-over. This policy is not automatic, however.
If you miss the final, there is very little I can do for you. Don't miss the final!
- The Dean has to approve any requests to take missed final exams.
- This is only granted for medical or other extraordinary circumstances.
The final can not be given early. You are starting the course with knowledge of the schedule (see GMU's Final Exam Calendar for the latest schedule, updated as weather events require).

2.7 Contested Grades

If you feel points have been incorrectly deducted, contact the grader:
- Tests and Homework Assignments: Contact your Professor.
- Projects: Contact your GTA
If you have not initiated contact within one week of the grade being made available, it is permanent.

No grade-hunting in the last couple of weeks!

We strive to grade each student's work fairly and uniformly, often through specific test cases and grader-group-discussions, which might even be automated as part of the grading process.

2.8 Course Repetition

There is a limit of three graded attempts for this course.
A Withdrawal (W) does not count as a graded attempt.
Please see AP. 1.3.4 in the University Catalog and consult with your academic advisor if you have any questions.

3 Safe Return to Campus

All students taking courses with a face-to-face component are required to take Safe Return to Campus Training prior to visiting campus.

Training is available in Blackboard
https://www2.gmu.edu/safe-return-campus/communications-and-training

Similarly, all students in face to face and hybrid courses must also complete the Mason COVID Health Check daily, seven days a week. The COVID Health Check system uses a color code system and students will receive either a Green, Yellow, or Red email response.
Students are required to follow the university's public health and safety precautions and procedures outlined on the university Safe Return to Campus webpage.

https://www2.gmu.edu/safe-return-campus

Websites on Face Masks and Vaccination Requirements:

Student Assistance (Financial):

https://www2.gmu.edu/safe-return-campus/covid-19-student-financial-aid-faq

Only students who receive a "green" notification are permitted to attend courses with a face-to-face component. If you suspect that you are sick or have been directed to self-isolate, please quarantine or get testing. Faculty are allowed to ask you to show them that you have received a Green email and are thereby permitted to be in class.

4 The Honor Code

The honor code at George Mason is an important part of our academic culture. A degree from this institution should be a direct measure of your own progress and abilities, and as such at all times we must ensure that all work that should be your own is your own.

We take the honor code quite seriously. Any attempts at copying or sharing code, algorithms, or other violations of the honor code simply will not be tolerated.

As seductively simple as it may seem to just copy and paste work from a friend or online source, remember that it is just as easy to compare your work electronically, and discover the similarities. We use automated software to flag suspicious cases, and then review them by hand to find the cases that must be submitted to the Office of Academic Integrity. Repeat to yourself: it's not worth trying to cheat. We will catch it, and sadly but surely, we will turn it in.

The penalty for cheating will always be far worse than a zero grade, to ensure it's not worth taking the chance. The usual recommendation is failure in the course and will be accompanied by an academic integrity seminar. It's a pretty sure-fire way to lose a semester and lose some implicated friends; please don't put yourself through that experience!

4.0 General Rules of Thumb

You are not allowed to use code from the Internet.

This includes Stackoverflow, Chegg, github, or any other site with code.

You are not allowed to discuss any implementation (code) or design decisions with anyone outside of your group.

This includes prior students and students from other sections or students outside of your group.

You are not allowed to share or use any code from any other student.

4.1 Some Specifics and Links

All students will abide by GMU's Honor Code.
All work must be your own. If you are caught cheating, you and every other involved student will be turned in to the honor court.
See the CS Honor Code Policies to understand better what constitutes cheating in the CS setting. It clarifies some scenarios that are unique to our sorts of assignments.
Here are Prof. Snyder's thoughts about the Honor Code in a CS classroom.

5 Inclusion

6 Learning Disabilities

Students with a learning disability or other condition (documented with GMU's Office of Disability Services) that may impact academic performance should speak with the professor ASAP to discuss appropriate accommodations.
We are quite happy to assist as is appropriate, but it must be documented ahead of time by ODS.
- Bringing the paperwork with you to a scheduled exam or at the deadline for a project or an assigned quiz is far too late!
- Even if you don't know if you plan on utilizing the accommodations ahead of time, it's in your best interest to prepare them ahead of time.

7 Sexual Harassment and Interpersonal Violence

As a faculty member and designated "Responsible Employee," I am required to report all disclosures of sexual assault, interpersonal violence, and stalking to Mason's Title IX Coordinator per university policy 1412. If you wish to speak with someone confidentially, please contact the Student Support and Advocacy Center (703-380-1434), Counseling and Psychological Services (703-993-2380), Student Health Services, or Mason's Title IX Coordinator (703-993-8730; cde@gmu.edu).

8 Privacy and Email

Students must use their Masonlive email account to receive important University information, including communications related to this class.

I can not respond to messages sent from or send messages to a non-Mason email address.

To protect your privacy, I also cannot list your Masonlive email address on any public forum or provide it to any other students.
- You may, of course, give your email address to any other students.
Video recordings of class meetings that are shared only with the instructors and students officially enrolled in a class do not violate FERPA or any other privacy expectation.

All course materials posted to Blackboard or other course site are private; by federal law, any materials that identify specific students (via their name, voice, or image) must not be shared with anyone not enrolled in this class.

Operating Systems (CS 471) Syllabus - Fall 2021