CS 707 – Distributed Software Systems

Spring 2007

Prof. Elizabeth White

Office: S&T II, Rm. 429

Phone: 703-993-1586

Email: white@cs.gmu.edu – Put CS707 in the subject line

Course Content

This class focuses on concepts that arise in the design and implementation of distributed software applications. Issues include making distributed applications secure, reliable, and scalable will be discussed. Programming assignments will involve middleware technologies such as TCP/IP sockets and RMI.

The following topics will be covered: (note: this list does not represent the order in which these topics will be covered)

1. Distributed systems, computer networks, concurrent programming (Review)
2. Distributed Systems Concepts
1. The Client/Server model
2. Naming
3. Coordination and Synchronization
4. Distributed Architectures
5. Consistency & Replication
6. Fault Tolerance
7. Peer to Peer Systems
3. Middleware technologies
1. TCP/IP Sockets
2. RPC/RMI/CORBA/Web Services
3. Message-oriented Middleware

Pre-reqs: CS 571, CS 706 and a strong knowledge of C, C++ and/or Java. If you do not have the pre-requisites, you must have my permission to enroll.

Textbook

The textbook for this class is
Andrew Tannenbaum and Maarten van Steen, ``Distributed Systems: Paradigms and Principles'', Prentice-Hall, Second Edition, 2007.

There will be additional readings required and several recommended texts; class notes will also be provided as needed.

Class Web Page

Materials for this class will be kept on the class web page:

http://cs.gmu.edu/~white/CS707

You should check this webpage periodically for announcements.

Grading Policies

• There will be several programming assignments involving the development of a distributed application using various middleware technologies such as sockets, CORBA/RMI. The software required for these projects is available on the computers in the IT&E Lab. 60% of your grade will be based on your implementation of these programming assignments.
• In addition, there will be a midterm exam and final exam, each worth 20% of the overall grade. The final exam may be a take-home – this will be announced in April.

Honor Code

You are expected to abide by the honor code. Programming assignments and exams are individual efforts. Information on the university honor code can be found at:
http://jiju.gmu.edu/catalog/apolicies/honor.html