Systems and Networks
CS U480

Spring, 2009
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday at 10:30 - 11:35, Room 325 BK
Final Exam: TBA

Instructor

John Casey, jcasey@ccs.neu.edu
348 WVH
617 - 373 - 3550

Course Calendar

Click here for the current calendar.

News

Watch here for updates: assignments,etc.

Resources

Java API specification

Java Tutorial

A good, and also authoritative book: The Java Programming Language, Fourth Edition.
Ken Arnold, James Gosling, and David Holmes, Addison-Wesley, 2006.

Course Description

Prerequisites

This course assumes familiarity with basic computer organization- how processors and memory work; it will also use data structures like lists.

The programming assignments will be done in Java.

According to the catalog, CS U380 is the formal prerequisite.

Overview

An introduction to the basic concepts underlying how operating systems and networks get their work done.

Topics

About operating systems:
operating system structures
processes
threads
CPU scheduling
deadlocks
main memory
virtual memory
file system interface
file-system implementation
mass-storage structure

And, for networks:
protocols on the Internet
edge vs. core
circuit switching vs. packet switching
delay and loss in packet-switched networks
protocol layers and service models

Student responsibilities

1. Students are expected to attend classes regularly, to be on time, and not to leave the classroom before the class is over.

2. Readings, exercises, quizzes, two or three programming assignments, one exam, and a final.

Plagiarism

We encourage people to get together and discuss the assignments, prepare for tests, etc. But this is not the same as copying some one else's code or answers to assignments. If we find material that is substantially the same in two people's work, we'll follow the University's procedures.

After today's class:

Read Silberschatz, Sections 1.1 - 1.7, pp. 1 - 25. The parts to read carefully are Sec. 1.2.1, Computer System Operation, and 1.5.1, Dual-Mode Operation.

Textbooks


Abraham Silberschatz, Peter Baer Galvin, and Greg Gagne. Operating System Concepts. Wiley, Hoboken, NJ, 2009.
Eighth edition.

Other Ways to Learn

Another commonly used textbook, which you might find useful, is:
Andrew S. Tanenbaum.
Modern Operating Systems: Third Edition.
Prentice-Hall, 2008.