CS 261: Research Topics in Operating Systems

Tuesday/Thursday 1:00-2:30

Maxwell Dworkin 221 G125

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Syllabus

Background

Lecture Notes

Course Wiki

Professor Teaching Fellow

Margo Seltzer David Holland

Maxwell Dworkin 241 Maxwell Dworkin 213

margo@eecs.harvard.edu dholland@eecs.harvard.edu

http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/margo http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~dholland

617-496-5663 617-496-3976

Office hours: Monday 3:15-5:00 Friday 2-4

Professor	Teaching Fellow
Margo Seltzer	David Holland
Maxwell Dworkin 241	Maxwell Dworkin 213
margo@eecs.harvard.edu	dholland@eecs.harvard.edu
http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/margo	http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~dholland
617-496-5663	617-496-3976
Office hours: Monday 3:15-5:00	Friday 2-4

Announcements

Quiz 3 is here!
VMware has a new cloud computing initiative and they are looking for both permanent employees and summer interns. If you are interested, please let me know.
Please fill out the remaining parts of the paper survey. The link is posted in the wiki (it is the same as before).
If you need an EECS account for your project, apply for a SEAS account here, and enter EECS under the "research group".
Final Project Assignment is now available.
This is a fun article about concurrent programming, where we are and where the hard problems are. Perhaps it will provide fodder for thinking about projects.
Here is a fun and relevant article
New background item: Common Problems with Conference/Journal Papers

Prerequisites

Computer Science 161 or equivalent.

Learning Objectives

This course is an introduction to operating systems research. After completing this course, you should be able to:

Read systems papers critically.
Explain how modern systems research fits into the historical context.
Identify open research problems in systems.
Write constructive paper reviews.
Design a research project to address an open research problem.
Carry out a research project and present results both orally and in writing.

Coursework includes the following components:

Reading and discussing classic and current research papers.
Homework assignments focusing on research methodology.
Three quizzes (each one-half class).
Research Project of your choice.
Mock Program Committee: reviewing your classmates' research papers.

The readings fall into give main categories. We will begin with an historical overview of operating systems, beginning with some of the earliest operating systems and ending with today's cutting edge research. We'll then examine the current trend in operating systems by reading about virtual machine monitors and the rebirth of virtualization. Next, we will view storage and file system evolution over the past forty years, arriving at some of the most recent additions to the storage stack. Our study of storage systems will lead directly into distributed systems, where we will see how the earliest research laid the groundwork for today's internetworked world. Finally, we will cover topics where systems research has been informed by work in different communities such as programming languages.

The course culminates with a research project, where students practice the art of operating systems research. There will be several deliverables on the way to a final project, including (but not limited to) a research statement, a research plan, an extended abstract, a final paper, and an oral presentation. At each stage of the process, I will provide detailed feedback and suggestions.

Course Requirements

20% Class Participation (including reading write-ups)
15% Quizzes (three quizzes; 5% each)
15% Homework Assignments
50% Final Project

Course Policies

No late work
Projects may be completed in teams (homeworks must be completed independently unless you receive permission).