Course Overview
This course offers an intensive coverage of the basic concepts of both traditional and distributed operating systems as they relate to telecommunication systems. Various abstractions created by an operating system will be presented in detail. Topics on multimedia operating systems, multiprocessor operating systems, computer networks, and a high level discussion on computer security will be covered. Several labs on Operating System Concepts and Internet technology are assigned.

Prerequisites
MET CS 231 or MET CS 232 and MET CS 272

Learning Objectives
At the completion of this course the students will be able to understand the distributed computer science concepts that are applied in computer networks. They will acquire the foundation for all the advanced courses on internetworking and protocol software development.

Methods of Instruction
Lectures will be given weekly. Students are expected to attend all lectures. Classes missed for any cause other than illness may not be make up. Excessive absences may be reported to the Office of the Dean and may cause a low final grade. Each lecture is 3-hour long, including a recession of 10-15 minutes.

Evaluation and Grading
Homework assignments are given during some lectures. There will be 5 homework assignments. These assignments are due just before the next lecture. Written answers are acceptable, though email submissions are preferable. Acceptable format of electronic submissions are: HTML, Word Document, PostScript, and PDF). There will be two programming projects, one in each half of the semester. The first project is due just before the midterm exam and the second project is due just before the final exam. The students will have 3-4 weeks-= to finish the projects. If collaboration is initiated between two students (no more than 2 students), then the students should talk to the instructor. Independent work on programming projects is encouraged and may result in extra credit. Programming projects will be submitted in electronic format, and it should include both commented source code(C/C++/Java, and Java is preferable) as well as documents describing the implementation details. The projects will be evaluated based on correctness, completeness, neatness, and its documentation. There are one midterm exam and one final exam. The shorter midterm will cover all topics discussed in the first half, while the 3-hour final exam will emphasize the topics covered in the second half. Exams will be in written format. The final grade of this course will depend on the follows: Homework assignments: 20% Project assignments: 20% Midterm exam: 25% Final exam: 35%

Academic Honesty
The course is governed by the Academic Conduct Committee policies regarding plagiarism (any attempt to represent the work of another person as one's own). This includes copying (even with modifications) of a program or segment of code. You can discuss general ideas with other people, but the work you submit must be your own. Collaboration is not permitted.

Instructor Information
Instructor: Prashant Kumar
Email: prashant.kumar.2002@alum.bu.edu
Office Hours: After the class (after 9pm on Thursday)
Website: http://metcswebserver.bu.edu
Instructor: Tanya Zlateva, Ph.D., Assoc. Prof.
Office hours: Thursday, 5 pm - 6 pm
Office Address: 808 Commonwealth Ave., Room 250. Boston, MA 02215.
Telephone: 617-353-2568
E-mail: zlateva@bu.edu
web:http://metcs.bu.edu/~zlateva/
Fax: 617-353-2367

Lab
Several Labs on Operating System Concepts and Internet technology will be required.

Homework
- Reading the relevant material in the textbook is essential for gaining a thorough understanding of the topics covered in the course.
- Not all of the material in each chapter will be covered during lecture/discussion, but the material should be read in any case.
- Your programs must be done C/C++ or Java on Unix/Linux platform.

References

Required Testbooks
Modern Operating Systems, Second Edition, Andrew S Tanenbaum, ISBN: 0-13-031358-0
Optional Textbooks
1. Applied Operating System Concepts, First Edition by Abraham Silberschatz, Peter Galvin and Greg Gagne, ISBN: 0-471-26314-1.
2. Advanced Programming in the Unix Environment by W. Richard Stevens, ISBN: 0201563177.

Schedule  

1. Introduction
2. Processes and Threads
3. Processes and Threads
4. Processes and Threads
5. Deadlocks
6. Memory Management
7. Memory Management
8. Mid term
9. Input/Output
10. File Systems
11. Multimedia Operating Systems
12. Distributed Systems
13. Distributed Systems
14. Security
15. Presentation & Final Exam