22C:166 Distributed Systems and Algorithms

(Fall 2009) 10:55AM-12:10PM Tuesdays and Thursdays, Room 201 CEF. This course (22C:166 EXW) is also being offered via the World Wide Web.

Instructor: Sukumar Ghosh
201P MLH, ghosh@cs.uiowa.edu, 319-335-0738
Office Hours: 1:30-3:00 PM Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Announcements, Prerequisites, Handouts, Homework and Exams, Lecture Notes, On-line resources,

Textbook

Sukumar Ghosh: Distributed Systems: An Algorithmic Approach, 2006 CRC Press (ISBN 158488564) Table of contents

In addition to the textbook, we will use the following books as references:

1. Gerard Tel , "Introduction to Distributed Algorithms," Cambridge University Press 2000
2. Andrew Tannenbaum, Maarten van Steen , "Distributed Systems: Principles and Paradigms," Prentice Hall (2nd edition) 2006.

The reference books will be on reserve in the Mathematical Sciences Library from the second week of the course.

Prerequisites

Some knowledge of Operating Systems and/or Networking, Algorithms, and interest in Distributed Computing. This is not a programming course. Our goal is to learn and analyze why and how distributed systems work, why some of them fail, and how to tolerate failures and various dynamic behaviors.

Teaching Assistant

Andrew Berns. adberns@cs.uiowa.edu, 201N Maclean Hall, 319-353-2547
Office hours: Mondays 2:30-4:00 PM, and Wednesdays 2:00-3:30 PM.

Course Outline

Introduction to Distributed Systems
Models and Proof
Time and Clocks
Distributed Mutual Exclusion
Distributed Snapshot and Global States
Distributed Algorithms for Graphs
Fault and Fault-tolerance
Distributed Transactions
Distributed Consensus
Group Communication
Replicated data management
Self-stabilization
Applications: peer-to-peer networks

Course policies are governed by the College of Liberal Arts.

Handouts

First day handout

Homework and Exams

Five homeworks worth 30% of the final grade. Two midterm exams and a final worth 70% of the grade. The midterm examinations will be scheduled in the evening. All students taking this course, including those taking it via the World Wide Web, are required to be on campus for taking the examinations. Assignments will be posted on ICON , and students will submit their work through ICON. Students taking this course via the World Widde Web are encouraged to communicate via email - send questions about grades to the TA (with a copy to the instructor) and clarifications of lectures /course materials to the Instructor (with a copy to the TA)

Homework 1. Assigned 9/10, Due 9/17
Homework 2. Assigned 9/17, Due 9/24
Homework 3. Assigned 10/15, Due 10/22
Homework 4. Assigned 10/29, Due 11/05
Homework 5. Assigned 12/1, Due 12/08
Midterm Examination 1 on 10/01 (5:30-7:30 PM, Room 113 MLH)
Midterm Examination 2 on 11/17 (5:30-7:30 PM, Room 113 MLH)
Final Examination on 12/16 (7:30-9:30 AM, Room 105 MLH)

Tentative scale for letter grades

A+ = 95-100     B+ = 80-84     C+ = 65-69     D+ = 50-54    F = 0-39
A  = 90-94      B  = 75-79     C  = 60-64     D  = 45-49
A- = 85-89      B- = 70-74     C- = 55-59     D- = 40-44

The instructor reserves the right to make minor modifications in the above grading scale.