Class Notes for CSE 531

This page contains bulleted lists of topics covered in class. No detail.
(spelling errors and typo's have not been checked carefully).

An article on Network Operating Systems (overview)

A set of lecture notes. Please read the section entitled "Distributed Systems - II"

Class 1: August 26^th

• Introduction to distributed computing
• What is distribution
• Types of networking
• Distributed Algorithms
• Classifications of machines (UMA, NUMA, SIMD, MIMD)

Class 2: August 28^th

• Multiprocessor machines (MIMD, SIMD, UMA, NUMA, NORMA)
• Design and use of MIMD/UMA machines
• Bus, cache architecture
• OS design considerations for UMA machines
• Re entrant OS, Spin locks

Class 3: Sept.3^rd

• Spin locks contd.
• Mutex locks
• OS design issues - for UMA machines
• NUMA machines - how to use them
• Programming methods for NUMA machines. Applications for NUMA.

Class 4: Sept 8^th

• NORMA machines
• Programming and use strategies for NORMA machines
• PVM, MPI Linda

Class 5: Sept 10^th

1. Linda continued
2. Distributed Computing introduced
3. Evolution of networking and distributed computing
4. Basic Facilities - telnet/rsh/ftp/mail
5. Information and resource sharing
6. Networked file systems, NFS, AFS

Class 6: Sept 15^th

• Why are Dist Systems good?

• What is a Dist OS - integration of autonomous computers.
• Issues:
  Transparency - *- access, *- location, *- replication, *- failure
  Reliability - *- Fault avoidance, *- fault tolerance, *- failure detection and *- recovery
  Flexibility - microkernels
  Performance - *- caching, *- less copying, *- low latency protocols, *- reduce network traffic
  Scalability - *- avoid centralized *- do things on clients 

Class 7: Sept 17^th

• The message passing paradigm
• Distribution and distributable system designs
• Basic message passing API
• Writing trivial applications with message passing

Class 8: Sept 22^nd

• Important: Homework handed out: Submit problems 1, 2, 3, 5, 10.
• Client Server programs - program skeletons
• Matching clients and servers - creating client ports and passing to server
• Locating servers via name service
• Attributes of name service - well known ports, replication
• Multithreaded servers - introduction

Class 9: Sept 24^th

• Attributes and properties of multithreaded servers
• Programming multithreaded servers
• Global memory, state etc. Statefull and Stateless servers
• Architecture of multithreaded servers - fixed number of threads versus dynamic number of threads

Class 10: Sept 29^th

• Multithreading servers, and properties of different approaches to multithreading
• Coroutines

Class 11: Oct 1^st

• User Level Multithreading - non-preemptive
• Pre-emptive multithreading (user level)

Class 12: Oct 6^th

• Threads continued
• Architecture of Client/Server/Message based distributed operating systems

Class 13: Oct 8^th

• Microkernels, performance issues, hybrid kernels
• Implementation of send/receive

Class 14: Oct 13^th

• Implementation of message passing systems
• Capabilities and access rights

Class 15: Oct 15^th - MID TERM EXAM

• Exam will be held in class, during the class period. Extra time allocation may not be possible.
• Exam is open book, open notes.
• Any impropriety during the exam will be treated seriously.

Class 16: Oct 20^th

• Capabilities, contd.
• Location independent naming
• Centralized, Distributed Locking
• Read write locking service (with upgrades and downgrades)

Project 1: Simple Lock Manager

• Resources for Project 1:
  • Project Description
  • The software package called "os.h"
  • Basic instructions on using "os.h"
  • A template

Class 17: Oct 22^nd

• Remote Procedure Calls
• Interface Definition Language (stubs, server loops, client server bindings, marshalling...)

Class 18: Oct 27th

• RPC Semantics
• What is Distributed Shared Memory
• DSM Semantics
• How is DSM implemented

Class 19: Oct 29th

• Sequential Consistent DSM
• Server algorithms
• Page invalidations

Class 20: Nov 3rd

• Page shuttling
• Using locking in DSM system

Class 21 Nov 5th

• Release Consistent DSM
• using XOR to update pages

Class 22: Nov 10th

• Project: Building a DSM server and DSM clients

Project 2: A DSM System

• Project Description for Project 2
• DSM Magic - software for project 2
• A program that works on most Unix platforms
• os.h - needs major repair

Class 23: Nov 12th

• More Project Details
• The Muddy Children Problem
• Common Knowledge Definition

Class 24: Nov 17th

• How common knoledge theory shows consensus and hence almost any distributed programming is impossible in distributed system (where there is a chance of lost messatges)
• Clocks in Distributed Systems
• Physical clock synchronization to real time (reading assignment)
• Concept of logical clocks
• Lamport Clocks
• Vector Clocks

Class 25: Nov 19th

• Project Clarifications
• Vector Clocks
• Snapshots - what is it, why use it, how to get it
• Snapshots, Chandy/Misra/Haas Algorithm
• Proof of correctness

Class 26: Nov 24th

• Project/Snapshots, clarifications
• Distributed Mutual Exclusion
• Centalized Algo
• Lamport Algo
• Ricart/Agrawal Algo
• Maekawa Algo

Class 27: Nov 26th

• Replication Control Algorithms

Class 28: Dec 1st

• No Class

Class 29: Dec 3rd

• Scheduling in Distributed Systems

Class 30: Dec 8th

• Distributed Deadlock Detection (Chandy and Misra probe algorithm)
• Wrap up