Midterm Proposal

C S 5113 Distributed OS

Operating Systems Theory (Fall 2020)

Due 10/13

Goals of the project

You are to design and build a project that highlights are solves distributed operating system issues. The scope of completion is before the end of the semester. You will have checkpoints describing, testing, and completing your project. As you work through the project, be sure to comment your code and keep track of your progress. We expect your code will be backed up to a private GitHub repository.

Scope

You are expected to use design your own project. An idea for a starting project will be posted. Your project should be non-trivial but it is okay to not save the world. You should design a focused projects that solves or explores specific technical problems.

Important Dates

Your midterm proposal is due into canvas on 10/13.

Project Proposal

This is generally a document describe big ideas and the expected technical details that must be solved. It may take quite a bit of foresight to design and discuss the project. This document should be approximately 1-2 pages and describes the overarching purpose of your project. It may be helpful to create figures of your design to include in your document. You will need to cite the possible solutions to the technical issues, even pointing to where the issue is discussed to our textbook or reference material.

You are expected to give a detailed description of the problem you are solving. You a should provide background and motivation to the problem you have identified. You must explain why this distributed system problem is difficult. Then, discuss your planned solution. You should also discuss alternative solution you chose not to pursue. For all technologies that are required, name them, and describe how you will obtain and employ them. Create a plan for testing your code. For example, it can be a suite of unit tests and give an example of how the test can be run. Describe how you will evaluate your work. What metrics will you use to measure success: time? errors? Etc. Create a plan of work. Make a convincing case that you know how to achieve the proposed goal. Step-by-step, go in details about what needs to be accomplished, how long it will take, and how it relates to other parts. You can make a structured table and schedule. You cannot know all the details yet, because you haven’t even started, but your plan should outline the main steps so that it is clear that you have a plan. During the final project you will show your completed project and how close you were to your goals.

Requirements

Below is a checklist of the components required for the proposal.

Description of the problem.
Identification of distributed systems problems that must be overcome. (CS 4113 2+, CS 5113 3+).
List of technologies employed.
Description of how code will be tested.
Detailed description of how success will be evaluated.
Your plan of work.

For clarity in grading, label each section in your document with the corresponding requirement.

Grading

Submission of the PDF version of your document should be uploaded to canvas. Visit Dr. Grant in office hours for questions. Note, your project should be non-trivial. But the difficulty is expected to be in the solutions to the distributed OS problems. Please guard your time and errort appropriately. You are encouraged to submit your write up early. Clarification and corrections will be posted here.

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