inf015 - Distributed Operating Systems (Complete module description)

Operating systems I

This module deals with the fundamentals of distributed operating systems. It gives an understanding of the terminology, structures, functions, conceptions, key problems and implementation concepts of distributed operating systems.
Professional competence

• The students:
• evaluate the performance and functionality of distributed operating systems
• are aware of the realisation problems of distributed operating systems
• know and evaluate standard methods of solving problems in the context of distributed operating systems
• use standard methods to solve problems in the context of distributed operating systems

Methodological competence
The students:

• use standard methods of the distributed operating system domain to solve problems in other contexts
• analyse and rank different solutions in the problem domain wrt. relevant properties

Social competence
The students:

• solve problems in small teams
• present their solutions to the members of the tutorial
• duscuss their sdifferent solutions with members of the tutorial

Self competence
The students:

• accept critcism
• question their initial solutions in the light of newly learned methods

The contents of this module are:

1. The historical development towards distributed operating systems
2. Models of distributed computer systems
3. Models of distributed operating systems
4. Design criteria of distributed operating systems
5. Interprocess communication (Computer Networks, Message Passing, Remote Procedure Call)
6. Memory management
   • DSM
7. Process management
   • Task allocation
   • Load balancing
   • Load distribution
   • Process migration
8. Synchronisation
   • Clocks
   • Ordering of events
   • Distributed mutual exclusion
   • Distributed leader lection
   • Deadlocks
9. Naming and locatisation of objects
10. Distributed file systems
11. Fault tolerance concepts

• Chow and Johnson (1998): Distributed Operating Systems and Algorithms, Addison-Wesley
• Tanenbaum und van Steen (2007): Distributed Systems: Principles und Paradigms, 2nd edition, Pearson/Prentice Hall
• Singhal und Shivaratri (1996): Advanced Concepts in Operating Systems, McGraw-Hill
• Coulouris, Dollimore, Kindberg (2001): Distributed Systems: Concepts and Design, Addison-Wesley

Associated with the modules:

• Betriebssysteme Iand I & II
• Betriebssysteme-Praktikum
• Fehlertoleranz in verteilten Systemen (as a possible differentiation)

End of the lecture period

Training tasks, written exam or oral exam