The Module Form
CO2017 Operating Systems, Networks and Distributed Systems
Credits: 20 Convenor: Dr. G. Laycock Semester: 2nd
Prerequisites: Essential: CO1003 Desirable: CO1005,CO1016,CO1018
Assessment: Coursework: 40% Three hour exam in May/June: 60%
Lectures: 30 hours
Surgeries: 10 hours
Laboratories: 20 hours
Private Study: 90 hours
Subject Knowledge
Aims To understand the role, structure and basic design of computer operating systems; the fun-
damental theory and practice of networks; and the theory and design of systems distributed through the
use of networks.
Learning Outcomes Students should be able to: describe the fundamentals of current computer
operating systems, and communications between computers; to use the Unix operating system; describe
key operating system features such as processes, threads, scheduling and synchronization, memory and
file-system management; solve simple problems concerning the benefits and costs of distribution of com-
puter systems; give detailed accounts of the structure and organization of network hardware and software;
describe the common physical attributes of networks.
Methods Class sessions together with recommended textbooks, lab practicals, worksheets, web
support.
Assessment Marked lab practicals, marked coursework, traditional written examination.
Skills
Aims To teach students scientific writing, problem solving and information handling skills.
Learning Outcomes Students will be able to: write short, clear summaries of technical knowledge;
solve abstract and concrete problems (both routine seen, and simple unseen), including numerical data;
locate and access information.
Methods Class sessions together with worksheets, lab practicals.
Assessment Marked lab practicals, marked courseworks, traditional written examination.
Explanation of Prerequisites Some knowledge of Java programming and of hardware is required.
Course Description An operating system forms the interface between the computer’s hardware and
the user; examples include Windows NT (and subsequent versions), Linux (and other versions of Unix),
and MacOS. The operating system has many tasks, such as: managing processes, allocating processor
time between different processes; allocating the memory between different processes; organizing input
and output; and managing files. The operating system is responsible for protecting the user from other
users, and where possible from himself/herself. The Operating Systems part of the module explains how
these tasks are carried out in modern computers, and the details of why it is desirable to link together
distributed systems to form a single unit.
Linking computers so they may communicate is very much a part of modern life, with the ever-rising
popularity of the Internet and the World Wide Web. In the Networks part of the course we will study
the science underpinning such communications. Topics of interest will include the underlying physical
media, the way data is represented, how errors in transmission can be detected and dealt with, the way
information is routed over a large network, and the details of some actual networks which yield distributed
computing systems.
Detailed Syllabus
Operating systems/Distributed systems
Introduction Overview; interrupts.
Process management Programs and processes; multitasking; dispatcher; scheduling and schedul-
ing policies; interprocess communication, in particular joint access to shared resources; threads;
Java thread programming.
Memory management Memory allocation methods; paging; virtual memory; segmentation; pro-
tection and sharing.
File management Concept of file; directory structure; file management techniques; directory
implementation.
Networks
Introduction Overview; different sorts of networks; layered protocols.
The Physical Layer A short overview.
The Data Link Layer Error detection and correction; flow control; channel allocation; protocols
for local area networks; bridges.
The Network Layer Datagrams and virtual circuits; routing; congestion control; internetwork-
ing; the network layer in the Internet.
The Transport Layer Connection management; transport layer in the Internet; congestion con-
trol; socket concept; Java socket programming.
The Application Layer Domain name system; E-mail system.
Reading List
[A] Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Modern Operating Systems, Prentice Hall, 2001. ISBN 0130313580.
[A] Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Computer Networks, Prentice Hall, 2003. ISBN 0130661023.
[A] Herbert Schildt, Java2: the complete reference, McGraw-Hill Osborne Media, 2006. ISBN-10:
0072263857.
Resources Study guide, computer lab, lecture rooms, worksheets, handouts, web page, course notes.
Module Evaluation Course questionnaires, course review.
General Information
1 General Timetable The lecture timetable is:
Monday 1400 ATT LT1
Monday 1600 ENG LT2
Tuesday 1700 KE LT3
2 Surgeries Surgeries take place on Monday 1700 in ENG LT2 (following directly from the lec-
ture). These sessions are primarily designed to give you an opportunity to ask, in general terms, questions
about the materials and programming problems you are currently working on.
3 Laboratories The worksheets require you to practice Linux Operating Systems commands and
complete a number of programming exercises. The supervised laboratory sessions are an opportunity for
you to obtain help and guidance on the exercises as you actually tackle them.
Laboratories take place on Friday 1500 to 1700, in the Charles Wilson Building, Floor 3 in the
Cityside Laboratories. They begin on Friday 29th January in Week 14. A number of questions will be
assessed in the laboratories and hence it is vital you attempt them before the beginning of the laboratory.
Overall, it is expected that you will do a considerable amount of programming work as private study.
4 Coursework The estimated hand-in days for assessed work are indicated below. Please refer to
the module website for up-to-date hand-in days for assessed work. The method for handing in completed
work will be explained in the lectures. Worksheets are weighted differently.
Week Lab Weighting Hand-In Feedback
(Monday) (Friday) (40% total) (Sunday) (Monday)
1/27 23 Jan Exercise 1 10%
2/28 30 Jan Exercise 1
3/29 6 Feb Exercise 1 Exercise 1
Exercise 2
4/30 13 Feb Exercise 2 15%
5/31 20 Feb Exercise 2
6/32 27 Feb Exercise 2 Exercise 1
7/33 6 Mar Exercise 3 15% Exercise 2
8/34 13 Mar Exercise 3
9/35 20 Mar Exercise 3
10/41 1 May Exercise 3 Exercise 3 Exercise 2
11/42 8 May
12/42 15 May Exercise 3
Handin deadlines are set to midnight on Sundays at the end of the week shown with the aim to get
feedback to you within 10 working days from the following Monday. In practice Exercise 2 personal
feedback should be emailed early in the Easter break.
Exercise 1 is a lab practice regarding Linux Operating Systems commands and will be marked in the lab.
Exercises 2 and 3 are programming exercises regarding Java Thread programming and Java Socket
programming respectively.
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Assessed (summative) coursework accounts for 40% of the total module mark. Coursework includes all
worksheets, problemsheets, tests and so on, but the module convenor has deemed some or all of these to
be assessed.
You should appreciate that coursework is an essential component of the module, both as an important
part of the learning process and also as a significant factor in the formal assessment. In particular, failure
to attempt a worksheet has two consequences; first, you will find it much more difficult to understand
the material, and second, you will have to score higher on the exam than would otherwise have been the
case in order to pass the module.
It is essential that you submit all of the assessed coursework; if not, then you will of course compromise
your overall module mark.
5 Feedback The University Policy on the Return of Marked Work promises that you will receive
marks and/or feedback on your coursework within 21 calendar days.
http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/sas2/quality/student-feedback/return-of-marked-work
The Department of Informatics will always strive to meet this 21 calendar day deadline, and in many
cases we will return marks and feedback within 10 working days. Please also see Section 10.
When the marking has been completed, you will receive feedback, which includes the grade that you
gained for the coursework and information to help you improve. The department has a standardised way
to give feedback, which is a short document entitled Coursework Feedback which will be made available
for every assessed piece of coursework. These documents will detail how and when feedback for the
coursework was or will be given. They will be available as pdf files on the module’s resources website.
Improvements to the module from last year include abandoning the class test as an assessed part of the
module. The class test was similar in nature to the final examination, and so was not contributing much
to the learning outcomes for students.
6 Examination Arrangements There will be a written examination in May/June which will
account for 60% of the total module mark. Subject to approval by the external examiner, the instructions
to candidates at the top of the paper will say
Attempt all questions. Full marks may be obtained only if all questions are answered.
Calculators are not allowed.
You will have 3 hours in which to answer the paper.
The module convenor will arrange for two hours of examination revision, which will most likely be based
around solutions of past papers. This will provide you with examples of model answers, which will be of
the level, quality and detail required by examiners for the award of maximum marks. Hints will be given
on the best approaches to questions and on exactly what the examiners are looking for.
7 Module Assessment In calculating the final percentage mark for this module, your coursework
percentage mark will be blended with your examination percentage mark in the ratio 40:60 to produce
the final percentage mark. The pass mark for this module is 40%.
Note that assessment arrangements and calculations are likely to be different if you are
resitting.
Subject to confirmation by the relevant University committees and external examiner(s), the reassessment
for this module will be by written examination and/or coursework dependent on which component(s) you
failed at the original attempt.
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8 Attendance at Surgeries and Problem Classes The nature of your academic obligations
varies from course to course. In the case of all the Informatics modules offered by the Department of
Informatics, the obligations include attendance at all surgeries, problem classes and laboratories. The
surgeries, problem class sessions and/or supervised laboratories offered on these modules make a vital
contribution to the learning process needed if you are to pass the module. Experience has shown that
students who fail to attend these sessions do significantly worse than those who do attend. It has therefore
been decided (see 3.3 of Policy on Attendance at Timetabled Teaching Events
www2.le.ac.uk/offices/sas2/regulations/documents/policy-for-attendance-at-timetabled-teaching-events)
that attendance at all surgeries, problem classes and laboratories is a requirement of this module.
Registers of attendance in addition to University monitoring may be kept. The department can decide
that students who do not attend may have their registration withdrawn.
In the event that you miss a surgery, problem class or laboratory due to illness or other such reasons, it is
essential that you inform the module convenor (you must also read Sections 12 and 13) so that this fact
can be recorded. If you are having problems, you should discuss them with the module convenor and/or
your personal tutor (or other members of staff as appropriate).
9 Students with Specific Learning Difficulties and Long Term Conditions The Ac-
cessAbility Centre of the University offers services and support for students with dyslexia, and other
specific learning difficulties, disabilities and long term conditions. Each academic department has an
AccessAbility Tutor. In Informatics this role is performed by the Welfare Tutor, Dr Fer-Jan de Vries.
He is the person within the department who you can talk to about any disability-related issues. You can
find more details at
https://campus.cs.le.ac.uk/ForStudents/welfare.
Assessment in Informatics can take many forms. You may have been provided with an Assessed Work
Cover Sheet by the AccessAbility Centre which you should attach to your written assessments so that your
work can be properly assessed by the module convenors. You might also require special arrangements for
class tests and oral assessments (such as additional time, quiet rooms or handouts in specific formats)
in which case you should discuss your needs with the AccessAbility tutor at least 7 days prior to such
assessment for appropriate arrangements to be made.
10 Late Submission of Course Work Please note that every assessed/summative or formative
coursework (worksheet/problemsheet/etc) in the Department of Informatics has a deadline for submission.
We need you to meet these deadlines, since it is in your interest that we keep to the prearranged timetable
for the marking and return of coursework so that you receive constructive feedback on your progress in
good time. Remember that the University policy is for all feedback to be issued within 21 calendar days
of the coursework submission date. In Informatics we aim to better this wherever possible, but remember
that quality marking and feedback does take time.
In Section 4 we specify the submission and return dates for individual courseworks, and hence a turnaround
time in working days for marking and feedback.
The following rules apply in regard of late submission of coursework.
Turnaround of More Than 10 Working Days
We adopt the standard University Rules of Assessment:
• www2.le.ac.uk/offices/sas2/regulations/documents/senatereg7-assessment.pdf
• www.le.ac.uk/sas/assessments/late-submission.
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Roughly speaking, you may submit after the submission date, but you will immediately lose 10% (of the
maximum mark available, even if only a minute late), and a further 5% for each further whole day late.
Thus it is still essential that you submit your coursework in time in order to ensure you have obtained
the best mark possible.
Turnaround of 10 Working Days or Less
• The submission deadline stated is a strict deadline, there will be no late submissions and work
handed in late will receive no marks.
We adopt this policy to show fairness to all students. On the occasions where we return coursework
within 10 working days, there are often tight schedules that markers have to work to and you must make
sure that you submit your coursework by the due date. The strict date also allows the possibility for
early general feedback before marked work is returned. The processes do not allow for late submissions.
In the event of your being unable to do coursework because of illness or other bona fide reason, allowance
will be made provided that a medical certificate or other adequate documentary evidence is produced
(see Sections 12 and 13).
In view of the importance of handing in work on time, you need to make a conscious effort
to organise your time effectively. Note in particular that when we allocate, say, three weeks
for a piece of coursework, we mean that it will take you three weeks (allocating the correct
proportion of your time to the module) to carry out the work. You will not be able to meet
the deadline if you spend two and a half weeks on something else and then try to do all the
work in the last three days.
11 Plagiarism The issue of plagiarism is very important. You MUST read the Uni-
versity’s statement and the departmental regulations concerning plagiarism. These can be
found in the University Regulations at
www.le.ac.uk/sas/assessments/plagiarism
and in the Information for Students web pages at:
https://campus.cs.le.ac.uk/ForStudents/plagiarism/Plagiarism.html
The University regards plagiarism and collusion as very serious offences and so they are subject to
strict penalties. The penalties that departments are authorised to apply are defined in the Regulations
governing student discipline, see
www.le.ac.uk/senate-regulation11
12 Mitigating Circumstances It is your responsibility to inform your department(s) of any
matters (whether of an academic, personal, medical or other nature) which may be relevant to your
academic performance, and to supply substantiating evidence, for example, a medical certificate. Such
information must be submitted promptly, with the following departmental deadlines governing the
latest submission date for evidence of special circumstances. Please try to submit well before the deadlines.
In order for the Board of Examiners to consider mitigating circumstances the relevant
Notification of Illness forms must be submitted by 12 noon of the Friday one week after the
end of the January and Midsummer examination periods or by 12 noon of the Wednesday
following the end of the September examination period.
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Appeals against degree classification and appeals against termination of course may be disallowed if
the appeal is based on mitigating circumstances which the appeals panel believes should have been
communicated earlier to the department concerned.
In general terms, the presentation of medical or other special circumstances does not of
itself guarantee that academic concessions will be granted. Cases are considered on their merits
in the light of the extent to which the adverse circumstances might reasonably be deemed to have affected
your performance or justified a failure to meet deadlines.
13 Notification of Illness It is your responsibility to make all reasonable efforts to hand in
coursework to the Department on time. Even if absent due to ill health, the Department will accept
written coursework handed in by other people, and also by mail, as long as the date on the post mark of
the submission is the submission date (or earlier).
Students who suffer a minor illness lasting at most five working days are required to report this to the
department under the following circumstances:
• if the illness leads to absence from classes at which attendance is compulsory;
• where it might be a contributory factor in a failure to meet submission deadlines or to perform up
to expectations in any academic assignment.
You must self-certify your illness using a Notification of Illness form available at
https://campus.cs.le.ac.uk/ForStudents/welfare.
Normally, Notification of Illness forms which are returned after that might not be considered promptly
(for example, for the purpose of excusing coursework non-submission). However, all such forms will be
considered at the subsequent Board of Examiners meeting.
Where the illness is of more than five working days’ duration or it is of a non-minor nature, medical advice
should be sought and a medical certificate submitted to the Office. You are responsible for collecting
medical certificates from the Victoria Park Health Centre (formerly Freemen’s Common Health Centre)
and supplying a copy to the Department.
It is your responsibility, when required to produce such medical evidence, to acquire it.
Victoria Park Health Centre charges the University for providing medical certificates and reports. Stu-
dents and tutors may be asked to complete an application form before a letter is written (this request form
is submitted to Victoria Park Health Centre through the Student Welfare Service for audit purposes).
Other general practices may charge for providing reports and such charges must be met by you.
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