CS 854 Advanced Topics in Computer Systems: Emerging Technologies, Current Trends and their Influence on Systems
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Course Info
Grading (tentative)
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15% Class Participation
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25% Paper Summaries / Presentations (mostly summaries)
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50% Class Project Paper
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10% Paper/project reviews
Class Participation
Class Participation is an important
component of this class. You are expected
to have read the papers and be prepared to discuss
them in class.
About the Course
This class will look at some emerging technologies and current trends
in the design, implementation and use of computing systems
and the potential impact this will have on future systems and software.
Although some of the topics might cover new hardware techologies,
this course will be about the impact on software.
We will look for and discuss opportunities for systems and networking
research as a result of or related to these trends,
most likely with a focus on operating systems, libraries and applications.
I will be looking for more suggestions from students who will
be taking the course but some possible topics might be:
- Memristors (closer to DRAM speed non-volatile storage)
- Phase-Change Memory (closer to DRAM speed non-volatile storage)
- Shingled Magnetic Recording (Shingled Disks)
- 802.11ad 60 GHz (WiGig) and 802.11af (White-Fi) networking
- Software Defined X: for some X (e.g., radio, networks, storage ...)
- Evolution of SSD/Flash
- The Internet of Things
- The resurgence of RDMA (Remote Direct Memory Access)
- Advances in and uses of optical networks
- Heterogeneous Multicore Systems
- The use and evolution of cloud computing
- Scalable X: for many X (storage, data centers, ...)
- Video dominates Internet traffic
- The ?End? of Network Neutrality
Expected Background
These are not strictly required but many of the papers and
discussion are likely to revolve around computer systems research
so some background in the following areas may be helfpul.
- operating systems
- networking
- systems programming skills
- good communication skills
- possibly some performance analysis and statistics
Course Readings and Course Schedule
Course Project and Paper
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The goal will be to write a short 5-7 page Hot*
(e.g., HotOS, HotNets, HotMobile, HotStorage, HotCloud, ...)
style of paper
that proposes and make the case for a new avenue for potential research.
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It will be possible to work on your own or in small groups of 2 or 3.
Groups of 2 or 3 are highly recommended.
If the project is large enough larger groups can also be created.
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The project paper will be due on the last day of classes.
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After all projects are handed in each student will read and provide
a conference style review of some subset of the papers.
This will be followed by a meeting that takes the form of a program committee meeting.
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All projects and groups must be approved.
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Information about what I'd like you to talk about for the project proposal.
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WORKING DOCUMENT : The Final Project / Paper Logistics (THIS WILL CHANGE)
Academic Integrity
Note that students are not generally permitted to submit the same
work for credit in multiple classes. For example, if a student
has reviewed or presented one of the papers in another seminar
class, he or she should avoid reviewing or presenting it again for
this class.
The general university policy:
- Academic Integrity: In order to maintain a culture of
academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo
community are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness,
respect and responsibility. [Check http://www.uwaterloo.ca/academicintegrity/
for more information.]
- Grievance: A student who believes that a decision
affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair
or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance.
Read Policy 70, Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4, http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy70.htm.
When in doubt please be certain to contact the department's
administrative assistant who will provide further
assistance.
- Discipline: A student is expected to know what
constitutes academic integrity [check http://www.uwaterloo.ca/academicintegrity/]
to avoid committing an academic offence, and to take
responsibility for his/her actions. A student who is unsure
whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in
learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or
about "rules" for group work/collaboration should seek guidance
from the course instructor, academic advisor, or the
undergraduate Associate Dean. For information on categories of
offences and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy
71, Student Discipline, http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy71.htm.
For typical penalties check Guidelines for the Assessment of
Penalties, http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/guidelines/penaltyguidelines.htm.
- Appeals: A decision made or penalty imposed under
Policy 70 (Student Petitions and Grievances) (other than a
petition) or Policy 71 (Student Discipline) may be appealed if
there is a ground. A student who believes he/she has a ground
for an appeal should refer to Policy 72 (Student Appeals) http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy72.htm.
Note for Students with Disabilities
The Office for Persons with Disabilities (OPD), located in
Needles Hall, Room 1132, collaborates with all academic departments
to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities
without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If
you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your
disability, please register with the OPD at the beginning of each
academic term.