CS856: Internet Server Performance

Project Information

This page will be added to and updated in order to provide you with information about the requirements and restrictions for your course project paper and how it will be judged.

• Due: Tuesday November 25, 1:30 pm (at the start of class). This is an absolute and hard deadline.
• Length: 10 pages maximum including all references, figures and graphs. This is an absolute maximum. Papers longer than this will not be considered.
• Minimum 10 point font.
• Example paper template (latex).
• Link to the 2004 USENIX/FREENIX conference page.
  There are templates under the FREENIX submission section that can be used for other word processing systems.
• From the information about USENIX submissions.
  In a good paper, the authors will have:
  • attacked a significant problem
  • devised an interesting and practical solution
  • clearly described what they have and have not implemented
  • demonstrated the benefits of their solution
  • articulated the advances beyond previous work
  • drawn appropriate conclusions

Project/Paper Submission

To submit your paper.

• Create a file with the name XXX.pdf where XXX is your project id (which I've emailed to you). That file must contain the project paper you are submitting.
• Email file XXX.pdf (where XXX is your project id) to me as an attachment. The subject line should read
  Subject: 856 XXX.pdf
  This will allow me to easily save each project submitted so they can later be obtained for reviewing.
• Print a copy of your paper and hand it in before class starts on Tuesday November 25.
• NOTE: all steps must be completed successfully before the start of class.
• Also note that this class (Tues Nov 25) will be held in the boardroom at the grad house (upstairs) so it will be difficult to do last minute printing, etc.

Project Source Submission

Please consider also submitting your source code - especially those groups who have modified the userver. If I can I'd like to merge all of the mods that I can to produce a new version of the userver. If you choose to send me your source please follow the steps below:

• Try to get this done before Dec. 5 as I'll try to work on a new version of the userver sometime after that date. If you want to send me your code but won't be able to bundle it to email it to be before then please let me know.
• Create a README.groupXX in your source tree where XX is your group number. Be sure to include a statement noting how you would like your source to be treated (i.e., licensing). Ideally it will be GPL'ed.
• Move or cp (if you cp please use -p to preserve dates) your source tree to a directory named groupXX-src.
• Create a gzipped tar file of groupXX-src and store it in groupXX-src.tgz. This can be done:

  % tar -cf groupXX-src.tar groupXX-src
  % gzip -9 groupXX-src.tar
  % mv groupXX-src.tar.gz groupXX-tgz
  

  Or using gnu tar.

  % tar -czf groupXX-src.tgz groupXX-src
  

• Send the gzipped tar file to me as an attachement using the subject.
  Subject: 856 groupXX-src.tgz

Review Submission

To submit your reviews (due Tuesday December 2 before 1:30 pm).

• Details will follow
• The form to be used for paper review ratings.
  • Create the file XXX-YY-rating.txt where XXX is the project id and YY is your reviewer id.
  • Must be plain ASCII text.
• The form to be used for paper review comments.
• Create the file XXX-YY-comments.txt where XXX is the project id and YY is your reviewer id.
  • The comments are meant to be used as justification for your ratings.
  • Must be plain ASCII text.
  • No more than 79 columns wide by 55 total lines long (including header information). Note: that there may be no need to use all 55 lines.
• In one single email with
  Subject: 856 reviews from YY
  attach all of the XXX-YY-rating.txt files and all of the XXX-YY-comments.txt files.

The Presentations

• Before starting to prepare your talk everyone should read and think about the comments in the paper "How to give a good research talk" and the "constructive comments". Links to these can be found in the list of possible course readings. Note: that some of these points don't really apply so you'll have to use some judgement. E.g., some conferences (including ours) might not be able to handle hand written slides.
• Date: Tuesday December 2, 2003.
• Time: 1:30 - 4:30.
• Talk length: 20 minutes (strictly enforced).
  • Think about having about 10 slides or fewer.
  • Think about what point you want to make and make it (i.e., what is the message).
  • Each member of the group should talk for roughtly the same amount of time.
• Submission: All talks will need to be submitted in PDF format and must be sent as an attachment which is named XXX-talk.pdf (where XXX is the the project id you've been assigned). Use
  Subject: 856 XXX-talk.pdf
  I'll make them available on a laptop that I'll supply That way we don't have to worry about switching between laptops. I'll also archive them in the course project page.
• PDF copies of the talk must be submitted by midnight December 1, 2003.