Topics in Database Systems: main/in-memory database systems

CS 848, Waterloo, Spring '16

  
  Instructor:   David Toman (david@uwaterloo.ca)
  Lectures:     Wed 3:30-6:20 DC 2568
  Office:       DC 3344, x34777 by appointment
  Class Info:   http://cs.uwaterloo.ca/~david/cs848/

Course Description and Objectives

This course will focus on trends in main-memory (or in-memory) database systems (IDMS) and on the ramifications of the availability of large main memories in modern computer systems.

Why simply using large memory with a traditional DBMS architectures doesn't work?
How do IDMS target dierent workloads (e.g., OLTP vs. OLAP),
How do large memories affect architectural issues related to
1. data models and query languages (e.g., SQL vs. NoSQL vs. NewSQL),
2. row vs. column stores (and how does this relate to physical data independence),
3. query processing and data structures used to store data,
4. parallelism for multi-CPU (core) systems,
5. transactions and enforcement od ACID properties, etc.?

It will be run as a seminar course, meaning that we will be reading and discussing papers.

Schedule (tentative):

Week 1: Introduction and Outline and discussion of a motivating paper
Week 2: Physical Data Independence, Physical Design
Week 3: presentation slides for
A Study of Index Structures for Main Memory DBMS and Query Processing in Main Memory DBMS
vs. Cache Conscious Indexing for Decision-Support in Main Memory (and Cache Conscious Trees- How Do They Perform on Contemporary Commodity Microprocessors)
and assignment of in class presentations.
Week 4-10: Presentations of Papers (schedule)
Week 10: Alternative view of I I/MMDB and query compilation technology.
Week 11: no class--I'm at IJCAI 2016 in NYC presenting this paper.
Week 12: Presentations of Projects (schedule, TBA): about 15 min presentation of goals and progress for each project group.

Reading List:

Projects:

Preferred projects will be related to applying (some) of the ideas presented in this class to your own area of research: this can further your own research and may help you to consider alternative views/approaches to what you have been thinking about already.

project proposal: one page due Lecture 6;
project presentation: 20-25 minutes (depending on the number of projects) in Week 9-11;
report (in pdf, up to 10 pages), source code (if applicable) within a week of last Lecture

If you don't see any relation to your own research, here are a few alternative options.

Assessment:

class participation, including assignments (20%)

in class presentation of a paper from the reading list (35%)

project presentation and delivery (45%)