MCT611 Computer Architecture & Operating Systems Module Handbook Master of Science in Software Engineering & Database Technologies (MScSED)
Table of Contents 1 Module Details... 2 1.1 Module Description...2 1.2 Prerequisites...2 1.3 Module Aims...2 1.4 Required Text...3 1.5 Module Assignments...3 1.6 Module Grading...3 2 Module Outline... 4 3 Module Syllabus... 6 3.1 Workshop One: Introduction, Program Execution & Instruction Set...6 3.2 Workshop Two: Numerical Systems & Digital Logic Circuits...6 3.3 Workshop Three: System Bus & Internal/ External Memory...7 3.4 Workshop Four: OS Introduction & Memory Management...7 3.5 Workshop Five: Process Management...8 3.6 Workshop Six: Concurrency & File Management...8 3.7 Workshop Seven: Device Management & OS Security...9 3.8 Workshop Eight: Module Review & Final Exam...9 Document History Version Description Date of Last Word File Update 1.0 Original MCT611 Course Handbook 2004 2010 2.0 Starting document for planned multimedia revisions to MCT611. This document also reflects formatting changes and incorporates an Excel tool for the management of recurring information. Date of Last Excel File Update 23/7/2010 22/7/2010 2.1 First draft of MCT611 for content review 02/09/10 02/09/10 2.2 Updates following review with M.Schukat and C. Cronin 24/09/10 24/09/10 2.3 Updates to reflect Section headings rather than Topic 04/04/11 04/04/11 headings 2.4 Formatting fixes and minor spelling/consistency edits 18/4/11 18/4/11 (Clare Gormley). On individual workshop pages, renamed Topics heading as Sections to match Module Outline table. 2.5 Reverted Topics/Sections info to reflect 2.3 version. Also 19/4/2011 19/4/2011 removed unnecessary dynamic links from the Module Outline table, the topics on the Workshop pages and the Excel spreadsheet. 2.6 Updated the contents of the Topics items which had been 24/6/2011 19/4/2011 lost during Topic/Section changes 2.7 Updated workshop and section names, and tidy up to 05/10/2011 05/10/2011 [Marie] reflect new module changes. 2.8 [Marie] Edits following module review meeting: Removed Assessments column from table in section 2. Removed Topics and Suggested Activities from tables in section 3. 10/10/2011 10/10/2011 1
1 Module Details 1.1 Module Description MCT611, Computer Architecture and Operating Systems, is the first module in the MScSED programme. The emphasis is on the operation of the various computer sub-systems and the tasks and responsibilities of an operating system. Students will start with an overview of the role of computers in society today. Students will explore the structure and operation of the various system components, including the central processing unit (CPU), system buses, and internal/external memory. In the second part of this module, students will apply their acquired knowledge to the design of an operating system (OS). Topics to be covered include OS architectures, input/output (I/O) management, memory management, processes & process management, device management, file management, and OS security. Students will be presented with an overview of the significant operating systems. On completion of this module, students will have a solid understanding of the structure and interaction of computer system components, and how an operating system provides vital services to the computer user. 1.2 Prerequisites None 1.3 Module Aims This module will cover the following topics: Identify the various types of computer systems e.g. Desktop, Laptop, Embedded Identify the various types of Operating system e.g. Windows, MAC, Linux Describe the architecture and organisation of a computer and its components Describe and apply various programming techniques to access components efficiently Give details both about instruction sets and addressing modes Describe the general architecture of an OS Identify the various OS components and their purpose Understand the basic relationship between the OS, Device Drivers and User Applications Explain the basic security issues with an OS Explain the implementation of core features in the modern OS Understand some simple concepts of distributed systems and networking 2
1.4 Required Text "Computer Organization and Architecture", 8th Edition by William Stallings. ISBN-10: 0136073735, Prentice Hall, 2010. "Operating Systems: Internals and Design Principles", 7th Edition by William Stallings, ISBN- 10: 273751506 Prentice Hall, 2012. "The Little Book of Semaphores", 2nd Edition by Allen B. Downey. Free download from http://greenteapress.com/semaphores/ APA (2010). "Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association", 6th Edition. Washington, DC: APA. 1.5 Module Assignments Details of module assignments and a sample final examination are detailed fully in the MCT611 Facilitator Guide. Student assessment will take the form of: Participation in the weekly discussion forum Weekly assignments A final exam 1.6 Module Grading The following table shows the breakdown of marks for this module: Assessment Weight Workshop Forum Participation 25% 1 to 7 Weekly assignments 45% 1 to 7 Final exam 30% 8 Total 100% 3
2 Module Outline Workshop 1: Introduction, Program Execution & Instruction Set Sections Computers in Society Computer Architectures Instructions Sets 2: Numerical Systems & Digital Logic Circuits Number Systems Logic Gates Sequential Circuits 3: System Bus & Internal/ External Memory Bus Systems External Interfaces Memory 4: OS Introduction & Memory Management Operating Systems Overview Memory Management 4
Workshop 5: Process Management Sections Processes & Threads Process Scheduling 6: Concurrency & File Management Concurrency File Management 7: Device Management & OS Security Device Management Security 8: Module Review & Final Exam Module Review Final Examination 5
3 Module Syllabus 3.1 Workshop One: Introduction, Program Execution & Instruction Set Describe the types of computers in society Describe the structural elements of a computer Describe the various computer architectures such as Von Neumann and Harvard Describe the various forms of computer including the microprocessor, microcontroller and IP cores Distinguish between RISC and CISC architectures Explain how instructions are processed by a CPU Describe how the concept of interrupts fits into a computer architecture Describe the different instruction types and address modes 3.2 Workshop Two: Numerical Systems & Digital Logic Circuits Explain how different number systems work Distinguish between two methods of representing negative numbers with binary digits - sign magnitude and 2 s compliment Convert numbers in the format mx2e to IEEE 32-bit Floating point format and vice versa Perform basic Boolean algebra and describe basic logic gates Draw the logic circuit for a given Boolean expression and deduce the Boolean expression for a given logic circuit Distinguish between sequential and combinational circuits, describing an example of each Perform address mapping and decoding Describe Little, Big Endian systems Show the relationship between Hex, Assembler, High Level languages 6
3.3 Workshop Three: System Bus & Internal/ External Memory Describe the different internal bus types and explain how they are used in a computer architecture Explain the concept and characteristics of the various I/O techniques Describe the different external interfaces and explain how they are used in a computer architecture Distinguish between the different types of memory that can be found in a computer Describe the different kinds of RAM Design a memory module based on given parameters Explain cache organisation, cache mapping, and cache write policies Describe the structure and operation of the CD and DVD 3.4 Workshop Four: OS Introduction & Memory Management Describe what an operating system is and what it does Describe the current operating systems including Windows, Linux, and MAC Appreciate the need for memory management and describe its three main requirements Compare and contrast fixed and dynamic partitioning Explain the segmented memory allocation and the demand paged memory allocation approaches Trace the execution of a paged process using different page replacement algorithms Draw and optimise a memory map for a segmented memory system and construct a segment map table (SMT) based on it Compare and contrast the segmented and paged approaches Explain the importance of virtual memory 7
3.5 Workshop Five: Process Management Define what a process is and describe reasons for process creation, suspension, and termination Describe the 2- and 5-state process models and how to add suspended states to the 5-state model Describe how the OS keeps track of each process and can switch between them Describe threads and their benefits Explain the purpose of scheduling and differentiate between long-term, medium-term and short-term scheduling Describe the implementation of the following process scheduling algorithms: first come first served, round robin, shortest process next, shortest remaining time, and multi-level feedback Compute the finish, turnaround, and waiting times for various process scheduling algorithms 3.6 Workshop Six: Concurrency & File Management Explain the importance of concurrency & synchronisation for an OS Describe the different levels of awareness that processes can have of each other and the problems that can arise: mutual exclusion (ME), deadlock, data incoherence and starvation Describe two methods of enforcing ME: test-and-set and semaphores Use pseudocode to explain the operation of a binary semaphore Describe the differences between the pile, sequential and indexed sequential file organisations and select a file organisation best suited to a given application Describe the different file allocation approaches i.e. contiguous allocation, chained allocation and indexed allocation Compare file allocation to memory management and construct a file allocation table for a given scenario Explain the different access rights that can be assigned to files 8
3.7 Workshop Seven: Device Management & OS Security Describe the different components of the I/O subsystem and how effective communication among the devices is achieved Apply these disk scheduling algorithms: first come first served (FCFS), shortest seek time first (SSTF), SCAN and C-SCAN, LOOK and C-LOOK to an example request list to compute the average number of track traversals Describe how a disk cache can improve disk performance Describe the different types of threats to an operating system and how to counteract Construct and decompose an active matrix to illustrate how it can be used to enforce security in an OS Describe the different types of malicious software: trapdoors, logic bombs, trojans, worms, zombies and, in particular, viruses 3.8 Workshop Eight: Module Review & Final Exam Present a body of work that demonstrates knowledge of computer architecture and operating systems 9