Course Overview

1
Course Overview

• Ted Baker ? Andy Wang
• COP 5641 / CIS 4930

2
Instructors

• Ted Baker
• Office LOV 207A
• Office hours after class and by appointment
• Andy Wang
• Office LOV 264
• Office hours after class and by appointment
• Class website www.cs.fsu.edu/baker/devices

3
Meeting Place and Times

• Monday Friday 1230am 145pm
• LOV 103 (sometimes at LOV 016)
• In addition to regular meetings
• You will spend lots of time on projects
• Projects will need to be done in the lab,unless
  you have a PC that you
• don't mind trashing, through kernel bugs
• can bring into the lab for demos
• have your own device

4
Course Objectives

• Make yourself into a Linux kernel hacker, who
  can
• Configure, compile, and install a Linux kernel
• Do the same for a kernel module
• Navigate and read the Linux kernel sources
• Use the API for internal kernel services
• Design and implement a kernel module
• Modify, or design and implement a device driver
• Measure the performance of your implementation

5
Applicability of Kernel Hacking Skills

• Software engineering
• Concurrent programming
• Thesis and dissertation
• Employment

6
Prerequisites

• COP 4610
• Operating Systems and Concurrent Programming
• or, COP 5570
• Advanced Unix Programming
• or, Proficiency in UNIX environment and C

7
Course Material

• Lecture notes (posted at the class website)
• Textbook
• Linux Device Drivers, 3rd Edition
• ISBN 0-596-00590-3
• Online textbook
• http//www.lwn.net/Kernel/LDD3

8
Class Grading

• Assignment 1 (individual) 10
• Assignment 2 (individual) 15
• Assignment 3 (individual) 15
• Assignment 4 (team report) 30
• Quizzes 30

9
Class Participation

• Two absences are allowed without question or
  justification
• Grade will be reduce by one percent for each
  missed class
• Exceptions
• Documented religious holidays and emergency
• Similar special cases pre-approved by the
  instructor

10
Assignments

• Reading
• Programming
• You will be provided access to a PC (LOV 16)
• It may need to be shared
• First three assignments lab. exercises
• Last assignment team projects
• Each member will evaluate the contribution of the
  other team members
• Warning they get more difficult, exponentially

11
BEWARE

• Assignments may be very time consuming
• Non-deterministic bugs
• Obscure bug symptoms
• Not much information about where an error
  occurred
• Need frequent reboots and OS reinstallations
• Implications
• Start your projects early
• You are responsible for backing up your work

12
BEWARE

• If you plan to use your own computer
• You will need to bring in your machine to
  demonstrate your code
• You might trash your hard drives

13
Some Useful Tools

• Virtual machines
• VMWare
• Xen
• Virtual PC
• User Mode Linux (UML)
• These can save time in debugging, but take time
  to learn and install. They will not help much
  when you get to a real device driver. There is
  not time to cover them in class, so if you want
  to use these you will need to teach yourself.

14
Quizzes

• Several short quizzes
• On average, one quiz per week
• Not necessarily announced in advance
• (Dates on calendare are just illustrative.)
• No make-ups for missed quizzes
• For excused absences or lateness
• The missing quizzes will be dropped

15
Class Grading

• 91 - 100 A
• 89 - 90 A-
• 85 - 88 B
• 81 - 84 B
• 79 - 80 B-
• 75 - 78 C
• 71 - 74 C
• 69 - 70 C-
• 64 - 68 D

• 61 - 63 D
• 59 - 60 D-
• 0 - 58 F

16
Computer Accounts, etc.

• ACNS account (_at_garnet.fsu.edu)
• Grade posting will be via Blackboard
• Card activation for 016 Love lab
• If you have not yet given the Systems Group your
  FSU card number and a door PIN, you need to give
  the Dr. Wang that information, right away!

17
Course Policies

• Attendance mandatory
• No makeup quizzes
• Honor code read your student handbook
• Students with disabilities
• Report to Student Disability Resource Center
• Bring me a letter within the first week of class

18
Things for you to do

• Fill out survey form and turn it in to Dr. Wang
• Read chapters 1 and 2 of the text
• Do lab assignment 1