M.I.T. DEPARTMENT OF EECS

6.033 - Computer System Engineering Handout 6 - February 12, 2003

Assignment 3: February 18 through February 26

For Lecture: Tuesday, February 18 (Monday Schedule)

Read Chapter 2, section C of the 6.033 class notes.

For Lecture: Wednesday, February 19

Read Chapter 2, sections D and E of the 6.033 class notes.

For Recitation: Thursday, February 20

Read Ritchie and Thompson's paper, The UNIX Time-Sharing System (reading #6), and then do hands-on 2(UNIX). The paper is in your reading package, and it is also available online.

For Lecture: Monday, February 24

Read Chapter 3, sections B, C (skip section A, we'll read that for Wednesday).

For Recitation: Tuesday, February 25

Read "Flash: An efficient and portable Web server" by Vivek S. Pai, Peter Druschel, and Willy Zwaenepoel (paper #7 in the reading packet; the paper is also available online). Write a one-page report answering the following question:

Compare the performance of the AMPED architecture with other server architectures described in the paper (SPED, MP, MT), in the two situations given below. Assume that the technological growth continues to follow the current trends as discussed in the lecture.
  1. The size of a typical website grows at a greater rate than pertinent advances in technology.
  2. The typical website size grows at a rate comparable to technological advances.

For Lecture: Wednesday, February 26

Read Chapter 3 sections A and D of the 6.033 class notes.

Go to 6.033 Home Page Questions or Comments: 6.033-tas@mit.edu