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Unit outline_

INFO1112: Computing 1B OS and Network Platforms

Semester 2, 2021 [Normal day] - Remote

The unit introduces principles and concepts of modern computer systems, including mobile computers and the Internet, to provide students with fundamental knowledge of the environments in which modern, networked applications operate. Students will have basic knowledge to understand how computers work and are aware of principles and concepts they are likely to encounter in their career. The unit covers: Principles of operating systems and the way applications interact with the OS, including the particularities of modern operating systems for mobile devices Principles of computer networking, including mobile networking Writing applications that use facilities of the OS and networking, including understanding the challenges that are common in distributed systems

Unit details and rules

Academic unit Computer Science
Credit points 6
Prerequisites
? 
None
Corequisites
? 
ELEC1601 AND (INFO1110 OR INFO1910 OR INFO1103 OR INFO1113)
Prohibitions
? 
None
Assumed knowledge
? 

A basic knowledge of Python is assumed. For most students, INFO1110 should have already been passed in Semester 1.

Available to study abroad and exchange students

Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator Bob Kummerfeld, bob.kummerfeld@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s) Bob Kummerfeld, bob.kummerfeld@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Small continuous assessment Homework
Homework due in weeks 2,4,6,8,10,12
30% Multiple weeks Homework due in weeks 2,4,6,8,10,12
Outcomes assessed: LO4 LO13 LO12 LO11 LO10 LO9 LO8 LO7 LO6 LO5
Assignment Assignment 1
programming task - Introductory Unix
10% Week 04
Due date: 02 Sep 2021 at 23:59
4 weeks
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Small test Mid-semester Quiz
A quiz in lecture covering material from first half of semester.
10% Week 07
Due date: 20 Sep 2021 at 13:00
30 minutes
Outcomes assessed: LO4 LO10 LO9 LO6 LO5
Assignment Assignment 2
programming task - Unix processes
20% Week 08
Due date: 07 Oct 2021 at 23:59
5 weeks
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO3 LO6 LO12
Small test End-semester quiz
A quiz in lecture covering material from the whole semester.
10% Week 13
Due date: 08 Nov 2021 at 13:00
30 minutes
Outcomes assessed: LO4 LO11 LO10 LO9 LO8 LO7 LO6 LO5
Assignment Assignment 3
programming task - networking
20% Week 13
Due date: 11 Nov 2021 at 23:59
5 weeks
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO6 LO12

Assessment summary

  • Homework due week 2,4,6,8,10,12
  • Assignments due week 4, 8, 13
  • mid-semester quiz in week 7
  • end-semester quiz in week13

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name

Mark range

Description

High distinction

85 - 100

 

Distinction

75 - 84

 

Credit

65 - 74

 

Pass

50 - 64

 

Fail

0 - 49

It is a policy of the School of Computer Science that in order to pass this unit, a student must achieve at least 40% in the final examination. For subjects without a final exam, the 40% minimum requirement applies to the corresponding major assessment component specified by the lecturer. A student must also achieve an overall final mark of 50 or more. Any student not meeting these requirements may be given a maximum final mark of no more than 45 regardless of their average.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 Representations: bits, numbers, characters, insrructions. Operating systems: function, purpose. Lecture and tutorial (4 hr) LO4
Week 02 Main subcomponents of OS. Processes. Command line. Lecture and tutorial (4 hr) LO3 LO4
Week 03 Kernel space, user space; Namespace and file system. Lecture and tutorial (4 hr) LO3 LO4 LO6
Week 04 Memory. Scheduling. Boot Sequence. Lecture and tutorial (4 hr) LO3 LO4 LO6
Week 05 Emulation and virtual machines. Lecture and tutorial (4 hr) LO3 LO4 LO6 LO7
Week 06 Networks; Layering principle and protocols Lecture and tutorial (4 hr) LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6
Week 07 Internetworking: TCP/IP Lecture and tutorial (4 hr) LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO9 LO10
Week 08 Domain Name Service; Application layer protocols Lecture and tutorial (4 hr) LO3 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO9 LO10
Week 09 Computer and network security. Lecture and tutorial (4 hr) LO3 LO4 LO6 LO9
Week 10 Concepts of cloud computing Lecture and tutorial (4 hr) LO3 LO7 LO8
Week 11 GUI systems; OS for handhelds Lecture and tutorial (4 hr) LO3 LO4 LO7 LO8 LO9
Week 12 Introduction to databases. Lecture and tutorial (4 hr) LO9 LO10 LO11
Week 13 Where to next? Review of semester and exam Lecture and tutorial (4 hr) LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO12 LO13

Attendance and class requirements

Lecture material has been precorded in a set of topic based videos. Students are expected to view these videos and complete the associated quiz (not assessed).

Students must attend a 2 hour onsite or online lab session each week starting in week 1.  There will be pre-work for all sessions except week 1.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. manage their time and activities in a multi-week individual project
  • LO2. produce clear written report
  • LO3. extend their knowledge, acquire new knowledge, and connect to conceptual frameworks in operating systems and networks and the impact on application development, without explicit instruction
  • LO4. understand basic functions that an operating system performs, and know the main subcomponents of the OS
  • LO5. understand basic functions that networking performs, and know the most important layers/subcomponents in networking
  • LO6. use essential system tools to monitor OS and network status
  • LO7. understand additional concepts relevant for OS for server and for handhelds, including virtualisation and containers
  • LO8. demonstrate experience with a number of different operating systems
  • LO9. identify the interfaces at which users/applications can interact with the OS and the network, and identify where the OS function or network communication needs to be protected against unauthorized access
  • LO10. understand major ideas used in internal implementation of OS and networks, such as caching, process structures, memory mapping, layering, reliable/unreliable transport, multiplexing and packet switching
  • LO11. demonstrate awareness of some key algorithmic approaches that can be used in some subcomponents of OS and networking (eg routing, scheduling); also aware of alternative implementations in some cases, and of the tradeoffs involved
  • LO12. write basic application functionality to interact with the operating system and the network, e.g. by opening and closing files, writing to disk, and sending application-layer data to remote applications
  • LO13. demonstrate awareness of several major challenges that arise in distributed systems and mobile applications, e.g. failure tolerance and latency tolerance.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

The topics and basic material for INFO1112 were completely revised for online delivery in 2020. They will be further refined and new assessments introduced in 2021.

IMPORTANT: School policy relating to Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism. In assessing a piece of submitted work, the School of Computer Science may reproduce it entirely, may provide a copy to another member of faculty, and/or to an external plagiarism checking service or in-house computer program and may also maintain a copy of the assignment for future checking purposes and/or allow an external service to do so.

Computer programming assignments may be checked by specialist code similarity detection software. The Faculty of Engineering currently uses the similarity report available in ED (edstem.org). This program works in a similar way to TurnItIn in that they check for similarity against a database of previously submitted assignments and code available on the internet, but they have added functionality to detect cases of similarity of holistic code structure in cases such as global search and replace of variable names, reordering of lines, changing of comment lines, and the use of white space.”

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.