COSC 242 Spring 2022

COSC 242 Algorithms for Distributed Systems
Spring 2022

Lectures: Tuesday-Thursday 11:00-12:15 pm
(Zoom to be used for online lectures is posted on Canvas page for this course.
When in person lectures are resumed, they will be in ICC 204.)

Instructor: Nitin Vaidya
Online office hours: To be announceed (or by appointment)
nitin.vaidya@georgetown.edu

Course materials

We will use selected material from several sources, including:

Distributed Systems: An Algorithmic Approach, Sukumar Ghosh, CRC Press -- This book is available online free to Georgetown students via O'Reilley for Higher Education:
Distributed Systems: Concepts and Design 5th Edition by George Coulouris, Jean Dollimore, Tim Kindberg, Gordon Blair.
The instructor will provide some notes and pointers to other resources, as needed.

Canvas and Zoom: As needed, Zoom information for the lectures wil be posted on the Canvas page for this course. Lecture summaries will be posted on the Canvas page. Homework should be submitted via Canvas.

Grading Policy

The weights assigned to the different components are as follows:

Problem sets 42%: Approximately 8 problem sets will be assigned during the semester. The relative weight for each problem set will be proportional to the points assigned to the problem set.
Mid-term exams 36%: Two mid-term exams will be scheduled during the semester. Each mid-term exam is weighted 18%.
Final exam 22%

The grade cutoffs below may be lowered based on class performance. The table shows the minimum grade that will be earned for a given total score on the course. Range of [a,b) includes all values x such that a <= x < b.

grade	total points
A	[94, 100]
A-	[90, 94)
B+	[87, 90)
B	[83, 87)
B-	[80, 83)
C+	[77, 80)
C	[73, 77)
C-	[70, 73)
D+	[67, 70)
D	[60,67)
F	[0, 60)

Late submission penalty for problem sets

For the purpose of computing late submission penalty below, 6:00 pm is considered to be the due time for each problem set on its due date. Late submission penalty for each problem set will be defined as a percentage of the maximum possible points for that problem set, as follows:

Submission delay past due time <= 48 hours: no penalty (i.e., two day extension is granted to everyone without requiring approval)
48 hours < Submission delay past due time <= 72 hours: penalty of 30% of maximum possible points.
Submissions late by more than 72 hours past the due time will not receive credit.

Academic Integrity

The only materials you may reference when working on these problems are your notes, assigned reference material such as the textbooks or course notes, the lecture slides and lecture videos (if any provided on Canvas). In particular, you may not reference other online sources. You must submit your own work, and you must not collaborate with others in preparing your answers.

You may not reference solutions from prior teachings of this course or solutions provided elsewhere.

The Georgetown University Standards of Conduct apply.

Violating academic integrity policy will lead to a zero on the relevant assignment and potential reporting to the honor council.

When in doubt, ask the instructor what is allowed.

Course materials

Late submission penalty for problem sets

For the purpose of computing late submission penalty below, 6:00 pm is considered to be the due time for each problem set on its due date. Late submission penalty for each problem set will be defined as a percentage of the maximum possible points for that problem set, as follows:

Academic Integrity

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