Syllabus for Capacity Planning
This course will cover the fundamentals of capacity planning and performance
management of large-scale computer systems with a focus on Webn servers. The
course will cover benchmarking, workload generation, forecasting, performance
measurement, and performance modeling using both simulation and analytical
methods. The goal of this course is to have the right mix of theory and
practice, and to teach the application of theory to practice.
Instructor:
Teaching assistant:
Class location and time:
Class will be held in CHE 202 on Tuesday and Thursday from 11:00am to 12:15pm.
Office hours:
- My office hours are Monday through Thursday, 12:30pm to 1:30pm. Generally,
my door is always open and you are very much welcome to stop by. I try to
promptly answer all emails.
Textbook and other course material:
- The primary textbook for this course is Measuring Computer Performamce,
A Practioner's Guide by David Lilja, Cambridge University Press, 2000
(ISBN 0-521-64105-5). A link to the book at Barnes and Noble is:
here (the cost is about $37.00).
- The secondary textbook is Simulating Computer Systems by
M. H. MacDougall, MIT Press, 1987 (ISBN 0-262-13229-X). This book is out of
print and the necessary chapters will be made available at ProCopy
(for a cost of less than $20).
Prerequisites:
- A modest background in probability and statistics, the ability to program
in C, the ability to use the resources of the library and the Internet, and
the ability to use word processing, spreadsheet, and drawing packages are
all assumed.
Grades:
- Exam #1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 24% (held on 10/04)
- Exam #2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 24% (held on 11/06)
- Final exam - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 34% (held on TBD)
- HW assignments - - - - - - - - - - - - 18% (due dates given in
outline)
Final letter grades will be based on:
- A = 90% through 100%
- B = 80% through 84%
- C = 70% through 79%
- D = 60% through 69%
- F = Less than 60%
Undergraduate versus graduate "versions"
This course is an undergraduate course where a few graduate students have been
allowed to participate and receive credit as a "6930" course. The requirements
for the graduate students is the same as for the undergraduate students with
one exception. The graduate students will have to complete an additional
individual project. Grade breakdown for graduate students is (20%, 20%, 24%,
6%, 30% for exam #1, exam #2, final exam, HW, and project, respectively).
The legal stuff...
All the stuff I have to say (but hate to say since it should all be obvious)...
Submission of late work:
Late work (assignments or project) will not be accepted except in cases
of verifiable emergencies.
Getting an incomplete:
Incomplete ("I") grades will only be given in the case of severe and
verifiable hardship conditions. Simply being "overloaded" and
unable to complete your work will not result in an "I" grade.
Academic honesty:
The concept of academic honesty is not a difficult one. When in doubt,
ask...ignorance is not an excuse. Standard department rules
hold (in a nutshell, if you cheat you get an "FF" in the course and I have
no leeway on this by department rules). Copying code and not attributing
the source is definitely a breach of academic honesty.
Selling of notes and/or recordings:
What you do with your class notes is your business. You may not, however,
sell or give away recordings (video and/or audio) of the class.
Standard note from the Provost regarding religious observances:
"Students who anticipate the necessity of being absent from class due to
the observation of a major religious observance must provide notice of the
date(s) to the instructor, in writing, by the second class meeting."
Last updated by
Ken Christensen on OCTOBER 2, 2001