Computer Engineering 2 (Technische Informatik 2) (FS 2016)

Computers come in all shapes and sizes: servers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, smartwatches, all the way down to that tiny microcontroller in a washing machine. People buy a computer because (i) it gives them access to the Internet, (ii) it provides storage, and probably also because (iii) it computes. While having network access seems to be vital, advanced storage and computing capabilities more and more move to designated servers ("the cloud"). In this lecture, we learn how computers provide networking, storage, and computation by means of an operating system.

We start out with networking, and discuss the internet protocol, addressing, routing, transport layer protocols, flows, some representative application layer protocols, and how to implement these with sockets. We also discuss the link and physical layer, Markov chains and PageRank, and selected topics in security. Regarding storage, we talk about file systems, the memory hierarchy, caching, efficient data structures such as hashing, and data base principles. Concerning computation, we discuss the virtualization of the processing units with processes and threads. We focus on concurrency and examine scheduling, locking, synchronization, mutual exclusion, deadlocks, and consistency.

The lecture will use various teaching paradigms. The majority of the lecture will be based on blackboard discussions, supported by a script. Where appropriate we will also use slides or demonstrations. A few lectures will be flipped classroom style. The lecture will feature weekly paper exercises.

However, some of the course material is best learned in front of an actual computer. In addition to the lecture we offer exciting hands-on exercises in a lab environment. Please check the lab website for details.

Course languages: German (lecture), English (materials).

Lecture by Roger Wattenhofer, Thursday 10-12 @ ETF C 1

Exercises organized by Georg Bachmeier, Friday 15-17 or Tuesday 10-12 @ ETF C 1. You can pick freely which one to attend - the two slots offer identical content.

Exam The exam will take place on Wednesday, 24th of August 2016, 15:00-16:30 in Hönggerberg, building HIL, room F 15. The exam will be in German. You are allowed to bring any written material you like (script, books, personal notes,...), but no electronic devices whatsoever (no calculator, phone, laptop,...).
Exam with solutions

Q&A session There will be Q&A session on Thursday, 18th of August 2016 from 14:00 to 17:00, in CAB G 11. For a question to be answered, it has to be precise and answerable without recapulating a significant portion of a chapter/exercise session. Please submit your questions on EduApp by Tuesday, 16th of August 2016 at 23:59.

Exam review (Klausureinsicht) There will be an exam review in G88 (ETZ building) on Thursday, September 15, from 9:00am to 12:30pm and on Tuesday, September 20, from 11:30am to 3pm. Please take note of the following fine print:
* We will post a sample solution by noon on Wednesday, September 14.
* No registration is necessary. Just show up.
* At most two students can look at their exam at the same time. Thus, there might be a queue.
* In order to minimize the time your fellow students have to wait, we kindly ask you to limit your exam review to 20 minutes.
* Please bring your legi for identification; you will not be allowed to see your exam without this.

Second exam The second exam will take place on Saturday, 11th of February 2017, 09:00-10:30 in Hönggerberg, building HIL, room F 61. The exam will be in German. You are allowed to bring any written material you like (script, books, personal notes,...), but no electronic devices whatsoever (no calculator, phone, laptop,...).
Second exam with solutions

Q&A session second exam There will be Q&A session on Thursday, 26th of January 2017 from 13:00 to 15:00, in ETZ E 7. For a question to be answered, it has to be precise and answerable without recapulating a significant portion of a chapter/exercise session. Please submit your questions to the google doc you've been sent a link to via email by Tuesday, 24th of January 2017 at 23:59.

Second exam review (Klausureinsicht) There will be an exam review for the second exam in G88 (ETZ building) on Thursday, March 09, from 9:00am to 12:00pm and on Tuesday, March 14, from 13:00pm to 16:00pm. Please take note of the following fine print:
* No registration is necessary. Just show up.
* At most two students can look at their exam at the same time. Thus, there might be a queue.
* In order to minimize the time your fellow students have to wait, we kindly ask you to limit your exam review to 20 minutes.
* Please bring your legi for identification; you will not be allowed to see your exam without this.