Welcome to the work-in-progress class page for CS 4414 – Operating Systems, taught by Professor Reiss.

This class has two sections (12:30pm Tuesday/Thursday and 3:30pm Tuesday/Thursday). The same material will be taught and same assignments will be used in each section.

Contacting the Course Staff

Piazza
Access via Collab or from piazza.com.
Discord
See Collab for link to join.
Anonymous Feedback
Anonymous feedback, which is available through Collab, is appreciated by at least some of the course staff.

The feedback is really truly anonymous; there is no way we can find out who posted it, so posting things like “you misgraded my homework” there will not be effective.

Charles Reiss
Email: creiss@virginia.edu
Telephone: 434-924-8274
Office Hours: (see calendar below)
TAs
See office hour calendar below.

Please respect the fact that our TAs are also students in other classes, with assignments and so on of their own, and limit your 4414-related contact with them to the times they have scheduled to act as TAs.

Unless they tell you otherwise, use Piazza to contact them (and make your post visible to all course staff, not just one or two of them).

Office Hours

Office hour times and locations are on the calendar below.

Office hours may use this office hour queue.

Some office hours will be held remotely via Discord. A link for joining the Discord server will be posted on Collab.

Professor Reiss’s in-person office hours are open, meaning he will not close the door and have a private conversation during office hours. If you have sensitive matters to discuss, please email him to set up a separate time to visit.

You will need

We recommend the textbook, Thomas Anderson and Michael Dahlin, Operating Systems: Principles and Practice, Second Edition.

You might also refer to Arpaci-Dusseau’s free textbook (Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces) or Silberchartz’s textbook (Operating System Concepts) if you want more perspectives.

Linux environment

Some assignments will require a Linux environment. You should setup anticipate setting up a virtual machine if you don’t run Linux natively. We provide a suitable VM environment/instructions for creating one if needed.

Policies

See this page.

Tutoring

Separate from the course staff, the Engineering school provides tutoring services, including for this course.

Accomodations

If you need any kind of special accommodations, including but not limited to disability, learning needs, illness, or personal circumstances, please contact us as soon as you are aware of these needs. We aim to be as accommodating and fair as possible.

If you are not sure if your situation warrants special attention, ask us.