Notice
As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group activities on campus, and most will keep an online version available to those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.
To check the availability of face-to-face and online activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.
Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Young Lee
James Zheng
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Credit points |
Credit points
10
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
Admission to MInfoTechCyberSec
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
COMP3100
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Unit description |
Unit description
A distributed system traditionally refers to a group of networked computers; however, it should be today understood in a much wider sense including applications consisting of multiple processes. This unit studies the fundamentals of distributed systems from both hardware perspective and software perspective. The unit also gives some hands-on experience. Topics include distributed systems principles (concurrency and scheduling), paradigms (cloud computing, mobile computing and Internet of Things), architectures (client-server model, peer-to-peer model and distributed file systems) and techniques (shared memory and message-passing). |
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Special Consideration
If you experience serious and unavoidable difficulties that affect your ability to meet the due dates for progress or the closing date of a programming task, you may apply for special consideration as explained at https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/special-consideration. If the request is accepted, the action may be to grant an extension of the relevant due date(s), or it may be to require you to submit an alternative assessment item.
If you apply for special consideration, please note:
Late Submission
No extensions will be granted without an approved application for Special Consideration. There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late. For example, 25 hours late in submission for an assignment worth 10 marks – 20% penalty or 2 marks deducted from the total. No submission will be accepted after solutions have been posted.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
---|---|---|---|
Final Exam | 30% | No | Exam period |
Major Assignment | 40% | No | Weeks 7 and 12 |
Quizzes | 10% | No | Weekly |
Practical tasks | 20% | Yes | Weekly |
Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Exam period
Weighting: 30%
The final examination will assess your understanding of the unit content and your ability to integrate concepts learned throughout the unit to solve problems.
Assessment Type 1: Programming Task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 40 hours
Due: Weeks 7 and 12
Weighting: 40%
A distributed system development task that requires composition to design and implement a realistic distributed system
Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 10%
Quizzes assess students’ knowledge and understanding on distributed systems fundamentals including architectures, paradigms, principles and models of distributed systems.
Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 20%
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)
Practical tasks help guide students to learn practical skills on distributed systems. In particular, they consist of preparatory steps and milestones for the project.
The practical tasks are a hurdle in this unit. You must achieve at least 8 marks out of 20 in order to pass the unit.
1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:
2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation
Text Books
Soft copy of the first two books is “freely” available online.
iLearn Unit Home Page
COMP3100/COMP6105 will make extensive use of the iLearn course management system, including for delivery of class materials, discussion boards, submission of work and access to marks and feedback. Students should check the iLearn site (https://ilearn.mq.edu.au) regularly for unit updates.
Questions and general queries regarding the content of this unit, its lectures or practical classes, or its assessments should be posted to the discussion boards on the COMP3100 iLearn site. In particular, any questions which are of interest to all students in this unit should be posted to one of these discussion boards, so that everyone can benefit from the answers. Questions of a private nature should be directed to the unit teaching staff.
Lectures
Lectures are a core learning experience where we will discuss the theoretical underpinnings and concepts that are essential to this unit. Key ideas for the group project will be discussed from time to time in lectures. Attendance at lectures is highly recommended. Lecture recordings will be available in echo360 accessible from the unit iLearn site.
Workshops (Practicals)
Practical classes commence in Week 2. Each week has two hours of practical class. Each week you should actively participate in practical class and complete tasks associated with the class. You should attend your enrolled practical class. Practical classes also provide an opportunity to (collaboratively) work on the (group) project. The practical assessment item is a hurdle in this unit. You must achieve at least 8 marks out of 20, and a total of at least 50 overall marks, in order to pass the unit.
The detailed unit schedule will be available on iLearn. The unit is organised into two 6-week periods, with topics approximately as follows.
Week 1-6: Foundational topics of distributed systems, such as system models, communications, synchronisation and fault tolerance.
Weeks 7-12: Real-world and emerging distributed systems, such as cloud data centres, Internet of Things (IoT) and edge computing.
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct
Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.
The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Assessment values have been changed, reducing the value of the final examination to 30%, and making 20% marks for workshop/practical participation. Weekly quizzes replace mid-semester and end-semester tests. Practical tasks have been made a hurdle.
Unit information based on version 2021.02 of the Handbook