COSC240 • Operating Systems

Week 10: Multiprocessors & Distributed Systems

Master symmetric multiprocessing (SMP), hardware cache coherency protocols (MESI), NUMA architectures, RPC, and distributed middleware.

📚 What You Will Learn
  • Core architectural mechanics and low-level data structures.
  • Kernel operational states, hardware interrupts, and protection boundaries.
  • Theoretical trade-offs, performance implications, and industry standards.
✅ What You Should Do
  • Review lecture notes and assigned textbook chapters.
  • Explore interactive pedagogical steppers and simulation modules.
  • Complete weekly tutorials, practical lab assignments, and review quizzes.
📂 Course Modules & Deep-Dive Texts
Module 01

Multiprocessor Hardware & Caches

Study UMA vs. NUMA architectures, bus snooping, and MESI cache coherency state machines.

SMPNUMABus SnoopingMESI Protocol
Module Overview →
Module 02

Multiprocessor Scheduling & Affinity

Examine coarse-grained/fine-grained multithreading, load balancing, and processor affinity.

Processor AffinityLoad BalancingMigrationGang Scheduling
Module Overview →
Module 03

Multicomputers & Interconnects

Explore loosely coupled clusters, message passing interfaces, network topologies, and latency/bandwidth.

ClustersMessage PassingInterconnectLatency
Module Overview →
Module 04

Distributed Shared Memory & RPC

Master Remote Procedure Call (RPC) marshaling/stub generation and Distributed Shared Memory (DSM).

RPCStub GenerationDSMMarshalling
Module Overview →