The basic goal of 18-847z's project component is for class members to explore, in a hands-on manner, some concrete question in the space of cloud and data-intensive computing and storage. Each project should explore issues, solve problems or exploit techniques from classroom discussions or papers.
You are encouraged to propose your own project idea, and we will provide a few project topic ideas (to help you brainstorm). It is more than fine for your project to serve some external purpose (e.g., contributing to your research agenda), but there must be a concrete project completed and reported on during the semester.
Logistically, you should work in groups of up to three, though you may do your own if you like. For experiments, use your research group's machines or an available cluster/cloud (e.g., Emulab, Open Cirrus, OpenCloud, maybe CMU's vCloud later in the semester).
Although you are all experienced with reading research papers, a good resource to look at is An Evaluation of the Ninth SOSP Submissions, or How (and How Not) to Write a Good Systems Paper (by R. Levin and D. Redell, in Operating Systems Review, vol. 17, no. 3, July 1983, pp. 35-40) -- it is available here.
Due October 1 (PDF emailed to instructor).
(no more than 3 pages; single spaced, one or two columns, 10 point font or larger)
Describe the project idea/goal, how it relates to the course
material, what work must be done (suggesting how it can be
partitioned among you) and what resources you will need (including
software and hardware systems you already have access to). Concentrate on
convincing us that it will pertain to the course, that you will be
able to complete it, and that we will be able to evaluate it.
The third page should be dedicated to providing an outline of your
intended final paper, identifying the specific experiments to be run
and what questions they will answer.
For examples, check out this old projects page from a different class.
November 29-December 1.
Everyone will describe their project and results to the rest of the
class during the last week of classes. Exactly how much time per talk will
be determined once we know how many projects there will be.
Due December 3 (automatic extension to December 10).
(up to 10 pages)
This is the final project report, written in "computer systems paper"
style.
It should report goals, relationship to the course, implementation design, evaluation methodology, results and analysis, discussion of hypothesis outcome, most interesting future work, and a bibliography.