This course is designed to provide graduate students with an opportunity to acquire or deepen their knowledge of practical computer systems design in large-scale environments such as data centers. The course consists of two parts. The first part focuses on key technologies used to build “real-world” applications deployed in data centers. Through a range of examples—including Google Maps, S3-like object stores, and YouTube Search—we explore the core techniques and design practices essential for developing such applications. The second part of the course covers the latest advancements in computer systems design. We study a variety of techniques, including data indexing, storage system architectures, and large-scale learning and inference, by reading recent technical papers.

Prerequisite: Operating Systems, Computer Architecture

Class Participation (10%), Presentation (20%), Project (35%), Final Exam (35%)
Be aware that these weights are subject to changes.

Week #01: Introduction
Week #02: Basic of System Design
Week #03: Design A Rate Limiter
Week #04: Design A Key-value Store (Part 1)
Week #05: Design A Key-value Store (Part 2)
Week #06: Design A Web System (Part 1)
Week #07: Design A Web System (Part 2)
Week #08: Mid-term (No Class)
Week #09: Design Google Map (Part 1)
Week #10: Design Google Map (Part 2)
Week #11: Design S3-like Object Storage (Part 1)
Week #12: Design S3-like Object Storage (Part 2)
Week #13: Youtube Search (Part 1)
Week #14: Youtube Search (Part 2)
Week #15: Video Recommendation
Week #16: Final Exam
(This class is experimental; the schedule and content listed above are subject to changes)

- Lecture Type: Lecture, Presentation, and Final Projects
- Academic Integrity: Penalty for cheating – Removal from course with failing (F) grade
- This course comprises two main parts: a lecture and a paper presentation. The lecture part provides in-depth knowledge and technologies required to build real-world large-scale applications. In the presentation part, enrolled students present latest articles published in top system conferences, such as OSDI/SOSP, USENIX ATC/FAST, ASPLOS, ISCA, and so on. A list of the papers for the presentation will be given in the introduction lecture.