CSCE 317 Spring 2015: Syllabus

The textbook is:

  • Mor Harchol-Balter. Performance Modeling and Design of Computer Systems: Queueing Theory in Action. Cambridge University Press, 2013 (ISBN 9781107027503). We will refer to this text as [H] in the course.

    • The main (approximately 80% of the time) instructional delivery strategy for this course is lectures. Discussions based on graduate and honors student presentations, videos, quizzes or in-class exercises, and a possible invited talk will make up the remaining 20% of time. The first day of classes is Tuesday, January 13, 2015. The last day to withdraw without failure is Thursday, March 5, 2014. Spring break is from March 8 through March 15, 2015 (Sunday-Sunday). The last day of classes is Thursday, April 23, 2015. The final exam for the course is Thursday, April 30, 2015, from 1600-1830 in the classroom (SWGN 2A21). This is the regularly scheduled time for courses taught from 1315 to 1435 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. (See the university exam schedule.)

    Please see elsewhere in the web pages for the course for additional administrative information.

    WeekLecture Topics
    1:January 13, 15 Introduction (Chs.1-2 [H])
    2: January 20, 22Probability Review (Ch.3 [H])
    3: January 27, 29 Probability Review (Ch.3 [H])
    4: February 3, 5Generating Random Variables (Ch.4 [H])
    5: February 10, 12 Sample Paths, Convergence, and Averages (Ch.5 [H])
    6: February 17, 19Operational Laws (Ch.6[H])
    7: February 24, 26 Modification Analysis (Ch.7 [H]) and Midterm
    8: March 3, 5Discrete-Time Markov Chains (Ch.8 [H])
    9: March 10, 12Spring Break
    10: March 17, 19 Ergodicity Theory (Ch.9 [H])
    11: March 24, 26 Examples: Google, Aloha, and Harder Markov Chains (Ch.10 [H])
    12: March 31, April 2 Exponential Distribution and the Poisson Process (Ch.11 [H])
    13: April 7, 9 Continuous-Time Markov Chains (Ch.12 [H])
    14: April 14, 16 M/M/1 and PASTA (Ch.13 [H])
    15: April 21, 23 Open