93468 - Distributed Software Systems

Learning outcomes

The course presents some current technologies to develop distributed systems. The concept of distributed system is introduced first, then the concept of middleware technology as a distributed programming platform. The fundamental principles of distributed systems will be explained. This introductory material is followed by a description of the main architectures of distributed systems, including those for implementing and deploying service-based applications in the cloud. At the end of the course the students will be able to select the appropriate middleware platform for a given problem and to apply the main technologies presented to solve practical case studies. The exam will consist of 1) a midterm presentation on a research paper chosen by the student and 2) a final project assigned by the instructor.

Course contents

• Case Studies
  • The CAP Theorem. Availability, Consistency, Failure in Distributed Systems
  • The Problem of Consensus in Distributed Systems
  • Distributed Ledger Technology. Blockchain as Middleware
  • Representational State Transfer (ReST)
  • Logical Clocks
  • Simple Agents in JADE
  • Coordination in Linda
  • Code Mobility
• General Issues of Distributed Systems
  • Why Distributed Systems?
  • Replication & Consistency in Distributed Systems
  • Dependability in Distributed Systems
  • Roots of Distributed Systems. Computation in Space & Time
  • Definitions & Goals for Distributed Systems
  • Sorts of Distributed Systems
  • Modelling Distributed Systems. Software & System Architectures
  • Modelling Distributed Systems. Process Algebra
  • Computing with Time
  • Agents for Distributed Systems
  • Coordination of Distributed Systems
  • Computing with Space
• Technologies for Distributed Systems
  • Infrastructural components and interaction patterns for distributed systems
  • Tools and diagrams for distributed systems modelling
  • Basic mechanisms for distributed systems
  • Communication mechanisms (stream- and packet-based interaction with sockets) in Python
  • Data presentation, serialization and deserialization: tools and technologies
  • Anatomy of Remote Procedure Calls
  • Case study: guided design and implementation of a distributed system from scratch

Readings/Bibliography

The bibliography is made available through the course web site.

Teaching methods

• Lessons with slides
• Examples discussed and built by the teachers
  
• Lab activity

Assessment methods

• Development of an individual/group project involving the design and prototyping of a distributed system (software+report)
• Presentation and discussion of the aforementioned project

Teaching tools

• web site of the professor
• web page of the course with slides (PDF), other materials and useful links
• recorded lectures for background topics

Links to further information

https://apice.unibo.it/xwiki/bin/view/Courses/Series/Ds/

Office hours

See the website of Andrea Omicini

See the website of Giovanni Ciatto