Aston University BIRMINGHAM UK College of Engineering & Physical Sciences Module Code & Module Title CS2IDS Assignment Brief Introduction to Distributed Systems Lecturer details, email address, etc. Assignment Brief/ Coursework Content: Coursework Title Design A Distributed System [Optional: Link to available WASS appointments/preferred contact method] Please book an appointment on WASS for one-to-one discussion and guidance on the coursework. https://wass.aston.ac.uk/pages/viewcalend ar.page.php?makeapp=1&cal_id=3280 You will be expected to write an academic essay of a maximum of 1500 words based on the architectures and properties of the distributed system. This assignment will enable you to demonstrate understanding on the topics: Architectures of the Distributed System, Concurrency, Consistency, Idempotency, Scalability, Availability, Reliability, Fault Tolerance, Transparency and Distributed Consensus. Descriptive details of Assignment: You are an expert of distributed systems and planning to design a distributed system providing most required properties and a suitable architecture. Discuss the following aspects of your planned distributed system including suitable diagrams and explaining each term for each of the following questions: 1. Provide a comprehensive definition of your distributed system covering minimum 6 important properties of a distributed system. [5] 2. Explain the difference between structured and unstructured peer-to-peer distributed systems. Would you design a structured or unstructured peer-to- peer distributed system and why? [10] 3. Why would you choose a client-server architecture or why would you not choose it? [10] 4. Explain the difference between concurrency and parallelism. Would you provide concurrency or parallelism and why or why not? [10] Page 1 of 3 5. Explain the difference between the strong consistency and weak consistency. Would you provide strong consistency or weak consistency and why or why not? [10] 6. Would you provide idempotency and why or why not? [10] 7. Explain the difference between horizontal and vertical scalability. Would you provide horizontal scalability or vertical scalability and why or why not? [10] 8. Would you provide availability or reliability and why or why not? [10] 9. What three main types of transparency would you provide and why? [10] 10. Explain the difference between crash fault and Byzantine fault. Would you provide a crash fault tolerance or Byzantine fault tolerance? Explain your preferred choice of consensus algorithm and its fault tolerance process. [15] Instructions: • • Document Title: Firstname_Lastname_CS2IDS_Report Preferred Format: PDF/MSWord Word Count/ Page Limit :1500 words Required Reference Style: Only Harvard Referencing (Please see my lecture on Referencing in the previous CS2DDA module) (https://libguides.aston.ac.uk/c.php?g=99973&p=4791406) Recommended reading/ online sources: • Lecture Materials on the Blackboard Additional Learning Resources on the Blackboard . Online websites/journals/sources: • • • • https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLObErJTJAuqkyCiFvOfT3Sce- LC 6JLVI https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3335772.3335936?casa token=VgClq2f QNOIAAAAA%3AsQPXoZd9iOR_h-gzzsEU4q9A3hKTbh4_OTSF51 - XOdf3aho5jZ Pa5Ftz6k7rN8IZKX2fA2q3gusg https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/7531.7533?casa_token=J2SPSn9wms4 AAAAA:I-QOqWeLA9Dq-G- B7yb hrNMTWKpsNTemkT2uUR1q317awU v601HENjnloOnuzlKX4dk9yz Ori4AQ (http://tinyurl.com/484e3m55) https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9582515 https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9582518 Key Dates: Coursework set Supporting lecture regarding assessment/date of lab sessions Submission date and time Page 2 of 3 03/06/2024 Expected feedback return date Submission Details: • Submission of report needs to be done using the Turnitin link on Blackboard. Marking Rubric: • • • • • • Fail (0-20): All/most of all the questions are not attempted or written incorrect answers or serious flaws in the presentation or referencing. Fail (20-38): Inadequate discussion of all the questions, presentation or referencing issue and no critical analysis. Pass (40-50): Having discussed all/most of the questions and provided basic understanding of the subject area but no critical analysis. Pass (51-59): Having discussed all/most of the questions and provided sufficient details of the subject area with relevant references cited but lack of critical analysis. Merit (60-69): Having discussed all/most of the questions and provided substantial details of the subject area and critical analysis with relevant references cited. Distinction (70-79): Having discussed all/most of the questions and provided substantial details of the subject area and critical analysis with relevant high-quality references cited (used reviewed resources and credible websites). It should be well-organised and in well-written English (Avoiding Colloquial Language). Distinction (80-100): Having discussed all the questions and provided excellent details of the subject area and excellent critical analysis with relevant high-quality references cited (used reviewed resources and credible websites). It should be well-organised and in well-written English (Avoiding Colloquial Language). It should offer some novelty or recommendations. Page 3 of 3/n