Windows Operating System Internals Curriculum Resource Kit

 Overview

The CRK is a pool of materials and resources that explain operating system (OS) concepts based on the Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 operating system family. The CRK structure follows the IEEE-CS/ACM Operating System Body of Knowledge (BOK) as defined in the Computing Curriculum 2001 project by the joint IEEE-CS and ACM Task Force (CC2001).

The CRK is based on Windows Internals, 4th edition (Microsoft Press, 2005) by Mark Russinovich and David Solomon. The experiments, lab descriptions, quizzes, and assignments are an integral part of the course materials and were tested over a five-year period in an OS architecture class taught by Andreas Polze at Humboldt University of Berlin and Hasso Plattner Institute at University of Potsdam, Germany.

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 Details

  • 15 scalable units: The CRK consists of 15 units — five core and seven elective units from the BOK and three supplementary units covering additional topics outside the scope of the BOK.

  • For each unit there are basic and advanced modules. The units are scalable to multiple academic levels and can be used in whole or in part for teaching OS courses in academic institutions.

  • Basic modules (1 semester): The basic modules provide materials to incorporate into a complete undergraduate level one-semester OS course. This covers the Windows operating system–specific topics in the core and elective units at minimum (or basic) level of coverage of BOK as defined in CC2001.

  • Advanced modules (1 semester): The advanced modules provide materials to incorporate into an advanced level one-semester OS course (undergraduate or graduate). The module covers the Windows operating system–specific topics in the core and elective units of CC2001 (extended level of coverage).

  • Tailor the materials to the course: A lecturer may choose to use the basic course materials to augment an existing undergraduate OS course with information regarding the Windows operating system family. However, by combining the basic and advanced sections of the materials, a lecturer can give a fully featured one-semester undergraduate OS course.

  • Another option would be to use the advanced sections to give a graduate lecture or seminar on OS internals, comparing architectural and design decisions and their impact on different operating systems.

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CRK Units

Supporting materials include PowerPoint presentation slides, experiments, lab descriptions, sample quizzes, assignments, and case studies.

Core units
OS1. Overview of operating systems
OS2. Operating system principles
OS3. Concurrency
OS4. Scheduling and dispatch
OS5. Memory management
Elective units
OS6. Device management
OS7. Security and protection
OS8. File systems
OS9. Real-time and embedded systems
OS10. Fault tolerance
OS11. System performance evaluation and troubleshooting
OS12. Scripting
Supplementary units
OS-A. Windows networking
OS-B. Comparing the Linux and Windows kernels
OS-C. Windows and Unix interoperability
Instructor Supplement

Note: The Instructor Supplement, which includes solutions to quizzes and programming assignments, is available to academic faculty or staff via the Faculty Connection portal (sign-in for verification is required).

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 Use and Restrictions

Like all the components of the Windows Academic Program, the CRK is for academic, non-commercial use only.

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 Eligibility Requirements

Any accredited higher education institution may participate in the Windows Curriculum Resource Kit project. Participants must electronically accept the terms and conditions of the Microsoft Curriculum License Agreement before downloading the materials.

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 Customer Commitment

In exchange for obtaining access to the Curriculum Resource Kit, Microsoft requests that the users respect our intellectual property and adhere to the license requirements.

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 Your Questions

If you have questions about the Windows Academic Program, please send e-mail to compsci@microsoft.com.

You can also use the Windows Academic Program discussion forum to ask questions about the CRK and share helpful information with other members of the academic community.

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