| Category | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Reviews | 5 |
| Project | 6 |
| Present | 7 |
This class gives an introduction to data center computing issues through reading research papers that address problems that datacenters face today, as well as working through a semester long research project about a data center problem.
Each class (meets twice a week), you are required to read and review two research papers. During class, these papers are presented and discussed. Sometimes, one of the researchers who wrote the paper will visit for discussion. The most important part of the reviews is the critical analysis of where they could have improved and your discussion questions, which are in your reviews.
You are required to prepare 2-3 paper presentations throughout the semester. These presentations are 10-15 minutes long and can be relatively informal. Each class, two of these presentations occur, each one focusing on one of the papers for the class. These often take long to prepare, contributing to a higher number of hours spent on the class for those weeks. Given that each paper contains so much information, condensing it into a shorter presentation can be difficult and take time to properly prepare.
There is a semester long project for the class. It requires teams of three people and is meant to address something currently occurring in data center research. There are three milestones for the project. The first is before spring break, the second midway between spring break and the end of the semester, with the last milestone in the final week of classes. The project is not meant to be time intensive, however it does contribute the most to your final course grade. The professors and TAs are happy to help you come up with an interesting topic. Your team will have to write a report for each milestone to show progress. These reports are 1-2 pages in length and are meant to be more of a project update rather than an in-depth analysis of their system. However, the final report is more comprehensive.
- I greatly enjoyed being exposed to new topics each week.
- Do not have to be familiar with every topic covered.
- Class discussions are very interesting and you learn a lot during them.
- TAs and professors are very approachable and easy to contact, since the class has a Slack workspace.
- Fast paced, difficult to ingest new information so frequently.
- Not enough time is given to the project in class.
- Reviews often take up a lot of time in the week.