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Distributed Systems Lab 2003


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Grading Scheme


This section details on the grading scheme used for the Distributed Systems Lab. The final grade consists of two partial gradings: the points from the lab examples and the points gained from the lab test. Find below more information about the grading of lab examples and the test. Make sure you understand the grading scheme to avoid unpleasant surprises later on!

You can always check your current points using the grading service !

Due to the change in the curriculum ('Studienplan'), we have a somewhat complicated situation this year. You can either take the 'LU Rechnernetzwerke 2.0' which is in the old curriculum, the 'LU Verteilte Systeme 2.0' which is in the new curriculum or the 'LU Verteilte Systeme 1.0' from the the new curriculum. Make sure to understand which of the three courses you need to enroll for!

Below you find general information about the grading which applies to all participants and detailed information on the grading scheme for the 'LU 2.0' and the 'LU 1.0' respectively.

Grading

The following list shows the requirements to positively finish the lab. In the respective sections below you find a table listing the mapping of points to grades.

You will get a positive grade, if - and only if - you

  • get more than 50% of the points on the lab test (or make-up test)
    and
  • get more than 50% of the sum of all possible points for lab examples
    and
  • get more than 50% of the points for the first lab example - this is a kind of qualification for the lab. People who do not reach this limit, won't get a grade (nor a 'Zeugnis') at all, but also must not continue the lab!

Hint: As long as you get more than 50% of the possible lab points, you do not have to implement all labs! E.g., if you get a total of 54 points for lab 1, 2 and 3, you do not have to implement lab 4 to fulfill the requirements for a positive grade.

If there are doubts ...

... whether you solved a lab example on your own or copied it from a collegue, we'll schedule a personal oral examination in which you have to explain and defend you solution. A jury of DSG members will supervise this defense and will ask you to explain the source code, concepts, or do some programming on the fly.

Usually, such a defense is not much fun (especially not for the student!), so consider carefully whether copying the solution of a lab example is worth it!

General information for all lab participants

Qualification

For this year's Distributed Systems lab, you have to pass a qualification in form of the first lab example. In other words, you have to get more than 50% of the first lab ( i.e., more than 12.5 points) to be eligible for continuing the lab.

If you do not qualify, you will neither get a grade nor a 'Zeugnis'. We strongly recommend to start early with the implementation of the first lab example to avoid time problems with the qualification. There will be no exceptions to this rule!

Lab Submissions

You have to submit the lab examples as described in the task descriptions of each lab example. For every lab example there are three deadlines for your submission (see the timeplan ). If you submit before the first one, you can get a total of 120% of the above points (e.g., 120% of 25 points = 30 points). The second deadline accounts for 100% (e.g., 25 points) and, finally, the last deadline accounts for 80% of the points (e.g., 80% of 25 points = 20 points).

You can submit several times for any given deadline - only the latest submission will be graded. You will also get two kinds of feedback: almost immediately after the submission (depending on the load of the machine, this may take up to some minutes), you'll receive an email which tells you whether the submission succeeded or not (e.g., a submission might fail if you do not include all necessary files). We send you more feedback the day after the deadline. This second email will include the points you gained for the submission and a description of missing/wrong functionality. You then have the possibility to correct the errors and re-submit your implementation for the next deadline (e.g., you might submit your solution for the 120% deadline but only get 40% of all points! You can then correct the mistakes and re-submit for the 100% deadline to improve your result). Generally, the best result of all three possible submissions will count as your final points - in other words you never can get less points by re-submitting a solution!

Here are some more tips and tricks to master the lab submissions:

  • You can only submit from your lab account! Submissions from other accounts will not be accepted!
  • Make sure you are in the correct directory before issuing the submission command - in the case of the DSLAB 2003 this is the src directory. If you submit from a different directory, your submission will not behave correctly and you might not get all the points.
  • Do not include class files in your submissions!
  • After submitting the lab example, you get an email notification whether your submission was received sucessfully. Check your mailbox after a couple of minutes - this does NOT mean to look into the 'mail' or 'Mail' directory! Simply invoke 'pine' or any other mail reader ...
  • Do not submit especially funny, 'innovative' or creative solutions - this might confuse the grading system and you might get unnecessary reductions of your points.

'LU Verteilte Systeme 2.0' and 'LU Rechnernetzwerke 2.0'

The Lab Test

You have to take one lab test which accounts for a total of 50% of all points (i.e., 80 points). Check the timeplan for the date and location of the test. If you cannot attend the test, you can register for the make-up test which will be held later (again see the timeplan ).

You can also take the make-up test if you are not satisfied with your result in the first test. Be warned, however, that in this case you'll loose all points from the first test and the second test counts - independently of whether you got more or less points than in the first test!

The Lab Examples

The four lab examples account for the other 50% of the points (i.e., again 80 points). The distribution of the points among the lab examples is shown in the table below:


# Description Points
1 Multicast communication: the basic infrastructure 25
2 Searching Files: send and respond to search requests 13
3 Security: make the communication secure 16
4 HTTP: a Web-based user interface and download mechanism 26

Table 1 . Lab examples and the distribution of points.

Mapping of Points to Grades


Points (LU 2.0) Grade
>140 S1 (Sehr gut)
>120 U2 (Gut)
>100 B3 (Befriedigend)
>80 G4 (Genügend)
<=80 N5 (Nicht Genügend)

Table 2 . Mapping of points to grades for the LU 2.0.

'LU Verteilte Systeme 1.0'

The Lab Test

You have to take one lab test which accounts for a total of 40 points. Check the timeplan for the date and location of the test. If you cannot attend the test, you can register for the make-up test which will be held later (again see the timeplan ).

You can also take the make-up test if you are not satisfied with your result in the first test. Be warned, however, that in this case you'll loose all points from the first test and the second test counts - independently of whether you got more or less points than in the first test!

The Lab Examples

You have to do only the first two lab examples! They account for the other 38 points. The distribution of the points among the lab examples is shown in the table below:


# Description Points
1 Multicast communication: the basic infrastructure 25
2 Searching Files: send and respond to search requests 13

Table 3 . Lab examples and the distribution of points.


Points (LU 1.0) Grade
>68 S1 (Sehr gut)
>58 U2 (Gut)
>48 B3 (Befriedigend)
>39 G4 (Genügend)
<=39 N5 (Nicht Genügend)

Table 4 . Mapping of points to grades for the LU 1.0.



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