Honours Thesis Projects
Introduction
The thesis topics listed here are available to strong final-year undergraduate students. They are mostly associated with research projects and generally quite challenging; many topics have the potential to lead to a publication, and in average we get about one paper a year from the work of one (or more) undergraduate thesis students. Students who are not aiming for excellence are in the wrong place here.
We guarantee a thesis topic to any student who has obtained a HD grade in UNSW's Operating Systems or Advanced Operating Systems course, no matter what their other grades are! This does not mean that an OS HD is a prerequisite, but we do expect our students to have s strong track record in relevant courses.
Strong computer Science Honours students may qualify for the John Lions Computer Science Honours Award.
Note that the below list is constantly updated, new topics are added as we identify them as work on various research projects proceeds. Topics marked are recent additions.
- Topics supervised by Gernot Heiser
- How to apply
- Info for students looking for a special project (COMP3901/3902)
- Info for postgraduate coursework students
Present topics supervised by Gernot Heiser (official list)
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Evaluate queueing performance in sDDF
The seL4 Device Driver Framework (sDDF) provides the basis for high-performance I/O in Lions OS, currently under development in TS. It presents a highly modular design with policy isolated in individual components (as well as overall configuration parameters). It is not a-priori clear that such a simple design will provide good performance under all circumstances; other systems implement feedback loops to tune performance aspects dynamically.
This project is to stress and analyse the queueing behaviour of I/O data in sDDF networking, using extreme cases, such as a low-priority client degrading service to high-priority clients by generating excessive input traffic. It should try to answer the question of whether existing parameters (queue sizes, priorities, budgets and virtualiser-implemented queue-processing policies) are sufficient to handle extreme cases, including malicious clients that collude with external data sources.
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Core management in Lions OS
Project allocated! -
Native high-performance file-system API for seL4
The seL4 device driver framework (sDDF) provides a high-performance I/O framework for seL4. A fairly mature networking interface (that outperforms Linux) has been developed in this framework.
This project is to rethink the I/O API for seL4-based systems that interfaces to a native or virtualised storage back-end and minimises overheads. While the primary API does not need to be Posix-like, eg is likely asynchronous, a Posix-like wrapper should be provided for those who prefer to use this inefficient model.
The project is to develop such a system, perform detailed evaluation of performance against a native Linux baseline, and perform a security assessment.
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PD Templates for the Microkit
Project allocated! -
Dynamic IOMMU management in sDDF
The seL4 Device Driver Framework (sDDF) provides the basis for high-performance I/O in Lions OS, currently under development in TS. It presently uses static I/O-space mappings in the system's IOMMU. This requires trusting the device and its driver.
This project is to implement and evaluate dynamic IOMMU mappings in sDDF. This implies a prototype implementation and a cost-benefit analysis of dynamic IOMMU mappings, as well as suggesting an appropriate kernel interface.
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Driver VMs: Re-use of unmodified Linux device drivers in seL4
Project allocated! -
Secure OS for Sunswift
This topic is to evaluate requirements on an operating system for the Sunswift solar racing car, and design and implement such a system on the seL4 Core Platform. The project will done in close collaboration with Sunswift developers and will support/prototype a number of real Sunswift subsystems. Design work includes a threat analysis and effective passive defences against cyber attacks.
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Optimise seL4 multicore IPC performance
IPC on single-core seL4 is highly optimised. On multicore systems, IPC should only be used intra-core, and that case should ideally be no slower than single-core. In particular, concurrent IPCs running on different cores should not interfere. In practice, IPC operates inside the kernel lock, which leads to artificial contention (and thus performance degradation) and slows down even the uncontented case.
This project is to investigate the changes needed to take the IPC fastpath outside the kernel lock, and optimise and evaluate performance. Of particular concern are the exact conditions under which IPC can be performed outside the lock, and what is needed to ensure this is safe, considering that IPC operations from callers on different cores to a passive server will compete for the endpoint. A design that completely removes cross-core IPC from the API is a valid option.
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Optimise/develop IRQ fast-path in seL4
Project allocated!
Most topics can lead to publications.
How to apply:
Contact the relevant supervisor.
Note for OS related topics: We promise a thesis topic to every interested student who has obtained a HD grade in COMP3231/COMP9201 Operating Systems or COMP9242 Advanced Operating Systems. If necessary we will define additional topics to match demand.
We will not turn down any students doing exceptionally well in OS courses. However, this does not mean that an HD in OS or Advanced OS is a prerequisite for doing a thesis with me. Interested students with lower OS marks are welcome to talk to me if they feel they can convince me that they will be able to perform well in an OS thesis.
Keep in mind that these topics are all research issues and generally at the level of Honours Theses. They are not suitable for marginal students or students with a weak understanding of operating systems. We expect you to know your OS before you start.
Topics for a Special Project (COMP3901/3901):
Some undergraduate thesis topics are also suitable for a special project (typically with reduced scope/expectations). But generally Taste of Research topics are a better match for this. Talk to us if you're interested!
Information about research theses
Postgraduate thesis topics:
Undergraduate thesis topics are also suitable for coursework Master's projects. Same conditions apply: You must have a pretty good track record in OS courses for OS and FM related topics.