ramchan@cpsin3.cps.msu.edu (J. Sunil Ramchandani) (03/22/90)
Hi, As part of my degree requirements (M.S. in CS) I am supposed to do a project which has to be in my major area of specialisation (Operating Sys.). I was wondering if any of you knowledgeable sources out there could give me an idea or suggest a topic for my project which should be done on UNIX in either C/C++. The aim is to get a very good idea of the UNIX internals as part of the project. The project is worth 6 credit hours and should be spread over 2 terms (2 quarters). I do apologise if I have posted on the wrong newsgroup, but after having a look at some other related newsgroups, I decided that this was the best choice. Thanks, Jay. Sunil Ramchandani ramchan@cpsin3.cps.msu.edu
brando@uiucme2.me.uiuc.edu (Brando W. Brown) (03/22/90)
Have you thought about doing a program in Security?? It seems that lately everyone has their own ideas on unix system security and the only forum that can agree on anything is the POSIX forum for security. I think this leaves the door wide open for others; sound good?? Our compandeals with these issues and believe me they change almost daily. Good Luck, Brando +============================================================================+ | Brandon Brown Internet: brando@uiucme.me.uiuc.edu | | Addamax Corporation UUCP: uunet!uiucuxc!addamax!brown | | 2009 Fox Drive GEnie: xmg23356 macbrando | | Champaign, IL 61820 CompuServe: 73040,447 | +============================================================================+
bitbug@lonewolf.sun.com (James Buster) (03/22/90)
In article <1990Mar22.015928.5708@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> brando@uiucme2.me.uiuc.edu (Brando W. Brown) writes: >Have you thought about doing a program in Security?? It seems that lately >everyone has their own ideas on unix system security and the only forum >that can agree on anything is the POSIX forum for security. I think this >leaves the door wide open for others; sound good?? Are we talking about formal security, with Mandatory Access Control a'la Bell-LaPadula, Non-Interference, Mandatory Integrity, etc, etc, or something else? -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- James Buster (Domain) bitbug@lonewolf.ebay.sun.com Mad Hacker Extraordinaire (UUCP) ...!sun.com!lonewolf!bitbug ---------------------------------------------------------------------
hrich@emdeng.Dayton.NCR.COM (George.H.Harry.Rich) (03/24/90)
In article <6993@cps3xx.UUCP> ramchan@cpsin3.cps.msu.edu (J. Sunil Ramchandani) writes: >Hi, > >As part of my degree requirements (M.S. in CS) I am supposed to do a >project which has to be in my major area of specialisation (Operating >Sys.). I was wondering if any of you knowledgeable sources out there >could give me an idea or suggest a topic for my project which should be >done on UNIX in either C/C++. The aim is to get a very good idea of the >UNIX internals as part of the project. The project is worth 6 credit >hours and should be spread over 2 terms (2 quarters). ... I'll give you a couple of problems associated with Unix. How much they involve you in internals depends on what you do with them. I think broad as opposed to single implementation oriented solutions to either problem would be worthy of a dissertation topic since it would involve significant contribution to theory. (Your faculty might not agree with me on this; both also address real, practical problems). Meanwhile, you might search inside them for an appropriate master's project. (1) Security -------- There are a number of security weaknesses in Unix systems as they are normally installed. In my belief, they come up not because they basic security scheme built into the kernel is weak, but because in the process of implementing and integrating tools for maintaining and administering the system, leaks have been added, rather like putting up a strong burgler resistant front door and leaving the key under the doormat because the cleaning woman has to get in. I see several items worthy of study. (1) Using the existing base security scheme, is there a reasonable approach to making the necessary tools available without the well-known security weaknesses? What should be the implementation guidelines for future tools based on what is learned in this study? (2) Is it possible to use the existing security scheme as a sound basis for a broader model such as produced by the IEEE? (3) If modification of the kernel is necessary to adequately layer on broader models, what is the minimum necessary kernel change to do this? (2) Performance Analysis -------------------- It has proved difficult to forecast how a Unix system is going to behave with a given application set. I would like to see a system which accumulates data on applications as they run, whether together or in isolation, and uses this data to forecast the effect of proposed load changes on the system, i.e. if I add two more users of application A to the peak load: am I going to go into a devastating page thrash?; how much am I going to be hurting the response on application B? Obviously, there are several sub-projects in this which are themselves quite challenging. Luck, Harry Rich