PDCS Master Thesis: Implementing MINIX on the Single Chip Cloud Computer

It has been long since I last wrote here. The reason is I was very busy finishing my PDCS master thesis this summer. All the hard work paid off very well. I successfully graduated with an average grade of 8.3! During my time at the Vrije Universiteit I learned a lot about technical subjects like distributed systems, parallel computing and security but also about presentations, writing good reports and how to do research well. What I especially liked about the PDCS program is that there was much opportunity for specialization. In my case, I have a strong interest in operating systems and I could combine this perfectly with my interest in the parallel computing and security area’s of PDCS. This was especially true for my graduate project, which involved implementing the MINIX operating system to the Intel Single Chip Cloud Computer. In short, the SCC is an experimental new architecture by Intel, attempting to scale multicore systems to hundreds to thousands of cores on a single chip. There are a number of reasons why we think MINIX and microkernels in general could be an excellent fit for systems like the SCC, which are, in addition to many technical details, also discussed in my thesis. If you want to read my thesis, visit the projects page on my personal website, or click here to directly download my thesis.

Today, I actually received my diploma at the Vrije Universiteit during an officially organized ceremony. Of course, my parents were there, but also both my grandmother’s. I especially appreciated that Prof. Andrew S. Tanenbaum was also there, who supervised the projects I did in MINIX during my time at the VU, including my graduate project. We took photo’s of the event as well, see some shots below!