Instructor: Prof. Alberto Leva

Number of credits: 5 hp

Control theory is spreading out in the computing system domain, and is producing very remarkable results. For a knowledgeable use of that theory, and an effective cooperation with its specialist, a computer scientist/engineer needs a firm understanding of its principles. During November 2017, Prof. Alberto Leva from Politecnico di Milano will visit Lund University and give a PhD course on "Feedback Control of Computing Systems". The course is suitable for students with an interest in the application of control techniques to computing systems.

Objectives

• Understand the fundamentals of systems and control theory, namely the concepts of dynamic system and feedback.
• See how these can be applied to manage computing systems for best operation.
• Discuss how computing systems can be designed in such a way to be easily controlled.

Organization

The lectures are scheduled from 09:15 to 12:00 and from 13:15 to 17:00 every day from November 13 to November 17. Five full-day sessions: lecture in the morning, classroom practice in the afternoon. Question time and discussion et the end of each session.

Monday:

• 09:15 - 12:00, Seminar Room, Department of Automatic Control
  (10:00 - 10:30: Coffee break)
• 13:15 - 17:00, Lab C, Department of Automatic Control
  (15:00 - 15:30: Coffee break)

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thrusday:

• 09:15 - 12:00, Seminar Room, Department of Automatic Control
  (10:00 - 10:30: Coffee break)
• 13:15 - 17:00, Seminar Room, Department of Automatic Control
  (15:00 - 15:30: Coffee break)

Friday:

• 09:15 - 12:00, Seminar Room, Department of Automatic Control
  (10:00 - 10:30: Coffee break)
• 13:15 - 16:00, Seminar Room, Department of Automatic Control
  (15:00 - 15:30: Coffee break and seminar)

Literature

1. A. Leva, M. Maggio, A.V. Papadopoulos, F. Terraneo, "Control-based operating system design", IET, London, 2012.
2. A. Filieri, H. Hoffmann, M. Maggio, "Automated design of self-adaptive software with control-theoretical formal guarantees", Proc. 36th International Conference on Software Engineering, Hyderabad 2014, 299-310.
3. A.V. Papadopoulos, M. Maggio, F. Terraneo, A. Leva, "A dynamic modelling framework for control-based computing system design", Mathematical and Computer Modelling of Dynamical Systems 21(3), 2015, 251-271.

Examination

Student performance is assessed in the form of a project to be completed after the course. The project will be carried out in groups of maximum three people. A report is required in the form of a short paper, to be discussed with the instructor.