UWC Summer 2013 Final Exam

UNIX Weapons School Summer 2013 FINAL EXAMINATION

My mariners, souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me—it has been a pleasure. You have 3 hours.

• One clear head, one blue book, ink, think, abbreviate obvious components (for example TLB).
• Do not pad ignorance with eloquence.
• Unless medical evidence is produced, no one will be permitted to retire to the restroom.

Question 1: Compare and contrast Linux's epoll with FreeBSD's kqueue. (3 points)

Question 2: Describe an effective and effectively programmable hardware interface for TCP offload. Detail those use cases, if any, where your system will be ineffective. (4 points)

Question 3: Compare and contrast asynchronous I/O and non-blocking I/O. Detail interactions with the UNIX systems model. (3 points)

Bonus question: Identify the source of either this exam's epigram or its regulations (no, this was not covered in lecture, nor is it germane to the class content). (1 point)

---

"In early 1993, a hostile observer might have had grounds for thinking that the UNIX story was almost played out, and with it the fortunes of the hacker tribe." --Eric S. Raymond

"If you have trouble sounding condescending, find a UNIX user to show you how it's done." --Scott Adams

---

Enjoy your summers! Go forth and construct great marvels. Do try and avoid Apple products. --nlb

Bonus question answers

The epigram is from Tennyson's dramatic monologue "Ulysses". The instructions are taken from Vladimir Nabokov's introduction to his Lectures on Literature.