ACS-49543 credit hours

Introduction to Distributed Systems

Applied Computer Science · 3 hrs Lecture

ACS-4954 prerequisites

20 courses appear in this chain, up to 5 levels deep. Every route through it involves a choice, so nothing is forced.

Part of this course's requisite text couldn't be parsed into structure, so the chain below may be incomplete. The full wording is under “Requisite courses”.

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all of

any one of

ACS-2906Computer Architecture and System Softwaremin C

any one of

ACS-1904Programming Fundamentals IImin C

ACS-1903Programming Fundamentals Imin C

any one of

Pre-Calculus Math 40S

Applied Math 40S

ACS-1805Introduction to Programmingmin C

ACS-1905Programming Fundamentalsmin C

all of

any one of

Computer Science 40S

equivalent

any one of

ACS-1805Introduction to Programmingmin C

Its prerequisites are shown above.

Pre-Calculus Math 40S

Applied Math 40S

ACS-3911Computer Networksmin C

all of

ACS-2909Internet Programmingmin C

any one of

ACS-1903Programming Fundamentals Imin C

Its prerequisites are shown above.

ACS-1905Programming Fundamentalsmin C

Its prerequisites are shown above.

any one of

ACS-2913Software Requirements Analysis and Designmin C

any one of

ACS-1903Programming Fundamentals Imin C

Its prerequisites are shown above.

ACS-1905Programming Fundamentalsmin C

Its prerequisites are shown above.

all of

ACS-2911not in the 2026-27 calendarmin C

ACS-2912not in the 2026-27 calendarmin C

ACS-3931Principles of Operating Systemsmin C

all of

ACS-2906Computer Architecture and System Softwaremin C

Its prerequisites are shown above.

ACS-2947Data Structures and Algorithmsmin C

any one of

ACS-1904Programming Fundamentals IImin C

Its prerequisites are shown above.

ACS-1905Programming Fundamentalsmin C

Its prerequisites are shown above.

any one of

MATH-1101not in the 2026-27 calendarmin C

MATH-1103Introduction to Calculus Imin C

any one of

Pre-Calculus Mathematics 40S

MATH-0042Mathematics Access IImin C

any one of

A minimum grade of 65% in Pre-Calculus 30S

MATH-0041Mathematics Access Imin C+

permission of the Department Chair

MATH-0040not in the 2026-27 calendar

MATH-1104Introduction to Calculus IImin C

MATH-1103Introduction to Calculus Imin C

Its prerequisites are shown above.

MATH-1201Linear Algebra Imin C

any one of

Pre-Calculus Mathematics 40S

Applied Mathematics 40S

MATH-0042Mathematics Access II

Its prerequisites are shown above.

MATH-1401Discrete Mathematicsmin C

any one of

Pre-Calculus Mathematics 40S

a grade of 65% or higher in Applied Mathematics 40S

MATH-0042Mathematics Access II

Its prerequisites are shown above.

Add your completed courses to see which of these you've already done and what you could take next. They stay on this device.

Where ACS-4954 counts

Counts toward 4 more as one option among several, not as a course you must take:

ACS 4-YEAR BA IN APPLIED COMPUTER SCIENCE
ACS 4-YEAR BSc IN APPLIED COMPUTER SCIENCE
ACS 4-YEAR BSc (SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING STREAM)
ACS BSc (HONOURS) IN APPLIED COMPUTER SCIENCE

Read from the departments' own calendar pages, where 50 of 208 programs are only partly machine-readable, so treat these as a minimum rather than the full list. Confirm with an academic advisor.

Description

This course is an introduction to the broad field of distributed systems. It focuses on introducing students to the benefits, challenges, methods, and implementations of distributed systems. Reasons for deploying distributed systems, such as fault tolerance and agglomeration of computational resources are discussed. Other topics include implementation challenges such as synchronization and replication in the presence of faults. Common system architectures that address some of these challenges are also introduced. Students are expected to implement some of these architectures to reinforce the lecture material.

Requisite courses

ACS-2906, ACS-3911 or ACS-3931 and one of the Math courses MATH-1101, MATH-1103, MATH-1104, MATH-1201, MATH-1401 with a minimum grade of C [prerequisite(s)].

Lecture

From the 2026-27 undergraduate calendar. Always verify details on WebAdvisor or with an academic advisor before registering.