MIT · on MIT OpenCourseWare

Operating System Engineering (6.828)

4.9(2,800) on MIT OpenCourseWare·380K enrolled
Advanced 50 hours EnglishFREE
Our recommendation
MIT's advanced operating-systems course, free on OpenCourseWare — building and understanding an operating system at the level of a real kernel. It is demanding and hands-on with C, aimed at strong programmers who want deep systems knowledge. There is no certificate from the free materials.

Good for: Strong programmers who want deep, hands-on operating-systems knowledge.

Less suitable if: You are not comfortable with C and systems programming, or you want a certificate.

Skills you'll gain

Operating systemsKernel developmentCSystems programmingConcurrencyMemory management

Is this course right for you?

A good fit if you…

You are a strong C programmer
You want deep systems knowledge
You can study independently

Consider something else if you…

You are not comfortable with C
You want an applied intro
You need a certificate

Requirements: Strong C and systems-programming background; advanced.

Realistic time: About 50 hours of lectures, plus substantial labs.

About this course

MIT 6.828 is the operating systems course where students actually build one — implementing a Unix-like kernel called JOS in C, handling processes and scheduling, memory management and virtual memory, file systems, and network device drivers. Frans Kaashoek and Robert Morris teach it with the depth expected of MIT systems researchers.

What you'll learn

Implement process creation, scheduling, and context switching in C
Build virtual memory management with page tables
Implement a file system with persistence and crash recovery
Understand device driver architecture and interrupt handling
Debug low-level systems code using GDB and kernel debugging techniques

This course includes

50h
On-demand video
Yes
Mobile access
English
Language

What it costs

Completely free through MIT OpenCourseWare, including the labs. There is no certificate.

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Instructor

FK
Frans Kaashoek / Robert Morris
MIT OpenCourseWare instructor
380K+ learners6 courses4.9 instructor rating

Taught by Frans Kaashoek and Robert Morris, MIT EECS faculty who are also developers of the xv6 educational OS and recognized systems researchers.

About this provider

MO
MIT OpenCourseWare
MIT OpenCourseWare — free, openly licensed course materials from MIT's actual courses, including lecture notes, problem sets, and exams. No certificate.
Visit MIT OpenCourseWare

Frequently asked questions

No. OpenCourseWare provides the materials free but does not certify completion.
Completely. All lectures and labs are open.
Yes. It is an advanced course that has you working at the level of a real kernel.
A strong C and systems-programming background. It is genuinely advanced.
Yes for deep operating-systems understanding, if you have the background to keep up.
Free
to audit
Enroll now