41891 Cloud Computing Infrastructure
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Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Subject level:
Undergraduate
Result type: Grade and marksRequisite(s): 31270 Networking Essentials OR 41092 Network Fundamentals
Anti-requisite(s): 42891 Infrastructure for Cloud Computing
Recommended studies: 41001 Cloud Computing and Software as a Service; 41005 Cloud-based Enterprise Application Development; 31338 Network Servers (or equivalent Linux/Microsoft certification); 31246 Network Design
Description
Complementing the existing cloud computing subjects, this subject introduces the concepts and implementation of cloud computing infrastructure. Topics such as cloud architecture, virtualisation and storage technologies, and data centre fundamentals, as well as security and compliance in the cloud, are explored. This subject is heavily influenced by industry interaction, and includes hands-on labs and workshops using commonly found tools within the cloud infrastructure industry.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:
| 1. | Explain the key components of Cloud Computing Infrastructure, through classifying the components and underlying theory behind Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) platform, both from a service provider and consumer perspective. (D.1) |
|---|---|
| 2. | Identify how virtualisation and cloud computing technologies come together to deliver a sustainable business advantage. (B.1) |
| 3. | Design a cloud infrastructure solution for a small business, allowing for dynamic scaling of applications, delivery on Service-Level Agreements (SLAs) in the most efficient way possible and understanding the core architectures and technologies used within Cloud Platforms. (C.1) |
| 4. | Implement a simple cloud platform given cost, time, technical and business constraints through applying the technologies used within Cloud Computing today, including open source tools and enterprise software. (D.1) |
| 5. | Describe the technical limitations and business risks of cloud computing, especially the adoption of public and hybrid cloud deployments by examining the Data Sovereignty, Jurisdictional and Security implications of the cloud. (B.1) |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes specifically to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs):
- Socially Responsible: FEIT graduates identify, engage, interpret and analyse stakeholder needs and cultural perspectives, establish priorities and goals, and identify constraints, uncertainties and risks (social, ethical, cultural, legislative, environmental, economics etc.) to define the system requirements. (B.1)
- Design Oriented: FEIT graduates apply problem solving, design and decision-making methodologies to develop components, systems and processes to meet specified requirements. (C.1)
- Technically Proficient: FEIT graduates apply abstraction, mathematics and discipline fundamentals, software, tools and techniques to evaluate, implement and operate systems. (D.1)
Contribution to the development of graduate attributes
Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competencies
This subject contributes to the development of the following Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competencies:
- 1.3. In-depth understanding of specialist bodies of knowledge within the engineering discipline.
- 1.4. Discernment of knowledge development and research directions within the engineering discipline.
- 1.6. Understanding of the scope, principles, norms, accountabilities and bounds of sustainable engineering practice in the specific discipline.
- 2.1. Application of established engineering methods to complex engineering problem solving.
- 2.3. Application of systematic engineering synthesis and design processes.
- 3.3. Creative, innovative and pro-active demeanour.
Teaching and learning strategies
Students will learn the theoretical aspects of cloud computing infrastructure via formal and informal, in and out, online and out of class engagement by students, which constitutes a large part of the learning activities that are utilized in this subject. Besides formal lectures, students are required to watch the online introduction videos and pre-study some topics, e.g. what is the cloud, what is cloud computing, and what is cloud computing infrastructure, in week 0. Then, to start the week 1 lecture, questions related to the week 0 topics will be asked and discussed. Moreover, students are required to pre-read the online materials before the week 5 lecture. In the week 5 lecture, students will collaborate in groups to discuss, present and critique topics on the challenges in building an IaaS platform.
The tutorials are combined with laboratories and will provide opportunities for students to link the theory which has been taught with practice. Students will need to finish the lab exercises every week, following the instructions given in lab documents. Students will need to collaborate in groups to develop solutions for some major lab tasks, especially when the major assignment is released.
Students are required to have discussions with their tutors every week to receive feedback for lab excercises 1-7. During these sessions, feedback, including suggestions on how to answer incomplete solutions, implementations and configerations of cloud platforms, will be duscussed to help students fill in any gaps in the knowledge required for this subject. The major assignments will encourage students to extend their study to outside of the formally taught subject content. Students will receive feedback on assignment 1 in week 7 during the tutorial/lab sessions. The feedback will be useful when preparing for the quiz. After Assignment 2 is released in week 6, students are required to discuss a learning contract with their tutor/s before they start the design and implementation. Students will get feedback on their progress of Assignment 2 during the discussions with their tutors after week 6 and will receive overall feedback on Assignment 2 in week 11.
Content (topics)
Major topics to be covered in this subject are:
1) What is Cloud Infrastructure? Deployment models such as Public/Private/Hybrid
2) Virtualisation, sustainability and techniques
3) Types of Virtualisation/Cloud Infrastructures. (Storage/Network Virtualisation, Types of hypervisors, etc)
4) Operating systems and architectures (including Hypervisors, Storage and Network)
5) Challenges in building an IAAS Platform
6) Datacentres - the foundation of any Cloud Computing Infrastructure (what are the core features to look for, redundancy characteristics, etc)
7) Resource management, deployment, capacity planning & high availability in the cloud
8) An overview of IAAS providers, technology stacks and their application
9) Security, Data Jurisdiction and Compliance aspects
10) The future of Cloud Computing infrastructure
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Assignment 1: Individual
| Intent: | To allow students to demonstrate their knowledge of the concepts learnt in the subject, research skills and self-assess their progress in the subject. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): B.1, C.1 and D.1 |
| Type: | Exercises |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 20% |
Assessment task 2: Assignment 2: Group Major Project
| Intent: | Whilst designing a cloud computing infrastructure and implementing a prototype for a small size organisation, students are expected to analyse stakeholder needs, implement and test solutions, demonstrate their subject knowledge and communication/presentation skills. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): B.1, C.1 and D.1 |
| Type: | Project |
| Groupwork: | Group, group and individually assessed |
| Weight: | 40% |
Assessment task 3: Quiz 1
| Intent: | To allow students to demonstrate their knowledge of cloud computing infrastructure, e.g. cloud solutions, cloud core architectures, cloud platforms, cloud computing technologies, technical limitations, and so on. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): B.1, C.1 and D.1 |
| Type: | Quiz/test |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 20% |
Assessment task 4: Quiz 2
| Intent: | To allow students to demonstrate their knowledge of cloud computing infrastructure, e.g. cloud solutions, cloud core architectures, cloud platforms, cloud computing technologies, technical limitations, and so on. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): B.1, C.1 and D.1 |
| Type: | Quiz/test |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 20% |
Minimum requirements
In order to pass the subject, a student must achieve an overall mark of 50% or more.
Required texts
No mandatory textbook is required.
Recommended texts
A list of recommended textbooks is as follows:
- "Distributed and Cloud Computing: From Parallel Processing to the Internet of Things", Kai Hwang, Geoffrey C. Fox, and Jack J. Dongarra.
- “Cloud Computing Principles and Paradigms”, by Rajkumar Buyya, James Broberg, Andrzej M. Goscinski.
- “Cloud Computing: SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, Virtualization, Business Models, Mobile, Security, and More”, by Kris Jamsa.
- “The Book of VMware: The Complete Guide to VMware Workstation”, by Brian Ward.
- “Mastering VMware vSphere 5”, by Scott Lowe.
- “Running Xen: A Hands-On Guide to the Art of Virtualization”, by Jeanna N. Matthews, Eli M. Dow, Todd Deshane, Wenjin Hu, Jeremy Bongio, Patrick F. Wilbur, and Brendan Johnson.
- “Professional Xen Virtualization”, by William von Hagen.
References
A list of references will be provided on UTS Canvas
Other resources
Online support for this subject will be provided through UTS Canvas: https://canvas.uts.edu.au