Information Technology 453

I. Course Title: Distributed and Cloud Computing

II. Course Number: ITEC 453

III. Credit Hours: 3 credits

IV. Prerequisites: ITEC 301 (Grade of “C” or better), ITEC 350 (Grade of “C” or better)

V. Course Description: 

The course will explore theoretical concepts and hands-on practices on distributed and cloud computing.

VI. Detailed Description of Content of the Course:

Topics include:

  • 1. Distributed System Models and Enabling Technologies
  •         a. System Models for Distributed and Cloud Computing
  •         b. Software Environments for Distributed Systems and Clouds
  •         c. Performance, Security, and Energy Efficiency
  • 2. Virtual Machines and Virtualization of Clusters and Data Centers
  • 3. Cloud Platform Architecture over Virtualized Data Centers
  •         a. Cloud Computing and Service Models
  •                 i. Public, Private, and Hybrid Clouds
  •                 ii. Cloud Ecosystem and Enabling Technologies
  •                 iii. Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)
  •                 iv. Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
  •         b. Data-Center Design and Interconnection Networks
  •         c. Architectural Design of Compute and Storage Clouds
  •         d. Public Cloud Platforms: e.g., Amazon Web Service (AWS), Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure
  •         e. Inter-cloud Resource Management
  •         f. Cloud Security and Trust Management
  • 4. Cloud Programming and Software Environments
  •         a. Parallel and Distributed Programming Paradigms
  •         b. Programming on Cloud Platform: e.g., Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google App Engine

VI. Detailed Description of Conduct of Course:

This will be a primarily asynchronous, online course with online meetings to accompany the asynchronous modules.

VII. Goals and Objectives of the Course:

Students who complete the course will be able to:

  1. Define system models of distributed and cloud computing
  2. Define virtualization of clusters and data centers
  3. Describe a cloud platform architecture and essential services and features on a cloud platform
  4. Understand a cloud programming platform
  5. Design, develop and deploy cloud-based solutions
  6. Implement core cloud services according to basic architectural best practices
  7. Design and maintain network architecture for cloud services
  8. Leverage tools to automate networking tasks in a cloud platform

VIII. Assessment Measures:

Student achievement will be evaluated by exams, quizzes, and assignments.

Review and Approval

August 2020