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Course profile

Cloud Computing (INFS3208)

Study period
Sem 2 2024
Location
St Lucia
Attendance mode
In Person

Course overview

Study period
Semester 2, 2024 (22/07/2024 - 18/11/2024)
Study level
Undergraduate
Location
St Lucia
Attendance mode
In Person
Units
2
Administrative campus
St Lucia
Coordinating unit
Elec Engineering & Comp Science School

As a major computing infrastructure, Cloud Computing provides the modern on-demand services for management and usage of large and shared computing resources including storage, computations and communications. This course will cover in-depth knowledge for Cloud Computing and the practical experience in designing and implementing large-scale and composite business web applications on Cloud Computing platform.
This course covers a wide range of cloud computing-related X-as-a-Service technologies, including Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Data-as-a-Service (DaaS), and related technologies such as Cloud Computing Ecosystem. For delivering scalable computing services in a pay-as-you-go model via the Internet, Cloud Computing approaches are used to deal with effective and efficient development and deployment problems of web services and information systems with particular focus on "big data" challenges that arise across a variety of domains.

Cloud computing provides modern on-demand services for managing and using extensive and shared computing resources, including storage, computations and communications. This course will cover in-depth knowledge of Cloud Computing and practical experience in designing and implementing large-scale and composite business web applications on Cloud Computing platforms through lectures, tutorials, and laboratory exercises. You will learn the concepts of modern cloud computingᅠusing various tools and techniques, such as Docker, Kubernetes, NoSQL, Vector databases, and cloud storage. Advanced distributed computing systems such as MapReduce and Apache Spark are also included in the course. The lab sessions cover cloud application development and deployment and data processing on the cloud using open-source tools in the real-world cloud platform. Based on student feedback, the course now includes a new topic: vector database, addressing the needs of the next generation of AI applications. The tutorial and practical sessions have been newly designed to reflect this addition.

Course requirements

Prerequisites

You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:

CSSE1001 and INFS1200

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

INFS3204 or INFS7204 or INFS7208

Course contact

Course staff

Lecturer

Associate Professor Sen Wang
Dr Zhi Chen

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Aims and outcomes

This course teaches the concepts and technologies for the Cloud Computing. It provides a comprehensive and systematic understanding to theᅠCloudᅠComputing technologies and practical experience in designing large-scale composite web applications over a cloud computing platform.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

LO1.

Describe the benefit of using X-as-a-Service (XaaS) in Cloud Computing, such as SaaS (Software as a Service), IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), and PaaS (Platform as a Service) in developing modern information systems.

LO2.

Interpret the key features and building blocks of Cloud-Computing based information systems.

LO3.

Build applications based on Cloud Computing architecture and tools.

LO4.

Implement Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) with a recommended Cloud Computing platform.

LO5.

Demonstrate and solve the performance and technical issues in Cloud Computing such as cloud storage, cloud data management, scalability, privacy preservation and security.

LO6.

Explain the ecosystem of Cloud Computing.

LO7.

Explain implementation techniques of Cloud Computing such as clusters and in-memory computing.

LO8.

Discuss the roles played by Cloud Computing in Big Data Analytics and identify the trends in Cloud Computing.

Assessment

Assessment summary

Category Assessment task Weight Due date
Computer Code Individual Programming Tasks 30%

Programming Task 1 23/08/2024 3:00 pm

Programming Task 2 13/09/2024 3:00 pm

Programming Task 3 11/10/2024 3:00 pm

Project Individual Project Implementation 20%

18/10/2024 3:00 pm

Examination Final Examination
  • Hurdle
50%

End of Semester Exam Period

2/11/2024 - 16/11/2024

A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.

Assessment details

Individual Programming Tasks

Mode
Written
Category
Computer Code
Weight
30%
Due date

Programming Task 1 23/08/2024 3:00 pm

Programming Task 2 13/09/2024 3:00 pm

Programming Task 3 11/10/2024 3:00 pm

Learning outcomes
L03, L05, L06, L07, L08

Task description

Programming assignments are used to assess the practical skills of students on non-trivial but reasonably well-defined problems. You are required to complete three programming tasks, and more details will be available on the course website.

Submission guidelines

Online Submission.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Marked assignments with feedback and/or detailed solutions with feedback will be released to students within 14-21 days, where the earlier time frame applies if there are no extensions.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Individual Project Implementation

Mode
Written
Category
Project
Weight
20%
Due date

18/10/2024 3:00 pm

Learning outcomes
L02, L03, L04, L05, L07, L08

Task description

The goal of this assignment is for you to implement a Cloud Computing System to demonstrate your ability to set up scalable platforms, use scalable databases, and create cloud computing applications. A project report (5%) and the implementation code (15%) should be submitted. The details of the assignment requirement will be given in the individual project specification file on Blackboard.

Submission guidelines

Online Submission.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Marked assignments with feedback and/or detailed solutions with feedback will be released to students within 14-21 days, where the earlier time frame applies if there are no extensions.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Final Examination

  • Hurdle
Mode
Written
Category
Examination
Weight
50%
Due date

End of Semester Exam Period

2/11/2024 - 16/11/2024

Learning outcomes
L01, L05, L06, L07, L08

Task description

The final exam assesses theoretical concepts and basic programming skills introduced in this course.

Hurdle requirements

To pass this course, a minimum of 50% (25 marks) must be obtained in the final exam.

Exam details

Planning time 10 minutes
Duration 120 minutes
Calculator options

(In person) Casio FX82 series only or UQ approved and labelled calculator

Open/closed book Closed Book examination - no written materials permitted
Exam platform Paper based
Invigilation

Invigilated in person

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Grade Cut off Percent Description
1 (Low Fail) 0 - 19

Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes.

2 (Fail) 20 - 44

Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes.

3 (Marginal Fail) 45 - 49

Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes

4 (Pass) 50 - 64

Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes.

5 (Credit) 65 - 74

Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes.

6 (Distinction) 75 - 84

Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes.

7 (High Distinction) 85 - 100

Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes.

Additional course grading information

To pass this course, a minimum of 50% (25 marks) must be obtained in the final exam. Note that your final percentage will be rounded to the nearest whole number (e.g. 84.5% is a 7), and the final marks are calculated as a simple accumulation of all marks obtained in this semester.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Additional assessment information

Use of AI

Individual Programming Tasks/Individual Project Implementation: This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that the use of AI technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

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Learning period Activity type Topic
Multiple weeks

From Week 1 To Week 13

Lecture

Lectures

Lectures will cover 1). Cloud Computing concepts, technologies, and applications; 2). Virtualisation technologies and Docker; 3). Apache Spark framework, programming, and applications; 4). Distributed file systems; 5). Google file system and BigTable; 6). Databases in Cloud Computing; 7). Hadoop and MapReduce; 8). Cloud Computing advanced topics: networking, load balancing, security, and privacy. The lectures will be delivered on campus.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07, L08

Multiple weeks

From Week 2 To Week 12

Tutorial

Tutorials

Weekly tutorials aim to enhance the understanding of lectures. Should the on-campus tutorial not be possible, the backup plan consists of an online session.

Learning outcomes: L01, L05, L06, L07, L08

Practical

Practical

Weekly practicals aim to enhance the learned technologies including Docker, NoSQL, Hadoop, and Spark programming on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and develop the individual project. Weekly tutorials aim to enhance the understanding of lectures. Should the on-campus practical not be possible, the backup plan consists of an online session.

Learning outcomes: L03, L05, L06, L07, L08

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.

School guidelines

Your school has additional guidelines you'll need to follow for this course: