CS4740 Cloud Computing

Course Description

This course investigates the architectural foundations of the various cloud platforms and examines both current cloud computing platforms and modern cloud research. Student assignments utilize the major cloud platforms. Prerequisite: CS 2150 with grade of C- or higher.

Cloud Computing has become an everyday term, but its meaning often remains unclear - it could mean Dropbox, Gmail, iCloud, Heroku, Carbonite, etc. For the purposes of this course, "cloud computing" makes up a specific way of creating, managing, and interacting with publicly-accessible, API-driven, computing infrastructure and services, so-called IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service).

We will discuss the technical, business, and practical reasons that cloud computing emerged, and the ways it has evolved in the last 15 years. Attention will be paid to the ways cloud computing - by empowering users to create and use infrastructure on demand and at scale - places additional risks and requirements upon the user, such as cost, security, and operational viability.

• Participation
• Audience
• Grading
• Tools
• Policies
• Other Details
• Support or Contact

Participation

Audience

This course will emphasize hands-on experience in the creation, management, and consumption of cloud-based services. For the purposes of getting started I will assume that you fit roughly into at least one of three categories as you approach the subject:

1. Developer
2. Systems Administrator / Systems Engineer
3. Data Scientist / Researcher

While some students often have some experience working in the cloud through projects or internships, we will make no assumptions about any previous experience with cloud concepts or services. Students of this course will learn how to create dynamic, secure, cloud resources according to best practices, with an emphasis upon creating reusable snippets of infrastructure-as-code.

Grading

Course Elements

• Student Survey - a simple questionnaire to help ascertain baseline skills for the class and students' familiarity with a variety of tools and concepts. Submit the survey here.
• Readings / External Resources - Though not a graded portion of the course, readings and supporting material have been carefully selected to introduce and explain important concepts to you. Digest these before class each week.
• Labs - All required labs (numbered 1-10 in the schedule) must be completed as they map to the curriculum. Additional labs are entirely optional. Hands-on labs are an important way for you to interact with an actual public cloud provider. Labs will be either hosted in Qwiklabs (run within a student account in AWS) or designed to cost very little if completed in your account (a couple of dollars at most). Labs will be posted one week before the posted date, and must be submitted within one week after the posted date.
• Programming Assignments - Programming assignments are graded mini-projects that implement your understanding of course material within an actual solution. PAs will be posted one week before due. There is no time limit on PAs but they must be completed alone, without support of other students or outsiders. Late work will not be accepted.
• Mid-term / Final Exams - Exams will be given to track your understanding and retention of course material. Exams will be posted in Collab one week before due, but you will only be allowed 2 hours to complete once you begin.

Tools

Students in this course will encounter the following tools on a weekly basis:

• Amazon Web Services - All students will use their own AWS accounts for this course. Click the link to read more.
• Google Cloud Platform - Students will have the opportunity to work in GCP to broaden their hands-on experience. Google has donated $50 credit to each student for work in their cloud environment.
• Discord - Discord will serve as our hub for announcements, Q&A, and distributing extra material specific to topics or assignments. Download the software, create a Discord account, and join the class server.
• Git/GitHub - Students are expected to know how to version control their material using Git. Some programming assignments will require submission via commits pushed to GitHub. Need a tutorial? If you do not have a GitHub account, create one now. Also, sign up for the GitHub Education Student Developer Pack
• Qwiklabs - Provides hands-on labs in AWS and GCP services. Many of these are free and include detailed steps to complete practice projects of varying complexity. Create a Qwiklabs account using your default UVA email address in order to be added to the credit pool.

Policies

1. Disabilities or Learning Needs
2. Religious Accommodations
3. Career Development
4. Student Support
5. Harassment, Discrimination, & Interpersonal Violence

The full text of the above policies can be found here.

Honor Policy

The course will be conducted according to the UVA honor system. Programming assignments and exams are to be completed by the individual (no group collaborations). You will sign an honor pledge for all assignments, quizzes, and exams; more importantly, I expect you to adhere to the intent of the pledge. Cooperative efforts at understanding the material and technologies of the course are encouraged.

All suspected violations will be forwarded to the Honor Committee, and you may, at my discretion, receive an immediate zero on that assignment regardless of any action taken by the Honor Committee.

If you believe you may have committed an Honor Offense, you may wish to file a Conscientious Retraction by calling the Honor Offices at (434)924-7602. For your retraction to be considered valid, it must, among other things, be filed with the Honor Committee before you are aware that the act in question has come under suspicion by anyone. More information can be found at http://honor.virginia.edu. Your Honor representatives can be found at: http://honor.virginia.edu/representatives.

Illness & Other Absences

Students who are feeling unwell should not attend class. This includes fevers, nausea, or other symptoms of COVID-19 (as well as other common illnesses.) You will not be penalized for your absence. Please contact the instructor or a TA to notify them and coordinate on assignments and/or instructional content. It is highly recommended that you work with other students to get lecture notes from classes missed.

Other Details

• Students are expected to complete readings and attend lectures. Failure to do so will undoubtedly leave gaps in your understanding of the subject, and the specifics required for assignments and exams.
• You should never wait until the last minute to work on any aspect of this class. Computers and software can crash, and websites can have temporary outages. Keep close to the class schedule for readings, lectures, and assignments.

Support or Contact

If you have a question about any aspect of this course - a particular topic, method, concept, etc. - please contact the TAs or instructor via Discord or email. It is often the case that you're not the only one having trouble understanding it!