AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

CSI 468 – Cloud Computing

Section A
Spring Term 2021
INSTRUCTOR Antoine Assaf, MS.
[email protected]

LECTURE HOURS T-TH 08:00 pm – 09:15 pm

OFFICE HOURS T-TH 07:30 pm – 08:00 pm

COURSE OBJECTIVES
The objective of this course is to teach student the main concepts in the field of:
 Cloud Computing and its techniques.
 Students can familiar with cloud services and their techniques through theoretical and
practical lectures.
 Students will have a comprehensive knowledge of cloud computing techniques, best
practices in cloud computing. They will be able to understand the current challenges
in cloud computing.
 Students will have practical experience on the cloud computing platform and
infrastructure created by Microsoft “Windows Azure”, “Google Cloud Platform” and
“Openstack Cloud”.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After the completion of this course, the successful student will be able to:

1. Mitigate the current challenges in cloud computing

2. Design and implement cloud-based applications.
3. Create and manage virtual machine on the cloud.
4. Work on Windows Azure Platform, Google Cloud Platform and Openstack Cloud.
5. Understand advanced concepts in theory of computer science.
6. Understand advanced concepts in applications of computer science.
CSI 468-Section A: Cloud Computing Antoine Assaf, MS

COURSE PREREQUISITES CSI 345: COMPUTER NETWORKS

PREREQUISITES BY TOPICS
The student should have a good background computer networks.

COURSE CREDITS 3 Credit Hours

INSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE
Lecture will be used predominantly. These will be supported by handouts and problem sets.

REQUIRED TEXT
Cloud Computing: Concepts, Technology & Architecture. Prentice Hall.

REFERENCES
Cloud Computing and SOA Convergence in Your Enterprise: A Step-by-Step. Guide Addison-
Wesley Professional.
Cloud Computing with the Windows® Azure™ Platform, Published by: Wiley Publishing

GRADE DISTRIBUTION
This course involves a number of activities, ranging from lectures, problem sets, quizzes,
projects, and exams, to the midterm and final exams. All of these attributes of the course are
intended to help the student in developing his/her understanding of the material covered in CSI
468 and in providing the department and the course instructor with information on how the
student is doing. Consequently, all of these activities are considered to be vital and will be
taken into consideration while assigning grades at the end of the term. When the student is
being assigned a course grade, it is imperative that this grade accurately reflects the student’s
level of achievement and his/her mastery of the material covered in CSI 468. A breakdown of
the weighting that will be used in making this assessment is as follows:

Class Attendance (ATT) 05%

Homework (HW) 10%
Quizzes (QZ) 10%
Projects (PRJ) 10%
Class Exams (CE)
Exam I (EX I) 20%
Exam II (EX II) 20%
Exam III (EX III) 20%
Final Exam (FEX) 25%
Bonus (BON) 05%

2
CSI 468-Section A: Cloud Computing Antoine Assaf, MS

The following scale will be used to assign course letter grades:

90 – 100 ................................................... A
80 – 89 ..................................................... B
70 – 79 ..................................................... C
60 – 69 ..................................................... D
BELOW 60 .............................................. F

Note: Make-up exams and late assignments will be dealt with according to the distributed course
rules and regulations, which are governed by the Department of Computer Science. However,
students have to realize that in the event that a make-up exam is granted, it would be unjust that the
grantee becomes privileged over his/her fellow colleagues in terms of extra-time to prepare for the
exam and in developing an idea about the contents of the exam. Accordingly, the make-up exam will
carry an increased level of difficulty of at least 20% from the regular exam.

COURSE COMPETENCIES
This course contributes primarily to the students' understanding of the roles of various data
structures, their usage and their applications. This course was designed to help the student to:

1. Learn different data structures available.

2. Understand the differences among different sorting algorithms.
3. Be familiar with different searching algorithms.

ATTENDANCE

For legitimate reasons only, a student is allowed to absent him/herself for a maximum of 4
contact hours from the course lectures. Any absence will be counted toward the 5%
evaluation of the course grade. Absences beyond the specified maximum limit will result in
an automatic AW in the course and possibly other disciplinary measures. An unexcused
absence from a quiz will result in a zero on that quiz. Should the student be absent from a
lecture during which a problem set or a laboratory assignment is due, it is the duty of the
student to make certain that the homework assignment is handed in on time. Failure to do so
will incur a penalty on that assignment’s grade.

Note: 5 points will be deducted from the class attendance grade for every non-excused
absence.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
The student should get familiar with the Course Rules and Regulations of the Department of
Computer Science at AUST. These are compiled and distributed to the student at the beginning
of every academic term. In particular, the student should be aware that plagiarism, abuse of
laboratory facilities, and other sorts of academic dishonesty are not tolerated and can result in
unsympathetic penalties.

The Department of Computer Science (CSI) fully acknowledges the potential significance of
students studying together. In this sense, the CSI Department does not have any reservation to
this kind of collaboration, as long as all contestants are involved in all facets of the work, and
not with each individual contributing to a fraction of the assignment. Specifically, when a
student submits an assignment with his/her name on it, the CSI Department takes it for granted
3
CSI 468-Section A: Cloud Computing Antoine Assaf, MS

that the details presented in the assignment are entirely the student’s own work, and that this
student has substantially participated in the creation of this work. If a portion of the work has
been conceived by collaborative work, that section should be highlighted and the names of the
students involved in this collaboration should be listed next to that section.

All projects and problem sets are expected to be handed in at the beginning of the lecture of
the due date. Late project/problem sets are permissible if the solution is not published yet, but
will be penalized. If a project or problem set is not submitted at the beginning of the lecture of
the due date, it will automatically be considered as late. In accordance, the project/assignment
will lose 25% of its merit. However, the student has the right to hold on to it and submit it at
the beginning of the very next lecture. If this situation is repeated, another 25% of the total
merit of the project/assignment will be deducted until the project/assignment loses all of its
merit.

PROBLEM SETS
For most part of the course, problem sets will be assigned on a weekly basis. A detailed
description of the problem set assignment timetable is compiled at the end of this handout.

COURSE OUTLINE BY TOPIC

The day-to-day topics to be covered in the table below may be adjusted as the subject proceeds,
but all examination dates are fixed, and problem set due dates are unlikely to change.

Week Session Topic Day Date (DD/MM/YYYY)

Syllabus
Introduction to Cloud Computing and Virtualization
CHAPTER 3: Understanding Cloud Computing
- 3.1 Origins and Influences
1 T 16/02/2021
- 3.2 Basic Concepts and Terminology

Home Practical Activity 1: Prepare a Linux (Centos or Ubuntu) Virtual

Machine on your personal Laptop.
CHAPTER 3: Understanding Cloud Computing
- 3.3 Goals and Benefits
o Reduced Investments and Proportional Costs
1 o Increased Scalability
o Increased Availability and Proportional Costs
- 3.4 Risks and Challenges
o Increased Security Vulnerabilities
2 o Reduced Operational Governance Control
TH 18/02/2021
o Limited Portability Between Cloud Providers
o Multi-Regional Compliance and Legal Issues

OpenStack Introduction:
- Understand OpenStack purpose and use cases
- Understand the OpenStack ecosystem
CHAPTER 4: Fundamental Concepts and Models
- 4.1 Roles and Boundaries
- 4.2 Cloud Characteristics
o Elasticity
2 3 o Multi-tenancy
T 23/02/2021
o On-Demand Usage
o Access

4
CSI 468-Section A: Cloud Computing Antoine Assaf, MS

Week Session Topic Day Date (DD/MM/YYYY)

Activity 1: Read and present why Cloud computing is of benefit for you:
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press_kits/2011/HPDiscover2011/DI
SCOVER_5_Myths_of_Cloud_Computing.pdf”
and describe how cloud can be beneficial for you

Home Practical Activity 2: Deploy OpenStack/Devstack on your Ubuntu

machine.
CHAPTER 4: Fundamental Concepts and Models
- 4.3 Cloud Delivery Models
o Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)
4 o Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) TH 25/02/2021
o Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

OpenStack Lab Activity 1: Deploy a VM on Openstack environment

CHAPTER 4: Fundamental Concepts and Models
- Cloud Delivery Models
o Comparing Cloud Delivery Models
5 o Combining Cloud Delivery Models
T 02/03/2021

Cloud Practice 1: Access to Google Cloud Platform

3
CHAPTER 4: Fundamental Concepts and Models
- 4.4 Cloud Deployment Models
o Public Clouds
6 o Community Clouds
TH 04/03/2021
o Private Clouds
o Hybrid Clouds
CHAPTER 5: Cloud-Enabling Technology
7 - 5.2 Data Center Technology T 09/03/2021
4 Cloud Practice 2: Access to Microsoft Azure
8 EXAM I TH 11/03/2021
CHAPTER 5: Cloud-Enabling Technology
- 5.3 Virtualization Technology
9 T 16/03/2021
Cloud Practice 3: VM deployment in Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure
Main Cloud Computing Providers
5
- Current Cloud Platforms
o Amazon Web Services (AWS)
10 o Google App Engine
TH 18/03/2021
o Microsoft Windows Azure
o OpenStack Cloud
Main Cloud Computing Providers – Student Activity
- Comparison of Google App Engine and Windows Azure
11 - Accessing Openstack APIs
T 23/03/2021
6
Openstack Lab Activity 3: External Network Connectivity to the VMs
12 HOLIDAY TH 25/03/2021
Google Cloud
13 - Virtual Machines and Web Sites T 30/03/2021
- User Applications
CHAPTER 7: Cloud Infrastructure Mechanisms
7 - 7.2 Virtual Server
14 - 7.3 Cloud Storage Device TH 01/04/2021
- 7.4 Cloud Usage Monitor
Cloud Practice 4-1: Apply the activity in Openstack environment
15 EXAM II T 06/04/2021
CHAPTER 7: Cloud Infrastructure Mechanisms
- 7.5 Resource Replication
8
16 - 7.6 Ready-Made Environment TH 08/04/2021
Cloud Practice 4-2: Apply the activity in Openstack environment

5
CSI 468-Section A: Cloud Computing Antoine Assaf, MS

Week Session Topic Day Date (DD/MM/YYYY)

CHAPTER 9: Cloud Management Mechanisms
- 9.1 Remote Administration System
17 - 9.2 Resource Management System T 13/04/2021
- 9.4 Billing Management System
Cloud Practice 5: View these activities in Google Cloud.
9 CHAPTER 10: Cloud security Mechanisms
- 10.1 Encryption
18 - 10.2 Hashing TH 15/04/2021
- 10.3 Digital Signature
- 10.4 Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
CHAPTER 10: Cloud security Mechanisms
- 10.5 Identity and Access Management (IAM)
19 - 10.6 Single Sign-On (SSO) T 20/04/2021
10 Openstack Lab Activity 4: The Orchestration
CHAPTER 11: Fundamental Cloud Architectures
20 - 11.1 Workload Distribution Architecture TH 22/04/2021
- 11.2 Resource Pooling Architecture
CHAPTER 11: Fundamental Cloud Architectures
21 - 11.3 Dynamic Scalability Architecture T 27/04/2021
11 - 11.8 Redundant Storage Architecture
Openstack Lab Activity 5: Deployment of different networks for the
22 TH 29/04/2021
same tenant
23 EXAM III T 04/05/2021
12
24 Cloud Practice 6: View these activities in Google Cloud. TH 06/05/2021
Microsoft Azure
- Virtual Machines and Web Sites
25 T 11/05/2021
13 - Windows Azure Applications
- Windows Azure Mobile Service
26 HOLIDAY TH 13/05/2021
CHAPTER 12: Advanced Cloud Architectures
- 12.1 Hypervisor Clustering Architecture
27 T 18/05/2021
- 12.2 Load Balancing Virtual server instances architecture
14 - 12.3 Non-Disruptive Service Relocation Architecture
CHAPTER 12: Advanced Cloud Architectures
28 - 12.4 Zero Downtime architecture TH 20/05/2021
- 12.5 Cloud Balancing Architecture
27 Different Case Study and practice sessions. T 25/05/2021
15
28 TH 27/05/2021
16
29 Project Presentations T 01/06/2021
30 TH 04/06/2021
M 07/06/2021
FINAL EXAMS T 15/06/2021

PROBLEM SETS

Problem sets will be handed by the instructor in class.

DISCLAIMER: Changes may be performed to the above syllabus without any prior notification. Copyright ©
2020-2021 American University of Science & Technology - Department of Information &Communications Technology. All rights reserved.