Computing Infrastructure Course Outline
This outline provides a structured overview for a typical introductory to intermediate-level course
on Computing Infrastructure. It draws from common academic syllabi, often emphasizing cloud
computing as a core component of modern infrastructure due to its prevalence in enabling
scalable, distributed systems. The course assumes basic programming knowledge and focuses
on both theoretical concepts and hands-on applications using platforms like AWS or Azure.
Course Overview
Computing Infrastructure explores the foundational elements of IT systems, including hardware,
software, networks, and cloud technologies. It covers how these components integrate to support
data processing, storage, and delivery in organizational settings. The course typically spans 15
weeks, combining lectures, labs, and projects to build practical skills in designing and managing
infrastructure.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Describe key components of computing infrastructure, including hardware, virtualization,
and cloud models.
• Explain the evolution, benefits, and challenges of cloud computing.
• Implement basic cloud services for storage, computation, and networking.
• Analyze security, scalability, and ethical considerations in infrastructure design.
• Develop applications using distributed programming models like MapReduce or Spark.
Prerequisites
Basic computer literacy, including familiarity with operating systems and a programming language
(e.g., Python or Java).
No prior cloud experience required, but comfort with networks and data structures is helpful.
Required Materials
Textbooks: "Cloud Computing for Science and Engineering" by Ian Foster and Dennis B. Gannon;
"Technology in Action" (latest edition) for foundational computing.
Access to cloud platforms (e.g., AWS Free Tier, Azure Student Account).
Software: Microsoft Office or equivalent for productivity tasks; Jupyter Notebooks for labs.
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Detailed Course Outline
Module 1: Introduction to Computing Infrastructure
• Definition of computing infrastructure and its role in modern systems
• Hardware basics: CPU architecture, memory hierarchy, and I/O devices
• Software layers: Operating systems, middleware, and application frameworks
• Evolution from on-premise setups to cloud-based models
• Ethical and societal impacts: Data privacy concerns, energy consumption, and digital divide
• Overview of infrastructure lifecycle: Planning, deployment, maintenance, and decommissioning
Module 2: Data Centers and Facilities
• Data center architecture and physical design principles
• Power efficiency metrics like Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE)
• Redundancy strategies: Backup systems, failover mechanisms, and disaster recovery
• Fault tolerance techniques: RAID configurations and high-availability clustering
• Economic models: Capital vs. operational expenditures, and Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
• Sustainability practices: Green computing, cooling technologies, and renewable energy integration
Module 3: Virtualization Technologies
• Fundamentals of virtualization: CPU, memory, and I/O resource abstraction
• Hypervisors and their types: Bare-metal (e.g., Xen) vs. hosted (e.g., VMware)
• Containerization concepts: Docker, Kubernetes, and lightweight virtualization
• Software-Defined Networking (SDN): Programmable networks and flow control
• Software-Defined Storage (SDS): Virtual storage pools and data management
• Benefits and challenges: Resource efficiency, isolation, and performance overheads
Module 4: Cloud Service Models
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Virtual machines and raw compute resources
• Platform as a Service (PaaS): Development environments and runtime support
• Software as a Service (SaaS): End-user applications delivered over the web
• Deployment types: Public, private, hybrid, and multi-cloud strategies
• Benefits: Scalability, cost savings, and rapid provisioning
• Risks: Vendor lock-in, data sovereignty, and compliance issues
Module 5: Networking in Infrastructure
• Network fundamentals: OSI model, TCP/IP protocols, and routing basics
• Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs): Isolated network environments in the cloud
• Load balancing techniques: Round-robin, least connections, and application-aware
• Content Delivery Networks (CDNs): Edge caching, global distribution, and latency reduction
• Network security: Firewalls, VPNs, and intrusion detection systems
• Emerging trends: 5G integration and zero-trust networking models
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Module 6: Cloud Storage Systems
• Distributed file systems: Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) and CephFS
• NoSQL databases: Key-value stores (e.g., DynamoDB) and document databases (e.g., MongoDB)
• Object storage solutions: Amazon S3, OpenStack Swift, and blob management
• Data consistency models: Eventual vs. strong consistency
• Storage optimization: Deduplication, compression, and tiered storage
• Backup and recovery: Snapshots, versioning, and geo-redundancy
Module 7: Programming Models for Distributed Systems
• MapReduce framework: Data partitioning, mapping, and reducing phases
• YARN (Yet Another Resource Negotiator): Cluster resource management
• Iterative analytics with Apache Spark: Resilient Distributed Datasets (RDDs) and in-memory
processing
• Graph processing tools: GraphLab, Apache Giraph, and vertex-centric models
• Stream processing paradigms: Real-time data handling and windowing
• Fault tolerance in distributed programming: Checkpointing and recovery mechanisms
Module 8: Big Data Analytics in the Cloud
• Data mining frameworks: Hadoop ecosystem and Spark MLlib
• Analytics tools: SQL-on-Hadoop (e.g., Hive) and interactive querying (e.g., Presto)
• Streaming analytics: Amazon Kinesis, Apache Kafka, and event-driven architectures
• Data pipelines: ETL processes, workflow orchestration (e.g., Apache Airflow)
• Visualization and reporting: Tools like Tableau integration and dashboards
• Challenges: Data volume, velocity, variety, and veracity (the 4Vs)
Module 9: Machine Learning and AI Services
• Supervised learning: Regression, classification, and model training basics
• Unsupervised learning: Clustering, dimensionality reduction, and anomaly detection
• Cloud ML frameworks: Azure Machine Learning, Google AI Platform, and AWS SageMaker
• TensorFlow and PyTorch: Neural networks, deep learning architectures
• Integration with infrastructure: Model deployment, serving, and scaling
• Ethical AI considerations: Bias mitigation, explainability, and responsible use
Module 10: Security and Management
• Access control mechanisms: Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and Identity and Access
Management (IAM)
• Encryption techniques: Data at rest, in transit, and key management
• Monitoring tools: Logging, metrics, and alerting systems (e.g., Prometheus)
• Compliance standards: GDPR, HIPAA, and auditing practices
• Ethical behavior in computing: Professional codes, whistleblowing, and societal responsibilities
• Incident response: Threat detection, mitigation, and post-mortem analysis
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Module 11: Advanced Topics: Edge and Hybrid Computing
• IoT integration: Device connectivity, protocols (e.g., MQTT), and data ingestion
• Edge computing: Processing at the network edge for low latency
• Fog computing: Hierarchical processing between edge and cloud
• Hybrid cloud architectures: On-premise and cloud orchestration
• Decentralized platforms: Blockchain basics, smart contracts, and distributed ledgers
• Future trends: Serverless computing and quantum integration
Module 12: Scaling and Optimization
• Load balancing algorithms: Static vs. dynamic, and health checks
• Auto-scaling policies: Horizontal vs. vertical scaling, and predictive scaling
• Cost management: Budgeting, reserved instances, and spot pricing
• Performance tuning: Bottleneck identification, caching strategies, and optimization tools
• Capacity planning: Forecasting, simulation, and resource allocation
• DevOps practices: CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure as code (e.g., Terraform)
Module 13: Project Work and Case Studies
• Real-world applications: Building scalable web services for big data querying
• Case study analysis: Success stories (e.g., Netflix cloud migration) and failures (e.g., outages)
• Team collaboration: Agile methodologies, version control, and peer reviews
• Presentation skills: Communicating technical designs and outcomes
• Integration projects: Combining multiple modules (e.g., secure big data pipeline)
• Evaluation criteria: Functionality, efficiency, and innovation
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