Unit information: Cloud Computing and Big Data (Teaching Unit) in 2022/23

Unit name	Cloud Computing and Big Data (Teaching Unit)
Unit code	COMSM0072
Credit points	0
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Dr. Schien
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	COMS10012 Software Tools or equivalent. Competent ability to use Unix/Linux command-line interface, and some experience of shell-scripting. Basic knowledge of Python
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	EITHER Assessment Units COMSM0071 Cloud Computing and Big Data (Exam assessment, 10 credits) OR COMSM0099 Cloud Computing and Big Data (Coursework assessment, 15 credits). Please note: COMSM0072 is the Teaching Unit for the Cloud Computing and Big Data option. Single Honours Computer Science and some Joint Honours students can choose to be assessed by either examination (10 credits, COMSM0071) or coursework (15 credits, COMSM0099) by selecting the appropriate co-requisite assessment unit. Any other students that are permitted to take the Cloud Computing and Big Data option are assessed by examination (10 credits) and should be enrolled on the co-requisite exam assessment unit (COMSM0071).
Units you may not take alongside this one
School/department	School of Computer Science
Faculty	Faculty of Engineering

Unit Information

This unit aims to give a comprehensive overview of elastically scalable and remotely-accessed "cloud" computing services such as those offered by Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Oracle. and associated technologies. The unit commences with discussion of the economics that are driving the rapid development and adoption of cloud computing in a variety of industries; it then explores the provisioning of cloud services moving from infrastructure as a service (IaaS), through platform as a service (PaaS), software as a service (SaaS), and on to functions-as-a-service (FaaS, or "Serverless" cloud computing).

The first part of the unit covers core cloud technologies and services, and teaches contemporary cloud-based software development practices such as containerization, microservice architectures, and cloud orchestration. The second part of the unit covers core cloud-based software systems for managing, manipulating, and analysing large-scale data (what is colloquially known as "big data"). The unit closes with discussion of current research issues.

Your learning on this unit

General ILOs

By the end of the unit students will be able to:

1. Compare the cloud computing services offered by major providers such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, and have direct experience of initiating, running and managing, and closing remotely accessed computational resources via X-as-a-Service access models.
2. Describe and/or use key cloud technology developments such as distributed file systems and the MapReduce architecture, and the Hadoop "ecosystem" of open-source projects.
3. Show knowledge of the range of cloud datastore/database and associated processing technologies options such "NoSQL", Graph Databases, and "NewSQL", and select a technology appropriate to a specific problem or application.

In addition to the general ILOs above, when assessed by examination, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the economic factors and economies of scale that have driven the development of cloud computing.
2. Be familiar with at least one case-study of a contemporary successful company whose business model is dependent on cloud services.
3. Be able to discuss current research issues in cloud computing.

In addition to the general ILOs above, when assessed by coursework, students will have an:

1. Ability to showcase a scalable cloud application that they have written, made available via a public repository such as GitHub.

How you will learn

Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions, including lectures, practical activities supported by drop-in sessions, problem sheets and self-directed exercises.

Teaching will take place over Weeks 1-7, with coursework support in weeks 9-11 and for students assessed by examination, consolidation and revision sessions in Weeks 12.

How you will be assessed

Examination details:

2 hour exam (100%, 10 credits).

OR

Coursework details:

Coursework (100%, 15 credits) - to be completed during a specific period.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. COMSM0072).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.