Elective400 LevelFirst SemesterNetworks & Distributed Systems
CSC403
Cloud Computing & Systems at Scale
Course Description
Cloud Computing & Systems at Scale examines how modern applications are deployed, scaled, and kept resilient across managed infrastructure. Students design and deploy a small application under simulated load, then diagnose and fix the bottlenecks that appear.
Learning Outcomes
- Explain core cloud service models and when each is appropriate.
- Design a system for horizontal scalability and resilience.
- Deploy and monitor an application in a managed cloud environment.
- Diagnose performance bottlenecks under simulated load.
Weekly Topics
Examines cloud service models from a practical angle, using a case drawn from real systems to motivate the concepts.
Builds directly on the previous week to extend infrastructure as code, with an emphasis on where the earlier techniques stop working.
Combines a short lecture on containerization with an in-class exercise students carry into the week's assignment.
Focuses on common mistakes and misconceptions around orchestration fundamentals, using student work from the previous assignment as material.
Introduces scalability patterns and immediately puts it to use in a small design or implementation task.
Situates load balancing at scale within the broader arc of the course, showing how it connects to what comes next.
Uses a guest dataset or scenario to explore mid-semester review in a setting closer to professional practice.
Introduces resilience & fault tolerance through short lectures and worked examples, building the vocabulary the rest of the course relies on.
Works through monitoring & observability in a lab-driven session, with guided exercises students complete and discuss in small groups.
Covers cost & performance trade-offs in depth, connecting the underlying theory to a concrete example the class builds together.
Examines load testing project from a practical angle, using a case drawn from real systems to motivate the concepts.
Builds directly on the previous week to extend deployment case studies, with an emphasis on where the earlier techniques stop working.
Combines a short lecture on revision with an in-class exercise students carry into the week's assignment.
Assessment
Assignments — 15%
Practical Work — 35%
Mid-Semester — 15%
Final Examination — 35%
Prerequisite Map
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