This course is part of the Cloud Computing Specialization

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1,033 ratings

Indranil Gupta

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Cloud Computing SpecializationUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

About this Course

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Cloud computing systems today, whether open-source or used inside companies, are built using a common set of core techniques, algorithms, and design philosophies – all centered around distributed systems. Learn about such fundamental distributed computing "concepts" for cloud computing.
Some of these concepts include: clouds, MapReduce, key-value/NoSQL stores, classical distributed algorithms, widely-used distributed algorithms, scalability, trending areas, and much, much more! 
 
Know how these systems work from the inside out. Get your hands dirty using these concepts with provided homework exercises. In the programming assignments, implement some of these concepts in template code (programs) provided in the C++ programming language. Prior experience with C++ is required.
 
The course also features interviews with leading researchers and managers, from both industry and academia.

Flexible deadlines

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Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

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Course 1 of 6 in the

Cloud Computing Specialization

Beginner Level

Approx. 23 hours to complete

English

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Skills you will gain

Distributed Algorithm
Distributed Computing
C++
Cloud Computing

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Course 1 of 6 in the

Cloud Computing Specialization

Beginner Level

Approx. 23 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.43/5 (58 Ratings)

Indranil Gupta

Professor

Department of Computer Science

132,841 Learners

6 Courses

Offered by

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating92%(11,684 ratings)

Week

Week 1

6 hours to complete

Week 1: Orientation, Introduction to Clouds, MapReduce

6 hours to complete

16 videos (Total 155 min), 8 readings, 3 quizzes

16 videos

Introduction to Cloud Computing Concepts, Part 13m

Orientation Towards Cloud Computing Concepts: Some Basic Computer Science Fundamentals23m

Week 1 Introduction1m

1.1. Why Clouds?6m

1.2. What is a Cloud?5m

1.3. Introduction to Clouds: History7m

1.4. Introduction to Clouds: What's New in Today's Clouds7m

1.5. Introduction to Clouds: New Aspects of Clouds8m

1.6. Introduction to Clouds: Economics of Clouds7m

2.1. A cloud IS a distributed system5m

2.2. What is a distributed system?16m

3.1. MapReduce Paradigm14m

3.2. MapReduce Examples10m

3.3. MapReduce Scheduling12m

3.4. MapReduce Fault-Tolerance8m

Interview with Sumeet Singh16m

8 readings

Orientation Overview10m

Syllabus10m

About the Discussion Forums10m

Instructions for Taking the Prerequisite Quiz10m

Course Learning Community and Social Media10m

Week 1 Overview10m

Homework 1 Instructions10m

Programming Assignment Instructions10m

3 practice exercises

Orientation Quiz30m

Prerequisite Quiz30m

Homework 130m

Week

Week 2

3 hours to complete

Week 2: Gossip, Membership, and Grids

Lesson 1: This module teaches how the multicast problem is solved by using epidemic/gossip protocols. It also teaches analysis of such protocols. Lesson 2: This module covers the design of failure detectors, a key component in any distributed system. Membership protocols, which use failure detectors as components, are also covered. Lesson 3: This module covers Grid computing, an important precursor to cloud computing.

3 hours to complete

14 videos (Total 122 min), 2 readings, 1 quiz

14 videos

Week 2 Introduction1m

1.1. Multicast Problem9m

1.2. The Gossip Protocol5m

1.3. Gossip Analysis15m

1.4. Gossip Implementations4m

2.1. What is Group Membership List?8m

2.2. Failure Detectors9m

2.3. Gossip-Style Membership7m

2.4. Which is the best failure detector?4m

2.5. Another Probabilistic Failure Detector9m

2.6. Dissemination and suspicion8m

3.1. Grid Applications6m

3.2. Grid Infrastucture11m

Interview with William Gropp20m

2 readings

Week 2 Overview10m

Homework 2 Instructions10m

1 practice exercise

Homework 230m

Week

Week 3

3 hours to complete

Week 3: P2P Systems

3 hours to complete

10 videos (Total 105 min), 2 readings, 1 quiz

Week

Week 4

4 hours to complete

Week 4: Key-Value Stores, Time, and Ordering

Lesson 1: This module motivates and teaches the design of key-value/NoSQL storage/database systems. We cover the design of two major industry systems: Apache Cassandra and HBase. We also cover the famous CAP theorem. Lesson 2: Distributed systems are asynchronous, which makes clocks at different machines hard to synchronize. This module first covers various clock synchronization algorithms, and then covers ways of tagging events with causal timestamps that avoid synchronizing clocks. These classical algorithms were invented decades ago, yet are used widely in today’s cloud systems.

4 hours to complete

12 videos (Total 147 min), 3 readings, 1 quiz

12 videos

Week 4 Introduction2m

1.1. Why Key-Value/NOSQL?15m

1.2. Cassandra27m

1.3. The Mystery of X-The Cap Theorem19m

1.4. The Consistency Spectrum9m

1.5. HBase10m

2.1. Introduction and Basics10m

2.2. Cristian's Algorithm5m

2.3. NTP4m

2.4. Lamport Timestamps14m

2.5. Vector Clocks12m

Interview with Marcos Aguilera14m

3 readings

Week 4 Overview10m

Optional: Lamport Timestamps (Ukulele Version)10m

Homework 4 Instructions10m

1 practice exercise

Homework 430m

Reviews

4.4

261 reviews

5 stars
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4 stars
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3 stars
6.09%
2 stars
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1 star
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TOP REVIEWS FROM CLOUD COMPUTING CONCEPTS, PART 1

by RMApr 13, 2018

I'm really enjoying this course. The topics discussed by professor are interesting and build the base to understand many current systems we use nowadays.

by CFAug 18, 2017

Somethings didn't have enough examples before homework. Especially late I struggled with FIFO, causal, and concurrent events. Rest was excellent.

by VRDec 30, 2017

very happy with the course. got to know new concepts. assignments are awesome. enjoyed working on them. enjoyed the course. it would be good if we get a color and original certificate.

by SRAug 7, 2016

Professor Indranil Gupta is apt in his explanations.

Course Material is highly relevant. Good foundation course for cloud computing.

View all reviews

About the Cloud Computing Specialization

The Cloud Computing Specialization takes you on a tour through cloud computing systems. We start in in the middle layer with Cloud Computing Concepts covering core distributed systems concepts used inside clouds, move to the upper layer of Cloud Applications and finally to the lower layer of Cloud Networking. We conclude with a project that allows you to apply the skills you've learned throughout the courses.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

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Cloud Computing Concepts, Part 1

About this Course

Skills you will gain