In the cloud networking course, we will see what the network needs to do to enable cloud computing. We will explore current practice by talking to leading industry experts, as well as looking into interesting new research that might shape the cloud network’s future.
This course is part of the Cloud Computing Specialization
Offered By
Cloud Computing SpecializationUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignAbout this Course
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Learner Career Outcomes
67%
started a new career after completing these courses
60%
got a tangible career benefit from this course
25%
got a pay increase or promotion
Shareable Certificate
Earn a Certificate upon completion
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Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.
Course 5 of 6 in the
Flexible deadlines
Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.
Approx. 23 hours to complete
English
Subtitles: French, Portuguese (Brazilian), Korean, Russian, English, Spanish
Skills you will gain
Software-Defined NetworkingPython ProgrammingCloud InfrastructureCloud Computing
Learner Career Outcomes
67%
started a new career after completing these courses
60%
got a tangible career benefit from this course
25%
got a pay increase or promotion
Shareable Certificate
Earn a Certificate upon completion
100% online
Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.
Course 5 of 6 in the
Flexible deadlines
Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.
Approx. 23 hours to complete
English
Subtitles: French, Portuguese (Brazilian), Korean, Russian, English, Spanish
Offered by
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a world leader in research, teaching and public engagement, distinguished by the breadth of its programs, broad academic excellence, and internationally renowned faculty and alumni. Illinois serves the world by creating knowledge, preparing students for lives of impact, and finding solutions to critical societal needs.
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
3 hours to complete
Orientation
You will become familiar with the course, your classmates, and our learning environment. The orientation will also help you obtain the technical skills required for the course.
3 hours to complete
1 video (Total 9 min), 5 readings, 1 quiz
1 video
5 readings
Orientation Overview10m
Syllabus15m
Social Media10m
Updating Your Profile10m
About the Discussion Forums15m
1 practice exercise
Orientation Quiz15m
4 hours to complete
Week 1
We will start by looking at the applications running in data centers and the traffic patterns resulting from them. This will help us differentiate the networking needs within data centers from computer networking in general and set the stage for other material in the course. We’ll then dive into the first of these topics, physical network structure, where we will look at how the increasing demand for bandwidth within data centers is influencing the network’s design.
4 hours to complete
5 videos (Total 40 min), 3 readings, 2 quizzes
5 videos
1.1.2 Application and Traffic Patterns Discussion2m
1.2.1 Physical Structure12m
1.2.2 Physical Structure Discussion3m
Programming Assignment 1 Explanation 4m
3 readings
Week 1 Overview10m
Programming Assignment 1a1h
Programming Assignment 1b (optional)1h
2 practice exercises
Cloud Intro Quiz1h
Programming Assignment 1a Survey (optional)30m
2 hours to complete
Week 2
This week, we will dive further into the data center network stack, looking at routing and switching for physical and virtual machines and congestion control. We’ll examine what concerns routing needs to address in these environments and how it’s done in practice. We’ll also see how the network is moving deeper into the physical hosts in order to address the networking needs of virtual machines. With regards to congestion control, we’ll learn what problems TCP’s congestion control faces in data centers and how these are being addressed.
2 hours to complete
8 videos (Total 70 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz
8 videos
2.1.2 Host Virtualization Discussion2m
2.2.1 Routing and Traffic Engineering17m
2.2.2 Routing and Traffic Engineering: Packet Forwarding on Multiple Paths8m
2.3.1 Congestion Control - Part 16m
2.3.2 Congestion Control - Part 27m
2.3.3 Congestion Control - Part 310m
2.3.4 Congestion Control Discussion2m
1 reading
Week 2 Overview10m
1 practice exercise
Cloud Routing and Congestion Control1h
4 hours to complete
Week 3
This week focuses on management and sharing of network infrastructure in cloud data centers. Traditional networking technologies require complex, error-prone network configuration, and make sharing of the network across multiple tenants in a secure manner difficult. We’ll learn how software-defined networking and network virtualization are addressing these problems.
4 hours to complete
10 videos (Total 160 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz
10 videos
3.1.2 Software-Defined Networking Architecture - Part 213m
3.2.1 Multi-Tenant Data Centers: The Challenges8m
3.2.2 Multi-Tenant Data Centers Discussion2m
3.3.1 Network Virtualization Case Study: VL2 - Part 19m
3.3.2 Network Virtualization Case Study: VL2 - Part 29m
3.3.3 Network Virtualization Case Study Discussion1m
3.4.1 Network Virtualization Case Study: NVP13m
Interview - Rob Sherwood (2015)43m
Interview - Martin Casado (2015)50m
1 reading
Week 3 Overview10m
1 practice exercise
Software Defined Networking1h
4 hours to complete
Week 4
Zooming out from within data centers, this week will examine other pieces of the cloud networking ecosystem: inter-data center WAN connectivity, content distribution networks, end-user Internet connectivity, and application interactions with the network. We’ll learn what novel techniques in each of these areas are pushing the cloud’s capabilities farther.
4 hours to complete
11 videos (Total 187 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz
11 videos
4.1.2 Inter-Data Center Networking: Cutting-edge Solutions14m
4.2.1 CDNs - Part 112m
4.2.2 CDNs - Part 29m
4.2.3 CDNs Discussion3m
4.3.1 Client Connectivity15m
4.3.2 Client Connectivity Discussion3m
4.4.1 Coping With Network Performance: Application-layer Tweaks for Lower Latency17m
4.4.2 Coping With Network Performance: Video Streaming Adaptation in the Face of Variable Bandwidth9m
Interview - Bruce Maggs (2015)44m
Interview - Roy Rapoport (2015)45m
1 reading
Week 4 Overview10m
1 practice exercise
Cloud WAN Connectivity1h
Reviews
TOP REVIEWS FROM CLOUD NETWORKING
by BMNov 28, 2016
A phenomenal course on the challenges and solutions of today's Cloud infrastructures. The material is high quality and sourced from the best in the world. I'm extremely satisfied.
by SRApr 26, 2017
Best course ever! Very well-thought-about content. Requires you to go beyond just the videos and assignments. Far far better that course 3 & 4 of Cloud Specialization.
by DTNov 11, 2016
The video lectures were excellent. So much so that I wish they covered more of the material rather than relying on reading academic papers. Thanks!
by WKDec 7, 2019
Good overview of Cloud Networking but since it's a fast moving field, this course is probably out-of-date already. But... I still learn plenty.
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.
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