Cloud Fundamentals (5 cr)

Evaluation scale

Pass/Fail

Objective

Purpose of the course

In modern digital services, various cloud services are often utilised as a platform. Digital services consist of different components, that are integrated to form a service as a whole. For example these might include: web and application services, as well as database services, all of these may be needed in the building of digital service environments. In this course, you will gain a broad understanding of the fundamentals of cloud services. You will learn about different cloud service models (IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS-models), and you will be able to implement a digital service composed of various components/services.

Course competences

- ICT Specialization Competence: Is able to apply their knowledge and skills in a specific area of ICT, as well as analyze, evaluate, and develop operations in this area.
- Application Development Competence: Knows the technologies used in application development and recognizes the significance of different technologies and their relationships.
- Information System Competence: Is familiar with typical information systems and services and understands the importance of security in utilizing services.
- Sustainable development: Understands sustainability challenges, their interdependencies and the various aspects of issues and problems.

Learning objectives of the course

Upon completing the course, you will comprehend the concepts and background theories of cloud services, and you will be able to use both infrastructure and higher-level managed cloud services. You will be familiar with various use cases for different types of cloud services, and you will know how to build a digital service, composed of various cloud service components. You understand the elasticity and scalability of cloud services from a sustainable development perspective.

Content

During the course, you will become familiar with the opportunities offered by the modern cloud service environment in the context of building digital service platforms. You will learn and understand the various platform options of cloud services and acquire knowledge about tools and solutions related to using cloud services. You will also learn how to configure services and automate application deployment. The course will specifically delve into Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud service technologies.

The course will progress according to the following areas: Cloud Concepts, Cloud Economics and Billing, Global Infrastructure Overview, Cloud Security, Networking and Content Delivery, Compute, Storage, Databases, Cloud Architecture, Automatic Scaling and Monitoring, Continous Integration and Deployment (CI/CD).

Location and time

Lectures at Jyväskylä main campus, Rajakatu 35, weeks 3 - 11 (8 x 3,5 hour lectures)

Materials

Learning material and assignments written by the teacher and selected online sources. AWS Academy theoretical material and content, including videos and theoretical reading material from the course modules.

Teaching methods

Guided learning tasks with automatic feedback and classroom activities, as well as independent challenge tasks and a final project as homework. A learning diary guides the student to reflect on their learning throughout the course. At the end of each lecture, there are knowledge tests based on the theory.

Exam schedules

Online exam at the end of the course.

International connections

Part of the teaching material is based on international collaboration with AWS Academy.

Completion alternatives

You have the right to apply for recognition of your studies if you have prior learning (e.g. university studies completed elsewhere, AWS Cloud Foundations course or AWS Cloud Practicioner certification) that can be accredited towards the degree you are currently completing. See eRPL process for instructions about recognition of prior knowledge. Contact teacher via e-mail.

The recognition of prior learning is possible in three primary ways: accreditation (replacement or inclusion), recognition of informal learning and studification.

Student workload

Approximately 135 hours.

Assessment criteria, approved/failed

Competencies required for a passing grade:

You can install and configure a suitable cloud-based development environment(s).
You can use the tools covered in the course.
You are familiar with methods and tools related to implementing deployment pipelines and can implement a deployment pipeline in the cloud.
You have successfully completed the required assignments for the course.

Qualifications

To complete the course, you should have a basic understanding of command-line usage, version control, networking concepts and relational databases.

Further information

Skills required for an approved grade:

- You know how to install and configure an appropriate cloud based development environment or a virtual machine.
- You are able to use the tools covered in the course.
- You know the methods and tools related to a cloud based deployment pipeline and you know how to implement one.
- Knowledge checks and course assessment completed successfully.