Course Title: Advanced Client/Server Architectures

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Advanced Client/Server Architectures

Credit Points: 12

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
COSC1174	City Campus	Postgraduate	140H Comp Sci & Info Technology	Face-to-Face	Sem 2 2006, Sem 2 2007, Sem 2 2008, Sem 2 2009, Sem 2 2010, Sem 2 2011
COSC1175	City Campus	Undergraduate	140H Comp Sci & Info Technology	Face-to-Face	Sem 2 2006, Sem 2 2007, Sem 2 2009, Sem 2 2010, Sem 2 2011

Course Coordinator: Dr. Ibrahim Khalil

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 2879

Course Coordinator Email:ibrahim.khalil@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 14.11.26

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

You may not enrol in this course unless it is explicitly listed in your enrolment program summary, and you have confirmed with your program coordinator that it is an appropriate choice for your study plan.   

You should have capabilities acquired in Foundations of Distributed Computing or Data Communications and Net-Centric Computing and be able to program in Java, equivalent to Java for Programmers or Programming 2 or  Java for C Programmers. In particular you should be familiar with networking technologies and web server systems.

Course Description

This course covers theoretical and technical aspects of advanced distributed systems and the core elements of such advanced systems. Modern client server systems such as large cluster based systems, scalable web-server systems, audio/video streaming servers, VOD servers, content distribution networks etc are discussed in details. Several core technical issues, such as performance analysis of multi server systems, resource management and data sharing in grid systems, optimal server placement in internet, efficient server selection by clients in large networks (eg. internet) are also covered in depth. Finally, this course also covers issues and solutions related to the design and the implementation of large-scale distributed hetrogeneous applications.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

Upon successful completion of this course you should be able to:

• understand various basic concepts related to client server technologies
• understand advanced client server architectures of different content distribution systems
• understand the underlying principles of distributed Scalable Web-Server Systems
• understand the underlying concepts relatd to Grid/Cluster Sytems
• understand client server architectures of Audio/Video Streaming Servers, VOD servers, Games Servers
• understand the emegering P2P, Senosr systems
• understand the underlying principles of multi-server performance analysis, efficient server selection, Server Placement, Load Balancing

Overview of Learning Activities

The learning activities included in this course are:

• key concepts will be explained in lectures, classes or online, where syllabus material will be presented and the subject matter will be illustrated with demonstrations and examples;
• tutorials and/or labs and/or group discussions (including online forums) focussed on projects and problem solving will provide practice in the application of theory and procedures, allow exploration of concepts with teaching staff and other students, and give feedback on your progress and understanding;
• assignments, as described in Overview of Assessment (below), requiring an integrated understanding of the subject matter; and
• private study, working through the course as presented in classes and learning materials, and gaining practice at solving conceptual and technical problems.

Attendance:
While a minimum attendance standard is not compulsory, non-attendance may seriously jeopardise the chances of success in this course. Clearly, non-attendance at an assessment will result in failure of that assessment. Where visa conditions apply, attendance is compulsory.

Overview of Learning Resources

You will make extensive use of computer laboratories and relevant software provided by the School. You will be able to access course information and learning materials through the Learning Hub (also known as online@RMIT) and may be provided with copies of additional materials in class or via email. Lists of relevant reference texts, resources in the library and freely accessible Internet sites will be provided.

Use the RMIT Bookshop’s textbook list search page to find any recommended textbook(s).

Overview of Assessment

The assessment for this course comprises of assignments and a formal written examination.

For standard assessment details, including deadlines, weightings, and hurdle requirements relating to Computer Science and IT courses see: http://www.rmit.edu.au/compsci/cgi