Understanding the Cloud

Learn everything you need to understand cloud computing. This course explores how the cloud works, what drives it, why it is so popular, and what it can do for you.

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6 Weeks / 24 Course Hrs
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Understanding the Cloud

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Course code: utc

What is the cloud? If you have trouble answering this question, you are not alone. In this course, you will explore how the cloud works, what drives its incredible growth, and how you can use cloud services. You will start by looking at the building blocks of the cloud, where it started, and how it transitioned. You will gain a clear understanding of IaaS (infrastructure), SaaS (software), and PaaS (platforms), and examine why each may be attractive to some businesses, but not to others. You will learn about the different kinds of clouds (public, private, and hybrid).

You will also look inside the engine rooms of the cloud: data centers. You will examine the concept of big data and how the cloud infrastructure enables data to zip across the globe at lightning speed. You will look at how Facebook and Twitter contribute to the cloud, and how apps go from idea to app store. You will gain an understanding of how mobile devices and major mobile ecosystems continue to shape the cloud. Whatever your technical background, by the end of this course, you will be thoroughly cloud-savvy.

What you will learn

  • Gain a definition of the cloud, what the cloud means to you, and its impact on your life
  • Learn why the cloud is so important, and business challenges and opportunities that the cloud addresses
  • Learn what virtualization is and why it is so fundamental in how the cloud operates
  • Explore cloud services and how individuals and business can take advantage of them
  • Learn all about data in the cloud and how it moves across continents, oceans, and airwaves
  • Discover what goes into a cloud app, and the types of cloud apps available
  • Learn how social networks work in the cloud and how users and organizations can create apps that connect with a huge base of users
  • Look at the cloud from both a consumer and business perspective

How you will benefit

  • Gain answers to questions you may have about what the cloud is and how it works
  • Gain a better understanding of services that can be offered from a consumer and business perspective using the cloud
  • Discover how the cloud can work for you

How the course is taught

  • Instructor-Moderated or Self-Guided online course
  • 6 Weeks or 3 Months access
  • 24 course hours

Confused about the cloud? You're in the right place! This lesson will clear up some confusion and start with the basics. It will explain the building blocks of the cloud, and that will lead you to a durable definition of the cloud that you'll use as a foundation for the rest of the course. The lesson will also discuss what the cloud means to you, its impact on your life, and why it'll be helpful for you to understand how it works.

So how did the cloud get started? In this lesson, you'll learn the history of the cloud and how it was a natural evolution of networked computers and Internet connectivity. The lesson will also discuss why the cloud is so important, and then you'll look at the business challenges and opportunities that the cloud addresses. By the end of the lesson, you'll have a solid understanding of how this technology got to where it is now and how business computing operated before the cloud.

Ever wonder why some people believe the cloud is simple, while others believe that it's complex? In this lesson, you'll learn why they're both right—and you'll learn how to think about the cloud from two perspectives. The lesson will also discuss the different types of clouds: public, private, and hybrid. You'll get a glimpse inside the big business technology world and find out why the cloud can be such a compelling move for large organizations.

What's the difference between the cloud and a collection of computers? A bunch—and much of that comes down to virtualization. In this lesson, you'll learn what virtualization is and why it's so fundamental in how the cloud operates. The lesson will also discuss the issue of scaling and how it relates to virtualization. Finally, you'll see how endpoints make all the connections work.

As you'll recall, "services" is one of the five building blocks in the definition of the cloud. In this lesson, you'll look at those services. Specifically, you'll look at three categories of cloud services: infrastructure (or Infrastructure as a Service, or IaaS), platforms (or Platform as a Service, or PaaS), and software (or Software as a Service, or SaaS). The lesson will discuss how these three categories compare and individuals and business can take advantage of them.

All the computing power of the cloud needs to live somewhere, and it's not in the atmosphere. In this lesson, you'll learn all about data centers—how they operate, what they look like, where they're located, and what makes them tick. You'll also learn what makes one data center more efficient than another, and you'll get perspective on what it costs to make them operate. It's a fascinating tour, with a lot to learn and even more to explore!

Your experience in the cloud includes the storing and transmission of data, either across the hall or across the world. In this lesson, you'll understand how to think about data in terms of its importance in the cloud and learn why companies often leave worrying about data to someone else. The lesson will discuss how all the data in the cloud moves across continents, across the ocean, and over airwaves. Finally, you'll look at a clear definition of big data and see some examples of where big data may be headed.

Making sense of how cloud providers offer their services is an important step in truly understanding the cloud. In this lesson, you'll see how a well-established cloud provider organizes and presents its offerings. You'll go through each group of the cloud provider's offered services and map them to what you've already learned about the cloud and the categories you're familiar with.

In this lesson, you'll learn where websites fit into the cloud and what other elements, offerings, or activities are driving the adoption and popularity of the cloud and its varied services. The lesson will also cover what it means to be a big provider, and you'll examine the largest platforms—and largest overall service providers—that are in the cloud today.

Learn about what goes into creating a cloud app, and how the three (plus one) ecosystems dominate the world of cloud applications. In this lesson, you also learn about the different types of devices, how they are categorized, and how they align with the types of cloud apps that are available. You'll also learn about ecosystems, and why they define how cloud apps are created, distributed, and sold.

In this lesson, you'll look at how social network sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter work in the cloud and how users and organizations can create apps that connect with their huge base of users. You'll learn how social media sites let software developers interact with their sites, create apps and games that operate within and outside their sites, and why they do this. You'll also learn about social media tools on Facebook and Twitter, including why the hashtag was created (#), how it's used, and how to use these sites yourself.

This lesson ties together everything you've learned in this course. You'll learn how you can view the cloud from two primary perspectives—consumer and business—and about the primary benefits (and drivers) that have propelled cloud adoption from participants of both perspectives. The lesson will also discuss where these two perspectives share a common, clear force that continues to be the biggest benefit of the cloud. Finally, you'll look into the future of what the cloud may hold and what that future might mean.

David Iseminger

David Iseminger is an author and technology veteran, with expertise in computing, networking, wireless and cloud technologies, data and analytics, artificial intelligence, and blockchain. While with Microsoft, David worked on early versions of Windows and its core networking infrastructure, and on transmission protocols, security, data visualizations, and multiple emerging cloud technologies. David is passionate about education, serving as a School Board director for over 10 years, advocating at state and federal levels for increased learning standards, and has taught over 40,000 students through multiple technology courses. He has an awarded patent in Artificial Intelligence (AI) object detection and social posting methodologies, and is the founder and CEO of the blockchain company that created IronWeave, the unlimited scale blockchain platform, based on his patent-pending blockchain innovations and inventions.

Instructor Interaction: The instructor looks forward to interacting with learners in the online moderated discussion area to share their expertise and answer any questions you may have on the course content.

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites to take this course.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

  • This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Software Requirements:

  • PC: Windows 8 or later.
  • Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
  • Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  • Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

  • Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Instructor-Moderated: A new session of each course begins each month. Please refer to the session start dates for scheduling.​

Self-Guided: Your course begins immediately after you enroll.​

Instructor-Moderated: Once a course session starts, two lessons will be released each week for the 6 week duration of your course. You will have access to all previously released lessons until the course ends. You will interact with the instructor through the online discussion area. There are no live sessions or online meetings with the instructor.

Self-Guided: You have 3 months of access to the course. After enrolling, you can learn and complete the course at your own pace, within the allotted access period. You will have the opportunity to interact with other students in the online discussion area.

Instructor-Moderated: The interactive discussion area for each lesson automatically closes two weeks after each lesson is released, so you're encouraged to complete each lesson within two weeks of its release. However, you will have access to all lessons from the time they are released until the course ends.​

Self-Guided: There is no time limit to complete each lesson, other than completing all lessons within the allotted access period. Discussion areas for each lesson are open for the entire duration of the course.

Instructor-Moderated: Students enrolled in a six-week online class benefit from a one-time, 10-day extension for each course. No further extensions can be provided beyond these 10 days.​

Self-Guided: Because this course is self-guided, no extensions will be granted after the start of your enrollment.

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