Network Management and Cloud Computing MSc

Course content

What will you study on the MSc Network Management and Cloud Computing?

This course gives you an in-depth understanding of computer network design, implementation and optimisation. You will study cloud-based networks and explore modern data centres, virtualisation and distributed storage. More generally, you will focus on network design and construction, programming and operating systems as well as network troubleshooting in a business environment.

What will you gain?

You will be equipped with the knowledge and expertise to model, monitor and analyse networks in various situations, simulating performance and availability to configure them for optimum performance. In addition to this, you will also improve your mathematical, problem solving, communication, and critical skills. As well as in-depth knowledge and practical experience of computer communications and networking, our course will provide you with many transferable skills. It will improve your research, data collection and interpretation, mathematical, communication, problem solving, presentation and critical skills – as well as your confidence and ability to work under your own initiative while managing your own time.

During this module you will develop a systematic understanding of the concepts, protocols and standards for computer networks and internetworking, used in current and future communication infrastructures. It is vital in today's networking market that network managers, administrators and engineers have a critical insight and practical experience of the essential tools used for monitoring, managing and evaluating computer networks. This module, which includes at least 12 hours spent working in labs, is designed to equip you with these problem solving and practical skills.

This module provides participants with a sound grounding in the theory and practice of investment management. Specific aims include: strategies of portfolio construction, generating investment ideas, estimating investment risk returns and the use of derivative instruments.

This module is designed to help you develop into a network manager or engineer with advanced problem solving and practical skills, and includes at least 24 hours of lab work. It will provide you with a systematic understanding of the concepts and standards for network management, network management protocols and network management tools which are used in current and future communication infrastructures. You will complete the module with critical insight and practical experience of the essential computer network management tools, as well as their development, operation, monitoring and assessment.

Network services and security mechanisms are the primary focus of this module, which involves a minimum 12 hours of lab work. You will study the security of services deployed using the internet and the mechanisms which make them secure. During the module you will also investigate various networking technologies, including wired and wireless Ethernet, server hardware such as Blade Server Technology, networking architectures including IP networking and the Y-Comm Architecture, commercial Web servers using LAMP and the .NET Framework, Grid Computing and Cloud Computing. After this you will examine security mechanisms including Firewalls, the Secure Socket Layer (SSL), Network Address Translation (NAT), IPSec Framework and Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS). The course then explores new security mechanisms such as the Security Layers of the Y-Comm framework, Proxy Certificates and Certificate Authorities used in Grid and Cloud Computing.

This module focuses on the design and implementation of the modern operating systems and application environments used to build commercial, online applications. The module involves at least 12 hours of lab work and examines key operating concepts including processes and threads, memory management, scheduling, inter-process communication (IPC), device drivers, storage systems, multiprocessor systems, micro-kernels and networking interfaces. You will concentrate on Linux, Windows, Apple iOS and Android operating systems before focusing on a detailed study of key application environments including the Eclipse IDE, XCode, and Android SDK. Finally, we look at the concept of virtual machines and building applications for the cloud using the Google GAE SDK.

This module covers various issues relating to virtualisation and could computing, with at least 24 hours spent working in labs over the duration of the module. You will focus on exploring and understanding modern data centres, virtualisation, distributed storage, MapReduce, NoSQL, platform services, web services and caching. At the end of the module you will be able to critically assess a variety of cloud platforms, use quantitative and qualitative techniques to professionally design and implement scalable applications and services that execute in a distrusted computing environment, and evaluate the trade-offs and challenges when developing a cloud.

This zero-credit module is designed to develop your understanding of the process behind designing, planning and conducting applied research – which is essential before embarking upon your final 60-credit project. The research methods module covers research techniques, data collection and analysis, academic writing, referencing and citation, and how to develop a research proposal before you present your project through a written thesis and an oral exam.The module encourages you to apply and test theory and contribute to applications. It will also enhance your ability to handle data for problem solving and evaluation, and to test theory using analysis and simulations – integrating the learning from other modules. The module will also give you the opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the legal, social, ethical and professional issues in the context of computer communications.

Your final module is a large project on a topic you are a passionate about which is worth one third of the total masters. The project gives you the chance to combine your general and specialist computer and communications engineering knowledge and understanding, applying an existing or emerging technology to the solution of a practical problem. You could instead choose to carry out research to contribute and extend the theoretical understanding of new and advancing technology and its application.

Through your project, you will also be able to demonstrate a personal commitment to professional standards, recognising obligations to society, the profession and the environment, while also becoming a specialist in a particular area of computer and communications engineering. Recent areas students have chosen to investigate have included evaluating WSNs, VANETs and open queuing networks with unreliable servers.

You can find more information about this course in the programme specification. Module and programme information is indicative and may be subject to change.