Cloud Networking

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/cloud-networking

Introduction

### Course Review: Cloud Networking on Coursera #### Overview As organizations increasingly shift their operations to the cloud, understanding cloud networking has become essential. The **Cloud Networking** course on Coursera is designed to equip students with knowledge about the network requirements that enable effective cloud computing. This course stands out by not only drawing from the latest industry practices through insights from leading experts but also by addressing innovative research that can shape the future of cloud networking. #### Course Structure The 5-week syllabus breaks down complex concepts into manageable segments, making it accessible for learners with varying levels of expertise. Let's dive deeper into what each week covers: 1. **Orientation**: The course begins with an orientation week that familiarizes students with the learning environment and the technical skills required for success. It's an important foundational step to ensure all participants are adequately prepared. 2. **Week 1**: The first week explores application traffic patterns within data centers, emphasizing the unique networking needs compared to traditional networking. Students will gain insight into the physical network structure and how increasing bandwidth demands impact network design. 3. **Week 2**: Building on week one, this session delves deeper into the data center network stack. Key topics include routing, switching for both physical and virtual machines, and congestion control challenges that TCP faces in a data center setting. By addressing these real-world issues, students will learn how industry leaders are solving them. 4. **Week 3**: This week shifts gears to focus on the management and sharing of network infrastructures in cloud environments. It highlights the complexity of traditional networking technologies and introduces software-defined networking (SDN) and network virtualization as transformative solutions for secure and efficient multi-tenant environments. 5. **Week 4**: The course broadens its scope to inter-data center WAN connectivity and content distribution networks. This comprehensive view helps learners understand how various components of cloud networking interact and the innovative techniques advancing their functionality. 6. **Week 5 - Programming Assignment Submission**: While there is no new content during this week, it allows students to consolidate their learning by submitting programming assignments. This hands-on experience reinforces theoretical concepts covered in the previous weeks. #### Strengths of the Course - **Expert Insights**: The involvement of industry experts brings real-world relevance, offering students a chance to learn directly from the leaders shaping cloud technology. - **Comprehensive Curriculum**: The structured approach to complex topics ensures a clear understanding of both foundational and advanced concepts. - **Hands-On Learning**: The programming assignments encourage practical application of knowledge, which is crucial for learners aiming to enter the cloud networking field. #### Recommendations This course is highly recommended for IT professionals, network engineers, and anyone interested in diving into the fast-evolving world of cloud computing. It's also suitable for university students looking to build a strong foundation in cloud networking. If you're aiming to enhance your cloud skills and add value to your professional portfolio, the **Cloud Networking** course on Coursera is an excellent choice. By the end of the course, you will walk away not only with theoretical knowledge but also practical skills that are essential in today’s cloud-centric business landscape. ### Conclusion Overall, the Cloud Networking course on Coursera is a valuable educational opportunity for individuals interested in understanding the intricate relationship between networking and cloud computing. With its comprehensive syllabus, expert insights, and practical focus, this course is a solid investment in your professional development.

Syllabus

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

There is no new content in this module. You can find all the information about the programming assignments here, as well as submit your programming assignments here.