COIT13229 - Applied Distributed Systems

General Information

Unit Synopsis

Modern computer systems commonly rely on distributed and cloud computing systems, which enable seamless access to networked resources such as processors, data stores, sensor networks, cyber-physical systems, and multimedia services. In this unit, you will gain foundation knowledge, and an understanding of the system models and their enabling technologies. You will learn the core concepts of distributed computing, such as interprocess communication, concurrency and synchronisation, transactions and concurrency control as well as distributed databases and files. This unit also exposes you to distributed system characteristics of scalability, heterogeneity, security, and failure handling. The areas of mobile and ubiquitous computing and the social impact arising from the ubiquity of distributed systems will also be explored. You will learn to develop secure and reliable distributed computing applications and web services that can perform concurrent operations across multiple computers.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Prerequisites: COIT12200 and COIT11237.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2024

Term 1 - 2024 Profile
Brisbane
Cairns
Melbourne
Online
Rockhampton
Sydney
Townsville
Term 1 - 2025 Profile
Brisbane
Cairns
Melbourne
Online
Rockhampton
Sydney

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 20%
2. Practical Assessment 35%
3. Reflective Practice Assignment 45%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

To view Past Exams,
please login
Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 66.67% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 18.75% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Unit Coordinator reflection and teaching team feedback
Feedback
The technology-related contents of this unit including the textbook are outdated and don't follow the current industry technology trends.
Recommendation
Replace the current textbook and introduce the implementation of theoretical concepts such as "consensus systems", "secure interprocess communications", and "load-balancing" techniques.
Action Taken
The unit is undergoing a review for a major update. A new textbook and other online resources will be used from Term 1 2025.
Source: Student feedback
Feedback
Some contents are difficult to understand and there aren't enough resources to explain the content.
Recommendation
Revise unit materials and provide more real-life examples to help students understand the applicability of contents in real-life situations.
Action Taken
A real research problem/question is linked to this unit and used as a project as an assessment case.
Source: In-class student feedback
Feedback
Students are keen to learn new technologies in distributed systems, such as edge computing and advanced security.
Recommendation
Consider the introduction of Edge computing technology as part of the planned major update of this unit for 2025.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Unit Coordinator self reflection
Feedback
More content on security is needed in this unit.
Recommendation
Consider adding more security-related topics such as mutual authentication, and symmetrical/asymmetrical cryptography as part of the planned major update of this unit for 2025.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Evaluate techniques for creating secure, reliable, and efficient distributed systems by examining the technology needs and social impact arising from ubiquitous distributed systems
  2. Design and develop secure distributed applications in a distributed service-oriented architecture
  3. Analyse the use of algorithms and mechanisms to execute coordinated concurrent processes in distributed systems
  4. Implement software applications that enable concurrent access to distributed databases and transactions.

Australian Computer Society (ACS) recognises the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA). SFIA is a widely used and consistent definition of ICT skills. SFIA is increasingly being used when developing job descriptions and role profiles. ACS members can use the tool MySFIA to build a skills profile at https://www.acs.org.au/professionalrecognition/mysfia-b2c.html
This unit contributes to the following workplace skills as defined by SFIA 8. The SFIA code is included:

  • Solution architecture (ARCH)
  • Software Design (SWDN)
  • Systems integration and build (SINT)
  • Programming/Software Development (PROG),
  • Database Design (DBDS)
  • User Experience Evaluation (USEV)
  • Testing (TEST)
  • System Installation and Removal (HSIN)

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Written Assessment •
2 - Practical Assessment • •
3 - Reflective Practice Assignment • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Communication • • •
2 - Problem Solving • •
3 - Critical Thinking • •
4 - Information Literacy •
5 - Team Work • •
6 - Information Technology Competence • • •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence •
8 - Ethical practice • •
9 - Social Innovation • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10