Instantly Run An App in the Cloud 2
| Title | Instantly Run An App in the Cloud Using OpenShift |
| Overview | Students need to know what Cloud Computing really means, how it fits into the wider computing context, and how they can use an open source cloud alternative to quickly host coding platforms for them to toy around in. This activity sets out to do all of this as a walkthrough learn-as-you-go tutorial. |
| Prerequisite Knowledge | Command line skills and Beginner Git experience (git activity 1) |
| Learning Objectives |
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Background:
What is the rational for this activity?
Students need to know what Cloud Computing really means, how it fits into the wider computing context, and what the different types are (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS). Students can dig into PasS, as a powerful development platform - and understand how quickly, easily, and powerfully they can spin up new applications. Gone are the days of having to setup a physical server, know the details on how to setup the OS, fiddle with the kernel, setup web-servers (Apache), databases (Postgres, Mysql), and middle-ware micros-services (AMQP Message busses, JBoss Fuse, Apache Camel). In a PaaS environment like OpenShift, the developer just fires up an instance of whatever pieces they want, and start coding. Seriously - its that easy. Of course, the developer has to know how to develop in said language or platform, but it makes development considerably easier by removing focus from lower layers. Basically, those lower layers (most mentioned above) are automated away by the PaaS platform.
We need an activity that can show students, step-by-visual-step, how to start up a new coding environment and actually code a small chunk of working software on Openshift. Make it something sexy, like Node.js. Make it an effective piece of code (contact someone within red hat for advise) and it would be even more amazing.
Background readings:
- What is Cloud Computing? http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-145/SP800-145.pdf
- Read about Cloud Computing paradigm and deployment patterns. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2372163,00.asp
- Read about open sources role in cloud computing. http://opensource.com/business/13/1/future-cloud-computing
- Read about PaaS. http://www.thoughtsoncloud.com/2014/02/what-is-platform-as-a-service-paas/
- Read about Node.js http://blog.langoor.mobi/node-js-mobile-web-apps/
Directions:
- Browse hub.openshift.com
- Deploy Instant-App
- Built on Node.js and PostGreSQL
- Start latest Node.js gear
- View Gear on web
- Push Git repo (example node.js project)
- See Node.js example running
Deliverables:
What will the student hand in?
Assessment:
How will the activity be graded?
How will learning will be measured?
Include sample assessment questions/rubrics.
| Criteria | Level 1 (fail) | Level 2 (pass) | Level 3 (good) | Level 4 (exceptional) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The purpose of the project | ||||
| Why the project is open source |
Comments:
What should the instructor know before using this activity?
What are some likely difficulties that an instructor may encounter using this activity?
Additional Information:
| Knowledge Area/Knowledge Unit | What ACM Computing Curricula 2013 knowledge area and units does this activity cover? ACM_Body_of_Knowledge |
| Topic | What specific topics are addressed? The Computing Curriucula 2013 provides a list of topics - https://www.acm.org/education/CS2013-final-report.pdf |
| Level of Difficulty | Is this activity easy, medium or challenging? |
| Estimated Time to Completion | How long should it take for the student to complete the activity? |
| Materials/Environment | What does the student need? Internet access, IRC client, Git Hub account, LINUX machine, etc.? |
| Author | Who wrote this activity? |
| Source | Is there another activity on which this activity is based? If so, please provide a link to the original resource. |
| License | Under which license is this material made available? (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/) |
Suggestions to Open Source Mentors:
Suggestions for an open source community member who is working in conjunction with the instructor.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
