ICT Infrastructures Lecture Notes

Overview

These notes summarize the ICT Infrastructures course at University of Pisa, focusing on topics presented by Prof. Antonio Cisternino. The course content aligns with the EMC DELL slides, although these are not included here for copyright reasons.

Table of Contents

Introduction

• Overview of the course
• Reference to EMC DELL slides
• Error reporting and collaboration guidelines

Modules

Cloud Computing Reference Model

• Physical Layer: Foundation layer, supports cloud operations
• Virtual Layer: Abstracts physical to virtual resources
• Control Layer: Dynamic resource configuration
• Orchestration Layer: Workflow automation
• Service Layer: Self-service interfaces
• Service Management: Operational and business level
• Business Continuity: Maintain service availability
• Security: Governance and compliance measures

Detailed Topics

Data Centers

• Definition and purpose
• Components: Redundancy, backup, environmental controls
• Scale and management (e.g., managing 1 million servers)
• Design and Architecture: Cooling and power distribution
  • Air and liquid cooling technologies
  • Cooling configurations: CRAC, hot/cold aisles, in-row systems
  • Power efficiency and distribution techniques

Fabric and Networking

• Ethernet: Common LAN/WAN technology
• InfiniBand: High-performance computing
• RDMA: Direct memory access for low-latency
• Omni-Path: High-performance architecture by Intel
• Software Defined Networking (SDN): Virtual network management
• Network Topologies: Designs like Spine and Leaf Architecture

Storage Systems

• Disks and Storage Interfaces: SATA, SAS, NVMe
• RAID Levels: Data redundancy techniques
• Memory Hierarchy: RAM, nvRAM, SSD
• Storage Architectures: SAN, NAS, HCI
• Software Defined Storage: Storage management methods

Servers

• Types: Rack-mounted, blade, form-factors
• Features: ECC memory, CPU architectures

Cloud

• Layers and Models: IaaS, PaaS, SaaS
• Benefits: Agility, cost reduction, high availability
• Challenges: Vendor lock-in, security

Security and Management

• Security Threats: Data leakage, insecure APIs, DoS attacks
• Protection Strategies: Firewalls, encryption, access management
• Service Management: SLA, resource provisioning, monitoring
• Business Continuity: Disaster recovery, redundancy

Exercises and Case Studies

• Network topology comparisons
• Datacenter design exercises
• Cloud orchestration scenarios

References and Contributions

• Links to additional resources and open-source projects
• Contributor acknowledgements

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These notes serve as a comprehensive guide to the ICT Infrastructures course, providing an outline of the key concepts and details necessary for study and reference.