Hands-On Learning of Cloud Computing

Abstract

Professionals with deep knowledge about cloud computing are in high demand in the industry these days. This knowledge should comprehend concepts related to models, technologies, techniques, frameworks, interfaces and tools needed to design, develop, deploy, integrate and manage cloud-based architectures. Universities are trying to offer different undergraduate and graduate courses teaching these contents at different levels, aimed at students' development of strong practical skills to deal with the new paradigm in real-world environments. In this chapter, a hands-on learning approach is proposed to achieve this goal, considering an essential element of this approach - the use of cloud simulators. A survey of open source cloud simulators is provided, presenting an exhaustive comparison of the existing alternatives and determining an appropriate set of criteria to decide the best simulator for each learning objective. Furthermore, two examples of hands-on contents are presented using these simulators.