Cloud Computing Lab

Hands-on practical experience through lab work has long been recognized as an essential part of the computer science/information technology education. For this, Computer labs have been important locations on campus for students to work, study, and access computing resources. But with the growing popularity of BYOD (Bring-Your-Own-Device) policies, almost all students now come to campus owning their own personal computers. So as universities battle budget issues (as well as space issues), the rooms full of rows of PCs may seem a good target for elimination. So while cost savings might partly motivate the move to virtualize the university computer lab, doing so also fits well with students learning and computing needs. Virtualized computer labs grant 24-7 access to technology. They can be run on Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems, and in some cases, programs can be accessed via mobile devices as well. The students will only require a computer with internet access. Moreover, they can more easily collaborate when they aren't sitting in a room with rows and rows of PCs. And it doesn't get overcrowded during Finals Week.
The Department of Computer Science at UET Taxila is eminently suited to meet the growing demand for computer scientists with training and background in a cloud based environment. The Cloud Computing Lab uses traditional computer lab facilities to support a platform for remote access to virtual machines (VMs) to assist in teaching Information Technology courses. This provides students in courses the functionality they require to carry out their studies.

Goals

Provide University students remote access to a single or small set of VMs.

Utilize lab computers and infrastructure to reduce the cost of implementation of a remote lab.

Provide VM hosting accessible through a hosting pool for BYOD support.

Provide a virtual learning environment for performing course Lab tasks and projects.

Disseminate information about the project to the multiple communities in the Punjab through presentations at professional state and regional conferences and assist other interested universities in implementing the platform.

Lab Description

The lab contains a high end server machine, and 40 thin clients to support the virtualization environment for lab work and cloud implementation. Lab is also WIFI-enabled to provide support for BYOD connectivity. VMware and Hyper-V are adopted as an infrastructure virtualization solution. At an initial level, lab provides a virtualized training environment for Hadoop hands-on practice and self-learning purposes.
Any special equipment need arising in the future will be met through project funds and professional training programs.

Cloud Computing Society:

Cloud Computing Society is an active and motivated research group, works at Cloud Computing Lab with the aim of tackling the state-of-the-art research challenges in the area of Cloud Computing. Following are the key identified research areas:
The society offers various courses, workshops and trainings for the development of skills that students need to face market challenges. The Society also provide counselling related to research projects and topics for advance research at Postgraduate level to play its role in Cloud Computing World.

Programming and access: Novel approaches are necessary for programming and access

Resource Management: Allocation, deployment, monitoring and management of cloud resources

Middleware and platforms: Interoperability, aggregation of cloud services and federation of cloud platforms

Applications: Quality of service and Latency management, Security, Privacy, trust

Energy-Efficient Data Centers and Clouds

Cloud Computing for IoT (Internet of Things) Applications

Key Faculty Members:

Dr. Zeshan Iqbal

Dr. Farrukh Zeeshan

Projects:

Optimized Architecture of Hybrid Data Centers.

Efficient implementation of SDN layer in Data Centers.

Cloud-based IoT Architecture for Smart Cities.