UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2017/2018
EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREES OF MASTERS OF SCIENCE IN
DATA COMMUNICATIONS/ DATA ANALYTICS/ INFORMATION
SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT
MDA 5102 MDC 5103 MISM 5102- DATA STORAGE AND CLOUD
SERVICES
ORDINARY EXAMINATIONS
DATE: AUGUST, 2018 TIME: 2 HOURS
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One & ANY OTHER TWO questions.
QUESTION ONE [20 MARKS]
a) Discuss the following storage-related techniques:
i) Hosted instances (2 Marks)
ii) Terminal services (2 Marks)
iii) Clustering (2 Marks)
b) Identify any THREE characteristics of flash memory (3 Marks)
c) Discuss the key activities involved in managing a data center. (6 Marks)
d) Explain in detail how location, size and number of files affect the backup process. (5 Marks)
QUESTION TWO [15 MARKS]
a) Discuss any THREE reasons for making a backup copy of organizational data (3 Marks)
b) Discuss the backup architecture citing the devices involved. Also draw a diagram to illustrate
this. (6 Marks)
c) Explain the structure and operation of the magnetic disk (6 Marks)
QUESTION THREE [15 MARKS]
a) What is cloud computing? (1 Mark)
b) Discuss the characteristics that define cloud data (3 Marks)
c) Explain any THREE implications of information lifecycle management (3 Marks)
d) Discuss how optimal order processing could make use of the data center resources. (8 Marks)
QUESTION FOUR [15 MARKS]
Storage virtualization is the pooling of physical storage from multiple network storage devices.
Required:
a) Discuss any THREE benefits of virtualizing storage (3 Marks)
b) Explain FOUR desirable properties of storage virtualization (4 Marks)
c) Provide an overview of the following with respect to storage virtualization:
i) The layers that can be virtualized (2 Marks)
ii) The concept of host-based virtualization, including its benefits, limitations and
examples of application. (6 Marks)
