UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2016/2017
EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREES OF MASTERS OF SCIENCE IN
DATA COMMUNICATIONS/ DATA ANALYTICS/ INFORMATION
SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT
MDA5102 MDC5103 MISM 5102 DATA STORAGE AND CLOUD
SERVICES
ORDINARY EXAMINATIONS
DATE: AUGUST, 2017 TIME: 2 HOURS
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One & ANY OTHER TWO questions.
QUESTION ONE [20 MARKS]
a) Discuss the configuration and characteristics of a Level 3 RAID. Also use a diagram to
illustrate this (5 Marks)
b) Comparatively discuss and explain the relative benefits and limitations of the following
virtualization methods:
i) In-band virtualization (4 Marks)
ii) Out-of-band virtualization (4 Marks)
c) Describe the term ILM and explain how ILM can be applied to improve information storage
efficiency. Also draw a diagram to illustrate this. (7 Marks)
QUESTION TWO [15 MARKS]
a) Magnetic disks constitute a significant portion of all storage media. Identify and describe
FOUR characteristics of magnetic disks (4 Marks)
b) Discuss how optical storage technologiesdiffer from the magnetic disks above. (3 Marks)
c) Discuss FOUR cloud computing technologies (8 Marks)
QUESTION THREE [15 MARKS]
Provide a comprehensive discussion of the B-Tree algorithm with reference to the following
concepts:
a) The key properties of the algorithm
b) A graphical illustration of the algorithm
c) New key insertion (15 Marks)
QUESTION FOUR [15 MARKS]
a) Using an appropriate case study, describe FIVE core technology elements of a data center
infrastructure (6 Marks)
b) Explain the data restoration process starting from the time when a restore request is received.
Make use of a diagram as you explain this process (9 Marks)
