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: APRIL, 2018 TIME: 2 HOURS
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One & ANY OTHER TWO questions.
QUESTION ONE [20 MARKS]
a) Distinguish between RPO and RTO as used in data storage, citing their usage. (4 Marks)
b) Storage virtualization can be implemented across blocks or at the file level. Discuss how
each of these is implemented (4 Marks)
c) Discuss the applicability of the following techniques, technologies and devices to data
storage:
i) PIT copy method (2 Marks)
ii) Bare metal recovery (2 Marks)
iii) Storage node (2 Marks)
iv) Data compression (2 Marks)
d) Discuss FOUR benefits of information lifecycle management to organizations (4 Marks)
QUESTION TWO [15 MARKS]
a) As the IT manager of your organization’s data center, you have been charged with the role of
installing and configuring a SAN
i) Explain the concept of SAN (1 Mark)
ii) Highlight the benefits of using a SAN for the data center (3 Marks)
b) The B-Tree is a commonly used algorithm for data access.
i) Explain any FOUR properties of the B-Tree (4 Marks)
ii) Explain and illustrate graphically how search is conducted using B-Tree (3 Marks)
iii) Describe the insertion process using this approach. (4 Marks)
QUESTION THREE [15 MARKS]
a) Explain how “logical unit” and “logical volume” apply to data storage (4 Marks)
b) Discuss the strengths of tape technologies for storing data (4 Marks)
c) What is meant by “RAID with distributed parity”? Explain how such an array is implemented
and cite its key strengths and benefits (7 Marks)
QUESTION FOUR [15 MARKS]
a) Discuss the need for data backups, citing three primary purposes (3 Marks)
b) Unlike with data backup operations, a restore process must be manually initiated. Discuss the
activities that the administrator must do to initiate this process. (4 Marks)
c) Explain the restore process, clearly outlining the devices involved. Also create a diagram to
illustrate this process (8 Marks)
