Mock Exam

Fundamentals and Performance

According to Amdahl's Law, if 90% of a program's execution time can be parallelized, what is the theoretical maximum speedup you can achieve, regardless of how many processors you use?

9x10x90x100xThe speedup is unlimited

Which of the following are categories in Flynn's Taxonomy for classifying computer architectures?

Single Instruction, Single Data (SISD)Single Instruction, Multiple Data (SIMD)Multiple Instruction, Single Data (MISD)Multiple Instruction, Multiple Data (MIMD)Multiple Instruction, Variable Data (MIVD)

HPC and Slurm

Which of the following is the Slurm command to submit a job script to the scheduler on an HPC system like Spartan?

srunsqueuesbatchscancelqsub

In the context of the Spartan HPC system, what is the primary purpose of the `module load` command?

To load a dataset into the memory of a compute nodeTo dynamically modify the user's environment to make a specific software application and its libraries availableTo compile source code into an executable moduleTo request a specific number of compute modules (nodes) for a jobTo transfer a software module from the login node to a compute node

Cloud Computing Basics

According to the NIST definition, which of the following are considered essential characteristics of cloud computing?

On-demand self-serviceVendor-specific APIsRapid elasticityResource poolingFixed-term contracts

In the "as-a-Service" models, which model gives the user the most control over the operating system and middleware?

Software as a Service (SaaS)Platform as a Service (PaaS)Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)Function as a Service (FaaS)All models provide the same level of control

OpenStack Components

What is the code-name for the OpenStack Identity service, which handles authentication and authorization?

NovaCinderSwiftGlanceKeystone

Which OpenStack component is responsible for providing persistent block storage to virtual machine instances?

SwiftCinderNeutronNovaGlance

Which of the following OpenStack components provides a web-based dashboard for users to interact with cloud services?

KeystoneHorizonCinderHeatNeutron

Containerization and Docker

What is a primary advantage of containerization (e.g., Docker) when compared to traditional virtualization (e.g., VMs)?

Containers provide stronger security isolation than VMsContainers can run a different operating system from the hostContainers have significantly lower resource overhead because they share the host OS kernelContainers have a longer boot time, which allows for more thorough initializationContainers do not require a network connection

In Docker, what is the purpose of a `Dockerfile`?

It is a running instance of an applicationIt is a configuration file that defines a multi-container application for Docker ComposeIt is a script containing a set of instructions to build a Docker imageIt is a storage volume that persists data generated by a containerIt is a log file that records all commands executed within a container

Which Docker networking mode would you use if you wanted a container to have its own IP address on the physical network, making it appear like a separate physical machine?

hostbridgeoverlaymacvlannone

Kubernetes

According to the lectures, what is the smallest deployable unit in a Kubernetes cluster?

A ContainerA ServiceA DeploymentA PodA Node

In Kubernetes, what is the primary function of a `Service` object?

To define a set of identical pods and manage their lifecycleTo provide persistent storage for a podTo expose a set of pods as a network service with a stable IP address and DNS nameTo manage external access to services within the cluster, typically for HTTP trafficTo schedule a pod onto a specific node

Which `kubectl` command is used to apply a configuration defined in a YAML file to a Kubernetes cluster?

kubectl create -f file.yamlkubectl run -f file.yamlkubectl apply -f file.yamlkubectl exec -f file.yamlkubectl config -f file.yaml

A Kubernetes `Deployment` manifest specifies `replicas: 3`. If one of the three running pods crashes, what will the Kubernetes control plane do?

It will terminate the other two podsIt will automatically create a new pod to replace the crashed one, restoring the total to 3It will send an alert to the administrator but take no actionIt will reduce the replica count to 2 permanentlyIt will wait for the crashed pod to restart itself

Serverless and FaaS

In the context of Function-as-a-Service (FaaS), what does "stateless" mean for a function?

The function cannot be called more than onceThe function does not retain any information about previous invocations internallyThe function runs without an underlying operating systemThe function always returns the same value, regardless of its inputThe function cannot have any side-effects

In the Fission FaaS framework, what is the role of an "Environment"?

It is the YAML file that defines the function's triggersIt is the source code for the functionIt is the language-specific Docker image that provides the runtime for a functionIt is a message queue used for asynchronous function invocationIt is the set of environment variables passed to the function

What is the primary benefit of using "Fission Specs"?

To test a function's performance under heavy loadTo enable declarative application management and Infrastructure as Code (IaC)To provide a graphical user interface for managing functionsTo automatically generate function source code from a templateTo bypass the Kubernetes API for faster deployment

What is a "cold start" in a FaaS environment?

The process of rebooting the entire FaaS platformThe latency incurred when a function is invoked for the first time and the FaaS platform needs to initialize its runtime environment and load the codeA security feature that prevents functions from running in an un-trusted environmentAn error state where a function fails to startRunning a function without any input parameters

Big Data and ElasticSearch

Which of the "Four Vs" of Big Data refers to the level of trust in the data's accuracy and provenance?

VolumeVelocityVarietyVeracityViscosity

In a distributed database like ElasticSearch, what is a "shard"?

A full backup copy of an entire indexA log of all transactions performed on an indexA horizontal partition of an index, containing a subset of the documentsA node in the cluster that is eligible to become a masterA type of query used for full-text search

What is a key limitation of the ElasticSearch SQL dialect mentioned in the lectures?

It only supports SELECT * queriesIt does not support joins between documentsIt can only query one index at a timeIt is slower than the Query DSL for all use casesIt does not support WHERE clauses

If an ElasticSearch cluster has unassigned replica shards because there are not enough nodes to host them without duplication, what status will the cluster report?

GreenBlueYellowRedGrey

Virtualization

According to the Popek and Goldberg theorem, a virtual machine monitor (VMM) can be constructed if the set of sensitive instructions is a subset of which set of instructions?

User-mode instructionsInnocuous instructionsI/O instructionsPrivileged instructionsArithmetic instructions

What is the fundamental difference between full virtualization and para-virtualization?

Full virtualization requires hardware support, while para-virtualization does notPara-virtualization requires the guest OS to be modified to use a special hypervisor API, while full virtualization runs an unmodified guest OSFull virtualization can only run Linux guests, while para-virtualization can run Windows guestsPara-virtualization is more secure but has lower performance than full virtualizationFull virtualization runs the VMM in Ring 3, while para-virtualization runs it in Ring 0

During the live migration of a virtual machine, what happens in the "Iterative Pre-copy" stage?

The VM on the source host is stopped completelyA new, empty VM container is reserved on the target hostDirty memory pages are copied from the source to the target host in successive rounds while the VM is still runningThe final VM state is committed to the target host and released from the source hostNetwork traffic is redirected to the target host using ARP

Security

What is the primary function of a Certification Authority (CA) within a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)?

To generate private keys for usersTo encrypt all network traffic between a client and a serverTo issue and manage digital certificates that bind a public key to an identityTo store all user passwords in a secure databaseTo define the firewall rules for an organization

What is the key difference between authentication and authorization?

Authentication determines who a user is, while authorization determines what that user is allowed to doAuthorization determines who a user is, while authentication determines what that user is allowed to doAuthentication is only used in private clouds, while authorization is used in public cloudsAuthentication uses symmetric keys, while authorization uses asymmetric keysThey are two terms for the same process

The lecture on cloud security mentions several challenges. Which challenge is directly related to the "pay as you go" model?

Vendor lock-inData deletion and sanitizationUnexpectedly high charges if usage is not carefully managedSoftware licensing modelsEnsuring physical security of the data center

What is the primary purpose of Shibboleth, as described in the security lecture?

To provide a centralized firewall service for cloud applicationsTo scan Docker containers for known vulnerabilitiesTo enable decentralized, federated authentication, allowing users to log in using their home institution credentialsTo encrypt data stored in object storage services like AWS S3To manage and orchestrate security policies in a workflow

Distributed Systems and Parallel Computing

The historical evolution from Grid Computing to Cloud Computing represents a shift in focus from:

Individual PC performance to mainframe performanceResource sharing between organizations to on-demand service provisioningProprietary software to open-source softwareData storage to data processingAsynchronous communication to synchronous communication

In an HPC environment like Spartan, which parallel programming model is typically used for distributed-memory applications that run across multiple nodes?

OpenMPPthreadsC++ ThreadsMPI (Message Passing Interface)Docker Swarm

Which of the following is a key characteristic of a "monolithic" application architecture, as contrasted with a serverless/microservices architecture?

It is composed of many small, independently deployable servicesA failure in one part of the application is unlikely to affect other partsAll parts of the application are tightly-coupled and deployed as a single unitIt scales horizontally with easeIt is inherently more secure

AWS vs OpenStack

In the AWS vs. OpenStack comparison, which AWS service is the conceptual equivalent of OpenStack Nova?

S3EC2RDSLambdaVPC

Distributed Data Models

Which of the following are valid data models for distributed environments as discussed in the lectures?

Key-value storeRelational modelDocument-orientedBigTableHierarchical model

Application Architecture and Use Cases

A developer needs to run a long-running, stateful data processing job. Which of the following would be the most appropriate technology choice based on the lecture material?

A Fission function triggered by an HTTP requestA containerized application managed by a Kubernetes DeploymentA simple script running on the HPC login nodeA SaaS application like GmailNone of the above

Which of the following statements accurately reflects the trade-offs between IaaS and PaaS?

PaaS offers more control over the underlying network and servers than IaaSIaaS is simpler for developers as they do not need to manage the operating system or runtimePaaS abstracts away the underlying infrastructure, allowing developers to focus solely on their application code and data, but offers less flexibility than IaaSIaaS and PaaS are identical in terms of the separation of responsibilitiesPaaS is generally more expensive for all use cases than IaaS

Which of the following is an example of a "side-effect" in a FaaS function?

A function that takes two numbers and returns their sumA function that takes a string and returns its lengthA function that takes an image and returns a black-and-white version of it in memoryA function that receives a user ID and writes a record to an external databaseA function that performs a computationally intensive task that takes a long time to complete

Cloud Economics

The lecture on cloud costs highlighted that one type of network traffic is typically far more expensive than its counterpart. Which is it?

Ingress (data transfer into the cloud) is more expensive than egressEgress (data transfer out of the cloud) is more expensive than ingressEast-West traffic (between services in the same region) is more expensive than North-South trafficTraffic within a single availability zone is the most expensiveIngress and egress traffic are always priced identically

Additional Concepts from Mock Exam 2

In the context of distributed databases, what does "Consistency" mean in the CAP theorem?

Every read receives the most recent write or an errorThe system remains operational during network partitionsThe system can handle multiple concurrent usersData is stored in multiple locations for redundancy

In the context of CouchDB clusters, what is a "replica number"?

The number of database connections allowedThe number of copies of each document stored across the clusterThe sequence number of database operationsThe number of active database administrators

What is meant by "serverless computing" in the context of Cloud?

Computing without any servers involvedA cloud computing model where the cloud provider manages server provisioning and scaling automaticallyComputing that only uses client-side applicationsA type of peer-to-peer computing networkComputing that doesn't require internet connectivity

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