Week 2 Project Clinton Ayoh

CMIT 495 Current Trends and Projects in Computer Networks and Security

Week 2 – Cloud Computing

1. Access your AWS Learner Lab and take a screenshot of the AWS Management Console
(Dashboard) and paste it below question 1. The screenshot should include the username you
were assigned during the setup phase.

2. Launch a Windows Virtual Machine (VM). Provide a detailed overview of the steps required
to install the Microsoft Windows operating system (OS) on the VM. The steps may be listed in
the form of bullet points or a summary with complete sentences. Use as much space as
required. Finally, take a screenshot of the desktop and paste it with your response below this
question.
 Go to EC2 Page

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 Now Click Launch Instance

 When open Launch and Instance Launch Page Give the name in the “ Name and Tag “
section.

 For the "Application and OS Images (Amazon Machine Image)" section, select Windows as
the operating system and choose a server OS that qualifies for the free tier.

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 In the "Instance Type" section, ensure that t2.micro is selected.

 In the "Key pair (login)" section, select vockey as the key pair.

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 In the "Network settings" section, select "Create security group" and ensure the radio
button for "Allow RDP Traffic from" is checked. Additionally, confirm that "Anywhere
0.0.0.0/0" is chosen from the dropdown menu.

 Review the details in the "Summary Section" carefully to ensure all settings are correct.
Once verified, click "Launch Instance" to proceed.

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 You will be redirected to a confirmation page indicating that the instance is being initiated.

 Return to the "Instances" page and wait until the instance status changes to "Running" and
displays "2/2 checks passed" to ensure it is ready for connection.

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 Click on the "Connect" tab, then navigate to the "RDP client" section.

 Next, click to download the "Remote Desktop File".

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 After clicking "Connect", you will be prompted to enter your credentials.

 If you don’t have the password, return to the "Connect to Instance" section and click "Get
password".
 Upload the private key and click "Decrypt password" to retrieve the password.

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3. Using what you learned from Project 1, provision and launch a new AWS EC2 Ubuntu Linux
Server and connect to it via the SSH protocol. Note any challenges or opportunities associated
with this provisioning.

This time, the provisioning and launching of the Ubuntu Server went smoothly without any
hiccups or issues.

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4. Using AWS, create a network file system with Amazon Elastic File Systems (EFS) and attach it
to the running Ubuntu Server instance. You may use the AWS web page for step-by-step
instructions and understand how the EFS works. Take a screenshot of the result and embed it
below. Specifically, take a screenshot to verify that your file system has been successfully
mounted, along with the results from creating a test file in your new file system. This will be
done by running a simple dd command to generate a 1GiB file in your new directory. Finally,
describe the value of a network file system.

5. Using the AWS platform, create an S3 bucket and upload any file to the S3 bucket. Take a
screenshot showing the file was uploaded to the S3 bucket and paste it below. If necessary,
use the AWS webpage above for step-by-step instructions.

6. The CTO will be reviewing this document. You have shown how easy it is to provision a
Microsoft OS using the AWS platform. The CTO chose AWS because it offered a free account.
She will now expect a recommendation from you on what cloud service to use for the
organization’s PaaS (e.g., the infrastructure, OS, runtime, etc.) needs. There is no need for a
private cloud, so the public option will work just fine. Describe the difference between the
Google Cloud platform, Amazon AWS platform, and Microsoft Azure platform. Provide a
recommendation for the CTO as to which service provider you would recommend and why.
Be explicit and detailed in your recommendation.

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Amazon AWS is the leading cloud provider, offering a vast array of services to meet nearly any business
need. Key features include pay-as-you-go pricing, elastic scalability, public/private/hybrid cloud
configurations, SaaS/PaaS/IaaS options, rapid deployment, user-friendly interfaces, compatibility with
various operating systems, and robust security controls. However, AWS can be overwhelming due to its
extensive service offerings, and migrating legacy systems may extend implementation timelines.
Microsoft Azure ranks as the second-largest cloud provider. Azure provides services such as high
availability, scalability, SaaS/PaaS/IaaS options, hybrid cloud solutions, support for open-source
technology, and cost-effectiveness. Drawbacks include limited customer support, additional pay-as-you-
go fees, higher costs compared to some competitors, limited backward compatibility, and a need for
skilled personnel to manage extensive maintenance and management.
Google Cloud is the third-largest cloud provider, specializing in fast data processing, strong analytics,
large-scale storage, seamless collaboration, and cloud-native design. However, it has fewer services and
features than its competitors, a limited number of data centers, no direct control over virtual machines,
and fewer programming language options.
I recommend AWS as the preferred cloud service due to its versatility, user-friendly features, and cost-
effectiveness compared to traditional network infrastructure. AWS provides unmatched flexibility,
scalability, and dedicated customer support across its service offerings, making it the ideal choice for
businesses looking to grow and scale efficiently.

7. The CTO approved your comparative analysis between the cloud service providers (i.e.
Amazon, Google, and Microsoft). She has decided to proceed with an Amazon Virtual Private
Cloud (Amazon VPC). The Amazon VPC enables one to launch AWS resources into a virtual
network, which is similar to a traditional network that can be operated in an on-premises data
center. Keep in mind that networking, storage, and security associated with a VPC are as
important as the overall scalable infrastructure of AWS.

a. To begin, the CEO would like you to provide the network settings needed to provision
two (2) subnets for the VPC as shown in the table below:

Subnet End-User CIDR Network Broadcast Mask

b. Based on your understanding, list the network address, broadcast address, and subnet
mask for subnet A and subnet B in the table above. Perform the necessary
calculations and explain how you arrived at your answer.

The first IP address in a block represents the network address, while the last IP address serves
as the broadcast address. The subnet mask is determined by the /X notation following the IP
address, where X represents the number of bits used for the network portion.By calculating the
different subnets using the network IP and the subnet mask, you can determine the broadcast
address for each subnet. The broadcast address is the last address in each subnet, used to send
messages to all devices within that specific subnet.

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To better help you understand IP addressing, IP subnetting, and IP address summarization, review the
following AWS documentation prior to answering the questions in this section:
 VPCs and subnets
 CIDR and Peering for VPC and AWS Control Tower
 Subnet CIDR reservations

Note:

The key benefit of an Amazon VPC (or a virtual private network) is that the internal network devices
are not openly accessible via the Internet and can only be accessed from within a secure network.
Thus, it keeps the proprietary applications and data protected.

Classless Internet Domain Routing (CIDR) notation: CIDR was introduced as a means to primarily
improve address space utilization as a result of the rapid growth of the Internet and growth of the IP
routing tables held in the Internet routers. Represented by an IP prefix, CIDR moves away from the
traditional IP classes (e.g., Class A, Class B, Class C, etc.). Subnetting a network address space using
CCIDR leads to an effective IP address space only for the number of hosts needed without wasting IP
addresses.

8. Please note the following carefully. Confirm that you have stopped and terminated your
Microsoft Windows virtual machine, deleted your file system from the Amazon EFS console,
deleted the contents of your Amazon S3 bucket, and deleted your Amazon S3 bucket. To
confirm, simply type your name below.

Clinton Ayoh

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