INFO2004: ace the project, not just read the notes
Your complete guide to University of Adelaide's cloud platforms unit. See where the marks are, work real practice questions, and study with an AI tutor that knows INFO2004.
Sia generates INFO2004 practice questions, walks through cloud security and virtual private cloud step by step, and quizzes you on the material the project that weights most heavily.
Find what is wrong
INFO2004 leans hard on the AWS shared responsibility model, framed as security OF the cloud versus security IN the cloud. A small business runs its application on Amazon EC2 virtual machines (an IaaS deployment). After a breach, the post-incident review has to assign responsibility under the shared responsibility model. Which one of the following is the CUSTOMER's responsibility (security IN the cloud), not AWS's (security OF the cloud)?
The shared responsibility model splits duties: AWS is responsible for security OF the cloud (the infrastructure that runs the services), and the customer is responsible for security IN the cloud (what they put on top of it).
For an IaaS deployment on EC2, the customer manages everything from the guest operating system upward: patching the guest OS and applications, plus configuring access controls such as security groups and IAM users, groups and policies (with MFA).
So the customer's responsibility is patching the guest OS and applications and configuring the security groups and IAM policies (option index 1). Note that the customer's share grows as you move from SaaS toward IaaS: under IaaS the customer manages the most of the stack.
The trap: Assuming that because the workload runs on AWS, AWS secures all of it. The model is shared, not outsourced. AWS secures the infrastructure (security OF the cloud); the customer is always responsible for their data, guest OS and application patching, identity and access configuration, and network rules (security IN the cloud), and that customer share is largest under IaaS like raw EC2. classic slip!
One project decides 40% of your grade. Stage two: the prototype build, 40% of the grade. This whole page is built around that.
Overview
What INFO2004 is, and where it sits
INFO2004 (Cloud Platforms) is the University of Adelaide's applied introduction to designing, implementing and managing cloud-based infrastructure for small to medium-sized enterprises. It builds the cloud vocabulary and mental models first (on-premises versus cloud, the IaaS, PaaS and SaaS service models, cloud economics, and the well-architected framework) and then has you build real environments on Amazon Web Services through AWS Academy Learner Lab. The framing is practitioner-oriented throughout: how a real provider delivers scalable, secure and cost-effective solutions, and how you would recommend and stand up one for a business.
The course runs as a 10-week teaching structure across three modules: Foundations of Cloud Computing (cloud models, economics, service models, architecture and migration basics), Cloud Security and Networking (IAM and the shared responsibility model, Virtual Private Cloud, subnets and routing, and compute options), and Architecture and Migration (object, file and block storage, cloud databases with RDS and DynamoDB, and auto-scaling and monitoring with CloudWatch). Each week pairs online readings and videos with an on-campus seminar and a hands-on AWS practical, and the budgeted load is about 15 hours per week.
Assessment is entirely coursework: there is no written final exam. Five graded pieces build from small labs (a networking and compute lab, then a database lab) to a four-part Cloud Migration Plan, and the course ends with a viva voce in which you defend your solution out loud. That structure means the marks are won steadily through the labs and lost by leaving the prototype and oral defence too late. A secondary aim is exposure to industry-aligned AWS Academy resources that can support later AWS certification.
Difficulty & time commitment
Is INFO2004 hard, and how much time does it take?
INFO2004 is manageable if you keep a weekly rhythm and treat the back half as the main event. Across student reviews the pattern is consistent: it starts gently and steepens, and the heaviest assessment is the part that separates grades.
A read across student reviews and course feedback. See what students say ↓
The difficulty curve and the assessment weighting point the same way: the back half is harder and worth more. Front-loading effort there is the highest-return decision in the unit.
Is this unit for you
Who tends to do well, and who tends to struggle
You will likely do well if
- You accept the AWS Academy invitation in Week 1 and do every guided lab hands-on rather than just watching the walkthroughs, so the console and the core services become second nature.
- You can explain design choices out loud: why EC2 over Lambda or containers here, why this VPC and IAM design, which storage and database fits, because the 25% viva voce rewards justified reasoning, not memorised facts.
- You start the Cloud Migration Plan early and treat the recommendations, prototype and report, and viva as one connected project rather than three last-minute tasks.
- You internalise the shared responsibility model and the well-architected framework, so security and cost-optimisation thinking runs through every design you submit.
You may struggle if
- You leave the AWS labs until late, because the practical skills compound (VPC and IAM underpin compute, which underpins storage, databases and scaling) and cannot be crammed cold.
- You can describe what you built but cannot defend why, which is exactly what the viva voce tests.
- You underestimate the back-loaded weighting: the prototype report and viva together are 65% of the grade and both land late in the course.
- You skip the cost and economics side (TCO, the pricing calculator, cost optimisation), since cloud decisions in this unit are judged on cost-effectiveness as much as on whether they work.
- Build and tear down each service yourself in the AWS Academy Learner Lab until you can stand up a VPC, an EC2 instance, an S3 bucket and an RDS database from memory.
- Keep a one-page decision sheet: service-model boundaries (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS), the shared responsibility split, compute options and their trade-offs, and storage and database choices, so your migration plan and viva answers are consistent.
- For the prototype, design to the AWS Well-Architected Framework and document cost-optimisation choices explicitly, since cost-effectiveness is part of the brief.
- Rehearse the viva out loud: have a peer ask 'why did you choose this?' for each major decision, and practise giving the cost and security trade-off, not just the feature.
Syllabus
The 10 topics, week by week
The exam-weight marker on each topic shows where the marks concentrate. The amber topics carry the highest exam weight.
T1 · Introduction to cloud models and on-prem versus cloud
What cloud computing is, why organisations move to it, and the difference between running everything on-premises and consuming cloud services. AWS Academy Learner Lab enrolment, AWS docs orientation and console navigation.
T2 · Cloud economics and service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS)
Capital versus operating expenditure, total cost of ownership, the AWS Pricing Calculator and budgeting; the three service models (Infrastructure, Platform and Software as a Service) and how much of the stack the customer manages in each.
T3 · Cloud architecture and migration basics
The AWS Well-Architected Framework, cost optimisation, simple architecture diagrams, and the basics of planning a migration from on-premises to the cloud.
T4 · Cloud security and IAM (shared responsibility model)
The shared responsibility model (security of the cloud versus security in the cloud), inherited, shared and customer-specific controls, and AWS Identity and Access Management fundamentals: users, groups, policies and multi-factor authentication.
T5 · Virtual Private Cloud, subnets and routing
Designing a Virtual Private Cloud: subnets, route tables, network ACLs and VPC flow logs, and the reasoning behind isolating and routing traffic within a cloud network.
T6 · Cloud compute options
Choosing between virtual machines (EC2), serverless functions (Lambda) and container services, and the scalability and cost trade-offs that decide which compute model fits a given workload.
T7 · Cloud storage options (object, file, block)
Object, file and block storage and when each applies; storage on AWS (S3, EBS, EFS) and data protection through versioning, lifecycle policies and encryption.
T8 · Cloud database options
The purpose of a database and the main database families; managed databases on AWS with relational RDS and the DynamoDB NoSQL store, and integrating a database with an application.
T9 · Auto-scaling and monitoring
Dealing with unexpected demand: monitoring with CloudWatch, alarms, and auto-scaling so that capacity follows load and cost follows capacity.
T10 · What is next: careers and certification, and the migration project
Careers in the cloud and AWS certification pathways, plus the culminating Cloud Migration Plan: recommendations, a working AWS prototype with an implementation report, and a viva voce defence of the solution.
How it's assessed
Assessment structure
| Component | Weight | Format & timing |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment 1.1: Networking and Compute Lab (VPC, EC2, EBS) | 10% | Hands-on AWS lab building a Virtual Private Cloud with EC2 compute and EBS storage in the AWS Academy Learner Lab. Due Week 8 (around 17 April 2026 for the S1 offering; dates subject to change). Individual hands-on lab. |
| Assignment 1.2: Database Lab (RDS and App Integration) | 5% | Hands-on AWS lab provisioning an Amazon RDS database and integrating it with an application. Due Week 9 to 10 (around 8 May 2026 for the S1 offering; dates subject to change). Individual hands-on lab. |
| Assignment 2.1: Cloud Migration Plan (Recommendations) | 20% | Written recommendations stage of the Cloud Migration Plan: assess a scenario and recommend a cloud approach with justification. Due around 20 March 2026 for the S1 offering (dates subject to change). Stage one of the three-part migration project. |
| Assignment 2.2: AWS Prototype and Implementation Report | 40% | Build a working AWS prototype of the recommended solution and document it in an implementation report. The single largest piece of the course. Due around 22 May 2026 for the S1 offering (dates subject to change). Stage two: the prototype build, 40% of the grade. |
| Assignment 2.3: Viva Voce (Solution Defence) | 25% | Oral defence of the migration solution: explain and justify the design and implementation decisions to the teaching team. Final weeks (around Weeks 13 to 14; date set by the teaching team). Stage three: the spoken defence, individually examined. |
- Pass on a weighted average of at least 50% across the five coursework pieces. No written exam is held and no single-component hurdle is stated in the course materials reviewed; confirm any minimum-component requirements against the official course outline.
- No written final exam. The course is 100% coursework: two hands-on AWS labs (15% combined), a three-stage Cloud Migration Plan (recommendations 20%, prototype and report 40%), and a viva voce solution defence (25%). The viva is the closest thing to a timed individual test, so rehearse explaining your design out loud.
- Calculator policy: Not applicable: there is no written exam. The only arithmetic is total-cost-of-ownership and pricing-calculator work done in the labs, where the AWS Pricing Calculator is the tool used.
This is a coursework unit. Coursework carries 100% of the grade and the assignment 2.2: aws prototype and implementation report is the single heaviest piece at 40%, so steady work across the semester decides your result more than any one sitting. Stage two: the prototype build, 40% of the grade.
Final exam timing: No written final exam. Final assessable items are the AWS prototype report (around late May) and the viva voce solution defence in the final weeks; confirm exact dates against the official course timetable.. Confirm the exact date and venue on the official exam timetable.
How to actually pass it
A weekly rhythm, two checklists, and the traps to avoid
The unit rewards consistency over cramming, and practice over re-reading. Here is the loop that works, then what to have nailed before each exam.
The weekly loop
Before the mid-semester checklist
- Accept the AWS Academy invitation in Week 1 and confirm you can log in to the Learner Lab.
- Complete the Foundations module: be fluent in on-prem versus cloud, the three service models, cloud economics and TCO, and the well-architected framework.
- Finish Assignment 2.1 (recommendations) early and make sure your recommended approach is one you can actually build later.
- Do the Networking and Compute Lab (1.1) by hand: a working VPC with an EC2 instance and EBS storage, and understand each step rather than copying it.
Before the final heaviest topics
- Land the AWS prototype (Assignment 2.2, 40%) well before the deadline and write the implementation report so it justifies each choice against cost, security and the well-architected framework.
- Drill the shared responsibility model and IAM until you can place any control on the customer-versus-AWS line instantly.
- Rehearse the viva voce out loud: defend EC2 versus Lambda versus containers, your VPC and IAM design, and your storage and database choices, with the cost and security trade-off for each.
- Make sure the recommendations, prototype and viva tell one consistent story; inconsistencies between what you recommended and what you built are easy marks to lose in the defence.
The mistakes that cost marks
Treating AWS as responsible for everything. Under the shared responsibility model AWS secures the infrastructure (security of the cloud) but the customer is always responsible for their data, guest OS and application patching, identity and access configuration, and network rules (security in the cloud). This split is examined directly and underpins the security design in the migration project.
Leaving the migration project to the end. The prototype report and viva together are 65% of the grade and both land late. Because the AWS skills compound across weeks, a last-minute build rarely produces a defensible solution, and the viva exposes a thin design immediately.
Building without defending. A working prototype that you cannot justify out loud will not carry the 25% viva voce. Marks there come from explaining why each service and design choice was made and its cost and security trade-offs, not from describing what you assembled.
Ignoring cost and the well-architected framework. Cloud decisions in this unit are judged on cost-effectiveness and sound architecture, not only on whether they run. Skipping TCO, the pricing calculator and cost-optimisation reasoning weakens both the recommendations and the prototype report.
Teaching team
Who teaches INFO2004
The bios below are factual. The star ratings are not ours: they are impressions from students who have taken the unit, so you can hear from people who sat in the lectures.
David Cowdrey
Course Coordinator for Cloud Platforms at the University of Adelaide's Mawson Lakes campus.
Md Mokammel Haque (Malin)
Course Coordinator for Cloud Platforms at the University of Adelaide's City East campus.
Siamak Mirzaei
Course Developer for Cloud Platforms, contributing the course content and AWS-aligned learning materials.
Teaching team as listed in the unit materials reviewed. AskSia does not rate lecturers; star ratings are submitted by students who have taken INFO2004.
Formula & concept sheet
The vocabulary and formulas you must own
- Shared responsibility model
- AWS is responsible for security OF the cloud (physical facilities, hardware, the virtualization layer and core services); the customer is responsible for security IN the cloud (their data, guest OS and application patching, identity and access configuration, and network rules). The customer's share grows from SaaS toward IaaS.
- IaaS, PaaS, SaaS
- The three service models by how much of the stack the customer manages. IaaS gives basic compute and storage and the most control and work; PaaS adds a managed platform; SaaS delivers a finished application with the customer managing only content and access.
- Total cost of ownership (TCO)
- The full cost of a solution including capital and operating expenditure. Cloud shifts large up-front capital cost (CapEx) toward pay-as-you-go operating cost (OpEx); the AWS Pricing Calculator is the tool used to estimate and budget it.
- Well-Architected Framework
- AWS's set of design pillars (including operational excellence, security, reliability, performance efficiency and cost optimisation) used to review and improve cloud architectures.
- IAM (Identity and Access Management)
- The AWS service for controlling who can do what: users, groups, policies (permissions) and multi-factor authentication (MFA). Least-privilege policies are the customer's responsibility under the shared model.
- VPC (Virtual Private Cloud)
- A logically isolated network in AWS defined by subnets, route tables, network ACLs and flow logs, used to control how traffic enters, leaves and moves within a cloud environment.
- Compute options (EC2, Lambda, containers)
- EC2 provides virtual machines with the most control; Lambda runs serverless functions with no server management; container services run packaged workloads. The choice trades off control, scalability and cost for the workload.
- Storage types (object, file, block)
- Object storage (S3) for unstructured data and durability, file storage (EFS) for shared file systems, and block storage (EBS) attached to instances. Data protection uses versioning, lifecycle policies and encryption.
- Cloud databases (RDS and DynamoDB)
- Amazon RDS is a managed relational database; DynamoDB is a managed NoSQL key-value and document store. Managed services hand the patching and backups of the engine to AWS while the customer manages data and access.
- Auto-scaling and CloudWatch
- Auto-scaling adds or removes capacity automatically in response to demand, driven by CloudWatch metrics and alarms, so capacity follows load and cost follows capacity.
Common acronyms: IaaS · PaaS · SaaS · TCO · CapEx · OpEx · IAM · MFA · VPC · ACL · EC2 · EBS · EFS · S3 · RDS · NoSQL.
What students say
What students actually say about INFO2004
Recurring themes from student reviews, paraphrased in our own words.
- No first-hand student difficulty rating is currently available for this unit, so the difficulty read is editorial: a no-exam, 100% coursework structure with a 65% back-loaded prototype-and-viva block places it in the moderate, project-driven band.
- The conceptual content is read-and-apply rather than mathematical; the demand comes from doing the AWS labs hands-on and from defending design choices in the viva.
- Students consolidate by rebuilding the AWS services themselves (VPC, EC2, S3, RDS) rather than re-reading slides, and by keeping a decision sheet of service trade-offs for the viva.
- The shared responsibility model, service-model boundaries and the well-architected framework are the recurring concepts worth turning into quick-reference cards.
- Demand clusters around the high-stakes, late-course block: the AWS prototype implementation report and the oral viva defence, where being able to justify decisions matters more than recall.
Recurring student opinions, paraphrased and aggregated, not official course information.
Set texts
The prescribed reading
The syllabus references map straight onto these.
AWS Academy Learner Lab (AWS Academy Cloud Foundations resources)
Amazon Web Services.
Where it fits
Prerequisites, related units & why it matters
An applied, hands-on cloud unit using AWS Academy Learner Lab. Confirm the exact enforced prerequisites against the official University of Adelaide course outline; basic familiarity with operating systems, networking concepts and reading technical documentation will make the AWS labs smoother. Students are given AWS Academy access in Week 1 and should accept the invitation immediately to start the practical work.
Your INFO2004 study toolkit
Study the unit with Sia, not just read about it
Each tool already knows INFO2004: your syllabus, your texts, and where the marks are. Grouped by how you study, from first contact to exam week.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is there a final exam in INFO2004?
No. INFO2004 has no written final exam. It is assessed entirely by coursework: two hands-on AWS labs (15% combined), a three-stage Cloud Migration Plan (20% recommendations plus 40% prototype and report), and a 25% viva voce in which you defend your solution out loud.
How is INFO2004 assessed?
Five graded pieces summing to 100%: Assignment 1.1 Networking and Compute Lab (10%), Assignment 1.2 Database Lab with RDS (5%), Assignment 2.1 Cloud Migration Plan recommendations (20%), Assignment 2.2 AWS prototype and implementation report (40%), and Assignment 2.3 viva voce solution defence (25%). You pass on a weighted average of at least 50%.
What is the viva voce and how do I prepare?
The viva voce (Assignment 2.3, 25%) is an oral defence of your Cloud Migration Plan: you explain and justify your design and implementation choices to the teaching team. Prepare by being able to talk through why you chose each AWS service (EC2 versus Lambda versus containers, the storage and database options, your VPC and IAM design) and the cost and security trade-offs, not just describe what you built.
Which cloud provider does INFO2004 use?
Amazon Web Services. The course is aligned with AWS Academy Learner Lab resources, and you get hands-on with IAM, VPC, EC2, EBS, S3, RDS and DynamoDB, and CloudWatch auto-scaling. You are invited to AWS Academy in Week 1 and should accept the invitation straight away so the practical components are not delayed.
How much time does INFO2004 take each week?
Budget about 15 hours per week. Roughly 8 to 10 hours are the weekly content (readings, videos and guided AWS labs), with the rest for seminars and practicals, the assignments, and independent study. The hands-on AWS labs and the back-loaded migration project mean falling behind compounds quickly.
Do I need coding or networking experience for INFO2004?
It is hands-on with AWS rather than a heavy programming course; the work is configuring and operating cloud services through the AWS console and guided labs. Comfort with reading technical documentation, basic networking ideas (subnets, routing, firewalls) and operating-system basics helps a lot. Confirm the exact enforced prerequisites against the official University of Adelaide course outline.
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