CS3260 Tutorial 1    -    (week 14/8)

1A.

Suppose NUS is implementing a course management system for all undergraduate courses which consists of the following components:
(i) Basic course information such as course description, outline, syllabus, time-table, etc.,
(ii) Student enrolment information, and
(iii) continuous course assessment such as assignment grades, participation, and examination results. 
The purpose of the system is for instructors to keep track of course-related information and student performance.

a)     What is the suitable database architecture for this system? Why?

b)    What is the suitable architecture for client software (inserting and updating information)? Why?

c)     In terms of control and security, what is the trade-off between centralizing and de-centralizing the system?

1B.

(a) Users need computing power at different times.  To the extent that users’ demands are random and independent, explain why a centralized processing system will be more economical than distributed processors.

(b) At any one time, the unit cost of computing power (in $ per MHz) increases with processor power.  Explain why distributed processors are more economical than a centralized system with equal computing power.