Q.01 a.
Explain the Platform Evolution of different computer technologies
with a neat diagram.
The Platform Evolution
Computer technologies have evolved over five generations, with each lasting 10 to 20 years.
The transitions were not sudden; there was often a 10-year overlap between generations.
Generation-wise Platform Evolution:
1. Mainframe Era (1950–1970):
o Built to serve large businesses and governments.
o Examples: IBM 360, CDC 6400.
o Large centralized computers with limited access.
2. Minicomputer Era (1960–1980):
o Lower-cost systems for smaller businesses and colleges.
o Examples: DEC PDP 11, VAX Series.
o More interactive and affordable.
3. Personal Computer (PC) Era (1970–1990):
o Rise of personal computing with VLSI microprocessors.
o Widespread usage in homes, schools, and offices.
4. Portable Devices Era (1980–2000):
o Growth of laptops, PDAs, and wireless devices.
o Enabled mobility and ubiquitous computing.
5. HPC and HTC Era (1990–Present):
o Use of High-Performance Computing (HPC) and High-Throughput
Computing (HTC).
o Technologies: Clusters, Grids, Cloud Computing.
o Used in both scientific and commercial web-scale applications.
Current Trends in Computing:
• Focus on web-based shared resources and big data.
• Use of supercomputers (MPP) replaced by clusters of homogeneous nodes.
• HTC systems emphasize peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing and cloud/web services.
Q.01 b. Outline eight reasons to adapt the cloud for upgraded Internet
applications and web services.
1. Desired location in areas with protected space and higher energy efficiency
2. Sharing of peak-load capacity among a large pool of users, improving overall
utilization
3. Separation of infrastructure maintenance duties from domain-specific application
development
4. Significant reduction in cloud computing cost, compared with traditional computing
paradigms
5. Cloud computing programming and application development
6. Service and data discovery and content/service distribution
7. Privacy, security, copyright, and reliability issues
8. Service agreements, business models, and pricing policies
Q.01 c. Briefly explain Message Passing Interface (MPI).
❖ It is a standard library used to allow communication between multiple processes in
parallel computing.
❖ It is commonly used in supercomputers and clusters for high-performance tasks.
❖ Processes work independently and exchange data through message passing.
❖ Functions like MPI_Send and MPI_Recv are used to send and receive messages.
OR
Q.02 a. Summarize VM Primitive Operations with relevant diagram.
• The VMM (Virtual Machine Monitor) gives a virtual machine (VM) view to the guest
operating system.
• With full virtualization, the VMM gives a VM that looks exactly like a real machine.
• This allows standard operating systems like Windows 2000 or Linux to run as if they
are on actual hardware.
• Mendel Rosenblum explained the low-level VMM operations, as shown in Figure 1.13.
Basic VM Operations:
1. A VM can be shared (multiplexed) between different physical hardware machines.
(Figure 1.13(a))
2. A VM can be paused (suspended) and saved to stable storage. (Figure 1.13(b))
3. A suspended VM can be resumed or moved to a new hardware platform. (Figure
1.13(c))
4. A VM can be moved (migrated) from one hardware machine to another. (Figure
1.13(d))
Benefits:
• VMs can be used on any available hardware platform.
• Easy to move distributed applications.
• Helps use server resources better.
• Many server functions can run on one hardware machine.
• Avoids too many physical servers (server sprawl).
• VMware said this method can increase server use from 5–15% to 60–80%.
Q.02 b. Illustrate Various system attacks and network threats to the
cyberspace, resulting in 4 types of losses with a neat diagram.
Threats to Systems and Networks
• Clusters, grids, clouds, and P2P systems must be protected to be trusted.
• Network viruses have caused major damage to routers and servers.
• These attacks have resulted in large money losses in business and government.
• Information leaks cause loss of confidentiality.
• Data integrity may be lost due to user changes, Trojan horses, and spoofing attacks.
• Denial of Service (DoS) attacks stop system working and break Internet connections.
• Attackers may misuse systems when there is no proper authentication.
• Open systems like data centers and P2P networks are easy targets for attackers.
• Attacks can damage computers, networks, and storage systems.
• Network issues in routers and gateways reduce trust in public systems.
Loss of Confidentiality
• Happens when private information is exposed without permission.
• Caused by actions like eavesdropping, traffic analysis, or EM/RF interception.
Loss of Integrity
• Occurs when data is modified, tampered, or misused.
• Caused by penetration, masquerade, bypassing controls, and no proper authorization.
Loss of Availability
• Happens when systems or services become unavailable to users.
• Caused by DoS (Denial of Service), Trojan Horses, or service spoofing attacks.
Improper Authentication / Illegitimate Use
• Happens when attackers gain access without proper login or rights.
• Leads to misuse of resources and data theft through weak or missing authentication.
