2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This paper describes an approach developed for laboratory assignments for a graduate course in cloud computing that is cost effective, simple, and can use existing institutional computing infrastructure. The effort was motivated by the need for laboratory assignments that did not require the use of commercial cloud services. The paper describes the curriculum and implementation approach used for a sequence of progressive laboratory assignments that was developed for a cloud computing class that were based on widely available software and desktop computing systems.

The laboratory assignments provided experience in defining, creating, and using infrastructure components, as well as experience in creating and using virtual machines and containers. The
technologies used for the laboratory assignments described in this paper include Linux, Vagrant, VirtualBox, Docker, Kind, and Kubernetes which all can be run on desktop computing systems in a reproducible manner using Vagrant. The paper includes a reflection on some of the lessons learned from using desktop computers for the laboratory assignments.

The use of existing desktop computers in a computing teaching laboratory demonstrated their
utility for teaching cloud computing concepts. The approach described could be useful for others seeking to develop lab assignments for similar courses in cloud computing that can use widely available software, desktop computers, and institutional computing resources.