Web server management, performance and tuning
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| 3 Interactive computer-marked assignments (iCMAs) | |
| End-of-course assessment | No residential school |
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This course is available for study in the countries shown. Fees may vary by country.
Summary
This twelve-week course is the sixth and final course of the Certificate in Web Applications Development. A web server is the key to dynamic and responsive applications, so it’s essential to monitor its performance and tune its configuration. Server configuration is also critical to application security through the use of access controls and security protocols. This course explores the role of server administration and its contribution to planning, deployment, and management of a web application. It introduces tools and techniques to assist with capacity planning, monitoring of workloads, identification of performance bottlenecks, and security failures. You’ll also learn about the role of routers, firewalls, and proxy servers in building network architectures.
Course content
This course requires that you have a good understanding of the role of the web server in the application development process, such as that provided by The server-side of application development (TT282), together with a range of techniques used for authorisation and authentication, as provided by Databases within website design (TT380). You should also be familiar with using a command line interface to execute and control services.
By the end of the course you will be able to:
- explain the role of web server administration in relation to application security, and describe the use of firewalls and proxy servers, access controls and permissions, and application performance monitoring
- describe the goals of capacity planning and utilise it to assess system requirements at the planning stage of development
- explain the range of tests employed during the life of an application and use appropriate tools to ‘stress test’ a single web server
- discuss a goals of performance monitoring of a web server
- analyse and interpret activity logs and reports and utilise them for troubleshooting and tuning
- assess the requirements for and applicability of digital certificates to specific types of application
- combine these concepts, skills, and strategies into an overall application deployment plan.
The course includes an online forum where you can ask for help and advice. Please note that the teaching material and assignments for this course are available from the course website three weeks before you need them. Therefore, if your circumstances do not allow you to study over the whole 12 weeks please consider carefully before registering for this course.
Visit the dedicated website to learn more about the details of the Certificate in Web Applications Development.
Entry
The course will appeal to a wide variety of people, for example:
- those who have already taken Web applications: design, development and management (TT280), The client side of application development (TT281), The server-side of application development (TT282), Databases within website design (TT380), and Open source development tools (TT381), or:
- those who have some experience of configuration, administration, and performance tuning of a web server and a good understanding of all the web application tools and protocols covered by the other courses in the Certificate (for information see the individual course descriptions).
Although you are not prevented from registering for TT382 without any previous experience, we would not recommend this as you will need to have an understanding of the technicalities of the related subject area. We therefore strongly recommend that you do not undertake this course, unless you have completed the preceding five courses (TT280, TT281, TT282, TT380, TT381) in the Certificate. A student who fulfils the entry requirements should expect to devote 10 hours’ study per week. Students with less experience will need more time.
TT382 is a Level 3 course and as such places certain academic requirements on you. For example, you will need to be able to complete a 3000-word report at the end of the course and construct arguments in support of critical judgements, with minimal help or advice. If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service. We strongly advise against studying two or more courses at the same time.
Qualifications
TT382 is a compulsory course in our
The Certificate in Web Applications Development comprises of six courses. If you wish to complete all six courses in order to obtain the Certificate, you should be aware that this Programme is coming to an end and you should plan to include these courses in your study plan in the near future. See the qualification description for details.
TT382 is an optional course in our
It can also count towards most of our other degrees at bachelors level, where it is equally appropriate to a BA or BSc. We advise you to refer to the relevant qualification descriptions for information on the circumstances in which this course can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements may change. You should think carefully about fitting 10 points into a degree that consists mostly of 30-point and 60-point courses.
If you have a disability or additional requirement
The course requires extensive use of the internet and electronic communications. If you use special hardware or software you must find out whether it will work with the course software, well before the course begins. The course materials are available in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). Components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader and mathematical, scientific, and foreign language materials may be particularly difficult to read in this way. Large print versions of the course material can be provided on request. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
If you are a new student, or new to courses using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our booklet Meeting Your Needs which you can download or request from our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
You can also find information about accessible course materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Course materials
What's included
Access to the course website and Web Certificate DVD-ROM containing specialist software and multiple web browsers. Downloadable software for taking part in a single/national online forum.
You will need
You should be prepared to spend significant amounts of time online (at least three hours a week). This may mean extra charges to your telephone bill unless you have a package which provides unlimited access to the internet.
Computing requirements
This course includes online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave. Some of your course software will be provided on disk.
You will need internet access and a computer. If you have purchased a new Windows computer since 2002 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual. Please note that you cannot use an Apple Mac or Linux computer unless it is running windows Boot Camp or similar.
Teaching and assessment
Study support
The course is taught entirely online. You will not have an individual tutor, but you can use the online forum to ask for help and advice about any aspect of the course. The forum will be moderated by experienced tutors.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.
You must use the online eTMA system to submit your computer-marked assignments (CMAs). The end-of-course assessment (ECA) is also submitted online.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
Future availability
We expect this course to be available twice a year, in October and May.
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button. For more information and advice about registration see OU Study Explained.
About this page
An undergraduate course in Computing and ICT.
Study explained
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- Credit points
- - show how much study is required to complete a course or qualification. One credit point represents roughly 10 hours of study.
- Level
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- Study explained
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Student Reviews
I found the course vaguely useful, but I have severe doubts about the assessment criteria. In the ECA report we ...
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After reading this review, the course team did take some time to review the documents and forums to see what ...
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Overall, not the worst of the Web Applications courses, but certainly not the best. The course comes across as if ...
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