CLCS 645 is a 3-credit graduate course at the University of Maryland Global Campus and the fifth required core course in the MS in Cloud Computing Systems. Its prerequisites are CLCS 605 and CLCS 615.
UMGC describes it as a comprehensive exploration of the principles, methods and best practices of planning and designing cloud infrastructure.
It covers the factors that drive infrastructure decisions (scalability, performance, cost-effectiveness, security and reliability) and topics including architecture patterns, capacity planning, disaster recovery and compliance frameworks, with hands-on work using infrastructure tools.
This is an architect's course. The challenge is that every decision is a trade-off: more resilience costs more, tighter security can slow delivery, and there is rarely one correct design. Marks come from making trade-offs explicit. UMGC notes that students may receive credit for only one of CLCS 645 or CCS 630.
Course at a Glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| University | University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) |
| Course code | CLCS 645 |
| Level and credits | Graduate, 3 credits |
| Prerequisites | CLCS 605 and CLCS 615 |
| Credit overlap | Credit for only one of CLCS 645 or CCS 630 |
| Typical work | Design documents, capacity and cost estimates, DR plans, tool exercises |
What CLCS 645 Covers
| Topic | The design question |
|---|---|
| Decision factors | How do scalability, performance, cost, security and reliability pull against each other? |
| Architecture patterns | Which proven layouts fit this workload (multi-tier, microservices, event-driven, serverless)? |
| Capacity planning | How much compute, storage and network will be needed now and later? |
| Disaster recovery | How quickly must we recover, and how much data can we afford to lose? |
| Compliance frameworks | Which rules and standards must the design satisfy? |
Key Concepts Explained
RTO and RPO
The recovery time objective (RTO) is how long a service can be down; the recovery point objective (RPO) is how much data, measured in time, can be lost. Together they decide the disaster recovery approach and its cost.
Example: An internal reporting system has an RTO of 24 hours and an RPO of 24 hours, so nightly backups restored to a new region are enough. An online payment service has an RTO of minutes and an RPO near zero, which calls for an active standby in a second region with continuous data replication, at much higher cost. Designing both the same way would either overspend or under-protect.
Capacity Planning
Capacity planning estimates demand, adds headroom and uses elasticity for peaks rather than buying for the maximum all year.
Example: A web app handles 200 requests per second on average and 800 at peak. Load tests show one instance handles 100 requests per second comfortably. The design runs a baseline of 3 instances (average load plus headroom, spread across zones) and autoscales up to 10 at peak, rather than running 10 all the time.
Architecture Frameworks
The major providers publish well-architected guidance organized around similar pillars, such as operational excellence, security, reliability, performance efficiency and cost optimization. Using these pillars to structure a design review is a practical way to check that nothing has been missed.
Writing a Design Document
Most CLCS 645 assessments revolve around a design document. A clear structure helps the reader follow your reasoning:
- Requirements: functional needs, expected load, RTO and RPO, compliance obligations and budget.
- Architecture: a diagram and a description of each component and why it was chosen.
- Capacity and cost: sizing assumptions and an estimate, ideally from a provider pricing calculator.
- Resilience and DR: how the design meets the recovery objectives.
- Security and compliance: controls mapped to the relevant frameworks.
- Trade-offs and risks: what you chose not to do and why.
Typical Assignments and How to Approach Them
| Assignment type | What it tests | How to approach it |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure design | Architecture judgment | Requirements first, then components, then trade-offs |
| Capacity and cost estimate | Quantitative planning | State assumptions and show calculations |
| Disaster recovery plan | Resilience thinking | Set RTO and RPO per system and match strategies |
| Compliance mapping | Regulatory awareness | Map each requirement to a specific control |
Where Students Get Stuck
- Designing before gathering requirements. Without RTO, RPO and load figures, the design cannot be justified.
- Gold-plating. Maximum resilience everywhere is expensive; match protection to business value.
- Hidden assumptions. State every sizing and cost assumption.
- Compliance by name only. Saying a design is compliant means little without mapped controls.
Study Tips for CLCS 645
- Read one provider's well-architected framework end to end and keep its pillars as a checklist.
- Practice cost estimates with official pricing calculators.
- Reuse your CLCS 635 network design skills; network layout underpins every infrastructure design.
How We Help with CLCS 645
Send the brief, rubric, requirements and feedback. A cloud specialist can explain design principles, prepare a model design document, capacity estimate or DR plan for reference, or review your draft for gaps and unstated assumptions. We never access your course or cloud accounts.
GradeEssays is independent of the University of Maryland Global Campus. Our work is a study aid; you complete and submit your own work under UMGC's academic integrity policy. Orders are written from scratch and plagiarism-checked.
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Frequently Asked Questions
UMGC lists CLCS 605 and CLCS 615.
Yes. It is one of the five required core courses in UMGC's MS in Cloud Computing Systems.
UMGC states students may receive credit for only one of CLCS 645 or CCS 630.
RTO is how long a service can be unavailable; RPO is how much data, measured in time, can be lost.
It depends on the scenario: industry rules such as health or payment card standards, and security frameworks used for audits. Follow the course materials and the scenario.
No. We prepare model designs and feedback for study; you produce your own design.