Compilers, operating systems, networking, databases, artificial intelligence or graphics are all subjects that undergraduate students study as part of the curriculum. They use products (Microsoft c++ compiler, Linux O/S, Cisco routers, Oracle DBMS, LISP / PROLOG and AutoCAD, for example). They all use storage on their desktop, but never get to appreciate the complexity; it is a peripheral (like printer). The back-end storage at the data center is something they do not see; the sophistication of enterprise class servers or the super-store employed by Google / Yahoo / MSN is part of the “cloud”. Naturally, storage is NOT part of the standard curriculum today.
Institutions like IIIT-B introduce storage as part of the “High performance computing” course.
To start introducing the subject of storage, it is best to start with an Elective Course that the colleges can offer; industry must help the College thru the establishment and support of a Lab. That would be a sure shot way on “initiation”. Based on such an experiment, future strategies can be prepared.
(Panel discussion in the Storage Conference held at Nitte Institute of Technology, Karnataka during Dec 3-4, 2008)
Tags: EMC, Nitte, Storage Conference, Storage in curriculum
