From Laptops to the Cloud

❗️ Murdoch Student Only❗️
☁️ Ever wondered how the internet actually works — or what "the cloud" really means?
We are hosting a hands-on workshop where you'll build a mini internet from scratch using nothing but the devices in the room — your laptops and phones.
No prior experience needed. Just bring your laptop.(especially recommended for students doing ICT169+ICT171!!)

📍 Venue: Room 208
💻 Bring your own device.
🕚 11:00 AM - 01:00 PM

What you'll actually do:

• Set up a local network using your phone as a hotspot and discover devices on it using IP addresses.
• Send raw messages between laptops using TCP — no apps, no abstraction.
• Deploy a webpage from one laptop to another using SSH & SCP, then browse to it from your phone.
• Stress test your setup and see exactly why AWS EC2 exists — live, in real time.

By the end of the session, you'll be able to:

• Understand how devices communicate over a network using IP addresses and ports
• Explain the client-server model from hands-on experience
• Understand what "deploying an application" actually means at a fundamental level
• Articulate the real-world problems that cloud platforms like AWS EC2 solve

Workshop Format:

• 11:00 AM — Setup & Network Topology
• 11:10 AM — Network Discovery (ping triangle)
• 11:20 AM — Raw TCP Messaging with netcat
• 11:35 AM — Remote Deployment via SSH & SCP
• 12:00 PM — Stress Test (the "why EC2 exists" moment 💥)
• 12:05 PM — The EC2 Bridge: Live Demo & Discussion
• 12:30 PM — Wrap-up & Q&A

Every activity has a zero-code path for non-technical students and a deeper extension for CS/IT students — so no one gets left behind or under-challenged.

Open to all majors. Free to attend.