Dependability Aspects of e-Learning Systems

This work is devoted to dependability analysis of e-learning systems. Authors present technical aspects of the software part of e-learning systems (e-learning platforms, distant lectures, multimedia presentations and virtual laboratories). Next, a high availability approach to hardware part is discussed. It is followed by a short analysis of several dependability aspects (availability, usability, scalability, interoperability, stability and security) with a conclusion that business continuity is a crucial factor. Therefore, the analysis of the e-learning system monitoring techniques is given. It is followed by a proposition of a new technique of monitoring: the virtual user representative.