Semester: Spring 2008
Credits: 3 semester hours
Classroom: Udvar-Hazy 103
Section 01: MWF 8:00am-8:50am
Instructor: Curtis Larsen
Phone: 652-7972
Office: Udvar-Hazy 323
Email: larsen@dixie.edu
Office/Lab Hours:
M: 3:00-4:00
W: 3:00-5:00
F: 3:00-4:00
Description: Course for students in Computer Information Systems or in Computer and Information Technologies programs. This course is a continuation of IT 3100. This course will instruct students in system administration topics, including DNS, file sharing, user profile sharing, system backups, performance monitoring and optimization, heterogeneous computer networks, and custom OS installations. Students will be required to install, configure, and test the services in a server environment.
If you are a student with a physical or mental impairment and would like to request accommodations, please contact the Disability Resource Center (652-7516) in Room 201 of the Student Services Center. The Disability Resource Center will determine your eligibility for services based upon complete professional documentation. If you are deemed eligible, the Disability Resource Center will further evaluate the effectiveness of your accommodation requests and will authorize reasonable accommodations that are appropriate for your disability.
Prerequisites: IT 3100.
Objectives:
- The student will be able to discuss the principles of :
- disk servers and disk sharing;
- centralized user database;
- system backups;
- system security and port filters;
- system software;
- resource monitoring and tuning.
- The student will be able to demonstrate practical skills in:
- shell scripting;
- NFS and SAMBA;
- LDAP;
dumpandrestore;- system security and port filters;
- kernel building and installation;
- 3rd party software installation;
- system monitoring and tuning utilities.
Labs: Each student will be assigned virtual computers to be used for the duration of this course. The students will be responsible for installing and configuring software and managing these computers throughout the course. Most access to these computers will be through secured remote connections.
Resources: Students are not required to purchase a text book.
A reading list is available through the world wide web.
Students will also find informative books in the
campus library.
The unix man pages can also be an invaluable resource. The book "Linux Administration
Handbook", Second Edition (ISBN: 0-13-1480049) by Nemeth, et. al. is recommended and available
in the bookstore.
Reading: The student is responsible for researching and reading material relating to the lecture topics and projects.
Projects: There will be many projects. Some projects will consist of installing, configuring and testing a server. Other projects will focus on the measurement of the effectiveness of a server. Projects will be due at 11:59 pm on the dates indicated in the course schedule. The installation assignments will be graded for functionality, while the measurement projects will be graded on the correctness of the measurement technique, and the interpretation of the results.
The measurement projects will usually take a long time to complete. Students should start early, and work on them each day until the project is completed. Some of the projects have running times that take days of cpu. You have been warned.
Late Policy: Assignments are due by 11:59 pm on the date specified in the schedule. Assignments that are completed after 11:59 pm are considered 1 day late. They may be completed up to 3 school days late but 10 percent is deducted per day. After 3 days, the assignments are worth 0 points.
Tests: There will be 1 written exam to be given in the final exam period. This exam is worth 10% of the final grade. This exam will test the student's understanding of the fundamental issues in system administration.
There will be a 3 practical exams to be given throughout the semester. These exams are each worth 10% of the final grade. They will test the student's ability to complete practical tasks in system administration. Most tasks will be extensions or modifications of assignments. It is critical that the assignments be correctly completed to succeed in the practical exam.
There will be no late, early or makeup tests given. For school excused absences, arrangements must be made before the date of the test.
Grading: Grades will be given according to the ratio of the student's score to the total possible score for the class. Scores are given for projects, the final written test, the practical test, and class presentations and participation. The grade assigned depends on the percentage according to the following table.
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Time Commitment: Courses should require about 45 hours of work per credit hour of class. This class will require about 135 hours of work on the part of the student to achieve a passing grade. If you don't have 7 hours outside of class to spend on this course each week, you should probably rethink your schedule.
Attendance: Students are responsible for material covered and announcements made in class. School related absences may be made up only if prior arrangements are made. If a class period is missed, please contact a fellow student for a copy of the notes.
Notice: The class schedule presented is approximate. The instructor reserves the right to modify the schedule according to class needs. Changes will be announced in class. (See Attendance)
Cheating: Cheating will not be tolerated, and will result in a failing grade for the students involved. Cheating includes, but is not limited to, turning in homework assignments that are not the student's personal work.
You are encouraged to work in groups while studying for tests, discussing class lectures, discussing algorithms for homework solutions, and helping each other identify errors in your homework solutions.
However, each student must create and type in their own solution. Any kind of copying and pasting is NOT okay. If you need help understanding concepts, get it from the instructor or fellow classmates. But never copy another's code, electronically or visually.
