Course Description
This
course builds upon the material learned in IT341 Introduction to System
Administration. It shows how one
may better administer networked computer systems by automating many of the
administration regimes and by effectively managing those who help. Topics include scripting, heterogeneous
networks, remote management, the legal issues of network administration, an
introduction to network security, and the design and implementation of
policy. Students are also
introduced to issues in managing others.
Course Goals
The goal of this course is
to teach students how computer network system administration may be made easier
by
á Automating some of the required processes,
á Understanding the basics of network security, and
á Managing others who are working with you to get the work done.
This course builds on the basics of Linux system administration covered in IT341 Introduction to System Administration.
How the Course Serves
Students
IT441 is a required course
in the System Administration track of the new BS in Information Technology (IT)
degree, offered jointly by the Department of Computer Science (CSM) and the
MSIS Department (CM). The System
Administration track is offered by the Computer Science Department. The trackÕs purpose is to prepare the
student for a career in computer system administration and/or information
technology in general.
Syllabus
á
Automating the System Administration Process
1.
Advanced Shell Scripting.
2.
Perl Programming
3.
Building and monitoring a logging infrastructure.
4.
Network monitoring.
á
Running heterogeneous networks.
á
Services
1.
Local server standards
2.
Internet Postmaster: duties and responsibilities.
3.
Supporting SAMBA (making your UNIX file system look like a Windows file
system).
4.
Running a network information system
5.
Running a local DNS.
6.
Running NFS.
7. Running a print server.
á
Security
1.
Levels of security and threat analysis
2.
Password systems
3.
An introduction to firewalls
4.
Detecting intruders
5.
Redundancy of hardware and data
á
Management
8.
Reality, perception and visibility.
9.
Staying happy.
10. Responsibilities of
technical and people managers.
11. Hiring and firing system
administrators.
12. Dealing with vendors.
13. Budgeting for the System
Administrator
14. System security: a
management perspective.
Projects
Much of the material in this
course will be transmitted by way of hands-on projects, where students, working
in small teams, set up small networks of computers running Linux. There will be six to eight projects,
such as the following (these are only examples):
á
Setting up a
Linux network with clients and a server supporting NFS, NIS, DNS.
á
Setting up
remote access management
á
Set up a sniffer
for monitoring network usage
á
Writing a Perl
script to watch for repeated illegal login entries.
á
Automating the
user registration process.
á
A Perl script
for looking for orphaned homes (Home directories without users, or the inverse)
á
A Perl script
for validating group file integrity.
á
A Perl script
for checking the integrity of the alias database.
á
A (OSU-like)
Perl script for automating backup and/or restore.
á
A Perl script
for checking the consistency of Ethernet addresses.
á
A Perl script
for recording disk usage in a way that it may be easily queried.
á
Configuring a
firewall, attempting to crack a firewall.
á
Installing
open-source software such as SVN (a source control application).
á
Setting up Samba
and adding Windows boxes to the network
Grading
Projects and
Engineering Notebook 50%
Midterm Exam 20%
Final
Exam 30%
Textbooks and
Readings
There
are very good textbooks that address both the policy issues of system
administration, as well as the implementation details. Many are oriented
towards specific systems such as Unix, Linux, Windows and (for people with
taste) Macs.
For
this course, we will use the following:
(From
IT341)
(New
for this course)
Additional
readings will be assigned from the SAGE web site at http://www.sage.org/. SAGE is the System
Administrators Guild, a special technical group of the USENIX
Association. They maintain a fabulous web site (which Rick Martin pointed
us to) with all sorts of resources including a series of monographs on core sysadmin subjects.
Accommodations
Section 504 of the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990 offers guidelines for curriculum modifications
and adaptations for students with documented disabilities. If applicable,
students may obtain adaptation recommendations from the Ross Center for
Disability Services, Campus Center 2nd Floor, 2100 Street, Room 2010,
617-287-7430. The student must present these recommendations and discuss them
with each professor within a reasonable period, preferably by the end of
Drop/Add period.
Academic Honesty
All students are expected
to follow the University's Code of Student Conduct. If you are caught cheating, we will follow the
guidelines for punishment outlined in the code.
When you turn in work that
you have discussed with someone, or which contains ideas that you found in a
book, you must indicate that fact. We
expect you to talk to each other and to read materials other than those
assigned. We also expect to see in your work evidence that you have done so.
Learning to acknowledge intellectual debts is part of learning. You should be
reading, talking to each other, and telling the world that you have done so.
When group work is called for the group solution should note whenever a part of
the project was done by only a part of the group.
Some kinds of sharing,
however, are unacceptable. You may not use the computer to copy someone's work
and submit it as your own -- even if you acknowledge that theft! You may not
have your friends do your work for you. Versions of some of the assignments in
this course may have been given in previous years. You may not use answers to
those assignments.