Network & System

Administration

Network and System Administration Slide #1

 Chapter 1

Introduction to Network & System

Administration

Network and System Administration Slide #2

 Topics
1. What is Network & system administration?
2. Objectives/Goals, Challenges and Common
Practices
3. What do sysadmins do?
4. Principles and First Steps
5. Organizations and Certifications

Network and System Administration Slide #3

 What is Network and system
administration?
Network and system administration is a branch of
engineering that concerns the operational management of
human–computer systems.
It is about putting together a network of computers
(workstations, PCs and supercomputers), getting them
running and then keeping them running in spite of the
activities of users who tend to cause the systems to fail.

Network and System Administration Slide #4

 Scope of Network administration

 The management of a network, usually called network

administration, consists of procedures and services that keep
the network running properly.
 An important part of network management entails making
sure that the network is available (or up and running as IT
professionals say) when employees and managers need it.
Other admin activities are:
 Monitoring the network capacity to ensure that all
transmission requirements can be met.
Network and System Administration Slide #5
 Scope of Network administration
 Adding capacity to the network by increasing band width
interconnecting additional modes, or creating and
interconnecting additional networks.
 Training people to use the network effectively
 Assisting IT professionals in organizational applications
that will make good use of the network’s capabilities.
 Backing up the network software and data regularly to
protect against the failure of network or any of its
components

Network and System Administration Slide #6

 Scope of Network administration
 Putting security procedures in place to make certain that
only authorized users have access to the network and
ensuring that all security procedures are followed
 Making sure the network personnel can respond quickly and
effectively in the event of a network operational or security
failure.
 Diagnosing and troubleshooting problems on the network
and determining the best course of action to take to solve
them.

Network and System Administration Slide #7

 The goal of Network administration
 The goal is to keep the network running properly and
configuring and managing services that are provided over
the network.
 There are many services that we use regularly.
 There are some which work in the background enabling
other services to run smoothly.

Network and System Administration Slide #8

 The goal of Network administration
 The goal is to keep the network running properly and
configuring and managing services that are provided over
the network.
 There are many services that we use regularly.
 There are some which work in the background enabling
other services to run smoothly.

Network and System Administration Slide #9

 The challenges of system
administration
System administration is not just about installing
operating systems.
It is about planning and designing an efficient
community of computers so that real users will be able
to get their jobs done.
• Designing a network which is logical and efficient.
• Deploying large numbers of machines which can be
easily upgraded later.

Network and System Administration Slide #10

 The challenges of system
administration
• Deciding what services are needed.
• Planning and implementing adequate security.
• Providing a comfortable environment for users.
• Developing ways of fixing errors and problems
which occur.
• Keeping track of and understanding how to use the
enormous amount of knowledge which increases every
year.
Network and System Administration Slide #11
 What is a system?
System: An organized collection of computers
interacting with a group of users.

Servers PCs

run on
run on

Network

Services Users
help to accomplish work

Network and System Administration Slide #12

 System State
System policy: specification of a system’s
configuration and its acceptable usage.
System state S(t): the current configuration (files,
kernel, memory or CPU usage) of a system.
Ideal states S*(t): states of the system that match the
system policy. Over time, the system state shifts
away from the ideal state.
System administration: modifying the system to
bring it closer to S*(t).

Network and System Administration Slide #13

 What do sysadmins do?
Small org: sysadmin can be entire IT staff
– Phone support
– Order and install software and hardware
– Fix anything that breaks from phones to servers
– Develop software
Large org: sysadmin is one of many IT staff
– Specialists instead of “jack of all trades”
– Database admin, Network admin, Fileserver admin, Help
desk worker, Programmers, Logistics

Network and System Administration Slide #14

 Common Activities
1. Add and remove users.
2. Add and remove hardware.
3. Perform backups.
4. Install new software systems.
5. Troubleshooting.
6. System monitoring.
7. Auditing security.
8. Help users.
9. Communicate.
Network and System Administration Slide #15
 User Management
Creating user accounts
– Consistency requires automation
– Startup (dot) files
Namespace management
– Usernames and UIDs
– Multiple namespaces or SSI?
Removing user accounts
– Consistency requires automation
– Many accounts across different systems

Network and System Administration Slide #16

 Hardware Management
Adding and removing hardware
– Configuration, cabling, etc.
Purchase
– Evaluate and purchase servers + other hardware
Capacity planning
– How many servers? How much bandwidth, storage?
Data Center management
– Power, racks, environment (cooling, fire alarm)
Virtualization
– When can virtual servers be used vs. physical?
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 Backups
Backup strategy and policies
– Scheduling: when and how often?
– Capacity planning
– Location: on-site vs. off-site.
Monitoring backups
– Checking logs
– Verifying media
Performing restores when requested

Network and System Administration Slide #18

 Software Installation
Automated consistent OS installs
– Desktop vs. server OS image needs.
Installation of software
– Purchase, find, or build custom software.
Managing software installations
– Distributing software to multiple hosts.
– Managing multiple versions of a software pkg.
Patching and updating software

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 Troubleshooting
Problem identification
– By user notification
– By log files or monitoring programs
Tracking and visibility
– Ensure users know you’re working on problem
– Provide an ETA if possible
Finding the root cause of problems
– Provide temporary solution if necessary
– Solve the root problem to permanently eliminate

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 System Monitoring
Automatically monitor systems for
– Problems (disk full, error logs, security)
– Performance (CPU, mem, disk, network)
Provides data for capacity planning
– Determine need for resources
– Establish case to bring to management

Network and System Administration Slide #21

 Helping Users
Request tracking system
– Ensures that you don’t forget problems.
– Ensures users know you’re working on their
problem; reduces interruptions, status queries.
– Lets management know what you’ve done.
User documentation and training
– Policies and procedures
Schedule and communicate downtimes

Network and System Administration Slide #22

 Communicate
Customers
– Keep customer appraised of process.
• When you’ve started working on a request with ETA.
• When you make progress, need feedback.
• When you’re finished.
– Communicate system status.
• Uptime, scheduled downtimes, failures.
– Meet regularly with customer managers.
Managers
– Meet regularly with your manager.
– Write weekly status reports.
Network and System Administration Slide #23
 Specialized Skills
Heterogeneous Environments
Integrating multiple-OSes, hardware types, or network
protocols, distributed sites.
Databases
SQL RDMS
Networking
Complex routing, high speed networks, voice.
Security
Firewalls, authentication, NIDS, cryptography.
Storage
NAS, SANs, cloud storage.
Virtualization and Cloud Computing
VMware, cloud architectures.
Network and System Administration Slide #24
 Qualities of a Successful Sysadmin
Customer oriented
– Ability to deal with interrupts, time pressure
– Communication skills
– Service provider, not system police
Technical knowledge
– Hardware, network, and software knowledge
– Debugging and troubleshooting skills
Time management
– Automate everything possible.
– Ability to prioritize tasks: urgency and importance.
Network and System Administration Slide #25
 First Steps to Better SA
Use a request system.
– Customers know what you’re doing.
– You know what you’re doing.
Manage quick requests right
– Handle emergencies quickly.
– Use request system to avoid interruptions.
Policies
– How do people get help?
– What is the scope of responsibility for SA team?
– What is our definition of emergency?
Start every host in a known state.
Network and System Administration Slide #26
 Principles of SA
Simplicity
– Choose the simplest solution that solves the entire problem.
– Work towards a predictable system.
Clarity
– Choose a straightforward solution that’s easy to change, maintain,
debug, and explain to other SAs.
Generality
– Choose reusable solutions that scale up; use open protocols.
Automation
– Use software to replace human effort.
Communication
– Be sure that you’re solving the right problems and that people know
what you’re doing.
Basics First
– Solve basic infrastructure problems before advanced ones.
Network and System Administration Slide #27
 Organizations
USENIX: Advanced Computing Systems
Association
LISA: Large Installation System
Administration
SAGE: System Administration Guild
LOPSA: League of Professional System
Administrators

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 Types of Sites
Small
2-10 computers, 1 OS, 2-20 users.
Small staff size requires outsourcing to obtain most
specialized skills.
Midsized
11-100 computers, 1-3 OSes, 21-100 users.
Large
100+ computers, multiples OSes, 100+ users
Outsources to reduce costs, some specializations.

Network and System Administration Slide #29

 Certifications
• CCNA, CCNP, CCIE (Cisco)
• cSAGE (SAGE)
• MCSA (Microsoft)
• RHCE (Red Hat)
• SCSA (Sun)
• VCP (VMware)

Network and System Administration Slide #30

 Overview of the OSs
• An interface between users and hardware - an
environment "architecture”
• Allows convenient usage; hides the tedious stuff
• Allows efficient usage; parallel activity, avoids
wasted cycles
• Provides information protection
• Gives each user a slice of the resources
• Acts as a control program.
Network and System Administration Slide #31
 Overview of the OSs
Some Basic functions of any operating system.
Memory management, Resource scheduling &
Deadlock protection
• Time Sharing - multiprogramming environment
that's also interactive.
• Multiprocessing - Tightly coupled systems that
communicate via shared memory. Used for
scientific applications. Used for speed improvement
by putting together a number of off-the-shelf
processors.Network and System Administration Slide #32
 Overview of the OSs
Some Basic functions of any operating system.
• Distributed Systems - Loosely coupled systems
that communicate via message passing. Advantages
include resource sharing, speed up, reliability,
communication.
• The following are some flavors of operating system.
• Windows, Linux or Unix, Android, IOS &
Macintosh….

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Overview of the OSs

Network and System Administration Slide #34

Overview of the OSs

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 Unix Systems Vs Windows Systems
Linux: Linux could be a free and open supply OS
supported operating system standards.
It provides programming interface still as programmes
compatible with operating system primarily based
systems.
UNIX OS additionally contains several developed
parts, leading to UNIX operating system that is totally
compatible and free from proprietary code.
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 Unix Systems Vs Windows Systems
Windows: Windows may be a commissioned OS
within which ASCII text file is inaccessible.
It’s designed for the people with the angle of getting
no programming information and for business and
alternative industrial users.
It’s terribly straightforward and simple to use.

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 Unix Systems Vs Windows Systems
no Linux Windows
Linux is a open source While windows are the not the
1.
operating system. open source operating system.

2. Linux is free of cost. While it is costly.

While it’s file name is case-

3. It’s file name case-sensitive.
insensitive.

In linux, monolithic kernel is While in this, micro kernel is

4.
used. used.

Linux is more efficient in While windows are less

5.
comparison of windows. efficient.
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 Unix Systems Vs Windows Systems

There is forward slash is used While there is back slash is used

6.
for Separating the directories. for Separating the directories.

Linux provides more security While it provides less security

7.
than windows. than linux.

Linux is widely used in

While windows does not provide
8. hacking purpose based
much efficiency in hacking.
systems.

There are 3 types of user There are 4 types of user account

account – –
9.
(1) Regular , Network
(2) Root , (3) (1) Administrator , (2) Standard
and System Administration Slide #39
Service account , (3) Child , (4) Guest
 Unix Systems Vs Windows Systems
Root user is the super
Administrator user has all
user and has all
10. administrative privileges of
administrative
computers.
privileges.
Linux file naming
convention in case
sensitive. Thus, sample In Windows, you cannot
11. and SAMPLE are 2 have 2 files with the same
different files in name in the same folder.
Linux/Unix operating
system.
Network and System Administration Slide #40
Difference Between Linux &Windows
Parameters Linux Windows
Case Sensitivity The file system in The file system in
Linux is very case- Windows is not case-
sensitive. sensitive.
Cost Incurred Linux is free to use Windows do not come
for everyone. free for any user.

Open Source It is open source. It is not open source.

Type of Kernel Used Linux utilizes the Windows uses the
monolithic kernel. micro-kernel.
Path Separator The path separator The path separator
that Linux uses is that Windows uses is
Slash.
Network and System Administration
backward slash.
Slide #41
Difference Between Linux &Windows
Efficiency In the case of For operations,
operations, Linux Windows are
is way more comparatively way
efficient than less efficient than
Windows. Linux.
Security It is more secure It provides much
than Windows OS. less security to its
users than Linux.
Uses in Hacking People generally Windows is not a very
use Linux for the efficient OS for
hacking purposes as
systems that are
compared toSlide
Linux.
hacking-based.
Network and System Administration #42
Linux Kernel
Supporting features and programs
• Usually tailored to a particular purpose
With so many options, it is easy to find the perfect
solution.

Network and System Administration Slide #43

• Red Hat: One of the earliest players in the game,
Red Hat now position itself strongly in the business
market. It has created a community-supported
distribution, Fedora Core, which is the choice of
many for desktop use.
• Debian: The most popular community-created
distribution. Debian is an excellent choice for server
environments. Debian has also been used as the base
for many specialist distributions.
Network and System Administration Slide #44
• Ubuntu: Desktop usability, out of the box. Taglined
"Linux for human beings,” Based on Debian.
• SUSE: Novell's answer to Red Hat, comes in
“enterprise” and a community-based OpenSUSE

• All Distributions have their respective

strengths.

Network and System Administration Slide #45

Ubuntu
• Focuses on usability.
• Offered by Dell on many of their products
• Offers Firefox, Openoffice, Games
• Variations of Ubuntu:
– Edubuntu, a distribution designed for classrooms using
GNOME
– Kubuntu, a desktop distribution using KDE rather than
GNOME
Network and System Administration Slide #46
 – Xubuntu, a "lightweight" distribution based on the Xfce
desktop environment instead of GNOME
– Mythbuntu, a distribution that is tied heavily to MythTV
– Ubuntu Studio, a multimedia-creation flavor of Ubuntu
• REDHAT:-RH Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is targeted
toward the commercial market, including
mainframes.
• Includes software for database management:
– Linux 2.6.18 Apache 2.2.3 MySQL 5.0.22
– PHP 5.1.6 PostgreSQL 8.1.4 GNOME 2.16
Network and System Administration Slide #47
 Linux File system Hierarchy
The filesystem hierarchy standard(FHS) defines the main
directories and their contents in Linux operating systems.
FHS is maintained by Linux foundation.
File system is a method of storing and organizing computer
files and their data.
Essentially, it organizes these files into a database for
storage, organization, manipulation and retrieval by the
computer’s operating system.
It is also the way in which files are named and where they
placed logically for storage and retrieval.
Network and System Administration Slide #48
 Linux File system Hierarchy
Generally the following are some examples of files
systems both from windows and Linux.
Fat12, Fat16, Fat32,NTFS,Ext4,Ext3,Ext2 journaling
file systems.
The structure of the Linux or Windows file system can
be visualized as a tree with its roots and all.
All Linux file system appears under the root (/)
directory.
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 Linux File system

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 Linux File system (/bin)

It stands for Binary.

Contains the useful command which are used by
everyone in terminal.
Contains shells like bash, csh etc as well as much used
commands like cp, mv, rm, cat, ls.

Network and System Administration Slide #51

 Linux File system (/boot)

Contains the boot loader files.

Grub and linux kernels are some of the files in this
directory.
/dev
Stands for devices and highlights one important
characteristics of the linux filesystem- everything is a
file or a directory.
No real subfolders.
Network and System Administration Slide #52
 Linux File system (/dev)

When you first bootup the computer it detects your

hardware and place folder and files representing your
hardware in the dev directories.
/etc
Configuration files get stored here.
More importantly, the /etc/rc.d directory contains the
system startup scripts.

Network and System Administration Slide #53

 Linux File system (/etc)

This is a good directory tp backup often.

Saves lot of re-configuration later if you re-install or
lose your current installation.
/home
Linux is a multi-user environment so each user is also
assigned a specific directory which is accessible only
to them and the system administrator.
Contains saved files, personal settings, etc.
Network and System Administration Slide #54
 Linux File system

/media
Mount point for removable disk like cdrom, pendrive.
/mnt
Mount point for temporary mounted file system.
Mounting is the process by which you make a
filesystem available to the system.

Network and System Administration Slide #55

 Linux File system(/opt)

This directory contains all the software and add-on

packages that are not part of the default installation.
Mostly used as a standard in unix installations.
/root
It is the home directory of the user root.
But it is not the system root.

Network and System Administration Slide #56

 Linux File system(/proc)

Pseudo file system residing in the virtual memory.

Maintains highly dynamic data on the state of your
operating system.
A new /proc file system is created every time your
Linux machine reboots.
Everything regarding your hardware like Bluetooth,
different slots, bus etc is stored in it.

Network and System Administration Slide #57

 Linux File system(/sbin)

Contains binary (executable) files usually for system

administration.
This directory contains all the binaries that are
essential to the working of the system.
/temp
This directory contains mostly files that are required
temporarily.
Is cleared out at boot or at shutdown.
Network and System Administration Slide #58
 Linux File system(/usr)

Unix system resources

Lot of sbdirectories
Shared data, library, binary, application will be
located.
Secondary hierarchy for read only user data:contains
the majority of multi-user utilities and applications.

Network and System Administration Slide #59

 Linux File system(/var)

Variable files whose content is expected to continually

changed during normal operation of the system such
as logs, spool files and temporary e-mail files.
Sometimes separate partition.

Network and System Administration Slide #60

 Unix File and Directory Permissions

Most file systems have methods to assign permissions

or access rights to specific users and groups of users.
These system control the ability of the users to view,
change, navigate and execute the contents of the file
system.
Permissions on the Linux systems are managed in
three distinct scopes or classes.
These scopes are known as users, groups or others.
Network and System Administration Slide #61
 Unix File and Directory Permissions

File and directory permissons in Linux has either

Absolute Mode(421) or Symbolic Mode (rwx)
Permissions.
There are three types of users in Linux.
Owner- owner of the file or directory.
Group- group of related users.
All/Other- other users.

Network and System Administration Slide #62

 Unix File and Directory Permissions

There are basically three types of permissions both for

file and directory.
Read- read the file or list files in the directory.
Write- add new content to a file or add new files to the
directory.
Execute- access the contents of a file or access files in
the directory.

Network and System Administration Slide #63

 Unix File and Directory Permissions

chmod command:- can be used to change different

permission configurations.
chmod assignment_expression filename
Assignment expression comprises
Category of users
Granting or denial of permission
Types of users
Network and System Administration Slide #64
Unix File and Directory Permissions

Network and System Administration Slide #65

Unix File and Directory Permissions

Network and System Administration Slide #66

 Unix File and Directory Permissions

Example: 1. chmod u + r filename (grants read

permission for a single user)
Example: 2. chmod u+rw,g=x,o-w filename (grants
read and write permission for multiple users)
Octal notation
chmod 761 filename chmod u rwx,g=rw,o=x filename
.

Network and System Administration Slide #67

 Unix File and Directory Permissions

In Linux files have 8 attributes that can be seen with

ls- l command.
root@chunpc# ls –l sysadmin
- rw-r--r– 1 root root 1229 sept 2012:20sysadmin

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Unix File and Directory Permissions

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 Unix File and Directory Permissions

Some examples of chmod commands

chmod 642 sysadmin
This gives the owner read and write group read and
the other users write permission.
To change the ownership of files and directory we can
use the chown command.
Example: chown (options) newowner file or directory
name.
Network and System Administration Slide #70
 Essential Shell Commands

Computer understands the language of 0’s and 1’s

called binary language.
Shell accepts your instruction or commands in Human
readable language and translates it into computer
native binary language.

Network and System Administration Slide #71

 Types of shells
There are two major types of shell in UNIX.
1. The Bourne shell (includes sh, ksh and bash)
2. The C shell (includes csh and tcsh)

Network and System Administration Slide #72

File and directory navigation commands
There many file and directory handling commands in
linux.
Examples: cp, rm, mv, ls, mkdir, pwd, cd, cat, grep,
tail, less,man,chmod,chown,tar,find,wget…and so on.

Network and System Administration Slide #73

 Init, Processes, and Threads
Operating system functions within user process.
There are two modes of execution.
User mode and Kernel mode
There are two types of processes.
System processes (execute OS code)
User processes (Executes user program code)
System call is used to transfer from user mode to
system mode.
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Init, Processes, and Threads

Network and System Administration Slide #75

 Init, Processes, and Threads
A thread is an execution unit generated in a single
process.
It runs parallel with other threads in the same process.
They can share the same resources such as memory,
address space, open files and so on.

Network and System Administration Slide #76