Samara University

College of Engineering and Technology

Department of Computer Science

Course Title: Network and System Administration

Course Code: CoSc 4036
Credit hours: 3 ECTS: 5 Contact hrs.: 2 Lab hrs.: 3 Tutorial hrs.: 1
Prerequisite: Compulsory
Year: IV Semester: II
Instructor Name: Gebremedhn M.
Office: Registrar Room 30 gmail: [email protected]

Course description

This course deals with the concepts and techniques of systems and network administration. This
course instructs students how to administer and manage a modern network by properly planning
and implementing various functions of a Network OS. Key components include how to plan server
deployment, server monitoring and maintenance, application and data provisioning, and providing
business continuity and availability by proper use of security configuration and backup policies.
The course material is designed to provide extensive hands-on experience. Topics include:
installation and configuration; the boot process; user and group administration; file system
administration, including quotas, FACLs, RAID and LVM; task automation; client networking;
software management; log files; troubleshooting; Emphasis is also given on storage, file
management system, connectivity, security, troubleshooting, archiving, backing up, directory
services, remote administration, access control lists.

Course objectives
By the end of this course, students will be able to:

➢ Understand the concepts, principles, and roles of system and network administration.
➢ Understand how to install/configure Linux operating system

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 ➢ Understand how to build network services to users
➢ Understand how to design/implement small to medium level network administration
➢ Understand how to identify security policies and troubleshooting
➢ Understand how to apply scripting for system administration

Course outline

Chapter 1: Introduction to System & Network Administration (3hr)

1.1 Objectives/Goals, Challenges and Common Practices

1.2 Overview of the OSs

1.3 Unix-like Systems Vs Windows Systems

1.4 Linux Distributions and UIs

1.5 Linux Operations Review

1.5.1 File system Hierarchy and Standard

1.5.1.1 Single-rooted hierarchy, Seamless and Extensible File systems

1.5.1.2 Mounting Additional File systems

1.5.1.3 File system Object Oriented Design and File system Standard

1.5.1.4 Unix File and Directory Permissions

1.5.2 Essential Shell Commands

1.5.2.1 Basic File Manipulation Commands and Directory Navigation Commands

1.5.2.2 Advanced File Manipulation Commands (Init, Processes, and Threads)

1.5.3 Advanced Shell Features

Chapter 2: Account and Security Administration, and Access Control (DAC, RBAC) (3 hr)

2.1 Account and security Administration

2.1.1 User and Group Concepts, and User Private Group Scheme

2.1.2 User Administration, Modifying Accounts and Group Administration

2.1.3 Password Aging and Default User Files

2.2 Managing files and folder permission

2.2.1 Managing File Ownership

2.2.2 Controlling Access to files

2.2.3 Managing Disk Quotas

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Chapter 3: File Systems and Management of Data Storages (4hr)

3.1 File system Administration

3.1.1 Partitioning Disks with fdisk and parted

3.1.2 Creating, Mounting and Maintaining File systems

3.1.3 Swap

3.1.4 Determining Disk Usage With df and du

3.1.5 Configuring Disk Quotas

3.2 Logical Volume Management (LVM) and RAID

3.2.1 Implementing LVM, Creating Logical Volumes (LVs), Manipulating VGs & LVs

3.2.2 Advanced LVM Concepts (i.e. system-config-lvm)

3.2.3 RAID Concepts (Creating and Managing a RAID-5 Array)

Chapter 4: Network Management (6 hr)

4.1 TCP/IP Networking

4.2 Configuring a Linux Box for Networking

4.3 Configuring a Linux Box as a Router

4.4 Configuring a Web Server (Apache)

4.5 Configuring a DNS Server (BIND)

4.6 Configuring Mail Transfer Agents (Postfix)

4.7 Configuring a Proxy Caches (Squid)

4.8 Network Configuration (IP Networking and Linux Network Configuration)

4.9 Network Services

4.9.1 Dynamic Host Control Protocol (DHCP)

4.9.2 Network Time Services and Sharing Desktops with VNC

4.9.3 RPC-Based Services and INET Super Server

4.10 TCP/IP Troubleshooting: ping, traceroute, ifconfig, netstat, ipconfig

4.11 Remote Administration with SSH and SCP

4.11.1 Configuration, Telnet Replacement, Secure Copy and Rsync

4.11.2 RSA and DSA Authentication (Password-less Logins)

4.11.3 Remote Command Execution and Port Forwarding

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Chapter 5: Installation of Application Server and Management (6 hr)

5.1 DHCP, DNS, Telnet server; compare with other NOS setup of corresponding network services

5.2 Open SSH: Secure Network Communication

5.3 FTP and Setting-up Mail Servers and Client

5.4 Network Information Service (NIS) and Sharing File systems (NFS)

5.5 SAMBA: Linux and Windows File and Printer Sharing

5.6 DNS/BIND: Tracking Domain Names and Address

5.7 Setting up a Firewall and a Web server

Chapter 6: Managing Network Services (4 hr)

6.1 Maintenance Troubleshooting: Common System and Network Problems

6.2 Developing General Strategies

6.3 Resolve Boot Problems, Backup and Restore Data and System Volume

6.4 Using Event Viewer and Troubleshoot Connectivity

Chapter 7: Systems Security (4 hr)

7.1 Overview, Application Security and Login Security

7.2 Boot Loader Security (LILO and GRUB)

7.3 TCP Wrappers Configuration

7.4 Iptables Firewalling: Preliminaries

7.5 Iptables Scenarios

7.5.1 Packet Filtering

7.5.2 Port-Forwarding/Redirection and NAT/IP Masquerading

7.6 Packet-Processing Model

7.7 Intrusion Detection and Mandatory Access Control (MAC) with LIDS

Chapter 8 - Analytical system administration (2 hr)

8.1 System observation

8.2 Evaluation methods and problems

8.3 Evaluating a hieratical system

8.4 Faults

8.5 Deterministic and stochastic Behaviors

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Lab Contents:
Window server
Part 1: Server Installation and Configuration

➢ Introducing Windows Server 2016

➢ Installing Windows Server 2016
➢ Configuring Windows Server 2016 Basic Settings
➢ Configuring Server roles and services
➢ Managing hard drives and volumes

Part 2: Network Users, Resources, and Special Server Roles

➢ Understanding and configuring Active Directory Domain services

➢ Creating Active Directory groups, Organizational Units, and Sites
➢ Adding client computers and member servers to the domain
➢ Deploying group policy and network access
➢ Working with network shares and the distributed file system

Part 3: Account and Security Administration, and Access Control

➢ Account and security Administration

➢ Managing files and folder permission

Part 4: Systems Security

➢ TCP Wrappers Configuration

➢ Iptables Firewalling: Preliminaries

Part 5: Analytical system administration

➢ System observation
➢ Evaluation methods and problems

Part 6: Linux Server configuration

➢ Ubuntu or Debian latest version installation

➢ Revising Linux fundamental
➢ Automating tasks using scripting language

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Assessment methods

Mid Exam 30%

Quiz 1 5%
Quiz 2 5%
Project 10%
Final Exam 50%

Text book:

Principles of Network and System Administration, (2nod Edition), John Wiley and Sons Ltd, Mark
Burgess, 2004.
References:
1. The Practice of System and Network Administration: by Thomas A. Limoncelli Christina J.
Hogan, Strata R. Chalup, (3rd Edition)
2. TCP/IP Network Administration” (3rd Edition), O’Reilly and Associates Inc., Craig Hunt, 2002.
3. Running Linux, (5th Edition), O’Reilly and Associates Inc., Matthias Kalle Dalheimer and Matt
Welsh, 2007.
4. Essential System Administration (ESA), Aeleen Frisch, 3rd edition, O'Reilly.
5. Unix and Linux System Administration Handbook'' fourth edition by Nemeth et
6. Linux Fundamentals'', Paul Cobbaut, downloadable from http://linux-training.be.
7. Introducing Windows Server 2016 handbook published by Microsoft Press A division of Microsoft
Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, Washington 98052-6399