NSSA221 Systems Administration I

Lab 06 Report

Name: _____Vaishnavi Mangnale___________________________________

Grade ____/50

Requirements:
Use this document to answer questions related to Lab 06. Submit this template to the LR06 drop box by the due
date. Late submissions are subject to a 20% penalty. You must use this template and submit the document in Microsoft
Word any other format will result in a zero grade for the report.

When submitting your material, please use the following format; LR06, followed by an underscore, and the first initial of
your first name in uppercase, and your entire last name with the first letter in uppercase. Example:
LR06_GArcoraci.docx.

Answer ALL questions in your OWN words. Your answer should give some indication that you understand the topic in
question and can relate it to your experience in the lab, and not a general textbook answer. DO NOT copy and paste or
plagiarize. You may use an outside resource and cite it accordingly to support your answer, but it should NOT be your
entire answer.

Your answers must be complete sentences and use proper sentence structure. Phrases or one word responses will
receive a zero.

1. (10 points) What is the function of the Document Root statement in the Apache configuration file? By default,
where is the document root located? If you needed to change the document root, what would you do? What
statement in the Apache configuration file tells the server what port to listen for HTTP traffic on?

The directory that the server searches for files that will be served to clients that request them is specified by the
Document Root statement in the Apache configuration file. On a Linux system, the document root is found in
the /var/www/html/ directory by default. You must adjust the value of the Document Root directive in the
Apache configuration file to the required directory path in order to alter the document root.
The Listen directive in the Apache configuration file instructs the server on which port to watch for HTTP traffic.
The server will listen on this port number and IP address for incoming HTTP requests.

2. (10 points) Explain how keys are used to protect the server and the client? What is the significance of the key
size?

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 By offering a safe means for encrypting and decrypting data exchanged between them, keys are utilized to
protect the server and client. To guarantee the secrecy and integrity of data, they are incorporated into a
number of cryptographic techniques, including SSL/TLS. A longer key offers a higher level of security since it is
more challenging to crack using brute force assaults or other cryptographic attacks, making key size important

3. (10 points) Explain the role of the self-signed certificate setup in the Apache server that was set up in lab.
Explain how self-signed, local, and certificates issued from a Certificate Authority are different operationally.

By encrypting the data sent between the client and server, the self-signed certificate setup in the Apache server
that was set up in the lab is utilized to provide a secure connection between both. Unlike certificates signed by a
reputable Certificate Authority, self-signed certificates are generated by the server. They offer a fundamental
level of security, but they are not as secure as certificates issued by trustworthy CAs that are independently
reviewed. The server and clients in a local network trust the local CA that issues local certificates.

4. (10 points) What are the roles of the Mail User Agent, the Mail Delivery Agent, and the Mail Transfer Agent in an
email system? Include in your answer the protocols that are used. And the screenshots that you capture in lab.

Users can compose, send, receive, and manage emails using the Mail User Agent (MUA), an email client
application. Delivering email messages to the recipient's mailbox on the mail server is the responsibility of the
Mail Delivery Agent (MDA). The SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) protocol is one of many that the Mail
Transfer Agent (MTA) uses to route email messages between mail servers. The screenshots taken in the lab
demonstrate the use of the Postfix MTA.

5. (5 points) Using the information in the rsyslog configuration file, or the man pages explain why the two
statements in the configuration file were uncommented in the lab. In other words what do they do?

The two rsyslog configuration file statements that were left uncommented in the lab are:

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 $ModLoad imudp

$UDPServerRun 514

These commands allow the rsyslog daemon to listen on port 514 for incoming syslog messages via the UDP
protocol. The imudp module, which supports UDP-based syslog receipt, is loaded in the first sentence, and the
second step configures the rsyslog daemon to listen on port 514 for incoming syslog messages.

6. (5 points) Explain the similarities or differences between cron, at, and anacron on a Linux system. Provide an
example, of where it would be advantageous to use one over the other.

On a Linux system, scheduling tasks to run at particular periods or intervals uses the scheduling tools cron, at,
and anacron. Cron is used to schedule ongoing processes that run at predetermined intervals, like daily or
weekly backups. When one-time tasks need to run at a certain time in the future, at is utilized. Anacron is used
to schedule things like system maintenance that need to happen frequently but may not happen on a regular
basis.
If you want to schedule a backup to run every day at the same time, for instance, you would use cron rather
than the other option. If you wish to plan a one-time backup to start at a particular time. If you want to schedule
a periodic task that should run even if the system is not running at the scheduled time, you would use anacron.

Place the screenshots for Lab 06 below. For each missing screenshot, you will receive a 7% penalty ( 100 total
points / 14 questions) on the report grade. If your screenshots do not include the required information, are
illegible, blurry, or otherwise unreadable, you will not receive credit. Any attempt to alter the information in the
screenshots in any way is academic dishonesty, and you will receive a zero grade for the report.

All screenshots must be labeled using the following titles.

Figure 1 – Apache Server Verification

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 Figure 2 – DNS CNAME Resource Record Configuration

Figure 3 – Default Site

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 Figure 4 – First Virtual Host Site

Figure 5 – Second Virtual Host Site

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 Figure 6 – Secure Default Virtual Host Site

Figure 7 – SSL Virtual Host Validation

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 Figure 8 – Sent Email Verification

Figure 9 – Received Email Verification

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 Figure 10 – SMTP Network Trace

Figure 12 – Rsyslog Message Verification

Figure 13 – Cronjob List Validation

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 Figure 14 – Cronjob Message Verification

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