Harambee

university
Faculty of Technology
Department of computer science
Chapter 1 :- Introduction to System and Network
Administration
 Chapter content
 1.1 Scope, Goal and Duties of System and Network Administration
1.1.1 General Network/System Administration Tasks
 1.2 Concept Of Server Based Networking
 1.3 Ethical Considerations in System and Network Administration
 1.4 Operating Systems: Windows and UNIX Variant

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 What Is Network & System Administration?

Definition
 Network & system administration is a branch of engineering that concerns
the operational management of human–computer systems.
 It is unusual as an engineering discipline in that it addresses both the
technology of computer systems and the users of the technology on
an equal basis.
what is Network/ System Administrator?
 It is a professional person who is responsible for the physical design,
management of system and network administration.
 responsible for the security and availability of the network services
they manage.

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 what is network administrator.
 It is process of installing, configuring, troubleshooting and
maintaining a network.
 The way to monitor the delivery of information (including data, voice
and video) across a network and protect the network from. internal and
external security threats.
 System:
• It is a combination or an integration of subsystems which are
independent objects, having specific performances to attain the
same goal.
 In the network system, objects that constitute a system are:
– Users
– Hardware resources
– Software resources
– Network expertise/Network
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System Administrators
 System Administrator is a person who manages
daily business computer system with more focus
on multi-user computing environment.
 System administrator in simple manages the
computer systems and servers.

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What is network design?

 Designing a network is an activity where various parameters are evaluated

to arrive at a network design that is optimal for a given set of conditions
and requirements.
 The network administrator chooses a design so that it can
accommodate future needs, upgrades, and expansions.
 Designing a network involves making various decisions
regarding the architecture of the network:
• The LAN and WAN Technologies to be used.
• The transmission media to be used. E.g. UTP cables:
CAT-5 or CAT-5e, thick or thin coaxial cables, etc.
• The cable layout to create high speed backbones.
• The hardware equipment to be used.
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cont’d….
 The Tasks Involved In Making A Network
Design Are:
– Identifying the rationale or basis to perform analysis
– Choosing the method of requirement analysis
– Analyzing the requirements
– Understanding the requirements

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 1.2 General Network/System Administration
Tasks
These tasks are performed by network/system administrator & it includes:
 Installing sever software (windows server OS); i.e., windows sever
2000, 2003 or 2005, 2008, 2012, 2016 etc.
 Configuring active directory users and computers using DCPROMO
utilities.
 Securing network resources (managing network security).
 Configuring and administering network print services.
 Administering the desktop computing environment (managing remote
desktop connectivity).
 Installing and configuring network devices-routers, switches, servers etc.
 IP addressing and sub-netting tasks.
 Verifying /testing network connectivity for error free communication

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Cont’d….
 All these tasks can be categorized in to 3:
1. Managing network accounts
2. Managing network security
3. Managing network performances

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1. Managing network account involves
the following sub tasks:
– Creating user accounts
– Creating group accounts
– Creating computer accounts
– Deleting user and computer accounts
– Renaming user and computer accounts
– Assigning access rights to the users (allow &
deny policies)

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2. Managing Network Security Involves:

A. Securing data stored on the network (server computer)

from external or unauthorized bodies
B. Retrieving data from storage in the event of data loss
 The network administrator must include the following
points as a check list in his network security planning:
– What should be protected?
– From whom it should be protected?
– How likely is the occurrence of the threats or challenges?
– What is the estimated financial loss due to the threats or
challenges?

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Cont’d…
 There are two types of network securities:
1.Physical security: securing hardware resources such as
cables, servers and others from physical damage.
2. Data security – securing network data and software
resources.

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3. Managing network performance
involves:
 Verifying the proper working of network devices such as network
cards, connectivity devices, computers, etc.

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The Key Roles of System and Network
Administrator
1. Documenting The Network And Its Resources:
– Any modification made to the network should be documented
immediately.
– This document contains the following information:
• Type of computer being used.
• The name of computer (assigned by network administrator).
• The IP address of computers.
• Operating system being used on each computer.
2.Educating (Training) network users:
– It involves:
 The proper use of networking and its resources.
 Providing knowledge about virus threats & its solutions.

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Cont’d.......
3. Administering network IP addresses and sub-netting:
– Grouping computers on the basis of department or
functional location.
– Assigning IP address and subnet masks: this can be
done manually using static configuration or dynamically
using DHCP server.
4. Designing a network which is logical and efficient:
– Deciding what services are needed.
– Planning and implementing adequate security.
– Providing a comfortable environment for users.
– Developing ways of fixing erKrors and problems which occur.

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Concept Of Server Based Networking
 In the environment with more than 10 users, a P2P network will not
adequate.
 There is a need to use a dedicated computer/server which optimize or
increase the service of network to clients. This type of networking is
also known as client/server based network.

What Is Client/Server?
 It is a network architecture in which client requests data from server
and the server responds to the request in retrieving the required
information.
– It is the base to manage & to administer networking.
– It is a dedicated computer that provides resources to the
network users.
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Cont’d…..
– It provides shared resources such as:
• Software
• Peripherals
• Files
• Storage devices
Advantages Of Server Based Networking:
• Sharing centralized resources.
• Managing network security.
• Backup purposes.
• Maximizing number of clients in the network.
• High capacity to store data.

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The Main Role of A Network and
System Administrator
 Network and computer systems administrators are responsible for
the day-to-day operation of these networks.
 They organize, install, and support an organization's computer
systems,including locala area networks (LANs), wide area networks
(WANs), network segments,intranets, and other data communication
systems.
As a Network Administrator, your role is :
• Maintain, and upgrade a network of computers, devices, and
servers.
• To essentially build (integrate existing services).

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Cont’d...
 In doing so, you have to keep in mind a
number of things:
– How many users will be using the system?
– What are the network capacity demands?
– What will the network capacity demands reach in the
future?
– What is the geological spread of the network?
– What access controls do you users require?

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Cont’d…
 What sort of devices and hardware do you require?
» Desktops
» Laptops
» Servers (Web, File, Print, DNS, Backup)
– Do you need remote administration?
– How are you going to support your users?

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Network Administrators VS System
Administrators
 Network administrator in simple manages the computer network.
Mainly it looks the computer network devices like router, switch, cables
etc.
 Maintenance window is network.
System administrator in simple manages the computer systems and
servers.
 Maintenance window is server.

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Cont’d
 Network Administrator is a person who maintains
computer infrastructure with more focus on networking.
 System Administrator is a person who manages daily
business computer system with more focus on multi-user
computing environment.

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I. Network Administrator
 A Network Administrator's Main Responsibilities
Include.
 Installs the set-up network Maintains the set-up network.
 To make sure that the network is running with minimal
interruptions.
 Installs and configures LAN and WAN
 Experts in areas like routing, load balancing, proxies, IP
addressing, and VLAN.

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Cont’d
 As a network administrator, there are four
phase of network administration
1. Designing the Network
 The first phase in the life cycle of a network involves creating its
design
 Designing a network involves making decisions about the type of
network that best suits the needs of your organization.

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Cont’d
2.Setting Up the Network
 After the new network is designed, the second phase of network
administration begins, which involves setting up and configuring the
network.

3.Maintaining the Network

The third phase of network administration they
might include:
– Troubleshooting network problems
– Adding new host machines to the network
– Administering network security
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Cont’d
4.Expanding the Network
 This is the fourth phase of the network administration cycle.
 The longer a network is in place and functioning properly, the more
your organization might want to expand its features and services.
 Several options are available for expanding your network:
 Setting up a new network and connecting it to the existing network
using a machine functioning as a router, thus creating an internetwork
 Configuring machines in users' homes or in remote office sites and
enabling these machines to connect over telephone lines to your
network
 Connecting your network to the Internet, thus enabling users on your
network to retrieve information from other systems throughout the
world
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 II. System Administrators
 A System Administrator, Or Sysadmin, is a person who is responsible
for the upkeep, configuration, and reliable operation of computer
system , especially multi-user computers, such as server
 The system administrator seeks to ensure that the uptime
performance resource and security of the computers they manage meet
the needs of the users without exceeding a set budget when doing so.
 The Main Duties and Roles of System Administrator.
 Looks after network security
 Installs software and updates
 Maintains design elements and network components
 To ensure computer systems are in good working condition.

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Cont’d
 Software and hardware installations.
 Data recovery.
 Troubleshooting, and
 Maintenance of software and hardware.

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Ethical Considerations in System and
Network Administration
 Professionalism
 Personal Integrity
 avoid conflicts of interest and biases whenever possible.
 Privacy
 I will access private information on computer systems only when it is
necessary in the course of my technical duties.
 Communication
 communicate with management, users, and colleagues about computer

matters of mutual interest .

 Social Responsibility

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Operating Systems: Windows and
UNIX Variant
What is an Operating System?
 An Operating System (OS) is software that acts as an interface
between computer hardware components and the user.
 An Operating System(O.S.) is a System software that manages the
hardware resources and provides services to the Application software.
Network Operating System
 Network Operating System is a computer operating system that
facilitates to connect and communicate various autonomous computers
over a network.
 The Network O.S. mainly runs on a powerful computer, that runs the
server program.

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Cont’d
 The main advantage of using a network o.s.
 Is that it facilitates the sharing of resources and memory
amongst the autonomous computers in the network.
 remote access.
 It can also facilitate the client computers to access the
shared memory and resources administered by the Server
computer.
 In other words, the Network O.S. is mainly designed to
allow multiple users to share files and resources over the
network.
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Cont’d
 One drawback of Network O.S. is its tightly coupled
nature in the network.
 Some examples of Network O.S. are Novel
Netware, Microsoft Windows server (2000, 2003,
2008), Unix, Linux, etc

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Windows Vs. Linux File System
 In Microsoft Windows, files are stored in folders on
different data drives like C: D: E: But, in Linux, files are
ordered in a tree structure starting with the root
directory.
 This root directory can be considered as the start of the file
system, and it further branches out various other
subdirectories. The root is denoted with a forward slash '/'.

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Cont’d…
A general tree file system on your UNIX may
look like this.

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 Key difference between
windows and Linux file system
·Linux is an open source operating system so user can change source code as per
requirement whereas Windows OS is a commercial operating system so user
doesn’t have access to source code.
·Linux is very well secure as it is easy to detect bugs and fix whereas Windows has
a huge user base, so it becomes a target of hackers to attack windows system.
·Linux runs faster even with older hardware whereas windows are slower compared
to Linux.
·Linux peripherals like hard drives, CD-ROMs, printers are considered files
whereas Windows, hard drives, CD-ROMs, printers are considered as devices
·Linux files are ordered in a tree structure starting with the root directory whereas
in Windows, files are stored in folders on different data drives like C: D: E:
·In Linux you can have 2 files with the same name in the same directory while in
Windows, you cannot have 2 files with the same name in the same folder.
·In Linux you would find the system and program files in different directories
whereas in Windows, system and program files are usually saved in C: drive.
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Cont’d

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 Types of Files
 In Linux and UNIX, everything is a file. Directories are
files, files are files, and devices like Printer, mouse,
keyboard etc.are files.
 Let's look into the File types in more detail.
General Files
 General Files also called as Ordinary files. They can contain image,
video, program or simply text. They can be in ASCII or a Binary
format. These are the most commonly used files by Linux Users.
Directory Files
 These files are a warehouse for other file types. You can have a
directory file within a directory (sub- directory).You can take them as
'Folders' found in Windows operating system.

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Cont’d…
Device Files:
 In MS Windows, devices like Printers, CD-ROM, and hard drives are
represented as drive letters like G: H:. In Linux, there are represented as
files.For example, if the first SATA hard drive had three primary partitions,
they would be named and numbered as /dev/sda1, /dev/sda2 and /dev/sda3.
 Note: All device files reside in the directory /dev/
 All the above file types (including devices) have permissions, which allow a
user to read, edit or execute (run) them. This is a powerful Linux/Unix feature.
Access restrictions can be applied for different kinds of users, by changing
permissions.

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Windows Vs. Linux: Users
There are 3 types of users in Linux.
 Regular
 Administrative(root)
 Service

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Regular User
 A regular user account is created for you when you install
Ubuntu on your system.
 All your files and folders are stored in /home/ which is
your home directory.
 As a regular user, you do not have access to directories of
other users.

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 Root User
 Other than your regular account another user account
called root is created at the time of installation.
 The root account is a superuser who can access restricted
files, install software and has administrative privileges.
Whenever you want to install software, make changes to
system files or perform any administrative task on Linux;
you need to log in as a root user.
 Otherwise, for general tasks like playing music and
browsing the internet, you can use your regular account.

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 Service user
 Linux is widely used as a Server Operating System. Services such as
Apache, Squid, email, etc. have their own individual service accounts.
Having service accounts increases the security of your computer.
 Linux can allow or deny access to various resources depending on the
service.
Note:
 You will not see service accounts in Ubuntu Desktop version.
 Regular accounts are called standard accounts in Ubuntu Desktop

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Cont’d...
In Windows, there are 4 types of user account
types.
 Administrator
 Standard
 Child
 Guest

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Windows Vs. Linux: File Name
Convention
In Windows, you cannot have 2 files with the same
name in the same folder. See below –

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Cont’d
While in Linux, you can have 2 files with the same name in
the same directory, provided they use different cases.

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Windows Vs. Linux: HOME
Directory
 For every user in Linux, a directory is created as /home/
 Consider, a regular user account "Tom".
 He can store his personal files and directories in the directory
"/home/tom". He can't save files outside his user directory and does
not have access to directories of other users.
 For instance, he cannot access directory "/home/jerry" of another user
account"Jerry". The concept is similar to C:\Documents and Settings
in Windows. When you boot the Linux operating system, your user
directory (from the above example /home/tom) is the default working
directory. Hence the directory "/home/tom is also called the Home
directory which is a misnomer. The working directory can be changed
using some commands which we will learn later.

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Windows Vs. Linux: Other
Directories
 In Windows, System and Program files are usually saved in C: drive.
But, in Linux, you would find the system and program files in
different directories.
 For example, the boot files are stored in the /boot directory, and
program and software files can be found under /bin, device files in
/dev.
 Below are important Linux Directories and a short description of what
they contain.

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Cont’d

These are most striking differences between Linux and other Operating Systems.
There are more variations you will observe when switching to Linux and we will
discuss them as we move along in our tutorials.

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Windows Vs. Linux:

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 Thank
You!!
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 Self check Qiuze 10%
1.Write the difference between system
administrator and network administrator
2.What is network O.S and give example
3.Write the difference between window
and linux/unix O.S
4.Write and explain phase of network
administrator
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