01 IntroMaterial
01 IntroMaterial
Introduction to System
Administration
Chris Kelly
[email protected]
1
Goal of This Course
• The goals of this course are
o To teach you how to setup and configure a Linux Server
o To learn some of the basic management principles involved in
system administration
• The goal of this lecture is to let you know how this course
will be conducted
Format of the Course
• This is a lab course
o I will speak briefly at the beginning of each class
o but most of the class time you will spend setting up a Linux server
• I will be here to help you with any issues that may arise
• HINT: When issues do arise, it is to your great benefit to
resolve them sooner, rather than later.
• The bulk of the course will consist of your lab reports for a
series of projects, working in teams of two
o Each team will choose a Windows machine in this Lab
Format of the Course
o On that machine you will be running VMWare
▪ VMWare is virtualization software
▪ You will setup and configure a virtual Ubuntu server using VMWare
o Though you will be working on the projects in pairs, you will be
graded individually
o Each of you must keep an ongoing record of what you are doing
in the form of lab reports
• Also, you will need to read a number of chapters in The
Practice of System and Network Administration, and submit
summaries of what you have read
Format of the Course
• In addition to the aforementioned, there will also be:
o Individual assignments
o Midterm exam
o Final exam
• The exams' questions will be taken/derived from material
covered in...
o Lectures
o The Petersen textbook
Projects
• The core of this course is your work on a series of projects
• You will be working in teams
o Each team will consist of two people, no more and no less
▪ The only exception will be if there is an odd number of students in the
class
▪ In this event, one student will work alone
o You and your teammate will choose a machine in this lab.
▪ The machine will be one of eight: it21 - it28
▪ You will choose your team and machine via the provided sign-up sheet
• There, you will use VMWare to create a virtual Ubuntu
server on this machine
Projects
• Depending on your course section and chosen machine,
you will be assigned a team name -- which will be on the
sign-up sheet, as well.
• In the first project, you will create a basic Ubuntu server
installation
• Through subsequent projects, you will add more and more
features and services to this installation
• You will become more comfortable and familiar with
o the server...
o and its components
Administrator's Log
• One of the most important things you can learn from this
course, is the importance of keeping a written record of
what you have done
• A system administrator will usually do this in the form of an
administrator's log
• When you change a machine you administer - or something
significant happens on it - you should make a note in your
admin log
• Changes to a machine's configuration can cause problems,
that may not appear until months afterwards
Administrator's Log
• If you forget what you changed and when, you will
struggle figuring out what to do next
• This is particularly important when you solve a problem
o First,
if the problem occurs again, the existence of a
previously documented solution will save you the trouble of
looking it up again
o Second, the solution could affect other aspects of the system,
making a clear record even more important
Lab Reports
• For IT341, you must keep an administrator's log - which will
consist of the "daily entry" portions of your lab reports
• Each lab report will be due by a particular date and time -
to be eligible for credit.
• Each team member must write his or her own lab reports
separately
o Even though you are working together and documenting the
same things
o Even though you may share data such as command line output
and rough notes
Lab Reports
o Duplicated text (other than command line output) between team
members' lab reports will be considered plagiarism
• These must be kept in your it341/reports directory,
inside your home directory on the CS department network -
not on your VM!
• The lab reports must be text files (report_XX.txt)
o XX stands for the project number
o For a single-digit project number
▪ XX will be the project number preceded by a 0
▪ Example: report_05.txt
Lab Reports
o For a double-digit project number
▪ XX will be the project number
▪ Example: report_11.txt
o When you are signed into Linux, the file paths will probably look
something like this: ~/it341/reports/report_XX.txt
• You should make an entry in the log for each day you work
on the machine
o This work will usually be done during class
▪ ...but you may sometimes come in outside of regular class meetings or
work remotely
▪ Regardless, that day's work should get an entry
Lab Reports
o While working, you may choose to keep rough notes
▪ ...but those are to help you remember what you did and recall
observations.
▪ The entries in your lab report should be more refined!
▪ You should complete your entries as soon as possible, after doing the
work.
o Note: There is no need to include class notes in your log, nor
should you do so - except as it pertains directly to project work.
• In addition to the daily entries, at the end of each lab
report, you will answer a series of discussion questions.
Lab Reports
• Read the lab report specifications for further details
• There is a link to the specifications on the class web page,
under the Course Components section
Individual Assignments
• Although you will work on the projects as a team of two,
each of you must complete occasional individual
assignments by yourself
• They are not technically "homework", but you may be able
to finish some of them at home
• You will find the list of assignments on the course web page
• You will work on the first assignment today (or next class
period) after I have finished speaking
Individual Assignments
• The first assignment is to
o complete the Unix Apply Process for this course
o set up a special text file for e-mail
o send me an introductory e-mail