This unit guide contains information regarding the intended delivery of this unit. The synopsis, objectives, and broad assessment details for this unit are published in the official university handbook entry.
The sequence of lectures and topics, or the degree of emphasis on particular topics as implied by their inclusion in the topical outline in this unit guide, may be varied during the semester at the discretion of the chief examiner. However, such variations will never compromise the unit objectives.
The unit will provide students with fundamentals and theoretical foundations of Network Administration as well as practical skills needed to plan, provide and manage networks, by presentation of the following topics:
Students will be expected to spend a total of 12 hours per week during semester on this unit. This will include:
Monash is committed to ‘Excellence in education’ (Monash Directions 2025 - http://www.monash.edu.au/about/monash-directions/directions.html) and strives for the highest possible quality in teaching and learning.
To monitor how successful we are in providing quality teaching and learning Monash regularly seeks feedback from students, employers and staff. One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through Unit Evaluation Surveys. The University’s Unit Evaluation policy (http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/quality/unit-evaluation-policy.html) requires that every unit offered is evaluated each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the surveys as they are an important avenue for students to “have their say”. The feedback is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied and areas for improvement.
Faculties have the option of administering the Unit Evaluation survey online through the my.monash portal or in class. Lecturers will inform students of the method being used for this unit towards the end of the semester.
The best opportunity for discussing unit topics is through tutorials and face to face consultations. These are scheduled regularly during the semester. Additional consultation is possible, but please e-mail the lecturer or tutor in order to make an appointment.
The Blackboard/MUSO discussion tool (forum) is another option. In some situations, this will be more appropriate, particularly where the question may be relevant not only the student posing the question. The response time, however, may vary. Lecturers and tutors will endeavor to reply in a timely fashion, but there is no guarantee of immediate electronic replies after hours, whether by e-mail or Blackboard/MUSO.
Monash aims to provide a learning environment in which students receive a range of ongoing feedback throughout their studies. You will receive feedback on your work and progress in this unit. This may take the form of group feedback, individual feedback, peer feedback, self-comparison, verbal and written feedback, discussions (on line and in class) as well as more formal feedback related to assignment marks and grades. You are encouraged to draw on a variety of feedback to enhance your learning.
It is essential that you take action immediately if you realise that you have a problem that is affecting your study. Semesters are short, so we can help you best if you let us know as soon as problems arise. Regardless of whether the problem is related directly to your progress in the unit, if it is likely to interfere with your progress you should discuss it with your lecturer or a Community Service counsellor as soon as possible.
Face to face consultation is generally best, particularly when discussing unit topics. Apart from scheduled consultation hours and tutorials, students may arrange for alternative appointments via e-mail, either with the lecturer or their tutor.
In some situations, Blackboard/MUSO forums via the Discussion Tool will be preferable, particularly where the discussion will benefit not only the student raising the question. While the lecturer and tutors will do their best in responding to forum posts in a timely fashion, there is no guarantee of immediate replies, particularly after hours.
| Week | Topic | Key dates |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to Network Administration | |
| 2 | IT System Components | |
| 3 | System Management | |
| 4 | Configuration Management | Quiz 1 during tutorials |
| 5 | TCP/IP Network Administration | |
| 6 | Methods of Network Administration | |
| Mid semester break | ||
| 7 | Fault Management and Performance Management | Quiz 2 during tutorials |
| 8 | Desktop and Enterprise Management | |
| 9 | Network Security | |
| 10 | Enterprise & DeskTop Management | Quiz 3 during tutorials |
| 11 | Web Based Network Management | |
| 12 | Future of Network Administration | Project demos during tutorials, and report due Friday |
| 13 | Revision and Exam Preparation | |
There are no required texts for this unit. Students are advised to refer to the recommended reading list shown below as specified for each lecture in the notes provided in MUSO.
PDFCreator and freeware Unix flavors such as KNOPPIX and others mentioned can be downloaded from the Internet. The KNOPPIX ISO image must be burned into a CD in order to boot into KNOPPIX Linux. FreeBSD, Fedora Core Linux and other flavors of Linux must likewise be burned into a CD in order to install to one's hard drive. PDFCreator must be installed into one's Windows installation by an administrator.
Note that alternatives for the above may all exist from different sources, e.g., Adobe Acrobat Professional instead of PDFCreator, although the former is a commercial product (and is therefore not free).
Study resources we will provide for your study are:
The FIT5034 web site on MUSO where unit outline, lecture slides, weekly tutorial exercises, assignment specifications, sample solutions and supplementary resource material will be available to registered students.
Web-based Notices and Discussion forum can also be accessed from MUSO site.
A bootable KNOPPIX CDROM distributed to students at the first tutorial and for use as part of some tutorial exercises in Labs.
The Monash University Library site contains details about borrowing rights and catalogue searching. To learn more about the library and the various resources available, please go to http://www.lib.monash.edu.au.
The Educational Library and Media Resources (LMR) is also a very resourceful place to visit at http://www.education.monash.edu.au/library/
Students should also consult with the library reading list, which include some digitized pages from selected references.All unit and lecture materials are available through MUSO (Monash University Studies Online). Blackboard is the primary application used to deliver your unit resources. Some units will be piloted in Moodle. If your unit is piloted in Moodle, you will see a link from your Blackboard unit to Moodle (http://moodle.monash.edu.au) and can bookmark this link to access directly. In Moodle, from the Faculty of Information Technology category, click on the link for your unit.
You can access MUSO and Blackboard via the portal: http://my.monash.edu.au
Click on the Study and enrolment tab, then Blackboard under the MUSO learning systems.
In order for your Blackboard unit(s) to function correctly, your computer needs to be correctly configured.
For example:
For more information, please visit: http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/students/downloadables-student.html
You can contact the MUSO Support by phone : (+61 3) 9903 1268
For further contact information including operational hours, please visit: http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/students/contact.html
Further information can be obtained from the MUSO support site: http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/index.html
Title : Laboratory Quizzes
Description :
Three (3) assessments with marking weights of 10% each will be administered during tutorials in the laboratory, covering theoretical and practical topics covered in previous weeks.
Weighting : 30%
Criteria for assessment :
Due date : The assessments will be held during tutorials of Weeks 4, 7 and 10.
Remarks ( optional - leave blank for none ) :
Title : Network administration project
Description :
Weighting : 70%
Criteria for assessment :
Due date : Practical outcomes will be demonstrated during tutorials from Week 10. Reports will be due on the Friday of that week.
Remarks ( optional - leave blank for none ) :
In order to be a valid submission, the report component of this project must be submitted electronically via Damocles: http://viper.infotech.monash.edu.au/damocles/submit/. Note that Note the following:
The parts of the assignments that require written submission must be delivered to the labelled mailbox at the offices of the Caulfield School of IT office on or before the nominated submission date and time, with the appropriate cover sheet correctly filled out and attached. In addition, the assignments must be submitted as PDF documents via a website that will be provided for that purpose.
The due dates for the submission of assignments are given in the previous section. Please make every effort to submit work by the due dates. It is your responsibility to structure your study program around assignment deadlines, family, work and other commitments. Factors such as normal work pressures, vacations, etc. are seldom regarded as appropriate reasons for granting extensions. Students are advised to NOT assume that granting of an extension is a matter of course.
Requests for extensions must be made to the unit lecturer at your campus at least two days before the due date. You will be asked to forward original medical certificates in cases of illness, and may be asked to provide other forms of documentation where necessary. A copy of the email or other written communication of an extension must be attached to the assignment submissionAssignments received after the due date will be subject to a penalty of 5% per day, including weekends. Assignments received later than one week (seven days) after the due date will not normally be accepted. In some cases, this period may be shorter if there is a need to release sample solutions.
This policy is strict because comments or guidance will be given on assignments as they are returned, and sample solutions may also be published and distributed, after assignment marking or with the returned assignment.
Students can expect assignments to be returned within two weeks of the submission date or after receipt, whichever is later.
Assessment for the unit as a whole is in accordance with the provisions of the Monash University Education Policy at http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/assessment/
We will aim to have assignment results made available to you within two weeks after assignment receipt. Uncollected assignments will be retained by the lecturer after the end of semester. Assignments remaining uncollected by the end of the following semester will be discarded.Plagiarism and cheating are regarded as very serious offences. In cases where cheating has been confirmed, students have been severely penalised, from losing all marks for an assignment, to facing disciplinary action at the Faculty level. While we would wish that all our students adhere to sound ethical conduct and honesty, I will ask you to acquaint yourself with the University Plagiarism policy and procedure (http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/conduct/plagiarism-procedures.html) which applies to students detected plagiarising.
In this University, cheating means seeking to obtain an unfair advantage in any examination or any other written or practical work to be submitted or completed by a student for assessment. It includes the use, or attempted use, of any means to gain an unfair advantage for any assessable work in the unit, where the means is contrary to the instructions for such work.
When you submit an individual assessment item, such as a program, a report, an essay, assignment or other piece of work, under your name you are understood to be stating that this is your own work. If a submission is identical with, or similar to, someone else's work, an assumption of cheating may arise. If you are planning on working with another student, it is acceptable to undertake research together, and discuss problems, but it is not acceptable to jointly develop or share solutions unless this is specified by your lecturer.
Intentionally providing students with your solutions to assignments is classified as "assisting to cheat" and students who do this may be subject to disciplinary action. You should take reasonable care that your solution is not accidentally or deliberately obtained by other students. For example, do not leave copies of your work in progress on the hard drives of shared computers, and do not show your work to other students. If you believe this may have happened, please be sure to contact your lecturer as soon as possible.
Cheating also includes taking into an examination any material contrary to the regulations, including any bilingual dictionary, whether or not with the intention of using it to obtain an advantage.
Plagiarism involves the false representation of another person's ideas, or findings, as your own by either copying material or paraphrasing without citing sources. It is both professional and ethical to reference clearly the ideas and information that you have used from another writer. If the source is not identified, then you have plagiarised work of the other author. Plagiarism is a form of dishonesty that is insulting to the reader and grossly unfair to your student colleagues.
The university requires faculties to keep a simple and confidential register to record counselling to students about plagiarism (e.g. warnings). The register is accessible to Associate Deans Teaching (or nominees) and, where requested, students concerned have access to their own details in the register. The register is to serve as a record of counselling about the nature of plagiarism, not as a record of allegations; and no provision of appeals in relation to the register is necessary or applicable.
The Faculty of Information Technology is committed to the use of non-discriminatory language in all forms of communication. Discriminatory language is that which refers in abusive terms to gender, race, age, sexual orientation, citizenship or nationality, ethnic or language background, physical or mental ability, or political or religious views, or which stereotypes groups in an adverse manner. This is not meant to preclude or inhibit legitimate academic debate on any issue; however, the language used in such debate should be non-discriminatory and sensitive to these matters. It is important to avoid the use of discriminatory language in your communications and written work. The most common form of discriminatory language in academic work tends to be in the area of gender inclusiveness. You are, therefore, requested to check for this and to ensure your work and communications are non-discriminatory in all respects.
Students with disabilities that may disadvantage them in assessment should seek advice from one of the following before completing assessment tasks and examinations:
Deferred assessment (not to be confused with an extension for submission of an assignment) may be granted in cases of extenuating personal circumstances such as serious personal illness or bereavement. Information and forms for Special Consideration and deferred assessment applications are available at http://www.monash.edu.au/exams/special-consideration.html. Contact the Faculty's Student Services staff at your campus for further information and advice.