This unit will provide students with fundamentals and theoretical foundations of network and systems administration. In addition, students will acquire practical skills needed to plan, provide and manage networks through laboratory activities and projects.
This unit covers the following topics: Network administration scope, goals, and philosophy; IT system components and network structures; host computer and user management; standards, technology and protocols; managing networked devices; management issues: planning, implementation, fault diagnosis and performance; network documentation; security and administration; provision and management of common network and application services.
2 hrs lectures/wk, 2 hrs laboratories/wk
Students will be expected to spend a total of 12 hours per week during semester on this unit. This will include:
CPE3012, CPE5013, CSE3153, CPE2009, FIT3149
One of CPE1007, CPE2002, CSE2318, CSE3318, FIT1005, FIT1031, FIT2008 or equivalent
Jefferson Tan
Jefferson Tan
Mohan Das
Elsa Phung
At the completion of this unit students will have -
A knowledge and understanding of:
Examination (2 hours): 40%; In-semester assessment: 60%
| Assessment Task | Value | Due Date |
|---|---|---|
| Network Administration Project | 30% | Week 12 |
| Tutorial/Lab Assessments | Total of 30% spread across several tutorial/lab assessments. | During tutorials of Week 4 through to Week 9 |
| Examination 1 | 40% | To be advised |
Monash is committed to excellence in education and regularly seeks feedback from students, employers and staff. One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through SETU, Student Evaluation of Teacher and Unit. The University's student evaluation policy requires that every unit is evaluated each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the surveys. The feedback is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied and areas for improvement.
For more information on Monash's educational strategy, and on student evaluations, see:
http://www.monash.edu.au/about/monash-directions/directions.html
http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/quality/student-evaluation-policy.html
If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to
https://emuapps.monash.edu.au/unitevaluations/index.jsp
You will need access to the following software:
PDFCreator and freeware Unix flavors such as Linux or FreeBSD can be downloaded from the Internet. Information on how to download and install them will be made available via the unit website. 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).
VMware Player and Server for Microsoft Windows and Linux may still be free to download but it appears that only a commercial version (VMware Fusion) exists for Mac OS X. Free Linux-based "appliances" can be downloaded from the VMware marketplace. However, Mac OS X does have an underlying UNIX flavor beneath, and may be sufficient in itself. But care must be taken to retain regular backups in case experiments with Unix services go awry.
Using VMs is preferred over installing directly onto your hard disk, as it avoids risks to your hard disk's existing platform and partition table. On the other hand, more adventurous users may wish to try direct installation of Linux as a second boot option, but great care must be taken to prepare backups of all data or Windows images, in case something goes wrong.
| Week | Date* | Activities | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 21/02/11 | No formal assessment or activities are undertaken in week 0 | |
| 1 | 28/02/11 | Introduction to Network Administration | |
| 2 | 07/03/11 | System and Network Components | |
| 3 | 14/03/11 | TCP/IP Networking | |
| 4 | 21/03/11 | TCP/IP Network Administration | Assessment Task 2 commences during tutorials of Week 4 through to Week 9 |
| 5 | 28/03/11 | TCP/IP Network Services | |
| 6 | 04/04/11 | Electronic Mail and Users | |
| 7 | 11/04/11 | Network Security | |
| 8 | 18/04/11 | Directory Services and Network Monitoring | |
| Mid semester break | |||
| 9 | 02/05/11 | Switching and Routing | |
| 10 | 09/05/11 | Wide Area Networking | |
| 11 | 16/05/11 | Network Maintenance and Operations | |
| 12 | 23/05/11 | Other Network Matters and Revisions | Assessment Task 1: Network Administration Project: demos during Tutorials and Report due Friday |
| 30/05/11 | SWOT VAC | No formal assessment is undertaken SWOT VAC | |
*Please note that these dates may only apply to Australian campuses of Monash University. Off-shore students need to check the dates with their unit leader.
To pass a unit which includes an examination as part of the assessment a student must obtain:
If a student does not achieve 40% or more in the unit examination or the unit non-examination total assessment, and the total mark for the unit is greater than 50% then a mark of no greater than 49-N will be recorded for the unit
The assessment criteria will be released with the assignment details.
Individuals will be required to demonstrate correct configuration, installation, analysis, troubleshooting or operation of one or two network components, which would combine both hardware and software. Partially correct executions of what is required will be awarded partial points. Students may be asked to explain their work as part of assessing the correctness of what was accomplished.
Assignment coversheets are available via
"Student Forms" on the Faculty website: http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/forms/
You MUST submit a completed coversheet with all assignments, ensuring
that the plagiarism declaration section is signed.
Submission must be made by the due date otherwise penalties will be enforced.
You must negotiate any extensions formally with your campus unit leader via the in-semester special consideration process: http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/equity/special-consideration.html.
All references in the project should be identified and properly cited in the project report. Failure to do so may constitute an act of plagiarism if the source material is neither paraphrased sufficiently nor quoted. Additionally clear citation of these references must be given in the text of the report as well as in a separate Bibliography at the end of the report.
Monash has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University's academic standards, and to provide advice on how they might uphold them.
You can find Monash's Education Policies at:
http://policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/academic/education/index.html
Key educational policies include:
The University provides many different kinds of support services for you. Contact your tutor if you need advice and see the range of services available at www.monash.edu.au/students The Monash University Library provides a range of services and resources that enable you to save time and be more effective in your learning and research. Go to http://www.lib.monash.edu.au or the library tab in my.monash portal for more information. Students who have a disability or medical condition are welcome to contact the Disability Liaison Unit to discuss academic support services. Disability Liaison Officers (DLOs) visit all Victorian campuses on a regular basis
READING LIST
Required reference:
Other texts recommended: