CNIT 270 Unix Network Services

Course Description: Configuring and maintaining Unix network services. Designing networks, adding hosts, network services such as DNS, NFS, NIS, e-mail, printing, troubleshooting, and network security. Routing, routing protocols, and configuring routing tables. This class meets a core requirement for the CCSF Unix/Linux Administration Certificate.

Method: This class is taught as a Hybrid class. That means that it meets largely online, and in-person about 1/3 of the time. The in-person meetings include mini-lectures and Q&A to emphasize or clarify difficult areas, in-class exercises to build & assess practical skills, and final exams. (See the Calendar for a schedule of in-person meetings.) Class components include a textbook, online lecture notes, practice exercises, labs, quizzes, and final exams. The online lecture notes complement the book. The lecture notes are less detailed for weeks when we meet in-person. Each week there will be lecture notes, reading from the book, some practice exercises to help understand the concepts, and a lab or quiz to assess your knowledge. Class Accounts: You will have several accounts for this class: one for Insight, our learning management system (based on Moodle), and one or more for unix & linux networks on campus.

Required Text:.

Unix & Linux System Administration Handbook (4th Edition), by Nemeth & al, Prentice Hall, 2011. ISBN: 9780131480056.
You will also want to have a Shell Programming Reference, and Linux System Admin text. Some recommendations are below.

Essential System Administration, 3rd Edition, by Frisch. O'Reilly, 2002. Classic on stand-alone Unix system administration. ISBN: 0596003439 .
Running Linux, 5th Edition, by Dalheimer and Welsh. O'Reilly: 2005. ISBN: 0596007604. Linux installation, GUI configuration, System Admin.
Anything from the "Craig Hunt Library" series.

General Unix Reference (not good enough for Shell Programming):
Linux in a Nutshell, 5th Edition. By Ellen Siever, Stephen Spainhour, Jessica P. Hekman, & Stephen Figgins. O’reilly Press: 2005. ISBN: 0596009305. New edition includes more on GUI configuration and system administration.

Various handouts will be provided or available from ICL. And of course there is lots of Unix documentation on the Web.

Special Note: The class focuses on Unix TCP/IP network administration. Students will have special access to some Unix & Linux networks on campus. As such you will be trusted users and are expected to behave responsibly. Adherence to CCSF usage policies is required, and abuse of privileges may result in loss of your CCSF computer access and failing the class.

Software Policy: It is the policy of CCSF that here will be no copying of copyrighted software (applications) on computers belonging to CCSF.

**Grading**:
Component	Percentage
Quiz Average	20%
Class Participation	10%
Labs	50%
Final Exams	20%

There will be a quiz on each major topic. They are open book and usually multiple choice. You will have two chances to get 70% or better. The lowest quiz score will be dropped. I will post key review terms or concepts for each quiz. There will be approximately ten required and two extra credit labs. I usually post these the labs in Insight, and you turn them in through Inisght. Some labs are completed in class. Most labs will be individual, but there will be some group work. The final exams will be in-class and mostly written, but may also include some brief hands-on testing.

Quiz and Assignment Deadlines: It is important that you keep up with the work, and the deadlines are intended to help you do that. If you cannot finish a lab on time, you can make it up (to a maximum of 2 weeks) provided you complete it before it is discussed online or in class. However, it will be penalized 10% a week. E-mail assignments are due at midnight on the due date. Paper assignments are due within the first 15 minutes of the start of class. Quizzes are available until 11:55 p.m. on their last day. However, please do not wait until the last minutes in case you have a computer problem. No makeups on quizzes, but I drop your lowest quiz score. If there is a problem with the CCSF network and servers, I will adjust the deadlines accordingly.

Communications: This class meets mostly Online, and only sometimes In-Person. Between In-Person classes, E-mail and an Online Discussion Group will be available. Please use e-mail for personal communications, and use the Discussion Group for questions that you would normally ask in class. I will check the online discussion group about every other day. I will also let you know of any necessary schedule changes through the Insight Homepage for our class. Please check our class homepage each week to see the reading, lab & quiz assignments. Also check it before coming to an in-person class. If Insight is down, I will attempt to send a message to your Hills Unix account.
It is important to me that everyone has a chance to participate. My request to those who talk a lot is: Do not talk too often or too long. For those who do not talk much: Please speak up. If you have a question, probably several others have the same question. (This request is for both the Online and In-Person meetings.) We all have different strengths and weaknesses and respect for each other is important. I look forward to your contributions, and our learning together.

Attendance: I value your attendance and participation in class, but do not regularly take role after the second week. Class Starts: 1/17, First In-Person Class: Monday, 1/30. However, if you miss class or do not login to Insight for two consecutive weeks, you may be dropped from the class. If you miss a class, you are responsible for getting any handouts not available on the Web from your classmates. If you need to miss several classes in a row due to an emergency, please let me know, so that I can try to help you with your class work. If you decide to drop the course, it is your responsibility to do so. Please do not depend on me to drop you. Here are the deadlines: Last day to add the class: 2/03. Last day to drop the class for a refund: 1/31. Last day to drop the class without a "W": 2/09. Last day to drop with a "W": 4/19. Last day to choose "pass/no pass" grading option: 2/21 (but then the class cannot count towards a certificate).