CS469/569 - Linux and Unix Administration and Networking Spring 2022

Syllabus and Information

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

General Information

Contact Your Instructor

Lecture, Exam, Office Hours

Prerequisites

Standard text

LockDown Browser + Webcam Requirement

Course Announcements

Classroom conduct

Course Description

Course Outline

Normal Content

Learning Outcomes

Grading and Assignments

Late Homework

Start Homework Early

Expected Amount of Work

Grade Cutoffs

Blackboard

CS Course Policies

Academic Integrity

COVID-19 Information

Special Needs

Disclosures Regarding Sexual Misconduct

General Information

Contact Your Instructor

Lecture, Exam

• Mid-term: Tuesday March 1^st
• Final Exam: Thursday, May 5^th @ 10am

GA Tutoring: We have a few graduate assistants who will be in the computer science Unix lab, room A-015 in the basement of Root Hall, for about 20 hours per week in total. You can go to this lab to work on your programs. The computers are Linux machines, and you can use the cs###xx log-in that will be given to you during the first week of class to use them. Or, you can bring your laptop to work on. Either way, you can ask the graduate assistants to look at your programs, and you can work with any other CS students that are there (you could use the lab as a regular meeting place to work with your classmates). The regular hours that the lab will be open will be posted on the department's website.

Prerequisites

A minimum of a C in CS201 for undergraduates and a minimum of a A- in CS500 for graduates.

Standard text

Most information required for the course is available on-line. Sources that can be used for the course include the following.

• The Unix on-line manual pages (man command)
• The GNU info pages (info command)
• Wikipedia.org
• Tutorials Point:
  • Unix
  • Sed
  • Awk
  • Administration
  • Docker
  • IPv4
  • Computer Networking

LockDown Browser + Webcam Requirement

Download Instructions

• Start LockDown Browser
• Log into Blackboard Learn
• Navigate to the test

Guidelines

• Ensure you're in a location where you won't be interrupted
• Turn off all other devices (e.g. tablets, phones, second computers) and place them outside of your reach
• Before starting the test, know how much time is available for it, and also that you've allotted sufficient time to complete it
• Clear your desk or workspace of all external materials not permitted - books, papers, other devices
• Remain at your computer for the duration of the test
• If the computer, Wi-Fi, or location is different than what was used previously with the "Webcam Check" and "System & Network Check" in LockDown Browser, run the checks again prior to the exam
• To produce a good webcam video, do the following:
  • Avoid wearing baseball caps or hats with brims
  • Ensure your computer or device is on a firm surface (a desk or table). Do NOT have the computer on your lap, a bed, or other surface where the device (or you) are likely to move
  • If using a built-in webcam, avoid readjusting the tilt of the screen after the webcam setup is complete
  • Take the exam in a well-lit room, but avoid backlighting (such as sitting with your back to a window)
• Remember that LockDown Browser will prevent you from accessing other websites or applications; you will be unable to exit the test until all questions are completed and submitted

Getting Help

• The Windows and Mac versions of LockDown Browser have a "Help Center" button located on the toolbar. Use the "System & Network Check" to troubleshoot issues. If an exam requires you to use a webcam, also run the "Webcam Check" from this area
• [As applicable, insert information about your institution's help desk, including details about how to contact them. Some help desks want students to run the "System & Network Check" and the "Webcam Check" before they are contacted - and even, to forward the results of these checks at the time of opening a ticket.]
• Respondus has a Knowledge Base available from support.respondus.com. Select the "Knowledge Base" link and then select "Respondus LockDown Browser" as the product. If your problem is with a webcam, select "Respondus Monitor" as your product
• If you're still unable to resolve a technical issue with LockDown Browser, go to support.respondus.com and select "Submit a Ticket". Provide detailed information about your problem and what steps you took to resolve it

Course Announcements

Classroom conduct

Course Description

The catalog description for this course is:

"Includes installation and configuration of Unix/Linux operating system software; set-up of hardware and software for Unix/Linux networking including TCP/IP, FTP, Telnet, DNS, DHCP, and Apache; Unix/Linux administration tasks including directories, users, tuning, backup, security, and networking."

In terms of depth, the course approximately 2/3 Unix/Linux administration including a small amount of Bash scripting and 1/3 networking administration. Those who have done well in CS151 should be familiar with most of the programming concepts used in this course.

Course Outline

• Weeks 1-8:
  • Covers: Basic UNIX commands, the file-system, scripting with bash, processes and libraries, Virtual Machines, partitions and file-systems, the boot process, device files, non-networking services.
• Exam #1: ~ Tuesday March 1^st
• Weeks 8+:
  • Covers: Networking infrastructure and configuration, networking services, certificates.
• Final Exam:
  • Thursday, May 5^th @ 10am

Normal Content

• Wild-cards and regular expressions
• Files and directories:
  • The file-system tree, path traversal, links
  • Unix permissions and ACLs
  • The FHS standard: where things go in the file-system
• Bash scripting:
  • Invocation and startup, job control
  • Command lists, pipelines, redirection
  • Positional parameters and special variables, data types, the environment
  • Functions, variable scope
  • Conditionals and loops
  • Bash built-ins: read, printf, alias, etc
  • The core-utilities: sed, col, grep, tr, basename, dirname, etc.
• Processes and threads:
  • Attributes of processes: understanding ps,top, etc output
  • /proc filesystem
  • Signals
  • Resource limits
  • Memory layout: security issues: buffer overflows, ASLR
• Libraries
• The boot process: boot loaders, the kernel, init, runlevels, init scripts
• Disks: Block devices, partitioning, making file-systems, mounting/unmounting them, checking them, configuring fstab Swap and virtual memory
• RAID: levels, MD devices and mdadm
• Basic MySQL administration: DB and user administration and backing up/archiving databases
• Common Administrative tasks:
  • User/group administration
  • Log files, accounting files and reporting
  • Quotas
• Networking:
  • SSH and related tools for key generation and management, scp, rsync
  • Various networking terms / OSI model
  • SSL/TLS certificates (openssl), creating signed certificates, setting up a CA purpose of certs, anatomy of a cert
  • IPv4 networking: Packets, Ethernet, ARP, DNS, CIDR, basic routing
  • The Linux Firewall (iptables) (time permitting)

Learning Outcomes

• Comprehensive overview of command line tools used by a system administrator
• More advanced bash scripting
• Ability to install and configure a Linux system
• Some Virtual Machine experience

Grading and Assignments

The students of this course have the following responsibilities: read assigned readings before lecture, attend lecture, complete homework assignments, take in class quizzes, take exams, and possibly complete a project. The final grade consists of:

• Quizzes: 10% total. There should be a quiz approximately once per week. For blackboard quizzes you will be allowed to use your notes for the quiz, any other type of quiz, use of notes or Internet or crib sheets will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
• Homework: 25% total. There will be a homework assignment most weeks. The total of all homework assignments is worth 25% of the final grade. If you turn in the assignment late, I may grade it at 80%. Homework turned in after I've discussed the assignment in class WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. NOTE: you may ask me to look over an assignment before it is due and I may help by pointing out mistakes that need correction and provide other feedback.
• Exams: 55% total. We will have two exams. A mid-term worth ~100 points, and a final exam worth ~150 points.
• Class Attendance/Participation: 10% total. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class.

Late Homework

Start Homework Early

Expected Amount of Work

Grade Cutoffs

Homework assignments and exams are designed so that a standard cutoff for grades will be close to what you deserve. After the first exam I will create a grade in Blackboard called "Letter Grade" that is what your letter grade would be if the semester ended today. Initially, I will assign the following grades: 93-100 A, 90-93 A-, 87-90 B+, 83-87 B, 80-83 B-, 77-80 C+, 73-77 C, 70-73 C-, 67-70 D+, 63-67 D, 60-63 D-, 0-60 F

A+/A
You understand everything and probably could teach the course yourself.

B+/A-
You understand nearly everything, and should be all set to use this knowledge in other courses or in a job.

C/C+/B-/B
Some things you understand very well and others you don't (more towards the former for a B and more towards the latter for a C).

D-/D+/C-
You did put some effort in, and understand many things at a high level, but you haven't mastered the details well enough to be able to use this knowledge in the future.

F
Normally, students that get an F simply stopped doing the required work at some point.

Blackboard

CS Course Policies

Academic Integrity

• Homework: You may discuss the homework assignments, but should solve and finish them on your own. To make sure you are not violating this, if you discuss with someone, you should DESTROY any work or evidence of the discussion, go your separate ways, SPEND at least an hour doing something completely unrelated to the assignment, and then you should be able to RECREATE the program/solution on your own, then turn that in. If you cannot recreate the solution on your own, then it is not your work, and you should not turn it in.
• Note on sources: if you use some other source, the web or whatever, you better cite it! Not doing so is plagiarism.
• Exams: This should be clear no cheating during exams. The exams will be closed-book, closed-notes, no computer, and no calculator. You may be allowed one sheet of 8.5" by 11" piece of paper with hand-written notes to use as a crib-sheet for your tests.
• Projects: You should not copy from the Internet or anywhere else. The project should be your own work. It will be fairly obvious to me if you do copy code from the Internet, and the consequences will be at the least a 0 on the project.

If cheating is observed, you will at the least receive a 0 for the assignment (and may receive an F for the course), and I will file a Notification of Academic Integrity Violation Report with Student Judicial Programs, as required by the university's policy on Academic Integrity. A student who is caught cheating twice (whether in a single course or different courses) is likely to be brought before the All University Court hearing panel, which can impose sanctions up to and including suspension/expulsion. See the http://www.indstate.edu/sjp/docs/code.pdf and http://www.indstate.edu/academicintegrity/ for more information.

Please ask the instructor if you have doubts about what is considered cheating in this course.

COVID-19 Information

Illness: Students who are ill, under quarantine for COVID-19, or suspect they are ill will report that to Student Affairs. Student Affairs will verify and notify all faculty who have that student. Once notification is made, all faculty will make every reasonable effort to accommodate the student’s absence and will communicate that accommodation directly to the student. Students who need to report an illness should contact Office of the Dean of Student at the following website https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?IndianaStateUniv&layout_id=23 . They may also call: 812-237-3829.

Masks/Shields: Masks/Shields will be worn by all students and faculty in classrooms as well as in buildings (unless you are alone in an office). What is said/printed on a mask will be held to the same Student Code of Conduct standard as if it were printed on a shirt or hat. As a result, a political statement such as MAGA, BIDEN2020, or BLM is not grounds for demanding that it be removed/replaced. In judging what constitutes an offensive statement on a mask, the determination will be made by Student Affairs using the Student Code of Conduct. If there is a question about a mask, the faculty member will refer the matter to Student Affairs and only insist upon its immediate removal if there is no doubt that it violates the Code. Medical waivers will be made through Student Affairs and students with such a waiver are expected to carry the documentation with them and present it when asked.

Laptops/Technology: It is the responsibility of all students to have equipment sufficient to participate in all their classes. All students must have a computer/tablet with audio and video capability. Students will follow the appropriate instructions of their faculty regarding the muting (or unmuting) of audio and video as they would in any classroom setting.

Traffic flow and social distance: Students and faculty will respect the need for social distancing to the degree possible by the setting. Faculty and students will move in and out of the classroom as per the appropriate instructions of the faculty/administration. They are expected to follow printed traffic flow statements posted in all rooms and buildings.

In-class seating: Faculty are asked to assign students seats in the classroom, using social distancing as possible. The assigned seating chart is to be used all semester and kept by faculty as to facilitate contact tracing and help limit any secondary quarantines.

Cleaning of Space: Students are encouraged to clean the surfaces of the chairs/tables/desks they occupy before they sit down and as they prepare to leave. Faculty should advise students to bring cleaning wipes or cloths to clean their own personal space if they want or to be sure to use hand sanitizer on the way in and way out of the classroom.

Refusal: Refusal to comply with any appropriate request will be treated as would any classroom disruption (request to change the behavior; request to leave the class; dismissal of the class and referral to Student Affairs.)

Special Needs / Disability Services

Indiana State University recognizes that students with disabilities may have special needs that must be met to give them equal access to college programs and facilities. If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, please contact us as soon as possible in a confidential setting either after class or in my office. All conversations regarding your disability will be kept in strict confidence. Indiana State University's Student Support Services (SSS) office coordinates services for students with disabilities: documentation of a disability needs to be on file in that office before any accommodations can be provided. Student Support Services is located on the lower level of Normal Hall in the Center for Student Success and can be contacted at 812-237-2700, or you can visit the ISU website under A-Z, Disability Student Services and submit a Contact Form. Appointments to discuss accommodations with SSS staff members are encouraged.

Once a faculty member is notified by Student Support Services that a student is qualified to receive academic accommodations, a faculty member is obligated to provide or allow a reasonable classroom accommodation under ADA.

Disclosures Regarding Sexual Misconduct

Pursuant to Policy 923 Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment, all ISU employees are expected to report discrimination and harassment to the Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX. Those individuals who act in a supervisory capacity or who serve as faculty/staff advisors to ISU student organizations should be especially mindful of the obligation to report discrimination and harassment promptly. Reports of discrimination or harassment should be directed to: