CPSC 318: System and Network Administration

Course Description

A hands-on course on the fundamentals of system and network administration with a focus on proper design and management for ensuring system and network security.

Course Goals & Objectives

Provides an introduction to the tasks and methods of system and network administration along with hands-on practice in these topics. Topics include but are not limited to: Overview of a Linux operating system, design and deployment of servers, user management, software management, access and process control, data and file system management, scripting, logging and network monitoring, virtualization, vulnerability remediation, and security.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Install, set up, and configure a Linux server, and describe the role and basic functions of an operating system in managing hardware and software interactions.
2. Complete common system administrative tasks such as user management, network configuration, software installation and updating, and backups, and configure authentication policies and audit capabilities to ensure secure operations.
3. Complete common system security tasks such as patching, configuring a firewall, checking system logs, password management, access control, and intrusion detection, and apply basic security settings and hardening techniques to operating systems.
4. Perform system monitoring, review security logs, and implement backup and restore procedures to maintain system integrity and availability.
5. Write basic shell and/or Python scripts for common system administration tasks, and apply scripting to automate security and maintenance processes.
6. Explain system and software architectures, identify common security issues in modern computing environments, and properly apply cybersecurity terminology when managing IT systems.

Grading Policy

• 60% Lab Exercises
• 20% Midterm Exam
• 20% Final Exam

• [94, ∞): A
• [90, 94): A-
• [87, 90): B+
• [84, 87): B
• [80, 84): B-
• [77, 80): C+
• [72, 77): C
• [70, 72): C-
• [66, 70): D+
• [60, 66): D
• [0, 60): F

Late assignments will have a 10% reduction in grade for each day late. Lab exercises are always due at the end of the day after they are assigned. For instance, a lab assigned on Tuesday is due at midnight Wednesday night. Final grades will not be rounded up, and no extra credit opportunities will be given on an individual basis.

The University provides the opportunity to provide grading feedback midway through the semester. This will take into account your score on the mid-term exam and the programming projects submitted up to that point. Any student receiving less than a 65% on either of these will receive a "U" for their mid-semester grade. If this happens to you, please don't hesitate to talk with me about how we can improve your performance in this class.

Student Conduct

• You are expected to attend each class meeting. If you miss a class, you are responsible for the material covered.
• This class will be interactive. Expect to answer questions in class and always feel free to ask any questions yourself.
• If you miss an exam, you are required to provide legitimate documentation of an emergency for your absence to have a make up exam.
• If you can't make an exam for a non-emergency reason, you must schedule an alternate time to take it ahead of time.

Honor Policy

Students are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the letter and spirit of the Honor Constitution and CPSC department honor policy

For labs, collaboration with class mates is OK. The goal of the labs is to ensure you understand the concepts we are going over. However using generative AI to produce the work is not acceptable.

For exams, you can not talk to anyone during the exam, or use any kind of notes.

If you have any questions or need clarification, please don't hesitate to contact me!

Accessibility Statement

The Office of Disability Resources has been designated by the university as the primary office to guide, counsel, and assist students with disabilities. If you receive services through the Office of Disability Resources and require accommodations for this class, please provide me a copy of your accommodation letter via email or during a meeting. I encourage you to follow-up with me about your accommodations and needs within this class. I will hold any information you share with me in the strictest confidence unless you give me permission to do otherwise.

If you have not made contact with the Office of Disability Resources and have reasonable accommodation needs, their office is located in Seacobeck 005, phone number is (540) 654-1266 and email is odr@umw.edu. The office will require appropriate documentation of disability.

Title IX Statement

University of Mary Washington faculty are committed to supporting students and upholding the University’s Policy on Sexual and Gender Based Harassment and Other Forms of Interpersonal Violence. Under Title IX and this Policy, discrimination based upon sex or gender is prohibited. If you experience an incident of sex or gender based discrimination, we encourage you to report it. While you may talk to me, understand that as a “Responsible Employee” of the University, I MUST report to UMW’s Title IX Coordinator what you share. If you wish to speak to someone confidentially, please contact the confidential resources found below. They can connect you with support services and help you explore your options. You may also seek assistance from UMW’s Title IX Coordinator, their contact information can be found below. Please visit http://diversity.umw.edu/title-ix/ to view UMW’s Policy on Sexual and Gender Based Harassment and Other Forms of Interpersonal Violence and to find further information on support and resources.

Recording Statement

Classroom activities in this course may be recorded by student's enrolled in the course for the personal, educational use of that student or for all students presently enrolled in the class only, and may not be further copied, distributed, published or otherwise used for any other purpose without the express written consent of the course instructor. All students are advised that classroom activities may be taped by students for this purpose. Distribution or sale of class recordings is prohibited without the written permission of the instructor and other students who are recorded. Distribution without permission is a violation of copyright law. This policy is consistent with UMW's Policy on Recording Class and Distribution of Course Materials.

Tentative Schedule

Date	Class Topic	Lab
January 13	Course Introduction	Virtual Machine Setup
January 15	The Linux Operating System	Creating a Service
January 20	User Management	User Exercise
January 22	No class
January 27	Process Management	Process Exercise
January 29	Package Management	Installation
February 3	Networks	CRC Checksums
February 5	The IP Layer	Network Setup
February 10	The Transport Layer	Traceroute Exercise
February 12	DNS and Applications	Telnet Exercise
February 17	Shell Scripting	Scripting Exercise
February 19	Shell Scripting Continued	Scripting Exercise 2
February 24	Review and Catchup
February 26	Midterm Exam
March 3	Spring Break
March 5
March 10	Regular Expressions	Regex Exercise
March 12	Ansible	Recipe Exercise
March 17	Ansible Continued	Recipe Exercise
March 19	Virtualization	QEMU Exercise
March 24	Containerization	Log Exercise
March 26	Docker	Docker Exercise
March 31	Docker Networking	Docker Compose Exercise
April 2	Cybersecurity Overview	Hashing Exercise
April 7	Footprinting	Nmap Exercise
April 9	Cryptography	Keypair Exercise
April 14	Host Hardening	AIDE Exercise
April 16	Storage Systems	RAID Exercise
April 21	Backups and Recovery	Rsync Exercise
April 23	Review and Catchup
April 30	Final Exam, 8:30 – 11:00