SERVER AND SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION

CIT 4204

• LEVEL: YEAR 4 SEMESTER 2

• CONTACT HOURS: 60 HOURS CREDITS: 4
• PREREQUISITES:
• CIT 2103: DATA COMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKS
• CIT 3201: OPERATING SYSTEMS I
• Course Purpose
• The purpose of this course is to introduce the study of Server &
System Administration and to teach the practical introduction to
linux/Microsoft Windows systems administration. Installation,
configuration and management of both the server and workstation
versions of the Microsoft operating systems are covered.
• In addition server side services such as file sharing/security,
exchange email services, remote desktop and windows server update
services (WSUS) server are introduced. On the workstation side basic
configuration, profile management and group policies are introduced.
• Learning Outcomes
• By the end of the course, students will be able to:-
i. Install, configure and manage enterprise systems/networks,
including hardware/software.
ii. Implement and administer desktop and server operating
systems (client/server), switching and routing devices.
iii. Implement and configure active directory
iv. Create user/group accounts and configure server roles.
v. Administer permissions for users, files and network resources.
vi. Use group policies to configure and secure the network.
vii. Manage desktops and server computers using remote access.
viii. Install and configure TCP/IP for network and Internet connectivity.
ix. Maintain and troubleshoot enterprise networks.
• Course Content
• Overview of Server & System Administration:
• Enabling Knowledge:
• procedures for installation, configuration and maintenance of windows
server and workstation operating systems,
• Critical Analysis: analyse windows systems installations with the view
to configuring the system.
• Problem Solving: installing and managing windows systems.
• Responsibility: define appropriate ethical ideals and obligations with regard to
maintaining operating systems that provide end users appropriate levels of
confidentiality.
• Install and configure both the windows server and windows
workstation operating systems.
• Configure server side services including: windows active directory, file
sharing/security, exchange email services, remote desktop, WSUS server.
• Configure workstation settings including: managing profiles, distribute
applications and manage group policies, and basic Microsoft Office installation.
Assessment
Component Weighting (%) Learning objectives covered

In-course assessment:

Individual Assignments 10 1 to 2

Group and Presentations and 10 2

Practical classes

One Invigilated CAT 10 2 to 3

Final Exams: 70 1 to 4

TOTAL 100
• Assessment Strategy
• Regular attendance verification
• Students will be provided with tasks, assignments and exercises
• individual/ group presentations and
• final end-of-semester examinations
 Text books
Title Author Year of Publisher
Publication

1 Hands-On Microsoft Windows Michael Palmer, 2013 Cengage

nd
Server, 2 edition Course Technology, Learning

2 Principles of Network and Mark Burgess, 2014 Pearson

System Administration, 2nd Wiley and Sons Education
edition

Title Author Year of Publication Publisher

1 The Practice of System and Network Thomas A. Limoncelli, 2017 Prentice Hall
Administration, Second Edition. Christina J. Hogan, Strata R.
Chalup, Addison Wesley
An Introduction to System
Administration
 Chapter Objectives
• Explore the world of the Sysadmin.
• List the duties of the Sysadmin.
• List the skill set required of the Sysadmin.
• List a few personality traits of a typical Sysadmin.
 What Is a Sysadmin?
• In a “small company” the Sysadmin may be the
entire information technology staff.
• The Sysadmin may do everything from telephone, to fax,
to computer management.
• Sysadmin may have to order supplies, deal with users,
develop software, repair hardware, etc.

• The System Administrator’s role is to manage in-house

computer software systems, servers, storage devices and
network connections to ensure high availability and security of
the supported business applications. This individual also
participates in the planning and implementation of policies
and procedures to ensure system provisioning and
maintenance that is consistent with company goals, industry
best practices, and regulatory requirements
 What Is a Sysadmin?
• In a large company the Sysadmin may be one member
of a large group.
• May be responsible for one aspect of the data
center operation.
• Programmers
• Database Administrators
• Network Administrators
• Operators
• May not even know what the CEO looks like.
 Common Sysadmin Traits
• A Sysadmin is a customer service agent!
• The Sysadmin must be able to communicate
with technical and non-technical users.
• The Sysadmin should be patient, and have a sense
of humor.
• The Sysadmin must be able to solve difficult
technical problems.
• The Sysadmin must be able to work in a group setting.
• The Sysadmin must document activities in order
to reproduce the results.
 What Does a Sysadmin Do?
• Plan and manage the machine room environment
• design machine room; specify cooling, cabling,
power connections, and environmental controls (fire
alarm, security)
• Install and maintain operating system
software, application software, and patches.
• Determine hardware and software pre-requisites,
which patches to install, which services to provide, and
which services to disable.
 What Does a Sysadmin Do?
• Schedule downtime to perform upgrades/patches, and
test devices and schedule downtime to manage devices.
• Install and maintain user accounts; develop acceptable
use policy and login-name policy; determine password
change policies; install/configure/manage name services;
and manage licenses.
• Determine disk quota, police/manage disk space,
and monitor log files.
 What Does a Sysadmin Do?
• Train users on software and security.
• Ensure that users have access to documentation.
• Help users and provide help-desk support and
problem tracking system to answer user questions.
• Configure network services:
• printing, file sharing, name service.
• determine file sharing needs and printing policies.
• manage security for shared resources.
 What Does a Sysadmin Do?
• Install/maintain system devices, hardware/drivers;
specify supported devices; determine spares practices.
• Install/configure/manage web servers, configure
web access agents
• Configure and maintain business applications
• web agents
• e-mail
• calendar software
• order/problem tracking software
 What Does a Sysadmin Do?
• Install/configure/manage e-mail software
• mail transfer agents.
• mail readers.
• Configure and manage system security
• security for business applications,
• read security mailing lists and CERT notifications,
• install/configure "firewall" software to limit
intruder access,
• collect evidence in case of successful intrusion and
clean up after intrusion
 What Does a Sysadmin Do?
• Configure and maintain connectivity between hosts
• monitor connectivity
• troubleshoot connectivity problems
• investigate complaints of poor response
 What Does a Sysadmin Do?
• Configure and maintain system backups,
• determine backup strategy and policies, and
• configure backup software
• perform backups
• monitor backup logs
• check backup integrity
• determine disaster survival plans
• perform restores
 What Does a Sysadmin Do?
• Troubleshoot and repair system problems;
and determine, locate, and repair/replace
problem components
• Document the system, and develop and maintain
documentation on local setup and local policies
Other roles
• Operational Management
• Manage virtual and physical servers with Windows Server 2003 – 2012 R2
operating systems
• Manage Active Directory, Microsoft Office 365, and server and
workstation patching with SCCM (System Center Configuration Manager)
• Manage the physical and virtual environment (VMware) of 300 plus servers
• Have familiarity with MS SQL server, windows clustering, domain
controller setup, and group policy
• Ensure the security of the server infrastructure by implementing industry
best-practices regarding privacy, security, and regulatory compliance.
• Develop and maintain documentation about current environment
setup, standard operating procedures, and best practices.
• Manage end user accounts, permissions, access rights, and
storage allocations in accordance with best practices
• Perform and test routine system backups and restores.
• Anticipate, mitigate, identify, troubleshoot, and correct hardware and
software issues on servers, and workstations. Escalate incidents as necessary.
• Practice server asset management, including maintenance of server component
inventory and related documentation and technical specifications information.
• Recommend, schedule, and perform software and hardware upgrades,
patches and reconfigurations.
• Develop required reports in response to business user and management needs.
• Manage vendors, outsourcers, and contractors to secure software products
and services
• Manage the physical environment of the server racks including cable
management, documentation, labeling, and configuration of KVM switching
for console and remote access.
• Build and deploy new servers on the network
• Strategy & Planning
• Participate in and support capacity planning and the development of
long-term strategic goals for systems and software in
conjunction with end-users and department managers.
• Acquisition & Deployment
• Coordinate with network engineering, business application, and
database administration functions to implement desktop and
server systems that utilize industry best practices to meet
corporate objectives.
• Deploy workstations, servers, printers, scanners, firewalls,
encryption systems, and appliances security systems.
 Skills Required
• Delegation and Time Management
• Ethics
• Ability to create/follow Policies and Procedures
• Desire to learn
• Customer Service Attitude
• Knowledge of technical aspects
• Hardware
• Software
• Problem Solving
 Chapter Summary
• Sysadmins are often viewed as “a jack of all trades”
• Sysadmins are customer service oriented.
• Sysadmins need to be able to communicate clearly.
• Sysadmins need to be able to solve problems
• Sysadmins need to be analytical thinkers.
REMINDER
• The University is a RESEARCH CENTER, please remember to do
more personal research, read more and have a wider understanding
on what we have covered in this topic

• ……………………END………………