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Monash University

FIT5034 Network administration and management - Semester 2, 2013

The unit will provide students with fundamentals and theoretical foundations of network administration, management and documentation. Specific areas include local, wide area, and real-time networks. Related protocols such as TCP/IP, ICMP, IPSEC, CSMA/CD, token-passing, frame relay, ATM, SAN and VoIP. The network administrators function and responsibilities relating to network issues such as planning, implementation, fault diagnosis fine tuning and recovery. Standards for network management - SNMP, RMONs, Protocol analysers, CMIP, ITU / TMN standards, MIBs, DMI, remote management in-band and out-of-band.

Mode of Delivery

Caulfield (Day)

Contact Hours

2 hrs lectures/wk, 2 hrs laboratories/wk

Workload requirements

Students will be expected to spend a total of 12 hours per week during semester on this unit. This will include:

  • Lectures: 2 hours per week
  • Tutorials/Lab sessions: 2 hours per week per tutorial
  • and up to an additional 8 hours in some weeks for completing lab and project work, private study and revision.

Unit Relationships

Prohibitions

CPE5013

Chief Examiner

Campus Lecturer

Caulfield

Chris Freeman

Academic Overview

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit students will have -
  • exposure to a wide range of contemporary networking protocols and technologies at a level required from network management perspective;
  • an in-depth understanding of key network management concepts, protocols, technologies, protocol analysis and practices;
  • an understanding of the role of a network administrator through theory and hands-on work involving the use of software tools, simulations, and configuring core networking hardware;
  • ability to adopt a problem solving approach;
  • developed communications skills and accept the code of professional conduct and practice through short presentations and group work.

Unit Schedule

Week Activities Assessment
0   No formal assessment or activities are undertaken in week 0
1 Introduction  
2 System and Network Components and Services  
3 Managing Hosts and Users  
4 TCP/IP Network Administration  
5 Network Services Administration and Management  
6 Configuration and Change Management Assessed tutorial work
7 Accounting Management  
8 Security Management  
9 Performance Management Assessed tutorial work
10 Backup, Fault and Disaster Administration and Management  
11 Other Network Management Concerns  
12 Research in Network Administration and Revisions Project demos during tutorials, and report due Friday
  SWOT VAC No formal assessment is undertaken SWOT VAC
  Examination period LINK to Assessment Policy: http://policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/
academic/education/assessment/
assessment-in-coursework-policy.html

*Unit Schedule details will be maintained and communicated to you via your learning system.

Assessment Summary

Examination (3 hours): 50%; In-semester assessment: 50%

Assessment Task Value Due Date
Tutorial Assessments 20% The assessments will be held during tutorials of Weeks 6 and 9.
Network administration project 30% Practical outcomes will be demonstrated during tutorials in Week 12. Reports will be due on the Friday of Week 12.
Examination 1 50% To be advised

Teaching Approach

Lecture and tutorials or problem classes
Lectures will cover theories, standards and practices, which will be reinforced by tutorial/labs. Additionally, tutorial/labs will engage students in gaining practical skills and experience.

Assessment Requirements

Assessment Policy

Faculty Policy - Unit Assessment Hurdles (http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/staff/edgov/policies/assessment-examinations/unit-assessment-hurdles.html)

Academic Integrity - Please see the Demystifying Citing and Referencing tutorial at http://lib.monash.edu/tutorials/citing/

Assessment Tasks

Participation

  • Assessment task 1
    Title:
    Tutorial Assessments
    Description:
    Two assessments with marking weights of 10% each will be administered during tutorials in the laboratory, covering theoretical and practical topics covered in previous weeks.
    Weighting:
    20%
    Criteria for assessment:

    The assessment requires that exercises are correctly accomplished by individual students.

    Due date:
    The assessments will be held during tutorials of Weeks 6 and 9.
  • Assessment task 2
    Title:
    Network administration project
    Description:
    This project will entail both practical and theoretical aspects of the unit. Students in groups, of at most three members each, will be required to build a small network, configured with a few basic network services. Concise documentation will also be required for submission. More details will be made available to students in Moodle by Week 4, but will include the following:
    1. A practical demo of the installation, configuration and operation of the network and its services. 
    2. Students will be expected to answer questions during the demo. 
    3. A concise report that documents the network will be submitted on the Friday of Week 12.
    Students will be given time to work on their project during some tutorial hours using lab equipment.

    Note that the network to be built may consist of physical or virtual machines, or a combination of both. There are obvious advantages to using virtual machines, and so that option is highly encouraged.
    Weighting:
    30%
    Criteria for assessment:

    The outcome of practical work will be assessed during demos, while reports will be assessed separately. Demonstrations must show correct configuration, operation and, in some cases, customization of network components, both hardware and software. Students will also be asked to answer questions to show an understanding of the components being demonstrated. The report will be assessed based on reasonable correctness of network design, choice of services and policies.

    Since this is a group assignment, students will receive equal marks, however every member of the group will be interviewed.

    Due date:
    Practical outcomes will be demonstrated during tutorials in Week 12. Reports will be due on the Friday of Week 12.
    Remarks:
    The report component of this project must be submitted electronically via Damocles: http://viper.infotech.monash.edu.au/damocles/submit/. Note the following:
    • Damocles is not simply a submission system: it detects and rates plagiarism based on matches between assignments, across semesters, as well as with online sources.
    • University policies on plagiarism must be followed. Failure to do so may constitute grounds for exclusion of the submitted report and/or failure in this unit.
    • Electronically submitted documents must be in the following formats: Word 97/XP .doc (not .docx), RTF (rich text format) or non-scanned PDF (Adobe Acrobat).
    • Multiple submissions are possible, with previous submissions to be overwritten, but only the latest submission will be marked.
    • Non-compliant submissions will be rejected, and deadlines may not be extended accordingly, so students must verify that their documents are readable and compliant with one of the formats listed above.
    • The Faculty cover sheet for assignments must be submitted separately: printed, filled out and signed, and dropped into a box labelled for this unit in Bldg H, Level 6, near the School's reception desk. It may alternatively be scanned and e-mailed to the lecturer with the subject heading "FIT5034 assignment cover sheet".

Examinations

  • Examination 1
    Weighting:
    50%
    Length:
    3 hours
    Type (open/closed book):
    Closed book
    Electronic devices allowed in the exam:
    None

Learning resources

Reading list

No particular textbook is required. Instead, several online and published materials are more than sufficient for this unit, including these primary references:

  • Nemeth, E., Snyder, G., Hein, T., & Whaley, B., The UNIX and Linux Systems Administration Handbook (4th ed), Prentice-Hall (2010).
  • Burgess, M., Principles of Network & System Administration 2nd Ed. Wiley (2004) ISBN 0-470-86807-4. (http://library.monash.edu.au/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=2017671)
  • Limonchelli, T. A., Hogan, C. J., Chalup, S. RThe Practice of System and Network
    Administration
     (2nd Ed), Addison-Wesley, 2007, ISBN 0-321-49266-8. (http://library.monash.edu.au/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=2253326)
  • Clemm, A., Network Management Fundamentals, Cisco Press (2007).
  • Subramanian, M., Network management: Principles and Practice Addison-Wesley (2000).
  • Burke, J.R., NETWORK MANAGEMENT Concepts and Practice Pearson Prentice Hall (2004).
  • Stallings. W., Data and Computer Communications 8th Ed. Prentice Hall (2007).
  • Mikalsen A., & Borgesen P., Local Area Network Management, Design and Security Wiley (2002).

Monash Library Unit Reading List
http://readinglists.lib.monash.edu/index.html

Feedback to you

Types of feedback you can expect to receive in this unit are:
  • Informal feedback on progress in labs/tutes
  • Graded assignments with comments
  • Test results and feedback
  • Quiz results

Extensions and penalties

Returning assignments

Referencing requirements

Reference sources used in the project, particularly in preparing the report, should be properly paraphrased as well as cited in the body of the report as well as in a separate Bibliography. In rare cases, the actual text from the source may be quoted and likewise cited in the body and the Bibliography. Failure to do so may be grounds for a case of plagiarism being brought up. This may result in the exclusion of the submitted assignment and/or failure in this unit.

Assignment submission

It is a University requirement (http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/conduct/plagiarism-procedures.html) for students to submit an assignment coversheet for each assessment item. Faculty Assignment coversheets can be found at http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/forms/. Please check with your Lecturer on the submission method for your assignment coversheet (e.g. attach a file to the online assignment submission, hand-in a hard copy, or use an online quiz). Please note that it is your responsibility to retain copies of your assessments.

Online submission

If Electronic Submission has been approved for your unit, please submit your work via the learning system for this unit, which you can access via links in the my.monash portal.

Required Resources

Please check with your lecturer before purchasing any Required Resources. Limited copies of prescribed texts are available for you to borrow in the library, and prescribed software is available in student labs.

Students will be required to use Linux virtual machines via virtualization software in the labs. VMware Player (for Windows and Linux) and VirtualBox are free to download and use. Additionally, Linux itself is free to download, and pre-installed Linux virtual machines can be downloaded from various sources, including VMware marketplace.

Recommended Resources

Students should have Linux virtual machines via virtualization software available for working with at home.

Students should also have external storage devices for virtual machines that can be used in the labs and at home. A 4 GB USB pendrive is sufficient at the minimum.

Additional subject costs

Desktops and networking equipment are provided for use during tutorial-labs in the Caulfield School of IT network laboratory for on-campus students. However, students will shoulder the ost of downloading documents and software from home. Students should own USB sticks and similar external storage media in order to store intermediate work, including configuration files and scripts, partial reports or entire virtual machine images, although the latter would typically require 2 to 4 GB of free space.

Information about computer use for students is available from the ITS Student Resource Guide in the Monash University Handbook. You will need to allocate up to 8 hours per week for reading and private study, including time for the use of a computer to access web-based discussion groups.

Other Information

Policies

Graduate Attributes Policy

Student services

Monash University Library

Disability Liaison Unit

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.

Your feedback to Us

Previous Student Evaluations of this Unit

Based on previous student feedback this unit is considered to be appropriately structured and no changes have been made for this semester.

If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to
https://emuapps.monash.edu.au/unitevaluations/index.jsp

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