Syllabus for IST 346 Operating Systems Administration Permanently Tentative Time and Location: TBD Name Stephen Rieks Email Address sjrieks@syr.edu Phone Number 315 443 4912 Course Overview In this course we will discuss the strategic role that technology plays in today's competitive business environment. We will emphasize the role that IT plays in improving business processes by helping organizations cut costs and become more competitive. The purpose of this course is to survey a number of technologies, and assess the implications of implementing them to solve business problems in an enterprise environment. The main emphasis will be on operating systems because that topic is not emphasized in any other IST courses, and it s very important. We will also spend time talking about Security, Networking, and Business Processes. Office Hours My office hours are by appointment any time during the semester. Required Materials The Practice of System and Network Administration, 2 nd Limoncelli, Hogan, Chalup <ISBN 13: 978 0 321 49266 1> You may also be assigned reading through handouts and video s via youtube.com. This reading / video s are part of the course and you will be tested on content. You must to be active each week in these online discussions. Learning Management System (LMS): The ischool transitioned its learning management services from a locally administered system to the centrally supported SU Blackboard system. This system is our primary delivery vehicle for online instruction and it serves as an important supplement to an increasing percentage of on campus courses. For information about Blackboard in the ischool, see https://answers.syr.edu/display/ischool/ischool+blackboard+resources For assistance with online course development, contact Peggy Brown (pbrown01@syr.edu; 315 443 8144). If you or your students need to report problems on the Blackboard System, the best way to get the fastest possible response is to submit a trouble ticket at http://ischool.syr.edu/it/. Click on the Get Help button. It s quick and easy.
Guidelines for LMS Discussions: Infrequently, I will post discussion questions online. Please try to answer and participate in the online dialog. When doing so, please follow these simple rules: Say something substantial. Simply saying "I agree" (in so many words) or "I disagree" (in so many words) does not meet the participation standard. Specific technical questions are appropriate as well as brief answers to such questions. Say something new. Don't say something that you later wish you hadn't said. Don't swear in your postings. This should be obvious. Learning Objectives / Outcomes: At the completion of this course, you should be able to conduct basic system administration tasks for Windows server and the LINUX environment as well as make intelligent, business and budgetary choices in relation to technology. You should be able to: Install and patch both windows and Linux operating systems Provide basic user account administration Create, administer, and use network based printers. Create and administer file transfer and web services Identify methods in which system redundancy can be achieved for both business continuity and disaster recovery purposes. Make intelligent technical discussions based not only on available technology but also on business needs and expectations. Participate in a SWAT analyst focused at a technology questions Conduct simple ROI (return on investment) analysis for implementing technical solutions to problems Calculate the TCO (total cost of ownership), which includes one time and ongoing costs, of implementing technical systems. Instructor Expectations: Be on time. My pet peeve is being late. Your late arrival will be noticed and hence reduce your participation grade. Read the assigned chapters in the text. Be attentive and contribute to discussions. Any conversation in class should be related to the topic being discussed, and constructive to the discussion in nature. Prepare for classes. This entails completing the assigned reading before class and, if necessary, supplementing that reading to ensure a thorough understanding of the material. Attendance is important, as I will normally convey information that is not included within the textbook. Prepare for examinations and quizzes. This is self explanatory. Students need to study to know the material being tested. Ask questions. I am here to teach; not just lecture. If no questions are raised, I will assume that everyone understands the material.
Attendance Policy Students are expected to arrive on time for each class session and to participate during discussions. Students are further expected to have all assigned reading completed before the start of each session. Any unexcused absence will result in the reduction of the final grade. Students are permitted to bring food/drink to class as long as it does not distract other class members. Student deemed to be distracting will be asked to leave the room for that class session. Faith Based Observances. Syracuse University recognizes the diverse faith traditions represented among its campus community and supports the rights of faculty, staff, and students to observe according to these. View a detailed student policy. Under this policy, students are provided an opportunity to make up examination, study, or work requirements that may be missed due to religious observance provided they notify the university and their instructors before the end of the second week of classes. Students will have access to an online notification system for this purpose on MySlice during the first two weeks of the semester. Instructors will also have MySlice access to a list of students who have provided notification. We ask that you be as flexible as possible in accommodating these students. View more information within the ischool Faculty Center and a list of the religious traditions on the Syracuse University Chapel schedule. Student Assessment Students have the opportunity to earn 100 total points as explained below. Grades will be assigned based on the table below. There are no opportunities for extra credit or make up work, so please concentrate on the work assigned! TAKE NOTE: Very large amount of the grade points are earned late in the semester so be sure to plan accordingly and build your knowledge throughout the semester which will allow you to earn your best grade. Points Activity Points Earned Letter Grade 10 Participation 93 100 A 25 10 Weekly Quizzes 90 93 A 25 Course Material Exams (2) 87 90 B+ 10 Lab Questions (end on labs) 83 87 B 10 Lab Exam 80 83 B 20 Semester Project 77 80 C+ 100 Total Points Available 73 77 C 70 73 C 65 70 D 0 64 F
Participation In Class: Students are expected to be in attendance for each class session. Students are further expected to be prepared for each class and to be active participants. Simple attendance is not enough for full credit here; you must contribute to discussions as well. There will be a weekly What s News In Technology 2 minute discussion at the beginning of class each week. Please prepare for this discussion by reviewing news articles pertaining to technology, technology management, financial news pertaining to technology, (anything relevant to this course). This will count towards your participation grade. Online: Students are expected to be active, and constructive, every week in the public discussion boards. I will try to post a discussion topic on our LMS from time to time as topics arise. Posts such as it has all been said and I agree will not count toward participation; you must be constructive within the discussion. You are expected to not only post regularly, but to read the posts from other students as well. Weekly Quizzes: There will be a total of 10 short 5 10 minute quizzes given during the semester at the beginning of each lecture. The quizzes will be based on material from the previous lectures materials (in class and online), assigned readings, labs, and any other materials discussed or referenced in class. At the end of the semester, I will drop your one lowest quiz grade. This could be a quiz that you missed due to illness, missed due to a sporting event, etc. (the lowest grade you received). You may NOT make up a missed quiz. If you miss a quiz for any reason, again, please be aware that I drop your lowest grade. Course Material Exams: These exams will consist of a combination of multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions. The exams will include material from all of the assigned readings as well as the discussions (in class and online). There is a lot of material to cover for each exam so prepare as you move through the semester for each; cramming will probably not help you with these exams. Labs and Lab Questions: The labs will consist of weekly hands on work performed by each student. We will be using VMware to host our lab environment. I have high confidence in its performance and abilities. We will be using software to setup several virtual environments in the labs. For the labs we will be installing, patching and performing basics with both Windows and Linux operating systems. We will then work to complete labs that will produce a fully functional server suited for a small business. In fact, you will have a server that will meet the needs of most small businesses such as the one in your project. During the lab, there will be a series of questions that you are required to turn in at the end of the lab. Project: This project comprises 20% of your overall grade! It is a significant project that will require you to make progress every week through the semester and will likely be the longest and most technically in
depth paper you have ever authored. There will be work due throughout the semester to aid students with progress and to 1) show how a project of this magnitude can be broken into smaller milestones (project management) and 2) to aid the student regarding potential procrastination. Full details will be explained in class, and will be supported by regular discussions both in class and online. Lab Exam: This / These exams will consist of hands on configuration of server software and components within VMWare. Material covered will come directly from our hands on experiences and discussions during the lab class times. Other guidelines and suggestions for success: Electronic Devices: Students are expected to silence all electronic devices (phones, pages, watches, et.al.) before entering the classroom. Laptops are not allowed in class during lectures. When submitting work, always keep a copy for yourself until a grade is returned. When preparing documents: first, follow instructions! I can t stress this enough. When you are instructed to name a file in a particular manner, please do so. When instructed to use specific margins, please do so. Always prepare typed documents with supporting graphics/charts/tables. It should be in a format that is easy to read with appropriate section headings and organizational content such as cover pages and references. Margins must be exactly 1" on all sides; font must be 12point Times New Roman; line spacing must be exactly 1.5 for the narrative sections of the paper. There should be a title page that includes information relevant to the submission. All work will be submitted to me on paper. I will not accept documents in electronic format. Work submitted late will be reduced in grade, and work submitted more than 6 days late will receive zero credit but feedback will be provided. Group work: All research group members are expected to participate in the process and to support their fair share of the workload. Anonymous group evaluations will help the instructor evaluate the effort of each individual. Grading questions: If you have a question about your grade, do not wait until the end of the semester to approach the instructor. Bring to the attention of the instructor your question on the day that the graded work is returned or 'forever hold your peace'. Academic Integrity Syracuse University sets high standards for academic integrity. Those standards are supported and enforced by students, including those who serve as academic integrity hearing panel members and hearing officers. The presumptive sanction for a first offense is course failure, accompanied by the transcript notation Violation of the Academic Integrity Policy. The standard sanction for a first offense by graduate students is suspension or expulsion. Students should review the Office of Academic Integrity online resource Twenty Questions and Answers About the Syracuse University Academic Integrity Policy and confer with instructors about course specific citation methods, permitted collaboration (if any), and rules for examinations. The Policy also governs the veracity of signatures on attendance sheets and other verification of participation in class activities. Additional guidance for students can be found in the Office of Academic Integrity resource: What does academic integrity mean?
Disabilities If you believe that you need accommodations for a disability, please contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS), http://disabilityservices.syr.edu, located at 804 University Avenue, room 309, or call 315 443 4498 for an appointment to discuss your needs and the process for requesting accommodations. ODS is responsible for coordinating disability related accommodations and will issue students with documented disabilities Accommodation Authorization Letters, as appropriate. Since accommodations may require early planning and generally are not provided retroactively, please contact ODS as soon as possible. Turnitin.com Statement This class will be using Turnitin, a plagiarism prevention system. The ease of using the Internet has made it very easy for students to cut and paste material into papers that they are writing without proper citation. I will submit all/some/ papers that you write in this class to Turnitin, a service that identifies matched text. I will then interpret the originality report, based on your writing capability and writing style. In this class, you will also be given the opportunity to submit your own papers to Turnitin to check that all sources you have used are properly acknowledged and cited. Note that all submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database, solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. Blackboard (ilms) Statement Blackboard is the School of Information Studies learning management system for on campus and online courses. Each course has its own space in Blackboard where instructors create and post content that enables students to communicate with one another and engage in course materials. It is encouraged to incorporate Blackboard into your course(s) and we have extensive staff expertise to help you find the right blend between traditional and online instruction. Blackboard and many other instructional tools are supported by the ischool. For assistance with on campus and/or online course development within Blackboard, visit Peggy Brown in 114, email pbrown01@syr.edu or call 9370. FERPA The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) and SU s FERPA institutional policy (http://supolicies.syr.edu/studs/ferpa.htm) set forth requirements regarding the privacy of student records. Federal regulations and University policies are fairly complex, but in general, you should err on the side of caution whenever dealing with issues of student privacy. Specific questions may be directed to the ischool Student Services office or to the Registrar s Office (443 3535). There are a number of rights for students of which instructors must be aware. FAITH TRADITION OBSERVANCES Syracuse University does not have non instructional days for any religious holiday and students must notify instructors by the end of the second week of classes when they will be observing their religious holiday(s).
SU s religious observances policy, found at http://supolicies.syr.edu/emp_ben/religious_observance.htm, recognizes the diversity of faiths represented among the campus community and protects the rights of students, faculty, and staff to observe religious holy days according to their tradition. Under the policy, students are provided an opportunity to make up any examination, study, or work requirements that may be missed due to a religious observance provided they notify their instructors before the end of the second week of classes. Students will have access to an online notification form through MySlice for two weeks beginning the first day of class. Please see the other posted document for the course outline (schedule of what s due when)