Course Title: Unix Systems Administration and Programming (Linux)

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Unix Systems Administration and Programming (Linux)

Credit Points: 12

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
COSC1131	City Campus	Postgraduate	140H Comp Sci & Info Technology	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2006, Sem 2 2006, Sem 1 2007, Sem 2 2009, Sem 2 2010, Sem 2 2011
COSC1133	City Campus	Undergraduate	140H Comp Sci & Info Technology	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2006, Sem 2 2006, Sem 1 2007, Sem 2 2008, Sem 2 2009, Sem 2 2010, Sem 2 2011
COSC2242	Taylors College KL	Undergraduate	140H Comp Sci & Info Technology	Face-to-Face	Offsh 3 10, Offsh 3 11

Course Coordinator: Geoff Leach

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 3207

Course Coordinator Email:gl@rmit.edu.au

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

Programming Techniques
Unix Essentials
OR
Operating Systems Principles

You require a strong knowledge of Unix – what this means is that you have practical experience using the Unix command line. It means that you know the basic user level commands and some of the common options for those commands. It means that you have experience with text mode Unix editors such as vi or emacs. This subject covers a wide range of topics and simply cannot cater to students who lack basic Unix skills. A pre-test for self-evaluation will be available in the first week.

Course Description

This course provides an intensely practical introduction to Unix System Administration using Linux. The Linux Operating System, a free implementation of UNIX for personal computers, will be used extensively throughout this course for lecture/tutorial examples and importantly during laboratory classes. In addition to System Administration proper, TCP/IP network service administration and the use of scripting languages will be introduced.
Since Linux implements the POSIX standard, most of the learning from this course will be directly applicable to commercial Unix systems.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

On completion of this course you should be able to:

• Understand the role and responsibilities of a Unix system administrator
• Install and configure the Linux operating system
• Manage the resources and security of a computer running Linux at a basic level
• Make effective use of Unix utilities, and scripting languages
• Configure and manage simple TCP/IP network services on a Linux system
• Develop an appreciation of the documentation available as part of an installed Unix/Linux system

Overview of Learning Activities

The learning activities included in this course are:

• key concepts will be explained in lectures, classes or online, where syllabus material will be presented and the subject matter will be illustrated with demonstrations and examples;
• tutorials and/or labs and/or group discussions (including online forums) focussed on projects and problem solving will provide practice in the application of theory and procedures, allow exploration of concepts with teaching staff and other students, and give feedback on your progress and understanding;
• assignments, as described in Overview of Assessment (below), requiring an integrated understanding of the subject matter; and
• private study, working through the course as presented in classes and learning materials, and gaining practice at solving conceptual and technical problems.

Attendance:
While a minimum attendance standard is not compulsory, non-attendance may seriously jeopardise the chances of success in this course. Clearly, non-attendance at an assessment will result in failure of that assessment. Where visa conditions apply, attendance is compulsory.

Overview of Learning Resources

You will make extensive use of computer laboratories and relevant software provided by the School. You will be able to access course information and learning materials through the Learning Hub (also known as online@RMIT) and may be provided with copies of additional materials in class or via email. Lists of relevant reference texts, resources in the library and freely accessible Internet sites will be provided.

Use the RMIT Bookshop’s textbook list search page to find any recommended textbook(s).

Overview of Assessment

The assessment for this course comprises practical work (primarily scripting but may include a written research topic), class tests, and a final exam.

For standard assessment details, including hurdle requirements, relating to Computer Science and IT courses see: http://www.rmit.edu.au/compsci/cgi