COIT13146 - System and Network Administration

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit gives you a practical introduction to system and network service management and administration. You are provided with the skills necessary to configure and manage secure server environments and deliver network services. You will cover topics such as managing computer systems and users, managing network services, configuring and managing system and network software, computer security mechanisms and ethics, and developing administrative policies and procedures. You will use a Linux operating system as a practical platform to apply and demonstrate knowledge.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Prerequisite: COIT12206 - TCP/IP Principles and Protocols OR,  COIT13147 - Networks. 

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2025

Term 1 - 2025 Profile
Brisbane
Cairns
Melbourne
Online
Rockhampton
Sydney

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 15%
2. Written Assessment 25%
3. Written Assessment 60%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 78.95% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 35.85% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Student Evaluations
Feedback
Having slides or reference material explaining the commands used in weekly activities would be very useful.
Recommendation
Consider offering brief step-by-step guidance and reference materials explaining the commands to complete the weekly activities.
Action Taken
A workshop presentation has been included in the unit Moodle website for each week which provides clear instructions and information about the commands to complete the weekly activities.
Source: Student Feedback and Teaching Team Reflections
Feedback
Difficult for group members to share access to VirtualBox resources on their local computer.
Recommendation
Explore the option to use a cloud environment instead of VirtualBox in the project.
Action Taken
The cloud environment Microsoft Azure has been explored. Students will be given the option to use either VirtualBox or Cloud environment from T1 2025.
Source: Student Feedback and Unit Coordinator Reflection
Feedback
Automated Git syncing, which could significantly streamline administration workflow, was not introduced in this unit.
Recommendation
Include a section on automated Git syncing, along with practical examples, to enhance the unit by providing students with a more comprehensive understanding of Git’s capabilities beyond the basics.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student Feedback and Unit Coordinator Reflection
Feedback
Some students found the final project instructions unclear and would benefit from better elaborated instructions.
Recommendation
Review the final project instructions and provide more detailed guidance, including specific expectations, examples, and potential pitfalls to avoid.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Use administration commands and utilities to manage and secure computer systems
  2. Configure and deploy the common system and network services
  3. Demonstrate the ability to perform user management and maintenance tasks
  4. Describe how elements of relevant codes of ethics inform professional practice
  5. Develop, deploy and evaluate security policies and rules.

The Australian Computer Society (ACS) recognises the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA). SFIA is adopted by organisations, governments and individuals in many countries and provides a widely used and consistent definition of ICT skills. SFIA is increasingly being used when developing job descriptions and role profiles. ACS members can use the tool MySFIA to build a skills profile.

This unit contributes to the following workplace skills as defined by SFIA 7 (the SFIA code is included):

  • Network Support (NTAS)
  • Problem Management (PBMG)
  • System Design (DESN)
  • Incident Management (USUP)

The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Framework defines knowledge, skills and tasks needed to perform various cyber security roles. Developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the NICE Framework is used by organisations to plan their workforce, including recruit into cyber security positions.

This unit helps prepare you for roles such as Systems Security Analyst, Network Operations Specialist and Systems Administrator, contributing to the following knowledge and skills:

  • K0035 Knowledge of installation, integration, and optimization of system components.
  • K0060 Knowledge of operating systems.
  • K0076 Knowledge of server administration and systems engineering theories, concepts, and methods.
  • K0088 Knowledge of systems administration concepts.
  • K0130 Knowledge of virtualization technologies and virtual machine development and maintenance.
  • K0167 Knowledge of system administration, network, and operating system hardening techniques.
  • K0275 Knowledge of configuration management techniques.
  • K0289 Knowledge of system/server diagnostic tools and fault identification techniques.
  • K0290 Knowledge of systems security testing and evaluation methods.
  • S0043 Skill in maintaining directory services. (e.g., Microsoft Active Directory, LDAP, etc.).
  • S0143 Skill in conducting system/server planning, management, and maintenance.
  • S0144 Skill in correcting physical and technical problems that impact system/server performance.
  • S0150 Skill in implementing and testing network infrastructure contingency and recovery plans.
  • S0151 Skill in troubleshooting failed system components (i.e., servers)
  • S0153 Skill in identifying and anticipating system/server performance, availability, capacity, or configuration problems.
  • S0154 Skill in installing system and component upgrades. (i.e., servers, appliances, network devices).
  • S0155 Skill in monitoring and optimizing system/server performance.
  • S0157 Skill in recovering failed systems/servers. (e.g., recovery software, failover clusters, replication, etc.).
  • S0158 Skill in operating system administration. (e.g., account maintenance, data backups, maintain system performance, install and configure new hardware/software).

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Written Assessment • •
2 - Written Assessment • • •
3 - Written Assessment • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Communication • • • •
2 - Problem Solving • • • •
3 - Critical Thinking •
4 - Information Literacy • •
5 - Team Work •
6 - Information Technology Competence • • • •
8 - Ethical practice •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10