Course description:
Survey of the operating system facilities and commands. Installation and maintenance of operating systems such as Linux. Understanding process management, file systems, memory and virtual memory management issues. Understanding networking and its role in modern computing environment. Operating system security. Writing shell scripts and batch files.

Textbooks:
Introduction to Linux, a Hands-on Guide , by Machtelt Garrels, 2008.
Advanced Bash-Scripting Guide, by M. Cooper, 2014.
GNU Make Manual, by R. Stallman, R. McGrath, P. D. Smith, 2006.
The Linux System Administrator's Guide, by A. Weeks, 2004.
A Practical Guide to Linux, by M. Sobell, used as a reference.

Grading system:

Homeworks (about 12)	20 points each
Labs (about 13)	10 points each
Lecture quizzes (about 12)	5 points each
Forum participation	10 points
Final exam	30 points

Guidelines for class work

• The lectures, assignments, and labs will be posted on the course web page and on Oncourse. Each lecture will be accompanied by a quiz to be completed during the week when the lecture is posted. The quizzes will be available in the section Tests & Surveys on Oncourse.
• The assignments, labs, and questionaires are due at midnight of the due date.
• The assignments and labs are turned in through the Oncourse Assignments system.
• No homework accepted after 1 week from the due date. A late homework loses 10% of the points per day, up to 50% of the points.
• All work is individual and too similar submissions can be penalized.

Course Objectives

• To be able to use Linux command-line commands to perform file and system operations, knowing the difference between arguments and options.
• To define processes, to be able to identify active processes on Linux and manage them (ps, kill).
• To be able to compile C++ programs on Linux using the g++ compiler, to handle compiling multiple files, and to use the gdb debugger.
• To become familiar with the structure of a Makefile and be able to create/edit one.
• To create a web site in the Linux account and be able to map local addresses to URLs.
• To be introduced to a scripted language, in this case Python, and to see how such a script can communicate with the operating system.
• To get some exposure to Linux administrative tasks.
• Basic familiarity with networking hardware, software, topology and protocols.
• Monitoring of system resources (processes, storage usage, network usage, etc.)
• Installation of operating systems (partitioning, formatting, installation of hardware devices, user management (creating Users and Groups), server management (initiation and termination of server services).

Learning Disabilities:

If you need adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible. My office hours are listed above.

Generic Syllabus