Network Systems and Administration – Linux System and Network Administration Portfolio
This assessment is an individual portfolio for the Network Systems and Administration unit. It consists of two quizzes and a report based on a case study involving the development, implementation, configuration, testing, maintenance, and evaluation of a network solution using an industry-standard network operating system. The report requires students to justify their design and implementation decisions, provide a detailed testing strategy, develop a maintenance and disaster recovery plan, and critically evaluate the completed solution. The case study concerns Piranha, a small organisation in which the business owner has been maintaining a server containing information relating to finance, management, production, and sales. The student is required to undertake the role of Network Systems Administrator and configure an appropriate Linux-based network environment. The practical work includes creating a new user account with root access, confirming root privileges, verifying access to company files, and configuring group-based access controls for finance, management, production, and sales directories. Students must then establish a client-server network by installing a Linux distribution on a separate virtual machine in VirtualBox. SSH connections are required to verify user access and the configured file permissions. The assessment also requires students to use Wireshark to observe network traffic during SSH sessions, report on packet types and encryption, identify potential security vulnerabilities, and recommend improvements such as SSH keys and unique passwords. A maintenance schedule and a brief disaster recovery or backup strategy must also be proposed. The final report must document the practical work with clear explanations and screenshots showing commands, user accounts, and results. The report should be between 1,500 and 3,500 words. The assessment also includes Linux Essentials and Networking Essentials final grades. The marking criteria cover system and network administration, the maintenance plan, reflection and report writing, screenshots, references, and Harvard referencing.
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