Welcome to the Hands-On UNIX SysAdmin DeCal, Fall 2017 edition!
This course will cover the basics of setting up and administering a production-quality Linux-based server environment in the manner of the EECS instructional machines (hivexx.cs.berkeley.edu) and those of the Open Computing Facility (tsunami.ocf.b.e). By the end of this course, we expect you to be completely comfortable with:
- interfacing with Linux
- be broadly familiar with various fundamental things like services and daemons
- understand basic networking
- have a good sense about
- maintaining system security
- understand system administration essentials
- get a practical taste for what’s new in the field
Lectures are scheduled for 8-9pm Tuesdays and Thursdays in the OCF Lab, located at 171 MLK (MLK basement down the hall from the student store). Attendance is mandatory with two allowed unexcused abscences (other conflicts such as exams can be excused).
The primary assignment in this course will be weekly lab work. In keeping with the name of the course, labs will be significantly hands-on. You will be working on real systems, configuring and fixing things. Lecture will double as office hours for students to come in and ask questions about the lab work. This is a 2 unit DeCal.
An important skill for system administrators is the willingness to learn quickly about new and unfamiliar technologies, so while we expect many students will have a CS background, the only real prerequisite is a desire to learn. We assume no prior experience and will get started and move quickly - there’s a lot of material to cover. Another important skill to learn is patience and perseverence. Don’t be discouraged if things don’t work: the internet is held together with the programmatic equivalent of duct tape, and the job of a sysadmin is best described as applying new duct tape when the old stuff wears out, which happens a lot.
Calendar
| Week | Date | Lecture (Tu/Th) | Lab |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Tue. 09/05 | Info Session | Lab 0 |
| Thu. 09/07 | - | - | |
| 1 | Tue. 09/12 | Intro to Unix, shell, and OSS | Lab 1 |
| Thu. 09/14 | Cancelled, MLK building closed. | - | |
| 2 | Tue. 09/19 | Intro to Shell | Lab 2 |
| Thu. 09/21 | - | - | |
| 3 | Tue. 09/26 | Shell Scripting | Lab 3 |
| Thu. 09/28 | Facebook Guest Lecture - Networking at Scale | - | |
| 4 | Thu. 10/05 | Distributions, Compiling, and Packaging | Lab 4 |
| 5 | Tue. 10/10 | Networking 101 | Lab 5 |
| 6 | Tue. 10/17 | Processes and Services | Lab 6 |
| 7 | Tue. 10/24 | Networked Services | Lab 7 |
| 8 | Tue. 10/31 | Security Fundamentals | Lab 8 |
| 9 | Tue. 11/07 | Web Applications | Lab 9 |
| 10 | Tue. 11/14 | Special Topics | Lab 10 |
Course Staff
Abizer Lokhandwala Head Facilitator
I am a junior CS major. Please include your favorite color, mother's maiden name, and social security number when signing up for this course.
Douglas Wong Head Facilitator
I am a super senior CS major from Hong Kong. When I'm not working I enjoy tennis, table tennis and kpop.
Ian McDonald Facilitator
I’m a senior studying computer science. I started using Linux after taking some bad advice and I haven’t looked back since.
Harrison Kuo Facilitator
I'm a senior studying EECS/MSE and I like messing with old or broken computers on my free time. I'm also a deputy manager at the OCF.
Jason Perrin Facilitator
I'm a junior EECS major who enjoys security, systems, webcomics, and running, though hopefully not running away from angry decal students!
Brian Sang Facilitator
Hi everyone! My name is Brian and I'm a senior CS major from Cleveland, Ohio. Feel free to hit me up for boba or if you want to talk about our Lord and Savior, LeBron James
Daniel Kessler Facilitator
I'm a junior studying computer science and economics. I've been messing around with Linux servers for years, and I'm excited to help out with this DeCal!
Tony Situ Facilitator
California born and raised; chasing whatever catches my curiosity at the time. On the side, I love tabletop, hiking, photography, and value (especially value).
Loren McIntyre Facilitator
I'm a 4th-year CS major who took some time off along the way. I like to talk about software philosophy, life, and living in the co-ops.
Kevin Peng Guest Lecturer
Kevin is a 5th-year EECS master's student and OCF Deputy Manager.