Csed 430, Technical Administration of a PC Cluster, Fall 2006

Peter Dordal, Loyola University Chicago Dept of Computer Science.

Wednesdays, 5:45-8:15 pm

Text: Windows XP Professional Resource Kit, Third Edition (2005), Microsoft Press, ISBN 0735621675. Despite the "kit" in the name, this is just a book (although a rather thick one, but not to worry, we'll cover things selectively).

My general course groundrules are here. There will be a midterm and a final exam. Exams will count for between 70% to 80% of your grade, with homework and programs making up the rest.

 

Study guides and materials

Here is the final exam study guide. The final is Wednesday, December 13. Check for updates.

Here is the midterm study guide, which is probably in more or less final form. Solutions are here.

The midterm will be October 25.

Here is my ongoing notes file, consisting of a sometimes mysterious blend of what I think we actually covered and what I wish we could cover.

Here's a Microsoft link summarizing the (fine-grained, or "special") NTFS file permissions

Here's the Windows Server 2003 home page at MicroSoft.

Here's a Microsoft link on Group Policy.
MS Intro to Group Policy (downloadable word document)
Common Scenarios document, describing some security scenarios with varying levels of lockdown, and how to implement them with Group Policy Objects. (word)
Guide to managing Active Directory, 2003 version

Here's the third assignment, to write a paper about the features of a supplemental windows administration package such as ZENworks.

Here's the second assignment, on specifying goals (policy) and implementation (mechanism) for securing a workstation.

Some related links:
MS "Using Software Restriction Policies ...."
MS Shared Computer Toolkit

Our theme song? Here's Reinstalling Windows by Les Barker: mp3 (Swanee version) and lyrics.
Summary of Learning Objectives
After taking this course, students should be familiar with the following concepts:

The following Knowledge Indicators come from the State of Illinois criteria for Technology Specialists in the public school system [27.470]. CSED 430 will cover these topics as listed. The student should be able to:

Hypothetical week-by-week coverage

We almost certainly won't follow this in order, but we will try to cover most of the topics listed here. Reading references are to the Windows XP Resource Kit [RK], above.
  1. Installation of Windows. RK chapter 1, chapter 2
  2. Installation options; locked-down configuration. RK chapters 16, 17
  3. Domain setup and user accounts and profiles. RK chapter 5, 16, 17
  4. Software installation and distributed installation. RK: chapters 2, 4, 5, 15
  5. continued
  6. Lab management software; the Windows Registry. RK: misc references to the registry throughout the text
  7. continued
  8. Midterm
  9. Network firewalls. RK chapter 19, 22, 23
  10. Connecting to the internet. RK: chapter 22, 23
  11. Virus detection, prevention, and elimination
  12. backup and restore options; configuration and use of RAID disk volumes. RK: chapters 12, 13, 14
  13. non-Windows alternatives (Macintosh and Linux). Readings: online materials on linux
  14. misc.