TDDI09
Systeminstallation
REVISION: 2.0 [2015-08-28]
©2005-2015 DAVID BYERS
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................................... 1
Time management .......................................................................................................................................... 1
Your lab assistant ............................................................................................................................................ 1
Part 1: Initial labs ................................................................................................................................................ 2
Part 2: Project ..................................................................................................................................................... 2
System overview ............................................................................................................................................. 2
Part 3: The lab description .................................................................................................................................. 3
Formatting conventions .................................................................................................................................. 3
Preparation section ......................................................................................................................................... 3
Main section .................................................................................................................................................... 3
Feedback section............................................................................................................................................. 3
Part 4: The lab report.......................................................................................................................................... 4
Specifications .................................................................................................................................................. 5
Grading ............................................................................................................................................................ 5
Deadlines......................................................................................................................................................... 5
Part 5: Planning and methodology ..................................................................................................................... 5
Change control ................................................................................................................................................ 6
Documentation ............................................................................................................................................... 6
Testing ............................................................................................................................................................. 6
Part 6: Frequently asked questions .................................................................................................................... 6
Part 7: Get started! ............................................................................................................................................. 6
FEEDBACK FORMS ................................................................................................................................................... 9
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TDDI09: SYSTEMINSTALLATION
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TDDI09: SYSTEMINSTALLATION
INTRODUCTION
In this course you will install and set up a small network with the basic services that are usually needed
in a small business environment. Your installation should be of high enough quality that it could be
deployed in a real environment. There are two main parts of the course: an initial set of exercises and a
project. Expect early labs to have more step-by-step instructions than later ones. The project labs are
where you really learn by doing.
Time management
This is a tough course. It is designed to be a tough course. Nevertheless, experience shows that anyone
can succeed, if they put in the work required. Short of cheating or knowing everything beforehand, there
is no easy way through this course.
It takes about six to eight hours to complete the labs if you already know all the systems (it took me two
hours the last time I tried, and I designed them). But if you’re taking this course, chances are you don’t
have the years of experience it takes to finish that quickly. Because of that, there are about 150 hours
planned for labs (of which few are scheduled). Plan on using most of that time.
In order to not finish late, manage your time. Schedule your work and follow up on your plan so you see
early if your schedule is slipping. That way you can put in a little extra work early instead of a lot later. It
helps if you plan to finish early. Secondly, you need to work methodically. In the long run you can save a
lot of time by making sure you understand the things you are about to do before you do them. Thirdly,
do as much as possible as early as possible. There will be setbacks, and if you leave too much too late,
chances are you won’t finish on time.
Your lab assistant
There will be a lab assistant available some of the time. Hopefully the lab descriptions are clear enough
that you can follow them on your own (if they aren’t, use the feedback forms to say so). At the
beginning of the course you can expect to see the assistant more than towards the middle and end.
The lab assistant is there to guide you, but not to solve problems for you. Before asking a question, do
your best to try to find an answer on your own, and expect that the lab assistant’s response will be to
indicate a new avenue of research rather than answer the question outright. The faster you get used to
this, the faster you will be able to finish the labs.
Furthermore, your lab assistant is not all-knowing. We have found that students are almost as good as
professional system administrators at finding new and interesting ways to screw things up (truly
awesome abilities to screw things up requires years of experience and professional training). So if you
have a problem, don’t be too surprised if your lab assistant has no idea how to deal with it. They will do
their best to help, of course, but sometimes it will take a lot of time.
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Part 1: Initial labs
The initial set of exercises consists of four labs, LXB (Linux basics), UML (familiarize yourself with UML),
APT (basic package management) and TST (testing). You are required to complete these before starting
the project.
UML – User Mode Linux
Designed to familiarize you with user-mode Linux, the virtual Linux systems used in the labs.
LXB – Linux Basics
Designed to familiarize you with Linux in general and with commands that are useful in later stages of
the course. You should be able to do most of these labs on the lab workstations, but some tasks may
require “root access” (you need to log in as root). You can complete these on the UML systems that are
introduced in the UML lab.
APT – Basic Package Management
One of the first things you will need to do in the project is install packages. This lab introduces you to
basic package management tools in Debian/Gnu Linux.
TST – Testing
This lab contains no exercises, but you are expected to read it and hand in the feedback form. The lab
introduces some basic testing and troubleshooting methodology that will be helpful later on.
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You are expected to finish these labs early in the course. For historical reasons, the initial set of labs is
known as “lab-1”. See the course homepage for deadlines.
Part 2: Project
The project constitutes the bulk of the labs. It consists of the following labs:
ID
Contents
ID
Contents
SCT
Scripting and testing
NIS
Network information services
NET
Basic networking
STO
Storage
DNS
The domain name system
NFS
Network file systems
NTP
Network time
EMB
E-mail basics
The goal of the project is to install and configure a small network, similar to what one would see in a
small company. The order of the labs is not entirely fixed, but the order listed above (top-to-bottom,
then left-to-right) works pretty well.
System overview
The system consists of one server, two clients and a router. All
components are Linux systems with different software and
configuration. The final system will be very similar to what you find in
many smaller businesses: the only real difference in this case is the
number of clients and the absence of a web server. The goal is an
installation with high standards.
In order to support many students on limited equipment, and in
order to simplify certain aspects of the lab, we use virtual Linux
systems (user mode Linux) for all components. The virtual systems
run on a dedicated server, and it is possible to do the labs remotely.
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Since user mode Linux instances really are full-fledged Linux systems, you will experience a very typical
environment for a system administrator: all access to all machines is via a single text console or over the
network.
Virtual clients
The clients will be configured as standalone workstations. It will be possible to log in on them and
perform daily work tasks, but they do not provide any network services. They rely on the server for user
names and passwords, e-mail and other network services. The two clients should be nearly identically
configured when you are finished.
Virtual server
The server acts as a file server for the clients, handles authentication, email and other tasks. Any shared
service (that both clients need) and any service that doesn’t belong on either client goes on the server.
Virtual router
The router handles network traffic between your network and outside network. The only service that is
acceptable to run on the router is the network time service. Do not install DNS or any other service on
the router.
Part 3: The lab description
Formatting conventions
There are a few formatting conventions used in the lab exercises that you should be familiar with.
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A warning triangle on the left indicates information that is very important. Not reading and fully
comprehending such a section might render the lab impossible to complete, or might result in loss of
data.
Preparation section
The preparation exercises are designed to cover topics that are important in the main lab. If you
complete them and understand your work, the main lab should go smoothly. If you do not complete
them, or do not understand your work, you are very likely to run in to trouble in the main lab section. To
avoid wasting your time and the time of the lab assistant, you are required to complete the preparation
and have it checked by the lab assistant prior to starting the main lab.
Completing the preparation may require access to computers, but should not require access to the
network lab. If you discover a preparation exercise that does require access to the network lab, please
notify the lab assistant immediately and skip the exercise.
Main section
The main section consists of a number of parts, each focused on a single topic. Unless otherwise stated
in the lab, the parts should be completed in order (they may depend on each other).You are encouraged
to have the lab assistant check your work after each part, to ensure that you haven’t missed anything
important or made any serious mistakes.
Feedback section
All labs include a feedback form. This form should be completed individually and handed in to the lab
assistant on completion of the lab. You may also mail it to the lab assistant if you are concerned about
your anonymity. Do not staple your feedback form(s) to anything else. Please print at 100% size.
You are requested to rate each lab according to four criteria: difficulty, learning, interest and time, as
well as comment on what you liked and disliked about the lab, and how you think it could be improved.
Your feedback is very important to us. It is our most important tool for improving the quality of these
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labs. After each course we process all feedback and update the labs according to your scores and your
comments.
Your feedback is very important to us. It lets us know if the labs are too big, too small, too challenging or
too easy, and your suggestions let us improve the labs from year to year. For example, in 2006 we
collected over 1024 individual feedback forms, which were fed in to a database. Guided by this
information we have been able to give you an idea of how long each lab should take and have been able
to adjust the level of difficulty and extent of many labs. On those 1024 forms there were 241 comments.
We have addressed as many of the dislikes as possible (some are impossible to eliminate and some
aspects were disliked by some and liked by others), accepted nearly all suggestions and tried to
reinforce the aspects of the lab that were already well liked.
Use the comment section! If you find problems with the lab (e.g. typos, something not adequately
explained etc.) make an improvement comment. If you rated the lab very low in learning or interest, or
very high in difficulty, please let us know why, and any suggestions you may have to improve the
situation. Don’t hesitate to comment even if you only have good things to say – it’s just as important to
know what went right as to know what went wrong.
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The feedback section in each lab is not a substitute for the course evaluation you find in the student
portal. We need you to do both. The feedback sections in the lab give us very detailed information
throughout the course, while the course evaluation gives us and the university aggregate information
about the course. The two tools are used for completely different purposes, and we need you to
complete them both, regardless of whether you liked the course or whether you didn’t.
Difficulty
Rate the difficulty of the lab. A one indicates that the lab is too easy; to us this indicates that we should
consider making it more challenging or consider eliminating it. A three indicates that it was challenging
but not really difficult. A five indicates that the section was too difficult; to us this indicates that we
should find ways to better guide you through the section.
Learning
Rate how much you learned in this section. A one indicates that you learned nothing or next to nothing
from the section; to us this indicates that the section may need extensive revisions. A three means you
learned a bit from the section, but that there were significant things in there that you didn’t learn from.
A five indicates that you learned a lot from the section. We aim for fives.
Interest
This is perhaps the most difficult datum to quantify. We find that labs are most successful when they
awaken interest in the topics. We would like you to rate how interesting you find the topic of the lab,
and how the lab affected your interest in networking in general. A one might be appropriate if you
found the lab utterly boring and it awoke no interest in you or even made you less interested in
computer networks. A five might be appropriate if you found the lab engaging and you are more
interested in its topic afterwards than before, or even more interested in computer networks than
before.
Time
Indicate how long you spent on the section in total (including preparation time) in minutes (resolution of
more than 15 minutes is unnecessary – use your own judgment beyond that). We use the information to
ensure that no lab is too extensive given the time frame of the course.
Part 4: The lab report
When you have completed each lab you are to prepare a lab report. Each exercise details what you need
to report for that particular exercise. Please ensure that your lab report is easy to read and that your
answers to the exercises are complete and unambiguous before handing the lab report in. Lab reports
that do not conform to these standards will be ignored.
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Specifications
Each report must be handed in electronically, either as a PDF file or as a pure text file. No other formats
are acceptable. Do not compress or place files in some kind of archive.
Every report must start with a page identifying the lab (by code and name), students (by name, personal
number and LiU-ID) and group (by group number). Labs without that information on the first page will
be rejected, possibly without notice (depends on what information is missing).
Feedback forms can be submitted separately by e-mail or on paper.
Grading
You will be graded on your lab reports. Grades are reported Depending on the grading in use for the
course, you will be graded PASS/FAIL. The following factors (at least) contribute to your grade:
 The quality of your answers to the exercises.
 The clarity of your answers to the exercises.
 The organization of your lab report.
 The readability of your lab report.
This means that you can be failed on the lab if your report is too hard to read or too badly organized,
regardless of how complete and how good your answers are. The exact criteria will depend on your lab
assistant since the human factor cannot be entirely eliminated from the equation.
If you are dissatisfied with the grade you have received, please contact the lab assistant or the person in
charge of the course to plead your case. Be prepared to explain clearly why you are dissatisfied, what
grade you think you should have and why you deserve it.
If you fail a lab entirely you will be given the opportunity to hand in a new lab report. As with other
types of exams you have three chances to get it right. If you manage to fail the lab three times in a row,
you will fail the entire class.
Deadlines
After you finish the DNS lab, you must hand in reports and automated tests for all labs up to and
including DNS. Hand in the remaining reports and automated tests when you finish the last lab.
The deadlines posted on the course home page or elsewhere are firm deadlines. If you hand in a lab
report late you are entirely at the mercy of the person grading it. Deadlines for correcting failed lab
reports will be specified when the lab is returned to you unless they have been posted beforehand. In
general you will have one to two weeks to correct the report.
Part 5: Planning and methodology
You can finish the different tasks in what order you find suitable. However, consider the dependencies
between the different parts of the project. Start with the parts that have the fewest dependencies. For
example, DNS is only dependent on basic networking, whereas almost everything else is dependent on
name resolution. Therefore, it is a very good idea to implement DNS early. Similarly, most services are
dependent on the user database in some way, so it is a good idea to implement a directory service early
on.
Regardless of which order you intend to complete the project in, you must start with UML and LXB.
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Change control
You are encouraged use some simple form of change control throughout (except in LXB). At first this will
be cumbersome, but with practice, it becomes simpler. You may adjust the change control process to
suit your needs and ambition.
Documentation
You must document your work. In particular you are required to maintain a log book detailing
everything you do (this is mostly for your own benefit – a logbook can be extremely helpful if you
accidentally break something). At the very least, you must list date, time and action taken.
Additional documentation may be produced as you see fit.
Testing
Everything you do must be tested and you are required to create automated test cases for every task.
Basically, every change you make and every aspect of every service you install must be tested using an
automated procedure.
Part 6: Frequently asked questions
Q:
I want to do the labs alone. Is that OK?
A:
Maybe. Probably not. but ask your lab assistant.
Q:
There are three (or even four) of us who want to work together. Is that OK?
A:
No, and no matter how many times you ask it never will be.
Q:
Do I need to use the same user account every time?
A:
Yes. Well, if you know how to do it, you could set up access control lists that allow other
members of your group to read and write your files. They will need rwx access to every file
under the /users/username/mln subdirectory.
Q:
Are the machines backed-up so I can get back lost files?
A:
No. If you lose a file somehow then that file is gone. If you lose the virtual machine, it is gone.
Q:
Can I work from home?
A:
Yes, if you have an ssh client with X-windows forwarding and an X server. If you use Windows
at home, I personally use putty for ssh and XMing for X.
Q:
There’s so much to read! Do you seriously mean I need to read it all?
A:
Yes. TL;DR does not apply. Digging out relevant information from massive piles of
documentation is one of the most important skills a system administrator (or indeed any
engineer) can have. You will learn how in this course. Learn to quickly discern documentation
structure, learn where to look first. Learn to skim headings and text for keywords. It’s hard at
first, but it gets a lot easier with practice. So practice!
Part 7: Get started!
Begin with the UML lab. This will teach you how to start the virtual Linux systems. For any exercise in the
LXB lab that requires privileged system access (i.e. you need to log in as root), you should use the lab-1
virtual systems created by the setup script you ran earlier. All other exercises can be done on the normal
workstation.
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Good luck, learn a lot and have fun!
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FEEDBACK FORM
TDDI09
Complete this feedback form individually at the end of the lab and hand it to the lab assistant when you
finish. Your feedback is essential for improving the labs. Each student should hand in a feedback form.
Do not cooperate on completing the form.
You do not need to put your name on the feedback form. Your feedback will be evaluated the same way
regardless of whether your name is on it or not. Your name is valuable to us in case you have made and
comments in the last section that need clarifications or otherwise warrant a follow-up.
For each section, please rate the following (range 1 to 5 in all cases).
 Difficulty: Rate the degree of difficulty (1=too easy, 5=too difficult)
 Learning: Rate your learning experience (1=learned nothing, 5=learned a lot).
 Interest: Rate your interest level after completing the part (1=no intest, 5=high interest).
 Time: How long did the part take to complete (in minutes)?
Difficulty
Learning
Interest
Time
(minutes)
Overall
Please answer the following questions:
 What did you like about this introduction?
 What did you dislike about this introduction?
 Make a suggestion to improve this introduction.
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TDDI09: SYSTEMINSTALLATION
FEEDBACK FORM
TDDI09
Complete this feedback form individually at the end of the lab and hand it to the lab assistant when you
finish. Your feedback is essential for improving the labs. Each student should hand in a feedback form.
Do not cooperate on completing the form.
You do not need to put your name on the feedback form. Your feedback will be evaluated the same way
regardless of whether your name is on it or not. Your name is valuable to us in case you have made and
comments in the last section that need clarifications or otherwise warrant a follow-up.
For each section, please rate the following (range 1 to 5 in all cases).
 Difficulty: Rate the degree of difficulty (1=too easy, 5=too difficult)
 Learning: Rate your learning experience (1=learned nothing, 5=learned a lot).
 Interest: Rate your interest level after completing the part (1=no interest, 5=high interest).
 Time: How long did the part take to complete (in minutes)?
Difficulty
Learning
Interest
Time
(minutes)
Overall
Please answer the following questions:
 What did you like about this introduction?
 What did you dislike about this introduction?
 Make a suggestion to improve this introduction.
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TDDI09: SYSTEMINSTALLATION