Introducing the OCF Systems Administration DeCal
Joshua Kwan
Ever wanted to learn about Linux and other Unix-like operating systems?
Yup, it's that big, bad ... FREE ... operating system. The one that all
the cool kids are using. The one that you struggle with in the form of
Solaris while in the Soda labs. We want to teach you how to master it.
Unix, and its derivatives, are operating systems that don't make any
assumptions about you, unlike Windows and Mac OS X. They let you take
the reins and shoot yourself in the foot because you are in complete
control.
Ever heard those jokes where some hapless newbie is told to "rm -rf /"
and it wipes out his whole system? Yes - it actually lets you do that.
Intimidating, you say? That's like saying a fighter jet is intimidating,
because you don't know how to pilot it. But once you know, and you're in
control, it becomes a work of art. A thing of beauty.
This class teaches you how to pilot the fighter jet that is Unix -
specifically, Linux, but the skills you learn dealing with Linux will
help you on any Unix derivative.
</obnoxious prose>
The System Administration DeCal, run by staff members of the Open
Computing Facility (www.ocf.berkeley.edu), comes in three levels,
Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced, to suit as wide a range of
students as possible.
While Beginner is the most popular every semester, don't doubt yourself;
both Beginner and Intermediate start from the very beginning, assuming
no prior Unix experience. Only Advanced assumes you're comfortable with
Unix to begin with.
Here are the classes and times (see our webpage
www.ocf.berkeley.edu/sysadmin-decal for more info.) They all start next
week and each class is worth 2 units on a P/NP basis.
- Beginner: taught by Jonathan Chu and Calvin Ardi, Mondays from
5:30-7:30. Has a focus on setting up a webserver with MySQL and PHP
using Linux and basic proficiency with operating Unixes.
- Intermediate: taught by yours truly (Joshua Kwan), Tuesdays from
5-6:30. Has a focus on a top-to-bottom understanding of Linux with some
advanced topics. No Unix required, but is encouraged.
- Advanced: taught by Steven Luo, Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30-6:30.
Has a focus on system internals, performance tweaking, and many other
advanced topics.
Since I teach the Intermediate class, I will shamelessly paste my
syllabus here:
Week 1: So.. Why Unix? and The Shell
Week 2: The Filesystem
Week 3: Authorization with PAM
Week 4: Compiling Software from Scratch
Week 5: The Linux Kernel
Week 6: Diving in with the LAMP Suite
Week 7: Mail Delivery using SMTP
Week 8: Network services: SSH, DNS, and SNMP
Week 9: System V Init; Getting Involved with Open Source
Week 10: Desktop Linux Technologies (X11, udev, D-Bus..)
Week 11: "The Touch": Solving Problems You Know Nothing About
Week 12: Last Class - Final Project Presentation
Please email us at sysadmi...@ocf.berkeley.edu if you have any
questions at all (don't spam the newsgroup you're reading this on.) We'd
love to see you in our classes this semester!
Thanks,
Josh