Concerning the assessment model, there is some incongruence between the lecture topics and the emphasis on a practical project. At present, there are no exams: 40% goes to a research paper that also serves as a project proposal, and 60% goes to the network administration project. However, the contents of the unit are difficult to assess in the project: roles of a network administrator, the SNMP and RMON standards for network management, network performance, network security, analytical network administration, network simulation. The result of the present assessment model is an excessive emphasis on practical aspects of administration without sufficient theory and concepts that are the basis for administration skills.

Network Administration and Computer System management are important areas of practical knowledge required by Network Computing professionals.

1. Hunt C. TCP/IP Network Administration 3rd Edn O'Reilly Associates (2002) ISBN 0-596-00297-1.
2. Burgess M Principles of Network & System Administration 2nd Edn Wiley (2004) ISBN 0-470-86807-4..
3. Mikalsen A., Borgesen P. Local Area Network Management, Design and Security: A practical approach Wiley (2002) ISBN 0-471-49769-X.
4. Stallings W. SNMP, SNMPv2, SNMPv3 & RMON I and II 3rd Edn. Addison Wesley (1998) ISBN 0-201-48534-6.
5. Stallings W. Data and Computer Communications 8th Edn. Prentice Hall (2007) ISBN 0-13-243310-9.
6. Cernick P., Degner M., Kruepke K. Cisco IP Routing Handbook M&T,IDG Books (2000) ISBN 0-7645-4695-3.
7. Held G. LAN Testing and Troubleshooting: Reliability tuning techniques Wiley (1996) ISBN 0-471-95880-8.
8. Limoncelli T. A., Hogan, C., Chalup S. R. The Practice of System and Network Administration 2nd Edn Addison-Wesley (2007) ISBN 0-321-49266-8.

• Tutorial assessments (20%)
• Network Administration Project (30%)
• Exam (50%)

The tutorial assessments will reinforce theoretical and problem-solving aspects of key network administration areas.

Through the network administration project, the student is expected to be able to implement some non-trivial instance of an application or practice that assists with or helps to perform Network Administration tasks. This will directly address objectives 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7, while indirectly addressing objectives 3, 4 and 8.

The exam component provides a complete assessment of all areas covered in this unit, testing for key knowledge as well as problem-solving skills pertinent to network administration.

• Software Title:
• Vendor:
• Version:
• OS: MS Windows XP ( ) and/or LINUX ( )
• License Details: (A valid software license certificate/s or Vendor permission must be available upon request if the software is to be installed for teaching)
• Are we currently licensed: Yes ( ) or No ( ) (If unsure, please check with your local IT support )
• If (Yes), who is the contact person for this software?:
• If (No), will the software license be arranged by: Staff member requesting the software ( ) or Technical Services* ( ) ? *If the latter is selected, please discuss your requirement/s with myself ASAP, prior to finalising your request, as there could be financial or resourcing implications.
• Is the software to be installed and accessed from a: Client/Workstation ( ), or Server ( ) ?
• Type of license: Site License ( ), Freeware ( ), FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) ( ), Shareware ( ), Lab based ( ) # of Licenses needed ____
• In what week will you commence using the software in class? Semester 1 (Week ___ ) and/or Semester 2 (Week ___ ):
• Nominated Staff For Acceptance Testing Software: (Name) (Phone) (Email)
• Additional Information: Special Requirements, Software Configuration/Installation Requirements, etc:

Generic Linux and Microsoft Windows operating systems with access to source media (CDs) - already available.

Library impact statement forward with reading list attached.

None.