Overview
Welcome to the class!
Be sure to attend our first class meeting online (using WebEx) on Monday, August 28th, at 6:00PM. You must have a webcam, and suitable speakers/microphone (a headset is highly recommended).
In this introductory unit, we will acclimate ourselves with this course and its online delivery format. We will review both what you can expect from me, and what to expect to contribute throughout the semester. I will review the grading rubric and the various types of assignments, and we will review the syllabus.
As we get to know one another, we will break into 6 learning teams. Throughout the semester, as we work on labs, assignments and exercises that require working with other students, this will be your peer group. In addition, there will be 6 “case study reviews”; each of the 6 groups will choose one of the case studies to present to the class during our weekly online meeting. Typically, this group will present case study, any conclusions that can be drawn from the case study, and will facilitate a class-wide group discussion on the topic.
In this unit, you should also plan on ensuring that you will be prepared for the practical exercises. These exercises will use both the Temple academic UNIX server (“Astro”) as well as virtual machines. Although I recommend using Oracle’s VirtualBox (which is free), you may choose to use any virtualization product you have experience with. If you have never used a virtualization product, I recommend using Oracle VirtualBox, since I will be able to help you. Plan on installing a Linux VM during this unit, which you will use later in the course, as well as ensuring you can access Astro using your Temple account. If you need a refresher on Linux commands, I can provide resources for you (although, most of the labs will provide some guidance).
I look forward to learning with all of you this semester; please do not hesitate to reach out to me via email, phone or IM if you have any questions or concerns.
The topics discussed in this unit include:
- Defining infrastructure
- IT Security Triad
- Course overview
- Lab environment
There are no formal assessments in this unit; please take the time to get familiar with the course, and configure your lab environment.