OPS145 - Introduction to Linux and Unix

OPS145 Subject Description

Today Linux powers most servers and mobile devices. This subject introduces students to the use and management of Linux through the following actions:

Interact with Linux by typing commands on command lines and clicking on graphical user interfaces.
Personalize and control Linux.
Make personalization settings reboot persistent by saving edits to plain text files.
Run Linux locally on Windows or macOS.
From Linux running locally, connect to and manage remote Linux servers.
Automate repetitive tasks on Linux by creating or modifying scripts.

OPS145 Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this subject the student will be able to:

Use Linux file system from the command line as user and administrator.
Get information, configure, and manage: users, files, processes, networks, and disks.
Use pipes to send output of one command as input to another. Use files to redirect input and output.
Use regular expressions to filter, edit, and format plain text files.
Search files based on file properties: ownership, time stamp, size, permissions, and more.
Edit configuration files and modify scripts using command line, graphical, and web-based editors.
Create, modify, and execute scripts to automate tasks for users and administrators.
Backup and restore configurations for local and remote Linux systems.
Create and maintain documentation for sysadmin work done using paper and digital logbooks.
Detect, troubleshoot, and fix broken system configurations and network routing.

OPS145 Weekly Topics

Week 1 - Introduction

Concepts:

Linux background and open source philosophy
Introduction to using command line interfaces
Introduction to system administration
Understanding differences between working and failed sysadmin tasks
Accessing matrix server on- and off-campus
Logging in to matrix to do course work
Command Line:
ssh to matrix
cp to copy notes
vimtutor

Week 2 - File Management

Concepts:

Understanding how to read man pages
File management: create, read, update, and delete
Text editing
File system links: hard and symbolic links
Command Line:
Basic navigation: pwd, cd, ls, tree
File management: cp, mv, rm, mkdir, rmdir, ln
Common utilities: cat, more, less, touch, file, find

Week 3 - Tree Navigation and Shell Expansion

Concepts:

Understanding Linux file system using 'man 7 hier'
Path names: absolute and relative
Quotes: single and double; escaping quote expansion
Using shell wildcards in file name expansion
Command execution and history
Recalling and editing previous commands
Environment variables
Command Line:
Quoting special characters
Shell basics: command execution and managing command history

Week 4 - Permissions

Concepts:

Data Representation: binary and octal number system representation
File and directory permissions for user, group, and others
Shell Variables
Command Line:
chmod
umask
stat

Week 5 - Filters, Pipes, and Redirection

Concepts:

Devices: stdin, stdout, stderr, and /dev/null
Input and Output redirection
Redirection and piping
Command Line:
Filter commands: head, tail, cut, sort, tr, wc, grep
Redirection using >, >>, <, >&, |&
tee

Week 6 - File Transfer and Sending Email

Concepts:

Transferring files across network
Sending email from the command line
Sending email with file attachments
grep based filtering
Command Line:
scp and sftp utilities
mail and mailx
Using grep with options

Week 7 - Midterm

Course Review
Midterm Test (20%)

Week 8 - Management of Processes and Disks

Concepts:

Process management: view, start, suspend, and kill processes
Foreground and background jobs
Shell aliases
Shell Scripting:
Positional parameters
Using test statements
Commands: echo and read
Simple scripts to display output and get input from user
Making decisions with if statement
Looping with for statement
Command Substitution / Math Operations
Command Line:
ps, jobs, fg, bg, top
df, du, quota
lsblk, mount, umount

Week 9 - Regular Expressions with grep

Concepts:

Regular expressions basics
- Literal matching
- Character classes
- Using symbols: . and *
- Anchoring
Command Line:
grep

Week 10 - Regular Expressions with sed and awk

Concepts:

Using cut and grep
Filter and edit with sed
Filter, edit, and pretty print with awk
Command Line:
cut
sed
awk

Week 11 - Scripting for System Administration

Shell Scripting:

Scripts for sysadmin related tasks
Using variables in scripts
Passing arguments and options to scripts
More test statements
Making decisions with if-else statements
Using for loop statements to loop over files in directory

Week 12 - Scripts bundled with Linux distros

Shell Scripting:

Making decisions with if - elif - else statement
Using for loop with output from commands run in sub-shells
Command Substitution
while loop statement
Error-Checking with Loops
exit and break statements
export command
Creating and using functions in shells
Shell start-up files
Understanding scripts bundled with Linux

Week 13 - Faculty Led Interest Topic

Tutorials and Project based on minimal Ubuntu VM due
Review Questions

Week 14 - Final Test

Course Review
Final Test (20%)

Mode of Instruction

Modes: In-class lecture, in-class exercises, and hands-on activity
Hours per week: 4
Room configuration: Computer lab
Typical scheduling pattern: Fall, Winter, and summer terms

Prescribed Texts

None

Reference Material

https://matrix.senecapolytechnic.ca/~ops145

Required Supplies

None

Student Progression and Promotion Policy

To obtain a credit in this subject, a student must:

Achieve an average of 50% or better for the two tests.
Achieve a grade of 50% or better on the overall course
https://www.senecapolytechnic.ca/about/policies/student-progression-and-promotion-policy.html

Modes of Evaluation

Assessment Summary:

30% Linux Online Tutorials:
- 20% Weekly tutorials with due dates
- 10% Interactive review tutorials
30% Lab Quizzes (best 6 marks of 6 or more quizzes)
40% Tests (2 at 20%)