MIS 4397 – Open Systems

Instructor

profjake

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COURSE DESCRIPTION: Due to the fast growing move to virtualizing and putting everything in "The Cloud", this will quickly become a very important class, hopefully a permanent and required one in the CBA. You will learn things important and useful to you in your work. The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the Linux Operating System (which lives on 80% of hardware out there, including most cell phones) and Server Virtualizing Technologies. There is a race to get EVERY server in the corporate world off "bare metal" and into "The Cloud." We will talk about WHY and then we will DO IT! Areas covered will include server hardware and installation, different virtualizing platforms, clustering (HA), management and security and performance enhancement. We will do some programming with PhP which will create web pages (Apache) based on data in MySQL database tables. We will install and compare different virtual platforms including VirtualBox, Proxmox, VMWare and Citrix Xen Server/Desktop.

THE LECTURER: First, I am not a full time professor. I am a part tme Adjunct Professor. This is mostly good for you. I am working daily in the industry so I have extensive practical experience. In other words, I am going to teach you what you need to know to get a job in today's MIS world. I teach this class and also 4477 Networking and Security Infrastructure, also a very important class these days to MIS majors.

I am a graduate of the University of Houston with Degrees in Computer Science and Business with Concentrations in MIS and Phychology. I began as a programmer when I was 15, and later became a partner in my father's medical billing business. We managed databases and processed medical claims for doctors in the Southeast Texas area. I wrote most of the software we used for that. I also wrote some of the first "EDI" software used to trasmit standardized claim data to Medicare. I also was a contributor to the "LINUX" project, specifically in the areas of networking and printing. I was attending U of H at the birth of the World Wide Web. Dr Parks asked me to come teach for him in 1995, when he took a 1 year project in California. During that time, I converted the Transaction Processing Classes (1 and 2) from mainframes to PC based systems. I also set up the first DISC Department server and was one of the first profs to use web pages to aid in teaching the class. I have taught just about every class in the MIS department, but I am best known for the 4477 Datacomm class, now called Networking and Security Infrastructure. Today I am president and founder of Adjecta Technologies, a VoIP and Cloud Hosting networking company. I often hire current and former students as interns. 

LECTURES: Attendance AND participation is VERY IMPORTANT to your grade. If you want to guarantee yourself a good grade, come to class, participate and ask questions. Participation will impact your grade significantly. There is a book for this class but it is not mandatory. We will cover some items from the book, but the technologies and methodologies have changed and evolved so much that the text has not kept up. We will make extensive use of WiKi's and other external sources as well as current events in the news. If you are a good researcher, then you probably do not need the book. Notes for each lecture along with slide presentations will be made available online, typically prior to the lecture.  Please let me know if you have any ADA requirements.

LABS: This is a hands-on class. I feel the best way to learn about networking and security is to experience it first hand. You must be enrolled in the lab this course to get credit for the class. The EiLab is in room 122. Your Cougar card should already be activated for entry. Please do not alter or use any equipment in the lab until after our first lab meeting, after you have become familiarized with the equipment. For some class periods, we may meet in the lab OR we may adjourn to the lab during a class. We will perform networking "experiments" in the lab which involves building a network, packet sniffing, firewall set up management and more.

RULES: No eating of �loud� food. Drinks are okay but not in the lab. Do not cheat on any assignments or tests or you will be dropped probably with an F. The University has specific rules on Academic Honesty. Check out: http://www.uh.edu/provost/policies/uhhonesty_plicy.html

ASSIGNMENTS: You will have at least one group project (the Network Game) that is done in-class on one specific day. There will be no makeup for this assignment without prior authorization. You will also be graded on 6 (or more) in-lab projects. There are possible points awarded for attendance, participation and an optional project.

EXAMS: This is a 100% project based/group assignment class. You are graded on the completion of the projects as well as participation.

CHANGES: Check my website and this syllabus often for announcements and schedule changes. I will typically email the class if and when changes are made.

GRADING:  I will attempt to post grades in a timely manner. Calculated percentages correlate to the following letter grades:
A=92.5-100,   A-=89.5-92.4, B+=87.5-89.4, B=82.5-87.4, B-=79.5-82.4, C+=77.5-79.4, 
C=72.5-77.4,  C-=69.5-72.4, D+=67.5-69.4, D=62.5-67.4, D-=59.5-62.4, F=<59.4