Debre Berhan University

Department of Computer Science

Course Title: System Administration and Computer Networking

Assignment Type: Individual Work

Assignment Title: LinkedIn-Based Professional Learning and Technical

Documentation

1. Assignment Overview

In this assignment, each student is required to create a personal LinkedIn account (if not already
available), follow a professional who frequently posts System Administration and Networking-
related content (e.g., tutorials, articles, configurations, or documents).

Use the following link, (link provided in your telegram group)

(99+) GiTeSh D. | LinkedIn

Students will review and assess at least 20 posts or shared documents from that professional profile
and develop a formal summarized documentation that reflects understanding, analysis, and
demonstration of the technical contents.

2. Assignment Objectives

 To encourage students to explore and engage with professional networking platforms like
LinkedIn.

 To develop skills in technical documentation and professional summarization.

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  To enhance understanding of real-world system administration and networking
practices.

 To demonstrate comprehension through visual interpretation and practical examples.

3. Assignment Requirements

Part 1: LinkedIn Exploration

 Create or use your personal LinkedIn account.

 Follow one professional (e.g., system administrator, network engineer, IT expert, or

instructor) who posts relevant content. (Link provided).

 Review a minimum of 20 posts or documents related to:

o Server administration (Windows/Linux)

o Network configuration and troubleshooting

o Virtualization and cloud management

o IT monitoring and security practices

Part 2: Technical Documentation

Prepare a formal report (typed, structured, and professional) that includes the following
sections:

A. Cover Page

 Student’s Full Name  Course Title

 ID Number  Instructor’s Name

 Department  Submission Date

B. Table of Contents

C. Introduction

 Purpose of the assignment

 Brief description of the LinkedIn profile you followed

D. Summary of Reviewed Posts/Documents

For each of the 20 posts/documents, include:

1. Post Title or Topic

2. Date Published

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 3. Main Idea / Objective

4. Key Technical Concepts Learned

5. Practical Example or Application

(You may use tables or bullet points for clarity.)

E. Demonstration / Practice Section

 Choose at least 3–5 topics from the reviewed posts and perform short demonstrations
or configurations (e.g., screenshots, CLI commands, setup steps, or results).
 Provide brief explanations of how you applied or tested the knowledge from the posts.

F. Image Interpretation

 You have a set of lecture-related images from your Telegram Group.

 Include at least 5–10 images in your document with your own interpretation or
understanding of what each image represents (e.g., system diagram, configuration flow,
network topology, error output).

 Each image should have:

o Image title

o Short explanation or description (3–5 lines)

G. Conclusion

 Summarize what you learned from the LinkedIn engagement and image analysis.

 Reflect on how this helped you understand system administration and networking
concepts.

H. References
 Include LinkedIn profile link(s) and any other sources used.

4. Submission Guidelines

 Format: Typed, PDF or Word (.docx)

 Font: Times New Roman, 12pt, 1.5 line spacing

 Length: Minimum 10 pages (including images and demonstrations)

 Deadline: Before class end.

 Submission Method: email (biniesht@[Link]), Telegram DM, Hardcopy.

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 Debre Berhan University
Department of Computer Science

Course Title: System Administration and Computer Networking

Assignment Type: Group Work

Assignment Title: Designing and Implementing a Corporate

Network
The goal of this project is to design, configure, and document a complete, functional network for
a simulated Medium-Sized Enterprise (MSE) using Cisco Packet Tracer, incorporating VLANs,
Inter-VLAN Routing, Switchport Security, and secure Remote Access.

1. Project Scenario & Requirement Gathering

1.1 Choose an organization

Students should select one type of organization to base their network on. Examples:

 A Manufacturing Company (e.g., Production, HR, Sales, IT)

 A University/College Campus (e.g., Administration, Faculty, Library, Student Lab)

 A Hospital/Clinic (e.g., Patient Records, Pharmacy, Administration, Doctors' Offices)

1.2 Identify Departments and Requirements

Students must define the organizational structure and gather the following high-level requirements:

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 Department/Location Users Security/Access Needs Special Requirements
(approx.)

Sales 15 High priority access, Remote access

internet access (simulated)

Human Resources 8 Confidential data (must be Printer access

(HR) separate)

IT/Tech Support 5 Access to all devices, secure SSH/Telnet access, Data

remote access Center access

Administration 10 Standard office access Shared file server access

(simulated)

Data Center 2-3 Servers Highest security, dedicated Remote management

segment

2. Design Phase

2.1 IP Addressing and VLAN Scheme

Students must create a structured addressing plan:

 Select an appropriate private IP address range (e.g., 192. 168.x.x).

 Design a VLAN ID and Network Subnet for each department (e.g., VLAN 10 for HR,
VLAN 20 for Sales, etc.).

 VLAN Confidentiality Constraint: Ensure there is at least one pair of VLANs that cannot
communicate with each other (i.e., Inter-VLAN routing will be configured for most, but
one specific Access Control List (ACL) will deny traffic between a high-security VLAN,
like HR, and a lower-security VLAN, like Sales). The most practical interpretation is to
prevent the confidential VLAN (e.g., HR) from communicating with one specific other
VLAN (e.g., Sales) while still allowing Inter-VLAN communication for all other pairings.

2.2 Topology Design

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Create a logical and physical topology in Packet Tracer:

 Utilize 1 or 2 Routers to handle all routing, including Inter-VLAN routing (Router-on-a-

Stick or a Layer 3 Switch).

 Use a minimum of 2 Switches (one core/distribution switch, one access switch, and one for
the Data Center).

 Create a dedicated Data Center segment with a server and a Data Center Router/Switch.

3. Implementation Phase (Configuration Tasks)

3.1 Basic Device Configuration

 Console Configuration: Apply standard login/password security to the console lines of all
routers and switches.

 Hostname and Banners: Configure hostnames and appropriate MotD banners.

3.2 VLANs and Inter-VLAN Routing

 Configure VLANs on the core switches.

 Assign appropriate access ports to the correct VLANs for end devices (PCs, Servers).

 Configure Trunk ports between switches and to the router(s).

 Configure Inter-VLAN Routing using either:

o Router-on-a-Stick: Sub-interfaces on the main router.

o Layer 3 Switching: Switched Virtual Interfaces (SVIs) and routing protocols/static

routes.

 Implement the Confidentiality Constraint using a standard ACL applied to the routing
interface to deny communication between your chosen confidential VLAN (e.g., HR) and
one other specific VLAN (e.g., Sales).

3.3 Routing Implementation

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  Configure a Routing Protocol (e.g., OSPF or EIGRP) or Static Routes to ensure all network
segments, including the Data Center, can communicate with each other (except for the
ACL-blocked traffic).

3.4 Security and Remote Access

 Switchport Security: Select one office (e.g., Administration) and configure two specific
access ports using port security with the following restrictions:

o Maximum two devices (maximum 2).

o Secure the port so only the first two connected MAC addresses are allowed (sticky).

o Set the violation mode to shutdown (shutdown).

 SSH Access:

o Configure SSH on the Data Center Router and one Office Router/Switch.

o Configure the IT Department PC to securely access the Data Center Router using
SSH (requires domain name, crypto key generation, and VTY line configuration).

o Configure Telnet on another device for comparison, highlighting the security risk.

4. Testing and Documentation Phase

 Testing:

o Test Inter-VLAN Communication (ping between Sales and IT).

o Test ACL Denial (ping between HR and Sales—it should fail).

o Test Switchport Security (connect a third PC to the secured port—the port should
shut down).

o Test SSH Access from the IT PC to the Data Center Router.

 Documentation (Mandatory Deliverables):

o Logical Topology Diagram: Clearly showing routers, switches, PCs, and IP subnets.

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 o IP/VLAN Table: A clear table mapping VLAN ID, VLAN Name, Network Subnet,
and Gateway.

o Configuration Snippets: Key configuration outputs (e.g., show VLAN brief, show
IP interface brief, show running-config for ACLs/SSH/Port Security).

o Verification Report: Screenshots of successful pings, failed pings, and the shutdown
port security test.

5. DHCP Configuration

The goal is to automate IP addressing for user departments.

 Requirement: Configure the Router(s) or a dedicated Server in the Data Center to act as a
DHCP Server.

 Task: Create separate DHCP pools for the Sales, Administration, and IT VLANs.

 Configuration Detail: Students must ensure the router interfaces (gateways) or a central
DHCP server are configured to relay DHCP requests (using the IP helper-address
command on the client-facing interfaces if the server is remote).

6. Data Center Services Configuration (FTP, HTTP, SMTP/POP3)

The Data Center will host all application servers. This segment requires a dedicated VLAN.

Protocol Service Server Configuration Goal

Name Location

HTTP Web Data The Administration and Sales PCs must

Server Center be able to access the web server by
entering its IP address in a browser
(simulating a company intranet).

FTP File Data The IT Department PC must be able to

Server Center remotely access the FTP server
(simulating file transfer for maintenance

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 or backups) using an FTP client
application in Packet Tracer.

SMTP/POP3 Mail Data Configure the Mail Server service. Two

Server Center PCs (e.g., one from Sales, one from
Administration) must be configured with
Mail Client settings (email address,
incoming/outgoing server IP) and
successfully send and receive an email to
each other.

Configuration Integration Steps

1. Data Center Network: Ensure the Data Center has its own VLAN and subnet, and the
server(s) have static IP addresses within that subnet.

2. Server Services: On the Packet Tracer Server device(s) in the Data Center, navigate to the
Services tab and enable/configure:

o HTTP (ensure its ON).

o FTP (create at least one user account).

o Email (SMTP/POP3) (ensure both services are ON and create user accounts like
salesuser@[Link] and adminuser@[Link]).

3. Client Configuration:

o Set the Sales and Administration PCs to use DHCP to receive their IP
configurations.

o Configure the Email Client on the specified PCs using the Data Center Mail
Server's IP address.

o Test FTP and HTTP access from the relevant client PCs.

Documentation Enhancements

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 The final report must now include:

 DHCP Pool Configuration: Details of the IP ranges, default routers, and DNS servers
configured in the pools.

 Server Configuration Table: A table listing the Data Center server IPs, the services
enabled on each, and any access credentials (e.g., FTP username).

 Verification: Screenshots showing:

o A client PC successfully obtaining an IP via DHCP.

o A PC successfully browsing the HTTP page.

o Successful connection/login via FTP from the IT PC.

o A successful email exchange between the two configured client PCs.

Submission Guidelines

 Use your individual assignment guidelines and deadline.

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