LUX Program

Linux/Unix System Administration (LUX) - 1 Year Graduate Certificate

Accelerate your career prospects in professional system administration as a participant in one of the world's top open source communities. This intensive eight-month, two semester program involves the comprehensive study of advanced Linux technologies while working on projects within the Fedora community and collaborating directly with Fedora contributors from around the world.

Linux is a hot technology in the computing industry. It is being used in systems ranging from cell phones to supercomputers and is supported by all of the top computer vendors. Total annual Linux-related sales are in the billions of dollars.

Graduates of this program are well prepared for positions in this interesting and fast-moving industry sector. They are equipped to select, configure, deploy, and support Linux-based networks, server and desktop systems, and supercomputing clusters; integrate Linux, Unix, and Windows systems into seamless networks; and create and use scripts and custom tools to manage administration tasks.

There are ten courses in this program. Half of each course is spent gaining practical, hands-on experience with Linux systems in our fully-equipped Linux lab. A co-op option is also available so that students can gain valuable job experience.

For those interesting in taking the LUX program, the program description and a flyer (PDF) are available.

Participants

The current LUX participants are listed in Fall 2008 LUX Participants.

Communications

LUX students communicate using the tools created and embraced by open source communities, including wikis, planets, and IRC channels. For information on using these tools, see LUX Communication.

Major Project

LUX students will work on a major project that, in the first semester, will span the SYA720, SPR710, and NAD710 courses. For details, see LUX Project. Other courses will include course assignments.

Facilities

The LUX program uses these two rooms:

• SEQ building room S2149 for lectures.
• TEL building room T2107 for labs. These systems are equipped with data recovery cards, which allow one of several virtual disk drives to be selected at boot time. When the machine is restarted, the original drive image can be restored almost instantly. This enables you to install software or change the system configuration without permanently affecting the system configuration.

In addition, LUX students have access to the CDOT Development Systems on the first floor of the TEL building for their project work (access cards will be issued to each LUX student).

Semester 1 Courses

• LPT730 Linux Power Tools (Michal Heidenreich)
• NAD710 Network Administration (Raymond Chan)
• SPR720 Shell Programming (Chris Tyler)
• SYA710 System Administration (John Selmys)
• XWN740 X Window System (Murray Saul)

Schedule for LUX courses -- Note that attendance at the lectures is required (2 mornings per week). You may choose to attend:

• Two mornings per week, performing labs and assignments/projects at home.
• Two days per week, performing labs during the lab periods and assignments/projects at home.
• Three to five days per week, performing labs during the lab periods and working on the assignments/projects at the college.

This provide flexibility in scheduling to accommodate your learning style, employment schedule, and personal equipment availability.

Grading for LUX courses -- Faculty are required to grade/evaluate each student in LUX. This page displays the schedule, evaluation type, and evaluation value for each of the 5 first semester courses.

Events

There are three events coming up this semester which will be of interest to LUX students:

• Installfest - On September 27, we'll be holding our twice-annual Installfest. At this event, Seneca students can bring in their laptop or desktop system and the Linux and Windows clubs will help install Linux and/or Windows. Volunteering for this event provides a great opportunity to get some experience installing Linux on different types of computers, solving driver compatibility issues, and working through multiboot and BIOS challenges. Details about this event will be posted on the Linux Club website.

• Free Software and Open Source Symposium (FSOSS 2008) - The 7th annual symposium will be held October 23-24 at Seneca@York. The event provides an opportunity for you to meet top open source developers and leaders face to face and to hear about new developments in this field. LUX students are strongly encouraged to attend. Registration is quite inexpensive, or you can help out with the event and attend for free. Speakers, presentations, and registration information are posted on the FSOSS website.

• FUDCon F11 - The Fedora Users and Developers Conference for Fedora 11 is tentatively scheduled for December 5-7 in Westford (or Boston) MA. We're considering doing a group trip via minivan or bus to this event. The cost will depend in part on how many people able to come, so please add an entry to the table below if you might be interested in attending (this is not a commitment to attend!). Event info is on the FUDCon F11 wiki page.

Name	Interested and able to attend FUDCon F11	Comments
Chris Tyler	Yes
John Selmys	Yes
Raymond Chan	Yes
Lou Daly	Yes
Mohak Vyas	Yes
Varinder Singh	Yes
Nestor Chan	Maybe
Gregory Masseau	Yes
Michal Heidenreich	No
Milton Paiva	Maybe
Patricia Constantino	Maybe
Stephen Carter	Maybe
Kezhong Liang	No
Murray Saul	Maybe