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Course Careers Information Technology
Course Careers Information Technology
Course Careers
Information TECHNOLOGY
Module 1: Course Overview and Mindset
What is IT?
IT is essentially the use of digital technology, like computers and the internet, to store and process data
into useful information.
IT support specialists make sure that an organization's technological equipment is running smoothly. This
includes managing, installing, maintaining, troubleshooting, and configuring office and computing
equipment.
The computer case is also known as a tower, box, system unit, base unit, enclosure, housing, chassis,
and cabinet. Contains all the hardware components of a computer.
Motherboard: The body or circulatory system of the computer that connects all the pieces together.
CPU: Central processing unit determines the performance of your system. A central processing unit
(CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that
executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic,
controlling, and input/output (I/O) operations specified by the instructions in the program. Measured in
cycles per second.
Hard drive: It is a long-term memory component that holds all our data, which can include music,
pictures, applications. SSD: Solid State Drive. HDD (Hard disk drive): Hard disk drives, or HDDs, use a
spinning platter and a mechanical arm to read and write information. Gigabytes and Terabytes.
RAM: Random Access Memory temporary storage for computer programs. Loads apps while you’re using
the app for example.
Power supply: Converts electricity from our wall outlet onto a format that our computer can use.
Network Interface Card (NIC) – allows the computer to communicate over the network/Internet via a
RJ45. Possible to have USB versions of both.
Graphics Cards – A graphics card (also called a video card, display card, graphics adapter, VGA card/VGA,
video adapter, display adapter, or colloquially GPU) is a computer expansion card that generates a feed
of graphics output to a display device such as a monitor.
Input/Output device: A device that performs input and output, including monitors, keyboards, mice,
hard disk drives, speakers, Bluetooth headsets, webcams, and network adapters.
Ports: Connection points that we can connect devices to that extend the functionality of our computer.
Type-C connector: A type of USB connector meant to replace many peripheral connections.
USB (Universal Serial Bus): A connection standard for connecting peripherals to devices such as
computers.
USB-C adapter: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices.
Docking stations allow you to plug in many different connections. Mostly all have a USB-C.
File system: A system used to manage files and data. Different OS use their own file system.
Virtual machine (VM): An application that uses physical resources like memory, CPU and storage, but
they offer the added benefit of running multiple operating systems at once.
What is Networking?
Computer networking refers to interconnected computing devices that can exchange data and share
resources with each other. These networked devices use a system of rules, called communications
protocols, to transmit information over physical or wireless technologies.
Nodes and links are the basic building blocks in computer networking. A network node may be data
communication equipment (DCE) such as a modem, hub or, switch, or data terminal equipment (DTE)
such as two or more computers and printers. A link refers to the transmission media connecting two
nodes. Links may be physical, like cable wires or optical fibers, or free space used by wireless networks.
In a working computer network, nodes follow a set of rules or protocols that define how to send and
receive electronic data via the links. The computer network architecture defines the design of these
physical and logical components. It provides the specifications for the network’s physical components,
functional organization, protocols, and procedures.
Routers –
A router is a device that connects two or more packet-switched networks or subnetworks. It serves two
primary functions: managing traffic between these networks by forwarding data packets to their
intended IP addresses and allowing multiple devices to use the same Internet connection.
There are several types of routers, but most routers pass data between LANs (local area networks) and
WANs (wide area networks). A LAN is a group of connected devices restricted to a specific geographic
area. A LAN usually requires a single router.
A WAN, by contrast, is a large network spread out over a vast geographic area. Large organizations and
companies that operate in multiple locations across the country, for instance, will need separate LANs for
each location, which then connect to the other LANs to form a WAN. Because a WAN is distributed over
a large area, it often necessitates multiple routers and switches.
Switches –
A network switch forwards data between devices, unlike routers, which forward data between
networks.
In computer networking, a wireless access point, or more generally just an access point, is a networking
hardware device that allows other Wi-Fi devices to connect to a wired network.
What is an IP Address? An Internet Protocol address is a numerical label such as 192.0.2.1 that is
connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. An IP address
serves two main functions: network interface identification and location addressing.
Binary code represents text, computer processor instructions, or any other data using a two-symbol
system. The two-symbol system used is often "0" and "1" from the binary number system. The binary
code assigns a pattern of binary digits, also known as bits, to each character, instruction, etc.
Subnet Mask –
IP addresses have 2 parts: the Network ID and Host ID. The Subnet Mask identifies which portion of the
IP address is the Network ID and the remaining Host ID. A subnet mask is a 32-bit number created by
setting host bits to all 0s and setting network bits to all 1s. In this way, the subnet mask separates the IP
address into the network and host addresses. The “255” address is always assigned to a broadcast
address, and the “0” address is always assigned to a network address.
Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) is a feature in operating systems (such as Windows) that
enables computers to automatically self-configure an IP address and subnet mask when their DHCP
server isn't reachable. The IP address range for APIPA is 169.254. 0.1 - 169.254.
Loopback Address - The IP address 127.0. 0.1 is called a loopback address. Packets sent to this address
never reach the network but are looped through the network interface card only. This can be used for
diagnostic purposes to verify that the internal path through the TCP/IP protocols is working.
What are Network Ports? In computer networking, a port or port number is a number assigned to
uniquely identify a connection endpoint and to direct data to a specific service. At the software level,
within an operating system, a port is a logical construct that identifies a specific process or a type of
network service.
A socket is one endpoint of a two-way communication link between two programs running on the
network. A socket is bound to a port number so that the TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) layer can
identify the application that data is destined to be sent to.
What are Network Protocols? A communication protocol is a system of rules that allows two or more
entities of a communications system to transmit information via any kind of variation of a physical
quantity. The protocol defines the rules, syntax, semantics and synchronization of communication and
possible error recovery methods.
The Transmission Control Protocol is one of the main protocols of the Internet protocol suite. It
originated in the initial network implementation in which it complemented the Internet Protocol.
Therefore, the entire suite is commonly referred to as TCP/IP. In computer networking, the User
Datagram Protocol is one of the core communication protocols of the Internet protocol suite used to
send messages to other hosts on an Internet Protocol network. Within an IP network, UDP does not
require prior communication to set up communication channels or data paths.
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) has assigned port numbers to commonly used services
like SSH, FTP, HTTP, HTTPS, and others. Here are some of the most common ones:
The Domain Name System is a hierarchical and distributed naming system for computers, services, and
other resources on the Internet or other Internet Protocol networks. It associates various information
with domain names assigned to each of the associated entities.
ICMP (No Port) Internet Control Message Protocol this is the protocol that PING uses. Ping is a
command tool used to check if another computer is reachable on the network line.
Module 3: Day-to-Day
Working Tickets
A helpdesk ticket is an automated request for tracking and logging customer service requests. These
requests are generated when somebody needs assistance from a support team or technician in resolving
a technical issue, problem, or question related to their product or service.
Service Level Agreement (SLA) A service-level agreement is a commitment between a service provider
and a customer. Aspects of the service – quality, availability, responsibilities – are agreed between the
service provider and the service user. This will address time of resolution, how fast you reach out initially,
how often you communicate, etc.
Remote Desktop Services, known as Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008 and earlier, is one of the
components of Microsoft Windows that allow a user to initiate and control an interactive session on a
remote computer or virtual machine over a network connection.
Module 4: Labs
Lab 1 – Azure Crash Course
What is the Cloud?
"The cloud" refers to servers that are accessed over the Internet, and the software and databases that
run on those servers. Cloud servers are in data centers all over the world. By using cloud computing,
users and companies do not have to manage physical servers themselves or run software applications on
their own machines.
Cloud computing is possible because of a technology called virtualization. Virtualization allows for the
creation of a simulated, digital-only "virtual" computer that behaves as if it were a physical computer
with its own hardware. The technical term for such a computer is virtual machine. When properly
implemented, virtual machines on the same host machine are sandboxed from one another, so they do
not interact with each other at all, and the files and applications from one virtual machine are not visible
to the other virtual machines even though they are on the same physical machine.
Virtual machines also make more efficient use of the hardware hosting them. By running many virtual
machines at once, one server can run many virtual "servers," and a data center becomes like a whole
host of data centers, able to serve many organizations. Thus, cloud providers can offer the use of their
servers to far more customers at once than they would be able to otherwise, and they can do so at a low
cost.
Even if individual servers go down, cloud servers in general should be always online and always available.
Cloud vendors generally back up their services on multiple machines and across multiple regions.
Users access cloud services either through a browser or through an app, connecting to the cloud over
the Internet — that is, through many interconnected networks — regardless of what device they are
using.
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS): Instead of users installing an application on their device, SaaS applications
are hosted on cloud servers, and users access them over the Internet. SaaS is like renting a house: the
landlord maintains the house, but the tenant mostly gets to use it as if they owned it. Examples of SaaS
applications include Salesforce, MailChimp, and Slack.
Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS): In this model, companies don't pay for hosted applications; instead they
pay for the things they need to build their own applications. PaaS vendors offer everything necessary for
building an application, including development tools, infrastructure, and operating systems, over the
Internet. PaaS can be compared to renting all the tools and equipment necessary for building a house,
instead of renting the house itself. PaaS examples include Heroku and Microsoft Azure.
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS): In this model, a company rents the servers and storage they need
from a cloud provider. They then use that cloud infrastructure to build their applications. IaaS is like a
company leasing a plot of land on which they can build whatever they want — but they need to provide
their own building equipment and materials. IaaS providers include DigitalOcean, Google Compute
Engine, and OpenStack.
Formerly, SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS were the three main models of cloud computing, and essentially all cloud
services fit into one of these categories. However, in recent years a fourth model has emerged:
Function-as-a-Service (FaaS): FaaS, also known as serverless computing, breaks cloud applications down
into even smaller components that only run when they are needed. Imagine if it were possible to rent a
house one little bit at a time: for instance, the tenant only pays for the dining room at dinner time, the
bedroom while they are sleeping, the living room while they are watching TV, and when they are not
using those rooms, they don't have to pay rent on them.
FaaS or serverless applications still run on servers, as do all these models of cloud computing. But they
are called "serverless" because they do not run on dedicated machines, and because the companies
building the applications do not have to manage any servers.
Also, serverless functions scale up, or duplicate, as more people use the application — imagine if the
tenant's dining room could expand on demand when more people come over for dinner!
In contrast to the models discussed above, which define how services are offered via the cloud, these
different cloud deployment types have to do with where the cloud servers are and who manages them.
Private cloud: A private cloud is a server, data center, or distributed network wholly dedicated to one
organization.
Public cloud: A public cloud is a service run by an external vendor that may include servers in one or
multiple data centers. Unlike a private cloud, public clouds are shared by multiple organizations. Using
virtual machines and individual servers may be shared by different companies, a situation that is called
"multitenancy" because multiple tenants are renting server space within the same server.
Hybrid cloud: hybrid cloud deployments combine public and private clouds and may even include on-
premises legacy servers. An organization may use their private cloud for some services and their public
cloud for others, or they may use the public cloud as backup for their private cloud.
Multi-cloud: multi-cloud is a type of cloud deployment that involves using multiple public clouds. In
other words, an organization with a multi-cloud deployment rents virtual servers and services from
several external vendors — to continue the analogy used above, this is like leasing several adjacent plots
of land from different landlords. Multi-cloud deployments can also be hybrid cloud, and vice versa.
Note: You only must create your Azure account (Tenant) and Subscription once, though technically you
could create multiple “Pay-As-You-Go” subscriptions if you wanted. The steps below assume you
already have your Azure account setup.
Links:
osTicket Installation Files:
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1APMfNyfNzcxZC6EzdaNfdZsUwxWYChf6
From the Installation Files, download and install PHP Manager for IIS (PHPManagerForIIS_V1.5.0.msi)
From the Installation Files, download and install the Rewrite Module (rewrite_amd64_en-US.msi)
From the Installation Files, download PHP 7.3.8 (php-7.3.8-nts-Win32-VC15-x86.zip) and unzip the
contents into C:\PHP
From the Installation Files, download and install MySQL 5.5.62 (mysql-5.5.62-win32.msi)
Typical Setup ->
Launch Configuration Wizard (after install) ->
Rename: ost-config.php
From: C:\inetpub\wwwroot\osTicket\include\ost-sampleconfig.php
To: C:\inetpub\wwwroot\osTicket\include\ost-config.php
Clean up
Delete: C:\inetpub\wwwroot\osTicket\setup
Set Permissions to “Read” only: C:\inetpub\wwwroot\osTicket\include\ost-config.php
Notes:
Browse to your help desk login page: http://localhost/osTicket/scp/login.php
End Users osTicket URL: http://localhost/osTicket/
Create a bunch of additional users and attempt to log into client-1 with one of the users
27. Login to DC-1 as jane_admin
27. Open PowerShell_ise as an administrator
27. Create a new File and paste the contents of the script into it
(https://github.com/joshmadakor1/AD_PS/blob/master/Generate-Names-Create-Users.ps1)
27. Run the script and observe the accounts being created
27. When finished, open ADUC and observe the accounts in the appropriate OU
27. attempt to log into Client-1 with one of the accounts (take note of the password in the script)
Finish.
Lab 6 – DNS
Building Intuition for DNS