--- title: "Sysadmin of CIT Pulchowk; secure system" subject: "Operating System" chapter: 9 key: "semester_6/operating_system:sysadmin-pulchowk-secure-system" source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_6/operating_system/sysadmin-pulchowk-secure-system site: BCT Engineering --- # Sysadmin of CIT Pulchowk; secure system Operating System · Chapter 9: System Administration - Asked in: 2069 Bhadra, 5 marks; year not given - Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14 - Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_6/operating_system/sysadmin-pulchowk-secure-system - Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_6/operating_system/chapter-9 ## Question Suppose you are employed as a system administrator of CIT, Pulchowk campus. Detail your roles and also suggest the following ideas to maintain a secure and reliable system. ## Short answer Roles include installing and maintaining hardware, OS, servers, and network; managing user accounts, quotas, and groups; performing scheduled backups; monitoring performance and security; and enforcing policies. To keep the system secure, enforce strong authentication and least privilege, use firewalls and VLANs, apply updates promptly, encrypt communications, review logs, ensure physical security, and maintain a tested disaster recovery plan with redundant hardware and off-site backups. ## Answer As the system administrator of the computer network of IOE Pulchowk Campus (students, teachers, labs, servers, internet), assuming about 1000 users and several labs, my roles and suggestions are below. #### My roles 1. **Install and maintain** lab computers, servers (web, mail, DNS, file/DHCP) and the campus LAN/Wi-Fi. 2. **Account management:** create accounts for students and staff each year, set quotas and groups, remove accounts of those who have left. 3. **Backup and recovery:** daily incremental and weekly full backups of servers, results and records. 4. **Monitoring** of servers, bandwidth and logs; **troubleshooting** user problems. 5. **Software management:** licences, updates, lab software images. 6. **Policy and documentation:** acceptable-use policy and records. #### Ideas to keep the system secure and reliable - **Authentication:** strong passwords with periodic change, no sharing; two-factor for administrators. - **Least privilege:** use root only when needed, restrict students to ordinary accounts; proper file permissions and ACLs. - **Firewall and network:** a firewall at the campus gateway, separate VLANs for labs, administration and Wi-Fi; close unused ports. - **Updates:** apply OS patches and security updates promptly; install antivirus. - **Encryption:** SSH instead of telnet, HTTPS, encrypted Wi-Fi (WPA2). - **Logging and intrusion detection:** review logs, use IDS, track failed logins. - **Reliability:** UPS and generator, RAID disks, redundant servers, regularly tested backups kept off-site. - **Physical security:** locked server room, access control, CCTV. - **User awareness:** training on phishing, piracy and safe use. - **Disaster recovery plan:** written steps for restoring service after failure. ## Check yourself The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why. 1. Which measure follows the principle of least privilege on the campus system? A. Giving every student the root password B. Restricting students to ordinary accounts and using root only when needed C. Letting all users edit system files D. Disabling file permissions Answer: B. Least privilege means users get only the rights they need; root is used only when necessary, with proper permissions and ACLs. (Key point: Least privilege) 2. Why does the answer suggest separate VLANs for labs, administration and Wi-Fi along with a gateway firewall? A. To use more IP addresses B. To separate traffic so a problem in one area does not easily reach others, and to close unused ports C. To remove the need for passwords D. To make backups unnecessary Answer: B. Segmentation plus a gateway firewall limits exposure between groups of users and unneeded services. (Key point: Network separation) 3. Which replacement improves security by encryption, as suggested? A. Using telnet instead of SSH B. Using SSH instead of telnet, HTTPS, and WPA2 on Wi-Fi C. Using plain HTTP for logins D. Leaving Wi-Fi open Answer: B. Encrypted protocols (SSH, HTTPS, WPA2) protect data and logins from being read in transit. (Key point: Encryption) 4. Which set of measures aims at reliability (keeping service available)? A. UPS and generator, RAID disks, redundant servers, tested off-site backups B. CCTV and locked doors only C. Password change and two-factor only D. Phishing training only Answer: A. Power backup, RAID, redundancy and tested off-site backups keep services running and recoverable after failures. (Key point: Reliability measures) ## Related in Operating System - [Sysadmin roles; improving OS performance](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_6%2Foperating_system%3Asysadmin-roles-os-performance) — Operating System, chapter 9 - [Short note: system administrator duties](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_6%2Foperating_system%3Asysadmin-roles-responsibilities) — Operating System, chapter 9, asked 7× ## Related in other subjects - [Redundant network for IOE Pulchowk campus](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Finternet_and_intranet%3Aredundant-network-ioe-pulchowk) — Internet and Intranet, chapter 5 - [Define control system and closed loop block roles](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_3%2Fcontrol_systems%3Adefine-cs-bd-role) — Control Systems, chapter 1, asked 5× - [T/F: radial more reliable than network](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Ftransmission_and_distribution_system_design%3Atf-radial-more-reliable-network) — Transmission and Distribution System Design, chapter 5, asked 2× - [Reliable multicast properties, algorithm](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fdistributed_system%3Areliable-multicast) — Distributed System, chapter 6