Assessor Resource

ICANWK505A
Design, build and test a network server

Assessment tool

Version 1.0
Issue Date: April 2024


This unit applies to those employed in network or systems engineering roles, such as network engineers who are required to design and build network servers in a complex computing environment of medium to large organisations.

This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to design, install and test a server in a complex network environment.

You may want to include more information here about the target group and the purpose of the assessments (eg formative, summative, recognition)

Prerequisites

Not applicable.

Employability Skills

This unit contains employability skills.



Evidence Required

List the assessment methods to be used and the context and resources required for assessment. Copy and paste the relevant sections from the evidence guide below and then re-write these in plain English.

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Overview of assessment

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit

Evidence of the ability to:

produce design report for a server (or servers) with complex user and network service requirements

install and configure the server according to the produced design

monitor and test the server

troubleshoot server and network failures

configure a wide range of server network and security services, including DNS, DHCP, web and proxy, mail, FTP and firewall.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment must ensure access to:

site where server installation may be conducted

relevant server specifications:

cabling

networked (LAN) computers

server diagnostic software

switch

client requirements

wide area network (WAN) service point of presence

workstations

relevant regulatory documentation that affects installation activities

appropriate learning and assessment support when required.

Where applicable, physical resources should include equipment modified for people with special needs.

Method of assessment

A range of assessment methods should be used to assess practical skills and knowledge. The following examples are appropriate for this unit:

evaluation of design report for a server in a complex network environment

direct observation of the candidate installing or updating a server in a complex network environment

verbal or written questioning of required skills and knowledge

evaluation of report that outlines testing procedures, test results and recommendation to server changes

evaluation of design and implementation of the system in terms of performance and suitability for business needs.

Guidance information for assessment

Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended, where appropriate.

Assessment processes and techniques must be culturally appropriate, and suitable to the communication skill level, language, literacy and numeracy capacity of the candidate and the work being performed.

Indigenous people and other people from a non-English speaking background may need additional support.

In cases where practical assessment is used it should be combined with targeted questioning to assess required knowledge.

Submission Requirements

List each assessment task's title, type (eg project, observation/demonstration, essay, assingnment, checklist) and due date here

Assessment task 1: [title]      Due date:

(add new lines for each of the assessment tasks)

Assessment Tasks

Copy and paste from the following data to produce each assessment task. Write these in plain English and spell out how, when and where the task is to be carried out, under what conditions, and what resources are needed. Include guidelines about how well the candidate has to perform a task for it to be judged satisfactory.

Required skills

communication skills to liaise with internal and external personnel on technical, operational and business-related matters

literacy skills to:

read and interpret enterprise procedures, manuals and specifications

interpret technical documentation

write reports in required formats

numeracy skills to:

take test measurements

interpret results

evaluate performance and interoperability of network

planning and organisational skills to plan, prioritise and monitor own work

problem-solving and contingency-management skills to:

deal with unexpected situations on the basis of safety and specified work outcomes

adapt configuration procedures to requirements of network and reconfigure depending on differing operational contingencies, risk situations and environments

safety awareness skills to:

apply precautions and required action to minimise, control or eliminate hazards that may exist during work activities

follow enterprise OHS procedures

work systematically with required attention to detail without injury to self or others, or damage to goods or equipment

research skills to interrogate vendor databases and websites to implement different configuration requirements to meet security levels

technical skills to:

identify the technical requirements, constraints and manageability issues for given customer server requirements

design a server and associated network services

install a server design

select and use server and network diagnostics, test application software and hardware to suit different network applications.

Required knowledge

features of:

current network operating systems (NOS)

current server applications compatibility issues and resolution procedures

detailed knowledge of:

network service configuration, including:

domain name system (DNS)

dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP)

file transfer protocol (FTP)

mail

network time protocol (NTP)

proxy

server messages block (SMB)

web

network service management, including start, stop, restart and start on boot

network service security

server firewall configuration

troubleshooting tools and techniques, including network diagnostic utilities

operating system installation methods, including installation from: CD, DVD, universal serial bus (USB) boot disk, network and script (automated install), deployment services

user authentication and directory services

best practice procedures for implementing backup and recovery

error and event logging and reporting

documentation skills for networks

boot process and diagnosing boot failures

operating system rescue environment

operating system help and support utilities

storage options, including file systems and disk partitioning schemes

performance monitoring tools and tuning options

compatibility issues and resolution procedures

high availability options for servers

file and print management

process or task management

task scheduling utilities.

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.

Client may include:

external organisations

information and communications technology (ICT) company

individuals

internal departments

internal employees

service industry.

Stakeholders may include:

development team

information technology (IT) manager or representative

project team

sponsor

user.

Requirements may refer to:

business

database

network

people in the organisation

performance

platform

system

technical needs.

Network server may include:

multiple

physical

virtual.

Specifications may include:

IP addressing, such as:

IPsec

IPv4 and IPv6

subnetting

supernetting

DHCP, including:

options

relay agents

exclusions

fixed addresses and address ranges

pre-boot eXecution environment (PXE) boot

scopes

routing, including:

default gateway

open shortest path first (OSPF)

persistent routing

routing internet protocol (RIP)

static routing

authentication services, including:

biometrics

enterprise single sign-on

Hesiod

Kerberos

lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP)

network information system (NIS)

Novell Directory Services (NDS)

pluggable authentication modules (PAM)

public key infrastructure (PKI) and digital certificates

public key authentication

Red Hat Directory Services

security tokens and smart cards

SMB or Samba

two-factor and multifactor authentication

Windows Active Directory Services

file services, including:

disk partitioning schemes, such as partitions, extended partitions, logical partitions, RAID, logical volumes, swap space

disk quotas

distributed file systems

encrypted file systems

files, directories, shares and their permissions

file systems, such as NTF-based data.gb (NTFD), file allocation table (FAT), EXT, hierarchical file system (HFS)

network file systems (NFS)

RAID

shadow copy services

SMB or Samba

print services, including:

print drivers

print queues

print server

print spool location

printer pools

name resolution services may include detailed DNS configuration, such as:

cache-only name server

client configuration

conditional forwarding

DNS record types, such as A, PTR, MX, NS

DNS zones

dynamic updates

external forwarders

master and slave name servers

replication

root hints

Time to Live (TTL)

WINS and DNS integration

web and proxy services, including:

Apache

extranet

HTTP or HTTPS

internet information server (IIS)

intranet

internet security and acceleration (ISA) server

squid

secure socket later (SSL) certificates

virtual hosts

website security, access control and authentication

mail services, including:

dovecot

IMAP or IMAPS

mail filtering and virus scanning

Microsoft exchange

POP3

procmail

sendmail

simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP)

FTP services, including:

access to home directories

anonymous FTP

FTP authentication

FTP server

securing FTP

very secure FTP (VSFTP)

firewall, including:

incoming and outgoing traffic filtering

IP tables

ISA server

kernel level firewalls

Microsoft Windows Firewall

SmoothWall

third-party firewalls

traffic filtering by ports and protocols

remote access, including:

dial-up

inbound or outbound filters

internet connection sharing (ICS)

network address translation (NAT)

remote authentication dial-in user service (RADIUS)

RADIUS proxy

remote access policy

remote access protocols

routing and remote access services (RRAS)

secure shell (SSH)

terminal services

VPN

wireless

hardware

NOS

network services

server applications

security

redundancy.

Server applications may include:

database and data warehousing

directory services

file sharing

line of business applications

management

messaging

name services

network and remote access

terminal services

web applications

Windows media server

Microsoft SharePoint.

Security may include:

access control lists

authentication

encryption

file and directory permissions

firewalls

network service security

network share permissions

password security

physical security

SE Linux

security for system resources, such as printers, databases, SharePoint sites, applications and websites

transmission control protocol (TCP) wrappers

Windows group policy.

Redundancy may include:

dual boot read-only memory (ROMs)

error correcting random access memory (RAM)

failover clustering

multiple fans

multiple power supplies

redundant array of inexpensive or independent disks (RAID)

replication

uninterruptible power supply (UPS).

Network operating system may include:

Linux OS

Unix OS

Windows Server OS.

Network services may include:

DHCP

DNS

FTP

firewall

hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP or HTTPS)

internet message access protocol (IMAP)

network file system (NFS)

NTP

post office protocol (POP)

print services

proxy

SMB

simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP)

simple network management protocol (SNMP)

structured query language server (SQL)

transmission control protocol or internet protocol (TCP/IP).

System may include:

business

computers

database system

financial system

information system

management system

network

software

website.

Update services may include:

Potentially Unwanted Program Remover (PUP)

Red Hat Network

Windows Server Update Services

Yellow Dog Update Manager (YUM).

Backup and recovery may include:

automated backups using operating system backup and job scheduling tools

backup and recovery of mail systems

backup and recovery of network directory service objects

backups using third-party software

database backup and recovery

volume shadow copies.

Server problems may include:

disk failure

email problems

file system problems

hostname resolution problems

internet connectivity problems

logged system errors

misconfigured networking

security breaches

web server problems.

Copy and paste from the following performance criteria to create an observation checklist for each task. When you have finished writing your assessment tool every one of these must have been addressed, preferably several times in a variety of contexts. To ensure this occurs download the assessment matrix for the unit; enter each assessment task as a column header and place check marks against each performance criteria that task addresses.

Observation Checklist

Tasks to be observed according to workplace/college/TAFE policy and procedures, relevant legislation and Codes of Practice Yes No Comments/feedback
Consult with client and key stakeholders to identify requirements 
Assess business problems, opportunities, scope, objectives and budget, confirming details with appropriate person 
Analyse and document data migration requirements 
Review requirements to identify network server specifications 
Produce detailed documentation for the design and configuration of the network services, server applications, security and redundancy 
Prototype design and update documentation as necessary 
Produce installation checklists as part of the quality assurance process 
Develop the test plan to ensure that the system meets client requirements, performance standards and quality expectations 
Obtain client sign-off for the design report 
Prepare for work, according to site-specific safety requirements and enterprise OHS processes and procedures 
Identify safety hazards and implement risk control measures in consultation with appropriate personnel 
Consult appropriate personnel to ensure the task is coordinated effectively with others involved at the worksite 
Back up local data in preparation for installation 
Install network operating system to design specifications using installation checklists 
Install additional tools or third-party software applications as required by the design 
Patch the operating system and applications to ensure maximum security and reliability 
Configure network services and applications 
Implement security design to prevent unauthorised access to system 
Reconnect and reconfigure connectivity devices 
Configure update services to provide automatic updates for operating system and applications 
Restore local data to new server 
Implement backup and recovery methods to enable restoration capability in the event of a disaster 
Test server for benchmarking against client specification and requirements according to test plan, and record outcomes 
Analyse the error report and make changes as required 
Use troubleshooting tools and techniques to diagnose and correct server problems 
Test required changes or additions 
Validate changes or additions against specifications 
Make and document server configuration and operational changes 
Complete client report and notify of server status 
Clean up and restore worksite to client’s satisfaction 
Secure sign-off from appropriate person 

Forms

Assessment Cover Sheet

ICANWK505A - Design, build and test a network server
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ICANWK505A - Design, build and test a network server

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