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 following is essential:

Assessment must confirm the ability to build, configure and test a server according to business needs and technical requirements.

To demonstrate competency in this unit the person will require access to:

Server components

Tools and equipment

Vendor specification and propriety software

Open source software

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Servers form the backbone of the internet and are integral to contemporary business. Careful selection and use of appropriate servers should be considered a priority for all organisations.

A thorough knowledge of servers will assist in assuring competency and would cover a broad range of varied activities or application in a wider variety of contexts, most of which are complex and non-routine.

The breadth, depth and complexity covering planning and initiation of alternative approaches to skills or knowledge applications across a broad range of technical and/or management requirements, evaluation and coordination would be characteristic.

Assessment must ensure:

The demonstration of competency may also require self-directed application of knowledge and skills, with substantial depth in some areas where judgement is required in planning and selecting appropriate equipment, services and techniques for self and others.

Applications involve participation in development of strategic initiatives as well as personal responsibility and autonomy in performing complex technical operations or organising others. It may include participation in teams including teams concerned with planning and evaluation functions. Group or team coordination may also be involved.

Method of assessment

The purpose of this unit is to define the standard of performance to be achieved in the workplace. In undertaking training and assessment activities related to this unit, consideration should be given to the implementation of appropriate diversity and accessibility practices in order to accommodate people who may have special needs. Additional guidance on these and related matters is provided in ICA05 Section 1.

Competency in this unit should be assessed using summative assessment to ensure consistency of performance in a range of contexts. This unit can be assessed either in the workplace or in a simulated environment. However, simulated activities must closely reflect the workplace to enable full demonstration of competency.

Assessment will usually include observation of real or simulated work processes and procedures and/or performance in a project context as well as questioning on underpinning knowledge and skills. The questioning of team members, supervisors, subordinates, peers and clients where appropriate may provide valuable input to the assessment process. The interdependence of units for assessment purposes may vary with the particular project or scenario.

Guidance information for assessment

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

An individual demonstrating this competency would be able to:

Demonstrate understanding of a broad knowledge base incorporating theoretical concepts, with substantial depth in some areas

Analyse and plan approaches to technical problems or management requirements

Transfer and apply theoretical concepts and/or technical or creative skills to a range of situations

Evaluate information, using it to forecast for planning or research purposes

Take responsibility for own outputs in relation to broad quantity and quality parameters

Take some responsibility for the achievement of group outcomes

Maintain knowledge of industry products and services

Required skills

Ability to assemble computer components

Install and configure complex software packages

Basic logic process skills

Ability to deploy testing solutions at the system and component level

Liaising with vendors and service providers

Required knowledge

Single and multiple processors; memory (SD and RD RAM DDR, Registered RAM, memory leads, bandwidth); chassis (size, thermals, EMI specifications, security, drive bays, cable management, ease of maintenance, LED/LCD panels, aesthetics)

Disk drives and internal/external storage devices (RAID solutions and functionality, drive formats, back-up systems - DAT/DLT/AIT, storage area networks (SANs); load balancers

Power (supply requirements and management, protection - back-up/line conditioning/surge suppression, power budgeting); hot plug peripherals (PCI expansion cards, power supplies, hard drives, fans)

Ancillaries (racks, keyboard, monitor, cabinets, air flow)

Server design and network architecture

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.

Networkoperatingsystem may include but is not limited to:

Novell NetWare 5 or above or operating system that has multi-user ability: Linux 8.0, Mac OS X, Windows 2000 or above

Client may include but is not limited to:

internal departments

external organisations

clubs

individual people

internal employees

Equipment may include but is not limited to:

workstations

personal computers

modems and other connectivity devices

printers

DSL modems

hard drives

monitors

switches

hubs

personal digital assistant (PDA)

other peripheral devices

Businessrequirements may be in reference to:

business

system

network

people in the organisation

Serverapplications may include:

file sharing

printer sharing

messaging

web services

network and remote access

database and data warehousing

directory services

management

line of business applications

terminal services

Task may include but is not limited to:

work

activities

function

job

Software may include but is not limited to:

commercial software applications; organisation-specific software, packaged software, in-house or customised software

Server may include:

Application/web servers

BEA Weblogic servers

IBM VisualAge and WebSphere

Novell NDS servers

Email servers

File and print servers

FTP servers

Firewall servers

Proxy/cache servers

Operating system may include but is not limited to:

Linux 8.0 or above

Windows 2000/Server 2003 or above

Apple OS X or above

Hardware may include but is not limited to:

workstations

personal computers

modems and other connectivity devices

networks

remote sites

servers

may include

database programs

word processors

email programs

internet browsers

system browsers

spreadsheets

Technicalrequirements may be in reference to:

business

system

platform

database

network

people in the organisation

Network may include but is not limited to:

large and small LANs

national WANs

the internet

the use of the PSTN for dial-up modems only

private lines

data

voice

System may include but is not limited to:

databases

applications

servers

operating systems

gateways

application service provider

ISP