GOOGLE IT SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE

Course 4 – System Administration and IT Infrastructure Services

Week 3: Network and Infrastructure Services

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TABLE OF CONTENT

In the third week of this course, we’ll explore software and platform services. We’ll cover what types of software and platform services you may encounter in a tech role and how to manage them. We’ll learn how to configure email services, security services, file services, print services, and platform services. We’ll explore ways to troubleshoot platform services and common issues to look out for. By the end of this module, you’ll understand how to setup and manage the IT infrastructure services to help a business stay productive, keep information secure, and deliver applications to its users.

Learning Objectives

  • Know what communication services are available and what you need for an organization.
  • Run a local webserver and understand how a public webserver works.

PRACTICE QUIZ:  SOFTWARE SERVICES

1. What are some communication services you can utilize in your organization? Check all that apply.

  • Email (CORRECT)
  • Chat applications (CORRECT)
  • DNS
  • Phones (CORRECT)

Great job! Communication services, like chat applications, emails, and phone calls, allow you to communicate with others in an organization.

2. What’s the difference between POP3 and IMAP? Check all that apply. 

  • POP3 can only download email to one local device. (CORRECT)
  • IMAP can only download email to one local device.
  • POP3 is used for sending emails.
  • IMAP can download emails onto multiple devices. (CORRECT)

Nice work! POP3 allows you to only download email to one device, which you may want to use if you want added privacy with your emails. IMAP allows you to download email onto multiple devices, which is the email protocol that’s widely used today.

3. True or false: Commercial-use and personal-use software licenses are essentially the same thing.

  • True
  • False (CORRECT)

Yep! Most software distributors have separate agreements for businesses. Before purchasing or installing any software, you should check the license agreement for the software.

4. What are the differences between TLS and SSL? Check all that apply. 

  • TLS is the successor to SSL. (CORRECT)
  • TLS is more secure than SSL. (CORRECT)
  • SSL is more secure than TLS.
  • SSL is the successor to TLS.

Wohoo! While TLS and SSL are used interchangeably, they do have differences. For example, the latest versions of TLS are more secure than SSL.

PRACTICE QUIZ:  FILE, PRINT, AND PLATFORM SERVICES

1. What are the benefits of setting up an NFS server? Check all that apply. 

  • Connecting to printers
  • Storing files on a network drive (CORRECT)
  • Enabling files to be shared over a network (CORRECT)
  • Serving web content

Right on! A network file storage, or NFS, server is used to store files on a network, and allow them to be shared with others.

2. What methods could you use to set up printing in an organization? Check all that apply.

  • Directly connecting a printer (CORRECT)
  • Setting up a print server (CORRECT)
  • Using a cloud service to set up printers (CORRECT)
  • Setting up an NFS server

Excellent! From small to large organizations, you have lots of ways to set up a printer.

3. When you have a web server, what service is used to enable HTTP requests to be processed?

  • An HTTP server (CORRECT)
  • The web server
  • HTTP status codes
  • A database server

Awesome! HTTP servers, like Apache web server, are used to process HTTP requests.

4. You can use a(n) ______________to store large amounts of customer data for a website.

  • NFS server
  • HTTP server
  • database server (CORRECT)
  • DNS server

Nice work! Databases, like MySQL and PostgresSQL, are widely used to store data.

PRACTICE QUIZ:  TROUBLESHOOTING PLATFORM SERVICES

1. HTTP status codes that begin with 4xx, like 404, indicate errors on:

  • The client-side (CORRECT)
  • The server-side
  • Nowhere; these codes are successful
  • Redirections

Wohoo! 4xx HTTP status codes indicate an issue with the client, like entering a bad URL or accessing something they aren’t authorized to.

2. HTTP status codes that begin with 5xx, like 501, indicate errors on:

  • The client-side
  • The server-side (CORRECT)
  • Nowhere; these codes are successful
  • Redirections

You nailed it! 5xx HTTP status codes indicate an issue with the server serving the web content.

QUIZ: SOFTWARE AND PLATFORM SERVICES

1. You want to be super private with your email. You’d like to be able to download your email to a single device, then remove it from your email server. What email protocol can you use to do that?

  • HTTP
  • POP3 (CORRECT)
  • IMAP
  • SMTP

Yep! POP3 is used to download email to a single device.

2. What type of DNS record is used for email servers?

  • A
  • AAAA
  • MX (CORRECT)
  • CNAME

Wohoo! MX, or mail exchange, records are used for email.

3. Which of these is NOT an email protocol?

  • SMTP
  • POP3
  • IMAP
  • IRC (CORRECT)

You nailed it! IRC, which stands for Internet Chat Relay, is an instant messaging chat system, not an email protocol.

4. Which file system protocols are intended for network use? Check all that apply.

  • Samba
  • Fat32
  • SMB (CORRECT)
  • NFS (CORRECT)

Great work! SMB, which stands for Server Message Block, is a networking file system with good Windows interoperability.

Great work! NFS literally stands for Network File System. NFS works best with Windows.

5. If you wanted to securely transfer files from your local machine to a web server, what file transfer protocol could you use?

  • FTP
  • TFTP
  • SFTP (CORRECT)
  • NTP

Yep! SFTP is the file transfer protocol that encrypts data.

6. Apache is an example of what type of software?

  • File transfer protocol (FTP) software
  • Web (HTTP) server software (CORRECT)
  • Antivirus software
  • Web browser

Right on! A web server stores and serves content to clients through the Internet. The most widely used web server software is the Apache HTTP Server, most commonly referred to as Apache.

7. An employee sets up Apache HTTP Server. He types 127.0.0.1 in the browser to check that the content is there. What is the next step in the setup process?

  • Set up DNS so the server can be accessed through the Internet. (CORRECT)
  • Nothing. The web server is good to go.
  • Assign a static IP address.
  • Install CUPS.

Woohoo! Before the web content can be accessed over the Internet, DNS needs to be set up so the address can be accessed with a URL.

8. HTTP status codes are codes or numbers that indicate some sort of error or info message that occurred when trying to access a web resource. When a website is having issues on the server side, what number does the HTTP status code start with?

  • 4xx
  • 6xx
  • 2xx
  • 5xx (CORRECT)

You nailed it! Error status codes beginning with 5xx indicate an issue on the server side. The web server that hosts this web content is experiencing issues, and hopefully their server administrators are looking into it.

9. Let’s say that you’re the sole IT employee at your company. Your boss wants the company to migrate away from using the current, paid-for chat application and use something free, insead. What options could you use? Check all that apply.

  • IRC (CORRECT)
  • Open IM Chat applications, like Pidgin or Adium (CORRECT)
  • Emails
  • HTTP

Excellent! Free chat alternatives, like IRC and open IM chat applications, are widely used in businesses today.

Excellent! Free chat alternatives, like IRC and open IM chat applications, are widely used in businesses today.

10. Let’s say that you’re the sole IT employee at your company. Your boss wants the company to migrate away from using the current, paid-for chat application and use something free, insead. What options could you use? Check all that apply.

  • IRC (CORRECT)
  • Open IM Chat applications, like Pidgin or Adium (CORRECT)
  • Emails
  • HTTP

Excellent! Free chat alternatives, like IRC and open IM chat applications, are widely used in businesses today.

11. Which email protocol is capable of sending emails?

  • MX DNS
  • IMAP
  • SMTP (CORRECT)
  • POP3

Well done! Believe it or not, SMTP, which stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, is the only one of the email protocols that actually sends emails.

12. HTTPS is the secure version of HTTP. Which statements are true about HTTPS and security protocols? Check all that apply.

  • SSL is more secure than TLS.
  • HTTPS can be secured with Transport Layer Security protocol (TLS). (CORRECT)
  • An HTTPS connection is authenticated by getting a digital certificate of trust from an entity called a certificate authority. (CORRECT)
  • HTTPS can be secured with Secure Socket Layer protocol, or TLS. (CORRECT)

Nice job! HTTPS, or HyperText Transfer Protocol, can be secured with either SSL or TLS.

Nice job! The certificate authority grants a certificate to your website saying that it trusts that you control the web server, and verifies that you are who you say you are. This is then downloaded, authenticating your visit.

Nice job! HTTPS, or HyperText Transfer Protocol, can be secured with either SSL or TLS.

13. Which of these is a valid method of managing printer services in a commercial environment?

  • Managing multiple printers separately
  • On a Windows server, enable Print and Document Services, and add printers (CORRECT)
  • Using a cloud service provider to manage your printers through a web browser (CORRECT)
  • On Linux, use CUPS to manage printing services (CORRECT)

Woohoo! In the Windows Server operating system, there’s a Print and Document Services that can be enabled. All you have to do is add your network printers to this service and install the drivers for those printers.

Woohoo! Another way you can manage printers is by using a cloud service provider. This allows you to manage your printers through a web browser.

Woohoo! CUPS allows you to easily manage printers from a simple web URL.

14. Which statements are true about setting up a web server? Check all that apply.

  • Apache is the most used web server on the Web. (CORRECT)
  • Web content is stored on the server’s localhost. (CORRECT)
  • DNS needs to be set up to allow outside access to the server via the Internet.
  • Web server setup does not require DNS. (CORRECT)

You got it! Apache serves the largest portion of Web servers on the Internet globally.

You got it! To upload our own web content, we can just navigate to the localhost directory and fill it with our web content.

You got it! Since this content is hosted on our local machine, we’ll need to use DNS to let the world know that our web server exists!

15. Which of these are examples of database software? Check all that apply.

  • Apache
  • MySQL (CORRECT)
  • CUPS
  • PostgreSQL (CORRECT)

Awesome! Common database systems, like MySQL and PostgreSQL, are widely used in application development, web development, and data analytics.

16. If you don’t want to set up your own dedicated hardware to use for network file storage, what are your other options?

  • Use a cloud file storage provider. (CORRECT)
  • Set up a NAS.
  • Set up an HTTP server.
  • Use a database server.

Great job! Cloud file storage providers are a popular option if you don’t want to run your own file storage services.

17. True or false: You can purchase a domain name localhost.

  • True
  • False (CORRECT)

Well done! Localhost is a reserved name, meant to point to your local machine.

18. What is the main function of a database system?

  • Databases allow us to store, query, filter, and manage large amounts of data. (CORRECT)
  • Databases store and retrieve files over a network.
  • Databases are a way of securing communication between a web server and client.
  • A database is a physical server that stores web files and the HTTP server software

Right on! Customer information, like news articles, videos, large amounts of text, images, or audio files, generally get stored in a database. This is the most secure and efficient way to manage large amounts of data.

19. You’re the sole IT employee at your company. Most of the computers in your fleet are Windows machines. Your boss wants you to set up a network file storage. What file service should you use?

  • Samba server (CORRECT)
  • NFS server
  • HTTP server
  • Database server

Right on! While NFS servers can be used for shared network storage, they have interoperability issues with Windows. So, a better Windows alternative, like Samba, is your best bet.

20. Company B is setting up commercial printing services on their network. Which of these are advantages of centrally managed commercial printers? Check all that apply.

  • It provides a central interface to collect diagnostic reports, such as low toner levels. (CORRECT)
  • Printers can be managed one at a time.
  • It allows the ability to deploy printer driver software so that your users can print from their computers. (CORRECT)
  • Physically distant printers can be more easily managed. (CORRECT)

Awesome! In a commercial environment, you’ll probably be running commercial printers that also can report diagnostics information, like low toner levels.

Awesome! You need to be able to deploy printer driver software so that your users can print from their computers.

Awesome! When you can manage printers from a central location, it doesn’t matter how far apart they are. Convenient, huh?

21. Where does customer information, such as news articles, videos, large amounts of text, images, or audio files, generally get stored for web services?

  • On a file transfer protocol (FTP) server
  • On a database (CORRECT)
  • On the local machine only
  • On a web server

Well done! Customer information, like news articles, videos, large amounts of text, images, or audio files, generally gets stored in a database.

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