Utilizing Virtual Software To Provide Hands On Experience With Systems And Applications Software For Is Students

Abstract

Utilizing Virtual Software to Provide Hands-On Experience with Systems & Applications Software for IS Students Abstract

As information technology continues to evolve, analysis of material presented in a curriculum requires constant monitoring. Courses in information technology have been in high demand in educational institutions nationwide. In light of these demands information systems programs have identified a critical need to incorporate more systems and network administration into their curricula. The students who are progressing towards a B.S. in Information Systems Technology (IST) are the primary audience of the course detailed in this paper.

The increasing use of virtual technologies by companies across multiple industries has made it extremely important for IT programs to provide students with experience using virtual technologies. As the virtual technology market evolves, it is important to monitor and report the changes through course material.

Due to the growth in networking and virtual technologies and the need for undergraduate students in non-networking majors to understand and learn about network protocols, network operating system fundamentals, network operating systems, database and web servers and directory services, a course for IST students was developed. To meet the practical objectives of the course, students require dedicated computers on which to install operating systems and applications. However, providing each lab group a dedicated machine would be space and cost prohibitive. By using VMware as the platform, students are able to gain hands-on laboratory experience that emphasizes networking and systems software problem solving and troubleshooting skills through installation and configuration of network operating systems as well as application software.

The course laboratory activities currently include one-week on VMware orientation, three-weeks on Windows XP Pro and Windows 2003 Server, three-weeks on SQL Server 2005 and Internet Information Server (IIS), three-weeks on Exchange Server 2003, and the last five-weeks of the semester cover Linux and Apache Web Server.

This paper will discuss the course design including lecture and laboratory activities, the challenges associated with the laboratory activities, as well as the pros and cons with using VMware.