CNIT 399 Information Storage and Management

Course Description and/or Theme

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to information storage technology that will enable students
to make more informed decisions in an increasingly complex IT environment. It builds a strong understanding
of underlying storage technologies and prepares students to learn advanced concepts, technologies, and
products. Students will learn about the architectures, features, and benefits of Intelligent Storage Systems;
networked storage technologies such as FC-SAN, NAS, and IP-SAN; long-term archiving solutions such as
CAS; the increasingly critical area of information security; and the emerging field of storage virtualization.
These technologies provide a comprehensive introduction to data storage technology fundamentals. The students
will gain hands-on experience in the laboratory with installing and configuring storage management
technologies.

Organization and Schedule Lecture 3, Lab 0, Credit 3

Semester Meeting Type Days Time Location
Spring „11 Lecture TR 2:30P – 3:45P KC 144

Prerequisite CNIT 276

Course Audience
This is an elective course for CIT majors in the IST POS.

Course Instructor
Name Office Phone Email Address Office Hours
Rick Homkes KC 265C 765-455-9242 homkesrl@purdue.edu As Posted

Textbooks, Lab Manuals, and Supplies

- Information Storage and Management: Storing, Managing, and Protecting Digital Information, EMC
Education Services. 2009. Wiley, ISBN 978-0-470-29421-5. Required.
- Learning FreeNAS, available on Books 24x7 through IUK library.
- Other items may be required at a later time.

Course Objectives:
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1) Describe storage technology solutions such as Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), Storage
Area Networks (SAN), Network Attached Storage (NAS), and Content Addressed Storage (CAS).
2) Understand and articulate the technologies and solutions available to support an IT Infrastructure
including Business Continuity, Information Availability, Local and Remote Replication, Backup and
Recovery and Disaster Recovery.
3) Understand the key tasks in successfully securing, managing, and monitoring a data storage
infrastructure that satisfies the needs of businesses.

Learning Assessment
Students are expected to demonstrate an understanding of networking hardware, software, and systems.
Quizzes, tests, and the final will be used to assess this level of learning.

Students are expected to demonstrate the application of this knowledge. Laboratory exercises and project
assignments will be used to assess this level of learning.
Page 1 -CNIT 399 Syllabus S11 - 1/3/2011
How Final Grades will be Determined
Assessment Mechanism Total Points
Final Examination Comprehensive - 1 @ 150 points 150
Tests - 3 @ 100 points each 300
Quizzes - 15 @ 10 points 150
Exercises – 15 @ 10 points 150
Lab Exercises & Reports – 5 @ 50 points each 250
1000

Grading Scale
90 - 100% = A 60 - < 70% = D
80 - < 90% = B < 60% =F
70 - < 80% = C

Course Policies
Course policies are on the course web site. Please note that I reserve the right to modify this syllabus.

Course Calendar of Meetings and/or Assignments:

Week Date Chapter Quiz/ Due Date Chapter Quiz/ Due

Test Test
1 1/11 T EMC 1 Q1 1/13 R EMC 2 Q2 E1
2 1/18 T EMC 2 1/20 R EMC 3 Q3 E2
3 1/25 T EMC 4 Q4 L1 DAS 1/27 R EMC 4 E3
4 2/1 T T1 2/3 R EMC 5 Q5 E4
5 2/8 T EMC 6 Q6 2/10 R EMC 6 E5
6 2/15 T EMC 7 Q7 L2 RAID 2/17 R EMC 7 E6
7 2/22 T EMC 8 Q8 2/24 R EMC 8 E7
8 3/1 T EMC 9 Q9 3/3 R EMC 10 Q10 E8
9 3/8 T EMC 10 L3 NAS 3/10 R T2 E9
3/15 T Spring Break 3/17 R Spring Break
10 3/22 T EMC 11 Q11 3/24 R EMC 12 Q12 E10
11 3/29 T EMC 12 3/31 R EMC 13 Q13 E11
12 4/5 T EMC 13 L4 Nav 4/7 R EMC 14 Q14 E12
13 4/12 T T3 4/14 R EMC 15 Q15 E13
14 4/19 T EMC 15 4/21 R EMC 16 Q16 E14
15 4/26 T EMC16, L5 CC 4/28 R Review E15
Evaluations
16 5/3 T Exam Week No Class 5/5 R Exam Week Final

Course Web Site is at the Blackboard site.

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Course Policies - Professor Homkes

Attendance, Preparation, and Courtesy Expectations and Policies

1. You are expected to be present for every meeting of the course since your success in the course will
heavily depend on your attendance and participation in the classroom. The instructor should be notified
in advance in case of an absence. Even if the absence is excused, you are fully responsible for any
homework or lessons that were assigned or covered in the missed classes.
2. Materials will only be handed out in class or on the course web site unless the instructor receives a prior
notification of absence.
3. A minimum of 2 hours of preparation for each hour of lecture should be the norm.
4. Assigned readings should be completed before class. Questions from readings should be brought up in
class.
5. If you don't attend class regularly, please don't expect individual help.
6. Quality note taking is essential to success in this course.
7. As a courtesy to others, please be in class on time to avoid disruptions. Talking, cell phones, pagers or
passing notes to other students in the classroom distracts both the instructor and your fellow students.

Add/Drop Expectations and Policies

1. According to CIT educational policy, this course may not be added to any student‟s academic schedule
after the third week of a Fall or Spring semester (or equivalent for a Summer semester) except under
very extenuating circumstances to be approved by the Assistant Department Head of Computer
Technology.
2. According to CIT educational policy, no independent study course can be substituted for this course.
3. Please be aware that not attending class is not the equivalent of a formal withdrawal.
4. You may drop this course without a failing grade so long as you do so before the published University
deadline for dropping the course.

Quiz and Exam Policies

1. Quizzes may be either take-home or in-class. Take home quizzes will only be available in class. If you
don't get a take home quiz, your grade is 0.
2. There are generally no make-up quizzes.
3. Make-up exams will only be given in the case of serious illness or being out of town for a legitimate
reason. Make up exams will not necessarily be the same exam given during the originally scheduled
time.
4. According to CIT policy, graded final examinations for 100 and 200 level courses will not be returned.
They are being retained by the department for possible modification and use in course test-outs.

Homework Policies and Quality Expectations

1. All assignments or take home quizzes are to be handed in at the beginning of the class period, in the
classroom, on the specified due date unless otherwise stated. If you arrive late to class, your assignment
is late.
2. Late assignments will be penalized as follows:
 Less than or equal to 1 class meetings late (4 days for DL): 25% off
 Less than or equal to 2 class meetings late (7 days for DL): 50% off
 More than 2 class meetings late: No credit
3. Unsatisfactory or incomplete assignments may be returned by the instructor for resubmission with no
credit. If turned in at the next class meeting with satisfactory corrections, they will receive 50% credit.
4. Unsatisfactory assignments may include but not be limited to the use of spiral bound notebook paper or
an unacceptable number of incomplete sentences, spelling errors, and grammatical errors.
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Team Project Policies and Quality Expectations
1. The team assignments project will be completed in teams of 2-5 students.
2. Teams will be assigned at the discretion of the students. At the end of the semester, each member of a
team will fill out an evaluation on their team members that evaluates each individual‟s participation on
the project. Any student that does not achieve at least a satisfactory rating is subject to penalty, which is
a reduction from the team-based scores.
3. Students are expected to meet their team‟s expectations for attending team meetings, completing
individual assignments, and contributing to the integration of those assignments into a cohesive team
submission. While teams must make a reasonable attempt to inform fellow team members of meetings
(in class coordination should be sufficient in most cases), it is each team member‟s individual
responsibility to contact their teammates if they have missed class or a meeting.
4. Team members who are not contributing to their team‟s expectations may petition the instructor to have
the problem team member „fired‟. Terminated team members will be given a copy of their previous
team‟s project work, but will be responsible for completing the project by themselves. Team members
cannot be fired after week 12 of the semester. Teams should promptly notify the instructor of attendance
or performance problems.
5. The semester project is an unstructured problem solving experience. Teams must recognize the
opportunity to make progress based on the subject matter covered in class.
6. Students must pass the lecture component of the course to pass the course. Thus students must score an
average of 60% or higher on all individual assessment mechanisms to pass. This excludes all team-
based assignments.

Re-Grading Policies
1. Any student wishing to appeal a score should return his/her paper with a written statement explaining
his/her appeal or in the case of exams, which are not returned, submit a written request explaining
his/her appeal for a re-grade of the exam. An appeal must be submitted no later than one week after the
student received the original score. For team submissions, all team members must request this re-
grading.
2. Any work submitted for grade appeal may be totally re-graded, not merely those portions which the
student wishes to be re-graded.
3. Discussion of corrected exams or quizzes may be done during any office hour or by appointment.
4. According to University regulations, only final course grades can be “appealed.” There is a formal
School of Technology and University timetable and process for grade appeals. It must be followed
exactly! Questions about grade appeals should be directed to the Assistant Department Head of
Computer and Information Technology or the Chair of the College of Technology Grade Appeals
Committee.

Academic Dishonesty (“Cheating”) Policy

1. Students are encouraged to discuss their assignments with others. However, the assignment that is
turned in must have been produced by the student him/herself and cannot be a collaborative effort unless
specifically assigned as such by the instructor. Any deviation from the preceding may result in a grade
up to an F for the course and possibly additional severe disciplinary actions. (See your student handbook
for more information)

Lab Policies and Expectations

1. If you use CIT laboratories, you are responsible for any and all laboratory policies – including the
security policies that govern your account. Policies change from time to time; therefore, you should
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 review the Laboratory Policies at the beginning of each semester. Accounts can be temporarily or
permanently suspended for policy violations.
2. In the event that your account is suspended for any laboratory or network policy violation, this course
will not extend deadlines or eliminate late penalties for assignments that could not be completed
because of the suspension.
3. Maintaining cleanliness of the laboratory is an important responsibility. If the lab is not properly
maintained (trash picked up, machines not returned to their original state after altering hardware
configurations), the entire lab section may be subject to a 10% lab grade penalty at the end of the
course.

Incomplete Policy
1. An incomplete will only be granted in the case of serious illness or transfer by employer. Written proof
of the illness may be required. All incompletes must be made up in one semester or the grade will revert
to an F. Do not expect an incomplete to cover up failure!

Disabling Conditions Policy

1. Any student who, because of a disabling condition, may require special arrangements in order to meet
course requirements should contact the instructor by the third week of class in order to make necessary
accommodations. Students who do not contact the instructor by the third week of class, or as soon as
they know they have a disabling condition, forfeit their rights to special accommodations. Students must
work with the Dean of Students Office in order to receive special accommodations for this class.

Campus Emergency Policy

1. In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines and grading percentages are
subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised semester calendar or other circumstances
beyond the instructor‟s control. Here are ways to get information about changes in this course.
 Course web page on Blackboard
 Instructor‟s email (homkesrl@purdue.edu)
 Instructor‟s phone (765-455-9242)

Please note that I reserve the right to modify this syllabus.

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