OPS435 Python Assignment 1 2017 - 3

Assignment 1 - Parsing a log file

Weight: 15% of the overall grade

Due Date: Ask your professor for exact date

Overview

Often, system administrators need to analyze log files. This can be done using a paginator such as less when your system has just been set up and/or you're the only user. On a production system it is not unusual to have thousands of legitimate users per month accessing the server's services, plus thousands more bots looking for unpatched vulnerabilities, brute-forcing username/password pairs, or just downloading every available file on your web server.

In this assignment you will create a program that will help you as a mail server administrator to answer questions about the status, load, and security of your mail server. You will not need to set up a mail server for this assignment, though you're welcome to use the one you've set up in OPS335 as a practice machine.