Scoring server
View Patent ↗A scoring server for assessing technical skills in a practical environment. A client application acts as a middle man between a terminal and an operating system to capture and forward all input from and output to students to the scoring server. The scoring server compares recorded student activity against a list of tasks deemed capable of accomplishing course objectives assigned to students. As objectives are met by a student, the students' grade is updated in real-time. Each student passes or fails an exam based on tasks performed and skills employed. The client application exists for two operating system types: WINDOWS® and LINUX®. A LINUX® client employs a pseudoterminal to permit access to terminal input/output and communication through stdin, stdout, and stderr channels. A WINDOWS® client (WC) comprises a WC command line activity logger and a WC monitor process to intercept all communication through stdin, stdout, and stderr communication channels.
1. A scoring server system to assess technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment, comprising:
a scoring module, executing on a physical scoring server, to evaluate cyber training performance in a network of a given student;
a client application, executing on a computer, to capture user input that causes execution of a command on said computer from said given student and forward command information characterizing said command executed by said given student during said cyber training, to said physical scoring server;
a scoring server web interface, executing on said physical scoring server, to download cyber training information comprising training performance objectives for evaluating said cyber training performance of said given student in said network from a physical web-based server to said physical scoring server; and
a scoring server database, executing on said physical scoring server, to associate said given student with said captured command information,
wherein said scoring module evaluates said cyber training performance of said given student by comparing said forwarded command information to said training performance objectives and generates a score assessing said given student's cyber training performance in for said evaluation.
2. The scoring server system to assess technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 1 , wherein:
said physical scoring server tracks a plurality of different commands executed in response to said user input by said given student, and process starts that are initiated on the computer in response to the user input, as student evaluation information.
3. The scoring server system to assess technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 1 , wherein:
said client application forwards said command information to said physical scoring server together with information attributable to said given student.
4. The scoring server system to assess technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 2 , wherein:
said client application hashes a computer image of said process starts to identify said process.
5. The scoring server system to assess technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 1 , wherein:
a unique IP address is assigned to a computer said given student cyber trains through, enabling said scoring server to associate forwarded command information with said unique IP address.
6. The scoring server system to assess technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 1 , wherein:
said client application records communication on standard in, standard out, and standard error communication channels of computers in said network.
7. The scoring server system to assess technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 1 , wherein said client application comprises:
a command line activity (CLA) logger; and
a monitor process.
8. The scoring server system to assess technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 7 , wherein:
said client application command line activity (CLA) logger catches command line activity (CLA) by monitoring input and output of all instances of cmd.exe run on said plurality of computers in said network.
9. The scoring server system to assess technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 7 , wherein:
said client application command line activity (CLA) logger monitors processes and ancestor processes to identify computers of the plurality of computers on which command line activity (CLA) is initiated and executed.
10. The scoring server system to assess technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 7 , wherein:
said client application monitors process reports, process information, network information, and input and output information every time a new process is started and stopped on said computer.
11. The scoring server system to assess technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 1 , wherein:
said client application uses a pseudoterminal to record terminal input, terminal output, and communication on standard in, standard out, and standard error communication channels of computers in said network.
12. The scoring server system to assess technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 1 , wherein said client application comprises:
a psuedoterminal linked to a primary user terminal to transparently retrieve command responses.
13. The scoring server system to assess technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 1 , wherein:
said client application implements a system-hooking method to ascertain a command executed on said computer in said network.
14. The scoring server system to assess technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 1 , wherein said command is a textual command received in response to said user input on said given computer.
15. The scoring server system to assess technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 1 , wherein said command information characterizes one of said given computer said command was executed, a timestamp when said command was executed, network statistics (netstat) of a network said given computer is employed on and a process list (ps) associated with said given computer.
16. The scoring server system to assess technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 1 , wherein said plurality of computers comprises a physical computer, a virtual computer, or a combination thereof.
17. A method for assessing technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment, comprising:
receiving, at a physical scoring server web interface, cyber training information comprising training objectives assigned to a given student;
capturing, via a client application on a computer, user input that causes execution of a command on said computer from said given student during cyber training;
generating command information, on said computer, to characterize said executed command;
receiving, at a physical scoring server, said generated command information that characterizes said executed command;
attributing, at said physical scoring server, said command information to said given student;
determining, at said physical scoring server, completion of said training objectives by said given student when said attributed command information is among pre-stored commands that accomplish said training objective attributed to said given student; and
generating, at said physical scoring server, a cyber-training report relating to said given student outlining said accomplished training objectives, and training objectives missed and a score based on said accomplished training objectives and said training objectives missed.
18. The method for assessing technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 17 , wherein said command information characterizes one of said computer said command was executed, a timestamp when said command was executed, network statistics (netstat) of a network said computer is employed on and a process list (ps) associated with said computer.
19. The method for assessing technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 17 , wherein said command is a textual command received in response to user input on said computer.
20. The method for assessing technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 17 , wherein:
said cyber training information further comprises tasks capable of accomplishing each training objective assigned to said given student.
21. The method for assessing technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 17 , wherein:
said physical scoring server tracks commands executed by said given student in response to the user input, and process starts initiated by said given student, for the cyber training evaluation.
22. The method for assessing technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 17 , wherein:
each said client application hashes an image of a process start initiated in said network training environment to enable said physical scoring server to identify said process.
23. The method for assessing technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 17 , wherein:
said given student is assigned a unique IP address relevant to a given computer said student is cyber training on, to enable said physical scoring server to associate said attributed command information with said IP address.
24. The method for assessing technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 17 , wherein:
said client application records communication on standard in, standard out, and standard error communication channels of computers in said network training environment.
25. The method for assessing technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 17 , wherein said client application comprises:
a command line activity (CLA) logger;
and a monitor process.
26. The method for assessing technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 17 , wherein:
said client application uses a pseudoterminal to record terminal input, terminal output, and communication on standard in, standard out, and standard error communication channels of computers in said network training environment.
27. The method for assessing technical skills of a student undergoing evaluation in a practical training environment according to claim 17 , wherein said client application comprises:
a psuedoterminal linked to a primary user terminal to transparently retrieve command responses.