TOPIC 1 - IT Infrastructure Flashcards
What is IT infrastructure?
shared technology resources that provide the platform for the firm’s information system applications
Name the 5 stages of evolution of IT Infrastructure
- Mainframe/mini computer
- Personal computer
- Client/server
- Enterprise computing
- Cloud and mobile computing
Explain and name IT infrastructure: Stage 1
Stage 1: Mainframe / Minicomputer
- Very expensive
- One centralized system
- Controlled by operators
- Owned by large corporations
- Mini computers were cheaper and came along later
- A large uni could have several mini computers
Explain and name IT infrastructure: Stage 2
Stage 2: Personal Computers
- Used by one person
- $4000
- Simple word processing, accounting, and game playing
- Users were technically sophisticated
- Started off as text-based but evolved to a graphical user interface and mouse
- Software market was eventually dominated by Microsoft
Explain and name IT infrastructure: Stage 3
Stage 3: Client/Server -> most common form
Two types of machines
- Clients: requests and uses services provided by servers, inexpensive
- Servers: run an application and provide it to others, more expensive
Explain and name IT infrastructure: Stage 4
Stage 4: Enterprise Computing
- Link together different networks and applications throughout the firm
- Link diff types of hardware, data formats
- Use internet protocols for the network
- Create standards for the data format
- Use software to translate between various formats
Explain and name IT infrastructure: Stage 5
Stage 5: Cloud and Mobile Computing
- Extension of client/server but rather than a server -> shared pool of resources: cluster of computers, software, storage
- Can sell software applications as a service delivered over the internet
- Mobile computing (smart phones) -> devices are smaller and can move around frequently
What is peer to peer?
- Every machine in the network consumes (client) and provides services (server) at the same time
- Hard to control, no central computer in charge
Name the 5 drivers of technology
Moore’s law Law of mass digital storage Metcalfe’s law Declining communication costs The creation of technology standards
What is the role of the 5 drivers of technology
drove the evolution of IT infrastructure
Explain Moore’s Law
The number of transistors that can fit on a chip doubles every 18 months
Price of computing is cut by half every 18 months
Explain Law of Mass Digital Storage
Amount of digital information is roughly doubling every year
Explain Metcalfe’s Law
The value of a network grows exponentially as a function of the number of network members
Explain Declining Communication Costs
Lower the cost of communication -> more reliance on it to conduct business
Explain the Creation of Standards
The creation of technology standards allows competition, increase interoperability and reduces costs
examples: ethernet/wifi and html/www
Name the 7 components of Infrastructure
Computer Hardware Platforms Operating System (OS) Platforms Enterprise Applications (EA) Data Management and Storage Network and Telecom Platforms Internet Platforms Service Platform
Explain Computer Hardware Platforms and what they are part of
Infrastructure component
- Client machines: desktops, laptops, tablets, phones
- Server machines: specialized high end computers, single mainframe, rack servers, blade servers
what are server farms
collections of 100,000 of rack or blade servers stored in racks in large, windowless, air-conditioned rooms
Explain Operating system Platforms and what they are part of
Part of Infrastructure components
OS manages a computer’s hardware and software resources
examples: Processor, memory, peripherals, files, apps
Explain Enterprise Application and what they are part of
Part of Infrastructure Components
computer programs used by organizations that integrate business applications and services across the many different departments
example: quest
Explain Data Management and Storage and what it is part of
Part of Infrastructure components
Database Management System (DBMS): organize and store the company’s data
major types of data storage
hard drives, solid state drives, cloud based storage
What is RAID storage architecture?
RAID= redundant array of independent disks
Using many drives to achieve improvements in reliability, availability, performance, and capacity
Define and explain RAID 0
Disk stripping
Improve performance -> twice the bandwidth
Decrease Reliability -> all files are corrupted if ½ disks fail
