IS assignment 2 - summary of topic PDF

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QUESTION NO: 1 • What are the stages and technology drivers of IT infrastructure evolution? List each of the eras in IT infrastructure evolution and describe its distinguishing characteristics. Eras in IT infrastructure: • General-Purpose Mainframe and Minicomputer era (1959 to present) • Personal Computer Era (1981 to present) • Client/Server Era (1983 to present) • Enterprise Computing Era (1992 to present) • Cloud and Mobile Computing Era (2000 to present)

General-purpose mainframe and minicomputer era: This era was characterized by mainframe computers. Mainframe computers from IBM had powerful operating systems that could provide time sharing, multitasking, and virtual memory in more advanced models. They were so powerful that they had the capability to support thousands of online remote terminals connected to the centralized mainframe using proprietary communication protocols and proprietary data lines.

Personal computer era: This era was characterized by standalone systems that enabled a user to accomplish tasks through personal desktop productivity software tools. These tools include word processors, spreadsheets, electronic presentation software, and small data management programs.

Client/server era: This era was characterized by the networking of desktop or laptop computers to powerful server computers. This client/server computing enabled the client computers to perform a wide variety of services and capabilities. The client was the user point of entry while the server processes and stores the shared data, serves up Web pages, or manages network activities.

Enterprise computing era: This era was characterized by the linking of numerous pieces of computer hardware and smaller networks into a single enterprise-wide network. This allowed information to flow more freely across an organization and between the firm and other organizations. This also linked disparate applications and software to enable data to flow freely among various parts of a business such as enterprise applications and Web services.

Cloud and mobile computing era: This era was characterized by the introduction of a model of computing that provides access to a shared pool of computing resources over a network. Thousands of computers are located in cloud data centers where they can be accessed by many other computer platforms. Cloud computing also allows firms to sell software applications as services delivered over the Internet.

• Define and describe the following: Web server, application server, multitiered client/server architecture Web server: This software serves the web page request on system, where they are “stored” and that “dispatched” the page to users system.

Application server: This software handles each and every application between the corporate back-end system and user system. It may exist in on same system as its own system or web server.

Multitier Client/Server architecture: This is referred as “N-tier C/S architecture”, which is used to balance the work of entire network through number of server’s levels.

• Describe Moore’s Law and the Law of Mass Digital Storage Moore’s law: Moore’s law defines the amount of components on chip with minimum manufacturing cost per component will be doubled for each and every year. Later, Moore reduced the growth rate to doubling cost per component for each two years.

Law of Mass Digital storage: This is approximately doubles the amount of digital information for every year. The storing cost of the digital information is declining at 100 percent exponential rate of a year. From the both law, the concept evidently explains the development of computing power will be raise exponentially while decreasing the cost.

• Describe how network economics, declining communications costs, and technology standards affect IT infrastructure. What are the interfaces with the environment (that is input and outputs) that cross the boundary of the following systems?

Network economics: Metcalfe’s law defines that increases network power exponentially and network takes more network members. As increasing the members of network linearly, then exponentially increases the worth of complete system, and theoretically keep the growth forever as network members increases.

Declining communication costs: This is quickly declined the communication cost and exponential growth in internet size. As cost of communication falls towards to zero, then the “communication and computing” utilization services will be burst out.

Technology standards: This requirements establish the agreement of product and able to communicate through a network. This standards allow to free the financial scale and result will be declining the cost on product. The lacking of financial scale will be increase the cost for any computing sort

QUESTION NO: 2 • What is the difference between objectives of the system and the constraints on it? Give an information system related example. OBJECTIVES: The main objectives of an MIS are to help executives of an organization make decisions that advance the organization's strategy and to implement the organizational structure and dynamics of the enterprise for the purpose of managing the organization in a better way for a competitive advantage. MIS software include Microsoft Dynamics, Fleetmatics WORK, Clarity Professional MIS, and Tharstern Limited. MIS programs designed specifically for the graphics and print industry include Avanti Slingshot, EFI Pace, and DDS Accura.

CONSTRAINTS: Highly sensitive requires constant monitoring, Budgeting of MIS is extremely difficult, and Quality of outputs is governed by quality of inputs, Lack of flexibility to update itself, Effectiveness decreases due to frequent changes in top management....