TOPIC 1 - Trends Flashcards
name the 8 hardware trends
mobile digital platform, consumerization of BYOD, grid computing, virtualization, cloud computing, green computing, high performance/power saving, autonomic computing
explain mobile digital platform
Internet access happens via highly portable devices: smart phones and tablets -> provide an app
Smartphones are taking over the functions of many other electronic devices (GPS)
explain consumerization of IT and BYOD
Consumerization of IT: technology that was meant for the consumer moves into the business world
Allow employees to bring their own device
explain grid computing
simulate a supercomputer by organizing the computational power of a network of computers
only tasks that can be parallelized can take advantage of grid computing
explain virtualization and it’s 3 aspects
The creation of a virtual rather than actual version of something
- one looks like something else: acting like a different OS
- one looks like many: single powerful server looks like many smaller computers
- many looks like one: many smaller hard drives can be configured to look like 1 large (disk stripping)
benefits of virtualization
Better resource management (one looks like many)
Using more processor capacity
Less space, less expensive, less energy
3 technical options to meet peak demand
load balancing, cloud computing, on demand computing
explain load balancing
The workload is evenly distributed on many servers
pros and cons of load balancing
pros: meets seasonal demand, decreases downtime, can deal with crashes
cons: purchase and maintain additional server that isn’t used
explain cloud computing and give 3 examples
The leasing, as a service from another company that is accessed over the internet
examples: infrastructure, platform, software
explain on demand computing
Firms off load peak demand for computing power to remove, large-scale data processing centers
Firms pay only for the computer power they use -> save money from extra infrastucture
pros of the cloud
less cost, convenient, flexible
cons of the cloud
less privacy, liability, legal, loss of control
what is green computing?
Design and use of computer systems in a way that minimizes their impact on the environment
explain high performance and power saving processors
Multicore processors when cores can disconnect from power when not in use
Energy efficient designs (fewer transistors) are common in cell phones and tablets
explain autonomic computing and 2 examples
industry wide effort to develop systems that are capable of self management
P2P: skype or internet -> nodes go down, the network still functions
SMART: self monitoring, analysis and reporting technology
explain the 2 future hardware techs
nanotech: using nanostructures to build devices
quantum computing: computers use bits, quantum computers use quantum property called entanglement -> minimizes # steps needed to arrive at result
what is entanglement
Group of electrons to represent data
name the 4 software technology trends
open source, HTML, web services and service oriented arch, and software outsourcing
explain open source software
Software (and source code) that is available to use, study, modify, and distribute by anyone
pros of open source software
Lower cost More security, less bugs Flecilbity Transparency Not reliant on a single vendor
cons of open source software
Less easy to use
May not meet customer needs
May not be compatible with your hardware
Less likely to have support
explain HTML and HTML5
HTML: hypertext markup language
Hypertext refers to text that contains links to other texts that you can access quickly
Markup language refers to a way of annotating and presenting text (bold, italics)
explain web services
software components that exchange information with each other using web communication standards and languages
explain SOA
service oriented architecture is the use of web services to achieve integration among different application and platforms
Book a flight, rent a car, and book a tour all at the same website
what is XML
eXtensible markup language
XML can specify what the data means and provides a format for programs to exchange information
explain 3 methods of software outsourcing
- Purchase customizable generic software package
- Contract custom software development or maintenance to a third party which could even be located in another country
- Use a software available from the cloud -> software as a service
what are the 3 management issues for IT infrastructure
- dealing with change
- management and governance
- infrastructure invesments
what is the breakdown of total cost ownership
- capital expenditure: fixed, one time cost to acquire system
- operational expenditure: ongoing expenses for running it
what are the two types of costs in TCO
Direct IT costs: costs the company would explicitly pay for (hardware, software, printer paper, internet, support, training)
Indirect IT costs: costs due to lost productivity (downtime, poor training, user mistakes)
2 ways to manage computers
Unmanaged: users can install any application and change any setting
Locked and well managed: cannot install or change settings, policies to restrict what an employee can do
what are the 6 competitive forces for infrastructure investments?
Demand for services: what services, are needs being met
Business strategy: what new capabilities will be needed to achieve goals
IT strategy: how will IT help with goals
IT assessment: IT infrastructure tool … too old or too new?
Competitor’s services
Competitor’s IT investments: how much have they spent
