TOPIC 1 - Trends

Question 1

name the 8 hardware trends

Answer 1

mobile digital platform, consumerization of BYOD, grid computing, virtualization, cloud computing, green computing, high performance/power saving, autonomic computing

Question 2

explain mobile digital platform

Answer 2

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)

Question 3

explain consumerization of IT and BYOD

Answer 3

Consumerization of IT: technology that was meant for the consumer moves into the business world

Allow employees to bring their own device

Question 4

explain grid computing

Answer 4

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

Question 5

explain virtualization and it’s 3 aspects

Answer 5

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)

Question 6

benefits of virtualization

Answer 6

Better resource management (one looks like many)
Using more processor capacity
Less space, less expensive, less energy

Question 7

3 technical options to meet peak demand

Answer 7

load balancing, cloud computing, on demand computing

Question 8

explain load balancing

Answer 8

The workload is evenly distributed on many servers

Question 9

pros and cons of load balancing

Answer 9

pros: meets seasonal demand, decreases downtime, can deal with crashes
cons: purchase and maintain additional server that isn’t used

Question 10

explain cloud computing and give 3 examples

Answer 10

The leasing, as a service from another company that is accessed over the internet
examples: infrastructure, platform, software

Question 11

explain on demand computing

Answer 11

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

Question 12

pros of the cloud

Answer 12

less cost, convenient, flexible

Question 13

cons of the cloud

Answer 13

less privacy, liability, legal, loss of control

Question 14

what is green computing?

Answer 14

Design and use of computer systems in a way that minimizes their impact on the environment

Question 15

explain high performance and power saving processors

Answer 15

Multicore processors when cores can disconnect from power when not in use
Energy efficient designs (fewer transistors) are common in cell phones and tablets

Question 16

explain autonomic computing and 2 examples

Answer 16

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

Question 17

explain the 2 future hardware techs

Answer 17

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

Question 18

what is entanglement

Answer 18

Group of electrons to represent data

Question 19

name the 4 software technology trends

Answer 19

open source, HTML, web services and service oriented arch, and software outsourcing

Question 20

explain open source software

Answer 20

Software (and source code) that is available to use, study, modify, and distribute by anyone

Question 21

pros of open source software

Answer 21

Lower cost
More security, less bugs
Flecilbity
Transparency
Not reliant on a single vendor

Question 22

cons of open source software

Answer 22

Less easy to use
May not meet customer needs
May not be compatible with your hardware
Less likely to have support

Question 23

explain HTML and HTML5

Answer 23

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)

Question 24

explain web services

Answer 24

software components that exchange information with each other using web communication standards and languages

Question 25

explain SOA

Answer 25

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

Question 26

what is XML

Answer 26

eXtensible markup language

XML can specify what the data means and provides a format for programs to exchange information

Question 27

explain 3 methods of software outsourcing

Answer 27

• 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

Question 28

what are the 3 management issues for IT infrastructure

Answer 28

1. dealing with change
2. management and governance
3. infrastructure invesments

Question 29

what is the breakdown of total cost ownership

Answer 29

1. capital expenditure: fixed, one time cost to acquire system
2. operational expenditure: ongoing expenses for running it

Question 30

what are the two types of costs in TCO

Answer 30

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)

Question 31

2 ways to manage computers

Answer 31

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

Question 32

what are the 6 competitive forces for infrastructure investments?

Answer 32

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