Mgt 20600: IT Management
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Transcript Mgt 20600: IT Management
Mgt 20600:
IT Management & Applications
Software
Tuesday
February 14, 2006
Reminders
Reading
Fundamentals
section
text, Chapter Two, Software
Homework
– Homework Two due Friday, 2/24 by 5pm
Next
week’s class session:
Application Software
Thin Clients
Computers connected to a server in a network
and have no hard drives
Thin-client sales grew 46% from 2004 to 2005
Advantages
– Support telecommuting
– Better security
– Easier administration
Faster and easier backups
Efficient disaster recovery
– Less expensive
Can cut costs up to 70%
Thin client model has 35% to 40% lower TCO overall
– Centralized data
Thin Client Outlook
THIN OUTLOOK
Projected growth in worldwide unit shipments of thin-client devices between last year and
2009
2004: 1.6 million
2009: 5.3 million
COMPOUND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE: 17.3%
Source: IDC, Framingham, Mass.
Thin Client Computing
What is the most compelling business value case for thin client computing?
(16%)
Better security
(5%)
Ease of use
(32%)
Reduced cost of ownership
(38%)
Ease of management
(9%)
None of the above
Personal Computers
Demise of the Desktop?
– Laptop to Desktop ratio in corporations
Why?
1 in 5 in 1999
1 in 3 in 2005
1 in 2 in next few years
– Mobility!
Outside and inside of workplace
– Changes in work habits
–
–
–
–
Used on the road, in the home, into meetings
Facilitate collaboration as well as email access
Wireless connectivity improvements
Battery life improvements
Price/Performance gap between laptops and desktops has narrowed considerably
Availability of workstation-class laptops for computing intensive tasks like
software development and computer-aided design
– Laptop reliability has improved
Laptop concerns
– Security!
PC Virtualization
PC
hardware moved into data center
as part of PC blades
– Fit into a chassis that can be centrally
managed
– Several users can share a single blade
– Simplifies PC management
Thin
client on desktop that functions
as an extended keyboard, monitor,
and mouse
Servers
Midrange computers in data center that
provide applications, web services, and
storage to client devices
Defining features
– Use faster, multi-core processors than pc’s
64
bit processors
– Often run Unix or Linux as their operating
systems
– Often deployed in server farms or blades for
easy management and flexibility
– Less costly than mainframes
– Ability to load balance
Mainframes
Large,
very fast computers that
support the enterprise
– Many legacy systems run on
mainframes
– Known for reliability and scalability
– Can replace many midrange servers and
can cut IT staff costs as a result
What a Mainframe Looks Like
AARP Mainframe Example
Members
– 35 million members
– 76 million baby-boomers preparing for retirement
Central customer database
– Can be accessed by
Members
Trading partners
– Insurance providers
– Retirement communities
Technology
– Mainframe used for customer database
Centralized
– Member information can be maintained and secured independently of
the numerous IT applications that use it
Reliable
Scalable
– Will support increasing numbers of transactions as membership grows
Continuously updated
– Makes it easier to market products and services to its members
Application-independent
– Common interface to the database for suppliers
– Standard method for integrating applications with the database
What a SuperComputer Looks Like
Terabyte: A thousand billion bytes or a thousand gigabytes
Gigaflop: One billion floating point operations per second
Corporate Supercomputing
Ping Inc., golf club maker
– Uses supercomputer to run simulations of golf club
designs
– Has drastically reduced development time
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
– Uses supercomputing for tire simulations
– Reduces amount of money spent on building physical
tire prototypes, from 40% to 15% of the research and
development budget
Supercomputing also supports
– Digital animation
– Bioinformatics
– RFID chips and the huge databases they create
Overview of Software
Computer
programs: sequences
of instructions
Two
Types
– Systems software: coordinates the
activities of hardware and programs
– Application software: helps users
solve particular problems
Supporting Individual, Group,
and Organizational Goals
Sphere of influence: the scope of problems and
opportunities addressed by a particular software
application
– Personal
– Workgroup
– Enterprise
Software: Operating System
When
selecting an operating system,
you must consider the current and
future requirements for application
software to meet the needs of the
organization. In addition, your choice
of a particular operating system
must be consistent with your choice
of hardware.
Systems Software:
Operating Systems
Operating
system (OS): set of
programs that control the hardware
and act as an interface with
applications
Common hardware functions
– Get input (e.g., keyboard)
– Retrieve data from disks and store data
on disks
– Display information on a monitor or
printer
Operating Systems
Operating Systems
User
interface
– Allows individuals to access and
command the computer system
– Command-based user interface:
uses text commands
– Graphical user interface (GUI): uses
icons and menus to send commands to
the computer system
– Bringing Vista to life
Operating Systems
Hardware
independence
– Application program interface
(API): allows applications to make use
of the operating system
Memory
management
– Control how memory is accessed and
maximize available memory and storage
Operating Systems
Processing tasks
– Multitasking: more than one program running
at the same time
– Time-sharing: more than one person using a
computer system at the same time
– Scalability: ability to handle an increasing
number of concurrent users smoothly
Networking capability: features that aid users in
connecting to a computer network
Operating Systems
Access
to system resources
– Protection against unauthorized access
– Logons and passwords
File
management
– Ensures that files in secondary storage
are
Available
when needed
Protected from access by unauthorized
users
Current Operating Systems
Linux: Personal Operating System
Novell’s Linux Desktop 10
– Designed to go head-to-head against Windows
– Includes
Desktop operating system
– Desktop search feature
– Desktop note-taking technology
OpenOffice.org office productivity suite
Mozilla Firefox
Instant-messaging client
Open-source collaboration client
F-Spot personal photo management application
Technical support
– Working with software vendors to develop more
applications for Linux
HP delivers Linux laptop
Linux: Workgroup and Enterprise
Operating System
Open source operating systems (Linux)
– Increasing comfort level with this alternative
– Dominates as server operating system
– Why?
Lower
total cost of ownership
Lower capital investment
Greater reliability and uptime compared to
commercial alternatives
Greater flexibility and control
Faster, cheaper application development
Linux Example
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)
– China’s biggest bank
– $640 billion in total assets
– 100 million individuals as customers
– 8.1 million corporate accounts
Linux deployment
– Plans to deploy Linux on servers across its network of 20,000 national
branches
– Will use Turbolinux Inc.’s Turbolinux 7 DataServer operating system
– Will support front-end banking operations
– 390,000 employees will be using terminals to access applications
hosted on Linux servers on a daily basis
Why Linux?
– Chosen because existing applications (developed in-house) run on
Unix
– Easier to migrate applications to Linux than Windows
– Need better software performance
– Need better vendor support
– Lower operating costs