MIS CHAPTER 5

grid computing

a collection of computers, often geographically dispersed, that are coordinated to solve a common problem.

network

a communications system created by linking two or more devices and establishing a standard methodology in which they can communicate.

server

a computer dedicated to providing information in response to requests.

client

a computer designed to request information from a server.

disaster recovery plan

a detailed process for recovering information or a system in the event of a catastrophic disaster.

data center

a facility used to house management information systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems.

enterprise architect

a person grounded in technology, fluent in business, and able to provide the important bridge between MIS and the business.

hot site

a separate and fully equipped facility where the company can move immediately after a disaster and resume business.

cold site

a separate facility that does not have any computer equipment but is a place where employees can move after a disaster.

warm site

a separate facility with computer equipment that requires installation and configuration.

infrastructure as a service (IaaS)

a service that delivers hardware networking capabilities, including the use of servers, networking, and storage over the cloud using a pay-per-use revenue model.

failover

a specific type of fault tolerance, occurs when a redundant storage server offers an exact replica of the real-time data, and if the primary server crashes, the users are automatically directed to the secondary server or backup server.

backup

an exact copy of a system's information.

emergency notification service

an infrastructure built for notifying people in the event of an emergency.

disaster recovery cost curve

charts (1) the cost to the company of the unavailability of information and technology and (2) the cost to the company of recovering from a disaster over time.

corporate social responsibility

companies' acknowledged responsibility to society.

hardware

consists of the physical devices associated with a computer system

virtualization

creates multiple "virtual" machines on a single computing device.

software as a service (SaaS)

delivers applications over the cloud using a pay-per-use revenue model.

smart grid

delivers electricity using two-way digital technology.

scalability

describes how well a system can scale up, or adapt to the increased demands of growth.

sustainable MIS

describes the production, management, use, and disposal of technology in a way that minimizes damage to the environment.

business continuity planning (BCP)

details how a company recovers and restores critical business operations and systems after a disaster or extended disruption.

capacity planning

determines future environmental infrastructure requirements to ensure high-quality system performance.

reliability

ensures a system is functioning correctly and providing accurate information.

sustainable MIS infrastructure

identifies ways that a company can grow in terms of computing resources while simultaneously becoming less dependent on hardware and energy consumption.

information MIS infrastructure

identifies where and how important information, such as customer records, is maintained and secured.

agile MIS infrastructure

includes the hardware, software, and telecommunications equipment that, when combined, provide the underlying foundation to support the organization's goals.

MIS infrastructure

includes the plans for how a firm will build, deploy, use, and share its data, processes, and MIS assets.

dynamic scaling

means the MIS infrastructure can be automatically scaled up or down based on needed requirements.

performance

measures how quickly a system performs a process or transaction.

high availability

occurs when a system is continuously operational at all times.

failback

occurs when the primary machine recovers and resumes operations, taking over from the secondary server.

utility computing

offers a pay-per-use revenue model similar to a metered service such as gas or electricity.

ewaste

refers to discarded, obsolete, or broken electronic devices.

maintainability

refers to how quickly a system can transform to support environmental changes.

portability

refers to the ability of an application to operate on different devices or software platforms, such as different operating systems.

Moore's law

refers to the computer chip performance per dollar doubling every 18 months.

sustainable MIS disposal

refers to the safe disposal of MIS assets at the end of their life cycle.

availability

refers to the time frames when the system is operational.

cloud computing

refers to the use of resources and applications hosted remotely on the Internet.

accessibility

refers to the varying levels that define what a user can access, view, or perform when operating a system.

platform as a service (PaaS)

supports the deployment of entire systems including hardware, networking, and applications using a pay-per-use revenue model.

fault tolerance

the ability for a system to respond to unexpected failures or system crashes as the backup system immediately and automatically takes over with no loss of service.

recovery

the ability to get a system up and running in the event of a system crash or failure that includes restoring the information backup.

usability

the degree to which a system is easy to learn and efficient and satisfying to use.

software

the set of instructions the hardware executes to carry out specific tasks.

administrator access

unrestricted access to the entire system.

unavailable

when it is not operating and cannot be used.