Chapter 5 and 7 Exam
Open source software
Software that provides free access to its program code, allowing users to modify the program code to make improvements or fix errors.
HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol and is the first set of letters at the start of every web address and then is followed by the domain name. T or F?
True
IT infrastructure consists of physical devices such as desktop computers and software applications such as Microsoft Word. T or F?
True
Nanotechnology uses individual atoms and molecules to create computer chips. T or F?
True
protocol
A set of rules and procedures that govern transmission between the components in a network.
Information technology assessment
Is your firm behind the technology curve or at the bleeding edge of information technology? Both situations are to be avoided. It is usually not desirable to spend resources on advanced technologies that are still experimental, often expensive, and sometimes unreliable. You want to spend on technologies for which standards have been established and IT vendors are competing on cost, not design, and where there are multiple suppliers. However, you do not want to put off investment in new technologies or allow competitors to develop new business models and capabilities based on the new technologies.
mainframe
Largest category of computer, used for major business processing.
From Table 7.1 the text mentions at least five types of networks. T or F?
False - 4 types of network
The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) states that cloud computing has four essential characteristics. T or F?
False - 5 essential characteristics
Gordon Moore's Law mentioned that since the first microprocessor chip was introduced in 1959, the number of components on a chip with the smallest manufacturing costs per component has tripled each year since. T or F?
False - doubled each year
The Law of Mass Digital Storage states that the amount of digital information is roughly quadrupling every year. T or F?
False- doubled each year
The fourth technology driver transforming IT infrastructure is the rapid increase in the costs of communication and the exponential growth in the size of the internet. T or F?
False- rapid decline
(utility computing)
Model of computing in which companies pay only for the information technology resources they actually use during a specified time period. Also called on-demand computing or usage-based pricing.
Java
Programming language that can deliver only the software functionality needed for a particular task, such as a small applet downloaded from a network; can run on any computer and operating system.
Hubs
Very simple devices that connect network components, sending a packet of data to all other connected devices.
Bluetooth wireless networking standard links devices within a 10-meter (30 feet) area. T or F?
True
Concerning Robert Metcalfe's Law and Network Economics, adding more participants involves zero marginal costs but can create much larger marginal gains. T or F?
True
Concerning computer networks, the NOS (network operating systems) routes and manages communications on the network and coordinates network resources. T or F?
True
Concerning internet addressing, the Domain Name System (DNS) converts domain names of 12 numbers to IP addresses called the domain names. T or F?
True
From Chapter 7........ firms in the past used two fundamentally different types of networks: telephone networks and computer networks. T or F?
True
From Table 5.1, the internet is one important standard that has shaped IT infrastructure. T or F?
True
The Text explained five eras concerning the evolution of IT infrastructure. T or F?
True
The internet was not originally designed to handle the transmission of massive quantities of data and billions of users and so the world is about to run out of available IP addresses. So now the addressing system is being replaced by a new version of the IP schema called the IPv6. (Internet Protocol Version 6) T or F?
True
The set of standards for wireless LANs and wireless internet access is also known as Wi-Fi and allows for effective communications for distances of 30 to 50 meters, or 300 feet. T or F?
True
There are two ways to communicate a message in a network: using an analog signal or a digital signal. T or F?
True
Today corporate networks are using a single, common, worldwide standard called Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol (ITC/IP) for internet connectivity. T or F?
True
When discussing client/ server networks, the N-tier could also be called multitiered. T or F?
True
Grid computing
Applying the resources of many computers in a network to a single problem.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
(Hypertext Markup Language) Page description language for creating Web pages.
local area network (LAN)
A telecommunications network that requires its own dedicated channels and that encompasses a limited distance, usually one building or several buildings in close proximity.
public cloud
A cloud maintained by an external service provider, accessed through the Internet, and available to the general public.
Modem
A device for translating a computer's digital signals into analog form for transmission over ordinary telephone lines, or for translating analog signals back into digital form for reception by a computer.
Storage area networks (SANs)
A high-speed network dedicated to storage that connects different kinds of storage devices, such as tape libraries and disk arrays so they can be shared by multiple servers.
Android
A mobile operating system developed by Android, Inc. (purchased by Google) and later the Open Handset Alliance as a flexible, upgradeable mobile device platform.
client/server computing
A model for computing that splits processing between clients and servers on a network, assigning functions to the machine most able to perform the function.
software package
A prewritten, precoded, commercially available set of programs that eliminates the need to write software programs for certain functions.
private cloud
A proprietary network or a data center that ties together servers, storage, networks, data, and applications as a set of virtualized services that are shared by users inside a company.
Legacy systems
A system that has been in existence for a long time and that continues to be used to avoid the high cost of replacing or redesigning it.
multitiered (often called N-tier) client/ server architectures
Client/server network which the work of the entire network is balanced over several different levels of servers.
Web browser
An easy-to-use software tool for accessing the World Wide Web and the Internet.
Your firm's business strategy
Analyze your firm's five-year business strategy and try to assess what new services and capabilities will be required to achieve strategic goals.
tablet computers
Mobile handheld computer that is larger than a mobile phone and operated primarily by touching a flat screen.
Wintel PC
Any computer that uses Intel microprocessors (or compatible processors) and a Windows operating system.
Moore's Law
Assertion that the number of components on a chip doubles each year.
Competitor firm IT infrastructure investments
Benchmark your expenditures for IT infrastructure against your competitors. Many companies are quite public about their innovative expenditures on IT. If competing firms try to keep IT expenditures secret, you may be able to find IT investment information in public companies' SEC Form 10-K annual reports to the federal government when those expenditures impact a firm's financial results.
Measured service
Charges for cloud resources are based on amount of resources actually used.
Ubiquitous network access
Cloud resources can be accessed using standard network and Internet devices, including mobile platforms.
hybrid cloud
Computing model where firms use both their own IT infrastructure and also public cloud computing services.
Web hosting service
Company with large Web server computers to maintain the Web sites of fee-paying subscribers.
mashups
Composite software applications that depend on high-speed networks, universal communication standards, and open-source code.
Location-independent resource pooling
Computing resources are pooled to serve multiple users, with different virtual resources dynamically assigned according to user demand. The user generally does not know where the computing resources are located.
Rapid elasticity
Computing resources can be rapidly provisioned, increased, or decreased to meet changing user demand.
On-demand self-service
Consumers can obtain computing capabilities such as server time or network storage as needed automatically on their own.
Cloud platform as a service
Customers use infrastructure and programming tools supported by the cloud service provider to develop their own applications. For example, IBM offers a Smart Business Application Development & Test service for software development and testing on the IBM Cloud. Another example is Salesforce.com's Force.com, which allows developers to build applications that are hosted on its servers as a service.
Cloud infrastructure as a service
Customers use processing, storage, networking, and other computing resources from cloud service providers to run their information systems. For example, Amazon uses the spare capacity FIGURE 5.10 CLOUD COMPUTING PLATFORM In cloud computing, hardware and software capabilities are a pool of virtualized resources provided over a network, often the Internet. Businesses and employees have access to applications and IT infrastructure anywhere, at any time, and on any device. 214 Part Two Information Technology Infrastructure MIS_13_Ch_05_Global.indd 214 1/17/2013 3:04:26 PM of its IT infrastructure to provide a broadly based cloud environment selling IT infrastructure services. These include its Simple Storage Service (S3) for storing customers' data and its Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) service for running their applications. Users pay only for the amount of computing and storage capacity they actually use. (See the chapter-ending case study.)
Cloud software as a service
Customers use software hosted by the vendor on the vendor's cloud infrastructure and delivered over a network. Leading examples are Google Apps, which provides common business applications online and Salesforce.com, which also leases customer relationship management and related software services over the Internet. Both charge users an annual subscription fee, although Google Apps also has a pared-down free version. Users access these applications from a Web browser, and the data and software are maintained on the providers' remote servers.
total cost of ownership (TCO)
Designates the total cost of owning technology resources, including initial purchase costs, the cost of hardware and software upgrades, maintenance, technical support, and training.
switch
Device to connect network components that has more intelligence than a hub and can filter and forward data to a specified destination.
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
Dominant model for achieving connectivity among different networks. Provides a universally agree-on method for breaking up digital messages into packets, routing them to the proper addresses, and then reassembling them into coherent messages.
Autonomic computing
Effort to develop systems that can manage themselves without user intervention.
Blade servers
Entire computer that fits on a single, thin card (or blade) and that is plugged into a single chassis to save space, power and complexity.
Your firm's IT strategy, infrastructure, and cost
Examine your firm's information technology plans for the next five years and assess its alignment with the firm's business plans. Determine the total IT infrastructure costs. You will want to perform a TCO analysis. If your firm has no IT strategy, you will need to devise one that takes into account the firm's five-year strategic plan.
service level agreement (SLA)
Formal contract between customers and their service providers that defines the specific responsibilities of the service provider and the level of service expected by the customer.
on-demand computing
Firms off-loading peak demand for computing power to remote, large-scale data processing centers, investing just enough to handle average processing loads and paying for only as much additional computing power as the market demands. Also called utility computing.
Extensible Markup Language (XML)
General purpose language that describes the structure of a document and XML can perform presentation, communication, and storage of data, allowing data to be manipulated by the computer.
Chrome OS
Google's lightweight computer operating system for users who do most of their computing on the Internet; runs on computers ranging from netbooks to desktop computers.
broadband
High-speed transmission technology. Also designates a single communications medium that can transmit multiple channels of data simultaneously.
multicore processor
Integrated circuit to which two or more processors have been attached for enhanced performance, reduced power consumption and more efficient simultaneous processing of multiple tasks.
multitouch
Interface that features the use of one or more finger gestures to manipulate lists or objects on a screen without using a mouse or keyboard.
minicomputers
Middle-range computer used in systems for universities, factories, or research laboratories.
Market demand for your firm's services
Make an inventory of the services you currently provide to customers, suppliers, and employees. Survey each group, or hold focus groups to find out if the services you currently offer are meeting the needs of each group. For example, are customers complaining of slow responses to their queries about price and availability? Are employees complaining about the difficulty of finding the right information for their jobs? Are suppliers complaining about the difficulties of discovering your production requirements?
Windows
Microsoft family of operating systems for both network servers and client computers. The most recent version is Windows Vista.
Windows 8
Most recent Microsoft Windows operating system, which runs on tablets as well as PCs, and includes multitouch capabilities.
peer-to-peer
Network architecture that gives equal power to all computers on the network; used primarily in small networks.
metropolitan area network (MAN)
Network that spans a metropolitan area, usually a city and its major suburbs. Its geographic scope falls between a WAN and a LAN.
HTML5
Next evolution of HTML, which will make it possible to embed images, video, and audio directly into a document without add-on software.
Unix operating system or Linux
Operating system for all types of computers, which is machine independent and supports multiuser processing, multitasking, and networking. Used in high-end workstations and servers.
iOS
Operating system for the Apple iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch.
Virtualization
Presenting a set of computing resources so that they can all be accessed in ways that are not restricted by physical configuration or geographic location.
application server
Software that handles all application operations between browser-based computers and a company's back-end business applications or databases.
Green computing or green IT
Refers to practices and technologies for designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated devices such as monitors, printers, storage devices, and networking and communications systems to minimize impact on the environment.
Web server
Software that manages requests for Web pages on the computer where they are stored and that delivers the page to the user's computer.
operating system
Software that manages the resources and activities of the computer.
software as a service (SaaS)
Services for delivering and providing access to software remotely as a Web-based service.
Web services
Set of universal standards using Internet technology for integrating different applications from different sources without time-consuming custom coding. Used for linking systems of different organizations or for linking disparate systems within the same organization.
Apps
Small pieces of software that run on the Internet, on your computer, or on your cell phone and are generally delivered over the Internet.
service oriented architecture (SOA)
Software architecture of a firm built on a collection of software programs that communicate with each other to perform assigned tasks to create a working software application.
network operating system (NOS)
Special software that routes and manages communications on the network and coordinates network resources.
router
Specialized communications processor that forwards packets of data from one network to another network.
technology standards
Specifications that establish the compatibility of products and the ability to communicate in a network.
Packet switching
Technology that breaks messages into small, fixed bundles of data and routes them in the most economical way through any available communications channel..
Nanotechnology
Technology that builds structures and processes based on the manipulation of individual atoms and molecules.
Wide area networks (WANs)
Telecommunications network that spans a large geographical distance. May consist of a variety of cable, satellite, and microwave technologies.
Scalability
The ability of a computer, product, or system to expand to serve a larger number of users without breaking down.
consumerization of IT
The modification of a software package to meet an organization's unique requirements without destroying the package software's integrity.
outsourcing
The practice of contracting computer center operations, telecommunications networks, or applications development to external vendors.
clients
The user point-of-entry for the required function in client/ server computing. Normally a desktop computer, workstation, or laptop computer.
Competitor firm services
Try to assess what technology services competitors offer to customers, suppliers, and employees. Establish quantitative and qualitative measures to compare them to those of your firm. If your firm's service levels fall short, your company is at a competitive disadvantage. Look for ways your firm can excel at service levels.
Software-defined networking (SDN)
Using a central control program separate from network devices to manage the flow of data on a network.
Cloud computing
Web-based applications that are stored on remote servers and accessed via the "cloud" of the Internet using a standard Web browser.
