Chapter 4
IT Infrastructure:
Hardware and Software
4.1
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Hardware
As information becomes a valuable resource of the
digital firm, the infrastructure used to care for the
resource takes on added importance.
Infrastructure Components
• Computer hardware
input, processing, output, storage, and delivery
• Computer software
system software, application software, and
enterprise integration
4.2
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Hardware
Infrastructure Components
• Data management technology
organize and deliver data
• Networking and telecommunications technology
data, voice, audio, and video
• Technology services
run and manage infrastructure and train users
4.3
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 Managing Hardware and Software Assets
COMPUTER HARDWARE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE
•
A computer system consists of
–
–
–
–
–
–
4.4
a central processing unit,
primary storage,
secondary storage,
input devices,
output devices,
communications devices .
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Hardware Components of a Computer
System
Next
p. 4.5 Fig. 4-5
4.5
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Hardware
Types of Computers
•
Classifying computers depends largely on the
computing capacity of the processor and the
peripheral devices.
a) Personal computer (PC)
o
includes desktops, laptops, personal digital assistants,
and even cell phones (embedded computers).
b) Workstation
o
4.6
has more computing capacity in its CPU than a typical
personal computer. Scientists, engineers, and those
working with large graphics files are the main users.
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Hardware
Types of Computers
c) Midrange computers:
•
servers - used primarily for intranets and extranets.
•
Minicomputers - being replaced by more powerful workstations
and personal computers connected together in networks.
Largely obsolete term for the midrange computers
d) Mainframe
•
has the necessary power and speed to process
thousands and millions of transactions
e) Supercomputer
•
4.7
leads the world in terms of processing capacity
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Hardware
Types of Computers
FLOPS = Floating Point Operations Per Second
4.8
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Hardware
Types of Computing
• Grid computing
o Enables combination of hundreds or thousands of
computers into a continuous, connected computing
capacity to capture, process, manage, store, and retrieve
data
• Client/server computing
o Multitiered (N-tier) client/server architectures
o Web server
o Application server
• Distributed vs. Central processing
4.9
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Hardware
Client/Server Computing
In client/server computing, computer
processing is split between client machines and
server machines linked by a network. Users
interface with the client machines.
4.10
Figure 4-2
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Hardware
Client/Server Computing
N-tier client/server architecture takes the
client/server structure and ramps it up in size to
match the computing requirements in large
businesses.
In client/server computing, computer
processing is split between client machines and
server machines linked by a network. Users
interface with the client machines.
4.11
Figure 4-2
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Hardware
Storage, Input, and Output Technology
• Functions of a computer:
Input, Process, Output,
Storage, Communicate
Hardware
components
4.12
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Hardware
Processing
• The central processing unit (CPU), or
sometimes simply processor, is the
component in the computer that interprets
instructions and processes data contained in
computer programs.
• Controls other parts of computer
• Components of the CPU:
o Arithmetic-logic unit (ALU) performs principle
logical/mathematical operations
o Control unit coordinates other parts, such as
reading a stored program
4.13
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Central Processing Unit
The components of the CPU
CPU
Control
Unit
4.14
Arithmetic/
Logic Unit
(ALU)
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 Managing Hardware and Software Assets
COMPUTER HARDWARE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE
The Computer System
bit
•
Binary digit
•
Represents smallest unit of data in the form of
either 0 or 1
byte
4.15
•
String of bits, usually eight
•
Stores one number or character
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 Managing Hardware and Software Assets
COMPUTER HARDWARE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE
Bits and Bytes
4.16
Figure 6-2
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Hardware
Processing
Determining Processing Power of the CPU:
1. Clock speed (MHz, GHz)
•
The CPU requires a fixed number of clock ticks
(or clock cycles) to execute each instruction.
2. Bus Width (bits)
•
The size of a bus, known as its width, is
important because it determines how much data
can be transmitted at one time.
3. Wordlength (bits)
•
Number of bits process at the same time
4. Architecture
•
4.17
CISC vs. RISC
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Hardware
Processing
Batch and online processing
•
•
•
•
•
4.18
In Batch Processing, transaction data
are keyed into the system as
batches.
The batches of transaction data are
accumulated until a large volume of
data can be processed at one time.
Batch processing is often used for
routine procedures like updating the
debtors, creditors accounts and payroll.
On-line processing involved keying in
directly into the system and instantly
been processed into information.
Example is the use of product code
readers at check-out counters in the
supermarkets.
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Hardware
Storage
• Computer storage is classified into primary (main)
memory and secondary (peripheral) storage
• Primary Storage
• Memory – RAM, ROM Chips
• RAM is usually volatile.
• RAM is about 1/4 million times faster than disk.
• Secondary storage technology
• Magnetic disk: hard drives, USB flash drives, RAID
• Magnetic tape
• Optical disks: CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD
4.19
• Storage networking: SANs
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Hardware
Storage
4.20
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Hardware
Input
• Input devices gather data and convert them into
electronic form
 Text input devices
• Examples: Keyboard, Handwriting recognition, Optical character
recognition, Speech recognition, Switch Access, Chorded
keyboard, Keyer, Telegraph key
 Pointing devices
• Examples: mouse, Trackball, Joystick, Touch screen, Trackpoint,
Pointing stick, Touchpad, Light pen, Graphics tablet
 Image, video input devices
Examples: Image scanner, 3D scanner, Digital camera, Webcam
 Audio input devices
4.21
Examples: Digital dictaphone, Microphone, Digital audio recorder
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Hardware
Output
• Output devices display data after they have been
processed
• Common output devices include Earphones,
Projectors, computer displays, printers and
speakers.
4.22
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Hardware
Contemporary Hardware Trends
• Integration of computing and telecommunications
platforms
• Edge computing
• Autonomic computing
4.23
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Software
Software
• A set of instructions (program) that controls the
operation of a computer.
The Major Types of
Software
• Systems
• Applications
4.24
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Software
System Software
• The system software manages the basic
operations of the computer and controls the
equipment associated with it.
• Types of Systems Software:
• Operating systems software
• Utility programs
• Language translators
4.25
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Software
Operating System Software
• The software that manages and controls the
computer’s activities
• Types:
• GUIs vs. Command driven OS
• single program vs. multiple program OS
• Some terms: multitasking, multithreading, multiprocessing,
virtual machines
4.26
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Software
Utility Programs
• Utility software (also known as service program,
service routine, tool, or utility routine) is designed
to help manage and tune the hardware and
software.
• Examples
• Disk defragmenters.
• System Profilers such as backup programs
• Virus scanners.
4.27
• Compression software
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Software
Language Translators
• A program that translates between high-level
languages is usually called a language translator,
source to source translator, or language
converter.
• Compiler translates source code in bulk into
object code
• Interpreter translates source code line-by-line
into object code
4.28
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Software
Application Software and Desktop Productivity Tools
• Application programming languages for business
• Examples: COBOL, C, C++, VB
• Fourth-generation languages
• Software packages and desktop productivity tools
4.29
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Word processing software
Spreadsheets
Data management software
Presentation graphics
Integrated software packages and software suites
E-mail software
Web browsers
Groupware
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Software
Software for the Web: Java and HTML
• Java
• Operating system-independent, processorindependent, object-oriented programming language
• Leading interactive programming environment for the
Web
• Hypertext markup language (HTML)
• Page description language for specifying how
elements are placed on a Web page and for creating
links to other pages and objects
4.30
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Software
Software for Enterprise Integration
• Legacy systems: replace or integrate?
• Middleware
• Enterprise application integration (EAI) software
• Web services and service-oriented architecture
• XML
• SOAP
• WSDL
• UDDI
• SOA
4.31
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
IT Infrastructure: Computer Software
Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) Versus
Traditional Integration
EAI software (a) uses special middleware that
creates a common platform with which all
applications can freely communicate with each
other. EAI requires much less programming
than traditional point-to-point integration (b).
4.32
Figure 4-9
© 2007 by Prentice Hall
Essentials of Business Information Systems
Chapter 4 IT Infrastructure: Hardware and Software
Managing Hardware and Software Technology
Important issues faced by managers of hardware and
software technology:
• Capacity planning and scalability
• Total cost of ownership (TCO) of technology assets
• Using technology service providers
• Outsourcing
• On-demand computing
• Application service providers (ASPs)
4.33
© 2007 by Prentice Hall