Managing Information Technology

MANAGING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
CHAPTER 2
COMPUTER SYSTEMS
HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE
Chapter 2- Computer Systems

HARDWARE
Building Blocks of Information

Technology
Hardware Software Networks
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Data
Chapter 4
Hardware: Physical pieces of a computer

system.
All computers made up of the same set of
six building blocks:
Input
Output
Memory
Arithmetic/logical unit
Control unit
Files

BASIC COMPONENTS OF COMPUTER SYSTEMS
Input: Device(s) needed to

enter data into the computer for
it to use in computations and
comparisons

Input: What is the difference between a terminal and a PC?

Terminal
Designed strictly for input and output.
Has keyboard and screen.
Does not have a processor.
Connected to a computer with a processor via
telecommunications.
Examples: point-of-sale terminal, ATM

Common Input Methods
Mouse, stylus, touchpad:

alternative to keystrokes
Keyboard: Input
through keystrokes
Disk drive or
flash drive: data
on disk read into
memory

Common Input Methods
Magnetic ink character

recognition (MICR):
use to process bank
checks
Barcode labeling: scans

barcodes on packages or
products, and reads into
computer
Optical character recognition

(OCR): directly scans typed,
printed, or handwritten material
Imaging: inputs digital
form of documents and
photos

Common Output Methods:
Output: Device(s) needed to produce results in a usable format
Video display unit
Flash drive
Computer output microfilm (COM)
Printer
Voice response units

Memory
Memory: Referred to as main memory or

primary memory.
All data flows to and from memory.
Can only store limited amount of data.
Divided into cells.
Each cell has a unique address and
stores a data a pattern of 8 bits.

Memory:

Memory:
Each memory cell is a set of circuits.

Each circuit can be set to on or off (represented by 1 or 0).
Each circuit corresponds to a bit (binary digit).
Most computers 8 bits (circuits) represents a character (byte).
Cell is also known as byte
Byte = 8 bits.
Byte stores one character of data.
Bytes are grouped into Words
Word = 4 bytes.
Each word is assigned an address (from lowest to highest, begins at 0)
2 common bit coding schemes used today:
ASCII
EBCDIC (IBM developed for its larger operating systems)
EBCDIC & ASCII

Memory
Random Access Memory (RAM): Main and short term memory
Stores data before it is saved to a file.
Standard size is 2GB/4GB but can be 32 GB now.
Read-Only Memory (ROM): Long term memory and secondary storage.
Example: CDs and DVDs.
Hard Disk Drives: Long term and can be read/write

Arithmetic/Logical Unit:
Carries out:
Mathematical operations (addition, subtraction,
multiplication, division).
Logical operations (number comparisons).
Consists of very large scale integrated circuits.
Can perform up to billions of operations per second.
Numbers are taken from memory as input and results are
stored in memory as output.

Computer Files:
File devices use to store vast quantities of data.
Main memory is limited, volatile and expensive.
File devices or secondary memory are used to store
additional data that is non-Volatile.
Disadvantage: It has relatively slow speed.
Storage Devices:
Magnetic tape drives, disk drives, floppy drives.

Optical CD or DVD drives.

Computer Files:
Sequential Access Files
Records are stored in sequence according to files control key.
Usually stored on magnetic tape.
Economical: can store billion bytes (GB) of data for very low price.
Direct Access Files
Records can be accessed immediately, without regard to physical
location.
Stored on Direct Access Storage Devices (DASD).

Types of DASD (Direct-access storage device):

Fixed (hard) drives
Optical disk storage
CD-ROM / DVD-ROM
Removable drives
Floppy Drives
Zip Drives
Flash (keychain) Drives

Control unit:
Controls the other five components of the
computer system.
Enables the computer to take advantage of speed
and capacity of other components.
List of operations, called a program, tells the
control unit what to do.
These operations are read from memory,
interpreted, and carried out one at a time (storedprogram concept).

Control unit and arithmetic/logical unit together known as

the: Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Computer Program: is a set of instructions.

A list of what is to be done for an application.
Each step or operation is called an instruction.
Machine Language
Computer program written for specific computer model.
Consists of operation code (symbol) and one or more addresses.

Measure of Computer Power: number of instructions that a computer can
execute in a given period of time.
Millions of instructions per second (MIPS). (common in 1980s)
Millions of floating point operations per second (MFLOPS):
running particular set of programs in a particular language on the
different machines being investigated.
Benchmarking involves running jobs on various machines to compare
speed. E.g. WorldBench 6 by PC world Magazine for Windows 7

TYPES OF COMPUTER SYSTEMS

Multiple Processor Configurations
A computer system usually contains more than one processor.

Dual-processor vs. dual-core
Dual-processor systems contain two physically separate
processors as two separate chips.
Dual-core systems contain two complete processors
manufactured as a single chip.
Multiprocessors with Hyper-threading.

Symmetric multiprocessor (SMP): All processors are identical

and work independently of each other.
Parallel processor (PP): Multiple processors work on separate
pieces of the same task or program.
Massively parallel processor (MPP): Machines with a large
number of parallel processors.

Blade Server: A blade server is a very narrow, compact server. Multiple blades can
be placed into a blade server chassis/blade enclosure.
Chassis supplies the power, cooling, management system, and network.
Minimize the use of physical space and energy.
Each blade server has its own processor, memory, and hard drive.
One variation of a blade server is 1.2 inches wide and about 15 inches tall; 14 of
these blade servers can be mounted in a single chassis; they slide in much like
sliding a book into a bookshelf.
Blade Models:
Cisco USC (Unified Computing System): 40% of market share
HP c3000 and c7000: 8-16 blades depending on size
Dell M1000:16-32 blades depending on size

Rack mount servers Vs. Blade servers
Traditional rack
Blade servers
Cisco UCS

Microcomputers:
Personal computers or PCs
Can generally be carried or moved by one person and only have one
keyboard and display unit
Examples:
Desktop PC
Laptop or notebook
Handheld or personal digital assistant (PDA)
Tablet PC

Midrange systems:
Broadest category of computer systems. From microcomputers to
mainframe.
Workstations - more powerful microcomputers.
Minicomputers
Similar to mainframe systems, but less powerful and less
expensive.
Used for departmental computers, office automation, and
servers.

Mainframe Computers:
Computer platforms for most major corporations and government
agencies.
Major strength is versatility in application processing
Online and batch processing
Integrated enterprise systems
Engineering and scientific applications
Network control
Systems development environment (not production)
Web server
Major players today: IBM, Fujitsu, Unisys

Supercomputers:
Number-crunchers
Handle problems generated by research scientists.
High-end supercomputers located in government, R&D labs,
major universities.
Cost: $1 - $100 million.
One of fastest supercomputers (IBM Blue Gene/P): 294,912
processors with speed in petaflops (quadrillion (thousand
trillion) floating point operations per second).
IBM Watson: https://youtu.be/lYxJlFL2opo

Supercomputers: IBM Blue Gene/P
Building Blocks of Information

Technology
Hardware Software Networks
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Data
Chapter 4

TWO CATEGORIES OF SOFTWARE
1.
2.
Applications software
Support software

COMPUTER APPLICATION SOFTWARE
Applications software
Programs are designed to accomplish particular tasks.
Many different types of applications software.
Standard applications products generally purchased from an outside
source.
Applications unique to the organization generally developed
internally.
Application software is dependent on system software to execute.
Personal productivity software most important to managers.

COMPUTER APPLICATION SOFTWARE
Examples of Application Software
Peachtree accounting SW
WorkWise ERP
Personal Productivity Software
Word processing, spreadsheets, database management

systems, presentation graphics, Web browsers, Electronic
mail, Groupware (incorporates e-mail and other productivity
features, such as calendaring, scheduling, and document sharing).

Computer Support Software
SUPPORT SOFTWARE
Designed to operate and control the computer hardware.
Provide a platform for application software.
System software can be separated into two different categories:

Operating systems
Utility software

Operating System (OS): is a component of the system software in a

computer system.
Controls operation of computer hardware and coordinates other software.
User communicates with OS software for input, output, storage, etc.
Graphical user interface (GUI): click on icons instead of enter text commands.
Performance objective is to maximize the throughput (work done).
Network operating systems (NOS): Run on a server to manage network

resources and controls the operation of a network.
Major players include:
UNIX and Linux
Microsoft Windows NT, 2000 Server, 2003 Server
Novell NetWare

Source of Operating Systems

Proprietary systems: are the most popular and written for a particular computer
hardware configuration.
Microcomputers: MS-DOS, PC-DOS, Windows XP
Midrange systems: OS/400
Large systems: VM and MVS
Open systems: are not tied to any particular computer or hardware manufacturer
and run on virtually any computer.
Examples: UNIX and Linux

More Operating Systems

Key Operating Systems

Unix, as a multi-user & -tasking computer operating system, was originally
developed by a group of AT&T employees in 1969. The Unix operating system
was first developed in assembly language, but had been recoded in the
procedural language C, by 1973.
Linux, as a Unix-like computer operating system, was originally developed for
Intel x86-based personal computers and was first released in 1991.
Solaris is a Unix operating system originally developed by Sun Microsystems
and has been known as Oracle Solaris since 2010.

Mobile Operating Systems
iOS (iPhone OS), as a mobile operating system of Apple, was

released in 2007 for the iPhone and iPod Touch and now also
supports iPad and Apple TV.
Android is a Linux-based operating system developed by Google
for smartphones and tablet computers. The first Android-powered
phone was sold in October 2008.
Windows Phone, superseding Windows Mobile, is the new mobile
operating system from Microsoft for smartphones and pocket PCs,
and was released in 2010.
Computer Software:
Instructions for CPU
Phase 1: Binary/Machine language: work with 1 and 0s
(ENIAC); human errors
Phase 2: Assembly language: individual instructions, tedious and
time consuming.
Phase 3: High-level Languages; first language Fortran in 1955,
JAVA, C+

1st and 2nd Generation Languages
Machine language (1GL): is a set of instructions executed directly by a
computer's central processing unit (CPU).
Each instruction performs a very specific task & must be expressed in unique
form for a particular computer.
Complete program consists of thousands of instructions.
Programming is a tedious, time-consuming process.
Assembly languages (2GL)
An assembly language is a low-level programming language.
Each assembly language is specific to a particular computer architecture.


3rd Generation Languages
Procedural languages (3GL): relies on procedures, also known as routines or
subroutines.
Typically machine independent.
Easier for programmers to learn.

Express a step-by-step procedure devised by the programmer.
Contains a series of computational steps to be carried out.
Any procedure might be called at any point during a program's execution.

Must be compiled or interpreted (translated into machine language).
Examples: FORTRAN, COBOL, BASIC, PASCAL and C.

Assembler Translation Process

Developing programs with a 3GL

Nonprocedural Languages (4GL)
Nonprocedural languages (4GL): requires the programmer to specify what the
program should do, rather providing the sequential steps indicating how the
program should perform its task(s).
Also referred to as productivity languages.
Use more English-like statements for program instructions.
Easier to use, write, and less error-prone.

Use a built-in interpreter to convert to machine language.
Take much longer to execute than 3GLs.
Examples: FOCUS, IBM Cognos, Oracle BI Enterprise Editing Plus, and SAS.

Object-oriented languages: is a high-level computer programming

language. Its built on idea of embedding procedures (methods) in objects,
and putting objects together to create an application.
3GLs with some 4GL features.
Binds related data and functions into an object.
Create objects once, store, then reuse.
Object examples: Text box, check box.
Examples: Smalltalk, C++, Java, and Visual Basic.

Support Software Languages

Markup languages employ tags to mark up documents.
HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language)

A set of markup tags to create Web pages.
Consists of special tags that tell the Web browser how to display
various elements on a Web page.
XML (EXtensible Markup Language)
A set of rules for encoding documents in a format which is both
human-readable and machine-readable.
Designed to store and transport data among Web applications.
Support Software - Languages

Server-side programming languages include:
Perl
Java Servlets and Java Server Pages
Microsoft Active Server Pages (ASP, ASP.NET)
ColdFusion (supported by Adobe)

Database Management System
Database management system (DBMS): is system software for

creating and managing databases.
Provides a systematic way to create, retrieve, update and
manage data.
Is a collection of logically related data organized to meet
organizational needs.
Examples of database systems: Microsoft Access, DB2, and

Oracle SQL Plus.

Computer-aided Software Engineering Tools
CASE (Computer-aided software engineering) Tools: is the domain

of software tools used to design and implement applications. CASE
tools help to automate phases of the software development life cycle.
CASE tools are similar to and were partly inspired by Computer
Aided Design (CAD) tools used to design HW products.
CASE tools are used to develop software that is high-quality,
defect-free, and maintainable.
Examples of CASE tools: IBMs Rational Rose, Borlands Together,

Sybases PowerDesigner.
Communications Interface Software

Communications Interface Software: is a web server software.
Controls communications between workstations and terminals connected
to a network & central computer.
Web Server Software serves Web pages to Web browser.
Web browser runs on users computer to let user browse the internet.
Example software: IBMs CICS (Customer Information Control System).
Telnet: permits user to log into remote computer.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP): used to transfer files from one computer
system to another.

Utility Software
Utility software is system software designed to help
analyze, configure, optimize or maintain a computer.
Examples: Spyware, Backup software, WinZip

IT INDUSTRY TRENDS
Hardware manufacturers
IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, Hitachi, and
Fujitsu
Software houses
Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, Computer Associates, and Symantec
Consulting firms
Accenture and Infosys

Managing Information Technology

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MANAGING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Building Blocks of Information

Hardware Software Networks

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Hardware: Physical pieces of a computer

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Input: Device(s) needed to

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Input: What is the difference between a terminal and a PC?

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Mouse, stylus, touchpad:

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Magnetic ink character

Barcode labeling: scans

Optical character recognition

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Output: Device(s) needed to produce results in a usable format

Video display unit

Computer output microfilm (COM)

Voice response units

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Memory: Referred to as main memory or

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Each memory cell is a set of circuits.

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

EBCDIC & ASCII

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Magnetic tape drives, disk drives, floppy drives.

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Types of DASD (Direct-access storage device):

Flash (keychain) Drives

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Control unit and arithmetic/logical unit together known as

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Computer Program: is a set of instructions.

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Multiple Processor Configurations

A computer system usually contains more than one processor.

Multiprocessors with Hyper-threading.

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Symmetric multiprocessor (SMP): All processors are identical

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Supercomputers: IBM Blue Gene/P

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Building Blocks of Information

Hardware Software Networks

Chapter 2- Computer Systems

Chapter 2- Computer Systems