Chapter 5, Problem 1RQ

Explanation of Solution

IT infrastructure:

• Technical perspective includes applications in software and physical devices that acts as a platform of shared technology resources to run the complete organisation and the company’s specific IT applications.
• Service perspective consists of company services that includes human and technical capabilities, and which are budgeted by the management.
• The focus is on both the software and hardware provided by the services. It provides a foundation to link the company’s internal operations and the relationship with Clients, Suppliers.

Explanation of Solution

Eras in IT infrastructure evolution and its distinguishing characteristics:

The evolution of IT infrastructure can be explained in Five Stages as mentioned above:

• From the year 1959 to the present, the era can be described as General – Purpose mainframe & minicomputer era. It is characterised by a centralised processing mainframe and performs certain decentralised and departmental computing via networked minicomputers through its thousands of terminals.
• The period from 1981 saw the utilisation of standalone desktop computers and office productivity tools and is known as the Personal computer era.
• Powerful servers that manages the data and processes are used by desktop and laptop clients for the period 1983 to present and is called as the Client or Server era.
• Enterprise computing era (1992- present) is dominated development of standards and applications to interconnect local area networks and its big group of PCs to ensure free movement of data in company wide networks.
• From 2000 to present is described as the Cloud and mobile computing era where companies and individuals utilises internet provided applications and computing rather than the outright procurement of hardware and software for their use.

Explanation of Solution

Web Server:

Web server manages the web pages requested and the software delivers the page from the storage to the user’s computer.

Application Server:

Application Server is the software that is the link to manage the operations between the back-end databases of the organisation with the browser-based computers.

Multi-tiered Client / Server Architecture:

It manages the complete network which is organised and distributed over many different layers of servers.

Explanation of Solution

Moore’s Law and the Law of Mass Digital Storage

• Moore’s law mentions that the quantity of very low-cost manufacturing components on a chip has doubled every year. This doubling rate was revised to once in every 2 years.
• Law of Mass Digital Storage describes that the amount of stored information is doubling every year and the cost of storing digital informed is reducing exponentially at 100 percent a year.
• These Laws indicate that there has been an exponential increase in the development of computer processing, telecommunications, software design, networking, memory chip and storage devices thereby growing the computing power while also witnessing a large decrease in the cost of production.

Explanation of Solution

Network economics, declining communications costs, and technology standards affecting IT infrastructure:

• Network economics:
  • Metcalfe’s law describes that a liner growth in a network’s participant count has an exponential growth effect in the value of the network.
• Declining communication costs:
  • The utilization of communications, internet usage has exponentially increased due to declining communication costs and is thereby affecting the development of IT infrastructure.
• Technology standards:
  • Specifications describing standards in technology have establish a single standard for computability of products and ensuring effective communication. Bringing an economy of scale, helps to bring down the cost of production to very low levels for the manufacturers.