CIS 310 Management Information Systems

Infrastructure

Infrastructure• What is IT Infrastructure?• Value chain, support primary and secondary activities

– Support to run things (hardware, networks, help, training…etc.– Speed them up– Add quality– Reduce cost– Give insight that wasn’t possible

without connections between functional areas

– Needs to have flexibility to meet changing needs of themarket & business

What happens when you have weak infrastructure?

• Inefficient• Ineffective• Lost Opportunity• Unhappy clients & customers – hard to change

the opinion once the trust is lost• Costs you money

MIS Infrastructure

• Hardware• Network• Cables• Client/Server• Software• Cloud

Wikipedia: Information technology infrastructure is the integrated framework upon which digital networks operate. This infrastructure includes data centers, computer networks, Database Management devices and a regulatory system.

Sample NetworkFigure from:http://www.ntech.co.uk/office.htm

Network Architect / Information Architect

• Network Architect plans the entire network infrastructure for the company.– Solves problems like:• Throughput• Security

• Information Architect – database, data flows, EWIS for the company.– Solves problems like:• How do I expand the database and not have it crash?• How do we add modules to SAP?

Infrastructure Support

• Infrastructure Support provides for support of the company assets if an emergency occurs.– Natural Disaster– Malicious Attack

• Support comes in the form of– Backup and recovery– Disaster recovery and– Business continuity planning

End of Infrastructure

• What is infrastructure?• Why is infrastructure important to a business?

Networking

video

Networking

• Network = connecting computers together so they can communicate– Architecture - peer-to-peer, client/server

– Topology - bus, star, ring, hybrid, wireless

– Protocols - Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)

– Media - coaxial, twisted-pair, fiber-optic

A simple peer-to-peer network

Client/Server

A Server Rack

Where are my servers?Where are my servers?

A simple client/server network

Youtube Staples – Easyhelphttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hqfNdrw8Bc

Wireless Network

• Bus• Star• Ring• Hybrid• Mesh

Topology

Images from Escotal.com

Types of Networks

• Local Area Network (LAN)• Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)• Wide Area Network (WAN)

Protocols

• Ethernet• Transmission Control Protocol/Internet

Protocol (TCP/IP)

Medium

• Coaxial• Twisted-pair• Fiber-optic

Media Type Bandwidth Performance: Typical Error Rate

Twisted-pair for analog voice applications

1MHz Poor to fair (10–5)

Coaxial cable 1GHz Good (10–7 to 10–9)

Fiber 75THz Great (10–11 to 10–13)

End of Networking

• Optimizing and Maintaining the Network Infrastructure

• “The Cloud”

Agile Infrastructure

Agile Infrastructure

• Agile = flexible• Can my network support a 1000 times growth

in network traffic during a big event?– Victoria’s Secret– Mars Rover, Curiosity

• Is it easy to upgrade my network with the latest security features?

• How reliable is the data I get from the network?

Network Agility

• Having an agile network lets a company– Quickly and easily react to change– Provide 100% network up-time– Improve network easily as technology improves– Support new applications that are needed– Increase or decrease the network capabilities as

needed

The Ilities

• Characteristics of an agile MIS infrastructure– Accessibility– Availability– Maintainability– Portability– Reliability– Scalability– Usability

Ilities (contd.)

• Accessibility – Allowing different people, different levels of access. (Admin – has full access)

• Availability – Making the network available for a defined period of time. 100% up-time if it is a critical system. (Amazon vs. Blackboard vs. FAA)

Ilities (contd.)

• Maintainability – Easy to maintain. If it is easy to maintain, you can modify it quickly to meet business needs.

• Portability – Applications can work on different devices. (Web pages are platform independent.)

Ilities (contd.)

• Reliability – System is functioning correctly and giving accurate information.

• Scalability – System can increase or decrease it’s capacity depending upon need.

• Usability – Ease of use of the system. Low learning curve.

End

• Accessibility• Availability• Maintainability• Portability• Reliability• Scalability• Usability

Backup and Recovery

Backup and Recovery

• Backup and recovery• Disaster recovery and• Business continuity planning

Backup and Recovery

• Backup– Need a secure copy of all your transactions,

customer data, accounting, HR….etc. – Massive amount of data. – Store the backup somewhere safe!– Daily, weekly, monthly backups.

• Recovery– Get the system up and running after a bad event.– Fault tolerance, Failover, Failback

Disaster Recovery

• Planning is Paramount• Disaster recovery plan – detailed plan about

what to do in the event of a disaster.• Drill the plan. Practice so people know what

to do.• Know the risks and the costs of not being able

to recover quickly.

Sample Plan

• Disasterrecoveryplantemplate.org• Outline of what a typical plan might include:– Lists of key personnel and how to contact them.– Descriptions of all the major applications and

frequency of use.– Emergency backup procedures for each system.– Contact names for vendors.– Procedures for switching to an alternate site.

Alternate Sites for IT Operations

• Hot site – Exact replica of the companies computer facilities. Room with all your hardware and software pre-loaded.

• Cold site – Site with no equipment. A place to set up your alternate site.

• Warm site – Room with hardware but, you have to configure it and provide the data.

Business Continuity Plan (BCP)

• The plan for the company to restore the systems and function as an operational business again.– Partial vs. complete recovery– Critical Systems– Prioritization, triage

End