INFORMATION SYSTEM 301 ASSIGNMENT 01 GROUP D/C X …...INFORMATION SYSTEM 301 Page 4 Introduction OVERVIEW OF THE ORGANIZATION Future Leaders Leaderships is a non-profit organization

INFORMATION SYSTEM 301 Page 1

INFORMATION SYSTEM 301

ASSIGNMENT 01

GROUP D/C

X ZINCUME Student number

SURNAME AND INITIAL

GROUP PERCENTAGE SIGNATURE

20814909 NGUBANE M.G D 14%

21116150 Hlophe R.B C 14%

21141625 Dlamini S C 14%

21026560 Khuzwayo S D 14%

21241054 Mutombo D D 14%

20708390 Mlotshwa N D 14%

21241997 Khanyile S D 14%


Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 4

OVERVIEW OF THE ORGANIZATION .......................................................................................................... 4

CURRENT DATABASE PROBLEM .................................................................................................................... 5

Student tracking system ....................................................................................................................... 5

Database is left out of date ................................................................................................................... 5

Pages in memory could not be written to disk ..................................................................................... 5

Database hacking incidents .................................................................................................................. 5

Database schemas issues ...................................................................................................................... 5

Hardware failure ................................................................................................................................... 5

Network Requirements ............................................................................................................................. 6

Performance Constraints ...................................................................................................................... 6

Network variables ................................................................................................................................. 6

CPU REQUIRMENTS ............................................................................................................................... 6

CURRENT CONFIGURATION .................................................................................................................. 7

MEMORY REQUIRMENTS ...................................................................................................................... 7

Database ERD ........................................................................................................................................ 8

Server Security .............................................................................................................................................. 9

Group Policies ........................................................................................................................................... 9

Password Policy ..................................................................................................................................... 9

Account Lockout Policy ......................................................................................................................... 9

Restricted Groups Policies .................................................................................................................... 9

Systems Services Policies ...................................................................................................................... 9

File System Policies ............................................................................................................................... 9

Password policies .................................................................................................................................. 9

Database Security ....................................................................................................................................... 10

Schemas .................................................................................................................................................. 10

Institution ............................................................................................................................................ 10

Bursary Scheme................................................................................................................................... 10

Courses ................................................................................................................................................ 10

Postgraduate ....................................................................................................................................... 10


Undergraduate .................................................................................................................................... 10

Student ................................................................................................................................................ 11

SQL Screenshots of tables created.......................................................................................................... 12

select * from PostGraduate; ........................................................................................................................ 12

Database Backup ......................................................................................................................................... 14

Type of backup: Differential backup ....................................................................................................... 14

Disk based backup ................................................................................................................................... 14

Recovery...................................................................................................................................................... 15

Bulk logged Recovery model ................................................................................................................... 15

When can recovery be done? ............................................................................................................. 15

Disaster Recovery Plan ............................................................................................................................ 15

Type of disaster recovery plan chosen: Contingency Plan ................................................................. 15

References .................................................................................................................................................. 17

Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................ 17


Introduction

OVERVIEW OF THE ORGANIZATION Future Leaders Leaderships is a non-profit organization established in 2006 February by

Thandokuhle Ndebele. They sponsor learners from under privileged backgrounds. They afford

the young adults the chance to grab educational opportunities and make something out of the

lives by sponsoring them with bursaries and scholarships for tertiary level education.

Future Leaders believes that there are a lot of young adults that have performed really well in

high school but are less fortunate and therefore cannot further their studies because their parents

cannot afford them the opportunity to do so or they have no to financial support but are

deserving of being allowed a fair chance to build their educational future.


CURRENT DATABASE PROBLEM

Student tracking system

The existing database is does not allow the tracking of student information whenever it might be

required to be updated. This creates a problem of redundancy.

Database is left out of date

Since data retrieval is not easy data cannot be updated as and when the need arises, therefore the

databases become out of date.

Pages in memory could not be written to disk

Storage of current updated information is difficult, which makes it even more difficult to write

the information to disk storage mediums as once the information is stored it cannot be retrieved.

Database hacking incidents

Since there is no server or database security in place, people can easily hack into the database

and manipulate information as they please. This causes an increase in data being used unethically

by hackers.

Database schemas issues

There isn’t a proper diagrammatic layout of the database that clearly explains the relationships

between the data that is stored on it.

Hardware failure

The type of hardware that the staff of Future Leaders uses is outdated and doesn’t allow them to

use current database software. They aren’t even all connected to their network as not all of their

computers can be configured to connect on the network.


Network Requirements The company has 20 employees with two offices of which are being used by the CEO and the

CFO of the company . The rest of the employees are based in open plan cubicle offices.

Environment

Location of hosts

Servers

Terminals

Nodes

Performance Constraints

Network reliability

Traffic throughput

Host/client computer speed

Network Interface Card

Hard drive access speed

Network variables

We have chosen to use the Network topology. It is appropriate for this kind of company since

they require all their workstations to be connected to one another as well as to the server. The

network topology makes it easier to access the server as all computers are linked to it, it possibly

will provide a faster network too.

Line capacity

The line capacity of a star connection will allow for easier and faster connection as all of the

workstations will be connected to the server.

CPU REQUIRMENTS

Computers age as well as people do so wen technology is updated it’s the new generation which will be

faster and more efficient till they also age. But some have stated it is pointless to upgrade the CPU,

that’s not always the case because there are several options before upgrading the CPU. Do you feel that

the CPU is lacking now. You should benchmark your system to identify individual issues such as memory,

graphics and storage transfer speeds and of course processing power (CPU) before you upgrade

anything on the pc. If pc is slow most of the time memory will help (RAM) and if your pc runs programs

fast but takes a long time to load a faster hard drive will help. If you are still facing problems like in this

case we have with this organization we have to upgrade the CPU and the old motherboard cannot

handle at least the last generation that why we are required to buy a new computer and I’m seeking for

a computer that will handle the core i7.


New CPU

Intel Core i7-3930K 4.40 GHz

Why is this CPU recommended?

It easily overclocks past 4GHz on air, surpasses 30fps on 3D Mark 11 physics combined tests.

12 MB of cache.

Temperature at its highest performance is 60 Celsius degrees which is wonderful.

CURRENT CONFIGURATION

Current CPU

Intel Core i3-3570K 3.40 GHz

Performance wise it is lacking a lot and it’s not handling the work load.

Produces a great amount of heat.

Consume a large amount of electricity

Current RAM

250MB DDR 400MHz CL3

PC is very slow also due to small RAM that can’t handle the fast file transfer.

Processes take forever to be completed due to the waiting period via the ram small space

Hard drive

HDD 30GB

Low in memory

Not fast enough during file transfers

Some OS take up an large amount on space on hard disc

Operating System

XP Professional

Still does the work but also plays a big role on the configuration being slow

Windows 8 is out and there were many other OS before that one

Network Structure

No formal network structure

MEMORY REQUIRMENTS

Hard Drive

HDD-80 GB

Rotates at 5 400 to 10 000 rpm

Media transfer rate of 0.5 Gbit/s

Helps with booting the pc

File transfer also very fast

RAM

2 GB DDR3-SDRAM

(2 × 1 GB) 1066 MHz

Two slots on the mother board

The bigger the RAM the faster the processing will be.

The bigger the memory of the RAM the more speed you get on your computer.

Without RAM CPU cannot process any code or access any data.


Operating System also store in the RAM

Database ERD

Student

ID_Number (PK)

Inst_Code (FK)

Scheme_Code (FK)

Post_Grad_Code (FK)

Under_Grad_Code (FK)

Course_Code (FK)

F_Name

L_Name

D.O.B

Institution

Inst_Code (PK)

Province

No_Of_Campuses

Names_Of_Campuses

Post Graduate

Post_Grad_Code (PK)

F_Name

L_Name

Course

Under Graduate

UnderGrad_Code (PK)

F_Name

L_Name

Course Course

Course_Code (PK)

No_Of_Students

Name_Of_Course

Bursary Scheme

Scheme_Code (PK)

No_Of_Students


Server Security

Group Policies

Password Policy

To make the database more secure we have put in place password policies that will require users

to input complex password instead of reusing password and/or using simple variations of

passwords.

Account Lockout Policy

Users are to be locked out after a specified number of failed logon attempts. With this policy we

can even specify the amount of time the user may be locked out of the system,

Restricted Groups Policies

Restricted groups policies are put in place to manage and enforce the membership of built-in or

user-defined groups that have special rights and permissions.

Restricted Groups policies consist of a list of members of specific groups whose membership

are defined centrally as part of the security policy. They can be used to manage membership in

the built-in groups.

Systems Services Policies

This policy offer a way to expose potential exploitation by intruders, who can take over the

service or use the service as an entry point to gain access to computers and network resources. It

allows us to specify rights and permissions granted to system services when they run.

File System Policies

This policy can be used to ensure that only administrators can modify system files and folders, it

can be used to grant administrators full control over system files and folders and to grant read-

only permission to other users. It can also used to prevent certain users from viewing files and

folders.

Password policies

Password policies may be used to specify length of passwords, as well as to create complex

passwords in order to ensure advanced security.


Database Security

Schemas

Institution

Field Name Usage

Province Stores the name of the province the institution is in.

No_of_Campuses Stores the number of provinces the number of campuses that have

students funded by this bursary scheme.

Inst_code (PK) Uniquely identifies each institution on this database

Bursary Scheme

Field Name Usage

Scheme_code(PK) Uniquely identifies each scheme awarded to each student

No_of_Students Stores the number of students funded by the bursary scheme.

Type_of_scheme There are different types of packages awarded to each student. This

identifies each of the different schemes.

Courses

Field Name Usage

Course_code(PK) Uniquely identifies each course that students are registered to and

the scheme funds.

Students_in_course Stores the number of students that are studying each course.

Type_of_scheme Stores the type of schemes that the bursary offers to students.

Postgraduate

Field Name Usage

Post_grad_code (PK) Uniquely identifies each student that is funded by the scheme and is

registered as a post graduate.

Course_Name Stores the course name that each postgraduate student is registered

for.

F_name Stores the first name of the post graduate student.

L_name Stores the last name of the post graduate student.

Undergraduate

Field Name Usage

Under_Grad_Code (PK) Uniquely identifies each student that is funded by the scheme and

is registered as a under graduate.

Course_name Stores the course name that each undergraduate student is

registered for.

F_name Stores the first name of the under graduate student.

L_name Stores the last name of the under graduate student.


Student

Field Name Usage

ID_Number (PK) Uniquely identifies each student.

F_name Stores the first name of the student.

L_name Stores the last name of the student.

D_O_B Store the date of birth of each student.

Under_Grad_Code(FK) References the Undergraduate table.

Post_Grad_Code(FK) References the Postgraduate table.

Course_Code(FK) References the Courses table.

Scheme_Code(FK) References the Scheme table.

Inst_code(FK) References the Institution table.


SQL Screenshots of tables created

Select * from Student;

select * from Institution;

select * from PostGraduate;


select * from UnderGraduate;

select * from Courses;

select * from BursaryScheme;


Database Backup

Type of backup: Differential backup Differential backup contain all files that have been changed since the last backup

This backup method shortens restore time, this will have a positive impact in our company

because backup is faster therefore time of production will not be compromised.

Example: Monday - Perform a full backup and save the file set.

Tuesday - Perform a differential backup using the same file set. All files

that have changed since the full backup are backed up in the

Differential backup.

Wednesday - Perform a differential backup using the same file set. All the

files that have changed since Monday's full backup are backed

up.

The other important positive aspect over our selection of the type of backup is: Storage space

requirements are lower; it never requires more than two disk sets.

(support, 2006)

Disk based backup While tape-based backup approaches may still be optimal for long-term data retention, more and

more database storage/backup administrators are moving from tape to disk technology for

everyday data backup and recovery. This is not surprising as disk is faster to write to and faster

to recover from, as well as more reliable overall. A further advantage of disk backup is the

ability to perform deduplication on the data being backed up, which reduces both

backup/recovery times and – perhaps most importantly – data volumes. Deduplication usually

takes place during data transfer to disk. Some tools ship with the disk hardware and others with

backup software.

Emerging technology enables deduplication at the source (that is, on the server that hosts the

database). Ultimately, deduplication will likely take place as a function of primary storage rather

than as a backup/archiving function.

(Disk based backup)


Recovery

Bulk logged Recovery model The recovery model that best suits our company is bulk logged, requires log backups. It’s an

adjunct of the full recovery model that permits high-performance bulk copy operations.

One of the reasons we think that this recovery model must be used is that there is a reduction of

log space usage by using minimal logging for most bulk operations, for information about

operations that can be minimally logged.

If the company is exposed to work loss: like the log is damaged or bulk-logged operations

occurred since the most recent log backup, changes since that last backup must be redone.

Otherwise, no work is lost.

When can recovery be done?

The company can recover to the end of every disk-based backup that will be performed. The

point-in-time recovery is not supported.

(micosoft, 2009)

Disaster Recovery Plan Before determining the plan that the company will need, we first need to perform a Business

Impact Analysis (BIA) that includes a range of possible disasters our company may be exposed

to. The most practical alternatives for processing in case of a disaster will be researched and

evaluated. All aspects of the organization will have to be considered, including physical

facilities, computer hardware and software, communications links, data files and databases,

customer services provided user operations, the overall management information systems (MIS)

structure, end-user systems, and any other processing operations. In that case we know how

much the company is exposed to disastrous mishaps.

Type of disaster recovery plan chosen: Contingency Plan

A contingency plan is a plan devised for an outcome other than in the usual (expected) plan, it is

very important to deal with a problem at hand rather than trying to deal with an unknown

problem and that a company does not even know if it can happen, and when, and that is time

consuming and costly.


It is often used for risk management when an exceptional risk that, though unlikely, would have

catastrophic consequences. During times of crisis, contingency plans are often developed to

explore and prepare for any eventuality.


References

Bibliography Disk based backup. (n.d.). Retrieved March 15, 2013, from BudaConsulting: www.budaconsulting.com

micosoft. (2009). Bulk logged recovery. Retrieved March 15, 2013, from Microsoft.com:

www.microsoft.com

msdn. (2004, July). Server Security : Group Policies. Retrieved March 06, 2013, from msdn microsoft:

www.msdn.micosoft.com

Ngubane, M. (March). Analysis on network requirements. Durban: Mzwandile Ngubane.

support, m. (2006, november 15). article ID:136621. Retrieved march 14, 2013, from microsoft.com:

www.microsoft.com

Documents

INFORMATION SYSTEM 301 ASSIGNMENT 01 GROUP D/C X …...INFORMATION SYSTEM 301 Page 4 Introduction OVERVIEW OF THE ORGANIZATION Future Leaders Leaderships is a non-profit organization