Chapter 13 Computer Hardware

Learning Objectives Identify the major types and uses of microcomputer, midrange, and mainframe computer systems. Outline the major technologies and uses of computer peripherals for input, output, and storage.

Learning Objectives (continued) Identify the components and functions of a computer system. Identify the computer system and peripherals you would acquire or recommend for a business of your choice.

Computer Systems: End User and Enterprise Computing Section I Computer Systems: End User and Enterprise Computing

Types of Computer Systems All computers are systems of input, processing, output, storage, and control components. Three basic categories Mainframe Midrange computers Microcomputers

Types of Computer Systems (continued) Mainframe Enterprise systems Superservers Transaction processors Supercomputers

Types of Computer Systems (continued) Midrange Network servers Minicomputers Web servers Multi-user systems

Types of Computer Systems (continued) Microcomputers Personal computers Network computers Technical workstations PDAs Information appliances

Microcomputer Systems The most important category of computers Desktop Laptop Workstation computers Network servers

Microcomputer Systems (continued) Selection criteria Solid performance at a reasonable price Operating system ready Connectivity

Microcomputer Systems (continued) Network computers Designed primarily for use with the Internet and corporate intranets For specialized or limited computing applications Lower cost of purchase, upgrades, maintenance, and support

Microcomputer Systems (continued) Network computers (continued) Other benefits Ease of software distribution and licensing Computing platform standardization Reduced end user requirements Improved manageability

Microcomputer Systems (continued) Information appliances PDAs Set-top boxes and video-game consoles Wireless PDAs Cellular and PCS phones

Microcomputer Systems (continued) Computer terminals Dumb terminals Intelligent terminals Network terminals Transaction terminals

Midrange Computer Systems Multi-user systems that can manage networks of PCs and terminals Less costly to buy, operate, and maintain than mainframes Popular as network servers Minicomputers

Mainframe Computer Systems Large, fast, powerful Handle high transaction processing volumes or complex computational problems Superservers for large client/server networks and high-volume Internet websites Popular for data mining and warehousing

Mainframe Computer Systems (continued) Supercomputers Extremely powerful systems specifically designed for scientific, engineering, and business applications requiring extremely high speeds for massive numeric computations Use parallel processing architectures Process at speeds measured in gigaflops and teraflops

The Computer System Concept Computers are organized according to the following system functions: Input Keyboards Touch screens Pens Electronic mice Optical scanners Convert data into electronic form

The Computer System Concept (continued) Processing Central Processing Unit (CPU) Two subunits Arithmetic-Logic Unit (ALU) Control Unit

The Computer System Concept (continued) Output Video display units Printers Audio response units Convert electronic information into human-intelligible form

The Computer System Concept (continued) Storage Store data and software instructions May also include cache memory Primary storage unit (hard drive) Secondary storage Magnetic disks Optical disk drives

The Computer System Concept (continued) Control The registers and other circuits of the control unit interpret software instructions and transmit directions to the other components of the computer system

The Computer System Concept (continued) Computer processing speeds Milliseconds (thousandths of a second) Microseconds (millionths of a second) Nanoseconds (billionths of a second) Picoseconds (trillionths of a second)

The Computer System Concept (continued) Clock speeds Megahertz (MHz) Millions of cycles per second Gigahertz (GHz) Billions of cycles per second

Computer Peripherals: Input, Output, and Storage Technologies Section II Computer Peripherals: Input, Output, and Storage Technologies

Peripherals Generic name given to all input, output, and secondary storage devices Depend on direct connections or telecommunications links to the CPU All peripherals are online devices

Input Technologies Natural user interface Enter data and commands directly into a computer Electronic mice and touch pads Optical scanning, handwriting recognition, voice recognition

Pointing Devices Used for entering data and text Work with your operating system’s graphical user interface (GUI)

Pointing Devices (continued) Electronic mouse Trackball Pointing stick Touch pad Touch screen

Pen-Based Computing Used in many hand-held computers and PDAs Digitizer pen Graphics tablet

Speech Recognition Systems Digitize, analyze, and classify your speech and its sound patterns Allow operators to perform data entry without using their hands to key in data or instructions Speaker-independent Voice-messaging computers

Optical Scanning Read text or graphics and convert them into digital input Employ photoelectric devices to scan the characters being read

Optical Scanning (continued) Optical character recognition (OCR) Reads OCR characters & codes Merchandise tags Product labels Sort mail, score tests Hand-held optical scanning wands Reads bar coding Universal Product Code (UPC)

Other Input Technologies Magnetic stripe technology Credit cards Smart cards Embedded microprocessor chip Debit, credit, and other cards

Other Input Technologies (continued) Digital cameras Still cameras Digital camcorders

Other Input Technologies (continued) Magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) technology Used by banks to sort and post checks and deposit slips 14 characters of a standardized design Reader-sorters

Output Technologies Video Print Storage

Video Output Video monitors Cathode ray tube (CRT) Liquid crystal displays (LCDs)

Printed Output Inkjet Spray ink onto the page one line at a time Laser Use an electrostatic process similar to a copier

Storage Trade-Offs

Storage Trade-Offs (continued) Computer storage fundamentals Information is stored through the presence or absence of electronic or magnetic signals Binary representation 1 = ON 0 = OFF

Storage Trade-Offs (continued) Computer storage fundamentals (continued) Bit The smallest element of data May have a value of either one or zero Byte Basic grouping of bits Typically, a byte consists of 8 bits and represents one character of data

Storage Trade-Offs (continued) Computer storage fundamentals (continued) Storage capacities Kilobytes (KB) 1,000 bytes Megabytes (MB) 1 million bytes

Storage Trade-Offs (continued) Computer storage fundamentals (continued) Gigabytes (GB) 1 billion bytes Terabytes (TB) 1 trillion bytes Petabyte (PB) 1 quadrillion bytes

Storage Trade-Offs (continued) Direct and sequential access Terms direct access and random access describe the same concept An element of data or instructions can be directly stored and retrieved by selecting and using any of the locations on the storage media Each storage position Has a unique address Can be individually accessed in approximately the same time

Storage Trade-Offs (continued) Direct and sequential access (continued) Sequential access Does not have unique storage addresses Serial process Data are recorded one after another in a predetermined sequence. Locating an individual item requires searching all of the data until the desired item is located

Storage Trade-Offs (continued)

Semiconductor Memory Primary storage of your computer Advantages Small size Great speed Shock and temperature resistant Disadvantage Volatility

Semiconductor Memory (continued) Two basic types of semiconductor memory RAM – random access memory Volatile memory Read/write memory “working” memory

Semiconductor Memory (continued) ROM – read only memory Nonvolatile Used for permanent storage Can be read but not erased or overwritten

Semiconductor Memory (continued) Variations of ROM PROM Programmable read only memory EPROM Erasable programmable read only memory

Magnetic Disk Storage Most common form of secondary storage Data is recorded on tracks in the form of tiny magnetized spots Thousands of bytes recorded on each track

Magnetic Disk Storage (continued) Types of Magnetic Disks Floppy disks Zip disks Hard disk drives

Magnetic Disk Storage (continued) Redundant arrays of independent disks (RAID) Provides large capacities with high access speeds Data are accessed in parallel over multiple paths from many disks Fault tolerant Storage area networks (SANs) Fiber channel LANs that connect many RAID units

Magnetic Tape Storage Used as secondary storage Also used in robotic automated drive assemblies Lower-cost storage Archival storage

Optical Disk Storage CD-ROM CD-R CD-RW DVD DVD-ROM DVD-RAM

Optical Disk Storage (continued) Business applications Image processing Provide access to reference materials in a convenient, compact form videos

Discussion Questions Do you agree with the statement: “The network is the computer”? What trends are occurring in the development and use of the major types of computer systems?

Discussion Questions (continued) Do you think that network computers (NCs) will replace personal computers (PCs) in business applications? Are networks of PCs and servers making mainframe computers obsolete?

Discussion Questions (continued) What trends are occurring in the development and use of peripheral devices? Why are those trends occurring? When would you recommend the use of each of the following: Network computers NetPCs Network terminals Information appliances in business applications

Discussion Questions (continued) What processor, memory, magnetic disk storage, and video display capabilities would you require for a personal computer that you would use for business purposes? What other peripheral devices and capabilities would you want to have for your business PC?

Real World Case 1 – City of Richmond & Tim Beaty Builders The Business Value of PDAs What are the business benefits of PDAs for business applications? What are the limitations of PDAs for business use?

Real World Case 1 (continued) The City of Richmond now wants to use tablet PCs for some applications. What are the advantages of tablet PCs over PDAs and laptop PCs for business applications?

Real World Case 1 (continued) Will the convergence of PDAs, sub-notebook PCs, and cell phones produce an information appliance that will make all of those categories obsolete?

Real World Case 2 – United Technologies & Eastman Kodak The Business Case for Consolidating Computer Operations and Systems What are some of the business benefits that United Technologies will gain from the consolidation of its computer systems, data centers, software, and help centers? What limitations might there be?

Real World Case 2 (continued) What are the business benefits of standardizing on selected models from one manufacturer of desktop and laptop PCs as UTC did with Dell and Kodak did with IBM? What limitations might there be?

Real World Case 2 (continued) What are the business benefits of UTC’s policy of “locking down” its new Dell PCs so employees can’t download other software from the Internet? Do you agree with this policy?

Real World Case 2 (continued) Should a conglomerate like UTC with many diverse companies standardize its PC hardware and software and lock out downloads of other software?

Real World Case 3 – Boscov’s, Winnebago, & WPS Health Moving to Linux on the Mainframe How can a mainframe run the equivalent of hundreds of Linux server applications at the same time?

Real World Case 3 (continued) Why can the total cost of ownership of running Linux applications on the mainframe be less than on Intel-based servers? What other IT and business benefits may be achieved?

Real World Case 3 (continued) What challenges or limitations can arise in moving business applications from servers to Linux on a mainframe?

Real World Case 4 – La-Z-Boy & Corporate Express The Business Benefits of Server Consolidation What are the business and technical benefits of using multiple servers to run business applications for a company?

Real World Case 4 (continued) What are the business and technical challenges facing companies who depend on many distributed server systems?

Real World Case 4 (continued) What are the business and technical benefits of server consolidation initiatives? What are the limitations of such a strategy?

Real World Case 5 – Los Alamos National Laboratory The ROI of Blade Servers What are the business and technical benefits of using blade servers versus rack-mounted or traditional servers?

Real World Case 5 (continued) What limitations or challenges might there be in the use of blade servers?

Real World Case 5 (continued) When should a company consider using blade servers?