1. Our Data Center Structure
Introduction to the IBM Enterprise Environment
45 minutes
1 hour
PowerPoint
Our Data Centre Structure
Our Mainframe Under the Microscope
Webinar
Understanding Data Centre Operations and Your Role
= Datatrain Course Modules
Today’s Mainframe
Mainframe Configurations
Mainframe Security and Data Access
Data Processing
Graphic: Insert your organization’s name in the above slide.
Audio: will need to cover the following:
Welcome to the “Our Data Center structure” presentation. My name is _____, I work in the ___ department and have worked in our organization’s data center for ___ years (This should be expanded so the learner is confident that you have the right credentials to create this presentation.).
This presentation follows on from the “Today's Mainframe” Datatrain course and expands on this content to explain how this relates to our data center structure. It also describes the role of people within this area. Any questions about the content of this presentation or the Datatrain module mentioned above should be forwarded to _______ so they can be included in the Webinar discussion at the end of this learning pathway.
Our Data Center Structure
Company Name
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2. Presentation Topics Data Center beginnings Our Data Center today
Performance of our Data Center
Data Center virtual tour
Audio: will need to cover the following:
This session will provide you with some history of our Data Center describing its humble beginnings, where it is now and the importance it plays within our organization.
At the end of the session, a virtual tour of the Data Center is provided.
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3. Data Center Beginnings
When and where our first mainframe emerged
How many people it serviced
Networks and terminals
Audio: will need to cover the following:
Explain when the data center first emerged and the reason why it was required. You may also want to describe specifics such as the type of mainframe (i.e. IBM 360), terminals, keypunches and printers. You will also want to mention the speed at which it could process information (i.e MIPS…This will give the learner some perspective when you mention how quick your current mainframe is able to process information).
You will need to mention that the first mainframe the organization installed only provided access to a small number of personnel, and they were housed in the Data Center (you may also want to mention how these people interacted with the mainframe).
Discuss the early networking used by your systems including cabling, control units and modems and the capabilities of the terminals they were connected to.
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4. Our Data Center Today How we got to where we are today
How many people use our mainframe?
Where are our mainframe users?
How much data do we have?
Audio: will need to cover the following:
You will need to describe briefly how your Data Center has evolved through the years (i.e. mention upgrades, possible outsourcing that may have occurred, moving to a combination of mainframe and distributed environments, and the type and power of the mainframe currently installed). You may want to display this information as another slide showing a timeline of events.
Mentioning the amount of people that access your mainframe data is a good idea as it provides perspective to how important it is to the organization.
It is also beneficial to mention where your mainframe users today are (in most cases they will be globally dispersed). Also mention some of the tasks these people perform so that it is compared to how the mainframe was accessed when it was first implemented many years ago.
You should also mention how much data your organization has stored and is processed (for example, Google processes about 24 petabytes of data per day), and also include statistics on archived/backup data that is held.
Copyright © Interskill Learning Pty Ltd 2011 – Commercial in Confidence

5. Performance of Our Data Center
Uptime
Meeting Key Performance Indicators
Disaster recovery
Audits
Audio: will need to cover the following:
There are multiple criteria that are used to measure how the Data Center is performing. This is an opportunity to promote the Data Center and its staff by mentioning its uptime statistics (which are often around the 99%).
You may also want to discuss what the Data Center KPIs are and how successful the Data Center has been in meeting them (i.e. transaction workloads, internal response times, utilization of physical and virtual resources).
You should also mention briefly how the Data Center has comprehensive disaster recovery plans and give examples of actual events or testing that has been done in this area. Mention that their role in disaster recovery is covered in more detail in the Webinar at the end of this learning pathway.
Talk about the types of audits that the Data Center needs to comply with (this might include some or all of the following: Organizational structure / system overview, documentation, & training, Program Change Control Management, Computer Center Operations, Physical Security / Environmental Controls, Backup, Contingency Planning, Hardware Backup, Testing, Emergency Procedures, Vendor Support)
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6. Data Center Virtual Tour
Infrastructure
Equipment
Certification
Graphics: You will need to provide some photographs of the Data Center to be displayed on this page (and any subsequent pages you may need to insert).
Audio: will need to cover the following:
The information discussed here will depend on the photographs you are able to obtain and paste into this presentation. The types of infrastructure items you should consider discussing are: where the data center is located, the size of it, how old it is, physical security requirements
You may also want to show examples of some of the equipment such as: the mainframe itself, storage devices, networking equipment, power, heating and cooling, fire detection and fire suppression equipment.
If you have any certifications (i.e. ISO27001 or ISO9001) then you may want to mention this also.
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7. Data Center Staffing Functional Data Center groups and their purpose?
Contacting Data Center staff
Audio: will need to cover the following:
The Datatrain courses highlighted a number of generic job titles that you might encounter in the Data Center. The following pages will provide you with an overview of the Data Center personnel we have and the roles they perform.
Copyright © Interskill Learning Pty Ltd 2011 – Commercial in Confidence

8. Functional Data Center Groups and Their Purpose
Groups associated with the Data Center
What tasks do these groups perform?
Graphics: You may want to add some graphics here of key people in the Data Center.
Audio: will need to cover the following:
You will need to discuss the groups of people associated with the Data Center. This may include personnel from the following teams: Operations, Production Support, Network Operations, Systems Programming, Security Administrator, Storage Administrator, Database Administrator, Quality Assurance/Testing and Applications Programming, Help Desk.
Whilst mentioning the groups above, you will also want to discuss what tasks they perform and the hours that they work (i.e. whether there are any shift workers). This gives the learner some idea of the group they may need to contact if a specific situation arises. You may also need to mention any specific times that these people can be contacted.
Copyright © Interskill Learning Pty Ltd 2011 – Commercial in Confidence

9. Contacting Data Center Staff
Where are Data Center staff physically located?
Key people and contact details
Graphics: Possibly include a map showing where the groups mentioned on the previous page are physically located.
Audio: will need to cover the following:
There will be occasions where staff may need to physically visit a Data Center group to discuss work issues. A map would be good to have on this screen but if this is not possible then you may need to convey this information audibly.
You should also mention the range of people within these areas (i.e. junior and senior staff) and maybe provide a list of names/phone numbers in case they need to contact someone from that group (you may also just want to point them to an internal phone directory that has these details).
You may also want to cover how the learner can be considered for work in one of these areas if they are interested, and where job description criteria can be accessed.
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10. Summary Our evolving Data Center Data Center personnel
Introduction to the IBM Enterprise Environment
45 minutes
1 hour
PowerPoint
Our Data Centre Structure
Our Mainframe Under the Microscope
Webinar
Understanding Data Centre Operations and Your Role
= Datatrain Course Modules
Today’s Mainframe
Mainframe Configurations
Mainframe Security and Data Access
Data Processing
Summary
Our evolving Data Center
Data Center personnel
Audio: will need to cover the following:
This presentation explained how our Data Center has evolved from humble beginnings to a complex environment housing multiple operating systems able to process ___ of transactions every day. You were also introduced to the people who implement, manage, monitor and solve problems associated with our Data Center environment, providing you with the knowledge of who to contact when you have questions.
As you can see by the learning path graphic shown here, your next step in the training focuses on three Datatrain modules: Mainframe Configurations, Mainframe Security and Data Access and Data Processing. When this has been completed, another internal presentation that focuses on the specific hardware and software implemented within our Data Center should be undertaken before the Webinar entitled “Understanding Data Center operations and your role”, which will wrap up this pathway.
Thank you for attending.
Copyright © Interskill Learning Pty Ltd 2011 – Commercial in Confidence