Networking Technologies

UNIT 2 COMPUTER SYSTEMS

Structure
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Objectives
2.3 Components of a Computer
2.4 Central Processing Unit (CPU)
2.5 Storage and Storage Devices
2.6 I/O Devices
2.7 Networking and Networking Devices
2.8 Plug and Play Devices
2.9 Communication Technology
2.10 Types of Computers
2.11 Summary
2.12 Unit End Exercises
2.13 References and Suggested Further Readings

2.1 INTRODUCTION
For an information system, hardware is defined as any machinery that helps in input,
processing, storage, and output activities. Similarly for a computer, the hardware is
the collection of devices that perform the functions of input, processing, data storage,
and output. In other words, all physical units of a computer system constitute
computer hardware. The input device gets the data from the outside world and the
data is stored in the memory. The central processing unit (CPU) processes this data
and the various output devices display the results. The components communicate with
each other through system bus. Each hardware component plays an important role in
computing. The arrangement of the component within the system even today is what
was suggested in 1945 by Von Neumann and is known as Von Neumann architecture.

2.2 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you should be able to:
• Identify the components of a computer system;
• Describe the elements of a CPU;
• Explain the concept of networking; and
• Use plug and play devices

2.3 COMPONENTS OF A COMPUTER

Input Output
Devices Devices
Control Arithmetic
Unit and Logic
Unit

Primary Storage

Communication
Secondary Storage Devices

Fig. 2.1 : Components of a Computer 1

Information Technology The computer memory is categorized into primary storage and secondary storage.
for Managers Primary storage stores the data and programs during processing and secondary
storage is used to store the data and programs for future use. Communication
devices connect a computer to other computers and devices to facilitate data
exchange with them.

Computers have been around since 1940s and have been evolving ever since.
Computer hardware has evolved through four stages.

The so-called first generation (1946-1956) computer was built by vacuum tubes and
programming was done by plugging and unplugging chords. The second-generation
(1957-1963) computers had transistors. The third generation (1964-1979) computers
had integrated circuits. The fourth generation (1979 onwards) systems use very
large-scale integrated circuits. Along with the hardware technology, the software also
improved in terms of being user friendly and capability. Every system has software
as its integral part, which makes the computer work. The most important software is
an operating system (OS), which performs two functions:
• Extend the machine - OS presents to the user an extended machine that is easier
to program than the underlying hardware.
• Manage resources such as processor(s), memories, timers, disks, mouse,
network, printer etc. OS provides an orderly and controlled allocation of the
resources among the various programs competing for them.

2.4 CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU)

In order to work, a computer needs some sort of “brain”. At the core of each
computer, there is a device called central processing unit (CPU), which is the brain
of the computer. CPU reads the program from the main memory, and executes each
step of the program, which may involve calculations and decision-making. The CPU
is responsible for controlling all devices of the computer. It initiates a memory
operation, which may involve reading data from an input device and storing it into
memory or read data from the memory and display it on an output device.

The CPU mainly consists of three parts— Control Unit, Arithmetic Logic Unit
(ALU), and Primary Storage (also referred to as Main Memory).

The ALU is the unit, which performs all mathematical calculations and logical
operations. It performs addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. It performs a
logical operation by comparing two numbers. It can determine the smaller number,
larger number or determine if the two numbers are equal. It can also determine
whether a number is positive, negative or zero.

A program is a sequence of instructions. An instruction may be an arithmetic

operation, a logical operation, an assignment, or a jump. The control unit sequentially
accesses program instructions, decodes them, and directs ALU, Main Memory, input
devices, and output devices so that the program instructions can be carried out.
Execution of one program instruction may require control unit to issue many
directives. The ALU may also perform many operations to complete one program
instruction. Each operation performed by ALU and control unit is referred to as
machine instruction. Each program instruction may involve many machine
instructions. A single machine instruction is completed in a machine cycle. The
number of machine instructions completed in a second is called the speed of the
CPU and it is measured in MIPS (Millions of instructions per second). A CPU also
contains a set of registers, which are specialized, small, high-speed memory for
storing temporary results of ALU and for storing control information.
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Computer Speed Networking Technologies

The word length of a CPU is the number of bits it can process in a single cycle. A
64-bit machine can process 64 bits in a single cycle. A 64-bit machine is faster than a
32-bit machine.

The cycle is defined by the internal clock of the control unit. The Pentium based
systems have a clock speed of 1GHz or more whereas 3 years ago the speed used to
be 300 MHz. The bus carries data, control signals, and address in a system. If the
data bus width is same as the word length, then one word can be moved at a time. If
the bus width is half of word length, two cycles are required for moving one word.

The instruction set also affects the speed. If the instruction set is simple, as in RISC,
one or more instructions may get executed in each cycle. There will be some long
instructions, which take more than one cycle. It is possible that a given application
extensively uses long instructions (such as scientific computing) and the machine will
appear to be slow.

There is no direct relationship between clock frequency and the speed of a system.
There are benchmark programs that are run to establish the speed of a computer
system.

2.5 STORAGE AND STORAGE DEVICES

The large amount of data is stored on a computer using various types of storage
media. The storage media are distinguished by their relative speed, capacity, and
resilience to failure.

1) Volatile Storage: Information residing in such storage needs continuous power

supply. The contents are lost if power supply is switched off. Examples of such
storage devices are main memory and cache memory, which we will discuss in
the next section. Access to volatile storage is very fast, both because of the
technology used and because of the access method.

2) Nonvolatile Storage: The nonvolatile storage media do not require power supply
to retain their contents. Examples of such storage media are disks and magnetic
tapes. Disk is used for online storage, while tapes are used for archival storage.
Disks and magnetic tapes are very reliable storage media. The current
technology used for nonvolatile storage makes them much slower than volatile
storage.

Main Memory

Main memory holds the programs and data required by the CPU for carrying out its
operations. The primary storage is a semiconductor device that is built using
integrated circuits. The data is stored in binary form by main memory. Numeric as
well as non-numeric data can be represented in binary form. With two binary digits,
we can represent 4 different characters. With three binary digits, we can represent 8
different characters. Computes internally use eight binary digits to represent
characters and digits (A binary digit is referred to as bit and 8 bits are called a byte).
256 characters can be represented by a byte. The main memory consists of many
thousands of bytes. The table given below lists commonly used names, abbreviations
and the number of bytes for storage capacity.

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Information Technology Table 2.1: Commonly Used Names and Abbreviations for Storage Capacity
for Managers
Name Abbreviation Number of Bytes

Byte B 1

Kilobyte KB 1,024

Megabyte MB 1,024 * 1,024 (about one million)

Gigabyte GB 1,024 * 1,024 * 1,024

Terabyte TB 1,024 * 1,024 * 1,024 * 1,024

Types of Main Memory

Memory can be of various types like Random Access Memory (RAM) and Read-Only
Memory (ROM). The figure 2.2 given below gives a description of the memory types.

MEMORY
TYPES

Random Read
Access Only
Memory Memory
(RAM) (ROM)

SDRAM DRAM EPROM PROM

Fig. 2.2: Types of Memory

RAM has become the synonym for main memory. 20 years ago, the word core
memory was used for referring to main memory. RAM is the memory access method
and core memory was the technology used in main memory. The core memory
technology is not used any more. RAM is an acronym for random access memory.
As the name suggests, any location of the memory can be accessed randomly and
the access time to is independent of the location. We will continue to use word RAM
to refer to main memory. RAM is very fast; the access time is in nano seconds.
RAM is volatile that is the contents of RAM are lost when the power supply to the
RAM is discontinued.

DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) is the most common kind of RAM. The
data is stored in the cell of transistors and capacitors and the data has to be refreshed
every few milliseconds. SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) does not require
periodical refresh. SRAM is faster than DRAM but is more expensive as compared
to DRAM.
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A part of computer storage is ROM that cannot be erased or changed. ROM is an Networking Technologies
acronym for read only memory. ROM is nonvolatile i.e. its contents are not lost when
power is switched off. ROM is required for storing the boot program that should not
be lost or changed due to any failure. ROM also comes in many flavors such as
PROM and EPROM. PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory) is used for
storing some specialized application by the computer designers instead of chip
designers. PROM can be written only once. EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read
Only Memory) can be erased and reprogrammed many times.
Secondary Memory
Main Memory provides a small amount of volatile storage. But a computer needs to
store large amount of data and instructions permanently. The secondary memory is
non-volatile and has large capacity. The secondary memory is slow as compared to
main memory. Various technologies are used for secondary memory, some provide
random access, and others provide sequential access. In sequential access, data must
be accessed in the order in which it is stored. For example, if we have stored data of
students in the order of their roll numbers, then to retrieve data of student with roll
number 20, we need to read (and possibly discard) the data of students with roll
numbers 01 to 19 before we can access the desired data. If direct access is provided
then any part of the data can be accessed directly, without the need to pass by other
data in sequence. The sequential access storage devices are referred to as SASD
(Sequential Access Storage Devices) and the direct access devices are called
DASDs (Direct Access Storage Devices). The most common forms of secondary
storage devices are magnetic tapes and magnetic disks.

Magnetic tape is one of the common sequential secondary storage mediums. The
tape usually is a Mylar film coated with iron oxide. Portions of the tape are
magnetized to represent bits. It is sequential access device, to access the nth block on
tape; we must first read the preceding n-1 blocks. The main advantages of the
magnetic disks are they are inexpensive, long lasting and can store large volume of
data (20 GB to 150 GB). Generally it is used for back up or archival storage of data.

Magnetic Disk is all made of magnetic material shaped as a thin circular disk and
protected by a plastic or acrylic cover. A disk is single sided if it stores information on
only one of its surfaces and double sided if both surfaces are used. To increase
storage capacity, disks are assembled into a disk pack, which may include as may as
30 surfaces. Information is stored on the disk surface in concentric circles of small
width, each having a distinct diameter. Each circle is called a track. For disk packs,
the tracks with the same diameter on the various surfaces are called a cylinder. The
concept of cylinder is very important because data stored on the same cylinder can
be retrieved much faster than if it were distributed among different cylinders.

Each concentric circle typically stores the same amount of data. The number of
tracks on a disk ranges up to 800. Capacity of each track typically ranges from 4-50
Kbytes. Each track is divided into sectors. The division of a track into equal sized
blocks or pages is set by the operating system during disk formatting. There is a read/
write head, which reads data from the disk and writes data to the disk. A disk is
mounted on the disk drive, which has the motor that rotates it. A read/write head has
a mechanical arm attached to it. All arms are connected to an actuator attached to
another electrical motor, which moves the head in unison and positions it over the
cylinder of tracks specified in a block address.

RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) is an array of multiple inexpensive

hard disks that provides fault tolerance through redundancy and improved access
rates. It provides a method of accessing multiple individual disks, as they are one
large disk. The data is spread over these multiple disks, thereby reducing the risk of
losing all data if one disk fails. Usually, RAID is used in a computer, which is a file
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Information Technology server or a transaction server, where data accessibility is critical and fault tolerance is
for Managers required. Nowadays, RAID is also being used in desktop systems for CAD,
multimedia editing, and playback where higher transfer rates are needed. The RAID
has following levels:
1) RAID 0: It is also known as “Disk Striping”. This is technically not a RAID
level since it provides no fault tolerance. Data is written in blocks across multiple
drives for fast access. The advantages of striping are the higher access rate, and
full utilization of the array capacity. The disadvantage is there is no fault
tolerance
2) RAID 1: This is also known as “Disk Mirroring”. Raid 1 provides redundancy by
writing the data twice. If one disk fails, the other contains an exact duplicate of
the data and the RAID can switch to using the mirror drive with no lapse in user
accessibility. The disadvantages of mirroring are no improvement in data access
speed, and higher cost, since twice the number of drives is required. However, it
provides the best protection of data since the array management software will
simply direct all application requests to the surviving disk members when a
member of disk fails.
3) RAID 3: RAID level 3 distribute data across multiple discs and stores additional
information on one disc for error correction in recovery. It has high reliability and
it is fast.
4) RAID 5: It is the most popular configuration. In RAID 5, the additional data,
which is used for error detection and correction, is also distributed over many
discs. This arrangement has very high reliability and access speed is also good.
However, the write operation is slower compared to other RAID configurations.
Optical Disks are the disks made of plastic, in which lasers that physically burn pits in
the disk record data. Here each pit represents a binary digit 1 and each unpitted area
represents binary digit 0. Optical discs are direct access devices. The advantage of
optical disks are that the amount of physical disk space needed to record an optical
bit is much smaller than usually required by magnetic media and is less susceptible to
deterioration.
Cache
It is high-speed memory. The CPU keeps part of the program and the data into cache
memory, which it is likely to use frequently. Typically the cache memory is limited to
256 KB or higher. Cache plays a direct role in increasing Internet speed than RAM
does. RAM and cache are both a form of computer memory. Cache stores images
and text from web pages as you view them. Pages in cache are not updated while
RAM refreshes it again and again.
Activity A
1) Computer’s motherboard, processor, and CPU are the same or different things?
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2) What’s the difference between cache and RAM? Networking Technologies

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2.6 INPUT/ OUTPUT DEVICES

They are used as a medium of communication between the external environment and
the CPU. The input is provided to the computer through the input devices and the
output is given through the output devices. The input and output devices are
controlled by the CPU. A computer system may also have devices under the control
of CPU dedicated for controlling the input output devices.
Input Devices
Table 2.2 give below highlights the categories into which the input devices fall.
Table 2.2: Categories of Input devices

Category Name of Device

Keying Device Keyboard
Punched card reader
Mouse
Pointing Devices Touch Screen
Joy Stick
Light Pen
Voice Recognizers
Bar Code Reader
Optical Character Optical Mark Reader
Recognizer Optical Character Reader / Optical Scanner
Cameras
Other Devices Digitizers ( for maps, graphs etc)
Smart Cards
Telephone.

Voice Recognition devices are used to recognize human speech. It converts human
voice signals received through microphone to digital signals using software tools.
Voice recognition systems are becoming popular.

Bar Code Reader scans the code (black and white bars), which specifies the name of
the product and its manufacturer. The computer then finds the price of the product
from the database. It is used for high- volume processing of data where use of
keyboard entry can be very time consuming, for example they are used in
supermarkets.

Digital cameras are used to capture pictures. The pictures are digitized and stored in
computers. The pictures can be reviewed, deleted, edited, and saved for future use. 7
Information Technology Images can be transmitted from a PC to a printer or to other cameras. They can be
for Managers mailed to friends. Digitizers are devices that convert drawings made on sensitized
surface with the help of pen to machine-readable input. These inputs are transferred
to the computer. A smart card is a card that is embedded with either a
microprocessor and a memory chip or only a memory chip with non-programmable
logic. The microprocessor card can add, delete, and otherwise manipulate information
on the card, while a memory-chip card (for example, pre-paid phone cards) can only
undertake a pre-defined operation.
Output Devices
The output generated by a computer can be transmitted to the user via several
devices and media. These devices are called output devices. Following are some
important output devices:
1) Monitors: It is a video screen that displays both input and output data. It comes
in different sizes ranging from few inches to several feet. It is interactive in
nature, which is the main advantage associated with this device. It consists of
CRT (Cathode Ray tube) technology. It is the electronic “gun” that shoots the
beam of electrons and illuminates the pixels on the screen.
2) Printers: There are two broad categories of printers i.e. Impact and Non Impact
Printers. Impact printer uses striking action to press a carbon against paper to
create a character. Dot matrix, Line, and Daisy wheel are some important type
of Impact printers. They are slow and noisy. They don’t support graphics and are
susceptible to mechanical breakdowns.
Non Impact Printers use laser beams to write information on photosensitive
drums. The paper passes over the drum and picks the image with toner. Laser
Printer is the example of Non Impact Printers. They have high speed and can
produce print- quality text and graphics. Ink-jet printers are Non Impact Printers,
which shoot tiny dots of ink on the paper. They are inexpensive and are used for
low volume graphical applications when different colors of ink are required.

3) Plotter: They use computer driven pens for creating black and white or color
graphic images likes charts, graphs etc. They are used in engineering and
architectural drawings.

2.7 NETWORKING AND NETWORKING DEVICES

A network is a group of computers, printers, and other devices that are connected
together with cables. Data travels over the cables, allowing network users to
exchange documents and data with each other. Many users can use the same printer
and share hardware and software that are connected to the network. Each computer,
printer, or other peripheral device that is connected to the network is called a node. A
network can have tens, thousands, or even millions of nodes.

The number of possible ways to logically arrange the nodes, or computer systems and
devices on the networks are mainly of five types. They are termed as network
topologies, i.e. the logical model that describes the network structure or configuration.
These types are bus, ring, hierarchical, star and hybrid.

The computers in the ring network are connected in ring or circle. There is no central
computer and messages are routed around the ring from one device to another in one
direction. In the bus network the devices are connected on the single line. Each
device is connected to the single bus and can directly communicate with all other
devices on the network. A star network has a central computer. This central
computer controls and directs messages. If the central computer breaks down, entire
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system is broken down. The hierarchical structure has tree like structure and does
not have a central computer. Messages pass through all the branches of the tree till Networking Technologies
they reach the destination. This structure is easy to repair as any branch can be
isolated and repaired without affecting any other branch. Hybrid network is the
combination of two or more topologies.

Ring Structure
Hybrid Structured
Star Structure

Tree Structure Bus Structure

Fig. 2.3: Types of Network Topologies

Network Devices
Network devices allow multiple computers to exchange data and information through
Internet or Intranet connection. Many people can use a single printer, or share other
devices and resources on the network. Every network has a router which is a device
that connects two or more networks and determines the next point to which a
‘packet’ of data should be forwarded towards its destination. A packet is the smallest
unit of data that travels on the network. A hub is the center point where several
network connections converge i.e. it the point where data comes in from one or more
directions and is forwarded to one or more directions. Sometimes the same device
serves as both the hub and router. NIC (Network Interface Card) is a card installed
on a computer that connects the computer to the network. It provides dedicated and
full-time connection to the computer.

2.8 PLUG AND PLAY DEVICES

Plug and Play (also called PnP) specification was developed by Microsoft with
cooperation from Intel and many other hardware manufacturers. The goal of Plug
and Play is to create a computer whose hardware and software work together to
automatically configure devices and assign resources, to allow for hardware changes
and additions without the need for large-scale resource assignment tweaking. As the
name suggests, the goal is to be able to just plug in a new device and immediately be
able to use it, without complicated setup maneuvers.

The plug and play feature was introduced in Windows 2000. One can plug in, for
instance, an USB device and it is detected and accepted by the system so that the
device can be used without rebooting the system. Operating system has drivers for
most of the devices. When a device, for which operating system has the driver, is
plugged in, the communication between the driver and the device is established
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by the OS.
Information Technology These devices are connected to the computer in several ways. Some devices, such
for Managers as network adapters and sound cards, are connected to expansion slots inside the
computer. Other devices, such as printers and scanners, are connected to ports
outside the computer. Some devices, known as PC Cards, connect only to PC Card
slots on a portable computer. The operation system must have device drivers for all
plug and play devices.

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is the new industry standard for attaching peripheral
devices to the computer. This technology is designed for use with numerous devices,
including printers, digital cameras, game pads, joysticks, keyboards and mice, and
storage devices. USB hardware is identical across platforms. It replaces all the
different kinds of serial and parallel port connectors with one standardized plug and
port combination. The devices can plug in without opening the PC.

Fig. 2.4: Universal Serial Bus (USB)

There are two types of USB connectors

1) The Type A connector (below) is used to connect a USB device to a hub or

CPU and is sometimes referred to as a “downstream” connector (The CPU is
always in the “upstream” direction). It is rectangular in shape and is friction fit
into a Type A plug. Type A plugs exist in the CPU and keyboard.

2) The Type B connector (below) is used to attach a USB cable to an endpoint

device such as a camera, scanner, or mouse and is sometimes referred to as an
“upstream” connector. It is easily identified by its “house” shape (square with a
V-shaped “roof”).

Fig. 2.5: Types of Universal Serial Bus (USB) connectors

Activity B
What were the main reasons for the change from the serial, printer, game, and
ps/2 ports to the USB 1.1 port?
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 Networking Technologies
2.9 COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
Communications is the transmission of a signal by a way of particular medium from a
sender to a receiver. For example in human speech, the sender transmits a signal
through the transmission medium air.

Signal
Sender Receiver

Transmission
Medium

For the effective communication both the sender and the receiver should understand
the signals and have common interpretation for them. When communication has to be
established a medium is required for transmission. This pathway/medium is called as
communication media. It includes twisted pair, coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,
microwave transmission, and satellite transmission. The table 2.3 lists main
characteristics of these mediums.

Table 2.3: Main characteristics of mediums

Medium Advantages Disadvantages

• Inexpensive • Low Bandwidth

Twisted Pair • Widely available • Low security (easily tapped)
• Easy to work with • Emits electromagnetic
interference

• Higher Bandwidth • Expensive and Inflexible

Coaxial Cable • Less susceptible to • Easily tapped
electromagnetic interference.

• High Bandwidth • Expensive

Fiber Optic Cable • Difficult to tap • Difficult to splice
• Lighter than coaxial cable • Inflexible

Microwave • Very High Bandwidth • Uses Encryption for security

• Relatively Inexpensive

• Very High Bandwidth • Expensive

Satellite • Large coverage • Signals experience
propagation delay.
• Uses Encryption for security

There are two modes of communication – Synchronous and Asynchronous. In

Synchronous transmission, data bits are sent over a communication link and the data
transfer is controlled by a timing signal initiated by the sending device. Each data
block is preceded by unique characters called sync bits. The receiving device
synchronizes itself with a stream of these bits. Synchronous transmission is generally
used for transmitting large volume of data at high speed. For Asynchronous
transmission, one character is transmitted or received at a time.

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Information Technology Each character is preceded by start bit and ended with end bit, so that the receiving
for Managers device knows where the character begins and ends. It is inefficient due to the
overhead of transmitting start and stop bits. It is generally used for low speed data
transmission.

Data transmission occurs in one of the following three directions: Simplex, half
duplex, or full duplex. In simplex data transmission, the data transmission takes place
in only one direction. Public announcement systems such as radio and television use
simplex mode of data transmission. It is simple and relatively inexpensive. In half-
duplex transmission mode, the transmission takes place in both directions but only in
one direction at a time. Full duplex mode of transmission allows transmission in both
directions simultaneously. For example, on telephone both parties can communicate
simultaneously. The cost of full duplex transmission is high as compared to both
simplex and half duplex.

2.10 TYPES OF COMPUTERS

Mainframes: Mainframes are not as powerful and not as expensive as super

computers. A large organization generally uses a mainframe as a contact database
and file server.

Minicomputers: There are also called midrange computers. There are less powerful
than mainframes. Minicomputers are used for specific tasks such as scientific
research and engineering applications. Some times, large organizations install many
minicomputers instead of one mainframe. The application, and data are distributed
ones minicomputer to achieve better reliability. Small organizations use a
minicomputer as a server.

Workstations: A workstation is usually based RISC architecture, provides high

solution graphic displays and high-speed calculations. Scientific and business
community uses these machines.

Microcomputer: Microcomputers, also called personal computers, are general-

purpose computers. A PC that sits on a desk is called desktop personal computer in
contrast to a laptop computer, which is portable.

Network Computer: A network computer (NC) is a desktop terminal that is

connected to a central computer. A NC has essentially no storage, no CPU, and no
secondary storage. It has a keyboard and a video display. It uses processing power
and storage of its central processor.

2.11 SUMMARY

In this unit, we have discussed an introduction to computer systems. The components

of computer, which we explained in detail include: CPU, ALU, storage, and I/O
devices. The CPU works as the brain of the system, while RAM is the working
memory of the system. Today’s computers come with possibilities to use many plug
and play devices, and they are also network compatible. We have also discussed the
concepts related to networking in this unit, where we have described the various
media used such as co-axial cable, satellite, fiber optics, and microwave
communication. At the end, we have given a brief overview of different types of
computers though generatiaons.

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 Networking Technologies
2.12 UNIT END EXERCISES

1) What are the components of a computer system?

2) What are the components of a CPU?
3) What factors affects the speed of a computer?
4) Write a detailed note on primary memory.
5) Write a detailed note on secondary memory.
6) Write a detailed note on Input-Output devices.
7) What are plug-and-play devices?
8) What are various types of computer?

2.13 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED FURTHER

READINGS

Fitzherald, J.and Dennnis A, Business Data Communications and Networking;

John Wiley & Cons. Inc.

Laudon C K & Laudon J P, Management Information Systems, Pearson Education,

Asia.

Turban, T., Ephraim, M. and Wetherbe J., Information Technology for

Management, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1998.

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