Orasa T.

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Computer Hardware

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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.

13 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.

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Section I

Computer Systems: End User and Enterprise Computing

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Types of Computer Systems

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

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Types of Computer Systems (continued)

Mainframe
Enterprise systems Superservers Transaction processors Supercomputers

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Types of Computer Systems (continued)

Midrange
Network servers Minicomputers Web servers Multi-user systems

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Types of Computer Systems (continued)

Microcomputers
Personal computers Network computers Technical workstations PDAs Information appliances

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Microcomputer Systems

The most important category of computers

Desktop Laptop

Workstation computers Network servers

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Microcomputer Systems (continued)

Selection criteria
Solid performance at a reasonable price Operating system ready Connectivity

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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

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Microcomputer Systems (continued)

Network computers (continued)

Other benefits
Ease of software distribution and licensing Computing platform standardization Reduced end user requirements Improved manageability

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Microcomputer Systems (continued)

Information appliances
PDAs Set-top boxes and video-game consoles Wireless PDAs Cellular and PCS phones

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Microcomputer Systems (continued)

Computer terminals
Dumb terminals Intelligent terminals Network terminals Transaction terminals

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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

13 Mainframe Computer Systems

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

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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

13 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

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The Computer System Concept (continued)

Processing
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Two subunits Arithmetic-Logic Unit (ALU) Control Unit

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The Computer System Concept (continued)

Output
Video display units Printers Audio response units Convert electronic information into humanintelligible form

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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

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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

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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)

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The Computer System Concept (continued)

Clock speeds
Megahertz (MHz)
Millions of cycles per second

Gigahertz (GHz)
Billions of cycles per second

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Section II

Computer Peripherals: Input, Output, and Storage Technologies

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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

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Input Technologies

Natural user interface

Enter data and commands directly into a computer
Electronic mice and touch pads Optical scanning, handwriting recognition, voice recognition

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Pointing Devices

Used for entering data and text Work with your operating systems graphical user interface (GUI)
Electronic mouse Trackball Pointing stick Touch pad Touch screen

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PenPen-Based Computing

Used in many hand-held computers and PDAs

Digitizer pen Graphics tablet

13 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

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Optical Scanning

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

13 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)

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Other Input Technologies Magnetic stripe technology

Credit cards

Smart cards
Embedded microprocessor chip
Debit, credit, and other cards

Digital cameras
Still cameras Digital camcorders

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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

Video Print Storage

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Video Output

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

13 Inkjet

Printed Output

Spray ink onto the page one line at a time

Laser
Use an electrostatic process similar to a copier

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Storage Trade-Offs Trade-

Trade13 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

Trade13 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

Trade13 Storage Trade-Offs (continued)

Computer storage fundamentals (continued)

Storage capacities
Kilobytes (KB)
1,000 bytes

Megabytes (MB)
1 million bytes

Trade13 Storage Trade-Offs (continued)

Computer storage fundamentals (continued)

Gigabytes (GB)
1 billion bytes

Terabytes (TB)
1 trillion bytes

Petabyte (PB)
1 quadrillion bytes

Trade13 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

Trade13 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

Trade13 Storage Trade-Offs (continued)

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Semiconductor Memory

Primary storage of your computer Advantages

Small size Great speed Shock and temperature resistant

Disadvantage
Volatility

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Semiconductor Memory (continued)

Two basic types of semiconductor memory

RAM random access memory
Volatile memory Read/write memory working memory

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Semiconductor Memory (continued)

ROM read only memory

Nonvolatile Used for permanent storage Can be read but not erased or overwritten

Variations of ROM
PROM
Programmable read only memory

EPROM
Erasable programmable read only memory

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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

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Magnetic Disk Storage (continued)

Types of Magnetic Disks

Floppy disks Zip disks Hard disk drives

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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

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Magnetic Tape Storage

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

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Optical Disk Storage

CD-ROM CD-R CD-RW DVD DVD-ROM DVD-RAM

13 Optical Disk Storage (continued) Business applications

Image processing Provide access to reference materials in a convenient, compact form videos

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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?

13 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?

13 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

13 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?

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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?

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References

James A. O'Brien; George M. Marakas. Management Information Systems: Managing Information Technology in the Business Enterprise 6th Ed., Boston: McGraw-Hill/ Irwin,2004