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Unit Notes

ICAICT202A Work and communicate effectively in an IT environment

Topic 4 – IT equipment and software

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Table of Contents4. Identify IT equipment/software and operating systems supported by the organisation 44.1 IT equipment and software supported by an organisation 54.2 Computer equipment 6

A typical workstation.................................................................................................6

Other commonly used equipment.............................................................................8

Computer networks...................................................................................................8

Networking equipment..............................................................................................9

Equipment vendors.................................................................................................10

4.3 Software 11System software.....................................................................................................11

Application software................................................................................................12

The importance of IT equipment and software in an organisation..........................14

4.4 The asset register 15Contents of an asset register..................................................................................15

Storage and maintenance of the asset register......................................................15

Upgrading and replacing assets.............................................................................16

4.5 Service level agreements and warranties 17What is a service level agreement (SLA)?..............................................................17

4.6 Maintaining IT equipment 18Routine maintenance..............................................................................................18

Recording maintenance dates................................................................................19

Summary 20

of 20ICAICT202A Work and communicate

effectively in an IT environment

4. Identify IT equipment/software and operating systems supported by the organisation

4.1 IT equipment and software supported by an organisation

4.2 Computer equipment

4.3 Software

4.4 The asset register

4.5 Service level agreements and warranties

4.6 Maintaining IT equipment

Using the Unit NotesIcons and symbols are used throughout the guide to provide quick visual references.

They indicate the following:

Icon Meaning Icon MeaningACTIVITY: An activity is listed to be completed

ACTIVITY: A Learning activity requiring some physical action

WWW: A web link is listed REFLECTION: A point is to be considered and thought about more deeply

IMPORTANT: A pivotal point is detailed

SEARCH: A particular item / book etc needs to be found and applied


4.1 IT equipment and software supported by an organisation

IT plays a vital role in achieving organisational goals. Fast and reliable computer systems can increase productivity, improve decision-making and reduce costs in the workplace. You’ll need to be familiar with a range of current computer equipment and software, and develop a broad knowledge of features and capabilities.

So what exactly do we mean by computer systems? Broadly, this includes:

a range of computer hardware and peripheral devices

networking equipment and cabling

software to run the equipment (system software)

software to perform specific workplace tasks (application software)

data converted by the system into information

Let’s start by looking at what a computer actually is, and focus on a typical stand-alone computer system or workstation.

There are many types of computers. A computer can be defined as an electronic device that can be programmed to accept data, process and store it and produce information.

Computers can be classed as special purpose or general purpose. Special purpose computers generally perform a specific task, like a microchip in a microwave oven. However, the common notion of a computer — the one found in workplaces and homes, is the general-purpose type, that can perform a variety of tasks.



4.2 Computer equipment

A typical workstationA typical PC or workstation has a monitor, keyboard, mouse and system unit, or main box. There may also be speakers and other bits of hardware. Typically, the different devices are attached to the main box by cables. However, some or all of these cables can be replaced by wireless links.

Figure1: Workstation monitor

The system unitThe system unit includes both the supporting frame and the protective cover for the computer. In some computers the monitor, speakers and system unit are all integrated.

If you look at the outside of the system unit you will see a number of features:

disk drives (CD/DVD/floppy)

ports, power supply, lights and switches

Inside the system unit there is a main board or motherboard containing, among other things, the central processing unit (CPU). There are other supporting chips and devices connected by means of circuitry referred to as a ‘bus’. Apart from the main board, the system unit houses one or more hard disks, a power supply and expansion slots.

PeripheralsPeripheral devices are outside the system unit, and are attached to it (or communicate with it by wireless links). The most common devices are the monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers and printer. Some, like the monitor and keyboard are essential to using the computer. However, many other peripherals are commonly used. These include microphones, external storage devices like portable hard disks and flash memory drives, external modems, scanners, trackballs, joysticks, digital cameras, web cameras… and you can probably think of many more.

Devices that allow the user to enter information into the computer are called input devices, and devices that provide some sort of information out to the user are called output devices. Peripherals also require some programs or software to be installed


on the computer so the computer can recognise them. These programs are known as software drivers or device drivers.

It is assumed you are fairly familiar with common devices like the keyboard, mouse, monitor and printer, so we’ll look briefly at some other useful pieces of equipment. Even if you are familiar with this equipment, you need to keep up-to-date with current versions. You’ll get a chance to explore these in the practice exercises.

Figure 2: Printer

ScannerA scanner is an input device that allows the user to scan photos and drawings into a computer. Hand-held scanners are rolled over the image to be scanned, whereas flatbed scanners look like a small photocopier and require the image to be placed face down on a glass surface called a platen.

Both types of scanner work in the same way — they reflect light off the image, and record how much is bounced back into the scanner lens. This information is passed into the computer, which can then construct a replica of the image.

Scanners usually come with optical character recognition (OCR) software, which allows text to be scanned into the computer instead of being typed in. Most OCR software still requires the user to check for mistakes in the scanned text, because it’s possible for the scanner to misread the text it is scanning.

As with printers, an important factor when selecting scanners is their resolution. A 1200 dpi (dots-per-inch) scanner has a higher resolution (that is, it produces a sharper image) than a 600 dpi scanner.

Figure 3: Flatbed scanner



Other commonly used equipment

Personal digital assistant (PDA)A personal digital assistant (PDA) is a hand-held wireless device with computing and data storage abilities. A PDA normally contains a calendar, at least one database with names and addresses, to-do lists and a notepad. They are also referred to as ‘hand-helds’ and examples include the Palm Pilot and the BlackBerry.

Laptop/notebook computerLaptops, also called ‘notebooks’, are a small, portable computers — small enough to sit on your lap. Usually, they can be run for a short time (usually two to five hours) on batteries. Laptops are designed to be carried around, but are not particularly convenient to carry around. They are significantly more expensive than desktop systems.

Computer networksYou will have heard of, or used most of the equipment mentioned so far. However, modern organisations significantly depend on networks and networking equipment.

In simple terms, a computer network is two or more computers that are connected and communicating with each other, in order to share information and/or resources. The most common types of networks are Local Area Networks (LANs) and Wide Area Networks (WANs). The Internet, in fact is just a huge collection of these.

LANs can consist of two to thousands of computers. The most common LAN used by organisations today is called ‘client/server’. These consist of one or more ‘server’ computers, which store the files and runs applications. The computers used by the workers are called ‘client’ machines.

WANs are very large networks of computers. They span large geographical areas, generally covering several kilometres, sometimes connecting computers thousands of kilometres apart. It can also be a collection of LANs, bringing together many smaller networks into one large network.

Organisations network computers to share valuable resources, to share files and communicate.

Consider a typical department of 15 computers. Individuals don’t need a printer connected to their computer all the time. It would be anyway too expensive to do this. The solution is to share a common printer attached to the network.

In the same department, a team leader may have a file that he wants all his team to access. He can either copy it on to a disk for each person, or he can simply put it in a location on the network which can be accessed by all his team at their own workstations.


Similarly, software programs, if connected by a network, can be shared among several users. Where there are several people sharing a program an appropriate software license is needed.

Another obvious advantage is that staff can use the network to communicate by email or to chat directly online if required.

Networking equipmentSpecialised networking equipment is needed to create a LAN, a MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) or a WAN. The server and client computers that are part of networks have been mentioned.

Some other commonly used devices are explained below. Again, these descriptions are basic — the study of networks is complex and extensive. There are many resources on the Internet that can help you learn much more.

If you are interested in this area, you should explore these.

Hub There are different types of hub, but basically a network hub is a meeting place for multiple network connections. Hubs can be used for different purposes, but are commonly used to connect different parts of a LAN.

Router A router is a device that ‘routes’ packets of data around a network.

Switch This is a device that filters and forwards ‘packets’ of data between parts of a LAN. Similar to routers, switches split large networks into small segments, decreasing the number of users sharing the same network resources and bandwidth.

Gateway This is a hardware or software set-up for exchanging information across different networks. It is required if two networks use a different ‘protocol’. The easiest way to think of this is that the Gateway is like a translation service between two computer systems that speak different languages.

Modem A modem converts digital signals from a computer to analog signals (modulates) for transmission over telephone lines. It converts incoming analog signals back to digital signals (demodulates) for the receiving computer. It may be contained within the system unit, or externally connected. A standard modem such as this is required for ‘dial-up’ access to the Internet.

DSL Modem

This is a device that connects a computer or network to a larger network via ordinary telephone wiring using digital subscriber line (DSL) technology. Modem is a misnomer in this case since there is no conversion from digital to analog.



Equipment vendorsYou should familiarise yourself with common vendors of current computer equipment as well as the future directions and developments for that equipment. You can do this by regularly visiting their websites, as well as websites that provide research, technical reviews and updates, subscribing to IT publications, and so on.


4.3 Software

So far we’ve discussed hardware, or physical equipment used in an IT environment. Computers, of course, also need instructions called programs or software, as well as a user, to work. The two main categories of software are system software and application software.

System softwareSystem software is a broad term to describe any of the software that is involved with the efficient running of the computer system. A major part of the system software is called the operating system. The operating system interfaces with the hardware. It performs basic tasks such as recognising input from the keyboard, sending output to the display screen, keeping track of files and directories on the disk, and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers.

An operating system:

manages the computer’s resources (memory, disk space, printer etc)

provides an interface between you and the computer’s hardware i.e. it interprets your keystrokes and mouse clicks

provides services to the application software (for example a word processor simply sends a message to the operating system when a user selects ‘print’)

There are many different operating systems for PCs, the most common being Windows, of which there are several versions (Windows 7, Windows Vista and so on). Some other operating systems include Linux, Apple OS and so on. These operate on desktop or client machines. There is also operating system software for the server side as well. Windows 2003 Server is an example

Apart from the operating system, other utility software is also classified as system software. Examples include device driver software that contains instructions for using a particular peripheral, virus protection software, backup software, file compression software, and so on. All of these are related to the smooth and efficient running of the system.

Virus protection software is extremely important for all computer users. Any time you connect with the Internet or another computer, you are vulnerable to computer viruses. Having current anti virus software, updated on a regular basis, is a must. Examples include Norton’s Anti-virus and MacAfee.



Application softwareApplication software is the software that you use to do tasks in the workplace such as writing reports or searching for records. There are many different companies that develop and manufacture application software. You’ve probably already used several of these applications yourself.

There are two major classes of application software:

Custom software: Software that is organisation-specific. It is written especially for a particular organisation to meet its specific needs. Computer programmers are hired to do this.

Commercial software: This is also called ‘packaged’ or ‘off-the-shelf’ software and is produced by software companies to meet the common needs of many users or organisations. (For example: Microsoft Office)

Categories of commercial software

Word processing/desktop publishingWord processing software is used mainly for creating and editing text. It generally has limited graphic features, for drawing basic shapes such as lines and circles. Data from other applications can be imported or linked to word-processed documents. Microsoft Word is probably the best-known word processing software. When both text and graphics are extensively used and layout and design is important, desktop publishing packages are used.

SpreadsheetsSpreadsheets are used for performing and storing calculations with numbers. Data from other applications can be imported or linked to spreadsheets. The calculated data can be presented in charts, which improve its appearance immensely and allow you to view trends much more easily. Examples are Microsoft Excel and Lotus 1-2-3. A range of people including IT staff and managers, accounting staff and project managers, use this software.

Database managementDatabases are used for storing, searching and retrieving records. Data from other applications can be imported or linked to databases. Reports can be produced in different formats for ease of use. Examples are Microsoft Access, SQL and Oracle.

Multimedia softwareThe term ‘multimedia’ refers to any mixture of audio, video, animations, text and graphics. There are a host of different programs for producing a range of different such media.


For example, there are programs for creating and editing images, also referred to as ‘graphics software’. Microsoft Photo Editor, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Fireworks are examples of graphics programs and are used by graphic artists.

There are also tools for creating simple animated web graphics. Adobe Flash is an example of such software.

Software used to create web pages is generally referred to as ‘web authoring software’. Adobe Dreamweaver and Microsoft Expression Web are examples.

Microsoft PowerPoint is an example of presentation software that can be used by trainers, sales representatives, or anyone who needs to produce a presentation. It allows you to create a series of slides that can be run as a slideshow, containing many different types of media.

Communication and web browser softwareCommunication software, as the name implies, is used for exchanging data and communicating with other users. One very common example is email. Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes, Netscape, Eudora and Entourage are examples of email programs. However, many people don’t use a locally installed email program, but use a web based email service such as hotmail, yahoo, or Google, which can be used through their browser. This is basically software that you use to surf the Internet. Examples are Internet Explorer, Netscape, Opera, and Mozilla Firefox.

There are other examples of communication tools. Messaging and collaboration software is useful for people working in teams.

Integrated packagesCommonly, application programs are bundled together into a ‘suite’ of tools, and are sold as integrated packages. Microsoft Office, Open Office and Star Office are examples.

Other application softwareThe most commonly used applications have been briefly described. However, there are many, many applications that could be found in a typical workplace. A lot depends on the main function of the organisation. However, here’s a list of other common applications:

accounting applications to keep the accounts for the office, such as MYOB

CAD (Computer Aided Drawing) for design offices such as architects and engineers, such as AutoCAD

project management software to keep track of projects and resources, such Microsoft Project



The importance of IT equipment and software in an organisationIf you are to work in an IT environment, it is important that you don’t underestimate the role and importance of the IT equipment and software. Today these are central to the core business of most organisations. If the computers for whatever reason fail, most organisations will stall until they are fixed. This lost time directly translates to lost money and business, so keeping the computers running smoothly and keeping them well maintained is crucial.

This push for efficiency extends not just to hardware, but to software as well. If you possess a tool which helps to fulfil a business function better and more quickly than your competitor, then you have a distinct edge.


4.4 The asset register

As we have discussed, IT equipment and software permeate a modern organisation, and are vital to its functions. Also, the equipment requires maintenance and updating. As you can imagine, keeping track of what the organisation has, and where it is located is an important job. This information is usually recorded in an asset register.

Contents of an asset registerAn asset register itemises all of the IT assets across the entire organisation, not just the IT department. It may contain information such as:

the asset number

a detailed description of the asset

the asset’s physical location

the staff member the asset is currently allocated to

the acquisition date

the date the asset is due for replacement

There may be a separate asset register for hardware and software.

Storage and maintenance of the asset registerThere are different ways of recording this information, and this will certainly depend on the size of the organisation. A small organisation may even keep a manual record of its assets, but even small organisations are better off storing such records in a spreadsheet or database program. How the asset register is stored will depend on IT policy.

IT administration staff maintain the asset register. From time to time a hardware and software audit is conducted across the organisation to verify that the information on the asset register is still current. The asset register is also updated when an asset is re-allocated to another location and staff member. It also tells the IT Manager what equipment and software needs replacing and when.

Some workplaces are very busy, and the assets can be very ‘fluid’ — frequently moved from place to place, making it a challenging exercise to keep track of everything. Also, it’s not always easy to define what the asset actually is. For example, do you record every mouse, keyboard, and monitor, or do you record the entire workstation as an asset? If you do, what would you record in the asset register if just the monitor needs replacing?



Upgrading and replacing assetsWhen workstations and other hardware are upgraded, the asset register is also updated to:

reflect the write-off of the old asset, and

register the introduction of the new asset

Many organisations have an agreement with a vendor to supply and maintain their hardware and/or specialised software.

When new hardware is purchased, it is given a prediction of useful life. The hardware will be used by the organisation until the useful life has been depleted. This could be as long as five years! In the case of workstations, standard software is upgraded when the workstations are replaced.

Specialised software is upgraded when new versions are released, and is maintained as required.


4.5 Service level agreements and warranties

IT equipment, just like other equipment that you buy, is usually covered by a warranty. Broadly, a warranty is a legally binding agreement designed to protect a buyer, which makes a seller responsible for the performance of their product. It’s a guarantee that if the product is faulty it will be replaced or repaired at the expense of the company it was purchased from.

Sellers of hardware and software products often install their products and offer support for installations. Installation and after-sales support are generally covered by both warranties and service level agreements.

What is a service level agreement (SLA)?As the name implies, a service level agreement (SLA) is an agreement between a service provider and a client with regard to the actual level and conditions of the service. It is usually stated in quite a bit of detail. These agreements are widely used.

Support provided after an organisation has performed an installation will be covered by a service level agreement. It will include details of what the vendor must do to support the hardware and/or software installed, such as:

the time the vendor has to respond if hardware or software is faulty

who will cover any additional costs

what parts and labour are included

call out times and help desk support

what the organisation must do to keep hardware in good condition

Reflection What was the last electrical item you purchased?

Did it come with a warranty?

What were the conditions of the warranty?

A warranty for hardware or peripherals will generally contain:

the warranty period

the regular maintenance required to be covered by the warranty

how a replacement or repairs can be arranged



4.6 Maintaining IT equipment

If you work in an IT support role, there are different types of maintenance for you to carry out. When equipment is faulty, fixing or replacing it will be a priority. This is called non-routine maintenance. How you get the equipment up and running again will depend on:

how old the equipment is and if it is covered by a warranty

if it is covered by a vendor’s or supplier’s service-level agreement

your organisation’s policies and procedures, which is likely to include service level agreements for your own clients

Routine maintenanceSome maintenance is referred to as routine. It is maintenance that is scheduled regularly to reduce the chance of something going wrong at a later date. Performing backups, running virus checks, updating virus software and defragmenting disks are all tasks that should be done routinely.

Routine maintenance helps to prevent problems so equipment works more often and workers are more productive. The timing of routine maintenance will depend on factors such as:

whether the equipment is kept in a clean environment (if not the equipment may need maintenance more often)

how frequently the equipment is used and how durable it is

the guidelines in the equipment’s documentation

the guidelines in the organisation’s documentation


Recording maintenance dates The dates for maintenance can be recorded in a maintenance register and printed out daily so you can see what needs maintenance on that day.

In some cases, dates can also be recorded in a log kept next to each device, so if you’re working in a particular area, you can see by looking at its log what equipment needs maintenance. Figure 5 has a screen from a sample maintenance database.

Figure 5: Maintenance database sample

What gets priority?Because routine maintenance isn’t as critical as attending to an angry client who has equipment that needs immediate attention, the schedule you create is usually only an approximate guide. You may need to squeeze the routine maintenance tasks in-between non-routine maintenance.



Summary

Fast and reliable computing is needed for productivity, decision-making, communication and cost savings in the workplace, and your role in IT is vital. You need a broad knowledge of the equipment and software, for workstations and networks, and the requirements of warranties, service level agreements, asset registers and maintenance. You also need to research continually to keep that knowledge current and be aware of new developments in IT equipment, software and operating systems.


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