Deck 5: IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies

Question 1

The technology challenges facing the U.S. Army, as discussed in the chapter case, illustrates the current trend in software of outsourcing application development.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

In green computing, reducing computer power consumption is a top priority.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The decision to outsource software development is also referred to as the rent-versus-buy decision.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

An application server may reside on the same computer as a Web server or on its own dedicated computer.

Question 5

Today most business firms have discontinued operating their legacy systems, replacing these with inexpensive Web services and hosted software.

Question 6

Enterprise integration requires software that can link disparate applications and enable data to flow freely among different parts of the business.

Question 7

The operating system is used to manage the computer's activities.

Question 8

A primary example of centralized processing is client/server computing.

Question 9

Web services can exchange information between two different systems regardless of the operating system or programming languages on which the systems are based.

Question 10

Hypertext markup language specifies how text, graphics, video, and sound are placed on a Web page document.

Question 11

The collection of Web services that are used to build a firm's software systems constitutes what is known as a service-oriented architecture.

Question 12

TCO refers to the original cost of purchased technology: both hardware and software.

Question 13

SANs create large central pools of storage that can be rapidly accessed and shared by multiple servers.

Question 14

In N-tier computing, significant parts of Web site content, logic, and processing are performed by different servers.

Question 15

Application server software is responsible for locating and managing stored Web pages.

Question 16

Autonomic computing is implemented primarily with enterprise or ISP servers.

Question 17

Java software is designed to run on any computing device, regardless of the specific microprocessor or operating system it uses.

Question 18

Whereas XML is limited to describing how data should be presented in the form of Web pages, HTML can perform presentation, communication, and data storage tasks.

Question 19

IT infrastructure consists of just those physical computing devices required to operate the enterprise.

Question 20

Scalability refers to the ability of a computer, product, or system to expand to serve a large number of users without breaking down.

Question 21

Software that manages the resources of the computer is called

A) operating system software.
B) application software.
C) data management software.
D) network software.

Question 22

Specifications that establish the compatibility of products and the ability to communicate in a network are called

A) network standards.
B) telecommunications standards.
C) technology standards.
D) Internet standards.

Question 23

A SAN is a ________ network.

A) server area
B) storage area
C) scalable architecture
D) service-oriented architecture

Question 24

In a multi-tiered network

A) the work of the entire network is centralized.
B) the work of the entire network is balanced over several levels of servers.
C) processing is split between clients and servers.
D) processing is handled by multiple, geographically-remote clients.

Question 25

________ unleash powerful economies of scale and result in declines in manufactured computer products.

A) Internet and Web technologies
B) Technology standards
C) Linux and open-source software
D) Client/server technologies

Question 26

Which of the following is not an IT infrastructure service component?

A) operating system software
B) computing platforms to provide a coherent digital environment
C) physical facility management to manage the facilities housing physical components
D) IT management services to plan and develop the infrastructure and provide project management

Question 27

The network standard for connecting desktop computers into local area networks that enabled the widespread adoption of client/server computing and local area networks and further stimulated the adoption of personal computers is

A) TCP/IP.
B) COBOL.
C) Ethernet.
D) ASCII.

Question 28

All of the following are current hardware platform trends except

A) green computing.
B) virtualization.
C) cloud computing.
D) Unix.

Question 29

Which type of infrastructure services provides voice and video connectivity to employees, customers, and suppliers?

A) networking
B) telephone
C) VOIP
D) telecommunications

Question 30

Today's nanotechnology-produced computer transistors are roughly equivalent in size to

A) the width of a fingernail.
B) a human hair.
C) a virus.
D) an atom.

Question 31

Which of the following factors provides an understanding of why computing resources today are ever more available than in previous decades?

A) network economics
B) law of mass digital storage and Moore's law
C) declining communications costs, universal standards, and the Internet
D) all of the above

Question 32

Which of the following is not an example of the emerging mobile computing platforms?

A) tablets
B) the Kindle
C) cell phones
D) CRM

Question 33

A client computer networked to a server computer, with processing split between the two types of machines, is called a(n)

A) service-oriented architecture.
B) on-demand architecture.
C) multi-tiered client/server architecture.
D) two-tiered client/server architecture.

Question 34

The multitasking, multi-user, operating system developed by Bell Laboratories that operates on a wide variety of computing platforms is

A) Unix.
B) Linux.
C) OS X.
D) COBOL.

Question 35

The introduction of the minicomputer

A) allowed computers to be customized to the specific needs of departments or business units.
B) enabled decentralized computing.
C) offered new, powerful machines at lower prices than mainframes.
D) all of the above.

Question 36

As referred to in the text, legacy systems are

A) traditional mainframe-based business information systems.
B) electronic spreadsheets used on a PC.
C) any pre-1990 Wintel systems.
D) systems found on older ASPs.

Question 37

Legacy systems are still used because they

A) can only be run on the older mainframe computers.
B) are too expensive to redesign.
C) integrate well using new Web services technologies.
D) contain valuable data that would be lost during redesign.

Question 38

Which of the following is a leading networking hardware provider?

A) Dell
B) Cisco
C) Seagate
D) IBM

Question 39

Place the following eras of IT infrastructure evolution in order, from earliest to most recent: 1. Cloud Computing Era; 2. Client/Server; 3. Enterprise Era; 4. Personal Computer; and 5. Mainframe and Minicomputer.

A) 4, 5, 3, 2, 1
B) 5, 4, 2, 3, 1
C) 4, 5, 2, 3, 1
D) 5, 4, 2, 1, 3

Question 40

Interpretations of Moore's law assert that

A) computing power doubles every 18 months.
B) transistors decrease in size 50% every two years.
C) data storage costs decrease by 50% every 18 months.
D) none of the above.

Question 41

Which of the following statements about Linux is not true?

A) It plays a major role in the back office running local area networks.
B) It is available in free versions downloadable from the Internet.
C) It has garnered 80 percent of the server operating system market.
D) Linux applications are embedded in cell phones, smartphones, netbooks, and other handheld devices.

Question 42

Prewritten, commercially available sets of software programs that eliminate the need for a firm to write its own software programs for certain functions, are referred to as

A) software packages.
B) mashups.
C) outsourced software.
D) open-source software.

Question 43

Connecting geographically remote computers in a single network to create a "virtual supercomputer" is called

A) co-location.
B) edge computing.
C) grid computing.
D) utility computing.

Question 44

An example of autonomic computing is

A) spyware protection software that runs and updates itself automatically.
B) software programmed to run on any hardware platform.
C) cell phones taking on the functions of handheld computers.
D) programming languages that allow non-programmers to create custom applications.

Question 45

Which of the following does grid computing utilize to create enormous supercomputing power?

A) massive unused data centers
B) underutilized mainframe computers
C) networked computers with idle resources
D) networks with low usage

Question 46

Which type of computing refers to firms purchasing computing power from remote providers and paying only for the computing power they use?

A) on-demand
B) grid
C) edge
D) autonomic

Question 47

The process of presenting a set of computing resources (such as computing power or data storage) so that they can all be accessed in ways that are not restricted by physical configuration or geographic location is called

A) cloud computing.
B) autonomic computing.
C) virtualization.
D) multicore processing.

Question 48

A set of self-contained services that communicate with each other to create a working software application is called

A) Web services.
B) EAI software.
C) SOA.
D) SOAP.

Question 49

An industry-wide effort to develop systems that can configure, optimize, tune, and heal themselves when broken, and protect themselves from outside intruders and self-destruction is called

A) grid computing.
B) utility computing.
C) virtualization.
D) autonomic computing.

Question 50

What is the foundation technology for Web services?

A) XML
B) HTML
C) SOAP
D) UDDI

Question 51

Running a Java program on a computer requires

A) a Java Virtual Machine to be installed on the computer.
B) a Java Virtual Machine to be installed on the server hosting the Java applet.
C) a miniature program to be downloaded to the user's computer.
D) no specialized software, as Java is platform-independent.

Question 52

The marketplace for computer hardware

A) has become increasingly concentrated in top firms.
B) has expanded to include a wide variety of start-up and mobile-computing firms.
C) has moved significantly to Asian firms.
D) has been decimated by mobile and cloud computing.

Question 53

The business case for using grid computing involves all of the following except

A) cost savings.
B) increased accuracy.
C) speed of computation.
D) agility.

Question 54

Which type of software is created and updated by a worldwide community of programmers and available for free?

A) software packages
B) mashups
C) outsourced
D) open source

Question 55

A software tool with a graphical user interface for displaying Web pages and for accessing the Web and other Internet resources is called a Web

A) service.
B) client.
C) browser.
D) app.

Question 56

The development of TCP/IP occurred during the ________ era.

A) cloud and mobile computing
B) general-purpose mainframe and minicomputer
C) enterprise computing
D) personal computer

Question 57

________ are created by combining and customizing components from different online software applications.

A) Apps
B) Mashups
C) SaaS
D) Web services

Question 58

Sets of loosely coupled software components that exchange information with each other using standard Web communication standards and languages are referred to as

A) Web services.
B) EAI software.
C) SOA.
D) SOAP.

Question 59

Linux is

A) primarily concerned with the tasks of end users.
B) designed for specific machines and specific microprocessors.
C) an example of open-source software.
D) especially useful for processing numeric data.

Question 60

Which of the following is not one of the current software platform trends?

A) grid computing
B) open-source software
C) HTML5
D) software outsourcing

Question 61

A(n)________ server is used to communicate between a Web server and an organization's back-end systems.

Question 62

________ states that the value or power of a network grows exponentially as a function of the number of network members.

Question 63

Hardware and software acquisition costs account for about ________ percent of TCO.

A) 20
B) 40
C) 60
D) 80

Question 64

Which of the following is the most popular mobile operating system?

A) Linux
B) Android
C) Chrome OS
D) iOS

Question 65

________ provides a standard format for data exchange, enabling Web services to pass data from one process to another.

Question 66

A(n) ________ is an integrated circuit to which two or more processors have been attached for enhanced performance and reduced power consumption.

Question 67

________ surfaces allow users to gesture on a screen with several fingers to execute commands.

Question 68

How would you determine the market demand for your firm's IT services?

A) Perform a TCO analysis.
B) Benchmark your services.
C) Hold focus groups to assess your services.
D) Analyze sales returns on key investments.

Question 69

A formal contract between customers and their service providers that outlines the specific responsibilities of the service provider and to the customer is called a(n)

A) SOA.
B) SLA.
C) TCO.
D) RFQ.

Question 70

Which of the following is not one of the main six factors to consider when evaluating how much your firm should spend on IT infrastructure?

A) your firm's business strategy
B) the IT investments made by competitor firms
C) market demand for your firm's services
D) your firm's organizational culture

Question 71

________ uses individual atoms and molecules to create computer chips and other devices thinner than a human hair.

Question 72

Which model can be used to analyze the direct and indirect costs to help firms determine the actual cost of specific technology implementations?

A) total cost of ownership
B) return on investment
C) breakeven point
D) cost-benefit analysis

Question 73

________ are computers consisting of a circuit board with processors, memory, and network connections that are stored in racks.

Question 74

________ allows a single computing resource, such as a server, to appear to the user as multiple logical resources.

Question 75

The ________ PC, becoming the standard PC in the Personal Computer Era, uses the Windows operating system software on a computer with an Intel microprocessor.

Question 76

The practice of contracting custom software development to an outside firm is commonly referred to as

A) outsourcing.
B) scaling.
C) service-oriented architecture.
D) application integration.

Question 77

________ takes place when a firm contracts custom software development or maintenance of existing legacy programs to outside firms.

Question 78

SaaS refers to

A) supplying online access over networks to storage devices and storage area network technology.
B) managing combinations of applications, networks, systems, storage, and security as well as providing Web site and systems performance monitoring to subscribers over the Internet.
C) hosting and managing access to software applications delivered over the Internet to clients on a subscription basis.
D) none of the above.

Question 79

Which of the following refers to the ability of a computer, product, or system to expand to serve a larger number of users without breaking down?

A) modality
B) scalability
C) expandability
D) disintermediation

Question 80

Which of the following is not one of the NIST defined characteristics of cloud computing?

A) ubiquitous network access
B) location-independent resource pooling
C) rapid elasticity
D) non-measured service