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16/11/2021
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14/08/2017
Operation Sheet 2 Configuring Active Directory Windows Server 2003
Equipment, Tools and Materials needed for the project operation
• Server Operating System CD
• One PC that Server OS Installed on it
PROCEDURE:
Instructions
Follow the step properly.
Step 1:
Method 1:
When the computer comes up and displays the desktop, the first window you see, titled Manage Your Server, allows you define the "role" of the computer. A convenient link is available in the middle of the windows that says Add or remove a role.
Method 2:
Steps: Click start click run type dcpromo and press enter
Method 3:
Steps: Click Start All programs Administrative tools click Manage your serverclick Add Or Remove A Role
Step 2:
The first page of the wizard presents a summary of the actions you must have taken before continuing: Read it and click next
Step 3: A dialog box will display briefly and then display a list of the roles you can assign to the server.
In the list, click Domain Controller (Active Directory)
Step 4:
Click Next
Step 5:
Click Next to Run The Active Directory Installation Wizard
Step 6:
Another wizard, titled Active Directory Installation Wizard comes up. Read its text and click next
Step 7:
In the second page of the wizard, read the text again, and click Next
Step 8:
In the third page of the wizard, you must specify whether this is the first or an additional domain controller. As this is the first, accept the first radio button and click Next
Step 9:
In the fourth page of the wizard, accept the first radio button and click next
Step 10:
In the fifth page, you must enter the name of the domain. The name should be followed by an Internet domain name (.com, .net, .org, .us, etc). If you have a domain in mind, type it. If you don't have a domain in mind, for our lessons, type netconsulting.com
Step 11:
Click Next
Step 12:
In the next page of the wizard, a suggested NetBIOS name displays, intended for earlier versions of Windows":
Accept it and click Next
Step 13:
The next page allows you to specify where the Active Directory information would be stored:
Accept the default and click Next
Step 14:
The next page specifies where the domain's public files would be stored:
Accept the default and click Next
Step 15:
After a few seconds, the next page allows you to install DNS.
Read the options:
Accept the suggested second radio button and click Next
Step 16:
The next page allows you to set the default permissions:
Accept the suggested second radio button and click Next
Step 17:
The next page prompts you to create a password used to start the server in "Restore Mode". Enter a password in both text boxes:
Step 18:
Click Next
Step 19:
The next page displays a summary of your selections:
Read the text and click Next
Step 20:
The wizard will start creating and configuring Active Directory:
After a while, if you don't have the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 CD in the drive, you may be prompted to supply it:
Do so
After a few seconds, you may receive a message box informing you that your computer has a static IP address. Click OK
When the dialog box comes up, simply click OK
Another message box will come up. Click it and click OK. The wizard will continue copying files.
After a few seconds, the last page of the wizard will display. Read its summary and click Finish
Step 21:
You will be asked to restart the computer:
If you have a CD in the CD drive, remove it and click Restart New
Step 22:
When the computer comes up, click the Options button and make sure that the name of the domain is selected in the Log On To text box.
Make sure that Administrator is specified in the User Name text box.
Enter your administrator's password
Step 23:
Click OK
After the computer displays the desktop, a dialog box titled Configure Your Server will let you know whether the installation of Active Directory was successful:
Step 24:
Click Finish
PRECAUTIONS:
For your protection, observe the following safety precautions when installing an Active Directory
1. Protect the restore mode administrator password from unauthorized person
2. Don’t forget the restore mode administrator password
QUALITY CRITERIA:
1. Check the Domain Name is correctly created
2. Check the NetBIOS name is correctly created
14/08/2017
Operation Sheet 1 Installing the Windows Server 2003 operating system
Equipment, Tools and Materials needed for the project operation
• One computer meet the server requirement
• Window Server 2003 CD
• Device driver of the computer
PROCEDURE:
Instructions
Follow the step properly.
Step 1:
To begin the installation procedure, boot directly from the Windows Server 2003 CD. Your CD-ROM must support bootable CDs. (When you configure partitions and format drives, all data on the server hard drive/Disk will be destroyed).
Step 2:
Make sure that you configured your Server BIOS to make the first Boot Drive is the CD/DVD ROM Drive, to be able to boot from the CD/DVD Drive.
Step 3:
During the boot, if you were prompted to “Press Any Key to boot from CD” then press any key, you can press the Enter Key or the Space Bar Key for simplicity, then the Windows Installation Process begins.
Step 4:
On the Welcome to Setup screen, press Enter
Step 5:
Review the License agreement in the next screen and if you agree on all the terms and conditions of this agreement, press F8
Step 6:
The next screen shows the existing disks and partitioned space on your server. Here I used a server with Mirrored 2 x 146 GB Disks, so the available unpartitioned space is 130 GB where I will create two partitions only, first partition which will have 20 GB space as C Partition and second partition which will have the remaining space as E Drive. To create the first partition from the above screen, Press C.
Step 7:
In the Size Partition specify the size of the new partition, here in our example I will create a partition of 20 GB or 20000 MB and will be used as C Drive, as appears on the next screen. Click Enter to create the new partition.
Step 8:
You will be returned to the previous screen to see the new created partition, and how much is remaining for un-partitioned space available for the new partitions.
Step 9:
Select the un-partitioned space available to create a new partition (E Drive) with the remaining space available.
Step 10:
Your Disks partitions will appear like this:
Step 11:
Choose C Drive to install Windows Server 2003 on, click Enter.
Step 12:
The next screen will give you options on how you want to format Operating System Partition (C Drive). Choose first option which will format C Drive as NTFS. Click on Enter when you finish the selection.
Step 13:
The Setup will start formatting the Partition based on your selection, which is Quick NTFS Format.
Step 14:
After formatting C Drive, Windows Setup will start copying the setup files to the Windows Installation Folder created locally on the formatted partition (C Drive).
Step 15:
Now, after Setup Process copies the Windows Installation Files locally to the Windows Installation Folder, the server will restart to start the Windows Installation and Configuration Process. Please note that the Server will be restarted Two Times to finish the installation process, this is the first restart, and the second restart will occur after finalizing the configuration of Windows.
Step 16:
During restart of your server you will get the following Windows Server 2003 Startup Screen.
Step 17:
When the server finishes loading the Windows Setup Files, it will start the Windows Installation and Configuration Wizard.
Step 18:
The First Screen after the Windows Installation Wizard is the Regional and Language Settings.
Step 19:
Since we are using an English Version of Windows, then the default language will be English, if you want to install additional support language during setup (like Arabic Language Support) click on “Customized”, then from the tabs choose “Language” tab. Under “supplemental language support” tab click on “Install Files for complex script and right-to-left Languages (Including Thai)”.
Step 20:
When you choose to install additional language, you will be prompted for a space confirmation message, click Ok on you have available space for this additional files (only 10 MB or more is required).
Step 21:
After you finish installing the additional language, click on Next from the Regional and Language settings screen.
Step 22:
The next screen will be the Personalize Screen, where you provide information about the Organization that this Windows Server will operate under its network. In this article, this server will operate under my personal organization which is “Al-Ankar Organization”. Click on Next when you finish feeding up the required information.
Step 23:
In the next screen you need to provide the Windows Server 2003 Product Key, this key can be found in the back of the Windows CD Cover or provided by separate Licensing Certificate by the Media and Licensing Provider. Click on Next when you finish from typing in the Product Key.
Step 24:
The Next Screen, In the Licensing Modes dialog box, selects the appropriate licensing mode for your organization, and then click Next. If you are not sure, just keep the default and click on Next.
Step 25:
In the Computer Name and Administrator Password dialog box, type the new computer name in the computer name box, and choose a password for the “Administrator” Local Account, and then click Next.
Step 26:
In the Date and Time Settings dialog box, correct the current date and time if necessary based on your country or region date and time, and then click Next.
Step 27:
Now, Windows will start configuring the server based on the information you provided in the previous screens.
Now, the Windows Setup will start the networking components installation and configuration on the server. The first networking configuration screen will be the TCP/IP Configuration of the Server Network Card. If you know the IP Address that this server will host, then click on custom settings and type in the IP Configuration (IP Address, Subnet Mask, Gateway, Primary DNS, Secondary DNS, etc). if you don’t have such information, then keep the default selection which “Typical Settings” and click on Next.
Step 28:
The Next Networking Configuration Screen will be “Workgroup or Computer Domain”. Now, if this server is the first Server under your network then you don’t have a domain to join this server to, so keep the default selection which is “Workgroup” and keep the name of this workgroup as the default suggested name which is “Workgroup” and click on next. If you already configured your TCP/IP Settings or you have already Domain under your Network and you have a DHCP Server that leases IP’s to your computers, and you want to join this new server under your existing domain, then you can specify your domain by clicking on “Yes, make this computer a member of the following Domain:” and then specify the domain that you want to join this new server to.
Step 29:
Now, Windows will configuration the Networking components based on your selection on the Networking Configuration screens shown above.
Step 30:
The Windows Setup will start completing configuration and installation of Windows on the Server, and when it will finish, it will restart automatically and takes you to the new installed Windows Server 2003 Logon Screen to start working and browsing the new Server features.
Step 31:
Finally, this the Logon Screen that you will get when you restart the server after it finishes the installation of your Windows Server 2003 Server.
Step 32:
Then you can click on “Ctrl-Alt-Del” on your keyboard, and provide the logon credential specified during the setup, which are:
User:Administrator
Password: Pass@word1
Step 33:
Now, you need to connect this server to the internet and update it with the latest Security Patches and Service Packs.
PRECAUTIONS:
For your protection, observe the following safety precautions when configuring a server based network
1. Protect the Administrator password from Unauthorized person
2. Don’t forget the administrator password
QUALITY CRITERIA:
1. Check whether or not the Server Operating System is installed correctly
2. Check whether or not the Hard disk is correctly partitioned if necessary
23/01/2017
This flash drive might be larger than your entire hard drive.
01/10/2015
Level IV
Competence Title: Migrate to New Technology
LO1. Apply existing knowledge and techniques to technology and transfer
1. The need to Identify New technology
When a new technology emerges, IT professionals wait earnestly to see how the technology could be used to enhance the current business functions. There should be a good business case supporting any decision to integrate new technology into a business. When a technology is used to support a task that is not well suited for the functions and skill levels of the employees, it is likely to be a waste of time and fail.
In the majority of cases, the lack of skills related to using and supporting new technology hinders the migration into the new technology, causing missed opportunities. Therefore, it is important for you as an IT professional to upgrade your skills in response to any new technologies that are emerging in the industry. Most new technologies require IT professionals and other employees to upgrade or acquire new skills. This is critical to your survival as an IT professional in today’s competitive environment.
It takes experience and persistence to find the right technologies to meet the business requirements of an organisation. Your existing knowledge in the area of investigation will help you to find the right solution to meet the business needs of the organisation.
Lessons learnt from other similar implementations, experiences of other IT professionals, and best practice amongst other similar national/international organisations will give you invaluable knowledge and skills when identifying new technologies for the benefit of the organisation.
We cannot predict the future with certainty. However, it is necessary to look back, observe and learn from history when implementing new technologies.
Consider the development of personal computers in the past twenty years. A trend can be identified in the physical features (size, look, colour), speed, cost, power, storage capacity, communication capability, etc, as the computers evolved over the years. Our past experience suggests that in the next few years we can expect to see more powerful, faster, smaller, high storage capacity and communication-ready computers.
In the last few years, attention has also shifted into mobile technologies, multimedia communication (using voice, video and audio) systems and wireless access methods.
2. Sources for Identifying New Technology
As an IT professional, you need be aware of the trends of new technology emerging in the industry. The following are some sources amongst many others that will keep you up-to-date with these changes.
Trade magazines
Trade and business magazines such as Technology and Business constantly introduce IT professionals to new technologies.
The Internet
The Internet, giving access to World Wide Web, forums, newsgroups and mailing lists, is also a valuable source of information about new technologies.
Networking
Socialising with other IT professionals and joining professional associations is also a good source of identifying new technologies available. Suppliers and consultants will also keep you updated with trends and information about new technology.
Formal training
Attending formal training courses will certainly expose you to new technologies available by giving you an opportunity to identify new technologies — not only through the content of the course but also by getting an opportunity to network with other IT professionals.
3. Identifying the impact of New Technology
New technologies are emerging in the market every day. It is important that IT professionals are aware of how to identify new technologies that are appropriate for their organization. If you decide to adopt these technologies in your organization you will need to acquire new skills in response to the new technology before successfully implementing it. IT professionals need to follow a systematic procedure to identify the implications of the new technology for all the stakeholders.
Implementing new technology means change. It is expected that the new technology will make life much easier for users by providing better mechanisms for performing and managing regular organizational tasks. However, if we are to be successful in migrating to new technology then we must anticipate how the new technology will impact all stakeholders. You should also be mindful of the magnitude of the impact the technology will have on the enterprise. Finally you must bear in mind that user (stakeholder) acceptance is the key to successful implementation.
4. Assessing the impact of new technology on the business
4.1 Gather Information about the Technology
• Talk to vendors and other IT professionals to learn as much as possible about the new technology and other related technologies.
• Use IT magazines and other journals to learn about the technology including legal and political impacts.
• See how this technology compares with the existing technology to get an idea of the magnitude of the impact on the organizational functions.
4.2 Gather Information about the Business Strategies
Your choice of new technology should comply with the company’s overall business strategy. The strategies of the business may promote or hinder the application of new technology.
4.3 Identify the stakeholders
Stakeholders are the people who have a share or an interest in the business and will be affected by the new technology. The acceptance of the new technology into the organization will be increased when you take the needs of all stakeholders into account before choosing the new technology.
4.4 Assess the impact on stakeholders
Assess not only the financial, educational and economic impact of new technology but also the social, legal and political impact that new technology will have on the stakeholders.
5. Skills for acquiring and implementing new technology
IT professionals must refresh their skills and use their existing knowledge when acquiring and implementing new technologies. The following are the types of skills essential in acquiring and implementing new technologies.
5.1 Technical skills
Once a new technology is identified, it is fundamental that you gain the technical skills necessary before migrating to it. These technical skills may relate to hardware, software, network, PC support or programming knowledge.
Building technical skills is an ongoing and never-ending process for an IT professional. While you rely on your existing technical knowledge to identify new technologies, you would need to acquire new skills before you can successfully implement a new technology into the organization.
5.2 Interpersonal and Psychological Skills
When implementing new technology, an IT professional must further develop interpersonal and psychological skills, so they can deliver the new technology in a user-friendly manner.
Interpersonal skills will be useful when you need to convey new information to the people that would be affected by the technology. Psychological skills will give you the ability to create harmony in difficult situations and promote better acceptance of new technology.
As an IT professional implementing new technologies, you need to be skilled in customer relations, oral and written communications, dependability, teamwork and leadership.
5.3 Managerial skills
It is important that the IT professional be conversant in managerial and design skills so that new technology is chosen and implemented in line with business objectives.
Summary
As an IT professional, it is vital that you have an awareness of the latest trends and development in the field of information technology. This reading explored how to identify new technology and suggested various sources that can be used for identifying new trends and developments. We then discussed how to assess the impact of new technology on stakeholders and the importance of ensuring their acceptance of it. Lastly, we highlighted the need for IT professionals to use their existing knowledge to develop and acquire new skills in response to new technology, and the types of skills essential for successful implementation in line with the business needs of the organisation.
LO2. Apply functions of technology to assist in solving organizational problems
Appropriate Business use of New Technology
We have grown to accept technological change. Unless businesses exploit the advantages of the new technology, they will find that they can’t compete with businesses that do. Consider the changes to our lives that have been brought about by such things as telephone banking, the Internet, e-business, email and so on, and the competitive advantages such changes have given the organisations that implement them. Organisations need to be constantly aware of current or emerging technology trends and directions in information technology (IT). IT will continue to evolve and produce more and more new technology. Many IT managers are very keen to embrace new technology, anticipating better IT services for the organisation. However, unless new technology is used appropriately, it may not bring the desired outcome for the organisation.
Let’s look at the case where you bought five high-speed backup servers in order to provide redundancy and distribute the load on servers. If all your five servers are currently working at 15% capacity, the equipment that you have purchased is not appropriate for your business. The idle resources are a waste of money. Rushing to purchase new technology without prior assessment of its appropriateness or relevance to organisational goals wastes your organisation’s valuable resources and money. Your objective is to not only apply new technology to solve the organisation’s problems, but to employ it in the most cost efficient and appropriate manner.
Aligning business and IT strategies
In today’s competitive business environment, an IT manager should understand the link between business objective, business strategy and IT strategy. If your company is to get the maximum benefit from the new technology, then the new technology must be properly associated with the company’s business strategy. Unless you support your IT services strategically with the business, you will not have a case for management to invest money in any new technologies.
All IT managers should understand that IT exists to support the business objectives of the organisation and not the other way around. IT must support the business goals in every service it provides. The IT department must develop a vision and strategy to ensure that this is the prime focus of its existence. Management must take all measures to ensure that information technology is part of business strategy planning with a view to aligning IT with the business strategies of the organisation.
To ensure that IT is totally aligned with business objectives, IT managers need to:
• Provide business-focussed leadership rather than technology-focussed leadership. The IT leadership must be connected to business management.
• Think about the impact of tasks on business as a whole rather than provide solutions for individual tasks.
• Concentrate more on end-user experience with new technologies rather than the technology itself.
• Focus on the business goals and let the technology follow.
• Play a strategic role in the future of the organisation.
The relationship between business objective, business strategy and IT strategy
Business objective
A business objective is what the business wants to happen in broad terms. It is best if there is some way of measuring it. Some examples are:
• Reduce operating costs by 2.5% per year.
• Improve customer satisfaction levels by 10%.
• Process orders within 3 working days
Business strategy
A business strategy is how the business objective will be met. Some examples are:
• Automate a labour-intensive function.
• Implement an accounting package with BAS capabilities.
• Provide printed quotes over the counter.
• Implement an order tracking system.
Information technology strategy
IT strategy is about how IT will be used to support the business strategy. More than one strategy may be identified. Some examples are:
• Switch to barcode-scanner checkouts
• Modify existing accounting package and retrain users. Or, purchase a BAS-ready accounting package.
• Build quotation report software. Provide networked PCs and printers to front counter staff and train them.
• Purchase an order tracking module of the existing inventory software and train staff. Or, purchase a stand-alone order tracking package and train staff. Or, build custom order tracking software and train staff.
Types of business technologies
1. Production technologies
Production technologies include:
• Technologies that boosts, aid or enhance production/manufacture of goods. Tools, machines and utensils used for production would fall in to this category. The primary purpose of investing in these types of technologies in business is to reduce costs, increase flexibility and/or improve the quality of the product, such as machines that assemble car components with greater precision.
• Technologies for the ‘production’ of technical services such as a wide area network (WAN) and computer software development.
2. Automation
Automation technologies include:
• technologies that automate services such as payroll
• technologies that automate the tasks that are labour intensive or dangerous, eg human-like machines (robots) to perform very specific production tasks and point of sale terminals at a warehouse.
3. Technologies that improve services
Technologies that improve the quality of services will lead to increased profit by drawing clients back for more service, eg more accurate diagnostics in the medical field made possible by new technologies and automated patient monitoring in hospitals.
4. Technologies in design
Design technologies include:
• technologies that are used to design or develop a new product or service such as Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) and Computer Aided Systems Design (CASD)
• technologies that promote innovation by introducing new, more efficient, cost effective and improved quality services or products to the consumer.
New technology and your business
New technology is used to enhance service, promote innovation, and improve communication and quality while reducing the costs, and increase productivity and profits. The appropriate business use of new technology should result in benefits such as:
• reduced costs
• improved quality of existing services
• existing resources being utilised to optimum capacity resulting in better products and better ways of conducting business
• increased flexibility
A new technology that does not lead to real benefits to the organisation cannot be justified.
Understanding your business
To be utilised effectively, technology must fit with the users’ goals. It is no good developing a database that manages stock when the requirement is for a system that manages contacts of potential customers. To ensure that you get off on the right track it is important to have an understanding of the organisation’s business domain.
What is your client’s core business? What does the organisation set out to do and what are the main activities it undertakes to achieve this?
Sometimes it is obvious what the organisation’s core business is, but it is not always straightforward. How can you find out what an organisation’s core business is?
Documents produced by the organisation such as mission statements, strategic plans and organisational charts are usually a good source of information for determining the organisation’s core business. A mission statement states the main purpose of the organisation and usually incorporates its financial, social and/or environmental goals. A strategic plan defines how the organisation plans to achieve its goals, and includes the activities it will undertake to achieve them.
Organisation charts can provide a graphical representation of the business in terms of how it is organised to fulfil its core business.
Locating information
Where can you find information such as mission statements and organisation charts?
Many organisations publish these documents and can provide them when requested to do so. A source is the company’s annual report which may be available on the company’s website.
Understanding an organisation’s core business is critical to understanding how technology can help it. This includes organisational features and functions as well as its structure. Certain organisational functions such as purchasing, selling, marketing, production and warehousing are common to many organisations. The control of these functions depends on the size and type of the organisation. On the other hand, the organisation structure gives a clear picture of how the organisation is managed and provides a picture of the communication hierarchy. This information will be very useful when planning for and implementing new technology.
An understanding of an organisation’s structure and functions, as well as how they interact, is essential for the organisation to be efficiently supported by available technology.
Business planning and IT solutions
To understand how the business planning process relates to the development of IT business solutions, we must first define the organisational needs and establish the business requirements.
Defining organisational needs
One definition of organisational need is a lack or problem that requires actions so that organisational goals or objectives can be achieved. Organisational needs are usually identified by the staff and/or the managers directly affected by them. Often users express their needs in terms of the hardware, software or services that they think are needed.
As a support person or an IT manager, you must determine the organisational needs, and then use your expertise to match solutions to those needs. Often those needs could be met with new technology, but you need to know how to determine which type or feature of new technology will best suit the need.
The product selection process
The product selection process establishes a set of criteria that must be matched by new acquisitions. The product selection criteria are drawn from business requirements of an organisation. An organisation’s business requirements will state high-level outcomes of any new technology. Often, new business requirements arise when organisations experience problems. This could range from the slow printing of invoices to poor response times of an online accounting system distributed across nation-wide branch offices. Problems are expressed in different ways by organisations, and, as we mentioned previously, they can be found in documents such as:
• corporate mission or vision statements
• long-term goals stated in strategic plans
• product specifications from project plans and designs
From these high level outcomes stated in the business requirements, a set of criteria can be established for selecting any new technology that the organisation will acquire. For example, the high level outcomes of the business requirements could implicate all or any of the following criteria for selecting the new technology.
Compatibility
New technology will need to work with existing hardware, system and application software with minimum changes to both.
Interoperability
The new technology must be able to interoperate with the existing network.
Maintainability
The current IT staff should be able to maintain the system even after the introduction of the new technology.
Centralization/accessibility
The new technology must be accessible by multiple users at various sites.
Security
The new technology must be accessed by authorised users only.
Ease of use
Existing users must be able to operate new technology with minimum re-training.
Scalability
The system introduced using the new technology should be able to cope with growth of the business, expansion of networks, and a growing number of employees, etc.
Matching solutions with strategic directions
IT staff are expected to have expertise in a range of IT products. Each support section has standard products that it supports, but because of the diverse range of offerings from vendors, there are usually more products than is possible to fully understand and support. IT staff usually have the skills to locate and interpret information about new technologies. However, standard products cover most expected needs. This means that it should be relatively easy to match existing technology to organisational needs.
Most large organisations have procedures in place to conduct feasibility studies. By following these procedures, the technical, economic, legal, operational and schedule feasibilities of applying new technology to an organisational need can be assessed.
Strategic direction is something that is set by upper management. It refers to the strategy the business will undertake to steer it through its planned future course. In order to formulate a strategic direction, upper management needs to take into consideration the current circumstances of the organisation. It is very important that you get the right technology to match the company’s strategic and technological directions.
To get maximum benefit from the new technology enhancements, you must also carefully analyse the market needs as well.
Identifying appropriate new technologies
Suppose you came across a new technology that most IT managers are excited about. How would you evaluate whether you need to implement this technology in your organisation? Remember that technology should be identified based on an organisational need and comply with the technical, commercial and economic criteria of the organisation. Here are some approaches you can use when selecting a new technology for the benefit of the organisation.
• Get together with a team of IT professionals in your organisation and put your heads together to identify a suitable new technology that will help achieve your business goals.
• Horizon scanning — talk to your circle of friends or other IT professionals. Browse through published reports. Read IT magazines and the World Wide Web to identify new technologies that are proven to be a success.
• Collective scanning — attend meetings of IT professionals such as the Systems Administrator’s Guild to discuss their findings.
Evaluating and selecting new technology
Usually there is a gap between what new technology promises and what it actually delivers. This gap will be narrowed if you align the new technology with current business needs and IT strategy of the organisation. Reducing this gap will result in maximising benefits of the new technology.
How do you evaluate whether the new technology is successfully aligned with the business requirements?
There are several tangible (eg cost savings) and intangible (eg user satisfaction) benefits of implementing new technologies. These benefits will give you an indication of how well the new technology is aligned with the business objectives. Therefore, before new technologies are introduced, an organisation’s management must agree on the performance indicators that will help them calculate and measure benefits after implementation.
Assessing the appropriateness of a technology
This involves assessing the technical as well as economic features of the new technology in the organisational context. It is important to obtain reliable information about the new technology from various sources, such as the Internet, consultants, colleagues and other IT professionals, IT supplements of newspapers, magazines and trade papers, demonstration versions of software and vendor catalogues containing drawings, designs and product specifications. You can also ask for more information from vendors, visit show rooms and attend product demonstrations, exhibitions and conferences.
You can use assessment tools such as an evaluation matrix to compare two or more competing products. An example is given in Table 1 below.
Table 1: An evaluation matrix
Business need and/or performance criteria Product X Product Y
Economic factors
Capital required, fixed costs, variable costs, impact on profits, etc.
Product/service efficiency
Does the new technology provide the service or production more efficiently than the existing system?
Interoperability, backward compatibility
Is the new technology able to interoperate with the existing network/system?
Maintainability by existing personnel/training needs/ease of use
Effect on quality of service or product quality
Effect on flexibility of service or flexibility of production
Effect on labour/client relations
How does the new technology affect workers and worker-management relationships? Does it improve the client relationship with the organisation?
Time required for implementation
Scalability
Can the new technology cope with growth of the organisation?
Use a rating scale such as: 1 = poor, 2 = below average, 3 = average, 4 = good, 5 = excellent, to compare alternative technologies.
Productivity and efficiency issues
Identifying and examining processes
Most organisational problems involve poor productivity and inefficiency. To improve efficiency, you would need to look at processes linked to the problems and examine the volume, rate and quality of the output of such processes.
Once the processes have been identified, you’ll need to identify measurable outcomes for the processes. That way you can evaluate the output before and after introducing the new technology.
Testing proposed solutions
When processes that are linked to an organisational problem have been identified, you will need to construct tests to measure outcomes. The simplest form of testing is to note the presence or absence of an outcome. However, tests for enhanced productivity and efficiency require examining pre- and post-implementation effects of new technology. Statistics collected before the application of new technology can be compared with those collected after.
Problems arising from customer dissatisfaction can be hard to measure directly, unless you conduct a survey. However, there could be a cause to reduced levels of customer satisfaction, such as late delivery of goods or slow processing of claims. In the case of goods delivery, you could measure the time taken to receive an order and dispatch it, before and after implementation of the new technology.
Some IT technologies, when implemented, become an integral part of the business. Then the profit brought in by the new technology will justify the implementation.
Summary
We began with a discussion of the importance of aligning technology with business objectives, as any new technology implementations must be in line with the business strategic plan and IT strategic plan of the organisation. Then we moved on to business planning and IT solutions, covering ways of understanding your business, defining organisational needs, evaluating and selecting new technology and matching solutions with strategic directions. Finally, productivity and efficiency issues were discussed and demonstrated with a case study.
LO3. Evaluate new or upgraded technology performance
Develop a simple installation plan
Learning outcomes
After completing this topic you will be able to:
• Develop plans with prioritised tasks and contingency arrangements, for the installation of selected components with minimum disruption to clients
• Develop plans, with prioritised tasks and contingency arrangements, for the repair or replacement of faulty equipment or software, with minimum disruption to client
• Liaise with appropriate person to obtain approval for the plans.
Planning is the key
Planning is fundamental to the successful operation of any business. Planning is deciding in advance what is going to be done. This function entails evaluating your resources and environment and establishing goals. Once the goals are established, managers develop tactics to achieve these goals and monitor the results.
Planning is the key to a successful installation. By doing this you’ll avoid making mistakes that may require you to reinstall the component and so minimise the impact on clients in a network. This procedure may take some time, but you’ll definitely benefit by doing so.
In this reading we will be looking at developing an installation plan for the installation of hardware components or software applications. These plans need to:
Name the project
Break down the project into steps
Identify and allocate resources to the project
Give timelines for the project
State who will take the appropriate action
Develop contingency plans
List desired outcomes
Your plan needs to include steps for:
1. installing
2. configuring
3. testing
4. backup procedures and disaster recovery plans.
At all times it is important to try and minimise the disruption to the client. For the installation, arrange a convenient time for the client and notify the client how long the job will take and what you are going to do.
Your workspace
One resource your installation plan needs to address is a suitable working environment and adequate tools for the task. You will generally need the all of the following if you are installing any hardware:
a clean, tidy and well-lit working space or bench
sufficient power points
a toolkit comprising screwdrivers (flat and Philips) and some long nose pliers
an anti-static wrist strap to avoid static discharges on your components
a small torch to look inside dark corners
a small jar or plastic container to store screws and small parts
sticky notes to label components.
Hand tools for component installation
Sources of information
The next resource that your installation plan needs to address is the necessary information regarding the procedure for installation — this needs to be gathered prior to the installation.
Read the manual. The first place to look for information on installing a component or software is the user’s manual which will normally come with the component.
You may be supplied with the manual in paper format, but increasingly manufacturers are supplying manuals in digital format on the installation CD. Take the time to print out any user manual or installation guide.
Your user manual may contain information on:
minimum system requirements, hardware and software
safety precautions
all the accessories provided with the component such as screws and cables
hardware installation
driver installation for various operating systems
Your installation CD may contain the following information and/or software:
o installation guide
o user manual
o drivers for different operating systems
o additional software.
Examples include:
Adobe Acrobat Reader — many manuals are published in PDF format
video or audio players such as DirectX
software specific to the component being installed, for example, answering machine software for an internal modem, to allow the computer to be used as an answering machine.
Installation tips
Here are a few useful tips to follow when carrying out an installation.
• The safety first approach should be adopted when you are dealing with a client’s computers. You must ensure that you do not pose a risk to the data on the computers you are servicing. Remember, you do not own the data on the computers, the client does.
• Duplicate the set up you plan to implement on a test computer first to ensure all the modifications will behave as you anticipate.
• If you do not have a suitable spare computer, use one of the client’s computers when it is not in use. This may require work outside usual office hours.
• Always backup the client’s computers prior to starting any modifications.
• Another option is to image the client’s hard drive to a spare drive of your own, using a program such as GHOST. Then use the spare drive to test all modifications. If you use this option, remember that the data contained on your client’s hard drive belongs to the client and must be deleted after successful installation.
The use of an imaged drive will also allow you to test any modifications you make to the operating system configuration, and will fully test the interaction of software applications with the newly modified system hardware and drivers.
Once you have proven the new modifications, you can start the implementation to other computers.
General notes on planning the installation of software
Minimum system requirements
All software application will have minimum system requirements for the PC processor, amount of RAM and available hard drive space. You need to verify that all these requirements are met prior to the installation of any new software application.
Licensing
Prior to the installation of any software application, you should check that the organisation has licenses for the software to be installed, and that all terms and conditions of the license have been adhered to. Record any serial numbers or product keys that will be required during the installation.
Most licenses allow you to make a backup copy of the software. Make any backup copies prior to the software installation.
Backup
Determine what data will need to be backed up before the installation. If you are installing a new application such as a database, you need to ensure that the user will be able to access old information. This may require that data stored in the old database format is converted to a format that can be read by the new database application.
Software installation types
The most common installation options that you will be presented with are as follows:
1. Express or typical installation. This installs the most common features.
2. Custom installation. This lets users select components to install and change the installation directory.
3. Minimal Installation. This is used where the amount of hard drive space used is minimised.
4. Full installation. This installs all features and requires the most hard drive space.
General notes on planning the installation of hardware components
Motherboards
Planning the installation of motherboards is a complex task and you will need to consult the user manual for a specific motherboard. You will need to ensure that the form factor of the motherboard is compatible with the form factor of the case.
CPUs
The main point to consider in planning the installation of a CPU is to ensure that it is supported by the motherboard. You will need to check that the physical socket size is compatible and then that the CPU speed is supported. Read your motherboard manual to find out whether the new CPU will be automatically detected or you may need to change a jumper setting on the motherboard.
RAM memory
Again, the main point to consider here is compatibility with the motherboard. You will need to ensure that there are vacant slots for the new memory modules, that the memory speeds of the new modules are supported and then that the maximum memory supported by the motherboard is not exceeded. After physical installation of the new memory modules, BIOS should automatically detect the new RAM memory.
ROM memory
As the ROM is an integral part of the motherboard, physical replacement is not possible. Software updates are — consult the website of the relevant motherboard manufacturer for further information.
Hard drives and optical drives
First when installing a new hard drive, you need to decide in consultation with the client whether you are going to replace the existing drive or keep both new and existing drive. If the decision is to keep both drives, it would then be recommended that the newest drive is the boot drive and that the operating system is installed on the newest drive as the data access time will be fastest.
Physically, when installing a new drive you need to ensure that there is a suitable position to mount the drive.
In other topics you have looked at the two different interfaces for hard drives: IDE and SCSI. Most desktop PCs use the IDE interface and these notes are for the IDE interface. At the time of writing the IDE interface supports four drives, but an emerging standard is SATA (Serial ATA). Again, these notes discuss the IDE interface.
The IDE interface supports four drives as listed below:
Drive Function
Primary
(IDE 1) Master Typically boot hard drive
Slave
Secondary
(IDE 2) Master Typically first optical drive
Slave
You will need to set jumpers on your drive to be either the master or slave. Consult your user manual
After completing the physical hardware installation, the drive will need to be configured and formatted. Unlike floppy drives, hard disk drives vary greatly in storage capacity. The disk is electronically blank to begin with. The manufacturer generally performs a ‘low-level format’. Here are the basic steps in the preparation of a hard disk:
1. Configure the CMOS for the drive you have installed.
2. Perform a low-level format.
3. Partition the drive.
4. Perform a high-level format.
5. Restore the client’s data to the installed drive if necessary.
Video cards
Most video cards today use the AGP interface. If you are planning to install an AGP video card, you will first need to examine your computer system to ensure that there is a physical slot that you can use.
Some of the cheaper motherboards use the AGP interface but incorporate the video within the chipset and have an integrated video output. Physically there is no AGP slot available. It is not possible to upgrade the video card in this situation.
Other motherboards also have an integrated video output, but have an AGP slot if you which to upgrade the video. Check that the motherboard BIOS allows you to disable the on-board video.
After physical installation of the video card, typically you will need further installation of drivers and other additional software. Consult your user manual.
Expansion cards
You will need to ensure that there is a spare expansion slot available. Typically this will be a PCI expansion slot. You need to ensure that your computer system meets the minimum system requirements (both hardware and software) of the new expansion card.
After physical installation of the expansion card, typically you will need further installation of drivers and other additional software. Consult your user manual.
Software device drivers
A device driver is a program that controls a device such as a printer or graphics card. Many drivers, such as the keyboard driver, come with the operating system. For other devices such as a sound card, you may need to load a new driver when you connect the device to your computer. The driver is specific to an operating system.
Obtaining drivers and other software for the installation
Any software drivers and special installation instructions will be available in the original packaging supplied with the device. Most manufacturers will have all documentation and drivers available for download on their web pages, therefore the need to be able to correctly identify components is of initial importance.
Ensure that all the necessary drivers and documentation are at hand prior to proceeding with any work. The drivers are necessary to interface the hardware with the operating system and are therefore supplied in a different version for each operating system. This includes the different operating systems from the same manufacturer; so do not assume the drivers for Microsoft Windows 2000 will also work with Microsoft Windows XP. Where one driver may work across different platforms, it is not the usual situation.
Here’s a sample of the driver/software which is provided by a particular NIC (Network Interface Card) manufacturer (Realtek).
Note the number of operating systems supported by the downloadable driver and especially to the Setup/Diagnostic program also supplied.
Testing
Testing is necessary to ensure that you have:
installed the component or application properly, and
that it is working properly.
The testing process will depend on:
the type of hardware device.
the type of software application
the operating system.
Your test plan will need to ensure the following.
For hardware devices:
• the new device is recognised by BIOS (if applicable)
• the new device is recognised by the operating system. For example a new hard drive is formatted and assigned a drive letter.
• the new device performs the function it was intended for. For example, after installing a new sound card, you would need to check
• Output to speaker — play an audio CD and check that there is sound
• Input — record a sound file through a microphone
• any additional software is functioning correctly.
For software applications:
Software is tested for all functionalities of the new software. For example, if you are installing a new office suite, test the word processing, spreadsheet and database application. Be sure that they can all create and save new document and that you can print these documents.
Preparing an installation plan to minimise impact
In this section we will look at the preplanning procedure as a first step of installation. Here is a series of general steps that are useful to follow.
Step Details
Overview List the characteristics of the component.
Warnings List the safety precautions provided by the vendor in the manual.
Hardware required Is any special hardware required for the procedure, other than the obvious ones?
Software required For hardware devices: Do you have the drivers, burner software for CD burners and so on?
For software applications: Do you have the installation CDs and any serial numbers or product keys required?
Preparation This will include questions such as the following.
For hardware systems:
Does the system unit have the space to take the peripheral?
Are there spare internal power cables if required?
Do they reach the proposed location?
For software applications:
Does the hardware meet the minimum system requirements?
Have all necessary data backups been made?
What type of installation is to be performed?
Procedure What are the specific steps involved in the installation?
For hardware components this will include steps such as actual physical installation, BIOS setup, driver installation, and configuration. The specific procedure will obviously depend on various factors such as the particular device, the type of computer/motherboard, the operating system and so on.
For software applications you will also need to consult your user manual to determine the specific installation procedures.
Testing Develop a testing plan.
Estimated time How long should the procedure take? It will obviously be longer for someone who has not done it before.
Writing a plan helps solidify the ideas and concepts. It is a document which you can use to guide you and measure progress.
Planning for contingencies
Planning a successful installation
No matter how carefully you plan, things rarely go exactly as you planned. We need to cope with the odd things that may occur while installing or configuring or testing. In this section we will see how to plan for contingencies.
Reflect
What sort of things could go wrong with an installation?
Feedback
You need to be able to predict and attempt to avoid situations such as:
component is not suitable for the computer it will attach to
incorrect connections
missing software
component does not do what it is supposed to do.
Summary
The planning of your installation is important to minimise the disruption to the client.
You will need to read the user manual or installation guide that comes with your new component or software application to gain specific information such as equipment checklist, minimum system requirements, hardware installation steps, driver installation steps, and precautions you need to take.
After gathering this information, you should be able to develop an installation plan for your hardware component or software application.
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