Google Chrome:
Web Browser and Operating System
Chromium is the open-source project serving as the foundation of the Google web browser and operating system. The Google Chrome web browser includes V8, a JavaScript virtual machine, optimized for running Google Apps and web applications. It is available for
free download.
In 2011, Google brought the lightweight Chrome operating system to market on consumer netbooks. Samsung and Acer were the initial machines. The Chrome OS is a separate project from Google's Linux-based Android smartphone operating system.
Given the popularity and growth in the use of smartphones and mobile devices, the innovative hub of applications and software development clearly has extended beyond the personal computer. SYS-ED and CETi technology
partners are evaluating the
Google WebTool kit and incorporating content and sample programs into mobile device training programs. We also offer
Google Apps courses for business professionals. |
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Instant-on Operating System
Over the years, the amount of time required for a PC operating system to boot and load has become a issue in the usability of an operating system. It can take several minutes to load an Intel-based Microsoft Windows family operating system, open a browser,
and access the Internet for downloading e-mail. An instant-on operating system will boot and download e-mail in seconds. With netbooks and laptops competing with fast-access mobile computing devices, an instant-on capability is becoming increasingly
important. Google Chrome will be an instant-on operating system; however, there already are instant-on operating systems which can coexist with MS Windows: SplashTop, Phoenix Hyperspace, and Xandros Presto. Each can access
the MS Windows file system in dual boot mode and load MS Office documents. Instant-on operating systems also provide a reduction in energy consumption. |
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Alternative to Google Apps:
Microsoft Web Apps, Office 2010, and Office 365
Microsoft has brought a free web-based version of MS Office to market. Office Web will be available from Microsoft’s Windows Live portal and launch from a user’s web browser. The target audience for Office Web is consumers; however, the
assumption is that business users will also adopt the service for collaboration, online storage, and remote access to files. Microsoft Office 2010 includes free web versions of Excel, PowerPoint, Office, and
OneNote. Business customers that buy volume licenses for the desktop version of MS Office 2010 receive access to Office Web at no additional charge.
Operating Systems and Internetworking
Open Source UNIX and Linux:
Administration | Programming
There has been a significant growth in the utilization of open source UNIX- and Linux- variant operating systems, in order to contain costs, hone competitive advantage, and avoid vendor lock-in. Since the mid 1990's, the UNIX server operating systems have been the leaders in performance, reliability, and security. Commonly starting in back-end operations, the use of UNIX and Linux and other open source software is growing.
- The proprietary UNIX-variants, IBM-AIX, HP-UNIX and Sun Microsystems Solaris, comprise 10% market share of network servers.
- The proprietary Linux distributions, Novell SUSE and Red Hat Enterprise, and open source distributions Debian and Ubuntu collectively comprise 30% of network servers.
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IBM-AIX and HP-UNIX annual downtime rate continues to improve. As does the uptime, reliability, and performance of the major Linux distributions, Novell SUSE Linux and Red Hat Enterprise
Linux also has improved significantly.
There has been a steady increase in the utilization of UNIX as the base operating platform for WebSphere MQ middleware and web servers. In addition, an increasing number of organizations with a longstanding
investment in z/OS and z/VM mainframe operating systems have been integrating Linux into their information technology infrastructure.
Ubuntu: Open Source Desktop Operating System
Created in 2005 by Canonical, Ubuntu is an open source Linux operating system available free or at minimal cost. While Red Hat and Novell Linux distributions were targeted to meet and service the requirements of data centers, Ubuntu has emerged as the fastest-growing desktop version of the Linux operating system. In the first quarter 2009, there were an stimated 10 million Ubuntu users; industry research firms
estimate that 11 percent of American businesses have systems based on Ubuntu.
Ubuntu has a graphical interface similar to the MS Windows family of operating systems, a web browser, e-mail program, instant-messaging software and a suite
of programs for creating documents, spreadsheets and presentations. In general, Linux variants will not be able to run all the applications created for Microsoft Windows. Canonical's strategy has been to address the issues that have
prevented Linux workstations from gaining wide acceptance in a mainstream market. Canonical adds features to Ubuntu that capitalize on the latest advances from developers and component
makers like Intel. Canonical releases updated versions of Ubuntu as frequently as six months.
Ubuntu, and other versions of Linux, can be challenging to use. Issues will be encountered in switching to open source software when it directly affects longstanding ways that desktop users have been
interacting with the network and using applications. There also will be situations in which Linux management tools will not be sufficiently robust to handle thousands of desktops. Depending on the
configuration, there can be complexity either at the back end or on the desktops.
In response to competitive forces in the market and regulatory scrutiny, Microsoft has been adapting its internetworking infrastructure - MS Windows Family operating systems
and Windows Server 2008 network operating system - to interoperate with open source Linux-variants.
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Microsoft
Windows 7 - Successor to Windows XP and Windows Vista
There are five different versions of Microsoft Windows 7: Starter, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate. Each has a
different set of features; all but Windows Starter 7 are 64-bit operating systems. The minimal requirements for Windows Standard Edition are 1 gigabyte of memory and a 1 gigahertz processor.
MS Windows 7 is based on the Windows Vista foundation, organization's that have already deployed Vista will find it compatible with existing hardware, software, and tools.
Windows 7 has addressed the major shortcomings of Vista. It includes XP Mode in order to ensure that the applications currently in use at small and midsize businesses will continue to run.
Although hardware requirements are identical to Vista; Windows 7 provides improved performance. Enhancements have been made to the architecture, security, and deployment technologies. |
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Desktop management has been streamlined. Risks associated with data on lost computers or external hard drives has been mitigated and there is an improved
recoverability featureset. There is a unified Action Center for addressing security error messages. Significant new MS Windows 7 features include: AppLocker, Biometrics, DirectAccess, BranchCache, and VHD boot. |
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MS Windows XP and Windows Vista
Having been brought to market by Microsoft in 2001, Windows XP has been a mainstream operating system far longer than any of its MS family desktop operating system predecessors. The assumption is that most organizations and individuals will eventually upgrade to Windows 7 and that it will be a long term investment. For the immediate future Microsoft will be supporting three operating systems: XP, Vista and 7.
However, Microsoft has stated that both XP and Vista will be phased out. Windows 7 and
Windows 8, scheduled for release in the third quarter 2012, will be the strategic base operating system platforms.
MS Windows Vista
was launched in 2006 and at the outset it was slow and incompatible with a significant number of third party devices. Over the years it has been incrementally improved. Microsoft will remain
supporting it. However, in 2012, almost half of corporate computers were still running Windows XP.
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MS Windows Server 2008 - Implementation
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 has been rolled out slowly at Fortune 1000 companies, government municipalities, and healthcare providers. Highly touted new capabilities include the RODC - read-only
domain controller and server roles. The RODC hosts a read-only copy of the Active Directory database and the administrator can determine which accounts will be replicated unidirectionally to the DC - domain controller.
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Utilized in conjunction with the new BitLocker technology, RODC provides for an efficient deployment of DCs at smaller sites. Microsoft has developed
the Server Core as a lean server operating system to deliver specific server functions without the overhead of a graphical user interface.
The installation of roles such as DHCP: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, DNS: Domain Names Service, file services, and print server can now be performed from the command line. Significant
enhancements and new features have been made to the core server roles. Windows Server 2008 consolidates a number of previously separated administrative consoles. In Server Manager, there is a central wizard-driven interface for installing and uninstalling server components along with a number of management functions. Improvements have also been made to clustering support, Terminal Services, and
Group Policy.
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Firewall
Shortcomings in MS Windows 2008 Server firewall have been addressed. The standard approach in widespread use is to create a perimeter around a network with firewalls and IPS systems. However, if
penetration occurs to the outer perimeter, then access is obtained to the internal network. This means that the operating system authentication would then be the authentication security preventing access to data.
MS Windows Server 2008 firewall has been augmented with three new features:
| Feature |
Explanation |
| Bi-directional filtering |
Bi-directional outbound and inbound traffic are filtered. |
| IPsec integration |
The firewall rules and IPsec encryption configurations are integrated into a single
interface. |
| Rules configuration |
Firewall rules can be created for Windows Active Directory service accounts and groups, source and destination IP addresses, protocol numbers, source and
destination TCP/UDP ports, ICMP, IPv6 traffic and interfaces on the Windows Server. |
An MMC snap-in is used to configure the firewall. The Microsoft advanced firewall provides protection comparable to many host-based firewalls.
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MS Windows Server 2008 also is being integrated with MS Operations Center and MS SQL Server 2012 as a base platform for private clouds.
Microsoft SharePoint Server - Valuable and Popular
Significant numbers of organizations have been using Microsoft SharePoint software to create websites and manage web content. According to industry reports, MS SharePoint revenues in 2008 exceeded the billion bollar level and there are now more than 17,000 customers using
SharePoint software. SharePoint provides the capability for content management, enterprise search, shared business processes, collaboration on projects and documents, along with utilization of business
intelligence tools.
The centralized control of storage and security serve as the foundation for the distribution, reuse, and management of documents and digital content: web pages, PDF files, and e-mail messages.
MS SharePoint Server includes application development tools for server administration, application extensibility, and interoperability.
- SharePoint Server 2010 will be 64-bit only.
- SharePoint Server 2010 will require 64-bit Windows Server 2008 or 64-bit Windows Server 2008 R2.
- SharePoint Server 2010 will require 64-bit SQL Server 2008 or 64-bit SQL Server 2005.
SYS-ED staff and CETi technology partners are evaluating white papers and the integration of mobile devices with BYOD: Bring Your Own Device strategies with SharePoint.
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Microsoft SQL Server 2012
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 is being promoted as providing improved business intelligence, operational efficiency, graphical self-service reporting capabilities, and collaboration. There are three versions of
Microsoft SQL Server 12: standard, enterprise, and business intelligence.
Significant enhancements include:
| Performance |
Performance has been improved in conjunction with an enhanced featureset. Column store indexes can transform the data warehousing experience by enabling faster performance for common data warehousing queries such as filtering, aggregating, grouping, and star-join queries.
Table partitioning can be scaled to 15,000 partitions. The performance of full text search has been recoded for scalability. |
| Reporting |
Reporting services and report creation has been organized to bypass the requirement for coding front reporting panels. PowerPivot can be used to create reports for utilization with Microsoft Office Suite desktop software: Excel and SharePoint. Data Quality Services is a new SQL Service for managing data quality and integrity. |
| Recovery |
The integration of SQL Server instances allows for load sharing and redundancy: Groups, Failover Cluster Instances, Active Secondaries and AutoStat. The
Database Recovery Advisor provides a visual timeline to review restore points. |
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Data Encryption |
There is both local and SQL Azure end-to-end data encryption. Access control is integrated and implemented through Active Directory; it can be used in conjunction with SharePoint to secure analytic models and data. AES256 is used for keys, with SHA512 for password hashes. |
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Cloud Computing |
MS SQL Server databases have been designed for scalability and transportability to a public or private cloud. SQL Azure and SQL Server provide support for moving a data-tier application across server, cloud or SQL Azure. Juneau, the MS SQL Server's Developer Tools, provides a single environment for database development.
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The interoperability between SQL Server and SQL Azure applications and other industry standard APIs has been extended. There have been improvements to support FileTable for Win32 namespace
support/compatibility and PowerShell 2.
SQL Server Express has a new version LocalDB with a smaller footprint; installation can be performed without configuration.
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Evaluating Microsoft SQL Server and Virtualization Technology
The Hyper-V virtualization feature in the Windows Server 2008 operating system is a thin layer of software between the hardware and the operating system that allows multiple operating
systems to run unmodified, on a host computer at the same time. Hyper-V opens potential development and test environment types that otherwise might be constrained by hardware availability.
| Microsoft has stated that SQL Server on Hyper-V provides stable performance and scalability. The assumption is that SQL Server production workloads under a Hyper-V
environment, as long as the workload is within the capacity of the Hyper-V guest virtual machine. It can be challenging to right-size the hardware to consolidate current workloads and provide headroom
for growth; moreover, adding virtualization to the mix increases the potential capacity planning challenges. |
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SYS-ED staff and CETi technology partners are evaluating white papers on running Microsoft SQL Server in a Hyper-V environment:
- System resource overhead imposed by running SQL Server in a Hyper-V environment.
- How well Hyper-V scales running SQL Server 2012.
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Server Virtualization
Server and PC virtualization are transforming how information technology is managed, what is bought, how it is deployed, how companies plan and how they are charged. Server
virtualization provides the capability to realize significant improvements in productivity and reducing energy costs associated with server proliferation. Published research indicates that
x86 systems typically have an extremely low system utilization, typically in the 5 to 15 percent range and can be utilized with virtualization software.
Virtual machines are self-contained environments. Virtual servers provide the capability for creating an internal network; which is a network servicing only the virtual machines.
Internal networks are accessible only to virtual machines. This allows the virtual machines to communicate with one another through a dedicated backbone without having to place packets on the physical network. Virtual
servers work just like physical servers when it comes to sending and receiving traffic on the network and purposely applied will have minimal impact on the network. Sound planning calls for installing multiple network
adapters and setting up the virtual environment in order that each virtual machine gets its own network adapter.
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Why Virtualization
If a virtual operating system produces a blue-screen error, the crash affects only that virtual machine. The host operating system and any other virtual machines that are running will be isolated from the crash.
However, virtual machines are dependent on the host operating system. If the host operating system crashes, every virtual machine on the server also will fail.
Virtual server software will prevent a single virtual server from consuming all of the physical server's resources. When a virtual machine does not have sufficient resources to run the application,
there are configuration choices which can be selected. One option is to reallocate the physical server's resources. Another option is to move the virtual machine to another physical server that is not being as
heavily utilized.
Virtual servers reduce the administrative burden with performing backup operations. Virtual machines, their operating system, and everything else that they contain all exist within a single
virtual hard drive file. As with any file, a virtual hard drive file is straightforward to move from one machine to another. This affords the capability to back up the virtual machine in less time and with less effort
than typically is involved in backing up a physical server.
Both VMware and Windows Server 2008 have been designed to leverage virtualization for the purpose of transforming data centers into a simplified cloud computing infrastructure which will increase flexibility,
improve scalability, and reduce energy costs.
Virtualization as an Alternative to Cloud Computing
The standard cloud computing service is based upon paying a monthly fee to lease computer storage space and computing power on
an as-needed basis from a third-party provider. SYS-ED technology partners have been providing feedback on the first generation of organizations using cloud computing for their business operations and servicing clients.
Common issues which have arisen include:
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- Denial of access inside the cloud computing facility.
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- Inferior customer service.
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As an alternative to cloud computing, some organization's are turning to virtualization for managing the costs associated with growing a business and servicing its clients. Microsoft’s Hyper-V virtualization technology
is being used to reduce hardware expenditures and stabilize electricity costs, while delivering maximum uptime. The number of physical servers required for processing data can be reduced; six fold
consolidations are common place. Both VMware and Microsoft provide software for safeguarding against hardware and operating system failures with virtualized servers. These tools detect system failures and automatically
transfer data from one virtual machine to another in the event of a hardware, software, or infrastructure failure. There have been reports that virtualization can be used to achieve 50% to 70% cost savings in the form of less
storage, increased capacity, and fewer processors as compared to the total expense associated with outsourcing through cloud computing. There will be additional technical complexity in both implementing and supporting
virtualization. Research and planning will be required for transitioning to the technology.
Mainframe Virtualization
Virtualization plays an important role in mainframe hardware. By implementing virtualization software, it is possible to virtualize the processor, memory, storage I/O, and networking resources
into aggregated pools; applications can then utilize resource pools without regard to specific hardware. This improves utilization of the mainframe and reduces the need for upgrades.
| Mainframe hardware typically experiences degradation in performance when a greater number of users run applications that are increasingly complex. Common upgrades to IBM mainframe systems include improvements to processing power and memory. New processors help to tackle more calculation-intensive tasks, additional memory supports more
sophisticated applications with less storage access, and cryptographic coprocessors handle encryption and decryption dynamically. Other compelling reasons for mainframe upgrades are to improve processing for virtualized operating systems
and development platforms: Solaris, Linux, DB2 for z/OS, and Java. IBM continues to modernize the mainframe platform. For example, the z/VM operating system can support hundreds of Linux images simultaneously. |
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A number of organizations are in the initial stages of evaluating whether mission critical applications can be moved from distributed Intel servers to virtualized UNIX-variant environments on IBM System z mainframe systems. The economics underlying the cost savings are a reduction in data center real estate, middleware and application licensing costs, and the cost associated with volume purchases
of Intel-based servers to meet growing capacity requirements. There is also the issue of the increasingly prohibitive data center power and cooling requirements which may ultimately shift x86 workloads to IBM mainframe
systems. Kilowatts per server are now starting to be measured in the acquisition costs of Intel servers.
Virtualization on a mainframe is a simple technology, which in conjunction with high-speed connectivity will be playing an important role in cloud computing and service oriented architecture application development.
Cloud Computing and IBM
Reflecting its growing business in cloud computing, IBM opened a data center in Songdo International City, Incheon, South Korea, and plans for another in Auckland, New
Zealand. These new facilities are being built as part of a program to upgrade and expand IBM’s global network data centers. A new data center also was opened in Raleigh, North Carolina.
This upgrade cycle is being driven by a growing shift by cloud computing to organizational enterprise. The trend is clear, data center operators are concerned about the amount of electricity it takes to run computers and
keep them cool. Firms are increasingly interested in moving computing tasks to data centers operated by providers like IBM and Hewlett-Packard’s EDS.
IBM has opened an 80-person research laboratory in Hong Kong to develop collaboration technology for Web 2.0, cloud mail, and cloud collaboration. It is an arm of IBM’s 5,000-person China Development Laboratory.
Programming and Development Platforms
MS PowerShell - Scripting
Microsoft Windows PowerShell is a command-line shell and scripting language for performing system administration tasks on MS Windows operating systems and the applications that run on the MS
Windows operating system. It comes with the MS Windows 7 operating system. Built on the Microsoft .NET Framework, command tools, known as cmdlets, PowerShell provides the ability to manage the computers in an
enterprise from the command line; which includes access to data stores, such as the Registry and the certificate store.
| PowerShell supports all WMI: Windows Management Instrumentation classes and is extensible. In addition to the standard system provided cmdlets, there
is the capability to create cmdlets, providers, functions, and scripts which can then be packaged into modules to be shared with other users. Other cmdlets, providers, and tools can be added to the MS Windows PowerShell: Active Directory Domain Services, Windows
BitLocker Drive Encryption, DHCP Server service, Group Policy, Remote Desktop Services, and Windows Server Backup. PowerShell executes three types of programs: built-in commands, external commands, and
scripts. MS PowerShell is the MS Windows command line automation tool. There are 100's of command-line utilities and scripting objects that can be used to automate repetitive tasks on the MS XP, Vista, 7,
and Microsoft Server operating systems.
In PowerShell, the built-in commands are added through a snap-in mechanism as one or more .DLL files from hard disk. Micrososft and third parties can add install management cmdlets for applications and servers, so that they
can be managed by PowerShell scipts. Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Exchange, and VMWare servers have custom cmdlet snap-ins. A .NET programmers can create cust cmdlets using the Windows PowerShell
2.0 SDK: Software Development Kit and Microsoft Visual Studio Express Edition. Both of which can be downloaded free from Microsoft. The .NET Framework is available is available in MS Windows PowerShell
command lines and scripts. Well designed and coded scripts serve to encapsulate knowledge by recording in precise terms how a job is to be performed. The architecture and code base of Microsoft applications
can be used to extend the functionality of a Microsoft Office Suite application: Word or Excel. It also can be used to integrate FOSS languages: Perl, Python, and Ruby. |
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SAS Programming - Business Intelligence Software
For the better part of 40 years, SAS Institute software has been the leader in the business intelligence software.
Historically, this has been a niche market where SAS software is used to analyze huge data sets and generate predictive statistical models for large corporations and government agencies. Developed in response to industry
specific operational requirements, SAS has a significant advantage in its software technology, programming language, and tools. Over ninety percent of the 100 largest companies worldwide use SAS software.
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Business intelligence software has become increasingly mainstream; there are now both free open source and proprietary alternatives to SAS emerging in the market. The R programming language is a
free programming language and set of software tools for statistical computing; it has become increasingly popular at universities and labs. Programs written with R work seamlessly with SAS technology and there is a
long-term commitment from management at SAS to work with the open-source community. Over the past decade, there has been a huge increase in collected data by organizational enterprise. The information has been generated both from traditional sources such as computerized systems for
tracking operations, customers and sales and new data sources such as website visits, social network chatter, and public records accessible over the Internet in digital form. This data explosion is an untapped asset at
most organizations which lack the tools and skills to exploit it. The challenge is to use data for fine-grained analysis of markets, customer behavior and operations, and
transforming business operations more toward evidence-based decision-making.
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For example:
- Credit card companies for detecting unusual buying patterns in real time, and spotting potentially fraudulent charges.
- Retail chains for tailoring pricing and product offerings down to the store level.
- Telecommunications companies for identifying the few thousand customers, among millions, that are most likely to switch to another cellphone carrier.
- Energy companies parsing sensor signals from oil rigs and combining that information with weather and structural data, to predict failure of parts.
CETi technology partners are recognized experts with SAS on IBM mainframe system software, UNIX-variant, and MS Windows internetworking environments.
Rational Developer for System z
IBM's
Rational Developer for System z is a development platform for delivering new information technology services which reduce application complexity, deploy new applications, and modernize existing
assets. A major advantage associated with Rational Developer is the ability to interactively test and deploy cross-platform web technologies, mainframe applications, and low level programming
languages. There are tools which assist in the creation of relational databases: designing databases, managing schemas, and writing queries against local and remote data.
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However, it can be used for developing applications on the following platforms:
- Web, J2EE, and Java Development
- Composite Development
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Windows Development
In the short run, a majority of the development work will be on the z/OS and UNIX System Services Development platforms.
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Rational Developer has been designed to repurpose investment in mainframe system software and legacy programming languages: improving performance, reducing costs, saving time, and lowering risk.
Legacy Programming Languages
There has been a marked increase in the demand for legacy programming languages training, more specifically Assembler Language, PL/1, Fortran, REXX, and RPG. It is being driven by an aging information technology programmer population
with a significant number of employees reaching retirement age coupled with colleges no longer providing training on the mainframe languages. The operational reality is a requirement for maintenance
programming and web enablement for access to mainframe data primarily through WebSphere MQ. The programs written in the 1960’s and 1970’s still work and to large degree provide “clean data”.
Management is faced with strategic decisions on how to address these issues and deal with the choices associated with a selection of technology, ensuring secure data,
and budgetary constraints. Bottom line, a resident homegrown capability to support these programming languages, even if it is only a transition to newer technology and development platform, is in most cases an
operational necessity. In order to meet this diverse and eclectic requirement, SYS-ED has allocated the resources to upgrade its courseware and library of sample programs.
COBOL continues to be a mainstay training requirement for a number of large private and public sector information technology installations: Structured COBOL, COBOL Programming, COBOL Programming
- Advanced, COBOL Debugging, and Enterprise COBOL; even with new development increasingly being done in Java or .NET.
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Consumerization of Information Technology
The infrastructure for mobile computing is for the most part in place with
emerging markets being driven by software driven services and applications
which communicate through the Internet using mobile devices: smartphones,
tablets, and interactive devices. The software business now is to a
significant degree the Internet business. Whereas over the past quarter
century, 85 percent of software was built for enterprise computing; now it's
being developed for consumers and is more media centric.
Native applications have been designed to run on a specific device such as
an iPad or an
Android-based tablet. For
mobile devices - iPad, iPhone, and Android smartphones, the dominant
model is native apps.
HTML5 offers the potential to develop applications that work on the iPad
without Apple Corporation software.
HTML5 web applications can be made visually rich and comparable to the
native applications on an Apple device or Android-based tablet. Over the long term, a number of technologists
predict that HTML5 will become the main technology for all mobile programs,
with customization for applications on each device.
The industries being redefined by the Internet include: book publishing,
newsprint journalism, subscription magazine business, advertising, and to
a lesser degree fashion.
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