Introduction to IT - C182 WGU|Complete Questions with Correct Answers Graded A+

Introduction to IT - C182 WGU|Complete Questions with Correct Answers Graded A+ What are core components of IT? Hardware Software People What are some visions and goals of IT? Communication, both internal and external Sharing of resources Facilitating the integration of Departments Management of Information Ensuring that the organization runs according to ethical practices Why is IT viewed as a system? A system is a combination of independent parts all working together to accomplish a goal. What are some skills needed by IT personnel? Troubleshooting and problem solving. Knowledge of operating systems. System level programming. System security Hardware Describe trouble shooting (IT Skill) Detect and diagnose a problem, then find a solution. Examples: Poor processor performance, full hard drive, virus or other malware. Describe knowledge of OS's (IT Skill) Operating system installation, application software installation, user account creation, system monitoring. Examples: versions of Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Unix, etc. Describe system level programming (IT Skill) Shell scripts to automate processes, manipulating configuration files for system services. Examples: Bash, Csh scripts, Ruby scripts, C/C++ programs Describe system security (IT Skill) Ensuring proper system security is in place. Following or drafting policies for users. Monitoring for threats. Examples: Keeping security patches up to date, configuring a system firewall, installing anti-malware software, examining log files of evidence of breaches or attacks. Describe hardware (IT Skill) Installing and configuring new hardware. Troubleshooting, repairing, or replacing defective hardware. Examples: replacing CPUs and disk drives, connecting network cables to network hubs, switches, routers. What are some System Administrator duties? Account management: creating new user accounts and deleting obsolete user accounts. Password management: making sure that all users have passwords that agree with the security policy. File protection management: making sure that files are appropriately protected (for instance, making sure that important documents are not writable by the outside world) and performing timely backups of the file system Installing and configuring new hardware and troubleshooting hardware including the network. Installing and configuring new software including updating new operating system (OS) patches, and troubleshooting software. Providing documentation, support, and training for computer users. Performing system-level programming as necessary (usually through scripting languages rather than writing large-scale applications or systems software). Security: installing and maintaining a firewall, examining log files to see if there are any odd patterns of attempted logins, and examining suspicious processes that perhaps should not be running. What are some Network Administrator duties? physically laying down cable. making connections. working with the network hardware (for instance, routers and switches). like the system administrator, the network administrator will edit configuration files, install software (related to the network), and so forth. Troubleshooting the network may combine physical troubleshooting (e.g., is a cable bad?) and software troubleshooting. There is also a security aspect to the computer network. Both the system administrator and network administrator may work on system firewalls. Editing configuration files, writing shell scripts, and installing software and patches will all be part of a network administrators tasks. Describe a Database Administrator's duties. Like system administrators, database administrators have a long list of important responsibilities, but with a focus on the design, development, and support of database management systems (DBMSs). Tasks will include installation, maintenance, performance analysis, and troubleshooting as with the other administrative areas. There are specific applications, performance tuning parameters, account creation, and procedures associated with the DBMS that are separate from those of system administrators and web administrators. The database administrator may also be involved with the integration of data from older systems to new ones. As many or most database systems are now available over the Internet (or at least over local area networks), the administrator must also ensure proper security measures for remote access. Describe a Security Administrator's duties. Must stay informed of the many different types of attacks, such as denial of service attacks on web servers, IP spoofing to intercept messages, and buffer overflow that allows a hacker to invade computer memory with their own code. Although these are all known forms of attacks, it does not necessarily mean that a system is protected against them. And as these attacks are known, newer attacks are being thought of. It is the responsibility of the security administrator to install, configure, and administer appropriate firewall security to protect the organization's systems and to work proactively against such intrusions. Describe a Web Administrator's (aka Webmaster) duties. The web administrator, also known as a webmaster, but more precisely referred to as a web server administrator, is responsible for maintaining websites. This responsibility differs from the development of websites. Specifically, the web administrator must install, configure, maintain, secure, and troubleshoot the web server. The web server is software that runs on one or more computers. The web administrator may or may not be responsible for the hardware. Typically, the web administrator is not a system administrator on that or those computers. Therefore, the web administrator will have to work with the system administrator on some aspects of installation and configuration. Securing the web server becomes critical for businesses. Individuals outside and inside the organization may have reason to access data on the web-server without authorization thus requiring the need for securing the web server. The web administrator may be required to set up password files and establish locations where server scripts can be stored and tested. Security may be implemented directly through the web server software, or added through the operating system, or some combination. Security issues may be discovered by analyzing log files that are also used for data mining. What are the two most common support IT roles asides from administrators? training, and help desk. Training occurs as needed, but many help desks are available 24/7. What is information technology? Task of gathering data and processing it into information. The ability to disseminate information using technology. The technology itself that permits these tasks. The collection of people who are in charge of maintaining the IT infrastructure (the computers, the networks, the operating system). Generic definition of IT. We will consider IT to be the technology used in creating, maintaining, and making information accessible. In other words, IT combines people with computing resources, software, data, and computer networks. IT personnel, sometimes referred to collectively as "IT," are those people whose job it is to supply and support IT. These include computer engineers who design and build computer chips, computer scientists who write software for computers, and administrators who provide the IT infrastructure for organizations. Define information. Information is often defined as processed data. That is, raw data are the input and information is the output of some process. In fact, more generically, we should think of information as any form of interpreted data. What does DIKW Hierarchy stand for and what is it's purpose? Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom. It describes the transition of data to information to knowledge to wisdom. Define data in relation to DIKW Hierarchy. Data is the input directly received by the human or computer. Describe ways a computer may receive data (relates to DIKW). User entered values from application, camera, microphone, bar code reader, sensor, pen tablet, etc. When does data become usable? After it's been converted to a relevant form, for computers this would be binary representation. In the DIKW Hierarchy what do we mean when we say information has been inferred from data? That one or more processes have been applied to the data to transform it into a more useful form. Define Knowledge in the DIKW Hierarchy. Knowledge is sometimes defined as information that has been put to use. In other cases, knowledge is a synthesis of several different sources of information. One way to think of knowledge is that it is information placed into a context, perhaps the result of experience gained from using information. Additionally, we might think of knowledge as being refined information such that the user of the knowledge is able to call forth only relevant portions of information when needed. As an example, one may learn how to solve algebraic problems by studying algebraic laws. The laws represent information, whereas the practice of selecting the proper law to apply in a given situation is knowledge. Define Wisdom in the DIKW Hierarchy. Some refer to wisdom as an understanding of "why"—whether this is "why things happened the way they did" or "why people do what they do." Wisdom can only come by having both knowledge and experience. Knowledge, on the other hand, can be learned from others who have it. Wisdom is the ultimate goal for a human in that it improves the person's ability to function in the modern world and to make informed decisions that take into account beliefs and values. Define information system. An information system is in essence a collection of data and information used to support management of an organization. The term also refers to the technical components and human resources that enable the assembly, storage, and processing of data, and the delivery of information. Give three examples of information systems. A company's directory, a company's customer database, a university course catalog. List the characteristics of quality data? (hint: RTTAR) Relevance, Timely, Thorough, Accurate, Reliable. What are the four operations a computer performs? (hint: IPOS) Input, Processing, Output, Storage. Describe input in relation to IPOS cycle. Raw data is entered by the user. Describe processing in relation to IPOS cycle. Raw data is organized or structured for usefulness. Describe output in relation to IPOS cycle. Information output so user can see results. Describe storage in relation to IPOS cycle. Processed information is stored for permanent record. Define computer system (system for short). A collection of components that work together to meet the needs of the user. These components are typically categorized as either hardware or software. In addition, networks and users are often considered to be part of a computer system. Define system software. Systems software includes the operating system and all the utilities that enable the computer to function. Define application software. Applications software includes programs that do real work for users. For example, word processors, spreadsheets, and database management systems fall under the category of applications software. Who were the earliest computer users? The engineers who built and programmed them. Computers were so complicated and expensive that no one else would have access. What led to computer users learning computers with little or no training? GUI (Graphical User Interface) operating systems. How was most processing performed in early days of computers? Most—if not all—processing was done without human interaction at all. The user specified the program, the source of input, the location of output, and sent the program off to run. The user would see the results once the computer ran the program, which might have been immediately, or many hours later! Define network. A network is a collection of computers and resources connected by various media so that they can communicate with each other. Name some advantages of a network. The ability to share information, share hardware such as a printer, and even share software. What do computers need to communicate over a network? An appropriate protocol. What is the most common network protocol? TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), which is a requirement of all computers that communicate over the Internet. Note: TCP/IP is really a collection of protocols and is sometimes referred to as a protocol stack. Early generations of computers, due to their size and limited capacity were limited mostly to? Scientific tasks and some business tasks like accounting that processed large volumes of transactional data. Why did hardware become ubiquitous? Because of the reduction in size, increase in capability, and reduction in prices most everyone was able to have a computer. What are the 4 components of most computer systems? CPU (processor) Memory Input/output (I/O) subsystem Bus What does the CPU do? The CPU is the device that not only executes your programs' instructions, but also commands the various components in the computer.