IT Infrastructure Model

• In this model processes use information,

• this information is stored and managed using applications.

• Applications need application platforms and infrastructure to run.

• All of this is managed by various categories of systems management.

Process/Information block

• Organizations implement business processes to fulfil their mission and vision.

  • Business features, that are implemented into the software system, deployed and used by the user/business

• processes are organization specific

  • example, some business processes in an insurance company could be:

    • claim registration, claim payment, and create invoice.

• Business processes create and use information (update, transform, validate, combine, apply rules to).

  • Information is typically entered, stored and processed using applications

• Functional management is the category of systems management that ensures the system is configured to perform the needed business functions

Applications building block

• Includes 3 types:

  • Client applications typically run on end user devices like PCs and laptops.

    • Examples:

      • web browsers

        • applications running in web browser ie websites

      • word processors

      • email clients

      • games

  • Office applications provide standard server based applications most organizations use.

    • Examples:

      • mail servers

      • portals

      • collaboration tools

      • instant messaging servers.

    • Most organizations run these office applications more or less out of the box.

  • Business specific applications are applications that are typically highly customized or custom built.

    • Commonly known as enterprise applications

    • Examples:

      • Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

      • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

      • Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems

      • applications that are created for a specific business process

        • like an insurance management system

• Applications management is responsible for the configuration and technical operations of the applications.

Application Platform building block

• Most applications need some additional services, known as application platforms, that enable them to work

• Types of services

  • Front-end servers

    • are typically web servers that provide end users with interactions to applications by presenting application screens in web browsers.

    • like Apache HTTP Server and Microsoft Internet Information Services – IIS

  • Application servers

    • act as containers running the actual application.

    • Examples

      • Java or .Net application servers

      • frameworks like IBM WebSphere, Apache Tomcat, Red Hat JBoss, and Windows .Net

  • Connectivity entails:

    • FTP servers

    • Extraction

    • Transformation

    • Load (ETL) servers

    • Enterprise Service Buses (ESBs)

      • like Microsoft BizTalk, the TIBCO Service Bus, IBM MQ, and SAP NetWeaver PI

  • Databases, also known as database management systems (DBMSs),

    • provide a way to store and retrieve structured data.

      • Examples are Oracle RDBMS, IBM DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and MySQL.

• Application platforms are typically managed by systems managers specialized in the specific technology

Infrastructure building blocks

• Types

  • End User Devices

    • are the devices used by end users to work with applications,

    • like PCs, laptops, thin clients, mobile devices, and printers.

  • Operating Systems are collections of programs that manage a computer’s internal workings: its memory, processors, devices, and file system.

  • Compute are the physical and virtual computers in the datacenter, also known as servers.

  • Storage are systems that store data.

    • They include hard disks, tapes, Direct Attached Storage (DAS), Network Attached Storage (NAS), and Storage Area Networks (SANs)

  • Networking connects all components.

    • Includes routers, switches, firewalls, WANs (wide area networks), LAN, dial-in, internet access, and VPNs (Virtual Private Network), and (on the network application level) relatively simple services like DNS, DHCP, and time services, necessary for the infrastructure to work properly.

  • Datacenters are locations that host most IT infrastructure hardware.

    • Include facilities like uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs), Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC), computer racks, and physical security measures

• Infrastructure management includes processes like ITIL and DevOps, and tools like monitoring, backup, and logging

Non functional attributes (NFA)

• Cross cutting concerns, spread over multiple blocks

• An IT system does not only provide functionality to users

  • ie provide this business function like buy a product

• functionality is supported by non-functional attributes

• Non-functional attributes are the effect of the configuration of each IT system component, both on the infrastructure level and above.

• The many NFAs, but the main ones that apply to all systems (but different levels for differetn systems ) are availability, performance, and security