Case Study 3

The two movies that I have watched were:

Wall-E
Surrogates

Wall-E
Wall-E is a movie about a robot named Wall-E who is designed to clean up a waste-covered Earth far in the future. He falls in love with a female robot named Eve.

Surrogates
Surrogates is a movie about the widespread use of remotely controlled androids called "The Surrogates" in the future.

For me, the two movies have a similarity when it comes to the context of the story. Both of the movies were set in the future and both of the movies have robots as the main characters of the story. The movies also show how technology will evolve in the future, and that we must be responsible in using these technologies so that we will not face the consequences by not being responsible in using these technologies. Both also were good films.

Case Study 2

As a future IT professional, what do you think will be your contributions for the development of technology based on what you learned from college? Define each and state its implications towards our IT society and industry.

As a future IT professional, my contributions for the development of technology will be:

• New ideas in software development – Softwares nowadays ranges from simple applications up to business applications. The needs of the people who are using softwares for their own purposes grow bigger, and software developers must suffice that needs. Having new ideas for software development will be a big help in the field of software development.

• Responsible use of modern technology – As an IT professional in the near future, I must be responsible in using these modern technologies. I must set myself as an example to the people in using these technologies. We know that these technologies have a good effect in our everyday lives, but we must be aware also of the bad effects of these technologies. If all the people are responsible in using these technologies, then these technologies will not be abused and will be used for bad purposes.

Case Study 1

Enumerate reasons why we use technology today. What are some points that have influenced us? What are the factors involved in technology change?

Before I will answer this question, let me define first what is TECHNOLOGY.

According to Wikipedia, “Technology is the usage and knowledge of tools, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization.”

Things that we use in our everyday lives can be called technology. A hammer and a nail can be considered a technology. Gadgets like cellphones, laptops, ipods and more are what we call modern technology.

Reasons why we use technology today:

1. To have a better living - Technology helps us in our everyday lives. Technology helps us in cleaning, cooking, doing assignments, etc..
2. For entertainment – we have things like TV, mp3 players, DVD players and more if we want to be entertained.
3. To gather information – one of the uses of technology nowadays is to disseminate information to people.


Some points that have influenced us:
People use technology in everyday lives. The reasons I stated above can be also the influences why people use technology today.


Factors involved in technology change

1. The needs of the people – Technology changes because of the needs of the people. As time goes by, people want faster and more efficient technologies for their everyday lives.
2. Trends in technology – technology really change from time to time, no doubt about it. As the years passes, technology evolves to adapt to new trends.

Assignment 4

Contrast and discuss the enrolment input form (PRF) with the enrolment university interface. (at least 1000words, not to include illustrations/figures/diagrams)

Let us look at the pre-registration form (PRF) first




(credits to Ms. Creza Jill Bulacito)

Let us discuss the fields that are in the form:

College/Unit – the college or department where the student belongs
Name – the name of the student who will enroll
ID No. – the id number of the student
Address – the address of the student
If employed, name and address of employer- the name and address of the employer if the student has a work.
Semester – the semester in which the student will enroll
School year - the school year in which the student will enroll
Course - the course of the student
Major - the major of the student
Section - the section of the student
Sex - the student's gender
Type - the student's type
Scholarship - the scholarship grant of the student
Code - the subject code of the subject (e.g., 5078)
Subject title - the title of the subject (e.g., CS 323)
Subject description - the subject description of the subject
Units - how many units the subject is
Section - the section where the student will enroll the subject
Days - the day schedule of the subject
Time - the time schedule of the subject
Room - the available room for the subject


The pre-registration form (PRF) is filled-up by the student for him/her to enroll. The main purpose of the PRF is to know the subjects in which the student will enroll.

On the other hand, let’s look on the user interface of the USEP-SRIS(Student Records Information System)



(credits to Mr. Kris Vincent Plariza)

As you can see, there are fields in the SRIS which are not included in the PRF (class, civil status, contact number, e-mail add, religion, desired career and parents). Also, there is no scholarship field in the SRIS user interface. So in short, the user interface of the PRF and the SRIS do not match.

My comment:
Some fields such as civil status, e-mail add, etc. which are not in the PRF should not show in the user interface of the SRIS (if the purpose is for enrollment purpose only). The fields in the PRF and the SRIS should be the same.

Assignment 3

Interview your university network specialist. Ask how various parts of the system communicates with each other throughout the university. (Q) Given the chance to redesign the existing setup, enumerate and discuss your keypoints for an effective and efficient network environment ideal for the university..

Last Wednesday, we gave a questionnaire to Sir Ariel Roy Reyes, the network administrator regarding this assignment..

Here are the questions and the corresponding answers..
1. In system development, how various parts of the system communicate with each other throughout the university? In what way?

Regarding System Development, the best person to ask is our University Programmers, Mr. Fortich and Dr. Mercado.

2. What are the components involved in the system(s) in the university? (hardware, software, technology, etc.)
I am not in the right position to discuss the details of the software components used as there are other assigned personnel for such job. However, talking about hardware component and technology used, basically I, assigned as the network administrator, is entrusted to maintain our different servers to run 24/7. Currently, we have our Web Server hosted here in our University in our HP ProLiant ML350 Server. Its an old but stable server set-up here in our Networks Office and has been active since Engr. Val A. Quimno , not yet a dean, was appointed as the Network Administrator. The said server has the following specification:
• Intel Xeon 3.0 GHz, 3.2 GHz, or 3.4 GHz processors (dual processor capability) with 1MB level 2 cache standard. Processors include support for Hyper-Threading and Extended Memory 64 Technology (EM64T)
• Intel® E7520 chipset
• 800-MHz Front Side Bus
• Integrated Dual Channel Ultra320 SCSI Adapter
• Smart Array 641 Controller (standard in Array Models only)
• NC7761 PCI Gigabit NIC (embedded)
• Up to 1 GB of PC2700 DDR SDRAM with Advanced ECC capabilities (Expandable to 8 GB)
• Six expansion slots: one 64-bit/133-MHz PCI-X, two 64-bit/100-MHz PCI-X, one 64-bit/66-MHz PCI-X, one x4 PCI-Express, and one x8 PCI-Express
• New HP Power Regulator for ProLiant delivering server level, policy based power management with industry leading energy efficiency and savings on system power and cooling costs
• Three USB ports: 1 front, 1 internal, 1 rear
• Support for Ultra320 SCSI hard drives (six hot plug or four non-hot plug drives supported standard, model dependent)
• Internalstorage capacity of up to 1.8TB; 2.4TB with optional 2-bay hot plug SCSI drive
• 725W Hot-Plug Power Supply (standard, most models); optional 725W Hot-Pluggable Redundant Power Supply (1+1) available. Non hot plug SCSI models include a 460W non-hot plug power supply.
• Tool-free chassis entry and component access
• Support for ROM based setup utility (RBSU) and redundant ROM
• Systems Insight Manager, SmartStart, and Automatic Server Recovery 2 (ASR-2) included
• Protected by HP Services and a worldwide network of resellers and service providers. Three-year Next Business Day, on-site limited global warranty. Certain restrictions and exclusions apply. Pre-Failure Notification on processors, memory, and SCSI hard drives.
Aside from it, our mail server running under Compaq Proliant ML330 Server, our oldest server, is also hosted here in our Networks Office. Together with other Servers, such as Proxy and Enrollment Servers, both proxy and our enrollment servers are running in a microcomputer/personal computers but with higher specifications to act as servers.

3. How do these communicate with one another? (topology, network connectivity, protocols, etc.) – may include data flow/ UML diagrams to better explain.

All Servers are connected in a shared medium grouped as one subnetwork. In general, our network follows the extended star topology which is connected to a DUAL WAN Router that serves as the load balancer between our two Internet Service Providers. All other workstations are grouped into different subnetworks as in star topology branching out from our servers subnetwork as in extended star topology. At present, we are making use of class C IP Address for private IP address assignments. Other workstations IP assignments are configured statically (example: laboratories) while others are Dynamic (example: offices). All workstations are connected via our proxy servers that do some basic filtering/firewall to control users access to the internet aside from router filtering/firewall management. So, whenever any workstation has to connect to the internet, it has to pass through software and hardware based firewall.

4. What are the processes involved in the communication (each system to other systems)?

As mentioned above, in item 3, all workstations are connected via a proxy server. It means that whenever a workstation is turned on, it requests for an IP address from the proxy server (for dynamically configured IP address) and connect to the network after IP address is acquired. As connection is established, each system can now communicate and share resources within the same subnetwork and to server following the concepts discuss in your Computer Network Class.

5. How do you go along with the maintenance of the system?
Basically, our servers are expected to be in good condition since it is required to be up 24/7. Daily, during my vacant period, monitoring on the servers are observed that includes checking logs, checking hardware performance such as CPU health, etc. If problems are observed, remedies are then and then applied. Once in a week, regular overall checkup is observed as preventive maintenance to ensure not to experience longer downtime if possible.

6. Does the system follow a specific standard? Explain Please.
As I was appointed as the Network Administrator, everything was already in place except for some minor changes. Basically, different networking standards was already observed such as cabling standards, TIA/EIA 568A-B, different IEEE standards as discussed in your Computer Networks Subject, etc.

7. How is the security of the system? Are there any vulnerabilities? Risks? Corresponding mitigation techniques? Access control?
As I have mentioned, we have implemented both software and hardware based filtering/firewall. Basically, Risks or vulnerabilities and different mitigation techniques were considered to increase security in our network. Aside from filtering/firewall, constant monitoring on networks activity also increases the security of the system.

8. Are there any interference? During what (most) times do these occur? Explain their effects especially with regards to the business of the university?

Major Interferences are normally encountered as an effect of unforeseen and beyond our control events such as black outs, and the like. The said interference would of course affect University’s day-to-day businesses for obviously this will paralyze all our activities that rely on electricity and further this might cause damage on our network devices, etc. that may later be the reason for longer downtime. Problems encountered by our providers such as connection to the National/International Gateway also affect University’s business such as correlating to University’s Business Partners outside and within the country.


My suggestions for a better network environment of the university:

wisegeek.com has these tips for a better network performance:

1. Always have backup strategy. This helps to ensure your network can continue functioning even if some event negatively impacts the overall network.
2. Always maintain hardware performance
3. Archive data that is no longer in active use.
4. Have a backup power source. This is in case if brownout happens in the area.
5. Test various protocols

Reference:
How Do I Improve Network Performance?
http://www.wisegeek.com/how-do-i-improve-network-performance.htm

Assignment 2

Relative to your answer in Assignment 1 .... what's your take on the design of the enrollment system?

On my first post, I tackled about the enrollment process of the university and stated some of my suggestions on how to improve the enrollment system of the university. Now, I will tackle about the design of the enrollment system.

The design phase is important in the system development life cycle because it describes the process diagrams of the system.

Here are some of my positive and negative comments about the diagram for the enrollment system:

Positive
• The use of a person was good because it could be eye-catching for the readers

Negative
• It would have been better if the statements in the diagram were more understandable, because there are some statements that were confusing.
• There were also some arrows that are misleading

The developers must have a thorough analysis phase in order for the design of the system to be good.

Assignment 1

Assuming you were tapped by the university president to evaluate the new enrollement system implemented this semester, enumerate your observations/comments and suggest possible areas and ways where improvements can be made. Your observations/suggestions should be properly validated with facts and literatures...(you may start with the diagrams posted in the strategic locations of the university)...


Let us first look at the enrollment procedure for the new students and transferees.



In this diagram, it shows that is that the student will be evaluated by the College. If the student was accepted, the student must issue an Admission Slip, and if the student passed the USEPAT Exam, he will proceed to the next step. The student’s information will be encoded and he/she will be assigned an ID number. After that he/she will proceed to the next step, which is the Scholarship Application. Next is he/she will enroll in CWTS/ROTC. After that, he/she will pay the necessary fees (Local Council, OCSC, Headlight and Insurance), will proceed to the advising of subjects, the encoding of subjects and the temporary COR printing. The next step would be the payment of the tuition fee. If the student is a scholar, he/she will go to the Student Accounts window, will give the temporary COR to the cashier and posting of accounts will be done. Else, if the student is not a scholar, he/she will go to the Cashier window, will give the temporary COR to the cashier, and will pay the matriculation. The last step will be in the registrar, where he/she will give the following papers:
• Form 138 (High School Card)
• Photocopy of NSO Birth Certificate
• USEPAT Entrance Exam Result
• Admission Slip
• Medical Certificate
• Certificate of Good Moral (Original)
• 2 pcs. 2X2 Recent ID Picture
• Prospectus of the Enrolled Course
• 1 pc. Long Brown Envelope
• Official Receipt of Tuition & Other Fees
The Printing of the Official COR also happens here.

Now, let us look at the enrollment procedure for the old students.



In this diagram, the first step for the old student to enroll is that he must secure a signed clearance. The next step would be the scholarship process. Then, the student will enroll in the CWTS/ROTC subject, if applicable. Then, he/she will pay first the necessary fees and present the enrollment requirements before he/she will be advised by his/her adviser. After the advising, encoding and printing of temporary COR will take place. Then, he/she will proceed to the Cashier. Again, if the student is a scholar, he/she will go to the Student Accounts window, will give the temporary COR to the cashier and posting of accounts will be done. Else, if the student is not a scholar, he/she will go to the Cashier window, will give the temporary COR to the cashier, and will pay the matriculation. After that, he/she will proceed to the Registrar and will present the clearance and official receipts. And the last will be the printing of official COR.

Let’s take a look at the enrollment procedure for the shiftees.



As you can see in the diagram, step 1 is just the same as the first step of the enrollment procedure for the old students. The next step would be different, because the student must have a Request to Shift and Recommendation to Shift letters from his/her former college. Then, he will go to his/her new college, and the acceptance of shiftee and the advising will take place. The profile of the student will be updated, and after that, the steps 4-7 of the enrollment procedure for the old students will be the next steps.

Looking at the procedures above, the steps were almost the same, it just differs on the type of student who will enroll.

There are some flaws that I have noticed in the enrollment system of the university.

My observations:

1. When students pay the necessary fees, they will have to go to the 3 different places, the headlight office, OCSC office, and the Local Council.
2. When advising, the students go to the place where the schedules are posted to write the schedules, then will go back to the office of the adviser for him/her to be signed.
3. The diagrams are somehow confusing especially about the phrases and statements that are in the steps.

These are some of my observations in the enrollment procedure that I found difficult in the part of the students and can cause delay in the enrollment.

My suggestions:

1. Why not make all the necessary payments take in just one place so the students will not have to go to different places in order to pay the necessary fees. There will be 1 representative per office (Headlight, OCSC and Local Council) in that place to take the payments.
2. Why not make a system that will handle the inputs for the subjects with the corresponding schedule of the students so that the students will not need to go to a place to write the schedule and then go back to the office to adviser. After the subjects and the schedules were entered, the information will pass to the encoder and the encoder will be the one to encode the subjects and print the temporary COR.
3. Make the diagrams more unambiguous and understandable.

These are my suggestions to my observations above. Maybe, the enrollment procedure will be more smooth if these suggestions will be implemented. :D