Chapter List

1.1 Introduction

Computer systems are central to the business strategy of any organization and are perhaps the most visible representation of the organization. This is the case in retail, wholesale, manufacturing, natural resources, financial services, publishing, online services, medical services, law, science, education, government, and military operations. As more advanced technologies become available, the role of the computer becomes more vital as businesses increasingly expect operations to continue 24 hours, 7 days a week throughout the year.

However, as with any equipment or technology, there are limitations on the capabilities of the computer system. The parts, or resources, of the computer (i.e., the Central Processing Unit (CPU), storage disk, disk controller, network card, etc.) are bound to experience failures or have processing power limitations. These resources are capable of handling only a certain workload and this capability is based on the workload that the system has been designed to handle. Increasing the workload of a system beyond this point results in decreased performance of the system.

A computer system comprises resources that are capable of accomplishing tasks. These capabilities and resources may be increased on the computer system in several ways. One of the main resources within a computer system is the CPU, which controls the computer through the interpretation and execution of instructions for the computer and is equal to the amount of computing performed in a unit of time. The addition of extra...