Section A
Question1) Explain the key steps required in developing a Change Management Process?
Question2) Define Storage Management? What are the desired traits of a Storage Management Process Owner?
Section B
KEEPING SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT HEALTHY AT HEALTH SUPPORT SYSTEMS
Health Support Systems (HSS) is the company which sells and supports information systems to health organizations. When it was founded 30 years ago, HSS was fairly small. But today, with over 30 branch offices, 6000 employees, more than 2700 customers, and revenues of about $900 million, HSS has expanded to the point where it could not be served by just one systems management tool.
Twelve years ago, mainframes formed core of the company’s operations. But as the company and its customers began turning to client/ server solutions, it became apparent that same type of all-encompassing systems management tool available for mainframe environment will be harder to implement, says Malik Ibrahim, HSS’s senior manager of information systems and operations.
“We have approximately 900 customers running their applications from our data centre, and as we started developing client/server applications, our customers, who were used to a high level of service on the mainframes, wanted that same level of service for client/server applications,’’ Ibrahim said.
So today, HSS uses Unicenter TNG by Computer Associates to manage client/server operations for hundreds of customers, as well as on 300 internal network servers. Unicenter Software is the cross-platform performance management system which helps clients and third part vendors create IT management applications which run smoothly.
Ibrahim says one of the biggest benefits of moving to Unicenter TNG has been increased efficiency. “We had eight people dedicated just to ensure the severs were up and running, and they were limited in what they can do because just making sure everything was functioning took all of their time,” Ibrahim said.
Before Unicenter TNG, he says, “we could look across server farm at things like memory utilization, do training, and generate reports. In one case, we found that one of our servers was being utilized only 5 percent of the time and we were able to consolidate that server with other workloads. That was one of those things where, unless you were having people check in on a daily basis, the problem will go undetected.”
Questions:
Question1) What are some of the challenges of client/server systems performance management comparing to managing mainframe systems?
Question2) How does Unicentre TNG help HSS in their client/server systems management?
Question3) Discuss key issues in applying systems management processes to client/server environment using case problem given above.
Question4) What emerging scenario you envisage for Systems Management at HSS in next 2-3 years?