Page 107 - Courses

IT Essentials — Assessing Infrastructure and Networks

TOPIC 2: COMPONENTS PART 1

IT Infrastructure and Hardware

IT hardware consists of physical servers, mainframe machines, and peripherals, which are usually
housed in enterprise server rooms or data centers. These may be housed on premise, off premise,
outsourced to a third party, in the cloud, or a combination of these.

IT hardware also includes end-user devices (e.g., laptops and desktops) used to access enterprise
information and data, printers, network components, and storage devices. An organization’s
hardware is usually connected to an IT network.

Operating Systems

An operating system (OS) is a collection of programs (source code) that manage the computer’s
components and computing operations to deliver a result for the user. OS software provides a
means to manage and access IT hardware resources and acts as an interface or platform between
the end-user and the IT hardware on the network.

Server OSs are designed to process the requests of multiple end-user computers on the enterprise’s
IT network. Examples include IBM AS/400, Windows Server, or Red Hat Linux.

Client OSs generally support a single user and are designed for end-user devices. Examples include
Windows and Mac OS, but also include portable or mobile OSs.

Firmware, unlike standard OSs, has the code embedded into the hardware. It is common to see
firmware in devices such as household appliances, medical devices, or open-source routers and
firewalls.

Operating Systems

If all hardware devices have an OS or firmware, then when you say you are performing system
updates and installing patches, are you updating the OS?

In part, yes. We also patch enterprise and application software when required.

Enterprise and Application Software

Enterprise-level software, including enterprise-level resource planning (ERP) software, allows an
organization to capture and connect the information and content of its various business processes,
and promotes efficient management decisions by the organization. Examples of enterprise-level
software include SAP, Oracle ERP, Microsoft Dynamics, JD Edwards ERP, and others.
Application software is use-case specific; usually performs a single function; and includes word
processing programs, spreadsheets, and graphics-processing software.

Copyright © 2020 by The Institute of Internal Auditors, Inc. All rights reserved.