CAT 1

WASIKE IGNATIUS NYUKURI

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1. Ninety one business is planning to upgrade its server hardware to improve performance
and reliability. Analyze the steps and considerations involved in this hardware upgrade,
including budgeting, hardware selection and minimizing downtime.
a. Budgeting
In IT budgeting, we need to identify the existing equipment in a client server, plan hardware
refresh projects for each device and accounting for new hardware needs. It should be noted
that the main objective of developing an information technology server upgrade budget is
planning for expenditures in advance and ensuring that projects being approved meet the
current needs of the business. In upgrading server hardware, new equipment is always
preferred since it always comes with hardware warranty, dealer support at the time of
purchase. Purchasing new equipment will also minimize the risk associated with second hand
market devices. Therefore the company need to have a clear budgeting process in place for
timely procurement of server hardware covering key costs such as initial cost, server
installation and configuration, cost of useful warranty, the price of maintenance and the cost
of replacement.
b. Hardware selection.
When selecting hardware for server upgrade, the key emphasis should be placed upon the
current and future business needs. This enables the business to choose from a wide range of
server hardware configurations which include, but not limited to adequate memory, processor
and network resources, server form factor, power and cooling components, expandability etc.
c. Minimizing downtime.
in many scenarios , you might find yourself with a server that is running out of storage disk
space or hardware resources but the operating system might just be working well. To do a
hardware upgrade and at the same time minimizing downtime’s , we need to shut down the
server during off-peak hours, upgrade the server to all new server hardware and have the
server in production during peak hours. All this is done without have to touch every client
computer. It should be noted that since office down time is expensive, we minimize it by
performing standard hardware upgrades.
2. Mount Kenya University is planning to expand its data center due to increased data storage
and processing demands. Analyze the hardware and software considerations such as server
racks, cooling systems and power requirements, operating system, network, ISP and
propose a plan for the expansion.
A data center is a facility that is dedicated to providing uninterrupted service to business
critical processing operations. Features of data centers are ;

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 All time availability throughout the year.
 Failsafe reliability and continuous monitoring.
 Power management and network communication, redundancy and path diversity.
 Network security, physical access control and video surveillance.
 Zoned environmental control.
 Fire suppression and early warning smoke detection system.
Hardware and software considerations when expanding data centers include; servers
racks, cooling systems, power requirements, operating system, network and internet
service providers.
Server racks: data centers employ a wide variety od racks, enclosures and pathway
products such as cable trays and ladder racking. Such facilities must all support key
areas, which include climate control i.e. cooling and humidity, power management,
cable management, security and monitoring etc. configurations vary between internet
data center and corporate data center models. Racks and cabinets must often meet
seismic requirements, load bearing and server depth specifications.
Cooling systems: The increase and acceptance of blade servers has created a
challenge to provide adequate cooling for high density equipment cabinets. Due to
high density of servers, power consumption is have been very high, leading to
emission of a lot of heat equivalent to power consumed. To solve this problem
manufacturers have introduced cabinet designs that address cable management and
heat dissipation. Along with the new thermal sensitive cabinet designs, work is being
done to enhance cooling capabilities of new and existing data center air conditioning
system. To gain control of excess heat, according to standard practice, is to
reconfigure the cabinet layout into a hot aisle and cold aisle arrangement. According
to the ANSI/TIA-942 data center standard, when a raised floor is used to provide
equipment cooling for the data center, the minimum aisle width should be at least 3ft.
Cold aisle are usually 4ft wide to allow for two fully operated floor tiles in front of
cabinets with active components, while hot aisles should be wide enough to allow for
unrestricted access to data and power cabling. To ensure sufficient cooling,
installation of air dams in the front of the cabinet is recommended to block hot air
from sipping around the sides of the mounted components and mixing with cool
intake air.

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 Perforated tile Perforated tile

Telecom
Telecom cable
Power cables cable
trays Power cables
trays

Power requirements: the increasing deployment of blade and single rack unit servers are resulting in a
higher power consumption density at the cabinet level. The pace of power consumption continues to rise
rapidly in data centers and therefore multiple power grids are funneled into a single data center to ensure
that there will always be power available to run the facility. In addition, most components manufactured
today build there components with a dual or triple power supplies which allow the components to have
power delivered to it from multiple power sources.

Operating system: to be able to change or improve operating system for better performance, you need to
consider the purpose of your replacement operating system and its optimal workload. For a reliable
upgrade of the data center an operating system migration system need to be prepared. An operating
system in this case is both a software layer that manages and abstracts hardware and a package of tools
such as programming languages and debuggers that facilitate computer usage. Just like traditional
operating system, data center operating system plays several key roles which include;

First, they enable resource sharing between programs and users , allowing a computer to be used for
multiple tasks and to respond interactively to several users.

Second, they also enable data sharing between programs.

Third, they provide programming abstractions that simplify software development and lastly, the
operating system include wide debugging and monitoring facilities.

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In summary, it should be noted that data center operating system needs to provide resource sharing, data
sharing, programming abstractions and debugging.

Network : adequate connectivity is key to bringing users online quickly and efficiently, whether in a
corporate or internet data center environment. Choosing appropriate cabling media can affect many
aspects of data center design which include standard distance limitations and cabling performance, which
should be considered upfront.

Internet service provider( ISP): ISPs are companies that provide internet services at the data centers.
Examples of ISPs in the market include; Access Kenya, MTN business, Telkom Kenya, Jamii telecom,
safaricom.

Plan for data center expansion.

A. BACKGROUND
Mount Kenya university is planning to expand its data center due to increased data storage and
processing demands. The data center is located at mount Kenya university thika campus, Kenya.
B. FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION
The office of directorate of ICT has procured services of an IT expert to analyze hardware and
software considerations for expansion of the data center.
C. DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
1. Architectural upgrade
the expert shall provide the design and specifications to upgrade the floor, ceiling and walls
to accommodate the needs of the data center, including equipment relocation.
2. Equipment relocation
The expert shall provide the design and specifications to relocate equipment into a hot aisle or
cold aisle configuration as well as specification of new cabinets. Work stations shall be
relocated to the adjoining office space. Relocation of network racks and loads shall be done
in off-peak hours in multiple moves that are planned ahead of time.
3. Cooling system /chilled water AC units.
The expert shall provide the design and specifications to install 3 in row chilled water AC
units.
4. Leak detection
The expert shall provide the design and specifications for a leak detection system for the data
center.
5. Access control system.

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 The expert shall provide the design and specifications to upgrade the access control system to
require two factor authentication.
6. Data center infrastructure monitoring program
The expert shall provide the design and specifications for data center infrastructure
monitoring platform including cameras and web simple network management protocol for all
devices.
7. Testing and commissioning
The IT expert shall provide for testing and commissioning of the complete system and
upgraded data center.
3. Mount Kenya University has adopted new online examination software for its faculty and
students. Outline a training plan to help users adapt to the software, including online
resources, workshops and ongoing support. Note that all students have different time zones.
Most universities and educational institutions are trying to replace traditional methods of
education with modern and innovative ways of education. This has necessitated the incorporation
of online examination software to conduct exams as well as classes online. Examination software
is useful for automation and simplification of the whole examination process with improvement
in accuracy. To help the users navigate the online examination software, the following training
plan can be adopted;
First, we need to incorporate mock practice exam management which is exactly similar to the
main exams. The format and duration of mock exams is the same as that of main exams. Mock
exams help students get and idea about how the actual exam is going to be. The marks for these
exams are not counted and are mainly arranged for students to practice at any time, which help
them understand there readiness for the exam.
Secondly, online examination software training videos is another best practice in training users of
the exam software in different time zones., since these online resources can be accessed any time.
Such videos can be easily accessed through whatsapp, X, youtube at anytime, anywhere.
Thirdly, We also have ongoing/ instant support for query resolution. In this , students and faculty
can ask queries or make requests before, during or mock examination process. These queries are
immediately acknowledged and resolved by system administrators. This ensures that the users do
not face any issue while taking the final exams. User queries must be addressed immediately and
resolved there and then.
For continuous support, online exam help services can be adopted using chat bots ,whatsapp bots
for instant query resolution.

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Fourth, scalability to handle thousands of concurrent exams which enable a large number of
students take online examination at the same time.
Finally, security, data encryption, role based access to the system should be implemented by
providing different user levels rights and privileges i.e. student and faculty accounts have
different system rights.
In addition. Trainers should ensure various training for different time zones on major issues like
system requirements and compatibility.
References
1. Matei Zaharia, Benjamin Hindman. Data center needs an operating
system;www.usenix.org: University of California Berkeley.
2. Data center infrastructure resource guide; https://www.anixter.com: Anixter.
3. Growth strategy of NTT Global Data centers; https://group.ntt/en/: NTT group
4. Why upgrade your server?; https://avalontech.net: IDC analyze the future.
5. Hardware and software installation and support study guide. MKU