Welcome to Operating Systems (OS)

Learning Outcomes (LOs) for CIT502

Below is a brief description of each LO and an explanation of the terms used in the LO. At the conclusion you will be expected to know the terms, explain what they cover, and related information. If there are multiple items with a term (e.g., “support practices” in LO1) you will be expected to name various of those terms, describe them, and demonstrate the appropriate use of each of them. Examples always help.

LO 1: Select and manage operating systems using technical support practices in order to meet organisational requirements.

Managing operating systems (Oss) within an IT environment covers the entire life cycle of the associated hardware for the client. This will include:

• Recommending OSs for the hardware without a dedicated OS 
• Purchasing and/or supplying OSs on behalf of the client
• Making recommendations to fulfil licencing requirements
• Installing and configuring OSs according to the client’s requirements
• Monitoring and maintaining the OSs
• Planning for OS implications with decommissioning of hardware

Technical support practices cover a range of ways that IT professionals track, audit, and maintain IT. One of the key support practices used by IT professionals is a ticketing system to record tasks.

Other support practices include:

• onsite service visits
• helpdesk
•  remote administration

ITIL has a framework that covers these practices which includes assigning priorities and response times within what is called a “Service Level Agreement” (SLA).

The term organisational requirements reflect that different organisations have different needs. While all organisations must cover the four key business functions (Human Relations, Finance and Accounting, Sales and Marketing, and Operations) they do it in different ways. Each organisation also has different growth strategies, support needs, and many other requirements that the IT services must be able to meet in a secure and reliable manner.

LO 2: Support and enhance operating systems using applicable tools, models, and techniques in order to improve performance.

An organisation may utilise multiple Operating Systems (OSs) as determined by their requirements. The factors that influence the choice of the OSs will include cost, security, functionality, and experience with the OSs. Tools are applications that can be used to analyse and recommend changes. These can be tools for making changes such as the GUI, iCALCs tool, or the appropriate PowerShell cmdlets.
Models cover “the way things work”. This includes the way security is configured uses models such as “Direct Access Control Lists” where the security is written directly onto the network resource or “Role Based Access Control” (RBAC).

Techniques relate to ways things are done. One of the most common techniques to enhance the performance of the user used in operating systems is to multiboot devices into different operating systems. On Apple Mac devices there is a process called “Bootcamp” where can have both IOS and Microsoft Windows as boot options. In Microsoft Windows can use the Boot Control Database (BCD) to boot to different OSs.

LO 3: Apply professional and ethical practices to operating systems installation projects in order enhance awareness of social responsibility as an emerging IT professional.

IT professionals operate under a number of different professional and legal requirements. The New Zealand Institute of IT Professionals (ITP) provides the professional framework which has both a code of practice and code of conduct. The majority of IT Professionals use the ITIL framework as the guide to best practices on how the work should be done. The legal framework for handling client data is principally covered by the Data Privacy Act of 2020 while other aspects of health and Safety come under the Health and Safety at Work Act of 2015.
The IT Professional has an obligation to recommend to the client a solution that is ethical and also protects the client’s data.

LO 4: Resolve operating systems related issues using a collaborative approach in order to enhance communication skills.

Support work in IT is often done in collaboration. The helpdesk receives a report of a problem and does some initial data collection and, if it is not a straight forward solution or requires site-specific knowledge, will include the site technician in the process as well as the contact person from the site.

While the ticket remains assigned to the helpdesk technician that person is the person responsible for resolving the issue. Communication between the person responsible for the issue being resolved, the one with the technical knowledge of the site or the technical knowledge of the service, and the person acting on behalf of the client is essential for a satisfactory resolution of the problem.

The generally accepted best practice for resolving IT issues is the CompTIA troubleshooting process. This process collects sufficient information to form a theory, which is then tested. Once the cause of the problem has been confirmed a plan for thew resolution must be developed and implemented. The client will confirm the resolution of the problem and the ticket is not closed until it has been fully documented.

An important part of enhancing any IT practices involves reflection. Reflection requires noting what went well and why and looking to build so that, as per the ITIL framework each interaction with the client is better than the last and builds value for the client. The IT Professional needs to reflect on the skills required, the knowledge they have, and what is called “soft skills” which includes communication. In a team environment it is often the communication that make the difference to the quality of the outcome.

LO 5: Apply problem-solving and decision-making techniques to install and administer an operating system in order to support an innovative undertaking.

Problem-solving, in the context of IT, is about resolving an issue a client is having. While it may be about a specific portion of the OS malfunctioning, it may also be about the OS on a device not having the required functionality to perform a specific task.

The person to whom the ticket has been allocated is the project manager. It is the responsibility of the project manager to make the decisions around the processes required. In OSs this would involve the recommending of specific OS (and often a way to run it), purchasing (if requested by client), arranging delivery, scheduling installation, confirming functionality, and gaining client sign-off.

An innovative undertaking means “non-standard”. Will be able to consider what is available and be able to recommend, install, and configure for the client in a way that will meet their needs.

Assessments in CIT502

The above learning outcomes will be assessed in one assessment:
Assessment 1: Project: (100%). This will assess all five LOs in the course and is worth 15 credits.

Graduate Profile Outcomes (GPOs) covered within CIT502 (15 Credits)

• GPO 1: Apply the fundamentals of IT technical support concepts and practice to securely manage hardware, software, and networking resources to support end users and meet security, ethical and organisational requirements. (5 Credits)
• GPO 2: Apply the fundamentals of information systems concepts and practice, including business concepts, development life cycles, data modelling and administration, to support and enhance organisational processes and systems. (3 Credits)
• GPO 3: Apply knowledge and concepts of business analysis, user experience and interface design to create accessible interactive digital media. (2 Credits)
• GPO 5: Apply professional, legal, and ethical principles and practices in a socially responsible manner as an emerging IT professional. (2 Credits)
• GPO 6: Apply communication, collaboration, teamwork, documentation, and customer service skills to enhance effectiveness in an IT role. (1 Credits)
• GPO 7: Apply critical analysis and decision-making techniques to solve IT problems and provide relevant and timely outcomes. (2 Credits)

You will be undertaking a Forum Learning Task and will contribute to an ongoing discussion with your peers and your tutor as you progress through the course.

Firstly, you will need to create an individual thread in the Operating Systems Task Forum which you will keep adding to as the course progresses. Follow the instructions in the thread 'How to create a forum'.

NB. If you are assigned a group, please write that in brackets after your name in the thread (e.g., "Ari Taylor (Hall of Famers)" or "Jane Tawhiri (Group 5)").

The learning task scenario for the forum is detailed below in the Task Forum Scenario.

Group discussion on your peer's forum scenario posts is encouraged. However, each group member must be able to justify the details of the posting.

Over the duration of the Operating Systems course you are going to learn how to put together systems that meet different requirements. In the scenario, there are three clients who need an operating system.

Task Forum Scenario

Many industries, such as healthcare, still rely on legacy systems—outdated but critical technologies that continue to be used despite newer alternatives.
Consider a medium-sized doctor's office that is planning to upgrade its infrastructure by installing a new server. This server will store sensitive patient information, including medical records and personal data. Given the nature of the data, the practice manager is highly concerned about ensuring robust security measures to protect this information from potential breaches. The challenge is to integrate this new server with the existing legacy systems while maintaining the highest levels of security.

Operating System Requirements

You have been asked to recommend an operating system for the server that will: 

•  Be able to run the many server applications that the doctors need to access from their workstations in order to be able to treat their patients, 
• Have the latest security features with automatic updates, 
• Have a built-in robust firewall. 

New hardware will be purchased based on the requirements of the Operating System and applications. The new server will be required to host: 

•  A series of applications that use Microsoft's Internet Information Services (IIS) to connect to client applications on workstations, 
• A way of running legacy applications that are compatible with Windows 8, but will not run on later operating systems. 

In the Operating Systems Task Forum you will keep adding to your thread to explain how you are going to address the following tasks:

1. Propose a server operating system, 
2. Develop a plan to migrate the data to the new server, 
3. Carry out a risk assessment on the plan and recommend strategies to mitigate the risk, 
4. Provide a guide for installing legacy applications. 
5. Create a baseline benchmark of the server's performance that can be used for future performance analysis and optimisation. 
6. Evaluate the social and environmental impact of the life cycle of software and hardware and best practices around the disposal of equipment that is no longer required, particularly hardware and software that have become obsolete. 
7. Provide suggestions on how to optimise the use of hardware resources within the licensing restrictions of the suggested operating system in order to maximise the return on the investment in software and hardware, all the while maintaining the highest possible standards of data accessibility, integrity, and confidentiality. Describe plans for ensuring that the data can be retrieved in the event that it is compromised.