MIS CH 5 & 6 (Exam #2)

Computer Network

A system that connects computers and other devices via communications media so that data can be transmitted among them.

Bandwidth

The transmission capacity of a network; stated in bits per second (bps).

Broadband

The transmission capacity of a communications medium faster than 25 megabits per second (Mbps).

PAN

Personal (Bluetooth).

LAN

Local (Office/Home).

MAN

Metropolitan (City).

WAN

Wide Area (Country/Internet).

Twisted-Pair Wire

Strands of copper wire twisted in pairs. Pros: Inexpensive, easy to work with. Cons: Slow, low security, subject to interference.

Coaxial Cable

Insulated copper wire. Pros: Higher bandwidth than twisted-pair, less interference. Cons: Expensive, inflexible.

Fiber-Optic Cable

Thousands of very thin glass filaments that transmit data via pulses of light. Pros: Extremely high bandwidth, very secure, light/small. Cons: Difficult to install/splice.

Protocol

A set of rules and procedures governing transmission across a network.

Ethernet

A common LAN protocol.

TCP/IP

The protocol of the Internet. It uses Packet Switching to break data into small bundles (packets) for transmission.

IP (Internet Protocol)

Responsible for disassembling, delivering, and reassembling the data during transmission.

Client/Server Computing

Links two or more computers; "Servers" provide services (like data/apps) and "Clients" (your PC) request those services.

Peer-to-Peer (P2P)

Type of client/server where each computer acts as both a client and a server to others.

Intranet

A private network that uses Internet software/protocols; for use only within an organization.

Extranet

Connects parts of the intranets of different organizations (e.g., a company and its suppliers).

Data Rot

Refers to problems with the media on which data are stored (e.g., old discs becoming unreadable).

Data Degradation

Problems with the data itself (e.g., a customer changes their address and the record becomes outdated).

Data Governance

An approach to managing information across an entire organization using a formal set of business processes and policies.

Master Data

A set of core data (e.g., customer, product, employee) that covers a company's complete business operations.

Bit

The smallest unit of data a computer can process (0 or 1).

Byte

A group of 8 bits; represents a single character (letter, number, or symbol).

Field

A logical grouping of characters into a word or small group of words (e.g., Last Name).

Record

A logical grouping of related fields (e.g., a student’s name, ID, and GPA).

Data File (Table)

A logical grouping of related records.

Database

A logical grouping of related files/tables.

Data Redundancy

The same data stored in multiple locations (A problem databases try to fix).

Data Isolation

Applications cannot access data associated with other applications.

Data Inconsistency

Various copies of the data do not agree (e.g., two different addresses for one person).

Entity

A person, place, thing, or event (e.g., CUSTOMER). Think of this as the Table.

Instance

A specific, unique representation of an entity (e.g., a specific customer name). Think of this as a Row.

Attribute

Each characteristic or quality of a particular entity. Think of this as a Column.

Primary Key

A field in a database that uniquely identifies each record so that it can be retrieved and updated.

Foreign Key

A field in one table that uniquely identifies a row of another table; used to link tables together.

Big Data (Gartner’s Definition)

Diverse, high-volume, high-velocity information assets that require new forms of processing.

The 3 V's of Big Data

Volume (Size), Velocity (Speed of flow), and Variety (Types: structured/unstructured).