Computer Networks Chapter 13

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Questions and Answers

Prior to the web, what were some of the disadvantages associated with using mainframes?

Mainframes were expensive and difficult to use, requiring trained professionals.

What was the 'productivity paradox' of the 1970s regarding computers in business?

Despite being designed to benefit businesses, computers did not initially lead to substantial economic growth.

What was the primary focus of firms in the 1990s concerning their servers?

Firms focused on making their servers more powerful.

Why did the Itanium processor fail to gain widespread adoption in data centers?

<p>It was too expensive to integrate and the market had shifted to cheaper alternatives.</p> Signup and view all the answers

How did Google innovatively reduce costs associated with traditional datacenters?

<p>They used cheap computer boards and water for cooling instead of air-conditioning.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Prior to the improvements in internet connection speed, why was video streaming difficult?

<p>Even with high compression, it was difficult to stream high definition content.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is one way that IBM's CP/CMS operating system was unique for its time?

<p>It allowed for both running multiple applications during the day and batch processing at night.</p> Signup and view all the answers

How did Google leverage its existing infrastructure to aid YouTube’s success?

<p>Google's infrastructure could handle the huge amount of traffic that YouTube generated.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Besides the ability to watch at any time, what drew viewers towards early Netflix?

<p>Viewers were drawn to Netflix because of the low subscription costs.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a key distinction between the 'early web' and 'Web 2.0'?

<p>Web 2.0 focused on the social aspects of users, making websites more dynamic.</p> Signup and view all the answers

How did the Google File System contribute to the reliability of Google's services, despite using less reliable hardware?

<p>It stored data redundantly, making it seem like disk drives never failed.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the key difference in workload handling for mainframes vs. modern GPUs?

<p>Mainframes handle massive datasets and I/O with fewer, more powerful cores, while GPUs use many cores for parallel processing.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Explain why higher clock cycles were initially seen as a key performance indicator, and what shift in thinking changed that?

<p>Higher clock cycles were initially preferred because they improved single-threaded program performance, but this changed as they began to hamper performance.</p> Signup and view all the answers

How did MapReduce enable cost-effective keyword searches across numerous web pages?

<p>MapReduce splits tasks across multiple processors for parallel work before merging the results.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What was the primary purpose of CP/CMS in the 1970s, and how did it accomplish this?

<p>CP/CMS was designed for timesharing, so that each user could have the illusion of having their own processor.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

The web's impact on mainframes

The rise of the internet and personal computers allowed users to access powerful computing resources like mainframes remotely, eliminating the need for expensive, dedicated infrastructure and specialized personnel.

Productivity Paradox

The observation that despite significant computer investments in the 1970s, economic growth remained slow, with the benefits becoming apparent later in the 1990s and 2000s.

Data Centers

Large data centers hosting servers and related infrastructure, vital for handling high-volume data and web traffic.

Itanium

A powerful processor chip designed by Intel that failed to become widely adopted due to its high cost and the shift towards cheaper, scalable alternatives.

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Cloud Computing

A computing paradigm where resources like servers and storage are provided over the internet, often through a pay-as-you-go model, eliminating the need for businesses to manage their own expensive datacenters.

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MapReduce

A software system that splits tasks into smaller pieces, processes them concurrently on multiple processors, and then merges the results. It enabled Google to efficiently analyze massive amounts of data.

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Google File System

A software system developed by Google that ensured data redundancy across multiple servers, preventing data loss even if some servers fail.

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Cloud Services

Computing services offered over the internet, allowing businesses to rent servers and storage without the need for physical infrastructure.

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Parallel processing

A processor's ability to execute multiple instructions simultaneously, improving performance by dividing tasks into smaller parts that run concurrently.

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Virtualization

A technique that allows a single physical computer to run multiple virtual machines, each with its own operating system and resources, as if they were independent machines.

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CP/CMS

IBM's mainframe operating system allowing multitasking and backward compatibility. It could run multiple applications simultaneously, making efficient use of resources.

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Virtual Machines (VMs)

This concept allows organizations to share one large server for various departments, running their respective software in isolated virtual machines. This improves resource utilization and reduces costs.

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Web 2.0

The period in the early 2000s characterized by the rise of user-generated content, social interactions, and dynamic web applications like blogs, social networks, and wikis.

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Facebook

A website that became a major social media platform, killing off its competitors. It capitalized on user-generated content, social interactions, and media sharing.

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Study Notes

Chapter 13 - Computer Becomes A Network

  • The modern web connects different computing methods
  • Mainframes were expensive, required trained personnel, and lacked internet access
  • The web allowed untrained users access to mainframe functionalities from personal computers, reduced call center employees, and lowered costs
  • A productivity paradox existed in the 1970s where computer usage didn't correlate with economic growth in the 70s
  • The 1990s and 2000s saw an economic boom due to computers
  • Data centers experienced a massive increase in importance during the 1990s
  • Companies focused on improving server power
  • Website traffic increased, leading to the construction of server farms

Why Itanium Failed

  • Itanium was designed as a powerful processor but was too expensive to integrate
  • The market shifted towards cheaper alternatives, like combined computer boards (Google pioneered this approach)

Cloud Computing

  • Businesses previously ran expensive, complicated data centers
  • Web services (such as web searching and advertising), required massive data management
  • To address this, companies used cheaper computer boards and water-cooling solutions instead of expensive data servers and air-conditioning
  • MapReduce, a parallel processing algorithm, allowed for efficient tasks distribution
  • Cloud services lowered server costs and complexities
  • Faster clock cycles were preferred in the 1990s and 2000s for single-threaded applications, leading to increased energy consumption
  • Intel processors, despite increased core counts, had diverse issues for consumers
  • PCs remained functional for decades due to improvements in microprocessor quality
  • Graphics processing units (GPUs) emerged, emphasizing parallel processing

Virtualization

  • Virtualization, initially developed for time-sharing in the 1970s, mimicked user access to individual processors on shared physical resources
  • Virtual machines (VMs) allowed for shared resource usage in departments, enabling independent software operation on a single server

Video Streaming

  • Early video streaming was extremely challenging, even with compression technologies, and streaming in High Definition (HD) was impossible on the early internet
  • Streaming quality improved due to advancements in internet speed

YouTube

  • Google acquired YouTube, exploiting its infrastructure for high traffic, to monetize content

Netflix

  • Netflix, initially a DVD rental service, successfully transitioned into a streaming service

Social Media

  • Web 2.0 emphasized social interaction, leading to platforms like Friendster, MySpace, and Tumblr
  • Facebook became a prominent social media platform by dominating competitor services

Network Computers

  • P-code portable applications failed due to IBM PC's dominance, and application development for IBM hardware instead of universal hardware
  • Microsoft dominance in operating systems and software in the 90s led to slower acceptance of universal coding languages

Chromebooks

  • Chromebooks, utilizing the Google Chrome browser, offered low-cost, easy-to-manage computing solutions
  • Chromebooks successfully challenged older solutions like Internet Explorer

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