Management aspects of client/server computing

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to investigate the management aspects of client/server computing. The latter is seen as a prerequisite for better management of all aspects of client/server computing. Noting the fact that the client/server environment often consists of heterogeneous hardware and software products imposing demands on management, an analysis of different types of client/server architectures according to network and system management is included as one of the subgoal of the research. A literature survey was used to carry out this analysis. The different client/server architectures are surveyed in order to determine difference in maintenance cost and investigating the need for network and system management tools as a means of minimising labour costs which are brought about by labour-intensive maintenance approach. This survey is accomplished through the use of questionnaires various organisations. Given the fact that the client/server environment is complex in that it contains equipment and software from different vendors and such complexity makes it difficult to properly account for availability, the issue of client/server system availability was also investigated. It provided insights into the information requirements towards better management of such installations. Due to the fact that many organisations do not keep outage data which is important in measuring client/server system availability, an automated database system that assist in recording outage data was designed.