| Lesson 2 | Baseline technologies for e-commerce |
| Objective | Define the role and vendors of hardware products in e-Commerce. |
ecommerce Hardware Products
Hardware and the birth of distributed computing
The following paragraph describes the birth of distributed computing.
A few decades ago IBM, with its powerful mainframes, was the dominant force in the computer industry. Typically, an entire company, or a large
department within a company, did all their computing on a mainframe such as an IBM/390.
In many cases, multiple companies shared mainframes (known as timesharing).
Eventually other companies like Digital Equipment (now part of Compaq) and Hewlett-Packard challenged IBM. These companies offered smaller, less expensive computer options, but the same design applied, which was all the computing could be executed on a single computer. If you needed more computing resources, you had to perform upgrades on the computer or replace the computer entirely.
Eventually other companies like Digital Equipment (now part of Compaq) and Hewlett-Packard challenged IBM. These companies offered smaller, less expensive computer options, but the same design applied, which was all the computing could be executed on a single computer. If you needed more computing resources, you had to perform upgrades on the computer or replace the computer entirely.
Time for a change
Several years ago a number of hardware vendors, in conjunction with operating systems and storage vendors, invented clustering allowing multiple
computers to work together so that they look like one logical computer. This enabled companies to expand their computing power by simply adding a
machine or storage device to the cluster.
As was the case in the past, this computing design was still based on a single computer, albeit now a single logical computer. Companies like Digital Equipment figured they could distribute some of the computing processes over multiple computers. For example, the database could be put on a different computer than the computer that was running the application logic and distributed computing was born.
Fast forward to the 1990s: In the 1990s distributed computing and clustering have become the norms for newer applications. The flexibility to add computing resources in smaller steps, and to manage and optimize a particular computer for a particular function, provided many benefits over mainframe-style computing. The e-commerce architect needs to think of hardware, and all the other computing resources, in a holistic fashion, understanding how today's distributed paradigm provides flexibility and the ability to optimize functions.
As was the case in the past, this computing design was still based on a single computer, albeit now a single logical computer. Companies like Digital Equipment figured they could distribute some of the computing processes over multiple computers. For example, the database could be put on a different computer than the computer that was running the application logic and distributed computing was born.
Fast forward to the 1990s: In the 1990s distributed computing and clustering have become the norms for newer applications. The flexibility to add computing resources in smaller steps, and to manage and optimize a particular computer for a particular function, provided many benefits over mainframe-style computing. The e-commerce architect needs to think of hardware, and all the other computing resources, in a holistic fashion, understanding how today's distributed paradigm provides flexibility and the ability to optimize functions.
What is hardware?
Hardware, along with the network, provides the physical platform for e-Commerce solutions. Common types of hardware include:
Servers- One size does not fit all
| Type of Server | Cost | Functions |
| Small | In the Thousands | 1. Act as network servers for LANs 2. Provide basic file and print services for PCs. 3. Act as a Web Server by providing basic protocol and limited Web application support |
| Medium | Tens of Thousands | Act as a Web server by providing basic protocol and limited Web application support |
| Large | Over $100k | Used for server-based applications, such as databases, packaged applications, e-Commerce |
| Supercomputer | Millions | Used for high end server-based applications, such as databases, packaged applications, and e-Commerce |
Handheld Devices
| Vendor | Product Name(s) (if applicable) |
| 3Com | Palm Pilot Series |
| Ericsson | * |
| Hewlett-Packard | * |
| Motorola | * |
| Nokia | * |
| Qualcomm | * |
Hardware - Client PCs
| Vendor | Product Name(s) (if applicable) |
| Acer (Intel) | * |
| Apple | Macintosh, iMac |
| Compaq (Intel) | * |
| Dell (Intel) | * |
| Gateway (Intel) | * |
| IBM | * |
| Micron (Intel) | * |
| Sony (Intel) | * |
Hardware - Server
| Vendor | Product Name(s) (if applicable) |
| Compaq (Digital) | * |
| Compaq (Intel) | * |
| Dell (Intel) | * |
| Fujitsu | * |
| Hewlett-Packard | 9000, Intel |
| Hitachi | * |
| IBM | S390, AS/400, Intel, others |
| Siemens | * |
| Silicon Graphics | * |
| Sun Microsystems | Sparc |
Storage Devices
| Vendor | Product Name(s) (if applicable) |
| Compaq | * |
| Data General | * |
| EMC | * |
| Hitachi | * |
| IBM | * |
| Sun Microsystems | * |
Please see the Resources section of the course to download a PDF file containing a complete list of all of the vendors and tools covered in this course, along with URLs to the vendor Websites.
Hardware Four subgroups:
Hardware can be further broken down into four subgroups:
