Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

New Products

Scheduling System Software Tasks? Youre Living in the Last Century

Going back 35 years or so (an eon in computer industry time) all computer system tasks were performed manually. It caused system administrators to work insane hours, for many of these tasks, such as defragmentation, backup-and-restore, disk integrity checks, disk error repairs and the like, had to be performed when users weren’t on the system. That meant nights and weekends spent camped out in the computer room, and ask anyone who was there: it was no fun.

In the early nineties, scheduling such tasks began to appear, which for these beleaguered system administrators was fantastic news. Tasks such as defragmentation could be scheduled to run at certain times, when users weren’t on the system, and when the administrator was thankfully home asleep. As time went on, anti-virus software came on the scene and virus scans could also be scheduled.

As the century turned, however, life did not become easier for the system administrator. The shift was fully made from larger systems such as mainframes and mini-computers to PC servers and workstations, which meant many, many more systems to implement, control, and debug. Legacy applications had to be ported from older architecture which was at best difficult and at worst impossible. The number of disks to which data was written and saved proliferated like hamsters, and soon new disk disaster protection technology (RAID) appeared which complicated storage technology even further. Recently developments such as virtualization, NAS and SAN have moved things up yet another echelon.

As technology has became more complex, business has not slowed down. In fact, due to the Web and globalization, the number of sites having to run 24X7 has increased dramatically. It has now reached the point where time windows to run scheduled tasks when users aren’t on the system are becoming small or nonexistent.

IT time also now comes at a premium. Numerous technical pundits are now pointing out that we have long passed the point that scheduling has become outdated. Due to today’s frantic IT environments, and also due to the growing number of under-qualified personnel to handle them, as many tasks as possible need to be fully automatic.

Many technologies, including defragmentation, are now available to be fully automatic and non-intrusive to users on the system. IT departments should gain themselves some time and do all they can to investigate and implement such fully automatic solutions.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Latest Products

Astell&Kern PS10 DAP

DAPs

With support for 32-bit PCM, DSD, Roon, LDAC, aptX HD, and a brand new docking cradle, the Astell&Kern PS10 DAP might replace your streamer.

2025 TCL X11K Premium QD-MiniLED TV Lifestyle 2025 TCL X11K Premium QD-MiniLED TV Lifestyle

HDTV 4K & 8K TV

At 85 or 98-inches, the top-of-the-line 2025 TCL X11K 4K TVs boast 6,500 nits, 14,000 dimming zones and HALO Control Technology.

Epson QS100 UST Projector Front Lifestyle Epson QS100 UST Projector Front Lifestyle

New Products

Epson just expanded their high brightness Q Series projector line to include a UST projector for those looking for a discrete large screen viewing...

New Products

XGIMI is marketing its portable projection screen as a complement to its MoGo 3 Pro video projector for outdoor movie watching.

LG G5 OLED TV Lifestyle LG G5 OLED TV Lifestyle

HDTV 4K & 8K TV

Will LG's new quad stack Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel make the G5 the best TV of 2025? And what should we expect from...

HOUCHMAND M1 System Lifestyle Image HOUCHMAND M1 System Lifestyle Image

Floorstanding Speakers

The Houchmand M1 is an ultra high-end all-in-one two-channel digital music system with optional subwoofer for a sky high price.

Gift Ideas?

Cost-no-object Audiophile Gear

Floorstanding Speakers

When money is no-object in building a high-end audio system, this is the audiophile gear you'll want to check out first.

You May Also Like

Advertisement

ecoustics is a hi-fi and music magazine offering product reviews, podcasts, news and advice for aspiring audiophiles, home theater enthusiasts and headphone hipsters. Read more

Copyright © 1999-2024 ecoustics | Disclaimer: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.



SVS Bluesound PSB Speakers NAD Cambridge Audio Q Acoustics Denon Marantz Focal Naim Audio RSL Speakers