User:Gosling.ollie01/sandbox

Activities/Processes in IT systems support and management
system management may include:


 * anti-virus and anti-management
 * managing storage
 * security management
 * network monitoring
 * software management and installation etc
 * user monitoring/management

All of these are relatively self explanatory. A lot of this will be used day to day when providing system management and support for e.g a company. you will need to make sure the systems there are virus free so that the network doesn't also get infected. regular check-ups and maintenance is key when keeping a system running safe and optimal for its users. There's a wide variety of viruses and bugs that may harm your systems, steal data and some that can even cause performance issues if they are taking advantage of your hardware etc.

Monitoring users is quite important it is useful for companies so that they know what everyone is up to when on systems. its useful to check that computers are not being misused and that they are being used appropriately, specifically for work in regards to the company.

Security management of IT systems can be very important. as a Technician you'll be able to give certain people different levels of access to pages on the internet or applications on the actual system. if you gave everyone access to everything then there would be a much higher risk of misuse and potential intentional damage to the system and network. Not restricting certain sites would also give a greater risk to getting viruses on the systems.

System support activities/processes may include:


 * providing technical assistance
 * providing technical information
 * installing, maintaining and providing support for users on certain software's and/or systems
 * educating people on how to use a specific software
 * product assistance on either new hardware or new software's
 * provide technical support for hardware and software.

providing technical support to users and providing them information that they need is something that will be done on a day to day basis. Examples of this could be a external device that is not being recognised like a portable HDD or a keyboard and mouse. Figuring out what is wrong and if applicable providing them the solution if it happens again or replacing something that has broken etc. This could also be technical support for using a new company software, educating users on how to use the systems and software's is important when keeping the business running optimally.

Another task you will have as a technician is having to install, maintain and keep up to date systems and software. You may also have develop company software. keeping systems up to date can be important especially if the tasks you ae being given are very cpu/gpu intensive and/or uses lots of storage. making sure this is kept up to date and for the required task is important for having the task done as fast as possible while it also being money efficient. Keeping software up to date is also key as depending on what your updating It will fix bugs, provide better security and keep it optimised.

Tools required when carrying out support and management tasks

physical tools such as:


 * Screw driver set
 * Precision hand tools
 * ESD protection (e.g wristband)
 * PSU power rail reader
 * Volt meter

Software tools may include:


 * Disk defragmentation software
 * Anti-virus software
 * User monitoring software (e.g impero)
 * CASE Tools

For a lot of the tasks listed above, tools are very necessary and can be used daily depending on the task. hand tools tools mostly used when diagnosing and fixing hardware issues or upgrading current systems to accommodate better hardware or removing old or broken hardware like HDD's etc and replacing it with new. your going to need a screwdriver set either way as in most case itll be used to actually get the panels off the pc to have a look inside. ESD is important as electro static discharge has the potential to kill components on the motherboard which can in turn break the motherboard and potentially kill other components too. An ESD strap will help limit the risks greatly and make it safer for the hardware. meters which can measure the voltages coming through certain components can be very useful if for example your doing a motherboard repair on a laptop (As a technician this would be a much more advanced repair) and readings can help tell you which chip may not be working for e.g if a power IC chip had died you may be getting incorrect power going to other components on the motherboard.

in some older systems the PSU (if unreliable) may be one of the first to die, to check this there are specific PSU testers that will measure the current coming from the rails and it will tell you if it is correct or not. this is very useful as it can tell you if it is for sure the PSU that is faulty or if it may be something else

Other tools that can be used to help maintain and support IT Systems will be software's like 'Impero' which is a state of the art software which is capable of monitoring users on the network from a single computer. It enables you to see what they are doing in real time, it provides a way to block certain websites and you can remotely control certain systems like remotely shutting them down or sending them system messages. It helps prevent misuse of the systems and deters people from using the systems for malicious or personal use.

Why the use of these Tools and Activities are necessary
Without all these listed above the companies systems simply wouldn't run optimally and productivity would be pretty low due to the higher chance of misuse on the systems/network