User:Ryan a bradley/sandbox

Systems Support
In this topic, the following bullet-points will be discussed:
 * Network management.
 * IT-related maintenance
 * IT-related recovery.
 * IT-related Performance & virtualization testing.
 * OS image file capturing & deployment.
 * IT-related Remote access.
 * IT-related Asset management.

A Brief Understanding of Systems Support in IT
systems support, often used to describe an individual who works within the field of systems_management, is defined by someone who's responsible for the roles of a system_administrator. A systems administrator is responsible for the operation of software, security, hardware, maintenance, recovery & configuration of a system. Below, you will find the main roles of systems support in IT.

Network Management
In network management, a system administrator is responsible for managing a wide variety of different fields within computer security. This involves the responsibility of kernel operations, such as settings, remote access, software updates, computer services and handling protection against internal & external threats on a network. Systems management is about control, deciding which areas of a network have authorized access. The reason why it's important to manage networks & computers is because of the potential damage that can be caused from exposed data.

IT-related Maintenance
In IT, computers require routine health checks in order to keep them functional & fit for use. To achieve this, IT health-related software is used to perform specific procedures that help to improve the overall functionality of each computer. This could include the cleaning of OS image files, removal of unnecessary junk-files, etc... A network administrator might also be restricted from using their own recommendations of maintenance software. When providing a general maintenance routine on a computer system, it might consist of:
 * Troubleshooting.
 * Automated software, such as Windows Security & Maintenance.
 * Updating an application to the latest version.
 * Cleaning junk-files.
 * Optimization of backing storage.
 * Built-in OS routine software.
 * Command-line user interface, such as "dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth", which fixes corrupted OS image files within Windows.

IT-related Recovery
Computers connected to the internet are constantly at risk of being attacked from hackers. When a computer is attacked by a software threat, data might become exposed. When this happens, network administrators need to be prepared for it by setting up recovery plans in order to reverse the damage. To achieve this, they require the use of different recovery-related software. The software involved could be malware-removal, backups, system restore points, CD tool, etc... To locate and remove malware from a computer, you can:
 * Review anti-virus software online, checking to see if it has good reviews, downloading, installing & running it.
 * Built-in OS anti-virus applications.
 * Checking & locating high CPU-rate from an unfamiliar application, right-click it and disabling it.

IT-related Performance & Configuration Testing
When attempting to improve performance, testing new methods to improve the functionality of a computer, whether it be checking process-rate or security, virtualization can be used to prevent damage being done to the real system. A good way to keep your computer performance working at its best rate, without damaging components, is by optimizing your storage device. You can also test the performance of hardware within a computer by using bench tools. Bench tools are designed to force components to function at their maximum rate to give the user information on which areas of their hardware might need upgrading.

When attempting to configure an active system, such as testing new security settings on a network, an IT technician would be expected to use a virtualization software tool to prevent the test from affecting the real system. A virtualization software tool is designed to let you operate a virtual image of a graphical user interface (E.g. Windows.), experimenting with a copycat version of your own OS whilst safe from damaging the real one.

Test virtualization out for yourself by experimenting how it works using a reliable software such as virtual_box.

OS Image file Capturing & Deployment
OS's contain image files. When a person wants to use a computer to access the internet, image files are loaded to present the user with a graphical user interface (E.g. A monitor, when connected to a computer which has an operating system installed on it, outputs data from the OS's coding. The OS coding holds the image files that are to be sent through the monitor to provide a display.).

OS image files can be captured via image file capture software. Once the image files have been captured, the files can then be deployed onto other computers, providing them with the same image (E.g. Display.) as the original computer that they came from. A network administrator will use this technique in order to upload a configured version of an OS (E.g. Windows.) to multiple computers, saving them the time of modifying settings, installing applications, etc... 1-by-1.

IT-related Remote Access
On a network, there are settings to request remote access from one computer to control another computer. By acquiring remote access from one computer to another, it allows for network management to be controlled from any computer on a network. Another reason why a network administrator will use remote access is to support multiple systems from one location. When a computer is failing to respond to a routine update, the computer can be accessed from another computer to assess how to fix the problem without having to travel to it. By doing this, it can prevent long journeys to locations that might have problems which can fixed in short time.

IT-related Asset Management
Assets are the tools & information that computers & networks will use to support the function of an organization. For instance, an organization requires the purchase of different resources, such as pencils, pens, paper, etc... It then has to keep track on the quantity & price and calculate the expenditure. To do this without causing confusion, software can support. By using software that's designed to be fully integrated throughout an entire network, connected to critical sources of data, the information being processed through those computers can be sent to another computer, adding it to an existing calculation, and then documenting it. This might include:
 * Physical item data; hardware, furniture, cleaning products, etc...
 * Digital item data; software.
 * Employee information data; contact info, holiday schedule, etc...
 * Customer information data; contact info, time/dates of business enquiries, etc...