[Completed] Technical Support Fundamentals C1/???
first 6 modules done in 6 hrs 9 minutes, i was gonna do the entire course but its not the feild i wanted to do. i thought it was just a pre-cursor to the cybercert course
due to me being new some pages will be unusable in dark mode with an almost highlighted effect for its origin being in light mode
- Glossery for modules 1-6
- Glossary - IT Support - Terms and definitions from Course 1
- Module 1 Glossary
- Module 2 Glossary
- Module 3 Glossary
- Module 4 Glossary
- Module 5 Glossary
- introduction to IT support (a history lesson)
- Navigating Coursera -
- Participate in program surveys
- How to Use Discussion Forums
- Get to Know Your Fellow October Completers
- From Abacus to Analytical Engine
- The Path to Modern Computers
- Pioneers in Computing and IT
- Character Encoding
- introduction to IT support
- Computer Language
- Character Encoding
- Binary
- Supplemental Reading on Logic Gates
- How to Count in Binary
- Computer architexture layer
- the modern computer
- Modle introduction
- Introduction to Computer Hardware
- Programs, the CPU, and Memory
- Supplemental Reading for CPUs
- Joe: Diversity in IT
- Components
- CPU
- Supplemental Reading for CPU architecture
- RAM
- Motherboards
- Physical Storage: Hard Drives
- Supplemental Reading for Data Storage
- Power Supplies
- Suplemental reading: Power Supplies
- Mobile Devices
- Batteries and Charging Systems
- Supplemental Readings for Batteries and Charging Systems
- Peripherals and Ports
- Supplemental Reading on Connector Types
- Suplemental reading Cables ( remind admin to download and rehost the pdfs linked )
- Supplemental Reading for Projectors
- BIOS
- Ben: Skills of IT professionals
- Putting it All Together: Installing The Processor
- Putting it All Together: Adding Graphics and Other Peripherals.
- Mobile Device Repair
- Mobile Display Types
- One program, many futures
- module introduction
- Module introduction
- Components of an Operating System
- Supplemental Reading for Chrome OS
- File Systems
- Supplemental Reading for ReFS File System
- Process Management
- Memory Management and Virtual Memory
- I/O Management
- Interacting with the OS: User Space
- Logs
- The Boot Process
- Boot Methods
- Boot Methods Best Practices
- Mobile Operating Systems
- Cindy: Drive and career path
- Installing an Operating System (OS)
- Choosing an Operating System
- Which Operating System Should You Choose for Your Next PC?
- Virtual Machines
- Installing Windows 10
- Windows 10 & 11 Feature Matrix
- Installing Linux
- Supplemental Reading for Ubuntu
- What is Chrome OS?
- Mac OS
- Tri Ngo: Obstacles & How to be successful in IT
- Introduction to Qwiklabs
- Creating a Folder with Windows
- Creating a Folder with Windows
- Creating a Folder with Linux
- What is Networking?
- Module Introduction
- Basics of Networking
- Networking Hardware
- TCP/IP
- The Web
- Victor: First job experiences
- History of the Internet
- Limitations of the Internet
- Changing Careers
- Impact of the Internet
- Impact
- Internet of Things
- Supplemental Reading for Internet of Things
- Gian: what he does in Android Security
- Privacy and Security
- Heather Adkins: keeping hackers out
- Learner Story: Melinda
- Interacting with Software
- Managing Software
- Installing, Updating, and Removing Software on Windows
- Installing, Updating, and Removing Software on Linux
- Software Automation
- Installing, Updating, and Removing Software in Windows
- Installing, Updating and Removing Software in Linux
- Introduction to Software
- Module Introduction
- How software is built: Coding, scripting, and programming
- Common Scripting Solutions
- Scripting Languages
- Types of Software
- Supplemental Reading for Software Versioning
- Revisiting Abstracting
- Recipe for Computing
- Phelan: Learning IT in the Navy
- Troubeshooting best practices
- Module Introduction
- Ask Questions!
- Isolating the Problem
- Follow the Cookie Crumbs
- Start with the Quickest Step First
- Troubleshooting Pitfalls to Avoid
- Amir: Attributes in an IT support space
- Customer Service
- Intro to Soft Skills
- Anatomy of an Interaction
- How to Deal with Difficult Situations Part I
- How to Deal with Difficult Situations Part II
- Doccumentation
- Getting Through a Technical Interview
- Your Opportunity for Success
- Standing Out from the Crowd
- Crafting Your Resume
- Getting Ready for the Interview
- Creating Your Elevator Pitch
- What to Expect During the Technical Interview
- Showing Your Best Self During the Interview
- Interview Role Play: Customer Service
- Course Wrap Up
- Coursera Honor Code
- Qwiklabs Terms of Service
Glossery for modules 1-6
Glossary - IT Support - Terms and definitions from Course 1
#
404 Not Found: An error message you might see on websites that have been moved or deleted
A
Abstraction: To take a relatively complex system and simplify it for our use
Address bus: Connects the CPU to the MCC and sends over the location of the data, but not
the data itself
Algorithm: A series of steps that solves specific problems.
Android: A mobile operating system based on Linux
Application: A computer program designed for a specific use
Application software: Any software created to fulfill a specific need, like a text editor, web
browser, or graphics editor
ARPANET: The earliest version of the Internet that we see today, created by the US
government project DARPA in the 1960s
ASCII: The oldest character encoding standard used is ASCII. It represents the English
alphabet, digits, and punctuation marks
Assembly language: A language that allowed computer scientists to use human readable
instructions, assembled into code that the machines could understand
ATA: The most common interface that hard drives use to connect to our system
ATX (Advanced Technology eXtended): The most common form factor for motherboards
Automation: It makes processes work automatically
B
Backward compatible: It means older hardware works with newer hardware
Binary system: The communication that a computer uses is referred to as binary system, also
known as base-2 numeral system
Bios (Basic Input Output Services): The BIOS is software that helps initialize the hardware in
our computer and gets our operating system up and running
BIOS/UEFI: A low-level software that initializes our computer's hardware to make sure
everything is good to go
Block storage: It improves faster handling of data because the data isn't stored in one long
piece but in blocks, so it can be accessed quicker
Boot: To start up a computer
Bootloader: A small program that loads the operating system
Browser: A user interface for displaying and interacting with web pages
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device): Refers to the practice of allowing people to use their own
personal devices for work
Byte: A group of 8 bits
C
Cache: The assigned stored location for recently or frequently accessed data; on a mobile app
it is where anything that was changed or created with that app is stored
Character encoding: Is used to assign our binary values to characters so that we as humans
can read them
Charge cycle: One full charge and discharge of a battery
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA): Regulates the information we show to
children under the age of 13
Chipset: It decides how components talk to each other on our machine
Chrome OS: A Linux-based operating system designed by Google
Clients: A device that receives data from a server
Clock cycle: When you send a voltage to the clock wire
Clock speed: The maximum number of clock cycles that it can handle in a set in a certain time
period
Clock wire: When you send or receive data, it sends a voltage to that clock wire to let the CPU
know it can start doing calculations
Coding: Translating one language to another
Command Line Interface (CLI): A shell that uses text commands to interact with the operating
system
Compiled programming language: A language that uses human readable instructions, then
sends them through a compiler
Computer: A device that stores and processes data by performing calculations
Computer file: Data that we store and a file can be anything, a word document, a picture, a
song, literally anything
Copyright: Used when creating original work
CPU: Central processing unit
CPU sockets: A CPU socket is a series of pins that connect a CPU’s processor to the PC’s
motherboard
Cryptography: The overarching discipline that covers the practice of coding and hiding
messages from third parties
D
DARPA: A US government project in the 1960s that went on to create the earliest version of the
Internet that we see today
Data blocks: Data that can be broken down into many pieces and written to different parts of
the hard disk
Data sizes: Metrics that refer to data sizes including bit, byte, kilobyte, kibibyte, and megabyte
DDR SDRAM (Double Data Rate SDRAM): A type of RAM that is faster, takes up less power,
and has a larger capacity than earlier SDRAM versions
Decimal form- base 10 system: In the decimal system, there are 10 possible numbers you can
use ranging from zero to nine
Desktop: The main screen where we can navigate our files, folders, and applications
Digital divide: The growing skills gap between people with and without digital literacy skills
DIMM: Dual Inline Memory Module
Display port: Port which also outputs audio and video
Distribution: A version of the operating system
Distributions: Some common Linux distributions are Ubuntu, Debian, and Red Hat
Domain name: A website name; the part of the URL following www.
Domain Name System (DNS): A global and highly distributed network service that resolves
strings of letters, such as a website name, into an IP address
DRAM: Dynamic Random Access Memory
Drivers: The drivers contain the instructions our CPU needs to understand external devices like
keyboards, webcams, printers
DVI: DVI cables generally just output video
E
Electrostatic discharge: Electrostatic discharge is a sudden and momentary flow of electric
current between two electrically charged objects caused by contact, an electrical short or
dielectric breakdown
Error message: Helpful indicators that can point you in the right direction
Etcher.io: A tool you can use to load an install image onto your USB device and make it
bootable
Ethernet cable: It lets you physically connect to the network through a cable
.exe: A file extension found in Windows for an executable file
Expansion slots: Give us the ability to increase the functionality of our computer
External Data Bus (EDB): It's a row of wires that interconnect the parts of our computer
F
Factory reset: Resetting a device to the settings it came with from the factory
Fiber optic cable: Fiber optic cables contain individual optical fibers which are tiny tubes made
of glass about the width of a human hair. Unlike copper, which uses electrical voltages, fiber
cables use pulses of light to represent the ones and zeros of the underlying data
File extension: The appended part of a filename that tells us what type of file it is in certain
operating systems
File handling: A process of storing data using a program
File system: A system used to manage files
Finder: The file manager for all Macs
Firmware: Software that's permanently stored on a computer component
Folders/Directories: Used to organize files
Form factor: A mathematical way to compensate for irregularities in the shape of an object by
using a ratio between its volume and height
G
GIT: A version control system that helps keep track of changes made to files and directories
Globalization: The movement that lets governments, businesses, and organizations
communicate and integrate together on an international scale
H
Hard drive: It is a long term memory component that holds all of our data, which can include
music, pictures, applications
Hardware: External or internal devices and equipment that help you perform major functions
Hardware resource deficiency: It refers to the lack of system resources like memory, hard
drive space, etc
HDD (Hard disk drive): Hard disk drives, or HDDs, use a spinning platter and a mechanical
arm to read and write information
HDMI: A type of cable that outputs both video and audio
Heatsink: It is used to dissipate heat from our CPU
HFS+/APFS: HFS+ is a journaling system developed by Apple Inc. and APFS is another but
more encrypted Apple journaling system
Hostname: Used to identify the computer when it needs to talk to other computers
Hubs: Devices that serve as a central location through which data travels through
I
Information technology: The use of digital technology, like computers and the internet, to store
and process data into useful information
Input/Output device: A device that performs input and output, including monitors, keyboards,
mice, hard disk drives, speakers, bluetooth headsets, webcams, and network adapters
Install image: A downloadable operating system image used to install an operating system on
a device
Instruction set: A list of instructions that our CPU is able to run
Internet: A worldwide system of interconnected networks
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN): Where website names
are registered
Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4): An address that consists of 32 bits separated into four
groups
Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6): An address that consist of a 128 bits, four times the
amount that IPv4 uses
Internet service provider (ISP): A company that provides a consumer an internet connection
Internet of Things (IoT): The concept that more and more devices are connected to the
internet in a smarter fashion such as smart thermostats that turn off the air conditioner when you
leave and turn it on when you come back
Interpreted programming language: A language that isn't compiled ahead of time
I/O management: Anything that can give us input or that we can use for output of data
iOS: A mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc.
IP address: The most common protocol used in the network layer, used to helps us route
information
ITX (Information Technology eXtended): A form factor for motherboards that is much smaller
than ATX boards
K
Kernel: The main core of an operating system that creates processes, efficiently schedules
them, and manages how processes are terminated
L
Land Grid Array (LGA): It is a type of CPU socket that stick out of the motherboard
Lightning adaptor: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in
mobile devices
Linux OS: Linux is one of the largest an open source operating system used heavily in
business infrastructure and in the consumer space
Logic gates: Allow transistors to do more complex tasks, like decide where to send electrical
signals depending on logical conditions
Logs: Files that record system events on our computer
M
MAC address: A globally unique identifier attached to an individual network interface. It's a
48-bit number normally represented by six groupings of two hexadecimal numbers
Mac OS: Apple's operating system
Mb/s: megabit per second, which is a unit of data transfer rate
Memory controller chip (MCC): A bridge between the CPU and the RAM
Memory usage: The amount of memory available in your system as well as what memory is
currently being used by other applications
Memory management: One of the functions that a kernel performs; it optimizes memory usage
and make sure our applications have enough memory to run
Metadata: Tells us everything we need to know about a file, including who created it, when it
was last modified, who has access to it, and what type of file it is.
Micro display port: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in
mobile devices
Micro HDMI: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile
devices
Micro USB: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile
devices
Microsoft Terminal Services Client: A client program used to create RDP connections to
remote computers
Mini HDMI: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile
devices
Mini USB: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Motherboard: The body or circulatory system of the computer that connects all the pieces
together
N
Network: The interconnection of computers
Network Address Translation (NAT): A mitigation tool that lets organizations use one public IP
address and many private IP addresses within the network
Network stack: A set of hardware or software that provides the infrastructure for a computer
Networking: Managing, building and designing networks
Networking protocols: A set of rules for how we transfer data in a network
Northbridge: interconnects stuff like RAM and video cards.
NVMe (NVM Express): interface standard which allows greater throughput of data and
increased efficiency.
O
Open SSH: The most popular program to use SSH within Linux
Open Source: This means the developers will let other developers share, modify, and distribute
their software for free
Operating system: The whole package that manages our computers resources and lets us
interact with it
Overclocking: it increases the rate of your CPU clock cycles in order to perform more tasks
P
PC: It means personal computer, which technically means a computer that one person uses
PCI Express: Peripheral Component Interconnect Express
PDA (Personal Digital Assistant): Allows computing to go mobile
Peripherals: the external devices which we connect to our computer that add functionality,
like: a mouse, a keyboard, and a monitor
Permission denied: An error message you might find when accessing a protected file
Pin Grid Array (PGA): CPU socket where the pins are located on the processor itself
Plink (PuTTY Link): A tool built into the command line after PuTTY is installed that is used to
make remote SSH connections
Ports: Connection points that we can connect devices to that extend the functionality of our
computer
POST (Power On Self Test): It figures out what hardware is on the computer
Powershell: A shell (program that interprets text commands) for Windows
Power supply: Converts electricity from our wall outlet onto a format that our computer can use
Power user: Above average computer users
Process management: The capacity to manage the many programs in a system - when to run
them, the order they run in, how many resources they take up, how long they run, etcetera
Process scheduler: The part of the kernel that makes multitasking possible
Programming: Coding in a programming language
Programming language: Special languages that software developers use to write instructions
for computers to execute
Programs: Basic instructions that tell the computer what to do
Punch cards: A sequence of cards with holes in them to automatically perform calculations
instead of manually entering them by hand
Q
Qwiklabs: An online platform which provides training in cloud services
R
RAM: Random Access Memory
Registers: An accessible location for storing the data that our CPU works with
Reimaging: The process of reimaging involves wiping and reinstalling an operating system
using a disk image which is a copy of an operating system
Remote connection: The ability to connect an authorized person to a computer or network
remotely; allows us to manage multiple machines from anywhere in the world
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP): A secure network communication protocol developed by
Microsoft that allows a user to connect to another device remotely
Return merchandise authorization (RMA): The process of receiving returned merchandise
and authorizing a refund
RGB model: RGB or red, green, and blue model is the basic model of representing colors
ROM chip (Read Only Memory): A read-only memory chip where the BIOS is stored
Root cause: The main factor that's causing a range of issues
Router: A device that knows how to forward data between independent networks
RPM: Revolutions per minute
S
SATA: The most popular serial ATA drive, which uses one cable for data transfers
Safe operating temperature: The temperature range in which rechargeable batteries must be
kept in order to avoid demanage
Scalability: The measure of a system’s ability to increase or decrease in performance and cost
in response to varying loads in system processing demands
SDRAM: It stands for Synchronous DRAM, this type of RAM is synchronized to our systems'
clock speed allowing quicker processing of data
Server logs: Text files that contains recorded information about activities performed on a
specific web server in a defined period of time
Servers: Devices that provide data to other devices that request that data, also known as a
client
Scripting: Coding in a scripting language
Script: It is run by an interpreter, which interprets the code into CPU instructions just in time to
run them
Scripts: Mainly used to perform a single or limited range task
Shell: A program that interprets text commands and sends them to the OS to execute
Standoffs: Used to raise and attach your motherboard to the case
SOC (System On a Chip): Packs the CPU, Ram, and sometimes even the storage onto a
single chip
Software: The intangible instructions that tell the hardware what to do
Software bug: An error in software that causes unexpected results
Software management: A broad term used to refer to any and all kinds of software that are
designed to manage or help manage some sort of project or task
Southbridge: It maintains our IO or input/output controllers, like hard drives and USB devices
that input and output data.
SSH (Secure shell): A protocol implemented by other programs to securely access one
computer from another.
SSH authentication key: A secure authentication method for accessing a computer from other
device
SSH client: A program you must have installed on your device in order to establish an SSH
connection with another device
SSH server: Software installed on a machine that allows for that device to accept an SSH
connection
Standardization: A systematic way of naming hosts
Swap space: The allocated space where the virtual memory is stored on the hard drive when
the amount of physical memory space is used up or full
SSD: Solid State Drive
Switches: Devices that help our data travel
System: A system refers to a group of hardware components and software components that
work together to fun the programs or processes in the computer
System settings: Settings like display resolution, user accounts, network, devices, etc
System software: Software used to keep our core system running, like operating system tools
and utilities
T
Task bar: It gives us quick options and shows us information like network connectivity, the date,
system notifications, sound etc
Terminal: A text based interface to the computer
Thermal paste: A substance used to better connect our CPU and heat sink, so the heat
transfers from to the other better
Time slice: A very short interval of time that gets allocated to a process for CPU execution
Transfer Control Protocol (TCP): A protocol that handles reliable delivery of information from
one network to another
Troubleshooting: The ability to diagnose and resolve a problem
Type-C connector: A type of USB connector meant to replace many peripheral connections
U
Ubuntu: The most popular Linux consumer distribution
UEFI: United Extensible Firmware Interface
USB (Universal Serial Bus): A connection standard for connecting peripherals to devices such
as computers
USB-C adapter: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile
devices
UTF-8: The most prevalent encoding standard used today
Uniform Resource Locator (URL): A web address similar to a home address
User name: A unique identifier for a user account
User space: The aspect of an operating system that humans interact with directly like
programs, such as text editors, music players, system settings, user interfaces, etcetera
V
Virtual Box: An application you can use to install Linux and have it completely isolated from
your machine
Virtual machine (VM): An application that uses physical resources like memory, CPU and
storage, but they offer the added benefit of running multiple operating systems at once
Virtual memory: A combination of hard drive space and RAM that acts like memory which our
processes can use
VPN (Virtual private network): A secure method of connecting a device to a private network
over the internet
W
WannaCry Attack: A cyber attack that started in Europe and infected hundreds of thousands of
computers across the world
Wireless networking (Wi-Fi): Networks you connect to through radios and antennas
World Wide Web (WWW): The information system that enables documents and other web
resources to be accessed over the Internet
Module 1 Glossary
New terms and their definitions: Course 1 Week 1
Abstraction: To take a relatively complex system and simplify it for our use
Algorithm: A series of steps that solves specific problems
ASCII: The oldest character encoding standard used is ASCII. It represents the English alphabet, digits, and punctuation marks
Binary system: The communication that a computer uses is referred to as binary system, also known as base-2 numeral system
Byte: A group of 8 bits
Character encoding: Is used to assign our binary values to characters so that we as humans can read them
Computer: A device that stores and processes data by performing calculations
Cryptography: The overarching discipline that covers the practice of coding and hiding messages from third parties
Decimal form- base 10 system: In the decimal system, there are 10 possible numbers you can use ranging from zero to nine
Digital divide: The growing skills gap between people with and without digital literacy skills
Information technology: The use of digital technology, like computers and the internet, to store and process data into useful information
Linux OS: Linux is one of the largest an open source operating system used heavily in business infrastructure and in the consumer space
Logic gates: Allow transistors to do more complex tasks, like decide where to send electrical signals depending on logical conditions
Open source: This means the developers will let other developers share, modify, and distribute their software for free
PDA (Personal Digital Assistant): Allows computing to go mobile
Punch cards: A sequence of cards with holes in them to automatically perform calculations instead of manually entering them by hand
RGB model: RGB or red, green, and blue model is the basic model of representing colors
UTF-8: The most prevalent encoding standard used today
Module 2 Glossary
Module 2 Glossary
New terms and their definitions: Course 1 Week 2
Address bus: Connects the CPU to the MCC and sends over the location of the data, but not the data itself
ATA: The most common interface that hard drives use to connect to our system
ATX (Advanced Technology eXtended): The most common form factor for motherboards
Backward compatible: It means older hardware works with newer hardware
Bios (Basic Input Output Services): The BIOS is software that helps initialize the hardware in our computer and gets our operating system up and running
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device): Refers to the practice of allowing people to use their own personal devices for work
Cache: The assigned stored location for recently or frequently accessed data; on a mobile app it is where anything that was changed or created with that app is stored
Charge cycle: One full charge and discharge of a battery
Chipset: It decides how components talk to each other on our machine
Clock cycle: When you send a voltage to the clock wire
Clock speed: The maximum number of clock cycles that it can handle in a set in a certain time period
Clock wire: When you send or receive data, it sends a voltage to that clock wire to let the CPU know it can start doing calculations
CPU: Central processing unit
CPU sockets: A CPU socket is a series of pins that connect a CPU’s processor to the PC’s motherboard
Data sizes: Metrics that refer to data sizes including bit, byte, kilobyte, kibibyte, and megabyte
DDR SDRAM (Double Data Rate SDRAM): A type of RAM that is faster, takes up less power, and has a larger capacity than earlier SDRAM versions
Desktop: The main screen where we can navigate our files, folders, and applications
DIMM: Dual Inline Memory Module
Display port: Port which also outputs audio and video
DRAM: Dynamic Random Access Memory
Drivers: The drivers contain the instructions our CPU needs to understand external devices like keyboards, webcams, printers
DVI: DVI cables generally just output video
Electrostatic discharge: Electrostatic discharge is a sudden and momentary flow of electric current between two electrically charged objects caused by contact, an electrical short or dielectric breakdown
External Data Bus (EDB): It's a row of wires that interconnect the parts of our computer
Factory reset: Resetting a device to the settings it came with from the factory
Form factor: A mathematical way to compensate for irregularities in the shape of an object by using a ratio between its volume and height
Hard drive: It is a long term memory component that holds all of our data, which can include music, pictures, applications
Hardware: External or internal devices and equipment that help you perform major functions
HDD (Hard disk drive): Hard disk drives, or HDDs, use a spinning platter and a mechanical arm to read and write information
HDMI: A type of cable that outputs both video and audio
Heatsink: It is used to dissipate heat from our CPU
Instruction set: A list of instructions that our CPU is able to run
ITX (Information Technology eXtended): A form factor for motherboards that is much smaller than ATX boards
Land Grid Array (LGA): It is a type of CPU socket that stick out of the motherboard
Lightning adaptor: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Mb/s: megabit per second, which is a unit of data transfer rate
Memory controller chip (MCC): A bridge between the CPU and the RAM
Micro display port: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Micro HDMI: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Micro USB: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Mini HDMI: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Mini USB: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Motherboard: The body or circulatory system of the computer that connects all the pieces together
Northbridge: interconnects stuff like RAM and video cards
NVMe (NVM Express): interface standard which allows greater throughput of data and increased efficiency
Overclocking: it increases the rate of your CPU clock cycles in order to perform more tasks
PCI Express: Peripheral Component Interconnect Express
Peripherals: the external devices which we connect to our computer that add functionality, like: a mouse, a keyboard, and a monitor
Pin Grid Array (PGA): CPU socket where the pins are located on the processor itself
Ports: Connection points that we can connect devices to that extend the functionality of our computer
POST (Power On Self Test): It figures out what hardware is on the computer
Power supply: Converts electricity from our wall outlet onto a format that our computer can use
Programs: Basic instructions that tell the computer what to do
RAM: Random Access Memory
Registers: An accessible location for storing the data that our CPU works with
Reimaging: The process of reimaging involves wiping and reinstalling an operating system using a disk image which is a copy of an operating system
Return merchandise authorization (RMA): The process of receiving returned merchandise and authorizing a refund
ROM chip (Read Only Memory): A read-only memory chip where the BIOS is stored
RPM: Revolutions per minute
Safe operating temperature: The temperature range in which rechargeable batteries must be kept in order to avoid demanage
SATA: The most popular serial ATA drive, which uses one cable for data transfers
SDRAM: It stands for Synchronous DRAM, this type of RAM is synchronized to our systems' clock speed allowing quicker processing of data
SOC (System On a Chip): Packs the CPU, Ram, and sometimes even the storage onto a single chip
Southbridge: It maintains our IO or input/output controllers, like hard drives and USB devices that input and output data
SSD: Solid State Drive
Standoffs: Used to raise and attach your motherboard to the case
Thermal paste: A substance used to better connect our CPU and heat sink, so the heat transfers from to the other better
Type-C connector: A type of USB connector meant to replace many peripheral connections
UEFI: United Extensible Firmware Interface
USB (Universal Serial Bus): A connection standard for connecting peripherals to devices such as computers
USB-C adapter: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Terms and their definitions from previous weeks
A
Abstraction: To take a relatively complex system and simplify it for our use
Algorithm: A series of steps that solves specific problems
ASCII: The oldest character encoding standard used is ASCII. It represents the English alphabet, digits, and punctuation marks
B
Binary system: The communication that a computer uses is referred to as binary system, also known as base-2 numeral system
Byte: A group of 8 bits
C
Character encoding: Is used to assign our binary values to characters so that we as humans can read them
Computer: A device that stores and processes data by performing calculations
Cryptography: The overarching discipline that covers the practice of coding and hiding messages from third parties
D
Decimal form- base 10 system: In the decimal system, there are 10 possible numbers you can use ranging from zero to nine
Digital divide: The growing skills gap between people with and without digital literacy skills
I
Information technology: The use of digital technology, like computers and the internet, to store and process data into useful information
L
Linux OS: Linux is one of the largest an open source operating systems used heavily in business infrastructure and in the consumer space
Logic gates: Allow transistors to do more complex tasks, like deciding where to send electrical signals depending on logical conditions
O
Open source: This means the developers will let other developers share, modify, and distribute their software for free
P
PDA (Personal Digital Assistant): Allows computing to go mobile
Punch cards: A sequence of cards with holes in them to automatically perform calculations instead of manually entering them by hand
R
RGB model: RGB or red, green, and blue model is the basic model of representing colors
U
UTF-8: The most prevalent encoding standard used today
Module 3 Glossary
New terms and their definitions: Course 1 Week 3
Android: A mobile operating system based on Linux
Application: A computer program designed for a specific use
BIOS/UEFI: A low-level software that initializes our computer's hardware to make sure everything is good to go
Block storage: It improves faster handling of data because the data isn't stored in one long piece but in blocks, so it can be accessed more quickly
Boot: To start up a computer
Bootloader: A small program that loads the operating system
Chrome OS: A Linux-based operating system designed by Google
Command Line Interface (CLI): A shell that uses text commands to interact with the operating system
Computer file: Data that we store and a file can be anything, a word document, a picture, a song, literally anything
Data blocks: Data that can be broken down into many pieces and written to different parts of the hard disk
Distributions: Some common Linux distributions are Ubuntu, Debian, and Red Hat
Etcher.io: A tool you can use to load an install image onto your USB device and make it bootable
File extension: The appended part of a filename that tells us what type of file it is in certain operating systems
File handling: A process of storing data using a program
File system: A system used to manage files
Finder: The file manager for all Macs
Folders/Directories: Used to organize files
Hardware resource deficiency: It refers to the lack of system resources like memory, hard drive space, et cetera
HFS+/APFS: HFS+ is a journaling system developed by Apple Inc. and APFS is another but more encrypted Apple journaling system
Hostname: Used to identify the computer when it needs to talk to other computers
Input/Output device: A device that performs input and output, including monitors, keyboards, mice, hard disk drives, speakers, bluetooth headsets, webcams, and network adapters
Install image: A downloadable operating system image used to install an operating system on a device
I/O management: Anything that can give us input or that we can use for output of data
iOS: A mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc.
Kernel: The main core of an operating system that creates processes, efficiently schedules them, and manages how processes are terminated
Logs: Files that record system events on our computer
Mac OS: Apple's operating system
Memory management: One of the functions that a kernel performs; it optimizes memory usage and make sure our applications have enough memory to run
Metadata: Tells us everything we need to know about a file, including who created it, when it was last modified, who has access to it, and what type of file it is
Microsoft Terminal Services Client: A client program used to create RDP connections to remote computers
Open SSH: The most popular program to use SSH within Linux
Operating system: The whole package that manages our computers resources and lets us interact with it
PC: Personal computer, which technically means a computer that one person uses
Plink (PuTTY Link): A tool built into the command line after PuTTY is installed that is used to make remote SSH connections
Powershell: A shell (program that interprets text commands) for Windows
Power user: Above average computer users
Process management: The capacity to manage the many programs in a system - when to run them, the order they run in, how many resources they take up, how long they run, etc.
Qwiklabs: An online platform which provides training in cloud services
Remote connection: The ability to connect an authorized person to a computer or network remotely; allows us to manage multiple machines from anywhere in the world
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP): A secure network communication protocol developed by Microsoft that allows a user to connect to another device remotely
Scalability: The measure of a system’s ability to increase or decrease in performance and cost in response to varying loads in system processing demands
Shell: A program that interprets text commands and sends them to the OS to execute
SSH (Secure shell): A protocol implemented by other programs to securely access one computer from another.
SSH authentication key: A secure authentication method for accessing a computer from other device
SSH client: A program you must have installed on your device in order to establish an SSH connection with another device
SSH server: Software installed on a machine that allows for that device to accept an SSH connection
Standardization: A systematic way of naming hosts
Swap space: The allocated space where the virtual memory is stored on the hard drive when the amount of physical memory space is used up or full
System: A group of hardware components and software components that work together to run the programs or processes in the computer
System settings: Settings like display resolution, user accounts, network, devices, etc.
Task bar: It gives us quick options and shows us information like network connectivity, the date, system notifications, sound etc
Terminal: A text based interface to the computer
Time slice: A very short interval of time that gets allocated to a process for CPU execution
Ubuntu: The most popular Linux consumer distribution
User name: A unique identifier for a user account
User space: The aspect of an operating system that humans interact with directly like programs, such as text editors, music players, system settings, user interfaces, etc.
Virtual Box: An application you can use to install Linux and have it completely isolated from your machine
Virtual machine (VM): An application that uses physical resources like memory, CPU and storage, but they offer the added benefit of running multiple operating systems at once
Virtual memory: A combination of hard drive space and RAM that acts like memory which our processes can use
VPN (Virtual private network): A secure method of connecting a device to a private network over the internet
Terms and their definitions from previous weeks
A
Abstraction: To take a relatively complex system and simplify it for our use
Address bus: Connects the CPU to the MCC and sends over the location of the data, but not the data itself
Algorithm: A series of steps that solves specific problems
ASCII: The oldest character encoding standard used is ASCII. It represents the English alphabet, digits, and punctuation marks
ATA: The most common interface that hard drives use to connect to our system
ATX (Advanced Technology eXtended): The most common form factor for motherboards
B
Backward compatible: It means older hardware works with newer hardware
Binary system: The communication that a computer uses is referred to as binary system, also known as base-2 numeral system
Bios (Basic Input Output Services): The BIOS is software that helps initialize the hardware in our computer and gets our operating system up and running
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device): Refers to the practice of allowing people to use their own personal devices for work
Byte: A group of 8 bits
C
Cache: The assigned stored location for recently or frequently accessed data; on a mobile app it is where anything that was changed or created with that app is stored
Character encoding: Is used to assign our binary values to characters so that we as humans can read them
Charge cycle: One full charge and discharge of a battery
Computer: A device that stores and processes data by performing calculations
Chipset: It decides how components talk to each other on our machine
Clock cycle: When you send a voltage to the clock wire
Clock speed: The maximum number of clock cycles that it can handle in a set in a certain time period
Clock wire: When you send or receive data, it sends a voltage to that clock wire to let the CPU know it can start doing calculations
CPU: Central processing unit
CPU sockets: A CPU socket is a series of pins that connect a CPU’s processor to the PC’s motherboard
Cryptography: The overarching discipline that covers the practice of coding and hiding messages from third parties
D
Data sizes: Metrics that refer to data sizes including bit, byte, kilobyte, kibibyte, and megabyte
DDR SDRAM (Double Data Rate SDRAM): A type of RAM that is faster, takes up less power, and has a larger capacity than earlier SDRAM versions
Decimal form- base 10 system: In the decimal system, there are 10 possible numbers you can use ranging from zero to nine
Desktop: The main screen where we can navigate our files, folders, and applications
Digital divide: The growing skills gap between people with and without digital literacy skills
DIMM: Dual Inline Memory Module
Display port: Port which also outputs audio and video
DRAM: Dynamic Random Access Memory
Drivers: The drivers contain the instructions our CPU needs to understand external devices like keyboards, webcams, printers
DVI: DVI cables generally just output video
E
Electrostatic discharge: Electrostatic discharge is a sudden and momentary flow of electric current between two electrically charged objects caused by contact, an electrical short or dielectric breakdown
External Data Bus (EDB): It's a row of wires that interconnect the parts of our computer
F
Factory reset: Resetting a device to the settings it came with from the factory
Form factor: A mathematical way to compensate for irregularities in the shape of an object by using a ratio between its volume and height
H
Hard drive: It is a long term memory component that holds all of our data, which can include music, pictures, applications
Hardware: External or internal devices and equipment that help you perform major functions
HDD (Hard disk drive): Hard disk drives, or HDDs, use a spinning platter and a mechanical arm to read and write information
HDMI: A type of cable that outputs both video and audio
Heatsink: It is used to dissipate heat from our CPU
I
Information technology: The use of digital technology, like computers and the internet, to store and process data into useful information
Instruction set: A list of instructions that our CPU is able to run
ITX (Information Technology eXtended): A form factor for motherboards that is much smaller than ATX boards
L
Land Grid Array (LGA): It is a type of CPU socket that stick out of the motherboard
Lightning adaptor: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Linux OS: Linux is one of the largest an open source operating system used heavily in business infrastructure and in the consumer space
Logic gates: Allow transistors to do more complex tasks, like decide where to send electrical signals depending on logical conditions
M
Mb/s: megabit per second, which is a unit of data transfer rate
Memory controller chip (MCC): A bridge between the CPU and the RAM
Micro display port: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Micro HDMI: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Micro USB: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Mini HDMI: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Mini USB: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Motherboard: The body or circulatory system of the computer that connects all the pieces together
N
Northbridge: interconnects stuff like RAM and video cards
O
Open source: This means the developers will let other developers share, modify, and distribute their software for free
Overclocking: it increases the rate of your CPU clock cycles in order to perform more tasks
P
PCI Express: Peripheral Component Interconnect Express
PDA (Personal Digital Assistant): Allows computing to go mobile
Peripherals: the external devices which we connect to our computer that add functionality, like: a mouse, a keyboard, and a monitor
Pin Grid Array (PGA): CPU socket where the pins are located on the processor itself
Ports: Connection points that we can connect devices to that extend the functionality of our computer
POST (Power On Self Test): It figures out what hardware is on the computer
Power supply: Converts electricity from our wall outlet onto a format that our computer can use
Programs: Basic instructions that tell the computer what to do
Punch cards: A sequence of cards with holes in them to automatically perform calculations instead of manually entering them by hand
R
RAM: Random Access Memory
Registers: An accessible location for storing the data that our CPU works with
Reimaging: The process of reimaging involves wiping and reinstalling an operating system using a disk image which is a copy of an operating system
Return merchandise authorization (RMA): The process of receiving returned merchandise and authorizing a refund
RGB model: RGB or red, green, and blue model is the basic model of representing colors
ROM chip (Read Only Memory): A read-only memory chip where the BIOS is stored
RPM: Revolutions per minute
S
Safe operating temperature: The temperature range in which rechargeable batteries must be kept in order to avoid demanage
SATA: The most popular serial ATA drive, which uses one cable for data transfers
SDRAM: It stands for Synchronous DRAM, this type of RAM is synchronized to our systems' clock speed allowing quicker processing of data
SOC (System On a Chip): Packs the CPU, Ram, and sometimes even the storage onto a single chip
Southbridge: It maintains our IO or input/output controllers, like hard drives and USB devices that input and output data
SSD: Solid State Drive
Standoffs: Used to raise and attach your motherboard to the case
T
Thermal paste: A substance used to better connect our CPU and heat sink, so the heat transfers from to the other better
Type-C connector: A type of USB connector meant to replace many peripheral connections
U
UEFI: Unified Extensible Firmware Interface
USB (Universal Serial Bus): A connection standard for connecting peripherals to devices such as computers
USB-C adapter: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
UTF-8: The most prevalent encoding standard used today
Module 4 Glossary
New terms and their definitions: Course 1 Week 4
ARPANET: The earliest version of the Internet that we see today, created by the US government project DARPA in the 1960s
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA): Regulates the information we show to children under the age of 13
Clients: A device that receives data from a server
DARPA: A US government project in the 1960s that went on to create the earliest version of the Internet that we see today
Domain name: A website name; the part of the URL following www.
Domain Name System (DNS): A global and highly distributed network service that resolves strings of letters, such as a website name, into an IP address
Ethernet cable: It lets you physically connect to the network through a cable
Fiber optic cable: Fiber optic cables contain individual optical fibers which are tiny tubes made of glass about the width of a human hair. Unlike copper, which uses electrical voltages, fiber cables use pulses of light to represent the ones and zeros of the underlying data
Globalization: The movement that lets governments, businesses, and organizations communicate and integrate together on an international scale
Hubs: Devices that serve as a central location through which data travels through
Internet: A worldwide system of interconnected networks
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN): Where website names are registered
Internet of Things (IoT): The concept that more and more devices are connected to the internet in a smarter fashion such as smart thermostats that turn off the air conditioner when you leave and turn it on when you come back
Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4): An address that consists of 32 bits separated into four groups
Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6): An address that consist of a 128 bits, four times the amount that IPv4 uses
Internet service provider (ISP): A company that provides a consumer an internet connection
IP address: The most common protocol used in the network layer, used to helps us route information
MAC address: A globally unique identifier attached to an individual network interface. It's a 48-bit number normally represented by six groupings of two hexadecimal numbers
Network: The interconnection of computers
Network Address Translation (NAT): A mitigation tool that lets organizations use one public IP address and many private IP addresses within the network
Networking: Managing, building and designing networks
Networking protocols: A set of rules for how we transfer data in a network
Network stack: A set of hardware or software that provides the infrastructure for a computer
Router: A device that knows how to forward data between independent networks
Server logs: Text files that contains recorded information about activities performed on a specific web server in a defined period of time
Servers: Devices that provide data to other devices that request that data, also known as a client
Switches: Devices that help our data travel
Transfer Control Protocol (TCP): A protocol that handles reliable delivery of information from one network to another
Uniform Resource Locator (URL): A web address similar to a home address
WannaCry Attack: A cyber attack that started in Europe and infected hundreds of thousands of computers across the world
Wireless networking (Wi-Fi): Networks you connect to through radios and antennas
World Wide Web (WWW): The information system that enables documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet
Module 5 Glossary
New terms and their definitions: Course 1 Week 5
Application software: Any software created to fulfill a specific need, like a text editor, web browser, or graphics editor
Assembly language: A language that allowed computer scientists to use human readable instructions, assembled into code that the machines could understand
Automation: It makes processes work automatically
Coding: Translating one language to another
Compiled programming language: A language that uses human readable instructions, then sends them through a compiler
Copyright: Used when creating original work
.exe: A file extension found in Windows for an executable file
Firmware: Software that's permanently stored on a computer component
GIT: A version control system that helps keep track of changes made to files and directories
Interpreted programming language: A language that isn't compiled ahead of time
Programming: Coding in a programming language
Programming language: Special languages that software developers use to write instructions for computers to execute
Script: It is run by an interpreter, which interprets the code into CPU instructions just in time to run them
Scripting: Coding in a scripting language
Software: The intangible instructions that tell the hardware what to do
Software bug: An error in software that causes unexpected results
Software management: A broad term used to refer to any and all kinds of software that are designed to manage or help manage some sort of project or task
System software: Software used to keep our core system running, like operating system tools and utilities
Terms and their definitions from previous weeks
A
Abstraction: To take a relatively complex system and simplify it for our use
Address bus: Connects the CPU to the MCC and sends over the location of the data, but not the data itself
Algorithm: A series of steps that solves specific problems
Android: A mobile operating system based on Linux
Application: A computer program designed for a specific use
ARPANET: The earliest version of the Internet that we see today, created by the US government project DARPA in the 1960s
ASCII: The oldest character encoding standard used is ASCII. It represents the English alphabet, digits, and punctuation marks
ATA: The most common interface that hard drives use to connect to our system
ATX (Advanced Technology eXtended): The most common form factor for motherboards
B
Backward compatible: It means older hardware works with newer hardware
Binary system: The communication that a computer uses is referred to as binary system, also known as base-2 numeral system
BIOS (Basic Input Output Services): The BIOS is software that helps initialize the hardware in our computer and gets our operating system up and running
BIOS/UEFI: A low-level software that initializes our computer's hardware to make sure everything is good to go
Block storage: It improves faster handling of data because the data isn't stored in one long piece but in blocks, so it can be accessed more quickly
Boot: To start up a computer
Bootloader: A small program that loads the operating system
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device): Refers to the practice of allowing people to use their own personal devices for work
Byte: A group of 8 bits
C
Cache: The assigned stored location for recently or frequently accessed data; on a mobile app it is where anything that was changed or created with that app is stored
Character encoding: Is used to assign our binary values to characters so that we as humans can read them
Charge cycle: One full charge and discharge of a battery
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA): Regulates the information we show to children under the age of 13
Chrome OS: A Linux-based operating system designed by Google
Clients: A device that receives data from a server
Computer: A device that stores and processes data by performing calculations
Chipset: It decides how components talk to each other on our machine
Clock cycle: When you send a voltage to the clock wire
Clock speed: The maximum number of clock cycles that it can handle in a set in a certain time period
Clock wire: When you send or receive data, it sends a voltage to that clock wire to let the CPU know it can start doing calculations
Command Line Interface (CLI): A shell that uses text commands to interact with the operating system
Computer file: Data that we store and a file can be anything, a word document, a picture, a song, literally anything
CPU: Central processing unit
CPU sockets: A CPU socket is a series of pins that connect a CPU’s processor to the PC’s motherboard
Cryptography: The overarching discipline that covers the practice of coding and hiding messages from third parties
D
DARPA: A US government project in the 1960s that went on to create the earliest version of the Internet that we see today
Data blocks: Data that can be broken down into many pieces and written to different parts of the hard disk
Data sizes: Metrics that refer to data sizes including bit, byte, kilobyte, kibibyte, and megabyte
DDR SDRAM (Double Data Rate SDRAM): A type of RAM that is faster, takes up less power, and has a larger capacity than earlier SDRAM versions
Decimal form- base 10 system: In the decimal system, there are 10 possible numbers you can use ranging from zero to nine
Desktop: The main screen where we can navigate our files, folders, and applications
Digital divide: The growing skills gap between people with and without digital literacy skills
DIMM: Dual Inline Memory Module
Display port: Port which also outputs audio and video
Distributions: Some common Linux distributions are Ubuntu, Debian, and Red Hat
Domain name: A website name; the part of the URL following www.
Domain Name System (DNS): A global and highly distributed network service that resolves strings of letters, such as a website name, into an IP address
DRAM: Dynamic Random Access Memory
Drivers: The drivers contain the instructions our CPU needs to understand external devices like keyboards, webcams, printers
DVI: DVI cables generally just output video
E
Electrostatic discharge: Electrostatic discharge is a sudden and momentary flow of electric current between two electrically charged objects caused by contact, an electrical short or dielectric breakdown
Etcher.io: A tool you can use to load an install image onto your USB device and make it bootable
Ethernet cable: It lets you physically connect to the network through a cable
External Data Bus (EDB): It's a row of wires that interconnect the parts of our computer
F
Factory reset: Resetting a device to the settings it came with from the factory
Fiber optic cable: Fiber optic cables contain individual optical fibers which are tiny tubes made of glass about the width of a human hair. Unlike copper, which uses electrical voltages, fiber cables use pulses of light to represent the ones and zeros of the underlying data
File extension: The appended part of a filename that tells us what type of file it is in certain operating systems
File handling: A process of storing data using a program
File system: A system used to manage files
Finder: The file manager for all Macs
Folders/Directories: Used to organize files
Form factor: A mathematical way to compensate for irregularities in the shape of an object by using a ratio between its volume and height
G
Globalization: The movement that lets governments, businesses, and organizations communicate and integrate together on an international scale
H
Hard drive: It is a long term memory component that holds all of our data, which can include music, pictures, applications
Hardware: External or internal devices and equipment that help you perform major functions
Hardware resource deficiency: It refers to the lack of system resources like memory, hard drive space, et cetera
HDD (Hard disk drive): Hard disk drives, or HDDs, use a spinning platter and a mechanical arm to read and write information
HDMI: A type of cable that outputs both video and audio
Heatsink: It is used to dissipate heat from our CPU
HFS+/APFS: HFS+ is a journaling system developed by Apple Inc. and APFS is another but more encrypted Apple journaling system
Hostname: Used to identify the computer when it needs to talk to other computers
Hubs: Devices that serve as a central location through which data travels through
I
Information technology: The use of digital technology, like computers and the internet, to store and process data into useful information
Input/Output device: A device that performs input and output, including monitors, keyboards, mice, hard disk drives, speakers, bluetooth headsets, webcams, and network adapters
Install image: A downloadable operating system image used to install an operating system on a device
Instruction set: A list of instructions that our CPU is able to run
Internet: A worldwide system of interconnected networks
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN): Where website names are registered
Internet of Things (IoT): The concept that more and more devices are connected to the internet in a smarter fashion such as smart thermostats that turn off the air conditioner when you leave and turn it on when you come back
Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4): An address that consists of 32 bits separated into four groups
Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6): An address that consist of a 128 bits, four times the amount that IPv4 uses
Internet service provider (ISP): A company that provides a consumer an internet connection
I/O management: Anything that can give us input or that we can use for output of data
iOS: A mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc.
IP address: The most common protocol used in the network layer, used to helps us route information
ITX (Information Technology eXtended): A form factor for motherboards that is much smaller than ATX boards
K
Kernel: The main core of an operating system that creates processes, efficiently schedules them, and manages how processes are terminated
L
Land Grid Array (LGA): It is a type of CPU socket that stick out of the motherboard
Lightning adaptor: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Linux OS: Linux is one of the largest an open source operating system used heavily in business infrastructure and in the consumer space
Logic gates: Allow transistors to do more complex tasks, like decide where to send electrical signals depending on logical conditions
Logs: Files that record system events on our computer
M
MAC address: A globally unique identifier attached to an individual network interface. It's a 48-bit number normally represented by six groupings of two hexadecimal numbers
Mac OS: Apple's operating system
Mb/s: megabit per second, which is a unit of data transfer rate
Memory controller chip (MCC): A bridge between the CPU and the RAM
Memory management: One of the functions that a kernel performs; it optimizes memory usage and make sure our applications have enough memory to run
Metadata: Tells us everything we need to know about a file, including who created it, when it was last modified, who has access to it, and what type of file it is
Micro display port: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Microsoft Terminal Services Client: A client program used to create RDP connections to remote computers
Micro HDMI: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Micro USB: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Mini HDMI: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Mini USB: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
Motherboard: The body or circulatory system of the computer that connects all the pieces together
N
Network: The interconnection of computers
Network Address Translation (NAT): A mitigation tool that lets organizations use one public IP address and many private IP addresses within the network
Networking: Managing, building and designing networks
Networking protocols: A set of rules for how we transfer data in a network
Network stack: A set of hardware or software that provides the infrastructure for a computer
Northbridge: interconnects stuff like RAM and video cards
O
Open SSH: The most popular program to use SSH within Linux
Open source: This means the developers will let other developers share, modify, and distribute their software for free
Operating system: The whole package that manages our computers resources and lets us interact with it
Overclocking: it increases the rate of your CPU clock cycles in order to perform more tasks
P
PC: Personal computer, which technically means a computer that one person uses
PCI Express: Peripheral Component Interconnect Express
PDA (Personal Digital Assistant): Allows computing to go mobile
Peripherals: the external devices which we connect to our computer that add functionality, like: a mouse, a keyboard, and a monitor
Pin Grid Array (PGA): CPU socket where the pins are located on the processor itself
Plink (PuTTY Link): A tool built into the command line after PuTTY is installed that is used to make remote SSH connections
Ports: Connection points that we can connect devices to that extend the functionality of our computer
POST (Power On Self Test): It figures out what hardware is on the computer
Powershell: A shell (program that interprets text commands) for Windows
Power supply: Converts electricity from our wall outlet onto a format that our computer can use
Power user: Above average computer users
Process management: The capacity to manage the many programs in a system - when to run them, the order they run in, how many resources they take up, how long they run, etc.
Programs: Basic instructions that tell the computer what to do
Punch cards: A sequence of cards with holes in them to automatically perform calculations instead of manually entering them by hand
Q
Qwiklabs: An online platform which provides training in cloud services
R
RAM: Random Access Memory
Registers: An accessible location for storing the data that our CPU works with
Reimaging: The process of reimaging involves wiping and reinstalling an operating system using a disk image which is a copy of an operating system
Remote connection: The ability to connect an authorized person to a computer or network remotely; allows us to manage multiple machines from anywhere in the world
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP): A secure network communication protocol developed by Microsoft that allows a user to connect to another device remotely
Return merchandise authorization (RMA): The process of receiving returned merchandise and authorizing a refund
RGB model: RGB or red, green, and blue model is the basic model of representing colors
ROM chip (Read Only Memory): A read-only memory chip where the BIOS is stored
Router: A device that knows how to forward data between independent networks
RPM: Revolutions per minute
S
Safe operating temperature: The temperature range in which rechargeable batteries must be kept in order to avoid demanage
SATA: The most popular serial ATA drive, which uses one cable for data transfers
Scalability: The measure of a system’s ability to increase or decrease in performance and cost in response to varying loads in system processing demands
SDRAM: It stands for Synchronous DRAM, this type of RAM is synchronized to our systems' clock speed allowing quicker processing of data
Server logs: Text files that contains recorded information about activities performed on a specific web server in a defined period of time
Servers: Devices that provide data to other devices that request that data, also known as a client
Shell: A program that interprets text commands and sends them to the OS to execute
SOC (System On a Chip): Packs the CPU, Ram, and sometimes even the storage onto a single chip
Southbridge: It maintains our IO or input/output controllers, like hard drives and USB devices that input and output data
SSD: Solid State Drive
SSH (Secure shell): A protocol implemented by other programs to securely access one computer from another.
SSH authentication key: A secure authentication method for accessing a computer from other device
SSH client: A program you must have installed on your device in order to establish an SSH connection with another device
SSH server: Software installed on a machine that allows for that device to accept an SSH connection
Standardization: A systematic way of naming hosts
Standoffs: Used to raise and attach your motherboard to the case
Swap space: The allocated space where the virtual memory is stored on the hard drive when the amount of physical memory space is used up or full
Switches: Devices that help our data travel
System: A group of hardware components and software components that work together to fun the programs or processes in the computer
System settings: Settings like display resolution, user accounts, network, devices, etc.
T
Task bar: It gives us quick options and shows us information like network connectivity, the date, system notifications, sound etc
Terminal: A text based interface to the computer
Thermal paste: A substance used to better connect our CPU and heat sink, so the heat transfers from to the other better
Time slice: A very short interval of time that gets allocated to a process for CPU execution
Transfer Control Protocol (TCP): A protocol that handles reliable delivery of information from one network to another
Type-C connector: A type of USB connector meant to replace many peripheral connections
U
Ubuntu: The most popular Linux consumer distribution
UEFI: United Extensible Firmware Interface
Uniform Resource Locator (URL): A web address similar to a home address
USB (Universal Serial Bus): A connection standard for connecting peripherals to devices such as computers
USB-C adapter: One of the standard power, data and display connector types used in mobile devices
User name: A unique identifier for a user account
User space: The aspect of an operating system that humans interact with directly like programs, such as text editors, music players, system settings, user interfaces, etc.
UTF-8: The most prevalent encoding standard used today
V
Virtual Box: An application you can use to install Linux and have it completely isolated from your machine
Virtual machine (VM): An application that uses physical resources like memory, CPU and storage, but they offer the added benefit of running multiple operating systems at once
Virtual memory: A combination of hard drive space and RAM that acts like memory which our processes can use
VPN (Virtual private network): A secure method of connecting a device to a private network over the internet
W
WannaCry Attack: A cyber attack that started in Europe and infected hundreds of thousands of computers across the world
Wireless networking (Wi-Fi): Networks you connect to through radios and antennas
World Wide Web (WWW): The information system that enables documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet
introduction to IT support (a history lesson)
Navigating Coursera -
How to Pass the Class
You can review videos, readings, discussion forums, in-video questions, and practice quizzes in the program for free. However, to access graded assignments and be eligible to receive your official Google IT Support certificate, you must:
-
Pay the course certificate fee, or apply and be approved for Coursera Financial Aid.
AND
-
Pass all graded assignments in the five courses at the minimum passing level, or above. Each graded assignment in a course is part of a cumulative grade for that course. The passing score for each course is 80%.
Getting and Giving Help
You can get/give help in the following ways:
-
Coursera Learner Support: Use the Learner Help Center to find information on specific technical issues. These include error messages, difficulty submitting assignments, or problems with video playback. If you can’t find an answer in the documentation, you can also report your problem to the Coursera support by clicking on the Contact Us! link available on the bottom of help center articles. If you're having trouble accessing any of the course content, please reach out to Coursera support.
-
Qwiklabs Support: Please use the Qwiklabs support request form to log any issues related to accessing and using Qwiklabs. A member of the Qwiklabs team will work with you to help resolve them.
-
Course Content Issues: You can also flag problems in course materials. When you rate course materials, the instructor will see your ratings and feedback; other learners won’t. To rate course materials:
-
Open the course material you want to rate. You can only rate videos, readings, and quizzes.
-
If the item was interesting or helped you learn, click the thumbs-up icon.
-
If the item was unhelpful or confusing, click the thumbs-down icon.
Participate in program surveys
During this certificate program, you will be asked to complete a few short surveys. These are part of a research study being conducted to understand how effectively the certificate meets your career training needs. Keep reading for a summary of what each survey will cover.
Your survey participation is optional but extremely helpful in making this program as effective as possible. All data is kept confidential and is aggregated for review in accordance with Coursera’s privacy policy. Your name is separated from your data when it is stored.
There are no right or wrong answers. Your responses or personal data:
Won’t affect your program experience, scores, or ability to receive a certificate or job offer.
Thanks for your consideration and time!
Entry survey
First, you will have an opportunity to answer a brief survey to help researchers understand why you enrolled in this certificate program. If you don’t fill out the survey now, you will receive an invitation to fill it out after completing your first video or activity.
The survey asks about your experiences leading up to this program and the goals you hope to achieve. This is critical information to ensure your needs as a learner are met and that this program will continue to be offered in the future.
Individual course feedback
After you complete the last graded assignment within an individual course, you might be asked to complete a survey. This survey will revisit questions from the previous survey and ask what you have learned up to that point in the program. Again, filling out this information is voluntary but extremely beneficial to the program and future learners.
Certificate completion survey
After you complete the last graded assignment in the final (#) course of the certificate program, you will be asked to complete a survey that revisits some earlier questions and asks what you have learned throughout the duration of the program. This survey also asks whether you would like to share your contact information with prospective employers. Filling out the survey and sharing your contact information with prospective employers is completely optional and will not affect your course experience, scores, or ability to receive a certificate or job offer in any way.
How to Use Discussion Forums
Upvoting Posts
When you enter the discussion forum for your course, you will see an Upvote button under each post. We encourage you to upvote posts you find thoughtful, interesting, or helpful. This is the best way to ensure that quality posts will be seen by other learners in the course. Upvoting will also increase the likelihood that important questions get addressed and answered.
Report Abuse
Coursera's Code of Conduct prohibits:
-
Bullying or threatening other users
-
Posting spam or promotional content
-
Posting mature content
-
Posting assignment solutions (or other violations of the Honor Code)
Please report any posts that infringe upon copyright or are abusive, offensive, or that otherwise violate Coursera’s Honor Code by using the Report this option found under the menu arrow to the right of each post.
Following
If you find a particular thread interesting, click the Follow button under the original post of that thread page. When you follow a post, you will receive an email notification anytime a new post is made.
Improving Your Posts
Course discussion forums are your chance to interact with thousands of like-minded individuals around the world. Getting their attention is one way to do well in this course. In any social interaction, certain rules of etiquette are expected and contribute to more enjoyable and productive communication. The following are tips for interacting in this course via the forums, adapted from guidelines originally compiled by AHA! and Chuq Von Rospach & Gene Spafford:
-
Stay on topic in existing forums and threads. Off-topic posts make it hard for other learners to find information they need. Post in the most appropriate forum for your topic, and do not post the same thing in multiple forums.
-
Use the filters at the top of the forum page (Latest, Top, and Unanswered) to find active, interesting content.
-
Upvote posts that are helpful and interesting.
-
Be civil. If you disagree, explain your position with respect and refrain from any and all personal attacks.
-
Make sure you’re understood, even by non-native English speakers. Try to write full sentences, and avoid text-message abbreviations or slang. Be careful when you use humor and sarcasm as these messages are easy to misinterpret.
-
If asking a question, provide as much information as possible, what you’ve already considered, what you’ve already read, etc.
-
Cite appropriate references when using someone else’s ideas, thoughts, or words.
-
Do not use a forum to promote your product, service, or business.
-
Conclude posts by inviting other learners to extend the discussion. For example, you could say “I would love to understand what others think.”
-
Do not post personal information about other posters in the forum.
-
Report spammers.
For more details, refer to Coursera's Forum Code of Conduct.
These tips and tools for interacting in this course via the forums were adapted from guidelines originally by The University of Illinois.
Get to Know Your Fellow October Completers
Overview
Working well with your fellow learners is an important part of an online course. So, at the beginning of this course, we’d like you to take time to "break the ice" and get to know each other. You may already know some of your fellow learners or have just met them. Establishing personal interaction with other learners will make your online learning experience much more enjoyable and engaging. So, we encourage you to participate in this activity, though it’s optional.
Meet and Greet
Tell everyone your story! We encourage you to share a brief introduction about yourself to your fellow learners. Read some of your fellow learners' postings. Pick at least 2 postings that are most interesting to you and add your friendly comments.
You can go to the Meet Your Fellow October Completers Discussion Prompt and add your introduction story there.
Suggested Topics
-
Hopes and goals? Why did you decide to enroll into the IT Support Professional Certificate? What are your expectations of this course? Are you excited to learn about IT? What do you hope to put into place in your life the day this program is over?
-
Tips and strategies. How do you plan to complete the certificate by October? When/how often are you going to set aside time to learn each week? Is there a place in your home or neighborhood where you won’t get distracted?
-
Buddy up. Share with us any other information that might help others in the cohort find you when searching the forums. What common interests might you share with your classmates? Find an “accountability buddy” or “buddies” so you can help keep each other on track!
Updating Your Profile
Optionally, please consider updating your profile, which can also be accessed by clicking the Profile link in the menu that appears when you click on your name at the top-right corner of this screen. When people find you in the forums, they can click on your name to view your complete profile and get to know you more.
From Abacus to Analytical Engine
The Path to Modern Computers
Pioneers in Computing and IT
Pioneers in Computing and IT
Computer technology has come a long way since the first computer was invented. Along the way, many people from diverse backgrounds contributed inventions and innovations that helped us get to where we are today with modern computers. Without these individuals, information technology would not be where it is today.
Early Computer Pioneers
Ada Lovelace
Ada Lovelace was born in 1815 to Anna Milbanke and the poet Lord Byron. Her mother Anna Milbanke educated her to excel in mathematics. When Lovelace was still young, she was shown the Difference Engine (a mechanical calculator developed by Charles Babbage) and published a set of notes which contained the first computer algorithm for the Difference Engine in 1843. Lovelace posited at the time that computers would eventually be used outside of mathematics for things like composing music and made predictions about how technology would influence society.
Alan Turing
Alan Turing was born in 1912. While completing his degrees, he developed the concept of the Turing machine. Turing proved that there were some yes/no mathematical questions that could never be solved computationally which defined computation and its limitations. These findings would go on to become one of the seeds of computer science and his conceptual Turing machine (so named by his Doctoral advisor) is considered a predecessor of modern computer programs. During the Second World War, Turing developed the Turing-Welchman Bombe which was used to decipher Nazi codes and intercept Nazi messages. After the war, Turing's Imitation Game (now known as the Turing test) was created as a means to evaluate the abilities of artificial intelligence.
Margaret Hamilton
Margaret Hamilton was born in 1936. While working in the meteorology department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she developed software for predicting weather. Later Hamilton would go on to work on the software that was used in the NASA Apollo command and lunar modules. With her experience writing software, she wanted to ensure that this skill would get its due respect and coined the term “software engineering.” Culminating her experience working on the Apollo missions and moon landings, Hamilton formalized what she learned into a theory that would later become the Universal System Language.
Admiral Grace Hopper
Grace Hopper was born in 1906. During the Second World War, she joined the US Navy Reserve after taking a leave from her role as a mathematics professor at Vassar College. In the Navy, she was assigned the Bureau of Ships Computation Project at Harvard University where she worked on the programming team for the Mark I computer. After the war and her time at Harvard, she began working on more powerful computers and recommended that a programming language be developed that used English words rather than symbols. This concept would eventually become FLOW-MATIC the first programming language to use English words which also necessitated the invention of the first compiler (a program that translates source code into machine code). Notably, she is also credited with first using the term “computer bug” after a real bug (a moth) flew into a computer she was working on. Later in her career, she was one of the designers of COBOL, a programming language that is still in use today.
NASA and the Human Computers
The following women all worked on various NASA projects. Some even were hired as human computers. They were tasked with completing complex calculations by hand for all sorts of situations from wartime thrust-to-weight ratios to Apollo orbit trajectories. They all went on to have impressive careers in mathematics and computer science.
Annie Easley developed the energy analytics code used to analyze power technology including the technology that was used in battery technology for Centaur rockets and early hybrid vehicles
Katherine Johnson was a physicist, mathematician, and space scientist who provided the calculation for important missions like the first orbit of the Earth and the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Dorothy Vaughan was a mathematician who would eventually become the first African American supervisor of NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics which would later become NASA) and a FORTRAN expert programmer working on the Scout Launch Vehicle Program (a family of rockets that placed small satellites in orbit).
Mary Jackson was NASA’s first Black female engineer. She worked on wind tunnel and flight experiments and would go on to earn NASA’s most senior engineering title.
Melba Roy Mouton was a Head Mathematician at NASA working on Project Echo, the first experiment in passive satellite communication. At NASA, she wrote programs that calculated locations and trajectories of aircraft.
Evelyn Boyd Granville worked on multiple projects in the Apollo and Mercury programs for NASA. She worked on computer techniques related to concepts like celestial mechanics and trajectory computation.
Innovators in Modern Technology
Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr was born in 1914. A movie actress during the golden age of Hollywood, she was also a self-taught inventor. During the Second World War, she read about radio-controlled torpedoes which could potentially be jammed by enemy forces. She and a composer friend proposed and patented an idea for a frequency-hopping radio signal that used existing player piano technology. The principles of this work would eventually be used in familiar technologies like WiFI, Bluetooth, and GPS.
Guillermo Gonzalez Camarena
Guillermo Gonzalez Camarena was born in 1917. An electrical engineer, in 1940 he patented an adapter that let monochrome cameras use colors. This technology was one of the earliest forms of color television. Camarena’s system would eventually be used by NASA for the Voyager mission and made color images of Jupiter possible.
Gerald (Jerry) Lawson
Jerry Lawson was born in 1940. Working as a semiconductor engineer for the Fairchild company, he worked on a team that developed the Fairchild Channel F, a color video game console that was designed to use interchangeable game cartridges. Previously, most game systems had built-in programming. He would later be dubbed the “father of the video game cartridge” for this work.
Mark E. Dean
Mark Dean was born in 1957. An inventor and computer scientist, he is the chief engineer of the IBM team that released the IBM personal computer. He holds three of the nine patents for the PC. He and his team also created the first gigahertz computer chip and he also helped develop the color PC monitor. Along with Dennis Moeller, he developed the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus which was a precursor to modern bus structures like PCI and PCI express.
Clarence “Skip” Ellis
Clarence Ellis was born in 1943. He was a computer scientist and professor who pioneered in Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Groupware. In fact, while working at Xerox PARC, he and his team developed a groupware system called OfficeTalk. For the first time, this system allowed for collaboration from a distance using ethernet. He also focused on icon-based graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that have become prevalent in modern computing.
Gladys West
Gladys West was born in 1930. A mathematician, she was hired to work for the US Navy to more accurately model the shape of the Earth. She used algorithms to account for all sorts of variations in the shape of the Earth and her model would eventually be used as the basis for the Global Positioning System (GPS).
These individuals are a few notable examples, but this is by no means a complete list!
Character Encoding
introduction to IT support
Computer Language
Character Encoding
Binary
Supplemental Reading on Logic Gates
Logic Gates
Knowing how logic gates work is important to understanding how a computer works. Computers work by performing binary calculations. Logic gates are electrical components that tell a computer how to perform binary calculations. They specify rules for how to produce an electrical output based on one or more electrical inputs. Computers use these electrical signals to represent two binary states: either an “on” state or an “off” state. A logic gate takes in one or more of these binary states and determines whether to pass along an “on” or “off” signal.
Several logic gates have been developed to represent different rules for producing a binary output. This reading covers six of the most common logic gates.
Six common logic gates
NOT gate
The NOT gate is the simplest because it has only one input signal. The NOT gate takes that input signal and outputs a signal with the opposite binary state. If the input signal is “on,” a NOT gate outputs an “off” signal. If the input signal is “off,” a NOT gate outputs an “on” signal. All the logic gates can be defined using a schematic diagram and truth table. Here’s how this logic rule is often represented:
On the left, you have a schematic diagram of a NOT gate. Schematic drawings usually represent a physical NOT gate as a triangle with a small circle on the output side of the gate. To the right of the schematic diagram, you also have a “truth table” that tells you the output value for each of the two possible input values.
AND gate
The AND gate involves two input signals rather than just one. Having two input signals means there will be four possible combinations of input values. The AND rule outputs an “on” signal only when both the inputs are “on.” Otherwise, the output signal will be “off.”
OR gate
The OR gate involves two input signals. The OR rule outputs an “off” signal only when both the inputs are “off.” Otherwise, the output signal will be “on.”
XOR Gate
The XOR gate also involves two input signals. The XOR rule outputs an “on” signal when only one (but not both) of the inputs are “on.” Otherwise, the output signal will be “off.”
The truth tables for XOR and OR gates are very similar. The only difference is that the XOR gate outputs an “off” when both inputs are “on” while the OR outputs an “on.” Sometimes you may hear the XOR gate referred to as an “exclusive OR” gate.
NAND gate
The NAND gate involves two input signals. The NAND rule outputs an “off” signal only when both the inputs are “on.” Otherwise, the output signal will be “on.”
If you compare the truth tables for the NAND and AND gates, you may notice that the NAND outputs are the opposite of the AND outputs. This is because the NAND rule is just a combination of the AND and NOT rules: it takes the AND output and runs it through the NOT rule! For this reason, you might hear the NAND referred to as a “not-AND” gate.
XNOR gate
Finally, consider the XNOR gate. It also involves two input signals. The XNOR rule outputs an “on” signal only when both the inputs are the same (both “On” or both “Off”). Otherwise, the output signal will be “off.”
The XNOR rule is another combination of two earlier rules: it takes the XOR output and runs it through the NOT rule. For this reason, you might hear the XNOR referred to as a “not-XOR” gate.
Combining gates (building circuits)
Logic gates are physical electronic components—a person can buy them and plug them into a circuit board. Logic gates can be linked together to create complex electrical systems (circuits) that perform complicated binary calculations. You link gates together by letting the output from one gate serve as an input for another gate or by using the same inputs for multiple gates. Computers are this kind of complex electrical system.
Here’s a schematic drawing for a small circuit built with gates described above:
Here is the truth table for this circuit:
This circuit uses three logic gates: an XOR gate, a NOT gate, and an AND gate. It takes two inputs (A and B) and produces two outputs (1 and 2). A and B are the inputs for the XOR gate. The output of that gate became the input of the NOT gate. Then, the output of the NOT gate became an input for the AND gate (with input A as the other). Output 1 is the output from the AND gate. Output 2 is the output from the XOR gate.
Key takeaways
Logic gates are the physical components that allow computers to make binary calculations.
Logic gates represent different rules for taking one or more binary inputs and outputting a specific binary value (“on” or “off”).
Logic gates can be linked so that the output of one gate serves as the input for other gates.
Circuits are complex electrical systems built by linking logic gates together. Computers are this kind of complex electrical system.
How to Count in Binary
Binary is the fundamental communication block of computers, but it's used to represent more than just text and images. It's used in many aspects of computing, like computer networking, what you'll learn about in a later course. It's important that you understand how computers count in binary. We've shown you simple look up tables that you can use like the ASCII binary table. But as an IT support specialist whether you're working on networking or security, you'll need to know how binary works, so let's get started. You'll probably need a trusty pen and paper, a calculator and some good old fashioned brainpower to help you in this video. The binary system is how our computers count using 1s and 0s, but humans don't count like that. When you were a child you may have counted using ten fingers on your hand, that innate counting system is called the decimal form or base ten system. In the decimal system there are ten possible numbers you can use ranging from 0 to 9. When we count binary which only uses 0 and 1, we convert it to a system that we can understand, decimal. 330, 250 to 44 million, they're all decimal numbers. We use the decimal system to help us figure out what bits our computer can use. We can represent any number in existence just by using bits. That's right, we can represent this number just using ones and zeros, so how does that work? Let's consider these numbers, 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 4, 2 and 1, what patterns do you see? Hopefully you'll see that each number is a double of the previous number going right to left, what happens if you add them all up? You get 255, that's kind of weird, I thought we could have 256 values for a byte. Well, we do, the 0 is counted as a value, so the maximum decibel number you can have is 255. What do you think the number is represented here? See where the 1s and the 0s are represented? Remember, if our computers use the 1 then the value was on, if it sees a 0 then the value was off. If you add these numbers up you'll get a decimal value. If you guess 10, then you're right, good job, if you didn't get it, that's okay too, take another look. The 2 and 8 are on and if we add them up we get 10. Let's look at our ASCII binary table again, the letter h in binary is 01101000. Now let's look at an ASCII to decimal table. The letter h and decimal is 104. Now let's try our conversion chart again, 64+32+8=104. Look at that, the math checks out. Now we're cooking, wow, we've gone over all the essentials of the basic building blocks of computing and machine language.
Computer architexture layer
Abstraction
When we interact with our computers, we use our mouse, keyboard, or even a touch screen. We don't tell it the actual zeros and ones, it needs to understand something. But wait, we actually do. We just don't ever have to worry about it. We use the concept of abstraction to take a relatively complex system and simplify it for our use. Use abstraction everyday in the real-world and you may not even know it. If you've ever driven a car, you don't use to know how to operate the transmission or the engine directly. There's a steering wheel, pedals, maybe a gear stick. If you buy a car from a different manufacturer, you operate it in pretty much the same way, even though the stuff under the hood might be completely different. This is the essence of abstraction. Abstraction hides complexity by providing a common interface. The steering wheel, pedals, gear stick engages in our car example. The same thing happens in our computer. We don't need to know how it works underneath the hood. We have a mouse and a keyboard we can use to interact with it. Thanks to abstraction, the average computer user doesn't have to worry about the technical details. We'll use this under the hood metaphor throughout the program to describe the area that contains the underlying implementation of a technology. In computing, we use abstraction to make a very complex problem, like how to make computers work easier to think about. We do that by breaking it apart into simpler ideas that describe single concepts or individual jobs that need to be done, and then stack them in layers. This concept of abstraction will be used throughout this entire course. It's a fundamental concept in the computing world. Another simple example of abstraction in an IT role that you might see a lot is an error message. We don't have to dig through someone else's code and find a bug. This has been abstracted out for us already in the form of an error message. Symbol error message like file not found, actually tells us a lot of information and saves us time to figure out a solution. Can you imagine if instead of abstracting an error message our computer did nothing and we had no clue where to start looking for answers. Abstraction helps us in many ways that we don't even realize.
Computer Architecture Overview
In the last video, I mentioned that people don't need to understand how a computer works for them to use it, because abstraction makes things simpler for us. That's technically true, but since you're stepping to the world of IT, you do need to understand all the layers of a computer and how they work. It's essential that you understand how the different pieces interact so you can resolve any issues that may arise. Computer can be cut into four main layers, hardware, operating system, software, and users. The hardware layer is made up of the physical components of a computer. These are objects you can physically hold in your hand. Laptops, phones, monitors, keyboards. You get the idea. In the next lesson, you'll learn all of the components of a computer and how they work. You'll even be able to build your own computer by the end of this module. The operating system allows hardware to communicate with the system. Hardware is created by many different manufacturers. The operating system allows them to be used with our system regardless of where it came from. In the next few lessons, you'll learn about the major operating systems that we use today and you'll be able to understand all of the underlying components that make up an operating system. By the end of these lessons, you'll have a strong grasp on the major components of any operating system like Android or Windows, and use that knowledge to navigate any operating system. The software layer is how we as humans interact with our computers. When you use a computer, you're given a vast amount of software that you interact with. Whether it's a mobile app, a web browser, a word processor with an operating system itself. Later in this course, we'll learn how software is installed on our systems and how we interact with different types of software. The last layer may not seem like it's part of the system, but it's an essential layer of the computer architecture. The user, the user interacts with the computer. The user layer is one of the most important layers we'll learn about. When you step into the field of IT, you may have your hands full with the technical aspects. The most important part of IT is the human element. While we work with computers every day, it is the user interaction that makes up most of our job from responding to user emails to fixing their computers. By the end of the course, you'll also learn how to apply your knowledge of how a computer works to fix real-world issues that can sometimes seem random and obscure. We'll do this by learning how to utilize problem-solving tactics to identify issues and solutions. There's a lot ahead. The next instructor you're going to meet as a friend of mine, Devin [inaudible] and I know there's no better person to teach you about hardware or even show you how to build a computer from its component parts. Pretty cool
Kevin: Advice for the world of IT
We have a lot of people that have nontraditional backgrounds that have made it here at Google. I've worked with people who have history degrees. I work with people who have economic degrees, and they're writing scripts, automating us on how we can process these credits for this client. I think people have a misconception that you have to have a traditional path in order to succeed in IT. A lot of people do follow the traditional path. A lot of people do succeed following that traditional path. But I think the benefit of IT is that in the end, people just want to know whether or not you can fix the problem. Make sure you have strong fundamentals. They do end up coming back. A lot of times people think that like, I'm not going to need to worry about how to do. Like, I don't need to know, understand the TCP IP model or the OSI model. That's like low-level stuff. I can focus specifically on this one particular application or program that I'm going to be dealing with. There are instances where you will run into problems were in having that foundational knowledge will be like very integral to solving the problem. As long as you're able to get to a point where you feel comfortable working with users, fixing their problems and supporting them in the best way for you and them, you're going to always be viable in the world of IT.
the modern computer
Modle introduction
Isn't the history of computers supper interesting. I love going back in time and seeing how we got to this exciting point in computing. You've already taken the first few steps to building your foundational knowledge of IT. Before we dive deeper, I'll just take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Devan Sri-Tharan. I've been working in IT for 10 years. I'm a Corporate Operations Engineer at Google, where I get to tackle challenging and complex IT issues. Thinking back, my first experience with tech began when I was about nine years old. My dad brought home the families first computer. I remember my dad holding a floppy disk and telling me that there was a game on it. To my dad's amazement, I somehow managed to copy the game from disk onto the computer's hard drive. While it might seem like a trivial task now, this device was just so new to us back then. Sure, I loved the different games I could play but what I really loved tinkering with the machine, trying to get it to do what I want it to do. While that floppy disk in computer might have ignited my passion for technology, was actually my first few job experiences that really started to shape my IT career. One was in retail selling baby furniture and the other was at a postal store where I helped customers chip their packages and became the one-person IT crew. It might sound all that working in retail inspired my career, but I've realized I've really enjoyed communicating with customers, trying to understand their needs and offering a solution. My first experience working directly in IT was in college as an IT support specialist intern. From there, I worked as an IT consultant to decommission an entire IT environment. This was my first experience working directly with large IT infrastructure and pushing myself outside my comfort level as a college student. I bring up these few jobs for a reason. These experiences helped shape my career in IT. I knew at that time that I wanted to go into tech, but I struggled where I want it to focus my career. Starting at Google as an IT journalists allowed me to experience many different areas of technology. It allowed me to figure out the jobs I didn't want to do before I was able to identify exactly what I did want to do. Really passionate about IT infrastructure, but you can't understand infrastructure until you understand hardware. Let's dig in, in IT, hardware is an essential topic to understand. You might find yourself replacing faulty components or even upgrading an entire fleet of machines one day. By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to describe all the physical parts of computer and how they work together. You'll even be able to build your own computer. Once you figured out how one computer works, you'll be able to understand how any type of computer works. Excited, I am. Let's get started.
Introduction to Computer Hardware
Let's face it, computers are everywhere.
You come into contact with them at home, work, the airport, the grocery store. You're using some type of computer to take this course. You know what? There's probably one in your pocket right now. While computers are complex and can seem daunting to learn, they ultimately just calculate, process and store data. In this lesson, we're going to take a peek at what's inside of a computer. We'll spend the next few lessons explaining how each of these components work. But for now, let's check out a typical desktop setup. Desktops are just computers that can fit on or under our desks. Here we have a monitor, a keyboard, a mouse, and a desktop. Sometimes we might even add a webcam, speakers or printer setup. We'll call these physical components hardware. Let's take a look at the back of the computer.
You can see common connectors here, the power outlet here, and the common ports here. Ports are connection points that we can connect devices to that extend the functionality of our computer. We'll go into detail about the ports you see here in a later lesson, but here's a quick rundown. We have a port here to connect to a monitor and a few ports here to plug your keyboard and mouse. There's another important one here for our network connection. With just these ports we're able to have the basic functionality to browse the web and much more. Things look pretty similar on a laptop. Here are some of the same ports, a built-in monitor, and a keyboard. There are also physical components inside the laptop case that are hidden for portability. Once you figure out how one computer works, you can figure out how any other computer works. This is my favorite part. Let's open up this desktop and take a deeper look. Let me first clean up my desk. Get ready for it.
It looks pretty complicated, but that's okay. We'll take you through it. Let's start with a quick tour. Then we'll dive deeper into each of these parts in the next lesson. Right here, this component is a CPU or central processing unit, which is covered by this heat sink. You can think of the CPU as the brain of our computer. The CPU does all the calculations and data processing. It communicates pretty heavily with this component right here, RAM or Random Access Memory. Ram is our computer's short-term memory. We use this component when we want to store data temporarily. Let's say you're typing something to a chat or a piece of text in a word processor, this information is stored in the RAM. Don't worry, we'll cram in more details on RAM in a later lesson. When we want to store anything in long-term memory, we use this component here, the hard drive. The hard drive holds all our data, which can include music, pictures, applications. Let me show you something else interesting. Have you noticed this large slab here? This is our motherboard. It holds everything in place and let's our components communicate with each other. It's the foundation of our computer. You can think of the motherboard as the body or secretory system of the computer that connects all the pieces together. The last component we'll talk about is our power supply, which converts the electricity from our wall outlet onto a format that our computer can use. You know what's interesting? All these components make up most computers, even a mobile phone. While it might look very different from your laptop, a mobile phone, just uses a smaller version of the hardware that we saw in the desktop and laptop today. Understanding how computer hardware works is a really helpful skill set in IT support. Since an IT department maintains the hardware that a company uses, a solid understanding of these computer internals will come in handy when troubleshooting hardware related problems and taking things apart to see how they work, it's just super fine.
Programs, the CPU, and Memory
Before we get our hands dirty with learning how to build a computer, let's talk theory first. In an earlier lesson, we talked about binary and how computers perform calculations. Remember that our computer can only communicate in binary using 1's and 0's. Our computers speak in machine language but we of course speak in human languages like English, Spanish, Mandarin, Hindi, you get the idea. If we want to communicate with our machines we have to have some sort of translation dictionary, just like if I wanted to say something in spanish I'd look it up in an English to Spanish dictionary. Well our computers have a built in translation book. In this lesson we'll dive deeper into how our computer translates the information we give it into instructions that it understands. RIght now you're probably using a web browser, music player, text editor or something else on your computer. We interact with these applications on a daily basis, they're referred to as programs. Programs are basically instructions that tell the computer what to do. We typically store programs on durable media like hard drives, you can think of programs like cooking recipes, we keep these recipes all stored together in a cookbook, just like apps stored in a hard drive. Now we want to make a ton of food, so we hire a chef to follow our recipes and whip up something good. The faster our chef works, the more food she'll prepare, the chef is our CPU she processes the recipes, we send her and makes the food, our chef works super fast so fast that she can cook faster than she can read. So we take copy of the recipes and put them into RAM. Remember that RAM is our computers short term memory, it stores information in a location our CPU can access it faster than they could with our hard drive. Now we can give our chef one or two recipes at a time instead of reciting the entire cookbook to her. Okay, now let's say I want to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I see a pretty good recipe and send it to our chef to make, remember that our chef needs these instructions quickly so I don't send her the entire recipe, I sent her one line at a time. One, get two slices of bread, two, put peanut butter on one slice, three, put jelly on another slice, four, combine the two slices of bread. Now let me throw one more thing at you. Our chef can only communicate with us in 1's and 0's. So instead of sending something readable, like the recipe for peanut butter and jelly sandwich, we have to center something like this. In reality this process is a little more complicated. Our CPU is constantly taking instructions and executing them, these instructions are written in binary. But how do they travel around the computer? In our computer, we have something called the external data bus or EDB. It's nothing like a bus at all, it's a row of wires that interconnect the parts of our computer, kind of like the veins in our body. When you send a voltage to one of the wires, we say the state of the wire is on are represented by a 1, if there's no voltage then we say that the state is off represented by a 0. This is how we send around our 1's and 0's, sound familiar? In the last lesson, we talked about how transistors help us to send voltages. Now we know how our bits physically travel around the computer, the EDB comes in different sizes, a bit, 16-bit, 32, even 64. Can you imagine if you had 64 wires going you can move around a lot more data right now we're just going to stick with using an EDB with 8-bits in our examples, sending one byte at a time. Okay, so now our CPU is receiving a byte and it needs to get to work. Inside the CPU, there are components known as registers, they let us store the data that our CPU works with. If for example our CPU wanted to add two numbers, one number would be stored in a register A, another number will be stored in register B, the result of those two numbers will be stored in register C. Imagine the register is one of our chefs work tables, since she has a place to work, she can start to cook, to do so she uses a translation book to translate her binary into tasks that she can perform. Let's jump back for a second. Remember that our programs are copied into RAM for the CPU to read, RAM is memory that's randomly accessed allowing our CPU to read from any part of RAM as quickly as any other part. We don't actually send data from RAM over the EDB, there would be way too much stuff. RAM can hold millions even billions of rows of data. Despite our sandwich example, most of our recipes aren't simple at all. There can be thousands of lines long, we want to process them and we don't actually go in any particular order. Since we can only send one line of data through the EDB at a time we need the help of another component, the memory controller chip or MCC.
The MCC is a bridge between the CPU and the RAM. You can think of it like a nerve in your brain connecting to your memories, the CPU talks to the MCC and says hey I need the instructions for step number three of this recipe, the MCC finds instructions for step number three in RAM, grabs the data and sends it through the EDB. There's another bus that's nothing like a bus involved in the process called the address bus, it connects the CPU to the MCC and sends over the location of the data but not the data itself, then the MCC takes the address and looks for the data and then data is then sent over the EDB. Believe it or not, RAM isn't the fastest way we can get more data to our CPU for processing. The CPU also uses something known as cache.
Cache is smaller than RAM but it lets us store data that we use often and let's just quickly reference it. Think of RAM like a refrigerator full of food, it's easy to get into but it takes time to get something out, on the flip side of that, cache is like the stuff we have in our pockets, it's used to store recently or frequently accessed data. There are three different cash levels in a CPU, L1, L2 and L3. L1 is the smallest and fastest cache. So now we understand how our RAM interacts with our CPU but how does our CPU know when a set of instructions end and a new one begins? Our CPU has an internal clock that keeps its operations in sync. It connects to a special wire called a clock wire. When you send or receive data, it sends a voltage to that clock wire to let the CPU know it can start doing calculations. Think of our clock wires as the ticking of a clock, for every tick the CPU does one cycle of operations. When you send a voltage to the clock wire as referred to as a clock cycle, if you have lots of data you need to process in the command you need to run lots of clock cycles. Have you ever seen a CPU in the store and has something labeled 3.4 Ghz? This number refers to the clock speed of the CPU, which is the maximum number of clock cycles that it can handle in a certain time period. 3.40 GHz is 3.4 billion cycles per second, that's super fast. But just because it can run at this speed doesn't mean it does, it just means that it can't exceed this number, still, that number doesn't stop some people from trying. There's a way you can exceed the number of clock cycles on your CPU on almost any device, it's referred to as over clocking and it increases the rate of your CPU clock cycles in order to perform more tasks. This is commonly used to increase the performance in low end CPUs, let's say you're a gamer and you want to have better graphics and less lag while playing, you might want to over clock your CPU when you play the game. But there are cons to doing this like potentially overheating your CPU.
Supplemental Reading for CPUs
Supplemental Reading for CPUs
CPU cache and overclocking
In this reading, you will learn about the various levels of cache for central processing units (CPUs) and how a CPU processes and executes instructions. Additionally, you will learn about overclocking CPUs to maximize processing speeds. IT Support professionals may use this information when purchasing, allocating, and/or configuring high-performance servers.
Cache
You may already be familiar with the term “cache”. In computer jargon, cache (pronounced “cash”) refers to a small amount of recently used data that is stored either on hardware or in software. The first time data is accessed, both the initial request for the data and the reply containing the data pass through multiple points on their journey. Depending on several variables, these points might include I/O devices, motherboard busses, RAM, cables, hard drives, applications, networks, the internet, cloud platforms, and more. If a computer needed to use these full paths everytime it tried to access data, the entire transaction could take a relatively long time. Cache speeds up this process by holding a local copy of the most recently accessed data in temporary storage.
CPU cache
CPUs use a system of cache storage to help them quickly access data. A CPU cache is normally stored inside each core of the CPU. Older computers might store CPU cache in a transistor chip that is attached to the motherboard, along with a high-speed bus connecting the chip to the CPU.
CPU levels of cache
There are three levels of CPU cache memory:
- Level 3 cache: L3 cache is the largest and slowest of CPU cache. However, it is often twice as fast as RAM. L3 is the first CPU cache location to store data after it is transferred from RAM. L3 cache is often shared by all of the cores in a single CPU.
- Level 2 cache: L2 cache holds less data than L3 cache, but it has faster access speeds. L2 holds a copy of the most recently accessed data that is not currently in use by the CPU. Each CPU core normally has its own L2 cache.
- Level 1 cache: L1 cache is the fastest and smallest of the three CPU cache levels. L1 holds the data currently in use by the CPU. Each CPU core usually has its own L1 cache.
Overclocking a cpu
Overclocking a CPU sets it to run at a higher CPU clock frequency rate than the manufacturer’s original specifications. For example, if a processor is labeled as having a 3.2 GHz base frequency rate, it may be possible to overclock the CPU to run at 3.5 GHz. Achieving a higher CPU clock frequency rate means the CPU can process a higher volume of instructions per nanosecond, resulting in faster performance. A computer user might want to overclock their CPU to improve sluggish speeds when performing processor-intensive tasks, like video editing or gaming.
Overclocking a CPU’s frequency involves three variables:
- The base CPU clock frequency, often measured in GHz.
- The core frequency, which is calculated by multiplying the base frequency by the CPU core multipliers.
- The core voltage, which needs to be increased in small increments to meet the increasing power demand of the CPU during the overclocking process.
Warnings on overclocking
Overclocking the CPU can damage the computer if not configured properly. Operating a CPU at a higher speed can overheat the CPU and surrounding hardware, which can cause the computer system to fail. Additionally, overclocking the CPU can shorten the overall lifespan of the computer and void the computer’s warranty. It is better to avoid overclocking the CPU and instead purchase the appropriate CPU speed necessary to meet computing demands.
How to overclock a CPU safely
As an IT Support professional, you may be asked to overclock a CPU. There are steps you should follow to do this as safely as possible. Always make sure that the requestor understands the risks of overclocking before agreeing to perform this procedure.
- Check if overclocking is supported: First, make sure the CPU is a model that is unlocked for overclocking. Not all CPUs can support overclocking, including most laptop CPUs. Check the CPU manufacturer’s documentation to determine if overclocking is possible for the CPU model. Both Intel and AMD provide overclocking guides and tools for supported CPU models (see below for links to these guides). Additionally, check the documentation for the computer’s motherboard model to ensure that it can support an overclocked CPU.
- Clean the inside of the computer: Turn off and unplug the computer. While wearing an anti-static wristband, open the computer and use compressed air to remove any dust build-up that has accumulated. It is especially important to remove any dust from around the CPU, fans, and intake vents.
- Ensure an appropriate CPU cooler is installed (critical): If the computer has a stock CPU cooler, it is most likely insufficient for cooling an overclocked CPU. Replace the stock CPU cooler with an advanced cooling system, like a liquid cooling system.
- Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for overclocking the CPU: Using the detailed instructions from the manufacturer (see below for links to Intel and AMD’s guides):
- Use benchmarking software to establish a baseline for the normal performance of the computer.
- Set each CPU core multiplier to the value of the lowest multiplier using either the manufacturer’s overclocking software (recommended) or the BIOS. Then reboot the computer.
- Increase each CPU core multiplier by 1 to increase the CPU frequency.
- Test each increase for stability using the testing utility provided by the manufacturer.
- Fix any problems flagged by the testing tools, especially temperature alerts. If the system becomes too unstable, roll back to the last frequency that produced a stable performance and stop overclocking the CPU.
- If the voltage appears to become insufficient to support the new frequency, increase the voltage by 0.05V. Do not increase the voltage above 1.4V without specialized cooling hardware.
- If the computer freezes or crashes, it has either become completely unstable or the CPU is not getting enough voltage to support the overclocked frequency. Use the BIOS to return to the last stable frequency or increase the voltage in 0.01V increments until stable.
-
If stable, reboot the computer before attempting the next increase.
Resources for more information
- Intel: Overclocking: Maximize Your Performance - Intel’s all-inclusive guide to overclocking CPU, RAM, and motherboard. The site also provides utility tools for fine-tuning overclock performance and lists Intel CPU models that support overclocking.
- AMD: AMD Ryzen™ Master Utility for Overclocking Control - AMD’s toolkit for overclocking Ryzen processors. Note that overclocking support for non-Ryzen models is no longer recommended by AMD.
- AMD: Ryzen™ Processor Overclocked Memory Compatibility List - List of AMD Ryzen CPU models that support overclocking.
- AMD: How to Overclock Your AMD Ryzen CPU - Instructions for overclocking AMD Ryzen CPUs from PC Magazine.
Joe: Diversity in IT
Changes in diversity with regards to IT support specialist is something I noticed for the last several years. There is a lot of stereotypes in the industry. But I think what was unexpected was how many people actually break that mold? The people I've met in the course of my IT support career have clearly shown that it's not just all male, it's people from all walks of life. That's one thing about IT support in general is that it's just so approachable for everyone. Diversity within the role has exploded. It's a much more diverse team now, both from the gender, the race, background as well as just educational background. I work closely with people from all different experiences all over the world, very different perspectives. It's great for the role, it's great for the company, but is also great to just work with different people. It's an incredible experience to share my experiences with team mate from Romania, team mate from Kenya, it's refreshing, it's fun. We're starting to finally lose those stereotypes associated with IT. We're starting to understand that technology is ubiquitous, everyone uses it, why can't everyone support it as well?
Help Us Translate
Components
CPU
If someone asked you, calculate the square root of 5,000,439,493 would you do the math by hand? Unless you really love tedious math problems, you'd probably use a calculator. What about binary? Well, you probably wouldn't calculate binary by hand either. There's actually a very powerful calculator right inside of your computer, that process binary for us. We've already discussed this in calculator in detail. Do you know what it is? It's our CPU, the brain of our computer. In this video, we'll cover the more practical aspects of the CPU. Remember that transition book that I talked about in an earlier lesson? The CPU uses this to translate and perform functions on our data. This translation book is called an instruction set, which is literally just a list of instructions that our CPU is able to run. Functions like adding, subtracting, copying data are all instructions that our CPU can carry out. Every single program on your computer, while extremely complex, is broken down into very small and simple instructions found in our instruction set. Instruction sets are hard-coded into our CPU so different CPU manufacturers may use different instruction sets, but they generally perform the same functions. It's like how car manufacturers build their engines differently, but they all get the same job done. You probably worked with computer hardware as an IT support specialist, replacing failed hard disks, upgrading RAM modules, and installing video cards. You need to be aware of what's out there. You've probably heard of a few popular CPU manufacturers or chipsets, like Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm. These CPU manufacturers use different product names to differentiate their processes. Like Intel Core i7, AMD Athlon, Snapdragon 810, Apple A8, and more. Now when you hear these terms, you'll know what they mean. Each of these CPU manufacturers have their strengths and weaknesses. If you're interested in learning more about why some CPUs are more popular than others, you can check out the next supplemental reading. When you select your CPU, you need to make sure it's compatible with your motherboard, the circuit board that connects all your components together, heads up. You can't just buy a bunch of parts and expect them to work together there are different ways of CPUs fit on motherboards using different sockets. Your CPU might have lots of tiny pins that are either stick out or have contact points that look like dots. Depending on your motherboard, you need to make sure these CPUs fit correctly in the socket. There are currently two major types of CPU sockets; Land Grid Array, also known as LGA, and Pin Grid Array, also known as PGA. In an LGA socket, like this one, there are pins that stick out of the motherboard. The socket size may vary, so always make sure your CPU and socket are compatible beforehand. When you purchase a CPU or motherboard, they'll tell you right on the box what type of socket it has. Make sure your CPU and motherboards socket also both match. If it's not listed on the box, you can go to the manufacturer's website where you usually list what types of CPUs are compatible with the motherboard. The other type of socket is the PGA socket, where the pins are located on the processor itself. When we installed our CPU, we need to do a few things to it to keep it cool. Since it does a lot of work, it's prone to overheating. We have to make sure to include a heat sink too which takes the heat from our CPU and dissipates it through a fan or another medium.
There's one last thing I want to call out about CPUs. If you purchase the CPU, you'll see that it has either a 32-bit or 64-bit architecture. What does that mean? Well, we know we can process eight bits in binary now, imagine how we can process with 32 or even 64 bits. CPUs that have 32-bit or 64-bit architecture are just specifying how much data they can efficiently handle. For now, the main takeaway is that the CPU is one of the most important parts of the computer so we have to make sure it's compatible with all other components and can perform well for our computing needs.
Supplemental Reading for CPU architecture
To learn more about the differences between 32-bit and 64-bit CPU architecture, click here for microsofts explanation and here for the wikipedia article.
RAM
0:01
Let's talk about RAM, our computers short-term memory. We use RAM to store data that we want to access quickly. This data changes all the time so it isn't permanent. Almost all RAM is volatile, which means that once we power off our machines, the data stored in RAM is cleared. Remember that our computer is comprised of programs. To run a program, we need to make a copy of it in RAM so our CPU can process it. When you see a new phone or laptop that says it has 16 gigs of RAM, that means it can run up to 16 gigs of programs, meaning you can run lots of programs at the same time, when you type the document, you're using RAM. if you've ever had the misfortune of working on an important presentation or paper and losing power, you know the feeling you get when all of the work you've done is lost. It's a total bummer, this happens to anything with RAM, even video games. Have you ever gone on a long campaign without saving, then right as you get to a safe point, the power goes off on the console and all the progress you've made is lost forever? It's not fun at all. You spend the next hour or so deciding whether or not just to rage quit the game completely and start all over from scratch. Not that this happened to me or anything that was just a friend. Anyway, all of this happens because RAM clear is its data when powered off. There are lots of types of RAM, and the one that's commonly found in computers is DRAM or dynamic random-access memory. When 1 or 0 is sent to DRAM, it stores each bit in a microscopic capacitor, this is either charged or discharged, represented by 1 or a 0. These semiconductors are put into chips that are on the RAM and store our data. They're also different types of memory sticks that DRAM chips can be put on. The more modern DIMM sticks which usually stands for Dual Inline Memory Module have different sizes of pins on them. I should call out, we don't really buy RAM based on the number of DRAM chips they have, they're labeled by the capacity of RAM on a stick, like an eight-gig stick of RAM. After DRAM was created, RAM manufacturers built something called SD RAM which stands for synchronous dram. This type of RAM is synchronized to our system's clock speed, allowing quicker processing of data. In today's system, we use another type of RAM called double data rate SDRAM or DDR SDRAM for short. Most people refer to this RAM as DDR, even shorter. There are lots of iterations of DDR, from DDR1, DDR2, DDR3, and now, DDR4. DDR is faster, takes up less power, and has a large capacity than earlier SD RAM versions. The latest version DDR4 is the fastest type of short-term memory currently available for your computer, and faster RAM means that programs can be run faster and that more programs can run at the same time. Keep in mind that any RAM sticks you use need a compatible motherboard with a different number of pins aligned with the motherboard RAM slots.
Just like with the CPU, make sure that your motherboard is compatible with any RAM sticks that you buy. Up Next, we'll take a deep dive into motherboards.
Motherboards
The motherboard, the foundation that holds our computer together. It lets us expand our computers functionality by adding expansion cards. It routes power from the power supply, and it allows the different parts of the computer to communicate with each other. In short, it's a total boss. Every motherboard has a few key characteristics. First is the chipset, which decides how components talk to each other on our machine. The chipset on motherboards is made up of two chips. One is called the Northbridge that interconnects stuff like RAM and video cards. The other chip is the Southbridge, which maintains our IO or input-output controllers, like hard drives and USB devices, that input and output data. In some modern CPUs, the Northbridge has been directly integrated into the CPU so there isn't a separate Northbridge chip set. The chipset is a key component of our motherboard that allows us to manage data between our CPU, RAM, and peripherals. Peripherals are the external devices we connect to our computer, like a mouse, keyboard, and the monitor. In addition to the chipsets, motherboards have another key characteristic which allows the use of expansion slots. Expansion slots also give us the ability to increase the functionality of our computer. If you wanted to upgrade your graphics card, you could purchase one and just install it on your motherboard through the expansion slot. The standard for an expansion bus today is the PCI Express or Peripheral Component Interconnect express. A PCIe bus looks like a slot on the motherboard and a PCIe base expansion card looks like a smallest circuit board. The last component of motherboards that we'll discuss is form factor. There are different size of motherboards that are available today. These sizes of form factors determine the amount of stuff we can put in it and the amount of space we'll have. The most common form factor for motherboards is ATX, which stands for Advanced Technology Extended. ATX actually comes in different sizes too. In desktops, you'll commonly see full-sized ATXs. If you don't want to use an ATX form factor, you could use an IT or information technology extended form factor. These are much smaller than ATX boards. For example, the Intel NUC uses a variation of the ATX board, which comes in three board sizes; mini ITX, nano ITX, and pico ITX. When building your computer, you will need to keep in mind what type of form factor you want. Do you want to build something small that can't handle as much workload, or do you want a powerhouse workstation that you can add lots of functionality to? The form factor will also play a role into what expansion slots you might want to use. Understanding motherboards and their characteristics can be a big plus one fixing hardware issues since things like the type of RAM module or processes socket are dependent on the kind of motherboard they need to fit into. Let's say you're responding to a ticket for a user who's having video problems, you don't want to make it all the way to their desk only to realize the graphics card you bought as a replacement doesn't fit the motherboard their computer uses.
Physical Storage: Hard Drives
Before we get into computer storage, we need to fill in some gaps. I'm referring to things like gigabytes, bits, etc. But we actually haven't talked at all about what those metrics mean. Sorry, I got a gigabit ahead of myself. As you might have guessed, these terms refer to data sizes. The smallest unit of a data storage is a bit. A bit can store one binary digit, so it can store a one or a zero. The next largest unit of storage is called a byte, which is comprised of eight bits. A single byte can hold a letter, number or symbol. The next largest unit is referred to as a KB bite. But we typically use the term kilobyte. A kilobyte is made up of 1,024 bytes. Here's a quick data conversion chart. How much does 500 gigabyte even mean? Let's take a look at the size of an average music file, which is about three megabytes. On a 500 gigabyte machine, that's approximately 165,000 music files. That's a lot of music. We saw all of our computers data on our hard drive, which allows us to store our programs, music, pictures, etc. Have you ever had an issue with your computer and lost all the data that was on your hard drive? Yeah, me too. It was the worst. This actually happens a lot and you'll probably encounter it as an IT support specialist. Make sure you backup your data to be safe. This means you should copy or save your data somewhere else just in case something goes wrong and your hard drive crashes. That way, you won't lose all your data. There are two basic hard drive types used today. Hard describes or HDDs uses a spinning platter and a mechanical arm to read and write information. The speed that the platter rotate allows you to read and write data faster. This is commonly referred to as RPM or revolution per minute. A hard drive with a higher RPM is faster. So if you go out and buy a hard drive today, you might see something like a 500 gigabyte, with 5,400 rpm. HDDs are prone to a lot more damage because there are a lot of moving parts. This susceptibility to damage went away with a new type of storage called solid state drive or SSD. SSDs have no moving parts. Are you familiar with a USB stick? SSDs operate in a similar way. The information is stored on microchips and data travels a lot faster than HDDs. The form factor for SSDs is also slimmer compared to their HDD cousins. Sounds great, doesn't it? So why doesn't everyone use SSDs? Well, both have their pros and cons. HDDs are more affordable, but they're more prone to damage. SSDs are less risky when it comes to losing data, but they're also more expensive. So you may not buy as much memory storage in SSDs than what you can get in HDDs. Believe it or not, there are even hybrid SSD and HDD drives out there. They offer SSD performance where you need it for things like system performance, such as putting your computer along with hard disk drives, but less important stuff like basic file storage. There are a few interfaces that hard drives use to connect our system. ATA interfaces are the most common ones. The most popular ATA drive is a Serial ATA or SATA, which uses one cable for data transfers. SATA drives are hot swappable, great term, don't you think? It means you don't have to turn off your machine to plug in a SATA drive. SATA drives move data faster and use a more efficient cable like this one than its predecessors. SATA has been the de facto interface for HDDs today. But people quickly found that using the SATA cable wasn't good enough for some of the blazing fast SSDs that were coming on the market. The interface couldn't keep up with the speeds of the newest SSDs. So another interface standard was created called NVM express, or NVMe. Instead of using a cable to connect your drive to your machine, the drive was added as an expansion slot, which allows for greater throughput of data and increased efficiency.
in the modern day sdds are better than hdds
Supplemental Reading for Data Storage
Data Storage Measurements
In this reading, you will learn about the different names for measurements of data storage capacities and file sizes. Data storage capacity increases in step with the evolution of computer hardware technology. Larger storage capacities allow for dynamic growth in file sizes. These advances make it possible for companies like Netflix and Hulu to store thousands of feature-length films in high video quality formats.
There are standardized sets of terms used to name the ever expanding sizes of data storage and files. For example, the common terms used to describe file sizes and hard drive storage capacity include: bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes, and terabytes. However, if you are a computer engineer, you might use a different set of terms.
Data storage measurement nomenclature
-
Decimal nomenclature: kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte, petabyte, exabyte, zettabyte, yottabyte
The decimal naming system for computer storage uses the metric system of prefixes from the International System of Units: kilo, mega, giga, tera, peta, exa, zetta, and yotta. These prefixes may also be referred to as the decimal system of prefixes. The metric/decimal nomenclature represent a base-10 approximation of the actual amount of data storage bytes. The metric system prefixes were selected to simplify the marketing of computer products.
-
Binary nomenclature: kibibyte, mebibyte, gibibyte, tebibyte, pebibyte, exbibyte, zebibyte, yobibyte
The binary naming system is a standard set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in partnership with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The ISO 80000 and IEC 80000 guides to units of measurement define the International System of Quantities (ISQ). The prefixes kibi-, mebi-, gibi, -tebi-. pebi-, exbi-, zebi-, and yobi- were created by the IEC organization. They are a blend of the first two letters of the metric prefix fused with the first two letters of the word “binary” (example: megabyte + binary + byte= mebibyte).
Binary measurements of computer data are more accurate than decimal system measurements. While decimal nomenclature is commonly used to market computers and computer parts to the general public, binary nomenclature is often used in computer engineering for numerical accuracy.
Quantities of storage measurements
As data storage grows, the need for new terminology to describe the exponentially larger byte quantities grows too. The current byte nomenclature, mathematical representations, and storage capacities are as follows:
-
One bit: Also called a binary digit, bits store an electric signal as 1. The absence of an electric signal is stored as 0, which is also the default value of a bit. One bit can store only one value, either 1 or 0. These two possible values are the basis of the binary number system (base-2) that computers use. All numbers in a base-2 system increase exponentially as powers of 2.
-
One byte: One byte stores eight bits of ones and zeros that translate to a symbol or basic computer instruction. Examples: 01101101 is the byte that translates to the letter “m.” The byte 01111111 tells the computer to delete the character to the right of the cursor.
-
One kilobyte (1 KB):
-
Kilobyte (KB) decimal format: 103 = 1,000 bytes
-
Kibibyte (KiB) binary format: 210 = 1,024 bytes
-
Decimal inaccuracy: Off by -2.4% or -24 bytes
-
Name origin: “Kilo-” is a French derivation from the Ancient Greek word for “thousand” A kilobyte is one thousand bytes.
-
1 KB can hold: A short text file or a small icon as a 16x16 pixel .gif file.
-
-
One megabyte (1 MB):
-
Megabyte (MB) decimal format: 106 = 1,000,000 bytes
-
Mebibyte (MiB) binary format: 220 = 1,048,576 bytes
-
Decimal inaccuracy: Off by -4.9% or -48,576 bytes
-
Name origin: “Mega-” is derived from the Ancient Greek word for “large.” A megabyte is a large number of bytes.
-
1 MB can hold: Approximately one minute of music in a lossless .mp3 format or a short novel.
-
-
One gigabyte (1 GB):
-
Gigabyte (GB) decimal format: 109 = 1,000,000,000 bytes
-
Gibibyte (GiB) binary format: 230 = 1,073,741,824 bytes
-
Decimal inaccuracy: Off by -7.4% or -73,741,824 bytes
-
Name origin: “Giga-” is derived from the Ancient Greek word for “giant.” A gigabyte is a giant number of bytes.
-
1 GB can hold: Between 2.5-3 hours of music in .mp3 format or 300 high-resolution images.
-
-
One terabyte (1 TB):
-
Terabyte (TB) decimal format: 1012 = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes
-
Tebibyte (TiB) binary format: 240 = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes
-
Decimal inaccuracy: Off by -10.0%
-
Name origin: “Tera-” is a shortened form of “tetra-”, which was derived from the Ancient Greek word for the number four. The 1012 decimal format can also be written as 10004 (one-thousand to the 4th power). “Tera-” in Ancient Greek means “monster.” You might think of the word “terabyte” as a monstrously large number of bytes.
-
1 TB can hold: Approximately 200,000 songs in .mp3 format or 300 hours of video.
-
-
One petabyte (PB):
-
Petabyte (PB) decimal format: 1015 = 1,000,000,000,000,000 bytes
-
Pebibyte (PiB) binary format: 250 = 1,125,899,906,842,624 bytes
-
Decimal inaccuracy: Off by -12.6%
-
Name origin: “Peta-” is derived from the Ancient Greek word “penta” meaning five. The 1018 decimal format can also be written as 10005 (one-thousand to the 5th power).
-
1 PB can hold: The content from 1.5 million CD-ROM discs or 500 billion pages of text.
-
-
One exabyte (EB):
-
Exabyte (EB) decimal format: 1018 = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes
-
Exbibyte (EiB) binary format: 260 = 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 bytes
-
Decimal inaccuracy: Off by -15.3%
-
Name origin: “Exa-” was derived from the Ancient Greek word for six. The 1018 decimal format can also be written as 10006 (one-thousand to the 6th power).
-
1 EB can hold: Approximately 11 million movies in 4k video resolution or 3,000 copies of the entire United States Library of Congress.
-
-
One zettabyte (ZB):
-
Zettabyte (ZB) decimal format: 1021 = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes
-
Zebibyte (ZiB) binary format: 270 = 1,180,591,620,717,411,303,424 bytes
-
Decimal inaccuracy: Off by -18.1%
-
Name origin: “Zetta” was derived from the Latin word “septem” which means seven. The 1021 decimal format can also be written as 10007 (one-thousand to the 7th power).
-
1 ZB can hold: Seagate reports one zettabyte can hold 30 billion movies in 4k video resolution.
-
-
One yottabyte (YB):
-
Yottabyte (YB) decimal format: 1024 = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes
-
Yobibyte (YiB) binary format: 280 = 1,208,925,819,614,629,174,706,176 bytes
-
Decimal inaccuracy: Off by -20.9%
-
Name origin: “Yotta” is Ancient Greek for eight. The 1024 decimal format can also be written as 10008 (one-thousand to the 8th power).
-
1 YB can hold: In 2011, a cloud storage company estimated that one yottabyte could hold the data of one million data centers.
- In 2023 its estimated that the total size of the internet is larger than 1 yottabyte
-
Ask ChatGPT4
how large is the internet estimated to be in exabytes?
-
-
The size of the Internet or the total amount of data created globally is not specified directly in exabytes in the sources I found. However, we can infer some information based on the data provided. It was expected that 2020 would see the creation of 44 zettabytes (1 zettabyte = 1 million petabytes = 1 billion terabytes = 1 trillion gigabytes = 1,000 exabytes) of data, and the world was expected to generate 103 zettabytes of data by 2023. The impending age of the yottabyte (1,000 zettabytes) is in sight, implying that we are moving towards generating and managing data volumes in the order of thousands of zettabytes1.
In terms of storage, advancements in technology are being made to manage this enormous amount of data. For instance, IBM's 'Elastic Storage' technology, which was part of the Watson system, is designed to handle architectural limits stretching into the thousands of yottabytes (1 yottabyte = 1 million petabytes)2. Moreover, an increasing amount of data is unstructured, showing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38%, and solutions are being developed to handle this surge in data, including innovations in software, hardware, and algorithms for scale-out storage and the implementation of an intelligent data fabric to manage data across systems, regions, and clouds3.
In 2022, the combined shipment volume of the world's top five External Controller-Based (ECB) storage vendors was triple the volume in 2012, but it is still insufficient to meet the demands of the upcoming yottabyte era. Huawei projects that this figure will multiply ten times by 2032, surpassing 100 exabytes. However, this figure pertains to the storage industry and not the total size of the Internet or global data volume3.
In summary, while a specific figure in exabytes for the total size of the Internet in 2023 isn't readily available, we are currently in an era where we are generating and dealing with data in the scale of zettabytes (each of which is equivalent to 1,000 exabytes), and moving towards the yottabyte era. I would need more time to search further to find a more precise estimate in exabytes for the total size of the Internet in 2023.
-
Power Supplies
In order to get our computer to work, let's give it some power. Computers have a power supply that converts electricity from your wall to something usable. There are two types of electricity DC or direct current which flows in one direction and AC or alternating current which changes directions constantly. Our computers use DC voltage so we have to have a way to convert the AC voltage from our power company to something we can use. That's what our power supply does. It converts the A C we get from the wall into low voltage DC power that we can use and transmit throughout our computer. So let's talk about power supplies, I actually have one right here. Lemme show you how one looks like, take it out right here. So, most power supply units have a fan which is right in here, they also have voltage information which is normally listed underneath or on the side. And cables like this one to power your motherboard and a power cable. Have you ever plugged one of your devices into the wall outlet and fried your device? If you haven't, you're really lucky, after completing this lesson, hopefully you'll know how to avoid that situation. To understand electricity, let's use the example of water pipes. Our tanks have a faucet that's connected to a pressurized water tank. When we turn on the faucet, water comes out. This is sort of how electricity works, when we plug in appliance into a wall outlet and turn it on, a flow electricity comes out. If we added more pressure to our water tank, would more water come out of it? The higher the pressure, the more water there will be. When it comes to electricity, we refer to the pressure as voltage. So, when I was on vacation to my surprise, when I plugged in the 120 volt appliance into a 220 volt outlet, the power came bursting through and fried my charger. If it was the other way around and a 220 volt appliance was plugged into 120 volt outlet, I wouldn't have seen the same outcome. I'll still be able to get electricity, but slowly. This would be similar to if a water tank was only half pressurized it will draw water but slowly, in some cases though, this can deteriorate the performance of the device and cause damage in the long-term. As a general rule, be sure to use the proper voltage for your electronics. We refer to the amount of electricity coming out as current or amperage and it's measured in amps. We can think of amps as pulling electricity as opposed to voltage, which pushes electricity. Amps will pull as much electricity needed, but voltage will just give you everything. Look on the back of one of your device charges. You might see something like1 or 2.1 A, charging a device with 2.1 amps will actually charge a device faster because it's able to put more current from a 2.1 amp than a 1 amp charger. Finally, the other important part of the electricity that you'll need to know is the wattage. Wattage is the amount of volts and amps that the device needs. If your power supply has too low the wattage, you won't be able to power your computer, so make sure you have enough. This doesn't mean that if you have a large power supply you will overpower your computer. Power supplies just give you the amount that your system needs. It's best to err on the side of large power supplies, you can power most basic desktops with a 500 watt power supply. But if you're doing something more demanding on your computer like playing a high resolution video game or doing a lot of video production and rendering, you will likely need a bigger power supply for your computer. On the other hand, if all you're doing is just browsing the web, the power supply that comes with your computer should be fine. All kinds of issues are caused by a bad power supply. Sometimes the computer doesn't even turn on at all, since power supplies can fail for lots of reasons like burnouts, power surges or even lightning strikes. Knowing how to diagnose power issues and replace a failed power supply is a skill every IT support specialist should have in their toolbox.
Suplemental reading: Power Supplies
Power Supplies
In this reading, you will learn how to select the correct power supply for a personal computer (PC) to support the main components of the PC.
As you learned in a previous video, computer systems require a direct current (DC) of electricity to operate. However, power companies deliver electricity in alternating currents (AC). AC power can damage the internal components of a computer. To solve this problem, computer power supplies are used to convert the AC from the wall socket to DC. Power supplies also reduce the voltage delivered to the computer’s internal components.
Computer architecture
Computer architecture refers to the engineering design of computers and the interconnecting hardware components that together create computing devices that meet functional, performance and cost goals. Power supplies are part of the hardware layer of a computer’s architecture. You learned earlier about the other major hardware components of a computer’s architecture, including the motherboard, chipsets, CPUs, RAM, storage, peripherals, expansion slots and cards, etc. These components influence the size and type of power supply a computer needs.
Selecting a power supply
Local input voltage
A main consideration when selecting a computer power supply is the voltage delivered to common wall sockets in your country. Power standards for input voltages can vary from country to country. The most common voltage inputs are 110-120 VAC and 220-240 VAC. VAC stands for volts of alternating current.
-
Voltages in the Americas
North, Central, and parts of South America use the 110-127 VAC standard for common wall sockets. Computers and power supplies sold in these regions are designed to use this level of power.
-
Voltages for most of the world
Most countries use the 220-240 VAC standard for common wall sockets. Computers and power supplies sold in these areas are designed to use this higher voltage.
- Japan is one unique outlier on using more than one voltage standard within the country. they use both the 110-12 7VAC standard and 220-240 VAC standard.
Please visit WorldStandards “Plug, socket & voltage by country” to find your country’s voltage standards.
It is important to use the correct voltage power supply or power converter for the computer’s voltage specifications. Imagine that you have a customer who imported a PC from a country that uses a different standard for input voltage. You will need to adapt the input power to protect the computer. Some options for doing this might include:
-
Replace the power supply with a unit that uses the appropriate voltage for the target country.
-
Install a power supply model that includes a dual-voltage switch that can be toggled from 110-120VAC to 220-240VAC.
-
Plug the computer into an external power converter that then plugs into a normal wall socket. Power converters can be purchased from any store that sells international travel merchandise.
Without a power converter, the following problems may be experienced:
|
If a computer needs |
But the wall socket delivers |
The result will be |
|---|---|---|
|
220-240VAC |
110-120VAC |
not enough power for the computer to run properly |
|
110-120VAC |
220-240VAC |
too much power, which will damage the computer’s internal parts |
Motherboard engineering specifications
The motherboard and form factor specifications document will provide a list of compatible power supply types to help you select the correct part. The ATX form factor is the most common motherboard design for full-sized, personal desktop computers. You may also find a version of the ITX form factor in smaller computers. The form factor size and components embedded in the motherboards will create a starting point for the minimum power supply wattages required.
Power consumption of components
The number of internal components and peripherals the computer will need to support will also determine the minimum wattage a power supply must provide. For example, a basic computer that is designed for word processing and surfing the Internet should work with a standard power supply. However, some computers may need higher wattage power supplies to support items like a powerful CPU, multiple CPUs, multiple hard drives, video rendering applications, a top-tier graphics processing unit (GPU) for gaming, and more.
Voltages and pin connectors
The internal hardware components of a computer require varied input voltages to operate. Voltage regulators embedded in the motherboard of the computer control the amount of power that is delivered to the computer’s various internal components.
|
Voltage |
Examples of components that use each voltage level |
|---|---|
|
3.3V |
DIMMs, chipsets, and some PCI/AGP cards |
|
5V |
SIMMS, disk drive logic, ISA, and some voltage regulators |
|
12V |
Motors and voltage regulators with high outputs |
The computer’s power supply plugs into an adapter on the computer’s motherboard. The wiring for this connection uses color coded wires. Each wire color carries a different voltage of electricity to the motherboard or serves as a grounding wire. A standard ATX motherboard power adaptor has either 20-pins or 24-pins to connect these wires. The 20-pin design is an older technology. The 24-pin connector was developed to provide more power to support additional expansion cards, powerful CPUs, and more. The 24-pin connector has become the standard for today’s personal computer power supplies and motherboards.
The power supply will have multiple connectors that plug into the motherboard, hard drives, and graphic cards. Each cable has a specific purpose and delivers the appropriate amount of electricity to the following parts:
Connections from a PC power supply (ATX 2)
-
Floppy disk drive (obsolete)
-
"Molex" universal (e.g. IDE hard drives, optical drives)
-
SATA drives
-
Graphics cards 8-pin, separable for 6-pin
-
Graphics cards 6-pin
-
Motherboard 8-pin
-
Motherboard P4 connector, can be combined to 8-pin mainboard connector 12V
-
ATX2 24-pin, divisible 20+4, and can therefore also be used for old 20-pin connections
The new ATX 3.0 adds a PCIe 5.0 12VHPWR connector featuring 12 + 4 pins to supply up to 600W.
also nvidia uses a (maybe) propriatary 16 pin 2VHPWR cable on newer gpus (as of the 4090's release and is extremely fragile)
Key takeaways
When selecting a power supply for a computer, the following items should be taken into consideration:
-
Wall socket input voltage standard for the country where the computer will be used;
-
The number and power consumption needs of the computer’s internal components;
-
The motherboard model and form factor engineering specifications and requirements.
Resources for more information
For more information on these topics, please visit:
-
Plug, socket & voltage by country - List of countries around the world and their voltage standards for common wall sockets and plug types.
-
How to Diagnose and Replace a Failed PC Power Supply - Step-by-step illustrated instructions on how to diagnose a power supply failure and replace it on a desktop PC.
Mobile Devices
Hi there, it's me again. You might remember me from the previous module, and no worries if not, what's important is that I'm here now. We've made some updates to this program to make sure you've got the latest info on mobile devices. You'll see me again throughout the rest of this program. So keep your eyes peeled for me. Let's talk about mobile devices. Mobile devices are computers too, they have CPUs, RAM, storage, power systems and peripherals. How are they different from a server, a desktop computer or a laptop? There are special because they're mobile. They're portable and usually powered by batteries. Some mobile devices are general purpose computing devices, like tablets or smartphones. Other mobile devices are optimized to perform a specific set of tasks, like fitness monitors, e-readers, and smartwatches. Mobile devices are usually very integrated. Remember the systems that we showed you earlier, the components can be taken out and held in your hand. Mobile devices build some or all of these components together in a way that you can't take apart. The smaller device, the more integrated the components usually are. The CPU, RAM, and storage might be soldered directly to the devices motherboard. Very small mobile devices use a system on a chip or SOC. A system on a chip packs the CPU, RAM and sometimes even the storage onto a single chip. Not only our SOC is small, they use less battery power than if those components were separated. Even though they're small some mobile devices use peripherals. Smartphones connect to Bluetooth headphones, for example. Mobile devices can also be a peripheral. A fitness tracker is a standalone device, but it can also be a peripheral to your smartphone. That same fitness tracker might use a heart rate monitor as a peripheral. It's peripherals all the way down. Mobile devices may use standard or proprietary ports and connectors. You might need to have a specific adapter or connector for charging a device or connecting your mobile device to a computer. Sometimes the physical shape or the intended use of the mobile device makes a standard connection like USB, a bad choice. For example, say you have a waterproof fitness tracker. If it had a micro-USB for, that port will be damaged if exposed to water. So instead, it's designed with a custom charging interface that can be submerged underwater. Here are some of the standard power data and display connector types you'll find used in mobile devices. This is a USB-C, next we have a lightening adapter, then a mini USB, and a micro-USB, a micro HDMI, and the mini HDMI, and this is a mini display port. Because of mobile devices are generally small and have limited access to power, they run operating systems and application software that specifically designed to maximize their performance. Will dive into mobile operating systems and applications in future videos. As an IT support specialist, you might be responsible for helping end-users with their mobile devices. This might include setup, troubleshooting, repairing, and replacing mobile devices. Don't worry, we're going to break all this down for you. One super important thing, mobile devices can contain a lot of personal data. Some organizations allow people to use their own personal devices for work. We call this bring your own device or BYOD. You should be careful to respect people's privacy when they bring their own devices to you for help. To know how to handle these devices is always best to refer to your organization's policy.
Batteries and Charging Systems
Sometimes instead of being plugged into a power outlet all the time, we want to take our technology with us. Mobile technology uses rechargeable batteries to carry power with the device wherever we take it. Rechargeable devices might have an external charger for removable batteries, or might have a cradle stand or wireless charger. Look at this phone, we can top up the battery just by laying it on this wireless inductive charging pad. Isn't that cool? It's also pretty clever technology. Rechargeable batteries have a limited lifespan, which is measured in charge cycles. A charge cycle is one full charge and discharge of a battery. When a battery is reaching the end of its lifespan, it may take longer to charge and might not hold as much charge as when it was new. For some devices, you compare the current cycle count of your battery with the rate at cycle count of that battery type, to see how much more life to expect out of it. You need an external power source to add power to a battery. This could come from a wall outlet, another battery, or even a solar panel. You also need a charging circuit that manages the power transfer from the external power source to the rechargeable battery. This circuit works a lot like a power supply unit or PSU that we looked at earlier. It makes sure the input power is converted to the correct output power. Instead of using a large PSU, rechargeable devices use more portable power adapters, power supplies or chargers. A portable power supply powers the device while also charging the battery. This might sound obvious, but you need to make sure that you use the right charger for the right device. Mismatching chargers to devices can damage the battery, the device and the charger. A lot of chargers and power supplies use USB connectors, but you'll see a wide variety of charging connectors. Rechargeable batteries can be damaged by very cold or very hot environments. Don't charge or discharge rechargeable batteries unless they're within their safe operating temperature range. Its not just that a damaged rechargeable battery might not perform well, it can also be very dangerous. Batteries can swell, rupture, and sometimes even catch fire. Before working with a damaged battery, you should know how to safely handle it. When a battery reaches the end of its life, you'll need to replace it. Some devices will slow themselves down when a battery is getting old to make the battery last longer. If your device is running much slower than usual or shutting down unexpectedly, one thing to check is the battery life. Some devices have batteries that are designed to be replaced by the end-user. Other devices have batteries that are very difficult to replace, like small laptops and mobile devices. As an IT support specialist, you might receive special training on how to replace batteries and devices that you support. Or you might be the person sending the device out for battery replacement and then returning the device to the end-user. IT support specialist often have to troubleshoot battery life and device charging. The first step is to make sure the charger, the battery and the device are all designed to work with each other. We'll talk about sending out devices for repair and troubleshooting skills in future videos, so stay tuned. For iOS and Android, there are also some things that you could do to make the battery last as long as possible. It's a good idea for you to be familiar with these things so that you can help educate end-users on the best ways to get the most out of their mobile devices.
Supplemental Readings for Batteries and Charging Systems
Check out these links for more information:
You can learn about Inductive Charging.
Read more about batteries and charge cycles for Windows or Macs. You can also check out: Safe handling of lithium-ion batteries.
Finally, learn how to maximize your batteries for iOS or Android.
Peripherals and Ports
(Required)
en
Supplemental Reading on Connector Types
Connector Types
A computer has many physical ports or connectors. You can use these connectors to connect devices that add functionality to your computing, such as a keyboard, mouse, or monitor. These external devices are called peripherals. IT often works with and troubleshoots these peripherals, so it is helpful to understand the types of connectors. This reading will cover different types of connectors and their uses.
USB Connectors
USB 2.0, 3.0 & 3.1
USB connectors transfer data and power to devices connected to a computer. USB connectors are the most popular connectors for all types of peripherals.
There are three generations of USB type A connectors in use today: USB 2.0, 3.0, and 3.1. Here are the differences between the three generations:
-
USB 2.0: Black port on the computer, 480 Mbps transfer speed
-
USB 3.0: Blue port on computer, 5 Gbps transfer speed
-
USB 3.1: Teal port on the computer, 10 Gbps transfer speed
USB ports are backwards compatible, meaning a USB port can connect any of the three generations of USB type A connectors. The connected cable will determine the speed of data transfer. Connecting a USB 3 to a USB 2 port will result in 480 megabits (Mbps) per second of speed.
Micro USB, USB-C & Lightning Port
Micro USB, USB-C, USB4 (Thunderbolt), and Lightning Ports are smaller connectors that carry more power than older USB connectors and have faster data transfer speeds. These connectors are used for devices like smartphones, laptops, and tablets.
-
Micro USB is a small USB port found on many non-Apple cellphones, tablets, and other portable devices.
-
USB-C is the newest reversible connector with either end having the same build. USB-C cables replace traditional USB connectors since they can carry significantly more power and transfer data at 20 Gbps.
-
USB4 uses Thunderbolt 3 protocol and USB-C cables to transfer data at speeds of 40 Gbps and provide power as well.
-
Lightning Port is a connector exclusive to Apple that is similar to USB-C. It is used for charging and connecting devices to computers, external monitors, cameras and other peripherals.
Communication Connectors
Different cable connectors are used to share information between devices and connect to the internet. IT professionals maintain network systems that use different types of communication connectors.
-
Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) refers to cables transmitting voice through twisted copper pair wires. Landline telephones, dial-up internet, and alarm systems use POTS. The RJ-11 (Register Jack 11) connector is used for POTS.
-
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) provides access to high-speed networks or the internet through telephone lines and a modem. The RJ-45 connects a computer to network elements and is mostly used with ethernet cables.
-
Cable Internet uses a cable TV infrastructure and a modem to provide high-speed internet access to users. An F type connector is commonly used with cable modems..
-
Fiber-optic cables contain strands of glass fibers inside an insulated casing that send data long-distance and allow for higher-bandwidth communication. The major internet providers use fiber-optic cables for high-speed internet service.
Device Connectors
IT professionals will encounter legacy devices that still use older connectors such as DB89 and Molex.
DB89 connectors are used for older peripherals like keyboards, mice, and joysticks. An IT professional may still encounter a DB89 connector for external tools a computer uses and should recognize the cable to connect to the appropriate port.
Molex connectors provide power to drives or devices inside the computer. Molex connectors are used for connecting a hard drive, disc drive (CD-ROM, DVD, Blu-ray), or a video card.
Punch Down Blocks
A punch down block is a terminal strip used to connect telephone or data lines. Punch down blocks are a quick and easy way to connect wiring. IT professionals use punch down blocks to change a wire or make a new connection for a telephone system or Local Area Network (LAN).
These are the most common cables and connectors. As technology advances, these cables and connectors will also change.
Key Takeaways
IT professionals need to be familiar with cables and connectors used to attach peripheral devices to computers.
-
USB connectors are the most common connector type and they transfer data and power to devices connected to a computer.
-
Communication connectors, such as RJ-45 and fiber optic cables, connect devices to the internet and one another.
-
IT professionals may encounter legacy devices that use older connectors such as DB89 and Molex.
-
Punch down blocks are terminal strips used to connect telephone or data lines.
Suplemental reading Cables ( remind admin to download and rehost the pdfs linked )
Terminology and Basic Definitions
Cable Form Factors and Connector Types
SFP (Small Form Factor Pluggable) – A transceiver or cable with a one or two lanes (channel) in each direction. All cables and transceivers commonly used in datacenters are bidirectional.
SFP+ denotes the 10 – 14 Gb/s type of AOC/transceivers, while SFP28 is the notation for the 25-28 Gb/s products with an SFP form factor. The noted data rate is the data rate in each direction.
SFP-DD, a double-density version of SFP, with 2 lanes in a form factor with same width as the SFP is defined, but are not part of Nvidia’s product portfolio at the time of release of this paper.
SFP transceivers are part of the Ethernet architecture, but not used in InfiniBand systems.
QSFP (Quad Small Form Factor Pluggable) – A bidirectional transceiver or cable with 4 lanes in each direction.
Standards: Electrical pinout, memory registers, and mechanical dimensions for both SFP and QSFP devices are defined in the public MSA (Multi-source Agreement) standards available at: www.snia.org/sff/specifications.
QSFP+ denotes cables/transceivers for 4 x (10 – 14) Gb/s applications, while QSFP28 denotes the 4 x (24…28) = 100 Gb/s product range with QSFP form factor, used for InfiniBand EDR 100Gb/s ports and 100Gb/s Ethernet (100GbE) ports. The QSFP28 interface is specified in SFF-8679.
QSFP56 denotes 4 x (50…56) Gb/s in a QSFP form factor. This form factor is used for InfiniBand HDR 200Gb/s and 200/400GbE Ethernet cables/transceivers in Nvidia’s portfolio.
QSFP-DD refers to a double-density version of the QSFP transceiver supporting 200 GbE and 400 GbE Ethernet. It employs 8 lanes operating at up to 25Gb/s NRZ modulation or 50Gb/s PAM4 modulation. QSFP-DD cables will in general not work in standard QSFP cages, but switches/NICs with QSFP-DD cages may support the older QSFP transceivers/cables.
OSFP (Octal Small Form Factor Pluggable) is wider and longer than QSFP and accommodates 8 lanes side-by-side. This form factor is used for 200/400/800G transceivers in Nvidia’s InfiniBand NDR portfolio. More info on https://osfpmsa.org
AOC (Active Optical Cable) – An optical fiber cable with an optical transceiver with the fibers bonded inside and not removable. The optical transceiver converts the host electrical signals into light pulses and back. Bonding the fiber inside means the AOC only needs to be tested electrically and eliminates the costly optical testing.
Transceiver (transmitter and receiver) is a converter with an electrical connector in one end and optical connector in the other end. It can have one or more parallel lanes in each direction (transmit and receive).
Transceiver or AOC? – You can argue that two transceivers connected with a patch cable replace an AOC. However, if you don’t have cleaning tools and experience with optical connectors, it is safer to use an AOC where the optical cable is fixed inside the ‘connector’. The AOC’s ‘connectors’ are actually similar to detachable transceivers, but they work as a kit with a well-known transceiver at the other end. AOCs don’t have any issue with multi-vendor interoperability. Nevertheless, it is easier to replace a pair of transceivers than an AOC since you don’t have to install a new cable as the cable is already in place.
Traditionally, AOCs are more common in InfiniBand installations, while transceivers with patch cables are more common in Ethernet systems with structured cabling.
DAC (Direct Attached Copper) cable or PCC (Passive Copper Cable) – A high-speed electrical cable with an SFP or QSFP connector in each end, but no active components in the RF connections. The term ‘passive’ means that there is no active processing of the electrical signal. The DACs still have an EEPROM, a memory chip in each end, so the host system can read which type of cable is plugged in, and how much attenuation it should expect.
Cable/Transceiver Form Factors and Connector Definitions
|
Definition |
Photo |
|
DAC (Direct Attach Copper) cable with QSFP connector |
|
|
DAC with SFP connector |
|
|
AOC (Active Optical Cable) with QSFP connector |
|
|
QSA (QSFP to SFP Adapter) |
|
|
QSFP transceiver QSFP28 Transceiver for 100G transmission QSFP56 Transceiver for 200G transmission QSFP112 Transceiver for 400G transmission |
|
|
QSFP-DD transceiver 8 lane 200/400G transceiver |
|
|
OSFP transceiver Single/Dual 8 lane 1/2 x 400G transceiver |
|
|
SFP transceivers 25G SFP28 Transceiver (~1 W) |
|
- QSFP56/SFP56 has 4/1-channels like the QSFP28/SFP28 generation but twice the data rate.
- Same Duplex LC and MPO-12 optical connector as QSFP28/SFP28 generation
- QSFP56 offers more space and thermal dissipation capacity
- 50G PAM4 doubles the data rate
- SFP56 ports accept SFP28 devices; QSFP56 ports accept QSFP28 devices
- QSFP28/SFP28 ports will NOT accept newer QSFP56/SFP56 devices
- SFP-DD ports will accept SFP+, SFP28, and SFP56 devices
SFP-DD is a 2-channel device, and hence requires a new optical connector scheme. Two types are currently (2019) supported by the SFP-DD MSA: Corning/US Conec MDC, and Senko SN.
Optical Transmission and Fiber Types
MMF (Multi-Mode Fiber) – The type of fiber used for VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) based transmission, normally operating at 850 nm wavelength. Its maximum reach is 100 m for 25 Gb/s line rates. Multi-mode fiber has a large light carrying core (50 µm) and matches the diameter of VCSEL lasers and PIN detectors making assembly very low cost.
OM2, OM3, OM4 (Optical Multi-mode) are classifications of MMF for different reach and speeds. Higher number indicates lower degradation of the optical signal, and longer reach. MMF cables commonly have the colors shown below, but standards are not fully consistent.
- OM2 – orange – used for data rates at 1-14 Gb/s, 62.5 µm fiber core diameter
- OM3 – aqua – 70 m reach for 25/100 Gb/s transceivers, 50 µm core diameter
- OM4 – aqua – 100 m reach for 25/100 Gb/s transceivers, 50 µm core diameter
- OM5 – aqua green – not commonly used (2023)
Multi-mode fiber patch cords
SMF (Single-Mode Fiber) – The type of fiber used for Indium Phosphide or Silicon Photonics based transceivers, operating at 1310 or 1550 nm wavelength. Single-mode fiber usually has a yellow jacket and can reach 100s of km. The tiny 7-9 µm light carrying core makes building single-mode optics much more expensive than multi-mode optics.
CWDM, WDM, DWDM, (Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing, Normal, Dense) – a technology for transmitting multiple optical signals through the same fiber. All signals have different wavelengths (colors). WDM transceivers make it possible to reduce the number of fibers in the link to two, one for transmit, and one for receive.
Dense WDM employs a very narrow 0.78 nm laser wavelength spacing used in single-mode links. The laser needs to be temperature controlled so these devices usually employ an electrical cooler – which adds cost.
Coarse WDM employs a wide 20 nm laser wavelength spacing used in single-mode links and because of the wide wavelength spacing does not require a cooler, so less expensive.
Short WDM (SWDM) employs 4 different wavelengths multi-mode VCSEL lasers.
PSM4 (Parallel Single-Mode 4 fiber) is the opposite of WDM in the sense that each signal is transferred in its own fiber. This requires 4 fibers in each direction but enables simpler transceiver design since all signals can have same wavelength and no optical MUX/DeMUX (AWG) is required and no TEC (Thermo Electric Cooler) to stabilize the laser wavelengths. PSM4 is a MSA (Multi Source Agreement), i.e. a standard supported by a number of transceiver vendors.
Reach of Transceivers
Transceivers are classified with data- rate and reach, governed by the IEEE Ethernet standards. For 100 - 400 Gb/s transceivers the most common definitions are:
- 100GBASE-CR4 – 100 Gb/s, standard for DAC cables (twisted pair) for short reaches, up to about 7 m.
- 100GBASE-SR4 –100 Gb/s, SR4=Short Reach (100 meters on OM4 multimode fiber), 4 fibers
- 100GBASE-LR4 – 100 Gb/s, LR=Long Reach (10 km using WDM on SMF), 2 fibers
- 100GBASE-ER4 – 100 Gb/s, ER=Extended Reach (30-40 km using WDM on SMF), 2 fibers
- 100GBASE-ZR – 100 Gb/s, ZR is not an IEEE standard, 80+ km reach.
- 200GBASE-CR4 – 200 Gb/s on DAC (passive copper) twisted pair cable, up to 3 m
- 200GBASE-SR4 – 200 Gb/s, SR4=Short Reach (100 meters on OM4 multimode fiber), 4 fibers
- 200GBASE-DR4 – 200 Gb/s, DR4 = 500 meters on single mode fibers, 4 fibers per direction
- 200GBASE-FR4 – 200 Gb/s, FR4 = 2 km, single mode fibers using WDM, 1 fiber per direction
- 200GBASE-LR4 – 200 Gb/s, LR4 = long reach, 10 km, single mode fibers using WDM, 1 fiber per direction
- 400GBASE-DR4 – 400 Gb/s, 500 meters on single mode fiber, 4 fibers each direction
- 400GBASE- FR4 – 400 Gb/s, WDM, 2 km on 1 single mode fiber/direction, 4 electrical lanes
- 400GBASE-FR8 – 400 Gb/s, WDM, 2 km on 1 single mode fiber/direction, 8 electrical lanes
All 200/400 Gb links use PAM4 signaling which implies that Forward Error Correction (FEC) is required.
The interface types listed above are examples for 100, 200, and 400 GbE links. The IEEE 802 standards define a wide range of standards for different Physical Media Devices (PMDs), see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terabit_Ethernet#200G_port_types. and PMD Naming Conventions figure below. Some of the transceiver types are not IEEE standards but separate industry MSAs (Multi-Source Agreements) usually formed by a leading transceiver company. PSM4, SWDM4, CWDM4 and 400G FR4, are examples.
PMD Naming Conventions
Ref. https://ieee802.org/3/cn/public/18_11/anslow_3cn_01_1118.pdf
In the Data rate block, 200G (200 Gb/s) was added after 2018 when the above figure was published.
Optical Connector Types
High-speed cables make use of edge ‘gold-finger’ connectors on the electrical side which attaches to the host system (switch, network card on server/storage). On the optical side, the following connector types are the most common:
MPO (Multi-fiber Push On), is a connector standard supporting multiple rows with up to 12 fibers in each. A QSFP transceiver with MPO receptacle uses the outermost 4 positions on each side. The center 4 positions are not used.
Single-row MPO Connectors used in QSFP Transceivers
MTP connectors are a vendor specific proprietary high-precision version of MPO connectors.
The optical port in the parallel 2 x 4-lane QSFP optical transceiver is a male MPO connector with alignment pins, mating with fiber-optic cables with female MPO connector. The connector contains a 12-channel MT ferrule (allows to bundle multiple channels into a single connector).
QSFP28 Optical Receptacle and Channel Orientation for Male MPO Connector
Female MPO Cable Connector Optical Lane Assignment
Reference: IEC specification IEC 61754-7.
LC connectors are used for both single-mode and multi-mode fibers and are used in both SFP and QSFP MSA transceivers.
Duplex LC Connector and SFP Transceiver with LC Receptacles
There are many other optical connector standards. MPO and LC are commonly used for data center patch cables and transceivers.
Optical Patch Cables
The choice of Optical patch cable depends on the type of transceivers you need to connect.
Transceivers and Cable Connectors
|
Transceiver |
Reach and Type |
Connector on Transceiver |
Connector on Patch Cable |
|
MMA2P00- MFM1T02A |
25G SR SFP 10G SR SFP 2 fiber multimode |
Multimode Duplex LC/UPC
|
Duplex LC/UPC
|
|
MC2210411-SR4 MMA1B00-xxxx MMA1T00-VS |
40G SR4 QSFP 100G SR4 QSFP 200G SR4 QSFP 2x4 fiber multimode |
Multimode Male MPO/UPC (with pins)
|
Female MPO/UPC (with holes)
|
|
MMA1L20-AR |
25G LR SFP 2 fiber Single mode |
Single mode Duplex LC/UPC |
Duplex LC w single-mode fiber
|
|
MC2210511-LR4 MMA1L30-CM MMA1L10-CR |
40G CWDM, QSFP, 100G CWDM, QSFP, 2km 100G LR4 QSFP 2 fiber Single mode |
Single mode Duplex LC/UPC
|
|
|
MMS1C10-CM |
PSM4, QSFP, 500m 2x4 fiber single mode |
Single mode MPO/APC (8 fiber, Angle polished connector)
|
Female MPO/APC with single-mode fiber. The key is centered
|
| Two 8-fiber Single mode in one unit |
|
||
|
T-DQ8FNS-N00 MMA4U00-WS-F |
QSFP-DD SR8 2x8 fiber Multi-mode |
Male MPO16/APC (16 fiber Angle Polished Connector)
|
Female MPO16/APC with multi-mode fiber. The key is offset.
|
| MMA4Z00 | OSFP SR8 Two 8-fiber Multi-mode in one unit |
Male MPO12/APC (12 fiber Angle Polished Connector)
|
Female MPO12/APC with multi-mode fiber
|
Recently, NVIDIA devices with OSFP form factor have been expanded to work in both Ethernet and InfiniBand systems.
NV Link
A third type of application is NV Link (used in NVIDIA DGX systems). The DGX systems are equipped with either ConnectX-6 or ConnectX-7 HCAs (network adapters). Systems with ConnectX-6 adapters can use the MMA4U00-WS-F transceiver. Systems with ConnectX-7 adapters have OSFP connector and can use MMA4Z00 and MMS4X00 transceivers listed above.
UPC vs APC connectors
In the past, longer-reach single-mode applications like 100GBASE-LR4 allowed for greater insertion loss. With less-expensive transceivers entering the market comes a reduced insertion loss allowance. Compared to the 6.3 dB allowed for 100GBASE-LR4 which supports 100G up to 10 kilometers, the short-reach 100GBASE-DR applications up to 500 meters comes at just 3 dB. Just like 100G multimode applications, designers need to be aware of their loss budgets that could limit the number of connections in the channel.
With single-mode fiber and higher data rates, return loss is more of a concern. Too much light reflected back into the transmitter can cause bit errors and poor performance. The reflections can be significantly reduced using angled physical contact (APC) connectors, where an 8-degree angled end face causes reflected light to hit and be absorbed by the cladding.
Generally, there are some basic considerations related to the use of single-mode fiber. A single mode is more difficult to keep clean than multimode. A speck of dust on a 62.5 or 50 µm multimode fiber core blocks a lot less light than on a 9µm single-mode fiber core.
When inspecting APC single-mode connectors, you want to make sure to use an APC inspection probe tip designed to match the angle of the APC connector. This is required as part of the inspection equipment.
For APC connectors, note that not the entire end face of the connector is in contact with the cleaning device. It cleans the middle portion of the connector where the fibers are located and does not catch contamination at the outer parts.
While no damage will occur if you connect an APC connector to the input, you will get a warning about the received power being too low. To test products with APC connectors, you will need two hybrid UPC-to-APC cords and two APC-to-APC cords to make the connection. For Tier 2 OTDR testing, since reflections are absorbed by the cladding and return loss is very small when using APC connectors, the OTDRs will show APC connections as a non-reflective loss like a good fiber splice.
For 200GBASE-DR4 and 400GBASE-DR4 short-reach single mode applications, MPO connectors are in use as they require 8 fibers, with 4 sending and 4 receiving at 50 or 100 Gb/s. That’s where a tester like Fluke Networks’ MultiFiber Pro or Viavi’s Sidewinder with dedicated on-board MPO connector which scan all fibers simultaneously is highly recommended to avoid time-consuming use of MPO to LC fan-out cords to separate the multiple fibers into single fiber channels.
For testing single mode fiber systems, you also want to make sure you’re testing at both the 1310 and 1550nm wavelengths. Not only if these two wavelengths pass so will everything in between, but slight bends might not show up at the 1310 nm wavelength.
UPC vs APC connector
Connecting a server with QSFP network card/transceiver to a QSFP port in a switch
The fiber that connects with the transmitter’s lane 1 must end at receiver lane 1 at the far end of the cable. Position 1 of the MPO connector at the near end of the cable connects to position 12 of the opposite MPO connector.
Use a patch cable with MPO connectors at both ends, and with crossed connections as shown below.
MPO to MPO Patch Cable Fiber Position
|
Left Cord |
Connection |
Right Cord |
|
1 |
|
12 |
|
2 |
|
11 |
|
3 |
|
10 |
|
4 |
|
9 |
|
5 |
Not Connected |
8 |
|
6 |
Not Connected |
7 |
|
7 |
Not Connected |
6 |
|
8 |
Not Connected |
5 |
|
9 |
|
4 |
|
10 |
|
3 |
|
11 |
|
2 |
|
12 |
|
1 |
This is sometimes referred to as a ‘Type B cable’,
ref. https://www.flukenetworks.com/blog/cabling-chronicles/101-series-12-fiber-mpo-polarity
Multiple MPO patch cables can be connected in series, but each added connector pair increases modal dispersion in the link which again impairs performance. An odd number of ‘crosses’ must be used between transceivers at the two ends to get transmitters connected with receivers.
Connecting MPO Cables with an MPO adapter
If two transceivers are to be directly connects, a “cross-over” fiber cable must be used to align the transmitters on one end to the receivers on the other end.
Connecting servers with SFP network card/transceivers to a QSFP port in a switch
A QSFP port and transceiver contains four independent transmit/receive pairs. I.e. you can connect 4 servers with SFP cards/transceivers to a single QSFP port in a switch. This enables connection of four 10GbE NICs to one 40GbE port, or four 25GbE NICs to one 100GbE port.
In either case you need an MPO to four Duplex LC splitter (breakout) cable. Either multi-mode or single-mode optics can be used depending on the reach needed.
Servers sharing QSFP Switch ports
The QSFP ports of the switch must be configured to work in split mode, with the 4 lanes working in ‘split’ mode; that is, the lanes operate as independent channels instead of operating as a single logic port. This can be achieved with passive copper splitter cables (DACs) or with optical splitter cables. Switch ports (not NIC ports) can be configured to operate in split mode.
Optical transceivers for the optical solution are not shown in the figure above.
Splitter cable examples: 25/100 GbE
- MCP7F00 – 100 Gb 1:4 splitter DAC, max 3 m
- MCP7H00 – 100 Gb 1:2 splitter DAC, max 3 m
- MFA7A20 – 100 Gb 1:2 optical splitter, up to 20 m long tails
- MFA7A50 – 100 Gb 1:4 optical splitter, up to 30 m long tails
Splitter cable examples: 50/200 GbE
- MCP7H50 – 200 Gb 1:2 optical splitter DAC, max 3 m
- MFS1S50 – 200 Gb 1:2 optical splitter, up to 30 m long tails
- MFS1S90 – 200 Gb 2:2 optical H-cable, up to 30 m long tails
Note 1: network adapter card ports cannot be split – only switch ports.
Note 2: The total number of ports that can be split with cables is based on the specific number of MACs inside the switch chip. See the switch documentation for specific configuration limits.
Optical splitter cables are available in the market for use between SR4 and SR transceivers.
InfiniBand
Port splitting/sharing a switch port across multiple servers was originally implemented for Ethernet, but is also available with the latest NDR generation of InfiniBand networking products. A wide variety of copper and optical cables have been developed for splitting 400/800G port capacity across 2 or 4 servers/hosts. Contact the NVICIA Networking team for more information on this topic.
Multi-mode splitter (breakout) cable
For longer reaches, a single-mode QSFP PSM4 transceiver can be connected to up to four NICs with LR transceivers using a single-mode splitter cable. Today, a common split is a 100G PSM4 split to 2x50G PSM4 transceivers used in large servers or storage systems.
Single-mode splitter (breakout) cable (not an NVIDIA product)
You cannot split the channels of a WDM transceiver using simple splitter cables. WDM transmitters use a single pair of fibers with the four channels carried on light of different wavelengths.
Networking Standards
LinkX® is the product line brand for NVIDIA’s DAC, AOC and transceivers products that supports InfiniBand and Ethernet.
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer-communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. InfiniBand is commonly used in HPC (High-Performance Computing) and hyperscale datacenters. InfiniBand is promoted by the InfiniBand Trade Association (IBTA), http://www.infinibandta.org/. See InfiniBand: Introduction to InfiniBand for End Users for an introduction.
Ethernet (ETH) is a family of general computer networking technologies commonly used inside and outside datacenters. It comprises a wide number of standards, commonly referred to as IEEE 802.3, which is promoted by IEEE (www.ieee.org).
Form Factors, power classes, connector definitions and management interface specifications are found in https://www.snia.org/sff/specifications2.
InfiniBand (IB) and Ethernet (ETH) Cables Differences
The main differences between the two protocols are as follows:
- InfiniBand links up to Nx25 Gb/s; generally, don’t use Forward Error Correction to minimize link latency. For higher data rates, FEC is a necessity.
- CDR (Clock and Data Retiming) default state:
- IB EDR: Clock/data recovery (CDR, or retiming) is bypassed/disabled except for AOCs 30 m or longer running Nx25 Gb/s or lower rates.
- IB HDR: Clock/data recovery (retiming) is as well as FEC are necessary for error free transmission due to the physical nature of PAM4 signaling.
- Ethernet 100G: The CDR is default on.
The CDR must be disabled to pass data at lower rates, for example 40 Gb/s. - 200/400 GbE (Ethernet) – CDR and FEC are both required for error free transmission. 25/100 GbE is supported but lower data rates are not generally supported.
- Copper cables:
- IB EDR: The cable length and related attenuation determines if the operation can be achieved without FEC.
- Ethernet 25/100GbE: Reed Solomon Forward Error Correction or RS-FEC is enabled by default for cables denoted CA-25G-L which are longer than 3 m. FEC is not required for cables denoted CA-25G-N which are up to 3 m long.
The EEPROM memory map of QSFP28 (100 Gb/s cables/transceivers) is defined in specification SFF-8636 for 4-lane transceivers, and for SFP28 (25 Gb/s cables/transceivers) in SFF-8472 for 1-lane transceivers.
Management of transceivers with more than 4 lanes is defined in the Common Management Interface Standard (CMIS),
http://www.qsfp-dd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/CMIS5p1.pdf
Transceivers with QSFP formfactor and 4 lanes can also be CMIS compatible. You need to read the memory map to tell if a given transceiver is the SFF or the CMIS type.
Memory map differences summary (informative):
- A summary is given in IB Vol 2 Annex A3.2: InfiniBand vs. Ethernet Memory Map Differences – QSFP/QSFP+ https://cw.infinibandta.org/document/dl/8125 (membership required).
- IB EDR loss budget (asymmetric): IB Vol 2 Annex A2.5 EDR Overall Link Budget for Linear Channels (informative)
- Ethernet: IEEE 802.3 clause 92 – copper cables, clause 83 – Physical Medium Attachment (PMA) including CDRs
LinkX Product Qualification
All LinkX® cables and transceivers for data rates up to InfiniBand EDR and 25/100 GbE (Ethernet) are tested in Nvidia end-to-end systems for pre-FEC BER of 1E-15 as part of our product qualification; more specifically, as part of the System Level Performance (SLP) test.
IB HDR, 200 GbE and higher data rates, cables and transceivers are different from previous generations. Due to the nature of physics of the PAM4 modulation used in these cables and transceivers, error-free transmission is only achievable with the use of FEC. This type of cables/transceivers are qualified at 1E-15 effective BER in Nvidia InfiniBand/Ethernet end-to-end systems.
Supplemental Reading for Projectors
Projectors
Projectors are display devices for when you need to share information with people in the same location! Most projectors can be used just like any other display on a computer, and with a few differences, can be troubleshot just like any other display device. For example, projectors can have dead or stuck pixels, and can acquire image burn-in, just like other types of displays.
Connectors and Cables
You will connect a computer to a projector using a display cable like VGA, DVI, HDMI, or DisplayPort. When you do this, the computer's operating system will detect that a new display has been added. Depending on what your computer's video adapter supports, this new display can be extended or mirrored just like if you had added a second monitor!
A lot of times, display issues with projectors come down to the connectors and the cables that you are using. Because people frequently connect and disconnect from projectors, the cables and connectors can become worn out or damaged. Always consider this early in your troubleshooting if the projection display flickers or disappears.
Device Drivers
Just like other display devices, if your computer does not correctly recognize the display resolution of the projector it may default to a very low-resolution VGA mode like 640x480 or 1024x768. If this happens, your computer may need a device driver for your projector. Take a look at the support website for your projector's manufacturer!
Lighting
Older projectors often rely on expensive, hot, very bright incandescent bulbs, or lamps. If a projector gets too hot for the lamp to safely operate, the projector will shut down. If the lamp burns out, the projector will either not work or will shut itself down. It is increasingly common for projectors to rely on LED lights, rather than incandescent lamps. These LED lights have far fewer issues with overheating, and have much longer lifespans than incandescent lamps.
Calibration
Sometimes, like when a projector is first installed, reset, or moved, you will need to calibrate the projector image to account for the distance and angle that the projector is installed at. If the image is skewed or keystoned, you might need to recalibrate the projector geometry. Calibrating the image involves focusing the image, and making adjustments to the image to make it square and aligned with the projection surface. Every projector is a little different, so refer to the vendor documentation to complete this task!
BIOS
Now we've seen all the key components to get our computer running. The last thing we'll go over is how our devices talk to each other. We know how programs execute from our hard drive to our CPU, but how do other things like a mouse click or a keyboard press gets sent to our CPU for processing? These are fairly basic devices. They don't contain any instructions that our CPU knows how to read. If you just clicked on a key from your keyboard, you'd only be sending a bite to the CPU. The CPU doesn't know what this is because it doesn't have instructions on how to deal with it. Turns out our devices also use programs to tell the CPU how to run them. These programs are called services or drivers. The drivers contain the instructions our CPU needs to understand external devices like keyboards, webcams, printers. Our CPU doesn't know that there is a device that it can talk to. It has to connect to something called the BIOS or basic input output services. The BIOS is software that helps initialize the hardware in our computer and gets our operating system up and running. Unlike the programs, you're probably used to running a web browser or operating system. The bios isn't stored on a hard drive. Our motherboard stores the bios in a special type of memory called the read only memory chip or ROM chip. Unlike RAM, ROM is non-volatile, meaning it won't erase the data if the computer is turned off. Once the operating system loads, we're able to load drivers from non-essential devices directly from the hard drive. In today's system there's another player for bios called UEFI, which stands for Unified Extensible Firmware Interface. UEFI performs the same function of starting your computer as a traditional BIOS, but it's more modern and has better compatibility and support for new hardware. Most hardware out there today comes with UEFI built in. Eventually, UEFI will become the predominant BIOS. When you turn on a computer, you might notice a beeping from time-to-time. Our computers run a test to make sure all the hardware is working correctly. This is called a power-on self-test or POST. The bios runs it when you boot up your computer. The POST figures out what hardware is on the computer. It happens before the BIOS initializes any hardware or loads up essential drivers. If there's an issue with anything at that point, there's no way to display it on the screen since things like the video driver haven't been loaded. Instead, the computer can usually produce a series of beeps, almost like Morse code, which will help identify the problem. Different manufacturers have different beep codes. If you computer successfully boots up, you may hear a single beep. If you hear two beeps, it could mean a POST error. It's best to refer to your motherboard manual to find out what each code means. Also, you should know that not all machines have built-in speakers. Don't worry if your computer boots without a beep. If it does have a built-in speaker, being able to distinguish what the beep codes mean is an extremely helpful tool when troubleshooting boot issues. One last thing, we will discuss our BIOS settings. There's a special chip on our motherboard called the CMOS chip. It stores basic data about boosting your computer, like the date, time, and how you want it to start up. You can change these settings by booting into CMOS or BIOS settings menu. It varies on different computers, but usually when you boot the computer, there will be a quick screen that tells you what button to push to get into the settings. From there, you can change the basic BIOS settings of your machine. In an IT support role, you might interact with the BIOS more often than you think. BIOS settings control which devices to boot to. In an IT role, you might need to change the settings more often than not. A frequently performed IT task is the reimaging of a computer. The term refers to a disk image, which is a copy of an operating system. The process of reimaging involves wiping and installing an operating system. This procedure is typically performed using a program that stored on some external device, like a USB memory stick or a CD ROM, or even a server accessible through the network. To access these programs and perform the re-image, you will need to use the bios to tell the computer to boot up from that external device.
Ben: Skills of IT professionals
The one great constant in the technology industry is it's history of change and the speed of that change so no education is going to give anyone the skills they need for an entire career. You've got to have curiosity, you've got to have a lifetime of curiosity and a dedication to a lifetime of learning because the tools and technology that we use in this industry are always going to be changing. Great tech skills are really important but the important thing about technology is that it serves people and it serves the interests of people. You have to like people you have to like helping them, you have to have empathy and sympathy for their problems. That is the most important thing. There's no corner of our lines are of industry of government or society that IT and technology don't play a role in, and these are skills that don't just help you in your job, but they can help you with every facet of your life. They're going to be relevant to everything that we do in our lives for as far into the future as anyone can predict, try this program out. If you can learn this material, if you liked this material, then you can have a great career and technology and don't worry about the other stuff.
Putting it All Together: Installing The Processor
Putting it All Together: Adding Graphics and Other Peripherals.
Let's go back to our massive connectors. There are few things I would like to highlight. This big one right here. This is the one that house our motherboard. Another one that we have, it's more of a legacy one is for pin Molex. These connections were used heavily before SATA came out. Now we use these connectors to power majority of the SATA devices today. Most modern machines today will probably use SATA connectors for your hard drives. It may come with Molex to SATA adapters. Now, it's time for the fun part. First, let's go ahead and connect our power supply to our motherboard. That's this big pin, as we discussed earlier. It's going to go in right here.
Plug that in like so.
Next, we're going to go ahead and power the CPU with this pen right here. Pretty tight, but you should be able to get it in.
There you go. What we just did was we have the power supply is powering the motherboard and the CPU. Now that we've hooked up to cable to our CPU and motherboard, next thing that we need to hook up are these cables that are sitting in our case. This is going to vary from case to case, but let's go through it. Some of these cables are used for your cases, buttons, and lights. For this one, I'm going to plug these in.
Our case cables are now secured to a motherboard. One good idea is sometimes your motherboard will come with some guides. This will help you fasten your cables to your motherboard so it's clean and tight on your case. I'm just going to go ahead and do that right here.
Now that we have our cables securely fastened to our case, let's not forget one more thing, how graphics card we'll need that so we can upload a video to our monitor. We're going to plug this graphics card into our PCI Express lot on our motherboard. Just like the RAM, you are going to put a little bit of pressure when you insert the same. Don't feel bad by putting a little bit of pressure and you hear a click like this,
which you've done it, you can tightly secure it to your case. This is going to vary from case to case.
There you go. Your graphics card has been installed. I think that's it. Let's cover up our computer. First make sure you take your anti-static bracelet away.
Get our case put that in like so. Just plug. That's it.
There you go. We finally built our machine. Last, but not least, let's connect our monitor keyboard, mouse to the desktop. First, let's get our keyboard. We're going to do is going to connect this USB to the USB port on our desktop.
Want to get our mouse, do the same thing, connect this to our USB port then finally, we're going to go ahead and connect our monitor. For this monitor we're going to go ahead and use a display port cable. Want to connect one end to our desktop like so. Next I'm going to plug this into my monitor.
This is the most interesting part. Let's see if all this works. I'm going to power it on, I got blue light, which is good, off course it's going to vary from system to system. Let's see if something shows up on the monitor. Computer is booting up. Let's see. It looks like the monitor is receiving signal. Just good it. There we have messages. Success, there we go. It's working perfect. If you're having issues with your computer not starting up, that's okay. Check that your power supply can supply the correct amount of wattage or make sure your connectors are in the right place. Oh, what's this non-system disk or disk area replace and strike any key when ready. Looks like our disk doesn't have an operating system to boot into. No worries. That's what we'll be discussing in the next set of lessons. We'll learn what an operating system is, and what the main operating systems are and how to install one. Well, good job. You've got your computer up and running and it monitors were seeing signal so that's it. Let's take a moment and think about what you just did. Not only did you learn about each component of a computer, but you figured out how they work individually and then we built one together. It's quite an accomplishment.
Mobile Device Repair
Repairing a mobile device is different from repairing larger, more generic computers. First, there are thousands of types of mobile devices. There's no way we can cover all the differences. Instead, let's check out some of the tools and techniques that you'll rely on to keep mobile devices in your organization running. As an IT support specialist, you might receive training in this area and be responsible for repairing devices that your organization owns. Before you attempt any repairs, make sure you're familiar with your organization's policy around mobile device repair. Depending on the device, you may or may not be able to repair it on your own. But not so fast, keep in mind that even when you can repair a device on your own, they will usually void the warranty. So check the impact on the warranty before working on a device. With specific training, you might be able to perform some repairs without violating the warranty of the device. For example, you might be allowed to replace a cracked smartphone screen without voiding the warranty, but you're probably not permitted to replace the damaged charging port. If you're not allowed to perform your own repairs, then it may be your job to send the device out for repair or replacement with an outside vendor or manufacturer. You should know and understand the return merchandise authorization or RMA process for each device that you deal with. The device's warranty or the service agreement that your organization has with the device's manufacturer will determine how and when it will be repaired or replaced. Depending on the device and your organization's policies, you might also need to make sure that there's no proprietary or personal data on the device before it is sent off for repair, by doing a factory reset on the device. A factory reset will remove all data, apps, and customizations from the device. When repairing a mobile device, follow the same best practices that we showed you for working on a PC. Protect against static discharge, use the right tools, keep parts organized and labeled. Taking pictures along the way can help a lot too. Follow vendor documentation and test the device to make sure it still works.
Mobile Display Types
In this reading, you will learn about several types of displays used in modern mobile devices and monitors. As an IT Support professional, you may need to troubleshoot various types of displays. This might involve repairing damaged mobile device screens. You may even be responsible for selecting and ordering mobile devices for the employees of an organization. In your IT job role, you should have a basic understanding of the technology behind modern displays, as well as their common uses, positive features, and negative flaws. The top two technologies used in mobile system displays are Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) and Light Emitting Diodes (LED).
Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)
LCDs use liquid crystal technology. Liquid crystals have the properties of both a liquid and a solid. The crystals can be aligned in a variety of patterns and manipulated with electricity. How the liquid crystals are arranged and manipulated inside display panels affects refresh rates, image quality, and display performance. LCDs require backlighting, often provided by LEDs. Displays that need backlighting are also called non-emissive or passive displays. The backlighting unit (BLU) requires extra space, which makes LCD panels thicker and less flexible than other displays. Polarizers on either side of the liquid crystal layer control the path of the backlight to ensure the light is aimed toward the user.
The following are common LCD display types used for mobile devices:
In-Plane Switching (IPS)
-
How it works: In IPS displays, the liquid crystals are aligned horizontally to the screen. Electricity is passed between the ends of the crystals to control their behavior.
-
Uses: IPS technology is used in touch screen displays and high-end monitors. They are often used for design, photography, video/film editing, animation, movies, and other media. They can also be used for games that rely on color accuracy and wide viewing angles, as opposed to speed.
-
Positives: IPS displays provide vibrant colors, high quality graphics, and wide viewing areas. Additionally, they offer excellent color reproduction, accuracy, and contrast.
-
Negatives: IPS displays are expensive. They have low refresh rates and slow response times. However, response times have been improving as the IPS technology evolves. IPS displays can be affected by “IPS Glow”, where the backlight is visible from side viewing angles.
Twisted Nematic (TN)
Twisted Nematic (TN) is the earliest LCD technology that is still in use today. The term nematic, which means “threadlike,” is used to describe the appearance of the molecules inside the liquid.
-
How it works: In TN displays, the liquid crystals are twisted. When voltage is applied, the crystals will untwist to change the angle of the light they transmit.
-
Uses: TN displays are appropriate for basic business use (e.g., email, document, and spreadsheet applications). They are also used for games that need rapid display response times.
-
Positives: TN displays are low cost, easy to produce, have excellent refresh rates, response times, and resolutions. They are versatile and can be manufactured for any size and/or shape.
-
Negatives: TN displays have narrow viewing angles, low image quality, color distortion, and poor color accuracy and contrast.
VA-Vertical Alignment
-
How it works: In VA displays, the liquid crystal molecules are vertically aligned. They tilt when electricity passes through them.
-
Uses: VA displays are intended for general purpose. Provides mid-range performance for graphic work, movies, and TV.
-
Positives: VA displays offergreat contrast, deep black shades, and fast response times. They are mid-range quality for refresh rates, image quality, viewing angle, and color reproduction.
-
Negatives: On VA displays, motion blur and ghosting occurs with fast-motion visuals.
Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED)
OLEDs are diodes that emit light using organic (carbon-based) materials when electricity is passed through the diodes. Displays that are able to convert electricity into light are called emissive or active displays.
-
How it works: The basic structure of an OLED display consists of an emissive layer placed between a cathode (which injects electrons) and an anode (which removes electrons). Electricity enters through the cathode layer, passes into the emissive layer and conductive layer to create light, then out through the anode layer.
-
Uses: OLED display technology can be used in foldable smartphones, rollable TVs, as backlighting in LCD TVs, for gaming, and inside VR headsets.
-
Positives: OLED displays deliver excellent picture quality, wide viewing angles, infinite contrast, fast response rate, and brilliant colors with true blacks. They are energy efficient, simpler to make, and much thinner than LCDs. OLED panels can be built to be flexible and even rollable.
-
Negatives: OLED displays are sensitive to light and moisture. Blue LEDs degrade faster than other LED colors causing color distortion over time. They are also prone to image retention and burn-in.
Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode (AMOLED)
Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode (AMOLED) and Super AMOLED are recent technologies used in smartphone displays.
-
How it works: AMOLED displays are a type of OLED panel that uses active matrix technology. Active-matrix displays have active capacitors arranged in a matrix with thin film transistors (TFTs). This technology enables the control of each individual pixel for rapid state changes, including changing brightness and color. AMOLEDs have touchscreen functions integrated into the screen.
-
Uses: AMOLED and Super AMOLED panels are used in high-end mobile devices, flat screen monitors, curved screens, and touchscreens.
-
Positives: AMOLED displays offer a high picture quality and fast response time. Color and brightness are consistent across the screen. Fast-moving images and motion are displayed clearly without blurring or ghosting. Super AMOLED panels can display a wider range of colors with enhanced contrast, which makes them easy to view in a wider variety of lighting conditions.
-
Negatives: AMOLED displays have the same problems as OLED displays (listed above) plus AMOLED panels can be difficult and expensive to manufacture.
Inorganic mini-LEDs (mLEDs)
Inorganic mini-LEDs (mLEDs) are a next-generation, emissive display technology.
-
How it works: Mini-LED displays work the same way that OLED displays work, but the individual LED size is much smaller at approximately 50-60 micrometers.
-
Uses: Mini-LED displays are used for LCD backlighting in smartphones, public information displays, signage, electronics, vehicle displays, and more. Mini-LEDs are also the tech behind “Liquid Retina XDR” screens.
-
Positives: Mini-LED displays offer ultra high luminance, superior HDR fineness, long lifetimes, thin panels, and are readable in sunlight. They are also less expensive than micro-LED displays.
-
Negatives: Mini-LED displays, when used as LCD backlighting, are limited by the properties of LCD technology. Mini-LED displays for mobile devices are more expensive than OLED displays.
Inorganic micro-LEDs (μLEDs)
Micro-LEDs (μLEDs) are also emissive, next-generation displays.
-
How it works: Micro-LED displays work the same way that OLED displays work, but the individual LED size is extremely small at 15 micrometers.
-
Uses: Micro-LED displays can be used in smartphones, AR/VR headsets, wearables, public information displays, wall-sized TVs, vehicle displays, and more.
-
Positives: Micro-LED displaysoffer superior performances across virtually all common display features, such as brightness, reaction speeds, power consumption, durability, color gamut, stability, viewing angles, HDR, contrast, refresh rates, transparency, seamless connectivity, and more. Micro-LED displays are readable in sunlight and have sensor integration capability.
-
Negatives: Micro-LED displaysare expensive to manufacture and are not yet ready for mass production.
Key takeaways
The two main technologies used in mobile displays are Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED). Each technology has its own benefits and drawbacks when used in mobile device displays, among other consumer goods.
-
Common LCDs include:
-
In-Plane Switching (IPS) displays
-
Twisted Nematic (TN) displays
-
VA-Vertical Alignment displays
-
-
Common and upcoming OLED displays include:
-
Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode (AMOLED) displays
-
Inorganic mini-LEDs (mLEDs) displays
-
Inorganic micro-LEDs (μLEDs) displays
-
One program, many futures
One of my favorite parts of the program, was showing me how many different jobs have an IT department or use some aspect of IT. You can do pretty much anything, it's very motivating. The feeling of growth, is an amazing thing, having felt stagnant for so long, working at what I had considered to be dead end jobs, with no real vertical movement, and knowing that now you can advance, you can put yourself into so much more. Don't think about what you think IT is, think about all the possibilities or the expansion that IT actually goes into. The program was great for me, it gave me more understanding of what IT is and all the different opportunities you can get into, and I can go into hardware, I can go into cyber security, and that's the best part because it's not just keeping me grounded to one level. I am able to go further. This program, would definitely be the way to go to get your foot in the door, to learn and do more in this field that you're interested in. It has the basic fundamentals, it gives you the building blocks, and from there, the sky is the limit.
module introduction
Module introduction
Welcome back. You've learned about the basics of computing with binary and the hardware layer of the computer architecture. Now, it's time to move on to the next layer, the operating system. By the end of this lesson, you'll know what an operating system is, and what makes up an operating system. You also get some hands-on experience with the three biggest operating systems used today. Before we get deeper into operating systems, I'd like to introduce myself to you. My name is Cindy Gouache and I'm a Site Reliability Engineer at Google. The team I work on is responsible for the management and support of Google's entire internal mobile fleet. Android OS, IOS, and Chrome OS. Before focusing on mobile, I was a systems administrator on the Linux team. Before that, I was an Operations Engineer. But like a lot of the Googlers you've met and will meet, I started my career as an IT support specialist. I've been working in IT for seven years now. The first time I can remember interacting with computers was in middle school when my teacher brought them into our classroom so we could create fun video and multimedia projects. It was my brother who brought technology into our house. My parents were immigrants from Vietnam and we didn't have a lot of money growing up. We had to be creative if we wanted to play with a computer at home. I can remember spending hours with my brother as he assembled a computer and I will just ask a million questions. Eventually, I wanted to try and build my own computer, so I gathered up some old parts and save money to buy new components. I finally put all the parts together from what I remembered my brother doing, but it just didn't work. It turns out that I use some incompatible parts. But through a lot of trial and error, troubleshooting, and long search sessions on the Internet, I finally got it to work. The feeling I got when I heard my computer boot up for the first time was amazing. Before I knew it, I also worked on computers. I really enjoyed the intense concentration and problem-solving required in IT. But I didn't think a career in tech was even possible back then. Once I got to college, I had to find a job to help pay for tuition and that job was an IT support specialist on campus. That's when I realized that take is actually something I could pursue as a career. Operating systems aren't essential part of IT support. Everyone uses their computer to accomplish something. Whether that's browsing the web, writing a novel, making graphics, playing video games, etc. Whatever the case may be, they need to interact with their operating system to do it. IT support, it's essential to understand how operating systems work, so you can help someone accomplish the task they set out to do. Whether that's figuring out why an application won't start, why the graphics look funny on their video games or anything else. Things can get really messy and challenging, and that's part of the fun. Let's begin.
Components of an Operating System
Supplemental Reading for Chrome OS
Another operating system that has started to gain popularity is Chrome OS, which you can read about in more detail here.
bro also check out Vanilla os
one of the most user friendly linux distros, it started as an ubuntu flavor but is becoming its own thing using the debian base, kindof link how ubuntu does.
also it uses containers of linux to run native code for any os. say u want to use aur programs, use that, u want rhel apps? gotchu running that nativly. o regular flatpacs? YES PLEASE
PS: Chromebook keyboards suck so bad that its legit the only reason i refuse to use them. BUT u can now install it on any os :D
Heads up: A big part of being successful in an IT role is the ability to be a self-led learner -- someone who finds key resources and reads up on the latest tech trends and solutions. The supplemental readings we’ve provided have been designed to show you just some of the support materials available to you online; they’re not meant to be considered a comprehensive list.
File Systems
Imagine if you had to store a single file in a cabinet. That sounds so bad. What if instead of one file you had to store 100,000? Can you see a problem here? Well, on our computers we can easily store hundreds of thousands of files, if not more, problem-solved. Not quite. We have to be able to keep track of all these files. The kernel handles file storage and file systems on our machines. In this lesson, we're going to dig a little deeper on how it does that. There are three main components to handling files handlers, the file data, metadata, and file system. Let's start with the file system. Well, we have a brand new hard disks that we want to store data on. We need to erase and configure the disk. This way operating system can read and write data to it. This is important since it's how our operating system keeps tracks of files. We must know what kind of file system is used. There are lots of file systems and are used for different purposes. Some file systems support the storage of large amounts of data others only support small amounts. They can operate in different speeds and have varying resiliency towards file corruption and so on. We won't get into which file system is best. That's for you to decide. But the major OS manufacturers have their own unique file systems that they recommend, for Windows, the major file system that's used is NTFS. It was introduced in the previous version of Windows OS, Windows NT, and includes many features like encryption, faster access speeds, security, and more. Microsoft is developing another file system called ReFS, but it isn't quite ready for consumer use just yet. For Linux, different distributions will use different file system types. A standard for file systems for Linux is EX T4, which is compatible with older EXT file systems. In general, different file system types don't play nicely with each other. You might not be able to easily move files across different file systems depending on the file system type. A good guideline to use is just to use the file system that your operating system recommends. Another important part of file management is the storage of actual file data. We write data to our hard drive in the form of data blocks. When we say something to our hard disks, it doesn't always sit in one piece. It can be broken down into many pieces and written to different parts of the disk. Block storage improves faster handling of data, because the data isn't stored on one long piece, and it can be accessed quicker. It's also better for utilizing storage space. Lastly, we need to keep the metadata that contains the information about our file. There's a lot of information about our file that we want to know, who created it, when it was last modified, who has access to it, and so on. The file metadata tells us everything we need to know about our file. It also tells us what type of file it is. A file extension is the appended part of a filename that tells us what type of file it is in certain operating systems. Take cool_image.jpg. JPG is a file extension associated with image files. You'll see different types of file extensions like this. When you're working with your operating system, your working knowledge of file systems and the differences between them is a great skill to have in your IT support specialist toolbox. It can be super useful when you need to do things like recovered data from damaged discs or explore ways to boot from two different kinds of operating systems, like Windows and Linux on the same computer.
Supplemental Reading for ReFS File System
Microsoft is currently developing another filesystem called ReFS, it isn’t quite ready for consumer use, but if you’re interested in learning more you can read more about here.
Heads up: A big part of being successful in an IT role is the ability to be a self-led learner -- someone who finds key resources and reads up on the latest tech trends and solutions. The supplemental readings we’ve provided have been designed to show you just some of the support materials available to you online; they’re not meant to be considered a comprehensive list. Feel free to add to the conversation by posting other useful resources for learners to the discussion forum.
Process Management
One of the most important tasks that our kernel performs is process management. A process is a program that's executing, like our Internet browser or text editor. A program is an application that we can run, like Chrome. Take note of the difference. We can have many processes of the same program running at the same time. Think of how many Chrome windows you can open. These are all different processes for the same program. When we want to run our programs, we have to dedicate computer resources to them, like RAM and CPU. We only have a finite amount of resources, and we want to be able to run multiple programs. Our kernel has to manage our resources efficiently so that all the programs we want to use can be run. Our kernel doesn't just dedicate all of our computers resources to one process. Our system is actually constantly running multiple processes that are necessary for it to function. Our kernel has to worry about all of these processes at once. What a program wants to run, a process needs to be created for it. This process needs to have hardware resources like RAM and CPU. The kernel has to schedule time for the CPU to execute the instructions in the process, but there's only one CPU and many processes. How is the CPU able to execute multiple processes at once? It actually doesn't. It executes processes one-by-one through something known as a time slice. A time slice is a very short interval of time that gets allocated to a process for CPU execution. It's so short that you don't even notice it. It's super short. The CPU executes one process in milliseconds, then executes another process, then another. To the human eye, everything looks like it runs simultaneously. That's how fast the CPU works. If your computer is running slowly, and your CPU resources are being maxed out, there can be many factors at play. It's possible that one process is taking up more time slices than it should. This means that the next process can't be executed. Another possibility is that there are too many processes that want CPU time and the CPU can't keep up with them. Whatever the case may be, even though the kernel does its best to manage processes for us, we might need to step in manually from time-to-time. The kernel creates processes, efficiently schedules them, and manages how processes are terminated. This is important since we need a way to collect all the previously used resources that active processes were taking up and reallocate them to another process.
Memory Management and Virtual Memory
Remember that when a process runs, it needs CPU time, but it also needs memory. When processes are run, they have to take up space in memory, so that the computer can read and load them quickly. However, compared to our hard disk drives, memory comes in smaller quantities. So to give us more memory than we physically have, we use something called virtual memory. Virtual memory is the combination of hard drive space and RAM that acts like memory that our processes can use. When we execute a process, we take the data of the program in chunks we call pages. We store these pages in virtual memory. If we want to read and execute these pages, they have to be sent to physical memory or RAM. Why don't we just store the entire program in RAM so we can execute it quickly? Well you could, if it was small enough, but for large applications it would be wasteful. Have you ever worked in a word processor and then gone to a menu don't normally use and noticed the application slow down a little? It's because your computer had to load the page for that menu from virtual memory into RAM. We don't use all the features of our application at once. So why load it up at once? It's similar to cooking a recipe from a cookbook. You don't need to read the whole book just to make one recipe. You only need to read the pages of the recipe you're currently using. When we store our virtual memory on our hard drive, we call the allocated space swap space. When we get into practical applications of disk partitioning, we'll allocate space for swap. The kernel takes care of all of this for us of course. It handles the process of taking pages of data and swapping them between RAM and virtual memory. But, the colonel isn't the only hard worker around. You've done great getting through the lessons so far. Nice work.
I/O Management
So far we've learned how hard our kernel works by handling files, managing file storage, juggling all the different processes running on our computer, and allocating memory. Another important task that our kernel handles is managing input and output. We refer to devices that perform input and output as I/O devices. These include our monitors, keyboards, mice, hard disk drives, speakers, Luther's headsets, webcams and network adapters. These I/O devices are all managed by our kernel, the kernel needs to be able to load up drivers that are used so that we can recognize and speak to these different types of hardware. When the kernel is able to start the drivers to communicate with hardware, it also manages the transfer of data in and out of the devices. I/O doesn't just mean the transfer of data between us and our devices. The devices also need to be able to talk to each other. Our kernel handles all the inter communication between devices. It also figures out what the most efficient method of transfer is and it tries its best to make sure our data doesn't have errors during process. When you're troubleshooting or solving a problem with a slow machine it's usually some sort of hardware resource deficiency. If you don't have enough RAM you can't load up as many processes. If you don't have enough CPU you can't execute programs fast enough. If you have too much input coming into the device or too much output going somewhere you'll also block other data from being sent or received. It's slow is one of the most common problems you'll solve in an IT support role. Knowing the potential sources of that slowness is a big help when you're trying to narrow down the cause of the latency. Troubleshooting is such an important part of any IT support role. Beyond desktop support, identifying the source of a resource bottleneck and a server or large IT system like a Web application can unlock performance gains and new heights of responsiveness for your users.
Interacting with the OS: User Space
We've covered the kernel's major responsibilities. Now, let's discuss the final major aspect of an operating system, how humans interact with it. This is what we call the userspace. When we interact with an operating system, we want to do certain functions like creating files and folders, open applications, and deleting items, you get the idea. There are two ways that we can interact with our OS. With a shell or graphical user interface. There are also some shells that use graphical user interfaces, but we'll work with a Command Line Interface or CLI shell. For the most part, this just means that we'll use text commands. A Graphical User Interface or GUI is a visual way to interact with the computer. We use our mouse to click and drag, to open folders, etc. We can see everything we do with it. You probably use a GUI every day without realizing you're using one. To watch this video, you probably used GUI clicking icons and navigating menus to open your web browser and navigate to the website. People usually recognize a device or product based on its GUI. You might be able to spot the difference between a computer running Microsoft Windows or Mac OS based on the design of the windows, menus, and icons, you've probably seen GUI's and other places too, like mobile phones and tablets, ATM machines, and airport kiosks. A shell is basically a program that interprets text commands and sends them to the OS to execute. Before we had fancy visual interfaces, commands like create a file had to be typed out. While we have GUI is today, the shell is still commonly used to run commands, especially by power users. Power users are above average computer users. Linux, especially, it's essential that you actually know commands, not just a GUI. This is because most of them Linux machines you interact with in IT support will be accessed remotely. Most of the time, you won't be given a GUI. There are lots of different types of shelves. Some have different features, some handled performance differently. It's the same concept behind different operating systems. For our purposes, we'll just be using the most common shell, Bash or bourne. Again, shell in Linux, you might be thinking, but it's easier for me to navigate a GUI than it is to use commands to do the same thing. Why would I want to learn both? I can't stress this enough. It's vital for you to know how to use a shell in an IT support role. Some tests can only be completed through commands. In more advanced IT roles, you might have to manage thousands of machines. You don't want to have to click a button or drag a window on every machine when you can just run a command once.
Logs
Imagine this scenario. You're playing your favorite video game and you finally get to the big boss. You spent countless hours finding this boss, neglecting all other responsibilities, like your job, school, even hygiene. That's pretty gross, but I get it. So you're right about to kill the big boss when suddenly your game console shuts off completely. You probably freak out for a second. But then you remember it's okay, you saved the game before the boss came along. So now you can turn it back on and you'll be at the same spot. But then your console shuts off again. This happens over and over. You like most people are devastated. You into a fit of rage, but then just before you toss your console out, you make one last dish effort and yell, tell me what's wrong with you. Suddenly you hear a faint voice telling you what you want to hear. Wouldn't that be amazing? Sure, that scenario was a bit exaggerated. But my point is that our computers actually can talk to us and tell us what's wrong. Maybe they won't whisper answers to us, but they speak to us in the form of logs. Logs or files that record system events on our computer, just like a system's diary. A computer will record events like when it was turned on, when a driver was loaded. And even when something isn't working in the form of error messages. In all operating systems, logs are kept so we can refer back to them when we need to find out something that happened. But logs can be hard to navigate because our computer will essentially record everything. Here's what a log looks like. As you can see, it can be tough to make your way through a log. But with a little bit of elbow grease, we can figure out what happened on our computer and piece together a solution. Unfortunately, our computers, cars and machines don't have a little voice that tells us what's wrong when there's a problem. But by the end of this program, you'll be able to navigate and read logs so you won't even need it.
magine this scenario. You're playing your favorite video game and you finally get to the big boss. You spent countless hours finding this boss, neglecting all other responsibilities, like your job, school, even hygiene. That's pretty gross, but I get it. So you're right about to kill the big boss when suddenly your game console shu: Added to Selection. Press [CTRL + S] to save as a note
(Required)
en
The Boot Process
Boot Methods
While the most common way to boot a computer is to simply push the power button and allow the normal process to run, there are many other boot options. This reading covers the various methods you can use to boot a computer.
Internal method
You can create partitions on the computer’s drive so that only one part of the drive runs the boot process. A common reason to partition your drive is to have two separate operating systems on your computer, such as both Windows and Linux. When you have two operating systems on your drive, you must choose which one will run the boot process. Having two possible systems to boot into is called dual booting.
While having two operating systems can be helpful for various reasons, it is especially helpful when one system is failing or unable to boot. If this happens, you can still boot the computer using the other system and troubleshoot from there.
External tools
External tools can be used to boot the computer. You can load the needed resources on an external tool to boot a system before any problems happen.
External bootable devices include:
-
USB drive: You use a USB drive loaded with resources needed to boot the computer. This drive is inserted into a USB port and chosen at startup.
-
Optical Media: You use a disk loaded with booting resources. This disk can be a DVD, CD, or Blu-ray disk and is loaded through the computer's optical drive.
-
Solid State Boot Drive: You use a solid state drive to boot. Solid state drives do not use spinning discs or moving parts. This solid state drive can be installed in your computer or can be a smaller device such as a flash drive.
-
External hot-swappable drive: You boot from an external hard drive that can be moved between computers without turning it off.
-
Network boot: You boot the operating system directly from a local area network (LAN) without using a storage device. Your computer must be connected to a LAN for this option.
-
Internet-based boot: You boot the computer from an internet source, as long as it is a secure source. Your computer must be connected to the internet for this option.
Window OS or Linux OS
In order to boot either Windows OS or Linux OS with an external tool, you’ll need to enter BIOS at startup by pressing F2/F12/Del keys. From there you can change the boot order so that the first option is the external tool you want to use.
macOS
If booting macOS, press and hold the Option key at startup. This will open up the Startup Manager, which will scan your computer and identify bootable devices. Then you can choose the bootable device you want to use.
Key Takeaways
There are multiple ways to boot a computer.
-
A computer can be partitioned into different operating systems and you can select which OS to use when booting.
-
You can boot from an external tool. External tools include USB drives, optical media, solid state boot drives, external hot-swappable drives, network booting, and internet-based booting.
-
Choosing a boot method on startup varies depending on which operating system you use.
Boot Methods Best Practices
The most common way to boot a computer is to simply push the power button and allow the normal startup process to run. But what happens if the normal startup process becomes corrupted and the computer will not boot? Or maybe you would like to run a computer on a different operating system than the one specified by your normal boot process. For situations like these, you have several options for booting your operating system. This reading covers the various methods you can use to boot a computer.
The boot process
When your computer is powered on, the BIOS/UEFI (BIOS) runs a series of diagnostic tests to make sure that the computer is in proper working order. The BIOS is a low-level software that initializes a computer's hardware to make sure everything is good to go. A boot device is selected based on a boot order that is configured in the BIOS. Devices that are attached to your system, like hard drives, USB drives, and CD drives are checked in this configured boot order and the computer searches these devices for a small program called a “bootloader.” Once your computer finds a bootloader on a device, it executes this program. The bootloader program then initiates a process that loads the specific operating system setup that you want to use.
You can choose a computer’s boot method by telling the BIOS on which device to search for the bootloader. If you want to run an OS setup that’s stored on a USB drive, you can configure the boot order in your computer’s BIOS to search for a bootloader on a USB drive first.
Configuring boot options
Boot order is the order in which a computer chooses which boot files to use to startup. The boot order determines your boot method. To set the boot order for a computer, you need to enter the BIOS and configure the boot options.
To enter your computer’s BIOS on a Windows or Linux computer, power on the system and look for an on-screen message that says which function key you should press to enter setup. The function keys used for entering the BIOS vary between computer manufacturers and the version of BIOS. Some of the more common function key messages are "Press DEL to enter SETUP," "F2=SETUP," or "Press F12 to enter SETUP." If booting macOS, press and hold the Option key at startup. This will open up the Startup Manager, which will scan your computer and identify bootable devices. Then you can choose the bootable device you want to use.
If you press the specified function key during the Windows or Linux power up process (before the OS begins to load), you will open your BIOS program. A BIOS screen will look similar to this:
The BIOS screen will vary depending on your computer manufacturer and BIOS version, but all BIOS programs will feature a Boot Options menu. The Boot Options menu is where you can set your preferred boot method.
The boot options menu lists all the devices attached to your system where it may find a bootloader program. These include devices like internal hard drives, USB drives, CD drives, as well as other storage options, like network storage or cloud storage. In the BIOS boot options menu you can set the specific order you want to search these devices for the bootloader that will load your OS setup. The BIOS will run the first bootloader that it finds.
Boot method options
You may find the following boot methods listed in your BIOS boot options:
External options
-
USB drive: You use a USB drive loaded with resources needed to boot the computer. This drive is inserted into a USB port and chosen at startup.
-
Optical Media: You use an optical media disk loaded with booting resources. This disk can be a DVD, CD, or Blu-ray disk and is loaded through the computer's optical drive.
The USB drive and optical media methods are useful for recovering a computer with a corrupted OS. They can also be used to start up a computer with a different OS. For example, you might boot a Windows computer in a Linux environment by using a USB with Linux OS. You will need to prepare these media with a bootable OS in order to use them as a boot method (see resources linked below).
-
Solid State Boot Drive: You can use a solid state drive to boot your computer. Solid state drives do not use spinning discs or moving parts. This solid state drive can be installed in the computer or can be a smaller device such as a flash drive.
-
External hot-swappable drive: You may boot from an external hard drive that can be moved between computers without turning it off.
-
Network boot: You can boot an operating system directly from a local area network (LAN) without using a storage device. Your computer must be connected to a LAN for this option. The network boot is used when the computer does not have an OS installed, among other things. To boot from a network, you will need to set up the Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) capability on the BIOS and have the network environment prepared for this type of request (see resources linked below).
-
Internet-based boot: You boot the computer from an internet source, as long as it is a secure source. If you are in charge of a network and your server is down for any reason, you can use this boot method to remotely power on the server and restart network operations. Internet-based boot can be achieved in one of two ways:
-
Remote access. Remote Access Controller (IPMI or similar) has to be enabled on the BIOS and the computer needs to have a Remote access control device, such as IDRAC (see resources linked below).
-
Wake on LAN (WoL). This process requires the WoL option enabled on the BIOS (see resources linked below). The WoL instruction should come from a device in the network or use a WoL gateway, and the network card should have WoL capability.
Internal options
Disk partitions: You can create partitions on your computer’s drive so that only one part of the drive runs the boot process. A common reason to partition your drive is to have two separate operating systems on your computer. For example, you could have Windows on one partition of your drive and Linux on the other. When you have two operating systems on your drive, you must choose which one will run the boot process. Having two possible systems to boot into is called dual booting.
While having two operating systems can be helpful for various reasons, it is especially helpful when one system is failing or unable to boot. If this happens, you can still boot the computer using the other system and troubleshoot from there.
Key Takeaways
There are multiple ways to boot a computer.
-
A computer can be partitioned into different operating systems and you can select which OS to use when booting.
-
You can boot from an external tool. External tools include USB drives, optical media, solid state boot drives, external hot-swappable drives, network booting, and internet-based booting.
-
Choosing a boot method on startup varies depending on which operating system you use.
Resource Links:
Mobile Operating Systems
Some mobile devices are general-purpose computing devices like tablets or smartphones. Other mobile devices like fitness monitors, e-readers, and smartwatches, are designed to do a smaller set of tasks. General-purpose mobile devices generally use a mobile operating system that's derived from other operating systems. For example Android is derived from Linux and iOS shares a lot of core components with MacOS. So how are mobile operating systems different from the OSs that they're based on? Mobile devices run on batteries that have to be recharged or replaced on a regular basis and you want the device to last as long as possible between charges. So mobile operating systems are optimized to use as little power as possible, for example, by removing OS features and applications that the mobile device doesn't need. We also use motion, touch, and voice to interact with mobile devices in very different ways from desktop or server computers. This requires adding device drivers and support to the mobile operating system. More specialized mobile devices like fitness trackers, e-readers, and GPS devices, often use custom OSs that are optimized for what the device is designed to do. These devices are even more slimmed down to run on very minimal hardware with very minimal battery power. They might also be built using specialized chips and peripherals, which more general-purpose operating systems don't know how to run on.
Cindy: Drive and career path
I'd say when I first started I thought there were two jobs you could do, you could be a sys admin or you could be IT support. But that's completely false. There's like a huge amount of opportunity in IT. You could be specialized in networks. You could be specialized in databases or like reliability engineering. I'd say it doesn't matter if you're a guy a girl an alien ideas for everyone. It's just problem solving with technology and anyone can do it. I know people who are in IT that degrees in liberal arts or like cooking and all these other things. People come from IT from all sorts of backgrounds. I've always drive to be different. And for me I think that was just learning skills like growing up girls didn't use computers. I was like Igirl relly use a computer? Girls didn't know how to drive manual cars. I'm going to go learn how to drive a manual car. They don't know how to ride motorcycles. I can do that too. And I enjoy learning I enjoy learning a lot of things. I enjoy picking up new skills. Technology is a real equalizer for people who don't have the current educational like background. You can load up a website. All these learning websites. There's so much information on the Internet and I think that technology really equalizes that for people who want to get into certain careers. They want to learn something. I think what's available now is amazing and I think I wish I'd had that ten years ago when I started.
I'd say when I first started I thought there were two jobs you could do, you could be a sys admin or you could be IT support. But that's completely false. There's like a huge amount of opportunity in IT. You could be specialized in networks. You could be specialized in databases or like reliability engineering. I'd say it doesn't matter if you're a guy a girl an alien ideas for everyone. It's just problem solving with technology and anyone can do it. I know people who are in IT that degrees in liberal arts or like cooking and all these other things. People come from IT from all sorts of backgrounds. I've always drive to be different. And for me I think that was just learning skills like growing up girls didn't use computers. I was like Igirl relly use a computer? Girls didn't know how to drive manual cars. I'm going to go learn how to drive a manual car. They don't know how to ride motorcycles. I can do that too. And I enjoy learning I enjoy learning a lot of things. I enjoy picking up new skills. Technology is a real equalizer for people who don't have the current educational like background. You can load up a website. All these learning websites. There's so much information on the Internet and I think that technology really equalizes that for people who want to get into certain careers. They want to learn something. I think what's available now is amazing and I think I wish I'd had that ten years ago when I started.
Installing an Operating System (OS)
Choosing an Operating System
In the last lesson, you learned how an operating system boots up. It's an important concept to understand since you'll be faced with troubleshooting boot up issues in IT support. Now, we're going to walk through the steps to select and install an operating system. We're going to focus on operating systems in the IT space. First, we'll talk about deciding which operating system to install in a business setting. Second, we'll dive into the overall process of installing an operating system. How do you decide which operating system to install? Well, you need to ask yourself a couple of questions. Has the decision already been made? The operating systems in use by an organization have a lot to do with the applications and systems that they need to run. Are you working with an organization or service that requires the use of a specific operating system? If so, you're done. That was easy. If a decision hasn't been made on what OS to use or if you're looking for an operating system for personal use, then you need to ask yourself what software will need to be run on this device and lots of cases the software will be designed to run on a specific operating system. It's also possible that the software is cross-platform, meaning it can run on more than one operating system. Another question to ask, is what hardware will be used? Modern operating systems do a pretty good job of supporting common hardware. You should keep in mind that some manufacturers allow their operating system to be only installed on their hardware. There's one more thing I should call out. Remember that we have different CPU architectures, 32-bit and 64-bit. Our operating systems will also be optimized for this architecture. Make sure that the CPU and OS are compatible. If you have a 64-bit CPU, you should also install the 64-bit version of the operating system you choose. Okay, now that you've chosen an operating system that you want to use, let's work on getting it installed on our hardware. Many computers come with an operating system pre-installed. If you boot the computer in this condition, the operating system will continue from whatever point the vendor left it at. You'll need to do a couple of things to finish the installation, like choosing a computer name or host name, or configuring the network for the device. If you're going to be installing an operating system from scratch, you can use different installation media. Some operating system manufacturers sell their operating system in disk form or USB form. Some let you do reinstalls directly over the Internet. As an IT support specialist, you will install an operating system many times, so using one single disk won't be time-efficient or scalable. Scalability is an important concept that we'll cover later. If you want to scale or accommodate multiple computers the added support is something you need to keep in mind. For now you're only working with one computer, so let's focus on that. Let's just use a USB drive to install your operating system. Most manufacturers have their own special USB drives with the installation image like Windows. For Linux, we can load up an OS onto any USB drive.
Which Operating System Should You Choose for Your Next PC?
Supplemental Reading for Choosing an OS
To find out more about which operating system is best for you and your organization, check out the link here.
tl;dr
windows 10 > win 11 as of 2023
do u need ai in your os? use windows 11
r u cool?
use vanilla os (a linux distro)
Buying a new computer? You have more operating system choices than ever. Windows is still popular, but Macs are a great choice for creative professionals. Google offers Chromebooks that are simple and cheap, and Linux laptops are an option, too.
But what is the best operating system for your new computer? We'll give you an overview of all your choices, along with their advantages and disadvantages. Minor spoiler: There's no one best option for everyone.
Should You Use Windows?
Windows is the most familiar operating system to most users. Microsoft released latest version, Windows 10, in 2015, and it is a considerable improvement over previous versions such as Windows 8. The advantage of Windows is that is has a very broad range of software available. All kinds of software is available for Windows, from business software to home computing apps.
The disadvantage of Windows is that it does have security issues, as it is the target of a large amount of malware. If you're going to use Windows, it's important that you keep your operating system up to date.
One group of people for whom Windows is the best OS is gamers. If you like to play games, especially AAA titles, then the best operating system for your PC will be Windows. The selection of games available on Linux and macOS is getting better, especially since the launch of Apple Arcade and Steam bringing support platforms beyond Windows.
Should You Use macOS?
A preferred operating system among creative professionals is macOS. Unlike Windows, which you can install on most PC hardware, macOS is generally only available on Mac hardware. (You can install macOS on non-Apple hardware to create what's called a Hackintosh, but this is complex.) For most users who want to use macOS, they'll need to buy a Mac machine.
The advantage of macOS is its exceptional support for creative software such as Adobe Photoshop or Premier. While this kind of software is available on Windows too, it generally functions better and has more options on macOS. Another plus point for macOS is that Apple updates it regularly, and that upgrading to the latest version of the OS is usually free. It is also less frequently targeted by malware.
The disadvantage of macOS is that Apple hardware can be expensive, with laptops and desktops costing thousands of dollars. There's also much less free software available for macOS than other operating systems, so be prepared to spend more on software too.
Should You Use Linux?
One option you might not have considered in your search for the best operating system for a laptop or desktop is Linux. Linux has a reputation for being hard to use, although in recent years more user-friendly distributions have become available.
Linux's greatest strength is its flexibility. You can change just about anything you want in a Linux system, as long as you have the required knowledge. This is why the operating system is so popular among power users who want to perform complex tasks in an efficient way.
However, for the average user the learning curve for Linux is rather steep. Some people are intimidated by the command line. And it can take a long time before you learn the commands you need to use the operating system efficiently. For this reason, Linux isn't well suited to less techy-savvy users.
There's one area where Linux does absolutely shine, though---resurrecting old hardware. If you have an ancient computer which is too slow to run Windows, try installing a lightweight Linux distribution on it and you may be able to keep using it for simple tasks like web browsing and email.
Should You Use Chrome OS?
One interesting contender for the best laptop operating system is Chrome OS. Google's Chrome OS is a lightweight competitor that's capturing more of the market. Chromebooks run a simplified operating system that's basically just the Chrome web browser with some desktop bits. You have access to Chrome, Chrome apps, and Android apps---that's it. You can't run Windows desktop software.
Chrome OS can be the best OS for laptops because Chromebooks are simple. They update automatically, sync with Google Drive for file storage, and don't require antivirus software. Most Chromebooks cost between $200 and $300, and don't include bloatware.
If you only ever use Chrome and want a simple PC with a full keyboard and powerful desktop web browser for not much money, a Chromebook is a good option. On the other hand, there's still a lot a Chromebook can't do---if you use Photoshop daily, look elsewhere.
Should You Use BSD?
An interesting and lesser-known alternative to Linux is BSD, which stands for Berkeley Software Distribution. This Unix-based system was developed for researchers, and it is open source. Nowadays, you'll most often see descendants of BSD like FreeBSD or OpenBSD in use.
BSD systems are most useful for advanced users who prioritize functions like complex networking or a high level of security. In some ways, BSD is even more flexible than Linux and can be installed on an even larger range of hardware. The big limitation with BSD is that there's not a lot of support for it from third-party developers. So much familiar software you use every day won't run on a BSD system.
Dual Booting OSes and Virtual Machines
One option to consider if you can't decide on an OS or if you like features of more than one OS is a dual boot. This is where you install two (or more) operating systems onto one machine. When your computer boots up, you can choose which operating system you'd like to use for that session. This gives you the opportunity for the best of both worlds.
For example, you could install Linux for your primary productivity tasks, then also have Windows available for gaming. However, there are risks associated with dual booting Linux and Windows that you should be aware of.
Another option if you only need a few functions from a different operating system is to run a virtual machine. This is where you run a different operating system virtually, inside your main operating system. To learn more about these options, see our guide to dual booting versus virtual machines.
Which OS Should You Choose?
We've covered a number of different options for the best computer operating system here, but no single one is the winner. Each operating system has its own strengths and different choices will work out for different people.
Hopefully, we've given you a place to start your research on which operating system you should use and helped you eliminate a few choices.
Comparing all these operating systems is a tough task. If you're unsure whether you should opt for Windows or go with one of the many Windows alternatives available, you should probably go play with these operating systems in person. Try using a friend's PC, working with a display laptop at a store, or dual booting Linux on your current machine.
Virtual Machines
Before we start installing our operating system, we need to be familiar with the concept of virtual machines, or VMs. A virtual machine is just a copy of a real machine. Why would you want that? We've been working with physical machines so far, but there are cases in IT support where we need access to a machine that isn't physically in front of us. Let's say I have a Windows machine, and I want to learn another operating system like Linux. I don't want to buy another computer, or have two separate operating systems on my disk. Instead, I can use an application like Virtual Box to install Linux, and have it completely isolated from my machine. Virtual machines use physical resources like memory, CPU, and storage, but they offer the added benefit of running multiple operating systems at once. They're also easier to maintain and provision. Virtual machines have become a staple in many IT departments since they allow IT support specialist to create new virtual computers on-demand. They can also reclaim the resources they use when they're no longer needed. If you wanted to use software that's only available on one specific OS, it's easier to create a new virtual machine. Use the software and then delete the virtual machines once you're done. Throughout this program, you'll actually be using VMs to perform hands-on exercises. You'll be working on our Quick Labs platform, where you'll be presented tasks to complete from within a lab setting. We list out the specific tasks you'll need to complete and once you complete the tasks, you'll get the credit for the lab. Now that we know what a virtual machine is, you can see how they can be extremely useful.
Installing Windows 10
Windows 10 & 11 Feature Matrix
Windows 10 and 11 Feature Matrix
Windows 10 and 11 are two operating systems IT Professionals work with. This reading describes the differences between them and highlights features that are important to IT. Windows 11 was released more recently and has higher system requirements than Windows 10. Professionals will still work with Windows 10 often, as many companies still use it.
The primary difference between the two operating systems is aesthetic. Windows 11’s design is more minimal, corners have been rounded, and colors are pastel. Another difference is in Windows 10, the start menu and taskbar are in the bottom left corner. In Windows 11, the start menu and taskbar are centered along the bottom.
Features
-
Apps: In Windows 10, apps can only be added from the Windows Store or installed manually. In Windows 11, Android apps can also be added natively.
-
Virtual desktop: In Windows 10 it is possible to use Virtual Desktops, but it is unintuitive to set up. In Windows 11, the support for virtual desktops is more user-friendly making it easy to set up different desktops for work and personal use.
-
Teams: In Windows 10, Teams is included in the operating system, but defaults to Skype for video conferencing. In Windows 11, Teams is featured prominently and incorporated into the taskbar and no longer defaults to Skype for video conferencing.
-
Widgets: In Windows 10, there are desktop gadgets similar to widgets that can be added to the start menu. In Windows 11, widgets can be accessed from the taskbar directly.
-
Touch and pen: Windows 11 has added more features for touch and pen use on supported devices, including vibration features for pens.
-
Random Access Memory (RAM) Support Limitations: In Windows 10, the lowest RAM (Random Access Memory) requirements are 1GB for 32-bit versions and 2GB for 64-bit versions. In Windows 11, the base requirement is 4GB of RAM.
Services and settings
-
Domain access: Joining a domain, a centrally administered group of computers, functions the same in Windows 10 and 11. A user can quickly join a domain from the “System Properties” window.
-
Workgroup access: Joining a workgroup, a group of computers on the same Local Area Network (LAN) with shared access and responsibilities, also functions the same in Windows 10 and 11. A user can quickly join a workgroup from the “System Properties” window.
-
Group Policy Settings (Gpedit.msc): Editing Group Policies (with Gpedit.msc) locally or using Active Directory is largely unchanged. Note that Gpedit.msc is not available in Home licenses of Windows.
-
Remote Desktop Protocol: The Remote Desktop tool, used for connecting to the desktop of a different computer over a network connection, is largely unchanged between Windows versions. Note that to use a Remote Desktop Server, the server machine needs to be running at least the Pro edition of Windows.
-
Bitlocker: Bitlocker, a drive encryption tool included with Windows, is largely unchanged. Note that Bitlocker is only available for Pro and Enterprise licenses of Windows.
Key takeaways
Operating systems like Windows 10 and Windows 11 are constantly changing and evolving. As an IT professional, you may be required to maintain two or more versions of an operating system at the same time. IT professionals need to stay on top of changes and new development to ensure they can support their users.
-
Windows 10 and Windows 11 primary difference is aesthetic.
-
Windows 11 updated and added new features to make it simpler to access or use apps services, and settings.
editors note, windows 11 took away allot of creature comeforts, and random possibly important things, like the ability to move the task bar, resize the task bar, resizing the icon size on a task bar, forcing the user to show more options to see all the options when you right click a file in explorer. you need to go through another menu to change the sound options. etc... this is pre ai os update. h22 in 2023
Installing Linux
Supplemental Reading for Ubuntu
To learn more about Ubuntu, click here.
To help you load your installation image onto a USB drive, you may want to look at the tool, etcher.io.
For a list of all Ubuntu's updates, check out the link here.
For more information on why Ubuntu will be switching its default user interface over to GNOME, click here.
Heads up: A big part of being successful in an IT role is the ability to be a self-led learner -- someone who finds key resources and reads up on the latest tech trends and solutions. The supplemental readings we’ve provided have been designed to show you just some of the support materials available to you online; they’re not meant to be considered a comprehensive list. Feel free to add to the conversation by posting other useful resources for learners to this forum thread.
just learn vanilla os
What is Chrome OS?
Unlike other operating systems, ChromeOS has one main purpose to be a secure and simple way for the user to interact with the web. Not so long ago, the idea of having an operating system dedicated to running a web browser would have seemed weird, like it was underusing the computer. But today, you can do so much just through your web browser. You can communicate through email, create and share documents, edit photos, and even connect remotely to another computer, and the list continues to grow. The development of new web applications increases the number of things users can do all within the web browser. This means that for a lot of people, most of their daily computer use happens inside the browser. Having an operating system built around a web browser makes a lot of sense. That said, ChromeOS is more than just a web browsing operating system. It can also run Android and Linux applications inside containers. The user interface in ChromeOS is customized, so you can only see the Chrome interface. Process management, memory and input and output are still happening behind the scenes but you don't need to deal with any of that. You only need to deal with the browser. ChromeOS machines come pre-installed with the operating system. There's nothing for us to install. When you log into a ChromeOS machine, you're also signing into the Chrome browser. Let's do that now. I've logged into my ChromeOS machine. It's pulling up my Chrome settings and extensions from the configuration stored in external servers provided by the Chrome infrastructure. This means that ChromeOS machines are interchangeable because most data is stored in the Cloud, not locally. Two other characteristics of ChromeOS are that it's extremely simple to use and very hard for users to meddle with. Since users don't have administrator rights on their ChromeOS machines, they won't be able to alter the system configuration. Also, ChromeOS has an automatic update mechanism that includes a fail-safe in case anything goes wrong. This means that the user doesn't need to worry about problems or hacks in the system because it's designed to stay up and running. Finally, ChromeOS has strong security, which we'll learn about in an upcoming course. For now, you just need to know that ChromeOS allows users to browse the web without worrying about malware and to share machines while keeping their data private. It also ensures that data won't be compromised if the machine is stolen. In short, there's no need to worry about harmful software that might be out there because ChromeOS defense against these threats. As an IT support specialist, you may find that some of the users in your organization will choose ChromeOS for their daily work. Since it's so easy to use and rarely breaks, we won't cover daily support in further detail.
Mac OS
(Required)
en
Tri Ngo: Obstacles & How to be successful in IT
The IT world is not that scary. So let me give a little example of where I'm from. So I'm from an underprivileged family who immigrated here to the US. So I had a language barrier. Access to technology was also a barrier. I mean back in the day I didn't have access to it and I worked hard to deal with all these obstacles. And right now I think people are quite lucky because there are economic opportunities. There is technological resources out there that are available on the internet. A lot of them are in formats that people are more than willing to share their opinion and share their solutions and share their knowledge. So I think everyone is fortunate to have these resources available to them now. And I think that opens up opportunities to all of you. I think that it's okay to make mistakes. We're all human, it's okay to fail and then learn from those failures and not to give up. For example, when I launched a web page for my first job there were a lot of errors that were showing up in the JavaScript that I had written and everybody was able to see that. I fixed them very quickly and in the end I was able to produce something good. And I was able to learn about troubleshooting and how to fix bugs on the web page and it was really quite beneficial.
Introduction to Qwiklabs
You're about to do a few exercises using the Qwiklabs online learning platform. Before we dive into that, let's learn a bit more about the platform. Qwiklabs is an online learning environment that takes you through live real world scenarios you may encounter as an IT support specialist. As we said earlier, a virtual machine or VM, simulates computers using software. This virtual machine will be running on either Linux or Windows depending on the exercise. Qwiklab supports both, this way you can learn to work in either operating system regardless of which operating system you are running on your machine. The Qwiklabs virtual machines run in the cloud. So you can access them over the internet from wherever you are. As we've shared before, when we say that a service is running in the cloud, we mean that it's running in a data center or on other remote servers. After this video, we'll give you instructions on how to access and complete the labs. You'll use Qwiklabs in lots of courses for this program. So spend some time learning your way around it. We still encourage you to try these exercises on a local machine if that's an option for you. Remember that practice makes perfect, whether you're learning something new or trying to improve your skills. So practice using Qwiklabs as much as you can.
You're about to do a few exercises using the Qwiklabs online learning platform. Before we dive into that, let's learn a bit more about the platform. Qwiklabs is an online learning environment that takes you through live real world scenarios you may encounter as an IT support specialist. As we said earlier, a virtual machine or VM, simulates computers using software. This virtual machine will be running on either Linux or Windows depending on the exercise. Qwiklab supports both, this way you can learn to work in either operating system regardless of which operating system you are running on your machine. The Qwiklabs virtual machines run in the cloud. So you can access them over the internet from wherever you are. As we've shared before, when we say that a service is running in the cloud, we mean that it's running in a data center or on other remote servers. After this video, we'll give you instructions on how to access and complete the labs. You'll use Qwiklabs in lots of courses for this program. So spend some time learning your way around it. We still encourage you to try these exercises on a local machine if that's an option for you. Remember that practice makes perfect, whether you're learning something new or trying to improve your skills. So practice using Qwiklabs as much as you can.
Qwiklabs Introduction
For some of your graded assessments, you’ll use the Qwiklabs tool to complete the assigned activities. Qwiklabs is an online lab tool that creates simulated Windows and Linux OS environments. With this tool, you can complete the course activities without having to install extra software on your computer.
Important details
Qwiklabs allows you to use both Linux and Windows operating systems as if they were installed on your local machine. When you access your Qwiklabs activities through Coursera you will be given the software and OS setup needed to complete the activity within the tool.
Make sure to always access labs directly through Coursera (not through the Qwiklabs catalog). If you do not access labs directly through Coursera, you will not receive a grade.
Here are some things to be ready for when using Qwiklabs:
-
Unless stated otherwise, you will have 60 minutes to complete each Qwiklabs assignment.
-
You'll experience a delay as the labs load. Also expect delays when the Linux and Windows simulated environments boot up.
Each lab connects you to a new Qwiklabs simulated environment. Each time, temporary credentials are created for you to connect to the lab. These credentials expire at the end of the lab assignment.
-
Click “Start Lab” to begin your assessment activity.
-
Click “End Lab” to end the activity.
-
The lab needs to run for at least 5 minutes for your activity’s score to be shared back to Coursera. If you click the "End Lab" button before 5 minutes pass, your score may be recorded incorrectly in Coursera.
-
Your grade is calculated when the lab is complete. Be sure to click the "End Lab" button when you've finished the assignment.
-
After you end the lab, you won't be able to access your previous work.
-
If you receive an error message while completing a lab, please reach out to the Qwiklabs support team through the chat support option in the lab’s ‘help’ menu.
Resource
Creating a Folder with Windows
Introduction
This lab will introduce you to the Qwiklabs online learning platform’s hands-on lab experience. You'll interact with hands-on labs in lots of courses of the IT Support Professional Certificate program, so it's important that you follow these instructions carefully. We'll give you some background information about what Qwiklabs are, and how these labs will help train you as an IT Support Specialist. Finally, you'll interact with the lab materials themselves. Ready? Let's get started!
Heads up: The grade is calculated when the lab is complete, so be sure to hit "End Lab" when you're done!
In this Qwiklab, you'll spin up a virtual machine of the Windows OS. In other Qwiklabs throughout the IT Support Professional Certificate, you may spin up other instances (or other occurrences) of software; Qwiklabs isn't just limited to operating systems. You'll soon learn that, with Qwiklabs, you can interact with many other real-world scenarios that you may see as an IT Support Specialist.
What you'll do
There are two learning objectives for this lab:
-
Familiarize yourself with the Qwiklabs environment.
-
Access a Windows VM instance and create a basic folder using the graphical user interface (GUI).
You'll have 60 minutes to complete this lab. You must spend at least 5 minutes running the lab in order for your grade to be updated and passed back to Coursera. If you complete the lab before 5 minutes have passed, please wait until more time has passed before clicking "End Lab".
Note: If you encounter a problem starting or completing this lab, before restarting the lab, try some basic troubleshooting tactics including closing and reopening your browser, clearing your cache and cookies, or rebooting your device.
Creating a Folder with Windows
Introduction
This lab will introduce you to the Qwiklabs online learning platform’s hands-on lab experience. You'll interact with hands-on labs in lots of courses of the IT Support Professional Certificate program, so it's important that you follow these instructions carefully. We'll give you some background information about what Qwiklabs are, and how these labs will help train you as an IT Support Specialist. Finally, you'll interact with the lab materials themselves. Ready? Let's get started!
Heads up: The grade is calculated when the lab is complete, so be sure to hit "End Lab" when you're done!
What is Qwiklabs?
Qwiklabs is an online learning environment that will take you through a live, real-world tech scenario that you may encounter as an IT Support Specialist. Qwiklabs "spin up," or create, virtual machines. A virtual machine (VM) is exactly how it sounds: it creates a "virtual" (rather than actual) simulation of software. As you've learned throughout the Technical Support Fundamentals course, the Windows operating system (OS) is just a piece of software. This way, you don't have to purchase this software to complete the courses in the IT Support Professional Certificate. This also allows you to use Windows OS as if it was installed on your local machine, so you can practice and familiarize yourself with this technology.
In this Qwiklab, you'll spin up a virtual machine of the Windows OS. In other Qwiklabs throughout the IT Support Professional Certificate, you may spin up other instances (or other occurrences) of software; Qwiklabs isn't just limited to operating systems. You'll soon learn that, with Qwiklabs, you can interact with many other real-world scenarios that you may see as an IT Support Specialist.
Learning tip:
Whenever possible, we encourage you to try these exercises on your local machines or home computers -- if that's an option for you! When you're learning something new for the first time, or you're trying to improve a skill that you already have, remember that "practice makes perfect." So, practice the skills you'll learn in the Qwiklabs as much as you can!
What you'll do
There are two learning objectives for this lab:
- Familiarize yourself with the Qwiklabs environment.
- Access a Windows VM instance and create a basic folder using the graphical user interface (GUI).
You'll have 60 minutes to complete this lab.
Start the lab
You'll need to start the lab before you can access the materials. To do this, click the green "Start Lab" button at the top of the screen. If you use a screen reader, please see the instructions below, in the section "Virtual Machine instructions for screen reader users". Otherwise, proceed to the next steps to open the Windows VM.
After you click the "Start Lab" button, you will see a panel appear below where the start lab button was that has an Open Windows VM button.
Click the Open Windows VM button and a new tab will open with a visual interface for Windows OS, where you will be performing further steps in the lab. You should have a visual interface for Windows that looks like this:
Creating a folder
For keyboard-only users:
- Open file explorer from windows menu
- select desktop
- select "new folder" shortcut in the top bar menu
- rename folder "My Super Cool Folder"
For other users:
Creating a folder in Windows is super simple. Right-click anywhere on the desktop and you should see this menu appear:
Hover your cursor over "New," and another menu should appear that looks like this:
Move your cursor to the first option ("Folder"), and select it. If your cursor leaves the menus, they may disappear; if this happens, just repeat the steps again. A new folder should appear on the desktop. It'll be called "New folder" by default, and the text should already be highlighted for you to edit.
If you click anywhere before changing the name, you'll need to right-click the folder and select the "Rename" option to be able to edit it. Change the name to "My Super Cool Folder".
Your folder has been created and named! To verify, double-click on the folder and a Windows Explorer window should pop up, showing you the contents of your currently empty folder.
Click Check my progress to verify the objective.
Create a folder
Congratulations!
That's it! You've successfully created a folder in Windows. There will be much more interesting labs to come, feel free to use this lab as a refresher if you ever forget the process.
You can manually end the lab, or it will automatically end when the time runs out.
End your lab
When you have completed your lab, click End Lab. Qwiklabs removes the resources you’ve used and cleans the account for you.
You will be given an opportunity to rate the lab experience. Select the applicable number of stars, type a comment, and then click Submit.
The number of stars indicates the following:
- 1 star = Very dissatisfied
- 2 stars = Dissatisfied
- 3 stars = Neutral
- 4 stars = Satisfied
- 5 stars = Very satisfied
You can close the dialog box if you don't want to provide feedback.
For feedback, suggestions, or corrections, please use the Support tab.
Creating a Folder with Linux
Introduction
This lab will introduce you to the Qwiklabs online learning platform’s hands-on lab experience. You'll interact with hands-on labs in lots of courses of the IT Support Professional Certificate program, so it's important that you follow these instructions carefully. We'll give you some background information about what Qwiklabs are, and how these labs will help train you as an IT Support Specialist. Finally, you'll interact with the lab materials themselves. Ready? Let's get started!
Head's up: You'll experience a delay as the labs initially load (particularly for Windows labs). So, please wait a couple of minutes for the labs to load. The grade is calculated when the lab is complete, so be sure to hit "End Lab" when you're done!
In this Qwiklab, you'll spin up a virtual machine of the Linux OS. In other Qwiklabs throughout the IT Support Professional Certificate, you may spin up other instances (or other occurrences) of software; Qwiklabs isn't just limited to operating systems. You'll soon learn that, with Qwiklabs, you can interact with many other real-world scenarios that you may see as an IT Support Specialist.
What you'll do
There are two learning objectives for this lab:
-
Familiarize yourself with the Qwiklabs environment.
-
Access a Linux virtual machine and create a basic folder using the command line interface.
You'll have 60 minutes to complete this lab. You must spend at least 5 minutes running the lab in order for your grade to be updated and passed back to Coursera. If you complete the lab before 5 minutes have passed, please wait until more time has passed before clicking "End Lab".
What is Networking?
Module Introduction
Basics of Networking
Networking Hardware
Now that we understand what networks are. Let's talk about how they're connected. There are a lot of ways you can connect computers to a network, we'll only cover a few of the major ones in this course. First, there's an ethernet cable which lets you physically connect to the network through a cable. On the back of the desktop we worked in the previous lessons, there's a network ports that you plug your ethernet cable into. Another way to connect to a network is through Wi-Fi, which is wireless networking. Most modern computing systems have wireless capabilities like mobile phones, smart televisions and laptops. We connect to wireless networks through radios and antennas. The last method will go over uses fiber optic cables to connect to a network. This is the most expensive method since fiber optic cables allow greater speeds than all the other methods, fiber optic gets its name because the cables contain glass fibers that move data through light instead of electricity. This means that we send ones and zeros through a beam of light instead of an electrical current through a copper wire. How cool is that? But our cables have to connect to something. We don't just have millions of cables going in and out of computers to connect them together. Instead, computers connect to a few different devices that help organize our network together. The first device that your computer connects to is a router. A router connects lots of different devices together and helps route network traffic, let's say we have four computers, A, B, C and D connected together through a router in the same network. You want to send a file from computer A to computer B. A packets go through the router and the router utilizes network protocols to help determine where to send the packet. So now our packet gets routed from computer A to computer B, sweet. What if we wanted to send a packet to a computer not in our network? What if we wanted to send a packet to our friend Alejandro's computer. Alejandro is on a different network altogether. Fortunately, our router knows how to handle that to the packet will get routed outside our network to our ISPS network using networking protocols, it's able to figure out where Alejandro's computer is. During this process, our packet is traveling across many different routers, switches and hubs, switches and hubs are also devices that help our data travel. Think of switches like mail rooms in a building, routers get our letters to the building, but once we're inside we use the mail room to figure out where to send a letter. Hubs are like company memos, they don't know who to send the memo to, so they send it to everyone. Working with network devices is important to understand because it's likely that one day you'll have users reporting problems accessing the Internet, you'll want to investigate your way up the network stack, a technology stack. In this case a network stack is just a set of hardware or software that provides the infrastructure for a computer. So the network stack is all the components that makes up computer networking. You might need to investigate the network stack in your job. You'd start with making sure the end user computers are working properly. Then you turn your attention to other possible points of failure, like the cabling, switches and routers that work together to access the Internet.
TCP/IP
There are lots and lots of network protocols used, and they're all necessary to help us get our packets in the right place. Think of network protocols like a set of rules for how we transfer data in a network. Imagine if you sent a letter to your friend Sasha, who lives in California, but your post office sends it out to another Sasha who lives out in New York. That would hopefully never happen since the post office has rules that they follow to make sure your letter is sent to the correct address. Our networking protocols do the same thing. There are rules that make sure our packets are routed efficiently, aren't corrupted, are secure, go to the right machine, and are named appropriately. You get the idea. We'll cover specific network protocols later on. But there are two protocols that you need to know. The Transmission Control Protocol and the Internet Protocol, or TCPIP for short, which had become the predominant protocols of the Internet. The Internet Protocol, or IP, is responsible for delivering our packets to the right computers. Remember those addresses that computers use to find something on a network? They're called IP addresses or Internet Protocol Addresses. The Internet Protocol helps us route information. The Transmission Control Protocol, or TCP, is a protocol that handles reliable delivery of information from one network to another. This protocol was an important part of the creation of the internet since it led us share information with other computers. For now, you've got a high level understanding of how the Internet works with TCP, IP.
The Web
Lots of different ways to use the internet, we all know that. But I want to cover one of the more prevalent ways that people access the internet, through the web. All websites can be accessed through the web. Websites are basically text documents that we format with HTML or HyperText Markup Language. It's a coding language used by web browsers. Web pages are generally made up of very basic components. They contain multimedia content like text, images, audio and video. When you want to navigate to a website, you would type in URL like, www.reddit.com. A URL which stands for Uniform Resource Locator is just a web address similar to a home address. Notice the www in the URL, it stands for World Wide Web. The second portion, reddit.com is something we call a domain name. Anyone can register a domain name, it's just our website name. Once a name is taken it will be registered to ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Once a domain name is registered with, ICANN, no one else can take that name unless it becomes available again. The last part of the URL, in this case is dot com. But you can also use different domain endings like reddit.net or reddit.org. The different domain name endings are standards for what type of website it might be. So a domain that ends in .edu is mainly used for educational institutions. Remember how computers use IP addresses to find another computer. Well, you can do the same if you wanted to find a computer on the internet. Let's go ahead and type 172.217.6.46 into a web browser and hit enter. Wait a minute, what happened? How come we're at Google's homepage? It turns out the IP address 172.217.6.46 maps to Google's homepage through a critical web protocol Domain Name System or DNS. DNS acts like our internet directory. And let's just use human readable way words to map to an IP address. The computer doesn't know what Google.com is. It only knows how to get to an IP address with DNS. It's able to map google's IP address with Google.com. Every time you go on a website, your computer is performing a DNS look up to find the IP address of the website name you typed in. This trick can be a good first step in diagnosing certain kinds of DNS issues. So if you're able to access a website by its IP address but not its human readable domain name, then there's a good bet that there's probably a problem somewhere in the DNS configuration your network is using. Understanding IP addresses can come in handy in all sorts of other situations you might encounter as an IT support specialist. The source of internet requests are usually identified by IP addresses in server logs. Many pieces of IT infrastructure need to have some kind of IP address configuration applied to them in order to work. DNS is a huge system and we'll be discussing more about it later. Now that you understand the basics of how the internet works. I'll sign off for now, and leave you in the very capable hands of my friend and colleague Jeone Spicuzza. I'll see you again in course to the bits and bytes of computer networking. But in the next lessons, Jeone is going to talk about the incredible boom of the internet age.
(Required)
en
Victor: First job experiences
My first IT job I was essentially a glorified spam filter. They hired me part time to go through the spam folder and then find anything that got mislabeled the spam and forward it to people's inboxes. So I did that for about a week and then I was like this is insane, there is no way that huge companies are paying people to sit in the back of the room and do this. So I started installing at the time, I was like spam assassin is like open source mail filter. Yeah, and then I basically like automated that away and I told my boss about it and I was like hey this is like we don't need this anymore, I don't need to do that anymore. So then I started doing other things and I'm like I would create new accounts that would delete all accounts. And I kind of just did that. I grew into eventually becoming like the full time sys admin for for the company there. When I graduated I started looking at other large companies that I might be excited to work for. So Google was one of them and I threw my resume together and I sent it over for one of the IT jobs that they had here and I didn't really think I was going to get it. I was literally in the means of moving to Seattle when they told me like can you start in four weeks? So I had to figure it out. I had four weeks to change my plans entirely and I started here and I learned like what IT really looked like in a huge environment.
History of the Internet
You've learned what the Internet is and a little bit about how it works. Now, we're going to take a step back and learn why it was created. But before we do that, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Gian Picasa and I'm a Program Manager in Android Security. I help protect Android's two billion plus users by managing new security features for each of Android's deserts or versions of Android. I've always loved technology and I worked in IT since I was 16 and throughout university, I would fill my past time reading about new tech and building servers from old computer parts in my basement. My earliest memory of working on tech is waiting for my parents to go to sleep so I could quietly dial up the Internet while the phone was free and just browse websites all night long and read about random tech things. My first jobs were as a one-person IT crew at three non-profit organizations. It was both stressful and really exciting to be responsible for everything, from configuring and administrating backup servers to just showing new employees how to access email and use their computers. I'm really excited to be here with you. I was never a really great test taker and my grades reflected that. But I knew with hard work and perseverance, I could build a great career in IT and so can you. Let's get started and dig in a bit more on the Internet. The Internet has become an essential part of our lives. Our bank accounts, entertainment, news and education are all on the Internet. It's important to learn why that is, since some of the original designs of the Internet have reached their limitations. As an IT support specialist, you should understand what the future of the Internet holds and why. Let's go back in time to the 1950s where it all started. Remember, back then computers were huge and bulky. If you're a programmer, you needed to directly interact with these massive computers that would get real old real fast, especially if you had several people who wanted to use the only computing resource available. The late 1960s, the US government spun up a project called DARPA. It went on to create the earliest version of the Internet that we've seen today with the ARPANET. Eventually, computer programmers were able to share a single computing resource by being able to remotely access the computer. But there were still a big problem. Networks couldn't talk to each other. It wasn't until the 1970s that we had a critical breakthrough in computer networking that fix this problem. It was thanks to computer scientists, Vinton Cerf and Bob Kahn who created the method we call the Transmission Control Protocol and the Internet Protocol, or TCP/IP. First, only a handful of computers in universities, governments and businesses adopt TCP/IP, then hundreds. Then in the span of 50 years, billions of computers. TCP/IP is the protocol that we use on the Internet today. Finally, people around the world could send data to one another. But there were still a problem. The information they sent was just text, it wasn't centralized and it was pretty bland. Then in the 1990s, a computer scientist by the name of Tim Berners-Lee invented the worldwide web. It utilized different protocols for displaying information in webpages and became the predominant way of communication and accessing the Internet. Anyone who had an Internet connection at that time was able to access the information source of the World Wide Web. It's been 30 years since the creation of the World Wide Web. We've gone from sending simple email messages in the viewing basic web pages to having video chats and instant news updates, order food, buy books, and even cars in a matter of seconds, taking the online course like this wasn't even possible until recently. The creation of the Internet that we know today was the culmination of knowledge and engineering from many brilliant scientists and organizations.
Limitations of the Internet
We've mentioned IP addresses a lot in this course, but we haven't actually gone into detail about them. There are actually different versions of IP addresses. The current protocol, Internet protocol version four, or IPV4, is an address that consists of 32 bits separated into four groups. IPV4 addresses can be something like 73.55.242.3. Even though it might seem like a lot of possible IPV4 addresses, there are less than 4.3 billion IPV4 addresses. There are way more than 4.3 billion websites out on the web today. Some IPV4 addresses are even reserved for special purposes. The number of usable IP addresses is even less. A device that wants to connect to the Internet needs to have an IP address. But devices around the world have already exceeded those numbers. Where have we been getting IP addresses? IP addresses have been able to keep up with the amount of devices in the world thanks to IPV6 or Internet Protocol version 6 addresses, IPV6 addresses consists of 128 bits, four times the amount that IPV4 uses, which means way more devices can have IP addresses. The adoption of IPV6 addresses has been slow but steady. Eventually, you'll start seeing more and more IPV6 addresses in the wild. An example of IPV4 address can be something like 172.14.24.1. But an IPV6 address can be something like what you see here. Quite a bit of a difference, don't you think? Here's an analogy for how big this difference is between IPV4 and IPV6. With IPV6, there are two to the 128th power possible IP addresses. Two to the 128th power is an insanely huge number, so huge that scientists had trouble describing with words just how big this number is. Here's an analogy. Think of a grain of sand. If you scoop up a handful, do you know how many grains you have in your hand? Probably a lot, but that's not even close to the number we're talking about. Now, take all the grains of sand in the entire world. Assuming there are roughly seven and a half times ten to the 18th power grains of sand in the world that still wouldn't be enough IPV6 addresses. Now, let's take all the sand from multiple Earths. Now you're close to what that number would be. It's a crazy large number. Just know that we won't be running out of IPV6 addresses anytime soon. Another mitigation tool that we've been able to use is NAT or Network Address Translation. This lets organizations use one public IP address and many private IP addresses within the network. Think of that like a receptionist that a company. You what number to dial to get to the company. Once you reach the receptionist, he can transfer your call to one of the private numbers inside the company. Now, instead of companies using hundreds of public IP addresses, they can just use one IP address. Remember the routers we talked about earlier? One task you might need to perform when you're an IT support specialist is to configure NAT on a router to facilitate communication between your company's network and the outside world.
Changing Careers
A lot of the skills from my previous jobs, such as at the call center that I can apply now, is my attention to detail. Having the soft skills of being creative, thinking outside of the box, those have all helped me in my new position. >> All the jobs that I've had prior to IT, their main fundamental was customer service. It's that same customer service fundamental that has transferred to my current IT position. >> I definitely think that working, especially for the police department, did get me prepared for this. Because when you're working in a 911 center, you really never know what's going to happen. >> I was already in a really high position as a restaurant manager, and that's when I felt like I plateaued. I couldn't do that for the rest of my life. And here I am as an IT consultant entry level. I have health insurance. I have plenty of time off.
Impact of the Internet
Impact
There's no doubt that the Internet has made it much easier for us to connect with our friends and family. But it's also made it easier to connect with everyone else in the world. We're no longer confined to our local neighborhoods. Decades ago, if you wanted to sell something, you'd place your goods in your driveway and put up signs for a garage sale. The only way someone would see this is if they drove by your neighborhood and saw your sign. We got a little more savvy and started advertising in our local newspaper. We had to pay to list their ad, but at least we were able to reach more people in our neighborhood. Then the Internet boom happened, and we can use sites like Craigslist to post an advertisement for free and reach more people in our city. Then we were able to sell to people outside of our city, to cities and other states. Eventually, we could sell the people outside of our own country all thanks to the Internet. Globalization is the movement that let's governments, businesses, and organizations communicate and integrate together on an international scale. It's been made possible by the internet and information technology. Countries can communicate with each other faster. News happening on the other side of the world reaches us before we can blink and global and financial trade has increased dramatically. Globalization has transformed almost every aspect of human society as we know it. Media and social movements have become globalized too. In 2011, several countries in the Middle East started riots and protests against their government regimes, known as the Arab Spring protests. Because of outlets like social media, their movement gained worldwide attention and citizens of many different countries banded together to take collective action. Social media movements like this have been going on for years, gathering together people from all over the world and unifying them under a single cause. The Internet has also dramatically changed the way we consume entertainment. A few years ago, if you wanted to watch something on TV, you've got to actually sit in front of your TV right when it aired or else you'd miss it. Then we started recording our shows first on VHS and then on things like TiVo, so we can watch them later. But now we have access to more TV shows and movies than we can ever watch in our entire lifetime at our fingertips. What if you wanted to listen to a new song by your favorite band? You used to have to wait until they release their album in a store. You couldn't just buy one song, you had to buy the entire album on a CD, cassette tape, or even a vinyl record back in the day. If you want it to get the day's news, you had to wait until the next day when the newspaper would print it. Even then you weren't able to get a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the news you can get on the Internet today. Retail stores aren't the only place you look when you want to buy something anymore. Now you can order food, clothes, books, and well, just about anything on the Internet. But you don't just buy stuff off the web. You can even get an education. Colleges and universities worldwide are taking education out of the classroom and putting it into your homes. Online courses are becoming a popular way for people to get a quality education at a more convenient location, time, and price. It's not just degrees. There's an almost infinite amount of educational tools available on the Internet. A few years ago, all this information on the Internet had to be reached through your laptop or desktop. Now, more than ever, people are going mobile and can access all of this information with their smartphones. It's truly an amazing time to be alive in this technological age. The takeaway here is that the only constant in the field of technology is change. As an IT support specialist, You'll have to stay on your toes to keep up with this dynamic shifting landscape.
Internet of Things
You may have heard of the phrase Internet of Things or IoT. This concept is pretty new, but already has a major impact on the future of computing. The concept is fairly simple. Basically, more and more devices are being connected to the Internet in a smarter fashion. Did you know that there are now smart thermostats. Instead of manually programming them when you'll be out of the house, they'll just know when you leave and turn off the air conditioning for you. It's not just your thermostat. Many companies out there are making smarter household devices. There are fridges that can keep track of what foods you have in there, toasters that can be controlled by your smartphone, lights that can change depending on your mood and cars that drive you instead of you driving them. The world is moving towards connecting manual devices to the internet and making them smarter. These decisions have many societal implications though, especially when it comes to cybersecurity, or personal privacy. But there's also a huge potential for IoT to completely transform the world in ways we have yet to see. In the future, people may be shocked to learn that we had to do manual things like make your own coffee, or drive to the grocery store. While you may not experience working with an Internet of Things device, you should be aware that it will become a large part of the future of computing.
Supplemental Reading for Internet of Things
To learn more about the "Internet of Things," click here. (or just read my copy and paste below)
Smart toasters, connected rectal thermometers and fitness collars for dogs are just some of the everyday "dumb items" being connected to the web as part of the Internet of Things (IoT).
Connected machines and objects in factories offer the potential for a 'fourth industrial revolution', and experts predict more than half of new businesses will run on the IoT by 2020.
Here's everything you need to know about the increasingly connected world.
What is the Internet of Things?
In the broadest sense, the term IoT encompasses everything connected to the internet, but it is increasingly being used to define objects that "talk" to each other. "Simply, the Internet of Things is made up of devices – from simple sensors to smartphones and wearables – connected together," Matthew Evans, the IoT programme head at techUK, says.
By combining these connected devices with automated systems, it is possible to "gather information, analyse it and create an action" to help someone with a particular task, or learn from a process. In reality, this ranges from smart mirrors to beacons in shops and beyond.
"It's about networks, it's about devices, and it's about data," Caroline Gorski, the head of IoT at Digital Catapult explains. IoT allows devices on closed private internet connections to communicate with others and "the Internet of Things brings those networks together. It gives the opportunity for devices to communicate not only within close silos but across different networking types and creates a much more connected world."
Why do connected devices need to share data?
An argument has been raised that only because something can be connected to the internet doesn't mean it should be, but each device collects data for a specific purpose that may be useful to a buyer and impact the wider economy.
Within industrial applications, sensors on product lines can increase efficiency and cut down on waste. One study estimates 35 per cent of US manufacturers are using data from smart sensors within their set-ups already. US firm Concrete Sensors has created a device that can be inserted into concrete to provide data on the material's condition, for instance.
"IoT offers us opportunity to be more efficient in how we do things, saving us time, money and often emissions in the process," Evans says. It allows companies, governments and public authorities to re-think how they deliver services and produce goods.
"The quality and scope of the data across the Internet of Things generates an opportunity for much more contextualised and responsive interactions with devices to create a potential for change," continued Gorski. It "doesn't stop at a screen".
The latest Internet of Things news
Where does the IoT go next?
Even those who have purchased one of the myriad smart home products – from lightbulbs, switches, to motion sensors – will attest to the fact IoT is in its infancy. Products don't always easily connect to each other and there are significant security issues that need to be addressed.
A report from Samsung says the need to secure every connected device by 2020 is "critical". The firm's Open Economy document says "there is a very clear danger that technology is running ahead of the game". The firm said more than 7.3 billion devices will need to be made secure by their manufacturers before 2020.
“We are looking at a future in which companies will indulge in digital Darwinism, using IoT, AI and machine learning to rapidly evolve in a way we’ve never seen before," Brian Solis, from Altimeter Group, who helped on the research said.
IoT botnets, created using a network of out-of-date devices took large websites and services offline in 2016. A Chinese firm later recalled 4.3 million unsecured connected cameras. The ease of bringing down the internet using IoT devices was revealed when instead of malicious purposes, the botnet was revealed to have been created to game Minecraft.
But aren't there privacy implications?
Everything that's connected to the internet can be hacked, IoT products are no exception to this unwritten rule. Insecure IoT systems led to toy manufacturer VTech losing videos and pictures of children using its connected devices.
There's also the issue of surveillance. If every product becomes connected then there's the potential for unbridled observation of users. If a connected fridge tracks food usage and consumption, takeaways could be targeted at hungry people who have no food. If a smartwatch can detect when you're having sex, what is to stop people with that data using it against the watches' wearer.
“In the future, intelligence services might use the [internet of things] for identification, surveillance, monitoring, location tracking, and targeting for recruitment, or to gain access to networks or user credentials,” James Clapper, the US direction or national intelligence said in 2016. Wikileaks later claimed the CIA has been developing security exploits for a connected Samsung TV.
We need reliable standards
At the centre of creating a vast, reliable IoT network lies one significant issue: compatible standards. Connected objects need to be able to speak to each other to transfer data and share what they are recording. If they all run on different standards, they struggle to communicate and share. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Standards Association lists a huge number of standards being developed and worked on for different applications.
"Additional needs are emerging for standardisation," the Internet Society says. If standardisation happens it will let more devices and applications be connected.
To try and tackle this issue on an enterprise scale, Microsoft has introduced its own system for IoT devices. Called IoT Central, TechCrunch, reports the system gives businesses a managed central platform for setting up IoT devices. Microsoft claims the system will simply the creation of IoT networks.
Gorski described IoT, even among those with the most experience of the concept, as a "relatively immature market" but said 2016 may have been a turning point. The Hypercat standard is now supported by ARM, Intel, Amey, Bae Systems and Accenture and the firms are currently agreeing on a format for "exposing collections" of URLs, for example.
"In the short term, we know [IoT] will impact on anything where there is a high cost of not intervening," Evans said. "And it’ll be for simpler day-to-day issues – like finding a car parking space in busy areas, linking up your home entertainment system and using your fridge webcam to check if you need more milk on the way home.
"Ultimately what makes it exciting is that we don’t yet know the exact use cases and just that it has the potential to have a major impact on our lives."
This article was originally published in march 2023 It has since been updated with further IoT information.
Heads up: A big part of being successful in an IT role is the ability to be a self-led learner -- someone who finds key resources and reads up on the latest tech trends and solutions. The supplemental readings we’ve provided have been designed to show you just some of the support materials available to you online; they’re not meant to be considered a comprehensive list. Feel free to add to the conversation by posting other useful resources for learners to this forum thread.
Gian: what he does in Android Security
My name is Gian Bokassa, and I'm a Program Manager with the Android Security Team. The Android Security Team is responsible for protecting over two billion Android devices are on the world. But specifically, what I do with the team is I work with anywhere from the end-users to our partners, all the way up to the engineering teams within Google on each Android dessert release, which is what we call versions of Android. Depending on what needs to be done for that release and that cycle, I'm the person. We have lots of discussions with external partners and phone manufacturers on helping them adopt new security features that run on Android for their next phone release. Internally, we're always trying to think one step ahead and try and think of what the next vulnerability or next area that we can improve the platform exists in. Security is important to everyone in the chain because as more and more of our data becomes digitized, it's even more important to keep it all protected. From a programming perspective, you can say build a secure system. But if there's one flaw somewhere in that software and that flaw could be one byte. The whole system could be open insecure and anyone can just take it down.
Privacy and Security
The added convenience made possible by the Internet also makes it harder and harder for us to maintain anonymity. When you purchase something online, you're buying habits can be logged, and you may be targeted with marketing, even when you want to do something simple, like book a dinner reservation, your name, phone number, email, and maybe even a credit card number are required. Now think about the information you post publicly; name, pictures, family, friends, and even your location may be available to anyone online. Be aware of what you're sharing by reviewing the privacy policy of the service before you use it. It's up to you to decide if the trade-offs of a service are worth sharing your personal information. In most cases, companies are trying to build great products that make our lives easier. They may offer their products for free because you provide them with free data. Just make sure your information won't fall into the wrong hands. Privacy doesn't just affect us on a personal scale. It's also become a concern for governments. In Europe, data regulation and privacy are strictly protected to help EU citizens gain more control over their personal information. COPPA, or the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, also regulates the information we show to children under the age of 13. There are many more examples of government regulation of privacy. It's no longer something we can think of on an individual scale. Another concern that's grown with the rise of the Internet is the issue of copyright. Imagine you create a beautiful graphic and upload it on the web for your friends to see, then some random stranger takes your graphic, claims that as their own, and sells it for profit. Thankfully, several companies have been founded and designed specifically to help solve this issue of copyright and intellectual property theft. There are also efforts in place that you've learned about, like open source projects that benefit from being on the Internet. In these cases, open collaboration allows a project to thrive. On top of privacy and copyright considerations, computer security is another issue that you may face in both your personal and professional life. More and more companies are being targeted in cybersecurity attacks. For example, the WannaCry attack that started in Europe, infected hundreds of thousands of computers across the world. The financial loss of that attack has been estimated at over a billion dollars. Hospital computers were even infected. In a critical life threatening moment, every second matters. Not being able to perform basic medical duties, like pulling medical records took time away from doctors and nurses, and more importantly, the lives of their patients. Before the WannaCry attack, there were lots of other worldwide attacks. In 2011, the Sony PlayStation network was attacked and around 77 million user accounts had personal information exposed. Everything from entire governments to businesses that handle the data of millions of people have been compromised. Computer security is no longer the job of specialized security engineers. It's everyone's responsibility. As an IT support specialist, you'll need to have a fundamental understanding of computer security. I spend every day working in security. I love working in the field because I get to help protect people and their devices from all over the globe.
Heather Adkins: keeping hackers out
My name is Heather Adkins. I'm director of information security and privacy here at Google. And our job is to keep the hackers out. Every day at Google for me is a new day. It's like a new job every day. Hackers are very interesting and very diverse in the way that they do things. They're either hacking for fun and fame because they're intellectually curious and they want to understand how things work. Or they're hacking for money because they want to steal money from people or they're hacking because they want to steal information. And so for us we try to understand how the hackers work so that we can understand what kinds of things we have to do to prevent them from doing it. You have to understand how the internals work, you have to understand how the programmer built it, and this is really thrilling. You get to ride alongside the programmer and understand what they were thinking when they were designing the software and anticipate what mistakes they might have made. We prepare for being hacked by understanding how hacking works. And this is often the most exciting part of our work because we get to break the systems and I think a lot of us who get into the field think what would it be like to rob a bank, what would it be like to hack into a system? And here we get to play the other side of that. So we have hackers of our own who hack our systems and tell us how they did it. And we also study how the actual attackers in the world are hacking other people. I think that the field of security is so exciting for us, those of us who do it as a profession, because it's changing all the time. That presents us with new challenges every single day. And it also appeals to us, I think because it means that we're protecting users. Google has a service offered to billions of people on the planet, and we do it because we want to protect them.
Learner Story: Melinda
The world changes. Things change. I was cleaning up the other day, and I was throwing away old disks from our first computer, those little floppy disks. Nobody use that anymore. But I thought floppy disks were cool back then. So if I weren't a lifelong learner, I'd still be stuck like that floppy disk. I believe it's never too late to go in a new direction, and I think IT is my thing. I think that's going to be my thing.
Interacting with Software
Managing Software
Program, software, and applications are terms that are synonymous with each other. For now, we'll go ahead and use the term software to refer to any of these. There are certain types of software that perform specific functions like drivers, which allow us to interact with our hardware. There are applications that we use for our day-to-day job functions. And there are utilities that we use like a calculator, settings, and other tools. With the seemingly endless options for software, how do we know which ones to use? How do we deal with them in a workplace setting and in our personal lives? Software is always changing. Developers are releasing updates. Software companies change, features are added, and so on. This constant change is completely out of our control and it can cause a lot of headaches in the IT world. Let's say the company that builds your payroll system pushes out a software update that causes settings to change, or even worse, completely breaks the compatibility with your own company. It can happen. You should always test new software before letting your company use it. Another thing to worry about is old software. When you run old software on your machine, you risk being exposed to cyber security attacks that take advantage of software bugs. A software bug is an error in software that causes unexpected results. For now, know that software updates usually contain critical security updates and new features and have better compatibility with your system. A good guideline is to update your software constantly. Another problem that plagues the IT world when it comes to software is software management. If you're setting up a computer for someone, you want to make sure that they'll have all the necessary tools they need to hit the ground running. That means you'll need to install all the software required for their job. That may also mean that sometimes you want to remove software that isn't required for the job. We may not realize if a piece of software we installed is malicious software, which causes harm to your computer. It's always a good idea to check if software comes from a reputable source before you install it. A common industry practice is to not allow users to install software without administrator approval. This prevents users from installing unwanted software because they're actually blocked with an error message that says they need an administrator to enter their login credentials. Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let's cover the basics of software management, which include installing, updating, and removing software.
Installing, Updating, and Removing Software on Windows
Get ready because in this video we're going to install a program called Git. Git is a version control system that helps keep track of changes made to files and directories like how some word processors today have a revision history feature. If you didn't like something you wrote you can just go back to a previous version. We're going to be using Git in later courses but for now we're just going to go ahead and install it. First, we're going to grab the install program from Git's website. We're going to download the 64-bit executable. Remember from an earlier lesson that we're using a 64-bit CPU architecture so we should install 64-bit applications for better compatibility. Next up you'll see the fileextension.exe. This is a little different than the texture image file extensions we've seen up until now. Exe is a file extension found in Windows for an executable file. We'll learn more about this in a later Lesson 2. For now, just double-click on this and it'll ask us if we want to install the file.
That's it. Now you can start using it. Some program installations might ask you to reboot. Make sure to do that since there might be some system files or processes that also need to restart for your new software to work correctly. To verify that you now have Git installed you can navigate to add or remove programs. From here you can see what applications are installed on the machine and there it is, Git Version 2.14.1. Let's say you had an older version of Git installed and you wanted to update it to the new version. Luckily, Windows makes it easy for us to do just that. We can install it just like we did and it'll ask if you want to upgrade to the newest version. To remove software from Windows you can just search for the Add or Remove Programs setting. From there select the application you want to remove and you'll see a button to uninstall. Let's go ahead and click this, and run through an uninstall of the software. It asks us for an administrator password. We have safety guards in place to prevent unauthorized users from installing or uninstalling software. We'll learn more about this later but for now, since I'm an administrator, I'm just going to enter my password and uninstall the software. Once you uninstall the software, restart your computer so we can do the necessary cleanup to completely get rid of it.
(Required)
en
Installing, Updating, and Removing Software on Linux
Now that you know how to install, update and remove software on Windows, let's do the same for Linux. Let's navigate back to the Git download page. Under the Linux page, you'll actually see many different ways to install Git, this is because the different Linux distributions use different package installers. Since we're using Ubuntu, we're just going to use this command apt install Git, apt is the command we use in Ubuntu's package manager, and the install option will let us install something. Let's go ahead and run this in our terminal.
Play video starting at ::38 and follow transcript0:38
We're getting an error that says permission denied. Like Windows, when we install something on a machine, we need to tell the computer that were authorized to install software. Right now, we can preface this command with another Linux command sudo, which stands for super user do. It asks us for a password. So let's add that in. We're getting a lot of output. It's just asking if we want to continue installing this application, and since we do, I'm going to say, y and Enter. To update a package, you do the exact same thing as we just did and install a newer software version. To remove a package, we could also use a command pretty similar to the install command except this time we want to remove a package. This asks us if we want to continue with these changes. Let's go ahead and type y and Enter, that's it. Now you know how to install, Update and remove software on Linux and Windows. Nice work
Software Automation
You're doing awesome. By now you've learned what software is, how it integrates with our computer, and how we manage it. It was easy to install, update, and remove software on one machine. But what if you had to do that for multiple machines? It would take up a lot of time. If only there was a way we could have it done automatically for us. Spoiler alert, there is. We use software to help us with this. There are lots of tools out there that help make managing computers easier. We use automation for this. Automation makes processes work automatically. You can even use the tools of automation like programs and scripts to help you with troubleshooting issues. Instead of reading hundreds of lines of log files manually to discover when a particular error occurred on a computer, you could write a script to read the log for you and print out only the relevant line. Software has many uses, including making processes more efficient and easier. You made it all the way through software, nice work. Next, you'll meet Marty Clarke. She's your instructor for troubleshooting and will talk to you about how good customer service is critical to IT support. In the meantime, work hard, soak up a ton of knowledge, and have some fun along the way.
Installing, Updating, and Removing Software in Windows
Introduction
This lab will teach you how to perform basic software maintenance on Windows machines. This includes installing software that's not already present on the machines, updating existing software to the newest version, and uninstalling software that‘s no longer needed. All of these tasks are very common in the IT world, so it's important that you're able to do them quickly and effectively.
Head's up: You'll experience a delay as the labs initially load (particularly for Windows labs). So, please wait a couple of minutes for the labs to load. The grade is calculated when the lab is complete, so be sure to hit "End Lab" when you're done!
You'll have 60 minutes to complete this lab.
What you'll do
There are three learning objectives for this lab:
-
Install- You'll install the Mozilla Firefox web browser. There's currently no version of Firefox on the machine you'll be using, so it will be a fresh installation.
-
Update- The machine you'll be using comes preinstalled with an old version of the VLC Media Player. You'll update VLC to the newest version.
-
Uninstall- You'll uninstall the GIMP photo-editing tool from the machine, removing it entirely.
Verifying Windows configuration
The first steps of this lab will be to verify that the initial software setup, or "configuration," of programs on your machines is correct. These should already be set exactly as you'll need them, but it's important to know how to check for this information when working in an IT role.
You'll verify that Mozilla Firefox isn't installed on your Windows machine, and that both GIMP and version 3.0.8 of VLC Media Player are installed.
Start the lab
You'll need to start the lab before you can access the materials. To do this, click the green "Start Lab" button at the top of the screen. If you use a screen reader, please see the instructions below, in the section "Virtual Machine instructions for screen reader users". Otherwise, proceed to the next steps to open the Windows VM.
After you click the "Start Lab" button, you will see a panel appear below where the start lab button was that has an Open Windows VM button.
Click the Open Windows VM button and a new tab will open with a visual interface for Windows OS, where you will be performing further steps in the lab. You should have a visual interface for Windows that looks like this:
Verifying initial setup on Windows
To verify whether or not a program is installed in Windows, click the Search icon in the bottom-left of the taskbar, and start typing "Apps & Features" to search (as shown below). Then, click "Apps & Features." You can also right-click on the Start icon, and click on "Apps & Features" at the top of the menu.
This will bring up the Apps & Features, which shows a list of every program that's installed on the computer.
By looking at this applet, you can see that Mozilla software isn't present, so we know that it's not currently installed. Similarly, we can see that VLC and GIMP are both already installed, so we're ready to proceed. Note that the installed version of VLC is 3.0.8; this isn't the most recent version, so we'll update it later on in this lab.
Maintaining software on Windows
Now that we know that the Windows instance is properly configured (i.e. we have verified that Mozilla is not installed, but VLC and GIMP are both already installed), you can move on to the hands-on part of the lab; maintaining the software.
Installing Mozilla Firefox
First, you'll install the Mozilla Firefox browser in the Windows instance. To install Firefox, you need to download the Windows installer from the Firefox website. To do this, double-click the Google Chrome icon on the left side of the desktop screen, and navigate to this url:
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/
From this site, click the "Download" link to download the installer.
Once the installation finishes, click the installer icon in the bottom-left side of the browser window.
This launches the installer, and starts the installation process. Click "Yes" if Windows asks if you wish to install it, and the installer should open and begin.
Click "Next" through any options that appear during the installation process. Wait for this process to finish, and Mozilla will be installed. A shortcut to Firefox will be added to the desktop, and you can double-click it to open your newly installed browser.
Congratulations! You've now done a "clean install" of software using Windows. Pretty simple, right? Next, you'll configure the updates for software already installed on your machine.
Click Check my progress to verify the objective.
Install Mozilla Firefox
Updating VLC Media Player
We saw before that an old version of VLC Media Player is already installed on the Windows VM we're using. This is an old version; we'll now learn how to update it in Windows. First, you need to get an installer for the new version from VLC's website. Open the link below to download the installer:
https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html
Click on drop-down menu beside "Download VLC" and select "Installer for 64bit version" and wait for the installer to finish downloading.
Once done, click on the installer to open it (like you did for Firefox).
Once the installer opens, choose whichever language you're comfortable with, then click "Next" to begin the process.
Choose "Upgrade VLC using previous settings(recommended)" and then click "Next". A progress bar appears and the upgrade process begins.
When the process is finished, a confirmation message will appear. Uncheck the option to run VLC, then click "Finish" to close the installer.
Reopen the "Apps & Features" window and you'll see that VLC is now at the latest version.
Click Check my progress to verify the objective.
Update VLC
Uninstalling GIMP
Uninstalling a program on Windows is super simple. Navigate back to "Apps & Features" and right click on the program you want to remove (i.e. GIMP). A single-item dropdown menu should appear:
Click on the "Uninstall" option in the dropdown. A confirmation menu will appear, asking if you're sure you want to proceed. Click "Yes" and the uninstallation process will begin.
When this process finishes, a confirmation menu will appear. Clicking "OK" on that menu will close it, and GIMP should no longer appear on the list of installed programs. This completes the uninstallation process.
Click Check my progress to verify the objective.
Uninstall GIMP
Congratulations!
You've successfully installed Firefox, updated VLC, and uninstalled GIMP on a Windows machine. Wohoo! You've completed this lab, but please feel free to return to it if you ever need a refresher.
End your lab
Installing, Updating and Removing Software in Linux
Installing, Updating and Removing Software in Linux
Introduction
This lab will teach you how to perform basic software maintenance on Linux machines. This includes installing software that's not already present on the machines, updating existing software to the newest version, and uninstalling software that‘s no longer needed. All of these tasks are very common in the IT world, so it's important that you're able to do them quickly and effectively.
Heads up: Remember to click "End Lab" when you're done so you get a grade for the lab.
You'll have 60 minutes to complete this lab.
What you'll do
There are three learning objectives for this lab:
-
Update- The machine you'll be using comes preinstalled with an old version of the VLC Media Player. You'll update VLC to the newest version.
-
Install- You'll install the Mozilla Firefox web browser. There's currently no version of Firefox on the machine you'll be using, so it will be a fresh installation.
-
Uninstall - You'll uninstall the GIMP photo-editing tool from the machine, removing it entirely.
Verifying Linux configuration
Heads up: Many of the commands you'll use in this section start with the word "sudo". This is not specific to these tasks; it's used across Linux to tell the operating system that you're the "superuser". This grants you permissions to perform sensitive operations, like installing or uninstalling software. You may be prompted for a password to prove that you're authorized to do this.
Start the lab
You'll need to start the lab before you can access the materials. To do this, click the green “Start Lab” button at the top of the screen.
After you click the “Start Lab” button, you will see a shell, where you will be performing further steps in the lab. You should have a shell that looks like this:
Verifying installed software on Linux
To quickly check if a program is installed on Linux, you can use the command "dpkg -s" followed by the unique package name for that program. The "-s" flag in dpkg stands for "search," which allows you to search for a program on your machine and check if it's installed. For example, we know that Firefox isn't currently installed, but GIMP is. Running "dpkg -s firefox-esr" shows this output:
dpkg -s firefox-esr
dpkg-query: package 'firefox-esr' is not installed and no information is available Use dpkg --info (= dpkg-deb --info) to examine archive files.
This shows you that Firefox isn't currently installed on the system. To check GIMP, modify the earlier command and enter "dpkg -s GIMP" to see the output below. (Note that only part of the output is shown.)
dpkg -s gimp
Package: gimp Status: install ok installed Priority: optional Section: graphics Installed-Size: 19016 Maintainer: Debian GNOME Maintainers < pkg-gnome-maintainers@lists.alioth.debian.org > Architecture: amd64 Version: 2.10.8-2 Replaces: gimp-plugin-registry (<< 7.20140602+nmu1~)
You can see that the status of gimp is "installed". As long as you know the package name, you can use "dpkg" to check the status of any program.
Running "dpkg -s vlc" shows you that vlc is installed, but also that the version is out-of-date. (Version 2.2.7 is installed, but the newest version is at least 3.0.12)
dpkg -s vlc
Package: vlc Status: install ok installed Priority: optional Section: video Installed-Size: 4667 Maintainer: Debian Multimedia Maintainers < pkg-multimedia-maintainers@lists.alioth.debian.org > Architecture: amd64 Version: 2.2.7-1~deb8u1
Updating VLC Media Player
VLC media player is already installed on your computer, but the version that's installed is out-of-date. You'll fix that now by updating it to the newest version. To do that, force an update of the package manager, using this command:
sudo apt-get install -f
This kicks off the update process. It will print out lots of text to your terminal, and ask you if you'd like to continue. Enter "y" for "yes". When the process is finished, type "dpkg -s vlc" again to verify the installation.
dpkg -s vlc
Package: vlc Status: install ok installed Priority: optional Section: video Installed-Size: 225 Maintainer: Debian Multimedia Maintainers < debian-multimedia@lists.debian.org > Architecture: amd64 Version: 3.0.12-0+deb10u1 Provides: mp3-decoder
You can see here that VLC has been updated to a newer version (3.0.12 was the newest at the time this screenshot was taken). Your version should be at least 3.0.12, but could be higher if newer versions have been released.
Click Check my progress to verify the objective.
Update VLC
Installing Mozilla Firefox
Let's install the Mozilla Firefox web browser. Parts of this process will be unique to this specific installation, but most of the steps you'll take will be identical, regardless of the software.
Lots of common programs, including Firefox, are set up in repositories that most Linux distributions are aware of, by default. This makes installing these programs super easy, and allows you to bypass having to manually download and install the program. To make sure these repositories are up-to-date and all dependencies are fixed, run this command in the terminal (you will have to enter the letter "Y" at some point during the process to confirm your action):
sudo apt-get update
This will start the repository update process, which should look something like this when it's finished:
Hit:1 http://deb.debian.org/debian buster InRelease Hit:2 http://deb.debian.org/debian buster-updates InRelease Hit:3 http://security.debian.org/debian-security buster/updates InRelease Reading package lists... Done
Now you're ready to install Firefox. Run the command below in the terminal:
sudo apt-get install firefox-esr
You'll be prompted to confirm that you‘d like to continue with the installation. To continue, enter "y" (as in "yes") into the terminal, and hit "enter". For future reference, to cancel the installation process, you'd just enter anything other than "y".
Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done The following additional packages will be installed: libdbus-glib-1-2 libevent-2.1-6 Suggested packages: fonts-stix | otf-stix fonts-lmodern libcanberra0 pulseaudio The following NEW packages will be installed: firefox-esr libdbus-glib-1-2 libevent-2.1-6 0 upgraded, 3 newly installed, 0 to remove and 22 not upgraded. Need to get 56.2 MB of archives. After this operation, 205 MB of additional disk space will be used. Do you want to continue? [Y/n] Y
After confirming the installation, the terminal will briefly fill with lines of text. Once this process is complete, Firefox will be installed on your instance. To verify that it's installed, enter "dpkg -s firefox-esr" into the terminal window again, and you'll see different output than before:
dpkg -s firefox-esr
Package: firefox-esr Status: install ok installed Priority: optional Section: web Installed-Size: 199236 Maintainer: Maintainers of Mozilla-related packages < team+pkg-mozilla@tracker.debian.org > Architecture: amd64 Version: 78.12.0esr-1~deb10u1 Provides: gnome-www-browser, www-browser
You can see that the status is listed as "installed", meaning that the process was successfully completed. Wohoo! Now you can move onto updating software.
Click Check my progress to verify the objective.
Install Mozilla Firefox
Uninstalling GIMP
When it's no longer necessary to have a specific program installed on your computer, it's usually a good idea to uninstall it to clear up space. Now, you'll uninstall the GIMP photo-editing software, removing it from the computer completely.
GIMP, like Firefox, can be installed and uninstalled using the "apt-get" commands that you used to install Firefox. To uninstall GIMP, a very similar command is used:
sudo apt-get remove gimp
This command will kick off the process of uninstalling GIMP from your instance. Shortly after starting, it will prompt you to confirm the uninstallation. Enter "y" to confirm, and the process will begin:
The following packages will be REMOVED: gimp 0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 1 to remove and 22 not upgraded. After this operation, 19.5 MB disk space will be freed. Do you want to continue? [Y/n] Y
After receiving your confirmation, the process will continue and GIMP will be uninstalled. You can verify that the process was successful by running the same command we used to verify its installation ("dpkg -s gimp"). You'll receive the following message. (Only part of the message is shown below.) Note the this message shows that GIMP has been "deinstalled".
dpkg -s gimp
dpkg-query: package 'gimp' is not installed and no information is available Use dpkg --info (= dpkg-deb --info) to examine archive files.
This confirms that GIMP was successfully removed from your computer.
Click Check my progress to verify the objective.
Uninstall GIMP
Congratulations!
You've successfully installed Firefox, updated VLC, and uninstalled GIMP on a Linux machine. Sweet! You've completed this lab, but please feel free to return to it if you ever need a refresher.
End your lab
Introduction to Software
Module Introduction
Hi. My name is Phelan Vendeville, and I'm a Systems Engineer in the Site Reliability Organization at Google. I'm really excited to be your instructor for the next few lessons. Before we jump in, I'll kick things off by telling you a little bit about myself. My passion for technology began in high school which was located in a geographically isolated part of California. This isolation meant that technology and the Internet played an important role in bringing the outside world to students and connecting them with ideas and opportunities by things like virtual field trips and remote learning. For example, I remember preparing for the SATs through digital classroom sessions, which would have been impossible to attend in person. After high school, I enlisted in the US Navy as an Information Systems Technician responsible for maintaining computer and network systems. I continued to witness the ways technology brings people together, whether that meant coordinating ship movements during training exercises or connecting loved ones on long deployments via video chat. Lots of people use technologies in various ways every day, but relatively few understand how it works. A career in IT can be challenging, as I can attest to personally. I can still remember the horror I felt after blowing up the power supply of a master chief's computer by using the wrong voltage switch. But a career in IT can be incredibly rewarding when you can do things like recover irreplaceable family photos from a failing hard-drive. As an IT support specialist, you'll be in a position to not only know how a given piece of technology functions, but also how to help fix it when it breaks. This means you'll have a direct impact on the flow of information going between people. Which is pretty cool. I'm excited to teach you about the third layer of computer architecture, known as software. Software is how we, as users directly interact with our computer. The operating system that we interact with is just software. The music programs, word processors, and more that we use every day are also software. But what exactly is it? If the hardware is the physical stuff that you can pick up and hold, software is the intangible instructions that tell the hardware what to do. In the next lesson, we're going to deep dive more into what software is, how we install it, and how it works.
How software is built: Coding, scripting, and programming
Video games, music players, and Internet browsers are all different types of software that have completely different functions. Think of the apps on your phone and your laptop. We spent a lot of time interacting with this type of software, but we may not know how it actually works or gets added to our systems. In the last few videos, we learned about networking in the internet. There are tons of applications out there that require the Internet to work. Think about it. Your social media apps, messaging apps, and others run off the Internet. This Internet integration isn't just magically added to your application, it's built-in to require it to function. Before we go too far into the world of software, I want to call out some common terms related to software that you might hear. Coding, scripting, and programming are all terms that might seem a little blurry. They generally refer to the same thing, but they each have small distinctions. Coding is basically translating one language to another. This can be coding from English to Spanish, English to Morse code, or even English to a computer language. When someone builds an application, we refer to it as coding in application. Scripting is coding in a scripting language. We'll talk about scripting languages in a later lesson, but scripts are mainly used to perform a single or limited-range task. There are languages we can use to build these. Programming is coding in a programming language. Programming languages are special languages that software developers use to write instructions for computers to execute. Larger applications like your web browser, text editors, and music players, are all usually written in programming languages. When we use the term software, it generally refers to something that was programmed. We use these terms interchangeably, so don't sweat the details. Now, onwards and upwards. What is software made of and who builds it? It's a great question. Anyone who knows a programming or scripting language can use it to write code. There's a huge demand for this skill set and it's becoming easier for someone to learn to code. If you're going to be working in IT, it's important that you understand how software works and how it gets installed on your systems. You might encounter software errors or just good old-fashioned failures, and you need to understand how to deal with them.
Common Scripting Solutions
In this reading, you will learn about a variety of scripting languages, their uses, and their risks. As an IT Support professional, you may need to automate routine tasks. For example, you might want to automate a backup of company data that runs every night. You might also need to automate high volume tasks, like changing security access settings on thousands of files. Scripting is a common tool used for automation. This tool can help IT Support staff save time and resources in a busy enterprise work environment.
Scripting languages
There are many scripting languages available to use for a variety of tasks in different operating system environments. Most scripts are written in command line environments.
Scripting languages for Windows environments:
-
PowerShell (.ps1) - Windows PowerShell is among the most common command line scripting tools used in Windows environments. PowerShell is built on the .NET platform and employs many of the same elements that programming languages do. PowerShell scripts are used for building, testing, and deploying solutions, in addition to automating system management.
-
Batch scripts (.bat) - Batch scripts, also called batch files, have been around since the early days of MS DOS and OS/2. Batch files can execute simple tasks, like calling a set of programs to run when a computer boots up. This type of script could be useful in setting up employees’ workspaces when they power on their computers.
-
Visual Basic Script (.vbs) - Visual Basic Script is an older scripting language. It has reached its end of life for Microsoft support and has been replaced by PowerShell scripts. However, as an IT professional, you may encounter .vbs scripts on some legacy systems.
Scripting languages for Linux and Unix environments:
-
Shell script (.sh) - Shell scripting languages, like Bash, are used in Unix or Linux environments. The scripts are often used to manipulate files, including changing file security settings, creating, copying, editing, renaming and deleting files. They can also be used to execute programs, print, navigate the operating system, and much more. The scripts run in command-line interpreter (CLI) shells, such as the Bourne shell, Bourne Again SHell (Bash), C shell, and Korn (KSH) shell.
Programming languages that can be used for scripting:
-
JavaScript (.js) - JavaScript the most used programming language in the world. It is a lightweight language that is used for scripting in web development, mobile and web apps, games, and more. It can also be used to develop software and automate web server functions.
-
Python (.py) - Python is a user-friendly programming language that can perform advanced tasks and import modules from libraries specially designed for automation scripts.
Scripting uses - finding the right tool for the job
-
Basic automation: Python is an excellent script for automation. It’s one of the most commonly used, with many available automation libraries.
-
Restarting machines: Many power users use PowerShell (.ps1) scripts to restart machines (Windows). For Linux machines, they can use .sh (shell) scripts.
-
Mapping network drives: In the past, mapping network drives was accomplished with .bat or .vbs scripts. However, PowerShell scripts are most commonly used to map drives in Windows environments today. For Linux users, shell scripts can be used for this purpose.
-
Installing applications: Batch files and shell scripts are often used for automated software installation.
-
Automated Backups: Windows PowerShell and Linux/Unix shell scripts can automate backups.
-
Gathering of information and data: Python is a popular choice for gathering data. Python has many available libraries to help with this task.
-
Initiating Updates: Powershell and shell scripts can be used for initiating updates in Windows and Linux, respectively.
Security risks of using scripts
IT Support professionals need to be very careful when using scripts, especially with prewritten scripts copied or downloaded from the internet. Some of the security risks of using scripts could include:
-
Unintentionally introducing malware: As an IT Support professional that is new to scripting, you may try to search the internet for assistance in writing scripts. In your search, you might find a script online for a task that you want to automate. It’s tempting to save time and effort by downloading the script and deploying it in your network environment. However, this is dangerous because scripts authored by an unverified source could potentially contain malware. Malicious scripts could have the power to delete files, corrupt data and software, steal confidential information, disable systems, and even bring down an entire network. Malicious scripts can create security weaknesses for the purpose of creating entry points for cybercriminals to penetrate networks. Scripts could also introduce ransomware attacks, which often works by encrypting file systems and then selling the decryption keys for ransom.
-
Inadvertently changing system settings: Scripts are powerful tools for changing system settings. Using the wrong script can cause the user to inadvertently configure harmful settings. For example, one minor typo in a shell script that sets file permission security in Linux could make confidential files accessible to the world.
-
Browser or system crashes due to mishandling of resources: Mishandling resources can lead to program crashes in the browser or cause the entire computer to crash. For example, directing too much memory to the browser can overload the computer system.
Key takeaways
A basic knowledge of scripting is an important tool for IT professionals. You may need to improve workflow efficiency by automating basic functions with a scripting language. Some common scripting languages include:
-
Windows environments: batch scripts (.bat), Powershell (.ps1), Visual Basic Script (.vbs)
-
Linux/Unix environments: shell scripts (.sh)
-
Most OS environments: javascript (.js), Python (.py)
Scripts have multiple helpful uses, such as:
-
Basic Automation
-
Restarting Machines
-
Remapping Network Drives
-
Installing Applications
-
Automating Backups
-
Gathering of information/ data
-
Initiating Updates
There are risks in using scripts, including:
-
Unintentionally introducing malware
-
Inadvertently changing system settings
-
Browser or system crashes due to mishandling of resources
Resources for more information
For more information about scripting languages, please visit:
Scripting Languages
Scripting languages allow a coding professional to create scripts that execute tasks. Often, this is a useful method for automating tasks that don’t require human interaction or interpretation so that you can reduce the workload of your staff. If you're interested in a career as a coding professional, it can be beneficial to learn about common and practical scripting languages.
In this article, we discuss what a scripting language is, share the difference between scripting and programming languages, list 14 of the top scripting languages and offer tips for learning how to script.
What is a scripting language?
A scripting language is a coding language that offers a method of creating commands that do not require compilation. Instead, the scripting language runs through an interpreter that translates the script into actions. Scripting languages often facilitate automation within an organization to increase efficiency. Information that anyone enters in a scripting language executes sequentially from the top of the code to the bottom, following any protocols of the scripting language.
Scripting languages can fall into two broad categories:
-
Client-side: Client-side scripting languages focus on the parts of a website or web application that the end user (or client) interacts with directly.
-
Server-side: Server-side scripting languages interact directly with and run on the server. These scripts are typically invisible to the end user.
What's the difference between scripting and programming languages?
If your career involves coding, it's important to understand how scripting languages and programming languages differ. Although some use the two terms interchangeably, there are important differences between the two, including:
-
Compiled versus interpreted: One key difference between scripting and programming languages is whether they're compiled or interpreted. Programming languages are compiled, allowing the machine that's accessing them to translate them directly with no intermediary interpreter.
-
Execution speed: Programming languages often provide faster execution speeds for task completion than a scripting language. This occurs because of the benefits of executing a compiled program and not relying on an interpreter.
-
Purposes: The purposes of the two types of languages can overlap, but there are also differences. Generally, professionals use programming languages for a variety of applications, while they use scripting languages mainly for web application development.
-
Simplicity: Although scripting allows a coder to complete tasks in many situations, professionals often use it for simpler tasks. This can help make it easier to learn than the average programming language.
-
Amount of code: The simplicity of scripting languages can be beneficial when seeking to create shorter pieces of code. Completed scripts are often shorter than completed programs, allowing a coder to complete them more quickly.
-
Portability: Because scripting languages rely on an interpreter and do not need to be compiled prior to execution, they are often transferable across multiple operating systems. Programming languages, conversely, often require specific compilations for each operating system.
14 scripting languages
(just learn python+c#+java)
If you're interested in a career in coding, learning about these languages may help:
1. JavaScript
JavaScript is one of the most common scripting languages. JavaScript is a high-level, text-based scripting language that can operate on either the client side or the server side. Web developers can use JavaScript, which works with HTML and CSS, to add interactive elements to websites.
2. PHP
PHP is another popular scripting language. PHP stands for Hypertext Preprocessor, which is a general-purpose, open-source scripting language. While PHP has become less prominent in web design as new developers have created new languages, many developers still use it because of its broad application and strong security.
3. Python
Another widely used scripting language is Python, which professionals can use for both scripting and programming. Because of its simple syntax, Python is known for being relatively easy to learn and understand, making it ideal for beginners. Some applications of Python include artificial intelligence, web development, mobile application development and operating systems.
4. Perl
Perl is a general-purpose, back-end scripting language that professionals frequently use to process text files, and they can also use it for web development and database management. Perl shares many structural similarities to programming in C languages. This can make it an excellent option for transitioning to scripting languages.
5. Ruby
Ruby is an object-oriented language known for its simple syntax. Developers can use Ruby to create web applications, and the language is also useful for data analysis and other purposes. It is a popular scripting language in the professional world, making it a valuable option for an aspiring code professional to learn.
6. Bash
Computer programmers can also create scripts with Bash, which is a Unix command language. One of the most common uses of Bash is accessing files and completing tasks through the command line. Because the syntax of Bash is simple and intuitive, this scripting language is fairly easy to learn.
7. R
R is a scripting language that's especially popular in statistics and data analysis. You can also use R to graph data, making this language popular with data scientists, statisticians and other professionals who work with data. The R language works in the R environment as well as in other development environments and platforms.
8. Lua
Lua is an embeddable scripting language. It has a diverse range of programming methods and applications, making it a versatile scripting language to learn. Lua is a popular scripting choice for use in the development of game engines, which allow video game developers to create systems in which they can design their games.
9. Emacs Lisp
Emacs Lisp is a scripting language originally designed for use with eMac computers. Although eMac computers are no longer in production, the language can still be a valuable learning aid because of its relationship with other scripting languages. It is particularly relevant to coders with an interest in working on Unix machines and with the command line.
10. Groovy
Groovy is a scripting language with a syntax similar to Java. Greedy makes use of a dot-separated notation and can carry out complex tasks when needed. Professionals often use Groovy for web development projects, and it can complete a range of tasks within a web design.
11. PowerShell
PowerShell is a command-line scripting language that can work with many platforms. Although you may use it for other tasks, PowerShell primarily serves to automate computer tasks. This frees up time for yourself or others in the organization to work on other projects.
12. VBA
VBA is a domain-specific scripting language and stands for Visual Basic for Applications. Professionals primarily use it as a scripting addition to Microsoft applications. For example, you may create a macro in Excel that completes multiple tasks on a single button press, with VBA providing the scripting to execute the actions.
13. GML
GML is a scripting language for the Game Maker Studios line of development software. Game Maker Studio is an engine for creating computer games that combine both visual layout and scripting. Although developers do not require scripting skills to use Game Maker Studio due to the inclusion of plug-and-play buttons, learning to script in GML significantly expands your options when creating a game in Game Maker Studios.
14. VBScript
VBScript is a scripting language based on the Visual Basic suite of computer programs. VBScript can create code for both online and client-side implementation. Although VBScript has decreased in prominence in recent years, it is a foundational scripting language for some developers.
Tips for learning scripting languages
If you’re interested in learning a scripting language, these tips can help you do so effectively:
-
Think about your goals. Consider what your intentions are as a coding professional when choosing which scripting languages to learn. Adapting your language studies to match those which align with your objectives can make your study more effective.
-
Use online guides. When learning to code, online resources and courses can be an excellent place to begin. Often, these courses are available for free and provide a comprehensive understanding of the language and potentially a certification or credentials as well.
-
Consider a formal education. Although a degree in computer science is not a requirement when seeking to work as a coding professional, it may still be beneficial. Earning a degree may be useful when applying to coding positions, and it allows you to gain a high-quality education from a college or university.
-
Practice your scripting skills. Practical learning is an effective way to learn a new scripting language for most coding professionals. By writing practice programs, you learn how to apply your scripting knowledge, and the process of troubleshooting can help you further strengthen your understanding of the language and how it works.
-
Search when you are stuck. If you encounter a problem during your scripting and you do not know the solution, online resources may help. Most scripting languages have active communities with a simple search for your problem, providing you with links to multiple articles or forum posts discussing the issue which you may apply to fix your script.
Types of Software
When you write content, create a piece of art, or engineer something, your work is protected for your use and distribution. There's usually some other caveats depending on the laws in your country. But in general, copyright is used when creating original work. Software that's written is also protected by copyright. Software developers can choose what they do with their software. For commercial software, it's common to let someone else use their software if they pay for a license. For non-commercial software, a popular option is making it open source. This means that developers will let other developers share, modify, and distribute their software for free. Score, some amazing software efforts have been developed and advanced because of open source. One major example is the Linux kernel, which is used in the Android OS, and in enterprise and personal computers. Hundreds of millions of devices are running Linux at this very second. LibreOffice, GIMP, and Firefox are other examples of open-source software. Open-source projects are usually contributed by developers who work on the project for free in their free time. These massive software development efforts were essentially built by a community of volunteers. How great is that? In an IT environment, you'll have to pay special attention to the types of software you use. Some may require you to pay multiple licenses to use it, others might be free and open source. It's important to check the license agreement of any software before you install it. We've talked about some of the basics of software, but now let's shift to the two types of software you'll encounter categorized by function. Application software is any software created to fulfill a specific need, like a text editor, web browser, or graphic editor. System software is software used to keep our core system running, like operating system tools and utilities. There's also a type of system software that we haven't defined yet called firmware. Firmware is software that's permanently stored on a computer component. Can you think of a firmware that we've talked about already? If you thought of the BIOS, you're right. The BIOS helps start up the hardware on your computer, and also helps load up your operating system, so it's important that it's in a permanent location. I should also call out software versions. These are important because they tell us what features were added to a specific software iteration. You'll encounter lots of software versions while you work with software. Developers might sometimes use a different standard when distinguishing a version, but in general, the majority of versions follow a sequential numbering trend. You might see something like this, 1.2.5 or 1.3.4. Which of these do you think is the newer version? It's 1.3.4 because it's a larger number than 1.2.5. You can read more about software versioning in the supplemental reading. You'll have to work with all kinds of software. Fortunately, it basically all works the same way. Once you learn how one piece of software works, you'll understand how others might function.
Supplemental Reading for Software Versioning
For more information about software versioning, click here. (its wikipedia :D)
Heads up: A big part of being successful in an IT role is the ability to be a self-led learner -- someone who finds key resources and reads up on the latest tech trends and solutions. The supplemental readings we’ve provided have been designed to show you just some of the support materials available to you online; they’re not meant to be considered a comprehensive list. Feel free to add to the conversation by posting other useful resources for learners to this forum thread.
Revisiting Abstracting
Earlier in this course, we talked about how programs are instructions that are given to a CPU. We can send binary code or bits to our CPU, then they'll use an instruction set to run those commands. But these CPUS might be from different manufacturers and may have different instructions. There might even be all kinds of different hardware components like video cards and hard drives that also have their own special interfaces. So how do we write a program that the hardware can understand? Well, one way would be to write a program for each possible combination of CPU and hardware using the native languages and interfaces of these components, but there are potentially millions of possible configurations of hardware. So how do we get anything to work with all this complex and diverse hardware? Well, thanks to the efforts of computer scientists and the principle of abstraction, we can now use programming languages to write instructions that can be run on any hardware.
Recipe for Computing
Remember that in the 1950s, computer scientists used punch cards to store programs. These punch cards represented bits that the CPU would read and then perform a series of instructions based on what the program was. The binary code could have looked like this, and the instructions will be translated to this, grab some input data from this location in memory. Using the input data, do some math, then put some output data into this location in memory. But storing programs on punch cards was a long and tedious task. The programs had to be kept on stacks and stacks of punch cards. Computer scientists needed a better way to send instructions to a machine, but how? Eventually a language was invented called assembly language, that allowed computer scientists to use human readable instructions assembled into code that the machines could understand. Instead of generating binary code, computer scientists could program using machine instructions like this. Take integer from register 1, take integer from register 2, add integer from register 1 and register 2 and output to register 4. This example makes it look like a human could read it, but don't be fooled. Let's take an example of saying something simple like, hello world in assembly language. It looks pretty robotic, don't get me wrong that's still an improvement over its binary code cousin. But assembly language was still a thin veil from machine code. It's still didn't let computer programmers use real human words to build a program, and a program that was written for a specific CPU could only be run on that CPU or family of CPUs. A program was needed that could run on many types of CPUs, enter compiled programming languages. A compiled programming language uses human readable instructions and sends them through a compiler. The compiler takes the human instructions and compiles them into machine instructions. Admiral Grace Hopper invented this to help make programming easier. Compilers are a key component to programming and helped pave the road that led us to today's modern computing. Thanks to compilers, we can now use something like this, and it would be the same thing as this. Computer scientists have developed hundreds of programming languages in the past couple of decades to try and abstract the different CPU instructions into simpler commands. Along the way, another type of language emerged that was interpreted rather than compiled, interpreted languages aren't compiled ahead-of-time. A file that has code written in one of these languages is usually called a script. The script is run by an interpreter which interprets the code into CPU instructions just in time to run them. You'll learn how to write code using a scripting language later in this program as an IT support specialist, scripting can help you by harnessing the power of a computer to perform tasks on your behalf, allowing you to solve a problem once and then move on to the next thing. Programming languages are used to create programs that can be run to perform a task or many tasks.
Phelan: Learning IT in the Navy
In high school, I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do yet, but when I joined the US Navy, one of the options for job was an information systems technician. Information technology and the Navy can be pretty exciting. You get to be very resourceful if you're out on a deployment in the desert. Perhaps, you have to use the tools that you have at hand to get the job done. So I remember being in a server room in a tent with the sand blowing in and we'd occasionally have to take out the servers and then reverse the vacuum and blow the dust and sand out of the server to make sure that they kept working. So obviously I can't go into too much specifics and details but in the Navy, one of my favorite technology moments was when the command came down that we needed to do this thing and I had to write a program to actually do it. And I've never written a program before. And I was like, okay, I mean, I'll try. And so I did the research, I did the learning, I figured it out, I wrote the program it ran, and it did the thing that I wanted it to do. And I was so satisfied. That was an amazing experience. I made this thing from nothing and it actually performed the action that I wanted it to, which was pretty cool.
Troubeshooting best practices
Module Introduction
You've already learned about the hardware, operating systems, and software layers of the computer architecture model. Now it's time to learn about the most important layer, the user layer. Troubleshooting problems and solid communication with users, may be one of the most challenging parts of your job as an IT support specialist. But by the end of this module, you'll know the best way to handle them. Fixing problems and creating positive interactions with people, are two fundamental skills that can be applied to almost any situation in the IT world and beyond. Knowing how to analyze an issue, identifying the causes and effects, and use the information to find potential solutions, are skills that everyone from IT support specialist to doctors can use. Hi, I'm Marti Clark, and I'm a manager with Google's internal IT Support Program. Even though I grew up around technology and worked at my university's help desk, going into tech wasn't something that was encouraged by my teachers, or my family. Now as a manager, I try to encourage all techs I work with to follow their passion. It's this passion to help others grow and my love for technology that led me here. Helping people with technology is both rewarding, and challenging endeavor. I encourage my team to take advantage of their work with users to spin up ideas, solutions, and opportunities for improvement. The technical aspects of problem solving are super useful. But don't forget the real reason most technology exists is to improve people's lives. Whether it's the routing algorithm that form the backbone of the internet, or the software tools that let people create amazing art. The ways that people interact with technology are central to IT. As an IT support specialist, you're uniquely positioned to combine technology and people know-how to make those interactions better, and make a difference in people's day-to-day lives.
Ask Questions!
How would you respond if I asked you, do you know how long it'll take me to get to the bank? You'd probably ask, where are you, where's the bank? Are you walking, driving, biking? But if you just guessed the details of my situation to direct me to the bank, your response would be a day late and $1 short. It seems such a natural thing to ask questions and gather information to solve a problem. But it's usually one of those most overlooked steps and troubleshooting. Troubleshooting is the ability to diagnose and resolve a problem. One of the most difficult skills to acquire in an IT role isn't technical knowledge, but effective troubleshooting. Rather that's helping someone face-to-face or remotely. It's not specific to the IT world either. We use troubleshooting skills everyday. My car is broken, the light bulb went out. I feel sick. Imagine if you went to your doctor and said, I feel sick and without any other information, he gives you a prescription for allergy medicine, time to find a new doctor. Well, this might seem far-fetched. This can happen pretty often in the IT world. We're so in the habit of fixing things that sometimes we try to fix something without diagnosing it first. We're going to give you the tools you need to develop good troubleshooting habits. No matter how big or small the problem is, the first thing to do in troubleshooting is, ask questions. There are a lot of factors that can cause a problem. You want to make sure you gather all your data before you start to tinker with it. Over the next several videos, we're going to demonstrate real-world in-person and remote troubleshooting scenarios. For the in-person scenarios, you'll meet Gail and Marty. And yes, we have another Marty joining us. But he spelled his name with a y and I still mine with an i, confusing. I know. Please keep in mind these are not professional actors. We want to give you the opportunity to see how these different scenarios would play out in real-world settings. Let's look at a quick scenario of a not so awesome troubleshooting interaction and an awesome one.
Avrage Apple customer:
My computer's broken.
Apple:
This looks bad. I think you're going to need a new computer. It's going to be about a 1,000 bucks.
avrage user talking with good it guy
My computer's broken.
Gigga Chad:
Can you tell me a little bit more about how it's broken? Does it turn on at all? Has there been any damage to it lately that you know of? Well, when I hit the power button, I hear a Ding, but nothing comes up on screen. Oh, okay. Can I take a look? Sure. Let me just see what's going on here.
You know what, the brightness was turned down. These brightness buttons are a little bit fiddly and it's easy to hit them by accident. There you are. Great. Thank you. You're welcome. If we didn't ask follow-up questions, we wouldn't have realized the issue is something as small as screen being dim, but it's important that you're able to gather enough information to start troubleshooting an issue, whether it's big or small. With a little digging, we're able to understand the situation and effectively troubleshoot the issue. What's also really important to call out from the scenario is the tact and make the user feel silly for not realizing the screens brightness was down. Can you think about a time someone made you feel silly or even dumb? It's a pretty terrible feeling. Don't be that person that does it to someone else. Remember, IT support is about working in the service of others. Always try to create a positive experience for the user, will deep dive into customer service later on. In the meantime, I'll see you back in the next video on isolating the problem.
Isolating the Problem
Now that we have the ask-questions approach nailed down let's cover another effective troubleshooting method , isolating the problem. The goal of this method is to shrink the scope of the potential issue. Let's start with a simple game. I have a number I'm thinking of that's less than 100. Can you figure out what it is? You have five questions you can ask me. As you might have guessed, just guessing a number isn't the way to go. Is it 5? No. Is it 7? No. Your odds of figuring it out this way are super low. Instead, you should be shrinking the scope of where the number could be. You could ask, is it greater than 50? No. We know the number is 50 or less. We've just isolated our problem and cut down half of the answers we started with. To narrow the scope further you could ask, is it greater than 25? Yes. Is it greater than 38? Yes. Is it lower than 45? Yes. Is the number 42? Yes, the number is 42. Nice work. The power of isolating a problem can quickly and effectively help you figure out where the issue lies. The isolate-the-problem method is meant to shrink the scope of your problem so that you know you're looking in the right area. After you continually isolate the problem you'll eventually end up at the root cause. Root cause is the main factor that's causing a range of issues. Finding the root cause is a critical concept in IT support because it means that you're able to prevent an issue from happening again and again to multiple users. Sometimes the root cause can be difficult to find and extremely obscure. Don't give up if it isn't immediately obvious. Discovering root cause may be tedious but it's well worth the effort. Now let's take a look at a not-so-good and a good example of isolating the problem.
Hi, Marty. I can't get my email to work on my laptop. Hi, Gail. I'd be happy to help with that. Somebody came in the other day with the same problem.
Let's uninstall and re-install the application. It still doesn't work.
Hey Marty, I can't get my email to work on my laptop. Oh, hey, Gail. Sure. I'd love to take a look at that. Have you tried checking your mail on your phone or tablet or something like that? No, it doesn't look like that's working either. Let me try. Wow, I can't get in either. Let me look into this for a sec.
It appears that the email server is down. The notice says that it's going to be down for about another hour. How about we wait an hour, try again, and if you're still having problem we can dig deeper? Okay. Thanks, Marty. Your welcome, Gail. As you can see it's vital to use the isolating the problem method to decrease the scope of the issue. If you can rule out a problem area to look at you can troubleshoot more efficiently.
Follow the Cookie Crumbs
Another effect of troubleshooting method is called Follow the cookie crumbs. What purpose does this serve besides making me want to devour a cookie? Well, this method requires you to go back when the problem first started, and work forward from there. You'd be surprised how much information you can learn from asking, when did this problem start?
- Can you help me with my phone, my fun cat app stopped working. Sure. Now, what do you mean by stopped working? Well, when I tap on the app, it starts to load, and then it crashes. Well, take a look here.
- Okay, Let's try re-install the app, and see if that helps. It's still crashes. I need my fun cat app.
- Can you help me with my phone? My fun cat app stopped working.
- Sure. I'd be happy to. Can you tell me a little bit more about how it stopped working?
- Well, when I tap on the app, it starts, and it just crashes. That's not good. When did it start? Have you changed anything since that time?
- Well, it worked last night, and I was playing around with it until it started to update and this morning, it just didn't work.
- It might have something to do with the update. Let me take a look into it. Okay. Looks like there was a bug in the update. We can roll back to an earlier version, and see if that helps.
- [cookie] I missed you
. The user can give you information about what they remember, but the systems you work with can also offer insightful information. Remember that logs are like your systems diary. They keep information about dates, and events that happened on the system. You can dig through logs at the exact time that a failure happens, and you may find some defining events that could have caused your issue. Error messages are super helpful indicators that can point you in the right direction. Lots of times a single air will be lost in a sea of errors. It's best to start from the very first air, which may be causing a cascade of errors. By fixing the root error, you'll correct all the other ones in the process. Some errors don't require extra digging, like a four or four not found error. You might see on websites that have been moved or deleted or permission denied error when accessing a protected file. Let's take a look at this log. I see an error message here at the bottom. Do you think it makes sense to try, and figure out this error message, and resolve it? You might find yourself spending all day trying to fix these little holes. Let's backtrack up the log of it instead. Oh look. We can see where an error first occurred. Let's try to fix this. Now our system isn't yelling at us anymore.
(Required)
en
Start with the Quickest Step First
We've asked some great questions to understand our problem. We've isolated our problem to an effective area and looked at our cookie crumbs. Now it's time to start fixing the issue. In the IT world, as in life, problems, don't always have one right answer. When you troubleshoot an issue, you're essentially trying to isolate it to the root cause. To help you isolate an issue, you need to try some remediation steps. If they don't work, then you can rule those out as the cause. What's next? Here's where the start with the quickest step first method comes into play. We want to get to a root cause effectively. But sometimes there are multiple options we can use to isolate something. How do we know which option to try first? It's pretty simple. Try whatever is fastest first.
I'm having a really weird issue with my software. When I start it. It doesn't do anything and I just installed it.
Interesting. You know it might've gotten corrupted during installation. Let's re-install it again. It still does the same thing.
I'm having a really weird issue with my software. When I start it it doesn't do anything. I just installed it. Do you have to remember if you restarted the computer when you installed it.
It works now. It's possible that in this scenario, a software reinstall could fix the issue. It's also possible that a restart was the solution. Since you can test a restart faster than a reinstall, you should test the restart first. You want to be able to troubleshoot and resolve issues effectively and efficiently. Remember to start with the quickest step first, your time and your users time are important.
Troubleshooting Pitfalls to Avoid
You've gained a lot of great foundational troubleshooting skills. But there are some common pitfalls that you should try to avoid in order to be at the top of your troubleshooting game. As an IT support specialist, you'll sometimes encounter the same issue over and over again. Before the next issue comes in, you may find yourself using your muscle memory to fix the issue. Pitfall number 1, going into autopilot. Makes sure you don't default to autopilot mode. Moving through issues out of habit without careful thought more often than not, they're small variables that change the problem you're seeing entirely. Ask questions and gather data so you can fully understand an issue. This takes less time than having to redo some sloppy work you did in autopilot mode. Pitfall number 2, not finding the root cause. It's very easy to get distracted by small problems that pop up but it's super important to remember there's probably a very big problem causing all these small problems. Spend a little extra time investigating the issue instead of trying to fix all the small holes. If you're trying to do a quick fix, it's tempting to wipe the system and start from scratch. This approach is like using a hammer when a surgical scalpel might be more appropriate tool. Let's say user isn't able to access a particular website, re-inventing the system isn't a great solve. It doesn't get to the root cause and it doesn't help further your knowledge investigating the problem but testing out possible issues and solutions incrementally and identifying the root cause can end up saving a lot of time and effort in the end and it feels really empowering as an IT support specialist. With that, you'll be able to go out in the real world and use your new skills to methodically troubleshoot an issue.
(Required)
en
Amir: Attributes in an IT support space
So there are three key attributes that we review when taking a look at potential people for the IT support space. First and foremost passion the IT space is always changing and in order to stay on top of it and continue learning, you're going to need to be passionate about the space. The next is going to be problem solving. You will not have all the answers to all the questions that people ask you and that's okay. What you need to have is a strategy and the tools and resources to find that answer to help support some of these new challenges that come up as technology develops. The third is communication. You're working with a wide range of individuals and those soft skills when communicating with people and supporting them and making sure you understand what their needs are is very, very important to be successful in this role and make sure that you are providing them with a positive experience.
Customer Service
Intro to Soft Skills
Customer service is a critical skill in IT support. I can't emphasize that enough. The techniques we'll discuss in these videos won't only help you with your users, they help you work better with your peers, your managers, and maybe even your own personal relationships. Keep in mind, these techniques don't work in all situations. The reality is that no matter how great your customer service, some situations don't have a good resolution, plus everyone is different. You need to tweak your style when working with users. But the techniques we'll cover are intended to make your IT interactions more successful. In IT support, you work with users to fix technology and improve how people use it. To accomplish this, you need to develop a trust between you and the user. Lots of employers believe that good customer service also builds brand loyalty, which is a key to success. These lessons are meant to give you the foundational skills and techniques of how to deliver great customer service. Customer service practices can differ from company to company. We'll cover the key concepts of customer service in any IT support role. It's important to talk with your employer to understand the company's customer service approach. This will also give you an idea of how much freedom or restrictions you might have in the role. Spoiler alert. Great customer service requires exhibiting empathy, being conscious of your tone, acknowledging the person you're talking to, and developing trust with the user. If you remember nothing else from this lesson, remember those four things. The most important of all of these is empathy. What's the difference between sympathy and empathy? People will say things like sympathy is saying you're sorry. Empathy is feeling sorry. That doesn't really explain it. So let's use an example to drive this home. If someone fell into a dark, damp, dirty hole and you leaned over with a sad expression and said, that must be a really tough situation. Then you are expressing sympathy. You're sharing their feelings, but you aren't experiencing those feelings. If you crawl down into that dark, damp, dirty hole with the person who fell and said, this is a really tough situation, then you're expressing empathy. You're able to see something from someone else's perspective and understand their feelings. The word choice between the two situation is very similar. But the action you take by looking at it from their perspective, is what empathy is all about. Some days it's hard to empathize. I know from experience. Maybe you've had an argument with a loved one before work. Then by the end of the day, you find yourself getting annoyed or upset with users. That's the moment when empathy becomes the most important. Because anyone can showcase empathy when it's easy. But someone who persistently displays empathy will stand out as a kinder human and a more professional and effective employee. Once you have empathy down, you should think of your tone. Tone is historically thought of as how you speak out loud. In this technological age, when many of our interactions over texts and IT support is increasingly done remotely, tone isn't just about how you come off during an in person conversation. It's expanded into how you write, punctuate, and even spell. If your tone is short or blunt, then the user will feel brush off and devalued. But if your tone is friendly and curious, the user's much more likely to have a positive experience working with you. Be careful not to go overboard with the friendliness though, it could be disingenuous. Communicating a good tone is delicate balance. How you ask a question and how you respond to user's question matters. Let's say you tell a user in an email, turn your computer off and on again, and it will start working. They'll probably never respond and your company may have lost a customer because the tone is just too short and pretty unfriendly. Well, it gets to the point. It doesn't leave the door open to conversation. What if instead you wrote, please try turning your computer off and back on again. This should update the change we made and fix the problem. If that doesn't work, just let me know. It's a little wordier, but it has a better tone of asking versus telling. Inviting them back to connect with you in case the issue isn't resolved, leaves the lines of communication open. Tone can be especially difficult when you're supporting someone in a different region or country. Make sure to familiarize yourself with the local style whether that's more conversational or direct, and adjust your style depending on the audience. In this day and age of text and email, it's easy to ignore what someone says. If a comment seems like a dig or it's just too much information provided, we tend to shy away from responding. It's also really common to forget to tell the user what you're doing while you're troubleshooting. That might leave the user waiting in an awkward silence. Whenever possible, acknowledge the user. This reduces the tension that might build and helps you understand how you're working toward a solution. Let's say you're chatting back and forth with the user. You're asking a lot of questions to better troubleshoot the issue. The user is answering them, but also makes comments like geez, I already answered this in my last email. Or I just want to know what's causing my problem. You choose to ignore this and continue on with your troubleshooting. You think you're close to solving the problem and these side comments are just a distraction. But then the user stops fully engaging with you and only gives you half answers to your questions. Now you're not able to solve the issue at all. The user's unhappy, you're unhappy, and the company's unhappy. It's a bad situation. Instead of ignoring the user in that situation, you could have said, I'm sorry for asking these questions. Sometimes repeating them will help new information and pop up. Or you could have said sorry for the repeat questions, I don't want to give you a superficial cause when we could fix the root issue and you won't have to chat with us again. This helps them to understand your method and become part of the solution. It's important to acknowledge your own actions if you think they might otherwise confuse the user, let's say user contacts you to fix something. After collecting some information, you go radio silent. What's user to do? Would they ask if you're still there? Will they wait awkwardly until you came back on the line, how long would they wait before ending the call or saying something? How would they feel about their interaction with you? Pretty awkward. But what if he said, I need to do some research on this issue. Would you mind waiting about five minutes or less while I do that? They'd probably say sure, and keep themselves occupied while they wait. They'd also feel more confident in your ability to resolve the issue. This leads to the most important thing to remember when working with people and that's developing trust. This is easy to do if you have repeat users, they see you every workday. One bad day isn't going to stop them from trusting that you know what you're doing. But in a transactional user base for the user only contacts the company once or twice. How you interact with each user, each time, is going to break or build that trust. Why is trust so important? Without it, the user could be difficult to work with and could even ignore your advice completely. Empathy and acknowledgment are big part of building trust. Without these, you'll find it difficult to connect with user. By seeing things from the user's perspective, you're more likely to find the solution that will help them specifically. This lets them know that you care and they'll be more likely to be engaged in the interaction. It's also important to follow through on your commitments and promises. If you tell someone you're going to follow up in one hour, then be sure to make it happen. If you don't, acknowledge the oversight and apologize, be sure that any claims you make can be backed up. Don't make something up to a user because you think it will help in the moment. Be honest with the user, even if you think they won't be happy about it and never be afraid to admit when you're wrong. This might be the hardest thing to do with the user, but you'll find that your interactions are more successful this way. Being specific and empathetic with your apologies will give it more meaning. Remember, no one wakes up in the morning thinking, I'm going to be a jerk today. Well, you shouldn't sacrifice your self respect. Do your best to give the user the benefit of the doubt whenever possible.
Anatomy of an Interaction
Now that we've covered the main customer service techniques, we're going to dive into some of the nitty-gritty by looking at the anatomy of an interaction. These apply to any channel of IT support, email, phone, chat, or in-person interactions. From the first moment you interact with someone, it's important to think about how you say, "Hello." Do you make sure to tell them your name? Do you incorporate information you know about them in your greeting? Do you ensure a positive tone? Are your spelling your grammar on point? These are all ways to create a really good start to the interaction. Some of these things are hard to achieve though. I'm a horrible speller, especially when I'm in a hurry. But knowing some of these trouble spots ahead of time will let you find ways to address them before the interaction. For me, I know that when I'm in a hurry, I need to recheck my spelling before hitting "Send". Have you ever heard the phrase 'first impressions last a lifetime'? Well, that might be a bit of an exaggeration. It touches on some truth. How you first interact with someone will influence how the rest of the interaction plays out. I'm not saying you have to be over the top, gushy and nice, that might have the opposite effect. Just be professional, acknowledge the user, and show them some respect. Taking the time to get the interaction off to a good start will make everything that comes after easier. Let's check out two scenarios to see how this plays out.
bad:
Hi, Gail. How are you doing?
Not great. It's been a bad day trying to get my phone fixed.
What's wrong with your phone?
good:
Hi, Gail. How are you today?
Not great. It's been a bad day trying to get my phone fixed.
Sorry to hear that. Let's see what we can do to turn that around.
Just by acknowledging their feelings and demonstrate your desire to help them, you started to build a relationship with the user. Of course, you have to keep up the good work throughout the interaction, but laying the groundwork is an important first step. I remember that while you might have 100 issues in the ticket queue that need your attention, this is the only one that matters to the user. Show them it's your priority too. The next critical step in an interaction is how you respond to the user's questions. If they're taking the time to explain to you what happened, but you brush off their concerns by acting uninteresting, things are going to go south fast. Remember to integrate the information you've been given into your conversation. This will show you're actively listening and can help them feel more connected to the interaction. Let's look at an example. Which one of these greetings do you think is the most effective? Greeting 1, "Hi, Rhori. How are you today? What can I help you with?" Or greeting number 2, "Hi, Rhori. I hope you're having a good day despite your computer randomly turning off. Let's see what we can do to fix your issue." It's important to be transparent with the user. If they start asking you a bunch of questions while you're still troubleshooting, you can do two things. First option, you can ignore them because they're just talking out loud. Second option, you can pause and say something like, "I'd be happy to answer all of your questions, but I want to look up this one first. I've written them all down though, so I won't forget them." If you say that make sure to write the questions down. To really build a rapport, try to remember a personal fact they've mentioned and bring it up later. Maybe they mentioned they love cats, later while you're waiting for something to load, ask them if they have any cats or what their cat's name is. This shouldn't be forced. If you're not the type to engage in small talk, skip it. Now, you're getting to the point where you're ready to troubleshoot, just make sure you clarify the person's issue before you start to troubleshoot. If you don't, you might find yourself going down a rabbit hole. Imagine that a user tells you their computer can't get online. You look at the IP address, DNS configuration, and you start pinging things with no luck, everything seems fine. Then 20 minutes later, you find out their machine is online, they just can't access a particular page. Had you clarified this at the start, you would have saved yourself and the user 20 minutes. It seems simple to clarify the problem space, but it's often overlooked. Take this example. Thank you for calling. This is Leon. How can I help you? Hi, Leon. My computer isn't working. That doesn't sound fun. What do you mean by the computer isn't working? It won't connect to the internet. Do you have the corporate password for the wifi? No, why do I need that? In order to connect to the wifi in the building, you need to use the corporate password. Well, I'm not in the building. I'm at a cafe.
That's odd. Your computer seems to be different than what we normally use. Can I get your name so I can look up your configuration? Ling Chan. Do you work at this company? No, my friend gave me the number. Problem-solving is a super important aspect of an IT support interaction. Being an IT support specialist means that you could be asked about anything. Even though you aren't expected to know the answer off the top of your head, you should know where to start looking to find it. People are coming to you because they have a problem they can't fix themselves. Sometimes they feel self-conscious about asking for help. Be aware of how you probe for information. Pummeling the user with question after question will probably create frustration on both sides. Make sure to set contexts and explain why you're asking the question. Saying something simple like, "In order for me to figure out what's really going on, I need to ask you some question," can make all the difference. When you're in person, things are a lot easier because you can see each other and read each other's expressions. But you might find yourself too comfortable. Imagine you're asking for help with your phone. You wouldn't want the person helping you to just take it out of your hands without asking. Make sure you tell the user what you're doing before you do it. If you're supporting a user remotely and need them to run some commands, don't forget to tell them why you need them to execute the commands. There's no need to go into a ton of detail. Without some context, you could strain the trust you've built. Make sure that when you're asking these questions or asking the user to run a command, you're really listening to the response, those little nuggets of information may help solve the issue. The last five minutes of the interaction will set the tone for how the user feels walking away from the interaction. Make sure to end on a positive note. You might have solved their issue, but if they don't feel it was resolved or they're unsure of the next steps, then they're going to walk away feeling like it was a poor solution. How do you make a good final impression? Simple, reiterate the resolution, state the next steps, then ask the user if they have any questions.
How to Deal with Difficult Situations Part I
If you've ever worked in customer service, then you've dealt with difficult situations. The way you handle them in the food industry and tech roles are pretty similar. But before we dive into that, we're going to take a step back and talk about the science behind what's happening in these situations. Let's say someone's yelling at you, rather it's about a overcook steak or broken computer, your reaction to either will probably be similar. Your palms might be sweating, your hands might shake, or your mouth goes dry, tunnel vision might kick in. These are all normal physiological reactions that happen in response to a perceived threat. This is part of our biological makeup dating back to the time when people hunted for their food. When you're being chased by a cougar you needed your senses to be at high alert in order to keep yourself alive. Even though someone yelling at you isn't the same as the cougar attacking you, it can feel similar in the moment. Your brain is releasing a mix of chemicals and hormones to heighten your senses and keep you alert. Unfortunately, a side effect is that you may have trouble focusing on specific tasks. Not ideal. It's in times like these that you might go on autopilot where your body has a physical reaction and it's hard to focus. It's super important to recognize these moments and put a plan in place to reboot yourself out of the situation. Sometimes I feel this way when I'm teaching a class and someone is ignoring me. They just don't pay attention. I used to call them out on it, the fight response, but this never ended well. Sometimes they had a good reason for being on their phone and calling them out never made them listen more. Now when I feel myself in that situation, I noticed that my pulse increases. When I realize it's happening, I make sure to look around and focus on people who are more engaged in the lesson and make eye contact with them. Soon I feel my pulse slow down. Some of your experiences in IT support might trigger similar reactions. Once you've identified this reboot action, write it down. Remember, your brain isn't always working well in the heat of the moment, so it helps to have something to remind you what to do. It could be anything from squeezing a stress ball to looking away to taking a deep breath. The first couple of times, it may not work, so give it time. When you have a difficult situation, take a moment to think about what went wrong. How are you feeling? What was your reaction? Why did you raise your voice? After a while, it becomes second nature to catch yourself in de-escalate situation. To really hold yourself accountable, tell a co worker what you're trying to do. Give them a recap of the interaction and ask them for their feedback on the interaction. You might get some great tips. But here's the bad news. Things aren't over once you get yourself back on track. That's when the hard work starts. Every situation is different and you'll learn the best strategies from experience and peer feedback. To get you started, I'll run through some tried and true techniques. Keep in mind that it's fine if you don't get these right the first time. It takes practice, reflection, and feedback to really nail it, so don't give up. The hardest and arguably the best technique is to identify where the interaction went wrong in the moment and redirect the conversation. This is really tough because it means remaining calm enough to objectively look at the interaction and understand what could have caused it to escalate. At first, try this once the interaction is over.
You started your chat with the user and it's really pleasant and problem-solving is happening, then suddenly the tone turns dark. What caused it? Where is the misstep? Looking back, you might notice that the user didn't understand the question about what happens when he tries to sync his phone and the tech just kept repeating it. The user gets annoyed and then starts typing in all caps, a clear sign they're irritated. In this case, the cause seems obvious. If the user didn't understand the question, then they probably got frustrated when the same question was asked over and over. If the IT support specialist had noticed this, they could have reframe the question and broken it down further.
How to Deal with Difficult Situations Part II
Another cause of frustration in user support interactions is when people talk over each other. This usually happens over the phone. Since there's sometimes delay, but it can happen in person to. Typically it leads to people talking louder and sometimes ends up feeling like you're yelling at each other. You've probably been in a situation like this with your friends or family. Everyone wants to talk and the person with the loudest voice wins.
How can I help you today?
>> My laptop isn't working. I need a new one, I have meetings I need to go to.
>>I can certainly look into this and see what we can do to fix it
>> But I want to set context that our policy is to only replace laptops if all other options have been exhausted.
>> I don't need you to go snooping around my computer. Just give me a new one. Gale, I'd love to do that for you, but.
>> That's ridiculous, I'm a director. I should get a new one. I don't have time for this.
>> I completely understand the urgency of the situation. Why don't you let me take a look.
>> That's why I came. You need to fix it.
It's important to try and identify why this is happening. So you can course correct. In this case, you can simply stop talking to calm things down, then pause for about five or 10 seconds to make sure they're done talking and start again. This might take a few tries before the user realizes what they're doing and gives you time to talk. Use that time to calm down and really listen to what the user is saying. Ask yourself, why are they talking over me? What am I missing then in those 5-10 seconds, collect yourself and think about what you want to say.
>> How can I help you today?
>> My laptop isn't working. I need a new one, I have meetings I need to go to.
>> I can certainly look into this and see what we can do to fix it. But I want to set context that our policy is to only replace laptops. If all other options have been exhausted.
>> I don't need you to go snooping around my computer. Just give me a new one.
>> Gale, I'd love to do that for you, but I.
>> That's ridiculous. I'm a director, I should be able to get a new laptop. I have no time for this.
>> I completely understand. Can you let me have five minutes to do a quick triage and then we can discuss next steps?
If the user is crossing the line and making you feel uncomfortable ignoring it can feel like the easiest solution. It isn't, remember that if you do the next person they interact with will be treated the same way and that's not okay. It's also easy to say that the person being attacked needs to stand up for themselves, but in situations like this one that's really hard, ideally by standards would call out this behavior in a calm way. It's also important that you escalate these issues to the appropriate channel. Whether that's your manager, the human resources department, whomever. Disclaimer, I love being in the IT support field and I don't want to dwell on the negative, but I do want to prepare you for what you might encounter. So let me throw another tough scenario at you. You might find that a user skims over what you wrote or doesn't listen to the full instructions you present before taking action. When this happens, be patient. You've likely been on the other end of this before when you ignored instructions? Why were you overwhelmed with information? Were you in a hurry? Maybe you need reading glasses. Whatever the case might be, the best tactic is to break these steps down into smaller, more digestible pieces for the user. If you sent them an article that they didn't finish reading, ask where specifically in the documentation they're having issues. So that you don't have to bore them with the parts they already know. Sometimes you come across someone wanting to bend a policy or push back on an established process. Take this as a sign to look deeper into the situation. Is it really a company policy or just a common way of doing things? If it is a policy, is there documentation of it? You can reference that to the user. If not offer to follow up to get a definitive answer. You might be surprised what you find. The takeaway here is that it's important to try to see things from other people's point of view. In that moment when you're feeling riled up and frustrated, take a minute to see the situation from the other person's perspective. If you were them, how would you be feeling? What would make you feel better? If you can train yourself to see things from another's perspective, you're on your way to turning things around.
Doccumentation
Ticketing Systems and Documenting Your Work
(Required)
en
Process Documentation
Let's take a look at examples of good and not-so-good documentation. Here's the deal; you encounter a strange issue when helping a user out. This issue happens so often that you and your colleagues have encountered it. No documentation is the worst documentation. Imagine if it took you hours to figure out an issue to a problem and you didn't write it down. Your colleague encounters the same issue and takes hours to figure it out, then he also doesn't write it down. This can go on and on. It only takes a little bit of effort to create documentation and it can save you so much of your time, your company's time, and your users time.
This isn't the best example of documentation. The problem that IT support specialist stated isn't specific and it leaves you with more questions than answers, and while it tells you what we'll fix an issue, it doesn't tell you how. Documentation should be straight and clear cut. Your reader shouldn't have any questions when following the instructions you listed. Now, this is a good example of documentation.
It starts off with a very specific and clear problem. It gives you background information on what the issue is. It even gives you the exact instructions on how to fix the issue, including which settings to navigate to and where. Remember, always write documentation that makes it easy for your reader to follow.
Documenting in Ticketing Systems
Now that we've talked a little bit about documenting processes, let's talk about how you write documentation in ticketing or bug systems. You don't have to leave a full example of process documentation for every ticket you handle. If you encounter the same issue, just write the documentation once, then refer back to it. One of the more important aspects of writing documentation in a ticket or bug, is that you leave an audit trail to see what worked and what didn't. Let's take a look at some examples of awesome documentation and not so awesome documentation in ticketing and bug systems.
This isn't helpful at all since we don't know what the issue was or what the IT support specialist did to fix it. If someone stumbled upon this ticket with the same issue, it would be pretty useless.
This is an example of a great ticket documentation.
The tech described what the issue is, what caused the issue, and the specific steps they took to resolve it.
Getting Through a Technical Interview
Your Opportunity for Success
Hi, there. My name is Rob Clifton, and I'm a Program Manager at Google. My career in IT started about 17 years ago. At the time IT knowledge was mainly self-taught. I took certificate course as much like this one, and learned as much as I could along the way while I continued to go to college part-time to get an associate's degree. Finding that first job wasn't easy. I had to convince someone to take a chance on me, even though I had no degree and no advanced education in IT. I applied for a lot of jobs, got a few interviews, received a lot of rejections, and eventually landed my first job fixing computers at a big box retailer. Over the next few years, I jumped around to different jobs, getting more experienced while I continued to go to school and finish my degree. I eventually landed at Google as a support tech in our Ann Arbor office. Twelve years later, I now lead the hiring efforts for our junior IT support roles. I've interviewed hundreds of candidates, and I help train our interviewers and how to find the best talent in the industry. Today, I'm excited to share what I've learned to help you prepare for your next interview. Going into an interview is a moment that lots of people dread. We're all afraid that we could say something wrong, that were not ready for that next step, or just that will be rejected. These are all normal feelings, but it helps to look at the interview as an opportunity. It's an opportunity for you to hone your interpersonal skills, learn more about the company, and make sure that the job is a good fit for you. It's an opportunity to advance your career and gain more work experience. Doing these lessons will give you some tips that will help you prepare for the interview. We want you to walk into your interviews feeling confident and excited. We'll show you what a technical interview on the subject at hand may look like.
Standing Out from the Crowd
To land an interview for a job you want, make sure your resume and online professional presence are in order. This will help you stand out from the other applicants when you apply. Your resume is your first introduction to a new company. Make sure your resume is easy to read and clearly shows the recruiter or hiring manager that you're a strong fit for the job you're applying for. Avoid using lots of filler text in your resume. If you're new to the industry, you may not have a lot to put on your resume, but that's okay. You don't need to list out every piece of software you've used or networking protocol you've ever learned about, stick to your relevant qualifications. Use a standard resume template and be consistent with your formatting and structure. Proofread your resume and have someone else review it too. You don't want grammar and spelling errors to be your first impression with a potential employer. There's a lot more to say about resumes, so I've included more material in the supplemental reading. You should also make sure you have an up to date online presence. Your profile should look professional and have the most current resume, a photo and updated contact info. Don't forget to do this, employers are using sites like LinkedIn more and more to reach out to candidates. Now, when you find a job that you want to apply for, you want to learn as much as you can about the role. First place to find this information is in the job description. The description will usually include the roles responsibilities and requirements and some information about the company. Take some time to understand those details and make sure it's a good fit for you. Feel free to ask your recruiter any additional questions you have about the role or the company.
Knowing these expectations and requirements, will also help you prepare for the interview. For any IT role, make sure that you know the fundamentals of IT really well, and spend extra time reviewing any specific areas that are called out in the job description. This program will get you started with some of those fundamentals like, networking and operating systems, but you'll still need to do some research on your own. On top of the specific job requirements, you should also take time to research the company that you're applying to. Learn about the main characteristics of the company, what their primary products or services are, who their customers are and where they're located. Look for things that are new, interesting and exciting about the company's future. Try to learn about some of the challenges the company might be facing. If the company has a code of conduct or mission statement online, make sure to read it, as it will illustrate what the company prioritizes. Knowing the company's values will help you decide whether it's a company you want to work for. Some of these facts may come up during your interview, either as part of a scenario or in a question by itself, so you want to be prepared. Lastly, once you have an interview scheduled, make sure you know where to go when you need to be there and what the appropriate attire is for the interview. This particular tip was especially important for me when I first interviewed with Google. At the time, Google was in a temporary space above a restaurant Inn Arbor, a town I was not very familiar with. There was no sign or address, so when I got there I had no idea where to go. Thankfully, I arrived with some time to spare. So when I got to the right block for the address, I went around to the back alley, found the address on the fire escape and climbed into the second floor. The door was open and the woman behind it was a little surprised to see me entering. Everyone had a bit of a laugh when I told him I couldn't find the front entrance and I didn't want to be late for my interview. To this day, my manager still talks about my entrance and says it showed him I was resourceful and determined. Who knows? Maybe that's why they decided to give me the job
Crafting Your Resume
Your resume is usually the first impression that companies have of you, so you want to make sure that you include relevant information in it. If you’d like to build your resume from scratch, make sure to scroll down to the bottom of this page to download PDFs of resume templates to help you get started. Keep in mind, these are just sample resumes, and you should customize them as you see fit!
What you want to include
-
Who you are: name, address, phone number, email
-
Education history: where and what you’ve studied (or are studying)
-
Employment history: where and in what roles you’ve worked (or are working)
-
Relevant Skills
When listing out your education, include colleges attended, certificates obtained, and any additional education programs you’ve completed. You can include a GPA or grade average for degrees if you wish. It is not necessary to include dates for your education section.
If you are a new graduate, or are still studying, you’ll want to include a few additional details, like interesting projects that you did during your studying or highlight an elective subject that you took. After a few years of professional experience, though, you may simply include the degree, year and location.
A “Functional” or “Skills based” resume format works well for new graduates or candidates with limited work experience. The focus of this format is more around your skillset, rather than your work experience. You can include a brief summary of qualifications, followed by a list of skills with examples for each. This format works well for candidates with less employment history, but lots of applicable skills.
For your employment history, you’ll want to highlight the skills that are most relevant for the position that you are aiming for. Use a chronological or reverse-chronological format for your employment history. List the month and year for each role accurately. List out achievements, not just tasks performed, and make them quantifiable. Use the sentence format of Action Verb + Specific Task + Quantifiable Point”. For example: “Automated imaging process for new computers, reducing 90% of manual work for the IT team.” Include responsibilities of your role, but don’t fill your resume with lots of bullets about every small task. Summarize and tailor your bullet points around the job description you’re applying to. For example, instead of saying “Created new user accounts, deleted old accounts, set passwords….”, say “Administered and maintained all user accounts”.
Similarly for relevant skills. You want to include the general topics that you are knowledgeable about, as in customer support, networking, system administration, programming, etc. You may list the operating systems that you’ve worked with and the programming languages that you are skilled in, but don’t try to list every networking protocol you’ve heard about or every IT tool that you’ve ever used. The noise distracts from the relevant information.
Regardless of the format you decide to use (chronological, functional, etc.), make sure you keep the format and structure consistent throughout. For example, if you use full sentences for your bullets, be sure to use that format for all of them and include proper punctuation and grammar. Check your font sizes and styles to ensure those are consistent as well.
Tailoring the resume
Before sending a resume to a certain job position, it’s a good practice to check that the contents of your resume match what’s in the job description. You should be tailoring your resume to each job you’re applying to. Sending generic resumes to as many roles as possible, is not a good strategy. A targeted approach is always better.
If you are applying for an IT support role, you may want to highlight your customer support experience, even if it only comes from a volunteer organization at your university. Whereas, if you are applying for a programming job, you’ll want to highlight your software development experience, regardless of whether it was acquired in university or on the job.
Your online presence
Many companies nowadays contact candidates through online sites like LinkedIn, so it’s important to keep your online profile complete and up to date. Start by writing a summary that describes both your current role (if applicable) and your career aspirations. Include a professional photo and up to date contact info (although recruiters may also contact you directly via LinkedIn).
LinkedIn profiles are much more in depth than resumes. You can include specific accomplishments from as many roles as you like, but use the same format as your resume (Action Verb + specific task + quantifiable point).
Adding in personal projects can also be helpful, especially if you have something tangible to show from it. For example, if you’ve created an application, a website, or similar type of product as part of a hobby or school project, include it and provide a link to it.
Just like a resume, list your skills, your experience and what you are looking for as your next step. Make sure that you include all the relevant background information that a recruiter looking at your profile might be interested in. Make sure you are descriptive, don’t assume the reader will have context.
Getting Ready for the Interview
A lot of us are quite nervous when we go through our first interviews. There are a lot of things at stake and it might be hard not to freak out, but don't panic. You can do this if you prepare. With interviews as with lots of other things in life, practice makes perfect. In order to get this practice try doing mock interviews pretending that you're in an interview even if it's not real will help you perform your best. You'll be more comfortable thinking out loud and providing clear answers to complicated questions. To do these mock interviews, recruit a friend or family member that's willing to practice with you. Even if they don't know the actual content, they can still help you get into interview mode. By practicing you'll get used to articulating yourself clearly which is key to nailing an interview. It's not just about knowing the answers. You also need to share your ideas clearly and concisely, for example, take some general technical subjects like DHCP, DNS, Active Directory, or any other technical area you've learned about. Have a friend or family member ask you to explain the concept to them. What's it for? How is it used? Practicing explanations for a non-technical audience will get used to breaking down complicated ideas and sharing them in basic terms. They can also create their own troubleshooting scenarios like asking you to explain what you did the last time you fix their printer or got their network online. While you're practicing answering questions you should also practice active listening habits, maintain eye contact with the other person, not understanding when they speak, and ask relevant follow-up questions. If you can, it's great to practice with someone who also plans to interview for similar roles. This way you can take turns being the interviewer and the interviewee. This will allow you to put yourself in the interviewer's shoes and understand how best to answer each question. Now keep in mind, I don't recommend trying to script or memorize all of your answers. Instead, try explaining the same concepts in different ways. This allows for a more natural conversation and will help you adapt your answers in the actual interview where you won't know the questions. What you can write down and memorize is your elevator pitch. An elevator pitch is a short summary of who you are and what kind of career you're looking for. Make sure to include information like what you're passionate about, how you would like to grow, and what you're looking for in a new role. Practice delivering this pitch to different people and see how it sounds, even if you have it memorized, stay flexible, you never know in which context you may need it. Reading your first elevator pitch from scratch can be hard. I've included a few examples in the next supplemental reading when developing your own, make sure that you keep it personal. Again, the key to getting interviews right is to practice practice practice. This will help you feel less nervous and show your best self during the actual interviews.
Creating Your Elevator Pitch
An elevator pitch is a short description of yourself. The name comes from the fact that you want it to be so short that you can deliver it to someone that you are meeting in an elevator ride.
The goal of the elevator pitch is to explain who you are, what you do and why the other person should be interested in you.
For example, this is my elevator pitch for this program:
My name is Rob Clifton, and I’m a Program Manager at Google. I manage all of our hiring efforts for our junior IT support roles. I’ve interviewed hundreds of candidates, and I help train our interviewers on how to find the best talent in the industry.
I’m telling you who I am, what I do, and why you might be interested in what I have to say.
In an interviewing context, you want to be able to quickly define who you are, what your current role is and what your future goals are.
For example, if you are a student, you’ll want to include what and where you are studying, and what you are looking to do once you have graduated.
Hi! I’m Jamie, I’m in my senior year at Springfield University, studying Computer Science. I enjoy being able to help people and solve problems, so I’m looking forward to putting my tech skills into practice by working as an IT Support Specialist after I graduate.
If, instead, you already have a job and you are looking for a change, you will want to include what you do and what difference you are looking for.
Hi! I’m Ellis, I’ve been working at X Company as an IT Support Specialist for the past two years. During those years, I’ve learned a lot about operating systems and networking and I’m looking to switch to a system administrator position, where I can focus on large scale deployments.
Remember that you want to keep it personal, you want to get the attention of the other person and let them know why they are interested in you. Even if you don’t meet them in an elevator, you want to be ready to give people you meet a quick impression of yourself.
What to Expect During the Technical Interview
When you're interviewing for a technical position, you'll likely have one or more interviews where you'll specifically need to demonstrate your technical skills and knowledge. These interviews may take the form of technical troubleshooting scenarios or explanations of technical concepts and subjects. As we've said, you want to have a solid foundation for all the fundamental concepts. A good interviewer will push you to the limits of your knowledge. This means it's very likely that during an interview you'll reach a point where you're not sure you know the right answer, this is expected. But you shouldn't just say, "I don't know." If you were supporting a user, you wouldn't say it then either. It's okay to admit you're not sure, but you should then explain what you would do to find the answer. As an IT support specialist, you should expect to often face new and unfamiliar problems. Having a good problem solving strategy is more important than knowing all the answers. If the question you're answering is big and complex, outline how you'd break down the work needed to solve the problem before going into the exact details of what needs to be done. If you're thinking about what the best solution could be, share your train of thought with your interviewer so they can follow along. Thinking aloud not only helps the interviewer see your thought process, but it also helps you work through the problem. For example, if you get stuck with a technical troubleshooting scenario, you can try and recap what information you've gathered and state potential causes that can be ruled out with certainty and then try to figure out what info is still missing to rule out other causes. When you mention concepts or technologies, you should be ready to explain them and articulate why you might choose one thing over another. For instance, if you're working through a networking problem and say something like, the problem might be related to the DNS settings. Be ready to explain what DNS is, and why it relates to the issue. You should also clarify the questions constraints. Don't assume anything, it's okay and even expected to ask the interviewer follow up questions to ensure that the problem is correctly framed. Always use the data and evidence you have from the interviewer to inform your next steps. For example, if you need to solve a problem about a user being unable to connect to an internal system, you should ask follow up questions like, what operating system the user is using, how their computer is supposed to connect to the network, what error messages they are getting, whether other users are affected? Your goal is to narrow the scope to find the root cause. If the question is very complex, it might become difficult to follow or explain the solution. In this case, it's useful to take notes and use diagrams to illustrate the problem. You can use this process when it makes sense. It doesn't mean you need to write everything down during an interview. Sometimes the answer is straight forward and you can just go ahead and explain it without writing anything down.
Showing Your Best Self During the Interview
Being your best self for the interview starts the night before. Being fully rested will help you have more energy, be more focused, and minimize anxiety. So make sure that you get a good night sleep. Don't try to cram in any last-minute studying, this will only make you more anxious. Instead, try to relax and go to bed early. On the day of the interview eat a proper breakfast. It's never a good idea to be hungry during an interview. Aim to arrive earlier than the scheduled time and give yourself enough travel time for any mishaps along the way. Make sure you're comfortable before you begin the actual interview. Don't be afraid to ask for something if you need it. Use the restroom, grab a glass of water, and ask for a notepad and pen for notes or to illustrate answers when necessary. Be fully present for the duration of the interview. This means turning off your phone to avoid interruptions and giving the interviewer your full attention. Use those active listening skills that you've practiced. Make eye contact, nod, indicate understanding, and ask follow-up questions. Don't forget to be yourself. You want the interviewer to remember you, so let your personality show. Make sure that you highlight what makes you unique. Remember that the interview is also an opportunity for you to ask questions about the things that you care about. You're interviewing them as much as they're interviewing you. Find out if this is a company that you want to work for and whether you'll be able to achieve your career goals there. Finally, remember to slow down. Most people start talking faster and faster when they're nervous, so be aware of your pace. If you notice that you're getting nervous, pause for a moment to take a few deep breaths, and then consciously slow down. Well, that's a lot of tips to remember. Feel free to re-watch these videos when your next interview is approaching to make sure that you have these ideas fresh in your mind.
Interview Role Play: Customer Service
Hi, thanks for coming in. For a jump into my technical questions, I'd like to know a bit more about you. Tell me why you're interested in this position?
When I came into college, I was a pre-med major and eventually, I led down the path to take an introduction to IT course. After that course, I realized how impactful IT was and I became more curious to how computers work and why did they break. I changed my major to IT after that class. After two years of being in the major, I got a job at the IT services [inaudible] where I was able to help students with their computer issues. I believe having the job will allow me to advance my knowledge and troubleshooting skills and then also I'll be able to learn new things. Cool. Can you tell me what in particular you find appealing about IT? I like IT because it allows me to be very creative. Then it also allows me to hone in on those problem-solving skills. Also, I like IT because it's very broad. I felt like the trajectory of my career, it could be in multiple IT fields such as database management, software engineering, IT support, and networking.
That's awesome. All right, well, let's get started with our first question then. Let's say that you're the only person supporting a help desk and you're currently helping me with an issue when a VP walks in and they ask you for help and they say they have a presentation to give in 15 minutes, how would you handle this situation?
I want to prioritize issues based on severity, it seems the VP the issues are little bit more time-sensitive. I would ask you if it's okay, if I would help out the VP.
That's fair. I'm okay with that. Now, how would you help the VP?
I want to get the VP up and running as soon as possible. I will offer them a spare laptop and then in the meantime, I'll be able to fix their computer while they're at the meeting.
Great. Now let me rewind for a second. Let me change things up. What if you were helping me, and my issue was actually very critical and it was part of a larger issue that was affecting a number of users. Say maybe our wireless network was having issues. How would you handle that?
If I was able to help the VP right away, by offering a spare laptop, then I would do that. But if that's not the case, then either let the VP know that the issue that I'm dealing with is a little bit more severe because it affects the business. I hope the VP will be a little bit more understanding and I would probably have to have a co-worker come and help the VP or I could tell the VP to probably reschedule their meeting if that's possible.
Great. I think that's fair and you're right. We should take into account what's most important to the business in that type of scenario. Good job.
In this scenario, we saw Candice deliver her elevator pitch and show why she's passionate about IT and becoming an IT support specialist. We also saw one typical complication of troubleshooting problems. Getting priorities right. Time-sensitive issues usually have higher priority, but issues that are preventing a large number of users from getting work done should be dealt with first, even if the person asking for help is a director or a VP. That's it for now. See you again at the end of the next course.
Course Wrap Up
Course Wrap Up
In the very beginning of this course, we told you that all a computer does is calculate and process data. We also told you that with that simple function, we can post a social media, create beautiful graphics, listen to music, and more. Well, in the short time we spent together, you've learned how this entire process works. That's an amazing accomplishment. You've taken the first step on the path toward preparing for a career in IT support. Think of everything you've learned. You now know that software developers build the websites, operating systems, tools and programs that we use. These programs are compiled into machine code that our computer takes and processes with the hardware. The data that the computer processes is just binary data that gets calculated into actual task that computer performs. These tasks can include talking to other computers over the internet or even just using a web browser to look at cats. We also learned how our data travels across the world to different servers. But these processes don't work all the time, which is why IT support specialists are needed. As technology gets more complex, the tools needed to fix that technology also gets more complex. With more and more people adopting a digital lifestyle, more and more fixes are needed. It's an exciting time to be working in IT. Soon we'll have self-driving cars, computers beating world champion Go players, virtual reality gaming, and so much more. Every day new technology emerges and we need more IT support specialist working in the field to keep it running. But we've only scratched the surface. You've worked hard to learn some important skills, but there's still a lot more to dive into. You'll learn all the technical details of the components and processes that we've covered. You'll learn exactly how information is routed across the Internet. You'll learn how to set up and support networks large and small. Not only that, you will learn how to navigate Windows and Linux operating systems like a pro. Before too long, you'll be able to manage a fleet of computers and administer them using industry best practices. You'll even learn how to automate some of these processes. Finally, you'll learn how to keep everything you've built safe and secure using industry standards for computer security. Welcome to the world of IT support. There's so much more exciting stuff coming up, so let's get to it.
Sabrina: Technology can open doors
Technology can open doors and allow you to achieve things that even you didn't expect. Growing up, I never pictured that I would be in technology, right? I didn't ever even expect to go to college. I don't think that it's about college. I do think that you need to be interested in learning. You need to be willing to push yourself, question assumptions and challenge other people. I've worked with a lot of people who have not gone to a four year college, and have been incredibly successful at google and at other large companies and small companies even that I've worked for here in Silicon Valley. Being willing to acknowledge what you don't know, but being interested in be like, okay, I don't know that, but I can figure it out or I want to see if I can figure it out. Testing your boundaries and pushing yourself, really will drive your success beyond what you think you could achieve.
Congrats!
Congratulations. >> Congratulations on all your hard work. >> Congratulations. >> Congratulations. >> Congratulations on getting through all of that content. I really hope you found something that spoke to you, and that you're going to pursue and continue to learn.
FCK YEA BABY
Coursera Honor Code
All users of learning materials hosted on the Coursera platform are expected to abide by the following standards to ensure the integrity of learning within Coursera learning experiences. Learners are expected to familiarize themselves and comply with the Terms of Use for the Coursera platform and any code of conduct, academic policy, honor code or or any institution's requirements associated with programs which a learner has enrolled onto through the Coursera platform has established.
Academic misconduct undermines the value of Coursera hosted credentials and devalues the authentic efforts of other learners. Learners who engage in misconduct are therefore subject to consequences as described below.
Academic misconduct is defined as any activity which circumvents, or attempts to circumvent, the learning experience provided by the course through violation of course learning policies or specific policies provided by the instructor or outlined by the syllabus, or misrepresentation of the authorship or conditions of completion of course activities. The following standards provide clarification of the most common types of academic misconduct, but the list is not exhaustive. Other behavior may constitute academic misconduct in a particular course or across the Coursera platform.
Definitions
Work within a Coursera activity - all activity on the Coursera platform including logins and all course activities is subject to these policies. Work includes but is not limited to exams, quizzes, peer review activities, assessments, discussion board contributions, guided projects, and labs. Furthermore, activities outside the platform that pertain to coursework on the platform are also covered by these policies.
Unauthorized - activities that violate Coursera’s Terms of Use, course or platform policies, activities which are illegal, or those activities which violate academic standards or standards of integrity that a learner on the coursera platform should be expected to know are considered to be unauthorized.
Violations
- Plagiarism: Plagiarism is when you copy or reproduce words, ideas, or any other materials from another source without giving credit to the original author. Plagiarism also includes the practice of employing or allowing another person to alter or revise your work, and then submitting the work as your own. Learners may discuss assessments among themselves, or with an instructor or tutor, but all assessment submissions must be original works done independently by the learner. This includes work paraphrased, translated or otherwise modified using automated means. Plagiarism can also include self plagiarism, where a learner submits the same work that they had already submitted for another assessment or module, where this is not disclosed and permitted.
- Use of Unauthorized Materials: using or consulting unauthorized materials (including electronic materials) or using unauthorized equipment or devices on any work within a Coursera activity, unless expressly permitted.
- Unauthorized collaboration: working together with any person on any work within a Coursera activity unless expressly permitted.
- Contract cheating: paying, trading, or otherwise getting another person or an automated tool (including, but not limited to, ChatGPT, or similar software or applications) to create work for submission to a Coursera course or for work within a Coursera activity.
- Impersonation: completing work within any Coursera activity (including but not limited to exams, assessments, and learning activities) when logged in as another user or having another user complete work within a Coursera activity when logged in as you; otherwise misrepresenting the authorship of work submitted on Coursera.
- Unauthorized sharing of resources: making any information about or solutions to homework, quizzes, exams, projects, and other assessments available to anyone else (except to the extent an assessment explicitly permits sharing solutions). This includes both solutions written by you, other learners, outside resources, or any solutions provided by the course staff or others.
- Fraud: any misrepresentation about the authorship or the conditions under which work within a Coursera activity was performed not otherwise specified or falsifying any evidence in support of any mitigating circumstances claim.
- Other: any other behavior that confers an unfair advantage to you or someone else or any activity that attempts to dishonestly improve your results or improve or harm the results of others in the performance of work within a Coursera activity.
Consequences for Non-degree Products
Coursera will determine relevant sanctions based on the kind of misconduct, the severity of the behavior, the stakes of the assessment, and any previous history of misconduct by the user.
No refunds will be issued in the case of any corrective action for such violations. Honor Code violations will be determined at the sole discretion of Coursera and Coursera partners. You will be notified if a determination has been made that you have violated this Honor Code and you will be informed of the corresponding action to be taken as a result of the violation.
Consequences for Degree Products
For Degree, MasterTrack, and University Certificate Programs, consequences are at the sole discretion of the content provider.
Report Honor Code violations
Contact us to report an Honor Code violation.
Qwiklabs Terms of Service
This Terms of Service Agreement (the “Agreement”), along with the Privacy Policy located at privacy policy (the “Privacy Policy”), establishes the terms and conditions applicable to your use of the Service (as defined below) offered by Qwiklabs Inc., 355 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142 (“Qwiklabs” or “We”). By clicking the "I Accept" button displayed as part of the registration process or by using the Service or any portion thereof, you accept and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the Privacy Policy, including all terms incorporated herein by reference. The Agreement and the Privacy Policy will be effective as of the date you click the “I Accept” button displayed as part of the registration process or by using the Service or any portion thereof (the “Effective Date”). If you are entering into this Agreement on behalf of a company or other legal entity, you represent that you have the authority to bind such entity to this Agreement, in which case the terms "you" or "your" shall refer to such entity. If you do not have such authority, or if you do not agree with these terms and conditions, you must select the "I Decline" button and may not use the Service.
- Definitions
- "Agents" means (i) service providers and related third parties that Qwiklabs may hire to perform certain business-related functions and (ii) business partners and related third parties with which Qwiklabs may have a contractual relationship with respect to the Service.
- "Creator Content" means any content or work of authorship created, owned or licensed by you if you have a “Creator Role”, which is submitted to the Lab Creation Service and transmitted, rendered, displayed or executed on or through the Service, including without limitation any text, postings, audio, video, images, messages, software, and materials.
- “Creator Role” means the designation of your account by Qwiklabs as a creator to access the “Lab Creation Service”. If you have the Creator Role, all sections of this agreement apply to you including sections that reference the Lab Service and the Lab Creation Service.
- “Lab Creation Service” means the services and functionality hosted by Qwiklabs and made available to you, through which you may deploy, configure, customize, manage, administer, and control a virtual server for implementing and testing software as a part of your training through the Lab Service if you have a “Creator Role” on or through the Qwiklabs Site.
- “Lab Service” means the educational, training, and learning services provided to you through the Qwiklabs Site or any related website provided by Qwiklabs.
- “Lab Sponsor” means any or all of the following: (a) the company or other organization (other than Qwiklabs or any reseller of training services or content) with whom you are employed or otherwise associated in connection with the Lab Service, (b) the instructor(s) of the Lab Service (or other individuals designated by the instructor(s) to assist with the creation, modification or operation of the Lab Service), and the companies or institutions with which they are affiliated, or (c) the owner of the Third Party Content accessible and/or used by you in the Lab Service.
- “Qwiklabs Site” means the website located at Qwiklab.com, and/or any related or successor URLs operated or controlled by Qwiklabs.
- “Qwiklabs Technology” means all of Qwiklabs’ proprietary technology (including, but not limited to, software, hardware, products, processes, algorithms, user interfaces, know-how, techniques, designs, and other tangible or intangible technical material or information) made available to you by Qwiklabs in providing the Service, excluding Third Party Content.
- “Resources” means any virtual or physical infrastructure provided to you by the Service.
- “Service” means the Lab Service and the Lab Creation Service, collectively, along with the Qwiklab Site.
- “Third Party Content” means any content or work of authorship created, owned, or licensed by a third party or one of our affiliates, including your Lab Sponsor and accessible and/or used by you through the Service.
- Use of Service
This Agreement applies to all use of the Service. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and your registration with us through the Qwiklabs user registration process, Qwiklabs hereby grants you the right to use the Lab Service under the terms of this Agreement. Furthermore, if you have a Creator Role, Qwiklabs hereby grants you the right to use the Lab Creation Service under the terms of this Agreement. Use of Resources may be performed only in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement and such other specifications as may be communicated by Qwiklabs from time to time.
- Restrictions and Limitations
You may not access and/or use the Service for purposes of monitoring its availability, performance, or functionality, or for any other benchmarking or competitive purposes.
You shall not, and will not allow third parties under your control to: (i) license, sublicense, sell, resell, transfer, assign, distribute, or otherwise commercially exploit or make available to any third party the Service in any way, except as expressly authorized in this Agreement; (ii) modify (except as permitted through the Lab Creation Service (if you have a Creator role)) or make derivative works based upon the Service; (iii) reverse engineer the Service and/or any component thereof; (iv) access the Service in order to build a competitive product or service; (v) build a product using similar ideas, features, functions, or graphics of the Service, or (vi) copy any ideas, features, functions, or graphics of the Service.
You shall not utilize any part of the Service to: (i) send spam or otherwise duplicative or unsolicited messages in violation of applicable Laws (as defined below); (ii) send or store infringing, obscene, threatening, libelous, defamatory, pornographic, online gambling, or otherwise unlawful or tortious material, including material harmful to children or that violates third party privacy rights or inconsistent with the generally accepted practices of the Internet community as reasonably determined by Qwiklabs; (iii) send or store material containing software viruses, worms, Trojan horses or other harmful computer code, files, scripts, agents, or programs; (iv) interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Service or the data contained therein; (v) attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service or its related systems or networks; or (vi) enable, further, or participate in any unlawful activity. You may not use any part of the Service in connection with providing any website or service that is aimed at, directed to, or marketed to children under the age of 16 or the age of consent in your country. You acknowledge and agree that if Qwiklabs or any Lab Sponsor becomes aware or has reason to believe that you are engaging in any such prohibited activity, both have the right to immediately suspend and/or terminate your use of the Service.
If you have a Creator Role any use of the Lab Creation Service and the Resources must be limited to use for the sole purpose of completing or participating in Lab Services provided by your Lab Sponsor. The Resources may not be made available to or accessed by any third party other than your Lab Sponsor and/or any individuals acting on behalf of your Lab Sponsor. All software or other Creator Content stored on the Resources may be deleted at any time by Qwiklabs. Qwiklabs makes no warranties or representations with respect to the performance, reliability, or functionality of the Lab Creation Service. All Creator Content or other data stored on the Resources should be non-confidential and no warranty or representation is made with respect to the confidentiality or security of any Creator Content stored on the Resources.
The right to use the Lab Service and, if you have a Creator Role, the Lab Creation Service is non-transferable. Any Lab Service tokens you buy or any promotional tokens you’re given are for your individual use and cannot be resold or distributed.
All rights not expressly granted to you are reserved by Qwiklabs and its licensors.
- Your Responsibilities
You are responsible for all activity occurring through your use of the Service. You represent: (i) that you shall abide by all applicable laws and regulations in connection with your use of the Service, including, without limitation, those related to intellectual property and privacy (collectively, "Laws"); and (ii) that you will not copy, reproduce, edit, translate, reformat, store, display, distribute, or perform any content or work of authorship that is transmitted, rendered, displayed or executed on or through the Service in violation of the intellectual property rights of any person (including any Lab Sponsor).
You will not obscure or contravene or attempt to obscure or contravene any notices of or attribution to Qwiklabs displayed within the Service that relate to Qwiklabs’ role as a service provider.
You will select and use a secure user password for your account and you agree not to share your password with any other party.
- Commercial Activities Prohibited
The Resources may not be used for promotional or commercial activities, including for advertising or crypto-mining. If you have a Creator Role, use of the Lab Creation Service is limited to the creation and testing of Creator Content and related materials in connection with the Lab Service.
- Your Information
You agree to provide Qwiklabs with your complete and accurate contact information, including, without limitation, when completing the account registration and creation process. This information includes your first and last name, legal name or business name, country of residence, e-mail address, and password. You agree to update this information promptly if it changes. If the contact information you have provided is false or fraudulent, Qwiklabs reserves the right to terminate your access to the Service in addition to any other legal remedies. Our collection, use, and storage of your personal information is subject to the terms and conditions of our Privacy Policy, which is set forth at Privacy Policy.
- Creator Content: Ownership
This Section 7 is applicable to you only if you have a Creator role on Qwiklabs site or any other site provided by Qwiklabs in concert with your Lab Sponsor.
As between you and Qwiklabs, Creator Content shall be the property of you. By posting, uploading, inputting, providing or submitting Creator Content, you hereby grant to Qwiklabs and its affiliated companies, Agents and necessary sublicensees a worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free license to (i) copy, reproduce, edit, translate, reformat, store, display, distribute, and perform Creator Content on or through the Service in order to provide the Service; (ii) use and analyze the Creator Content in furtherance of Qwiklabs’ internal business purposes or otherwise for the purpose of providing the Service; (iii) disclose metrics regarding Creator Content on an aggregated basis for marketing and business development purposes; (iv) publish your name in connection with your Creator Content; and (v) sublicense such rights to any supplier or third party in relation to the operation of the Qwiklabs business including the Service.
You acknowledge and agree that you have sole responsibility for ensuring that all Creator Content you submit on or through the Service is compliant with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, all other terms of use agreements, disclaimers, and notices that may be displayed by Qwiklabs on or through the Service, and all Laws ("Applicable Terms"). You, and not Qwiklabs, shall have sole responsibility for the accuracy, quality, integrity, legality, reliability, appropriateness, and intellectual property ownership or right to use of all Creator Content, and Qwiklabs shall not be responsible or liable for the deletion, correction, destruction, damage, loss, or failure to store any Creator Content. Qwiklabs reserves the right to, without notice, withhold, remove, and/or discard Creator Content not in compliance with the Applicable Terms, and to remove or disable any Resources or account not in compliance with the Applicable Terms.
Except as set forth in this Section 7, using our Services does not give you ownership of any intellectual property rights in the content you access, including, without limitation, Third Party Content.
- Demonstration Accounts and Use
Qwiklabs may grant to certain persons or entities a limited-time demonstration account (“Demo Account”) to use the Service for the limited purpose of evaluating the Service for purchase. Any such Demo Account granted to you may be used only for the limited time period specified by Qwiklabs (the “Demo Period”) upon provision of the Demo Account login details to you. Any Demo Account may be revoked at any time and for any reason.
All Creator Content submitted by any user of a Demo Account will be deleted upon termination of the Demo Period. In addition to the terms and conditions of this Section 8, all terms and conditions of this Agreement shall apply to any use of the Service in connection with a Demo Account.
- Intellectual Property
- Qwiklabs Intellectual Property
You acknowledge and agree that Qwiklabs or its affiliates, where applicable, shall own all right, title, and interest, including, without limitation, all intellectual property rights in and to the Qwiklabs Technology. This Agreement is not a sale and does not convey to you any rights of ownership in or related to the Service, the Qwiklabs Technology or the intellectual property rights owned by Qwiklabs. The Qwiklabs name, the Qwiklabs trademark, and other product names associated with the Service are trademarks of Qwiklabs, and no right or license is granted to use them.
- Feedback
You hereby assign and agree to assign to Qwiklabs all right, title, and interest in and to any enhancement requests, recommendations, suggestions, comments, evaluations, ideas, or other information relating to the Service (“Feedback”) provided by you to Qwiklabs, including, but not limited to, all intellectual property rights embodied in such Feedback.
- Modification of Terms
Qwiklabs reserves the right to modify this Agreement or its policies relating to the Service and other Applicable Terms, at any time, effective upon posting of an updated version of this Agreement, policies and/or other Applicable Terms on the Service. You are responsible for regularly reviewing this Agreement and such policies, the current version of which shall be made available as set forth herein through the Qwiklabs Site. If any change to this Agreement is not acceptable to you, your sole remedy is to terminate your use of the Service and any other rights under this Agreement. Any use of the Service after such publication shall constitute acceptance by you of such revised Agreement.
- Term and Termination
This Agreement commences upon your acceptance of this Agreement by clicking “I Accept” in the sign-up process for the Service and shall continue until terminated (the “Term”). You acknowledge and agree that Qwiklabs or your Lab Sponsor may terminate and/or suspend your access to any portion of the Service for any reason or for no reason at all, in Qwiklabs’ sole discretion, without prior notice. You may terminate this Agreement at any time by discontinuing your use of the Service. For users of Demo Accounts, this Agreement shall terminate upon the expiration of the corresponding Demo Period. If applicable, all other user accounts shall terminate upon the conclusion or withdrawal of the Lab Service by the Lab Sponsor.
Upon termination or expiration, your right to access or use Content shall immediately cease, and Qwiklabs shall have no obligation to retain copies of any Content or related data. Upon termination or expiration of this Agreement, the following provisions will survive in full force and effect: 7, 9, 11.2, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16, and any other clause or portion of a clause which, by its nature, is intended to survive termination or expiration of this Agreement.
- Indemnification
You shall indemnify and hold Qwiklabs, its licensors, partners and each such party’s parent organizations, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, employees, attorneys, and agents harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, costs, damages, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including attorneys’ fees and costs) arising out of or in connection with: (i) any Creator Content, including without limitation any claim alleging that use of any Creator Content infringes or misappropriates the rights of, or has caused harm to, a third party; (ii) a breach or violation by you of any responsibilities, representations, covenants, or warranties under this Agreement and/or other Applicable Terms; or (iii) your use of the Resources. You agree that Qwiklabs’ licensors and partners shall be third party beneficiaries of your indemnification obligations hereunder.
- Disclaimer of Warranties
You acknowledge and agree that by using the Service, you may be exposed to Third Party Content that is offensive, indecent, or objectionable. You further acknowledge and agree that the Service and the Third Party Content may contain errors or omissions. You acknowledge and agree that Qwiklabs does not screen or review published Third Party Content on the Service to determine whether it contains false or defamatory material or material which is offensive, indecent, objectionable, or which contains errors or omissions. Under no circumstances will Qwiklabs be liable in any way for Third Party Content, including, but not limited to, for any defamation, falsehoods, errors, or omissions in any such content, or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use or publication of any such Third Party Content posted, emailed, or otherwise transmitted via the Service. Qwiklabs does not guarantee that any Third Party Content will be to your satisfaction.
Qwiklabs, its partners and licensors make no representation, warranty, or guaranty as to the reliability, timeliness, quality, suitability, truth, availability, accuracy, or completeness of the Service or any third party content. Qwiklabs, its partners and licensors do not represent or warrant that (a) the use of the Service will be secure, timely, uninterrupted, or error-free or operate in combination with any other hardware, software, system, or data, (b) the Service will meet your requirements or expectations, (c) any stored data will be accurate or reliable, (d) the quality of any products, services, information, or other material purchased or obtained by you through the Service will meet your requirements or expectations, (e) errors or defects will be corrected, or (f) the Service or the server(s) that make the Service available are free of viruses or other harmful components. The Service and all licensed and third party content are provided to you strictly on an "as is" basis. Qwiklabs, its partners and licensors hereby disclaim (to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law) all conditions, representations and warranties, whether express, implied, statutory or otherwise, including, without limitation, any implied warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement of third party rights.
Qwiklabs Services may be subject to limitations, delays, and other problems inherent in the use of the internet and electronic communications. Qwiklabs is not responsible for any delays, delivery failures, or other damage resulting from such problems.
If you are an EEA-based consumer of digital content, services, or goods, and you have agreed to our Terms of Service, then EEA consumer laws provide you with a legal guarantee. Under this guarantee, we are liable for any lack of conformity that you discover for the one-time supply of digital content or services at any time during the "continuous" supply of digital content or services. Your national laws may provide an even longer guarantee. Your rights under these legal guarantees aren’t limited by any other commercial guarantees that we provide. If you want to make a guarantee claim, please contact us at https://support.google.com/qwiklabs/contact/contact_us
- Limitation of Liability
In no event shall Qwiklabs’ aggregate liability for all claims arising with respect to or in connection with this Agreement exceed the amounts received by Qwiklabs from you or your Lab Sponsor for the use of the Services during the six (6) month period immediately preceding the event upon which claims are based. In no event shall Qwiklabs, its partners and/or licensors be liable to anyone for any indirect, punitive, special, exemplary, incidental, consequential, or other damages of any type or kind (including loss of data, revenue, profits, use, or other economic advantage) arising out of or in any way connected with the Service, including but not limited to the use of or inability to use the Service, or for any creator content obtained from or through the Service, any interruption, inaccuracy, error, or omission, regardless of cause, in the creator content, even if Qwiklabs, its partners or licensors have been previously advised of the possibility of such damages.
- Force Majeure
In no event shall Qwiklabs incur any liability to you on account of any loss or damage resulting from any delay or failure to perform all or any part of this Agreement to the extent such delay or failure is caused by events, occurrences, or causes beyond the control and without negligence of Qwiklabs, including by not limited to acts of God, strikes, riots, acts of war, lockouts, earthquakes, fires, and explosions.
- Miscellaneous
Governing Law. Except if not permitted by your jurisdiction's applicable law, all claims arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the Program will be governed by California law, excluding California's conflict of laws rules, and will be litigated exclusively in the federal or state courts of Santa Clara County, California, USA; the parties consent to personal jurisdiction in those courts.
No Waiver. Neither party will be treated as having waived any rights by not exercising (or delaying the exercise of) any rights under this Agreement.
Severability. To the extent any term of this Agreement is invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the rest of the Agreement will remain in effect.
Assignment. Neither party may assign any part of this Agreement without the written consent of the other, except to an affiliate where: (a) the assignee has agreed in writing to be bound by the terms of this Agreement and liable for obligations under the Agreement including obligations incurred prior to the assignment; (b) the assigning party has notified the other party of the assignment; and (c) where Partner is assigning to an affiliate, Qwiklabs must have provided its prior written consent. Any other attempt to transfer or assign is void.
Notices. All notices of termination or breach must be in English, in writing and addressed to the other party’s Legal Department. The address for notices to Qwiklabs’ Legal Department is legal-notices@google.com. All other notices must be in English, in writing and addressed to the other party’s primary contact. Notice will be treated as given on receipt, as verified by written or automated receipt or by electronic log (as applicable).
Contact Details.The contracting entity is Qwiklabs, Inc., located at 355 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142. The URL for contact is https://www.cloudskillsboost.google/
Appendix
Additional Provisions Applicable to Qwiklabs Affiliate Content
If you are using or accessing the Service to receive content or materials created by any entity that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with Qwiklabs (a “Qwiklabs Affiliate”), or provided or made available by a Qwiklabs Affiliate via the Service, including (without limitation) training manuals, access to online lab environments, slideware, videos, student guides, student lab instructions or such other materials or content as may be provided by a Qwiklabs Affiliate from time to time (as all such courseware or materials may be updated or modified by such Qwiklabs Affiliate from time to time), (collectively, “Qwiklabs Affiliate Content”), the additional provisions set out in this Appendix will apply.
- Ownership and Licensing of Qwiklabs Affiliate Content
- A. Intellectual Property Ownership. Except as described at Section 1.B below, this Appendix does not grant you any rights, implied or otherwise, to intellectual property rights in and to the Qwiklabs Affiliate Content and any Qwiklabs Affiliate’s trade names, trademarks, logos, domain names, and other distinctive brand features (“Brand Features”). As between any Qwiklabs Affiliate and you, the applicable Qwiklabs Affiliate owns all intellectual property rights in and to the Qwiklabs Affiliate Content and Brand Features.
- B. Licensing of Qwiklabs Affiliate Content. Upon acceptance of this Appendix, the applicable Qwiklabs Affiliate grants you a non-exclusive, worldwide, non-transferable license, with no right to sublicense, to use the Qwiklabs Affiliate Content solely in connection with the Service. You may not copy, modify, share or publish the Qwiklabs Affiliate Content, or combine them with any of your own materials.
- Disclaimer for Qwiklabs Affiliate Content
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable laws, no conditions, warranties or other terms apply to any Qwiklabs Affiliate Content or to any other services supplied or made available by any Qwiklabs Affiliate via the Service unless expressly set out in this Appendix. For clarity, no implied conditions, warranties or other terms apply (including any implied terms as to satisfactory quality, fitness for purpose or conformance with description).
- Confidentiality of Qwiklabs Affiliate Content
You will not disclose the Qwiklabs Affiliate Content, except to employees, where applicable), affiliates or professional advisors, where applicable (“Delegates”) who need to know it and who have a legal obligation to keep it confidential. You will use the Qwiklabs Affiliate Content only to the extent expressly permitted under this Appendix. You will ensure that your Delegates are also subject to the same non-disclosure and use obligations, where applicable. You may disclose confidential information when required by law after giving reasonable notice to the discloser, if permitted by law. Except for the limited use rights under this Appendix, neither party acquires any right, title, or interest in the other party's confidential information.
- Liability for Qwiklabs Affiliate Content
IN RELATION TO THE QWIKLABS AFFILIATE CONTENT ONLY AND TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, NEITHER QWIKLABS, NOR QWIKLABS AFFILIATES AND ITS SUPPLIERS WILL BE LIABLE UNDER THIS AGREEMENT FOR LOST REVENUES OR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, EVEN IF THE PARTY KNEW OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT SUCH DAMAGES WERE POSSIBLE AND EVEN IF DIRECT DAMAGES DO NOT SATISFY A REMEDY. IN RELATION TO THE QWIKLABS AFFILIATE CONTENT ONLY AND TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, QWIKLABS’, QWIKLABS AFFILIATES’ AND SUPPLIERS’ AGGREGATE LIABILITY UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU OR YOUR LAB SPONSOR ACTUALLY PAID TO SUCH QWIKLABS AFFILIATE UNDER THIS AGREEMENT DURING THE SIX MONTHS PRIOR TO THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO SUCH LIABILITY.
Last Updated: May 5, 2022
Below you will find country specific telephone numbers to support consumers.
Austria +43800100458
Belgium +32080058206
Bulgaria +35980014447
Croatia +3858007746
Cyprus +35780077349
Czechia +420800701538
Denmark +4580400289
Estonia +3728005352
Finland +3580800523230
France +33805980300
Germany +498006270970
Greece +3080044147500
Hungary +36680987465
Ireland +3531800832665
Italy +39800089705
Latvia +37180205374
Lithuania +370880031454
Luxembourg +35280040253
Malta +35680065002
Netherlands +318002525537
Poland +48800702378
Portugal +351800600044
Romania +40800885811
Slovakia +421800500126
Slovenia +38680081099
Spain +34900906442
Sweden +460200125384