Information Systems Facilities - Markus and Jades Games Company - Case Study Example

Table of Contents 1. 1. Introduction 2 1.1 Purpose 2 1.2 Scope 3 1.3 Definitions, Acronyms, and Abbreviations 4 2. Overall Description of the LAN party 4 3. Hardware requirements 5 4. Basic LAN Party Network 8 5. Non Functional Requirements 9 6. Model to be used 11 7. Data Flows 12 8. Context diagram 14 9. Conclusion 15 1. 1. Introduction This Information Systems Facilities (ISF) report has been compiled for the implementation of the new system at Anarchic Games (AG) Pty Ltd to support the proposed LAN parties at Brisbane or the new stores in Sydney and Melbourne. The purpose of this ISF is to provide an overview of the new system under consideration for effective implementation of the LAN parties, which are being conceptualized by Anarchic Games (AG) Pty Ltd to improve the exisiting processes, create a rapport with the huge customer base and get all systems connected at both previous and new locations. The potential benefits seen as a result of this change are being envisioned as the following: rapid access to vital and accurate information; no duplication of services; control of the established Brisbane store, as well as connectivity and control of their new stores; quality information exchange between the stores; sharing the gaming experience with their customers and gaining feedback on their game releases a more comprehensive view of the current status of inventory items 1.1 Purpose The purpose of this report is to enable Anarchic Games and provide them complete guidelines, both technical and otherwise, to manage their new stores, and also the proposed LAN parties in Brisbane. The report will demonstrate on how all systems would be connected by high-speed networks, and how the same could be managed from the Brisbane store. The new systems will enable Markus and Jade to effectively monitor sales and store performance, as well as the interest in their locally made games. The report will specify about the inventory available at each shop, in addition to gaining information about the use of their massively multiplayer online games (MMOG) games. The hugely successful Brisbane business is currently the hub of all of Anarchic Games’ activities; it includes a development lab and a shopfront. The core of the business is games development, producing up to 5 new MMOG per year. Accurate data about these will enhance the company’s decision-making capability in future. This, in turn, will turn the business efficient and boost their customer base. 1.2 Scope The scope for expansion is tremendous. The existing facilities though being adequate are not sufficient enough to support the proposed LAN parties, or anyway provide some backup for the new stores in Sydney and Melbourne. Currently, only 2 PCs are there at the Brisbane store for managing inventory, sales, clients and administration work; new equipment will have to be purchased to provide an infrastructure for the expansion. All PC’s used for sales need to be networked to the Brisbane store to manage inventory. Markus and Jade, who manage all operations, will have to think ahead of time if and when more stores are opened in other states, apart from checking feasibility on LAN parties to test out games in a controlled environment 1.3 Definitions, Acronyms, and Abbreviations LAN Local Area Network ISF Information Systems Facilities MMOG Massively Multiplayer Online Games 2. Overall Description of the LAN party This LAN party would be a temporary and spontaneous one to network the participants to primarily play multiplayer computer games. Since LANs come in several options, depending on the number of people involved, requirements can be set accordingly. One difference LAN parties have with Internet cafes is that participants need to bring their own computers, unless otherwise decided. These computers are not permanent installations. However, there are general requirements that hosts and guests alike will have to take care of. A small LAN party requires a hub/switch, with enough ports to accommodate all the players, a fair amount of power, and suitable surfaces for all the computers. Providing refreshments is often also a duty of the host, though guests are usually asked to contribute. In larger parties where participants may not all know each other personally, an entry fee may even be charged. Another tradition of some small groups is to purchase large amounts of fast food for consumption over many days. Many LAN participants will also bring energy drinks and other food to consume over the course of the party. As against a widely-held notion that a network hub/switch is required for a LAN party, one can do without it. In fact and ad-hoc network can be set up if all computers are supported by Wi-Fi capability. This, in fact, will eliminate the need to for a wired network. In absence of a few participants, VPN software such as Hamachi and Remobo can be synchronized with computers over the Internet so as to form a LAN. In all, the following things would be needed to organize the LAN party: 3. Hardware requirements Computers; hosts or guests can provide Monitor; hosts or guests can provide Power cables for monitor and computer Keyboard, mouse and mouse pad Headphones/Microphone Power strip; to be brought by participants if not provided by host 10 meter or long network cables (Usually a 10 meter or longer cable is required) Software requirements Games with CD keys. Their latest patches are required too Device drivers for the hardware Host requirements The host i.e., the company in this case, has to look into nitty-gritty of a number of things that can go into the making a LAN party as an effective and a memorable one. Some of them, even if they look too trivial, are very importantly to be considered for the same. These include the following: Venue: Currently AG employs a team of 20 game developers in addition to the 3 staff employed to run the store. The venue, thus, has to be spacious enough to accommodate them all with all other facilities like washrooms etc in perfect order. Since the LAN party can go on for many hours, the host has to ensure that there is enough room for rest too. Air Conditioning: AG has to check beforehand on the type of space it has and the seating arrangement for the LAN party. Also the outside climate has to be considered so as to decide whether or not air conditioning is required, since using so many computers at a time can raise temperatures and that might cause inconvenience to the participants. Power: Average power requirements per attendant would be about 350-400 watts, which means approximately 80% utilization per circuit, calculated on the basis of five to six people on a 240V, 10A Circuit. If air conditioning is used, more power in the form of a 3-phase line would be required. Networking: Ethernet networks are almost universally used. Depending on the number of computers and budget requirements, the network can range from a single switch to complex topologies involving routers, fiber optic switches and custom servers to route broadcast traffic. Each participant will require at least one 100Mb/s or 1Gb/s network connection. Internet: Internet access has to be provided, but there has to be a restriction on downloading files without permissions. Servers: There are a number of game servers, and the ones that can be chiefly used are Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and/or Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Food: Food has to be taken care of. It is better to ask for food preferences in advance or provide menu days ahead of the event so as to allow participants to pick their preference before the event, and allow time to outsource the same. Information Services: This is an important feature. Since there are a number of participants, a lot of information would need to be shared amongst them all. For this a video projector can be used to disseminate the information. Security: This can be left to the LAN managers/ programmers since proper security will prevent any unauthorized access or theft of crucial data. 4. Basic LAN Party Network 5. Non Functional Requirements To conduct this operation, several non-functional requirements will have to be taken into consideration. Non-functional requirement will have to specify how the system should behave. Typical non-functional requirements are: – Performance - Response Time, Throughput, Utilization, Static Volumetric –Capacity –Availability –Reliability –Scalability –Recoverability –Maintainability –Serviceability –Security –Data Integrity –Usability –Regulatory –Manageability –Environmental –Interoperability Non-functional requirements will determine the system’s ‘quality characteristics’ or ‘quality attributes’. Since a number of participants are involved, proper functioning of non-functional requirements will impact different stakeholders. This is because for many large systems the people buying the system are completely different from those who are going to use it (customers and users). 5.1 Requirements Traceability Matrix Since the stores will be linked and all stocks, sales and accounts will have to be made available at all locations, this matrix will be used to trace project/ product life cycle trend and data. The matrix will establish rope in all requirements from identification through to implementation in a thread. Each component will have to be entered for proper inventory control, retrieval and use. Traceability will have to be tested for such parameters as: Usability Dependability Reliability Performance Recoverability Interoperability Compatibility Portability Configuration Security Maintainability Availability Installability 6. Model to be used Testing cannot take place once the systems are up. The same have to be done before that happens. Requirements analysis and creating test criteria creation can kickstart the same. This test actually is centred on 'what' you need to test, and the process itself is called “V” model. 6.1 Modeling techniques to illustrate the new system DFDs etc For creating effective DFDs, some or all of several modeling rules can be applied: All processes must be governed by at least one data flow out and one data flow in. All processes must be able to modify the incoming data, and simultaneously be able to generate new forms of outgoing data. At least one data flow must be associated with each data store. At least one data flow must be involved with each external entity. A data flow must be attached to at least one process. 7. Data Flows Input or output of data to or from a process Rules: line with arrow indicating direction of flow name of the product Lease Completed order Course Registration Request Sales Projection Valid data flows: Agent ==> Process Process ==> Agent Data Store ==> Process Process ==> Data Store Process ==> Process Drawing a DFD Create use case descriptions Draw Context DFD Draw Level 0 DFD Draw Level 1 DFDs Draw Level 2 DFDs Data Stores Things that business processes need to store data about Rules: “open-ended” rectangle w/ID # name should be consistent with entity should be one data store for each entity/ product may be duplicated to avoid crossing lines only processes connect to data stores 8. Context diagram 9. Conclusion As the proposed above these systems will not only help AG manage their new stores, but also support their LAN activity at Brisbane. This system is going to monitor sales effectively along with store performance. Since monitoring will be effective and hassle-free, this will leave AG with more time to think ahead and develop more and effective sales strategies. The system will provide AG information about the games available at each shop, in addition to a deeper insight into the information pertaining to the use of their MMOG games. **** Read More