Introduction:

Top Secret, Inc. (TSI) faces significant business-related challenges stemming from the use of a single-purpose operating system (TSI OS) for its back-office functions. This decision, made to cut costs during the company's launch, has resulted in a mismatch between the capabilities of TSI OS and the requirements of a modern enterprise. This paper outlines the key challenges TSI encounters, drawing parallels with similar situations faced by other organizations and discussing the potential impact on productivity.

 

Business-Related Challenges:

 

Lack of Multiprogramming and Multitasking:

• TSI OS's inability to support multiprogramming and preemptive multitasking limits the efficiency of back-office operations. Unlike TSI customers who only need one program resident, a modern enterprise demands the ability to run multiple applications simultaneously. This deficiency hampers productivity, hindering the concurrent execution of essential tasks.

Obsolete Hardware Requirements:

• TSI's reliance on single-core processors due to TSI OS's lack of multiprocessing support is a significant constraint. Operating on outdated hardware affects performance and scalability, forcing TSI to invest in old, decommissioned equipment. In the era of multicore processors, this decision results in increased costs and inefficiencies.

Limited Multithreading and Virtual Memory:

• The absence of a comprehensive system call interface, multithreading support, and virtual memory capabilities in TSI OS poses substantial challenges. Multithreaded applications experience launch failures, and the flat memory model without paging necessitates frequent reboots, impacting system reliability and responsiveness.

Security Vulnerabilities:

• TSI OS's lack of security features exposes the back-office servers to risks associated with unauthorized access, compromising login credentials, file system modifications, and network security. This vulnerability contrasts with the secure closed TCP/IP networks deployed in customer installations, posing a critical threat to TSI's internal data integrity.

Device Driver and Compatibility Issues:

• The custom development of device drivers for individual customers becomes impractical in the diverse and sophisticated back-office environment. TSI developers struggle to code for the extensive variety of devices, leading to compatibility issues and hindering the integration of new technologies.

Fault Tolerance and Data Storage:

• The inability to code device drivers for RAID cards diminishes fault tolerance, placing company data at risk. With data residing on individual SATA and SCSI drives, TSI faces challenges in ensuring data integrity and reliability, a critical aspect for any organization.
• Recommendation: Based on the analysis of TSI's business requirements, it is recommended that TSI prioritizes the implementation of Multiprogramming, Multiprocessing, Multithreading, Virtual Memory, an expanded System Call Interface, Security features, Device Drivers, and Fault Tolerance in their endeavor to implement TSO OS in their back office. These features collectively enhance system performance, application efficiency, data security, and overall business continuity, aligning with TSI's technological needs and ensuring a robust and resilient back-office environment.

Assignment

 

Overall Evaluation: Using the defined requirements, analyses, and assessments, develop a comprehensive detailed technology recommendation. Include an integrated assessment of the operating system's capability to support organizational needs and technical requirements.