GIET UNIVERSITY, GUNUPUR

IT INFRASTRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT

LECTURE NOTES
UNIT-IV
Problem Management
1Q) Define Problem Management: - (Short)
Problem management is a process used to identify, log, track, resolve, and
analyze problems impacting IT services. Problem management is the process of
identifying and managing the causes of incidents on an IT service. It is a core
component of ITSM frameworks.
Problem Management is the process to identify, prioritize, and systematically
resolve these underlying issues. It provides the end-to-end management of
problems from identification to elimination. A simple example – a flat tire.
Everyone wants their tire fixed quickly so they can get back on the road.
2Q) Explain the scope of Problem Management. (Short)
The primary objectives of problem management are to prevent problems and
resulting incidents from happening, to eliminate recurring incidents, and to
minimize the impact of incidents that cannot be prevented. It involves three
phases such as problem identification, problem control and error control.
Problem Management is an IT service management process tasked with
managing the life cycle of underlying "Problems." Success is achieved by
quickly detecting and providing solutions or workarounds to Problems in order
to minimize the impact on the organization and prevent a recurrence.
3Q) Distinguish Between Problem, Change, and Request Management.
(Long)
Problem, change, and request management are three infrastructure processes
that are closely related but distinct.
Request management is usually treated as a subset of problem management, but
it applies to individuals requesting services or enhancements, such as a
specialized keyboard, a file restore, an advanced-function mouse, extra copies
of a report, or a larger monitor.

To further delineate the differences between problem, change, and service

requests, Table 11-3 provides examples of the three types of requests taken
from actual infrastructure environments.
4Q) Explain the differences Between a Function and a Process. (Short)

5Q) List the Advantages and Disadvantages of Integrated Service Desks.

(Long)
6Q) List the Key Steps to Developing a Problem Management Process.
(Long)
The following 11 key steps are required to develop a robust problem
management process.
1. Select an executive sponsor.
2. Assign a process owner.
3. Assemble a cross-functional team.
4. Identify and prioritize requirements.
5. Establish a priority and escalation scheme.
6. Identify alternative call-tracking tools.
7. Negotiate service levels.
8. Develop service and process metrics.
9. Design the call-handling process.
10. Evaluate, select, and implement the call-tracking tool.
11. Review metrics to continually improve the process.
7Q) What are the benefits of problem management? (Long)
Problem management can have several benefits when executed correctly.
Continuous service improvement:
Taking the time to fix a problem can prevent low-level performance and prevent
further problems that can interrupt services in the future. Seamless integration
between problems and all other ITSM processes enables organizations to
proactively mitigate issues and eliminate recurring incidents.
Avoid costly incidents:
Incidents as a result of problems can cost an organization a lot of time and
money if not properly managed. On the other hand, reducing incidents using
effective problem management saves organizations significant amounts, but
eliminating major issues before they can damage services, products, or a
businesses reputation.
Increased productivity:
A company can be more productive if they don’t spend time and resources
responding to problems that can be prevented.
Decreased time to resolution:
Best practices surrounding problem analysis will help teams more quickly and
accurately respond to service interruptions and prevent any downtime. Use
structured problem analysis to correlate problems and coordinate workflows to
find the fastest way to root-cause.
Learn from underlying causes:
Teams can consistently learn from incidents when they effectively practice
problem management.
Increase customer and employee satisfaction:
Customers and employees are more satisfied when there are fewer problems
along the way. Patience can run thin if there are problems—especially if the
problems are consistently the same.
Speed up service restoration:
Services can benefit when there is visibility into known errors and established
workarounds for IT staff.
Minimize service disruptions:
Teams can detect problems before they evolve into something more critical,
which prevents downtime and service interruptions. IT can proactively use
built-in dashboards for service performance and configurations.
Accelerate root cause resolution:
IT teams can create structured problem analyses by correlating problems and
coordinating workflows. With a consolidated view of the incidents and related
changes, IT can deliver faster responses and solutions.

8Q) Discuss various Client Issues with Problem Management. (Long)

9Q) Define Storage Management. (Short)
Storage management is a process used to optimize the use of storage devices
and to protect the integrity of data for any media on which it resides.
Storage management refers to the software and processes that improve the
performance of data storage resources. It may include network virtualization,
replication, mirroring, security, compression, deduplication, traffic analysis,
process automation, storage provisioning and memory management.
As the computation proceeds, the storage block is disintegrated into smaller
elements through allocation, recovery, and reuse.
Storage and distribution managers, sometimes called a logistics managers,
ensure that there organization's stock is maintained and moves efficiently. They
are responsible for safely organizing, efficiently storing, and diligently
distributing goods to make sure orders are fulfilled attentively and accurately.
10Q) Define Storage Management Capacity. (Long)
Storage management capacity consists of providing sufficient data storage to
authorized users at a reasonable cost. Storage capacity is often thought of as
large quantities of disk farms accessible to servers or mainframes. In fact, data
storage capacity includes main memory and magnetic disk storage for
mainframe processors, midrange computers, workstations, servers, and desktop
computers in all their various flavors.
Data storage capacity also includes alternative storage devices such as optical
disks, magnetic drums, open reel magnetic tape, magnetic tape cartridges and
cassettes, digital audio tape, and digital linear tape. When it comes to
maximizing the efficient use of data storage, most efforts are centered around
large-capacity storage devices such as high-volume disk arrays. This is because
the large capacities of these devices, when left unchecked, can result in poorly
used or wasted space.
Users have come to know these devices by various names, including:
 Flash drives
 Key drives
 Pen drives
 Thumb drives
 USB keys
 USB memory keys
 USB sticks
 Vault drives
Developments in Portable Disk Storage: -

11Q) Describe the Storage Management Performance. (Long)

There are a variety of considerations that come into play when configuring
infrastructure storage for optimal performance. The following list shows some
of the most common of these:
1. Size and type of processor main memory
2. Number and size of buffers
3. Size of swap space
4. Number and type of channels
5. Device controller configuration
6. Logical volume groups
7. Amount of disk array cache memory
8. Storage area networks (SANs)
9. Network-attached storage (NAS)
12Q) Describe the RAID Levels. (Short)
12Q) Discuss Storage Management Recoverability. (Long)