Hardware and Software Needed for the Whipps Cross Hospital Database

In this section I am going to briefly explain what software I will be using to design my database for Whipps Cross Hospital and I will also be outlining the different hardware’s requirements for the database.

SOFTWARE:

I will be using Microsoft Access to design and create my database. The reason why I am going to be using this software is because it has all the facilities to create a database and is the only software suited for my database, which makes it the best software that is available for me to use in school. This software also does not demand to mush from the hardware. But there is other alternative software’s that I can use such as; Microsoft Excel, Sequel server and Delphi software which are also designed to create database.

HARDWARE:

There are many different systems requirements that are needed to effectively run Microsoft Access software and the database that I will design.

Minimum hardware requirements for the database on Microsoft Access;

Requirement

Minimum

Recommended

CPU speed

750 MHz

1 GHz faster

Memory (RAM)

512 MB

– Windows XP Professional; 128 MB of RAM plus an additional 8 MB of RAM for Access

1 GB or higher (4 GM max)

Hard disk

16 GM of available hard disk space*

16 GM of available hard disk space*

Drive

CD-ROM or DVD-ROM

CD-ROM or DVD-ROM

Display

VGA or hardware that supports console redirection

Super VGA (800 600) or higher-resolution monitor

There are many different types of hardware that I will be using in my database; these will affect the speed, memory (RAM and hard disk) and the appearance of the graphics, to make sure my database works efficiently. Below I am going to explain how the following Hardware components will apply to the performance of the database that I will be using.

HARDWARE EXPLAINED:

A central processing unit (CPU), or sometimes simply processor, is a software application program designed to replace the typewriter. A word processor is used to create, manage, edit, print, and store text-based documents such as memos, reports, briefs, documents, letters etc. It’s the component in a digital computer that interprets computer program instructions and processes data. It is known to be the computers brain, whereas other peripherals are attached to them. It is measured in gigahertz (GHz) which is usually in 3 GHz.

CPUs will provide the fundamental digital computer trait of programmability, for my database to work at a higher rate and it is one of the necessary components found in computers of any era, along with primary storage it also provides input/output facilities. Database will benefit largely if there is a fast CPU present as the CPU and the memory are the centre points of a computer so the better the CPU components, the faster and the better rate my database will work at in the busy environment of Whipps Cross Hospital. The faster the CPU the quicker it can see the database with the doctors and patients details recoded (With a faster CPU Whipps Cross Hospital will be able to do there work as quickly and accurately). The faster the CPU the higher ability available to hold more patients and be more organised, being the results of accurate and faster calculations so the hospital will run and make progress. This hardware is a result of faster calculations for my database which will makes things easier to handle in Whipps Cross Hospital.

Although the costs of CPU’s are expensive, it is worth the price as it makes all the work easier. The price usually varies from about 100 pounds, which is really expensive for the Whipps Cross Hospital as a large organisation will need this hardware component on so many computers that a lot of expense will go under one part of a computer.

A hard disk drive (HDD), commonly referred to as a hard drive or hard disk, this is a non-volatile storage device which stores digitally encoded data on rapidly rotating platters with magnetic surfaces or a non-renewable disk that storage device based on a fixed, permanently mounted disk drive(permanently stores data in a computer). It may either be internal – part of the computer itself or external – a separate but connected component. Both applications can store data on the disk.

An example of an external hard disk in everyday life is a USB mass storage device which is reliable as the data inside the disk cannot get lost unless the drive is damaged. Is does not cost a lot to buy and is worth buying the costs usually varies from minimum 10 upwards- depending on the size of the memory. Whipps Cross Hospital can benefit from having a hard disk such as a USB, as the data they store can be stored in a reliable way in which it cannot get lost for a very long time.

The amount of data that can be stored on a hard disk depends on the memory, the bigger the memory the more data can be stored. For one computer in Whipps Cross Hospital a 500 gigabits (GB) hard disk is needed or two, hard disk may be needed, which will sum to 200 pounds, according to the amount of data that the hospital is planning to store. HDD are not very expensive and are worth buying.

Whipps cross hospital will benefit from hard disk drive by saving the data into internal drive so that the other computer logins can access the database easily. The benefit of this will be that they won’t have to update the information on their computer by saving the data on their USB ports, when it will automatically be saved on all the computers and only consultants will be able to access this by logging themselves in.

The performance affect the way my data base works because then I would know how much memory my database will use and need. I can compress my database to be able to hold more data information according to the needs of hospital hard drives but I need to make sure that my data base does not require more use of space as the hospitals have to use this space for other information.

A Random access memory (usually known by its acronym, RAM) is a type of data storage used in computers. It takes the form of integrated circuits that allow the stored data to be accessed in any order at random and without the physical movement of the storage medium or a physical reading head. It is a temporary storage device that completes the tasks. RAM is called “random access” because any storage location can be accessed directly and the word “random” refers to the fact that any piece of data can be returned quickly, and in a constant time, regardless of its physical location and whether or not it is related to the previous piece of data. This contrasts with storage mechanisms such as tapes, magnetic discs and optical discs, which rely on the physical movement of the recording medium or a reading head. In these devices, the movement takes longer than the data transfer, and the retrieval time varies depending on the physical location of the next item. RAM is a very good way of spacing out data.

The more RAM the better, the faster and more effectively my database will work for Whipps Cross Hospital which will be beneficial to Whipps cross hospital as if they have more RAM that means that more then one programme can be open at once. It will mean that the computer will not work with slow speed as well and work efficiently. Each memory slot can contain 256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB, or 2 GB of double data rate synchronous dynamic RAM .Whipps Cross Hospital is required to have a random access memory of at least 512MB on each computer to run my database and queries on my database effectively. All the computers contains a certain amount of RAM in there PC’s but to compress the memory it is quiet expensive according to the memory size, the higher the memory the expensive it is. The costs involved are in varies of prices depending on the size of the memory. If the hospital computers contain a RAM of 256 MB then they would need to buy a extra 256 MB for my database but if they have more then that then they could run my database very effectively. The costs price for a 256 MB of RAM is about 15 onwards which is not so expensive, as it will benefit the hospital in many other ways then just for my database.

A video card, (also referred to as a graphics accelerator card, display adapter, graphics card, and numerous other terms), is an item of personal computer hardware whose function is to generate and output images to a display. The term is usually used to refer to a separate, dedicated expansion card that is plugged into a slot on the computer’s motherboard, as opposed to a graphics controller integrated into the motherboard chipset. Graphics card will allow everything and all the data that I produce for my database to be seen as a displayed image on the monitor, however the performance of the graphics card does not affect the way my database works as it only takes the information I put in to the computer as a process of input device and displays it for me as an image on the screen.

On the other hand Whipps Cross Hospital is wanted to have a better graphics card component in their computers as they need to see the data they enter into the database by the help of graphic card. The better the graphics card, the better the image displayed on the monitors of Whipps Cross computers. The prices involved for this hardware component can vary in prices which can be very expensive but in my database I am only going to use it to display the data I put in, so a standard graphic card will be enough which varies from about 20 upwards and will not be very expensive for the Whipps Cross Hospital.