Layer 1 - Processors & Devices - Black

This layer is where the laws of physics reign supreme. Fortunately, the 1980s and 1990s brought the market to full interchangeability in hardware. Virtually all devices can function with each other and with all processors. This is a huge advantage over systems in prior decades, where logic design and application infrastructure decisions were tied to particular processors.

In order to enjoy the benefits of maximum processor power, it is important for executives and managers – if not boards of directors – to understand differences between RISC and CISC processors and to understand basic issues with respect to dual processing and clustering. At some point in the future, however, such issues will likely be transparent to enterprise users, especially in the higher numbered levels, as Grid Computing and On-Demand computing will make such resources available without concern for underlying engineering issues whether systems are supported within the organization or by contract with outside parties.

The Allen model provides hope for managers and technologists alike. By merging semantics and taxonomies in a way that allows for expression of processes, the Allen model provides both clarity of meaning and context. If you understand the acronyms, the terminology, and the operational definition of the field in question, you can make sense of the semantics. If you can navigate through the trees under the Allen model, you can understand the context in which the semantics are used. If you understand both the semantics and the trees, you can direct the logic of the process.

Managing the link between logic design and data stores is critical. Few managers or investigators have the interest or the background to design complex queries to databases or directories, but that task can be managed with confidence in conjunction with database specialists. Modifications to the Allen model make such interactions straightforward.