mainframe
n. main computer which can serve many users simultaneously (Computers) | ||||
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Mainframes definition was found in categories: Computer & Internet(1) Language, Idioms & Slang(1) Encyclopedia(1)
Mainframes Definition from Computer & Internet Dictionaries & Glossaries
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mainframe
<computer> A term originally referring to the cabinet containing the central processor unit or "main frame" of a room-filling Stone Age batch machine. After the emergence of smaller "minicomputer" designs in the early 1970s, the traditional big iron machines were described as "mainframe computers" and eventually just as mainframes. The term carries the connotation of a machine designed for batch rather than interactive use, though possibly with an interactive time-sharing operating system retrofitted onto it; it is especially used of machines built by IBM, Unisys and the other great dinosaurs surviving from computing's Stone Age.
It has been common wisdom among hackers since the late 1980s that the mainframe architectural tradition is essentially dead (outside of the tiny market for number crunching supercomputers (see Cray)), having been swamped by the recent huge advances in integrated circuit technology and low-cost personal computing. As of 1993, corporate America is just beginning to figure this out - the wave of failures, takeovers, and mergers among traditional mainframe makers have certainly provided sufficient omens (see dinosaurs mating).
Supporters claim that mainframes still house 90% of the data major businesses rely on for mission-critical applications, attributing this to their superior performance, reliability, scalability, and security compared to microprocessors.
[Jargon File]
(1996-07-22)
<computer> A term originally referring to the cabinet containing the central processor unit or "main frame" of a room-filling Stone Age batch machine. After the emergence of smaller "minicomputer" designs in the early 1970s, the traditional big iron machines were described as "mainframe computers" and eventually just as mainframes. The term carries the connotation of a machine designed for batch rather than interactive use, though possibly with an interactive time-sharing operating system retrofitted onto it; it is especially used of machines built by IBM, Unisys and the other great dinosaurs surviving from computing's Stone Age.
It has been common wisdom among hackers since the late 1980s that the mainframe architectural tradition is essentially dead (outside of the tiny market for number crunching supercomputers (see Cray)), having been swamped by the recent huge advances in integrated circuit technology and low-cost personal computing. As of 1993, corporate America is just beginning to figure this out - the wave of failures, takeovers, and mergers among traditional mainframe makers have certainly provided sufficient omens (see dinosaurs mating).
Supporters claim that mainframes still house 90% of the data major businesses rely on for mission-critical applications, attributing this to their superior performance, reliability, scalability, and security compared to microprocessors.
[Jargon File]
(1996-07-22)
Mainframes Definition from Language, Idioms & Slang Dictionaries & Glossaries
| WordNet 2.0 |
mainframe
Noun
1. a large digital computer serving 100-400 users and occupying a special air-conditioned room
(synonym) mainframe computer
(hypernym) digital computer
(hyponym) supercomputer
2. (computer science) the part of a computer (a microprocessor chip) that does most of the data processing; the CPU and the memory form the central part of a computer to which the peripherals are attached
(synonym) central processing unit, CPU, C.P.U., central processor, processor
(hypernym) electronic equipment
(part-holonym) computer, computing machine, computing device, data processor, electronic computer, information processing system
(part-meronym) CPU board, mother board
(classification) computer science, computing
Noun
1. a large digital computer serving 100-400 users and occupying a special air-conditioned room
(synonym) mainframe computer
(hypernym) digital computer
(hyponym) supercomputer
2. (computer science) the part of a computer (a microprocessor chip) that does most of the data processing; the CPU and the memory form the central part of a computer to which the peripherals are attached
(synonym) central processing unit, CPU, C.P.U., central processor, processor
(hypernym) electronic equipment
(part-holonym) computer, computing machine, computing device, data processor, electronic computer, information processing system
(part-meronym) CPU board, mother board
(classification) computer science, computing
Mainframes Definition from Encyclopedia Dictionaries & Glossaries
| Wikipedia English - The Free Encyclopedia |
Mainframe computer
Mainframes (often colloquially referred to as Big Iron) are computers used mainly by large organizations for critical applications, typically bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer statistics, ERP, and financial transaction processing.
The term probably originated from the early mainframes, as they were housed in enormous, room-sized metal boxes or frames. Later the term was used to distinguish high-end commercial machines from less powerful units which were often contained in smaller packages.
Today in practice, the term usually refers to computers compatible with the IBM System/360 line, first introduced in 1965. (IBM System z9 is IBM's latest incarnation.) Otherwise, systems with similar functionality but not based on the IBM System/360 are referred to as "servers." However, "server" and "mainframe" are not synonymous (see client-server).
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