MAINFRAME COMPUTERS

1. By- Sang Yong Shin MAINFRAME COMPUTERS

2. What Is Mainframe? A mainframe which is also known as "big iron" is a high-performance computer used for large-scale computing purposes that require greater availability and security than a smaller-scale machine can offer. Historically, mainframes have been associated with centralized rather than distributed computing, although that distinction is blurring as smaller computers become more powerful and mainframes become more multi-purpose.

3. The mainframe is sometimes referred to as a "dinosaur" not only because of its size but because of reports, going back many years, that it's becoming extinct. In 1991 Stewart Alsop, the editor of InfoWorld, predicted that the last mainframe would be retired by 1996. However, in February 2008 IBM released a new mainframe called the “z10”

4. Size Of The Mainframe and Parts Mainframe computers and parts are much smaller today than they were 50 years ago. A mainframe manufactured in 1949 needed a whole floor of a building to operate, and parts were big and needed two or three people to remove certain parts of the system. Today's mainframe computers can actually fit in a broom closet, and the parts of the mainframe are much easier to replace and repair. The time frame for changing parts on a mainframe has also decreased drastically from days to just a few minutes. The Mainframe computer consists of the Main board, Processor, Main storage unit parts and External storage devices.

5. Main Board Every mainframe computer has a motherboard. The motherboard has general instructions on the internal architecture of the computer and how data is retrieved using binary computation to certain devices. The motherboard organizes the circuitry of the computer through a concept called "bus architecture." The "supervisor" of the architecture is called the processor or CPU of the mainframe unit. The main board part consists of device slots for the input of cards and cable interfaces to external devices. Processor The processor which is also called the central processing unit or "CPU" of the mainframe is the brain of the mainframe computer. The processor is the centralized point of instructions for computer architecture and includes an arithmetic logic unit for numeric computations. It acts as a supervisor or "controller" handling traffic and data requests along the bus architecture. Many mainframe computers have more than one processor, which classifies the mainframe as a "multi-processor unit."

6. Main Storage Unit Parts Main storage unit part is addressed by two memory units: random access memory (RAM) and read only memory (ROM). Random access memory allows the processor or CPU to access any area of memory to perform a computer function or instruction. ROM memory is used to store lower-level computer instructions that don't change on a mainframe computer, such as power-up instructions and general information on components and devices. External Storage Devices Mainframes also consist of external storage device parts. These devices are responsible for the entry, retrieval, storage, and recording of data. The parts associated with external storage are external hard drives, tape drives, "dumb terminals" (terminals interfaced to the mainframe through a network controlled by the CPU) and punch card/tape drives.

7. Where Are Mainframes Used? Mainframe is used in business where the data to be processed is too huge and has to be processed too many times and may require too much CPU cycles where the else of the computers may flunk. Mainframes are very similar too supercomputers which can process huge number of transactions in small amount of time . but the only diff between supercomputer and mainframes is supercomputers are used to calculate and process complex algorithms say which has so many integration and differentiation and lots of calculus steps where as mainframes are used to handle simple business related calculations like addition and subtraction kind of things .

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