The Mainframe Computer

Mainframes Computers.....

These are second in line to the Supercomputers in the computing power chain and are built with great processing power in mind.
They are expensive and substantial in size like supercomputers but are designed with a different end in sight.
Whilst the supercomputer is generally built to tackle one complex task the mainframe is built to do hundreds or even thousands of tasks simultaneously thus making them just as powerful as some low-end supercomputers in there own sphere but when tackling individual tasks the supercomputer is far superior.
There main uses are working in government institutions, banking and any large institution that needs to provide masses of data to hundreds of outlets
The term Mainframe surfaced around the 1950’s when IBM and a few other companies found that using a single mass storage terminal linked to many Workstations was cheaper and easier to update that using many costly mini-computers, which would need phenomenal maintenance when it came to updating the systems.
IBM system/360 was the major winner in the Mainframe market and changed the face of the market in 1964 with the range and flexibility,IBM are still at the fore-front of mainframe technology and currently with the IBM Z9 have the market leader in Mainframe technology.
Currently there has been a decline in demand for the Mainframe computer and in the 1990’s the Mainframe was declared a dying breed, this was due to price and the addition of the midrange market using programs such as Unix which seemed to give the consumers cheaper viable options.
But this was proved incorrect as the Mainframe is still in present day use due to its proven record and disciplined approach to computing
It is good to know also that when dealing with the data relevant in Mainframe computing there are no presently known Mainframe Viruses.