What is a Mainframe Computer?
A mainframe (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. IBM emphasizes that their mainframes can be used to serve distributed users and smaller servers in a computing network. 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. I.B.M. overhauled the insides of the mainframe, using low-cost microprocessors as the computing engine. The company invested and updated the mainframe software, so that banks, corporations and government agencies could still rely on the mainframe as the rock-solid reliable and secure computer for vital transactions and data, while allowing it to take on new chores like running Web-based programs. The original mainframes wer
