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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A superminicomputer, colloquially supermini, is a high-end minicomputer.[1] The term is used to distinguish the emerging 32-bit architecture midrange computers introduced in the mid to late 1970s from the classical 16-bit systems that preceded them.[2][3] The development of these computers was driven by the need of applications to address larger memory.[1] The term midicomputer had been used earlier to refer to these systems.[4][5] Virtual memory was often an additional criteria that was considered for inclusion in this class of system.[6] The computational speed of these machines was significantly greater than the 16-bit minicomputers and approached the performance of small mainframe computers.[7] The name has at times been described as a "frivolous" term created by "marketeers" that lacks a specific definition. Describing a class of system has historically been seen as problematic: "In the computer kingdom, taxonomic classification of equipment is more of a black art than a science."[8] There is some disagreement about which systems should be included in this class. The origin of the name is uncertain.[1]
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As technology improved rapidly the distinction between minicomputer and superminicomputer performance blurred.[9] Companies that sold mainframe computers began to offer machines in the same price and performance range as superminicomputers.[10] By the mid-1980s microprocessors with the hardware architecture of superminicomputers were used to produce scientific and engineering workstations.[11] The minicomputer industry then declined through the early 1990s.[12] The term is now considered obsolete[13] but still remains of interest for students/researchers of computer history.
Notable manufacturers of superminicomputers in 1980 included: Digital Equipment Corporation, Perkin-Elmer, and Prime Computer.[14][15] Other makers of systems included SEL/Gould and Data General.[16] Four years later there were about a dozen companies producing a significant number of superminicomputers.[17] ()
| Company | Percent |
|---|---|
| International Business Machines (IBM) | 41.9 |
| Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) | 27.6 |
| Data General | 6.0 |
| Prime Computer | 5.6 |
| Perkin-Elmer, formerly Interdata | 3.4 |
| Wang Laboratories | 3.4 |
| Gould, formerly SEL | 2.6 |
| Hewlett-Packard | 2.2 |
| Honeywell | 2.2 |
| Harris Computer Systems | 1.7 |
| (other) | 3.4 |
Perkin-Elmer spun off their Data Systems Group in 1985 to form Concurrent Computer Corporation which continued making these systems. Nixdorf Computer, Norsk Data, and Toshiba also produced systems.[10]
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