Mainframe computer

Mainframes (also called "big iron")^[1] are powerful computers used for large information processing jobs. They are mainly used by government institutions and large companies for tasks such as census, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning, and financial transaction processing. Mainframe computers are specially used as servers on the World Wide Web (WWW). They are distinct from supercomputers.

An IBM 704 mainframe introduced in 1954

The term originally referred to the large cabinets that housed the central processing unit and main memory of early computers.^[2][3] Later the term was used to distinguish very big computers from less powerful ones ("minicomputers" or "personal computers").

References

1. "IBM preps big iron fiesta". The Register. July 20, 2005.
2. Oxford English Dictionary, on -line edition, mainframe, n
3. Ebbers, Mike; O’Brien, W.; Ogden, B. (2006). "Introduction to the New Mainframe: z/OS Basics" (PDF). IBM International Technical Support Organization. Archived from the original (pdf) on 2017-07-02. Retrieved 2007-06-01.