2006-07-19 14:24:59 · 2 answers · asked by Suggsy 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Other - Computers
Mainframe is the term used for computers before PCs and before servers. All applications were run on this mainframe which took up much of a room, had special air conditioning & humidity, raised floor for power & communication cables.
Output came from line printers which took paper about 18" wide. Mainframes are still used today in large companies where there is need for lots of computing power.
Really big servers still don't take up a whole room. Don't think specific names, just think computer. In 1967, an IBM 360 took up a whole room (20 x 20), while the desktops of today have more computing power.
2006-07-19 14:34:24 · answer #1 · answered by snvffy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mainframes can also be used to describe huge clusters of servers (I'm talking thousands of them). This is because the cluster is doing the same tasks as a mainframe would have and because it takes up an entire room to house. Although it's technically not a mainframe, people just like to call it that.
2006-07-19 22:16:03 · answer #2 · answered by Crash 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋