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I never understood the difference between Mainframe Computers / Computing and Cloud Computers / Computing. In both cases, a centralized server connected to the

I never understood the difference between Mainframe Computers / Computing and Cloud Computers / Computing. In both cases, a centralized server connected to the internet does all your application, storage and processing. If that server goes down / connection is lost, in both cases you and your "SaaS" applications are SOL ( Sh*t Out of Luck). Also in both cases, you offer hackers a centralized location to target and hack. What's the difference, except in the name and in the marketing ?

Tarq0n 9y ago
The difference is the move from specialized to interchangeable, commodity hardware. This allows cloud providers establish an abstraction layer over servers, because it doesn't matter which machine serves your demand at any given moment.
halfteatree 9y ago
>a centralized server connected to the internet does all your application, storage and processing You can have more than one server in your AWS account.
Piskvorrr 9y ago
One is antiquated and laughable, the other is modern and commendable. The name, I mean - concept remains practically unchanged (Right, right, it's a swarm of logically connected containers instead of a system of physically connected components. Big difference.)
simonh 9y ago
That's a bit like saying you don't understand the difference between cars and airplanes because they both just forms of transport that get you from one place to another. Mainframes and distributed servers both provide networked services, but the ways they achieve that and the pros and cons of those solutions are very different.
Spooky23 9y ago
Mainframe is scale up vs scale out. They also aren’t very powerful in reality, just old software that is proven and reliable. Almost all of the non-IBM mainframes are just Xeon boxes these days. One vendor that I’m familiar with sells a box equivalent to a HP DL580 that would cost about $50-100k for $2-3 million.

Tarq0n 9y ago

The difference is the move from specialized to interchangeable, commodity hardware. This allows cloud providers establish an abstraction layer over servers, because it doesn't matter which machine serves your demand at any given moment.

halfteatree 9y ago

>a centralized server connected to the internet does all your application, storage and processing You can have more than one server in your AWS account.

Piskvorrr 9y ago

One is antiquated and laughable, the other is modern and commendable. The name, I mean - concept remains practically unchanged (Right, right, it's a swarm of logically connected containers instead of a system of physically connected components. Big difference.)

simonh 9y ago

That's a bit like saying you don't understand the difference between cars and airplanes because they both just forms of transport that get you from one place to another. Mainframes and distributed servers both provide networked services, but the ways they achieve that and the pros and cons of those solutions are very different.

Spooky23 9y ago

Mainframe is scale up vs scale out. They also aren’t very powerful in reality, just old software that is proven and reliable. Almost all of the non-IBM mainframes are just Xeon boxes these days. One vendor that I’m familiar with sells a box equivalent to a HP DL580 that would cost about $50-100k for $2-3 million.