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I think this betrays my ignorance (youth?) but what exactly does the author mean by 'mainframe'? Does the word imply a specific type of system, CPU architecture

by ndthp 8y ago

I think this betrays my ignorance (youth?) but what exactly does the author mean by 'mainframe'? Does the word imply a specific type of system, CPU architecture, OS, etc? My understanding was that 'mainframe' and 'server room/warehouse' are kind of interchangeable, and so a 'mainframe' can be as generic as any old physical server. I suspect that my understanding is quite incorrect...

detaro 8y ago
Mainframe typically refers to a specific class of system, most famous example probably are the IBM z-series. Rough differentiators: large single systems, optimized for reliability and throughput. Backwards-compatibility going far back, enabled by virtualization and abstraction. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainframe_computer#Design https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainframe_computer#Design