So what's the definition of a "mainframe" (Re: at&t mainframe)

From: vance_at_neurotica.com <(vance_at_neurotica.com)>
Date: Thu Sep 18 09:08:00 2003

On Thu, 18 Sep 2003, Gunther Schadow wrote:

> > Let's just say that some 3Bxxxx systems are not at all small, but I
> > would guess that they're still classified as minicomputers, not
> > mainframes... depending upon one's definition of mainframe.
>
> So, let's clarify the terminology: what's a mainframe anyway?

I think a mainframe probably needs it's I/O to be coprocessed to qualify
these days. Many supercomputers must qualify on that factor. Computers I
would consider to be a mainframe tend to have a lot more I/O horsepower
than processor horsepower. I don't think that applies to supercomputers.

Peace... Sridhar
Received on Thu Sep 18 2003 - 09:08:00 BST