Mainframes (often colloquially referred to as
Big Iron) are
computers used mainly by large organizations for critical applications, typically bulk data processing such as
census, industry and consumer statistics,
ERP, and financial
transaction processing.The term probably originated from the early mainframes, as they were housed in enormous, room-sized metal boxes or frames. Later the term was used to distinguish high-end commercial machines from less powerful units which were often contained in smaller packages. Today in practice, the term usually refers to computers compatible with the IBM System/360 line, first introduced in 1965. (
IBM System z9 is IBM's latest incarnation.) Otherwise, systems with similar functionality but not based on the
IBM System/360 are referred to as "
servers." However, "server" and "mainframe" are not synonymous (see
client-server).
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