FREE ESSAY ON MAINFRAMES AND SUPERCOMPUTERS

MAINFRAMES AND SUPERCOMPUTERS

Mainframes
The oldest category of computers is the mainframe. Mainframe computers are capable of
great processing speeds and data storage. They are generally stored in specially wired,
highly air conditioned rooms. Because they produce large amounts of heat they produce
they are water or air-cooled. Mainframes are made of thousands of light bulb like
fixtures called vacuum tubes. They are typically the size of a jeep and range in price
from $50,000 to $5 million. These machines are primarily used by large companies such as
banks, insurance companies, and airlines, that handle millions of transactions.
Mainframes were first produced in the 1940's. Some companies are still using the first
mainframes produced such as the Univac. The world has invested one trillion dollars in
mainframe computers, sixty percent of which were made and sold by IBM. With the invention
of the microprocessor and printed circuit boards mainframes are often being replace by
smaller networked computers. As time progresses mainframes will be kept for some
purposes, networks of smaller computers will grow, and the mainframe will be
reinvented.(Hutchinson) The ENIAC was the first mainframe computer produced. It used
18,000 vacuum tubes, and occupied 1,800 square foot of floor space. It used punch cards
for input and output. 
Supercomputers
Supercomputers are the fastest computers every made. They generally range in price from
$225,000 to $30 million. They are high capacity machines that require specially air
conditioned rooms. Supercomputers are for people who need to model complex, lifelike
situations. Supercomputers are used to simulate car crashed and for weather forecasting.
The most powerful supercomputer, Janus, built by Intel, enables scientists to simulate
the explosion of a nuclear bomb. In 1995 the National Science Foundation and MCI
Communications established a 14,000 mile network called the Very-High-Performance
Backbone Network Service(VBNS). The VBNS links the five highest concentration of
supercomputer, each locations having up to six supercomputers, into "the new internet." A
scientist sitting at any machine could have access to any other machine on the network.
Presently this network is only used by a very elite group of scientist for extremely
complex projects.