| Mainframe | ||
| A mainframe computer
is the largest type of computer. It is generally not found
outside the largest organisations eg banks, Police, DVLC, Meteorological
Office etc
Hundreds of people may use it at the same time, and there will be a large number of peripherals connected to it (printers, disk drives etc). Mainframes may cost millions of pounds. Some mainframes operate using a single processor but some use a number of processors (parallel processing).
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| Mainframe computers are
very big in size, extremely fast in operation, have very large memories
and offer access to a wide range of complex software and hardware. They
are housed in large rooms and need special environments:
They need air conditioning to dissipate the heat generated when they are in use. False floors and ceilings may be used to hide the miles of cable connecting the computer to the various peripherals. The computer may have its own electricity generator for emergency use in case of a power failure. Filters are used to keep the air free of dust particles. Smoke detectors are used to help prevent the outbreak of serious fire.
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