Mainframes
The beginning of new era in IT
Contents:
Introduction:
Mainframe is an industry term for a large
computer.
The name comes from the way the machine
is build up: all units (processing,
communication etc.) were hung into a frame.
Thus the main computer is build into a frame,
therefore: Mainframe
Mainframes Applications:
Are computers used mainly by large
organizations for critical applications,
typically bulk data processing such as
census, industry/consumer statistics, ERP,
and financial transaction processing.
Chronology
The mainframe were came into existence as old as
from 1942
Several manufacturers produced mainframe computers
from the late 1950s through the 1970s
In the early 1990s, the mainframe was a dying market.
Trend started to turn around in the late 1990s as
corporations found new uses for their existing
mainframes
Now IBM mainframes dominate the mainframe market
at well over 90% market share
Mainframe history
1946 1954
IBM Mainframe
1964 Z series
Description of Mainframe
A mainframe has 1 to 16 CPU's (modern machines more)
Memory ranges from 128 Mb over 8 Gigabyte on line RAM
Its processing power ranges from 80 over 550 MIPS (Million
instructions per second)
It has often different cabinets for
Storage
I/O
RAM
Separate processes (program) for
task management - Program management
job management - Serialization
catalogs - inter address space
communication
Mainframes - Features
Mainframe does have some particular properties:
It manages a large number of users
Distributes the sheer workload that can be handled
by the machine over different processors and
in/output devices.
All processes are running on the host and not on your
terminal.
Output is sent to your terminal through a program
running (in background) on the host (mainframe).
Mainframe - Speed
MIPS
Millions of instructions per second
The smallest System z9 IBM mainframes
today run at about 26 MIPS and the largest
about 17,801 MIPS.
IBM's Parallel Sysplex technology can join
up to 32 of these systems, making them
behave like a single, logical computing
facility of as much as 221,248 MIPS
Mainframes - superior to Super computers?
Mainframes are more powerful than Super
computers because they support more
simultaneous programs.
Super computers can execute a single
program faster than a mainframe.
Mainframe – data storage
IBM designed and offers solution for data
storage - Data Facility Storage Management
Subsystem (DFSMS).
Mainframe – The reason for Uses
The reasons for mainframe use are many, but
most generally fall into one or more of the
following categories:
- Reliability, availability, and serviceability
- Security
- Scalability
- Continuing compatibility
- Evolving architecture
Mainframe - Reliability
The system’s hardware components have
extensive self-checking and self-recovery
capabilities.
The system’s software reliability is a result of
extensive testing and the ability to make
quick updates for detected problems.
Mainframe - Serviceability
The system can determine why a failure
occurred.
This allows for the replacement of hardware
and software elements while impacting as
little of the operational system as possible.
This term also implies well-defined units of
replacement, either hardware or software.
Mainframe - Security
The most valuable resources is the data such
as customer lists, accounting data, employee
information, and so on. This critical data
needs to be securely managed and
controlled.
The New Mainframe can provide a very
secure system for processing large numbers
of heterogeneous applications that access
critical data.
Mainframe – Data Security
Security control products and firewalls offer
protection against system access.
mainframe users are doing just that is via
cryptography, i.e., the encrypting of data so
that it cannot be deciphered (decrypted)
without access to a key that specifies how the
data is encrypted.
If security is penetrated, the attacker will not
be able to readily understand the information,
attacker has accessed.
Mainframe - Scalability
By scalability, we mean the ability of the
hardware, software, or a distributed system to
continue to function well as it is changed in
size or volume.
For example, the ability to retain performance
levels when adding processors, memory, and
storage.
Mainframe – Operating System
Operating systems for mainframes are few in
number: UNIX, Linux, VMS, Z/OS, Z/VM,
VSE/ESA. The later three are of IBM origin
and all three: VMS, Linux and Unix also run
on IBM mainframes
Mainframe – System design
We can divide computer architecture into two
principle topic areas:
Instruction Set Architecture
Machine Organization
Computer Architecture
Instruction Set Architecture Machine Organization
Thank you
for your attention.
