Classification of Computers:
Supercomputer:
A supercomputer is a
type of computer that has the architecture, resources and components to achieve
massive computing power. Today's supercomputers consist of tens of thousands of
processors that are able to perform billions and trillions of calculations or
computations per second.
A supercomputer is a computer with great speed
and memory. This kind of computer can
do jobs faster than any other computer of its generation. They are usually
thousands of times faster than ordinary personal computers made at that time. Supercomputers can do arithmetic jobs very fast, so they are used for weather
forecasting, code-breaking, genetic analysis
and other jobs that need many calculations. When new computers of all classes
become more powerful, new ordinary computers are made with powers that only
supercomputers had in the past, while new supercomputers continue to outclass
them.
Mainframe
Computer:
Mainframes are a type of computer that
generally known for their large size, amount of storage, processing power and
high level of reliability. They are primarily used by large organizations for
mission-critical applications requiring high volumes of data processing. In
general, there are a few characteristics of mainframes that are common among
all mainframe vendors: Nearly all mainframes have the ability to run (or host)
multiple operating systems. Mainframes can add or hot swap system capacity
without disruption. Mainframes are designed to handle very high volume input
and output (I/O) and emphasize throughput computing. A single mainframe can
replace dozens or even hundreds of smaller servers
Mainframe computers are computers used primarily by large organizations
for critical applications; bulk data processing, such as census, industry
and consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning; and transaction
processing. They are larger and have more processing power than some other
classes of computers: minicomputers, servers, workstations,
and personal computers.
The term originally referred to the large cabinets called
"main frames" that housed the central processing unit and
main memory of early computers. Later, the term was used to
distinguish high-end commercial machines from less powerful units. Most
large-scale computer system architectures were established in the 1960s, but
continue to evolve. Mainframe computers are often used as servers.
Minicomputers:
A minicomputer is a type of computer that possesses most
of the features and capabilities of a large computer but is smaller in physical
size. A minicomputer fills the space between the mainframe and microcomputer,
and is smaller than the former but larger than the latter. Minicomputers are
mainly used as small or mid-range servers operating business and scientific
applications. However, the use of the term minicomputer has diminished and has
merged with servers. A minicomputer may also be called a mid-range computer.
A minicomputer,
or colloquially mini, is a
class of smaller computers that was developed in the
mid-1960s and sold for much less than mainframe and mid-size
computers from IBM and its direct competitors. In a 1970
survey, The New York Times suggested a consensus definition of
a minicomputer as a machine costing less than US$25,000 (equivalent
to $161,000 in 2018), with an input-output device such as a teleprinter and at
least four thousand words of memory, that is capable of running programs in a
higher level language, such as Fortran or BASIC. The class
formed a distinct group with its own software architectures and operating
systems. Minis were designed for control, instrumentation, human interaction,
and communication switching as distinct from calculation and record keeping.
Many were sold indirectly to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)
for final end use application. During the two decade lifetime of the
minicomputer class (1965–1985), almost 100 companies formed and only a half
dozen remained.
When
single-chip CPU microprocessors appeared, beginning with
the Intel 4004 in 1971, the term "minicomputer" came to
mean a machine that lies in the middle range of the computing spectrum, in
between the smallest mainframe computers and the microcomputers.
The term "minicomputer" is little used today; the contemporary term
for this class of system is "midrange computer", such as the
higher-end SPARC, Power Architecture and Itanium-based
systems from Oracle, IBM and Hewlett-Packard.
Microcomputers:
A
microcomputer is a computer with a central processing unit (CPU) as a
microprocessor. Designed for individual use, a microcomputer is smaller than a
mainframe or a minicomputer. The term microcomputer is not as commonly used as
it was during the 1970s-1980s. We now refer to microcomputers as, simply,
computers, or personal computers (PC).
A microcomputer is
a small, relatively inexpensive computer with a microprocessor as its central processing unit (CPU). It includes a microprocessor, memory,
and minimal input/output (I/O) circuitry mounted on a single printed
circuit board. Microcomputers became popular
in the 1970s and 1980s with the advent of increasingly powerful
microprocessors. The predecessors to these computers, mainframes and minicomputers, were comparatively much larger and more expensive
(though indeed present-day mainframes such as the IBM System z machines use one or more custom microprocessors as their
CPUs). Many microcomputers (when equipped with a keyboard and screen for
input and output) are also personal computers (in the generic sense).
