Mainframes
Old vs New, TCP and SNA
We continue to look at standards, old and new, that have played a role in the evolution of terminal emulation. This articles discusses SNA and TCP and their roles in network communications.
Terminal Emulation for Emdedded Systems
An embedded system is typically a special purpose computer which performs a specific task in an industrial or commercial setting. Unlike a consumer computer which is built to be extremely flexible in the type and range of tasks it can perform an embedded system will often have a very narrow focus – such as controlling a single machine or performing a single job. As a result an embedded system is often built with limited computing power, storage and specialized software designed to limit costs (not to mention power consumption) and give it just the right specifications for the intended usage.
As terminal emulation specialists, Turbosoft also develop terminal emulation software for this class of device.
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6 Examples of Software That Changed the World
In this article, we’ll take a look at six types of software that changed the way we live our lives, from terminal emulation software used for accessing mainframes, such as 3270 emulation, to peer-to-peer file sharing software such as Napster.
1. Graphical user interface
Long before the graphical user interface, computers were mainframes that were accessed with text-based terminals that could do nothing more than input and output textual data. Even during the early years of personal computer when the microcomputer become common the most widely used operating systems, such as MS-DOS, remained text based and lacked graphical user interfaces (GUIs). It wasn’t until the likes of Apple and Microsoft started developing image and mouse-based interactive abilities that personal computers were given the opportunity to shine.
2. Viruses
Supercomputers, Mainframes, Minicomputers and Microcomputers: Oh My!
The power of computers grows by the year. In this article, we’re going to take a look at four different categories of computers, from the personally-used microcomputers to larger affairs such as supercomputers and mainframes, which must be access with terminal emulation software such as a Windows terminal emulator.
1. Supercomputers
Supercomputers are like mainframe computers that have been designed for optimum processing power and overall speed. Perhaps the most well-known example of a supercomputer is the Cray-1, which was built in 1976.
The term ‘supercomputer’ is a fluid one; for example, today’s microcomputers typically have processing capabilities of older supercomputers; your desktop computer, for example, has more processing power than the first supercomputer. And today’s supercomputer will become the microcomputers of tomorrow. Still, in general, super computers perform highly calculation-intensive tasks and often cost several millions of dollars to build, install and maintain.
2. Mainframes
Still in the Frame: Mainframes in 2011
Mainframes are powerful computers that rose to prominence in the world of big business during the 1960s. Despite the rise in prominence of high-end Unix and Intel-based servers, as well as the rise of the personal computing and cloud computing, mainframes are as relevant as ever in the year 2011. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the reasons behind this, such as terminal emulation software, as well as some of the biggest challenges facing mainframes.
What is a mainframe?
Most mainframes, due to their sheer size, occupy entire rooms with special air conditioning systems to ensure they stay cool. Modern mainframes are extremely reliable and capable of performing billions of transactions on a daily basis and, as such, are used by some of the world’s biggest organisations for mission-critical functions. In fact, statistics show that some 71 per cent of the world’s Fortune 500 companies — a list including banks, telcos and major airlines — still rely on mainframes to handle their bulk data processing.
7 Fun Facts About Mainframes
Here are a few quick facts about mainframes, from the recent upsurge in mainframe training to the critical role of terminalemulation in the modern mainframe environment.
1. Despite the theory that mainframers are an ageing workforce, over 50,000 students have received mainframe training and education at hundreds of universities worldwide in the last few years. This is thanks to IBM’s Academic Initiative. IBM recognized the ageing nature of the mainframer, as well as the fact young IT students are looking to other specialties, and have taken steps to combat this problem, offering no-charge access to hardware, full-version software and other training tools. It’s a good thing too, when you consider that…
What is CICS?
Here’s an important thing to remember about big businesses: when downtime occurs, it impacts them in a big way. Downtime is, quite simply, an absolute disaster. And when we talk about “big business” we’re not just talking about your run-of-the-mill corporation, either. We’re talking about Fortune 500 — the largest corporations in the world. Now, because they cannot afford downtime, these mega corporations require “mission-critical” transaction systems to run on powerful mainframes. This is where Customer Information Control System (CICS) comes in. Many of these companies — up to 90 per cent of the world’s Fortune 500 companies, it has been estimated — use CICS for their rapid, high-volume online processing needs, with the help of terminal emulation software to access the CICS servers.
What is CICS?
What is a Thin Client?
A thin client is a type of computer or piece of software that relies on another more powerful computer to do most of its work. Connected to a network, the thin client computer or software provides an interface through which the user communicates with a network server computer. Because the thin computer is not powerful, it is virtually useless on its own; however, when connected to a centralised network server computer, it is capable of displaying all the information that a user requires. Powerful mainframe computers, for example, can be accessed through thin client terminal emulation.
A thin client analogy you might find useful…
5 Reasons Mainframes are Here to Stay
For decades now, many in the computing industry have been sounding the death knell of the mainframe. The emergence of cloud computing has been seen as a reason that mainframes won’t survive much further into the 21st century. But just like email hasn’t spelt the death of snail mail, cloud computing most certainly hasn’t meant the death of the mainframe. Terminal emulation software continues to be made in order to access mainframes from modern computers. And so, in this article, we look at six reasons why the mainframe is here to stay.
1. Not necessarily opposed
The most important thing to point out is that the mainframe and cloud computing aren’t necessarily opposed. In fact, they share a great deal of similarities. Both are implementations of a client-server model where applications are stored and run on remote servers and where user data is stored at a remote location. Essentially, both maintain a strong focus on the power of a centralized device, with less emphasis on power at the user’s device.
What is IBM’s zEnterprise?
IBM has been creating “Big Iron” — mainframes that act as database platforms for many of the world’s biggest businesses — for decades now. In the modern computing environment, mainframes remain as relevant as ever, even though the old hardware terminals have been replaced with terminal emulation software such as 3270 emulators. In this article, we’ll look at the newest member of IBM’s mainframe family, the zEnterprise.
What is zEnterprise?
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