A mainframe computer, informally called a mainframe or big iron, is a computer used primarily by large organizations for critical applications like bulk data processing for tasks such as censuses, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning, and large-scale transaction processing. A mainframe computer is large but not as large as a supercomputer and has more processing power than some other classes of computers, such as minicomputers, servers, workstations, and personal computers. Most large-scale computer-system architectures were established in the 1960s, but they continue to evolve. Mainframe computers are often used as servers.
Fujitsu Limited is a Japanese multinational information and communications technology equipment and services corporation, established in 1935 and headquartered in Kawasaki, Kanagawa. It is the world's sixth-largest IT services provider by annual revenue, and the largest in Japan, in 2021.
BS2000 is an operating system for IBM 390-compatible mainframe computers developed in the 1970s by Siemens and from early 2000s onward by Fujitsu Technology Solutions.
Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme, AG (SNI) was formed in 1990 by the merger of Nixdorf Computer and the Data Information Services (DIS) division of Siemens.
Amdahl Corporation was an information technology company which specialized in IBM mainframe-compatible computer products, some of which were regarded as supercomputers competing with those from Cray Research. Founded in 1970 by Gene Amdahl, a former IBM computer engineer best known as chief architect of System/360, it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu since 1997. The company was located in Sunnyvale, California.
Lifebook is a line of laptop computers made by Fujitsu, which also offers a range of notebooks and tablet PCs within the same Lifebook family.
International Computers Limited (ICL) was a British computer hardware, computer software and computer services company that operated from 1968 until 2002. It was formed through a merger of International Computers and Tabulators (ICT), English Electric Computers (EEC) and Elliott Automation in 1968. The company's most successful product line was the ICL 2900 Series range of mainframe computers.
HAL Computer Systems, Inc was a Campbell, California-based computer manufacturer founded in 1990 by Andrew Heller, a principal designer of the original IBM POWER architecture. His idea was to build computers based on a RISC architecture for the commercial market. The inspiration of the name comes from the Arthur C. Clarke novel 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Nixdorf Computer AG was a West German computer company founded by Heinz Nixdorf in 1952. Headquartered in Paderborn, Germany, it became the fourth largest computer company in Europe, and a worldwide specialist in banking and point-of-sale systems.
VM 2000 is a hypervisor from Fujitsu designed specifically for use with the BS2000 operating system. It is an EBCDIC-based operating system. It allows multiple images of BS2000 and Linux to operate on a S-series computer, which is based on the IBM System/390 architecture. It also supports BS2000, Linux and Microsoft Windows on x86-based SQ-series mainframes. Additionally, it can virtualize BS2000 guests on SR- and SX-series mainframes, based on MIPS and SPARC respectively.
SINIX is a discontinued variant of the Unix operating system from Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme. SINIX supersedes SIRM OS and Pyramid Technology's DC/OSx. Following X/Open's acceptance that its requirements for the use of the UNIX trademark were met, version 5.44 and subsequent releases were published as Reliant UNIX by Fujitsu Siemens Computers.
Since the rise of the personal computer in the 1980s, IBM and other vendors have created PC-based IBM mainframe-compatible systems which are compatible with the larger IBM mainframe computers. For a period of time PC-based mainframe-compatible systems had a lower price and did not require as much electricity or floor space. However, they sacrificed performance and were not as dependable as mainframe-class hardware. These products have been popular with mainframe developers, in education and training settings, for very small companies with non-critical processing, and in certain disaster relief roles.
MikroMikko was a Finnish line of microcomputers released by Nokia Corporation's computer division Nokia Data from 1981 through 1987. MikroMikko was Nokia Data's attempt to enter the business computer market. They were especially designed for good ergonomy.
UTS is a discontinued implementation of the UNIX operating system for IBM mainframe computers. Amdahl created the first versions of UTS, and released it in May 1981, with UTS Global acquiring rights to the product in 2002. UTS Global has since gone out of business.
DC/OSx (DataCenter/OSx) is a discontinued Unix operating system for MIPS based systems developed by Pyramid Technology in 1989. It ran on its Nile series of SMP machines and was a port of AT&T System V Release 4 (SVR4). In 1995, Pyramid Technology was acquired by Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme (SNI), and DC/OSx was superseded by the SINIX operating system.
Fujitsu Technology Solutions GmbH is a Munich-based information technology vendor in the so-called "EMEIA" markets: Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa. A subsidiary of Fujitsu in Tokyo, FTS was founded in 2009 when the parent firm bought out Siemens' 50% share of Fujitsu Siemens Computers.
PRIMERGY is Fujitsu's brand name for x86-architecture designed servers. The brand name PRIMERGY represents a range of servers from single-socket over dual-socket to quad-socket systems. Eight socket systems are branded differently with "PRIMEQUEST", whereas Fujitsu servers in the UNIX/Mainframe world, also known as SPARC systems, are named "Fujitsu M10" and mainframes "BS2000."
SESAM / SQL Server is a relational database system originally developed by Siemens, whose role as developer was successively succeeded by Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme (SNI), Fujitsu Siemens Computers, and now Fujitsu Technology Solutions. It runs on the BS2000/OSD mainframe.
