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tags: [computer-history]
created: Friday, September 27, 2024
---

# Mainframe computers

A mainframe computer, also known as a "big iron" is a high performance computer
used for resource-intensive tasks that require greater security and availability
than smaller scale machines. They are typically used for centralised rather than
distributed computing.

The heyday of mainframes was before the mini- and micro-computer revolution but
they are still used.

IBM remains the main manufacturer and service provider for mainframes. Example
use cases include banks who need to process large volumes of transatction and
high frequency tranding; government departments, the military and internal
revenue who require huge databases.
