Superminicomputer

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Minisupercomputer.
For other uses, see Supermini (disambiguation).
A superminicomputer (Interdata 7/32) preserved in a museum

A superminicomputer, colloquially supermini, is a high-end

16-bit systems that preceded them.[2][3] The development of these computers was driven by the need of applications to address larger memory.[1] The term midicomputer had been used earlier to refer to these systems.[4][5] Virtual memory was often an additional criteria that was considered for inclusion in this class of system.[6] The computational speed of these machines was significantly greater than the 16-bit minicomputers and approached the performance of small mainframe computers.[7] The name has at times been described as a "frivolous" term created by "marketeers" that lacks a specific definition. Describing a class of system has historically been seen as problematic: "In the computer kingdom, taxonomic classification of equipment is more of a black art than a science."[8] There is some disagreement about which systems should be included in this class. The origin of the name is uncertain.[1]

As technology improved rapidly the distinction between minicomputer and superminicomputer performance blurred.

computer history
.

Notable companies

Notable manufacturers of superminicomputers in 1980 included: Digital Equipment Corporation, Perkin-Elmer, and Prime Computer.[14][15] Other makers of systems included SEL/Gould and Data General.[16] Four years later there were about a dozen companies producing a significant number of superminicomputers.[17] (see table below)

DEC VAX-11/780 superminicomputer[18]
Companies and percentage of the superminicomputer market in 1985[17]
Company Percent
International Business Machines (IBM) 41.9
Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) 27.6
Data General 6.0
Prime Computer 5.6
Perkin-Elmer, formerly Interdata 3.4
Wang Laboratories 3.4
Gould, formerly SEL 2.6
Hewlett-Packard 2.2
Honeywell 2.2
Harris Computer Systems 1.7
(other) 3.4

Perkin-Elmer spun off their Data Systems Group in 1985 to form Concurrent Computer Corporation which continued making these systems. Nixdorf Computer, Norsk Data, and Toshiba also produced systems.[10]

Significant superminicomputers

  1. ^ The VAX-11/780 was the standard by which the performance of other supermincomputers and small mainframes were compared.[7][18]
  2. ^ The design engineering of the Data General Eclipse MV/8000 was chronicled in The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder, a 1981 Pulitzer Prize winning book.[22][23]

External links

References

  1. ^ a b c Connolly, James (September 30, 1985). "Superminis: Dynamic machines evolving to new uses". Computerworld. p. SR/4, SR10. Retrieved 5 December 2019. No one can say with certainty who coined the word 'superminicomputer' and to what systems he meant it to apply, but consensus is emerging that a supermini is nothing more than a minicomputer — a high-end mini, but a mini nonetheless.
  2. S2CID 28156759
    .
  3. ^
    doi:10.1145/1016998.1017002
    . Thirty-two-bit computing broke out of the mainframe category with the introduction of the 'supermini' Interdata 7/32 in the mid-1970s and then the VAX in 1977.
  4. ^ Yates, Edward H. (August 1980). Interrelationships of Technology, System Performance, and Prices for Mini/Midicomputers (PDF) (Report). Office of the Secretary of the Army. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  5. doi:10.1109/C-M.1977.217522
    .
  6. Bibcode:1982caht.nasa..437S
    .
  7. ^
    S2CID 27187801
    . The manufacturers of the new processors all measure their machines against the venerable Digital Equipment Corp. VAX 11/780, which performs somewhat more than a million operations per second.
  8. ^ Stiefel, Malcolm L. (July 1978). "Superminis: What's In The Name?". Mini-Micro Systems. Vol. 11, no. 7. pp. 29–42. At first blush, the word 'supermini' seems to be a contradiction in terms, like 'bittersweet.' There is a temptation to dismiss it immediately as a frivolous pun - the fruit a fertile Mad Ave. mind. In a sense, this gut reaction has merit; the term was obviously coined by marketeers to describe succinctly a class of machines without being too specific.
  9. ISBN 9780262264983
    . As circuit densities and performance increased and prices dropped, the demarcation between minicomputers and superminicomputers and that between low and middle ranges of mainframes began to blur.
  10. ^
    ISBN 9781483296197
    .
  11. S2CID 9058777
    .
  12. ^
    S2CID 21352766
    .
  13. ^ "superminicomputer". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. June 2012. 268008. Now historical.
  14. S2CID 17187367
    .
  15. ^ Rosenberg, Ronald (30 Apr 1980). "Unveiling a 'supermini'". Boston Globe.
  16. ISSN 2053-7883
    . Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  17. ^ a b Davis, Bob (22 Jan 1985). "Prime Computer's New Model Heats Up Race To Construct the Fastest Superminicomputer". Wall Street Journal.
  18. ^
    S2CID 34626939
    .
  19. ^ Rosenberg, Ronald (3 Mar 1983). "...'we never look over our shoulder' — Digital". Boston Globe.
  20. ^ "Firm's Sales on Rebound Thanks to Supermini". Computerworld. Jul 27, 1981.
  21. ^ Rosenberg, Ronald (2 Nov 1985). "Data General does it with class". Boston Globe.
  22. ISBN 978-3-319-77922-5
    .
  23. S2CID 5650132
    .
  24. ^ Rosenberg, Ronald (16 Sep 1983). "2 mid-sized computers are introduced by IBM". Boston Globe. 'They even called the new 4361 a multi-application superminicomputer, a term they never used before.'
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