Mainframes- Summary
Current trends in IT
1. Mainframes
IBM (International Business Machines) is the dominant producer
The computers are called system z
System z means ‘Zero downtime’
COBOL = Common Business Oriented Languages
Major advantages of Mainframes:
Processing of many/thousands concurrent users (=Doing it on the same millisecond)
High availability (depending on configuration, downtime some hours a year)
Very high data throughput
Extremely reliable batch processing
High security standards (part of the architecture SW/HW): prevents a program, that isn’t allowed to do so, from copying to another place (=virus). The combination of SW and HW prevents this.
State of the art computer architecture
Difference between a tape and a disk:
A tape is cheaper and has more data room but you have to check it every 2 years
A disk is more expensive and has less data room but you don’t have to check it that much
Online (real time) transaction and batch job (Q: What is the difference between online and batch?)
Batch processing: The running of jobs on the mainframe without user interaction. They are processed on the mainframe without user interaction. A batch job is submitted on the computer, reads and processes data in bulk (perhaps terabytes of data), and produces output, such as customer billing statements. A z/OS batch job might process millions of records.
While batch processing is possible on distributed systems, it is not as commonplace as it is on mainframes, because distributed systems often lack: sufficient data storage, available processor capacity, or cycles, sysplex-wide management of system resources and job scheduling.
During batch processing, multiple types of work can be generated. Consolidated information, such as profitability of investment funds, scheduled database backups, processing of daily orders, and updating of inventories, are common examples.
Online transaction processing:
Transaction processing that occurs interactively with the user is
1. Mainframes
IBM (International Business Machines) is the dominant producer
The computers are called system z
System z means ‘Zero downtime’
COBOL = Common Business Oriented Languages
Major advantages of Mainframes:
Processing of many/thousands concurrent users (=Doing it on the same millisecond)
High availability (depending on configuration, downtime some hours a year)
Very high data throughput
Extremely reliable batch processing
High security standards (part of the architecture SW/HW): prevents a program, that isn’t allowed to do so, from copying to another place (=virus). The combination of SW and HW prevents this.
State of the art computer architecture
Difference between a tape and a disk:
A tape is cheaper and has more data room but you have to check it every 2 years
A disk is more expensive and has less data room but you don’t have to check it that much
Online (real time) transaction and batch job (Q: What is the difference between online and batch?)
Batch processing: The running of jobs on the mainframe without user interaction. They are processed on the mainframe without user interaction. A batch job is submitted on the computer, reads and processes data in bulk (perhaps terabytes of data), and produces output, such as customer billing statements. A z/OS batch job might process millions of records.
While batch processing is possible on distributed systems, it is not as commonplace as it is on mainframes, because distributed systems often lack: sufficient data storage, available processor capacity, or cycles, sysplex-wide management of system resources and job scheduling.
During batch processing, multiple types of work can be generated. Consolidated information, such as profitability of investment funds, scheduled database backups, processing of daily orders, and updating of inventories, are common examples.
Online transaction processing:
Transaction processing that occurs interactively with the user is