PCs Vs. Mainframes: The Right Tool for the Right Job

Managing information in today’s information technology environment is critical to stability at a global level. This balance is properly maintained my managers and users through the use of sophisticated PCs and mainframes. In this article we will attempt to compare and contrast the two and gain an understanding of their basic structure.

In 1964 the IBM 360 mainframe was launched and was not as large as some seen today but larger than the personal computer at the time. This new technology provided the advantage of having a system that could achieve higher processing speeds and allowed multiple applications to be executed simultaneously. Mainframe computers are generally centralized and authorized users are permitted to access the stored information on the system. But how is the information accessed and retrieved? A PC or sometimes referred to as a workstation is used by personnel as a means to access the mainframe to capture the information. Mainframes are often more reliable than personal computers in the sense that they do not crash as often. Although this may be a plus for the large oversized systems it is still prone to failure. When this does happen it is usually devastating and can potentially cripple an entire organization. With the mere size alone can be intimidating when crashes occur since these systems can be large enough to sometimes fill an entire room. Looking at the contrasting sizes of the two computers, the personal computer would prevail for those needing mobility and conceal ability.

Personal computers has been around since the 1970s and was intended for individual use as opposed to sharing a centralized system among various users. PCs have been known to be easier to operate by users as young as four years old. Financially, they are less expensive than servers and mainframes with initial costs as low as $200. After gaining basic knowledge they can be easily integrated into a networked system which can be used to share information, resources and data similar to its more expensive counterpart. Taking a look at a PC’s operating systems, they tend to have just one to support the users requests while a mainframe may have multiple OS’s. This is primarily due to the huge load and multiple requests on the system at one given time. Hardware also proves to be a large divider between the two. Today a typical personal computer will have one hard drive with storage limit of about 500 gigabytes and anywhere from 256 megabytes to 512 megabytes of RAM (random access memory). Mainframes can provide storage capacities in excess of 30 terabytes with memory potentially in the gigabyte range. A vast difference between the two systems.

While both systems provide various benefits there has yet to be a solution to all problems. It is possible that the reliable mainframe computer will continue to exist in corporations and business environments while the average employee will continue to be impressed be the fascinating accomplishments of the personal computer.