Mainframes – a type of high-performance computer that is large, has lots of memory (RAM) and can
handle transactions
I/O (input and output)
They are very expensive, $100000 - $1000000
Can run up to 8000 virtual servers on a single system
Mainframes are used by 44 out of the top 50 worldwide banks and 18 out of the top 25 retailers.
A mainframe is used by governments, schools, and other corporations for added security and
processing large amounts of data.
They process lots of small information (millions of card swipes)
System Assistance Processors (SAPs) can have 600 processor cores
Can’t run games, doesn’t have a Graphical User Interface
Sources
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/24356/mainframe
https://www.ibm.com/it-infrastructure/z/education/what-is-a-mainframe
https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/m/mainfram.htm