International Business Machines Mainframes

Over the years, the technology industry has witnessed drastic changes and developments. New and efficient hardware, software and networks have been developed. This essay will majorly focus on the evolution and possible future trends to be adopted by International Business Machines Corporation. The aforementioned is with regards to IBM mainframes, operating systems, and networks. Similarly, it will focus on the impact of these technological components on different groups of persons.

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The first generation IBM mainframes were produced in 1952. They were referred to as IBM 700. They were characterized by use of vacuum tubes. Vacuum tubes were the fundamental components of circuitry and memory of the mainframe computers. However, they produced a lot of heat hence they were costly to maintain. Similarly, the IBM mainframes had huge Computer Processing Units hence they were not portable. The second generation IBM mainframes were referred to as the 7000 Series. As the term second generation suggests, these were computers preceding the first generation computers. They were characterized by the use of transistors which were cheaper as compared to the former. They used magnetic cores as main memory and magnetic disks and tapes as secondary memory. In addition to that, they were compact in size, consumed relatively little power and were faster than the IBM 700s. Then came the 3rd generation modern IBM mainframe S/360 models were produced in 1964. They were characterized by the main storage with a maximum size of around 16MB, devices which were wired to the control units which in turn connected to the mainframes channels. Additionally, it had either one or two Central Processing Units (CPUs) (Elliot, 2010). The systems 360 later evolved to S/390, 64-bit zSeries, zEnterprise and System z. The current IBM mainframe system is the IBM z Systems Z13s (2965) produced in January 2016. It is characterized by multiple processors, a higher memory capacity as compared to other IBM mainframes.

The future of IBM mainframes tends to be bright even though it faces stiff competition from server cloud-based computing. Researchers believe that as time goes by, IBM mainframes will adopt newer technological methods and still be relevant more than cloud-based computing. IBM mainframes are cost effective for enterprises as compared to cloud servers since it is capable of handling volumes of tasks effectively and efficiently. Furthermore, there compliance to industry standards with regards to user monitoring, a division of labor, data encryption makes enterprises opt for adopting them. IBM mainframes help enterprises optimize their virtual environments. Hence, it is always a simple task to consolidate workloads. The outcome is that enterprises can reduce their licensing fees that would have been incurred with the adoption of distributed systems (Lescher, 2013).

IBM operating systems have also been part of the change. IBM initially concentrated on the production of hardware. Later, they incorporated the sale of its software together with its hardware. The development of mainframe computers by IBM also involved change and modification of its operating systems. Disk Operating Systems (DOS) was the original operating system adopted by IBM. DOS was characterized by informal file placements devoid of sanity checking. Then in the mid-sixties, IBM produced the OS/360. This operating system is believed to lack the basics of modern operating systems with the example of multiple programming abilities. With time, it became the MFT running the Multiple Tasks of Varying sizes.

OS/360 is credited for the origination of Job Control Language. This in turn gave rise to the UNIX dd command. IBM went ahead and launched the AS/400. This operating system was able get rid off capability-based dressing.

In 1956, IBM launched the GM-NAA I/O basing its operations on General Motors. This was for the IBM 704 mainframe computer. In 1957, the Atlas computer projected commenced and IBM launched its BESSYS for IBM, 7090 AND IBM 7094. In the 1960s, they went ahead and created the IBSYS for its IBM 7090 and 7094. In collaboration with Microsoft, IBM launched the OS/2 operating system which was secured mode successor of PC DOS. With the ever changing technology and the launch of its latest IBM mainframe, IBM launched the IBM z/OS that is able to support multiple workloads while at the same time meeting customers requirements.

International Business Machines Corporation IBM z/OS is an operating system that has been widely adopted in major institutions with volumes of workloads. It tops other operating systems in enterprise data serving. Enterprises such as banks, financial institutions, hospitals use to adopt this operating system. With regards to mainframe security, IBM z/OS has an enhanced data encryption thereby it is capable of protecting data while at the same time complying with the audit requirements (Elliot, 2010).

Additionally, IBM z/OS is credited with having faster performance at reduced processing times. Provided that the IBM mainframes are still the preferred choice to cloud computing, IBM z/OS will still be preferred by organizations that have huge workload volumes.

Between 1973 and 1974, Xeroc PARC developed the Ethernet. The latter is a series of computer networks commonly used in metropolitan area networks and local area networks. The innovation of Ethernet was inspired by a part of Robert Metcalfe Ph.D. dissertation, ALOHAnet. Its launch came at a time when Token Bus and Token ring networks were largely in use. Ethernet was able to adopt the twisted pair wiring which was inexpensive. This was according to the market needs and realities at that time. Henceforth it was able to kick its two rival competitors out of market by the 1980s.

Ethernet was able to be the dominant force in the market and in the 1980s. It produced adapter cards for IBM computers. The company responsible for Ethernet, 3Com sold the adapters and by 1985 more than 100,000 adapters were in consumers hands. Due to its prevalence, it began to be incorporated in most work stations and computers. Similarly, the introduction of 10BASE-T and its tiny modular connector enabled the speeding up of incorporating Ethernet in computers. Even the low-end motherboards began to have Ethernet ports. Today, Ethernet technology has developed to meet market and bandwidth requirements. Interconnect appliances and several personal devices have adopted the Ethernet networks.

The benefit of Ethernet to businesses is that it is more affordable. On megabit basis, business Ethernet speeds are relatively cheaper than a T1 or T3. Ethernet packet switching protocols are flexible and efficient hence, Ethernet business is more affordable. Similarly, Ethernet is more scalable with fast speeds from two Mbps to around 1000mbps. Ethernet adopts the technology involving loop bonding, unlike T1 that uses the link bonding technology. Link bonding technology is highly ineffective since a problem in one of the lines affects the whole connection.

Ethernet network has proved to be effective over the years. It has risen to dominance among local area networks. It is not just a dominant standard but also a universal technology in local area network connections. Ethernet is the future of city connectivity (Doyle, 2016). Ethernet has enabled faster bandwidth as experienced in 2010 and 2011. Ethernet aims at simplification of automated delivery of service. This would, in turn, lead to the provision of Ethernet as a commodity (Morris, 2015).

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Doyle, E. (2016). Ethernet is the future of city connectivity. ComputerWeekly.com.

Elliot, J. (2010). IBM Mainframes-45+ Years of Evolution. IBM Corporation.

http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/z/os/zos/. (n.d.). Retrieved from IBM.

Lescher, A. (2013, July 11). https://securityintelligence.com/9-advantages-to-mainframe-for-cloud-computing/. Retrieved from Security Intelligence.

Morris, J. (2015). http://betanews.com/2015/03/11/the-future-of-ethernet-looks-brighter-than-ever/. Retrieved from betanews.