Midrange computer

<h2 id="ibm-midrange-systems">IBM midrange systems</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/System%2f3/zR95DEWH">System/3</a> (1969) was the first IBM midrange system.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4">4</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/System%2f32/Cgmmbsu1">System/32</a> (introduced in 1975) <a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a> was a 16-bit single-user system also known as the IBM 5320.</li>
<li><a href="/facts/System%2f34/N1wT4qp8">System/34</a> (1977) was intended to be a successor to both the 3 and the 32. It had two 16-bit processors and ran the <a href="/facts/System_Support_Program/oVhWlfFW">SSP</a> operating system.</li>
<li><a href="/facts/System%2f38/lwEK6d2A">System/38</a> (1979) was the first midrange system to have an integrated <a href="/facts/Relational_database_management_system/pEKGmJLy">relational database management system</a> (DBMS). The S/38 had <a href="/facts/48-bit/KTsN8bB1">48-bit</a> addressing, and ran the <a href="/facts/Control_Program_Facility/6dCydKcT">CPF</a> <a href="/facts/Operating_system/8XTuvMh2">operating system</a>.</li>
<li><a href="/facts/System%2f36/tdC07QRf">System/36</a> (1983) was a follow on to the System/34 with the same architecture and operating system.</li>
<li><a href="/facts/AS%2f400/BWYaNnqe">AS/400</a> was introduced under that name in 1988, renamed eServer iSeries in 2000, and subsequently became the IBM System i in 2006. It runs the <a href="/facts/OS%2f400/lsIRAUvn">OS/400</a> operating system.</li>
<li><a href="/facts/IBM_Power_Systems/8yTTWKgs">IBM Power Systems</a> were introduced in April 2008, a convergence of <a href="/facts/IBM_AS%2f400/BWYaNnqe">IBM System i</a> and <a href="/facts/IBM_System_p/ycAeJell">IBM System p</a>.</li></ul>
<h2 id="positioning">Positioning</h2>
The main similarity of midrange computers and mainframes is that they are both oriented for decimal-precision computing and high volume input and output (I/O), but most midrange computers have a reduced and specially designed internal architecture, with limited compatibility with mainframes. A low-end mainframe can be more affordable and less powerful than a high-end midrange system, but a midrange system is still a "replacement solution" with another service process, different OS and internal architecture. 
The difference between similar-size midrange computers and <a href="/facts/Superminicomputer/MkAxa8fs">superminis</a>/<a href="/facts/Minicomputer/g8hvpQxe">minicomputers</a> is the purpose for which they are used - supers/minis are oriented towards <a href="/facts/Floating-point/eIckahxe">floating-point</a> scientific computing, and midrange computers are oriented towards decimal business-oriented computing - but without a clear distinction border between classes.
The earliest midrange computers were single-user business calculation machines. Virtualization, a typical feature of mainframes since 1972 (partially from 1965), was ported to midrange systems only in 1977; multi-user support was added to midrange systems in 1976 compared to 1972 for mainframes (but that's still significantly earlier than the limited release of x86 virtualization (1985/87) or multi-user support (1983)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a>).
The latest midrange systems are primarily mid-class multi-user local network servers<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a> that can handle the large-scale processing of many <a href="/facts/Business_applications/kCLqLkoT">business applications</a>. Although not as powerful and reliable as full-size <a href="/facts/Mainframe_computer/nrBR6rWa">mainframe computers</a>, they are less costly to buy, operate, and maintain than mainframe systems and thus meet the computing needs of many organizations. Midrange systems were relatively popular as powerful network servers to help manage large Internet Web sites, but more oriented for corporate intranets and extranets, and other networks. Today, midrange systems include servers used in industrial process-control and manufacturing plants and play major roles in computer-aided manufacturing (CAM). They can also take the form of powerful technical workstations for computer-aided design (CAD) and other computation and graphics-intensive applications. Midrange system are also used as front-end servers to assist mainframe computers in telecommunications processing and network management.
Since the end of 1980s, when the <a href="/facts/Client%25E2%2580%2593server_model/FSnf27C5">client–server model</a> of computing became predominant, computers of the comparable class are instead usually known as <a href="/facts/Workgroup_Server_(disambiguation)/kfYTwuUY">workgroup servers</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a> and <a href="/facts/Online_transaction_processing/zTIGyx1t">online transaction processing servers</a> to recognize that they usually "serve" end users at their "client" computers. During the 1990s and 2000s, in some non-critical cases both lines were replaced by <a href="/facts/Web_server/A4GS6thA">web servers</a>, oriented for working with global networks, but with less security background,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a> and mainly using <a href="/facts/General_purpose_computer/SQe1aK05">General purpose architectures</a> (currently x86 or ARM).

<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Midrange computers.

<ul><li><a href="/facts/IBM_mainframe/0kPkgADx">IBM mainframe</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Superminicomputer/MkAxa8fs">Superminicomputer</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Minicomputer/g8hvpQxe">Minicomputer</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Microcomputer/ETW22UTv">Microcomputer</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/List_of_IBM_products/1Dapb82x">List of IBM products</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">Estabrooks, Maurice (1995). Electronic technology, corporate strategy, and world transformation. Westport, Conn.: Quorum Books. p. 53. ISBN 0899309690. <a href="0899309690" target="_blank">0899309690</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">Bell, Gordon (9 January 2015). "Rise and Fall of Minicomputers". Engineering and Technology History Wiki. Archived from the original on 5 April 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017. <a href="/wiki/Gordon_Bell" target="_blank">/wiki/Gordon_Bell</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">"1969 IBM System/3 promotional ad - midrange, minicomputer, Computer History, RPG". Computer History Archives Project. Netherlands. 15 August 2016. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLI50ZbXeuQ" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLI50ZbXeuQ</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">"IBM System/3 announcement" (PDF). <a href="http://www.ibmsystem3.nl/pdf/IBM_S3_Announ1.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.ibmsystem3.nl/pdf/IBM_S3_Announ1.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">"IBM System/32". IBM Corporation. 23 January 2003. Archived from the original on January 27, 2008. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080127175325/http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/rochester/rochester_4017.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20080127175325/http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/rochester/rochester_4017.html</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">Digital Research (1984). "PC-Mode bridges CP/M and PC DOS". Digital Dialogue - Employee Newsletter of Digital Research Inc. 3 (1): 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-01-04. Retrieved 2017-01-03. <a href="/wiki/Digital_Research" target="_blank">/wiki/Digital_Research</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">"PC Magazine, Definition of: midrange computer". <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/47026/midrange-computer" target="_blank">https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/47026/midrange-computer</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">"now referred to as small or midsize servers." "Minicomputer". Britannica.com. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/minicomputer" target="_blank">https://www.britannica.com/technology/minicomputer</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">"Channel Surfing: IBM Brings One Voice to Server Group Reseller Channel". Enterprise System Journal. <a href="https://esj.com/Articles/2000/01/01/Channel-Surfing-IBM-Brings-One-Voice-to-Server-Group-Reseller-Channel_633718630603110674.aspx?Page=2" target="_blank">https://esj.com/Articles/2000/01/01/Channel-Surfing-IBM-Brings-One-Voice-to-Server-Group-Reseller-Channel_633718630603110674.aspx?Page=2</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Midrange computer open-in-new

Midrange computer