CLASSIFICATIONS OF COMPUTERS

AND CONNECTIVITY

CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTERSMainframe ComputerMini-ComputerMicro-ComputerSuper ComputerMicroprocessor

CONNECTIVITY

MAINFRAME COMPUTERIt as a very powerful and large computer. You can get idea of its power as it can handle processing of many users at a time.Mainframe computers (colloquially referred to as "big iron") are computers used primarily by corporate and governmental organizations for critical applications, bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning and transaction processing.

The term originally referred to the large cabinets called "main frames" that housed the central processing unit and main memory of early computers. Later, the term was used to distinguish high-end commercial machines from less powerful units. Most large-scale computer system architectures were established in the 1960s, but continue to evolve.

An IBM System z9 mainframe

MINI-COMPUTER

A mini-computer is a class of smaller computers that developed in the mid-1960s and sold for much less than mainframe and mid-size computers from IBM and its direct competitors. These powerful computers come into existence in 1960s at that time mainframe computer was very costly. They were designed for control, instrumentation, human interaction, and communication switching as distinct from calculation and record keeping.

MICRO-COMPUTERThese computers use a microprocessor chip and this chip is used instead of CPU means that this microprocessor chip works as a CPU. The predecessors to these computers, mainframes and minicomputers, were comparatively much larger and more expensive (though indeed present-day mainframes such as the IBM System z machines use one or more custom microprocessors as their CPUs).These computers are also called “personal computers”. Two major types of these computers are laptop or Desktop computers. Only one user uses these computers at time that's why they are also known as personal computers.

SUPER-COMPUTER

As the name "super computer" specifies that these are most powerful computers even than mainframe. It is a computer at the frontline of contemporary processing capacity – particularly speed of calculation which can happen at speeds of nanoseconds

Blue Gene/P supercomputer

MICROPROCESSORA microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit (CPU) on a single integrated circuit (IC), or at most a few integrated circuits. All modern CPUs are microprocessors making the micro- prefix redundant. The microprocessor is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and provides results as output. It is an example of sequential digital logic, as it has internal memory. Microprocessors operate on numbers and symbols represented in the binary numeral system.

The integration of a whole CPU onto a single chip or on a few chips greatly reduced the cost of processing power. The integrated circuit processor was produced in large numbers by highly automated processes, so unit cost was low. Single-chip processors increase reliability as there are many fewer electrical connections to fail. As microprocessor designs get faster, the cost of manufacturing a chip (with smaller components built on a semiconductor chip the same size) generally stays the same.

Intel 4004

DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE (DSL)

Digital subscriber line (DSL; originally digital subscriber loop) is a family of technologies that provide internet access by transmitting digital data using a local telephone network which uses the Public switched telephone network. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL), the most commonly installed DSL technology. DSL service is delivered simultaneously with wired telephone service on the same telephone line. This is possible because DSL uses higher frequency bands for data. On the customer premises, a DSL filter on each non-DSL outlet blocks any high frequency interference, to enable simultaneous use of the voice and DSL services.

CABLEAn insulated wire or wires having a protective casing and used for transmitting electricity or telecommunication signals:an underground cabletransatlantic phone calls went by cable

A thick rope of wire or nonmetallic fiber, typically used for construction, mooring ships, and towing vehicles.

WIRELESS USBWireless USB is a short-range, high-bandwidth wireless radio communication protocol created by the Wireless USB Promoter Group. Wireless USB is sometimes abbreviated as "WUSB", although the USB Implementers Forum discouraged this practice and instead prefers to call the technology Certified Wireless USB to distinguish it from the competing UWB standard.

It is capable of sending 480 Mbit/s at distances up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) and 110 Mbit/s at up to 10 metres (33 ft). It was designed to operate in the 3.1 to 10.6 GHz frequency range, although local regulatory policies may restrict the legal operating range for any given country.

DIAL-UP INTERNET ACCESS

Dial-up Internet access is a form of Internet access that uses the facilities of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to establish a dialed connection to an Internet service provider (ISP) via telephone lines. The user's computer or router uses an attached modem to encode and decode Internet Protocol packets and control information into and from analogue audio frequency signals, respectively. Dial-up internet is sometimes used where Broadband internet access is not available; primarily in rural or remote areas.

ETHERNET CARD

These adapters support the Ethernet standard for high-speed network connections via cables. Ethernet cards are sometimes known as network interface cards (NICs).

It is an expansion board you insert into a computer so the computer can be connected to a network. Most NICs are designed for a particular type of network, protocol, and media, although some can serve multiple networks.

BLUETOOTHBluetooth is a wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances (using short-wavelength UHF radio waves in the ISM band from 2.4 to 2.485 GHz) from fixed and mobile devices, and building personal area networks (PANs). Invented by telecom vendor Ericsson in 1994, it was originally conceived as a wireless alternative to RS-232 data cables. It can connect several devices, overcoming problems of synchronization.

Bluetooth is managed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), which has more than 20,000 member companies in the areas of telecommunication, computing, networking, and consumer electronics

T-CARRIERT-carrier, sometimes abbreviated as T-CXR, refers to one of several digital transmission systems developed by Bell Labs. T-carriers are used in North America, South Korea, and Kyoto.

The first of these was Transmission System 1 (T-1), which Bell Labs introduced in 1962. T-1 greatly increased the number of telephone calls the telephone network was capable of transmitting at one time.

INFRARED TECHNOLOGYInfrared technology allows computing devices to communicate via short-range wireless signals. With infrared, computers can transfer files and other digital data bidirectionally. Computer infrared network adapters both transmit and receive data through ports on the rear or side of a device.

Infrared technology used in local networks exists in three different forms:

IrDA-SIR (slow speed) infrared supporting data rates up to 115 KbpsIrDA-MIR (medium speed) infrared supporting data rates up to 1.15 MbpsIrDA-FIR (fast speed) infrared supporting data rates up to 4 MbpS