View source for Superminicomputer

{{Short description|Historical computer form factor}}
{{Distinguish|Minisupercomputer}}
{{Other uses|Supermini (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Living Computer Museum IMG 0002 (9636198071).jpg|thumb|right|A superminicomputer (Interdata 7/32) preserved in a museum]]
A '''superminicomputer''', colloquially '''supermini''', is a high-end [[minicomputer]].<ref name=Computerworld/> The term is used to distinguish the emerging [[32-bit]] architecture [[midrange computer]]s introduced in the mid to late 1970s from the classical [[16-bit]] systems that preceded them.<ref name=Flowers/><ref name="Simulators"/> The development of these computers was driven by the need of applications to address larger memory.<ref name=Computerworld/> The term '''midicomputer''' had been used earlier to refer to these systems.<ref name=midi/><ref name=Burr/> [[Virtual memory]] was often an additional criteria that was considered for inclusion in this class of system.<ref name=Storassli/> The computational speed of these machines was significantly greater than the 16-bit minicomputers and approached the performance of small [[mainframe computer]]s.<ref name=Wallich/> The name has at times been described as a "frivolous" term created by "marketeers" that lacks a specific definition. Describing a class of system has historically been seen as problematic: "In the computer kingdom, taxonomic classification of equipment is more of a black art than a science."<ref name=Stiefel/> There is some disagreement about which systems should be included in this class. The origin of the name is uncertain.<ref name=Computerworld/>

As technology improved rapidly the distinction between minicomputer and superminicomputer performance blurred.<ref name=Vardalas/> Companies that sold mainframe computers began to offer machines in the same price and performance range as superminicomputers.<ref name=super/> By the mid-1980s microprocessors with the [[hardware architecture]] of superminicomputers were used to produce scientific and engineering [[workstation]]s.<ref name=Joy/> The minicomputer industry then declined through the early 1990s.<ref name=Bell/> The term is now considered obsolete<ref name=OED/> but still remains of interest for students/researchers of [[history of computers|computer history]].

== Notable companies ==
Notable manufacturers of superminicomputers in 1980 included: [[Digital Equipment Corporation]], [[Perkin-Elmer]], and [[Prime Computer]].<ref name=IEEE1979/><ref name=supermini/> Other makers of systems included [[Systems Engineering Laboratories|SEL/Gould]] and [[Data General]].<ref name=E&P/> Four years later there were about a dozen companies producing a significant number of superminicomputers.<ref name=WSJ/> {{See below|table below}}

[[File:VAX 11-780 intero.jpg|thumb|right|DEC VAX-11/780 superminicomputer<ref name=Zorpette/>]]
{| {{table|sort}}
|+Companies and percentage of the superminicomputer market in 1985<ref name=WSJ/>
!Company!!Percent
|-
|[[IBM|International Business Machines]] (IBM)
| style="text-align:right;"|41.9
|-
|[[Digital Equipment Corporation]] (DEC)
| style="text-align:right;"|27.6
|-
|[[Data General]]
| style="text-align:right;"|6.0
|-
|[[Prime Computer]]
| style="text-align:right;"|5.6
|-
|[[PerkinElmer#Computer Systems Division|Perkin-Elmer]], formerly [[Interdata]]
| style="text-align:right;"|3.4
|-
|[[Wang Laboratories]]
| style="text-align:right;"|3.4
|-
|[[Gould Electronics|Gould]], formerly [[Systems Engineering Laboratories|SEL]]
| style="text-align:right;"|2.6
|-
|[[Hewlett-Packard]]
| style="text-align:right;"|2.2
|-
|[[Honeywell#Honeywell Information Systems|Honeywell]]
| style="text-align:right;"|2.2
|-
|[[Harris Computer Systems]]
| style="text-align:right;"|1.7
|-
|(other)
| style="text-align:right;"|3.4
|}
Perkin-Elmer spun off their Data Systems Group in 1985 to form [[Concurrent Computer Corporation]] which continued making these systems. [[Nixdorf Computer]], [[Norsk Data]], and [[Toshiba]] also produced systems.<ref name=super/>

== Significant superminicomputers ==
* [[Interdata 7/32 and 8/32|Interdata 7/32]], 1974<ref name="Simulators"/>
* Digital Equipment Corporation [[VAX-11/780]], 1978<ref name=VAX/>{{efn-ua|The VAX-11/780 was the [[Instructions_per_second#Two_flavors_of_VAX_MIPS|standard]] by which the performance of other supermincomputers and small mainframes were compared.<ref name=Wallich/><ref name=Zorpette/>}}
* Prime Computer 750, 1979<ref name=Prime/>
* [[Data General Eclipse MV/8000]], 1980<ref name=DG/>{{efn-ua|The design engineering of the Data General Eclipse MV/8000 was chronicled in ''[[The Soul of a New Machine]]'' by [[Tracy Kidder]], a 1981 Pulitzer Prize winning book.<ref name=Borins/><ref name=IEEE1981/>}}
* IBM [[IBM 4300#IBM 4361|4361]], 1983<ref name=IBM/>
* AT&T [[3B20D]], 1984<ref name="pollack19840328">{{Cite news |last=Pollack |first=Andrew |date=1984-03-28 |title=A.T.&.T. OFFERS ITS COMPUTERS |language=en-US |pages=D1 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/28/business/at-t-offers-its-computers.html |access-date=2023-02-14 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
* [[IBM 9370]], 1987<ref name=Bell/>

== Notes ==
{{notelist-ua}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=Flowers>{{cite journal |doi=10.1109/TNS.1982.4335992 |title=The Use of the 32-Bit Minicomputer for Data Acquisition |journal=IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=927–931 |year=1982 |last1=Flowers |first1=Jeff |bibcode=1982ITNS...29..927F |s2cid=28156759 }}</ref>
<ref name=Storassli>{{cite journal |last1=Storassli |first1=Olaf O. |last2=Vidal |first2=James B. |last3=Jones |first3=Gary K. |date=1982 |series=NASA technical memorandum |number=83284 |title=An evaluation of superminicomputers for thermal analysis |journal=Computational Aspects of Heat Transfer in Structures |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19820015624.pdf |location=Washington, DC |publisher=NASA |page=2 |bibcode=1982caht.nasa..437S }}</ref>
<ref name=IEEE1981>{{cite journal |doi=10.1109/MSPEC.1981.6369813 |title=The Microkids and the Hardy Boys: An inside look at how a maverick team from Data General 'rescued' the company by designing a competitive 32-bit superminicomputer in record time |journal=IEEE Spectrum |volume=18 |issue=9 |pages=48–55 |year=1981 |last1=Kidder |first1=Tracy |s2cid=5650132 }}</ref>
<ref name=VAX>{{cite news |last=Rosenberg |first=Ronald |date=3 Mar 1983 |title=...'we never look over our shoulder' — Digital |work=Boston Globe }}</ref>
<ref name=DG>{{cite news |last=Rosenberg |first=Ronald |date=2 Nov 1985 |title=Data General does it with class |work=Boston Globe }}</ref>
<ref name=WSJ>{{cite news |last=Davis |first=Bob |date=22 Jan 1985 |title=Prime Computer's New Model Heats Up Race To Construct the Fastest Superminicomputer |work=Wall Street Journal }}</ref>
<ref name=Prime>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=Jul 27, 1981 |title=Firm's Sales on Rebound Thanks to Supermini |work=Computerworld }}</ref>
<ref name=supermini>{{cite news |last=Rosenberg |first=Ronald |date=30 Apr 1980 |title=Unveiling a 'supermini' |work= Boston Globe }}</ref>
<ref name=IEEE1979>{{cite book |doi=10.1145/601889.601932 |chapter=Promoting computer literacy |title=Proceedings of the 7th annual ACM SIGUCCS conference on User services - SIGUCCS '79 |pages=83 |year=1979 |last1=Steinberg |first1=Michael A. |isbn=0897910060|s2cid=17187367 }}</ref>
<ref name=Computerworld>{{cite magazine |last=Connolly |first=James |date=September 30, 1985 |title=Superminis: Dynamic machines evolving to new uses |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MmR2XHzI9yoC&pg=PA64 |magazine=Computerworld |page=SR/4, SR10 |access-date=5 December 2019 |quote=<small>No one can say with certainty who coined the word 'superminicomputer' and to what systems he meant it to apply, but consensus is emerging that a supermini is nothing more than a minicomputer — a high-end mini, but a mini nonetheless.</small>}}</ref>
<ref name=Joy>{{cite journal |doi=10.1126/science.228.4698.467 |pmid=17746877 |title=Workstations in Science |journal=Science |volume=228 |issue=4698 |pages=467–470 |year=1985 |last1=Joy |first1=W. |last2=Gage |first2=J. |bibcode=1985Sci...228..467J |s2cid=9058777 }}</ref>
<ref name=Bell>{{cite journal |doi=10.1109/JPROC.2014.2306257 |title=STARS: Rise and Fall of Minicomputers |journal=Proceedings of the IEEE |volume=102 |issue=4 |pages=629–638 |year=2014 |last1=Bell |first1=Gordon |bibcode=2014IEEEP.102..629B |s2cid=21352766 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
<ref name=Zorpette>{{cite journal |doi=10.1109/MSPEC.1985.6370815 |title=The beauty of 32 bits: This near-optimum bit width has unprecedented potential for the well-informed designer of microprocessor-based systems |journal=IEEE Spectrum |volume=22 |issue=9 |pages=65–71 |year=1985 |last1=Zorpette |first1=Glenn |bibcode=1985IEEES..22i..65Z |s2cid=34626939 }}</ref>
<ref name=E&P>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=HP to enter supermini stakes? |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/5185572 |magazine=Electronics & Power |date=August 1981 |issn=2053-7883 |access-date=5 December 2019 }}</ref>
<ref name=super>{{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Supercomputers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UkCjBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |location=Oxford |publisher=Elsevier |page=3 |date=1991 |isbn=9781483296197 }}</ref>
<ref name=OED>{{cite encyclopedia |title=superminicomputer |encyclopedia=Oxford English Dictionary |date=June 2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |id=268008 |quote=Now historical.}}</ref>
<ref name=Wallich>{{cite journal |doi=10.1109/MSPEC.1985.6370525 |title=Minis and mainframes: Superminicomputers push mainframe performance, mainframes operate at supercomputer speeds, and supercomputers reach 400 million operations per second |journal=IEEE Spectrum |volume=22 |pages=42–44 |year=1985 |last1=Wallich |first1=Paul |issue=1 |bibcode=1985IEEES..22a..42W |s2cid=27187801 |quote=<small>The manufacturers of the new processors all measure their machines against the venerable Digital Equipment Corp. VAX 11/780, which performs somewhat more than a million operations per second.</small>}}</ref>
<ref name=Borins>{{cite book |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-77923-2_2 |chapter=Insanely Great: The Dominant IT Fable |title=Negotiating Business Narratives |pages=13–22 |year=2018 |last1=Borins |first1=Sandford |last2=Herst |first2=Beth |isbn=978-3-319-77922-5 }}</ref>
<ref name=IBM>{{cite news |last=Rosenberg |first=Ronald  |title=2 mid-sized computers are introduced by IBM |work=Boston Globe |date=16 Sep 1983 |quote=<small>'They even called the new 4361 a multi-application superminicomputer, a term they never used before.'</small>}}</ref>
<ref name=Vardalas>{{cite book |isbn=9780262264983 |title=The Computer Revolution in Canada: Building National Technological Competence |last1=Vardalas |first1=John N. |date=2001-07-27 |publisher=MIT Press |quote=<small>As circuit densities and performance increased and prices dropped, the demarcation between minicomputers and superminicomputers and that between low and middle ranges of mainframes began to blur.</small>}}</ref>
<ref name="Simulators">{{cite journal |doi=10.1145/1016998.1017002 |title=Simulators: Virtual Machines of the Past (and Future) |journal=ACM Queue |volume=2 |issue=5 |pages=52–58 |date=July–August 2004 |publisher=ACM |last1=Supnik |first1=Bob |quote=<small>Thirty-two-bit computing broke out of the mainframe category with the introduction of the 'supermini' Interdata 7/32 in the mid-1970s and then the VAX in 1977.</small>|doi-access=free }}</ref>
<ref name=Stiefel>{{cite magazine |last=Stiefel |first=Malcolm L. |date=July 1978 |title=Superminis: What's In The Name? |magazine=Mini-Micro Systems |volume=11 |issue=7 |pages=29–42 |quote=<small>At first blush, the word 'supermini' seems to be a contradiction in terms, like 'bittersweet.' There is a temptation to dismiss it immediately as a frivolous pun - the fruit a fertile Mad Ave. mind. In a sense, this gut reaction has merit; the term was obviously coined by marketeers to describe succinctly a class of machines without being too specific.</small>}}</ref>
<ref name=midi>{{cite report |last=Yates |first=Edward H. |date=August 1980 |title=Interrelationships of Technology, System Performance, and Prices for Mini/Midicomputers |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a109946.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214223638/https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a109946.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=December 14, 2019 |publisher=Office of the Secretary of the Army |page=3 |access-date=14 December 2019 }}</ref>
<ref name=Burr>{{cite magazine |last1=Burr |first1=William E. |last2=Gordon |first2=Robert |date=October 1977 |title=Selecting a Military Computer Architecture |magazine=Computer |volume=10 |issue=10 |pages=16–23 |publisher=IEEE |doi=10.1109/C-M.1977.217522 }}</ref>
}}

== External links ==
* {{Wiktionary-inline}}

{{Computer sizes}}

[[Category:Minicomputers|*Super]]
[[Category:Classes of computers]]