Note: Many topics at this site are reduced versions of the text in "The Encyclopedia of Networking and Telecommunications." Search results will not be as extensive as a search of the book's CD-ROM.

A mainframe is a central processing computer system that gets its name from the large frame or rack that holds the electronics. Mainframes are based on the central processing model of computing, in which all processing and data storage is done at a central system and users connect to that system via "dumb terminals." The most common mainframes were made by IBM, although major systems were also made by Sperry Rand, Burroughs, NCR, Honeywell, and others.