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A superminicomputer, colloquially supermini, is a high-end minicomputer.<ref name=Computerworld/> The term is used to distinguish the emerging 32-bit architecture midrange computers 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 computers.<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 workstations.<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 computer history.
Notable companiesEdit
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 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/> Template:See below
| Company | Percent |
|---|---|
| International Business Machines (IBM) | 41.9 |
| Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) | 27.6 |
| Data General | 6.0 |
| Prime Computer | 5.6 |
| Perkin-Elmer, formerly Interdata | 3.4 |
| Wang Laboratories | 3.4 |
| Gould, formerly SEL | 2.6 |
| Hewlett-Packard | 2.2 |
| Honeywell | 2.2 |
| Harris Computer Systems | 1.7 |
| (other) | 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 superminicomputersEdit
- Interdata 7/32, 1974<ref name="Simulators"/>
- Digital Equipment Corporation VAX-11/780, 1978<ref name=VAX/>Template:Efn-ua
- Prime Computer 750, 1979<ref name=Prime/>
- Data General Eclipse MV/8000, 1980<ref name=DG/>Template:Efn-ua
- IBM 4361, 1983<ref name=IBM/>
- AT&T 3B20D, 1984<ref name="pollack19840328">Template:Cite news</ref>
- IBM 9370, 1987<ref name=Bell/>