I remember DEC calling the VAX a mainframe.  The VAX 780 and 785 only had one massbus, 
so they didn't have the I/O of a mainframe.  I don't know if latter models had more 
the one bus.  If they did then I suppose they could be called mainframes.

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Troth [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Friday, February 27, 2004 9:23 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: z/VM access to EMC (was: Accessing DASD on a Shark from
Linux under z/VM)


On Fri, 27 Feb 2004, Fargusson.Alan wrote:
>   ...   This is one point that non-mainframe folks really
> don't understand.  I have found that not one person I talk to
> about mainframes understands that the mainframe can transfer data
> on multiple buses simultaneously.

Yes,  it's one of the points,  perhaps the main point,
in what I would use as the definition of a "mainframe",
channelized I/O.   I remember DEC trying to call the VAX a mainframe,
and it was never clear to me if it was really doing channelized I/O.
Those carrying the message didn't know the meaning.   (I still
liked the VAX,  just didn't like my peers calling it a mainframe.)

 ...
> This is the big difference in mainframe architecture.
> We should make more of an effort to get this message out.

-- R;

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