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Definition: IBM mainframes


Following is the IBM mainframe evolution starting with the System/360 introduced in 1964. The IBM mainframe is the longest running computer family in history. Although current IBM mainframes are vastly superior in technology to the System/360, they are highly compatible with it. Programs written for the System/360 more than four decades ago may still run on the latest models with only minor modifications.

 Year               Model
 Intro. Model       Numbers

 System/360

 1964  System/360  2020 to 2195


 System/370

 1970  System/370  3115 to 3168
 1977  System/370  3031, 3032, 3033
 1979  System/370  43xx
 1980  System/370  3081, 3083, 3084
 1981  XA/370      3081, 3083, 3084
 1986  XA/370      3090 series (120-600)
 1986  XA/370      9370 series
 1988  ESA/370     ES/3090 and ES/4381


       Model Numbers

 System/390  (ESA/390 Environment)

 1990  ES/9000, 120 to 9X2
 1994  9672 Exx & Pxx, G1
 1994  9672 Rx1, G1
 1995  9672 Rx2,Rx3, G2
 1996  Multiprise 2000 (2003-xxx)
 1996  9672 Rx4, G3
 1997  9672 Rx5, G4
 1998  9672 Rx6-Yx6, G5
 1998  9672 Y56-YX6, G5 Turbo
 1999  9672 X17-XZ7, Z17-ZZ7, G6
 1999  7060-xxx Multiprise 3000, G5


       Family    Series

 IBM Z (z/Architecture)

 2000   900      2064
 2002   800      2066
 2003   990      2084
 2005   z9 EC    2094
 2006   z9 BC    2096
 2008   z10 EC   2097
 2008   z10 BC   2098
 2010   zEnterprise 196
 2011   zEnterprise 114
 2012   zEnterprise EC12
 2013   zEnterprise BC12
 2015   z13      2964
 2016   z13      2965
 2017   z14      3906
 2018   z14      3907
 2019   z15      3931
 2022   z16      3932





An Earlier IBM Mainframe Installation
Even today, mainframes are hardly extinct. Organizations have billions of dollars invested in mainframe programming, and IBM has more than kept pace with advancements in semiconductor technology. (Image courtesy of IBM.)