The Emerging Role of Minicomputers in Computational Analysis and Design

The continued development of high-performance low-cost computing systems, the Miniframe, is having a significant impact on the scientific computing marketplace. The purpose of this paper is to

• describe the characteristics of the Miniframe
• describe the role of Miniframes in distributed computing
• compare the cost/performance of Miniframes with present mainframes
• address the inevitability of changes to the present computer organizational structure and consider the new burdens that will be imposed on engineering management.