About Computer

Question:What is a computer?

A computer is any device capable of performing computations (making calculations)--it performs a computation and produces an answer. That includes an abacus. But this is a little too simple and too broad to describe most computers today. Today's computers can perform very complex calculations at extremely high speeds using silicon-based semi-conductor technologies and a collection of storage, processing, presentation and user interface components to make it produce input and output in a format computer users can interpret.

The computers most people think of, their desktop computers, laptops, notebooks and tablet computers are 'general purpose' computing machines. All general purpose computers have a place to store instructions (RAM), a computation engine or processor (CPU) to perform logical or mathematical calculations, registers to store intermediate values created during the computation process. Increasingly, computers are being integrated with everything you can think of, from your toothbrush to your car, your audio system, your appliances, your phone, your house, your office building, the badge you wear into the building, the security tags in the store you shop in--virtually everything has a computing device inside it these days.

A computer appliance is a specialized computing device with special hardware and/or software built to serve a particular need or function. Computer appliances differ from general-purpose computers such as a desktop computer or server in that they are usually not designed to be modified by the end user. All functionality is 'sealed in' at the factory in some way.

Computer Appliance:
A computer appliance is often, but not always, built with specialized processors called 'application specific integrated chips' (ASICs) or programmable logic controllers (PLCs) that have special optimizations in their design to make them faster and more efficient at a specific task such as processing video, network packet inspection and forwarding, or encryption. Some computer appliances simply have a suite of specialized software that has been integrated inside the computer appliance in such a way as to bring significant capabilities to bear on a common information technology problem, such as security, SPAM and virus blocking or networking.

Computer Appliance Tutorial Topics

Types of Computer Appliances
Advantages of Computer Appliances
Computer Appliance Limitations
Computer Appliance Architecture

Types of Computer Appliances

Appliances are custom-built to fit a particular market segment, such as home users, small offices, enterprises and communications carriers. Most are designed for small-office and home use, and come with a web browser based management interface used to make user-configurable changes to the device and manage the computer appliance's services. Examples of a computer appliance include the following:

Storage Appliance: A storage appliance provides a very large data storage capacity that is made available to all the computers on the network through shares configured on the on-board computer used to manage and control the storage unit. Storage appliances are often designed to support larger numbers of hard drives and to make that space available over a network or fiber-optic communications 'fabric'.

Network Appliance: Network appliances often have specialized software and/or processors for routing and forwarding packets and performing security functions running on a specialized programmable logic controller and application specific integrated chips. Typically aimed at home and small office use, these devices combine network switch, routing and firewall functionality in a single device with a web browser based administrative interface.

Security Appliance: Security Appliances often contain specialized software and/or processors to perform packet inspection, encryption or other functions.

Anti-virus and Anti-SPAM Appliances

An anti-virus appliance is designed to provide anti-virus and anti-spam protection to an enterprise by filtering inbound mail and stripping viruses from the mail and its attachments. Some variations of these appliances will also download anti-virus software and definitions and provide it to all computers on the network.

Internet Gateways

Internet Gateways perform the function of connecting home and small offices to telecommunications providers. Sometimes called 'modems', they connect to a cable TV or telephone company network and provide one or more Ethernet network ports for the consumer to plug their network into. These gateways connect to the provider's network, acquire an address, provide addresses to the home or office computers behind the Internet gateway so that they can communicate with the Internet. Most of these gateways come with built-in security functionality to block Internet attacks and protect the end user from a variety of security threats.

Server Appliance

Also called a server-based appliance, a server appliance is a standard computer, a server with a vendor's custom software bundle installed on the server. Server appliances provide bolt-on functionality to the enterprise and are typically more flexible and configurable than standard hardware-based appliances. Server appliances often run a modified Linux or Windows operating system, and one or more vendor-specific applications and are administrated via a web interface or directly from the server itself.

Advantages of Computer Appliances

The Computer Appliance Sales Pitch:

Low-cost
Easy and quick to install--plug it in and use it immediately
No specialized knowledge required
Buy more appliances when you need them

The computing appliance sales pitch is that the computing appliance will be to be easy to use: 'simply plug in and turn on'. The sales pitch continues that no specialized knowledge is required, and that the desired functionality will instantly be available, quickly and easily at a low cost, saving businesses and end users time and effort. The advertising will describe the device as being as easy to use as a kitchen toaster. The reality may be somewhat different.

Computer Appliance Limitations

The Computer Appliance Reality:

The computer appliance might work as advertised
Accessing the full functionality of the computer appliance usually requires additional purchases of modules, firmware or licenses.
The computer appliance may have unadvertised limitations.
The computer appliance may not fully fit the actual need (see previous point)
You WILL pay for additional features and upgrades, if upgrading is even possible.
Can't access the system's internals to tailor the system to fit your needs
The Solution provided may be proprietary, and incompatible with other products, services or solutions
Can't update the system to close security vulnerabilities
May have to remove the device and replace it to upgrade.
Management overhead--too many devices to keep track of easily, and each appliance has to be configured individually.

While these computing appliances can often be configured, they frequently can't be modified and upgrades can be limited. The vendor has 'sealed in' the configuration and functionality at the factory. If additional functionality is needed, an additional purchase of a 'firmware image' or license key is required, or the device must be removed and replaced with a more powerful (and more expensive) solution. Usually if a computing appliance can be modified, it is usually only the manufacturer that can do so, and often it costs money and sometimes expensive consultants.
It is not uncommon for a software company to offer an appliance version of their product as an 'entry level' product, which later leads to the purchase of the full software product later when the end user finds out that the appliance doesn't quite fit their needs.

Computer Appliance Architecture

Home Computer Appliances

Small computer appliances for home or small office use will come 'sealed' at the factory as a single integrated component board inside a small form-factor plastic case. Within the plastic case you will find most of the following components, integrated into a single logic board:

Flash Memory
Processor or Application-Specific Integrated Chip(s) (ASICs)
RAM
Wireless (WiFi) or wired Ethernet Network port
USB Port
Linux-based operating system or micro-kernel
Virtual Machine or Java Virtual Machine
Web server with administrative interface

Server Appliances

Enterprise-class computer appliances usually consist of a standard computer or server with one or more specialized software suites installed on top of a customized operating system. Because a standard computer is used, the computer is much the same as any other computer and easily maintained by IT professionals with experience in basic server administration. Because the software resides on an standard computer hard drive, the software may be patched or upgraded by using a built-in vendor-provided update function which downloads the patch or update from the vendor's website over the Internet and applies it automatically to the server.

Need any Computer related help?

Searches related to about computer

computer history

computer definitions

introduction and definition of computer

simple definition of computer

uses of computer

what is computer system

parts of computer

types of computer

Search Results

Web results

Computer - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Computer

A computer is a machine that can be instructed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations automatically via computer programming. Modern ...

‎Computer hardware · ‎Personal computer · ‎History of personal computers · ‎Abacus

Web results

Computer Basics: What is a Computer? - GCFLearnFree

edu.gcfglobal.org › computerbasics › what-is-a-computer

Jun 7, 2016 - Uploaded by GCFLearnFree.org

A computer is an electronic device that manipulates information, or data. It has the ability to ... Watch the video ...

What is a Computer? - Computer Hope

www.computerhope.com › Dictionary › C - Definitions

Dec 30, 2019 - A computer is a programmable device that stores, retrieves, and processes data. ... The term was later given to a mechanical device as they began replacing the human computers. Today's computers are electronic devices that accept data (input), process that data, produce output, and store (storage) the results.

‎What components make up ... · ‎What parts are needed for a ...

How can I learn more about computers? - Computer Hope

www.computerhope.com › Help › Training

Mar 6, 2020 - Understanding each of the major hardware components that make up a computer is always a good first step in learning more about computers.

computer | History, Networking, Operating Systems, & Facts ...

www.britannica.com › technology › computer

Computer, a programmable device for processing, storing, and displaying information. Learn more about modern digital electronic computers and their design, ...