The z/OS® operating system is designed to make full use of mainframe hardware and its many sophisticated peripheral devices, such as storage devices and printers. The following short courses introduce you to one model of IBM® mainframe computer, the IBM System z9®, to help you learn about its physical environment, major hardware parts and their function by comparing them to hardware parts of personal computers or notebooks.

Each course takes no more than 30 minutes to complete.

Although no previous knowledge of mainframe hardware is required to understand the content of these courses, you might find it helpful to first read The value of the mainframe today to understand the role of the mainframe in today's business environment; various mainframe terms; and prized characteristics that distinguish the mainframe from other computers, which include reliability, continuous availability, and scalability.