1. A computer; esp. in the construction `foo box' where foo is some functional qualifier, like `graphics', or the name of an OS (thus, `Unix box', `MS-DOS box', etc.) "We preprocess the data on Unix boxes before handing it up to the mainframe." 2. [IBM] Without qualification but within an SNA-using site, this refers specifically to an IBM front-end processor or FEP /F-E-P/. An FEP is a small computer necessary to enable an IBM [mainframe] to communicate beyond the limits of the [dinosaur pen]. Typically used in expressions like the cry that goes up when an SNA network goes down: "Looks like the [box] has fallen over." (See [fall over].) See also [IBM], [fear and loathing], [Blue Glue].

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