Glossary Term

Twinax

A legacy cabling and terminal attachment standard used to connect 5250 terminals directly to IBM i controller hardware.

Definition

Twinax is the older cabling and attachment method for 5250 terminal hardware, predating IP-based terminal attachment. Many warehouse and plant floor environments still run twinax infrastructure because replacing the cabling and controllers represents a larger project than replacing the terminals alone.

Buyers replacing twinax terminal hardware should confirm whether they are staying on twinax infrastructure or converting to IP attachment, since the two approaches require different replacement hardware.

Example

A warehouse floor with twinax cabling already run through the ceiling may choose ruggedized twinax terminal replacements instead of a full IP conversion project.