The nightmare of off-board servers

[Eduard Manas]

The following is a question from a mock test:
"What is an off-board server used for?"
i) Delegating complex processing to a separate server
ii) Enable secure remote access to a mainframe by forwarding SSL requests to serial connections.
The correct answer is ii)

The only 'useful' description of an off-board server I have been able to find is the following (http://www.leocrawford.org.uk/work/jcea/part1/legacy.html):
"An off-board server is a server that executes as a proxy for a legacy system. It communicates with the legacy system using the custorm protocols supported by the legacy system. It communicates with external applications using industry-standard protocols"
Assuming the above description is correct, an off-board server sounds more like an adapter (rather than a proxy!), and it does not implies "SSL requests to serial connections", but any protocol that the legacy application uses.
Therefore I think answer ii) is not correct.

Could anyone clarify what an off-board server is, and if possible provide a link with more information about off-board servers.

Thanks