Rather than attaching a printer to every workstation, a single print server can respond to printing requests from numerous clients. Print servers allow for the management and distribution of printing functionality. File server hardware can be designed to maximize read and write speeds to improve performance. In addition, centrally storing files offers easier backup or fault tolerance solutions than attempting to provide security and integrity for files on every device in an organization. Multiple clients or users may share files stored on a server. Many networks contain one or more of the common server types: File serversįile servers store and distribute files. There are many types of servers that all perform different functions. This is the request and response model of client-server networking, also known as the call and response model.Ī server will often perform numerous additional tasks as part of a single request and response, including verifying the identity of the requestor, ensuring that the client has permission to access the data or resources requested, and properly formatting or returning the required response in an expected way. The server receives this request and responds with the appropriate information. When a client requires data or functionality from a server, it sends a request over the network. In another example, an Apache web server responds to Internet browser requests via an additional application, Apache, installed on top of an operating system. Additionally installed roles or services increase which kinds of client requests the server can respond to.
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This functionality can exist as part of the operating system as an installed application, role, or a combination of the two.įor example, Microsoft’s Windows Server operating system provides the functionality to listen to and respond to client requests. To function as a server, a device must be configured to listen to requests from clients on a network connection. Servers may also perform several tasks, such as a file and print server, which both stores files and accepts print jobs from clients and then sends them on to a network-attached printer. Today, virtual servers are often run by a third-party on hardware across the Internet in an arrangement called cloud computing.Ī server may be designed to do a single task, such as a mail server, which accepts and stores email and then provides it to a requesting client. Originally, virtual servers were used to increase the number of server functions a single hardware server could do. Such servers are often referred to as virtual servers.
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These days, a server may be nothing more than software running on one or more physical computing devices. In previous computing models, such as the mainframe-terminal model, the mainframe did act as a server even though it wasn’t referred to by that name.Īs technology has evolved, the definition of a server has evolved with it. This network architecture is often referred to as the client-server model, in which both the client computer and the server possess computing power, but certain tasks are delegated to servers. Later, servers were often single, powerful computers connected over a network to a set of less-powerful client computers.
The actual computing was done on the server. These terminals, referred to as dumb terminals, existed simply to accept input via a keyboard or card reader and to return the results of any computations to a display screen or printer. Initially, such servers were connected to clients known as terminals that did not do any actual computing. However, as technology progressed, they ended up becoming much larger than desktop computers, which made the term microcomputer somewhat farcical. Minicomputers were much smaller than mainframe computers, hence the name. Some of the first servers were mainframe computers or minicomputers. This means that a device could be both a server and a client at the same time. There are many types of servers, including web servers, mail servers, and virtual servers.Īn individual system can provide resources and use them from another system at the same time. A server is a computer or system that provides resources, data, services, or programs to other computers, known as clients, over a network. In theory, whenever computers share resources with client machines they are considered servers.
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