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Server

What is a server?

A server is a system designed to provide access to resources, services, data or software to other computers, which are called clients, through a network.

In general, servers are computers that share resources with “client” computers, but in addition to providing resources they can also use those of other systems.

1. How does a server work?

Servers, whether physical or installed on virtual machines, are designed to be always on and to respond quickly to requests from clients or other servers. For this reason, they are never turned off and the term availability is used to indicate the time that the server is active and ready to respond to requests.

For example, an email server has all the features that allow it to listen and respond to requests from clients/servers, in terms of receiving and sending emails. At the same time, it performs additional operations, such as spam detection, querying blacklist services, checking the sender’s DNS, etc.

2. Types of servers

There are many different types of servers depending on the tasks they were designed for, but in general the most common ones are the following:

  • File servers. These are the servers where files are stored and shared so that other servers or clients can access them easily. They generally have permission levels and restricted access for unregistered users.
  • Application servers. These servers are the ones that allow you to run (use) applications remotely without the need for the client computer to have the application installed locally. This way, the software only has to be installed and maintained in a single place.
  • Database servers. This is where huge amounts of information are managed through databases, which generally require a very large amount of storage space and respond to queries/requests for information from clients. The most common database servers are Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, and DB2.
  • Email servers. They are one of the most common types of application server and are responsible for handling the sending and receiving of emails in the clients’ email programs. For receiving, there are POP and IMAP servers, while SMTP servers are the ones used to send emails.
  • DNS servers. These are the domain name system (DNS) servers that are responsible for redirecting to an IP address, based on a domain name written by the user. Print servers. It is the one that manages and administers the printing and distribution of documents among the different clients. High-end printers have their own built-in print server.
  • Proxy servers. They are the ones that act as an intermediary between a client and a server; they are often used for isolating clients or servers from others, for security reasons.
  • Web servers. Along with email servers, they are the most widely used. They are a type of application server that stores the data and applications that are requested by browsers so that users can view web pages. The most common web servers are Apache and IIS (Microsoft Internet Information Services).

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