A computer system in a network that is shared by multiple users. Servers come in all sizes from x86-based PCs to IBM mainframes. A server may have a keyboard, monitor and mouse directly attached, or one keyboard, monitor and mouse may connect to any number of servers via a switch (see KVM switch). In large companies, servers often reside in racks in the datacenter, and all access is via their network connections. See server farm and rack mounted.
Any User Machine Can Be a Server
Stand-alone PCs and Macs can also function as a server to other users on the network even though they serve as a single workstation to one user (see peer-to-peer). In such cases, only specific folders are marked for sharing rather than the entire hard drive.
It Can Also Be Software
The term "server" may refer to both the hardware and software (the entire computer system) or just the software that performs the service. For example, Web server may refer to the Web server software in a computer that also runs other applications, or, it may refer to a computer system dedicated only to the Web server application. For example, a large Web site could have several dedicated Web servers or one very large Web server.
Servers are classified by their purpose, and the following servers are defined in this encyclopedia.
Any User Machine Can Be a Server
Stand-alone PCs and Macs can also function as a server to other users on the network even though they serve as a single workstation to one user (see peer-to-peer). In such cases, only specific folders are marked for sharing rather than the entire hard drive.
It Can Also Be Software
The term "server" may refer to both the hardware and software (the entire computer system) or just the software that performs the service. For example, Web server may refer to the Web server software in a computer that also runs other applications, or, it may refer to a computer system dedicated only to the Web server application. For example, a large Web site could have several dedicated Web servers or one very large Web server.
Servers are classified by their purpose, and the following servers are defined in this encyclopedia.
application server
audio server
database server
fax server
file server
intranet server
mail server
merchant server
modem server
network access server
print server
proxy server
remote access server
telephony server
terminal server
video server
Web server
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Internet Server Monitor 10.0.15 (Windows)
- Internet Server Monitor is a network monitoring tool enabling Systems Administrators to monitor network servers, services, and applications for failures as well as recoveries enabling issue identification and resolution before users report them. Internet Server Monitor handshakes with network resources and calls specific functions enabling Internet Server Monitor to determine...
- Software downloads 2009-11-19
- Apple Server Admin Tools 10.6.2 (Mac)
- This download contains remote administration tools, documentation, and utilities that you can install on a computer other than your server.
- Software downloads 2009-11-19
- NComputing announces new Microsoft partnership
- I've featured NComputing a few times in this blog, largely focusing on their solutions that turn a single workstation into as many as 10 workstations using thin client technologies. In particular, I wrote about NComputing's successful bid beating out Intel and OLPC to provide thin-client computers to as many...
- Blog posts 2009-11-18
- (A PDC peek at a Microsoft server container (photos))
- Free cooling?Can this contain take advantage of the ambient temperature during the winter? And are their freeze protection measures? RE: (A PDC peek at a Microsoft server container photos)Blooty Marvelous i want that woone !And like mobile phone and microwave and sat base/earth stations i am guessing...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-18
- Shopping at the second-hand server store
- Virtualization or not - you're still spending too much on hardware if you buy it new. Whether you need one server or a pallet load, it's all available at 15-20% of the original price, for equipment that is only 2 - 4 years old, made by your favorite manufacturers. by...
- Blog posts 2009-11-18
- Xlight FTP Server 3.5 (Windows)
- Xlight FTP Server is an easy to use high performance FTP server with very low memory and CPU usage. It has many features and advanced features such as remote administration, SSL, SFTP,ODBC, LDAP, Active Directory, e-mail notification, and IPv6 support.
- Software downloads 2009-11-18
- TurboFTP Server 1.00.709 (Windows)
- TurboFTP Server supports virtual domains, which means you can set up multiple virtual domains on a physical host machine and provide different services on it. You can map any local folder path to a virtual server folder and assign individual users or groups access rights to folders within a domain's...
- Software downloads 2009-11-18
- SteelEye DataKeeper for Windows Server 2008 R2
- Keeping things alive - SteelEye DataKeeper for Windows Server 2008 R2 launched. by Dan Kusnetzky
- Blog posts 2009-11-17
- Local SMTP Server Pro 5.8 (Windows)
- SMTP server program to send e-mail messages without help of your ISP, directly from your local PC to recipient mailboxes. Use your favorite e-mail client along with Local SMTP Server Pro as usual. Mobile PC users who travel a lot and have to switch between different ISPs on the run...
- Software downloads 2009-11-17
- Personal Mail Server Pro 5.8 (Windows)
- SMTP/POP3 mail server program to use as a personal local SMTP server or as a stand-alone fully featured mail server. You can use the product along with any mail clients that are complaint with the standard SMTP/POP3 protocols. It offers a range of security features and options that allow you...
- Software downloads 2009-11-17
- Open Search Server 1.1.2r662 (Mac)
- Open Search Server OSS is a search engine software developed under the GPL v3 open source licence. Built using the best open source technologies available, Open Search Server is a stable, high-performance piece of software. It is both a modern search engine and a suite of high-powered full text search...
- Software downloads 2009-11-17
- Designing High Availability for SQL Server 2005
- The end of downtime, period! Job No. 1 for database administrators DBAs is making sure that the data they're responsible for is available all the time.That's because for anyone who implements database systems with Microsoft SQL Server, be it 2000 or 2005, data availability quickly becomes mission-critical. This is why...
- White papers 2009-11-17
- Adopting Server Virtualization for Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
- In today's competitive business environment, your IT infrastructure must accommodate rapidly changing business needs and unforeseen problems with minimal impact on day-to-day operations. But this level of flexibility, scalability, and high availability can be expensive and difficult to deploy and maintain, especially for small and midsize businesses. No matter what...
- White papers 2009-11-17
- Synology Disk Station DS409slim - NAS server
- Synology Disk Station DS409slim is a true miniature powerhouse in the network-attached storage device market. It's the first 2.5-inch hard drive-based NAS server we've reviewed that offers hot-swappable capability. However, that is its least impressive feature. The server did well in our performance tests and, like other Synology products we've...
- Product reviews 2009-11-16
- Microsoft makes available new high performance Windows Server test build
- Microsoft made available on November 16 a code-complete beta of Windows HPC High Performance Computing Server 2008 R2 to selected testers. The company made the announcement at the Supercomputing 2009 show in Portland, Oreg. by Mary Jo Foley
- Blog posts 2009-11-16
- Terminal Server Utility 1.0.3 (Windows)
- Terminal Server Utility is a tool enabling you to accomplish administrative tasks related to Terminal Server. Features are: monitoring; lists of session, per servers; session's details - user name - logon time, computer client name, remote address IP, incoming & outgoing traffic; process' details - list of processes, par user,...
- Software downloads 2009-11-16
- Joyfax Server 4.80 Build 1109 (Windows)
- JoyFax Server is a client/server-base fax software that allows you to send and receive faxes in a network environment by using a public phone line. Our easy-to-use Fax software also can offers the ability to manage your group faxing and the fax contact lists. The Fax server receives incoming faxes,...
- Software downloads 2009-11-15
- Fastream IQ Proxy Server 3.0.1R (Windows)
- IQ Proxy Server is a robust and secure content/reverse solution for Windows. Featuring the most scalable server engine with up to 20,000 simultaneous connections for both filtering and caching content proxy and securing and accelerating reverse proxy, could serve more than 10,000 requests/sec in keep-alive mode. Fastream IQ Proxy Server...
- Software downloads 2009-11-15
- Address Book Server 30 October (Mac)
- With Address Book Server you can synchronise your Address Book with others on the same network as well as over the internet. Contacts are synchronised with your own instance of Address Book Server. Address Book Server comes in two parts a server and a client. The server should be...
- Software downloads 2009-11-14
- wodSSHServer 2.2 (Windows)
- wodSSHServer is an SSH Server ActiveX component but also Telnet Server ActiveX as well that will give you ability to easily add SSH2 and SFTP server capabilities to your application, as well as old TELNET server protocol. SSH protocol provides strong encryption of data, and authentication of users over insecure...
- Software downloads 2009-11-14
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