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Computer technology is widely used all over the world, in fact, without server machines, there is no existence of world-wide-web (www), online shopping, banking experience, and all other server-dependent tasks. How do servers work is a simpler concept and anyone can easily understand the functionality, and major components, and realizes other related concepts, like Big Data and cloud computing. I am going to briefly explain all these concepts in this article.

What is a Server Machine?

Unlike personal computers, it is a powerful type of computer that is mostly used without screens, and keyboards and stores all the data associated with the websites hosted on it. A server is responsible to store the website files and share them with other computers. It is commonly used to accept requests for web documents and responses with particular information to the clients. Laptops or personal computers are used to solve mathematical problems and are designed to communicate with people.

How Do Servers Work?

When you enter the URL of any website, there are many servers involved to provide you with requested data and information about the particular website. Initially, your web browser breaks down the URL into three parts:

Protocol

Hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP or HTTPS) is a communication channel or language that is used by the servers and browsers to speak to each other.  

Server Name

The domain name server (DNS) translates the domain (or website) name into a numerical IP (internet protocol) address of the server having the files of the requested website.

File Name

It is related to the files including images, HTML, CSS, fonts, and many more related to that particular website.

The process starts with the web browser request of a particular web page searching for the right IP address associated with the requested domain. The IP address is assigned by the ISP (Internet Service Provider) and changes when you reconnect to the internet but web servers have the same IP addresses all the time and these IP addresses are used to access the website data. When this information is received by the web server, it will find and collect all the information needed to display the site including dynamic elements. The web server sends back this website data in the form of a response to the web browser and a complete page is displayed to the user.  

What are the Major Components of a Server?

Server computers have many components for executing code, sending or receiving network data, and storing the data on a short-term and long-term basis. Keep in mind, these components are very powerful than laptops or mobiles but they play the same role.

Processor

The processor is the brain of servers and is able to solve billions of calculations within a second and execute the code. In this modern era, powerful processors have multiple cores that allow them to execute more instructions at the same time and powerful computers have multiple processors having dozens of cores to enhance their workability. Temok dedicated servers are equipped with powerful Intel Xeon processors having multiple cores to provide exceptional speed and quality of computing operations. Moreover, the dedicated servers contain the fastest storage (SSDs) for long-term data storage, DDR3 RAMs, and more cache memory for carrying out the instructions executing now and in the near future.  

RAM

Random Access Memory (RAM) is the short-term memory used to store the data that is currently working with Operating System or software application by the processors. Modern processors need this memory that is used to read and write data faster than hard drives. Every Server will take more time if the data should be retrieved from the hard drives every time.

Storage

Servers have to store all the website data, libraries, operating systems, application codes, different files, and databases. Usually, traditional spinning hard drives and solid-state drives are used to store the data on the server side. SSD drive is expensive and faster than other hard disk drives. The selection of storage is based on needs and requirements. For example, a file archive server doesn’t need to be very fast but the database server needs to write and read data quickly.

Keep in mind, if a single storage device is connected to the server and eventually stops working then all websites hosted by the server will be down which is not acceptable for a better online user experience. Most of the servers have a Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) to increase fault tolerance. People can also protect their website data and take a full backup of the website to protect confidential data.

Bandwidth

How do servers work? Server working becomes possible when they are connected to the internet which is a combination of networks. If anyone needs to get reliable and higher speed his server must be equipped with higher bandwidth. If a website is hosted on a server having smaller bandwidth, the website users cannot access the website after a certain point, so the company will lose potential customers. It is recommended to use a higher amount of bandwidth in order to get optimum results.

How Many Different Types of Servers Exist?

There are different types of servers. Multiple servers do multiple jobs, from serving email and video to securing internal networks and hosting websites. We will learn here about server types used today. 

Some servers are often dedicated servers. They do not perform any other task besides their server tasks. Let’s start with the different types of servers used in application architecture in network environments. How many types of servers are there? 

Server Types

The following list of servers categorizes the many different types of servers in computer networks used in the marketplace today.

Web Server

A web server is a type of server that runs websites. A web server is an open-source used for accessing the world wide web via public domain software. These servers collect stored data from an internet website to your computer. Web servers collect data for the internet that is retrieved via “HTTP” code and sent to your web browser. It is one of the most commonly used types of servers. 

Web server hardware is connected to the internet. It permits changing information with other connected devices, while web server software manages how a user accesses hosted files. All computers must have web server software that hosts websites. 

Web servers host the data for websites and web applications. They are also used in web hosting. 

Proxy Server

A proxy server acts as a gateway between a client program and an external server to process requests, enhance performance, and share connections. This process adds a layer of security since the information is requested and converted from the source to the proxy server. A proxy server can process different harmful internet systems.

Mail Server

A mail server is a server that manages and delivers mail for clients over the internet. A mail server receives emails from client computers and delivers them to other mail servers. A mail server can also deliver emails to client computers. A client computer is usually the computer where you read your emails, for example, your computer at home or in your office. 

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Server

FTP servers are used to connect two computers and move files between them. FTP allows web pages to transfer to the server so that others can access them. You can upload, download, move, and delete files using the FTP client. When you upload the files, you transfer the files to the server from your personal computer, and when you download that file, you transfer the file from the server to your personal computer.

File Server

File server stores and manages the data files so that other computers on the same network can access the files. It allows users to share data over a network without transferring files. With the help of file servers, you can store, secure, and share files in an organization.

Database Server

A database server is a type of hardware that manages database software. Database software allows users or companies to store, control, retrieve, update or modify files, information logs, and other forms of digital data. Database servers comprise two main components: their backend functions and client-facing services. The backend of a database server collects all the digital files and data. The client-facing services allow the people or companies using that database to easily access, change, add to or run the stored data on the server.

Print Server

There are different types of servers in networking. In computer networking, a print server, or printer server, is a type of server that connects printers to client computers over a network. Print servers manage and control printing requests from your computer and your printing device, and they’re used in any printing operation for businesses worldwide.

Domain Name System (DNS) Server

DNS servers transfer URLs and domain names into IP addresses that computers can recognize and use. They convert what a user types into a browser into something the machine can use to find a webpage. This procedure of translation and lookup is called DNS resolution.

Gaming Server

A gaming server is a server in which large gaming networks use servers to connect people or users worldwide. Gaming servers host multi-player online games. 

Collaboration Server

When you want to share work with different users, a collaboration server helps to connect it very quickly. It also permits you to share and keep files, applications, and another large amount of information. 

Final Words

Nowadays, servers are available in a wide range of specifications for fulfilling any type of client requirements. Every business has particular requirements according to the business goals and the number of visitors, so understand your requirements and choose a perfect server. Owners can focus on their marketing strategies instead of managing the servers because Temok will manage your servers more efficiently and keep them active. Watch this video and get an overview of how do servers work and their major components.