You’ve definitely heard the word “server” countless times in this world of technology. When it comes to talking about the internet, this word somehow gets in there. Many of us know almost nothing about what a server is, which is why, despite the interest, many things remain obscure in any discussion of technology.
So today we will discuss some basic information about the server.
What is a server?
A server is a computer that accepts a request from another computer or device and provides information accordingly. A huge amount of information is stored on a server. The server can operate using either the Local Area Network (LAN) or the Internet. Needless to say, the server does not have to be connected to the Internet to accept this request and exchange information.
However, in the case of web servers, it is important to be connected to the Internet. Because the medium here is the Internet and a web browser for the request that the server will receive and exchange information from a user. Let’s say the web server and its working process a little more simply.
Since you are reading this article right now, you have a few things to do before. First, you need to open the web browser of a phone or computer that has an internet connection. Then you have to click on a link or enter the address of a specified website directly. Now you have to wait a while and then you see the text in your web browser. Speaking of which, where did the text come from in your browser?
Of course, it doesn’t float in the air, it has to be stored digitally somewhere. To put it better, the text has been kept in the memory of one or another computer. As if the computer can show you the text at any moment you request.
When you open a browser and click on a link or enter a web address, a request is sent from the browser to a computer to show that specific webpage. At the same time, the computer accepts your request and allows the browser to view the webpage, which is already stored in its memory or hard drive. Then the browser was able to show you the webpage on that computer.
And this computer is called a server or web server. Simply put, this is actually the answer to what a server is, i.e. the identity of the server and the way it works.
Types of Servers
There are many types of servers, none of which are dedicated or used only for one type of work. These servers are very old-fashioned, largely useless at present. There are opportunities to use these servers on an individual level. The rest can be called hybrids or combined, which are actually the sum of many dedicated servers. Here we will learn about some of the most common types of servers, each dedicated server.
Web server
As I said above; Basically webpages or web contents are stored here, and they are displayed according to the user’s request. Field-specific users also get the opportunity to upload content. All the types of servers we see on the internet are actually web servers in one way or another.
Email Server
The name implies that it is an email server. Yes, it only does the job of exchanging and saving emails. Since each email is created by a user, the person in charge of this server does not have to add any new content to the server, they just do the maintenance work of this server.
Identity Server
These types of servers control issues such as user login and security, much like database types.
FTP Server
FTP servers are used for fast file transfers. People who use broadband internet know this very well. Various ISPs, i.e. Internet service providers, use FTP servers to enable their users to download large files like movies or games at high speed.
This specially designed server can transfer files much faster than a normal web server due to its relatively close user area and small number of users.
As the use of dedicated servers has decreased, it is often seen to combine web servers, email servers, identity servers, etc. to use combined or hybrid servers. Commercial hosting companies always use such combined or hybrid servers.
More about the Server
A website can be viewed from anywhere in the world at any time. So the server also has to be active all the time. Once a server computer is turned on, it runs smoothly, seven days a week and 24 hours a day.
Besides, since we have to process many requests at the same time, server computers are many times more powerful than the ordinary computers we know. In order to keep these powerful server computers running all the time, special measures have to be taken to keep them cool with uninterrupted power supply.
However, for maintenance, sometimes the server is taken offline as per the schedule, at that time the user is usually informed about the maintenance through a short message when he enters the websites on that server.
It is not always the case that the server goes down or goes offline for maintenance, the same thing can happen due to hacking.
