What are servers?

It is the processor which serves the client request according to the client instructions.

Answer

The Server and Peer to Peer Comparisons

1. Security options

a. On server based networks the security control is done by the server as opposed to Peer to Peer the security features are very limited.

b. The server handles, remote printing, Internet access & file services. When on a Peer to Peer network, one workstation has the default printer connected to it.

2. Expense and usage options are different.

a. Peer to peer is less expensive to construct. The software specifications of a server-based network is that you require an operating system server based program. The software specifications of a Peer to Peer network, is that you do not require an operating system server based program. You can use windows 98 SE or above and set up a Peer to Peer network.

3. Security, Utilities & Tools comparisons.

a. In a client/server network, computers are divided into a server and clients. The server is usually a dedicated, powerful machine bearing all the hallmarks of server as show in the diagram below. The clients are usually less powerful than the server and connect only to the server through the network.

b. The benefits of a client/server configuration (or architecture, as it is sometimes called are mostly of interest to people who rely heavily on the networks reliability.

c. They include the following benefits:

i) Centralised management of network resources.

ii) The capability to set stringent and rigorous controls on security, file access, and other potentially sensitive material.

iii) A significant reduction in management at the client.

iv) The capability to secure and backup data from the server.

v) The capability to “scale” – that is, to increase in size gracefully.

Hope this information introduces you to some basic specifications of constructing and compairing a networking over a peer-to-peer setup.

Answer

A Server is a Program that offers services to other Programs called 'Clients'. The specialised computers that runs these server programs are also called Servers. Examples are:

Print Servers: Programs that accept requests from Clients to print documents. The printer is usually directly connected to the computer running the server and is managed by it.

Web Servers: Programs that accept requests from Clients for web pages. When we visit a website like 'www.faqfarm.com' our web browser (MS Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox ..) sends a request for a web page to the web server and the web server answers that request by sending the requested web page to our web browser which in turn displays it.

File Servers: Programs that serves different files to its clients.

Email Servers: Programs that sends and receives emails on behalf of the user (client).

These days the trend is to build a lot of such server programs into the Operating System itself and market it as a Server Operating System. (Eg: Microsoft Windows NT Server, Microsoft Windows 2003 Server, Redhat Enterprise Linux Server ...)

Since a Server may need to serve thousands of service requests every second, specialised computer hardware is available in market (packaged neatly in a box that resembles our desktop computers) that does the job more efficiently. Such a computer system is also called a Server. Companies like IBM, Dell, Hewlett Packard etc sell such systems.

First answer by Umut YILDIZ. Last edit by Jplacid. Contributor trust: 99 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 158 [recommend question]

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