Server (computing): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 18:50, 12 August 2024

Revision as of 12:29, 22 August 2024

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[[File:Client-server-model.svg|thumb|right|200px|A [[computer network diagram]] of [[Client (computing)|client]] computers communicating with a server computer via the [[Internet]]]]

[[File:Wikimedia Foundation Servers-8055 35.jpg|thumb|[[Wikimedia Foundation]] rackmount servers on racks in a data center]]

[[File:First-server-cern-computer-center.jpg|thumb|The first [[World Wide Web|WWW]] server is located at [[CERN]] with its original sticker that says: "This machine is a server. DO NOT POWER IT DOWN!!"]]

A '''server''' is a [[computer]] that provides information to other computers called "[[Client (computing)|clients]]" on [[computer network]].<ref name="Cisco Networking Academy x508">{{cite web | title=1.1.2.2 Clients and Servers | website=Cisco Networking Academy | url=http://cisco.num.edu.mn/CCNA_R&S1/course/module1/1.1.2.2/1.1.2.2.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240407111300/http://cisco.num.edu.mn/CCNA_R&S1/course/module1/1.1.2.2/1.1.2.2.html | quote=Servers are hosts that have software installed that enable them to provide information...Clients are computer hosts that have software installed that enable them to request and display the information obtained from the server. | access-date=2024-04-07| archive-date=2024-04-07 }}</ref> This [[Systems architecture|architecture]] is called the [[client–server model]]. Servers can provide various functionalities, often called "services", such as sharing data or [[System resource|resources]] among multiple clients or performing [[computation]]s for a client. A single server can serve multiple clients, and a single client can use multiple servers. A client process may run on the same device or may connect over a network to a server on a different device.<ref>{{cite book |title = Windows Server Administration Fundamentals |url = https://archive.org/details/windowsserveradm00cour |url-access = limited |publisher = [[John Wiley & Sons]] |___location = Hoboken, NJ |series = Microsoft Official Academic Course |year = 2011 |pages = [https://archive.org/details/windowsserveradm00cour/page/n21 2]–3 |isbn = 978-0-470-90182-3}}</ref> Typical servers are [[database server]]s, [[file server]]s, [[mail server]]s, [[print server]]s, [[web server]]s, [[game server]]s, and [[application server]]s.<ref>{{cite book|last1 = Comer |first1 = Douglas E. |last2 = Stevens |first2 = David L |title = Vol III: Client-Server Programming and Applications |publisher = [[Prentice Hall]] |___location = West Lafayette, IN |series = Internetworking with TCP/IP |year = 1993 |pages = 11d |isbn = 978-0-13-474222-9 |url-access = registration |url = https://archive.org/details/internetworkingw00come_0}}</ref>