Imagine sending off a letter to someone, the process is basically the same on how does the server works except it send mail in a high-speed electric communication and only takes milliseconds instead of weeks or months and this all thanks to servers –but what are servers and how does it works?
Many businesses tend to misunderstand the term “server” and the lack of concise and clear definition and technology background of how server works can have an impact on the business’s operation. In this article, let me show the basic information about the server and how they can be beneficial to your business.
What is a server?
A server refers to a type of computer with a high powered processor, multiple hard drives, network interface, and a high-speed RAM and it is usually used by both small and large companies for the majority of business applications. It is also an instance of a computer program which usually receives and responds to any requests made by another program or in the technical term, a client.
What are the functions of servers?
As mentioned earlier, the main function of good and high storage capacity server like HP enterprise servers are to listen in for incoming network requests for the other port or clients and the interaction between the browser and the web server is a great introduction on how does servers functions.
Imagine browsing a website and then clicks a link, before redirecting you to the page, there are several processes which are happening within an imperceptibly brief period of time behind the scenes. The process works by transmitting the request for the web page into a corresponding server and then the server analyzes and fetches the web page before retransmitting and converts it into a displayable form to the front-end users using HTTPS (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure), a web protocol.
In addition, most modern servers like HP enterprise servers can perform functions such as file storage and managing printer devices by offering database services. IT equipment providers such as HPE offer the best servers with high protection in sensitive or private information. Larger companies also use dedicated or individual servers for specific tasks such as email messaging which provides a centralized and secure method of storing and analyzing sensitive data.
What are the types of servers?
Most servers are often dedicated servers which basically means they can only perform only one task. However, there are other types of the server which can do different tasks these includes:
- Proxy Server: for shared connections and improved performance, proxy servers filter requests between a client program or a web browser and another server or an external server.
- Mail Server: as the name implies, the main tasks of mail servers is to move and store over the corporate networks across the internet using WANs and LANs.
- Telnet Server: this type of server allows the user to log on and perform tasks remotely on a host computer.
- List server: this server is used for managing mailing lists for newsletters, adverting, announcements, or even interactive discussions.
- Web Server: the use of web servers is to load a file from a disk and serving it across the user network and web browser. It uses HTTP for communication.
- Application Server: Most applications servers by HP enterprises connect the database servers and the users in order to serve a large number of computing
- FTP Server: File transfer protocol is responsible for moving one or more files to another computer with secured and organized transfer control.
- Virtual Servers: this type of server has been deployed in the past years and exceeded the physical server’s numbers and it has now become near ubiquitous in the different data centers.
- Collaboration server or groupware: as the name implies, a collaboration server is designed for collaborating users from different locations via virtual atmosphere or the internet.
- Blade Server: For optimized virtualization and faster processing of data, HP enterprise blade servers has been optimized for better workload processing, reduced costs, flexibility, and operational simplicity as well. Blade servers allow more processing power by simplifying cabling as well as reducing power consumption.
- Audio/Video Server: This type of server usually has the capability to broadcast and stream multimedia contents such as audio and video in a website.
- Chat Server: Chat server or also known as real-time communication server or IRC (Internet Relay Chat) server provides a capability to exchange data from user to user and a real-time discussion as well.
Conclusion:
Choosing the best and suited server for your business can play a vital role in performing business applications or tasks in effective ways. Good and secured servers will not only protect your business’s credibility but also protects your clients or customer’s private or sensitive information from any form of cyber-attacks.
