Server – What is it?
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Almost the entire structure of the Internet is based upon a client–server model. High-level root name-servers, DNS servers, and routers direct the traffic on the internet. There are millions of servers connected to the Internet, running continuously throughout the world.
In computing, the term server is used to refer to one of the following:
- a computer program running as a service, to serve the needs or requests of other programs (referred to in this context as "clients") which may or may not be running on the same computer.
- a physical computer dedicated to running one or more such services, to serve the needs of programs running on other computers on the same network.
- a software/hardware system (i.e. a software service running on a dedicated computer) such as a database server, file server, mail server, or print server.
In computer networking, a server is a program that operates as a socket listener. The term server is also often generalized to describe a host that is deployed to execute one or more such programs.
A server computer is a computer, or series of computers, that link other computers or electronic devices together. They often provide essential services across a network, either to private users inside a large organization or to public users via the internet. For example, when you enter a query in a search engine, the query is sent from your computer over the internet to the servers that store all the relevant web pages. The results are sent back by the server to your computer.
Many servers have dedicated functionality such as web servers, print servers, and database servers. Enterprise servers are servers that are used in a business context.