wa4chq 362 Posted August 23 I'm having a hard time understanding servers. From what I read, a server is a computer that serves information to other computers. What I don't understand is the reason for having a web server or music server or a mail server when wouldn't having just one device called a "server" be able to do your multi-media and web, mail etc.... :'( signed, confused. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
securitybreach 10,136 Posted August 23 Well most of the time one server can provide lots of services (mail, media, music etc.) but when you get a lot of users, you need more hardware and network connections. Remember each connection and user uses some system resources so too many users and services can bring a server down. On top of that, nowadays most servers are just virtual machines or docker containers anyway running on blade at a data center. A lot of websites use Amazon Web Services (AWS) to provide cloud computing, servers, etc. which are virtual servers hosted on Amazon's servers. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wa4chq 362 Posted August 23 Hey SB...thanks for the reply. I've been messing around with my raspberry pi and reading about how they can be used for an access point, a router, a music server, a mail server, a web server.... So for a home server, you could run just one to do multiple tasks but if it were an office building with 50 people then like you said, the server could crash. Still learning! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
V.T. Eric Layton 6,097 Posted August 23 A server is nothing more than another computer that serves. Usually, though, a server is a massive storage system, often housed in a huge climate controlled building made up of 10s of 1000s of hard drives, mucho RAM, extensive routing capabilities, etc. What is a server? A server farm... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wa4chq 362 Posted August 23 (edited) ok....it's starting to make sense. I hope one day to have 10's of 1000's of hard drives....but for now I think I'd settle for the climate controlled room. Edited August 24 by wa4chq 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
V.T. Eric Layton 6,097 Posted August 24 Yes, climate control is a necessity. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wa4chq 362 Posted August 24 Yes, climate control is a necessity. Humidity and heat here is pretty bad. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peachy 151 Posted September 25 Servers also refer to the software that does the serving. That's why a general-purpose desktop computer running IIS or Apache is also a web server. As Eric pointed out, any computer device that offers some service is a server. Anyone that asks for something from the server is the client. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
securitybreach 10,136 Posted September 25 Hey Peachy!! Nice to see you around 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peachy 151 Posted September 25 Nice to be back. Been pretty busy at work these days and then I go home and read and stay away from forums. Anyway, I have more free time now so I'll try and pop in here a bit more. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
V.T. Eric Layton 6,097 Posted September 25 21 minutes ago, Peachy said: I have more free time now so I'll try and pop in here a bit more. COOL! I'd sure be happy to see more of you. Heck, this past three or four days I've spent more time on this board than I have in the last two months. New board software is keeping me busy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
