“The server is in simple words – a powerful computing computer that is constantly connected to the Internet and to power 24/7, that is, constantly.
In this article, we will consider what a server is and why it is needed. We give an explanation of what kind of servers are and what functions they perform. How the server works and where are located.
WHAT IS A SERVER IN SIMPLE WORDS?
The verb in English to serve is translated, how to serve, from it came to the name server. In ancient Persian, the word server had the meaning – leader, chapter, leader. This concept came to us with the wide development of computer technology, in the jargon of IT people, it is called a server.
As mentioned above, a server is just a special computer, usually located in special rooms (data centres). Server equipment in data centres is mounted in special cabinets, on racks with a chassis and have simple and convenient access to hardware stuffing. Such server equipment works almost without human intervention. Our participation is required only during the initial installation and configuration of server software. In the future, all work is carried out remotely, with the exception of emergency situations, when the server fails or preventive work is necessary.
The premises in which the servers com and server equipment are located are called data centres and are owned by hosting providers. By the way, in one of the articles on what hosting is, we touched upon the concepts of servers and described in sufficient detail how the webserver works. Large companies organize their server directly in offices and are called server rooms. To me, as a designer in civil and industrial engineering (about the author), more than once it was necessary to design server rooms in kilometre-long offices. Such rooms as large rooms, data centres, hosting providers are equipped with special fire-fighting measures. In these server rooms, a certain temperature and humidity are maintained, dust protection, uninterrupted power supply. And of course, the server must be provided with the Internet, so broadband Internet access is connected.
All web server is provided with special server software. You have probably heard and read the expression Apache server on the forums on the Internet several times, and so Apache is a server program that gives access to your website located on the webserver of the hosting provider.
After summing up the intermediate results of all that has been said, the server and the server software are required to receive a question and answer it. In simple words, when you enter the website address in the address bar of the browser or click the link in the search results, then the webserver hosting provider, the Apache server searches the database for the answer (code of the requested page) and sends it to your browser, which transforms the code to the familiar web page, if there is no information, the server returns a 404 error.
CONCLUSIONS
Without servers, there would be no Internet sites, social networks, video hosting sites (YouTube), cool online games, and more. The Internet would remain boring and uninteresting, as it was once coined by the American military to transmit business documents and certain orders.