Introduction
A computer that is designed to store and provide content over the Internet is called a web server. The web server accepts requests from browsers like Internet Explorer and Firefox and returns the appropriate content in HTML format and linked objects, such as images, videos, audio, etc.
There are several types of servers in addition to web servers. These include mail servers to IRC servers. In the web hosting industry, web servers are simply referred to as servers.
Each web server operates with a unique IP address. Oftentimes, several websites share the same IP. People who are visiting the site simply key in the website URL, and the web server will work to bring the requested web page to them.
What is a Web Server
Every web hosting provider has dedicated computers called as servers which connect the Internet and ‘deliver’ pages when they are requested. Specifically, the request to see a certain web page is sent to the particular server where that web page is stored. The server then sends HTML data across the Internet.
A web server must operate with fast connections to be able to serve the pages quickly. When deciding on a particular web hosting provider, you must be sure that it has high-speed connections and reliable back up power supplies in case of power outages.
How Server Works
Users visit a website simply by clicking on a hyperlink that brings them to that site or keying the site’s URL directly into the address bar of a browser. Let us go further and discover how the same site appears on a computer anywhere in the world and often on many computers at the same time.
The browser initiates a connection to the server that hosts the website and files requested through an Internet connection. The browser converts the domain name into an IP address through the domain name server and then locating the server that is storing the information for that IP address. Once the contact has been successfully made, the browser initiates a request for the data from the server. Using HTTP, the server then ‘serves’ the data to your browser. The browser then converts, or formats, the computer languages that the files are made up of into what you see displayed in your browser. The server is also capable of sending the files and doing the same process for many clients’ computers at the same time. This allows multiple viewing of the same page simultaneously.
Server vs Your Computer
There are significant differences between the server and the personal computer. A server will normally have 2 or more processors. This enables the server to execute faster and process more applications at the same time.
The server will also have a few hard disk drives to store its data. The data are always written to 2 disks for backup purposes. These hard disks come with swappable features which allow a technician to remove and replace the failed hard disk even without turning down the server.
Servers also have 2 power supplies. In case of power failure, the other power supply will keep the server running without disruption. The power supplies also have swappable features and the failed power supply can be replaced without the need to power down the server.
