A server is simply a computer that is set up to “serve” (or host) a website. This is where websites exist— computers that are always on and connected to a phone line. Virtually any internet enabled computer can be used for this, although some are more ideal for the job than others. Factors that determine this include it’s speed (in it’s various aspects), it’s life span, it’s ability to keep from over heating despite never being powered down, etc. Then its just a matter of whether curtain basics are installed on it, such as a firewall for security measures, perhaps a database application of some sort— it depends on what capabilities need to be available for the type of web content it will be serving/hosting).

Unless you know all about these factors (or know someone who knows) you’ll most likely want to rent a server. For this I’ve been using Go Daddy, which comes with all those capabilities, as well as optional add-ons. Other server providers

A server is typically (always if you’re renting) left on at all times to allow for 24-hour access. Everytime you go to your favorite website you are sending a request to a server located somewhere (a warehouse of servers, someones garage maybe) and retreiving the data that your computer uses to display the website.

So the internet is essentially made up of these numerous servers. Some servers serve out multiple websites, some are dedicated to just one and some websites are so huge they require multiple servers.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 1st, 2009 at 2:35 am and is filed under Definitions, Q&A. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.