What are servers?

A server is a computer or system that provides resources, data, services, or programs to

other computers, known as clients, over a network. In theory, whenever computers share
resources with client machines they are considered servers. There are many types of servers,
including web servers, mail servers, and virtual servers.
An individual system can provide resources and use them from another system at the same
time. This means that a device could be both a server and a client at the same time.
Some of the first servers were mainframe computers or minicomputers. Minicomputers
were much smaller than mainframe computers, hence the name. However, as technology
progressed, they ended up becoming much larger than desktop computers, which made the
term microcomputer somewhat farcical.
Initially, such servers were connected to clients known as terminals that did not do any
actual computing. These terminals, referred to as dumb terminals, existed simply to accept
input via a keyboard or card reader and to return the results of any computations to a
display screen or printer. The actual computing was done on the server.
Later, servers were often single, powerful computers connected over a network to a set of
less-powerful client computers. This network architecture is often referred to as the client-
server model, in which both the client computer and the server possess computing power,
but certain tasks are delegated to servers. In previous computing models, such as the
mainframe-terminal model, the mainframe did act as a server even though it wasn’t referred
to by that name.
As technology has evolved, the definition of a server has evolved with it. These days, a
server may be nothing more than software running on one or more physical computing
devices. Such servers are often referred to as virtual servers. Originally, virtual servers were
used to increase the number of server functions a single hardware server could do. Today,
virtual servers are often run by a third-party on hardware across the Internet in an
arrangement called cloud computing.
A server may be designed to do a single task, such as a mail server, which accepts and stores
email and then provides it to a requesting client. Servers may also perform several tasks,
such as a file and print server, which both stores files and accepts print jobs from clients and
then sends them on to a network-attached printer.
Domain name system (DNS) server
The Domain Name System (DNS) is the phonebook of the Internet. When users type domain
names such as ‘google.com’ or ‘nytimes.com’ into web browsers, DNS is responsible for
finding the correct IP address for those sites. Browsers then use those addresses to
communicate with origin servers or CDN edge servers to access website information. This all
happens thanks to DNS servers: machines dedicated to answering DNS queries.
In a typical DNS query without any caching, there are four servers that work together to
deliver an IP address to the client: recursive resolvers, root nameservers, TLD nameservers,
and authoritative nameservers.

The DNS recursor (also referred to as the DNS resolver) is a server that receives the query
from the DNS client, and then interacts with other DNS servers to hunt down the correct IP.
Once the resolver receives the request from the client, the resolver then actually behaves as
a client itself, querying the other three types of DNS servers in search of the right IP.
First the resolver queries the root nameserver. The root server is the first step in translating
(resolving) human-readable domain names into IP addresses. The root server then responds
to the resolver with the address of a top-level domain (TLD) DNS server (such as .com
or .net) that stores the information for its domains.
Next the resolver queries the TLD server. The TLD server responds with the IP address of the
domain’s authoritative nameserver. The recursor then queries the authoritative nameserver,
which will respond with the IP address of the origin server.
The resolver will finally pass the origin server IP address back to the client. Using this IP
address, the client can then initiate a query directly to the origin server, and the origin server
will respond by sending website data that can be interpreted and displayed by the web
browser.
Mail server
A mail server (sometimes called an email server) is a software program that sends and
receives email. Often, it is used as a blanket term for both mail transfer agents (MTA) and
mail delivery agents (MDA), each of which perform a slightly different function.

Mail servers play a crucial role in the email delivery process. Without them, users would
have no way of transferring those messages to and from other mail clients.
Email messages are sent and received using two types of mail servers: outgoing mail servers,
or *mail transfer agents* (MTA), and incoming mail servers, or *mail delivery agents*
(MDA). MTAs retrieve outgoing email messages from the sender’s mail client, then deliver
them to MDAs, which are responsible for temporarily storing and delivering email messages
to the recipient’s mail client.
Mail servers deliver email messages between mail clients by using email protocols, which tell
the server how to process incoming requests, where to forward the messages, and how to
deliver them to the intended mail client.
When sending an email from one client to another, the MTA uses an outgoing mail protocol,
like the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), to check the sender’s email envelope* data
and determine where the message needs to be sent. SMTP does this by using the Domain
Name System (DNS) to translate the recipient’s domain into an IP address.

Then, it locates a mail delivery agent by querying mail exchange (MX) records. The MX
record tells the server how to route the message to its final destination. Once the MX record
returns the appropriate destination, the MDA uses an incoming mail protocol, like the
Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) or Post Office Protocol Version 3 (POP3), to
retrieve the email message from the mail server and deliver it to the specified mail client (or
clients).
Web server
An open-source web server is used for accessing the world wide web through public domain
software. These servers connect stored information from an internet website to your own
computer. Web servers store information for the internet that is retrieved via "HTTP" code
and sent to your web browser. This is one of the most widely used types of servers.

Web and application servers follow a client-server model. In this structure, one program –
the client – requests a resource or service from another program – the server.
Web servers use Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) when responding to user requests via
the World Wide Web. HTTP is a protocol used to exchange information between computers.
Through the HTTP request process, servers can deliver the site’s HTML document to the
user’s web browser, like Google Chrome.
Here’s an overview of the whole process:

 When someone wants to load a website, the browser will look for the web server
hosting the site’s files.
 To achieve this, the web browser translates the site’s domain name into an IP address
via the Domain Name System (DNS). If the site is frequently visited, the web browser
will search through its file cache.
 After finding the corresponding web server, the browser sends an HTTP request to
retrieve site content.
 The web server receives and processes the HTTP request through its HTTP server.
Once the HTTP server accepts the request, it will search through the database to
obtain the relevant data.
 Finally, the server returns the files to the web browser and delivers them to users.
When the HTTP server fails to find or process the requested files, it will send an HTTP error
status code to the browser.
The most common error message is a 404 error, which means the requested page is missing.
Meanwhile, a 403 error may appear if there are permission issues.
Furthermore, if a web server fails to receive a timely response from another server acting as
a proxy or gateway, a 504 error occurs.
Web servers can handle multiple tasks, such as sending and receiving emails, storing web
applications, and processing FTP requests. However, the primary use of a web server is to
host websites, making them functional and interactive for users worldwide.

To create and publish a website, you need access to a web server. The easiest way to
accomplish this is by purchasing web hosting and a domain name from a hosting provider.
DHCP server
A DHCP server automatically sends the required network parameters for clients to properly
communicate on the network. Without it, the network administrator has to manually set up
every client that joins the network, which can be cumbersome, especially in large networks.
DHCP servers usually assign each client with a unique dynamic IP address, which changes
when the client’s lease for that IP address has expired

There are several benefits that make it advantageous for an enterprise to use DHCPv6.

 Having a DHCPv6 server that is integrated into your IP Address Management (IPAM)
system for IPv6 gives visibility to the IPv6-enabled client nodes.
 You also would want this same functionality for IPv4. As IPv4 address space becomes
increasingly constrained, you will want to keep track of your DHCP scopes and
determine if your lease time is adequate with the plethora of BYOD systems joining
your networked environment.
 DHCP servers provide logging and management interfaces that aid administrators
manage their IP address scopes. Your organization will want an accounting of what is
on your network regardless of IP version being used.
 DHCP servers can provide redundancy and high availability. If one DHCP server were
to fail, the clients will preserve their current IP addresses and not cause an
interruption for the end-nodes.
 Organizations will prefer a DHCPv6 server that has been tried and tested. For
example, The Infoblox DHCPv6 server has been certified as “IPv6 Ready” by the
USGv6 certification laboratory.
Organizations that are beginning to implement IPv6 should migrate DHCP for IPv4 scope off
the routers/switches and put them on a robust DHCP server infrastructure. This change will
also mean that your organization would want to have DHCP operate the same for both
protocols. Enterprise organizations will want to take advantage of the centralized dual-
protocol DHCP server to provide IPv4 and IPv6 addresses to client devices.
File transfer protocol (FTP) server
FTP connection needs two parties to establish and communicate on the network. To do that,
users need to have permission by providing credentials to the FTP server. Some public FTP
servers may not require credentials to access their files. The practice is common in a so-
called anonymous FTP.
There are two distinct communication channels while establishing an FTP connection. The
first one is called the command channel where it initiates the instruction and response. The
other one is called a data channel, where the distribution of data happens.

To get or transfer a file, an authorized user will use the protocol to request on creating
changes in the server. In return, the server will grant that access. This session is known as
the active connection mode.

Proxy server
Proxy servers act as a bridge between a host server and a client server. A proxy sends data
from a website to your computer IP address after it passes through the proxy's server. This
practice adds a layer of security since the information is requested then transferred from the
source to the proxy server and never directly from a client to another user.
Typically, a user accesses a website by sending a direct request to its web server from a web
browser via their IP address. The web server then sends a response containing the website
data directly back to the user.
A proxy server acts as an intermediary between the user and the web server. Proxy servers
use a different IP address on behalf of the user, concealing the user's real address from web
servers.

A standard proxy server configuration works as follows:

1. A user enters a website's URL into their browser.
2. The proxy server receives the user's request.
3. The proxy server forwards the request to the web server.
4. The web server sends a response (website data) back to the proxy server.
5. The proxy server forwards the response to the user
Database server
Database servers are high-powered computers that store and manage data stored on a
server for a network of users and devices. The terms database servers, database
management systems (DBMS), and relational DBMS (RDBMS) get used interchangeably, but
RDMBS is the most often implemented type of database management. Collectively, database
server solutions offer central data management, security, controls for access and
permissions, and an interactive repository for a network of users.
Databases are the foundation for most websites and web applications, as well as their ability
to create, present, and preserve data for communication purposes. With an authorization
protocol, database servers are remote-accessible and built to service modern workloads and
complex queries. A multitude of users can access databases, collaborate, and update records
simultaneously.

Most database servers operate on the client-server model, receiving requests from client
devices and their respective users and then returning the desired response. The above
graphic shows how databases play a foundational role in providing resources to network
clients.
Database servers are high-powered appliances capable of working with multiple databases
to serve resources to clients, sometimes with assistance from intermediaries like application
servers and web servers. The scenarios in the above graphic describe how databases can
deliver resources with or without these additional intermediaries.